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damianphelps
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Black Eagle (1988)
Enjoy the Sho
I am a Sho Kosugi fan without apology.
This movie is B grade for sure, the acting, particularly JCVD, is awful.
It fits into the Delta Force realm quite nicely and at a time before the second wave of martial arts movies were coming (sparked by Bloodsport and delivered by JCVD, Seagal, Chan and Jet Li) (Bruce Lee being the first wave) it did a nice job of filling a bit of a void.
Sho Kosugi was kind of the asian Chuck Norris at the time, in that his movies had a similar feel to them (along with others like the American Ninja series).
No Oscars for this but there are way worse :)
Death Warrant (1990)
Good Movie
This is a good movie that provides enough grit (for a straight action movie) for it to hit the spot without it being OTT.
JCVD is in pretty good form here.
The story is fine, the acting is about what you would expect and the fights are entertaining and well pieced together.
Kickboxer (1989)
A Good Addition To JCVD's Filmography
Should never have spawned so many sequels but apart from that this is a really entertaining movie with one of the better villains in cinema.
It has some Rocky elements to it (which work) and has some humour which I wasn't a fan of but many people do like.
This is one of the rarer JCVD movies that has a bit of soul.
Double Impact (1991)
He Has Made Way Worse Than This!
For a movie with an actor who is not much of an actor and with constraints of special effects at the time of release, this movie is surprisingly good.
Tries to be a little too funny.
The story is good enough and the fights are ok.
Universal Soldier (1992)
Just Behind Bloodsport as JCVD's Best
Lets get it out in the open...the movie is a ripper!!!
Total brainless entertainment with bad acting and great fights.
Topped off with a classic track by Body Count.
Take off a point or two in the rating for the aging of the film.
8 out of ten is my 1992 rating :)
This was a lot of fun when it came out and is still great entertainment!!!
Body Count's in the house....
Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning (2012)
Make No Mistake...This is a Scott Adkin's Movie
After watching the horrible U.Sol Regeneration, Reckoning was a pleasant surprise.
The plot is essentially irrelevant.
This comes down to the fights and Adkins shows he is up for it. A classic fight in a sports store is definitely the highlight. JCVD still uses a stunt double, I guess hoping we wouldn't notice. I would actually rather he didn't fight than feel like he is manipulating the audience. IF you can't do it anymore...fair enough.
JCVD does have some great screen time though when he channels Apocalypse Now for a little while!!
As a movie its not bad, the fights though are some of the best I have seen in a while :)
Universal Soldier: Regeneration (2009)
If you like bad acting, poor plot and stunt doubles...then this is for you!
The 2 reasons to watch this are JCVD and Dolph. They really aren't in it much and when fighting its almost never them but stunt doubles.
So why bother?
Good Question.
Shrek (2001)
Hulk's Half Brother From Another Mother
Miniature Hulk grumbles his way through the countryside as he is domestically abused by his on again off again girlfriend whilst caring for his special needs Donkey.
Brilliant :)
Wo ping fan dim (1995)
Just Doesn't Deliver
There are 2 essential things wrong with this movie.
First, the 'girl always lying joke' that gets repeated over and over again in the first half of the film. The first couple of times it vaguely amusing, after that its just monotonous.
Second, its no secret Chow Yun Fat cannot fight. He is not a martial artist. Now by the time Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon is released they come up with a work-around for this problem. In Peace Hotel they don't. So they set CYF as this great fighting hero who slays many but when we see evidence of this it is simply awful. Jet Li for example would have been a much better choice for this particular role.
The idea for the story is a good one but it fails to get the job done.
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)
I love a good spy movie...this just isn't one of them
This was a seriously boring movie.
Now I am on the side of the fence that says not every movie has to have bombs and missiles etc but if it isn't going to have that then it needs to have characters and drama, some tension, some reason to watch the movie.
TTSS doesn't.
A Most Violent Year (2014)
If Only...
I did enjoy this film, it has a pretty good atmosphere, it teases where it might take us and the characters of the story are some of the best I have watched in a movie for quite a while.
Unfortunately for both me and the movie about a third of the way through it I thought 'how good would this movie have been if Scorsese did it?' There were a couple of reasons for this.
Whilst they did an ok job of setting the scene of the early 80's I think Scorsese is the master of this and would have created a more immersive vision of the era.
Secondly an injection of violence to up the ante of the drama already created. It didn't need to go down the path of Goodfellas but using a few elements of that movie in AMVY would have enhanced the film.
Still...good movie.
Labor Day (2013)
How much you like it will depend on your approach to the Film
I chose, while watching this movie, to embrace the emotion and ignore the flaws of the story. If I had adopted the 'flaws' model then I probably would have given this movie a 3 as there are some ridiculous things that happen in the film.
Emotionally, I found this movie pretty cool. You could watch it and think Stockholm syndrome except it is reciprocal. So the film is really a story about need. Need for a traumatised women, need for a son missing a father and need for a man to have a family. On this level I found the movie worked really well and I found myself enjoying it quite a bit.
Unstoppable (2010)
Ok its Stupid But...
Very enjoyable none the less!!
Tony Scott knows how to make an action movie, plenty of large scale scenes with lots of damage supported by a dynamic soundtrack.
