VENICE UNDERGROUND -- Movie Review by Porfle

Originally posted on 11/20/11

 

The first thing I thought after watching VENICE UNDERGROUND (2005) for a couple of minutes was, "This looks like an episode of a TV series."  But after awhile I began to realize that if this were indeed the pilot for a series, no network executive in his right mind would pick it up.  In fact, if your dad had followed you around with a movie camera when you were a kid and filmed you and your friends playing cops and robbers, he would probably accidentally make a better movie than this one.

A prologue takes us to the office of police captain John Sullivan (veteran character actor Ed Lauter) as the mayor chews him out over the phone because of the ongoing carnage caused by two Venice Beach gangs, the Northside Surf Crew and the Southside Crips, who are waging an ongoing battle to control the local drug trade.  It seems like a hopeless situation until one of his underlings, an ambitious young sergeant named Frank Mills (Randall Batinkoff), waltzes in with a peach of a idea -- they will pluck a group of raw but attractive cadets out of the police academy, set them up in a beach house, and have them go undercover! 

That, of course, will be a lot better than putting experienced cops on the case, because, as Mills explains:  "The kids are all instinct and street smarts.  They know no boundaries."  Visions of "The Mod Squad" and "21 Jump Street" begin to dance around in Capt. Sullivan's head, with a little "Charlie's Angels" and "Baywatch Nights" thrown in for good measure.  What a great idea!

With their origin story out of the way even before the day-glo main titles have hippity-hopped their way across the screen, we are thrust right into the non-action as we join the J.N.F. (Junior Narc Force) keeping tabs on various gang members and trying to fathom their nefarious activities.  But they must deal with their own raging hormones as well, as Agent Tyler (Jodi Lyn O'Keefe) jealously observes her heartthrob, Agent Gary (a not-looking-too-good-these-days Edward Furlong), cavorting with a bikini babe.  It's all part of his cover, of course, but darn it, he just seems to be enjoying it a little too much.



Meanwhile, Agent Samantha (Nichole Hiltz) just failed her home pregnancy test, and isn't quite sure whether the father is Agent Danny (Eric Mabius), who wants to marry her, or good ol' Sergeant Mills, who just can't seem to keep his own member away from certain other members of the task force. 

These romantic entanglements play like a bad script from "Beverly Hills, 90210" performed by a grade school theater group, and the scenes of actual detective work that we witness from time to time seem to have been inspired by random episodes of "Scooby-Doo."  They even have their own mystery-mobile, a candy-apple red, mid-60s Mustang convertible, in which they all sit in broad daylight brandishing their guns as if to announce to any passing bad guys, "Yes, we are undercover narcs." 

Amazingly, though, no one ever figures this out, except for a mysterious figure who seems to anticipate their every move as he secretly watches them through blurry POV-shots like a stalker in a slasher flick, and, early in the story, actually kills one of them with his gold-plated revolver.  Who is this unknown enemy?  You're not supposed to know until the end, so try to act surprised.  Here's a hint:  it isn't the old caretaker at the haunted amusement park.

Director Eric DelaBarre is your basic point-and-shoot man but tries to "hip" things up with shaky camerawork, scattershot editing, and various other effects cribbed from music videos.  The acting, except from old pro Ed Lauter and Robert Rodriguez stock player Danny Trejo, is hopelessly amateurish, and the dialogue they're forced to recite is frequently laughable. 

This film resembles the kind of cheap exploitation flick they used to show on USA's "Up All Night" -- you know, the ones with all the good R-rated nudity and violence cut out and just the boring junk left in, although a few bare boobies make a cameo appearance about halfway through.  Soon after that we see a brief fistfight, and then later there's a small shootout, and at the end the mystery bad guy gets shot and a car blows up.  Actionwise, that's about it. 

I kept thinking about what Andy Sidaris, the guy responsible for all those great low-budget sex-and-violence thrillers like PICASSO TRIGGER and SAVAGE BEACH, could've done with a premise like this.  He wasn't a great filmmaker, but at least he gave us something fun to look at. VENICE UNDERGROUND barely even makes an effort.

 

VENICE UNDERGROUND -- Movie Review by Porfle

THE KILLER -- DVD Review by Porfle

 

Originally posted on 3/24/10

 

I wasn't that impressed with THE KILLER (1989) the first time I saw it back in the 90s. Then again, I was watching a choppy pan-and-scan VHS copy that was badly-dubbed and looked awful. Plus, I'd just been blown away by HARD BOILED (still my favorite John Woo film), and THE KILLER seemed rather tame in comparison with that insanely action-packed epic. But with the new 2-disc Ultimate Edition of THE KILLER on the Dragon Dynasty label, I'm finally getting to see it in all its uncut pictorial glory and appreciate it as one of the finest action films ever made.

I think it was an episode of the great TV series "The Incredibly Strange Film Show" that first got me interested in the films of John Woo, Tsui Hark, and other hot Hong Kong directors. I found the innovative and extremely rapid-fire editing in the film clips to be a new and exhilarating visual experience. Just as the Beatles interpreted American rock 'n' roll and rhythm and blues and played it back to us in exciting new ways, Hong Kong cinema was assimilating the methods of Sam Peckinpah and others and using this as a starting point for creating a super-charged cinematic style that would, in turn, have an overwhelming effect on the future of American action cinema.

Woo himself credits many influences, among them French director Jean-Pierre Melville, certain Japanese films, and classical American cinema. Unsurprisingly, Sam Peckinpah and Martin Scorcese are key figures in the development of his film style, in addition to the old Hollywood musicals. Woo calls THE KILLER an "action-musical", and it's easy to see how his shoot-em-up sequences are often inspired by the spirit of that genre's more dazzling and dynamic production numbers. (I'm guessing Woo is an admirer of Gene Kelly and films such as SINGIN' IN THE RAIN and ON THE TOWN.)


There's even a little bit of Charlie Chaplin's CITY LIGHTS, I think, in the relationship between ace hitman Ah Jong (the great Chow Yun-Fat) and Jennie (Sally Yeh), the pretty young cabaret singer who was blinded during one of his hits. The guilt-ridden Ah Jong befriends Jennie with the hope of helping her regain her eyesight with a cornea transplant, but to pay for the operation he will have to postpone his plans to retire and perform one last hit. Complicating matters is the fact that the evil Triad boss for whom he works has just put out the order for Ah Jong himself to be eliminated.

Meanwhile, Inspector Li Ying (Danny Lee), a renegade cop who has the same "hate-hate" relationship with his boss as countless other renegade cops before him, is hot on Ah Jong's trail and has traced him to Jennie. In a strange turn of events, cop and hitman become grudging allies as Li Ying sympathizes with Ah Jong's desire to help Jennie and decides to back him up when the Triad kill squad comes a-callin'. This leads to a blazing shoot-out in a church with the fate of our unlikely heroes in the balance.

Unlike the usual stoic, repressed action figure, Chow Yun Fat's character is a man of deep feelings whose code of killing only bad guys is compromised not only by Jennie's injury but by the shooting of a little girl during an exciting escape from the police. Ah Jong risks his freedom to race the girl to a hospital, where he and Li Ying have one of many Mexican standoffs (Woo really loves these) just a few feet away from where doctors are struggling to save the girl's life.

