22 Bullets (2010) (L'immortel)

Do you, like me, find it rather odd that the French makes excellent action movies? With Luc Besson punching the cinema world with his trademark violent action films with such artistic flair? Its odd because we tend to equate the French with love stories, erotica and general delicateness. Apparently not so. They kick ass. Which is good news for action addicts, with this new film coming under his wing.

The Skinny: Amazingly based on a true story 22 Bullets tells the story of  retired mobster left for dead with 22 bullets pumped into his body. But he doesnt die. And now he wants revenge. Manic destructive mayhem ensues.

The Helmer: Richard Berry 

- 22 Bullets (2010).. aka "L'immortel" - France (original title) 

- The Black Box (2005)... aka "La boîte noire" - France (original title)

-  I, Cesar (2003)... aka "Moi César, 10 ans 1/2, 1m39" - France (original title)

-  L'art (délicat) de la séduction (2001)

- "3000 scénarios contre un virus" (1 episode, 1994) 

- Préservatif, une preuve d'amour (1994) TV episode

Release Date: 24th March 2010 (Belgium)

Tagline: Shedded Blood Never Dries 

The Casts: Jean Reno , Gabriella Wright , Richard Berry, Kad Merad, Marina Fois, Fani Kolarova

The Prediction: Jean Reno is as French as they come, in the world of Hollywood films, having done his time doing mainly action/comedy flicks over the ages. Which is why us Hollywood movie goes tend to forget that this is one serious guy with serious acting chops. And to finally see him in a heavy crime drama is indeed a welcomed change, especially since his last notable collaboration with Luc Besson was in the very watchable The Professional (1994) way back in the 90s. Which is long overdue. So yeah, this looks good, very good. 

Trailer

Hold My Gun (2010)

On some days, I like dramas; especially when theres a pinch of action and intrigue. Which is why when a solid drama comes along that promises good acting, solid scripting and definitive genre representation I'm lost in the world of good cinema. Which is why this particular movie stands out for me. 

The Skinny: Loan sharks launch an all out campaign to seek and destroy rival loan shark with disastrous results. Rolled into the mix is ex-con turned street fighter Joe who is on the path of vengeance, against  both rival gangs. 

Release Date: December 2010 

Tagline: When You Have Nothing to Hang On To, Hold My Gun 

Helmer: Joseph C. Alfredo - Night of the Dancing Demons (1978), I Hurt You You Hurt Me (1981), The Bleeding Hand (1983), Much Ado About Nothing 2 (1983), Henchmen (1983), Mr. Lunchtime (1984), Greater Heights (2003), Keep On Truckin' (2003), Mariachi's Revenge 3 (2003), Hello Goodbye (2008)

The Casts: Henry James, Takeshi Miicke, Hubert Aja, Danielle Stapts, Barbara Stiles, William H Gacey

The Prediction: Controversial helmer C Alfredo is back in action after his recent incarceration; accused of stealing $10,000,000 worth of film equipment from several Hollywood studios, this gut-busting action director is set to use his own personal experience in the world of mob violence into a touching, tender yet graphically violent movie of redemption. Not quite so subtle with his inner motives, Hold My Gun manages to successfully explore and to some extent, explain, why violence is the only solution. After the Expandables, the recent vacuum of solid action is filled in by Hold My Gun. Damn straight I'm going to see this flick. 

Trailer

Official Site

Hatchet II (2010)

 

The first Hatchet movie back in 2006 was hailed as a welcomed return to American old-school horror, which was at that time overrun with Japanese / Thailand / Korean rip-offs by apparently dried-up Hollywood horror writers.What Hatchet brought to the screen was a straight forward, hugely deformed, swamp dwelling horror villain by the name of Victor Crowley, who dispatches his victims with the aforesaid titular hatchet. It was good old fashion head-slashing, limb-tearing, screaming fun with corresponding screaming and scrambling victims. There were good jolts and some pretty decent kills which were refreshing and new. Theres also a brief backstory to Crowley which explained why he kills (it was because he was taunted by cruel children when he was young boy, which led to the death of his caring dad) and why he became this unstoppable monster; a safe mix of Jason Voohees (without the mask) and Michael Myers. The first Hatchet had Joel Moore, (the nerd-dude in Avatar) as the hero who unwittingly joins a group of tourist who takes an unexpected turn from fun to horror when their boat tanks in the middle of the New Orleans bayou. Onboard with the rest of victims is plucky Tamara Feldman who climbs on board with a loaded gun and a single-minded objective of killing Victor Crowley who had killed her family much earlier. And now we have a sequel.

The Skinny: New Orleans bayou has its favorite son carving up some innocent flesh but this time, lone survivor of the first installment is back for revenge. Again.

