Wake Of Death (2004)

If you are wondering then the answer is yes we are doing back to back nights with the muscles from Brussels as we check out another film from my favorite action star. The film that I chose for today is 2004's Wake Of Death which was directed by Philippe Martinez (The Intergalactic Adventures of Max Cloud) and it stars Jean Claude Van Damme (In Hell) as storied club enforcer Ben Archer who has just decided that he is going to hang up the boots and retire from that business. Unfortunately for Ben, his wife works for immigration services and after finding a ship full of refugee Chinese people, she is murdered at home for taking care of a girl who belongs to a drug kingpin. With his wife dead and his son kidnapped, Ben has no other choice, but to seek revenge against those who wronged him and get his son back. The film also stars Lisa King (The Wonderful World Of Disney) as Cynthia Archer, Simon Yam (Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life) as Sun Quan, Philip Tan (Kung Pow: Enter The Fist) as Han, Valerie Tian (Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief) as Kim, Tony Schiena (The Merchant Of Venice) as Tony, Anthony Fridjhon (District 9) as Max, Tom Wu (The Gentlemen) as Andy Wang, and Danny Keogh (Invictus) as Hoggins.

The action sequences in this film are actually pretty exciting stuff from the scene in the whore house to the showdown on the boat and even the car chase scene is good. I wished the ending of the motorcycle chase scene was more fulfilling then it was, but it was still good stuff. I was expecting a lot more out of some of the characters in this film, but Phillip Tan and Simon Yam did not disappoint at all in this film as they brought their a games to the film. Their characters were well written and I even loved the angle with the Frenchman who were absolutely nuts in this film. It was a fun sequence, but there was definitely some stuff they could have worked on, but it's action film what more do you want. They obviously didn't have a lot of money to do this film because some of the slow motion sequences were a little meh, but the cinematography and editing were pretty good. I would definitely say that this is an underrated Van Damme film because he is his charismatic self in the film. That is one of the reasons I love him so much because he's amazing when he gets on screen. Which is why I have decided that for a final grade, I am going to give Wake Of Death an B- for a final grade.

In Hell (2003)

I have decided that I am on an Action bender and I need to catch up on my Van Damme filmography and I have seen a lot, but there is also a lot I haven't seen. This time, we are looking at the 2003 action drama In Hell which was directed by Ringo Lam (City On Fire) and it stars Jean Claude Van Damme (Black Water) as Kyle LeBlanc, an American living and working in Russia who one unfaithful night hears his wife being murdered on the phone. As he rushes home to try and save her, it is too late as she has passed away. The man who did the deed is freed and in an act of rage, LeBlanc kills him right in the court house sending him to jail. The only problem is that this is a jail where the warden gets greedy and men are forced to fight including a now broken and crazy LeBlanc who after so many wins is forced to fight the baddest man from a rival jail played by Michael Bailey Smith (The Hills Have Eyes). The film also stars Lawrence Taylor (The Waterboy) as Prisoner 451, Lloyd Battista (Treasure of The Four Crowns) as General Hruschov, Carlos Gómez (Desperado) as Tolik, Manol Manolov (The Black Dahlia) as Ivan, Chris Moir (Hollywood Mom) as Billy, Billy Rieck (NYPD Blue) as Coolhand, Alan Davidson (Rounders) as Malakai, Robert LaSardo (King Of New York) as Usup, and Juan Fernández (The Collector) as Shubka.

With all things considered, this actually wasn't a bad film from the Muscles From Brussels as this was in the era of him looking like he's making hundreds of films. There are some parts of the story that I certainly take issue with and that has more to do with character development especially with Lawrence Taylor. LT for most of the film looks like he doesn't give a crap about anyone, but one scene he enacts some revenge on someone for betraying a friend and its like since when did he care about that character? There were some things that were added that I could have done without like the fact that we knew this bug that flies around is symbolic because it's his wife or at least in his mind he believes that, but then finally after all he has been through the big turns into the ghost of her. Is this all in his head or is this reality and why did we need that? While I thought that they could have hired actual Russians to be in the film, I did like a lot of their selections like LaSardo, Juan Fernández, and some of the other goons that we see like Raicho Vasilev who plays Andrei the first goon of all goons. I wish they had done with him because he was actually good at what he was doing. The cinematography and the editing was well done in the film and while this may not be his best film, this is definitely up there for JCVD. So, I am going to go ahead and give the film an B- for a final grade.

