Author Archives: Bradley Crain

Brad reviews BARBARIAN (2022)

Posted on by Bradley Crain

My nephew told me that he liked the film BARBARIAN (2022) when we were hanging out at the family cabin for Christmas. This particular nephew loves movies and every time we get together we talk about our favorite films, and he knows his stuff. We didn’t really talk about what happens in this movie, but he just casually mentioned it was a film he thought was good. As such, the title caught my attention when I was scrolling through my Hulu app today. Knowing nothing about the plot of the film, my wife and I settled in for our initial viewing…. 

BARBARIAN’s setup feels quite ordinary. Tess (Georgina Campbell) arrives in Detroit for a job interview, only to discover her Airbnb has been double-booked with a stranger, Keith (Bill Skarsgård). Through a variety of circumstances, the two end up agreeing to share the house for the night. Needless to say, it takes a bit for the two to get comfortable with each other. Every polite smile, every offered cup of tea, or glass of wine for that matter, feels loaded with possibility. Is he harmless? Is she overreacting? What in the hell is about to happen? Director Zach Cregger milks these scenes beautifully, allowing the tension to build until they finally seem to find a reason to trust each other. And just when you think you’re starting to understand where the movie is going, it begins throwing curveballs at you by introducing new characters and new perspectives to everything that has been introduced thus far. Justin Long’s character of AJ McBride, the owner of the Airbnb who arrives about halfway through the film, is especially inspired as it provides both a break in the tension and another unique personality to the mix. 

By the time BARBARIAN starts to come to its full conclusion, it has truly become the stuff that nightmares are made of, but it doesn’t feel completely evil. As outrageous as it all is, I actually understood why the characters behave the way they do, so there’s almost a sense of sadness under the horror. There’s real danger, but that danger is brought on by unimaginable cruelty and neglect. It’s ugly and gross, but it’s also somewhat realistic since the filmmakers have taken the time to set up both the hows and the whys of their horrific scenario. 

At the end of the day, I enjoyed BARBARIAN. I’ve never been the kind of movie watcher who searches out horror movies. When I was a kid, I watched scary movies at sleepovers with friends. As an adult, I’ll watch them with my friends at #ScarySocial on X, or when they’re recommended to me as is the case here, but then I’ll seamlessly move back to my world of action or comedy films. Such is the case with BARBARIAN. With its freaky images and multiple jump scares, my wife and I were both glad that we watched the movie when it was still daylight. It’s one of those films that crawls under your skin and hangs out with you for a while even after the closing credits. I’ll have to watch some football or a Charles Bronson movie just to get my head straight! 

Brad reviews OUT FOR JUSTICE (1991), starring Steven Seagal!

Posted on by Bradley Crain

17 year-old Brad Crain was at the movie theater in April of 1991 to see Steven Seagal’s latest action film, OUT FOR JUSTICE! Seagal’s career had shot out of a cannon with his first three films being the highly successful movies ABOVE THE LAW (1988), HARD TO KILL (1990), and MARKED FOR DEATH (1990). As a guy who loved action movies, Seagal (with his pony tail) was a cool new action star, and I was down for it.

Steven Seagal plays Detective Gino Felino, a Brooklyn cop called into duty when a guy who grew up with him in their neighborhood, mob enforcer Richie Madano (William Forsythe), goes completely off the rails. Hooked on drugs and looking to settle some personal scores, Richie murders Gino’s partner, and begins turning their neighborhood into a war zone, even pulling a woman out of her car and blowing her away in broad daylight over a simple traffic incident. Convinced that Richie will not leave the neighborhood he grew up in, Gino talks Captain Ronnie Danziger (Jerry Orbach) into letting him have an unmarked police car, a shotgun, and his approval to engage in a manhunt for the drugged out psycho. From that point forward, Gino shakes down Richie’s family members and associates to try to find out where he is. As bodies and broken bones pile up, Gino is determined to do whatever it takes to bring Richie to justice!

I’ll just say up front that OUT FOR JUSTICE is my personal favorite Steven Seagal film. It’s not the crowd pleaser or the box office champ that the next year’s UNDER SIEGE (1992) would be, and film critics largely blew it off when it first hit cinemas, but it does feature the star at his most charismatic, something that would all but disappear after the mid-90’s. I love the way Seagal plays Gino. Sure he’s tough, but he talks more, he laughs more, and it feels like he’s actually enjoying himself. His Gino isn’t just a badass cop, he’s a neighborhood guy, a former street punk who grew up and made something positive out of himself. Seagal’s performance here truly works, and he plays the role with so much confidence that it’s a shame that he didn’t remain this engaged in future performances.

