louis mandylor

DEBT COLLECTORS: Violence Is The Inevitable Answer In The Official Trailer

Debt Collectors. Plural. Seems there is life after death after all for Scott Adkins and Louis Mandylor, reprising their roles once more from their brutal and witful 2018 venture in sequel reunion with director Jesse V. Johnson helming the storied gangland calamity. Eagle-eyed fans caught on early to the news of a May 15 release which has otherwise now been rerouted instead, to a May 29 releade on VOD, Digital and DVD from Samuel Goldwyn Films. This week, the company rolled out the official trailer to get the chatter going. Debt collectors French and Sue get to work doing what they do best – cracking skulls and breaking bones – as they chase down the various lowlifes who owe money to their boss, Tommy. They’re summoned to Las Vegas to collect from a dirty casino owner, who happens to be a vicious ex-lover of Sue’s. Meanwhile, a notorious drug kingpin […]

THE BRAVE Review: Louis Mandylor Stars In William Kaufman’s Riveting, Redemptive And Tangible Crime Epic

Lee B. Golden III

A fresh jab at Hollywood character types can be heard amidst the exchanges at the outset of William Kaufman’s new crime thriller, The Brave. For what it’s worth, the banter lends a palpable sampling of just what viewers are in for, amplified by strong performances, compelling interwoven drama, and action that thrills and excites from start to finish. You have to give credence to the possible notion that The Brave is certainly more than a genric cop movie, taking to heart its location, and its history with respect to the concurrent story. An Eastern European nation still recovering from tragedy and civil war after more than two decades, Kaufman’s movie also coheses with a narrative also inspired by a real-life drug raid in the village of Lazarat in 2014. Following a dodgy undercover operation, a team of cops form a special unit led by Rei Cana (Louis Mandylor), and commanded […]

Top 50 Action Gems Of The Decade (20-11)

Lee B. Golden III

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 […]

Review: Jesse V. Johnson’s THE MERCENARY Thrills With Every Kill

Lee B. Golden III

One look at the early acting career of martial artist and ex-legionaire, Dominique Vandenberg, reveals a peculiar start that nearly parallels with the timing of stuntman Jesse V. Johnson’s own start to a career in filmmaking. That was close to more than twenty years and nine film sets ago after meeting on the set of New Line Cinema’s then-1995 production, Mortal Kombat, and whatever the case stands to be, whether fortuitous or by design, the duo have hitherto stood the test of time. Enter the violent, rip-roaring and fatalist world of mercenaries, bloodshed, redemption and destiny as illustrated in their latest film, The Mercenary, featuring Vandenberg in the title role this time around after a brief villainous stint in Johnson’s Asian action ensemble, Triple Threat. The film also rejoins Johnson with actor Louis Mandylor whose recent credits with the director include two of the latest hard-hitting Scott Adkins releases, The […]

Louis Mandylor and Scott Adkins in The Debt Collector 2 (Courtesy of Jesse Johnson via Instagram)

THE DEBT COLLECTOR 2: Sue And French Are Back In BTS Stills From The Upcoming Mob Sequel

Lee B. Golden III

On Friday, Jesse V. Johnson took to Instagram with set stills to officially publicize his latest endeavor with The Debt Collector 2. Louis Mandylor and martial arts star Scott Adkins are reprising their respective roles as Sue and French, two collectors under the employment a well-connected gangster in Los Angeles named Tommy. Stu Small penned the script and Luke LaFontaine is returning as fight coordinator and choreographer. An official announcement elucidating cast and crew remains pending. The film will be a seventh for Johnson and Adkins including hits like Savage Dog, Accident Man, Triple Threat and Avengement. Johnson also wrapped The Mercenary with Dominique Vandenberg which premieres in the UK this weekend at the third Fighting Spirit Film Festival. Peep the images above via Johnson’s Instagram.

