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Post by Jesse on Dec 5, 2017 1:44:24 GMT -5
Primal Rage (1988) Investigating animal experimentation leads a college journalist to accidentally unleash a rage virus that quickly spreads causing its victims to act out violently. Initially I was kind of disappointed with this but the second half is a little better. It's very '80s-centric, some of the acting isn't great and it takes a while to pick up. The depiction of the sick is pretty disturbing though and there are plenty of gory kills. The climax features a Halloween costume party full of interesting visuals and the ending has some pretty tense moments.
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Post by Jesse on Dec 6, 2017 0:20:45 GMT -5
The Mark of Zorro (1940) It doesn't get much better than Tyrone Power playing Zorro with Basil Rathbone cast as the villain. In fact I think this is arguably the best version of Zorro ever on film. The action in this is exciting throughout from the vigilante style holdups and chase scenes to the swashbuckling. The story itself is really interesting, it's well acted and the ending is absolutely epic. I really can't recommend this one enough.
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Post by Jesse on Dec 6, 2017 0:31:47 GMT -5
Maniac Cop (1988) I've seen parts of the sequel on cable before but never sat through the original which I've been meaning to check out for awhile now. I thought this was a smart use of social commentary for the slasher genre that's still relevant today. It's well paced, the casting is decent and right away there are some brutal kills. There's also a brief Sam Raimi cameo! A killing spree perpetrated by a mysterious uniformed police officer puts the city into panic. Bruce Campbell plays a cop who is arrested for the murders after the death of his wife. When the real killer breaks into police headquarters Cambell's character must escape and prove his innocence. I think the use of a disgraced cop as the serial killer and the investigation into his motives was interesting. The climax is action packed and the ending left me wanting more.
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Post by codystarbuck on Dec 6, 2017 0:40:42 GMT -5
The Mark of Zorro (1940) It doesn't get much better than Tyrone Power playing Zorro with Basil Rathbone cast as the villain. In fact I think this is arguably the best version of Zorro ever on film. The action in this is exciting throughout from the vigilante style holdups and chase scenes to the swashbuckling. The story itself is really interesting, it's well acted and the ending is absolutely epic. I really can't recommend this one enough. It's one of my favorites; but, the Alain Delon version has a lot to offer, too. For one thing, it's less studio bound and has a sense of fun, with a pretty rousing climax, not to mention some pretty exciting and entertaining battles with the government troops. However, it does have some uneven moments early in the film. An interesting one to watch, for comparison, is the 1974 tv movie version, with Frank Langella and Ricardo Montalban. It's pretty much a shot for shot remake, using the same script and music, though on a tv movie budget. It's still pretty lively though and was my intro to Zorro, though I had previously seen Mask of the Avenger (with John Derrick), which is pretty much a Zorro film in drag (the hero is supposed to be the Count of Monte Cristo; but, it's pretty much the Zorro template, instead). Langella was a pretty good romantic hero (with Ann Archer as love interest) and Montalban oozes evil, much as Rathbone did. Ty and Basil were much better swordsmen, though. Rathbone was said to be the best fencer in Hollywood, which makes me wonder why no one has ever done an adventure story (prose, comic or celluloid) with Rathbone doing some actual swashbuckling. That would be pretty cool, like Paul Malmont's The Chinatown Death Cloud Peril, where pulp writers Walter Gibson (Shadow) Lester Dent (Doc Savage) and L Ron Hubbard (lying con-artist) are swept up in a pulp mystery.
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Post by brutalis on Dec 6, 2017 8:18:52 GMT -5
Monday night on Grit TV watched Fred MacMurray in the 1959 western: Face of a Fugitive. Not your typical western of the time as the only real "Action" is at the beginning when MacMurray escapes from the Deputy Marshall he is handcuffed to and at the end when MacMurray faces down a rancher and his gang. The rest of the movie is plot filled and full of characterization for the leads. Even has a young James Coburn in a small part. Very interesting take on showing how people are sometimes not always what they seem and can also be influenced by the circumstances and actions at the time. Recommended viewing and not once did I feel like MacMurray was miscast. For those who only see him as middle aged dad with 3 sons or a goofy inventor of Flubber watch this and see why good old Fred is an underrated actor.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 6, 2017 9:42:41 GMT -5
Jesse & codystarbuck ... I love the Alain Delon version very much and that movie made back in 1974 and the 1940 version are in the top 5 Zorro films of all times.
