Gotta Hear! Piece of the Action Podcast: The Return

Hello there! I hope you're enjoying your Saturday! Here in the States it's been a big week for all things genre with May the 4th and Revenge of the 5th celebrating Star Wars, Marvel's space opera Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 hits theaters and today is Free Comic Book Day! A couple of weeks ago I caught up with #MovieBro Eoin Friel for another hard hitting edition of The Action Elite's Piece of the Action Podcast! We talk (at length) about movies we're looking forward to, Vin Diesel VS Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and upcoming films from the likes of Scott Adkins, Dolph Lundgren and Jean-Claude Van Damme! Enjoy and we'll be back soon with another session!

Gotta Go! Houston

 
Earlier this summer I spent a week in Houston, Texas for work. I'd never been to the 4th most populated city in the country but prepared in true Dammaged Goods fashion by viewing locally shot films Sidekicks and I Come In Peace! The Jonathan Brandis-Chuck Norris flick Sidekicks was funded by a local furniture magnate and really shows off the city's skyline and parks while Dolph Lundgren fighting an alien drug dealer I Come In Peace gives you grittier look at strip clubs and abandoned factories. Being later in the summer it wasn't too hot but it was still pretty steamy. As in I walked outside after a morning workout and my glasses fogged over steamy.

 
I was impressed with the sheer size of the city and the big skies were absolutely beautiful. Being so large you had different sections like Uptown, Downtown and popular suburbs Oak Forest, Pearland and Katy. Everything is named twice with Goode Company BBQ across from a Goode Company Seafood, or two Westin's by the Galleria mall on the same street. Food wise nearly every place we went to served something chicken fried like steak or bacon and with country gravy on top! Which was awesome. There was the fantastic Whataburger chain along with a new spot for me, Cane's Chicken Fingers which was also delicious. We found several dive bars nearby like The Railyard, Revolver Bourbon Social who had mules and chicken fried bacon and Ron's Pub, which offered free chili dogs randomly, they were tasty though and I had a nice conversation with a local patron who had served in Vietnam.

We got out early one day and headed a quick 30 minutes out to NASA! The original mission control still stands, complete with viewing room with ash trays on the viewing room seats containing decades old ashes. Staff said that Ron Howard's production crew took a massive amount of photos and measured EVERYTHING. The tour includes stops at old computer command centers and a look at one of the Saturn rockets! Then back at home base you can check out dozens of suits, photos, exhibits and hands on experiments. All in I was quite the good time in Houston and if it wasn't so hot, maybe I'd consider living there!

Universal Soldier Saturday: The Return & Regeneration

After revisiting 1992's fantastic Universal Soldier a couple of weeks ago to prepare for Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin's Independence Day: Resurgence, I had the hankering to check out the further adventures of Luc Deveraux and Andrew Scott in what is one of the most unlikely franchises in film. Jean-Claude Van Damme has probably spawned the most number of sequels that he does not appear in of any star in history. Bloodsport, Kickboxer, Universal Soldier and Timecop have produced 11 further chapters not featuring the Belgian. Of course the original Unisol is a classic example of it's time and studio as the 90's were the golden age of big screen muscles, machine guns, martial arts and one liners. Carolco, the studio behind action blockbusters Rambo: First Blood, Part II and Terminator 2: Judgement Day, gave Jean-Claude Van Damme his first studio push with his biggest budget to date and a prime summer release date. Emmerich and Devlin crafted a handsomely produced chase flick with big stunts, guys, action and explosions. Both JCVD and Dolph get to shine as Van Damme's innocent yet wounded inner strength shines and Dolph's crazed Sgt. Scott is arguably his best performance to date. Released in July of 1992, Unisol would give Van Damme his largest opening up to that time and gross over $100 million worldwide.

In August of 1999, the high school version of myself went to see Universal Soldier: The Return, contributing to a weak $4.6 million opening weekend on it's way to a tepid $10.6 million total, about what the first film opened with 7 years earlier. It would ultimately be Van Damme's final headlining theatrical release. Upon re-watching, The Return comes off cheap, low brow, hokey and near chauvinistic with women being tied up, their boobs leered at, strip club fight scenes and the like. Bad heavy metal music accompanies every action scene and there's just not much class throughout. Story wise not a lot makes total sense as Luc is now a human after being an original Unisol, training a new army of them that are bigger, faster and stronger but not quite under control. Oh and he has a daughter. But for everything that doesn't compare to the original film, The Return manages to be an exciting flick with top notch action. Legendary stuntman Mic Rodgers directs for the first time and fills the 83 minute running time with flying jet skis, exploding trucks, huge guns, lots of scraps and plenty of Van Damme kicking. The Muscles From Brussels looks good and healthy here, brawny and muscular while still athletic as he jump kicks villains Bill Goldberg and Michael Jai White. His performance isn't quite as emotional or nuanced as the first film with a lot more flailing and mugging. While the original Unisol had a tacked on guitar heavy yet lyrics challenged credits song by Ice T's led Body Count complete with a video featuring Van Damme and Dolph, The Return sees Van Damme hanging out with Megadeth for their track Crush'Em.

Ten years later, Sony released Universal Soldier: Regeneration, an anomaly of the Direct To Video factory that stood out as a hands down excellent film. Rising from the ashes of jettisoned project The Smashing Machine, Van Damme returns in a reduced role as rehabilitated Universal Solider Luc. The main story involves the Unisol program going rogue with New Generation Units being used to kidnap the kids of local politicians and threatening to blow up Chernobyl. Whereas The Return lined up entertaining athletes like Goldberg and fitness model Kiana Tom along with martial arts expert Michael Jai White, Regeneration recruits MMA fighters Andrei Arlovski and Mike Pyle. John Hyams directs the unnerving affair filled with havoc, great action, stunts, explosions and a level of brutality that still shocks years later. Shot digitally, it's a bit muted and kind of blurry at times but using an abandoned steel mill in Bulgaria, Regeneration oozes a gritty real world authenticity. The flick ain't as fun or goofy as the first two films but instead is a dark and haunting affair. Van Damme, his face haggard and eyes tired, continues to show he can act with his expressions and emotional availability. Dolph turns up late in the film as a clone and gets some very heavy scenes that call back to his excellent and dramatic work in the first film. There's an eerie, John Carpenter-esque vibe to everything down to a low key, synth based score. I'd be interested to see what Hyams could do with a decent budget and strong script.

Next up, the most recent chapter in the series, 2012's Day of Reckoning. I wonder if the Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren-less Showtime TV films are on YouTube...

Summer Cinema: Independence Day Resurgence

Last Friday night we checked out Cinemark's Reserve Seating, where you sit in the top of the theater with reclining seats along with food and drink service. Or their version of AMC Dine-In or say Alamo Drafthouse. Unlike those other brands, at Cinemark, they want your orders in and done by the time the film starts which means no in-film refreshment refills. While the idea of eating and dranking during a flick seems like a solid notion, the execution across the board at any establishment has not been perfected. AMC's is awkward as you're paying the check during the film and there's no easy way to have your Stubs membership updated in the dark. But their menu is pretty big and food tasty enough with decent lighting so you can see what you're doing and still be in a movie. Alamo is a little more low tech in the sense of you write down what you want and a person runs by and picks it up. Cinemark was probably the worst of these dine-in experiences because it was so freaking dark it was difficult to eat/drink.

