Narrow Margin (1990)

An enjoyable remake of the 1952 film, Narrow Margin is a well-made neo-noir that benefits from having Gene Hackman being his usual brilliant self in the lead role that makes good use of his formidable talent. He is L.A. District Attorney Robert Caulfield, a man who ends up escorting a woman named Hunnicut (Anne Archer) on a dangerous cross-country train ride to get her to stand as a witness against the powerful Leo Watts (Harris Yulin).

Directed by the dependable Peter Hyams, who also wrote the script adapting the earlier movie into this updated take, this is a film full of shifting surroundings and constant momentum, not just due to most of it taking place on a train. Caulfield only knows one or two people he can fully trust, while Hunnicut isn’t always entirely sure about why she should place her faith in him. Anyone around our two leads could be a killer, and Watts may not be onscreen for much of the runtime, but there’s a large shadow cast over everything as we see how seemingly infinite his reach and resources are.

Although this follows the template of the original film fairly closely, there are some tweaks that help to make it a slightly more enjoyable experience. The various identity reveals are well-placed, whether they are proving someone is bad or ultimately good, and there are a few decent action moments that allow Hackman to back up his promise of doing whatever it takes to get the woman in his care safely to a more secure environment.

Hackman is the reason this works as well as it does, and Hyams was surely thankful to bag him for the lead role. He may not be the typical choice for this kind of role, but he’s undeniably trustworthy, determined, and charismatic. I wish I could say the same for Archer, who feels sadly all-too-replaceable in her key role. Susan Hogan does much better though, playing a train passenger who takes more than a passing interest in Hackman’s character. Yulin does well with his minutes of screentime, there are small roles for both M. Emmet Walsh and J. T. Walsh, and James Sikking, Nigel Bennett, B. A. “Smitty” Smith, and J. A. Preston help to round out a supporting cast of surprisingly compelling characters.

Although it has a layer of polish that lessens the feeling of real danger and darkness, Narrow Margin still manages to ratchet up the tension on the way to a final act that proves to be enormously satisfying. If you like even some of the names I have listed here, and especially if you like Hackman, then this is a fun film to give your time to on an evening when you want something comfortingly assured.

8/10

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Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins (1985)

AKA Remo: Unarmed And Dangerous.

Sometimes, as a youngster, your love for a movie is set in stone from the very first time you see it. There are many obvious titles I could list here as personal favourites, and many of them would have people nodding in agreement (I hope). But sometimes you love a movie that seems out of line with others that have grabbed your attention. Movies that weren't really aimed AT you, necessarily, but still managed to hit the sweet spot, even if you first saw it at an age when you didn't take in every detail or get every joke. Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins is one of those movies.

It's a simple tale. Fred Ward is Remo, a man who used to be someone else. A covert company liked his profile, decided to recruit him, and then faked his death. They then gave him a new face (although it's not a million miles away from his old face), a new name (errrr . . . .  Remo Williams, obviously), and placed him under the tutelage of a martial arts master (Chiun, played by Joel Grey). Remo will be trained up to become a perfect assassin . . . . . . . . . . . . . IF he survives.

Basically, this is The Karate Kid for slightly older viewers, mixed with elements of James Bond. Based on The Destroyer series of books, by Richard Sapir and Warren Murphy, this was a movie that kicked off a franchise that never happened. While that's a bit of a shame, it's also great, in a way. No shoddy sequels were produced to tarnish the affection so many have for this film.

The cast all handle the material with the healthy sense of humour running all the way through it. Ward is consistently believable in the lead role, whether rolling his eyes and lacking self-belief in the first half of the movie or handling the physical aspect of the role in the later scenes. I don't know why Grey was picked to play the character of Chiun, but he's entertaining in every scene that he has. The great practical make up used on him doesn't cover the ever-present twinkle in his eye. J. A. Preston and Wilford Brimley both do their usual good work, playing the men in charge of CURE, the covert company waiting impatiently for Remo to fulfil his full potential, and Charles Cioffi is George Grove, the villain of the piece, although the best moments involve his henchman, Stone (Patrick Kilpatrick). Last, but by no means least, are two military personnel. George Coe is a General helping out Grove, while Kate Mulgrew has the role of Major Rayner Fleming, a military woman who starts to smell a rat when trying to check up on Grove and his projects.

