Sherman Oaks Saturday: Books, Movies, Video Games, Oh My!

On Saturday we trekked up the 405 to quaint yet happening Sherman Oaks. We hit up a surprisingly dense library sale with books, CD's and DVD's up for grabs for rock bottom prices. Hardback tomes and paperback novels were aplenty and only set you back a buck or less. The lady found a copy of Moneyball by Michael Lewis for me and I grabbed multiple flicks on DVD, some that weren't even opened! After that it was off to the mall for a little walking around and checking out what Spring/Summer fashion entailed. Newsflash, it's about the same as every year but with more bright pastels...

Then it was on to Ventura Boulevard for old standby The One-Up for brunch (chicken and waffles seemed like a good idea but were WAY too sweet), some cocktails and arcade madness. Newly added Time Crisis and a new two-player, stand up cabinet where we played some The Punisher side scroller. Next door is Von Eaton Animation Galleries which had some general cartoon cels up including Johnny Quest and stacks of cels from the likes of X-Men and The Little Mermaid. Then a nice used book store had an entire American West section with titles on Doc Holliday and Johnny Ringo and I grabbed the former. Looking forward to the dime store or actual story of one of the west's most intriguing characters.

Casey Casting: Stephen Amell in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II

Hitting the webs right before April Fool's Day was the announcement that former Hung, almost Spartacus and current Arrow Oliver Queen Stephen Amell would be donning the hockey mask to play the beat'em up vigilante Casey Jones in a sequel to Paramount's hit reboot of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles from 2014. That flick, produced by Michael Bay had many a fan treading cautiously to the theaters but surprisingly delivered a fast, fun and of course, action packed time at the movies and grossed $464 million bucks worldwide. While the Turtles' CGI avatars and freakish size coupled with Splinter's seemingly unfinished appearance was a little jarring, overall the movie didn't take itself too seriously and had a few laughs along with brotherly rabble rousing. It was weird that Splinter learned the art of Ninja from a book but I guess it's not any more far fetched than a pet rat mimicking his masters movements from his cage like in the 1990 movie.

Amell has starred on 3 seasons of CW's hit show Arrow where he plays a stern and physical vigilante aiming to clean up his city through martial arts and archery. According to Variety Amell was among half a dozen Casey hopefuls but his chemistry with star Megan Fox sealed the deal. The casting came as a surprise to some but not much of a shock to me. Here's a guy already known to the comic book world who plays a vigilante already and probably didn't cost a fortune. With Warner Brothers not enlisting Amell for any big screen DC outings, more power to him for landing in another comic book based, fancentric franchise. I had seen Amell on Hung opposite former The Punisher Thomas Jane where he starred as a dim yet studly competitor to Jane's "happiness consultant". After the unfortunate passing of Andy Whitfield, the in shape Amell was a finalist for Spartacus but lost out to Liam McIntyre. He does a solid job on Arrow at playing a Bruce Wayne-esque party boy along with a sullen anti-hero who says "Thank You" a lot. Like a lot, a lot. Throw a wig on him and let him go crazy and I think he'll do a solid job.

Appearing in a Raphael one-shot in 1985 from Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, we're introduced to Casey Jones in his crap filled apartment where he's watching cop shows and movies on three televisions simultaneously while lifting weights. Convinced that there's too much scum on the streets and not enough good guys, Jones picks up a golf bag full of bats, hockey sticks and clubs, dons a hockey mask and sets out to help the cops take on the bad guys. Breaking the leg of a purse snatcher, the overzealous Jones runs into Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle and hothead Raphael who thinks this quest of justice has gone a little too far. The two battle for pages and pages finally coming to an understanding that no one deserves to die for stealing a tape deck. When the scream of a woman needing help catches both their attention, they dash off into the night to mete out some sports equipment and karate kicking comeuppance.

