āAnd 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 āThe 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…
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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 MoreTIFF10 REVIEW: ē²¾ę¦é¢Øé²ļ¼é³ē [Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen] [2010]
āChinese are not sick men of East Asiaā For a director whose only other film Iāve seen is the amazing Infernal Affairs, Andrew Lauās (no, not star Andy Lau) admittance to Bruce Lee being his āsuper idolā while introducing his newest work ē²¾ę¦é¢Øé²ļ¼é³ē [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 MoreREVIEW: The Expendables [2010]
āI 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 wasnāt going to stop Sylvester Stallone from attempting to bring the masses something close. The hype has been huge as Sly compiled a whoās 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…
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