Action Movies
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Action Movies
Do you like gladiator movies? War movies? Gangster movies? Kung fu movies? Swordfight movies? Alien invasion movies?
This is a community for any movie with a punch, a kick, a stab, a shot or an explosion, or preferably all of the above and plenty of 'em.
Everything from Armour of God to Zulu, from Above the Law to Zatoichi.
Feel free to post:
- news
- reviews
- licensed streaming or downloads
- questions & polls
- recommendations
- memes
- etc.
Rules
In addition to piefed.social's instance rules.
- Let's be nice to each other
- Let's keep it legal (e.g. licensed streaming)
- Let's stay on topic
founded 2 weeks ago
MODERATORS
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For Superman, it was ‘truth, justice, and the American way.’ Well, they dropped that… They came up with ‘truth, justice, and a better tomorrow.’
Source
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Summary
Inspired by the real life martial artist Huo Yuanjia 霍元甲, the creator of the Deceptive Fist style (and whose apprentice was in turn the inspiration for Bruce Lee's character in Fist of Fury).
Huo shows up in Beijing to challenge another martial arts master, only to find himself caught up in the Wuxu Coup of 1898 (a conservative backlash against attempted reform).
Trailer
Full Series
Details
Unless otherwise stated, all full movie links I post are for free, no account required, licensed (AFAIK, IANAL) streaming VOD in English (or original language with English subtitles) and work at time of writing in my location, Mexico. Availability and language options may be different in your location. Asterisk by the one I watched.
- iQiyi - Heroes *
Mandarin audio, with subtitles in English and other languages.
Note: video didn't play for me in Zen/Firefox browsers, I had to use a Blink/Chromium-based browser. - YT: CCTV - 大侠霍元甲
Mandarin audio, no subtitles in any language.
Legal Stream Finders
- https://nobraincellsleft.github.io/JustWatch-Search/title/ts263589
- https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/heroes-2020
Info
Cast
- Vincent Zhao (a.k. Chiu Man-cheuk) (Fong Sai-Yuk, Once Upon a Time in China IV & V, The Blade)
Opinion
Looking for free, licensed streaming action and martial arts , I came across this on Chinese streaming video site iQiyi. And found that iQiyi offers not only English subtitles but also a complete English-language version of their site (unlike QQ Video in the Future X-Cops post).
Zhao didn't ring a bell at first, but looking him up I now realize he was the main villain in Fong Sai-Yuk, fighting Jet Li.
I've only seen the first episode so far. And so far, it has some impressive fights, and a budget equivalent to every 70s and 80s kung fu flick put together, but comes off a little stale. The good guys are just so gosh darn virtuous.
I've only now seen the trailer which shows Huo fighting a ridiculously CGI-enhanced gwailo baddie, so hopefully it will get a little more lively.
Oh, and while there will apparently be women later in the series, there were none in the first episode.
iQiyi
Now that I've (re)discovered iQiyi, I'll check it out for more action, kung fu, wushu etc. Note that while Heroes is free, not everything on iQiyi is (they push you to buy the "VIP" package). However they do make it fairly easy to find the free stuff.
Side note
When you go full screen in iQiyi, you see an option "Edit subtitle". Holy crap, yes, you can "edit" the subtitles. Or at least, submit your edits for approval.
Screenshots
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Tagline
They will seduce you - just before they kill you!
Elevator pitch
'La Femme Nikita' meets 'Hong Kong's Next Top Model'
Summary
40 kidnapped girls are trained to become smoking hot international assassins. But there can be only one! *
Trailer
Movie
Details
Unless otherwise stated, all full movie links I post are for free, no account required, licensed (AFAIK, IANAL) streaming VOD in English (or original language with English subtitles) and work at time of writing in my location, Mexico. Availability and language options may be different in your location. Asterisk by the one I watched.
Legal stream finders
- https://nobraincellsleft.github.io/JustWatch-Search/title/tm108540
- https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/naked-weapon
Info
Personnel
- Director: Tony Ching Siu-tung (Chinese Ghost Story, The Swordsman, Dr. Wai in 'The Scripture with No Words'; action choreographer for Shaolin Soccer)
- Writer & Producer: Wong Jing (Naked Killer, Future Cops)
Cast
- Maggie Q
- Anya Wu
- Daniel Wu
Opinion
Thinking about Category III movies (see here), I searched for Wong Jing-directed Naked Killer but could only find Wong Jing-scripted Naked Weapon. (Which I don't think was rated Cat III.)
