Stone Cold Steve Austin is a born hunter. That’s why he made Hunt to Kill.

Hunt To Kill (2010)

Director: Kenoi Waxman

Stars: Steve Austin, Gil Bellows, Gary Daniels, Eric Roberts

I’m surprised Stone Cold Steve Austin hasn’t been doing more film work since now. I remember when he was part of WWF Raw (you know before it became WWE) and occasionally cropped up in a handful of shows. Celebrity Deathmatch, Dilbert, Nash Bridges, Austin cropped up and even though it likely didn’t have the best of lines, he always gave that indomitable impression. Even when he cropped up in later films like The Longest Yard as an evil prison guard or as angry fist pounding henchman in The Expendables, I wonder why he hasn’t done more. It seems like a perfect combination for the generic action films to get some Stone Cold Stunners.

Things have changed this year, he’s done at least three films. One, obviously being The Expendables. Two of them direct to dvd affairs. The Stranger and Hunt To Kill. I do own both of them but I’ve just recently watched Hunt To Kill.

Why Hunt To Kill first? Well, it has Gary F**KING Daniels in it! Anything Gary Daniels, I’ll be there to watch it. Even if he has a short moment before being bumped off in a silly manner. Though truthfully those moments will never top his Expendables exit. But, regardless, that promise of Daniels and Austin smackdown was enough for me to watch this

Story wise, think Cliffhanger clone, just set in the woods of Montana. Ranger Stone Cold Steve Austin* and his daughter get caught up in a tiff between a group of thieves (Bellows, Daniels to name some of them) and their ex boss (Michael Hogan) who is trying to sneak into Canda through the woods with all the money they stole in Vegas. Typical criminal tiff and dragging the good guys into their sordid affair. What follows is 90 minutes of walking around the woods hunting for the money while Austin tries to find a way to escape with his daughter. It will ultimately end in a lot of killing and Stone Cold stunners!

I may have made the Stone Cold Stunners part up. Oh well, one can dream.

It’s nothing remarkable. However, I wasn’t expecting anything else but something to be midly amused with. Hunt To Kill is decently made, occasionally looking slightly more than a TV movie at times thanks to that high definition feel on the blu-ray. Austin still has a presence on the screen and can handle the action scenes well. As if I needed to think that through following the epic Stallone smackdown in The Expendables.  Hunt To Kill succeeds at giving cheap thrills.

The obvious set piece that stands out is the finale twenty minutes where Austin becomes villain hunter as he stalks about the woods, cammo painted and armed with improvised cross bow taking on everyone who stands in his way. He even spears a poor unsuspecting villian by throwing a log spike down a cliff. And yes, he does fight Gary Daniels. Daniels kicks Austin a lot with his martial arts skills, Austin smacks Daniels a lot old school WWF style. I’m a happy bunny. Like I said, cheap thrills on display here.

The only annoyance I had was simply the wait until Austin actually got on beating the villains. There’s plot to be made, sure. But at least try to make our troubled situation interesting. Why spend 75 minutes showing that the group of villains hate one another and like shouting a lot. Plus roles played by people like Eric Roberts and Michael Hogan are pretty much glorified cameos.

But are we expecting high class art from a Steve Austin straight to dvd film? No. We’re looking for an easy distraction on a boring night in. Hunt To Kill ticks the boxes and I hope Austin can progress from here.

* - Ranger Stone Cold Steve Austin is not Steve Austin's name in the film. But let's be honest, it's a kick-ass name in comparsion to Jim Rhodes.

Heat: modern cinema’s greatest tale of cops and robbers.

Heat (1995)

Director: Michael Mann

Stars: Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Val Kilmer, Tom Sizemore

It generally amazes me why I haven’t watched this yet. I like Michael Mann films, this should have been a much watch when I got the blu-ray ages ago. But work tends to get in the way of such fine things. That’s why weeks off work are great, you have the time simply settle down and watch engrossing films like this.

Heat is simply an epic tale of cops and robbers and everything around their fragile fractured lives. Pacino is too buried with his cop work to have a normal life; De  Niro is too professional with his armed robberies to remotely consider one. Both technically the same type of person caught at the opposite ends of the law. And eventually their paths are destined to cross. Mann style, of course.

