I’ve seen Oldboy and Timecrimes on that list, and yes, Oldboy is a definite 10/10. According to the trivia page, the similarities between the awesome hallway scene and Streets of Rage are entirely on purpose. Sweet 🙂
Some of the others look very interesting, but I don’t have much stomach for nasty horrors these days. Gone soft in my old age!
Thanks for posting – I enjoyed this change of pace as much as the normal reviews.
Ah, excellent use of the word twaddle. Speaking of French films, don’t forget about District B13. The concept of a French action movie breaks my brain, but holy shit. It’s amazing.
I liked Death Sentence. It wasn’t until after it was over that I realized who did it. Explained the insane violence in the end. Wow. Also, nice extended cameo by John Goodman.
District B13 was incredible! The parkour was insane. They were doing things humans shouldn’t be able to do and it was all without wires.
It’s sad that Death Sentence is so overlooked. It’s so well done and Kevin Bacon gives a great performance. It also showed what Wan could do with another genre. Goodman always adds a touch of class.
The sequel to B13 was pretty good too. I guess having the (more or less) inventor of parkour really helps, heh.
I wonder if Death Sentence was overlooked because of the graphic violence and because The Brave One came out around the same time and was much less gruesome.
Ugh, The Brave One. Thankfully that didn’t do well either. I would have been pissed if the watered down version of essentially the same movie ended up being a hit. (which happens all too often) I like Jodie Foster but she was wasted on this movie, I mean even the name sucks.
Also, Death Sentence had a fraction the budget and was 10 times more effective. Death Sentence cost $20 mil while The Brave One cost $70 mil. Shameful.
I usually like films that you think will be mediocre from looking at the trailer but turn out way better than you imagine like Fight Club, The Mist and Frailty.
I think I have seen pretty much all of Van Dammes films but I have only seen the first half an hour of JCVD that I was going to watch later but completely forgot about it.
I tend to like the concept of the film and then I check it out. I try to avoid trailers when possible because most times they show you the whole frikkin movie or at least the best parts. There was one recently where they showed you the end of the damn movie. (I knew this because it was a remake and they ended it the same way)
JCVD is very different from Van Damme’s other movies, which I think is what confused some folks. It is more of a drama with a tiny bit of action. I liked it because on top of the story being fresh and original, it showed that Van Damme can actually act. There is a part in there that blew me away.
Excellent choices!!! High Tension, Martyrs, and Old Boy are among my favorite films. I actually own Inside but havent watched it yet(i buy more movies than i have free time) but am going to watch it tonight
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I’ve seen Oldboy and Timecrimes on that list, and yes, Oldboy is a definite 10/10. According to the trivia page, the similarities between the awesome hallway scene and Streets of Rage are entirely on purpose. Sweet 🙂
Some of the others look very interesting, but I don’t have much stomach for nasty horrors these days. Gone soft in my old age!
Thanks for posting – I enjoyed this change of pace as much as the normal reviews.
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it. I figured rather than have another week of nothing I would just go with something unscripted.
Give JCVD a shot if you can. That movie is awesome. You will look at Van Damme in a different light after you see it.
Ah, excellent use of the word twaddle. Speaking of French films, don’t forget about District B13. The concept of a French action movie breaks my brain, but holy shit. It’s amazing.
I liked Death Sentence. It wasn’t until after it was over that I realized who did it. Explained the insane violence in the end. Wow. Also, nice extended cameo by John Goodman.
District B13 was incredible! The parkour was insane. They were doing things humans shouldn’t be able to do and it was all without wires.
It’s sad that Death Sentence is so overlooked. It’s so well done and Kevin Bacon gives a great performance. It also showed what Wan could do with another genre. Goodman always adds a touch of class.
The sequel to B13 was pretty good too. I guess having the (more or less) inventor of parkour really helps, heh.
I wonder if Death Sentence was overlooked because of the graphic violence and because The Brave One came out around the same time and was much less gruesome.
I have the sequel but haven’t watched it yet.
Ugh, The Brave One. Thankfully that didn’t do well either. I would have been pissed if the watered down version of essentially the same movie ended up being a hit. (which happens all too often) I like Jodie Foster but she was wasted on this movie, I mean even the name sucks.
Also, Death Sentence had a fraction the budget and was 10 times more effective. Death Sentence cost $20 mil while The Brave One cost $70 mil. Shameful.
I usually like films that you think will be mediocre from looking at the trailer but turn out way better than you imagine like Fight Club, The Mist and Frailty.
I think I have seen pretty much all of Van Dammes films but I have only seen the first half an hour of JCVD that I was going to watch later but completely forgot about it.
I tend to like the concept of the film and then I check it out. I try to avoid trailers when possible because most times they show you the whole frikkin movie or at least the best parts. There was one recently where they showed you the end of the damn movie. (I knew this because it was a remake and they ended it the same way)
JCVD is very different from Van Damme’s other movies, which I think is what confused some folks. It is more of a drama with a tiny bit of action. I liked it because on top of the story being fresh and original, it showed that Van Damme can actually act. There is a part in there that blew me away.
I know the scene youre talking about….it seemed from the heart. Still, I wont trust him to kick a cigarette out of my mouth lol
Excellent choices!!! High Tension, Martyrs, and Old Boy are among my favorite films. I actually own Inside but havent watched it yet(i buy more movies than i have free time) but am going to watch it tonight
Thanks! You have good taste as well. Inside is brutal, if you liked the others then I’m sure you’ll like it as well.
I’m working on another recommendation list since this one went over so well. 🙂