In 2011, Indonesia blessed us with one of the greatest action films of this millennium, The Raid, a masterclass in how to do close-quarters combat in a tight space under dire circumstances. For the uninitiated, it introduced new action stars and brought Pencak Silat to the forefront of martial arts cinema. It also did it … Continue reading Russian Raid (2020)
It's a 1980s movie with 1980s music set in 1950s style in which a surprisingly liberal army recruits women, the cops openly ask for bribes, and racism is still a thing. Also...leather overalls are a thing. This is what director Walter Hill dreamed about as a kid. He must have had an interesting childhood. Fantastic … Continue reading Streets of Fire (1984)
Made-for-TV misadventures, is there anything grander? Don't answer that, we both know there isn't. Legion is another made-for-tv movie, a 1998 science fiction horror picture that borrows more than a little from the likes of Aliens, Predator, and The Dirty Dozen. It's a story of prisoner soldiers in wartime turning on each other to confront … Continue reading Legion (1998)
Always remember, no matter how tough life can be, there isn't any kind of problem, big or small, that can't be helped by sending in a CIA hit team to kidnap someone's kid. Seriously, I use them to handle my grocery shopping. Major Vic Davis is a special forces super soldier and not the best … Continue reading The 2nd (2020)
It really can't be a good sign if the movie poster has to reference a much better film to try and drum up an audience. No, this film has absolutely nothing to do with The Last House on the Left. In fact, the only real connection is being distributed by American International Pictures, and while … Continue reading Don’t Look in the Basement (1973)
As in this girl has special powers due to how she came to be, not that she's giving out presents or anything. Though admittedly, it would be kinda nice to get a present right now. I mean, who doesn't love free stuff? In the very near future, the world sucks. Athlete's Foot has basically evolved … Continue reading The Girl with All the Gifts (2016)
I don't know why, but this movie really makes me hungry for some vermicelli. I wonder why that is... It's the closing days of World War I. The Germans have mostly pulled out of the Argonne Forest as American and French forces wage the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. With the hasty German withdrawal, British intelligence discovers an … Continue reading Trench 11 (2017)
As a general rule, I'm not into found footage films. It's not that The Blair Witch Project hurt me as a child, or that Cannibal Holocaust murdered my cat or anything; when done well, it can prove to be a fascinating means of presenting a story in a unique way. Unfortunately, in both of those … Continue reading Frankenstein’s Army (2013)
I never really thought about it, but mold can be pretty. It's also gross and terrifying. This movie has a lot of weird mold in it, along with a lot of mutation. It's also a great look at the ultimate bad place, a place where biology doesn't work properly, and cell growth is twisted. It … Continue reading Annihilation (2018)
Oh yeah, it's time for some highly watchable Chinese propaganda! If you didn't immediately cheer with delight, you may want to go read something else, because highly watchable propaganda is exactly what Operation Red Sea is, and while it's propaganda...it's also pretty awesome. The film starts with an introduction of the majority of your main … Continue reading Operation Red Sea (2018)
Movie Reviews by a Mook 