What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Markgway
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Tag: The Assassination Game (1982-USA) **
A campus-set game of tag goes awry when a deranged student decides to use real bullets.
Premise had potential, but execution is free of suspense and logic.
Director Nick "the Shape" Castle prefers the romantic noir angle, a mildly amusing distraction.
Linda Hamilton is good in her first major role as chief competitor and love interest.
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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China 9, Liberty 37 (1978-Italy-Spain) **½
Not bad character-driven spaghetti western directed by Monte Hellman.
Bonus: Comely Jenny Agutter appears nude several times.
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Tightrope (1984-USA) **½
Seedy thriller in which Clint Eastwood (in a bit of a stretch) plays a kinky New Orleans cop (and single father) hunting a rapist-murderer whose M.O. gets a little too close for comfort.
Many will find this either too sleazy (traditional Eastwood fans) or not sleazy enough... we never doubt that Eastwood is a good guy and forgive him his fondness for prostitutes.
Professionally-made and interesting throughout.

The Homesman (2014-USA-France) **½
Bleak western drama is well done, but a bit of slog, with a poignant second act turn that's a real downer.
Still, something of a personal triumph for director-star-co-writer Tommy Lee Jones.

Unstoppable (2010-USA) **½
Fairly solid action blockbuster involving a runaway train; Tony Scott over-directs, with hyperactive camerawork and editing.
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Dark Angel (1989-USA) **½
Entertaining action cheese with Dolph Lundgren battling an intergalactic drug dealer (yep, you read that right!)
Lots of stuntwork, with director Craig Baxley making the most of a limited budget.
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Survivor (2015-USA-UK) **½
Far-fetched action thriller in which a-framed-for-murder Milla Jovovich has to foil a terrorist plot whilst dodging icy hitman Pierce Brosnan.
Passable entertainment.
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Deadpool (USA, 2016) [VoD] - 3/5
I liked this more than I expected considering I quite often hate both superheroes and excessive post modernism. Deadpool is completely up its own ass, explaining its meta levels inside out so that even the dumbest viewer won't miss the jokes, and is generally afraid to do anything too clever or controversial. Admittedly that is the road to commercial success (see what happened to the excellent Spring Breakers, which is equally over-the-top but less vocal about being a meta-film). That being said, I had fairly decent time with Deadpool despite what it represents. Many of the idiotic jokes are amusing, the music is good, the storyline just about works, and even the normally mind numbingly boring superhero battles are sort of watchable.
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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The Warriors 4/5
Late 70's and very controversial at the time cult movie from Walter Hill is very much of it's time but still in my eyes a bit of a classic. A simple premise, NYC parks gather together in a park to listen to the overlord,he's assassinated, The Warriors are framed for the killing and have the rest of the night to try"bop" their way back to their Coney Island base while every gang out there is out to get them. Great soundtrack and well performed by the mostly little known cast. Had to log in to my daughter's Netflix to watch the Theatrical of this in HD, as Hill has gone all revisionist and ruined the blu ray by adding stupid comic book syle panels throughout the movie.

Silent Rage 3/5

A change of pace (at the time) for Chuck Norris who delves into Halloween like territory as a sheriff trying to stop an invincible killer. Ron Silver and James Keats also feature and i have to say the opening 15 minutes is so well done the rest of the movie finds it hard to keep up the standard. Decent enough if a little overlong.

Man Of Steel 2.5/5

Second time watching this,it's a bit of a lumbering mess tbh but hey,it's Superman. Kevin Costner is woefully underused here as Pa Kent,James Cavill makes a bland Supes and Russell Crowe as his father is well,Russell Crowe.He's gotten lazy,phones it in these days.

Streets Of Fire 3.5/5
Dumb but very good 80's actioner from Walter Hill,never takes itself too seriously. Michael Pare is a soldier of fortune tasked with rescuing singer (ans ex) Diane Lane from Willem Dafoes gang leader. Rick Moranis also features heavily here as Lane's manager and a basic asshole.

Return To The Batcave 3.5/5
Nostalgic reunion movie for Adam West & Burt Ward who play themselves in a typically daft caper trying to find the stolen Batmobile.Very good,unfortunately the scandanavian blu ray is possibly the worst i've ever come across.
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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saltysam wrote:The Warriors 4/5
Hill has gone all revisionist and ruined the blu ray by adding stupid comic book syle panels throughout the movie.
That's the version I saw on Film Four, I think.

The music also appears in the trailer for Raw Deal.
James Cavill makes a bland Supes
So bland you forgot his name was Henry. :D
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Markgway wrote:
James Cavill makes a bland Supes
So bland you forgot his name was Henry. :D
doh..i must have had James on the brain as i've called Steven Keats James in the Silent Rage review :drunk:
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Oh, yeah. That's that James Norris film, right? ;)
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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A Fistful Of Dollars 4.5/5
Opening entry in the classic Eastwood/Leone trilogy is a reworking of Yojimbo, a simple tale brilliantly told with style to spare.Shortest of the 3 at 99 minutes, this is lean and wastes no time getting to the point. The italian blu ray collectors edition i have looks great,english mono, this is getting a release from Kino next year but this will be hard to top.

