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Post by stefancrosscoe on Aug 21, 2023 10:59:51 GMT
For those having a soft spot for cheesy, campy, explosive 80s and early 90s action films, I recommend looking up the Youtube channel: Vintage Action which seems to have quite an interesting dislay of titles uploaded in full length.
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Post by lostinlimbo on Aug 24, 2023 2:39:54 GMT
Since I’m planning to watch the Fred ‘The Hammer’ Williamson’s Black Cobra sequels tonight, I thought last night I would re-watch the film where it all began. Need to re-watch a few of these, as I remember blind buying 3 of them on DVD back in the day, thinking that was it. But then realized they made even more of these films later on. Sadly these releases were from the shabby Elstree Hill Entertainment, which I have had mostly bad experiences with, due to grainy, dark and crappy picture "quality", as well as several being terribly cut down in violence and action. I think I saw all 3 back in autumn of 2012-13, and yeah, the original felt very much in tone with Cobra (1986), where as the others, I can barely remember anything at all. The sequels weren’t very good. The original at least was ridiculous… these follow ups were bland Phillipines’ cheapies. Williamson is only the real positive. Actually fell asleep halfway through the first sequel. So I didn’t watch the following sequel until the following night. 3 was a tad better than 2. But that’s not saying much. Don’t think I’ll bother with 4. Though I had to switch to someone else’s upload of Black Cobra 2 on YouTube (which looked even worse) to finish it off that night due to YouTube stuffing up whenever it reached the hour mark on the original uploaded video I started with.
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Post by brandomarlon2003 on Aug 24, 2023 23:36:34 GMT
The Mother (2023)
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Post by stefancrosscoe on Aug 25, 2023 13:14:33 GMT
The sequels weren’t very good. The original at least was ridiculous… these follow ups were bland Phillipines’ cheapies. Williamson is only the real positive. Actually fell asleep halfway through the first sequel. So I didn’t watch the following sequel until the following night. 3 was a tad better than 2. But that’s not saying much. Don’t think I’ll bother with 4. Though I had to switch to someone else’s upload of Black Cobra 2 on YouTube (which looked even worse) to finish it off that night due to YouTube stuffing up whenever it reached the hour mark on the original uploaded video I started with. That sounds a bit too familiar, as yeah, I am pretty sure I also had a hard time to keep up, and not fall asleep during a way too late night viewing. However, I guess from the images of my DVDs, I did keep a hold of them, so hopefully one of the three might do some good with another visit. Not so sure if all three is worth keeping hold of for much longer. And I guess part 4 might be uploaded for free on Youtube, and if not, I guess one has not missed out on some great "classic".
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Post by stefancrosscoe on Aug 25, 2023 15:13:57 GMT
One of the main reasons to why I have not been more active here lately, is due to re-watching Miami Vice, and something I am not sure I have done since summer of 2008, when I got hold of the DVD box-set. Tried another attempt back in summer of 2014, got through season 1 and 2, then waiting almost two years, before getting halfway through season 3. Anyway, have done reviews for every episode in another forum, but in Norwegian and it would take some time to translate and put everything up here as well. Should probably use the tv-forum, but there were quite a few double episodes or season openers, which you could rate as a "stand-alone" title on Letterboxd. So I just put it here instead: Season 1 - 1984-85
Little have changed in how I rate and rank the seasons from best to worst. Season 1 is for me, easily the best and most stable of the bunch. It has that classic 80s look, which feels more in touch with the old and new of Miami of that era, at least of what I have seen in movies from before Miami Vice were made, with its rich, warm and natural lively colors, vibrant and varied music. There are very few forgettable or weak episodes, not saying everyone is a classic, sure a few mediocre ones do arrive, but they do not come too often and after each other, like in the later seasons. The one thing I do love is how season 1 combines a certain "innocence" along with much darker and unpredictable themes and characters, which must have been groundbreaking back then, since here the bad guys do win, a lot. And even when the heroes do their job and saves the day, you never are guaranteed they will survive to enjoy it. Of course, later on, this became almost like a parody, where season 3 specially, went really dark and bleak for a long while, so much it is often nick named "The dark season", due to Dick Wolf entering, along with the loss of colorful pastel and yeah, including some very disturbing and depressive episodes. Anyway, season 1 comes with so many great and memorable characters, specially within the bad guys department, where my all time favorite is played by Dennis Farina as the agening former mobster boss Al Lombard, who suddenly is muscled out by a younger rival, and has to look to Crockett and Tubbs for protection. His way of combining charm with survival instinct makes him my favorite Vice mobster, and I am glad he appeared in a few more episodes, usually among the best ones. The pilot episode, Brother's Keeper is easily the best of the double-episodes, and really feels like a movie more than a tv-product. The plot, the characters, lightening, camera angles, sound effects, stunts, action and music, it is all damn great and delivered to almost perfection. Maybe among the very best pilot episodes, and so good it kind of overshadowed the season opener The Prodigal Son in season 2, which was not bad by any means, but just not up to the challenge in my opinion. Among the other very memorable guest appearances, William Russ as the burnt out undercover cop Evan in the haunting episode with the same name, might just be among my all time favorite Vice adventures. It has held up incredible well, showing that the series were not just "style over substance", as many have tried to dismiss it of being. Then the second episode of season 1, certainly holds nothing back with Heart of Darkness, where "Al Bundy" is deep undercover in a world of sleaze and violence, and kind of "shocking" seeing Ed O'Neil in such a serious and menacing role, compared to his later loveable sitcom goofball. Of course, as mentioned, a few episodes were not all that great, Glades I thought showed some promise, by taking a little break from the big city life in Miami, and heading out into the dangerous Everglades. Sadly, it all went way over the top, with trigger happy hillbillies and yeah, it was just not what I had in mind. Anyway, a truly terrific opener, and one that I never go tired of. 9/10Season 2 - 1985-86
Often described as the "classic season", the one which made people go crazy and it to become a culture phenomenom. However, for my part I have never really warmed up to the second one, even though there are some absolute classic stand alone episodes here as well, it is just that already from the season opener (The Prodigal Son), it feels like the producers decided to speed things up, more action, more focus on big names, and everything is suppsoed to be bigger than before. Which is understandable, since season 1 had not lived up to the hope of success, but most likely did much better when it got a re-run the next year. One of the things I disliked the most, is how it did so early in end up becoming very much "style over substance", with some absolute grusome choices of design, colors and clothes, it seems like too often the episodes are more made up to look like a 45 minute long music video, and yeah, I know about "MTV Cops", but damn, it was quite distracting to see how much money must have been put into all this crap. Then you have all the terrible guest performances by big names, often within the music business. Ted Nugent, Gene Simmons, Phil Collins, Miles Davis, I have no problem with their music, but their acting, damn that was painful to sit through, specially Nugent and Collins, the latter even ending up dominating the entire crapfest that was Phil the Shill. For all the negative things, it did thankfully feature one of the very finest episodes, which has everything I love about the show, the music, the style, the unpredictable and suspenseful writing and complex characters, Little Miss Dangerous is right up there as well, but few can hold up with Out Where the Busses Don't Run. Bruce McGill continues on with his Jack Dalton charming yet loony character from MacGyver, and enter the unforgettable former detective Hank Weldon. It is among the best tv-episodes I have ever seen, up there with Evan as well, I never go tired of re-watching it. Anyway, season 2 is no where near the stability of season 1, where as you get one poor or dull episode, next up is something completely different, where as season 2 sadly has way too many and far too often of the not so great ones, and yeah, maybe things would have been a bit different, if I had seen the show for the first time when it hit off big. 6/10Season 3 - 1986-87
