The Flick:

Out of the films directed by Renny Harlin that I’ve seen some are good and some are bad. I never would’ve foreseen the day when I would see a film made by him that could be viewed as being important. Not until I was given the film, 5 Days of War for review.

The story, though factious, is based on true events during a war between Russia and the country of Georgia that lasted five days. The film centers on a war correspondent (Rupert Friend) and his cameraman (Richard Coyle) who are in Georgia at a time when tensions with the two countries are heating up. After the Georgian president (Andy Garcia in one of the best performances in the film) calls for a cease fire, the Russian military invades. The two reporters are helped by a local woman (Emmanuelee Chriqui) who they meet after many of her sister’s wedding party get killed during a Russian air strike on the city of Gori.

After the trio find the woman’s father and, now widowed sister the group witnesses and videotapes atrocities committed by mercenaries lead by the Russian military. They are found out, captured and are threaten with torture if they don’t give up the whereabouts of the camera’s hidden memory-card. They do get away and the rest of the film sees them trying to find a way to get the footage out to the world media. Even though that same media is much more interested in the Olympics than what’s going on in Georgia.

Harlin has made something that looks and, much of the time, feels like the real thing. He was provided with the wherewithal to make the film look like it was being shot during the actually war. It’s an epic in every sense of the word. The film looks like it was made for ten times the 12 million dollar budget. All this with next to no CGI. It employees likable actors playing likable characters, but Harlin can’t escape his action roots entirely: there are, not one, but, two rescues when all hope seems lost, and it has a villain that could sit comfortably in many lesser action films. Though, this isn’t really a problem for me. This film was made, in part, to inform the world about what happened in Georgia since so little media coverage happened. Making it an entertaining film as well as informative doesn’t seem to be a bad choice after all.

At the end those movie contrivances are pushed aside when, just before the end credits roll, real family members of those who had died during the war tell us who they lost and how they were killed. These aren’t soldiers these folk are speaking for, these are regular civilians that were either hanged, got their throats cut, or were just at the wrong place at the wrong time, usually their own homes.

The Blu-Ray:

Audio/Video

As is expected from Blu-Ray discs, the picture quality is outstanding. The colors all come out looking natural, making the beauty of Georgia’s landscapes and cityscapes look like they’re just outside your window. The surround sound is as big as the film looks.

Special Features

Aside from some deleted scenes there’s a commentary with producer/director Renny Harlin. I’m a sucker for director commentaries, especially one as good as this one. Harlin details the history of how and why the film was made. He also adds some extra information regarding the war and some of its causes. Great stuff!

The Flick Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

The Blu-Ray Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Unfortunately, the concept of the film hasn’t changed. The film will focus on Sammantha’s (Genna Davis) daughter Caitlin (Yvonne Zima in the original film) as she teams up with Samuel L. Jackson to take revenge on her mother’s killer. While a sequel would be great to see, Genna Davis is what really made the film. It’s also unknown if Zima would be reprising her role as Caitlin, or it they’re looking at a more well-known actress.

A drama (IMDb’s wording, not mine) set centered around the war between Russia and Georgia, and focused on an American journalist, his cameraman, and a Georgian native who become caught in the crossfire.

Sure, it might just be another movie where Val Kilmer can sport his long ass hair, but it looks decent. Thoughts?

Source: Twitch

Geena Davis-less? Still want to see this?

Source: Den of Geek!

“Warner Home Video has announced a Blu-ray release of Deep Blue Sea for October 12th. Retail will be around $24.98. Extras will include commentary by Samuel L. Jackson and Director Renny Harlin, featurettes (“When Sharks Attack”, “The Sharks of Deep Blue Sea”), deleted scenes with optional director commentary, and the theatrical trailer.”

