Rating: Summary: 'I Was Born About Two Thousand Years Ago...' Review: Big Trouble is a divine slice of daft Saturday morning matinee heroics gone berserk, and is surely one of the most purely entertaining films of the 80s, even if it was totally ignored at the time. A modern-day western (John Carpenter seems to make little else, but that's why we love him) that becomes increasingly fantastical and unreal as it rollercoasters along, paying homage to Carpenter's beloved lunatic martial arts flicks, and letting Kurt Russell turn John Wayne's machismo on its head.The extras on this 2-disc set are great - another highly entertaining double-act commentary by Carpenter & Russell; a treasure trove of alternate edits of scenes; a hilarious music video from John Carpenter & chums; and two enlightening contemporanous magazine articles. It's a genre classic! OK, so there aren't that many martial arts ghost story action adventure comedy western horror movies around, but it's still great, and gets better with every viewing. Perfect for a drunken night in with a load of mates after the pubs have shut.
Rating: Summary: Great movie, but run it witht the commentary Review: It's always had a special place in my heart, but the commentary from John Carpenter and Kurt Russell makes it that much better. Highly recommended.
Rating: Summary: Porkchop Express Review: The more I watch this movie, the more I love it. Kurt Russell, kung-fu, Chinese black magic, semi-trucks, kung-fu, 80's music, kung-fu... What else could you want? This is also a great DVD as DVD's go. Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS, exceptional picture quality, and 2 discs with a bunch of great extra features like deleted scenes, an extended ending, trailers, featurettes, special effects vignettes, etc. My five star award goes to the Big Trouble in Little China "music video" performed by John Carpenter and Friends. Don't miss it. Remember, "Jack Burton's here... to rescue your summer!" (and after this summer of Pearl Harbor, Tomb Raider and Planet of the Apes, we could certainly use it!!)
Rating: Summary: finally the 80's classics have emerged Review: as far as i am concerned this is one of the greatest films of all time. (for the 80's anyway) nothing better that the pork chop express rolling into chinatown. now i am just waiting for the ice pirates to come out on dvd so i can add to my collection of classics.
Rating: Summary: Destind to be a Classic! Review: If you take this film seriously, you're missing the point! It's kind of a "Kung Foo meets Abbott and Costello." The action is terrific and the story line is one that we have seen so many times before. It just has a modern day, John Carpenter kind of twist. AND...the film is funny! The acting was a little "cheezie," but hey, it works. The music works well with the film. Carpenter is also responsible for the score, having composed it. Overall, if your looking for a really good "B" film, this is it! I give this film.....5 Crouching Tigers1
Rating: Summary: Entertaining flick and a fine DVD Review: If you're a big 80's fan, you probably remember this movie..or you may not. Nevertheless, it is one of the more chaotically entertaining popcorn flicks you can feast you eyes on. Pretty much evertyhing about this movie dazzles...the set, the costumes, the weird characters, creative special-effects, acrobatics, and really cheesy yet funny one-liners. The story begins with a pompous truck driver Jack (Kurt Russel) and his friend Wang (Dennis Dun) who finds himself in between some Chinatown gang war, then some magical warlord guy who has kidnapped Wang's fiance in order to marry her, and then some flying bad guys that shoot electricity, and some bunch of other outlandish characters and monsters. Lots of stuff happen in this movie and the action scenes are quite comic and fantastical in the tradition of fantasy Kung Fu movies. The fights, while slightly dated, are actually pretty well choreographed, and some semi-familiar Hong Kong movie actors make their appearances as well. The plot is sort of a mishmash of Kung Fu movie genre and the characters are like comic book heroes. One of those good popcorn movies to watch on Saturdays with friends. The DVD is fairly okay, with few extras. Includes few trailers which are generally alike, few deleted scenes, and a music video. Commentaries are entertaining (although doesn't always talk about the movie).
Rating: Summary: It doesn't get any better than this Review: Some of the scenes are priceless. Kurt Russell, oblivious to the lipstick smeared all over his mouth, doing his blowhard John Wayne impersonation. Two opponents, flying through the air, dueling with swords--for about 15 seconds. This is a wonderful, colorful satire, full of cartoon violence. I've never gotten tired of watching this marvelous comedy, and neither have any children I've known who've seen it.
Rating: Summary: Great movie, OK DVD Review: This movie is about Jack Burton, a man who thinks he the big tough guy, but in reality he knows very little about what is going on. This provides many laugh out loud moments throghout the movie that are unforgetable. I won't describe the plot since I imagine you've allready read it in another review, instead I will tell about the DVD. The movie looks a lot better now that it's remastered but the commentary stinks, it consists primarilly of John Carpenter and Kurt Rusell talking about their spoiled kids. The extra disc is just a music video and some deleted scenes. The video is hilarious because it's about as 80's as you can get but I've never been a fan of deleted seens, WHY DO YOU THINK THEY WERE DELETED IN THE FIRST PLACE, because they weren't any good, which in this case is the same way. But HEY your paying 20$ for two discs, can't get much better than that. Why 4 stars==The movie: 5 stars---The DVD extras: 3 stars---The value: 4 stars
Rating: Summary: "I was born ready" Review: First let me say that five stars for a comedy doesn't mean I equate this movie to Casablanca, Ben Hur, or Out of Africa. But as comedies go, this one ranks near the top. Nobody comes to mind who could have delivered the lines with the same self-assured bravado as Kurt Russell. "Like I told my first wife, I never drive faster than I can see". I still use that line 15 years later.
Big Trouble is basically a Wuxia style movie adapted to the modern setting of San Francisco but without the voice dubbing. Admittedly, when I first saw Big Trouble, I didn't know what Wuxia was so I didn't catch on to the humorous parody. But since then I have watched a number of these Chinese actions flicks and found myself saying, "Hey, that's straight out of Big Trouble in Little China", except that the Wuxia movies were around first. This movie has action, Chinese black magic, flying martial arts masters, Lords of Death street gangs, monsters, exploding green flames, and a 1000 year o!ld sorcerer named Dave. "What more could a guy asked for?"
It is refreshing to watch a movie that doesn't preach to you or slip in any of the actors'/directors' personal political messages. Jack Burton is completely irreverent, Chinatown adheres to every stereotype, all the men are patently chauvinistic, and nobody is apologizing. This is a comedy, it's supposed to be funny. If you are the type that is just waiting to be offended then go rent a politically correct Barbra Streisand movie instead.
Rating: Summary: Big Idiots in Little Movie Review: Watching this movie is like watching someone else play a video game. The sets (levels) are nice-looking and each one presents monsters and villains to be defeated. Then you get to move on to the next set (level) and the next and the next... It's all pretty tedious. Still, the DVD looks good and I give the film two stars, one for the sets and one for Kim Catrell who doesn't really redeem the film but looks pretty cute anyway.
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