48 Hrs. (1982)

An American crime film directed by Walter Hill, strring Nick Nolte and Eddie Murphy.
Loose cannon cop, Nick Nolte rents criminal, Eddie Murphy from jail to catch other criminals.
Mediocrity... The plot was tired and stale by the 1970s. Casting stars as the cop buddies did not help much, but I like those 2 actors. Wikipedia says it might be the first "buddy cop" movie, but I find that difficult to believe. A memorable scene involved Eddie Murphy bullying a country bar full of rednecks, pretending that he was a cop "experience my bullshit". Video looked '70s and the audio was midrange-biased, exaggerating Nick Nolte's gravelly voice. There's really not much to write about a film like this. I rate it o.k.

New York Stories (1989)

An American drama directed by Woody Allen, Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola, starring Mia Farrow and Nick Nolte.
3 stories happen in New York City. In the first, a painter breaks up with his girlfriend. The second concerns a rich and spoiled girl whose parents are away and in the third, a man's overbearing mother appears in the sky.
This was actually enjoyable. The plots followed the infamous UPO, but with 3 of them, it seemed better. The characters were all stereotypical and shallow, but I almost liked that about them. The pacing was just quick enough to keep things moving in all 3 sections. The only negative criticism that I have for this is that it was a little too hokey at times. I'm rating it good though. Watch this!

Cape Fear (1962 & 1991)

An American thriller directed by J. Lee Thompson and then Martin Scorsese, starring Gregory Peck and Robert Mitchum then Robert De Niro and Nick Nolte.
A man gets out of jail and goes to see the lawyer who was supposed to be defending him, but lost the case. He stalks the lawyer and kills his dog, so the lawyer sends his cop friends to torment the ex-con whenever possible. The lawyer hires men to beat up the ex-con and gets into trouble. He fakes leaving for a meeting and has his wife and daughter wait in a boathouse where his friend leads the ex-con because the lawyer knows that the ex-con wants to kill them.
The 1962 version was coherent and flowed smoothly. Everything made sense and fit together perfectly. The 1991 version was bastardized Hollywood bullshit. Nothing fit and the flow was crappy. Adequate and shit seem to be good ratings for differentiating remakes and that's the case here.

Affliction (1998)

A drama directed by Paul Schrader, starring James Coburn, Willem Dafoe and Nick Nolte.
A low level law enforcement official in a small town has problems with his family and job. When a hunting accident kills a tourist, the "cop" thinks that it wan't an accident and this adds to his problems.
Ithink this was a definite waste of a good cast. There's the thief from The Good Thief, the forensic detective from Boondock Saints and the explosives expert from Duck You Sucker. These 3 guys should have been in something a little more exciting. I got bored, so I'm rating it poor. The only things that saved it from a bad rating have already been mentioned.