the last rites of joe may is a 2011 american drama film written and directed by joe maggio .

the film stars dennis farina , jamie anne allman , ian barford , meredith droeger , chelcie ross and gary cole .

the film was released on november 4 , 2011 , by tribeca film .

the last rites of joe may

the last rites of joe may : official u . s . trailer - youtube
movie review : the last rites of joe may | birth . movies . death .
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the last rites of joe may chronicles the last days in the life of joe may , an aging , short money hustler who always believed that a glorious destiny awaited him around every corner . now in . . . see full summary »
the last rites of joe may features a stunning performance from dennis farina as an ailing short money man in a world that’s moved on .
the last rites of joe may chronicles the last days in the life of joe may , an aging , short money hustler who always believed that a glorious destiny awaited him around every corner . now in his sixties , his health failing and resources dwindling , joe is presented with one last shot at greatness . . .
think richard jenkins in the visitor . or j . k . simmons in the music never stopped . and now dennis farina in the last rites of joe may .
that last plot point is a little old - fashioned , straight out of the good bad man playbook of classic westerns . but in a way , that’s what “the last rites of joe may” is , only transferred to modern times .
despite some glaring dips into formulaic territory , the last rites of joe may offers center stage to a great performer who ' s made a career of playing supporting tough guys .
veteran character actor dennis farina gives one of the best performances of the year in a rare lead part as an aging , down - on - his luck small - time hood in
the last rites of joe may . ' '
you meet guys like joe may . they can get you a price on some merchandise that fell off the back of some truck . in the performance of his career , dennis farina depicts the type flawlessly in
the last rites of joe may .
he looks into the type and sees the man inside : proud , weary , fearful .
' the last rites of joe may ' ( unrated ) tribeca ( 103 min . ) directed by joe maggio . with dennis farina . now playing in new york ; also available on demand . three and a half stars
“joe maggio has imagined a character that resonates with subtlety and truth in addressing the realities of the final denouement of one’s life in the last rites of joe may , ” said geoffrey gilmore , chief creative officer of tribeca enterprises . “dennis farina delivers the performance of his lifetime with a realism and vulnerability that we haven’t seen before . ”
every great story is , at its core , a tale of redemption . as its title implies , the last rites of joe may is no exception . the brilliance of this particular story , however , is that maggio does not turn joe may into everyman , ready to avenge wrongdoing and saving himself in the process . instead , joe may is noman , a barely felt ripple in his rapidly shrinking pond of a world .
dennis farina , left , plays an aging hustler who upon leaving a hospital finds strangers , meredith droeger , center , and jamie anne allman , living in his apartment in “the last rites of joe may . ”
watching joe may feels like walking behind tourists on the michigan avenue bridge . come onnnnnn .
there’s already oscar buzz for farina , and it’s well - deserved . a native chicagoan and former police officer , farina’s street smarts show in one of the best big screen performances of the year . as a result , though the last rites of joe may may be a small film about a small guy , it packs a big punch .
after a dramatic climax , the film ends with a mundane conversation and the clinking of forks on a plate as the credits slowly roll over the scene . it’s a poignant reminder of the casual casualty of life . the last rites of joe may is a rousing tale of one man’s redemption , but it’s also a brutal reminder that one man’s redemption means very little to the world at large .
“i ' m thrilled to have tribeca handling the release of the last rites of joe may , ” said maggio . “it ' s a really personal film and tribeca was so passionate about it , right from the beginning . i couldn ' t have asked for a better fit . ”
some of “last rites” is a little stale , like the frequent set - the - mood shots of sneakers dangling from urban telephone wires , or black birds flying across an empty sky . and the climax is predictable .
review : it’s a sure sign that things are not going your way when people keep telling you they were convinced you were dead . that happens at least a half - dozen times to the titular character in joe maggio’s film the last rites of joe may , which focuses on a man who… ( more )
showcasing a tour - de - force performance from dennis farina , the last rites of joe may chronicles the final days of an aging , short money hustler clinging to the belief that he ' s one scam away from the glorious destiny he ' s always deserved . now in his sixties , his health failing and resources dwindling , joe is presented with one last shot at redemption in the eyes of a community that ' s all but left him for dead .
small - time chicago hustler joe may ( the incomparable dennis farina ) always felt like a great destiny awaited him , but with his health ailing and his age advancing , he’s never looked more like a bum . broke and evicted , he’s taken in by a troubled young mother and daughter , in whom he finds one last shot to be a hero . pulsing with the spirit of classic urban dramas , “the last rites of joe may” is a subtle , sophisticated tale of redemption . [ synopsis courtesy of tribeca film festival ] .
joe may’s life ended a long time ago . it’s just no one remembered to tell him .
the last rites of joe may first and foremost boasts a tremendous performance from dennis farina . he plays joe may as down but not out , pissed at the world but with a plan . everyone he runs into after he leaves the hospital offers the same line , “joe may . i thought you were dead ! ” joe wears a leather blazer like a uniform , sits on the same stool at the same bar every day and orders the same shot and a beer . but when he prepares for a minor scam , the audience sees a glimpse of the younger joe from another time , when the rules were different and he knew how to play the game . he’s charming and wily , with a glimmer in his eye and a swagger in his step .
official facebook page : urltoken official site : urltoken showcasing a tour - de - force performance from veteran dennis farina , the last rites of joe may chronicles the final days of an aging , short money hustler clinging to the belief that he ' s one scam away from the glorious destiny he ' s always deserved . now in his sixties , his health failing and resources dwindling , joe is presented with one last shot at redemption in the eyes of a community that ' s all but left him for dead .
maggio said that audiences are responding very well , particularly chicago audiences who feel that the film is tremendously representative of the city . he said he never wanted to be too sentimental , but he wanted the emotion to feel authentic and to resonate with audiences . he struck that tone perfectly in the last rites of joe may ; watch the trailer below and tell me what you think .
it ' s a soulful and moving performance , one that makes the film worth watching . maggio ' s story and plotting can be predictable , but he gets a real feel for the life of a small - timer , not just from farina but from the others who populate joe ' s strata of chicago life . it ' s a cold world out there for guys like joe - and maggio and farina let you feel that chill in the last rites of joe may .
that doesn’t make the movie particularly fresh , but maggio ( upping the production standards from his last few efforts ) keeps a steady handle on the formula . as joe becomes invested in jenny’s troubles even more than his own , he becomes a legitimate figure of empathy . although the story is slight and filled with predictable ingredients ( joe even has an estranged son , as if he weren’t pathetic enough ) , it does right by them . a final showdown between joe and jenny’s male oppressor contains a masterful tension , made possible by joe’s evolution into a tragic hero with nothing to lose . “the last rites of joe may” luxuriates in clichés , but also reflects an understanding of how they can actually work .
maggio ' s film may be small , but it ' s full of texture .
the title character in “the last rites of joe may , ” played by dennis farina , is a hustler of a particular breed : a small - time idealist who always believes he’s one score away from the big time . joe wears ( sports ) a pinkie ring , leather coat and ankle boots , and if this were a mafia movie , he would be the third wiseguy from the left . when the writer and director joe maggio is in a lighter mood , the character could have stepped out of one of elmore leonard’s lowlife comedies , though mr . maggio isn’t often in a light mood .
from the new york times . you may opt - out at any time .
dennis farina is a marvelous actor . this is a keeper in my film collection . joe may is unforgettable .
excellent rental - - if you wanna see a great actors last performance . .
it’s a sure sign that things are not going your way when people keep telling you they were convinced you were dead . that happens at least a half - dozen times to the titular character in joe maggio’s film the last rites of joe may , which focuses on a man whose life is quickly going to hell in a handbasket . it’s a story that could easily have been depressing . . . read more
the basic joe may story – a past - his - time man’s man trying for one last hurrah – is a good one , and infinitely flexible . tweak it here and there and it can be the tale of a cowboy , a movie star , a boxer .
dennis farina was always one of my favorite actors . he died too young . especially if you grew up in chicago , or any
big city
, you will have known a guy like joe . hell , you yourself may even be joe may . there is a bit of joe may is in all of us , some more than others . in my opinion , this film represents some of the finest work of a great actor , dennis farina . i believe this was his last film . buy it , and watch it every year or so . you ' ll be glad you did .
