Showing posts with label Action. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Action. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Faster (2010)

2.5 / 5  Aug '11
Tagline:  Justice is swift. Vengeance is faster.
Directed by:  George Tillman Jr.
Written by:  Tony Gayton, Joe Gayton
Actors include:  The Rock, Maggie Grace, Billy Bob Thorton
Genre:  Action, Thriller
Length:  98 minutes
Banned:  Nope




Review: 
Well, I'll start with the pros, which include that it's violent and that it's a revenge movie.  Ahem, the cons...well that's a slightly longer list.  The acting was laughable (seriously why is The Rock an actor again?), and the plot was hilariously predictable and eye rollingly cliche.  The plot is about a fellow called Driver (the Rock of course) who gets out of prison and then goes for revenge!  See turns out that he and his brother are shot up by some bad guys so he's gonna get them back come hell or high water.  We also have Officer Billy Bob Thorton on the prowl trying to solve the case.  They at least try to throw a few surprises the way of the viewer, however I wouldn't say they were very effective nor surprising.  Just the same if you want a simple shoot 'em up revenge flick you could do worse I suppose.

Availability:  on Blu-Ray & DVD

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Harry Brown (2009)

3.5 / 5
Tagline:  One Man Will Stand Alone
Directed by:  Daniel Barber
Written by:  Gary Young
Actors include:  Michael Caine, Emily Mortimer, David Bradley
Genre:  Action, Crime, Drama
Length:  103 minutes
Banned:  Nope




Review: 
Every year must have a decent revenge flick, and for 2009 Harry Brown is where it's at.  Michael Caine plays the title character, a lonely man living in a dangerous neighborhood.  After his only friend and Wife are killed by the street toughs, he decides to take matters into his own hands (he's an ex-serviceman).  The Police of course are useless and they seem oblivious to Caine, but when it starts coming together they are willing to look the other way (lazy butts).  It's kinda missing the sentimentality that made Gran Torino so effective, and it's not quite as brutal or satisfying as the Death Wish.  Still it's highly entertaining and Caine does a good job, and the pacing is quite good despite the lack of originality.  I'm always a sucker for a good revenge film and this is a good one, just not in league with some of the classics!
Availability:  On DVD & Blu-Ray

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Lady Terminator (1988) aka Pembalasan ratu pantai selatan aka Nasty Hunter aka Shooting Star aka The Revenge of the South Seas Queen

4 / 5 Nov '09
Tagline: She Mates... Then She Terminates
Directed by: H. Tjut Djalil
Written by: Karr Kruinowz
Actors include: Barbara Anne Constable, Christopher J. Hart, Claudia Angelique Rademaker
Genre: Action, Horror
Length: 82 minutes
Banned: Nope




Review:
So I'm guessing that in Indonesia that the The Terminator must have been really popular. This tale starts out to be one thing but definitely ends up another. It starts out with everyone warning to avoid "the sea queen", an Anthropologist goes on a trek to meet the sea queen and ends up having some sort of slug crawl into an unmentionable area. From that point on, she's imitating Arnold Schwarzenegger what with the robotic running, sideways glances and even some of the same catch phrases! I think the biggest difference is that Arnold wasn't screwing people to death! This is rather cheaply made and laughable in many places but they certainly tried their hardest. They filled it full of car chases, explosions, action sequences, fights and a whole bunch of red stuff! It's actually pretty darned fun to watch though I did find I was shaking my head in disbelief many times. I actually think this was better than the real 4th Terminator movie, heck this is on par with the 3rd one. If you can't get enough Terminator and want to see a naked female version (she does put on clothes after a while) then this should be turbo packed enough for most! A rather strange fan entry into the series but worthwhile for fans of the ridiculous!

Availability:  On DVD

The Tenth Victim (1965) aka La decima vittima aka La dixième victime

4 / 5   Nov '09
Tagline: It's the 21st century and they have a licence to kill
Directed by: Elio Petri
Written by:  Robert Sheckley, Tonino Guerra
Actors include: Marcello Mastroianni, Ursula Andress, Elsa Martinelli
Genre: Sci-Fi, Action
Length: 92 minutes
Banned: Nope





