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Post by stefancrosscoe on Aug 24, 2021 7:34:05 GMT
Collision CourseCheap, ridiculous crap, but I found myself enjoying it in spots. Leno is absolutely no great shakes as an actor, a comedian, or an action star (and at this point, the very idea that someone once looked at Leno and said "movie star" is just mystifying to me...), but he's fortunately backed up by the excellent and likeable Pat Morita, who is far too good for this movie. And, for what it's worth, the two of them have better chemistry than you might expect going in. It's also got a pretty solid villain in a smarmy, mustachioed Chris Sarandon (whose henchmen include a brutish Randall "Tex" Cobb and a soft-spoken, rocket launcher-toting Tom Noonan.) Plus you've got Ernie Hudson (at least, for like the five minutes of screen time he gets) as Leno's partner. It's got plenty of explosions, barfights, stuntwork, and car crashes. Leno rather satisfyingly gets punched in the chin a lot and Mortia is fighting dirty, biting ankles, and faces down a speeding car with a single karate kick in the finale. There's also some alright commentary on the state of Detroit's auto industry in the late 80's and the anti-Japanese sentiment that it was fostering among the city's populace. It's about as standard and by-the-numbers as an "opposites attract" buddy cop movie can get, but there's worse ways to spend 90 minutes. I actually picked this one up, on a used former rental VHS copy, back in late of 2019 (or early 2020). I guess you have summed up, my thoughts exactly. Surely not a "good" film, but yeah, one could waste away 90 minutes, on far worse things than watching Leno and Morita come to "blows", in yet another attempt on overdoing the buddy-cop routine. Anyway, thanks for the review, and now I kind of feel, almost "bad" for letting go of the mentioned VHS tape, but I just do not have space to keep on every film I buy. Even though I sometimes do feel like that.
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Post by stefancrosscoe on Aug 24, 2021 7:40:40 GMT
Bloodfight (1989) An entertainingly offbeat, and clumsy ‘Bloodsport’/‘Kickboxer’ riff starring Yasuaki Kurata and Simon Yam. Bolo Yeung also appears, and sporting a cobra tattoo on his forehead?! The main villain. Still, not enough Yeung when it came to shove. Goofy acting (centred mainly around a group of eccentric young thugs led by a white dude), but this being a Japanese production made in Hong Kong where English was the chosen dialect meant awkward exchanges aplenty. There are stiff emotional moments thanks to the delivery, but when it came to the self-loathing it was felt. So we get the standard training scenes, which leads to a tournament all driven by revenge and pride. The violence is on the gritty side, mainly due to how it was shot. Punishing combat when it came to the tournament. Blood, sweat and litres of saliva. Great locale colour, moments of pulpy flash and a pop ballad closing credits. That is a great movie poster, even if it sure do plays a few digs at Bloodsport (1988), but I guess it kind of became the "poster boy" of the martial arts/arena movies along with Kickboxer back then, and everybody seeemed to jump on the trend, and tried to lure in people to watch their films. I have often been meaning of giving Bolo Yeun and his films some attention, as I remember enjoying two of the Shootfighter films, and it was nice to see him in a more friendlier character, rather than just another villainous role. Anyway, I have kind of "stumbled" upon a bunch of different movie channels on Youtube, all which has tons of these martials arts b-movies uploaded, but with so many stuff to choose from, and not wanting to just end up with a bunch of wasteful crap, I guess I should try to focus a bit more, on what is worth to see, and not.
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Post by stefancrosscoe on Aug 24, 2021 7:48:45 GMT
Midnight Heat aka Blackout (1996) by Allan A. Goldstein A regular banker (Brian Bosworth) gets hit by a car during an accident, and as a result, he ends up having a short period of memory loss. But as the everyday life, seems to slowly return, so does the chilling feel, of having lived someone elses, and far more exciting and chaotic former life. And all of a sudden, the latter is making a grand big comeback.I am not sure what happened to the movie career of Brian, between 1991 and 1996, but almost 5 long years had gone by, after the hard hitting and explosive cult-release of Stone Cold (1991). But with Midnight Heat, it was more of a tv-movie than a theatrical release, but one that was actually not all that bad. I thought Bosworth did well, to try and go away from his tougher and more brutal performance in his earlier role, and instead do something different. Here he comes off, as a bit clumsy and comical, yet still likeable and there is some good action scenes as well. Of course, it also helps out, by bringing along, such a eccentric fella, as Brad Dourif as the main villain, even if he at times is underused. Sadly, most of the other characters, is mostly forgettable figures, but yeah, for a 90-100 minutes of late night b-movie, I could do far worse than this. 5/10
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Post by lostinlimbo on Aug 26, 2021 11:29:55 GMT
Lao: [dying] American... tell me... tell me about Disneyland.