Jones made his cinematic debut in the 1990 film along with Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo, Raphael, Splinter, April O'Neil and The Shredder. Played by Montreal native but New York and Acting Studio trained actor Elias Koteas, we meet Jones stalking some purse snatchers and beating their butts with a hockey stick. Like the comics, Raphael intervenes and the two go at it with fists, trash cans, flips, kicks, Jose Canseco bats, cricket paddles and constant quips. Koteas is pitch perfect as the physical and attitude dripping Jones in his action scenes and opposites attract romance with April (Judith Hoag). Koteas would go on to have a solid career in TV and film popping up in The Thin Red Line, Collateral Damage, Shooter, Shutter Island, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and many more. Asked about his experience on the film and Koteas says he doesn't think about it much but remembers having fun playing a swashbuckling hero type and how it could take over a dozen takes to get the animatronic turtles right in a scene. Koteas returned to the role in 1993's present day and feudal Japan set part III. The role was voiced by The Human Torch and future Captain America Chris Evans in 2007's animated feature.

Until 2016, "Goongala! Goongala!"

Sherman Oaks Saturday: Earth 2 Comics & The One Up

Wow what a week! Started a kick ass new gig all while going into the final days leading up to the Sunbow Animation Celebration double feature of The Transformers and G.I. Joe: The Movies, fighting a cold and planning another big movie night. Saturday it was off to Sherman Oaks to check out a parking lot sale of comics with thousands of issues advertised for a buck a piece. Earth 2 Comics is located right on Ventura Blvd off the 405 a few minutes from The Galleria. The Galleria? John Conner alert! I think that was Glendale actually...Anyways, it was already a bustling scene
with people elbow to elbow skimming through books. Toys, calendars, figurines and more were also on sale but I was more there looking for issues. After whetting my appetite with some Cable (Body slide by one) from last week's Long Beach Comic Expo, I was hoping I'd run into some more 90's action and was not disappointed as I scooped up some of Rob Liefeld and Fabian Nicieza's X-Force from 1991. Also grabbed were several issues of Nick Fury: Agent of Shield, some more 80's Captain America that I already have in boxes in Ohio, Sgt. Rock and a couple of random issues of West Coast Avengers with interesting covers. There seemed to be a lot of DC for sale and I hauled up a few issues of The Flash written by the TV writing duo of the 1990 show, Danny Bilson and Paul De Meo. If you bought 20, the price went down to .50 cents so it was money well spent. The staff there were all super cool and say they hold the sale a couple times a year so we'll be sure to come back.

Since we were already in The Oaks, we cruised down to The One Up for a midday cocktail and some more brawling action following up on The Punisher mayhem from a few weeks ago. It was barely noon so the place was empty but with Space Balls on the tube and a Jameson Mule aka Dublin Donkey in hand, it was time to check out what other oddities and classics the 400 game emulator had in store for us. I really hoping for Aliens VS Predator so I could be video game Arnold aka Dutch but with a metal arm and fight xenomorphs. Alas AVP was not included but 1991's forgotten yet awesome side scrolling beat'em up Knights of the Round from Capcom was. I remember playing the crap out of that game as Lancelot, Arthur and Perceval. We settled on Cadillacs and Dinosaurs for the sheer WTF value as it's a beat'em up but with a story involving cars and dinosaurs. A comic book series turned cartoon, the Capcom arcade game came out in 1993 where you play as the hyper buff dude Jack Tenrec or hot diplomat Hannah Dundee along with fast fighting Mustapha or heavy hitter Mess O'Bradovich.

Like Final Fight or The Punisher, you roll down the streets of some crazy city where dinosaurs have been hunted and modified, becoming violent tools of gang warlords. Using your fists, feet, uzi's, shotguns, knives and TNT, you fight your way through various parts of The City by the Sea and a nearby jungle. The game had a BLARING rock and roll soundtrack and was really, really loud. But fun to button mash and brawl. It was surprisingly violent with dead dinosaur carcases, being able to use swords to hack peeps and of course shoot them with a variety of firearms. One stage you're driving a Caddy and literally trying to mow down the baddies in your way. Road rage! It was a fun morning before we needed to head to Hollywood for the big show...

