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Post by stefancrosscoe on Apr 3, 2023 16:38:10 GMT
The Principal (1987) by Christopher Cain "Ain't you heard what they said about this place? Garbage NEVER leaves the dump." After having let off some frustration onto his ex-girlfriend and her new man and his beloved car, Rick Latimer (James Belushi) suddenly ends up getting promoted to become the new pricipal at a new school. But the good news does not last for very long, as it becomes all too clear, why he was given this opportunity in the first place, as Brandel comes off looking more like an explosive battlefield, rather than a place where young students can achieve and learn something.This one seemed promising from the early go, but sadly it did not take too long, until it felt like the whole film never quite managed to pick up the right tone, and decide what it actually wanted to be. As it does seem to wander from a serious crime drama, into some ridiculous over the top action film, and then right over to a comedy. At times it felt like the main part was written with someone like Charles Bronson or Chuck Norris in mind, and you have the whole western feel to it, with a lawless community in bad need of rescuing from a mysterious and tough Sheriff, and well, James Belushi sure aint no Bronson nor Norris, but he does deliver an entertaining and quite memorable performance. I could not help but laugh, when he goes from trying to reach out to the gang members and kids with learning difficulties, to end up rolling into the school hall on a big bike, wearing a helmet were it says: "EL PRICINIPAL", to stop some scumbag from raping the lovely Rae Dawn Chong, and then return to play nice uncle. Speaking of Chuch Norris, there is also an hilarious "MY TURN!", after getting his ass kicked all over the place, Belushi then releases some kind of super powers onto Michael Wright and his gang bangers. Also, many of the students did not look a day younger than Belushi and Rae Dawn Chong, but I guess this was usual business for 70s and 80s high school films. Dawn Chong sadly do not have too much to do here, beside being the "bait" for some rapey douchebag, that or some later on potenial romantic flame for Belushi. Louis Gossett Jr. rarely disappoints, but sadly he did not get too much to do here either, while Michael Wright is a worthy main villain, the run time could easily have been reduced with at least 15-20 minutes or more. All in all, not a film I might re-watch anytime soon, and nowhere as good or hard hitting as Class of 1984 (1982) or as fun as the much later The Substitute (1995) with Tom Berenger. 6/10
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Post by James on Apr 3, 2023 16:49:36 GMT
The Fugitive (1993) - 8/10
P.S. Welcome Stefan!!!
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Post by stefancrosscoe on Apr 3, 2023 16:55:19 GMT
The Fugitive (1993) - 8/10 P.S. Welcome Stefan!!! Oh man, I really need to do a re-watch with a few of the Harrison Ford 80s and 90s action-adventure films this summer, and might just start up with either The Fugitive or Air Force One (1997). Thanks for the welcome, by the way. I was just given the heads up not many hours ago, about what had happened with the former site. Thought it would be nice to just continue on with a similar thread for fans of action films to discuss or just type in your latest explosive journey.
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Post by archelaus on Apr 4, 2023 0:35:22 GMT
Sudden Impact (1983) - 7/10
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Post by Captain Spencer on Apr 4, 2023 1:18:36 GMT
Last Man Standing (1996)In 1930s South Texas, a drifter passing through a corrupt small town gets mixed up with two rival bootlegging gangs. A remake of A Fistful Of Dollars, which itself was a remake of Yojimbo. It's always a pleasure watching a Walter Hill action movie, with the machismo characters doing brutal, stylized gunplay. But something was lacking here that I couldn't quite put my finger on. Maybe it was the familiarity of the story or that it just seemed...I don't know...flat? But whatever the case, it misses the mark and definitely not one of Hills better efforts. Bruce Willis is serviceable as the loner with a phony name. Christopher Walken is okay as a mobster, although he talks in a raspy voice that's so low you sometimes have to turn up the volume to understand what the hell he is saying. 6/10
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Post by moviemouth on Apr 4, 2023 1:33:14 GMT
Kickboxer - 6/10 I was enjoying this movie somewhat, but all that training leads up to a very underwhelming final fight scene. Van Damme has always had a likable screen presence and that is what carries the movie along. We are rooting for his character the whole movie waiting for this big final fight scene and then it is just a few slow-motion kicks and punches. With that being said, it is still one of Van Damme's better movies. 1. Hard Target 2. Universal Soldier 3. JCVD 4. Sudden Death 5. The Expendables 2 6. Kickboxer
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Post by sdrew13163 on Apr 4, 2023 1:45:03 GMT
The Rock (1996)
Cage/Connery will always be fun. It’s just a great time watching a movie.
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Post by kolchak92 on Apr 4, 2023 2:53:47 GMT
Lethal Weapon 3.
Not on the level of the first two, but still solidly entertaining.
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Post by moviemouth on Apr 4, 2023 3:05:52 GMT
The Rock (1996) Cage/Connery will always be fun. It’s just a great time watching a movie. The whole cast is good. The exchange between Ed Harris and Michael Biehn is terrific. The Rock is quite easily the best acted movie Michael Bay has directed.
