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NEWS ABOUT: action movie

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Schwarzenegger Ready for Action

Nearly 8 years from his last hit, Arnold says he's still got it

(Newser) - Arnold Schwarzenegger is back, and even at age 63, the longtime action star says he's ready to return to the high-octane heroics and disemboweling that made him famous. "I can step very comfortably into the entertainment world and do an action movie with the same violence that I've always... More »

Formulaic Expendables a Tired Retread

Action flick less than the sum of its all-star parts

(Newser) - Sylvester Stallone directed and co-stars, alongside a Magnificent Seven-style roster of action-film legends—Bruce Willis, Dolph Lundgren, Jet Li, Steve Austin, Mickey Rourke, and Jason Statham—but critics have some issues with The Expendables.
  • James Verniere (and a friend), Boston Herald : "Hulk like Expendables. It SMASH. Guns go BANG-BANG.
... More »

Critics Salty, Sweet on Angelina's Latest

Not everybody's sold on the new action thriller Salt

(Newser) - If you rely on critics for your movie-viewing choices, just flip a coin on Angelina Jolie's new save-the-world thriller, Salt. They're about evenly split:
  • Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle : "When exploited properly—as Salt does, keeping her human and vulnerable, so that the character's amazing ability and ingenuity continue
... More »

In Action Flicks, Angelina Shows Up the Boys

She's the first woman to be a bankable star in the genre

(Newser) - With Angelina Jolie's action flick Salt set to open next week, the Hollywood Reporter pays homage to her unprecedented feat in the movie biz: She's the only woman to rule the genre. She's starred in five action movies over the past 10 years that have grossed a total of $1.... More »

Manic Cruise Shines in Knight and Day

Cruise is at his manic best in spy thriller

(Newser) - Lighthearted spy thriller Knight and Day is an entertaining, if not especially memorable, summer movie, say critics. How much you'll like it, they say, depends very much on how much you like Tom Cruise, who plays a crackpot CIA agent.
  • Knight and Day "is hardly a perfect film, not
... More »

Iron Man Not Ready for the Rust Heap

Robert Downey Jr. saves flashy sequel, say critics

(Newser) - Iron Man 2 is clunkier than its predecessor and its self-destructive hero has succumbed to boozy overconfidence, but Robert Downey Jr. saves the film, not to speak of the world, say critics.
  • This movie is "bigger, louder and dumber than its predecessor" but still plenty of fun, writes Bill
... More »

From Paris With Love Is Stupid Fun

John Travolta's having—and being—a blast in spy shoot-em-up

(Newser) - A trigger-happy John Travolta is not only the main event but the only event in the gleefully over-the-top spy movie From Paris With Love, say critics.
  • Travolta, plainly having a blast as a "bald-headed, goateed, gonzo CIA agent with a short fuse" is the standout in this "otherwise
... More »

Jackie Chan Can't Save Spy Next Door

Not even an action star can save this flick

(Newser) - An ex-spy corralling a crew of unruly munchkins seems like a recipe for PG fun, especially when that spy is Jackie Chan. But critics agree—The Spy Next Door just ain't funny.
  • This is True Lies without the striptease or Arab-maiming," writes Michael Phillips for the Chicago Tribune. "
... More »

2012 Spectacular but Stupid

End-of-the-world epic is 'disaster porn' at its finest

(Newser) - Critics agree that world-destroying disaster epic 2012 boasts some stunning special effects, but they're split on whether that makes up for the cheesy script—and the run time of 2 hours, 38 minutes.
  • Director Roland Emmerich's previous destruction-fests Independence Day and The Day After Tomorrow "are nothing compared to
... More »

Sly, Arnie, Willis to Unite Onscreen

The Expendables also stars Rourke, Li

(Newser) - Musclemen Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Bruce Willis are uniting for one last action flick, the Guardian reports. The Expendables, slated for release next year, tells the story of a band of mercenaries in Latin America, and will show the three grizzled stars together for the first time since the... More »

Overwrought G.I. Joe 'Everything You Could Want'

(Newser) - Most critics—who didn't have access to advance screenings, normally a huge red flag—agree that G.I. Joe: the Rise of Cobra isn’t anything but a popcorn flick. For some, that’s enough. For others, not so much.
  • "It’s all put together with such verve and
... More »

Vatican Charmed by Potter

(Newser) - Though rarely a fan of wizards and witches, the Vatican has declared the latest Harry Potter film a positive tale of “friendship, altruism, loyalty" that achieves the "correct balance" in depicting teen romance, reports the Guardian. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, opening today, makes clear that... More »

This Summer's Top Trailers

(Newser) - Summer may not always yield the best movies, but it never fails to deliver the year’s best trailers. Wired celebrates this sacred art by picking out the trailers that managed to throw the most hype onto the screen in 3 minutes or less. We’ve helpfully compiled them in... More »

Stuntmen's Favorite Films

(Newser) - When it comes to movies, nothing wows like an epic action sequence. Which flicks do stunt performers like best? Kevin Conley lists 'em for Slate:
  • The Matrix Trilogy: Legendary kung fu director Yuen Wo-Ping didn't really want the job and issued near-impossible demands—including six months of training for stuntmen—
... More »

A Tough Guy for Everyone

Why Wolverine has had such lasting appeal

(Newser) - Wolverine has endured. The character has two comic-book series, a new blockbuster movie, and his own exhibit at New York’s comic museum 35 years after being introduced as a sidekick. Why has Wolverine had such long lasting appeal? With a dark, mysterious past, and a “penchant for berserker... More »

Statham Cracks Skulls, Cracks Up Audiences

Actor's films expertly blend adventure, slapstick

(Newser) - Jason Statham, the hulking British action star specializing in shoot-em-up, kick-em-down movies, owes much to Jackie Chan and Wile E. Coyote, Jody Rosen writes for Slate. After all, Statham trades in “a mix of bionic brute force and slapstick”—delivered with his Everyman charm. It may sound absurd,... More »

Push All Style, No Coherence

(Newser) - Push, the latest would-be superhero franchise, “has vibrant cinematography and decent acting,” writes Roger Ebert, “but I’m blasted if I know what it’s about.” Oh, he gets the basics: Movers are telekinetic, Watchers are psychic, and Pushers control minds. There are also Stitchers, Wipers,... More »

Critics Not So Taken With Taken

Plot, lead character 'preposterous'

(Newser) - Critics disagree over whether Bourne-style action flick Taken is a quality picture, but they concur on one thing: Its plot is “preposterous,” as Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times puts it. It’s “a completely unbelievable action picture” in which Liam Neeson’s “sharpshooting, pursuit-driving, pocket-picking,... More »

A-Team Bound for Theaters

Joe Carnahan tapped to direct

(Newser) - The A-Team is coming back! Fox has tapped director Joe Carnahan, of Smokin’ Aces fame, to direct a big-budget update of the hugely popular '80s action show, Radar Online reports. Few plot details have emerged, except that it will keep the core story of veterans—now of Iraq, not Vietnam—... More »

Craig's Bond Saves Solace

Daniel Craig shines in superspy sequel but some find Bond brand too diluted

(Newser) - Quantum of Solace doesn't quite measure up to its predecessor, but that's because the Bond makers set the bar so high with Casino Royale, say critics. Daniel Craig returns for his second outing as the superspy, and his cold-blooded but charismatic performance ensures that his "place as the best... More »

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