I am someone who adores bad television promos, so while flipping through the channels the other night, my wife and I saw this preview. The best line is “That’s right, Steven Seagal.” Now tell me, has Steven Seagal been relevant in the past ten years? I mean in the 80’s, sure…he did some serious ass kicking along with Jean-Claude Van Damme, but the two of them sort of dropped off the face of the earth after they beat up every bad guy in the movies. I knew that Seagal was doing movies with the likes of DMX last I checked, and making a lot of straight to DVD movies, but would you really watch a reality tv show as he hunts real bad guys? The best part of his movies was his calm nature while breaking dude’s arms in half. I don’t see that happening in real life…but really, why did it take so long for this show come to existence? I can only hope that soon we’ll see “Chuck Norris, the REAL Texas ranger.” Heck yes.

This fortnight’s Hot Press is on the stands now so here’s a reprint of the previous issue’s NI bands column!

News

Words: Edwin McFee

On November 30, one of NI’s most promising acts the Beat Poets release their new EP ‘The Making’ via all major download sites and their official online store (www.thebeatpoets.com). The four track opus is currently played by U105fm and sees the four-piece from Warrenpoint showcase a softer side than we’ve seen before, opting to take their foot off gas for just a moment. The title track is a corker with the (slight) change in direction a welcome one and we heartily recommend you pick it up. The boys are also gearing up for the release of the debut album which comes out next year and features Greg (Manic Street Preachers) Haver, Dave (Foo Fighters, Stevie Wonder) Way and Neal (The Answer, Fighting with Wire) Calderwood on knob twiddling duties and this writer for one can’t wait. On December 3 the band will also headline a special, one off showcase at the Spring and Airbrake in Belfast that aims to promote the best of the Newry/Warrenpoint music scene and the lineup features Ozzmium, Forgetting June, Indy Artworx, This Year’s Black and LTR and admission is only £6 so make sure you head down to support them all. Rumours of free Friar Tuck’s snack boxes and Timoney’s ice cream for those who turn up wearing Beat Poets t shirts have yet to be confirmed from the organisers at the time of going to press…

 Fancy the chance to support the high kings of indie synth pop Oppenheimer for their all ages show at the Spring and Airbrake this December 19? Well, all you have to do is email supportoppenheimer@googlemail.com with your band’s details and some MP3’s before November 30 and you could be the lucky winner. The only stipulation Oppenheimer have put in place is that your group must be in their teens, so if you’re in your 30s we advise that you shave off those beards, buy some guy-liner and pretend you’ve had a tough life. Don’t worry, Hot Press has your back. The winner will be announced on December 1 so good luck.

Congrats to local rockers Swanee River who have bagged the much coveted support slot for the Answer’s Ulster Hall gig on December 14. The band kicked more ass than Jean Claude Van Damme at this year’s Glasgowbury so if you’re planning to go to the show make sure you get down early to see them. Tickets for the Answer’s homecoming gig are selling fast, but there are still a few left and you can get your mitts on one for £17 courtesy of Ticketmaster. We’re already dusting down our leather jacket in anticipation.

Isn’t it everyone’s dream to have a montage? In a way, it’s worth going on Big Brother just so you get one at the end. What would be in your montage? As much as I’d like to think mine would be X-rated, full of half naked men and champagne,  espionage and bitch fights, it’s more likely to be 30 seconds of me crying, doing the puzzles in Chat magazine, stroking people’s dogs in the street, drinking diet coke and eating crisp sandwiches.

The best montages are from the 1980s. Be it the cocaine and wedding ‘Push It To The Limit‘ montage of Scarface, the ‘No Easy Way Out’ montage from Rocky IV or ‘You’re The Best Around‘ from Karate Kid, it’s without a doubt the decade that managed to summarise everything and anything in the space of a few minutes.

I imagine most men would be pleased if their montage was a bit like this but perhaps with more sex, beer and sport.

But face it boys, it’s more likely to be comparable with this. Anyway. Here are some classic montages and a sneaky mp3 of the song so you can shove it on your iPod and start living your every day life like it was a montage. This doesn’t mean we condone you kicking people’s heads in or using weapons.

Rocky IV
Sly used to be seriously fit. Now he looks like a lesbian, but in this film his hot factor smashes the thermometer and sets fire to the ceiling.

