Tucker: The Man and His Dream

PLOT (spoiler alert!!!):

Detroit engineer Preston Tucker (Jeff Bridges) has been interested in building cars since childhood. During World War II he designed an armored car for the military and made money building gun turrets for airplanes in a small shop next to his home in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Tucker is supported by his large, extended family, including wife Vera (Joan Allen) and eldest son Preston Jr (Christian Slater).

As the war winds down, Tucker has a dream of finally building the “car of the future.” The “Tucker Torpedo” will feature revolutionary safety designs including disc brakes, seat belts, a pop out windshield, and head lights which swivel when you turn. Tucker hires young designer Alex Tremulis (Elias Koteas) to help with the design and enlists New York financier Abe Karatz (Martin Landau), to arrange financial support. Raising the money through a stock issue, Tucker and Karatz acquire the enormous Dodge Chicago Plant to begin manufacturing.

Launching “the car of tomorrow” in a spectacular way, the Tucker Corporation is met with enthusiasm from shareholders and the general public. However, the Tucker company board of directors, unsure of his ability to overcome the technical and financial obstacles ahead, send Tucker off on a publicity campaign, and attempt to take complete control of the company. At the same time, Tucker faces animosity from the Big Three and the authorities led by Michigan Senator Homer S. Ferguson (Lloyd Bridges).

While the manufacturing of the Tucker Torpedo continues, Tucker is confronted with allegations of stock fraud. Ferguson’s investigation with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), causes Karatz, once convicted of bank fraud, to resign, fearful that his criminal record will prejudice the hearings. Yellow journalism starts ruining Tucker’s public image even though the ultimate courtroom battle is resolved when he parades his entire production run of 51 Tucker Torpedoes, proving that he has reached production status.

After giving a speech to the jurors on how capitalism in the United States is harmed by efforts of large corporations against small entrepreneurs like himself, Tucker is acquitted on all charges. Nevertheless, his company falls into bankruptcy and Preston Tucker succumbs to a heart attack seven years later, never able to realize his dream of producing a state-of-the-art automobile.

REVIEW :

I think I’m one of a handful of people who actually remember Tucker: The Man and His Dream. When this film was released it did ok business, but was still considered a flop. As such, it never had the chance to gain a cult audience, so now it just exists without any real rabid fanbases supporting it.

What is this about?

Unimpressed with the cars being built following World War II, Preston Tucker dreams of building a more stylish car. But even with the help of his business-savvy wife and mechanic son, Tucker faces roadblocks — mainly from the auto industry itself.

What did I like?

Faithful. With biopics, it is very hard to stick with the original story, because you want to change bits and pieces in a way to make it more interesting for audiences. The director made a valiant effort to not change anything with picture and the few changes that were made were minor, the biggest being that instead of 4 yrs, it takes place over the course of 1 year. There are other small changes made, but none that made a big difference, as far as I’m concerned.

Cast. Very rarely does one come across a film that has such a perfect cast. Highlighted by the star Jeff Bridges, who manages to capture the 40s essence needs to pull this off. In certain scenes, it almost seems as if he’s trying to imitate Kevin Costner’s mannerisms and such from The Untouchables.

There was a time. Anyone that follows this blog or knows me in person will attest that I’m huge fan of this era. There is just something about the way things were done back then. Couple that with some great jazz playing on the radio, and a look at a couple of full service gas stations. Really makes one nostalgic, even I was taken aback by it all.

What didn’t I like?

Price isn’t right. Martin Landau gives a nice performance as financier Abe Kravitz, but his look threw me off. With the moustache they put on him. he resembled Vincent Price. It is possible, yet unlikely, that they wanted Price for this role. Perhaps the real Kravitz resembles Price is the reasoning for that. I really can’t tell you, but I kept expecting him to go to some kind of lab and create monsters and give and evil laugh.

Hughes. Now, fans of Quantum Leap will recognize Dean Stockwell, who plays Howard Hughes. The way that sequence played out was quite odd. Hughes was a bit of an enigmatic figure, to be sure, but they ratchet the mysterious part of his persona to 10. I can live with that, but the creepy music they play behind him almost make the audience think something bad is about to happen.

Politics. Some things never change. Politicians stick their grubby little hands in and basically put Tucker out of business. That is a damn shame! When did politicians go from serving the people to serving the dollar? These days you can throw in throwing a tantrum when they don’t get their way, but I won’t go into all that. The powers that be see Tucker as a threat because his ideas actually work and will make things better (and cheaper). One must wonder how many others have suffered the same fate, if not worse.

