10 Hollywood Stunt Doubles You Never Knew You Loved

"...Everybody has a favorite action movie star, but most of us don't know the stunt doubles behind those actors who keep them safe and looking pretty. They may not be household names, but you've definitely seen their work on TV and in the movies you watch over and over. Even though the craziest stunts are now mostly done on computers, stuntmen and women still play an important behind-the-scenes role in films, and it's nice to know there's someone out there who can jump off tall buildings or safely set themselves on fire. Here are 10 of the best stunt doubles you never even knew you loved..."


It's all here, thanks to the lovely Jena.

MurderDrome Tease

Cherry Skye just wants to skate, but the vengeful ghost of a killer has plans for her soul. Trapped between the wrath of love scorned and supernatural evil, Skye races towards The MurderDrome at breakneck speed. When she gets there there's no guarantees anyone is coming out alive.

Neighbor

Reading 'The scariest killer since Hannibal Lecter' put me in high spirits as I settled in to watch the latest contribution from independent American film-maker Robert A. Masciantonio. Having made a suitably successful tour of the film festival circuit in 2009 Neighbor has been praised for diverging from the general realms of violent pornography common with these style films and depicting something far more smart and edgy. This warm praise for Neighbor however turned out to be completely without foundation and my hopeful spirits were swiftly put aside to be replaced with a sense of foreboding that this was going to be the longest ninety minutes of my life.

The Big Rich DVD Review: Wreckage

This time around I was hoping to do something a bit different. BRWC is 3 and I thought well lets do a twitter review. In theory this should've been packed full of comedy gold. Full to the brim with wit, pithiness and chortles......the outcome was slightly off.

I'll do a quick review here as the film really doesn't deserve much. It is a horrible mess. Wreckage does nothing for a genre that is past it's prime. Twisty turny slasher flicks are, or were, wonderful. I for one love the Scream franchise, and my personal favourite Urban Legend was great fun to watch as all your guesses met they're maker in increasingly fantastical ways. Wreckage is the oposite. It is, as I've already said...a mess. The film makes no sense, from it's vague opening to it's hollow and downright awful twist it actually lost me at one point, and I didn't care who copped it next. The prison escapee, the quiet rural sheriffs dept, the hero and his fiance and his friend the nut job. 


The killer isn't anything to do with the junkyard either. The killer got angry at his missus, shot her and then went on a rampage killing everyone in sight. The writers haven't given us enough to flesh out our theories.

Lovely, Still

If you like a movie that you really have to think about, and also be slightly uncomfortable with, then this is the one. It's all about an elderly man called Robert Malone, who lives on his own, still works at a grocery store (even though he seems like he is 910 years old) and has that lonely, saddened life that always makes you want to cry. Until one day, he leaves his front door open, he returns from work, and finds a stranger standing in his house. The two, after what seems to be a life time of waiting for calls, awkward dates, romantic dances in the snow, generally enjoying each others company, there is a twist, which, somehow I knew was coming. You get the sense that there's something missing from Robert's life, maybe that there's a gap somewhere.

The 20 Best Movies For Back To School

Here's one of them...

Karate Kid

Bullies were a problem in 1984 when The Karate Kid came out, and they still are today, making this movie incredibly relevant for lots of students returning to school. As Daniel LaRusso starts at a new school, he finds himself a bully, the star student of the Cobra Kai dojo, and is beaten by him until his apartment handyman, Mr. Miyagi, intervenes and defeats not only his bully, but four of his friends with ease. Although initially, Mr. Miyagi denies Daniel's request to train under him, he agrees to help when the bully's dojo challenges Daniel to a match at a karate tournament. During their training, they grow into a surrogate father-son relationship, and Daniel learns several life lessons. Daniel ultimately beats his bully, making this not only a feel good movie, but a great lesson in perseverance over personal obstacles and bullies at school.

The rest are here, thanks to Florine!

10 Awesomely Bad Films With Cult Followings

Number 1 is...

The Room.


This film was written, produced, and directed by Tommy Wiseau, who also happens to be the lead actor. It's also one of the best bad movies out there. Wiseau plays Johnny (and also looks like he's made of wax), whose future wife is cheating on him with his best friend. 

Booked Out Trailer & Poster

This looks really good!


Aspiring illustrator Ailidh (Mirren Burke) has two loves in this world: writing graphic novels and spying on her neighbours. Now that the mysterious Jacob (Rollo Weeks) has moved in next door, that may make three. 

