TOM CRUISE IN MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: ROGUE NATION

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Hy6Y2DNbjsY/VbsKEKvaUoI/AAAAAAAAoO4/_1KMkZMCcAI/s1600/Screen%2Bshot%2B2015-07-30%2Bat%2B10.38.22%2BPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Hy6Y2DNbjsY/VbsKEKvaUoI/AAAAAAAAoO4/_1KMkZMCcAI/s320/Screen%2Bshot%2B2015-07-30%2Bat%2B10.38.22%2BPM.png" width="64" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2015 **1/2</td></tr> </tbody></table> In a full circle, the MISSION IMPOSSIBLE intro looks very much like a television show: the actors appearing beside their names, and various scenes from former entries including the last one, GHOST PROTOCOL, directed by Brad Bird, which was something to behold, and then some...<br /> <br /> But now, the IMF team is a lot more relaxed. Even during sporadic action sequences, there's not as much heated urgency to get from one point to another. And the villain on board is a pretty bad guy. Hell, you'd think he was Adolf Hitler the way the entire plot relies on stopping him, and him only...<br /> <br /> But this shady version of Cruise's Ethan never quite proves himself nefarious enough for all the energy to point in his direction, replacing suspense with so much expository dialogue by writer/director Christopher McQuarrie that ROGUE NATION feels more like reading a book than experiencing a motion picture. And while there are some nice moments between Cruise, comic relief Simon Pegg and tough ingenue Rebecca Ferguson, it's definitely no page-turner.<span style="font-size: large;"> </span>

2015, espionage, franchise, sequel

TOM CRUISE IN MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: ROGUE NATION

2015 **1/2 In a full circle, the MISSION IMPOSSIBLE intro looks very much like a television show: the actors appearing beside their name...

ED HELMS & CHRISTINA APPLEGATE IN VACATION

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VM8_iRq_7Mw/VbhoyI8016I/AAAAAAAAoOk/vyoSdI0YQjc/s1600/Screen%2Bshot%2B2015-07-28%2Bat%2B10.43.02%2BPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VM8_iRq_7Mw/VbhoyI8016I/AAAAAAAAoOk/vyoSdI0YQjc/s320/Screen%2Bshot%2B2015-07-28%2Bat%2B10.43.02%2BPM.png" width="231" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 2015 rating: **1/2</td></tr> </tbody></table> The many faces and ages of Rusty Griswold: After being originally played by young teenager Anthony Michael Hall, and then taken over by a slightly older, similar looking Jason Lively, something bizarre occurred... While Clark and Ellen Griswold aged a bit, their daughter Audrey was still a teenager by the Christmas outing when Rusty became younger than he ever was in the first place. And Johnny Galecki eventually turned into college-aged Ethan Embry, and now Rusty seems to have found a genuine adult fit in Ed Helms, taking his family, consisting of wife and two sons, on a VACATION to, of all places, Wally World...<br /> <br /> But this really isn't a sequel for the sake of theme or continuity. Within the first ten minutes, Helms's Rusty is as put-upon a workaday dad/father as you'll get in just about any modern comedy, only far more politically-correct than usual, not being able to scold his sons or sexually relate with his wife, Christina Applegate's Debbie. Like Chevy Chase in the original, Rusty's naive reason for the journey is to bond with the family, no matter what. Only this troubled clan doesn't have the sort of normal suburban chemistry from the onset for it to matter when things go completely wrong: they're like a hex suffering more bad luck...<br /> <br /> From a muscle headed brother-in-law to a suicidal river rafting guide to a very dirty hot spring to a totaled car, all problems suffered by the Griswolds seem to come and go without rhyme or reason: contrived shock value over characters developing within a  hellish adventure... which isn't such a bad trip, really. The cast fits together like a comfortable shoe and there are a few laughable moments. But with vehicles like WE'RE THE MILLERS and a bevy of family road flicks inspired by the original National Lampoon franchise, why call this VACATION? If anything, the familiar names and places, and one extremely awkward cameo, hinders more than helps the overall pace.