Tucker: The Man and His Dream is one of those films that not many people know about. Truthfully, the same can be said about the man, Preston Tucker, but it is a great thing that someone wet through the trouble to inform the public about someone who was so influential to the automobile industry. Here’s something else, the Tucker Tornado still has a futuristic look some 70 yrs later. There was an article on Yahoo.com a week or so ago about a real life version of the car Homer designed in an early episode of The Simpsons. I just realized that the debut scenes are very similar. At any rate, I highly recommend this film. It is a very entertaining biopic about a figure that many of us don’t know about. Check it out!

4 out of 5 stars

Conan the Destroyer

PLOT (spoiler alert!!!):

While praying at an altar with his traveling companion and fellow thief Malak (Tracey Walter), Conan (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is confronted by Queen Taramis (Sarah Douglas) of Shadizar, who tests the pair in combat with several of her guards. She tells him that she has a quest for him, but he initially refuses her. The Queen uses her power to learn his greatest desire, and promises to resurrect Conan’s beloved Valeria. Conan agrees to the quest. The Queen states that her niece, Jehnna (Olivia d’Abo), is destined to find a special jewel that can be used to obtain an artifact that will awaken the dreaming god, Dagoth. She tasks Conan and Malak to protect Jehnna on this journey, to be accompanied by the captain of the Queen’s guard, Bombaata (Wilt Chamberlain). Secretly, the Queen has instructed Bombaata to kill Conan once the task is complete so they can sacrifice Jehnna to the god.

Because the gem is secured in the fortress of a powerful wizard, Conan seeks the help of his friend, the wizard Akiro (Mako). Akiro must first be rescued from a tribe of cannibals who plan to eat him to absorb his magic. Afterwards they meet Zula (Grace Jones), a powerful warrior and bandit, whom Jehnna and Conan rescue from vengeful villagers; considering herself indebted to Conan for saving her life, she offers to join their quest. They reach the wizard Toth-Amon’s (Pat Roach) icy castle upon a lake, and make camp for the night. While they sleep, the wizard transforms into a bird of smoke and kidnaps Jehnna. The company assault the castle and Conan is able to defeat the wizard, but in doing so he disrupts the magic binding the castle together forcing their hasty retreat. With the jewel now in hand they travel to the place where the horn is hidden. Jehnna expresses romantic interest in Conan, but he drunkenly rebuffs her and declares his devotion to Valeria.

They reach an ancient temple, and Jehnna uses the power of the jewel to find and obtain the horn. Guardians of the horn overwhelm the group, but they manage to find a secret exit passage. Bombaata blocks their exit and seizes Jehnna. The others escape his deathtrap and make their way back to Shadizar. There, they use a secret route known to Malak (through his “Cousin’s sister’s brother”, basically his first cousin) to reach the throne room and confront Bombaata. Conan kills him in combat.

Meanwhile, Jehnna has been drugged and prepared for the sacrifice. The horn is placed upon the head of the Dagoth statue. Upon its first signs of life, they attempt to sacrifice Jehnna, but Zula intervenes and kills the Grand Vizier (Jeff Corey) first. Having received an improper sacrifice, the statue becomes angry and begins to twist and distort into the demonic version of Dagoth (André the Giant) as Akiro had feared. Queen Taramis is killed and Conan battles the Dagoth, eventually killing it by removing the horn from its head.

After the battle, the newly crowned Queen Jehnna offers each of her companions a place in her new court. Zula becomes the new captain of the guard replacing the recently deceased Bombatta, because Jehnna does not see any reason why a woman cannot do as good a job as any man. Akiro becomes her new wiseman and advisor, and Malak’s buffoonery qualifies him for the position of court jester. She offers Conan her hand and the opportunity to rule the kingdom together, but he declines, having been promised a kingdom already. He departs on his own for further adventures and to find his own place in the world.

REVIEW:

Arnold Schwarzenegger returns as the muscle-bound hero Conan in Conan the Destroyer. Originally, this was meant to be part of a trilogy, but the third film was retooled and turned into Krull the Conqueror. Why, you may ask? Quite simple, this film did not do as well with fans and critics. One has to wonder what went wrong, though.

What is this about?

While on a quest to retrieve a magical gem, muscleman Conan vanquishes mortal and supernatural adversaries with help from his ham-fisted sidekick, a wacky wizard, a fierce woman warrior and a gigantic bodyguard. But there’s a traitor among the ranks.

What did I like?

Conan. A man of few words, but much action, Conan was the perfect role for a young Schwarzenegger to take on. If you can believe it, I read that he was actually asked to put on more muscle. Now, this is a guy that isn’t too far removed from winning a Mr. World title, which is a bodybuilding completion, and they asked him to get even bigger! Not much can be said about his acting, other than comparing this to the latest film I saw him in, The Last Stand, you can really tell he has come along way, even if he doesn’t have the imposing physique anymore.

