D'You Know What I Mean 2015: Weathers, Carpenter & Jane Weekly Round Up

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.

Damme Words: I Am Spartacus!

I ever tell you about the time I kind of met Kirk Douglas?  The Chinese Theatre was celebrating it's 85th anniversary and charging admission prices of decades past, .25 cents.  So for a couple of months patrons could check out classics like Shanghai Express, The King and I as well as my my personal favorite, Spartacus!  The inspired by true events epic of a slave turned gladiator turned leader who inspired a rebellion against the Romans starred Hollywood heavyweights Kirk Douglas, Laurence Olivier, Jean Simmons, Charles Laughton, Peter Ustinov and Tony Curtis.  Director Anthony Mann was fired just weeks into filming and replaced by a barely 30 year old Stanley Kubrick.  To celebrate, Kirk Douglas attended a re-dedication ceremony of his hand and foot prints from 1962 as his 10th book, I Am Spartacus: Making a Film, Breaking the Blacklist was made available.  It was a pretty busy 2012 for the then 95 year old as he would also attend a special event celebrating the figure of Spartacus, made popular again by the Starz television show, introduce an Academy screening and be bar mitzahed for the third time, a world record.

It was a mad house outside the theater as Douglas spoke to the crowd about his book that tackled the fear mongering witch hunts of 1950's Hollywood, McCarthyism, Communism and the blacklist.  While in the lobby buying a copy of the book, Mr. Douglas himself ambled over and stood right next to me, telling the staff to make sure they were charging full price.  I could only smile and try to ask the living legend to sign my book before some idiot lady crowded us and tried to take a picture with her iPad but she couldn't figure it out before Mr. Douglas was whisked away by security.  The film, of course is a magnificent epic of Hollywood proportions as we meet uneducated, feral laborer Spartacus.  He attacks a guard and is then thrown into a school for gladiators where he quickly becomes leader of the pack and stages a revolt against the cruel owners and task masters.  With a small army at his side, Spartacus finds love and meaning to his life when he continuously defeats and embarrasses the well organized and armed Roman forces.  The title of the book comes from a pivotal scene where the Romans offer mercy on the captured slave army if Spartacus gives himself up.  Before the man himself can do it, others stand up and claim to be Spartacus until they're all on their feet chanting, "I'm Spartacus!" as a big F you to the Romans.  Unlike today's happy ending blockbusters, Spartacus like other true to life epics such as The Great Escape, ends on a seemingly down note with many of our protagonists dead or imprisoned.  Yet there's still the unquenchable feeling of hope that these characters risked it all and lost so much for the greater good so there's no sadness.

I Am Spartacus is a quick and entertaining read.  I've consumed several of Douglas' other books and they're all a nice mix of anecdotes, history, humor, inside stories and his own subconscious feelings on being an insecure, angry, passionate and horny guy who became a superstar.  In hindsight, Douglas' role in bestowing writer Dalton Trumbo credit on the film is viewed as a landmark in Hollywood history as it helped to break the blacklist.  By the late 1930's, the American Communist Party had lost steam  but the House Committee on Un-American Activities declared that the party still had roots deep in Hollywood.  The Hollywood Reporter released names of supposed Communists and sympathizers which became the first blacklist.  HUAC hearings found several  Hollywood professionals in contempt of Congress for not declaring their political affiliations.  Dalton Trumbo being one of them.  After being named on the blacklist and serving time in prison, Trumbo could only find work as a ghost writer and never be credited.  Trumbo would end up with 17 non-credits over a decade.

The book chronicles the making of Spartacus, from Douglas' first encounter with the source novel by Howard Fast (also blacklisted) and trying to turn it into a big, Hollywood movie.  Author Fast was not a screenwriter and struggled as Douglas enlisted Trumbo to secretly writer another draft.  Trumbo was an expert at dialog, story and could write quickly.  Unfortunately for producer Douglas, The Gladiators starring Yul Brynner, Anthony Quinn and directed by Martin Ritt was already in pre-production thus leaving little interest for Spartacus.  Talent agent Lew Wasserman was in the midst of buying Universal Studios and suggested Douglas take it there.  Priced at $5 million the film would end up costing around $12, shot for over a year and took three years to premiere.  The book goes into some great detail on the era surrounding the blacklist, how the cast shaped up, the conflicts between styles, Trumbo's secret involvement, Kubrick not changing his clothes, Douglas' wife Anne being a genius and a saint, his best friend and manager stealing his money and much, much more.  There's a great line from Douglas during a story meeting at Trumbo's home that sums up the hectic period, "I'm retiring...from sobriety" followed by the pouring and downing of a vodka.

Pressure in Hollywood mounted over the open use of blacklisted talent with one high profile case seeing Frank Sinatra folding and telling Kirk to kick them in the balls for everyone else.  In several bold moves, Douglas left studio passes for Dalton Trumbo at the gate, brought him to lunch on the lot for all to see and then gave him credit under his real name. Off screen drama aside, Universal was concerned with the film's political message, sexual undertones, violence and use of the word "damn" and made many cuts, 42 significant ones by Douglas' count.  The flick was finally released to rave reviews, boffo box office and received a half dozen nominations from the Golden Globes and Academy Awards each.  Newly inaugurated president John F. Kennedy even ventured out during a snow storm, crossed picket lines and sat down for the film, declaring it a great movie.  Coupled with the fact that Trumbo received credit on not one but two films in 1960, it seemed like the blacklist had come to an end.

Ask Me a Question: Conan the Destroyer

I hadn't been to the New Beverly since the Van Damme Double then Triple Dip in May.  Shortly after, the longstanding repertory cinema house went through some management changes and a much needed face lift.  Since reopening, owner and now more hands on manager Quentin Tarantino has been programming some very unique double features from kung-fu classics to grindhouse flicks and tributes to actors like Steve McQueen and directors like this month's Richard Fleischer.  Now all shows are touted in 35 or 16 mm with nary a digital print in sight.  I figured on checking out the Fleischer directed Charles Bronson vehicle Mr. Majestyk at the end of the month but action #MovieBro and author David J. Moore wanted to check out Conan the Destroyer.  I wouldn't have gone to see that but hey, why not?

