A criminal gang pull off a seemingly impossible feat: they hijack a plane, extract a prisoner transported on it and jump out in mid-air. To learn what the criminals' next move is, the U.S. Marshal who was transporting the prisoner has to team up with a skydiving team and learn their craft.
The skydiving scenes are a mix of very well done real stunts by professionals and obvious green screen with the actors. And oh yeah, I guess there's a plot too. The way the villain is dispatched in the end is glorious in its stupidity. Wesley Snipes plays Wesley Snipes, Gary Busey plays Gary Busey and Michael Jeter plays Michael Jeter.
[Michael Caine] BULLET TO BEIJING (1995, YOUTUBE) [Gene Hackman] NARROW MARGIN (1990, KINO 4K UHD)
A theatrical feature that got downgraded to Showtime TV movie at the last minute, "Bullet to Beijing" follows retired British spy Harry Palmer (Caine) being recruited by a Russian oligarch (Michael Gambon) to track down a deadly virus coveted by North Korea and many unemployed former operatives from the alphabet soup of international spy agencies. It stars/ends with car/boat chases (decent but far below "GoldenEye" standards), but the bulk of the story follows Harry and his handler Nick (Jason Connery, Sean's son) during their days-long train ride from Russia to China through Siberia. Shoot-outs and explosions are 'meh,' but the double/triple crosses, running jokes and switching loyalties make this worth seeing for spy flick fans... once. 3 SUPER-POINTY UMBRELLAS (out of five).
Peter Hyams wrote, directed and photographed this slick remake of 1952's "The Narrow Margin." An L.A. book editor (Anne Archer) witnesses the execution of a crooked mob lawyer by his furious boss ("Ghostbuster II's" Harris Yulin), hides in the Canadian wilderness and is tracked down by an ADA (Hackman) trying to talk her into testifying in court. 15 minutes in bullets start flying, helicopters chase trucks and a non-stop pursuit through the British Columbia wilderness ensues aboard a train headed toward Vancouver. The few times actors interact ("Hill Street Blues'" James B. Sikking with Hackman, Anne Archer annoying M. Emmet Walsh, J.T. Walsh pouting, etc.) it's a treat. It may have bombed upon release, but "NM's" action footage has been seen frequently in other features ("Crash Point Zero," "Bad Ass 2," etc.). 'It's fine' but the plot twists/surprises feel old hat even for a mainstream early '90's thriller. We miss Gene. :'( 3.15 MORNING MILKS SPIKED WITH HEINEKEN (out of five).
'JCVD's LATE '90's RICHES-TO-RAGS DESCENT'
SUDDEN DEATH (1995, KINO 4K UHD) DESERT HEAT, a.k.a. INFERNO (1999, ROKU CHANNEL)
Let's keep the Peter Hyams' 4K train rolling with this upgrade to the old 4-movie DVD pack I used to review "Sudden Death" in 2020. For my money one of only two "Die Hard" clones worthy of being considered equals to/on par with the king, the other being "Under Siege." JCVD is an active protagonist trying to mess Powers Boothe's vice-presidential ransom plan for the sake of his kids and sports fans watching the Stanley Cup Finals (go Panthers!), not for glory. Poor lil' Emily, never got to know the real person behind future stepmother Icy The Penguin. :-P 4.5 WASTED SHRIMP COCKTAILS (out of five).
The final directorial outing of James G. Avildsen (OG "Rocky"), "Desert Heat" finds JCVD already slumming in direct-to-video throwaway projects from which the rest of his career would rarely deviate. Yet another "Yojimbo"-inspired spiritual remake (a character namedrops the title) set in a Southwestern small desert town straight out of "Sonny Boy," Van Damme plays a guilt-ridden ex-soldier whose Indian bike is stolen by the a-hole Hogan sons of crime boss Ramsey (Larry Drake). Left for dead, JCVD is saved by bestie/fellow vet Johnny Sixtoes (Danny Trejo, playing Native American) and sets out to get his bike and gun back from either the Hogans or their frenemies-but-partners-in-crime the Heathens. While "DH's" action scenes/production values are at the opposite ends of "Hard Target" and/or "Timecop" this flick's overflowing with quirky supporting characters. There's Pat Morita as an improvised 'cleaner,' Vincent Schiavelli as a Hindi bar owner, Jamie Pressley as a cute waitress, etc. Maybe they're meant to cancel out the villains being irredeemable scum, but whenever the action scenes underdelivered I could count on the oversexed, super religious, motel owner old lady (Priscilla Pointer) to either throw her big snake around or peep at JCVD's window as he and two ladies, eh... exchanged "cheeseburgers." :-D An extremely generous 3 CHEKHOV'S JET PLANES' BUZZINGS (out of five).
THE TAKING OF BEVERLY HILLS (1991, dir. Sidney J. Furie)
I definitely saw this when it came out on VHS more than three decades ago. I did not remember much about it, honestly. Since the blu-ray has been in my Junesploitation watch list for a longer than any other option, it was the choice for today. The Taking of Beverly Hills is one of those action films built upon such a ridiculous premise that you have to smile at its stupidity. So many things get blown up and shot up that it all becomes funny. The cast knows that nothing is to be taken seriously, most importantly the star, Ken Wahl. That mullet! With the very 1990-91 soundtrack, there is no mistaking when the film was made. Not great but undoubtedly an amusing time waster.
An unabashed "Die Hard" knockoff with the twist that it has "Agent Johnson" Robert Davi in the Al Powell role...kind of. A group of beauty pageant contestants are held hostage to get a ransom from a shitheel senator whose daughter is one of them. One of the hostages is played by Shannon Tweed, who takes the John McClane role. As for the Hans Gruber? Andrew "Dice" Clay in a ridiculous mustache. Add Roddy Piper and "you know this was filmed in Canada because it has" Nicholas Campbell, and you have the makings of a goofy B-movie actioner.
