action movie freak    
 

2018 Action Movies

 

January

  • Proud Mary
    action thriller January 5
    "Taraji P. Henson is Mary, a hitwoman working for an organized crime family in Boston. Mary's life is completely turned around when she meets a young boy whose path she crosses when a professional hit goes awry." Taraji does an excellent job with the action à la John Wick. I only wish it had been longer. At 1 hr 28 min, it felt like they cut the ending short. Also, a little more about where she came from at the beginning would have made her efforts to get the boy clear more meaningful. She kicked ass! These days, I really try to focus only on the good. But, on the minus side, what was glaring at me was that in her line of work, she made no effort at home security. Also, in this day and age, most of what went on would be on some camera somewhere, which seemed a little naive on the script side. On the plus side, when she charges in against "every man we got", it's not inconceivable that she could win. Taraji is convincing and handles weapons well. There's no hesitation, there's no overconfidence. She comes across as capable. She's good and she's not backing down. The cinematography was beautiful. It had a Hopper-esque feel; a little The Matrix-y with beautiful compositions (urban setting, angles, shadows); a little John Wick in color scheme. Taraji said she wanted to do an Action Movie. I expected something more like the 1980 version of Gloria—tough love, only tougher. Kudos to Taraji #grrrlpower.


 

 

  • 12 Strong
    action thriller January 19
    "12 Strong tells the story of the first Special Forces team deployed to Afghanistan after 9/11. Under the leadership of a new captain, the team must work with an Afghan warlord to take down the Taliban."  Stars William Fichtner, Chris Hemsworth, Michael Peņa, Rob Riggle, and Michael Shannon. 2nd Unit Director and Stunt Coordinator Mic Rodgers, Assistant Stunt Coordinator Don Lee.


  • Den of Thieves
    action thriller January 19
    "A gritty crime saga which follows the lives of an elite unit of the LA County Sheriff's Dept. and the state's most successful bank robbery crew as the outlaws plan a seemingly impossible heist on the Federal Reserve Bank." Filmed in Atlanta, and stars Gerard Butler.

 

  • Maze Runner: The Death Cure
    action sci-fi thriller January 26
    "Young hero Thomas embarks on a mission to find a cure for a deadly disease known as the 'Flare' ".

 

February

  • Braven
    action drama  February 2
    "A logger [that means tools!] defends his family from a group of dangerous drug runners."Jason Momoa bringeth the smacketh down. This is going to be a 'Boy Scout shit' movie, as in "You really think this Boy Scout shit is going to work?" LOL from Predator. Oh yeah, it works! 

     

  • Scorched Earth
    action sci-fi  February 2
    "The planet has suffered an environmental collapse; the air became dangerous to breathe, the water became toxic, and billions of people died. Generations later, mankind has finally re-established a rudimentary society, in an attempt to pick up the pieces that continue to blister in the sun. Attica Gage (Gina Carano) is a bounty hunter with a chance at the bounty of a lifetime: to bring down the ruthless outlaw, Elijah Jackson. Gage infiltrates Jackson's gang, and everything is going to plan until she meets a slave girl who reminds her of her dead sister. With her loyalty to only herself now tested, Gage learns that there might be more to life than just survival."

 

  • Black Panther
    action adventure sci-fi  February 16
    "T'Challa, after the death of his father, the King of Wakanda, returns home to the isolated, technologically advanced African nation to succeed to the throne and take his rightful place as king." REALLY EXCITED to see this movie. It's long overdue. Chadwick Boseman did a great job as Black Panther in Captain America: Civil War.

 

  • Samson
    action drama  February 16
    "After losing the love of his life to a cruel Philistine prince, a young Hebrew with Supernatural strength defends his people, sacrificing everything to avenge his love, his people, and his God."  Well, this Bible story has a tragic albeit redemptive ending, and judging by the trailer, it's true to form. Taylor James stars as Samson.

 

  • Game Night
    action comedy crime  February 23
    "A group of friends who meet regularly for game nights find themselves trying to solve a murder mystery".  The trailer of this movie looks hilarious, like those videos where someone gets hurt and it feels like you shouldn't laugh but you can't help it. Stars Jason Bateman who is a comic genius! Love him. Rachel McAdams looks funny too.  Looks at least as good as Harold & Koumar Go to White Castle or 21 Jump Street, and the action looks great.

 

March

  • Alpha
    action drama thriller  March 2
    "A story of survival set 20,000 years ago during the last Ice Age."  LOVE me a caveman movie, or a movie set 'in the wild'. Very excited to see this one!

