FX

F/X: MURDER BY ILLUSION (PG)

D: Robert Mandel

Orion (Dodi Fayed & Jack Wiener)

USA 🇺🇸 1986

106 mins

Thriller

W: Robert T. Megginson & Gregory Fleeman

DP: Miroslav Ondricek

Ed: Terry Rawlings

Mus: Bill Conti

Bryan Brown (Rollie Tyler), Brian Dennehy (Lt. Leo McCarthy), Diane Venora (Ellen), Cliff DeYoung (Martin Lipton), Mason Adams (Col. Edward Mason), Jerry Orbach (Nicholas DeFranco)

Bryan Brown plays movies effects maestro Rollie Tyler, who is invited by the Justice Department to stage a phone assassination of a Mob informer, but finds himself set up and becomes the target of hitmen and on the run from the police.

This thriller is quite well done and is inventive with it's idea, but unfortunately becomes a clichéd chase film in the final half. A rather forgotten film from the 1980's.

6/10

F/X2: THE DEADLY ART OF ILLUSION (PG)

D: Richard Franklin

Columbia TriStar/Orion (Jack Wiener & Dodi Fayed)

USA 🇺🇸 1991

108 mins

Thriller

W: Bill Condon

DP: Victor J. Kemper, David M. Walsh & Tonino Delli Colli

Ed: Andrew London & Michael Tronick

Mus: Lalo Schifrin

Bryan Brown (Rollie Tyler), Brian Dennehy (Leo McCarthy), Rachel Ticotin (Kim Brandon), Philip Bosco (Lt. Ray Silak)

Practically a retread of the first film with special effects expert Rollie Tyler (Brown) teaming up with a Private Investigator to solve a mystery involving stolen gold medallions... with special effects puppets and movie makeup.

The original film was much better.

4/10

Bryan Brown in F/X2: The Deadly Art of Illusion