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Post by Captain Spencer on Jan 14, 2022 4:18:40 GMT
French Connection II (1975) The maverick New York City cop Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle travels to Marseille, France and attempts to track down the drug kingpin who eluded him in New York. Along the way he clashes with the French police, and is oblivious to the fact that they are using Doyle as bait. Director John Frankenheimer maintains the tough grittiness of the first film and stages some exciting shootouts, making Doyle more of a loose cannon than before. Some notable critics, including Leonard Maltin and Roger Ebert, have commented that Doyle's forced drug addiction sequences drags down the story. I agree with that, those heroin sequences followed by the scenes of painful recovery really do bring things to a screeching halt and get a bit tedious after a while, marring an otherwise compelling story. But once that's all over with, the pace picks up again and leads to a satisfying conclusion. So overall, it's a pretty good sequel.
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Post by lostinlimbo on Jan 14, 2022 7:14:36 GMT
stefancrosscoe Always been curious about the Guyver films. However your description of the original being childish in tone sort of turns me off. Don’t one of the beasts begin rapping towards the end? I actually like the anime, be it the convoluted ovas from late 80s and early 90s, or even the rebooted series in early 00s. But they could be rather nasty and violent in tone, and it sounds like the Guyver films (especially the first) don’t go down that path. Gee, I had no idea the sequel went for 2 hours. Damn, already I have kind of "forgotten" much of this and the sequel, just not the kind that stays in my mind, for very long. Will keep a hold of the Arrow Blu-ray, might re-watch it one day, but kind of disappointed by the so-called "superior" sequel, which sure included more gore and "darker" stuff, but felt just too damn long, and a lot of the story between the fighting sequences, were just boring as hell. The anime, I have never seen anything of, but if it follows more the dark/violent path, of part 2, then maybe it might be what I am in search of. Last week I picked up a 10 movie dvd pack, and one of the films happened to be Guyver Part 2. Probably see if I can watch the original online before checking out the sequel. Yeah, the anime can be dark, bizarre and very violent. But it’s the soundtrack which really sticks with me. Especially the (12 episode) series from 1989-92; The Guyver: Bio-Booster Armor. It would get rebooted in 2005; Guyver: The Bioboosted Armor. This time 26 episodes and it actually completed the story, as the series above sort of finished on a cliffhanger. And before those you had the one hour OVA; Guyver: Out of Control 1986. Cynthia Rothrock Double; Lady Dragon (1992) is a cheap, and grimy Indonesian martial arts action vehicle that can pack a punch. It’s a type of story that’s been done over and over again, but I’ll give it a pass since its headlined by the charismatic Cynthia Rothrock. And we get a true showcase of her bruising skills. Driven by revenge after the death of her husband during their wedding, she seeks to kill the man who she believes is responsible. No other than Richard Norton. Gleefully in hot headed bad guy persona. In a failed gung-ho attempt to kill him, she finds herself left for dead in the forest. Where she’s found by an elderly, mute man and his grandson. She’s brought back to health, and begins training to repair her broken spirit before returning to exact her vengeance. But with a little thought behind it. Predictable story threads aside, it moves quickly and you get what you’re looking for with the high energy, and grounded fight stunts accompanied by pounding drums, wailing guitars. It’s at it peak during the Rothrock and Norton final showdown. And throw in a destructively chaotic vehicle chase and Rothrock packing a rocket launcher to round it off. Also starring a sleepy looking Robert Ginty and directed by David Worth (which had some similarities to his film ‘Kickboxer’ starring Van Damme). Irresistible Force (1993) aka Power Cop was a rock soild, made for television pilot, which doesn’t beat around the bush with its taut, high stake premise. In spite of the run-of-the-mill siege set-up ala ‘Die Hard’, the action comes thick and fast courtesy of heated shootouts, and Rothrock handing out constant beat-downs to a group of militants (led by a suavely Christopher Neame) that have taken over a shopping centre holding the governor, and top officials hostage. Also Stacy Keach as her retiring cop partner gets in the on the act, and provides the dry wit. A likeable duo. Gladly it never outstays its welcome at just under 80 minutes. Have been meaning of checking up on some Cynthia Rothrock movies this winter, as it has been too damn long since last time I did so. The above (Keach and Cynthia one) looks like one that might be among the films that will be worth giving a chance. But then I notice the trio of Cyntha, Richard Norton and Robert Ginty, and well, I guess one thing at a time, but hopefully lots of enjoyable martial art b-movies to look forward in the near future. For a Die Hard tv knock-off, it works. Stacy Keach makes anything watchable. Don’t think I ever seen a bad performance from him… maybe mediocre to bad films, but definitely not performances. I got to see more of her films too. More so her leading vehicles. Richard Norton appears in a few too. I got a couple lined up: Honor and Glory, Guardian Angel and Outside the Law.
