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Post by stefancrosscoe on Mar 30, 2021 17:07:17 GMT
By the way I just want to mention that it's a damn shame Runaway Train was largely ignored when first released. It should have been a big hit. Yeah, I guess the Cannon name, sadly did not help out, as most critics seemed to dismiss their releases as the usual pure b-movie/exploitation trash. But once in a while, they did deliver some absolute great ones, and I guess those titles ended up suffering, because of the bad reputation of the movie company. I believe something similar were said, during the documentary, Electric Boogaloo: The Wild and Untold Stories of Cannon Pictures. That if the film had been produced/made by another company, the film would maybe have been hailed as an 80s classic, instead of a cult film, much later on.
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Post by Archelaus on Mar 30, 2021 17:13:00 GMT
The Hitcher (1986) 
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Post by stefancrosscoe on Mar 31, 2021 8:57:16 GMT
That is an awesome looking poster, but I got a bit of a "shock", looking at the bottom, and noticing that huge letter A, and immediately thought of Arrow Films, and searched for Arrow and The Hitcher, to find some neat looking movie posters/artwork design, but sadly, still no official Blu-ray release, yet. However, a recent german media-book Blu-ray, has been put out, but I guess for now, my old 2003 DVD, will still do well. But surely, along with True Lies (1994), one of those films, that desperately needs an upgrade.
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Post by moviebuffbrad on Mar 31, 2021 9:25:04 GMT
Godzilla vs Kong
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Post by FridayOnElmStreet on Apr 3, 2021 8:58:43 GMT
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Post by Dramatic Look Gopher on Apr 8, 2021 3:11:03 GMT
 Code Of Silence (1985) A tough, individualistic cop is caught between the gangland war of two rival Hispanic crime families. Meanwhile, his new partner is struggling to cope after witnessing another cop's reckless shooting of an innocent teenager, and trying to decide whether or not to break the "code of silence" among the police by ratting him out. Standard action fare, but still irresistible. Good writing that has some doses of humor and tough talk, plus great use of Chicago locations, and an awesome barroom brawl are some highlights. Chuck Norris was never as good an actor as other action stars, due to his lack of acting style. But with Code Of Silence he gives the Eddie Cusack role a solid no-nonsense loner type of persona. Definitely one of Chuck's best performances, if not his best. One of my favorite scenes is when Henry Silva comes up to Norris and gleefully tells him he would love to give him a Colombian Necktie (cutting a throat and pulling the tongue out through the slit), then Norris looks straight at him and utters "Why don't you give it to me right now!" That sure wiped the smile off of Silva's face, lol! Code Of Silence was originally conceived as a Dirty Harry sequel. But then Clint Eastwood passed on the script, so it was eventually rewritten as a Chuck Norris vehicle. |
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Post by stefancrosscoe on Apr 8, 2021 8:42:31 GMT
Code Of Silence (1985) A tough, individualistic cop is caught between the gangland war of two rival Hispanic crime families. Meanwhile, his new partner is struggling to cope after witnessing another cop's reckless shooting of an innocent teenager, and trying to decide whether or not to break the "code of silence" among the police by ratting him out. Standard action fare, but still irresistible. Good writing that has some doses of humor and tough talk, plus great use of Chicago locations, and an awesome barroom brawl are some highlights. Chuck Norris was never as good an actor as other action stars, due to his lack of acting style. But with Code Of Silence he gives the Eddie Cusack role a solid no-nonsense loner type of persona. Definitely one of Chuck's best performances, if not his best. One of my favorite scenes is when Henry Silva comes up to Norris and gleefully tells him he would love to give him a Colombian Necktie (cutting a throat and pulling the tongue out through the slit), then Norris looks straight at him and utters "Why don't you give it to me right now!" That sure wiped the smile off of Silva's face, lol! Code Of Silence was originally conceived as a Dirty Harry sequel. But then Clint Eastwood passed on the script, so it was eventually rewritten as a Chuck Norris vehicle.Interesting, I did not know of that, but yeah, it feels like something that surely might have suited the style and persona of someone like Harry Callahan. But I am still glad Chuck Norris got the part, as this was quite a turning point, getting a shot at doing a bit more "fragile" and dramatic character, that is not just another post Vietnam one man army jungle-war action adventurer, or the usual b-movie martial art stuff, as the film is a real good and gritty, hard hitting urban/inner city feel to it, and I always wanted to see a few more of these films, with Andrew Davis as the director, and Norris in the lead. But I guess next up, was another upcoming action/martial arts star, in Steven Seagal, and Davis and him seeemed to hit off well, for a while.
