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Sample: Title; rating (out of 4); principal setting; year of release; international co-producer (if any); cast; description; scriptwriter; director; content warning; running time.
STREET FIGHTER: The Legend of Chun-Li * * setting: other
(2009) (/U.S./Japan/India) Kristin Kreuk, Neal McDonough, Chris Klein, Robin Shou, Moon Bloodgood, Michael Clarke Duncan.....Story of a young woman, Chun-Li (Kreuk), who sets out to find and have revenge upon the untouchable crimelord (McDonough) who kidnapped her father years before...a man also sought by the police and Interpol (Klein and Bloodgood). Not a good film...but then, as an action movie inspired by a martial arts video game called "Street Fighter", you probably weren't expecting Wuthering Heights anyway. And in that context...maybe not as terrible as it might've been, either. Modest budget and middling writing, directing and acting overall...though Kreuk grows into the part, bringing a dark intensity to her revenge-driven character (a nice change of pace from her usual girl next door roles) and with Chou effective as her martial arts mentor (the scenes between them are the best). Ironically, gamers seemed to be its most virulent critics for the way it diverged from the mythology and characters of the game -- something irrelevant to those who've never played (or even heard of) Street Fighter. Nice location filming in Thailand. There was a previous, unrelated "Street Fighter" movie...one without a sub-title. sc: Justin Marks. dir: Andrzej Bartkowiak. - violence.- 96. min.
STREET JUSTICE
* * setting: USA.
(1991) (/U.S.) Carl Weathers, Bryan Genesse, Charlene
Fernetz, Leam Blackwood, Frank Annese, Lindsey Ginter, Blu Mankuma.....While
pursuing a hit man, a U.S. cop (Weathers) must also deal with the now-grown
orphan (Genesse) he befriended years before in Vietnam, and for who he
has been searching ever since. Double-length first episode of the TV series,
subtitled "Legacy", presented in series format (with credit sequence and
everything) but sometimes shown by itself as a TV movie. Though trying
to be thoughtful, it suffers from too much of the usual cop-show politics
and machismo, but more to the point, it's pretty slow and lethargic. On
average, the hour-long series episodes were better. sc: David Levinson,
Jonathan Glassner. dir: Bill Corcoran. 89 min.
STREET JUSTICE (TV Series)This TV series was, surprisingly, a lot better than you might think, with good performances (including imported ex-football player Weathers) and stories that tried to be earnest and character driven...kind of like Sidestreet on steroids. Filmed in Vancouver, but set in the United States, though Genesse's character was supposed to be the orphaned son of Canadian missionaries in Vietnam (a nod to Canadian content, I guess). Created by Mark Lisson, David H. Balkan. Hour long episodes (including a two-hour opener, reviewed separately) in U.S. syndication, but it didn't air in Canada (on CTV) until 1994 and 1995! |
STREET JUSTICE: Legacy see Street
Justice (movie)
STREET LEGAL (TV Series)Despite the increasing tawdriness and contrivances, this TV series was still entertaining if uneven, thanks to the strong cast (particularly the core of Smits, Peterson and Johnson) and its provocative, sometimes genuinely demanding, story lines, and was superior and more human than similar shows like "LA Law" and E.N.G. But no other TV series has quite as many hills and valleys -- most series either start out good and go down, or vice versa, or they maintain a consistent level made up of good and bad episodes: Street Legal would go through whole batches of good episodes and batches of weaker episodes. It remained the most adamantly, identifiably Canadian show of its time...in fact, of any time. Cancelled a little unexpectedly, it was followed by a TV movie to wrap-up the storylines (not that there were really that many dangling). It picked up a few Geminis along the way. See also the movie Shellgame. A record 124 hour long episodes, originally on the CBC and subsequently rerun on Showcase. |
STREET LEGAL *
* * setting: Ont.