— despite all evidence to the contrary , aging short - money hustler joe may ( dennis farina ) always believed he had a glorious future ahead of him . now in
despite all evidence to the contrary , aging short - money hustler joe may ( dennis farina ) always believed he had a glorious future ahead of him . now in ( more… )
this article is issued from wikipedia - version of the 10 / 13 / 2016 . the text is available under the creative commons attribution / share alike but additional terms may apply for the media files .
he plays the title character - joe may , a guy who has outlived his time as a small - time hustler on the fringes of chicago ' s underworld . indeed , the film begins with a raft of symbols of just how long joe has overstayed his welcome , as he comes out of a hospital stay for pneumonia into a blustery winter setting . he has so few human connections in the world that his lengthy hospital stay has led the few people who do remember him to the conclusion that joe must have kicked off .
straus said in order to make this film–or any film–he always maintains the attitude of “we’re a go . ” he said it’s easy to wait for the right actor or for a certain amount of money , but if you act as if the film is going to be made at any moment , it can be . he said that the last rites of joe may was made for under $ 500k . straus said that after he met with maggio and heard the story , he was very interested in the film ( it was the third or fourth pitched to him by maggio ) , but it wasn’t until involving stephanie striegel in the project that the film really got going .
dennis farina became an excellent actor and this one is among his finest as well as his last .
how could you not like this one ? what is there not to like ? excellent movie , great end , unfortunately also last danny farina ' s movie . at last he gone out with a bang !
the tomatometer score — based on the opinions of hundreds of film and television critics — is a trusted measurement of critical recommendation for millions of fans . it represents the percentage of professional critic reviews that are positive for a given film or television show .
the usual – financing . i’ve made feature films for as little as $ 6 , 000 , but on “the last rites of joe may” i wanted enough money to be able to really show what i could do as a filmmaker . we weren’t asking for much , but there was a period of a few years , say from 2007 to 2010 , nobody wanted to put any money into serious , adult dramas . money came and went several times , but once dennis farina came on we moved things to chicago , hooked up with a group of chicago - based investors , cobbled the budget together and took full advantage of the illinois tax credits .
farina is terrific , getting the pathos of the character while avoiding the self - pity , and leavening the tragedy with some occasional sputtering humor .
joe gets a shave at a barbershop , and then gets a ride to another part of the city to see lenny . while he ' s talking with lenny , we see that joe needs a shave .
how will it play ? too slight for widespread acclaim , “joe may” will probably find a home with a small distributor . its best hopes for attention in limited release will depend on the level of acclaim for farina’s dedicated performance .
hustling the hot merchandise doesn ' t work out so well . without his planning it that way , jenny and angelina become the most important thing in joe ' s life — not in terms of romance , but in terms of the responsibilities of being stand - up guy .
joe maggio ' s expectedly bleak tale of an aging , world - weary hustler is striking in almost every aspect . underrated actor denis farina is finally given a well - written character to work with , and the result is a touching , brilliantly understated performance that works as the film ' s main selling point . as well , maggio ' s down - to - earth direction complements the film ' s grim tone , which is captured excellently through the use of dark lighting and gritty camerawork .
the last rites of may
isn ' t outstanding due to its being routinely - written and sluggishly - paced , but it ' s nevertheless an unquestionably well - made character study and the obvious high points of both maggio ' s and farina ' s careers .
despite joe’s inability to hold down a job or avoid burying his sorrows in alcoholism , maggio makes it clear that his subject harbors a legitimate desire to clean up his act — something that underlines the pervasive sadness of his deteriorating state . maggio puts the conclusion of joe’s downhill journey in focus , and lets farina’s commitment to the role take the lead .
i shall dearly miss the late mr . farina . this , his last movie , was a touching story of a desperate man beautifully done by a wonderful actor who never seemed to be acting .
and both are essential for this chi - town story , as an aging and ailing joe begs the mob to throw him one last score – and , also , tries to protect a young single mother with an abusive cop boyfriend .
the ballad of narayama
is a japanese film of great beauty and elegant artifice , telling a story of startling cruelty . what a space it opens…
i thought you were dead ,
is the refrain he keeps hearing . in fact , joe may may be dead - he just doesn ' t know it . nor is he going to accept that verdict . if he ' s going out , he ' s going out on his own terms .
joe and angelina , the daughter , get along right away . they feel natural together . you hardly ever see a bad performance by a child actor , but young meredith droeger is especially good in this role . joe also encounters stanley buczkowski ( ian barford ) , jenny ' s boyfriend , who is a cop and who sometimes hits her . that goes down wrong with joe may .
you can read about the first day of the tribeca film festival and reviews of janie jones and mr . stache here . tune in tomorrow for a review and q & a of vincent d’onofrio’s slasher musical don’t go in the woods !
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dennis farina gets the enviable opportunity to humanize the kind of character he has sometimes exaggerated comically in glossier films .
meanwhile , the new tenant in joe ' s place - - no stranger to hard times , or abusive boyfriends - - has taken him in to help with the rent . here the script ' s reliance on cliché ( the way joe starts gruff but goes soft with the child he must sometimes care for ; the pigeon coop the lonely old man keeps on the roof ; the sensitive side that only emerges when he listens to opera lps ) is impossible to ignore .
for those of you who know dennis farina , this movie is one that you will truly appreciate and treasure . when i heard of it , i was so glad that he got the opportunity to be the lead in a film . it is a marvelous movie and dennis ' performance is stunning . actually , it always has been ; from crime story to midnight run . . . . . . . every movie he is in , he steals the scene and i can never take my eyes off of him . i miss him terribly , but now that i have the last rites of joe may ( and soon to purchase crime story to complete my collection of his movies ) , he will never be forgotten . at least not by me . dennis . . . . . . . . . . . . . we love you and miss you .
may returns to his chicago apartment to find , shades of the visitor , that somebody else is living there . a single mom ( jamie anne allman ) and her daughter ( meredith droeger ) have rented the place from a landlord who assumed joe was dead . the movie never explains how joe forgot to call his landlord to explain his long absence , but the failed wiseguy couldn ' t have paid the rent anyway : he has just over 400 bucks in the bank , a car impounded and sold as abandoned and no prospects .
unfussy cinematography by jay silver captures the chill of a chicago winter . . .
basically the story of a man forced to finally see the injustice around him . riley’s movie is designed to do the same thing to you . …
the film , written and directed by joe maggio , only has this handful of characters and looks at them carefully . the dialogue is right , the conflicts are simple and sincere , the hopes are touching . joe talks lenny into letting him move some stolen lamb chops and has dreams even at his age of somehow becoming a big - time hustler . he carries himself as if he ' d once been a bigger man in the neighborhood .
the ups and downs of joe ' s post - hospital existence - and the increasingly limited prospects he faces - are of less interest than the depth farina brings to this character . his still - alert eyes , his craggy - handsome face and his touching blend of bravura and vulnerability all contribute to a finely etched portrait of a man forced to put the best face on some hard choices - mostly to convince himself .
