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‘Sword of Doom’ is an aggressively dour and violent samurai excursion
Sword of Doom Written by Shinobu Hashimoto Directed by Kihachi Okamoto Japan, 1966 Teenager Omatsu (Yoko Naito) and her grandfather walk atop a hill in the Japanese countryside on a beautiful day....
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‘Sanshiro Sugata’ an eye-opening, strong start to Akira Kurosawa’s long career
Sanshiro Sugata Written by Akira Kurosawa and Tomita Tsuneo Directed by Akira Kurosawa Japan, 1943 Akira Kurosawa’s feature length debut opens with a wandering young man named Sanshiro Sugata (Susumu...
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‘Man of Tai Chi’ energizes viewers through its visuals, not its cluttered story
Man of Tai Chi Written by Michael G. Cooney Directed by Keanu Reeves United States/China, 2013 The world of underground fighting is given the cinematic treatment yet again in Keanu Reeves’ directorial...
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‘Kingsman: The Secret Service’ is the Bond adventure they don’t make anymore
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‘The Dead Lands’ offers a glimpse into an oft-overlooked culture amid a rapid...
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‘Cyborg’ is as well an oiled machine as cheap, B-movies get
Cyborg Written by Kitty Chalmers and Daniel Hubbard-Smith Directed by Albert Pyun U.S.A., 1989 In the future, a dangerous plague wipes out much of humanity, civilization crumbling away with it. Enter...
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‘Missing in Action’ should have stayed missing in the jungle
Missing in Action Written by Arthur Silver, Larry Levinson, John Crowther, Lance Hool, James Bruner Directed by Joseph Zito U.S.A., 1986 In the aftermath of the Vietnam War, one of the contentious...
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‘The Delta Force’ force feeds too much amidst some decent procedural aspects
The Delta Force Written by James Bruner and Menahem Golan Directed by Menahem Golan U.S.A., 1986 Based on the real life plane hijacking by Hezbollah terrorists in 1985, just a year before the film’s...
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‘Code of Silence’ is as loud and gritty as it needs to be
Code of Silence Written by Michael Butler, Dennis Shryack and Mike Gray Directed by Andrew Davis U.S.A., 1985 Eddie Cusack (Chuck Norris) and his crew (among them Dennis Farina, Ralph Foody and Joe...
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‘Timecop’ is by no means timeless, but it’s still the apex of Van Damme’s career
Timecop Written by Mark Verheiden and Mike Richardson Directed by Peter Hyams U.S.A., 1994 In 1994, on the day Washington police detective Max Walker (Jean-Claude Van Damme) is about to accept a new...
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‘Mad Max’ is the beginning of the end of the world
Mad Max Written by James McCausland and George Miller Directed by George Miller Australia, 1979 Somewhere in Australia are the first signs of the beginning of the end, the end of civilization as most...
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‘The Road Warrior’ rules the road of vehicle-centric cinema
Mad Max 2 (aka The Road Warrior) Written by Terry Hayes, George Miller and Brian Hannant Directed by George Miller Australia, 1981 Mad Max 2, or as it is more commonly recognized in North America, The...
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‘Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome’ goes beyond the franchise’s comfort zone
Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome Written by Terry Hayes and George Miller Directed by George Miller and George Ogilvie Australia, 1985 An undetermined amount of time has elapsed since Max’s (Mel Gibson)...
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‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ modernizes the franchise without losing its identity in...
Mad Max: Fury Road Written by George Miller, Brendan McCarthy and Nico Lathouris Directed by George Miller Australia/United States, 2015 Max Rockatansky (Tom Hardy) stands atop a sandy, rocky hill...
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‘John Wick’ announces that Keanu Reeves is definitely back
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‘Zhong Kui: Snow Girl and the Dark Crystal’ squanders promise through a poor...
Zhong Kui: Snow Girl and the Dark Crystal Written by Junli Guo, Raymond Lei Jin, and Huanhuan Zhang Directed by Peter Pau and Zhao Tianyu Hong Kong, 2015 In recent years the Chinese and Hong Kong film...
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‘Missing in Action’ should have stayed missing in the jungle
Missing in Action Written by Arthur Silver, Larry Levinson, John Crowther, Lance Hool, James Bruner Directed by Joseph Zito U.S.A., 1986 In the aftermath of the Vietnam War, one of the contentious...
View ArticleClik here to view.
‘The Delta Force’ force feeds too much amidst some decent procedural aspects
The Delta Force Written by James Bruner and Menahem Golan Directed by Menahem Golan U.S.A., 1986 Based on the real life plane hijacking by Hezbollah terrorists in 1985, just a year before the film’s...
View ArticleClik here to view.
‘Code of Silence’ is as loud and gritty as it needs to be
Code of Silence Written by Michael Butler, Dennis Shryack and Mike Gray Directed by Andrew Davis U.S.A., 1985 Eddie Cusack (Chuck Norris) and his crew (among them Dennis Farina, Ralph Foody and Joe...
View ArticleClik here to view.
‘Timecop’ is by no means timeless, but it’s still the apex of Van Damme’s career
Timecop Written by Mark Verheiden and Mike Richardson Directed by Peter Hyams U.S.A., 1994 In 1994, on the day Washington police detective Max Walker (Jean-Claude Van Damme) is about to accept a new...
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