 

  • Death Wish
    action crime drama thriller  March 2
    "Dr. Paul Kersey (Bruce Willis) is a surgeon who only sees the aftermath of his city's violence as it's rushed into his ER -until his wife (Elisabeth Shue) and college-age daughter (Camila Morrone) are viciously attacked in their suburban home. With the police overloaded with crimes, Paul, burning for revenge, hunts for his family's assailants to deliver justice. As the anonymous slayings of criminals grabs the media's attention, the city wonders if this deadly avenger is a guardian angel...or a grim reaper. Fury and fate collide in the intense action-thriller Death Wish." Eli Roth directing.

 

  • Gringo
    action comedy drama   March 9
    "A dark comedy mixed with white-knuckle action and dramatic intrigue, explores the battle of survival for businessman Harold Soyinka (David Oyelowo) when he finds himself crossing the line from law-abiding citizen to wanted criminal." Looks REALLY funny! If David Oyelowo is this hilarious in the trailer, it's got to be better in context. Also stars: Thandie Newton, Charlize Theron, Sharlto Copley, Joe Edgerton, Amanda Seyfried, Kenneth Choi, Diego Catano, and in her first movie: Paris Jackson.

 

April

  • Rampage action adventure sci-fi  April 6 
    Dwayne Johnson aka The Rock aka Samoan Thor aka The Most Electrifying Man in Sports Entertainment aka Rocky aka Rocky Maivia aka The People's Champion aka The Brahma Bull (he's a Taurus) aka The Great One aka Flex Kavana aka The Silverback gets to magnify himself (so to speak) in this movie as he and his gorilla pal share his bawdy sense of humor. This movie throws a lot at you: a super-sized gorilla, wolf, and crocodile/alligator do some damage to downtown Chicago, with a military element thrown in. It's a little like King Kong meets Transformers (not that there's anything wrong with that). Whereas Kong: Skull Island was "big and dumb" (my 3-word review), this movie was big and fun (what's not to like?!). Fans of The Rock (like me) will love this ride. It's very Saturday matinee in the way that 2005's King Kong satisfied. It reminded me the most of The Lost World: Jurassic Park. I especially enjoyed Jeffrey Dean Morgan's Tommy-Lee-Jones-ish cowboy lawman. What's become clear is The Rock knows is how to share the spotlight with a strong cast of supporting characters (part of why Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle is so popular).

 

 

  • Avengers: Infinity War  action adventure fantasy sci-fi  April 27 
    The Avengers and their allies must be willing to sacrifice all in an attempt to defeat the powerful Thanos before his blitz of devastation and ruin puts an end to the universe.  You know, the movie everyone's waiting to see who all is in it.  And more Black Panther. We definitely want to see more Black Panther!

 

 

  • Armed  action thriller  April 27 
    Written and directed by Mario Van Peebles, he also stars in the movie.  Mr. Peebles loves Action Movies so I expect it will satisfy!  "A former U.S. Marshall struggling to put his life together after a case gone wrong. A former colleague reappears in his life and explains all of the survivors of the man's unit are suffering the same symptoms and that there may be a larger conspiracy at hand."

 

May

  • Breaking In  action? thriller  May 11 
    "A woman fights to protect her family during a home invasion."  This movie stars Gabrielle Union and it seems a lot like "Revenge" below, but this one is not labeled "Action".  The Director is James McTeigue (Ninja Assassin) so I expect some creative ass kicking.
 

 

Dubbed "An Anthem of Empowerment", I still think I'll pass on this one . . . Just really tied of seeing this crap on screen . . . "Rated R for strong bloody gruesome violence, a rape, sexuality, graphic nudity, drug use and language."  

  • Revenge  action thriller  May 11 
    "Never take your mistress on an annual guys' getaway, especially one devoted to hunting - a violent lesson for three wealthy married men."
     
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  • Deadpool 2  action adventure comedy  May 18 
    This is the movie's everyone's waiting for.  Can lightning strike twice, or will it be too silly. After seeing an instagram video of Josh Brolin straining on the toilet, I'm worried . . .

    "After surviving a near fatal bovine attack, a disfigured cafeteria chef (Wade Wilson) struggles to fulfill his dream of becoming Mayberry's hottest bartender while also learning to cope with his lost sense of taste. Searching to regain his spice for life, as well as a flux capacitor, Wade must battle ninjas, the yakuza, and a pack of sexually aggressive canines, as he journeys around the world to discover the importance of family, friendship, and flavor—finding a new taste for adventure and earning the coveted coffee mug title of World's Best Lover."  Pithy LOL and fitting. On the plus side . . . Terry Crews is in it!