Knock Knock (2015)

At one point in the early to mid 2000's, there was a new group of horror directors that were taking the genre by storm and one of those was Eli Roth who made films like Cabin Fever, Hostel, and The Green Inferno to name a few. So for today's film, I thought I would check out one that Eli both wrote, Produced and directed in 2015's Knock Knock. The film stars Keanu Reeves (The Devil's Advocate) as Evan, an architect, a husband, and a devoted father who has to stay behind thanks to work while the wife and kids go out to the beach home. While a night alone in your home sounds good to most, it's about to get interesting for Evan when he helps out two girls stranded in the rain. What was a kind gesture by Evan, quickly turns into a seductively deadly game of cat and mouse that will make Evan regret what he did. The film also stars Lorenza Izzo (Once Upon A Time In Hollywood) as Genesis, Ana de Armas (Hands Of Stone) as Belle, Ignacia Allamand (The Green Inferno) as Karen, Aaron Burns (The Green Inferno) as Lewis, Colleen Camp (Die Hard With A Vengeance) as Vivian, Dan Baily as Jake, Megan Baily as Lisa,  Antonio Quercia (La leyenda de el Crack) as Uber Driver, and Otto as Monkey. 

I had an idea as far as what direction they were going to take in the film just based on the trailer alone and this was a film that so many told me to avoid watching, but I don't understand why. Does it have it's flaws? Sure, it has plenty of flaws contained within it, but I will say one thing and that is Ana de Armas was definitely not one of them. She had me convinced the whole entire film that something was seriously deranged about her and I am not taking anything away from Lorenza, but she just seemed like a follower while Ana was the real messed up one. Some of the dialogue in the beginning of the film was kind of atrocious and I could have done without plenty of it, but it's after the deal is done that I think the film gets better. The girls turn up the intensity on Keanu Reeves and I finally saw some emotion out of the guy that was above what he had done before. There are some pretty intense scenes in the film, but the last sequence of the film has to be one of those that when it's over you're like I was pretty sure that A was going to happen and not B. As good or as bad as you may think the film was, one thing that I was happy about was that Monkey, that adorable French Bulldog was not harmed at all during the film. I would have shut off the film if he had been, but with that being said, watch at your own risk and leisure. I am going to give the film an B- for a for a final grade. 

High School Hellcats (1958)

It's another Sunday in the books which can only mean one thing and that it is another Sunday At The Classics. This is the time when adventure into some of the older films from Hollywood as check out films that were made before 1969 which was considered to be the end of classic Hollywood. I was cruising through Amazon Prime looking for a film when I came across today's title High School Hellcats which was directed by Edward Bernds (The Bowery Boys Meet the Monsters) and was released in 1958. The film stars Yvonne Lime (I Was A Teenage Werewolf) as Joyce Martin, a good girl who has just moved into town with her family who just happens to fall in with the bad crowd. You see, she joins a group called the Hellcats which is sort of a sorority at the school to try and feel accepted, but only her new boyfriend and teacher know how dangerous that move can be. The film also stars Brett Halsey (Return Of The Fly) as Mike Landers, Jana Lund (Married Too Young) as Connie Harris, Susanne Sidney (General Electric Theater) as Dolly Crane, Rhoda Williams (Space Master X-7) as Ms. Davis, Robert Anderson (My Friend Flicka) as Police Lt. Manners, Viola Harris (Sex And The City 2) as Linda Martin, and Don Shelton (The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show) as Roger Martin.

