You’d think a movie about Liam Neeson duking it out with wolves in the wild would be exciting. You’d be wrong. Turns out The Grey, a macho but mushy existential survival tale directed by Joe Carnahan, is actually quite a slog — dreary, overly talky and capped by one of those maddeningly ambiguous endings that [...]
Read More action, adventure, Dallas Roberts, David, Dermot Mulroney, drama, Frank Grillo, Joe Carnahan, Liam Neeson, The Grey
Having skipped the prequel Rise of the Lycans, Kate Beckinsale returns to rock skintight leather and kick quite a bit more butt as beautiful bloodsucker Selene in Underworld: Awakening, the slick but strangely spiritless fourth entry in the nearly decade-old vampires-vs-werewolves franchise.
Read More action, blu-ray, David, DVD, Fantasy, horror, Kate Beckinsale, Michael Ealy, Stephen Rea, Theo James, Underworld
Haywire, directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring Gina Carano is the story of a private sector security agent who is double crossed and sets forth on a mission of revenge. First question: Who is Gina Carano? Gina is a mixed martial arts fighter and, I’m totally serious, a former “American Gladiator.” While this is not [...]
Read More action, adventure, Bill Paxton, Channing Tatum, Ewan McGregor, Gina Carano, Haywire, Michael Douglas, Michael Fassbender, Noah, Steven Soderbergh, thrillerBlack Hawk Down meets Independence Day in Battle: Los Angeles, an entertainingly gung-ho alien-invasion epic starring Aaron Eckhart and Michelle Rodriguez that practically doubles as a military recruitment film.
Read More Aaron Eckhart, action, Battle: Los Angeles, blu-ray, David, DVD, Michelle Rodriguez, Sci-FiMichael Bay was originally going to direct I Am Number Four, but he passed, and the job went to D.J. Caruso. Good thing, too, because in Bay’s hands this sci-fi action flick would probably have been a bombastic mess, whereas the director of Disturbia and Eagle Eye makes it into a thoroughly entertaining mix of [...]
Read More action, Alex Pettyfer, blu-ray, DJ Caruso, DVD, I Am Number Four, PG-13, Sci-Fi, thriller, Timothy OlyphantIt may share the same plot and title, but this souped-up remake of the 1972 Charles Bronson/Jan-Michael Vincent thriller The Mechanic is really just another excuse for action star Jason Statham to shoot guns and kick butt, albeit one that director Simon West (Con Air) shoots and edits with energetic efficiency.
Read More action, Ben Foster, blu-ray, crime, DVD, Jason Statham, Simon West, The Mechanic, thriller, Tony GoldwynMind-bending indie director Michel Gondry (The Science of Sleep) proves so capable at crafting crackling action sequences in the $120 million big-screen version of The Green Hornet that it’s a shame star Seth Rogen had to go and ruin the rest of the movie.
Read More action, blu-ray, Cameron Diaz, Christoph Waltz, comedy, crime, DVD, Jay Chou, Michel Gondry, PG-13, Seth Rogen, The Green HornetI was about 10 years old when the original Tron hit theaters in 1982, so I have a certain fondness for it. It just looked so cool, with the Light Cycle races and giant ships, rendered via very early computer graphics, and the actors clad in glowing costumes with glowing Frisbees strapped to their backs. [...]
Read More action, adventure, blu-ray, Bruce Boxleitner, David, DVD, Garrett Hedlund, jeff bridges, Joseph Kosinski, Michael Sheen, PG-, Sci-Fi, Tron: LegacyI would have to agree with the theory that Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie were nominated for Golden Globes for their performances in the critically-maligned The Tourist because the foreign press just wanted them at the ceremony, as the film more than lives up to its reputation as a preposterous piece of international intrigue.
Read More action, Angelina Jolie, blu-ray, David, drama, DVD, Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, Johnny Depp, paul bettany, PG-13, romance, Steven Berkoff, The TouristRunning and reacting is the name of the game in Skyline, an alien invasion flick directed by the Brothers Strause (Alien vs. Predator: Requiem) that features impressive effects, annoying characters and makes the similarly-themed Battle: LA look like Shakespeare. Like that movie, it’s set in L.A., but instead of focusing on a pack of soldiers, [...]
Read More action, blu-ray, David, Donald Faison, DVD, Eric Balfour, PG-13, Sci-Fi, Skyline, thriller