Quest. In the early 80s, there seemed to have been a slew of sci-fi films involving quests and children that would go on to be or that already were ruling the kingdom. You would think this would get to be a bit tired, but for some reason, it felt like a fresh idea with Princess Jehnna not being a total brat. Something that as the years have passed, we see less and less of in on-screen children, if you’d notice. The quest for the dagger leads to some adventures and is the main focal point of the film, also it is not just a recycled version of Conan the Barbarian. It is always a plus when you have fresh material.

Sidekick. A good comedic sidekick can go a long way, especially is they can do more than crack jokes, but be useful in accomplishing the task at hand. Malak may be a bit of an idiot, but he works in contrast to the serious nature of all the other characters. His obsession with Zula, played by Grace Jones is particularly interesting to watch. Through all his bumbling, his dagger skills are particularly impressive.

What didn’t I like?

PG. For some reason, the powers that be at the studio decided that this film would make more money if they toned down the violence so that it could appeal to a broader family base, not to mention garner a PG rating. This is actually a practice still being used today, mostly in the horror genre. Why else do you think films that could be total bloodbaths end up so sanitized? Studios think they’ll make more money by toning it down so the younger fanbase can come out and see it. When a flick is meant to have a certain level of violence and what not and it doesn’t…well, that is a red flag that hangs over the entire picture.

Laker nation. Wilt Chamberlain makes his big screen debut as the princess’ bodyguard, or whatever his official title was. He doesn’t do a bad job, but one has to wonder why they cast a retired (I think he was at this time) NBA player. For that matter, has anyone noticed that all the basketball players that go on to movie careers are Lakers: Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabar, Shaquille O’Neal, etc? What’s up with that?

Dagoth. The whole point of this film is to awaken the dreaming god, Dagoth. As you can imagine something goes wrong, and Dagoth turns on everyone. I’m not going to raise a fuss about that, but rather the design and execution of the creature. It seems to me that he would’ve been the perfect opportunity for stop-motion animation, rather than a guy in a suit. Also, the fight, at least for me, could have been better. It is the climax of the film, after all. All bets should have been off!

My expectations for Conan the Destroyer weren’t exactly high, but I did expect a decent film. What I ended up watching was a flick that the studio got their greasy mitts on and ruined everything good about. There is no doubt in my mind that this would have been a far superior film before that happened, not to mention a worthy successor to the original film. If you’re a fan of early 80s fantasy films or Schwarzenegger in his early days, then this is something you probably shouldn’t miss. Otherwise, it is a film that you happen to glance over and maybe decide to check out when all the other options have been exhausted.

3 1/2 out of 5 stars

Pearl Harbor

PLOT (spoiler alert!!!):

In 1923, two Tennessee boys, Rafe McCawley and Danny Walker, pretending to fight the Germans, climb into Rafe’s father’s biplane cropduster and accidentally start it, giving them their first taste of flying. Soon after, Danny’s father (William Fichtner) comes to drag him home, berating him for playing with Rafe and beating him. Rafe attacks Danny’s father calling him a “dirty German”; Danny’s father counters by explaining that he fought the Germans in World War I and wishes that they never witness the horrors of war.

By 1940, as grown men, Rafe (Ben Affleck) and Danny (Josh Hartnett) are First Lieutenants in the United States Army Air Corps under the command of Major Jimmy Doolittle (Alec Baldwin). Rafe meets Evelyn Johnson (Kate Beckinsale), a Navy nurse who passes him for his physical examination even though he has dyslexia, and is instantly smitten. The two soon begin dating and fall in love. However, Rafe has volunteered to serve with the Royal Air Force’s Eagle Squadrons. Before Rafe leaves for England, he makes a promise to Evelyn that he will come back for her. Evelyn and Danny are transferred with their respective squadrons to Pearl Harbor. Rafe is shot down over the English Channel and presumed to have been killed in action. Three months later, Evelyn and Danny bond over their mourning of Rafe and unexpectedly develop feelings for each other. They soon begin their own relationship. On the night of December 6, 1941, Rafe unexpectedly returns, having survived the crash and being stranded in occupied France in the interval. He quickly realizes that Evelyn and Danny are now together, and feeling hurt and betrayed, the two friends soon get into a fight at the local hula bar. The next morning, on December 7, they are interrupted by the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor by Zero fighters, Val dive bombers and Kate torpedo bombers.

