How do you make the prospect of an Oliver Stone movie even more anticipated than just having the director on board? Give it an incredible cast.

That’s exactly what’s happened with Stone’s upcoming film, Savages, which is due to be released in the autumn this year. Co-written by acclaimed best-selling crime novelist Don Winslow and Shane Salerno, adapting Winslow’s own novel, the film has a fantastic cast that includes Benicio del Toro, Blake Lively, Aaron Johnson, Taylor Kitsch, John Travlota, Uma Thurman, Emile Hirsch, Joel David Moore, and Salma Hayek.

The Playlist have got the first look at the film, and in just one still, you get a sense that this is going to be awesome.

“Blake Lively plays the gal pal of two Laguna Beach drug dealers (Aaron Johnson and Taylor Kitsch) who is kidnapped by a Mexican drug cartel who wants to move in on their turf. Del Toro plays the cartel enforcer with Uma Thurman as Lively’s Mom, Salma Hayek as the leader of the cartel, John Travolta as a burnt-out DEA agent, the recently Oscar-nominated Demian Bichir as a double-crossing attorney who represents Hayek’s cartel, Joel David Moore as a computer nerd and Emile Hirsch  in an unnamed role.”

In this first image, we see Lively after she’s been kidnapped, looking a little worse for wear, with del Toro clearly making her feel right at home, blowing smoke into her face.

There isn’t a person on this cast that I don’t love, and as you can imagine, I can’t wait for this to come out. The premise sounds brilliant, and you can’t go wrong with a director like Stone going behind the camera for this. The man has three Oscars to his name, as well as a further four nominations, and here’s to hoping that he’ll have another huge success on his hands towards the end of the year. Savages will be with us on 28^th September, which means we have another eight months of anticipation before we can see it on the big screen. I can’t wait. For now, here’s the great first look at the film. As usual, click to enlarge.

Here it is people! The one you’ve all been waiting for! it’s the first official poster for The Expendables 2 and it packs some serious punch! The movie appears to have the title EX2. I Don’t know yet if that is the official title for the movie but we’ll keep you posted. Joining Sylvester Stallone on the poster are: Jean-Claude Van Damme Chuck Norris, Dolph Lundgren. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jason Statham, Bruce Willis, and Terry Crews. Jet Li, Scott Adkins, Jet Li and Liam Hemsowrth also star in the movie but they didn’t make the cut on the poster!

The film should be with us August 2012.

Click he poster to enlarge.

Source: JoBlo

Robert De Niro’s name has cropped up in a couple of future titles which will be on sale next week at the American Film Market in Santa Monica, and one (at least) is a potentially interesting project.

He’s down to appear in the next directorial effort from Sean Penn, entitled The Comedian. Co-starring Bridesmaids’ Kristen Wiig, the actor will play an aging TV comedian (whose successful career is on the slide), who meets a feisty female (Wiig) when he’s ordered to do community service following an onstage fracas.

Co-written by producer and long-time pal of De Niro and Penn, Art Linson, it sounds like the actor may need to flex some acting muscle he hasn’t exercised for quite a while, although his second feature may not be quite as challenging.

He’s joining John Travolta in survivalist action picture, Killing Season for director Mark Steven Johnson (Daredevil, Ghost Rider). The story has De Niro’s military veteran battling a twisted Serbian soldier (Travolta) surrounded by an Appalachian mountain backdrop. A dubious choice of director (John McTiernan was originally earmarked to helm this) the film was also intended to reteam Travolta with his Face/Off co-star, Nicolas Cage.

It’s probably safe to say Penn’s offering will pick up the plaudits here, but may have been a different story if long-time AWOL McTiernan was still attached.

Via Deadline and Collider.

In case you haven’t already heard, the sequel to last year’s all-star action blockbuster, The Expendables, has been increasing its cast and signing everyone who’s anyone in the martial arts/butt-kicking scene.

Last week, we got a look at Sylvester Stallone, who won’t be directing this time around, hanging out with Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger on the set of The Expendables 2.

