tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217427319662074458.post4112105733544121561..comments2024-03-27T15:16:57.305-05:00Comments on F This Movie!: Junesploitation 2022 Day 16: '80s Action!Patrick Bromleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00771837625286775607noreply@blogger.comBlogger34125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217427319662074458.post-68459937568235449372022-06-17T16:23:07.171-05:002022-06-17T16:23:07.171-05:00Which of the two has the scene with Sho sneaking u...Which of the two has the scene with Sho sneaking up on the henchmen using a large wooden spool? It’s a Monty Python’s Quest For The Holy Grail level stealth attack. Both of these are a fun watch. <br />Ryan Byhamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11510073401709026017noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217427319662074458.post-89897383826808970962022-06-17T16:14:27.836-05:002022-06-17T16:14:27.836-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.Ryan Byhamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11510073401709026017noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217427319662074458.post-1426579126757010852022-06-16T23:40:57.677-05:002022-06-16T23:40:57.677-05:00The Running Man (1987)
I had so many ideas about ...The Running Man (1987)<br /><br />I had so many ideas about what I wanted to watch today. And then just rewatched Running Man because it rules.Angela Hagerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05631279159508861830noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217427319662074458.post-62666380490654312252022-06-16T23:38:50.531-05:002022-06-16T23:38:50.531-05:00I watched this one for Kung fu day and yeah...the ...I watched this one for Kung fu day and yeah...the "comedy" is not so great hahaAngela Hagerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05631279159508861830noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217427319662074458.post-57706595702362781062022-06-16T22:50:50.518-05:002022-06-16T22:50:50.518-05:00NINJA BUSTERS (1984)
A film with a history simil...<i>NINJA BUSTERS</i> (1984) <br /><br />A film with a history similar to Miami Connection. The main difference with that now well-known title is that Ninja Busters is intentionally humorous. Made by a group of martial artists trying riding the wave of the ninja trend, the film fell into oblivion. Listening to the dialogue and how it gets delivered, I can understand why it did. The plot is not much better. The story is about two goofballs who enroll in a martial arts school and accidentally earn the wrath of a gangster. Gerald Okamura, featured in several Andy Sidaris features, is the only face I recognize. In any case, a film was created and can now be appreciated. Or not. This DIY effort is certainly not for everyone. While I did not dislike it, I did not love it, either. A Casual Listenerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02395983733474039015noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217427319662074458.post-13250046436127582042022-06-16T21:35:57.673-05:002022-06-16T21:35:57.673-05:00Patrick did several commentaries alone ("Kuff...Patrick did several commentaries alone ("Kuffs," etc.). Just go through every single podcast listing to find them. 😉🙂J.M. Vargashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18293452334926334389noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217427319662074458.post-80841912262852778562022-06-16T21:13:33.349-05:002022-06-16T21:13:33.349-05:00Thief (1981, dir. Michael Mann)
When I think of 8...Thief (1981, dir. Michael Mann)<br /><br />When I think of 80s action I don't necessarily think of THIEF, but I wanted to watch a Michael Mann movie and THIEF fucking rules so here we are. Michael Pomarohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04209918617642114880noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217427319662074458.post-75956752672027373602022-06-16T21:06:19.481-05:002022-06-16T21:06:19.481-05:00Sudden Impact (1983)
My last unseen Dirty Harry! ...Sudden Impact (1983)<br /><br />My last unseen Dirty Harry! I wasn't too impressed with the first half, but the end really brought me around. The Dirty Harry movies are really interesting, the antagonists are relatively small, so to fill in the gaps in action, Harry just constantly wanders into armed robberies, and there's always a useless mob subplot (featuring Frank Pantangelli!) But once all those subplots get blown out of the movie by a 44 Automag, the film really comes into focus. I could've used a little more mystery in the script, but Eastwood's direction is really strong here. He composes some really striking shots, and successfully builds the tension across the last 25 or so minutes. <br /><br />TLDR: It's pretty good. Brian Sagerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15266020828208581370noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217427319662074458.post-3702974126322234692022-06-16T19:39:14.978-05:002022-06-16T19:39:14.978-05:00Since my review for DOUBLE TARGET disappeared, I&#...Since my review for DOUBLE TARGET disappeared, I'll try to leave this list project of mine to represent 'Namsploitation:<br />https://letterboxd.com/aopisaac/list/the-nam-its-signs-symptoms/AOPisaachttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11554443112688631471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217427319662074458.post-18255958558395230082022-06-16T18:23:31.206-05:002022-06-16T18:23:31.206-05:00Extreme Prejudice (1987, dir. Walter Hill)
