Friday August 21st 2009
More action movies you say? Well...
Movie Spot is introducing the famous Dragon Dynasty catalogue in order to cater to the needs of our martial arts, kick ass fans of the Asian cinema.
Dragon Dynasty brings home the world’s greatest martial arts and Asian action films, featuring the groundbreaking work of international superstars and legendary filmmakers, including Jet Li, Jackie Chan, Michelle Yeoh, John Woo, Yuen Woo-Ping, and many more. Here are the best of classic and contemporary smash hits from the world’s most exciting genre like never before, with cutting-edge digital video and audio remastering and exclusive, never-before-seen bonus features. This is action at its best, all dubbed, full of unbelievable stunts and often very violent, just like you asked for. The first three titles we are offering for your consideration are:
Born To Fight, PTU Police Tactical Unit and Dragon Heat, read on for the scoop.
New releases this week:
Hannah Montana The Movie
Cast: Miley Cyrus, Billy Ray Cyrus, Emily Osment, Jason Earles, Mitchel Musso, Moises Arias, Lucas Till, Vanessa Williams, Margo Martindale, Peter Gunn
Every girl’s favorite teen star in her first real movie. Hannah is the pop star alter ego of Miley Stewart, who lives a double life thanks to one blonde wig. Here, Miley gets too big for her boots and is taken to the country by her dad. Hannah has to make a choice between the good life and; well, the good life. Should she carry on trashing the clothes shops, fighting over shoes in L.A.? Or should she rediscover her old life back in Tennessee? Grandma’s birthday is the reason to pay a visit down-home instead of downtown, so off she goes, courtesy of a private jet and some clever help from her Dad. Actually this is a good movie, lots of songs and happiness; you know what I mean!
Last House On The left
Cast: Tony Goldwyn, Monica Potter, Garret Dillahunt, Sara Paxton, Martha MacIsaac, Riki Lindhome, Spencer Treat Clark, Aaron Paul, Joshua Cox
Teenagers Mari (Paxton) and Paige (MacIsaac) are horribly assaulted by a gang led by the brutal Krug (Dillahunt). Later, Krug’s gang seeks refuge in the home of Mari’s parents. Realising what their guests have done, the couple execute gruesome revenge.
This is a remake of a 1972 film directed by a young Wes Craven which was considered quite shocking back then, even being refused a rating in the UK, but it was really a poorly executed good idea, a remake of Bergman's "The Virgin Spring" raging against the inhumanity of the Vietnam War. The violence in the film is brutal. Every punch or kick is felt. The irony of John Collingwood's (Tony Goldwyn) profession as a surgeon is explored more. The over-the-top cheesiness of Mary's parents' revenge upon her killers is replaced by some horrific, well-executed gore. Only the film's final coda should evoke some tension-relieving titters, the chainsaw replaced by a foreshadowed broken appliance. Emma's 'seduction' of Krug's brother is a lot more subtle and Monica Potter ("Saw") draws out the dance beautifully. Strangely enough the usual teenage girl’s nude scenes are missing and only the adult psycho chick (Riki Lindhome, the sadistic nurse from Changeling) does nudity.
I can’t think of any more classic slasher movies left to remake, maybe now they can jump to the 90’s and redo “Scream” I’m sure there’s someone who hasn’t seen it!
Labor Pains
Cast: Lindsay Lohan, Cheryl Hines, Chris Parnell, Luke Kirby, Kevin Covais, Aaron Yoo, Janeane Garofalo, Bonnie Somerville, Creed Bratton, Christa Campbell
Do you want to know what's really sad about Labor Pains? It's not half bad. And it's a shame that Lindsay Just-Had-A-Fight-With-Sam-Ronson Lohan has become so inextricably associated with the wrong kind of drama that we no longer appreciate the fact that the girl can act. When she wants to, Ms. Lohan can turn on the charm and morph into a relatable, funny Every Girl. She does just that in Labor Pains.