We’ve now got a picture, courtesy of Collider, that shows of a few more cast members, most notably giving us our first look at the one and only Mr. Chuck Norris – the ‘Mr.’ because the man could destroy with his eyes, so it’s a good idea to be polite. Norris is of course renowned for his general awesomeness, and though I confess that I’ve never actually seen him act – don’t hate me – I am naturally a fan of many of the Chuck Norris jokes you hear every now and then. A personal favourite, via TheChuckNorrisFacts, being:

“Chuck Norris does not hunt because the word hunting infers the probability of failure. Chuck Norris goes killing.”

The sequel will be directed by Simon West (Con Air, The General’s Daughter), and along with Stallone, Schwarzenegger, and Willis, we should get to see Jason Statham, Jet Li, Liam Hemsworth, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Randy Couture, Terry Crews, Dolph Lundgren, Scott Adkins, and possibly John Travolta and Donnie Yen, who remain rumours at the moment. Essentially, more names than you can reasonably fit into one sentence (but I did it anyway).

Principal photography is clearly underway for The Expendables 2, with a release date currently scheduled for 17th August next year, making it quite possibly/probably 2012’s biggest summer blockbuster in terms of cast recognition. Without further ado, here’s the new photo from the set, with Mr. Norris himself. As usual, click to enlarge.

Schwarzenegger’s appearance alongside Stallone and Willis in the first Expendables film was a glorified cameo and didn’t have nearly as much impact as they all seemed to think it did. Frankly, I felt robbed and it is therefore with some gratitude that I hear that there may be a bit more of him this time around.

Yes, it’s sequel time and along with the rest of the returning cast, we should get a whole host of other action stars as well. So far, we know to expect Randy Couture, Terry Crews, Dolph Lundgren, Jet Li, Jason Statham, Sly, Scott Adkins, Chuck Norris (who apparently can win Connect 4 in three moves), Jean Claude Van Damme, Bruce Willis and possibly The Rock, Vin Diesel, John Travolta and Nic Cage. Crikey.

Rumour-mongering aside, we know that Sly, Willis and Arnie are on set, because we have this lovely photo to prove it. So there.

Source: It’s from Arnie’s Twitter feed.

UPDATE: It seems the man can’t get enough of tweeting his movements, today he also found the time to tweet a pic of him ‘wrapping up a big day on The Last Stand with Zach Gilford and our great director, Jee-Woon Kim’.

]]> http://www.heyuguys.co.uk/2011/10/19/schwarzenegger-on-set-for-the-expendables-2/feed/ 0 http://www.heyuguys.co.uk/2011/10/05/uk-exclusive-a-clip-from-the-pulp-fiction-blu-ray-dance-moves/ http://www.heyuguys.co.uk/2011/10/05/uk-exclusive-a-clip-from-the-pulp-fiction-blu-ray-dance-moves/#comments Wed, 05 Oct 2011 12:30:05 +0000 David Sztypuljak http://www.heyuguys.co.uk/?p=109879

To celebrate the release of Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction on Blu-ray 17th October, Lions Gate Home Entertainment & Miramax have given us this brand new clip / featurette which comes as part of the epic six hours of extras on the new Blu-ray. To celebrate the release of Pulp Fiction (and Jackie Brown’, which boasts 3 hours of extras and ‘From Dusk ‘Till Dawn’ – On Blu-ray for the first time in the UK) we will be joining in the celebrations of ‘Tarantober’! You can pre-order your copy of the movie here.

If you’ve never seen Pulp Fiction before then quite frankly, you need to add this one to your collection. It’s a classic in it’s own right with so many quotable lines and comic sequences that when you see it, you’ll feel like you know so much already!

In this great new clip, we get to see the infamous dancing scene with Jack Rabbit Slims with narration from John Travolta who speaks about his memories of how the dance came together and how it completely memorised the production team afterwards.

A pair of low-rent hit men, Vincent Vega (John Travolta) and Jules Winnfield (Samuel L. Jackson), are sent out to collect a stolen briefcase for their mob boss employer, Marsellus Wallace (Ving Rhames).  Having proven himself worthy, Wallace then entrusts Vincent to entertain his wife, Mia (Uma Thurman), while he is out of town.  Meanwhile, Wallace has paid off aging boxer Butch Coolidge (Bruce Willis) to throw his next fight.  The lives of these wildly entertaining characters intertwine with unexpected and violent consequences.