     

     

  • Solo: A Star Wars Story  action adventure fantasy  May 25 
    Or maybe this is the movie you're waiting for . . .

    "During an adventure into a dark criminal underworld, Han Solo meets his future copilot Chewbacca and encounters Lando Calrissian years before joining the Rebellion."  I see Star Wars has its own YouTube channel, how long before it's a subgenre?! I think it looks amazing!

     

June

  • Upgrade  action comedy horror sci-fi thriller  June 1 
    "Set in the near-future, technology controls nearly all aspects of life. But when Grey, a self-identified technophobe, has his world turned upside down, his only hope for revenge is an experimental computer chip implant called 'Stem'." Writer/Director Leigh Whannel's 2nd film as a Director, and "written by" credit #9  (used when a writer/team has written an original script (versus "screenplay" when the script was based on another work). He's the creator of the Saw and Insidious series (written by), although he got to direct only  "Insidious: Chapter 3".  He has 34 Acting credits as well and a big TV background. He's a true film lover and while I am not a fan of the Saw series, I thought Insidious was scary. This movie, Upgrade, is a whole other 'bent' though, and it made me laugh out loud. That's a little warped, yeah, but that's what it means to be an Action Movie Freak. They have to deserve it though. That's different. You feel me?

 

 

  • American Animals  crime drama  June 1 
    "Four young men mistake their lives for a movie and attempt one of the most audacious heists in U.S. history." It's not labeled Action and it doesn't look like Action but I think some big stars could be getting their start with this movie. 

 

 

  • Incredibles 2  animation action adventure comedy family sci-fi  June 15 
    "Bob Parr (Mr. Incredible) is left to care for Jack-Jack while Helen (Elastigirl) is out saving the world".  If the trailer is any indication, the baby is SO stealing the show.

 

July

  • Mission: Impossible - Fallout action adventure thriller  July 27 
    Tom Cruise @tomcruise joined instagram to promote Mission: Impossible - Fallout.  Take my money!
    Tagline: "The best intentions often come back to haunt you."  Excited to see Ilsa Faust is back.  Absolutely NOT watching the trailer. Can't wait to see it all for the first time on the big screen. #nospoilers

Tom Cruise stands on the outside of a moving helicopter in Mission: Impossible - Fallout


August

filling it in . . .

 

 

September

  • Peppermint action drama thriller  September 7
    Five years after her husband and daughter are killed in a senseless act of violence, a woman (Jennifer Garner) comes back from self-imposed exile to seek revenge against those responsible and the system that let them go free.

  • The Predator action adventure horror  September 14 
    Shane Black has re-started the Predator series with a really cool ending to this Super Soldier movie. Co-written with a college classmate Fred Dekker, the movie has almost as much humor as Action. The Gnarly Kills are off the chart. From the opening in space, which puts you back in that in-the-jungle-danger-feeling form the original movie, to the "killer" ending, you're going to love this action-packed killfest.  Bring on the sequels!

 

October

  • Venom action sci-fi  October 5
    Tom Hardy takes the comic book movie for a spin. He's a great actor and this role gave him the chance to do lots of weird-ness. From the most subtle reaction moment (his face/reaction when he's dumped in priceless) to raging monster moves, he takes it all in stride. I'm really intrigued that he said the best 40 minutes ended up on the cutting-room floor. We can only hope we get to see the "Tom Hardy version" on DVD.  I enjoyed it.

 

  • Hunter Killer action thriller  October 26
    "An untested American submarine captain teams with U.S. Navy Seals to rescue the Russian president, who has been kidnapped by a rogue general." Gerard Butler starring in and producing another of his own Action Movies. I love submarine movies, and the good news is, it's a full 2 hours and one minute. That must be one hell of a minute! The 2nd Unit Director and (co-)Stunt Coordinator is Paul Herbert (with Dan Hristov). This is his first directing stint (he was a stuntman and then a Stunt Coordinator on lots of amazing movies, like Centurion). The tagline is "Start a Battle to Stop a War". This man-packed cast includes Gary Oldman, Common, Michael Nyqvist,  and Toby Stephens (Black Sails, 13 Hours, Dame Maggie Smith's son).  