Unfortunately, director Paul Lynch bungles the action parts and it begins to feel tedious after a while. Also, there are like 10+ other characters each trying to get their moment that bloat this too much. I can't believe I'm saying this, but the Anna Nicole Smith "Skyscraper" is more entertaining.
With the exception of maybe directors and films, i dont really do "Favorite _______" with movies. For example, i couldnt really do a Favorite Actors list. That being said, i have previously, when pressed, named Kurt Russel as a top contender primarily because of my adoration for his collabs with Carpenter. So when i googled around looking for lesser known 90s actioners that i hadnt seen, this looked like a dandy option.....and dandy it is!
This movie rocks. Im gonna be brief as i want to stay spoiler free for the few who havent seen it. Its a road-rage meets missing wife story. Kurt plays a perfectly normal/boring husband caught up in an impossible situation with no support. The performances from all involved are excellent. The setting, remote southwest US, is beautiful and scary as its very small town and we the viewers quickly realize you dont know who you can trust. The action is phenom, including a very creative and adrenaline fueled finale.
Bonus Double Feature: This flick would pair wonderfully with Duel.
(PS: Patrick, once again your image-o-the-day game is psychic! One of my first choices for today was to fill a Brandon Lee gap, Rapid Fire, but i couldnt find my copy yet)
(PSS: At some point in the future i'd love to see a F This article with corresponding talkback thread where people share their favorite lesser-known streaming Apps. I think theres countless options out there, many apparently free, and would love to know where fellow genre fans go huntin. In this case i watched this movie on Kanopy which has been mentioned on this site before. Its free to library card holders and while content may be limited, its a nice option moving forward.)
Breakdown rules! Glad you got to first-time it. I love the way that the plot is constantly escalating, coming up with new complications to throw at Kurt Russell. The movie just feels like it's always gaining momentum.
Carl Weathers: You know him as Action Jackson, but did you know he was also Hurricane Smith? Released theatrically only in Australia, this is a pretty weak action film where Hurricane Smith travels to Australia to search for his missing sister. Weathers is obviously awesome but until some good helicopter stunts at the end I was pretty bored. Watch Action Jackson instead it totally rules.
I’m the biggest fan of Stone Cold, so I hoped this movie would have the same insanity as Brian Bosworth’s more famous action film. Sadly, no.
This time, rogue FBI agent Karl Savak (Bruce Payne) is selling weapons to our enemies and one of his henchmen, Marcus (Jeff Kober) kills the wife (Deborah Worthing) and daughter (Rachel Duncan) of soldier John North (Bosworth). This is also known as One Tough B******, which is appropriate because North survives being shot multiple times and gets his own justice.
Kurt Wimmer (Equilibrium) started his directing here, even if he was removed and replaced by producer Kurt Anderson, who also directed Martial Law II: Undercover, Martial Outlaw and Dead Cold. This was written by Steve Selling, his only writing credit on IMDB.
There’s also M.C. Hammer as nasty dude Dexter Kane and DeJuan Guy from Candyman as a kid who becomes Boz’s sidekick. Yes, a movie where we want to watch Bosworth kill everyone, and he ends up having a kid help him. This is not what anyone wants to see. As good as Payne and Kober are in this, Bosworth’s fights feel like late-era Dusty Rhodes, standing in the center of the ring while his opponents pinball and feed back into him, taking his slow-motion offense and bionic elbows. It feels like going through the motions when I wanted more.
And the scenes where Coleman tells Teri Garr he’s always loved her and where he negotiates with a suicidal bomber were both genuinely moving. And all the throw-away jokes, like where the stock brokers are nonplussed by the falling body…
This is a great buddy cop flick.
And it was a strong recommendation from Joe Lynch who cut a 311 song to the car chase scene and it’s available on YouTube and is awesome but save it for later.
One of the countless "Die hard on a/in a" movies released in the 90s this one DTV. Thomas Ian Griffith is an alcoholic supercop with a death wish Jack Wild. Hes so crazy his fellow officers have started calling him Crackerjack(get it, cuz hes cracking up). Jacks wife and children were blown up by Christopher Plummer after he got to close to the mob on a case. Now its a year later and hes gone full Riggs. His Commanding officer orders him to take a vacation after he drew his gun on his surprise party. Jacks Brother and sister in law drag him for a vacation at a mountain resort. Luckily not only are the mobsters that ordered the hit at the resort but Christopher Plummer and his gang are there pulling a heist on the same weekend. What a coincidence. Nastassja Kinski also shows up as a resort worker who doesn't fool around with guests but will totally have sex with you if you tell her your wife died,. I like Griffith. He was the highlight of Karate Kid 3 and I think he should have had a better career. This is not the movie to show people in defense of that sentiment. He's fine but the direction and the action are just not good in this one. Poorly blocked and poorly shot fights don't help his case. This one is low budget but worse its poorly made. It takes place on a mountain resort but theres not one shot of a mountain. We do get a shot of the glacier the bad guys are going to blow up to bury the resort but no resort. Not even when taking CHekovs cable car to the top. Plummer is in full on Hans Gruber mode but this time with a German accent and at least earns his paycheck. The other actors are trying but no surprise stars hidden in this cast.