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Post by stefancrosscoe on Apr 8, 2021 9:04:26 GMT
A few films I have seen as of lately:
The Cowboy Way (1994) by Gregg Champion
Two rodeo cowboys (Kiefer Sutherland and Woody Harrelson) must leave "safety", and turn to the big city (New York), when a good friend of theirs have found himself in big trouble, looking for his young daughter, who is taken into the "warmth" by a nasty villain (Dylan McDermott).
I really hoped for a good time, but this lame buddy-cop attempt, just never seemed to find the right chemistry or balance, and I thought the film should have ditched the comedy parts, and went for more of a hard hitting crime-action thriller, as the comedy stuff, featuring Woody, was really lame, and just stretched far too much out, and the stuff with Marg Helgenberger and her gay pals, was painful to behold.
Dylan McDermott seems like just another forgettable sleazy yuppie-scumbag, and yeah, I remembered very little, from my last visit, years ago, when it was sent on late night cable.
Sadly, I waste money on this DVD, and it is not something that I will keep for much longer, a disappointing movie, that could have been better, but I guess I will rather go with the much more fun and enjoyable late 80s buddy-cop action film, Renegades, which featured Kiefer Sutherland and Lou Diamond Phillips, going into the big town, and making the bad guys hurt.
5/10
American Dragons (1998) by Raph Hemecker
Another, east meets west buddy-cop action films of the late 90s, but one I kind of hoped would turn into a pleasant surprise, considering I am a fan of Michael Biehn, and it is not too often, you get to see him in the leading role. Sadly, this film felt kind of cheap, like a video release, but still it did pack some cool and neat fighting scenes, the usual bullshit talk, between the two main characters, and some rather colorful bad guys, where it was nice to see Don Stark, shine as a brutal gangster.
All in all, not somethin I would ever re-watch, once is more than enough. Not bad, just forgettable stuff.
Night Trap (1993) by David A. Prior
Only caught hold of this, because I knew it was one of those rare films, where Robert Davi is the main hero, and no big surprise which part Michael Ironside gets to play, and yeah, with names like Mike Starr and John Amos, I went in, hoping for something, not that aweful.
Turned out, this late night action/supernatural thriller, were a lot of fun, and even though I fell a sleep twice, not because it was boring, but I had already watched a film earlier, and had long run/training outdoors, so I was tired but still, of what I got out of the film, Night Trap was surely better than what I expected it to be.
5,5/10
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Post by Dramatic Look Gopher on Apr 8, 2021 16:45:35 GMT
Code Of Silence (1985) A tough, individualistic cop is caught between the gangland war of two rival Hispanic crime families. Meanwhile, his new partner is struggling to cope after witnessing another cop's reckless shooting of an innocent teenager, and trying to decide whether or not to break the "code of silence" among the police by ratting him out. Standard action fare, but still irresistible. Good writing that has some doses of humor and tough talk, plus great use of Chicago locations, and an awesome barroom brawl are some highlights. Chuck Norris was never as good an actor as other action stars, due to his lack of acting style. But with Code Of Silence he gives the Eddie Cusack role a solid no-nonsense loner type of persona. Definitely one of Chuck's best performances, if not his best. One of my favorite scenes is when Henry Silva comes up to Norris and gleefully tells him he would love to give him a Colombian Necktie (cutting a throat and pulling the tongue out through the slit), then Norris looks straight at him and utters "Why don't you give it to me right now!" That sure wiped the smile off of Silva's face, lol! Code Of Silence was originally conceived as a Dirty Harry sequel. But then Clint Eastwood passed on the script, so it was eventually rewritten as a Chuck Norris vehicle.Interesting, I did not know of that, but yeah, it feels like something that surely might have suited the style and persona of someone like Harry Callahan. But I am still glad Chuck Norris got the part, as this was quite a turning point, getting a shot at doing a bit more "fragile" and dramatic character, that is not just another post Vietnam one man army jungle-war action adventurer, or the usual b-movie martial art stuff, as the film is a real good and gritty, hard hitting urban/inner city feel to it, and I always wanted to see a few more of these films, with Andrew Davis as the director, and Norris in the lead. But I guess next up, was another upcoming action/martial arts star, in Steven Seagal, and Davis and him seeemed to hit off well, for a while. Actually it would have been nice if they teamed up for a Code Of Silence sequel.
