THE THING 2011
DIRECTED BY
Matthijs van Heijningen Jr.
If I can say one thing about this…it is not necessary.
It is a movie, I could easily do without. There wasn`t a a remake or prequel or sequel for all these years, so why now?
By the way, i`m writing this on my old pc, which just a day ago would freeze just about instantly after reboot, so I dunno what I did that it`s working now…lets hope it remains this way. The netbook, my brother gave me for not losing the internet contact I find hard to write on…i`m just used to my old Logitech keyboard. Can`t write on anything else.
So, THE THING prequel…ist not bad, it`s ok. The effects are well done, overall a good movie. But I found the main female character to be totally out of place. That main actress ain`t no Ripley…Overall, it doesn`t differ from Carpenters movie much, same old, same old…and that`s the main problem..I feel like I have seen this already, and done so well, it really needs no rehash…The only good thing about this I noticed, was the attention to detail. If you watch Carpenter`s THE THING right after this, you will notice , that they actually did the best they could to make this fit together well with Carpenter`s movie.
Except maybe for the spaceship, that here was hidden deep in the ice, and if I remember correctly, the ship was visible from the surface in the Carpenter one.
Correct me, if I`m wrong. And the whole ship discovery itself wasn`t shown, maybe they keep that for deleted scenes or extended editions, who knows?
All in all, a movie that doesn`t need to exist.
RED SCORPION hits DVD and Blue-Ray!! unrated and in Widescreen
- Format: Special Limited Edition
- Language: Deutsch (DTS-HD 5.1), Englisch (DTS-HD 5.1
- Subtitles: Deutsch
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9 – 1.77:
- Rating:18
- Studio: Splendid Film/WVG
- release date: 25. November 2011
- 1989
- Running Time: 101 Minuten
- Region 2 PAL
- The only extra seems to be a 16 page booklet, which is sad, but we germans must be happy its widescreen and uncut/unrated, because every version before was cut.
- I hope the quality is good, there aren`t any hints or articles yet about the overall quality of this release.
The DVD is a nice steelbook, really like the cover art for this. Also available on Blue-Ray from 25th of November 2011.
I already ordered a copy, not for me, though. I agree that this may not be the best Dolph film out there, but I remember it fondly for a number of great scenes. In the middle section it slows down, but it is necessary for character developement. In the remaining parts Dolph establishes himself as the action hero we all know, after Rocky IV and The Masters of the Universe.
UPDATE:
A friend of mine put up a picture quality comparison here…
http://caps-a-holic.com/vergleich.php?vergleichID=805
the former dvds were really bad… but now we got a decent dvd and blue-ray….I read a US version is on its way, too.
GRINDHOUSE TRAILER CLASSICS 1, 2, 3
If you ever wanted to watch a shitload of grindhouse trailers in a row,
then you should check these DVDs
from Nucleus Films. There are 3 Volumes, the third coming out on December 5th 2011.
On amazon UK, they are pretty cheap, as they are on amazon germany. In dollars about ten bucks, I`d say… The first 2 have a running time of 120 minutes, the third runs 100 minutes. I just watched the first one, and I had a blast!!! To me, this is a perfect party DVD to watch with friends. And I´ll be damned, if you`re not tempted afterwards to check out some of the films advertised herein.
I only found one volume on amazon.com, So in case the situation doesn`t change, as a US citizen you might be forced to go with the UK order…the first 2 are codefree PAL-how does that work out? lol…the third is region 2. As a collector, I guess it pays to have a codefree player, after all.
I have no idea for a headline….
I always liked tinkering with photos and designing my own vhs covers (or DVD).
Back then, before the scanners and photoshops, I used to go over to the next copy shop across the street to copy the shit out of my Van Damme stuff. Sadly, nothing of it survived.
I would cut out Van Damme articles and pictures in order to make new covers , be it for some uncut vhs copy I just scored, or my action cuts, or a best of van damme kickin ass…when I think about it…i`m sad I got rid of all of that at one point….little advice: Just keep any of your shit, as long as you`re not turning into a messie(the ppl who keep trash and pile it up at home).
You might be happy to have kept it, ten or fifteen years later.
These days, the net is full of custom covers, and easy to access.
