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.
Remember how I told you Carl Weathers is awesome? So it's good to see him popping up so much in recent days. In November, would be surprise award flick Creed garnered plenty of positive buzz, critical accolades and boffo box office. Not bad for the 7th movie of a franchise that started 40 years ago. The film utilized deceased Apollo to give us a new generation of screen lead with Michael B. Jordan's Adonis Johnson aka Creed. Weathers showed up at the premiere looking dapper and fit as usual, rubbing elbows and making fists with Stallone and Jordan. There's rumors that a sequel would employ Weathers in flashback scenes akin to The Godfather II. The same month, Weathers and fellow 80's icon Mickey Rourke co-starred in Nissan's The Delivery, an online short film showing off a new cargo van in a send up of action flicks and The Expendables that's garnered over a million views on YouTube alone. This past Thursday the 14th, Weathers turned 68 years young as we head into the premiere of Colony, Carlton Cuse's (Adventures of Brisco County, Jr., Nash Bridges, Lost) new show starring Josh Holloway about a future split up into factions of authorities and rebels. Weathers will guest star in multiple episodes as a cop of some type I believe. Happy birthday, Carl, keep it coming!
Ah December, time for Christmas decorations, Holiday movies and of course, eggnog. The origins of the thick, sweet, milk like drank are debated. Medieval English types used to drink posset, a beverage made with hot milk and the nog may have evolved from there. Popular with the aristocracy as it was only for those who could get milk, eggs and some booze like brandy it was also served as breakfast, sans alcohol. Back in the day the stuff was made with raw eggs but you can't do that no mo' cause of salmonella concerns. Apparently if you refrigerate alcoholic eggnog, the taste will mature over time. We picked up three kinds this past weekend to start the holiday party season off right along with Costco's delectable box of chocolate covered cookies. For the workout section of my brain, the heavy cream and egg based concoction evoked thoughts of Vince Gironda who advocated drinking raw cream mixed with free-range eggs to gain weight. But with a base of cream, sugar, eggs, spices and booze, eggnog, like the nutlog, is very heavy in calories and fat. So maybe limit yourself to a short glass a day to maintain the ol' figure.
Next week, on the night before Star Wars, we're checking out Heritage Auctions display of Sylvester Stallone memorabilia that includes the motorcycle ridden in Rocky III, boxing trunks, a Rambo machete, the electric chair from Lock Up, a Los Angeles Lakers NBA Championship ring gifted to Stallone by Shaquille O'Neal (?!) and much more. To prepare, the lady needed to be exposed to more Sly beyond The Expendables or Rocky sequels while sipping on some spiked eggnog. Our first view? 1982's iconic First Blood, based on the novel by David Morrell. Inspired by Morrell's interaction with returning from Vietnam veterans, First Blood tells the tale of John Rambo, a would be drifter pushed by a king-shit cop (Brian Dennehy) to shave and not display his affiliation with the Army. Just wanting something to eat, Rambo snaps and takes out a precinct full of cops before escaping to the wilderness and waging a one man war against the small town. It is revealed that Rambo is a decorated former Green Beret who has had difficulty adjusting to civilian life where people spit and protest those who put their lives on the line for their country. By the end scene break-down where Rambo recalls his friends dying and not being able to hold a job, the lady was shockingly surprised at the real/sad-ness of the film and that Stallone doesn't always come off as the dim witted but lovable palooka of Rocky. Acting! While First Blood's 90 minute, on the move runtime helped usher in a new era of action film; viewers tend to forget that only a handful of people die and they're not directly at the hands of the star.
While guys like Stallone and Arnold are remembered as over the top and cartoonish heroes due to their oversized muscles, egos, paychecks and personalities, it's easy to forget that they both got to the top the hard way. Stallone is a writer, director and painter who gave us dramatic efforts in the likes of Rocky, Nighthawks and F.I.S.T. but audiences only responded to his boxer from Philadelphia and Rambo roles. Schwarzenegger was perfectly cast as Conan the Barbarian and The Terminator but was smart enough to align himself with talented filmmakers like John Milius and James Cameron while amassing millions with a mail order business and real estate. With Stallone garnering award chatter for his role in Creed, it's nice to see him getting a little respect along with decades worth of worldwide fame and fortune.
In other Rambo news, it was recently announced that Fox was developing a new show to feature Stallone's John J. and his former-Navy Seal son. This seemed a bit strange as Fox was already working on an Expendables TV series. After four Rambo films and a long discussed fifth and final chapter, television seemed like an odd outlet but lots of movies are going to TV lately like Limitless, Rush Hour, Beverly Hills Cop, Minority Report, etc. With the original First Blood dealing with soldiers returning home to an unloving country, a new Rambo seemed like the perfect opportunity to shed light on the plight of current veterans returning home with emotional, mental and physical issues as they struggle with employment, injuries and homelessness. But word came out this week that while Stallone was in negotiations to participate as a producer and possible co-star, a deal was never made and the star has now stated he would have nothing to do with the project. Could he be holding out for a final feature film? So far we've heard rumors of a supernatural take based on James Byron Huggins' novel Hunter where Rambo would lead a crew of elite soldiers in an Antarctica set hunt of a hybrid man-prehistoric creature killer. Then there was word of Rambo returning home to Arizona and getting caught up with violent Mexican drug cartels. Neither iteration has come to fruition. We'll see what Sly does with the heat coming off of Creed, push out another leading man Expendables or find more thoughtful supporting roles in studio flicks. Until then, nothing is over! Nothing!
With a long weekend filled with much eating, working out was essential. On Thanksgiving Day I hit the empty gym (it's always kinda empty at 5:30 AM) for a total body session to offset the impending feasts of bread, cheese, turkey, sides, pies and booze:
4 circuits took under 45 minutes and I was spent! Mixing up the functional exercises with cardio helped keep my heart rate up and focus sharp. Moving from station to station keeps the mind occupied while going from upper body to lower to cardio keeps the body guessing.