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Post by lostinlimbo on Jan 14, 2022 7:19:56 GMT
Will try to come back to Forced Vengeance (1982) another time, but a couple of action-thrillers seen the last week: Hellbound (1994) by Aaron Norris Another one of these "classic" action hero tries his luck, with the supernatural horror-thrillers of the 90s, and while it were one of those I kind of hoped would be some fun, this one, sadly turned out to be not much like that. I also think it suffered, because it was among the very last Cannon Pictures released in the 90s, and of course the once classic producing team combined of Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus, were no longer alive and kicking, as they had gone their different ways. Not sure how big the budget was, but it just felt very cheap, and of course, that does not always mean the movie will suffer, in fact the cheap and sleazy parts, has often did some favors for Cannon Films, providing huge laughs and lots of memorable scenes. But Hellbound has very little of those, in fact, the ones I can think of, is probably down to the sterotypical black mouthy sidekick, who seems to have a constant craving for food, lots of it, and yeah, it kind of early on, gets a bit too repetitive, yet the main villain is actually not all bad, and yeah, I have probably said far too much, about a not all that "great" Chuck Norris film. The latter tries but ends up seeming like he goes on auto-pilot, for most of the time. Shame, because somewhere in there, a (probably not that much better) but more fun film could have arrived. 4/10The Real McCoy (1993) by Russell Mulcahy Another not exactly big experience, and a real shame, because this one seemed to have quite a talented cast going, and then also Russell Mulcahy behind the camera. But almost 2 hours and featuring a rather sleepy story and not very "groundbreaking" characters, time stood still, and if not for the more lively part of Val Kilmer, and Terrence Stamp who felt way underused here, I cannot really think of much else to bring forward. Well, Kim Basinger of course, looked great, as always, but again, the whole film suffered from a slow paced story, and felt also more like a made for tv release, and it might have been? I am not sure. All in all, if I want a good or great robbery/heist film, I guess it will be another visit with Thief (1981), because this 1993 release did sadly not do much for me, and ended up as yet another one of those titles, that had been lying around in my watchlist for years now, but when I finally was gonna see it, it just did not deliver the goods, and not something I will bother to re-watch either. 4/10My opinion, exactly, on Hellbound. It just wasn’t much fun. The budget probably didn’t help the fantasy element of the story, but everything seemed off. Pace, tone etc.
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Post by lostinlimbo on Jan 14, 2022 7:23:16 GMT
We Die Young (2019) - Kinda had shades of Eastwood’s Gran Torino. Not on the same level though, and Van Damme isn’t the central character.
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Post by stefancrosscoe on Jan 14, 2022 9:07:44 GMT
She's going to be in the 4th Expendables movie so maybe that will give her a boost. I had almost forgotten that a fourth chapter is still in the making, but not so sure, how much time the old action stars (like Sly, Arnie, Dolph, Van Damme if he comes back for another round) will be included, as I think there were some rumours surrounding (a few years back) that Sly had a tv-series in plans, and where the old guard would be replaced by a young team, but then again, I think something similar were tried out with the third movie, and it did not sit too well with the fans. Still, would be interesting so see where it goes, and who might show up, if another movie is made.
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Post by Xcalatë on Jan 14, 2022 9:19:45 GMT
Night Teeth (2021)
NETFLIX Vampire Action/Crime flick with some bloody gore, nothing spectacular but Great chemistry by the leads (Debby Ryan and Jorge Lendeborg) small cameos by Sydney Sweeney & Megan Fox and over the top Villains with Game of Throne's Alfie Allen and his sidekick Lucy Fry.