Michael Ransom: [crying] They got tons of popcorn there. All you gotta do is go climb a tree to go eat it. And there's cotton candy. Mountains of it. And chocolate milk, and malts. And there's a genie. A magic genie. And he can't wait to grant your wishes.The Italian king of unapologetic Hollywood rip-offs, Bruno Mattei, delivers his own cheap, and outrageous Rambo: First Blood Part II riff with Reb Brown as the unstoppable killing machine Ransom. No wonder why Ransom screams, and yells a lot when everyone he gets close to keeps dying. JAKODA!!!! And how about the cartoonish wrestling match with the Russian soldier who constantly calls Ransom “AMERICANSKI”! And then there’s the climax. Some sweet, sweet payback. A double dose of explosive body trauma.
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Post by lostinlimbo on Aug 26, 2021 12:06:29 GMT
Low-budget 1980s Italian made post-apocalyptic riff on John Carpenter’s ‘Escape from New York’ formula. Wasn’t big on it the first time I saw it, and still feel the same after this latest viewing. An okay time waster, but rather a sum of parts. Of the three (or more) italian early 80s (The Warriors, The Road Warrior and Escape from New York rip-offs) I have seen and own. My favorite has somehow always been 2019: The Fall of New York. Not sure why, but might have to do with the pace, the characters and all the ridiculous stuff going on. I might need another visit with 1990: Bronx Warriors and The New Barbarians, as I have not seen neither, for many years. However, I did get around to watch the sequel to Bronx Warriors, titled: Escape from the Bronx (1983), and yeah, it was kind of a slow going and rather boring ride. Few of the familiar and hilarious faces and names of the first film, returned, and Trash surely were not going to be enough to keep up the same tone and hilarious style, as he just was never that interesting or funny, beside his Frankenstein walk, probably due to the actor wearing far to skinny/tight jeans, making it look like he constantly had to take a crap, whenever he moved, or maybe avoiding taking a crap, more likely. Anyway, Henry Silva turned up, and big surprise (not), as the sadistic villain. Sadly, the film never quite made too good use of his talent, and yeah, not something I felt worthy to keep hold on, in my small italian post-apocalyptic movie collection. Anyway, for a good and enjoyable evening with some fine italian b-movie cheese, I guess one surely cannot go wrong with the mentioned films (minus Escape from the Bronx). By the way, thanks for your review, makes me kind of want to dig in a bit more of these kind of movies later this fall. Some crazy stuff, those italians cooked up back then. I decided to watch 2019 The Fall of New York along with another Sergio Martino film Island of the fishmen to see if I wanted to hang on to the DVDs. Both I didn’t care much for the first time, and still don’t this second go around. 2019 I find to start decent enough, but my interest eventually drifts in and out. I didn’t think it was crazy enough. I know there are quite a few Italian apocalyptic Mad Max/The Warrriors/Escape from New York cash-ins, but I haven’t seen a lot of them. However Bronx Warriors I have, and I didn’t mind it. I’m sure you could probably dig up a few on YouTube.
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Post by stefancrosscoe on Aug 26, 2021 15:13:20 GMT
Lao: [dying] American... tell me... tell me about Disneyland.
Michael Ransom: [crying] They got tons of popcorn there. All you gotta do is go climb a tree to go eat it. And there's cotton candy. Mountains of it. And chocolate milk, and malts. And there's a genie. A magic genie. And he can't wait to grant your wishes.The Italian king of unapologetic Hollywood rip-offs, Bruno Mattei, delivers his own cheap, and outrageous Rambo: First Blood Part II riff with Reb Brown as the unstoppable killing machine Ransom. No wonder why Ransom screams, and yells a lot when everyone he gets close to keeps dying. JAKODA!!!! And how about the cartoonish wrestling match with the Russian soldier who constantly calls Ransom “AMERICANSKI”! And then there’s the climax. Some sweet, sweet payback. A double dose of explosive body trauma. That movie poster, is a thing of beauty. I believe I got to watch both of these italian cheap jungle-action adventures knock-offs, last summer (Robowar included), and yeah, they sure were something else alright. Some of the scenes has me cracking up, and I almost were tempted to pick up Robowar on Blu-ray (rather pricy as well), but I guess there will come other chances for that, later on. Of the two, I guess Strike Commando were the most fun, if one can call it that, but yeah, some scenes are just quite spectacular. Reb Brown sure yells alot, and seems like a very hardworking and cool guy, who I guess were the european to-go-guy, for trying to milk the success of Sly Stallone and Schwarzenegger, but of course with not much of a budget, but still found a way to make good living.