Cowboys & Aliens Battle-graphic

Ever wondered what would happen if ET had a fist fight with Jessie James, or who would come out on top between Alien and Billy The Kid?  Well now, in the form of a glorious Cowboys & Aliens Battle-graphic you can see exactly who won when Cowboys took on Aliens....

Iris Prize Festival

30 films selected for the world’s largest gay and lesbian short film prize

• 8 UK filmmakers make the final closely followed by 6 from the US.

• Japan, Thailand and Switzerland make the final for the first time joining, Germany, Brazil, Israel, France, Norway, Australia, Ireland, India, New Zealand, Spain, US and UK.

• UK filmmakers Andrew Steggall and Hong Khaou, Juanma Carrillo from Spain, Christopher Banks from New Zealand and Daniel Ribeiro from Brazil make it to the final for the second time and Eric Gernand from the US for the third time!

(Belated) DVD Reviews: The Pack & Risen

Once again here's another fashionably late straight to DVD double-bill. Maybe 'Belated Reviews' could become a regular feature. No? Ok, fair enough...

Franco-Belgian horror The Pack starts promisingly enough, clearly taking inspiration from recent continental horror efforts like Haute Tension and Martyrs. Charlotte (Emilie Dequenne) drives through the grey French countryside, puffing cigarettes and listening to French punk music. Clearly designed to be an intelligent, take-no-shit modern kind of girl, she nevertheless breaks horror movie survival rule #15 - 'don't pick up the the hitchhiker' - and travels on to a rural truck-stop known locally as La Spack, named after it's sinister looking landlady (Yolande Moreau). Naturally, things start to go wrong...

BRWC Is 3: Highlights Of The Year 2/2

Below are some more highlights of the last year.

Michael Cera's Favourite Films


Guilty Pleasures: The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen


Film Review with Robert Mann - Back to the Future: 25th Anniversary Re-Release

Wreckage

When their car’s fan belt snaps during a drag race on a county road several miles outside their home town, best friends Jared, Kate, Rick, and Jessica find themselves stranded with two options: walk all the way back home or try their luck on finding a spare belt at a nearby scrap yard. Choosing the latter, but arriving after nightfall and finding the yard closed, they decide to climb the gate and go in search of the required part. Their situation goes from mildly inconvenient to seriously lethal in an instant when Rick’s careless horseplay with a loaded pistol leaves Kate wounded and in desperate need of medical attention.

POST MORTEM

Santiago. September, 1973. Mario Cornejo works at a morgue, typing out reports on autopsies performed by the coroners. Leading up to the military coup where Salvador Allende dies, he gets involved in a love affair with a dancer from the cabaret Bim Bam Bum.

BRWC Is 3: A Walk Down Elm Street...

In honor of Battle Royale With Cheese's Third Anniversary, my third (and last, unless someone just BEGS me to do the Amityvilles, Children Of The Corns, or Hellraisers) Horror movie franchise dissection!

I talked about the history and evolution of "modern" horror and the slasher film genre, in specific, in my review of the Halloween AND Friday the 13^th Series, so I'll try not to repeat myself too much here.

BRWC Is 3: Highlights Of The Year 1/2

Yes, we are 3.  Wow.  

Below are a few highlights of the last year.  More coming soon...

Robert Mann's review of Aspie Eyes.

A big dilemma for Blitzwing.

Film Review: Symphony

Now and then you get to watch a film that sits with you because you are able to take so many things from it. This is why I rather enjoyed watching Symphony. I found this film extremely interesting because the subject matter is not really a topic that I have come across in a film before. Symphony in a nutshell is about an obsessed musician who feels he has to mutilate himself in order to to bring a sense of worth to an album he is composing ( I'm old school so I reckon you gotta play an instrument to be a musician not do shit on Pro Tools...but hey that's just me) which he believes will be his gift to the world and become his everlasting legacy. 

Film - Alien To The World

Alien To The World is a film about my personal experiences with Aspergers Syndrome that I made for my Masters dissertation at Bangor University. 

Thanks to everyone who helped me make this project a reality.

"Autism is not a puzzle, nor a disease. Autism is a challenge." -Trisha van Berkel
A simple but apt description for not only the wider Autistic Spectrum but also the condition known as Aspergers Syndrome. A form of Autism that affects the social and functional abilities of those who have it, many do not realise the true effect it has on someone who has it. 