Quentin Tarantino, hailed as “the most inventive filmmaker alive” (Newsday), will debut his ground-breaking film, re-mastered under the filmmaker’s direct supervision with new high definition lossless audio and 1080P video.  Containing new bonus materials that delve the film’s iconic status, the release will be packed with hours of archival content that includes numerous behind the scenes featurettes, interviews and marketing galleries.  Extras include:

• Stunning New 1080P Transfer Approved by Quentin Tarantino
• NEW 5.1 Lossless DTS-HD Master Audio™
• NEW Interviews with Cast including: John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Rosanna Arquette, Eric Stoltz, Tim Roth and more
• NEW Critics’ Retrospective on the Movie’s Place in Film History
• Behind-the-Scenes Footage
• “Pulp Fiction: The Facts” Featurette
• Production Design Featurette
• Siskel & Ebert “At the Movies” – “The Tarantino Generation”
• Independent Spirit Awards Footage
• Cannes Film Festival Footage
• “The Charlie Rose Show” Tarantino Interview
• Still Galleries
• Trivia Track
• Deleted Scenes

In a flash of typical brilliance the good people at the Picturehouse Podcast are bringing back one of the Nineties most bizarre and epic action movies to the big screen and you could be there as HeyUGuys are giving away a pair of tickets.

John Woo’s Face/Off won a place in our hearts all those years ago with some marvellously over the top lead performances from Nicolas Cage and John Travolta and a whirlwind of insane gunplay, and Sam Clements and Simon Renshaw, your hosts for one of the best podcasts out there (and if you’re not a fan already click here and prepare to be) are unleashing this fine film on the big screen at the Stratford Picturehouse on Thursday the 29th of September.

The terrifyingly talented Sam Gilbey has created this poster for the event which is one of the finest things we’ve seen all year, and do check out Sam’s work at his blog here.

We’ve got two tickets to give away, and all you need to do is answer the question below, but even if you’re not the lucky winner tickets are available here at the shockingly affordable price of £5 or £3 if you’re a Picturehouse member (part of their September Sale – click here for more details). How can you say no?

So, here’s your question – good luck to you all.

What was the name of John Woo’s 1996 film, which also starred John Travolta?

COMPETITION NOW CLOSED

The small print:

• Open to UK residents only
• Only one entry per household will be counted
• The competition will close 28th September at 23.59 GMT
• The winner will be picked at random from entries received
• No cash alternative is available

The usual T&Cs can be found here. Good Luck!

Here’s some rather welcome news at 23.40 on a Tuesday evening! While I’m sitting here waiting for the new Twilight trailer to drop, EW have just posted the news that Chuck Norris and Jean Claude van Damme have been confirmed for The Expendables 2 with Nicolas Cage on the wish-list. This news follows that of Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger are on board too.

In an interview with Sylvester Stallone who wrote, directed and starred in the original movie, he broke the news that Van Damme and Norris are confirmed and thinks that Cage will be appearing but it sounds like he wants to get a few more involved too including Michael Biehn and Michael Pare and maybe even John Travolta making it a nice Face Off reunion with Cage:

“We’ll have a big showdown between me and Van Damme, which has been anticipated for a long time, so it should be a good one”

“We’ve got Chuck Norris and I think Nic Cage. We’re trying to work out different scenarios. I like using people that had a moment and then maybe have fallen on some hard times and give them another shot. So we’re always looking for actors like Michael Biehn and Michael Pare. I like those kinds of guys. Someone did it for me and I like to see if I can do it for them. We also need some new blood in there, a Navy Seal-type, because with the Expendables none of them have 20-20 vision anymore. They need some help, man.”

I was desperate for Norris and Van Damme to appear to appear in the original 2009 movie but it looks like we had to wait a couple of years longer to see them. The addition of Cage could be cool and all I need to do now is work out how I can get on set! Now all we need is for Steven Seagal and Jackie Chan to sign on the dotted line and the line up is complete! Then again, we’ll need some more people for The Expendables 3 no doubt!

The movie is expected to be released August 2012 and shooting starts at the end of this month.

He may not be particularly well known, but Ben Foster is an actor destined for big things, and he’s now been cast in another brilliant role, playing the son of mob boss John Gotti, Sr., in Gotti: In The Shadow Of My Father, Deadline report.

