THE GUNMAN

Excited. That's what I was. The director of Taken putting one of greatest actors of his generation in an action film? With Idris Elba and fucking Ray Winstone! What could be better than that?

Everything apparently. Well, that's too harsh. What should be ex-assassin turns back into killing machine turns into a few good action scenes with a lot of sappy bullshit in between.

While Sean Penn on-screen as Terrier makes The Gunman watchable, I have a strong feeling off-screen Sean Penn as writer/producer is what makes The Gunman boring as hell for much of its run time. Penn has never hidden his humanitarian nature, and there is nothing wrong with that. He is in a position to influence and help people less fortunate and I am all for that. While I have never read the book the film is based on it seems as if Penn and company are trying to get a message across about how people value money and power over human life. No shit. Chalk it up to human nature and lets move on. Instead The Gunman gets caught up in that message, and honestly I really didn't care.

It is a damn shame Director Pierre Morel didn't put his foot down and go the Taken route. Let the middle aged ass kicker do some ass kicking. Penn looks the part. While he seems to take care of himself in real life, besides the pack a day habit, Penn seems to have added a little muscle and trimmed down to look the part of an assassin. Watching the action scenes you couldn't tell the man is 54 years old.

Everyone else does a good job with what they are given, which isn't much. Elba and Winstone are always bring an air of class to a film and this is no different. They just are stuck with throw a way parts. Javier Bardem was a bit all over the place. Honestly all I could think of was Javier Bardem playing Nicolas Cage as a character in this. It was strange to say the least, but with a film that drags like this it was a nice change of pace from the boredom.

The Gunman isn't a bad film it is just mediocrity spread thick on a television screen. It could have been so much more than what it is. The little bit of action, especially the brutal knife fight, is well staged and exciting. But ultimately The Gunman is a wanna-be political message with some action in it as opposed to a full blown action film (which it should be). And as either one of those it's simply a time waster.

Pretty much how I felt while watching The Gunman. 

THE BEAUTIFUL ONES

What we have here is a modern day retelling of Romeo and Juliet, just with L.A. gangsters. Trancredi (Ross McCall) gets told by his Aunt (Julie Warner) to get close to a rival ganster's daughter (Fernanda Andrade). Obviously things don't go as planned and we end up with feuding 'families.' Throwing gas to the fire is Casper (Brian Tee) who seems to have some bad history with Trancredi.

I am a firm believer that at this point in time that there are very few truly 'original' stories. What makes stories great, whether it be on screen or written is how they are told. All of the films that Johnson has written bring to mind something 'classical.' He likes to pay homage without ripping off and it is refreshing in this day and age. All of the characters seem to be transplanted from a late 60's to early 70's film, but none of them play it as a character from a specific film. Trancredi for instance loves Steve McQueen. He even purchases a pair of the classic Persol 714 McQueen wore on screen. Even with the McQueen love, you never once feel Trancredi is written as McQueen, nor is Ross McCall trying to play Mcqueen. He's just a cool guy, played by a great actor.

The rest of the cast is excellent as well. I've loved Julie Warner since "Tommy Boy" and Ed Lauter (in his final role) can do wrong. Eric Roberts is always a joy to watch. Brian Tee is becoming someone exciting to watch as well.

As far as action goes, "The Beautiful Ones" action has more to do with straight up violence and consequence rather than looking 'cool.' Don't get me wrong, what Johnson and stunt coordinator Luke LaFontaine crafted for the gun and knife battles are fantastic, but don't go in expecting non-stop gun play. Instead look for something more old school and  real with squibs and blood as opposed to CG bullshit. You might wait for it, but when it hits it hits hard.

It should be said that "The Beautiful Ones" is a different kind of gangster film. Art-house gangster maybe? While that definition leaves much to be desired "The Beautiful Ones" really doesn't fall into your normal gangster category but that probably has to do more with the film feeling quite a bit more personal than the norm. And that is something that has been lacking in most of the films I watch now.

Check it out when it gets a wide release. Until then, here is the trailer.

NO ONE LIVES

Synopsis: Criminal rednecks fuck with the wrong guy.

