Cover-Up

Plot synopsis:
In a small Midwestern town, Roger Phillips is found dead. When insurance investigator Sam Donovan (O'Keefe) arrives looking into the apparent suicide, all clues lead him to suspect murder. The man was shot, but there are no powder burns on the body (which would indicate he was not shot at close range) nor was a pistol found. Unfortunately, no one wants to assist him with the case, including Sheriff Larry Best (Bendix), despite a double indemnity clause. It turns out the dead man was universally hated.
One of the prime suspects is Frank Baker, who eloped with Phillips' daughter the night of the death when Phillips objected to the marriage. During the investigation, Sam and local girl Anita Weatherby (Britton) are strongly attracted to each other. This causes complications when Anita finds her father's hidden Luger pistol (Phillips was shot with a Luger) while searching for a place to store her diary away from her inquisitive younger sister.
Meanwhile, at the annual town Christmas tree lighting, the residents are grieved to learn that beloved longtime physician Dr. Gerrow has died of a heart attack.
Finally, Sam plants a false story in the newspaper, stating that he has sent for a chemist to find clues of the killer's identity from the floor of the house where Phillips died. The chemist is due very soon, so Sam waits for the murderer at the scene of the crime. Sheriff Best shows up first, but he knew the story was a fake. Next to arrive is Anita's father, Stu Weatherby, followed by Anita. Sam accuses Stu of the crime, but then realizes from the position of the murderer that he had to have been left-handed, which rules Stu out. Then Sam remembers, from his previous investigation, that Dr. Gerrow was left-handed. Stu confirms Sam's guess. Weatherby came upon Dr. Gerrow, just after the doctor snapped and killed the man responsible for so much misery to his loved townspeople. He talked Gerrow out of turning himself in and took the Luger away.

Tags: revenge, suspenseful, violence

Review:
Action thriller in which a terrorist plot threatens the lives of thousands in Israel and a reporter sets out to expose a complex political cobweb.
Mike Anderson (hunky Dolph Lundgren) is a known American reporter dispatched to investigate a mysterious and fatal attack on an overseas US naval base, Anderson, a leading investigative journalist and ex-US marine, finds himself back on familiar ground.
Instinct makes him question the official CIA explanation told by CIA chief Jackson (Oscarized secondary Louis Gosset Jr) that cites an unknown terrorist group called Black October (Black September-alike) .
Terrorist attacks on US military based in Israel are just the smokescreen for a great threat .
Renewing a fiery affair with his ex-Iover Susan Clifford (Lisa Berkley , in her first and last film), now the US Embassy press attachee, he soon finds himself taking on an old adversary .
And when his former marine colleague Colonel John Cooper (John Finn of Cold case) suffers a terrorist attack after a secret rendezvous with him, Mike realises he holds the pieces to a deadly plot .
If the lies don'd kill you , the truth will will ¡ .This exciting though below-par Actioner packs suspense , car chases , thrills , noisy action , political intrigue and violence .
Boring pace with its ups and downs ; stands out only for ending scenes when takes place the attempt terrorist in 11th station , ¨Via Crucis¨ and Holy Tomb .
Picture reveals an alarmingly realist insight into US-Middle Eastern politics and terrorism since the 2000s, dealing with a al-Qaeda-esque terrorist organization and the conspiracy theories that some believe the US government is using the Middle East as a cover-up .
The highlights of the movie result to be the battles to save the lives of thousands of innocent people, in a desperate attempt to prevent a deadly plan to create an international disaster of catastrophic proportions , as in a race against time Lundgren confronts a terrorist scheme in the God Friday climax , including hokey religious symbolism .
The scene where Dolph Lundgren's character runs through the mass of people during the Easter celebration was shot during an actual enactment by pilgrims of the twelve stations of Christ.
None the less pilgrims and tourists thought his fake blood was an actual wound, and "real" soldiers pointed M16 guns at Lundgren and got him down on the ground as they had not been well informed of the film production .Regular acting by Dolph Lundgren as a two-fisted American journalist on a dangerous foreign assignment, finds his own life in jeopardy when he uncovers a deadly labyrinth of political intrigue , better is Lous Gosset Jr as CIA boss Lou Jackson.
