tháng 6 2011 ~ The Larsen Film Review

Paul (2011)

The comedy team responsible for films like Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead are back with this alien comedy. Starring and written by Simon Pegg and Nick Frost with voice work for Paul thanks to Seth Rogen. With supporting characters played by Kristen Wiig [from Saturday Night Live], Jason Bateman, and Sigourney Weaver.

The film starts with Graeme and Clive [Pegg & Frost], two British friends, on holiday in America at a comic convention. Their vacation itinerary is to travel across the southwest visiting famous alien and UFO tourist locations. They stumble upon an alien, Paul, as he is escaping from government agents and claiming that they are going to kill him because he has provided them with all the info they need.

The film is not funny because of Paul, Rogen doesn't really bring much to the voice work and he could have been interchangeable. I do like Pegg and Frost and their history of acting together showed and they seemed genuine. Wiig really brought a lot to this film though. Her role as a religious girl from the trailer park who has her faith challenged by the existence of an alien was the best part of the film. The cursing got a little out of hand, but I'm heard worse.

This isn't a movie you want to watch with you parents, but it is an easy watch and much better than I was expecting.

Vote: 7/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1092026/

It is not often that you encounter action films that break the 2 1/2 hour barrier. Most of the time you would expect such a film to be boring and drag on, but this film managed to maintain its intensity from the first flames out breaking to the closing scenes.

Starring an impressive duo of Steve McQueen and Paul Newman with minor roles from a number of famous actors such as William Holden, Faye Dunaway, Fred Astaire, O.J. Simpson and Robert Vaughn. The plot is no secret and can't really be spoiled. The movie poster shows the fire, the title gives it away, and the opening of the film is a dedication to fire fighters. Therefore the beginning of the film helps solidify that this is worth watching. You know there will be a fire, so every scene makes you think "so, is this how it starts?" We get it all spelled out for us on the cut corners, faulty wiring, etc and then we get two hours of fire fighting action. Malunctioning elevators, helicopter rescues, people falling from high stories, this movie has it all. McQueen plays the police chief and Newman plays the chief engineer, characters that work together instead of against each other thanks to a mutual understanding that it was the building owner and his son who are at fault.

A time commitment, but a great action film. Instead of watching two just ok movies, split this one up and watch it over two nights. It also has a recent blu-ray release, so check it out.

Vote: 8/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072308/

This film is a good example of watching something because of the director and not the main actor. Edgar Wright who is responsible for films such as Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz made this "video game" movie starring Michael Cera, an actor I'm hesitant to give a chance. Thanks to movies like Youth in Revolt.

The film has a very very unique style. The humor is witty and requires you to pay attention to elements in the background. Cera was actually enjoyable to watch, which I doubt I've said before. The premise of the film is that he falls for the new girl in town, trouble is, she has evil ex-boyfriends that he must defeat to win her. The fights with the ex's usually mean that they are given "life energy bars" like in Street Fighter or Mortal Combat, and upon being destroyed "points" are earned as they turn into coins like Mario Brothers.

I won't deny that this is a tween centered movie and that some demographics wouldn't get or like this film, but I really did and would suggest it to that age range.

Vote: 8/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0446029/

James Coburn stars in this 1960's James Bond spoof film that later became a series with In Like Flint and a TV movie a decade later. Coburn passes away back in 2002 a year after doing voice work on Monsters, Inc. He won an Oscar in 1997 for Affliction, and although I can't put my finger on where and how I know him, he looks very familiar as a grandfather character, and not as a younger man in this film.

I actually had no idea this was supposed to be a spoof going into it. After a scene or two I was thinking "this has to be a joke right?" Then felt dumb when it was so clear I was sure. Flint is picked by a series of computer as the only man that can possibly save the world. He has 4 girlfriends, his own secret codes, and a Swiss army knife that puts Q's inventions to shame.

As with most spoofs the novelty wears off, it is funny for about an hour and after that I was kinda done with it. I do kind of want to see the sequel and was pleasantly surprised with it overall. However, if spoof comedies are fair game for the Action 101 book then a lot of films were missed.

