William Goldman, the living legend screenwriter who wrote All The President’s Men, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and The Princess Bride, is 80 years old, but that isn’t stopping him from working in Hollywood. Back in 1986, he wrote a film called Heat – no relation to the Michael Mann classic – that was based on Goldman’s own novel. Now he’s writing another adaptation of that same story for the big screen, but instead of Burt Reynolds headlining, this time it’s Jason Statham.

The story sounds like Hitch for badasses, in which a mercenary makes guys look tough instead of romantic. When his escort friend is beaten by a Vegas high roller, the mercenary (Statham, in this case) goes after him to get revenge.

Shooting starts by the end of the year in France. This reads like a typical Statham project, but there’s one other key player here: Brian De Palma is directing. Admittedly, the guy’s had some bad films in the past decade, but maybe a straight-up action revenge story is what he needs to get his blood pumping again.

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Lionsgate has released the first teaser trailer for The Expendables 2. Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Terry Crews, Chuck Norris, Randy Couture, Liam Hemsworth, Jean Claude Van Damme, Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger all star, and as the cast is the whole selling point for this film they’re all mentioned by name.

Watch the teaser below:

The Expendables are back and this time it’s personal… Barney Ross (Sylvester Stallone), Lee Christmas (Lee Statham), Yin Yang (Jet Li), Gunnar Jensen (Dolph Lundgren),Toll Road (Randy Couture) and Hale Caesar (Terry Crews) — with newest members Billy the Kid (Liam Hemsworth) and Maggie (Yu Nan) aboard — are reunited when Mr. Church (Bruce Willis) enlists the Expendables to take on a seemingly simple job. The task looks like an easy paycheck for Barney and his band of old-school mercenaries.

But when things go wrong and one of their own is viciously killed, the Expendables are compelled to seek revenge in hostile territory where the odds are stacked against them. Hell-bent on payback, the crew cuts a swath of destruction through opposing forces, wreaking havoc and shutting down an unexpected threat in the nick of time — six pounds of weapons-grade plutonium; enough to change the balance of power in the world. But that’s nothing compared to the justice they serve against the villainous adversary who savagely murdered their brother. That is done the Expendables way.

The sequel, directed by Simon West (The Mechanic, Con Air), will be released August 17, 2012.

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A few days ago Hasbo announced their intentions to move forward with Transformers 4, and were in “active discussions” with Paramount, Michael Bay and Steven Spielberg.

Following this Variety ran a report which said Shia LaBeouf won’t be returning, however Jason Statham’s name “has been bandied about by sources close to the production” as the new lead and the plan by Paramount was to shoot Transformers 4 and 5 back-to-back. Now, thanks to the power of the internet, both Jason Statham and Michael Bay have addressed the speculation.

Firstly Statham (who is romantically involved with Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, so was probably a frequent visitor to the Dark of the Moon set) told MTV:

“You know, I don’t know how those things start. You read them. Someone told me about it. [But] the internet is a dangerous place,” he laughed. “There’s a lot of stuff out there.”

Not to say that Statham would be completely opposed to a “Transformers” movie: “I’ve got a lot of stuff in front of me, but Michael Bay is a talented man. This last one just made a billion dollars around the world, so people like his films. He’s a talented man.”

Actors playing coy is nothing new, but director Michael Bay is known for telling things how it is (like he did when Paramount first set a 2011 release date for Dark of the Moon), and he took to his website to deny the speculation.

I am currently not talking to Paramount on T4 and T5 despite reports. I’m looking at a lot of possibilities coming my way right now weighing options. Most likely going to be doing the low budget Pain and Gain, a true story crime thriller. It’s a very quick shoot and quite funny. Also just finishing the 3 disc set of the Transformer trilogy.

Michael

This doesn’t mean Bay won’t enter talks at some point, as i’m sure Hasbro and Paramount will want Bay involved with the Transformers franchise going forward, whether as director or producer.

As for Pain and Gain, it’s a $20m budget thriller which focuses on extortion and abductions in the Florida criminal underworld. I’m sure this will be a breath of fresh air for Bay having worked more than 5 years solidly on the Transformers movies. It’ll also give him the chance to focus more on an actual story, instead of just destroying cities.

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To answer the question you’re probably asking, yes – action fans should be pleased with Killer Elite. It’s got more story to it than many other selections in the genre, but just because it has more plot doesn’t mean it actually has anything to say. For me, the best action films either offer something interesting to think about (Inception, the Bourne films) or are paper-thin excuses to jump from one action sequence to the next (see: every Tony Jaa movie ever made). In terms of Jason Statham movies, Killer Elite falls squarely in the middle of these extremes, more akin to The Bank Job than The Transporter.