Here, and in Ah Jong's scenes with Jennie, Woo's penchant for melodrama and sentimentality come to the fore. Such unrestrained romanticism may be off-putting to more hardcore action fans who prefer their mayhem untainted by mush. Although it gets a little thick at times, I think this gives an interesting added dimension to Woo's passages of gun-blazing carnage, as does the underlying religious tone (Woo describes himself as a Christian) which makes Ah Jong such a conflicted character seeking redemption.


Also interesting is the fact that Li Ying begins to identify with and even admire him for his honorable qualities--Woo points out their similarities in a nice parallel-image sequence--as their mutual concern for Jennie has them pretending to be and eventually becoming friends. Woo's humor comes to the fore when they initially hold each other at gunpoint while assuring the blind Jenny that all is well, even giving each other affectionate nicknames "Small B" and "Shrimp Head" (or "Mickey Mouse" and "Dumbo" in the English dub). By the end of the movie, they're as close as brothers and willing to die for each other.

More than anything else, however, THE KILLER is a feast for action connoisseurs as Woo stages one astounding shoot-out after another. His trademarks are all here, from the rapid-fire two-gun approach (his heroes never seem to run out of bullets) which has since been adopted by, well, everybody, to the sliding-backward-on-the-floor-while firing method, to everything else in-between. Innovations abound, with Woo's distinctive use of slow-motion and freeze-frames mixed with the regular action as his artistic sensibility sees fit, all creatively edited into a barrage of explosive images that bombard the viewer in waves of kinetic visual sensation.

Some of the action borders on the surreal, with scores of bad guys swarming non-stop into the line of fire only to be mowed down in twisting, jerking, blood-spewing (yet strangely balletic) death throes. Echoes of the famous shoot-outs from Peckinpah's THE WILD BUNCH pervade the climactic battle in the church, while the melodrama of the story weaves its way through the hail of bullets and fiery explosions toward a starkly emotional conclusion. It bears noting that Woo improvised much of the story and dialogue on-set, shooting from a treatment rather than a finished script, yet considers this to be one of his most "complete" films.


The Dragon Dynasty DVD is in the original widescreen with Dolby Digital sound. Languages are Cantonese and dubbed English, both mono, with English and Spanish subtitles. The second disc includes an intimate interview with John Woo, two audience Q & A's with Woo which accompanied screenings of THE KILLER and HARD BOILED, a look at the locations of THE KILLER then and now, and a John Woo trailer gallery. Missing in action is a commentary track.

Whether you're a long-time fan or just seeing it for the first time, Dragon Dynasty's Ultimate Edition of THE KILLER is a great way to experience this dazzling Hong Kong action classic.

THE KILLER -- DVD Review by Porfle

STREETS OF BLOOD -- DVD Review by Porfle

 

Originally posted on 6/30/09

 

"Are we even cops anymore?"
"We're past that, brother."

Val Kilmer's character, Det. Andy Devereaux, is referring to the fact that he and his fellow cops in STREETS OF BLOOD (2009) have ventured far beyond the bounds of acceptable police procedure in their quest to stem the rising tide of drug-related crime in the hurricane-ravaged Big Easy. 

 But seeing that Kilmer, Sharon Stone, and Michael Biehn are appearing in this tacky, low-grade potboiler, the question he's answering might as well have been "Are we even movie stars anymore?"

Somehow, though, once I got past the possibility that this was going to be a classy, top-notch movie and lowered my expectations accordingly, I actually started to enjoy it. It's fast-moving, action-packed, and rather colorful in its depiction of the dark underbelly of New Orleans, with plenty of sleazy sex and violence to give it that neo-grindhouse appeal. Big names aside, it's not all that different from the cheap, direct-to-video action flicks I used to rent from hole-in-the-wall video stores back in the 80s.

Val Kilmer is an actor I like in just about anything, so I cut him some slack here even though he isn't all that successful at making me think he's from anywhere near Louisiana. As Andy Devereaux, a hardboiled narc trying to live up to his hero-cop father's legacy, he's a true blue cop even though he'll bend the hell out of the rules to make a bust.  

Curtis "Fifty Cent" Jackson plays his partner, Stan, a family man having trouble making ends meet and feeling the temptation to pocket some of the stacks of drug money they come across. Jackson seems more comfortable playing gangstas than cops, but he does a pretty good job here even though he could still use a few more acting lessons.

Andy and Stan often butt heads with Pepe (Jose Pablo Cantillo) and Barney (Brian Presley), two really out-of-control cops who like to kill bad guys, take their cash, do their drugs, and screw their girlfriends. But the two disparate duos find themselves working together when FBI agent Brown (Michael Biehn) launches an investigation that threatens to bring them all down just as they're starting to close in on the biggest drug gang in the city, the Latin Kings, run by a stone cold killer named Chamorro (Luis Rolon).

While all this is going on, a police psychologist named Nina (Sharon Stone) is conducting interviews with the main cops in order to find out why they have such a penchant for extreme violence, including Andy's four lethal shootings in three years ("I'm a good shot," he tells her). Stone comes off like a cross between Daisy Duke on 'ludes and a slow-drawlin' Mae West, with one of the worst southern accents in film history--I live about sixty miles from where this was filmed, and I don't think I've ever met anyone who talks like her. What, did she base her entire performance on a "Deputy Dawg" cartoon she saw when she was a kid? Anyway, she's just plain awful here, but it's kinda funny so that might actually be a plus.

The action scenes are somewhat artlessly staged, the photography looks like the cameramen were hopping around barefoot on a hot sidewalk, and the editing is less than exquisite. Those minor quibbles aside, however, the movie still manages to be exciting and fun to watch. Some scenes even generate a certain raw power, such as Kilmer's blow-up during an interrogation scene with Biehn and a trigger-happy exchange between Pepe and Barney and a pimpin' lowlife named Ray Delacroix (Davi Jay) who turns out to be working with the DEA. Several of the snappy dialogue scenes crackle with tension. Jose Pablo Cantillo is a standout as Pepe, and Biehn, as usual, turns in a solid performance. The post-Katrina flood sequence is atmospheric, while good use is made of locations in and around the city of Shreveport.

The DVD from Anchor Bay is bonus-less except for the film's trailer and English subtitles for the hard-of-hearing. The 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen image and Dolby Surround 5.1 are good.

Technically, STREETS OF BLOOD is a pretty slapdash affair, but that didn't keep me from enjoying it. I even watched it again and liked it better the second time because I knew what to expect and what not to expect. Even when the surprise ending was entirely unbelievable, I just accepted it as part of the film's cheapo charm. And when it was over, I almost felt like I needed to rewind the tape, pop it out of the VCR, and get it back to the mom-and-pop video store where I rented it in time to avoid a late fee. After dubbing a copy, of course.