Vote: 7/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059557/

Not to be confused with the American "sequel" The Legend of Drunken Master. This original Jackie Chan Hong Kong film came out 16 years before the sequel. Let's start by saying that the American version I gave a 7/10 and this one not good at all. Yet again an Action 101 film that seems to need a certain percentage of originals and foreign language films.

I read the imdb synopsis and I don't think I watched the same film as the writer. The film is about an immature boy who disgraces his father by harassing young women and acting up in school. His dad constantly punishes him but he constantly cheats his way out of punishments, so he sends him off to learn martial arts from his brother. An interesting man who looks like a drifter and is always drunk, he spends a year teaching him the art of drunken boxing.

Chan is an immature 24 year old actor, and if you didn't know him now you would find the acting very bad. I didn't find it to be much of a comedy and prefer many other Chan movies over this one. It may look like a cool, older Chan film but I didn't think it was.

Vote: 4/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080179/

A character than has been portrayed in over 60 films or television series now, how on earth do you single out the best? How about the one nominated for an Oscar, in the National Film Registry, and starring Tyrone Power. A classic film, in color, that focuses on the story and characters instead of the action and sex. not something you find with many good action films.

I really don't think I need to go into the story of Zorro, and I think this one does a great job of not diverging from a classic storyline. So how about some random trivia instead! Once again the Zorro star isn't actually Hispanic, and most leading Zorro actors have not been, which might be why so many people like the Antonio Banderas version. This was the movie that Bruce Wayne's parents saw the night they were murdered in the Batman comics.

Anyways, probably the best Zorro film ever, you need to see this one.

Vote: 9/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032762/

Remember when Eddie Murphy was a good actor? Nope. Me neither. That is because I wasn't alive when this came out and just a toddler when the rest of his good movies came out [Trading Places, Beverly Hills Cop, Coming to America]. If you can't stand Murphy you can thank this film for launching his career.

Murphy isn't the main character though, that is Nick Nolte. Nolte plays a cop, one that can handle having a partner, fails to call in back up, and chain smokes throughout the film. After an incident where his gun is stole by some escape convicts and several police officers are murdered he goes after the bad guys... by himself. When he finds out that the guy sprung from prison is after the money that a different convict helped steal he gets him out of jail for 48 hours to help him find the bad guys. Eddie Murphy plays the convict just 18 month away from release who has the loot stashed in his car. The two are an odd couple and are fun to watch. The scene in the cowboy bar is really pretty funny.

The film annoyed me because if they just would have asked the department to help them on several occasions this whole film would have been unnecessary. It was just ok, but really not bad for the Action 101 book.

Vote: 6/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083511/

Director George Nolfi and Matt Damon are paired up once again on a action film that bleeds over into fantasy. One of the more popular movies of the first half of the year with just lukewarm reviews. A nice break for me from the action 101 book.

The film starts with Matt Damon running for congress. After another embarrassing scandal right before an election he loses. While preparing his speech he runs into Elise in the men's restroom, played by Emily Blunt. When a man fails to divert him from meeting her a second time the existence of the bureau is revealed. Without giving away too much about the film, this supernatural society warn him that they cannot be together. The film is about them defying these rules. That is all I'm going to say.

The film lacks continuity on several occasions, nothing really grossly wrong, but enough to make people that focus on details and disagree with the general theme of the bureau dislike the film. It was ok for me, and where it had depth in the beginning, once you figure it out it is an action romance and pretty cookie cutter and straight forward. Good, but not great and I doubt I'll be suggesting this one to others.

Vote: 7/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1385826/

I just saw the remake back in January [here] with Denzel Washington and John Travolta. The original, which is in the action 101 book recently came out with a blu-ray release which I enjoyed on the big screen at home. Walter Matthau plays the same character as Washington, and Robert Shaw plays the same character as Travolta.

The remake is very very similar to the original. It is good to see that the remake didn't diverge from a winning formula, and honestly the original would have been just as good today. The obvious differences are the technology in the control room, cell phone usage, etc. And this was all handled in the remake in a way to not change the storyline.