William Tannen, who had written the script and was in the final stages of preparation in Israel to begin shooting in one week, was replaced because the lead actor decided that the script he signed on to do was no longer viable and that he began to do a major rewrite ; Tannen actually said the word "No" and was excused by the Israeli producer, a former prop man.
The motion picture was middlingly directed by Manny Coto ; writer William Tannen was to direct the film, director Manny Coto got hired only one or two weeks before principal photography .
STAR RATING:*****Unmissable****Very Good***Okay**You Could Go Out For A Meal Instead*Avoid At All CostsThis is an early feature of Dolph Lundgren's,that was ,weirdly enough,made after the likes of The Punisher and Masters of the Universe.It's probably one of his better movies though.There is a complex and intriguing plot to follow that requires you to use your brain (a blessing for a Dolph film),and,although director Manny Coto allows the action to slack a bit,things certainly heat up at the end.There is an unfortunate lack of engaging dialogue for Dolph and the rest of the cast to work with and the ending is the very definition of anti climatic,but generally speaking,and certainly in comparison to a lot of other films of it's ilk,this one's great to pick up for £2.99,take home and enjoy with some crisps and beers.***.
Dolph lundgren's best.
when i first bought this movie at the dollar bin at the video store, i wasn't sure how this movie is going to be but now i have to say, i'm a proud owner of cover-up.Dolph lundgren's performance as mike Anderson was excellent.
Lou gossett Jr give a good performance.
john Finn from shows like Dawson's creek and cold case is surprisingly good.
Lisa Berkley is sexy.director Manny coto does a fine job keeping the story alive but there is a lit of bit lacking in the action department but this is worth seeing.
i hope to see Dolph lundgren in more in the way of drama movies..
Great low budget action movie.
Great rainy day film, and a gem from this period.Not sure about the low ratings -- this is a solid action movie, and more, it's far more intelligent than a lot of similar movies from that time.
An interesting, rather complex plot, and it's good and dark, something many of those other films lack.I really liked the ending as well, not really what one expects from this kind of film and the final shot is quite memorable.As far as this era of action films go, its an 8.
Which is saying a lot, because most of these 80's/90's mercenary/military movies are 4's.I first saw this on a tape of old cheesy movies a friend had made when they were a kid, and was surprised and thoroughly enjoyed it.
I remember being quite creeped out during a scene where you see the effects of a deadly nerve gas on people.
Dolph Lundgren plays a journalist who investigates an attack on a US army base,and Louis Gosset Jr seems to be stonewalling the story and when Lundgren's best friend Cooper is murdered (John Finn) Lundgren know's he's in danger and now he must know what's real and what's fake.
Here we have the film Lethal Weapon except it is not that film, but similar.In this filmed story about humans, Dolph plays a guy who has a friend and they both watch people fall on horizontal bullets.Thus we can surmise that Dolph can bend space and bullets to his will Lo and Behold I said this years ago and no one believed me so guess what Mrs. Wisowski?
Decent change of pace for Lundgren!.
Unfortunately its good early work is slightly let down by either obvious or absurd twists in the final 15 minutes.
Before the slightly disappointing ending the film moves along nicely, and the script is developing well, while there aren't too many B-movie cliches, such as the obligatory sex scene, between a recently widowed woman and the central character.
This was Dolph Lundgrens first real move away from the action genre and he gives his first decent lead performance, he has more than 3 lines of dialogue as well, but he does fairly well.
The film unfortunately looks very cheap but the direction from Manny Coto is functional and well paced, while the action scenes are good, including a trademark Vic Armstrong car chase.
Mike Anderson (Dolph Lungren) is an ex-marine reporter sent by the LA time to Tel Aviv to investigate the recent bombing of a US army base.
A nerve gas has been stolen that can kill up to a square mile of people and it seems a shadowy group called Black October have stolen it.
Mike sets out to find out what's up with the whole deal, and just exactly what Lou Gossett Junior has to do with it all.Low on action but high in covert shenanigans, Cover Up is helped greatly by the fact that Lungren, unlike a lot of action stars, is also quite a likable actor to boot.