Robert Tepper - There’s No Easy Way Out

Bloodsport

Arguably Van Damme’s finest film apart from Double Impact. This is quite a sad montage, but one we can all relate to. I often sit on the bus, wearing too much bronzer and a furrowed brow. The track in the montage is called On My Own – Alone, but I’ve opted to share with you the more upbeat Fight To Survive, which has the catchy ‘kumite’ chanting chorus.

Stan Bush - Fight To Survive (Kumite)

Stan Bush also wrote the soundtrack of the original (and many would say far superior) animated Transformers movie.

Paul Engleman – Push It to the Limit

Joe Esposito - You’re The Best Around

Aqui les dejo el primer trailer de lo que sera la proxima producción de alguien que tenia mucho tiempo fuera de las pantallas, Jean Claude Van Damme.

La pelicula tiene como trama  a un ex-mercenario que trabaja de taxista, y que se encuentra accidentalmente a una mujer en apuros. Lo interesante de la pelicula es que esta escrita, dirigida y protagonizada por el mismo Van Damme.

Tras de una ausencia bastante prolongada, Jean Claude van Damme está de regreso con una cinta escrita, dirigida y protagonizada por él mismo. En Eagle Path, interpreta a un ex-mercenario que trabaja de taxista, y que se encuentra accidentalmente a una mujer en apuros. Si bien la cinta está prácticamente concluida, no hay hasta ahora ningún anuncio sobre la fecha de estreno, así que sólo nos quedará esperar.

ú eívese

Jean Claude Van Damme y Dolph Lundgren en Universal Soldier. Regeneration

El  siempre recordado  Jean Claude Van Damme regresa a los grandes planos del cine  en una de las cintas que si bien llego despues de Contacto Sangriento o  Doble Impacto, si es una de las más recordadas por los fans de las películas de acción, asi pues, el buen Jean Claude vuelve junto a otro mítico actor de las películas de accion: Dolph Lundgren en un papel que también lo vuelve inmortal entre los fans del género, ambos artistas vuelven en Universal Soldier: Regeneration, dirigida por John Hyams, además esta película cuenta con la participación del pelear de MMA Andrei Arlovski, este filme se presentó este 2009 en el Fantastic  Fest de Austin Texas, y se espera que sulanzamiento directamente en DVD  y Blu- Ray  en los USA sea el 5 de Enero de 2010

Jessica Alba

by Kieron – ReelLoop.com

Jessica Alba is to re-unite with Robert Rodriguez in a film based on a series of Belgian graphic novels. Whilst the pair first teamed on the cinematic adaptation of Frank Miller’s Sin City, they are now to respectively star in and produce a big screen version of The Insiders. The director’s chair will, somewhat excitingly, go to Mabrouk el Mechri whose last film, the post modern action flick JCVD, somehow made Jean Claude Van Damme not only relevant again but, unexpectedly, an art-house darling.

   The Insiders focuses on the character Najah Cruz, a “Colombian who is as deadly as she is beautiful.” Armed with the weapons skills of James Bond Cruz must, according to icv2, “infiltrate a worldwide mafia-like organization composed of businessmen and politicians” to become the bodyguard of the organization’s leader.

   The Insiders marks one of many projects Alba has lined up at the moment. Alongside her role in the Meet The Fockers sequel, the erstwhile Dark Angel is set to appear in An Invisible Sign of My Own, Machete and Michael Winterbottom’s The Killer Inside Me.

Amazon Specials!

Not much happening today, no new books to talk about, no new movies around…hang on, what about this @ scifi wire?

Honestly, someone paid these guys to do this? Poor old Dolph looks like he has been in a freezer for 20 years.

I’m excited about this – really, genuinely, unironically excited. Yes, I know what you’re going to say, so say it carefully… you’re treading on my dreams.

He’s baaaaack! Sure the first Universal Solider was trite scifi pulp, but it was still kinda/sorta fun right?

And hey enough people remember it, that apparently it’s good enough to have a sequel – albeit direct to DVD.

And if one 90’s action hero washout isn’t enough, it also include Dolf Lundgren (remember him from Rocky IV?) too.

Jean Claude Vand Damme in the same $%$&; hes done over and over and over again……

“Regreso a Barrow” también podría adaptarse,ademas hoy tendremos un pequeño Behind the Scene con ”The Wolfman”

Una Nueva cita con el fascinante Mundo del Terror,hoy hemos escogido tres buenas informaciones para compartir con ustedes,ya saben que 30 Días de Oscuridad: Días Oscuros, la secuela del exitoso título vampírico de David Slade, ya está en marcha y que el próximo año se pondrá a la venta en el mercado del DVD.