As a huge TIG fan I agree with your assessment of him and this movie. What is Christopher Plummer doing in this movie?! Also, if you thought Crackerjack was bad, definitely avoid Crackerjack 2 aka Hostage Train (Judge Reinhold takes over as Crackerjack). Don't be fooled by the title, yes there are hostages, but no the action does not take place on a train (there's a very short train scene and that's it). Crackerjack 2 makes Crackerjack look like Citizen Kane! If you want to have your mind blown by a TIG movie watch Hollow Point (1996). It's a buddy cop movie with three buddies! TIG, Tia Carrere and a never more insane Donald Sutherland. It's amazing.
"Hopefully they let him keep the purple tinted sunglasses.
Tubi recommended Crackerjack 2 last night after I finished part 1 but I just didn't have it in me. I'll add Hollow Point to my watch list, TIG and Tia? Sold
Every year, from July through May, I keep a running private Letterboxd list of film discoveries perfect for Junesploitation, which I then save for this annual holiday. Sometimes, it's been so long since I added it to the list, I've forgotten why I did in the first place. Even though I didn't recognize Black Dog right away when referring to the list this year, I knew why I wanted to remember it: a cast led by perfect Patrick Swayze, villainous Meat Loaf, and bearded Randy Travis.
It's a 90-minute semi-truck chase filled with real stunts, plenty of explosions, and Randy playing a character who wants to sing country music but can't sing. It's either for you or it's not.
I was actually hired to be an extra in this movie when I was living in Chicago, but they didn't call me with location information until the day of the shoot and then told me that my call time was midnight. I had to work a survival job the next day, so I turned down the gig. Thanks to Junesploitation, this was my first time seeing what I missed out on. I have a huge Jeremy Piven allergy (I didn't know he was in this), but I've always thought Stephen Dorff was an underrated actor. I also seem to remember that this had an amazing soundtrack. Did they just not use any of those songs during the movie?
First time watch for me. I really dug the first 10-15 minutes where the movie was bouncing from the CIvil War to the Great Depresion. You do get JCVD doing the splits on the kitchen counter but I got a wee bit bored down the stretch and the ending was a bit ho hum.
BLOOD HANDS (1990, Teddy Johnson aka Page aka Chui)
I’ve recently become an aficionado of low budget action flicks, and Sean Donahue’s PAROLE VIOLATORS (1994) is at the top of my list, right next to the classic DEADLY PREY. Sean D is a dude who takes a punch like no other and is willing to endure punishing stunts for the sake of his… art? When I saw today’s theme, I knew I had to follow up with another Donahue gem. I did some digging and came up with this effort, from the director of BLOOD DEBTS and BLOOD CHASE. Go figure.
Drunken bad guys are outta booze. So, like many good killing sprees, this all starts with a beer run. Along the way, they murder Donahue’s parents. He wants revenge. There’s your plot.
This is a kickboxing movie, so the fists and feet fly fast and furious, and it’s all quite frankly awesome. The acting is all done by kickboxers, which is all quite frankly NOT awesome, yet still is freaking awesome, especially Sean D, whose expression of rage is priceless. Loved to hate the villains, too, many of whom are B-action movie regulars. The sound mix is awful, with the music and sound effects often overpowering the dialog, but I just rolled with it and made up my own when I couldn’t hear the characters speaking. When I could hear them, the dialog was golden, a perfect follow up to yesterday’s BLOODY MOON. To wit: “I don’t want to be a kickboxer, I just want to be Bruce!”
Really fun movie, I was involved, invested, and in stitches throughout. I also highly recommend PAROLE VIOLATORS and THEY CALL ME MACHO WOMAN, both featuring Sean D and directed by his brother, Patrick.
AOP: Also by the Donahues: Kill Squad (1982)! And seriously, the volume levels on this are messed up (at least on my version and the 2 different postings on YT), so be prepared. If you can overcome that, you will have a blast!
NAVY SEALS (1990, Lewis Teague) Rewatch, first time on Vinegar Syndrome 4K, 8/10 up from 6/10. I didn't grow up watching NAVY SEALS & when I finally got to it circa 2000, I was an early 20something working an cinema-focused video store. I thought it was just fine. I still don't think it's WAGES OF FEAR or PATHS OF GLORY, but as Patrick often essentially points out, it's made like a REAL movie. It's more serious than I remembered, which might have contributed to my lackluster original opinion. But when I get all misty at films like COVENANT (another of G.Ritchie's few slices of excellence, as per the pod from today), it's only natural I should feel some sorta way about NAVY SEALS.
Catching up on a Junesploitation classic. Ditch Brodie (DITCH BRODIE!) is an unruly skydiver who gets caught up in an international criminal plot involving former KGB operatives. With its incredible stuntwork, only semi-serious attitude, loads of smartass dialogue, and the rule of cool taking precedence over everything else, the movie is a perfect fit for the month. We've got vintage Sheen (still channeling some of his Hot Shots energy), feisty Kinski, great Gandolfini, amazing aerial cinematography, explosions, chases, shootouts, dodgy green screen, even dodgier jokes, and lens flares for days. It's big, slick, dumb, and extremely 90s.
METEORITES (1998) We all remember Armageddon vs. Deep Impact, but how many remember that this movie was the third corner of that triangle? Instead of famous landmarks, it’s Small Town USA that’s under bombardment by the titular rocks. The movie wants to make it a mystery as to what’s happening to the town, even though “Meteorites” is right there in the title. And we spend way too long with the ensemble cast’s various interpersonal dynamics while waiting for the explosions. But there’s some fun to be had, as this is a Roswell-like town with funny bits where everyone’s excited about UFOs and whatnot. I don’t know. This isn’t a good movie, but it’s watchable in the “they don’t make ‘em like this anymore” kind of way.