Didn't read that review? Well then this is what the story is about. A group of men hijack a subway car demanding ransom for the passengers. They have a former conductor in their gang who controls the car for them, disconnecting a car and positioning themselves between two stations that jam up the whole network of cars. For an old action movie it was really good.

It is rare that and original and remake are BOTH worth checking out. It really depends on if you like Denzel and if you can even get your hands on this one.

Vote: 8/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072251/

A lesser known Sean Connery film made the same year he returned to the Bond series with Diamonds Are Forever. Part of the Action 101 book and with pros and cons that I will get to.

Connery plays Duke Anderson, a thief, who is finishing a 10 year prison sentence and wastes no time planning his next robbery upon release. He starts living with his girlfriend from 10 years prior played by Dyan Cannon and starts to plan robbing every apartment in her building. The problem is, no matter how sophisticated the plan may be, the FBI have been taping his every move since being released. Hence the name, The Anderson Tapes.

The heist theme is one that I enjoy. It is fun to see what elaborate scheme they are going to come up with, and I felt how they went about everything was pretty unique in this film. For the first half I was expecting this to be a "Worth Watching" caliber film. The execution of the robbery and wrapping up of the film were boring though. It was forgettable and anti-climatic for me.

There are better Sean Connery Films, there is however a young Christopher Walken that is pretty fun to see in a minor role.

Vote: 6/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066767/

Just like Cannonball! which was hard to find, I actually had to purchase a "rental" on itunes to find this one. A new method for me to watch films, but easy and inexpensive so I liked how it worked.

The film stars Jim Brown, a fullback from the Cleveland Browns NFL team that made a crossover to film on his good looks. He got his start in Rio Conchos, a war/western film. Then he was in The Dirty Dozen a few years later. 5 years later he was the leading role in this blaxploitation action film.

The acting is horrible, and the action scenes are really really bad. Dodging cars like a football player until they drive themselves into a river accidentally, later we get a hand-to-hand combat on a rooftop where he pushes bad guys off the roof like a football player. The change in aspect ratio when the camera angle changes on action scenes and the obvious dummies thrown through glass, etc ruins films for me. Just a horribly acted film with bad action sequences, this really makes me question the selections in this 101 action film book.

Vote: 1/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069279/

I've found that when the library, netflix, and friends do not have old movies there is probably a reason. This film, which is kind of the middle film between Death Race 2000 and The Cannonball Run was incredibly difficult to find. Using the same director and star as Death Race 2000 it was a film that Paul Bartel was afraid would pigeonhole him as an action film director. It stars David Carradine who I find to be a really bad actor.

I was able to find it in segments on youtube that I was able to merge and watch on a portable device, whatever works right? Like I said though, there is a reason you can't find it... because no one wants it. It was really bad and was overshadowed by the Burt Reynolds, Roger Moore, and Farrah Fawcett film a few years later.

The action really boiled down to a ridiculous car crash near the end, which feature a number of lemming-like drivers adding to a pileup on an interstate. Take this scene away and it gets left out of the 101 Action movie book.

Vote: 4/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074279/

I've struggled with finding something to say about this film for over a week now. A film like this typically gives me writers block because I really have nothing important to say. Sadly. This Shaw Brothers film which was selected to the 101 Action films book was just a typical 1970's Hong Kong Kung Fu film.

Revenge and an unlikely hero make this a typical plot, but the usage of colored spotlights made the film seem cheap and lame. It was just ok because the good action compensated for the bad production values so you have to factor which is more important to you when checking this one out.

I doubt my readers are interested in this one, so I'll just stop there.

Vote: 6/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070800/

My first non-documentary 10/10 for the year comes from the second Tom Clancy book about Jack Ryan starring Harrison Ford. Why was this better than Patriot Games 9/10? Because there wasn't an incredibly fake boat chase scene.

Jack Ryan is back, this time he has to clean up a mess with a drug cartel in Columbia that is about to tarnish his name. When a president's friend is killed by the cartel he seeks revenge. Little does he know that his friend was working for the cartel until he started embezzling from them. When the president learns that his friend has a large amount of money in an off shore account he starts a little war to acquire these funds he wants to make campaign money. He then decides to hire American troops to go on a secret mission with the money Jack Ryan's got from congress, then abandons them when he gets what he wants. Ryan is forced to go to Columbia with the help of John Clark [Willem Dafoe] to clean up the mess.