Around the world, 40 sporty 13-year-old girls are kidnapped and taken to a tropical island to be trained as assassins... which is, like, totally not an excuse to have six years later lots of sweaty girl-on-girl action in skimpy thin cotton outfits.
With the exception of an unnecessary rape scene (if you want to skip it, it's ||right after they drink the wine Madame offers them||), this actually manages to be a decent action movie, far less schlocky than I was expecting... until the last 20 minutes, when the director decides to dial up the wire fu, bullet time and sappiness to 11.
The film tends to flag every time we get Daniel Wu's CIA agent, but Maggie Q does well in the lead.
A 7 out of 10, imho.
Screenshots
(Suffering a little compression going through various apps and Pixelfed)
Slinky model assassin knows snake style!
Caption should have read "Pew, pew!"
Emotional support soaping
A slice and a miss!
I think I remember this one from the Kama Sutra... the Congress of the Thigh Lock?
Don't show. Tell!
She'll seduce you... just before she kills you!
Is Dennis Chan (Kickboxer, Future Cops)... checking this woman out in her moment of grief???
Commence romance!
Final battle
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I've been watching a lot of free streaming lately, to explore what's out there and to post something that hopefully everyone can see without having to pull out a credit card, but the other night I revisited the dark side and browsed Amazon Prime for some action, and went big budget Hollywood with The Accountant 2.
Legit stream search
- https://nobraincellsleft.github.io/JustWatch-Search/title/tm1520381
(Looks like it's Amazon all the way down)
Trailer
Tagline
He sees what others can't. He does what others won't.
Info
Personnel
- Ben Affleck
- Jon Bernthal
- Cynthia Addai-Robinson (Colombiana, Shooter, Spartacus)
- J.K. Simmons
- Daniella Pineda (Plane, Jurassic World, Cowboy Bebop)
- Andrew Howard the Welsh Jason Statham :) (Tenet, Revolver, Limitless)
- Writer: Bill Dubuque
- Director: Gavin O'Connor (The Accountant, Miracle, Pride and Glory)
Opinion
Affleck reprises the role that obeys Lazarus' Law ("Never go full {Rain Man}") and that shows that, like his best bro Matt Damon, he's not a total Streisand.
Oscar-winner Kirk Lazarus
Oscar-winner Matt Damon
Good performances, high stakes, serious action (both hand-to-hand and pew pew), with some more touching moments and a little comic relief. Hall of Fame? No. But an enjoyable watch.
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Michael Madsen’s brooding charisma needed Tarantino to unlock it | Peter Bradshaw
(www.theguardian.com)
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Tagline
Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Murder
Elevator pitch
The Incident meets Reservoir Dogs
Summary
A few people late at night in a remote diner are taken hostage... and it only gets worse from there.
Trailers
Personnel
- Director & Writer: Mark H. Young
Cast
- Michael Madsen
- Amber Benson (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Gryphon)
- Harold Perrineau (Jr) (Sabotage, Oz, The Matrix Reloaded)
- Kevin Gage (Con Air, Heat, Blow)
- Jake Busey (Starship Troopers, The Frighteners)
- Danny Trejo
Info
Opinion
With Madsen's recent passing, I decided to find a few of his films I hadn't seen yet. Turns out with him doing 8 to 15(!) flicks a year, it wasn't that hard.
This is a low budget thriller where Madsen probably comes closest to literally reprising his Mr Blonde character from Reservoir Dogs.
Like The Incident, we see that while the bad guy is bad, no doubt about it, the good people were not as good as they first seemed. The Killing Jar doesn't pull it off as well as The Incident (and adds a lot more violence) but it does give a chance for the actors to shine, Harold Perrineau impresses in particular.
Movie
Unless otherwise stated, all full movie links I post are for free, no account required, licensed (AFAIK, IANAL) streaming VOD in English (or original language with English subtitles) and work at time of writing in my location, Mexico. Availability and language options may be different in your location. Asterisk by the one I watched.
- Tubi - The Killing Jar (2010) *
- Plex - The Killing Jar (2010)
- Mercado Play - La Cena Mortal (2010) Spanish or Portuguese audio only (that site now blocking my primary browser? maybe because of the ad blocker)
Legal stream finders
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- full movie: https://tubitv.com/movies/100020465/when-taekwondo-strikes (this is where I watched it... I'm sure it's other places too...)
