Karthik Reviews

Darna Zaroori Hai (2006)

Well done!

[8/10 · 30 April 2006]

Just got back from watching this movie at Sathyam Cinemas (Chennai). It was very well executed, and technically, I'd say it was better than "Darna Mana Hai".

The stories themselves are similar to the ones in the first film. This movie again features six stories, wrapped up in a framing story (six kids enter a dark and scary house and old grandma tells them stories that are guaranteed to scare!).

(Minor spoilers follow)

A man goes to see Ram Gopal Varma's "Darna Mana Hai" at a theatre, but has to take a shortcut through a graveyard...

A student visits his professor for a late-night tutorial before an examination, but the professor is scared of something...

A man's car breaks down and he enters a house to make a phone call..

A life insurance salesman takes things too far...

A successful director picks up a beautiful hitchhiker on his way to Khandala...

A young man finds himself imprisoned for murder that he doesn't remember committing...

(End spoilers)

Very well made movie, this -- a lot of the impact comes simply through creative camera-work or sound effects. The movie has a great cast as well.

Predator (1987)

One of Arnold Schwarzenegger's best movies

[9/10 · 13 November 1999]

Dutch Schaefer (Arnold Schwarzenegger) and his team of commandos are sent on a rescue mission into the Latin American Jungles. Soon, an alien predator starts hunting them and killing them one by one. This is one of my favourite Schwarzenegger movies. I have seen this more than 40 times! It is very well acted and directed. The music by Alan Silvestri is excellent. It has a lot of action and some brilliant effects. The predator's camouflaged, semi-invisible appearance is very well achieved. The sequel, Predator 2, with Danny Glover was also a good movie.

The Dead Next Door (1989)

A well done low budget movie

[6/10 · 18 August 1999]

In "The Dead Next Door", a virus has turned people all around the world into flesh-eating zombies. A group called the "Zombie Squad" are assigned to control this menace, and find a cure for the zombie infection.

Although this movie has a thin plot and a very low budget, I liked it a lot. It has a lot of nicely done gore effects. It has an amusing ending too!

It was co-produced and financed by Sam Raimi (the video I saw also had a documentary, "The Making of The Dead Next Door" after the movie).

If you like horror movies you will like this, though it's not as good as "The Evil Dead".

Bloodfist (1989)

Not a bad movie, though the sequels (and remakes) are better

[6/10 · 10 August 1999]

Don "The Dragon" Wilson plays a kickboxer named Jake Raye. He receives news from Manila that his brother, Michael, was found murdered. So he goes to the Philippines, to try and find his brother's killer. He meets a man named Kwong (Joe Mari Avellana), who trains him to compete in a martial-arts tournament called "Ta Chang" -- because he suspects that one of the fighters there was Michael's killer.

Some of the actors (excepting Wilson and Joe Mari Avellana) are quite bad, and the fight scenes aren't choreographed very well (you can make out that the fighters aren't really hitting each other). Still, this is an entertaining movie.

"Bloodfist" was remade twice (at least as far as I know), as "Full Contact (1992)" and "Dragon Fire (1993)". I've seen both, and they're better than this one. "Full Contact" is the best of the lot (and it would have been even better had Don "The Dragon" Wilson been in it instead of Jerry Trimble).

Seven sequels (to date) have followed "Bloodfist" -- most of them have nothing to do with the first one. They're all better than this movie (especially parts 6 and 7).

If you like low budget action movies, and if you are a fan of Don "The Dragon" Wilson, you might want to see this early movie of his. Others will probably not like this movie.

Twin Dragons (1992)

It's both action-packed and funny!!

[9/10 · 28 July 1999]

"Twin Dragons" is both a funny and action packed movie. Two twins are separated at birth. One learns to take care of himself after living on the streets... the other becomes a talented musician.

Hilarious complications ensue when one is mistaken for the other...

This is a very entertaining movie. Jackie Chan excels in both roles- and the martial arts (especially in the last scenes) are incredible. There is also a lot of brilliantly timed comedy. Even the music score is excellent.

Watch for brief appearances by many of Hong Kong's top directors- Kirk Wong (director of "The Big Hit" and "Crime Story") as "Crazy Kung", John Woo ("The Killer" "A Better Tomorrow" are two of his best movies) as a priest... Tsui Hark's scene is especially funny. Lau Ka Leung (director of "Drunken Master II") and Ringo Lam also appear.