The so called Dick Wolf era had arrived, and with it, some big and lasting changes. Some for the good, others would come back and haunt the show for way worse. This season went dark, and the pastel and colors of the former two, went out along with the iconic black Ferrarri Daytonam which got blown up in the season opener, starring Liam Neeson and Jeff Fahey. I never really liked the white Ferrari, it looked to flashy and well, thankfully the show was more than just the car. While no episodes managed to reach the same heights as the best of season 1 or 2, I think it was a far superior run of good to great ones coming in, even some of the lesser I thought were way more exciting than what season 2 had to offer. There had been an ongoing conflict between Don Johnson and the producers, some rumours has it that he wanted out, and Mark Hamron was in talks of taking over as Sonny Crockett. Anyway, Johnson ended up staying, probably with a much bigger paycheck than his co-worker, but also he seemed to be in favor for the rest of the run, even having a large creative part in becoming director over several episodes as well. Without Don, I guess the show knew it was all over, and decided to give in. One who had enough and wanted out, was John Diehl, who I recently saw discussing his time with the show and joking that the only way his character (Larry Zito), would get more screen time, was if he were written out, permanently. And that is what happened with the heart breaking and emotional double episode Down for the Count Part 1 and 2. Diehl admitted that leaving a big hit show, with steady pay, entering an unknown future, was a scary one. However, of all the cast of Miami Vice, I think Diehl is the one who has quite an impressive CV to his name. I mean the guy has been in a hell of a lot of movies and shows, of course, rarely in a big leading part, but he is a very talented character actor, and I have no problem understanding after almost 3 seasons, that he wanted to be sure if he was ever gonna get bigger parts in the show, or just stay behind, as the clown. Also, Down for the Count while lacking in action, it is very well written and comes with lots of memorable scenes and guest appearances, also having boxing as the main theme, which was something that Diehl loved, think he even did a few matches himself. So a great way of going out. Another thing, is how in this rare episode, the others which usually do not get the same kind of attention as Crockett, Tubbs and Castillo, the likes of Stan, Trudy and Gina, they get the opportunity to shine, and with it comes some really tender and sweet moments. Sadly, the show rarely took full advantage of the rest of the cast, beside some failed romantic relationships, gamling and yeah, then it was just more or less back to Crockett and Tubbs all over. After the midway double episodes mentioned above, some of the charm and magic were lost, and never really came back. It felt like the producers did not quite know where to go, and decided to just give Don Johnson way more time onscreen, and also usually the best episodes as well. Kind of felt bad for Philip Michael Thomas, who also soon were kind of left off behind his co-worker, and rarely were given the same quality stories to work from. Also, by season 3, certain things was quite noticable, in which you felt they re used themes and characters, but not as good as from season 1 and 2. All in all, the third one is surely my second favorite, and where season 2 had usually failed to impress with musicals guests, in all of a sudden comes Willie Nelson as an old vengeful Texas Ranger, and the guy kicks ass and feels like the real deal, not some slimy or annoying asshole, just a guy who has seen it all, and you do not mess with. 8/10Season 4 - 1987-88
This time, you could almost smell the stench of desperation, as the show had started to lose out on the ratings, and star power with it. Sure, it is not awful all over, since some episodes are classic Vice with gritty and dark moments of chaos and evil, others almost feels like they could have been taken out of season 1 or 2. Sadly, the many attempts on competing with other shows, turned it at times into a parody, more like a bloated soap opera, than a crime show. You have Crockett, a tough undercover cop all of a sudden married with a pop star, yeah, no drug lord ever reads the news paper or watch tv, then Crockett goes deep into his egomania trip, with having a coma, memory loss and ending up turning to a villain for a dramatic ending to this weak season. Other "highlights" arrived with James Brown high as hell, aliens, UFOs, frozen stiff reggae stars in cryo chambers, bull semen that has been stolen, to biker vikings from HELL! Well, that last one with Reb Brown and Sonny Landham, I just could not hate, it was cheesy as they come, but quite funny and enjoyable. One of the few times Sonny got into a fist fight and were almost destroyed. Another thing which arrives here, is the low budget look and sound, Jan Hammer has now began to work with another musician, and the clothes, design and much of what people think of classic Miami Vice, is no longer the same. The most obvious is the lack of great stories and characters. 4,5/10 Season 5 - 1988-89
And by this time, the show is just done, completely. The budget is nowhere, the originality and grit is nowhere to be seen, and this once groundbreaking show, has now fallen into becoming a tired and old man, trying to cash in on ripping off younger series to stay relevant. It was just a matter of time before it went out. Sadly, it meant another 21 episodes, where far too many bad and horrible would arrive. Some so painful and boring, that I could not sit through them without pressing fast forward like my life depended on it. Not one damn great classic episode in sight, a few okay and almost good, but the rest I will never again re-watch. The absolute lowest of the low arrived when Crockett and Tubbs meets up with a home made super hero known as Miracle Man. And Sonny gets a hold of his machine gun, which turns out to be made out of chocolate. So he takes a bite of the gun barrel and yeah, "hilarious". Freefall was the final episode, and I cannot understand why so many fans hail it as some classic, way to overlong, a lot of boring cliches and way too little Miami. Thankfully, the last 15 minutes at least were a reminder of what this show used to be all about, but by then I have been through so much crap, that it is hard to remember much positive things to say about season 5. 3,5/10Best episodes: 01. Evan - Season 102. Out Where the Buses Don't Run - Season 2 03. Milk Run - Season 1 04. Down for the Count Part 1 - Season 3 05. Lombard - Season 1 06. Forgive Us Our Debts - Season 3 07. Brother’s Keeper - Season 1 08. Heart of Darkness - Season 1 09. No Exit - Season 1 10. One Eyed Jack - Season 1 11. Calderone's Return: Part 1 - The Hit List - Season 1 12. Little Miss Dangerous - Season 2 13. Down for the Count Part 2 - Season 3 14. Golden Triangle Part 2 - Season 1 15. The Home Invaders - Season 1 Worst episodes: 01. Jack of All Trades - Season 502. Miracle Man - Season 5 03. The Cows of October - Season 4 04. Like a Hurricane - Season 4 05. Leap of Faith - Season 5 06. Bad Timing - Season 5 07. Hell Hath No Fury - Season 4 08. Everybody's in Show Biz - Season 3 09. Trust Fund Pirates - Season 2 10. Phil the Shill - Season 2
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mgmarshall
Junior Member