STREETS OF BLOOD -- DVD Review by Porfle

DRAGNET (1954) -- Movie Review by Porfle

 

(Originally posted on 7/1/21)

 

 

Currently re-watching: DRAGNET (1954), the feature-length theatrical version of the classic 1950s TV series in its original incarnation.

It's all the stuff I love about the TV show, but grittier and more hardboiled and violent. (A dark-haired Dub Taylor gets two blasts from a double-barrelled shotgun in the first scene! "They killed him twice," Joe Friday remarks later.) There's a very downbeat, melancholy ending too.

Jack Webb stars as the iconic Sgt. Joe Friday, a dedicated, no-nonsense cop who's still fairly young yet made prematurely sober and even somewhat cynical by his experiences. Ben Alexander is Friday's dependable partner and friend, Frank Smith. 

 

 

In addition to his beautifully measured performance, I love the way Webb's often innovative direction combines some imaginative touches with extreme economy and a briskly efficient shooting style.

As usual, dialogue delivery is very terse. I wonder if the actors are reading their lines from cue cards and/or teleprompters (did they have those then?) as they did on the TV series, or if the longer schedule gave them time to actually memorize their lines. (I suspect the former.)

Ann Robinson (WAR OF THE WORLDS) plays an undercover police woman and Richard Boone is the captain in charge of the case. The movie also features Virginia Gregg, Dennis Weaver, Vic Perrin (the "Outer Limits" control voice), Olan Soule, James Griffith, and Virginia Christine.

Friday is tougher and more doggedly relentless than ever as he and Frank try to wear down an arrogant, seemingly untouchable suspect (Stacy Harris as "Max Troy") and pin the murder on him and his thug cohorts. 

 

 

One scene even erupts in a rare fistfight that's full of action and leaves the two detectives bandaged and bloodied.

Friday gets his usual allotment of sharply-delivered cutdowns, telling one punk "Unless you're growing, sit down!" and countering an insult against his mother with "I'll bet your mother had a loud bark."

DRAGNET the movie is as sharply-folded and tightly-wound as the TV series, yet somehow there's just more of everything and it all has an irresistible noirish quality that blends in a very satisfying way with the show's inherent realism.

And as the laconic Joe Friday, lanky in his rumpled suit and observing it all from beneath the wide brim of his fedora, Jack Webb is better than ever.

 

DRAGNET (1954) -- Movie Review by Porfle

"Dragnet" At Its Sappiest (Pilot Movie, 1966) (video)

 

I love "Dragnet", the classic cop show from the 50s-60s.

But sometimes writer/director/star Jack Webb went sappy.

And, hoo-boy...when he went sappy, he didn't hold back. 

Video by Porfle Popnecker. I neither own nor claim any rights to this material. Just having some fun with it.  Thanks for watching!

 

 

"Dragnet" At Its Sappiest (Pilot Movie, 1966) (video)

NAKED CITY: 20 STAR-FILLED EPISODES -- DVD Review by Porfle

 

Originally posted on 2/8/13

 

Like so many TV series of its time, the gritty cop drama "Naked City" (ABC-TV, 1958-63) now stands as a showcase not only for established stars working in television, but for the up-and-coming actors trying to break into movies (or at least bigger success on the small screen).  Spotting all these familiar faces is what makes Image Entertainment's 5-disc DVD set NAKED CITY: 20 STAR-FILLED EPISODES especially interesting to watch.

Sometimes upbeat, sometimes noirish and bleak, "Naked City" is a semi-documentary-style drama (filmed in black and white on real New York locations) that thoughtfully explores human foibles and social issues of the day between occasional bursts of violence such as a blazing shootout or tire-screeching car chase.  Not all of the stories are that interesting--in fact, they sometimes tend to drag or veer toward the maudlin--but at its best, the show can be scintillating and highly involving entertainment.

The first hour-long episode, "Sweet Prince of Delancy Street" (1961), features Robert Morse (HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING) in a manic performance as Richie, a schlub trying to keep his dad (James Dunn) from being arrested for vandalizing the factory he was just fired from and killing a security guard.  In addition to Jan "Madge the Manicurist" Miner and Arny Freeman of THE BRAIN THAT WOULDN'T DIE, a young Dustin Hoffman also appears in a smaller but ultimately pivotal role as Richie's friend Lester.

This episode (later ranked #93 on TV Guide’s list of "100 Greatest Episodes of All Time") introduces us to series regulars Paul Burke ("Twelve O'Clock High") as idealistic young police detective Adam Flint, Horace McMahon (ABBOTT AND COSTELLO GO TO MARS) as his world-weary boss Lt. Mike Parker, Harry Bellaver as his easygoing older partner Det. Frank Arcaro, and Nancy Malone as his faithful fiance' Libby Kingston.  The show's main emphasis, however, is usually on the guest characters and their problems, occasionally giving "Naked City" the feel of an anthology show. 

A brief glance at the episode titles such as "Robin Hood and Clarence Darrow, They Went Out With the Bow and Arrow" (with Eddie Albert) reveals how pretentious the series tends to be at times, as does a sample of the opening narration: "In the naked city, a man can search 10,000 side streets all 22,000 days of his life...and never come face-to-face with the stranger within himself." 

It's clearly intended as a showcase for writers and actors to allow free rein to their creativity and either shamelessly give in to excess or--in the case of old pros such as Albert, David Wayne ("The Multiplicity of Herbert Konish"), Claude Rains ("To Walk in Silence"), and Sylvia Sidney ("A Hole in the City")--do exceedingly impressive work.  

Some of the other future stars making early appearances include a wildly overacting William Shatner ("Portrait of a Painter"), Peter Fonda and Martin Sheen ("The Night the Saints Lost Their Halos"), Robert Duvall ("The One Marked Hot Gives Cold", "Hole in the City"), an emotional Dennis Hopper ("Shoes For Vinnie Winford"), Robert Redford ("Tombstone for a Derelict"), Jon Voight ("Alive and Still a Second Lieutenant"), "Jimmy" Caan and Bruce Dern ("Bullets Cost Too Much"), a willowy young Diane Ladd ("Line of Duty"), and Suzanne Pleshette ("The Pedigree Sheet").  Co-starring with Eddie Albert in "Robin Hood and Clarence Darrow, They Went Out With the Bow and Arrow" is a shockingly young-looking "Ronnie" (Christopher) Walken.

Already-familiar faces (at the time) from movies and television include Theodore Bikel, Barry Morse, Jo Van Fleet, Edward Andrews, Telly Savalas, Leslie Nielsen, Nehemiah Persoff, Paul Hartman, Jean Stapleton, Dick York, Johnny Seven, Betty Field, Peter Falk, Myron McCormick, Jack Klugman, Jan Sterling, Richard Conte, Nancy Marchand, Murray Hamilton, Roger C. Carmel, Jack Warden, and Carroll O'Connor.  Two 1958 episodes, "Lady Bug, Lady Bug" and "Line of Duty", take us back to the show's initial half-hour format with original stars John McIntyre and James Franciscus. 

