Tag: Action

  • The Driver (1978)

    The Driver (1978)

    The first time I watched Walter Hill’s The Driver (1978), I couldn’t get into Ryan O’Neal’s performance as the lead. I felt he was too milquetoast or lightweight to play the mysterious professional wheelman, available for hire to crews for heists and robberies. I kept thinking about Hill’s first choice, Steve McQueen, and how much… Read.

  • Double Team (1997)

    Double Team (1997)

    This is one of those movies where I saw the trailer so many times as a teen that the Jean-Claude Van Damme wisecrack to Dennis Rodman, “Who does your hair, Siegfried or Roy?”, was forever burned on my brain. I remember one night out with friends grabbing a kebab after midnight and watching the climax… Read.

  • Action USA (1989)

    Action USA (1989)

    Discovered, restored and released by Alamo Drafthouse, Action USA is a late 1980s low budget stunt fest that screened as part of this year’s Monster Fest. While not matching the giddy heights of a previous Drafthouse hidden VHS gem like Miami Connection, this is still a fun ride. Right from the opening scene of a… Read.

  • The Train (1964)

    The Train (1964)

    A friend, Daniel St. Vincent, recommended checking out The Train (1964), a black-and-white WW2 action drama directed by John Frankenheimer (Seconds, Ronin) and starring Burt Lancaster. For some reason, with that title, I thought the majority of the movie took place on a train like Runaway Train or Unstoppable. Rather, the train is like a… Read.

  • The Big Heat (1953)

    The Big Heat (1953)

    I don’t know my film history but is The Big Heat (1953) the first movie where a cop is asked to hand in their badge and gun? Before they embark on a personal quest for revenge against an unjust system? It certainly feels like it. All I knew about The Big Heat was the infamous… Read.