@mgmarshall
Posts: 2,052
Likes: 3,300
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Post by mgmarshall on Aug 25, 2023 23:25:28 GMT
One of the main reasons to why I have not been more active here lately, is due to re-watching Miami Vice, and something I am not sure I have done since summer of 2008, when I got hold of the DVD box-set. Tried another attempt back in summer of 2014, got through season 1 and 2, then waiting almost two years, before getting halfway through season 3. Anyway, have done reviews for every episode in another forum, but in Norwegian and it would take some time to translate and put everything up here as well. Should probably use the tv-forum, but there were quite a few double episodes or season openers, which you could rate as a "stand-alone" title on Letterboxd. So I just put it here instead: Season 1 - 1984-85
Little have changed in how I rate and rank the seasons from best to worst. Season 1 is for me, easily the best and most stable of the bunch. It has that classic 80s look, which feels more in touch with the old and new of Miami of that era, at least of what I have seen in movies from before Miami Vice were made, with its rich, warm and natural lively colors, vibrant and varied music. There are very few forgettable or weak episodes, not saying everyone is a classic, sure a few mediocre ones do arrive, but they do not come too often and after each other, like in the later seasons. The one thing I do love is how season 1 combines a certain "innocence" along with much darker and unpredictable themes and characters, which must have been groundbreaking back then, since here the bad guys do win, a lot. And even when the heroes do their job and saves the day, you never are guaranteed they will survive to enjoy it. Of course, later on, this became almost like a parody, where season 3 specially, went really dark and bleak for a long while, so much it is often nick named "The dark season", due to Dick Wolf entering, along with the loss of colorful pastel and yeah, including some very disturbing and depressive episodes. Anyway, season 1 comes with so many great and memorable characters, specially within the bad guys department, where my all time favorite is played by Dennis Farina as the agening former mobster boss Al Lombard, who suddenly is muscled out by a younger rival, and has to look to Crockett and Tubbs for protection. His way of combining charm with survival instinct makes him my favorite Vice mobster, and I am glad he appeared in a few more episodes, usually among the best ones. The pilot episode, Brother's Keeper is easily the best of the double-episodes, and really feels like a movie more than a tv-product. The plot, the characters, lightening, camera angles, sound effects, stunts, action and music, it is all damn great and delivered to almost perfection. Maybe among the very best pilot episodes, and so good it kind of overshadowed the season opener The Prodigal Son in season 2, which was not bad by any means, but just not up to the challenge in my opinion. Among the other very memorable guest appearances, William Russ as the burnt out undercover cop Evan in the haunting episode with the same name, might just be among my all time favorite Vice adventures. It has held up incredible well, showing that the series were not just "style over substance", as many have tried to dismiss it of being. Then the second episode of season 1, certainly holds nothing back with Heart of Darkness, where "Al Bundy" is deep undercover in a world of sleaze and violence, and kind of "shocking" seeing Ed O'Neil in such a serious and menacing role, compared to his later loveable sitcom goofball. Of course, as mentioned, a few episodes were not all that great, Glades I thought showed some promise, by taking a little break from the big city life in Miami, and heading out into the dangerous Everglades. Sadly, it all went way over the top, with trigger happy hillbillies and yeah, it was just not what I had in mind. Anyway, a truly terrific opener, and one that I never go tired of. 9/10Season 2 - 1985-86
Often described as the "classic season", the one which made people go crazy and it to become a culture phenomenom. However, for my part I have never really warmed up to the second one, even though there are some absolute classic stand alone episodes here as well, it is just that already from the season opener (The Prodigal Son), it feels like the producers decided to speed things up, more action, more focus on big names, and everything is suppsoed to be bigger than before. Which is understandable, since season 1 had not lived up to the hope of success, but most likely did much better when it got a re-run the next year. One of the things I disliked the most, is how it did so early in end up becoming very much "style over substance", with some absolute grusome choices of design, colors and clothes, it seems like too often the episodes are more made up to look like a 45 minute long music video, and yeah, I know about "MTV Cops", but damn, it was quite distracting to see how much money must have been put into all this crap. Then you have all the terrible guest performances by big names, often within the music business. Ted Nugent, Gene Simmons, Phil Collins, Miles Davis, I have no problem with their music, but their acting, damn that was painful to sit through, specially Nugent and Collins, the latter even ending up dominating the entire crapfest that was Phil the Shill. For all the negative things, it did thankfully feature one of the very finest episodes, which has everything I love about the show, the music, the style, the unpredictable and suspenseful writing and complex characters, Little Miss Dangerous is right up there as well, but few can hold up with Out Where the Busses Don't Run. Bruce McGill continues on with his Jack Dalton charming yet loony character from MacGyver, and enter the unforgettable former detective Hank Weldon. It is among the best tv-episodes I have ever seen, up there with Evan as well, I never go tired of re-watching it. Anyway, season 2 is no where near the stability of season 1, where as you get one poor or dull episode, next up is something completely different, where as season 2 sadly has way too many and far too often of the not so great ones, and yeah, maybe things would have been a bit different, if I had seen the show for the first time when it hit off big. 6/10Season 3 - 1986-87
The so called Dick Wolf era had arrived, and with it, some big and lasting changes. Some for the good, others would come back and haunt the show for way worse. This season went dark, and the pastel and colors of the former two, went out along with the iconic black Ferrarri Daytonam which got blown up in the season opener, starring Liam Neeson and Jeff Fahey. I never really liked the white Ferrari, it looked to flashy and well, thankfully the show was more than just the car. While no episodes managed to reach the same heights as the best of season 1 or 2, I think it was a far superior run of good to great ones coming in, even some of the lesser I thought were way more exciting than what season 2 had to offer. There had been an ongoing conflict between Don Johnson and the producers, some rumours has it that he wanted out, and Mark Hamron was in talks of taking over as Sonny Crockett. Anyway, Johnson ended up staying, probably with a much bigger paycheck than his co-worker, but also he seemed to be in favor for the rest of the run, even having a large creative part in becoming director over several episodes as well. Without Don, I guess the show knew it was all over, and decided to give in. One who had enough and wanted out, was John Diehl, who I recently saw discussing his time with the show and joking that the only way his character (Larry Zito), would get more screen time, was if he were written out, permanently. And that is what happened with the heart breaking and emotional double episode Down for the Count Part 1 and 2. Diehl admitted that leaving a big hit show, with steady pay, entering an unknown future, was a scary one. However, of all the cast of Miami Vice, I think Diehl is the one who has quite an impressive CV to his name. I mean the guy has been in a hell of a lot of movies and shows, of course, rarely in a big leading part, but he is a very talented character actor, and I have no problem understanding after almost 3 seasons, that he wanted to be sure if he was ever gonna get bigger parts in the show, or just stay behind, as