Sunday, June 26, 2016

Junesploitation 2016 Day 26: Revenge!

If you've done nothing wrong, you've got nothing to fear!

89 comments:

  1. William Shatner in DISASTER ON THE COASTLINER (1979, 97 min.) on Amazon Prime for the first time.

    Made-for-TV movies have always been good to me on Junesploitation!, and this year is no exception. Capt. Kirk his own self shows up as a civilian caught in the middle of a revenge plot by a disgruntled railroad worker trying to bring down the railroad company after his wife and kid die in a train accident. "Victor Scott" (Paul L. Smith, aka Willard in "Pieces") hijacks a computerized control system to make sure two trains packed with civilians run into each another, including one where he's on board doing sabotage. Shatner allegedly did most of his own stunts and yes, that's him dangling from the roof of a speeding train trying to get to the engine and save the day. Even though the train company in the movie has a generic made-up name you can see 'Amtrak' on just about every shot of the speeding trains racing toward disaster. If that's not #Ironysploitaton! at its finest then I don't know Jack from shit. :-)

    It's "Unstoppable" meets "Snakes in the Plane" in that, given the cast of veteran actors (Lloyd Bridges playing the exact same role he'd play a year later in "Airplane!," Raymond Burr, Pat Hingle, E.G. Marshall, Michael Pataki, Peter Jason, etc.) and ripped-from-Irwin Allen's-playbook premise, you'd expect "Disaster on the Coastliner" to be non-stop fun... except it isn't. It's lots of tedious sitting around scenes with characters having typical late-70's-made-for-TV conversations with flat lighting and even flatter wardrobe choices. It doesn't cut loose and goes gloriously off-rails like "Terror at London Bridge" (Hoff vs. Jack the Reaper in AZ!), it just spikes at random intervals with actors trying the incompatible tasks of paying the bills and not selling their souls. When it cuts loose (i.e. any scene of Shatner either seducing female passengers or being a hero, Lloyd Bridges smoking and ranting, etc.) it's is a reminder of the fun disaster movies could have been when they weren't taking themselves so seriously.

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  2. Where do you come up with this stuff? I have to watch anything withShat.

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    1. IMDB filmographies, my brother. They're a treasure trove of hidden enchantments and WTF? projects taken with the sole purpose of making a quick buck. :-)

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    2. Isn't it funny how obvious it seems when you know? "How did you know that guy was in that movie?" "I checked his imdb page." "How did you see that super obscure vhs-only movie?" "I checked Youtube." "How did you find that impossible to find movie that no one ever gets to see?" "I Googled it." MAGIC!

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  3. The Limey (1999)

    Been a few years since I'd watched this and I had a number of other things I had to work today on so I didn't want to watch something that I hadn't seen before and would have to pay full attention to. Besides that, there's just something comforting about watching a movie with Terence Stamp in it even when he's fighting Superman, getting gunned down by Sheriff Brady's men, or in this case trying to avenge the death of his daughter. Plus he gets to partner up with the perpetually underrated Luis Guzmán, and just generally be charmingly British.

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  4. Jennifer Help Us (2014 dir. Juan Ortiz) on jenniferhelpus.com or Vimeo.

    Three young women kidnap another young woman they feel has spread lies about one of their boyfriends. They tie her up and leave her in a old, abandoned house with a history of death. However, someone that has history with the house shows up.

    This movie was filmed with IPhone 4s and was budgeted under $1000. Other than the fake film scratches throughout, this movie is well shot and directed and very tense. There is minimal dialogue and acting is solid for a production this size. I feel that this is well-worth a watch for those that love real micro-budget horror films.

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  5. Theatre of Blood (1973)

    I also had a long day, like Ross I wanted something comforting and that I knew. Though I am tired enough at the moment to say something like Daniel Day Lewis is in this movie.

    This is my third watch of Theatre of Blood and I adore it more and more. A Shakespearan actor Vincent Price is taking his revenge on the critics of London.
    I know the pacing isn't perfect, and how Price manages to set up the logistics alone to commit each murder is incrediable. But for me it is all part of the fun. Plus watching Price swan around reciting Shakespearean monologues has got to be one of the worlds great joys.

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    1. Price did a ton of good movies. I'll actually be watching one for tomorrow's category.

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  6. Revenge of the Ninja (1983)

    Murder Sho's wife? It's cool, he can let it slide. Kidnap Sho's son? IT'S NINJA REVENGE TIME.

