Cliffhanger - 1993 - USA

Cliffhanger - 1993 - 7/10  

 
Retired mountain ranger is asked to rescue a clutch of lost hikers.
Turns out, they are murderous thieves who have hijacked a cool $100 M.
Innocent survivors?  None.  Which our rescue team soon realize, foretelling their own fate.
One of the great action films of the 90’s before CGI replaced stunts, before heroes wore pajamas.
A crew of formidable villains, breathtaking scenery.
Probably my favorite movie by Stallone, and yes I know about the others.

Green Snake - 1993 - Hong Kong

Green Snake - 1993 - 6/10
AKA - Ching Se // 青蛇

 
Two female snakes adopt human form to mix with villagers.
One has her eye on a shy scholar and longs for romance and more.
The other, younger, seeks ordinary pleasures of song, dance, food, joy.
Threatening them is a rigid, over-zealous monk.
He ignores precepts that one can reincarnate into higher existences.
His dogmatic stance is one obstacle, the younger snake sister’s jealously is another.
Dizzying, often confusing Tsui Hark fantasy, makes the most of fog and open sets.
Plot is based on a Chinese folktale, with shortcuts.  Repeat viewing helps.

The Snapper - 1993 - Ireland

The Snapper - 1993 - 6/10

 
Sharon, after a night of drinking and debauchery, soon realizes a snapper (baby) is coming.
Her family is supportive and ashamed, antagonistic and repentant.
Broad Irish comedy will resonate with some, less with others.
Might depend on the sort / size of family you grew up in or live with.
I wanted to enjoy this, eager to laugh, but this was very hit and miss for me.
Next to me, the girls laughed and laughed.
Colm Meaney towers as the father in full charge in this.

Crime Story - 1993 - Hong Kong

Crime Story - 1993 - 6/10
AKA - Zhōng Àn Zǔ  // 重案組

If you can’t beat ’em – then kidnap and ransom them.
So, a crooked cabal decides, before snatching an unscrupulous property developer.
Midway investigations, Detective Chan suspects his partner might be crooked.

 
Blistering Jackie Chan actioner dispenses completely with comedy.
This is bullets and bare bones, wild stunts across Hong Kong and Taipei.
The influence of John Woo can be seen, although lacking the bloodshed.
For Jackie fans, still one for your to-view list, and edge-of-the-seat good.

The Untold Story - 1993 - Hong Kong

The Untold Story - 1993 - 7/10
AKA - 八仙饭店之人肉叉烧包

 
The steamed buns are hugely popular at the Eight Immortals Restaurant.
Credit new owner Wong Chi Hang, who took over after the previous owner – and family – disappeared!
Body parts are discovered, which may be the previous family, rousing the police.
Who accept a story along with free pork buns.
Friend, if you think you have this all worked out, you’d best think again.
This is a wild Cat III Hong Kong classic (Anthony Wong won Best Actor!).
Funny, brutal, ugly, sadistic, completely out of control, and, based on real events.

Heroic Trio - 1993 - Hong Kong

Heroic Trio - 1993 - 6/10
AKA - Dung Fong Saam Hap  // 東方三俠

 
The trio being Maggie Cheung, Anita Mui and Michelle Yeoh.
Newborn babies are kidnapped, police are powerless,  who can save them?
Loaded with stunts and action, with a plot that feels improvised.
Maggie and Anita seem to be having fun, while Michelle is stone faced.
The trailer promised more than this delivered for me, especially after I bought it.
Entertaining in a cartoony way, and at this time, everything coming out of Hong  Kong was must-see.
The female trio are extraordinarily attractive.

Dirty Weekend - 1993 - UK

Dirty Weekend - 1993 - 6/10

Even I knew her boyfriend was shagging half the females at his birthday party.
Bella, hurt, opts to move to Brighton and start freelancing.
With American flicks, the victim runs, screams, and falls down a lot.

 
In this, Bella takes matters into her own hands, or rather takes the hammer into her hands.
Black comedy of tables turned, the lamb into butcher.
Lia Williams, a dead-faced sponge in the first third, gradually reveals the hunter’s smile.
Large name cast, many acting against type, seem to be having fun.