When we first meet Thea Clayhill (Lohan), she is a young woman struggling to support herself and her younger sister in the wake of her parents’ death. It’s difficult enough just paying the rent, but at age twenty-five, Thea is also saddled with the responsibility of getting her little sister through college. Making matters worse, after Thea’s boss (Chris Parnell) dog falls ill under Thea’s care, he seriously considers dismissing her. In an attempt to save her job, Thea blurts out that she’s pregnant. It seems you can’t fire pregnant girls, or at least that’s what Thea learned from watching Law and Order.
Once her job is again secure, Thea has to figure out what to do about this massive fib. Her best friend and co-worker (Cheryl Hines) quickly comes to her aid, and they plot to fake Thea’s pregnancy just long enough to avert unemployment. Then something can go wrong, right? A miscarriage, a false alarm...something will get her out of this bizarre situation.
Labor Pains is a likable movie mainly because of Lohan. Her comedic timing is dead-on ; and considering all the negative publicity she gets Lindsay Lohan can’t be counted out just yet.
Mutant Chronicles
Cast: John Malkovich, Thomas Jane, Devon Aoki, Ron Perlman
Hundreds of years into the future, the world is controlled by a handful of corporations. As they wage war on each other, a great seal is destroyed, opening up a vast hole in the Earth containing an alien machine capable of turning the living into vicious, body piercing mutants. Quickly taking over the planet, the mutants force the population to flee off-world, pushing Brother Samuel (Ron Perlman) to turn to an ancient book for answers on how to stop the infernal machine. Assembling a squad of soldiers armed to the teeth, including Major Mitch Hunter (Thomas Jane), Samuel leads the team into the bowels of the planet to stop the machine once and for all. Their only obstacle is the legion of mutants ready to tear them apart. A LONG-IN-THE-MAKING sci-fi picture based on a Scandinavian role-playing game, Mutant Chronicles is strong on world-building yet weak on plot. It opens impressively on a grim future battlefield which looks like a rerun of the worst elements of World War I (with manga-influenced blasting cannons) as heroes go up against ‘mutants’ ( zombies with bony scimitars where their right arms should be) wielding crusader swords and uniforms that borrow from a variety of historical periods. The film has a solid cast — Ron Perlman is a warrior monk who has the inside dope on this whole mutant business (don’t ask — it makes no sense whatsoever at the start, and only gets more confusing as it goes on), John Malkovich plays a fey corporate head and Anna Walton (the elf chick from Hellboy II) as a martial arts nun. The film’s happiest inventions are the Jules Verne-ish flying machines, which look like a combination of steam engine, space shuttle and Flash Gordon rocketship.
Duplicity
Cast: Julia Roberts, Clive Owen, Tom Wilkinson, Paul Giamatti, Rick Worthy
When it comes to spy thrillers, Director Tony Gilroy knows the game. turning in a screenplay that's more diabolical and pulpy than his convoluted directorial debut, Michael Clayton, but no less fun. He maximizes his assets, and considering his stars, they are considerable. For Julia Roberts and Clive Owen, this is a much different sort of movie than their previous on-screen collaboration, Closer. Their duels are via dialogue, not guns, and their weapons are words. Roberts and Owen provide characters who clearly love one another but do not trust each other. That's the way it is in the spy business. James Bond and Jason Bourne notwithstanding, espionage movies have fallen into disfavor since the collapse of the Soviet Union, which is something of a shame since, when well-written, they can provide a superlative source of suspense; there are still ways to develop spy thrillers since companies guard trade secrets as jealously as nations protect their national security. Duplicity is an unpretentious pleasure, combining as it does the deft plotting of Gilroy, the unforced acting of charismatic stars Roberts and Owen (not to mention nice turns by supporting performers Tom Wilkinson and Paul Giamatti as the rival CEOs Not the greatest spy thriller ever made but a great waste of a couple of hours.