Walking up to the box office I was only too pleased to see Mr. Michael Torgan back behind the window after taking a much deserved break in the action from running the joint while the New Bev figured out their next phase.  The place looked great, spiffy and shined up with printed calendars everywhere for the taking, over sized framed posters on the walls, even a Japanese Destroyer one sheet in the lobby.  A cash only institution for as long as I've been coming, they now take credit cards!  The concession stand now sells hot dogs and White Castle burgers, can't beat that.  Anyways, if it weren't for Michael generously agreeing to screen Double Impact and Bloodsport, Dammaged Goods Presents would still be an unrealized pipe dream and I wouldn't have met so many great movie lovers along with all the luminaries and professionals who attended the Van Damme, Dolph, Carl Weathers and Die Hard nights.  The top half of the double bill was Fleischer's slave turned bare knuckle boxer turned partial Django Unchained inspiration Mandingo from 1975.  I've never seen the flick and honestly have no real desire to so we hit up Elite Cuisine next door for some dinner and catching up.  This is an establishment that serves you chips and salsa while offering Jewish comfort food, Italian dishes, American sammiches and Chinese food?!  That's Los Angeles baby, just go with it.

I was really interested to see what kind of folks turned out for Conan the Destroyer on a Wednesday night.  The Man Clu was holding it down in the front row as usual, one of the staff members was rocking a Conan tee shirt and there were maybe three women in the audience.  Also in the crowd was co-writer and prolific comic book scribe Gerry Conway! A talented jerk like Steven E. de Souza, Conway sold his first work as a teenager then went to both Marvel and DC Comics.  At only 19, Conway worked on The Amazing Spider-Man where he scripted the Death of Gwen Stacy storyline and many others over a several year run.  While at the House of Ideas, Conway co-created The Punisher and wrote for The Fantastic Four, Captain America, The Incredible Hulk and more.  Moving to DC Comics, Conway co-created Firestorm and worked on Superman, Justice League of America and Detective Comics among others.  If that weren't enough, in the 80's Conway jumped into film, television and animation with credits on G.I. Joe, Transformers, Batman: The Animated Series, Diagnosis Murder and Law & Order.

Conway quickly introduced Conan the Destroyer, recalling how Conan the Barbarian producer Edward R. Pressman sold his share of the rights to mogul Dino De Laurentiis. Conway and comics writing partner Roy Thomas worked on the script for about a year pumping out 10 drafts.  During that time, it seemed like only the writers and Arnold were attached to the project.  Word came down that Richard Fleischer was hired to direct, an excellent choice in Conway's eyes as he loved the director's Norsemen saga, The Vikings, starring KIRK DOUGLAS, Tony Curtis, Ernest Borgnine and Janet Leigh.  The writers met with Fleischer, thought he was a very nice man and immediately after were told they were fired!  Thus ending Conway's involvement with tonight's feature on which he receives a Story By credit and attended the premiere in 1984.

Conan the Destroyer is not a good movie.  It's a fun movie, it's crazy and intentionally and unintentionally hilarious.  Starting with credits over the a dusty landscape and Mako's wonderful narration of an age "between the time the oceans drank Atlantis and the rise of the sons of Aryas", days of high adventure set to Basil Poledouris' iconic score.  We find Conan (Arnold Schwarzenegger) praying for his lost love Valeria while thief homeboy Malak (Tracey Walter) counts stolen booty before they're attacked by Queen Taramis (Sarah Douglas). Taramis wishes to recruit the barbarian thief on a mission to retrieve a treasured horn that will bring back dreaming god Dagoth.  For his service, Taramis promises to resurrect Valeria.  At the palace of Shadizar, Taramis and Captain of the Guard Bombaata (Wilt Chamberlain) explain their plot to use Conan to retrieve the horn, that only virgin niece Jehnna (Olivia d'Abo) can collect, then kill the barbarian and sacrifice the niece in order to appease Dagoth.

Feeling that a sword can't match up to sorcery, Conan stops off to pick up Wizard of the Mounds Akiro (Mako) before the motley crew runs into Zula (Grace Jones), a fierce warrior stranded in a village after an unsuccessful raid.  To get the horn, they have to find a jewel which is housed in an ice and crystal castle on a lake where wizard Toth-Amon (Pat Roach) resides.  From there it's off to a temple where Jehnna places the jewel and walks through fire to collect the horn.  Bombaata seemingly seals Conan and his crew in a tunnel and escapes with Jehnna and the horn.  Back at the palace, things don't go too smoothly as Jehnna's botched sacrifice turns Dagoth into a horrific monster that a rescuing Conan must hack the shit out of with a battle ax and his trusty broadsword.  The film looked great on the big screen, the print was in terrific shape as was Arnold, holy geez was he yoked in this!  I believe director John Milius told Arnold to tone down his workouts for the first Conan as a specimen built from hard living and physical labor wouldn't look like a polished bodybuilder while in the sequel Arnold is equal parts huge and shredded with his signature huge chest, big arms and a slim tapered waist.  Being shirtless for many a scene I wondered if he was severely dehydrated and underfed for the duration of filming.

Shot in Mexico, Destroyer takes advantage of the dusty desert as well as lush forest locations.  The sets were quite impressive as you had a huge marbled palace, a castle made from crystals and ice, a chamber full of mirrors, an underground temple, etc.  Being an early 80's flick there was a nice blend of miniatures, animation, forced perspective, matte paintings and a little obvious rear screen projection.  While the script by Stanley Mann is a pretty straightforward adventure/mission flick, Fleischer's directing is a little clunky here and could have used some extra editing.  Not surprising as this was towards the tail end of his long career.  Fight scenes are nice with bloody squib slashes, severed heads and impalement's galore but for all the sword, spear, mace and knife fighting, they could have used a little more choreography instead of just clanging weapons a couple times before being run through. Being a fantasy film you get magic, sorcery, wizards, crazy costumes and monsters.  During the mirror chamber, Arnold throws down with Toth-Amon in his reptilian/man-ape form and gets body slammed and windmilled around the room in a goofy fight scene.  The monstrous Dagoth was played by an uncredited Andre the Giant in a full, aquatic monster inspired suit, who slaps Arnold around before getting his horn ripped out and stabbed dead.