Review:
One insanely weird '60s sci-fi picture from Italy featuring the appearance of Ursula Andress and a futuristic dystopian plot. In the future, there is a Government run program you can sign up for (especially if suicidal) which puts you in a game. There are Hunters and there are Victims, you must survive being both a total of ten times before you win a million dollars. Only a few survive as they are being shot at nearly constantly not to mention the Hunter takes in all the information about the Victim, and the Victim isn't allowed any info at all. Ursula plays a girl who is about ready to take her tenth victim (the title...ya dig?), and they've planned a big movie shoot to show her as she kills him. Of course this he we refer to isn't a dumb guy, and let's just say she's met her match. It's filled with bizarre futuristic music, weird costumes and set designs and all kinds of absurdity. It's no wonder this influenced "The Running Man" and the Austin Powers series (you'll see exactly what I mean). Definitely something intriguing to see but yet I don't think it delivered the excitement I was hoping for ultimately.

Availability:  On DVD

Friday, June 24, 2011

The Warriors (1979)

4 / 5  Jun '11
Tagline:  They are 60,000 strong.
Directed by:  Walter Hill
Written by:  Sol Yurick, David Shaber,
Actors include:  James Remar, Dorsey Wright, Michael Beck
Genre:  Action, Adventure, Crime
Length:  92 minutes
Banned:  Nope





Review:
This really was a fun little underground classic that starts out with a bang and manages to keep up the excitement level throughout.  The production is actually rather impressively epic and the details, lighting and costumes are quite something too.  It's highly stylized and the little cartoonish touches make it seem all the more creative.  It's about a bunch of Gangs who have a meeting about uniting, but when someone kills the Head Honcho the blame is wrongly placed on a group called The Warriors.  From that point on it's a thrillingly violent mad dash through the other Gang territories (as everybody is looking to kill them).  It's pretty neat that a cast of nearly unknowns did such a fantastic job, and well there aren't many Gang films quite like this that is for sure.  Definitely worth checking out, it's lots of fun and it seems like the sort of thing I'll be watching again very soon.

Availability:  On DVD & Blu-Ray

Monday, June 6, 2011

X-Men: First Class (2011)

3.5 / 5 Jun '11
Tagline: Witness the origin
Directed by: Matthew Vaughn
Written by: Ashley Miller, Zack Stentz
Actors include: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence
Genre: Sci-Fi, Action, Adventure
Length: 132 minutes
Banned: Nope




Review:
I wouldn't say I'm a big fan of the series, though I've barely explored it. I saw the first X-Men movie back when it came out, thought it was alright but never bothered with any of the sequels. Luckily for me this is filmed in such a way that seeing the first film was all I really needed. It goes back to the '60s when Charles Xavier and Erik Lensherr were friends and learning to use their powers together. Together they recruit other mutants and start teaching them to use the power within to try to stop a missile crisis that could blow destroy everything. Be prepared for a ton of neat action sequences, some cheesy montages, and of course some neat mutant activity. They also did a rather good job of tying it into the first movie (heck even Wolverine makes a cameo which is the best part of the film) and yet it didn't feel like they were retreading. I did feel it went on a little long, and a bit of trimming from the beginning wouldn't have hurt, but for the most part it was satisfying and it covered a lot of territory. It's made me curious what I've missed with the other sequels, that is for sure.

Availability:  Still in theatres currently

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Earthquake (1974)

4 / 5  Dec '09
Tagline:  N/A
Directed by:  Mark Robson
Written by:  George Fox, Mario Puzo
Actors include:  Charleton Heston, Ava Gardner, George Kennedy
Genre:  Disaster, Action, Thriller
Length:  120 minutes
Banned:  Nope




Review:
Sure it's a little cheesy and you can see where the miniatures are and it takes a while to get going. What this has working for it is a fantastic nearly all-star cast including Charlton Heston, Ava Gardner, and George Kennedy to name a few. It's also pretty darned thrilling once it gets going and it has harrowing dangerous escapes, and it's mean spirited (which I love). As a giant destructive earthquake ravishes the land we follow a series of characters as they fight for survival. It does have some surprises including a Soldier who has frickin' lost it (which sure seems a bit over the top but I enjoyed it none the less), plus you never know who is going to bite it next! It's quite action packed, it has tons of crazy '70s outfits, hairstyles and scenery (heck it even has Shaft in it as a motorcyclist) so there is always something to gawk at. I remember thinking the ride at Universal Studios was pretty darned exciting and always wondering how the movie would pan out. Well this won't be a disaster film for everyone, and The Towering Inferno and The Poseidon Adventure are way more exciting but this one still ranks I think.