The Tagline: Victor Crowley Lives Again / Hang On to All Your Pieces.

Release Date: October 2010

The Helmer: Adam Green

1. Hatchet II (2010)
2. Frozen (2010/I)
3. The Tivo (2009)
4. Saber (2009)
5. Fairy Tale Police (2008)
6. The Tiffany Problem (2008)
7. "Winter Tales" (2007) TV mini-series
8. King in the Box (2007)
9. Spiral (2007/I)
10. Cheerleader Camp (2007) (TV)
11. Hatchet (2006)
12. Coffee & Donuts (2000)

The Casts: Danielle Harris, Tony Todd, Kane Hodder

The Prediction: I like horror movies - although I can't decide which I like better: zombies or slashers. Both type of horror villains are unstoppable and relentless and both possibly stinking like hell. Since there is no new zombie movies worth mentioning (except for the new TV show "Walking Dead"), Hatchet II is highly appreciated especially as it has Kane Hodder as Crowley. Kane Hodder is old school horror icon having played Jason Voorhees in Friday the 13th parts 7 and 8, and, as Jason again in Jason Versus Freddy. Great horror moments there brought back through the decades. If this second installment is as good as the first one, then bring it on, big guy!

Trailer 

Wikipedia'sTake on Hatchet 2 

Official Site 

The Town (2010)

I have mixed feelings about bank heist movies - they can be incredibly boring, predictable or just dull. Or, then can be very, very exciting if the surrounding plot shines equally if not brighter than the main thrust of the bank robbing plot, such as Dog Day Afternoon (1975), The Bank Job (2008), or even Quick Change (1990). Because essentially, bank robbery movies tend to focus on the a. the robbers robbing the bank, b. the bank customers quivering in fear, c. the tense stand-off between robbers and cops. Which spells boredom. However, in the case of Ben Affleck's co-written and directed The Town, based on Chuck Hogan's Prince of Thieves, a gritty crime thriller based in Boston, it may be different. Lets have a look-see. Especially since I was pretty much inspired by his rendition of Dennis Lehane's Gone Baby, Gone (2007), which had a definite look and feel to it. Nice.

The Skinny: bank robber Doug MacRay is romantically torn between the bank manager of the bank he is robbing, and the FBI agent that is investigating his previous heists. But he has a job to do ... cue bank robbing antics. The full synopsis taken from imdb.com:

"Doug MacRay (Ben Affleck) was born and raised in Charlestown, a blue-collar neighborhood in Boston, where crime is a part of life. Charlestown is the world's capital for carjacking, kidnappings, and armed robberies. The tricks of the criminal trade are passed down from father to son. Doug is the brains and ruthless leader of a gang of bank robbers who have been able to get out clean after each bank robbery. But Doug knows that his luck will not last forever, and he is looking for one last big heist that will give him the chance to leave the town in his rear-view mirror. But no one will let him, especially, his right-hand man Jeremy (James Coughlin); because he believes that it would be a personal betrayal to him, and he is not going to allow that. In a recent bank job, Doug forced the bank manager Claire (Rebecca Hall) to open the safe, and then took her hostage as leverage for the getaway, and eventually setting her free unharmed. Doug knows that he should leave Claire alone, but she only lives four blocks from him, and he can handle it, but he begins to fall for her. Their romantic involvement is about to take them down a perilous path. Douglas Young (the-movie-guy)"

Category: Crime / Drama / Thriller 

Release Date: 8th October 2010

The Helmer: Ben Affleck

1. The Town (2010)
   
2. Gimme Shelter (2008) (V)
3. Gone Baby Gone (2007)
   
4. I Killed My Lesbian Wife, Hung Her on a Meat Hook, and Now I Have a Three-Picture Deal at Disney (1993)

The Casts: Ben Afflec; Rebecca Hall, Jon Hamm, Jeremy Renner, Blake Lively, Slaine, Owen Burke, Chris Cooper 

The Prediction: This looks like a good movie with honest to goodness hard men leading the way. You've got powerhouse Chris Cooper and you've got Jeremy Renner still fresh from the Hurt Locker and soon to be in the Avengers. Its a great combination with Affleck helming; provided he maintains his excellent visual style and editing with Gone Baby Gone. Its been a while since we've been treated to something solid and gritty ... check out the trailer, its smooth but its hard. Kinda like me. Hoho.

Trailer

Wikipedia's Take

Official Site

Let Me In (2010) Remake

I haven't seen the original Swedish movie from which this remake is based on, from my my readings of reviews from several sources it appears that the original film Let the Right One In (2008) kicked ass. Mainly because it was a touching story of friendship between two young kids. Only difference was that one of the kids was a vampire. Cue awkward vampire violence moments ... 