“Georgia is a Hollywood film project about the Russia-Georgia conflict which turned into the 2008 South Ossetia war in August, 2008. Director and co-producer of this project is the Finnish-American film director and producer Renny Harlin. The filming started in October, 2009, in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, with cooperation from the Georgian government and military. The Georgian Military provided military equipment, uniforms, tanks, and helicopters. Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili allowed use of his Presidential residence for filming. Andy García plays the role of Saakashvili; Emmanuelle Chriqui plays Tatia, a young Georgian girl; Rupert Friend plays Thomas Anders, an American reporter; and Johnathon Schaech plays Rezo Avaliani, a young Georgian officer. In addition, Val Kilmer plays a Dutch journalist working in Georgia.

According to Der Spiegel’s Moscow office, “at least part of the financing came from Georgia — as well as the script”, which was co-authored by “Papuna Davitaia, at the time a member of the Georgian parliament close to the president, who has been recently promoted to the ministerial level in Sakaashvili’s government.”

I have been championing this underdog for years, and when I got in contact with screenwriter C. Courtney Joyner to talk it up, I was chomping at the bit to spread the gospel about this great little flick. Not only has Courtney written horror faves like The Offspring and Class of 1999, he is a director in his own right, having made Lurking Fear and Trancers III. I have come to call him a good friend, and I couldn’t be happier to give this movie the respect it deserves and maybe even open the eyes of a younger horror generation and showing what you can do with hardly any dinero, but instead with high energy and a love for the craft. Without further adieu, let’s get to it.

Jason Bene: Irwin Yablans had already produced the hits Halloween and Hell Night, and then decided to do this horror film set in a prison. How did you get brought on the team as one of the writers?

C. Courtney Joyner: Mike Vargas was a friend of mine from college and his father had actually been one of the investors in Hell Night. Mike went to USC with me and Jeff [Burr]. After we got out of college he actually asked me to work on a treatment for a futuristic prison story. He was then working for Irwin Yablans as an intern because his dad was still thinking about investing in movies. Irwin had started a new company called Voyager and Mike recommended me. I had written a spec script that I tried to sell with Jeff as director. It was called The Nightcrawlers, which was a kind of animalistic vampires in the sewers of Los Angeles kind of a thing. They read that and asked me to come in and see about writing the movie.

Jason Bene: How much of the horror elements in Prison is stuff that you brought to the table?

C. Courtney Joyner: One hundred percent. The thing was Irwin had the idea of doing a horror movie set in a penitentiary when he was over at Lorimar Productions. He was over there at that company and they had a deal with MGM. He actually had a script developed which he gave me to read, which I believe was at the time was called Horror in the Big House. I thought that was kind of a throwback to Chester Morrison and Bart McLean. Whoever the writer was, he was a big television guy, had taken the idea of Halloween in a penitentiary to the super extreme because he wrote a script about a maniac with a knife in a prison. I was like, “Irwin, the problem here is everyone in a penitentiary has a shiv, what are these guys afraid of?” This has to be supernatural. Poltergeist had just come out and kind of reinvigorated the idea of haunted house movies and ghosts and supernatural things. A movie that had taken us away from the Friday the 13th maniac, Don’t Look in the House route. I said “No, we’ve got to go supernatural”, and that was kind of the start of the whole thing.

Jason Bene: I hadn’t seen a horror film set in a prison before Prison. Around the same time there was a film that was shot at Alcatraz called Slaughterhouse Rock, but I believe Prison came out first.

C. Courtney Joyner: It was a very, very clever idea. Irwin said he wanted to do a horror movie set in a penitentiary. He was the producer and it definitely started with him. That first writer went off in a completely ineffective direction.

Jason Bene: Prison is the forefather to all of these ‘electric chair’ themed movies like The Horror Show, Shocker, The Chair, and Guilty as Charged. They owe a debt to Prison.

C. Courtney Joyner: [Laughs] For this kind of obscure movie a lot of people seemed to have made films that were similiar or influenced by it. That’s kind of a fun little footnote.

Jason Bene: Let’s talk about this young Finnish director who had the right visionary style for the movie – Renny Harlin. A man who has gone on to be this big-time action filmmaker.

