punishmentpark A terrific thriller adventure flick with lots of fine acting by Sydney Poitier, Tom Berenger, Kirstie Alley and the whole bunch playing the survivalists. The film is roughly divided into three geographical sections: 'heist' (prelude), 'survival trip' (the main course) and 'finale in Vancouver' (aftermath). All parts are suspenseful (and comical at moments), but the different settings really add to the colour of the movie.The group dynamics when Alley's characters teams up with a crew (one of them is the baddie, but who?) work great, and Berenger and Poitier have good chemistry as well. Of course, the film works best when you see it for the first time (and you still don't know who the baddie is), but I'm always looking forward to seeing it once in a while on the BBC. It's one of those re-runs that never bores, and I must have seen it at least four or five times by now.9 out of 10.

thinker1691 Police in every nation have, over the decades accumulated hundreds of stories concerning the chasing of criminals. Sometimes in the city, sometimes in the country and then there are times when the bad guys try to jump jurisdiction by crossing the boarder. This is one such movie called " Shoot to Kill. " The story is of Steve (Clancy Brown) a very intelligent, very crafty diabolic killer who begins with a B & E, armed assault, robbery, kidnapping and graduates to outright Murder. To combat him the F.B.I. assigns a senior and experienced agent named Warren Stantin (Sidney Poitier). The two meet with a robbery, murder where Steve takes his loot and kills his victim and makes good his escape. Stantin vows he will eventually apprehend him. A short time later, Steve emerges by infiltrating a troop of hikers into the U.S. Canadian mountains, where Steve is once again pursued by Stantin who is helped by Jonathan Knox, (Tom Berenger) a stubborned, but very experienced mountain guide who is determined to save his girlfriend (Kirstie Alley) from the clutches of the killer. In it's cast are several well known actors who have also played heavies, like Richard Masur and Andrew Robinson and make it difficult to identify the real killer. The movie is filled with action, adventure and some light moments between the principals. All in all, it's a good film and one is thankful for allowing Mr. Poitier to return to center stage before the camera. ****

Jackson Booth-Millard With a great leading actor, a good supporting cast, and director Roger Spottiswoode (Turner & Hooch, Tomorrow Never Dies) involved, I thought, I can't see anything that would be bad about. Basically a man has stolen diamonds from his own jewellery shop, and then the man finds out a mad mad demands the diamonds in exchange for his kidnapped wife. The mad man manages to escape, but FBI agent Warren Stantin (Sidney Poitier) with wilderness experienced and skilled Jonathan Knox (Tom Berenger) as he runs through the Northern American forest. In this forest is a group of hikers, including Knox's girlfriend Sarah Renell (Kirstie Alley), Norman (Richard Masur), Harvey (Hellraiser's Andrew Robinson), and the revealed diamond thief, Steve (Clancy Brown). Also starring Kevin Scannell as Ben, Frederick Coffin as Ralph, Michael MacRae as Fournier, Robert Lesser as Agent Minelli, Les Lannom as Sheriff Dave Arnett, Frank C. Turner as Austin Crilley and Walter Marsh as Sam Baker. Poitier is a good lead, and Brown is a not too bad villain, I think it is the scaling outdoor sequences involving vast forest, rigid rocks and rushing rivers that are most watchable about this quite alright action thriller. Worth watching!

