Ernie Reyes Jr. Needs Your Help!

Martial artist turned actor Ernie Reyes, Jr. from TV's Sidekicks and movies like Red Sonja, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (as a fight double) and II (as a co-lead), Surf Ninjas and The Rundown needs our help! The 43 year old suffered kidney failure and is now on dialysis three times a week. A GoFundMe has been started by his sister to help raise money for a kidney transplant. At the time of this posting, over $20,000 of the $75,000 goal has already been raised. So throw in a few bones if you can spare. I met Reyes at San Diego Comic-Con last year and he was just the nicest guy. Looking into putting together a Ninja Turtle themed fund raiser soon. Until then Go Ninja, Go Ninja, Go! And Kwansu, dudes!

Motivate Monday: Matthew McConaughey

Oscar winner Matthew McConaughey delivered the commencement speech to over 4,000 University of Houston students a couple of weeks ago. The eccentric actor gave a lengthy talk about life, work and expectations while sharing some great advice taken from his own experience. Costing the school an estimated $140,000 to secure his services, McCon is said to have donated his speech fee of $120,000 to his charity the Just Keep Living Foundation. JKL helps high school students feel empowered to lead active lives and make healthy choices for their future. Simple truths like:

- Be less impressed with accomplishments and be more involved in achieving
- Life is not easy, it's not fair and never will be, don't be entitled, don't be a victim
- Happiness is different than Joy, Joy is constantly happening in the moment and process
- McCon measures success in fatherhood, being a good husband, health, career and friendships
- Who you are not is as important as who you are, strip away the excess
- Turn the page, own up to mistakes, let go of guilt and regret
- Good luck and just keep living

McConaughey spoke much more in depth with examples and stories from his life and career. From the skeezy guy who likes high school girls in Dazed and Confused to a dragon slaying crazyman in Reign of Fire to an award winning actor for playing an AIDs patient, the actor shows us that the only limits are the ones we impose on ourselves. Read his speech in it's entirety over at TIME.

This, I Demand! Maggie

Another Friday night, another movie on Amazon along with some burgers and fries. Too tired to make it out to Beverly Hills for some big screen Kirk Douglas action in The Vikings (I'm sorry Kirk!), we stayed in and checked out the latest from one Arnold Schwarzenegger; the low budget zombie-drama Maggie. The Henry Hobson directed, John Scott 3 film was given a small release the same week as Pound of Flesh and Skin Trade, we didn't make it over to the Sundance Cinemas to see it on the big screen. It was a marked change of pace for The Oak as the film cost under $10 million bucks and wasn't exactly a typical action movie in the Schwazenegger vein. Instead, it's a quiet, somber and mildly paced look at family and the father/daughter dynamic.

Set in small town America outside Kansas City, a necroambulist plague has struck the country basically turning people into brain dead, flesh eating zombies. Society hasn't completely collapsed as police and doctors are still around. Medical professionals can't stop the infection but they do know how it works. After being bitten, you still have several weeks before you need to be put in quarantine to basically be poisoned or eaten. Wade Vogel (Arnold) goes to the city to find his runaway daughter Maggie (Abigail Breslin) as she doesn't want to burden the family. Wade brings her home and they try to enjoy their remaining time. But it's only a matter of tick tocks before Maggie's flesh begins to rot and she wants to devour some human flesh.

Maggie is a quiet movie. It's a slow one too. There's a few scares and some terrific ambiance of quiet farms and woods and quick glimpses of broken down society. Arnold puts in solid work as the sad dad trying to "rescue" his daughter and Breslin does fine as the teenage daughter dealing with an unbelievable but inevitable end. Somehow you buy Arnold as a farmer and in a probable first, he rocks a cardigan and looks Damme good in it. It's an interesting conundrum, watching your daughter die and trying to protect her from those who would take her away. But in the end, nobody wants to let their friends or family go yet when the infected endanger the rest of society, it's a bit selfish to want to be left alone isn't it?