Review: Mitch Gould’s Debut Sci-Fi, BATTLE DRONE Deploys With Stylish Indie Fare [Reprint/Revisal]

Lee B. Golden III

Fans of independent action cinema keen on following figures like stunt professionals Mitch Gould and Dan Southworth were rightly onto something since both appeared together in Isaac Florentine’s U.S. Seals 2: The Ultimate Force. Both have flourished in the years since then in their crafts behind the lens and thus attributing their work now seen in Gould’s solo directorial debut, Battle DRrone, finally hitting Netflix and serving up a worthy piece of entertainment for select streaming audiences and action fans alike. Bleach-blonde Louis Mandylor leads the sci-fi thriller as seasoned solider Rekker, a former military captain-turned-gun for hire whose dishonorable departure from the formalities of military service have all but re-calibrated his worldview and moral compass with more-than-enough shades of grey. His means of income enlists his employment with his own team of equally-skilled badass mercenaries to get off-the-radar jobs done for the CIA, no matter how dirty. Actress Dominique […]

THE CONSPIRACY: Cameras Roll In Romania For Andrei Lupu’s Indie Revenge Action Thriller

Lee B. Golden III

Close to eighteen months have passed since the development and pre-production of upcoming independent actioner, The Conspiracy. Nowadays the cast and crew can be found somewhere in Romania well underway on the set of Andrei Lupu’s directorial debut. Actor/martial arts talents François Mequer and Max Repossi will star in the respective roles of Noa and Leon, a pair of search-and-rescue contract experts on the mend after a failed operation resulting in the death of a target as well as a friend on the force. When a Senator’s daughter is found to be taken captive by an unknown group, the pair are assigned to rescue her, and in doing so, they uncover a conspiracy that threatens to take over the city. Joining the cast thusfar is actor Rares Lucaci who will play the Senator, and actor Louis Mandylor (Avengement, Battle Drone) who will play the role of detective Donato; The film […]

Review: THE DEBT COLLECTOR Pays In Full With Another Solid Adkins/Johnson Package

Lee B. Golden III

The past several years have seen quite a bit from stunt multi-hyphenate and filmmaker Jesse V. Johnson. Notable efforts like the classy and cool noir, The Beautiful Ones, and down and dirty action thrillers like Savage Dog and Accident Man have all come to pass as some of the best the genre has put out by far, and not without the measured efforts of our director in his current stride with actor Scott Adkins – a dauntless screen talent with twenty years in film and television – who is a continual quest to break more ground as a prospective mainstream entertainer. It’s a period that’s lasted since before Johnson’s third film, Pit Fighter, on which Adkins appeared in a brief role; three years after the burgeoning action star laid claim in a breakout capacity on Isaac Florentine’s 2003 direct-to-video hit, Special Forces. Since then, the U.K. actor has been fortunate […]

THE DEBT COLLECTOR Trailer: Big Balls, A Fast Fist And White Wall Tires Set The Pace For Another Johnson/Adkins Thrillride

Lee B. Golden III

The renaissance of late seeing stunt professionals taking to the helm and winning sizeably has all but been signature for action genre fans. Adding to the excitement is the work of director Jesse V. Johnson whose momentum simply continues to increase in the wake of titles like The Package and The Beautiful Ones, along with subsequent several pairings in the last few years with actor Scott Adkins. Thus, gracing netizens everywhere this week is the latest trailer footage for The Debt Collector, pitching a swift crime thriller emboldened with dramtic wit and chemistry, and refreshing stunt sequences characteristic of Luke LaFontaine. There’s no precise info on release dates safe for mention of a June deadline depending on where you look but I imagine official details will get sharper as the weeks pass. French (Scott Adkins, Marvel’s “Doctor Strange”) is running a martial arts gym, training promising new fighters– but it […]

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BATTLE DRONE: Watch The Trailer For The Sci-Fi Action Hit That Just Dropped On Netflix

Lee B. Golden III

Prior to forthcoming updates for Jesse Johnson’s The Debt Collector, actor Louis Mandylor’s latest starring role has long since finally gained ground with streaming audiences via Netflix for Mitch Gould’s solo directorial debut, Battle Drone. Production began in 2013 while any kind of promotion thereafter went pretty quiet aside from sales outlet Highland Film Group’s own handling of it, and with its release last week is hopefully just the start for Gould since sharing the helm with 2009 thriller, Hellbinders. In the vein of blockbusters THE EXPENDABLES and THE A-TEAM, a group of highly skilled mercenaries find themselves betrayed by the U.S. Government, and are forced to fight their way out of an ambush by a new, lethal humanoid drone. Get ready for some intense action! Our own review is now one of several making the case for Battle Drone as more and more viewers offer their appeal. Mandylor is […]

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Review: Mitch Gould’s Debut Sci-Fi, BATTLE DRONE Deploys With Stylish Indie Fare

