Tagged: Rocky

‘Red Hill’ Proves ‘The New Blood’ Expendables 3 Director Has Got The Chops!

Stallone has been teasing with directors for the upcoming Expendables 3 for quite some time now. We’ve heard rumors of  John Woo and yeah even Mel Gibson for quite a while now. However in the end Stallone gave us an unknown “new blood” director, Patrick Hughes. You might ask yourself now who the hell is this guy? Well I decided to check it out by watching his one and only feature film he directed last night to see if he was the man for the job for the final film of The Expendables trilogy.

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Red Hill is a 2010, Australian action thriller that Hughes wrote, produced and directed. I’ve gotta say Red Hill was an awesome film and I now understand exactly why Stallone decided to hand the reigns over to him. Sly said he was looking for a “hungry” film maker who reminded him of himself when he started out. I think he got his guy. Red Hill is a simple premise not much different than “The Last Stand” Arnold Schwarzenegger’s last box office bomb. A new cop, True Blood’s Ryan Kwanten settles in a small rural Australian town with his pregnant wife and joins his new police crew in a manhunt for a severely scarred psycho escaped convict headed in their direction. That’s pretty much where the similarities end.

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The movie is heartfelt, action packed and unpredictable. It doesn’t take long for the action to begin and while it’s not quite in the same action genre as something like The Expendables it’s easy to see why Stallone is giving Hughes a chance. Once we finally meet the big bad guy it’s clear he knows his  80’s action villains. “Jimmy Conway” the movies big aboriginal villain is about as menacing as they come, a highly skilled hunter with one side of his face burned like Freddy Kruger. Once he enters town all hell breaks loose and the movies plot begins to twist and turn. Kwanten also shines in his starring role proving he’s a much more skilled actor than what we’re used to seeing on True Blood.

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I’m very surprised this movie doesn’t have more of a following. Perhaps The Expendables 3 will open the door to this rad movie to more people. It surely achieved one thing for me, faith that the third installment of The Expendables will indeed be the best….

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The Two Most Outrageous Upcoming Action Flicks!!

Well here are a couple action flicks I dare any major studio to try and beat! Sorry Stallone I am sure your upcoming PG-13 Expendables II will be fun but in comparison “The Raid: Redemption” it’s going to most likely end up looking like an episode of GI Joe from the eighties! But so far from what I heard The Raid is being hailed as arguably the best action flick of all time. So far by seeing several clips and hearing the synopsis it’s quite possible this Indonesian film will win the medal!

“Deep in the heart of Jakarta’s slums lies an impenetrable derelict apartment building which became a safe house for the world’s most dangerous killers and gangsters. The rundown apartment block has been considered untouchable to even the bravest of police. Cloaked under the cover of pre-dawn darkness and silence, an elite team is tasked with raiding the building in order to take down the notorious drug lord who runs it. But when a chance encounter with a spotter blows their cover and news of their assault reaches the drug lord, the building’s lights are cut off and all exits are blocked. Stranded on the 6th floor with no way out, the unit must fight their way through the city’s worst criminals to survive their mission.”

The next movie looks like it just has to be seen to be believed. It’s opening this week in Portland Oregon where I live and yeah well it looks like the most ridiculous action movie of all time. “The FP” involves two rival gangs who do battle by way of deadly games of Dance Dance Revolution. Yeah you heard that right somehow you can die by playing this game, I am not sure how but apparently in this movie anything can happen!

Obviously this movie wasn’t meant to be taken seriously-but if it had been it would have been even more brilliant! Listen to some of the dialogue for cryin’ out loud! I am not sure if the idea loses it’s charm quickly in this movie but I am willing to bet you never see anything quite like it ever again! This is the “Rocky” of lame dance games! Check it!

Lesson of the Day: If You Wanna Win Don’t Drink Motor Oil!

Last night I watched “Over the Top” from 1986 for the first time and boy was it a treat! Folks movie just don’t get any cornier than this-and at the center of it all we got Sly Stallone arm wrasslin his way to the top! Making all his dreams come true! Well along the way he’s got a lot against him and the final act of the film is part Rocky, part Karate Kid and yeah pretty over the damn top. I mean who knew that people got so into arm wrestling in the 80’s?! Well the best lesson I learned from the movie can be seen here as one of Sly’s opponents learns that drinking motor oil before arm wrestling doesn’t necessarily mean success!!

More Monsters Like 1979’s Prophecy Please!

I will admit, yes, I do love horror movies! However not the kind that could actually happen to us in real life or torture porn like “Saw” or “Hostel” in the least bit. No when I say I like horror movies what I’m really saying is I love monster movies! Ever since I was a little kid I have been obsessed with monsters-and still even as an adult (in age at least) I will still admit that I am still obsessed with monsters! The problem is today is that a good monster movie is really hard to come by-and most these days are stuffed to the brim with wretched looking CG. There have been a few exceptions like “Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer”, “Splinter” and “Feast”. However in 2011 I feel it’s important to remind people like myself about some of the lesser known gems that must been seen for the first time or re watched in the monster genre.

Today’s gem is 1979’s monster movie bonanza “Prophecy”! If you call yourself a monster fanatic and you never seen this I’ll come over this evening while you’re sleeping an egg your house! Continue reading →