So how did it get such a high rating from me. Quite simply, it was 2 and a half hours and I didn't want it to be over when the credits rolled. It really doesn't get much better than Clancy and Ford, if you like action movies you should really watch the Jack Ryan series if you haven't already.

Vote: 10/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109444/

Let me start by saying that I can see how some people would like this film and how a 30 or 40 something would put it on their top action movie list. Second this is not what I expected at all from George A. Romero or the movie poster. I thought this was going to be like Army of Darkness with a motorcycle gang somehow time traveling back to the middle ages, actually that would have been a lot cooler.

The film stars Ed Harris back when he was young (31). He plays Billy the King of a traveling carnival of jousters. A medieval play where knights joust on motorcycles going from town to town with injuries more realistic than the crowd believes. Keep an eye out for a cameo by Stephen King as a country hick who thinks everything is staged. Billy is followed around by Merlin (Brother Blue) who is African American witch doctor of the group.

We join the band of misfits at a pivotal time. The show is gaining popularity and a faction wants to see the show grow into something performed in arenas in major markets, but Billy wants to stay on the outskirts of society and feels that there is more to the lifestyle than the money.

The film clocks in at almost two and a half hours. There are several subplots and storylines that are kind of interesting, but the Easy Rider ideals are too 1960's for me. I just found myself bored with most of it and hoped there was more to the whole thing than there was. Not for me, and not going in my top 101 action list.

Vote: 3/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082622/

For me this was one the most anticipated films of the first half of the year. This year has left a lot to be desired as zero movies have cracked the imdb top 250 in the first 5 months [X-Men: First Class is in the 230's right now from a June release]. So this action flick that I only knew little about, past the star, was at the top of my radar.

Liam Neeson is traveling with his wife to a bioengineering conference in Germany. He arrives at the hotel from the airport to discover that one of his bags has been lost. On the way back to the airport he has an accident. Was this a set-up? Are people after him? Was this just an accident? He wakes up in a hospital and talks the doctor into letting him get back to his wife quickly since she doesn't know where he disappeared to. Back at the hotel she denies knowing him. How is this possible? Is she in on this? Did the accident screw up his memory?

A lot about this action film is cookie cutter. Enough to be comfortable watching it but not bored. The identity question that the director and writer keep the audience in until the very end make this well worth your time. I could see myself forgetting this in the near future, but given a bad string of action films this was a very nice change.

Vote: 8/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1401152/

This is the first Shaw Brothers Studio Production for me, probably one of the most famous Hong Kong production studios. Directed by Cheh Chang who has about 100 films to his name, this is easily the one to watch from both this accomplished director and studio.

The story is very simple, yet very complex and creative. It starts with a dying martial arts master telling his student that there were five students before him, each specializing in a fighting style he has only learned the basics of. We then get examples of the five styles of the school of venoms: The Centipede, Snake, Scorpion, Lizard, and Toad. He tells his student that his seniors are mostly bad and that they are all looking for a map. He must find them, determine who is good or bad and team up to destroy the bad ones. Knowing a little of each discipline will help him determine who is who, but he is not strong enough to take on any one of the them individually.

The concept of a hero that must be creative, patient, humble, and a team player is not something you see much in action movies. Definitely not in Kung Fu. It usually goes, hero develops and learns along the way taking everyone on. I really liked this one, and in the two weeks that have passed since watching it, I keep reflecting on how good it was. If you want to see a Shaw Brothers film check this one out.

Vote: 8/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077559/

On vacation visiting family we decided to take a break from action movie month with this George Hamilton comedy. Hamilton who was in a number of films in the 1960's and 1970's started making his transition to television in the 1980's with the exception of a few spoof films: Love at First Bite and this one.

I loved this movie, witty humor and laugh out loud funny. Only problem was that I thought the movie was from the 1950's or 1960's, the video quality was kind of poor. Since I'm not that familiar with Hamilton I was thinking "man, Steve Martin must have been influenced by Hamilton." Sure he might have been, but seeing how close their careers were chronologically I doubt it now.