Sharp-eyed viewers will spot the occasional lowly bit player who would later go on to bigger and better things, such as Richard Castellano (THE GODFATHER), Sorrell Booke ("The Dukes of Hazzard"), Joe Silver ("You Light Up My Life"), Sylvia Miles (MIDNIGHT COWBOY), and Doris Roberts ("Everybody Loves Raymond").

The 5-disc DVD set from Image Entertainment is in the original 1.33:1 aspect ratio with Dolby Digital mono sound.  No subtitles or extras. 

Spotting the then-and-future stars in an older show like this is kind of like birdwatching, only (to me) a lot more fun.  It helps if the show itself is worth watching, which the sometimes gritty, sometimes overly weepy "Naked City" manages to be more often than not.  And as a wallow in old-school classic TV, NAKED CITY: 20 STAR-FILLED EPISODES is pure, unadulterated nostalgia.

NAKED CITY: 20 STAR-FILLED EPISODES -- DVD Review by Porfle

MURPHY'S LAW: COMPLETE COLLECTION -- DVD Review by Porfle

Originally posted on 7/27/11

 

What starts out as a not-particularly-great little cop show suddenly evolves into one of the most hard-hitting, hypnotically watchable police dramas ever as you make your way through the 23 episodes of MURPHY'S LAW: COMPLETE COLLECTION, a nine-disc DVD set from Acorn Media. 

James Nesbitt stars as Thomas Murphy, an Irishman working as an undercover cop for the London police force.  Plagued by guilt over the death of his daughter and languishing on leave after a negative psyche evaluation, he's pulled back into service to help stop a gang of diamond smugglers operating out of a funeral home.  Murphy solves the case, meets a cute babe named Annie Guthrie (Claudia Harrison) who's also working undercover, and they team up to fight crime together.

This pilot episode is okay but nothing special, as are subsequent Series One episodes "Electric Bill", "Manic Munday", "Reunion", and "Kiss and Tell."  Murphy goes undercover in various locations (prison, health club, nightclub, snooker tournament), uses his sharp wits and irreverent attitude to get the goods on the bad guys, and has one of those coy budding-romance relationships with his female partner.



Series Two changes all of that in the first five minutes of episode one, "Jack's Back", with a shocking event which heralds a dark new direction for the show.  Murphy takes on the persona of a homeless man to track down a killer who's emulating Jack the Ripper in a violent, downbeat story, beginning a transformation of his quirky, wisecracking character into an intense, no-nonsense badass with nerves of steel.  Still, Murphy never loses his humanity and is often deeply affected by what he experiences. 

The writing and technical aspects of the show keep getting better as well, with the rest of Series Two serving up some outstanding stories such as "Convent" (Murphy as priest) and "Go Ask Alice" (Murphy as janitor in a biotech laboratory).  Things aren't always wrapped up nicely at the fadeout--one episode ends with a horrific freeze-frame of an innocent victim's death scream. 

But the best is yet to come as the show finally hits its stride in Series 3.  Here, the episodic nature of the previous seasons is jettisoned in favor of long-form stories which continue over several episodes and allow Murphy to immerse himself in prolonged and highly dangerous undercover assignments.  Over the next six episodes, he'll manage to gain the trust of a ruthless crime boss named Callard (Mark Womack) who hires him as a hitman.  As he sinks deeper into a maelstrom of murder, heroin smuggling, counterfeiting--among other things--Murphy must deal with the death of his partner while trying to stay alive on a day-to-day basis. 

This series of episodes is non-stop excitement and suspense, filled with brutal action and unpredictable plot twists that had me on the edge of my seat the whole time.  One of the best things about it is a delightfully sinister performance by Michael Fassbender (INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS, EDEN LAKE) as Callard's smirkingly sadistic henchman, Caz.  The entire supporting cast is excellent as well, but it's Nesbitt who continues to impress more and more. 

His "Murphy" character is the ultimate adrenaline-stoked hardass, plunging into dangerous situations and either fighting or thinking his way out, yet always on the edge of burning out or breaking down (not to mention losing an appendage or two) from the non-stop pressure of his job.  Going for broke in virtually every scene, Nesbitt is fascinating to watch.



Series 4 and 5 keep the momentum going with two more three-episode stories.  The first finds Murphy infiltrating an Irish gang run by the infamous Johnstone brothers.  Drew (Liam Cunningham) appears to have been converted to the Muslim faith and is about to wed a Pakistani bride, while his volatile brother Billy (Brian McCardie) rebels against Drew's newfound pacifism by becoming even more violent and unstable. 

McCardie's incredibly intense performance is absolutely thrilling and his scenes with Nesbitt give the series some of its most riveting moments yet.  Murphy eventually discovers Drew's true intentions and manages to set the brothers against each other, leading to an explosively exciting finale.  Adding weight to Murphy's character here is his ongoing emotional anguish over having to place his aging mother in an institution after his father can no longer cope with her deteriorating mental state. 

Series 5 wraps things up with a gritty tale of illegal immigrants being marketed not only as manual laborers but also as sex slaves in a sadistic pornography ring.  Two of Murphy's fellow undercover officers, Mitch and Kim (a superb Andrea Lowe), disappear while on the job, forcing him to delve into this wretched den of scum and villainy by gaining the trust of the top man and going to work for him.  More than ever, Murphy's efforts are complicated by feckless police superiors interested only in covering their own asses--some of the confrontational scenes between them here are positively cathartic in their dramatic intensity.  The story builds to a shattering conclusion, leaving Murphy at his most desperate point yet and the viewer dazed and disoriented.

The boxed set from Acorn Media contains nine discs in four keepcases (approx. 23 1/2 hours).  All are in 16:9 widescreen with Dolby Digital stereo and English subtitles.  Text-based extras consist of a James Nesbitt biography and production notes.

If you decide to give this show a whirl, don't be put off by the lightweight nature of the first few episodes.  Not only does "Murphy's Law" eventually become one of the best series about undercover police work that I've ever seen, but Murphy himself goes from quirky, seriocomic oddball to a complex and supercool character who keeps us constantly fascinated by what he's going to do next.  For fast-paced, adult, wildly dynamic entertainment, MURPHY'S LAW: COMPLETE COLLECTION is almost too good to be legal.   

MURPHY'S LAW: COMPLETE COLLECTION -- DVD Review by Porfle

SHOCK WAVE -- DVD Review by Porfle

 

Originally posted on 12/21/17

 

Bomb squad and hostage crisis stories are always inherently tense to some degree, but SHOCK WAVE, aka "Chai dan zhuan jia" (Cinedigm, 2017), takes things to a whole new level.  It's one of those "through the wringer" experiences that just leaves you...well, wrung out.

Chinese action superstar Andy Lau (THE WARLORDS, BATTLE OF THE WARRIORS) plays veteran bomb defuser extraordinaire J.S. Cheung, whose nerves of steel don't keep him from having a warm heart, as his girlfriend Carmen Li (Jia Song, RED CLIFF) will attest.

They have a nice meet-cute under odd circumstances that lead to a deep relationship which might or might not lead to marriage.  What we're already certain of, if movies like this have taught us anything, is that if there's a big bomb crisis later on in the movie then eventually the girlfriend will get mixed up in it.