tenthousandtattoos First, if you haven't seen it, and are planning to, DON'T look at the back of the Region 1 DVD cover! It gives something away that is supposed to be a mystery until about 40 minutes into the movie! This movie is cool in that it's one of those suspense thrillers that limits the number of protagonists and does away with all but superficial sub-plots in favour of fast-paced, exciting chase sequences. As one reviewer said, it "grabs and doesn't let go".We begin in the city. Sidney Poitier plays Warren Stanton, an FBI, or "G" man, called in by the local cops to investigate a suspicious diamond theft - the owner of the store apparently "stole" his OWN diamonds. It only takes a stern gaze from Stanton for the store owner's resolve to break, and he spills the beans: a man has kidnapped his wife, and is holding her to ransom while the owner goes and gets the diamonds.Stanton intervenes, and tries in vain to negotiate the woman's release with disastrous consequences, and the man makes his escape. We know immediately this guy is dangerous, that's evident from the way he executes the maid, but what we soon learn is that he is extremely smart as well. Except for one huge mistake, which ultimately cost him his life even though he makes said mistake about 20 minutes into the movie...but anyway...nitpicking! I'll talk about the mistake in a sec.The man escapes into the Pacific Northwest wilderness, hooking up with a troop of holiday fisherman being led through the rockies by a guide, Sarah (Kirstie Alley). Cut off from outside communication, there is no way to warn Sarah or her fishermen that a dangerous killer walks among the group.Stanton, in the meantime, enlists the aid of Sarah's boyfriend Johnathan Knox (Tom Berenger), a "rugged mountain man" type, to lead him into the wilderness in pursuit of Sarah, who (unknowingly at first) is harboring a psycho.Interestingly, the Australian release title of this film, Deadly Pursuit, was more fitting i thought. Now, the mistake: the killer has escaped, basically...he's in the woods, he's killed a fisherman for his clothes, he is gonna join the fishing guys and Sarah and basically hijack the adventure holiday to get himself over the border into Canada. Now, why on Earth would he shoot the fisherman in the left eye (being the EXACT SAME way he executed the diamond-guy's wife) thus tipping the authorities to the fact that it's the same guy responsible. For the smart guy he's made out to be, it seems a bit far-fetched that he would leave such an obvious signature. Maybe a bit of lazy writing which I can kind of forgive, given that the rest of the film is so good. Or maybe I'm way off and it's just that this killer is a bit of an idiot and egotist who WANTED Stanton to know it was him. Either way, it's a great chase/adventure through the mountain wilderness, with some great photography and several key stunt sequences that really work. Stanton's fish-out-of-water stuff provides some comic relief, like the moose scene, and the "what the hell are these?" - "Battery powered, heated socks, the latest thing!" The music is also good, fitting to the action and the pace of the film. Kirstie Alley is good as the tough mountain chick, who is "pretty good at looking after" herself, and shows that she's not all talk once the kidnapper reveals himself to her. Tom Berenger plays another "tough guy" role here with enthusiasm. He's a rugged character, tough as nails and you feel his commitment to finding Sarah at all costs. You want him to get his hands on the kidnapper-guy, because you just know he'd kick the sh*t out of him in three seconds, gun or no gun! Anyway...that wouldn't be as exciting a movie I suppose! So a couple of things stretch believability...but they are minor unless you are really opposed to that kind of thing...in which case maybe don't hire action-thrillers? The only one that's a bit strange is having the 50-something Sidney Poitier take like 6 gunshot wounds to the torso (and I'm talking, like, a 9mm here, not a .22 or a pellet gun) and yet is still able to wrestle a 30-something, uninjured man over the side of a ferry and then proceed to hand-fight him underwater and finally kill him, all while holding your breath (you'd wanna hope one of those bullets didn't puncture a lung!) and once he's disposed of, get yourself back on board only to collapse just in time for some paramedics to put a stretcher under you...okay...but anyway, like I said, this is an ACTION-THRILLER...not a documentary or hard-hitting war drama, so I can forgive some minor plot discrepancies and liberties here and there, because, all in all, this is just a damn good film! It's worth mentioning that the script is co-written by Daniel Petrie Jr - a great mind of the action genre.It's great in that for the first 40 minutes or so, you as an audience member do not know who the killer is among the band of fisherman. Once you do know, it's like the gloves come off and this film kicks into high gear for the final thrilling chase sequence as the killer makes his desperate dash for the border, Stanton and Knox only a step behind... In having a tricky reveal like that, you kind of limit your audience as far as replay value is concerned, so I can sort of understand why this movie is kind of forgotten today. Once you know the twist why bother watching it again? I say for the performances, the setting, the adventure...I've seen this movie probably 20 times growing up and again just last night, and I can still say I enjoy it immensely.