There’s an interesting line of dialogue that comes late in the film, when a government agent seemingly captures Jason Statham and Clive Owen and says, “That’s what we love about you lot – you only care about the action.” I’m guessing this line spoke directly to much (if not all) of the audience for Killer Elite. Personally, I judge most action films on whether or not they meet one strict criterion: does it show me something I’ve never seen before? Here’s a sweeping generalization: oftentimes the plot, characters, and visual effects are interchangeable in this genre, so, for me, the devil is in the details. One fight scene, car chase, or unexpected reveal can separate these movies from their brethren; in short, give me something memorable or GTFO. Killer Elite has two things I’ve never seen: Jason Statham’s character uses a loaf of bread as a silencer for his gun at one point, and there is a sequence (shown in the trailer) in which Statham fights a guy while strapped to a chair. So, on some level, I’d consider this movie a success.

So there’s no confusion, I’ll sum up my feelings with a phrase I’ve come to despise: I liked this movie for what it was. Normally, I think that assessment is taking the lazy way out, trivializing the filmmaker by implying he/she set the bar lower than a “normal” movie. But when a film like this is so clearly trying to be a certain thing, there’s nothing wrong with judging it as such. Action scenes aside, the rest of the movie was far from the failure I anticipated. Unlike something like The Expendables, which is loud, over the top, and just plain stupid, Killer Elite operates in a far more realistic world (as it should, considering it’s based on true events). This is espionage, not a Stallone-era shoot-em-up where the person with the biggest gun wins. In fact, I’d argue there’s almost too much story told here; so much happens, the movie feels a lot longer than its runtime suggests.

The leads were all enjoyable to watch, though they didn’t share much screen time together. Statham turns in one of his better performances; the man’s not known for his great dramatic work, but he pulls that off just as well as the action beats here. It’s reassuring to see De Niro in a part like this again after his stretch attempting comedy in the Focker movies. Clive Owen is fine – he plays a guy named Spike, so of course he wears a leather jacket to secret society meetings. He and Statham have an impressive brawl in the middle of the film that wasn’t quite as memorable as some other points in the movie, due mostly to director Gary McKendry’s over-reliance on shaky cam. Yvonne Strahovski (NBC’s “Chuck”) shows up as a love interest for Statham, but ultimately doesn’t have a lot to do. Though her backstory is expectedly cliched, she shows a lot more charm than typical action movie eye candy, and I’d like to see her spread her wings a bit with some larger roles. Try as any of these actors may, they’re still slaves to this film’s script, which offers its share of terrible dialogue. Some of my favorites:

“I’m done with killing.” “Maybe killing ain’t done with you.”
“That’s why we’re called The Feathermen – because our touch…is light.”
“B-I-N-G-f*ckin’-O.”
“Killing’s easy. Living with it is the hard part.”
“Everybody knows the rules: there are no rules!”

Killer Elite has its moments, but ultimately it’s a pretty forgettable outing in which the tight and economical action sequences play second fiddle to a story that drags a bit before reaching its easily predictable conclusion. Until next time…

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Clive Owen and Jason Statham have made careers for themselves kicking ass in a number of different action-thrillers over the years, but now some genius has decided to put both actors in the same movie.

In The Killer Elite not only do we have Clive Owen (+ mustache) and Jason Statham trying to kill each other, we also get to see Robert De Niro taking some names.

Watch the trailer below:

Based on a true story, the film races across the globe from Australia to Paris, London and the Middle East in the action-packed account of an ex-special ops agent (Jason Statham) who is lured out of retirement to rescue his mentor (Robert De Niro). To make the rescue, he must complete a near-impossible mission of killing three tough-as-nails assassins with a cunning leader (Clive Owen).

Directed by Gary McKendry, the film also stars Yvonne Strahovski, Dominic Purcell, Aden Young, Ben Mendelsohn, Lachy Hulme, Firass Dirani, Grant Bowler and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje and will be released September 23rd.

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Following the success of The Expendables last year ($274 million worldwide) a sequel moved swiftly into development, but it was decided Sylvester Stallone would not be directing the next film as he did the first.

After a lengthy search a director for the sequel has been found according to Deadline, and it’s Simon West who most recently directed the The Mechanic starring Jason Statham and Ben Foster, and also directed Con Air and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. He’s an action director, and that’s what the sequel requires.

Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, Mickey Rourke, Terry Crews and Jet Li are all expected to return and Bruce Willis, who briefly appeared in the first film, confirmed earlier this year that he’ll have a larger role in the sequel (possibly as a villain).

There has also been talk of Jean-Claude Van Damme showing up in the next one after turning down a role in the original. Apparently he felt there was no substance or development to his character, however while promoting The Expendables Sly said he had spoken to Van Damme and there was some regret on his part for not appearing.

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Get ready for 84 minutes of Shakespeare on mushrooms. The 3D animated Gnomeo and Juliet is based off the famous writer’s 16th century play. In the opening monologue, a little gnome alerts the audience that this take will be a bit different from all the other versions. What the little gnome – and the nine other writers – forgot to mention is that this will blatantly steal the Toy Story concept. Now retreads are part of the process these days and this practice is accepted. With that said, the producers, writers and director better bring their A-game in the creative department.

After the monologue is completed, the setting of this story takes place in the connecting backyards of two upscale senior citizens. As they exchange insults when leaving for work, the one thing they do have in common is the pristine upkeep of their backyards. Both fenced in areas are decked out with tiny ceramic gnome statues. On one side we have the elegant blue gnomes. The other is the quasi-grumpy red gnomes. Once the respective homeowners leave for the day, the gnomes come to life and begin tending to their lands. Yet every now and then, the rival factions like to take subtle shots at each other. Whether it be in sabotaging ones flowers and/or partaking in the heated lawnmower races in the back alley just beyond the fence, the two sides are very competitive when interacting with each other.

The story glosses over all the characters so the audience can get a proper introduction. Yet the main focus is on the heralded son of the blues, Gnomeo (voiced by James McAvoy) and the princess like daughter of the reds, Juliet (voiced by Emily Blunt). Both have a sense of adventure in them, which leads them to an unexpected meeting, when both decide to venture beyond the fence. It becomes love at first sight, but the obstacle of being a blue and a red, forces them to hide their passion for each other. Eventually, the grudge between the blues and the reds escalates, leaving the two lovebirds in a tough position.

It’s fine to do an alternate take on a revered story. Disney’s Tangled is evidence of that, for it managed to successfully execute the formula in an entertaining way. Gnomeo and Juliet does a few creative things and pays attention to the small details (no pun), when using its surroundings. Problem is the gnome characters were not the proper vehicle to helm this tale based on the layout of the script. You would think having nine writers, the creative lighting bolt would eventually strike somewhere. Sadly, the potential (if any) is never fully realized.

Audiences – especially the younger audiences – will chuckle in a few choice spots. A chuckle is all though. Put it this way, you know when something hilarious happens on-screen and the audience is still laughing to the point you may miss a few lines of dialogue in the movie? Well, this will not happen at all in this guy. In fact, it seems the writers were cognizant of that above practice in theaters and purposely added a buffer between jokes. Which is met with dead silence. Now that isn’t to say the jokes were complete duds, but they (writers) definitely needed to spend more time on the material in accordance with the animated sequence that accompanied these said duds. What is funny though, Ozzy Osbourne voicing a ceramic deer the size of a shoe.

Comparisons to Toy Story are natural since the gnomes and a other random ceramics all freeze when humans enter the frame. What this flick is missing that Toy Story had was more depth in each character’s persona. None of the ceramic statues – which also include a French frog and a Super Mario Bros. mushroom – had the charisma necessary to make this memorable. The chosen environment the characters are put in was never fully developed, therefore, not all that interactive. It’s a shame too, because random flashes of brilliance were on display and could entertain. The not-so intelligent Pink Flamingo is an example of things the story did right.

Overall, Gnomeo and Juliet needed more preparation. The final version looks more like a second or third draft. Maybe Touchstone Pictures sent out the wrong copy to theaters. The physical animation is worthy of the big screen but the story and creativity regarding the characters is not quite there. Which suggests this title probably should have went straight to DVD. This is a product that will not annoy you in anyway, but the flick never engages the audience (old and young). At least it’s short (again, no pun intended).

RATING: 2.5 out of 5

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Every now and then, a poll will come out listing who is the #1 in demand actor and/or actress. About five years ago, one might recall seeing Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson being listed as the top action stars that studios yearn for in their violent products. Well this guy is here to tell you that there is only one man for the job these days. Jason Statham. And his work in The Mechanic solidifies this. Hell, the guy even made Death Race tolerable.