Naturally, there's a big bomb crisis later on in the movie, thanks to Cheung's mortal enemy and top bad-guy bomb expert Peng Hong (Wu Jiang), whose brother was sent to prison by Cheung during an undercover assignment. 

Nursing a big, festering grudge against Cheung, Peng Hong plans a massive attack in which Hong Kong's Cross-Harbor Tunnel is taken over and its thousands of hostages threatened with explosive doom unless the imprisoned brother is set free.

What sets SHOCK WAVE apart from most of the other hostage-crisis films is its scale--it looks as though the filmmakers have full use of an actual tunnel filled with automobiles, and the mayhem that occurs inside it will involve all manner of full-scale gun battles, car crashes, and explosions. 

This isn't just some direct-to-video yarn here, but epic, heart-pounding action that exploits every facet of bomb-defusing, hostage negotiating, and all-around shoot-em-up chaos while also exploring all the emotional human elements.  Hostages get killed as do brave cops, and Cheung's character must suffer every tragic loss while feeling partly responsible for it. 

The film begins with a sustained action sequence involving a bank robbery that ends badly.  That leads us into the drawn-out suspense of the tunnel situation which will take up the rest of the film. 

Things slow down in the second half to concentrate on the human side of Cheung's ordeal (including the "girlfriend" part that we knew was coming) as well as exploring other peripheral aspects of the situation, but this just gears us up for one of the most calamitous finales imaginable for a film like this.  I'm talking "intense" in the full sense of the word.

Andy Lau is great as the heroic, likable cop, while Wu Jiang makes an ideal non-cliche' bad guy who loves putting Cheung and the city of Hong Kong through hell.  The rest of the cast are fine as well.
 
Director Herman Yau (THE WOMAN KNIGHT OF MIRROR LAKE, THE LEGEND IS BORN: IP MAN) is in top form throughout, staging it all with brisk bravado and clearly aiming to knock our socks off.  My only complaint is the obvious use of CGI for many of the explosions, which had me yearning for the good old days when they just blew everything up for real. 

Still, SHOCK WAVE is mind-boggling in its mix of human drama with the most nail-biting suspense and explosive, car-crashing, bullet-spraying carnage one could ask for in an action flick.  And after all that, it ends on a note of genuine emotional resonance.  Well done.


SHOCK WAVE DVD BASICS              
Street Date:         January 2, 2018
Language:           Cantonese, Mandarin                      
Runtime:             119 minutes             
Rating:                Not Rated
Subtitles:            English
(Also available in Blu-Ray+DVD)

EXTRAS:
Making-of featurette
Trailer

SHOCK WAVE -- DVD Review by Porfle

"Police Squad!" Coffee Commercial (Episode 4: 3/25/82) (video)

 

Detective Frank Drebin (Leslie Nielsen) is pursuing a mad bomber...

...in this hilarious parody of coffee commercials.

He consults with Police Squad's resident forensic expert.

But too much caffeine has made him cranky.

Decaf to the rescue!


I neither own nor claim any rights to this material.  Just having some fun with it.  Thanks for watching!

 

"Police Squad!" Coffee Commercial (Episode 4: 3/25/82) (video)

CHARLIE STEEL -- DVD Review by Porfle

Originally posted on 12/12/18

 

If you've been searching for a bland, ultra-low-budget imitation of '70s blaxploitation flicks that comes off like somebody's student film, the 1984 South African thriller CHARLIE STEEL (Indiepix Films) is the pot of bad-film fun at the end of your rainbow.

Charlie (Sol Rachilo), a poor man's poor man's Shaft, is a private dick who's called into action by a rich friend whose daughter Dudu (Sonto Mazibuko) has just been kidnapped by a gang of bad guys led by the Boss (Thapelo Mofokeng) and is being held for ransom in their secluded hideout. 

As a super-cool action hero, Steel leaves much to be desired, but part of his charm is the way this lanky, hangdog dude in a baggy suit and tiny Fedora, who looks like he's been around the block a few too many times, schleps around town looking for leads before stumbling into trouble and getting himself captured two or three times. 

Meanwhile, as the incompetent bad guys endlessly play poker around the kitchen table and take turns guarding Dudu, we find that one of them, Tony (Charles Joloza), has a crush on her and may turn out to be an ally, while another, Jimmy (Davis Diphoko), is a former military compadre of Charlie's whose seething animosity toward him will ruin the private eye's attempt to infiltrate the gang.

This is one of many low-budget films made in South Africa for black audiences during apartheid, when their access to mainstream films was prohibited, and subsequently rediscovered and restored as part of Indiepix Films' "Retro Afrika" series.  As such, it's a fascinating example of really indy filmmaking that tries to make something entertaining with severely limited resources and manages to succeed in spite of itself. 

In this case, the fun is in watching writer-director Bevis Parsons and his cast of earnest but unpolished actors put together a semi-watchable detective thriller that is endearing in its badness, filling it with tough-guy dialogue, limp action scenes, and a simple, repetitive plot that plays like a feature version of a grade Z serial.

After playing private eye for awhile, Charlie gets serious and goes into military attack mode, trading his rumpled suit for black cat-burglar attire and launching a one-man seige on the bad guys' backwoods HQ. 

Naturally he gets captured again, but that merely sets up the mildly exciting finale in which he and the Boss face off against each other one on one.  Along the way super-suave Charlie even finds time to meet a comely lass and give her his address so that they can meet for dinner the next evening. 

Technically, the film is a bit more competent that some of these apartheid-era films I've seen, but that's not saying a whole lot.  Still, for bad film fans, that's exactly what gives movies like CHARLIE STEEL their irresistible charm, something this one is steeped in.  And with expectations thus adjusted, one almost can't help having a good time watching it.


http://www.indiepixfilms.com
https://retroafrika.com/

Tech Specs
Format: Color, NTSC
Language: English
Subtitles: English
Number of discs: 1
Rated: NR 
Studio: Indiepix Films
3:2, Color, Stereo
DVD Release Date: December 18, 2018
Run Time: 87 minutes
Extras: Trailer

CHARLIE STEEL -- DVD Review by Porfle

EXTRAORDINARY MISSION -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

 

Originally posted on 1/29/18

 

One of the most suspenseful plots I can think of is the straight-arrow cop going undercover as a bad guy and having to live the lifestyle 24 hours a day, with imminent discovery and death always a hair's breadth away. 

It's what made "Donnie Brasco" (the non-fiction book and the movie) so harrowing, and it's what gives the Hong Kong action extravaganza EXTRAORDINARY MISSION (Cinedigm, 2017) such a visceral and emotional charge.

Directors Alan Mak and Anthony Pun and writer Felix Chong (THE DEPARTED, INFERNAL AFFAIRS) wring all the nerve-stretching tension they can from the concept before blasting the doors off with a final act that's pure rocket-fueled action. 

Huang Xuan (THE INTERPRETER) plays Lin Kai, the incorruptible cop whose (mis)fortune it is to be chosen for the task of entering the world of high-stakes drug trafficking with the goal of finding the biggest fish and the pond he swims in. 