I had ...<b>Extreme Prejudice (1987, dir. Walter Hill)</b><br /><br />I had been sitting on this one for a couple of years, but so glad I watched it today. I afterwards read that it was a homage to Peckinpah, and you can really feel it. It's full of stalwart cowboys, ramshackle buildings in the desert, car chases, rigged explosions, escapes to Mexico, and ends with a big group of sweaty dudes having the best shootout you could imagine. There are a bunch of Walter Hill movies I still need to see, and this was a good motivation. Perhaps my favourite watch of this month.Paul Calverthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11748440093206090195noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217427319662074458.post-14961993660538152172022-06-16T18:10:58.093-05:002022-06-16T18:10:58.093-05:00Part of my reason for choosing Top Gun is to prepa...Part of my reason for choosing Top Gun is to prepare for a possible watch of Maverick this weekend.A Casual Listenerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02395983733474039015noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217427319662074458.post-15935818553135233192022-06-16T17:53:34.151-05:002022-06-16T17:53:34.151-05:00What!?!?! There's another commentary? That w...What!?!?! There's another commentary? That was a couple years before I started listening to Fthismovie, but I thought I had scoured the Movies A-Z and listened to them all. Somehow missed this one. It's not available for streaming here, but I'm going to order it posthaste.Paul Calverthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11748440093206090195noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217427319662074458.post-77102753209582861192022-06-16T17:41:01.033-05:002022-06-16T17:41:01.033-05:00First Blood (1982 – Ted Kotcheff)
It has been a lo...<b>First Blood (1982 – Ted Kotcheff)</b><br />It has been a long time since I’ve last seen the first of this action franchise. It’s a classic franchise start: A very well-made movie, a simple yet compelling story, good characters, good action, and less budget to fuck it up. Sylvester Stallone brings something to his figure of Rambo that probably wouldn’t been there with all the other actors they wanted to hire before him. He can portray a simple man like no one else – maybe because those men don’t really exist in the way he’s portraying them. This makes them larger than life, that’s what happened to Rocky and also with Rambo. And he is doing a lot of his own stunts, which I always like. The true highlight of this movie for me is Brian Dennehy. His character of Sheriff Teasle isn’t openly evil, just very conservative, serving a system that is probably not worth saving, but too simple or too comfortable to see that. At the same time, he stubbornly serves the city he is so proud of to his best intend. He just doesn’t know better – and he doesn’t know, that Rambo is a force of nature he doesn’t have a solution for. His society doesn’t create such things, or does it? <br />Derkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03439959396381448323noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217427319662074458.post-92162117588521101872022-06-16T17:40:04.604-05:002022-06-16T17:40:04.604-05:00Nice review!
That feeling of getting older and re...Nice review!<br /><br />That feeling of getting older and recognizing it is something, the character of Maverick is forced to deal with (until he isn't) in Part II. I liked that a lot. Derkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03439959396381448323noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217427319662074458.post-63114955552844707782022-06-16T17:24:24.482-05:002022-06-16T17:24:24.482-05:00Yes, Madam (1985)
Hong Kong supercop Michelle Yeo...Yes, Madam (1985)<br /><br />Hong Kong supercop Michelle Yeoh teams up with Cynthia Rothrock to catch a rich bad guy who punctuates every second sentence with maniacal laughter no matter if the situation calls for it or not, and frankly, that's reason enough for me. But of course they can't get anywhere until they're forced to give up their badges and decide to go off the book on his ass. Meanwhile, there's a second movie going on, a wacky comedy about three petty criminals who accidentally get hold of a super important microfilm which the bad guy desperately wants to retrieve. Eventually, the two movies merge into one and that's when things really kick into high gear.<br /><br />The action scenes are great, if brief, the comedy scenes... not so much (plus they go on forever), and the main plot resolves in a weirdly abrupt and underwhelming way. But the big climactic fight in the villain's fancy house more than makes up for any missteps along the way. It's that good. Oh yes, and this being the height of the 80s, some of the outfits worn by Yeoh and Rothrock are truly amazing.Adam Ohhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03501063595783109378noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217427319662074458.post-59167077281280864582022-06-16T16:12:26.621-05:002022-06-16T16:12:26.621-05:00...meet him."...meet him."A Casual Listenerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02395983733474039015noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217427319662074458.post-19895776959413066932022-06-16T14:14:18.484-05:002022-06-16T14:14:18.484-05:00"Do you believe in Jesus?" Nods.