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mgmarshall
Junior Member
@mgmarshall
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Post by mgmarshall on Aug 27, 2021 2:14:01 GMT
Dirty HarryWell, it's still great. Sure, it's sorta authoritarian, sure it stacks the deck like nobody's business, but none of that can erase just how damned fun it is to watch Clint Eastwood toss off one-liners and blow scumbags away. It's also probably the source document for just about every tired cop movie cliche that have been recycled over and over again by the genre in the past four decades; but hey, they're cliches for a reason, and seeing the original is always a treat. Apart from Eastwood's iconic, smart-assed and hardassed cop, you got a great villainous performance from Andy Robinson, who is just utterly batshit in this. His gleefully sadistic, simperingly whiny countenance makes him the perfect, infinitely despicable counterpart to Eastwood's quiet, morally superior hero. You're pretty much rooting for him to get shot the whole movie. The movie's a stone-cold, genre-defining classic, and well worth checking out if you've never seen it.
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Post by theravenking on Aug 27, 2021 12:45:01 GMT
Speed (1994; Jan De Bont) Pop quiz, hotshot. After a bad day you're in a crappy mood and need some diversion. What 90s action classic are you gonna watch? Well, in my case Speed turned out to be just what the doctor ordered. It's amazing how well it still works 27 years after its release. It's simple yet effective and pushes all the right buttons. I just wish I could've watched this at the movie theater back in the day on opening weekend. "There's a bomb on a bus. Once the bus goes 50 mph, the bomb is armed. If it drops below 50, it blows up." - What more do you need for a great action movie? There is no downtime to be had here, no boring scenes with people sitting down and talking, no backstory for the protagonists. From the opening scene this is just pure tension, moving from one action set-piece to the next. It's not deep or meaningful or political, but it's fun, a helluva lot of fun. The action is pleasingly old school. They say Reeves did 90 per cent of his own stunts. You get some amazing explosions too, none of the lazy CGI excuses you are bombarded with in today's comic book films. It is also immensely helped by a very likeable cast. Keanu and Sandy have an accessibility and vulnerability to them. Jeff Daniels is great too, even though he has the thankless role of the heroe's "expendable" best friend. The only criticism I can think of is that more would've been possible with Dennis Hopper's antagonist. He's your generic action movie villain. And then there's that infamous scene with the bus flying over a gap in the highway, which might be just a bit too much. But then there's nothing wrong with movies being a bit larger than life, is there?
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Post by lostinlimbo on Aug 27, 2021 22:07:29 GMT
Dirty HarryWell, it's still great. Sure, it's sorta authoritarian, sure it stacks the deck like nobody's business, but none of that can erase just how damned fun it is to watch Clint Eastwood toss off one-liners and blow scumbags away. It's also probably the source document for just about every tired cop movie cliche that have been recycled over and over again by the genre in the past four decades; but hey, they're cliches for a reason, and seeing the original is always a treat. Apart from Eastwood's iconic, smart-assed and hardassed cop, you got a great villainous performance from Andy Robinson, who is just utterly batshit in this. His gleefully sadistic, simperingly whiny countenance makes him the perfect, infinitely despicable counterpart to Eastwood's quiet, morally superior hero. You're pretty much rooting for him to get shot the whole movie. The movie's a stone-cold, genre-defining classic, and well worth checking out if you've never seen it. Love this film, and the collaborations between Eastwood and Siegel. Such a simple set-up, brought to life by many different ingredients working together e.g direction, performances etc. But also Lalo Schifrin’s jazzy infused score is lit. And the cinematography perfectly frames San Francisco, and the on-going action. Pops off the screen here.
