Action! Reaction! A film blog covering the banished and ever-lowly genre of action movies.

Thursday, July 30, 2009

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A Movieline...exclusive, brought to you by Ben Stiller and his good friends at 20th Century Fox.

As commenter nowirehangers noted, "he still makes me laugh."

Rodriguez, Pena, Moynahan taking the battle to L.A.!


Here's to hoping it's actually this hardcore

According to Variety, Michelle Rodriguez will further her action-packed career even more; she, along with Michael Pena and Bridget Moynahan have been cast alongside Aaron Eckhart in the upcoming sci-fi actioner Battle: Los Angeles (we all know it should've been called 'The Battle of Los Angeles' and had the respective RATM album as the soundtrack, but I digress).

Though lead roles have been hard to come by, Rodriguez has molded herself into a modern action goddess, starring in everything from Girlfight, The Fast and the Furious series, Resident Evil, S.W.A.T., video games such as Halo 2, Driver 3, Bloodrayne, and, most notably, the upcoming James Cameron sci-fi opus Avatar (not to mention the upcoming Robert Rodriguez Grindhouse opus Machete). I myself have been a big fan and things just seem to be getting better for her.

Battle: Los Angeles could be pretty badass if it's anything like the similarly-titled Rage Against the Machine album, at least in tone. There's been a lot of post-apocalyptic (apoCRAPtic?) sci-fi actioners over the last few years, so it's got to find some way to separate itself from the rest of the pack. A cast headlined by Eckhart and Rodriguez--not to mention Michael Pena--is a good start. We'll see how it progresses.

Source: Variety

Monday, July 27, 2009

The Deadliest Man Alive: Searching for Count Dante

Just a fascinating read. I don't even know how to explain it. Head over to Kung Fu Cinema for the full article by Nigel Clarke. It's just nuts!

Saturday, July 25, 2009

"Everyone else should be afraid of us"

The Indie Gods with the Princess of Doom!



Unstoppable!

New Expendables photos!

Pure awesomeness! Check them out:


















Jet Li, Eric Roberts, Randy Couture, the whole fucking gang just looks awesome. Somebody spilled a can of whoop ass on the floor! Sweet Jesus!

Rodrgiuez confirmed, Lohan offered roles in Machete



Michelle Rodriguez's awesomly action-packed career continues. The previous rumor that she'd been cast in Machete has now become valid, as well as the distinct possibility of Lindsay Lohan. From Rodriguez (Robert) himself:


As for De Niro and Seagal, Rodriguez says that they've sent the script out to a bunch of "big names" and that "we start shooting in a few weeks."

This may just outdo itself, or rather, the original trailer.

Sources: MTV, The Playlist

The Book of Eli trailer

Doesn't look as solid as the setup promised, but that could just be faulty advertising. Or it could just be bad.



Oldman, even mullet-Oldman, looks good as the villain, and I like the big gruff black guy Denzel as opposed to normal Denzel. I can't say I enjoy the run-of-the-goddamn mill post-apocalyptic landscape. But with the Hughes Brothers, you never know. Check it out.

Source: Living in Cinema

Friday, July 24, 2009

The worst best films ever made

Found a few nuggets over at In Contention today, one, being this wholly refreshing article, on, well, 'the worst best films ever made.' The Searchers, Jules and Jim, Shawshank...I agree with a lot of what Tim Lott (a lot of Lott) says here, but part of the beauty of it is in the disagreements (calling Psycho less innovative than Blair-Witch was sure got my attention!), obviously the point of the article as a whole. Anyway, check it out, have your rant, feel better.

In other news, Batman's coming back, according to Gary Oldman. But you didn't hear it from him. Goodness no.

And, finally--although this joke was previously pulled off at Something Awful, it still works wonders on me:

Thursday, July 23, 2009

When Harry Met Ron

Simply magical.



And not just because it's a HP pun.

Source: LA Times, In Contention

Monday, July 20, 2009

Promo reel/extended trailer for The Eagle Path

Twitch has featured a new promo reel/trailer for The Eagle Path, the next project of international action star Jean-Claude Van Damme in which he stars, writes, and directs. Check it out here:



As I've said before, this makes his decision to turn down The Expendables all the more cringeworthy. That said, the action still looks semi-decent and it's cool to see Van Damme's real-life son, Kristopher Van Varenberg, in a part and seemingly doing it well.

I know I'll see it either way.


Source: /Film

Friday, July 17, 2009

UPDATE: Best Rumor of the Summer: MACHETE!



UPDATE: Lindsey Lohan? OMG trashy/awesome.

De Niro. Seagal. Rodriguez. Hill. These household names obviously bring to mind a badass, pure-awesomeness sort of vibe, and that's exactly the stage that's been set as Robert De Niro, Steven Seagal, Michelle Rodriguez, and Jonah Hill have all supposedly been cast alongside Danny Trejo in the feature-length expansion of Machete, one of four fake trailers that accompanied Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez's original Grindhouse double feature.