"W..."Do you believe in Jesus?" Nods.<br />"Well, you're going to meet."A Casual Listenerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02395983733474039015noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217427319662074458.post-28755061466134510852022-06-16T14:03:22.733-05:002022-06-16T14:03:22.733-05:00Cloak and Dagger (1984) dir. Richard Franklin
T...<strong> Cloak and Dagger (1984) <i> dir. Richard Franklin </strong></i><br /><br />Though I’m roughly the right generation for it (I’m a little more NES age than Atari) I hadn’t heard of Cloak and Dagger until this Vinegar Syndrome rerelease, which I honestly just got because it was bundled with movies I was more excited about. Plenty of kids movies I do have residual affection for don’t hold up all that well to modern viewing, so I wasn’t so sure I’d find a lot to like without bringing any of my own sentimentality. It turns out, with or without the benefit of rose colored glasses, this was great!<br /><br />For all the Reagan-era kids in peril nostalgia we’ve had around Stranger Things (and the think pieces about that now-lost era of edgier kids fare) it’s easy to imagine that 80’s video store shelves were lined with non-condescending Carpenter synth scored Amblin/Cannon hybrids filled with child heroes dodging death at every turn. Like any good nostalgia play though, Stranger Things creates a cultural world that never <i>really</i> existed, blending together the best bits we remember from schlocky kid fare like Flight of the Navigator and the Goonies (come at me, it’s fine but it’s also schlocky), with very much not for kids movies like Halloween and Scanners. Which is all a long-ass preamble to say : it’s especially exciting when you do come across something that genuinely lives up, maybe even surpasses that artificially elevated bar. As I had noted earlier, I never saw this as a kid, but I sure would have loved it if I had- This was pure fist-pumping kid action, with leads that actually feel like kids their age taking going toe to toe with genuinely menacing adult villains, and even does a good job of playing up the kid-centric themes like adults not taking you seriously, without feeling to patronizing about it all. <br /><br />I’ve gotta say too- it looks amazing, with a ton of scenes shot on location in San Antonio, using city landmarks as backdrops for the action (I defy you to watch the scenes on the riverwalk and not want a tourist size margarita and plate of nachos immediately), which also helps add to the sense of danger. Vinegar Syndrome’s packaging is of course amazing too, with a ton of care going into the faux game cartridge look of it all. As a designer myself, nothing quite matches the equal parts professional admiration and jealousy their work inspires in me.A. Goosehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16408340014166398911noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217427319662074458.post-4219538826922329862022-06-16T13:43:34.905-05:002022-06-16T13:43:34.905-05:00Kill and Kill Again (1981)
I have participated in...Kill and Kill Again (1981)<br /><br />I have participated in Junesploitation for either the last 6 or 7 years, and this is - hands down - the greatest Junesploitation discovery I have made in that time. There is a scene in this movie where a character fires a gun at someone standing a few feet away, and after the bullet is shown - IN THE AIR - another character runs INTO THE ROOM, leaps, and blocks the bullet. The plot in brief: our hero, Steve Chase, as played by James Ryan, has to get the gang back together to rescue a kidnapped scientist who is being forced to create an army of martial artists in matching light blue t-shirts who are going to take over the world. I watched this on Tubi, but I am now going to search for whatever physical form in which I can purchase this cinematic masterpiece. This movie must be seen to be truly appreciated. By everyone. At least a hundred times.<br />Mookiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04718010493435606371noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217427319662074458.post-85660791779706529482022-06-16T12:35:56.618-05:002022-06-16T12:35:56.618-05:00ALIENATOR (1989)
