Magic Crystal is a Wong Jing production, which means is going to be goofy. While the movie is relatively clumsy, goofy and makes shameless nods to movies like ET and Indiana Jones, it has a tremendous cast with Andy Lau, Max Monk, Cynthia Rothrock and Richard Norton as Russian bad guy. Producer/director Wong Jing hams it up for some unwanted comic relief. As a film, Magic Crystal is just below average but made up for it with the amazing Hong Kong fight and stunt choreography that is second to none. There also is a lot of it..Magic Crystal.would be a cheesy movie in any decade, but we are talking the 80's here and that's next level cheese. Also, the film was shot in multiple locations across Europe and Hong Kong, which is nice. But, did I mention the action scenes in this movie ? That alone is more than worth the price of admission.
Reviews
982 Reviews
Wuxia classic by Tsui Hark
28 April 2024
Tsui Hark is one of the most important figures in Hong Kong cinema. He is best known as a producer and has been involved with some of the biggest hits and most important franchises in Hong Kong.( A Better Tomorrow trilogy, The Killer, A Chinese Ghost Story trilogy, Once Upon A Time In China series,etc). He also is a excellent director and this film Zu Warriors From The Magic Mountain is a very entertaining and groundbreaking film. Zu Warriors... takes wuxia to different heights with clever storytelling, great camera work, insane action choreography and groundbreaking special F/x that were on par with what was coming out of Hollywood at the time. He even hired the same visual f/x team that worked on Star Wars! With all theses elements in place Zu Warriors From The Magic Mountain is brought to life by a all star cast including Yuen Biao, Sammo Hung,
.Adam Cheng, Moon Lee and a early performance from the iconic and beautiful Bridgett Linn Zu Warriors From The Magic Mountain is a very colorful, unique and absolutely insane swordplay fantasy classic not to be missed. A must see film for sure and highly recommended.
An Eternal Combat
(1991)
Cool
23 April 2024
An Eternal Combat was a very unusual but effective Hong Kong fantasy action film..Throwing everything in the blender from action, fantasy drama and comedy. This could only be made in Hong Kong during this period of time. Putting together The Icemen Cometh and A Chinese Ghost Story on crack. This manages to be pretty cohesive. The action scenes are fantastic, the film looks great and I found the comedic elements to be hilarious. The comedy here is a acquired taste to those that get and/or are used to the Hong Kong sense of humor. It's got a good cast with Joey Wang, Lam Ching Ying, Shin Fu On, and HK psycho actor Anthony Wong. Overall it a wild ride, but a nice watch.
A Man Called Hero
(1999)
Entertaining
17 April 2024
A Man Called Hero is a late 90's swordplay film based on a comic book. Having a comic book/ manga style mixed with a lot of CGI special F/X. Starring Ekin Cheng, he is backed up by Yuen Biao, Shu Qui, Francis Ng and Elvis Tsui. Having a solid cast and directed by Andrew Lau, the film is ready to rock n 'roll with a mix of comic book type action and solid choreographed kung fu. The film looks really slick with nice camera work. The story is all over the place and is on par with a lot of other Chinese swordplay films in that regard. A Man Called Hero takes a different approach. It is not among my favorites in the genre, but is certainly good enough to warrant a watch. Ekin "The Man With The Hair"Cheng and friends did enough to entertain me this evening.
Iron Fisted Monk
(1977)
Sammo Hung's directorial debut, excellent!
12 April 2024
Warning: Spoilers
The Iron Fisted Monk is a excellent fast paced kung fu movie, starring and directed by Sammo Hung. Nicely shot with some cool looking sets and looking good on Blu. Sammo plays his normal goofy kind of character and has a little humor sprinkled about. However, there is some serious stuff that happens in the film, a rape that leads to a girl commiting suicide and bad guys relentlessly bullying kids. The baddies are The Manchus and in this film they are treacherous.. The fights are also quite abundant and in high quality. Sammo's action choreography is top tier and if you are a fan of martial arts movies then The Iron Fisted Monk would be a great addition to your collection.