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Post by Prince Hal on Dec 6, 2017 11:16:46 GMT -5
codystarbuck and Jesse , don't know if you've ever had occasion to see any of the old Zorro serials, but for out-and-out action and great stunt work, please give Zorro's Fighting Legion (1939) a try. A couple of fine swordfights, bullwhip tricks, a classic stagecoach stunt (thanks to Yakima Canutt) that conjures memories of both the 1939 Stagecoach and Raiders, falling bridges, explosions, secret passages, the whole megillah.
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Post by codystarbuck on Dec 6, 2017 11:45:52 GMT -5
codystarbuck and Jesse , don't know if you've ever had occasion to see any of the old Zorro serials, but for out-and-out action and great stunt work, please give Zorro's Fighting Legion (1939) a try. A couple of fine swordfights, bullwhip tricks, a classic stagecoach stunt (thanks to Yakima Canutt) that conjures memories of both the 1939 Stagecoach and Raiders, falling bridges, explosions, secret passages, the whole megillah. I have Zorro's Fighting Legion; awesome serial, with some of Republic's best stuntwork (thanks to Canutt). I skipped the other "cowboy" Zorros, though. In my VHS days, I had the Douglas Fairbanks Mark of Zorro, the Tyrone Power version, the 1974 tv movie, the Disney Sign of Zorro compilation film, the early talkie The Gay Caballero, the Alain Delon movie, Zorro the Gay Blade, the Duncan Regehr series pilot film and, as soon as it was released, The Legend of Zorro. I also had several episodes of the Filmation New Adventures of Zorro. Bit of a fan, actually. I haven't obtained dvds of all, though. I have the Power, Delon and Langella, the Banderas movies, the Filmation cartoons and the first volume of the Regehr series. Lot of buckling of swashes in my household (ceiling's too low to swing from the chandelier, though). I have the major Flynn and Rathbones, Powers entries (Black Swan and Zorro), the Sabatini-based films, the Prisoner of Zenda films (except the Peter Sellers one), the various Counts of Monte Cristo (and offspring), a few Corsican brothers, quite a bit of piracy (not those Disney yawns), multiple Musketeers and a few Pimpernels. I even have Danny Kay swinging (rather shakily) a sword about. Heck, I even have this one... Not quite Burt Lancaster and The Crimson Pirate; but, pretty darn entertaining. Peter Boyle could have played the villain in the old days and Bridges is delightfully stupid.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 6, 2017 17:37:55 GMT -5
codystarbuck, I loved both Alain Delon and Tyrone Powers for different reasons and enjoyed them very much. I liked the music, the atmosphere, and the general feels of Delon's Zorro for all it's worth. The Powers version is stylish, romantic, and most all has the star power that creates a great masterpiece for all major motion picture back then. The Delon version has Stanley Baker playing the corrupt Colonel Huerta and blanked with a great cast of Ottavia Piccolo, Enzo Cerusico, and Moustache played a character of Sergeant Garcia is outstanding but seems that Basil Rathbone did exceptional job as Captain Esteban Pasquale. I just can't say that one is better than the other. But, they are both outstanding films and the action is better in the Alain Delon is better. Honestly, I have a hard time deciding which film is better!
