After scoring cult success with “Maniac,” director William Lustig tackled the “Death Wish” formula with “Vigilante.” It’s been sixteen years since its release, and “Vigilante” definitely shows its age. Robert Forster (“Jackie Brown”) stars as a family man who turns his back on his friends (including Fred Williamson) when they form a vigilante squad to rid the streets of gangs. Read the rest of this entry »

Imagine a reggae production of “Robin Hood: The Prince of Thieves,” with John Travolta playing the Alan Rickman role of the Sheriff as the Frankenstein monster. Imagine “Blade Runner” with iron poor blood. Imagine a film so undeniably bad that it’s not even funny. Read the rest of this entry »

Anyone who has ever lost a child to the welfare system knows the frustration and bewilderment of trying to get them back. In extreme cases, the children are better off, but the system does make mistakes, unjustly separating families who are nothing more than victims of circumstance. At least we have a judicial system that allows wrongs to be righted.
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Considered Bruce Lee’s best film, “Enter the Dragon” was also his last to be completed. Directed by Robert Clouse from a screenplay by Michael Allin, “Enter the Dragon” was Lee’s first English-language feature, and produced on a much higher budget than his previous entries, provided the martial arts star a larger canvas in which to demonstrate his craft. Read the rest of this entry »

Nick Styles (Denzel Washington) is a rookie cop on the way up. Only seven months into his job, he’s already a hero. In a daring and brazen rescue, Styles saves a woman’s life and puts away a psychotic killer named Blake (John Lithgow). Read the rest of this entry »

In my humble opinion, I believe that “U.S. Marshals” got shortchanged at the box office. Director Stuart Baird’s follow-up to “The Fugitive” doesn’t have the star power of Harrison Ford, but it does have a formidable performance by Tommy Lee Jones as determined Marshal Sam Gerard. Read the rest of this entry »

FEMME FATALE (R)
(Warner Bros.)

FLASHBACK (R)
(Lion’s Gate)

FRIDAY AFTER NEXT (R)
(New Line) Read the rest of this entry »

The DVD should be subtitled “There’s Something About Hairy,” or “The Ghost and Mr. Pryor.” “Richard Pryor – Live In Concert” is a digital transfer nightmare*. Imagine the headache: a black comedian with pitch black hair wearing black pants and a dark red shirt standing against a pitch black curtain. Read the rest of this entry »

A BETTER WAY TO DIE (R)

Vanity project for writer-director-star Scott Wiper. This guy can’t write or act, but he does know how to stage effective action scenes. Wiper stars as a former cop who just wants to settle down with his girlfriend back home and have a family. Read the rest of this entry »

ASUNDER (R)

Black take on “Fatal Attraction” stars Blair Underwood as a grieving widower who seeks compassion and eventually passion in the arms of his best friend’s wife, only to turn on both of them when the wife ends up pregnant and chooses her husband over her lover. Read the rest of this entry »