Somewhere between the simmering racism in Billy Jack and the juiced-in hick mobsters of Walking Tall lives Mr. Majestyk.
Charles Bronson
Posted inArts & Culture
Hobo with a Shotgun
Does the gag make the transition from two minutes to 86 minutes? It depends on your tastes, and “Hobo” is purposely full of that which resides on the poor side. To cult-film followers, that should be taken as a rec to rent. The great Rutger Hauer (“Blade Runner” forever!) stars as Hobo — yes, just […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Haunted Summer
To combat this, producers Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus made the occasional stab at respectability, like 1988’s “Haunted Summer.” Directed by Ivan Passer (“Loves of a Blonde”), it’s a dramatization of the wild week in 1816 amid a summer Switzerland paradise when horror fiction practically was born overnight. Mind you, it’s not too high-minded; a […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Sweet Karma
Add Shera Bechard to that list, based upon “Sweet Karma,” her one and only feature film appearance, according to IMDb. (As engaging as I’m sure it is, “World’s Sexiest Nude Women” doesn’t count.) That said, Bechard’s character is mute, so it’s not like she had to wrestle with dialogue or accents. For all we know, […]
Posted inArts & Culture
The Mechanic
Fresh from the all-star “The Expendables,” Statham takes over Charles Bronson’s role from the 1972 “Mechanic” as Arthur, the title’s hit man for hire who is ordered to off his wealthy mentor (Donald Sutherland, TV’s “The Pillars of the Earth”) and then, feeling guilty, takes the man’s destitute son, Steve (Ben Foster, “Pandorum”), under his […]
Posted inMusic
The Mountain Goats — All Eternals Deck
It seems like a quibble to say that the songs on The Mountain Goats’ new release, “All Eternals Deck,” are great, but they don’t fit together. But if you’ve heard the mastery that is “The Sunset Tree,” it’s hard to not want that total package every time. It should be noted that even if John […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Butch and Sundance: The Early Days / Death Hunt
Nothing I can ascertain, outside of now sharing digital bits on Shout! Factory’s new “Action/Adventure Double Feature” release. I love such collections, if only for the X-for-the-price-of-one value. As one would guess, 1979’s “Butch and Sundance” is a prequel to the 1969 Paul Newman/Robert Redford classic, “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.” You may not […]