This was the era of the teen angst films where they tried to show you how bad the youth of America could be and believe me the poster you see above is more seductive than the whole entire film itself. This is an example of how the choices you make can impact your future and if you choose to run with the bad crowd then expect the judgement you'll receive from others. Joyce is a good kid that decides to make the wrong choice by becoming a Hellcat, but she was the new kid in town who obviously just wants to be accepted at school. The acting for the most part was pretty good especially from Lime, Halsey, Harris, Lund, and Sidney, but there were a couple of instances like at the party where the director must of been like, "Ok, you've been drinking so just act like you think you would if you drank a lot." Only to have some of the results be OK while others were a little cringe, but it's the 1950's. Other than that, everything else in the film is pretty straightforward as far as subplots and such, but I wish we had more suspense towards the end of the film because a little more buildup would have made it better. The opening scene with the substitute teacher also could have been done a lot better than it was. I think they had in their heads how it should go, but just not well executed. It wasn't a bad film at all, it just needed a little work at times, but with that being said I am going to give the film an B for a final grade.

Thelma & Louise (1991)

With this challenge, I am trying to knock off some titles off of my list that were critically acclaimed films that I never bothered to watch, but I know the iconic scenes. You are going to notice on this blog that there are a lot of those. One of those films on my list was on courtesy of HULU and that was 1991's Thelma & Louise which was directed by Ridley Scott (Blade Runner). The film stars Susan Sarandon (The Witches Of Eastwick) as Louise and Geena Davis (Tootsie) as Thelma, a couple of girlfriends who decide one weekend that they want to get away from it all to do some fishing and hang out. Those plans come to a screeching halt when Louise murders a man who tried to rape Thelma and now the two are on the run from the cops as they try to make it to Mexico. The film also stars Christopher McDonald (Happy Gilmore) as Darryl, Michael Madsen (Once Upon A Time In Mexico) as Jimmy, Harvey Keitel (Isle Of Dogs) as Hal, Stephen Tobolowsky (Groundhog Day) as Max, Brad Pitt (Once Upon A Time In Hollywood) as J.D.,  Timothy Carhart (Black Sheep) as Harlan, Lucinda Jenney (Thinner) as Lena, the waitress, Sonny Carl Davis (Fast Times At Ridgemont High) as Albert, and Ken Swofford (The Andromeda Strain) as Major.

This is another film that I waited too long to watch and one of the striking things about this film is that screenwriting. Callie Khouri who is a writer for Nashville among other things gets full credit for the terrific job she did on the film. She set up all the right events like the hook which was Harlan getting shot and then all of the turning points and subplots were just so fluid and the characters she created were awesome from Pitt's appearance as J.D. which was fantastic. This was when Pitt was in his crazy character phase like Kalifornia, etc. and that is essentially why we love Brad Pitt because he's awesome. Sarandon and Davis really carry the ball all the way through this film and to be honest they do not drop it at all. David and Sarandon were amazing with Sarandon having a slight edge even though Davis has some bad ass scenes too. One of my favorite things about this film because it is just as much a driving movie as much as it is a crime drama is that the cinematography is absolutely amazing especially when they get to Arizona. There is some beautiful shots of those beautiful and unique mountains that you can picture when you think of The Grand Canyon and Arizona. It's almost it's own character as they drive across the south and we feel we are on the trip with them. One of the things that bugged me is the scene when they cops are arriving to Darryl's house and it looks like it;'s raining on one side and not the other but you can clearly tell some of it is hoses. Other than that, this is a definitely a film worth checking out especially for the famous hand holding car scene at the end. That is why I am giving the film an A- for a final grade.

Guns Akimbo (2019)

Sometimes being a part of a major franchise can be both a blessing and a curse for an actor or actress where some have prospered with a career outside said franchises while others have perished. Some of the major players to have found careers outside their big breaks were Zac Efron (High School Musical), Robert Pattinson (Twilight), and the man at the center of today's film Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter). The film of his that I chose for today is 2019's Guns Akimbo which is an action comedy that was written and directed by Jason Lei Howden (Deathgasm). Radcliffe plays Miles, a computer programmer who thinks that it's cool to troll people online while drunk inside while the subject matter is of a real life game where people are pinned against each other to the death. To get even on Miles, the creators kidnap him, bolt guns to his hands, and force him to face the best player in the game or they will kill his ex-girlfriend. The film also stars Samara Weaving (Mayhem) as Nix,  Rhys Darby (What We Do In The Shadows) as Glenjamin, Ned Dennehy (Mandy) as Riktor, Mark Rowley (The Last Kingdom) as Dane, Natasha Liu Bordizzo (Hotel Mumbai) as Nova, Grant Bowler (Killer Elite) as Degraves, Racheal Ofori (Artemis Fowl) as Effie, Edwin Wright (Turbo Kid) as Stanton, and Milo Cawthorne (Deathgasm) as Hadley.

