Every decent film - action or otherwise - needs a decent villain, with Lance Henriksen fondly recalling his work with Woo on Hard Target as some of the best of his career; and it shows, offered a choice part to sink his teeth into (with The Mummy's Arnold Vosloo as perfect support) and committing 100% to the growling frustration he has not only with his target, but with his own men, and to the very physical stuntwork required of him (actually being set on fire). Brand New 4K Restoration of the Unrated International Cut – From a 4K Scan of the Original Camera Negative! Andrew Hernandez on Believer 2 (2023) Review Wow. I know you’ve hated other movies before, but this is flat out contempt!… This is a great release—one that Hard Target fans have long been waiting for. Considering that it was simultaneously released on 4K UHD and Blu-ray, it’s not going to be topped unless someone can land the elusive rights to include the workprint, or better elements turn up for some of the excised violence.

barring the audio issues, those without DV would have likely absolutely loved revisiting this action classic in 4K JJ Bona on So Close | Blu-ray (88 Films) From what I gathered it was Region B (they seem to label their A/B releases p… Woo may not have made his best film here, but it was easily one of his best US outings, crafting a bona fide action classicThe last featurette is Gun Fu And Van Dammage, which interviews stunt coordinator Billy Burton for nine minutes. This piece covers the importance of having action that enhances characters and tells a story, how he got his start working on westerns in the sixties as a stuntman, working with Hal Needham, having to slowdown as he got older and getting into doing stunt coordination and second unit directing work, working on Nowhere To Run before Hard Target, interviewing with Woo, how he had a wonderful time on set and how his portion of the shoot went really smoothly, his appreciation for the cast, using his daughter as a stunt person on the film, the great storyboards that he had to use and how Woo was so great to work with. Again, in case you get a copy with the wrong disc - follow the link to request your replacement disc: So yeah, maybe Hard Target doesn’t actually deserve the full five-star rating - but I’m an unabashed fan with a big nostalgic heart - so I’m keeping it. It’s been a favorite ever since that first viewing and I’ve watched it countless times since. It’s when Van Damme was at his best to see on the big screen before the ego and severe cocaine addiction took over. JCVD Still pumps out some fun movies, but nothing has come close to the excellence that is Hard Target. Now if they want to pair him up with Scott Adkins again and do a Hard Target 3 - I’d be all for that mayhem!

Ska Martes on The Heroic Trio & Executioners | 4K UHD & Blu-ray (Criterion) Great movies and the kind of megastar casting that you just don't get anymore… Paul Bramhall on Slaughter in San Francisco | Blu-ray (88 Films) We have a polishing face off between Eureka and 88 Films right now....in Eure… Part of the fun of this movie is just how evil our villains are. Lance Henriksen is great in everything he does and his Fouchon is next-level diabolical - and hilarious. He’s a man who clearly loves what he does and takes that “work” seriously, but at the same time has the utmost contempt for his clients willfully killing them if and when necessary. When they need to start hunting Boudreaux, instead of just letting loose his lethal right-hand man Pik (the always awesome Arnold Vosloo), he instead gives select former clients the chance to pay him an exorbitant fee for the opportunity to kill the uber-mulleted Van Damme knowing full well most are likely to die. He's evil and also a bit of a grifter. Our hero and villain share very little screentime together but it’s a classic dynamic both actors play well. Ska Martes on So Close | Blu-ray (88 Films) Instead of doing a star wars fan edit for 97456th time, someone could lend th…

Scores

Ska Martes on Hard Target | 4K UHD + Blu-ray (Kino Lorber) Love this movie. As lomg as its the longer international cut, this is the onl…

Ska Martes on The White Storm 3: Heaven or Hell (2023) Review I really tried to like this one because the first White Storm was an acceptab… Bruce Jensen on Slaughter in San Francisco | Blu-ray (88 Films) Wow. I appreciate the fine work Eureka!, 88 Films, Arrow, etc. are doing in b… The upcoming release will include New interviews with John Woo, Lance Henriksen and Yancy Butler, as well as the Unrated Director’s Cut and U.S. Theatrical Cut of the film.In Hard Target, a woman (Yancy Butler) hires a drifter (Jean-Claude Van Damme) as her guide through New Orleans in search of her missing father. In the process, they discover a deadly game of cat and mouse behind his disappearance. The film also stars Lance Henriksen, Arnold Vosloo, Bob Murawski and Wilford Brimley. Almost thirty years on, and Hard Target remains a veritable action classic and one of the best movies of Jean-Claude Van Damme's career. The UHD disc comes with an informative commentary by action film historians Brandon Bently and Mike Leeder that contextualize the film within Woo and Jean-Claude Van Damme’s careers, while the accompanying Blu-ray contains short interviews with the cast and crew, including Woo, actors Lance Henriksen and Yancy Butler, and stunt coordinator Billy Burton. Overall Ska Martes on Believer 2 (2023) Review Disappointing but not surprising that this is just more useless Netflix conte…