Two white firemen from Arkansas, Vince and Don, (played by Bill Sadler and Bill Paxton) retrieve a map from a burning building suggests to them the location of an old treasure: a pile of stolen gold stashed away in a deserted factory in East St. Louis. Unknown to them, the site of the loot is the territory of a local black gang, who happen to stop by to murder one of their enemies on the same day that the two white firemen have come to salvage the gold. Tension mounts as one of the firemen witnesses the murder and becomes the target of the heavily-armed gang. To complicate matters, the gangleaders, played to a superbly menacing effect by rappers Ice T. and Ice Cube, and fuelled by virulent racial hostility, discover that gold is at stake and the suspense and violence escalate to a terrific scale. The film is more or less a revamp of "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre" in its exploration of avarice, betrayal and gold-hunting, though given an updated technological touch with the ample use and misuse of automatic weapons and plastic explosives, especially in the last few reels. A haunting, claustraphobic, sometimes exciting effect is generated by veteran helmsman Walter Hill (a specialist in violent, action-filled thrillers) with his skilfully paced direction and inventive deployment of camera angles, which amplify the situation of the two firemen, as they struggle to escape from the dilapidated building they find themselves trapped in, and enemies setting out to take their lives. The moody, atmospheric musical score, composed by the legendary Ry Cooder, wonderfully contributes to the feel of the picture.
Surprisingly good
Trespass is more than just an ordinary action film. The characters, particularly Ice-T's King James, and the plot have a lot of depth. William Sadler and Bill Paxton are good as the white firemen who happen to be in the right place at the wrong time. Whereas Sadler is hard and ruthless, Paxton's character is a nice somewhat naive guy. As the action progresses, their differing temperament causes them to clash. King James, as the leader of the black street gang, is more than just a cardboard character. The confrontation with the firemen is unexpectedly thrust on him and he actually attempts to deal with the situation in a level headed manner at first, especially since his half brother is being held hostage, but he is purposefully undermined by his loose cannon underlings, particularly Ice Cube's Savon. Art Evans is funny as the homeless guy who finds himself trapped with Sadler and Paxton and eventually joins them. Besides being a good action film, Trespass is a tale about the corrosive power of greed. However, at the end of the movie, it is good to know that the person who ends up with the gold is the one who probably deserved and needed it the most.
Doubly icy gangster treasue hunt flick
A minor gem from the once superb action director, Walter Hill. The two off duty firemen, after the loot hidden in 'gangster town', are excellently portrayed by William Sadler (Die Hard2, Tales from the Crypt) and Bill Paxton (Near Dark, Twister) - both coming across as being pretty able, but totally out of their depth when guns and murder enter the fray.
This is an excellent early acting role from both Ice Cube and Ice-T - if you liked New Jack City or Raising Cain, you'll love this.
All the action takes place in a derelict block in a very run down area of the city - it's a little claustrophobic, but certainly adds to the feel of the 'good guys' being trapped. As the film develops, you begin to think maybe these guys ain't so good, that Ice-T ain't so bad, and that Ice Cube really is a head case.
An excellent cat-and-mouse movie - DVD wise, it's anamorphic (yes!!), but only plain old surround. Basic, but a good transfer. For fans of Hill, the principal actors, or those with money to burn, it's a must buy at $14.
I think you might find this review funny. When I first watched this movie in 94 it kept you on the edge of your seat. You never know what was going to happen next. It made you jump off of your seat when you didn't expect it. The funny thing is my husband is from Chicago, the north side, the good side, :)) and we were moving there when I first saw this moving. My 10 yr old son watched it with us. Needless to say he did not want to move to chicago after watching this movie. :)) I became a fan of Dennis Leary after watching this movie as well as the actors that was on his side. I like the others as well too. So the moral of the story is be careful in Chicago. [...]
More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Emilio Estevez - Cuba Gooding Jr. - Denis Leary Director(s): Stephen Hopkins DVD Release Date: Released the 20 January 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Samuel L. Jackson and Colin Farrell swagger through S.W.A.T., a guns-and-big-trucks macho extravaganza based on the 1970s TV show of the same name, about the police teams brought in to take care of extremely dangerous situations. Jackson plays a sergeant brought out of retirement to form a new squad, which includes rebellious Farrell (The Recruit) and tough babe Michelle Rodriguez (Girlfight, Blue Crush). After a lot of training and head-butting with a smarmy police captain, the squad gets assigned to transfer the head of a European crime cartel (Olivier Martinez, Unfaithful) who's declared on television that he'll give $100 million to anyone who gets him out. Every scumbag in Los Angeles descends to claim the money, turning a routine transfer into a... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Samuel L. Jackson - Colin Farrell - Michelle Rodriguez - LL Cool J - Olivier Martinez Director(s): Clark Johnson DVD Release Date: Released the 30 December 2003 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Professional wrestling star the Rock, who was such a lump of flesh in The Scorpion King, proves surprisingly light on his feet in The Rundown, demonstrating charm and humor as well as the requisite toughness. Beck (the Rock), a repo-man for deadbeats, is sent to South America to find a treasure hunter (Seann William Scott) who's seeking a priceless golden idol--which the local head honcho (Christopher Walken) would like to get his hands on as well. Add in the lovely but dangerous barmaid with a secret (Rosario Dawson), and Beck has some obstacles to overcome. The plot of The Rundown isn't anything special, but the script is enjoyably clever and reasonably coherent; the capable cast keeps things lively; and the movie's relaxed but sinewy pace sets it apart from the... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): The Rock - Seann William Scott - Rosario Dawson - Christopher Walken Director(s): Peter Berg DVD Release Date: Released the 23 March 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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One more time around for the storyline of The Most Dangerous Game, except this one's refitted with explosions, big guns, and a flood of testosterone. Ice-T plays Mason, a homeless man shanghaied from the streets of Los Angeles to work as a guide and all-around man Friday for a hunting party. What the down-on-his-luck fellow soon finds out is that he is the quarry, and has to rely on his own resourcefulness to stay one step ahead of his tormentors. Laden with atrocious dialogue and narrative implausibilities, this is still a fun action movie if seen only for its own merits and nothing more. The fine cast (Gary Busey, Charles Dutton, F. Murray Abraham, John C. McGinley) chews the script until practically frothing at the mouth while trying to out-maniac each other. Busey is... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Ice-T - Rutger Hauer Director(s): Ernest R. Dickerson DVD Release Date: Released the 21 December 1999 Usually ships in 24 hours
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The brainy, paranoid science fiction of writer Philip K. Dick has inspired one visionary classic (Blade Runner) and two above-average action movies (Total Recall and Minority Report). Paycheck aspires to follow in their footsteps: An engineer (Ben Affleck, Chasing Amy) routinely agrees to have his memory erased after every job so that he doesn't know what he's done. But after the biggest job of his life, he discovers that not only has he refused a $90 million paycheck, he's sent himself an envelope full of things he doesn't recognize--and he doesn't remember doing any of this. As he unravels the plot, he discovers he's also fallen in love (with Uma Thurman, Kill Bill) and invented a dangerous device for his former boss (Aaron Eckhart, Erin... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Ben Affleck - Aaron Eckhart - Uma Thurman - Michael C. Hall Director(s): John Woo DVD Release Date: Released the 18 May 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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