OUT FOR JUSTICE is a badass action film. After it opens with Richie’s horrific murders, it then follows Gino’s hunt for the killer into smoky bars filled with wannabe tough guys who know more than they’re letting on. They get their asses handed to them. It follows Gino as Richie’s goons attack him at various places, from meat shops to apartment buildings, and he dispatches them with calm precision, but often in gruesome ways. I still wince when I see the results of meat cleaver fights and close quarter shotgun blasts. OUT FOR JUSTICE is a throwback to an era when action films featured men with integrity who kick ass and take names. While the movie does have some melodrama and humor, at the end of the day, this is tough-guy cinema done right. 

I did want to shout out a few other things about OUT FOR JUSTICE that helps put it over the top for me. William Forsythe is incredible as Richie Madano. He’s sweaty, twitchy, cruel, and completely unhinged. He makes you believe that he’s literally capable of doing anything, and it seems like his goons may be following more out of fear than anything else. His Richie is a man who doesn’t expect that he’ll be alive that much longer, so he’s willing to cross every line that may have once mattered in his life. Director John Flynn captures the urgency of the film’s action very well, and we can feel the tension as Gino tries to locate the crazy Richie as quickly as possible before more innocent people are killed. He isn’t afraid to show the brutality of the violence as part of Gino’s quest, either. This shouldn’t be surprising when you recognize that Flynn directed the revenge classic ROLLING THUNDER (1977) about fifteen years earlier. The one last thing I wanted to point out about OUT FOR JUSTICE is that it was written by R. Lance Hill, who wrote the brutal Charles Bronson hitman film THE EVIL THAT MEN DO (1984). These are talented guys who know how to tell tough stories about even tougher men who are willing to do what it takes to get justice when no one else can. 

At the end of the day, Steven Seagal would go on to make a lot more movies, but I don’t think he ever quite recaptured the balance of charisma and toughness that he shows here. And OUT FOR JUSTICE is a badass action movie that doesn’t really care what movie critics think, either. Buoyed by Seagal’s performance, the film’s action is angry, focused, unapologetic, and still hits hard over thirty years after it was originally released.

Brad reviews THE HANGOVER PART III (2013), directed by Todd Phillips!

Posted on by Bradley Crain

In THE HANGOVER PART III, Phil (Bradley Cooper), Stu (Ed Helms), and Doug (Justin Bartha) get back together so they can help Alan (Zach Galifianakis), whose gone off his meds and seems incapable of handling his dad’s sudden death. After a family intervention, the guys are driving him to a rehabilitation facility when their car is forced off the road and out steps the gangster Marshall (John Goodman), assisted by Black Doug (Mike Epps). Marshall kidnaps (white) Doug as leverage to force the guys to bring him their old friend Leslie Chow (Ken Jeong) within three days, or they won’t see Doug alive again. It seems that Chow, who recently escaped from a Thai prison, had stolen $21 million in gold from Marshall, and he’s pissed. The Wolfpack head back to Vegas, and with the help of a few old friends, they do whatever they have to do to save Doug one more time! 

Released in the summer of 2013, THE HANGOVER PART III pulled in around $362 million in worldwide box office against a $103 million budget. While definitely a box office hit, these numbers are a big step down from the prior film’s $586 million, so up to this point, Part III has remained the Wolfpack’s last adventure. While THE HANGOVER PART II was practically a remake of the first film, PART III seems to be going the opposite way and actively tries not to repeat itself. The “what the hell happened last night” plot lines are abandoned for something different, and honestly, that’s probably about the smartest decision the filmmakers could have made for this installment. The film plays more like a darker, R-rated crime comedy, leaning into the action, heist, and confrontation sequences. While the change isn’t entirely successful, I definitely appreciate the attempt to come up with something different.

Even though THE HANGOVER PART III isn’t as funny as the prior films, I still enjoy the chemistry between Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, and Zach Galifianakis as the primary members of the Wolfpack. I also thought it was funny that Justin Bartha’s pack member Doug is once again relegated to the guy who’s not really involved, as he’s the one who’s kidnapped. Ken Jeong’s Mr. Chow, as cartoonish and unhinged as he is, is probably my favorite character in the series at this point. He pretty much steals every scene he’s in. John Goodman is a welcome addition as the intimidating bad guy, and he’s good in the film, but it’s the kind of role he could do in his sleep. I also really liked the fact that PART III returned to the initial setting of Las Vegas, which provides a nice sense of closure to the series, while also allowing for the participation of former characters like Heather Graham’s Jade and her son Tyler! It was nice to check in with them again. 

