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Post by stefancrosscoe on Feb 7, 2021 11:14:33 GMT
Wedlock (1991). Not bad for a b-film. Lost steam towards the end. Great cast. Joan Chen is very talented and beautiful. 6.5/10 Re-watched it last year, along with a bunch of other 80s and early 90s Rutger Hauer action releases. Always liked it, and while most likely a made for TV movie, I think HBO (or something), it still delivers an enjoyable and fun ride of action, drama and romance. Of course, it sure helps to have such a great cast of familiar faces and names, where beside Rutger and Mimi Rogers in the leading parts, you get the lovely Joan Chen, James Remar, Stephen Toblowski, Basil Wallace and Danny Trejo, and while Lewis Teague is behind the camera. The only thing I did not like, was the terrible movie score, which kind of "disturbed" the tension and mood a few times over, but not enough for me to rate it any lower than a 6/10. The film and whole futuristic prison theme, does remind me of a similar but of course much bigger budget sci-fi/action release of the early 90s, where Stuart Gordon teams up with Christopher Lambert in the entertaining Fortress (1992), which I thought was surely the stronger film of the two.
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Post by Power Ranger on Feb 7, 2021 11:24:31 GMT
Wedlock (1991). Not bad for a b-film. Lost steam towards the end. Great cast. Joan Chen is very talented and beautiful. 6.5/10 Re-watched it last year, along with a bunch of other 80s and early 90s Rutger Hauer action releases. Always liked it, and while most likely a made for TV movie, I think HBO (or something), it still delivers an enjoyable and fun ride of action, drama and romance. Of course, it sure helps to have such a great cast of familiar faces and names, where beside Rutger and Mimi Rogers in the leading parts, you get the lovely Joan Chen, James Remar, Stephen Toblowski, Basil Wallace and Danny Trejo, and while Lewis Teague is behind the camera. The only thing I did not like, was the terrible movie score, which kind of "disturbed" the tension and mood a few times over, but not enough for me to rate it any lower than a 6/10. The film and whole futuristic prison theme, does remind me of a similar but of course much bigger budget sci-fi/action release of the early 90s, where Stuart Gordon teams up with Christopher Lambert in the entertaining Fortress (1992), which I thought was surely the stronger film of the two. I didn’t mind the soundtrack. I thought it was unique. |
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Post by stefancrosscoe on Feb 7, 2021 12:08:50 GMT
 The Park Is Mine (1986) by Steven Hilliard Stern "Those sick sons-of-bitches! They're sending in the Viet Cong to get me. SHIT!" A burnt out Vietnam vet (Tommy Lee Jones), decides to pick up from where an old friend left off with his secret little "project". But in order to come through with the supportive message towards his fellow war buddies, and all those that have been left behind in society. He decides that the best way to get the attention of the people of New York City, is to shut down Central Park for a few days, and that is something which pretty soon becomes prime time news and also a big concern for the politicians, who is not gonna let one man, stand in their way and giving them any bad publicity.Now we're talking. This one had been on my radar for a while now, but did not get to see it, until last night. And thankfully, it turned out to be quite a ride. I really felt kind of "bad", for waiting this long until watching it. But this Dog Day Afternoon meets up with First Blood HBO made for TV drama-thriller, was really a very pleasant and entertaining watch. Tommy Lee Jones delivers a very good performance, and in other parts we get the lovely Helen Shaver as a nosy reporter, out for a scoop, Yaphet Kotto as the chief of a Police squad and yeah, I should probably realize early on, that when Tangerine Dream were involved, it usually is never a bad sign either. Their pulsating score, fits well in, even if a lot of it, sounds like it came straight from the Thief (1981) soundtrack. I like the fact that the film never turns into a bloody Rambo/Commando/Invasion U.S.A. or similar one man army action films, where the killcount goes completely berserk, as I