Drive (product link) Action/Adventure / Martial Arts Great action. Horrible acting. Cliche plot. On the front cover of this DVD, they dare to compare this to Rush Hour. One small problem: Mark Dacascos is no Jackie Chan and Kadeem Hardison is certainly no Chris Tucker. That said, this is probably the best action movie nobody has ever heard of. The action in itself is absolutely fantastic.
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It could have been much better with a better script and an MUCH bigger budget. It's just me, but I find Kadeem Hardison less irritating than Chris Tucker.
Yamakasi (product link) Crime / Drama A fun little film. I give it three and a half stars because it has excellent production values, a fantastic soundtack, a surprisingly decent story, great action, and good acting. The basic story: a group of agile young men with almost supernatural athletic abilities--The Yamakasi-- is indirectly responsible for the near death of a young boy. This child and his friend were trying to imitate the Yamakasi who are known for scaling buildings in their spare time. The boy needs a heart transplant, but his family can't afford it. The Yamakasi, feeling responsible for the accident decide to steal from the rich to help the boy. This is a lighthearted movie that entertains throughout. Recommended, especially if you liked Besson's other films such as Taxi and Wasabi.
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I didn't enjoy this movie or the sequel, I thought it was too cheesy, & missing a lot of great roof top "parkour" action sequences. The two movies had annoying characters. I did enjoy the "Taxi" franchise & "Wasabi" was all right too.
If you're a fan of the GIRLS WITH GUNS genre, this is a must see. It's not as good as YES MADAM, ROYAL WARRIORS or IN THE LINE OF DUTY 3, but it is an improvement on IN THE LINE OF DUTY 5: MIDDLE MAN. There's plenty of action from Cynthia Khan and Simon Yam gives a good performance.
The story goes like this: Simon Yam is the captain of a pirate ship. They kill merchant seamen and rob them. His brother is one of his crew and has reservations about what they are doing. When they "rescue" a bunch of seamen, the brother notices that his good friend is among the seamen they rescue. Simon and his gang massacres the group of stranded seamen, but his brother hides his friend below decks. Upon entry into Hong Kong customs finds the stowaway who then escapes.
Simon and his gang can't leave HK until the stowaway is found: dead or alive. So there begins the manhunt. HK police try to find the stowaway, while Simon and his gang try to find and kill him because they are afraid that he will tell police the atrocities that they commit at sea. Meanwhile, Simon's brother is trying to help his friend escape both Simon and the HK police. By the time the story ends, most of the principle characters are dead.
Out of all the "IN THE LINE OF DUTY" movies, this one is probably the most gritty and violent. As with the other films in the series, SEA WOLVES seems rather dated. While very successful, the film was low budget, and it shows. There are also a series of annoying flashback shots. Still there is plenty of good action and the story, while formalistic, is pretty good.
D-Tox (product link) Action/Adventure / Drama I don't understand why this one wasn't released in the USA. It's really not that bad. It had some genuine suspense and was definitely a larger-budget film, not a direct-to-video effort. Sure, the story is a cliche and has holes in it. Still, I felt the acting wasn't pretty good and I was entertained throughout. This was a lot better than many blockbuster mainstream movies that opened recently including The Rock's XXX. If you're a Sylvester Stallone fan this is definitely a must see. I'm not really a Stallone fan and I still enjoyed it.
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The premise is not that bad at all, but the editing of the US version is poor and confusing for any viewer.
Ichi The Killer (product link) Crime / Action/Adventure I have a weak stomach for this sort of movie, but I found it mildly entertaining if only for all the wacked out stunts. The violence is so unreal most of it isn't even that gross. I found myself waiting and anticipating the next weird act of violence. The story is pretty basic, but keeping up with all the shifts of language: Japanese, Cantonese, English, and I think Korean also, was troublesome. This seems to be the new trend in Asian films. They include a hodgepodge of different languages in order to garner appeal in multiple international markets. I thought the screenplay and soundeffects were nicely integrated and professionally done. That said, I won't be watching this one again unless I'm showing it to a friend.
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I liked this much more than you did, but your comments seem accurate. The action was so over-the-top that it wasn't really disturbing.
Three Kingdoms: Resurrection Of The Dragon (product link) Drama / Historical Period epic similar to "The Warlords". I disagree with some of the other comments stating the acting is "flat". The acting and action was good. The editing and ending could have been a bit better. If you like this type of movie, you'll enjoy it.
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This is an appropriate rating - not a great film, but it has many charms.
Chocolate [2008] (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure I don't know how some people can give this movie less than stellar ratings. The action is simply unbelievable. The movie pays homage to some other great films including "Ong-Bak". These scenes are cleverly done and are NOT rip-offs. The story, I thought, was far better than "Ong-Bak". The action was on par, and you have to keep in mind that it is a 90-pound. woman doing these things, not Tony Jaa. The acting and production values are unbelievable. I watched "The Machine Girl" right after this, and it was like night and day in terms of quality of production. Oh, and the CGI isn't poorly done. I think the only true CGI scene was the flies in the meatpacking plant. Very realistic IMO.
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Excellent action and a very serviceable story. I want to see more from this actress.
The Machine Girl (product link) Action/Adventure / Girls With Guns Watch it for shock value and inventiveness only. Story is lame. Production values poor. Acting, sub-par.
A seriously underappreciated movie. Rare is it that a modern day movie can have a decent plot, incredible action, and decent acting, all the while remaining believable and incredibly entertaining. This is that movie.
There's no BS drama or romance subplot. In fact, when the girl, Nika (the incredibly hot Olga Kurylenko), tries to make a move on the main man (Timothy Olyphant), he simply sedates her.
The plot is simple: Agent 47 is a hitman who is double-crossed. In the process of trying to find out who set him up, he meets Nika, the mistress of his prime suspect. All the while he must dodge an equally determined Interpol agent who rightly suspects he is involved in dozens of assassinations worldwide.
What makes this movie amazing is that it is based on the video game of the same name. Supposedly Vin Diesel produced the film, and thankfully opted out of starring in it. Considering this movie was probably made on a tight budget, with a no-name actor, a no-name actress, and a no-name director, it is a remarkable achievement that eclipses 90% of movies in the genre. If you're in the market for a no BS action thriller, look no further. The ending is priceless also. As a special bonus, Olga Kurylenko gets naked. :-) Look for her in the Bond film, "Quantum Of Solace".
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Great review for an often overlooked yet excellent movie.
Yo Yo Girl Cop (product link) Action/Adventure / Crime This movie can be described in three words: Uninspiring, Uninvolving, and Boring. It's not interesting, it's not entertaining, the special effects are bad, the acting is bad, and the story is stupid. I highly do NOT recommend it.
Survive Style 5+ [Normal Edition] (product link) Comedy / Mystery An awesomely bizarre film that is strangely unreleased in the USA. It's really too bad this film remains nearly impossible to find on DVD, because this is truly one of the gems of recent Japanese Cinema. A visual feast for the eyes, this film was directed by someone who came from the advertising world (directed commercials). Each frame is a picture perfect work of art with bright, contrasting colors and amazing set detail.
The plot is too crazy to even attempt to describe, so I won't even try. This is a dark comedy, with some incredibly funny parts including a hilarious cameo by Vinnie Jones. Production values on this movie are amazing.
If you have a sense of humor, and want to see a movie that could have only been made in Japan, check this one out (if you can find it, unfortunately).
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