Female Action Directors

A truly great piece on female action directors, penned by Christian Niedan. Underlooked, underrated, and under-populated--the industry needs more women like these. Definitely worth checking out--found on the IMDb Hit List, by the way.

SA Celebrity Stalker: Super Turbo March Edition

This will always be my favorite feature at Something Awful. Nothing even comes close. The last four are particularly hilarious.


Check it out here.

The Action Reaction Redux

This is a third action mashup I had put together for which the audio had been blocked on YouTube. Hopefully it won't suffer the same fate on Vimeo.



Featuring the song "Takin' a Ride" by the Replacements, as well as clips from the following movies:

RoboCop
The Quest
Ronin
Detention
Fist of Legend
A Better Tomorrow
Rambo: First Blood Part II
Exit Wounds
The World is Not Enough
Replicant
The Fast and the Furious
Return of the Dragon
Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
Bloodsport
Silent Trigger
Batman Forever
Rumble in the Bronx
City Hunter
Starship Troopers
Top Gun
Death Race
Judge Dredd
Hawaii
Under Siege
Undisputed
Highlander 2: The Quickening
Alien: Resurrection
American Ninja
Goodfellas
Run Lola Run
Hard Boiled
Resident Evil: Extinction
Rushmore
The Specialist


Here's the link if the video doesn't work for you.

New Videos Added, 03/23/2009

New videos have been added to the YouTube page, including clips from the following movies:

Black Sunday
Blade
Game of Death
Girlfight
Hard Rain [blocked]
J.C.V.D.
Running Scared
Silent Rage

Be sure to check them out, along the rest of the collection. And, as always, more on the way!

Not as funny as it could've been, but still worth a look

The stuff below the picture is good. Check it out.

And don't forget this:

UPDATE: The President is now Expendable

Wesley Snipes out. Forest Whitaker out. 50 Cent, out. So now who's in? Well none other than President Camacho, a.k.a. Terry Crews!

This is a big development, but I'll be brief. Crews may not be the "insurance policy" that Whitaker was, but he's definitely an improvement over Curtis Jackson a.k.a. 50 Cent. He's really been making something of himself, taking roles both big and small in big and small movies throughout the decade (The 6th Day, Training Day, Idiocracy, Inland Empire, Street Kings, and the upcoming Terminator: Salvation are roles that I would praise him for, at least in principle). He should gel perfectly within the cast of the Expendables and maybe it'll give him the little boost he needs a la Randy Couture.

As always, we'll see how it develops.

Now this is an action movie!

Man, it feels good to be home! When was the last time you saw a movie look like this? Russell Mulcahy, bless you, you've made my day, and possibly my year.



I can't believe I missed the trailer for this--I'd glanced at the film before, as I'm always interested in what Mulcahy's up to, but shit, who cares--I'm glad I've seen it now and I'm even more glad to share it with you. And who does Thomas Jane oddly resemble in this trailer? I'll let you figure that one out for yourself. I can't wait.


UPDATE: here is the full trailer, as opposed to the promo/teaser trailer above (they're very similar regardless). Sam Peckinpah meets Walter Hill meets John Woo, or: the 1930s dragged into the 1970s dragged even further into a Woo-esque 1980s. This is my kinda movie.



Source: /Film

Forest Whitaker is truly expendable after all

Run, Forest, run!

A sad day for The Expendables. I don't even want to reiterate it. I'll just start ranting.

Forest Whitaker was the fifth, but wholly necessary wheel to the upcoming Expendables. The quadruple threat of Stallone, Jet Li, Jason Statham, and Dolph Lundgren was a great, great development, but it needed an insurance policy, you know? Forest Whitaker was that policy, and now that's he gone, a definite sense of risk seems to surround the project. Van Damme or Wesley Snipes would've provided more than insurance, so would Sandra Bullock, but those three big names fell through. And I say big names because, after all, that's ultimately what this movie's about--it's not about the characters, it's about the personas behind them. The old-school, washed-up duo of Mickey Rourke and Eric Roberts is cool, but that doesn't guarantee anything (there's a reason they're considered washed up). Either way, I have nothing against 50 Cent and I'll even go as far to say that I'm sure he'll do fine, but the doubt still lingers. Wrestlers, fighters, and rappers don't make surefire action stars. That's all I'm saying.

I'll still see it, dammit, but come on, Sly, keep it together.

New Videos Added, 03/15/2009

New videos have been added to the YouTube page, including clips from the following movies:

2 Fast 2 Furious [blocked]
BloodRayne
Over the Top
Resident Evil: Apocalypse
RoboCop 2
Rumble in the Bronx
Submerged
Unleashed [blocked in some countries]

Check them out, along with the rest of the collection. And, as always, more on the way!