   

 

 

November

  • River Runs Red thriller  November 9
    Not "Action" but it looks good. Stars John Cusack, Tae Diggs, George Lopez, and Luke Hemsworth. "When the son of a successful judge (Taye Diggs) is killed by two police officers (Luke Hemsworth/Gianni Capaldi) and the system sets them free, a hardened veteran detective (John Cusack) finds some incriminating files on the officers and the judge teams up with another mourning father (George Lopez) to take the law into his own hands." 2nd Unit Director is Greg Rementer, who has worked on a lot of really great Action Movies as a stuntman/stunt double. He's the Fight Coordinator for Hobbs and Shaw.

 
  • Widows crime drama thriller  November 16
    "
    Set in contemporary Chicago, amidst a time of turmoil, four women with nothing in common except a debt left behind by their dead husbands' criminal activities, take fate into their own hands, and conspire to forge a future on their own terms." What a cast!  Viola Davis, Liam Neeson, Jon Bernthal, Michelle Rodriguez, Robert Duvall, Colin Farrell, and Cynthia Erivo.
     



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  • The Last Race documentary sport  November 16
    Magnolia Pictures' offering The Last Race is "the portrait of a small-town stock car racetrack and the tribe of blue-collar drivers that call it home, struggling to hold onto an American racing tradition as the world around them is transformed by globalization and commercialization."
     



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  • Creed II drama sport  November 23
    More Rocky! Give us all the Rocky we can get. There is no more inspiring fighter but these movies have shifted the focus to Apollo Creed's son Adonis, and now he goes up against Ivan Drago's son Viktor. Action Movie Freaks are simple people, just give us what we want: our big heroes. Starring Sylvester Stallone, Dolph Lundgren, and Michael B. Jordan, we're gladly along for another training montage, another heart-breaking bout.

 

  • Robin Hood animation action adventure  November 23
    Yet another Robin Hood movie, and yet, it looks good. When I first saw this trailer, I thought Jamie Dornan might have been better as Robin Hood but Taron Egerton seems to be gifted at the physical parts, so let's see what he can do with this. I expect it will come down to the script.  Everything/everyone else looks great. 2nd Unit Director Simon Crane.

 

December

  • Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse animation action adventure  December 14
    "
    Spider-Man crosses parallel dimensions and teams up with the Spider-Men of those dimensions to stop a threat to all reality." This looks great!  Love the Dad. Great voice cast, including: Nicolas Cage, Mahershala Ali, Liev Schriber, John Mulaney, and Jake Johnson as Peter Parker and Shameik Moore as Miles Morales.

Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse multiple spider characters



 
  • The Mule crime drama mystery thriller  December 14
    Clint Eastwood directing Clint Eastwood and a stellar cast in another interesting project inspired by the New York Times Magazine article "The Sinola Cartel's [El Chapo] 90-Year Old Drug Mule" by Sam Dolnick. "A 90-year-old horticulturist and WWII veteran is caught transporting $3 million worth of cocaine through Michigan for a Mexican drug cartel." Bradley Cooper, Michael Pena, Andy Garcia, Laurence Fishburne, Alison Eastwood, Dianne Wiest, and Noel Guglimi (monkey butt).  Stephen S. Campanelli is 2nd Unit Director.


 


 
  • Aquaman action adventure fantasy sci-fi  December 21
    I've waited my whole life for this movie!  I loved Aquaman comics as a child and then the cartoon TV show. And, no, it doesn't bother me that he's not blonde. I think for a campy version, Dirk Diggler would have been spot on, looks wise, but I think it's a genius move that he's half Hawaiian: "There's not too many brown superheroes, so I'm really looking forward to representing the Polynesians, the natives," he said at a Walker Stalker Con panel in Atlanta a couple of years back. "My family are some of the greatest water men on Earth . . . it's really an honor just being a Polynesian." Aquaman has amazing powers, hope they do it justice.

    Remember this?


 

And this?

 

 

  • Bumblebee action adventure sci-fi  December 21
    Transformers movie starring a girl (open the fridge)!  I'm a sucker for Transformers movies. Looks like it should have been a summer movie. Did I mention . . . JOHN CENA?!  I'm in.



     
  • Destroyer action crime drama  December 21
    Heist Movie starring Nicole Kidman. If the critics love it, I probably won't. It doesn't look like an Action Movie but maybe she'll trash talk and have her "Do you feel lucky, punk?" moment. That would be epic. By the director by Girlfight and AEon Flux Karyn Kusama. It's clear how much she loves film from her IMDb bio.