UNTIL THE LIGHT TAKES US To UK Record Stores

The makers of Until The Light Takes Us, the award winning film about the 90’s Norwegian “black metal” music scene, are offering free screenings and DVDs to all UK record stores affected by the riots.  

The fire that occurred late on Monday the 8th at the Sony warehouse in London destroyed the stock held by Pias, the biggest distributor of independent labels in Britain and Ireland.  Affected UK record stores can contact the filmmakers directly by writing info@blackmetalmovie.com.  The film will be made available for free, to be shown as in-store or off-site events, or as part of fundraisers. The first screening event will be at Rough Trade East in London, on 26 August.  Details will be available here.

NSFW: Comforting Skin Trailer

Comforting Skin is a supernatural thriller that follows Koffie, a lonely young woman’s who's desperate need for emotional and sexual companionship draws her into a surreal and ultimately destructive relationship with a shifting and whispering tattoo she has willed to life on her skin.

 

Comforting Skin was shot last spring on a budget of roughly $250,000. Additionally much of the equipment used, crew and locations were donated as well. The slithering, shifting tattoo character was brought to life through the use of digital animation and compositing techniques, requiring custom code developed by VFX Supervisor Ollie Rankin. 

Here is the NSFW trailer - 

10 Action Stars That Actually Fought Competitively

Here's one...


Steven Seagal – Seagal is another actor who took great pride in doing his own fight scenes, though added girth has slowed him down considerably. In his earlier films, he always displayed great hand-speed.


The rest are here.  Thanks to Yelin!

MurderDrome

Strongman Pictures Entertainment have announced that principal photography for the Roller Derby slasher, MurderDrome, have began in Melbourne.

"Like any good Roller Derby player Cherry Skye wears her undies on the outside and her panties on her head. It's no wonder she's caught the eye of spunky Brad Brad. Unfortunately she's also earned the ire of Brad's ex, Hell Grazer, a girl born to win and ready to skate over anything in her path to get what she wants.

Study This Trailer...

Here is the trailer for Study, an individualistic and psychological drama. It follows a psychology 

student in the week before his final exam, discovering his life and exploring his mind. Starting on Monday, in the middle of his room, the student tries to study surrounded by his past and his present, obsessed by the concept of life and death, and tortured by the eternal struggle between science and religion. 

The Lost Bladesman Trailer

Here is the trailer for the new kick-ass Donnie Yen epic, The Lost Bladesman which is co-written and co-directed by the duo responsible for the awesome Infernal Affairs trilogy, Alan Mak and Felix Chong. 

Check out more about it here - http://www.cult-labs.com/lost-bladesman/

It was out on DVD on the 8th of August, and we'll have a review for you, soon...

BRWC Is 3: MAKE IT HAPPEN

                  

THE NATIONAL YOUTH FILM ACADEMY, SUPPORTED BY BFI FUTURE FILM,

PROUDLY INTRODUCES THE PIONEERING NEW SUMMER PROGRAMME MAKE IT HAPPEN, SUPPORTING THE UK’S YOUNG FILM TALENT

From tomorrow, our 3rd birthday to 26 August, the National Youth Film Academy is on the hunt to discover the UK’s most talented young filmmakers and actors, searching for the next Danny Boyle, Sam Taylor-Wood or Michael Caine.

LUCIDITY

A cinematic journey exploring the waking and sleeping lives of Ian, LUCIDITY focuses on the exceptional behavior of an individual under the most endearing circumstances. Ian, a man who cannot recall his past, is visited in dreams by Ava, a woman who claims to be a significant part of his forgotten life. As a film, LUCIDITY offers its own unique interpretation of two of existence's most elusive questions: why do we dream and what happens when we die?

BRWC Is 3: The Year So Far... Happy Birthday BRWC

In honor of BRWC celebrating another esteemed birthday, I, Deedee Spears have taken the liberty of writing "The Year So Far".  Pretty much a "ghetto" review of 2 Films which I enjoyed, and 2 Films which didn't really "rock my boat". So without further hesitation here they are....

The 8 Best ’80s Villains

Here's one...


Biff Tannen

About as smart as a screen door on a submarine, Biff Tannen lived to torment generations of McFly men and try to steal their women. He was rude, domineering, pig-headed, and maybe even a little insane. He became an iconic villain thanks to the pop culture success of the Back to the Future franchise, even as he and his family were destined to repeat the same mistakes and suffer the same defeats. (No matter where a Tannen man is, there's a pile of manure nearby.) Like all classic bullies, he's a total pushover, too: One good punch and he's down for life.

