Released: March 2018

Director: Mark Landre Gould

Rated R

Run Time: 99 Minutes

Distributor: Lionsgate Studios

Genre: Western/Drama

Cast:
Lance Henriksen: Taylon
Tom Berenger: Will
Danny Trejo: River Man
Billy Lush: Virgil
Meg Steedle: Heidi
Steve Railsback: Jaden

For the past 70 years, the idea of the American Western has taken on a kind of mythic quality.  For decades, kids as young as 4 would play “Cowboys and Indians” in their back yard or in a nearby park.  Even if you had never actually seen a Western, you had an idea of what was in one, i.e cowboys and Indians.  That idea had permeated the Western for god knows how long.  The thing is, and I bring this up almost every time I review a Western, is that the Western is so much more than just cowboys, Indians, gun fights in saloons, and John Wayne.  Those are all parts of a Western, but they don’t necessarily define it.  I’ve said this multiple times:  What makes a good Western is not just a good story, but having a realistic setting and strong characters to drive that story.  It doesn’t need to be action-packed.  Often, the best Westerns aren’t action-packed.  Some of them are really good dramas.  Also, in the past decade or so, we’ve seen the Western combined with science-fiction as well as comedy and horror.  The Western can be as versatile as any other genre and it doesn’t even have to take place during the 1800s.  Dirty Harry is a perfect example.  Star Wars is another.  Yes:  Star Wars is a Western set in another galaxy.  Over the past few years, we’ve seen a bit of a resurgence in the genre with films like Hostiles, Appaloosa, Seraphim Falls, and Bone Tomahawk.  Some people believe that the Western is dead.  It really isn’t.  It’s making a comeback.  Gone Are The Days is the latest film in  the genre.

The film opens on an ailing old outlaw, Taylon, as he seems to be spending his last days on his run-down ranch.  Realizing that he doesn’t have a lot of time left in the world, he wants to try and make things right with the daughter he gave up so many years ago, Heidi.  Discovering that she’s working in a brothel, Taylon wants nothing more than to get her out of that life, but to do so, he has to get past the local sheriff, Will, who also seems to be a part of Taylon’s past.  The story is simple, but it does take on a bit of a psychological edge, as Taylon talks to people that may or may not be a figment of his imagination.  This gives the film and character a unique angle:  Taylon is physically deteriorating and his mind isn’t far behind, so it makes sense that he could be hallucinating.  The character’s struggle to find his daughter is not only compelling, but it is fairly well-written.  Unfortunately, the film does suffer from some pacing issues, because it is a slow-burner of a Western.  If you’re looking for an action film, look elsewhere.  There are moments when the film does seem to drag on a bit, but that’s a fairly minor quibble.  I wouldn’t say that the film is as good as Hostiles, story-wise, but it is a much smaller and more intimate kind of Western, so it works on a smaller scale.  It’s a more personal kind of story.

Acting-wise, the film is mostly great.  Lance Henriksen is a living legend.  This guy has been in some of the biggest movies in the past 40 years.  He’s worked in almost every genre that the industry has to offer, whether it’s science fiction, horror, or action.  He’s an excellent character actor, and his performance in Gone Are The Days is phenomenal.  Whenever this guy’s name is on the box art or poster, I tend to pay attention, because I know that he puts everything into every role that he’s done, whether or not the movie itself is any good.  This is also not his first Western, either.  He’s been a few.  Tom Berenger is also fantastic, and he’s not a typical villain.  In fact, his character tends to be very likable in spite of his past and Berenger really gives the character a decent amount of humanity and respect.  The real villain of the film is Jaden, the guy played by Steve Railsback.  The moment you see this guy, you automatically hate him.  The character is a nasty viper of a man who runs a bar and the brothel where Heidi is forced to work.  The lovely Meg Steedle plays Heidi, Taylon’s estranged daughter, and she does a really good job with what she’s given.  She’s not really a damsel in distress, but she is someone who is in over her head.  Danny Trejo’s performance as the crazy River Man is fantastic, despite his lack of screen time.  That brings me to a couple of issues here:  One: Danny Trejo is given pretty significant billing despite only being in the film for about 5 minutes.  Steve Railsback goes a little too over-the-top with his character.  I’m not necessarily blaming Steve here, but the way the character was written, you might as well have slapped a mustache on him and have him twirl it.

