Tweekums This film opens in 1991 and a serial killer is murdering women in Pittsburgh. Detective Tom Hardy has been hunting the man and believes he is probably a cop. One day, as he and his father, also a policeman, are on their way to a function they hear that the killer has been spotted. They give chase and ultimately run him off the road; both cars crash and when Hardy regains consciousness he learns that the killer has killed his father and escaped. A few days later somebody is arrested but Hardy is convinced he isn't the real killer. He is already unpopular for testifying against his partner, who jumped off a high bridge rather than go to jail.Two years later Hardy is no longer a detective, instead he is driving a boat patrolling the rivers of Pittsburgh. He has a bit of a drink problem and is given a new partner; Jo Christman. At first he is unsure about having a female partner but soon they get along… a bit too well. On their first day together they help pull a body out of the water; Hardy is convinced that the serial killer is operating again despite some differences. It soon becomes apparent that the killer has a grudge against Hardy; he is targeting women he had previously dated and it only a matter of time before he targets Jo. Unfortunately the homicide detectives think this is an unrelated case and some even think Hardy could be involved.While this is far from a classic and features rather too many clichés it is still fun to watch. Bruce Willis does a solid job as Hardy and Sarah Jessica Parker is okay as Jo, unfortunately her character doesn't have much depth even though there is a twist involving her part way through. Dennis Farina brings some gravitas to the role of Capt. Nick Detillo, Hardy's uncle in law and the father of his former partner. The revelation of the killer's identity is clearly meant to be a big surprise but I suspect most viewers will at least have entertained the possibility that he was the killer. On the plus side the action is pretty good; a nice car chase early on and some boat chases later. Overall I'd recommend this to fans of Bruce Willis or anybody wanting a fairly undemanding action/mystery.

Python Hyena Striking Distance (1993): Dir: Rowdy Herrington / Cast: Bruce Willis, Sarah Jessica Parker, Tom Sizemore, Robert Pastorelli, Dennis Farina: Cliché filled mess that misses its mark. Bruce Willis stars as a homicide detective whose father was murdered by a serial killer. An innocent victim faces death row and Willis suspects a cop. This decreases his popularity amongst the other officers and leads to a demotion to a river rescue squad with Sarah Jessica Parker. Suddenly women he knows are found in the river and he suspects that it could be linked to his father's murder. Plot is as dead as the victims with a climax wallowing in its violent muck. Director Rowdy Herrington handles the plot twists as well as high powered action sequences but the screenplay provides nothing that hasn't been done countless times. Willis survives the dread as he accepts his demotion as a trespass to further clues involving his past. Sarah Jessica Parker only exists as a possible love interest. Not to sound sexist but generally the females in these films are there more or less for physical encounters with the hero. Parker is far above this material but is wasted in a role that is presented pretty much so to put a female in the film. She lucked out and got cast in this junk. Tom Sizemore and Robert Pastorelli surrender to useless stereotypes. A pointless noise that misses its mark by a long shot. Score: 2 / 10

Mr-Fusion "Striking Distance" held some promise in the opening police chase; illogical by car chase standards, but certainly not sleepy. But I've gotta admit, with Rowdy Herrington's name attached, I was expecting (hoping for) entertainment value comparable to "Road House" . . . not the morose Bruce Willis dramatic actioner filled with reheated potboiler clichés. You can see these beats coming before they happen. The movie's also full of notable character actors, but they don't look all that enthused to be there.The movie's nothing special, but also nothing to get upset about. Somehow, the knowledge that this was made during the Peters-Guber reign at Columbia clarifies a lot. This feels like a troubled production.5/10

gregorybnyc Thank goodness Bruce Willis and Sarah Jessica Parker have good chemistry because they are not allowed any time for a relationship to develop. In a blink they are smack-dab in a romance. But this police thriller has some funky, operatic and over-the-top moments that show the plot's weaknesses. The clichés keep piling up from the bad-mouthing, trash- talking banter between "Irish" and "Italian" cops, to the endless profanity, and the staginess of the big scenes. It's also pretty violent. Bruce Willis is almost always a good action hero. Sarah Jessica Parker knows how to do the girl part perfectly. Their scenes have real chemistry. Dennis Farina is always a great cop and he manages to keep you fascinated even when his sons are acting perfectly ridiculous. John Mahoney, Andre Braugher and Timothy Busfield show their talent and professionalism and are captured before bigger roles made them major TV stars. I did find Braugher chewing up the scenery a bit too lustily in the hearing scene. I save Robert Pastorelli's utterly hammy appearance for last. He's a fine actor and I loved his classically funny house painter, Eldin on Murphy Brown. But he's assigned the psycho role here and the screenplay doesn't give him any depth at all. He's just an insane psychopath. There's not a clue as to why he behaves as he does. Maybe the director should have stepped in more to tone it down. The final confrontation with Willis steals from every thriller you've ever seen, most obviously Fatal Attraction. And it goes on forever. Rerun on TV it was fun to encounter this movie, which I had not seen when it was first released.