Drive (1997)

It's a bit of a shame, really, that 2011 saw the release of such a great movie called Drive. That means that this movie will almost always be referred to from now on as "Drive, no not that one, ANOTHER one". It doesn't deserve such treatment because it happens to be one of the best little action movies that action movie fans failed to give their full support to.

Mark Dacascos stars as Toby Wong, a man who has been (here comes the science bit) enhanced with some gadget thingummybob in his chest. This means that he can punch, kick and throw down loads of people whenever he needs to. It comes in very handy because he needs to do that quite a lot, thanks to the fact that a number of folk are after him in order to retrieve their technology. In between fights, Toby does try to run away and avoid confrontation and that's how he encounters unfortunate Malik (Kadeem Hardison), the man who ends up being his temporary hostage and driver. Malik soon discovers that the bad guys don't actually want to kill Toby, because of the technology inside him, but they couldn't care less about him catching a stray bullet.

While it may not be non-stop action from start to finish, Drive is nicely paced throughout. The first half of the movie has two or three decent fight sequences while the second half has one stunning (literally!) showcase before leading viewers to a finale that piles on the pain and the stunt work for an energetic 20 minutes of superior action entertainment.

In between the fights, Dacascos and Hardison have good chemistry, riffing off each other nicely and keeping things vibrant even while more impatient viewers may simply be waiting for the next rumble. Brittany Murphy is adorable and entertaining in a small role as a kooky teenage lass who runs a motel that the guys end up stopping at and John Pyper-Ferguson and Tracey Walter make a great, quirky, pair of villains until big bad Masaya Kato comes along to well and truly kick some ass.

This may have been the first script by Scott Phillips that was made into a movie but a quick glance at his filmography shows that he may have peaked with his debut. There are no major surprises here but it does what is required of the subgenre and it does it brilliantly, even in a scene that has Mark Dacascos mugging for all he's worth while singing karaoke.

Steve Wang certainly knows how to deliver the goods and the fantastic fight scenes (as over the top and slick as they may be) are elevated by great coverage. In fact, I remain convinced to this day that one of the fights was lifted (homaged?) to be used in Blade II. Not that I have a problem with that, there were enough differences to ensure that it didn't look EXACTLY the same, but it's just another example of Drive being sadly missed when it hit the rental and retail market.

It's a shame that Dacascos was never a bigger star. He had a couple of close calls and he shows here that he has the mix of skills and likeability. Drive remains his finest hour. It certainly showcases his skills far better than Iron Chef.

8/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Drive-Directors-Cut-Mark-Dacascos/dp/B00004SPGP/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1358166177&sr=8-1

I Spit On Your Grave (2010)

Another remake of an infamous horror title, for some reason this movie has a few supporters and people who reluctantly accept that it's a lot better than they thought it was going to be. Well, it's a decent revenge movie with some moments of real nastiness but it's still nowhere near as brutal as the original film and it also misses the entire point of that classic film (yes, I do think it's a classic even if it's not one for the whole family to sit down and enjoy). You see, THAT film had a woman being terrorised and brutalised and horrifically violated because of her sexuality before using that same sexuality to exact her revenge. This film has a young woman being terrorised and brutalised and horribly violated because of her sexuality becoming an efficient and skilled hunter/trapper/killer and even budding Jigsaw protege.

The basic story remains the same as it was the first time around. Young Jennifer Hills (Sarah Butler) heads off to an isolated cabin to get some writing done but finds herself fearing for her life when some of the local boys come around to have their fun - their idea of fun being far, far removed from any normal idea of fun. It all starts, in a way, from some joking around about getting the handicapped Matthew (Chad Lindberg) a chance to be with a woman but it soon gets even worse for young Jennifer as all of the boys decide to take their turn with her and "teach her a lesson". And the local law enforcement is worse than useless. It's up to Jennifer to keep her spirit intact and find a way to fight back.

On a technical level, everything here is just right. Steven R. Monroe does just fine in the role of director while Stuart Morse has adapted the original movie into an acceptable screenplay. There are some nice moments of tension in between that hard-hitting first half and that vigilante-centric second half but there are also one or two sassy one-liners that remind you of how removed the movie is from the essence of the original.

The acting is all pretty decent. Butler is, admittedly, pretty brave to even go near such a controversial role, while Jeff Branson, Andrew Howard, Daniel Franzese, Rodney Eastman and Chad Lindberg all do a good job of playing characters of varying degrees of unpleasantness. And Tracey Walter is enjoyable as old Earl.

There are a few moments that will certainly impress those who want something a bit stronger in their horror movies but for me, personally, the whole thing still feels sanitised and far less interesting than the original film because of that refusal to explore the real power of the sexuality at the core of the movie. Basically, it's a decent film that misses the mark by a long way.

6/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Spit-On-Your-Grave-Blu-ray/dp/B004AER3KC/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1344848238&sr=8-2