King Of The Kickboxers

Loren Avedon's Brother is killed in Thailand after winning a World Kickboxing title by Billy Blanks. Years later, he's a renegade Detective who goes undercover in Thailand to help bust a Snuff Movie company who Blanks works for. Whilst there he meets an American Model who escaped being Raped by Blanks and a former Kickboxer who gave Blanks a tough Fight who trains him.

Not only is this one of my favorite Martial Arts Films, it's one of my favorite films period. While the script and acting is corny, it's full of Action and has some brutal scenes.

I remember getting The 4Front Video release for my 15th Birthday and watched it regularly. Bizarrely, the DVD was released by Universal and I remember the Video Rental was distributed by EIV. Personally, I would love a UK Blu-Ray release for this one. There is a German Blu-Ray release, but it's under the name Karate Tiger. Don't know if anyone remembers the Distributer VPD, but they did some Martial Arts Films that could use a release.

The DVD had extra footage in one of the scenes which was strange at first because the Video didn't have it also footage from No Retreat, No Surrender 3: Blood Brothers was used (This also starred Loren Avedon)

Used Cars

Kurt Russell tries to save his recently deceased boss's Used Car Lot from his Brother who want's it because a Freeway will pass it. Entertaining Film with some funny scenes.

Great Outdoors

Dan Aykroyd and John Candy take their Families to the outdoors for a Vacation which has some mishaps. It was funnier when I first saw it as there are definitely funnier films out there now but the scenes with the Raccoons and the Bear were hilarious.

Kickboxer

Jean Claude Van Damme's Brother is paralyzed by an opponent in a Kickboxing match in Thailand. He finds a reclusive Trainer and goes for revenge. Definitely one of Van Damme's better Films and Tong Po looks the part as a menacing villain.

Coming To America

Eddie Murphy is a Prince who travels to America to find a Wife. Pretending to be poor, he gains the love of his boss's Daughter. James Earl Jones excels has his authoritative Father. This was still very funny and in my opinion may be Murphy's best Film.

I watched Kickboxer for the first time a week or so ago, hilarious.
The dance scene was phenomenal.:lol:

The Krays. 1990.

in 1934 Ronald "Ron" and Reginald "Reggie" Kray were born and grow up selling protection and waging a war against other gangsters around London.

Peter Medak was able to take on the role of director and created this masterpiece that has aged well, some of the film is inaccurate but still enjoyable. Gary and Martin Kemp who play the twins do a decent part, Gary plays Ron who seems to be unpredictable while Martin plays Reggie who seems mild but still have the violent tendencies that Ron has.

Billie Whitleaw plays their mother Violet who the twins doted on and she doted on them, at the opening she does a voice over of her dream and at the end she recites it as it played at her funeral with the twins in handcuffs surrounded by police. Steven Berkoff plays George Cornell who was another gangster and in a battle with the Krays that didn't really end well for him in a pub. This for me is still entertaining even on Blu-Ray the picture quality and sound is a lot better and sharper.

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Elder Island. 2016.

A documentary crew arrive on Beaver Island to investigate a local myth and get more than they bargained for.

I got more than what I bargained for when I watched this...81 minutes of my life lost watching this very poor slasher movie, don't get me wrong the acting was not great but decently. The film going to normal then P.O.V to the point my stomach keep churning, the back story is meant to be based on a true story that seems to be a homage to the 80s slasher craze which was good but can be slowly predictable, not one I will return to.

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Taken

Liam Neeson is a man with a particular set of skills whose Daughter is kidnapped in France by Traffickers therefore goes after them before it's too late.

Every once in a while a film will show up in a Cinema without much fanfare often to capitalize on any sell outs a major film will have (This came out the same week as Death Race) and you watch it thinking this might be adequate but forgettable but afterwards you think, where did this come from? this is one of those films, it's blooming awesome. Neeson is fantastic in this (Even though he is now typecast in these kind of roles) and I could help but smile when he catches up to some of the major villains.