Gotta Drank (& Play)! The One-Up

It was a Saturday in Sherman Oaks as we ventured north to catch 50 Shades of Grey at the Arclight then made our way down Ventura Blvd to the Von Eaton Animation Art Gallery that had a Disney exhibit going on. Right next door to that is The One-Up, a cozy barcade. With a chill vibe and great ambiance courtesy of 80's classics Back to the Future, The Goonies and Fast Times at Ridgemont High on repeat along with lots of English easy listening pop as I haven't heard Travis in ages. There's a small menu of pub favorites like burgers, mac n' cheese and delicious mini-corn dogs. There's a list of specialty cocktails or a full bar to choose from. My Moscow Mule wasn't amazing so I switched to the very tasty Monkey Brew, a mix of scotch, orange tea, lemon and mint. Unlike Eighty-Two or Blispy's, there are no quarters required for the games at One-Up as they're all free to patrons. There's maybe 10 emulator cabinets with 10 pages of games each in the vein of Mario Brothers, Pac-Man, Galaga and the like. I played some plane flying/shooting 1943 and Ghouls and Ghosts before the holy grail of the joint opened up: a sit down, two player console with 400 games on it. Mainly your fighting and side scrolling beat'em ups. I didn't even peruse the entire list to see what oddities and golden nuggets were inside but you had several Samurai Showdown's and Street Fighter's along with Final Fight and THE PUNISHER.

You see, Beat'em Ups or Brawlers are multi-player games where you take on lots of opponents through button mashing mayhem. You usually punch, kick, jump or do a special move and can pick up useful items like weapons and food along the way. Double Dragon got it going in the late 80's and soon you had Golden Axe, Final Fight, Alien Vs Predator, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Simpsons, X-Men and The Avengers gracing arcades in the form of scrolling beat'em ups. The Punisher hit arcades in 1993 towards the tail end of the Brawler glory days but remains an awesomely good time. As either Mr. P. or Nick Fury, you battle thugs and criminals on your way to a showdown with The Kingpin. Not only can you punch, kick, spin and jump kick, you can pick up pipes, bats, katanas, knives, pistols and M-16's! We battled our way through 4 stages before I began to worry about the remaining time on my meter and called it a night. It was a lot of fun, like playing Avengers in Salt Lake City as you just beat the hell out of guys named Chrys, Scully and Yan Lee in clubs, casinos, bars and subway trains. One-Up could definitely use a second console with these 400 games as shit like Dig Dug and Pac-Man just can't hold a candle to beating the crap out of thugs, 90's karate style!

Dolph Saturday

It was a randomly awesome Dolph Lundgren filled Saturday yesterday.  While watching The Director's Chair with Quentin Tarantino earlier in the morning, he mentions that before Reservoir Dogs, his only production experience was on Dolph's workout video Maximum Potential.  Then later while putting the lady through a timed workout I turned on MP for background noise, motivation and to take her mind off the grueling 20 seconds on, 10 seconds off blitz of Kettle Bell swings, jumping jacks, squats, mountain climbers and the like.  Of course you know how much I love Dolph and his workout video from 1986 as it's a solid workout and healthy lifestyle guide as well as a total time capsule from the 80's with two toned workout outfits, sweet synth and guitar soundtrack and Dolph being all tan and buff showing you how he does shit.

After returning home from seeing The Imitation Game (phenomenal: funny, entertaining and educational) I got a nice one-two punch of mail in the forms of my Dolph, I Will Break You shirt and a CD of 80's tunes from action #MovieBro David J. Moore featuring tracks from Rambo, Over the Top, Bloodsport, Best of the Best and so many more.  Perusing the Internets, there was some chatter regarding Thomas Jane talking in recent interviews about his work as Marvel's The Punisher in 2004's mild success and his love letter to the character in 2012's fan film Dirty Laundry.  Of course we couldn't talk about Thomas Jane's Mr. P. without discussing Dolph's take in the 1989 version directed by Mark Goldblatt written by Boaz Yakin and Robert Mark Kamen.  While the 2004 version has it's merits; Jane is solid as the character presented, there's some very clever scenes like the Popsicle interrogation and fight with giant hitman The Russian.  It also suffers from being uneven, trying to be a modern spaghetti western while smacking of melodrama and plenty of awkward one liners. Then the less said about 2008's War Zone, the better.  I honestly still don't know if I'm supposed to take that movie seriously with Ray Stevenson's bland interpretation of the Punisher, over the top villain Jigsaw and the ridiculous action.

