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Macho Movie Monday #1 - Falcon Rising

Details: Published on Wednesday, December 24 2014 14:24; Written by Johnny M

Welcome to the first (possibly last) Macho Movie Monday, where I take a look at a favorite lessor known title in the action, adventure and martial arts genres. Hopefully I can make you aware of some new manly movies to enjoy!

I know it isn't Monday. Let's not nitpick.

What Movie Is This?

Falcon Rising (2014)

How Long Is It?

103 minutes

Where's It From?

USA

What Language Are They Speaking?

English. Duh.

Who Is In It?

Michael Jai White, Neal McDonough, Laila Ali, Lateef Crowder, Jimmy Navarro

What's The Irrelevant Rotten Tomatoes Rating?

43%

What Does It Say In The Official Synopsis Thingy?

Chapman (White) is an ex-marine in Brazil's slums, battling the Yakuza outfit who attacked his sister and left her for dead.

How About A Trailer?

Why Should I Watch It?

You know what's a bad idea? Leaving a Michael Jai White loved one for dead. Under any circumstances. Thats the basic moral to this story. As if that wasn't ill advised enough, his character, Chapman, is a decorated marine suffering from PTSD. Not a great combo. It shouldn't end well for the bad guys in this film and it doesn't. Even if those bad guys happen to be Yakuza running a section of the Favela in Brazil. Don't ask what the Yakuza is doing in Brazil. Just go with it. They are all going to die anyway. You get the idea.

What you'll get in Falcon Rising is a nice combination platter of action movie staples. You get healthy servings of gun play, knife fights, explosions, clunky dialogue, top notch martial arts and an amusing array of over-the-top characters with questionable motives. I enjoyed this cast quite a bit. White has carved himself out an awesome niche in the DTV action movie market and he shines here with his signature blend charisma and high end fighting skills. Neal McDonough (Justified) and Jimmy Navarro have an absolutely great time chewing up scenes in their supporting roles. Laila Ali makes a pretty smooth transition from the fight game to her first real role. She's pretty believable as Chapman's sister, and the two share a few scenes that go over pretty well. This was also my first exposure to Lateef Crowder, who plays bad ass cop Carlo. In the past, Crowder has mostly done stunt work, but he shines in his own fight scenes here.

The story here is better than passable and the action is great. You'll chuckle at some of the situations and acting, but it's a great time overall. I hear this is a possible franchise for White and I look forward to the next installment. He always brings his "A" game, and if this blog continues as planned, I'm sure I will choose more of his movies in the future.

Ok, You Sold Me. Where Can I get It?

This gets a tad bit tricky. Trickier than it should be. There is no US blu-ray release for this movie. I'm not sure why. The only blu-ray version is a Region B German release. The English audio track is included, but you would need a region free player to watch it. It is available at Amazon.de.

Here's the upcoming DVD and Amazon Instant Video link, where you can rent or buy it.

See you next time! No promises.

In Macho Movie Monday, John spotlights his favorite lessor known action, adventure, martial arts and assorted B-movies from around the globe. While the title of the blog may demonstrate superb use of alliteration, it doesn't actually come out on Mondays or any other regular schedule.

Send recommendations, comments and complaints to John at hhwlod dot com.

New Netflix Daredevil Images Released

Details: Published on Friday, December 19 2014 21:39; Written by Johnny M

Marvel Entertainment and EW have revealed two more images from their upcoming Netflix series “Marvel’s Daredevil,” both featuring Charlie Cox.

“There aren’t going to be people flying through the sky; there are no magic hammers,”Marvel TV’s Jeph Loeb tells the outlet. “We’ve always approached this as a crime drama first, superhero show second.”

Daredevil premieres on Netflix in May, 2015.

Official Ant-Man Synopsis Released

Details: Published on Friday, December 12 2014 16:59; Written by Johnny M

Marvel Studios has released an official synopsis and character info for Ant-Man:

“The next evolution of the Marvel Cinematic Universe brings a founding member of The Avengers to the big screen for the first time with Marvel Studios’ Ant-Man. Armed with the astonishing ability to shrink in scale but increase in strength, master thief Scott Lang must embrace his inner-hero and help his mentor, Dr. Hank Pym, protect the secret behind his spectacular Ant-Man suit from a new generation of towering threats. Against seemingly insurmountable obstacles, Pym and Lang must plan and pull off a heist that will save the world.”