Sliver

Sharon Stone moves into a Apartment Complex where several Murders have occurred but falls for William Baldwin, who owns the building and has surveillance everywhere. Tom Berenger also stars. This was a film that I haven't seen in ages and was one that I couldn't remember what happened and it was still good but I wished it focused more on the Murders than the voyeurism. However since this was done after Basic Instinct, I can see why. This film has an underrated soundtrack however.

Bad Boys 2

Martin Lawrence and Will Smith are back and this time they are after a Drug Dealer. I found this to be more enjoyable than the 1st one and has better gags however the running time could have been trimmed.

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Joe Martin is an American boat captain living with his wife and her 12 year old daughter in the south of France. Joe earns a living taking tourists out on his boat but Joe has a secret he has kept from his new family for years that is exposed when someone from his past shows up to settle an old score. When Joe was in the army he was put in prison with a few others he served one night while making an escape from the prison one of the men kill a policeman but Joe didn't sign up for anything like this he was just a getaway driver so he flees the scene and the others are captured and sent to prison for 7 years but not its payback time. The deal is Joe takes the men on his boat to a secret location for a pick up and his family will be released but Joe has other ideas.

This one is a real mixed bag firstly it has Charles Bronson and James Mason which is a great starting point but James Masons accent it horrendous as a man with a quite distinctive voice does himself no favours trying to do a southern american gentleman accent it's so odd and out of place there are many times where i couldn't even understand some of what he was saying his accent was so all over the place :lol:. Bronson is Bronson a no nonsense character who takes no shit from anyone and will do what it takes to protect his family. The rest of the cast are ok nothing really to write home about just passable especially Katanga the main crazy bad guy :lol: That's another thing the bad guys names Katanga and Fausto are bloody hilarious even more so with James Masons accent trying to pronounce them :lol:

It's an entertaining film but there is a whole lot of padding here like serious padding there is a scene where Bronson goes to get a doctor and a car chase follows but it goes on for around 20 minutes and it's not even entertaining its just driving fast on mountain roads but the two chasing motorcycle cops are miles behind rarely even in the shot and because of this there is no tension what so ever its just driving fast to fill in a few gaps and then the doctor just falls asleep in the back of the car which was pointless :lol:

I have to say Bronson is ripped as f*** in this film his veins are bulging out of his arms it's madness :lol:

Not a film i would watch again its a good film but not a great one but it does have one of the best lines i have heard in a film in a long time.



You killed Fausto ya clumsy BASTARD :lol: Jame Mason :pound:

7/10

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A trio of criminals hatch a plan to kidnap the son of a rich family and hold for ransom while his parents are out of the country with only his elderly grandfather around to take care of him. The grandfather is an expert on African wildlife and his passion has passes on to his grandson who has a massive collection of animals but his latest deadly addition may actually save his life. After a mix uo at the pet shop the kids ends up coming home with a deadly black mamba rather than a harmless pet snake and just as the kidnapping is about to take place the venomous snake escapes in the house and soon everyone is a hostage.

I love the plot the cops are keeping them in the house and the snake is keeping them all on edge and wanting to get outside. All the scenes with the snake are shot really well and the snake strikes are very realistic looking. But for me the star of this film is hands down Oliver Reed he is always a delight to watch even when he is just standing in the shot doing nothing he demands your attention plus his hatred of the kid is hilarious" you cheeky little bastard" just for walking past him :lol: The film just flew by at no point was there any down time not that its action packed but i was hooked right from the start.

Definitely will revisit at some point and maybe a blu ray upgrade in the future.

8/10

The Final Terror. More youngsters get chopped up in woods in 1981. This one was pretty poor, marred by male characters that are utterly unlikeable (save Mark Metcalf's (Buffy's Master!) who is killed off first) and female characters so staggeringly underwritten (even by slasher movie standards) that despite a young Daryl Hannah and Rachel Ward being in the cast, I just didn't give a toss about anyone. Disappointing esp after Madman and Just Before Dawn.

Hardware Wars (1977, Ernie Fosselius)

The first SW spoof (made 3 months after premiere!) is very silly and is quite amusing for it's short running time. Especially the Wookie :pound:
Ahem.

