Hard Target / Hard Target 2 Premium Steelbook 4K Ultra HD 1993 [2023] [Region Free]

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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… After a string of action masterpieces—which included A Better Tomorrow (1986), The Killer (1989), and Hard Boiled (1992)—made him a critical darling and the international representative of Hong Kong’s heroic bloodshed genre of cinema, it was inevitable that director John Woo would receive offers from Hollywood. Hard Target (1993) would be Woo’s first American film and, in spite of its well-chronicled production issues, it’s an action classic and one of star Jean-Claude Van Damme’s best—even if it’s not the undiluted John Woo actioner it might have been, had the studio, its leading man, and the MPAA not meddled in what ultimately became Hard Target’s final cut. Rounding out the supporting cast - I’ve always been surprised that Yancy Butler never really hit it big. Attractive and talented, she enjoyed parts in other action movies before headlining the underrated Witchblade series - but she’s never really had that huge star-making movie role. After The Silence of the Lambs and Candyman, Kasi Lemmons completes her notable supporting role trilogy as a cynical but determined detective. She doesn’t get a lot to do, but she holds her own. And before they slapped a CGI rubber mouth on him, Arnold Vosloo was a genuine baddie in this film. Then we come to the most colorfully fun character of the movie - Uncle Douvee played by the late great Wilford Brimley. “Sip, but don’t spill. Kill the grass.” became a running joke with me and my Dad for years. I would have loved to have been a fly in the room for that casting decision. “Who do we get to play Van Damme’s cajun uncle?”“Hmmm… the diabetic Quaker Oats guy?”“Brilliant!”

Ultimately Hard Target is a Van-Damme film and when it comes to the muscles-from-Brussels, we want to see the action above anything else and when it comes to a Woo film, we want to see birds flying in slow motion around the action. Yep, we get plenty of both. While I felt that the three films that Woo followed up with, Broken Arrow, Face/Off and Mission: Impossible II are better (mainly because they have better actors and more interesting characters in those), Hard Target for the most part gets the job done for action fans. Kino is currently recalling this disc over an issue in the front soundstage; the channels are notably reversed, apparent anytime a vehicle passes by. According to Kino, Woo considers the international unrated cut, his cut. Before agreeing to the interview, he wanted to make sure the company was restoring his preferred cut. The infamous workprint cut is not his cut and will not be included (many of the scenes of the work print cut no longer exist).An absolutely beautiful film grain sits over Hard Target, and with few exceptions, Kino’s encode handles the material flawlessly. Rarely does the imagery look anything less than filmic. The print shows some dust, minor as it is. Restoration takes care of most (keyword: most) scratches or other faults though. 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… The pure 4K scan pushes a constant flow of detail, the texture sublime, precise, and consistent. Close-ups match the wide shots in fidelity. Definition gives Hard Target new life on home video. It’s gorgeous, and looks new rather than a rescue from the ’90s. JCVD was a rising leading man star ahead of Hard Target. John Woo was a Hong Kong director Hollywood was desperate to hire before Hard Target. These two titans of action cinema came together for one hell of a ride. Full of high-flying stunt work, this film is a ballet of martial arts and bullets. A great supporting cast including Yancy Butler, Lance Henriksen, Kasi Lemmons, Arnold Vosloo, and a highly entertaining turn from Wilford Brimley ensures there's never a dull moment. 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.

Henriksen vs Van Damme is a nine minute interview with Lance Henriksen that goes over how he got his start doing live theater before making the movie to film work, how much he loved working with John Woo and how well they got along on set, getting some changes made to the script based on his input, his appreciation for New Orleans, adlibbing on the film, why his character uses the gun he has in the film, the musicality of the picture and Woo's work and trying to be authentic on camera.

Andrew Hernandez on So Close | Blu-ray (88 Films) Agh! Why does it have to be Region B only!? This was a fun movie! This is a m… 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). 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. Bright New Orleans scenery drives the contrast in full, generous and bold as sunlight drops onto the imagery. Peak brightness isn’t subtle, but also not overly exaggerated. Solid shadows do equally well on their end, giving Hard Target heavy dimensionality. A pleasing warmth brings flesh tones vibrancy, while primaries look just as saturated, with the same temperature push. This does look digital, if attractive, and suited to the coastal aesthetic. Audio