Ladyhawke (1985)

I think one can only appreciate these older fantasy films 40 years after the fact. You have to overlook a flurry of budgetary issues, atrocious acting and uneven plot pacing, but overall, they provide a charming outlook which feels oddly quaint in hindsight. Richard Donner's film certainly has the budget, but Matthew Broderick is weirdly miscast and the humor doesn't quite work, while Michelle Pfeiffer quietly embodies the mysterious title character. It's a gentle tale, not bound to ruffle many feathers, but I enjoy it as light romantic fantasy.

3 days without a night out of 5

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER [1992]

Producer Fran Rubel Kuzui tries her hand at directing then unknown screenwriter Joss Whedon's comedy/horror script Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
It's the age-old story of a Californian high school cheerleader who is unreluctantly chosen to be part of a long line of vampire hunters.
It has neither the dramatic arcs or colorful characters Whedon's now known for but it still features glimpses of cheeky dialogue that no one but title character actress Kristy Swanson seems to know how to properly deliver.  It's pretty obvious nobody seemed to understand what sort of script they were working with and it results in a tonal disgrace.  It has it's good intentions but it's poorly executed.  With something this forgettable who would have known what was to come in five years time?

2 acoustic stakes out of 5

The Osterman Weekend (1983)

A government agency seeks to use one man to catch a group of others in a game of cat and mouse. Or is it cat and cat? Maybe it’s mouse and mouse?
It’s an adaptation of a Robert Ludlum novel, so there are the usual scenes of important men getting nervous over dodgy dealings and a twisty-turny ending. It makes you aware that not everyone sees friendship in the same way, and may even stir you to question if the people who claim to be your friends really are when they aren't beside you.
There’s an unusual car chase and a few scattered moments where Peckinpah piqued my interest technically, but, despite a strong cast his cinematic swansong isn't as memorable as much of what preceded it.

2½ trophy hunters out of 5

Flesh+Blood (1985)

In a more graphic depiction of life in the middle ages, F+B is Paul Verhoeven's answer to over-romanticized medieval films. Gruesome deaths, severed body parts, rape and plague all play their roles in the film. The atmosphere is almost palpable as a ruthless mercenary (Rutger Hauer) and his uncouth gang of ruffians plots reparation after being tricked out of the spoils of war. Despite infamous BTS drama between Verhoeven and Hauer, performances remain genuine. The constant strife of the characters' moral duality is just as fascinating as the character of Agnes (Jennifer Jason Leigh) and her conflicted allegiance. An epic score by Basil Poledouris is a highlight, but some noticeable plot holes and questionable accents knock this one down a peg.

3½ religious misinterpretations out of 5

Split Second (1992)

London has succumbed to the effects of global warming. When the Thames rose the vermin migrated deeper into the city. Accompanying the rats was a serial killer, or so the police believe. One man knows the truth: the perp is over eight feet tall and has fingers that can kill in a split second.
Rutger Hauer plays a tightly-wound homicide detective who likes coffee with his sugar. He's a man on the edge with a score to settle, giving him a hard-on for the murderous creature. His partner (Alastair Duncan) is his opposite in almost every way. Once the clichéd buddy cop pairing is established the film has fun with the relationships; it's primarily what stops it from being drowned in cheapo Predator 2 (1990) levels of sci-fi darkness.

3 hearts ripped out of 5

Omega Doom (1996)

Rutger channels his inner Batty to play an android with poetic turns that isn't averse to acts of violence for a just cause. He rolls into a settlement that has two opposing factions and a neutral party in the middle, then begins to play one side against the other. If that sounds familiar it’s because it's inspired by Yojimbo (1961) and its Western rip-off, A Fistful of Dollars (1964).
The action scenes are weak but the build-up towards them is much better.
The nuclear winter world isn't explored much, but the locations are stylistically lit with colour filters, successfully hiding the cheapness.
The way the androids’ programming dictates their actions and affiliations is a strong point, but their whirring noise got on my tits after a while.

2½ feathers out of 5

Wedlock (1991)

aka Deadlock

At an undefined point ‘in the future’ Rutger Hauer’s luck goes unexpectedly sour. He’s placed in a penal colony where every inmate is fitted with an exploding, electronic collar that triggers if they wander outside of a painted border line. Cross the line = head goes boom.
What unfolds is predicable, light sci-fi stuff. I felt like I’d seen it before even though I hadn't. The prisoners are clichés and the twists and turns are totally transparent. But it’s not terrible and if you enjoy watching Rutger then it’s even enjoyable in places; he gets some caustic lines that raise a chuckle. It’s as if it set out to be average and achieved it.