Steve Niles, el creador del cómic en que se basan las películas, ha confirmado a Bloody Disgusting que en caso de que esta nueva entrega tenga éxito (cosa bastante probable), no sería de extrañar que la tercera entrega del cómic, Regreso a Barrow, también se convirtiese en película.

El cómic cuenta como uno de los familiares de uno de los fallecidos en el ataque a Barrow por los vampiros ha decidido volver al lugar y ser el nuevo sheriff. Comenzará a investigar lo sucedido y pronto, los chupasangres volverán al lugar.

Y Continuando con la actualidad del Cine De Terror y Suspenso les  mostramos el trailer oficial de ”Soldado Universal 3”, la película que vuelve a reunir a Jean-Claude Van Damme y Dolph Lungred y que se lanzará directamente a DVD en 2010.

”Soldado Universal 3:Regeneration” cuenta cómo robando tecnología de alto-secreto militar, un grupo de terroristas han creado la nueva generación de un soldado universal al que han mandado al reactor nuclear que explotó en Chernobyl para tratar de crear una nube radioactiva letal.

El único que parece poder detenerle es Luc Deveraux (Jean-Claude Van Damme),un soldado universal que ha sido reanimado para tratar de detener la amenaza.

Y Finalizando este encunetro con la Cineteca,les presentamos a continuación   un vídeo-featurette de El Hombre Lobo en el que tras un repaso a otros monstruos clásicos de la universal, podéis ver algunas escenas y entrevistas con algunos de los actores protagonistas.

Inspirada en la clásica película de Universal que dio pie a un legado de terror, ”THE WOLFMAN” explora los orígenes del mito del hombre maldito. El oscarizado Benicio Del Toro encarna a Lawrence Talbot, un noble torturado que vuelve a las tierras de la familia después de la desaparición de su hermano. Hace las paces con su padre (el también oscarizado Anthony Hopkins) y sale en busca de su hermano… para acabar descubriendo que también a él le espera un horrible destino.

La infancia de Lawrence Talbot se acabó bruscamente la noche que murió su madre. Se fue del adormilado pueblecito de Blackmoor y tardó décadas en recuperarse e intentar olvidar. Cuando Gwen Conliffe (Emily Blunt), la prometida de su hermano, le encuentra y le ruega que la ayude a buscar a su amor, Lawrence Talbot regresa a casa. Entonces se entera de que algo brutal, salvaje, con una sed insaciable de sangre ha matado a muchos campesinos, por lo que un suspicaz inspector de Scotland Yard (Hugo Weaving) ha venido a investigar.

Empieza a encajar las piezas del sangriento rompecabezas y se entera de que existe una antigua maldición que convierte a las víctimas en hombres lobo las noches de luna llena. Para acabar con la carnicería y proteger a la mujer de la que se ha enamorado, Lawrence Talbot debe destruir a la temible criatura que se esconde en los bosques cercanos a Blackmoor. Este hombre sencillo con un pasado doloroso sale en busca de la bestia y descubre que él también tiene un lado primitivo que ni siquiera podía imaginar.

Fuentes: Bloody Disgusting /  Aullidos.com

“Soldado Universal” (1992) supuso la unión de Jean Claude Van Damme y Dolph Lundgren en la misma película. Pero el actor belga volvió a ese mundo, donde los militares conseguían soldados casi indestructibles, en “Soldado Universal: El Retorno”, siete años después. En esta ocasión sin Iván Drago. Incluso hay un Soldado Universal 2 y 3 que salieron del horno directamente para televisión (una de ellas con el incombustible Burt Reynolds.

Pero no nos engañemos. No era lo mismo sin Van Damme. “Soldado Universal” es una de las películas (si me equivoco que me rectifiquen los fans del actor) más queridas por sus seguidores. Y en parte no les falta razón. Así que si Rocky volvió al ring, Rambo tambien tuvo su nueva ración de muertes, las Spice Girls se subieron al escenario años después de su ruptura y los Héroes del Silencio tuvieron una gira hace un par de años, ¿por qué no iba a volver Van Damme a poner las cosas en su sitio?. Y para más inri recuperando a su enemigo en la primera parte, Dolph Lundgren.