The Expendables gets some 3:16!

Stone Cold's comin' for ya

A day or two ago, I had surpassed posting the news that Charisma Carpenter had joined everyone's favorite action ensemble epic of the new millennium, The Expendables (just another pretty face by my standards), but now, this new bit simply cannot be ignored.

Stone Cold Steve Austin 3:16 himself has now officially joined the cast. Now, not only do we have a real fighter on our hands (Randy Couture), not to mention a martial arts master (Jet Li), but a professional wrestler as well. These, combined with the big-name actioners like Lundgren, Statham, and Stallone himself should provide for some pretty entertaining fireworks. And don't forget that confimed Schwarzenegger cameo. And well, fuck, don't forget everyone else either, in Forest Whitaker, Mickey Rourke, Danny Trejo, and maybe even now Eric Roberts (!)? I'm still lamenting over the lack of Van Damage and Wesley Snipes, as well as the very much needed addition of Sandra Bullock, but oh well. Stallone's not gonna quit, he's not gonna give up no matters who gives him the shaft. Don't stop, Sly, don't stop.

I should be getting paid for the way I promote this Goddamned movie. It better be good, and damn good.

Review: Watchmen

When Bret Easton Ellis characters become superheroes...

Watchmen is essentially The Dark Knight's loser cousin from the '80s. You want to hate him, and you often you—the inadvertent cheesiness, the amateur taste in film, the even more amateur taste in music, the overstatement, in well, just about everything, but in the end, you really can't, because, after all, he's still family.

Zack 'the Goddamn fanboy' Snyder takes what is supposedly the most famous graphic novel/comic book/whatever of all time and, in a certain sense, gives it the grandiose spectacle it deserves. But its spectacle is multifaceted and while it can wow you at times (blood, sex, SLOW-MOTION!) it's also a convoluted, frankly psychedelic mess that simply cannot be ignored. The fact that Dr. Manhattan (played by Billy Crudup) disappears on Mars playing with ice for what, 3/5 (yes, this movie is long enough to be considered in fifths) of the movie, shows this more than anything.

Looking like something out of Batman Forever, these collective anti(super)heroes actually come to wear on you and could even be called interesting. Three in particular, propelled by the fine performances behind them, stand out amongst the crowd. First and foremost, there is, almost unavoidably, the film's narrator, Rorschach (an admittedly wonderful Jackie Earle Haley—especially when he takes off the mask), who strangely provides the movie's sparse comic relief but does so to great effect. Secondly, there is Ozymandias (Matthew Goode), whose real-life persona looks straight out of a Bret Easton Ellis adaptation (who couldn't love that purple suit). And thirdly, there is, of course, The Comedian (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), murderer, rapist, and sleazeball extraordinaire (not to mention a superhero), who provides the moral compass to Rorschach's heart of the film. These, along with the rest of the heroes, all feel important; they all gel and add something to the narrative and its tone. This is one of Watchmen's greatest strengths, but that could just be because of the great source material. I really wouldn't know, admittedly.

The best moments come when the film calms down for once—when we follow Rorschach wandering around the streets, narrating, or, well, I really can't think of any other moments where the film actually slows down, or at least that are worthwhile. The film's a definite rollercoaster, but not one that is particularly new or inventive. It's just something to have fun on for awhile.

In the end, I couldn't help but wonder (as many others have) that if the film had been in the hands of a more capable director, that is, not the overrated and overhyped Zack Snyder, that Watchmen actually could've been something, possibly even something rivaling its more noble cousin. This notion has been generally shared amongst critics, but the truth is, does it really matter? Countless amounts of people have already and will indeed "watch the Watchmen," and I guarantee you that 9 out of 10 of them will go out of the theater with some little Keanu Reeves "Whoa" in their head, telling their friends that "that movie was crazy."


**1/2 out of ****

~ Patrick Fryberger

Great Action Performances: Ving Rhames in Undisputed

Ving Rhames's part manchild, part monster, part something else in Undisputed (2002).

Undisputed is one of those films that strangely, somehow, go unnoticed. 'Underrated' would be too simple an explanation. Given its fictionalizing of a contemporary (but not too new) issue—the Mike Tyson scandal(s)—as well as its ingenious mixing of genres in a prison-boxing movie, one has to wonder why Walter Hill's last film to date didn't make more of an impact at the box office. Action-star Wesley Snipes's slow descent into the direct-to-DVD realm was imminent, and Ving Rhames was nothing more than a fun, recognizable face from movies such as Pulp Fiction, Mission: Impossible, and Con Air, but the potential still remained. Many critics at the time hammered the film for being too "macho" or even more drastically that there was "no one to root for." But, coming through in the clutch (as always), Roger Ebert had this to say: "Some critics...complain that there is no hero… That is more of a strength than a weakness, depriving us of an obvious favorite and creating a fight which it is plausible to expect either boxer could win." In other words, this is not a movie about heroes and villains, but people, and this is mostly thanks to Ving Rhames's stalwart performance as George 'the Iceman' Chambers.

