Genres

Visitors Review

2012-05-20 17:52:27

Action Thriller You Won't Be Disappointed With

This review is from: Shoot to Kill (DVD) I saw this movie years ago and thought about it while camping in Yosemite. This movie blends Sidney Poitier in the role of an FBI agent after a murderer who travels cross-country to get to Canada. I would've loved to see Poitier use this film to revise his role as Virgil Tibbs, but he chose not to. Tom Berenger was excellent as the outdoorsman who leads him in the woods. Kirstie Alley was good as the guide kidnapped by the murderer to lead him out of the woods. This film can still be appreciated despite its first release in 1988. Much of it still holds true. The wonders of nature and outdoors are captivating. The film has drama, action, and humor. You won't be disappointed to have this in your collection.

FlashCallahan 2012-05-20 01:45:50

Did you see the Moose...

A man is discovered breaking into his own jewellery shop in the dead ofnight.Questioned closely, it's learned that his wife is being held hostage byan extortionist who demands the diamonds in the shop's safe.The extortionist manages to escape FBI agent Warren Stantin, whosubsequently chases him into the forests of Northern America.Stantin recruits the help of a reluctant local Jonathon Knox, who hasthe skills necessary to track down the criminal.The only problem is that Stantin has no experience in the wilderness...From the amazing opening ten minutes, this film is a real oddity, abona-fide classic movie that has long been forgotten, and is shown onBBC 1 every year at a silly hour.It's so strange that this film was/has/is overlooked, because it has somany qualities to it.One moment it's a tense, almost mystical psycho thriller, and then weare thrown into the middle of a party, with the director throwing in asmany bad guys as possible from pass movies, to try and fool theaudience.And then after moments of sheer intense, we are treated to some veryfunny moments of comedy, The Moose scene, the scene with the ear, andPoitiers getting used to the elements.All very funny, and all specific to the movie.The two leads put in great performances and never let up the hokeychemistry they have, and while the film does lose a little edge in thefinal third, it has a great two acts to more than make up for it.An excellent movie, and one I hope Hollywood doesn't re-boot.

2012-05-19 06:00:02

Top outdoors cop thriller

This review is from: Shoot to Kill (DVD) Sidney Poitier's return to Hollywood after a long absence is this very good thriller that begins in San Francisco, winds through the wilderness of Washington state and finishes in Vancouver. Poiter, a top FBI agent, is on the trail of a ruthless killer and diamond thief who kidnaps a trail guide and forces her to take him to the Canadian border. Tom Berenger, a remote and unfriendly trail guide himself, is Poitier's reluctant partner as the two men brave steep rocky cliffs, deep gorges, rapids, wild animals and snowstorms to bring the outlaw to heel. Poitier and Berenger have a testy relationship that turns to respect as the picture winds down. Kirstie Alley is the girl at risk in this drama that has an explosive finish.

2012-05-18 14:28:17

Outstanding Acting and Scenery

The action starts with the beginning of the movie in the city with Stantin trying to negotiate a trade of diamonds for the safe return of a jewelers wife. It moves non-stop with him tracking the killer from city to mountains and back to the city to the final suspenseful climax. Any fan of mysteries or action movies will love it. Sidney Poitier playing Warren Stantin, and Tom Berenger playing Jonathan Knox, do the best job I have ever seen either one of them do. Stantin is an elderly FBI agent that is street smart teams up with Knox who knows the woods and mountains like the back of his hand. At first Knox begrudges the alliance to capture a murderer that has kidnapped his girl friend. Unbeknownst to her, Kirstie Alley playing Sarah Renell, one of the party of fisherman she is guiding into the mountains is a cold blooded killer. I would have preferred they kept his identity hidden a little longer to further that suspense but it is still a surprise and doesn't take away from the story or action. Don't miss this on DVD, Amazon has it for a great price. If you enjoyed this be sure to see "The Jackal" with Sidney Poitier and "Last of the Dogmen" with Tom Berenger.

Jonathon Dabell 2012-05-10 01:24:51

The way that action movies should be made.