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Post by sdrew13163 on Apr 4, 2023 4:48:53 GMT
The Rock (1996) Cage/Connery will always be fun. It’s just a great time watching a movie. The whole cast is good. The exchange between Ed Harris and Michael Biehn is terrific. The Rock is quite easily the best acted movie Michael Bay has directed. I always forget Biehn is even in it. The buildup to the scene of he and his squad being gunned down is great. I’ve liked Bay’s recent efforts more than most, but I’ll admit that I wish he had an ensemble these days to rival this - or even just the brilliant duo of Smith/Lawrence in Bad Boys.
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Post by moviemouth on Apr 4, 2023 5:05:14 GMT
The whole cast is good. The exchange between Ed Harris and Michael Biehn is terrific. The Rock is quite easily the best acted movie Michael Bay has directed. I always forget Biehn is even in it. The buildup to the scene of he and his squad being gunned down is great. I’ve liked Bay’s recent efforts more than most, but I’ll admit that I wish he had an ensemble these days to rival this - or even just the brilliant duo of Smith/Lawrence in Bad Boys. Yup. Will Smith and Martin Lawrence have all-time great chemistry in Bad Boys.
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Post by stefancrosscoe on Apr 4, 2023 12:43:17 GMT
The Rock (1996) Cage/Connery will always be fun. It’s just a great time watching a movie. The whole cast is good. The exchange between Ed Harris and Michael Biehn is terrific. The Rock is quite easily the best acted movie Michael Bay has directed. One of the last posts on the old board, I think was someone put up a damn good and informative interview or chat between Michael Rosenbaum and Michael Biehn, that is uploaded on Youtube. Anyway, it was shortly brought up towards the end, how Rosenbaum hoped Biehn would return, as he would have loved to discuss his performance in The Rock. The Rock I have not seen for far too long, but always get a good kick out of it, such a terrific cast, pace and soundtrack, might just be among the best action films of the mid 90s.
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Post by stefancrosscoe on Apr 4, 2023 12:48:30 GMT
Kickboxer - 6/10 I was enjoying this movie somewhat, but all that training leads up to a very underwhelming final fight scene. Van Damme has always had a likable screen presence and that is what carries the movie along. We are rooting for his character the whole movie waiting for this big final fight scene and then it is just a few slow-motion kicks and punches. With that being said, it is still one of Van Damme's better movies. 1. Hard Target 2. Universal Soldier 3. JCVD 4. Sudden Death 5. The Expendables 2 6. Kickboxer I might give both Bloodsport and Kickboxer a go later this year. Not seen either for some time, but where the first one is among my all time favorite martial arts movies, Kickboxer never quite hit the same heights, even though the main villain is probably among the most scary final bosses in any of Van Damme's films, I felt Bolo Yeung in Bloodsport was a far more memorable and entertaining baddie, right up there with Dolph Lundgren in Universeal Soldier.
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Post by stefancrosscoe on Apr 4, 2023 12:54:51 GMT
Last Man Standing (1996)In 1930s South Texas, a drifter passing through a corrupt small town gets mixed up with two rival bootlegging gangs. A remake of A Fistful Of Dollars, which itself was a remake of Yojimbo. It's always a pleasure watching a Walter Hill action movie, with the machismo characters doing brutal, stylized gunplay. But something was lacking here that I couldn't quite put my finger on. Maybe it was the familiarity of the story or that it just seemed...I don't know...flat? But whatever the case, it misses the mark and definitely not one of Hills better efforts. Bruce Willis is serviceable as the loner with a phony name. Christopher Walken is okay as a mobster, although he talks in a raspy voice that's so low you sometimes have to turn up the volume to understand what the hell he is saying. 6/10 This is one of those Bruce Willis movies I remembered being played "all the time" on cable tv, back in the late 90s and early 00s. But took me a while until I picked it up on DVD, and not just once, but twice, and still I never felt it was good enough to keep hold of it. Somehow it felt a bit "rushed" and that somewhere in, a better movie could have happened, maybe with another director or main actor? Which is a letdown, considering it comes with such a heavy cast of tough guys, but one of those mid 90s action films that seemingly had all the right ingredients, but somehow it never did much for my part, and the last two viewings have ended up with a disappointing 5/10. Not bad, just kind of forgettable.
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Post by moviemouth on Apr 4, 2023 13:20:50 GMT
Kickboxer - 6/10 I was enjoying this movie somewhat, but all that training leads up to a very underwhelming final fight scene. Van Damme has always had a likable screen presence and that is what carries the movie along. We are rooting for his character the whole movie waiting for this big final fight scene and then it is just a few slow-motion kicks and punches. With that being said, it is still one of Van Damme's better movies. 1. Hard Target 2. Universal Soldier 3. JCVD 4. Sudden Death 5. The Expendables 2 6. Kickboxer I might give both Bloodsport and Kickboxer a go later this year. Not seen either for some time, but where the first one is among my all time favorite martial arts movies, Kickboxer never quite hit the same heights, even though the main villain is probably among the most scary final bosses in any of Van Damme's films, I felt Bolo Yeung in Bloodsport was a far more memorable and entertaining baddie, right up there with Dolph Lundgren in Universeal Soldier. I have always been very indifferent towards Bloodsport, though it does have the better fight scenes than Kickboxer. For whatever reason I just have a hard time getting into the movie at all.
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