For decades in movies, we had people punching, kicking, shooting, stabbing, exploding, and otherwise dismembering legions of bad guys. The 1970s gave us Clint Eastwood, Burt Reynolds, and Charles Bronson. The 1980s gave us Arnold Schzwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, and Bruce Willis. The 1990s gave us Wesley Snipes, Will Smith, and Jean-Claude Van Damme. The 2000s gave us Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, and Jason Statham. Action movies were very much a thing! I say “were,” because in the tail end of the 2000s, it seems that in large part superhero movies replaced action movies. That’s not to... Read More

Let’s get something out of the way first. Despite being a strong supporter of responsible gun control, I absolutely love gunfights in movies. From John Woo’s acrobatic bullet ballets like Hard Boiled to the urban warfare in Heat, if a director can stage an action sequence involving firepower in a creative and compelling way, I’m so there. That’s where it gets tricky, isn’t it? How many gunfights have we seen in movies? Thousands. How many do you remember? That’s why, if you’re going to have folks blasting away at each other in your film, you’d... Read More

Hardcore Henry is not a good movie. Hardcore Henry is an awesome movie. Let me explain.  Some films, like Spotlight, exist to illuminate an injustice. Other films, like United 93, are made to create an intense emotional reaction, to imagine ourselves in an unimaginable situation. Still other films, like The Shawshank Redemption, are inspirational fodder, designed to make us feel that we can overcome adversity just like the hero. That’s great, there’s a place for seriousness and art in cinema. But sometimes, seriousness won’t do. Sometimes we want fun, and fun in the... Read More