    This is my first venture into the Cannon ninja films, and I really dug it! Sure, some of it is silly and all, but it's obvious a lot work went into this. I can forgive a lot in an action film if it has great action (which this really does) and a likable lead character (even if he's weirdly dubbed).

    Also, I love that when the kid is fighting a guy he distracts him by yelling, "look it's Superman!"

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    1. This is a great movie to start with Cannon! You are entering a well of awesomeness my friend.

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    2. Well, it's not my first Cannon just my first Cannon Ninja film. Still pumped for more though!

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    3. Right on. Any Cannon Ninja film is great regardless. But "Revenge..." is my favorite as I owned the VHS and watched it about 100 times as a kid.

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    4. I was actually thinking I wished I saw it as a kid. haha I would have lost my mind.

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  7. Death Wish 4: The Crackdown (1987, dir. J. Lee Thompson, Streaming on Amazon) - First time viewing: While it doesn't match the craziness of Death Wish 3 #RIPTheGiggler, this was still super-trashy fun. Watch out for Danny Trejo as an italian gangster (!). While I don't want to spoil it, the ending of this movie was shocking. If you've seen it you know what I'm talking about and that never happens in these movies (4 out of 5 Griers).

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  8. Count of Monte Cristo (2002) the best version i have seen, that's including the book, the book drags a bit, this compresses it eliminates a lot of the politics.. and turns it into a grand revenge adventure Dumas would have liked.

    Casting Caviezel and Pearce was a mad stroke.. equal is nearly everything including cheekbones, they could have left out the swords and just dueled with those. The production is gorgeous, grand vistas, beautiful visuals. I am surprised it took me years to add it to me collection, I pull it out now and again when I am a jag...makes a nice marathon with the Richard Lester's Musketeer films.. and the 1998 Man in the Iron Mask.

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    1. Oh brilliant! I have seen it on streaming, I was nervious about giving it a go, even though not relevant to here Monte Cristo is one of my favourite books, so I am releaved to hear they compress it well. Oh and by the way that marathon sounds perfect.

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    2. not relevant here? it's the ultimate revenge story. Three Musketeers is one of my favorites, i've read that entire cycle and that one several times. I did watch Man in the Iron Mask after this viewing, it's a bit too serious but looks great and Irons and Depardieu are hysterical. I dream about a directors cut of Richard Lesters Return of the Musketeers which is the story from Twenty Years After.. they studio made him butcher it terribly.

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  9. JAWS: THE REVENGE (1987):

    Hey, it's better than JAWS 3D.

    Yes it is. Trust me.

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    1. I watched this last year with the commentary from Adam green and Joe lunch, The Movie Crypt podcast, I had a good time

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    2. I'm going to do that right now!

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    3. You will enjoy it, its really funny, i think there is a Rob Galluzzo gag from X Killerpov that cracks me up

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    4. Yep, the angry sound guy and an epic Guest I won't spoil here, your in for a treat Adam. :)

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  10. Faster (2010)

    The Rock has been in jail for the last decade, following a bank robbery and the subsequent bullet to the skull. Now he's blasting his way through those who crossed him 10 years previous. Oh, and he was the getaway driver, so you get to see all of his fast and/or furious driving skills, including a fun high speed pursuit in reverse gear.

    A pretty decent revenge flick, a little too heavy handed with some of the themes (especially the radio preaching directly to The Rock). Overall, I count this as one of Dwayne Johnson's better roles. I like this film, there are certainly worse ways to spend 98 minutes.

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  11. The Messenger (1986) (first time viewing)

    Directed by, produced by, story by, starring....Fred Williamson. Williamson just got out of prison and learns his girlfriend got mixed up with some big time drug dealers. She gets killed for this right in front of him. We then watch Williamson travel the world to gun down drug dealers. I'd say that's a win for everyone (except the drug dealers).

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  12. Memento (2000)

    I must admit, Junesploitation is starting to take its toll. Therefore I wanted something familiar and good. Memento is that.

    Memento is one of those movies from around the turn of the millennium (when I was 16-17) that made me a film geek. For that, I'll always love it.

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    1. Love it. Especially because it reminds me of when Nolan was good.

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    2. Yeah, I look back fondly to the times when a new Nolan film was something to be excited about.

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    3. I'm still pretty excited about new Nolan films! Interstellar might have been a big disappointment, but there are still lots of good parts. Try watching JUST the space scenes, minus when anyone is talking. (my, that's some faint praise). Looking forward to the WWII movie next year.

      I only saw Momento for the first time 2 years ago. It's a wonderful movie.

