- Film Combat Syndicate

About

Posts by :

DOES IT HOLD UP?: Under Siege – Seagal V. Jones

Once upon a time, everyone’s favorite Obama-hating aikido walrus, Steven Seagal, was poised to join the A-list of Hollywood action stars. By the early 90s, he’d starred in a string of gritty, violent actioners where he effortlessly beat entire barrooms full of guys into a bloody pulp. Young, hungry Seagal was a force to be reckoned with; it was finally time for him to ascend to the ranks of Schwarzenegger, Stallone and Willis. The film that was set to get him there was Under Siege, a military thriller where he’d star alongside Tommy Lee Jones while being directed by Andrew Davis (The Fugitive). This was also the film where the American mainstream was introduced to martial arts knife fighting. We were all dazzled by the speed and intensity of the final knife fight…. but was that because it was truly awesome, or because we just didn’t know any better? This […]

Screener Review: MEMORIES OF THE SWORD (2015)

I’ve always loved Asian period pieces and Korean ones are always a treat. Memories Of The Sword is no exception; a Korean period drama with all the helpings: political corruption, betrayal, lost loves, revenge, and redemption. Also lining with a power cast of Lee Byung-Hun and Jeon Do-Yeon, and even 2PM‘s Lee Jun-Ho clearly the filmmakers and crew here were really aiming to make a blockbuster hit. Director Park Heung-Sik doesn’t give you room to settle by introducing you his vision for this movie in the first 5 minutes; Large, sweeping shots of a field full of sunflowers while the protagonist is enveloped in golden streaks of sunlight as she rushes through town and ends up watching a fast paced, dramatically cut fight scene. Though despite the visual onslaught of slow motion action, this movie is still a drama. Veteran actors of Lee and Jeon give great performances of their fallen hero characters, […]

Toei Announces New KAMEN RIDER Anniversary Blu-Ray Box Set

Oh boy, this is pretty exciting for a Toku fan like me.If you guys don’t know what Toku is, it’s short for Tokusatsu; a very popular genre of TV (and movie, kinda) in Japan, which is primarily live-action drama with special effects. This houses a lot of the sci-fi stuff from Godzilla to my all time favorite, Kamen Rider. With the 45th anniversary of the original Kamen Rider series next year, Toei will be releasing a 4-box set Bluray for it. It will include all 98 episodes since Kamen Rider Niigo comes in halfway through the series though the character has been a protagonist from the start. The thing is, this is a deluxe pack and with its deluxe status comes deluxe price tag. Supposedly, the first 3 box sets are priced at 34,560 yen ($278.24 US), while the 4th boxed sets costs 27,000 yen ($217.37 US). Yikes. So I […]

DOES IT HOLD UP?: Christian Bale VS. Angus MacFayden In EQUILIBRIUM (2002)

When was the last time an action scene left you slack-jawed? A scene that took you so much by surprise that you had to rewind and watch it multiple times just to absorb it. In today’s spoiler-heavy, piracy-rampant culture it’s become almost impossible to be surprised by anything in a film; but back in the early aughts, movies could still throw the audience a curveball. Personal anecdote: I, like most people, experienced Equilibrium (2002) on DVD in 2003. Back in the halcyon days of video rental stores, I would forego the big releases in favor of more obscure films. While this lead to a lot of disappointment, it also introduced me to cult action gems like Mean Guns, Extreme Heist, and Six String Samurai. Equilibrium was a film I’d read a blurb about in Entertainment Weekly; a low budget sci fi action movie that was more about entertainment than smarts. […]

DOES IT HOLD UP?: Johnny Cage vs. Scorpion In MORTAL KOMBAT (1995)

Mortal Kombat hit at a crossroads in action movie history, a time when audiences may have heard of Hong Kong action but probably had never seen it for themselves. There had been glimpses in the past; from the Golden Harvest produced TMNT movies to John Woo’s Hollywood debut, Hard Target. Hollywood had spent most of the 90s easing American audiences in to the kind of action that Hong Kong was known for and Mortal Kombat was the first to wear its influence proudly. The fight scenes blew our prepubescent minds, but none had quite as much impact as the film’s centerpiece, Johnny Cage vs Scorpion. Does this fight stand the test of time, or should it be lost to history? 20 years later, that spear just looks adorable…. THE SETTING This fight as well as Liu Kang vs Reptile from later in the film, were both choreographed by leading man Robin Shou… […]

MV5BMjMxMDcwOTI3NF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwODk2NjQyNTE40._V1_SY317_CR02C02C2142C317_AL_

Shortfilm Review: ZORDON OF ELTAR (2015)

It’s hard to say exactly when it happened, but at some point the world called out for gritty Power Rangers….. and, by god, those calls are being answered in spades. From the ultra-dark Power/Rangers, to the MMPR webseries, to Saban’s own theatrical reboot, the world is getting all the Gritty Rangers it can handle. Zordon of Eltar sets itself apart from the others, with its focus on rebooted origins and massive scocurrently ilm feels huge, spanning an entire galaxy with multiple planets along with a healthy dose of fan service; but is it actually a good film? Zordon of Eltar is director Cisco Davis Jr’s follow up to Teenagers With Attitude, a re-envisioning of the original Power Rangers. ZoE serves as an origin story for Cisco’s “reboot” that borrows heavily from original Power Rangers lore. The film is littered with references to characters, planets and events of the original series; […]