Shoot To Kill (GB title: Deadly Pursuit) is a lively, fairlyintelligent action film which benefits from good character development.Many post-1980 action films suffer because they are empty spectacles,full of boring stock characters and visually impressive/emotionallyredundant stunts. However, this one is different. There are eight maincharacters (all of them well-realized) as well as a fundamentallyexciting plot, sharp dialogue, and a spectacular mountain setting.FBI agent Warren Stanton (Sidney Poitier) is desperate to track down adangerous jewel thief following a botched hostage situation. Hesuspects that the thief has joined a five-man hiking party in therugged wilderness near Spokane. Unfortunately, there is no way ofcontacting the hiking guide Sarah (Kirstie Alley) to warn her that adangerous killer is among her group. Instead, Stanton has to put histrust in another mountain guide, rough and tough Jonathan Knox (TomBerenger). The unlikely pair pursue the hiking group, hoping to reachthem before the killer strikes again.The film moves at a good pace. Interest is generated on severaldifferent fronts: the volatile relationship between Stanton and Knox;the intriguing guessing-game as to which member of the hiking party isactually the jewel thief/killer; the "race-against-time" tension (assoon as the hikers have entered Canada, the killer could dispose ofthem at any time). There is spectacular action, but it is notemphasised to such an overwhelming degree that other story threads arelost. Shoot To Kill is a very commendable action film and it is a pitythat more films in the genre are not up to the same standard.

2012-05-09 10:21:20

A GREAT MOVIE AND I'M GLAD TO FINALLY KNOW IT'S ON DVD

AN FBI AGENT [SIDNEY POITIER, IN WHAT WAS HIS 1ST ROLE IN A LONG TIME] AND A TRACKER [TOM BERENGER] TEAM UP TO LOCATE THE WHEREABOUTS OF A KILLER. LOT OF ACTION AND LOT OF SUSPENSE MAKE THIS A PLEASANT FILM TO WATCH. AND THE ACTING IS GOOD TOO. GET THIS FILM NOW. YOU DEFINITELY WON'T BE DISSAPOINTED.

jeff-90 2012-04-30 17:56:26

decent but unbelievable

nice scenery, good performances, but the total lack of logic makes itaverage at best. Forgetting all the procedural annoyances like the FBIsending one guy to go hiking after a mass murderer instead of the standardarmy of helicopters, planes, dogs, whatever I have one major petpeeve.Mr Mountain Man Berenger goes trekking off into snow country wearing jeans !LOL. After they made a big deal about outfitting the FBI guy properly. Wading into a river, being able to dig a huge snow cave in the middle of astorm with no shovels, climbing a big rock formation in heavy hiking boots(what happened to the backpacks in that scene anyway).And Kirstie Allie and her big butt as a hiking guide ?!? I've seen thosewomen, they are lean mean walking machines.Oh, and another thing - after an hour plus of them hiking, which took dayssupposedly, they come out on a highway !!! Like they couldn't have justwaited for them.The whole thing was just silly. 5/10.

mike owen 2012-04-30 09:20:44

A triumph!

I would just like to start off this review by giving Sidney Poitier therecognition he deserves. He is most definitely one of the most distinguishedand talented actors of our generation and a role model for all aspiringactors! Now, on with the review. I first saw this movie during a vacation tothe beach with my friend and his family. I had seen several other Poitierefforts such as "In the Heat of the Night" and "Guess Who's Coming toDinner?",and I stumbled upon this thriller while watching television on oneof the nights that it rained. I stopped at TBS and I'm certainly glad that Idid! This movie is one of best Poitier movies I've ever viewed! This filmincorporates comedy into a genre the usually takes itself a little tooseriously. The movie has an overall seriousness about it, but there are afew cheeky moments between Poitier and Berenger. Some of these comedicmoments include: a scene where Berenger and Poitier are in an ice tunnelduring a snow storm. Berenger is laying on top of Poitier to keep him fromfreezing to death. Poitier asks something like : "What are you queer orsomething?!" and Berenger says something like: "What's the matter? Haven'tyou ever heard about us mountain boys?" Another funny moment comes whenPoitier is trying to scale a wall even though he is exhausted. Berenger isat the top trying to convince him to go back. The look on Poitier's face ismore than enough to inspire a chuckle. The performances, the direction, and the cinematography are all well donein this film. The beautiful mountain landscapes inspire sort of a wistfulfeeling that can often be distracting. I'll also give a thumbs up to thesound effects department of this film. The sound of the rope snapping whenBerenger was plummeting from the cable extending across the gorge was enoughto make me wince with agony. This movie was executed well and my onlycomplaint was that the villain's identity was revealed earlier than Ithought it should have been. All in all I think it was a solid effort that Ithink anyone who is a fan of suspense films will enjoy. Your best bet as faras renting this movie is to go to a hole-in-the-wall movie rental store thatnever throws any movie away because, as other reviews have said, it is veryhard to find. You may get lucky once in a blue moon and catch it on TBS orTNT, but the edited for TV versions are never as good as the uncut versions.If none of the mom and pop movie rental outlets still carry it, go toblockbuster and demand that they order this movie for you! This movie is adefinite must-see for any fan of the suspense genre! FINAL SCORE9/10