Popping in the Artisan DVD, Dolph's version still remains my favorite of the cinematic attempts with it's down and dirty, straight forward action-karate motif.  After seeing Dolph blonde, coiffed, buff, positive and tan in Maximum Potential in the morning, watching his transformation into the pale, dirty, crazy and dark haired Frank Castle aka The Punisher actually says a lot about him as an actor.  From the opening minutes where we get stabbing, shooting, house explosions and car bombs, Mark Goldblatt and company really give you your action movie money's worth.  Don't forget that this was the late 80's and Richard Donner's Superman was still the only example of a successful cinematic super hero.  Batman would change the game in the same year but also had studio Warner Brothers behind it, a young, up and coming director and a budget 3-4 times The Punisher.  Coming from Roger Corman's New World Productions, the sub-$10million dollar production shot in Australia and told the tale of former cop Frank Castle who wages a one man war against the mob after his wife and kids are killed.  Said mob boss is now at odds with invading Yakuza gangsters and it's up to The Punisher to punish the guilty...and kill a whole lotta people, something like 89 individual deaths in as many minutes including explosions and mass killings.

Lou Gossett, Jr. shows up as Frank's former partner and gives the executioner a little background while trying to save his former friend.  Dolph's performance as a semi crazy vigilante who sits around naked in the sewer talking to God is admirable and not given enough credit.  Of course the action is great as you get oh so many scenes featuring shootouts, guys getting stabbed by katana swords through windshields, Dolph firing a crossbow bolt attached to a zip line through a guy then sliding down while firing an Uzi, shotguns, knives to the neck and heart as well as some gritty, rough and tumble karate fights with real life champions.  Dennis Dreith's orchestral score is big, memorable and almost out of place.  Since comic book films with costumed heroes was far from the norm as it is today, a last minute decision was made to not have Dolph don a spray painted white skull on his shirt for the final showdown.  While the skull remains on his knives and arguably on his face from the painted on beard, I think the film would be held in much higher regard today if they would have had the balls to put him in "costume".  While originally imagined to be competition to Batman, New World's financial woes saw The Punisher being released theatrically worldwide but going straight to video in the United States.  Here's hoping for a special features filled Blu Ray one day...

Fight Friday: Who Would Win?

Who would win in a fight, Batman or Darth Vader?  Chuck Norris.  "Who would win in a fight?" has long been a question sought to be answered by popular entertainment.  In the 90's nary an interview with Jean-Claude Van Damme would be missing the query, who would win in a fight between you and say Steven Seagal or Mike Tyson?  Hypothetical match ups like those are the excited small talk of school yard children and 40 year old businessmen alike.  The original UFC pitted fighters from various disciplines against one another to see which style reigned supreme.  Dark Horse Comics licensed sci-fi movie staples Aliens and Predator in the early 90's, producing several well received comic runs and eventually studio Fox released two films in the early 2000's.  A 1996 mini-series crossed the Marvel and DC universes where Captain America fell to Batman, Superman bested The Hulk, etc.  In 2003 Stan Winston studio veteran Sandy Collora forever changed the fan film when his Batman: Dead End featured the title character, nemesis The Joker then inexplicably an Alien and Predators locked in rain soaked, dark alley combat. 

Cut to 2014 where the fan film has gone professional thanks to advances in technology and distribution.  Collara himself was already a seasoned pro in the world of special effects and intended for Dead End to become a calling card for directing features.  Even with the fan approval of Dead End and it's follow up, World's Finest, which saw Batman take on Superman, Collara has yet to direct a mainstream film.  Collara did lay down the groundwork for others though.  Music video and feature director Kevin Tancharoen's $7,000 self funded Mortal Kombat: Legacy was picked up by Warner Brothers and given two seasons online.  Martial artist, stunt man and Street Fighter aficionado Joey Ansah co-wrote, directed, produced and starred in 2010's fan film Legacy which led to securing the rights from Capcom for a web series.  Said web series debuted and was reedited into a feature recently released on home video with a follow up is in the works.  Then there was the curious case of The Punisher: Dirty Laundry, an unsanctioned fan film featuring Thomas Jane in a vague sequel to the 2004 Marvel movie he starred in.  Accomplished  movie and music video director and former Steven Spielberg protege Phil Joanou helmed and again, an experienced crew was behind the scenes.  More of a way to say goodbye to the role after departing the lackluster sequel, Jane proved he was a true fan of the character while gaining some internet heat and rejuvenating Joanou's career.  The two recently teamed up on a feature for low budget genre maestro Jason Blum for a yet to be released thriller.

