The action sequence montage that was "John Wick: Chapter 4" has cemented the series' status as a serious blockbuster franchise (even though the movie has only slightly outdone the third entry's domestic box office). Director Chad Stahelski's approach recalls that of George Lucas when he conceived of "Raiders of the Lost Ark" as a series of adventure set pieces, then hired writer Lawrence Kasdan to connect them all together narratively. But in Stahelski's case, his John Wick movies are basically a series of insane gun-fu action scenes threaded together with a much more loose narrative and bolstered by multi-layered lore.
And with the latest entry, those action scenes took even more precedence, as Stahelski and his team pushed themselves to outdo previous entries. With a final act that is basically a full hour of non-stop combat and stunt choreography, the director and his team certainly managed to fill the...
And with the latest entry, those action scenes took even more precedence, as Stahelski and his team pushed themselves to outdo previous entries. With a final act that is basically a full hour of non-stop combat and stunt choreography, the director and his team certainly managed to fill the...
- 5/6/2023
- by Joe Roberts
- Slash Film
(Welcome to Best Action Scene Ever, a column dedicated to breaking down the best, most effective action sequences throughout the genre. In this edition, John Woo blows minds — literally — with the 1992 classic "Hard Boiled.")
Long before a character named John Wick burst onto the scene, changing the entire landscape of action for years to come, a different John W. did very much the same, with even greater challenges to conquer. Hong Kong filmmaker John Woo might be most well-known in the West for his contributions to Hollywood, including the likes of "The Killer," "Face/Off," and "Mission Impossible: II." But true students of the genre know that his work in Hong Kong cinema influenced much of American action filmmaking for decades to come.
1992's "Hard Boiled" marked a huge turning point in Woo's career, representing the last Hong Kong film he made (the movie is mostly spoken in Cantonese) before going...
Long before a character named John Wick burst onto the scene, changing the entire landscape of action for years to come, a different John W. did very much the same, with even greater challenges to conquer. Hong Kong filmmaker John Woo might be most well-known in the West for his contributions to Hollywood, including the likes of "The Killer," "Face/Off," and "Mission Impossible: II." But true students of the genre know that his work in Hong Kong cinema influenced much of American action filmmaking for decades to come.
1992's "Hard Boiled" marked a huge turning point in Woo's career, representing the last Hong Kong film he made (the movie is mostly spoken in Cantonese) before going...
- 4/3/2023
- by Jeremy Mathai
- Slash Film
If nothing else a plucky little competitor that should perform well in limited release, "Mercy Streets" is an American independent brought to market almost a year after its distributor's previous work, "The Blair Witch Project", garnered headlines as a surprise hit at the boxoffice -- and was admired, if nothing else, for its savvy marketing to a core target audience.
"The Omega Code" was another of 1999's most auspicious success stories for Providence Entertainment. And God is the big winner again in "Mercy", a Providence release of a Signal Hill Pictures production directed by Jon Gunn. The picture opened Tuesday in 40 cities and has genuine but unspectacular crossover potential.
Surprisingly well-made but not without fundamental flaws that will present a barrier to mainstream viewers, "Mercy" is a Sidney Lumet-style film noir/melodrama about twin brothers -- one a priest losing his faith faster than a leaky ship, the other a criminal whose had his bad years and now wants to reform. The writing and acting are often subpar, but there's some secular interest in waiting for cameos by pro football Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor and Stacy Keach as charismatic men of God and sideline coaches to the main attraction.
Led by Eric Roberts as Rome, the high-stakes con man who hauls in recently freed inmate John (David White) for one more scam involving the exchange of millions in counterfeit money, most of the film's characters have their allegiances to earthly things and rarely place their faith in fellow man. The speedy scenario has John seek out twin brother Jeremiah (White again in a dual role) after the former gets on the wrong side of Rome.
While John stands by and watches as Jeremiah is kidnapped mistakenly by Rome, he's not so detached when his brother's fiancee Sam (Cynthia Watros of the Fox series "Titus") fails to notice the switch. A different sort of con takes shape, with John assuming his brother's identity and setting about to fleece the flock. Not sensitive to Jeremiah's coming confirmation as an ordained minister, Sam was on the brink of dumping him over her career ambitions. John -- apparently just because it's his style -- rekindles her romantic fires with spontaneous little adventures.
