17 Responses to “We told you so”

1. 

   MikeOutWest

   April 19th, 2010 at 11:12 pm

   Good to see Isaac getting the kudos he deserves, and great to see U3 finally getting seen. Hopefully it won’t be long now before its finally released. Can’t wait to see Scott Adkins kicking ass again.

   Merantau, by the way, is also fantastic. It isn’t as flamboyant as Tony Jaa’s movies but is a much more well-rounded film, with a decent story, great villains and a soundtrack which really enhances the big fight moments. There’s one moment in an elevator which will have people reminiscing about classical John Woo and his themes of brotherhood, all condensed into one scene.

2. 

   CJ Holden

   April 20th, 2010 at 5:32 am

   Nice that they gave Stavell an award. That kick looks painful. This might cheer him up. :)
   And Vern, I understand, love and respect your wish to stay anonymous and mysterious, but you should really be the president of the jury next year. (What about wearing a Ninja mask in public?)

3. 

   Mr. Majestyk

   April 20th, 2010 at 5:56 am

   I have become a dedicated Florentician since Vern turned me on to his work a few years ago. The earliest one I’ve seen is a VHS-only modern-day western called DESERT KICKBOXER, which is not up to par with the man’s later work, but it’s called DESERT KICKBOXER and no one can take that away from it. It’s probably the best Native American-themed martial arts flick ever shot in Israel and co-starring Paul L. Smith as a Mexican drug lord. I recently watched COLD HARVEST, which is a post-apocalyptic kung-fu movie where everybody thinks it’s the old west. (I figure Florentine must be a Leone fan.) They’ve got long dusters and six-shooters and bandannas around they’re necks, but they also all know kung fu and live in a bombed-out wasteland (probably Vancouver). I have no idea why it’s called COLD HARVEST but I recommend it anyway. People get kicked through the air real good.

   Now I just need to track down affordable versions of his first two films: SAVATE (also known by the Weinstein-worthy title of THE FIGHTER) and his 1987 debut, SHALOM LA-MECHASSEL (translation: FAREWELL, TERMINATOR. I’m so glad I now know how to say “terminator” in Hebrew. That oughtta come in handy).

4. 

   MikeOutWest

   April 20th, 2010 at 7:24 am

   Mr M, I salute your sly dig at The Weinsteins. I’m still baffled why SPL became Killzone, or The Banquet
   became Legend of the Black Scorpion!

   And Vern, I second the motion that you get on the judges panel for next year’s Action Fest.

5. 

   Sabreman

   April 20th, 2010 at 9:31 am

   Cold Harvest sounds great!–somewhat on the level of Brotherhood of the Wolf! Maybe there should be a review of it by someone in detail (but who??) {g}

6. 

   brandon curtis

   April 20th, 2010 at 10:42 am

   Sorry to be such a shameless individual but I reviewed “Merantau” many moons ago, it’s rife with run-on sentences but I hope you guys might read and enjoy it if you feel so inclined.

   http://brandoncurtis.blogspot.com/2009/10/fantastic-fest-review-merantau.html

7. 

   CallMeKermiT

   April 20th, 2010 at 12:01 pm

   Wearing a ninja mask as the president of next year jury will officially make you the coolest movie critic in history , but it’s a little one-sided : it will only represent ninja movies . I suggest a ninja mask , a cowboy hat for westerns , a cape for super-hero movies , a machete for slashers and a toy laser gun for science fiction . Now that’s a costume !

   But if you can’t make it to next year Actionfest , why don’t you just try to interview Florentine ? After all you had an interview with that director of action/tits movies , why not try with him next ?

   Now if only I was able to find US SEALS 2…..

8. 

   Mr. Majestyk

   April 20th, 2010 at 12:08 pm

   Can’t you order it from American Amazon? I know the shipping will be high, but they’re selling it used for as low as 66 cents so it might be worth it.

   The movie does rock, by the way.

9. 

   CallMeKermiT

   April 20th, 2010 at 12:26 pm

   Yeah , if I can’t find it in the video stores over here , I will order it from the Internet. I’m never completely comfortable with ordering from the web , but if it’s my only option I will use it . And since we’re talking about titles , I don’t know why , but here in Italy US SEALS 2 is called “Blackmail in Washington” ( Ricatto a Washington ).

10. 

    MikeOutWest

    April 20th, 2010 at 2:43 pm

    Cold Harvest – does this mean that Gary Daniels actually starred in a decent film other than City Hunter? Consider my interest piqued.

11. 

    MikeOutWest

    April 20th, 2010 at 3:56 pm

    Brandon – cool review. As a Harlan Coben fan I was wondering if you’ve seen Tell No One.

12. 

    Mouth

    April 20th, 2010 at 4:44 pm

    Vern, everybody (not like you really care or have shown any interest in my situation before, but anyway. . .), sorry I couldn’t make it to ActionFest this year. Stupid war got in the way, had to fly to a 3rd world shithole again on a little business trip.

    Seems like I didn’t miss too much in terms of events–Chuck Norris appearance & a panel event on stunts–though I would have enjoyed sending correspondence on films that haven’t yet made it into Vern’s review index. I’ll try not to lose sleep over it. I’ll film some of the crazy shit we do here and set it to Johnny Cash tunes, so that’ll probably be more compelling than most Chuck Norris films.

    My friend in Asheville tells me Centurion was one of the bloodiest films he’s seen in a while. He recommends it.

13. 

    Lawrence

    April 20th, 2010 at 6:36 pm

    As far as Gary Daniels goes I think Bloodmoon is his best movie. Those that like low budget fight choreography will like this one a lot. Very skillfully made.

14. 

    brandon curtis

    April 20th, 2010 at 8:11 pm

    Mike- I’ve read all of Harlan Coben except the first two books of his that are out of print, medical mysteries–I found one in a torrent, but the name escapes me, No Second Chance which I’m only a quarter of the way through and Tell No One which I didn’t read because there’s a movie. However, curious as to how the film found its editing style I’ve noticed in reading that Harlan Coben does like to double back and show similar events from another perspective although you could argue that his big reveals are exactly that. But switching gears to the film, Tell No One fucking rules I like to call it the French Gone Baby Gone even though it’s an American novel but you have a Bubba Rugowski type character, two lead characters whose lives are seemingly irrevocably damaged and they receive, quite some time later, a chance to heal the fissures. I also think Tell No One might be one of the best edited movies of the decade and that no other movie will ever use a U2 song that well again.

    Lawrence- Bloodmoon is amazing. I may be more amused than most that Daniels sidekick is a motorcycle riding, martial arts practicing magician who is BLACK! Also, the confetti bomb is super gay and I love it.

15. 

    Lawrence

    April 20th, 2010 at 8:17 pm

    brandon, you’re not the only one. Personally I’d take that guy over Chris Tucker any day.

16. 

    Andy C.

    April 22nd, 2010 at 4:49 pm

    Really liked your comment on Devins’ review Vern. I’m pretty sure he reads them he just won’t respond.

17. 

    Mr. Majestyk

    April 23rd, 2010 at 12:24 pm

    Speaking of Gary Daniels (I assure you that some of us were speaking of Gary Daniels) did anybody else notice that he’s in The Expendables? They just keep digging deeper and deeper for obscure badasses. Who’s next? Olivier Gruner?