Today I just caught wind of a new kind of "who would win?" format that harnesses all the powers of comic conventions, fan films and YouTube: Super Power Beat Down.  The brainchild of father-son team Aaron and Sean Schoenke, SPBD asks audiences to pick who would win in a fight between two pop culture icons. Once the votes are tallied, the team goes to work writing and producing a short film where characters from various universes of movies, video games and comic books collide.  They've produced 14 episodes so far with the likes of Captain America VS Master Chief, Casey Jones VS Kick-Ass, Wolverine VS Predator and the latest, Batman VS Darth Vader.  It's an interesting package as we start in a comic shop where passionate fans discuss the match up followed by footage shot on location at various comic conventions where attendees and celebrities alike offer their opinions.  Then it's show time and we get handsomely produced but still very fan film feeling fight scenes.  Cap and Master Chief face off in a rocky and dusty canyon, Casey Jones gets dropped off by an awkwardly costumed Michelangelo in a funny bit before facing Kick-Ass under a bridge by the train tracks, Wolvie and the Predator throw down in the woods and in a creek then Batman attempts to rescue Superman but runs into Darth Vader on the Death Star.

The latest episode is by far the most polished of the half dozen I skimmed through today.  The ambition is immense as Batman jets to the Death Star, we get Storm Troopers, officials and of course a knockdown brawl utilizing The Force, Batman trinkets, explosions and frigging light sabers.  In this day and age of cosplay and replicas, the outfits for Bats and Vader were pretty impressive yet functional.  All of the episodes suffer slightly from stiff or forced acting from stunt men types but deliver pretty well choreographed scraps with each episode having a clear winner, usually by way of violent death.  It will be interesting to see where the Schoenke's go from here as their backgrounds are more in the fan film world versus professionals looking to branch out.  Until then, I'm putting my money on Ryu, Green Ranger is going down!

(Not) Love Actually: Trial of the Incredible Hulk

At this weekend's New York Comic Con, the cast and creators of new Netflix series Daredevil swung by, dropping tidbits, screening footage and showcasing a few stills.  The Man Without Fear is shown to be clad in all black on a rooftop which is straight from some Frank Miller - John Romita, Jr. version of the comic so fans seemed happy enough.  When I saw said photo, I did a double take and thought it was a high-res capture from 1989's TV movie, The Trial of the Incredible Hulk.  Basically, it's a guy covered in all black with a bandana over his eyes with no eye slits.  Or, as one comic loving friend put it, a ninja with a mouth.

If you'll recall, Marvel's record with live action outings have only recently been successful.  In the 70's and 80's you had less than well received takes on Spider-Man, Captain America and Doctor Strange.  The one that stuck was CBS' adult take on The Incredible Hulk in 1977.  Bill Bixby played David Banner, instead of Bruce, rumored to be too homosexual a name at the time or that producer Kenneth Johnson didn't like double alliteration names that Marvel was so known for (Reed Richards, Matt Murdock, Peter Parker, etc.).  I wonder how double B Bixby felt about that...After exposing himself to gamma radiation, Banner transforms into the huge, muscular and green giant known as The Hulk, played by bodybuilder Lou Ferrigno.  The show follows his nomadic adventures trying to control the beast and rid himself of it.  With 2 Hulk Outs per episode, the rest of the runtime would be filled with Banner's arriving in a new town, seeking work, somehow getting caught up in local trouble then Hulking out to bust some heads or random property.  An intrepid news reporter begins to chase him from town to town.  The show was a hit and ran for 5 seasons but ended with a cliffhanger in 1982.

