Flynn, John

Out for Justice

Steven Seagal has always been an awkward action hero. Initially, he had a certain amount of credibility thanks to his nebulous association with secret government agencies and mastery of aikido, which helped to excuse his bad acting. But as a self-righteous action hero in the vein of Schwarzenegger and Stallone (which helps to explain his bad acting), Seagal fell into unintentional self-parody faster and more dramatically than either of his two predecessors. In Out for Justice, Seagal plays Gino Felino, a Brooklyn-born cop known and respected by everyone--both good and bad--in his neighborhood. The worst of the neighborhood baddies is Richie Madano (William Forsythe), a crack-smoking killer who murders his partner and terrorizes the neighborhood. Technically, Felino is a terrible cop--touching evidence at murder scenes, stealing evidence, intimidating witnesses--but only by breaking those rules can he bring in this horrible criminal. As his soon-to-be-ex-wife discovers, he does everything because he cares too much. Julianna Margulies (ER) has a small but thankless role as Richie's hooker girlfriend, and Gina Gershon (Face/Off, Bound) has an equally thankless role as Richie's foul-mouthed, bar-owning sister. The movie plays like a vanity piece for Seagal, and in that vein, it is fascinating to watch. --Andy Spletzer

Lock Up

"This is hell and I'm going to give you a guided tour!" With these chilling words the warden (Donald Sutherland) welcomes Frank Leone (Sylvester Stallone) to Gateway Prison a nightmare jail where every minute is hard time. The warden wants vengeance for the past; Leone wants only to survive the present. Their explosive battle of wills is the electrifying heart of one of Stallone's most heroic thrillers Lock Up. Stallone gives a monumental performance as Leone a convict driven to break his own cherished code by a warden who will stop at nothing to get him.System Requirements:Run Time: 115 minsFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE Rating: R UPC: 012236211914 Manufacturer No: 21191

With vanity projects like 1989's schlocky Lock Up to his credit, it's a wonder Sylvester Stallone survived to make some better movies in the '90s. This is a brutal dose of macho action that Stallone squeezed in between Rambo III and Rocky V, and his fans didn't seem to mind, so who's to judge? It's not as bad as Sly's other 1989 disaster (Tango & Cash), but you'd have to be demented, drunk, or have really low standards to call this a good movie. But if you're in a primal mood you'll get a kick out of this grimy flick, which would qualify as Z-grade exploitation if it weren't for Stallone's beefy presence as Frank Leone, a cooperative prisoner who's six months shy of parole when he's relocated to a hellhole called Gateway Prison. The wretched high-security facility is commandeered by Warden Drumgoole (Donald Sutherland), who is determined to settle an old score with Stallone ... and you can pretty much guess the rest. Director John Flynn didn't exactly distinguish himself with this one (he'd go on to direct forgettable fare like Out for Justice and Brainscan), but there's more visual style here than you might expect, and Sly manages to take it all so seriously that you can easily enjoy this gut buster as an unintentional comedy. --Jeff Shannon

Brainscan

A virtual reality game that allows players to commit murders is the crux for the high-tech thriller Brainscan. Edward Furlong (Terminator 2) stars as a monster movie/video game fanatic who receives a CD-ROM that challenges players to carry out brutal killings. When Furlong discovers that the murder has also occurred in real life, he attempts to rid himself of the game, but its hideous "referee," Trickster (T. Ryder Smith), refuses to let him quit until he has eliminated all witnesses--including the girl he loves (Amy Hargreaves). A flavorless retread of the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise, Brainscanis undone by its principals' lack of interest in producing a suspenseful film. Director John Flynn offers little variation on its stalk-and-slash scenes, and Furlong gives a half-hearted performance, though some of that blame must lie with Andrew Kevin Walker's leaden script. Brainscanwill offer passing interest to only the most non-discerning Elm Street aficionado. --Paul Gaita

When a lonely teenager (Edward Furlong) orders the latest interactive video game, the high-tech wizardry penetrates his subconscious, where his darkest impulses lead him through a deadly maze of murder, deception and desire. Pursued by a homicide detective (Frank Langella) and prodded by the trickster (T. Ryder Smith), he is torn between the worlds of good and evil, of reality and fantasy and, ultimately, of life and death.