Availability:  On DVD

Monday, May 23, 2011

Priest (2011)

3 / 5  May '11 
Tagline:  The War is Eternal. His Mission is Just the Beginning.
Directed by:  Scott Charles Stewart
Written by:  Cory Goodman, Min-Woo Hyung
Actors include:  Paul Bettany, Cam Gigandet, Maggie Q
Genre:  Thriller, Horror, Action, Western
Length:  87 minutes
Banned:  Nope











Review:
Well, this was my first ever 3D movie in the theater, and unfortunately it didn't really utilize this tool very effectively but it did add a nice touch or two.  The particularly stellar part was the Gothic animation in the beginning sequences, it's too bad they didn't use more of this throughout the film.  What they did use were CGI vampires that resembled Marilyn Manson, ridiculously laughable script ("Kill 'Em All") and some of the most implausible action sequences (oh I'm talking about you stones thrown into the air that were used as steps) I think I've ever seen.  Conceptually it's decent enough, it's about a war that occurred between humanity and vampires and Priests were the saviors of humans.  They have since disbarred and been outcast in society and must work demeaning tasks.  The vampires were supposedly vanquished (note I said "supposedly") which leads us to our next problem.  A family are brutalized and a daughter Lucy held captive by vampires, of course the way this works is that a Priest is related to her.  He must leave his Priesthood in order to kick some butt and save Lucy with a little help from a fella called Hicks.  Anyhow it is filled with action...and if you like scenes were people glide around on bikes in the snow for long stretches...you will love this movie.  There were at least a few redeeming qualities to this, the visuals were striking and the plot was okay.  Maybe not exactly my cup-o-tea but not worth writing off entirely.

Availability:  Still in theaters

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Juggernaut (1974) aka Terror On The Britannic

3 / 5 Dec '09
Tagline: Only one man to save 1200 lives!
Directed by: Richard Lester
Written by: Alan Plater, Richard Alan Simmons
Actors include: Richard Harris, Omar Sharif, David Hemmings
Genre: Thriller, Action
Length: 109 minutes
Banned: Nope




Review:
Okay so perhaps I'm being a little harsh on this one, it does have a few exciting moments but for the most part it's repetition and drama. Sure it's got an all star cast featuring folks like Richard Harris, Omar Sharif, Anthony Hopkins and so many others, yes they all do the best they can. Our disaster story is about 7 bombs set to go off on a passenger ship filled with 1200 passengers if the crook doesn't receive a wad of cash. While this sounds like a rather exciting plot (doesn't it) watching someone dismantle seven bombs really slowly seven times is just tedious. The "drama" onboard really wasn't very exciting either so there is a whole lot of dry dialogue and filler when instead they should have made the film shorter. It never does feel like the group are in any danger but it does have some action and some effort has been made I think. It's not a total loss but definitely not one of the best disaster movies by any stretch.

Availability:  On DVD

Prime Cut (1972)

4 / 5 Jan '10
Tagline: N/A
Directed by: Michael Ritchie
Written by: Robert Dillon
Actors include: Lee Marvin, Sissy Spacek, Gene Hackman
Genre: Action, Crime, Thriller
Length: 88 minutes
Banned: Nope




Review:
This is one heck of an unusual crime flick filled with great actors and meat. Meat you say? Why yes, see in this film some evil Mobsters who run the racket on meat and girls! If anyone gets in their way will end up as sausage and well that's what happened to the Chicago sect of the Mom. They send Lee Marvin down to Kansas to investigate what's going on in this small town and let's just say he's pretty appauled. He picks up Poppy (Sissy Spacek) from a sexual slavery ring (they are kept in the hay with the animals of course) and gives her see-through dresses to wear! Once Marvin discovers what's going on and realizes that he too could be turned into meat he and Poppy end up on the run! There are some exciting chase scenes (and a great scene involving a thresher and a car) and some fun shoot outs too to keep things moving. It's got a very surreal feeling to the whole thing and the style sets it apart from so many other movies, I've never seen anything quite like this one. Recommended for those looking for something just a little different, thanks to Infofreak for this recommendation.
 