So the plot goes that when Vega senior passes away he calls for his two sons, Don Diego Vega assumes his fathers legacy of Zorro which has been passed down to him only to sprain his ankle jumping from the 2nd story on his first encounter with the Spanish Government. His homosexual brother [also played by Hamilton] shows up just in time to lend assistance as Zorro. This utterly confuses the government as the new Zorro loves bright colored costumes and is obviously gay.

A nice "vacation" for me from action month, and a funny film when you are in the mood for a The Birdcage style comedy.

Vote: 9/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083366/

It is amazing that Jackie Chan isn't crippled, I can't think of any actor who performs more of his own stunts with this high of a difficulty level since the silent era. In this film alone he dislocated his pelvis, was taken to the hospital after breaking through stunt glass, and came close to breaking two vertebrae.

Chan started getting credited films roles in the mid-70's and by the time he made this film other directors in Hong Kong were making copycat films as soon as his film titles were announced. For instance, when announcing Drunken Master a series of drunken martial arts films started coming out. Therefore he made this film's title very vague to avoid copycats. This film is considered a remake of The Protector, which was made earlier that year. Chan was rumored to be disappointed The Protector, and hoped this similar story without the English dialog would be better.

For me the opening sequences are the best of the film. Namely the scene were Chan grabs an umbrella, hitches a ride on the outside of a bus, and walks across oncoming traffic. The scenes in the mall with glass breaking at every turn was a bit overdone, a little unnecessary, and lead to several stuntman injuries. The funniest thing for me was when we got a slow motion replay of Chan's big stunt that almost paralyzed him, I wasn't sure if I was watching a movie or a football game for a minute... but a commentator never came on...

If you want a good international kung fu film check this out, Chan is fantastic.

Vote: 8/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089374/

James Caan stars as Jonathan, the superstar of Rollerball, the only futuristic sport the corporation allows. This film is barely an action film at all. More drama and science fiction than anything, the plot really centers around a futuristic world were corporations have taken over countries and Rollerball is not as much a game, as it is a way for the corporations to show how trivial human lives are.

The conflict in the story is no action/sport based at all, there isn't much of a championship to worry about and we don't care about the score of the game. The conflict really lies in the existence of individual that the corporation can no longer control. This is why the movie kinda really sucked. You expect one thing and get another, or maybe I just did.

I wanted an action film with exciting scenes, a championship to win, important characters making sacrifice... instead I got a leading character being a rebel but confused about what he wants, an important character in a coma that once again the lead character can't make a decision about. The plot was weak because I felt the indecisiveness of the leading character was a reflection of a poor script or bad directing. Please also avoid the remake...

Vote: 2/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073631/

Anne Parillaud plays Nikita in this French film that introduced the world to Luc Besson's writing and directing, and eventually lead to an American TV series that made a 5 season run.

The movie starts with Nikita, drugged up and following a gang around. They decide to rob one of the gang member's parents store, when the owner defends the store a shootout ensues. Nikita stays huddled in a corner until the police arrive, and she takes one of their lives while they try and assist her. Convicted of murder she is offered a chance to work for a secret government organization rather than start a life sentence. I felt the movie did a great job at showing the amount of work and effort it takes to change a person in this way.

After year of training she is sent on a mission, and the rest you have to watch yourself. A very worthy addition to the 101 Action films, and worth your time if you can handle subtitles. Speaking of which, the subtitles are actually really GOOD, bad subtitles can be distracting and frustrating, but this DVD did a great job. Check this one out.

Vote: 8/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0100263/

The release date of this film is a little muddied to me. By imdb accounts this is a 1982 film, and the first Jet Li feature film. Produced in Hong Kong, and one of the most widely successful films in China.

The plot goes like this: Chien Yuan [Li] and his father fight for their freedom from slavery. His father is killed but in doing so helps his son to escape. He runs away to a Buddhist Temple where he has to battle between his teachings of respect for human life and desire to take revenge on the men that killed his father.

