cult film freak: ed harris

Showing posts with label ed harris. Show all posts

Written by James M. Tate / 5/09/2023 / No comments / bert remsen , bruno kirby , charles bronson , crime , ed harris , eighties , john ashton , mexico , wilford brimley

CHARLES BRONSON IN THE SLEEPY CRIME THRILLER 'BORDERLINE'

<p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx30gY_lYEktEuHIAP_SWvkFK0rgMQmBDY_p9acxg4dGaOWnhRUJxIDRiymb4x53vnUW1381vBd_xPFTQNHEZYKierW5ObINr8PBjCpdl_8p0gQ4z7ZusWw6SlpdVgXPP3lH7CjlcY948wleBT1D0M4P8CgEZhkccWkVHXI3eqigKpJlg2fSN7UPHccA/s1553/Screen%20Shot%202023-05-08%20at%2010.42.44%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="909" data-original-width="1553" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx30gY_lYEktEuHIAP_SWvkFK0rgMQmBDY_p9acxg4dGaOWnhRUJxIDRiymb4x53vnUW1381vBd_xPFTQNHEZYKierW5ObINr8PBjCpdl_8p0gQ4z7ZusWw6SlpdVgXPP3lH7CjlcY948wleBT1D0M4P8CgEZhkccWkVHXI3eqigKpJlg2fSN7UPHccA/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202023-05-08%20at%2010.42.44%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>title: BORDERLINE year: 1980 stars: Charles Bronson rating: *</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Before Charles Bronson spent the 1980's working with Cannon Films, usually noted as his worst period, he starred in a few ITC productions that make Cannon seem like MGM, including the neo noir road picture LOVE & BULLETS, the intentional CASABLANCA knockoff CABOBLANCO and, before the limp exploitation THE EVIL THAT MEN DO is his worst latter film <i>and </i>performance in BORDERLINE...</p><p></p><p></p><p>It's actually more of a non-performance of a mild-mannered Border cop investigating the murder of another agent, played by Wilford Brimley in a scene where a young "Introducing" Ed Harris proves himself a cunning villain, only he's hardly in the picture at all, and never really goes head-to-head with Bronson... at least not all that intensely...<br></p><p><span></span></p>

bert remsen, bruno kirby, charles bronson, crime, ed harris, eighties, john ashton, mexico, wilford brimley

CHARLES BRONSON IN THE SLEEPY CRIME THRILLER 'BORDERLINE'

title: BORDERLINE year: 1980 stars: Charles Bronson rating: * Before Charles Bronson spent the 1980's working with Cannon Films, usually...

TOM CRUISE RETURNS FOR THE POPULAR 'TOP GUN: MAVERICK"

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiciyXZqCJUAWS6a3tOpSJa1pCMv-Qar0jf5WuZhvbyM6UxMf8To1l4Fr6UP7maWIK6GKcNBV-xZIayYkO30rdmr9DKXkvbDK6ZNusHdrbaIWVM-DgLA7bSjWJYIrrfyj2CdNBjm4vMnnIZquz56jWHtg3USqSNGLDdlCEdiBZo8-Y8erPF0t6e73YCgQ/s960/top-gun-maverick-poster-crop.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="445" data-original-width="960" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiciyXZqCJUAWS6a3tOpSJa1pCMv-Qar0jf5WuZhvbyM6UxMf8To1l4Fr6UP7maWIK6GKcNBV-xZIayYkO30rdmr9DKXkvbDK6ZNusHdrbaIWVM-DgLA7bSjWJYIrrfyj2CdNBjm4vMnnIZquz56jWHtg3USqSNGLDdlCEdiBZo8-Y8erPF0t6e73YCgQ/s16000/top-gun-maverick-poster-crop.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: TOP GUN: MAVERICK Year: 2022 Rating: **</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Before deliberately channeling the STAR WARS Death Star trench run, TOP GUN: 
MAVERICK mirrors THE RIGHT STUFF with a breaking-the-barrier sequence 
that even features Ed Harris, playing the first of two uptight 
authority-figures, frowning and scowling at anything our returning/rebellious hero 
does... </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>The thing is, Tom Cruise's MAVERICK really doesn't break many rules, sent back to the familiar TOP GUN headquarters to train a group of youngsters for the Lucas-inspired mission: a single plane (flanked by guardians) needs to strategically drop a bomb into a perfectly tight space to blow-up an entire villainous compound...<br></p><p></p><p><span></span></p>