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with : dennis farina ( joe may ) , jamie anne allman ( jenny ) , ian barford ( stanley ) , meredith droeger ( angelina ) , chelcie ross ( billy ) and gary cole ( lenny ) .
an interview with terry gilliam , director of
the man who killed don quixote .
this movie takes place on the west side of chicago , without a single
beauty shot .
not a skyscraper in sight . only gray , cold streets , shabby bars and forlorn bus stops . joe may has just been released from cook county hospital after a siege of pneumonia that nearly killed him . before he goes home , he goes to a bar .
jeez , i thought you was dead ,
the bartender says . nothing about how he ' s glad to see joe is alive .
joe may is a small man in a small world , and that world is getting smaller by the minute . after spending seven weeks in the hospital , may ( dennis farina ) , a dapper , small - time hustler , dons his treasured leather jacket along with his carefully cultivated persona as a player , and steps out into a winter chicago afternoon . and that’s when life begins to crumble , for may has no family to speak of and no friends . his apartment has been rented during his absence to a young single mother and her daughter . his car has been towed and sold at auction . his whole life is contained in one small duffel bag , and he’s got less than $ 500 to his name . the shrewd guy working the street has turned into the guy who is simply on the street .
farina is terrific , getting the pathos of the character while avoiding the self - pity , and leavening the tragedy with some occasional sputtering humor . ( his increasingly frustrated attempts to unload some fell - off - the - truck meat make for great profane comedy . )
for all the things he does well , maggio makes a classic writer’s mistake , as well , overpopulating the film with important literary symbols . ( maggio’s symbolical use of trained racing pigeons is eye - rollingly obvious . ) as a result , his film risks underestimating viewers who have grown in size and sophistication as streaming video and pay - per - view cable options have put more independent films within the reach of larger audiences in the last decade or so .
i was so glad that he got the opportunity to be the lead . . .
the actress and director both love the genre , but as they told indiewire , they also knew it needed to be retrofitted to tell the true story of catherine weldon and sitting bull .
it isn’t too bad , at first , because both the characters and actresses are appealing . and , again , the scene speaks volumes : the dingy walls adorned hopefully with children’s drawings and the plastic containers of orange juice in the fridge ( jenny sneaks them from the hospital where she works ) tell a hard story fast .
there’s nothing inviting about the dingy bar , but there’s nothing obviously attractive about joe , either ( they’re made for each other ) , which is partly what makes him intriguing from the get go . the other reason is mr . farina . a naturally watchable screen presence , with a scoop of silvery white hair and a mustache that’s as lovingly groomed as a show poodle , he looks as if he had been born to play men like joe , though he’s equally comfortable working on the other side of the law . toughness may have been bred into mr . farina , a former chicago cop . ( he was memorably tender as jennifer lopez’s father in “out of sight , ” never more so than when his character , an investigator , handed his baby girl a new sig sauer . )
lane and schoenbrun discuss how her interest in morgellons disease patients ( “the pain of others” ) and his exploration of the slenderman myth ( “a self - induced hallucination” ) led them to make archival films from youtubes .
it’s not that he’s some sort of undead monster . actually , joe’s a very dapper guy , with a slick leather coat , some flashy jewelry and grey hair he keeps perfectly styled .
meredith is the editorial director of birth . movies . death . and the alamo drafthouse , and the social media director for fantastic fest . she loves smallville , and she ' s through apologizing for it .
so even though joe seems to own only one set of clothes ( including a garish but thin leather jacket in an acidic shade of tan ) , he rarely presents himself to the public looking less than his best . farina finds the pride that keeps this guy going , the crumbling sense of self - esteem that can be bolstered by carefully manicuring his mustache ( or his nosehairs ) with a small scissors , or putting a mirror - shine on his shoes .
the story gets close to its goal but winds up lost , leaving farina holding the bag .
joe maggio ( “paper covers rock , ” “bitter feast” ) writes and directs this simple and affecting drama with an assured focus on farina’s archetypical lost soul . despite numerous formulaic developments , maggio makes the story work by beginning where many would end : joe’s already at his wits’ end . virtually everyone in his community says they thought he was dead and farina’s downtrodden expression makes it clear that joe has started to share their belief .
in an episode dedicated to the show within the show , “glow” illustrates its grand capacity for storytelling , and the very good tv podcast breaks down how .
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and he’s well partnered by a number of lesser - known chicago talents , including a fragile jamie anne allman as the battered mom and the elfin meredith droeger as her grave child . ( in a nice bookend to his awful “office space” boss , gary cole shows up as joe’s equally infuriating gangland connection . )
offers farina the chance to demonstrate his range . . a finely etched portrait of a man forced to put the best face on some hard choices - mostly to convince himself .
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it’s just that joe’s world – old - school , slightly shady , but fiercely honorable , in its own way – is out of style . “times change , ” as his old friends tell him with a shrug .
from the title and opening scene i was so engaged to see what lay ahead for the main character , joe may . i also felt several strong and differing emotions and was reminded that this is how film ( / art ) should make you feel . every component that made up this film ; acting , soundtrack , setting , cast , etc , seemed to merge together perfectly to make it
real
. so real that at least a portion of the characters reminded me of people i ' ve known . in addition , one or two themes really struck home and have me thinking about life a little differently today . i expect everyone will relate / connect to certain aspects of this don ' t miss film .
luckily for joe , the single mother who now lives in joe ' s old apartment , a nurse named jenny ( jamie allman ) , takes pity on him and lets him stay with her until he can get back on his feet . he gradually grows closer to her and her young daughter , angelina ( meredith droeger ) - and takes a protective interest when he discovers that jenny suffers physical abuse at the hands of her boyfriend , a cop named stan ( ian barford ) .
