The Scorpion King 3: Battle for Redemption Movie Review

Above Pic: Blue Ray Release of The Scorpion King 3: Battle For Redemption (C) 2011 Universal Pictures

Selina Lo Interview Posted on Dan's Movie report! 1-5-12!http://dansmoviereport.blogspot.com/2012/01/selina-lo-interview-c-2012-dans-movie.html Selina Lo Interview Posted on Dan's Movie report!

Krystal Vee Interview Posted on Dan's Movie Report 1-8-12 http://dansmoviereport.blogspot.com/2012/01/krystal-vee-interview-c-2012-dans-movie.html


The third installment of the Scorpion King series is an ultra low budget blast of movie-making insanity. Because the title is so long I shall refer to the film as Battle For Redemption. The film has everything a sword and sandals movie fan could possibly want. If you are not a fan of these types of films, well then go watch Hope Floats!

Battle for Redemption opens with a narrative, those familiar with the previous installments of all the films in the Mummy series know that to establish the storyline this method is employed. With a budget of only six million, I was quite astonished what they came up with. The look of the film, although inferior to the original films, was lush and refined and it had 1/15th of the budget!

Our Hero Mathayus, portrayed by with a quick wit and a fighting spirit by Victor Webster, is a a King without a Kingdom, the last of the Arcadian warriors out there looking to be a mercenary. Webster's portrayal seems to get off to a slow start, but by the middle of the film his is in full form, jabbing with the tongue and including the fist.

Ron Perlman plays Horus the King with surprisingly subdued ferver, and sends him on his quest. Mathayus needs a sidekick, and recruits a wild warrior named Olaf. Bostin Christopher plays the warrior with such silliness and outlandish oneliners you think you were watching a three stooges film! Ha, you think it would be bad, but surprisingly the one liners are clever as the two men are on the quest. Almost an homage to Mongo from Blazing Saddles.

The quest is sidetracked when they meet another king and in return for their help he offers his daughter's hand in marriage, problem is she is kidnapped by this maniacal king. Yeah the plot is a bit wonky, but what he hell there is so much fighting and a myriad of action.

The second half of the film is the true highlight. Battle For Redemption kicks up into high gear when the audience is finally introduced to the fun part of the film. The Evil King summons three Demons with the Book of the Dead. We also see that the seemingly sweet innocent princess is not who she seems. Krystal Vee plays almost a dual role here. Her beauty is sublime, and changes this testosterone fest to something far better to look at, her acting ability and sensuous fighting skills are pretty entertaining as well.

Above Pic: (C) 2011 Universal Pictures: Kimbo, ready to take a slice out of his adversaries

The three demons are the show's true highlight. First off I liked the CGI that they were presented in. Check out Kimbo Slice's nasty, over the top Zulu character who wields a hammer that spews fire. Not to be out done wrestler Dave Bautista as the dead warrior Argomael is epically big and full of much kickassery, yeah dammit I create my own words. Yeah it is outlandish, but these men are just the two big burly guys needed to play the parts haha.

The final demon of the dead, is the most brutal, maniacal, and cutest of them all, and by far the lightest haha. Selina Lo as Tsukai has so many powers, including the ability to fly, create a sphere of visibility, and unleash a holy hell of martial arts fury. Selina is a fantastic actress and seems to bask in the evil limelight. She has a likable quality and a clear speaking voice. Hopefully this will be a springboard for her future acting career.

Above Pic: (C) 2011 Universal Pictures: A long blond wig and a large amount of whoop-ass is Selina Lo as Tsukai!

There are twists and turns in the last 30 minutes of the film and quite frankly, the plot gets lost in all the fighting, but I did not care. Battle for Redemption is well shot even using Elephants as fighting transport, and in battle scenes! Kudos to the cast and crew in Thailand for shooting this on a shoestring budget.