I still have to dive deeper into the world of photo manipulation, yet I didn`t cuz my PC doesn`t have a lot of RAM, and it might spoil the experience to work with insufficient power behind it.
Once I have the money to buy certain tools, watch out…there are certain drawing tablets I`d love to work with…that could very well revive my career as a comic artist…something that I stopped doing a while ago…which is sad , in a way…but the day has only 24 hours and my priorities are just all over the place.
NAKED (1993)
Directed by Mike Leigh
The brilliant and controversial Naked, from director Mike Leigh, stars David Thewlis as Johnny, a charming and eloquent but relentlessly vicious drifter. Rejecting anyone who might care for him, the volcanic Johnny hurls himself around London on a nocturnal odyssey, colliding with a succession of other desperate and dispossessed people and scorching everyone in his path. With a virtuoso script and raw performances from Thewlis and costars Katrin Cartlidge and Lesley Sharp, Leigh’s depiction of England’s underbelly is an amalgam of black comedy and doomsday prophecy that took the best director and best actor prizes at the 1993 Cannes Film Festival.
***
Naked is the angriest, most bitterly critical attack on the false values of society that Mike Leigh, Britain’s constant chronicler of the tragic comedy of desperate lives, has ever made. Its audacity is that the attack is mounted through a central character of whom few would approve. Johnny (David Thewlis) is, in fact, a classic antihero, who blasts away at the hypocrisy inherent in the Britain of the immediate post-Thatcher era much like a latter-day version of John Osborne’s Jimmy Porter. Yet such is the power of the film that Leigh is also able to include, without in any way seeming to placate his audience, moments of compassion, gentleness, and humor, which prevent Naked from seeming merely a bilious, if gloriously eloquent, rant. It is not just that. In fact, it is one of the greatest, most memorable, if decidedly uncomfortable, British films not only of its decade but of the entire second half of the twentieth century.(Derek Malcolm) -found on dvdbeaver.com
As I was surfing the web lately, I came across a movie that sounded very interesting. It has lots and lots of raving reviews on imdb, and a main actor I like. But I am not always in the mood for an intense movie, such as this one. So I put it aside in my head, waiting for the right mood to come.
Then, today, I got news of a financial kind that made me feel sick. If I can`t stand something, it`s beeing strained financially. So I thought-„what the hell, I might as well watch a movie about some fucked up people!“
Luckily, this film isn`t just all negative, it is also very funny and very intelligent. It is bleek and depressing , yes. But not enough so, that you are left depressed or empty after watching it. Maybe impressed, because this is one of the best films I have ever seen. This is no action movie, and no comedy, although there are plenty of laughs to have here.
It is a story of a guy, who seems to be fairly intelligent, and just as crazy and confused. He has no interest in work and no goal.He may have some kind of psychologival condition, but it`s never explained if he actually suffers from any kind of mental illness.At the same time, he seems far too intelligent for someone as useless as him.
I can`t write a review half as good as anything I´ve come across on the imdb review pages, but yet I`ll try to explain it. Ok, so the film begins with him raping a woman, and he has to flee, in order to not get beaten up or worse.
Yet he is likeable….in a way.
He has wit and engages people in conversations that are very personal and to the point , wasting no time beeing nice. But I really can`t do a write up on this, unless I wanna spend hours editing it…Just read a few of the reviews on IMDB, there are some great ones, which give you an idea how awesome this is.
Thewlis is owning this movie, it isn`t dull for a second
It is gutwrenching, funny, sad and so much more inbetween…I wouldn`t know where to begin.
This is a drama, but I´d say it is also badass cinema, for the acting of Thewlis alone.
I could try and go on about the human condition and stuff like that, but I am the wrong person to try and write something deep and intelligent.
Just watch the movie, I´m sure you won`t be dissapointed. That is, if you can appreaciate a good film, that digs a little deeper than usual.
Interesting about this as well-this was mostly improvised in long rehearsals, there was no normal script.
It is just how Mike Leigh works, maybe read his trivia on imdb.