On Friday morning I was a bit sore from the day before so taking a page from Creed, opted for a boxing themed workout in the complex gym:
Shoulder Circuit - 30 seconds each of various shoulder moves like side/front/rear laterals, "climbing" a ladder, etc. You can do these without weights or some light dumbbells to get warmed up. Then it was 3 rounds of jump rope, you can do this for time (2-3 minutes) or skips, say 300. After that it was 3 minutes of burpees where you aim for reps, 10-20, then rest for the remaining seconds. 3 rounds of shadow boxing then 3 rounds of Thai boxing with some knees and finished off with 3 more rounds of jump roping and abs.
It's easy to stuff your face then figure you can take the long weekend or holidays off, but just get back to it the next day. Lying on the couch watching movies and reading was terrific but I still managed to get off my duff 3 of the 4 days so don't use the holidays as a crutch, workouts only take an hour!
After the less than thrilling Spectre and Hunger Games, it was up to Creed to reverse the Fall Flicks slump. I'd been looking forward to the new Rocky flick for a while as the story seemed to be taking the character in a reasonable new direction while injecting some fresh blood. 2006's Rocky Balboa was a solid end to the saga, wrapping up the underdog story by showing the character as an aging, grieving but still hungry man meeting a new challenge. Bringing in former rival turned coach and friend Apollo Creed's son could have been a cheap cash in but franchise super fan turned writer/director Ryan Coogler along with co-scripter Aaron Covington along with stars Michael B. Jordan and Stallone craft an excellent chapter that harkens back to the original's dramatic set up while still delivering pugilistic excitement. Coogler is a tremendous filmmaker as the flick looks slick yet feels authentic and the use of music, slow motion, long takes, etc is superb. While the story treads familiar ground like daddy issues, living up to your name, a convenient yet believable romance; the film is rousing, inspiring, funny and exciting when it needs to be. While I almost shed some dude tears at the end and the film soared at parts, I wasn't engaged the entire runtime. Probably because Adonis and Bianca's (Tessa Thompson) characters and ensuing romance wasn't as endearing as Rocky and Adrian's. I thought it was funny that Adonis Creed's fake name was Donnie Johnson (like Don Johnson, get it? You don't get it...) while wondering why there was no mention of Tony Burton's Duke the Trainer since he raised Apollo then took Rocky under his wing.
Not having to write or direct, Stallone is free to simply act and from his first line of dialog, reminds audiences why they love Rocky in the first place. The $37 million dollar film has already brought in $43 million and there's talk of Stallone being in the mix as Best Supporting Actor come award time. I thought 2006's Balboa was much more convincing with more heart and drama than 2008's overrated yet multi-nominated The Wrestler so here's hoping Stallone gets his critical due this time. It will be interesting to see what direction Creed moves to for a sequel. I vote putting him in the ring with Ivan Drago's son followed up by Michael B. Jordan tackling a sequel/reboot to Carl Weathers' awesomely 80's flick, Action Jackson.
El Rey is an awesome channel. They show badass flicks like The Terminator, Big Trouble In Little China, Showdown In Little Tokyo, Red Sonja and many more in beautiful widescreen and digitally cleaned up. If you like horror movies, they've got you covered. Kung-fu flicks? Of course. And Miami Vice reruns are in regular rotation. One of their signature original programs is The Director's Chair where owner and host Robert Rodriguez sits down with other filmmakers to discuss their craft.
Cinematic icons and alumni include John Carpenter, Quentin Tarantino, Robert Zemeckis and George Miller. During their Labor Day marathon of Rocky flicks, clips of an upcoming episode featuring Sylvester Stallone were placed throughout and now you can watch it for free! It's an intimate setting with just the host and guest speaking about careers, inspirations, methods and influence. For Stallone, the program stuck mainly to the basics of Rocky, Rambo and The Expendables with no mention of hit sequel to Saturday Night Fever, Staying Alive. Since writing and starring in the Oscar winning and box office breaking Rocky, Stallone has never quite been given his due credit. One of the earliest franchises to grace cinema screens, it's easy to forget that Rocky truly was a million to one shot as Stallone wouldn't sell the script if he wasn't starring. When you think of film directors; a paunchy, nebbish, less than physical specimen wouldn't be a stereotype. But when you think that Stallone wrote and directed crowd pleasers with heart and action like Rocky III, IV, Rambo and The Expendables with a given scene requiring 9 cameras, complicated choreography and getting punched in the head while being in peak physical condition, it's a shame and a double standard that he isn't given more credit. Even after number one movies in five decades, the only actor with three franchises, boatloads of money and worldwide fame, the guy still manages to inspire. Check out the episode in its entirety below or over at El Rey and find out what all the fighting and fuss is about.
The Director's Chair: Sylvester Stallone - Full Episode
By order of Robert Rodriguez we're making the next episode of The Director's Chair, featuring Sylvester Stallone, available for FREE! Watch the entire episode right here, right now!
Posted by El Rey Network on Tuesday, November 10, 2015
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!
A couple of cool videos celebrating the glorious 80's, today! First up is synth artist Gunship with their latest track, Tech Noir. You know, like from The Terminator?! I don't watch too many music videos anymore but this one was just very clever, inspired, fun and violent! Watch as our hero utilizes the power of VHS tapes to rescue the damsel in distress; battling evil icons of the era like Pinhead, Jason and Leatherface while harnessing the power of Robocop, Rocky, He-Man and...a Care Bear?!