By the late 80's, Marvel was owned by Roger Corman's New World Productions and along with the young, visionary NBC executive Brandon Tartikoff, set out to bring the Hulk and some friends from the Marvel Universe back into the public consciousness.  Tartikoff is credited with turning then low-rated NBC into a powerhouse with hit shows like Miami Vice, The A-Team, Knight Rider, Alf, Saved By the Bell and The Cosby Show changing the medium and attracting millions of viewers.  A television movie, The Return of the Incredible Hulk aired in 1988 to solid ratings and introduced Asgardian god of Thunder, Thor.  Thor is kind of a loud mouthed douche bag in the flick who likes to drink beer, fight and call Hulk "troll" a lot while hefting a prop hammer that looks surprisingly not hefty.  Further adventures of Thor starring Eric Allan Kramer were not commissioned as the telefilm is extremely clunky with lots of slow motion, over the top performances and unexplainable poor story logic.

Next up was 1989's The Trial of the Incredible Hulk where Banner is working construction somewhere cold but then heads to the big city after not wanting to Hulk out on one of the asshole crew members.  Vancouver stands in for the I believe nameless city which is rash with street and high level crime as well as a vigilante known as Daredevil making things interesting.  After a brazen daytime jewelry store heist planned by crime Kingpin Wilson Fisk, two thieves hit the subway where one of them hits on a chick with big hair.  When Banner tries to intervene, he's tossed aside and gets P-I-S-T, unleashing da Hulk and tearing through the tin can.  Lou Ferrigno looks yoked as ever clad in green paint, a big wig, fake nose and green slippers.  Waking up in human form, Banner is tossed in jail where blind lawyer Matt Murdock visits him.  Turns out the big haired lady has been threatened by Fisk's thugs and claims Banner was the one who assaulted her.  Murdock has a unique gift and knows when someone is lying to him and wants to help Banner.  That gift?  Why, super radar sense from losing his sight as a boy saving an old man from a runaway truck.  A steel drum full of radioactive waste hits young Matt and takes his sight but amplifies his hearing, scent and touch to the point he can listen to your hearbeat and read normal print with his fingertips, even with gloves on!  His backstory from the TV movie comes straight from the comic books, former boxer for a father who gets killed by gangsters and all.

It's said that Trial was to serve as a backdoor pilot for a Daredevil series.  If you watch closely, you can see groundwork laid out with an interesting hero protagonist who could deal with people at city hall by day and thugs in alleys by night.  There's a supporting cast; funny, fresh from the Army office assistant Al (Richard Cummings, Jr.) filling in for the comics' Foggy Nelson, Murdock's partner in law and would be love interest Christa (Nancy Everhard, who would co-star in New World's big screen adaptation The Punisher w/Dolph Lundgren the same year).  There's sleazy street informant Turk (Mark Acheson) and the tough yet honest cop with a great voice and hard hitting delivery Tendeli (Joseph Mascolo) who inspires Murdock to become a "Daredevil" that can fight the corruption and not be killed off, paid off or scared off.  Then you had a recurring villain in the sleek, suit clad and operatic Wilson Fisk (Indiana Jones' & Lord of the Rings' John Rhys-Davies).  Former 70's teen idol/singer Rex Smith plays Murdock with handsome dignity and Daredevil with action posing, overcooked hero delivery.  With Banner's knowledge of radiation mishaps, there's an instant bond with Murdock and the two are like Radioactive bros, preceding Banner and Tony Stark's science bromance from The Avengers.

