kurt russell

Review: Mel Gibson, Michelle Pfeiffer & Kurt Russell Are The Perfect Ingredients For TEQUILA SUNRISE

Films can often be captured in the decade that they’re made. They’re simply frozen in amber, forever held in a specific era. Robert Towne’s Tequila Sunrise is such a film – it’s a quintessentially 1980s Hollywood film that’s bursting [...]

September 29, 2026

Review: THE THING EXPANDED Is The Final Word On John Carpenter’s Classic Sci-Fi Horror

I was probably far too young when I was introduced to John Carpenter’s The Thing. My dad let me watch it when I was around 10 years old (maybe a year or two on either side) – a huge Kurt Russell fan thanks to Big Trouble In Little China [...]

May 11, 2026

Review: The New 4K Arrow Films Release Of SOLDIER Really Hits The Mark

Some films just aren’t appreciated in their time. For whatever reason – be that marketing, a poor release date or a million other factors – some films just don’t connect with an audience when they first come out. However, [...]

April 19, 2026

Obituary: Val Kilmer Dies Aged 65

I’ve been writing about movies for nearly 20 years and I’ve written many obituaries (too many) about filmmakers and actors that I have admired. Writing about Val Kilmer’s death is a tough one. I’ve been a fan for over 30 [...]

April 2, 2025

Kurt Russell and the cast of Robert Zemeckis' Used Cars

Notebook Reviews: USED CARS

Robert Zemeckis – 1981. Used Cars is a zany and energetic comedy from director Robert Zemeckis (it’s also produced by Bob Gale, John Milius and Steven Spielberg!). Kurt Russell is as watchable as always – showing off his [...]

July 21, 2024

Podcast Episode 48: Author Danny Stewart On The Underappreciated Kurt Russell Movie SOLDIER

Unfairly dismissed in 1998, Paul W.S. Anderson’s Soldier underperformed when it was released, grossing a paltry $14.5 million at the U.S. on a then substantial $60 million budget. In the UK the Kurt Russell starrer became the most expensive film [...]

April 21, 2024

Book Review: SOLDIER: FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN Reclaims Paul W.S. Anderson’s Sci-Fi Actioner

Some movies are embraced by critics and audiences on release, while others gain respect over time. Gaining respect over time is what has happened with Paul W.S. Anderson’s, Soldier, a $60 million sci-fi action film that was ignored by audiences [...]

July 30, 2023

Review: Paul W.S. Anderson’s Sci-Fi Actioner SOLDIER Finally Deserves Reappraisal

Paul W.S. Anderson’s $60 million sci-fi actioner, Soldier fizzled on its release in 1998, grossing just $14.5 million at the U.S. box office. It also faced the indignity of being dumped straight to DVD/video in the U.K., where (at the time) it [...]

June 25, 2023

Review: Kurt Russell Is Snake Plissken In John Carpenter’s ESCAPE FROM L.A

Time is a great healer. John Carpenter’s Escape From L.A may not have set the world on fire when it was released back in 1996, but the film has aged incredibly well in the subsequent years. The follow-up to Carpenter’s 1981 classic, Escape From [...]

April 11, 2022

Return Of The King: Austin Butler & Tom Hanks In The Trailer For Baz Luhrmann’s ELVIS

Movies In Focus is no fan of Baz Luhrmann‘s cinematic style. It’s too in your face, too OTT. Therefore I’m not particularly looking forward to Elvis, his new movie starring Austin Butler and Tom Hanks. Taking away my dislike [...]

February 18, 2022

Notebook Reviews: STARGATE

Roland Emmerich – 1994. Stargate is an enjoyable and energetic science fiction romp from Master of Disaster Roland Emmerich. Emmerich’s adventure is derivative – Star Wars and Lawrence of Arabia are particular touchstones [...]

February 11, 2022

Notebook Reviews: THE BEST OF TIMES

Roger Spottiswoode – 1986. The Best Of Times is a fun (if uneven) sports comedy with two excellent turns from Kurt Russell and Robin Williams. Roger Spottiswoode‘s film suffers a little because the drama and the laughs don’t [...]

January 15, 2022

Behind The Scenes: Kurt Russell, Peter Berg & David Maldonado On The Set Of DEEPWATER HORIZON

Peter Berg’s Deepwater Horizon is a solid action-drama with good effects and strong performances from stars Mark Wahlberg and Kurt Russell. The pair go full-on blue collar worker in Berg’s gritty true-life disaster movie. The 2016 release [...]

October 24, 2021

Uncovering Curiosities: John Carpenter’s ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK

When you look at how action cinema evolved in the 1980s, it’s very now clear that Escape From New York is one of the films which helped to establish the template for the muscular action hero. John Carpenter’s 1981 film (his second of many [...]

October 16, 2021

Notebook Reviews: AIR FORCE ONE

Wolfgang Petersen – 1997. German director Wolfgang Petersen‘s Air Force One is an entertaining action film with a good turn from the always reliable Harrison Ford. Ford plays the US President tackling terrorists on the titular aircraft, [...]

September 13, 2021

Notebook Reviews: BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA

John Carpenter – 1986. It’s very likely that Big Trouble In Little China is one of the most entertaining films ever made. Kurt Russell and John Carpenter are at the peak of their powers delivering this martial [...]

August 25, 2021

Notebook Reviews: TANGO & CASH

Andrei Konchalovsky – 1989 Tango & Cash is pure entertainment! Kurt Russell and Sylvester Stallone are on fine form as mismatched cops in this very ’80s buddy movie. Russell & Stallone make for a great pairing and it’s a [...]

August 12, 2021

Notebook Reviews: SOLDIER

Paul W. S. Anderson – 1998 Paul W. S. Anderson’s Soldier might be flawed, but it’s an under-seen gem of a science fiction action movie. Kurt Russell is exceptional in a near dialogue-free role which relies heavily on his [...]

July 26, 2021

Notebook Reviews: WYATT EARP

Lawrence Kasdan – 1993 Directed, produced and co-written by Lawrence Kasdan, Wyatt Earp is a great looking historical epic. However, this western just doesn’t work despite a lot of great elements. It’s not bad, it’s just [...]

July 16, 2021

Uncovering Curiosities: Joel Edgerton’s THE GIFT

Joel Edgerton made his directorial debut with 2015’s The Gift, a thriller that is very much in the vein of the dramatic thrillers of the 1980s and 1990s (it has shades of the 1992 Kurt Russell/ Ray Liotta thriller Unlawful Entry). The Gift [...]

July 14, 2021

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