C. Courtney Joyner: Renny was attached when I was hired. He had done a movie called Born American, which impressed a lot of people at the American Film Market. Venetia Stevenson was his manager and Venetia was a good friend of Bruce’s. She had a company and she executive produced the Walter Hill movie Southern Comfort. I got to know Venetia very well and she was great. Her mother was Anna Lee, the actress from all the John Ford movies. Her dad was Robert Stevenson, who directed Mary Poppins. Which means her great grandfather was Robert Louis Stevenson. Her daughter married Axl Rose. Renny was Venetia’s client and she partnered him with Irwin and Bruce. In those days there were so many independent companies. The theatrical B-movie thing was still very much in vogue. Video just meant the sky was raining gold. There was an independent production company on every single corner basically. The AFM was quite a hot bed of activity. If you were considered an up and coming director, somebody who was going to make a big impression, then producers clamored for you. He signed with Irwin and Bruce to do this movie and that was how we met and we partnered and we became friends. We shared a house together when we made the movie and there you go.

Jason Bene: How much of your original script would you say is in the finished film?

C. Courtney Joyner: For good or bad, almost ninety-nine percent. There were a couple of scenes that went off book a little bit, but very, very slavishly. The oddest thing was the ending. The whole thing is it’s a reincarnation story. We had a thing with Viggo Mortensen holding up the cruxifix and saying it had been a present from his father then it all kind of tied itself together. Chelsea had seen the photographs and the father being killed. It wasn’t the most original idea in the world, but at least it kind of made a smooth wrap-up. They wanted to go for something a little more open-ended and a little more obscure, and so that’s why they had the crucifix hanging on the barbed wire. Renny decided to go in his own direction, but the whole thing with the spirit coming up from the ground was all there. Because I was working so closely with Renny it was very detailed. It really was a shooting script.

Jason Bene: I always assumed Burke was the reincarnation of the murdered Forsythe.

C. Courtney Joyner: That was the idea. I think it got a tad muddled. Viggo is the son of the man who was wrongfully put to death by Lane Smith [Warden Eaton Sharpe] who was the captain of the guards. I have not seen the movie in a number of years now.

Jason Bene: At the time these actors were pretty much unknowns for the most part. The cast is all strong, and this is Viggo long before he did the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Can you talk about the casting?

C. Courtney Joyner: Anthony Barnao was the casting director and he really did a wonderdul job. We looked at a lot of people. Renny and I were particularly impressed with Thom Mathews at that time. He was popping up in a lot of horror flicks like Return of the Living Dead, and we really thought he was quite good. All we were doing was just the usual thing and put guys on tape. Viggo had already been in Witness and one or two other things. He was definitely somebody that people were keeping an eye on and what have you. He was this striking looking guy and he really was a good guy and still is. He’s just a very nice person. But boy he really brought up the smoldering intensity right away. That was terrific.

It had always been the idea that we wanted a name to play the warden. Tony Lo Bianco came in with notes about the script on a cassette recorder. He walked into the office and put the cassette recorder on the desk and played it, so we sat there listening to his own voice with him sitting there.

Robert Culp came in and back in his prime and he looked like he was fifteen feet high. He had that real big hair, you know? He was so intimidating and he comes over and he towers over me and he shakes my hand and he says, “So, you wrote this screenplay?” I was like, “Oh, yes sir, I did.” Pause, pause, pause. “Interesting.” That was great!

Barry Newman came in and he was all sun tanned getting ready to go to the tennis court or something. He was great. He was really was terrific. He was a good friend of Irwin’s, but Irwin didn’t feel he had enough threat.

The opportunity came up for us to hire John Cassavates. That was the biggie. Renny and I were so excited about that and we talked to Cassavates and all this stuff. Cassavates’ health was failing at that time and he was doing a lot of movies because he wanted to provide for his family. We really wanted him, but they were just terrified of the insurance commitment. They really though he might pass away making the movie. They didn’t go any further with that, which really was a heartbreaker. We got so excited about that and that didn’t happen.

Then you know what, we ended up with a terrific actor and was a great guy. Lane Smith had just come off playing Nixon in the mini-series to terrrific acclaim. In Prince of the City he was one of the Sidney Lumet guys. So I was very excited about that, and boy, he was a terrific fella.