2015, chevy chase, comedy, ed helms, road movie, sequel

ED HELMS & CHRISTINA APPLEGATE IN VACATION

year: 2015 rating: **1/2 The many faces and ages of Rusty Griswold: After being originally played by young teenager Anthony Michael Hall...

BELATED HORROR REVIEW OF THE GALLOWS

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ut5IqFgP3NQ/VbLRU6D1i9I/AAAAAAAAoOM/wLiW9012vjw/s1600/Screen%2Bshot%2B2015-07-24%2Bat%2B4.56.03%2BPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ut5IqFgP3NQ/VbLRU6D1i9I/AAAAAAAAoOM/wLiW9012vjw/s320/Screen%2Bshot%2B2015-07-24%2Bat%2B4.56.03%2BPM.png" width="180" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2015 rating: **1/2</td></tr> </tbody></table> If there's one thing more annoying than the <i>handheld chronicling everything on a video camera horror </i>it's whoever is behind the lens, gabbing away. Then again they have to be obnoxious, determined and stubborn enough to keep the thing rolling no matter what happens: a sort of rambling/recording Black Box while catastrophe awaits, and ensues...<br /> <br /> Yet somehow in THE GALLOWS, the guy filming his handsome high school buddy, smitten with the drama queen and rehearsing for the titular play that, twenty years earlier, resulted in a student/cast member being accidentally hung on stage... In this particular case the obnoxious cameraman doesn't mean as much as he wants to; thus the perpetual shakiness isn't altogether distracting from those being centered on. In fact, GALLOWS is almost completely character-driven as some unlucky teens venture backstage before the cursed play to, for some unexplained and rather banal reason, wreak havoc on the set so the show won't go on. Here's where the mysterious wraith begins stalking, and yet we see very little until after the third act.<br /> <br /> There are enough effective sudden jolts for the price of a ticket, and the leading couple have an intriguing opposites-attract chemistry that might have benefited a more conventional horror flick. And although a barrage of potentially befitting victims are introduced... including freaks, geeks and bullying jocks... and then abandoned, the four on board keep the dizzying nightmare to a somewhat maintainable level, making this handheld teenage body count slightly better (and a tad more creative) than most of its kind.

2015, horror

BELATED HORROR REVIEW OF THE GALLOWS

2015 rating: **1/2 If there's one thing more annoying than the handheld chronicling everything on a video camera horror  it's wh...

ADAM SANDLER STARRING IN PIXELS

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TYbAX2ajbLA/VbHLY3VujII/AAAAAAAAoNc/NLL17XaqeNo/s1600/Screen%2Bshot%2B2015-07-23%2Bat%2B10.16.30%2BPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TYbAX2ajbLA/VbHLY3VujII/AAAAAAAAoNc/NLL17XaqeNo/s320/Screen%2Bshot%2B2015-07-23%2Bat%2B10.16.30%2BPM.png" width="140" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2015 rating: ***1/2</td></tr> </tbody></table> While THE WEDDING SINGER took us literally back to the '80s, that era's beloved video games are the centerpiece in PIXELS, and they're no longer safely locked inside an arcade game. Something has happened as a hostile planet, misreading a transmission where Adam Sander participated in a video game competition, takes the form of havoc-wreaking creatures like CENTIPEDE, PAC MAN and DONKEY KONG.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CAsm_sOqs7Q/VbHO4k3Q6hI/AAAAAAAAoNw/kUk6QdWBWwk/s1600/Screen%2Bshot%2B2015-07-23%2Bat%2B10.36.49%2BPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CAsm_sOqs7Q/VbHO4k3Q6hI/AAAAAAAAoNw/kUk6QdWBWwk/s320/Screen%2Bshot%2B2015-07-23%2Bat%2B10.36.49%2BPM.png" width="94" /></a>One nice surprise, given the usual banality of the latter Happy Madison productions, is the "legit" technical setup moving from one scene to the next, feeling like an INDEPENDENCE DAY meets GHOSTBUSTERS: serious matters combined with the buddy/teamup genre as Sandler, a tech repair guy, his best friend Kevin James, now the President of the United States, join with eccentric gamers Josh Gad and Peter Dinklage and love interest Michelle Monaghan to battle the suddenly nefarious pixelated icons wherein Pac Man's New York rampage is an action sequence standout (director Chris Columbus at the helm).<br /> <br /> Meanwhile, the characters go from region to region, figuring things out with a lot of busy, often redundant banter. But even the slow parts have a decent amount of witty interplay between participants. Some of the jokes fall flat, sure, but it doesn't matter since another nostalgic curio is around every bend, and it's neat seeing those classic games playing (by their actual rules) outside the box.