The Skinny: A young bullied kid befriends his neighbour who just happens to be a vampire. 

The Helmer: Matt Reeves - 

1. Untitled Cloverfield Sequel (2012) (announced) (rumored)
   
2. Let Me In (2010)
   
3. Cloverfield (2008)
   ... aka "1-18-08" - USA (promotional title)
   ... aka "Monstrous" - USA (promotional title)
   ... aka "Cloverfield: Hakaisha" - Japan (English title)
4. "Conviction" (1 episode, 2006)
       - Pilot (2006) TV episode
5. "Miracles" (1 episode, 2003)
       - The Ferguson Syndrome (2003) TV episode
6. "Felicity" (5 episodes, 1998-2001)
       - The Declaration (2001) TV episode
       - The Slump (2000) TV episode
       - Felicity Was Here (1999) TV episode
       - The Last Stand (1998) TV episode
       - Pilot (1998) TV episode
7. "Gideon's Crossing" (1 episode, 2000)
       - The Gift (2000) TV episode
   
8. "Homicide: Life on the Street" (1 episode, 1997)
   ... aka "Homicide" - USA (informal short title)
       - All Is Bright (1997) TV episode
9. "Relativity" (1 episode, 1997)
       - Billable Hours (1997) TV episode
10. The Pallbearer (1996)
    ... aka "Happy Blue" - Japan (English title)
11. Future Shock (1994) (segment "Mr. Petrified Forrest") 

The Casts: Chloe Moretz, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Richard Jenkins, Elias Koteas, Sasha Barrese, Cara Buono

Release Date: 1st October 2010 

The Tagline: Innocence dies. Abby doesn't. 

The Prediction: Hollywoodizing movies from the far east (both Europe and Asia) is most often than not a hit and miss thing. It kinda makes me nervous, especially with the remake of the (again) Swedish Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2009) trilogy which I enjoyed tremendously. It depends largely on how close the remake wants to be with the original, and whether or not it can adapt the look and feel with the largely American audience. Its like the time USA hosted the soccer world cup ... be that as it may, sometimes, given the right helmer, with the right casts and the right intention it may actually work. Matt Reeves for me at least, is best remembered for Cloverfield, the monster-destroying-New-York-city handycam flick. Which was reasonably okay; not really great, but fascinating enough to be compelling. Is he strong enough to take over from Tomas Alfredson, the original Swedish helmer?  Looking at both trailers theres a distinct similarity of both films in terms of feel: cold, stark underlined with brutality and blood. Nice. But what sweetens the deal I suppose is the presence of the great Richard Jenkins and the very promising Chloe Moretz who played Hitgirl in Kick-Ass. Two very watchable casts.

Trailer

Trailer of "Let the Right One In"

Official site

Escape from New York (1981) Rewind

This is Kurt Russel at his ass-kicking best, as Snake Plissken: the eye-patch wearing, snarling bad-ass death-row inmate. You can't get a more anti-heroic character than this.

The Skinny: Soon to be executed prison inmate bad-ass Snake Plissken is given a chance at freedom if he can rescue the President of the United States who has crash-landed in New York city, the new prison of the future. Only catch is that the Prez is being held hostage by the Duke, the dude who runs the place, and he must do so within a specific time or else he is going to self-destruct, thanks to a device implanted in his body ...

The Helmer: filmMeister John Carpenter- 

1. L.A. Gothic (2010) (announced)
   
2. The Ward (2010)
   ... aka "John Carpenter's the Ward" - USA (complete title)
   
3. "Masters of Horror" (2 episodes, 2005-2006)
       - Pro-Life (2006) TV episode
       - John Carpenter's Cigarette Burns (2005) TV episode
4. Ghosts of Mars (2001)
   ... aka "John Carpenter's Ghosts of Mars" - USA (complete title)
   
5. Vampire$ (1998)
   ... aka "Vampires" - USA (original title)
   ... aka "John Carpenter's Vampires" - USA (complete title)
6. Escape from L.A. (1996)
   ... aka "John Carpenter's Escape from L.A." - USA (complete title)
7. Village of the Damned (1995)
   ... aka "John Carpenter's Village of the Damned" - USA (complete title)
8. In the Mouth of Madness (1995)
   ... aka "John Carpenter's In the Mouth of Madness" - USA (complete title)
9. Body Bags (1993) (TV) (segments "Gas Station, The" and "Hair")
   ... aka "John Carpenter Presents 'Mind Games'" - USA (cable TV title)
10. Memoirs of an Invisible Man (1992)
    
