The Film:

This is London. Jason Statham’s kind of town. Lean, mean, and not a shred of Transporter in it, Blitz is a solid cop drama with moody cinematography, and an abundance of bad-ass appeal. Director Elliot Lester brings nothing new to the cop genre, yet for Blitz, it doesn’t matter, because the story is involving, thanks to the lead performances of Statham, Paddy Considine, and Aiden Gillen. Moody as The Mechanic, with the English grit of Lock, Stock, & Two Smoking Barrels, don’t sleep on the pleasing Blitz.

The tag line sums up the story: cop-killer versus killer-cop. Statham plays Brant, a cop who violently does stuff his way (and would we want or expect anything less from Statham?), who teams with officer Nash (Considine), as they track down a killer that has been targeting cops, brutally slaying them in the streets. Like I mentioned before, Blitz isn’t anything new, and maybe it recycles the cop conventions too much, but sometimes that doesn’t matter, and it doesn’t for Blitz. With cock-eyed charm to spare, Statham fans will relish this little gem from the DTV market.

While Statham has been the go-to-guy for action over the last handful of years, Blitz isn’t really action packed, and for some, that might be its biggest downfall. Statham does go all Walking Tall on some punks, which is pleasing, but Blitz isn’t an action film, as it’s more of an exploration of how far the law will go to stop unrelenting violence. Cop killings are perhaps societies sickest crimes, especially since they’re only there to serve and protect, so when someone is targeting them outright, brutally slaying them on the very streets they protect, morals are challenged as Statham wants to just beat them senseless. Of course, the climax might be rather predictable, but Blitz is thoroughly enjoyable from start to finish.

The DVD:

Audio/Video: Millennium Entertainment offers up a solid looking, and better sounding DVD. Colors pop, even when the majority of the film is shot in dark alleys and the moody streets of London. The sound mix is packs a punch, even though the film isn’t an all-out actioner, the bass, the music, and the sound effects will please most home theater lovers. Overall, it’s a solid SD DVD.

The only extras are Previews for other Millennium Entertainment releases.

The Film: Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

The DVD: Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

The Film:

I’m the hitman
Stand aside
I’m the hitman
I want your life
Ain’t no escaping
Don’t run and hide
There goes the neighborhood

Rock royalty Queen are known for their anthem hits and shattering soundtracks for films; while the song Hitman does not appear in the remake of the 1972 film The Mechanic, it is very applicable to the thunderous butt whoopin’ delivered upon all that a certain card-carrying representative of The Expendables makes in this film.

Jason Statham is in his comfort zone as Arthur Bishop, a ‘Mechanic’ [assassin] whose sole duty is to eliminate targets swiftly with a code of professionalism. He makes it look easy as he disposes of the dirty laundry sent his way by his employer – a secret group who pay well. He might be the best in the business right now, but he learned the ropes from his mentor and buddy Harry [Donald Sutherland], a wheelchair bound man who is set up for the murder of a group ‘Mechanics’ by the same men who pay Arthur’s salary. Bishop puts his personal attachment aside, follows the creeds that he has always stood by, and blows his crony away.

Harry’s son Steve [Ben Foster] has a death wish and is on a mission to find out who killed his dad as he takes to the street for some justice. Feeling guilty from his latest kill, Arthur begrudgingly takes Steve under his wing and a master and apprentice relationship is forged. He picks up the trade fast as he learns how to make depriving someone of their existence look like an accident. His skills improve and he becomes lethal himself, and staggers upon the one clue that leads him to who murdered his father.

The twists and turns that unfurl plot wise will come to no one’s surprise, yet that does not deter what is ninety minutes of pure adrenaline action that will get your testosterone flowing. The vivacity of the physical exchanges are grounded in real time as Jason Statham and Ben Foster do most of their own stunts giving the gunfights and hand-to-hand combat authenticity. I do not recollect seeing a single blue or green screen effects sequence that took me out of a given scene – and the editing was calm enough for me to enjoy the physicality of the actors.

Neveldine/Taylor are busy with Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance and have expressed little interest in doing Crank 3. Do not anguish over it because this version of The Mechanic is a gritty and sexy flick, and it filled my cinematic convertible with enough fluids that I will not need a tune-up any time soon.

The Blu-ray:

Audio/Video: Of course Sony Pictures HD disc is damn near perfect. They’re usually always are. The picture is highly detailed and vivid. The image is sharp, the blacks are deep, and a small amount of natural grain adds to the cinematic quality. The DTS track is appropriately loud and bombastic, as all action films should be. Deep bass, with constant surround elements, makes for one spectacular audio mix.

Tools of the Trade: Inside the Action: In HD, this is nothing more than your typical EPK piece, but there’s some good chatter on the film, the making of it, and the stunts. Runs about 8 minutes.