Meanwhile, Rome gets wise that Jeremiah is not the one he's after but uses him in the same capacity as John under the threat of exposing his brother to the law. In fruitful couplings of disparate players, John is challenged and motivated to set things right by Jeremiah's comrade of the cloth Tex (Shief Mahmud-Bey), and John's party-girl friend Sunny (Lisa Furst) ends up hostage with Jeremiah, sharing a few deep thoughts.
Filmed in the farm town of Visalia and other Fresno County, Calif., locations, "Mercy" is technically sound, and Roberts and White strive for some semblance of authenticity. But, like many an indie crime movie with or without the spiritual messages, generic conflicts and cliched characters only take you so far -- and then it takes a leap of faith.
MERCY STREETS
Providence Entertainment
Signal Hill Pictures
Director: Jon Gunn
Screenwriters: Jon Gunn, John W. Mann
Producers: Bobby Downes, Kevin Downes, Jon Gunn, Travis Mann, David White, Geoff Ludlow
Executive producers: Marta Wells, Dan Wells, Karen Bowerman, Greg Bowerman
Director of photography: Chris Magee
Production designer: Michael Pearce
Editors: Jeffrey Lee Hollis, Jon Gunn, Brett Winn
Costume designer: Mila Hermanovski
Music: Steffan Fantini
Color/stereo
Cast:
Rome: Eric Roberts
John/Jeremiah: David White
Sam: Cynthia Watros
Tex: Shiek Mahmud-Bey
Dan: Lawrence "LT" Taylor
Tom: Stacey Keach
Sunny: Lisa Furst
TJ: Robert Lasardo
Running time - 108 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
"The Omega Code" was another of 1999's most auspicious success stories for Providence Entertainment. And God is the big winner again in "Mercy", a Providence release of a Signal Hill Pictures production directed by Jon Gunn. The picture opened Tuesday in 40 cities and has genuine but unspectacular crossover potential.
Surprisingly well-made but not without fundamental flaws that will present a barrier to mainstream viewers, "Mercy" is a Sidney Lumet-style film noir/melodrama about twin brothers -- one a priest losing his faith faster than a leaky ship, the other a criminal whose had his bad years and now wants to reform. The writing and acting are often subpar, but there's some secular interest in waiting for cameos by pro football Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor and Stacy Keach as charismatic men of God and sideline coaches to the main attraction.
Led by Eric Roberts as Rome, the high-stakes con man who hauls in recently freed inmate John (David White) for one more scam involving the exchange of millions in counterfeit money, most of the film's characters have their allegiances to earthly things and rarely place their faith in fellow man. The speedy scenario has John seek out twin brother Jeremiah (White again in a dual role) after the former gets on the wrong side of Rome.
While John stands by and watches as Jeremiah is kidnapped mistakenly by Rome, he's not so detached when his brother's fiancee Sam (Cynthia Watros of the Fox series "Titus") fails to notice the switch. A different sort of con takes shape, with John assuming his brother's identity and setting about to fleece the flock. Not sensitive to Jeremiah's coming confirmation as an ordained minister, Sam was on the brink of dumping him over her career ambitions. John -- apparently just because it's his style -- rekindles her romantic fires with spontaneous little adventures.
Meanwhile, Rome gets wise that Jeremiah is not the one he's after but uses him in the same capacity as John under the threat of exposing his brother to the law. In fruitful couplings of disparate players, John is challenged and motivated to set things right by Jeremiah's comrade of the cloth Tex (Shief Mahmud-Bey), and John's party-girl friend Sunny (Lisa Furst) ends up hostage with Jeremiah, sharing a few deep thoughts.
Filmed in the farm town of Visalia and other Fresno County, Calif., locations, "Mercy" is technically sound, and Roberts and White strive for some semblance of authenticity. But, like many an indie crime movie with or without the spiritual messages, generic conflicts and cliched characters only take you so far -- and then it takes a leap of faith.