Just enough character development to make the plot work (and nothing more).
'How can we fix this problem'? blow something up of course!!
Hope you have as much fun watching it as I did (and do) :)
Deja Vu (2006)
I Wasn't Sure What To Say and then...
I declare that I am a strong fan of The Denzel.
I own a large number of his movies and have seen most of his filmography on multiple occasions.
I have watched Deja Vu......once!
The Book of Eli (2010)
The Book of Boring
I was really looking forward to this as both a Denzel and the genre fan.
But nope it failed to deliver for me big time.
It could have, it had all the elements but just fizzled.
Denzel has a pretty high hit rate of good vs bad movies so I'm willing to let this slide :)
King Cobra (2016)
I Found This Quite Engaging
When I looked at the cast, honestly I wasn't sure what to expect.
To my great surprise the cast delivered big time. I was very impressed with Slater, Franco and Ringwald (I wish she had more screen time). There have been numerous movies about women in porn so for me it was 'nice' (not really the word) to spend time on the other side of the fence, learning that the issues many women face in the industry are mirrored by men in gay porn as well.
As for being a representation of the truth, after a little reading, I feel it stayed close enough, but with additions and omissions that is pretty normal for a 'based on' movie.
I do believe its worth a look (particularly for the performances) but it won't be for everyone.
The Equalizer (2014)
A Great Pumped Up Version of the Tv Show
Lots of fun, action and drama come together to create top notch entertainment.
Denzel really owns this role and plays, what I felt, was a faithful performance to the original character. Just a badass dude helping his neighbours.
Very nice action elements that tie in brilliantly with his life as a former agent, familiar with doing nasty things to nasty people.
For something similar check out his Man on Fire remake :)
The Equalizer 2 (2018)
Moderate
A definite step back from the really enjoyable The Equalizer.
Its hard for me to illustrate but there is less of a connection to this movie, the characters, the action and story just don't draw you in the way the first movie did.
Is Denzel still cool? Well duh...of course but the movies needs a little more than that, not much but a little :)
To me the character needed a little more to work for than 'that was my friend'.
A for a third...an origin story would be pretty cool.
Kill 'Em All (2017)
JCVD Fans Beware!!!
This is unquestionably the worst JCVD movie of all time. Now I came into this with already lowish expectations but as a long time fan (although waning) I had to give it a go.
OMG I wish I hadn't. Apart from Peter Stormare (who was JUST ok) the acting, especially the second tier (JCVD, Stormare and Alonso being the first tier lol) was possibly the worst I have seen.
The plot lol is rubbish, the fights (the main reason to watch the movie) dull and lacking imagination. High on cliché, low on everything else.
You have been warned!!!
Kvinden i buret (2013)
It is a beauty!
Very entertaining film about a stubborn and unlikable cop and his new sidekick as they mismanage a new department dealing with cold crime cases.
Its an outstanding story, really well played out and well acted.
They do a great job of building the mystery of the case and the chemistry between the partners.
Highly enjoyable film that won't leave you disappointed :)
Jarhead 3: The Siege (2016)
Propaganda 101
This movie is awful!!!
The acting is atrocious.
The chick playing the 'office girl' is one of the worst actors I have ever seen!
If you are watching this for Adkins...don't, no fights.
The last 10 minutes are literally a recruitment video for the dumb.
You would have to be drunk on red white and blue to think this movie was any good.
Frequency (2000)
Really Likeable
I waited 20 years after the release date to watch this movie (not on purpose lol) and after nearly watching it so many times over the years I'm glad I finally did.
Thoroughly enjoyable story that is really well acted. Its very much a 'the clock is ticking' movie and the actors efforts to convey that urgency draw you in as you hope things work out for them.
Does a good job of tying you into the era's that it is filmed in, making you feel that you are really there with them.
This a super effort and should be enjoyed by most viewers :)
The Jacket (2005)
Really Good Movie
Brody, once again, shows his abilities as an actor by leading us through this awesome story that is quite unique.
Apparently there are 3 endings to the movie, the one I have seen and two other ones. The second and third versions alter the ending significantly, All I can say is I was satisfied with the ending I watched :)
The pacing of the film is good and it keeps you interested by keeping you guessing for much of it.
Highly entertaining!
Inhale (2010)
Its Really Good in spite of itself!
Its a terrific story that dances in and out of people's real pain, the poor, the dying and the desperate.
The acting is sensational especially Mulroney and Kruger, their urgency pushes the story in your face.
The let down or disappointing aspect of the film is that it occasionally crosses over from medical, humanistic story to cop on the hunt type movie with Mulroney's character going waaaaaay past what a person may do or be capable of doing in this scenario. As a result you can disconnect a little with the film.
Overall though its awesome and delivers all the way to the end.
Incarnate (2016)
Better than most
I have pretty low expectations these days with possession films, so many of them are not worth the time. Incarnate, however was a definite improvement and better than I had hoped.
It does have some flaws, I think using a kid as the vehicle (not the actor) was a mistake, it made for some cringe worthy cliched moments and the ending could have been better.
Overall though they had a nice concept to work with and they provided a better than average result.