I felt the film established character conflict well, but the action was sub-par. The vast majority of the "action" was monks training on the temple grounds. After they accept Chien Yuan as a monk we get very long scenes of him practicing martial arts with different seasons as the backdrop. The few scenes where soldiers and monks are fighting they just don't make any sense. 5 soldiers vs 1 monk, the monk beats them all, then another monk enters the circle to fight another 5 different soldiers? Just didn't make sense...

I'm sure this film's selection was largely due to it being Li's first film, as a multi-national martial arts champion it was very successful. The fighting scenes just lacked excitement.

Vote: 5/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079891/

As the dvd tagline goes, before there was Jackie Brown there was Foxy Brown. Pam Grier stars in this blaxploitation film as the sexy Foxy Brown. 23 years later Quentin Tarantino starred Grier as Jackie Brown, his homage to blaxploitation films.

The plot is... interesting... Foxy's boyfriend just underwent plastic surgery after he testified against some white drug lords. When the police were unable to get a conviction he had to find a way to hide himself to be safe. Foxy's brother sells her boyfriend out, and after they kill him she goes on a rampage. She becomes a high class hooker in this drug lords ring to exact revenge on the people that killed her man.

Atrocious acting, boring plot, and a real lack of ACTION made this a bad movie. And a really bad pick for a "top" action film. This movie just wasn't made for me I guess.

Vote: 3/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071517/

This Hong Kong film became popular in the United States when its funding was lead by Quentin Tarantino. Yet another Action 101 film, sadly I could only get the dubbed version.

Rongguang Yu [The Karate Kid] and Donnie Yen [Ip Man] star in an Asian version of Robin Hood [as imdb claims]. Yu plays a Doctor that steals money from the rich governor under the cover of "Iron monkey" to give to the people. I really see this more as an Asian Zorro film, instead of Robin Hood. Zorro was educated, had a day job as a wealth local and made the authority look like fools. Robin Hood wasn't an alter ego, instead he lived on the outskirts of town and was "Robin Hood" 24/7. Ok, maybe no one would argue this, so let's move on.

The film is interesting in that the initial conflict is between Iron Monkey and a different doctor. This doctor is also a martial artist and accused of being Iron Monkey, the only want to protect his daughter is to find the real Iron Monkey. Ironically Iron Monkey ends up helping his daughter and the two team up against the Governors hired assassins. The strangest thing about the film is that the daughter is referred to as "son" throughout the film, dubbed and original. The character is played by a girl, and looks like a girl, so it was very confusing while watching.

Good not great, there are some amazing choreographed action sequences at the end of this film that would make it worth watching. Overall I see it as somewhat forgettable though.

Vote: 7/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108148/

I'm a little hesitant to get behind another foreign action film given my recent track record. Schneider can't make a book that isn't 1/3 world cinema [even if English equivalent's are much better], so I was skeptical of this from the start.

I was more than pleasantly surprised. Maybe following a 1/10 film made this even all the more better, but I still think I could watch it again. As soon as it was over I went and found the sequel District 13: Ultimatum which came out recently. The film was written by Luc Besson so you have to give it a chance. This is the man that wrote La Femme Nikita, Leon: The Professional, The Fifth Element, The Transporter, and Taken to name a few...

Starring David Belle [Inventor of a discipline known as Parkour] and Cyril Raffaelli [stunt performer in a number of action films] as a resident and police officer in the ghettos of Paris. Set in the future, this district of Paris has been cut off from the rest of the country due to high crime rates. The two are tasked with diffusing a bomb that will decimate the district if they don't get it out of the gang lord's hands. A slightly unique script, honestly not much different than a number of action films, so I don't credit Besson's writing for making this worth watching. I credit Belle and Rafaelli because their fighting styles are just fun to watch. Belle jumps and swings from walls, poles, and anything he can get his hands on in a way that looks a lot more realistic than the Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Asian style.

Yes it is French and subtitled, but there isn't a lot of dialogue, and it is worth checking out.

Vote: 8/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0414852/

This is the most perplexing inclusion on the Action 101 list for me. Directed by Johnnie To, nothing of which is familiar to me, and starring a trio of famous Hong Kong ladies. Michelle Yeoh [Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon], Anita Mui [The Legend of Drunken Master, Rumble in the Bronx], and Maggie Cheung [In the Mood for Love, Hero] basically the three women responsible for most of the popular American market crossover films.