MERCY STREETS
Providence Entertainment
Signal Hill Pictures
Director: Jon Gunn
Screenwriters: Jon Gunn, John W. Mann
Producers: Bobby Downes, Kevin Downes, Jon Gunn, Travis Mann, David White, Geoff Ludlow
Executive producers: Marta Wells, Dan Wells, Karen Bowerman, Greg Bowerman
Director of photography: Chris Magee
Production designer: Michael Pearce
Editors: Jeffrey Lee Hollis, Jon Gunn, Brett Winn
Costume designer: Mila Hermanovski
Music: Steffan Fantini
Color/stereo
Cast:
Rome: Eric Roberts
John/Jeremiah: David White
Sam: Cynthia Watros
Tex: Shiek Mahmud-Bey
Dan: Lawrence "LT" Taylor
Tom: Stacey Keach
Sunny: Lisa Furst
TJ: Robert Lasardo
Running time - 108 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
- 11/3/2000
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Rookies no more, the "Next Generation" cast and crew of the Starship Enterprise-E score a solid sci-fi hit with their second feature, orchestrated handily by first-time director and co-star Jonathan Frakes. The "tent pole" Paramount release should perform heroically in the crowded holiday marketplace and round up plenty of loot overall.
"Star Trek: First Contact" is another vigorously entertaining installment in the ongoing film series based on the original 1960s TV series and its 1980s follow-up, created by Gene Roddenberry. Producer Rick Berman and the seven principal "Next Generation" players, along with screenwriters Brannon Braga and Ronald D. Moore, return two years after the hit "Star Trek Generations", which featured the death of Capt. Kirk (and, in effect, retired the old series after seven films).
Like the merciless Borg, whose warning to all they encounter is "Resistance is futile", there's a quantum leap in the way "First Contact" tackles questions of identity, mortality and sexuality. The action is swift and decisive and the plot is sure-fire genre adventure, but there's a noticeable battle of sensibilities in the characterizations, with some subplots working better than others.
In a very complex puzzle, the pieces don't all fit together, while some of the humor is clunky. Alfre Woodard as a cut-the-crap 21st century rocketeer comes up lame in an underwritten role. Although she has several big scenes, unfortunately they're with Patrick Stewart, who dominates as the once-Borg-controlled Capt. Picard.
After a seemingly victorious space shootout with the Borg's massive cube-shaped ship, the Enterprise chases a Borg pod through a time warp. Encountered several times on the "Next Generation" series, the Borg either destroy everything in sight or "assimilate" other races. Unlucky humans captured by them become cyborgs, with various unattractive attachments, and are stripped of individuality to become one with the "hive mind."
The movie asks audiences to assimilate a hitherto untouched series of events in the future history that accompanies the "Star Trek" film and shows -- that is, the simultaneous discovery of the all-important warp drive and Earth's "first contact" with friendlies from outer space. The Borg's "Terminator"-like plan is to zap the human race at the dawn of its joining the universe.
Sometime after World War III ("600 million dead") in the year 2063, one Zefram Cochrane (James Cromwell) converts a missile into a spaceship. While Riker (Frakes), Geordi (LeVar Burton) and Troi (Marina Sirtis) assist the reluctant, hard-drinking Cochrane, the Borg's "Alien"-like strategy is to take over the Enterprise deck by deck.
Meanwhile, Data (Brent Spiner) takes his quest to feel human emotions to the lair of the Borg Queen (Alice Krige), where some of the kinkiest, clammiest "Trek" romance to date goes down. Other major sequences include a tense showdown in spacesuits on the outside of the Enterprise and the climactic "first contact," which is presented as a holy event. Overall, the Industrial Light and Magic effects are terrific and Matthew F. Leonetti's wide-screen cinematography is stellar.
STAR TREK: FIRST CONTACT
Paramount Pictures
A Rick Berman production
Director Jonathan Frakes
Producer Rick Berman
Writers Brannon Braga, Ronald D. Moore
Based upon "Star Trek" created by Gene
Roddenberry
Executive producer Martin Hornstein
Co-producer Peter Lauritson
Director of photograpy Matthew F. Leonetti
Production designer Herman Zimmerman
Editor John W. Wheeler
Costume designer Deborah Everton
Visual effects supervisor John Knoll
Music Jerry Goldsmith
Casting Junie Lowry-Johnson, Ron Surma
Color/stereo
Cast:
Picard Patrick Stewart
Riker Jonathan Frakes
Data Brent Spiner
Geordi LeVar Burton
Worf Michael Dorn
Beverly Gates McFadden
Troi Marina Sirtis
Lily Alfre Wooodard
Zefram Cochrane James Cromwell
Borg Queen Alice Krige
Running time -- 110 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG-13...