Of course with such an eclectic assortment of actors including a bodybuilder, a singer and an NBA star, performances and expressions are laughable and priceless at times.  Arnold playing drunk is great as is his punching of a horse and hammer fisting a camel early on.  Mako is terrific as the ragged wizard who can move things with his mind and start a fire out of nothing.  Tracey Walter plays the comedic sidekick/thief just fine in a role that would probably be designated to Rob Schneider if this was made in the 90's.  Future Bond girl and Dolph Lundgren girlfriend Grace Jones is strong and terrifying while Olivia D'Abo is cute as can be as the naive virgin always showing skin in aerated gowns.  Wilt Chamberlain is tall as shit and gives Bombaata some nice gravitas.  While Conan the Destroyer is by far no masterpiece, it still stands as a solid if unspectacular entry in the sword and sorcery, action-fantasy genre if only because there aren't enough comparable titles and is perfect for lazy day viewing.

What the Chuck?! Forced Vengeance

On the back end of Turner Classic Movies' Underground programming of Miami Connection was another 80's martial arts opus, Forced Vengeance from 1982.  The flick opens with a stylized fight scene between the silhouette of Chuck Norris and an unknown attacker in front of a giant neon sign with Chinese characters complete with blaring music but no sound.  We have no context whatsoever and it immediately reminded me of future action flicks that would do the same thing, mainly Best of the Best 2 where it adds a little mystique to the credits and Dolph Lundgren's Direct Action where it pads out the runtime.  From there we meet Josh Randall (Norris) as he collects a debt from a Los Angeles scum bag and beats up a would be enforcer in the process.  There's humor right away as Randall's favorite cowboy hat is stomped on and there's a close up of him curling his fist before dishing up some pain.  Cut to Hong Kong, "a slap in the face that feels good" where you "make money as fast as you can" with an opening shot out of Enter the Dragon or reused by Bloodsport.  We meet Randall's benevolent, tai chi practicing businessman of Jewish heritage boss Sam (David Opatoshu) and his son David (Frank Michael Liu).  The duo run honest casino Lucky Dragon in HK where Randall is head of security.

Unfortunately David has made some bad business decisions and evil casino overlord Stan Raimondi (Michael Cavanugh) is about to swallow up their small potatoes establishment.  When Sam refuses to sell, father and son are gunned down leaving Randall the prime suspect and on the run.  With Sam and David dead, daughter Joy (Camila Griggs) becomes the sole heir to the Lucky Dragon and target of a citywide manhunt.  Randall grabs the young woman and along with his spunky ladyfriend, Claire (Mary Louise Weller) go into hiding with Vietnam buddy LeRoy Nicely (Bob Minor).  With the cops and the mob after them, Randall sets off to squash Raimondi's hold on the city.

Cleanly directed by James Fargo, Forced Vengeance is a pretty solid karate thriller with some surprisingly exploitative traits.  There's lots of fist and feeticuffs in the Chuck Norris karate tradition: big punches, low knee, high foot roundhouse kicks, a flying sidekick off the side of a building, slow motion jumping off furniture tackle, pulling the slide of a handgun back next to the side of a guy's head to intimidate him and a death by falling glass in the throat.  A unique touch was Randall using pressure points to subdue attackers, pressing on forearms and necks.  There's also a surprising amount of laughs in Franklin Thompson and Fargo's script.  From Randall always drinking a beer, having his cowboy hat damaged and telling his chick to throw a blanket on him so he can nap, Vengeance definitely has a sense of humor and Norris gets to throw out lots of one liners and funny/awesome quips like "Your son made me an offer...before he died" cause Chuck killed him in the last scene, get it?!  Or when an Organized Task Force agent tells Randall he's a real litterer, cause of all the dead bodies, ska-doosh!

It's also a product of it's time and has a scuzzy feel with many a lady being slapped, flaming homosexual depictions and a surprisingly brutal end to Claire's life at the hands of a giant Chinese brute.  Composer William Goldstein provides a distinctive yet overly melodramatic score with soothing pianos and grating laser sounds alike.  The Hong Kong setting is a nice touch and you feel like you're back watching Lee, Roper and Williams leave for Han's Island in Enter the Dragon or planting the seeds for Jean-Claude Van Damme's jokey foot chase through the shadowy narrow corridors in Bloodsport, it's truly a distinct cityscape.  Running and fighting his way through the streets, Randall comes across a Bruce Lee imitator with nunchucks and whooping strange noises.  You know how movies today seem like rehashes of other movies?  Well Forced Vengeance was like watching movies that didn't even exist yet.  When a guy slaps a woman and Chuck slaps him, asking, "hurts, don't it?", I went to Tombstone.  When the Chinese brute told Chuck his girl was "very good", I thought of Kickboxer.  At one point someone mutters, "Randall, Randall, Randall" and Arnold Vosloo from Hard Target popped into my mind.  I'm sure many of these were coincidences but it just kept happening!

Even though Norris got a career boost from student, friend and global superstar Steve McQueen, Forced Vengeance owes much of it's crew to another action hero, Clint Eastwood.  Director Fargo had previously worked on Clint flicks like Joe Kidd, High Plains Drifter, The Outlaw Josey Wales and Every Which Way But Loose as an Assistant Director before graduating to the helmer's chair himself.  Villain Michael Cavanuagh had also appeared in three Eastwood vehicles before starring in Vengeance.  Stuntman extraordinaire Bob Minor plays the funny, cool and swole buddy, much like Steve James would later to Michael Dudikoff and Norris in American Ninja and The Hero and the Terror.   Released on July 30th, 1982, Forced Vengeance would gross $6.6 million at the box office from 576 theaters ranking it ahead of movies like The Soldier, Megaforce and Eastwood's Honky Tonk Man but way behind action fare Rocky III, First Blood, Firefox, Conan the Barbarian and The Road Warrior.  Norris' next film would be a step up, the iconic Lone Wolf McQuade before embarking on his lucrative partnership with Cannon Films.

