My Two Cents: November Viewing

I haven't watched too many films that have excited me enough to fully review them. Therefore, I thought I'd give a thought or two about some films I've watched this month. Maybe a more in depth review will come later. But for now, here's my two cents on some action flicks I've viewed this month.

Title: Machine Gun McCain

Year: 1969

Country: Italian

Director: Giuliano Montaldo

Starring: John Cassavetes, Britt Ekland, Peter Falk, Gena Rowlands, etc.

Rating: 6.5/10 - I found this Italian mobster film to be pretty disappointing at first. After having dwelled on it for a few weeks though, I think that Machine Gun McCain is a fine little film that has some great parts to it that are far better than its whole. Cassavetes is awesome as Hank McCain, a real bastard of a thief who will stop at nothing to get what he wants. The Morricone music is also awesome too. I don't recommend a purchase (an impulse buy I regret), but I do recommend a rental. For fans of Italian cinema and John Cassavetes only.

Title: Faster

Year: 2010

Country: U.S.

Director: George Tilman Jr.

Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Billy Bob Thorton, Carla Gugino, Maggie Grace, etc.

Rating: 7/10 - I recently purchased both this film and this year's Snitch for $8 each on blu ray. I figured they would be two cheap but enjoyable B action flicks starring Dwayne Johnson. I started with Faster first. This noirish revenge thriller starts off pretty good but really loses you by the end. I enjoyed its R rating, performances, and seriousness. The action scenes are very short and hardly exist at all unfortunately. I really enjoyed Johnson in this and found this kind of film to be what Johnson should pursue for the rest of his career. The genre was great, but the final act was pretty weak.

Title: A Company Man

Year: 2012

Country: South Korea

Director: Im San Yoon

Starring: So Ji-Sub, Lee Mi-yeon, Kwak Do-won, Kim Dong-jun, etc.

Rating: 9/10 - My faith in action films is always restored whenever I visit one of the new Asian releases from the distribution company Well Go USA. This is a great hitman film. It is packed with great drama and great action too. The final shootout is one of the best I have ever seen too. The flick also has nice photography, editing, tension, and top notch performances. I highly recommend this action packed drama. It reminds you why foreign action is almost better than all of the U.S.'s releases.

Title: Messenger of Death

Year: 1988

Country: U.S.

Director: J. Lee Thompson

Starring: Charles Bronson, Trish Van Devere, Laurence Luckinbill, Daniel Benzali, etc.

Rating: 7/10 - It isn't a good month of action without a Bronson flick! I really should not be giving this movie a "7" but I actually am. The late '80's Cannon/Bronson films are so lousy and cheap. However, I actually found myself enjoying this one. While very light on the action, the mystery that kicks off the film really pulls you and makes you wonder what will happen next. Around the half way point, the film falls into generic territory and begins to run around in annoying circles that makes you just want to fast forward to the ending already. The highlight of the film occurs when Bronson picks up a shotgun during a funeral and blasts a coffin to reveal that no corpse was inside of it at all. Revealing the truth: Bronson style! If you want a good 1980's Cannon/Bronson/Thompson team up, check out Death Wish 4: The Crackdown!