Reviews by coyoteblue

Scotland is completely quarantined after a rapacious virus starts mowing down the Scottish population. Thirty years later a small group of commandos returns to the walled off death zone to look for a cure...

This one's a little tricky. It's really a B movie with an A movie budget, but make no mistake it's definitely an exploitation movie no matter how polished the picture on the screen looks. All the actors were fine (given the material), the action was great and there was a ton of blood and gore, but the script is just shoddy. It's always good to see Bob Hoskins and hey! haven't seen you in a while, Alexander Siddig (Dr. Bashir from DS9). Rhona Mitra is a perfectly good addition to the ranks of women action stars, though she's only made one other action movie since Doomsday, Underworld: Rise of the Lycans (2009).

I don't mind picking out references/homages/lifts from other movies and also, it's not something that the movie gives you enough time to think about while your watching it, but afterwards, the more you think about it, the more you pick the plot to pieces. This is an example of the individual parts of the movie being greater than the sum of those parts. Not a good thing. Even so, its worth watching if you're expectations are set properly.

Unlike Milla Jovovich/Paul W.S. Anderson's Resident Evil trilogy, this animated movie is a continuation of the story line/mythology of the Resident Evil games. Leon S. Kennedy and Claire Redfield (no love for Ada Wong) are featured.

The film provides enough background information to get anyone that hasn't played the games up to speed in the first ten minutes or so of the film, supplying 'oh yea!' moments for anyone that has played the games. It's a computer animated movie and while it's slick enough, the human characters do suffer a bit from the 'uncanny valley' problem. There's a good amount of action and zombie/monster violence, but not much in the way of blood and gore. Not that some people don't suffer from some pretty ugly deaths.

Sometimes I got the feeling that I was playing a video game (or at least watching cut-scenes). There were some moments where I felt like I should have been punching buttons on a game controller. I enjoyed those feelings, but I can see where some people might have issues. If you like the Resident Evil games, survival horror games or zombie movies it's worth picking up.

After the burning of the Shaolin temple,two surviving Shaolin heroes kill the evil priest White Brow. After the Shaolin are released from prison by imperial decree, White Brow's 'brother', the head of the White Lotus clan, starts taking his terrible revenge on all the freed prisoners.

This movie is a sequel/remake of Executioners From Shaolin. The story is similar, but the tone is much lighter. All the fights are great, especially the Gordon Liu/Lo Lieh matches. These fights are what inspired the 'Five Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique' in Kill Bill. Kara Hui is not given enough to do, but she still gets a few opportunities to strut her stuff. If you like fighting movies you need to see it.

Police officer Dave (Terence Hill) is exposed to some funky radioactive red dust that gives him meta-human abilities, which he strives to hide from his partner Willy (Ernest Borgnine).

Amiable, goofy, fantasy Italian cop comedy staring Terrence Hill (Trinity, My Name is Nobody) and Ernest Borgnine (Marty, SpongeBob SquarePants). Hill's playing another goofball while Borgnine is his paternal older partner. This is a physical comedy with plenty of Stooge style slapstick. There's also a fair amount of stunt work including Hill/stuntman being trapped on top of a balloon that is pretty high up in the air. If your expectations are modest there's plenty of fun to be had.

The dvd is nothing special, but it is wide screen with a decent picture.

Police officer Dave (Terence Hill) is exposed to some funky radioactive red dust that gives him meta-human abilities, which he strives to hide from his partner Willy (Ernest Borgnine).

Amiable, goofy, fantasy Italian cop comedy staring Terrence Hill (Trinity, My Name is Nobody) and Ernest Borgnine (Marty, SpongeBob SquarePants). Hill's playing another goofball while Borgnine is his paternal older partner. This is a physical comedy with plenty of Stooge style slapstick. There's also a fair amount of stunt work including Hill/stuntman being trapped on top of a balloon that is pretty high up in the air. If your expectations are modest there's plenty of fun to be had.

The world really is like comic books and the only thing between us and larger than life mayhem is the Middleman.

Another great series gone too soon, thanks to short sighted tv executives. It joins the ranks of Pushing Daisies, Firefly, Brimstone and too many others to list as sadly missed cult classics.

The book/movie/tv/biographical references fly fast and furious. You have to keep on your toes while watching. It's fun. Pure escapism. No over-exposed over-wrought teen angst, no sitcom foolishness (plenty of silliness, though) and it wasn't another police procedural or hospital show. You want a good time, this is a good time. Vampire puppets, trout zombies, boy band galactic over-lords, what more could you ask for? And the cherry on top is that the season/series finale is a practically perfect episode of tv (yes, I would rank it in the same class as Hush). Totally worth adding to anyone's collection.

Mary Gibson (Kim Hunter) attends boarding school, but the money from home has dried up because her fey sister has gone missing. She travels to New York and tracks her down, uncovering a vat of vipers.

Another atmospheric feature from RKO produced by Val Lewton. His last for RKO. While there are horror elements (Satanists!) it's really more of a noir movie. A lot of people consider this a masterpiece, but it's not. It's got parts of a masterpiece, but studio interference prevented Lewton & Robson (the director) from pulling another classic out of Lewton's hat. What we're left with is a moody, dark, dark movie.

Mary Gibson (Kim Hunter) attends boarding school, but the money from home has dried up because her fey sister has gone missing. She travels to New York and tracks her down, uncovering a vat of vipers.

Another atmospheric feature from RKO produced by Val Lewton. His last for RKO. While there are horror elements (Satanists!) it's really more of a noir movie. A lot of people consider this a masterpiece, but it's not. It's got parts of a masterpiece, but studio interference prevented Lewton & Robson (the director) from pulling another classic out of Lewton's hat. What we're left with is a moody, dark, dark movie.

Thought it was mighty fine. Always fun to see aliens that look and act alien. And once again, the only real monsters are the home grown variety. It'll be fun to see how widely the Academy ignores it come nomination time, except for one or two token technical nominations. Oh, that's right, there'll be room this year for it in Best Picture, etc...that way everyone can feel good that they included it in the nomination when they vote for something most people haven't seen and probably never will for the win.

As for the 'open' ending...well, a sequel wouldn't necessarily be the end of the world. Or would it?

It's not a martial arts movie. It's a mystery/suspense movie with martial arts. If all you're looking for is action, you're going to be disappointed. And it's a Venom's movie. These guys weren't martial artists, they were gymnasts. None of the Venom movies has the fights you'd find in a movie with Gordon Liu or Lau Kar Wing.

As for it's reputation, maybe it has gotten overblown, but on the other hand, I think it was the next martial arts movie, after KING BOXER and ENTER THE DRAGON, to break out big time in the States. So when you look at its reputation you have to factor in its historical significance and the patina of nostalgia that's covered it. After all most people haven't seen anything but badly English dubbed bootlegs for decades, if they've seen it at all. Not to mention have the knowledge to place it in context with it's contemporaneous Shaw productions, much less the non-Shaw productions.

Eh, it's worth watching so you can see what all the fuss is about and then decide whether it's worthy of it.