Monday Madness: Miami Connection

How the heck did I not know about Miami Connection?  The title drifted across my plate a couple of years ago, something about a martial arts rock band fighting ninjas with an 80's vibe.  But there's been a lot of throwback 80's in the last few years.  Movies like The Expendables, Hobo with a Shotgun and Manborg.  A Cannon films documentary.  Video game Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon with music score by Power Glove.  Blood Bros' playlists on Mad Decent.  All of those VHS style trailers.  Little did I know that Miami was a film actually made in the 80's, released and quickly forgotten about in 1987 and by some minor miracle was given a second chance!  Thanks to Turner Classic Movies Underground banner and a 2:00AM airing, now I know.  And knowing is half the battle...

The story begins with immigrant and Tae Kwon Do master Y.K. Kim, who landed in the United States from South Korea in 1978.  By the mid-80's he was kicking ass with a chain of successful martial arts schools, public speaking, authoring books and generally being liked by those around him for his positive outlook on life and charitable efforts around central Florida.  While on a television program in South Korea, action movie director Woo-sang Park figured he'd made a good cinematic hero and the two set off to create a flick that would encapsulate Kim's philosophy of friendship, loyalty and martial arts.  Against the advice of his closest friends, Kim sold his car, mortgaged his home and franchise to fund Miami Connection.  With no prior background in filmmaking or even an interest in it, the shoot quickly devolved into a nightmare.  There was no script, director Park spoke little English and the entire cast was more or less farmed from Kim's network of 10,000 students.  With that pedigree you'd expect a fun home movie but instead Kim hoped Miami would be a blockbuster film that showed the greatness of Tae Kwon Do to the world.  What he got was a near $1 million dollar catastrophe that almost crippled his life and sent him into bankruptcy.

Miami Connection is the story of Dragon Sound, a synth-rock band made up of Tae Kwon Do blackbelts.  They jam on guitars and do kicks on stage.  Meanwhile, some ninjas kill off some local drug dealers and the band Dragon Sound replaced wants their gig back, teaming up with the bad guys to snuff out the band.  Mark (Kim) and his bandmates are all orphans who live and train together.  Jim (Maurice Smith), has been trying to find his black-American dad for some time and finally has a lead.  Meanwhile John (Vincent Hirsch) is trying to get to know Jane (Kathy Collier) whose brother happens to be leader of the evil gang.  Martial arts brawling, shirtless mail reading, hardcore Tae Kwon Do demonstrations, catchy synth pop, bros pooling money for a suit, poor English and of course, ninja mayhem ensues.  Miami Connection should not be a good movie or a good time.  Story developments go nowhere, the acting is hammy, random montages and vignettes add nothing...But somehow, the sheer earnestness of the cast and ridiculous concept shines through the amateur production values.  We don't get shoddy sets or cheap tricks to pull off elaborate stunts.  The practical streets, woods, creeks and college campus locations all give Miami Connection a texture that rises above a Chuck Norris or Bruce Lee imitator or ironic love letter made today.

The fights in the flick are pretty solid in that 80's, awkward, kinda telegraphed, wait for it style. Given that the entire main cast are blackbelts, they get to show off their high kicking TKD skills and even fight with swords in a bloody final confrontation against the ninjas.  Kim is not exactly the world's most charismatic leading man but really he's just there to support his friends and kick ass, which he does just fine.  Two of his students turned co-stars, Angelo Janotti and Kathy Collier, were musicians in their own right and provided two memorable tracks; Friends and Against a Ninja.  Friends reminds you of Nowhere Fast from Streets of Fire a bit and has awesomely simple lyrics like "loyalty, honesty, we'll stick together through thick or thin" with it's hand clapping drum beat.  Against a Ninja starts with extreme guitar riffs and more hand clapping and lyrics about you know, ninjas being evil. 

At the end of production, Park departed for Korea and Kim set about trying to sell the movie for exhibition.  He estimates 100 companies turned him down, told him it was trash and that he shouldn't spend another cent.  That seems pretty hardcore considering some of the low budget turkeys Cannon was producing at the same time.  I guess those just had more famous and bankable actors.  Feeling like a failure, Kim took the film to Cannes to drum up interest but struck out once more.  One insider suggested several changes and Kim along with co-star/student Joseph Diamond read some books on writing screenplays and directing films to realize it needed things like a beginning, middle and end then reshot scenes.  One distributor finally ponied up $100,000 to release the film in 8 theaters around Orlando with Kim working overtime to promote the flick via store demonstrations and local media.  But a prominent local critic called Miami the worst film of the year before it's release and after 3 weeks, the movie was pulled and forgotten.  Kim rebuilt his empire, stronger than ever and continued to spread the gospel of personal, financial and emotional fitness.

Cut to 2009, Alamo Drafthouse programmer Zack Carlson came across a print of the film on eBay and bought it for $50 bucks.  After audiences responded well to the first reel, Carlson and his boss Evan Husney began their quest to redistribute the film.  Kim thought it was a joke and hung up on Husney several times before being informed that Miami Connection had all the makings of a cult classic a la the also forgotten Troll 2.  From there the film played in several film festivals and midnight screenings across the country to fevered reaction, several with Kim and cast in attendance, demonstrating moves and even playing Friends on stage.  Today you can get a special edition blu-ray, vinyl soundtrack, band shirts and much more.  That's the power of movies, baby.  And a nice spinning roundhouse kick.

Science Screen: Interstellar IMAX

Home of the space shuttle Endeavor, a Pompeii exhibit and much more, the California Science Center is a beautifully modern piece of architecture in the middle of a rundown part of town.  Housed across from the main hall is the $8 million dollar IMAX theater opened in 1998, complete with full snack bar offering candy, nachos, Coke and Icee's.  Ironic that the actual theater has no cup holders.  Remember when IMAX was for educational films to give you a giant, up close look at space, animals and nature?  Now it's hocked at every theater to give you a more immersive experience while ripping you the BLEEP off.  A true IMAX theater is uncomfortable.  The seats are far from the padded, reclining lounge chairs of stadium cinemas and the aisles are usually quite narrow.  The screen is so large that sitting in the front row would mean missing part of the picture.  AMC touts the IMAX experience, converting existing theaters with improved sound and picture quality.  The real IMAX screen at CSC is something like 90' wide and 70' tall.  Around town, the giant screen in the Arclight Cinerama Dome is 85' x 32' so you just know some 1990's built AMC ain't coming close to that.  In fact, a typical large auditorium screen runs 40' x 20' or not even half a real IMAX yet you're paying an upcharge.  While IMAX quickly points out that it's not just about screen size, let's be honest, it kind of is.  The huge image and sound is the point.  Then again, movies need to be shot in the format to really take advantage otherwise you're just getting to see imperfections on the flick like I did on Iron Man III where some fuzzy something or other kept popping up.