think there is about 2-3 people that is killed, or dies here. So for those expecting a bloody massacre, this ain't it. And if it had turned out to end up like that, I doubt it would be as good. The other great news, beside that I have finally begun having a bit of a luck with my search through the enormous archive of free movies lying around on Youtube. Is that The Park Is Mine, is actually recently put out on Blu-ray, so that is pretty cool, as that is kind of a big bonus, as I really want to get my hands on a few of these films, not just have them as a file on my computer. All in all, a solid, well acted and made thriller, that should be a must see, for fans of Tommy Lee Jones, and I rate it with a solid: 8/10
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Post by lostinlimbo on Feb 8, 2021 9:21:35 GMT
The Park Is Mine (1986) by Steven Hilliard Stern "Those sick sons-of-bitches! They're sending in the Viet Cong to get me. SHIT!" A burnt out Vietnam vet (Tommy Lee Jones), decides to pick up from where an old friend left off with his secret little "project". But in order to come through with the supportive message towards his fellow war buddies, and all those that have been left behind in society. He decides that the best way to get the attention of the people of New York City, is to shut down Central Park for a few days, and that is something which pretty soon becomes prime time news and also a big concern for the politicians, who is not gonna let one man, stand in their way and giving them any bad publicity.Now we're talking. This one had been on my radar for a while now, but did not get to see it, until last night. And thankfully, it turned out to be quite a ride. I really felt kind of "bad", for waiting this long until watching it. But this Dog Day Afternoon meets up with First Blood HBO made for TV drama-thriller, was really a very pleasant and entertaining watch. Tommy Lee Jones delivers a very good performance, and in other parts we get the lovely Helen Shaver as a nosy reporter, out for a scoop, Yaphet Kotto as the chief of a Police squad and yeah, I should probably realize early on, that when Tangerine Dream were involved, it usually is never a bad sign either. Their pulsating score, fits well in, even if a lot of it, sounds like it came straight from the Thief (1981) soundtrack. I like the fact that the film never turns into a bloody Rambo/Commando/Invasion U.S.A. or similar one man army action films, where the killcount goes completely berserk, as I think there is about 2-3 people that is killed, or dies here. So for those expecting a bloody massacre, this ain't it. And if it had turned out to end up like that, I doubt it would be as good. The other great news, beside that I have finally begun having a bit of a luck with my search through the enormous archive of free movies lying around on Youtube. Is that The Park Is Mine, is actually recently put out on Blu-ray, so that is pretty cool, as that is kind of a big bonus, as I really want to get my hands on a few of these films, not just have them as a file on my computer. All in all, a solid, well acted and made thriller, that should be a must see, for fans of Tommy Lee Jones, and I rate it with a solid: 8/10 Such an underrated Tommy Lee Jones movie. Especially for a made for tv production. Compelling action-thriller. And he sure was packing a lot ammo?! I agree, the score was great too.
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Post by stefancrosscoe on Feb 8, 2021 9:29:25 GMT
Yeah, I might actually believe this turned into one of the very best, or at least most enjoyable and fun made for TV films I have ever seen, and ever since I saw Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1990), I have always been fascinated by Central Park. So to have an entire film, pretty much covering that famous park, was very interesting and cool to behold.
Loved the part where Tommy Lee Jones says something like: "GET NAKED!" towards Helen Shaver, and she immediately begins to take off her clothes, even showing some titties in the process.
The sleazy politician with the glasses, reminded me so much of a young Jeffrey Combs, of course it was not him, but I could easily have seen him doing that part.
I will surely be tracking down the Blu-ray, if it is out on a code/region free version that is.