Beverly Hills Cop III
(1994)
A departure from the other two films, but still a decent watch
5 April 2024
In my opinion the first and second Beverly Hills Cop movies are flawless. The first one was more of a comedy and the second one more of a action flick. The third film lacks Bogomile and Taggart who were part of the core of the film(,along with Rosewood). Judge Reinhold does return as Rosewood, but is not the same without Taggart and Bogomile. Also, a lackluster script and some kind of forced, goofy humor that doesn't always land. Eddie is still Eddie, but compared to the other two films, he is about half of what he once was. It's cool to see John Saxon as a heavy and a funny cameo from George Lucas. I remember not liking this that much when this came out, but over the years I warmed up to Beverly Hills Cop 3 a little bit. This is not of the top tier undisputed classic quality of the other two films, but it's far from terrible and does have it's moments of brilliance. Overall, it's a decent watch. I hope the new Beverly Hills Cop is better than this. However, if it's about as good as this, it's worth checking out for sure.
Beverly Hills Cop II
(1987)
Great sequel!
3 April 2024
Beverly Hills Cop 2 is a excellent sequel to the original film. It is still funny, but this time out is more of a action film than the first film.. Having a huge budget and Tony Scott at the directing helm Beverly Hills Cop 2 is large in scope, slick looking and has excellent action scenes and shootouts. Eddie is still at the top of his game and the nucleus of the first film (Bogomile, Taggart and Rosewood) all return. Foreign baddies Jurgen Prognow and Bridgette Nielson are excellent as high end robbers and gun smugglers.. Beverly Hills Cop 2 is a great movie and one of the best buddy cop movies in the genre.
Beverly Hills Cop
(1984)
Classic!
29 March 2024
Although this was originally a project with Sylvester Stallone in mind, the studio didn't have the budget for the action scenes Stallone had planned. That led to Eddie Murphy coming aboard and being more of a comedy than a action piece. Coming off Walter Hill classic 48 Hours, Eddie was both funny and could hold his own in a action piece. Beverly Hills Cop was his first major movie as headlining star and Eddie is perfect for the role. Beverly Hills Cop is a ensemble piece and John Ashton, Judge Reinhold and Ronny Cox are very important and share great chemistry to play off of Eddie. For the genre of action comedies Beverly Hills Cop is perfect and on the absolute A list. Eddie Murphy is at the top of his game with both his comedic talents and as a leading man. His screen presence is undeniable and Beverly Hills Cop was a huge surprise hit dominating the box office upon its release. Stallone did use the material he wrote for Beverly Hills Cop for what would turn into Cobra. This would put Eddie Murphy on top for a long time and for anyone who was a rockstar couldn't walk behind him.
Taking Care of Business
(1990)
Great 80's style comedy
22 March 2024
Warning: Spoilers
Taking Care Of Business is a fun comedy that riffs heavily off of Trading Places. James Belushi and Charles Grodin team up for some hilarious entertainment. James Belushi wins a ticket to The World Series and asks the warden to get out a day early. The warden refuses and James Belushi breaks out of prison while his homies from inside pretend they are holding him hostage. Charles Grodin is Spencer Barnes, an overworked advertisement executive who loses his fileofax and is late to all of his engagements.. He ends up getting mugged and his only help is a woman who had a crush on him since high school and it's clear Spencer never reciprocated this interest. Meanwhile, James Belushi finds his fileofax and goes to his mansion and tries to return it. When he realizes nobody is home, he decides to stay a while and gets mistaken for Spencer Barnes and ends up going to his business meetings. Taking Care Of Business is hilarious and is still very funny many years later. A great watch!