This film is kind of like when you like a band so much you buy their cd from before they became famous. Then you realize why they weren't famous until that album you first liked. The inclusion in Schneider's book is him trying to be creative, seriously he can't say this is better than a dozen films this book forgot [an LFR 101 Action list is in the works...].

The plot doesn't make a lot of sense to begin with, some sort of underworld devil man trained and hypnotized these women into doing his bidding. They run around stealing [and accidentally killing] babies. In the end they realize this guy is bad and all team up against him to form this trio. The action is just stupid, riding barrels launched by explosives. I'm not even sure what is unique about this film, "Wonder Woman" is one of the main characters... a clear copyright infringement. Why did I have to see this one?

Vote: 1/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105619/

Of all the action movies I had lined up, I probably made fun of this one the most. Ironically it wasn't all that bad. Steven Seagal and his "no one can hit me in the face on film because that isn't realistic," attitude crack me up. This is easily his most popular film followed by his debut Above the Law. Believe it or not he is actually still making movies, pick any for a good laugh.

Nominated for two Oscars for editing and sound, this film is not special because of Seagal, more because of the laughable bad villains Tommy Lee Jones and Gary Busey. It seemed like these two really had fun with this movie and the subtle humor of their characters made this a fun watch. Busey running around hijacking the ship while in drag, Jones acting like he is going crazy. Sure Seagal was slightly witty as a master chef who is as a decorated war hero.

If you want to experience Seagal, without laughing, check this one out.

Vote: 7/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105690/

I hate to say it, but I was greatly disappointed by this 70s action film that spawned so many films. Credited by some as the source of the joke of running people over for points. This film is a futuristic fantasy film were sports have been reduced to a cross country car race.

Directed by Paul Bartel and starring David Carradine and Sylvester Stallone [pre-Rocky]. Everything about this film I just found awful. The acting was atrocious, the action was pathetic, the music was dated, and the character and plot were a waste of time.

When people say that a movie is good... because it is bad, or that you need to be drunk to enjoy it it really means that it holds a nostalgic feeling for a generation that will not be understood by the next generation. It is the same way that I found Starship Troopers entertaining, and don't expect anyone in another generation to.

Vote: 1/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072856/

Ryan O'Neal and Bruce Dern star in one of the most simplistic film I have seen. It is said that O'Neal says less than 350 words during the entire film, and the characters have no names, just "The Driver" and "The Detective."

This action film is all about the getaway driver. Starting with a scene I felt like I had seen before, the driver screeches around a parking garage escaping police cars after his accomplices robbed a casino. The scene was familiar because a video game in the mid-90's by the same name is focused around that scene. I remember playing the game, and therefore recognized the film. It was also interesting that there really wasn't a soundtrack. Your soundtrack is the squeal of tires, revving of engines, and police sirens. A much better soundtrack than most 70's movies, actually, and made the film a lot more bearable. A decent inclusion on the action list, but nothing really special.

Vote: 6/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077474/

John Carpenter is probably best known for his Halloween series, a franchise that got its birth two years after this film. Before he started making horror movies he bounced around in sci-fi and action. This action film is just as much action/suspense as it is horror.

The premise of the film is that a man kills a gang member after he murders his daughter. He runs into a police station the last night the station is open. A new one has been opened across town and the telephone company and electric company are both shutting the building down the same night. The fallen gang members buddies decide to attack the police station. A rare breed of criminal, daring enough to attack a police station, smart enough to make it look like nothing is going on from the street, but stupid enough to crawl in the windows like zombies while getting mowed down.

It reminded me a lot of Night of the Living Dead because of this, and foreshadows Carpenter moving to the horror genre. The action is quite lame though. The gang shoots up the police station and we get a single camera angle of bits and pieces of glass breaking off the window. Clearly doctors scenes where blinds are broken off screen between frames, and papers fly around from whizzing bullets that leave no marks. Avoid this one and the remake.

Vote: 5/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074156/

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