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Post by lostinlimbo on Feb 8, 2021 9:38:14 GMT
 How’s this for ya. Norris, McQueen, Swayze and Drago. But it’s not who you would think... or even dream of. So If you cannot get the headlining stars. Do the next best thing. Get their lesser talented family. And sell the film that way. You’re not lying plastering their surnames across the poster. At least you got Billy Drago. Disappointedly though, looks like Frank Stallone and Joe Estevez weren’t available. An ex-solider (Mike Norris) along with his girl, are kidnapped after the attention he receives after winning a survival of the fittest contest. Soon he finds out he has been chosen as the next target for a life and death manhunt on a millionaires (Billy Drago) island. While his best mate (Chad McQueen) is doing everything possible to find out who kidnapped him. ‘Death Ring’ is a straight-to-video, b-action staple of little imagination and probably looked much wilder on paper than what entirely transpired. Still there’s a clunkiness to its story progression, and along with certain performances sorta carry it through. The premise treads a familiar path of the most dangerous game formula. And it’s not particularly a thrilling exercise, as it’s very slow to get going, especially when it came to the island manhunt. Everything picks up in the last half-hour, where it comes into its own. It does gets better as it goes along. Even though it’s low-rent action. Throw in some dodgy booby traps, sloppy one-one-one combat, daring helicopter rescue and a head decapitation. Luckily Drago chews it up whenever on screen and runs rings around everyone else. His interaction with Branscombe Richmond (who’s sorely underused) is an unforgettably vicious exchange. It was probably the best moment within the stodgy first hour. While Don Swayze is credited, he comes on late and doesn’t get up to much. As he sorta tags along, while Norris goes to town. Norris gets a couple decent encounters especially with Donegan Smith (the most memorable of the hunters). Another cameo was Dennis Lipscomb, as a satanist cult leader. Quick, but devilishly amusing walk-on scene mainly involving the sub-plot of McQueen’s character. An okay watch, but felt like it held back too much and lacked a constant crazy energy. Like the dinning scene. In the end I’ll rather re-watch Avenging Force, or Hard Target, and there’s Surviving the Game. Even Deadly Prey did it better. |
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Post by stefancrosscoe on Feb 8, 2021 9:57:16 GMT
How’s this for ya. Norris, McQueen, Swayze and Drago. But it’s not who you would think... or even dream of. So If you cannot get the headlining stars. Do the next best thing. Get their lesser talented family. And sell the film that way. You’re not lying plastering their surnames across the poster. At least you got Billy Drago. Disappointedly though, looks like Frank Stallone and Joe Estevez weren’t available. I am sure I have seen this one, but it might be so long since, that I have forgotten about much of the plot. Still, I got a laugh out of the way the poster/DVD artwork surely makes great use of the last names of the actors. Not sure if I will ever re-watch it, as it were one of those typical impulse purchases, and it looked like a "promising" b-movie, which I think ended up with a 5/10 rating, which is not really bad for that kind of entertainment. I sat down with Venom (2018) last night, expecting nothing, really. I remember it got mostly terrible reviews when it arrived, and so it turned out to be a rather enjoyable ride. Sure, the CGI and typical superhero plot/style was not all that impressive, too generic and dull at times, as I kind of wanted more nasty and gory scenes, and for a similar watch, I rather take Species (1995) any day over Venom. Still, Tom Hardy delivered a very fun leading part and I thought Michelle Williams looked very much alike Mira Sorvino at times, with that long hair. Sadly, the main villain were as often with these modern superhero titles, weak and forgettable as ever, but it went by fast and I never got bored, so for me, never a bad movie, and surely much better version of Venom, than the one from Spider-Man 3 (2007). I rated it with a 6/10
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Post by lostinlimbo on Feb 8, 2021 10:27:46 GMT
How’s this for ya. Norris, McQueen, Swayze and Drago. But it’s not who you would think... or even dream of. So If you cannot get the headlining stars. Do the next best thing. Get their lesser talented family. And sell the film that way. You’re not lying plastering their surnames across the poster. At least you got Billy Drago. Disappointedly though, looks like Frank Stallone and Joe Estevez weren’t available. I am sure I have seen this one, but it might be so long since, that I have forgotten about much of the plot. Still, I got a laugh out of the way the poster/DVD artwork surely makes great use of the last names of the actors. Not sure if I will ever re-watch it, as it were one of those typical impulse purchases, and it looked like a "promising" b-movie, which I think ended up with a 5/10 rating, which is not really bad for that kind of entertainment. It was mainly disappointing because of what it could have been. I was expecting more from the manhunt and it was only Mike Norris who took part in it. I don’t count Swayze as he was pretty much a cheerleader for Norris. Then they kill off Branscombe Richmond before the manhunt begins. He would’ve made an imposing hunter... as he’s just crazy. Just watch Wing Hauser’s No Safe Haven. In a way it sorta wasted the novelty of the cast involved. Get ‘em all out there, trying to survive the game.