Naturally, in order to gain the trust of his criminal cohorts he must engage in highly dangerous and often deadly exploits, with his life on the line at every turn.

This leads to some early action sequences that get us stoked for what's to come. But the main gist of the film's first two-thirds or so is to show Lin Kai using his wits, along with sheer guts, to climb the ladder toward the higher levels of the drug trade. 

The higher up the food chain he goes, the farther down the rabbit hole he descends.  And every time you think you've finally met the biggest, baddest bad guy, there's always someone worse who he must answer to. 

When our hero finally reaches the heart of darkness, we're treated to some stunning twists and revelations that give Lin Kai's mission and everything about it a whole new, shockingly different perspective.  The story keeps the now-familiar "undercover mole" concept fresh by adding intriguing angles to it which give it zing.

But that's nothing compared to what happens when Lin Kai, the ultra-ruthless drug kingpin, and one or two other surprise participants all engage in one of the most furious, action-packed shoot-em-up chase sequences ever filmed. 

Once it starts you might as well buckle up because this is non-stop blazing action that doesn't let up until we've gone back and forth through the wringer at least half a dozen times. 

It's dead serious (no wisecracks or one-liners) with an emotional core that gives the story heft, plenty of suspense, and enough frantic, mind-numbing action coming at us in the last 20-30 minutes for three movies.  EXTRAORDINARY MISSION is one super-charged thrill ride.


EXTRAORDINARY MISSION BLU-RAY™                   
Price:                  $19.97

Street Date:         February 6, 2018
Language:           Mandarin                 
Runtime:             120 minutes             
Rating:                Not Rated
Subtitles:            English

EXTRAORDINARY MISSION DVD BASICS                
Price:                  $14.93

Street Date:         February 6, 2018
Language:           Mandarin                 
Runtime:             120 minutes             
Rating:                Not Rated
Subtitles:            English

Extras: Making-of featurette, trailer

EXTRAORDINARY MISSION -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

SLEDGE HAMMER!: THE COMPLETE SERIES -- DVD Review by Porfle

 

Originally posted on 12/8/11

 

Having just watched the 5-DVD set SLEDGE HAMMER!: THE COMPLETE SERIES, I find that, once again, I dislike something at first and then end up liking it after further consideration.  This proves either one of two things: (a) I'm wishy-washy, or (b) you can't always go by first impressions.  I'm going to go with the second alternative, since it's less uncomplimentary toward me.

I have a vague memory of seeing an episode of this show during its first run (1986-88) and dismissing it as a crappy "Police Squad!" wannabe.  That criminally brief 1982 series (six big  episodes and out) by the Zucker brothers, which introduced Leslie Nielsen's celebrated "Frank Drebin" character and inspired the NAKED GUN movie trilogy, continued the same outlandishly farcical yet totally deadpan vibe of the Zuckers' AIRPLANE! on a smaller scale. 

Naturally, I was disappointed when I approached "Sledge Hammer!" expecting it to be more of the same.  What I finally realized after watching several episodes, however, is that this show is its own addlebrained entity--it's still a lightheaded farce that often resembles something out of MAD Magazine and celebrates silliness for its own sake, but the deadpan humor is shot through (pun alert!) with heaps of pure, giddy goofiness.  In fact, "Sledge Hammer!" works both when it's aping the bone-dry "Police Squad!" comedy style and when it's making funny faces at us.



It takes awhile to get its groove on, though.  The first episode is a bit of a mess--production values are murky, the direction and editing are flabby, and, worst of all, there's a laugh track pointing out the funny parts to us.  Still, it has John Vernon (ANIMAL HOUSE) as the mayor, who demands that Sledge be let loose on the case when his daughter is kidnapped by terrorists. 

There are some funny bits and Hammer's character, who is a cross between Dirty Harry and his watered-down TV equivalent "Hunter" (also a likable fascist cop with a female partner), is well established when he uses a bazooka to demolish an entire building in order to stop a sniper ("Trust me, I know what I'm doing" is his oft-heard motto).  Overall, though, it's pretty limp.

We get to watch the show get its bearings and start firing on more cylinders as the season progresses, with the scripts getting funnier and more daring, and the direction improving (Bill Bixby eventually helmed eight of the series' best episodes, with Dick Martin of "Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In" contributing a couple of good ones).  Despite its lesser moments, there's a relentless quality to the hot-and-cold-running gags and a sort of earnestness from the stars that makes the first season somehow likable.  And some of the gags actually score big laughs, as when Hammer and an informant (guest star Dennis Fimple) conduct a secret conversation via adjoining pay phones.



Before long, the chemistry between Hammer and his female partner Det. Dori Doreau starts to click.  RUNAWAY's Anne-Marie Martin (who, incidentally, co-wrote TWISTER with Michael Crichton) is an appealing foil for Hammer even though her comedic skills take awhile to develop, and their relationship has a certain charm--Doreau sees the good behind Hammer's fascist, violence-loving, ultra-right-wing exterior and eventually finds herself falling for him even though Hammer's first love is his gun, which he talks to and sleeps with. 

As Hammer, David Rasche (BURN AFTER READING, UNITED 93) has a firm grasp on the character from the start but also gets better as he goes along.  Rasche has a field day in the role, with his trigger-happy detective shooting first and asking questions later while gleefully roughing up everyone from jaywalkers to the mayor's wife.  He reels off one-liners like nobody's business--when a nagging reporter asks if he has any predictions, Hammer's deadpan response is, "Yes...scientists will perform the first brain transplant, and you'll be the recipient."  We eventually learn that Hammer thinks the death penalty is too lenient, his favorite song is "Taps", and the only thing he fears is world peace.

As season one comes to a close, just about the time Patrick Wayne does a delightful guest shot as Hammer's long-lost brother, the show really starts getting serious about being funny.  The season-one cliffhanger is insane, opening with a introduction by Robin Leach in which he announces that the series is making a bid for renewal by packing more sex and violence into the upcoming episode and ending with Hammer frantically trying to disarm a nuclear warhead that could annihilate the entire city.  Cult star Mary Woronov plays the mad villainess in this one, which actually does end with a nuclear explosion. 

How they resolve this open-ended situation at the start of season two is undoubtedly one of network television's nuttiest moments, with the show even changing its name temporarily as part of the joke!  And this is just the beginning of a series of episodes that get progressively more willing to be weird, while cast and crew all seem to be on the same page at last and making funny things happen.  Movie spoofs dominate, with films such as SHAMPOO, JAGGED EDGE, and VERTIGO getting the treatment (with the occasional misfire such as a weak parody of PLAY IT AGAIN, SAM). 

"Hammeroid" finds Hammer seriously wounded by a juggernaut robot (which is reminiscent of a similar character on the cult series "The Avengers") and turned into a cyborg a la ROBOCOP.  Fans of that movie should love this affectionate spoof, while Bela Lugosi fans are in for a treat with "Last of the Red Hot Vampires", in which "Love Boat" alumnus Bernie Kopel does a surprisingly good Lugosi imitation.  (The episode is "dedicated to Mr. Blasko", the actor's real last name.)