Ultimately, THE HANGOVER PART III is a pretty good conclusion to the series. It’s certainly not as funny or outrageous as the prior films, but it does deserve some credit for trying something new instead of simply repeating the formula for a third time. And I also thought the final scenes were emotionally effective as they took us for a quick trip down memory lane with the Wolfpack. It felt like the end, and I felt good watching it.

Christmas with THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW: S1, Ep11 – “Christmas Story”

Posted on by Bradley Crain

As a tax accountant, I get pretty stressed every year from the months of January through April 15th. To help relieve that stress, I like to watch my favorite movies and TV shows on my 3rd computer screen at night and on the weekends. I don’t necessarily pay much attention to them but just having them playing so I can look over and see my favorite scenes helps me feel better. A few years ago, I ended up watching all eight seasons of THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW three times during tax season. There’s just something about hanging out in Mayberry that makes me happy. Today, I thought it would be fun to revisit the one and only Christmas episode of the show.

“Christmas Story” centers on Ben Weaver (Will Wright), a crotchety old scrooge of a businessman, who catches local moonshiner Sam Muggins (Sam Edwards) pedaling his illegal liquor on Christmas Eve. Ben takes Sam, and the jug full of evidence, into Sheriff Andy Taylor’s (Andy Griffith) office, where he insists that Andy and his deputy Barney Fife (Don Knotts) lock Sam up even though it’s Christmas. Andy, who’s trying to keep the peace with the important and politically connected Ben Weaver, and who still wants to have the holiday gathering he had planned with his own family, comes up with a solution. He arrests Sam’s wife and kids as “accessories” so they can spend Christmas together at the jail, and then he deputizes his girlfriend Ellie (Elinor Donahue), his son Opie (Ron Howard), and Aunt Bee (Frances Bavier) to help watch over the prisoners. Before long, the jail has turned into a Christmas party, complete with food, laughter, and singing. Everyone is enjoying themselves…everyone, that is, except Ben Weaver.

“Christmas Story” is such a good example of why I love the Christmas season and THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW. As the show plays out, the crotchety Ben Weaver spends most of his time spying through the windows of the sheriff’s station as everyone, including the prisoners, is having the best time. He’s clearly lonely, but his pride won’t allow him to admit that what he really wants is to be inside with the rest of them. After trying to get himself arrested a couple of times, the ever-perceptive Andy figures out what Ben is up to. He arrests him, but before he takes him to jail, he lets him stop by his store to pick up a few presents for the others. By the time of the feel-good ending, Ben Weaver has gone from bitter and lonely to generous and happy, all because Andy took the time to see past his gruff exterior.

Other than the satisfying emotional arc for Ben Weaver, there were a few other things that stood out to me while watching “Christmas Story.” First, this was the 1st season of the series, so Andy Griffith was still playing Andy Taylor much more broadly. He would eventually play his character almost completely straight to give something for Don Knotts’ standout character of Barney Fife to play against. Second, the opening scene where Andy and Barney are going through the Christmas cards that they have received, specifically one from the Hubacher Brothers who are all in the state prison, is a comic masterpiece. I laughed out loud when Barney paid off the scene with the following line while viewing the picture of three smiling brothers behind bars… “Yeah, I think it’s just wonderful that they’re all together at Christmas.” Finally, when Andy plays the guitar and duets with Ellie to “Away in a Manger,” it’s just a perfect moment, one that brings up nostalgic feelings of singing the song at church or with my own family around the holidays.

At the end of the day, “Christmas Story,” like the entire series itself, isn’t really a realistic representation of the world around us. Rather, it’s a representation of a world more like we want it to be. In Mayberry, decent people do thoughtful things for other people, for no other reason than the fact that they genuinely care. And in Mayberry, the most bitter man in town, can recognize his weaknesses and turn his life around when he’s shown a little understanding and compassion. This episode provides hope for a better future for its characters, which makes it a perfect episode to watch during the Christmas season. In some ways, isn’t that what Christmas is all about?

Brad reviews THE COWBOY WAY (1994), starring Woody Harrelson and Kiefer Sutherland!

Posted on by Bradley Crain

Happy 59th birthday, Kiefer Sutherland!