After Arnold ended his term as Governor, there was much excitement about what his first film project would be. There was Cry Macho, about a horse trainer sent to Mexico to retrieve a runaway kid and their bonding journey back home. That sounded like an interesting role for the older Arnold but the project fell by the wayside. Hopefully Maggie leads to more quiet films from The Oak as I'm not overly interested in him rehashing former glory. But after the failures of The Last Stand and Sabotage, those are just the times we're living in.

Macho Moments: The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance

First and only time I ever saw John Ford's The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance in a theater was during writer/director Edgar Wright's programming at The New Beverly Cinema. Basically, Wright selected two weeks worth of films he'd never seen before and experienced them with an audience. 1962's Liberty Valance is a classic western about big ideal lawyer Ransom Stoddard (James Stewart), who travels to the wild west and gets brutally whipped by the outlaw Liberty Valance (a really mean Lee Marvin) during a stagecoach robbery. Setting up in town, Stoddard is saved and schooled by manly man Tom Doniphon (John Wayne) and told that western law doesn't adhere to what's printed in a book. Stoddard works to turn the territory into a state and civilize the land but a confrontation with Valance just keeps trucking towards him.

During a busy dinner scene, Stoddard is doing women's work of serving food to help out the folks who took him in. Valance and his cronies (young Lee Van Cleef and Strother Martin) waltz in, scare off some cowboys and sit down for a huge steak dinner. Still bearing the scars from Valance's whip, Stoddard steels himself and goes about his work but Valance just won't let him and trips him, spilling a tray of steak, beans, potatoes and deep dish apple pie. That's when Doniphon stands up and delivers "That's my steak, Valance" and a true, defining movie Macho Moment is upon us. I remember laughing and applauding in the theater because it was just too perfect a scene. Valance is set up to be this hardcore outlaw but you're not sure if he actually is because he always has back up. Doniphon isn't the type to back down and is more or less just looking for a reason to put Valance six feet under. Stoddard can't believe how kill crazy these people are and picks up the steak himself.

Liberty Valance was a critical and commercial hit upon release, grossing $8 million bucks off a $3.2 million dollar budget, making it the 16th highest grossing film of 1962. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Costume Design and spawned a Top Ten hit for singer Gene Pitney. But the James Warner Bellah and Willis Goldbeck scripted film wasn't a very pleasant shoot according to some of it's stars as Ford, who was a big part of Wayne's rise to stardom, needled the actor endlessly for not making it in the NFL like co-star Woody Strode or enlisting in World War II like Stewart. The two had been working together for over a decade and would reunite just a year later for Donovan's Reef. In 2007 the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant".

Hey Arnold: June Boom

No June Gloom for Arnold as the King of Kings, Lord of Lords is still a historical and media force to be reckoned with. Breakthrough sci-fi action thriller Total Recall celebrated it's 25th anniversary this past Monday, reminding us that Paul Verhoeven is a mad cinematic genius and that the Colin Farrell remake was laaaaame! The Oak hit Rio for the Arnold Classic Brazil where over 25 competitions in martial arts, power lifting, bodybuilding, chess and pole dancing(?!) took place. Terminator: Genisys promotion is in full swing with billboards around town and TV spots aplenty. Original creator James Cameron lent his support to the new endeavor and told Arnold he loved the flick. The original B-movie, Tech-Noir masterpiece will be playing nationwide as part of Cinemark's Fathom Events starting on June 14th. If that's not enough Arnold for you, and it better frigging not be, you can catch classics Predator and Kindergarten Cop (and tons of other summer classics) via The Arclight Cinemas and of course, as his first iconic role in Conan the Barbarian and Destroyer with me and special guests at The Egyptian Theatre on Saturday, June 27th.

Workout of the Day: Van Damme's Heart & Swole

Van Damme is back! Professionally, physically and mentally at least. New movie Pound of Flesh hit theaters and VOD in May, he's in the best shape of recent years and his impending divorce has now been called off. Speaking with TMZ on a near regular basis outside Gold's Gym, Van Damme has discussed life, love and lifting in some great videos.