In "Jagged Sledge", Rasche gives a tour-de-force performance when Hammer must defend himself while on trial for the murder of a mob boss (the great Tige Andrews of "Mod Squad" fame).  Another episode, which finds Hammer going undercover as a prison convict involved in a breakout attempt, actually beats NAKED GUN 33 1/3 (1994) to the punch with a strangely similar premise.

Harrison Page (CARNOSAUR) is undoubtedly the funniest supporting actor in the role of Captain Trunk, a dead-on spoof of the perpetually screaming squad captain whose blood pressure is always sky-high thanks to Hammer's destructive hijinks.  Avoiding what could've been a one-note performance, Page is one of the best things about the show and is a constant delight.  In addition to those already mentioned, a sterling roster of guest stars includes Ronnie Schell, Bill Dana, Nicholas Guest, Ray Walston, David Clennon, Armin Shimerman, Richard Moll, Adam Ant, Brion James, Bud Cort, Mark Blankfield, and Russ Meyer regular Edy Williams.  Directors Bixby and Martin pop up in cameos.

The 5-disc DVD (22 episodes) from Image Entertainment is in 1.33:1 widescreen with Dolby Digital mono.  No subtitles or extras.

It's interesting watching a show go from blah to good as we see with SLEDGE HAMMER!: THE COMPLETE SERIES.  It may not be perfect but it's just plain fun, and by the time the last few episodes rolled around, I didn't want it to stop being Hammer Time. 

SLEDGE HAMMER!: THE COMPLETE SERIES -- DVD Review by Porfle

VIOLENT COP -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

 

Originally posted on 10/2/16

 

When I ‏first heard of VIOLENT COP (1989), Japanese actor and comedian "Beat" Takeshi Kitano's debut as a film director, I expected something along the lines of Abel Ferrara's BAD LIEUTENANT with Harvey Keitel.  However, Takeshi's character, police detective Azuma, isn't "bad" as in "unscrupulous" or "corrupt."  He's actually an honest, conscientious cop.  He's just tired of endlessly going through channels and doing things the proper way when a little well-placed violence can get straight to the heart of things.

Takeshi was already a well-known TV star in Japan for such shows as "Takeshi's Castle" (1986-1990), which became a comedy hit in the U.S. when redubbed as "MXC" or "Most Extreme Elimination Challenge" for Spike TV (most of us remember the catchphrase "Right you are, Ken!"), and had acted films for nine years. 

With his familiar deadpan expression which seems to reveal more the longer the camera lingers upon it, Takeshi's violence-prone cop has elements of both his Sgt. Hara of MERRY CHRISTMAS, MR. LAWRENCE (1983), dispassionately dishing out punishment as a matter of course, and his fed-up school teacher in the much-later BATTLE ROYALE (2000), whose disillusionment with the rules and due process of the system has turned him into an emotionally-warped creature of base impulse. (Still, Azuma is hardly the sadistic brute of 2010's underworld thriller OUTRAGE.)

Azuma is humanized by the fact that he tenderly cares for his simpleminded sister at home, but even here he kicks an amorous suitor down the apartment steps and sends him away aching and shaking.  His later pairing with a nervous rookie named Kikuchi (Makoto Ashikawa) and their borderline-hilarious (but still thrilling) auto pursuit of a suspect on foot provides the film with its one slender vein of sardonic humor. (Partially because Azuma, who walks everywhere--apparently because he can barely drive--insists on taking over the wheel from the rookie and then is unable to turn off the windshield wipers.)

I had to laugh again later when Azuma's harried boss asked him if it was necessary to run over the guy twice in order to arrest him.  He also seems to keep an ample supply of "apology" forms for Azuma to fill out after his more egregious acts in the interests of law enforcement.

For the most part, however, VIOLENT COP is a lean, mean cop thriller whose story kicks into gear when Azuma, conflicted by the discovery that an old friend on the force may be involved in drug trafficking, goes on the familiar one-man crusade against the underworld kingpin behind it all.

This shadowy businessman is supposedly untouchable behind his throne-like desk, with a ruthless, sadistic bodyguard-slash-assassin who loves to kill people (Shirô Sano racks up a decent body count as "Yoshinari").  The driving force of the film is Azuma's bloody war against them in which his disregard for his own personal well-being leads to several acts of sheer reckless abandon.  Interrogations involve guns, knives, fists, and dangerous ploys; confrontations are bloody, savage, and intensely personal. 

As in DIRTY HARRY or DEATH WISH, we know these bad guys are bad, so we want to see them get what they deserve even if its just a good, sound beatdown.  Although here, Azuma is more akin to the dogged veteran cop in THE FRENCH CONNECTION or the renegade rule-basher of TO LIVE AND DIE IN L.A. Both of those, incidentally, are William Friedkin films, with the latter being a favorite of Takeshi and seemingly an inspiration not only to his Azuma character but also to VIOLENT COP's fatalistic ending and overall pessimistic aura. 

As a first-time director, Takeshi--who says he's now embarrassed to watch this "learning process" of a film--displays a combination of lean, straightforward storytelling with a keen and sometimes slightly askew sense of style.  City settings both sprawling and squalid are used to good advantage. A cool, languidly jazzy score by Daisaku Kume works its magic throughout. 

The Blu-ray from Film Movement Classics is in 1.85:1 widescreen and stereo with a Japanese soundtrack and English subtitles.  The bonus featurette "That Man is Dangerous: The Birth of Takeshi Kitano" is a compelling look at the man as an entertainer and filmmaker. Also included are trailers for this and several other Film Movement releases, and an attractive illustrated booklet containing an essay by author and Asian film expert Tom Vick.

The ending is tense, visceral, and bleak, with the potent aura of a brashly impudent Friedkin hovering over it, so don't expect this bloody misadventure to leave you with that "feelgood" smile.  I did smile, though, because I'd just seen a movie called VIOLENT COP that had lived up to its intriguing and somewhat exploitation-tinged title quite nicely.  

VIOLENT COP -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

"Dragnet": The Two Times Joe Friday Had To Shoot To Kill (video)

In both decades of "Dragnet", Joe Friday (Jack Webb) only had to shoot to kill twice.

("The Big Thief", 1953)
("The Shooting Board", 1967) 

The first time he was forced to kill an armed suspect, it hit Friday hard.
He was wracked with guilt and regret afterward.

The second time occurred when Friday interrupted a robbery in progress.

This time, Friday's main concern was clearing his name...
...after his story was called into question.

Originally posted on 11/19/18
I neither own nor claim any rights to this material.  Just having some fun with it.  Thanks for watching!

"Dragnet": The Two Times Joe Friday Had To Shoot To Kill (video)

The Movie That Inspired Jack Webb To Create "Dragnet" ("He Walked By Night", 1948) (video)

"He Walked By Night" is a tough, terse police procedural...

...with a soon-to-be-familiar opening.

We witness a shocking crime.
We meet the realistic, no-nonsense police detectives.