John Wick:Chapter 2 4/5
A rare bird, a sequel that tops the original. Flashy and pretty much non stop through it's 2 hour running time. I can see why people aren't fans of these Wick movies, i think they are great.
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Interesting about Fistful, I didnt know the Italian BD was English friendly :)
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Mr. Majestyk (1974-USA) **½
Good Charlie Bronson vehicle; if a little saggy in the middle.
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Vice Squad (1982-USA-UK) *½
Cops have to catch up with streetwalker-witness Season Hubley (miscast) before sadistic pimp Wings Hauser (playing a character named 'Ramrod'(!)) does. Grubby, purportedly realistic, but not terribly entertaining. Hauser makes quite an impression as a brutal sleazebag.

The Calling (2013-Canada-USA) **½
Unhappy Canadian cop Susan Sarandon tracks a religious serial killer.
Contemplative, low key thriller, passes the time without setting the world alight.
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The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970-UK-USA) **½
Butchered by distributor United Artists, it's hard to know how Billy Wilder's pet project would've turned out sans interference at its original 3hr+ run time. What's left is a good deal of wit, some poignancy, but also a lop sided and decidedly odd plot involving Queen Victoria, German spies, and the Loch Ness Monster!
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Zapped (1982-USA) **
Barely acceptable teen comedy in which science geek Scott Baio inadvertently gives himself telekinetic powers (the prom finale spoofs Carrie).
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Enter The Dragon 4.5/5
Far from perfect but iconic Bruce Lee film is still the poster child for american martial arts movies. Almost everything clicks here,cast,setting,action...though the script is cheesy as... Director Clouse though prolific never made anything near the standard here...though i do think Battlecreek Brawl is a good movie.

The Yakuza 3/5
Robert Mitchum and Ken Takakura go up against the japanese gangster organisation in Sydney Pollack's solid 70's thriller. A beautiful transfer on show here from Warner...how 70's catalogue titles should be treated on blu ray.
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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The Missionary (1982-UK) **
Awfully mild and undernourished, Michael Palin's 'risque' comedy is thin on laughs, with only light sprinkles of dry British wit to compensate.
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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The Man With The Iron Fists: 2/5

Silly postmodern homage to classic martial arts and grindhouse movies. Lucy Liu plays a Chinese brothel madam, a kind of watered down version of her 'Kill Bill' character. A couple of classic old veterans (Chen Kuan Tai, Gordon Liu) make cameos.
I didn't like the way the action was shot so you could hardly see what was going on.
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The Sender (1982-UK-USA) **
Confused, incoherent horror of young man unable to control his telepathic nightmares.
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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grim_tales wrote:The Man With The Iron Fists: 2/5

Silly postmodern homage to classic martial arts and grindhouse movies. Lucy Liu plays a Chinese brothel madam, a kind of watered down version of her 'Kill Bill' character. A couple of classic old veterans (Chen Kuan Tai, Gordon Liu) make cameos.
I didn't like the way the action was shot so you could hardly see what was going on.
it's got Jon T. Benn in it! extra half star for that at least :)
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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The Man with the Iron Fists 2: 2.5/5

Thought this movie was a bit better than the first one, it had a better story and the choreography is more realistic looking (think Muay Thai, Ong Bak style though not on that level) :) At first it seemed like a similar story to The Big Boss in a way (evil boss mistreating his workers, girls going missing etc) but something different is added in the underground fight club element and there's a twist at the end
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Horror of Dracula (UK, 1958) [DVD] - 4/5
I'm a newcomer to Hammer, and I found this to be excellent. Beautiful sets and locations; I wish they'd still make horror movies like this. I was a little surprised by the generous cleavage.

To the Devil a Daughter (UK, 1976) [DVD] - 3/5
Christopher Lee is an excommunicated priest leading a Satanist group with secret plans for a teenage girl (Nastassja Kinski) who's been prepared for a bigger purpose all her life. An author of a scandalous book about the devil tries to save her. Interesting and tense, but ultimately slightly underwhelming late Hammer film. One would expect a bit more from the ending, especially visually and atmospherically.
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Victor Victoria (1982-UK-USA) **½
Camp cross-dressing musical comedy from Blake Edwards, set in (very) gay Paris circa 1934.
Edwards knows farce, but the theatricality isn't for all tastes, and it goes on too long.

The Last Days on Mars (2013-UK-Ireland) **
Derivative science fiction-horror has just enough fuel in its tank to get where it's going - but you won't be surprised or overly thrilled.
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Saturday Night Fever (USA, 1977) [BD] - 3.5/5
Seminal 70s youth film / zeitgeist is a bit too long at 2 hours, but features great soundtrack, cool Travolta performance and a fine use of New York locations.
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