THE WRESTLER (2008) feels like yesterday , though
Directed by Darren Aronofsky
This is a drama about an aging professional wrestler, decades past his prime, who now barely gets by working small wrestling shows in VFW halls and as a part-time grocery store employee. As he faces health problems that may end his wrestling career for good he attempts to come to terms with his life outside the ring: by working full time at the grocery store, trying to reconcile with the daughter he abandoned in childhood and forming a closer bond with a stripper he has romantic feelings for. He struggles with his new life and an offer of a high-profile rematch with his 1980s arch-nemesis, The Ayatollah, which may be his ticket back to stardom.(imdb written by Matlock6)
Well, what to say about this movie?
As the word movie implies, it moved me.
It was a blast to watch the first time, and I watched it again shortly after, cuz one tends to miss a few things at first viewing. But since then I haven`t seen it again, and the reason for it is simple…it `s a
pretty sad movie. It`s a great, great film, but it is nothing that makes you feel good.
I appreciate the great actors and the story, and I love Mickey Rourke to death.
But it is that great of a drama, at least to me, that it is actually tough to watch.
Even Mickey Rourke admits , he never saw the movie in full, because it has too many similarities to his own story, that he just can`t watch it. It made Roddy Piper cry , as well.
But I am so happy he did this movie, and eventhough he already was getting more and more roles at the time, this put him back on the A-list in Hollywood.
The director Aronofsky wanted Rourke for the role from the very beginning, the studio wanted Nicolas Cage. He fought for Rourke, and therefore, the budget got cut significantly.
To help his friend Rourke out, W. Axl Rose donated the use of „Sweet Child O´Mine“ free of charge.
I`m really, really glad Mickey is back working A-list movies. I followed his career even through the bad times, which spawned some worthwhile movies, nevertheless. Like Lance Henriksen, he makes even bad movies worth watching, and be it only for his appearance. He made „Double Team“ fun to watch, and was welcome in „SPUN“.
God, I just Love Mickey.
Check out the trivia to THE WRESTLER, it is damn interesting.
Check out this link, if you`re just remotely interested in this guy.
TRAILER:
BLACK EAGLE aka RED EAGLE aka RED HUNTER (1988)
Directed by Eric Karson
PLOT:
One of the US Air Force’s most modern tactical aircrafts, a F-100 with a new laser guidance system, crashes into the sea near Malta – a region where the Soviet forces are highly present, too. The CIA immediately sends out their best secret agent Ken Tami to salvage the system before it falls into enemy hands. To ensure his loyalty, they bring his two young sons to a nearby hotel on the island. Ken Tani’s tough opponent is KGB agent Andrei.(imdb )
This was one of Van Damme`s early films. This got released on Video, I´m pretty sure it never went cinematic at the time. Only later would someone rename the movie to RED HUNTER and release it in german cinemas. Forgot what year, but I´m sure it was around 1990, or even later…they would even resurrect their grandma`s to make some money.
While he had success with Bloodsport, he still had a contract for this movie. But he didn`t get to be the hero, he just played the villain. And he didn`t get that much of screen time.
Sho Kosugi, who sure as hell made better movies before, didn`t exactly impress me here. The movie is pretty slow, and the action is anything but spectacular. Only Van Damme raises the bar whenever he is on screen. This was really a waste of opportunities galore. The location of Malta is pretty nice, somehow after watching this movie very often(I was a hardcore Van Damme fan back then) I want to visit Malta one fine day. Even if it`s not the most exciting island, Black Eagle is burned in my soul from watching this waay too often.
Normally, I would fast forward to the fight scenes, which aren`t half bad. Van Damme shows off his skills and screams. Sho Kosugi had his real life kids to play his sons in the movie, something Van Damme did and does these days as well.
At the end, Van Damme`s character gets killed by the blades of a boat, a really stupid and wasted chance at a big bang ending. Somehow he is good at playing the villain. And I always loved the gelled back hairstyle. Just makes him look way cooler. Sadly thats not the look for Expandables 2.
Maybe cuz he is losing his hair more and more, dunno.
The last time he sported that look was IN HELL, I believe…he had lots of different hairstyles there.
Well, this is a movie you can easily leave aside, watch the fight scenes on youtube, that should do the trick regarding BLACK EAGLE.
But I still have a soft spot for this, regardless. I just watched it too often, its part of my beeing,lol.
THE TIME GUARDIAN (1987)
Directed by Brian Hannant
Well, I was aware that this might not be the best movie of all times.
And it isn`t. But I liked a few things about it, and when I didn`t like something, I was able to laugh.
