Tag: William Sadler

Soldiers for Life (VFW, 2020)

VFW_PosterWhen a young woman runs into their VFW with a bag of stolen drugs a group of veterans find themselves have to fight vicious drug addicts hell bent on getting the drugs back.

I don’t have a lot to say here.  The main draw is a really good cast of “Old Tough Guys” and George Wendt (who is a great actor, just not known for his tough guy roles).  It is a pretty standard siege movie along the lines of an Assault on Precinct 13.

This is a violent and bloody film, but does a good job leaning into it’s tropes and not worrying too much about being some sort of heady exploration of themes.  You just watch this for a wild and crazy action flick.

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Burning Love (Iron Man 3, 2013)

Iron-Man-3-IMAX-poster

When they announced Iron Man 3’s villain there was concern  The Mandarin was a character with a rather troubling past.  An evil magical Asian.  Then they announced he was being played by Ben Kingsley.  He isn’t an example of Whitewashing exactly (Kingsley is not white).  But in the end, this was not the big concern for most viewers.  Favreau was out…Lethal Weapon scribe Shane Black was in.

Borrowing from the comic’s Extremis story-line, Tony runs into a guy trying to outdo his armor by creating soldiers who don’t need armor.  They are living weapons.  The problem is that they are volatile and prone to exploding.  Then there is the mysterious terrorist the Mandarin.  As Tony finds the situation escalating, he goes into hiding.  He is still struggling with Post Traumatic Stress for the alien invasion in the Avengers.  As it all comes together Tony discovers a few twists, including the possibility the terrorist organization does not even exist.

As usual, the cast is stellar, and Kingsley’s reveal is entertaining.  Though as the Mandarin he has this weird southern drawl that seems…out of place. But other than that, the performances  are quite good.

Of all the action sequences, there is a sequence where Iron Man saves people in freefall that is just great.

The effects are strong, though at times the powers seem arbitrary.  People with Extremis technology exhibit some really random powers (such as breathing fire). They do look pretty cool though.  Also, the ending seems to make no sense.  Tony destroys all his armor for…I guess…reasons?  It feels like they were trying to put a stamp of closure on the Iron Man franchise when we knew he would be back for another Avenger’s movie.

All in all, I found Iron Man 3 a bit of an improvement over the second film.  It has intrigue, action and humor.

 

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Boys and Ghouls Go to the Movies Part 1 (Tales From the Crypt Presents Demon Knight, 1995)

TFtC_Demon_Knight_PosterHBO’s Tales From the Crypt was in it’s sixth Season when they started a bold plan to break out into movies. There had been a Tales from the Crypt film in the seventies, but this would be different. Instead of being an anthology film, the Tales from the Crypt movies would tell a theatrical length tale.  They assembled a series of scripts, none of which were specifically written for the franchise.  This resulted in three films of varying success.

The first up was Demon Knight.  It introduces us to Brayker (William Sadler) a man running from a conflict.  He arrives at a remote hotel which houses a motley crew of broken people.  Brayker is frantic and  mysterious, so nobody takes him seriously before Hell literally arrives in the form of Billy Zane…the Collector.  Brayker has something he wants.

The Collector is actually a demon who needs a “key” that Brayker is trying to protect.  This key will allow Hell to overrun the world.  So Brayker tries to keep him out of the hotel.  Except, the barriers he erects also depend on the personal strengths of the people in the hotel.  If they let the Collector in to themselves, he can use them as fresh demons.

And that is where Billy Zane gets to shine.  This is really his movie.  The Collector appeals to your hopes or desires.  He promises one person love and respect, the two things she does not get in her life.  And then he tempts another character as a friendly bartender.  Zane has fun with these moments and is highly effective, you understand why characters cave.

The effects are low budget, but effective.  The demons are creepy, and the practical effects work really deliver for the story.  The characters are easy to root for, most of them having decent qualities, even if rough around the edges.  And the film has CCH Pounder.  Every film should have her in it.

In spite of the film being outside the typical stories in the Tales catalog (they are usually tales of bad people getting a comeuppance.  Demon Knight is a Heroes Journey), it is an effective tale.  It is fun, exciting and well told.  The film has a strong cast that really sell the situation.  This is the best of the three Tales From the Crypt films, and the one truly worth watching.

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