Action | Wildside Cinema

Film Review: Shinya Tsukamoto Returns with Experimental Metal Actioner ‘Tetsuo – The Bullet Man’ (2009)

Action, Asian Cinema, Experimental, J. Andersson, Japan, Sci-Fi No Responses »

Dec 162011

FINALLY! The Iron man is back! With a vengeance! And in… English? WTF? Then again, we always knew that if there was another Tetsuo movie there would be lots of WTFs. Twenty-two years after the original Tetsuo and nineteen after the sequel, Shinya Tsukamoto finally returns to the wonders of biomechanical psychopathics and more loving fusions of flesh and metal.

An American man living in Japan with his Japanese wife and their son is struck by grief when a mysterious man kills the young boy by running him over with a car. As this is a Shinya Tsukamoto movie this event triggers something in our hero, making him turn into a metal beast and he starts searching in his past to why Continue reading »

Film Review: Song’s ‘A Better Tomorrow’ (2010) Remake Respectfully Spins Woo’s Masterpiece into Successful South Korean Crime Cinema

Action, Asian Cinema, B. Harris, B. Woodell, Crime, John Woo, S. Korea, Thriller No Responses »

Nov 222011

Throughout the years, there are a handful of films that are made that are truly game changers. Films that not only stand the test of time, but also redefine genres and how future filmmakers hone their own craft. John Woo’s 1986 masterpiece, A Better Tomorrow is one of those films. So much of the way we see action films nowadays is because of this film. So to take a film such as this and remake it, the filmmakers have to not only love and understand the original, but also know how to make their own film and relevant to the world around them.

Hae-sung Song, and his team of six writers set out to remake this classic and not only did Woo’s original justice, but they exceeded in making the film completely fresh and Continue reading »

Film Review: Nishimura’s ‘Helldriver’ (2010) Drives Levels of Splatter & Comedy to New Heights

Action, Asian Cinema, B. Harris, Comedy, Exploitation, Extreme, Horror, Japan, Sci-Fi, Yoshihiro Nishimura, Zombies 1 Response »

Nov 222011

After a meteorite makes impact with Japan, it sends alien spores into the atmosphere, infecting humans with a virus that mutates them into flesh-eating fiends with little horns protruding from their foreheads. Japan, as the world knows it, ceases to exist and in its place is an island nation divided into two parts by a massive wall, effectively separating the living from the infected (read: zombies). To make matters worse, the horns of the dead are being illegally harvested, dried, ground up and sold on the black market as a new drug.

Factions within the current Japanese government are intent on halting the advance of the horde by putting together a special team, lead by Kika, and sending them into the infected zone. Their mission Continue reading »

Film Review: Singh’s ‘Immortals’ (2011) Blows Viewers from Theater Seats with Intense Action & Stunning Visuals

Action, Adventure, B. Woodell, Drama, Fantasy, War No Responses »

Nov 192011

After a five-year hiatus, Tarsem Singh (The Cell) is back in the director’s chair to deliver us yet another visually stimulating journey in his third feature film. Immortals. Singh takes the wonderfully crafted script from the up and coming writing team of the Parlapanides brothers, Charley and Vlas, and takes us back to Ancient Greece, to a time of Western mythology when the Gods were in charge.

King Hyperion (Mickey Rourke) is scouring Greece to find the Epirus Bow, a weapon that could be used to unleash the Titans back onto the Earth from their prison deep within Mount Tartaros. After overtaking a Monastery and capturing Phaedra (Freida Pinto), an oracle who sees visions and can aid in finding the bow Continue reading »

Film Review: Full Moon’s ‘Savage Island’ (1985) is a Chopped-Up, Wipped-Out Sleaze Fest

Action, Adventure, B. Harris, Crime, Exploitation, Full Moon, Italy, Revenge No Responses »

Nov 172011

When the gorgeous Daly makes an appointment to see a shady jewel dealer named Luker (as in filthy?), she has no intention of purchasing precious gems, she’s out for cold-hard revenge. Armed with righteous fury and a machine gun, Daly weaves a tale of terror on a jungle island that Luker will never forget!

Let’s be upfront here, this isn’t a “grindhouse” film, despite the label being slapped on the front of the DVD case. These days pretty much everybody uses the words “grindhouse” and “cult classic” for whatever the hell they please, almost to the point of stripping the words of any real meaning. It was bound to happen, there’s no sense whining about it as, eventually, the trend will burn itself out. Until Continue reading »

Film Review: Benny Chan’s ‘Shaolin’ (Xin shao lin si – 2011) is a Strong Return to HK Cinema’s Glorious Heyday

Action, Adventure, Asian Cinema, B. Harris, Drama, Hong Kong, Jackie Chan, Martial Arts No Responses »

Nov 172011

A darkness falls upon China when warlords and their armies clash in bloody combat and the noble Shaolin temple’s warrior monks find themselves caught in the middle. Intent on remaining separate from the violence of the outside world, yet willing to offer a helping hand to all those in need, their way of life is put to the test when a fallen general seeks medical help, and eventually enlightenment, from the very same monks he offended.