- look for clips on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=when+taekwondo+strikes
Guess who wins this fight.
...a 1973 Hong Kong martial arts film ...The story is about the Korea under Japanese rule during World War II. A Korean nationalist played by Carter Wong gets into a fight with some Japanese people and is chased into a church. The priest there is captured and tortured. Trying to secure his release, the leader of the resistance, Jhoon Rhee is himself captured and tortured by the Japanese. Carter Wong, Angela Mao and Anne Winton have to now try and rescue him. This leads to an explosive climax with the heroes having to fight the likes of Wong In Sik (Hwang In-Shik), Sammo Hung and Kenji Kazama.
Background
Rhee landed the role in the film with help from his friend Bruce Lee whom he met in 1964 while both were performing demonstrations at an international karate event held in Long Beach, California.[3] In 1972, Lee went to Golden Harvest Films boss Raymond Chow with the idea of making a movie about Taekwondo with Rhee in lead role. Rhee who never thought of himself as an actor didn't think it would come to fruition but a year later in the summer of 1973, Rhee was flying to Hong Kong to star in the film which was set in Korea, playing the part of Master Lee, a leader of a group of underground patriots. The plot for the film was based on a synopsis written by Rhee. It didn't take long to produce the film and by 19 July Rhee was back in the United States. This was when Bruce Lee called him to let him know that the film's editing had been done and it was ready for release.[4] Rhee was looking at the possibility of more film work but with Lee's death which was around the film's release and the possibility of being away from his family didn't appeal to him. So this became his first and last film.[5]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/When_Taekwondo_Strikes
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a.k.a Soldier of Fortune
Tagline
The Future of the world rests on just one man!
Elevator pitch
I... can't even imagine. The "James Bond Holiday Special"?
Summary
Freelance secret agent has to retrieve a kidnapped laser scientist before the bad guys use him and a stolen diamond to develop a superweapon.
Trailer
Personnel
- Director: Beau Davis
- Writers: Phillip Guteridge, David A. Frank
Cast
- Brandon Lee
- Ernest Borgnine
- Debi A. Monahan
Info
Opinion
This, and Legacy of Rage, were the only movies starring Brandon Lee I still hadn't seen. So when I saw it available on (legit) free streaming, I went for it.
I don't think it's unfair to say it's terrible: the story, the editing, and oh my god the accents! Whether it's so bad it's good, or so bad it's just bad is up to you. Personally, I found it entertaining enough, and Brandon Lee irrepressibly charming enough, to stick through it. (The trailer is Lee being all "grim serious hero", but for much of the film he's winkingly delivering one-liners on a par with Connery or Schwarzenegger.)
I refer to it as the James Bond Holiday Special, because, like the Star Wars Holiday Special, it's incoherent, at times inexplicable, and probably the result of people doing way too much coke.
If you want quality drama and a sensible plot, this ain't it. If you want to see a guy sidekick a baddie into a guillotine, this is your jam!
Here are two reviews, one on each side of the debate:
- So bad it's good: https://talkfilmsociety.com/columns/schlock-value-laser-mission-1989
- So bad it's bad: https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/bad-movie-diaries/laser-mission-bad-movie-diaries
A Little Bit of Politics...
A whole different issue, though, is the political context of its production. About 10 minutes in, it dawned on me this might be another Red Scorpion.
If you don't know, Red Scorpion, featuring future Brandon Lee co-star Dolph Lundgren, is a 1989 action movie about a hero who fights against assorted Communist baddies in a fictional Portuguese-speaking country in southwestern Africa, that was shot primarily in South Africa and then-South-African-occupied Namibia. Laser Mission ticks all the same boxes.
And Red Scorpion, despite being a "US" movie, turned out to have been produced in part using money secretly funneled from a propaganda wing of South Africa's apartheid regime (thanks to Jack Abramoff of the MPA, later the central figure in multiple Washington corruption scandals).
The fictional southwestern African country was a thin veil for Angola, where South Africa (and, indirectly, the US) was involved in a war against the Communist government there (supported by Soviet, East German and Cuban advisers and troops), which in turn supported liberation movements in Namibia and South Africa.
