An American action film directed by Andrew Davis, starring Steven Seagal, Pam Grier, Sharon Stone and Henry Silva.
Steven Seagal plays a "loose cannon cop who doesn't play by the rules". He is on a case involving drug smuggling, illegal immigration, explosives trafficking and assassination.
This was on a kung fu list, but there was very little fu that got kunged. An hour and 36 minutes of yet another LCCWDPBTR was too much for me. Shootout, chase scene, computer hacking in DOS and cheesy '80s music made it very cliche and stereotypical. The plot failed to hold my interest because I of how many times I have seen this type of thing before. Reiterations of the classic cop flick characters did not entertain me either. Their dialogue could have been copied and pasted from the gargantuan amount of similar films that preceded this one and the acting was as cheesy as the music. Sets and costumes consisted of regular '80s clothing in a city. The only unique set was the martial arts dojo in the beginning. Special effects consisted of blanks for the guns and squibs for people getting shot. There were also some falls from tall buildings. The audio was mixed correctly and the music, although cheesy, was from a time when musical virtuosity was still driving creativity and before Kurt Cobain wrecked rock. Hal Hinson of the Washington Post said this was "woefully short on originality". It has 6/10 on IMDB, 53% Tomatometer and 48% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. 53% average failing grade seems about right to me. I rate this poor because I have seen much worse than cliche and repetition.
An American action film directed by John Carpenter, starring Kurt Russell, Stacy Keach, Steve Buscemi, Peter Fonda, Cliff Robertson and Pam Grier.
In a further dystopian future, Los Angeles has detached from North America in a earthquake and become a deportation zone for criminals. The president's daughter has stolen military technology and is hiding there. The same famous criminal is sent in to retrieve this technology and kill her.
This was better than Escape from New York. I think that better technology and the updated all-star cast led to a better film. There was lots and lots of compositing and visual effects usage. From the earthquake intro to the surfing scene, someone had fun making this. The plot and characters were much clearer this time and the video style was not as dark. It was still dark, but better cameras helped to achieve correct exposure and maintain detail. The pacing was very fast all the way through. I'll rate this adequate. If you like action films, this would be one to watch.
A crime film by Quentin Tarantino, starring Samuel L. Jackson, Pam Grier and Robert De Niro.A stewardess gets caught with money and drugs that she is supposed to deliver to her boss who sells guns. The boss bails her out of jail and makes a plan with her to get the rest of his money. The cops make a deal with her to catch her boss when she gives him more money. She makes a deal with the bail bond man to keep the money for herself.This film is very long at over 2 and a half hours, but well worth it. Like I've said before, Tarantino can do no wrong. That said, this is my least favorite film that he has made. It's much darker than Pulp Fiction, but it uses the same non-linear type of timeline. Pam Grier is like a Picasso painting: her mouth is never centered on her face. Robert De Niro has surprisingly few lines, but the combination of Samuel L. Jackson and Tarantino always ends up with him getting tons of dialogue. Overall, it was pretty cool. I'm rating it adequate and that's the lowest rating this director will ever receive.