Availability:  On DVD

Monday, May 9, 2011

Speed (1994)

4 / 5
Tagline: Get ready for rush hour.
Directed by: Jan de Bont
Written by: Graham Yost
Actors include: Sandra Bullock, Keanu Reeves, Dennis Hopper
Genre: Action, Thriller
Length: 116 minutes
Banned: Nope




Review:
The bus that could not go under 50...it's beyond duh duh but that's probably what makes it so easy to watch. A mad bomber is ticked off and decides to wire a bus so that it will explode if anyone tries to get off or if they drop the speed. After something goes wrong with the bus driver passenger Sandra Bullock (who had her license revoked for speeding I believe) has to take the reigns. Bomb specialist Jack (Keanu Reeves) boards the bus to try and devise a solution but of course things are getting desperate. See they end up on a stretch of unfinished road, a passenger jumps even though they aren't allowed and several other exciting action sequences occur. This should be pretty much exactly what one would expect and not a penny more. Fun to watch, not exactly groundbreaking but worth a view for those who are bored, I still can't believe this has a sequel though...

Availability:  On DVD & Blu-Ray

The Game (1997)

4 / 5
Tagline: Players Wanted.
Directed by: David Fincher
Written by: John D. Brancato, Michael Ferris,
Actors include: Michael Douglas, Sean Penn, Debra Kara Unger
Genre: Thriller, Action, Adventure
Length: 128 minutes
Banned: Nope




Review:
For Nicholas' (Michael Douglas) 40th birthday his weirdo brother gives him a ticket for a game called CSR (see Nicholas is a bit of a recluse and his brother wanted to engage him in something). He goes to the company and soon after life becomes pretty ridiculously awful. See it's sorta like a conspiracy or some sort of nightmare that Nicholas can't wake up from. It's very much a psychological thriller, we really aren't handed the answers but we must piece this together as things get more and more twisted. It's actually rather fun to watch and to try to guess what's happening, it's not quite as tricky as some but it's rather well written and interestingly assembled. I guess my only advice is to watch it, but don't give up on it because of confusion...holding on will pay off big time so long as you are patient!

Availability:  On DVD

The Net (1995)

3.5 / 5

Tagline: Her driver's license. Her credit cards. Her bank accounts. Her identity. DELETED.
Directed by: Irwin Winkler
Written by: John D. Brancato, Michael Ferris
Actors include: Jeremy Northam, Sandra Bullock, Dennis Miller
Genre: Thriller, Action, Crime
Length: 114 minutes
Banned: Nope




Review:
A software engineer Angela Bennett (Sandra Bullock) who does everything on the computer so she doesn't have to leave the house winds up in a predicament after being sent a virus from a friend. Her friend was supposed to fly out and visit her but he died in a crash on the way. She decides to go on vacation to the beach but it's then her life turns into a nightmare when she meets a charming young suitor. Suddenly she's in a very dangerous situation and she learns her identity has been stolen...but who can vouch for her? Barely anyone knows her or has seen her...how can she get out of this one? It's a decent enough little no brainer thriller, it's maybe a little less effective in this day and age because computers have advanced a fair bit but identity theft is still something folks can relate to. Not great but still decent enough as far as time passers go.

Availability:  On DVD

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Fade To Black (1980)

4 / 5 Mar '10
Tagline: Meet Eric Binford, the ultimate movie buff. If you know someone like him... run!
Directed by: Vernon Zimmerman
Written by: Vernon Zimmerman
Actors include: Dennis Christopher, Tim Thomerson, Gwynne Gilford
Genre: Horror, Comedy, Action, Thriller, Drama
Length: 102 minutes
Banned: Nope




Review:
Now this was one heck of an original treat cram packed with various Movie memorabilia and trivia for just about any movie lover. Many of the quotes and characters were things that I know nothing of (not being a Noir fan for the most part) but much of it was entertaining. The story is about movie obsessed geek (kinda like a demented film geek version of Napoleon Dynamite) Eric Binford (brilliantly played by Dennis Christopher) who is a bit socially inept to to his hobbies. He works at a film company but isn't respected, his home life is a crappy too as he has been raised by his nasty abusive Aunt. Life starts looking up when he meets a gorgeous look-alike who actually seems to like him. Being as how she's flighty she forgets their date and stands Eric up which sends him over the edge. Soon he's emulating characters in films and painting his face and he starts believing he is the characters. The main one he becomes is from the film White Heat but he also turns into Bela Lugosi (which is why the face paint on the cover) in Dracula and many more. It really is spot the cultural reference throughout the entire film which is a great deal of fun. This will appeal to a very select few, but those who love nerds getting revenge in violent ways should absolutely love this and the comedy bits are quite funny too. This is something I'll definitely have to watch again to try and soak up even more of it, very well done especially for a rather unknown low key movie. Highly entertaining and definitely recommended, a real treat even though it's maybe technically not the best movie.

