Action, Action

This week we take a trip back to Dustin's childhood and watch "Best of The Best" Martial arts drama in which a misfit team of American kickboxers must undergo rigorous training for an all-important contest against a ruthless Korean team. Along the way, the hardened fighters learn to lay their personal ghosts to rest. Release date: November 10, 1989 (USA) Director: Robert Radler Sequel: Best of the Best II Distributed by: 20th Century Studios, Taurus Entertainment Box office: $1.7 million (US) Music by: Paul Gilman

I can't believe we haven't covered this movie yet! So this week we get on it and cover 1984's Beverly Hills Cop. After his childhood buddy is murdered while visiting Detroit, rebellious cop Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy) follows the leads to Beverly Hills, Calif., under the auspices of a vacation. He checks in with old friend Jenny Summers (Lisa Eilbacher) and starts to believe her boss, art dealer Victor Maitland (Steven Berkoff), might somehow be involved in the murder. However, Lt. Bogomil (Ronny Cox) of the Beverly Hills Police Department does not trust Foley, and hinders his search for evidence. Release date: December 5, 1984 (USA) Director: Martin Brest Distributed by: Paramount Pictures Box office: $234 million Music by: Harold Faltermeyer Produced by: Don Simpson; Jerry Bruckheimer

A drug dealer (Nina Li Chi) joins forces with two mismatched cops (Yun-Fat Chow, Conan Lee) to crack a band of heroin dealers. Release date: March 19, 1988 (Hong Kong) Director: Lau Kar-leung Box office: 27.87 million HKD Nominations: Hong Kong Film Award for Best Action Choreography Distributed by: Cinema City Enterprises Language: Cantonese

This week we check out the directorial debut of Dev Patel with Monkey Man (2024) A young man ekes out a meager living in an underground fight club where, night after night, wearing a gorilla mask, he's beaten bloody by more popular fighters for cash. After years of suppressed rage, he discovers a way to infiltrate the enclave of the city's sinister elite. As his childhood trauma boils over, his mysteriously scarred hands unleash an explosive campaign of retribution to settle the score with the men who took everything from him. Release date: April 5, 2024 (Canada) Director: Dev Patel Budget: 10 million USD Producers: Dev Patel, Jordan Peele, Samarth Sahni, Basil Iwanyk, MORE Distributed by: Universal Pictures Box office: $34.7 million

We are back! Dustin and James catch up on what they have been watching.

One man's brutal campaign for vengeance takes on national stakes after it's revealed he's a former operative of a powerful and clandestine organization known as Beekeepers. Release date: January 12, 2024 (Canada) Director: David Ayer Budget: 40 million USD Distributed by: Amazon MGM Studios Cinematography: Gabriel Beristain Music by: David Sardy; Jared Michael Fry

Hong Kong policeman Keung (Jackie Chan) arrives in New York for the wedding of his uncle Bill (Bill Tung), a grocer who recently sold his Bronx store to the fetching Elaine (Anita Mui). After a biker gang bursts into the store to wreak havoc, Keung springs into action, giving up his vacation to defend the weak and protect the innocent with his extraordinary martial arts skills. As Keung investigates local gangs, he learns more about a criminal syndicate that needs to be brought to justice. Release date: February 23, 1996 (Canada) Director: Stanley Tong Languages: English, Cantonese, Chinese, Portuguese, Italian, Mandarin Budget: 7.5 million USD Box office: 76 million USD Distributed by: Orange Sky Golden Harvest, New Line Cinema, Hollywood Pictures

This week we are scraping the bottom of the cheap dvd bin to see if we can find some gold. Dustin is join this week by Andy (AKA Warchild) Hulk Hogan leads an elite Navy SEALS team chosen for an audacious mission to rescue a group of nationals being held captive by a drug lords soldiers who want their leader released. Director Jon Cassar Writers Calvin Clements Jr. Michael Berk Douglas Schwartz Stars Hulk Hogan Carl Weathers Shannon Tweed