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Post by lostinlimbo on Aug 27, 2021 22:27:05 GMT
Lao: [dying] American... tell me... tell me about Disneyland.
Michael Ransom: [crying] They got tons of popcorn there. All you gotta do is go climb a tree to go eat it. And there's cotton candy. Mountains of it. And chocolate milk, and malts. And there's a genie. A magic genie. And he can't wait to grant your wishes.The Italian king of unapologetic Hollywood rip-offs, Bruno Mattei, delivers his own cheap, and outrageous Rambo: First Blood Part II riff with Reb Brown as the unstoppable killing machine Ransom. No wonder why Ransom screams, and yells a lot when everyone he gets close to keeps dying. JAKODA!!!! And how about the cartoonish wrestling match with the Russian soldier who constantly calls Ransom “AMERICANSKI”! And then there’s the climax. Some sweet, sweet payback. A double dose of explosive body trauma. That movie poster, is a thing of beauty. I believe I got to watch both of these italian cheap jungle-action adventures knock-offs, last summer (Robowar included), and yeah, they sure were something else alright. Some of the scenes has me cracking up, and I almost were tempted to pick up Robowar on Blu-ray (rather pricy as well), but I guess there will come other chances for that, later on. Of the two, I guess Strike Commando were the most fun, if one can call it that, but yeah, some scenes are just quite spectacular. Reb Brown sure yells alot, and seems like a very hardworking and cool guy, who I guess were the european to-go-guy, for trying to milk the success of Sly Stallone and Schwarzenegger, but of course with not much of a budget, but still found a way to make good living. The Italians films had some of best film posters from that period. Sometimes a lot of detail going into them. I haven’t been the biggest fan of what I’ve seen of Bruno Mattei’s knock-offs (eg Shocking Dark, Hell of the Living Dead, Robowar), but I enjoyed this one (Strike Commando). And I cannot put a finger on why this click for me, and so far his other films haven’t despite all being blatant rip-offs. Maybe like you said, it was way more fun with a likeable Reb Brown performance? Curious for its sequel now. Even checking out his Jaws knock-off ‘Cruel Jaws’. Watching the interview on the Howling II bluray couple weeks back, Reb Brown seemed like a humble, down-to-earth guy. Just happy to be making films.
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Post by lostinlimbo on Aug 27, 2021 22:36:22 GMT
Agent Red (2000) It’s one thing to know you’re making a bad action film. It’s another thing to not to know it’s still dull outside of the satirical, and oddly placed sexual innuendo dialogues. General Stillwell: “Never heard of the Agent Red”? Matt Hendricks: “It sounds like a bad action movie”.Not much else to say. Sums it up nicely. [/i]
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Post by stefancrosscoe on Aug 31, 2021 14:39:34 GMT
Agent Red (2000) It’s one thing to know you’re making a bad action film. It’s another thing to not to know it’s still dull outside of the satirical, and oddly placed sexual innuendo dialogues. General Stillwell: “Never heard of the Agent Red”? Matt Hendricks: “It sounds like a bad action movie”.Not much else to say. Sums it up nicely. I am not sure if I have ever heard of this "gem", but somehow, I kind of get the feeling I will soon end up watching it. Have noticed you have seen quite a lot of Dolph Lundgren films as of lately, but I guess this is not something that went down too well. I should really pick up on my Lundgren watch, as it has been a while since my last visit to one of his films, or at least the unseen ones. Many of them, are probably up for free on Youtube or other sites, not sure if they are worth wasting money on. Would be nice though, to find one which migth be worthy a go, and might be tempted to later include in my action collection.
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Post by stefancrosscoe on Aug 31, 2021 14:43:57 GMT
The Italians films had some of best film posters from that period. Sometimes a lot of detail going into them. I haven’t been the biggest fan of what I’ve seen of Bruno Mattei’s knock-offs (eg Shocking Dark, Hell of the Living Dead, Robowar), but I enjoyed this one (Strike Commando). And I cannot put a finger on why this click for me, and so far his other films haven’t despite all being blatant rip-offs. Maybe like you said, it was way more fun with a likeable Reb Brown performance? Curious for its sequel now. Even checking out his Jaws knock-off ‘Cruel Jaws’. Watching the interview on the Howling II bluray couple weeks back, Reb Brown seemed like a humble, down-to-earth guy. Just happy to be making films. Yeah, I have often "stumbled" upon far more impressive and cool looking italian posters, of rip-offs or just some absolute terrible b-movies, but the posters makes them look like the greatest thing, ever made. I believe I saw the same interview with Reb from the Howling II Blu-ray, where I thought he came off very well. Still have quite a few films of his, left to see. But I guess there will be lots of screaming and shouting, and hopefully some classic cheese with it as well.