2012-04-23 14:25:30

DVDs

This review is from: Shoot to Kill (DVD) A well-produced, not predictive thriller! Great scenery setting and an outstanding story depicting actors Poitier, Berenger, Alley & Brown at their very best! One of my all time favorite movies!

2012-04-23 07:29:12

great film and great landscape and nature footage!

this is a good film! there are other films that deserve five stars. but "shoot to kill" is not that type of genre, or awe inspiring film! it certainly keeps your attention and your interest. the scenery of the pacific northwest is really beautifull, (inspired me to plan for mountaneering trips). has some good humour! overall a good film! and ofcourse Sydney Poitier!!! anyway definetly worth seeing as a good mild action film. and if you are a nature lover you are also for a treat with all that mountain/nature footage!

2012-04-20 16:55:53

Great condition! Exactly as advertised!

This review is from: Shoot to Kill (DVD) This movie was sent in a timely manner and was received in great condition! It was exactly what I was looking for even though this movie is hard to find nowadays.

Paul Andrews 2012-04-20 09:40:39

Great little discussed thriller.

Shoot to Kill starts late one night in San Francisco as diamondmerchant Mr. Berger (Milton Selzer) sets the alarm off in his jewelleryshop & the police show up, still in his pyjama's with a couple ofpounds of diamonds it's clear that he's being forced to act against hiswill & when questioned by special FBI agent Warren Stantin (SidneyPoitier) he admits that an armed man has his wife as a hostage. Thelocal police & Stantin try to negotiate the release of Mrs. Berger(Janet Rotblatt) but the plan only ends up getting her killed & thekiller escaping with the diamonds. The next day & the killer is tryingto cross the border into Canada through a small town called BishopFalls but is spooked when he sees a large police presence & decides tokill a member of a hiking group & take his place so he can cross theborder on foot. Meanwhile Stantin learns of the man's death which wasin the same unique manner Mrs. Berger was killed & sets off after hisman through the tricky & rough mountainous terrain...Directed by Roger Spottiswoode & known under the better title of DeadlyPursuit here in the UK I thought this was a great action thriller whichdoesn't often get mentioned. The script by Harv Zimmel, Michael Burton& Daniel Petrie Jr. takes itself pretty seriously although there areone or two light hearted moments surrounding agent Stantin's 'fish outof water' type situation even if the scene where he confronts a GrizzlyBear & scares it off by flapping his arms in the air is a little toosilly. The film moves along at a nice pace & mixes the genres ofthriller, action & whodunit very effectively. The character's are good& I liked the way that despite working together agent Stantin & hisguide didn't suddenly become the best of friends & have long deep,meaningful conversations about their lives as in say Lethal Weapon(1987) because that's just so clichéd. In fact there isn't that muchdialogue spoken in the film & poor Kirstie Alley barely says a word!Shoot to Kill starts off as a whodunit mystery but about half waythrough it reveals the killer & it changes in tone & becomes a taughtthriller & I actually rather liked this abrupt & unexpected change indirection it took. A good solid throughly entertaining thriller with adecent cast that's worth a look but won't have much replay value asonce you know the killer the films twist won't have any impact & theentire first half will lose it's effectiveness.Director Spottiswoode does a good job here, the isolated forestlocations are well used & the film has a nice tension to it especiallyduring it's first half when we don't know who the killer is. There aresome good action scenes including chases, a car chase, some shoot outs& people hanging over cliffs on rope although when John hits that cliffface the force & impact would have broken just about every bone in hisbody. The violence & body count are relatively low as is the profanitybut that makes a nice chance.Technically the film is fine with nice location shooting, it was shotlargely in Canada with the opening sequence shot in San Fransico. It'swell made & I would have imagined it had a decent budget coming fromthe Disney owned Touchstone Pictures. The acting is good & there's apretty impressive cast here.Shoot to Kill, I much prefer the title Deadly Pursuit, is a neat littleaction thriller with a good concept that's not predictable has unusualrelationships between the character's & is well worth a watch.

