The
Film: This is the type of action adventure movie that
Hollywood should be making ... but isn't!
A marvelous film with breathtaking, scenic and expansive
cinematography, especially the flying sequences. High Road to
China has a superb script with some truly clever dialogue. This
movie moves along at a brisk pace and keeps the viewer engaged
in the story and in a truly good time.
The Soundtrack: High Road to China has an incredibly
beautiful, expansive and soaring John Barry soundtrack. Barry
has the extraordinary ability to score music, that not only
communicates the essence of the action and visuals, but also
from the soul of the characters and what they are feeling,
wondering and deciding.
Synopsis: A flamboyant, spoiled, and unbearable socialite
(Bess Armstrong) hires a ragged, hard drinking aviator (Tom
Selleck). He is hired to help her find her father (Wilford
Brimley) who has disappeared in Far East Asia. Under an
insufferable relationship, which adds comic relief, they must
find him within twelve days or the entire family fortune goes to
her father's treacherous business partner, who will stop at
nothing to prevent them from finding her father.
Out of Production: Apparently the ‘hot shot’ marketing
MBA’s at Warner Home Video don’t quite understand what a gem
they have here, just sitting in their film vault. Would be
a profitable DVD for them!
The
Film: Sahara is a fast paced action adventure based on a
great Clive Cussler book. Sahara offers up exciting chase
scenes, narrow escapes, suspenseful situations and surprising
discoveries. This film is highly entertaining and actually
exemplifies a set of high moral values (which is probably why
the main stream critics didn’t seem to like it all that much)!
Cinematography: Superb, beautifully shot, with many
exotic, and richly colored scenics . . . especially considering
the demanding challenges of shooting in the very harsh,
typically washed out, brightness of a desert. Action shots are
extremely well planned and coordinated with perspectives that
put you right in the middle of the action.
Synopsis: Sahara essentially follows two intriguing plot
lines; a group of adventurous treasure hunters search for a
lost, American Civil War era, Confederate ironclad ship laden
with gold. The ship inexplicably escaped Yankee guns and made it
to the eastern costal area of the African continent and sailed
up what is now a now dry river channel.
In the course of their quest for gold, they encounter a
beautiful doctor (Penelope Cruz) who is trying to track the
source of a deadly contaminate that is decimating the people in
towns and villages along the way. This ignites a battle with an
East African War Lord and a corrupt corporation (of course).
In the end, the War Lord gets his . . . brought down by an
explosive civil war relic. The source of the deadly toxin
is destroyed, the evil business man is vanquished, and of
course, the good guys (Matthew McConaughey, Steve Zahn) find the
old ironclad and get the gold.
The
Film: Romancing the Stone is one of those very rare and
special films that are just as enjoyable the 50th time you watch
it as it was with your very first viewing.
It literally has something for every movie buff. Action,
Adventure, Suspense, Comedy, and Romance.
Soundtrack and Cinematography: A brilliant, stimulating,
and evocative soundtrack (nearly impossible to find) that really
underscores the essence of the film. I literally see the movie
in my minds eye every time I hear it. The cinematography
is nothing short of superb, every scene is beautifully rendered.
Synopsis: A New York City romance novelist Joan Wilder
(Kathleen Turner) is sent a mysterious treasure map by her
sister’s late husband and finds herself locked in a fantastic
adventure in the steamy jungles of Columbia. The map becomes a
bargaining chit for her kidnapped sister's life, and of course
numerous villains are after the map.
To the rescue; Jack T. Colton (Michael Douglas), a swashbuckling
opportunist, rescues Joan on a lonely mountain top pass and
reluctantly joins in her amazing and dangerous adventure. Are
his intentions really to help her? Or is Jack also after the
treasure at the end of the mysterious map? Cutting their way
through the jungle, swinging from vines, encountering Columbian
drug smugglers, corrupt paramilitary police, and two bumbling
antiquities smugglers (Danny DeVito and Zack Norman).
Without question, the mud slide scene where Joan Wilder and Jack
T. Colton take a wild ride down the side of a mountain to splash
into a pool of mud . . . and Jack stopping face first between
Joan's legs and proclaiming "One hell of a morning has turned
into a bitch of a day" is a movie classic moment!
Directed by Robert Zemeckis, Romancing the Stone is a wild and
romantic ride.
The
Film: A highly entertaining and humorous swashbuckling
adventure, and probably the only such movie ever based on a
theme park ride (Disney's "Pirates of the Caribbean).
Initially the film was predicted to be a "flop" at the box
office, after all the "pirate genre" hadn't been popular
in years. The film however, proved the experts wrong and
proved to be a tremendous "blockbuster" hit.
With all due credit to the 'all star' cast and outstanding
production values, the success of the film was certainly
amplified by Johnny Depp's "humorously quirky"
characterization of Captain Jack Sparrow; a pirate unlike the
world has undoubtedly ever known.
Johnny Depp did win "Best Actor" from the Screen Actors Guild,
the MTV Movies Awards, and Empire Awards for his performance as
Jack Sparrow.