the clown. Also, Down for the Count while lacking in action, it is very well written and comes with lots of memorable scenes and guest appearances, also having boxing as the main theme, which was something that Diehl loved, think he even did a few matches himself. So a great way of going out. Another thing, is how in this rare episode, the others which usually do not get the same kind of attention as Crockett, Tubbs and Castillo, the likes of Stan, Trudy and Gina, they get the opportunity to shine, and with it comes some really tender and sweet moments. Sadly, the show rarely took full advantage of the rest of the cast, beside some failed romantic relationships, gamling and yeah, then it was just more or less back to Crockett and Tubbs all over. After the midway double episodes mentioned above, some of the charm and magic were lost, and never really came back. It felt like the producers did not quite know where to go, and decided to just give Don Johnson way more time onscreen, and also usually the best episodes as well. Kind of felt bad for Philip Michael Thomas, who also soon were kind of left off behind his co-worker, and rarely were given the same quality stories to work from. Also, by season 3, certain things was quite noticable, in which you felt they re used themes and characters, but not as good as from season 1 and 2. All in all, the third one is surely my second favorite, and where season 2 had usually failed to impress with musicals guests, in all of a sudden comes Willie Nelson as an old vengeful Texas Ranger, and the guy kicks ass and feels like the real deal, not some slimy or annoying asshole, just a guy who has seen it all, and you do not mess with. 8/10Season 4 - 1987-88
This time, you could almost smell the stench of desperation, as the show had started to lose out on the ratings, and star power with it. Sure, it is not awful all over, since some episodes are classic Vice with gritty and dark moments of chaos and evil, others almost feels like they could have been taken out of season 1 or 2. Sadly, the many attempts on competing with other shows, turned it at times into a parody, more like a bloated soap opera, than a crime show. You have Crockett, a tough undercover cop all of a sudden married with a pop star, yeah, no drug lord ever reads the news paper or watch tv, then Crockett goes deep into his egomania trip, with having a coma, memory loss and ending up turning to a villain for a dramatic ending to this weak season. Other "highlights" arrived with James Brown high as hell, aliens, UFOs, frozen stiff reggae stars in cryo chambers, bull semen that has been stolen, to biker vikings from HELL! Well, that last one with Reb Brown and Sonny Landham, I just could not hate, it was cheesy as they come, but quite funny and enjoyable. One of the few times Sonny got into a fist fight and were almost destroyed. Another thing which arrives here, is the low budget look and sound, Jan Hammer has now began to work with another musician, and the clothes, design and much of what people think of classic Miami Vice, is no longer the same. The most obvious is the lack of great stories and characters. 4,5/10 Season 5 - 1988-89
And by this time, the show is just done, completely. The budget is nowhere, the originality and grit is nowhere to be seen, and this once groundbreaking show, has now fallen into becoming a tired and old man, trying to cash in on ripping off younger series to stay relevant. It was just a matter of time before it went out. Sadly, it meant another 21 episodes, where far too many bad and horrible would arrive. Some so painful and boring, that I could not sit through them without pressing fast forward like my life depended on it. Not one damn great classic episode in sight, a few okay and almost good, but the rest I will never again re-watch. The absolute lowest of the low arrived when Crockett and Tubbs meets up with a home made super hero known as Miracle Man. And Sonny gets a hold of his machine gun, which turns out to be made out of chocolate. So he takes a bite of the gun barrel and yeah, "hilarious". Freefall was the final episode, and I cannot understand why so many fans hail it as some classic, way to overlong, a lot of boring cliches and way too little Miami. Thankfully, the last 15 minutes at least were a reminder of what this show used to be all about, but by then I have been through so much crap, that it is hard to remember much positive things to say about season 5. 3,5/10Best episodes: 01. Evan - Season 102. Out Where the Buses Don't Run - Season 2 03. Milk Run - Season 1 04. Down for the Count Part 1 - Season 3 05. Lombard - Season 1 06. Forgive Us Our Debts - Season 3 07. Brother’s Keeper - Season 1 08. Heart of Darkness - Season 1 09. No Exit - Season 1 10. One Eyed Jack - Season 1 11. Calderone's Return: Part 1 - The Hit List - Season 1 12. Little Miss Dangerous - Season 2 13. Down for the Count Part 2 - Season 3 14. Golden Triangle Part 2 - Season 1 15. The Home Invaders - Season 1 Worst episodes: 01. Jack of All Trades - Season 502. Miracle Man - Season 5 03. The Cows of October - Season 4 04. Like a Hurricane - Season 4 05. Leap of Faith - Season 5 06. Bad Timing - Season 5 07. Hell Hath No Fury - Season 4 08. Everybody's in Show Biz - Season 3 09. Trust Fund Pirates - Season 2 10. Phil the Shill - Season 2 I always really dug the darker vibe season 3 went for. Every ending, almost to an episode, seemed like a downer. I especially like "The Good Collar" and "Shadow in the Dark," which feels like the show's own miniature version of Manhunter. Totally agreed with you on seasons 4 and 5; it's such a steep drop in quality, particularly with 3 being my favorite season. Although, I've gotta say, I did find myself enjoying the overall soap opera-ish vibe of the amnesia/Sonny Burnett arc. Plus, Jon Polito's scenery-devouring turn as El Gato was a hell of a lot of fun.
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Post by stefancrosscoe on Aug 26, 2023 10:59:51 GMT
I always really dug the darker vibe season 3 went for. Every ending, almost to an episode, seemed like a downer. I especially like "The Good Collar" and "Shadow in the Dark," which feels like the show's own miniature version of Manhunter. Totally agreed with you on seasons 4 and 5; it's such a steep drop in quality, particularly with 3 being my favorite season. Although, I've gotta say, I did find myself enjoying the overall soap opera-ish vibe of the amnesia/Sonny Burnett arc. Plus, Jon Polito's scenery-devouring turn as El Gato was a hell of a lot of fun. There was a bit of the Manhunter/Michael Mann style and tone also in season 1, and the chilling episode The Home Invaders, which I believe was directed by Abel Ferrara. However, it screamed Michael Mann, and would be an ideal back to back with Shadow in the Dark, even though the latter arrived in season 3. Love the scene where Castillo, Crockett and some co-workers from another department, is finally about to work their way towards who is behind all the brutal home invasion attacks: If there is one thing I wished Miami Vice would deliver a bit more of, is that it built more upon a couple of big bad guys, instead of having several random baddies, spread all over the place each season. Early on, Calderone was hyped up to be some kind of a drug kingpin, and sadly one which got written out too fast, but his name and family would eventually haunt the main characters far into season 3, where it all sadly faded into some ridiculous western shoot out. Lombard is probably the other which during later season 1 lived up to the big bad wolf, even if he was on his way down on within the chain of command. Then you have Fuentes played by Frank Zappa, who only appeared for a few minutes, but would be talked about many times over in the series. Frank Mosca arrived in the 4th or 5th (even now I have almost forgot about him) as the new big rival, and ended up just as another cheesy Robert De Niro "pointing his finger in peoples faces) "YOU TAAAALKING TOOO ME?" and not one bit scary or menacing. Joe Dallesandro is another that would re-appear (as many others) in two different roles, and loved his Las Vegas gangster style in Down for the Count Part 2. Such a shame he did not continue on, at least 1 or 2 episodes more. Anyway, the amnesia triligy, I think part 2, the opener for season 4 was the one I liked the best. Sadly, part 3 felt a bit too rushed, just to finish it off and go back to the normal world.