Also revealed were the names of the remaining cast members in the film including: Bobby Cannavale as Paxton, Michael Peña as Luis, Judy Greer as Maggie, Tip “Ti” Harris as Dave, David Dastmalchian as Kurt, Wood Harris as Gale, and Jordi Mollà as Castillo.

Ant-Man stars Paul Rudd as Scott Lang aka Ant-Man, Evangeline Lilly as Hope Van Dyne, Corey Stoll as Darren Cross aka Yellowjacket, and Michael Douglas as Hank Pym. The Peyton Reed-directed film will open in theaters on July 17, 2015.

So Let’s Get Serious About Sony

Details: Published on Thursday, December 18 2014 11:45; Written by Tom

Recent attacks by digital terrorists (because, honestly, that’s what’s going on here) have damaged Sony Entertainment, possibly irreparably for many of the studio’s projects and executives.

Those terrorists, who call themselves the “Guardians of Peace” and are speculated to originate from North Korea, have dumped stolen information into the news cycle presumably to injure the studio in retaliation for the release of Seth Rogen and James Franco’s The Interview. Others believe the work to be that of a rogue - and disgruntled - former employee based in Japan.

Regardless, Andrew Garfield and the Spider-Man franchise are caught in the combat zone.

>> More: How Sony can fix the Spider-Man franchise <<

In the last week, leaked emails have painted a picture of serious negotiations between Sony and Marvel to share creative ownership of the Spider-Man license, and Sony’s executives mulling the possibility of stripping Garfield of the franchise web-shooters.

For fans, this is heady stuff.

There’s excitement over the possibility that Spidey could land in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. There’s concern the Spider-Man franchise will incur further damage because of hasty post-hack decisions. And there’s mixed feelings about Garfield’s future as Peter Parker.

>>More: Everything wrong - and right - with 'Amazing Spider-Man's' Peter Parker<<

All of it seems possible. Probable, even. For some fans wildly exciting.

But what’s really going to happen? Let’s come down to earth and get a little logical.

Nothing - at first. At least nothing earth shattering. The dust will settle over the next few months and Sony will return to normal. The truth is the information leak will do little in a town that’s used to melodramatic opinions, private attacks and business decisions that sound personal (and in a lot of cases probably are). Hollywood is a business unlike any other. Because it’s so public in nature - and its employees public figures - these broken fences will be quickly mended.
Sony will retain all rights to Spider-Man. The brand is too powerful for Sony to give up or pass back to Marvel. The studio is far more likely to reboot than release the webslinger. While we all feel a little like it missed the mark, the film still collected more than $700 million globally. Not far behind X-Men: Days of Future Past ($720 million, according to IMDb). Or even Guardians of the Galaxy ($768 million, also IMDb).
They may be swayed to team-up with Marvel - but not because of the leak. Screw the leak. Fan desire and dollar bills will eventually lead to a Sony-Marvel agreement. This is market research and analysis. If the demand is high and the numbers work out, Spidey will land in the MCU. There are egos to consider and money, too. Who has creative control? Who gets the most dollars? Distribution deals? Licensing? Dollars and desire will have the most influence here.
Sony will use the leak to shake up the Spidey world. In an odd way, the leak is a boon for Sony in that it allows it to reframe the story to suit its needs. Rather than take a beating for rebooting or refreshing the Spider-Man mythos once again, it can use the hack as a talking point for why it needs to refresh the mythos. You can already hear the statement now: “The criminal actions of a few have caused us to re-evaluate our go forward plans for the Spider-Man franchise and the films in that universe. Because much of the creative energy that was fueling our future plans for Peter Parker and his friends were released when we were hacked, we owe a debt to Spider-Man’s friends to rethinking our story and present them with a fresh take - a story they don’t already know and a story unblemished by the private opinions of our internal team and the external anger of a few, sad individuals.”

In summary, step back and take a deep breath if you’re hoping the Sony hack sends Spidey swinging over to Marvel Studios. While the hack is a big deal in the world of cyber security, it’s not a big deal in the creative eyes of Sony Studios. Life goes on. Movies get greenlit. Fans buy tickets.

Have faith, though, that the hack will bolster the studio’s resolve to figure out its Spidey situation and - hopefully - make changes that will breath new life into the franchise.