Since Christopher Nolan is a huge supporter of film, he decided to shoot space opera Interstellar on 70mm and partially in IMAX.  Nolan had already shot portions of The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises in IMAX which require a huge camera and less movement from actors and the scene.  Watching Interstellar, the picture would go from rectangle a la widescreen for dialog scenes to square a la IMAX for outdoor, space or flying segments.  Seeing the corn fields, water planet, space vistas, station destruction and the ice planet on the big, big screen was amazing.  The lack of sound in various dramatic scenes works incredibly well as does the use of the organ on Hans Zimmer's score that hits you in the heart.  I know everybody is aiming for this immersive experience thing but I wasn't sitting dead center and could still see people around me.  Guess they'll just have to perfect that Oculus Rift thing sooner or later to really put people into the action.

I enjoyed Interstellar upon first viewing, harkening it more as an experience than a movie.  There's some very ambitious ideas regarding mankind, science, technology and exploration as well as excellent performances from the cast including Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway and the voice actors playing the helpful robots.  There's been a lot of jabs thrown at Interstellar since it's release, picking apart the science, it's theme of love and an ending that goes a little bonkers with extra dimensions and future, future living.  Then there was the whole sound issue when people complained they couldn't understand what McConaughey was saying in a dream during a turbulent flight or when a character is mumbling on their death bed.  When I first saw it, I figured it was done on purpose as the dialog had no bearing on the story, you didn't miss anything and someone clarifies it later.  Do we really need to be able to hear every little thing or have it broken down in childlike terms?  I say no.  For a near 3 hour flick, Interstellar kept me engaged, even on a repeat viewing with it's mix of exploration, science, space and human drama.  While steeped in real science, Nolan and company had to create a film.  Interstellar isn't touted as a documentary so I'm not sure why it's being treated as such.  Just because you had fun watching Guardians of the Galaxy means you overlook glaring plot holes where thousands of innocents are killed off screen, the comedy negates any type of drama and that there are no risks taken, at all.  I appreciate Nolan and company telling a story that asks it's characters to yearn for more as individuals and a community even at great cost.  It's a firm reminder to the viewer to look up and keep reaching.

Gotta Eat (and Drank)! Study Hall

I've walked around UCLA's campus once for a book fair and checked out a movie at the Hammer Museum nearby but have never set foot on USC's campus.  Years ago I checked out the monthly Comic Book and Science Fiction Convention (kind of sad) at the Shrine Auditorium and Expo Center and driven past the giant football stadium but that was about it.   Saturday night on our way to the California Science Center we stopped off at Study Hall for a bite and a drank before Interstellar in true IMAX.  Just up the street next to lots of college residential apartments and the surprisingly clean campus, Study Hall bills itself as a gastropub and serves up traditional American style sammiches and burgers with beer or wine.  It was a bit pricey considering it was next to campus but my What The double burger and fries wasn't bad.  Not amazing, but not bad.  Asked for no cheese but got cheese and the meat was a little rubbery.  There's cider in the house but instead of Strongbow you get more pedestrian Angry Orchard and the overly sweet Wood Chuck.

The place isn't that big but has TV's everywhere so people can watch sports and hoop and holler for their teams.  Being early Saturday night the joint wasn't too crowded, the service was quite friendly and the food came out relatively quick.  The future truly is here as a simple tablet replaced your old school clunky cash register.  By the time we left, a swell of college age kids swarmed the place and man was it weird.  I'm not old but I'm old enough to be long out of college and these students looked like not quite fully formed adults. 

Snow Screen 2015: The Gambler, Into the Woods & A Most Violent Year

Did you see a movie over the Christmas through New Years Day period?  Something like 7 major motion pictures opened up on Thursday, December 25th.  You could see Mark Wahlberg in a remake of The Gambler, Disney's musical Into the Woods, Angelina Jolie's World War II prisoner of war tale Unbroken and stoner buddy comedy/American symbol The Interview amongst others.  The Golden Globes are tonight so every movie vying for award consideration has already been released to get that chatter going into the Oscarss in February.

One flick that got no love was Paramount's The Gambler, the tale of well off literature professor Jim Bennett (Mark Wahlberg) who has a problem with blackjack and roulette.  Playing in high end and seedy secret parties as well as crappy casinos alike, we watch as the self hating and compulsive Bennett turns $10 grand into $80 in an instant then lose it just as quickly.  Written by The Departed's William Monohan based on James Toback's 1974 film of the same name starring James Caan, The Gambler was an enjoyable and well crafted low watt drama that contains a surprisingly effective performance from Wahlberg and an even more note worthy one by John Goodman as a local loan shark.  Wahlberg, the former model turned rapper turned prolific leading man and producer adds another eclectic character to his filmography that already includes a sweet yet dim hearted porn star, lots of cops and tough guys, a slacker with a talking stuffed animal, a motivated yet dumb bodybuilder and an inventor who hangs out with giant robots in disguise.  Hiding behind a mane of shaggy hair and a dark suit, Wahlberg dropped 60 pounds of his signature beef to play the educated but self loathing professor trying to reach rock bottom so he can start his climb back to the top.  Monohan's modern manifesto is equal parts all in or nothing and getting to the point in life where you can answer any question with, Fuck You.  In deep to two different sets of gangsters, Bennett has a week to come up with nearly a quarter of a million bucks before every bone in his body is broken or he's flat out deaded.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes' Rupert Wyatt does a fine job of directing the talky drama around Los Angeles with fine support from the likes of Jessica Lange as his estranged mother and Brie Larson as his student.  Simon Rhee from Best of the Best shows up as a Korean bruiser and George Kennedy (Cool Hand Luke, The Delta Force) shows up for a quick minute as a family patriarch.  I didn't even know the guy was still alive!  Great to see you, George!  A massive and bald headed John Goodman gets to drop some of the film's greatest dialog in a pair of scenes as he questions how a successful, good looking smart guy like Bennett could destroy his life with such idiotic abandonment.  With a little CGI muscle, Goodman should play The Kingpin whenever the villain shows up on Daredevil.  Wahlberg is handed some very provocative and near poetic lines throughout, especially during an early scene in the classroom where he moves around the space, questioning and belittling his students in what was a more exciting class than I ever had in 4 years.  Some actors can't handle a lot of dialog but Wahlberg takes it all on with surprisingly ease and aplomb.  While I'm not too surprised The Gambler hasn't garnered any major award attention, I do feel it got lost in the Holiday shuffle and deserves more credit than it's being given.