I was on the fence about what rating to give this. Battle For Redemption is a frame of mind type film, as this film requires the viewers to check their brains at the door and enjoy the fun, don't think, relish the action. Maybe I am being generous, but I rate this sardonic, sarcastic, pugilistic masterpiece an 8 out of 10! Now a word to the haters, get a life and a sense of humor! Pre-order is available, item ships January 10th on Amazon, and no I do not work for this production.

Check out Selina Lo's Official site. http://www.selinalo.com/

Also, slice your browser to Krystal Vee's Official site @ http://www.krystalvee.com/

Love and Vigilance Movie Review (Post #150!!!!!!!)

Above Pic: Love and Vigilance Poster

In the loving spirit of the holiday season, I feel it is my job as a writer to present the best in underground films as well as the big budget ones. For post number 150, I present, in my opinion, the most hysterical action comedic 9 minutes ever filmed. The amazing part is that only two people were involved in the entire production including playing all the characters, filming, costumes, etc...! In this day and age it is refreshing to see what just two talented individuals can dream up.

Love And Vigilance is the whole creation of two extremely talented stunt people, who are also damn good at acting and even have a good eye for production behind the camera as well. It helps that Monique Ganderton and Sam Hargrave are a loving couple because in this film as with their other film Seven Layer Dip, the action gets brutal, it almost seems like they enjoy beating the snot out of each other, all be it with a sardonic tinge of over the top humor.

Above Pic: (c) 2011 SamMo Productions: How does one go about obtaining a beat down from Monique?

Love and Vigilance is the simple story of a couple trying to change the rundown, rough neighborhood they live in. A simple knock at the door with cookies in hand, ends up a full on brawl with the inclusion of perhaps the most outlandish weapon ever used, I will not spoil the fun, but as a side comment, a gun was just out of reach, but this particular weapon had far more thrusting power and gives a new meaning to blunt force trauma to the head!

I really enjoyed the clever production values, as we see another couple in the background on a TV screen in a silly workout video, but alas it is just Sam and Monique playing the part of that couple as well! The fight scenes are filmed at the proper angles, thus you can see their facial expressions and then wider shots for the more rough stuff. Love and Vigilance is the best short film I have witnessed since Red Princess Blues.

Above Pic: (C) 2011 SamMo Productions: A workout video in the background adds to the fun!

This film is a MUST see, and Monique, please tell us who is your prop master? That was a weapon far more dangerous than any whip chain, kama, or bo-staff! Love And Vigilance rates a 9 out of 10 for epic fights and slapstick humor. At a mere 9 minutes repeat watching is well worth it. I cannot wait to see what comes next out the twisted minds of Sam and Monique!

Sam and Monique have formed their own production company called SamMo productions a combination of their two names and also the first name of the legendary round mound of action on the ground: Sammo Hung! Look for full length features from the pair shortly, and check out sexy Monique in The new Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters flick in 2012.

Check the SamMo website out at http://www.moniqueganderton.com/myproductions.html

The IMDB page for the film is a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2080338

Movie Anticipation List For 2012!

As 2011 rapidly draws to a close, I figured I have to list the ten films that I need to see in 2012, Warrioress is not theatrical film. I put the reasons why I want to see them after the film's title.

1) Batman: Dark Knight Rises- (IMAX) What a teaser, ears still ringing!

2) The Avengers- A massive superhero buildup, a few years in the making!

3) Rock of Ages- Hey I am in it so go see it dammit!

4) The Expendables 2- That many action hero movie stars in one film has to be good!

5) Warrioress- Sexy Cecily Fay in her own action movie what's not to like!

6) G.I. Joe: Retaliation- There is much action, and more testosterone.

7) The Raven- Fictionalized account of Edgar Allen Poe's last days.

8) Dark Shadows- Classic vampire soap, made into a Tim Burton film.

9) Hansel and Gretel: Witch hunters- Famke, and the witches are cute stunt girls!

10) The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey- Not as high on my list as Lord of the Rings.