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Post by Mulder and Scully on Feb 8, 2021 14:26:06 GMT
How’s this for ya. Norris, McQueen, Swayze and Drago. But it’s not who you would think... or even dream of. So If you cannot get the headlining stars. Do the next best thing. Get their lesser talented family. And sell the film that way. You’re not lying plastering their surnames across the poster. At least you got Billy Drago. Disappointedly though, looks like Frank Stallone and Joe Estevez weren’t available. An ex-solider (Mike Norris) along with his girl, are kidnapped after the attention he receives after winning a survival of the fittest contest. Soon he finds out he has been chosen as the next target for a life and death manhunt on a millionaires (Billy Drago) island. While his best mate (Chad McQueen) is doing everything possible to find out who kidnapped him. ‘Death Ring’ is a straight-to-video, b-action staple of little imagination and probably looked much wilder on paper than what entirely transpired. Still there’s a clunkiness to its story progression, and along with certain performances sorta carry it through. The premise treads a familiar path of the most dangerous game formula. And it’s not particularly a thrilling exercise, as it’s very slow to get going, especially when it came to the island manhunt. Everything picks up in the last half-hour, where it comes into its own. It does gets better as it goes along. Even though it’s low-rent action. Throw in some dodgy booby traps, sloppy one-one-one combat, daring helicopter rescue and a head decapitation. Luckily Drago chews it up whenever on screen and runs rings around everyone else. His interaction with Branscombe Richmond (who’s sorely underused) is an unforgettably vicious exchange. It was probably the best moment within the stodgy first hour. While Don Swayze is credited, he comes on late and doesn’t get up to much. As he sorta tags along, while Norris goes to town. Norris gets a couple decent encounters especially with Donegan Smith (the most memorable of the hunters). Another cameo was Dennis Lipscomb, as a satanist cult leader. Quick, but devilishly amusing walk-on scene mainly involving the sub-plot of McQueen’s character. An okay watch, but felt like it held back too much and lacked a constant crazy energy. Like the dinning scene. In the end I’ll rather re-watch Avenging Force, or Hard Target, and there’s Surviving the Game. Even Deadly Prey did it better. Hahaha I can't stop laughing at this. McQueen, Swayze, Norris the Z-Grade edition. It's hilarious that they advertised their last names as if they were the real deal. |
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Post by mgmarshall on Feb 8, 2021 23:59:07 GMT
I am sure I have seen this one, but it might be so long since, that I have forgotten about much of the plot. Still, I got a laugh out of the way the poster/DVD artwork surely makes great use of the last names of the actors. Not sure if I will ever re-watch it, as it were one of those typical impulse purchases, and it looked like a "promising" b-movie, which I think ended up with a 5/10 rating, which is not really bad for that kind of entertainment. It was mainly disappointing because of what it could have been. I was expecting more from the manhunt and it was only Mike Norris who took part in it. I don’t count Swayze as he was pretty much a cheerleader for Norris. Then they kill off Branscombe Richmond before the manhunt begins. He would’ve made an imposing hunter... as he’s just crazy. Just watch Wing Hauser’s No Safe Haven. In a way it sorta wasted the novelty of the cast involved. Get ‘em all out there, trying to survive the game. You know, I didn't recognize Branscombe Richmond's name immediately. Upon looking him up, it turns out I know him already from his less-than-successful run in with a different Norris:
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Post by lostinlimbo on Feb 9, 2021 2:09:05 GMT
It was mainly disappointing because of what it could have been. I was expecting more from the manhunt and it was only Mike Norris who took part in it. I don’t count Swayze as he was pretty much a cheerleader for Norris. Then they kill off Branscombe Richmond before the manhunt begins. He would’ve made an imposing hunter... as he’s just crazy. Just watch Wing Hauser’s No Safe Haven. In a way it sorta wasted the novelty of the cast involved. Get ‘em all out there, trying to survive the game. You know, I didn't recognize Branscombe Richmond's name immediately. Upon looking him up, it turns out I know him already from his less-than-successful run in with a different Norris: Poor guy. Though he sure made it a habit.