Done.

While not original in the least, "No One Lives" proves to be a successful mishmash of horror level scenes of wet gore and the usual stylish action of Ryuhei Kitamura. While it starts a bit awkward and slow, the film kicks into high gear and really never slows down.

Luke Evans has never came across as the ass-kicking type but he is pitch perfect here. While unassuming at first glance, Evan's Driver turns out to be one cold sadistic son-of-a-bitch. If there is one problem with the film it is that you never feel that Driver is in any danger. Even when he's tied up to a fucking chair in a desolate gas station you aren't biting your nails waiting to see if Driver will make it. You just want him to hurry up and lose his shit so carnage can ensue.

And ensue it does. Basically what we have is a  cousin to "The Collection." Bodies are sliced, diced, and shot with most of them ending up in a bloody mess. The top notch make up effects from Almost Human/Robert Hall are worth the price of a rental if you are a fan of practical effects. That's right, corn syrup and latex. I'm sure there were a few CG 'enhancements' but most of the on-screen kills are done old school.

Simple and the point, Kitamura's "No One Lives" is a fun action-gore hybrid.

A GOOD DAY TO DIE HARD

                             Even with the maga-paycheck, Bruce is having to force a smile.

Director John Moore certainly can put together some impressive scenes of destruction. But that's about all "A Good Day to Die Hard" has going for it. The heart of the film is the Big McLane/Little McLane relationship and I was thoroughly uninterested in it the entire running time. Not to mention the villains are flat out boring which is a shame as one would hope the writers would have learned to not screw up what made the first three "Die Hard" films, along with most memorable action films, enjoyable.

If you have a large home theater system this is probably worth a watch just to hear shit explode and get crushed. While not the catastrophe that is "Live Free or Die Hard" it is still pretty fucking bad. Skip it, and watch Die Hard in the White House....I mean "Olympus Has Fallen."

PARKER

I have to admit I was very excited  to see "Parker" coming to the screen. Jason Statham is an actor who essentially plays the same character in all of his films, but he plays that one character well. Then seeing that Taylor Hackford ("Ray", "Proof of Life") was directing my excitement mounted. Then seeing Nick Nolte and Clifton Collins Jr.'s name attached cemented my excitement. How could they go wrong? 

 Then the trailer debuted...

All hope was lost. Statham as an hardened English criminal wearing cowboy boots and a matching accent? Lame.

When a trailer for a film is bad something is wrong. With slick editing and catchy music just about any film can be cut into a decent trailer. How in the hell did they make "Parker" seem so uninteresting? The character of Parker from the books is a hardened criminal. He isn't exactly nice, and while the books are fun reads they aren't exactly uplifting. A witty crime caper with action star Statham in a cowboy hat? No thanks. Ultimately this led me to avoid seeing the film in theaters, and catching it on DVD. 

While probably best that I didn't take out a second mortgage to see this in theaters, it actually turned out to be a well made albeit forgettable film. What hurts the film the most is how jumpy it is. And long. "Parker" is not nearly the fun crime film that the trailer made it out to be, but it's not the hardened criminal getting revenge film it should be either. Given Taylor Hackford's track record I was surprised at how bipolar "Parker" could be at some times. 

As far as the cast is concerned, they do what they can. Statham plays Statham as Parker, which isn't a bad thing. The man has charisma and charm but this isn't a stretch for him. Nick Nolte, Michael Chiklis, and Clifton Collins Jr show up and collect a paycheck. While she takes a lot of shit in the media Jennifer Lopez usually is decent and is no exception here. To be honest she is the most interesting character in the film. 

While it meanders all over the place, "Parker" isn't bad, but it isn't good. Other than one spectacularly brutal fight scene with an underused Daniel Bernhardt (Bloodsport III) "Parker" provides very little in the way of true action. "Parker" is simply light entertainment.

THE EVIL DEAD - 2013

     THE EVIL DEAD remake kicks ass. Plain and simple. For me the concern was never whether it would be a good film as Sam Raimi would be heavily involved in the re-imagining of his horror classic, but how good.

