Category: Action
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Black and Blue (**1/2) is familiar territory
Overall, the film is competent, nothing more. There are no real scenes that give one the sense of being in New Orleans, other than destitution. If you like the actors, give it a try.
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Criterion: Red Sun (*) You can’t spend ideas
Director Terence YoungScreenplay Denne Bart Petitclerc, William Roberts, Lawrence RomanStarring Charles Bronson, Ursula Andress, Toshirō Mifune, Alain Delon, Capucine Red Sun is a Franco-Italian gimmick film made on the cheap. It seemed like a great idea, I suppose. Mifune’s move to making American films always feels gimmicky. Race relations had evolved only to the point…
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Netflix’s Extraction (****) Hold my beer
Extraction is a very good film. It will be a big hit on Netflix for a while when the streaming giant needs something to keep everyone happy in quarantine. I know I will be watching it again soon.
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Criterion: Seven Samurai (*****) stands the test of time
Seven Samurai should be Movies 101 for any serious lover of film. If you haven’t seen it, you should.
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The Fifth Element (****) is worth Another Look
The name Korben Dallas just begs for a series of sequels. These never happened. Maybe it is for the best, but I could have enjoyed a few more ventures to other planets in the future.
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Shin Godzilla (dubbed) (***1/2) pain and gain
Shin Godzilla is a movie both fantastic and frustrating.
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Another Look: Galaxy Quest (***1/2) still good, almost great
If only the scriptwriters could have done more to punch up the story to match the superior acting talent, this might be a classic.
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Criterion: Stray Dog (***1/2) wanders beautifully
It’s the invention of the buddy cop trope that gets Stray Dog it’s spot as a Criterion release.
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Another Look: Natural Born Killers (No Stars) still deserves the Golden Sombrero
The real conspiracy is, with the editing style and stupid storytelling, people just don’t like watching a bad film. Well, maybe some people. The Columbine killers code named their attack “NBK.”
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Another Look: True Romance Director’s Cut (***1/2) is Tony Scott overriding Tarantino
The result is a good, not great first script. There are two fantastic moments and many good ones to boot. It’s not much more than that, even as Tarantino’s legend rises beyond what anyone imagined.
Ebert Did It Better: Gasbag Reviews 