The Movies That Moved Me: David Worth’s KICKBOXER
Today, I reflect on an American martial arts classic that’s impacted me as a fan, as well as a critic: KICKBOXER (1989).
jean claude van damme
LE JARDINIER: JCVD Cuts Down Grass And Goons In The Official Teaser
Jean-Claude Van Damme is out here living his best life, and back at it with The Last Mercenary helmer David Charhon with the new Prime Video action comedy release, Le Jardinier (otherwise known as The Gardener). The official teaser is here as well, joining the action legend with actor Michael Youn from a script by Charhon and by Vincent De Brus, and Sebastien Fechner. Below is the logline via translation: Every year, the Prime Minister has a list of troublemakers eliminated in the name of state reasons: the obscure Matignon List. Serge Shuster, special advisor to the presidency, finds himself there in spite of himself. At the heart of an implacable plot, Serge and his family, condemned to certain death, can no longer count on anyone but their new gardener, Léo, who, in the past, has not only trimmed hedges. He will do what he was hired to do: eliminate […]
KILL ‘EM ALL 2 reveals the trailer for the unexpected sequel
In 2017, Jean Claude Van Damme teamed up with friend and occasional collaborator Peter Malota (The Quest, The Order) for his directorial debut. The result was a direct-to-video film with some good action moments but an overall somewhat uneven result that failed to satisfy the Belgian actor’s fans. Nobody could have expected that seven years later we would have a direct sequel to that film, this time with Bulgarian Valeri Milev (Code Red, Bullets of Justice) replacing Malota in the directing duties, for a sequel that at first glance and judging by its trailer, seems to offer a more refined product that may manage to make up for the shortcomings of its predecessor. This direct sequel sets the story seven years later from its predecessor, the plot follows Phillip (Jean Claude Van Damme) after his retirement as spy, living a peaceful life in Italy, but peace won´t last long when […]
Kino Lorber Brings Another Van Damme Gem to 4K UHD This August
Blu-ray distributor, Kino Lorber, is known to release an absolutely smorgasbord of titles. From Silence of the Lambs to Columbo box-sets. This means they occasionally dip their toes in martial arts actioners, having previously dropped a 4K UHD of the John Woo classic, Hard Target. Well, if your hankering for Jean-Claude Van Damme hasn’t quite been satiated, you’ll be happy to know they’re giving us another 4K UHD release from the Muscles from Brussels in the form of the underrated SUDDEN DEATH. Per Kino Lorber: Action superstar Jean-Claude Van Damme (Hard Target) teams with Powers Boothe (The Emerald Forest) in a tension-packed suspense thriller from Peter Hyams, the director of Running Scared, Narrow Margin and Timecop. Inside the Civic Arena, 17,000 rabid hockey fans gather for the Stanley Cup final game—including the Vice President of the United States. What they don’t know is that someone is planning to have the […]
DARKNESS OF MAN Review: JCVD Tackles Gangland Crime, Revenge And Redemption In Sluggish Neo-Noir Thriller
Darkness Of Man arrives on Digital from Sony Pictures on May 21. 5 min. read There aren’t a lot of Jean-Claude Van Damme-led titles I can point to in the last decade or so as a favorite. Enemies Closer comes to mind with The Bouncer definitely hitting a few highs for me. I tried pretty hard with 2021’s The Last Mercenary and pretty much tuned out each time I hit play. It’s a really weird place to be in as a fan of the venerable star of heyday American action cinema. My appreciation for the actor notwithstanding though, I can’t blame anyone for feeling conflicted nowadays about his movies, or any of the like from similar stars. Suffice it to say, Darkness Of Man puts my head precisely in that sort of space. I love a good, solid noir thriller. Van Damme and director James Cullen Bressack definitely touch on […]