2½ colourful names out of 5

Wilder (2000)

aka Slow Burn

Pam Grier plays a single mom who’s also a Chicago detective, firm but loving towards her kids, tough and uncompromising on the job. When a case involving a dead woman in a suitcase ruins her day she takes aspects from many of her previous roles and rolls them together into something less than the sum of its parts while trying to solve it.
The script attempts a balance of seriousness and light heartened comedy that doesn't quite succeed, but at least it gives the film some kind of identity. The editor tries to spice it up further but the choice of musical accompaniment undoes most of the hard work.

2 overcompensations out of 5

The Rite (2011)

At first glance this seems to be a more refined look at the Exorcism sub-genre as it casts the thespian heavy-hitter Anthony Hopkins as Father Trevant, a veteran exorcist who takes a skeptical young student (Colin O'Donoghue) under his wing, but with a PG-13 rating the film never delves deep enough to produce any thrills. Instead of a disturbing, in-your-face exorcism, the slow character driven opening scenes are a nice change of pace. O'Donoghue does a fine job in his most prominent role to date as an intelligent and capable young man forced into his roles in the story. The latter half isn't particularly fresh and the ending is handled with Saturday morning cartoon kid-gloves.

2½ your father sucks clocks in Hell out of 5

The Hitcher (1986)

A night-time storm, a lengthy desert road and an unknown hitchhiker are a recipe for disaster for Jim Halsey, who makes the worst decision of his life when he stops to pick up John Ryder.
It works on a number of levels but some of them are easy to overlook. If you do that then it becomes just another mid-80s violent chase movie.
The vast emptiness of the desert adds to the isolation and feelings of helplessness. It wouldn't work so well in any other environment.
The Hitcher’s creepy ability to be seemingly everywhere oversteps believability, but Rutger's sinister intensity as pursuant and mirror to Jim’s better nature keep things entertaining throughout. It goes without saying that the film will make you think twice about stopping to pick up someone on your next journey to wherever the hell it is you journey to alone.

3 road-kills out of 5

Blind Fury (1989)

An American remake of Japanese director Kenji Misumi’s Zatoichi Challenged (1967) that somehow isn't as bad as I’d feared it would be.
Rutger Hauer was a good choice to play the blind swordsman; his cheesy factor is balanced out by his strength of character and his ability to be wryly comical. The plot is part escort mission/part revenge drama that descends into something resembling an episode of The A-Team that, for me, worked in its favour because I love The A-Team. (I really do. It's reviewed HERE.)
I'm surprised there was no Blind Fury 2; there are many more Zatoichi films they could've plundered a similar kind of story from.

2½ useless henchmen out of 5

BLADE RUNNER [1982]

Film noir usually consists of the cynical detective, the femme fatale, a vast array of deadly thugs, corrupt policemen, endless rain and in Philip K. Dick's Blade Runner, android owls.

On & off director Ridley Scott's brilliant adaptation of the gritty sci-fi noir novel is essential viewing for space nerds and film buffs alike.  Having been tinkered with several times over the past 30 years, Blade Runner is made nearly perfect in every way in The Final Cut.  Sure the characters are still a bit boring but the story, setting, atmosphere, sets and photography make up for it with flying colors.

It's a breathtaking and believable film that still holds up strongly till this day.

5 Eyes Of Providence of 5

BATMAN BEGINS [2005]

Heavily inspired by comic books Batman: Year One and The Man Who Falls, director Christopher Nolan gives the Batman movie franchise a well-deserved makeover.
Primarily focusing on humanity, fear and identity in this film, Batman Begins attempts to bring a heavy dose of realism to the world of Gotham City and does a damn fine job at it as well.
The first hour is perfect in every sense, without relying on any special effects, the story charges forward in a beautifully executed character driven fashion. While the second hour focuses more on action, it's good but to be honest I'm far more interested in the Bruce Wayne aspect of the film rather than the hokey sounding Batman.
Like former Batman director Tim Burton praised of this film "Nolan certainly got more to the root of what the Batman comics are about." ...and that's character.

4 Blade Runner homages out of 5