The topic on the end of every nerd’s forked tongue last week was the announcement that Warner Bros.-based Alcon Entertainment is in final negotiations to acquire the holy grail of film properties: Blade Runner. The announcement was followed by a collective gasp in the blogosphere – with our own Caffeine Powered delivering his own expletive-ridden tirade. Reactions have been pretty much split down the middle of anger and joy. As a devout Blade Runner fan and collector, my first reaction was, naturally, skepticism and disbelief. But it’s been a few days and I’ve had some time to meditate and brood (mostly brood) on this. So let’s chill for a moment and talk about this like adults.

Keep Reading »

For most people, Friday’s just the day before the weekend. But after this Friday, the neighborhood will never be the same.

Today’s pick is the song at the end of Elvira: Mistress of the Dark. I recently revisited this movie, which I haven’t seen in about 18 years when it was on Comedy Central every day. It still holds up.

Hey guys. By now I hope you’ve all seen Drive Angry and given Nic Cage some much needed money. After having such high hopes, I was less than impressed with it. For someone who thinks 3D is corny, I thought the 3D in Drive Angry is the main reason to see it in theaters. It was really well done. But other than that, meh.

Another slow news week in the Cage universe. Now that Drive Angry is behind us, I’m so ready for the Ghost Rider 2 hype to hit full throttle. Some words from Cage on that sequel/reimagining below. Also a pretty girl has joined the cast of Simon West’s Medallion. Thank god!

Malin Akerman Joins the Cast of Medallion

Con Air director Simon West’s Taken-ish thriller Medallion has found its leading lady in the moderately attractive Malin Akerman. She’s been on Entourage and was the Silk Spectre in some movie called Watchmen. Malin is playing a crook and former lover of Cage who aids him in recovering his daughter from the back of a medallion taxi cab. I hope Cage kisses her. (via /Film)

Keep Reading »

I went to school and lived in the Boston area for most of my 20s. I can safely say that for the most part, the MA youth dress like shit (OL bloggers excluded). Lots of “Yankees Suck” shirts and “Believe in Boston” caps with battle-damaged brims.   That’s where Regan Smith Clarke steps in.

Inspired by vintage signs and advertisements, RSC is a Boston-based clothing company that’s been turning heads for a year now with their solid designs and integrity. Created by a Boston local who thought it’d be a good idea to name a clothing company after himself, RSC currently slings tees, hoodies, tote bags, and prints adorned with original designs that truly POP! To celebrate their first birthday, RSC has released a commemorative shirt, the “Year One.” And now, there’s an app for that!

Keep Reading »

Inspired by John Shelton Lawrence and Robert Jewett’s study, Myth of the American Superhero and my ever loving hard-on for Charles Bronson, the “American Revenge” mix features clips from some of my favorite vigilante movies. The beginning features footage from the videotaped confessions of Bernhard Goetz (aka the Subway Vigilante). With the mix, I leaned towards some lesser known films and excluded any rogue cops (sorry, Dirty Harry).

I’m not the best editor in the world, but I hope you like it and I hope you share it.

“Whereas the classical monomyth seemed to reflect rites of initiation, the American monomyth derives from tales of redemption…combining elements of the selfless servant who impassively gives his life for others and the zealous crusader who destroys evil.” – Myth of the American Superhero

Today’s pick: the “Suite” from Jerry Goldsmith’s score for Outland (1981).

Part two after the jump.

Keep Reading »

Welcome to the first edition of OLOST. When you say it out loud, it sounds like you’re remorseful for the end of Lost. But what it really means is Omega Level Original Soundtrack. This is going to be a Mon-Fri post where I, Patrick “Swift Dick” Cooper, posts a song or other audio-related nugget that I hope you enjoy. I listen to a lot of movie scores because I hate the human voice. Unless it’s unexpectedly rapping at the end of a movie.

Which brings us to today’s song, “Manic Cop Rap.” Last night I bought Maniac Cop 3 at Walgreens. I live in Florida, so that makes sense. Enjoy.

Hello lovelies. It’s me, Patrick. The other douche of Omega Level. I’ve been kind of MIA lately. In the immortal words of Han Solo, “It’s not my fault.” I’ve had bronchitis for a week and started a new writing gig that requires me to write my balls off for nine hours a day. It’s sadly hurting my extracurricular writing BUT I thought I’d pop in a say that I’m still here. I still love you all.

With that crap out of the way, I’d like to share with you this joyful video of Sam Rockwell dancing like a boss. Most the footage is from Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, but there’s some nice variety sprinkled throughout. Even Moon! Ya-yeah! The video helped perk me up for a long day of writing and watching the dog fart.

See you at tomorrow’s Cage Match.

Drive Angry isn’t the movie Nic Cage devotees have been waiting for. It’s not a return to his genius form last seen in 2009’s Bad Lieutenant. He talks through his teeth and snarls a lot, but there are a lot of actors who can snarl better than Cage. It appears he’s trying to act cool, while it was probably his manic genius that got him offered the role in the first place. With that said, Drive Angry is still great in the expected ways a ridiculous b-movie should be. Oodles of blondes, bullets, and blood. But, sadly, having all the ingredients to a bitchin’ movie doesn’t mean it’s going to come out right.

Cage plays Milton (how subtle), a hardass who looks like a chewed up piece of gristle with a blonde wig on. Milton escapes from hell to avenge his daughter’s death and to save his granddaughter from a satanic cult. Sounds like a conflict of interest, but Drive Angry refuses to be bogged down by trite things like exposition. While Milton is pursuing the satanic cult and their Elvis-like leader Jonah King (Billy Burke), he’s accompanied by Piper (Amber Heard) – a firecacker with a mean right hook and a foul mouth. All the while, an unstoppable force calling himself the Accountant is out to drag Milton back to hell.

It’s William Fichtner, as the Accountant, who steals every scene in Drive Angry. He pulls off homicidal cool so convincingly while simultaneously looking uncomfortable in human skin. He’s got the funniest lines, the best kills, and a power tie that screams confidence. Amber Heard is…well, hot. That’s all she needs to be in this movie. B-movie legend Tom “Thrill Me” Atkins makes a great appearance as the police captain. But then there’s Cage.

Through the whole hour and 40 minutes I was asking WHY is Cage playing it so cool?! You escaped from Hell and you’re armed with a gun called “The God Killer” – be manic and jittery and scream a lot! I think he was going for Clint Eastwood or John Wayne redemption reaper. He’s just boring.

The 3D is put to good use. Meaning lots of limbs and bullets flying towards the screen. There’s not a boring moment and the frequent action sequences are done really well. Surprisingly, there’s not a lot of car chasing going on in Drive Angry. Shoot outs, brawls, and shoot outs while fucking and chugging Jack Daniels make up the action here.

If all the elements are there, how did filmmakers Patrick Lussier and Todd Farmer (My Bloody Valentine 3D) end up delivering a flaccid movie? They obviously know what makes grindhouse flicks so entertaining, but just throwing the ingredients into the same movie doesn’t automatically make a good movie. Story and characters to root for are essential too. Can’t blame them for trying though.

This review originally appeared on the Mishka Bloglin.