Film Review: ‘Run! Bitch Run!’ (Revisited – 2009) – They Know Just How to Find You

 Crime, Exploitation, Extreme, J. Felton, Rape/Revenge, Revenge  2 Responses »
May 082011
 

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The rape/revenge sub-genre is a strange beast, one that has always courted controversy. Movies such as I Spit on Your Grave, Ms.45 and Thriller: They Call Her One Eye, from the 70s and 80s, up to more recent efforts such as Torched or the big budget remake of The Last House on the Left. Are they purely exploitation? Or do they somehow bring a sense of empowerment with the inevitable revenge? Well, that’s not really for me to say, as I think each person takes away something different from each movie they watch. I’ll just try and stick to whether the movie is good or bad, or neither as the case may be.

All that rambling brings me to director Joseph Guzman’s addition to this controversial little corner of cinema. With a title like Run! Bitch Run! it will have Continue reading »

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Film Review: Jeong-beom Lee’s ‘The Man From Nowhere’ (2010) Demolishes Korean Box Office Numbers

 Action, Asian Cinema, Crime, J. Felton, S. Korea, Thriller  2 Responses »
May 052011
 

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When it comes to exciting new releases in the world of cinema it seems that Korea is right up there with the best of them. Year after year we are treated to wonderful movies that just demand to be seen. From the Vengeance trilogy (Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Oldboy and Lady Vengeance) and Memories of Murder kicking the thriller genre in the ass through to movies such as A Tale of Two Sisters which is an incredibly good horror movie, there always seems to be something coming that demands to be seen. I will admit to not having seen more recent releases such as Mother or I Saw the Devil, but I know I will and I fully expect to enjoy them. Even the slightly less impressive movies such as Death Bell Continue reading »

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Film Review: Eisner’s ‘Hobo with a Shotgun’ (2010) Blasts Audiences from their Seats

 Action, Crime, Exploitation, J. Felton, Revenge  No Responses »
Apr 202011
 

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I remember the excitement surrounding the trailer of Machete that screened on the Grindhouse release. Of course the movie didn’t actually exist at that time, but the trailer was cooler than an Eskimo’s dog dragging its nuts on the snow. When the movie did eventually see the light of day I have to admit that I was thoroughly underwhelmed. I mean, it was cool and had some great moments, it just didn’t grab me in the way I had hoped it would.

Hobo with a Shotgun had very similar origins, with a trailer for a movie that didn’t exist screening with Canadian screenings of Grindhouse. Now whereas the actors that appeared in the Machete trailer also starred in the movie, Hobo with a Shotgun Continue reading »

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Film Review: Johnson Hands Out Smackdowns in ‘Faster’ (2010)

 Action, B. Harris, Crime, Revenge, Thriller  No Responses »
Feb 172011
 

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A con is released from prison as a free man after paying his debt to society for his role in a heist but the only thing on his mind is cold, hard revenge. Setting out in a ’71 Chevelle, armed with a .45 Ruger
pistol and a metal plate in his head, he begins tracking down and dispatching members of an opposing heist crew involved in his brother’s needless execution. Following closely on his heels are a determined hitman, seeking a challenge, and a dirty cop looking to ride things out until his retirement. When all three men come face to face, the last man standing will be decided by which is faster.

Action revenge cinema lives! I’m not at all a fan of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s work, to be honest, but his increased Continue reading »

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Film Review: Pacino Straps on Leather Pants for a Little ‘Cruising’ (1980)

 Crime, Drama, J. Holderness, Thriller  No Responses »
Feb 102011
 

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A detective goes deep under cover to catch a killer who is murdering gay men in an underground, gay community in New York.

If you think it sounds exploitative, then it will be to you. This film deserves its place in the history of cinema. There were numerous protests by gay communities all over the country when this film was released. William Friedkin depicts a gritty, gay, sub-culture by using real underground New York gay bars and their very real patrons as extras. Many scenes in this film are disturbing and not just the murders. Al Pacino as the undercover detective, Steve Burns, goes deep and the arc that’s hinted at here is whether detective Continue reading »

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Film Review: ‘Death Race 2′ (2011) is an Entertaining Prequel Disguised as a Sequel

 Action, B. Harris, Crime, Sci-Fi  No Responses »
Dec 282010
 

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Carl Lucas, an associate of ruthless crime boss Markus Kane, finds himself convicted of life in prison for killing a police officer during a bank heist gone wrong. Sentenced to spend the remainder of his days locked behind the bars of the infamous Terminal Island, a privately owned prison owned by the Weyland Corporation, Lucas quickly learns who can and cannot be trusted.