It was a good group of real character actors. You saw some real pedigrees up there in the movie and I think it helped us tremendously.

Jason Bene: WWF’s Tommy ‘Tiny’ Lister knew his role and played it perfectly.

C. Courtney Joyner: Tom had done some movies at that point, but not a tremendous amount. He’s really a nice guy. I’ll tell you a story about him that was really something. We were sitting around one night at the Empire Pictures office and I was sitting next to Tom Lister. He was sitting on the floor because there weren’t many chairs. Tom Lister leans back and hits his head on the corner of the desk. It was a sharp corner with one of those glass tops to it. He really banged his head and I think it was bleeding. He didn’t even feel it.

Jason Bene: When Forsythe pops up from the ground at the end of the film that is a pre-Jason Voorhees Kane Hodder under the make-up.

C. Courtney Joyner: Absolutely. Kane was the stunt coordinator on the movie. He did a great job. One of the reasons he liked it so much was it gave him a chance to do some things with cars and stuff that you don’t usually get a lot of opportunities to do. Especially when he started playing Jason and what have you. It was bullet hits and automobiles and stunt work like that was also fun for us. It was action movie driven more rather than horror movie driven. I think that was something Renny and I very much wanted to do. We would sit around and night talking about the script and what we were going to do. We evoked Don Siegel a hell of a lot more than Sean Cunningham.

Jason Bene: It’s definitely a hybrid, an action-horror film that takes place in a prison.

C. Courtney Joyner: It was just our sensibility at the time. It can also be considered a fault of the movie. That was kind of where we were coming from. Renny eventually became Mr. Action.

Jason Bene: Was the electric chair built where a real gas chamber used to sit in a Wyoming prison.

C. Courtney Joyner: It was an actual gas chamber. When Bill, Renny and I scouted the location it really was something. The whole thing was so ready made for what we were doing. I can’t remember who turned us on to that location in Wyoming, but it was amazing. We were looking at things in the Boyle Heights Jail and all sorts of stuff here in Los Angeles. Then this thing came up and we took the tour and they absolutely let us into the gas chamber. It was the real deal. One of the things I remembered so well there was a hood lying in the corner, a leather hood that had been used to cover the convicts faces when they took the gas. I put it on and it was a pretty horrifying feeling. It had a real distinct odor. It was an emotionally charged place. You couldn’t walk around and be completely disconnected from the fact that real men had been incarcerated in this place. It was a territorial prison, so this goes back to the 1800′s. It was incredibly small. That was one of the reasons it was closed. The physical size of people has changed over the last several hundred years. The thing was built when the average height of an American man was five foot seven or something. Everybody used to be a lot shorter, so you would walk in and you could touch the ceilings of the cells with your hand. So you can imagine someone like Tom Lister were giants in these things. That is one of the reasons that the prison was finally closed because it was so antiquated just because of the physical size of human beings had changed and it was no longer appropriate to house them in this thing. Everywhere you went it was a reminder this was the real deal.

Jason Bene: My favorite death scene is with the guy who gets wrapped up by the barbed wire. Were you on the set for that?

C. Courtney Joyner: I wasn’t. Renny wanted to do something with barbed wire. He knew what he thought he could shoot well. I was very, very specific in the way I would conceptialize scenes so that it would reflect the way he would want to put them on film. I was particularly pleased with the chair with the guard [Hal Landon] coming up through the ceiling into the warden’s office. They had to build a special set obviously. I was there for the aftermath of that. I was doing some work in the hotel and I came down on set. There were huge open areas of the prison itself. They did a set for Lane Smith’s office and I walked in and there he was coming up out of the floor. That worked out real well. It was done very much, if you will, in the way that A Nightmare on Elm Street 4 was done with Renny directing these bigger sequences. It was a real team effort, but it was all coordinated through him, and of course, all the shots had to match what he was shooting.

Jason Bene: Did you notice any of the movie posters on some of the walls in the cells?