"Divorce is a word and love is a feeling." Hoping to keep the family strong, support the children and cut down on the world's divorce rate, Jean-Claude and 3rd/5th wife Gladys have decided to work things out. Former bodybuilder Gladys has always been the rock in Van Damme's life, a saint in the eyes of his family and friends.

"Some people take medication, some people go the gym." Of course our man Van has always been an inspiration physically speaking and it's great to see him in terrific shape. Hopefully for a new action packed movie. Training at the legendary Gold's Gym in Venice, Van Damme is looking ripped, vascular and statuesque. Having long advocated a near vegetarian eating plan with lots of vegetables, fruit, pasta and bread, Van Damme eats meat very rarely as animals have eyes hence they have a soul. In terms of reps, JCVD talks light weight and high reps. Like 4 sets of 25 high. Van Damme has always been a very methodical lifter, making each repetition count with slow form and total concentration of exercises like Dumbbell Preacher Curls, Side Lateral Raises, Machine Rows, Shoulder Press and Dumbbell Triceps extensions.

(Pre)Ask Me a Question: Conan the Barbarian Double Feature

You like fantasy movies? You know the kind filled with swords and sorcery, wizards and wonder, creatures and curses? Of course you do. Before there was Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings or the Harry Potter series, flicks like Legend, Labyrinth, Conan and Dragonslayer lit up the imaginations of 80's kids around the world. Equal parts fairy tale and nightmare, these movies are exciting, otherworldly and visually stunning adventures. After their hugely successful Space Invaders: Sci-Fi in the Arcade Age programming that included Alien, Blade Runner, Tron and The Last Starfighter, The American Cinematheque is back with another crowd pleasing line up; Dungeons, Dragons and Demons: '80's Fantasy Favorites. Yours truly is hosting a Conan the Barbarian and Destroyer double feature in a co-presentation with The Cinematheque and premiere Arnold Schwarzenegger fansite, The Arnold Fans!

Check out the incredible line up starting on Thursday, June 18th at the Egyptian Theatre:

The Beastmaster and The Sword and the Sorcerer | Thursday, June 18th
Return to Oz and The Company of Wolves | Friday, June 19th
The Dark Crystal | Saturday, June 20th
The Last Unicorn and The Flight of Dragons | Saturday, June 20th
Clash of the Titans and Hercules, Sunday | Sunday, June 21st
Legend and Labryinth | Friday, June 26th
Conan the Barbarian and Conan the Destroyer | Saturday, June 27th
Ladyhawke and Dragonslayer | Sunday, June 28th

All shows except The Dark Crystal are being shown at The Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood and start at 7:30 PM. Dark Crystal is a Family Matinee at The Aero in Santa Monica and starts at 3:00 PM.

If you're keeping track, the program harnesses the power of Marc Singer, Don Coscarelli, Albert Pyun, Fariza Bulk, Walter Murch, Neil Jordan, Arthur Rankin, Jr., Jules Bass, Jeff Bridges, Christopher Lee, John Ritter, James Earl Jones, Ray Harryhausen, Laurence Olivier, Lou Ferrigno, Tom Cruise, Mia Sara, Ridley Scott, Jim Henson, David Bowie, Jennifer Connelly *swoon*, John Milius, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mako, Rutger Hauer, Richard Donner and Matthew Robbins!

Special guests are still being announced but Mia Sara (Timecop, Ferris Bueller's Day Off) and Brian Henson (Farscape, The Muppets) will attend Legend and Labyrinth.

For Conan the Barbarian and Destroyer I'm excited to share that legendary comic book artist, author and production designer William Stout (First Blood, Masters of the Universe, Pan's Labyrinth) and Golden Globe winning actress Sandahl Bergman (Conan's Valeria, All That Jazz, Hell Comes to Frogtown) will be joining us for Q&A!

In typical Dammaged Goods fashion, more guests and special events will be announced soon. Until then, pray to Crom and pick up your TICKETS!