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  13. Crying Freeman (1995)

    Not exacly a revenge movie but pretty close, this Manga adapttion is one of the most georgeously filmed martial arts thriller I know.
    Director Christophe Gans has a keen eye for visuals and is clearly more interested in style than in substance in his films, but at least here and in Brotherhood of the wolf, his second collaboration with star Mark Dacascos, it works great.
    Mark Dacascos has a wonderful balletic fighting style and his fight choreography is aces.
    If you like blood, swords and bullets, you won´t be disappointed.

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  14. The Exterminator (1980)

    Robert Ginty (I assume on vacation from his job as Earth-2 David Morse) stars as a Vietnam vet out to avenge the maiming of a friend. Part of what separates this one from all the other vigilante movies out there is how he gets his revenge: he has all sorts of tools at his disposal like a flamethrower, a meat grinder, hungry rats...

    It's a nasty piece of work, and plays like a movie version of those "men's action" paperback originals that were pretty popular at the time like Don Pendleton's Executioner series or Lee Goldberg's Mr. Jury series (I even found out recently there was a series of 12 Dirty Harry paperback originals by Dane Hartman and you best believe they're now sitting on my to-read pile) which makes it pretty much exactly what I'm looking for this time of year. Pulpy, bloody, nihilistic, and full of predatory goons straight out of a Death Wish movie. Definitely scratches the Junesploitation itch.

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    1. The UK VHS tagline was epic

      "If your lying I'll be back"

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  15. Paprika (1991) Dir. Tinto Brass

    After seeing Demons 5 and falling in love with Debora Caprioglio I knew I had to watch Paprika as soon as possible. Not really being a fan of erotic cinema in general, I had my reservations, however, I had seen "Caligula" which was whatever, and one other Brass film a while ago called "Cheeky", which left an impression on me and I really liked it.

    So..."Paprika" blew... my...mind! I might go as far as to say that it's the most beautiful looking erotic film I have ever seen. Brass fills the screen with incredible cinematography and color and shoots Caprioglio like she owns the fucking universe, and SHE DOES. The only thing that really kills it for me is the overuse of the music theme that starts to get really annoying after the fifth time it's played, plus, it's too damn long. Other than that, the film is absolutely phenomenal.

    Very much a stretch for Revenge Day but there are some thematic elements that make it relevant.

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    1. So when I watch this, can I use a small bottle of Vaseline or should I pick up the economy size?

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    2. Hahaha! Costco size paper towels.

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  16. Prepping to rewatch my favorite movie The Woman Chaser with some friends over. It counts as revenge if you know how it ends, but you don't, so you won't. Won't have time for anything else today. Trailer.

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  17. American Ninja (1985)

    Sure it's not a revenge flick, but it's got a little vengeance in there. I just wanted to watch another Cannon Ninja movie, so just go with me here.

    This was even better than the last one! I loved this movie! It's got everything you need. Terrific action scenes, a genuinely sweet romance, and Steve James! Dudikoff works as the "strong but silent type" Joe, but it's really the supporters who make this movie. Patricia is just about the cutest thing ever, and Jackson is far and away my favorite character. Can we get a Jackson spin off where he shoot Bazookas at bad guys the whole time? No, Action Jackson doesn't count.

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    1. Steve James is the star of the American Ninja movies. Even the third movie is watchable, even though they replaced Dudikoff, because Steve James is in it. The fourth one is not watchable.

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  18. Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995)

    Not a classic revenge movie, as it's the bad guy getting revenge on our hero, but it's my Junesploitation and I'll do what I want to. I unabashedly love this movie, one of the 5 best action movies of the 90's. Yeah, the direction is really sloppy, and dump truck surfing is stupid, but I think it's great. I love the cast; Jeremy Irons is great, Colleen Camp is surprisingly good despite not wearing a French maid outfit at any point. And I love the pacing and structure. I like the variety of action scenes, it's more than gun rights and car chases. Holy Toledo, did I have fun.

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    1. I like it more than the original. The first hour is a perfect entertainment delivery machine. If only it could maintain the intensity all the way to the end.

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    2. You are an insane person, Matt.

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    3. Yeah that's crazy talk Matt. Die Hard is my all time favorite. It is my second favorite of the series though. I do agree on the first hour tho. It has structurally so many strange things that just work. It starts off with a bang, doesn't show us the villain until 45 minutes in, doesn't have McClane fight anyone until 70 minutes in. As much as I like part 2, it always seemed so eager to get into a gun fight every 15 minutes. with a Vengeance avoids that, successfully I think.