The main failure here was the script, I guess. The dialogue is so bad, and the acting follows suit, for the most part.
This is a bait and switch movie, as both Dean Stickwell and Carrie Fisher are top billed for rather short appearances.
Plot:
In the future, about 4000 AD or something, the last humans are living in a city that can travel through time(ok?).
They are under constant threat by the Jen-Deki, a race of evil Cyborgs. They plan an escape to the australian outback of 1988, but the last fight left the ship with damages, so that it`s unable to land properly. Time Guardian Ballard and Petra are sent to 1988 to prepare the landing in Australia by piling up some rocks so the city-ship won`t fall over…sounds stupid, right?
It totally is…
Arriving in 1988 , they get into trouble with the outback police, since a trucker died in an accident, caused by the Jen –Deki. Ballard also runs into a female geologist, who is interested in them australian rocks, who bare inscriptions or pictures of the time-travelling ship. Seems like the Aborigines have knowledge about that ship somehow. Well, the whole plot has more holes than swiss cheese, the movie almost feels like split in two, the scenes on the mothership/city`s command post are really bad, Stockwell is phoning in his part, which could have been played by just anybody, really.
The script is piling up mistakes and WTF moments like a machinegun is shooting bullets.
The only really redeeming thing may be the robot-like Jen-Deki, who look kinda cool, and the action sequences, which feature some explosive gun play, but looking at the better parts of the movie, you realise, just how much was done wrong here, in general.
Some of the costumes look like Star Trek rejects, why is it that future fashion must look like this? Who decided that the`ve lost any taste in fashion in the future? A more simplistic, military look would have been of great relief here. You wonder, with all the money spent on special effects, which aren`t half bad, nobody seems to have cared for a more polished script. Who greenlit a script like this, giving them 8 million AUD to make this? The Jen –Deki have already figured out they`d land in Australia, so why do they still plan to go there…it is just a mess of a story.
If you decide to watch this, maybe try and count the wtf moments and plotholes.
It wasn`t so bad that I would have wanted to push the stop button, but it isn`t going to play in my household in the near future, either.
Even the trailer is a hackjob…
SORCERER aka WAGES OF FEAR (1977)
Directed by William Friedkin
Another masterpiece that didn`t get the attention it deserves.
When I saw it last year for the first time, I wondered how this could possibly have passed me by all these years.
I`ve seen the french original http://www.imdb.de/title/tt0046268/ ,
but only by accident did I come across this film.
It is not a hundred percent remake, it has different characters and other stuff going on in it, that wasn`t part of the original, but it still was based on the original novel „Le salaire de la peur” by Georges Arnaud.
Roy Scheider plays the main part, joined by Bruno Cremer and Francisco Rabal, to name only a few.
This movie sucks you in, it gets unbearably intense at times, you have to sit down and really pay attention, or you`ll miss out on one of the greatest adventures ever put on film.
Plot:
Several people fled deep into the south-american jungle, to escape their problems at home.
But life ain`t much easier around here. The only local employer is an oil company, but when an accident ignites the rig, no one can work, and the village descends into chaos, their only source of income cut off. The four exiles gradually team up for a mission that’s very likely to be suicide. To eliminate the fire, dynamite is needed. But the only dynamite available is 200 miles away,and it is old and very unstable
The task of driving 200 miles across the jungle and rough roads that barely deserve that name, with a truck (actually it`s two trucks) full of highly unstable dynamite is a suicide mission, each character has his own reasons for. But basically, they all want out of this hellhole in the south-american jungle. They all fled here for reasons that we are introduced to in the beginning of the film. The promised pay-check would enable them all to go away from here. The journey through the jungle begins. Will they arrive unharmed or blow up on the road to hell?
The DVD is full-frame, ..yeah I know what you are going to say…what , why…I dunno. Maybe it will be released some day in widescreen format, I´ve been reading it is in the making….
But watching it in full-frame didn`t really take away any of the suspense, and honestly, I never felt cheated out of stuff I may would be able to see in widescreen. In the end, it is less about the visuals than the nail-biting tension you are subjected to. The great score by Tangerine Dream doesn`t hurt, either.
But a Blue-Ray is in the works, it seems. Let`s hope so.