Body Slam
(1986)
Classic wrestling movie directed by Hal Needam
19 March 2024
If you grew up in the 80's, you probably saw Body Slam on HBO or otherwise on television or cable. If not, you are missing out on a rock n'wrestling classic. Roddy Piper and Fatu are a babyface tag team that left their manager Captain Lou Albano for Face from The A Team. They are at odds with Captain Lou 's stable of heel wrestlers( most notably The Cannibals). One of The Cannibals is Barbarian from The Powers Of Pain. It showed him lifting 500 lbs like it was nothing and from what I heard that was the norm for Barb. Face is primarily in the music industry and manages a cheesy 80's rock band too. Before his accidental foray into pro wrestling he was not so successful. The Wild Samoans show up as bill collectors and destroy his car. Some all time wrestling champions Ric Flair and Bruno Sammartino show up for cameos also. Body Slam is a lot of fun and if you are a wrestling fan, consider this mandatory viewing. Hulk Hogan was great in Rocky 3, but there is no way he could have made this. Roddy Piper is fantastic here and is even better a year later in They Live. (Which is untouchable and the best movie starring a pro wrestler EVER!)
The Longest Yard
(1974)
"Put this on your trophy case".
17 March 2024
Warning: Spoilers
The Longest Yard is a movie that Burt Reynolds was born to play. Paul Crew is a ex football star down on his luck after smacking down his rich mistress, stealing her car and driving it into the river. He then gets into a altercation with law enforcement and ends up having to do some hard time. The warden sees this as a opportunity to get Paul to coach his football team, he refuses and then has Paul create his own football team to go against the guards. This is a funny and rough and tumble affair. This was masterfully directed by Robert Aldridge and is in some ways similar to his men on a mission masterpiece The Dirty Dozen. He makes great use of his colorful cast of tough guys. He cast real football players and Burt himself played some professional football before he was a stuntman and actor. Burt is great as this antihero character and is given a chance to redeem himself to his peers. This is football played dirty by both the corrupt guards and The Mean Machine ( the oppressed convicts). As tough of a movie as The Longest Yard is, it's funny as well and not in a cheesy way like The Cannonball Run. Burt has incredible screen presence and captivates the audience from beginning to end. Excellent old school macho entertainment done masterfully. Perfect in my opinion.
Rent-a-Cop
(1987)
Rent something else
13 March 2024
I have been on a big Burt Reynolds kick as late. Rent A Cop is one I have not seen, but heard was bad. Unfortunately for me, the reports that I got previously are accurate. Rent A Cop has a mismatched duo of Burt Reynolds and Lizza Minnelli in a annoying kind of buddy cop movie with action, romance, basically throwing anything together and hoping it sticks. Every cliche imaginable is played to the hilt. It does have a good cast with Bernie Casey as one of Burt's cop buddies and James Remar as main villain and psychopath. There even is a cameo by Michael Rooker. All of this is wasted on a pointless crap movie.
Gator
(1976)
Decent, but uneven sequel to White Lightning
11 March 2024
Burt Reynolds is quoted as saying this was "The worst script he ever read". Once he was told he could direct he said "This is the best script he ever read". White Lightning worked because it was a pretty straightforward revenge movie with tight direction. The tone on this is all over the place with baffonish comedy that would be out of place in the first film along with more serious moments. Burt plays himself in this film, more or less and is much less angry than the earlier film. There is bigger action scenes, but there were better chases and action scenes in White Lightning. I like Burt as a director, but this is his first time in the director's chair and the screenplay is not the greatest. What's positive about Gator is casting Lauren Hutton as Burt's love interest and journalist. She gives a good performance and is gorgeous. Country star and future sidekick Jerry Reed would later work with Burt as Snowman in Smokey And The Bandit, he is absolutely fantastic here before he makes his babyface turn as the bad, bad Bama McCall. This is only Jerry 's second movie role, but is one of the best onscreen villains I have ever seen. Overall, Gator is fairly entertaining, but does have it's flaws(which I previously stated).
