My first few hours with High On Life were something different, with the final product proving to be one of the most polarizing and subjective games I’ve played in recent memory. But it’s not for the reasons you might think. High On Life ticks many of the boxes associated with the first-person shooter genre; it’s […]
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The Hitman Vs. Assassin subsect of the action genre is one that rarely deviates from its rather tried and true formula; aside from a hefty injection of cash and a star-studded cast, something as recent as Netflix’s throwaway actioner The Gray Man is proof that the genre, even in 2022, seems comfortable resting on its […]
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I’ve always admired musou style games for their sheer intensity. Repeatedly hacking and slashing waves of villains never seems to get old, from the Dynasty Warriors franchise, to the more recent Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity. As a result, the Fire Emblem franchise has decided to try its hand at the genre for the second […]
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Since breaking out with 1995’s Bad Boys, director Michael Bay has been synonymous with the action genre. Defying the critics year after year, Bay’s films have collectively grossed over $7.8 billion, making him one of the most successful directors in cinematic history. After taking a break from the big screen – he helmed 2019’s Netflix […]
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Sporadically seen but frequently heard throughout via storytelling-like narration that speaks to the throwback era of filmmaking Panama adheres to, Mel Gibson waltzes in and out of Mark Neveldine‘s action effort with little care as to how his scene chewing is going to disrupt the heavy lifting supplied by co-star (and actual lead) Cole Hauser. […]
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Ever since 2008’s Taken reorganised Liam Neeson‘s career, the actor has embraced his action persona and, almost annually, kept his fans satiated with each subsequent outing. His latest release is Blacklight, a slightly more grounded action film where he stars as FBI operative Travis Block who uncovers a conspiracy within his own agency. To coincide […]
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It’s almost hard to believe there was a time before Liam Neeson took an almost exclusive stance on the midrange-budgeted actioner where his character, usually an operative in some form or another, possessed enough of a skillset to inflict pain on an interchangeable villain. It’s been the actor’s go-to for almost 15 years, and whilst […]
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Whilst I completely understand wanting to re-visit a fruitful series such as Resident Evil, one that pulled in significant coin despite being critically slaughtered, Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City hardly makes such a trip worthwhile. For starters, Milla Jovovich, patron saint of these entirely disposable films, hasn’t been brought back. Yes, it being a […]
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Although it leans into the tropes of what we come to expect from the institution that is a James Bond film, and in some ways this 25th entrant is possibly the most self-aware of the pack, No Time To Die keeps largely in tune with the mentality of the wave of Daniel Craig-led films; the […]
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Familiar with a little father-son friction thanks to his role on TV’s Kim’s Convenience, Simu Liu experiences similar, though considerably higher emotional stakes, but no less dramatic, as the titular warrior-to-be Shang-Chi in Marvel’s latest extravagant offering, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. There’s the typical end-of-the-world dilemma to contend with, but Destin […]
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Seemingly defined at this point in his career by the grizzly, no-nonsense avenger-types he encapsulates – first realised in the 2008 actioner Taken – The Ice Road eases up on Liam Neeson‘s menacing persona and gives his somewhat-everyman a blue collar temperament. He’s still out there risking his life, mind you, but it’s comparatively slightly […]
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Thanks to Rialto Distribution we have five double passes to give away to the upcoming release of the action film The Ice Road, starring Liam Neeson and Laurence Fishburne, in Australian cinemas from August 12th, 2021. After a remote diamond mine collapses in the far northern regions of Canada, an ice driver leads an impossible rescue mission […]
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Given how well she’s utilised her heart and her humour when leaning into the action heroine outfit – see the Guardians of the Galaxy and Jumanji franchises for reference – it makes sense that both additives be applied to Karen Gillan‘s latest genre effort, the delightfully named Gunpowder Milkshake. Initially she’s a little too cold-hearted […]
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Thanks to StudioCanal we have five double passes to give away to the upcoming release of the action film Gunpowder Milkshake, starring Karen Gillan, Michelle Yeoh, Lena Headey, Angela Bassett and Carla Gugino, in Australian cinemas from July 15th, 2021. Sam (Karen Gillan) was only 12 years old when her mother Scarlet (Lena Headey), an elite […]
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Thanks to Rialto Distribution we have ten double passes to give away to the upcoming release of the action thriller The Misfits, in Australian cinemas from July 1st, 2021. After being recruited by a group of unconventional thieves, renowned criminal Richard Pace (Pierce Brosnan) finds himself caught up in an elaborate gold heist that promises to have […]
