Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on November 23rd, 2022
Many times when we watch films for the first time, we get distracted. Maybe it's a pretty girl, money issues, or perhaps you had something else on your mind that's hurting your focus. Whatever it is, it can really change your interpretation of a movie in a positive or negative way. One such movie for me is Mystery Men when I saw it in early 2000. Back when rentals were a thing, I remember renting this film and being distracted completely by someone who shall remain nameless. I barely liked the movie and didn't really watch it again until many years later only to realize I liked the film far more than originally thought. Four or five times later, I revisit the film again, this time in glorious 4K. Let's see how it does.
Thunder is rumbling, and we have arrived in the futuristic Champion City. A place of superheroes and supervillains. The scene is a private party with some rich senior citizens. All of a sudden, Big Red (played by Artie Lange) runs in with his gang of bad guys to rob the place. They steal everything in sight; nothing is safe, not even a prosthetic arm. But just when you think nothing can save these wealthy elderly members of society, we have a few heroes who might save the day.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on October 3rd, 2022
In truth, I have never been a "Chuck Norris" type guy. I can get down with many martial artists as previously explained, from Van Damme to Seagal to Jeff Speakman and probably many others in between. Except when it came to the Texas Ranger. Sure, he was an amazing martial artist, but he never had the ability to draw me in, the charisma that could keep me interested when his punches and kicks could not. (But yet I liked Jeff Speakman; go figure.) Anyhow, I think after all this time I finally found the film that could change that. Enter The Octagon.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on September 28th, 2022
Some of my favorite movies from the 80's and 90's consist of films where very little brain matter needs to be used to consume the action of what's going on the screen. The type of films I'm talking about are films like Bloodsport, Above the Law, the Perfect Weapon, and Rapid Fire. Now, from reading those titles, it might sound like I'm a little "man" heavy so to speak but I also heavily enjoy films like La Femme Nikita or Moon Lee films (Princess Madam or Devil Hunters for example). Today's film is Catch the Heat which stars Tiana Alexandra in a film where she cranks up the kick butt meter to ten. Let's see how it performs.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on May 16th, 2022
The year of 1975 was an interesting year. I was born, Jaws was the top grossing film of the year, followed by One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Other interesting films included Return of the Pink Panther, Three Days of the Condor, Rollerball, and The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother. Somewhere after those films and others, we have a film called Breakout, which featured the action star Charles Bronson. Fresh off his greatest film, Death Wish, Breakout would be one of the three films with Bronson that would come out during 1975 (other two being Hard Times and Breakheart Pass). In Breakout, we explore the topic of prison escape. Let's make sure this one gets out with good behavior.
Mexico, 1971. A bus drives through a small town. Inside the bus are a couple of prisoners who are smiling at each other while two guards watch over them. One of the prisoners hands over a bribe to the guard. The guards hand them some clean clothes. The bus stops and the guards get out. The prisoners also get out thinking their freedom is soon at hand. The first prisoner runs off into the desert. The guards hand the second prisoner a gun and tell him to shoot the first prisoner. He shoots twice wildly but the third (and the fourth gunshot) hits him square in the chest, killing him. Elsewhere, a briefcase is exchanged between two men and they shake hands.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on April 11th, 2022
Most people want to do the right thing. It's usually far easier in your private life to do the right thing than it is, say, in a job environment where you have people constantly breathing down your neck. They are far more interested in the company's pocketbook or their image to society than what is right and wrong. Therefore, it often leads to a lot of decisions (especially those in places of power) that from a surface appear questionable. It's even worse when that company or organization is in the public eye every moment of the day. Today, we look at a film where an ex-cop has retreated to the mountains in search of a simpler life away from the grey choices of the police force. All based on trying to do the right thing. Let's take a look.