White Lightning
(1973)
Southern fried action flick
10 March 2024
Warning: Spoilers
White Lightning was a vehicle for Burt Reynolds that was made for movie fans south of the Mason Dixon line. It ended up being a hit everywhere setting up Burt to do a bunch of "Good ole' boy" movies into the next decade. Burt is Gator, a convict doing time for running shine. When his straight laced brother is murdered by a corrupt sheriff, he makes a deal with the government to gain evidence to bring him down. Gator has no intention of doing that and over the course of the film sets out to get his revenge on the sheriff(Warren Beatty). Warren Beatty is great as villain opposite Burt. The locations of the film are great and very authentic, you can feel the humidity and southern feel of the film. This was well put together and Burt is up for the task as leading man and antihero. He is very cool per usual, but he has a darkness and anger to his character. The support cast is very good and is packed with action, car crashes and fights. Even though, this is pre mustache Burt, Gator is still a lady killer and drives those southern belles wild. White Lightning has a bit of a modern western feel, just add a swampy background and some car chases..
The End
(I) (1978)
"Bless me Dave, for I have sinned".
4 March 2024
Warning: Spoilers
The End is a unusual and quirky movie project that stars and is directed by Burt Reynolds. It's a dark comedy about a guy who is terminally ill and makes many failed attempts to end his life. As someone who has dealt with depression, I can relate to this character. Burt , normally super confident and macho chick magnet shows some vulnerability in this role. He actually is quite mad and there is humor in his madness. One of his suicide attempts has him wind up in the mental hospital and there he befriends Dom Deluise..The two actors share some good chemistry and his real life girlfriend Sally Field appears and they have good romantic chemistry.. Unlike the very popular good old boy car racing blockbusters The End is way less accessible, but very clever comedy that takes some tough subject matter. I thought Burt did a good job here and I am glad he took a chance in making this.
Hustle
(1975)
Underrated Burt Reynolds cop flick
2 March 2024
After the success of The Longest Yard director Robert Aldridge and actor Burt Reynolds collaborated again on this film. Hustle is a gritty and absorbing neo noir. This film is driven more by dialogue and character development than action than the average 70's cop movie. Burt is excellent as a cynical cop that has a relationship with a French call girl that is also his live in girlfriend. He is on the case of a prostitute that would end up washed up on the beach in the opening scene of the film. This is a glimpse into his world and his relationship with his girlfriend. Morally, the characters in this film are in the grey area. Everyone is dirty to some degree or has character flaws. There is also a subtext to the film about corruption in American government and in society. Burt is really good in this role and has a great cast with Paul Winfield, Ben Johnson, Ernest Borgnine, Eddie Albert and French actress Catherine Deneuve as Burt's call in girlfriend. I thought this was a very good movie and my only complaint is that I am just discovering this film now.. Great flick!
American History X
(1998)
A cautionary tale
1 March 2024
American History X is more relevant now than the time this was made. At the time these fascist ideals were considered part of the far right fringe. Now that's are part of mainstream America. American History X shows how one can fall down this rabbit hole and the consequences of hate and far right propaganda.. Edward Norton is excellent as Nazi skinhead Derek and shows his path to hate and then later redemption. Edward Furlong is his little brother, his performance is not the greatest.( but he at least tries) Stacey Keach and Benjamin Sysco from Star Trek Deep Space Nine(I forget the name of the actor) are excellent. The movie as a whole is very good and has a very strong anti racism message. As a young man I started to go to hardcore and death metal shows, the bad guys in the scene that nobody liked were the Nazi skinheads. Whether you were a punk rocker, a straight edge kid or even a metalhead, these guys would ruin everyone's good time if 10;or more of these knuckleheads would show up. Now you don't have to part of the underground to come into contact with people that think like that, all you have to do is turn on Fox News .
Training Day
(2001)
Training Day is intense!