The film saves the gun fight until towards the end of the film, and it’s not terrible.  It’s fairly short, to the point, and not overly complicated.  It is pretty violent, but it also comes to a conclusion that not is not only satisfying but also very emotional.  It’s one of the best ways to cap off a movie.  I won’t spoil it, but it was an ending that was earned.  Some of the cinematography was pretty good as everything was mostly shot on location, so you have some pretty decent scenery in there.  The costumes and set designs were right out of the late 19th century, so there’s a level of authenticity that is very much appreciated.  While Gone Are The Days suffers from a few glaring issues, it is by no means a bad film.  It’s still a pretty good Western, but it’s also a drama that has quite a bit of heart to it.  Lance Henriksen has proved yet again that he is one of the greatest actors that doesn’t get enough credit for his accomplishments.  The guy is pushing 80 and he’s got 11 more movies on the way.  He’s clearly a guy that really enjoys his job and he doesn’t seem to be slowing down.  He’ll keep doing this until he can’t.  I can’t wait to see more from him.  As far Westerns go, Gone Are The Days isn’t what I would consider one of the greatest, but it is a pretty decent little film in its own right.  It’s definitely worth renting at least.

My Final Recommendation:  You’re never too old for one last ride.  7.5/10

A few years back after the release of Tremors 5: Bloodlines on home video, there has been talk of a new Tremors tv show starring Kevin Bacon reprising his role of Val McKee from the original film.  Kevin Bacon himself expressed some serious interest in returning to the fictional town of Perfection, Nevada.  When Mr. Bacon expressed his interest, fans of the original film and the franchise started getting excited because this was a real possibility.  Over the following year and a half there were rumors and speculations about what was going on with the potential new series.  About a year ago, we began hearing about the series going into production while a new film was also being made.  New film and series?  That’s pretty freaking awesome!  Apparently everything was going according to plan, up until a couple of days before Tremors 6 was released.  Then we got this from Kevin Bacon on Instagram: “Sad to report that my dream of revisiting the world of Perfection will not become a reality. Although we made a fantastic pilot… the network has decided not to move forward.”  On one hand, I’m very disappointed that this happened.  On the hand, however, I expected nothing less from the fucking SyFy Channel.  Everybody that was working on the pilot episode for the new series was taken by surprise as were the fans.  The director and writers of the pilot said that it tested well, so what the fuck happened?  Like I said, the SyFy Channel happened.  Now, to be fair, the previous TV series which aired nearly 15 years ago, starring Michael Gross was canceled after 13 episodes…on the then-Sci-Fi Channel.

Part of me is wondering why the fuck Universal Studios ship off the tv series to the goddamn SyFy Channel in the first place.  SyFy is nothing but a worthless cesspool of some of the worst trash on television.  The movies that play on that stupid channel are nothing more than cheap mockbusters and shows that nobody fucking watches anymore.  The SyFy Channel has been going straight to hell ever since they canceled Stargate Universe after 2 seasons.  The people running that channel have NO clue what the hell they’re doing.  The worst part about all this is that SyFy has been mum on everything.  There’s been no press release and no information put out why the show was canned before it even aired.  Usually, a channel would at least air one episode before canceling, but SyFy didn’t even do that.  What the fuck are they afraid of?  Don’t get me wrong, the fan base for Tremors isn’t exactly in the billions, but clearly the desire for more stories set in that universe have clearly inspired more films as evidenced by Tremors 5 and 6.  There’s already talk of a 7th film possibly in the works.  Again, I ask: What happened?  I’m guessing that SyFy wasn’t entirely sure that there was going to be a real market for a new Tremors series, but without them airing the pilot there is no way to gauge how well it was going to do.  Do they have a crystal ball that we aren’t aware of?  Are they employing psychics, now?   I get that the new series was not going to last very long.  Evidently, it was only going to last 7 or 8 episodes.  That was what I heard.  But, we’ll never know now, will we?  No.  It’s looking highly unlikely that SyFy will air the pilot episode.

