Silent Trigger (1996)- Dolph Lundgren (1 ½ )

Director: Russell Mulcahy

Stars: Dolph Lundgren, Gina Bellman and Conrad Dunn

Genre:  Action | Drama | Thriller

MPAA Rating: R (strong violent content and language, and for some sexuality and drug content)

Running Time: 89 Mins

Tagline: "Kill or be Killed "





REVIEW

Silent Trigger is not your typical action film; in fact it’s not really an action film at all. Sure, there are some scenes that due involve fighting and shooting, but the instances are very few. The only reason I picked this title up was because of Dolph Lundgren, I like the guy’s movies, they may be unoriginal but they sure are entertaining. I wish I could say the same thing for Silent Trigger, a movie that had me bored to death for 89 min.

Dolph Lundgren plays a hired assassin that gets double crossed by his employer for not following a primary objective. So, for the majority of the film, we see Lundgren an a female counterpart in the same game of death, both on the lurk for the man who hired them and killing of another target. I am sure there are many details I missed out from the movie, that’s for sure, but keep in mind I was bored to death in this film.

I wouldn’t recommend this movie, honestly I wouldn’t. the biggest problem this movie faces is the production values; the film looks like it was shot in an abandoned building. Also, I got aggravated with the constant flashbacks, at first I had a hard time knowing what was the present and what was the past. I am surprised this movie is directed by the man who directed Highlander, a director who used great editing to transition from past to present in that film.  All in all, I wouldn’t suggest nor recommend this turd. Stay far away.

DVD

I first got this DVD back in 08 while I was still working for FYE. The movie was really cheap, I only paid 2 dollars for it…and with all sincerity, that’s pretty much what it’s worth.

VIDEO

The DVD brings the movie in a fullscreen presentation. From what I heard, the movie was shot in a 2:35:1 widescreen. For me, it doesn’t bother me at all, its not a good movie anyway.  

AUDIO

The audio is perhaps the only good thing in this bare bones DVD, it brings both a 5.1. Surround Sound and a 2ch surround sound.

The Hitman (1991)- Chuck Norris (3)

Director: Aaron Norris

Stars: Chuck Norris, Michael Parks and Al Waxman

Genre: -  Action | Crime | Thriller

MPAA Rating: R (strong gangster violence, and for language)

 Running Time: 95 Mins

Tagline: "He's so far undercover he may never get back"

 REVIEW

Let me begin by saying that this is one of the most unoriginal movies of the 90’s. But, it stars Chuck Norris, and as we all know, Chuck Norris can strangle you with a cordless phone, so I will be amicable about this review. Anyway, The Hitman is one of those 90’s films that have long since been forgotten, and if you ask anyone about it they will confuse it with the film adaptation of the popular video game from the same name.  So to clear confusion, this movie is not related at all to the  horrible video game movie starring Timothy Oliphant; with that said let’s begin the review.

This movie tells the story of a cop who is betrayed by his partner, and ends in a coma. The premise is very similar to the Steven Seagal movie Hard to Kill, but as the film progresses it takes a very different route. After the betrayal, Norris’s character assumes a new identity and infiltrates the Seattle mafia who are battling with Vancouver-based mobsters for control of the drug trade. Things go awry when Iranian drug dealers come in to town; total war breaks out between the three groups. Throughout the film, Norris pretends he is protecting the mafia head leader, when in fact he is undercover, and is also out to seek revenge.

The movie is not original in any way, but I had a good time overall.  The best scene in this movie is perhaps when Chuck walks into an Arab restaurant  and begins to insult the food they are eating and later single-handedly taking out  every one of them .  The movie isn’t politically correct, that’s for sure, but its great if your just in it for the action and some unintentional laughs.

DVD

I own this movie in a triple feature DVD from Warner Home Entertainment.  The price for the triple feature is considerably cheap now, at the time I paid 14 bucks for it, now it’s gone down to 5.97 new!  here is the link for the DVD- Chuck Norris Triple Feature

VIDEO 

I wasn’t too happy with the quality on this DVD. The film came in an aspect ratio of 1:33:1 and I have a widescreen TV…so, it means I need to zoom in order to capture the whole screen, causing the picture quality to suffer.

AUDIO

The audio is just as crummy, no 5.1. Surround sound on this DVD, just a basic 2channel stereo sound.

The Alien Factor (1978)-Don Leifert (1)

Director: Don Dohler

Stars:  Don Leifert, Tom Griffith and Richard Dyszel

Genre: Horror | Sci-Fi

MPAA Rating: NR

Running Time: 80 Mins

Tagline: None



REVIEW

     If you love cheesy sci-fi / horror films that serve no purpose other than cause unintentional laughs, then grab the popcorn and find a comfy couch, because you are in for a treat. The Alien Factor is your typical “shoe string” budget film that stars a bunch of unknowns who can’t act for beans; but that’s ok, we are not interested in good acting…or are we?  Anyways, I promise you that after reading this review you will have a sincere and thorough summary that will leave you decided on whether or not you want to view it.

The film begins with the crash landing of an alien ship containing live specimens for an alien planet Zoo. After the ships’ crash, the specimens escape, and begin racking up a body count. The sheriff and townspeople start scratching their heads in confusion once they find the bodies. Many of the bodies show signs of progeria (a rare age accelerating disease) which makes little sense, because it only affects young children and not adults. But the confusion gets clarified when we are introduced to a scientist that reveals that the citizens are being murdered by ALIENS!!! OH NO!  

Later on in the film, we see the mayor and the scientist finding the remains of the ship. The scientist is later revealed to be an alien as well, but a good one, here to help catch the one that are on the loose. I have to say, for me, this movie was crap. The only redeeming value I got was unintentional laughs. The film can be enjoyed if you have no expectation and are open to just watch and not criticize. Also, the effects in this movie are downright awful, the latex or whatever material they decided to use for the alien looks cheap and underdeveloped.  Now, I know I mentioned earlier, sarcastically, that the acting doesn’t matter, but let me tell you a little secret…it does matter; the acting in this movie makes Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan look like academy award winning actresses.  So with that said, this movie is nothing more than a cheap attempt at making an alien invasion theme film. However, I will admit, that I did enjoy the crap in this flick, even if at times I was snoozing off or just bored to death.  So as a conclusion,  I leave  you for homework to the decide on whether or not you will purchase or rent this flick.

DVD

The only reason I saw this movie was because it came in the “Sci-Fi Invasion 50 Movie Pack” from echo-bridge. If you are interested, you may click the link to buy the box set above, which will direct you to Amazon. I have seen most of the movies on the box set, and the vast majority of them are B-movies

VIDEO

Like the majority of movies on this box set, the video quality is pretty bad. Curious, because the box set claims the movies have been remastered, well that doesn’t seem truthful, because the source looks like it came from a 3^rd or 4^th generation VHS copy.  I don’t mind the bad quality, these movies don’t deserve to be remastered; just don’t advertise it as such.

AUDIO

Just like the video, the quality of the audio is atrocious. At times I had to raise the volume to high on my speakers to understand what they were saying.

TRAILER