I know, I know, the annual onslaught of Christmas movies is upon us. Whether it involves those syrupy love stories that pollute certain cable channels or the usual round-up of holiday-themed productions, there are certain films that only show up during December and then vanish for the other 11 months.
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Jean-François Richet’s “Blood Father” is supposed to be considered Mel Gibson’s cinematic comeback as the action hero we all knew and love before… you know. “Blood Father” is one in the many growing titles of fifty something men displaying vigilante justice, and Gibson plays well to type. He’s that crusty fifty something man who often resembles Martin Riggs if Riggs became a convict, and attempted to spend his life redeeming himself or something. Gibson plays Link, an ex-convict working hard to live out the rest of his life as quietly as possible. But things don’t go as planned when his estranged daughter, who is involved with a vicious gangster, shows up at his door begging for shelter. But when her boyfriend is convinced she knows too much, he goes looking for her.
Now that the full schedule is out, Fantasians have planned what they will see and bought their tickets. This year’s line-up is full of potentially great stuff and some real oddities. Personally, I look forward to being surprised. In the past, I was happily surprised by Shaun of the Dead, GS Wonderland, A Christmas Horror Story, Borning, etc.
All films I randomly went to see without much planning. So what am I looking forward to this year? Here’s a few I want to see without knowing a ton about them in advance.
In 2016, after diminishing returns on their “X-Men” movies and failing to adapt “Fantastic Four” three times, FOX Studios did something new. They adapted a hit comic book loyal to its source material. What a concept! Shocking enough, you went to see it, making it one of the highest grossing R rated movies of all time, one of the highest grossing R Rated comic book movies of all time, and probably the only time the X-Men were entertaining in a live action movie.
Now that you’ve seen “Deadpool” and made it a rousing success, here are five other great action films for folks that appreciate the kind of humor and wonky action the Tim Miller film practiced. Did we miss any hidden action gems you might recommend? Let us know.
Based on the critically acclaimed BBC Mini series, director Martin Campbell’s revenge thriller is a hefty mixing of genres that begins as a family drama, continues on as a revenge action film and ends as a conspiracy mystery where Mel Gibson is able to shine yet again as grieving single father Thomas Craven. Possessing a passable and forgivable Boston accent, Gibson as Craven is a man whose life has garnered him a distance from his only living family member, his daughter Emma. Noticeably disturbed and ill, Emma and Thomas re-connect and attempt to seal their relationship but all fate is sealed when a sick Emma is shot outside of Thomas’ house by a masked gunman. Working outside the law, Thomas decides that there is much more to the murder than meets the eye, and he begins unraveling a mystery that is beyond anything he could have imagined.
You have to give it up for Mel Gibson. It’s not many Hollywood heavyweights who would set an action thriller in an Ancient Mayan civilization, and actually have his characters speak ancient Mayan. Only in Hollywood would we have polished young actors speak English in such a setting, but what Gibson has done is throw down all xenophobic and sensationalistic urges, and given us a film that actually sticks true to the concept he puts forth. And it also helps that “Apocalypto” is a genuinely exciting and enthralling action adventure, too. Mel Gibson has really become a director of his own class, a man who tells the stories he wants to tell, in spite of the backlash he receives. All in all “Apocalypto” is probably Gibson’s best film to date, because it’s almost free of any of Hollywood’s tainting.
I believe that the intention of Mel Gibson and this entire production was noble. The idea, that of bringing the relevance of Christ’s sacrifice to the forefront, is something that a lot of people love and identify with. I am an atheist myself, but I believe in many of the philosophies Christ espoused, and I pattern a lot of my life on his tactics and thought. I believe in honesty, truth, martyrdom for good causes, beauty, and most of all, I search for a God with all of my heart and want to find some kind of supernatural existence for us all through writing. That’s the intent of these creators, I am assured. Unfortunately, the best laid plans.