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Chris Sawin (602 KP) rated Fist of Fury (Jing wu men) (1972) in Movies
Jun 23, 2019
If Enter the Dragon is considered not only Bruce Lee's most successful film, but his most well-received then this would get my vote for a close second. Bruce Lee manages to show a little versatility when it comes to his acting this time around as he's shown dressed up as an old man and as a nerdy, telephone worker each with their own quirks and characteristics that Lee does a great job of portraying. Then there's the fight scenes. While working backwards through the ultimate boxed set, this is the first film to have any blood. The fight scenes are up to Lee's typical standard greatness, but the highlight is surely Chen Zhen's fight with with the seemingly unstoppable Russian, Petrov. Several of the scenes in that fight are featured in most video montages made of Lee to this day and for good reason. This also seemed to be better during the second viewing, which is slightly surprising. This is surely a must see for any Bruce Lee fan.
Aaron Barger (16 KP) rated Batman (1989) in Movies
Mar 16, 2019
Humor (3 more)
Character representation
Action
Style
One of the greats
One of the best Batman movies out there. Michael Keaton is an awesome Bruce Wayne. While it may be a little dated, it has a lot of stay power. With it's well executed sets and costume design, this is a must see.
David McK (3361 KP) rated Batman: Mask Of The Phantasm (1993) in Movies
Jan 29, 2024
Spin-off/prequel from the 90s TV show "Batman: The Animated Series", which comes across as more mature than that Saturday morning cartoon, and which sees Batman implicated in a series of brutal murders of various gangsters.
This also has several flashback sequences to when Bruce Wayne first donned the mask, and to a pre-Joker Joker (although no sign of Harley Quinn here, understandably) and to a lost love of Bruce Wayne's life.
Despite not showing up until roughly the half way mark, Mark Hammill also shows why his interpretation of the clown prince of crime stands as one of the very best (and almost steals the entire show from both Batman and The Phantasm)
This also has several flashback sequences to when Bruce Wayne first donned the mask, and to a pre-Joker Joker (although no sign of Harley Quinn here, understandably) and to a lost love of Bruce Wayne's life.
Despite not showing up until roughly the half way mark, Mark Hammill also shows why his interpretation of the clown prince of crime stands as one of the very best (and almost steals the entire show from both Batman and The Phantasm)
Gareth von Kallenbach (974 KP) rated Batman Begins (2005) in Movies
Aug 14, 2019
In the dark of night, a young man’s life is about to be forever changed. Young Bruce Wayne, son of wealthy industrialist Dr. Thomas Wayne (Linus Roache), is about to be orphaned in a random act of street violence.
The act will forever scar the younger Wayne, and will install and fuel a dark fire to stop crime and corruption wherever they may be. Fast forward years later and Bruce (Christian Bale), is interned in and Asian prison as a result of his desire to stop crime and an unfortunate series of events that made him flee Gotham City to find himself. Hope arrives one day in the form of a visitor named Henri Ducard (Liam Neeson), who arranges not only to free Bruce, but to train him for his destiny.
High atop a rocky, snow-covered peak, Bruce undergoes rigorous physical and mental training to hone his body and mind into the ultimate tool to combat crime. As time passes, Bruce eventually is ready to go out into the world. That is until an unexpected situation arises that forces him to decide which path he wishes to select.
The aftermath of this decision has Bruce returning home to Gotham City, where he is again under the care of the trusted family servant Alfred (Michael Caine), who informs him that crime and corruption is rampant in Gotham because the crime leader Carmine Falcone (Tom Wilkinson), has many members of the police force and judicial system under his influence.
While touring his father’s company, Bruce meets Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman), who makes all manners of high-end experimental military weaponry and armor available to Bruce. Inspired, Bruce begins to craft his alter ego Batman, and takes to the nights to disrupt Falcone and the criminal activities in Gotham.
Unknown to Bruce/Batman, an evil villain known as the Scarecrow (Cillian Murphy), is plotting to destroy Gotham, and with Batman being wanted by the police as a vigilante his attempts to cleanse the city are hindered as Bruce/Batman must fight a war on different fronts.
For most films this would be more than enough plot to carry a summer action film, but for Batman Begins, it is only the setup as the depth of the story is surpassed only by the depth of the intensity and emotion of the film as this is not Tim Burton or Joel Schumacher’s campy takes on the tale of the Dark Knight.
Director Christopher Nolan takes the gloves off and shows that his triumphant work in “Memento” was not a fluke. He has crafted a complex, dark, and emotional film that is more of a drama than a comic book caper. Bale does a masterful job portraying the angst and anger of his character without ever being hammy or over the top. He portrays Wayne as a very normal, yet disturbed soul, who clearly has a method to his madness and is not a shallow once dimensional character. When Bruce is not out fighting crime, he is not above cracking jokes, squiring the ladies about town, and spending time with long time friend (and the one who got away) Rachael Dawes (Katie Holmes).
The film takes many twists and never gets sappy as far too many comic based films do. In fact, the intensity of the film keeps going up until the town literally explodes into frenzy of violence and chaos. Parents should note that this Batman is a very intense film filled with dark images and as such may be too intense for younger viewers as this is a film that is aimed towards a more mature audience.
As I sat through the films nearly two and a half hour running time, I was captivated as the film holds your attention throughout, and is filled with great performances and action. The chase scene with the new Batmobile is one of the best car chase sequences in recent memory and the action scenes move with a crisp and steady pacing. Bale, as I mentioned, does great work, but so do Neeson, Caine and Gary Oldman in a supporting role as Police Officer Gordon. They take supporting characters and infuse them with a touch of humanity that enables them to come across as real people rather than the thin constructs that are far too often passed on as characters in films of this type.