The surprise Japanese air raid sinks the battleships USS Arizona, USS Oklahoma and many other ships. Back at the hospital, Evelyn helps tend to the dozens of wounded who come in and must help decide who can and cannot be saved. Meanwhile, Rafe and Danny are the only two who manage to get airborne and shoot down seven Japanese aircraft with P-40s using their reckless tactics, including an old game of theirs called chicken. The two men then go to the hospital, where Evelyn takes blood from them for the hundreds of injured soldiers, and later aid in trying to rescue the many men still in the harbor. In the aftermath, the survivors attend a memorial service for the fallen victims after the U.S. declaration of war on Japan. Rafe and Danny are both promoted to Captain, awarded the Silver Star and assigned to now-Colonel Doolittle for a dangerous and top-secret mission. Before their departure, Evelyn meets Rafe and reveals that she is pregnant with Danny’s child, although she doesn’t want Danny to know so he can focus on the upcoming mission. She says that she is going to remain with Danny, though deep down she will always love Rafe just as much. President Franklin D. Roosevelt (Jon Voight) wants to send a message that the Japanese homeland is not immune from bombing. Danny, Rafe and others are to fly B-25 Mitchell medium bombers from the aircraft carrier USS Hornet, bomb Tokyo and some Japanese occupied territory in China. The two men succeed in their bombing but crash-land into a rice field in Japanese territory when their bombers run out fuel. Just as Rafe is about to be shot, Danny flies over head and shoots the attacking Japanese soldiers. Danny’s plane then crashes and he is wounded. Japanese come in and attack Rafe and start to hold the others captive. They tie Danny to a cattle holder. Rafe picks up a gun and kills several Japanese. Danny acts as human shield for Rafe and is fatally wounded. Rafe holds a dying Danny in his arms, telling him he can’t die because he’s going to be a father. With his dying words, Danny tells Rafe to raise his child for him. The crew arrives back in Hawaii and a hopeful Evelyn awaits. She sees Rafe and is excited, but then sees him carrying Danny’s coffin.

At the end of the war, Dorie Miller becomes the first African American to be awarded the Navy Cross and Rafe is discharged from the Army. He and Evelyn, who are together again, and Danny’s son, also called Danny, who Rafe is bringing up as his own, are back at the farm in Tennessee visiting Danny’s grave. Rafe then takes his son flying, and the two fly off into the sunset in the old biplane.

REVIEW:

I had actually planned on reviewing Pearl Harbor back around 70th anniversary, but because of its unavailability, didn’t get the chance as it slipped further and further down the list. Just for kicks, I moved it up the list this week as a backup in case on of the film on very long wait that tops my queue didn’t come. Well, lo and behold, look what made its way from the processing station this week!

Let’s talk about the elephant in the room, first. Yes, I am well aware that this film has many historical inaccuracies, as do all films of this nature. What you have to remember, though, is that for one thing, the men (and women) that were actually there can’t exactly tell us what really happened, as those that survived this have passed on. Also, it should be noted  that historical accuracy doesn’t always make for the most interesting cinema. Sad, but true.

I am a big fan on this period in time. If I ever sit down and build a time machine, this is sure to be my first stop. Having said that, I know that had I been alive back then, I doubt I’d have made it past the ripe old age of 25, as I surely would have been sent off to war, as nearly all males were  in those days.

A big kudos needs to be given to the set, hair, and costume designers, as they captured everything perfectly. Hell, I don’t know when Kate Beckinsale has looked better (that includes her time in the Underworld movies where she’s in skin-tight black leather). Of course, it may also be because she has a little bit more meat on her bones here, too.

So, what works for me?

As I said before, the genuine effort to make this look like the 40s was a real selling point. Often times we’ll see films that are set in a different era, and somehow they’ll let slip a modern day advertisement, car, or what have you. That isn’t the case here.

The story is also an attention grabber. For those of you out there that are into love stories, this is sure to be right up your alley. I won’t go into detail, but let’s just say that you heart will melt, break, and be warmed up all during the course of these 3 hours!

The flying scenes are the highlight of this flick! Of course, Michael Bay isn’t exactly known for directing sweeping dramas, so you know going into this that the action was going to be top-notch.

The emotional impact was something that took me by surprise. After the attack, men are trapped under boats and are trying to get out before the water rises too high. As they are trying to cut open an escape hole, for lack of a better term, the men stick their hands through an opening just before they apparently die. Even for someone as devoid of emotion as I, this was a moving scene. I can only imagine how this must have been in real life. A friend of mine joked that maybe the Ghost Adventurers should go down there and see if these sailors are angry spirits now.

At just over 3 hours long, one would think that I’d have issue with the length, but believe it or not, I actually was enthralled from beginning to end. It didn’t even feel like it was that long!

What didn’t work?

Jon Voight as Franklin D. Roosevelt. I didn’t buy this guy as, arguably, one of our best presidents. Did he turn in a bad performance? No, not by a long shot, but he just wasn’t a match from what I’ve seen and heard of FDR, which was a disappointment.