Sutherland portrayed my favorite TV character of all time, when he spent 8 seasons playing Jack Bauer in my favorite TV series of all time, 24. Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant) gave him a solid run for his money when I got around to watching the JUSTIFIED series a few years back, but I still believe Bauer edges him out. Another of my favorite shows when I was growing up was CHEERS. And a big reason for that is Woody Harrelson. CHEERS ran from 1982-1993, so when it started I was nine and when it ended I was twenty. I literally grew up on the show. I thought Harrelson’s portrayal of the dim-witted, but lovable and sweet character, Woody Boyd, was so funny. I remember being happy when he started making movies and had some solid success. I’ve always enjoyed THE COWBOY WAY, the film that teamed up Harrelson and Sutherland, so I decided to revisit the 1994 action-comedy on Kiefer’s special day. 

IN THE COWBOY WAY, Woody Harrelson plays the somewhat dim-witted and overwhelmingly carefree Pepper Lewis, while Kiefer Sutherland plays the more responsible and extremely serious Sonny Gilstrap, two lifelong friends and rodeo champions from New Mexico. The story kicks off when their long-time friend Nacho Salazar (Joaquin Martinez) disappears after going to New York City to pick up his daughter Teresa (Cara Buono), who has been smuggled into the U.S. from Cuba. Pepper and Sonny decide to head to the big city themselves to track down Nacho, and soon find themselves taking on the murderous human trafficker, John Stark (Dylan McDermott), who murdered Nacho and is forcing his daughter to work in a sweatshop. With only their country boy common sense (well at least Sonny’s), their exceptional rodeo skills, and the help of an empathetic NY cop ((Ernie Hudson), Pepper and Sonny will do whatever it takes to find out what happened to Nacho and save his daughter from a life of modern day slavery.

THE COWBOY WAY is silly and unrealistic at times, with shifts in tone that will make your head spin, but I still love it anyway. This type of action-comedy was commonplace in the 80’s and 90’s, but you don’t see movies like this much anymore. I’ll admit that my personal nostalgia, as well as my lifelong appreciation of Sutherland and Harrelson, plays into my enjoyment of the film. It’s a movie that leans into the once popular formula of outsiders from the country being looked down upon by city slickers, and then proving themselves to be more than capable. Think CROCODILE DUNDEE, but without the romance. This is the kind of movie that is trying its best to give us a good time for our box office dollars. Many in Hollywood have forgotten how to entertain, and it’s such a breath of fresh air to watch movies that exist solely for that purpose, even when they’re not perfect. 

As is often the case for me, the cast of THE COWBOY WAY plays a big factor in my enjoyment of the movie. Woody Harrelson is certainly over the top as the irresponsible New Mexico cowboy, but he’s also funny at times and more than capable of handling the action scenes. Kiefer Sutherland’s cowboy is the exact opposite, he’s serious, extremely responsible, and very capable. If nothing else, he needs Harrelson’s character in his life to help him remove the stick from his ass at times! Ultimately, it’s their relationship and banter that carries the film for me. Dylan McDermott is good as the sleazy villain, but if you’ve seen many 80’s and 90’s action movies, he’s pretty much exactly what you’d expect. As a fan of spaghetti westerns, I also enjoyed seeing the genre stalwart Tomas Milian pop up as McDermott’s soon-to-be ex-boss. It’s not a big role but this movie buff appreciated it. Finally, Ernie Hudson is just so likable as the kind-hearted and helpful horse-mounted cop. I like to think that he and Kiefer’s character kept a John McClane / Sgt. Al Powell type relationship going after the events of the movie.

Ultimately, in my opinion, THE COWBOY WAY may not be a great movie by critical standards, but it is a fun movie. If you’re in the mood for 90’s era action-comedy, featuring a great cast, fun stunts (e.g. men on horseback taking on New York City traffic), and a little Travis Tritt on the soundtrack, then you’ll probably have a good time with this one. 

Brad reviews THE HANGOVER PART II (2011), directed by Todd Phillips!

Posted on by Bradley Crain

In director Todd Phillips’ THE HANGOVER PART II, the night before his wedding, groom-to-be Stu (Ed Helms), his two best friends, Phil and Doug (Bradley Cooper and Justin Bartha), Stu’s soon-to-be brother-in-law Teddy (Mason Lee) and Doug’s brother-in-law Alan (Zach Galifianakis), sit on a beach in Thailand for a toast to the bride and groom. After cracking open sealed bottles of beer in the beautiful setting, the movie screen goes black, and soon we see Phil, Stu and Alan wake up in a seedy room in Bangkok with absolutely no memory of what happened the previous night. The room is trashed, there’s a monkey wearing a denim Rolling Stones jacket, a naked Chow (Ken Jeong) is sleeping under a pile of blankets, Alan’s head is completely shaved, Stu has a face tattoo, and both Doug and Teddy are nowhere to be found! Doug calls and he’s back at the resort, but the only trace of Teddy is his severed finger, which is now in possession of the monkey. With the wedding just hours away, the three friends follow any clues they can find in a frantic search for Teddy. The search leads to the surprise discovery that Stu had intimate relations with a transsexual stripper, a tattoo parlor run by Nick Cassavetes, a dangerous and duplicitous American gangster named Kingsley (Paul Giamatti), and an arrested, ancient Buddhist monk who’s taken a vow of silence and who’s also confused for the 16-year-old, Teddy. Hell, at one point Mike Tyson shows up and sings the classic Murray Head single, “One Night in Bangkok.” Most importantly though, will the friends find Teddy alive and still have time to get back to the resort in time for Stu’s wedding?!!