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Post by stefancrosscoe on Aug 26, 2023 11:22:58 GMT
The Specialist (1994) by Luis Llosa "Who gave you permission to smile? Shut up!" A vengeful woman (Stone) seeks help from a mysterious stranger (Stallone), in order to deal with some bad memories (Rod Steiger) from the past. Have re-watched a few 90s action films this summer. Some sure lived up others did not. The Specialist is one of those I have seen 2-3 times before, always ending up changing from each visit, either its a 4/10, 5/10 or 6/10, like last time. However, no matter the budget, talents and such involved, this was more like a misfire of combining spy movie, erotic thriller and action, where the main leads Stallone and Sharon Stone, has absolute no chemistry what so ever, which make the painful build up, with Stallone stalking Stone and their ridiciulous phone conversations even more cheesy. Then the big sex scene arrive, and it is just so over blown and comical. Has to be among the most un sexy erotic film scenes of the 90s. Which is "impressive", since Sharon Stone at that time, oozed sex and seduction, but everything just felt cold and wrong about this relationship. At least one who rarely fail to deliver, is James Woods. Who comes off as crazy as ever, and steal every scene, not that it was too tough, since Sly seems just sleepy and like he is in some kind of coma, not even the laughable fight inside a crowded bus seemed to liven things up. Then you have Eric Roberts doing his sleazy asshole playboy part, and Rod Steiger parodying Tony Montana, with some hilarious lines and facial expressions. Anyway, it was not all bad, just more boring than I had in mind. Maybe not in the mood could also play a part, but after re-watching Miami Vice, I was almost more intersted in seeing if the film reused some of the same locations, and I believe it did, also including some iconic houses from Scarface as well. As an action film, this is a real letdown, but as a late night thriller with some random explosion here and there, it is okay. 5/10
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Post by lostinlimbo on Aug 26, 2023 22:06:32 GMT
The sequels weren’t very good. The original at least was ridiculous… these follow ups were bland Phillipines’ cheapies. Williamson is only the real positive. Actually fell asleep halfway through the first sequel. So I didn’t watch the following sequel until the following night. 3 was a tad better than 2. But that’s not saying much. Don’t think I’ll bother with 4. Though I had to switch to someone else’s upload of Black Cobra 2 on YouTube (which looked even worse) to finish it off that night due to YouTube stuffing up whenever it reached the hour mark on the original uploaded video I started with. That sounds a bit too familiar, as yeah, I am pretty sure I also had a hard time to keep up, and not fall asleep during a way too late night viewing. However, I guess from the images of my DVDs, I did keep a hold of them, so hopefully one of the three might do some good with another visit. Not so sure if all three is worth keeping hold of for much longer. And I guess part 4 might be uploaded for free on Youtube, and if not, I guess one has not missed out on some great "classic". I read Part 4 aka Detective Malone is made up of outtakes/re-used scenes from the previous films. So sounds like a hodgepodge. One thing that caught my eye; Umberto Lenzi is the director. While I did fall asleep during Black Cobra 2, & I wouldn’t blame anyone. I’ve been doing it quite a bit over the last few months… even during good films. So movie watching has been quite erratic. Sometimes to tired to fully concentrate. The last couple months I’ve been watching tv shows Columbo & Batman the animated series. Hopefully October will get me back into the swing of things, especially entering Spring. I might pop up the October discussion thread early… during the first week of September. To get an idea of the interest… because I think the involvement might be a little lower this time around.
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Post by lostinlimbo on Aug 26, 2023 22:22:36 GMT
One of the main reasons to why I have not been more active here lately, is due to re-watching Miami Vice, and something I am not sure I have done since summer of 2008, when I got hold of the DVD box-set. Tried another attempt back in summer of 2014, got through season 1 and 2, then waiting almost two years, before getting halfway through season 3. Anyway, have done reviews for every episode in another forum, but in Norwegian and it would take some time to translate and put everything up here as well. Should probably use the tv-forum, but there were quite a few double episodes or season openers, which you could rate as a "stand-alone" title on Letterboxd. So I just put it here instead: Season 1 - 1984-85
Little have changed in how I rate and rank the seasons from best to worst. Season 1 is for me, easily the best and most stable of the bunch. It has that classic 80s look, which feels more in touch with the old and new of Miami of that era, at least of what I have seen in movies from before Miami Vice were made, with its rich, warm and natural lively colors, vibrant and varied music. There are very few forgettable or weak episodes, not saying everyone is a classic, sure a few mediocre ones do arrive, but they do not come too often and after each other, like in the later seasons. The one thing I do love is how season 1 combines a certain "innocence" along with much darker and unpredictable themes and characters, which must have been groundbreaking back then, since here the bad guys do win, a lot. And even when the heroes do their job and saves the day, you never are guaranteed they will survive to enjoy it. Of course, later on, this became almost like a parody, where season 3 specially, went really dark and bleak for a long while, so much it is often nick named "The dark season", due to Dick Wolf entering, along with the loss of colorful pastel and yeah, including some very disturbing and depressive episodes. Anyway, season 1 comes with so many great and memorable characters, specially within the bad guys department, where my all time favorite is played by Dennis Farina as the agening former mobster boss Al Lombard, who suddenly is muscled out by a younger rival, and has to look to Crockett and Tubbs for protection. His way of combining charm with survival instinct makes him my favorite Vice mobster, and I am glad he appeared in a few more episodes, usually among the best ones. The pilot episode, Brother's Keeper is easily the best of the double-episodes, and really feels like a movie more than a tv-product. The plot, the characters, lightening, camera angles, sound effects, stunts, action and music, it is all damn great and delivered to almost perfection. Maybe among the very best pilot episodes, and so good it kind of overshadowed the season opener The Prodigal Son in season 2, which was not bad by any means, but just not up to the challenge in my opinion. Among the other very memorable guest appearances, William Russ as the burnt out undercover cop Evan in the haunting episode with the same name, might just be among my all time favorite Vice adventures. It has held up incredible well, showing that the series were not just "style over substance", as many have tried to dismiss it of being. Then the second episode of season 1, certainly holds nothing back with Heart of Darkness, where "Al Bundy" is deep undercover in a world of sleaze and violence, and kind of "shocking" seeing Ed O'Neil in such a serious and menacing role, compared to his later loveable sitcom goofball. Of course, as mentioned, a few episodes were not all that great, Glades I thought showed some promise, by taking a little break from the big city life in Miami, and heading out into the dangerous Everglades. Sadly, it all went way over the top, with trigger happy hillbillies and yeah, it was just not what I had in mind. Anyway, a truly terrific opener, and one that I never go tired of. 9/10Season 2 - 1985-86