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Post by stefancrosscoe on Jan 14, 2022 9:28:58 GMT
For a Die Hard tv knock-off, it works. Stacy Keach makes anything watchable. Don’t think I ever seen a bad performance from him… maybe mediocre to bad films, but definitely not performances. I got to see more of her films too. More so her leading vehicles. Richard Norton appears in a few too. I got a couple lined up: Honor and Glory, Guardian Angel and Outside the Law. Yeah, some actors tend to just have certain charm or likeability to them, which makes even some of the "worst" films, somehow a bit less painful, and Keach is surely one that belongs in the group of very likeable and charming actors, whom I never either have seen a bad or "dull" performance of, even though sadly he has spent some time in a lot of bad and dull movies. But I guess his name is among the reasons to why I ended up watching them in the first place. Speaking of Richard Norton. That is also a fella I need to check up a few more film of, and come to think of it, I believe he actually showed up (a very young version as well) in a few of the Chuck Norris movies of the early 80s. And speaking of early 80s and Norris: Forced Vengeance (1982) by James Fargo "Never let your girlfriend hold your piece." After a quick trip back to his former homeland, the nononsense bouncer and collector Josh Randall (Chuck Norris), returns to Hong Kong, only to end up thrown in a chaotic and violent situation, caused by greed, and which has made his closest ones, to end up in deep trouble with a ruthless organisation, who wants to take over the family business.
About damn time I finally got see this one, and where the "pre-beard" edition of Norris is almost there (with the full Cowboy Texas Walker Ranger persona and style), and while I am not sure if Silent Rage or this were the ones where the Cowboy hat started to become a household item, but one thing is for sure, and that is that you do not mess around with his hat: "Why do they always pick on my hat?" "My best hat. Shit."
I really wanted to love this, but yeah, I guess it did never quite get to that, but I mean, I did find it enjoyable and surely the best of the 70s and early 80s films starring Chuck Norris, but I guess one will always end up "measuring" them, to his later and in my opinion, more classic 80s material, like the solid period from Lone Wolf McQuade and up til around early 90s, with The Hitman (1991). But as mentioned, I think Forced Vengeance is surely a step above the others I have seen with Chuck, at least of the earlier era, and it is not impossible, it might climb a bit higher on the rating scale. I guess also also another reason, is for me, the lack of memorable and truly awesome bad guys (not saying his earlier outputs were bad, but they just rarely stand out, as much as in the later ones). As from 1983, you would end up with tough and brutal villains such as David Carradine, Robert Forster, Richard Lynch, Billy Drago, Henry Silva and probably several more, which helped to include a very hateful and memorable villain. However, this 1982 film does move, and the pace, the fighting scenes and there is also quite a few suprisingly nasty and brutal scenes in there as well, and a well worthy final fight sequence,. All in all, I believe this could do well, along with Eye For An Eye (1981), as a two for one, movie night double, but for now, I end up with a: 6,5/10
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Post by stefancrosscoe on Jan 14, 2022 9:35:59 GMT
We Die Young (2019) - Kinda had shades of Eastwood’s Gran Torino. Not on the same level though, and Van Damme isn’t the central character. Have not see a new Van Damme film since Black Waters or Pound of Flesh, where neither were much to write about, but I kind of want to check up on The Bouncer sometime. We Die Young is however one I am not so sure, for now that is.
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Post by Captain Spencer on Jan 14, 2022 21:15:39 GMT
For a Die Hard tv knock-off, it works. Stacy Keach makes anything watchable. Don’t think I ever seen a bad performance from him… maybe mediocre to bad films, but definitely not performances. I got to see more of her films too. More so her leading vehicles. Richard Norton appears in a few too. I got a couple lined up: Honor and Glory, Guardian Angel and Outside the Law. Yeah, some actors tend to just have certain charm or likeability to them, which makes even some of the "worst" films, somehow a bit less painful, and Keach is surely one that belongs in the group of very likeable and charming actors, whom I never either have seen a bad or "dull" performance of, even though sadly he has spent some time in a lot of bad and dull movies. But I guess his name is among the reasons to why I ended up watching them in the first place. Speaking of Richard Norton. That is also a fella I need to check up a few more film of, and come to think of it, I believe he actually showed up (a very young version as well) in a few of the Chuck Norris movies of the early 80s. And speaking of early 80s and Norris: Forced Vengeance (1982) by James Fargo "Never let your girlfriend hold your piece." After a quick trip back to his former homeland, the nononsense bouncer and collector Josh Randall (Chuck Norris), returns to Hong Kong, only to end up thrown in a chaotic and violent situation, caused by greed, and which has made his closest ones, to end up in deep trouble with a ruthless organisation, who wants to take over the family business.
About damn time I finally got see this one, and where the "pre-beard" edition of Norris is almost there (with the full Cowboy Texas Walker Ranger persona and style), and while I am not sure if Silent Rage or this were the ones where the Cowboy hat started to become a household item, but one thing is for sure, and that is that you do not mess around with his hat: "Why do they always pick on my hat?" "My best hat. Shit."
