Shameless Self Expression

Steven Seagal stars as Nico Toscani, a Chicago cop, Japanese-trained martial artist, and former CIA operative during the Vietnam War (!). Nico uncovers a nefarious plot that seems to involve his former CIA associates, particularly former CIA interrogator (i.e. torturer) Zagon, played by Henry Silva. Pam Grier plays Nico’s partner on the force Jackson, Chelcie Ross is one of Nico’s CIA comrades, Ron Dean and Thalmus Rasulala play cops, Sharon Stone is Nico’s wife, and there are cameos by up-and-comers Mark Boone Junior, Michael Rooker, and John C. Reilly.   The Aikido master stylings of Steven Seagal were presented here in his first starring vehicle from director Andrew Davis ( “Under Siege” , “The Fugitive” ). Scripted by Davis, Ronald Shusett ( “Alien” , “Freejack” , “Total Recall” ), and Steven Pressfield ( “Freejack” , Dolph Lundgren’s “Joshua Tree” ), this 1988 crime-action pic is one of Seagal’s more critically popular films. Hell, even I’ll admit it probably adds up to b...

It’s Christmas time, but insurance investigator Jack Hawkins is nonetheless tasked with examining a small fire at a manor owned by Dennis Price, where numerous valuable paintings were destroyed. He also meets Price’s young wife, Arlene Dahl…and immediately realises they’re old acquaintances. Old flames actually, from several years ago before she left him mysteriously. Later, on another case Hawkins is shocked to find one of the paintings supposedly destroyed by the fire in the home of another client (Greta Gynt). The plot thickens even further when an even bigger fire at Price’s estate has fatal results. Ian Hunter and Geoffrey Keen appear briefly as Price’s cousin and Hawkins’ employer, respectively. Christopher Lee appears briefly as a tempestuous actor with a black eye.   A thoroughly mediocre 1957 British noir, based on a novel by Winston Graham (who wrote the novels for the “Poldark” series and Hitchcock’s “Marnie” ), featuring a pretty decent cast and a tired script. It ...

Drug dealer Youngblood Priest (Ron O’Neal) has made himself a good life in NYC, but is getting tired of that life. He decides to make one last big deal before getting out. Easier said than done. Carl Lee plays Eddie, Priest’s right-hand man of sorts, whilst Julius Harris plays mentor/restauranteur Scatter, and Charles McGregor plays the ill-fated Fat Freddie. Curtis Mayfield appears on screen to perform the immortal ‘Pusherman’ in a club scene.   Gritty, raw 1972 blaxploitation film from director Gordon Parks Jr. ( “Three the Hard Way” ), the son of Gordon Parks Sr. who directed the immortal “Shaft” . Parks the younger and screenwriter Phillip Fenty (writer-director of “The Baron” with Calvin Lockhart and Joan Blondell) give us a much tougher, fairly grim film but with some attention given to the usual blaxploitation trappings of bad hats, hot women, and an absolutely brilliant soundtrack by the great Curtis Mayfield. Even when the on-screen images indulge in the ‘glamorous’ s...

Rough-handling homicide cop Bill Pullman thinks he’s got a double cop-killer caught in Latino community activist Jon Seda. One of the officers was even Seda’s ex-wife. When he goes to arrest the man, things go screwy and Seda’s current wife and his brother end up dead in the shootout. The Latino community rallies behind Seda and wants Pullman’s head to roll, the DA (Roma Maffia) can’t really help him much, and it looks likely that Seda will walk, Pullman’s career will be in tatters. The burned-out cop cracks under the pressure, taking the judge (Roberta Maxwell, awfully wooden), the jury, and Seda hostage so that he can re-try the case – at gunpoint – with evidence that wasn’t allowed to be submitted. Robert Loggia and Casey Siemasko play Pullman’s boss and partner, Blair Underwood is the police negotiator, Kate Burton plays Pullman’s wife, Josef Sommer plays Seda’s needling attorney, and James Rebhorn plays the local mayor trying to stay the hell away from the mess but watching it unf...