UPDATE: There is a laserdisc, which I believed to be in original aspect ratio…turns out, the LD is in 1.66:1, meaning letterboxed. But still way better than just fullframe.
G
Some interesting background info can be found here:
http://www.urbancinefile.com.au/home/view.asp?a=6832&s=Interviews
THIEF ( 1981)
Directed by Michael Mann
Fresh from prison, jewel thief and safecracker Frank(James Caan) is selling cars at day and goes out cracking safes at night, aided by his friend Barry (James Belushi in his first feature film role).He spent most of his life in prison, where he was teached and mentored by Okla(Willie Nelson).
He dreams of a family and a life without crime.
But that requires a certain pension fund, he yet has to raise. Tuesday Weld is the target of his affection, working as a waitress in a diner. In a long scene, he gradually persuades her to be with him.
When he makes a Faustian bargain with a mobster (Robert Prosky) in order to get out of this way of life, he realises too late, that this guy won`t hold on to his part of the bargain.
This film I discovered just a few months back, what a shame. Michael Mann`s feature film debut is a must-see, a grade A crime thriller that probably went under the radar of many people. I`m truly puzzled to have discovered it just this spring.
Made in 1981, it still has the touch of the 70`s crime movies.
It is one of those films , where great acting, a phenomenal score by Tangerine Dream and great writing come together like a match made in heaven. Until the end, you feel and fear for the main character. The blue neon opening credits already got me excited at the very beginning, and as Caan was working with his heavy-duty machinery in order to crack a safe, I was sold. A carefully made film, the tools are authentic, and Mann had real safecrackers to advise him, up to the correct language and heist technology. There is also a good amount of shooting and fighting going on, this ain`t no kids movie. When Frank refuses to do more heists, the crime boss proves to be unforgiving, and Frank must fear not only for himself, but his friends, too.
This is maybe my single favourite film by Michael Mann, since i am not a big fan of HEAT , ALI or INSIDER. I liked MANHUNTER, though.
But this , his feature debut, I think is his best.
SHORT TIME (1990)
Directed by Gregg Champion
In a recent review of my buddy in crime , Jason, over at http://robotgeekscultcinema.blogspot.com/, the actor Dabney Coleman was mentioned.
That brought me to think of this, a really, really good comedy.
PLOT:
Taken from imd:
Nearing retirement, Dabney Coleman finds that he has a disease that will kill him within days. He then finds that his life insurance only pays off if he is killed in the line of duty. In order to leave something to his wife and children, Coleman becomes supercop, ignoring danger and trying his best to get killed.
That`s funny, right? RIGHT! It totally is!
Thanks to Coleman, who is just the right character to make this a ROFL movie at it`s best.
I totally suggest to see it, if you haven`t already.
Conan, the Barbarian (2011)
Directed by Marcus Nispel
I wasn`t planning to watch this, ever…
I somehow am not a big fan of Schwarzenegger`s Conan , and therefore, I didn`t plan on watching this. I also didn`t like the actor who plays Conan in this, especially his face.
But since there isn`t much great stuff to watch lately, and the second season of Game of Thrones a few months away, I thought“why the hell not“.
To my surprise I was impressed with it, really.
Great images, very violent , brutal fights, and a few good actors kept me interested.
Since I`m not a Conan fan in general, I´m not able to pick on things real hard-core fans would pick on, I am not interested in that. All I know is, it kept me entertained for 2 hours straight.
Sometimes the CGI blood felt overdone, but I´ve seen worse.
It is a brutal tale, let me tell you. I probably liked the first half hour best, since that`s where
Ron Perlman is still there , as Conan`s father.
It only did like 20 million $ in theatres(in the US), and I can understand why.
A lot of people may have said, it`s not Arnie, so why bother? And maybe the genre isn`t really drawing people, unless it`s LOTR.
But on TV, lots of people love Game of Thrones. Only , going to the cinema or watching Tv, that`s something totally different.
Well, for a one-time rental, I can only say-GO FOR IT!
DARK BREED (1996)
Directed by Richard Pepin
Storyline from imdb:
Captain Saxon, and agent for the top secret Omega agency, has been given the assignment of tracking down and either capturing or killing the crew members of a secret space mission who returned to Earth against orders. It seems that they were all infected with an alien parasite, and they were trying to bring its eggs back to Earth. The eggs were lost in an accident, and both Saxon and the astronauts are trying to locate them. What could the government want them for?
