The Midas Box of the title is an ancient object that turns anything it houses into gold. Hidden for centuries, it can be found only via the one map in existence that reveals its location. Naturally, a very bad man named Otto Luger (Sam Neill, Jurassic Park) has found the map, so it’s only a […]
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Lone Survivor
Based on a 2007 memoir by former Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell, Lone Survivor details the ill-fated Operation Red Wings. In that 2005 mission, Luttrell and three of his fellow SEALs were dispatched to assassinate a Taliban leader, Ahmad Shah, near Afghanistan’s Hindu Kush Mountains. After getting close to their target, the team was ambushed by […]
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The Wolverine / Prisoners
Based on a particularly well-received run of issues in the 1980s by Frank Miller and Chris Claremont, The Wolverine transports our indestructible, retractable-claw hero (Hugh Jackman, Les Misérables) back to Japan — “back” because he spent some time there as a P.O.W. during World War II, where he saved the life of an enemy soldier […]
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Getaway / Fast & Furious 6
Then arrives Getaway, which put the brakes on Hawke’s streak. The film goes nowhere, despite centering on a man and a car on a fast and furious mission. As a former NASCAR driver, Hawke’s character is tasked with playing a “game.” His wife (soap actress Rebecca Budig) has been kidnapped, and if he wants to […]
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Bounty Killer
In its post-apocalyptic setting of 2042, what remains of our country is a barren wasteland where death warrants are issued for white-collar criminals (somehow, there are still plenty) and bounty hunters compete madly for them, racking up quite a body count. Speaking of rack, “the greatest killer the world had ever known” happens to be […]
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The Fugitive: 20th Anniversary Edition
Even people who have never seen it — shame on you — tend to know what it’s about: Dr. Richard Kimble (Harrison Ford, never better) is accused of murdering his wife. The cops don’t believe his story of the real culprit being a one-armed man … and neither does the jury that sentences him to […]
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Bruce Lee: The Legacy Collection
Yet those were DVDs — and no-frills editions at that — whereas the new Legacy Collection is filled primarily with Blu-rays and loads of extras — about as many as the Boss is Big. Having just reviewed The Big Boss, Fist of Fury, The Way of the Dragon and Game of Death, I won’t rehash those […]
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Flying Fists of Kung Fu / Kickin’ It Shaolin Style
After about the third or fourth film I watched — either 5 Pattern Dragon Claws or 18 Fatal Strikes, I can’t be sure — I noticed how similar the movies were to another. I wasn’t exactly surprised, having digesting so many of these cheap chopsocky efforts over the years, but never in such close proximity. Basically, each […]
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Ultimate Gangsters Collection: Classics
Two vehicles for James Cagney anchor the box: 1931’s The Public Enemy and 1949’s White Heat. Today, he remains indelibly associated with tough-guy roles, and it’s easy to see why. In the former, he demonstrates his might and power with a grapefruit; in the latter, he makes an electrifying exit with the immortal cry of […]
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Dark Angel
Oh, well. At least it’s finally available on Blu-ray, so I can ditch the MGM burned-on-demand DVD (an overdue 2011 release that finally allowed me to ditch my VHS — Google it, kids). Any Dolph Lundgren fan worth his weight in protein powder knows how welcome this high-def release from Shout! Factory is. In a […]