What did you watch today?

[Ain_Uussaar]

The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996)
The Way Ahead (1944)

[Alister_Manson]

Nurse 3D

Stupid, gory and highly entertaining. Paz De La Huerta certainly loves showing off her lady-bits

[Davy_Lee]

Cult Hong Kong "bare-knuckle" triple feature:

The Club (1981) [First viewing f.o.c.] - 8/10
I was pleasantly surprised to have rediscovered this violent and stylish Hong Kong gangster flick on the net. This is Kirk Wong's (aka Che-Kirk Wong) directorial debut, who would later direct Gunmen (1988), Crime Story (1993; Jackie Chan), and The Big Hit (1998; Lou Diamond Phillips). Michael Chan Wai Man and Norman Tsui star, both of whom were the action stars of those days.

The Man from Hong Kong (First viewing f.o.c.) - 6.5/10
Quite entertaining Hong Kong-Australian action-fu about a Hong Kong cop (Jimmy Wang Yu) assigned to Sydney to extradite a drug dealer (Sammo Hung!). Things go awry and the detective has to crack the case in the only way he knows - fistfights.

Legend of A Fighter - 7.5/10
The legend of Fok Yun Gap (I think that's how the name is translated), a Chinese martial art patriot during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Bryan Leung Kar Yan (aka "Beardy" of Shaw Brothers fame) and Yasuaki Kurata star, Corey Yuen directs. There's a UK DVD from HK Legend that's been out of print.

[Davy_Lee]

Firewalker (First viewing f.o.c.) - 5.5/10
I watched it when it was released on video back in 1986 and didn't like it. I was thinking whether I should now get the US blu-ray - the reason I just re-watched it. Chuck plays comedy and banters with Louis Gosset Jr.?

This and Delta Force 2 are two of his films from his Cannon years not in my collection (though I might still get the latter).
Chuck says "...I started a joke, which started the whole world crying..."

[Davy_Lee]

Kill A Dragon (First viewing f.o.c.) - 4.5/10
This is not a sword-and-sorcery kind of film. No magic spells or flying dragons here. This is a late 60's MGM production that stars Jack Palance (one of my favorite actors) and Fernando Lamas about Rick Masters (Palance) a mercenary hires by Hong Kong villagers to help them smuggle off their Island a cargo full of dangerous nitroglycerin, owns by Patrai (Lamas), which happens to have drifted on the shore. Masters then assembles his team of four men to execute the plan and confronts Patrai and his goons. Unexciting and sort of weird.

Xtro (First viewing f.o.c.) - 5/10
I was looking for some random 80's cult horror when I rediscovered this. I remember this for its gore but did not fully watch it back in the video days. If it were not for the special effects, this would be an absolute clunker.

[Ain_Uussaar]

The Mercenary: Absolution (2015)
Jupiter Ascending (2015)

[Ain_Uussaar]

Attack (1956)
Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief (2015)
Hooper (1978)

[Davy_Lee]

One-night movie marathon:

A Prayer for the Dying – 6/10
This is my second viewing after watching it on video almost three decades ago! I didn’t like it then and still don’t like it now. The story is overtly melodramatic for a drama and lacks the tension to be called a thriller, not to mention the slow pacing. Being a Jack Higgins’s adaptation and having a cast of talented actors: Rourke, Hoskins, Bates, and Neeson, it’s a shame that the film cannot live up to its potentials.

Showdown in Little Tokyo (First viewing f.o.c.) – 7.5/10
1991 was the year when I stopped watching movies for some personal reasons. That’s why I missed this one. Just like Commando, the action scenes here are exciting and violent, and that’s what I like about Mark L. Lester’s directorial style. I'll get the blu-ray

Demon Seed (First viewing f.o.c.) – 7/10
This is a love-it-or-hate-it kind of sci-fi horror film. I wanted to like this but I can’t buy the basic premise of the story – a super artificial intelligent computer Proteus taking over a house where it is set up and terrorizing the wife of a scientist living in it. The plot is unique but wildly farfetched – a computer impregnating a woman? Then you see other nonsensicality during scenes when Proteus displays its (or his?) intelligence and performs actions that leave viewers feel cheated.
But that’s not to say the film is unwatchable or boring. Yes, the plot is full of hokum, but the atmospheric music by Jerry Fielding, Donald Cammell’s deft direction, and Julie Christie’s acting kept me watching it to the end.

