Machete Review

The wait is finally over! Here it is, the moment I've been waiting for! Well, sort of... As far as over-the-top action, blood, and nudity are concerned, Machete delivers for sure. And I can't say it isn't entertaining as hell, because it is. It's just that its not exactly the movie I expected. I was going into this movie thinking it would be Robert Rodriguez's Kill Bill, but what I got was Robert Rodriguez's Black Dynamite. It is as much a parody, if not more so, as it is an homage. I knew there would be some laughs thrown in with the bloody, limb-chopping violence, I didn't anticipate the level of comedy in Machete. I didn't mind it, in the first two acts of the film, but by the third act it began to run a bit thin in my opinion. For example, there is a scene in Machete, where he and Sartana are trying to figure out the password to open some secret files on a computer disk. When they crack the code, the computer screen reads "BINGO". Kinda corny.

Beyond the overly comedic tone, the movie is exactly what I wanted to see. Plenty of gore, splattered brains, and hack-offed limbs.

I think Danny Trejo pulls off his first starring role very well as Machete, and hope Rodriguez comes through with the sequels promised at the end. It's definitely one of the funnest movies I've seen in a long time. *** out of ****

Trailer For Zack Snyder's Sucker Punch

Alright, I've been slacking lately, so this isn't "new' news, but Zack Snyder's (300, Watchmen) next film is titled Sucker Punch, and the trailer has been released online.

The movie stars Emily Browning, Vanessa Hudgens, Jena Malone, Jamie Chung, and Abbie Cornish. According to director Snyder, Sucker Punch is: "Set in the 1950s, it tells the story of Baby Doll (Browning),who is trying to hide from the pain caused by her evil stepfather and a lobotomy. She ends up in mental institution... and while there she starts to imagine an alternate reality. She plans to escape from that imaginary world but to do that she needs to steal five objects before she is captured by an unknown adversary. She has 5 days to escape before being lobotomized. In order to cope with the situation, she enters the hyper-real world of her imagination, and the lines between reality and dream begin to blur. She is joined with friends who are inmates from the institution. Lessons learned in the said fantasy world could help the girls escape their real-world fate."

The trailer gives us a glimpse of what to expect, including dragons, giant mechs, guns, samurai swords, B-52 bombers, and plenty of explosions. Unfortunately, there also seems to be a singing/dancing number...

I think this movie could go either way. It will undoubtedly look cool, but I'm not sure how I feel about the whole fantasy world angle. It's a bit cliche', and Inception's release isn't helping the plot seem anymore original. I am, however, digging the anime, video-game, and comic book influences, and the CGI work and overall look is incredible.

Unlike 300 and Watchmen, which were both adaptions of graphic novels, Sucker Punch is entirely the brain child of director Snyder and co-writer Steve Shibuya.

Check out the trailer:

New Machete Trailer!!!!

Here it is, the new feature trailer for Robert Rodriguez's Machete! If, somehow, you haven't heard about this movie, its a spin-off of the movie Grindhouse. Machete (Danny Trejo), is an ex-Mexican federale, on the run after he is double-crossed while attempting to assassinate the corrupt Senator McLaughlin (Robert DeNiro). The cast also includes Jessica Alba, Steven Seagal, Lindsay Lohan (who is nowhere to be seen in the new trailer), Jeff Fahey, Cheech Marin, Michelle Rodriguez, and Don Johnson.

The movie looks like it's gonna be ILL! A motorcycle with a gatling gun mouneted on it, a shotgun wielding priest, a missile shooting car, Steven Seagal as a villain, and bad guys wearing luchadore masks! Machete has the potential to be the coolest movie ever.

Here's the trailer:

Legend Of The Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen

The Legend Of The Fist: The Return Of Chen Zhen is an upcoming martial arts flick from director Andrew Lau,(A Man Called Hero) starring Donnie Yen(Ip Man). The film is a continuation of Donnie Yen's Fist Of Fury TV series. He plays Chen Zhen, a role made famous by Bruce Lee in Fists Of Fury. The Chen Zhen Character was also portrayed by Jet Li in the classic Fist of Legend.

The story takes place several years after Chen Zhen was apparently killed, having avenged his master, who was murdered by the Japanese . He returns in disguise 7 years later and infiltrates the local mob in Shanghai, which has joined together with the Japanese. By night he wears a mask and cape to take down the members of the criminal organization.

The "superhero" aspect of the film is a new twist on the Chen Zhen character. His costume is very reminiscent of Kato, from The Green Hornet, who Bruce Lee portrayed in the Green Hornet TV series. The film will be released in Hong Kong on October 1, 2010. Peep the trailer below:

Trailer For Wu-Tang Vs. Golden Phoenix

Wu Tang vs. Golden Phoenix is a direct-to-DVD film directed by the Rza, It stars the Rza as well as Shaw Brothers legend Chen Kwan Tai (Men From The Monastery), with fight choreography by Robert Tai, (5 Deadly Venoms).

All I could gather about the plot was that it has to do with a powerful weapon, a gauntlet that is reminescent of the iron-fingered, sword snapping glove worn by the villain in Shaolin Prince (Shaw Brothers, 1982). While im not really feelin' the CGI special effects, the fight choreography looks good, exactly what onw would expect from Shaw Veteran Robert Tai. This is NOT the same movie Rza announced a while ago. That film, Man with the Iron Fist, begins shooting in the fall, and has a 20 million dollars budget. It was recently picked up by Universal.

Here's the 2 trailers for Wu Tang vs Golden Phoenix