I really wanted to love this, but yeah, I guess it did never quite get to that, but I mean, I did find it enjoyable and surely the best of the 70s and early 80s films starring Chuck Norris, but I guess one will always end up "measuring" them, to his later and in my opinion, more classic 80s material, like the solid period from Lone Wolf McQuade and up til around early 90s, with The Hitman (1991). But as mentioned, I think Forced Vengeance is surely a step above the others I have seen with Chuck, at least of the earlier era, and it is not impossible, it might climb a bit higher on the rating scale. I guess also also another reason, is for me, the lack of memorable and truly awesome bad guys (not saying his earlier outputs were bad, but they just rarely stand out, as much as in the later ones). As from 1983, you would end up with tough and brutal villains such as David Carradine, Robert Forster, Richard Lynch, Billy Drago, Henry Silva and probably several more, which helped to include a very hateful and memorable villain. However, this 1982 film does move, and the pace, the fighting scenes and there is also quite a few suprisingly nasty and brutal scenes in there as well, and a well worthy final fight sequence,. All in all, I believe this could do well, along with Eye For An Eye (1981), as a two for one, movie night double, but for now, I end up with a: 6,5/10 I always like Forced Vengeance. Even though Chuck gave a wooden performance and director James Fargo did a clumsy job on staging a couple of fight scenes, overall it was a solid action flick. And like you said, the pacing was fast. I thought Michael Cavanaugh was effective as the main baddie and I love the way he gets his comeuppance.
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Post by stefancrosscoe on Jan 15, 2022 15:32:20 GMT
A.P.E.X. (1994) by Phillip J. Roth One of these titles, which seems to have been "following" me for quite some time, whenever I end up browsing through different kind of Youtube uploaders/users, specially those with a ton of b-movies from the 80s and 90s on their channels, and I just decided to give it a go, and gotta be honest, this wasn't as bad, as it first looked like it would be. The use of locations, specially the red-brownish sand and worn down factory building or ruins of what used to be a factory, seems to be well used, in these kind of b-movies off the 90s, and I can swear I have seen same surroundings, over and over again, specially in movie such as Dollman (1991) and a few other similar sci-fi/action titles. I guess it is a pretty cheap way of making sure to save money on, just re-using the same enviroment, but nothing new there. The film is surely one of many cheaply made action and sci-fi releases, with a low budget, and who seems to borrow lots from classics like Aliens (1986), The Terminator (1984) and Predator (1987), and some scenes are almost, well not "identical", but very much in the same spirit as The Terminator, specially when it comes to the underground movement scenes, and I kind of liked the robot suits, which looked rather impressive, for this kind of b-movie. The story and some of the actors also provided both some laughs, and a surprising amount of "dramatic" scenes as well. Also, it sure packs lots and lots of explosions and rather neatly made action scenes. So those in search for that kind of entertainment, might enjoy it a bit more. I notice that the same director, also has a handful of similar looking or sounding 90s films, like Digital Man (1995) coming afterwards, and the latter is one I kind of want to see, because of having Matthias Hues in one of the main parts, and I remember enjoying seeing him in a more heroic role, rather than just another villainous one, in Droid Gunner (also from 1995). The downside, is of course that A.P.E.X. does run out of steam after a while, specially with almost 1 hour and 40 minutes of runtime, and several scenes sure do drag on, very much. Maybe with a bit bigger budget, this could have actually turned out to be a little b-movie gem, but yeah, not one I will remember for very long. 4,5/10
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Post by theravenking on Jan 15, 2022 15:41:37 GMT
Demolition Man (1993; Marco Brambilla) It's Sly Vs. Snipes headlining this blockbusting sci/fi-action-comedy of the 90s! There were two things I remembered about this one: "Simon says" - the catchphrase of villain Simon Phoenix (Wesley Snipes), later re-used in Die Hard With A Vengeance, and that funny sex scene between Sly and Sandra Bullock where they put on virtual reality glasses. So feeling in the mood for some cheesy 90s action I opted for a rewatch of Demolition Man. Perhaps the biggest surprise was how tame the movie felt this time. I was expecting Snipes' criminal to butcher truckloads of people, but even the initial bloodbath which kickstarts the plot takes place entirely off-screen. We are told that a few dozen hostages have been killed and that's it! Later Simon Phoenix kicks and punches quite a few people, but there's precious little blood. Actually would it not be for some swearing this could've easily been a PG-13 feature. Apparently the studio wasn't too pleased with a longer, more violent version, so they decided to have the movie re-edited with the new cut putting the emphasis more on the comedic aspects. I can't say I'm all too happy with this, since not only is the action somewhat neutered it also lacks originality, even the better ideas like Simon raiding the weapons exhibition of a museum to get his hands on a powerful gun are handled in a rather derivative way. As for the comedy, it's rather broad. The fish-out-of-water scenario does still lead to some mildly amusing moments though. There are also some funny lines: "We're police officers! We're not trained to handle this kind of violence!" - exclaims Rob Schneider's character at one point (insert your defunding the police joke here). Sly is quite good here delivering a milder, self-ironical version of his later Judge Dredd character. Snipes on the other hand goes for all-out craziness, Simon Phoenix is so exuberant that he would make The Joker seem positively restrained in comparison. Sandra Bullock is sweet as the naive female cop, but the role gives her little opportunity to shine acting-wise. When it comes to the depiction of the future the movie isn't the most creative example of the genre either. The 2030 envisioned by Demolition Man looks more like something out of an episode of Sliders. although some of this might've been intentional with even outdoor scenes shot inside. So sadly Demolition Man failed to deliver the "blast from the past" I was expecting coming over as a rather middling action-comedy.