A variety of sites, from Bloody Disgusting, to The Playlist to /Film, are reporting varying tidbits of the news. I just hope for pure awesomeness's sake that it's all true. For Danny Trejo to be surrounded by this kind of class in a movie premise as lowly as Machete is truly ingenious. This skyrockets Robert Rodriguez's next project to the top of my list. I can't wait. Stay tuned.


Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Review: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince


Jim Broadbent steals the show—the very good show that is Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Harry Potter and the Half-Prince is brilliant, a low key comedic epic—the first epic of the series—playing as sort of a 'Harry Potter's Greatest Hits.' Director David Yates may not play to the magical resonance of Alfonso Cuaron, or to Chris Columbus's attention to children, or even Mike Newell's smoldering melodrama, but what he does play to, is everyone, and brilliantly. Beyond brilliantly.

With the previous installment, Order of the Phoenix, Yates crafted a dark, visceral, lean 'n mean slice of entertainment—perfectly fitting with the prevalent style of the new millennium. With Half-Blood Prince, he's reinvented not only himself, but the weighty series as well, keeping it fresh and well-tuned for its imminent, two-part conclusion.

Kicking off with a dark nod to terrorism, Prince soon settles in to its more relaxed, more homey, and so very refreshing simpler kind of storytelling, as we follow the trio through yet another year up at ol' Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. And the trio—in actors Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson—are more or less put on trial, as they are given an enormous amount of screen-time, and especially amongst one other. Radcliffe has perfected Potter as Bruce Willis had with John McClane at the time of Die Hard: With a Vengeance. The same goes for Grint and Watson. It's almost as if they're on cruise control, but in a good, relaxing way.

Despite this overall tone, Yates still inflicts wonderfully-constructed action sequences and truly inspired moments of terror, making one wonder not only why the film wasn't rated PG-13, but why it wasn't rated R. For example, a scene in which a student is hexed and then subsequently possessed/impaired is legitimately, utterly, terrifying. The same goes for what hides in the lake (don't touch the water). There is also some great Chosen One-on-Chosen One action between Potter and peer-nemesis Draco Malfoy (the always over-the-top Tom Felton). The scene in the bathroom between the two is the best of their encounters, though the others are worthy of mention as well.

The palette of the film effectively sets itself in a truly "magical" world. This look, ever-present in recent years, is flat-out annoying in most films, even in the fantasy genre. Yet, somehow, somebody—Yates, cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel, maybe even J.K. Rowling herself make it work. The film looks, sounds, and just is, wonderful, and unfortunately it feels like a rarity in that respect.

In the end, David Yates has done his best to emulate a more famous David, and has succeeded with flying (although sometimes muted) colors. Poor man's, relatively, modernized, whatever—call him what you want, but Yates has proved he's the man for the job, and he's more than welcome to return to Hogwarts for another—and final—year. Above all, Yates makes sure Half-Blood Prince knows its place. It knows that it's the sixth entry in the series. It knows that the seventh and final chapter is looming. It knows who, what, and why it is. And that's why it works, as the gang always says— "brilliantly."


***1/2 out of ****

~ Patrick Fryberger

Friday, July 10, 2009

Zen Pulp: On Michael Mann



Matt Zoller Seitz of Moving Image has been putting together a nice little video series on the work of Michael Mann. I've been following it via Hollywood Elsewhere and it's simply wonderfully done (even the title's perfect).

I'm still very much unhappy with Public Enemies, but it sure doesn't blot the career of a man as talented as this.

You can check it out here.

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Jennifer's Body trailer

I've been ignoring this mostly out of my distaste for Megan Fox (she is anything but attractive), but after noticing the names Karyn Kusama, Diablo Cody, and Jason Reitman (and Fox, admittedly) on the same ticket, I just had to check it out. Watch for yourself:



It's as if the last gasps of toughness in indie just said "fuck it" and got together for a romping good time with the anti-indie princess, Megan Fox. It's the first great indie super-collaboration of the new millennium! I'm actually very excited for this.

Source: Thompson on Hollywood

Monday, July 6, 2009

Review: Public Enemies


Don't let the Mann-erisms fool you; you're still watching a movie

More different than innovative, more of a retread than ambitious, Michael Mann's latest crime opus falls short of greatness and ends up wading in hazy mediocrity, with its inspired moments (and even more inspired performances) being drowned out in Mann's self-defeating proceduralism and perfectionism. Even more alarming, however, are Mann's uncharacteristic technical missteps: one, being the already much-discussed decision to shoot in digital, and two, the unfathomably bad—and I mean unfathomably—job of the sound department—composing, mixing, editing...nothing, it seems, was spared.

The story follows P.E. #1, John Dillinger (Johnny Depp), as he travels across the U.S. robbing banks and in search of "baseball, movies, good clothes, fast cars..." and a woman, found in whimsy but tough Billie Frechette (Marion Cotillard). Director Michael Mann's decision to shoot the 'period' piece in digital was controversial from the outset, and its consequences cannot go ignored. The problem with digital is not so much that it makes a period movie look bad, but that it makes almost any movie look bad. The woozy motion, the tacky zoom-ins, the odd-looking lighting (more distracting than realistic), it just takes the whole "movie magic" out of the equation, at least in my eyes.