To those who doubt the Hong Kong film industry’s ability to continue Continue reading »

Film Review: Marchent’s ‘Cut Throats Nine’ (1972) Brutalizes The Spaghetti Western Genre

Action, Exploitation, Extreme, J. Andersson, Rape/Revenge, Revenge, Spaghetti Westerns, Spain, Westerns No Responses »

Nov 152011

I can imagine the filmmakers having a meeting before the shoot, before a script is presented. They want to make a western, that has been decided, but the writer is seething with anger. He has probably just gotten through a nasty divorce and is angry. They want a movie without heroes. They want everyone that dies to die in the most brutal way possible and the mood should be uncomfortable and filthy.

Boy did they succeed.

A group of soldiers are on their way to a fort with a number of chained Continue reading »

Film Review: Take Your Time Seeing ‘In Time’ (2011) Because You Can Never Get Back Those Missing Minutes

Action, B. Woodell, Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller No Responses »

Nov 022011

Theatrical Poster

Imagine a world where money doesn’t exist, only time does. Everyday you work to earn enough money to live another day, to eat and try to enjoy life. In the ghetto’s there are gangs of time thieves who’ll rob you of the time you have left, leaving you to die in the gutter. The Time Keepers roam about keeping track of time and making sure that not too much is being spread out. On the other side of the spectrum, the rich have centuries to live and have lavish parties where they play poker with the excess time they have left. And all the while, you never grow older than twenty-five years old.

Sounds pretty cool, I know how excited I was when I saw the trailer a few months back and thought to myself what a great social commentary on Continue reading »

Film Review: Bickert’s ‘Dear God No!’ (2011) Offers Nothing but Gratuitous Sleaze & Ultra Violence (It’s Awesome)

Action, Crime, Exploitation, Horror, Revenge, T. Strauss No Responses »

Oct 212011

Theatrical Poster

While I was waiting outside the theater waiting to be let in for the Las Vegas PollyGrind Festival screening of Dear God No!, a hairy, drunken, tattooed biker detached himself from a large group of hairy, drunken tattooed bikers and staggered over to me. He threw his arm around my shoulders and slurred, “You’re a beautiful man. Just a…beautiful man.” Unsure of the correct Emily Post-approved response in this particular social situation, I smiled politely and replied, “Thanks.” He then leaned in closer and declared, “What is it with glory holes these days? There are no glory holes anywhere any more…not even in Vegas. What’s with that shit?” It was at that moment that I thought to myself, Am I about to be raped by a biker?

My fear was slightly diminished when he continued with, “I’m gonna Continue reading »

Film Review: Tsui Hark Returns to Form with Action-Packed Whodunit, ‘Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame’ (Di Renjie – 2010)

Action, Adventure, Asian Cinema, B. Woodell, Drama, Fantasy, Hong Kong, Martial Arts No Responses »

Sep 272011

Theatrical Poster

Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame brings something to Hong Kong cinema that really has been missing for as long as I can remember; a mystery crime solver film. Yes, there are instances where hidden identities need to be discovered in previous films, but Detective Dee is one hundred percent a mystery crime solver set in the Tang Dynasty.

A monument is being built in honor of Empress Wu Zetian (Carina Lau), and one day two of the supervisors burst into flames for no reason. No one is sure exactly what the cause is, so the Empress free Detective Dee from prison to solve the mystery. Empress Wu sends her right hand swordswoman, Jing’er (Bingbing Li) to not only watch Dee, but to help him in his quest to find not only what Continue reading »

Film Review: It Takes More Than a Punch to be a True ‘Warrior’ (2011)

Action, B. Woodell, Drama, Martial Arts No Responses »

Sep 252011

Theatrical Poster

Two fighters. Two brothers. One estranged ex-alcoholic father. One brother is an ex-Marine and war hero, the other is an ex fighter turned physics teacher. One brother wants to support his fallen Marine comrade’s wife, the other wants to save his house from foreclosure. In comes Spartica, the “Super Bowl” of MMA. Both men join. Both men fight through brackets, and I’m sure after reading through the fourth sentence you knew where the film was headed. It was blatantly obvious 15 minutes into the film.

This is the stripped down plot of Warrior, the new underdog sports film with one main problem…there was no underdog and no character really worth the weight of the script. Paddy Conlon (Nick Nolte) essentially abandoned his family twenty odd years ago due to alcoholism. He finds God and quits drinking, trying Continue reading »

Film Review: Nicolas Winding Refn’s Hard-Hitting Thrill Ride ‘Drive’ (2011) Leaves Critics and Fans Floored

Action, B. Woodell, Crime 5 Responses »

Sep 222011

Theatrical Poster

This past April the opening scene of Drive was released online for all to see and get excited about it’s release. It worked, because when the clip ended my jaw was wide open and all I could say was, “I want more.” Fast forward to the 2011 Cannes Film Festival where Nicolas Winding Refn won for Best Director and the film was nominated for the Palm d’Or. It was at that moment that my excitement for the film escalated beyond just looking like an intense car chase kind of action film. Those highest of honors aren’t given to just any old action film, so I knew this was going to be a ride through cinema at it’s finest…and the film still exceeded my expectations.

What’s one of the best aspects of the film, is that it takes a very simple story and gives it an immense sense of complexity through the characters involved, with lots of the emotions never spoken out loud by any of the characters Continue reading »

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