Reviews (13)

i only give the five stars to Mark Hamill
the rest of the movie was absolutely stupid. it was gorry- i'll give it that, but it was not that great. the only reason i would ever buy( and the only reason i ever watched it in the first place) is because Mark Hamill is in it. my roommates and i watched it together, and we were commenting on just how stupid the movie was. actually, i do have to give John Carpenter so credit. he did make a funny dead guy.

Decent Carpenter
"Body Bags" was an anthology type horror film featuring three stories, 2 by John Carpenter and the third by Tobe Hooper. It originally aired on the Showtime movie channel in the early 90s.
Carpenter rarely directed TV films due to creative restrictions and the fact it prevented him from using his favored 2.35:1 aspect ratio however since "Body Bags" was broadcast on a movie channel, he never had to worry about content (though it was unfortunately filmed with 1.33:1 in mind.)
Sadly the DVD is no longer available BUT there is still hope! "Body Bags" is now owned by Lions Gate Entertainment and you can write to them and ask that they re-release it on DVD!
Here is their address:

Lions Gate Entertainment
4553 Glencoe Avenue, Suite 200
Marina Del Ray, California 90292

classic
You get to see Revenge of the Nerd's Lewis as a crazy killer and Luke Skywalker's bum!

What more could one ask for?

Three stories to horrify you.
John Carpenter (the master of Halloween [1978]) who plays a coroner tells you a new story. A woman starts her first night as a gas station cashier. She is all alone. One customer she meets is David Naughton (An American Werewolf in London) whose character was born in Haddonfield (Yes, the one in HALLOWEEN) where this story is set. Later a homeless man asks for the key to the bathroom. But the woman mistakenly forgot the key inside her booth. More suspense. Later she finds the homeless man murdered. More suspense. There is a killer at the gas station. She thought she was alone. But that's not all. John Carpenter will have two more stories to show you. The second story stars Stacy keach and Sheena Easton. Keach is a middle-aged man who is upset that he is going bald, just has thin hair. He tries everything with no success. Then he goes to a professional hair company. The third story stars Mark Hamill and Twiggy.

Tales From The Crypt!?
I will admit, I have witnessed the downfall of John Carpenters movies over the years, and this one is not perfect either. Although I must say this movie was very original, and it brought me back to some fond memories of Tales From The Crypt. If you liked Tales From The Crypt I highly recommend this to you, but if you take a different approach to horror, and would like to see something more terrifying, I suggest some of John Carpenter's old work, "Halloween" for instants. Overall it was a great movie, but it just doesn't fit John Carpenters normal pattern. Although I do recommend that all horror fans at least give it a chance, and rent it. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Vampires is a fast paced thriller
I really liked John Carpenter's "Vampires" so much in fact that I am willing to overlook the misogyny and sexism rampant throughout. James Woods is perfectly cast as the vampire killer sent out by the Catholic church to take down a very gothic looking vampire with long flowing black hair. But the real highligh to me was DANIEL BALDWIN. I cannot help but comment on his wonderful performance here. He is strangely appealing throughout this film, very attractive. But anyways, the film also features a somewhat bookish nerdy priest who is sent to help Woods take down the vampires. The film is filled with action and suspense and humor and is really enjoyable. I would highly recommend it. ... Read more

Reviews (203)

This movie rules!! Long live Jack Burton!!
John Carpenter once again teams up with Kurt Russell to direct this awesome action/kung-fu/comedy. This is not your typical John Carpenter (Halloween, The Thing, The Fog, etc.) flick, but I can't get enough, I've literally seen this over 100 times. Don't take this movie seriously, just sit back and enjoy the fun. Kurt Russell stars as Jack Burton a trucker who stops in Chinatown for a little wholesome gambling. After winning everything but the kitchen sink from his buddy Wang Chi, Jack Burton goes for a ride with Wang expecting to collect his winnings. They stop at the airport to pick up Wang's girlfriend with green eyes, Miao Yin. Miao Yin gets kidnapped by a group of kung-fu thugs, and Jack Burton is forced to go along with Wang Chi to try and save her. They end up in the middle of a gang war in Chinatown, meet the main villain "undead" Lo Pang and his three spirit warriors: Rain, Thunder, and Lightning. (they inspired Rayden, the Mortal Kombat video game character) After running over Lo Pan, leaving Jack's truck and escaping Lo Pan and his cronies, Jack teams up with Wang, green eyed reporter Gracie Law, (Kim Cattrell) and friends Eddy and Egg to save Miao Yin and Jack's truck. (the Porkchop express) Many wacky and supernatural things happen along the way, and the plot just gets crazier and funnier. Kurt Russell is the standout in this movie, he has some incredibly funny lines, but the other characters especially Lo Pan are funny as well. Highly recommended to any Kurt Russell, 80's comedy, or kung-fu fan with a sense of humor. Just remember have fun!