30 days of Georges Melies, day 11: ADVENTURES OF AN AUTOMOBILE TRIP (1907) By now it’s a familiar pattern: Explorers go on a fantastical journey, this time in a car instead of a spaceship or submarine. But it's more of a comedy, with lots of circus clown-style slapstick. I had to laugh when the car knocked over a fruit stand while moving at high speed. Is this the first time that cliché was used?
What a fascinating artifact. If Beverly Hills Cop was the original, this is the 100th generation facsimile, copied so many times it can only read as little more than a massive smudge. A strange bastard love child of John Woo and Michael Bay. An unrelenting silly tone that completely undermines any tension, combined with non-stop racism and cultural references that only your grampy can explain them. Anyway, a few scenes are fun.
RUN AND KILL (1993, Billy Tang) First-time watch, Error4444 Blu-ray, 9/10. Kent Cheng has a bad anniversary, gets wasted & accidentally orders a hit on his wife. Johnny Wang wants more money from Cheng, but Simon Yam's brother tries to help Cheng. Wang's dudes are total psychos, but Simon Yam is an unstoppable nut suffering Vietnam PTSD. Wild cat. III mayhem with a crazy last third & lots of sweat.
Seagal may be a massive dickhead, but his relaxed, almost bored, never-take-a-scratch fight style is singular, and exhibited nicely here. The movie is worth a watch for the butcher shop or pool hall bar scenes alone. I'm convinced the dog is only in the movie to execute the final joke of the movie.
Sudden Death (1995)
The specificity of the hockey-centric setting really adds charm to the Die-Hard-in-a-blank-ness of the movie. JCVD fights a mascot, improvs a blow dart gun AND a flamethrower, and logs a few spectacular minutes minding the net during Game 7 of a Stanley Cup final. Just a fun movie.
Payback (1999, dir. Brian Helgeland) Been wanting to revisit this for a few weeks so I used today as an excuse. Obviously F Mel Gibson but I do like this one, particularly the theatrical cut (which I guess is an unpopular opinion). That's the one I watched today. Holds up.
I like this, too. There's something satisfying about gradually working your way up through the ranks throughout the movie, and there are so many actors I'm happy to see in this movie. (and one not)
If I'm serious, kinda torn on this one. It gave me a pretty good first act where I was discovering this weird world of BTTF II meets The Island. Then it lost steam, got silly, and eventually redeemed itself a little!
It's not good, and not totally laughable. But it turns out, totally worth my time!
Fun double feature! Money Train's screenplay is definitely all over the place (there's like 6 movies in there), but I loved Snipe's and Harrelson's chemistry (I have yet to see White Men Can't Jump), and was struck by JLo's presence and charisma. As for The Chase, I don't think I expected silly fun with a pinch of satire from that movie, and I liked that quite a bit. It surely does live up to its title! The insane supporting cast was the icing on cake (Henry Rollins and Cary Elwes seem to have a grand time). This would be so much fun to see on the big screen.
For 90s Action Day, I went back to one of my old comfort flicks: Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man. Fun fact — in France, they actually renamed it Harley Davidson et l’homme aux santiags (‘Harley Davidson and the Man in Cowboy Boots’) because apparently Marlboro Man didn’t ring any bells over here. Go figure.
I love this movie. Like, a lot. Don Johnson is the total MVP - he straight-up steals the show from Mickey Rourke, even though he’s technically supposed to be the sidekick. The whole thing is just ridiculously fun. You’ve got Tom Sizemore, Tia Carrere, and the always-smokin’ Chelsea Field in the mix.
Also… I refuse to believe the Wachowskis didn’t watch this at some point. Between the bad guys in full leather trenchcoat mode and the final scene with a helicopter mowing down a building à la Gatling gun, I’m seeing some very real Matrix DNA here.
Peppy little action comedy about big bugs, goop, and shaking dogs. Apparently, if you don’t count the opening and closing credits, this film is only 68 minutes long. Why wasn’t the song “Forget Me Not” mentioned in the end credits? That’s the original song “Men in Black” sampled/plagiarized. Where was Vincent D’onofrio’s Oscar nomination for playing Edgar?
Drop Zone (1994, dir. John Badham)
ReplyDeleteA criminal gang pull off a seemingly impossible feat: they hijack a plane, extract a prisoner transported on it and jump out in mid-air. To learn what the criminals' next move is, the U.S. Marshal who was transporting the prisoner has to team up with a skydiving team and learn their craft.
The skydiving scenes are a mix of very well done real stunts by professionals and obvious green screen with the actors. And oh yeah, I guess there's a plot too. The way the villain is dispatched in the end is glorious in its stupidity. Wesley Snipes plays Wesley Snipes, Gary Busey plays Gary Busey and Michael Jeter plays Michael Jeter.
Beaten! :'(
DeleteDid you get the Vinegar Syndrome 4k release?
DeleteNah, I watched it on an old DVD I bought at the second hand store. Like all 90's action movies should be watched.
Delete'LEGENDS RIDING DANGEROUS TRAINS'
ReplyDelete[Michael Caine] BULLET TO BEIJING (1995, YOUTUBE)
[Gene Hackman] NARROW MARGIN (1990, KINO 4K UHD)
A theatrical feature that got downgraded to Showtime TV movie at the last minute, "Bullet to Beijing" follows retired British spy Harry Palmer (Caine) being recruited by a Russian oligarch (Michael Gambon) to track down a deadly virus coveted by North Korea and many unemployed former operatives from the alphabet soup of international spy agencies. It stars/ends with car/boat chases (decent but far below "GoldenEye" standards), but the bulk of the story follows Harry and his handler Nick (Jason Connery, Sean's son) during their days-long train ride from Russia to China through Siberia. Shoot-outs and explosions are 'meh,' but the double/triple crosses, running jokes and switching loyalties make this worth seeing for spy flick fans... once. 3 SUPER-POINTY UMBRELLAS (out of five).