This was a bad ass film and I love some of Howden's work cause Deathgasm was a bad ass film in it's own right. This one is taken to a whole other level with all of the bad ass action scenes especially when Samara Weaving is on screen being a total bad ass who snorts drugs to power up like in a video game. I love all the little things that they added in editing like the bullet count in the guns that Miles has and some of the scenes where people are watching has a very Death Race look and feel to it and why shouldn't it since this is almost the same thing. The stories are almost very similar in which there is something to be won, but the forces that be want to keep taking from you to hope that you don't win. I feel a film like this with the right kind of promotion behind it could have done very for itself in the box office cause I feel it had everything action fans would want and Daniel Radcliffe is a name that so many of his fans would show. Hollywood needs to realize that there is great material out there being made, they just need to take a chance and Samara Weaving is proving to be a household name. I have loved her in everything that I have seen her in as she has not disappointed me yet. A part of me is wondering if a sequel is being made because I would love to see them continue the story for sure and with that being said I am going to give the film an A- for a final grade. By the way, Rhys Darby has an awesome cameo as the homeless guy in this film, lots of great stuff there.

Concussion (2015)

Things have definitely changed as far as what is allowed in the National Football League and what is not allowed today as compared to the time when I played football as an young adolescent. When we were out in the football field, it was like we were being trained to be battering rams not knowing the long terms effects that it would have on us. That is why I decided to check out the 2015 film Concussion which was written and directed by Peter Landesman (Parkland). The film stars Will Smith (Bad Boys For Life) as Dr. Bennet Omalu, an accomplished pathologist who discovered a serious condition known as CTE when football players began killing themselves. This is the film about his journey and the long hard road he took to change the culture of football in America. The film also stars Alec Baldwin (Fun With Dick And Jane) as Dr. Julian Bailes, Albert Brooks (Drive) as Dr. Cyril Wecht, Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Beyond The Lights) as Prema Mutiso, David Morse (The Green Mile) as Mike Webster, Arliss Howard (Full Metal Jacket) as Dr. Joseph Maroon, Mike O'Malley (Sully) as Daniel, Eddie Marsan (Vice) as Dr. Steve DeKosky, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (Suicide Squad) as Dave Duerson, Luke Wilson (Zombieland: Double Tap) as Roger Goodell, Paul Reiser (Horse Girl) as Dr. Elliot Pellman, and Richard T. Jones (Vantage Point) as Andre Waters. 

The lesson to be learned from this film is that you never mess with science because science proves whether things are wrong or right. There is never usually a question of doubt and the NFL dropped the ball big time when it came to the discovery of CTE as they tried to bury this doctor who discovered it. It's quite shocking to the extent to make sure this guy was never heard or taken serious. He was literally public enemy one who just wanted the NFL to take precautions which they obviously would years later after the senate was on their case. The story was obviously one we have seen before in cinema when the little man takes on the giant corporation and he somehow defeats him like the story of David vs Goliath. It's a classic tale that you could literally compare so many stories to, but this one is heavy because head trauma is a scary thing. I definitely enjoyed Will Smith's acting in this film as he was the star of the show, but I have admit that I did not that was David Morse playing Mike Webster in the film. I did not recognize him at all and that is credit to the make up department. This is definitely a film to check out if you are a fan of films that are based on true stories, a fan of science, and a fan of the NFL which never ceases to amaze me. One thing that I will criticize is that I did not like Luke Wilson as the choice for Roger Goodell. Other than that, I enjoyed it and it's free right now on Tubi so chek it out. I am going to give the film an A- for a final grade.