The Temp - 1993 - USA

The Temp - 1993 - 6/10

 
Peter is released from the mental clinic.  Issue, paranoia.
Now divorced, he returns to work to find the company has been taken over – layoffs announced.
Help arrives in the form of a temp, Kris, who proves to be an adept workhorse.
Meanwhile, praise the maker, work enemies and adversaries encounter misfortune.
Better viewed as a black comedy, this is a Noir tinged thriller.
Studio interference crippled this one.  Not to mention test audience surveys.
A twisted narrative, never properly resolved.
Coulda, shoulda.  Guilty pleasure for me, yet a flawed movie.

The Bride With White Hair 2 - 1993 - Hong Kong

The Bride With White Hair 2 - 1993 - 5/10
AKA - Bak fat moh lui zyun II // 白髮魔女2

 
Disappointing, to say the least, sequel to the 1993 Hong Kong classic by Ronnie Yu.
The “white witch” recruits and builds a female army of lethal assassins.
New heroes are mustered, their purpose to end to the carnage befalling the major houses.
Despite the presence of Brigitte Lin and Leslie Cheung, their roles are small.
This actually feels like a showcase for new talent.
Quality action, complicated narrative, and pace that swings between busy and idle.
See the original first,  Crave more, this will fill a hole.

Groundhog Day - 1993 - YSA

Groundhog Day - 1993 - 6/10

 
TV weather guy (Bill Murray) as a world-class, self-centered jerk.
He hates his job, hates the assignment (please, groundhog reports), hates the small town and the folk.
His contempt is all too evident.
Fate, however, can play cruel jokes, and not always on innocent rubes.
He is caught in a loop, one Groundhog Day follows another, with no end.
Of all the flimsy plots, yet this Rom-Com works, despite the concrete female thespian.
Murray is droll, sardonic, cynical, frustrated.  Terrific range.  Film has dated, though.

The Joy Luck Club - 1993 - USA

The Joy Luck Club - 1993 - 7/10

 
In 2018, Crazy Rich Asians was released with exclamations of “Finally, Asians are represented!”
Disingenuous for anyone who ever watched a Shaw Brothers actioner, Toho production, etc …
Plus, twenty-five years earlier, The Joy Luck Club was a huge hit with a predominantly Chinese cast.
Four older female friends meet to play mahjong and comment on their daughters.
As with too many mother-daughter relationships, mothers see disappointments.
Four stories of the mothers’ lives / existence in China.
Four stories of the daughters’ lives in San Francisco.
Reconciliations are somewhat pat, the men are clueless.
Still, each story delivers emotionally and the film towers above today’s “card” flicks.

The Assassin - 1993 - Hong Kong

The Assassin - 1993 - 6/10  
AKA - Sha ren zhe Tang Zhan  //  刺客新傳之殺人者唐斬

 
Bao Jia is caught, trying to escape with his betrothed / girlfriend.
He is sentenced to an infamous prison where his eyes are stitched shut and the torture begins.
From here on, the film grows ever more brutal and darker, splashing blood and nudity.
Lesser known Hong Kong actioner boasts swordplay in spades.
Much of the look mirrors The Bride With White Hair and prefigures Blade.
With so much fighting, the narrative – if you can call it that – barely hangs together.
Doesn’t help that the subtitles are old school Hong Kong, nonsensical English.

Demolition Man - 1993 - USA

Demolition Man - 1993 - 6/10

 
Psycho killer Phoenix is sentenced to cryo-prison for killing, thieving, and being a public menace.
Hard nosed copper Spartan is sentenced to cryo-prison for excessive force.
Who’ve thunk both would be revived at the same time?
Into a peaceful future with no crime, no sex, and no toilet paper.
Near-future sets work half the time, other times this seems kinda cheap.
Foolish, action overload entertainment.
Wesley Snipes is a real hoot as the scene chewing killer.
Early support role for Sandra Bullock who would soon break big.

Matinee - 1993 - USA

Matinee - 1993 - 6/10

 
Flock, you fans of Horror schlock!
Film impresario Lawrence Woolsey (please, William Castle)  arrives in Key West during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
What for?  He’s promoting a new film, “Mant”, half man, half … you got it.
Castle was the master of gimmicks, and this one includes Rumble-Rama
John Goodman is colossally funny, and he is the star showcased on promotional material.
Nevertheless, the story follows bored teens and puppy love amidst potential nuclear annihilation.
Surely, the producers could have seen the error of the script and made the film about Woolsey.
What remains is alright.  What could’ve been … well … bummer.