So, this film is just barely over 3 hours long, and yet is on 2 discs. Not only that, but the second disc only has like 45 minutes on it! Elizabeth Taylor’s Cleopatra is much longer, and yet it is all on one DVD, if I’m not mistaken. Titanic was split in two, but I think it tit like close to 4 hrs and the split is made halfway through. Yes, this is minor thing, but it one that took away from the experience. At least that found a good place to put the disc change.

Excluding Kate Beckinsale, I’m not sure why they even bothered to case name actresses as these nurses. They really served no purpose, other than to have female cast members pop up now and then.

Every now and then a film will come along that will make me go “wow”. Pearl Harbor has become one of those films. I highly recommend this as one of those films you see before you die. Forget the fact that it directed by Michael Bay (the guy who mutated the Transformers into unrecognizable abominations and now thinks that we’re going to buy into the fact that the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are aliens by telling fans to “chill out”). It is a really well made, well written, well acted piece of cinema that is a mix action and drama, making it perfect for all who watch!

5 out of 5 stars

Conan the Barbarian

PLOT (spoiler alert!!!):

Conan the Barbarian is a film about a young barbarian’s quest to avenge his parents’ deaths. The story is set in the fictional Hyborian Age, thousands of years before the rise of modern civilization. The film opens with the words, “That which does not kill us makes us stronger”, a paraphrasing of Friedrich Nietzsche,on a black screen followed by a voice-over that establishes the film as the story of Conan’s origin. “A burst of drums and trumpets” accompanies the forging of a sword, after which the scene shifts to a mountain top, where the swordsmith tells his young son Conan about the Riddle of Steel, an aphorism on the importance of the metal to their people, the Cimmerians.

The Cimmerians are massacred by a band of warriors led by Thulsa Doom. Conan’s father is killed by dogs, and his sword is taken by Doom to decapitate Conan’s mother. The children are taken into slavery; Conan is chained to a large mill, the Wheel of Pain. Years of pushing the huge grindstone build up his muscles. His master trains him to be a gladiator, and after winning many pit fights, Conan is freed. As he wanders the world, he encounters a witch and befriends Subotai, a thief and archer.

Following the witch’s advice, Conan and Subotai go to Shadizar, in the land of Zamora, to seek out Doom. They meet Valeria, a female brigand, who becomes Conan’s lover. They burgle the Tower of Serpents, stealing a large jewel—the Eye of the Serpent—and other valuables from Doom’s snake cult. After escaping with their loot, the thieves celebrate and end up in a drunken stupor. The city guards capture them and bring them to King Osric. He requests they rescue his daughter, who has joined Doom’s cult. Subotai and Valeria do not want to take up the quest; Conan, motivated by his hatred for Doom, sets off alone to the villain’s Temple of Set.

Disguised as a priest, Conan infiltrates the temple, but he is discovered, captured, and tortured. Doom lectures him on the power of flesh, which he demonstrates by compelling a girl to leap to her death. He then orders Conan crucified on the Tree of Woe. The barbarian is on the verge of death when he is discovered by Subotai and brought to the Wizard of the Mounds, who lives on a burial site for warriors and kings.The wizard summons spirits to heal Conan and warns that they will “extract a heavy toll”, which Valeria is willing to pay. These spirits also try to abduct Conan, but he is restored to health after Valeria and Subotai fend them off.

Subotai and Valeria agree to complete Osric’s quest with Conan and they infiltrate the Temple of Set. As the cult indulges in a cannibalistic orgy, the thieves attack and flee with the princess. Valeria is mortally wounded by Doom after he shoots a stiffened snake at her. She dies in Conan’s arms and is cremated at the Mounds, where Conan prepares with Subotai and the wizard to battle Doom. By using booby-traps and exploiting the terrain, they manage to kill Doom’s soldiers. Valeria reappears for a brief moment as a Valkyrie to save Conan from a mortal blow.Conan recovers his father’s sword during the fight, although its blade is broken. After losing his men, Doom shoots a stiffened snake at the princess. Subotai blocks the shot and the villain flees to his temple.

Conan sneaks back into the temple where Doom stands at the top of a long stairway, addressing the members of his cult. Conan confronts Doom, who attempts to mesmerize him, but the barbarian resists and uses his father’s sword to behead his nemesis. After throwing Doom’s head down the stairs, Conan burns down the temple. He returns the princess, and the final scene shows him as an old king; the narration says his road to the throne is another tale

REVIEW:

The film that introduced the film world to Arnold Schwarzenegger, Conan the Barbarian, is actually better than what I  expected it to be. That being said, this is still one of those mindless Saturday afternoon action flicks.