(1994) C. David Johnson, Cynthia Dale, Eric Peterson,
Anthony Sherwood, Julie Khaner, Albert Schultz, Maria Del Mar, Ron Lea,
Brent Carver, James Blendick.....When Olivia (Dale) is charged with
helping a friend commit suicide, the firm rallies around...including estranged
hubby Chuck (Johnson). Follow-up to the weekly CBC series was intended
to tie up loose ends, except there weren't really any left dangling. Still,
though confusing at times for those not familiar with the show, it's a
good double-length episode reflecting the series' blend of highbrow relevancy
and low brow soap opera and is a nice reminder of what a crackerjack cast
it had. Carver is gut-wrenching as the terminally ill AIDS victim and deservedly
received a Best Supporting Actor Gemini. TV journalist Ann Medina appears
as a TV journalist. This movie was advertised as being called
Last Rights
and was even listed as such in TV guides...but that title appears nowhere
in the film. sc: Maureen McKeon, David Barlow. dir: Stacey Stewart Curtis.
91 min.
STREET LEGAL: Last Rights see Street Legal (movie)
STREETHEART see Le coeur au poing
STRICTLY SPANKING *
* 1/2
(1996) Iona Brindle, Patrick Garrow, Alastair Hesketh-Jones,
Victoria Ann Sterling, Sid Zanforlin.....A young woman (Brindle), hiding
a dark secret, tells her current boyfriend about her past, when she found
herself being drawn into the world of sado-masochistic sex. Interesting,
low-budget drama (and not the comedy the cutsy title implies) is like most
of Shbib's films (though this one is filmed in Montreal, unlike his earlier,
L.A.-shot films): works in fits and starts. Attractive Brindle's performance
kind of epitomizes things: sometimes she's good and effective, and other
times amateurish. The ending doesn't really seem to arise logically from
the story, but the film overall (and the opening scene inparticular, presenting
questions the viewer has to watch the film to have answered), shows an
understanding of structure and story development that a lot of Canadian
filmmaker's would do well to study (and gets points for that alone). Better
and more provocative than the more expensive (and heralded) Crash
(also about a character's initiation into a kinky sub-culture). Fourth
in Shbib's "Senses" series. sc: Ann Carlier, Bashar Shbib. dir: Bashar
Shbib. - sexual content, partial female nudity.- 105 min.
STRIKER'S MOUNTAIN *
setting: Alt.
(1985) August Schellenberg, Leslie Nielson, Mimi Kuzyk,
Bruce Greenwood, Jessica Steen, Robin Gammell.....Story about the troubles
of a struggling ski resort, both personal and financial. Ho-hum soaper
with little to offer except nice scenery (and how many lengthy shots of
skiers and helicopters can you take, anyway?). sc: Pete White and Wendy
Wacko. dir: Alan Simmonds. 99 min.
STRIKING POSES
* * 1/2 setting: USA.
(1999) Shannen Doherty, Joseph Griffin, Tamara Gorski,
Aidan Devine, Diane D'Aquila, Colm Feore, Sean Hewitt.....American
tabloid photographer (American actress Doherty) finds the tables reversed
when she becomes the object of a stalker; she hires protection (Griffin),
has security measures added to her house...then the story takes an abrupt
turn. Low-key suspenser is almost two movies. There's the first half which,
in a sense, is just your standard woman-being-menaced-by-stalker (the video
shelves are full of 'em) but given enough of a unique spin that it's classier
and more off-beat than that. Then it turns into a series of surprise twists
and turns that, though kind of fun, also get a bit silly. Unfortunately,
for a movie that wants to be smart and clever, it kind of cheats, and suffers
from competent but lacklustre performances. Flawed, but an intriguing,
reasonably entertaining film. Atypical winter-tme setting also lends it
its own, unique look. sc: Michael Stokes. dir: Gail Harvey. 93 min.
STRIP SEARCH *
1/2
(1997) Michael Pare, Caroline Neron, Pam Grier,
Lucie Laurier, Mackenzie Gray, Heidi von Palleske, Maury Chaykin,
Tom Rack, Carl Alacchi, Jean-Guy Bouchard......Troubled vice
cop (Pare) -- troubled meaning he has a tendency to gun down mobsters on
behalf of his always-getting-into-trouble brother (Gray) -- agrees to a
work-for-hire gig to help a young widow (Neron) track down her stepdaughter,
a stripper. In its metaphysical dialogue and unusual direction, this suspenser
is obviously trying to be more than your usual straight-to-video action
picture. But the movie lacks any sincere characterization, or understanding
of its own themes, making the dialogue silly and frequently incoherent.
