775 replies to this topic

[Loomis]

BTW Lethal Weapon 2 was upgraded to an 18 for video has yet to be released completely uncut in the UK, there's only one major cut but it's very jarring and confusing.

Ah, yes, you're right. If memory serves, the missing footage has something to do with Riggs beating up some of Arjen Rudd's goons after escaping from the straitjacket in the water.

Adding insult to injury is the fact that Donner's superior director's cut of LETHAL WEAPON 2 is available on DVD in Britain but does not reinstate this scene (I wonder whether it's part of the director's cut in the States.)

The significantly edited 15 version of Lethal Weapon 4 is also the only version which has ever been released in the UK.

I was lucky enough to see LETHAL WEAPON 4 at a cinema in Japan before it opened in Britain, and I remember thinking that there was no possible way that the same edit would play in British cinemas. And sure enough it didn't.

[dodge]

Re the cut scene:

Given the brevity of the moment in question – as far as we can tell, the excised footage amounts to little more than two seconds – it’s perhaps understandable that Lionsgate would want to go for a lower certification. It also allows it plaster the word 'Uncut' on the eventual DVD release.

Source - denofgeek.com

Yes, it's "only" two seconds. But no doubt those precious seconds are truly character-driven, a chance to explore the psyche of a knife-in-the-neck-twisting psycho. Stallone knows what he's doing and I thank heaven for those two seconds.

[dinovelvet]

Ha!

http://www.youtube.c...player_embedded

[dodge]

Ha!

http://www.youtube.c...player_embedded

Absolutely hilarious--and true! Loved the line "The only men you're allowed to love."

[dodge]

Further to the frenzy over that fabulous Call of Arms trailer:

Yesterday I mentioned how fans of the star-studded action flic “The Expendables” had produced a trailer that issues a “call to arms” for men to take back theaters from chic-flics like “Twilight,” “Sex in the City,” and especially Julia Robert’s forthcoming “Eat, Pray, Love.”

“Gentleman, while you’ve been at home NOOB tubing total strangers, duct taping 40s to your hands, you’ve been handing the keys to Hollywood to teenage girls and G.N.O.,” says the trailer. “Julia Roberts might be the final blow. ‘Eat, Pray, Love.’”

Well, now it seems that so far teenage girls and Julia Roberts are winning the battle with the trailer falling victim to a DMCA takedown request issued by the MPAA.

“We don’t normally get involved, but there was a shot in the trailer that suggested it had been submitted for approval by our advertising review board, and it hadn’t,” an spokesman told the LA Times.

It’s a reference to the customer green screen with the phrase “the following preview has been approved…by the MPAA” that greets viewers prior to a movie begins that is the cause for concern. It didn’t help any that the trailer also told men to watch the movie “not off your torrents” but “in a f------ theater where violence belongs.” Profanity-laced trailers are apparently a big no-no in Hollywood.

Profanity and tongue in cheek aside, the COA was a noble attempt to take back the theaters. putting a roaring R right back into Action.

[dinovelvet]

Check out the behind-the-scenes episodes here, some interesting stuff. Even the extras in this film are badass

http://trailers.appl...theexpendables/

[dodge]

Check out the behind-the-scenes episodes here, some interesting stuff. Even the extras in this film are badass

http://trailers.appl...theexpendables/

Unfortunately, I'm unable to download QuickTime at the library, so I'll just to drool-imagine.

[dinovelvet]

Expendables Comic con panel is up, via questionable camcorder quality, but it's still good, some funny stuff in there :

[dodge]

Good clip there, dino. Here are two more, just released, scenes: billed as character builders:

So far, all of the trailer and preview clip footage that's been released from writer-director-star Sylvester Stallone's latest movie, The Expendables, has been heavy on showcasing the testosterone-pumping action in the movie. Now, two new clips from the movie have been released that focus on the personalities and relationships of some of the movie's hardcore action heroes.
In the first clip, tattoo artist Tool (Mickey Rourke) explains to "The Schizo" (Stallone) why he won't be accompanying him on his latest adventure.

link: http://www.reelzchan...the-expendables


Meanwhile, the Box Office Battle of the Century heats up!

'Eat, Pray, Love' Heads into Box Office Showdown
By Jennifer Merin

WeNews film critic

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

The film adaptation of "Eat, Pray, Love" opens Aug. 13, the same date as Sylvester Stallone's high-testosterone "Expendables." It's a face-off that Jennifer Merin says could test male-female movie-going might.

