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Showing posts with the label Olivia Thirlby

Jason and Shawn versus Stolen and Dredd

Stolen Jason: I want to point out right off the bat that, unlike Shawn, I am not a Nicolas Cage hater. I've liked his work in The Rock, Con Air, Gone in 60 Seconds, Bringing Out the Dead and a number of mid-to-late 90s films. But the man's star has fallen hard. Stolen is proof of that. Maybe it's because he's flat broke and has to take every film that comes his way, but Cage phones it in here. He can be a fun and quirky actor, but he's just going through the motions in Stolen. He's boring, just like the movie. There's technically nothing wrong with Stolen. It's well made and, essentially well written. But the action is nothing better than a TV movie, save for one great car-jump trick inside a parking garage. Otherwise it's boring foot and car chases, plus a lame fistfight or two. Yawn. Been there, done that. It didn't take long for Cage to fall from award winner to Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance. Stolen is just the latest entr...

Stolen and Dredd

From unwatched action star to unwatched action movie, tonight's foray into Basement Cinema is an entire exercise in films no way gave a shit about. Please listen, though. First up it's a Nicolas Cage movie called Stolen. Does anyone give a shit about Cage anymore? He's been an Oscar winner and starred in a string of awesome action movies including The Rock and . . .  The Rock. But he was in hits like Con Air and Gone in 60 Seconds too. Now he's broke and signing on to projects just for the paycheck. Is that all Stolen really means to him and Jason and Shawn? Stick with us! Then we segue into the Judge Dredd reboot Dredd, which no one bothered to watch this past summer despite it getting great reviews and word of mouth from those who saw it. Sure, the plot sounds like The Raid: Redemption and Karl Urban isn't a draw, but there's no Rob Schneider in sight. That counts for something . . . right? Plus the Basement Boys -- those lovers of the female form --...

Karl Urban talks Dredd 3D in this featurette

Who's psyched for some Dredd 3D? All of you? Good. You can stay. Shawn and I are pretty convinced the upcoming adaptation of the popular British comic book character is gonna own. And advance buzz out of the festival circuit -- most recently TIFF 2012 -- is almost overwhelmingly positive. So here's hoping the film lives up to the hype once it hits on Sept. 21. Below is a featurette that shows a bunch of new images and has Dredd himself, Karl Urban, and the character's creator, John Wagner, talking up the hero. Urban is perfectly cast, in my opinion. In case you don't know what director Pete Travis's film is all about, here's the rundown: In a violent, futuristic city where the police have the authority to act as judge, jury and executioner, a cop teams with a trainee to take down a gang that deals the reality-altering drug, SLO-MO.  Here's the featurette. I am the law!

Justice is served in this Dredd 3D TV spot

There's less than a month to go before Dredd 3D hits theatres and I gotta admit, I'm psyched for this one! Why, you ask? It's an R-rated Judge Dredd movie written by the man who penned 28 Days Later and Sunshine -- Alex Garland. And it stars Karl Urban, who deserves to be a movie star more than most movie stars. Sure, there have been complaints about the casting (Rob Schneider was in the Stallone version), size of the helmet (get a life) and that the plot resembles The Raid (this was written first). I say stop your bitching and get ready to enjoy what looks to be a violent B-movie blast. And early reviews promise the same. The TV spot below shows a lot of what we've seen before, only with added Dredd dialogue that just oozes cool. I'm ready for this movie and have marked Sept. 21 on my calendar. Bring it!

Get shot in the face with this Dredd red-band clip

I think the mad minds behind the upcoming Dredd (I refuse to call it Dredd 3D) came up with the drug SLO-MO strictly so they could show cool violence in the third dimension. And you know what? After watching the below red-band clip from Lionsgate, I'm OK with that . . . CGI blood and all. Some of our British friends, including Jon Cross over at the glorious After Movie Diner, aren't sold on the new Dredd. I am, strictly because I've liked what I've seen so far -- this red-band clip included -- and nothing can be worse than Stallone's mid-90s Judge Dredd movie. Plus this version was written by Alex Garland, who penned 28 Days Later and Sunshine, two of my favourite Danny Boyle movies. And guess what? Dredd was written and went into production before The Raid, which many have compared the film's plot too. As for said storyline: In a violent, futuristic city where the police have the authority to act as judge, jury and executioner, a cop (Judge Dredd bit...