Anyways, 20 years later, Independence Day: Resurgence comes to us from original creators Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin. After making their Hollywood splash with Carolco's Universal Soldier starring our guys Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren, the duo would go on to bigger budgets and successes with 1994's Stargate and 96's mammoth hit Independence Day where Will Smith, Jeff Goldblum, Bill Pullman and crew defeated an alien invasion. Two decades on the film drops us into the new world of alien fused technology where man works on the moon and there's flying vehicles galore. With Will Smith not returning we get a trio of new young characters played by the likes of Liam Hemsworth, Jessie T. Usher and Maika Monroe are faced with a new invasion threat, bigger and badder than the last. Alas the writing and their improv skills are no match for Will Smith's original charm or chemistry with Jeff Goldblum.

Visually interesting and a little too fast paced for it's own good, Emmerich and Devlin blend the light disaster flick ensemble with all out sci-fi warfare. While the first relished in practical f/x composited with computer images, Resurgence looks great when it's on set and indoors but horrible when the action moves outside and everything is CGI. I also can't stand the fact that films no longer shoot outside. Whether it's ID4:R or Captain America: Civil War, it's glaringly obvious outdoor scenes are shot on greenscreen. It's nice to see Pullman back in the mix as the scarred former President but Brent Spiner's Dr. Okun, a kooky highlight of the first film, is near annoying comic relief this time out. The end is pretty open and indicates intergalactic war, so hey, sign me up for third. Resurgence isn't a great film but it has it's moments. Less fun than this summer's X-Men: Apocalypse but way more enjoyable and less frustrating than Warcraft. After a ho-hum $41 million opening weekend, the $165 million flick made up ground overseas and is nearing $200 million globally so only time will tell if we get that part 3.

This, I Demand! Kindergarten Cop 2

After that 12 day stretch, I was really ready to kick back a bit. I caught a few minutes of The Expendables and EX II on Spike, picked up an Escape Plan t-shirt at a garage sale then called it a day by watching Dolph Lundgren's latest starring effort, Kindergarten Cop 2, sequel to Arnold's 1990 hit. Universal has been cranking out Direct To Video fare for the likes of Death Race, The Scorpion King, Jarhead and along with Cop 2, has a Hard Target follow up coming. Stars like Michael Biehn, Danny Trejo, Mickey Rourke and Luke Goss appear in these I'm guessing shot in 4 weeks for around $5 million bones efforts. Kindergarten Cop 2 is now available to stream on Netflix as well as Amazon. With whiskey in hand, I sat down to live blog this baby:


- Directed by Don Michael Paul, writer of HARLEY DAVIDSON AND THE MARLBORO MAN!
- Imagine Entertainment title card?! They really must need the credits after recent Chris Hemsworth misfires Rush (excellent flick) and costly flop In the Heart of the Sea (haven't seen it).
- Ok, blonde chick in a crappy hotel room, Dolph's chick or daughter? Oh yeah, it's his chick. Dolph be looking good though so it adds up.
- Guy playing Zogu looks familiar, was he in Assassination Games? Oh no, it's Aleks Paunovic, the a-hole karate dad in This Means War.

- Dolph just kneed a dude in the first fight scene, now give me a Dolph roundhouse kick!
- Bill Bellamy as Dolph's wise cracking, has 5 kids partner. From MTV personality to actor in stuff like How to Be a Player and Oliver Stone's Any Given Sunday.
- Huh, Dolph's character is a bit of a dog in this flick.
- Is that the Space Needle? We in Seattle?! Yup ,we are. Pretty sure it was shot in Vancouver though.
- Dolph's Zack Reed lives by the water in a trailer, drives a classic car and has a rudimentary gym set up of weights and punching bag.
- Oh shit, Dolph is working out by the water. MAXIMUM POTENTIAL throwback! Or possible teaser for a sequel since his book finally came out? I could be the Perfect Man...
- Holy crap, so many writers...oh, David H. Steinberg and three who wrote original.
- Dolph is strutting into the office, now give me a patented Dolph nod.
- Dolph and Bellamy are skeezy cool together. He didn't really like that blonde chick earlier, act-ting!
- Oh man, Dolph is about to shoot the vending machine after his Twix bar got stuck. That happened to me once, but I lifted it from the top/front to try and slam it down and rattle my booty loose but instead the machine turned off and needed to be reset...
- Shoot that f*cking thieving vending machine! Oh yeah, screaming lieutenant guy, couldn't they get Bill Duke for this? Or Faizon Love?

- Gunfight in the dark! There's also a lot of music in this flick.
- Oh man, Dolph and Bellamy are using that shitbag vending machine as an armored transport, reminds me of Double Team when a Coke machine saved JCVD and Dennis Rodman...
- Ok, Dolph is eating a Twix now, this is some interesting product placement.
- Surprised by the character nuances with chocolate and screaming lieutenant's schtick of putting gum behind his ear.
- Alright, Dolph is going undercover at a prestigious kindergarten to find a flash drive containing a stolen FBI database. Said school costs 50 grand a year. One of these little @$$holes better cure cancer or invent the flying car.
- Aw Damme, throwback to original film with a little kid talking about girls having a vagina.
- Dolph eating a Twix! I wonder if Dolph actually eats that kind of cheap, refined crap in real life.
- In original, school is in Astoria, Oregon, a single parent capital. Here, everybody just thinks Dolph is hot and muscular. Both stories check out.
- Darla Taylor has some white teeth, is also young enough to be a daughter or lover. Looks like she's a lover. And is totally Canadian. Ab-out.
- All these political correct gags are probably supposed to be funny but really it's the wussified world we live in, isn't it? As Tim Allen said, "GET OVER IT!"

- Uh, subtitles are extremely unnecessary for the Asian kid. Is this racism masquerading as humor?
- Life lessons with Dolph: Sharing is overrated, you're better than some people, air punch! Liberals!
- Dolph's character Reed does 90 minutes of weights and cardio, bring on the gluten you babies.
- Peanut allergies! I know this pain, have we always been so weak? This is a strange metaphor for our modern times and not in a good way.
- Dolph front kick! Oh shoot he's yelling, go into Andrew Scott monologue, "kiss ass, or kick ass"!
- Dolph just snapped his fingers at Bill Bellamy and promises not to bone his young, cute co-worker chick, cause we all know he could if he wanted.
- Surprisingly tender first date conversation about hooking up and Dolph's muscles.
- Oh what, they go line dancing?! This movie checks off a lot of Dolph firsts or forgotten abouts, last time I can think he dealt with kids and danced was in John Woo's Blackjack.
- Oh man, bad guy showed up and is talking to Dolph's chick. Rip his heart out, Dolph! Roosters Country Cabaret, is that real place in Vancouver? It is, has a very low Yelp rating.
- Ah, they turned the abusive dad plot point on it's head. Some real life sh!t.
- Acrostic poem? Like when Arnold said F*ck You to that one guy?
- Fight in the water, class dismissed, bitch.