Next up is a video sent to me from a Dammaged Goods supporter who attended The Van Damme Double Dip, one Chris Anthony. Mr. Anthony has put together an homage to classic arcade side scrolling brawler Double Dragon, where Billy and Jimmy Lee battle thugs after the death of a lady friend. Martial arts, 8-bit tunes and super knees to the face action ensues. Keep spreading the gospel of the 80's and 90's, my friends!
Welcome back to Tell Me a Question, where we chat with fascinating individuals living lives in the movie, martial arts and comic book worlds. Today we're joined by New York based martial artist and actor Paul Mormando. Born in Brooklyn, Mormando took up combat sports at a young age, eventually becoming a grandmaster and earning the nickname "Mr. Karate". Mormando is the creator of the Real Life Defense course, has performed in over 150 martial arts demonstrations and featured in over 200 magazines and newspapers. After bit parts on television and in film, Mormando was preparing for his leading man vehicle Double Fist with a young Mark Wahlberg lined up to co-star. Unfortunately Mormando was struck by a drunk driver and suffered terrible injuries. Like the best comeback and underdog stories; Mormando never lost hope, persevered and after much rehabilitation, is back on the road to action movie nirvana. We caught up over e-mail:
How did you get into martial arts? What lead you to creating your own style?
When I was young I was extremely small
in stature, a perfect target for bullies...then it happened,
I was 7 and I watched this little Chinese man beat up people twice his
size. Bruce Lee provided hope for me and I begged my parents into letting me take lessons to protect myself. Eventually I enrolled in my first art, Tae Kwon Do. After getting into a street fight I realized TKD's limitations. What I had practiced in the dojo wasn't going to work on the street. So I experimented with many arts and used Bruce Lee's Jeet Kune Do philosophy fused with different styles. Lee was an inspiration but his style of teaching seemed too abstract for the average person. I experimented with different arts and ranges but wanted a more systematic approach. That's how I came up with the Cha Ki Do system.
You've been active your whole life, what's your approach to staying fit today?
At the moment I'm getting back into shape for some film projects. I lift weights and love Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Boxing constitutes much of my current regimen.
After countless demonstrations, being featured on television and appearing in numerous publications, what lead you to acting?
I never even thought about
it, as a matter of fact, I never even did a school play....so acting was
far from my mind. One day I was doing a martial arts demo and I
decided to do a dive roll over a bunch of swords as the finale. That got the attention of the local newspaper editor who put me on the front page. The legendary entertainment agent Ruben Malaret contacted me and wanted to make me the next Chuck Norris. Once I got a taste of the acting bug, I became passionate. Ironically enough I ended up guest starring on Broadway in Tony n' Tina's Wedding. That was a thrill, being the first martial artist on such a big stage.
Who are some of your favorite actors? Favorite films?
Of course I love Bruce Lee, he is my idol. Jean-Claude Van Damme really inspired and motivated me. His kicking ability is unsurpassed. Jason Statham is really good, great screen presence. My favorite films are Enter the
Dragon, the Rocky Franchise and No Retreat, No
Surrender.
You were involved in a terrible car accident, how did you stay positive and keep moving forward?
That was at the beginning of my film career, I had just performed a demo at Shea stadium in front of nearly
20,000 people. And a few nights later it all got taken away from me. I was hit by a drunk driver. As hurt as I was, there were people around me even worse off. That kept me positive. The martial arts taught me discipline and gave me an indomitable spirit that helped me bounce back. During rehab I was inspired by those less fortunate; people who couldn't walk because their legs were amputated. If they can stay positive, I wasn't going to let a few injured disks set me back.
What's the key to staying hungry? What's next on your list?
I continue to set goals and higher standards for myself. My last goal is to become the next action star. My 7 year old daughter motivates and inspires me. I'm making it happen. Twenty years ago after the accident I thought my career was over. Now I'm booked through 2016. I'll be in Ohio shooting a film with director William Lee, sharing the screen with Mel Novak (Enter the Dragon) and Joe Estevez. I'll play the villain in Andre Joseph's Vendetta Games and then there's sci-fi web series Sons of God with my friend Leonard Sanderson.
Many thanks to Mr. Mormando for taking the time to chat with Dammaged Goods. Keep up with Double Fist on Facebook.
Amped up from seeing Sylvester Stallone, Carl Weathers, Mr. T. and Dolph Lundgren being so 80's yoked, of course I had to hit the gym and break a good sweat. Over the weekend I went all over the map with one work out utilizing body weight exercises and cardio, a straight weight session then a morning swim. I figure if I'm going out to eat and drank a three or four nights a week, I have to keep up the workouts. That and I recently had some blood work done for work and while my blood sugar, cholesterol, triglycerides and whatnot were all good to excellent, my blood pressure was a touch high. Probably from my Got Damme Ohio-Vietnamese Passion Temper.
On Saturday it was a morning session of:
- Chin Ups or Face Pulls or Rows on a Smith Machine
- Incline Push Ups or Dips or Bench Dips
- Jump Rope for 300 skips
- Battling Ropes for 30 seconds
- Versa Climber for 90 seconds
Doing two sets each of body weight upper body, I repeated the circuit 6 times and called it a day after some leg raises, ab wheel rollouts and trunk twists.
That evening after a Happy Hour meal of moonshine, chicken fingers, sliders and fries I got in an 8:00 PM workout for Shoulders and Arms:
- Shoulder Press/Rear Delt Raise/Cable Upright Rows
Done in a giant set with no rest to torch my delts followed by some Vince Gironda style 8x8 so I wouldn't have to change weights between sets:
- EZ bar bent over curl superset with Rope Pushdown
After 8 sets my arms were mildly screaming so I went ahead and did 5x8 of:
- Dumbbell Hammer Curls superset with DB Kickbacks
Now my arms felt good and pumped so I finished off with 5 sets of standing calf raises. 3 miles on the recumbent bike and I felt a little better about the heavy meals the weekend had entailed.