That role is to be taken by the amazing John Travolta, perfect for the part, and I can’t wait to see Foster and Travolta starring opposite each other leading what’s sure to be an immense mob film.

We first heard back in January that Travolta was set to star as Gotti, Sr., so things have been looking pretty great from the get-go with this project. Alongside Travolta and Foster, the film is also set to star Kelly Preston, Joe Pesci, and someone you may or may not have heard of from earlier mob films, Al Pacino.

According to Deadline, though, Pesci is currently in the process of suing producer Fiore Films over the film, saying that he had been promised the role of Gotti, Sr.’s right-hand man, Angelo Ruggiero, along with a $3m. paycheque, and now they’re offering him $1m. and a lesser role. So whether or not Pesci will be staying on board for the project, and in what role we’ll be seeing him in if he does, remains unknown.

Originally, the project was to be helmed by Nick Cassavetes (The Notebook, Alpha Dog), and written by Leo Rossi (Analyze This), but Cassavetes has since exited the film and has been replaced by Academy Award-winning director Barry Levinson (Rain Man), who will now also be working on script work with Rossi and James Toback. Rossi, who’s been working on the project from the beginning, has also been meeting with real-life Gotti, Jr., who has been helping give an inside look and answering questions about events in order to create as authentic a feel as possible for the film, which is,

“Based on the life of John Gotti, Jr. and his relationship with his infamous father. The movie reveals the relationship of a father who lived and died by the mob code and a son who chose to leave that world behind and redeem himself. Never before has there been such an inside look at the life of one of the Gotti family and their world of danger, betrayal and redemption.”

It was first to be titled, Gotti: Three Generations, but I’m loving the new subtitle, In The Shadow Of My Father, much more. It certainly suggests that Foster’s role is going to be front and centre on this project, and I can’t wait to see him lead this with Travolta.

He was exceptional in Alpha Dog back in 2006, and again in 30 Days of Night a year later, and we’ll soon get to see him alongside Woody Harrelson in Rampart, in Ridley Scott’s highly anticipated Prometheus, and in next year’s thriller, Contraband, with Mark Wahlberg, Kate Beckinsale, and Giovanni Ribisi. If you aren’t already, Foster is definitely a rising actor to keep your eye on.

Casting rumours are beginning to circulate for the upcoming sequel to The Expendables, Sylvester Stallone’s surprise hit action movie from last year, and a couple of names (at least), are obvious choices to fans of 80’s tough-guy, martial artist cinema.

Members from the first film, Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, Mickey Rourke, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis are being mentioned, alongside the kickboxing “Muscles from Brussels” Jean-Claude Van Damme and old-school favourite, Chuck Norris (now, shockingly, in his 71^st year on this planet!!!) He makes the rest of the crew look like a bunch of young, ineffectual punks by comparison.

John Travolta’s name has also cropped up, although he hardly possesses the hard-man credentials of many of these actors. Maybe he’ll perform a dance routine as a means of distracting the enemy while his macho peers do the dirty work.

All this is completely up in the air at the moment of course, but with the film stated for release next August (under the direction of Con Air’s Simon West), expect a locked-down cast list to appear pretty soon.

Via Collider.

Blake Lively, best known for her role as Serena van der Woodsen in The CW’s hit TV show Gossip Girl, has taken the lead female role of Ophelia in the upcoming Oliver Stone crime thriller, Savages, Variety reports.

The ever impressive John Travolta has also signed on for the film, taking the role of a DEA agent.

Naturally, Travolta is capable of pretty much any role you throw at him, and his casting is great news for me. His role as the cop in Face/Off, alongside Nicolas Cage as the antagonist, made the film one of my all-time favourites, and there’s no doubt in my mind that he can pull off a DEA agent to perfection.

Though I know a lot of people look down a bit on Gossip Girl, I personally think both the writing and the cast’s performances are superb, and in my eyes, Lively is one of the finest young actresses working at the moment. I think that it’s great news she’s looking to star in more and more films when Gossip Girl isn’t filming, because she’s a brilliant actress. Her role in The Town, Ben Affleck’s immense film of last year, demonstrated she’s not afraid to try things outside of her comfort zone. Being now cast in Stone’s next film as the free-spirited shared girlfriend and confidante of two guys running a marijuana operation out of Laguna Beach sounds like an excellent choice with which to expand her horizons.

