Bad Movie Guy.com...Where There's No Such Thing As A Bad Movie!

B Movies, Cult Movies and Movies That You Might Not Have Heard Of!!

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

The Expendables 2

When the original The Expendables hit theatres, I have to admit to being nearly as excited as a teen aged girl at one of those N'Sync concerts.  After all, Stallone, Arnold and Willis all on the same screen!  Not to mention, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren....it just didn't get any better for a fan of 80s action...which I totally was.  So, when The Expendables 2 hit, I was almost as excited, but decided to wait for DVD, not for any special reason, just not enough time to hit the theatre every weekend anymore.  So, finally, I took the time to sit down and catch up with my old friends, and....I have to admit to being slightly disappointed.



If you saw the original The Expendables, then you know the road here.  Group of semi-bikers/mercenaries take on a bad guy in a foreign land.  The only difference here is that the bad guy is Jean-Claude Van Damme!  And, as sad as this might seem, Van Damme is the best part of this movie, outshining everyone, include the 'Big 3' (Ah-nold, Stallone & Bruce).   The charm of the original was getting all these cool action heroes together in one story, and mixing them with some current action stars to make an amazing action movie!  Well, this time it seemed like everyone who was left out of the first movie, saw that it made money and called up Stallone to get in on the action...and it's not the cool movie action I'm talking about there!  This time around, we're treated to what begins to feel like and endless stream of old catch-phrases and an interminable amount of winking at the camera.  At one point, Chuck Norris shows up, alone, kills a bunch of bad guys and then manages to squeeze in a 'Chuck Norris Fact' before he wanders back off set...truly sad!   If you ever had any love for the 80s action movie, then do yourself a favor and check out The Expendables, but, if you ever had ANY love for the 80s action movie stars, walk past The Expendables 2...it's the difference in seeing your grandfather as an older guy who can still kick some ass and seeing him telling the same old stories in his recliner!  


  I'm giving The Expendables 2, 2 out of 4 cigars, it took the original and blew it up in one of those amazing 80s action star explosions!!!

Friday, March 15, 2013

Dredd

As an avowed comic book guy, I will usually sit through anything that's based on a comic book...even if I'm not a fan or reader of that particular book.  So, when I saw that Dredd was finally on DVD, I couldn't wait to find the time to drop it in the player and see 1) if it was any good and 2) how it compared to the horrific Stallone version.  Well, I have to say, I was more impressed than I thought I'd be!




Now, in case you're unfamiliar with Judge Dredd, he lives in a dystopian future where 'judges' are the cops on the street...but they're really judge, jury and executioner.  Which leads to terrific violence, which you know I'm a big fan of!  In this story, Dredd is evaluating a rookie judge, the two of them are sent to an apartment tower called Peach Trees, to investigate a murder.  The murder is really a drug hit, and when the two judges arrest a suspect, the leader of the drug cartel locks down the complex and orders the two judges killed.   The interesting thing about this story is that they don't give you an 'origin' story, we're introduced to Dredd and we're expected to figure it out as we go...which I always enjoy, don't you hate it when a movie seems to be talking down to you?  I'm no dummy, I'm sure I can keep up with a comic book story, just tell me the story, don't keep explaining yourself to me!   Dredd is one of the better comic book movies that I've seen in recent years (with Marvel excluded), the story is action-packed enough to keep it moving, while still introducing the character and giving us enough back story to make you hope for a sequel!  Karl Urban is terrific as Dredd, he's quickly becoming one of my favorite genre actors, just between this and Star Trek, you can really see this guy's got some range!  And, unlike the Stallone version, the movie is about the character NOT the star, we never get to see Dredd without his helmet...like in the comic book, kudos to Urban for serving the character and not his own ego!  I'm giving Dredd 4 out of 4 cigars, if you like your justice dished out from the barrel of a gun, then you'll love Dredd!!!!

Friday, March 01, 2013

Snowmageddon!

Oh, the weather outside is frightful, but the fire is so delightful, and if you've no place to go, let it snow, let it snow, let it SNOWMAGEDDON!!!!  If you read any of my reviews or articles, whether here or over at Rogue Cinema then you know that I have a deep and abiding love of all things ‘cheesy’ and b-movie-ish. Well, that most certainly means that I tend to love those SyFy Channel movies (even though there are just a TON of them) about giant monsters or nature attacking. Well, there’s one out on DVD that's appropriate for the spate of weather we've been having across the country lately, it’s Snowmageddon and it’s one of the weirdest yet!



It all takes place in Normal, Alaska….a place that’s soon to be anything but normal, by the way. When the local sheriff’s son gets a snow globe in the mail, that’s a complete mock-up of the town, it all starts getting strange. You see, there are buttons on the side of the snow globe, and when pushed things happen inside the globe….bad things….and anything that happens in the snow globe, happens in the town, so there are unexplained earthquakes, avalanches and strange icicle-throwing storms! And, the only person who knows what’s going on is the sheriff’s son…and no one believes him.

Snowmageddon isn’t a movie that’s going to win awards, but its fun. The actors are clearly having fun, and there’s no pressure to deliver and Oscar-caliber performance, we can just take the material and have some fun and make a harmless action/disaster movie. If you like this kind of thing then you’ll love Snowmageddon; if you like your movies a bit more believable or realistic…look elsewhere! I’m giving Snowmageddon 3 out of 4 cigars, if you hate these kinds of movie, then don’t waste your time but if you’re like me, then you’re going to grab this one, it's a great way to spend a snowy Saturday afternoon!