[ indiewire invited directors with films in the tribeca narrative , documentary and viewpoints sections to submit responses in their own words about their films . these profiles are being published through the beginning of the 2011 tribeca film festival . to prompt the discussion , indiewire asked the filmmakers about what inspired their films , the challenges they faced and other general questions . they were also free to add additional comments related to their projects . ]
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in a particularly affecting sequence , he musters all the dignity he has to visit a kingpin ( gary cole , withering in his bored disdain ) in hopes of stolen goods he might fence (
some fuggezeh watches or somethin '
) . he gets a 50 - pound hunk of lamb instead , and joe ' s daylong attempt to sell the blood - dripping loot is a study in slow - crumble humiliation .
after heading back to his cluttered apartment , joe finds that the place has been rented to single mother jenny ( jenny rapp ) and her young daughter angelina ( meredith droeger ) . after an awkward introduction , jenny allows joe to crash at his old place until he can find a new home . dividing his time between caring for pigeons on the roof and bugging his old connections to loan him some cash , joe gradually becomes more involved in his new roommates’ lives , defending jenny from her crude , power - hungry boyfriend and keeping an eye on her impressionable daughter .
dennis farina ' s best performance . he ' s a jerk for the most part but does the right thing .
but good as pacino could have been , the great news is that this time the role went to dennis farina .
after the film , we were treated to a q & a with director joe maggio and producers bill straus and stephanie striegel . maggio said the film was originally set in brooklyn , but after casting farina , “you just don’t buy dennis farina as anything but chicago . ” they rewrote the film and moved it to chicago , doing a lot of research to get it right . maggio said farina was a chicago cop for twenty years ( ? ! ) , so he had access to a lot of local resources for the film , in addition to the rebate and tax incentives offered for filming in chicago .
written and directed by joe maggio and shot in chicago , this film - which debuted on vod oct . 28 and opens nov . 4 in new york and chicago - offers farina the chance to demonstrate his range , beyond the wiseguy - bluster and world - weary authority that ' s been behind so many of his roles in films like get shorty and out of sight , as well as crime story and law & order .
eric kohn and anne thompson discuss their favorite films of the year so far . they also debate several new releases and share some streaming recommendations .
the opener , set in a hospital and announced with the sounds of electronic beeps and human breathing , establishes a funereal tone and , like the title , announces the mortal stakes . there’s one patient in a bed , but another man , joe , is standing , and he’s ready to leave . nearly dressed , he slides on a ring and a watch that slip , now too loose for his thinned body . he says so long to the other patient , jokes about his waiting limo and disappears into chicago alone , hunching against the cold . his ride turns out to be a city bus . when he stops for a drink , the bartender says “i thought you were dead . ” he isn’t the only one who does .
wrapped in a thin leather jacket that offers faded panache but little protection from the chicago winter ( captured effectively in dp jay silver ' s wintry hues ) , joe canvasses old haunts that have forgotten him in record time .
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maggio said he was inspired to write the film after an ex - girlfriend told him in 1991 that he was “going to die a lonely and broken old man . ” maggio said , as a screenwriter , he connects to joe may in that he’s “always convinced that something great is around the corner . ” maggio’s uncles and grandfather were all short money con - men , with no real jobs but with trunks full of stuff to sell . he said they were these larger than life men , always well - dressed and clean - shaven with a great haircut . he was fascinated by them as a kid and wanted to write a movie about what happens to those men when the world has moved on and the rules have changed .
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now begins the final act of joe ' s life . he hunches his shoulders inside his coat , which is too thin against the chill . he goes to visit his old pal billy ( chelcie ross ) in a retirement home , tapping on the ground - floor window to announce his arrival . he goes to visit a man named lenny ( gary cole ) , whose office is a back table in a bar and who knows about stuff that falls off trucks .
but then , on the first day of principal photography , a car picked me up and brought me to the set , and as we pulled up i was seized by panic . an entire chicago block on both sides of the street was taken up by our production vehicles . teamsters were maneuvering the trailers and honey wagons ; each department had their own five ton truck ; electrics were busy running thick power cables along the gutters between the apartment where we were shooting and an enormous mobile generator . in a vacant lot beside our set an enormous heated tent had been erected and inside i found an elaborate video village that looked like a mobile rocket lab out of a james bond movie .
what a great movie that nobody ever heard of . as dennis farina fan i bought this without knowing much about it . it ' s an excellent melodrama about life in the seedier part of chicago . it will give all your emotions a workout too .
when he gets to his apartment , joe moves cautiously . farina is a former chicago cop and knows how to enter an apartment you ' re not sure about . it ' s been entered , yes — by jenny rapp ( jamie anne allman ) and her daughter , angelina ( meredith droeger ) . they live there now . joe lived there for years , but the landlord thought he was dead and rented it out .
roger ebert ' s speech on empathy for the
11th hour
series on april 9th , 1994 , being republished here in honor of his birthday june 18 .
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but maggio , whose ' 70s - sourced , matter - of - fact urban vision leaves little room for mawkishness , doesn ' t lean too hard on these elements . instead he uses the familiar framework as a showcase for his star - - calmly watching farina ' s magnificently unhandsome face as the actor easily transmits the mixtures of honor and dishonesty , persistence and disappointment , that keep this would - be big shot ticking .
i begin every project with the same vow – that i will execute my vision without compromise ; that come hell or high water , i’m going to stick to my guns and not chicken out . and of course , i always compromise and hate myself later . this is the greatest challenge i find as a director . by its very nature , filmmaking is a communal art form . as a director , you must work in conjunction with so many people – producers , production designers , directors of photography , actors , editors , etc , etc . – and each of these people has their own idea of the way things should go .
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if only he had left town , lost his keys , anything but entered his old apartment , where jenny and angelina and a thicket of clichés wait . but joe , it emerges , has little left after his long hospital stay ( for pneumonia ) , including friends . and so , after scowling at the daughter in the hallway , murmuring about brats ( she gives him a dead - eyed look in return ) , he enters his old flat where jenny and angelina now live .
downbeat vision of a small - time crook ' s final days offers a plum role for dennis farina . twitter
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if you like dennis farina , this is the ultimate film for you . . . . . dennis farina became my favorite actor when i saw him first in
law and order
, after that , i was hooked on dennis farina . another part farina played in was the film
get shorty
. a great character part as dennis farina pulled it off with great finesse . a great and final last film for a great actor as dennis farina was . i wish farina could have lived longer as to give us more of his great talent on film . god bless you dennis farina for what you had time for to give to the world as an actor and a great person . dennis farina ( 1944–2013 )
a tribute to the late tab hunter , a gay matinee idol and hollywood trailblazer .
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after studying under cinematographer ed lachman , shevaun mizrahi forged her own unique filmmaking path with its own set of rules .
what a great tribute , now that this legend has passed away . i believe he was a cop before getting full time acting work , and you can ' t fake the temperament and
street
that this guy has . the movie may not be action packed , it might even seem slow to some , but i discovered it as a thoughtful , introspective , even retrospective exercise for a man who didn ' t amount to as much as he thought he would and finally has to face that reality . i caught it on netflix some years ago , it stuck with me , and i bought the dvd recently to revisit it . i love the story and dennis farina is simply perfectly cast as the main character .
you want to get rid of a loser , you give him five bucks and you ' ll never see him again .
