Cypher (2002)

Back in September I had screenwriter Tom Jolliffe on the pod to update us on his newest project, The Baby in the Basket, and we also discussed this film. It wasn't one I'd heard of before, but I was intrigued by it, so I was excited to see how it went. For that episode, it's number 134 in the archives.

Cypher stars Jeremy Northam as a meek businessperson who wants to get into corporate espionage. After passing the tests, the company he's hired by sends him to some conferences in some small big cities like Buffalo and Boise. As most noirish thrillers go though, Northam meets an alluring woman who may also be dangerous (Lucy Liu), and she lets him know that there's more going on than he thinks--the company is using him, and may eventually kill him. That leads Northam to trust Liu and to try to infiltrate the company so he can figure out what's going on. Will he find out in time? And if he does, will he get out alive?

This was really good, which made me wonder why it wasn't more widely know--and which was part of the reason why Tom wanted to cover it for the pod. Jeremy Northam is great as the noirish rube, and as the film takes its twists and turns, he navigates them really well. Then we have Liu as the Film Noir femme fatale, who also does a great job. From there, director Vincenzo Natali does really well in creating this future world that's almost like a liminal space, which creates a dreamlike quality to the proceedings that makes it even more mysterious, playing on the themes common in Film Noir but in a sci-fi setting. On top of that we have some great supporting performances from people like Nigel Bennett and David Hewlitt which really rounds out the film. There was a period between like 2000 and 2002 that felt like an extension of the 90s indie wave--which at the time didn't feel like an extension of anything, it felt like a natural continuation, but once we get Spider-Man, the first Harry Potter film, and the second Lord of the Rings film in 2002, things shift to more big tent, big budget projects, leaving films like this out--if you look at it, 2023 was the first year since 2002 that all of the top 3 box office earners weren't sequels in a franchise. In a way that may explain why this isn't as well-known as it should be, it probably should've come out five years earlier, but it definitely belongs with those other indie films of the 2000-2002 period. Either way, it's a great watch, and worth picking up.

As far as I could tell, the only other three Jeremy Northam films I'd seen were The Net, which I didn't really remember him in; and then The Golden Bowl and Gosford Park, both in that 2000-2002 indie period I described above, especially the latter, Gosford Park. The fact that he's such an accomplished dramatic actor is a huge plus for this film, as he's able to take the main character through all his metamorphoses and make the entire thing feel authentic. As much as it's needed in tense, exciting scenes, where he's in a violent confrontation or running for his life, it's also needed in the seemingly banal ones, where he's ordering a drink, or mixing with other people at the conventions. Yes, maybe you're more likely to see him in an adaptation of AS Byatt's Possession, but getting him in a film like this adds an additional layer that it really needed, and made the film that much better.

I was surprised to find out this was the first time we've had Lucy Liu on the site. Yes, she doesn't do many DTV flicks, but I thought we might have seen her in the old Wild Card posts I used to do; plus she did do some DTV stuff and near DTV stuff in the late 2000s, it just wasn't stuff I'd covered for the site--I also didn't realize that the show she was on, Elementary, ran for 7 seasons and over 150 episodes, which, with the kind of money she was making per episode, she could afford to be choosier and not have to slum it in the DTV world. Here it was a little more interesting, because 2002 was right in her big budget prime, in between the two Charlie's Angels films--though she also did another indie flick in that period, Mike Figgis's Hotel, so maybe it shouldn't have been so surprising. Also, this film allowed her to be the female lead, and even though Northam is the central character, she's right behind him with her role, so maybe that also intrigued her that she wasn't further down the pecking order like in Charlie's Angels or Kill Bill. She does a great job here, so if the role did intrigue her, she leaned into that, and a noirish film doesn't work if the Femme Fatale isn't good, so she had a big hand in making this picture what it was. In looking at her IMDb bio, I see her most recent live-action role was in Shazam! Fury of the Gods, which was one of the many superhero flops of 2023. I haven't seen it yet, so I don't know if it was really that bad--I didn't think The Marvels was as bad as its poor box office performance--but I think at the very least it shows how viable Liu still is as a star, so I don't think we can expect her in the DTV realm anytime soon. Either way, it was good to get her on the site finally.

The shot below is one of my favorites in the film. It's of a 300-story elevator that takes Northam's character to a bunker one of the companies has where they keep their most valuable information. Today that would all be done with computers, and while we know Vincenzo Natali didn't erect a 300-story elevator shaft for that shot, he did do it with practical effects and I think that helps it look better. I think that's an issue with modern DTV compared to its 80s and 90s brethren, back then they couldn't use computers--only in the 90s virtual reality movies, of course--but because they can now, studios are cutting budgets with the expectation that they will. Why blow up an intricate model of a helicopter, when you can recreate the whole thing on a computer for even less? Why pay the to use real fake blood, when we can recreate it for a fraction of the cost with the computer? In some cases I agree with it--if AIP had that technology, I would've preferred that to actors potentially getting hurt when explosions went off near them; and I especially want all big animals rendered in CGIs, leave those poor lions, tigers, bears, etc. alone and let them live in peace--but for something like this shot, or when we need to recreate blood, practical effects will always be superior.

