Ladies and Gentleman, you can bring nostalgia into cinema without resurrecting a decades-old franchise. And Jesse V. Johnson's latest action effort, The Mercenary, is proof of that. This is an old-school action movie that has the look, feel and pulse of 80s action flicks. If it were made back in the day, it would have starred Jean-Claude Van Damme, Chuck Norris or even Steven Seagal. But it was made in 2019 and stars Dominiquie Vandenberg, who himself is an accomplished martial artists, knife fighter and former soldier. To say Vandenberg brings a level of credibility to the role is an understatement. This man knows how to kill for real, and it's apparent in every fight sequence in the movie. He, Johnson and their fight choreography team create some of the most brutally entertaining action scenes I've ever seen. This should come as no surprise considering Johnson directed Triple Threat, and that film is an action fan's wet dream. So's this movie! I had a blas...

Buddy movies were all the rage in the 80s. They were largely entertaining, and often made buckets of cash on the comedic level (Running Scared, 48 Hours) and as action films (Lethal Weapon, Tango & Cash). Granted, the more humorous films often had a lot of action, and vice versa. The Presidio is a long-forgotten buddy movie that marked Mark Harmon's jump from TV to films, and featured Sean Connery hot off his Oscar winning turn in The Untouchables. It failed to make a lot of money, and isn't largely memorable, but it isn't a waste of time either.

If you're considering Death Kiss as a weekend watch with a couple of liquor drinks, and you think there's something familiar about its star, Robert Kovacs, you're right. The man looks a hell of a lot like the late, great Charles Bronson. I'm sure writer/director Rene Perez was counting on that when he cast Kovacs in this flick, which is itself an homage to the kind of movies Bronson made when he'd set up shop at Cannon Films, a company that churned out a lot of this stuff.

The low-budget vigilante flick Death Kiss has been on our radar for some time. Why? Well, it's an action movie for one, and we're all about that in The Basement. But the main reason is because it stars a dude named Robert Kovacs, and he bares a striking resemblance to one of the most iconic action heroes of all time -- Charles Bronson. Take a look at the above pic and tell me if I'm wrong.

That headline is accurate in so many ways. For one, The action short The Proposal (which we've written about here and here ) will indeed screen at the esteemed Sitges Film Fest next month, which is cool in its own right. But we also have it on good authority the film, which is an ode to 80s and 90s action cinema, is also a kick-ass movie, so we anticipate it will blow audiences through the back wall of theatre when the lights go down Oct. 10 at 4 p.m. in Catalonia, Spain.

Some movies, no matter how dated, are like comfort food. When you're in the mood to watch it, you just gotta. Predator is like that for me, as is Jaws, Aliens, and a few other 80s action/sci-fi/horror flicks. Flicks like 1987's The Hidden! I had a crap day full of family crisis on July 4, and just needed to unwind with a couple of cold ones. For whatever reason, all I wanted to watch was The Hidden. It had been a few years, so I guess I was due. And watch it I did!

Back in 2012 we reviewed William Kaufman's brilliant old-school action flick Sinners and Saints, starring all-around cool dude Johnny Strong. At the time, we demanded a franchise, and it looks like that is about to happen. Kaufman emailed us back in February (long story, don't want to talk about it) saying he was headed to Bulgaria for Sinners and Saints 2: Vengeance, and asked us to join in promoting the venture. Well, Shawn and I are all about being better late than never, so here we go:

There was an era when action movies were simple, straight-ahead entertainment. I call this era the 80s and Cannon Films was the mecca for such fine, filmed entertainment. Modern cinema could take a cue from this time period, and learn well from it. It's rare when a movie comes along like those I grew up watching. But every now and then a flick surfaces that reminds me of those simpler times. Lean on story and mean on action, the perfect Friday night beer drinking fare.

I've been a fan of directing/screenwriting duo Adam Wingard and Simon Barrett since A Horrible Way to Die back in 2010. What's impressed me most is their movies tend to lean toward horror, but the tone and filmmaking style shifts from flick to flick to suite the story. So how do Winged and Barrett handle a (kinda) loving tribute to 80s action flicks? With some British guy who stars in a period drama called Downton Abbey in the lead? Stick with me! A soldier introduces himself to the Peterson family, claiming to be a friend of their son, who died in action. After the young man is welcomed into their home, a series of deaths seem to be connected to his presence.