The Naked Face (1987)- Roger Moore

Director: Bryan Forbes

Stars: Roger Moore, Rod Steiger and Elliott Gould

Genre:  Action | Mystery | Thriller

MPAA Rating: R

Running Time: 103 Mins

Tagline: "He knows someone is trying to murder him. What he doesn't know can get him killed!"






It is quite amusing what you will find when checking the VHS tape aisle in your local thrift store.  That was at least the case for me when I stumbled upon this old videocassette copy of “The Naked Face”. The cover-which appeared to be like James bond-esque adventure, was more than enough at the time to convince me of making this purchase.  However, as the old saying goes “never judge a book by its cover” is quite evident here.While this may not be a book, it is still a cover, and I made a bad judgment call…this movie is neither related nor similar in any way to the James Bond film series
The real story of “The Naked Face” is about a Psychiatrist named Dr. Judd Stevens, a dedicated and hardworking man, who is wrongfully accused of murdering one of his patients. This  patient is seen early in the film stabbed from behind and falling down a flight of stairs towards a subway entrance; what the audience does not  get to see is the individual who actually stabbed him. So, throughout the film we see Dr. Stevens trying to prove his innocence and aid officials in finding the individual who is responsible; and while trying to prove his innocence, the doctor finds himself caught in tangled mess of conspiracies, lies, and betrayal. 

Dr. Stevens also intents to  to get help from local police and friends who seem of little help in his inocence. More than anything, the police wants him arrested, mafia wants him dead, and friends don’t know how to help. In a sense the guy is helpless and on his own. He does however, have a bargaining piece with the police: a recording session at the doctor’s office with the victim minutes before his death. Nevertheless, the doctor refuses to give this recording due to privacy and confidentiality, which upsets one of the main officers even more. The main cop is played by Rod Steiger, who is better known (at least to me) from the movie Mars Attacks. In this movie, Steiger is mean, loud, and short-tempered-just as he was in Mars Attacks.  For me the performance from both principal actors was great, the problem with this movie is the plot…way to convoluted and contrived.

While not a horrible movie, it does however fail to provide any real form of suspense. The film took itself way too seriously, too hard to follow, and a pacing slower than a snail- at least for me it was. Another issue that I had was the clarification of the characters, never in the movie do they tell you the motives or the reasons behind the accusations…it’s all flat and uninspiring.  Not to mention also that the ending was downright abrupt, no explanation, just a blank ending. Had it not been for that ending and the lack of cohesion, I would be more amicable in giving this film a higher rating. I would personally only recommend this film to Roger Moore enthusiast.

The Naked Face is currently only available in VHS in The U.S. obtaining a copy may be a little difficult outside the internet market. I was lucky to find a copy in a thrift store, but that’s not saying much since the copy I own is in really poor condition. Then again, I wouldn’t recommend owning this film neither on tape nor on DVD (if it ever gets released) but, if you are extremely eager to find it, you can try amazon and eBay for it, I will leave links below. As for the quality of the tape, I must say it has aged poorly; at least that is the case with my copy. The tape is 25+ years old and it shows signs of faded image and damaged audio.

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 

Dead Men Walking (2005)- Bay Bruner (2)

Director: Peter Mervis

Stars: Bay Bruner, Griff Furst and Chriss Anglin

Genre: Horror

MPAA Rating:  R (strong pervasive violence and gore, language and some sexuality)

Running Time: 82 Mins

 

 

I will admit that I am a junkie for Zombie movies. I have perhaps seen every zombie movie in the book. From the worst of the worst ( Zombie Nation, Zombie Holocaust) to the best of the best ( Dawn of The Dead,  Night of The Living Dead) I don’t know what it is about them that gets me to watch them. Perhaps it’s the combination of gore and the post-apocalyptic feel this movies sometimes have. Whatever it may be, I just know I love Zombie films. However, I cannot say that entirely for “Dead Men Walking” a film that requires a lot suspension of disbelief. 

                The opening sequence of the movie sets the record straight of what we are supposed to expect: tons and tons of gore! In this same opening sequence, we witness a man going insanely berserk as he attempts to kill off a couple of zombies inside his house; unfortunately he gets bitten by one of the zombies, gets blamed for killing innocent civilians, and is sent to jail. In jail he begins to transform into a zombie, but not without infecting a few before he changes to “the living dead”. Shortly after he begins to eat inmates, those same inmates bite others, and well you get the idea. It is later explained that the virus was intended for bio-warfare (how original, no?)

      The film wasn’t horrible, just didn’t deliver anything overly special, aside the tons of gore. I felt in some ways the creators could have done a better job with the setting and theme. I do give credit for some originality (the idea of zombies in prison) though that originality quickly fades as soon as you see the horrible acting from the majority of the cast. I  honestly would not recommend buying this flick, perhaps renting it, but not buying it.