What the Flick?! Big Trouble In Little China Remake

1986's cult classic Big Trouble In Little China is one of my favorite movies. I saw the oddball tale of blowhard trucker Jack Burton who gets caught up in a kidnapping, in between rival Chinatown gangs and ancient mysticism complete with sorcery on cable channel TBS one night as a youth and have loved it ever since. Rumors of a sequel have long persisted with a TV show once bandied about. The closest we've come is an ongoing comic book series from BOOM! Studios. Although the film has lived on through cable, VHS and DVD, it was still a flop upon release. Costing a sturdy $25 million bucks plus marketing, the film only brought in $11 million at the box office. On their entertaining commentary, director John Carpenter and star Kurt Russell talk about the film's legacy with the actor wondering if the film has finally made it into the black after all these years. Carpenter answered that by simply asking, "where are my checks?" so by Hollywood accounting, the film has not made money.

News of a sequel hit the internet like a bolt of lightening Monday night with news that Thor and X-Men: First Class scribes Ashely Miller and Zack Stentz pitched an update to rights holder Fox and closed a deal to script. The bigger news? Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson was in talks to star as Burton and produce as the original is one of his favorite films.  Miller is a convention staple, appearing on numerous panels on genre flicks and writing so his heart is obviously in the right place. Johnson is coming off his first solo headlining hit, San Andreas, after years of reinvigorating franchises while being unable to launch his own. At first glance, he seems like a terrible choice. His over the top persona and invincible physicality would negate the original character who was always in over his head, talking a big game then getting kicked across the room and not being able to hold his own in a fight. Sidekick Wang Chi (Dennis Dun) and crusty cool old guy Egg Shen are the real heroes of Big Trouble as they're the ones who fill us in on what's going down in Chinatown and Chi punches, kicks, flips, flies and sword fights his way through goons while Burton knocks himself out or gets trapped under a fallen villain and misses the battle.

Beyond that, is Hollywood really going to bankroll a film where the cast is 90% Asian? If you'll recall, the original has Kurt Russell, Kim Cattrall and Kate Burton but every other significant role is filled by the likes of James Hong, Dun, Victor Wong, James Lew, Donald Li, on and on. This is the studio that gave us a totally white version of Orange County on TV and the showrunner removed minority characters from scripts. AKA a Six Demon Bag of slightly racist and melodramatic lame. They also botched the original release by A) not getting the movie and B) having no idea how to market it. Head of studio commented that Jack Burton wasn't too good of a hero, completely missing the point. Johnson is a funny guy, maybe he sees this as a chance to go back to doing some comedy that isn't kiddie friendly like The Tooth Fairy or The Gameplan. If he diffuses his physical presence by constantly being beat up by mystically strong baddies, having no idea what's going on, talking a big game but ending up with lipstick on his face, etc, it could totally work. But if he plans on just bulldozing his way through tossing funny one liners and not knowing he's supposed to be the sidekick, we're in Biiiig Trouble. And not the Tim Allen ensemble cast kind.

Motivate Monday: Shia LaBeouf & Jean-Claude Van Damme

It's Monday and it happens to be the first of June. While still a little gloomy in Los Angeles (May gray, June gloom) there's no chance of a case of the Mondays over here. Refreshed from the long Memorial Day weekend and headed for the Conan double feature, July 4th for Anime Expo and San Diego Comic-Con the following week, there's always something to look forward work towards. Here's a couple clips to keep you going.

The first features one Shia LaBeouf, the often troubled but talented actor who has made movies with the likes of Steven Spielberg and Michael Bay while seemingly losing his mind. A hilarious appearance on Jimmy Kimmel explained one of his wild nights out that included traveling internationally, soccer, whiskey, cabaret, grabbing Alan Cummings' ass and being given an Egg McMuffin in jail after being arrested. Here he is getting you pumped up:

Next up is one Jean-Claude Van Damme who will be speaking at the Global Business Forum in Kazakhstan in November. In typical fashion, Van Damme is open, honest and in crazy shape:

Remember when these two were on Jay Leno and it was kind of weirdly awesome? Great times. Now get out there and kick your Monday in the face! Shia, JCVD and I believe in you!

