Jonathan Parker (Peter Berg) is your typical high school athlete, who is out trying to impress his girlfriend, Alison (Camille Cooper). But for some reason he can’t seem to keep things straight whenever she’s around, and one day he slams into the goal post, and it looks like he gives himself a concussion. That’s not the worst part, though, because that night he has a nightmare where he sees his brother, sister and mother killed by a serial killer who is stalking the city.

When he tries to convince his father (the police chief) about what he saw, his dad doesn’t want to hear about it. But when his family turns up dead, and he somehow knows the details, suddenly they are very interested – but not in a casual sense. They want to know just how he came to know what he does. That’s when things get a little more interesting. Unfortunately, Jonathan isn’t interested in just telling them. He wants to help catch this guy.

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Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) returns in this sequal to the 1985 smash Back to the Future.

Though four years have elapsed since the original, little has changed in the movie, and in fact it starts right where the first one left off – in the driveway of Marty’s house, right after Doc (Christopher Lloyd) has dropped him off after their adventures in time.

The only major difference is that Jennifer, Marty’s girlfriend, is no longer played by Claudia Wells – instead, Elisabeth Shue takes over.

Other than that, it’s pretty much business as usual – except that Doc has returned from the future, and he’s got some bad news. It seems that Marty’s kids (and Jennifer’s – they are married in the future) are getting into trouble, and they need to make sure that they can save them. Thus begins the second episode of the trilogy. What happens when they get there sets the stage not only for this installment, but the next one as well.

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A lot of people like this movie, and there are certainly times when I can agree with them. It definitely has its moments.

The events happening along on a block in Brooklyn during the hottest day of the year are interesting, if nothing else. But interesting may be about as good of a description as I can give. The performances of the actors are quite good, but the story is just a bit too disjointed to be really enjoyable. Like many other tales, both in movies and in television shows, there are just too many storylines to follow to make sense of them all in a way that makes it worth the time that it takes.

That said, there a huge number of names in the movie, and all of them deliver great performances in their roles. The problem is that precious few of them are given the screen time to really allow the viewer to care what happens to them. The one exception here is Sal (Danny Aiello), the operator of Sal’s Famous Pizzaria (that’s really how it is spelled), out of place because it’s not found in an Italian area of town, a fact that one of his sons and at least some of the residents continue to point out throughout the movie.

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When family has an unexpected health problem (like a heart attack) in the middle of the night, and you need to check on them, you may need family to help out. You can’t just leave the kids with neighbors, or call someone to watch them. Enter Uncle Buck.

Buck Russell (John Candy) is the relative that no one likes to admit they have, and he just happens to be the one who might happen to come through when you need someone the most. Sure, he’s a bit rough around the edges, but no one can make pancakes like Uncle Buck.

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Brothers Frank and Jack Baker (played by real-life brothers Beau Bridges and Jeff Bridges) have been hanging around the Seattle lounge scene for fifteen years, and it’s just about time for them to hang it up.

That is, until they meet Susie Diamond (Michelle Pfeiffer),who livens up their piano act with some sultry vocals. The only problem is that perpetual bachelor Jack has an eye for Susie, which leads to problems of a different sort.

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I’ve always liked Al Pacino, even if I can’t always figure out why. I mean let’s face it – it isn’t as if he possesses the most versatile acting range in the world. His characters are generally about the same from movie to movie.

Still, they are certainly entertaining characters, and perhaps that is why I enjoy watching him. In this case, he is teamed with John Goodman as the two try to catch someone who is killing men who take out personal ads.

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This one won’t make many classic lists. It won’t make many lists at all, unless you count lists of movies that need to be thrown out. But it is typically good for an afternoon (or morning, as the case may be) of fun. Starring Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter (talk about diverging career paths) as two high schoolers on the verge of flunking history.

Lucky for them, Rufus (played by the inimitable George Carlin) is on his way from the future with a time-traveling phone booth that will allow them to pick up some of history’s most notable characters, bring them back to present-day San Dimas, and pass their history report.

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So it’s not a hi-brow film. It didn’t win any awards. It’s still funny. A great ensemble cast – Tom Berenger, Charlie Sheen, Corbin Bernsen, Wesley Snipes, Rene Russo and even some – or especially some – great one-liners from Mr. Baseball Himself, Bob Uecker, make this one a peach.

The Cleveland Indians are in the pits. They haven’t won the pennant for decades. The long-time owner recently died, leaving the time to his ex-showgirl wife Rachel Phelps (played by Margaret Whitton). The widow Phelps, however, doesn’t hold Cleveland in high esteem, and wants the team to fall below attendance minimums so she can accept an offer from Miami to move the team there, get a mansion in Boca Raton and a membership in the country club.

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