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Post by stefancrosscoe on Aug 31, 2021 15:26:34 GMT
A few days too late, but then again, I am pretty sure I did a thread for this absolute classic Sly Stallone action cult film back in 2017, but somehow I could not find it again, through the search function. Might just be one of those days. Anyway, I picked it up recently on Blu-ray (already own a few versions on DVD, but yeah, well worth a nice upgrade). Cobra (1986) by George P. Cosmatos "I don't deal with psychos. I put 'em away!" When the system and courtrooms fails, time after time, and which often results with having the city filled with human waste, ruling the streets, and it is usually up to one man, the police very own "exterminator", Marion "Cobra" Cobretti (Stallone) to rescue the day. As he is one who never fails to deliver, even though his working methods might not sit too well, with everyone, but at least he gets the job done. And his talent sure will come in handy, when a series of gruesome murders taking place at night time, usually against random people, is set up by a crazy and ruthless gang, who is planning on getting rid of the weak, and replacing them with the strong. About time to finally re-watch this damn fine action film by Stallone, and one which has always been among my favorite of his. Cobra is quite an unique release, considering it contains a certain style and feel, which surely remind me a lot of the hard hitting police crime thrillers of the early 70s, but also includes elements from the later 70s and early 80s slasher horror films, and yeah, then throw in some absolute over the top macho bad ass 80s action, and you got yourself 85-90 minutes of explosive and unforgettable enterainment, if one is into that kind of stuff that is. As I put in the older mentioned Cobra thread (or so I think), Sly wanted to do or take part in the early plans for Beverly Hills Cop, but where he wanted to make it much darker and less funny, and yeah, I guess that was never gonna be the case, and maybe for the best for both parts. As we got not just one, but two classic mid 80s releases in return. Cobra do feel more like a natural follow up, to another underrated, and way more serious in tone and charachters, with the crime-thriller Nighthawks (1981). Anyway, a few years after the plans for Beverly Hills Cop went down the drain, Sly was still the top dog within the action world, but of course, he had kind of gotten himself into a bit of "trouble", where several of his attempts on trying more light hearted stuff, like comedies and musicals, well, they did not succeed in the same way as his Rocky and Rambo movies, and it must have been somehow a bit frustrating, knowing that he got "stuck" between those huge figures, for most of the 80s, where few of his other action releases, ever managed to come close of the same success or popularity. But by 1986, the israelian producers Menaham Golan and Yoram Glubus (the guys behind Cannond Pictures), wanted to bring in further big names to their name, in order to help pushing their b-movies onto the american audience, and had already gotten Charles Bronson and Chuck Norris onboard, but with the signing of Sylvester Stallone, it seemed like they had hit the jackpot, and wanted to really make a big and great start, and where most of their 80s action releases, often came with not exactly the "biggest" budgets, Cobra I think, reached almost somewhere between 15-25 million dollars, which was, HUGE back then. Of course, a lot of the money was probably thrown directly at Sly, but the movie itself, sure looks fantastic at times, compared to the usualy b-movie styled Cannon releases. Anyway, to try an shorten the review, Cobra for me, is one of the best and most satisfying releases of Sly throughout the 80s, and beside First Blood (1982) and Rocky IV (1985), I think the third best of his films that decade. His character Marion Cobretti, feels like a combination of Dirty Harry and Paul Kersey, where as the menacing and truly scary villain, is played to pure perfection by Brian Thompson, who looks way more creepy than most of the 80s slasher baddies. The film kind of starts up as something between a slasher-crime movie, but halfway through, things sure do pick up on the action part, and we get one of the most intense and coolest car chases from the 1980s, and then during the last 20-25 minutes, it is absolute chaos of destruction and people getting blown away all over the place. And then of course you have the lovely Brigitte Nielsen, who I believe, have never looked better than in this movie, where the long legged danish beauty comes off as a bit more fragile, and "down to earth" than her later strong and ice cold viking/amazon warrior approach, or as Eddie Murphy would put it in Beverly Hills Cop 2: "God damn, that's a big bitch!".Also to be noted, the sleazy photographer, taking the images of Brigitte and trying to lure her into an career "lift", is played by none other than Sledge Hammer! or David Rasche. Neonlights, synthesizers, heavy use of 80s power rallads, robots, fluffy hair and lots and lots of cheese and hilarious one liners, throw in some "what the hell?" moments, and specially the axe scenes taking place several times into the story, and yeah, I guess there was not much need of speaking up during the "New World Order" and their meetings, just bring along an axe or two, and start finding the rhythm. I always get a good laugh of the axe-meetings, as you notice yuppie-business men, construction workers (even with their helmet on) and I mean, it seems like open hour, for everyone with an axe or more. Anyway I sure love this movie. So much to say, but so little time, and yeah, of course I hand out a "perfect" 10/10, and for me, this is the kind of films I would have loved to see way more of, by Sly during the 80s and 90s. But sadly, I guess the fans wanted more of Rocky and Rambo, and well, at least he had this and Tango & Cash among the many mentioned sequels, but I would have loved a follow up to Cobra or the mentioned Tango & Cash. The chances of that happening now, is probably not very big.