"Star Trek: First Contact" is another vigorously entertaining installment in the ongoing film series based on the original 1960s TV series and its 1980s follow-up, created by Gene Roddenberry. Producer Rick Berman and the seven principal "Next Generation" players, along with screenwriters Brannon Braga and Ronald D. Moore, return two years after the hit "Star Trek Generations", which featured the death of Capt. Kirk (and, in effect, retired the old series after seven films).
Like the merciless Borg, whose warning to all they encounter is "Resistance is futile", there's a quantum leap in the way "First Contact" tackles questions of identity, mortality and sexuality. The action is swift and decisive and the plot is sure-fire genre adventure, but there's a noticeable battle of sensibilities in the characterizations, with some subplots working better than others.
In a very complex puzzle, the pieces don't all fit together, while some of the humor is clunky. Alfre Woodard as a cut-the-crap 21st century rocketeer comes up lame in an underwritten role. Although she has several big scenes, unfortunately they're with Patrick Stewart, who dominates as the once-Borg-controlled Capt. Picard.
After a seemingly victorious space shootout with the Borg's massive cube-shaped ship, the Enterprise chases a Borg pod through a time warp. Encountered several times on the "Next Generation" series, the Borg either destroy everything in sight or "assimilate" other races. Unlucky humans captured by them become cyborgs, with various unattractive attachments, and are stripped of individuality to become one with the "hive mind."
The movie asks audiences to assimilate a hitherto untouched series of events in the future history that accompanies the "Star Trek" film and shows -- that is, the simultaneous discovery of the all-important warp drive and Earth's "first contact" with friendlies from outer space. The Borg's "Terminator"-like plan is to zap the human race at the dawn of its joining the universe.
Sometime after World War III ("600 million dead") in the year 2063, one Zefram Cochrane (James Cromwell) converts a missile into a spaceship. While Riker (Frakes), Geordi (LeVar Burton) and Troi (Marina Sirtis) assist the reluctant, hard-drinking Cochrane, the Borg's "Alien"-like strategy is to take over the Enterprise deck by deck.
Meanwhile, Data (Brent Spiner) takes his quest to feel human emotions to the lair of the Borg Queen (Alice Krige), where some of the kinkiest, clammiest "Trek" romance to date goes down. Other major sequences include a tense showdown in spacesuits on the outside of the Enterprise and the climactic "first contact," which is presented as a holy event. Overall, the Industrial Light and Magic effects are terrific and Matthew F. Leonetti's wide-screen cinematography is stellar.
STAR TREK: FIRST CONTACT
Paramount Pictures
A Rick Berman production
Director Jonathan Frakes
Producer Rick Berman
Writers Brannon Braga, Ronald D. Moore
Based upon "Star Trek" created by Gene
Roddenberry
Executive producer Martin Hornstein
Co-producer Peter Lauritson
Director of photograpy Matthew F. Leonetti
Production designer Herman Zimmerman
Editor John W. Wheeler
Costume designer Deborah Everton
Visual effects supervisor John Knoll
Music Jerry Goldsmith
Casting Junie Lowry-Johnson, Ron Surma
Color/stereo
Cast:
Picard Patrick Stewart
Riker Jonathan Frakes
Data Brent Spiner
Geordi LeVar Burton
Worf Michael Dorn
Beverly Gates McFadden
Troi Marina Sirtis
Lily Alfre Wooodard
Zefram Cochrane James Cromwell
Borg Queen Alice Krige
Running time -- 110 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG-13...
- 11/18/1996
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
A peroxided Rodney Dangerfield presses his girlfriend's teenage son into cross-dressing in ''Ladybugs, '' a typical vehicle for the comedian that should duplicate the appeal of his previous efforts. It's amazing how many touchy issues Dangerfield can joke about without ever being offensive, and the comedian's likability is the primary appeal of this low-budget feature.