Deleted Scenes that offers a different opening and other scenes, offer little to the final product; Trailers and other BD-Live extras round out the slim helping here.

The Film: Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

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

Source: Blu-ray

Here’s the top-ten from Box-office Mojo:

1. The Rite ($15 mil)

2. No Strings Attached ($13.6 mil)

3. The Mechanic ($11.5 mil)

4. The Green Hornet ($11.5 mil)

5. The King’s Speech ($11.1 mil)

6. True Grit ($7.6 mil)

7. The Dilemma ($5.4 mil)

8. Black Swan ($5.1 mil)

9. The Fighter ($4 mil)

10. Yogi Bear ($3.1 mil)

Opening next week will be The Roommate (February 4), Sanctum (February 4), Frankie and Alice (Limited), The Other Woman (Limited), and Waiting For Forever (Limited).

“Maybe I’ll mention it to Nic and if we get enough people who want to do it…Because you’ve got to get Jerry Bruckheimer to want to do it, you’ve got to get Disney to want to do it…You know I haven’t thought about it for a long time, because I can’t watch my films for at least five to six years after I’ve made them, because you’ve just lived them and in the editing you’ve watched them hundreds and hundreds of times. So, it’s been longer since Con Air and now I can watch it fondly, and remember it fondly, and also I’ll be doing a film with Nic Cage next (Medallion) so its all sort of fresh in my mind.”

Most of this would depend on a lot of circumstances, like studio wanting, The Mechanic doing good, and if Cage/Bruckheimer would be down, but would you all like to see this sequel?

His mission grows complicated when Harry’s son Steve (Ben Foster) approaches him with the same vengeful goal and a determination to learn Bishop’s trade. Bishop has always acted alone but he can’t turn his back on Harry’s son. A methodical hit man takes an impulsive student deep into his world and a deadly partnership is born. But while in pursuit of their ultimate mark, deceptions threaten to surface and those hired to fix problems become problems themselves.

Thoughts?

Source: /Film

(Jaunary 7th)

Season of the Witch

The IMDb plot: “14th-century knights transport a suspected witch to a monastery, where monks deduce her powers could be the source of the Black Plague.”

Donny: Looks like it could be fun. I’m not totally excited about it, but the trailer isn’t bad and Cage has been picking some fun flicks lately. See it.

Jon: This has an old world vibe that some Hammer Films had. I just hope they don’t use CG too much, but I think it looks a little wicked.Good cast: Nic Cage, Ron Pearlman, and Hammer Films alum, Christopher Lee. January usually is a downer month, but this could be a fun way to start of the genre new year. Plagues and witches, baby! See it.

Ong Bak 3

The IMDb plot: “Tien is captured and almost beaten to death before he is saved and brought back to the Kana Khone villagers. There he is taught meditation and how to deal with his Karma, but very soon his arch rival returns challenging Tien for a final duel.”

Jon: I actually really dug the Medieval/Thai origins in the sequel. Jaa was on top of his game, with a variety of great in-camera fight sequences. It ended in an ambiguous way, and for some, that left them cold, but for me? I was craving for more. Sadly, Jaa has left to become a monk (here) after the struggle that was this film’s behind-the-scenes issues, but for fight fans and, of course, Jaa fans: See it.

Donny: Jaa is solid, this franchise is solid, enough said. See it.

(January 14th)

Green Hornet

The IMDb plot: “By night, debonair newspaper publisher Britt Reid fights crime as a masked superhero known as The Green Hornet. At his side is martial arts expert Kato.”

Jon: While I love Bruce Lee, I remember less of the original ’60s TV series. They just didn’t rerun them like the Adam West-starring Batman TV series from the ’60s. Gondry has fallen off for me, or rather, hasn’t been much outside of Charlie Kaufman and this film looks too quirky and humorous for its own good. I think there’s more wrong here than your $ is worth. Skip it.

Donny: I totally disagree with Jon on this one. I’m excited to see what Gondry did with this, and I’m a huge Rogen fan so I’m positively gonna see it.

(January 21st)

No genre releases this weekend! Boo and WTF!

(January 28th)

The Mechanic

The IMDb plot: “Follows an elite hit man as he teaches his trade to an apprentice who has a connection to one of his previous victims.”

Donny: Hell yes! See it.

Jon: It might be Statham doing what Statham usually does, and I know some have shown a disinterest for it being a remake, but so? Once again, I’ll say this: it’s January, so let’s have some fun! It looks a little like a DTV, but I’m down. See it.

The Rite

The IMDb plot: “An American priest travels to Italy to study at an exorcism school.”

Jon: The power of Christ compels you! I dig religious horror films, as I personally like studying theology, so I by that token, like exorcism films, even though The Exorcist is the one and only king of that genre. But last year’s The Last Exorcism proved there might be some hope for something new in the genre. Will this be it? No. I didn’t like the director’s previous genre outing in 1408, but solid cast should make for it to be worth a watch. See it.