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Post by lostinlimbo on Sept 2, 2021 23:12:36 GMT
Agent Red (2000) It’s one thing to know you’re making a bad action film. It’s another thing to not to know it’s still dull outside of the satirical, and oddly placed sexual innuendo dialogues. General Stillwell: “Never heard of the Agent Red”? Matt Hendricks: “It sounds like a bad action movie”.Not much else to say. Sums it up nicely. I am not sure if I have ever heard of this "gem", but somehow, I kind of get the feeling I will soon end up watching it. Have noticed you have seen quite a lot of Dolph Lundgren films as of lately, but I guess this is not something that went down too well. I should really pick up on my Lundgren watch, as it has been a while since my last visit to one of his films, or at least the unseen ones. Many of them, are probably up for free on Youtube or other sites, not sure if they are worth wasting money on. Would be nice though, to find one which migth be worthy a go, and might be tempted to later include in my action collection. Agent Red was bottom of the barrel action. A weak Under Siege knock off that really showed it’s budget. Lundgren was sorta amusing with his quips. The last couple days it’s been a ride going through Dolph Lundgren‘s straight to video/DVD/cable films I haven’t seen before. Probably got another 4 to 5 lined up. Unless i discover a couple more online. I’m hoping to come across Cover Up. But no luck so far. So the majority I watched were from YouTube with the exception of the first two (Hidden Assassin & Agent Red) that were Tubi. But I wouldn’t be surprise if both are on a YouTube channel. Pretty much why I tag them as such on Letterboxd, so I don’t get confused to where I watched them. Looking at your ratings, I see you’ve watched about half of what I’ve seen recently. If I was to recommend any, probably One in the Chamber, despite Lundgren being in a support role. Generic stuff, but well done for what transpires. The other would be The Peacekeeper. Typical straight to video action with that low-quality look. However it displayed some decent action, and the villain had presence. So the next few I got lined up; Blackjack, Riot, Hidden Agenda, Shark Lake & Blood of Redemption. Curious about Blackjack, especially it being a John Woo film. So the last one I watched; I thought it was going to be an Escape Plan knock-off, but it went a far less interesting route. Not terrible, just one-note and heavily contrived spy plot. Van Damme and Lundgren have good chemistry, but it’s wasted here with the latter being sidelined for most part. Van Damme looked disinterested.