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    4. Die Hard With a Vengeance is to Die Hard as Dawn of the Dead is to Night of the Living Dead. Longer, bigger scope, sloppier, more epic, compared to the tight perfection of the original.

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    5. Correct, kind-of. It's inferior, per your logic. And, being a jerk, Die Hard is a minute longer :) I would also argue that DH:WAV is fantastic but can't touch the intensity that DH created. DIE HARD is the reason you enjoy action films. Don't forget that.

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    6. Use my words against me eh? He He. Very surprising about the length.. DHWAV sure feels longer doesn't it? Guess that's a bad thing. I won't argue Die Hard is a classic. Should I save my "A Good Day to Die Hard is actually good" argument for next Junesploitation? :)

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    7. Sure. I'll just mark my calendar for June 2017 to never acknowledge you again :)

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    8. Whoa, that sounded harsher than I meant!

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    9. Ha, all good. "We're not a hugging family".

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    10. I don't know if I could call A Good Day to Die Hard good, but I certainly think it's better than Live Free or Die Hard.

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    11. Disagree. But basing it on the unrated version. Still, neither are that good.

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    12. I've heard a few other people say they prefer Die Hard 3 to the first as well. I don't think I'll ever understand it. I even like 2 much better than 3.

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    13. Die Hard 2...just the fax ma'am...just the fax.

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    14. Just the fax ma'am is always funny to me.

      A Good Day to Die Hard is not better than Live Free or Die Hard. Not even close. At least Willis gave a shit in Live Free.

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    15. There are days I forget that Willis used to try.

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  19. "You just bought them a Death sentence mother f#cker!"

    Death sentence 2007

    Tough choice today, I was gonna watch Brit flick "Dead mans shoes" but the Jpeg of Kevin Bacon pushed me towards this so this is for you Patrick, shot in Chicago too, a nicely played revenge tale by James Wan where it starts with an act that you can't turn back from and escalates very believably by Mr Bacon into a world with no turning back, Kevin's trip to the Darkside is very well done, the scenes of a home invasion type scenario using shaky cam are particularly effective, Home invasion scares the crap out of me, what would a nice family man do if he was pushed too far? How would he act?

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  20. Lone Wolf Mcquade
    I just love the part were Chuck Norris gets his ass kicked then gets buried alive in his Ram Charger, drinks a couple beers then starts the mother fucker up an blasts out of hole an goes an kills everyone its fucking awesome!!!!!

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  21. Superstition (1982)

    This movie does not give a fuck.

    Superstition let's you know right off the bat what it is.  You want a head exploding in a microwave?  Superstition got you.  You want a man that gets cut in half while trying to get out of a window?  Superstition got you.  No one is safe in this movie.  A witch seeks revenge for being drowned 300 years earlier in the form of a cloaked monster.  Definitely one of the best I've seen this month.  Every movie I add to the list of movies I've seen in 1982, makes me love the year even more.  This is a must see if you are a horror fan. 

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    1. Whoa. Sounds like Superstition got me.

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    2. And that spinning flying circular saw blade

      1982 was a bad mother f#cker

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    3. Sold! I believe I'll take the list you posted at the beginning of the month, and just add that to my to-watch list.

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  22. LIPSTICK (2015)
    A model is attacked by her stalker, so her sister enacts revenge. Boring and generic, you’re better off with any of the SVU repeats that are on all the time.

    DEADLY DAPHNE’S REVENGE (1987)
    Who the heck watches I Spit On Your Grave and thinks, “Let’s make a movie exactly like that?” What a total depress-fest.

    NINJA 2: SHADOW OF A TEAR (2013)
    This is more like it. The ninja’s wife is killed, so he fights everyone. To be fair, the plot got away from me, as he just goes from fight to fight seemingly at random. The action is terrific, however, keeping it simple with hand-to-hand fisticuffs in place of huge set pieces.

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  23. The Purge: Anarchy (2014)
    I'll be honest. When I first watched this in 2014, I had low expectations. The first Purge had left me cold. It's focus was so narrow on what could have been such a cool concept.
    My expectations were blown away with Anarchy.
    The second film in the series opens up the world. We get to see a city in distress as the Purge rages through the streets.
    At its core, there is a revenge story, and a survival story. But what's really interesting is the social commentary. What could have just been a grind house style action film instead used its premise to comment on modern America, while still being a gritty action/suspense film.

