Tag Archives: J

Jungleground (1995)

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I really enjoy Roddy Piper as an action star. The man had screen presence, charisma, an could turn any clunky role in to a bonafide winner. The 1995 cheapie “Jungle Ground” is a two pronged vehicle for Piper, acting as his own custom tailored “Escape from New York” and “Die Hard.” It’s Piper as an average cop stuck behind enemy lines in a lawless gang warzone who has to fight his way out and save his wife. He even gets to shoot down a criminal declaring “Hi Ho, Silver.” Too bad “Yippee Ki Yay, Motherfucker” was taken.

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Jedi Junkies (2010)

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I’m surprised that a documentary titled “Jedi Junkies” about many fans that have a passion for “Star Wars” really seems to hold up its nose at the fandom. There are moments when the documentary wants to idolize the franchise that George Lucas molded, and then veers in to segments where we’re forced to explore the pitfalls of the fandom. There are even moments that seem to revel in exploring how much of a drag being a “Star Wars” fan can be, and how it’s consumed the lives of the people that follow the fandom so devoutly.

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Juan of the Dead (2011)

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“Juan of the Dead” is a silly and occasionally creepy zombie movie, but one that also dares to have a brain and display some very volatile commentary about the state of Cuba, and the inherent poverty that runs rampant. Though Juan lives in poverty and is mostly considered a loser by most in his neighborhood, he’s managed to carve out a comfortable existence for himself, and is something of a saving grace for neighbors. After Juan and his friend Lazaro come across a rotted corpse while fishing that attempts to bite them, they kill it and then decide never to talk about it again. What’s funny is that most of the situations may seem like a warning sign to most, but director Brugués comments on the state of Cuba through it.

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Jason Lives: Friday the 13th Part VI (1986)

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jasonlivesOddly enough out of the entire series in “Friday the 13th,” Part Six entitled “Jason Lives” is easily my favorite. It’s flawed, the production quality kind of sucks, and there are plot holes, but damn it, it’s fun! You have to love how the deputy drops a bunch of cartons of food without food in them. And Jason being re-animated like Frankenstein is on par with Freddy Krueger being re-animated by the urine of a stray dog. It’s just fun and creepy Jason Voorhees doing what he does best. And he even slays a credit card handling yuppy, to boot. Take that, mid-eighties America!

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Jack the Giant Slayer (Blu-ray/DVD + UltraViolet Digital Copy) (2013)

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I’m always of the opinion that there really isn’t anything new that we can do with classic fairytales, anymore. We can twist them, and reboot them, but in the end they’re really not going to feel fresh or inventive. It’s like that episode of “The Simpsons” where Marge couldn’t afford a new dress for her country club meetings, so she just kept re-designing the same dress over and over. “Jack the Giant Slayer” is exactly like that. Sure, it posits the idea that we’re being given a new tale, but in reality it’s just another take on Jack and the Beanstalk. But this ain’t yo daddy’s Jack and the Beanstalk! No sir! This is the true story of Jack and the Giants before the actual tale was invented.

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Dredd (2012)

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judge-dredd-2012What’s sad about director Peter Travis and writer Alex Garland’s “Dredd” is that it’s the comic book movie of the character Judge Dredd, that fans probably deserve. And they may not get a sequel at all, since its release in 2012 did little to stir the franchise potential of it all. The ingredients are all here for “Dredd” to kick off a wonderful series. There are a people behind the movie who take the material seriously, there’s zero camp, star Karl Urban plays Judge Dredd as an anti-hero and not like a clown, there’s no comic relief, and Judge Dredd never once takes his helmet off during the movie. To compensate for his lack of face time, Urban scowls and emotes more zealously than his prior roles for Dredd, and it pays off without an inch of over the top dialogue delivery to be found.

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Judge Dredd (1995)

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judgedreddBefore the comic book movie revival of the twenty first century, the nineties didn’t have that many notable comic book movies to brag about. There was the awful “Tank Girl,” and the even worse “Barb Wire.” There was “Spawn,” and “Generation X,” and “Nick Fury: Agent of SHIELD,” “STEEL,” and “Batman and Robin.” And like those aforementioned titles, Hollywood adapted these titles completely missing why readers actually flocked to them in the first place. Never content with laying waste to more underground comic books, Hollywood eventually got its hands on Judge Dredd and turned it in to a Hollywood schlock fest that was so desperate for an audience it cast Rob Schneider in a major role.

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