I’m not in a position to write a grand written statement of adoration for this film but what I will say is that it’s a grand virtuoso of crime in 90s cinema. The way the story engrosses many of the supporting characters is great, the perfect executed moments of chaos in the armed robberies, complied with Mann’s unique visual style. The muted dark colours, the raw and realistic feel to proceedings. A great ensemble cast of reliable actors. It’s Mann at his finest.

Of course the big talking point I can’t really ignore is that scene in the diner. One of two scenes Pacino and De Niro are actually on screen together and it’s simply amazing to watch. Just a simple conversation between two guys on the opposite ends of the law over coffee, getting to know one another a little bit and sharing. You’d expect them just to shout at one another but this calm, thoughtful discussion. It left me speechless.

Suffice to say, I really love Heat. Why didn’t I watch this film sooner?

Being part of a family of cops could be bad. Why? Pride and Glory tells you.

Pride and Glory (2008)

Director: Gavin O'Connor

Stars: Edward Norton, Colin Farrell, Jon Voight

I remember watching Pride and Glory  at the cinema when it came out a few years ago. The film came hot on the heels of We Own The Night months after its release. A similar veined story about family life when practically everyone was a cop, this one had Marky Mark Walhberg and Joaquin Phoenix (before he went dooladdy). In comparison, We Own The Night was set in the 80s and Pride and Glory is a more modern take on the story. Personally, both are equally good films to watch if you’re a fan of gritty cop dramas especially after watching stuff like The Wire.

Basic plotline with Pride and Glory sees the relationships between a detective (Norton), his commanding officer brother (played by Noah Emmerich), their fellow officer brother in law (Farrell) and their father (Voight), who oddly enough is a higher up in the police authority too. This family of cops fragile relationship is pulled to near breaking point after a vicious multiple murder of cops during a drugs busts. Norton’s investigation soon turns up some nasty sour home truths inside Police HQ.

Pride and Glory is well executed. It won’t go down as the greatest moment in cop dramas but it has its moments. Moments of troubled family life and bonding are captured perfectly well against the usual clichéd backdrop of cop corruption. Pride and Glory succeeds in making being part of the police a sordid and almost depressing affair. Likely to attain a healthy balance of doing the right thing and having to live the consequences. Having a good talented cast with figures like Norton and Voight give proceedings its extra polish.

I forgot how unhinged Farrell’s character is in Pride and Glory. You want to know what I’m talking about, there’s one scene in the film that is a standout. A cop, a suspect, the suspect’s wife, the suspect’s baby, and an iron. It’s a chilling scene that adds to the bleakness of proceedings.

It ticks the boxes like any cop drama but it shouldn’t be ignored because of it. If you like your cop dramas, Pride and Glory is worth a look at the very least.

The Interceptor - Cold as Ice

The Interceptor (2009) 

Director: Konstantin Maximov

Stars: Igor Petrenko, Aleksandr Baluev, Andrey Chubchenko and Aleksey Dmitriev

The Interceptor was a film I’ve been meaning to see for a while. I picked it up cheaply on blu-ray for a small price, nothing I would complain about after watching the film. I had seen the trailer and, like Night Watch and Day Watch, looked like a great visual spin on science fiction.

I had watched a Russian sci-fi prior to this, Paragraph 78. A group of commandos get locked inside a quarantined research bunker and get infected with a deadly virus. Their decision, fight to the death – last one blows it all up. Fun times indeed, it saddens me that it’s still yet to get a release anywhere outside Russia (or Brazil).

But I’m digressing. The Interceptor from first glance seems to keep up the good work modern Russian cinema has had lately. If anything, The Interceptor is definitely visual with some great stunt work.

Apart from that, it just feels cold to its audience.

The basic plot sees mystical powerful people from a future time over watching Russia in 2013. These people identify that a great evil is coming to take over and decide to select a Russian special agent called Matvey (Petrenko) to be their weapon of justice against the growing evil. The evil creature, who looks like a villain from Resident Evil, takes its own host in this special’s agent former partner, Kurylo (Baluev), now arms dealer. Thus begins to journey towards their inevitable fight to the death.

