Grovel Before God, You Maggots! In the beginning back in 1988 a six-foot-four deity who shunned goofing around arrived in moviedom. It wasn’t long before he began to generate wall to wall adoration by being outstanding at whatever job he did, never showing fear despite the ever-present threat of death, and snapping the limbs of […]
Striking Distance

Film Title
Striking DistanceSynopsis
Tom Hardy goes after his own uncle for being a suspected cop killer
Director
Rowdy HerringtonCast
Bruce Willis
Sarah Jessica Parker
Tom Sizemore
Dennis Farina
Brion James
John Mahoney
Timothy Busfield
Tagline: They shouldn’t have put him in the water, if they didn’t want him to make waves. Entire Story In Fewer Words Than Are In This Sentence: All Cops Are Bastards, Except Willis. Homoeroticism: Much like “Dirty” Harry Callahan before him, and unlike the homoerotic heroes we know and love from classics like Commando or […]
80’s Action Is No Laughing Matter: Part 2
Chuck Norris in Firewalker Loathed by the critics, Chuck’s first shot at comedy in 1986 was a box-office dud that helped finish off his benefactor Cannon Films. Good work, son. Plusses: I couldn’t really follow the premise, but we end up with two adventurers and a pretty bird trying to find buried treasure in Central […]
80’s Action Is No Laughing Matter: Part One
You’ve heard the sayings. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Variety is the spice of life. A change is as good as a rest. And so on. Well, for most actors it’s straightforward to enjoy a wide range of roles, but action stars do have a tendency to plough the same bullet-ridden furrow. […]
A Decade Of Chucking Up
During the groovy, Colosseum-set climax of 1972’s phenomenally successful Way of the Dragon, Chuck Norris took on the legendary Bruce Lee. Next to the lithe Asian superstar, he looked fat, slow, very hairy and curiously graceless. No matter, for he played his part in a terrific dust-up that fight fans still salivate over. He followed […]
Miami Connection

Film Title
Miami ConnectionSynopsis
A martial arts rock band goes Ninja against a motocycle gang
Director
Woo-sang ParkCast
Y.K. Kim
Vincent Hirsch
Joseph Diamond
Maurice Smith
Kathy Collier
William Ergle
Tagline: Survival the ultimate test… (This is the only one I could find, and it means fuck all in the context of the movie) Entire Story In Fewer Words Than Are In This Sentence: Karate kids KO cocaine cowboys. Homoeroticism: The boys of Dragon Sound, the Taekwondo team / 80s pop band that serves as […]
Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome (1985)

Film Title
Mad Max: Beyond ThunderdomeSynopsis
Mad Max, after being gulaged for failure to comply, teams with a bunch of feral kids to overthrow the Queen of Thunderdome
Director
George Miller/ George OgilvieCast
Mel Gibson
Tina Turner
Bruce Spence
Paul Larsson
Angelo Rossitto
Robert Grubb
Tagline: Two men enter, one man leaves, unless there are special needs. Entire Story In Fewer Words Than Are In This Sentence: Max is banished for refusing to kill a grinning retard. Homoeroticism: Like in The Road Warrior, many men are dressed like they are going to a gay bondage convention, but the homoeroticism is […]
The Dead Pool (1988)

Film Title
The Dead PoolSynopsis
Dirty Harry just learned a new game
Director
Buddy Van HornCast
Clint Eastwood
Liam Neeson
Patricia Clarksib
Evan C. Kim
Jim Carrey
David Hunt
Michael Currie
Tagline: Dirty Harry Just Learned A New Game Entire Story In Fewer Words Than Are In This Sentence: Movies don’t kill people, Dirty Harry does. Homoeroticism: Early on, we see a young Jim Carrey (as rock star Johnny Squares) prancing around in a leather outfit to the tune of “Welcome to the Jungle,” but that’s […]
Sudden Impact (1983)

Film Title
Sudden ImpactSynopsis
Two killers are at large. One of them is Dirty Harry.
Director
Clint EastwoodCast
Clint Eastwood
Sondra Locke
Pat Hingle
Bradford Dillman
Paul Drake
Jack Thibeau
Albert Popwell
Tagline: Two killers are at large. One of them is Dirty Harry. Entire Story In Fewer Words Than Are In This Sentence: Revenge is best served with a comically farting dog. Homoeroticism: All in all, this is probably the most disappointingly hetero movie in the whole series, as Harry gets closer to a woman than […]
Magnum Force (1973)

Film Title
Magnum ForceSynopsis
Dirty Harry is now on the trail of rouge vigilante cops
Director
Ted PostCast
Clint Eastwood
Hal Holbrook
Mitchell Ryan
David Soul
Tim Matheson
Robert Urich
Kip Niven
Tagline: This time the bullets are hitting pretty close to home! Entire Story In Fewer Words Than Are In This Sentence: Harry could just kill his Stupid Chief this time. Homoeroticism: Once again limited almost exclusively to the fetishization of guns, beginning with the opening credits sequence, which consists of a very long shot of […]