It's been a long time since I've actually watched a Direct to Video flick but Universal seems to have a better sense of quality control than most others. Kindergarten Cop 2 has some fun moments, mostly of Dolph getting to do something different, be a little funny with a capable supporting cast, some decent action and making use of a beautiful school and natural locales. 

Workout of the Day: Disney (Dolph) Daze

On Saturday morning I woke up at 6:00 AM after a full night's sleep and hit the hotel's gym. It's a solid facility, better than the Grand Californians I'd say. Pretty standard hotel gym with dumbbells, a cable machine, yoga mats and balls along with plenty of cardiovascular machines. Apparently everybody else in the resort was on vacation mode as I had the place to myself. There's permanent music you can listen to or put something on the TV's. I opted for tunes and a Shoulders and Arms session:

Arnold Press/Face Pull/Incline Close Grip Push Up
Rear Delt Raise/Incline Zane Curls/Rope Pushdown
Side Raise/Concentration Curl/1-Arm Extension

9 exercises done as one giant circuit repeated 3 times. I threw in 4 sets of standing calf raises along with some front delt work and forearms before hitting the Elliptical for a mile and another on the stationary bike.

Later in the weekend I would come across a new Dolph Lundgren video where he shows you his superset based workout routine along with juice and protein centric diet. Dude is still doing the Damme thing in his 50's so you have no excuse not to get up. The big Swede talks dealing with an abusive father, therapy, Arnold waking him up at night and much more.

Ask Me a Question: Creed w/ Sylvester Stallone

After Monday's excellent outing for Mad Max: Fury Road, it was off to The American Cinematheque's Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood for a real treat, Rocky 7 aka Creed with a Q&A from Best Supporting Actor nominee Sylvester Stallone! A block of tickets came available and apparently a woman showed up at 11:00 AM looking to claim one when the box office opened at 6:00 PM. That's dedication! The shindig was sold out and Warner Brothers provided several displays for lobby and courtyard photos. I caught up with oh so many Dammaged Goods allies and talked the #ActionMovieBro hardships as I lined up Sheldon Lettich for Q&A at Laemmle's NoHo7 Bloodsport happening at the same time. DG even got an unsolicited shout out during the introduction since I lined up Dolph Lundgren then Carl Weathers to appear at the historic venue. Already a box office and critical hit, Creed is the story of Apollo's (Carl Weathers) child from an affair who grows up to be the angry and hungry Adonis (Michael B. Jordan). Young Doni seeks out unofficial uncle Rocky Balboa (Stallone, come on) and makes a run at creating his own legacy. The film was better the second time around, flowing much smoother and displaying director and co-writer Ryan Coogler's skills in front and behind the camera with great music, editing, tempo, inspiring training sequences and exciting fights. I was surprised at how much training and fighting were in the film as the first viewing came off as more of a drama like the original Rocky. But make no mistake, this is a boxing movie with drama.

After the film, the man himself, Mr. Sylvester Stallone, looking dapper and fit, came out for Q&A to a standing ovation:

- Thought doing a story of Rocky getting sick would be anti-climatic as audiences did not enjoy seeing the downside of success with part V.
- Pushed from all sides, dubbed a "coward" for being precious.
- Describes Michael B. Jordan as young, athletic and competitive. The two playfully sparred with Stallone delivering some cheap shots to the young leading man to remind him he still had teeth.
- Impressed with Jordan's physical transformation.
- Didn't think the one take fight scene would work and suggested a few cutaways just in case. They say it was the 11th take but Stallone felt it was 20 or something as he had nothing to do but yell.
- Approached the role with no vanity and avoided looking in a mirror during production.
- His friends were envious of the film's quality and success. Dolph Lundgren loved it. Carl Weathers did as well. Weathers' opinion was very important to Stallone as it's his character and performance that provided a film 40 years later.

- Describes Rocky I & II as one long, 4 hour movie, that's why they look and feel the same.
- Now a money making franchise, III & IV got away from the original intents to keep the story moving, as III became flashy and Rocky vain and protected, etc.
- Cher, Bette Midler and Carrie Snodgrass were in the running for Adrian before Talia Shire walked in and was instant fit, like Weathers.
- Wrote Rocky as "heroic" for the general audience, the people with potential who never got a shot.
- On Oscar night, was nervous after Burgess Meredith and Bill Conti lost and were going in behind Network and All The President's Men.
- Original Sound guy didn't care about the film, didn't run sound during a crucial scene and took his name off the picture. Irony was that film won for Best Sound and he wasn't credited. This is  interesting because I heard a story about Stallone on set lamenting, "I hate packing, unpacking and sound guys". So maybe that sheds a little light on why...
- What is most endearing to him is how much the film and character mean to people so many years later as the people who asked questions were hardcore fans.

With that, the place rushed the front and Sly coolly signed for a few minutes before being whisked off. It was a great night and inspiration to just keep punching.

Snow Screen: Hail, Caesar!

It was back to Hollywood Thursday night for a screening of new Coens brother flick Hail, Caesar! A premiere for new action flick, Vigilante Diaries, starring Michael Jai White, Jason Mewes and Michael Madsen was being set up and we munched on delicious nachos, fries and sammiches at the cafe. Star studded affair Caesar! centers on President of Physical Production and fixer Eddie Mannix (Josh Brolin, who is crazy, hilarious, weird and slightly menacing in interviews) who balances big budget prestige pictures, out of line actors, job offers, a kidnapping plot with a secret society, trying to change an actor's image and legality of adopting your own child. George Clooney plays booze and lady hound actor Baird Whitlock who is drugged and snatched from the set and taken to a beautiful seaside palatial estate where he becomes chummy with his snatchers. The film employs stars galore in bit parts from a funny and well used Ralph Fiennes as a pretentious director, Alden Ehrenreich as a likable western star being dropped into a classy drama, Scarlett Johansson talks tough and smokes as a screen queen needing an image boost, Channing Tatum sings and dances while Tilda Swinton plays rival twin gossip writers. Genre fans' interest piqued when action icon Dolph Lundgren was lined up to play a Submarine Commander while Highlander stars Christopher Lambert and Clancy Brown were also among the cast. Sadly Lundgren's role was completely cut out but hopefully his two days on set working with the Coens, cinematographer Roger Deakins and young gun Channing Tatum was a positive experience and he had fun at the premiere.

Like their previous comedic efforts I've seen like The Big Lebowski or O Brother, Where Art Thou? Caesar! is amusing if not laugh out loud funny. Like their previous films, the subtle sense of humor requires multiple viewings and time to percolate and I'm sure will be quoted years down the road. The Arclight's Cinerama Dome has a fancy new laser projector and the picture was incredibly clear. As in, people be looking old, clear. IMDB says Deakins shot the movie on film but it looked very digital and a bit fake outside the studio scenes with everything looking I'm guessing intentionally staged and created versus on location with depth and a touch of grain or grit. I was surprised at how little advertised "stars" appeared in the film as most have a quick scene or two if they're lucky. This is really Brolin, then Clooney and Ehrenreich's movie. It was nice to see Lambert on the big screen and he did the patented "heh heh heh" Christopher Lambert laugh. Hopefully Dolph's scenes end up on the Blu-Ray. Until next time, throw in a mirthless chuckle.

