The Mummy (1999)
★★★½
A pale imitation to INDIANA JONES, THE MUMMY is still stupid, pulpy fun. Obviously, Brendan Fraser is extremely miscast here as he tries on his best Harrison Ford impersonation.
Overall, THE MUMMY is a harmless action film trying to channel the 80s sense of fun.
Elite Squad (2007)
★★★★
ELITE SQUAD is about the Brazilian equivalent of SWAT called BOPE.
The main plot is basic. The BOPE captain must find a replacement while trying to take down drug dealers and cleaning up The Slums before The Pope arrives. Interspersed are a few other subplots that take a while to build up, but ultimately pay off.
ELITE SQUAD took about 45 minutes to ramp up, but once it did I was 100% invested. The film's payoff relies on the beginning set-up of all characters involved, even if the set-up feels a bit disjointed.
A simple story, character development and badass action make ELITE SQUAD worth checking out. I'm totally pumped for ELITE SQUAD 2!
The Expendables (2010)
★★★½
Watched the Director's Cut. While it's a mild improvement (CG blood cleaned up, tighter editing, a bit more "character development") THE EXPENDABLES is still THE EXPENDABLES. It's a meat-head attempt at the "ultimate man movie" that falls short and is more like a Direct To Video movie you'll find in the bargain bin at Walmart. Still, I enjoy it for what it is.
Drive (2011)
★★★★★
Wow. Everything about DRIVE was superb. Watch it. I need to gather my thoughts and do an actual write up!
Fast Five (2011)
★★★★
Even though I had heard the praise from critics this summer, I'll admit I was still skeptical that FAST FIVE would be legitimately good. I'm happy to report that it did live up to the hype...as long as you ignore all rules of physics. This thing is ridiculous.
Death Sentence (2007)
★★★½
Solid little revenge flick starring Kevin Bacon. Brutal & well acted. However, a bit manipulative and some pacing issues.
Overall though, pretty damn good.
Wanted Dead Or Alive (1986)
★★★½
Rudger Hauer as a badass bounty hunter and Gene Simmons as a Middle Eastern terrorist, directed by the director of DEAD AND BURIED (Gary Sherman).
It doesn't get any better than that!
Gymkata (1985)
★★½
Gymnast VS Ninjas! I'm in.
This flick is so 80s it just about opens with a training montage!
Bad movie but damn entertaining!!