Over the Top (1987)
Years after Rocky Balboa punched his ways into our hearts and John Rambo shot his load in a few guys, Sylvester Stallone brought to the world his cinematic ode to arm-fucking.
Live Wire (1992)
I know Pierce Brosnan has his supporters, but I just have to ask, how was this guy allowed a career? Did the producers of the James Bond franchise see Taffin before they hired him? Don’t get me wrong, I’m extremely pleased that Brosnan was blessed with a career far too good for an actor with...
Tough and Deadly (1995)
My girlfriend has a four-disc DVD set of the famed Billy Blanks Tae Bo workouts. Apparently Blanks is quite the celebrity in Japan – or at least was in the early 2000s – and she had picked up the DVDs while living there. I sat in on a few workout sessions. They were hard work,...
Hard Ticket to Hawaii (1987)
Following the entertaining Malibu Express (1985), Hard Ticket to Hawaii is the second film Andy Sidaris would make in the 1980s, and it is by far the most widely seen of his “Bullets, Bombs, and Babes” series. While it’s not exactly better than less discussed Sidaris masterworks, it’s not hard to see why it has...
Death Before Dishonor (1987)
Before 9/11, the action genre often utilised scenery-chewing Middle Eastern terrorists for villains. The terrorists would always be evil cowards with no explanation of their motives beyond mad shouts of “praise Allah.” Subtlety was nonexistent and xenophobia ran rampant. Post 9/11, Islamic terrorism has become a touchy subject not fit for action films. Hollywood has...
Taken 2?
I recently had the misfortune of going to the cinema to waste twenty bucks on Taken 2. Well, the going to the cinema part was actually quite nice. I was in good company and there was a very enjoyable dinner beforehand. So the night wasn’t a total loss. But you’d think, what better way to...
Death Hunt (1981)
DEATH HUNT USA, 1981, Peter Hunt Charles Bronson (RIP) is my favourite action star of all time. His stone face and dry delivery made for one of the most badass everyman action heroes going around. Whether it be war classics, westerns or sleazy 1980’s crime vehicles, Bronson was badass through and through. Even in...
Malibu Express (1985)
It’s confession time. Up until yesterday, I’d never seen a film by Andy Sidaris. Sidaris (R.I.P.) was a true king of trash, and I’m really not sure why it’s taken me this long to get around to him. For those who aren’t familiar with Sidaris, here is a brief career history taken from Wikipedia: Sidaris...
Into the Sun (2005)
Steven Seagal has a lot of shit dumped on him for his endless wave of DTV films, most of which are quite horrifically bad (but oh so entertaining), that began after Half Past Dead (2002). Cast out of the theatres, Seagal has never returned to the silver screen, unless you count his role in Machete...
The Substitute (1996)
The Substitute seems to be a pretty widely seen film based on its multitude of ratings on IMDB. Yet somehow, even though it’s right up my alley, I’d never heard of it or its sequels until Mondo Exploito’s Matthew Revert came along and made my life a whole lot better. Matt and I recently conducted...
Action movie blu-ray/DVD poetry contest!
To celebrate the addition of our latest regular article, Tough Guys, we’re having a contest/giveaway! If you win, you’ll receive a couple of horrible action movies on blu-ray and DVD. All you have to do is write a short poem about your favourite tough guy of yesteryear. Who’s your favourite action star? Seagal? Lundgren? Van...
The One Armed Executioner (1983)
As every exploitation movie nerd knows, a film shot in the Philippines is a guarantee of explosions, helicopters and uncomfortably dangerous looking stunts. And when it’s not only filmed in the Philippines but also produced by a Filipino, you’ll know that the good times will be increased tenfold – that is assuming you have a...