2022, action, adventure, ed harris, jennifer connelly, jon hamm, miles teller, military, mission, new, sequel, tom cruise, val kilmer

TOM CRUISE RETURNS FOR THE POPULAR 'TOP GUN: MAVERICK"

Title: TOP GUN: MAVERICK Year: 2022 Rating: ** Before deliberately channeling the STAR WARS Death Star trench run, TOP GUN: MAVERICK mirror...

LIAM NEESON & ED HARRIS IN 'RUN ALL NIGHT'

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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2015 rating: **</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
There’s a beginning to THE GODFATHER… a very large wedding. Then there’s the point where the movie <i>really</i> starts…<br />
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As soon as Marlon Brando’s Don Corleone refuses to bring drugs into the business, and his not very business-minded son questions the decision – the dam bursts. And in RUN ALL NIGHT, logical mob boss Shawn Maguire, played by Ed Harris, has his own reasons to… say no to drugs. The rejection puts his own instigating son in jeopardy… But not for long.<br />
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The plot is simple enough. Shawn keeps around his old friend Jimmy Conlon, a hitman with more hang-ups than bullets. In this role, Liam Neeson takes down-and-out to the extreme. Which only means he'll be that much more resilient when the tables turn. This happens when Maguire’s son Danny, who couldn’t be a bigger jerk, kills the guys who were gonna kill him. And Conlon’s son, a limo driver for the deceased, happens to be in the same vicinity. Long story short, Harris wants to kill our ragged hero’s boy as revenge for his own kid's death. And at this point, Action-genre Neeson comes alive... sort of. <br />
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Ironically, with such an energetic title, there’s hardly any pace at all. Despite the camera zooming in frantic beelines, taking us throughout New York City like a Heat-seeking missile, the suspenseful urgency on the ground is limited. Meanwhile, Mike, the son being protected, is so annoyingly reluctant to kick into gear that you’ll want to scream “Get over it already!” after the 100th time he gets his butt saved, and <i>still </i>complains about it. That’s an exaggeration, sure; but the perpetual mopey grudge against pop slows down an already weary vehicle. <b>OVERALL RANK: Jedi, Rebel, </b><u><b>Droid, Sith</b>. </u><br />
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2015, ed harris, liam neeson, neo noir

LIAM NEESON & ED HARRIS IN 'RUN ALL NIGHT'

2015 rating: ** There’s a beginning to THE GODFATHER… a very large wedding. Then there’s the point where the movie really starts… As ...

Written by James M. Tate / 4/26/2013 / No comments / 2013 , dwayne johnson , ed harris , kidnapping , mark wahlberg , michael bay

