What did you watch today?

[Davy_Lee]

Portrait of a Hitman (First viewing; f.o.c.) – 4/10
Jack Palance is Jim Buck, painter and hitman who is hired by a mob boss and long-time friend Max (Rod Steiger) to eliminate a neurosurgeon (Bo Svenson). Unlike any other killings, Buck finds himself in a predicament as the neurosurgeon is his friend who has saved his life.

As a fan of Jack Palance, I finally got around to watching this. Despite the cast, this has to be one of the worst action thrillers I have ever watched. Feels like a lazy 70’s made-for-television film that will put you to sleep.

Not worth watching, but there’s another one also with Jack Palance that I saw at the cinema and quite liked - "One Man Jury" with Chris Mitchum.

Richard Roundtree and Ann Turkel (Humanoids from the Deep, The Cassandra Crossing, Golden Rendezvous) co-star.

[Ain_Uussaar]

Call of the Wild (1935)

[Ain_Uussaar]

Mother's Day (2010)

[Ain_Uussaar]

Space Cop (2016)

[Davy_Lee]

Bullet in the Head (YouTube) – 7.5/10
After a crime in Hong Kong leaves them wanted , three best friends escape to war-torn Saigon hoping for a better living. In Saigon, they befriend a mysterious hitman and start a life of crime. Their wishful dreams are shattered when the three run afoul of a local gangster and his henchmen, and the Vietcongs, which eventually leads to betrayal and forces them to confront one another.

I have never been a fan of John Woo despite having seen most of his HK films. I had a chance to see this at the cinema but was not much impressed. The action quotient is too overloaded that makes it rather unrealistic. Nonetheless, it is a well-written and directed action drama.The film theme can be summarized into four words – friendship, greed, betrayal, revenge.

Tony Leung (Hero, Infernal Affairs), Jacky Cheung (As Tears Go By, Tiger Cage), Waise Lee (A Better Tomorrow, The Big Heat), Simon Yam (Tiger Cage, Full Contact) star. John Woo directs.

[Ain_Uussaar]

The Shooting (1966)

[Davy_Lee]

Lowbrow Post-apocalyptic Adventure Double Feature
The Atlantis Interceptors a.k.a. The Raiders of Atlantis a.k.a. Atlantis Inferno (f.o.c.) – 5.5/10
When a sunken Russian nuclear submarine is raised from the bottom of the sea, massive radioactive leakage from it triggers sudden storm and tidal wave that cause the re-emergence of the lost city of Atlantis. From it arises a group of new wave Atlantians who goes on a rampage with a mission to reclaim the world! Stranded and trapped on the island are two mercenaries, a scientist, and a group of survivors of the storm who have to battle their way out of the doomed land!

I could not fully understand the plot the first time I watched it on video decades ago, and still can't . The plot is all over the place, but that doesn’t mean the film is bad as they went “all-out” with whatever budget they had. This is one of those “so-bad-it’s-good” 80’s action adventure. It is fast-paced but low on logic. If you know what to expect from this kind of 80’s Italian film, you might enjoy watching it.

Christopher Connelly, Tony King, George Hilton, Ivan Rassimov, and Bruce Baron star. Ruggero Deodato directs.

This has been on my wishlist for years. Not on DVD with English audio.

Raiders of the Sun (First viewing; f.o.c.) – 6.5/10
Two post-apocalyptic warriors have to band together in search of gunpowder mine, which has become a commodity more precious than water, to fight against a traitor who is leading a rebellion against their society to rule the wastelands.

Some action scenes were taken from Wheels of Fire and Equalizer 2000, which makes this 1992 Roger Corman production a cut-and-paste post apocalyptic adventure. Surprisingly, it is quite entertaining despite the limitations. At least, it has a coherent plot .

Richard Norton stars. Cirio H. Santiago directs.

Not on BD.

[Samuel_Scott]

Bullet in the Head (YouTube) – 7.5/10

My favourite Woo film!

[Davy_Lee]

The Laughing Policeman (First viewing; f.o.c.) – 6.5/10
A random group of passengers, one of whom is an off-duty detective, is brutally gunned down by a mysterious man inside a late-night downtown bus in a street of San Fransisco. Detective Sergeant Jake Martin (Walter Matthau), the partner of the detective killed, and his new partner Inspector Leo Larsen (Bruce Dern) are assigned to crack the case, leading them into a labyrinth of puzzling investigations.

This is the second of Walter Matthau’s films I have watched after the surprisingly good The Taking of Pelham One Two Three. The film focuses A LOT on police procedural, with little tension, which may bore some viewers. Viewers watch the two detectives move from one place to another in search of information, bickering with each other, and this happens for almost the entire movie. Lots of “talky” scenes during the 90 minutes of the nearly two-hour run time with brief action scenes bookending the long winding investigation.

Louis Gosset, Jr, Anthony Zerbe, Paul Koslo, and Joanna Cassidy co-star. Stuart Rosenberg (Cool Hand Luke, Love and Bullets, The Amityville Horror [1979]) directs.

