The Newsroom S02E07 – Red Team III

  Wow. This week we watch ACN’s News Night come apart as the Genoa story completely unravels, with witnesses recanting, doctored evidence, unknown factors that completely affect the story from different sources… Holy crap. Everything goes sideways right after they go to air, when the general (Stephen Root) Jerry (Hamish Linklater) interviewed and then ‘fixed’ the interview…

The Crow (1994) – Alex Proyas

  The 101 Action Movies brings this dark, goth, ultraviolent actioner based on the comic by James O’Barr. A film now infamous for and overshadowed by the death of its lead actor, Brandon Lee, on-set, it is still, in fact, a wonderfully made film, taut in its script and characterizations, and brutal in its action sequences. Eric Draven (Lee) and…

Clear And Present Danger (1994) – Phillip Noyce

  Jack Ryan in the person of Harrison Ford returns to the 101 Action Movies list along with Patriot Games director Phillip Noyce in this adaptation of the Tom Clancy techno-thriller. This time out Jack is serving as the acting Deputy Director of Intelligence for the CIA while his boss, Admiral Greer (James Earl Jones)…

You’re Next (2011) – Adam Wingard

  Releasing today is a fun, bloody, and violent home invasion film, that Sue has been raving about since she saw it at TIFF’s Midnight Madness back in 2011. It’s a lot of fun with some great humor that if you can get into , is very enjoyable. I don’t want to spoil any of…

The Newsroom S02E06 – One Step Too Many

  Wow. What an episode, especially the last act when things really look like they are on the precipice of spinning out of control! The episode opens with the Red Team hearing about the black-op code-named Genoa. A red team’s purpose is to look at all the evidence, witness and material that has been collected,…

Iron Monkey (1993) – Woo-Ping Yuen

  A Robin Hood style adventure launches the kung fu in this highly enjoyable addition to the 101 Action Movies list. Yu Rong-Guang stars as Dr. Yang, who along with his assistant Miss Orchid (Jean Wang) tends to the poor and the refugees in a small village. The village’s governor (James Wong) however is only…

In The Line Of Fire (1993) – Wolfgang Petersen

  The 101 Action Movies brings a welcome Clint Eastwood thriller to the list with this tautly paced, and well-executed actioner. Eastwood plays Frank Horrigan, a living legend, the only remaining serving Secret Service agent who was in Dealey plaza on that fateful November day. He begins a cat and mouse game with Mitch Leary…

Boardwalk Empire – The Complete Third Season Blu-Ray

  HBO was kind enough to send me an advance copy of their hit series Boardwalk Empire, starring Steve Buscemi, to take a look at. I wasn’t sure how to approach this one, as I am first and foremost very much NOT a fan of the gangster genre. I appreciate the Godfather series as cinema,…

The Fifth Element (1997) – Luc Besson

  The 101 Sci-Fi Movies brings a colorful, flamboyant and undeniably fun addition to the list with this fun ride, that features Bruce Willis as an unemployed cab driver who is trying to save the world. Set in the distant year of 2263, the thing I love most about this film is that its future…

The Heroic Trio (1993) – Johnnie To

  The 101 Action Movies doesn’t usually leave me scratching my head, but this entry definitely got me close to it. Imagine crossing Charlie’s Angels, with a healthy dose of Kung Fu, mysticism, wrap it up in a less than stellar comic book title and you might have something approaching this. The sets and costumes…