(WOMENSENEWS)--I don't usually urge female moviegoers to flock to buy first weekend tickets to support a movie that clearly caters to the female audience.
But the face-off looming on Aug. 13--when "Eat, Pray, Love" opens against Sylvester Stallone's high-testosterone "Expendables"--is a great time to send Hollywood a commercial message about your taste in movies.
"Eat, Pray, Love" is, of course, the cinematic adaptation of Elizabeth Gilbert's profoundly popular eponymous memoir. Gilbert (played in the film by Julia Roberts) decides to escape from her male-dominated lifestyle and circumstances by taking a year off to travel and reconnect with her personal exuberance, her appetite for life and her sense of wonder about the world. In Italy, she learns to fulfill her need for nourishment by bonding with pizza. In India, she taps into the power of prayer and connects with her own sustaining spirituality. And, finally, in Bali, she unexpectedly discovers the inner peace of true love.




While Gilbert fans mark the opening with a big heart on their calendars, their male companions just might be trying to get them to take in the relentless carnage of "The Expendables." The movie gathers Mickey Rourke, Bruce Willis, Dolph Lundgren, Jason Statham, Steve Austin, Terry Crews, Eric Roberts and yes, even Arnold Schwarzenegger, on one screen.

Movie marketers haven't outwardly pitted the openings of these two oh-so-different films against each other, but it's likely that studios and distributors will take some note of the comparable box office takes as an indicator of where the wind is blowing in ticket sales. Inner growth or gunfire? Cast your vote.


Darn tootin' it's time to send a commercial message!

[dodge]

There's some very hot new, unseen footage here that should fire a few of you up even more:

http://www.hitfix.co...expendables?m=k

[Matt_13]

The cinematography is actually pretty nice. This could well be a solid movie, while also being amazingly violent and silly. I can't wait.

[Captain Tightpants]

I like that scene in the tattoo parlour. Very well-written.

Also, it's nice to see Cordelia Chase running around - even if she still looks like she just stepped out of Sunnydale. It's been ten years, Charisma! You're getting a bit hard and fast with that botox ...

[Messervy]

I attended the premiere yesterday.
Wow! What a blast!

I won't talk too much detail, so as not to spoil anything for those who haven't yet seen it, but it's great. It's exactly what I anticipated, a tremendous action movie. It really delivers.
Sure, the plot is quite classic for this kind of badass-buddy-movie. I mean, don't expect sub-plots or original twists. But then again, that's not what you ask from this kind of films. What you ask from this kind of films is sheer demolition jubilation. And, boy, do we get it! The lines are punchy, the way it's shot is really appropriate, and the atmosphere makes it a great show.

The only "minus" point is that I would have liked the characters to have a bit more depth. It's not that they're shallow, but they could have used a trifle more personality development.

On the whole, I would say it proudly deserves 8.5/10

[Loomis]

I attended the premiere yesterday.
Wow! What a blast!

I won't talk too much detail, so as not to spoil anything for those who haven't yet seen it, but it's great. It's exactly what I anticipated, a tremendous action movie. It really delivers.
Sure, the plot is quite classic for this kind of badass-buddy-movie. I mean, don't expect sub-plots or original twists. But then again, that's not what you ask from this kind of films. What you ask from this kind of films is sheer demolition jubilation. And, boy, do we get it! The lines are punchy, the way it's shot is really appropriate, and the atmosphere makes it a great show.

The only "minus" point is that I would have liked the characters to have a bit more depth. It's not that they're shallow, but they could have used a trifle more personality development.

On the whole, I would say it proudly deserves 8.5/10

The few reviews that are beginning to trickle in are mostly very positive. I'll be checking THE EXPENDABLES out on opening day (19 August over here).

[The Shark]

This sounds spectacularly awesome. The only two things I'm not overly optimistic about are Jason Statham (who I despise) and Bryan Tyler's score. Hopefully that will be drowned out by sound fx.

[Matt_13]

While the reviews haven't been too hot, it seems as though the reviewers have missed the point of the movie...to see cool 'splosions and lots of dead henchmen. I'm going.

http://www.rottentom...he_expendables/

[Harmsway]

THE EXPENDABLES getting a much rougher ride than I anticipated, and it doesn't seem to be entirely a case of anti-action movie bias. Take, for example, this review:

What made Stallone’s vastly underrated 2008 return to the Rambo franchise so enjoyable wasn’t a script that had any pretensions of usurping The Bard with its literary ambitions. Instead, the exhilaration stemmed from rooting for one guy with an easily defined and focussed mission - to blast the out of nasty dudes in increasingly explosive and inventive ways. It was simplistic and primal, but very effective. Route One in football terms. In contrast, the screenplay for The Expendables shoehorns in too many ill-defined characters and does a poor job in juggling them. The convoluted mess barely allows the actors much scope to make an impact, or the audience to feel fully immersed in events.