     How good is it?

     Really fucking good.

   There is no reason to go into great detail about the original film, as every horror fan I know hold the original EVIL DEAD in high regard. People were pissed off upon hearing the remake was finally greenlit, but upon hearing that Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell would be heavily involved they calmed down. Everyone was very happy to also hear there would be no Ash in the new one. After all, how could there be? There is only one Bruce Campbell.

Somebody else re-imagining Ash? Ha!

     Story wise, it isn't much different from the original one as a group of friends head to a cabin in the woods and start getting killed off by a demon who possesses them. I give the new writers Fede Alvarez and Rodo Sayagues credit for tweaking the story a bit as our new soon-to-be-slaughtered crew are going there for an intervention. It ends up working as it gives some strength to the crazy shit happening around them, but eventually everything goes into full on scare mode.
     Hands down this is arguably the goriest film I have seen in theaters. Supposedly cut for an R-rating, EVIL DEAD 2013 is anything but censored. Ferocious is the word to use as the friends die in some of the most gruesome ways imaginable. Prosthetic make up designer Roger Murray and his crew deserve almost as much credit as anyone, as his handiwork will probably be the most talked 'parts' of the film. When the violence hits it hits hard!

   
There isn't much more to say about EVIL DEAD 2013. It's a well made balls to the wall horror film that stands on it own. Does it match the original? No, but hopefuly it will introduce new fans to the series. It also gives hope to us horror fans that a remake can actually not suck balls.

THE MARINE 3: HOMEFRONT

Upon walking into Best Buy a few days ago I noticed there was apparently a third MARINE movie from WWE. I haven't watched wrestlin' for quite some time and I had no idea who the hell was on the front cover. When I turned the blu-ray box over I could have died...Scott Wiper was director. This might not mean anything to most people, but Wiper wrote, directed, and stared in what I consider to be a criminally underrated movie from 2000 called A BETTER WAY TO DIE. His output basically ceased until 2007 when he directed WWE superstar Steve Austin in THE CONDEMNED.



And then he disappeared again. While I don't know if this is due to underwhelming box office returns or not, Wiper is a man who needs to be behind the camera more.

THE MARINE 3 stars Mike "The Miz" Mizanin as, you guessed it, a Marine. He's on a two week leave and decides to visit come home and visit his sisters. When a terrorist(Neal McDonough) kidnaps his younger sister, Uber-Marine springs into action to save the day.

What Neal NcDonough really thinks about  THE LAST EXORCISM.

If you can get past how generic this series of films are, HOMEFRONT is a damn good film. Actually it is way better than it should be. The cast and crew seemingly forgot they were doing the third film in a direct to video series, and made something that is on par with the original. Given they didn't have to aim high, but the film delivers more in the acting department than what it should. Neal McDonough can do no wrong, and surprisingly "The Miz" is pretty damned good. What I didn't understand is not utilizing the always reliable Darren Shahlavi, but I'll take what I can get. 

Most importantly the action delivers. The boat raid is the highlight with a team of FBI agents getting mowed down by McDonough's militia. The Miz also gets to show his on screen fighting skills by going one on one with Shalavi. More action would have been appreciated, but instead of loading up the film with mediocre fights and gun play  Wiper and co-writer Declan O'Brien go for quality over quantity.

While HOMEFRONT isn't Wiper's best, it is a good flick. The story keeps you interested, mostly in part to the great cast. When the action does kick in, it is top notch, especially for a film with such a low budget. Entertain is the name of the game and THE MARINE 3 does just that. 

WONDER WOMAN PITCH REEL

Action-maestro Jesse V. Johnson (CHARLIE VALENTINE, THE PACKAGE) appears to have decided that he should be the man to direct a big budget WONDER WOMAN film...And from the look of this trailer I agree! Consistent with his feature length films, this trailer contains all the gritty action one expects from a Jesse Johnson film. The only difference is Nina Bergman is much nicer to look at than Steve Austin and Dolph Lundgren.

In two minutes you can get your daily dose of ass-kicking and a grizzled Peter Stomare! Enjoy.