Peter Hyams wrote, directed and photographed this slick remake of 1952's "The Narrow Margin." An L.A. book editor (Anne Archer) witnesses the execution of a crooked mob lawyer by his furious boss ("Ghostbuster II's" Harris Yulin), hides in the Canadian wilderness and is tracked down by an ADA (Hackman) trying to talk her into testifying in court. 15 minutes in bullets start flying, helicopters chase trucks and a non-stop pursuit through the British Columbia wilderness ensues aboard a train headed toward Vancouver. The few times actors interact ("Hill Street Blues'" James B. Sikking with Hackman, Anne Archer annoying M. Emmet Walsh, J.T. Walsh pouting, etc.) it's a treat. It may have bombed upon release, but "NM's" action footage has been seen frequently in other features ("Crash Point Zero," "Bad Ass 2," etc.). 'It's fine' but the plot twists/surprises feel old hat even for a mainstream early '90's thriller. We miss Gene. :'( 3.15 MORNING MILKS SPIKED WITH HEINEKEN (out of five).
'JCVD's LATE '90's RICHES-TO-RAGS DESCENT'
SUDDEN DEATH (1995, KINO 4K UHD)
DESERT HEAT, a.k.a. INFERNO (1999, ROKU CHANNEL)
Let's keep the Peter Hyams' 4K train rolling with this upgrade to the old 4-movie DVD pack I used to review "Sudden Death" in 2020. For my money one of only two "Die Hard" clones worthy of being considered equals to/on par with the king, the other being "Under Siege." JCVD is an active protagonist trying to mess Powers Boothe's vice-presidential ransom plan for the sake of his kids and sports fans watching the Stanley Cup Finals (go Panthers!), not for glory. Poor lil' Emily, never got to know the real person behind future stepmother Icy The Penguin. :-P 4.5 WASTED SHRIMP COCKTAILS (out of five).
The final directorial outing of James G. Avildsen (OG "Rocky"), "Desert Heat" finds JCVD already slumming in direct-to-video throwaway projects from which the rest of his career would rarely deviate. Yet another "Yojimbo"-inspired spiritual remake (a character namedrops the title) set in a Southwestern small desert town straight out of "Sonny Boy," Van Damme plays a guilt-ridden ex-soldier whose Indian bike is stolen by the a-hole Hogan sons of crime boss Ramsey (Larry Drake). Left for dead, JCVD is saved by bestie/fellow vet Johnny Sixtoes (Danny Trejo, playing Native American) and sets out to get his bike and gun back from either the Hogans or their frenemies-but-partners-in-crime the Heathens. While "DH's" action scenes/production values are at the opposite ends of "Hard Target" and/or "Timecop" this flick's overflowing with quirky supporting characters. There's Pat Morita as an improvised 'cleaner,' Vincent Schiavelli as a Hindi bar owner, Jamie Pressley as a cute waitress, etc. Maybe they're meant to cancel out the villains being irredeemable scum, but whenever the action scenes underdelivered I could count on the oversexed, super religious, motel owner old lady (Priscilla Pointer) to either throw her big snake around or peep at JCVD's window as he and two ladies, eh... exchanged "cheeseburgers." :-D An extremely generous 3 CHEKHOV'S JET PLANES' BUZZINGS (out of five).
THE TAKING OF BEVERLY HILLS (1991, dir. Sidney J. Furie)
ReplyDeleteI definitely saw this when it came out on VHS more than three decades ago. I did not remember much about it, honestly. Since the blu-ray has been in my Junesploitation watch list for a longer than any other option, it was the choice for today. The Taking of Beverly Hills is one of those action films built upon such a ridiculous premise that you have to smile at its stupidity. So many things get blown up and shot up that it all becomes funny. The cast knows that nothing is to be taken seriously, most importantly the star, Ken Wahl. That mullet! With the very 1990-91 soundtrack, there is no mistaking when the film was made. Not great but undoubtedly an amusing time waster.
I bought this after listening to an Adam podcast and was not disappointed because it is
DeleteB A N A N A S
No Contest (1995)
ReplyDeleteDir. Paul Lynch
An unabashed "Die Hard" knockoff with the twist that it has "Agent Johnson" Robert Davi in the Al Powell role...kind of. A group of beauty pageant contestants are held hostage to get a ransom from a shitheel senator whose daughter is one of them. One of the hostages is played by Shannon Tweed, who takes the John McClane role. As for the Hans Gruber? Andrew "Dice" Clay in a ridiculous mustache. Add Roddy Piper and "you know this was filmed in Canada because it has" Nicholas Campbell, and you have the makings of a goofy B-movie actioner.
Unfortunately, director Paul Lynch bungles the action parts and it begins to feel tedious after a while. Also, there are like 10+ other characters each trying to get their moment that bloat this too much. I can't believe I'm saying this, but the Anna Nicole Smith "Skyscraper" is more entertaining.
Breakdown (1997)
ReplyDeleteWith the exception of maybe directors and films, i dont really do "Favorite _______" with movies. For example, i couldnt really do a Favorite Actors list. That being said, i have previously, when pressed, named Kurt Russel as a top contender primarily because of my adoration for his collabs with Carpenter. So when i googled around looking for lesser known 90s actioners that i hadnt seen, this looked like a dandy option.....and dandy it is!