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Post by codystarbuck on Dec 6, 2017 19:32:02 GMT -5
codystarbuck , I loved both Alain Delon and Tyrone Powers for different reasons and enjoyed them very much. I liked the music, the atmosphere, and the general feels of Delon's Zorro for all it's worth. The Powers version is stylish, romantic, and most all has the star power that creates a great masterpiece for all major motion picture back then. The Delon version has Stanley Baker playing the corrupt Colonel Huerta and blanked with a great cast of Ottavia Piccolo, Enzo Cerusico, and Moustache played a character of Sergeant Garcia is outstanding but seems that Basil Rathbone did exceptional job as Captain Esteban Pasquale. I just can't say that one is better than the other. But, they are both outstanding films and the action is better in the Alain Delon is better. Honestly, I have a hard time deciding which film is better! Delon did his version as a gift for his son, who was a fan of the character and he set out to have fun with it. I think that is what appeals most to me. He really plays up the "fox" part of it; outsmarting the villain. Power is set more in the mold of the Johnston McCulley original story, which is rather violent, when you read it. Not horribly so; but, it does come across more vicious than the films tended to be (certainly more than the Disney series). The Disney and Family Channel (w/Duncan Regehr) series were closer to the Delon film, in it being light entertainment. The Power one is more serious, an avenger and liberator of the people. It's a serious film, with serious motivations. Definitely more geared to adults. The Delon film appeals to the kid in me, the Power version to the adult.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 6, 2017 23:36:20 GMT -5
codystarbuck , I loved both Alain Delon and Tyrone Powers for different reasons and enjoyed them very much. I liked the music, the atmosphere, and the general feels of Delon's Zorro for all it's worth. The Powers version is stylish, romantic, and most all has the star power that creates a great masterpiece for all major motion picture back then. The Delon version has Stanley Baker playing the corrupt Colonel Huerta and blanked with a great cast of Ottavia Piccolo, Enzo Cerusico, and Moustache played a character of Sergeant Garcia is outstanding but seems that Basil Rathbone did exceptional job as Captain Esteban Pasquale. I just can't say that one is better than the other. But, they are both outstanding films and the action is better in the Alain Delon is better. Honestly, I have a hard time deciding which film is better! Delon did his version as a gift for his son, who was a fan of the character and he set out to have fun with it. I think that is what appeals most to me. He really plays up the "fox" part of it; outsmarting the villain. Power is set more in the mold of the Johnston McCulley original story, which is rather violent, when you read it. Not horribly so; but, it does come across more vicious than the films tended to be (certainly more than the Disney series). The Disney and Family Channel (w/Duncan Regehr) series were closer to the Delon film, in it being light entertainment. The Power one is more serious, an avenger and liberator of the people. It's a serious film, with serious motivations. Definitely more geared to adults. The Delon film appeals to the kid in me, the Power version to the adult. Good Reasoning and I understand ... thanks for this!
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Post by berkley on Dec 7, 2017 1:14:45 GMT -5
I think the best old-style Hollywood swashbuckling sword-fight I've ever seen was the one near the end of Scaramouche. Stewart Granger and Mel Ferrer were the antagonists, though I have no idea how much was done by them and how much by stuntmen stand-ins.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 7, 2017 1:15:46 GMT -5
On, December 31st ... TCM will be showing a marathon of the THIN MAN Series starring William Powell and Myrna Loy. I just can't wait for it.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 7, 2017 1:25:46 GMT -5
I think the best old-style Hollywood swashbuckling sword-fight I've ever seen was the one near the end of Scaramouche. Stewart Granger and Mel Ferrer were the antagonists, though I have no idea how much was done by them and how much by stuntmen stand-ins. I think that this article would answer your question.
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Post by Jesse on Dec 9, 2017 1:27:19 GMT -5
Street Trash (1987) All the charm of a Troma movie this low budget b-movie splatter-fest makes some interesting commentary on poverty and the homeless while delivering some absolutely brutal death scenes with a utterly twisted sense of humor. The gross practical special effects makeups mostly hold up really well and a couple of them are actually pretty inventive for the time. The color palette they use for the gore really does make for some impressive visuals. There's way too much craziness in this film to even describe and often it will switch back and forth from very disturbing scares to ridiculous comedic segments. When a bodega owner finds a dusty crate of bottles hidden behind a wall he sells them cheap to the local vagrants. Unfortunately for them when they drink it they violently dissolve from the corrosive liquid. Those deaths are linked to a homeless veteran suffering PTSD hallucinations who brutally murders a passing motorist and generally terrorizes the junkyard homeless population. The cop investigating clashes with a hitman and mob boss whose girlfriend was left for dead in the junkyard but ends up getting killed himself. The main characters are two homeless brothers and a woman who works at the junkyard and befriends them. The film climaxes when they are confronted by the psychotic veteran. The end credits sequence is hilarious and actually made me want to find a copy of the soundtrack.
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