B-Movie Action Thread

Here's it is, folks: the B-Movie Action Thread! I hope to see all the old favorites back on this board.

Speaking of B-Movie Action...

There's a new Liam Neeson actioner, Memory, in theaters this weekend. I haven't been able to see it yet, but since it was directed by Martin Campbell and co-stars Guy Pearce, Monica Bellucci, Ray Stevenson, and Louis Mandylor, I'm hoping it's a step above his more tepid recent efforts like Honest Thief, The Ice Road, and The Marksman.

I was excited for the Neeson/Campbell pairing but I guess not excited enough to check it out in theaters. Neeson been on a whiff streak of late.

John Woo’s remake of THE KILLER now planned as a feature for Peacock:

https://www.indiewire.com/2022/05/john-woo-remake-the-killer-peacock-1234721291/amp/

Neeson had a DELIGHTFUL cameo in series 3 of Derry Girls, I still need to check out something new he's got on Sky - Blacklight?

I always go back to his appearance on Life's Too Short, I'd love to see him as a Drebin-type in any sort of Naked Gun reboot.

That bit on Life’s too Short was fantastic.

I haven’t seen BLACKLIGHT. The PG-13 diminished my interest in it. Last movie of his I enjoyed was COLD PURSUIT. That one almost felt like a standard Neeson revenge if done by the Coen Bros.

I didn't mind The Ice Road, though I recall it dragging a bit...

Extra points for the tagline - "This mission is on thin ice!"

That reminds me, I pulled the plug on a post-apocalyptic jobbie with Noomi Rapace on Netflix, Black Crab - the mission is they have to transport a mysterious package on ice skates!

I lasted about 30 minutes.

Is that one a dud? I’d heard some good things but haven’t checked it out yet.

I noticed the 4th NEVER BACK DOWN film is up on Netflix, for whatever that is worth.

Cold Pursuit was the last Neeson joint I dug as well. Honest Thief was outright bad and that one has the same director as Blacklight, so I'm not exactly looking forward to the latter. The Marksman was passable, but forgettable. Direction was decent, but the script was just really subpar.

I don't have high expectations for Memory, but I am glad that Neeson seems to be working with a better pedigree of filmmaker going forward. Martin Campbell is always welcome. He also has films in the can from Nimrod Antal and Neil Jordan, as well as a re-teaming with his Marksman director. So fingers crossed that some of those will be worthwhile. And I'm game for The Naked Gun too, if he does it.

As for The Killer...

On the one hand, I don't need a remake of The Killer. On the other hand, it's hard for me to not get excited about the prospect of TWO new John Woo movies coming our way next year. The first one being Silent Night, which he is already shooting at the moment. Basically, I'll take what I can get, especially since he hasn't directed much in the past decade.

I'm basically with you on Woo. Would be happy to get anything from him even if a remake of THE KILLER feels pointless. I just hope both that and SILENT NIGHT have no CG because his use of it in MANHUNT was appalling.

Oh I hope this ain't bullshit:

https://www.lcsun-news.com/story/entertainment/2022/05/04/wanted-man-begin-production-las-cruces-dolph-lundgren-and-kelsey-grammer-starring-dona-ana-county-nm/9648458002/

Quote :

LAS CRUCES - The Dolph Lundgren film, "Wanted Man," begins principal photography this month in Las Cruces and surrounding areas.

The New Mexico Film Office released information in a news release Tuesday about production on the new action film. Lundgren, known for his portrayal of Ivan Drago in "Rocky IV" and "Creed II," will serve as director, cowriter and star. He has been spotted around town recently at Las Cruces gyms and in the Village of Doña Ana.

The news release explained that "Wanted Man" is the "story of an aging detective, Travis Johansen, whose violent policing methods have given the department a serious public relations problem. To save his job, he is sent to Mexico to extradite a female witness, and once there, he finds not only are his old opinions challenged, but that people on both sides of the border are now gunning for him and his witness."

The film will also star Kelsey Grammer, who notably played Dr. Frasier Crane in the sitcom "Frasier" from 1993 to 2004. Grammer will soon reprise the popular role for a reboot on Paramount+.

Hot damn.

New Dolph is always welcome, especially when he's directing.

Revisited Hard Rain recently. I hadn't seen it since opening weekend. It was a bit better than I remembered, although not by much. The cast makes it fun, but it's largely just a serviceable neo-western mashed-up with a disaster flick. Nothing particularly special.

That’s about how I see it, too. Good cast but it never quite pops.

ARENA (1989)



I've been meaning to watch this for years but for the longest time the only version available was a cruddy VHS rip on YouTube. The transfer on Tubi looks and sounds great though.

The plot is basically Rocky meets Deep Space 9, set on a space station in the far future where different alien species compete in a fighting tournament. Our lead character (The jock from the Raft segment of Creepshow 2) is a scrappy underdog and the first human to compete in the tournament in 50 years. Trained by the stripper from The Hidden, he's pitted against some very cool practical effects aliens courtesy of the late John Carl Buechler. The movie has an earnestness to it that I really appreciated. There are a lot of Empire/Full Moon movies I love but I wouldn't exactly classify them as good. This, however, is a damn good sci-fi/action movie (apart from some dated music). DS9 fans will also get a kick out of seeing Quark and Dukat as the villains. Overall, it's easily the best Charles Band-produced film I've ever seen not directed by Stuart Gordon.