In spite of my appreciation for actor Kevin Bacon, I never actually managed to see “Quicksilver.” Even when it was on television, I always actively made a point of not watching it. It just never interested me. Thankfully now with the advent of Kevin Bacon’s 1986 thriller now on Blu-Ray, I’m happy to discover that “Quicksilver” is an entertaining and somewhat underrated action thriller where Bacon thrives once again.
Tag Archives: Adventure
Mortal Kombat (1995)
After cribbing from the Cronenberg filmmaking handbook in “Event Horizon,” director Paul WS Anderson took the reins of the popular fighting game “Mortal Kombat.” A precursor to his handling of another popular genre game “Resident Evil,” director Anderson handles the adaptation of “Mortal Kombat” much in the way studios enjoy it. He takes a controversial, volatile, and violent video game, and transforms it in to a PG-13 action romp for teenage boys. With “Mortal Kombat” director Anderson almost gets it right. Close but no cigar.
Return of the Jedi (1983)
Street Fighter (1994)
1994’s “Street Fighter” represents the mentality of pretty much every studio head. Just throw a bunch of crap on screen and hope the audience doesn’t notice the movie sucks. In this instance “Street Fighter” throws a lot of the characters from the Street Fighter games on-screen and hopes no one notices that the movie is really damn awful. We noticed. Trust me. We noticed. Even at eleven years old I couldn’t understand why this was so bad while the games were so incredible.
Sins of the Dragon (2012)
It’s not often the heart and enthusiasm for a genre can carry over in to an indie production. “Sins of the Dragon” is obviously made by people who have a love for the martial arts and action genre, and thankfully they turn that love in to an entertaining and very creative short fantasy thriller about redemption, and traveling warriors.
G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013)
In spite of the heavy criticism it received, I really enjoyed “The Rise of Cobra” as a silly action movie fantasy that tried to have fun with its source material. The twenty six year old me in 2009 really enjoyed the goofy fun that was the first film, but the ten year old me loved every single moment of the cinematic adaptation of the famed toy line. “Retaliation” is still a very flawed film (stop letting RZA act in movies!), but it’s superior to the first installment in every way.
Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (Unrated Version) (2013)
“Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters” is the best “Evil Dead” sequel we never got. It’s a fast paced horror action hybrid with witches that are monstrous, powerful, and absolutely disgusting. To offset their frightful appearance, Hansel and Gretel are there to stomp on their heads and provide merciless deaths while providing biting bon mots. “Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters” channels Sam Raimi in many ways; I almost expected Ash to jump out from the woods at some point yelling “Yo, She-bitch!”