The rest is here.

Lou Trailer

This looks lovely...

Living in rural New South Wales with her mother and sisters. eleven-year-old Lou’s life is turned upside down when her father walks out on her mother. Feeling abandoned, she copes by building a tough outer shell but blames her mother and refuses to let her get close.

Life becomes more interesting when her estranged grandfather (Doyle) moves in to the family home. Doyle brings chaos with him, not least because he is ill and confused. In this state, Doyle mistakes his granddaughter for his long departed wife, showering her with attention in an attempt to win her affections. Lou, intrigued, plays along with the fantasy.

The Supercalifragilistic-expithrilladellic Movie

This October get ready for the most thrilladellic movie - Judy Moody and the NOT Bummer Summer, based on the best-selling books, Judy Moody roars in to cinemas 21^st October 2011.

When her best-laid plans for a summer full of fun go comically awry, an imaginative young girl creates her own vacation adventure; Judy Moody and the NOT Bummer Summer is an irresistible and delightfully funny treat for adventure-loving kids and adults.

Terror-cotta

Terracotta Distribution announces the launch of ‘Terror-cotta’, an imprint to their already successful specialist Asian film label.

The new imprint will be focused on horror and thriller genre titles and will launch in October (coinciding with the run up to Halloween) with Yoon Hong-seung’s ‘Death Bell’ a Korean horror where students and teachers are locked in a high school and forced to play a deadly series of quizzes and tasks with the losers being killed off in a gruesome manner.

The Unleashed: Manuel H. Da Silva Interview

You've seen the trailer.  Now I managed to spend time with Manuel H. Da Silva, the director.

So, tell me about The Unleashed.  What's it all about? The Unleashed is about the origin of the Ouija board and how one mans greed peeked his interest to steal the board and patent it. Later down the line his great, great grand-daughter recovers the board after she returned home from Europe and the movie takes off from there. The moral of the film is about whether or not people should believe in or play with the Ouija board.

10 Big Movie Roles That Were Horribly Miscast

Here's one...

Halle Berry as Catwoman, Catwoman

Making a Catwoman movie that doesn’t have anything to do with the Batman universe is strike one; casting Halle Berry is strikes two, three, and the end of the ballgame. She gives a performance that’s almost daringly bad, bouncing from hysteria to weird psycho-sexual pandering at will. The role and movie were so mismanaged that Catwoman picked up a slew of Razzies that year, including Worst Picture, Actress, Screenplay, and Director.

The rest is here, thanks to Tina!

Will

Vertigo Films are proud to announce the wide UK theatrical release of Will. This much anticipated film that tells the story of a young boy’s emotional journey across Europe to watch the football team that he loves will be released in the UK in October.

Eleven-year-old Will Brennan’s (Perry Eggleton) life is turned upside down when his long-absent father (Damian Lewis) reappears with tickets to the 2005 Champions League Final in Istanbul. But when fate intervenes, Will runs away to Istanbul for the biggest soccer match of the year, searching for meaning in a world that seems to have abandoned him.

COWBOYS AND ALIENS LIVE STREAM!

Paramount Pictures International has teamed with Livestream to present the live UK movie premiere of COWBOYS AND ALIENS from The O2 Arena where Empire, the world's biggest movie magazine is presenting BIG SCREEN. 

Taking place from 12-14 August 2011 BIG SCREEN is a must-see event for all movie fans, bringing Hollywood to London and appealing to all ages and spanning all genres.

The live Cowboys and Aliens premiere event has begun.  Fans worldwide can watch Red Carpet interviews with the stars including director Jon Favreau, Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford and Olivia Wilde.  Footage of the event will be streamed here and/or here.

The Waterhole Review

So. This is my first blog of anything... let alone a film review... When I was given this DVD some time ago I wasn’t too sure on it, it didn’t seem my normal ‘type’ of film, and if I’m honest, I did have to watch it a couple of times to truly get into the pace of the film.

The story is set in a small town in America around the main character Miller (Patrick J. Adams) at a point in his life when he is coming up to graduation from college, having issues with his cheating girlfriend, and seems to spend most evenings in his local ‘Waterhole’. Miller is going nowhere fast, this is highlighted when both his best friends Murphy (Matt Stasi) and Jim (Jade Carter) are moving on with their lives. 