Often described as the "classic season", the one which made people go crazy and it to become a culture phenomenom. However, for my part I have never really warmed up to the second one, even though there are some absolute classic stand alone episodes here as well, it is just that already from the season opener (The Prodigal Son), it feels like the producers decided to speed things up, more action, more focus on big names, and everything is suppsoed to be bigger than before. Which is understandable, since season 1 had not lived up to the hope of success, but most likely did much better when it got a re-run the next year. One of the things I disliked the most, is how it did so early in end up becoming very much "style over substance", with some absolute grusome choices of design, colors and clothes, it seems like too often the episodes are more made up to look like a 45 minute long music video, and yeah, I know about "MTV Cops", but damn, it was quite distracting to see how much money must have been put into all this crap. Then you have all the terrible guest performances by big names, often within the music business. Ted Nugent, Gene Simmons, Phil Collins, Miles Davis, I have no problem with their music, but their acting, damn that was painful to sit through, specially Nugent and Collins, the latter even ending up dominating the entire crapfest that was Phil the Shill. For all the negative things, it did thankfully feature one of the very finest episodes, which has everything I love about the show, the music, the style, the unpredictable and suspenseful writing and complex characters, Little Miss Dangerous is right up there as well, but few can hold up with Out Where the Busses Don't Run. Bruce McGill continues on with his Jack Dalton charming yet loony character from MacGyver, and enter the unforgettable former detective Hank Weldon. It is among the best tv-episodes I have ever seen, up there with Evan as well, I never go tired of re-watching it. Anyway, season 2 is no where near the stability of season 1, where as you get one poor or dull episode, next up is something completely different, where as season 2 sadly has way too many and far too often of the not so great ones, and yeah, maybe things would have been a bit different, if I had seen the show for the first time when it hit off big. 6/10Season 3 - 1986-87
The so called Dick Wolf era had arrived, and with it, some big and lasting changes. Some for the good, others would come back and haunt the show for way worse. This season went dark, and the pastel and colors of the former two, went out along with the iconic black Ferrarri Daytonam which got blown up in the season opener, starring Liam Neeson and Jeff Fahey. I never really liked the white Ferrari, it looked to flashy and well, thankfully the show was more than just the car. While no episodes managed to reach the same heights as the best of season 1 or 2, I think it was a far superior run of good to great ones coming in, even some of the lesser I thought were way more exciting than what season 2 had to offer. There had been an ongoing conflict between Don Johnson and the producers, some rumours has it that he wanted out, and Mark Hamron was in talks of taking over as Sonny Crockett. Anyway, Johnson ended up staying, probably with a much bigger paycheck than his co-worker, but also he seemed to be in favor for the rest of the run, even having a large creative part in becoming director over several episodes as well. Without Don, I guess the show knew it was all over, and decided to give in. One who had enough and wanted out, was John Diehl, who I recently saw discussing his time with the show and joking that the only way his character (Larry Zito), would get more screen time, was if he were written out, permanently. And that is what happened with the heart breaking and emotional double episode Down for the Count Part 1 and 2. Diehl admitted that leaving a big hit show, with steady pay, entering an unknown future, was a scary one. However, of all the cast of Miami Vice, I think Diehl is the one who has quite an impressive CV to his name. I mean the guy has been in a hell of a lot of movies and shows, of course, rarely in a big leading part, but he is a very talented character actor, and I have no problem understanding after almost 3 seasons, that he wanted to be sure if he was ever gonna get bigger parts in the show, or just stay behind, as the clown. Also, Down for the Count while lacking in action, it is very well written and comes with lots of memorable scenes and guest appearances, also having boxing as the main theme, which was something that Diehl loved, think he even did a few matches himself. So a great way of going out. Another thing, is how in this rare episode, the others which usually do not get the same kind of attention as Crockett, Tubbs and Castillo, the likes of Stan, Trudy and Gina, they get the opportunity to shine, and with it comes some really tender and sweet moments. Sadly, the show rarely took full advantage of the rest of the cast, beside some failed romantic relationships, gamling and yeah, then it was just more or less back to Crockett and Tubbs all over. After the midway double episodes mentioned above, some of the charm and magic were lost, and never really came back. It felt like the producers did not quite know where to go, and decided to just give Don Johnson way more time onscreen, and also usually the best episodes as well. Kind of felt bad for Philip Michael Thomas, who also soon were kind of left off behind his co-worker, and rarely were given the same quality stories to work from. Also, by season 3, certain things was quite noticable, in which you felt they re used themes and characters, but not as good as from season 1 and 2. All in all, the third one is surely my second favorite, and where season 2 had usually failed to impress with musicals guests, in all of a sudden comes Willie Nelson as an old vengeful Texas Ranger, and the guy kicks ass and feels like the real deal, not some slimy or annoying asshole, just a guy who has seen it all, and you do not mess with. 8/10Season 4 - 1987-88
This time, you could almost smell the stench of desperation, as the show had started to lose out on the ratings, and star power with it. Sure, it is not awful all over, since some episodes are classic Vice with gritty and dark moments of chaos and evil, others almost feels like they could have been taken out of season 1 or 2. Sadly, the many attempts on competing with other shows, turned it at times into a parody, more like a bloated soap opera, than a crime show. You have Crockett, a tough undercover cop all of a sudden married with a pop star, yeah, no drug lord ever reads the news paper or watch tv, then Crockett goes deep into his egomania trip, with having a coma, memory loss and ending up turning to a villain for a dramatic ending to this weak season. Other "highlights" arrived with James Brown high as hell, aliens, UFOs, frozen stiff reggae stars in cryo chambers, bull semen that has been stolen, to biker vikings from HELL! Well, that last one with Reb Brown and Sonny Landham, I just could not hate, it was cheesy as they come, but quite funny and enjoyable. One of the few times Sonny got into a fist fight and were almost destroyed. Another thing which arrives here, is the low budget look and sound, Jan Hammer has now began to work with another musician, and the clothes, design and much of what people think of classic Miami Vice, is no longer the same. The most obvious is the lack of great stories and characters. 4,5/10 Season 5 - 1988-89
