Villains have encapsulated some of the most iconic characters in cinema history and have made their presence known in every genre. As time has progressed and cinema has evolved, so too has the villain and the qualities that they possess. The trend has now become that to make a great villain, they need to be very complex and layered and somehow relatable to the audience. To put it simply, a villain is, in a movie, the Yang to a hero/heroine’s Yin, a perfect balance.
Every once in a while, something very profound happens that changes life as we know it. One such occurrence took place in my life 20 years ago, and as such, shaped my ideals and passions into what they are today. At 8 years old through persuasion of my mother, I sat and watched for the first time probably what I consider to be the most influential movie of all time. The movie itself was very simple, but it was also one of the first of its kind and has spawned countless imitations since its release 40 years ago. The star is unmistakable and loved throughout the world, the man who opened up the door of martial arts in cinema to the West. The chiseled body, the lightning fast moves, the immovable fixed gaze, the animalistic scream, we all know who he is. The movie: Enter The Dragon; the man: Lee Jun Fan aka Bruce Lee.
I'll go out on a limb and give a rough estimation that about 97% of movie buffs have come across at least one movie at some point of their lives that they just couldn't watch from start to finish. Everyone has vastly different tastes in films, different things that make them tick, differing thresholds of tolerance for certain things such as boredom, extreme graphic violence and gore, downright stupidity and endless cliches. There are countless reasons why someone would decide to hit the stop button partway through a film.
It's been a good 8 years since the psychotic Mick Taylor (John Jarratt) doled out his own brand of terror and torture on three unsuspecting backpackers in the heart of the Australian Outback. Now he's back and thirsty for more blood in writer/director Greg McLean's brutal follow up Wolf Creek 2, and the good people over at Roadshow Films have released this chilling new trailer to whet our appetite.
Back in the old days, aside from a theatrical trailer and maybe a few TV spots, the general public was privy to a very limited amount of information regarding a movie prior to its release. Now, thanks to the internet and social media, we have VIP access to every intricate detail about the production of any given film.
Call me crazy, but I find nothing more exhilarating than watching a character who is really quite unlikeable copping a highly stylized fly kick to the face. Yes, I am a martial arts fanatic and I believe that there is an inherent and palpable satisfaction associated with witnessing a hand to hand exchange and flying feet delivered with precise technique.
About a month ago, we were all treated to the first trailer for the new boxing comedy Grudge Match, headlined by Robert De Niro and Sylvester Stallone. Now that we've all had time to digest and build up anticipation for the upcoming middle-aged hijinks, three new retro-style posters have been released to further sweeten our palates. Two of them are character posters profiling the fighters, and one shows the two greats squaring up against each other in a mock-up promotional.
This week, a new red band trailer for the Jason Statham headlined Homefront spreads throughout the web, and we have it below for your viewing pleasure.
Growing up in the 80s and 90s was certainly a unique experience, and like any era, those decades offered up their fair share of heroes and heroines for the movie-going public and impressionable children, like myself, to idolize. The action movie was in its Golden Age and flourishing beautifully, and leading that parade were two men who were larger than life itself. One an Austrian Oak, the other an Italian Stallion, both of whom had successful films under their belts depicting characters who surmounted a threat to come out on top and save the day. They were in direct competition with each other, and have grown over the years to become the best of friends. Every little boy wanted to be them (including me) and every father and his son have bonded through watching them laying waste to mountains and mountains of bad guys. Of course, I am talking about none other than Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone.