[The Shark]

Meh. I hated Rambo 4 (actually walked out of the cinema). So hopefully I'll enjoy this.

[Harmsway]

Meh. I hated Rambo 4 (actually walked out of the cinema). So hopefully I'll enjoy this.

I don't think it necessarily follows that if you hated RAMBO, you'll like this. It's altogether quite possible that you could walk out disliking both of them. (For what it's worth, I didn't like RAMBO either.)

[Loomis]

THE EXPENDABLES getting a much rougher ride than I anticipated

I don't agree. I don't think it's getting a rough ride at all. Of course, relatively few reviews have been published, but most of the ones I've read are pretty positive, with a few out-and-out raves. Even the review you quote doesn't exactly eviscerate the film. Compare and contrast with RAMBO, which was almost universally panned, at least by professional critics (the fanboys tended to love it).

So far, the critical consensus on THE EXPENDABLES seems to be that the story is rather poor (but most reviewers qualify that by adding "Then again, no one in their right mind would sit down to this movie expecting a decent story"), but the action really delivers. Most reviewers note that the action is choreographed, shot and edited in such a way that it's easy to follow what's happening (a rarity these days). Most reviewers also cite the Schwarzenegger/Stallone/Willis scene as highly amusing and one of the film's standout moments (although one review I read tears into it as self-indulgent, horribly written and unfunny).

One of the most common complaints seems to be that Rourke or Willis or Crews or whoever doesn't get much screentime, but anyone who's been following the production of THE EXPENDABLES should know very well that their appearances were never intended to be more than cameos and that the main focus is on Stallone and Statham. I don't think "too little Arnie" is a legitimate criticism of the film, although that said there's certainly no reason to give it a free pass if it fails to develop any of its characters to a reasonably interesting degree.

[Harmsway]

I don't agree. I don't think it's getting a rough ride at all.

Surely you were expecting more than 30% on the Tomatometer? I was, at any rate.

Even the review you quote doesn't exactly eviscerate the film.

No. And I haven't encountered any outright pans. But most of the reviews I've encountered have an air of disappointment.

[Safari Suit]

I don't agree. I don't think it's getting a rough ride at all.

Surely you were expecting more than 30% on the Tomatometer? I was, at any rate.

But that's from only 10 reviews. Lets wait at least until opening Friday before we put on our stomping boots to fill up the schadenfreude wine bottles

[Harmsway]

Lets wait at least until opening Friday before we put on our stomping boots to fill up the schadenfreude wine bottles

Very well.

[Loomis]

But most of the reviews I've encountered have an air of disappointment.

Some of them do, it's true. Some critics seem to feel that THE EXPENDABLES "does what it says on the tin", so to speak, but nothing more.

I've always kept my EXPENDABLES expectations pretty low. Don't get me wrong, I can't wait to see it, and I'm sure I'll have a blast, but then again I've never felt that it promises to be in the same league of quality as ROCKY BALBOA and RAMBO, if only because with those two flicks Stallone was able to capitalise on decades of audience engagement with those two iconic characters and mine some meaty and moving drama from taking them back to basics. But, by all accounts, THE EXPENDABLES' Barney "Schizo" Ross is just a paper-thin, generic action man. There's no viewer history or affection there, and so I suspect he'll be about as interesting as, say, Sly's character in CLIFFHANGER, which is to say not very, although I do of course remain open to being pleasantly surprised.

I think THE EXPENDABLES will be a rich man's THE A-TEAM, with added nostalgia value for thirtysomething fanboys like myself who were weaned on the likes of COMMANDO, DIE HARD, LETHAL WEAPON, PREDATOR, RAMBO: FIRST BLOOD PART II and ROCKY IV when they first came out. It won't be anything more than that, but that's okay. As long as it's a rollicking good time of an arsekicking festival in which gets blown up real good, then I'll be as happy as a clam.

I don't expect it to get many good reviews outside of "geek" sites (although I'm sure Empire will give it at least four out of five). For a high-end professional film critic, it's part of the job description to have an automatically contemptuous attitude towards Sylvester Stallone. Even ROCKY BALBOA didn't really win over the posher reviewers, and all of them dismissed RAMBO out of hand.

But THE EXPENDABLES is pretty much critic-proof. It's the SEX AND THE CITY movie for guys.

[Captain Tightpants]

I expect that you'll enjoy THE EXPENDABLES if you go in looking for it to be the sum of its parts. A lot of the early reviews are criticising it for being poorly-shot, filled to overfloing with bad cliches and sub-standard acting. But I can't help but wonder if this is what Stallone was intending all along. It is, after all, a tribute to the action films of the 1980s the way KILL BILL was a nod to Hong Kong action cinema. Maybe it's all too deliberate.