And, is it just me or did someone forget to hire a composer? Wait, did they forget a sound editor too? What about a mixer? For someone as dedicated as Michael Mann to let this all-out catastrophe to happen is, well, unfathomable. The orchestral cues are more cornball and hammed up than their golden-age predecessors. Half the time we can't understand what Dillinger nor his lady friend (what was her name again?) are saying. And worst of all, is the use of stock, video game-quality effects for doors opening and closing in the prison scenes. I felt like I was playing Goldeneye again, or something. It was ridiculous beyond anything.

Where Enemies (actually, finally) succeeds is in its titular characters and the great performances behind them. Depp, for one, is serviceable and then some as Dillinger; his charisma carries him through the role. Christian Bale, once again (as in Terminator: Salvation) proves to be more effective in sharing the spotlight; his Melvin Purvis is cold, determined, lonely—it's almost as if the personas in Mann's Heat were swapped: Neil McCauley playing cop, and Vincent Hanna as criminal. Cotillard is awkward and only seems to look the part. Billy Crudup's Hoover reads his lines as if the movie was actually made in the thirties, and not just about them (a little ham never hurt anyone). Channing Tatum's cameo as Pretty Boy Floyd is a hoot—seriously one of the best moments of the film. Rory Cochrane and Stephen Dorff make intriguing faces for good and bad, respectively. As with most of Mann's films, the cast is a real joy.

But, above all and any, is Stephen Graham's flat-out invigorating take on Baby Face Nelson. Nothing short of terrifying, never has a character been so unhinged—a little of Baby Face goes a long way—almost too long, in fact, as I'm still scared of him sitting here writing this. He's all monster and no man. It's a character performance for the ages, just spectacular.

In the end, Mann puts the 'true' in true story, playing the film like a history channel documentary with its great sequences (Purvis's intro, Purvis and Dillinger's talk, Dillinger paying a visit to the police, a shootout) being washed away in a broader palette of blandness. Unfortunately, it seems that even the usually visually-lush Michael Mann has fallen to a post-new millennium bleakness. There was a reason Heat was titled such. Somebody's gotta turn up the heat.


** out of ****

~ Patrick Fryberger

When was the last time...

I wrote an actual news bit? I don't know either.

Anyway, I'm planning on seeing Public Enemies later this afternoon, review to follow.

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Just stupid

Jeffrey Wells of Hollywood Elsewhere thinks the Harry Potter franchise hasn't "mattered for years?" Please.

Even more witless, is a claim by commenter btwnproductions, declaring that the franchise is the "dullest ever."

Adapting one of the most popular series of all time, this is a franchise that has reinvented itself over and over again with directors as diverse as Chris Columbus, Alfonso Cuaron, and David Yates. Not only that, but the quality of the films--regardless of an already great source material--has vastly improved through the years.

If he's complaining that the films aren't tough enough a la The Dark Knight not being R-rated and vulgar and violent, etc, then he's just not getting the point. These movies are for kids, but they are sophisticated--almost to the level of the Pixar releases of the past five-six years. In other words, they give something for adults to tap into, especially in the entertainment department.

Fortunately, many other commenters on the site have refuted this madness much in the same way I am here. Granted, it's only an opinion, but a very brash, arrogant, and ignorant one.

And, as I always say, nobody beats HP when it comes to advertising:

Saturday, July 4, 2009

Friday, July 3, 2009

"Dynamite, pole vaulting, laughing gas, choppers--can you see how incredible this is going to be? Hang gliding, come on!"


Happy July 4th...for a closer look (which we know you want), head over to Scanners

A wonderful retrospective on Die Hard and its long train/boat/bus of rip-offs, from the IMDb hitlist

Resident Evil gets an afterlife

Star Wars (hopefully) re-de-animates itself

A particularly inspired Cracked piece on '80s montages

A little off-topic--a surprisingly great piece by the AV Club on Woody Allen, who I'm big fan of (though I'm not one of AV)

And finally, if you don't know already, Burbanked is most unfortunately on its way out. I didn't report this before because it was a little too disheartening. To celebrate such a great blog, check out the classic Action Figure Mood Indicator feature, especially the Kevin Costner, Kirstie Alley, and Edward Furlong figures!


Thursday, July 2, 2009

Too much death

Too many celebrities have been dropping off the Earth lately. It's hard to even name names at this point, but I'm sure you've stumbled across the stories here and there, from MJ on down.

Many say that it's shallow or flat-out ridiculous to put so much investment in an individual with whom you have no direct contact--an acquaintance by fame alone. Well, I say different. It's something that makes us click. There's a reason celebrity sells so well. It's just the way of the world/this culture/human nature/whatever you want to call it.

And with the direction film has been heading, that is, since the new millennium (yes, time doesn't exist, but it exists to us), this is all the more depressing. The people, the cast and crew, the directors, producers, writers, and actors who made the films we love what they are are slipping away, and sometimes, the whole industry seems to go with them. I often maintain that cinema's last stand was in 1999. Not to get epic, but where does that leave us now?

It leaves us in Terminator: Salvation territory, both literally and figuratively. And if you've seen my recent reviews, then you know what I'm talking about.

What a way to kick off July! Too much death!



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