Category: Features
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Dead End (2003)
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Read more: Dead End (2003)I’ve been reviewing Christmas Movies for Ruthless for over a decade now. Needless to say, the well is about to run dry. I refuse to review the Hallmark or Hallmark type sappy dreck. A few is enough. However, I did not want to completely abandon my unhinged and relentless pursuit of this obsession. Therefore, I…
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Starring debuts #7: Richard E. Grant in Withnail and I (1987)
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Read more: Starring debuts #7: Richard E. Grant in Withnail and I (1987)Big-budget action maestro Michael Bay could probably learn a thing or two from Withnail. Namely, that if you get the characterization and dialogue right, you don’t need any explosions or mayhem to make a great movie. After all, what does the titular character accomplish during the 107 minutes of this cult classic? He tries to…
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Blaxploitation #3: Black Caesar (1973)
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Read more: Blaxploitation #3: Black Caesar (1973)What the hell are these cats up to? After a stretch in prison, Tommy Gibbs (Williamson) plans to take over his Mafia-run neighborhood and show whitey how it’s done. Do I dig the threads? Given it’s mostly set in 1965, a heartbeat before everything went to sartorial shit, yes. Tommy favors sharp suits and a…
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The Dead Pool (1988)
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Read more: The Dead Pool (1988)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…
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Blaxploitation #2: Mandingo (1975)
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Read more: Blaxploitation #2: Mandingo (1975)What the hell are these cats up to? Falconhurst is a dilapidated plantation run by the tyrannical aging widower, Warren Maxwell (Mason), and his limping son, Hammond (King). Their slaves try to stay alive under an increasingly unstable regime, often being forced into impossible choices. Into this toxic mix comes Hammond’s new wife, the drunken,…
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Nightmare Alley
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Read more: Nightmare AlleyWhen you watch films by certain directors, you come to expect certain things. If you watch Quentin Tarantino, you expect the movie to explode into a curse-filled bloodbath. If you watch Roland Emmerich, you know the world is ending somehow. If you watch M. Night Shyamalan, you’re know you’re getting a twist and probably spending…
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Blaxploitation #1: Super Fly (1972)
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Read more: Blaxploitation #1: Super Fly (1972)What the hell are these cats up to? A successful Harlem coke dealer with the extraordinary name YoungBlood Priest (O’Neal) wants one last big deal before going straight. His partner Eddie (Lee), who appears to be doing an impersonation of Sammy Davis Jr. throughout, wants to stay in the game. Stop groaning at the back…
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Starring Debuts #6: Harvey Stephens in The Omen (1976)
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Read more: Starring Debuts #6: Harvey Stephens in The Omen (1976)According to the nursery rhyme, little boys are made of snips, snails and puppy dogs’ tails. However, some parents being driven up the wall by their misbehaving spawn probably believe they’re actually jam-packed with satanic DNA. Take Damien Thorn. There’s just no hope with this kid. Appoint a nice nanny to look after him? She’ll…
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Sudden Impact (1983)
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Read more: Sudden Impact (1983)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…
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Starring Debuts #5: Eddie Murphy in 48 Hrs. (1982)
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Read more: Starring Debuts #5: Eddie Murphy in 48 Hrs. (1982)The pioneering brilliance of the ancient Greeks laid many of the foundations for Western civilization, producing great leaps forward in fields as diverse as philosophy and science. For hundreds of years progress and innovation flourished until the curtain was violently brought down by the Romans. What a shame. Somehow, though, a cinephile like me finds…