Showing posts with label Martyn Ford. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Martyn Ford. Show all posts

Saturday, November 17, 2018

The Marine 6: Close Quarters (2018)


Director: James Nunn
Notable Cast: Mike ‘The Miz’ Mizanin, Shawn Michaels, Rebecca ‘Becky Lynch’ Quin, Louisa Connolly-Burnham, Terence Maynard, Tim Woodward, Martyn Ford, Anna Demetriou, Michael Higgs

The Marine series has two things going for it that make me come back to it again and again. Firstly, it’s old school grounded and cheesy B-action. Secondly, it’s a franchise. I’m a sad sucker for both of those things. Even though I have never been a WWE fan, WWE Films has been doing some decent stuff on the straight to home video action market and I have no reason not to support them in their endeavors. Although The Marine franchise started off on a rocky road, requiring three different stars as three different characters in the first three films to mixed results, the series has strangely gotten better as it has gone on. Although The Marine 5 was met by mixed reactions from fans, it was easily one of my favorites thanks to its tongue-in-cheek attitude and solid direction from B-movie action director James Nunn. The Marine 6: Close Quarters does the smart thing and brings back The Miz’s Jake Carter for another round of beatdowns and bullet dodges along with Nunn in the director’s chair. While the results of this film are a bit less entertaining than the last for me, The Marine 6 brings another healthy dose of cheesy action to its fans and it’s another fun entry into this surprisingly enjoyable franchise.

Friday, November 16, 2018

The Blood Splatter: Illang: The Wolf Brigade (2018) / Final Score (2018)


ILLANG: THE WOLF BRIGADE (2018)

Director: Kim Jee-woon
Notable Cast: Gang Dong-won, Han Hyo-joo, Jung Woo-sung, Kim Mu-yeol, Han Ye-ri, Choi Min-ho, Shin Eun-soo

For the record, I’m not all that familiar for the source material behind Kim Jee-woon’s adaption of what is highly considered a classic piece of modern culture. Perhaps he does a lot of unique things with it, spinning its core ideas and messages in fresh ways that inspire confidence in fans. I couldn’t tell you otherwise. Or, maybe, Illang: The Wolf Brigade falls short and comes off as a film that stumbles in reaching its lofty goals as a futuristic action flick with its social and political messaging. For my money, despite some great elements, Illang falls into the latter. Judging the film on its own merits, of course.