Would it be possible for the new series to get handed over to someone like, say, Netflix, Amazon or Hulu?  Honestly, it would make more sense to put on those digital platforms then airing it on basic cable.  Will they hand over the series, though?  Honestly, I doubt it.  If there’s one thing the SyFy Channel is known for, it’s not for being smart or reasonable.  I don’t know if the fan-base for Tremors is big enough to deliver a backlash against SyFy.  I don’t know.  But I can tell you that people are not happy about.  I’m certainly not.  The more I keep hearing about shit like this from that dumpster fire of a channel, the more I want it to crash and burn.  SyFy hasn’t delivered anything worthwhile in about 20 years, and it’s not likely they’re going to change.  So…to the SyFy Channel, I say this:  Go fuck yourselves and I hope your business dries up and disappears.  So, yeah, I’m not happy about it.  I wanted to take a day or so to process it and put my thoughts out there.  I did review Tremors 6, which was a pretty good film, so there’s that.

Released: May 2018

Director: Don Michael Paul

Rated PG-13

Run Time: 98 Minutes

Distributor: Universal Home Entertainment

Genre: Action/Horror/Comedy

Cast:
Jamie Kennedy: Travis B. Welker
Michael Gross: Burt Gummer
Tanya van Graan: Dr. Rita Sims
Jamie-Lee Money: Valerie McKee
Rob van Vuuren: Swackhammer

Tremors is a film that has managed to stand the test of time.  28 years later, the Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward-led monster flick still manages to entertain audiences world-wide.  Why is that?  Why has the franchise managed to survive this long?  Starting with the original film, it’s a bit of a throwback to the old monster movies of the 50s and 60s.  There’s quite a bit of camp in the original Tremors, but that works in its favor.  There are a number of reasons why the original film works so well.  The characters are interesting and well-written.  I mean, Val and Earl?  That is a duo that works as well as Abbott and Costello.  The writing in the film was sharp and witty.  The visual effects and creature designs were incredible.  It was all done with puppets and miniatures.  Even in 1990, they never really made movies like that anymore.  Now, in 2018, it’s even less so.  Tremors has a lasting legacy and fan-base that is extraordinary.  I mean yeah, the sequels to the original film went direct-to-video, but they were still of pretty decent quality.  After the release of Tremors 4, there were rumors floating around of a possible 5th film that was going to take place in Australia.  Well,  in 2015, Tremors 5 was unleashed to audiences and took place in South Africa.  Not quite Australia, but close enough.  It was a pretty solid sequel that introduced some new elements and new behaviors for the Graboids.  Now, in 2018, we have a 6th entry into the franchise: A Cold Day In Hell.

Tremors: A Cold Day In Hell starts in the Canadian Arctic with a group of scientists doing some ice core drilling.  During the drilling, the team comes under attack from a Graboid and is obliterated.  What’s left of the team, led by Dr. Rita Sims call up survivalist-turned-monster hunter Burt Gummer to try and recruit him to help deal with their situation.  However, during the situation, it’s revealed that Burt has been infected by a virus from the Graboids, which has him living on borrowed time.  Discovering that the only to save Burt’s life is to capture a Graboid alive, Burt’s son Travis and the rest of the research team devise a plan to capture the beast.  It’s a surprisingly decent story considering the kind of movie this is.  The amount of tension in the film is pretty palpable and it had me on the edge of my seat.  In the grand tradition of Tremors, this film is still a riot and a half.  The story is fun and it has some decent character development.

One of the most outstanding features of the original Tremors was its cast of characters.  A Cold Day In Hell continues the tradition of having some pretty strong and well-written characters.  There are definitely a lot of nods to the original film, one being that one of the characters, Valerie, is the daughter of Val and Rhonda from the original film.  It’s a pretty decent connection, and the character is NOT a damsel in distress.  She can handle better than most guys.  The character of Travis, I find to be very interesting, because we find out in the previous film, that he’s the result of one of Burt’s affairs throughout the years, so there is a unique father and son element here that helps drive the story.  It’s surprisingly compelling, to tell you the truth.  It’s also fantastic to see the character step up into a leader-ship role, despite being a complete smart-ass.  Now, a number of characters throughout the entire series just serve to be eaten by the Graboids and this entry is no different.  Some of them have it coming, especially this cowardly little scientist.