This week we drop in on our friend Steven Seagal A former government operative renowned for his stealth, Jack Cole (Steven Seagal) is now a Los Angeles police detective. When a series of horrible murders occurs in the metro area, Cole is assigned to the case, along with tough-talking fellow cop Jim Campbell (Keenen Ivory Wayans). Although the two men clash, they gradually become effective partners as they uncover a conspiracy linked to the killings, which also involves terrorism and organized crime. Release date: October 4, 1996 (USA) Director: John Gray Budget: 45 million USD Box office: 41.8 million USD Distributed by: Warner Bros. Music by: Trevor Rabin

Our 300th Episode!!! We are so original that we are cover 2007th 300 for our 300th episode.  In 480 B.C. a state of war exists between Persia, led by King Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro), and Greece. At the Battle of Thermopylae, Leonidas (Gerard Butler), king of the Greek city state of Sparta, leads his badly outnumbered warriors against the massive Persian army. Though certain death awaits the Spartans, their sacrifice inspires all of Greece to unite against their common enemy. Release date: March 9, 2007 (USA) Director: Zack Snyder Sequel: 300: Rise of an Empire Distributed by: Warner Bros., Warner Bros. Pictures Adapted from: 300 Box office: $456 million

This week we do a Patreon pick with 1990's Lady Dragon starring Cynthia Rothrock & Richard Norton 89% liked this movie Google users An old master heals a left-for-dead widow (Cynthia Rothrock) and teaches her how to kickbox for revenge.Description Initial release: 1990 Director: David Worth

This week we have Alex and Dean from Return Revenge Resurrection to cover this over the top action packed movie! After saving a newborn infant from assassins, carrot-crunching gunman Mr. Smith (Clive Owen) teams up with a prostitute named DQ (Monica Bellucci) to protect the baby from further attacks. With hit man Hertz (Paul Giamatti) hot on their trail, Smith and DQ uncover a dying senator's plot to harvest bone marrow from babies just like the one in their arms. Release date: September 7, 2007 (USA) Director: Michael Davis Box office: 26.8 million USD Distributed by: New Line Cinema Music by: Paul Haslinger Produced by: Susan Montford; Don Murphy; Rick Benattar;

Not sure why, but this week we watched Transformers (2007) The fate of humanity is at stake when two races of robots, the good Autobots and the villainous Decepticons, bring their war to Earth. The robots have the ability to change into different mechanical objects as they seek the key to ultimate power. Only a human youth, Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) can save the world from total destruction. Release date: July 2, 2007 (Canada) Director: Michael Bay Budget: 147 million USD Sequel: Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Distributed by: Paramount Pictures, DreamWorks

When architect-turned-vigilante Paul Kersey (Charles Bronson) returns to New York City, he discovers that one of his friends has been murdered by gang members. After the cops bring Paul in for questioning, he receives a tempting offer from the police chief (Ed Lauter) : Paul can have free rein to eliminate the gangsters, as long as the police get the credit. Paul agrees and goes to war against Manny Fraker (Gavan O'Herlihy) and his vicious gang of thugs. Initial release: November 1, 1985 Director: Michael Winner Box office: 16.1 million USD Distributed by: The Cannon Group, Inc., Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Based on: Characters; by Brian Garfield Music by: Jimmy Page

This week we get a little 90s Goth with Brandon Lee's "The Crow"  The night before his wedding, musician Eric Draven (Brandon Lee) and his fiancée are brutally murdered by members of a violent inner-city gang. On the anniversary of their death, Eric rises from the grave and assumes the gothic mantle of the Crow, a supernatural avenger. Tracking down the thugs responsible for the crimes and mercilessly murdering them, Eric eventually confronts head gangster Top Dollar (Michael Wincott) to complete his macabre mission. Release date: May 11, 1994 (USA) Director: Alex Proyas Distributed by: Miramax, Dimension Films Adapted from: The Crow Box office: $94 million Cinematography: Dariusz Wolski