This, I Demand! Results

Catch that Serpentor reference there? If not, go watch some G.I. Joe and get back to me. You've heard of VOD right? Video On Demand? Or see it on iTunes? These days plenty a movie will get a small release in markets like Los Angeles and New York, some press and then hit Demand services where you can watch brand new movies in the comfort of your home. Generally for less the cost of an evening movie ticket. Dolph Lundgren and Tony Jaa's Skin Trade hit VOD weeks before the theatrical release and Arnold Schwarzenegger's Maggie just landed in a handful of theaters to hype up the digital release. It's an interesting and cost effective way to unleash a flick. Instead of spending tens of millions of dollars on promotions, tie-ins and premieres, cast and crew hit a few talk shows, do some online videos and attend a small premiere. Then we get to come home from a long week, kick back on the couch with a bag full of fast food, a glass of whiskey and hit BUY on our remote control. In this case it was via Amazon Prime where I had some promo bucks, I think from using non-rush shipping. Thanks Amazon!

I had seen plenty of advertising for Magnolia's latest release, the romantic dramedy Results, on Facebook, about the lives of personal trainers something or other. Guy Pearce and Cobie Smulders (How I Met Your Mother, Avengers) headlined a pretty decent cast that included Kevin Corrigan (The Departed), Giovanni Ribisi (Avatar), Anthony Michael Hall (Weird Science) and Brooklyn Decker (Battleship). Written and produced by busy indie guy Andrew Buljaski (Computer Chess), Results finds Pearce's buffed up Trevor running a successful gym/lifestyle joint called Fitness 4 Life or 4 Points Fitness something or other. He's looking to expand to bigger and greater things to spread the gospel of taking care of yourself to achieve physical, spiritual and mental shape. His top trainer is the direct and kind of pissed off Kat (Smulders) who stops clients in the street to shame them for eating cupcakes and being late on their dues. Along comes Danny (Corrigan) a shambolic and weird yet well off guy whose just been dumped. Looking to get in shape, he enlists Trevor's help and Kat is dispatched to his bougie yet empty house to start getting ripped. Lines are crossed, people get ticked, hearts get kind of broken, weights are lifted and many an online work out video is watched.

Results is a weird movie. It has it's funny and odd moments but you're just not sure where it's going or what it's doing. By the end it's revealed to be a sweet and simple romantic comedy about two individuals stripping away their baggage and accepting one another. But on the way you get lots of claustrophobic shots in bland offices and the empty house along with lingering scenes where people just kind of hang out. Austin and parts of Texas are mentioned as the locale but nearly everything is shot in nondescript homes and empty streets so there's no character provided. A detour to see a kettlebell guru (Hall) and his wife (Decker) provides a few laughs and enlightenment that the leads realize they might love each other. Everything seems to go on for a while and there's even a couple of montages pre and post a mention of Rocky showing life going great for Trevor and Danny working out. There are some nice visuals as Trevor envisions and walks his dream gym and juice bar but the overall pedestrian use of locations makes Results feel like a bit of a home movie with famous people in it. If you like any of the actors and have your laptop or tablet nearby, Results isn't the worst way to spend $6 bucks or 100 minutes and did inspire me to go work off that fast food.

Workout of the Day: Guy Pearce

Guy Pearce is no stranger to having his shirt off for a flick but he's usually looking pretty skinny. I remember thinking he had a pretty solid but slim build in 2000's Memento and wasn't surprised when I learned he had done some bodybuilding as a teenager. His mom would take him to the gym and while she took a swim, Guy was pumping weights and doing circuit training. That lead to winning a local contest at age 16 but nothing much more came of it. Cut to 2012 and after years of headlining some really random movies and embodying eclectic roles like L.A. Confidential, Ravenous, The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Dessert and Bedtime Stories, Pearce went full action hero mode for Lockout.