This movie rocks. Im gonna be brief as i want to stay spoiler free for the few who havent seen it. Its a road-rage meets missing wife story. Kurt plays a perfectly normal/boring husband caught up in an impossible situation with no support. The performances from all involved are excellent. The setting, remote southwest US, is beautiful and scary as its very small town and we the viewers quickly realize you dont know who you can trust. The action is phenom, including a very creative and adrenaline fueled finale.
Bonus Double Feature: This flick would pair wonderfully with Duel.
(PS: Patrick, once again your image-o-the-day game is psychic! One of my first choices for today was to fill a Brandon Lee gap, Rapid Fire, but i couldnt find my copy yet)
Delete(PSS: At some point in the future i'd love to see a F This article with corresponding talkback thread where people share their favorite lesser-known streaming Apps. I think theres countless options out there, many apparently free, and would love to know where fellow genre fans go huntin. In this case i watched this movie on Kanopy which has been mentioned on this site before. Its free to library card holders and while content may be limited, its a nice option moving forward.)
DeleteBreakdown rules! Glad you got to first-time it. I love the way that the plot is constantly escalating, coming up with new complications to throw at Kurt Russell. The movie just feels like it's always gaining momentum.
DeleteSuper satisfying flick! You can see his desperation and rage physically straining Kurt Russell in this.
DeleteAlso a big fan of Kanopy, and Hoopla too! (same deal as Kanopy, just another pool of movies available)
Hurricane Smith (1992, dir. Colin Budds)
ReplyDeleteCarl Weathers: You know him as Action Jackson, but did you know he was also Hurricane Smith? Released theatrically only in Australia, this is a pretty weak action film where Hurricane Smith travels to Australia to search for his missing sister. Weathers is obviously awesome but until some good helicopter stunts at the end I was pretty bored. Watch Action Jackson instead it totally rules.
One Man’s Justice (1995)
ReplyDeleteI’m the biggest fan of Stone Cold, so I hoped this movie would have the same insanity as Brian Bosworth’s more famous action film. Sadly, no.
This time, rogue FBI agent Karl Savak (Bruce Payne) is selling weapons to our enemies and one of his henchmen, Marcus (Jeff Kober) kills the wife (Deborah Worthing) and daughter (Rachel Duncan) of soldier John North (Bosworth). This is also known as One Tough B******, which is appropriate because North survives being shot multiple times and gets his own justice.
Kurt Wimmer (Equilibrium) started his directing here, even if he was removed and replaced by producer Kurt Anderson, who also directed Martial Law II: Undercover, Martial Outlaw and Dead Cold. This was written by Steve Selling, his only writing credit on IMDB.
There’s also M.C. Hammer as nasty dude Dexter Kane and DeJuan Guy from Candyman as a kid who becomes Boz’s sidekick. Yes, a movie where we want to watch Bosworth kill everyone, and he ends up having a kid help him. This is not what anyone wants to see. As good as Payne and Kober are in this, Bosworth’s fights feel like late-era Dusty Rhodes, standing in the center of the ring while his opponents pinball and feed back into him, taking his slow-motion offense and bionic elbows. It feels like going through the motions when I wanted more.
SHORT TIME - 1990 dir. Gregg Champion
ReplyDeleteWhat a car chase!
And the scenes where Coleman tells Teri Garr he’s always loved her and where he negotiates with a suicidal bomber were both genuinely moving. And all the throw-away jokes, like where the stock brokers are nonplussed by the falling body…
This is a great buddy cop flick.
And it was a strong recommendation from Joe Lynch who cut a 311 song to the car chase scene and it’s available on YouTube and is awesome but save it for later.
CrackerJack(1994 dir Michael Mazo)
ReplyDeleteOne of the countless "Die hard on a/in a" movies released in the 90s this one DTV. Thomas Ian Griffith is an alcoholic supercop with a death wish Jack Wild. Hes so crazy his fellow officers have started calling him Crackerjack(get it, cuz hes cracking up). Jacks wife and children were blown up by Christopher Plummer after he got to close to the mob on a case. Now its a year later and hes gone full Riggs. His Commanding officer orders him to take a vacation after he drew his gun on his surprise party. Jacks Brother and sister in law drag him for a vacation at a mountain resort. Luckily not only are the mobsters that ordered the hit at the resort but Christopher Plummer and his gang are there pulling a heist on the same weekend. What a coincidence. Nastassja Kinski also shows up as a resort worker who doesn't fool around with guests but will totally have sex with you if you tell her your wife died,.
I like Griffith. He was the highlight of Karate Kid 3 and I think he should have had a better career. This is not the movie to show people in defense of that sentiment. He's fine but the direction and the action are just not good in this one. Poorly blocked and poorly shot fights don't help his case. This one is low budget but worse its poorly made. It takes place on a mountain resort but theres not one shot of a mountain. We do get a shot of the glacier the bad guys are going to blow up to bury the resort but no resort. Not even when taking CHekovs cable car to the top. Plummer is in full on Hans Gruber mode but this time with a German accent and at least earns his paycheck. The other actors are trying but no surprise stars hidden in this cast.
As a huge TIG fan I agree with your assessment of him and this movie. What is Christopher Plummer doing in this movie?! Also, if you thought Crackerjack was bad, definitely avoid Crackerjack 2 aka Hostage Train (Judge Reinhold takes over as Crackerjack). Don't be fooled by the title, yes there are hostages, but no the action does not take place on a train (there's a very short train scene and that's it). Crackerjack 2 makes Crackerjack look like Citizen Kane! If you want to have your mind blown by a TIG movie watch Hollow Point (1996). It's a buddy cop movie with three buddies! TIG, Tia Carrere and a never more insane Donald Sutherland. It's amazing.