Algunos lo han criticado porque dijo en su momento, a raiz de “JCVD”, que iba a dar un giro a su carrera. Supuestamente alejado del género que lo catapultó a la fama. Pero dudo mucho que sus fans más acérrimos le hagan ascos volver a verlo en una película de acción.

Así que veamos el trailer de la nueva entrega de “Soldado Universal”.

 Trailer de “Universal Soldier: Regeneration”

Ficha técnica: aquí

Fdo: Snake  

Você não leu errado, alguém foi capaz de produzir Soldado Universal 3 e escalou ou melhor ressuscitou Jean-Claude Van Damme e Dolph Ludgren para o elenco. Veja abaixo o trash trailer:

O primeiro filme de 1992 é um clássico trash dos anos 90 e tinha a dupla Van Damme e Ludgren, mas as sequências foram horríveis. Agora a dupla principal é descongelada e retornam para mais uma batalha, só tem um problema, o cara que construiu a máquina esqueceu de fabricar algo que fizesse Van Damme e Lugdren não envelhecerem tanto.

Na história de Universal Soldier: Regeneration, os rivais do primeiro filme voltam a se enfrentar. Luc Deveraux (Van Damme) é ativado para combater uma nova geração de soldados modificados, que invadem a usina de Chernobyl e pretendem reativa-la. Para piorar tudo o clone do soldado Andrew Scott (Lundrgren) é também reativado.

Com direção de John Hayns, Soldado Universal 3 será lançado, felizmente, direto para DVD e Blu-Ray em 2 de fevereiro nos EUA.

The trailer for the upcoming Sony Pictures Home Entertainment direct-to-DVD release Universal Soldier: Regeneration has been posted on the Internet. The movie stars MMA fighter Andrei “The Pitbull” Arlovski, Dolph Lungdren (Masters of the Universe), Jean-Claude Van Damme (Blood Sport) and Zachary Baharov. The film will be released in Blu-ray and DVD on February 2, 2010.

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment describes the film as:

With stolen top-secret technology, terrorists have created a next-generation Universal Soldier – an elite fighter genetically altered into a programmable killing machine. With this “UniSol” (Former UFC Heavyweight Champion Andrei “The Pit Bull” Arlovski) leading the way, they seize the crippled Chernobyl nuclear reactor, threatening to unleash a lethal radioactive cloud. The only one who can stop them is Luc Deveraux (Jean-Claude Van Damme), a UniSol who’s been decommissioned for years. Reactivated and retrained, Deveraux must make a full-out assault on the heavily armed fortress. But inside, he’ll discover not one but two of these virtually indestructible warriors. Andrew Scott (Dolph Lundgren), Deveraux’s vicious UniSol enemy from the original Universal Soldier, has been secretly reanimated and upgraded. Now, these elite fighters are locked, loaded and programmed to kill; and the fate of millions hinges on this high-action showdown.

por Heráclito Maia

Enfim ocorre o inevitável: John Woo é comprado pelos yankees. Os fãs mais puristas chiaram, mas a verdade é que ele fez alguns filmes legais na América. E O Alvo certamente é um deles.

Baseado na obra de 1932, Zaroff, o Caçador de Vidas (The Most Dangerous Game), de Irving Pichel & Ernest B. Schoedsack, a idéia trabalhada é a de caçada humana, em que ricos pagam fortunas para perseguir e atirar em seres humanos, auxiliados por um grupo de mercenários que organizam o jogo.

Claro que quando Van Damme entra na brincadeira a situação se inverte. Inteiramente filmado em Nova Orleans (numa determinada cena os vilões comentam que já haviam realizado uma caçada no Rio de Janeiro!), nosso herói utiliza seus conhecimentos do local para pregar armadilhas (como na boa cena da cobra, desenvolvida pelo pessoal da KNB, empresa do mago em efeitos Greg Nicotero), e atrair os mercenários para dentro de um velho galpão onde eram guardados carros alegóricos de carnaval, explorados por John Woo como algo bizarro e assustador.

Se em relação aos personagens não há muita riqueza de detalhes (o mais incomum é a dupla de vilões, interpretados por Lance Henriksen e Arnold Vosloo, possivelmente gays), visualmente O Alvo é John Woo puro. Dá-lhe câmera lenta, cenas de ação filmadas em múltiplos ângulos, malabarismos com motos que desafiam as leis da gravidade, os malditos pombos branco voando pra lá e pra cá, etc.