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Post by stefancrosscoe on Apr 9, 2021 11:08:09 GMT
The Hitman (1991), even though made by Cannon Pictures, and which surely looked and felt much cheaper in style and plot, is the closest one, that felt like a "follow" up, to Code of Silence. And what it might have lacked in quality, it sure did back up, with some serious badass moments and cheese.
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Post by Dramatic Look Gopher on Apr 9, 2021 17:08:41 GMT
The Hitman (1991), even though made by Cannon Pictures, and which surely looked and felt much cheaper in style and plot, is the closest one, that felt like a "follow" up, to Code of Silence. And what it might have lacked in quality, it sure did back up, with some serious badass moments and cheese. I don't think I've ever seen The Hitman yet. Somehow that one ducked out of my radar. I'll definitely seek it out.
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Post by mgmarshall on Apr 12, 2021 5:59:06 GMT
The Hitman (1991), even though made by Cannon Pictures, and which surely looked and felt much cheaper in style and plot, is the closest one, that felt like a "follow" up, to Code of Silence. And what it might have lacked in quality, it sure did back up, with some serious badass moments and cheese. I don't think I've ever seen The Hitman yet. Somehow that one ducked out of my radar. I'll definitely seek it out. It's not great; but it is a little darker, more morally ambiguous, than most of the other later Norris vehicles, which are usually sickeningly self-aggrandizing. And it does have a great villain in Michael Parks, so it's not a total loss.
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Post by Xcalatë on Apr 12, 2021 8:15:09 GMT
12 Rounds (2009)
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Post by stefancrosscoe on Apr 12, 2021 13:30:39 GMT
I don't think I've ever seen The Hitman yet. Somehow that one ducked out of my radar. I'll definitely seek it out. Hm, somehow the search function is a bit off, these days. Tried to search for the film, as I knew I had put in a little review of The Hitman, a few years ago, but it somehow showed up, when I typed in Chuck Norris, but not its title: The Hitman (1991)Finally got around to see it, much thanks to some of Lostinlimbo's writings of it which made me very interested in watching it. Anyway, starting up with the "negatives", not exactly the films fault, but I have rarely seen or heard such a poorly made DVD release since, well, Demons 2 (1987) as my copy of The Hitman (a 2004 or 2005 version) comes with such a terrible sound quality (and of course with absolute no subtitles) it really does no justice to the film at all, which is a shame. However, I might re-buy it along with Hellbound and Forced Vengeance as part of a 3 in 1 movie deal, and where I think it is also featured subtitles/close-captioned options, so hopefully that release might have far better sound quality to it than this extremely poor 2005 release. Well, that was the bad stuff. Now onto the good stuff. Chuck Norris plays a tough cop (again) and during a late night investigation he suddenly is set up and badly wounded by his sleazy partner Ronny Delany (Michael Parks). Now left for dead, he somehow miraculously survives and becomes involved in a highly top-secret undercover plan to go after some of the more heavy criminal kingpins in america, playing both sides in a dangerous game, still he earns the respect and fear that is much needed to take on such a nasty and riskful job by becoming the very topman to the powerful mob boss Marco Luggani (Al Waxman). I really enjoyed watching Norris play both sides, and he sure was vicious at times as the down right brutal and cold hearted Crogan, and some the plot reminded me a little of when Sonny Crockett (Don Johnson) in one of the later seasons of Miami Vice lost his memories and switched sides and become a ruthless hitman to the mafia in a dramatic two hour episode, which was to be one of the last great episodes of the show. The action is pretty damn neatly done, some surprisingly brutal and nasty scenes thrown in too, but also making way for a little good natured buddy "sidekick" relationship where Chuck decides to help out a neighboor kid who is bullied and teaches him to fight back. Sure, it was a bit "lighthearted" compared to the more hard edged style/atmosphere in the film, but I thought it worked rather well, not too emotional or anything but it showed that Norris character was not all "derived" of emotions cause of him doing most of the dirty work for the mob. While the sound of my DVD was a nightmare, it did not ruin the film at all, I enjoyed it and while it still is not all there among my favorite of his, I think it might benefit of a re-watch later on, hopefully in a much better DVD quality version as it deserves better treatment. I only wished Michael "I'm so horny I could fuck mud!" Parks would have gotten a bit more time on screen as I sure enjoyed his scenes with Chuck, but I do love the explosive "farewell" scene. Also, beside Parks (in Death Wish 5) I noticed some rather "familiar" face from Death Wish 4: The Crackdown where the first guy who gets brutally gunned down by Crogan, is the same sleazebag who utters the hilarious line: "Tits out to here, flopping all over." during a party scene where Paul Kersey attempts to break in the bad guys mansion playing off that he is a waiter. All in all, I liked The Hitman, tought it was good entertainment on a late night. Maybe not great but it might do better a second time around, and so I think the best I can go from first seeing it is a: 6/10 I guess it is a reminder, that I might just upgrade my DVD, hopefully with a better sounding/looking copy.
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Post by lostinlimbo on Apr 14, 2021 22:21:04 GMT
stefancrosscoe , I noticed the other day you watched the 1984 film ‘Flashpoint’. How did you like it? It popped up on my radar only last week when I was searching YouTube, and I put it on back-burner. Curious if I should push it forward? Yeah, I remember that Flashpoint was being brought up in the old RoboCop (1987) thread back in 2017, and then I guess mostly because of Kurtwood Smith's contribution, whom did a pretty solid job as a bad guy here, of course not anywhere as "colorful" or brutal as Clarence Boddicker, but creepy, I guess. However, the film felt a bit too "slow", I do not mind that kind of entertainment, but somehow the atmosphere and story has to be at least a bit more "punchier", and I thought Flashpoint had the potential and talents involved, but somehow it (think it was a HBO tv-movie) felt very hasty produced, and there was never a moment where it seemed like anything above a 5/10 (which was what I ended up with). All in all, Kris Kristofersen, Treat Williams and Kurtwood Smith all delivers, but the story sadly was not strong enough too keep my interest up, all the way, and a bi disappointed by the rather dull and forgettable score done by Tangerine Dream. So, yeah, not my kind of movie, but did not expect too much from it, and since it was just lying around free on the net, I cannot complain too much. So I finally watched it last night, and pretty much agree with everything you said. Good cast in a mediocre story (which felt like it got too smart for its own good) and too little thrills. It’s funny, as the danger is present when Kurtwood Smith comes onto the scene, but too much happens off screen for my liking. Came across like a TV movie at times. Anyhow how about that final end credits song? Pretty bad, and felt totally out-of-place after such a downbeat ending.
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Post by FridayOnElmStreet on Apr 14, 2021 23:52:22 GMT
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Post by stefancrosscoe on Apr 15, 2021 7:46:26 GMT
So I finally watched it last night, and pretty much agree with everything you said. Good cast in a mediocre story (which felt like it got too smart for its own good) and too little thrills. It’s funny, as the danger is present when Kurtwood Smith comes onto the scene, but too much happens off screen for my liking. Came across like a TV movie at times. Anyhow how about that final end credits song? Pretty bad, and felt totally out-of-place after such a downbeat ending. Yeah, it had certainly the tv styled atmosphere, but I guess the main reason to why I checked it up, was the trio of stars, but something were lacking. Not that there is no good/great tv-movies, as over the last year, I have seen quite a few very impressive and solid ones, but sadly, Flashpoint, were not all that "flashy".