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Post by lostinlimbo on Feb 9, 2021 2:21:14 GMT
 Cheap, tacky and gimmicky. However there’s something riveting about watching Charles Bronson’s po-faced doppelgänger (Robert Bronzi) going death wish mode.
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Post by mgmarshall on Feb 9, 2021 3:40:39 GMT
Cheap, tacky and gimmicky. However there’s something riveting about watching Charles Bronson’s po-faced doppelgänger (Robert Bronzi) going death wish mode. Hell, they did this with Bruce Lee after he was dead so many times it practically became its own genre. This Bronzi guy appears to be planning to make a career around this, though: Still, I guess Bronzi wouldn't be the first. Anybody remember Robert Sacchi...?
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Post by Dramatic Look Gopher on Feb 9, 2021 4:18:26 GMT
Cheap, tacky and gimmicky. However there’s something riveting about watching Charles Bronson’s po-faced doppelgänger (Robert Bronzi) going death wish mode. Good lord, that guy really is Charlie's long lost twin brother, lol!
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Post by stefancrosscoe on Feb 13, 2021 14:59:45 GMT
The Challenge (1982) by John Frankenheimer When an american amateur boxer (Scott Glenn) suddenly is thrown the "deal of a lifetime" at him, he soon finds out the hard the way, that he has been set up in order to smuggle a priceful katana sword along with him, and where he gets no warm greetings, when arriving Japan. Instead, he is brutally kidnapped, and gets to learn the cruel way of how the powerful Yoshida clan handles their ruthless business.I had almost forgotten about this one, at least for a while. I like these east meets west films of the 70s and 80s, and the plot and style felt somehow at times very similar to the solid 1974 crime-noir thriller, The Yakuza, that also features a solid cast and portrays two struggling parts, competing for honor and power, where an american suddenly gets dragged deep into the madness, and yeah, I also did notice that the whole futuristic business building, to the younger brother Yoshida, was the same that also were used in the Yakuza. Looking at the awesome poster above, I guesss I kind of "expected" an fast paced martial arts title, but instead, this one played out more as a slow burning adventure, which I didn't mind, as when it first began to hit off with action and violence, it sure did not held back one bit. The fighting scenes, were impressive and hard hitting, and the violence at times gruesome and nasty as hell. I especially loved the final fight, which was anything but "honorful", and more of two people using whatever it takes, to kill each other off, and damn, I did not see that one coming. Fun to watch Scott Glenn get the opportunity to play the heroic part, as he so often would be dealt the heavy/menacing bad guy role, in so many films, but I thought he handled himself very well here, even though he went maybe a bit too fast, from "punching bag" towards a highly skilled fighter/soldier. The final scene, is almost like right out of an James Bond film, with the army of guards, and the whole cool futuristic building and all, almost expecting to see Sean Connery arrive in a tuxedo and flying mini-copter, to kick some major ass. All in all, I will most likely try to hunt down this on Blu-ray, as I think it might have a re-watchability potential. I believe this was another one of Frankenheimer's films, that he made for Cannon Pictures, and I gotta say, both The Challenge and 52-Pick Up (1986) is surely a big step above of the usual b-films coming out from Cannon Films, as they were well written, acted and very stylish movies, and lots of fun too. 7/10
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Post by stefancrosscoe on Feb 14, 2021 10:41:07 GMT
Gunmen (1993) by Deran Sarafian Remember this from the good ol days, when it was being sent all the time on late night cable in the 90s, but have been meaning of re-watching it for years now. Finally got around to do so, and I gotta say, it was still a very explosive and fun thrilled ride, where Christopher Lambert and Mario Van Peebles teams up, against a small army of nasty hired for guns, killers led by Patrick Stewart. Sure, the buddy-cop action formula kind of gets a bit overused at times, but both Lambert and Van Peebles seems to have a blast in this one, and the chemistry between them surely carries a lot of the scenes as well. Another reason to why I enjoyed this one, is because of the strong cast of villains, where you have Stewart being tied to a wheelchair, something I guess he would later on be more famous for in the part of Charles Xavier, still the part where his own men turns against him, that has always stood out as among the one I remember the most from former visits. It also helps, to have Denis Leary playing a real nasty piece of work, along with the stunning Brenda Bakke as one of his crew, a damn, she looked fine as hell in this one, and would have loved seeing her in more action roles, as she could back it up and be just as tough and merciless as the guys, or even more at times.  All in all, a fun buddy-cop action adventure, that I guess never quite became the hit at the time of its release, but one which seems to enjoy more success at cable tv later on. 6,5/10