There’s simply no question that Oliver Stone is an incredible director, a visionary of the past few decades. His films have earned a total of nine Academy Awards, and over thirty nominations, with him at the helm, with Stone himself taking two for Best Director (Platoon, Born on the Fourth of July) and one for Best Adapted Screenplay (Midnight Express).

The film is based on the 2010 novel of the same name, written by Don Winslow, who is scripting the film with Shane Salerno. The film,

“follows two Laguna Beach marijuana kingpins forced to work for a Mexican drug cartel after Ophelia, the free-spirited girlfriend they share, is kidnapped.”

Aaron Johnson (Kick-Ass) and Taylor Kitsch (X-Men Origins: Wolverine) are in talks to play the two male leads, with Benicio del Toro closing in on a role as part of the Mexican drug cartel.

Savages will be Stone’s first film after last year’s Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, the sequel to his very popular 1987 original, and it sounds like Stone has certainly got the potential to have a great film with Savages. As it looks now, the cast and the story both have great promise, so it all sounds good so far. I’m hoping that it will be yet another chance for Lively to bolster her already successful movie career. She’ll be starring in this summer’s blockbuster, Green Lantern (out on 17th June), and is currently filming Hick, alongside Chloë Moretz, Rory Culkin, and Alec Baldwin. If her performances to date are anything to go by, she’ll be excellent in them all.

Until very recently, Joe Pesci had been living life away from the big screen. In 1999, the actor decided to retire after over thirty years in the business. Back in 2006, though, he returned with a cameo in Robert De Niro-directed The Good Shepherd, and last year he starred opposite Helen Mirren in Love Ranch. Now, ComingSoon.net have it that Pesci will be returning to our screens once more to for Gotti: Three Generations.

Much of Pesci’s career has been based on portraying members of organised crime – Casino, Once Upon a Time in America, Goodfellas (for which he won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor). And now he will finally be returning to a role that we all already know, with absolute certainty, that he will do justice to. He is to star alongside John Travolta, who will be playing John Gotti, Sr., as the mob leader’s close friend and capo, Angelo Ruggiero.

The screenplay has been written by actor/writer Leo Rossi (Analyze This) and will be directed by Nick Cassavetes (The Notebook, Alpha Dog), who I think is perfect for the job; his work on Alpha Dog was so impressive. Lindsay Lohan is also in talks to star as Victoria Gotti, Gotti, Sr.’s daughter. I know a lot of people aren’t very big Lohan fans anymore (or maybe I should say ‘Lindsay’, I vaguely recall that she’s thinking of dropping her surname), but I still think she is a great actress, and hopefully immersing herself in as serious a role as this will set her career and police record back on track.

Gotti: Three Generations will be an inside look on the Gotti family, as told from the perspective of John Gotti, Sr., who is yet to be cast:

“Based on the life of John Gotti, Jr. and his relationship with his infamous father. The movie reveals the relationship of a father who lived and died by the mob code and a son who chose to leave that world behind and redeem himself. Never before has there been such an inside look at the life of one of the Gotti family and their world of danger, betrayal and redemption.”

Doesn’t it just make your spine tingle? I cannot wait for this project to take shape. The casting of Travolta and Pesci, and the predicted Lohan, would certainly suggest that Cassavetes and Fiore Films, who are financing and producing, are looking to stay true to the story and keep its cast Italian-American. As such, I can’t make up my mind as to who I think would make the best Gotti, Jr. Given Travola’s age in comparison to Gotti, Sr.’s, I think it’s a safe bet to assume that whoever plays his son will have to have been born somewhere between the early 1970s and the very early ’80s. Looking down the list at those that fit this criteria, the biggest names that stick out are Leonardo DiCaprio, Bradley Cooper, Chris Evans, Zachary Quinto, Giovanni Ribisi, and Milo Ventimiglia. Whilst all are very, very good actors, I’m not convinced any of them would be quite right for the part, especially considering Gotti, Jr. was not really a lean man, which all six are.

