Ciao (2008)
25KCiao: Directed by Yen Tan. With Adam Neal Smith, Alessandro Calza, Chuck Blaum, Ethel Lung. Jeff is taking care of everything Mark left behind when he died in an accident. Mark was about to have a visitor, Andrea, an Italian guy he met online. Jeff and Andrea have the chance to share memories of the Mark they knew while getting to know each other.
“Nearly 25 years and an endless amount of viewings later, John Carpenteru0026#39;s u0026quot;Escape from NYu0026quot; still ranks high among the chosen few, quintessential cult films of the 80u0026#39;s. This is, simply put, one of the coolest productions ever with legendary characters, ingenious plot and pitch-black humor. Kurt Russell, with eye patch and nihilistic u0026#39;you-donu0026#39;t-like-it-go-to-hellu0026#39; attitude, plays the role of his life as anti-hero Snake Plissken, recruited by his authority-nemesis Bob Hauk to bring back the American president who crashed with his plane in New York. One problem though; ever since crime rose with 400% in 1987, New York has become one giant and demarcated prison where criminals determine their own u0026quot;civilizationu0026quot;. Offered no other choice, Snake infiltrates NY for his mission and for a personal race against the clock. Especially the first sixty minutes of this movie are terrific, since there constantly is the introduction of new and imaginative characters. Class-A actors play all these utterly cool characters, which makes it even more memorable! Apart from Kurt Russell, u0026quot;Escape from New Yorku0026quot; also stars icons like Lee Van Cleef (u0026quot;The Good, the Bad and the Uglyu0026quot;), Isaac Hayes (u0026quot;Truck Turneru0026quot;), Donald Pleasance (u0026quot;Halloweenu0026quot;) and Harry Dean Stanton (u0026quot;Repo Manu0026quot;). Even the smaller supportive roles are well distributed, with the underrated Tom Atkins as Van Cleefu0026#39;s sidekick and Adrienne Barbeau in a very sexy part. The downfall of Americau0026#39;s number one city is atmospherically portrayed and Carpenteru0026#39;s own music score creates an excellent mood of despair. The action sequences are impressively photographed and John Capenter professionally camouflages that his film is, in fact, and independent production. My only slightly negative remark is that the story should have had a better, more explosive climax. Particularly because the first hour is so great, the ending seems quite tame. But, what the hell, this movie is a must for every film lover! In 1996, Carpenter also made u0026quot;Escape from L.A.u0026quot; and even though itu0026#39;s good entertainment, it canu0026#39;t compete with u0026quot;NYu0026quot;.”