Here he doesn't have too much to do except snoop around, avoid the CIA, and avoid being killed by assassins, but he does find time to sleep with his widowed ex, get into a car chase, and seemingly get into a very violent fight with an actor who greatly resembles Italian b-movie star John Stiener (who, in some sort of time slip, travelled forward in time from a movie set in Rome to kick Dolph's head in - weird).
There's your usual double and triple crosses, plus, for an action hero, Dolph really takes his licks here.
The problem with Dolph is that he can act a bit.
This was the first film where he seemed to want to prove he can act and he does it quite well.
He'd still do quite well in a big role in a major film.
Possibly not the lead but a supporting role.The film is also a little disturbing in how it shows now as some of the events depicted in the film have, seemingly, come to pass.
Not in the way the film portrays them, true, but the effects globally have been largely the same..
Dolph Lundgren as Mike Anderson a L.A journalist who flocks to Israel to probe an attack on a U.S base where he finds a cover-up.
Cover-Up is just an all around disappointment, the movie is simplistic, predictable and has hardly any action until the final 30 minutes.
Considering that nobody has ever watched a Dolph Lundgren movie for anything but action only adds to the futile surroundings.
Dolph Lundgren and Louis Gossett Jr reunite (I'm guessing because after The Punisher, there was a huge demand to see Ivan Drago team up with Chappy Sinclair to beat on more bad guys.)in Cover-Up a movie about a chemical weapon being taken by terrorists who then look to use this mysterious chemical to wipe out fifty thousand people during Good Friday.
However there is a conspiracy in the works...in that conspiracy lies in the fact that for some unfathomable reason Louis Gossett Jr and Dolph Lundgren agreed to be in this lame thriller.
Yes i'm saying this material is below even Dolph Lundgren.
I had recently discussed this movie with E-Filmcritic writer David Corneilus who wrote an article about Oscar winners who should send back their gold statue, naming Louis Gossett Jr as a worthy contender for the fact that he was in Firewalker with Chuck Norris, The Punisher with Dolph Lundgren (Which even though how fun it is, it is beneath Gossett's talent), Iron Eagle (Likewise) and Toy Soldiers with Keith Coogan.
I reminded him of this movie which I said he had actually worked twice with Dolph Lundgren.
His reply was of "YIKES, forgot about that one, for good reason." Yes indeed.I had seen Cover-Up back when it came out, back when I was 18 and for the most part didn't remember it leaving much of an impression in one way or another.
Part of the problem is that it has Dolph Lundgren.
I know someone might get the impression that am taking a swing on an obvious target but I do want to say that Lundgren has always been far more likable in presence than Seagal.
Cover-Up has Lundgren basically run around wussified and not even once throwing a punch until near the end of the movie.
It is nothing short of hilarious when Lundgren tries hard to convey emotion in which he flexes his eyebrows and speaks in the same monotone he did in any other movie he was in.
Indeed Lundgren seems half asleep the whole time, even when being interrogated by Louis Gossett Jr and he won an Oscar for playing a drill instructor.
Then of course there is Louis Gossett Jr who plays the role so by the numbers you could intertwine this with any other movie he has done.
Although Gossett Jr manages to provide an unintentional laugh in how he goes off in a huge speech about "Not starting your own revolutions as you see FIT!" It is a parade of bad acting in which Gossett Jr comes off the best and Lundgren coming off second best.
(Not good) The whole movie itself is just a bunch of useless talk about who is planning on killing whom, despite the fact we know all of this and in its content the movie fails to really come up with a credible reason of what is going on and what the bad guy truly wants to accomplish.
People rack on The Punisher that starred both Lundgren and Gossett but at least that movie moved.
The tag-line of this clunker says "If the lies don't kill you the truth will..." Well if the truth doesn't kill you, watching this movie will.* out of 4-(Bad).
"If the lies don't kill you the truth will" – The truth is that this movie sucks.
Dolph Lundgren ("Rocky 4") and Louis Gossett Jr ("Officer and gentleman") reunite.
After fun action movie "Punisher" this stinky little thriller is massive disappointment.