I won't bore you with too many thoughts on Into the Woods, it wasn't for me and I just didn't dig it.  Beautifully shot yet a bit boring to watch.  Maybe if you're into musicals.  Next up was A Most Violent Year, a flick I had no opinion on and hadn't even seen a full trailer.  From the title, cast and look of the picture, I figured it was about mobsters in New York.  Written and directed by J.C. Chandor, who gave us the fascinating Margin Call in 2011, a look at the inner workings of an investment bank during the first part of the financial crisis followed up by the lauded but overrated "man on a boat VS nature" All Is Lost starring Bobby Redford in 2013.  A Most Violent Year stars up and comer Oscar Isaac (Drive) as Abel Morales, a mostly by the book immigrant businessman who owns a heating oil business in New York during 1981, one of the most violent years on record.  Abel has vast ambition to expand his company but his trucks keep getting hijacked and his product sold to various mystery buyers.  He must tread lightly as the local District Attorney is about to begin investigating his business while wife Anna (Jessica Chastain) keeps pushing him to man up and protect his empire and family.

Chandor's script is a slow burning yet interesting affair focusing on a man trying to do right but the world just doesn't want to let him.  I thought it was based on a true story as it all plays very real from the harrowing truck thefts to Abel's calm and intelligent rejection of arming his drivers and the conflict it creates at home with the wife and kids.  Chastain picked up a Best Supporting Actress nod from the Globes which reinforces their long standing award show trying to throw a star studded party motif rather than rewarding merit as she really doesn't do much in the film and her Brooklyn accent comes and goes.  Then again the Oscars are a bunch of 70 year old white guys who tend to select boring but true to life tales to celebrate like The King's Speech and The Artist so I'm not even sure why I bring them up. Awards are bullshit, man...

#HicksLives! aka Neill Blomkamp's Aliens

It was New Years day and I was recovering from the night before when it happened.  District 9 writer and director Neill Blomkamp's Instagram started posting concept art from a mysterious Alien sequel.  Not any old money wringing follow up though but what looked like a direct sequel to 1986's groundbreaking Aliens!  You know, where xenomorph attack survivor Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) joins a ragtag group of Colonial Space Marines to investigate what ends up being an overrun colony?  Then fights off the workers and their giant, bitch queen with pulse rifles, flame throwers, grenades and a power loader?  While Ridley Scott crafted an atmospheric, creepy slasher flick with truck drivers in space, James Cameron turned his sequel into a self contained roller coaster action flick.  Featuring a fan favorite and Cameron collaborating cast including Michael Biehn, Bill Paxton, Lance Henriksen, Jeanette Goldstein and Mark Rolston; Aliens has lived for nearly 30 years in various comic book, video game and toy form.

It wasn't the artwork of Ripley wearing some kind of alien costume, or his rendition of the mysterious xenomorph ship or even the sleek Weyland-Yutani technology that caught my eye.  Instead it was the return of mother fucking Michael Biehn as Hicks, the soft spoken Marine thrown into command after his superior is wasted.  By the end of Cameron's chapter, a family dynamic between "mother" Ripley, "daughter" Newt (Carrie Henn), "father" Hicks and "weird artificial person uncle" Bishop (Henriksen) was beautifully formed.  As you know, Biehn excelled as the sensitive yet physical action hero in The Terminator and Aliens before headlining projects big and small like Navy Seals and Timebomb in the 90's.  With a third installment inevitable but Weaver's participation in question, producers David Giler and Walter Hill pursued a sequel that could or could not include Ripley's character.  A script by cyber-punk author William Gibson following Hicks and Bishop on a space station was commissioned.  Early into the process, Biehn, the actor who brought Hicks to life after original actor James Remar was fired, was told he would not be asked to return.  I'm guessing the studio wanted a known star and not an actor who had provided great performances but played second fiddle to women in two back to back hits.

Gibson's script was deemed lackluster and Friday the 13th part Four director Renny Harlin was hired.  The visual and kinetic helmer from Finland worked on the project for a year, trying to take us to the alien planet but was vetoed due to budget concerns.  An idea to bring the creatures to earth and having Ripley and Hicks fight them there was also jettisoned.  Frustrated at the lack of progress, Harlin quit and went on to direct The Adventures of Ford Fairlane and Die Hard 2: Die Harder for studio Fox.  Eventually the notion of a floating colony turned into a desolate planet prison and after lots of wasted time and money, Alien 3 was released starring Weaver as Ripley with Hicks and Newt's characters being killed off in the opening minutes.  Originally, a double of Biehn post chest burster explosion was to be featured in the film but Biehn and his agent told young director David Fincher and Fox they didn't have their permission.  In the end, a photo of Biehn as Hicks was used and the actor was paid nearly his Aliens salary for his trouble.

What did Blomkamp's version entail?  Nobody really knows.  Nobody even knows if it was sanctioned by Fox or just a side project from a passionate fan who is also a successful filmmaker.  But having older versions of Ripley and a scarred Hicks fighting aliens again set the fan forums and internets on fire.  While some argued how you could skip Alien 3 and fourth chapter Resurrection (Ripley kills herself in 3 and is a clone in 4), I honestly didn't think it was that big a deal.  These characters have lived on for nearly 30 years in various formats with Hicks and Newt fighting their way through a Dark Horse Comics mini-series and Hicks (complete with Biehn voicing) popped up in 2013's letdown video game Colonial Marines with no explanation on how he survived.  Personally, I don't think the average movie goer would notice if they made a straight sequel to Aliens with no mention of 3 or Resurrection as enough time has passed and only a handful of hardcore fans would notice.  Let's face it, Fox isn't that interested in continuity, didn't you see half prequel, half sequel Prometheus?  Or how about the X-Men franchise which has no continuity: Professor X is evaporated at the end of 2004's part 3 then magically puts his consciousness into another body and by this past summers Days of Future Past is back with no explanation.  The filmmakers tried to address the reboot/sequel plot holes (offscreen, never in an actual movie) by saying Xavier had a twin brother who was in a coma for the last 50 years...Ok that explains why he looks like Patrick Stewart but why would he be in a wheelchair too?  Exactly, the $750 million bucks worth of movie goers didn't really care.  And the small pack of complaining fanboys don't make up enough of the general population to make a difference.  While no one is clamoring to see what Prometheus 2 would bring us, there has been an outpouring to bring back Hicks and Ripley so let's do the Damme thing!