Don't miss this movie.

Transylvania Twist (1989)

"Transylvania Twist" was a LOT better than I thought it would be.

[8/10 · 6 July 1999]

Dexter Ward (Steve Altman) goes to his uncle Ephram's funeral- and is told about "The Book of Ulthar"- an ancient book which has the power to raise an ancient evil demon. (Uncle Ephram, it turns out, isn't really dead!) He tells Dexter that he had lent the book to a man named Marinus Orlock some years ago, and had never got it back. So, Dexter goes to Transylvania with Marinus' daughter, Marissa (Teri Copley), and a vampire hunter, Victor van Helsing (Ace Mask). They end up in a spooky castle, in which Marissa's uncle Byron Orlock, now stays. The Book of Ulthar is hidden in the castle somewhere, and Dexter must find it before Byron does.

Surprisingly, this is a very funny and entertaining movie. It even includes footage of Boris Karloff from the movie "The Terror". The music score for Transylvania Twist was composed by Chuck Cirino, and it's very good. There are also some nice songs on the soundtrack. Writer R. J. Robertson appears as "Hans Phull". Watch the end credits too.

If you liked "Hot Shots!" or "The Naked Gun" or similar films, you'll like this one.

Knock Off (1998)

Not a bad movie (not many agree with me).

[30 June 1999]

Judging by the other comments, not many people like this movie. But I thought it was quite good. Even though the plot doesn't make much sense, the important thing is that there's action, and there's plenty of it. If you like Tsui Hark's movies, you will like this.

Johnny Bravo (1997–2004)

A very funny cartoon.

[30 June 1999]

This is a hilarious cartoon from the Cartoon Network. If you like "Dexter's Laboratory", you'll also like this. It has very good animation, and excellent voice work. The episode "Hip Hop Flop" has a very good song- performed by the "Round Pound" and Johnny Bravo!

Cyborg Cop III (1995)

One of the dumbest movies I've seen

[2/10 · 8 June 1999]

A corporation called Deltatech Inc. is manufacturing cyborgs- when a reporter starts snooping around they decide to silence her. She asks Max and Saint- two federal marshals- to help. Doesn't sound so bad, does it? Maybe not, but this really is a bad movie. The acting and plot are poor. There are plenty of failed attempts at humour in this movie- the so-called "federal marshals" are two jokers who survive all the gunfire and explosions. We have to survive the bad jokes and incredibly dumb lines in the screenplay like the "discussion" about putting insect DNA into humans so that they can withstand radioactivity. The title "Cyborg Cop III" is totally meaningless- none of the cops in this movie is a cyborg. There are one or two moderately interesting action scenes, but they're nothing special. Don't waste time on this.

The Shanghai Killers (1971)

Not much action but interesting.

[6/10 · 1 June 1999]

A mysterious stranger (James Tien) wanders around China- various people are after his "Blood Sword", which has something to do with his father's death years before. There are many sword fights in this movie, and it is moderately interesting. The only problem is that the people in the flashbacks don't look any younger than in the rest of the movie. It's not a bad movie. The dubbing in the English Version is not very good. 6/10.

Bloodfist VI: Ground Zero (1994 Video)

Entertaining thriller with lots of action

[8/10 · 1 June 1999]

This probably is Don "The Dragon" Wilson's best film. He plays a military courier named Nick Corrigan, who finds himself trapped in a nuclear base that's been taken over by terrorists, led by a ruthless terrorist, Fawkes (Jonathan Fuller- who appears to be enjoying himself) and his men. Corrigan must figure out a way to stop them before they use the power they now have.

There's plenty of nicely done action, in the style of "Die Hard". Wilson even has some nice one-liners.

Dragon Fire (1993)

Enjoy the fights.

[8/10 · 1 June 1999]

It's the future. Laker Powers (Dominic Labanca) arrives in L.A. only to find his brother has been killed after winning big money in a kickboxing match. He then decides to avenge his brother's death by finding the killer. To do that, he becomes a fighter himself. He is trained by Slick (Kisu), an expert in kickboxing.