Whereas Red Scorpion stays relentlessly on message about the need to defeat communism in Africa, meaning the need to support the apartheid regime, Laser Mission doesn't bang on much about the poltics of the situation, and the central casting Soviet baddie does have another agenda. But still...
Movie
All full movie links I post are for free, no account required, licensed (AFAIK, IANAL) streaming VOD in English (or original language with English subtitles) and work at time of writing in my location, Mexico. Availability and language options may be different in your location. Asterisk by the one I watched.
- Tubi - Laser Mission (1989) *
- FreeMovies+ - Laser Mission (1989) (in the web browser, unfortunately nav bars at top and side, also black bars top and bottom)
Legal stream finders
- https://nobraincellsleft.github.io/JustWatch-Search/title/tm156953
- https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/laser-mission
- https://reelgood.com/movie/laser-mission-1989
- https://en.kinorium.com/91420/
Screenshots
As you can see, I still need to improve my screenshooting skills without triggering Tubi's interface.
Tubi's interface disappears but FreeMovies+ in a web browser has all that stuff visible all the time. (On a Roku, FreeMovies+ doesn't do this, it gives you proper full screen.)
"¡Soy el capitán Brownface!"
#actionmovies, #legitfreemovies, #brandonlee, #ernestborgnine, #bmoviebonanza
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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/44048482
Everyone knows about Bruceploitation, that wave of martial art films starring Bruce Lee lookalikes with names like Bruce Li/Le/Lai etc.
But did you know about Bronsploitation? Action movies starring people who look like Charles Bronson. Director Mike Malloy has made a documentary about three Bronson-lookalikes who went into the movies:
- the Korean Bobby Kim https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0453374/
- the Chilean Fenelón Guajardo (I can't find IMDb for him)
- the Hungarian Robert Bronzi https://www.imdb.com/name/nm8459909/
Article:
Trailer:
I didn't know about Bronsploitation before, but given that he was the biggest movie star in the world for a while, it seems only logical that there were producers trying to cash in using lookalikes. In fact, full disclosure :D, I had a distant cousin who looked like Bronson and used to make some extra money in the 70s and 80s doing things like opening supermarkets!
I never would have guessed that Bronsploitation would still be a thing in the 2020s, though!
A more in-depth article on Bronzi:
Bronzi fares better in Once Upon a Time in Deadwood, the best of the Bronzi/Perez collaborations. The production values are still abysmal, with nearly every actor looking like they’re participating in a hastily organized Wild West re-enactment, but the story is more substantial, and Paré brings charisma to his role as the villain. The movie piggybacks on both Bronson Westerns and the HBO series Deadwood, with most of the action set in the Dakota Territory town of Deadwood, where Paré plays a local kingpin named Swearengen.
Obviously, Paré is no Ian McShane, and Perez is no David Milch. The dialogue and acting are mostly stiff and awkward, and Bronzi comes up against the limits of his range when he’s called upon to express pain and anguish. He’s a remarkably inexpressive actor, and it doesn’t help that Perez insists on having someone else dub his lines, to cover for Bronzi’s thick Hungarian accent. In From Hell to the Wild West, that voice comes closest to sounding like Bronson, and in other Perez movies it just sounds like a bored voiceover artist in a recording booth.
Trailer for Once Upon a Time in Deadwood:
And this line :D
Bronzi’s latest film, Escape From Death Block 13, is his first without Perez, and it’s easily the most movie-like movie he’s ever starred in.
Trailer for Escape From Death Block 13:
FULL MOVIES
Exorcist Vengeance (2022)
Horror starring Robert Bronzi and Steven Berkoff
Trailer:
Full movie (uploader claims to be the official channel for Uncork'd Entertainment, so I think it's legit):
The Manchurian Avenger (1984)
Martials arts Western starring Bobby Kim and Bill 'Superfoot' Wallace
Trailer:
Full movie (uploader claims all their movies are licensed and copyright-compliant; they also have the great Dolph Lundgren actioner Joshua Tree. If you haven't seen it, check it out!):
#fullmoviesonyoutube
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In the year 2043, an evil crime lord is trying to take over the world. Only one government official stands in his way, and plans to send him to prison. The General and his minions travel back to the year 1993 to kill the official before he has a chance to get into office. Future Cops Lung, Broom Man, Ti Man, and Ah-Sing hear of the evil plan and decide to travel back in time themselves to protect the official.
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