12 ACTION FILMS

First things first, this set has no closed captioning!!!! Booooo!!

I'm not sure why they call this an "action pack set", as most
of these movies would be better classified as sci-fi! I'm also
not sure why this set was in a $5.00 bin at Walmart, as
most of these movies would be worth that much apiece!!

FORTRESS(1992):

Set in the not-too-distant future, this is another movie about
a penal colony and the attempt by a man and woman sentenced
to it for the crime of having a second child to escape from it!
Not an incredibly great movie, still rather interesting! It even
spawned a sequel(Fortress 2)!

There is a parental advisory for nudity in this! It's dudes!! C+

A review from Amazon.com:

The story of Fortress takes place in drastically overpopulated
America of the year 2017, where each woman is allowed only
one pregnancy. John Brennick (Christopher Lambert) and his
wife Karen (Loryn Locklin) flee to Mexico when she becomes
pregnant after the death of their first child. They are captured
by border police and sent to the Fortress, a subterranean
high-security prison owned by the Men-Tel corporation and
operated by "Zed-10," an omnipotent computer system, and
a sadistic, genetically "enhanced" warden (Kurtwood Smith)
who has nefarious plans involving Brennick's wife and unborn
child. Along with his cellmates (including Jeffrey Combs, a
favorite of director Stuart Gordon), Brennick plots a breakout,
and Fortress shifts into auto-pilot action mode.

After making his reputation with such audacious horror films as
From Beyond and Re-Animator, Stuart Gordon graduated to a
bigger budget with Fortress, but his penchant for exploitation
remains deliriously intact. While borrowing elements from a
variety of better sci-fi movies, Fortress indulges every prison-flick
cliche, but does it with such enjoyable B-movie vigor that it
qualifies as a bona-fide guilty pleasure (indeed, it deserves to
be ranked with James Cameron's original Terminator in terms
of its budgetary ingenuity). Featuring such giddy (and gory)
devices as "intestinators" (deadly obedience devices implanted
in prisoners' bodies) and a torturous "Mind Wipe Chamber," this
is really just a drive-in action movie with lofty ambitions, and
the schlocky script hasn't a prayer of rising above the level of
juvenile popcorn fodder. But there's no denying the energy and
enthusiasm that Gordon brings to the film, which understandably
became a global box-office hit and spawned a 1999 sequel
starring Lambert and Pam Grier. --Jeff Shannon

THE PROPHECY(1995):

I was not really impressed by this! While it had some good
points to it(Mary), it was just too religious for me! Not terrible,
just not my cup of tea!

The high points are, of course, Christopher Walken, who
is always entertaining, and the scene between Usiel and
Mary, though it is a little disturbing! C+

A review from Amazon.com:

A prime candidate for cult status (it even spawned a sequel),
this apocalyptic 1995 horror flick belongs in the darker corners
of the comedy-horror sub-genre that includes Buffy the Vampire
Slayer, Mimic, and Phantoms--and like those movies it's a mixed
blessing with some highlights worth savoring.

This one's got Christopher Walken in its favor, starring as the
Angel Gabriel, who's really mad at God for allowing humans
into heaven (because, you see, humans have souls and angels
don't, and God plays favorites). Gabriel takes his anger out on
the human race, coming to Earth to capture the soul of the
most evil human alive in an effort to defeat the "good" angels
that remain in God's good graces. One of the good angels is
played by Eric Stoltz, who captures the evil soul before Walken
does and transfers it into the body of a little girl. Are you with
us so far? Don't worry if you're not, because writer-director Gregory
Widen filled The Prophecy with so many wild ideas that he
didn't bother to connect them to a coherent plot.

Add Viggo Mortensen as the devil and Elias Koteas as a priest-turned
detective who's tracking Walken and it's clear that Widen was
attempting something ambitious here. He nearly succeeded,
since The Prophecy jumpstarts its heaven-and-hell rivalry with
enough action, humor, and intelligence to make the movie
sufficiently entertaining. It was enjoyable enough to entice
Walken back for the sequel, so if you're into this kind of thing,
this one's a keeper. --Jeff Shannon

THE APOCALYPSE(1997):

If you look at the cover, you get a totally wrong idea about
this film! Sandra Bernhard plays a Sandra Bernard character,
and is totally unconvincing in her role! However, Cameron Dye
does a pretty good job here, as does Frank Zagarino! Pretty
decent story, with pretty good special effects! B-

A review from IMDb.com:

This movie is not as bad as it may seem at first. The screenplay
is ludicrous sometimes, but the actors save the day: Sandra Bernhard
plays the captain of a spaceship who hates the rest of the world and
spends her time off in bars, kicking some teeth in. Tougher than Ripley
("Alien"), less scrupulous than Han Solo ("Star Wars"). Frank Zagarino
is an intense villain who gets plenty of opportunity to hurt and kill
people. And Laura San Giacomo I remember from "Quigley" is amazing
as the crazy programmer using Shakespeare quotes for passwords.