Jan-Michael Vincent Double Feature
Vigilante Force (First viewing f.o.c.) – 7/10
Films that I watched f.o.c. are those that are usually on my wishlist but don’t want to blindbuy. This is one of them. Okay, there’s nothing special about this but it’s a watchable mediocre 70’s action film. Kris Kristofferson plays Aaron, a hangar security guard who is hired by his younger brother Ben (Jan-Michael Vincent) to restore law and order in a small mining town. The weeks following his arrival in the town, law and order are quickly restored and the town regains its tranquility. But Aaron has other plans up his sleeve. After he and his men turn corrupt and ruthless by taking the law into their own hands, Ben – together with the townspeople – decides to confront his brother and put an end to his reign of terror. Victoria Principal co-stars. This is the kind of film that you don’t need to think much while seeing. Just sit back and enjoy it.

Defiance (1980) [First viewing f.o.c.) – 7/10
Defiance is another Jan-Michael Vincent film that I still remember playing at the cinemas during my teen days. The blu-ray is coming out, so I thought I should watch this. The plot is similar to Death Wish 3 but the violence is toned down. During certain scenes, the film feels like a direct-to-TV film. John Flynn (Rolling Thunder, Best Seller, Lock Up) directs.

[Samuel_Scott]

Showdown in Little Tokyo (First viewing f.o.c.) – 7.5/10
1991 was the year when I stopped watching movies for some personal reasons. That’s why I missed this one. Just like Commando, the action scenes here are exciting and violent, and that’s what I like about Mark L. Lester’s directorial style. I'll get the blu-ray

Yep. Gonna have to pick up the upcoming Warner Archive release myself!

[Alister_Manson]

Hopefully that BD is the unrated cut... that's the only one I've seen and going by the list of cuts, the R-rated one would be quite gutless.

Watched recently:

Horrible Bosses 2
Family Guy Season 14

[Davy_Lee]

War Devils – 6.5/10
Late 60’s Italian WW II flick about a German Captain and American Captain who help each other survive a North African desert battle. A year later, they have to confront each other during a combat operation in France. Average at best with some exciting desert battle sequences.

Delta Force 2: The Colombian Connection – 6.5/10
This is my third viewing. Saw this once at the cinema and thought it was rather disappointing. The film, which is 110-minute long, drags a bit in some parts and Norris doesn’t get the spotlight until 40-plus minutes. It’s worth watching though.

[Davy_Lee]

Betrayed (1988) – 8/10
This is a quality flick from my “watching-movies-on-video” years. An FBI agent (Debra Winger) is assigned to go undercover, by posing as a freelance combine driver, and investigate the murder of a liberal radio host, who is gunned down in a parking lot. The suspect is a Midwest farmer and widower (Tom Berenger), who belongs to a white supremacist organization – a right-wing terrorist organization planning to overthrow the Government. What complicates the matter is that they fall in love with each other and she becomes deeply involved in his dual life - a father of his two children and a point man of his organization.

The film clocks in at around 120 minutes and the narrative moves at a deliberate pace – lots of talk and “family drama” here - but it’s not dull, at least to me. I would call this a ‘dramatic’ thriller. Costa Gavras (Missing, Music Box) directs.

I’ve been holding off getting the DVD since all the releases are non-anamorphic. Since this is an MGM release, I hope Kino Lorber will release this on blu-ray.

[Davy_Lee]

Silver Dragon Ninja a.k.a. Ninja Challenge (First viewing; YouTube) – 2/10
This is another god-awful Godfrey Ho cut-and-paste ninja madness of the 80’s. The upcoming limited edition German small box DVD from XCess was what lured me to watch this. I knew I was going to watch something bad, but I wasn’t prepared to be gobsmacked by its dreadfulness. Even a B-movie aficionado like me can’t bear watching this dreck.

When the opening credit titles rolled, I never expected to read a list of cast with silly names like “Don Kong”, “Jim Gross”, and "Guy Samson" to appear on screen! Then, there were the actors who played the ninjas. They were obviously non-actors.

I’ve deliberately captured one hilarious scene to show you guys the atrocity that is “Silver Dragon Ninja”.


So, we see this makeshift courtroom being set up in a parking lot next to a rest room moments after the crooks were arrested! You could see the signs “Comfort Room” and “Gents” painted on the walls behind the judge (facing the camera)! Everyone was present: the detective, the witness, other detectives, the crooks of course! This happens in the last 15 minutes before the final ninja duel which, again, has got nothing to do with this scene (since it’s a redubbed two-in-one movie!).