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mgmarshall
Junior Member
@mgmarshall
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Post by mgmarshall on Jan 20, 2022 4:01:05 GMT
Sushi GirlSolid little crime flick, very much in that Tarantino-ish, 70's throwback mold. It even has "Diamonds Are Forever" playing over the opening credits. Crime boss Tony Todd invites his old crew from a failed diamond heist- a rabid, swishy Mark Hamill, brutish and irritable enforcer Andy Mackenzie, furtive ex-junkie James Duval, and freshly released ex-con Noah Hathaway- to a sushi dinner, served atop the titular sushi girl (Cortney Palm). The plan? Todd and the rest of the crew believe that Hathaway has the cache of stolen diamonds hidden somewhere, and they wanna find out if they're right. Todd proposes they discuss it over the sushi dinner, gradually working their way up to the final dish- the potentially toxic fugu fish. All of this is being watched by the silent, unreactive sushi girl- who may have some secrets of her own. Unfortunately, this intriguing, potentially tense and suspenseful premise is quickly eschewed for some pretty standard, uninspired torture sequences; but the movie does still manage to wring a good deal of tension and action from the unravelling group dynamic between Todd, Hamill, Mackenzie and Duval, so it's not a total loss. Plus, in addition to the main cast you get cameos from Jeff Fahey, Michael Biehn, Danny Trejo, and Sonny Chiba.
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Post by SuperDevilDoctor on Jan 20, 2022 4:08:56 GMT
The Big Racket (1976) Absolutely brutal Italian action/crime drama, with lots and lots of killings... At one point, the bad guys force a man to watch his wife being gang-raped, after which she is pissed on and then set on fire. ( Jesus!) Strangely, the English-language dub totally refrains from using curse words, so the dialog can get rather odd at times. There are some great stunts and a really cool sequence filmed inside a car that's rolling over & over down a slope.
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mgmarshall
Junior Member
@mgmarshall
Posts: 2,047
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Post by mgmarshall on Jan 20, 2022 4:10:37 GMT
The Big Racket (1976) Absolutely brutal Italian action/crime drama, with lots and lots of killings... At one point, the bad guys force a man to watch his wife being gang-raped, after which she is pissed on and then set on fire. ( Jesus!) Strangely, the English-language dub totally refrains from using curse words, so the dialog can get rather odd at times. There are some great stunts and a really cool sequence filmed inside a car that's rolling over & over down a slope. Oooh, that's a good one!
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Post by politicidal on Jan 20, 2022 18:31:30 GMT
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Post by stefancrosscoe on Jan 21, 2022 11:28:08 GMT
The Pass aka Highway Hitcher (1998) by Kurt Voss Trying to overcome a recently broken down marriage, a mild mannered businessman (William Forsythe) takes on the highway road, travelling to Reno, in search for some much needed "vacation". However, his trip ends up getting cut short, the moment he decides to pick up a strange hitcher (James Le Gros).Decided to see a few unseen Forsythe "classics", and while I thought the film actually seemed rather interesting to begin with, also one with quite a promising cast (beside Forsythe and LeGros) you have Nancy Allen (sadly way too underused in this one), Michael McKean (also one I thought deserved more time) along with a surprising visit by comedian Jamie Kennedy. The plot and characters are of course nothing new, but it started up rather nicely, but ended up falling into, well not exactly "boredom", but with maybe better direction, it might have done a bit more, on the entertainment department. I liked seeing Forsythe in the more heroic, or anti-heroic role, and Le Gros gives a pretty decent villainous part, but yeah, compared to the absolute cult-classic that is The Hitcher (1986), it just ends up falling flat, somewhere around the middle. After that, I was halfway asleep on the coach, and yeah, not much else to say about it, really. 4,5/10And since I am already onto the hitchhiker-road movie territory, I ended up with seeing Robert Harmon (The Hitcher) and his action-thriller that were Highwaymen (2004) last night. A bit better than The Pass, but yeah, felt somehow underwhelming, as I kept on comparing it to the director and his far superior cat and mouse road/car thriller, starring Rutger Hauer. Anyway, I rated the latter from 2004, a kind 5/10, but not one which I will probably bother with seeing again.