Soundtrack and Cinematography: Pirates of the Caribbean:
The Curse of the Black Pearl, is a work of exceptional quality
and execution. Every element of the film was outstanding
down to the smallest detail including sound, editing,
costumes, makeup, hair, visual effects, set design and . . .
well everything!
And of course it was all masterfully presented with brilliant
and powerful musical scores and simply amazing cinematography.
Synopsis: The movie chronicles the adventures of a truly
eccentric pirate Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) and
blacksmith Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) as they endeavor to
rescue the kidnapped Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) from the
cursed crew of the Black Pearl.
The
film: True Lies brings a delightfully different twist to the
action adventure spy thriller realm. Best characterized as an
action comedy, the film was a box office winner and was
nominated for an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects and won a
Golden Globe for Jamie Lee Curtis' portrayal of Helen Tasker.
True Lies story line works incredibly well largely do to its all
star cast of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tia
Carrere, Bill Paxton and Tom Arnold. Playing Albert "Gib"
Gibson, Tom Arnold is at his absolute best and is simply
hilarious. His comedic timing is 'spot on' and this role
surely ranks among his best ever.
Soundtrack and Cinematography: Outstanding special
effects, especially the totally convincing segment where AV-8B
Harrier Jets blow up a section of the Seven Mile Bridge in the
Florida Keys. And let's not forget the amazing helicopter
rescue of Helen Tasker just seconds before the limo careens off
the end of the destroyed bridge. Super cinematography with
great staging, blocking, and lighting! A perfect (and
even) sound track throughout the movie with a great selection of
contemporary music.
Synopsis: Harry Tasker leads a double life. To his
family he's a relatively dull sales representative for a
computer company. In reality Harry's a government agent with
license to do just about anything required to prevail. As
the story unfolds he and partner 'Gib" (Tom Arnold) are hot on
the trail of stolen nuclear weapons, in the hands of fanatic
terrorists.
Harry inadvertently finds out that his wife is seeing another
man, it seems she's seeking a little adventure. Harry decides to
give her that adventure himself. Soon they are both caught
up in a dangerous adventure in pursuit of terrorists, stolen
nuclear weapons, and in rescuing their daughter taken hostage by
the terrorists.
At times it is challenging to decide if True Lies is a thrilling
and dangerous action adventure or a highly entertaining action
comedy . . . but then who cares? This is an outstanding
movie that you can watch again and again without growing tired
of it. In a word "outstanding."
Top 10 Best Movies Ever Made:
Reviews at www.zuko.com
The Top 10 Best Movies Ever Made by Genre: Top 10 Best Action Adventure Movies: The High Road to China: This is the type of action adventure movie that Hollywood should be making but isn't! High Road to China is a 1983 adventure-comedy film, set in the 1920s, starring Tom Selleck as a hard-drinking biplane pilot hired by society heiress Eve 'Evie' Tozer (Bess Armstrong) to find her missing father (Wilford Brimley). Sahara: Sahara is a fast paced action adventure based on a great Clive Cussler book. Sahara offers up exciting chase scenes, narrow escapes, suspenseful situations and surprising discoveries. Although Sahara was a box office hit running at number 1 for weeks, Sahara is considered one of the biggest financial failures in Hollywood history due to production costs. Sahara stars Penelope Cruz as a beautiful doctor who is trying to track the source of a deadly contaminate that is decimating the people in towns and villages. This ignites a battle with an East African War Lord and a corrupt corporation. The good guys are played by Matthew McConaughey and Steve Zahn who work to find the old ironclad and a treasure in gold. Romancing the Stone: Romancing the Stone is one of those very rare and special films that are just as enjoyable the 50th time you watch it as it was with your very first viewing. Romancing the Stone is a 1984 American action-adventure romantic comedy. Directed by Robert Zemeckis, it stars Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner and Danny DeVito. Romancing the Stone was a huge box office success. This film also helped launch Kathleen Turner to stardom, reintroduced Michael Douglas to the public as a capable leading man, Pirates of the Caribbean: A highly entertaining and humorous swashbuckling Pirate adventure, and probably the only such movie ever based on a theme park ride, Disney's "Pirates of the Caribbean. The Pirates of the Caribbean, Curse of the Black Pearl storyline follows blacksmith Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) and pirate Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) as they rescue the kidnapped Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) from the cursed crew of the Black Pearl, captained by Hector Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush). True Lies: True Lies brings a delightfully different twist to the action adventure spy thriller realm. Best characterized as an action comedy, the film was a box office winner and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects and won a Golden Globe for Jamie Lee Curtis' portrayal of Helen Tasker. True Lies is a 1994 action-comedy film directed by James Cameron and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Arnold, Bill Paxton, Tia Carrere, Charlton Heston, and Art Malik. Eliza Dushku also appears in the film in one of her first major film roles. True Lies is an extended remake of the 1991 French film La Totale. True Lies is clearly (in my view) one of the Top Ten best action adventure movies ever made.
The
Film: This is the type of action adventure movie that
Hollywood should be making ... but isn't! 