Finally, David Hewlitt is in this film, and he's finally getting a tag. Why does that matter you ask? Because he was in our first ever DTVC review, Boa vs. Python, where I (lovingly) referred to him only as "the guy with glasses from Stargate: Atlantis." This is a great opportunity then to announce an initiative I've started on the site for 2024. Over the course of the year, I'm going to clean up all the old posts to remove the bad mattmovieguy links, and replace the Photobucket images (don't get me started on those thieving bastards) with direct Google uploads like I've been doing since I got back from hiatus in 2019. In some cases, like Boa vs. Python, because it's available on streaming, I've been able to grab new images, but still linking to the old image page; while others like The Breed, because it's not on a streaming site, it looks a little off because back then the screens I took were much smaller than they are now, so I'll be keeping an eye out for when they're available on streaming again so I can grab new images for them, and at the very least, the bad links and bad Photobucket pics have been removed. I'm going to try to handle a few posts a day, so that by the end of 2024, everything will be up to date. 2023 was a fantastic year for the site, so I want to lean into that in 2024 and focus more energy on fixing some of the long neglected issues, like the bad links and the Photobucket watermarked images, because a lot of the traffic has been coming from the old posts. We'll see how this goes, and from there work on some other projects, like reviving the clickable, alphabetical archive. 

And with that, let's wrap this up. As best as I can tell, this is available to rent here in the States, and I think it's worth it. This is a great sci-fi noirish thriller, something from the early 2000s that feels like it could've been made in the 90s indie boom. Also check out the podcast episode I did with Tom Jolliffe in the podcast archives, and keep an eye out for his newest project, The Baby in the Basket. Finally, I want to thank everyone for making 2023 a great year here at the DTVC. I'm going to try to take this momentum and make 2024 even better. You can hold me to that!

For more info: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0284978

And my newest novel, Don's House in the Mountains, is available now on Amazon! Click the image to buy.

Back in Action (1993)

I got this on VHS at the same time I picked up Tough and Deadly. I would've reviewed it sooner, but Mr. Kenner at Movies in the Attic insisted I fit in The King of the Kickboxers instead, so we did. Funny thing happened along the way: I think Back in Action might be the better movie...

Back in Action has DTVC Hall of Famer Rowdy Roddy Piper as a cop organizing a huge drug bust. Problem is, Billy Blanks's sister is dating one of the dealers, the dealer brings her along, and Blanks shows up to get her back. Well, he attacks one of the guards, the guy's gun goes off, and in the ensuing shootout Piper's partner is killed, and the main baddie thinks his dealer's girlfriend tipped off the cops. So the baddies want to kill the sister, Blanks wants to kill the baddies for wanting to kill her, and Piper doesn't know what to do with Blanks while he's trying to get revenge for his fallen partner.

Now this is what I'm talking about. Pure awesomeness. Constant action, great fights, and two stars who more than live up to their billing. It just doesn't get any better. First off, Piper was good as always, but the material really let him be him, which is all we ever want. Forget the plot, just let him go for it. Then Blanks comes in just to let you know, kicking ass and taking names. He and Piper have a knock down drag 'em out fight that made me think of They Live. I wouldn't say it's that good, but it was close. And finally, there was no lull. At most there was maybe ten minutes of down time between scenes. I'm not sure what is so hard for other movie makers out there to understand about this: just fucking go for it! We don't watch these films for plot, character development, etc., we watch them for the kick ass factor, and Back in Action certainly had it.

This might be Piper's best ever. Okay, second best after Hell Comes to Frog Town, and if you're counting They Live, it falls down to three, but it's a very solid three. I've never had a complaint with Piper's performance in any movie he's done. No one brings it like he does, period. What I usually take issue with is how Piper is used, whether the part isn't big enough, the character isn't cool enough, or the plot hinders us from getting the Piper we all want when we load one of his films into our VCR or DVD player. Back in Action fulfilled the promise the front of the box made when it listed Roddy Piper as one of its stars, and for that alone it was amazing.

This is three Billy Blanks films in row that ruled, and I'd say out of all of them, while this is the best movie, his best performance was in The King of the Kickboxers. That was one of the best baddies of all time. Here he flubbed some lines, sounded over rehearsed at moments, and his character was kind of weird the way he didn't respect his sister early in the film. Still, he kicked major ass, and he and Piper were great together again, even though they were more of a team in Tough and Deadly. We're going to definitely work on getting more of his films up, Talons of the Eagle next on the list.

Another thing that always makes a great film is a great baddie, and this one had it in Nigel Bennett. As far as I know, the only other film of his we've reviewed is Phase IV, which also had Dean Cain and Brian Bosworth. This guy works in the Julian Sands/Bruce Payne mold, which makes sense, because he's from England as well, Wolverhampton to be exact. He must be excited, because his Wolves look like they might stay up in the Premiership this season.