The only real quibble I had with the film, and it is very minor, would be that Holmes was not given a chance to show more to her character other than the duality of the damsel in distress and the passionate Assistant D.A. Her scenes with Bale seem to lack the spark and chemistry of someone who is supposed to have been a close friend of Bruce since they were children.
That being said, the mature nature and gripping and deep storyline, as well as the standout performances and action, make this film a true classic and rivals “Spider-Man” as the best and most faithful adaptation of a comic book.
The act will forever scar the younger Wayne, and will install and fuel a dark fire to stop crime and corruption wherever they may be. Fast forward years later and Bruce (Christian Bale), is interned in and Asian prison as a result of his desire to stop crime and an unfortunate series of events that made him flee Gotham City to find himself. Hope arrives one day in the form of a visitor named Henri Ducard (Liam Neeson), who arranges not only to free Bruce, but to train him for his destiny.
High atop a rocky, snow-covered peak, Bruce undergoes rigorous physical and mental training to hone his body and mind into the ultimate tool to combat crime. As time passes, Bruce eventually is ready to go out into the world. That is until an unexpected situation arises that forces him to decide which path he wishes to select.
The aftermath of this decision has Bruce returning home to Gotham City, where he is again under the care of the trusted family servant Alfred (Michael Caine), who informs him that crime and corruption is rampant in Gotham because the crime leader Carmine Falcone (Tom Wilkinson), has many members of the police force and judicial system under his influence.
While touring his father’s company, Bruce meets Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman), who makes all manners of high-end experimental military weaponry and armor available to Bruce. Inspired, Bruce begins to craft his alter ego Batman, and takes to the nights to disrupt Falcone and the criminal activities in Gotham.
Unknown to Bruce/Batman, an evil villain known as the Scarecrow (Cillian Murphy), is plotting to destroy Gotham, and with Batman being wanted by the police as a vigilante his attempts to cleanse the city are hindered as Bruce/Batman must fight a war on different fronts.
For most films this would be more than enough plot to carry a summer action film, but for Batman Begins, it is only the setup as the depth of the story is surpassed only by the depth of the intensity and emotion of the film as this is not Tim Burton or Joel Schumacher’s campy takes on the tale of the Dark Knight.
Director Christopher Nolan takes the gloves off and shows that his triumphant work in “Memento” was not a fluke. He has crafted a complex, dark, and emotional film that is more of a drama than a comic book caper. Bale does a masterful job portraying the angst and anger of his character without ever being hammy or over the top. He portrays Wayne as a very normal, yet disturbed soul, who clearly has a method to his madness and is not a shallow once dimensional character. When Bruce is not out fighting crime, he is not above cracking jokes, squiring the ladies about town, and spending time with long time friend (and the one who got away) Rachael Dawes (Katie Holmes).
The film takes many twists and never gets sappy as far too many comic based films do. In fact, the intensity of the film keeps going up until the town literally explodes into frenzy of violence and chaos. Parents should note that this Batman is a very intense film filled with dark images and as such may be too intense for younger viewers as this is a film that is aimed towards a more mature audience.
As I sat through the films nearly two and a half hour running time, I was captivated as the film holds your attention throughout, and is filled with great performances and action. The chase scene with the new Batmobile is one of the best car chase sequences in recent memory and the action scenes move with a crisp and steady pacing. Bale, as I mentioned, does great work, but so do Neeson, Caine and Gary Oldman in a supporting role as Police Officer Gordon. They take supporting characters and infuse them with a touch of humanity that enables them to come across as real people rather than the thin constructs that are far too often passed on as characters in films of this type.
The only real quibble I had with the film, and it is very minor, would be that Holmes was not given a chance to show more to her character other than the duality of the damsel in distress and the passionate Assistant D.A. Her scenes with Bale seem to lack the spark and chemistry of someone who is supposed to have been a close friend of Bruce since they were children.
That being said, the mature nature and gripping and deep storyline, as well as the standout performances and action, make this film a true classic and rivals “Spider-Man” as the best and most faithful adaptation of a comic book.
Mark Halpern (153 KP) rated Die Hard (1988) in Movies
Dec 30, 2017
Peter G. (247 KP) rated Army of Darkness (1992) in Movies
Jun 5, 2019
A much funnier and in my opinion best entry in the trilogy, Bruce Campbell shines here in this fish out of water dark fantasy and delivers some great one liners, Sam Raimi adds his trademark style with jumps and scares with the skeleton army being a animated highlight. "This is my boomstick"
Dean (6925 KP) rated Cop Out (2010) in Movies
Sep 9, 2018
Dork_knight74 (881 KP) rated Death Wish (2018) in Movies
Dec 19, 2018
Entertaining
This one hit all the buttons for an action/vigilante thriller. Revenge, gun fights, blood. The cinematography was great and the actng spot on(not too many Bruce Willis movies where he's not). It's pretty much what you'd expect. Plenty entertaining enough to keep you in the story throughout. With a watch!
Nicholas Cage recommended Enter the Dragon (1973) in Movies (curated)
David McK (3361 KP) rated Mercury Rising (1998) in Movies
Jan 22, 2021
Late 90s action Bruce Willis action thriller, in which Willis ends up having to protect an autistic kid from his own government, once that kid solves an 'unbreakable' government code and survives an assassination attempt.
It's an OK watch; nothing special - one of those films I might watch once on, but probably wouldn't hunt out.
It's an OK watch; nothing special - one of those films I might watch once on, but probably wouldn't hunt out.