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he returns to the apartment he ' s occupied for 40 years to find that the landlord has rented it out and thrown away his belongings . when he goes looking for his car , he ' s told that it was towed , impounded and then sold at auction . his best friend and scam partner has moved to an assisted - living facility where he is content to spend his days playing cards . and when joe tracks down the small - time crime boss who usually throws him some work , the boss ( gary cole ) says ,
why don ' t you retire to florida ?
don ' t expect a lot of action for a crime film but it ' s to be rated , i . . .
we ' re introduced to farina ' s title character as he prepares to leave the hospital after a long stay for pneumonia : through his precise grooming and crisp farewells , we quickly understand a lot about a man who knows how to comport himself even when things aren ' t going his way . sadly , what awaits outside will test may ' s self - image more than a hospital gown did .
we had a suite of production offices at fletcher / chicago and i even had my own office with a big desk and comfy couch should i feel the need for a nap . there were several weeks of pre - production , which was surreal for me – all these people buzzing about in the service of a story that just weeks earlier was nothing more than a few half - baked ideas in my head . but pre - production went on long enough that eventually i got used to being pampered and treated like a big shot , and before long it started to feel quite normal .
movies and tv shows are certified fresh with a steady tomatometer of 75 % or higher after a set amount of reviews ( 80 for wide - release movies , 40 for limited - release movies , 20 for tv shows ) , including 5 reviews from top critics .
mr . farina has never been more in control of his
instrument ,
as actors like to say , or more convincing .
tribeca film is a comprehensive distribution label dedicated to acquiring and marketing independent films across multiple platforms , including theatrical , video - on - demand , digital , home video and television . it is an initiative from tribeca enterprises designed to provide new platforms for how film can be experienced , while supporting filmmakers and introducing audiences to films they might not otherwise see . american express continues its support of tribeca and the independent film community by serving as the founding partner of tribeca film .
such great performances , especially by the late great dennis farina . an interesting story , well told .
my first impulse – truly and without exaggeration – was to run away . it was just too much and i felt i would be crushed beneath the weight of the production . i took a walk around the block , calmed down and promised myself i would take it slowly , one set up at a time , which i did , and in this way , little by little , i survived . another thing that helped was every morning i went to the wardrobe department and was issued a sport coat and tie . for some mysterious reason , all buttoned up like that and with a vintage tie cinched around my neck , i somehow felt like i was wearing a protective armor , a suit of respectability .
roger ebert was born on this day in 1942 , and died a little over five years ago . i owe a good part of my success…
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still , it takes him a few days to figure out just how far out of his depth he is . not that there aren ' t clues .
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it ' s the rare film that offers a long - time character actor the opportunity to take center stage - to play a full - bodied lead role that allows him to use his entire palate and show just what he can do .
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i was not a kid who loved going to movies or was obsessed with making movies , as so many of my filmmaker friends were . i loved to draw . in fact i was obsessed with drawing . my father is an artist and also taught art so we always had plenty of pencils and paints and fine paper in the house and when i got home from school i’d throw myself into my drawing . my subjects varied – usually hockey players or super heroes – but also presidents , animals and family members . i was obsessed with drawing “realistically , ” and when i failed to achieve a suitable likeness , i’d throw a fit , rip the paper to shreds , and often cry with rage and frustration .
exclusive : watch m . ward sing
sad sad song
in elvis presley ' s car in the king clip by ellen johnson july 6 , 2018
rules weren’t meant to be broken when it comes to tv episode lengths , but these 10 examples — introduced on the very good tv podcast — are clear exceptions .
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i actually ordered this before farina had passed . growing up in the chicagoland area and being a farina fan , i was immediately interested in this movie . after i watched it , i had to own a copy . it is a great drama about personal redemption . give it a try i think you ' ll enjoy as much as i have .


an eye for an eye is a 1981 american action film directed by steve carver , and starring chuck norris , christopher lee , richard roundtree , matt clark , mako iwamatsu , and maggie cooper .

an eye for an eye ( 1981 film )

if you want to answer the questions ,
who starred in the movie an eye for an eye ?
and
what is the full cast list of an eye for an eye ?
then this page has got you covered .
this cast list of who was in an eye for an eye includes both lead and minor roles . ( 15 items )
an eye for an eye cast list , listed alphabetically with photos when available . this list of an eye for an eye actors includes any an eye for an eye actresses and all other actors from the film . you can view trivia about each an eye for an eye actor on this list , such as when and where they were born . to find out more about a particular actor or actress , click on their name and you ' ll be taken to a page with even more details about their acting career . the cast members of an eye for an eye have been in many other movies , so use this list as a starting point to find actors or actresses that you may not be familiar with .
it may have been 1981 when an eye for an eye hit theaters , but it ' s still got the feel of gritty 70 ' s vigilante sleaze all over it . does anyone have a spare moist towelette ?
the surrounding cast makes an eye for an eye worth watching , and the frequent action scenes make it easy to look past norris ' cardboard - y dramatic acting .
fans of norris and his simple and interchangeable movies will find an eye for an eye as enjoyable as the equally shallow lone wolf mcquade . people with taste , however , will not look twice .
with a chuck norris film comes a certain kind of expectation . this ranges from fans to potential assassins . the fans expect hard , fast , furious action with norris on screen constantly . the assassins expect a turgid piece of seventies garbage . an eye for an eye lies somewhere in between and due to my own feelings towards norris , the scale is more weighted towards the irritating .
there are some moments of flair , however . shots of the san francisco bridge are constructed nicely and carver has an unflinching eye for action set pieces - the slow burning to death that kane ' s partner endures is captured second for second .
the tomatometer score — based on the opinions of hundreds of film and television critics — is a trusted measurement of critical recommendation for millions of fans . it represents the percentage of professional critic reviews that are positive for a given film or television show .
i just watched an eye for an eye the other day , yet already i ' m forgetting the particulars of the plot . that ' s more of an indictment against the generic story than the movie itself , however , since this is a fairly solid action / crime flick . it reminds me a bit of the umpteen crime films charles bronson starred in during the 70 ' s / 80 ' s , only with approximately 450 more roundhouse kicks .
thank you again for writing it ! i don ' t think that i had seen this film before doing the work to publish your review .
seriously , although no one believes me , steve carver ' s an eye for an eye with chuck norris is my favorite film of all time and one of the few that i have seen in a cinema with my late father . it ' s odd that the movie was rated pg in south africa in 1981 and was rated r in the usa . it is so much so my favorite film that i have it on vhs and dvd and i have a poster of it on my wall at work . so no one , not even mr . norris ' webmaster believes me , but it is and remains my favorite film . i tried to recapture the magic of sitting in that same cape town cinema a few years back ( i had also seen ghostbusters in the same cinema a few years after that ) only to be told that the cinema had closed and that there was now a bank in it ' s ' place . bummer .
the professor - professor toru tanaka ! the aforementioned human tank . mute , except for an occasional
ugga
when he is belted by chuck norris . dies in one on one conflict when he is kicked into an oak table by mr norris , giving us an impressive view of his nads .
an interview with terry gilliam , director of
the man who killed don quixote .
pretty much to itself when it comes to limited releases . i ' ve seen more ads for that movie up here than i have for
this is the only film i ' ve ever seen where someone gets knocked out cold with a telephone . end of plot .
lucy , as played with enormous passion and intelligence by miss nelligan , accomplishes the unimaginable when she begins to distract faber from his mission . he begins an unexpectedly tender affair with her , so that for a while she , faber and the aloof , embittered david form an explosive threesome .
a one - man army comes to the rescue of the united states when a spy attempts an invasion .
sean kane is an undercover police officer assigned to the narcotics division of the san francisco police department . in the beginning of the film , there is an undercover operation , involving an informant , and things go sour when norris ' partner is killed . he resigns from the sfpd , after his partner and his partner ' s wife , a tv news reporter , are murdered . unknowingly to norris is that the assignment that he was working undercover on was connected to a smuggling operation involving the chinese triad , and the deaths of his partner and his g wife are connected to an investigative report that involved the smuggling operation . in this dirty harry - like film , norris goes beyond the law and goes after those responsible for the deaths of his partner and his partner ' s wife .