Yo Yo Ma 2012-04-17 16:53:36

Please rename Shoot to Ill

Every cliche from past buddy movies and police thrillers are utilized in this pathetic movie. Honestly, you knew EXACTLY what would happen three minutes before the screen displayed its own futile form of entertainment.In the beginning there is a hostage situation, and the gunman tells the police "I'll send the maid out with a message". Of course the maid is shot as she walks toward the cops. THIS MOVIE SUCKED. Read a book, do not waste your time on this POS.

BarleyF 2012-04-17 04:25:30

Don't bother

It's rather amazing this film did as well at the box-office as it did. As the elder statesman, Sidney Poitier reasonably should have been expected to give a noteworthy performance. Frankly, he acted as though he simply wanted to get the movie over with. Perhaps, though, he purposely "dumbed down" his performance to be on par with Tom Berenger's somewhat limited acting skills...In any event, "Shoot To Kill" is mediocre at best with a plotline a middle-schooler could have written. Star power alone makes this movie into one that the Encore Channel will continue to produce revenue from. Unless you're interested in beautiful shots from the majestic Pacific Northwest, skip this one.

Captain Ed 2012-04-16 09:54:37

Better than you might think

A rare action movie that manages to rise above its formula, Shoot to Killdelivers mystery, exciting action, and beautiful cinematography.Tom Berenger has done many action/thriller movies, but Sidney Poitier stepsout for a change of pace in this movie. Its formula is"double-fish-out-of-water buddy picture", and it stays pretty close to theformula throughout the movie. Poitier plays an FBI agent who blew an arrestand wound up with a dead civilian, and has tracked the (unseen) thief/killerinto the Pacific Northwest. Berenger plays a tracker, whose girlfriend runsa trail guide business. The girlfriend (Kirstie Alley in an outdoor role!)has taken her latest group of travelers out into the woods, and Poitierbelieves that the killer is among them. If that's not bad enough, a deadlystorm looks like it's coming on.The real fun in this movie is in the first half, where you see all of themen in Kirstie Alley's group. All of them are recognizable characteractors, and most of them have played villains in other movies before. Sowhich one of them is the killer? I guessed wrong the first time.Unfortunately, this gets revealed about halfway through, and the moviereturns to the formula. However, the excellent performances and lushcinematography elevate it beyond the norm. I thought Poitier did a greatjob as the city-based FBI agent, and Alley was surprisingly good as thetrail guide.It's too bad this movie is so hard to find. It's definitely worth a watch-- or two!

k9dwight 2012-04-16 06:33:09

Outstanding acting, directing, scenery, story line...

Have watched this movie at least 10 times in VHS, and never get tired ofit.Sydney, Tom, and Kristie are all great. The scenery in the mountains andcrossing the gorge is spectacular. Can't wait until it is out in DVD andcan play on my 61" TV, with the volume cranked up on my Bose SurroundSpeaker system...

Tom Smith 2012-04-15 16:29:23

True edge of your seat thriller!

This is possibly Sidney Poitier's best movie. It's a fast paced, who doneit which finds an FBI agent (Sidney Poitier) out of his element whiletryingto find the killer. This is a very well done movie, from beginning to end(acting, writing, directing...).

2012-04-15 02:59:56

Excellent

My tape copy is dying from overuse. It's almost November 11, 2003, so I may just make it another 3 more weeks until this comes out.This movie was HIGHLY UNDER-rated. I like Tom Berrenger a lot but wouldn't rate him at the top of the actors list. However, the synergy that occurs between Tom and Sidney Poitier helps Tom to perform better than usual, though in all fairness Tom was EXCELLENT in Platoon. In any event, this was a well-made and acted movie that deserves your attention.Some might find the beginning of the movie a little harsh/violent, but this adds intensity to the story (i.e. it is not the usual pointless, wanton, Hollywood shock violence we're used to).I think this is a film that both men and women will enjoy thoroughly. There's the rugged outdoors stuff for the guys- Berrenger seems to fit in well w/rugged, outdoors roles like this and Last of the Dogmen. Then there's the suspense/thriller/murder-mystery genre factor for the gals. How can it miss ?

ahmed elshikh 2012-04-14 16:37:32

17/7/1999 !