11. They Live (1988)
    ... aka "John Carpenter's They Live" - USA (complete title)
    ... aka "They Live!" - USA (poster title)
12. Prince of Darkness (1987)
    ... aka "John Carpenter's Prince of Darkness" - USA (complete title)
13. Big Trouble in Little China (1986)
    ... aka "John Carpenter's Big Trouble in Little China" - USA (complete title)
    ... aka "Ghost Hunters" - Japan (English title)
14. Starman (1984)
    ... aka "John Carpenter's Starman" - USA (complete title)
15. Christine (1983)
    ... aka "John Carpenter's Christine" - USA (complete title)
16. The Thing (1982)
    ... aka "John Carpenter's The Thing" - USA (complete title)
17. Escape from New York (1981)
    ... aka "John Carpenter's Escape from New York" - USA (complete title)
    ... aka "New York 1997" - Japan (English title)
18. The Fog (1980)
    ... aka "John Carpenter's The Fog" - USA (complete title)
    
19. Elvis (1979/I) (TV)
    ... aka "Elvis the Movie" - USA (informal title)
20. Someone's Watching Me! (1978) (TV)
21. Halloween (1978)
    ... aka "John Carpenter's Halloween" - USA (complete title)
22. Assault on Precinct 13 (1976)
23. Dark Star (1974)
    
24. Gorgon, the Space Monster (1969)
25. Gorgo Versus Godzilla (1969)
26. Sorceror from Outer Space (1969)
27. Warrior and the Demon (1969) (as Johnny Carpenter)
28. Terror from Space (1963)
29. Revenge of the Colossal Beasts (1962) 

The Verdict: Remember those sci-fi images of past years where u have muscular men fighting each other with clubs, in a death-ring of sorts, on some distant planet with one too many moons? This movie is that image. All the things you need to know about what its like to see living images of the damned in post-apocalyptic world is displayed here in all its glory. I've said it once, and I'll say it again, John Carpenter is indeed a master of this, and many other genres. Unfortunately, Escape from LA (1996) happened ... which it shouldnt. But still, even though the look and feel of this movie is kinda dated the character of Snake Plissken still stands the test of time ...

The News: theres been talk over the years of doing a remake of this movie, with my personal favorite Gerad Butler considered to be the one donning the eye-patch. But that was scrapped, and now we have possibly Timothy Olyphant taking over this role. Stranger things have happened I suppose, but I just don't see him playing the part that well, because he ain't no bad-ass ... Gerry Butler would have been the bad-asser of the two if you asked me. Now with Mad Max: Fury Road coming up fast, there may be a line of post-apocalyptic kick-assory films coming up ... which should re-ignite interest in Snake's reapparence on the big screen ... we can only hope. 

Trailer

Wikipedia's take

Vulture Blog on remake update

Animal Kingdom (2010)

Aside from horror and sci-fi, I love modern day gritty gangster movies. And surprisingly, apart from the usual up and coming Hong Kong triad-based gang-crime movies, I'm really impressed by the Australians and their take of organized crime. They appear to be in love with the whole romantic appeal of real life gangsters and gangbangers. I've seen the awesomness of the acclaimed true accounts of gangland warfare in the leafy suburbs of Melbourne in Underbelly and I've yet to see the legendary Chopper Read on the big screen; another true account real life gangster. Solid stuffs from down under I'd say. And now, once again, they've come up with the highly acclaimed "Animal Kingdom", Sundance Film Festival award for World Cinema Grand Dramatic Jury Prize in 2010. 

The Skinny: Young J. Cody is drawn in the violent world of organized crime as he scrambles around to stay alive as his dangerous crime family spirals down to a brutal showdown with a band of renegade homicide detectives led by veteran head-kicker Guy Pearce. 

imdb.com's summary: "Welcome to the Melbourne crime underworld, where tensions are on the brink of exploding between felons and renegade cops. The Cody brothers, a gang of armed robbers, are in the process of initiating their teenage nephew Joshua 'J' into their frightening world after the death of his mother and under the watchful eye of his matriarchal grandmother, Smurf."

The Helmer: David Michod 

1. Animal Kingdom (2010)
   
2. Inside the Square (2009) (V)
3. Solo (2008/II)
4. Netherland Dwarf (2008)
5. Crossbow (2007)
6. Ezra White, LL.B. (2006)

The Casts: Ben Mendelsohn, Joel Edgerton, Guy Pearce, Luke Ford, Jacki Weaver, Sullivan Stapleton, James Frecheville

Release Date: 3rd June 2010 (Australia)

The Prediction: For this to work, Guy Pearce must be as intensed as he was in the James Ellroy inspired LA Confidential masterpiece. But having said that, I'm sure this movie can stand on its own based on the Sundance prize it won, and the from the looks of the trailer. This is definitely going to work, and if given a worldwide release, may put Australia on the map of excellent gangster movies.By the way, the movie title simply rocks!

Trailer

Official site

Wikipedia's take