Female Super Hero Fan Film from Jesse V. Johnson on Vimeo.

EL GRINGO

   

     EL GRINGO stars soon-to-be action legend Scott Adkins as a man with no name who rolls into a small Mexican town across with the New Mexico border. He carries a large bag of money. You know where this is going? Of course you do. Action legend plus a bag of drug money equals violence.
     While short on thought production, EL GRINGO delivers a fun ride with Adkins. Unlike certain action stars of the past, he seems to have some real acting chops to go along with the impressive fight skills we've seen in the UNDISPUTED sequels and EXPENDABLES 2. While his screen fighting skills can be seen for a quick clip here they aren't on full display here as GRINGO is a movie about guns. Action fans shouldn't be alarmed if they were expecting some serious ass kicking from Adkins as he and director Eduardo Rodriguez bring some real panache to the gun fights.

 Featuring some of the wettest squibs this side of Verhoeven Adkins blasts his way through cartel henchman with reckless abandon. The gun fights are the real highlight of the film, as it obvious the stunt team took real care to choreograph the gun fights. That's not to say GRINGO doesn't stumble at times though.


     Action films need a good bad guy and sadly this is an area where Gringo slips up. A corrupt Sheriff is the main villain, but sadly does very little. He spends more time shooting at stray dogs that sending his white skull faced cartel gang out to do any dirty work. Played more for laughs, the Sheriff isn't imposing enough and elicits very little fear from anyone it seems.  A little sadism would go a long way.
     Another problem I had is the lack of Christian Slater screen time. He's always been a solid actor and he brings a fine performance to such a small character in GRINGO.
Besides Adkins and Slater bringing their A-game, Yvette Yates brings the hot Mexican love interest to Adkins man with no name. With non-stop glistening cleavage it may be hard for some to recognize a good performance from her, but sadly like Slater she needed more screen time. And lastly, the ending was a let down. A final bullet ridden shootout is what was needed and it was no where to be found.
     EL GRINGO is bloody with some great action. Even when it stumbles, it isn't enough to take away from a fun ride as director Eduardo Rodrigiuez keeps his foot on the petal the whole time. This is definitely a winner for the After Dark Films Action team.
   

TOTAL RECALL 2012

   

    Letdown. A giant damned letdown. That's really all that can be said of the Len Wiseman directed mega-budget remake of the Schwarzenegger classic TOTAL RECALL. The story is essentially the same. Douglas Quaid goes to Recall, a place where they can implement a fantasy into your memory. Quaid, bored with how his life has turned out, decides secret agent is the way to go. As it turns out though, he actually is a secret agent who has had his memory erased. Maybe.
   

    Before going any further I will say Colin Farrell and the rest of the cast bring a lot of talent and respectability to the film. If it weren't for Farrell being awesome as always and Beckinsdale having a blast as one of the villains, I would have turned the DVD off.  Besides the stellar casting the other thing RECALL gets right is production design. Patrick Tatopoulos does a fabulous job with the landscape of the film. With a budget around 100 million, he had plenty to work with but none-the-less he always impresses.
     What hurts the film is boredom. For a film loaded with chases and shootouts, the film is just flat out tedious to sit through at times. I put that blames on the film's director, Len Wiseman. Why full blame you ask? Well, I have never sat through any of his films without feeling the exact same way. The man's going style out the ass, but his pacing is trite. Whether is be the first two UNDERWORLD films or the completely god-awful LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD, Wiseman's style is that of Stephen Sommers without any sense of fun. The irony of course is Wiseman's next picture is supposedly of a reboot of THE MUMMY, which Sommer's directed.
     TOTAL RECALL is a waste of talent, pure and simple.