O Alvo é um filme muito simpático, e mesmo ficando abaixo numa comparação com os antecessores de Hong Kong, não deixa de ser uma estréia digna em solo americano e talvez o melhor filme de toda a carreira do Van Damme. Um detalhe curioso é a presença de Sam Raimi na produção executiva. O criador da trilogia Evil Dead já era um grande fã de John Woo muito antes do mesmo vir pros EUA.

On se demandait tous pourquoi Van Damme avait refusé de jouer dans The Expendables: Il avait un meilleur plan.
Si.

Une réunion avec Dolph Lundgren.
Depuis le temps qu’on l’attendait !

Eh ouais, que de temps passé depuis leur duel sur les marches de Cannes !
Quel projet titanesque pouvait réunir ces deux géants du cinéma ? Sauvez Willy 4.

Je déconne, en fait c’est: Universal Soldier: Regeneration.

Pour parfaire le côté série b on rajoute un autre gros musclé: Andrei “The Pitbull” Arlovski. Oui ok moi non plus je connaissais pas, c’est un ancien combattant de l’UFC (ultimate fighting championship).

Pour les vrais, le trailer est ici.

With stolen top-secret technology, terrorists have created a next-generation Universal Soldier – an elite fighter genetically altered into a programmable killing machine. With this “UniSol” (Former UFC Heavyweight Champion Andrei “The Pit Bull” Arlovski) leading the way, they seize the crippled Chernobyl nuclear reactor, threatening to unleash a lethal radioactive cloud. The only one who can stop them is Luc Deveraux (Jean-Claude Van Damme), a UniSol who’s been decommissioned for years. Reactivated and retrained, Deveraux must make a full-out assault on the heavily armed fortress. But inside, he’ll discover not one but two of these virtually indestructible warriors. Andrew Scott (Dolph Lundgren), Deveraux’s vicious UniSol enemy from the original Universal Soldier, has been secretly reanimated and upgraded. Now, these elite fighters are locked, loaded and programmed to kill; and the fate of millions hinges on this high-action showdown.

It is out in January 2010.

He's the First Hero of the 21st Century...And He's Our Only Hope.

AKA: VAN DAMME PARA GANHAR GUITO FAZ DE TUDO. ATÉ SE PREGA EM ÁRVORES

Artes Marciais, Cyborgues, Ficção Científica, Jean-Claude Van Damme. Parece impossível mas este é o cocktail explosivo apresentado pelo filme Cyborg de 1989. Albert Pyun lança em ecrã, Van Damme como Gibson Rickenbacker, um lutador clandestino de rua, que irá travar uma luta titánica contra os The Pirates, um grupo de sádicos fora-da-lei, chefiados por Fender Tremolo. A acção decorre por toda a costa este dos E.U.A, num futuro pós-apocáliptico. Com o selo de qualidade Cannon Group, provocou a fuga em massa de críticos das salas de cinema. Posteriormente tornou-se um autêntico objecto de culto. Se alguns de vocês se perguntam porque o filme tem também o titulo de Masters of the Univers, é derivado a que nos cenários onde foi realizado, estavam destinados a serem o set de Masters of the Universe, o filme do He-man, e também serem o de uma produção basada no Homem-Aranha, obras que eram para serem dirigidas por Pyun, mas derivado ao desinteresse por parte da Mattel e da Marvel e em virtude da Cannon querer recuperar o guito investido, Pyun escreve em cima do joelho um argumento a que dá o título deste filme. Só para verem a originalidade, os artistas recebem nomes de instrumentos musicais. Salta também a relevo que Michel Qissi é o preparador físico de Van Damme para esta masterpiece e a presença de Ralf Moeller no meio da gangue de vilões. De Albert Pyun, com Jean-Claude Van Damme, Deborah Richter, Vincent Klyn, Alex Daniels, Dayle Haddon, Blaise Loong, Ralf Moeller, Haley Peterson, Terrie Batson, Jackson ‘Rock’ Pinckney, Janice Graser, Robert Pentz, Sharon K. Tew, Chuck Allen e Stefanos Miltsakakis.

Em primeiro plano, Chibanga, vencedor do 1º grande torneio de Bandarilheiros de Vale de Prazeres

Vale a pena deixar de ver a bola e a caneca da cerveja a aquecer para ver isto