Masters of the Universe Lives!

Ah Masters of the Universe, the first flick I ever saw in a theater and one of my favorites of all time. I've now seen the Dolph Lundgren and Frank Langella starring film three times on the big screen, once in 1987 in small town Ohio, again at a midnight screening in 2009 in Los Angeles at the now defunct Fairfax Regent and this past September when I hosted a He-Man and She-Ra Celebration at The Egyptian Theatre where we welcomed cast and crew. Director Gary Goddard was on hand and mentioned that in the last few years, sentiment towards MOTU has gone from cheesy and negative to ahead of it's time and positive. No part thanks to the abundance of CGI heavy fantasy thrillers of late like Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit and Marvel's Thor films. Playing out as a mini-epic of LOTR and Star Wars laced action, fantasy, design and nostalgia with a production so harrowing you appreciate the end result even more. You can catch the entire film on YouTube under Paramount's Vault as well as on Netflix. Just last week, He-Man World hosted a screening at Toronto's Rainbow Cinema where He-Man maker Mattel donated 200 items for a charity toy drive. Then a fan made trailer using the template of Star Wars: The Force Awakens hit the data waves making the film look even more classy and epic. This week also heralded a Kickstarter campaign for in production documentary Power of Grayskull.

Power should pair nicely with completed and readying for release documentary Toy Masters: How He-Man & Mattel Conquered the Universe, an entertaining and informative look at the origins and impact of the boy toy giant. I was lucky enough to tour The Goddard Group's offices this week, birthplace of theme park attractions, live tours, stage productions and much more. Sitting in the corner is an original video store stand for Masters that was sent in by a fan who had an extra. I also flipped through several drafts of the script, one of which featured bookend appearances by The Princess of Power, She-Ra! Goddard's Group has regained rights to properties Skeleton Warriors along with Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future so be on the look out for new interpretations. Even though I've seen the film a million times, all of this week's cues and reminders might equal a weekend viewing with a bucket of fried chicken.

Workout of the Day: For the Faint

People usually gain weight over the holidays because there's an abundance of rich food around, lots of socializing and little exercising. In my case I seemed to up by eggnog consumption along with Strong Balls aka Strongbow Cider and Fireball whiskey while eating randomly and sporadically. McDonalds' new mozzarella sticks hit the market so you can be Damme sure I tried those...twice. I have been keeping up the working out though, for example on this past Wednesday when I met Jean-Claude Van Damme I pulled a double.

In the morning it was fasted cardio where I alternated the treadmill and elliptical. To spice things up I incorporated walking backwards, side shuffling and lunge steps on the mill while over on the elliptical it was all about intervals while pedaling forwards then backwards. After meeting JCVD and before dinner out, I hit the apartment gym for a quick but spasm inducing Back and Triceps work out:

Chins/Bench Dip/EZ Bar Row/Lying DB Extensions/Chin Row on Treadmill/Cable Kickbacks and repeated for 4 rounds before throwing in some delt moves to pump up my shoulders.

You know I'm all about the empty stomach workouts in the AM. But fasted training is an experimental beast. Dolph Lundgren suggests going for a long walk upon rising since your blood sugar is low and the body will resort to fat for energy. It also gets you outside and clears your mind. JCVD has been known to pedal on the bike for 40 minutes after tea and before food while for Charles Bronson it was coffee then a 2 mile run. Arnold gets in a morning bike ride and slams weights in the evening. The Rock does 35 minutes of fasted cardio on the elliptical before breakfast and then hits the weights. For me it's better to just get up and go after a few glubs of water. Sitting around too long I'll start to get hungry and lose the zeal. But the gym didn't open until 7:00 AM on Saturday and I woke up at 5:30. So it might not have been my best idea to wait it out then get in an intense session.

Kettlebell Swing/Chin/Incline Push Up/Step Up/Handstand Push Up/Battling Ropes/Dips/Rope Climb Machine/Back Extensions/Rowing Machine

As you can see, that's 11 exercises and I was going for 3 rounds. I felt good and pumped but made the fatal flaw of taking a sip of water between my 1st and 2nd rounds. That plus my intense aspiration of perspiration lead to feeling like I was going to pass out or vomit by the end of my 3rd round. I can chalk it up to low blood sugar and maybe pushing a little too hard but after 5 minutes of lying on the floor in a cold sweat, I felt great and went on about my day.

Holiday Happiness: Street Fighter

Do you have a movie you or your family randomly watches around the Holidays? It could be a staple like Christmas Vacation, Love Actually or It's a Wonderful Life. Then you've got titles like Die Hard or Lethal Weapon as action movies set at Christmas in the mix. A friend told me on The O.C. the family watched Stallone's truck driving/father-son story Over the Top while non-action movie junkie colleagues tell me their family randomly watches Bloodsport or Under Siege 2 at festive gatherings. For me, it seems like 1994's Street Fighter has come full circle to become part of my Christmas tradition. My mom took me to see it on Christmas day over twenty years ago and it's been a regular part of my Jean-Claude Van Damme viewing ever since. As I've stated before, it's not a Street Fighter film, it's a G.I. Joe meets James Bond flick that is handsomely produced, includes lots of exciting action and fights while cracking wise and generally being pretty Damme entertaining.

Street Fighter came back this Christmas because my lady gifted me with some bitching trading cards from the 90's. Remember Upper Deck and Topps? When retailers were trying to create a collector's market out of cards, comic books and Beanie Babies? The over abundance of product meant most of this stuff is near worthless but it sure does bring back memories. Along with The Rocketeer, The Phantom, Batman Returns, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II, The Punisher and Judge Dredd, my gift included two packs of Street Fighter trading cards. I used to buy these at Wal-Mart and they were not cheap, I recall maybe $3 bucks a pack. That was a lot of dough for a not yet working pre-teen! The labels on these listed $1.47 so maybe I'm mistaken or they were cheaper on their way out. Either way, I had a lot of these cards back in the day where you had to collect them all to complete your set, buy the plastic pages to hold them and put them all in a big 3 ring binder to flip through. The Street Fighter cards are a nice mix of photos and drawings that take you through the movie's narrative, behind the scenes, actors involved (Van Damme is listed as being 5'11" and 190lbs) and the video game's history along with playing tips.

The cards were a great gift and a total excuse to introduce the film to my lady who knows I'm a big Street Fighter fan in general. At only 90 minutes, the time investment wouldn't be too much to ask and to sweeten the deal I suggested we watch the film as a drinking game. Sure enough we found one online where you sip anytime the name "Bison" is uttered, there's some cheesy/clever bantering going on ("You will choke on those words, Guile." 'Anytime, dickhead!'), a line from the video game is delivered ("Are you man enough to fight with me?" 'Anyone who opposes me will be destroyed') and you're supposed to take a shot when someone does a special move. That means the ending gets a bit messy since at least half of the 15 characters deliver a line from the game or perform a special move like the Flash Kick, Hadouken and Psycho Crusher...