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Post by lostinlimbo on Jan 21, 2022 22:17:05 GMT
For a Die Hard tv knock-off, it works. Stacy Keach makes anything watchable. Don’t think I ever seen a bad performance from him… maybe mediocre to bad films, but definitely not performances. I got to see more of her films too. More so her leading vehicles. Richard Norton appears in a few too. I got a couple lined up: Honor and Glory, Guardian Angel and Outside the Law. Yeah, some actors tend to just have certain charm or likeability to them, which makes even some of the "worst" films, somehow a bit less painful, and Keach is surely one that belongs in the group of very likeable and charming actors, whom I never either have seen a bad or "dull" performance of, even though sadly he has spent some time in a lot of bad and dull movies. But I guess his name is among the reasons to why I ended up watching them in the first place. Speaking of Richard Norton. That is also a fella I need to check up a few more film of, and come to think of it, I believe he actually showed up (a very young version as well) in a few of the Chuck Norris movies of the early 80s. And speaking of early 80s and Norris: Forced Vengeance (1982) by James Fargo "Never let your girlfriend hold your piece." After a quick trip back to his former homeland, the nononsense bouncer and collector Josh Randall (Chuck Norris), returns to Hong Kong, only to end up thrown in a chaotic and violent situation, caused by greed, and which has made his closest ones, to end up in deep trouble with a ruthless organisation, who wants to take over the family business.
About damn time I finally got see this one, and where the "pre-beard" edition of Norris is almost there (with the full Cowboy Texas Walker Ranger persona and style), and while I am not sure if Silent Rage or this were the ones where the Cowboy hat started to become a household item, but one thing is for sure, and that is that you do not mess around with his hat: "Why do they always pick on my hat?" "My best hat. Shit."
I really wanted to love this, but yeah, I guess it did never quite get to that, but I mean, I did find it enjoyable and surely the best of the 70s and early 80s films starring Chuck Norris, but I guess one will always end up "measuring" them, to his later and in my opinion, more classic 80s material, like the solid period from Lone Wolf McQuade and up til around early 90s, with The Hitman (1991). But as mentioned, I think Forced Vengeance is surely a step above the others I have seen with Chuck, at least of the earlier era, and it is not impossible, it might climb a bit higher on the rating scale. I guess also also another reason, is for me, the lack of memorable and truly awesome bad guys (not saying his earlier outputs were bad, but they just rarely stand out, as much as in the later ones). As from 1983, you would end up with tough and brutal villains such as David Carradine, Robert Forster, Richard Lynch, Billy Drago, Henry Silva and probably several more, which helped to include a very hateful and memorable villain. However, this 1982 film does move, and the pace, the fighting scenes and there is also quite a few suprisingly nasty and brutal scenes in there as well, and a well worthy final fight sequence,. All in all, I believe this could do well, along with Eye For An Eye (1981), as a two for one, movie night double, but for now, I end up with a: 6,5/10 Yeah, true. ‘Forced Vengeance’ and ‘An Eye for An Eye’ would make for a great double pairing. I think both films got the formula right for Chuck, after somewhat bumpy starring vehicles; Good Guys Wear Black, A Force of One, The Octagon and Silent Rage. I still kinda like those 4 films to a certain agree, especially ‘Force of One’, but I don’t think they consistently stuck to Chuck’s strengths. And It showed, especially with their focus on plot heavy stories or verbose scripts. And there’s the forgotten ‘Breaker!Breaker!’, which I think(?) was his first starring film. Ultra-goofy, but way more fun then those 4 films. Think ‘Two Thousand Maniacs!’ meets ‘Dukes of Hazards’… but with trucks. However he sort of moved away from those stoic beat ‘em ups, after the success of Delta Force, and Lone Wolf McQuade. A little more flash in the pan, when he went with Cannon. While I do enjoy his latter films (mid 80s onwards), I always find myself going back to those early films. Forced Vengeance and An Eye for An Eye would easily cement themselves in my top favourites of his films.