While there's a lot of poke fun at or laugh about, for some reason, from the opening somber piano theme, Bixby's grounded, honest portrayal of David and even tempered directing, I just get into it.  Back in those days, this was before Tim Burton's Batman became a global phenomenon, costumed superheroes were not easy to pull off so giving DD an all black leotard outfit was a lot more understandable than giving him a red outfit with horns.  Said outfit is like a gymnasts singlet with wetsuit-ish turtle necked shirt and a tight, domed hood with a sleeping mask looking thing covering the eyes.  There's some gloves, elbow and knee pads, a belt and big boots to give some texture while the trademark billy club is in effect complete with a few gadgets like a zipline attachment and plunger firing wire thing.  The fight scenes are pretty TV movie with lots of slow motion and awkward pause filled karate moves and exhales along with more than a few unconvincing hits.  Lance Rubin's synth score is seemingly generic yet appropriate and effective.  The ending features some really bad visual effects (this is the late 80's, on TV no less) as Fisk escapes his skyscraper in a helicopter/hovercraft!  All in, I dig it, the actors take the material seriously, there's no winking or camp factor and that lends the semblance of drama.  They just could have used a bigger budget I'm sure but it's still fun to see The Hulk and Daredevil in the same 90 minutes a decade before the first X-Men movie and 20 years before superhero team up The Avengers.

After the surprise success of Return, New World was set to produce two additional features for NBC and bring Daredevil, She-Hulk and Iron Man to the small screen.  While Return was the 4th highest rated program of the week, Trial did not lead to a Daredevil series and we never got to see low budget versions of Iron Man or She-Hulk.  New World did attempt to produce a She-Hulk theatrical film from writer/director Larry Cohen that would have starred Brigitte Nielsen but it never happened either.

Sneak Cinema: John Wick

Keanu Reeves.  The most unlikely movie star of the 90's?  I've always liked the guy and his performances in films like Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, Point Break, Bogus Journey, Speed, The Replacements and The Gift show he's an actor capable of drama, action and comedy.  1999's The Matrix and it's subsequent sequels established him as one of the globe's most recognizable stars but I never got past the first installment and wasn't much of a fan.  Since then he's popped up in productions big and small while directing a documentary about film versus digital then again on kung-fu flick Man of Tai Chi which was given a small theatrical release along with Video On Demand.  His big budget samurai flick 47 Ronin got lost in the holiday shuffle after a tumultuous production and little critical or fan support.  A bit of a recluse and loner, Reeves doesn't seem to be chasing Hollywood leading man status and has been known to give up part of his salary to pay for co-stars and crew.

Lately, Reeves has upped his professional output having replaced Daniel Craig in court room drama The Whole Truth but before then audiences can see him in action film John Wick.  Written by Derek Kolstad of Cuba Gooding, Jr., Steve Austin and Dolph Lundgren team ups The Package and One in the Chamber and directed by stunt men and 87Eleven founders Chad Stahelski and David Leitch.  Stahleski has doubled Reeves in the past and served as Stunt Coordinator and Second Unit Director on films like The Hunger Games, Killer Elite and The Expendables while Leitch has doubled for the likes of Brad Pitt and Jean-Claude Van Damme then served as Stunt and Second Unit maestro on flicks such as The Wolverine, Escape Plan and upcoming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Jurassic Park reboots.  He also played Terry Bogard in video game adaptation of The King of Fighters, which is cool.  87Eleven is the brainchild of experienced stunt performers looking to design and create safe yet uniquely violent, physical, on screen action.  They have a gym by the LAX airport frequented by the likes of Jason Statham, Gerard Butler and Ryan Reynolds while fight film staples and martial artists turned coordinators Larnell Stovall (Ride Along, Undisputed 3) and J.J. "Loco" Perry (Vanishing Son, Warrior) are among the staff.

John Wick is the story of a legendary but retired hitman who is brought back to the violent trade when some Russian gangsters mess with him.  Contracts are put on his life and Wick must fend off former friends and foes while tracking down the son of a local mob boss who did him wrong in violent, modern day The Punisher and Taken style.  With an impressive supporting cast that includes Adrianne Palicki (G.I. Joe 2), Alfie Allen (Game of Thrones) and Willem Dafoe (To Live and Die in L.A.) with appearances by Bridget Moynahan (Tom Sellack's Blue Bloods), Ian McShane (Death Race), Kevin Nash (The Punisher), Daniel Bernhardt (Bloodsport 2), John Leguizamo (Executive Decision) and David Patrick Kelly (The Warriors), John Wick might not rewrite the book on action films but looks to provide a moody, stylized, tactical rough and tumble affair that should console any action fan disappointed by the fact that The Expendables III is PG-13.