The film plays very well and I still contend it was ahead of its time. Writer/director Steven E de Souza does a tremendous job of building the world, introducing and keeping track of so many characters, moving the story along all while setting up lots of fights and action. You have super hero outfits and a larger than life meets current events tone. There are characters of multiple cultures and actors of Asian, African and indigenous tribes descent receiving nearly as much screen time as leading man Van Damme. Quite a feat when compared to today where Emma Stone plays Asian, or Egyptians become white and filmmakers apologize for the white washing months before the film has even come out. Street Fighter was fun as a drinking game and my lady seemed to enjoy it, only questioning Van Damme's orange-ish blonde hair so I had to show her what Guile looked like in the game and how that would be impossible for a film. Dolph Lundgren from Rocky IV would have been a great Guile but Van Damme was just a much bigger star. She also asked if Van Damme was trying to do an American accent and wondered if a dialect couch was on the set. Since in his first scene he more or less grunt-talks but later slides back into his usual stop and go English with hundred sounding like "han-dread" or emphasizing certain letters and making out become "Ow-Teh". That set off an interesting conversation as the Swedish born Lundgren never had much of an accent in his films, Arnold's German inflections were never explained yet Van Damme was always getting a line about being from New Orleans, being born in Belgium but raised in Los Angeles or playing semi-pro hockey in Montreal...

Sneak Cinema: The Hateful Eight

Last night, The Crest Theater in Westwood hosted a press screening of The Weinstein Company and Quentin Tarantino's latest opus, The Hateful Eight. In attendance were several movie critic types from internet, TV and OG Leonard Maltin himself. Much has been made about the production of Eight that was shot on 70mm film to harken back to the good ol' days in the 60's where going to the movies was an event. People dressed up, received programs and the films included beginning overtures as well as an intermission. If I remember correctly, the ultra wide scope was an effort to draw audiences to the theater instead of watching programs on their rinky dink televisions at home. The road show angle faded and 70mm became obsolete as the cinematic landscape changed as it always does. Last year, noted film fan Christopher Nolan unveiled his space epic Interstellar at less a dozen theaters still equipped with 70mm projection equipment. Tarantino and The Weinstein's are upping the ante by outfitting 100 plus theaters with 70mm projection. To make it more of a special event, shows in 70 include extra footage too boot.

From the opening credits last night, something was amiss. The bold font of OVERTURE was fine but underneath it, a silhouette of a horse and carriage kept throbbing in and out of focus. People murmured and complained to the PR staff who had no explanation. Generally a tech run happens during the day to make sure the picture and sound are up to par. Nolan personally checked out several theaters to make sure Interstellar was being presented the way he intended while Michael Mann did the same at The Egyptian for a repertory screening of The Last of the Mohicans, heck, Dolph Lundgren did a tech check when they hosted the Skin Trade premiere. Why this didn't happen on this night for this movie, who knows. Apparently some viewers were more upset than others and berated the PR staff leading to a swap to a Digital Print after the intermission. The result? The Hateful Eight looked a lot cleaner and more detailed. While the picture was crisper, I felt the sound lost a bit of impact though. After the film, the crowd exited still grumbling about the technical issues while I made an effort to thank the PR and theater staff because at the end of the day, shit happens, it's just a movie after all.

Now on the one hand, the evening could be seen as a disaster. After all this is a press screening meant to promote a throwback experiment turned event. This was the night meant to build an ally of armies to take back a piece of the business and show what film could do for future generations. Tarantino is a huge proponent of film and runs The New Beverly basically to preserve the medium. But if you can't even get it to work at a "special" event for a special event, what chance does the film have for general viewings multiple times a day? At a screening in New York recently, the projector broke down leading to a 60 minute impromptu Q&A with attending stars Kurt Russell, Walton Goggins and crew while a gear was replaced. Looks like dusting off a buried for 40 years technology for one film and one filmmaker needed more time to work out the kinks.

On the other hand, watching the film in a room full of critics made me realize something, I love movies but hate critics. I've always been vocal about critics being parasites who wouldn't exist without someone else's work. If there's no movie, they have nothing to talk/complain about, simple logic. They see everything early and for free yet they're ungrateful and demanding. It's not like they're creating something or putting themselves out there to be "judged". What was that quote from Theodore Roosevelt about the man in the arena? Something about giving him credit for striving to do the deeds while critics point out stumbles without knowing victory or defeat themselves? Or in this case they're jockeying for Facebook Likes and covering the same mainstream, Marvel movie news that a million other folks are. It's kind of like a barnacle that hitch hikes on a whale then complains there isn't enough plankton around. Go find your own plankton on your own steam then, pal.

There was no energy in the room, dead as dodos. I can only imagine how many times an opening night crowd of actual movie lovers would break out into applause during Hateful Eight's 3 hour run time. A person behind me even complained that the film had an intermission! Apparently they'd never seen a film that included one and basically missed the point of how Eight was being presented entirely. While it seemed like plenty of people were upset, even pissed off, I didn't notice anyone leaving. The moral? It's easier to blah blah blah than to do.

Fall Flicks: The Hunger Games Mockingjay Part 2

You know how you just don't "get" stuff? Hunger Games is like that for me. I've seen each film in the theater to be a good partner but I honestly would have rather sat in the lobby reading a book then viewing the films. I've just never bought into the world, the stories or characters. Part 3 I surprisingly didn't mind but that was deemed the weakest of the films up to that point, so go figure. This gave me hope for the final installment but nope, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 put me to sleep. Literally. On three separate occasions. The first half is literally a bunch of white folks sitting or walking around doing nothing in particular. Oh there's a black character here and there but this future is real white. There's flourishes of excitement like an Aliens style sequence in a sewer with some I Am Legend style white skinned, ravenous, flesh eating creatures but for the most part, I just looked around or nodded off. Every time I see Josh Hutcherson, I feel like he should play Dolph Lundgren's runt of the litter son. The highlight was probably during the trailers when people started to slow clap after Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Western Weekend: Missionary Man

It was a nice and relaxing weekend where I caught up on some cleaning, reading and of course, movies. After talking about Dolph Lundgren emulating Clint Eastwood earlier this week, it was time for some Dolph directing with his Pale Rider and High Plains Drifter quasi remake Missionary Man from 2007. After falling into directing with 2004's The Defender when Sidney Furie fell ill and the big Swede had to fill in, Dolph would go the Eastwood route for several more films with 2005's The Russian Specialist being a highlight. For Missionary Man, Lundgren stars, directs and co-wrote the script for the low budget, modern day western. Set in a small town in Texas, Ryder (Lundgren) shows up on an iron horse aka a motorcycle and heads to the bar where he downs tequila, straight up; no salt, no lime, like water then beats the shit out of a pack of thugs outside who are beating up a junkie native who owes some money. You see local big dog John Reno (Matthew Tompkins) has his eyes set on building a casino on nearby native tribal people's land and he's gonna get it whether they like it or not. But now the peaceful locals and shit swallowing Sheriffs have some back up with Dolph around and start standing up for themselves. Of course Reno wants Ryder on his side but the violent man of faith is already on Team Jesus. Reno calls in some back up muscle and biker boys lead by Jarfe (John Enos III) show up who may or may not know who Ryder is.