Donny: I’m not really excited about this flick, so I’m gonna skip it and let Jon see it.

January Spotlight!

Ip Man 2: Legend of the Grandmaster

The IMDb plot: “Centering on Ip Man’s migration to Hong Kong in 1949 as he attempts to propagate his discipline of Wing Chun martial arts.”

Jon: Two Bruce Lee-related projects in one month? Okay! The first Ip Man (here), based on Lee’s mentor, was a typical biopic that was filled with some wicked fighting, bringing home a slew of Hong Kong Awards. I expect this to be more of the same, which is a good thing. See it.

Donny: Once again, I’m with Jon. This looks like a solid flick. See it.

Check out the trailer here!

Keep it here all month long for more reviews from these releases and more, only by the genre site of awesome, Killer Film!

 ”Arthur Bishop (Jason Statham) is a ‘mechanic’ – an elite assassin with a strict code and unique talent for cleanly eliminating targets. It’s a job that requires professional perfection and total detachment, and Bishop is the best in the business. But when his mentor and close friend Harry (Donald Sutherland) is murdered, Bishop is anything but detached. His next assignment is self-imposed – he wants those responsible dead.

His mission grows complicated when Harry’s son Steve (Ben Foster) approaches him with the same vengeful goal and a determination to learn Bishop’s trade. Bishop has always acted alone but he can’t turn his back on Harry’s son. A methodical hit man takes an impulsive student deep into his world and a deadly partnership is born. But while in pursuit of their ultimate mark, deceptions threaten to surface and those hired to fix problems become problems themselves.”

Find The Mechanic here on Facebook. Simon West directs. Look for more soon!

This poster is just plain awesome!

Looks like it could be fun.

This flick gets more and more interesting the closer we get to its release.

Hell yes!

Hell yes to the second power.

Can’t wait to see what Kevin Smith does with this one.

Great director, solid concept, killer poster.

This one looks like fun.

]]> http://www.killerfilm.com/features/read/poster-roundup-11-55710/feed 4 http://www.killerfilm.com/articles/read/the-mechanic-scores-new-one-sheets-55597 http://www.killerfilm.com/articles/read/the-mechanic-scores-new-one-sheets-55597#comments Fri, 03 Dec 2010 22:37:05 +0000 Marcella Papandrea http://www.killerfilm.com/?p=55597 Earlier I showed you some new stills (here) from The Mechanic, and now we’ve got two new one-sheets for you to check out. The first is the Russian one-sheet, and the second is the UK quad poster.

Source: IMPAwards

Arthur Bishop (Jason Statham) is a ‘mechanic’ – an elite assassin with a strict code and unique talent for cleanly eliminating targets. It’s a job that requires professional perfection and total detachment, and Bishop is the best in the business. But when his mentor and close friend Harry (Donald Sutherland) is murdered, Bishop is anything but detached. His next assignment is self-imposed – he wants those responsible dead. His mission grows complicated when Harry’s son Steve (Ben Foster) approaches him with the same vengeful goal and a determination to learn Bishop’s trade. Bishop has always acted alone but he can’t turn his back on Harry’s son. A methodical hit man takes an impulsive student deep into his world and a deadly partnership is born. But while in pursuit of their ultimate mark, deceptions threaten to surface and those hired to fix problems become problems themselves.

Source: IMDB

The new film The Mechanic starring Jason Statham has just premiered its first official trailer. Back in March a promo trailer was released, and for months we heard pretty much nothing on the film. This week the new one-sheet debuted as well (here), so it makes sense the official trailer has come along now. The Mechanic is a remake of the 1972 film of the same name (starring Charles Bronson). Along with Statham, Ben Foster and Donald Sutherland also star. The film is set for release on the 28th of January next year.

Source: HitFix

Sexy. I’m just saying.

I can’t wait for this flick. Solid poster.

Very cool.

Totally fits.

Weak trailer. Cool poster.

Arthur Bishop (Jason Statham) is a ‘mechanic’ – an elite assassin with a strict code and unique talent for cleanly eliminating targets. It’s a job that requires professional perfection and total detachment, and Bishop is the best in the business. But when his mentor and close friend Harry (Donald Sutherland) is murdered, Bishop is anything but detached. His next assignment is self-imposed – he wants those responsible dead.

His mission grows complicated when Harry’s son Steve (Ben Foster) approaches him with the same vengeful goal and a determination to learn Bishop’s trade. Bishop has always acted alone but he can’t turn his back on Harry’s son. A methodical hit man takes an impulsive student deep into his world and a deadly partnership is born. But while in pursuit of their ultimate mark, deceptions threaten to surface and those hired to fix problems become problems themselves.

Follow The Mechanic on Facebook and Twitter.