the film opens with an intense gunfight that leaves sean kane ' s ( norris ) partner dead . instantly , the plot has been laid down and from now on the audience knows what to expect . director steve carver throws in a fair amount of heartbreak ( friend linda chan ' s death ) to add more tension to the fight sequences , which he pretends are not the central element of the film . he adds a bunch of chase sequences and wooden exchanges between characters to fatten up a very basic film , contorting the pace .
movies and tv shows are certified fresh with a steady tomatometer of 75 % or higher after a set amount of reviews ( 80 for wide - release movies , 40 for limited - release movies , 20 for tv shows ) , including 5 reviews from top critics .
the ballad of narayama
is a japanese film of great beauty and elegant artifice , telling a story of startling cruelty . what a space it opens…
a martial artist must defeat a plan by ninjas to create a worldwide training camp for terrorists .
an ex - us army commando must find the reason why his comrades from his unit are being systematically murdered before he is next .
this martial - arts offering casts chuck norris as an ex - cop who vows revenge on the drug cartel who killed his partner .
truck driver searches for his brother , who has disappeared in a town run by a corrupt judge .
the goal of cosmetic blepharoplasty is to obtain an improvement in the appearance of the eyelids without causing functional or symptomatic alterations in the patients . patients with undiagnosed problems in tear production who have cosmetic blepharoplasties are a common source of extremely dissatisfied patients with alarming ocular symptoms . although keratoconjunctivitis sicca is the most common manifestation of an abnormal tear film state , there are other conditions of which the eyelid surgeon should be aware . knowledge of methods used in the diagnosis of states of tear deficiency will allow the surgeon to better select candidates for cosmetic eyelid procedures .
during the triad assault on james chan ' s house , sean kane attacks a triad terrorist who knocks an ornamental box off a desk as he falls . when kane runs for the door , the box is back on the desk again .
when the detectives of an undercover police unit are being mysteriously killed by a martial artist , a professional kickboxer is hired to assist them .
for a description of the different acting role types we use to categorize acting perfomances , see our glossary .
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during the triad assault on james chan ' s house , sean kane attacks a triad terrorist who knocks an ornamental box off a desk as he falls . when kane runs for the door , the box is back on the desk again . see more »
a chicago cop is caught in a middle of a gang war while his own comrades shun him because he wants to take an irresponsible cop down .
the grindhouse cinema database is an online database of cult / exploitation / grindhouse movies from the ' 30s to the mid / late ' 80s . i found…
see the box office tab ( domestic ) and international tab ( international and worldwide ) for more cumulative box office records .
it ' s a busy week for dvd releases , but the signal to noise ratio is a little high , and that made it harder to find the dvds that were truly worthy of attention . ( and even then , i went off track a couple of times . ) as for the dvd pick of the week , there is really only one choice for me ,
we are starting to get some serious updates on the websites for the summer blockbusters , however , it will be a few more weeks before this list is dominated by such films . in the meantime , it is a website for a new release ,
thanks , peter j . i ' ve just noticed something really funny ~ i ' ve never seen still pictures of this film before and it looks like stevens ' office and canfield ' s office are in the same building !
a film that has clean shaven chuck norris , professor tanaka , christopher lee , mako , richard roundtree and one of the best taglines ever : chuck norris doesn ' t need a weapon . . . he is a weapon !
this week ' s round of new movie release information contains release dates for resurrecting the champ , the waterhorse , avatar and more .
this is one of those 70s / 80s cop drama / action flicks with a far - fetched storyline . . . . and i enjoyed it very much . my only complaint was the middle portion of the film where the was little action to be had and spent a lot more time fleshing out the plot . i still recommend it for a fun action movie though .
it is this portion of the film , the central portion , that is by far the most successful . the beginning has been devoted to establishing the characters of lucy and faber and bringing them together . and the last third will be devoted to a gory battle between them . but when lucy is still innocent of faber ' s secret , and he himself has begun to waver , the story balances beautifully between romance and intrigue . in fact , the central part of the movie is so powerful it becomes something from which the film never recovers . the final confrontations are less heart stopping than those that occur midway through , particularly a cleverly staged showdown between faber and david . mr . marquand invests this scene with more surprises than the rest of the film has to offer .
i ' m looking for the name of a chuck norris film , wherein if i remember correctly someone tells chuck the meaning of the word expedience and the word is used incessantly throughout the movie . this may be it , that red sweater looks awfully familiar , but it ' s been years since i saw it . . . . . . anyone who knows what i ' m talking about please post comment thx
captain stevens - richard roundtree ! sean ' s ass - kicking , ass chewin ' boss , mean mutha . . . i ' m talkin ' ' bout shaft and we can dig . . . uhhhh , wrong film . shut yo ' mouth , trevor !
eye of the needle , directed by richard marquand ; screenplay by stanley mann ; based on a novel by ken follett ; director of photography , alan hume ; edited by sean barton ; music by miklos rozsa with the royal philharmonic orchestra ; produced by stephen freidman ; released by united artists . at the little carnegie , 57th street east of seventh avenue ; cinema ii , third avenue and 60th street ; embassy 1 , times square ; ua 85th street , at first avenue ; bay cinema , second avenue and 31st street , and other theaters . running time : 112 minutes . this film is rated r .
if you like watching a shaved orangutan karate kick short guys , this is a bucket of fun . there should be a drinking game for chuck norris movies . whenever you spot an extra under 5 ' 7
, odds are chuck will karate kick him . the shorter the better , so chuck ' s foot can reach the guy ' s face . i ' ve been watching chuck ' s movies for 30 years and i don ' t remember watching this one . surprisingly , chuck is tom cruise short .
canfield :
i ' m sure that you ' d agree that the murder of a reporter in pursuit of an investigation is every bit as serious as the murder of a policeman in the line of duty .
linda chan - rosalind chao ! james ' daughter , a high flying investigative reporter for canfield ' s station . gets pursued and finally strangled by the human tank .
roger ebert ' s speech on empathy for the
11th hour
series on april 9th , 1994 , being republished here in honor of his birthday june 18 .
after surviving an attempt on his life by his former partner , officer cliff garrett ( norris ) exacts revenge on those who wronged him by going undercover as a hit man . he works to gain the . . . see full summary »
james chan :
she was like you : headstrong , willful . she had a great hunger for retribution . it seems , i too i am in need of retribution !
surprise may be what ' ' eye of the needle ' ' finally lacks . the plot itself , while canny , offers very little of the unexpected , since we know what happens to men and women on deserted islands , and since we know who won the war . all the film ' s important touches of surprise come from within its characters . mr . sutherland turns faber , who might easily have seemed a one - note heavy , into a complex and fascinating figure . when faber steals a motorbike only to have it break down on him , and mr . sutherland tosses the bike into a ditch , he turns around and straightens out his suit with a briskness that speaks volumes about faber ' s eerie resourcefulness .
notice that the bad guy ' s submachine gun perforates everything , everything except chuck norris . oh , and i was just waiting for chuck to roundkick that helicopter out of the sky .
morgan canfield - christopher lee ! newspaper and media magnate whose picture window overlooks alcatraz island . his next destination at the end of the film . it doesn ' t matter that alcatraz , like robben island in south africa , is now a museum ; that is where he ' s going . gets his throat gently squeezed by chuck norris .
the ultimate showdown is enjoyable , although the fight scenes leading up to it seem to have been shot poorly on purpose in order to set the final battle apart . yet , it isn ' t worth dragging yourself through 106 minutes of an overlong movie to watch it .
chuck plays sean kane , an undercover narcotics cops hot on the heals of discovering the leader of a local drug gang . when his partner gets killed , and he ' s reprimanded for throwing one of the thugs out a third story window in front of several onlookers , he quits the force and sets out to kick the living shit out of those responsible . his search will finally bring him face to face with the mysterious drug lord . . . whose identity our hero wasn ' t expecting .