More or less a sci-fi mash up of Escape From New York and Die Hard, Lockout didn't light the box office on fire but remains a visually interesting and entertaining action flick. Having just played a vain playboy in The King's Speech, Pearce's Snow is a vast change of pace being a smart ass anti-hero type, a guy who has a quip for every question and walks around with some yoked out pipes. There's fist fights, space fights, shootouts and one liners galore. Nearly every piece of press on the film focused on Pearce's transformation. In an age when getting in shape lands you lead roles (hello, Chris Pratt), I was surprised Pearce didn't land on the cover of Men's Health, Fitness, Journal, Diary whatever talking about bulking up. Maybe he did but I didn't see it on the ol' internets.

While definitive workout plans remain elusive, Pearce constantly referred to his youth in the gym and muscle memory coming into play. The only real details gleaned are that he spent a month prior to shooting hitting the weights after directors and writers James Mather and Stephen St. Leger dubbed him a bit skinny. While on location in Serbia for the 3 month shoot, Pearce says he worked out 5 days a week in the gym and consumed lots of protein powder and local meat. Like fellow actors Ryan Reynolds and Daniel Craig, Pearce has some great genetics and a build that easily accommodated an extra 20 pounds of beef. Pearce did many of his own stunts, hanging from wires, getting burnt by a ricochet shell casing and roughing around with stunt guys who all compared him (unfavorably) to Gerard Butler who had just left town. Apparently Pearce didn't lift as much weight or drink as much booze or party as late as Butler.

Pearce is in shape again for the just released Results, a weird, pseudo romantic comedy about personal trainers. He looks great in the flick, muscular and cut with the extra weight in his face taking away some of that menacing angular-ness. Again, working out was a key topic for promotion but Pearce again chalked it up his past in the fitness realm but worked on upping his cardio for the running scenes. Having buffed up for the under performing Lockout and already appearing in a comic book movie as a villain in Iron Man 3, we'll see what next role will find the 47 year old Australian hitting the weights next for.

Macho Moments: From Here to Eternity

Welcome to Macho Moments, a look at some of my favorite random scenes in movies that just make you go, "oh shit!" or "somebody's gonna get it!". Our first installment takes us back to 1953's From Here to Eternity. Based on the best selling novel by James Jones, the 800 page tome was thought to be unfilmable. Director Fred Zinnemann and writer Daniel Taradash proved that wrong as the film was a huge hit of the decade and won 8 Oscars (we saw one of them at the Sony Lot this week, nice timing eh?). Playing on Turner Classic Movies this past Memorial Day weekend, I sat down for the flick and somehow enjoyed it even more than in the past. Chronicling the daily military base drama of Pearl Harbor before the 1941 attacks, Eternity boasts a stellar cast that includes Burt Lancaster as a Sergeant falling for his Captain's wife, Deborah Kerr as the suffering trophy wife, Montgomery Clift as a bugler and boxer who won't fight anymore, Frank Sinatra as a wise-cracking trouble maker and Ernest Borgnine as a mean and violent military prison boss.

While the film is known for it's iconic beach scene of Lancaster and Kerr smooching in the surf, the scene I remember most is the bar fight. Sinatra's Angelo Maggio and Borgnine's "Fatso" Judson have already butted heads over choice of music and racist taunts. Enjoying the bar scene during a weekend pass, Judson makes a crude remark about Maggio's sister which leads the whipper snapper to smacking the larger man in the back of the head with a bar stool! Judson whips out a knife and it looks like someone is going to the hospital until badass and oh so cool guy Sgt. Milton Warden aka Burt Lancaster steps in. Apparently Warden is one of the best soldiers around having already fought in Asia. When Judson fails to back down, Warden kicks it into badass mode and breaks a bottle, ready to get the killing started. Phew! Great scene by all involved as you're just waiting for the shit to go down. Especially Lancaster, who was headlining his first big studio feature and would go on to box office and award glory in roles like Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, Sweet Smell of Success and Elmer Gantry in the ensuing years.