I do have one complaint, and maybe it's not so much a complaint as much as it's an observation, or an overall issue with action films. The two female leads are kidnapped by the main baddie and used as bait for Piper and Blanks. Classic scenario we're all familiar with. Also classic is when the baddies don't restrain either captives, allowing them to pick up weapons, etc., and kill the baddies holding them hostage. This was even more egregious here, because at one point they caught Piper and taped his wrists to the arm of the chair they had him in. It's ridiculous. Do these bad guys not understand why the police handcuff them when they're arrested? It's not because of tradition, or because it's just something they've always done. They do it so it's harder for the people they're holding captive to attack them and escape. Somehow we're supposed to believe criminal masterminds are completely unfamiliar with this concept?

Anyway, that's just me poking fun at the film, a film that otherwise was simply... awesome. If you haven't seen it, get it anyway you can. As far as I know VHS is the only way to go, which is too bad, because a movie like this belongs on DVD; though I kind of like it on VHS for the nostalgia factor. This is what you want when you go for a Piper film, and Blanks is just as good. An all around great flick.

For more info: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109195/

Looking for more action? Check out my short action novel, Bainbridge, and all my other novels, over at my author's page! Click on the image below, go to https://www.matthewpoirierauthor.com/

Phase IV (2001)

I found this on Netflix's Watch Instantly. I liked the idea of The Boz, but I put it on hold in order to do Stone Cold. Now that that's done, it's time for the next Boz pic, and this is it.

Phase IV has Dean Cain as a former Navy SEAL going back to college in his thirties to get back into football playing shape after a bad knee injury. He has a buddy that's framed for murder, and the guy comes to him for help before he's killed. Something's up with some pills and a pharmaceutical firm, and Cain's on the case as campus reporter. Brian Bosworth is a local detective working for the firm to keep their shady business a secret, and he gives Cain a hard time. Can Cain expose the truth before he becomes their next victim?



This wasn't a bad film. It was more a Lifetime film disguised as an action pic with almost no women in it. Cain was surprisingly believable as the Navy SEAL, but part of that was that they didn't make him an unbeatable fighter that can take tons of dudes at once, but rather an experienced elite fighter that can handle himself better than most in sticky situations. I didn't like The Boz as a bad guy, but he worked. All that being said, there really wasn't anything special about this to merit a recommendation.

I hated the idea of The Boz as a bad guy. Why would you take the star of Stone Cold, and put him in a role where I can't root for him? I get why they had Dean Cain as the hero, and I don't think Bosworth would've worked in that role; and I'm not saying Bosworth wasn't good as a bad guy, it just wasn't any fun to watch him. For those Bosworth fans out there reading this, Phase IV is a bad way to get your fix.



I liked Dean Cain here. I know, it sounds silly: Dean Cain, former Navy SEAL. But it works surprisingly well. They weren't going for a Dolph/Seagal type dominating figure that can take out ten guys at once. They were going for a more realistic Navy SEAL that could handle himself better than the average guy. He could fend off five guys at once, but only for so long. The problem with all of this is: I don't want a realistic Navy SEAL. I want fucking Dolph Lundgren beating the crap out of ten dudes at once. I'll settle for Jerry Trimble doing it, but it's what I want.

The crux of the plot is that this drug company has found the cure for AIDS, but kills it because they make more money forcing AIDS patients to live on a coctail of expensive pills that only mask the symptoms. It sounds like a brilliant yet diabolical idea in theory, but we're seeing with GM right now that the model doesn't work. GM decided if they made their cars breakdown sooner, people will buy a new car sooner, making them more money. That worked well, until the Japanese got into the American market, and people got past their fears of not buying American. Now GM's bankrupt, and their ads are pleading with us to believe them that Hondas and Toyotas suck. I guess what I'm saying is, if a drug company invented a cure for AIDS, it would behoove them to sell it and market it, because eventually another drug company will discover a cure too, and then they'll reap the rewards.



This film was supposed to take place in Maine, but for me, growing up in Maine, I didn't recognize anything. It turns out it was filmed in Halifax. On imdb, they came up with all these gaffs that the film made giving away that it was filmed in Canada, like a random sign with measurements in metric. Really? How about the fact that Halifax is a much larger urban environment with skyscrapers and three lane one-way streets that no city in Maine has. Then there was the fictious New England University (there's a tiny school in Biddeford, Maine that's the University of New England), that was larger than any school in Maine. The biggest thing I noticed is how the film makers seem to think Maine has bigger things happening in it than it really does. Maine is a small town with a population around the size of the Bronx in New York. The average Mainer lives 45 minutes away from the nearest McDonald's. Believe me, I live here. Nothing's going on in this state!

This is a total skipper. Don't waste your time. It's fun, and Bosworth and Cain are cool, but for what it is-- a more violent Lifetime movie with no women in it-- there's just no point in taking 90 minutes out of your life to watch it. My advice, just watch Stone Cold again.

For more info: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0289758/