Hicks lives, fuck Alien 3!

Workout of the Day: Rut Buster

Going to the gym in January and February is always frustrating because you have so many Don'ters taking up space with resolutions to lose half their body weight but only giving themselves a couple weeks to negate years of inactivity and shitty eating.  Don't get me wrong, if you want to change yourself, to better yourself, I'm all for it.  But do a little research, read some magazines, maybe even a book and talk to professionals before you go all or nothing into your new year workout routine.  I always say you either have it or you don't when it comes to lifting weights.  There has to be some kind of instigating incident or insecurity to propel you into spending countless hours alone putting your body under duress.  Whether it's being too fat or skinny, needing to get stronger for sports, everyone who lifts weights has a reason why they're putting on "body armor".  Arnold wanted to get stronger for soccer, Van Damme wanted to gain weight and power for karate, I was a chubby kid, etc.  When you go in guns blazing with no plan of attack, enthusiasm quickly wanes and the gym is back to being empty.  Fitness is a lifestyle and it doesn't even half to be that strict.  I eat fast food several times a week and at my last physical was told I was in excellent health.  Could I be in better shape if I cleaned up my act?  Of course!  But I don't make a living at having my shirt off so there's no need to beat myself up mentally and emotionally over some unattainable standard.

For me, December was pretty good, I worked out 23 times which is excellent because I always find myself to be in the best shape when I hit 20 workouts in a month.  That can be 5 days a week, that can be twice a day a couple days a week, a day of walking, outside activity or cleaning, whatever.  If you make time for it and or you break a decent sweat, I consider it a training session.  Having lots of time over the holidays to relax, I dug into some Frank Zane and Vince Gironda reading.  Zane of course was a master of symmetry and had a statuesque physique at under 6' tall and 200 pounds.  Always mindful of the mind and muscle connection, physical harmony, rest and nutrition, Zane was truly a guru of the sport.  But Gironda was known as The Iron Guru due to his unpredictable temper, strong opinions and unusual but effective training techniques.  Reading through some of his literature, it's crazy how guys used to eat and train back in the day.  For Gironda, he figured you should stick mostly to whole, close to raw foods including fertile hen eggs and certified raw cream.  A breakfast might consist of cream mixed with raw eggs, lunch was a salad and hamburger patty while dinner could be steak and cottage cheese.  In between meals, liver tablets and amino acid tablets in the dozens.  With no complex or starchy carbs in the mix, Gironda figured the body would derive energy from the fat and use the protein to rebuild muscle.

Training wise, Zane seemed to always be doing some form of cardio, usually bicycling around town or rowing after a weight session.  Gironda placed such a heavy emphasis on nutrition, stating that it was 85% what you ate VS 15% how you trained, that no cardio was involved since there was little rest been sets.  If you wanted to lose weight, you simply ate less and worked out more.  For me, I always feel at least 10 minutes of cardio after weights helps me feel leaner and less bloated.  Zane would usually work 3-4 exercises per body part with 3-4 sets in the 8-12 range.  Gironda believed that you had to find your perfect range by working out until you felt a pump that couldn't get any better and as soon as you started to lose it, you'd found your ideal rep/set range.  At Vince's Gym, he generally preached 3 exercises and 4 sets for each in under 45 minutes as the perfect workout.

Gironda's Rut Buster workout has been kicking my ass this month with it's 10/8/6/15 rep range but I'm feeling strong and pumped.  An example of my version of Shoulders and Arms at the gym:

1) Dumbbell Press w/ Rear Deltoid Lateral 2) Spider Curl w/Tricep Pullover and Press 3) Behind the head Rope Extensions 4) Incline Dumbbell Curl 4) Cable Upright Row w/ Side DB Laterals 5) 1-Arm Preacher Curl w/ 1-Arm DB Extension 6) Forearm Curls

As you can see, wherever I could do Super Sets, I did.  But if I would have to walk across the floor to get weights, I would just do straight sets.  The descending then ascending rep range is frigging hard but the pump I got was out of this world.  My muscles felt huge, shaped and striated at the same time.  My arms were so sore I could barely type on my laptop that day.

Zane's Ab-Aerobics are a great way to get in some cardio and midsection work.  You'll see lots of people plodding away on a bike or treadmill for what seems like hours and still looking dumpy as shit.  With Ab-Aerobics you simply pick a cardio exercise to do for one minute then hit some abs, lower back or twists then go back to cardio.  In my complex gym I opted for:

Treadmill - 3, 5, 5.5, 6, 6.5 MPH at a 10 incline with Stepper and Jump Roping 200-300 reps in about 2 minutes.  For abs I stuck to simple stuff like frog crunches (instead of knees pointing up, butterfly them out to the sides), toe touches and Swiss ball crunches.  Then I'd do trunk twists or Good Mornings as well.  So 1-2 minutes of cardio, ab/back/twist exercise, repeat for 20-30 minutes.  Boredom doesn't have a chance because you're constantly moving from one exercise to the next. 

And there you have it, new year, new pump, same old drive.  Now get out there and remember that what's cool is being cool with yourself!

D'you Know What I Mean 2015: Cro Cop

Holy shit it's 2015!  Hope you had a wonderful Bodhi day, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza, Boxing Day or non denominational holiday season with friends, loved ones or Chuck Norris movies and whiskey.  Croatian sensation Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic rung in 2015 with a kick in the head followed up by punches to take out Japanese Olympic gold medalist Satoshi Ishii at Inoki Genome Federation's Inoki Bam-Ba-Ye New Year's Eve event in Tokyo.  The two had faced off once before with the K-1, Pride and UFC veteran winning after opening up a cut on Ishii's dome with an elbow in August of 2014.  Mirko stayed busy in 2014, competing in two kickboxing matches under the Glory banner and two Mixed Martial Arts matches under Inoki Genome going 3-1.

