Action

Review @ sketchesofcinema
Takao Saito’s Golgo 13 comics aren’t very easy to adapt into live action features due to their international nature, but Toei went all the way with this first attempt. Junya Sato shot the film on location in Iran with mostly foreign cast. The lead role is played by the heavenly cool Ken Takakura, whose combination of charisma, black sunglasses and M16 assault rifle makes him one of the coolest asssassins in film history. Both execution and storywise the film could be better – and it would’ve been a good to opt for local languages istead of having the entire Iran speak Japanese – but with its rare international setting, superb leading man and some exciting action Golgo 13 easily ranks more interesting than Toei’s average action thrillers of the era. Due to the high expenses the studio didn’t allow Golgo 13 to return to the big screen until in 1977 in a slightly inferior Shinichi Chiba film Golgo 13: Kowloon Assignment.Read More »

One on One: After a high school student is murdered, the seven suspects are hunted down by members of a terrorist organization.Read More »

A one-of-a-kind story about two-of-a-kind men who (for better or worse) changed film forever.Read More »

Rare wrestling movie, a crossover between the lucha and blaxploitation genres. The story involves black dockworker Pedro getting mixed up with a gang of arms smugglers and falsely imprisoned on a charge of murder. He is finally released and Mil Máscaras convinces him to become a luchador, wrestling under the name of “Black Power”.

This movie was made as a showcase for former Mr. Olympia Sergio Oliva (who boasted a physique El Santo and Blue Demon could only dream of) and is actually a pretty legitimate drama compared to some of the off-the-wall lucha pictures being made at that time. Still, it reeks of the 1970’s with its loud fashions, garish color schemes and campy nightclub acts. Like many wrestling films of this era it was shot outside Mexico as a cost-cutting measure, in this case Venezuela.Read More »

Izzat paints an image of Oslo, Norway’s capital, and its crime-environment in the mid-90’s. We follow Wasim and his involvement in Eastside Crew, the crime-gang mostly consisting of second-generation Pakistanis in Norway. What makes this movie extra special, is the realness of it all. Based on actual events, the film marks a flashy debut for Ulrik Imtiaz Rolfsen, the director.Read More »

allmovie wrote:
This adventure is the first live-action Superman serial and was one of the most successful multi-chapter films ever made. Superman is played by B-movie hero Kirk Alyn. The story centers upon the hero and the nefarious Spider Lady, who is trying to rule the Earth. If she cannot have complete control, she plans on shrinking it with her powerful reducer ray. Much of the episodes center upon Superman’s relationship with Lois Lane and upon his ability to fly.
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Criterion wrote:
Astonishing Alpine location photography and a young Robert Redford in one of his earliest starring roles are just two of the visual splendors of Michael Ritchie’s visceral debut feature, Downhill Racer. In a beautifully understated performance, Redford is David Chappellet, a ruthlessly ambitious skier competing for Olympic gold with an underdog American team in Europe, and Gene Hackman provides tough support as the coach who tries to temper the upstart’s narcissistic drive for glory. With a subtle screenplay by acclaimed novelist James Salter, Downhill Racer is a vivid character portrait buoyed by breathtakingly fast and furious imagery that brings the viewer directly into the mind of the competitor.Read More »

The young, pretty and shy Angela Duvall is jailed for murder in some Latin American country. In the prison she gets brutally “initiated” by the other inmates. The nice, honest and handsome prison doctor believe she’s innocent and tries to help her out.

Quote:
Covering for her brother, who killed a Brazilian drug lord, Angela Duvall is sent to a women’s prison. Trapped behind bars, Angela’s beauty excites the passions in her fellow prisoners and the guards alike. Unfortunately, she also catches the eye of a group of inmates who work for the man her brother murdered. In order to live long enough for her brother’s confession to arrive, she must escape with her fellow prisoners into the dark Brazilian jungle!Read More »

Quote:
An extraordinary group of action stars join up together as elite college graduates in the 1950’s who commit perfect financial crimes through legal loopholes. Starring the great Natsuyagi Isao and Chiba Shinichi, along with legendary samurai star Amachi Shigeru. As with all things in life, nothing is perfect. Will justice prevail or is there really a perfect crime? Edge of the seat suspense highlights this superb crime drama!Read More »