kurt russell

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

Notebook Reviews: ELVIS – THE MOVIE

John Carpenter – 1979 Elvis is an exceptionally well-made TV movie from John Carpenter. This is a serious change of pace for the horror director, but he shows a deft touch in delivering an impressive musical biopic. Carpenter regular, Kurt [...]

July 7, 2021

Notebook Reviews: EXECUTIVE DECISION

Stuart Baird – 1996 Editor-turned-director, Stuart Baird makes a strong debut with Executive Decision. This plane set action-thriller has some good tension and it features an eclectic cast – Kurt Russell, Steven Seagal, Halle Berry, [...]

July 1, 2021

Notebook Reviews: 3000 MILES TO GRACELAND

Demian Lichtenstein – 2001 What a concept. What a cast. What a bizarre film! Surreal, funky and very violent – 3000 Miles To Graceland is one of the most off-beat mainstream films to hit the screen – is it any wonder it tanked at [...]

May 28, 2021

Notebook Reviews: VANILLA SKY

Cameron Crowe – 2001 Writer/director Cameron Crowe‘s Vanilla Sky is a masterpiece. Crowe’s ‘cover version’ of Alejandro Amenábar’s Open Your Eyes is a glossy and surreal romantic-drama-sci-fi-thriller. Tom [...]

April 28, 2021

Your Brain Will Hurt After Watching This FAST & FURIOUS 9 Trailer

This trailer for Fast & Furious 9 is certainly…something. There’s so much going on here that my brain can’t process the action. Any pretence that this series is based in reality is long gone – this is comic book stuff [...]

April 14, 2021

The Mighty Kurt Russell

The mighty Kurt Russell turned 70 years old on 17 March 2021. The iconic actor has had a long and varied career, starring in a variety of beloved cult classics and out-right global blockbusters. Russell brings a laid-back, blue-collar vibe to his [...]

March 17, 2021

Uncovering Curiosities: Donald G. Jackson & R.J. Kizer’s HELL COMES TO FROGTOWN

Hell Comes To Frogtown is a cult 1988 straight-to-video actioner starring wrestler (Rowdy) Roddy Piper. Is it high art? No, far from it – but it is an enjoyable slice of ‘80s cheese. Piper plays Sam Hell, a bad-ass wandering the wastelands of a [...]

February 9, 2021

Notebook Reviews: OVERBOARD

Garry Marshall – 1987 It’s almost impossible to give Overboard a bad review because it’s just so much fun. It’s immensely silly, but real-life couple Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell make the comedy work (they’re always [...]

November 30, 2020

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