First thing I should mention is that there really isn’t much dialogue, except for in pockets to explain what it going on. So, while this is no Caveman, the lack of speaking in remnant of the first half of Wall-E.

There was a remake of this that came out this summer, and apparently didn’t do too well, but quite honestly, I don’t see why anyone would want to remake this. Most remakes are done to update references, or make something bloodier/more violent. There are no pop culture references here, at least that I picked up on, and the film is plenty bloody, albeit a tad on the fake side, but come on, it was 1982!

I didn’t really get the story here. I mean, it basically is Conan setting out to find the man who killed his father and along the way he becomes a thief and has to steal a king’s daughter back from, coincidentally, his father’s murderer.

What’s not to get about that? Well, it isn’t so much the plot itself, as much as it is the way the film is edited. Just when it seems like they were going to settle down and tell the story, they jump to something else totally different. It was like when you’re in school and ask a question to your teacher. They start out giving you an answer, then go on some other tangent, which leads to another, then another, and 15 minutes later they make it back to your question, just in time for the bell to ring.

Luckily, however, this is an action flick, and it doesn’t fail to deliver on that front. I could have done with some epic battles, but there was just something about this that reminded me of those old Sinbad movies, especially when it involved the snake.

Speaking of the snake, the special effects aren’t too bad, especially when one considers when this was released. You can’t get much better than that. On the flipside, however, the ghosts or souls or spirits or whatever those were during the death scene about halfway through looked like nothing more than some random strain of smoke from dry ice. If that was the intention, then fine, but I don’t think it was. They could have done better, if you ask me.

So, what is my final verdict on Conan the Barbarian? Well, it isn’t a bad film, but it does have its share of issues. The main reason to see this is the action and that it is the big screen debut of Schwrazenegger. I do recommend this, especially before you waste your time on the remake.

3 1/2 out of 5 stars

Rise: Blood Hunter

PLOT (spoiler alert!!!):

Reporter Sadie Blake has just published a notable article featuring a secret Gothic party scene. The very night following the publication, one of Sadie’s sources, Tricia Rawlins, is invited by her friend Kaitlyn to an isolated house in which such a party is to take place. Tricia is reluctant to enter with the curfew set by her strict father, so Kaitlyn goes alone. When she does not return, Tricia becomes worried and enters the house as well. To her horror, she finds Kaitlyn in the basement with two vampires hanging onto her and drinking her blood. She tries to hide, but the vampires find her quickly. The next day, Sadie learns of the girl’s death and decides to investigate the matter. She soon gathers the interest of the vampire cult, who kidnap her and bring her in for questioning. Following that, she is raped and murdered by the vampires.

To her surprise, Sadie abruptly awakes inside the cold box of a morgue. She escapes, but in the course of the following hours she finds to her horror that she has turned into a vampire herself. She attempts suicide by throwing herself off a bridge, but is found and taken in by fellow vampire Arturo who is less blood-thirsty and more benevolent than his brethren. Though his true motives are unclear — a power struggle between Arturo and the leader of Sadie’s killers, Bishop, is mentioned — he helps Sadie to cope with her new condition and trains her to fight when she announces her intent to get revenge on her murderers.

Sadie tracks the vampires across the state, killing them one by one, while at the same time fighting the urge to consume blood from human victims. She soon crosses paths with Detective Clyde Rawlins, Tricia’s father, who has taken upon himself to avenge his daughter’s death despite the objections of his superiors and colleagues. At first he takes Sadie for an enemy, but in time he recognizes that she is not of the same breed as Tricia’s killers, and they team up in their pursuit of Bishop, the last survivor of the band. They track him to an abandoned stable complex, where they find not only Bishop but also Tricia, now a vampire, who now openly voices her resentment and anger for her father. A hard fight ensues in which the evil vampires temporarily gain the upper hand. Sadie is left hanging upside down to slowly bleed to death, she is saved by Rawlins. The pair then turn the table against their enemies.

After Tricia and Bishop are killed, Sadie asks Rawlins to kill her too. She cannot bear the thought of having to give in to her bloodthirst and that she, since she is already dead, could never see her mother and sister again. Reluctantly, Rawlins grants her request and stabs her with a silver crossbow bolt. Once again, Sadie’s body ends up in the morgue, but we see her come back to “life” again once more as the end credits begin to roll.

REVIEW:

 I told myself I was going to lay off vampire movies for a while, but a friend of mine actually suggested I check this one out (mainly because I love Lucy Liu).

Rise: Blood Hunter is the story of n innocent reporter who was supposed to have been killed by the vampires, but instead was turned (unbeknownst to them) and is out for revenge. Along the way, she comes across a cop who also wants the vampires dead. Chiefly, he wants the vampire that killed his daughter, who ironically was Sadie.