Burglar (1987) by Hugh Wilson A highly skilled cat burglar (Whoppi Goldberg) ends up getting drawned deep into a murder case, when she stumbles upon the body of a man, and in order to clear her name and also avoid the killers on her trail, she will need to bring along all the thieving skills to turn things around, before either the criminals or the police catches up with her. Another film, that I have sure seen, several times, but according to both my IMDb and Letterboxd account, I rated it with a not so kind rating to that of 4/10, and I have no idea where the hell I was back then, or how much of the film I actually saw, but this Whoppi Goldberg action-comedy, sure were far more rewarding last night, than 10 years ago. I have seen Fatal Beauty (1987) which also came around the same time, and while that one hit a bit harder in the action department, I thought the story and characters were a bit "weak", and rated it with a disappointing 5/10. Thankfully, Burglar really is a whole lot of fun, and you get quite an gallery of familiar names and faces as well. I guess this was around the time, when Bobcat Goldthwait hit his "peak" as the funny sidekick, with starring in several of the Police Academy films, Scrooged, and also trying his luck as a potential leading man with Hot To Trot (1988). In other parts, we have another former Police Academy actor in G.W. Bailey, as well as the lovely Lesley Ann Warren and a young John Goodman. Anyway, the film moves fast, and manages to be both a lot of fun and also include a few action and thrills along the way. Most likely one of the better Whoppi Goldberg films I have seen of her, and one I enjoyed more than Fatal Beauty. 6,5/10
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Post by lostinlimbo on Feb 19, 2021 1:56:46 GMT
The Challenge (1982) by John Frankenheimer When an american amateur boxer (Scott Glenn) suddenly is thrown the "deal of a lifetime" at him, he soon finds out the hard the way, that he has been set up in order to smuggle a priceful katana sword along with him, and where he gets no warm greetings, when arriving Japan. Instead, he is brutally kidnapped, and gets to learn the cruel way of how the powerful Yoshida clan handles their ruthless business.I had almost forgotten about this one, at least for a while. I like these east meets west films of the 70s and 80s, and the plot and style felt somehow at times very similar to the solid 1974 crime-noir thriller, The Yakuza, that also features a solid cast and portrays two struggling parts, competing for honor and power, where an american suddenly gets dragged deep into the madness, and yeah, I also did notice that the whole futuristic business building, to the younger brother Yoshida, was the same that also were used in the Yakuza. Looking at the awesome poster above, I guesss I kind of "expected" an fast paced martial arts title, but instead, this one played out more as a slow burning adventure, which I didn't mind, as when it first began to hit off with action and violence, it sure did not held back one bit. The fighting scenes, were impressive and hard hitting, and the violence at times gruesome and nasty as hell. I especially loved the final fight, which was anything but "honorful", and more of two people using whatever it takes, to kill each other off, and damn, I did not see that one coming. Fun to watch Scott Glenn get the opportunity to play the heroic part, as he so often would be dealt the heavy/menacing bad guy role, in so many films, but I thought he handled himself very well here, even though he went maybe a bit too fast, from "punching bag" towards a highly skilled fighter/soldier. The final scene, is almost like right out of an James Bond film, with the army of guards, and the whole cool futuristic building and all, almost expecting to see Sean Connery arrive in a tuxedo and flying mini-copter, to kick some major ass. All in all, I will most likely try to hunt down this on Blu-ray, as I think it might have a re-watchability potential. I believe this was another one of Frankenheimer's films, that he made for Cannon Pictures, and I gotta say, both The Challenge and 52-Pick Up (1986) is surely a big step above of the usual b-films coming out from Cannon Films, as they were well written, acted and very stylish movies, and lots of fun too. 7/10 One of my favourites of the 80s. The final battle was downright vicious in an anything sort of goes encounter. While I like the poster, the VHS cover is the one I always think off when I see/hear about this film. Really shows off that futuristic building too. 