Hurry before this gets deleted, try watching the first five and last fifteen minutes. Just listen carefully to the thought-provoking dialogue, witness the impressive acting and thrilling action, and don’t miss the ending, mates!!

[Vincent_Bouche]

120 - Les Gardiens de la Galaxie (Broadcast)
Entertaining and original sci-fi movie - 7/10.

121 - Aux Yeux des Vivants (Broadcast)
Some good ideas, but quite disappointed... sometimes it looks like Hills have Eyes, but not frightening enough - 5/10.

122 - Scream (German Blu)
More than 20 years later, this is still a good movie, but not as impacting as it used to be when it got out. Many references to other horror movies make it very worthwhile - 7/10.

123 - The Escapist (Broadcast)
Prison movie in which current action is entertwined with what happened before… not really a success - 5/10.

124 - Ruby Red (Broadcast)
Entertaining time-travel German movie, first of a series for sure - 6/10.

125 - Les Combattants (Broadcast)
Good critics for this movie I never really got into. Not convinced neither by the actors, nor by the story... - 4/10.

126 - L'Etrange Couleur des Larmes de ton Corps (Broadcast)
Very confusing French attempt to make a giallo… - 5/10.

[Ain_Uussaar]

Last Knights (2015)
Maggie (2015)

[Ain_Uussaar]

Coffy (1973)

[Samuel_Scott]

405. Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter (2014) 8/10 - http://dvdcompare.net/review.php?rid=3741
406. Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997) 7/10

[Davy_Lee]

80’s cult action movie marathon:

The Retaliator (1987) – 5/10
Robert Ginty (The Exterminator, Exterminator 2), Sandahl Bergman (Conan the Barbarian, SHE) and James Booth (Pray for Death) star is this derivative of The Terminator and Robocop about a female terrorist Sameera (Bergman), who is captured by the CIA then turned into a cyborg programmed to kill the enemies of the CIA. Following one successful mission, she turns against her creators by eliminating them one by one. Not on DVD.

Thunder Run (1986) – 5.5/10
A retired Korean War veteran now turned trucker Charlie Morrison (Forrest Tucker) is hired by his old time friend now turned businessman George Adams (John Ireland) to transport a steel case of plutonium to a restricted nuclear facility in Arizona. One clandestine terrorist group intercepts the information and is planning to hijack the delivery. Acting as a bait to fish out the terrorists and aided by his grandson, the trucker – who will get $250.000 in return – soups up his truck “Thunder” with custom-made weapons and sets off. With little time on their side and dangers lurking on their way, the deadly race through hot and arid roads is on. A UK DVD is available.

The Annihilators (1985) – 6/10
The residents of a crime-riddled suburban area in Atlanta are terrorized by street gangs. The police are not doing much to solve the matters. When a paralyzed wheel-chair bound grocery store owner, who voices his plan to fight back, is brutally beaten to death by a vicious street gang in broad daylight, the said man’s father begs his son’s ex-Vietnam War friend Bill (Christopher Stone) to help the residents defend themselves from the thugs. Bill assembles his three ex-Vietnam War buddies to return to action: Garret, Ray, and Woody. Realizing that his territory is being systematically ‘cleaned up’ and after his truck of heroin is sabotaged by Bill and his friends, Roy Boy Jagger (Paul Koslo), the street gang’s leader, declares war in the streets. A UK DVD is available.

Pray for Death (1985) – 7/10
The plot is a rehash of “Revenge of the Ninja” released two years earlier, which makes this film less fun. The action, however, is as exciting as its predecessor.

[Ain_Uussaar]

Tracers (2015)
Shout at the Devil (1976)

[Davy_Lee]

70’s Cult Horror Double Feature:
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) [First viewing; Youtube] – 7/10
I’m not into the slasher genre, so never watched it until today. A gruesome and disturbing horror flick that’s too nasty for my taste. Can’t stand the screaming scenes during the last 15 minutes!

Halloween (1978) – 7/10
Atmospheric, chilling and deliberately-paced seminal horror film that you should watch only when you’re in the right mood. Otherwise, you’ll find it dull. Every time the eerie music kicks in, the tension gets pumped up. Besides the cinematography, John Carpenter’s music is another main reason that makes Halloween terrifying.

Dirty Harry Double Feature:
Sudden Impact – 7/10
The Dead Pool – 7/10

Of all the sequels, “The Enforcer” is the least interesting to me.