Robert Cettl argues in his 2009 book "Terrorism in American cinema: an analytical filmography, 1960-2008" that the film reveals an alarmingly realist insight into US-Middle Eastern politics and terrorism since the 2000s, dealing with a al-Qaeda-esque terrorist organization and the conspiracy theories that some believe the US government is using the Middle East as a cover-up.
The movie still sucks.Lundgren wanted this movie to be different than his earlier movies.
I really understand the need to make something else than action movie , I really do.
Lundgren is also not bad action movie star , but when you put him in a role that REALLY requires acting skills (like the one here) he will be painless to watch.
Louis Gossett Jr is here reliable as always.The plot here is incredibly simplistic and predictable.
There is very little action and it's definitely forgettable.
Only the suspenseful climax with ambiguous ending is somewhat memorable."Cover up" is slow , dull , actionless and just plain bad.
One of Dolph Lundgren's worst.
The people who made "Cover Up" made the mistake of casting the imposing but wooden Dolph Lundgren as a reporter / political scientist(!); they gave him a lot of lines, when he looks more comfortable flaunting his chest muscles and killing people with his bare hands (or with weapons).
There is one good fight scene, one good stunt (at the very end), and one good explosion; other than that, the film is so dull it could put you into a coma.
Mike Anderson (Dolph) is an ex-Marine, now an investigative journalist based in L.A. He travels to Israel to try to get the story on some murders at a military base.
A terrorist group called Black October is claiming responsibility, but is that the whole story?
Anderson also is attempting to get to the truth through CIA operative Lou Jackson (Gossett Jr.) It seems Anderson is getting close, because several attempts are made on his life.
It seems Cover Up was an attempt by Dolph to do something a bit more "respectable".
There's certainly nothing wrong with trying to change things up and attempting to break away from typecasting - it's just that Cover Up is kind of on the dour, dark and dry side.
Despite the more serious-minded tone of the film, Dolph still manages to appear shirtless for no apparent reason.
Some things can't change, apparently.If Dolph really wanted to break away from the cycle of action movies he was doing at the time, he probably shouldn't have re-teamed with Louis Gossett Jr. after The Punisher (1989).
Not that we mind, of course, they make a fine team, but what action remains in this movie is too close to his old work, yet not far enough away to separate himself from it.
In Dolph's defense, it's a tough line to straddle.
It really makes you think Gossett was supposed to appear in The Peacekeeper (1997) to make a Dolph/Gossett trilogy, but instead Montel Williams of all people showed up to fill the role.A good example of how this is an atypical Dolph movie comes when there is a scene in a pool hall, and all they do is talk and play pool.
But Mike Anderson is a reporter, you see, not a fighter.
Presumably it explains what fighting does occur later in the movie.The Israel locations are some of the highlights of the movie (and are shot very well by the cinematographer).
Cover Up is really not even a bad movie, just a bit on the dull side.
Dolph seemed to realize this, because he came roaring back into classic form with his next movie after this, Showdown In Little Tokyo (1991), one of his best and a Comeuppance Reviews favorite.
Dolph fans will still appreciate Cover Up, and it makes a good one-time watch..
Dolph fans will still appreciate Cover Up, and it makes a good one-time watch..
This was a great Lundgren film, however i did not care for the abrupt ending at all.
This was a great Lundgren film, however i did not care for the abrupt ending at all.
There were a couple twists that shocked the hell out of me, and didn't see coming what so ever, however it ended too quickly, and it seemed, that they were rushing things the last little bit.
All the characters were great, and Lundgren , and Louis Gossett Jr. are absolutely fantastic in it, and i cared for both there characters.
Manny Coto, does a very good job here, creating suspense, lots of action, good camera angles, and he kept the film at a fast pace!, solid job.
Dolph Lundgren is AMAZING as always, and this is one of his best performances.
He is very believable,really likable, and kicked that ass!, and his chemistry with Lisa Berkely was good.
Louis Gossett Jr. is great in this, when on screen, he is a very good actor , and it was good to see him again!.
Lisa Berkely was hot, and did her job pretty well, and her chemistry with Lundgren was good.
John Finn is also very good here (that's all i'm gonna say).