Tag: action

We Own the Night (2007)

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Streaming on Hulu | imdb | trailer

Mark Wahlberg is a cop, his brother (Joaquin Phoenix) is a nightclub owner. The mighty Robert Duvall is their deputy police chief dad. The Russian mob complicates matters. Blood is shed. Cars are chased. This is not the greatest action / crime film ever made, but it is damn good entertainment. The car chase is probably the best of the mid-2000s. We Own the Night is worth a watch for that alone.

Available on Blu-ray from Sony Pictures.

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Crippled Avengers (1978)

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Streaming on Amazon Prime | imdb | trailer (in SHAWSCOPE!!!)

The Venom Mob is back again for a much weirder adventure. This is not a sequel to The Five Deadly Venoms, but one of many Shaw Brothers films featuring those core actors. Four men are disabled by an evil martial arts master, so naturally they are taught to use their handicaps to get revenge. This movie is almost non-stop crazy action from the start, and a fan-favorite Shaw flick. This would make an excellent double bill with Accione Mutante (the new disc is HIGHLY recommended).

Available on Blu-ray from Arrow (part of the Shawscope Vol 1 Box).

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Commando (1985)

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Streaming on Hulu | imdb | trailer

I was a big Arnie fan as a kid. This is mostly because of Conan (1982) and The Terminator (1984). Unfortunately he was in as many crappy movies as good ones back in the 80s. Conan the Destroyer, Red Sonja, Raw Deal and Red Heat are not good uses of Schwarzenegger. This film, while not even close to his best, is firmly in the middle of his 1980s work. It’s dumb. Really dumb. Eve-rollingly dumb. However, it is also fast-paced, big, fun, and ridiculously violent. If you’ve never experienced this film, and are capable of turning your higher brain functions off, you’re in for a good time. Speaking of the ‘80s… if you look around in the torrentverse you can probably find the TV movie The Jayne Mansfield Story. Arnold plays her husband Mickey Hargitay (Mariska’s dad) and Loni Anderson (from WKRP – a childhood favorite TV series) is Jayne. It’s surprisingly good. Also a bit dumb, but honestly worth seeing.

Available on Blu-ray from 20th Century Fox.

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RoboCop 2 (1990)

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Streaming on Amazon Prime | imdb | trailer

The original RoboCop is one of my all time favorite films. RoboCop 3 and the TV series are total crap. RoboCop 2 however is a pretty damn entertaining movie actually. It has all the important cast that survived the first film, the OG Red Dragon from Manhunter (Tom Noonan), and was directed by… Irvin Kershner. Who? Well he was the director of a little film called The Empire Strikes Back. Yep, he was obviously somewhat co-directed by George Lucas, but still, facts are facts. He also did the flawed but entertaining final Sean Connery James Bond flick Never Say Never Again (which was weirdly released the same year as Roger Moore’s Bond in Octopussy). One major bonus here is that FX master Phil Tippett was allowed almost total creative freedom, even to the extent where he directed the visual effects heavy scenes himself. So if you’ve never seen this, or it’s been a while, you’re in for a treat.

Available on Blu-ray from Shout Factory.

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The Raid 2 (2014)

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Streaming on Netflix | imdb | trailer

The Raid: Redemption (2011) is a very good film (also available on Netflix). If you’re a hardcore action / martial arts fan you know that already. However, for the rest of you, I say skip it and watch this superior sequel. The Raid 2 has got a convoluted plot, but you’ll too be too distracted by the non-stop ass kicking to care. This is probably the pinnacle of crazy post-Ong-Bak action films. If you enjoy this, make sure to check out creator Gareth Evans’ excellent TV series Gangs of London.

Available on Blu-ray from Sony.

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Hobo with a Shotgun (2011)

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Streaming on Hulu and Amazon Prime | imdb | trailer

The headline read “Hobo Stops Begging, Demands Change.” That, and the fact that all exploitation elements are cranked to 11, sums up this movie. I’ve been a Rutger Hauer fan since seeing Blade Runner is a kid. I think I’ve seen the majority of his films, and I have even read his autobiography. For many years I complained about the injustice of Hauer not getting a good lead role. Well in 2011 the stars aligned – Hobo with a Shotgun was announced. I was avidly following the pre-release promotion of the movie, and was not disappointed when I finally got to see the finished product. I think the low rating on imdb is because of the overall purposeful cheese factor, and the fact everything offensive is thrown in to the mix. Yeah it ain’t Ingmar Bergman, but I give it a perfect score. RIP Mr. Hauer.

Available on Blu-ray from Magnet.

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Dawn of the Dead (2004)

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Streaming on Netflix | imdb | trailer

You’ve seen the original 1978 version right? If not, fix that immediately. There was a time when I said that was my favorite movie of all time. I still love it. I am very cautious about remakes, but I saw this version in the theater when it came out and immediately enjoyed it. This is a “reimagining” done right. Zack Snyder and James Gunn took the same very general plot and did something new with it. They don’t use the same characters or location, which is key in honoring the source material. This Dawn is not better than the original, but well worth seeing. Here you have some serious fast-paced, violent, and intense horror. The CG looks a wee tiny bit dated, but honestly, it doesn’t bother me much. Oh yeah, I recall that this and 28 Days Later caused all these nerds to complain about fast moving zombies. They apparently forgot about Return of the Living Dead which was made in 1985. I hardly watch zombie flicks these days, but I don’t care how fast they move as long as the movie is good.

Available on Blu-ray from Scream Factory.

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I Saw the Devil (2010)

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Streaming on Amazon Prime and Hulu | imdb | trailer

This is a very good South Korean horror / crime thriller from the director of the excellent A Bittersweet Life. Many folks love his film The Good the Bad the Weird too. The bad guy is the original Oldboy himself Choi Min-shik. Do I really need to say more? Nah.

Available on Blu-ray from Magnolia.

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Athena (2022)

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Streaming on Netflix | imdb | trailer

This is a solid action / drama with beautiful camera work and an artsy, almost documentary feel. Centered around a low-income housing block, it’s cops vs activists vs gangs vs well-meaning Muslims. They’re all interconnected and it’s a crazy spectacle from start to finish. There has been criticism that Athena is all style and little substance, and it does have a few flaws. However I was thoroughly entertained and thought that the various plot lines were worked out by the end of the film. Yeah, the director could have made a powerful social critique, but he just ended up making a damn good, fast-paced, great looking film.

Not available on Blu-ray.

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In Order of Disappearance (2014)

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Streaming on Amazon Prime | imdb | trailer

This is an excellent Swedish revenge film that was remade as Cold Pursuit with Liam Neeson as the lead. The original stars Stellan Skarsgård, and is just as superior as you would imagine. It’s violent, packed with black humor, and made with a style that borders on art film. Need I say more?

Blu-ray available from Magnolia.

If you are a fan of Anomalous Cinema, please consider supporting this site by donating any amount (even $1.00 is appreciated) via Venmo @vergeoflight / Cash App $vergeoflight / or Paypal at this secure link. A Paypal account is not required. Thank you.