Lee B. Golden III

Fans of independent action cinema keen on following figures like stunt professionals Mitch Gould and Dan Southworth were rightly onto something since both appeared together in Isaac Florentine’s U.S. Seals 2: The Ultimate Force. Both have flourished in the years since then in their crafts behind the lens and thus attributing their work now seen in Gould’s solo directorial debut, Battle Drone, finally hitting Netflix and serving up a worthy piece of entertainment for select streaming audiences and action fans alike. Bleach-blonde Louis Mandylor leads the sci-fi thriller as seasoned solider Rekker, a former military captain-turned-gun for hire whose dishonorable departure from the formalities of military service have all but re-calibrated his worldview and moral compass with more-than-enough shades of grey. His means of income enlists his employment with his own team of equally-skilled badass mercenaries to get off-the-radar jobs done for the CIA, no matter how dirty. Actress Dominique […]

Gary Daniels Joins Asif Akbar Sci-Fi, ASTRO

Lee B. Golden III

Badhouse Martial arts star Gary Daniels has a batch of projects coming in the new year. As of this week, one of them now includes the latest directorial offering from director Asif Akbar for the new film, Astro, which managed to secure financing at the American Film Market in Santa Monica this week. Astro, according to THR, casts Daniels in the new sci-fi about a billionaire whose private space exploration program and its arrival back to Earth includes a kidnapped alien from a newly discovered planet. It’s a little difficult to tell what kind of film this will be judging by the report but with Daniels front and center, perhaps the action fans will have something to look forward to here. Akbar wrote the film along with Bernard Selling with cameras set to role in infamously cited alien conspiracy locale, Roswell, New Mexico where financing for the film was secured […]

Action Horror DAYLIGHT'S END Gets U.S. And U.K. Release Dates

Lee B. Golden III

Right now, any cursory glance over at the official Facebook fan page for the stellar new independent survival action horror, Daylight’s End, will hint you quite a bit about how well this movie has fared in the past year. Written by Chad Law (6 Bullets, Close Range) and directed by William Kaufman (The Prodigy, Jarhead: The Siege), the film has already become a hit at festivals in Texas and Oregon with more screenings pending, but folks in the U.S. won’t be too far off with an August 26 release in select U.S. theaters and on VoD, followed by an October 10 release for theatergoers in the U.K.. Director William Kaufman transforms Dallas, Texas into a post-apocalyptic wasteland in the action-packed survival horror DAYLIGHT’S END. It stars Johnny Strong, Lance Henriksen, and Louis Mandylor in a hard-driving action-horror-thriller about a rogue drifter who agrees to put aside his mission of vengeance to help […]

Take A Shot At The New Trailer For CODE OF HONOR

Lee B. Golden III

There’s a lot left to be desired when it comes to Steven Seagal movies for some. For others, the action star still delivers in films with great action and drama on hand and directors who know how to formulate things properly. Personally, I’ve had my doubts and still do, but give a look at the latest trailer for writer and director Michael Winnick’s new movie, Code Of Honor – You may find yourself intrigued and even considering giving this a shot when it releases in May from Lionsgate through their Grindstone label. SYNOPSIS: When his family is murdered, a special-ops operative turns vigilante and wages war on all of criminals in his hometown. Can his former protégé, now an FBI agent, stop him before mobsters and police close in? Helena Mattsson, Craig Sheffer, Louis Mandylor and James Russo also star, and a trailer has been in the works for several […]

Forget Keeping Calm And Watch The New Trailer For TENSION(S)!

Lee B. Golden III

Action fans who are familiar with the work of actor Louis Mandylor can expect a pretty exciting year with plenty of titles headed our way, including the latest new trailer for producer and director Vincent Lecrocq‘s new action packed hostage thriller, Tension(s). David Kinsman, Richard Roy Sutton and co-star, producer and fight choreographer Francois Mequer round out thw cast star with a screenplay by Sean Moussavi, and with a release date pending, we have a new trailer which you can check out below. SYNOPSIS: Jake Lamar (Louis Mandylor), an ex-negotiator, once pride of the Boston Police Department has now become the shadow of himself. A tragedy made him quit his job to become a rookie trainer. One early morning, Jake is taken hostage in his home by two mysterious masked men… A psychological confrontation takes place while the kidnappers slowly reveal their plan to expose a political conspiracy and demand […]