Sunday I was a bit sore so I opted to take a rest day. But I was back at it this morning, arising at 5:00 AM for a nice swim workout at the gym. Like Rocky in III, I'm a pretty not great swammer but managed to get in 10 lengths in their lap pool along with a few trips worth of running down and back through the water. Until next time, keep punching!
New boxing flick Southpaw opened to decent reviews and a solid $16.5 million bucks based on a $25 million budget this weekend. The flick isn't bad but just smacks of trying to be a grittier version of the Rocky series. While for someone like my lady who hadn't seen the trailer or a single underdog tale featuring the Italian Stallion it was fine but for me it had all just been done before. With my appetite for gloved fisticuffs whetted, I bypassed the Blu-Ray collection and let Netflix take me on a journey of glory, failure, belief and personal happiness with Rocky III, IV and V.
I've sadly never seen a Rocky film on the big screen but they've always been a staple of my movie viewing diet. 1982's Rocky III sees Sylvester Stallone writing and directing as well as showcasing his more familiar, ripped and vascular condition after being more of a hulking bruiser in Rocky and it's sequel. On top of the world with 10 title defenses to his name, Rocky runs into the menacing, hungry and formidable wrecking machine that is Mr. T's Clubber Lang. A worthy contender with a big mouth, Lang isn't shy to confront Rocky but trainer Mickey (Burgess Meredith, View In Peace) is having none of it. When Rocky and Clubber finally meet, it's bad news as Mickey dies backstage during the match then Rock gets pummeled and Knocked Out. After struggling and taking his million to one shot, boxer Rocky did the worst thing for a fighter, he got civilized and soft with endorsement deals, a big house, stylish treads and shiny cars. Wanting to retire and wallow in his realization that he held the title too long, former rival and champion Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) comes knocking with a proposition. On one hand Creed wants to help Rocky get his edge back, or The Eye of the Tiger as well as sell the rematch into one of the biggest fights of all time against the disrespectful Lang. Traveling to the ghetto of Los Angeles, Rocky finds his guts with the help of wife Adrian (Talia Shire), confronting his fear of losing what he has and trains old school, regaining the edge and hunger necessary to defeat Lang in the rematch.
While Rocky is a straight classic, it's also one of a kind. A low budget, cheap looking near documentary that's much more about life and characters than it is boxing. The sequels get bigger, slicker, shorter and more far fetched with each outing. III walks an excellent line of providing drama and sports thrills. Rocky and Apollo both get solid arcs here with the champion needing to overcome self doubt while the former champ transitions from rival to ally in order to stay relevant. Then you get a great and random scene of Rocky fighting Hulk Hogan's professional wrestler Thunder Lips ("The ultimate male, in the flesh, baby!") in a charity match gone wrong along with some great training montages set to the fantastic soundtrack anchored by Survivor's Eye of the Tiger. Some of the era's fashion is laughable like Stallone and Weathers in cropped top sweat shirts but if you had a body like either of theirs, you'd do the same thing. In an era before bromance you have two men working towards a common goal together, appreciating the other then jumping into the ocean and hugging to celebrate. It's beautiful but people today gotta make it weird. Stallone is at his most handsome here while Weathers delivers a passionate yet cool performance as Rocky's new mentor. The final bout with Lang is actually the only full fight we see in a Rocky film as it lasts just 3 rounds and is arguably the most effective. Rocky starts strong, receives some hard shots, realizes he can take it, gets mad and knocks out the champ. The boxing action is non-stop with combos, close ups, slow motion and sound effects used to really relay the impact and violence.
With a budget 16x the original, Rocky III opened on May 28th, 1982 and pulled $12 million dollars on opening weekend on it's way to a $124 million total. Good enough for 4th place on the years highest earners. A stint in the director's chair for Saturday Night Fever sequel Staying Alive and a role opposite Dolly Parton in the musical comedy Rhinestone followed before 1985's Rocky IV. Taking place directly after the events of III we find Rocky and Apollo being the best of friends before being introduced to the Soviet Union's Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren), a giant, freakishly strong amateur boxer looking to challenge Rocky and show the world what Communist training looks like. Never one to be upstaged, Apollo challenges the untested Drago to an exhibition match to show that it's us (the U.S.) against them. What starts as a joke becomes tragedy when the over strong Drago kills the cocky and over the hill Creed in the ring. Feeling responsible for his friend's death after not throwing in the towel at Creed's insistence, Rocky gives up the title and agrees to fight Drago in Russia. Training in snow covered isolation with the help of Apollo's former trainer Duke (Tony Burton) and brother in law Paulie (Burt Young), Rocky finds the inner warrior and prepares to die in his fight against Drago. But it's Adrian once again who takes it over the top by telling Rocky he can do it, providing that final mental boost our guy needs.
Rocky IV is arguably the most enjoyable and weirdest of the series. You have a housekeeping robot, new age training equipment, the Cold War, steroids and an incredible fighter entrance featuring a ring rising from the floor, dancers, singers, brass band, James Brown performing and Carl Weathers dancing in an American flag outfit consisting of a vest with coattails and top hat. While some might not appreciate the simple story: Apollo gets killed, Rocky trains, fights Drago, wins Cold War, I find it all to be incredibly entertaining and inspiring. Once again Stallone writes and directs with heart and style as Apollo questions what happens to the warrior class when there's no fight or challenge, Drago has to figure out being a propaganda tool while fighting for himself, Rocky realizing he can win because he's willing to die and his poor wife Adrian who suffers through all of this. While Weathers was a great corner man in III, Tony Burton's Duke edges him out here by being paternal and an incredibly great screamer. "Take it to him, no pain!" "This is your whole life!" "You see?! He's not a machine, he's a man!" "Punch, punch until you can't punch no more!" Then you have the awesome training sequences with Rocky out in the wilderness with no real equipment, just running in the snow, carrying logs, lifting carriages and doing chins while Dolph has a whole team of scientists and equipment around like treadmills, versa climbers and the juice. All set to Vince DiCola's incredible synth score, the only Rocky film not to have orchestral music by Bill Conti. Watching it again I was surprised at how brutal Apollo's death scene was and how heart string pulling Rocky's driving around remembering his life up until that point is constructed. Of course Dolph is perfectly cast as the seemingly unstoppable specimen of a man but is given just enough humanity and free will so you don't hate him. After Weathers' fast talking, big idea, cocky and funny Creed followed by T's grunting and straight mean barking, Dolph plays it near silent, stoic and intimidating.