What more can I say but, DAMN!
Listen. Stop right now and definitely don't even think about buying this if cheesy acting, even cheesier visual effects and music as well as gaping plot holes greatly affect your movie-viewing experience.

Kurt Russell, with his loud mouth antics and John Wayne swagger plays Jack Burton, a California truck driver who, as it turns out, really doesn't know when to keep his mouth shut. It gets him into a whole mess of trouble (hence the title) in San Francisco when his little Chinese buddy Wang loses his girl to a bunch of thugs.

Wouldn't you know these thugs happen to be the minions of an ancient evil spirit, and when Wang and Jack, with a little help from some friends, try to take down this evil sorcerer with a little magic of their own, all hell breaks loose and the results are electrifying and hilarious.

Definitely for fans of the Troma genre, Big Trouble in Little China demonstrates that all you need is some kick-ass fight scenes, Kurt Russell with a knife, and Kim Cattrall in a wet shirt and you have what I am proud to say is my favorite movie to watch on "a dark and stormy night."

The Ox (the_ox@hungover.com)

Greatest movie ever made
This is the single greatest movie ever made. Kurt Russell is a demi-god. All of his movies kick ass and when he teams up with John Carpenter, it's twice the action. David Lo-Pan is the greatest villain of all time. See this movie now

Double-disc edition is the only way to go for "Little China"
This is one of those movies that just holds such a special place in my heart that I couldn't even try to play this review from an impartial standpoint. When I found out that they were putting out a double-disc special edition of it, I raced out and bought a DVD player. John Carpenter's modern-day Western with Russell as a big-mouthed hog trucker who gets caught up in San Fransico's Chinatown is just a tour de force of martial arts fantasy that never tries to take itself too seriously. Russell's Jack Burton is the hero who doesn't quite have what it takes to be a hero (ala Bruce Cambell's "Ash" from the Evil Dead movies) and he plays it perfectly. When his buddy's fiancee is kidnapped by Chinese mobsters and sacrificed to Little China's overlord, the evil David Lo Pan (a tremendously over-the-top James Hong), it's Jack to the rescue. If nothing else, "Little China" is a movie that knows how to have fun. It is an absolute blast from start to finish.

A Carpenter-Russell collaberation.
John Carpenter's "Big Trouble In Little China" is an odd ball film in the Carpenter collection. It is a comedy first of all. Kurt Russell plays Jack Burton, a truck driver who's ego far exceed his skills. He is always in way over his head as the very anti-Ramboish hero. The film involoves Burton and his Chinnese-American friend going into San Francisco's Chinatown underworld looking for two kidnapped women. Burton, as I said, is the bumbling hero, and Kurt Russell is great at it. The movie is funny from beginning to end. It is also very ahead of it's time as far as kung-fu and Eastern Mystisism in American culture (way before "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon"). Kim Catrall also dose a pretty good job as the romantic interest with a suprise at the end. The commentary is very funny to litsen to as John Carpenter and Kurt Russell talk about everything from the movie in question, to the TV mini-series they did together in 1980, "Elvis", and some slightly less relevent trivia. Their converstaion is very easy to listen to. They are friends and you can tell they really like each other, and that explins why their frequent collaberations are pretty good, if not always successful. But this is one of Carpenter's more underrated movies, and that isn't fair. They did not set out to make a serious movie, just a goofy, fantasy kung-fu adventure, and they pulled it off well. ... Read more