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Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991) | Nicholas Meyer

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The final of the Star Trek films to feature the entire original cast, Star Trek VI draws many parallels to the end of the Cold War between the United States (represented here by the Federation) and the Soviet Union (the big bad Klingons).  An explosion occurs on the Klingon moon known as Praxis (an allusion to the nuclear disaster of Chernobyl), which makes the Klingon race face possible extinction, as their way of life crumbles, rendering them a superpower no longer (akin to the breakup of the USSR).  The crew of the Enterprise is called upon to be an escort for Klingon Chancellor Gorkon (Gorbachev wannabe) to a crucial assembly on Earth. 

It’s hard for Kirk and co. to trust the Klingons after so many years of fighting them, so when a pair of photon torpedoes are shot into the Klingon ship and two men in Federation gear assassinate many onboard, all fingers point to the only logical culprits, the Enterprise crew.  Kirk and McCoy (who tried in vain to save Gorkon) are put on trial for the disaster, leaving the remaining crew with little time to coordinate an effort to clear their names and secure their release before whatever faction responsible commits more assassinations in response to the peace process.

Dragnet (1987) | Tom Mankiewicz

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In this semi-spoof sequel to the classic TV show, “Dragnet”, Dan Aykroyd isn’t playing Jack Webb’s character, Joe Friday, in this film, but rather, his nephew, with the same name and personality.  He’s assigned a roguish new partner named Pep Streebeck (Tom Hanks) with which to fight crime with, though he’s of a new breed of a police officer, not really respecting the rule of law that Sergeant Friday does to his core. 

Their first case together sees them trying to crack a slew of recent murders in Los Angeles, ostensibly done by a mysterious cult known simply as P.A.G.A.N., (People Against Goodness and Normalcy) as the calling cars they leave behind at the scenes of their crimes suggest.  Signs begin to point in the direction of a smarmy TV evangelist named Rev. Jonathan Whirley (Christopher Plummer) and a smarmy smut merchant named Jerry Caesar (Dabney Coleman).  Friday and Streebeck rescue a sacrificial virgin, Connie Swail (Alexandra Paul), at one of the P.A.G.A.N. gatherings, and for the first time in his life, Sgt. Friday has found someone wholesome enough to consider as his girlfriend, though he has now become too involved to think clearly — or play things by the book when the heart is involved.

Dreamscape (1984) | Joseph Ruben

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Dreamscape stars Dennis Quaid as a psychic enlisted into a top-secret government experiment that puts him into the nightmares of another person in order to cure them.  However, when the President of the United States becomes the subject, he finds himself embroiled in a plot to assassinate the world leader in his sleep.  Kate Capshaw, Max von Sydow and Christopher Plummer co-star in this low-budget but high-concept sci-fi/thriller that would be the precursor to a great many genre films, including THE MATRIX.