Kino Lorber is releasing it on BD in October.

[Ain_Uussaar]

The Oxford Murders (2008)
Deadlier Than the Male (1967)
Hardcore Henry (2015)
Blood Bath (1966)

[Ain_Uussaar]

Ass Backwards (2013)

[Davy_Lee]

Romano Kristoff Triple Feature

What I like about 80's B-movie posters is their cool hand-drawn artwork, and these are often way better than the movies themselves . These kinds of video box cover arts completely sold me on renting the movie every time I saw them back in the video-rental days .

And those who are familiar with Silver Star Film Company production should know the B-movie action star Romano Kristoff a.k.a. Rom Kristoff!

War Bus (YouTube) - 6.5/10
A group of Christian missionaries is escaping from the Vietnam jungle in a school bus under heavy fire. On their way, they meet three battle-hardened American marines, one of whom is Gus (Romano Kristoff). Running out of time and ammunition, with death entailing, the survivors must fight their way out of the enemy line and terror of the Vietcongs.

Among the many 80’s Italian/Filipino-produced Vietnam-war inspired action adventure, this is one of the better and most memorable. Rather than the often-recycled men-on-a-mission plot, we get a pretty watchable (by B-movie standards) action adventure.

Daniel Stephen (2020: Texas Gladiators) and Don Gordon Bell (Blood Debts) star. Ferdinando Baldi (Texas, Adios; Comin’ At Ya!; Treasure Of The Four Crowns) directs.

Jungle Rats (YouTube; First viewing) – 6/10
A team of five special commandos code-named Jungle Rats led by Lt. John Smith (Kristoff) is dispatched on a mission to rescue an American general held captive by the Vietcongs.

Blackfire (YouTube; First viewing) - 5.5/10
Here, Romano Kristoff is Sergeant Frank Johnson a.k.a. Blackfire – a U.S. soldier and special ops commando highly skilled in the ninjutsu art of killing. After being framed for the murder of his Commanding Officer’s secretary and taken prisoner – tortured and abused – he escapes to get even with those who wronged him.

[Ain_Uussaar]

Colors (1988)

[Ain_Uussaar]

A Bigger Splash (2015)

[Davy_Lee]

Border Trouble Double Feature
Border Cop (First viewing; YouTube) – 5.5/10
Telly Savalas is Frank Cooper, a senior Texas-Mexican border patrol officer who is close to his retirement. When his young immigrant friend and wife are caught up in trouble with a merciless Mexican jackal – or people smuggler – named Chico, Cooper has to take the law into his own hands to save them.

Films about illegal Mexican immigrants often pique my interest, but this - unfortunately – is a misfire. Telly Savalas disappears during the second act as the focus shifts to the young immigrant character and his wife. Then there is the ending, which makes you think that the producers ran out of money and had to finish the shooting abruptly.

Eddie Albert (The Devil’s Rain) and Michael V. Gazzo (The Godfather: Part II, Love and Bullets) co-star.

Not on BD and not recommended.

Jackals a.k.a. American Justice (f.o.c.) – 7/10
While escaping from her captor, an illegal immigrant is shot in cold blood on the Texas-Mexican border. A vacationing ex-cop, Joe Case (Jack Lucarelli), witnesses the murder and killer – a border patrol officer named Jake Wheeler (Gerard McRaney - Simon & Simon; House of Cards TV series). When Case reports the crime, he is met with skepticism by the authorities including Jake’s superior (Wilford Brimley). Together with his friend and ex-partner Dave (Jameson Parker - Simon & Simon TV series) – who happens to be the killer’s colleague – he starts a covert investigation that puts their lives on the line.

I watched this on video many eons ago under the title Jackals, which suits the plot better, and thought it was pretty watchable. A standard good-cop vs bad-cop action thriller, set in the Texas-Mexican border, with a slight twist at the end of the second act that leaves viewers wondering how the movie ends.

Not on DVD and BD, but recommended.

[Ain_Uussaar]

A Rage in Harlem (1991)

[Samuel_Scott]

264. Lake Placid vs Anaconda (2015)

[Ain_Uussaar]

The Scarlet Claw (1944)

[Davy_Lee]

Caboblanco (First viewing; f.o.c.) – 6/10
Charles Bronson is Giff Hoyt, an expatriate American patriot, resident and inn-owner in Cabo Blanco, Peru. When a mysterious young woman named Marie (Dominique Sanda) who has just arrived in town and is staying in his inn is intimidated by a corrupt local police captain (Fernando Rey), Hoyt intervenes – eventually leading him into a confrontation with a wealthy resident named Beckdorff (Jason Robards), a runaway Nazi who is seeking sunken treasure offshore.

Quite disappointing for a Bronson film, plays more like a B&W 50’s crime drama than an exciting 80’s action adventure. The good parts are its original score by Jerry Goldsmith and the shooting locations. Partially recommended.

J. Lee Thompson directs.

[Ain_Uussaar]

London Has Fallen (2016)
Keanu (2016)