From the moment we see him, Ving Rhames's George 'the Iceman' Chambers is strangely, instantly likeable. Maybe it is his big, teddy bear stature, or all the lights, cameras, and action surrounding him and his profession, but either way, we are drawn to him, making him a flawed—but definite—protagonist. As he says to the prison's general administrative officer, Darlene Early (Amy Aquino), "People love a guy who can fight, money, pussy, kiss your ass, put you on TV, put your picture in papers, magazines, anything I want, because people love a guy who can fight, and don't take shit." These sincere, sympathetic turns help offset the fact that the Iceman has gone to prison for seemingly raping a young woman while partying in L.A., and I say seemingly because, despite the woman's almost impenetrable sincerity (seen through periodic clips of a TV interview), we still feel that there’s a chance Iceman didn't do it, even though he probably did.

His part-manchild, part-monster expands into something more when we see him predictably threatening the Warden's staff on how he's "not just some convict doing five to ten" in an also-predictably self-boasting speech. But, sneaking in at the end is the unnerving feeling that his childish threats are perfectly legit, and that he knows they're legit, and that they will ensue if and when the time comes. The Warden (Denis Arndt) claims to Early, "He's just another goddamn thug," to which Early replies, "Yeah, one who happens to be a world champion and a potential public-relations nightmare."

But his explanations and speeches cannot accurately pass for the real thing; his behavior around the prison (in this case, the 'real world') is what shows the Iceman's true colors. He moves about the yard, the cafeteria, and of course the showers as a fear-mongering beast set on showing everyone who's "the Champ." Even acts of kindness are reprimanded—when a prison gang sends a male prostitute as a gesture toward "cooperation and understanding," he seeks out their leader only to attack him and his compatriots. This policy of fear is most notably manifested in his dealings with the in-house Champ, Monroe Hutchen (Wesley Snipes), a pensive, simple-man foil to the larger-than-life Iceman. Monroe is no saint either—a murderer, even if a sympathetic one, and a maximum security prisoner just the same, but he is clearly the physical underdog of the two, and maybe the psychological as well. As Monroe tells Early, "You know, this whole thing, this whole thing is about people being scared."

Iceman is stern with his cellmate, Mingo (Wes Studi), but does not enact the same hostility upon him, and the two eventually find a mutual respect for one other, subtly presented in a scene where they share work duties in the kitchen. This, again, arouses a certain sympathetic side to the character, or at least a more realistic, relatable one. That quality, which Rhames creates through his impeccably-balanced, finely-tuned performance, is what fosters the suspense that Roger Ebert mentions of the destined final showdown, which, in the wrong hands, could've been easily predictable. In other words, the fight's occurrence is predictable, but the fight itself is anything but.

The end fight is the accumulation of a masterfully-crafted film with an equally masterful performance by Ving Rhames; one could not persist without the other. Wesley Snipes and the supporting cast (especially Michael Rooker) are perfect, and all the elements, even the borderline-corny rap, gel as one. I obviously hold this film in high regard, maybe a little too high, but the point is clear: Ving Rhames gives a career performance here, in a genre where one would not expect such an achievement to be possible. That, above all, is why I'm starting these Great Action Performances features, and to effectively prove my point, I start with one of the best: Ving Rhames as George 'the Iceman' Chambers in Undisputed.

"This, this is a thing of beauty, a great thing of beauty. Two guys fighting to the finish but just one guy wins because he's the better man and that's what the Goddamn sport's about."

New Terminator Salvation trailer

Another Terminator Salvation trailer. Better than the last one. Thought the clever teaser trailer and even more clever motion poster were even more better (even more better?). Better and clever--it doesn't look like the Terminator Salvation will be either. I had some hopes for the McG-Terminator combo (I'm a huge Terminator/T2 fan and I stand by the Charlie's Angels movies), but it doesn't look like anything above the average or out of the ordinary. Whatever.

Anyway, I want to say that now that The Action Reaction is back up at full power, I hope to plug out some features this month, including on some great action performances, the legacy of the black Dodge Charger, and maybe another top ten list, or two. We'll see--no promises--we all know how reliable I can be, but I definitely want to get these out because I have a lot to say on them. That's all for now.