Fighting
Cast: Channing Tatum, Terrence Howard, Brian J. White, Luis Guzmán, Zulay Henao, Roger Guenveur Smith, Angelic Zambrana, Anthony DeSando, Aaron Behr, Cung Le
Tatum plays Shawn MacArthur, a recent transplant from Alabama to New York who gets by selling questionable items at a make-shift stand on a NY street. Terrence Howard is a much more street-wise and savvy hustler named Harvey who sets his pack of no-gooders on Shawn, snatching up the small amount of money he earned and sending potential customers scurrying away. Shawn doesn't take this invasion of his sales space lying down, and delivers a beating on Harvey's young cohorts that sets Harvey's mind to spinning. It's easy to see Shawn's got fighting skills and this makes Harvey think twice about the kid they just robbed.
Channing Tatum and Terrence Howard are a formidable onscreen team, and Zulay Henao isn't just a pretty face in the male-dominated production; but it's Howard that holds this film together with his performance. Howard's Harvey is a hustler who knows his limits and a guy who lives by an interesting code of ethics. Howard is quietly contemplative in moments and in that restraint Howard shows just how talented he is.
While the dialogue is well written and the acting was terrific, the actual storyline left a little to be desired. When does Shawn work out? He looks cut, but the only time we see him do anything to get in shape is a brief segment on a deserted train in which he does a few minutes of exercise. Of course he could be a natural, but that’s not real is it? Also, the first fight scene is more like a dance than hand-to-hand combat and it looks staged. A reference to Fight Club maybe? On the other hand, the final fight is down and dirty and ruthlessly violent and almost painful to watch.
Obsessed
Cast: Idris Elba, Ali Larter, Beyoncé Knowles, Bruce McGill, Jerry O'Connell, Christine Lahti
Yet another version of “Fatal Attraction” in this one Idris Elba plays Derek Charles, a recently promoted business executive who has just purchased a posh new home with his doting wife, Sharon (Beyoncé Knowles), and their baby boy. Derek is the perfect hero; his life is soft-focus perfect. But no life is too perfect, to avoid the eventual disturbance of the psychotic stalker who works in the office as , you guessed it , a temp. Lisa (Ali Larter) strikes up an immediate rapport with Derek, and quickly begins her plot to become his one and only love... whether he likes it or not. Our femme fatale digs her claws into every aspect of Derek's personal and professional life ; she propositions him at parties and in the parking garage, stalks him to a lush business retreat where she pretends to be his wife, and slips him a drug in his cocktail. Derek doesn't say a word about his trouble to anyone, thereby creating massive distrust when his wife finds out that could "end their perfect marriage." Lisa crosses the line when Beyoncé gets mad, and the film crescendos in what could be this years best girl fight, complete with treacherous staircases, everyday household weaponry, and floors that give out under just the right amount of pressure. The film is mindless, yet emotion-driven, and just crazy fun. Don’t try to think too much about what’s going on; this is the kind of movie best enjoyed whilst having a beer and a ton of popcorn.
Adventureland
This is a sharp, insightful, charming motion picture. Written and directed by Greg Mottola (Superbad); this isn’t Judd Apatow territory, although the dialogue doesn't shrink from sex and other matters that obsess 22-year old men and women, it's not wall-to-wall crudeness and profanity. If The Wonder Years had followed Kevin and his friends into their early 20s, the end product might have occupied similar terrain as Adventureland.