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miss nelligan and mr . cazenove work hard to give extra dimensions to characters who might have seemed flat . miss nelligan invests lucy with a fullness and warmth far beyond anything the screenplay calls for , while mr . cazenove ' s david displays a rage and stubbornness even greater than his plight might be expected to generate . for a while , these three actors create a tense and fascinating web . later on , the story lets them down , and that web can ' t help unraveling .
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' ' eye of the needle , ' ' which opens today at cinema ii , the little carnegie and other theaters , is largely set in 1944 . after a brief 1940 prelude , it concerns itself with a ruthless german spy named faber ( ' ' needle ' ' is his sobriquet ) , who is on the verge of discovering that the allied invasion of europe will take place at normandy . faber , played with a chilling calm by donald sutherland , is on the verge of relaying this information to his superiors when he is shipwrecked on storm island . the residents of storm island are lucy ( kate nelligan ) , a woman who has lived in near - isolation for four years , and her husband , david ( christopher cazenove ) , who was crippled in a car accident on their wedding day .
it ' s been quite a while since this review was published here but , almost two years down the line , it still gives me a major thrill to see my work published . thanks again to andrew ~ my first publisher ~ for this .
and clearly he ' s a cop who is careful with his money , after all he can afford an impressive waterfront home , although he saved a lot of money by building it himself , and he ' s flash enough not to park his car at home but to leave it somewhere else and travel to it by way of speedboat .
solid norris actioner involving a vengeful ex - cop ( chuck ) seeking revenge on the death of his patrol partner and wife , encountering triads , professor toru tanaka and an evil christopher lee as criminal mastermind along the way . in amongst the roundhouse kicks , i did like the way chuck trained his dog to keep carrying away his dirty laundry .
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some people will find the movie slow going . i preferred to think of it as deliberate . it is effective , i think , to develop a plot like this at a deliberate pace , instead of rushing headlong through it . that gives us time to meditate on the character of the needle , and to ponder his very few , enigmatic references to his own behavior . we learn things about him that he may not even know about himself , and that is why the film ' s final scene is so much more complex than it seems .
the war has come down to the two of us ,
sutherland tells nelligan , and in the final exchange of desperate looks between the man and the woman there is a whole universe left unspoken . the movie ends with nelligan regarding a man who is either a treacherous spy or an unloved child , take your choice .
thanks very , very much for publishing this , andrew . i actually got quite emotional this morning when i saw it online for the first time : i started writing in 1992 and it has been a long hard road to get to where i have my work recognized and published . now that it has been not only recognized but published too , everyone will have to line up and smack me to get the smile off my face . thanks once again , andrew ! i will drink your health with a ice - cold glass of coke and . . . yeah , some fine south african chocolates too .
the producers originally wanted to cast andré the giant in the role played by former professional wrestler professor toru tanaka because they felt tanaka wasn ' t tall enough . they were eventually convinced that tanaka would be more believable ( as demonstrated in the james bond film goldfinger ( 1964 ) in which harold sakata was cast as oddjob ) , as well as cheaper and with less scheduling conflicts , so they agreed to cast him . in order to overcome his height
disadvantage
they had him wear platform shoes to make him appear taller than his 6 ' 2 frame . see more »
norris is on typical bare - chested form , delivering his lines down - and - dirty without much real meaning behind them . familiar moments from a range of seventies cop shows pop up - the badge and gun on the captain ' s desk scene , the captain gaining a new found respect for the renegade cop scene . . . its all present , correct and mundane .
the final showdown in the movie provided me with a thrill that has never left me ( and also got me interested in the martial arts ) where kane beats the seven colors of crap out of the professor and kicks him into a solid oak table , killing him . after canfield is taught a lesson by kane ( and we are given an acting lesson by christopher lee : it looked like chuck norris was really strangling him ) the movie ends with kane , heather and james walking away from the estate , smiling and laughing .
chuck norris plays sean kane , an unorthodox policeman whose friend and partner is killed in a drug bust on the streets of san francisco . after going berserk billy jack style and ruining the investigation as a result , kane resigns from the police force and swearing revenge , mounts his own investigation , teaming up with his zen quoting martial arts sensei james chan when the latter ' s investigative reporter daughter is murdered by what can only be described as a sherman tank in a suit . kane is assisted in his investigations by heather sullivan and her media magnate boss morgan canfield .
i was very lucky to have worked with mako in 2000 on the wonderful wizard of oz radio project - - he played the king of the flying monkeys . the imdb shows only a fraction of his work , as he did so many indie projects as well - - yeah , this is a great genere picture , as these things go - - you ' re right to focus on the cast - value here - - you get a lot of bang for your buck ! peter johnson / denny crane
so it ' s chuck vs . the triads with cool cinematography in always cool san francisco ! big chuck norris stars as sean kane ( a name that practically screams
why yes i ' ve palm - striked a dude in a bar before
) , a cop who turns in his badge to get revenge for his murdered partner . . . his way . we ' ve got shaft himself richard roundtree playing the frustrated black police captain cliché (
kaaane !
) . we ' ve got wrestling legend professor tanaka ( although to me he ' ll always…
tracking the killers down proves dangerous to kane and james as they clash with triad killers for hire and the scary sherman tank in a suit . even more dangerous are kane ' s erstwhile boss captain stevens and the omnipresent mccoy ~ the latter almost always being on crime scenes where kane ' s friends have met their ends . knowing who to trust is the difficult part as kane finds out to his dismay as his main ally on the san francisco force proves to be up to his neck in skullduggery ( this guy gets his reputation totally trashed ) and the affable , fatherly , pipe smoking canfield turns out not only to be the mastermind behind the drug smugglers that james ' daughter was investigating but also the driver of the car that turned his friend and partner dave pearce into a flaming sambuca . canfield also has a very irritating dog which sean kane should also have taken out , but that ' s another story entirely .
big week in terms of flash sites launching , but a tough one when it comes to picking a winner . there were several sites that were contenders , and a few that will likely be winners after a few more updates , but none that stood out as the best for the week . it ' s almost like there were so many that were so close to winning the award that none were able to stand out and get me excited . however , there was one site that was updated this week that did , the simpsons movie - official site . this site did get a new look , but the real draw here is the first full trailer , to go along with the three previous teasers . is that enough to make it award worthy ? no . but while my rational side was distracted by a game of sudoku the fanboy in me made that decisions , and all fanboy freak - outs are legally binding . hopefully the final site will live up to the award . i have a feeling it will . more . . .
, which would have won a few weeks ago if i had got the right information on the quality of the dvd .
a big list of limited releases this weekend , not so much in the number of films but in the number of theaters . five of the seven films on this week ' s list have opening theater counts in the double - digits with a couple opening in more than six dozen . this means that even with little overlap in target audiences , at least one will be squeezed out at the box office . on the other hand ,
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sean kane is forced to resign from the san francisco police department ' s narcotics division when he goes berserk after his partner is murdered . he decides to fight alone and follows a trail . . . see full summary »
trippy indie madeline ' s madeline is the movie that lakeith stanfield and boots riley from sorry to bother you want to see the most .