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Post by stefancrosscoe on Feb 19, 2021 9:18:39 GMT
One of my favourites of the 80s. The final battle was downright vicious in an anything sort of goes encounter. While I like the poster, the VHS cover is the one I always think off when I see/hear about this film. Really shows off that futuristic building too. Would have loved getting my hands on a VHS copy, featuring that artwork, either that or some kind of Arrow DVD/Blu-ray release, having the option of reverse artwork, with both the VHS cover above, and the more updated/modern image as well. The final fight was quite a show, very unusual in a way, as I did of course expect the villain to lose, but I sure love these nasty, "throw everything at your opponent" desperate and very exciting fighting scenes, that is not completely dominated by one fighter, who turns it into another one-sided outcome show. I kept wondering if this film could have turned into a potential martial art/action franchise, not sure if it became a hit back then, but maybe it was for the better, that it ended right there and then.
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Post by stefancrosscoe on Feb 20, 2021 9:23:23 GMT
 Bulletproof (1988) by Steve Carver "Your worst nightmare, butthorn!"Not sure how this one ended up as my late night "bad movie" impulse watch, but the moment I saw Gary Busey standing at the top of a roof ceiling, shouting "Your worst nightmare, butthorn!", I knew that I just had to see this hopefully, fun filled action b-movie. And I gotta say, it did not disappoint, one bit. I am not sure if I ever knew it existed (if so, I guess it has just disappeared from my memory), and I was on the look out for some total 80s cheese, and after a bit of browsing around, suddenly this Bulletproof arrived, and I wante to give it a go. I have always liked Gary Busey, a man who never fails to deliver the goods, no matter how poorly made a movie might be, he is one of those that will not let you down, and also fun to watch him try on the more heroic leading man type of character, which I have not seen him in too often. The first thing I thought of, was, "Where the hell is the Cannon Pictures logo?", as it just felt, looked and sounded like just another explosive and fun b-movie action release of theirs. You had your typical Cannon heavy bad guys, such as Henry Silva, Danny Trejo and Juan Fernández, being sleazy and unlikeable, as always, but early on, I do feel that this could have been a Chuck Norris action release, as it had so much of the smiliar treats, to some of his earlier films by Cannon, and of course, then you had the high-tech war machine or "toy" known as the Thunderblast, which was really cool, and reminded of a similar Norris action film, Code of Silence, in which also Henry Silva shows up, and is taken down by this futuristic robot/machine, which blast the hell out of the bad guys. Of course, looking up Bulletproof, I do notice that there is also another reason to the whole Chuck Norris/Cannon pictures feel to it, as director Steve Carver had already made a few films together with Chuck, but still, Gary Busey sure is not a bad replacement, and seems to love every scene he is in. In other parts, we meet up with the lovely Darlene Fluegel and yeah, Busey is not only a man of action, he is a lover too, and is a pretty mean one at playing the saxophone as well. All in all, I enjoyed it, probably a bit more than I should, as this is surely not a great action film, but a fun and explosive one. I do know, remember where I had this film from, and I believe Shout! Factory released it, years ago through one of their 4 movie marathon DVDs, but the reason to why I did not pick it up then, was because I remember a few angry people, claiming that release was cut to pieces, and I doubt the film I saw last night had suffered any harm by the cencors, as tits, violence and all the cheese seemed to be in the right place, at the right time. Anyway, I rated it with a generous: 6/10
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Post by FridayOnElmStreet on Feb 20, 2021 10:51:09 GMT
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