Their investigation is methodical and by the book.
Eventually their "dragnet" closes around the wily suspect.

In the film, a young Jack Webb plays one of the "lab boys."

It would inspire him in creating the radio and TV classic "Dragnet"...
...in which he starred as realistic, no-nonsense Detective Joe Friday.


READ OUR REVIEW OF "HE WALKED BY NIGHT"

Originally posted on 4/29/19
I neither own nor claim any rights to this material.  Just having some fun with it.  Thanks for watching!

The Movie That Inspired Jack Webb To Create "Dragnet" ("He Walked By Night", 1948) (video)

"Dragnet" At Its Sappiest (video)

 "Dragnet" is one of my favorite cop shows, but when it went sappy, it went all the way.

Video by Porfle Popnecker. I neither own nor claim any rights to this material. Just having some fun with it. Thanks for watching!

"Dragnet" At Its Sappiest (video)

CRIMINAL MINDS: THE FOURTH SEASON -- DVD review by porfle

 

Originally posted on 8/29/09

 

The faces on the DVD cover won't mean much to first-time viewers, but it doesn't take long for us to get to know each member of this FBI profiling team (or "behavior analysis unit" as they're called) very well.

CRIMINAL MINDS: THE FOURTH SEASON hits the ground running with one of the most riveting and lightning-paced hours of television that I've ever seen. "Mayhem" is the conclusion of last season's cliffhanger, and it begins with unit chief Aaron 'Hotch' Hotchner (Thomas Gibson) and a female associate about to get into their vehicle when it explodes. Both survive, but since they've been investigating terrorists who explode one bomb and then set off a second one to kill any police and paramedics who arrive on the scene soon after, no one will move in to render aid to the dying female agent. When Hotch finally does get her to the nearest emergency room, he finds that he may have unwittingly played right into the terrorists' scheme to blow up the hospital.

This episode nicely fulfills the show's potential and demonstrates how exciting and suspenseful it can be, with sharp direction, camerawork, and editing and solid performances. Hotch, deftly played by Gibson, quickly emerges as my favorite character--he's stiff, serious, dry, almost humorless. He doesn't wisecrack. But he's intensely professional, with an innate compassion that drives him to hunt down killers. This devotion to his job has cost him his marriage, and in his most affecting moments Hotch can be seen in his office, wistfully viewing video of his young son on his computer.

"Masterpiece", directed by Paul Michael Glaser ("Starsky and Hutch") is another outstanding episode, this time showcasing Joe Mantegna's "David Rossi" character. Rossi is a veteran profiler who has become a celebrity via his best-selling books and lectures on the subject. Here, he goes one on one in the interrogation room with a narcissistic mastermind, played by Jason Alexander, who has kidnapped a daycare worker and four children and placed them in a death trap that will kill them all in a few hours. Not only does this give both Mantegna and Alexander a chance to show their stuff, but it also demonstrates how good the writing on this show can be, with a surprise turnaround in the final minutes that is stunning.

Although there's a resemblance here to CSI and similar shows, CRIMINAL MINDS concentrates less on forensics and more on the BAU's explorations into the inner workings of the perpetrators minds. Often this forces them to confront their own darkest thoughts and fears. In "The Instincts" and its follow-up "Memoriam", the team's geeky resident genius Dr. Spencer Reid (Matthew Gray Gubler) encounters a child abduction case in his hometown that dredges up suppressed memories of bloody murder from his own childhood that may even involve his own father. Jane Lynch (A MIGHTY WIND, BEST IN SHOW) is great as Reid's schizophrenic mother, who stops taking her meds so that she can achieve a brief window of mental clarity that will help her recall forgotten details of the past.

Each of the other cast members gets the spotlight in various episodes, and they're all up to the task. Shemar Moore's ex-cop Derek Morgan is the show's action guy but there's a lot of substance to his character as well. In "Brothers In Arms", Morgan takes it personally when a serial shooter starts gunning down cops in the performance of their duty. A.J. Cook is Jennifer "J.J." Jareau, the team's liason with the public and other agencies, who gives birth early in the season and gains a different perspective on her job. In the excellent bio-terror thriller "Amplification", a deranged scientist unleashes a deadly new strain of anthrax on the public and J.J. struggles with the urge to break secrecy protocol and warn her husband to flee the city with their child.

Bringing some light into the dark mood of the series is Kirsten Vangsness as Penelope Garcia, happily basking in her computer world as she serves as the nerve center for the team. In episodes such as "House on Fire", the tale of a mass-murdering arsonist, and "To Hell...and Back", the gut-wrenching season finale, Garcia is forced to venture out into the field with the rest of the team and is horrified by what she sees.

When this show gets cranked up to full-blast, it goes like gangbusters. "Catching Out", directed by actor Charles Haid, contains a climactic fight sequence atop a moving freight train. "Normal" guest-stars Mitch Pileggi of "The X-Files" as a harried family man whose mounting frustrations transform him into a highway killer known as "The Road Warrior." This episode features a breathtaking crash stunt early on and ends with a high-speed chase.

In addition to the show's kinetic qualities, much of the drama is psychological in nature and we're frequently subjected to some pretty bizarre images and ideas. Jason Alexander returns to direct "Transformation", in which young men on spring break are being raped and murdered by an assailant whose gender is mysteriously undetermined. "Cold Comfort" deals with necrophilia complete with live embalmings, and features a great guest cast including Cybill Shepherd, Michael Biehn, Lolita Davidovitch, and Vondie Curtis Hall.

I particularly enjoyed seeing none other than Wil Wheaton (ST:TNG's "Ensign Crusher") as a total loon who owns a secluded motel and lures couples to their doom in deviously-designed death traps. This episode begins with one of the show's most awesome stunts--an 18-wheeler jack-knifing into a parked car. "Omnivore", guest-starring C. Thomas Howell, has one of the series' most evil serial killers who, among other atrocities, massacres the passengers of a city bus.

Of course, the series has its occasional clunker--for example, "Demonology", a turgid tale of a priest who performs lethal exorcisms, is tiresome and overwrought. It does, however, feature a welcome guest appearance by Bruce Davison (sporting some great hair) and offers series regular Paget Brewster a chance to shine as agent Emily Prentiss.

The DVD set contains seven discs in four slim-line cases with a cardboard sleeve. The 16 x 9 image and English 5.1 and stereo sound are good. Both the episodes and bonus features are closed-captioned. Extras include eleven brief behind-the-scenes featurettes called "Working the Scene", deleted scenes, profiles of each character, and a gag reel.

CRIMINAL MINDS is an interesting blend of modern and more traditional TV storytelling techniques. It's got all the flash and pizzazz that's expected of today's shows, but much of the melodrama and pathos beneath the veneer are pure old-school. As far as the subject matter goes, however, the show doesn't pull any punches and is often about as shocking and horrific as a show like this can get. With a top-notch cast, fine production values, and intriguing stories, CRIMINAL MINDS: THE FOURTH SEASON is well worth spending some quality time with.
 

CRIMINAL MINDS: THE FOURTH SEASON -- DVD review by porfle