Another day, another dead partner. By now Dirty Harry Callahan has learned that anyone and everyone who bothers to get remotely close to him will eventually turn up dead. And their deaths will be pretty painful. Harry is not a man concerned with self-pity and remorse as he spends most of the movie concerned with trying to stop an evil environmental terrorist organization rather than sulking about his latest partner who is brutally stabbed during a botched arrest of the vicious hippy terrorists. The villains in this piece aren’t as menacing as Scorpio of the vigilante cops in the first two films, and their presences are mainly forgettable for the most part. The real draw is watching Harry trying to find a lead in to the organization’s secret base. When they kidnap the mayor of the city and hold him for ransom, Harry finds he must step up his investigation.
Tag Archives: Crime
Predator 2 (1990)
Bafflingly, the sequel to the classic action science fiction film opts out of following our man Dutch in his further adventures against this alien hunter menace and chooses instead to focus on a brand new series of characters. And rather than continue its trek in to the jungles of Central America, it zeroes in on the city. The inner city. The crime ridden inner city. The crime ridden gang infested inner city. The concrete jungle if you will. If you don’t get the symbolism, don’t worry, “Predator 2” clubs you over the head with the clunky message that this is a new kind of jungle. A concrete jungle. “Predator 2” is sadly a loud, ugly, and irritating film that doesn’t do much to set itself apart from other films of its ilk.
The Raid: Redemption (2012)
I said goddamn. If action movie buffs were concerned that the action genre was dying on its bed, then director Gareth Evans just stabbed it in the heart with adrenaline and revived it for a new audience. “The Raid Redemption” courtesy of Indonesia is one of the most frantic and ballistic action films I’ve ever seen, and director Gareth Evans delivers an action movie buffet of kicks, punches, and gashes that will leave audiences pumping their fists anxiously from beginning to end.
Judgment Night (1993)
I don’t quite remember if in 1993, “Judgment Night” was a hit at the box office. If not, it surely deserved to be. Watching this movie is like a show, and it presents audiences with its ups and downs of cinematic action that you’ll remember for a while. Emilio Estevez is an unlikely hero, Denis Leary is a surprisingly horrifying villain, and Cuba Gooding Jr. with his constant gaping jaw, shivering flared nostrils, and quivering dialogue delivers a performance that’s so over the top it’s as if the director has a gun trained on him throughout the entire production.
Celebrating the King of Cool: Steve McQueen
“I think if I wasn’t acting, I’d be a street hood.”
Everyone has their Steve McQueen. It’s a prevailing theme throughout the world of movie fandom, be you a man or woman, that everyone has their action icon upon which they find comfort in. It’s a common fact that there’s someone for every movie fan, and it gets weird on many occasions (Van Damne, Vin Diesel, Ben Affleck, Casper Van Dien).
My uncle loves Clint Eastwood, my brother loves Jet Li, and my dad loves Sonny Chiba. Oddly enough, everyone has their story upon which they remember first being obsessed or intrigued by said action star.
For me, there’s Steve McQueen, and I’m not overstepping my bounds in declaring that there’s never been anyone cooler than Steve McQueen. Hey, Eastwood is great, Bronson is nice, and I’m sure Chiba is incredible, and sure, you can debate that Eastwood and Bronson were better actors, and even more important to the film world, but there’s never been anyone cooler.
It’s just fact. Case closed. And you’d better not tell me otherwise.
Cherry Bomb (2011) [Blu-Ray]
If there’s one chief complaint I have for “Cherry Bomb” is that the performances from the entire cast leave much to be desired. Every single cast member can never seem to decide if they want to play this material over the top like a grindhouse film or with dramatic intensity. The most jarring caveat is from star Julin who can also never seem to decide if she wants to play Cherry Bomb as a ditzy psychopath, or a dignified warrior woman. Sometimes Cherry can barely shoot a sniper rifle, and then other times she’s engaging in hand to hand combat with a master assassin and setting off clever booby traps.
The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
Though it’s true that the Joker is nowhere to be found in “The Dark Knight Rises,” this film is less about the character and much more about the taint he’s left on Gotham city as a whole. In the end of “The Dark Knight” the Joker won, even when he wasn’t able to prove that humanity is deep down a rotten vile stain on civilization. “The Dark Knight Rises” examines the fall out of the Joker’s reign of terror, and how it ultimately affects any attempts by the Dark Knight to thwart the new terrorist threat by the name of Bane. Eight years later Alfred is a crusty man servant, Commissioner Gordon is a grief stricken officer dealing with a painful divorce, and Bruce Wayne is a recluse who spends his days locked inside the mansion. When we meet Bruce again he’s aided by a walking stick and can barely find the strength to chase after Selina Kyle who makes use of his priceless jewels in one instance.