DARKNESS OF MAN Trailer unveils the return of Jean Claude Van Damme in the new dark action Thriller
Jean-Claude Van Damme is back to business to please his fans around the world on this upcoming dark action thriller, Darkness Of Man, in which he takes the role of Russell Hatch, an Interpol agent who becoms the protector of Jayden, the son of an informant killed in a routine raid gone wrong. Written and directed by James Cullen Bressack (Beyond The Law, Fortress) from an original story by Van Damme, this first trailer reveals a somewhat more careful work than previous works by its director, with a motivated Van Damme giving some good hints of action and probably exploring his dramatic skills, portraying a more suitable character to his age. On this new action vehicle, Van Damme will be supported by Kristana Loken (Terminator 3, Rise of the Machines, Mercenaries) Eric Roberts (Best Of The Best, Runaway Train) Shannen Doherty (Charmed, Mallrats) Spencer Breslin (The Cat in the Hat, […]
Jean-Claude Van Damme On WHAT’S MY NAME?, Says The Film ‘May Happen, May Not Happen’
Actor Jean-Claude Van Damme nailed two film deals this week, one of which includes Darkness Of Man from Hot Seat and fortress helmer James Cullen. The two spoke to THR this week in an interview wherein author Alex Ritman asked about the status of Jeremy Zag’s What’s My Name?, the film which was set to be the 62-year-old action star’s final bow as of its announcement back in February out of EFM. “I want to make one more big martial arts film. But I guess it’s not the time right now. Before I believed in destiny, but now I believe in synchronicity. So if something doesn’t go my way, then it’s not supposed to go my way. So What’s My Name? may happen, may not happen. And I have another project that’s as good. But that’s for later. Right now, I’m so into Darkness of Man, which was always working in parallel” said […]
WHAT’S MY NAME?: Jean-Claude Van Damme Hails His Final Action Star Bow With Jeremy Zag Directing
Taking a page from Mabrouk El Mechri’s JCVD according to Mike Fleming Jr.’s Deadline exclusive on Friday, martial arts action movie superstar Jean-Claude Van Damme is closing the book on his stellar career with director Jeremy Zag’s What’s My Name?, as news rolls out of EFM with Wild Bunch International handling sales; CAA is repping domestic sales. Per the report, What’s My Name? reunites the action star with some of his classic screen opponents of yesteryear, and “will dip into his cinematic and personal life — as did the 2008 film JCVD — and that it will bring to an end his long career as an action film fighter. Nick Vallelonga (Green Book) and Paul Sloan (Stilleto) penned the script based on a story by Van Damme, who is producing with Zag, and with Cross Creek’s Tyler Thompson; Cross Creek is fully financing the film. More from Fleming Jr. on the film: […]
THE LAST MERCENARY: Jean-Claude Van Damme’s Latest Action Hoorah Gets An Official Trailer
Kicking his way back to the screen is action star Jean-Claude Van Damme in the official trailer for The Last Mercenary, directed by David Charhon from a script co-written with Ismaël Sy Savané. A mysterious former secret service agent must urgently return to France when his estranged son is falsely accused of arms and drug trafficking by the government, following a blunder by an overzealous bureaucrat and a mafia operation. Consider this your latest invitation to what looks to be in another in a string of performances by a veteran action star who’s really come into himself in just over a decade. Talk about longevity. The Last Mercenary also stars Alban Ivanov, Assa Sylla, Samir Decazza, Patrick Timsit, Eric Judor and Miou-Miou, and launches on Netflix on July 30.