Shot with a rumored $2 million budget in Waxahachie, Texas for prolific actor turned producer Andrew Stevens, Missionary Man holds up as an excellent piece of DTV action for Lundgren. You get him playing a mysterious badass who visits to pay respects to a dead friend from the military and ends up saving the small town. There's fist fights, shootouts, explosions and shotgun blasts to the face galore all done in a slightly overwrought, nearly black and white style. Some of the editing is choppy as you don't really see some of the hand to hand moves and Dolph could have cooled with the slow motion. The film pays homage or cribs from Pale Rider, High Plains Drifter and Billy Jack among other flicks with story bits and dialog. Dolph is still a towering presence here as he breaks faces with fists and knees then wastes fools with a sawed off shotgun. You even get some fact based drama out of the local tribes people struggling with the asshole white folk/gangsters and as they adopt Dolph into the clan. At a brisk 93 minutes, it's hard to get bored and you get some decent sized set pieces like a night time shootout and an ending where Dolph takes out a dozen thugs one at a time in the streets and alleys with ropes, guns and fisticuffs. Friend and frequent co-star James Chalke shows up as the Sheriff and UFC fighter Brad Imes appears as a thug who has a change of heart after getting his nose busted by Dolph.

Missionary Man would continue an uptick in quality for Dolph after a string of low budget, barely cobbled together efforts like Jill Rips, Agent Red, Storm Catcher and Retrograde. Taking more control of his career creatively, higher profile fare like Universal Soldier: Regeneration, The Killing Machine and Command Performance followed before getting the call from buddy Stallone for big screen return hit, The Expendables.

Birthday Bros: Charles Bronson & Dolph Lundgren

I've been a Charlie Bronson fan since first seeing The Magnificent Seven in college. I've been a Dolph supporter since seeing the Big Swede in Masters of the Universe as a five year old. How I never put it together that they share the same birthday is beyond me! Bronson passed away in 2003 after living a full life at the age of 81. His final credits were on television in the Family of Cops series after milking out millions from schlock masters Cannon Films in the 80's. Of course, Bronson is far from forgotten as The Magnificent Seven lives on; we just attended a convention based around it and the TV show it produced and a high profile remake is on the way. Bronson was a major topic in recently released Cannon documentary Electric Boogaloo where interview subjects mention that every script was considered for the two Chucks, Bronson and Norris, before anyone else. Later this month, The New Beverly will be playing The Dirty Dozen, where Bronson solidified his quiet, macho screen presence opposite Lee Marvin, Clint Walker, John Cassavetes and Jim Brown among many others. Theater owner Quentin Tarantino has long been a fan, going back to Reservoir Dogs when his character references Bronson in The Great Escape.

While Bronson was an iconic screen presence due to his granite face, chiseled physique and loner persona, Dolph was always a little more like 70's icon Clint Eastwood. Quiet, steel eyed, sparse and prone to gun violence. Following 2014's release of The Expendables III, Dolph Lundgren has kept extremely busy with passion project Skin Trade premiering around the world and in Hollywood along with flicks 4Got10, War Pigs and Shark Lake. He was scheduled to attend Masters of the Universe night but was sadly shooting another project. The internet went a little crazy when they found out Dolph was working on Kindergarten Cop 2, sequel to Arnold's 1991 comedy with kids classic. He'll also be popping up in Hail, Caesar! The new Hollywood backstory comedy starring George Clooney, Channing Tatum, Josh Brolin and a mess of other talented folk. If that weren't enough, he participated in the 3,000 mile Gumball 3000 rally in Europe and gave an emotional TedX Talk in Santa Monica. Lundgren was currently shooting Larceny, an action flick about a thief enlisted to break into a Mexican prison. The American Film Market is in full effect and Dolph's name is being used to raise finances on Don't Kill It, a supernatural thriller that would pit demon hunter Lundgren versus an ancient demon in remote Alaska. Happy birthday, bros, keep kicking ass.

Grudgement Day: Paul Bettany VS Jason Statham

It's been a love-not love summer for Jason Statham and Marvel as rumors swirled that he was up for the role of Bullseye in Netflix's second season of Daredevil. It seems like it was an unfounded piece of gossip as The Punisher and Elektra have been announced thus far with no mention of the crazy and accurate assassin. In June while promoting comedy Spy, Statham expressed his disdain for Marvel films and tentpoles that rely on green screen, stunt doubles and $200 million dollar budgets as he's inspired by old school action heroes and in this day and age, you could put his grandma in a cape and put her into the action. Incredible Hulk Mark Ruffalo laughed it off with a faux throw of the gauntlet while actual caped Marvel hero The Vision aka Paul Bettany appeared on Conan O'Brien and admitted he was an actor and would let stunt men do their job while suggesting Statham get an acting double. It was all in jest with Jennifer Connelly's husband claiming he wouldn't want to run into the Stath but of course, the ol' internet saw it as a "slam" or "bitch slap". Going back to their original comments, you can clearly see it's just a usual case of getting worked up for nothing. Statham's comments are not untrue as you literally could take anyone and using CGI, stunt doubles, editing, green screen and a good choreographer, put them into the middle of an action scene. But not everyone can do a fight, flips or spills in a single, large shot. But it does shine an interesting light on our current view of what makes a leading man.

To me, it hearkened back to Sylvester Stallone claiming that Michael Keaton strapping on fake muscles for Batman effectively changed cinemas perspective of being heroic. While guys like Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson and Clint Eastwood oozed machismo and were physical, they weren't the bodybuilding action heroes of the 80's that Sly, Arnold and Jean-Claude Van Damme ushered in. Along with icons of the era like Chuck Norris, Carl Weathers, Steven Seagal and Dolph Lundgren, each of these cinematic tough guys had a background anchored in sports and physicality. Beefy muscles became cliche and more athletic everyman heroes like Keanu Reeves, Nicolas Cage and Matt Damon took center stage. Yet now everyone is in shape again and taking their shirts off on camera. Chris Pratt became a leading man because he dropped 60 pounds. Brad Pitt still looked great for a scene in Fury. Chris Hemsworth and Evans always have a moment in their Marvel films to show off the goods and even serious actor Robert Downey Jr. has to hit the gym for Iron Man and Sherlock Holmes. Hugh Jackman's hulking transformations into Wolverine have defined his career. The only difference is, none of these guys could kick you in the face or break blocks of ice with their bare hands.