An intergalactic antihero escap...ALIENATOR (1989) <br />An intergalactic antihero escapes from space jail (space jail!) and comes to Earth. He befriends some locals while pursued by a deadly cyborg. Bodybuilder Tegan Clive is an imposing figure as the unstoppable 'borg, half Terminator and half heavy metal album cover. The threadbare budget shows itself in a lot of ways, with tons of padding and the filmed-in-a-warehouse space jail. But when the movie works, it's some fun laser-blasting action. It is, as the saying goes, fine. <br /><br />Bonus Lloyd Kaufman-sploitation, day 16: F*RTS OF DARKNESS: THE MAKING OF TERROR FIRMER (1999) <br />Troma got into the DVD age in a big way with two-disc sets full of extras, including feature-length behind-the-scenes documentaries. What's great about these is that they don't shy away from the ugly side of filmmaking. We see personality conflicts on set, special effects and stunts not working, and having to cut entire scenes for budget/time reasons. It's a miracle anything gets filmed at all. Even so, this one's pretty tame to what's coming up in later BTS docs. Mac McEntirehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04665675426679622487noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217427319662074458.post-953848984627563322022-06-16T11:49:03.411-05:002022-06-16T11:49:03.411-05:00Woot! a quintessential childhood fav from the 80s...Woot! a quintessential childhood fav from the 80s! also agree, we are long overdue for the return to cartoonish over the top movies like this! (I would add to your list: Commando). Mashkehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16626826332217897682noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217427319662074458.post-17992100027499210092022-06-16T11:19:13.433-05:002022-06-16T11:19:13.433-05:00No Holds Barred
Watched this on an airplane, and ...<b>No Holds Barred</b><br /><br />Watched this on an airplane, and it's definitely an airplane movie (the kind you might opt out of after 30 minutes at home, but hey, you're on an airplane, so why not keep watching). I feel too guilty watching rated R movies on a plane (constantly wary of the person next to me catching some random nudity or crazy gore), and this severely limited my options for 80s Action!<br /><br />I suspect this movie may have actually been dictated to the credited writer by their nine year old WWF obsessed son. The hero, the bad guys, the romantic plot--it all seems like an excited kid's fantasy (...and then, Hulk Hogan jumps out of the car through the ceiling, and then, the bad guy hits a lady, and then, and then, and then...). The villain works for a TV channel called "World Television Network." WTN's startup wrestling event is called "Battle of the Tough Guys." Hulk Hogan's character's charity event is called "Rip's Sports for Kids." There's no way an adult came up with those names, right?<br /><br />There are a few decent action/fight scenes, but nothing that really stood out. Hulk is pretty wooden as an actor (he mugs more than he acts). The TV CEO villain, played by Kurt Fuller, is an outrageous character from a different universe, but he's probably the most entertaining thing in the movie. Tommy Lister doesn't have much to do as the evil rival wrestler, Zeus, but he effectively performs what the role asks for: look big, menacing, and crazy.<br /><br />I think the best comedic scene was the one in which Hulk's character and his love interest (and marketing/financial advisor?), played by Joan Severance, are unexpectedly forced to share a hotel room with one bed. I was wary of how this situation might be handled in a 1989 Hulk Hogan vehicle, but I think it sort of miraculously avoided doing anything terribly offensive, and had a few gags that worked.<br /><br />All in all, I thought No Holds barred was a bit of a dud, but I probably would have liked it when I was nine.Reed Stricklandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02712998532957289455noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217427319662074458.post-60335165388159942482022-06-16T09:33:45.755-05:002022-06-16T09:33:45.755-05:00Robo Vampire (1988) Directed by Godfrey Ho
Current...Robo Vampire (1988) Directed by Godfrey Ho<br />Currently on Tubi<br /><br />Wow...I think this movie broke my brain. I don't necessarily mean that as a negative.<br /><br />ReplyDeleteShannon Briggshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11736249327322979437noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217427319662074458.post-76547110623408965362022-06-16T09:32:38.826-05:002022-06-16T09:32:38.826-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.Shannon Briggshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11736249327322979437noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217427319662074458.post-80639448303023085722022-06-16T08:58:06.340-05:002022-06-16T08:58:06.340-05:00Invasion USA
After watching this and Siege today,...Invasion USA<br /><br />After watching this and Siege today, we really need to bring back cartoonish looking guns with gaudy scopes in deadly serious action movies. Movies these days are missing that element. I’m talking Cobra, Robocop, Raw Deal, Escape from New York, Aliens, and these two movies, ridiculous cartoon gun Hall of Famers. benpetersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02680256171903996080noreply@blogger.com