Weather Wars Movie Review

Stacy Keach as a scientist turned maniacal bum in Weather Wars

For Weather Wars I have mercifully decided to give it a mini review and get down to the basics. This film stars Stacy Keach, a down and out scientist named Marcus Grange, who manipulates storms to kill those who have cut his budgetary funding for the weather project he developed. He has such control he can create an area specific lightning bolt out of thin air and one strong enough to damage the Pentagon.

His two sons, David and Jacob, played by Jason London and Wes Brown attempt to stop him, but it is not till the addition of his ex cute research assistant Samantha Winter (Erin Cahill)that the ball to stop him starts to roll. Erin is a rather talented actress and the film picks up once she is on board. I eagerly await her next project, he personality shines through this very average film

One thing leads to another and the last man left for Marcus to kill with his Weather Wars is a Senator. The film moves along at a rapid pace never boring, but the plot is so outlandish, in the fact that how could three able bodied younger folks, FBI, and various other law enforcement folk not catch a 70 year old man who moves like molasses.

Bottom line, I give this a 4.5 out of 10, some decent special effects and one adorable Erin Cahill, save this from a bottom of the barrel stinker.

Jasi Cotton Lanier Stuntwoman Profile

Above Pic: Jasi in Wrangler Commercial from her official site

Multi-talented stuntwoman/actress Jasi Lanier is a kick ass lady hailing from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She is a multitude of films, TV shows, and commercials to her credit and even does fire burns! One of the things that made me interested up was her Crash The Superbowl Doritos spot. I was laughing so hard after watching it multiple times. Check it out @ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgFarOqMWDc&feature=related

For more info on this talented lady kick your browsers over to to her official site @ http://www.jasilanier.com/

She also has a FaceBook "Like Page" where she posts videos of some of the cool stunts she has performed. Blast on over to: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jasi-Lanier/158200157594046?sk=wall#!/pages/Jasi-Lanier/158200157594046

Look for more on her in 2012 on Dan's Movie Report!

The Girl From The Naked Eye Movie Review

Above Pic: The Girl From The Naked Eye movie poster

Update 5-11-12: The Girl From the Naked Eye gets limited theatrical run!

Latin America Premiere! at The Fantaspoa Film festival takes place in Porto Alegre, BRAZIL from May 4th through May 20th, 2012.

The Girl from the Naked Eye - VIII Festival Internacional de Cinema Fantástico de Porto Alegre - FAN

www.fantaspoa.com 

For purposes of convenience throughout this review I will refer "Naked Eye" as a shortened form of the full title. The film opens up with a man crying, balling his eyes out as the wide shot reveals a woman, presumably his lady dead in his arms. The rest of the film is spent finding out who did this to her and why.

Naked Eye, plays out like a mystery, a detective story even referencing Nancy Drew at one point in the middle of the film. The protagonist Jake (Jason Yee) is hell bent on finding out the truth who killed Sandy (Samantha Streets) and tries to force it out of every person he meets. Jake is the driver. He drives the girls to their Johns, watches over them and was not there when Sandy died. We never know who the killer is, even suspecting that Jake may have been involved. Jake meets up with several seedy characters along the way and most of the time a full on martial arts battle ensues. This is where Naked Eye shines.

The fight scenes in Naked Eye are a spectacular display of human agility and takes this from an average flick to a must watch. Ron Yuan plays Simon, Jake's boss. In the beginning of the film we are lead to believe he is the killer. Yuan was also the action and fight choreographer and needs to be commended not only on the complexity of the fights, but the way they look on film. Director/writer David Ren did his homework and allowed the characters to show emotion on film, and obviously knows out the proper way to film a fight scene.

Sure some of the fights are outlandish, we see our hero taking on four cops with batons and besting them. Of course after seeing Ming Qiu doubling Lucy Liu in Ballistic: Ecks Vs Sever take down a half a dozen guys in riot gear, nothing in the movies is out of bounds. Flips, jumps, twists and turns occur at a lighting pace, and makes Naked Eye very entertaining to behold.