Talking about quotes, here's my favorite line from the movie
(re-translated from German dubbed version, so maybe not exactly
the same words): "There's no danger our ship could be hit by a meteor.
It is too big." Say you love logical thinking.

Anyway, I found this quite entertaining despite several flaws in the
story (voted 5/10). The worst one: we are not told what became of
the programmer, she just disappears from the spaceship. One little
correction: the cargo on board threatening to destroy the Earth is
not nuclear warheads as mentioned in the plot outline, it's an element
named "Solarium" that will blow up when staying too long in a magnetic
field. - unbrokenmetal

NIRVANA(1997):

This movie is a total waste of time! FF

A review from IMDB.com(No Amazon Review):

OK, so you've always wondered what the matrix would be like
with a good leading actor (rather than the wooden Reeves), a
better script, no spectacular action scenes, and low budget.
This is your film. We have Chris Lambert in one of his best films
(along with "Subway" and of course, "Highlander"), this is not his
average film. The goal is to erase the game in which its main
character is aware of his condition of "gamething" and is damned
to live and die. This Super Mario working for the Mafia (Abatantuono)
is terrifically great. Sergio Rubini is great too, and the whole cast
in general kicks ass! What to do with low budget? THIS MOVIE!

8/10 - HighlanderArg from Buenos Aires, Argentina

THE FACULTY(1998):

Not action or sci-fi, but horror!!!! I don't care for horror movies
unless there are other redeeming qualities! In this case, the only
redeeming qualities are that this has Frodo Baggins(Elija Wood) in
it! The other one doesn't come about till the movie is almost
over, but she is worth the wait!! C+

A review from Amazon.com:

Okay, you knew everyone in high school was just a little different:
everyone looked at you strangely, the teachers were freaky, and
you never could find the right groove to fit into. What if it turned
out that it was all because your school was inhabited by creepy
aliens from outer space? That's the enjoyably cheesy B-premise
for this fun and scary flick from the pen of Scream's Kevin Williamson,
the master of the post-modern teen horror film. Directed by Robert
Rodriguez (El Mariachi), it's The Breakfast Club meets Invasion
of the Body Snatchers, as six disparate students from Herrington
High School band together when they discover that an alien life
form is invading both the student and faculty bodies, with plans
to take over the world.

Each of the heroes represents a different high school type: popular
babe (Jordana Brewster), picked-on geek (Elijah Wood), goth girl
(Clea DuVall), sensitive jock (Shawn Hatosy), new kid in town (Laura
Harris), and bad-boy rebel (Josh Hartnett). The plot isn't much--a basic
kill-or-be-killed premise spiked with a healthy shot of paranoia--but
Willliamson and Rodriguez do a great job of building the tension
slowly but surely. The suspense set pieces are genuinely frightening,
and the film pokes fun at itself without deflating its scares; Williamson
is a master at shifting gears from comedy to horror quickly and adroitly.
The young cast doesn't have a weak link among them (with special kudos
to Wood, DuVall and heartthrob-in-the-making Hartnett), and Rodriguez
gets maximum mileage from the titular faculty, which includes Jon Stewart,
Piper Laurie, Salma Hayek, Bebe Neuwirth, and Robert Patrick of Terminator
2. Go to the head of the class, Mr. Williamson. --Mark Englehart

PHANTOMS(1998):

Another horror flick, but this time the only redeeming quality
is the absolutely great song by Miss Patsy Cline - I Fall To Pieces!!
It goes along pretty much as one would expect, with no real
surprises! C-

A review from Amazon.com:

Either Dean Koontz shouldn't adapt his own bestsellers, or his
1983 novel Phantoms was a pack of horror cliches to begin with,
or this movie is 15 years past its due date. What might have
seemed fresh at the time of Poltergeist now feels like it was made
from a derivative script with pages missing. Plagued by reckless
leaps of logic, the movie starts with adequately eerie atmosphere
and a perversely twisted performance by Scream 2's Liev Schreiber,
but decays into a familiar hash of gross-out effects, resulting
from the annihilation of a small Colorado town by an evil force
known as "The Ancient Enemy." In a dreary role that insults the
twilight of his distinguished career, Peter O'Toole plays a paleobiologist
whose crackpot ideas have become tabloid fodder, but he holds
the key to conquering the beast. Or does he? Sure enough, an
obligatory coda leaves room for anticlimactic doubt. Phantoms
has a few genuinely creepy highlights, including a devilish beastie
resembling an angry flying scorpion, and horror fans will surely find
something to admire, but everyone else is advised to proceed with
caution and lowered expectations. --Jeff Shannon