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Post by stefancrosscoe on Jan 22, 2022 12:07:36 GMT
Yeah, true. ‘Forced Vengeance’ and ‘An Eye for An Eye’ would make for a great double pairing. I think both films got the formula right for Chuck, after somewhat bumpy starring vehicles; Good Guys Wear Black, A Force of One, The Octagon and Silent Rage. I still kinda like those 4 films to a certain agree, especially ‘Force of One’, but I don’t think they consistently stuck to Chuck’s strengths. And It showed, especially with their focus on plot heavy stories or verbose scripts. And there’s the forgotten ‘Breaker!Breaker!’, which I think(?) was his first starring film. Ultra-goofy, but way more fun then those 4 films. Think ‘Two Thousand Maniacs!’ meets ‘Dukes of Hazards’… but with trucks. However he sort of moved away from those stoic beat ‘em ups, after the success of Delta Force, and Lone Wolf McQuade. A little more flash in the pan, when he went with Cannon. While I do enjoy his latter films (mid 80s onwards), I always find myself going back to those early films. Forced Vengeance and An Eye for An Eye would easily cement themselves in my top favourites of his films. I think as of now, I only have The Octagon left, where as A Force of One, Good Guys Wear Black (was that film, where Chuck jumps through the window of a fast moving vehicle?) and Breaker, Breaker all somewhat, never stayed within my Norris/action DVD collection. I had to be kind of "ruthless" back then, as my constant growing movie collection had gotten so big, and the space to keep piling new movies with, just got smaller. Looking back, I guess it migth have been something that I could regret, but hopefully most of these older Norris titles, are still available to behold online, every now and then. Could not help but notice, just the other day (through Letterboxd), that you had recently seen a few 80s action and b-movie documentaries. Specially the In the Search of the Last Action Heroes, and I think VHS Nasty, both released around 2019. Having seen them both, I really enjoyed the first one, but the latter just felt cheap and hasty, and how they got Lloyd Kaufman to be involved, well, I guess he needed the money, as he just seem to keep on showing up, in almost every horror and b-movie related documentary I have seen the last 5-10 years or so. Still have In Search of Darkness Part 1 and 2 on my to-watch-list, but then I found out about both having somewhere around 4 hours and 20 minutes (each) of runtime, and yeah, I do love me some b-movie horror films, no question about that, but almost 9 hours of people talking about this and that, within the world of (probably most b-movies), I guess one just have to split them up, and watch a bit, here and there. Will most likely get through them, but not right now.
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Post by stefancrosscoe on Jan 22, 2022 12:23:54 GMT
Alienator (1990) by Fred Olen Ray Damn. What the heck did I think about, when I rated this piece of junk, a 5/10, almost 8 years ago? That was my first reaction, when re-watching this "classic" Fred Olen Ray trashy rip-off (most likely) of classics like The Terminator, Predator and Aliens, but yeah, at least the title of the film was kind of cool, and it has a certain b-movie Ed Wood charm, due to the hammy acting, campy clothing and some absolute "what the hell?" moments taking place. But the runtime of 93 minutes, felt very overlong, and I hate when annoying and horrible unlikeable actors is not killed off early, and just stays on, and piles up on the misery for the poor viewers. Still, you have the always sweet and lovely P.J Soles (loved her sexy little outfit) and even if he most likely kept slumming down the b-movie route after his days as a tv-star with AirWolf, Jan-Michael Vincent is supposed to be the main star here, but if you blink a few times too many, you might just miss him. Well, the plot is prett simple. Some Arnold Schwarzenegger female (I had actually forgot the alien was a she, as it first looked wat more like Jon Mikl Thor or some random late 80s bodybuilder, with a goofy hair metal singers wig on top. The aliens gun was kind of impressive I guess, but yeah, it early on ends up as most Fred Olen Ray films, boring and just way too long. This was part of the MGM Sci-fi 4 movie marathon DVD, which I think was put out back in summer of 2013 or 14, along with Cyclone, Exterminator 2 and Tiger Eye with Gary Busey. I think Cyclone and the Busey film, were probably the "best" of the bunch, where as Exterminator 2, was quite a big letdown, compared to the superior and far more gritty original film, but it had Robert Ginty returning, and I think the first time it got a decent and remastered DVD release. Alienator however, is trash. No question about. But not unwatchable, still quite boring though, and well, I think more deserving of this kind of rating: 3/10Oh yeah, almost forgot. I also started up the evening, by re-watching that "other" buddy-cop-dog film of the late 80s, starring James Belushi. K-9 (1989), is one that, well, it just do not deliver the