Availability:  On DVD

Sonny Boy (1989)

3.5 / 5 Mar '10
Tagline: N/A
Directed by: Robert Martin Carroll
Written by: Graeme Whifler, Peter Desberg
Actors include: David Carradine, Paul L. Smith, Brad Dourif
Genre: Action, Drama, Thriller, Exploitation, Comedy
Length: 97 minutes
Banned: Nope







Review:
This could be one of the weirdest movies I've ever seen. It's not particularly well shot, it feels very straight to video and with every minute it seems to get increasingly more bizarre. It's kinda like a mix of Bad Boy Bubby, Raising Arizona and Mad Max 2 only much cheaper and more mean spirited I suppose. The story is about a fat man named Slue who is sort of a mob syndicate for a backwards town (the whole thing is quite surreal in a way) and his lovely wife (?) Pearl (David Carradine in a dress with bad make-up...he would never pass). When they send their crime henchman the irritating Weasle (Brad Dourif) to do bad things he kills a couple and accidentally kidnaps their baby in their stolen car. The baby Pearl wants to keep as his/her own and they call him Sonny Boy. From there they abuse the heck out of the kid in every possible way (it's pretty nasty, they even cut out his tongue for his 6th birthday) and lock him away and feed him raw chickens and stuff. From there they decide he's a really good weapon so they start unleashing him to commit crimes for him. It sort of goes on from there in an insanely exploitative manner, but unfortunately it did feel like it went on for a little too long and it did try a little too hard to be weird. Still if you like films that make you not believe your own eyes this is a must see. Something tells me David Carradine would want to be remembered this way...

Availability:  Never been on DVD

Total Recall (1990)

4 / 5 Mar '10

Tagline: They Stole His Mind, Now He Wants It Back!
Directed by: Paul Verhoeven
Written by: Philip K. Dick, Ronald Shusett
Actors include: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rachel Ticotin, Sharon Stone
Genre: Thriller, Sci-Fi, Action, Adventure
Length: 113 minutes
Banned: Nope
Country: USA

Review:
This is one relatively exciting action packed futuristic tale that doesn't seem all that far off from actually happening. Okay well maybe that's an exaggeration, I can't picture some of these violent sequences actually happening but conceptually...we aren't far off. Arnold Schwarzenegger plays Douglas Quaid, a fellow who really wants to go to Mars but his wife Lori (Sharon Stone) isn't interested. Instead Douglas hears of a company called Recall which implants memories of trips to nearly anywhere and they let you be any sort of person you'd like for the experience. Douglas decides to give it a try and he selects secret agent with aliens and brunette lady friend (and I can't imagine why anyone would select Rachel Ticotin over Stone) and receives a vacation implant to Mars. We hear that something has gone wrong and that Douglas' memory has accidentally erased, we sort of meet with him and we aren't quite sure which state he's at and he's more confused than we are. All of the sudden people with guns are shooting at him and life is a giant adventure all to do with something that happened on Mars that he can't remember. It's pretty fun watching everything come together especially since it's a rather violent ride filled with adventure. Really I guess this should be recommended to most, the concept is interesting the effects are good and it's very easy to enjoy.

Availability:  On DVD & Blu-Ray

The Legend Of The 7 Golden Vampires (1974)

2.5 / 5 Mar '10
Tagline: Deadly Horrors! Dragon Thrills! The First Kung Fu Horror Spectacular!
Directed by: Roy Ward Baker
Written by: Don Houghting
Actors include: Peter Cushing, David Chiang, Julie Ege
Genre: Action, Horror
Length: 83 minutes
Banned: Nope




Review:
I really didn't care for this, it's Hammer's last vampire picture and it's my least favorite by far. It combines the world of kung fu in with Dracula and I'm afraid the two don't fit together. The film was basically plotless though the spirit of Dracula (made up to look like Christopher Lee's version of Dracula only much cheaper) goes into the spirit of a fighter warlord guy in order to look after 6 other vampires. One of the only good things about this is the fact that Peter Cushing appears as Van Helsing but it's simply not enough to make this interesting. Much of the film is sword fighting group scenes with too much going on at once, and since they didn't bother with character development it's hard to give a hoot. That and it seems that it just keeps repeating over and over again making this film feel ridiculously long even though it really wasn't. It's even more shocking to see that Roy Ward Baker was one of the directors, he is usually on point! Well I should mention that I don't much care for kung fu movies and maybe that is why I really thought this was a bore, but then again maybe this was just lazy?