Charlie Waldo (played by Charlie Hunnam) stretches in the woods and sits in silence meditating on his life. Meanwhile we get some ecological narration about the future state of the planet and how awful the United States is at preserving it. (Trust me, kids, China is much, much worse.) After a brief morning, Charlie goes right back to meditating. He also washes his clothes the old fashioned way. All of the sudden he is greeted by a beeping horn of a car.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on February 25th, 2022
Despite my tender age, I didn’t see Escape from New York until I was in my early twenties. My parents never talked about it, my college friends didn’t seem to care, and the Internet wasn’t nearly as prevalent as it is now. But it has become my favorite movie of all time. What’s curious is that the sequel to the film, Escape from L.A., is what introduced me to Kurt Russell and the character of Snake Plissken (and became the foundation of everything I consider to be “cool”). It holds a giant chunk of my movie heart, and I’m glad today to bring you this review of the UHD Blu-ray from Paramount. It is 1998, and hostile forces inside the United States are growing strong. Los Angeles is ravaged by crime, and the US Police Force is formed to keep the peace. A political candidate (played by Cliff Robertson) emerges and predicts a millennium earthquake that will destroy Los Angeles in divine retribution. An earthquake measuring 9.6 on the Richter scale hits at 12:59pm on August 23rd in the year 2000.
The presidential candidate becomes President and shortly after becomes President for his life term. He relocates the capital from Washington DC to his hometown of Lynchburg, Virginia. Los Angeles is no longer part of the United States. As a part of Directive 17, all unfit people would be sent there indefinitely behind the Great Wall with no chance ever of retribution. Unfit people could be anybody the President decides, from criminals, murderers, to simply people based on their religion and red meat consumption. Yes, eating a steak in the 21st century could be grounds for exile.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on February 23rd, 2022
For me the promo art for Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins is without a doubt one of the most memorable VHS covers I can remember from my childhood. The hero dangling by one hand from the tip of the Statue of Liberty has always stuck with me. As a kid, when finally getting to see this over-the-top action sequence, it left an impression on me to the point that when I made my first trip out to Liberty Island as a kid, all I could do was stare in wonder at how they could have pulled off such a crazy scene. As I’ve gotten older, my impression of the film has changed, but this sequence is still up there when it comes to favorite action sequences of all time. Now Kino Lorber has put out a remastered copy of a film that has fallen through the cracks, though I know it does have a cult following. What are my thoughts on this action spectacle, and is it worth revisiting?
When Remo Williams was birthed as a film, it was intended to be the blue-collar American version of James Bond. It was adapted from a series of pulp novels called “The Destroyer” by Warren Murphy and Richard Sapir. It was an adventure series just like Doc Savage, The Shadow, and The Spider, and producer Dick Clark felt that it would be a great franchise to launch in the States. Wanting to capture the James Bond tone, they hired a screenwriter experienced with the Bond franchise, Christopher Wood (Moonraker and The Spy Who Loved Me) and then director Guy Hamilton (Goldfinger and Live and Let Die) to helm the film. With this collaboration, it is no wonder that the producers and studio thought they had a guaranteed hit on their hands, but unfortunately it seems the movie gods had other plans for the film.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on February 16th, 2022
Kino Lorber has plundered the vaults of MGM and released one of the better known Charles Bronson films, Murphy’s Law. To me this is one of the Cannon classics where it was simply a fun tough guy film filled with everything that would make today’s woke audiences cringe. There is no way a film like this would get made now, and it’s a shame, because, well, this is pure escapism and is a good time from start to finish. I’m not saying that this film is perfect, but it captures the energy of what made Cannon films fun during the 80’s and early 90’s. Charles Bronson is playing Jack Murphy, a detective who has hit hard times with his wife wanting a divorce, though he’s not ready to give up on that relationship. Things are about to get much worse when Jack is framed for the murder of his ex-wife and her new boyfriend who runs an exotic dance club.Murphy gets locked up, and in the holding cell, as luck would have it, he’s locked up with Arabella McGee (Kathleen Wilhoite) who in the opening scene of the film we see stealing Jack’s car. Jack has to escape as a means to clearing his name, though he’s cuffed to Arabella, which of course makes things all the more difficult. This is definitely an odd-couple mash-up that we see a lot of during the 80’s where these characters are forced to be partners and bicker a majority of the film but in the end become partners. There isn’t even a mystery to who the killer is as we watch the psycho woman played by Carries Snodgress execute people without mercy. The only real mystery going on with her is why she is on her murderous rampage.