And by this time, the show is just done, completely. The budget is nowhere, the originality and grit is nowhere to be seen, and this once groundbreaking show, has now fallen into becoming a tired and old man, trying to cash in on ripping off younger series to stay relevant. It was just a matter of time before it went out. Sadly, it meant another 21 episodes, where far too many bad and horrible would arrive. Some so painful and boring, that I could not sit through them without pressing fast forward like my life depended on it. Not one damn great classic episode in sight, a few okay and almost good, but the rest I will never again re-watch. The absolute lowest of the low arrived when Crockett and Tubbs meets up with a home made super hero known as Miracle Man. And Sonny gets a hold of his machine gun, which turns out to be made out of chocolate. So he takes a bite of the gun barrel and yeah, "hilarious". Freefall was the final episode, and I cannot understand why so many fans hail it as some classic, way to overlong, a lot of boring cliches and way too little Miami. Thankfully, the last 15 minutes at least were a reminder of what this show used to be all about, but by then I have been through so much crap, that it is hard to remember much positive things to say about season 5. 3,5/10Best episodes: 01. Evan - Season 102. Out Where the Buses Don't Run - Season 2 03. Milk Run - Season 1 04. Down for the Count Part 1 - Season 3 05. Lombard - Season 1 06. Forgive Us Our Debts - Season 3 07. Brother’s Keeper - Season 1 08. Heart of Darkness - Season 1 09. No Exit - Season 1 10. One Eyed Jack - Season 1 11. Calderone's Return: Part 1 - The Hit List - Season 1 12. Little Miss Dangerous - Season 2 13. Down for the Count Part 2 - Season 3 14. Golden Triangle Part 2 - Season 1 15. The Home Invaders - Season 1 Worst episodes: 01. Jack of All Trades - Season 502. Miracle Man - Season 5 03. The Cows of October - Season 4 04. Like a Hurricane - Season 4 05. Leap of Faith - Season 5 06. Bad Timing - Season 5 07. Hell Hath No Fury - Season 4 08. Everybody's in Show Biz - Season 3 09. Trust Fund Pirates - Season 2 10. Phil the Shill - Season 2 I’ve never ventured beyond Season 1. Not that I like disliked it, but probably because I only ever owned the first season. Actually thought it was excellent… for most part. The guest stars always seemed to impress. When would you say it finally jumped the shark? Doesn’t one of the last seasons’ episode involve aliens/ufo? I guess, I’m more of Magnum PI kinda guy 😁
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Post by stefancrosscoe on Aug 27, 2023 9:09:04 GMT
I read Part 4 aka Detective Malone is made up of outtakes/re-used scenes from the previous films. So sounds like a hodgepodge. One thing that caught my eye; Umberto Lenzi is the director. While I did fall asleep during Black Cobra 2, & I wouldn’t blame anyone. I’ve been doing it quite a bit over the last few months… even during good films. So movie watching has been quite erratic. Sometimes to tired to fully concentrate. The last couple months I’ve been watching tv shows Columbo & Batman the animated series. Hopefully October will get me back into the swing of things, especially entering Spring. I might pop up the October discussion thread early… during the first week of September. To get an idea of the interest… because I think the involvement might be a little lower this time around. Part 4 and re-used scenes with outtakes, sounds almost like Sleepaway Camp 4 along with some few new scenes, or so I have heard. Would love another visit with Batman the Animated Series, even been tempted to pick up the Batman Beyond box-set, but I think having September closing in, trying to have a little break from over-seeing too much, too often, might be a good idea. Not end up being burnt out, before October sets in. Hopefully horror fans (both new and old ones) might pick up the scent of interest, when October is closing in. Even though as you said, it might be a bit tricky this time around, due to the events happening earlier this year, now two different forums instead of one.
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Post by stefancrosscoe on Aug 27, 2023 9:31:47 GMT
I’ve never ventured beyond Season 1. Not that I like disliked it, but probably because I only ever owned the first season. Actually thought it was excellent… for most part. The guest stars always seemed to impress. Yeah, season 1 is very solid with picking up great guest stars, and where the big names today, was maybe not even remotely known at the time, but yeah, many would go on and break through later on. It is quite incredible to look back on the massive line up of guests showing up during the shows run, even when it had faded in quality and the ratings dropped, the show were still able to include some famous faces and names that would be of interest. However, one my favorite guests, one who probably is not among the big stand out names, but there is something about his chilling yet smug or arrogant behaviour, that made my veins turn to ice. Jim Zubiena I think were a guy that Michael Mann turned to with films like Thief (1981) and Manhunter (1986), due to his skills and knowledge as an weapon expert. His portrayal as the Argentinian in Calderone's Return: Part 1 - The Hit List is surely among the most evil baddies in the entire Miami Vice history. You can also see his influence on much later of Michael Manns work, like with the shoot out in Heat (1995) and later Collateral (2004), and it all seems to trace back to this guy. When would you say it finally jumped the shark? Doesn’t one of the last seasons’ episode involve aliens/ufo? I guess, I’m more of Magnum PI kinda guy 😁 Oh yeah, the infamous UFO/Aliens scene that was Missing Hours. It arrived in season 4, and incredible enough, you could sense what was coming with episode 4 and The Big Thaw, where a seemingly cold as ice former Reggae star, has been frozen into a cryo chamber, and all of a sudden pops up in Miami, with a "greiving" ex-wife, mad scientist and lots of other weird shit happening. I mean, it is almost like a mystery they never made a Miami X-Files or Miami Scooby-Doo spin-off, with some of the ridiculous bad yet wild adventures. But yeah, little beats out the notorius James Brown arrival with Missing Hours. So over the top that I could not help but laugh, and often brought up as the very "worst" of the entire show, I think it is at least memorable in a fun or amusing way, where as others, way worse, were plain boring and overlong. Anyway, I think the show lost a lot of its "mojo", the moment they got rid of John Diehl midway through season 3. It had a damn fine run up to that point, and after the classic double episode Down for the Count Part 1 and 2, something just fell off, big time. Too many rushed and just terrible stories arrived, even though the season did manage to include a few good ones, none were of the same quality as earlier that year. However, many has joked that the moment the series decided to blow up the black Ferrarri Daytona, that was when things got bad, which I think is not quite true. Probably because so many tend to remember the season 1 and 2 with the mentioned iconic Daytona, where as the white and more flashy Testarossa kind of became a symbol of the later and sadly very uneven to bad seasons 4 and 5.
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Post by stefancrosscoe on Aug 27, 2023 10:48:12 GMT
Just to finish off the Miami Vice stuff, damn, Jan Hammer, the guy was a relentless machine during the first seasons. So many classic tunes and melodies, even later on, he would have all these rich and moody cues that I would have loved seeing getting an extended and remastered treatment. If you close your eyes, I guess one can almost hear when the show began to go for the worse, as his once heavy influence seemed more and more "watered down", and by season 4 there was another musician involved, I believe John Peterson and by season 5 Tim Truman had taken over completely. Not saying everything went to the crapper, as Truman had a certain 90s sound with more heavy guitars and breezing synths, but the lack of memorable melodies were sadly a bit too dominant in the final run. Anyway, what I loved about Hammer, is that he treated his work very seriously, probably realized that having the chance to make up to 40-45 minutes of music every week, was a great way to experiment and expand his work, as well as building up to these legendary themes like Crockett's theme, which arrived for the first time in Part 1 of Calderone's Return in season 1. Then it was through a more laid back and calm version, where as later on, it was built up to the classic everyone knows so well. Kind of like a band on the road, touring and playing in front of an audience, he instead had a television audience each week, and could work on what was good and what he felt hit the right spot, and then just leave out the stuff that did not go so well. So many of these great ones would slowly be built upon, from each episode and I think the series would not have been the same without Jan Hammer, as he so often dominated with a varied use of colorful, playful, sweet, warm, upbeat, romantic and melodic tunes, to those more dark, menacing, sad and haunting stuff. A few of my favorites, mostly all is taken from season 1, and where not all were in the final versions but more like an unfinished one, some I felt were superior to the final cuts:
I would have "killed" to get my hands on a complete CD collection, including also his great cues which I think has started to re-appear on Youtube for the last couple of years.