Directed by Guy Hamilton (a Bond veteran, of course), the whole thing moves along at a cracking pace, ensuring that viewers never feel bored during the 120-minute runtime. The script (by Christopher Wood, although it was apparently heavily rewritten by Hamilton) has just the right tone throughout, gently self-mocking when viewers are directly alongside Remo but all about the thrills and action when watching him being seriously tested. Admittedly, the grand finale may be a little less effective than it could be, but the vertigo-inducing set-pieces that come along before hand more than make up for that. And the BIG sequence set on the Statue Of Liberty remains a high benchmark in action cinema, perfectly blending stuntwork, special effects and an almost unbearable amount of tension. Seriously, hold that up alongside any other action movie set-piece and it holds up to this day.

Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins, or Remo: Unarmed And Dangerous, or even just Remo. The title may have been subject to change over the years, but the movie has remained, and still remains, a real gem for action fans.

8/10

Trust me, THIS is the release that you need ASAP - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Remo-Williams-Adventure-Begins-Blu-ray/dp/B00KHQD6DU/ref=sr_1_1?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1404863814&sr=1-1&keywords=remo+williams - a typically lush Arrow package, with commentary, a cracking documentary on the cultural context of '80s action flicks, a booklet, and picture and sound quality that I'd argue is the best the movie has had since its cinema release.

Please feel free to remember me whenever you're visiting Amazon and see my book there.

The UK version can be bought here - http://www.amazon.co.uk/TJs-Ramshackle-Movie-Guide-Reviews-ebook/dp/B00J9PLT6Q/ref=sr_1_3?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1395945647&sr=1-3&keywords=movie+guide

And American folks can buy it here - http://www.amazon.com/TJs-Ramshackle-Movie-Guide-Reviews-ebook/dp/B00J9PLT6Q/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1395945752&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=TJs+ramshackle+mov

As much as I love the rest of the world, I can't keep up with all of the different links in different territories, but trust me when I say that it should be there on your local Amazon.

Body Heat (1981)

Written and directed by Lawrence Kasdan, with no small amount of debt owed to the classic Double Indemnity, Body Heat is a slick, sexy, sweaty thriller that benefits greatly from the central performances, not least that of Kathleen Turner making an astonishing big-screen debut.

William Hurt plays a lawyer, Ned Racine, who falls for the gorgeous Matty Walker (Turner) during a stiflingly hot Florida Summer. The two begin a steamy affair, which then leads them to start thinking about how to deal with the oft-absent Mr. Walker (Richard Crenna). It's not long until murder is mentioned, with Ned clearly making decisions based on his libido as opposed to common sense, and Matty starts to show her ingenuity as the plan is put into effect.

With decent, unfussy, direction and a fine script, Lawrence Kasdan certainly puts all of the pieces in place to make Body Heat an easy movie to enjoy, but his biggest coup was with the casting of the main roles. Hurt has always been a very good actor, and he's as good here as he's ever been, but none of the twists and turns would be believable if he wasn't jumping through hoops to be with Kathleen Turner. Because I can't think of many men who wouldn't jump through hoops to be with Kathleen Turner in the early '80s. The lady dominates the movie, even when she's not onscreen, but that doesn't stop viewers also getting great performances from Crenna, Ted Danson (in what remains one of his best roles), J. A. Preston and a youthful Mickey Rourke. There's also Kim Zimmer, who manages to make a good impression despite only being onscreen for about a minute.

It may not be quite as clever as it wants to be, and certainly stretches plausibility on numerous occasions, but there's always something going on in every scene to entertain and distract from the plot holes. While this isn't on a par with the very best classic or neo-noirs, it still deserves to be allotted a place near the top tier. And Matty Walker is a character who ranks as one of the most memorable, for a mixture of right and wrong reasons.

8/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Body-Heat-DVD-William-Hurt/dp/B00004CX84/ref=sr_1_1?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1383511052&sr=1-1&keywords=body+heat