Predrag F/X was one of my favorite thriller of the 80's, a genuinely fun action film that takes itself just seriously enough to make its story credible but at the same time remains blissfully free of the delusions of grandeur that have led to so many overproduced, ultimately empty headed and painfully dull "thrillers" over the past couple of years. In short, F/X is the type of unpretentious, engaging film that could never be made by a Michael Bay or most of the other directors produced out of the Jerry Bruckhiemer.The film's main strength comes from the cast who all seem to be having a good time on screen and bring a surprising sense of conviction to roles that could easily have been played as B-movie stereotypes. Bryan Brown is one of those charismatic, obviously talented leading men who rarely gives a bad performance yet for whatever reason (though making movies like "Cocktail" probably didn't help) has never become a bona fide star. Playing the lead in this film, he proves that he did have the talent and the charisma to be a leading man and indeed, his low-key but likable lead performance is responsible for a great deal of F/X's strength. As the gruff police detective who becomes Brown's ally, Brian Dennehey is well, he's Brian Dennehey and, as always, that's more than good enough. That said, he also brings a welcome sense of humor to the proceedings and he proves once again that nobody in the 80's delivered profanity as wittily and skillfully as Brian Dennehey. The rest of the cast is full of character actors who all turn in nicely quirky performances with the standouts being Diane Venora who is sweet as Brown's girlfriend (whose ultimate fate if predictable is also well handled and rather sad), Cliff De Young who gives perhaps his best variation on his standard Yuppie henchman role in this film, Joe Grifasi as Dennehey's put upon partner, Mason Adams who perfectly captures the essence of everyone's kindly but kinda strange uncle, and the great Jerry Orbach who, playing a mobster with an all-important pace maker, overacts as if the world depending on it but is still a lot of fun to watch because, after all, he's Jerry Orbach. Still, there a some very clever things in here and the movie provides good suspense and excellent twists. You never know what to expect. The film was popular enough to spawn a sequel.Overall rating: 8 out of 10.

rekkusub F/X was an unexpected surprise for me. I found the title late one night, and the description drew me in immediately. I don't know of any other films with a special effects guy in the lead and I can guarantee there aren't any about said special effects guy faking a murder and being caught up in the subsequent fallout. The direction from Robert Mandel was sharp and intelligent. I enjoyed his use of longer shots, and the special effects of the movie itself still held up decently today (can't say that for much of the 80's). Mandel kept the action taut, and the suspense high. Performances in the film ran both ends of the spectrum, Megginson carried the movie well as the slick and clever Rollie. I found him to be a much more effective physical actor than an emotional one. Dennehy gave a great performance of a "cop on the line," and became the one I really rooted for during the film. On the opposite end, Rollie's right hand girl Andy (played by Gehman) was poor, some of her lines were painfully delivered.F/X took a novel idea and turned it into a great suspense film. This could have easily turned out into a spoof or a comedy film, but it was a wise choice to keep it earnest and visceral. This is on my short list of top suspense films for sure.

SnoopyStyle Roland Tyler (Bryan Brown) is a movies special effects master. One day, he's contacted by justice department agents to fake an assassination of a mobster. When the job was done, he finds the people who hired him are now trying to hunt him down. Now he must use all the tricks of his trades to survive. Investigating all the killings is no nonsense Lt. Leo McCarthy (Brian Dennehy) who is just starting unraveling the tangle of corruption.The only thing that concerned me were the red flags that Roland passed right thru. It seemed kinda naive for Royland not to notice that he was paid in cash, and the hit was in public with his face uncovered. You'd think he was smarter than that. But then John Chambers helped out a CIA operation. It's not unheard of. The bits and pieces of special effects insights were fascinating especially for its times. Brian Dennehy and Bryan Brown are great actors. They're able to put believability into this film.

Zbigniew_Krycsiwiki Great latter day film noir/ mystery flick has an arrogant special effects man Rollie Tyler (Bryan Brown) in NYC being hired by the FBI to fake the death of a mob informant. Things don't go according to anyone's plans.There's murder on the rain-soaked streets of Manhattan, trenchcoats, false moustaches, mistaken identities, a good looking sacrificial lamb (Diane Venora) , hard-headed stooge cops hilarious in their incompetency, and a great twist ending. Film also has a bit of a 'behind the scenes' feel to it, as we see some of the creation of the makeup and some of the effects.Screenplay leaves a bunch of open ends and unanswered questions, but that is part of its appeal, its mysteries are never solved. Yet, the film is very well written, with the screenwriters employing the theory of Checkhov's Gun many times throughout: the rain-soaked streets in the opening scene set up the later rainstorm, which was necessary to get Tyler in the doorway and undetected by the cops trying to kill him; Tyler's latex wrist makeup in an early scene is used to his great effect at the film's end; we are discretely shown Mason's earpiece several times early on, which also plays a role in the film's climax; DeFranco's pacemaker, and on and on. A great little obscure thriller, with a great fight between Tyler and gunman in the apartment one of the highlights. Another highlight is Tyler's burglar alarm.