DeleteWhat is Christopher Plummer doing in this movie?!
Delete"Hopefully they let him keep the purple tinted sunglasses.
Tubi recommended Crackerjack 2 last night after I finished part 1 but I just didn't have it in me. I'll add Hollow Point to my watch list, TIG and Tia? Sold
Its directed by Sydney J Furie? Double sold
DeleteBlack Dog (1998)
ReplyDeleteEvery year, from July through May, I keep a running private Letterboxd list of film discoveries perfect for Junesploitation, which I then save for this annual holiday. Sometimes, it's been so long since I added it to the list, I've forgotten why I did in the first place. Even though I didn't recognize Black Dog right away when referring to the list this year, I knew why I wanted to remember it: a cast led by perfect Patrick Swayze, villainous Meat Loaf, and bearded Randy Travis.
It's a 90-minute semi-truck chase filled with real stunts, plenty of explosions, and Randy playing a character who wants to sing country music but can't sing. It's either for you or it's not.
Judgment Night (1993)
ReplyDeleteI was actually hired to be an extra in this movie when I was living in Chicago, but they didn't call me with location information until the day of the shoot and then told me that my call time was midnight. I had to work a survival job the next day, so I turned down the gig. Thanks to Junesploitation, this was my first time seeing what I missed out on. I have a huge Jeremy Piven allergy (I didn't know he was in this), but I've always thought Stephen Dorff was an underrated actor. I also seem to remember that this had an amazing soundtrack. Did they just not use any of those songs during the movie?
Timecop (1996)
ReplyDeleteFirst time watch for me. I really dug the first 10-15 minutes where the movie was bouncing from the CIvil War to the Great Depresion. You do get JCVD doing the splits on the kitchen counter but I got a wee bit bored down the stretch and the ending was a bit ho hum.
BLOOD HANDS (1990, Teddy Johnson aka Page aka Chui)
ReplyDeleteI’ve recently become an aficionado of low budget action flicks, and Sean Donahue’s PAROLE VIOLATORS (1994) is at the top of my list, right next to the classic DEADLY PREY. Sean D is a dude who takes a punch like no other and is willing to endure punishing stunts for the sake of his… art? When I saw today’s theme, I knew I had to follow up with another Donahue gem. I did some digging and came up with this effort, from the director of BLOOD DEBTS and BLOOD CHASE. Go figure.
Drunken bad guys are outta booze. So, like many good killing sprees, this all starts with a beer run. Along the way, they murder Donahue’s parents. He wants revenge. There’s your plot.
This is a kickboxing movie, so the fists and feet fly fast and furious, and it’s all quite frankly awesome. The acting is all done by kickboxers, which is all quite frankly NOT awesome, yet still is freaking awesome, especially Sean D, whose expression of rage is priceless. Loved to hate the villains, too, many of whom are B-action movie regulars. The sound mix is awful, with the music and sound effects often overpowering the dialog, but I just rolled with it and made up my own when I couldn’t hear the characters speaking. When I could hear them, the dialog was golden, a perfect follow up to yesterday’s BLOODY MOON. To wit: “I don’t want to be a kickboxer, I just want to be Bruce!”
Really fun movie, I was involved, invested, and in stitches throughout. I also highly recommend PAROLE VIOLATORS and THEY CALL ME MACHO WOMAN, both featuring Sean D and directed by his brother, Patrick.
Added to my watchlist, where PAROLE VIOLATORS already sits. THEY CALL ME... is a lot of fun.
DeleteAOP: Also by the Donahues: Kill Squad (1982)!
DeleteAnd seriously, the volume levels on this are messed up (at least on my version and the 2 different postings on YT), so be prepared. If you can overcome that, you will have a blast!
Forewarned... And I already have a German Blu of KILL SQUAD, as yet unopened. Excitement builds!
DeleteAwesome! Looking forward to watching that one, too!
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteNAVY SEALS (1990, Lewis Teague)
ReplyDeleteRewatch, first time on Vinegar Syndrome 4K, 8/10 up from 6/10.
I didn't grow up watching NAVY SEALS & when I finally got to it circa 2000, I was an early 20something working an cinema-focused video store. I thought it was just fine. I still don't think it's WAGES OF FEAR or PATHS OF GLORY, but as Patrick often essentially points out, it's made like a REAL movie. It's more serious than I remembered, which might have contributed to my lackluster original opinion. But when I get all misty at films like COVENANT (another of G.Ritchie's few slices of excellence, as per the pod from today), it's only natural I should feel some sorta way about NAVY SEALS.
Terminal Velocity (1994)
ReplyDeleteCatching up on a Junesploitation classic. Ditch Brodie (DITCH BRODIE!) is an unruly skydiver who gets caught up in an international criminal plot involving former KGB operatives. With its incredible stuntwork, only semi-serious attitude, loads of smartass dialogue, and the rule of cool taking precedence over everything else, the movie is a perfect fit for the month. We've got vintage Sheen (still channeling some of his Hot Shots energy), feisty Kinski, great Gandolfini, amazing aerial cinematography, explosions, chases, shootouts, dodgy green screen, even dodgier jokes, and lens flares for days. It's big, slick, dumb, and extremely 90s.
I love, love, love this movie.
DeleteI know, I'm a looong time listener :)
DeleteWoot! this was a great discovery for me last Junesploitation thanks to suggestions by the F This gang.