The 88 minute feature is firing on all cylinders once it opens up and the bodies start to pile up. Do not think for one minute this is a mindless tough guy action flick though. A savvy Bourne-like intelligence is spread throughout. Perhaps this thinking could be a turn-off – and the same thought entered my mind during the opening act. Which is almost too methodical for its own good. By having patience and understanding the underlying theme of the story in relation to the characters’ actions, enables the quasi-slow set-up to pay huge dividends in the final two acts.

Arthur Bishop (Jason Statham) is a professional assassin who has a knack for making his work appear as if a terrible accident happened to his victims. For the most part, all of his marks are sinful characters and deserve what is bestowed upon them. His orders and payments come from one man, the wheel-chaired Henry McKenna (Donald Sutherland). Henry runs an empire/corporation that employs numerous assassins just like Bishop. Henry is also Bishop’s mentor and confidant. When they are not discussing “work” the conversation revolves around Henry’s out-of-control son Steve (Ben Foster). Steve kind of wants to join in the family business but he’s still a victim of his vices, which include drinking and mixing it up physically with others.

Bishop takes Steve under his wing and begins to train him in the art. An art where preparation is the key to victory and brute force isn’t always the modus operandi. Henry’s partner, Dean (Tony Goldwyn) isn’t thrilled about Bishop having Steve tag along on his missions. For he is going against protocol and the “jobs” have not been going smoothly because of this choice. So guess what happens next…Showdown time.

To say the storyline is well-disguised would be a flat-out lie. Yet the path it takes can have the audience guessing on what the final outcome will be. As stated above, the opening act seems to embrace the recent trend in action flicks, where the lead character is reflective and their day-to-day life is revealed. Point of this method is to build an emotional connection between the audience and our lead. This script depicts just enough to accomplish this and not bore the audience. Luckily, Simon West (Con Air) is at the helm, and he knew when the audience needed the adrenaline dial cranked up. Best part about the dial being cranked in this flick is that it stays at put once the intended level is reached.

Hand-to-hand combat, a few shootouts and quick hitting isolated carnage will have the audience going, “OHhhh” – which is then followed up by an approving chuckle. Cinematography needs to be clutch and it was for the most part. One or two fight/action sequences are deploying the overused shaky close-up crap. Aside from the pacing in the first act and when the above mentioned camera technique is on display, the flick is steady and solid. It can feel like a mild chess match, but when a piece is taken off the board, it is done so in a raw bloody manner.

By the way…Seriously directors? Get over the shaky camera gimmick. Audiences want to see the action in a larger scope, not extreme close-ups.

Overall, The Mechanic combines the pure joy of seeing explosions and a variety of human-combat battles, along with executing a workable plot that manages to engage the viewer. Maintaining this balance keeps this straight-forward delivery substantially entertaining for fans of the genre.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

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If you’re a fan of Jason Statham action films you’ll be happy to know his latest movie, a remake of The Mechanic, opens this month. While it keeps the plot of the 1972 film starring Charles Bronson, it has been given a modern update with your usual action, stunts and weaponry.

Watch the trailer below:

Arthur Bishop (Jason Statham) is a ‘mechanic’ – an elite assassin with a strict code and unique talent for cleanly eliminating targets. It’s a job that requires professional perfection and total detachment, and Bishop is the best in the business. But when his mentor and close friend Harry (Donald Sutherland) is murdered, Bishop is anything but detached. His next assignment is self-imposed – he wants those responsible dead.

His mission grows complicated when Harry’s son Steve (Ben Foster) approaches him with the same vengeful goal and a determination to learn Bishop’s trade. Bishop has always acted alone but he can’t turn his back on Harry’s son. A methodical hit man takes an impulsive student deep into his world and a deadly partnership is born. But while in pursuit of their ultimate mark, deceptions threaten to surface and those hired to fix problems become problems themselves. The Mechanic also stars Tony Goldwyn, Jeff Chase, and Mini Anden.

The Mechanic will be released January 28th and is directed by Simon West (Con Air, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider). You can check out the red band trailer here.

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Since the first day the ridiculous cast was announced for The Expendables, action movie lovers everywhere have been anticipating the release of Stallone’s magnum opus of manliness. This movie almost seems like required viewing for a certain segment of the population, and if you count yourself among this group, nothing in this review will change your mind. But for the rest of you, I must admit (with a heavy heart): The Expendables is a waste of impressive casting, a spent bullet casing of a movie that leaves you scratching your head and asking, “this is what everyone was waiting for?”