UNIVERSAL SOLDIER: A Revisit Of The Luc Devereaux Saga, And Learning To Move Forward
In a sequel-heavy landscape, the age old idea that a follow up could never be as good as the original has been dispelled over and over again. It’s fairly common for the third, fourth or even fifth entry in a franchise to be somebody’s favorite. Still, after the disastrous follow up to Roland Emmerich’s Universal Soldier, one could be forgiven for assuming that any further installments wouldn’t be worth seeking out. I was one of those people. I spent quite a few years seeing DVD covers featuring the weary faces of JCVD and Dolph Lundgren leering back at me in video stores and would chuckle to myself and move on. It wasn’t until I dove headfirst into action cinema, DTV action and all things Scott Adkins (and with a healthy dose of rave reviews from film fans I trusted) that I finally gave these a look. Never in my wildest […]
THE LAST MERCENARY: Jean-Claude Van Damme Headlines New Action Comedy Shooting In France
Jean-Claude Van Damme has talked a great deal recently with Daily Mail about what would be his final martial arts film. That currently remains to be seen, while it now seems that he’s far off from that goal as he continues with his latest project in France with David Charhon’s new Netflix action comedy, The Last Mercenary, with Samir Decazza, and Lucky and Inséparables actor Alban Ivanov. Being shot in France, the film sees Van Damme plays a mysterious former secret service agent who must urgently return to the country when his estranged son (Decazza) is falsely accused of arms and drug trafficking by the government, following a blunder by an overzealous bureaucrat (Ivanov) and a mafia operation. Van Damme’s career has seen something of a rollercoaster over the last twenty years, having gone from Hollywood hit maker to direct-to-video obscurity, much like Steven Seagal following Half Past Dead. The […]
JIAN BING MAN Review: A superhero meta-comedy with a pancake superhero, a full star cast and Jean Claude Van Damme as final enemy.
Da Peng is a popular Chinese comedian, who had a successful web series on the Chinese internet called “Diors Man”, who had his moment of glory when Conan O’Brien accused him of plagiarism on his show, and for a few months, the two were throwing fun gibes to each other from their respective shows. For this crazy meta-comedy, he became an orchestra man, being the screenwriter, the main actor, and debuted as a director in a major film, surrounding himself of the best of the chinese entertainment industry. The plot of the film revolves around his own persona, basically playing himself, a popular internet comedian, who in order to buy a ten million engagement ring of ten million for his fiancée, accepts the offer of a triad´s leader to shoot a movie, unfortunately, Da Peng gets involved in a scandal where in addition to losing his shame, he loses the […]
WE DIE YOUNG Review: Van Damme… The Old Wasted, Hero Looking For Redemption
Following the same path that our beloved Jean Claude Van Damme, has taken in some of his most recent works, he returns to one of those roles of old tired wasted hero, that is caught in the middle of a crossfire, having no other choice than save the day one last time, achieving in the proccess, a personal redemption. A path that most action heroes need to follow when their glory days are long gone. “We Die Young“, tells the story of Lucas, a 14 year old boy involved in a gang, who tries to keep his little brother away from the gang world. When a mysterious Afghanistan war veteran, arrives to the neighborhood, Lucas finds an opportunity to leave the gang world behind, but it won´t be so easy and he will have to face the consequences of his treason. This is not a typical Van Damme movie, but […]
Top 50 Action Gems Of The Decade (20-11)
Sometime late last year, Robb Antequera of The Cinema Drunkie sought for the services of several online film reporters, bloggers and willing participants to help contribute to a top fifty list – with sets of ten of our own written summaries – of the previous decade’s best action gems. I contributed about twelve films among which can currently be read among a mix of forty others now opined online as of this article, and in the wake of entries published over at The Action Elite, Action Flix and Bulletproof Action, the series continues below. Hit up the gallery with entries courtesy of screenwriter Chad Law, authors David J. Moore and Mike Fury, and members of The Action Elite, and tune in to Ultimate Action Movie Club for Robb’s final ten. To view the written portions, be sure to open the page via native browser without the /amp modulation, and tap […]
DOUBLE IMPACT: Feel The Imapct Once Again On Blu-Ray From MVD Rewind