While I was watching this, I couldn’t help but think this a hybrid of the Blade and Underworld franchises. I guess the whole vampire hunter thing is what did it for me. However, this film doesn’t stack up to those, but it does make a good attempt.

With any vampire film, one would expect lots of blood and gore…unless you’re talking about those red-headed stepchild of vampire lore Twilight films, bt don’t even get me started on those.

 This film delivers on the blood, but I would have liked for there to have been just a little more, but that’s a personal preference and not an indictment of this picture.

The story is easy enough to follow and the film moves along at a steady pacing, but the lighting on this is horrible. I know that seems to be a bit of a nuisance complaint, especially fora vampire picture, bt they cold have done better. Maybe they should have used some blacklight or strobes?

One of the more intriguing storylines that was going on in this flick was the relationship between Sadie and Eve. It seemed as if there was respect there before the killing, not to mention the whole lesbionic vibe, but that was going with every female encounter in this flick.

I question the casting here.

First of all, Lucy Liu steps out of her comfort zone…or does she? For those that have forgotten, it wasn’t that terribly long ago that she was a cold-blooded bitch on Ally McBeal, so for her to return to the proverbial dark side isn’t that much of a stretch. Just something we haven’t seen from her in a while. Not to mention, she’s still the heroine.

All that aside, she seems to be underperforming. I’ve seen better acting from Megan Fox, Taylor Lautner, and Kristen Stewart. In her defense, this script doesn’t do her any favors.

Michael Chikilis is one of those actors that always seems to be cast as a cop. The one time he isn’t, he’s a rock creature in the Fantastic Four movies. I don’t know, I guess I just wished he was something else. Hell, they cold have made him a firefighter and I’d have been happy, but I’m just tired of seeing this guy as a cop.

James D’Arcy, who I had never heard of before this film, made for a good antagonist. I was sort of hoping for more, though, especially in the final confrontation. Beggars can’t be choosy, I suppose, right?

Carlo Gugino is hot as always.

Mako, in his last performance before passing away should have been featured as something more than just a butler/manservant, if you ask me.

Look for Nick Lachey and Marilyn Manson in small parts, as well.

When this film was suggested to me, I thought it would be a fun flick with lots of sexy Lucy Liu, especially since she’s named on of the sexiest vampires of all time. I was highly disappointed with this flick, though. I mean, it isn’t bad, per se, but it isn’t great either. This is just one of those average vampire flicks with nothing you haven’t seen before (except for naked Lucy Liu). The one redeeming factor of this flick is that these vampires act like vampires and not whiny, emo, teenager that glitter in the sunlight.

3 out of 5 stars

Robocop 3

PLOT:

The main plot of RoboCop 3 involves RoboCop (Robert John Burke) finding a new family, as he has apparently given up hope of seeing his wife or son again. He forms a bond with an orphaned little Japanese-American computer whiz girl named Nikko, as well as coming into contact with an underground paramilitary resistance. The resistance, built up of underprivileged urban families, formed after Omni Consumer Products (OCP) began relocating them in order to build Delta City on the land encompassing Detroit’s Cadillac Heights area. RoboCop also finds one of the original scientists from the first two films, Dr. Marie Lazarus (Jill Hennessy), who built and operated on him, and has left the organization after becoming disillusioned with it.

Meanwhile, OCP is on the verge of bankruptcy and creates an armed force called the Urban Rehabilitators (“Rehabs” for short), under the command of Paul McDaggett (John Castle), to combat rising crime in Old Detroit and augment the ranks of Detroit Police in apprehending violent criminals, while in reality forcibly relocating the residents of Cadillac Heights, killing some of them (including Nikko’s parents) in the process. The Police force is gradually superseded by the Rehab forces, and violent crime begins to spiral out of control once more. The Delta City dream of the former CEO and “Old Man” lives on through the help of a Japanese zaibatsu, the Kanemitsu Corporation, who bought a controlling stake in OCP. Kanemitsu sees the potential in the citywide redevelopment, and moves forward with its own plans to remove the current citizens. The company develops and uses its own ninja robots (called “Otomo”) to help McDaggett and the OCP President overcome the resistance of the anti-OCP militia forces.

When RoboCop and Lewis try to defend unarmed civilians from the Rehabs one night, Lewis is killed by McDaggett. Unable to fight back because of the Fourth Directive, RoboCop is saved by members of the resistance and eventually joins their cause. Due to severe damage sustained in the shootout, RoboCop’s systems efficiency plummets, and he asks the resistance to summon Dr. Lazarus, who promptly arrives and begins to treat him, deleting the Fourth Directive in the process. During an earlier raid on an armory, the resistance has picked up a flight pack prototype originally intended for RoboCop’s use, which Lazarus modifies and upgrades.