Enemy Gold - 1993 - USA

Enemy Gold - 1993 - 4/10

 
During the Civil War, or War Between The States for you lost cause diehards, a pair of Johnny Rebs hide a mess of gold in the roots of a tree.
Their plan to retrieve the loot later on dies when both are killed.  D-E-D = dead.
Jump ahead 130 years later, when Federal agents, tracking swamp drug dealers, find the stash!
Who’d’ve thunk it?
In no time flat, crooked Feds are after the trio, along with the drug gang, and a female assassin in a bikini.
(How she ain’t getting all bit up by mosquitoes, ticks and chiggers is beyond comprehension.)
Oh, wait a minute!  The good agents, they find time to get naked and get frisky whenever the mood strikes.
Nonsense from Drew Sidaris (Andy’s kid).
Fans of Julie Strain will relish watching her try to out-act a tree stump.

Mirror Images II - 1993 - USA

Mirror Images II - 1993 - 5/10

 
The occasional sequel that improves on the original, although this lacks the “star power” of the first.
Steamy starlet Shannon Whirry plays Carrie and Terri, twin sisters.  Good girl, bad girl.
Contrary to the normal world, goody-two-shoes marries the money.
Not to worry, sleazy husband advises her to fool around, while he bounces trashy sis.
After awhile the story makes no sense, and the sensual rollicking grows repetitive.
Glossy production values elevate this above most soft-core fodder.
Wildly popular during the erotic thriller heyday of the 90’s.

The Secret Garden - 1993 - UK

The Secret Garden - 1993 - 7/10

 
Mary, newly orphaned, is shipped off to live with her morose, absent uncle.
The manor and estate are not so much in decline, but hibernating, comatose.
Mary Lennox is a deeply unhappy sort, neglected by her parents while they were alive, then abandoned.
Nevertheless, she begins to bloom, and in so doing, reinvigorates the household.
Children’s film that adults can relish, as well.  Gorgeously photographed.

The DVD always struck me as a missed opportunity for extras.  And the extras I longed to see were manor tours.
Grouchy Mrs. Medlock with the rooms, cook and her kitchen, Martha and the back stairs and hallways, Ben with the garden.  If only creators realized how valued these bits are to viewers.

Romeo Is Bleeding - 1993 - UK

Romeo Is Bleeding - 1993 - 6/10

 
Jack is a bent copper, on the take from the mob, a woman abuser.
A doomed loser, hemmed in by his own sorry choices and corrupt character.
Latest favor he owes?  Whack job.
Only the target is attractive, and cunning.  Oh, and a hitman, feminine version.
Yes, Jack is out of his league.
Merciless Neo-Noir, riddled with diseased twists.
Dialogue is arch, and Gary Oldham’s delivery strikes one as mannered, yet believable.
For a dark tale, this is awfully funny at times, and Jack is a cringe worthy soul.

What Happened Was - 1993 - USA

What Happened Was - 1993 - 7/10

You joke with coworkers, maybe go out for a drink, flirt if you want stokes.
But you don’t date coworkers.  Understand?  NEVER date coworkers!
Jackie invites Michael to her apartment for dinner.
Dinner, right?  Not a date.  And how would you perceive this, big boy?

 
Both are socially awkward.  Youth gone.  Dating scene behind them.
They are nervous, misreading signals left and right.
Trying to relieve anxiety, each utter jokes that misfire.  Badly. Cringe worthy.
I’m barking at the TV, telling him to compliment her hair, her dress, quit mansplaining.
My bride is telling Jackie, don’t try so hard, settle down, stop talking so much.
Turns out both are closet writers, and Jackie draws him into her closet and reads one of her children’s stories.

 
Mother of God.
Repeat.  Don’t date coworkers.  Understand?  NEVER date coworkers!
Even when I first met Zelda, even when she repeatedly hit on me.
I refused to go out with her … until I got fired.

The Bride With White Hair - 1993 - Hong Kong

The Bride With White Hair - 1993 - 6/10
AKA - Bak fat moh lui zyun  // 白髮魔女傳

 
Gracious, what an amazing film!
The uneasy successor to the Wu-Tang clan faces a new enemy.
A highly potent set of conjoined twins, seemingly bent on world annihilation.
Spearheading the army of evil, the Wu-Tang leader’s childhood girlfriend.
Doomed romance, superb use of lighting (indoor sets), wild battle sequences.
Dark fantasy from Hong Kong’s golden era.
Followed by a sequel (it ain’t much).