A massive box office hit in the summer of 2011, THE HANGOVER PART II became the highest grossing R-rated comedy up to that time, with a worldwide gross of $586 million, against an $80 million budget. It was also the highest grossing R-Rated film to have opened over Memorial Day weekend, raking in over $118 million in its first four days. The story went to the well again with its still clever, but not quite as unique premise, comprised of a mystery-driven plot line where we follow the investigative adventures of Phil, Stu, and Alan and discover what happened the night before at the same time that they do. This allows for another series of outrageous, raunchy, surprising, and funny moments that escalate in absurdity over the course of the film’s 102-minute running time, culminating with another secret roll of pictures on Teddy’s camera that fill in the crazy events from their wild night in Bangkok. Based on the familiarity with the characters and the types of situations, I didn’t laugh out loud quite as frequently this time around, but the film still has its share of amusing moments, and I enjoyed revisiting the film again after a number of years. One of the things that I noticed about THE HANGOVER PART II is that it does not have the re-quotability factor going for it like the first film does. Alan and Chow have some funny lines, but honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever re-quoted a single one of them. I will agree with Alan on one point though, “When a monkey nibbles on a penis, it’s funny in any language.” I’d say that this film is more about mining comedy out of the extreme and absurd situations that our heroes are put in and less about clever, quotable quips. 

THE HANGOVER PART II works because of the outrageous situational comedy, as well as the exceptional chemistry between Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, and Zach Galifianakis. Ken Jeong has a bigger part this time around as Mr. Chow, and of course he’s hilarious. I did get some solid laughs from its combination of shock-value, sight gags and character interplay. The Bangkok we see here also makes for a seedy, raunchy and dangerous background to the crazy action. Of course the biggest negative of the film, as is the case with many sequels, is the fact that it’s practically a remake of the first HANGOVER, just set in Bangkok instead of Vegas. Think Charles Bronson’s DEATH WISH (New York) versus DEATH WISH II (Los Angeles). Also like the first two DEATH WISH films, THE HANGOVER PART II pushes the boundaries even farther, with even more graphic nudity and just overall harder material in general. Sequels always up the ante, but lose a little of what makes them so special in the process, and that’s definitely going on here.

Ultimately, while THE HANGOVER PART II was even more financially successful than the original, it’s not quite as fun because we’ve seen it before in the first film. But I loved the first film, so I enjoyed this one as well, just not quite as much. 

Check out this Trailer for JIMMY (2026), the Untold Story of James Stewart!

Posted on by Bradley Crain

Jimmy Stewart is one of the great actors of all-time, and he’s personally one of my very favorites. I did not realize a movie had been made about him until I stumbled across this trailer today. Check it out!

Rest in Peace, Gil Gerard (1943-2025)!

Posted on by Bradley Crain

As a human being born in the early 1970’s, I was a big fan of Buck Rogers when I was a kid. Whenever Gil Gerard would show up on my TV screen, Dad would usually remind us that he knew him from his days at the University of Central Arkansas. My dad was already my hero, but he also knew BUCK ROGERS?! Badass!!

Gerard was born in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1943, graduated high school from Little Rock Catholic, and eventually attended UCA at the same time as my dad. Growing up, I would always tell everyone I knew that dad and Buck Rogers went to school together. Today, as a point of pride and reverence to a childhood hero, I’m telling that to all of you.

Rest in peace, Mr. Gerard.

The “This Week in Charles Bronson” Podcast Christmas Episode!

Posted on by Bradley Crain

Are you struggling to get into the Christmas spirit? Do you want to celebrate the holidays with a distinct Bronson flavor? Would you like to hear about the greatest Christmas present I ever received? Do you want to hear my thoughts on the Bronson Christmas classic, YES VIRGINIA, THERE IS A SANTA CLAUS?

If the answer is “Yes” to one or all of these questions, then I have the perfect gift for you! The “This Week in Charles Bronson” podcast has just dropped its Christmas episode! Check it out!!