On the flip side, is Jason Statham a bad actor or simply typecast as a growling smart ass? As with anyone on the above list, stars become stars because viewers like them in a specific type of role. From Stallone gaining weight and going back to drama for Copland or Jim Carrey ditching laughs for The Truman Show to Hemsworth playing funny in Vacation, no actor wants to constantly repeat himself. It would be nice to see Statham in a light ensemble piece like Snatch or The Italian Job again but those lower budget action fests probably pay him a lot better. He did show some smarts by playing opposite Melissa McCarthy in Spy and took on The Rock for Furious 7 this summer. Paul Bettany has worked with everyone from Peter Weir to Ron Howard opposite Johnny Depp and Tom Hanks but has he ever had his name above a title? A quick search on Facebook shows Statham has 52 million fans while Bettany tops out at...62 THOUSAND. Perhaps Statham can go back to his character actor roots as he gets older while Bettany continues to be a respected character actor that will never be a star. In the end, they're both doing just fine.

Ask Me a Question: Masters of the Universe

My two part experiment to mash a convention with repertory screenings kicked off Friday night at the historic and beautiful Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood with 1987's Masters of the Universe. Mattel had really come through, providing display cases full of figures from the 1980's through today, Castle Grayskull, Snake Mountain, 6 foot character displays and a 15 foot tall He-Man statue that barely fit inside the lobby! Pretty In Plastic kicked in with an awesome mounted bust of Battlecat, one of less than a dozen in existence and valued at a cool 8 grand. We had a solid turnout for the evening and one by one our guests arrived. Myself, programmer and voice actor extraordinaire Grant along with editor at large Jim Branscombe spliced together a pre-movie clip show of beautiful randomness that included the credits to Dolph Lundgren's awe-inspiring workout video Maximum Potential, He-Man toy commercials and a fan edited version of 4 Non Blondes What's Up featuring Prince Adam and Cringer.

Mattel had provided a dozen rare figures from their Matty Collector line to give out as prizes and we got right into the film. The 35mm print looked solid for being nearly 30 years old and the audience was enthusiastic, cheering, clapping and laughing at all the appropriate moments. Starting on war-torn Eternia, the evil warlord/wizard Skeletor (Frank Langella) has taken Castle Grayskull, where mystical forces are housed and give the power to become the Master of the Universe. With keeper of the house The Sorceress (Christina Pickles) captured, it's up to a small band of Eternian heroes to save her including the ultra heroic He-Man (Dolph Lundgren), troop commander Man-At-Arms (Jon Cypher), his daughter Teela (Chelsea Field) and locksmith/inventor Gwildor (Billy Barty). You see, Gwildor has invented a music based Cosmic Key that can open a doorway to anywhere, which Skeletor used to infiltrate Castle Grayskull and take over. During a botched rescue attempt, Gwildor frantically opens a doorway our heroes escape into, landing on...Earth! There, with the help of two local teens (Courtney Cox and Robert Duncan McNeil), He-Man and his crew battle Skeletor's pursuing mercenaries (including Robert Towers as Karg and Anthony De Longis' Blade) while dealing with earthly customs like eating fried chicken and ribs and trying to get back home, free The Sorceress and save Eternia.

This was the first film I ever saw in a movie theater and I've loved it ever since. The last time I saw it was in 2009 or so at the now defunct Regency Fairfax down the street from the New Beverly which played the film a couple of years ago, both times screening at midnight. It's become my staple to not only spread the gospel of the 80's and 90's but also take midnight back to prime time. For me, much of MOTU still works. The Castle Grayskull set is huge, impressive and immaculate, the costumes ornate and unique, the action crackles with a kinetic swashbuckling energy while the cast is terrific and most of the matte painting, laser blast, pyrotechnics and space door special f/x look great. Bill Conti's epic score gives the flick a Star Wars meets Superman scope, Dolph is picture perfect as a living action hero while Frank gets to dig his teeth deep into the fiery yet sorrowful Skeletor. Plus the message of there being only one of you in the universe is still a great message.

After the film, I called down our panelists of director Gary Goddard, production designer William Stout, Teela Chelsea Field, Karg Robert Towers, Blade Anthony De Longis and armor suit makers Robert Short and Max Cervantes:

- Goddard has a background in large scale theme park attractions as well as theater. Always wanted to be a filmmaker, made films in high school, never gave up and his mother always encouraged him.
 - Chelsea Field was a dancer before auditioning seemingly twenty-five times for MOTU and it was her first acting role. Auditions had no scenes per se, acting out action, fighting with swords and laser guns. Had met Goddard to discuss Conan stage show previously and he remembered her.
- William Stout originally hired as storyboard artist but hit it off with Goddard, both loved Jack Kirby while hired production designer didn't see eye to eye with director or have faith in film.
- Anthony De Longis worked on Conan the Barbarian stage show, worked with William Stout on a Roger Corman flick after Masters. Played Blade and doubled Frank Langella for final battle where Skeletor is in a huge helmet the size of the New York skyline.
- Robert Towers knew Goddard from Conan as well. Went through lots of auditions as Goddard was adamant performance had to come through prosthetics. Had a great time with Billy Barty who always brought great energy and told dirty stories. Went through 3.5 hours of make up and could barely eat.
- Robert Short's shop produced 300 some suits of armor in 30 days.
- Grayskull was biggest set Hollywood had seen in 40 years, two stages with wall knocked down.
- Goddard described the difficulties of the film that included costumes, contact lenses that almost made wearers blind, make up, pyrotechnics, fights, stunts...everything but rain. Cannon Films also going out of business, was told three times that there was no money. Would tell cast and crew that they were already there, go ahead and shoot day and figure it out. Producer went to Mattel for money.
- Field hasn't seen film since opening, only 2nd time, lots of 30ish guys walk up and freak out about Masters. Best summer of her life, most fun she ever had on a shoot. Night shoots felt like they went on forever, was only 6 weeks, only getting about 4 hours a night on Whittier streets. Fond memories of working with James Tolkan, Jon Cypher, Cox, McNeil, etc.
- Frank Langella was in town and wanted to come but had to head back to New York early, drat!
- Great to work with, 2-3 hours of make up and anchors the film. Goddard spread story to more characters versus giving all to He-Man and somewhat telling story through villain's eyes.
- Big film for Cannon but still a skeleton crew, department assistant Josh Olson would go on to write Oscar nominated A History of Violence.
- Strapped Dolph to a truck for the Air Centurion sequence, had him 30-50 feet up a ladder.
- Towers kept some costume pieces and wig, Goddard has Skeletor's sword, Field kept memories, Stout has 200 paintings, Max has some armored suits and revamped for Alien Halloween costume, Short has a garage full of molds and suits, De Longis has a sword, donated one to charity.
- It was William Stout's birthday, we wished him a hearty "Good journey!" and I passed out cupcakes after.
- Field warned her son that it would be very cheesy but was surprised how well it held up. Everyone gave massive props to Goddard for making for such a great experience, keeping things rolling even though Cannon was falling apart behind the scenes.

 It was a beautiful night paying tribute to one of my favorite films and a warm up for the next day which would include 12 hours of setting up, hosting and running a mini-convention, 4 screenings and 4 panels, phew! Until then, don't say goodbye, say "Good journey!".