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Night Of The Sorcerers

A small group of researchers go into the wilds of Africa to investigate the disappearances of elephants but all they find is a voodoo tribe and their own DOOOOOOOOOOM.

The film kicks off with a voodoo ritual where a beautiful woman is tied to a tree and her clothes removed with a whip once naked she is put on an alter and her head is chopped off but the head lives and she returns as a vampire who appears at night to turn other beautiful women into vampires.

A promising start and a promising idea but for me it didnt build on the great start and it just got a little bit boring after awhile. Plenty of nudity but thats just a distraction from the long periods if not much interesting going on and to fill more of the void there is a really pointless sex scene that goes on and on in a river :lol:. One scene had me laughing was a rape scene where the rapist puts his knife down in the sand right next to where he carries out his act just within reach if his victim we all know how that ends for him. Not only is it the fact its there but he threw it down im such dramatic fashion as if to say well im gonna rape you now and if you object you can always pick up that there knife and stab me right in the back :lol: There is also a lot of recycling of footage they just shot one voodoo scene and then used it everytime a ritual is happening sometimes even looping the footage during the same scene :lol:

I wont be coming back to this one.

5/10

You might be surprised. I quite like this one. Seen it a few times.

I only watched it last night and i remember very little about it. Maybe it deserves a second chance some time ..... maybe

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RMySPyhMUY

A highly enjoyable and atmospheric classic British horror , a strange set of bones are unearthed in a small rural village, soon the teenagers are the village are effected by the evil of the bones becoming murderous and sex crazed, especially the girls who become cock hungry sluts. British horror at it's best.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TQpgYmIIZA

A family to on holiday too a cabin in the woods, it's soon apparent that there is something up with there neigbour, that something is that the mother is abducting and killing people for her family which just happen to be zombies. It's up too the kids to try and stop her and rescue there parents.

Enjoyable if not great, but within 5 minutes of meeting the parents I was hoping they would be eating.

Next up.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpfRzcOFnwA

Bridge of Spies (2015)

Talky but intelligent and gripping true life story of an American lawyer (Tom Hanks) enlisted to defend a Soviet spy (Mark Rylance) in the American court. As events escalate, a U2 spy plane is shot down over Russia and it's pilot captured meaning the lawyer is unwillingly recruited by the CIA to arrange a swap with the Russian authorities between the pilot and the spy in the inhospitable Eastern sector of Berlin.

Steven Spielberg's film is set in 1957 just as the Berlin wall goes up. The film has an oppressive atmosphere to it with East Berlin seemingly just as dangerous and formidable a place under Russian rule as Paris for example was under the Germans. This especially being the case for Americans as tensions with Russia were constantly rising. The Polish city of Wroclaw, standing in for East Berlin, was a suitably gloomy place to film.

Bridge of Spies, as with many of the best Cold War thrillers isn't an action film, in fact being true to life even less so, with crisp dialogue and an atmosphere you can cut with a knife being the main sources of tension, especially as everyone seems on the verge of double crossing everyone else.

A second watch, tonight on Blu-Ray, and it's class remains. I'd also like to add that the 7:1 soundtrack, even though i only have 5:1 is a genuinely immersive experience particularly in the opening scenes as Mark Rylance hits the streets then subways of Brooklyn.

Garden of Torment

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A young French doctor who has been struck off due to a drug scandal is given the opportunity to travel to China and treat patients there. On the way he meets a beautiful but odd woman who seems fascinated and sexually aroused by death. Obsessed by her and adrift in a strange land, he finds she is part of the ruling family who can satisfy whatever dark desire they wish.

I liked this but it's definitely more Arthouse than Grindhouse, it's really nicely shot and quite atmospheric in places, there's plenty of flesh on display but it's often interspersed with a bloody scene or is accompanied by haunting music so the eroticism is diffused.

Instead theres a undercurrent of unease, that runs throughout but only comes to the forefront in the final scenes of the film set in the garden itself.

It's a weird mix, Languid at times but if you can put up with a Rollin film it may appeal, nicely shot with sexual scenes throughout and reminiscent of Just Jeackin's softcore films but has more in common with The Story of O as it's played totally straight here with none of the comedy of Gwendoline.