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Post by brandomarlon2003 on Sept 3, 2021 0:19:35 GMT
Mortal Kombat (2021)
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Post by stefancrosscoe on Sept 3, 2021 10:46:47 GMT
Agent Red was bottom of the barrel action. A weak Under Siege knock off that really showed it’s budget. Lundgren was sorta amusing with his quips. The last couple days it’s been a ride going through Dolph Lundgren‘s straight to video/DVD/cable films I haven’t seen before. Probably got another 4 to 5 lined up. Unless i discover a couple more online. I’m hoping to come across Cover Up. But no luck so far. So the majority I watched were from YouTube with the exception of the first two (Hidden Assassin & Agent Red) that were Tubi. But I wouldn’t be surprise if both are on a YouTube channel. Pretty much why I tag them as such on Letterboxd, so I don’t get confused to where I watched them. Looking at your ratings, I see you’ve watched about half of what I’ve seen recently. If I was to recommend any, probably One in the Chamber, despite Lundgren being in a support role. Generic stuff, but well done for what transpires. The other would be The Peacekeeper. Typical straight to video action with that low-quality look. However it displayed some decent action, and the villain had presence. So the next few I got lined up; Blackjack, Riot, Hidden Agenda, Shark Lake & Blood of Redemption. Curious about Blackjack, especially it being a John Woo film. So the last one I watched; I thought it was going to be an Escape Plan knock-off, but it went a far less interesting route. Not terrible, just one-note and heavily contrived spy plot. Van Damme and Lundgren have good chemistry, but it’s wasted here with the latter being sidelined for most part. Van Damme looked disinterested. Yeah, Cover Up is one of those I have wanted to watch, for quite some time now. However, I have heard it is not your "typical" Lundgren-action movie, and more of a suspense/thriller release, but then again, what really makes me interested, is seeing Dolph and Louis Gossett Jr. team up once more, as I enjoyed their chemistry in The Punisher. I guess if you watch it, sooner or later (probably long before I will get to it) you will maybe share some thought about it? Blackjack (1998) I have seen, at least once. Might do with a further viewing, as it did feature some neat action packed scenes (no big surprise there) and it was cool to see Lundgren in a Woo picture, even though it surely got overshadowed by the directors far bigger productions around the same time. I guess when it comes to a lot of the unseen films of Dolph, most of the newer stuff, is probably up at Youtube, where as some older ones, maybe not always the easiest to find, could be lying under alternative titles (I have found a few that way), or just by accident. Yup, saw Black Water earlier this year, and while it was not terrible, it felt very cheap and hasty produced, I mean I could have swore that some of the prison cell walls, was either shaking or looking like they were about to fall over, and yeah, like it was from some Ed Wood Jr. production. Van Damme did look rather unwell, and not all "there". The Peacekeeper I will probably try to look up, and if I am in the mood for some self punishment, I might dig out Agent Red as well.
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Post by Mulder and Scully on Sept 4, 2021 0:01:26 GMT
I am not sure if I have ever heard of this "gem", but somehow, I kind of get the feeling I will soon end up watching it. Have noticed you have seen quite a lot of Dolph Lundgren films as of lately, but I guess this is not something that went down too well. I should really pick up on my Lundgren watch, as it has been a while since my last visit to one of his films, or at least the unseen ones. Many of them, are probably up for free on Youtube or other sites, not sure if they are worth wasting money on. Would be nice though, to find one which migth be worthy a go, and might be tempted to later include in my action collection. Agent Red was bottom of the barrel action. A weak Under Siege knock off that really showed it’s budget. Lundgren was sorta amusing with his quips. The last couple days it’s been a ride going through Dolph Lundgren‘s straight to video/DVD/cable films I haven’t seen before. Probably got another 4 to 5 lined up. Unless i discover a couple more online. I’m hoping to come across Cover Up. But no luck so far. So the majority I watched were from YouTube with the exception of the first two (Hidden Assassin & Agent Red) that were Tubi. But I wouldn’t be surprise if both are on a YouTube channel. Pretty much why I tag them as such on Letterboxd, so I don’t get confused to where I watched them. Looking at your ratings, I see you’ve watched about half of what I’ve seen recently. If I was to recommend any, probably One in the Chamber, despite Lundgren being in a support role. Generic stuff, but well done for what transpires. The other would be The Peacekeeper. Typical straight to video action with that low-quality look. However it displayed some decent action, and the villain had presence. So the next few I got lined up; Blackjack, Riot, Hidden Agenda, Shark Lake & Blood of Redemption. Curious about Blackjack, especially it being a John Woo film. So the last one I watched; I thought it was going to be an Escape Plan knock-off, but it went a far less interesting route. Not terrible, just one-note and heavily contrived spy plot. Van Damme and Lundgren have good chemistry, but it’s wasted here with the latter being sidelined for most part. Van Damme looked disinterested. Lundgren's career as a leading man pretty tanked from the onset, all of his movies where he played the lead flopped. He was already doing straight to video films by late the 80s. He's better as a supporting player.