TOTAL RECALL 2070: MACHINE DREAMS(1999):

Set after the epic movie, Total Recall with Arnold Swartzenager,
this has very little to do with that movie!! The only tieing element
is that it concerns, loosely, the company Rekall! Which, if all
you movie watchers out there will remember, was the name of
the company that offered the dream trips!

There is little action, the acting isn't real crisp, and the story
line was lacking! There is, however, some topical nudity! Over
all, I'd give it a C+

A review from Amazon.com:

This "movie" is the first two episodes of an awesome TV series.
It is a captivating blend of 80% Blade Runner, 15% Total Recall,
and 5% Data from Star Trek. The plot is dark and intriguing.
Character development is excellent. Cyberpunk 2020 role-playing
fans should love this. I just hope that episodes 3-22 come out
on DVD - the sooner, the better. - By A Customer

IMPOSTOR(2001):

This is really good!! Set in the future(2075) this is about
aliens that are attacking the Earth from Centauri! They
have perfected a way to duplicate people and then use
the duplicated people to kill thousands!

Gary Sinise plays a scientist that is accused of being one
of these replacements and Vincent D'Onofrio is the accuser!
Both of the guys do a bang up job in their roles, and the
whole movie is done extremely well!! Tony Shaloub(Monk)
has a great role, although brief! B+

A review from Amazon.com:

Based on a short story by sci-fi master Philip K. Dick, Impostor
holds considerable appeal for genre enthusiasts, who will
instantly recognize trace elements of the Dick-based Total
Recall and Blade Runner. Fortunately, derivative plotting doesn't
detract from director Gary Fleder's capable handling of briskly
paced action involving Spencer Olham (Gary Sinise), a weapons
designer suspected of being an alien robot with an assassin's
agenda. The year is 2079; Earth is at war with an alien race called
the Centauri, and its dome-sealed cities are intensely monitored
by the Earth Security Agency. A high-tech chase ensues between
Olham and his ESA pursuer (Vincent D'Onofrio), testing the bond
of trust between Olham and his physician wife (Madeleine Stowe).
This marital subplot gives the film's twist ending additional impact,
and Dick's recurring themes of lost identity and drug-altered reality
are handled with adequate sophistication, while cool gadgetry
and sharp visual effects compensate for the plot holes. --Jeff Shannon

CYPHER(2002):

This is neither an action or sci-fi movie, but it is quite an
interesting espionage movie!! Jeremy Northam plays his
role exceptionally well, and Lucy Liu is an added attraction!
Many twists and turns, and you never know who to trust! B+

A review from Amazon.com:

Oddly enough the low-budget special effects were about
as consistent with the quality, performance, directing,
and plot of the movie itself so that the set design and
apparent animated effects didn't really detract or diminish
the overall impact of this movie. This predictable sci fi
mystery thriller attempts but never succeeds to realizing
the occult, horror potential that the initial plot premise
offers here. Interesting there is a rather consistent effort
at logical connective plot outline here, but eventually
becomes manipulated with a mild double twist by the end.
Unfortunately the dark Billy Drago is stereotyped again in
this movie and his potential (there are glimpses here) as
a serious actor never is offered to him. Overall, there is
an attempt at something more, but in a number of cases
the director allows cliches and stock characterization to
take over which really spoils the chances this movie had
at becoming something really decent. Nevertheless the
story holds together for the most part, but it still leaves
something desired. Too bad. - tabuno

EQUILIBRIUM(2002):

Another pretty good movie here! Set in the future(which by
now isn't far!), this is about how a group of people have decided
that the root of all evil is due to feelings, so they have created
a shot that everyone must take to remove emotions!

There are of course those who resist this, and they are immediately
terminated when found out! Christian Bale plays the role of one of
those who are designated to round up said resisters! Turns out that
he is not really wholly into this assignment!