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Post by stefancrosscoe on Apr 15, 2021 8:13:17 GMT
Have been meaning of finishing off the Bond movie project, which a few people on a norwegian movie board and I, started up with during winter 2019 and towards winter 2020. And where we went from From Russia With Love (1963), all the way up to Die Another Day (2002). But with the news of the upcoming Bond movie, to be put on ice, at least for some time, we somehow got a bit "stuck", and I might do a bit of re-watching, titles such as Dr. No, You Only Live Twice, The Spy Who Loved Me and a few of the later Daniel Craig ones. The World Is Not Enough, I remember watching at the cinemas along with my dad, back in 1999, but over the years, I rarely re-watched it, and when I finally did back in winter of last year, I realized soon, why. It is probably not the worst from the franchise, but it was a very long shot away of the superior GoldenEye and the fast paced and fun Tomorrow Never Dies. The generic and forgettable "action formula", lack of chemistry and interesting characters/villains, had sadly began to set in, and would end up with the even worse Bond movie, Die Another Day. What really annoyed me, was how Pierce Brosnan locked so grumpy and uninteresed, for most the film, and where they took such a great scandinavian actor, as Ulrich Thomsen, and turned him into just another henchman, but I guess he was not seen as a big or famous enough name, for the producers. Thankfully, Michael Madsen got a much bigger part, later on. Sophie Marceau were probably among the few positive reasons to why I did not downrate the film, even more. Anyway, another big problem, not just with this one, but one kept having with these later Bond films, were not just what happened onscreen, but the music and sound, as the legacy of John Barry, surely were always gonna be a tough task to follow. But damn, if these late 90s and 00s scores by David Arnold, could not be more dull and lifeless. He constantly throws in the same recycled and overused Bond theme, all the time. Sometimes 10-12 times or more, and I guess it is no wonder, as his own stuff is so lame and forgettable, that, yeah, for someone who loves the older elegant, classic and huge sounding Barry soundtracks, it hurted my ears, and a real shame that Arnold got to fool around with making one crappy Bond score, after another, for such long. There must have been far better or more suitable composers out there, who could give the lesser Brosnan films, a bit of an edge to them, but no, Arnold even managed to continue on, in the Daniel Craig films as well. Anyway, I rated The World Is Not Enough with a 4/10, not awful, but a huge letdown, coming up after the former two Brosnan Bond titles. Sadly, it would get way worse, 3 years later.
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Post by stefancrosscoe on Apr 16, 2021 9:39:10 GMT
 Rolling Thunder (1977) by John Flynn "You learn to love the rope. That's how you beat 'em. That's how you beat people who torture you. You learn to love 'em. Then they don't know you're beatin' 'em." Having survived the horrors of war. Major Charles Rane (William Devane) finally returns home, after 7 long years, and where several of those, were spent as a prisoner of war, at the hands of the enemy. While being greeted back as a war hero, Rane soon learns that his time away from home, has caused quite some serious changes, and where things will soon turn into yet another nightmare, when his family is brutally gunned down, by a small gang of criminals.Finally got around to see this late 70s revenge cult-thriller, which I recently picked up through a swedish Studio S DVD release. I really wanted to love this one, but sometimes, that is not enough. Not saying I had a "bad" or "disappointing" time, last night. But it felt like one, which just missed out, on that extra bit, to make it go a little higher on the rating/entertainment scale. I guess, what I had in mind, was seeing these two tortured souls, having survived hell and back, returning home together, only to realize that they just will never fit in again in modern society, any longer. But after a while, Tommy Lee Jones character "disappears" for a long while, and in the mean time the film is surely a bit of a slow moving one, not a big problem really, but the whole set up, with the much younger female "groupie" sidekick, just took up too much time, and I guess back in the 70s, with films like Bring me the Head of Alfredo Garcia and Mr. Majestyk (both 1974), were just a few which seemed to follow this well used "formula", of teaming up an older and rugged man, with a beautiful younger woman, who is often determined and tough as well, but in this case, I would have loved to see Devane and Lee Jones tearing it up, much sooner. However, when they finally re-group, towards the end, I love the scene where you could clearly seen that Jones character, has absolutely nothing in common with his relatives, and the moment his old war buddy arrives, and says something about where the murderers of his family is hiding, Jones then does without much of a thought, says: "I go get my gear" and I loved seeing them take out the scum, such a satisfying and hard hitting finish to the film. I will surely keep a hold of it, for now. But I doubt it might climb much higher than how I rated it, last night. Not a great one, but still a well acted and written movie, which lands on a rating of: 7/10
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Post by lostinlimbo on Apr 17, 2021 22:58:13 GMT
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