I had high hopes for this film – too high, as it turns out. With audacious character names like Barney Ross (Stallone), Lee Christmas (Statham), Tool (Rourke), Yin Yang (Li), Gunner Jensen (Lundgren), Paine (Austin), and – I sh*t you not – Hale Caesar (Crews) and Toll Road (Couture), I figured this movie had to be so self-aware that it had to be a parody of the genre. While The Expendables is definitely a throw back to the brawny action films of the 80′s and 90′s, there is absolutely nothing else going on under the surface. I enjoyed Stallone’s previous film, 2008′s Rambo, because – while being shockingly violent – it also had a message behind it. Stallone used his iconic character to comment on the atrocities in Burma, and while you could enjoy the movie without that reminder, it gave the film a little extra for us to chew on. And if you’ll forgive the continuation of the analogy, The Expendables doesn’t provide any meat this time around – just spice, in the form of excessive explosions.

Look, of course I love explosions on film. I’m a guy. But I like my action movies one of two ways: either Bourne-style, with a legitimate storyline that makes me think, or Tony Jaa-style, in which there is only the illusion of a plot, allowing Jaa to transition from one action sequence directly to the next. This film teeters toward the latter, but unfortunately relies too much on exposition that no one cares about (Mikey Rourke’s mirror scene, anyone?) and sacrifices fun in the process. The tone is so somber for most of the movie that we can’t even celebrate victories with the characters; as soon as a scene ends, the leads – especially Statham’s character – go right back to moping around, feeling sorry for themselves because they can’t hang onto their women (mercenary soldiers are never home, you see).

The writing is absolutely atrocious. Like the ludicrous names of the characters, I hoped it was done on purpose to provide a sort of commentary/parody of the genre. But after the first fifteen minutes, I couldn’t remember all of the horrendous lines of dialogue anymore because there were so many flying off the screen. The unsettling truth set in very early: this wasn’t on purpose at all. Stallone and co-writer David Callaham actually thought this would be a good movie. After hearing the cast talk about this movie at Comic-Con, I truly thought we were in for something special. But with one of the worst scripts I’ve seen realized in the past five years, The Expendables couldn’t even sustain my interest for its mercifully short 103 minute run time. After a point, you can only take so many cliched plot twists, reveals, and explosions.

Ah, the explosions. In the final scene, so many buildings and cars explode that on multiple occasions I thought they had blown up everything at the island compound. Turns out I was wrong – every time that thought crosses your head, something else blows up. This probably sounds awesome to some people (Trust me, I was one of you!), but at a certain point – right about this time in the movie, actually – I just didn’t care what was happening to these characters. There’s no sense of peril for any of them, even though they’re getting shot at from every angle and inexplicably survive at every turn. One character even asks, “How did two professionals pass through security, kill forty-one men, and leave?” How, indeed. Generally speaking, I’m totally OK with these kinds of movies – I really enjoyed The A-Team earlier this summer – but this one wasn’t even fun. The one-liners were embarrassingly bad (many falling flat in the theater, leaving half of my audience turning to each other with quizzical looks on our faces), and the action scenes were almost as uninspired, relying on Greengrass-style shaky cam instead of the classical 80′s and 90′s style that we wanted to see.

As expected, the acting was borderline dismal throughout the entire film. Randy Couture’s delivery was as wooden as you’d expect from a mixed martial arts star, and you get major points (salute) if you’re able to comprehend every word from the slurred Lundgren or the weathered Stallone (double points if you catch his dialogue when he’s mumbling with a cigar in his mouth). General Garza is played abysmally by David Zayas (Angel Batista of “Dexter”), and Jet Li was only there to be made fun of for being short. Yes, Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger show up in a cameo. Let’s just say Arnie’s had way too much time off – aside from the fact that his character doesn’t even need to be in this scene, he was dreadful, and Willis wasn’t much better. There are some jokes thrown in during this scene, but again, they all fall flat and induce eye-rolling instead of legitimate laughs. Half of this film is spent laughing at it instead of laughing with it.

None of this is to say I hated the movie. There are some bright moments scattered throughout, certain explosions or fights choreographed in a way that make it quasi-interesting for those looking for hints of new ideas. There are two that I can think of, and Statham is involved with both of them. I could mention specific scenes, but I’m sure most of you will end up seeing the film for yourselves anyway, so I won’t spoil anything. I’d probably do the same thing if I were you. This is the kind of movie that, in theory, only comes around once in a lifetime and demands to be seen on the big screen. (I say “in theory” because there are already rumblings of a sequel.) The Expendables is not the savior of modern action films that I yearned for: instead, it’s a straightforward, big, dumb action movie and if that’s what you’re looking for, you’ll be pleased. I was just hoping for a bit more from the talent involved. Until next time…

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