C. Courtney Joyner: Mickey Yablans, the young inmate who doesn’t say anything until his cellmate gets killed is Irwin’s son. I believe they had some posters up in his room. I believe Ivan Kane [Lasagna] has a picture of Sylvester Stallone or something. Which is ironic, since Renny directed two movies with Sylvester Stallone. The fellow who played ‘Rhino’ Reynolds [Stephen E. Little], he’s the big brutish guy who is going after Mickey Yablans the whole time, was in fact an actual convict. He was housed in the Federal Penitentiary down the road. When we were looking for extras, and we did some casting around, Stephen Little’s name came up. He had been a stuntman while incarcerated, in fact, he had worked on Centennial because they shot that in Wyoming. He had gone to prison, I believe, for manslaughter. He got into a fight in a bar and I guess the fella eventually died. When he was filming they would let him out and come and film with us. He had his SAG card, but he was under armed guard the whole time and handcuffed between shots. That is the true deal.

Jason Bene: There is a very well done German DVD of Prison, but there is still no Region 1 release. Is there a possible release in the future?

C. Courtney Joyner: It’s so weird. The movie itself had a kind of odd distribution history. It originally went out through Empire Pictures, which is where we all were at that time. Then the film was sold as Empire started to kind of shut its doors, the movie was then sold to New World. New World acquired it for VHS release, and it was even sold to television. To me, the coolest thing was one Saturday afternoon seeing Prison on Channel 5. Now I feel like a Hollywood veteran. Whatever the legal entanglements are, or who owns what piece of the movie, I don’t know. I don’t know what the U.S. distribution situation is here. I may be speaking out of terms, but I think Bill Lustig and Blue Undeground or Anchor Bay or somebody was trying to figure out a release for the movie. I still speak to Irwin Yablans once and a while and we talk about that. The subject always comes up. I haven’t talked to Renny about it. People enjoy the movie and it’s a bit of a cult film and it has its fans. The question comes up and I truly don’t know. The only DVD I have is that German version that I bought at a Fango convention for twenty bucks.

Thank you for an outstanding interview C. Courtney Joyner! Killer Film can’t thank you enough. Here is hoping the powers that be are reading this and we see an extras-filled, U.S. DVD/Blu-ray release sometime in the not too distant future.

Jason Bene: The role of Kristen Parker was left vacant for A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master after the departure of Patricia Arquette. How did you land the gig and what was your reaction about entering such a hugely successful franchise?

Tuesday Knight: I totally freaked out because it happened so fast. When I met [Director] Renny Harlin he thought I had the vibe for the character, when I went in for the audition it felt really good. He told me to take home the tape and really look at it; then the next day he basically cast me and wanted me to met with other cast members to connect. I got to be involved with that too and that was really cool.

Jason Bene: The last of the “Elm Street” children are killed off in the first half of the film, which shocked fans everywhere. Did that add any pressure on you? I thought you took the role and made it your own.

Tuesday Knight: Thank you. That’s what I did with the role. In the beginning, I kind of watched her [Patricia Arquette] and did my homework about it then I let it go and was Tuesday.

Jason Bene: Can you describe the moment when you first saw Freddy Krueger with the fedora, the sweater, and the razor sharp glove on the set? Did it start to seep in that you were going to be a part of horror history?

Tuesday Knight: Yes, it did. It was pretty great, it was wild. I remember being in the make-up trailer and he came over to me and put his big claw on my shoulder. It was really fun.

Jason Bene: A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: The Dream Warriors has a rocking soundtrack and that continues with your song “Nightmare” from the opening credits. How long did it take for you to write and record it?

Tuesday Knight: It took me a couple of hours actually because I knew they were looking for music and I wanted to land something in there. I didn’t really have any idea it was going to be the title song until I was sitting in the theater. That was mindboggling, that was great.

Jason Bene: Some fans were suprised to hear that you are a singer, but little do they know that music runs in the family because your father is a composer. When did you realize that was a goal you wanted to attain?

Tuesday Knight: He was a really well known composer. I have such a high opinion of my father’s stuff and I never thought anything I did would be as good as what he wrote.

Jason Bene: You did a cover of the Prince song “Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad”. He is a musical genius and an icon of popular music, what did you think of your version?