BATMAN FOREVER – 20th Anniversary

20 years ago On June 16, 1995, Batman Forever appeared on our movie screens. Introducing us to Val Kilmer as Bruce Wayne/Batman, Chris O’Donnell as Dick Grayson/Robin, Tommy Lee Jones as Harvey Dent/Two-Face, Jim Carrey as Edward Nigma/The Riddler, and Nicole Kidman as Dr. Chase Meridian, Bruce Wayne’s love interest. Not intended as a home run in the Batman franchise, it became one – nipples on the Batsuit notwithstanding. Veteran director Joel Schumacher had to fight tooth and nail to sell his version with distributors and even merchandising prospects such as Hasbro and Walmart that eventually signed on, including others. Opening with more than $52.7 million opening weekend, it would go on to gross more than $336.5 million worldwide, topping Tim Burton’s Batman Returns by $60 million, although falling short of the original Batman. H/T: THR

die-hard-with-a-vengeance-bruce-willis-samuel-l-jackson

Die Hard With A Vengeance Celebrates Its 20th Anniversary

May 19th was the 20th anniversary of inarguably one of, if not the best films of the hit franchise, Die Hard With A Vengeance. We are pairing up Bruce Willis’ John McClane with Samuel L. Jackson’s Harlem shopkeeper, Zeus. They are thrown together by actor Jeremy Irons’ character German terrorist Simon Peter Gruber, the sibling of Hans Gruber (potrayed by Alan Rickman) who was killed in the original Die Hard movie. The chemistry between the two is the best I have seen since Murtaugh and Riggs in the Lethal Weapon series. It is a match made only in Hollywood and both actors played off each other exceptionally well. Written by Jonathan Hensleigh who was pitching a script he tried to sell as not a Die Hard story, producers asked for his script originally titled as a Simon Says thriller and crafted it into the Die Hard universe. Who doesn’t remember […]

Antoine Fuqua's THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN Adds Two More To The Cast!

I will be the first to admit that I am old at 52 and I happen to love Westerns. Growing up with a father born in Kentucky, and a mother from Oklahoma, my tastes in music and film partially stemmed from their influence. And one of those influences is the appreciation of country music. I get that from my mom and dad. Films on the other hand, were directly influenced by my father. I grew up watching John Wayne films that my father enjoyed. And I enjoy them too. The last Western I watched was the intriguing Cowboys vs Aliens that I found “amusing,” to say the least. My dad would have laughed at this. So, normally, whenever a new Western was on TV that my father had not seen before, my older brother and I made a family night together with dad. One of my father’s favorite films was […]

TO THE HASHI: What The Hell Was So Wrong With Man of Steel?!

So recently the Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice trailer was unleashed upon us, eagerly peaking out the Venetian blinds of pirated videos and then, grudgingly, released officially (in clear HD!) by Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures. Everyone and their mother flocked to the internet, their critical eyes cast upon the screen. “What would Zack Snyder offer?” they wondered, many of them skeptical while others still awaited the reel with sober enthusiasm. By the time it was done, polarizing opinions had been formed. All of which, in some way or the other, influenced by the film’s predecessor; the somewhat infamous Man of Steel. And though I am not a Superman fan, I find myself among the group recorded as favorable in their opinion of the film. A film, that while flawed, achieved its primary objective; to render Superman appealing to a modern audience as well as adherent fans of the […]

OPINION: Too Many Robins Spoil The Soup

What do Warner Bros., Sony, Disney, and Lionsgate have in common nowadays? Robin Hood on the brain. Do we really want to hop on this bandwagon again? It seems to me that the British character has been done to death so many times that it’s been seeped into parody like the 1993 Mel Brooks version, Men In Tights. Or perhaps on television you remember When Things Were Rotten (1975). That one had Dick Gautier and Misty Rowe as Robin and Marion. But let’s not go to Robin & Marion (1976) where Sean Connery and Audrey Hepburn are our main characters. That was a drama but it looked like a parody in my eyes. Another TV version was The Zany Adventures of Robin Hood (1984) which had comedic actor George Segal, Morgan Fairchild, and the late Roddy McDowall as Robin, Marian, and King John, respectively. This one, I must say, I enjoyed. If […]

Amy Johnston Interview

Amy Johnston Interview I recently had the opportunity to sit down and interview the lovely Amy Johnston. You probably know her from the ‘Thousand Pounds Action Company’. She is a wonderfully fun human being and I wish her all the best with every future project, she is genuinely a laugh and I hope she won’t stay a stranger to us here at FCS and I loved every second of her time. Android 18 – Dragonball Z Click here if you prefer it on SoundCloud Clandestine I apologise for the abrupt ending but Amy had to dash quick, she was laughing so much she lost track of time. I would love to share with you guys everything we recorded but this interview was long enough as it was. We will be hearing from her again soon though so stay tuned, more laughs on the way! Click here for Zombie Killers Check her out […]