Costing an estimated $30 million bucks, Rocky IV opened up in time for Thanksgiving on November 27th with a whopping $19 million dollars, bested only by Stallone's own Rambo: First Blood Part II. It would be a banner year for Sly as Rambo and Rocky would be the 2nd and 3rd highest grossing films of 1985 behind Back to the Future. The film also lives on as songs by DiCola, Survivor, James Brown and Robert Tepper have become work out tracklist staples and at the time were part of a platinum selling soundtrack that yielded three top singles.
Holy crap, it's almost August! That means the Summer Movie Season is nearly over! This weekend sees the release of Adam Sandler vs 80's video games Pixels as well as the adult drama with boxing, Southpaw. The Shield writer and Sons of Anarchy creator Kurt Sutter gets his first feature handled by one of my favorite current directors in the action-drama field, Antoine Fuqua, of Training Day, King Arthur, Shooter and The Equalizer fame. Nightcrawler's Jake Gyllenhaal stars as Billy Hope, an orphan from Hell's Kitchen, New York that grows up to be a boxing champion due to his aggressive, no defense style. By his side is fellow orphan and long time love Maureen (Rachel McAdams) who acts as his unofficial manager and only wants the best for Billy and young daughter Leila (Oona Laurence). After a particularly brutal victory, Hope is thinking of taking a break to the chagrin of manager Jordan Mains (50 Cent). Up and coming title contender Miguel "Magic" Escobar (Miguel Gomez) dogs Billy every chance he gets which leads to a public brawl and a tragic event. If you've seen the trailer, you know what I'm talking about. If you haven't, it adds a nice layer of surprise, shock and emotion to the flick...
In a downward spiral, Billy loses his house, money and daughter before realizing he needs to be a father. After his training staff, management and entourage essentially abandon him, Billy seeks out Tick Wills (Forest Whitaker), the coach of the only fighter Hope feels beat him. Inner city and orphanage hardships, grieving, child services, court ordered mandates, derailed vigilantism, swallowing your pride and making a comeback via Eminem soundtracked training montage drama ensues. Of course with the cast and story involved, performances are raw and gritty but not particularly captivating. Producer Harvey Weinstein thinks this will get Jake G. his Oscar nod after being overlooked for last year's stellar Nightcrawler but I just don't see it. Gyllenhaal plays a punk from the streets who isn't too smart to a T but you're not exactly rooting for him and are only interested in his story because that's what the movie is about. McAdams plays a spunky yet protective Jersey wife quite well and Whitaker is his usual dependable self as the coach with his own demons. While Gyllenhaal is ripped and looks the part, for a film with boxing, the pugilism scenes lack a certain impact but do show you a few things about the sport and technique involved.
All in, Southpaw is fine matinee counter programming to big, noisy blockbusters that contains some drama and heart along with solid performances. But in the end, there isn't anything you won't see coming and would probably play a lot better if you've never seen Rocky, Rocky II, Rocky III, Rocky IV, Rocky IV or Rocky Balboa. A quick tribute to recently deceased film composer extraordinaire James Horner ends the film which elicited more emotion than the film could.
Catch that Serpentor reference there? If not, go watch some G.I. Joe and get back to me. You've heard of VOD right? Video On Demand? Or see it on iTunes? These days plenty a movie will get a small release in markets like Los Angeles and New York, some press and then hit Demand services where you can watch brand new movies in the comfort of your home. Generally for less the cost of an evening movie ticket. Dolph Lundgren and Tony Jaa's Skin Trade hit VOD weeks before the theatrical release and Arnold Schwarzenegger's Maggie just landed in a handful of theaters to hype up the digital release. It's an interesting and cost effective way to unleash a flick. Instead of spending tens of millions of dollars on promotions, tie-ins and premieres, cast and crew hit a few talk shows, do some online videos and attend a small premiere. Then we get to come home from a long week, kick back on the couch with a bag full of fast food, a glass of whiskey and hit BUY on our remote control. In this case it was via Amazon Prime where I had some promo bucks, I think from using non-rush shipping. Thanks Amazon!
I had seen plenty of advertising for Magnolia's latest release, the romantic dramedy Results, on Facebook, about the lives of personal trainers something or other. Guy Pearce and Cobie Smulders (How I Met Your Mother, Avengers) headlined a pretty decent cast that included Kevin Corrigan (The Departed), Giovanni Ribisi (Avatar), Anthony Michael Hall (Weird Science) and Brooklyn Decker (Battleship). Written and produced by busy indie guy Andrew Buljaski (Computer Chess), Results finds Pearce's buffed up Trevor running a successful gym/lifestyle joint called Fitness 4 Life or 4 Points Fitness something or other. He's looking to expand to bigger and greater things to spread the gospel of taking care of yourself to achieve physical, spiritual and mental shape. His top trainer is the direct and kind of pissed off Kat (Smulders) who stops clients in the street to shame them for eating cupcakes and being late on their dues. Along comes Danny (Corrigan) a shambolic and weird yet well off guy whose just been dumped. Looking to get in shape, he enlists Trevor's help and Kat is dispatched to his bougie yet empty house to start getting ripped. Lines are crossed, people get ticked, hearts get kind of broken, weights are lifted and many an online work out video is watched.