The family and their pals are inclined to philosophical musings and the set up of a superior group inflicting torment is very similar to Salo, but this is not as disturbing as that film, thank feck.

I expected a bit more at the climax and was slightly underwhelmed, but i've been thinking about it since i watched it and i definitely liked it, with the kinky main female really stealing the film for me.

8/10:pop2:

Have a look at the trailer and see if it floats yer Junk.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c--jAgjNVvU

Great write up, nos.

One to definitely purchase at some point. I believe it was in the last Classic Films Direct sale so fingers crossed.

Wake Up and Kill (1966)

Robert Hoffmann stars as Luciano Lutring, an Italian criminal known as "the machine-gun soloist". Based on Luciano's real life in which he committed more than a hundred armed robberies in Italy and the French Riviera.

I was never totally convinced by Hoffmann as Luciano and Lisa Gastoni, as his wife Yvonne, completely steals the film from under him. There's also a beautifully under stated turn from Gian Maria Volontè as the police inspector attempting to nail Luciano once and for all.

Carlo Lizzani's film has some nice cinematography and superb location work in Milan, Nice, Paris and other European settings with some excellent action sequences in the streets.

I watched the two hour plus Italian version and it did drag at times, from what i understand the English edit at twenty minutes shorter and also on the Arrow dual format release is a slicker, pacier affair.

London in the Raw (1964)

Voyeuristic style documentary film peering behind the grimy net curtains of sixties London as we peek into seedy bars, beatnik art classes as well as the slightly more glamorous settings of nightclubs and casinos.

From Arnold L Miller (Take off Your Clothes and Live, Secrets of a Windmill Girl) this exploitation style documentary was made as much to titillate as to inform and it's rather cynical at times, it's also not a patch on Miller's even seedier Primitive London which he made a couple of years later.

I found it interesting that a schlocky documentary on dvd via the BFI looked far, far superior to the 2K Blu-Ray restoration by Arrow of Wake Up and Kill that i watched immediately prior.

The Hoard (2018, Jesse Thomas Cook, Matt Wiele)

Comedy horror is hard to get right. Keep this in mind whilst meeting the ...
Extremely Haunted Hoarders :lol:
Reality show bites off more than it can swallow when the team meet Murph Evans, an unassuming keeper of things. But there is more than treasure buried here ....
Reasonable effort.

The Island. 2005.

In a dystopian future, a man living in a sterile colony after a plague has struck, workers are picked from a lottery to live on the last uncontaminated area known as The Island. When his friend is picked to go, he looks into what actually goes on and threatens to expose the truth while being hunted by bounty hunters when they escape the colony.

This was recommended to me by a friend to watch this and why did I wait so long to watch it, this was brilliant, it has a twist within a twist in it, plenty of action and usual Michael Bay car chase and crashes. Ewan McGregor plays Lincoln Six Echo a man who begins to question his existence on the colony and Scarlett Johansson as Jordan Two Delta as his friend who has been chosen by lottery to leave and live a peaceful life. There is some good visual effects and some really good acting from Ewan, Scarlett and Sean Bean. Definatly worth a re-watch.

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Death Wish

Charles Bronson's Wife & Daughter are attacked and fed up with the lack of Police response, he becomes a Vigilante and becomes a hero for the public but not with the Police. Jeff Goldblum has an early role in this interesting Film with a shock that he didn't get revenge on the main villains.

Taken 2

Liam Neeson and Famke Jansson are this time kidnapped by the Father of a man Neeson killed in the original. Maggie Grace also returns and this time is throwing Grenades in Istanbul without any blowback. It's not bad but it was very unlikely, it would match the 1st one.

Death Wish 2

Charles Bronson's Daughter is attacked again and this time dies along with the Housekeeper by more Hoodlums (This time includes Lawrence Fishburne) and again this makes him return as a Vigilante. Rather similar to the 1st and is decent.

Cohen & Tate

Roy Schider and Adam Baldwin are a mismatched pair of Hit Men who have to bring a 9 year old witness to the Mob. Rather entertaining little film which was shorter that I thought it would be.