Just like "Bloodfist" or "Full Contact". If you've seen those two, you already know everything. "Dragon Fire" is a film that contains continuous fight scenes, with small bits of story inserted in the middle. It's entertaining, however, because there is some humour, and many of the fights are well filmed (especially the last one). It's also not very long. However, "Full Contact" is slightly better than this, because the fight scenes there are more powerful.

Mortal Kombat: Annihilation (1997)

Not really that bad, but not as good as the first

[6/10 · 31 May 1999]

This movie wasn't that bad actually. It's got a lot of colourful special effects, and good music. But when so many people worked on the story/screenplay (I think there are 5 people credited, including John Tobias, one of the creators of the game), I expected something better. Anyway, I give it 6/10.

Full Contact (1993)

Not a bad movie. Why hasn't anybody commented on it?

[8/10 · 31 May 1999]

Jerry Trimble stars as Luke Powers in this action movie (which is actually a remake of "Bloodfist"). He arrives in L.A., only to find that his brother, who used to take part in "back-alley" fights, has been murdered. In order to find the killer, he becomes a fighter himself. Marcus Aurelius stars as Pep, the man who trains Luke to fight. 1993's "Dragon Fire" (Starring Dominic Labanca, Dir: Rick Jacobson) also has the same story, but this movie is better. The fight scenes are good. I gave this 8/10.

The Killer (1989)

Don't miss this movie.

[10/10 · 31 May 1999]

Chow Yun-Fat plays a killer named Jeffrey Chow. He is hired to kill someone at a club. In the shooting that ensues (a beautifully filmed sequence) he tries to save a singer, Jenny (Sally Yeh). Accidentally, his gun goes off near her eyes- and Jenny almost loses her sight. Chow feels so guilty that he tries to raise money for an operation. So, he accepts one last job, to kill a gangster. But, he is spotted by the police. Now, the person who hired him wants to kill him. The policeman tracking him, Inspector Lee (Danny Lee), realises that Chow is no ordinary killer. See the movie to find out what happens. The action scenes in this film are stunning. It contains extreme violence. Like John Woo's "A Better Tomorrow", this is very well acted, and will make you cry at times. "The Killer" is much better than "Hard Target" and "Broken Arrow". Don't miss it.

Rush Hour (1998)

Really liked this movie

[10/10 · 30 May 1999]

I didn't expect "Rush Hour" to be this good! It's one of the best Jackie Chan movies I've seen. Jackie and Chris Tucker are excellent. There's plenty of action, and non-stop comedy in this very very entertaining movie. Better than "First Strike" definitely.

Reservoir Dogs (1992)

Just as good as "Pulp Fiction"

[9/10 · 30 May 1999]

This was the first Quentin Tarantino movie that I saw, and I really liked it. Like "Pulp Fiction", it's extremely well acted, very funny and has a superb soundtrack. That torture scene with Michael Madsen is quite difficult to watch! I liked Steve Buscemi's "Why am I Mr. Pink?" dialogue. 9/10.

Evil Dead II (1987)

Very gory. Very funny. Very entertaining.

[8/10 · 30 May 1999]

First of all, the effects, make-up, camera work in this film are brilliant. Sam Raimi does an excellent job of mixing the hilarious jokes with the frightening scenes (the "Farewell To Arms" bit). Lots of memorable one-liners are here: for example "Groovy"; "I'll swallow your soul!", etc.. The opening sequence is excellent, and the scene in which Ash's hand gets possessed is one of the funniest parts in this movie. This gets 8/10.

Project A (1983)

One of Jackie's BEST!!!

[10/10 · 30 May 1999]

Project A, I feel, is one of Jackie Chan's best movies. It's one of the funniest, most action-packed, most entertaining movies I've ever seen. I'd give it a 10/10. I must have seen this one at least 20-30 times. If you haven't seen it, please do. Chan and his co-stars, Samo Hung and Yuen Biao are really fun to watch, and the stunts are excellent (the bicycle chase scene, the scene in the clock tower,...). Here in India it's available on video and VCD in a severely cut version- scenes are eliminated for no reason at all. This version runs only 90 minutes or so. See the complete version. I've heard Project A Part II is even better, but I haven't been able to see a good print of it. Along with this, Operation Condor: Armour of God II, I feel, are his best.