Just first, throw in random subplots involving violent political vigilantes, a forgotten romance and a deadly psychosis weapon that can kill. Yep, silly games indeed. Oh a mysterious man who will teach Matvey the secret powers he's been keeping dormant.

As I said earlier, The Interceptor is filmed beautifully. There are some stonking barmy action sequences involving a car driving under a flipping jeep, as well as a great little punch up in a warehouse. There has clearly been a budget and its been used well. More entertaining that a fast cut MTV style actioner anyday.

The problem with The Interceptor is just it feels cold to anyone watching it. You don’t really get a sense of danger or a remote sense of connection with your ice cold hero, Matvey. He just plods from point a to b, effortlessly kicking ass, learning more powers. That’s it. He’s not really that charming. Plus it might require extra viewings to even remotely get an understand what the hell is going on with these mystical sci-fi lords that just pop in and out as we go on.

I could sum it up nicely as Highlander meets Bourne to a degree. If you like the current crop of Russian action and science fiction, The Interceptor is at least one watch. Just don’t expect it to be grateful for your time.

Bangkok Adrenaline – 99.9% Action Adrenaline. 0.01% Story.

Bangkok Adrenaline (2009)

Directed by: Raimund Huber

Stars: Daniel O’Neill, Jacob Miles, Conan Stevens, Raimund Huber

A blazing DVD cover, people flying in with kicks, the tagline of FEEL THE RUSH. For £5 at your local supermarket, Bangkok Adrenaline instantly falls into my “oh, this will be worth at least a watch” pile of straight to DVD actioners.

Incidentally, I watched this with friends, beer and curry. Perfect combination. If it’s not great, at least we’ll have a fun time with the film in some regards.

Fast forward 84 minutes later….here goes:

I will be upfront and honest about Bangkok Adrenaline first. When it comes to action sequences, this delivers in spades. Considering its likely low budget, the film has a cinematic glint to it and the action sequences fronted by Daniel O’Neil (A veteran of Jack Chan’s stunt team) are impressively choreographed well and would go perfectly in any big budgeted action feast.

The rest is a borderline mix of insulting and just poor, poor, poor, poor, acting and story.

My friend James summed this up perfectly during the viewing. It seems some one filmed a really good action sequence and decided to add things around it. He’s damn right here. This construction of a plot line revolves around four guys who go to Bangkok for a bloke’s holiday.

Within three minutes they owe gangsters lots and lots of money. They have a week to get the cash of get hurt. So they decide to do a bit of grafting. Nothing works. Then the four decide to kidnap some wealthy guy’s daughter to raise the cash. You know, simple botched kidnap movie of the week it seems.

I think that’s the story line, give or take. I can’t vaguely remember it simply because we were all too busy laughing at the film’s plot holes or just shaking our heads in disbelief at some of the shockingly bad production values everywhere else around the film’s action sequences. You know something’s wrong when half the subtitles are in just a green outline.

The story just ends up being a complete mess. If four guys are only in Thailand for a week or so, how the hell do they own a rundown house? How on earth in a week’s time do characters suddenly know all the best buddies in the world to come and help them? How on earth do they know how to use sleeping gas? Why can this girl only speak Thai and then speak clear English in a clear American accent? Someone explain to me how far that guy can run away without wondering where the hell is he? Who is that character and why have they just arrived? How can the love interest walk around a wine factory in just a towel? Who? What? Where? How? ARGGGH!

Sure, I’ve got no excuses for watching films like this with my experiences with Seagals, Van Dammes, Lundgrens. But, in their defence, they had plot lines and they were easily explained and a damn valid attempt at making a complete movie. There are so many moments, so many moments of character action and interaction that just doesn’t work here and it’s so infuriating. Even to my standards, it’s painful to watch. I don’t always look for plot holes but Bangkok Adrenaline just keeps digging holes that are just not needed.

There have been films that promote upcoming talent. Ong-Bak is one, Tony Jaa goes to find his missing statue. Perfectly fine, the acting isn’t remarkable but at least they try and it’s not embarrassing. Bangkok Adrenaline has talent that mumble through dialogue, have problems pronouncing words, or if they’re really lucky have the microphone pointed the other way.

