Audience Member
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<b><i>"You don't buy the apples from the man who sells turnips."</b></i> A Chicago student named Archer Sloan visits Moscow and becomes a pawn in a dangerous cat and mouse game for a priceless work of art stolen from Russian Orthodox clergy by the mafia and then by a black market-girl he followed just as a flirt who didn't know herself what she nicked. As events spin out of control Archer finds himself accused of murder, hunted by the police, and pursued by a ruthless smuggler. In a Moscow that tourists never, ever get to see there is power and passion coming from the underworld. Bloggers and others who are old enough to remember this when they were around during its release had gotten this title out of obscurity. Although I was only five years old back then at least I may be one of the few younger people who knows this one. Directed by Deran Sarafian, <i>Back In The U.S.S.R.</i> was a movie that I discovered recently while I was looking for any interesting stuff to watch during my communist-themed mood at the moment. With a title so recognizable it was taken from The Beatles song of the same name and its release date was on February 7, 1992 around the same time the Soviet government had already collapsed. The acting performances here are very skillful, including that of Frank Whaley whose Archer character looked strange yet good-looking while Natalya Negoda is a sultry and beautiful to be a tour guide with an attitude.
<a href="http://s955.photobucket.com/albums/ae34/radboviemiot/?action=view¤t=Icne11.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i955.photobucket.com/albums/ae34/radboviemiot/Icne11.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
Overall, I can say that <i>Back In The U.S.S.R.</i> is thrilling enough to be a political thriller and was quick enough to reach its conclusion. As a title released back in the early '90s but forgotten nowadays anyone who was around at that time might rediscover this, and for anyone who has never seen it they it would be worth checking out.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
02/04/23
Full Review
Audience Member
entertaining
but seriously, everyone in this movie is a complete idiot
even the bad guys cannot get their facts together without making wild accusations just b/c they're bad guys
the plot is pretty slick involving two bystanders getting caught in the middle of a smuggling operation in Russia
this film also kinda gives the wrong impression of our American embassy being completely ignorant
it isn't anything spectacular but its a good watch
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
01/22/23
Full Review
Audience Member
[b][i]Deep Blue Sea[/i][/b]
Starring: Thomas Jane, Saffron Burrows, LL Cool J, Michael Rapaport, Stellan Skarsgard, and Samuel L. Jackson.
Directed by Renny Harlin.
Written by Duncan Kennedy, Donna Powers, and Wayne Powers.
Rated [b]R[/b] (for graphic shark attacks, and for language).
Running time approximately 1 hour 45 minutes.
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[center][i]I'm sorry, but that's friggin' horrifying![/i][/center]
As completely terrifying I find creatures of the deep, I somehow couldn't get past the silly situations and lame performances in schlockmaster (he really is the master) Renny Harlin's [i]Deep Blue Sea[/i]. Technically the film is a marvel - these animatronic sharks look real...and therefore, I am permanently out of the water. Never will I be face-to-face with the creature pictured above. [b]**1/2 (out of ****) B-[/b]
[b][i]Solaris[/i][/b]
Starring: George Clooney, Natascha McElhone, Viola Davis, Jeremy Davies, and Ulrich Tukur.
Written and Directed by Steven Soderbergh.
Rated [b]PG-13[/b] (for sexuality/nudity, brief language and thematic elements).
Running time approximatelyy 1 hour 39 minutes.
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[center][i]What is real if nothing's real?[/i][/center]
Steven Soderbergh is a big-time favorite of mine. I think he's a wonderful director. I was quite skeptical of [i]Solaris[/i], having read many mixed reviews. Now, having seen it, I have realized once again that no one's opinion matters. What's the point of listening to someone else's warning or praise when you are a completely different head and heart? [i]Solaris[/i] is genius. Eat up. [b]**** (out of ****) A+[/b]
[b][i]The Bone Collector[/i][/b]
Starring: Denzel Washington, Angelina Jolie, Queen Latifah, Michael Rooker, Luis Guzman, and Leland Orser.
Directed by Phillip Noyce.
Written by Jeremy Iacone.
Rated [b]R[/b] (for strong violent content including grisly images, and for language).
Running time approximately 1 hour 58 minutes.
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[center][i]Great cast with little new to do.[/i][/center]
Phillip Noyce's [i]The Bone Collector[/i] is a failure because it offers nothing new to the cop-after-killer-because-killer-likes-to-give-cop-clues genre. The performances are universally wonderful and there are some thrills to be had, but in the end, it's the same as any old slasher film. What, you might ask, would I, the lover of schlock, be bpthered by then? Well, the film makes itself out to be something higher than trash, but in the end that's all it really is. [b]** (out of ****) C[/b]
[b][i]Back in the USSR[/i][/b]
Starring: Frank Whaley, Natalya Negoda, Roman Polanski (!), Andrew Divoff, and Dey Young.
Directed by Deran Sarafian.
Written by Lindsay Smith.
Rated [b]R[/b] (for sexuality, violence and language).
Running time approximately 1 hour 27 minutes.
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[center][i]Polanski's in this - that's why the 2...and not a zero.[/i][/center]
Roman Polanski is in thgis film, and he's quite good. He should do more pictures. He's in [i]Rush Hour 3[/i], which I will (hopefully) never see. How about more roles like his self-directed portrayal in [i]The Tenant[/i]? Let's do it. [b]* (out of ****) D[/b]
[b][i]Human Traffic[/i][/b]
Starring: John Simm, Lorraine Pilkington, Shaun Parkes, Danny Dyer, Nicola Reynolds, and Dean Davies.
Written and Directed by Justin Kerrigan.
Rated [b]R[/b] (for pervasive drug content and language, and for some strong sexuality).
Running time approximately 1 hour 24 minutes.
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[center][i]Silly, funny English folk.[/i][/center]
Nothing particularly new in this silly farce, but it's lots of fun. [i]Human Traffic[/i] is just like every other drug movie, but it's not completely terrifying. It's fun and quite funny, but it doesn't glorify drug use, which I appreciated. See it for some lite fun. [b]*** (out of ****) B[/b]
Rated 1/5 Stars •
Rated 1 out of 5 stars
01/15/23
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