Tuesday Knight: I think it’s okay. I wasn’t sure about doing that. We had to go to him and he wanted me to do the song. That was cool within itself, but I don’t think it was really my type of song.

Jason Bene: You weren’t done with Freddy as you had a cameo at the funeral scene in Wes Craven’s New Nightmare, that must of been a gas to get together with fellow veterans of the series.

Tuesday Knight: That was great. In fact it was so funny I wondered why I was there because nobody else was from Nightmare 4. I was like “oh my God, what am I doing here?” They said Wes [Craven] really wanted me and I was really taken aback by the things he says about me which are so sweet. I didn’t really get to know him except on that one, he’s a great guy, I really like him.

Jason Bene: 2010 is no doubt the year of Freddy Krueger with the remake from Michael Bay and Platinum Dunes. To accompany that film there is going to be the ultimate documentary on the series called Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy. It should be an amazing compilation of memories, how did it feel to revisit the film that jumpstarted your career?

Tuesday Knight: It’s funny because Freddy has been alive through the whole thing all these years. I’ve had to talk about it for so long, it was revisited and everyone wants to know about it.

Jason Bene: The DVD is set for an April debut, is there going to be any kind of signings or launch parties for the release?

Tuesday Knight: I don’t know yet, I’m sure there is going to be some kind of elaborate thing.

Jason Bene: You have done a vast amount of television work ranging from Heroes to Weeds to Gossip Girl to The X-Files, but many people might not be aware of a show you did with Drew Barrymore and Jennifer Beals called 2000 Malibu Road. Can you give us some insight to your character and the plot crunch?

Tuesday Knight: It was probably the best role I’ve had to date because it was playing this very overweight, unattractive sister to Drew Barrymore who was totally going to become the swan. I wanted to make her a star and burn sage in the house, so I had all these spiritual quirks. My whole life was about making Drew a star and it had alot of comedy, it was really funny. Joel Schumacher always added stuff in there for me, it was really a great time.

Jason Bene: You have an uncredited role as a runway model in the film Sex and the City, and now you are playing “yourself” in the sequel Sex and the City 2, can you give us a scoop on your role?

Tuesday Knight: I’m not supposed to really, it’s kind of a surprise. I can say I play myself and it takes place at a fashion show.

Jason Bene: Your career has spanned over two decades and over that time you have worked alongside such actors as Robert DeNiro, Martin Landau, Jason Priestly, Brad Renfro, Alicia Silverstone, and Wesley Snipes – you seem to have a blessed career that is still going strong.

Tuesday Knight: It’s been so good. I’m thankful for it and I’m really starting to concentrate on it even moreso. It’s definitely been blessed and I think it will continue to be. I have a lot of faith it in and feel really strong about it. I’m doing a couple of interviews for several different TV shows that are featuring stories on Drew Barrymore and Britney Spears.

Jason Bene: You started your own jewelry line called Tuesday’s Hip Vintage, from my understanding that is doing really well and you have some big stars as your clientele?

Tuesday Knight: Yes, I do. I started another company [ToeBrights] before that with Lisa Wilcox, it was my company and I let her come in to run it with me and that didn’t work out. We didn’t see each other for seven years and we had a really bad ending, so I changed it and did my own thing. I did carry most of the celebrities over to my side.

Killer Film would like to Tuesday Knight for taking the time to talk with us and we wish her the best of luck on all of her future endeavors.

Never Sleep Again officially began lensing on August 22, 2009 in and around Los Angeles. Starring and narrated by Heather Langenkamp, star of the 1984 classic A Nightmare on Elm Street and two of its sequels (1986′s Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors and 1994′s Wes Craven’s New Nightmare), this thrilling 90-minute retrospective promises to be the definitive look at the making of the iconic horror series and the enduring legacy of its wise-cracking, razor-gloved villain: the indefatigable “bastard son of a hundred maniacs” known as Freddy Krueger.

