Assassins (1995)

Sylvester Stallone is a hired Assassin in the film written by the Wachoski's and directed by Richard Donner. He is number one in his profession, you join him taking a mark out in to the swamp, another professional he has been tasked with killing. You have Antonio Banderas a younger Assassin who knows Sylvester Stallone is number one and he wants to be number one. You have Julianne Moore a hacker that comes between them as a target and from there the story unfolds as Stallone realises what she has and decides to use it to get out of the business.

The film comes to a conclusion outside a small white bank in a tropical location and it is strange finish as Stallone knows what will happen as it is a similar situation that he previously went through when he took the number one spot. Now this is an interesting story but he knows what is going to happen so well and can tell exactly what Banderas is going to do I don’t know why he did not make more sure of what he was trying. Thinking about the end of the film it was not very clear and while gripping in a tension filled way too much thought about how they do it makes it seem silly.

This film is enjoyable enough to watch and appreciate a couple of the gun fights but it is not high entertainment and is typical 90’s Stallone action driven fare. Would only recommend to people who enjoy this sort of film and think that from my brief description you will know if it is for you or not. Overall this is a 5 out of 10 film, not worth going out of your way to get but worth seeing especially for free.

Boogie Nights (1997)

From Paul Thomas Anderson this film charts the rise and fall of Dirk Diggler played by Mark Whalberg as he enters and becomes a star in the 1970's and 1980's porn industry. With Burt Reynolds as the Producer Jack Horner, with Julianne Moore, Heather Graham, John C Reilly and Luis Guzman rounding out the cast. It follows Dirk from a broken home to finding fame in the industry to hitting rock bottom and coming through to the other side. It also follows some of the side characters and explores some of the other side of the Pornography industry as it came into the video age.


This is actaully a really interesting exploration of an industry most people have some sort of thoughts on and while it is not for everybody, I think that it is areally interesting human drama at times that is just set within the back drop of the sex industry. It shows the lows that some people end up in and it also shows some of the highs that they can achieve and is as much about the American Dream as it is about the sex industry.


I have now seen this film a couple of times and apart from the fact that Mark Whalberg is not a great actor I think his niavety and woodenness actually helps him portray the character of Dirk Diggler as he is born with a gift for the industry and really just falls into it through the size of his member rather than any real ability. I really enjoyed this film watching it a bit older and wiser and really understanding the fact that the Sex industry is simply the chosen back drop and I would give this a strong 3 star recommend and think that everybody should give it a go, knowing that it will not be for everybody.