DVD Review - Needle

Needle (15)

Dir: John V. Soto

Scr: Anthony Egan and John V. Soto

Starring: Michael Dorman, Travis Fimmel, Trilby Glover, Tahyna Tozzi

90 mins, 2010

Distributor: High Fliers

At first glance I was hoping for some hybrid between Hellraiser and Jumanji. Young teens being chased down roads by leather clad monkeys crying "I have an eternity to explore your flesh", only to be saved by an elderly hunter dressed as a kinky demon with his blunderbuss. In fact can someone please make this? I will give you gold.

THE TOP TEN FILMS/SHOWS YOU NEVER KNEW BRADLEY COOPER WAS IN

To celebrate the release of LIMITLESS, we take a look back at the TV shows and movies you never knew leading –man Bradley Cooper once starred in. 

Wedding Crashers (2005)

John Beckwith (Owen Wilson) and Jeremy Grey (Vince Vaughn), a pair of committed womanizers who sneak into weddings to take advantage of the romantic tinge in the air, find themselves at odds with one another when John meets and falls for Congressman Cleary’s (Christopher Walken) daughter, Claire Cleary (Rachel McAdams).

Bradley Cooper plays Claire’s overconfident, Ivy League boyfriend Sack Lodge who maliciously and hysterically stands in the way of John and Claire’s budding relationship.

Villian

Now this, looks fantastic.

The Thing Images & Trailer

Here is the trailer, above....

The Bang Bang Club

The Bang Bang Club is based on the true story of four remarkable photographers taking iconic and shocking pictures in South Africa during the last days of the apartheid. Their gripping and often harrowing stories are captured in this thought provoking film, which is released exclusively on DVD through Entertainment One on Monday 3rd October 2011.

Set in 1994, The Bang Bang Club, is made up of four young South African men, Greg Marinovich (Ryan Phillippe –Cruel Intentions), Kevin Carter (Taylor Kitsch – X Men Origins - Wolverine), Ken Oosterbroek (Frank Rautenbach) and João Silva (Neels Van Jaarsveld), as they set out to capture some of the best, yet horrific pictures of their lives – in some of the most hostile and turbulent places in the world.

Scala Forever!

A season of films reliving the Scala Cinema’s programming history and celebrating the current repertory film scene in London

13^th August – 2^nd October 2011 at venues across London

This August will see the start of a monster season of film screenings under the title Scala Forever.  During 80’s and early 90’s The Scala Cinema in Kings Cross was one of the most famous repertory cinemas in London screening a wild mix of Cult, Classic, Arthouse, World cinema and everything inbetween.  As John Waters said, “The Scala had magic.”

Zombie Apocalypse Poster

Hot from Comic-Con, here is the poster for upcoming Carlos Gallardo (El Mariachi) and Kevin Eastman (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) produced movie - Zombie Apocalypse - written and directed by hot new discovery Chee Keong Cheung.

10 Most Memorable Movie Scenes In A Car

Here is one of the ten - Marty dates his mom in Back to the Future

It's hard, if not impossible, to pick just one classic scene from a movie that's all about a very special car. Do you go with Marty's nail-biting escape back to 1985? The chase with the Libyans that sent him back in time in the first place? Too close to call. So let's go with a change-up: Marty's infamous date with his mom. Really, how many mainstream Hollywood blockbusters have a plot that hinges on an Oedipus complex? Marty takes one for the team in a number of ways by letting his mom put the moves on him just so he can get beat up by Biff and then ultimately watch George save the day. Good thing Biff showed up when he did. Things would've gotten really weird.

The rest is here.

The Taqwacores: Review

Thought you knew all about punk? Think again. This film not only unearths a new punk subculture, but teaches us a lot about how and why we use rebellion.

First Image Of Superman In Man Of Steel!

We now have our first image of Henry Cavill as Superman in Man Of Steel!  Safe to say he's looking pretty bad ass. Really looking forward to this one. Should be interesting to see what Zack Snyder can do with our favourite caped super hero.

An Ode To ‘The House Where Evil Dwells’ (1982)

An Ode to ‘The House Where Evil Dwells’

Oh The House Where Evil Dwells, how do I laughingly accept your ambitiously disappointing mediocrity, let me count the ways…

Sleepaway Camp (1983), in 6 Panels by Damien Sage

Once again, the entirety of a beloved cult film presented in crudely drawn, six panel, web comic form. Enjoy.