Kickboxer II: Road Back

Sasha Mitchell is the younger Sloane Brother who is forced into fighting Tong Po who kills his friend in order to regain his honor. A very entertaining sequel which also sees the return of Xien.

For anyone who has seen this, one plot hole which blooming annoys me is the fact that Tong Po was able to stroll into a professional Kickboxing Ring for a sanctioned event and literally beat someone badly without being stopped by Police and/or security.

Shooting The Warwicks (2015, Adam Rifkin)

From the man who helmed Dawn Of Sex :lol:
When the subjects of a new reality show are deemed "boring" by the producers, the director (Rifkin himself haha) has a few ... tricks up his sleeve ahem. :nod:
As satire it's very heavy handed for all that.

Up From the Depths (1979)

Dross from the Corman stable about some sort of prehistoric fish attacking people at a tourist resort in Maui.

A third time watch for me and it doesn't get any better. It's inept in every way imaginable - acting, creature effects, the script - the dialogue is simply risible. There's zero tension and half way through it appears to morph into an unfunny comedy.

Clearly made to cash in on Jaws, except this isn't any sort of ferocious black eyed ocean predator, more like a tiny oil spillage from a dilapidated fishing boat mixed with a slimy seagull turd in the midst of the sea.

The Night Evelyn Came Out Of The Grave.19971.

Lord Alan Cunningham who is mentally unstable and cannot get over the death of his wife, takes red heads back to his manor for S&M fun and kills them while paying off his brother in law for silence, is coerced into marrying again. He takes Gladys as his new wife who may not have his best interests at heart.

This is part thriller part gothic horror, sometimes these genre's do mix together and sometimes it's best not to, unless you have a stable writer and director and know what both are thinking. This was entertaining as it does add a twist within another twist and hope the right people get what's coming to them the best way possible. If you get past the slow start which does build up the film's tone it can be a enjoyable film that plays on mostly sanity and plenty of female nudity.

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Demon of Paradise (1987)

Thanks to illegal dynamite fishing near a tourist resort in Hawaii, a mythical sea creature (or man in a rubber monster suit) is awoken from deep sleep hibernation and terrorizes the holiday makers and locals alike.

More schlock from the Corman stable which is almost identical to Up From the Depths, except this is better made, better written, better acted and just better to watch. Demon of Paradise is simply better all round.

Although it's still not exactly great and is certainly no Humanoids from the Deep. when it comes to fishy terrors.

The Seventh Day. 2021.

In 1995 Father Peter assisted in a exorcism where his mentor died, Present day Father Peter is a renowned exorcist with a protege and is ready to do battle with the same demon that has possessed another child.

This is about a priest who is pissed with the devil and wants revenge on a demon, a child has murdered his family while possessed, I have always liked Guy Pearce but this was a real let down, the plot seemed interesting but towards the end it just seemed to go down quicker than a comet plunging to earth and left it with one or two unanswered questions. Films with demons and exorcists, most directors try to make it be on the same level of The Exorcist and fail miserably like this film .

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Curtains. An actress commits herself to an asylum to prepare for a role, only to have the scummy director leave her there and then start casting again! At his remote cabin he starts "auditioning" actresses, even as the original actress escapes... and then the killings start. This early 80s Canadian horror seems to have loftier ambitions than the usual slasher (lots of themes about actresses selling their souls for success, and John Vernon as a very Harvey Weinstein type director), though its troubled production makes it feel rather disjointed at times. It's still pretty interesting though, with a good cast (including Samanthan Eggart and The Avengers' Linda Thorson), memorable "old hag" mask killer and some striking sequences (the murder on ice is beautifully frightening). Strange but compelling.

I've never seen this. I can't remember which release did you get, Ian?

The Synapse one. ;)

What Have They Done To Solange. 1972.

A gym teacher at all girl's school is having a affair with a pupil, while they are out she sees a murder happening, the teacher becomes a suspect until more murders begin to happen and looks into who the killer could be.