Ask Me a Question: Electric Boogaloo

It's going to be a crazy weekend with the two part He-Man event and things kicked off in appropriate fashion with a screening of Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films over at the Landmark Theatre. On the way in, I introduced myself to the American Ninja himself, Michael Dudikoff! Joe Armstrong was looking sharp, still in shape and very gracious. Cannon trailers for Death Wish sequels, Invasion U.S.A. and more warmed up the audience where you could spot familiar faces at every glance. Written and directed by Mark Hartley and produced by Veronica Fury and Brett Ratner, Boogaloo tells the story of two movie loving Israeli immigrants Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus who changed Hollywood with their Go-Go approach to movie making with a focus on product and hype versus story and taste. Over 100 former executives, script readers, actors, directors and producers were interviewed for the flick that is a breezy, funny and informative 100 minutes that serves as both an inspirational and cautionary tale. Schlock is always a term used to describe Cannon's output of titles that usually involved sex, nudity, horror and action. Films like The Last American Virgin, Breakin', Death Wish 2-5, Missing In Action, Lifeforce, Over the Top, Runaway Train, Bloodsport and Masters of the Universe would define their eclectic output of big and small titles, always looking to break out.

Interviewees look back with a sense of fondness and hilarity at the ridiculousness of the era where junk bonds financed Cannon's slate and the two cousins were known as charming, overly passionate film fans and expert salesmen. So much that the Cannes film festival was nicknamed the Cannon film festival during their heyday as they promoted so many films and closed so many deals. Stars like Charles Bronson and Chuck Norris anchored their stable of stars that would also include Dudikoff, Lucinda Dickey, Catherine Mary Stewart, Robert Forster, Franco Nero, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Sylvester Stallone and many more. While filmmakers like Sam Firstenberg, Tobe Hooper, Michael Winner, John Frankenheimer and Cassavetes and Franco Zeffirelli spent their cash. While in those days studios were putting out 8-12 films a year, Cannon cranked out dozens, many of the low budget and near exploitation variety. Even when they had a good movie like Runaway Train or Otello, people wouldn't give them credit. But the lack of quality control and never stopping to assess the situation seemed to spell their doom. After expanding too quickly, buying up cinema chains and financing films that flopped, Cannon eventually could not keep up with their debts and Golan and Globus parted ways in a less than amicable split. The film does a great job of setting up who the two mini-moguls were, their personalities, vision, success and eventual failure. More than one participant had to put their foot down to get paid from time to time but the money was never going into the pockets of the producers, rather back into the film. Boogaloo is a terrific look back at a long bygone era that produced some truly memorable movies. The flick hits DVD on Tuesday, 9.29 and comes with 30 minutes of Cannon trailers along with 20 some minutes of deleted scenes. Can't wait!

After the film, producer and financier Brett Ratner took the microphone and introduced an awesome panel that included director Hartley, editor Mark Helfrich, director Sam Firstenberg, actress Dickey and Michael Dudikoff. A shoutout to audience members and Cannon alumni like Sheldon Lettich, James Bruner and Diane Franklin among many more. Ratner has always seemed like a chill guy but his asking the panel to tell a story not in the film was not the greatest way to moderate:

- Ratner loved Diane Franklin in The Last American Virgin so much, he ended up dating lookalike Rebecca Gayheart for 13 years and nearly marrying her.
- Mark Helfrich was an assistant editor who would go in and fix things at night the actual editors messed up. Lead to a career long association with likes of Ratner and Craig Baxley.
- Firstenberg worked with Golan and Globus at their company prior to Cannon as a messenger and worked his way up to directing Revenge of the Ninja, Ninja III, Breakin' 2, American Ninja 1 & 2.
- It always sounded like Golan and Globus were arguing in Hebrew when they were usually just talking about what to eat for lunch.
- Lucinda Dickey was a gymnast and classical dancer turned green actress who signed a deal with Cannon but retired after the Breakin' series and Ninja III to raise a family. Apparently did not get along overly well with Sho Kosugi or her Breakin' co-stars at the time.
- Michael Dudikoff had been a contract player at Paramount doing comedy, got called in to Cannon's offices, which were quite dingy and sloppy, became one of their poster boys and would be "James Dean" of the company. Had to play hardball to get paid for a few projects but overall felt like he was part of the family and treated well.
- Cannon always wanted to be first when it came to similar movies and would push projects into production at the drop of a hat. If you landed a meeting, there was a 90% chance you'd leave with a deal. One filmmaker threatened to cut his fingers off if his film wasn't made.
- Boaz Davidson, John Thompson and Avi Lerner would go on to build a modern Cannon Films, Nu Image. Lerner offered Ratner $10 million bucks to direct a Hercules movie but wouldn't specify how much would be left to make the movie. Ratner declined and set up his own Hercules project with The Rock. Lerner asked him to shoot it at their studio in Bulgaria, when Ratner declined, Lerner said he was going to "fuck him" by making his own Hercules movie and releasing it first.
- The Cannon renaissance is upon us as Firstenberg has provided a half dozen commentaries and the cult fan base is still alive and well.

Much more was talked about and several audience members who worked at the studio shared quick stories. One saying it was a truly harrowing yet educational experience that taught him more than any school ever could. It was a great night that put the spotlight on many unsung heroes of my cinematic upbringing. Now bring on Masters of the Universe!

Dolph Days: The Long September

We're just over a week away from Masters of the Universe on the big screen at The Egyptian Theatre where we'll be joined by several several members of the cast and crew. It's been a busy summer for the big Swede as Lundgren was recently in the news when photos from the Vancouver set of Kindergarten Cop 2 hit the web, Thor screenwriter Christopher Yost had been hired to take a crack at the MOTU reboot set up at Sony and passion project Skin Trade hit Blu-Ray shelves. But that's not all, folks. This past Labor Day weekend saw the El Rey Network playing the Rocky marathon on repeat hosted by Sylvester Stallone and Robert Rodriguez which means you got to see The Iron Man in all his 80's yoked and flat topped glory punching bags, killing Apollo Creed, training with high tech equipment, doing roids and fighting the Cold War against Rocky set to Vince DiCola's glorious synth soundtrack at least twice a day.

Tonight at the Hollywood Arclight, Dolph is expected to attend the premiere of War Pigs, the World War II action flick co-starring Luke Goss (Blade 2), former UFC champion Chuck Liddell and Expendables co-star Mickey Rourke. Ryan Little directs from a script by Adam Emerson, Andrew Kightlinger and Steven Luke. I'm a sucker for WWII men on a mission flick and a lot of love and work went into the project so here's hoping for an action packed and entertaining 90 minutes. Next week you can catch Dolph on the big screen three days in a row! On Thursday, 9.17, Warner Brothers premieres the long awaited documentary, Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films at the Landmark Theatre on the west side. Roger Corman, Lucinda Dickey, Mark Helfrich and the American Ninja himself, Michael Dudikoff are scheduled to attend for Q&A. The following night, you can catch Cannon's mini-epic Masters of the Universe at The Egyptian with me while War Pigs hits select theaters the same night.

If that weren't enough Dolph for ya, the actor, karate expert, chemical engineer and filmmaker takes the stage for TEDx Fulbright Santa Monica to discuss Human Trafficking. This is an independently organized event to bring people together in TED like environments to spark discussion and connection. More information HERE and tickets over HERE. Phew, I'm tired just trying to keep up with him, see ya at the shows!