[Loomis]

Well, here's a review of THE EXPENDABLES that's pretty much a textbook example of the critical consensus I mentioned. It certainly has that "air of disappointment" Harmsway refers to, but nonetheless paints a picture of a flick that's generally decent entertainment, has a couple of real highlights and is worth the price of admission.

http://uk.movies.ign.../1110318p1.html

Looking forward to the seaplane attack and to Rourke's simultaneously-Oscar-worthy-and-Razzie-worthy speech.

THE EXPENDABLES doesn't exactly seem to be shaping up as the biggest critical smash since PULP FICTION, but then again the average direct-to-DVD action movie starring Statham, Lundgren or Li would kill to get the mostly positive reviews THE EXPENDABLES is getting. And I have no doubt that it's a much better film than, say, DIE HARD 4.0 or INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL.

[Loomis]

Well, Harry Knowles' review is in. Predictably enough, he praises it to the skies as a flick that "harnesses the outrageousness of a COBRA, the mayhem of JOHN RAMBO, the manitude of the first 30 minutes of PREDATOR all with a bit of soul, friendship and fist-pumping that I adore from this type of film".

Now, he does warn that THE EXPENDABLES isn't as good as DIE HARD, and makes a couple of baffling STAR WARS comparisons (really, this is one of his silliest reviews ever), but, basically, this is an absolute rave.

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/46060

[jrcjohnny99]

I attended the premiere yesterday.
Wow! What a blast!

I won't talk too much detail, so as not to spoil anything for those who haven't yet seen it, but it's great. It's exactly what I anticipated, a tremendous action movie. It really delivers.
Sure, the plot is quite classic for this kind of badass-buddy-movie. I mean, don't expect sub-plots or original twists. But then again, that's not what you ask from this kind of films. What you ask from this kind of films is sheer demolition jubilation. And, boy, do we get it! The lines are punchy, the way it's shot is really appropriate, and the atmosphere makes it a great show.

The only "minus" point is that I would have liked the characters to have a bit more depth. It's not that they're shallow, but they could have used a trifle more personality development.

On the whole, I would say it proudly deserves 8.5/10

I was also at the Premiere at the Chinese and had a terrific evening;
the flick is a lot of fun and really does capture the spirit of those 80s actioners, it probably reminded me of "Commando" and "Predator" more than any of Sly's pics interestingly.
It's very well shot and Tylers music is actually very good and perfectly suits the mood of the pic.
The acting is sporadic and teh scrip could've used a little sharpening in parts but Sly does his job, Rourke is great and Roberts chews the scenery in classic over-the-top 80s villainy style. The scene with Willis and Arnie is classic and the payoff line sent the crowd into raptures.
I spoke to Dolph Lundgren at the premiere and he was very friendly and clearly very excited about the picture; the expectations seem to be for a very decent (40+) opening weekend.
For me it was a lot better than 'John Rambo' and I probably enjoyed it more than "Live Free & Die Hard';
It's definitely the type of movie you could watch over and over again and enjoy just as much every time.
I had pretty high hopes going into this and enjoyed it as much as hoped for; it's certainly not going to stimulate you in the way "Inception" did, but you will have a blast!
what more could anyone ask?

oh, and i just read that Harry Knowles review and he's dead wrong...the best Mercenary movie ever is "The Wild Geese" hands down.

[Captain Tightpants]

Well, Harry Knowles' review is in. Predictably enough, he praises it to the skies as a flick that "harnesses the outrageousness of a COBRA, the mayhem of JOHN RAMBO, the manitude of the first 30 minutes of PREDATOR all with a bit of soul, friendship and fist-pumping that I adore from this type of film".

Now, he does warn that THE EXPENDABLES isn't as good as DIE HARD, and makes a couple of baffling STAR WARS comparisons (really, this is one of his silliest reviews ever), but, basically, this is an absolute rave.

Knowles is a bit of a stooge at times. I prefer Massawyrm and Capone; I think they're much more level-headed, and they're both pretty intelligent - their INCEPTION reviews in particular are really, really good.

[Loomis]

Yeah, Knowles seems to have lost it. His reviews tend to be pretty embarrassing nowadays.

Still, that doesn't mean he's necessarily wrong on THE EXPENDABLES, although in the subsequent heated Talkback he admits that it's not as good as ROCKY BALBOA or RAMBO (but then I never thought it would be) and significantly worse than DIE HARD.

Personally, I'm gearing up for a solid three-out-of-five-stars effort that won't change my life but will nonetheless provide me with an enjoyable 90 minutes at the cinema and repay at least a couple more viewings on Blu-ray. Doesn't sound a bad deal.