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The ever-increasingly popular sport of mixed martial arts was tailor-made for film. In fact, well before the emergence of the UFC in the 1990s, B-movies about street fighters, kick boxers and bare-knuckle brawlers slugging it out in back alleys, dank basements and chain link cages were common place. And now that the UFC and mix martial arts competition have gained legitimacy—at least as much legitimacy as modern-day gladiatorial games can have—the sport has steadily found its way into mainstream films, most notable being the recent craptacular Karate Kid rip-off, Never Back Down. But up until now, there has yet to be a film that seriously incorporates MMA the way boxing has been incorporated. Writer-director David Mamet’s Redbelt changes that. Read the rest of this post �

As a diehard fan of horror movies, I have mastered the fine art of getting by on what is given to me. By this I mean that like so many other horror fans, I am willing to cut some slack to certain films, just because they are horror flicks. Sometimes I just want to see something that is a bit scary, has some cool gore effects, and is not totally devoid of all forms of intelligence; and if a movie delivers enough of theses things, even if it’s not all that good, I’ll go easy on it. The same rules, however, do not apply to westerns. As a genre, I love westerns, with The Wild Bunch being my personal favorite, and classics like The Man Who Shot Liberty Vallance, The Searchers, Once Upon a Time in the West and The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez also ranking up there in my top picks. I also love most Clint Eastwood westerns, and I’m a big fan of spaghetti westerns, even though most of ‘em suck. I guess my point is that when it comes to westerns, I’d like to think my standards are high, and I’m not willing go easy on a movie simply because it has guys on horseback shooting each other. If that were the case, I’d be singing the praises of Aces ‘N Eights, a maudlin made-for-television oater that only seems good for making you want to sit down and watch Ride the High Country. Read the rest of this post �

It would seem that in the nation of Chile audiences are so hungry for some home-grown action movies that they will devour anything—and appreciatively so. Seriously, just look at the comments left on IMDB for the Chilean kung fu epic, Kiltro, and you’ll be reading feedback from people who are clearly impressed by pictures that move. And that’s not to bad mouth Chile as a nation, or Chileans as a people; but Kiltro sucked and anyone who likes this movie is easily impressed to the point that someone needs to be worried about them. Read the rest of this post �

There is only one word that comes to mind while watching the new jaxploitation urban thriller Death Toll, and that word is “wow.” Wow—the writing and direction in this film are terrible. Wow—the action in this film is atrocious. Wow—there is nothing good about this film. Wow—this garbage keeps getting worse and worse. Wow—I’ve been watching this crap for twenty-minutes, but it seems more than an hour. Wow—this is a total piece of crap. Read the rest of this post �

Things are not quite what they appear to be in director Brett A. Hart’s psychological thriller Bone Dry, a film heavily influenced by The Most Dangerous Game, Steven Spielberg’s Duel and Breakdown to name a few. There is also an element of the old television series Alfred Hitchcock Presents to be found in Bone Dry, a film that diligently tries to be more than the sum total of its influences. And while close scrutiny reveals that the film is, by and large, not much more than the sum total of its influences, it is entertaining and stylish enough that it is easy to initially overlook such shortcomings. Read the rest of this post �

In the world of film there are tales told that come from behind-the-scenes that are enough to make not only aspiring filmmakers crumble with despair, even seasoned veterans keep their fingers crossed and hope they never have to deal with such frustration and heartbreak. I’m talking about things that range from the cautionary tale that is pretty much Orson Welles’ entire career, to Alfred Hitchcock’s legendary clashes with David O. Selznick, to the mythological struggles of Werner Herzog to make films like Fitzcarraldo. But for all the nightmarish stories that surround films like Apocalypse Now or The Magnificent Ambersons, there are other, more obscure films that few people really know, and filmmakers whose struggles are not part of cinematic lore. Writer-director Tom DiCillo and his most recent film, Delirious, are perfect examples of an independent filmmaking nightmare come to life. Read the rest of this post �

Joe Andrew, the former Democratic National Committee chairman and current democrat super delegate, switched from supporting Senator Hillary Clinton to supporting Senator Barack Obama in his bid for presidency. Andrew is the latest super delegate to “defect” to the Obama camp, and in an open letter—portions of which have been reprinted by various news sources—he explains his decision. Here is a link to the letter in its entirety; I encourage all of you to read it, even though I suspect many of you are already Obama supporters. Those of you that are Clinton supporters, please take the time out to read the letter, and consider what Andrew has to say. Those of you supporting McCain…what can I say…it’s not too late to come to your senses.

In case some of you haven’t figured it out, staying true to the original source material is only one part of successfully adapting comic books to film. The other key factor is knowing that the superhero himself (or herself, as the case may be) sometimes is just not that interesting, and that the real character is the person who puts on the suit. Spider-Man is not nearly as interesting as Peter Parker, the poor sap who puts on the costume and does his best to do the right thing, even though it seems like life is always conspiring against him. Basically, if the guy who puts on the ridiculous looking outfit is dull, then the superhero is doomed to be a boring lunkhead. This is especially true of Marvel Comics’ Iron Man, a hero that would be about as boring as you could possibly imagine, accept for the guy who climbs into the metal suit to save the day. Read the rest of this post �

Honestly, I need to have my head examined for watching crap like this. It’s not like I didn’t know this film was going to suck before I even popped the disc in to the player, but I never imagined that Grizzly Rage could ever be as bad as it was, but it was absofuckinglutley terrible.

Part of the problem was that my expectations had been set by another film about a killer grizzly bear—William Girlder’s 1976 Jaws rip-off, Grizzly (a.k.a. Claws). When I was a kid, I convinced by uncle to take me to see Grizzly, which scared the hell out of me so bad that I made us leave the theatre before the movie was over, and I got rid of my favorite teddy bear. Years later I finally got around to rewatching Grizzly—this time all the way through—and was embarrassed that I could have been scared by such a lamebrain piece of B-movie trash. But it at least Grizzly had youthful nostalgia going for it, which is what made me foolishly think that Grizzly Rage might have some sort of entertainment value, which of course led me to watch this nonsense. Man, do I feel stupid. Read the rest of this post �

You might think after having endured the rather stinkified Dolph Lundgren film Missionary Man that I would be ready to call it quits with the old Dolphster. And if that’s what you’re thinking, then you, my friend, would be dead wrong. As long as guys like Dolph Lundgren and Jean Claude Van Damme continue to grace the shelves of video stores in barely watchable garbage, I will continue to watch—the notable exception being Steven Segal, or course—and afterwards I will continue to ask myself, “Why do I keep watching these movies?” Read the rest of this post �