DeleteMETEORITES (1998)
ReplyDeleteWe all remember Armageddon vs. Deep Impact, but how many remember that this movie was the third corner of that triangle? Instead of famous landmarks, it’s Small Town USA that’s under bombardment by the titular rocks. The movie wants to make it a mystery as to what’s happening to the town, even though “Meteorites” is right there in the title. And we spend way too long with the ensemble cast’s various interpersonal dynamics while waiting for the explosions. But there’s some fun to be had, as this is a Roswell-like town with funny bits where everyone’s excited about UFOs and whatnot. I don’t know. This isn’t a good movie, but it’s watchable in the “they don’t make ‘em like this anymore” kind of way.
30 days of Georges Melies, day 11: ADVENTURES OF AN AUTOMOBILE TRIP (1907)
By now it’s a familiar pattern: Explorers go on a fantastical journey, this time in a car instead of a spaceship or submarine. But it's more of a comedy, with lots of circus clown-style slapstick. I had to laugh when the car knocked over a fruit stand while moving at high speed. Is this the first time that cliché was used?
⭐️ Escape from L.A. | 1996 | Chuck Russell
ReplyDelete⭐️ Eraser | 1996 | Chuck Russell
On tonight’s episode - when good directors go bad!
The Big Hit (1998)
ReplyDeleteWhat a fascinating artifact. If Beverly Hills Cop was the original, this is the 100th generation facsimile, copied so many times it can only read as little more than a massive smudge. A strange bastard love child of John Woo and Michael Bay. An unrelenting silly tone that completely undermines any tension, combined with non-stop racism and cultural references that only your grampy can explain them. Anyway, a few scenes are fun.
I'm a fan of that deluxe video store wit lots of Troma posters on display.
DeleteRUN AND KILL (1993, Billy Tang)
ReplyDeleteFirst-time watch, Error4444 Blu-ray, 9/10.
Kent Cheng has a bad anniversary, gets wasted & accidentally orders a hit on his wife. Johnny Wang wants more money from Cheng, but Simon Yam's brother tries to help Cheng. Wang's dudes are total psychos, but Simon Yam is an unstoppable nut suffering Vietnam PTSD. Wild cat. III mayhem with a crazy last third & lots of sweat.
I had a chance to see this crazy film with a group. We could not believe some of the things happening. That conclusion gets particularly insane.
DeleteOut for Justice
ReplyDeleteSeagal may be a massive dickhead, but his relaxed, almost bored, never-take-a-scratch fight style is singular, and exhibited nicely here. The movie is worth a watch for the butcher shop or pool hall bar scenes alone. I'm convinced the dog is only in the movie to execute the final joke of the movie.
Sudden Death (1995)
The specificity of the hockey-centric setting really adds charm to the Die-Hard-in-a-blank-ness of the movie. JCVD fights a mascot, improvs a blow dart gun AND a flamethrower, and logs a few spectacular minutes minding the net during Game 7 of a Stanley Cup final. Just a fun movie.
Payback (1999, dir. Brian Helgeland)
ReplyDeleteBeen wanting to revisit this for a few weeks so I used today as an excuse. Obviously F Mel Gibson but I do like this one, particularly the theatrical cut (which I guess is an unpopular opinion). That's the one I watched today. Holds up.
I like this, too. There's something satisfying about gradually working your way up through the ranks throughout the movie, and there are so many actors I'm happy to see in this movie. (and one not)
DeleteFreejack 1992
ReplyDeleteDirected by Geoff Murphy
If I'm serious, kinda torn on this one. It gave me a pretty good first act where I was discovering this weird world of BTTF II meets The Island. Then it lost steam, got silly, and eventually redeemed itself a little!
It's not good, and not totally laughable. But it turns out, totally worth my time!
Money Train (Joseph Ruben, 1995)
ReplyDelete+ The Chase (Adamn Rifkin, 1994)
Fun double feature!
Money Train's screenplay is definitely all over the place (there's like 6 movies in there), but I loved Snipe's and Harrelson's chemistry (I have yet to see White Men Can't Jump), and was struck by JLo's presence and charisma.
As for The Chase, I don't think I expected silly fun with a pinch of satire from that movie, and I liked that quite a bit. It surely does live up to its title! The insane supporting cast was the icing on cake (Henry Rollins and Cary Elwes seem to have a grand time). This would be so much fun to see on the big screen.
For 90s Action Day, I went back to one of my old comfort flicks: Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man. Fun fact — in France, they actually renamed it Harley Davidson et l’homme aux santiags (‘Harley Davidson and the Man in Cowboy Boots’) because apparently Marlboro Man didn’t ring any bells over here. Go figure.
ReplyDeleteI love this movie. Like, a lot. Don Johnson is the total MVP - he straight-up steals the show from Mickey Rourke, even though he’s technically supposed to be the sidekick. The whole thing is just ridiculously fun. You’ve got Tom Sizemore, Tia Carrere, and the always-smokin’ Chelsea Field in the mix.
Also… I refuse to believe the Wachowskis didn’t watch this at some point. Between the bad guys in full leather trenchcoat mode and the final scene with a helicopter mowing down a building à la Gatling gun, I’m seeing some very real Matrix DNA here.
Hell of a good time.
Predator 2 (1990)
ReplyDeleteThis movie looks amazing. Editing is perfect. So are Busey, Bladés and. Paxton.
I absolutely love Predator 2. I find it almost as good as the first one.
DeleteMen in Black (1997)
ReplyDeletePeppy little action comedy about big bugs, goop, and shaking dogs. Apparently, if you don’t count the opening and closing credits, this film is only 68 minutes long. Why wasn’t the song “Forget Me Not” mentioned in the end credits? That’s the original song “Men in Black” sampled/plagiarized. Where was Vincent D’onofrio’s Oscar nomination for playing Edgar?