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Post by Captain Spencer on Aug 28, 2023 2:56:23 GMT
Framed (1975)A professional gambler attempts to seek revenge against the crooked cops and politicians that had him railroaded to prision for four years. So after the huge success of the low budget, independently made Walking Tall it seemed that Paramount Pictures wanted to be in the Joe Don Baker/Phil Karlson business, so they gave the greenlight to Framed. Even though it wasn't as good as Walking Tall and didn't make the same kind of impact, Framed is still an enjoyable southern-fried tale of revenge, with a touch of noir. There are some really brutal scenes such as the fight between Baker and the sheriff, and a mobster's ear being shot to mush. The train/car crash sequence was quite the spectacular stunt and looked like it was very dangerous to do; if that was done today it likely would have ended up being a lame CGI effect. The supporting cast (which includes John Marley and Brock Peters) is good and the exchange between Baker and big/bald H.B. Haggerty was very amusing, as was the scene when Haggerty tries to pick a fight with Baker and deeply regrets it. 7.5/10
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Post by FridayOnElmStreet on Aug 28, 2023 6:26:59 GMT
3/10
A airliner is the only hope for stopping a terrorist plane crashing into a nuclear power plant. Mildly amusing in parts but wildly unrealistic and pretty dumb. I get a kick how one of the civilians is determined to sacrifice himself.
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Post by FridayOnElmStreet on Aug 28, 2023 6:30:23 GMT
5/10WWE produced films has Katharine Isabelle and Dolph Ziggler trying to track down a abducted child with a bomb strapped to him. Kane also stars. Pretty basic action thriller. Watchable but thats about it.
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Post by brandomarlon2003 on Aug 28, 2023 16:48:36 GMT
Retribution (2023)
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Post by lostinlimbo on Aug 30, 2023 9:36:14 GMT
Steven Seagal is a hard man to kill. Especially when he's out to stop corruption. Watch out thugs and government officials (oh we know how corrupt they are). As Seagal (Mason Storm) hands out plenty of arm snaps, but before getting warmed up (although he does encounter some thugs in a shop outlet before his fatal late night encounter). He’s gunned down in his home along with his wife and son being murdered. After being comatose for seven years, under the name John Joe for his protection, he awakens and now he's out to settle a score. All the best moments come when Seagal is laying flat in bed doing nothing and everything after that is a bonus. Where can you get a comatose Seagal with long stringy hair, a fuzzy beard, and Kelly Le brock asking if he wants a little pussy and then putting a little kitten by his head. There are also a few priceless dialogues and Seagal's usual philosophical banter. However before exacting revenge. He's targeted again when the bad guys realise they didn’t finish the job properly, but he escapes from the hospital (while still lying in his bed in a weaken state). Was this an omen for things to come. You know, doing very little when possible. So in hiding, he recovers with Le Brock in a secluded house that she's house-sitting. Now we go through the motions. Seagal's motions. Healing physically and mentally the Buddha way. Being stoically humorous, running up hills, breaking wooden planks and thinking of the past. The pacing/story sorta slows down during the mid-section, but then he gets a little bored (puts on his action attire … black leather jacket, tight jeans and sporting the slick ponytail); but he doesn't have to go to them as they come to him. His almighty senses come to light (you know that sixth sense) and taut action erupts. Simple-minded revenge - brutal, scorching and explosive. Poor Branscombe Richmond, always seems to find himself at the end of some beatdowns/or deaths throughout his career. Don't think about it (ridiculously plotted), just enjoy it. It's a tough, unpleasant barrage of set-pieces (especially for those who killed his wife) and we know how Seagal enjoys playing fair. The bad guys are your typical smarmy lot and cop a beating, a painful beating. Led by the always great William Sadler as a slimy senator. ”I’m gonna take you to the bank, Senator Trent. The blood bank“.
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Post by lostinlimbo on Aug 30, 2023 11:07:36 GMT
Out for justice’ ah, more like out for hot-blooded revenge. Re-watching it this time around, it felt more like a vanity project than I remembered… especially when comparing it to ‘Hard to Kill’, which I had watch before it. Seagal definitely looks more comfortable here. Pulpy, bloody, gritty, relentless and whispering Steven Seagal (effortlessly going to work). Nice, but making it work is that action maestro John Flynn is at the helm where he makes great use of the authentic Brooklyn backdrop, and implements some cracking in-your-face set-pieces of Seagal harassing, causing a mess (that's property damage) and then busting body parts with ease. Oh it's a great sound! He even manages a few amusing wisecracks, although I could have heard less of his character's moving childhood stories with some sort of philosophical message. You know the sincere reflective side of the man. And obviously Segeal’s writing influence. Even taking time out to look after a dumped puppy dog. I guess to counter balance the destructive home turf rampage after an elusive criminal (that he knew through childhood) who brutally killed his partner / friend in cold-blood. And Seagal is easily overshadowed by William Forsythe's dominating, hot-headed and vicious drug fuelled gangster. Definitely one of the most insane villains put on screen and Forsythe milks out every opportunity to display it. When these two characters finally come to blows, it doesn't disappoint. Director John Flynn keeps it lean, mean and quite explosive in a familiar but well done manner, as he knows when to up the ante and to let it settle. Never does he miss a beat (which also includes the soundtrack). The rest of the cast is reasonably good, Jerry Orbach and Gina Gershon show up small parts.
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Post by lostinlimbo on Aug 30, 2023 11:24:20 GMT
Framed (1975)A professional gambler attempts to seek revenge against the crooked cops and politicians that had him railroaded to prision for four years. So after the huge success of the low budget, independently made Walking Tall it seemed that Paramount Pictures wanted to be in the Joe Don Baker/Phil Karlson business, so they gave the greenlight to Framed. Even though it wasn't as good as Walking Tall and didn't make the same kind of impact, Framed is still an enjoyable southern-fried tale of revenge, with a touch of noir. There are some really brutal scenes such as the fight between Baker and the sheriff, and a mobster's ear being shot to mush. The train/car crash sequence was quite the spectacular stunt and looked like it was very dangerous to do; if that was done today it likely would have ended up being a lame CGI effect. The supporting cast (which includes John Marley and Brock Peters) is good and the exchange between Baker and big/bald H.B. Haggerty was very amusing, as was the scene when Haggerty tries to pick a fight with Baker and deeply regrets it. 7.5/10 Interestingly on the IMDb trivia it had Joe Don Baker and director Phil Karlson decided to make this film instead of Walking Tall Part 2. This film was a flop, but the Walking Tall sequel was box office success.
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