When it comes to the acting, it’s pretty solid across the board.  Michael Gross simply is Burt Gummer, despite the fact that the character is very different from the actual actor.  He’s always been one of my favorite actors in the franchise and I think he’s going to continue for as long as he physically can.  I’ll be truthful with you, I’ve never really been a big fan of Jamie Kennedy as an actor.  I’ve found him to be fairly irritating in most of the roles that he’s taken.  However, with Tremors 5 AND 6, I actually found him to be very entertaining and compelling in the role of Travis.  Jamie and Michael bounce off each other in almost the same way that Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward did, and that’s really freaking awesome.  To be honest, if and when Michael Gross decides to step away from Tremors, I think Jamie Kennedy would be a decent replacement.  The girl that plays Valerie, Jamie-Lee Money, does a fantastic job.  She gives the role an attitude and spunk that you would probably expect from an offspring of Val and Rhonda.  I would actually like to see her continue to play the part in a future installment.  Tanya van Graan also brings her A-game as Dr. Rita Sims.

Now, as we all know, people like to come to these films for the monsters and the carnage.  Well, let me tell you:  It delivers in spades.  Each sequel since the second film has always tried to do something new with the Graboids.  In the second film, the worms turned into these surface-walking, heat-seeking shriekers.  The third film added a new stage for the creature lovingly called the Ass-blaster.  I’m not making that up, I swear.  Tremors 4 was mostly a prequel so it didn’t really add anything new.  The fifth film made the Graboids much larger, vicious and able to really leap out of the ground.  In film number 6, the beasts wake up under the ice and cold, while still maintaining that level of viciousness that you would expect from a large man-eating underground worm.  Even when CGI was introduced in the series with film number 2, the folks behind the scenes have always tried to keep things as practical as possible with puppets.  While the Graboids are mostly CGI in films 5 and 6, that’s because CGI was the only way to get these creatures to move the way they do and honestly, the CGI isn’t that bad.  In fact, for direct-to-video sequels, the CGI is really good.  They actually put some real effort into making these things look and feel like huge monsters.  That being said, a great deal of the visual effects in this film are mostly practical.  The pyrotechnics and the underground motion of the Graboids were done on set.  When things and monsters explode, they went the distance to make it as real as possible and the visual effects artists have to be commended for that kind of effort.  When a building gets thrown around, it actually gets thrown around.

As to be expected for a direct-to-video film, there are some hiccups and quibbles that I have with the film.  As I said earlier, some of the characters only exist just to be eaten, and some of the throwbacks to the original film seem a little forced.  There was a sequence in the original film where Finn Carter’s character was forced to take her pants off because she was caught in barbed wire and was about to be eaten.  That led to some hilariously awkward moments in the film.  Here, it’s just awkward and out-of-place.  Ultimately, though, Tremors: A Cold Day In Hell is another solid entry into a franchise, that quite frankly, I’m surprised has continued to perform as strongly as it has.  I would not have blamed Universal for not doing anymore, but apparently, the fan-base for Tremors want more.  You want to know something?  So do I.  I do expect another film to be announced in the next year or so I’m keeping my ears to the ground so-to-speak.  As long as Universal keeps putting effort into these films, I will continue to watch them, and so will a lot of other people.

My Final Recommendation:  Be sure to stay on solid rock.  8.5/10

Released: May 2017

Director: Chris Nahon

Rated R

Run Time: 100 Minutes

Distributor: Vertical Entertainment

Genre: Action

Cast:
Amy Johnston: Jane
Muriel Hofmann: Shu
Jenny Wu: Ling
Kathy Wu: Wai
Jet Tranter: Cassidy
Mayling Ng: Svietta

As far as I’m concerned, there’s not enough focus on female-led action films.  It’s not that they don’t exist, they do, but they don’t really get to share the spotlight with films that are led by men.  Now, we’re starting to see a change of sorts.  This year we got Tomb Raider, headlined by Alicia Vikander as well as last year’s Wonder Woman, which was led by Gal Gadot.  You’ve also got ladies like Milla Jovovich, who led films like Resident Evil.  Back in the day, women like Cynthia Rothrock, Karen Sheperd and Michelle Yeoh who led the way for women in action movies.  Now, folks like Jeeja Yanin and Gina Carano are taking it to another level.  The one gal that I’m paying attention to right now, though is Amy Johnston.  Why?  Look at movies like Lady Bloodfight and Accident Man.  Not only can she act, but she can kick some serious ass and go toe to toe with the boys.