I first saw this as an english VHS screener, when I was working at an english video store. I had access to all the promo vhs tapes they got, awesome to be first in line . And most press tapes are uncut, so there is a special bonus !!!I liked this one, it` s full of action, explosions, gory stuff and lots of car wrecks.
I came to like Jack Scalia, when even more of his films came in on those VHS screeners, I had a chance to see a bit of his then recent work. I just watched it again, and eventhough it doesn`t have the impact it had on me then, its still entertaining. Sure, it has its flaws, but its a damn cheap movie, so thats to expect. Some rather stupid scenes towards the end, and the monsters look like a marriage of Predator and Alien, everything is stolen from other movies. You don`t really expect them to re-invent the wheel, do you. It is funny, how perception changes over time. Now, as a jaded movie maniac, the experience is a different one, as it was ten or fifteen years ago. But I still think this movie delievers pretty good action, even if there isn`t anything all too special about it.
HARD-BOILED (1992)
Directed by John Woo
Well, what to write about the king of action movies?
When I first watched this, I was blown away by it.
This kind of action you didn`t get to see outside of Hong Kong, only those „exploding huts“ movies made in the Phillipines come close to it, sometimes, but not at this level of excellency, and only in jungle enviroments.
John Woo kind of did his own version of that with „ Heroes shed no tears“.
So, this was the last movie John Woo did in Hong Kong, before he left for America.
Supposedly, cuz Hard-Boiled didn`t meet expectations at the box office.
By then, John Woo got noticed and promoted by the likes of Quentin Tarantino and others.
But back to Hard-Boiled.
After great success with his earlier movies, starting with „ A better Tomorrow“-(box office 35 million HKD in Hong Kong alone), this was the climax of the „Heroic Bloodshed“ movies.
While I rank some of his other films higher, this is the top of the mountain in regards to over the top action. With a bodycount of over 300, you get the idea why.
Plot:
Mobsters are smuggling guns into Hong Kong. The police orchestrate a raid at a teahouse where an ace detective loses his partner. Meanwhile, the two main gun smugglers are having a war over territory, and a young new gun is enlisted to wipe out informants and overcome barriers to growth. The detective, acting from inside sources, gets closer to the ring leaders and eventually must work with the inside man directly. (written bye Ed Sutton)
Chow-Yun Fat is Tequila, the toughest cop in all Hong Kong. Tony-Tony Leug Chiu Wai ( or Alan in the english dub) is an undercover cop, who tries to nail the gunsmugglers from the inside. They both get in each others way first, but end up working together in the end.
I love Chow Yun Fat and Tony Leung since I`ve seen this, and watched a great amount of their work since then.
What appealed to me, was not only the action in general, but the overall different experience with Hong Kong action movies.
They are over the top, very silly at one point and cold-blooded the next.
It is a totally different universe. The stunts in these Hong Kong movies are insane, you couldn`t do stuff like that in Hollywood, the insurance companies would give you the finger!
The actors are no primadonnas, as in Hollywood, they just do it.
Also, they never had budgets like in Hollywood. Hard-Boiled was the most expensive HK film at that point, with a budget of estimated 4, 5 million $.
The hospital scenes towards the end are insane, with great camera work. A ballet of violence , like only John Woo can deliever. The editing, use of slow-motion and camera work is ecellent.. I also loved Face/Off and MI-2, so smooth.
While his HK films appeared a bit crude compared to Hollywood style filmmaking, Face/ OFF and MI-2 are perfect, when it comes to editing and use of music.
After all, the possibilities in HK where limited by low budgets.
With some of his films made in the US, he was able to perfect that style.
I can only recommend, not only to see this film, but everything of his between 1986 to 2002.
I still haven`t seen RED CLIFF (2008), but only cuz i`m not into costume films that much.
But i`m sure it`s excellent. If, at one point, you`re tired of your average Hollywood movie, go try some HK action.
Hard-Boiled is a must see, pure action mayhem. And Chow Yun Fat is my number one HK actor, check out his work, he did everything from comedy to drama to action, everything worth seeing.
HELLFORD667 Movie Reviews 