The only two issues I had with the Naked Eye are the narration, and the amount of flashbacks. The lead character does not need to explain to us what is going on. As the story unfolds, I would have rather seen it with his action. In fact the film's mystery would have been even stronger without the narration. The flashbacks are quirky, happening so often it detracts from the present day story. A back-story for the first 20 minutes or so would have set up the film and allowed the action to transpire more fluidly throughout the remainder of the film.

Those two small gripes behind, Naked Eye is a very good film. The action is fast and furious. The bad guys are ruthless, but so is our protagonist. There are several cool cameos in the film, from James Lew, Michelle Lee, and adult star Sasha Grey. The dialogue is witty, at times a bit silly, but works for the film. There is nudity as "The Naked Eye" is a strip club, and home base of operations for Simon.

Overall I rate The Girl From The Naked Eye a 7 out of 10, this is a must see. According to IMDB the film releases officially in April 2012. In the meantime point your browsers to the official page @ http://girlfromthenakedeye.com/ Or facebook page @ https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Girl-From-the-Naked-Eye/123779963550

Actress Bai Ling Releases New Single On Itunes

Above Pic: Bai Ling from her Facebook page.

I just spoke with Actress and singer Bai Ling, and she told me that she is releasing a new single in time for Christmas through Itunes called: U Touch Me and I Don't Know U. Bai also wishes everyone a happy holidays "Thank U so much for what you said, happy holidays to U too... A big smile to all my Florida friends:))))))))"

Her older single "Rehab" is still available on Itunes @ http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/rehab/id471916130?i=471916134

In case you haven't read my interview with Bai, click the link @ http://dansmoviereport.blogspot.com/2011/08/bai-ling-raw-and-unfiltered-c-2011.html

December News...

Good Monday morning, lots to report, time to shoot straight into it.

Natassia in Bloodrayne: Deliverance. She shoots from the hip, and looks great doing it!

Actress Natassia Malthe is currently in Malaysia working on a new film from Epic Pictures called Vikingdom. She plays the character of Brynna. The film is expected to release in December 2012 and spins the tale of a warrior facing a god of immense power. check the IMDB link @ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1785669

Natassia has been in several films including, Elektra as Typhoid, and the last two Bloodrayne films. She is a multi-talented actress who also is the co-founder and director of US operations of the Touhoku Daishinsai Expat Relief Fund (TDERF) Malthe can currently be seen in the new In The Name of The King 2: Two Worlds, which releases in early January 2012.

Actress/Silat Master/Singer Cecily Fay reports she working an a new album. Fay is also putting the final finishing touches on her feature film Warrioress, which should have a cast and crew premiere sometime in Feb 2012. Fay's Silat school is still going strong, check her website link at the side of the page, for more info.

Above Pic: Magnificent Eleven poster

Director/Writer Ross Boyask reports that he has completed second unit filming on The Magnificent Eleven a film that has this unique description. "A modernization of the classic western in which the Cowboys are a struggling local amateur soccer team, the Indians run a nearby Tandoori restaurant and the bandits are a group of menacing thugs led by a maniac known simply as 'American Bob'." The film is set to come out at the end of 2012.

Master Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa has an informative website available for all to join, a network of folks interested in the martial arts, writers and gamers. The site is called Shang's army, (named after the Mortal Kombat character) Slice your browsers over to https://www.shangsarmy.com/socialnet/

Director/Writer Kantz is back in LA and look for his interview in early 2012. In the mean time check out his Wasteland currently on home video.

Above pic: Eileen Daly from her FB page credit on image

Sultry actress/singer Eileen Daly reports that she is working on new music and she has an updated site for her band The Courtesans at http://www.thecourtesans.net/index.html Look for her feature interview in 2012!