Results is a weird movie. It has it's funny and odd moments but you're just not sure where it's going or what it's doing. By the end it's revealed to be a sweet and simple romantic comedy about two individuals stripping away their baggage and accepting one another. But on the way you get lots of claustrophobic shots in bland offices and the empty house along with lingering scenes where people just kind of hang out. Austin and parts of Texas are mentioned as the locale but nearly everything is shot in nondescript homes and empty streets so there's no character provided. A detour to see a kettlebell guru (Hall) and his wife (Decker) provides a few laughs and enlightenment that the leads realize they might love each other. Everything seems to go on for a while and there's even a couple of montages pre and post a mention of Rocky showing life going great for Trevor and Danny working out. There are some nice visuals as Trevor envisions and walks his dream gym and juice bar but the overall pedestrian use of locations makes Results feel like a bit of a home movie with famous people in it. If you like any of the actors and have your laptop or tablet nearby, Results isn't the worst way to spend $6 bucks or 100 minutes and did inspire me to go work off that fast food.
May 4th is dubbed Star Wars Day because, May the Force be with you, get it? This year, the week of May 4th brings us new movies from the likes of Dolph Lundgren, Jean-Claude Van Damme and Arnold Schwarzenegger! Yours truly is working with Magnolia Pictures and The Egyptian Theatre for the Los Angeles premiere of Skin Trade. Written, produced and starring Dolph Lundgren, Skin Trade takes real world topic human trafficking and turns it into a dramatic action movie. The supporting cast is immense with Tony Jaa, Michael Jai White, Peter Weller and Ron Perlman showing up as well. If you're paying attention, that's He-Man and The Punisher, Ong-Bak, Spawn and Black Dynamite, Buckaroo Banzai and Robocop and then Hellboy all in one 96 minute flick.
Lundgren began working on the script for Skin Trade years ago after hearing a story about Mexican immigrants who died after being left in a van somewhere along the border. The flick is now the story of a NYC cop who hunts a vicious gangster to Thailand and teams up with a local detective to destroy human trafficking syndicates. Tony Jaa plays the Thai detective while Jai White shows up as a mysterious suit clad type who can fight, Weller as some kind of federal agent boss and Perlman as the gangster. Shooting in Thailand last year under director Ekachai Uekrongtham, the action flick boasts explosions, helicopters, martial arts and car chase mayhem galore. Skin Trade hit The American Film Market and it was quickly announced that Magnolia had purchased North American rights.
The film received an extravagant release in Jaa's native Thailand and Dolph just showed the movie in Australia while there for repertory screenings of Universal Soldier and Rocky IV along with appearing at a couple of conventions. Magnolia is running the show on this one with a media day in Beverly Hills on Tuesday, 5.5 before the premiere on Wednesday where more media and the red carpet await. Reviews have been positive thus far with the simple yet engaging story backed by some big action pieces and fights. Like many of Magnolia's acquisitions, Skin Trade became available on VOD and iTunes preceding a small theatrical release. After it's Hollywood premiere, Skin Trade will play at the Sundance Cinemas on Sunset the same weekend as Arnold's limited release zombie drama, Maggie.
A small number of general admission seats are available for the Skin Trade premiere so head over to Fandango to pick them up and see it on the big screen the way it was meant to be experienced. Dolph and Tony are expected to attend, hopefully with co-stars Peter Weller and Michael Jai White stopping by if they're in town. See you there!
While our limited time at Star Wars Celebration on Friday was fun, Saturday showed some of the cracks of this near regular gathering. First off for some unknown reason, everyone had to enter through a queue that took you to the far end of the convention center, downstairs through an empty area then back up onto the exhibition floor. Mind you this was after the 10:00 AM doors opening. Then since your badges were already mailed to you, it was an effort to try and find a program or lanyard. To be fair, there's an app you could download for the program but it's nice to have a physical copy. Then they ran out of lanyards yesterday or early this morning so we kept having to pull badges out of our pockets. If you're not going to have enough lanyards to pass out, then consider putting a clip on the badge.
Walking around the floor, I realized that it wasn't actually that big. There were plenty of toys, props and artwork to check out but the floor was really missing a full Artist Alley where local vendors could show off their artistic and crafty wares. There was swag galore from all eras of Star Wars licensing with Underoos, Pepperidge Farm Cookies, goblets and lots of stuffed toys. Posters and prints were everywhere and one stand had an awesome array of original film programs! These were full color, magazine sized advertisement/press kits for various flicks like Willow, Buck Rogers, Rocky IV and more. I was really hoping to see one for Masters of the Universe but no luck. Of course Saturday's are always the busiest days at conventions and Star Wars sold out along with 4 Day badges. It was kind of like Disneyland, everything had a line. The escalators, food stands, bars, the Star Wars store (only one?!), Art Show, Arena, etc. While some areas felt spaced out and comfortable, some of the rows of vendors seemed crammed together which made walking, viewing and shopping a little frustrating. I even got my toes partially run over by a wheelchair at one point.
Cosplay wise there wasn't as much as you'd imagine but it is a brand specific show so who knows. The Muppets' Waldorf and Statler as Imperial Officers was great as were some of the Star Wars and Disney mash ups. There's an exhibit of costumes from The Force Awakens but the wait had already stretched to two hours quickly after opening. We checked out a couple of panels in the main hall, the first was ILM and how their work has grown and changed through the years as a ground breaking special effects company. Going from stop motion animation to computer graphics, creating water and fire, miniatures and matte paintings, ILM has kept on the cutting edge of movie making magic. Surprisingly, Star Wars: Episode I had the most miniatures ever used in an ILM feature but the flick's FX scale was even more daunting as a typical blockbuster film employs 400 some shots while E:I had 2,000! Also surprising was the abundant use of fake environments used in flicks today from woods whipping by to highways Transformers fight on. In a nice touch, each room was cleared after each panel so you wouldn't get people just taking up space waiting for the next session.