Best Seller

This formula mystery-thriller is enlivened by the give-and-take chemistry between the tough, phlegmatic Brian Dennehy and the acid-tongued, fast-talking James Woods. Dennehy is an ex-cop turned crime novelist with a string of bestsellers to his credit. He is approached by Woods, who wants him to collaborate on a book about Woods's career as hit man for a prominent businessman, who has always maintained a scrubbed façade of uprightness. Though the plot becomes predictable, this Laurel-and-Hardy pairing yields unexpected treats, as a criminal teaches a former cop a thing or two about police work, not to mention literature. --Marshall Fine

James Woods is "at his cold-blooded best" and Brian Dennehy shines in "one of the very best roles hes ever had" (Variety) in this "captivating and mesmerizing psychological thriller" (The Hollywood Reporter) in which trusting your partner can be as deadly as trusting your enemy. After years of loyal service, professional assassin Cleve (Woods) has been let go by the corporate empire he helped build. Now he wants revenge in a tell-all book. From different sides of the law and opposing ends of the moral spectrum, Cleve and best-selling author Dennis Meechum (Dennehy) forman unusual partnership. But when Meechum's daughter is kidnapped by Cleve's former employer, Meechum discovers exactly what kind of man he's been partnered with as he's pulled into an explosive confrontation that will leave only one of them standing!

Protection

Sal abandons all loyalty to his mob boss as he enters the safety of the witness protection program. He finally begins a new life and a new job with real estate broker and neighbor, Ted. If the mob wants revenge, can Sal really escape his past? Stars Stephen Baldwin, Peter Gallagher.

Absence of the Good

Stephen Baldwin plays a detective riding the edge of burnout. His 6-year-old son was accidentally killed a few months ago, and the young Salt Lake City homicide cop is on the verge of becoming a basket case. A string of murders occur on his watch, all with the same m.o., and the pattern begins to look like that of a serial killer. As the detectives track down clues, a web of family neglect, abuse, and revenge begins to reveal itself. Director John Flynn also helmed two great '70s crime movies: the explosive Rolling Thunder (scripted by Paul Schrader) and the sorely underrated The Outfit. Flynn's directorial hand in Absence of the Good shows similarities to the other films; they all deal with emotionally damaged protagonists, and Flynn uses the deadpan tone of their performances to build tension. Like William Devane's character in Rolling Thunder, Baldwin's Caleb Barnes is much more than a grieving, emotionally numb wreck; he's a time bomb waiting for a chance to go off. The script has a painful, personal honesty in the scenes in which Barnes and his wife try to cope with the pain of losing their only child, and what it has done to them as a couple. Flynn also has an eye for taking rural scenarios and making them into white-trash American Gothics, infused with dread and blighted with derelict cars, trash heaps, and dilapidated trailers. Rising far above its made-for-cable origins, Absence of the Good is a first-rate police procedural/crime drama with well-fleshed-out characters and enough unpredictable twists and turns to keep you guessing.--Jerry Renshaw

LOCK UP (DVD)(SENSORMATIC)MASTERED/SPAN SUB/DOLBY SURROUND/INTERATIVE MENUS

With vanity projects like 1989's schlocky Lock Up to his credit, it's a wonder Sylvester Stallone survived to make some better movies in the '90s. This is a brutal dose of macho action that Stallone squeezed in between Rambo III and Rocky V, and his fans didn't seem to mind, so who's to judge? It's not as bad as Sly's other 1989 disaster (Tango & Cash), but you'd have to be demented, drunk, or have really low standards to call this a good movie. But if you're in a primal mood you'll get a kick out of this grimy flick, which would qualify as Z-grade exploitation if it weren't for Stallone's beefy presence as Frank Leone, a cooperative prisoner who's six months shy of parole when he's relocated to a hellhole called Gateway Prison. The wretched high-security facility is commandeered by Warden Drumgoole (Donald Sutherland), who is determined to settle an old score with Stallone ... and you can pretty much guess the rest. Director John Flynn didn't exactly distinguish himself with this one (he'd go on to direct forgettable fare like Out for Justice and Brainscan), but there's more visual style here than you might expect, and Sly manages to take it all so seriously that you can easily enjoy this gut buster as an unintentional comedy. --Jeff Shannon