LAWLESS

     

     What I can assume to be loosley based on a true story, Lawless tells the story of the Bondurnant brother's exploits during the prohibition in Frankilin County West Virginia. Jack, Howard, and Forrest Bondurant are bootleggers. The best in Franklin County. Even the police in the area know the score and let the brothers operate. Like all good things it comes to and trouble begins when corrupt Commonwealth Attorney Mason Wardell  brings in special deputy Charlie Rakes to get the moonshine business under control.
     Although seemingly a gangster film, Lawless' story isn't just a violent shoot em up. The Bondurant's are a tight knit group of brothers and it is their relationship that holds the story together. What could have become a period piece gangster film filled with tommy guns spraying, Director John Hillcoat tries to bring some humanity to the Brothers Bondurant. The love story elements that Hillcoat and writer Nick Cave put in place are secondary to the bond the brothers share. You really feel that Forrest and Howard are looking out for their younger and impressionable little brother Jack by trying to push him away from what they do.
     Technically the film looks fantastic. Hillcoat's films are never flashy and Lawless is no different. For a film about gangsters Hillcoat keeps the tommy gun mayhem to one small scene. The rest of the violence up until the end of the movie is blunt and to the point. Violence in Lawless is fast and grotesque, much like Hillcoat's first feature, The Proposition. Nick Cave's screenplay moves briskly with no wasted dialogue.   
     While Shia Lebouf gets top billing in Lawless it's Tom Hardy and Guy Pierce who steal the show. It really isn't Lebouf's fault. He's a kid star with name power put into a room with real actors. You never doubt for a second that Guy Pierce is Charlie "fuckin" Rakes. You never doubt for a second that Tom Hardy is Forrest Bondurant. Similar to Leonardo DiCaprio in Gangs of New York, Lebeouf just can't hold his own in the ring with the other cast members. At least not yet.
     Lawless is a fine film. While Lebouf's Jack brings the film a bit, the rest of the cast and crew are in top form. The biggest flaw is that there are some story elements that are almost unnecessary. Gary Oldman is wasted as gangster Floyd Banner. But some Oldman in any film is better than no Oldman at all.
   

ABRAHAM LINCOLN: VAMPIRE HUNTER

         

         I wanted Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter to work. Really, I did. The trailers made it look like non-stop goofy fun. While it did deliver some incredible sequences, the mix of real history and vampires felt a little off kilter and rushed as the movie progressed.
          A synopsis really isn't needed for this film, as the title sells it all. Abraham didn't have a great child hood as he lost his mother at a young age. It turns out milk sickness didn't really have anything to do with it as it was actually a vampire infecting his mother. Fast forward a few years and we get a vengeance seeking Abraham getting shit faced at a pub when he meets a stranger by the name of Henry Sturges (Dominic Cooper). After exchanging a few words, Abraham stumbles out of the bar ready to kill the man responsible for murdering his mother. Things don't go as planned of course and luckily for Abraham, Henry Sturges shows up just in time to save him. And yes, Henry Sturges is a vampire killer.
          Abraham's training begins at this point in the movie and while it didn't need to dwell on it I felt more time should have been given to his training. Maybe I am just too big of a fan of 80's training montages, but it really wouldn't have felt out of place. In no time at all Honest Abe can swing an axe as if he were on a high school color guard team. From there we are thrown into the action as Abraham heads to Springfield to begin his new career. Timur Bekmambetov is no stranger to wild action (Wanted anyone). CG enhanced bloodletting ensues at a rapid pace and the film never lets up. It is in section of film that AL:VH is strongest.  The two largest action set pieces are really a site to behold as dazzling doesn't even begin to describe them. Of course, if you are in the anti-CGI crowd you'll be disgusted at the sheer abundance of the 'enhancements.'
          AL:VH is certainly a one of a kind film, or at least story. With a little more emphasis on the vampires and a little less on the historical fact, it could have been a classic. As it stands it's a fun film the gets more right than wrong. It moves at a breakneck pace and should be viewed for the two big action sequences if for nothing else.

       

UNIVERSAL SOLDIER: DAY OF RECKONING

"If you go looking for Deveraux, he'll find you first..."          