It is that bad! Seriously.

The best thing I can say about Bangkok Adrenaline is it makes a nice show off of cool action sequences. They are really good. Better than most straight to DVD actioners. I shouldn't expect much and I wasn't expecting much. Apart from the pleasing action which I didn't expect to see at first, the whole thing is let down by some of the most god awful acting and storytelling I’ve seen in years.

And I expect that to come most of the time from a Seagal film at the very least.

It’s hip to be IP MAN! (Sorry…I know it’s a bad pun)

Ip Man (2008)

Director: Yip Wai-Shun

Stars: Donnie Yen, Simon Yam, Xiong Dai Lin, Hirouki Ikeuchi

So, first on my seven selected titles for my work holiday viewing is Ip Man. Another title in my growing collection of Donnie Yen, who in my humble opinion, is the best marital artist in cinema today. Bold statement, yes. But when you watch films like this, Dragon Tiger Gate, SPL (Kill Zone) or Flash Point, you’ll understand why.

Ip Man is a bit of departure for Yen. Playing out as a biopic based on Wing Chun master, Ip Man, it showcases Yen’s amazing fighting skills and his modestly humble acting skills in front of the camera.

The story revolves around Japan’s invasion of China during the Sino-Japanese War. Before the invasion, Ip Man (Yen) spends his early years practicing his Wing Chun skills. Admired by all in his town of Foshan, Ip Man gracefully declines repeatedly to teach his adoring friends and followers Wing Chun being the peaceful marital artist that he is. However when Japan invades, the invaders encourage Foshan fighters to fight for their amusement with the faint promise of getting food during the poverty stricken situation following the Japanese occupancy. With this act of brutality, Ip Man starts to reassess his previous decisions not to teach his craft as his friends and love ones start to suffer. In the vein of depression and military rule by Japan, Ip Man would go on to defy the Japanese invaders to his town in Foshan and inspire his fellow country men to rebel.

Like I said, this is technically a biopic that infuses wartime drama with intense close-quarter fight sequences (directed by Sammo Hung) and for fans of Donnie Yen, it is absolutely a must watch film. In comparison to his slicker, fast paced previous films, Ip Man is a subdued yet engaging human drama of overcoming oppression and this makes a wonderful change and its demonstrates the charismatic Hong Kong action icon’s range.

And with most recent Donnie Yen films, the fight work when it comes is superb. The main highlight to me is not one of the grand duels that we see early on in the film between Ip Man and aggressive out-of-towners but the eruption of Ip Man’s fury against the Japanese in a one vs ten man fight. The fluidity, brutality and perfect execution of this sequence is just superb.

Hong Kong is still producing great action cinema, most of the time, better than the western output spare a few singular moments (hands up Undisputed 2 & 3!). If you haven’t watched a Donnie Yen film, Ip Man is a perfect place to start.

Holiday!

I'm in a good mood considering the looming threats of snow, ice and the decimenation of all Christmas cheer this early in December.

I'm on holiday from work. For seven days.

YAY!

Anywhoo, this a movie blog and there is movie things to be done over these next seven happy days. I have scanned over my DVD & Blu-Ray collection and decided that I shall watch seven films over this next week. A fellow film viewer scoffed at this idea simply because he believed I wouldn't do it and thought I would be easily distracted by shiny objects, Steven Seagal, and likely too much Need For Speeding: Hot Pursuiting.

I will prove this man wrong!

So, the seven films I have selected are:

• Ip Man (Hong Kong 2008)
• The Brothers Bloom (US 2008)
• The Interceptor (Russia 2009)
• Heat (US 1995)
• Man Of Violence (UK 1968)
• Pride and Glory (US 2008)
• Mesrine (France 2008)

Out of these seven films I can tell you the following that there are four films listed here that I have never seen before. So it's a nice mix up of films I've haven't seen in a while and films that I've been interested in watching for some time now.

So, pay attention to the blog. I'll be talking about the first film on the list later today. IP MAN!