If I had to pick someone, I think I’d go for someone I’ve not mentioned yet, Joe Manganiello (who played Flash Thompson in Spider-Man). He’s been brilliant in all the TV shows I’ve seen him in, and has a much better suited build for the part, but unfortunately I don’t think he’s well known enough to land it. I hope I’m wrong. Either way, I am definitely looking forward to finding out who will be playing Gotti, Jr., and you can be sure that we’ll keep you updated as soon as we hear anything more. Until then, we can be happy with the news that Pesci will be returning to our screens once again for what is sure to be a brilliant performance. With the project set to start principal photography in October this year, we’ll hopefully be treated to more casting news as the months progress until then.

John Woo had the good sense a decade and a half ago to pit against one another the growling insanities that were a newly revived John Travolta and internet meme man in the making Nicolas Cage, and now Vulture are reporting that the pair may be reuniting once, maybe twice more.

The first project which has the Face/Off pair in their sights is Shrapnel, a script from Evan Dougherty which appeared on the 2008 Black List along with The Beaver, Ingolourious Basterds and Up in the Air among others, and deals with two soldiers on a hunting trip which turns into a hunt…only not.

Sounds like a solid use of the duo’s qualitites, both going slowly mad in a hostile environment trying to off each other, and it makes a change from a pair of the latest Hollywood teen faces sharing a screen.

Next up on the TravoltaCage fest is Sea Trial, Raymond De Felitta’s adaptation of his father’s novel, which is awaiting backing but signatures from the two men may make this an surer option.

Not sure if the parody train has let these two alight but in the right hands these two could be an interesting prospect.

Last night, James Franco and Anne Hathaway opened the 83rd Academy Awards with a rather humorous video taking us inside a parody of the movies nominated for Best Picture. What we didn’t get to see was this video which they pre-recorded parodying Grease with Franco as John Travolta and Hathaway as Newton-John and it’s been done rather well. I wonder if Hathaway was sown into the leather trousers like Olivia Newton-John was in the 1978 movie!

Have a watch below, if you’re a fan of Grease, you’re going to love it!

Thanks to BritFilmsTV for the heads up.

Fiore Films are developing a film about three generations of the Gotti organised crime family and John Travolta is in “serious talks” to play mob boss John Gotti.

To quote Marc Fiore, CEO of Fiore Films:-

“We would love to have him. He’s a terrific actor. John Gotti, Sr. — he’s an icon. And so is Travolta … The Gottis have an image already. People know who they are. You can’t just be a good actor, you have to be a great actor who can become John Gotti.”

Fiore is also in talks with Nick Cassavetes (The Notebook, Alpha Dog, John Q) to direct the film and is trying to snag James Franco for the role of John Gotti Jr. No mean feat, given how extraordinarily busy Franco is and how rapidly his already-ascendant star is rising, following great reviews for 127 Hours. Franco’s “people” say he has received the script but there are no plans for him to take the role at the moment.

Fiore goes on to say that:-

“It’s going to be the new Godfather. It’s a story about a father and a son, but the father happens to be John Gotti Sr.”

Lofty ambitions indeed. If it should fall short of so hefty a target, at least it won’t be for want of having the inside scoop. John Gotti Jr is said to have been working with Leo Rossi on the script every day, answering questions about the events being portrayed and sharing a real “inside look”.

We will let you know as casting progresses, but this looks like it might be one to look out for. For a bit of background on the Gotti family, check out here.

Source: Entertainment Weekly.

It’s about time us Brits had our own homemade alien action flick!

News has come in (via Moviehole) that Roger Christian is in talks to direct a sci-fi adventure film called Transmission. The site states that he won an Oscar for his work as art director on Star Wars, but fails to mention that the same director was responsible for the John Travolta sci-fi “epic”, Battlefield Earth. I wonder why?

Perhaps in a more reassuring move, the film will be shot in 3D and established UK talent like Bob Hoskins, Jason Flemyng and Talulah Riley are attached to star (with the possibility of Willem Dafoe joining in on the action).

We’ll keep you posted when we hear further developments.

The latest action movie to be released by Warner Home Video is that of From Paris with Love which stars John Travolta and Jonathan Rhys Meyers. The movie centers around Meyer’s character, James Reece who is doing everything he to become a secret agent. He enters a fast track when he meets his new partner, Wax, a CIA veteran who shows him ‘how things are done’!