same kind of charming blend of action, comedy, charm and witty remarks, nor many memorable scenes, and yeah, I am surprised it lasted on for 3 movies, but I guess where the much later ones, were straight to video material. I picked up (years ago), a 3 movie DVD release, have seen every one, but hoped that the first one, would do a bit better, with another go. Sadly, that was not the case. I think Belushi was quite solid, as the vulgar and mouthy sidekick Red Heat (1988), up against Arnie, but in most of his leading man roles, he rarely is able to really come off as that much fun, and the jokes and the attempts of building up some kind of a "heart warming" man-dog friendship, it is just not on the same level, as the much better Turner and Hooch. Still, some scenes of course, worked out, but half of them did not. And somewhere in between, maybe not a whole lot better, but still, somewhat more enjoyable film, could have lied, but it just never happened for me this time neither. Had some plans of watching the other 2 as well, but right now, I decided to take a little break and move on to something else, and maybe give the sequels another chance later on. 5/10
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Post by lostinlimbo on Jan 23, 2022 7:28:19 GMT
Yeah, true. ‘Forced Vengeance’ and ‘An Eye for An Eye’ would make for a great double pairing. I think both films got the formula right for Chuck, after somewhat bumpy starring vehicles; Good Guys Wear Black, A Force of One, The Octagon and Silent Rage. I still kinda like those 4 films to a certain agree, especially ‘Force of One’, but I don’t think they consistently stuck to Chuck’s strengths. And It showed, especially with their focus on plot heavy stories or verbose scripts. And there’s the forgotten ‘Breaker!Breaker!’, which I think(?) was his first starring film. Ultra-goofy, but way more fun then those 4 films. Think ‘Two Thousand Maniacs!’ meets ‘Dukes of Hazards’… but with trucks. However he sort of moved away from those stoic beat ‘em ups, after the success of Delta Force, and Lone Wolf McQuade. A little more flash in the pan, when he went with Cannon. While I do enjoy his latter films (mid 80s onwards), I always find myself going back to those early films. Forced Vengeance and An Eye for An Eye would easily cement themselves in my top favourites of his films. I think as of now, I only have The Octagon left, where as A Force of One, Good Guys Wear Black (was that film, where Chuck jumps through the window of a fast moving vehicle?) and Breaker, Breaker all somewhat, never stayed within my Norris/action DVD collection. I had to be kind of "ruthless" back then, as my constant growing movie collection had gotten so big, and the space to keep piling new movies with, just got smaller. Looking back, I guess it migth have been something that I could regret, but hopefully most of these older Norris titles, are still available to behold online, every now and then. Could not help but notice, just the other day (through Letterboxd), that you had recently seen a few 80s action and b-movie documentaries. Specially the In the Search of the Last Action Heroes, and I think VHS Nasty, both released around 2019. Having seen them both, I really enjoyed the first one, but the latter just felt cheap and hasty, and how they got Lloyd Kaufman to be involved, well, I guess he needed the money, as he just seem to keep on showing up, in almost every horror and b-movie related documentary I have seen the last 5-10 years or so. Still have In Search of Darkness Part 1 and 2 on my to-watch-list, but then I found out about both having somewhere around 4 hours and 20 minutes (each) of runtime, and yeah, I do love me some b-movie horror films, no question about that, but almost 9 hours of people talking about this and that, within the world of (probably most b-movies), I guess one just have to split them up, and watch a bit, here and there. Will most likely get through them, but not right now. I think ‘the octagon’ was the one I liked the least from those films. Although Chuck’s hilarious whispering echo bubble thoughts (“OMG… ninjaaaa”) alone makes it worth a look. I take it your talking about the 90s straight to video horror documentary. I didn’t mind it, as there were a few amusing stories, but I was hoping for more lesser known titles to pop up. Well, honestly it would’ve been odd for Kaufman not to appear since Troma was big in the straight to video circuit. Although I agree in recent times he does seem to pop up a lot in docos. He was in the documentary (for a minute or so) I watched last night about people talking about their psychical movie collections. ‘In the Search of the last action heroes‘ was a good documentary, if a little thin in pockets. I would’ve preferred if they had broken it up in chapters, and went a little deeper. Maybe a series of documentaries focusing on the influencers, blockbusters, b-movies and the stars etc. I was really impressed with Scott Adkins, and his thoughts especially on how the action star has changed for this generation.
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