A nice little Giallo made in and around London, I can't remember much about this but was enjoyable from start to finish with some nice little twist added in. Even a film from the 70s and expect it to be a bit of a sleaze fest this seems a bit light than other films except the teacher/pupil relationship and the picture of the first victim, great acting from all and nice appearance by Camille Keaton.

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Black Widow

Last Marvel film I'll watch, though Pugh does make up for ... another performance of hers :lol::nod:;)



In The Earth (2021, Ben Wheatley)

Another slice of from you know who.

Two scientists arrange to meet up with another fellow bod. During a pandemic. Things ... don't go to plan. Carry On Camping it isn't :laugh:
Ahem.

Watch Me When I Kill (1977)

Dull giallo from Antonio Bido with a few non-bloody kills. To be honest it's not 24 hours since i watched it again and i couldn't tell you who was in it (None of the giallo regulars that's for sure) or what it was about even.

What i do remember was the dvd print from Shameless. So poor it bordered on average vhs quality at best.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxAtuMu_ph4

Just crap , the worst marvel movie by far. It's a day later and can t remember much about it. Black Widow herself seemed underused , dreadful forced comedy , unlikable characters and dull action scenes and the least threatening super villain ever. A complete embarrassment for all involved .


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpfRzcOFnwA

Brilliant anthology. A group of strangers have their fortunes told by the mysterious Doctor Schreck which end poorly for all those involved. Killer plants, werewolves, vampires and voodoo it has it all.

Now watching.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9rLKMjbJGU

Zombie 5: Killing Birds.. 1987.

A group of students travel to Louisiana to find a almost extinct species of Woodpecker only to discover something else.

I'd never thought I would see this film and i'd never thought of speaking about it, after some discussion about this film last week or so I thought I'd hunt it down on YouTube, It was in Italian so good job lessons had paid off in the language and didn't help the movie one bit. Was Robert Vaughn bribed with a lot of money or was he doing this film for a joke? This must have been a heavily edited version as sod all happens, did the makers put the title "Zombie" on it to cash in on the franchise. Once you see this film...you can't unsee it.

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Howl. 2015.

When Passengers on a train become stranded they try to fight off a pack of werewolves and band together to stay alive until morning.

This one I have seen a few times and still enjoy it, there is a good band of actors in this and Sean Pertwee making a small appearance in another wolf flick, every train journey you always have a bratty teen who you want to smack, this film has it until the stuff hits the fan and they become likeable. The costumes may not be like A American Werewolf In London or Dog Soldiers but they are decently done and some gore but doesn't go OTT, worth a watch.

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I take it you aren't throwing your money 88's way for the limited edition box set at £25 then? :pound:

From what Justin said it's sold out anyway thanks to the 33% off sale recently.

Erm let me think about it...oh heck no way, surely 88 could have released something way better, maybe gave us Stagefright or something else.

Seven Blood Stained Orchids. 1972.

A survivor of a attempt murder along with her fiancee and the police, try to find the connection with the attempt on her life and six other victims.

This was a pleasant Giallo with some dark atmospheric moments from Umberto Lenzi before he decided to go full blown horror maker. Ok the plot isn't the greatest but just when you think it will go a certain way, Lenzi was able to give it a side sweep and go in another way with a nice little added twist. There is a nice background score by Riz Ortolani. This is one that you go into with a open mind and have no disruptions to enjoy the film.

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The one time i saw it i felt the same that it must have been cut to bits because i dont remember much happening or maybe thats just the film.

Chaos Walking

Daft scifi caper based on a Young Adult trilogy (I found out after ahem).
That Palpatine girl lands on a planet where you can see men's thoughts. Yep, that's what I said. Women are unaffected. the locals are called .... Spackles. Yep, that's what I said. They resemble some cheap CGI. Mads Mikelsen growls and purrs. About as stooooopid as it gets. Or is it ...... ?:laugh:


Eye Of The Devil (1966, J Lee Thompson)

Deborah Kerr is torn. Her hubby seems a tad ... preoccupied with his failing vineyard. Running after him to his family estate, she finds a rather frosty reception from all and sundry.
Quite effective wee thing. Helped by the BW photography, which externalises a story shrouded in shadow. Recommended.