Part of what elevates this film from the others with the similar plot is the direction of J. Lee Thompson. While he isn’t exactly a household name, he’s got quite a few classics on his resume: The Guns of Navarone, Cape Fear (1962), Battle For the Planet of the Apes and another Charles Bronson classic 10 To Midnight. Pretty much he’s one of the go-to directors for tough guy films, and he simply knows how to make a good popcorn flick. While watching this film and looking at Bronson’s resume, there are a lot of similarities to Liam Neeson’s career in the past decade, and I wonder how much better some of his films could have been if they were put in the hands of J. Lee Thompson.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Jeremy Butler on October 29th, 2021
I really liked the film, but I don’t expect that it will be the savior that revitalizes the franchise. Without question it is the best of the three films that were adapted from the popular toy line, but even so I just didn’t find it compelling enough to serve as the launch point for a franchise reboot. I just don’t think it’s in the cards for G.I. Joe to become a movie powerhouse. Snake Eyes is without question one of the most popular characters from the television incarnation, and he was also the biggest draw for the film adaptation as well. Anticipation for a live-action telling of his origins has been in the works for years, with many hoping to see Ray Park, who played the character in the first two films (though we never see his face), reprise the role. However, much time passed between G.I. Joe Retaliation and this film, making that an impossibility. Stepping in to take over the role is Henry Golding, who you most likely recognize from Crazy Rich Asians, but who I recognize from The Gentlemen. The film is his first foray into the action film world, which was quite a risk for the film, but good thing for them, they got him some backup in the form of Andrew Koji, who we all should recognize from Cinemax’s (now to be reborn on HBO Max) Warrior.
When I heard about Henry Golding’s casting, I had some reservation. In my opinion, he had the look unquestionably, but discovering his lack of a fighting or action resume prior to this outing made me somewhat skeptical of his ability to give a convincing performance. However, after watching him, I give his performance a B plus; he was convincing, but there was room for improvement. Ironically, it wasn’t his fighting where the improvement was needed, as I found his skill on par with what you would expect. As previously stated, he is also surrounded by actors whose fighting resumes speak for themselves. Take Andrew Koji. Firstly, if you haven’t watched this man technical skill in the first two seasons of Warrior, you have no idea what you are missing, and I recommend that you correct this error immediately. Koji brings that same technical skill to this film, making his fight sequences without question my favorite, particularly in the fish market, where he takes on essentially an entire army all by himself, and is more than convincing doing so, especially when he gets his hands on two swords.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 24th, 2021
" Okay, listen up! I want 50 of the best men! I want guns! I want wheels, freaking X-wing fighters -- I don't care! The Millennium Falcon, Chewbacca if you can get ahold of him. Money's no object. Go."
The year 2020 and nearly half of 2021 make up a time in our lives we'd all like to try to forget. And while the remnants of a pandemic that is not quite over still intrude on our realities, many aspects of our lives are starting to return. We're spending time with our family and friends again. Those simple parts of our lives we once took for granted are starting to return, and I suspect we're all apt to savor them just a little bit more from now on. The movies have been back for a little while now. We've finally started getting access to press screenings for the first time in over a year. Needless to say, so many of us are happy to be back in the theaters. So far we've had some films start to breathe life back into the box office, but today expectations remain lower, and they will for a while. We've had some successful films, and you can feel it in the air. Somewhere, somehow, there's got to be a film just itching to break open the floodgates and give us our first real break-out blockbuster in 18 months. Fasten your seatbelts, because I think the day has finally arrived, and while it isn't going to be anything like it might have been two years ago, I think that F9: The Fast Saga is going to be the first hit film since the arrival of the pandemic.
