I regard this as a classic war movie! It's fun, good acting, more fun, and factually correct, well up to a point of course! What I like about it, and what I feel makes it original, is that not many films were made about Laos, and also its a cheerful take on war, pretty original for that too I'd say. A good movie i could watch again and again. Excellent music too! 5/5 stars.
Reviews
11 Reviews
Beowulf
(1999)
Noooooo
22 October 2003
Why oh why does Christopher Lambert have to star in such crappy films these days? He used to be in great movies, until recently, but now it is this trash he is reduced to. Arrrgh! Please, no more bad choices like these ones Christopher, or you might as well just give up making movies altogether and go live in Las Vegas or something. This is an insult also to the book, better to spend 1000 days reading the book that 2 hours watching this film.
Yakuza Graveyard
(1976)
Yakuza fun
24 January 2003
This is a good movie. It's directed by Kinji Fukasaku who's a top director. There's lashings of style and substance to the film with a pace that never lets up throughout the film. It's like a gritty Pulp Fiction, but with the characters more low-key and more attention paid to the story line. Anyway, a good score, great acting and plenty of fights makes this a must see for anyone keen on the Yakuza or stories like The Limey. The story centers around an undercover cop, who is reassigned to a new precinct and sets out to put the mobsters behind bars. Along the way he gets involved with the people he is trying to put away, finding them to be the victims of fate rather than the villains they appear to be. This part of the story is offset around a larger picture of police corruption with the Yakuza pulling their strings. A cinematic masterpiece by a fascinating director.
At First Sight
(1999)
Delightful romance based on a true story
20 November 2002
Basically, if you like a good love story then you should enjoy this film because that is mostly what this is. It is also the story of a blind person who has adjusted to his life as a blind man, until one day all that changes. He meets a beautiful woman and they fall in love, almost, At First Sight. Deeply smitten by her, he quickly decides to leave his old life and moves to live with her in New York.
All goes well until he finds that to take any interest in her work as an architect he would have to be able to see. This leads to an operation involving the regaining of his sight, and with it, the added complexities of life which he was previously spared. The pressure of coping with it all slowly pushes them apart and he is forced to take stock of his whole life again.
I love this movie. And I really can't fault it at all. I enjoyed the acting, especially the lead parts played by Val Kilmer and Mira Sorvino, and I see nothing wrong with the film, as I approached it with the right attitude. It also has a few wonderful messages in it, not just about blindness but also about the joy of living.
I found this movie equally enjoyable to the excellent Scent of a Woman. 8 out of 10 stars.
All goes well until he finds that to take any interest in her work as an architect he would have to be able to see. This leads to an operation involving the regaining of his sight, and with it, the added complexities of life which he was previously spared. The pressure of coping with it all slowly pushes them apart and he is forced to take stock of his whole life again.
I love this movie. And I really can't fault it at all. I enjoyed the acting, especially the lead parts played by Val Kilmer and Mira Sorvino, and I see nothing wrong with the film, as I approached it with the right attitude. It also has a few wonderful messages in it, not just about blindness but also about the joy of living.
I found this movie equally enjoyable to the excellent Scent of a Woman. 8 out of 10 stars.
Gunmen
(1993)
Not a Sergio Leone rip-off
15 June 2002
I watched this film expecting it to be a rip off of Lethal Weapon or The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Sure, the director is influenced by Sergio Leone, but that's no bad thing and this is hardly a remake of it. Instead, it has the same laid-back approach of any Leone western and is inspired by some of his great movies moments. If anything, this is much more a clone of Lethal Weapon, and it's a good one too.
Being a fan of Christopher Lambert, it was great to see him in wise-cracking action and Mario Van Peebles was equally good. I also thought Denis Leary was a terrific bad guy and I liked Brenda Bakke as Maria too, a much better role for her than in Under Siege 2. I would go so far as to say this is just as much fun as Highlander, except it's a comedy with plenty of gags, some good, some not so good, but the film has so much pace to it that it doesn't really matter.