22 February 2024
Training Day is a gritty, but really slick looking, action packed cop drama. Denzel Washington delivers a performance of a lifetime playing a cop in a special unit and is paired up with rookie (Ethan Hawke). This was written for the screen by David Ayer who wrote and directed lots of cop dramas in Los Angeles. This was directed by Antoine Fuqua who was known for visually impressive action flicks like The Replacement Killers.. Denzel plays a narcotics officer that is more criminal than cop. This is Denzel Washington 's finest performance and that is saying a lot as his acting is always on point. In this film Denzel is a cop that is as corrupt as the criminals he is supposed to take down. It makes you think if this guy was always like this or if his job led him down that path..The dialogue is great and the film is fast paced and intense and this two hour journey is basically a man on a downward spiral (Denzel) and a rookie that is over his head and has to survive the day. Great support cast with Tom Berenger, Dr Dre, Snoop Dogg and more. Training Day is a original crime flick and Denzel delivers a performance of a lifetime..
Hardcore
(1979)
Excellent Paul Schrader film, classic!
18 February 2024
Paul Schrader wrote and directed this film and has a impressive film credits such as Taxi Driver, Rolling Thunder, Blue Collar and this. This film's leading man is no other than George C Scott. George C Scott was one of the best character actors of his time and delivers a tremendous, gut wrenching performance that not many actors could pull off. He plays a extremely religious man living in Grand Rapids, Michigan. When his daughter is not heard from, he enters the dark and sleazy underbelly of the porn world in Hollywood. Hardcore filmed at actual porn shops and massage parlors in The City Of Angels. George C Scott hires Peter Boyle ( a private investigator that is no angel) to help locate his estranged daughter. Season Hubley from Vice Squad (and Kurt Russell 's ex wife) is also cast as a prostitute that helps find his daughter. George C Scott goes DEEP into the dark underbelly of the 70's porn sewer and the film does a great job portraying a harsh and unflinching look into this seedy underground. George C Scott may have got a Oscar for Patton, but I truly feel he deserved it for his performance here. While the subject matter was certainly controversial and one the general public would prefer to ignore, Hardcore is a powerful and well made film. This type of brutally honest, down and dirty filmmaking from the 70's is sorely missed. Paul Schrader is a genius and I appreciate the films he wrote and those he wrote and directed.
Cockfighter
(1974)
Warren Oates is great in this cult classic!
12 February 2024
I can't say that I approve of cockfighting, but I did enjoy this Roger Corman produced redneck flick. This stars the much underrated Warren Oates as the lead . He plays Frank and he is on a vow of silence until he wins the cockfighting championship. Harry Dean Stanton also appears and is another talented actor that I would watch reading a phonebook. This film takes the viewer into the world of cockfighting and is very southern and very gritty. This is a drama/ neo western that I found to be somewhat similar to Junior Bonner with Steve McQueen or Clint Eastwood 's more recent Cry Macho. Thematically it's much different than those films, but is a honest character study with good performances where Warren Oates conveys a wide range of emotions with minimal dialogue.
The final installment in the Death Wish series and the last movie for Charles Bronson
6 February 2024
Warning: Spoilers
I never saw Death Wish 5 until recently. I avoided it as I expected it to be really bad. I'm glad to be proven wrong and I thought Death Wish 5 was actually pretty good and enjoyed it quite a bit. When it comes to the classic first film and the series, there really is no comparison. The 1974 film is more of a dark action thriller and a excellent dramatic film and original story. After that the movies that follow are strictly action flicks. I will give Death Wish 2 credit as a good sequel and the most like the first film, but by the time we get to the third film Paul Kersey is in full action hero mode and basically mows down a bunch of bad guys. In this film, he doesn't take out low rent thugs. He goes after a local monster that disgfured and killed his girlfriend. Charles Bronson approaches the killings in many different creative ways, not so much like a vigilante, but a special forces guy that is so highly trained and off the grid. At age 72, Bronson is still in good shape and is quite good in this. Main villain and monster Michael Parks is also good as baddie and gangster scumbag. The action and story is pretty well balanced with the right pacing and pretty serious tone. For low budget direct to video action movies Death Wish 5 is pretty well made and has some pretty gory killings for 1994. Overall I really enjoyed this and is a pretty solid action movie.
