Ever since its release in 1988, “Die Hard” has been the action movie that spawned a million imitators. It’s almost become a joke to those who pitch films… “It’s like Die Hard on an aircraft carrier!” (“Under Siege”). There’s Die Hard in a mall (“Point Blank”), Die Hard in a prep school (“Toy Soldiers”) and even Die Hard on a mountain (“Cliffhanger”)! Bonus points to “Executive Decision” which did Die Hard on a plane exactly 6 years after Renny Harlin did it in “Die Hard 2″. Ok, well that was Die Hard in an airport, but still… close enough. In any event, Roland Emmerich the man who brought us such shallow, yet enjoyable blockbusters as “The Day After Tomorrow” and “Independence Day” presents “White House Down” or Die Hard in The White House. Even if it’s not the deepest movie out there, it sure is a fun time. Read more
Tag Archive for action
DRUG WAR (Blu-Ray Review)
Walter White has done what poor, old Stephanie Tanner couldn’t – he’s single handedly made meth pop culture’s drug du jour. Need proof? You could run out to Best Buy and check out “Grand Theft Auto V” with its meth dealing anti-hero Trevor. Better yet, you could go half way around the world to Hong Kong and scope Johnnie To’s new action thriller “Drug War” to see how far this trend has gone. What? You don’t want to hop a flight to Asia? You’re in luck! On 10/15 Well Go USA brings the film to Blu-Ray, right here in the States. This badass film is fun, exciting and violent… and while it doesn’t share much with “Breaking Bad”, you might think of it as a Hong Kong movie version of “GTA”. I don’t think anybody would complain about that. Read more
BREAKOUT (DVD Review)
Seriously… what ever happened to Brendan Fraser? After “Furry Vengeance”, he more or less disappeared. How bad could that movie have been?? Honestly… now I really want to find out. But in any event, the guy was in some pretty big films and then *poof* he’s banished to straight-to-videoland. Well, I actually don’t mind the him… and I’m a sucker for comebacks; I want to see a Brendan Fraser revival, damn it! Well, on 9/17 “Breakout” hits DVD courtesy of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. The dramatic actioner, which was also produced by Fraser could be the first step towards bringing my hopes to fruition. Or… maybe not. Read more
THE LAST TYCOON (Blu-Ray Review)
It’s pretty safe to say… no, it’s very safe to say that Chow Yun-Fat is one of the biggest badasses ever to grace a movie screen. The man has well over 100 films to his credit going back to the ’70s. From his work in John Woo’s Hong Kong pictures, to more recent Hollywood blockbusters, he’s shown an international appeal that few actors are able to achieve, much less maintain. For this reason alone, Mr. Chow must have been the only choice to star in Wong Jing’s new film “The Last Tycoon”, available on Blu-Ray 9/17. Part “Casablanca”, part “Grand Theft Auto”, he plays a gangster in 1930′s Shanghai at the top of his game, exuding a ruthless calm that only comes from years of being the baddest around. This is far from Chow Yun-Fat’s first rodeo, but he’s still riding hard. Read more
A COMPANY MAN (Blu-Ray Review)
Back in college, I took a beginner’s Japanese class. I remember learning that a white collar businessman is called a “Salary Man”. I guess it’s similar to calling someone a “businessman,” but in my mind, I always thought that Asians regard this class of worker differently than Americans. In reality, I think we both look at them as the drones that keep the economy running… only one seems to hide their discontent better than the other. In any case, when I watched Lim Sang-Yun’s “A Company Man“, I kept hearing the word “Sarariman” over and over in my mind. While most cubicle-bound businesspeople doing the 9-to-5 may claim that the job is killing them, I don’t think many have meant it literally. Here, it is quite literal… and quite exciting. Read more
THE GUILLOTINES (Blu-Ray Review)
What do you get when you combine epic sword fights, terrorism, betrayal and… decapitations? “The Guillotines“, of course! Andrew Lau, perhaps best known to Western audiences as the Producer/Director of the “Infernal Affairs
” trilogy, brings new meaning to “headhunting” with his latest film coming to Blu-Ray and DVD on 8/13 from Well Go USA. Part action movie, part period drama, “The Guillotines
” aims to fire on all cylinders and appeal to a wide audience. But as is brought up numerous times in the film, when you make a promise, it must be kept – and the promise is cool weaponry taking off heads. Unfortunately, just like a character in a Lau film, the Director betrays us and delivers something that’s mostly different. That isn’t always a bad thing. Read more