Even on a mountain top you are not safe from the deadly Ming, as she stunt doubles for the Jinx character in GI Joe. Screen Cap: Danny Shamon (Image (c)2011 Hasbro/MGM)

Lovely and talented Stuntwoman/Martial artist Ming Qiu has completed work on G.I. Joe 2 and reports that she worked hard to train actress Elodie Yung to do her own sword work. She was on the set for a few months training and Ming can be seen in the Yellow jumpsuit in the new trailer! I have to say it, Ming kicks ass, and close to five dozen films to her credit. Look for new interview in mid 2012!

Russell Perks and Zara pose for a shot, from Russell's facebook page

Sensei Zara Phythian recently had her student's graduation and awards ceremony for her Personal Best Academy and had Sensei Russell Perks as one of the featured guests. Russell has his own academy as well, check his website at http://www.rpmaa.com

(For Zara See PBA website link on side of page and banner at the bottom of page) Zara is a fantastic teacher of the arts and excels in all of her endeavors. In 2012 she will be starring in several new projects including Iron Monk and a full length feature of Sim Card.

Above Pic: From Chyna's FB page

The multi-talented Actor/Stuntman/Producer Chyna McCoy is hitting the convention circuit promoting his Bayne film concept with a full marketing plan. He posts this pic on his facebook page in full costume and gear even including some cool Bayne sunglasses.

Dean Meadows is moving forward with his Friday's Child film concept through Pentagram Pictures. Check the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/#!/pentagrampicturesofficial

So far the interview list for 2012 is growing, please note that the interview schedule is subject to change, or cancellation, and I try to have them coincide with the release of a film the subjects are in. Here is the list current of people I plan to interview in 2012: Kantz, Eileen Daly, Cynthia Rothrock, Cary Tagawa, Ming Qiu, Ross Boyask, and Jesse Johnson.

I am working on a couple of other surprises, so keep checking the site for details! Whew that was a lot of news! I am over and out, have news send it!

In The Name Of The King 2: Two Worlds Movie Review

Above Pic: International Poster

This 2011 sequel to the 2007 Uwe Boll sword action flick is one of those puzzling films that is not sure where it wants to be, or what it wants to be. The opening of the film the audience is thrust into a forest with a pair of assassins chasing a sorceress. she runs across the forest, kills them and then runs right into the present day. Then We see Dolph Lundgen's character in a Dojo teaching kids. He goes home after teaching and boom that same woman and two assassins appear in his house, and the soceresss opens a portal to go back in time and he becomes the chosen one.

Ok I am lost, the bad English, hokey dialogue, and why is he the chosen one? The fight scenes are good, but the speaking parts are so ludicrously bad it is quite comical. The movie tries to explain itself, but just is silly. After meeting the king He is put in a room to sleep, with a cute harlot. He does not require her services as he is tired. Then in his sleep boom she tries to kill him, huh makes no sense.

Above Pic: Natassia Malthe makes a nice traveling companion.

Strangely enough this movie although bad it has some merits. Natassia Malthe as Manhattan does a good job portraying her character given the muddled and ambiguous script. The dialogue pokes fun at itself and is at times mildly amusing. Malthe is a treat to watch, even though this particular film didn't give her the proper vessel to hone her craft. She has a clear speaking voice and tries to inject an air of importance to their quest to find out why he is the chosen one.

Dolph is decent, but it is obvious he wasn't fully embracing the script. He delivers his dialogue with a smirk at times, underlying a sarcastic tone. There are a few fight scenes, and in those Dolph shines. The fights are kind fun to watch even though there is little blood, and the edits are quick.

Above pic: A scene from a battle In The Name of The King Part 2

The sets and scenery are all over the place, even a modern clothing cabinet in his sleeping room huh!?!. The forest looked a bit washed out, the colors did not pop on screen. I am assuming these were budgetary constrains.

This movie is hard to rate, I cannot recommend it for more than a marginal rent only because of the action. I rate it a 4.5 out of 10.