REVIEW: Down the Shore [2013]

ā€œAnd the hero gets the girl, right?ā€ After a longtime career as acting coach for the likes of Jet Li, Harold Guskin heads behind the camera for his directorial debut Down the Shore with the help of a contemporary acting giant at its lead. For James Gandolfini, life after ā€œThe Sopranosā€ has seen moderate success in roles not too far removed from his iconic Tony besides a much heavier infusion of comedy. In that vein, his boisterous, crude, and psychologically tormented assassin in Killing Them Softly showed a softer side…

Read More

REVIEW: The Expendables 2 [2012]

“Can’t beat a classic” And here I thought the buzz was about how much The Expendables 2 made good on the promise set forth and not quite attained by The Expendables. It was going to be chock-full of humorous banter, over-the-top antics, bloody pulpy carnage, and as much fun as one berserker action flick can contain. There would be story, a worthy villain, and a reason for guys like Chuck Norris, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Jean-Claude Van Damme to come back from the shadows of obscurity. It wasn’t like these guys…

Read More

TIFF10 REVIEW: ē²¾ę­¦é¢Ø雲ļ¼é™³ēœŸ [Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen] [2010]

ā€œChinese are not sick men of East Asiaā€ For a director whose only other film Iā€™ve seen is the amazing Infernal Affairs, Andrew Lauā€™s (no, not star Andy Lau) admittance to Bruce Lee being his ā€˜super idolā€™ while introducing his newest work ē²¾ę­¦é¢Ø雲ļ¼é™³ēœŸ [Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen] at the Toronto International Film Festival became quite the relevant tidbit. A far cry from the realistic cop vs. criminal thriller, Legend goes as far to the opposite end of the spectrum as it can, existing in a…

Read More

REVIEW: The Expendables [2010]

ā€œI woulda winā€ When a summer movie season can be described as disappointing and have it be an understatement, nothing says popcorn blockbuster better than a big budget action flick. 2010 never quite had anything to fit the bill, but that wasnā€™t going to stop Sylvester Stallone from attempting to bring the masses something close. The hype has been huge as Sly compiled a whoā€™s who cast of action stars (relevant and not), fringe athletes, and badass character folk like Eric Roberts and Mickey Rourke to literally blow up anything…

Read More