Looking in great shape but missing his signature tights with the Croatian flag,  Mirko stuck to his usual style of stalking his opponent around the ring, going for a quick jab or firing off single punches then hopping back out of range.  Ishii threw big overhand rights while Cro Cop attempted his signature left high kick before being tied up.  The young Japanese Judo expert managed to drag Cro Cop to the mat but was unable to mount much of an offensive or cause lasting damage.  Mirko stayed busy from the bottom, throwing punches and elbows.  Round 2 started with more pawing and ineffective flurries from both.  Feints, hooks and knees from Mirko with more big overhand rights from Ishii.  The action hits the mat again but Mirko uses his tree trunk legs to kick Ishii off and get back to his feet.  The pair start swinging with Mirko backing up the young buck.  A blocked high kick seems to daze Ishii who ties up the former Croatian Anti-Terrorist Cop.  A big knee to the face followed by a connecting uppercut spells the beginning of the end as Cro Cop followed up with a left high kick and more uppercuts to put Ishii out on his back, bleeding from the side of his head.

Cro Cop retains the IGF title before a pro wrestling like scuffle breaks out in the ring with former Pride veteran Fujita getting in Mirko's face and being broken up by their teams and mother fucking Fedor!  Ishii meanwhile, was still recovering from the beatdown and watched the incident from the corner.

 

2014 Cinema Round Up

Movies cost more to make and attend than ever.  Each of the six major studios crossed the billion dollar gross line but attendance slid to 1.2 billion admissions.  That's just above 1995 numbers.  3D upcharges, reboots, remakes, sequels, everything being based on something else, the so called rise of television, video games, no one will ever know what will please audiences.  Luckily I just like movies and saw dozens of them in the theater this year.  New ones, old ones, good ones, shitty ones, seeing a movie in the theater is still the best way to experience a film in my opinion as you have nothing to do but watch the movie.  Unless you're an asshole on a phone then I'm giving you to the count of 0.  Sometimes dealing with rude patrons is enough to make you not want to check out the cinema but being in Los Angeles where movies are such a key to the infrastructure, you tend to be able to get through most flicks without telling someone to go outside and seeing if their response is going to be compliance or getting into it.  I'm fine with either one.

In no order, some of the flicks I enjoyed this year:

Sabotage: "Look at you with your fucking 48% body fat!"
Arnold in a mature, raw, ridiculous action thriller.  David Ayer's street, bro-down style makes little sense but I loved it and told Sam Worthington so in person.

Snowpiercer: "I know what people taste like. I know that babies taste best." 
Crazy, sad, visual, violent, funny. Oh them Koreans and their post apocalyptic, 99% VS the 1% on a train tales. 

Frank: "Ginger crouton!"
Not so much a movie but more a sad/funny/weird experience about fitting in and mental health.  Michael Fassbender wearing a paper mache helmet for 95% of the running time shows you what kind of actor he is.

Guardians of the Galaxy and Captain America: The Winter Soldier: "It's real!"
Marvel again knocks it out of the park, giving audiences fun times without really challenging the genre and treating movies like television.

The Lego Movie: "Spaceship!"
One of the few kiddie movies I saw this year but uber cute, funny with a killer cast and interesting core message of everything being awesome.

Interstellar: "You don't believe we went to the moon?"
Something to be experienced and felt, in your heart from the emotions and your chest from the big ass sound system.  It's not a documentary so don't analyze it as such.  Otherwise I can punch holes in Guardians all day but since people had fun with it they don't think to nitpick it.

The Expendables 3: "I'll open up your meat shirt and show you your own heart."
Saw this thing 3 times in as many days.  Modern, sleek and entertaining it's less serious than I and not as weird goofy as II.  Gave up hope on a "good" Expendables movie after the first one and just went for the ride.  Wondering how it's failure will effect a potential fourth chapter.

Nightcrawler: "You're a lifetime too late!" and "Twerp."
One of the surprises of the year, funny, creepy and messed up Los Angeles movie about shock media and journalism.  Jake G is slowly turning me into a fan. Bill Paxton showing up always a plus.

Birdman: "I'm gonna crab up on your ass and choke you out!"
Beautiful, bizarre, Broadway.  Michael Keaton and Edward Norton are terrific.

Fury: "Best job I ever had."
David Ayer second appearance! Violent, brutal bromance of a World War II tank flick. Brad Pitt still has it.

The Almost Pacific Rim but Not Quite Award:  Edge of Tomorrow
Tom Cruise has yet to make a bad movie and this big sci-fi, time leaping, alien invasion romp is a lot of fun if a little repetitive.  Bill Paxton again.

Whoda Thunk: Let's Be Cops
Actually quite funny buddy action comedy with consistent laughs on a low budget and expectations.  Those New Girl guys are good together.

Surprised People Liked It So Much: John Wick
The moody, violent action flick was a nice run from Keanu Reeves but I honestly can't believe people liked the hitman flick as much as they let on. 

Almost Good But Not Quite: Robocop & Godzilla
Samuel L. Jackson opened and closed the Robo remake with gusto but in between it was pretty uneven and Joel Kinnaman ain't no Peter Weller, bro.  His faux Detroit tough guy turned lobotomized cyborg did nothing for me while Godzilla was hardly in his own movie and we're left with uninteresting human characters doing uninteresting things.  Godzilla was probably the biggest let down of the year.

Just Didn't Get It:
The Raid 2 - Amazing action yet mean spirited, overlong with a simple story that doesn't justify the running time.  Cut it down from 130 to 90 minutes and I'm sure there's a classic inside.
Gone Girl - A big budget Lifetime movie where serious adult actors utter "cool girl".
Lucy- Along with 3 Days to Kill shows that Luc Besson and company have an interesting method to crafting would be action movies but become a little too abstract while not sticking to their own made up rules.
Into the Woods - Beautiful yet boring, maybe if you like musicals.