    If you've skipped this one, give it a shot.
    The first one is not required viewing, in fact I'd say skip it. This is the story as it should have been from the start.

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  24. KILL BILL VOLS 1 & 2 (2003/2004)

    A roaring rampage of revenge?
    ...don't mind if I do.

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    1. When I watch these films I always get stuck with the same question, with part one do I watch the Gorgeous looking Bluray with the Black and white Blue leaves scene or the Full colour and extra gore footage Japanese import Dvd?

      Higher quality with cut scenes and black and white footage Bluray
      Or
      Lesser quality but full colour and uncut longer Dvd?


      I still end up watching the Dvd but get upset at the resolution, We really need an Uncut unaltered Bluray

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  25. Welcome to Spring Break (1989) Dir. the one and only; Umberto Lenzi

    This movie was insane. It's like watching an episode of MTV Spring Break from 1990 with a motorcyclist that shocks people to death. Nothing happens forever and you have great lines like one of our suave heroes who in a bar, while scoping out the ladies, says "Beaver patrol". Incredible. Fuckin' Lenzi.

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    1. Watched this a few months ago after We Hate Movies did an episode on it, it's wonderful.

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    2. Haha, that was a funny episode. The 2 man Beaver Patrol!

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  26. The Crow (1994, dir. Alex Proyas) - first viewing

    Not my cup of moonshine but I'm glad I finally got around to watching it.

    (Considered watching Darkman (1990) today but thought it better to shake off the Junesploitation fatigue before checking that one out.)

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  27. Cape Fear (1991)

    Once again, Scorsese does a bunch of things that shouldn't work, the super long lenses, the film negative photography, crazy angles, that weird thing at the end where Cady speaks directly to the camera...and it all works. All anchored by a perfect script and an unbelievable performance by de Niro.

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  28. Death Wish (1974)

    Interesting concept, very 70s execution. Charles Bronson is great and that last shot is perfect. Overall, not too bad.

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  29. THE SALVATION (2014)

    Mads Mikklesen, Eva Green, & Jeffrey Dean Morgan in an interesting revenge Western. I can see why some would find it underwhelming but I dig this European take on American myth.

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  30. Keanu is awesomely vengeful, and he loves dogs. Did you hurt his dog? Did you not read the first sentence?
    John Wick (2014)

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  31. Falcon Rising (2014)
    A by the numbers revenge flick where Michael Jai White resembles a muscle bound Cuba Gooding Jr. more than ever.
    Heavy drinking, suicidal, flashback having ex-marine, John ‘Falcon’ Chapman, heads to Brazil to fuck up those responsible for his sister’s hospitalisation.
    Unimaginative in every way aside from a moderately entertaining final battle, which they almost manage to spoil with shitty lighting and colour grading.
    At lest the cast and crew got to spend a month or so living it up in Puerto Rico.

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  32. Sympathy for Lady Vengeance (2005) Park Chan-wook

    Revenge you say? Lady Vengeance has revenge to spare. This film has some fantastic performances but ultimately seems a little long and drawn out. I think its hard for me to seperate Park Chan-wook from his 2003 mindfuck Oldboy, and in comparison this film is no where near as good. But theres a reason he Park is one of the most acclaimed directors in South Korea and thats because the movie is still beautiful! The idea that vengeance must be "beautiful" and the realization that at its very core vengeance is always ugly, is handled pretty interestingly in this film. It takes itself in a direction I never saw it heading and was definitely worth the watch! Will have to check out Mr Vengeance now to check the vengeance trilogy off my list!

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    1. I watch Mr. Vengeance yesterday, and it might be my favorite of the 3 (although the movie is still sinking in). But, ranking is dumb, they're both very good for their own reasons.

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  33. She Killed in Ecstasy (1971, dir. Jess Franco)
    I watched in sleepiness.

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  34. Death Wish 3:

    As has been said many times on this site, this movie is insanely bad. It's what some people think Commando is for those who can truly handle .... HEAVY ACTION!!!!

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  35. Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (2002)

    Beautiful film. I love the editing, how some shots/scenes are drawn out, but other times it quickly lurches forward, yet very seamlessly. Just so beautifully shot. The story is still sinking in, but I really loved this movie. It's kind of a cold movie, with very little music to tinker with our emotions, which is kind of fitting. Isn't there a saying, "Revenge is a cold dish best served with bleakness atop a bed of life-happens"

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  36. True Grit - 2010

    Very fun film, pretty generic story but the Coen Bros style goes a long way and enhances it.

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