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Post by Captain Spencer on Sept 4, 2021 3:18:22 GMT
The Hunted (2003) An FBI tracker is asked to help track down an assassin he personally trained to be a non-stop killing machine. I thought this wasn't too bad, but ultimately nothing really special. Maybe I thought the plot was a bit under-developed and the whole thing just seemed like one long chase. Perhaps some of the character development was weak as well. Could also be that it was a little too derivative of The Fugitive, especially when Tommy Lee Jones is doing the chasing again. Hard to explain, but it seemed to be lacking...something. On the plus side, William Friedkin once again proves himself to be a master of action, and he keeps the pace moving at a fast speed. He really delivers the thrills, especially with the hand-to-hand combat scenes with Jones and Del Toro.
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Post by lostinlimbo on Sept 6, 2021 0:50:58 GMT
Agent Red was bottom of the barrel action. A weak Under Siege knock off that really showed it’s budget. Lundgren was sorta amusing with his quips. The last couple days it’s been a ride going through Dolph Lundgren‘s straight to video/DVD/cable films I haven’t seen before. Probably got another 4 to 5 lined up. Unless i discover a couple more online. I’m hoping to come across Cover Up. But no luck so far. So the majority I watched were from YouTube with the exception of the first two (Hidden Assassin & Agent Red) that were Tubi. But I wouldn’t be surprise if both are on a YouTube channel. Pretty much why I tag them as such on Letterboxd, so I don’t get confused to where I watched them. Looking at your ratings, I see you’ve watched about half of what I’ve seen recently. If I was to recommend any, probably One in the Chamber, despite Lundgren being in a support role. Generic stuff, but well done for what transpires. The other would be The Peacekeeper. Typical straight to video action with that low-quality look. However it displayed some decent action, and the villain had presence. So the next few I got lined up; Blackjack, Riot, Hidden Agenda, Shark Lake & Blood of Redemption. Curious about Blackjack, especially it being a John Woo film. So the last one I watched; I thought it was going to be an Escape Plan knock-off, but it went a far less interesting route. Not terrible, just one-note and heavily contrived spy plot. Van Damme and Lundgren have good chemistry, but it’s wasted here with the latter being sidelined for most part. Van Damme looked disinterested. Yeah, Cover Up is one of those I have wanted to watch, for quite some time now. However, I have heard it is not your "typical" Lundgren-action movie, and more of a suspense/thriller release, but then again, what really makes me interested, is seeing Dolph and Louis Gossett Jr. team up once more, as I enjoyed their chemistry in The Punisher. I guess if you watch it, sooner or later (probably long before I will get to it) you will maybe share some thought about it? Blackjack (1998) I have seen, at least once. Might do with a further viewing, as it did feature some neat action packed scenes (no big surprise there) and it was cool to see Lundgren in a Woo picture, even though it surely got overshadowed by the directors far bigger productions around the same time. I guess when it comes to a lot of the unseen films of Dolph, most of the newer stuff, is probably up at Youtube, where as some older ones, maybe not always the easiest to find, could be lying under alternative titles (I have found a few that way), or just by accident. Yup, saw Black Water earlier this year, and while it was not terrible, it felt very cheap and hasty produced, I mean I could have swore that some of the prison cell walls, was either shaking or looking like they were about to fall over, and yeah, like it was from some Ed Wood Jr. production. Van Damme did look rather unwell, and not all "there". The Peacekeeper I will probably try to look up, and if I am in the mood for some self punishment, I might dig out Agent Red as well. The Lundgren movie marathon week of first-time views hit a snag. I’m beat. Started Shark Lake, but I eventually turned it off. And the last completed film I saw; Legendary. Ouch. I’ll still check out Blackjack sometime this month, and if I ever come across Cover-Up, but as for his post 2000s straight to DVD/cable films. I’m done for now. I don’t know if Cover-Up ever made it pass VHS. Harder film to dig up, even via streaming. Actually, I thought I saw the walls move too in ‘Black Water’. Talk about a flimsy made submarine. Honestly looked more like somebody’s basement, than a submarine. Well, you know if you cannot find Agent Red, and you’re that desperate. Just watch Storm Catcher instead. Scenes from it are edited into Agent Red. This is how I would rank them; Hidden Assassin aka The Shooter Men of War One in the Chamber The Peacekeeper Riot Pentathlon Don’t Kill It Blood of Redemption Hidden Agenda Black Water Storm Catcher The Last Patrol Legendary Agent Red Shark Lake (Did not finish). I don’t know if I’ll ever bother.
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