It's 1987 and James Brennan (Jesse Eisenberg), a newly minted college graduate, is looking forward to a summer in Europe before heading east from Pittsburgh to New York City for an Ivy League graduate education. Unfortunately, James' dad (Jack Gilpin) suffers a setback at work and the money is no longer there for either the trip or Columbia. So James must get a job, and the only place where his lack of practical experience isn't a hindrance is a minimum-wage shift at Adventureland Amusement Park, running a game booth. It's a crappy job, but the compensation is that James meets some interesting people: Mike Connell (Ryan Reynolds), the rock star maintenance man who plays the field despite his wedding ring; Joel (Martin Starr), whose intellect and awkwardness around women match James'; Lisa P (Margarita Levieva), the star of every male's wet dreams; and Em (Kristen Stewart), whose mixture of compassion, substance, and girl-next-door good looks dooms James to a summer of longing. Despite his geeky appearance and fondness for deep thinking, he's surprisingly popular - although that could have something to do with his stash of joints.
Introducing Action Packed; Kick A**, Stunt Driven Dragon Dynasty!
The first 3 movies in a continuing series of the best martial arts action movies around!
Born To Fight
Directed by Panna Ritikrai
Starring Dan Chupong
I bet you've never seen a movie that could be described as Gymkata meets The Dirty Dozen mixed with Die Hard, only over-stuffed with that patented Thai trademark of hardcore "stunt fighting" -- with a whole lot of John Woo-style gunplay to keep things juicy.
Born to Fight is an absolutely insane experience, and it's definitely something you'll want to see if you're a big fan of action movies. The story concerns a bunch of gifted young athletes (and one cop) who must prevent a platoon of village-attacking evildoers from launching a full-scale nuclear attack on Bangkok. Throw in some really harsh violence (these are some seriously vicious villains, believe me), a strangely appealing sense of humour, a whole lot of Thai culture and patriotism, a few exceedingly well-choreographed brawls, and just a little bit of melodrama to keep the blood boiling -- and you've got Born to Fight. (The last 30-some minutes consist of one long action scene. Honest.)
Come see our heroes disarm and destroy opponents through the use of balance beams, rugby tackles, kicked fruit, parallel bars, and soccer balls. Yes folks this action movie delivers the goods. The fights, the falls, and the athletic prowess on display are the real deal all the way, and once that village has been invaded and that super-team of teenage athletes (and one cop) have had enough ... boy do things get wild.
Lead actor Dan Chupong makes a strong case for himself as another young Thai action star. The guy defies gravity, and he really knows his way around a knee to the chest and an elbow to the forehead; as one fan stated
“The Matrix wouldn't have needed that many CGI or wire gags had they known about Panna and his amazing stunt team. Born to Fight is the ultimate action junkie's dream come true”
PTU Police Tactical Unit
Acclaimed director Johnnie To (Election) scores again with this action-packed thriller, nominated for 10 Hong Kong Film Awards. Following a run-in with a gang of thugs led by Ponytail, Sergeant “Fatty” Lo (Lam Suet) loses his gun and turns to the brutally efficient Sergeant Mike Ho (Simon Yam) of the PTU to help him retrieve it. It’s late and Lo agrees to search for the gun until dawn, after which he will follow procedure and report the missing weapon.What follows is “sheer over-the-top delirium” (Frank Scheck, Hollywood Reporter), as their mission intersects with a gangland assassination that threatens to ignite an all-out war. Gripping and unpredictable, PTU is a masterpiece of stylized cool and explosive action.
Dragon Heat AKA Dragon Squad
Dragon Heat is the product of writer-director Daniel Lee who was inspired by a hit Japanese TV series from the ’70s to create a story about a squad of supercops taking on an equally skilled gang of criminal mercenaries in the mean streets of Hong Kong.
One of the year's most exciting action-thrillers, Dragon Heat features the star-studded cast of action icons Sammo Hung (Kill Zone), Michael Biehn, Maggie Q (Live Free or Die Hard; she was the “skinny oriental chick” remember?) and Shawn Yue (Infernal Affairs). When a notorious Triad crime lord disappears shortly before trial, a team of elite Interpol agents must wage an all-out war through the streets of Hong Kong against a mysterious and heavily-armed foe to recapture him. Dragon Heat sizzles with non-stop action, apocalyptic gunfights, and a no-holds barred climactic martial arts showdown.