So if you like a good-humoured buddy flick, and you liked Heartbreak Ridge, then you should see Gunmen.
Being a fan of Christopher Lambert, it was great to see him in wise-cracking action and Mario Van Peebles was equally good. I also thought Denis Leary was a terrific bad guy and I liked Brenda Bakke as Maria too, a much better role for her than in Under Siege 2. I would go so far as to say this is just as much fun as Highlander, except it's a comedy with plenty of gags, some good, some not so good, but the film has so much pace to it that it doesn't really matter.
So if you like a good-humoured buddy flick, and you liked Heartbreak Ridge, then you should see Gunmen.
Wanted: Dead or Alive
(1986)
Glad the western title didn't put me off
15 June 2002
Because of its title I expected this movie to be a dumb, lame, vendetta movie with nothing but Rutger Hauer to carry the film along to its drab conclusion. I was pleasantly surprised then, to find it was actually a good film and well worth buying. I like Rutger Hauer, he's a fine actor and I enjoyed him in Blade Runner. Here, Hauer is the good guy, and he played it very well. It's a gritty thriller about terrorists in Los Angeles and has some excellent action scenes and bounty hunts that take advantage of Hauer's unique ability.
The director, Gary Sherman, borrowed some scenes out of Walter Hill's The Driver which helped to add to the tension and the story was convincing and well played out by the cast. I liked William Russ as Randall's buddy on the force and Jerry Hardin was great as the scheming Lipton, who I recall had a similar role in The X-Files. Robert Guillaume and Robert Harper were also great. As said in another comment, the background of Nick Randall was well developed, but I disagreed that nothing important was done with it. The story had plenty of meaning to it, the guy slips up and he gets his revenge.
If you decide to get this, don't read the back cover, just watch it and you'll find that it's a good action picture and worth seeing.
The director, Gary Sherman, borrowed some scenes out of Walter Hill's The Driver which helped to add to the tension and the story was convincing and well played out by the cast. I liked William Russ as Randall's buddy on the force and Jerry Hardin was great as the scheming Lipton, who I recall had a similar role in The X-Files. Robert Guillaume and Robert Harper were also great. As said in another comment, the background of Nick Randall was well developed, but I disagreed that nothing important was done with it. The story had plenty of meaning to it, the guy slips up and he gets his revenge.
If you decide to get this, don't read the back cover, just watch it and you'll find that it's a good action picture and worth seeing.
Timecop
(1994)
Blade Runner This is Not.
25 May 2002
What is with Jean-Claude's hair in this movie?! It looks AWFUL, like a hippy cop or something, and it totally spoiled the film for me. Go figure. Everyone knows cops have short hair. Well, it was more than that really, but the hair was the icing on the cake. First you've got the really over-the-top cheesy dialogue, "there is never e-nouf time too sat-isfy a wo-man" between Van Damme and Sara's characters. Then you've got a whole bundle of clichés i.e. Van Damme hangs from the roof with one arm, holding his wife with the other; a ridiculous amount of rain to heap on drama to climatic scenes; a typical happy ending. Aaarrrgh! The list goes on. It's slow too. Ron Silver was great as the bad guy though, but still, for me this is one of Van Damme's most boring films. However, most of the dialogue is good fun and the time travel story is intriguing and done well even though the "ripples" theory isn't really used to proper effect e.g. we failed to see how destroying McComb's business affected him. Anyway, the plot was still plausible and enjoyable for the most part. One bit I was disappointed about was the sub-plot of Walker missing his wife, it should have been a central part of the movie, NOT a brief sub-plot hiding around the main theme of "stop the bad guy," yawn... Of course, Van Damme's dull acting skills didn't help, but still, it could have been much better. I give this 5/10 stars.
The Big Sleep
(1978)
Mitchum is excellent in this!