Number One with a Bullet
(1987)
Definitely not number one!
2 February 2024
Number One With A Bullet is a buddy cop action/thriller with the mismatched pair of actors Robert Carradine and Billy Dee Williams. I am a fan of both of the leading men in this film, however they have zero onscreen chemistry. This was a later era film for Cannon studios and was poorly promoted and I didn't even know that this existed until recently. Robert Carradine put forth a effort in this movie, but was definitely not right for this. Billie Dee Williams is always cool, but can't really elevate a movie that's nothing special in the first place. Even the action is not that great and this is the same company that made Invasion USA. I would rather watch that instead.
Blind Fury
(1989)
Campy action cult classic
27 January 2024
Blind Fury is a pretty solid and entertaining B action flick. This is a vehicle for Rutger Hauer in a rare leading heroic role. He is a blind man who lost his sight in Vietnam and was in town to search out his buddy. His war buddy got into some trouble with some nefarious types and while Rutger Hauer is a blind man, he has other deadly skills and is in tune with his other senses. This is a nod to the Japanese blind samurai series (which I am not familiar with, but aware of), it does have a Eastern feel to it and Rutger Hauer 's character is very Zen and calm. He does also weild a cane that is also a sword and deadly to the bad guys in this film. There is a lot of comedy in the film and Rutger Hauer can be really funny at times, but still carry the more dramatic and action oriented scenes in the movie. Blind Fury plays much like a modern day samurai movie or western in a modern setting ( with it's tongue firmly planted in its cheek). It has some cool one liners, good sword action and great villains ala Randall "Tex" Cobb and Sho Kushigi. I like Rutger Hauer better as a villain, but I enjoy this movie and am glad to have it in my collection.
Expend4bles
(2023)
An improvement over Expendables 3, but still not so great
19 January 2024
Warning: Spoilers
As time goes on this franchise doesn't really hold up. I like the first film and had a bit of a dark edge leftover from the fourth Rambo film. After that... it got too goofy. One thing that this film did get right was a return to the R rated, bloody action. On that it delivers, but as a movie? It's pretty much crap. Beating on a dead horse with the homoerotic relationship between Stallone and Statham, crappy jokes, even worse dialogue and in a ensemble piece like this, almost nobody gets to shine with any real character development. Also, these guys are never in danger. Nobody dies or gets seriously injured. Even though they kill 666 people a film, no one has any consequences to that and the end of the film everyone ends up at the bar. Megan Fox looks great, Iwo Uwais is a good villain but I would rather watch him in the Raid Redemption films and The Night Comes For Us on repeat over this. As a whole this movie is watchable for the action ( and not much else). I am a huge fan of Stallone, but I am hoping that this is it for The Expendables unless they all die at the end. I would watch that one.
DEFCON-4
(1985)
Cheesy post apocalyptic action flick
17 January 2024
Def Con 4 is a low budget post apocalyptic action flick that was a dime a dozen in the 80's and played at 2 am on HBO or Cinemax. Having seen this sort of thing a thousand times, it gets much worse (and cheesier). I remember liking this more when I was younger, but it doesn't really hold up. It does have all the archetypes for the genre( nuclear war with the Soviet Union, the landscape turns into Mad Max world, cannibals are rampant, ultra cheesy bad guys, etc). None of this plays out realistically and is very low budget and dated.. I did kind of like the survivalist guy who drives the bulldozer (" I will make you a deal. You give me all your food and I will let you go and not kill you. ). Other than that I dozed off due to a lack of interest. I probably won't watch Def Con 4 again..
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