The Thing (2011) – Matthijs van Heijningen jr.

  The Sci-Fi Chronicles book brings me to the remake/reboot/prequel to one of my all time favorite John Carpenter films, The Thing. I love both previous cinematic incarnations of this film, the paranoia and isolation that permeates the story and characters of Carpenter’s film, and the crackling dialogue and pacing of the 50s version, The Thing From Another World. So…

Trailer Tracks: First Blood (1982) – Ted Kotcheff

Fresh off the successes the Rocky series, Sylvester Stallone took on the role of Vietnam vet John Rambo, a wanderer who is pushed too far by a small town sheriff played by Brian Dennehy. Richard Crenna co-stars as Rambo’s former commander, and despite the violent looking trailer, the body count in this film is an…

Commando (1985) – Mark L. Lester

This entry on the 101 Action Movies list is just good fun, its loud, violent, and a lot of fun. It’s also a prime example of the generic action films of the 1980s. It’s rather simplistic in plot, but that doesn’t take anything away from one’s enjoyment of the film. John Matrix (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is…