After recovering from his injuries, RoboCop conducts a one-man campaign against the Rehabs. He finds McDaggett and attempts to subdue him, but McDaggett is able to escape, and accepts information from a disgruntled resistance member (Stephen Root) to find the base. The base is invaded by the Rehabs, and most of the resistance members are either killed or taken prisoner. Nikko escapes with the help of Lazarus, who is taken back into the OCP building as a prisoner.

RoboCop returns to the rebel base, only to find it abandoned. One of the Otomo ninjabots shows up and attacks him. RoboCop experiences another power drain, but is able to destroy his opponent. Meanwhile, Nikko infiltrates the OCP building and manages to have Lazarus broadcast an improvised televisation of OCP being behind the entire criminal outbreaks and implicating them for the removal and termination of the Cadillac Heights residents. RoboCop hears this broadcast and latches the jetpack onto himself. The broadcast also causes OCP’s stock to plunge dramatically, driving the company into total ruin.

McDaggett decides to execute an all-out strike against Cadillac Heights with the help of the Detroit City police department, but all of the police officers defect to the resistance in outrage, as moving people out of their homes is not part of a cop’s job; as a result, McDaggett hires street gangs and punks as additional muscle. Just when the combined forces of the Rehabs and gangs are about to wipe out the rebels and Detroit Police, RoboCop flies into the scene with his jetpack and defeats the attackers before he proceeds to the OCP building, where McDaggett is waiting for him. Two other Otomo robots confront RoboCop and nearly manage to defeat him when Nikko and Lazarus succeed in reprogramming them, forcing them to destroy each other. This, however, triggers a self-destruct in both units. RoboCop reignites his jet pack, the discharge of flame hitting McDaggett’s leg and rendering him immobile, and escapes with Nikko and Lazarus, while McDaggett perishes in the blast.

As Old Detroit is being cleaned up, Kanemitsu arrives and bows to RoboCop. When the now ex-OCP President calls RoboCop by his former name Murphy, RoboCop scolds him, “My friends call me Murphy. You call me RoboCop.”

REVIEW:

This franchise started with such promise, but the sequels just have not stood up to the brilliance of the original Robocop. Robocop 3 should be a lesson to filmmakers on why you don’t make a random third film, unless it furthers the story along.

My initial issue with this film is, first of all, they changed the actor who played Robocop. While it doesn’t take the best Thespian to play Robocop, there is juts something about continuity here. I read that there was a scheduling conflict that kept him out of it. If that was the case, then they should have waited for him to be done. Just having him in this would have made it at least more bearable.

Next, this thing is so un-Robocop like that it isn’t even  worthy of the title. They reduced this to a PG-13 rating, For those of you that have seen the first two films, you know that they are graphic, violent, and deal with lots of intense themes. This one totally ignores such things and just plods along through some plot that a 5 yr old kid could have come up with.

My frustrations continue with the killing of Nancy Allen’s character. I’m torn on this because on one hand, killing her makes for a good plot twist (one of the few good things about this film), but on the other hand, taking her away took something away from Robocop. The guy doesn’t have much, and you take away his one human friend. WTF?!?

Action is alright here, but I was so disillusioned and borderline pissed-off at this thing, that it was hard for me to enjoy it, but I did notice that it wasn’t really anything spectacular. Maybe because I was expecting some kind of blood and guts to be spilled. The watered down rating, diluted the action, that’s for sure.

The plot, as I mentioned could have been written by some kid in kindergarten, and I really wonder if that was the case. Robocop 2 didn’t have the best plot, but at least it didn’t feel like it was done with the same handiwork as a popcorn necklace.

What is it about the plot that I dislike? Well, the Rehab force made no sense. The fact that Detroit has seemingly gotten worse since the previous two films (even though it looked better in Robocop 2) bothers me, the ninja robots seemed thrust in just to give Robocop a robotic adversary. Oh, and the jetpack was nothing special. If they wanted to make that big of a deal about the thing, then they should have built it into him when they repaired him and have him make a big deal about his new equipment.

Robocop 3 is the weak link in the franchise (not counting the TV show). No wonder they wanted to reboot this thing. After seeing this, I’m almost tempted to back off my stance on reboots/remakes just to erase the memory of this mess. As much as I have sat here and bashed the hell out of this, but it isn’t a truly horrible film, it is just bad, especially in comparison to its predecessors. For that reason, I can’t, in good faith, recommend this film, unless you just want to finish the trilogy. It just isn’t worth it, unless you want to get angry seeing how far this franchise has fallen since the original Robocop.

2 1/2 out of 5 stars