Availability:  On DVD

Saturday, May 7, 2011

Escape From New York (1981)

4 / 5 Apr '10
Tagline: The world's greatest leader is a hostage in the most dangerous place on Earth. Now only the deadliest man alive can save him.
Directed by: John Carpenter
Written by: John Carpenter, Nick Castle
Actors include: Kurt Russell, Ernest Borgnine, Lee Van Cleef
Genre: Action, Science Fiction
Length: 99 minutes
Banned: Nope





Review:
This was a rather entertaining dystopic flick that takes place in the future: 1997. Well luckily for us 1997 looked nothing like this film, here they have New York City as a maximum security prison full of thugs. When Airforce One is taken over, the current president (the very British Donald Pleasance) escapes in his pod (just like the Simpsons of course) lands in New York City. One of the biggest thugs The Duke (Isaac Hayes) takes the President hostage and offers them a finger of his in order to get attention and have their demands met. Kurt Russell plays the eye patched hero Snake who is also kind of a bad guy but they make an offer for him to safely return the President. It has some exciting chase sequences and some really impressive shots of New York and some colorful characters and a cast of impressive actors too. This isn't my favorite from John Carpenter and I actually expected it to be a little more thrilling than it was. Still it was quite enjoyable and a fair bit of fun, definitely has classic moments and is quite iconic.

Availability:  On DVD & Blu-Ray

Bloody Mama (1970)

4 / 5 Apr '10
Tagline: Say it with bullets!
Directed by: Roger Corman
Written by: Don Peters, Robert Thom
Actors include: Shelley Winters, Pat Hingle, Robert De Niro
Genre: Drama, Crime, Action, Exploitation
Length: 90 minutes
Banned: Nope




Review:
Pretty enjoyably sleazy exploitation take on the whole Ma Baker and her good 'ole boys thing...only it's pretty inaccurate. I don't know much about the real story of the Bakers so the inconsistencies don't bother me in the slightest. Shelley Winters is very amusing as Ma Baker, the ringleader of evil doings and crime. She raises her boys to be very bad with warped ideas on what is good and bad and all of the rest but she's big on family and so are her boys. Hilariously Robert De Niro plays one of her sons, the heroin addicted paint sniffin' Baby Ruth chompin' boy and he's great...I just didn't expect to see him in a film like this. They rob banks as a family, kill people and more warped situations they get themselves into the meaner and more selfish Ma proves to be. It's actually very shocking and it goes a lot further than I would have expected. Heck the opening sequence is Ma as a young girl being raped by her Father (offscreen) but still...that's quite disturbing. This sort of follows from their needing to escape their home and leaving Pa Baker behind to the demise of the family. Very action packed and full of thrills and surprises, a lot more depraved than I was expecting but very fun in a way too. Corman does it again and it seems with each picture he pushes the envelope a bit further, I wonder what happened after this 'un?

Availability:  On DVD as part of the Roger Corman Collection

The Driver (1978)

4.5 / 5
Tagline: He'll get you away faster than anyone else on wheels.
Directed by: Walter Hill
Written by: Walter Hill
Actors include: Ryan O'Neal, Bruce Dern, Isabelle Adjani
Genre: Thriller, Action, Crime
Length: 91 minutes
Banned: Nope




Review:
Finally, a movie that is really exciting, full of cool '70s imagery, and not to mention some of the finest chase scenes and car maneuvers that I've ever seen. Hunky Ryan O'Neal plays "The Driver", a fellow who is the best getaway driver ever. He works for groups of bank robbers and the like for pay, he doesn't have friends and he lives in low places quietly so as to not get caught. He also comes off as being one of the coolest characters in film as he barely bats an eye at danger. Our opposition is the Police led by crusty detective Bruce Dern (who looks like a constipated Will Ferrell in this) who is hellbent on catching The Driver no matter what. Also for the fellas, Isabelle Adjani is in this, she assists The Driver on their scheme and of course is very elegant and lovely. When the Police confront a group of local robbers to hire The Driver for a job in order to trap him things really get heated. There is a little bit of chat in between many exciting chase scenes but it never drags. Sure it's not quite as awesome as The French Connection, but it's darned close! Oh and I should mention that I believe it's this film that influenced the video game Driver.

Availability:  On DVD