Bill Murray is charming and goofy in Stripes, but as has been pointed out the film is just a little too long, or, the last half hour could have been something different. The first two thirds of the film are fun and solid, though some of it is a little dated, and some of it…
Tag: europe
Frankenstein Meets The Wolf Man (1943) – Roy William Neill
I quite liked this entry in the Univeral Monsters series. Lon Chaney Jr. returns as Lawrence Talbot aka The Wolf Man, and Bela Lugosi, whose name gets buried in the starring credits while Chaney gets an ‘and’ plays Frankenstein’s Monster. Apparently, Talbot wasn’t dead. He was buried, draped in wolfsbane to keep him trapped and…
Armour of God (1986) – Jackie Chan
Jackie Chan directs and stars in this romp that seems to be a bit of a nod to an Indiana Jones-style adventure. Shot across Europe it’s not quite as exotic looking as a Jones film, or a Bond film for that matter, but it’s fast-paced, has some goofy humour, and features solid iconic stuntwork. Asian…
Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan: Season 3 (2022) – Blu-Ray Review
I’ve been a fan of the Jack Ryan character since I first encountered him in 1985 when a friend of mine introduced me to him, he was reading The Hunt for Red October and I was intrigued by the plot and the characters. I was delighted when Paramount Pictures teamed up with Prime to deliver…
TIFF ’23: Lee
Before this morning, I had a broad, very generalized knowledge of who Lee Miller was. Now, thanks to this fantastic biopic directed by Ellen Kuras, based on The Lives of Lee Miller by Anthony Penrose and a powerhouse performance (would we expect anything less?) from Kate Winslet as Lee I find my imagination fired, and…
Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019) – Jon Watts
If Homecoming was a celebration welcoming viewers back to the world of Spider-Man, Far From Home is a journey of discovery for Peter/Spider-Man (Tom Holland giving another stellar portrayal of the beloved character) as he confronts the expectations the world has for him as well as his own. So better way to find yourself than…
Transporter 3 (2008) – Olivier Megaton
Transporter 3 should work. Frank Martin (Jason Statham) is back in Europe, there’s a solid actor, Robert Knepper, as the film’s villain, there’s a solid supporting cast including Jeroen Krabbe and Francois Berleand returning as Tarconi, but this one just feels like it flounders. Part of that problem, sadly, rests on the casting of Natalya…
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011) – Guy Ritchie
Guy Ritchie’s follow-up to his take on Arthur Conan Doyle’s iconic creation, Sherlock Holmes, brought to life entertainingly by Robert Downey Jr., plays with some familiar elements, characters and story moments. It gives us a rousing second film that builds on the first and makes things personal for Holmes in his pursuit of Professor Moriarty…
Ocean’s Twelve (2004) – Steven Soderbergh
Soderbergh’s follow-up to the George Clooney, Brad Pitt all-star romp, Ocean’s Eleven delivers more of the same. A cast that looks like it’s having a fantastic time, but this time out, they have Europe as a backdrop. Terry (Andy Garcia) is tracking each member of the Eleven down, and delivers the warning that he wants…
Black Order (2006) – James Rollins
Sigma Force is back in their bext adventure from author James Rollins, who once again combines high adventure, with science, technology, and little known corners of history to deliver another rollicking adventure. This time out, both Painter and Gray find themselves out in the field and caught up in the action in a tale that…
The Mind Reels 