There is one great sure truth about movies, not only that it last forever, but also that our memories last with it. Therefore, whatever howmany years passed by .. when you watch a certain movie you recall allof your happy (or unhappy) memories which are connected with the firstwatching' time, with all of its thoughts and feelings.As for (Shoot to Kill) I was 21 year old at the time when I first watchit. At the time I've just ended my fourth and final year in faculty ofarts, waiting for the result of my exams, so my friend (he was myneighbor too) who was waiting for his as well but at the faculty oflaw. Both of us were movies' freak and maybe you'll understand howcrazy we were when I tell you that we raced once to finish watching allthe movies in one video store near our homes !!, I remember that he sawmore horror movies than I did, but I surpassed at watching the actionand the musical ones. Anyway it was the glorious glory's days, we werewatching movies at our national TV like (Hot To Trot), (Romancing TheStone), (Other People Money) there were all good, so at the theaterstoo like (X Files "The Film") ; although we were disappointed with itbut we're having each other and ready to watch more movies, better orworse. Through the video we've enjoyed a lot of nice ones and how wegot our own dictionary out of the movies' dialogue.. to hang a phonecall saying (I'll Be Back !) from (Terminator), or to end a hotconversation peacefully (opinions are like asses, everybody got one !)from (The Dead Pool), or to be naughty sometimes (Hubba Hubba !) from(Payback) and so on..In 14/7/1999 I saw (Contact) by (Robert Zemeckis) and my friend justfinished (Shoot To Kill), so we recommended every one's movie to eachother to discuss it later as usual in our discussion zone : The Gym !.I went to read its cover to discover that it's an action thriller thatgot (Sidney Poitier) as the lead and (Roger Spottiswoode) as adirector, so I rented it enthusiastically. And when I watched it, Ijust fell in love with it. (Shoot to Kill) was sharp, so solid and morebeautiful than most of the above. It's the good old school at its bestand that's ladies and gentlemen my favorite kind of action, not theawful grisly comic books graphic novels video games kind of rhythm,violent and idiocy (YES, Sin City, Sin Movies !). I see that this good movie got it all. Firstly the fine screenplay,especially when it cared not only about making good action thrillertime with no flaws at all, but also when it showed the comparison oftwo clever men and how everyone, in his own world and by hisenvironment's rules, is a real hero. Actually it said that the work ofany police officer in the city is as hard as the mountain climber'swork in the woods ! Or that the world is one giant jungle therefore youmust know how to survive but everyone by their special talents. Look atthe great (Poitier) so clumsy in the jungle with many wicked detailsand witty expressions while (Berenger) was the MAN. But then in thecity, it's totally the opposite, where (Poitier) was the master of hiscivilized yet the same brutal wood, and (Berenger) turned into thenaive one who discovered finally the truth about (Poitier) to tell himduring the car chase "You're a MAD MAN!".Furthermore, that strong music, that wonderful cinematography, and thatperfect editing; remember the armlet's scene at the beginning .. Thatwas unforgettable piece of work as a lesson in how to build a thrill inone short scene. And naturally the proficient direction. This moviedelivers greatly particularly at the last 15 minutes; I simply adorethis climatic sequence.I loved it to the extent that I watched it for a second time rightafter the first one immediately ! You can find it in my list for thebest 100 non-Egyptian movies ever. And still a fine enjoyment to watchthat one from the 1980s, thanks mainly to the iconic presence of(Poitier) as an action star here (try to believe that this gracefulelegant was 61 years old at the time !!). I didn't find till now anexplanation for his 11 years of absence as a movie star from 1977 to1988 ?! But whatever, he came back to make (Little Nikita - 1988) and(Shoot To Kill – 1988) and really what a huge difference between themboth as one is half good and one too good !.So after watching the movie, at the title's date, I remember sojoyfully that in the next afternoon I've met my friend at the very zoneof us, and when I asked him smiling "You FBI guys Do This Kind Of S**ta Lot ?" I had him and me answering in the same time imitating Poitier: "Every Damn Day !". Although it's a line which maybe we've heard inother movies or even TV shows before, but when it has Poitier'sperformance.. It becomes CLASSIC.

2012-04-14 01:19:46

Where is the DVD?

Brilliant movie! The humor, the drama, the suspense, the acting...all superb. The bear scene is a classic that makes you fall backwards laughing. A great movie that never quite made it big, a sorry epitaph for this venue of great actors, screenwriting and direction. WHEN IS IT GOING TO COME OUT ON DVD? The world is waiting!