Lady Bloodfight follows Jane, an American waitress who heads to Hong Kong to find out what happened to her father, who disappeared years before.  Hoping to find answers by participating in the brutal underground tournament known as the Kumite, Jane has the odds stacked against her as she takes on a large number of other fighters in a fight to the finish.  If you look at the plot summary of this film and what comes to mind is Bloodsport with Jean-Claude Van Damme, you really aren’t far off the mark.  The difference being is that all the fighters in this film are women.  What sets this film apart from Bloodsport, though, is in the way it handles its story and character development.  The story is as simple as it gets, but it’s handled in a way that I was completely engaged by it.  Even in the best fight movies, they are still driven by a story, regardless of how simple it may be.  There are plenty of interesting things that happen on Jane’s journey and none of them seem really out of place.  It’s a pretty solid story.

While I would say that the acting across the board in Lady Bloodfight is fairly average, there are a few standouts in the film that really make it worth watching.  First is Muriel Hofmann as Jane’s teacher Shu.  She plays a fairly quiet and unassuming martial arts master, who had participated in the Kumite only for it to end in a draw.  As a result, she’s resigned to the fact that she’s had to take on Jane as a student.  She gives the role a very quiet, yet somewhat humorous flair that really works.  Kathy Wu plays Shu’s rival, Wai, who was expecting to win that last fight.  Like Shu, Wai has had to take on a student of her own in order to win.  Mayling Ng is positively intimidating as the brutal Svietta.  She has this incredible Amazonian physique that would give Bolo Yeung’s Chong Li pause.  The real standout of the film though is Amy Johnston.  A stunt-woman, actress and martial artist herself, Amy Johnston just powers her way through the film.  Yeah, her character’s a serious bad-ass, but she’s also given moments of vulnerability which Amy just nails.  She’s as good an actress as she is a martial artist and after seeing her in this and Accident Man, I can’t wait to see what she’s got coming down the line.  She’s got the potential to be one of the top female action stars of the 21st century and I don’t say that lightly.

The fight sequences in Lady Bloodfight are something that the film somewhat struggles with.  It’s not that the choreography is bad.  Far from it.  These are some pretty brutal fight scenes.  The problem is the way in which the director chose to shoot the action.  I’ve always been of the mind that shaky-cam has absolutely no place in a movie like this, and I meant it.  I hate having to bring it up every time I see it in a fight movie.  I have to, because some people seem to think that it’s really a good idea to get right in there all up in the fighters’ business.  Normally, this would used to hide some pretty bad choreography, but that’s not the problem.  The problem is the constant shaking and close-ups that get in the way.  Other-wise the fights are just fine.  Thankfully, the action scenes with Amy Johnston are shot fairly well, but some of the other sequences are a little hard to follow.  Some of the editing could use a little work too.

One of the other things I like about this movie is that except for Svietta, there really isn’t a fully defined villain.  Yeah, you’ve got your typical corrupt business scumbag who wants to win big bucks, but that’s just a matter of greed.  Svietta is a cold-hearted lady through-and-through.  Shu’s rival Wai is also given a pretty decent arc and the film does have a fairly satisfying conclusion.  Overall, I would say that Lady Bloodfight is a pretty decent fight movie with a pretty strong story and even stronger performance by Amy Johnston.  I could see this lady headlining a big budget action film if Hollywood ever decides that it’s changed its mind about women headlining action movies.  That being said, Lady Bloodfight is surprisingly worth your time.  Just be aware of some of the issues regarding camera-work.

My Final Recommendation:  Hell hath no fury like women that can kick some serious ass. 8/10