Source: Bloody Disgusting

The Flick

How hard can a flick that proudly sports the WWE logo and features wrestling superstar John Cena rock?  Pretty darn hard.  Going into 12 Rounds I expected a smoldering pile of poo, but to my surprise the flick held my interest, was a lot of fun, and introduced me to a new action hero. 

Cena plays Danny Fisher, a New Orleans police officer that chases down an arms dealer Miles Jackson (Aidan Gillen) on foot (said arms dealer is in a BMW) and brings him to justice.  Only the arms dealer’s girlfriend is killed during the pursuit, an unfortunate accident that makes him extremely mad.  One year later Miles escapes and pulls Danny into a dangerous game of cat and mouse that uses the streets of New Orleans as its game-board.  Danny must complete 12 Rounds of death defying tasks if he ever wants to see the love of his life again. 

If your into explosions, and running, lots and lots of running, then it doesn’t get much better than this Michael Bay influenced bombfest.  Cena and Gillen inflict more damage on the city of New Orleans than hurricane Katrina did but it’s all in the name of good fun.  Director Renny Harlin provides viewers of his film with a pretty impressive blanket of dust, smoke, and fire.  I was impressed with the way the director stitched together all the action sequences. But it was Gillen that really sold the flick.  He was perfect as the flicks villain and while the rest of the cast was strong he outshines all of them.  Cena was pretty good as the super cop and I’m actually stoked to see where he goes from here.  

Overall, 12 Rounds was a fun ride.  It’s not going to win an Oscar but it is definitely a killer film.

The Blu-ray

Audio/Visual – This is an awesome blu-ray.  The flick looked spectacular on on my HD TV, the colors are brilliant and the sound is design is solid.  The 5.1 mix is clean and provides a really amazing experience for anyone watching it on a home theatre system.

Special Features

Disc 1

Theatrical/Unrated – There are two different versions of 12 Rounds on this disc, the theatrical cut, and the unrated extreme cut, which is supposed to be more extreme but truthfully wasn’t all that different from the theatrical cut except for a little foul language and maybe a little more smoke.  

2 Alternate Endings with Optional Commentaries – I’m thankful these alternate endings are in fact alternate because neither of them are quite as cool as the one that made it into the flick.  The commentaries were decent but not really necessary.

Streetcar Crossing: Film with Caution – This is a pretty cool feature that details the difficulties of shooting the incredible street car sequence.  I had a great time with this feature, it’s totally worth multiple viewings.  

12 Bonus Round Featurettes – A group of awesome short featurettes that cover different behind the scenes aspects of the production.  

Never-Before-Cena Gag Reel – This is a pretty standard gag reel.  Not my favorite feature on this disc but I’m sure Cena fans will dig it.

A Crash Course – This is pretty cool feature that focuses on the stunts that Cena performs in the flick.  

Round and Round with Renny and John – An interview with director and actor.  Not my favorite feature but still entertaining.  

Besides these solid features there are also Viral Videos, Unrated Commentary  with Renny Harlin, Writer David Kunka, and John Cena.  

Disc 2

Digital Copy of 12 Rounds – If your into watching movies on your computer or on portable media players then this might be for you, but in my book this is a pretty useless feature.  

The Flick: Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

The Blu-ray: Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Don’t forget to support Killer Film by clicking on the DVD covers of any of the above DVDs to purchase them from Amazon, because every DVD sold from this site sends a little coin our way and that coin helps us stay online.

According to the Sho-West co-managing director Mitch Neuhauser: “Michael Bay’s aggressive visual style and memorable action sequences leave audiences at the edge of their seats and running back to the theaters for more with each new release,”

According to this information we all should make way for such upcoming recipients as  Renny Harlin(Cutthroat Island,Driven), Joel Schumacher (Batman and Robin), Rob Cohen (XXX), and Paul W.S. Anderson (Resident Evil) to receive such awards in the futute.

Maybe now we can finally look forward to having a sequel to The Island or Armegeddon being greenlit.

One thing that can be said is Mr. Bay sure can bring butts into the seats as his films have grossed $1,093,670,821 after just 7 films. If Hollywood is in fact being affected by the recession, Michael Bay is the man to bring the system back in the green.

Source: THR