PAIN & GAIN

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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 2013 cast: Mark Wahlberg, Dwayne Johnson, Tony Shalhoub rating: **1/2</td></tr>
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Based on a true story about three really dumb guys, and if it weren’t for all the blood and guts you’d think PAIN & GAIN was another THREE STOOGES reboot. It’s questionable if director Michael Bay, who at least tells a story without overdoing his usual editorial distractions, shaky cameras and extreme closeups, were making a slapstick comedy or a Tarantinoesque crime flick of the heist nature: Beginning with a flash of Mark Walhberg’s Daniel Lugo being chased by the police, his body flying in the air and his head smashing into a windshield: That’s the future and we quickly leap to the past where our story, eventually narrated by just about every character on board, properly introduces Lugo as a personal trainer in a mediocre weight lifting gym. He really takes his job seriously, wanting his clients to be as musclebound as he is. Especially the annoyingly opinionated millionaire Victor Kershaw who, played by Tony Shalhoub, becomes the target for a bizarre kidnapping scheme.<br />
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Lugo’s partners in crime are likewise muscular dimwits: African American Adrian (Anthony Mackie) has an embarrassing testosterone problem while Dwayne Johnson’s Paul Doyle, the Curly of these particular STOOGES, is an ex-convict Born Again to an intentionally idiotic level. The most involving scenes have the trio putting their plan into action, which includes several failed attempts. The characters work great together as criminal climbers, playing off each other’s gifts (muscle) and shortcomings (brains). After Victor's successfully kidnapped the film morphs into a half-baked dark comedy where torture and violence is treated like a pie fight; yet there's still a plot at hand. It's when Victor’s out of the picture (somewhat) and the buffoons get deeper and deeper in a hole… Doyle becomes a cokehead and Lugo plans an even more ludicrous scheme… you'll wish they'd attempt something simple, like bank robbery or a jewelry heist – at least they'd have a destination!<br />
<br />
Ed Harris as Victor’s gumshoe investigator, eventually putting the jigsaw together, is only necessary for tying up all the loose ends, which should have happened much sooner.

2013, dwayne johnson, ed harris, kidnapping, mark wahlberg, michael bay

PAIN & GAIN

year: 2013 cast: Mark Wahlberg, Dwayne Johnson, Tony Shalhoub rating: **1/2 Based on a true story about three really dumb guys, and if i...

Written by James M. Tate / 8/01/2012 / No comments / christine lahti , ed harris , eighties , fred ward , goldie hawn , jonathan demme , kurt russell , roger corman , romantic comedy , war

SWING SHIFT

christine lahti, ed harris, eighties, fred ward, goldie hawn, jonathan demme, kurt russell, roger corman, romantic comedy, war

SWING SHIFT

year: 1984 cast: Goldie Hawn, Kurt Russell, Christine Lahti, Fred Ward, Ed Harris rating: **1/2 Centers on a housewife whose husband goe...

Written by James M. Tate / 2/08/2012 / No comments / david cronenberg , ed harris , maria bello , neo noir , suspense , viggo mortensen , zeroes

DAVID CRONENBERG'S A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE

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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 2005 Score: *1/2</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Prepare to get serious, very, very serious. Viggo Mortensen plays an average guy with an average family... Well they’re fantastic looking but nothing's extraordinary about their personal lives: residing in a small town dream house and running a local cafe, life’s as easy as it’s simple. Until two vicious thugs rob the place and Viggo displays too much tactical know-how in taking them out single handed, becoming a media hero and bringing attention to… well there’s the plot of this searing, melodramatic tale of a man who might not be what he appears.<br />
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Maria Bello, as his beautiful wife, remains in a blissful, dazed denial about her husband’s true identity, until bigger fish Ed Harris and his formidable goons move in to take Viggo out since he was once, in their opinion, a successful hit man. After all, how could an average Joe be that good with a gun? While EASTERN PROMISES director David Cronenberg sets a nice platform of slowburn suspense, reminiscent of exterior, woodsy Film Noirs like HIGH SIERRA, the good stuff i.e. our hero becoming an antihero takes too long to get happen and once it does… with the 11th hour introduction of a mob boss played by a completely miscast William Hurt… it’s too little, too late. <br />
<br />
Although Viggo Mortensen, displaying an old school tough guy countenance (think early 70's Charles Bronson) does play the part well – there’s simply not enough for his true self to fight for, or against. Based on a graphic novel, this needed to be more... enjoyably violent. But the main problem is the script, so full of ponderous cliches and drawn-out, uninteresting bouts of dialog with brooding characters talking and talking about things almost happening, or just about to happen, yet nothing really ever does.

david cronenberg, ed harris, maria bello, neo noir, suspense, viggo mortensen, zeroes