1 March 2002
I haven't seen the Humphrey Bogart version of this Chandler remake but I enjoyed this one very much. Robert Mitchum brought great class to the role of Marlowe as few else could have done. His shady look, cool persona, and hilarious one-liners help to explain why Chandler is one of the greatest crime writers of all time. I haven't read any of the books but after seeing this film I am certainly much more interested in them.
It came as a surprise to me that Michael Winner was the director for the film. A man I associate with expensive dinners at expensive restaurants. But after watching this, and Death Wish, I have a new-found respect for eating in style. This film is not a Peckinpah, but it still manages to be incredibly effective in it's delivery. I like the car Mitchum drives too, a Mercedes soft-top.
The video is in widescreen by the way, requiring a screen re-adjustment or it'll look silly. Great performances from all of the actors and a superbly enjoyable plot in a film that has aged very well.
Some people criticised this film for being in the English countryside and that it doesn't bear up with the film noir style. I disagree, film noir is not limited to shady city streets, as this film goes to show.
It came as a surprise to me that Michael Winner was the director for the film. A man I associate with expensive dinners at expensive restaurants. But after watching this, and Death Wish, I have a new-found respect for eating in style. This film is not a Peckinpah, but it still manages to be incredibly effective in it's delivery. I like the car Mitchum drives too, a Mercedes soft-top.
The video is in widescreen by the way, requiring a screen re-adjustment or it'll look silly. Great performances from all of the actors and a superbly enjoyable plot in a film that has aged very well.
Some people criticised this film for being in the English countryside and that it doesn't bear up with the film noir style. I disagree, film noir is not limited to shady city streets, as this film goes to show.
The Getaway
(1972)
This film is totally cool
21 February 2002
I really enjoyed this movie. I've seen some good films but I didn't enjoy many of them as much as this. That includes Convoy, Bullitt, Good the Bad and the Ugly, and most other retro classics - modern films don't count here cause it's not relative. Anyway, McQueen gives a fantastic performance as Doc McCoy and really was very cool and watchable. Ali McGraw was perfect for his wife cause she's cool too and her performance was gritty and intelligent. Peckinpah is super cool and makes this film into a masterpiece. Love the whole feel of the movie, from start to end. Al Lettieri as Rudy was just great as the bad guy and helped to make this into a classic. A great heist movie that is truly fascinating. Great music as well.
The Leopard Fist Ninja
(1982)
Almost a classic
11 January 2002
I'm surprised not many have seen this film as it's actually not that bad. The story is about a man who trains in the Leopard Fist style of kung fu so he can take his revenge on the Japanese invaders who killed his family when he was a boy.
The director here is renowned for chopping films up into intelligible little bits and pieces, but this film runs smoothly for the most part with only a few hang-ups. Watch out for the man who fights for about a minute and is then replaced by someone else. Also good fun is the leaves scene.
The story isn't as good as say, Blood of Dragon Peril, and the acting isn't that great either, but there are plenty of cool fight scenes and some great music to make this well worth a watch, but not a classic.
The director here is renowned for chopping films up into intelligible little bits and pieces, but this film runs smoothly for the most part with only a few hang-ups. Watch out for the man who fights for about a minute and is then replaced by someone else. Also good fun is the leaves scene.
The story isn't as good as say, Blood of Dragon Peril, and the acting isn't that great either, but there are plenty of cool fight scenes and some great music to make this well worth a watch, but not a classic.
Fearless Tiger
(1991 Video)
A complete mess
4 January 2002
I laughed quite a bit at this film, but once the novelty wore off I was just in shock. Why? Mainly because the script is so bad that it's funny. The lead star Jalal was a boring actor and everyone else was just as bad. If you're thinking of getting this film because Bolo is in it, I wouldn't, cause he's dubbed and he's only in it for about 4 minutes with a crap part. The best thing about this film is that there are some good martial arts, but the plot feels like it was made up as they went along, and the editing is just ridiculous sometimes. However, if you like bad B-movie martial arts films, then this isn't so bad at all.
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