Next up was Star Wars: The Force Awakens Dream Team that brought together four production designers and artists to talk their careers and the new flick. A stacked group of guests who help facilitate the vision of directors like George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, James Cameron, Zack Snyder and Roland Emmerich. You know, guys who make big movies. They were tight lipped about the new film but did mention simplifying the story, getting to the core of the characters and not using the whiz-bang of technology simply because they could. It was time for a break but our WonderCon oasis at the Marriott, NFuse, dried up into a shitty hotel bar as they weren't filling the joint and making peeps wait an hour! Guess they don't like money, pfft, later! Mark Hamill's spotlight was packed beyond capacity so we opted for some more floor walking and watched the first part of Empire Strikes Back. It was very cool of the show to screen all six movies over three nights. Only crappy part was that the screen wasn't high enough so if someone tall or with big hair sat in front of you, you were screwed. The new trailer screened again to thunderous applause and the audience was great, waving lightsabers and cheering for each iconic line and character introduction. One thing I really noticed about Empire is how much acting Harrison Ford does by pointing at someone. He's still the OG though.
Some more dranks were had and we dug through some bins on the floor picking up a few little figures and knick knacks like a Chewbacca goblet. A fun show for sure but I'm glad it's not every year. There's just not quite enough going on to keep you busy and standing in line for a couple hours should not be expected of attendees. Next year's show has already been lined up for April in London so I guess we'll have to find a new show to check out. Until then use your harpoons!
"Like none of this shit ever happened? It happened! And it doesn't just go away.
You just can't walk away, do you hear me?!
Do you hear me? (holds up necklace made of human ears)"
That's our boy Dolph Lundgren as Sgt. Andrew Scott in the 1992 classic action karate flick from Carolco, Universal Soldier. If you'll recall, Dolph Night at the Egyptian screened two of Mr. Lundgren's most well known works, Unisol and Rocky IV. Come April and Dolph is hitting Australia for a double feature tour featuring the same line up. Fans in Sydney, Melbourne and on the Gold Coast can meet the big Swede and see him on the bigger screen on his week long tour that also includes appearances at the Supanova Pop Culture Expo alongside other genre favorite actors, artists and writers.
For the stateside fans, Dolph popped up on Comedy Central's 90's loving Workaholics as himself looking oh so suave in a blazer, deep v-neck shirt and white pants. Dolph appeared throughout the episode in the forms of a life size standup doing karate and various photos in an obsessed fans computer slideshow. A burning question about Showdown in Little Tokyo ended the episode which also included references to Jean-Claude Van Damme and Unisol. TV viewers may also catch the Iron Man in a new Fox event series based on film series for older cinematic tough guys The Expendables. Details are scarce at the moment besides star Sylvester Stallone producing and hoping to reel in some TV icons of action. I'm not sure why they don't just use Dolph, Terry Crews and Randy Couture's characters as a base then add a guest star or five each episode.
On the film front, a new trailer and a poster for Dolph's passion project Skin Trade hit the web recently showcasing an awesome cast that includes Tony Jaa, Michael Jai White, Peter Weller and Ron Perlman. So that's He-Man, Ong-Bak, Spawn, Robocop and Hellboy all in the same 90 minutes! Inspired by real life human trafficking, Skin follows Dolph's detective as he interferes with a gangster's business then teams up with a Thai cop to exact bloody, high kicking, explosive and bullet riddled revenge. The trailer looks solid with lots of practical stunts, martial arts and a terrific cast. Magnolia releases the film on VOD in late April followed by a theatrical release Friday, May 8th. Horror flick Shark Lake just finished shooting, World War II men on a mission flick with Luke Goss and Mickey Rourke War Pigs is in post-production and a small role in action thriller 4GOT10 alongside Michael Pare, Johnny Messner and Danny Trejo recently wrapped.
If that still weren't enough, Dolph was interviewed for the upcoming The Art of Masters of the Universe coffee table book from Dark Horse hitting shelves on April 15th that will take a deep look at the phenomenon of cartoons, comic books, toys and the live action movie.
We're mid way through the first month of 2015, how's it going? I'm feverishly working on the next Dammaged Goods Presents event, children of the 80's and 90's will be super excited. While hanging around the interwebs between e-mails and phone calls I came across:
I set this up! Victory!
Happy Birthday Carl Weathers! The likeable former professional football player known for his roles in Rocky I-IV, Predator, Action Jackson, Happy Gilmore, Toy Story of Terror and Arrested Development celebrated the big 6-7 this past 14th. That puts him right under co-stars Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger. With an acting career dating back to 1975, Weathers' film and television output has slowed in recent years as he focuses on screen writing and lending his famous face to charities; playing in celebrity poker tournaments, raising awareness for cancer, bringing water to west Africa, campaigning for film tax incentives across the country as well as being a finalist in the newly formed Fictitious Athlete Hall of Fame for his portrayal of Apollo Creed in the Rocky films. Speaking of Creed, a new film featuring the grand son of the legendary character has just begun production with rising star Michael B. Jordan and Sylvester Stallone starring in the 7th film of the series. Even though Apollo died in 1985's Rocky IV, it would be great to have Weathers reprise the role in some kind of voice over or flashback to pay respect to all the work he put into making the character so memorable.
