Street Preacher op-ed, 12/24/2008

The Street Preacher makes his way to Buenos Aires

The main reason I've been so busy apart from finals and the holidays in general is that I've been preparing to go to Argentina for a little under a month's time. With that in mind, this blog might temporarily go stagnant, but as always it will be back better than ever; in other words, I won't give up on you!!! (or, rather, probably just myself, but anyway...)

Without further ado, here's a few news pieces I've wanted to touch on but have been too lazy to do so:

First, the cornerstone of this blog--Sylvester Stallone's future project, The Expendables, has confirmed the additions of Forest Whitaker and Randy Couture. Is this going to be one of the greatest action movies ever? I dare say it will. Stallone said the reason he added Couture was to help boost his stock, or rather, make him more famous. And well, as tacky as that may seem, I really hope it pans out. Couture has struggled through a variety of projects from Cradle 2 the Grave, a direct-to-dvd Scorpion King sequel, and the successful third entry in the Command and Conquer: Red Alert series, and it's my opinion that he deserves some recognition as something other than a fighter. He can act competently enough for action standards, and The Expendables will really be his test, if not last chance, at an action movie career. More power to him.

And nothing needs to be said about Forest Whitaker being added except that he's pissin' on us, he's pissin' all over us, and you know what it tastes like? It tastes like piss!

***Update*** But wait, just when you thought it couldn't get any better. A rumor from AICN:

Bullock might be reteaming with Sly for his awesome sounding ensemble action flick THE EXPENDABLES. They hear she's up for the role of a government agent who is partnered with Forest Whitaker in tracking down the hired guns (Sly, Jason Statham, Jet Li and Dolph Lundgren) on a mission to take down a dictator. They say the talks are happening, but it's not a done deal yet.

(Giddy 'OMGs' and untimely excitement) I think I have to catch my breath on this one. This may be the greatest action ensemble ever. The Dirty Dozen? Well that's EXPENDABLE.


Moving on, here's a movie I've been really looking forward to. Steven Seagal's Against the Dark, where he plays 'Commander Tao,' taking on a legion of zombie-vampire werewolves, or something, it doesn't really matter:




Nothing more to say there. So, moving on, one tidbit I wanted to touch on was the original casting of Nicolas Cage in Darren Aronofsky's The Wrestler. Now, I haven't seen the film, and I'm not even a fan of Aronofsky, but I'm assuming it's pretty good considering the swell of praise surrounding it. According to almost every review, it hinges on the 'career-reviving' performance of Mickey Rourke, which I'm guessing is just as legit. In some article I read that Nicolas Cage texted Aronofsky or something to reiterate this point immediately after seeing the film. Well, no shit. Nicolas Cage couldn't play that kind of part if he tried. Now, I've learned to tolerate and even love Cage in some contexts, from the good (Raising Arizona, Wild at Heart, Leaving Las Vegas, Adaptation, Matchstick Men, Grindhouse) to the mediocre (Bringing Out the Dead, Gone in 60 Seconds, Lord of War) to the flat-out bad (Con Air, Face/Off, The Wicker Man), but he's rarely if never a 'good' actor. I just can't imagine Cage being washed up and gritty. It just doesn't work. The article also mentioned that the budget would've skyrocketed if Cage had been cast. Ridiculous.

Anyway, since every critic makes their "top-ten lists" or what have you, I thought I should at least join in the fun. The only problem is, unlike '07, I haven't seen like any of the important films this year. So, instead I'm going to make a top three list. A little more managable, eh?

1. The Dark Knight
2. J.C.V.D.
3. The Midnight Meat Train

Honorable Mention: Tropic Thunder

That was predictable enough. The Dark Knight was, is, and will be the cinematic event of the decade. It's going to take a lot to top it. J.C.V.D. is a film about my favorite action star playing himself, so the choice was inevitable. And thirdly, The Midnight Meat Train is the first straight-up 'old-school' horror film I've seen in years. Not even The Descent was as effective as the Meat Train, and if you haven't already I suggest you see it immediately (it might still be on Comcast on Demand, or other cable services, and the DVD will come eventually). Tropic Thunder tried really hard to be the Americanized Hot Fuzz, and even though it didn't quite reach the level, you have to give Stiller and Theroux credit, as well as Robert Downey Jr., Tom Cruise, and even Matthew McConaughey for their simply amazing comedic performances.


A quick note on the YouTube channel: It's coming down to the line whether to upload the videos in some abbreviational code for the blog or to broadcast them openly to ring in potential readers. I've still been amassing videoes behind the scenes, I just can't decide what to do with them, though I'll make up my mind soon enough. In the meantime, be sure to check out my Action Reaction advertisement on the sidebar--YouTube compressed the sound or something so the song sounds kind of hollow (it seems to lack the original bass), but the video still works. I'm very proud of it.

I can't promise the holiday deadline, but I can promise an eventual return. I'm overly swamped as I previously mentioned, so it's gonna have to wait 'til post-Argentina.

Anyway, I might see the new Punisher movie on Christmas for what my friend Cullen calls "a very Punisher Christmas." If I do, a review will soon follow. That's all for now.

~ teh Street Preach out!