Blade: Trinity - 2004

New Line Cinema, Shawn Danielle Productions Ltd., Amen Ra Films

Written and Directed by David S. Goyer

Cast:

• Blade – Wesley Snipes
• Whistler – Kris Kristofferson
• Hannibal King – Ryan Reynolds
• Abigail Whistler – Jessica Biel
• Danica Talos – Parker Posey
• Drake – Dominic Purcell
• Jarko Grimwood – Paul “Triple H” Levesque
• Dr. Edgar Vance – John Michael Higgins
• Ray Cumberland – James Remar
• Sommerfield – Natasha Lyonne
• Zoey – Ginger Broatch (as Haili Page)

Story: The Vampires, as usual, are up to no good. Not only have they finally located the final resting place of Drake, the original Vampire (known as Dracula or Dagon), but they've managed to set up Blade so he kills a familiar, and they get it on tape. So now Blade has to deal with law enforcement as well as Vampires, and when they raid his base, they capture him while Whistler is killed in the process. Blade is being held in police headquarters when a group of vampire hunters named the Night Stalkers intervenes for a rescue. When they complete the rescue, Blade discovers Whistler was in cahoots with this group as backup for Blade in case something happened to him. The group includes an ex-vampire named Hannibal King and an adept archer named Abigail Whistler...Whistler's daughter. This group is tech savvy and has advanced weaponry and a plan to thwart the vampire nation, a biological weapon called Daystar. The only problem? The DNA from the turned vampires is too thinned out to be of use. Unwittingly, the vampires have brought back the only source of vampire DNA pure enough to make Daystar effective: Drake.

Review: Wesley Snipes and Kris Kristofferson reprise their roles and the hybrid vampire hunter and his partner / armorer. While this film lacks some of the more visceral elements of the first two, it makes up in action what it lacks in darkness. Dominic Purcell is perfect in the role of Drake, the true immortal who is risen from his sleep by the desperate Danica Talos, played by Parker Posey. Parker does a nice job if you take into account a vampire like that might be a bit on the emo side, and the sarcasm between her and her former lover, played nicely by Ryan Reynolds, plays a major part of the script. Reynolds role is non-stop smart ass, and it suits him well. Triple H does an adequate job as the strong arm vampire, but my advice to Paul is not to give up his day job. Jessica Biel shines as Whistler's daughter, and her acting is one of the saving graces of the film. All in all, we do have to remember this is a comic book based in an alternate universe (Canada qualifies, I do believe) and the characters are two dimensional, which is expected. The cinematography and photography are great, the action scenes are exceptional, and we get the impression Blade may not come back to the screen. But who knows, there may be another threat coming up soon. Rated R for violence, language, and brief nudity (Jessica Biel in the shower....oh yeah), this is a collectible is you are a fan of Blade or just a fan of the comic (graphic novel) genre.

Demolition Man - 1993

Warner Bros., Silver Pictures

Directed by Marco Brambilla

Cast:

• Detective John Spartan – Sylvester Stallone
• Simon Phoenix – Wesley Snipes
• Lenina Huxley – Sandra Bullock
• Dr. Raymond Cocteau - Sir Nigel Hawthorne
• Alfredo Garcia – Benjamin Bratt
• Chief George Earle – Bob Gunton
• Edgar Friendly – Denis Leary

Story: In the very near future, super criminal Simon Phoenix has taken a bus hostage in the war zone called Los Angeles, and only John Spartan, the Demolition Man, is brave enough to defy him. As he bungee jumps out of the helicopter onto Pheonix's stronghold, he gives his motto “Send a maniac to catch a maniac.”. But his nemesis has framed him for the murder of those passengers, and John is sentenced to 70 years in cryo-suspension, the prison of the day, where he will have his behavior modified by synaptic suggestion. In 2032, Simon Phoenix (who is also a cryo-prisoner), has been thawed for his parole hearing in the San Angeles metro complex prison. Suddenly he knows all the passwords, and how to work the computers that never existed when he was frozen. In order to catch the madman, they release John Spartan, who goes about catching Phoenix with all his training and cunning. Unknown to Spartan and the officers of the San Angeles Metro Complex, the “savior” of their community, Mr. Cocteau, has had Phoenix released for his own selfish purposes.

Review: This has got to be one of the funniest action adventure films ever released. And the beauty of it all is the seriousness with which the actors play their roles. Stallone and Snipes are two 20th century macho types in an Orwellian society where everything is monitored and the police are almost superfluous. Bullock is a radical thinker bored with her perfect society, and Leary is just trying to keep people alive...the people who decided they didn't want to be part of the Perfect society. Now it is worth remembering this film was one of the first shameless product promotion films, with Taco Bell being featured in the film as the only restaurant to survive the Franchise wars, whatever those were. I would classify it as a “pre-comic” movie, with all the trimmings...bad guys and good guys, technological oddities, and a lot of great lines. Worth seeing, PG-13 because of a few lines here and there and a couple of brief shots of nudity. Collectible if you like Stallone, otherwise rent it and return it.

Undisputed - 2002

Amen Ra Films, Millennium Films, Hollywood Partners

Directed by Walter Hill

Cast:

• Monroe Hutchen – Wesley Snipes
• George “Iceman” Chambers – Ving Rhames
• Mendy Ripstein – Peter Falk
• A. J. Mercker – Michael Rooker
• Jesus “Chuy” Campos – John Seda
• Mingo Pace – Wes Studi
• James “Ratbag” Kroycek – Fisher Stevens
• Warden Lipscomb – Denis Arndt
• Darlene Early – Amy Aquino

Story: Heavyweight Champion of the World George “Iceman” Chambers has a few problems. He's been convicted of rape, he's a high profile prisoner that no one wants, and he is one egotistical, arrogant ass. He's sent to Sweetwater, an isolated prison in the Mojave desert in California. Sweetwater is also where the current heavyweight champion of the prison system, Monroe Hutchens, is housed, along with a former underboss to Meyer Lansky, Mendy Ripstein. Ripstein is an aficionado of boxing, old enough to remember the days of bare knuckle fights. He is under the protection of La Emme, the Mexican prison gang. Through his connections, he sets in motion a plan to stage a fight between Chambers and Hutchens. Chamber's lawyers only want to get him out so he can start fighting again and make some money to pay his bills. After some negotiations, the date is set, and the fight is on.

Review: As boxing movies go, this is somewhere in the middle of the pack. The action is compressed into three or four incidents, with the story focusing on the characters. A considerable amount of the footage is about the “Iceman” the rape charge. Walter Hill uses a combination of flashbacks to relate to what is going on in the character's mind at the time. Peter Falk has that “mob” arrogance of the original gangsters, defiant even in prison. Rhames and Snipes are polar opposites, one brash and arrogant, one steely and cold. Michael Rooker plays a dispassionate head guard who realizes the limits of his authority. The characters are fleshed out just enough to become real. Shot at the High Desert State Prison in Nevada, a modern facility to house prisoners serving long terms and confinement problems, there is no question about authenticity of the surroundings. The cast performs well as an ensemble, and the film resolves well with the final bout. Definitely not for the kiddies, the language alone would do that, and a collectible if you love boxing, Wesley Snipes, or Ving Rhames.