Absence of the Good [Region 2]

Stephen Baldwin plays a detective riding the edge of burnout. His 6-year-old son was accidentally killed a few months ago, and the young Salt Lake City homicide cop is on the verge of becoming a basket case. A string of murders occur on his watch, all with the same m.o., and the pattern begins to look like that of a serial killer. As the detectives track down clues, a web of family neglect, abuse, and revenge begins to reveal itself. Director John Flynn also helmed two great '70s crime movies: the explosive Rolling Thunder (scripted by Paul Schrader) and the sorely underrated The Outfit. Flynn's directorial hand in Absence of the Good shows similarities to the other films; they all deal with emotionally damaged protagonists, and Flynn uses the deadpan tone of their performances to build tension. Like William Devane's character in Rolling Thunder, Baldwin's Caleb Barnes is much more than a grieving, emotionally numb wreck; he's a time bomb waiting for a chance to go off. The script has a painful, personal honesty in the scenes in which Barnes and his wife try to cope with the pain of losing their only child, and what it has done to them as a couple. Flynn also has an eye for taking rural scenarios and making them into white-trash American Gothics, infused with dread and blighted with derelict cars, trash heaps, and dilapidated trailers. Rising far above its made-for-cable origins, Absence of the Good is a first-rate police procedural/crime drama with well-fleshed-out characters and enough unpredictable twists and turns to keep you guessing.--Jerry Renshaw

Brainscan [Region 2]

A virtual reality game that allows players to commit murders is the crux for the high-tech thriller Brainscan. Edward Furlong (Terminator 2) stars as a monster movie/video game fanatic who receives a CD-ROM that challenges players to carry out brutal killings. When Furlong discovers that the murder has also occurred in real life, he attempts to rid himself of the game, but its hideous "referee," Trickster (T. Ryder Smith), refuses to let him quit until he has eliminated all witnesses--including the girl he loves (Amy Hargreaves). A flavorless retread of the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise, Brainscanis undone by its principals' lack of interest in producing a suspenseful film. Director John Flynn offers little variation on its stalk-and-slash scenes, and Furlong gives a half-hearted performance, though some of that blame must lie with Andrew Kevin Walker's leaden script. Brainscanwill offer passing interest to only the most non-discerning Elm Street aficionado. --Paul Gaita

Out for Justice [Region 2]

Steven Seagal has always been an awkward action hero. Initially, he had a certain amount of credibility thanks to his nebulous association with secret government agencies and mastery of aikido, which helped to excuse his bad acting. But as a self-righteous action hero in the vein of Schwarzenegger and Stallone (which helps to explain his bad acting), Seagal fell into unintentional self-parody faster and more dramatically than either of his two predecessors. In Out for Justice, Seagal plays Gino Felino, a Brooklyn-born cop known and respected by everyone--both good and bad--in his neighborhood. The worst of the neighborhood baddies is Richie Madano (William Forsythe), a crack-smoking killer who murders his partner and terrorizes the neighborhood. Technically, Felino is a terrible cop--touching evidence at murder scenes, stealing evidence, intimidating witnesses--but only by breaking those rules can he bring in this horrible criminal. As his soon-to-be-ex-wife discovers, he does everything because he cares too much. Julianna Margulies (ER) has a small but thankless role as Richie's hooker girlfriend, and Gina Gershon (Face/Off, Bound) has an equally thankless role as Richie's foul-mouthed, bar-owning sister. The movie plays like a vanity piece for Seagal, and in that vein, it is fascinating to watch. --Andy Spletzer