The plot is meant to be a spiral into the dark side of human nature, but
seems more like just an endless parade of kinky strip clubs (providing
the film's nudity -- the speaking parts keep their clothes on), without
any sense we're actually progressing anywhere...in story, theme, or characterization.
Frankly, it comes across as though the filmmakers were trying to emulate
some movie they'd seen...but didn't understand. sc: Tom Parkinson.
dir: Rod Hewitt. - partial female nudity, extreme violence.- 93 min.
STRIPPED NAKED * * * setting: USA.
(2009) Sarah Allen, Jon Cor, Tommie-Amber Pirie, Linden Ashby, Mark Slacke, Cinthia Burke, Jennilee Murray.....A somewhat sociopathic American stripper (Allen) accidentally comes into possession of some mob money and drugs, and figures it's her way out of her dead end life -- but complications ensue when her ill-gotten gains change hands, and a mob enforcer comes hunting. Low-budget film noirish crime-drama is more entertaining than it probably has any right to be! But a snappy tempo and various twists and turns keep it lively, as does a wry humour bordering on tongue-in-cheek, with quirky dialogue and eccentric characters. So much so, in fact, that it can kind of be too bad when it does end in a typical film noir sort of way. Allen and Pirie (as her lesbian best friend with a crush on her) are appealing -- Pirie's supposed to be (as a kind of guileless innocent) and Allen makes her anti-heroine role watchable. American actor Ashby is excellent as the dissipated but not unlikeable owner of the strip club. It's not a movie that transcends its B-movie, modestly budgeted origins...but is a fun, better-than-average example of its kind. Despite the lurid title and strip club milieu, nudity is only occasional (and mostly in long shots) and doesn't involve either Allen or Pirie (though Pirie does gyrate in lingerie a couple of times). Likewise, the violence is intermittent (though there's lots of profanity). sc: Christine Conradt, Ian Driscoll. dir: Lee Demarbre. - partial female nudity; violence. - 85 min.
Stronghold, a novel, became the CBC TV movie The July Group
STRYKER *
setting: Man.
(2004) Kyle Henry, Deena Fontaine, Ryan Black, Dominique
Remy-Root, Joseph Mesiano.....A troubled, enigmatic Native boy runs
away to Winnipeg's rough east end becomes embroiled in a conflict between
two Indian street gangs. Odd movie seems to want to be a gritty expose
of life on the streets, but ends up more over-the-top than insightful,
seeming more just a catalogue of every vice and iniquity the filmmakers
can think of rather than a logical narrative, veering sometimes into comedy...and
not always intentionally. It suffers also from its low-budget origins,
resulting in a sometimes choppily put together flick with uneven performances.
There's a hint of mysticism in that we're presumably meant to wonder if
the boy is a Trickster figure or something. Black, more commonly cast as
nice guys, gets a change of pace role as a gang leader. sc: Noam Gonick,
David McIntosh. dir: Noam Gonick. 92 min.
STUDENT SEDUCTION *
* * setting: USA.
(2003) Elizabeth Berkley, Corey Sevier, Rick Roberts,
Sarah Allen, Sarah Smyth, Karen Robinson, Alan Fawcett, Michele Scarabelli,
Mark Comacho.....Attractive, semi-radical high school teacher (American
actress Berkley) takes an unstable student (Sevier) under her wing, who
becomes increasingly infatuated with her. But when he attempts to sexually
assault her...she finds she's the one being persecuted when he claims she
came on to him. Absorbing made-for-TV drama could almost be one of those
"true story dramatizations" (though isn't). Well put together and unpretentious,
with good core performances and a general lack of sensationalism. sc: Edithe
Swensen. dir: Peter Svatek. - sexual content.- 89 min.
Stung, a book by Gary Ross, served as the inspiration for the movie Owning Mahowny.
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