As if lifetime imprisonment weren’t enough, Lucas finds himself a marked man with a contract on his life, taken out by his one-time best friend Kane. Complicating an already unbearable situation is the gorgeous September Jones, a beauty queen turned Continue reading »

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Film Review: Boll’s ‘Rampage’ (Revisited – 2009) Continues to Draw Fire from Fans & Critics

 Action, Crime, Drama, Exploitation, Extreme, Horror, Thriller  No Responses »
Dec 282010
 

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It is common in violent video games to engage in extreme antisocial behavior. The popularity of such games as the Grand Theft Auto series has raised alarms for those who believe that playing violent video games will lead to inflicting violence in real life. This same argument has been applied to ultra-violent films as well. In Uwe Boll’s film, Rampage, he cleverly merges the two mediums by giving a solid film that incorporates the feeling of playing a violent video game through following the protagonist as he goes on a mass murder spree in his small town. Should we as an audience go on such a journey with Bill Williamson, played by Brendan Fletcher, or should we be appalled that a filmmaker would give us Continue reading »

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Film Review: Bikers Clash with Hippies in a Bloody Massacre in ‘The Peace Killers’ (1971)

 Action, B. Harris, Crime, Exploitation, Rape/Revenge, Revenge  No Responses »
Dec 142010
 

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While out gathering supplies for their hippie commune, siblings Jeff and Kristy inadvertently cross paths with a few rowdy members of an outlaw biker gang. These aren’t just any bikers though, they’re members of the infamous Death Row biker gang and Kristy used to be their leader’s old lady!

After narrowly escaping the biker scum, brother and sister head back to the commune where they notify the group that the bikers may indeed come for Kristy and there could be violence. The commune’s leader Alex is determined to maintain their peaceful ways no matter what. That, as one might expect, is exactly the attitude Continue reading »

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Film Review: S. African Blaxploitation Arrives with Synapse’s ‘Death of a Snowman’ (1978)

 B. Harris, Crime, Exploitation  No Responses »
Dec 082010
 

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Something heavy is going down when high-ranking criminals, one by one, are picked off by a vigilante group calling themselves “War on Crime.” Now Lt. Deel and his friend Chaka, a crime reporter, must team up to uncover a plot by the WoC to wipe out the cities criminal underworld in order to fill the void with their own illicit product!

As Chaka is brought into the vigilante group’s confidence and closer to the truth, as well as the true identity of the WoC’s leader Snowman, the deadly stakes continue rising. The pressure is on, the streets are hot and internal disputes from within the WoC threaten to spill out onto the Continue reading »

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Film Review: ‘Sweet Karma’ (2009) – The Canadian Sex Trade Meets its Match at The End of a Barrel

 Action, B. Harris, Crime, Drama, Exploitation, Revenge, Thriller  1 Response »
Oct 212010
 

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A beautiful mute young woman named Karma leaves her home in Russia in order to relentlessly pursue and punish those that had a hand in her sister’s tragic execution. Initially under the impression that her sister was leaving for Canada to be a cleaning lady, Karma discovers that the company is nothing more than a front for a sex slave ring. Dozens of innocent girls are taken from their countries and homes and forced to strip, prostitute and even act in porn against their wills.

Now Karma must find out who gave the order to have her sister murdered and find a way to free to sex slaves from their Continue reading »

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Film Review: ‘The Tortured’ (2010) – Twisted Pictures Tackles Child Molestation

 B. Harris, Crime, Drama, Exploitation, Extreme, Horror, Revenge, Thriller  No Responses »
Oct 202010
 

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Craig and Elise’s lives are destroyed when their little boy Benjamin is kidnapped in broad daylight. Not long after, reports of crying coming from the home of a local man attract the attention of police. A quick look through the front window reveals children’s books, toys and clothes, giving the officers just cause to enter the home and look around. Upon further inspection they discover the battered Benjamin dead and place the pedophile Kozlowski under arrest.

Charged with multiple counts of assault and homicide, Kozlowski agrees to cooperate with authorities on identifying the remains of multiple children found in his backyard in exchange for a plea deal that would only require him to remain incarcerated Continue reading »

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Film Review: When Science Plays God, The World Becomes the ‘Devil’s Playground’ (2010)

 Action, B. Harris, Crime, Horror, Zombies  No Responses »
Oct 192010
 

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The Newgen Corporation is facing a media relations uproar and major public backlash when thirty thousand test subjects in its legal performance enhancing RAK-295 drug trials develop deadly a deadly mutated virus. As the virus begins spreading from test subjects to civilians, Newgen sends a mercenary to locate the only subject apparently immune to the effects of RAK-295 in hopes of being able to isolate an antidote to the virus sweeping across the UK.

Now a mercenary seeking redemption must work with the young woman immune to the virus, her disgraced police officer boyfriend and a few other survivors to make their way to a waiting Continue reading »

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