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drss1942
Reviews
Solar Strike (2006)
A Fire In The Sky
In spite of having an unknown & not too interesting cast, except for Dacascos, this is a very entertaining film. True it's another in a long line of disaster films, all of whom seem to follow the exact same formula, but this one's different. It's right out of today's headlines but that's not what makes it unique. The hero has to work with his ex wife. That's standard on nearly every action movie that comes out. They really need to take that out of the formula. What is unique is that it seems to faithfully follow the laws of physics though not the laws of chance. That part's called literary license. Unique item two is that the hero is not a man of action but rather a businessman. He is in fact the antitheses of the popular media portrayal of the successful businessman. There is absolutely no taint to his character at all. He is just a man with means who wants to help save the world from itself. I find that very refreshing. Unique point number three is that no one had to make the ultimate sacrifice in order that others might live. Other reviewers will give you the plot so I've just tried to give you what makes the movie worthwhile.drss1942 December 9,1942
Dark City (1998)
A great movie with a sensuous alluring Jennifer Connelly as a wonderful highlight.
John Murdoch (Rufus Sewell) wakes up in his bath tub confused & dazed. He doesn't know where or who he is or why there is a dead hooker lying by the bed. He is quickly contacted by mysterious Dr. Schreber (Kiefer Sutherland) & then stalked by The Strangers a nasty bunch of alien scum hellbent on making his life even more miserable. He soon discovers he's married to Jennifer Connelly who is at her most sensuous & alluring in this film. He quickly realizes that he's wanted by the police in the form of Inspector Bumstead (William Hurt) who steadfastly tries to arrest Murdoch without allowing him to present his side of the story. Murdoch is helped along the way by Emma (Jennifer Connelly), the good doctor & May (Melissa George), an unbelievably nice prostitute. While astutely avoiding Bumstead he tries to find out why it's always night & if indeed he is the serial killer he is charged with being. Rufus gives a truly great performance. William Hurt's morose detective character alone is worth the price of admission. This is the film that taught me to respect Kiefer Sutherland. There are two items on the downside. That an advanced civilization would need to use invasive technology is just too dumb for me to be able to suspend disbelief. Why the aliens fall at first & later can fly is not explained. Overall the movie works & works well. I rank it up there with the all time best of the genre. drss1942 December 9,2006
Strange Days (1998)
Juliette Lewis deserves to be seen in Hi Def
This movie deserves to be seen in Hi Def. It features a stellar cast headed by Ralph Fiennes. The story is unique & rises well above the tired formula plots we see in most action films. The direction is tight. The writing is first rate. In fact there is one and only one negative to this movie, It's the same problem as with every James Cameron film. A woman is always the smartest, bravest, strongest character in the film. This is yellow journalism in it's highest & best form. Okay so let's get this straight Mr. Cameron; female equality is acceptable, female superiority is not acceptable. Here's the plot. Two unbelievably vicious redneck rogue cops make a routine traffic stop & kill three of the four passengers owing to the bad attitude of a famous rapper. Unfortunately for them there is one survivor. She is wearing something called Squid under her wig. It is an electronic mesh that relays everything the wearer sees & hears to a mini disc recorder. She immediately sets off a chain of events by dropping a video disc (which they keep calling tape) of the killing in an ex-cop turned purveyor of slice of life films Lenny Nero (Fiennes) car. Upon retrieving this disc he sets off to nail the bad guys on millennium eve. Angela Bassett plays his much beleaguered butt kicking armored car chauffeur friend Mace. Juliette Lewis plays Faith, his scantily clad sexy sultry ex girl friend who now is the proud possession of number one baddie Philo Grant played by the ever bad Michael Wincott who seems here to reprise his role from The Crow. The morality issue that Feinnes has to deal with is whether to give the disc to the police & risk starting a civil war or to give it to Philo Grant & get his true love (Juliette Lewis) back. Let's see; prevent a civil war or get Juliette Lewis back? Oh Julie,,,,,, drss1942 December 8,2006
Strip Search (1997)
A truly entertaining B movie.
First of all let me tell you that the person who wrote the Synopsis for Blockbuster didn't see the movie. There are reviewers who look at the movie but don't actually see it, but this person could not have even been in the room. The plot is only remotely related to the description. I will tell you up front that it is badly scripted. There are six really bad lines by the first shoot out. Also the guy Robby (Pare') calls "Seven" should be "Eight" as he killed "Seven", seconds before, unless you don't count the head scum. So, some of the dialog is pretty lame. The action is not. Sela is the stepmother, not the brother although I may be guilty of making a too subtle distinction here. Her eyes being different colors (which they don't appear to be on my 159 inch screen) are symbolic of the sexual confusion she lives with what with having been thru a sex change operation. This isn't Raymond Chandler folks but it works for me. The action is good. The skin show is good. The lesbian thing is played only for one shot at humor & I guess a way for Sela to get her hooks into Pam Grier's police character. An interesting side note: it looks like the uncle is played by the same guy in the exact same way as the uncle in Dark City. It worked beautifully in Dark City; not so well here. It is definitely a man's movie. I would rate it as a truly entertaining B movie. By the way the title has nothing to do with the story but that is typical of mystery & action films. Only occasionally do titles mean anything. And give Michael Pare' a break guys, he says his lines with a straight face & shoots people. What more can one ask from a former Canadian male model. drss1942 December 08,2006
Attack Force (2006)
A horror movie disguised as an action film.
I buy or at least watch every Seagall movie. He came out with a handful of good movies then descending into poor stories, bad camera work and a walk-thru persona, he nearly lost me. A few movies ago he remembered how to make a decent movie. Now he's forgotten again. This film is seriously dark (on any level you care to name). There is a lot of slash & gash going on here with no discernible purpose unless it's meant as a warning against the military.
Seagall may have had a stand-in for many of his scenes as it was often too dark to tell and someone else's voice was used most of the time. Sadly the only interesting character was the bad guy who killed his guard to escape custody & then proceeded to raise havoc all over the place. Okay since when do we place an armed guard in the holding room with a prisoner? Anyway this bad guy was at least colorful, and very focused. There's lots of gore if you like that king of thing. It looked to me like the bad guys tore the same gash every time. I'm just glad they didn't suck the blood from their hapless victims. I harken you back to my summary. Basically it is a horror movie disguised as an action film.Dec 6,2006