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Die Hard (1988, John McTiernan)
Talking about Die Hard is complicated for lots of reasons. Besides Aliens, I think it’s the best popular action film ever made and, given when it came out, it’s very familiar. It shouldn’t be full of...
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Highlander (1986, Russell Mulcahy)
Almost nothing in Highlander works. There’s the maniac driving scene at the end, that one works pretty well–with the exception of the unrelated car crashes cut in. In that scene, Clancy Brown really...
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X-Men (2000, Bryan Singer)
My wife wanted me to mention the only reason we watched X-Men was because she wanted to see Hugh Jackman with his shirt off… I watched it to insure she didn’t have a cardiac arrest. Back in the old...
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Lethal Weapon (1987, Richard Donner)
One of the more impressive things about Lethal Weapon is Danny Glover convincingly playing a fifty year-old at, approximately, the age of forty. It’s never a problem in a film rife with problems....
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Lethal Weapon 2 (1989, Richard Donner)
Lethal Weapon 2 opens with the Looney Tunes music. It’s appropriate. I don’t think any other film series has so successfully adapted the sitcom to the big screen. The whole point of Lethal Weapon 2 is...
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Last Action Hero (1993, John McTiernan)
Though pre-Internet, one can still find all sorts of trivia about why Last Action Hero supposedly failed. Apparently the studio rushed the release, not allowing for editing or proper post-production....
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Open Range (2003, Kevin Costner)
Because I’m a cynic, I have to point out the following–in order to revive the Western, that most American of genres (sort of), Costner had to film Open Range in Canada. It’s hard to think of a more...
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Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991, Kevin Reynolds), the extended version
It’s sort of amazing how little personality Kevin Reynolds brings to Robin Hood. I suppose his direction is adequate, but his shots are absent any creativity. Of course, maybe the shots were very...
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Adventures in Babysitting (1987, Chris Columbus)
If it weren’t for the acting, Adventures in Babysitting would probably be more interesting as a cultural document than anything else. The way the film treats race is probably worth a couple sociology...
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Die Hard 2 (1990, Renny Harlin)
Director Renny Harlin often takes an interesting approach to conversations in Die Hard 2. He’ll have a character look off screen and interact with what they see, without ever establishing what they’re...
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Between the Lines (1977, Joan Micklin Silver)
There are some good scenes in Between the Lines and some good performances… but thanks to director Micklin Silver’s direction, a lot of it feels like a really unfunny episode of a sitcom. “A very...
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Open Range (2003, Kevin Costner)
Because I’m a cynic, I have to point out the following–in order to revive the Western, that most American of genres (sort of), Costner had to film Open Range in Canada. It’s hard to think of a more...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991, Kevin Reynolds), the extended version
It’s sort of amazing how little personality Kevin Reynolds brings to Robin Hood. I suppose his direction is adequate, but his shots are absent any creativity. Of course, maybe the shots were very...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Adventures in Babysitting (1987, Chris Columbus)
If it weren’t for the acting, Adventures in Babysitting would probably be more interesting as a cultural document than anything else. The way the film treats race is probably worth a couple sociology...
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