A good movie that goes along at a quick pace, never really lapsing
into dulldrums! Worth a watch or two! B+

A review from Amazon:

A broad science fiction thriller in a classic vein, Equilibrium takes
a respectable stab at a Fahrenheit 451-like cautionary fable. The
story finds Earth's post-World War III humankind in a state of severe
emotional repression: If no one feels anything, no one will be inspired
by dark passions to attack their neighbors. Writer-director Kurt Wimmer's
monochromatic, Metropolis-influenced cityscape provides an excellent
backdrop to the heavy-handed mission of John Preston (Christian Bale),
a top cop who busts "sense offenders" and crushes sentimental, sensual,
and artistic relics from a bygone era. Predictably, Preston becomes
intrigued by his victims and that which they die to cherish; he stops
taking his mandatory, mood-flattening drug and is even aroused by a
doomed prisoner (Emily Watson). Wimmer's wrongheaded martial
arts/dueling guns motif is sheer silliness (a battle over a puppy doesn't
help), but Equilibrium should be seen for Bale's moving performance
as a man shocked back to human feeling. --Tom Keogh

RENAISSANCE: PARIS 2054(2006):

OK, this has to be watched a few times to really get what's
going on! Also, a must watch every minute movie to understand
it! This is really an anime movie, and not action at all, but
another mystery movie! Great ambience! Great music! A

A review from IMDB.com(There are no reviews from Amazon):

I just came back from a pre-release viewing of this excellent
sci-fi film noire. It's style is definitively unique and very well
made. It is filmed with actual actors, but transformed into a
black and white comic-strip style you have never seen before.
It goes one step further than Sin City, and it does it well. It's a
successful combination of french comic and movie cultures.
The story and mood remind of Blade Runner, and if you liked
that one you will surely like this one, too. The storyline is
intelligent, never boring and has some nice little twists. This
film is a must-see for any cinephile except perhaps those who
absolutely don't like sci-fi or b&w. - chuba-1 from Germany

2012 SUPERNOVA(2009)

This has a good premise to it, but the acting is pretty bad.
C+

A review from an Amazon.com customer:

I love disaster films, even old ones, even bad ones, even
bad old ones. This one though wasn't bad enough or cheesy
enough to enjoy. It was just pathetic. It wasn't the WORST
piece of garbage I've ever seen, those I won't even finish! I
thought the special effects were OK - if it'd been say, 1990.
For 2010 I expect more pizzazz and a lot more originality
(and that was the GOOD part of the film).

The script was numbingly unoriginal, even predictable.
Occasionally the dialog was too low to hear, and sometimes
it was just read off woodenly, not always, but way too little
feeling overall. Hello, Scriptwriter! Why'd you have those
women stumble endlessly around in the desert? When they
abandoned yet one more vehicle it was yawn-time.

I'm afraid I have never really thought about the criteria that
makes a good actor, but I have the sense that it wasn't here.
I think part of the fault lies with the director who should help
bring out the very best performance of each actor.

Editing sucked. At points the scene switches to another place
for no reason, with no explanation (but, to be fair, this happens
often in films).

The Stepmother/stepdaughter relationship was so artificial
eww[...]

The set used for the 'Military Base' was one of the few laughs
in the film, walls looked like cardboard.

I can't think of a single moment that saves this movie that
I'd want you to see. No Godzilla razing the city, no cow flying
through the air, no cool costumes. Nothing. - BooksFeedTheMind

COMPLETE LIST OF DVDs
LIST OF MOVIE DVDs
LIST OF ANIME/ANIMATION DVDs
LIST OF BOND DVDs
LIST OF DISNEY DVDs
LIST OF ELVIS DVDs
LIST OF MUSIC DVDs
LIST OF STAR TREK/STAR WARS DVDs
LIST OF SUPERHERO DVDs
LIST OF TELEVISION DVDs

TO PHOTO PAGES OF MOVIES:

A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J-K
L
M
N
O
P-Q
R
S
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U-V
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X-Z

ANIME/ANIMATION
ANIME SUPERHERO
BOND
DISNEY
ELVIS
HOLIDAY
MUSIC
MUSICALS
OTHER
SERIALS
SETS #-M
SETS N-Z
STAR TREK/STAR WARS
SUPERHERO
TELEVISION A-B
TELEVISION C-D
TELEVISION E-F
TELEVISION G-H
TELEVISION I-K
TELEVISION L
TELEVISION M
TELEVISION N-O
TELEVISION P-Q
TELEVISION R
TELEVISION Gene Roddenberry
TELEVISION S
TELEVISION T
TELEVISION U-W
TELEVISION X-Z
TELEVISION STAR TREK/STAR WARS
TELEVISION SUPERHERO