Synopsis: Living an enviable life in Paris, James Reece (Meyers) works as a personal aide to U.S. Ambassador. Unsatisfied and desperate for a taste of the real action Reece snaps up the chance to take on his first real CIA mission. Partnered with wisecracking and trigger-happy special agent Charlie Wax (Travolta) in a race to stop deadly terrorists, his action fantasy fast becomes a living nightmare.

Thrust into the violent Parisian underworld, Reece finds himself in the ultimate fight for his life against the highly dangerous crime ring they’re trying to bust. In an electrifying showdown, it seems that brash, straight-talking agent Wax might be Reece’s only hope for making it through the next forty-eight hours alive…

From Paris with Love kept me entertained throughout. The storyline was nothing that we hadn’t seen before but the action sequences and creativity in the direction really did stand out from director, Pierre Morel (Taken; The Transporter). Jonathan Rhys Meyers managed to pull of his American accent for most of the movie and John Travolta plays pretty much the same character that he did in Pelham 123 except in this, he’s the good guy!

If you like action, cheesy one liners, good fight sequences, a pretty good twisting story and John Travolta kicking some butt, then this one is probably for you!

BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES

• Making-Of Documentary
• Music video
• Interview w/ John Travolta
• Interview w/ Director Pierre Morel
• Interview Michel Julienne, Stunt Coordinator

From Paris with Love is released today on Blu-ray, DVD, On Demand and Digital Download.

DVD Trailer

Big, bad and bald. John Travolta is taking no prisoners is his latest, From Paris With Love, and by the looks of the new poster, revealed today by Empire, Pierre Morel is gearing up for this one to be one big bang after another.

I recently watched Taken and disregarding the blurry, frantic flashback cliche it was a solid action film, with Neeson a Jack Baueresque hard man.

This film, with its rom-com title looks to be continuing that trend and we’ll be lucky if Paris has any monuments left once the film is over.

Take a look below.

“The Taking of Pelham 123″ has a bit of a strange title (copied from the 1974 film of the same name), but as a viewer it is an easy to follow action film which we are graced with the loveable and slightly ‘dad-like’ character of Barber, a New York metro tube operator, played by none other than Denzel Washington. John Travolta plays the movies’ bad guy with Tony Scott taking the directing reigns. The supporting cast includes John Turturro, James Gandolfini, Victor Gojcaj, Michael Rispoli and Luis Guzmán.

The story unfolds as one of the trains in Washington’s mandate is hijacked by Travolta and his gang. It’s unclear from the outset exactly what he’s after but as the film unfolds, we begin to learn a lot more about Travolta’s character. Although the good guy, we also learn that not all of Washington’s past is as rosey as he’d like either!

The aerial shots of New York are quite spectacular and having been to the the states and New York last summer it was nice to see the familiar locations on screen. It was good to see Washington play a slightly different role to his normal, although still the hero but in no way stereotypical. The plot is quite run of the mill (with he movie being based on the book by John Godey), and it is an enjoyable watch, with moments of suspense and thrill, with other scenes having with a real feel good factor. It was relatively realistic in that this could happen, and I the producers did a good job of developing both the lead characters and the supporting cast.

If you’re a Tony Scott fan, you can look forward to more of the same style of direction that we’ve become accustomed to with the quick paced, colourful light scenes as traffic passes to freezing the camera at certain deadlines to give the audience time to catch up. My favourite scene was that involving loads of motorbikes and a police car tearing through the busy New York streets trying to get their payload to it’s destination with some quite spectacular stunts en route.

Overall, I liked the film and would give it a solid 6/10. Not one of the their best, but still Washington and Travolta did not fail to deliver.

The Taking of Pelham 123 is available today on DVD and Blu Ray.

A brand new red-band trailer has been released for From Paris with Love which stars John Travolta and Jonathan Rhys Meyers courtsey of BeyondHollywood.com. It’s directed by Pierre Morel who is tipped to direct the Dune.

From Paris with Love should be with us 5th March and after seeing this red band trailer, I’m not looking forward to seeing it more than I was before!

Check it out below.