Dangerfield is Chester Lee, a salesman who needs a raise if he's going to marry his fiancee Bess (Ilene Graff). Desperate to impress his boss, Dave Mullen (Tom Parks), Chester agrees to coach the company-sponsored girls championship soccer team, which turns out to be undergoing a rebuilding year with a bunch of hapless neophytes.
Chester and his secretary Julia (Jackee) try managing from a how-to book with no success and, in desperation, Chester pressures Matthew (Jonathan Brandis), Bess's antagonistic, athletic and androgynous-looking son, into dressing up as a girl and playing on the team.
The film essentially plays out every complication this causes -- Chester even finds himself in drag when he has to rescue Matthew from the team's skinny-dipping pool party -- taking care to assert and reassert Chester and Matthew's heterosexuality along the way (Matthew is in love with one of his teammates, Mullen's daughter Kim, played by Vinessa Shaw).
The action occasionally comes to a complete halt while Dangerfield does a mini-standup routine, and the comedian has an uncanny knack of milking laughs from even the most familiar gags. He is a fine identification figure for suburban everyman, trying to grab a modest piece of the pie while trying to hold on to the last, torn shreds of his dignity.
Still, the film has some weird, if unspoken, sexual implications. Every man in the film is intimidated by women and the cross-dressing scenes have a panicky tone. Most of this is buried by the laughs, but it's there all the same.
LADYBUGS
PARAMOUNT
A Ruddy & Morgan Production
Producers Albert S. Ruddy, Andre E. Morgan
Director Sidney J. Furie
Writer Curtis Burch
Director of photography Dan Burstall
Production designer Robb Wilson King
Editors John W. Wheeler, A.C.E., Timothy N. Board
Music Richard Gibbs
Casting Mike Fenton, C.S.A., Valorie Massalas
Color/Dolby
Chester Lee Rodney Dangerfield
Julie Benson Jackee
Matthew Jonathan Brandis
Bess Ilene Graff
Kimberly Vinessa Shaw
Dave Mullen Jeanetta Arnette
Running time -- 89 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG-13
(c) The Hollywood Reporter...
Dangerfield is Chester Lee, a salesman who needs a raise if he's going to marry his fiancee Bess (Ilene Graff). Desperate to impress his boss, Dave Mullen (Tom Parks), Chester agrees to coach the company-sponsored girls championship soccer team, which turns out to be undergoing a rebuilding year with a bunch of hapless neophytes.
Chester and his secretary Julia (Jackee) try managing from a how-to book with no success and, in desperation, Chester pressures Matthew (Jonathan Brandis), Bess's antagonistic, athletic and androgynous-looking son, into dressing up as a girl and playing on the team.
The film essentially plays out every complication this causes -- Chester even finds himself in drag when he has to rescue Matthew from the team's skinny-dipping pool party -- taking care to assert and reassert Chester and Matthew's heterosexuality along the way (Matthew is in love with one of his teammates, Mullen's daughter Kim, played by Vinessa Shaw).
The action occasionally comes to a complete halt while Dangerfield does a mini-standup routine, and the comedian has an uncanny knack of milking laughs from even the most familiar gags. He is a fine identification figure for suburban everyman, trying to grab a modest piece of the pie while trying to hold on to the last, torn shreds of his dignity.
Still, the film has some weird, if unspoken, sexual implications. Every man in the film is intimidated by women and the cross-dressing scenes have a panicky tone. Most of this is buried by the laughs, but it's there all the same.
LADYBUGS
PARAMOUNT
A Ruddy & Morgan Production
Producers Albert S. Ruddy, Andre E. Morgan
Director Sidney J. Furie
Writer Curtis Burch
Director of photography Dan Burstall
Production designer Robb Wilson King
Editors John W. Wheeler, A.C.E., Timothy N. Board
Music Richard Gibbs
Casting Mike Fenton, C.S.A., Valorie Massalas
Color/Dolby
Chester Lee Rodney Dangerfield
Julie Benson Jackee
Matthew Jonathan Brandis
Bess Ilene Graff
Kimberly Vinessa Shaw
Dave Mullen Jeanetta Arnette
Running time -- 89 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG-13
(c) The Hollywood Reporter...
- 3/28/1992
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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