The world of 2013, however, is a mighty different landscape; Escape Plan bombed. That’s too bad, because it’s pretty good for what it sets out to be: a big, dumb action movie, in the style of its stars’ big, dumb bread-and-butter recipe of yesteryear. Stallone’s Breslin works as a security expert hired to go undercover […]
Schwarzenegger
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The Last Stand
In his first starring role in a decade, the former governor of California plays Sheriff Ray Owens, the lovable law enforcer of Sommerton, Ariz., where nothing ever happens except a parade — that is, until the FBI starts to transfer Mexican cartel boss Cortez (the Benicio Del Toro-esque Eduardo Noriega of Blackthorn) from Las Vegas […]
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Terminator Anthology
Cameron’s The Terminator of 1984 was and is a well-made piece of sci-fi trash that bears the ingenuity-on-a-budget scars of most Roger Corman graduates. If it proved a breakthrough for Cameron (who then earned the Aliens gig as a follow-up), it was arguably double that for its monosyllabic center, Arnold Schwarzenegger, then considered near-inconceivable as […]
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The Expendables 2
The remainder isn’t bad, either; in fact, it’s more fun than the 2010 original, while remaining every bit as big and dumb. Barney (Sylvester Stallone), Christmas (Jason Statham, Safe) and the rest of the Expendables are hired by Church (Bruce Willis) to retrieve a case from a downed plane in Russia. After doing so, they […]
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Total Recall: Mind-Bending Edition
Join him, won’t you? Before the Colin Farrell/Kate Beckinsale remake opens next week, take a return trip to the 1990 blockbuster with Lionsgate’s new “Mind-Bending Edition” on Blu-ray. And if you’ve never seen the sci-fi hit, then — to quote another character — “Get ready for a surprise!” (Oh, there are more classic lines to […]
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Dinoshark
That’s all the setup given by the Roger Corman production, and really all a Syfy-weaned audience asks of it. Before we proceed, allow me to explain the complex concept: Dinoshark is half-dinosaur, half-shark. Please re-read that as many as needed for your mind to grasp. The glorious, sun-soaked Puerto Vallarta is the site of many […]