          It must be said that before all else, UNIVERSAL SOLDIER: DAY OF RECKONING is a psychological horror film. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. Those expecting a film that exists in the the same world as the other films will be very disappointed. Even the main characters in the past Universal Soldier films (i.e. Van Damme and Lundgren) are placed in small yet essential roles. This is a Scott Adkins movie through and through
          The film starts off with a shocking point-of-view sequence John's (Scott Adkins) house getting raided by three assailants. What would normally ensue in any Scott Adkins film doesn't happen. He doesn't destroy the assailants with any spin kicks or quick fists to face combinations. No, he gets pummeled a crow bar. Cracked repeatedly over the head, he is forced to witness the execution of his wife and child by none other than Luc Deveraux (Van Damme).
          Long time fans of the franchise going into this film will be put off kilter by what happens over the next hour as you still are expecting a Universal Soldier film that bears some resemblance to the previous entries. That doesn't really happen. What plays out is more much more detective story as John tries to find out who murdered his family and why. I applaud the writers for going this route, as it is anything but generic. There are a few slow spots but the story never lingers. Director John Hyams shows that he is capable of providing more than just your basic action story. Does that mean there is no action though?

          Not only no, but hell no. What Day of Reckoning lacks in quantity it makes up for in quality and sheer brutality. Keeping with the horror movie theme, we switch from psychological to slasher movie mode. Blood is shed at an alarming rate. The camera never shies away as axes and machetes slap into flesh.  Both Van Damme and Lundgren get to trade blows with Adkins, but the star of the show for me was the sports store fight. Easily the best fight scene I have had the pleasure of viewing since the 'three-way' fight in The Raid, Adkins and the ever-bearded Adrei Arlovski beat the living hell out of each other. Bone-crunching doesn't begin to describe it. The rating of  "Rated R for Brutal Bloody violence..." really doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of what Reckoning delivers. There aren't goofy one-liners to take the viewer out of the movie to help sugar coat the pain of seeing someone sliced up or shot like so many deliver. The violence here is served straight up and only helps carry the darker tone of the film.
          Minor quips aside, like a glaring continuity error in the car chase, this entry in the franchise is completely different yet very welcome. The cult-horror elements in the film surprisingly work. John Hyams deserves a few "ata boys" for delivering a highly memorable and unflinching film. It's obvious he set out to make a very different film with Reckoning and in the process made the best Universal Soldier film yet.

TRANSIT

          Transit is one of the the first offerings from After Dark Film's foray into action film-making  While at this time I have only seen one other film from their action section (Dragon Eyes), it would seem to me action fans have something to look forward to.      
          The Sidwell family is in desperate need of repair. You see, papa Nate just spent 18 months in the slammer. Real estate fraud, not a hard crime. Nonetheless, 18 months is 18 months. While his relationship is strong with his youngest son, it isn't so hot with his wife nor his teenage son. As if things weren't bad enough, a group of thieves just pulled a heist in Baton Rouge and are trying to escape into Mexico. They need some way to bypass the cops and as luck would have it they find a route by using the Sidwell family...
          If you can say one thing about Transit, it is that it delivers a whole lot in a very short run-time (84 min).Car chases, fights, gun-play, and even a little family dynamic?! It is in this area that Transit really earns its points as you do care for what happens to Nate. Caviezel's Nate Sidwell is a broken man trying to mend,    and Caviezel nails the part. He brings some real acting chops to the table, and actually makes you sympathize and care for Nate in what could have been a generic role. The film hinges on Nate trying to make things right with his family and what better way to do that than to save them from some vile criminal slime? Speaking of criminal slime, James Frain needs an honorable mention as Marek. Essentially he's the eye of the hurricane. Calm and collected while his partners in crime go all to hell with panic. Frain shows us a man who doesn't    need to show menace as you know he is menace. I am not the only one with that opinion either it would seem as it won him a Best Villain Award at ActionFest.                                                                              
          How's the action you ask? Pretty damned good. While it veers towards more of a chase film than a straight up action flick, there is enough gun violence and fighting to go around. The chase scenes are the main player here and for the most part they deliver. What doesn't make a whole lot of sense though is how the villains can drive such a loud noticeable car yet no one can hear it. Stealth mode anyone? If it wasn't for the crisp clean cinematography this could pass for a 70's B-thriller that while isn't anything new, gets more right  than wrong in it's short run time.