I found myself on a bit of a Jean-Caude Van Damme kick on Tuesday morning what with all I had to blurt out as a guest writer over at The Action Elite. Alas, far be it for me to fall asleep on this latest bit anymore than I already have with the Belgian action star’s latest home entertainment outing courtesy of MVD Rewind Collection with Sheldon Lettich’s 1991 hit, Double Impact. MVD is debuting the action classic for the first time on Special Edition Blu-ray with loads of bonus features to make this one a special package for action fans. Lettich (Lionheart, Bloodsport, Max) directed from his own script the story of two very differing twin brothers, torn apart by tragedy and reunited years later to seek vengeance for their parents’ death…if they don’t kill each other first. Double Impact, which also stars Geoffrey Lewis and Alonna Shaw, accrued up […]
THE BOUNCER Review: Julien Leclerq’s Elevated Crime Noir Hits Hard And Pensive
A nightclub bouncer with a clinching dark past is the center of Julien Leclerq’s most recent crime story internationally known as The Bouncer. Leclerq takes a back seat to focus primarily directing after penning most of his own features, leaving this particular feat in the willing hands of Jérémie Guez who recently penned Dominique Rocher’s feature debut, The Night Eats The World, in addition to writing his own directorial outing, A Bluebird In My Heart. The focus and framing of Leclerq’s The Bouncer is almost unmistakably as brooding as what you might notice in a film like The Wrestler. The brutal, unyieldingly violent life led by Lukas is absorbed on screen and in full by the venerable Jean-Claude Van Damme who continues to adapt to more grounded, visceral, raw, human and otherwise vulnerable roles. Here he’s as tough and grisled as ever in the role of Lukas, a bouncer well […]
DOUBLE IMPACT: MVD Rewind Announces Final Version For May Blu-Ray Collector’s Edition
It’s been a while since MVD announced Sheldon Lettich’s Double Impact to their growing ‘Rewind Collection’. The distro banner has been quiet from time to time as the rollout got a bit complicated with certian legalities involved, but is now back and fully elucidating the film’s preparation for its tentative May 28 Collector’s Edition release on Blu-Ray. “Due to certain rights and clearance issues, we were not able to include these rough cuts.” the company said in a statement referencing announcements last year in hopes of presenting two alternative cuts. “We were, however, permitted to excise the never before seen footage in these cuts and bring you close to an hour of deleted and extended scenes. I would have loved to have had the option to show these cuts but clearance issues prevented us from including them. Either way, I’m thrilled that we still have the opportunity to share these […]
THE BOUNCER: UK’s Dazzler Media Stands Guard To Release JCVD Action Drama Next Month
One of the biggest successes in the action genre today still stands with Jean-Claude Van Damme having revived his career greatly in the past decade adapting to grittier roles and projects with a certain appeal. Starring in Julien Leclercq’s The Bouncer certainly leaves one for the books in that regard and the action star’s fans in the UK will soon be able to gaze at his performance with a VoD, DVD and Blu-Ray release on April 8 from Dazzler Media. In The Bouncer, Jean-Claude Van Damme stars as Lukas, a tough nightclub bouncer struggling to raise his 8-year-old daughter. One day, Lukas loses control during an altercation with a client and ends up in jail, while his daughter is taken away from him. Things take an unexpected turn when Interpol recruits Lukas to bring down a Dutch ringleader operating from Belgium in exchange for his daughter’s custody. Directed by Julien […]
THE BOUNCER: Jean-Claude Van Damme Returns To The Big Screen This Friday
Action star Jean-Claude Van Damme has been ramping up the past two years on titles for development since essentially taking off with notable roles in the rebooted Kickboxer franchise, and the short-lived Jean-Claude Van Johnson. That progression also includes Julien Leclerq’s The Bouncer, following its run last year and France and which is finally making its way stateside from Blue Fox Entertainment. The official trailer is now here ahead of its January 11 select theatrical release for which you can check out just above. Jean-Claude Van Damme stars as Lukas, a tough nightclub bouncer struggling to raise his 8-year-old daughter. One day, Lukas loses control during an altercation with a client and ends up in jail, while his daughter is taken away from him. Things take an unexpected turn when Interpol recruits Lukas to bring down a Dutch ringleader operating from Belgium in exchange for his daughter’s custody.
LUKAS: Youre Gonna Have To Get Past Jean-Claude Van Damme To Take His Daughter In The Newest Poster
Julien Leclerq’s new film, Lukas, is inbound for a release in France on August 22. It signals what looks to be a phenomenal return of late for actor Jean-Claude Van Damme who stars as a beleagured, grizzled, punchy bouncer forced in bed with Interpol to bring down a Belgian crime syndicate in order to reunite with his estranged daughter. Ocean Films unveiled a new poster on Friday for the upcoming thriller which also casts Sami Bouajila, Sveva Alviti and French hip-hop recording artist, Kaaris. Check it out below!
You must be logged in to post a comment.