Hard to Kill (Warner Bros., 1990)
Although he'd debuted in Above the Law a couple of years previously, and it had been at least a modest hit - this action flick did boffo box office and turned Steven Seagal into the first action star of the 90's. It is well worth a watch. Anything he did after the mid-90's - well, you'll have to take your chances there.
Black Mama, White Mama (American International, 1973)
Despite a pretty serious set-up and a lot of violence and blood - this is a fairly breezy AIP action movie - the lovely Margaret Markov and the incredible Pam Grier pulling off a distaff Defiant Ones as they break a Filipino prison in chains and try to stay one step ahead of the law without killing each other in the process.
Silent Madness (Almi Pictures, 1984)
Wow! Here's an 80's slasher I'd never heard of until this year - and it's in 3-D! I need to track this one down ASAP!
Until next post, you Can Poke Me With A Fork, Cause I Am Outta Here!
Excellent choices. I need to track down that last one myself. Whoever finds it first, we'll have the other over for a movie night.
ReplyDeleteLove Pam Grier and remember Jayne Kennedy?
Well, Harry found it for both of us on YouTube - guess we're heading to his place! Got your passport?
DeletePam Grier is an Ultrafave of mine! And I do remember Ms. Kennedy - just picked up some Jamaal Fanaka movies on DVD - she's bound to be in there with Leon Isaac Kennedy somewhere!
That's Kelly LeBrock on his arm, isn't it? They would have been we at the time, I think.
ReplyDeleteAwesome obscure posters you've excavated, as always!
They were indeed married back in those days - made pining after her in The Woman in Red a much more dangerous proposition when you think about the possible consequences...
DeleteI expect to see one or all of these at the next annual movie night at my house....sorry again about this past years.....NOW I am not so ANONYMOUS huh?
ReplyDeleteNot so very ANONYMOUS at all! No problem about the miss on that evening - glad you're feeling better. I'll see what I can do to provide one or all of these - I own two of them on DVD, so not a problem! ;)
DeleteHard to believe at one time Steven Seagal was an unknown Craig. Of course, one could argue he's a has-been but his body of work is huge!
ReplyDeleteWhat's interesting to me, Maurice - is he didn't come up the ladder like most action guys - he isn't spottable as an extra in back of a dance scene (Van Damme - Breakin'); he was never seen as a non speaking villainous henchman (Lundgren - A View to a Kill); and he never played bad guy to an established star (Norris - Way of the Dragon) - they just shoved him into the starring spot in Above the Law - and then came this movie and he took off as an action star. And I find dipping in to his recent movies interesting - because he's barely in them! He's doubled for anything shot wider than a medium close-up - he has walking doubles, action doubles, running doubles...this has been confirmed by some low budget filmmakers who've worked with him in these recent movies - of which there are scads...
DeleteHaha, your point about taking chances regarding "anything he did after the mid-90's" is lucid. Hard to Kill was not only Seagal's entry point into fame but the apex of his achievement. Ironic stardom.
ReplyDeleteHe has of course turned into a punchline - thanks to his choice of roles this century and energy drinks and reality shows - thanks, The Soup! But as I said to Maurice above - the weird stuff of cinema draws me in - so these recent movies, with bad doubles working overtime to keep their faces turned from camera - fascinating. In fact, here's a link to my review of one of these movies - it's the last review of three -
Deletehttp://craiglgooh.blogspot.com/2011/02/battle-for-planet-of-buddha-man.html
Ironic stardom indeed.
Apart from his performance in "Machete", I simply hate Seagal. His acting is about as boring as Kristen Stewart's :)
ReplyDeleteHey! Pam Grier? Sid Haig? Sold! :) Boring title here in Austria: Frauen in Ketten = Women In Chains. Meh...
Wtf? Silent Madness? in 3D??? NEVER heard of it, but hey: it's on YT! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-snBXYwmysA
Ah well, Harry, we can't like all of the same things, otherwise what would we jokingly argue about now and again? For me, Seagal is a delight for precisely that reason - in my local entertainment guide review of Fire Down Below - I referred to Seagal as "back in business - not the overweight caftan wearing shlub of the last few movies, but the real honest to goodness beat-the-stuffing-out-of-everyone only-one-angry-expression-for-the-whole-movie Seagal."
DeleteI hope you check out Black Mama White Mama - would that make it into the Horror Movie Diary for review? And that is a boring German title.
Thanks for the link - I will have to check it out! Bet you'll bet me to it!
Silent Madness. it's really standard, if you want my opinion. There's barely any 3D in it...save the cartoon axe. http://redandsticky.blogspot.com/2012/03/spankin-good-time-silent-madness-1984.html
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