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Despite supposedly meeting his maker at the end of The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, Sung Kang‘s fan favourite character Han Lue is back in action for Fast & Furious 9. Reuniting with director Justin Lin and Fast family patriarch Vin Diesel, Kang’s return to the franchise has been shrouded in mystery. As the […]
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Set for an exclusive theatrical release in July this year, Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins stars Crazy Rich Asians breakout Henry Golding as the titular ninja commando made famous from his appearance in the G.I. Joe line of action figures, comic books and animated series. Known for his concealed appearance behind all-black attire and lack of vocals, […]
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After making a name for himself in the late 90’s/early 2000’s with his distinct brand of British gangster villainy, writer/director Guy Ritchie seemed to trade in authenticity for capital. The success of such studio projects as Sherlock Holmes and Aladdin seemed to gradually distance Ritchie from his more unkempt beginnings, before 2019’s The Gentlemen seemingly […]
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Ascendant is one of those films that’s equally as difficult to write about it as it is deceptively simple. A film that banks entirely on the fact that it unravels and reveals its narrative in an unexpected manner, Antaine Furlong‘s ambitious sci-fi-leaning action/thriller is a testament to the first time Australian filmmaker’s bold vision and […]
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Following its box office success in the US – the film topped the North American chart as one of the few films to maintain a cinema-only rollout – Nobody is planning its Australian unleashing on April 1st (no joke!). In relation to the film’s release (you can read our review here), Peter Gray chatted with […]
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You would think by now that the proprietors of the particular cinematic universe that encompasses films surrounding a giant ape and a radioactive lizard would gather that we really don’t care about the human characters involved. Sure, it’s great for there to be suitably formed players, and in the case of these films they’re often […]
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A film like Nobody is inevitably going to be likened to similarly-themed actioners such as John Wick and Taken. And that’s not a bad thing, given how well-liked those films are (or, in the context of Taken, at least the first one), with the middle-aged-man-defending-what’s-rightfully-his narrative proving an easy sell. Nobody is perhaps the easiest […]
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Right from the opening moments of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier – an extended action sequence amid rock formations spearheaded by Anthony Mackie‘s Falcon – it’s evident that the intent of this show is to link it to the prototype of the Marvel canon we’ve come to expect. After WandaVision took bold swings, this […]
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Arriving March 16th in the US on demand and digital, SAS: Red Notice (read our review here) is a slick actioner led by Australian actress Ruby Rose. In the lead-up to the film’s debut, Peter Gray chatted with Rose and her co-star, Black Sails actor Tom Hopper, about the comforts of the action genre and […]
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Perhaps something of an unofficial audition for the next post on the 007 roster – or maybe that’s second audition, given he was a name suggested around the same time as Daniel Craig secured the role – Sam Heughan does his best secret agent impression in SAS: Red Notice, a disposable but supremely entertaining actioner […]
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When it was known that Gerard Butler would be reuniting with his Angel Has Fallen director Ric Roman Waugh for a disaster movie, I think we all had an idea of what type of movie it could be. Guaranteed, Greenland would not have been the outcome in anyone’s frontal cortex. Shifting focus away from the […]
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Despite a talented cast that consists of such reliable names as Matthias Schoenaerts, Joel Kinnaman, Ryan Phillippe, and Maika Monroe, Brothers By Blood (originally known as The Sounds of Philadelphia) is an all-too ordinary mob story that seems unfortunately content with coaxing by on familiarity. Masculinity, faith, loyalty, redemption, brotherhood, a criminal underworld…it’s stock standard […]
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Given how many lightweight actioners Liam Neeson has aligned himself with in the last decade or so, you’d be forgiven for not being able to differentiate them from one another given how they have all basically bled into each other. There’s nothing inherently wrong with this late-in-the-game career change for the gruff Irish actor – […]
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The release of Terminator 2: Judgement Day in 1991 was proof that the oft-expected “inferior sequel” is a projection able to be shattered. It surely helped that that film was helmed by the original director, James Cameron, and in bringing the visionary filmmaker back on board for this fifth sequel, there’s somewhat of an expectation […]
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Watching a film like Tabernacle 101 is a frustrating experience. On the one hand, the Australian-made, low (and I mean low) budget sci-fi piece deserves some admiration for the mere fact that it has managed to snare itself a US theatrical release, however limited it may be (it played the first week in September in […]
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