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a casino security guard is forced into violence from when the hong kong mob threatens his friends .
a sheriff tries to stop the killing spree of a mute maniacal murderer who , as the result of years of medical experimentation , has the ability to self - heal .
the archetypical renegade texas ranger wages war against a drug kingpin with automatic weapons , his wits and martial arts after a gun battle leaves his partner dead . all of this inevitably . . . see full summary »
danny o ' brien is back in action fighting the notorious simon moon , also known as the terror . three years earlier o ' brien had single - handedly captured the terror and was called hero by the . . . see full summary »
prequel to the first missing in action , set in the early 1980s it shows the capture of colonel braddock during the vietnam war in the 1970s , and his captivity with other american pows in a brutal prison camp , and his plans to escape .
sean kane is forced to resign from the san francisco police department ' s narcotics division when he goes berserk after his partner is murdered . he decides to fight alone and follows a trail of drug traffickers into unexpected high places .
was originally offered the role of nicky labelle , which he turned down . instead , he took the more significant and memorable role of tony montoya . the role of nicky labelle eventually went to
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aside from a few random smatterings of chop - socky daring - do , there ' s not one single thing about this movie worth sitting through .
the acting isn ' t the best , especially mako ' s performance is really awful , but it has some decent action . apart from the chuck norris ' s fumble , some of the fight scenes are very good , especially those fights near the end . the story is very simple , but it has good atmosphere , so it never bores .
better than chuck norris ' late 1970s movies . the dialogues between his character and mako ' s are delightful and the settings and cast are better than usual , as is the story . norris is no coward to fight against christopher lee ' s gangster without any weapons , only his tough fists and kicks .
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sean kane - chuck norris ! great cop , lousy listener to his boss . resigns from the police force after his friend dave gets fried in a drug bust gone wrong .
dave pearce - terry kiser ! sean ' s partner and good friend : steps into wet dog poo , shot , gets turned into a flaming sambuca and dies horribly . and so , how ' s your day been so far ?
james chan - mako ! righteous ass - kicker , abuser of telephones and sayer of wise sayings like
warrior is not a mountain goat : it is well to remember this
. goes up against the professor . . . bad idea .
heather sullivan - maggie cooper ! linda ' s friend and chuck ' s main squeeze , also user of his snot rag .
maccoy - matt clark ! old oirish san franciscan policeman , heavy on the take . gets completely trashed by chuck norris .
if you keep your eyes on the puddle , you ' ll probably step in dog poo .
drug dealers also have annual general meetings : dunno who takes minutes , though .
7 mins - i sincerely hope he didn ' t land on my car there .
16 mins - that ' s the guy my landlord sends after me when the rent ' s due .
79 mins - if mac doesn ' t want to kill sean , he ' s doing a good job of not trying to .
93 mins - that is the scene i want to see before i close my eyes permanently .
james chan :
warrior is not a mountain goat . it is well to remember this .
canfield :
i wouldn ' t hesitate to shoot this young lady , you know .
stevens :
kane , you are a reckless man . you always have been . a police department cannot operate that way .
kane :
we were setup .
stevens :
oh really ? your undercover operation was the best kept secret this narcotics bureau has ever had . so tell me something , my friend : where was the leak ? on this end , someone here ?
maccoy :
two of the vertebra on her neck are completely snapped . i ' m telling you , whoever did this got a helluva lot of strength .
kane :
any ideas , mack ?
maccoy :
we ' ve got half a dozen witnesses - saw her chased around the market street bart station by some guy that they said looked like ' a sherman tank in a suit . '
i did see this and i found it to be relatively dull compared to my usual fare of overthetop action movies . mission in action ii , invasion usa , and the delta force are superior among chuck ' s own library . maybe i was tired when i watched it . it wasn ' t un - entertaining altogether , just a bit meh . the one awesome bit is in the final battle when chuck starts doing slo - mo kicks on professor oddjob and they sound like star wars lasers . i guess another awesome factor was having chuck norris , the guy who played oddjob , and christopher lee in the same movie . wait , i was tired . i think i like this movie . a lot .
how to find a bad movie the champions of justice plan 9 from outer space manos , the hands of fate podcast : todd the convenience store clerk faster , pussycat ! kill ! kill ! the human tornado maniac the educational archives : driver ' s ed godzilla vs . monster zero do you have a zombie plan ?
earth is visited by a giant antimatter space buzzard ! gawk at the amazingly bad bird puppet , or chuckle over the silly dialog . this is one of the greatest b - movies ever made .
osmosis : os·mo·sis ( oz - mo ' sis , os - ) n . , 1 . when a bird eats something .
norris has the screen presence of a can of soup , but the sheer amount of roundhouse kicks set amongst beautiful san francisco backdrops makes this a moderately diverting early 80 ' s actioner .
christopher lee plays a bond - type villain here . as usual , he steals every scene he ' s in while being provided with awful dialogue and idiotic character decisions , like not destroying evidence that would incriminate him . the climax was ludicrous . almost cartoonish . good stuff !
he ' s the kind of guy who can punch a guy across a room and out of a window and who , completely unarmed ( he doesn ' t need a weapon , he is a weapon ) can make machine gun laden helicopters run away .
this should be most awesome movie ever but unfortunately its mostly by the numbers flick without any real standout moments .
except of course the best moment in action movie history : chuck norris karate kicking a lamp .
or that moment where he knocks a man out and then places a pillow behind his head .
one of chuck’s best films and it’s still a proper belter . mako is amazing in it .
bom policial de ação do norris . o diretor steve carver , eventualmente , comete erros amadores na hora de posicionar sua câmera na hora das lutas , mas no geral as cenas de luta são muito boas . o elenco de apoio , que conta com christopher lee , richard roundtree , mako e o gigante professor toru tanaka , contribuem para
agregar valor
a esta pérola . um dos melhores do astro .
starring : chuck norris , christopher lee , richard roundtree , matt clark , mako , jeffrey bannister , robert behling , joe bellan , rosalind chao , michael b . christy , maggie cooper
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sean kane is forced to resign from the san francisco police department ' s narcotics division when he goes berserk after his partner is murdered . he decides to fight alone and follows a trail . . . see more »
sean kane is forced to resign from the san francisco police department ' s narcotics division when he goes berserk after his partner is murdered . he decides to fight alone and follows a trail of drug traffickers into unexpected high places . written by scott lane
kane ' s justice is revenge . kane ' s weapon is himself . see more »
james chan : perfection is approachable , sean , as i have often told you . see more »
basically the story of a man forced to finally see the injustice around him . riley’s movie is designed to do the same thing to you . …
roger ebert was born on this day in 1942 , and died a little over five years ago . i owe a good part of my success…
a look back at robert zemeckis ' half - animated classic , who framed roger rabbit , on its 30 - year anniversary .
a tribute to the late tab hunter , a gay matinee idol and hollywood trailblazer .
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a san francisco policeman ( chuck norris ) quits the force to avenge his partner ' s murder by asian drug dealers .
blazing saddles , dr . strangelove or : how i learned to stop worrying and love the bomb , the howling
my name is trinity ( 1970 ) - this one is new to me , i ' ve never beaten him before . . . ( hd )