Only two days later, another titan of cinema celebrated his 67th birthday, writer/director/composer John Carpenter! The man behind such B-movie genre classics as Escape From New York, They Live, The Thing and Big Trouble From Little China has also slowed down in the filmmaking world but has kept busy through writing comic books, releasing a new album of "lost themes" and playing video games. With four of his films already remade, it was just announced this week that Fox has acquired the rights to reboot Escape From New York and Carpenter will act as a consultant. Multiple parties have held the rights in recent years from New Line Cinema, Joel Silver and most recently Studio Canal. Rumors of a prequel starring Gerard Butler to begin a new trilogy never materialized. Let's see if Fox can put together something special that can replicate the experience of the films while moving it in a new direction.
Last but certainly not least, the trailer for SyFy's 10 part "future noir" series The Expanse dropped during this week's Television Critics Association's press tour. Based on a series of novels, The Expanse is set 200 years in the future and follows a detective (Thomas Jane) as he crosses the solar system searching for a missing woman and uncovers a conspiracy in the process. Being touted as SyFy's most ambitious project to date, cast and crew began production in Toronto in November occupying most of the stages at Toronto's Pinewood Studios. The trailer shows off sleek production design, zero gravity sex and The Jane looking very slim, trim and stylish in a fedora and some kind of half shaved, half long hair cut.
Jane participated in a Redditt Ask Me Anything session yesterday to hype his new film with Bruce Willis, Vice, that hits theaters and VOD this weekend. Nothing too crazy which is kind of disappointing as Jane is the king of WeirdCool. Jane mentions never watching his films after they're completed, sneaking out of premieres, fans wanting to wrestle him, has never seen Game of Thrones, his love for making baseball picture 61*, almost drowning on Deep Blue Sea, taking name Jane from Indian religion Jain while shooting a Bollywood feature at 16, how the studio would have given The Mist a bigger budget if they'd change the ending, not being very good in comedy The Sweetest Thing, shooting Vice in Mobile, Alabama being great, Bruce Willis being the guy you see on screen, his favorite horror film is The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and that Lawrence Kasdan likes his actors to be on set whether or not they're working.
After all major theater chains decided not to screen The Interview due to potential cyber and physical terrorist attacks, independent owners pleaded with Sony to allow the film to play and let freedom reign. Texas' Alamo Drafthouse chain reported sell outs at all of their 18 locations while The Downtown Independent, Cinefamily and The Egyptian Theatre in Los Angeles all picked up the film. Sony made the film available online for $5.99 Christmas Eve while co-star, writer and director Seth Rogen and partner Evan Goldberg appeared at a midnight screening. The American Cinematheque and Beyond Fest teamed up to bring the film to audiences for the original intended Christmas Day release and did not disappoint. The packed house was treated to a DJ dropping beautiful 80's tunes from Rod Stewart, Motley Crue and Van Halen while clips of essential America in the vein of Rocky IV, wrestling, monster trucks, hot dog eating, Rambo, Chuck Norris, Red Dawn and American Idol contestants singing God Bless the U.S.A. got the audience patriotically pumped up.
I actually thought it was a dick move of Sony to release the film online Wednesday before the actual intended release Thursday and taking theaters' exclusive window. After all, big boys like Cinemark, AMC, Pacific and Regal dropped the film like it had a disease, 330 independent houses are the ones who stepped up and asked to show the film. I already wanted to see the movie so whether it was was good or bad didn't matter anymore, you had to support it as a movie lover I figured.
Before the film played, George Washington and The Statue of Liberty (traveling buddy act Grant & Christian) welcomed the audience while Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg and co-stars Randall Park and Lizzy Caplan showed up to talk about the crazy, fucked up road of events, the maybe hack by North Korea and thanking everyone for attending. Lizzy Caplan claimed she's never felt patriotic in her life but was starting to feel the love and asked the audience to join her in singing the national anthem as we all stood up and belted about rockets red glare and the home of the brave. After that, Budweiser, tee shirts and tumblers were tossed into the crowd. James Franco and his grandma appeared via video to thank everyone for showing up and it was time to roll the flick.
The Interview is the story of schlock journalist Dave Skylark (James Franco), his best friend/producer Aaron Rapaport (Rogen) and their hit tabloid style show, Skylark Tonight. After 1000 episodes covering the cool, weird, glamorous and seedy lifestyles of the rich and shameless, Rapaport wants to do something pertaining to real journalism. A connection to Kim Jong-Un (Randall Park) is made and soon the duo is headed to North Korea to interview the world's most vicious and manipulative dictator. The pair are then recruited by C.I.A. agent Lacey (Caplan) to assassinate Un while they're there. Honey potting, honey dicking, poison strips, Bengal Tigers, tanks, Lord of the Rings, Katy Perry, booze, boobs and bro'ing out hijinks ensue. Like action or horror, comedy films are best experienced with a crowd. Sitting at home watching it on TV or your laptop where you're easily distracted or sitting alone just doesn't work that well for the yuks to me. I had a good time with The Interview, Franco and Rogen have a nice dynamic with the former playing half homosexual/half debauched soul as the flamboyant, dim witted TV personality who gets celebrities to open up to him and the former being the straight guy looking for a little credibility. There's dick, fart and homosexual jokes galore but nothing too offensive and they're delivered with such zeal that you can't help but laugh. Skylark's constant use of "Ain'ters gonna ain't" and "they hate us cause they ain't us" are sure to become this years "Don't be a don'ter, do be a doer" and "I'm a doer!" here on Dammaged Goods.
Surprisingly, there's some well shot action in the piece with a tank, helicopter, troops, etc so maybe we'll see Rogen and Goldberg being handed the reigns to a big budget action comedy someday. The trailers give away many of the cameos but there's a great one at the start I had no idea was coming. I was actually surprised at the lack of cameos given how many famous faces showed up in This Is The End but I guess there's not much you can do when half the film takes place in North Korea.
While the situation with Sony is truly shitty and I'm eagerly awaiting to find out who really hacked them, it turned a regular night at the movies into one hell of a special event. U-S-A! U-S-A!