2015, adam sandler, josh gad, kevin james, peter dinklage

ADAM SANDLER STARRING IN PIXELS

2015 rating: ***1/2 While THE WEDDING SINGER took us literally back to the '80s, that era's beloved video games are the centerpi...

JUDD APATOW DIRECTS AMY SCHUMER IN TRAINWRECK

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1gUIQwUaeNg/Va2HKlevYHI/AAAAAAAAoM4/DmmXnXDa_8A/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1gUIQwUaeNg/Va2HKlevYHI/AAAAAAAAoM4/DmmXnXDa_8A/s320/1.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2015 rating: **1/2</td></tr> </tbody></table> Actress Amy Schumer, while scoring at the Box Office, has somewhat misled her target audience, being that her titular TRAINWRECK remains, for the most part, right on track…<br /> <br /> From the very SHALLOW HAL like opening, as a father implants bad advice into his child’s vulnerable mind, the raucous stage is set, and Schumer’s free-spirited Amy is far from being uptight, picky, fickle, or mainstream-attractive. The latter makes our flawed ingenue more realistic than most comedy starlets: a young lady who would usually play the main girl's brutally honest best friend is given the lead. And that alone makes up about twenty minutes of an otherwise sweet-natured and surprisingly gentle romance that's not just about an average yet sexy wildcard, but the nice guy she winds up reluctantly falling for after an extremely progressive first date.<br /> <br /> As the romantic lead, Bill Hader, playing a sports surgeon, turns in a good performance, but his input often derails the mainline. One intentionally cliche feel-good montage... inspired by Woody Allen's MANHATTAN, Gershwin music included... works as a witty satire embracing New York. Yet the entire prologue of Amy's slutty nightlife ultimately feels like a montage in itself, and continuously so: Right when getting down and dirty, like promised in the trailers, we're cleaned up again.   <br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ihXywA1rIxA/Va2HVexqUCI/AAAAAAAAoNA/d4ghAsneFlw/s1600/Screen%2Bshot%2B2015-07-20%2Bat%2B4.42.30%2BPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ihXywA1rIxA/Va2HVexqUCI/AAAAAAAAoNA/d4ghAsneFlw/s1600/Screen%2Bshot%2B2015-07-20%2Bat%2B4.42.30%2BPM.png" /></a></div> Amy Schumer the actress is often outshined by other characters, and this could be intentional... For some credit should be given to Schumer the screenwriter: She’s definitely not selfish, allowing others to shine including her cantankerous father (veteran comic and REMOTE CONTROL co-host Colin Quinn); her blunt British female boss; and a scene-stealing muscle-head boyfriend. Meanwhile, basketball whiz LeBron James, as a touchy/feely version of himself, is given way too much screen time, especially in scenes with Hader, making us forget who (and what) this vehicle's really about.  <br /> <br /> While reveling in observational relationship-based humor and with genuine performances intact, TRAINWRECK doesn’t always know where it’s going. Right when we begin to enjoy our lusty starlet breaking conventional rules, she gets stuck in a way too familiar <i>opposites attract</i> Rom-Com template combined with a <i>family troubles </i>melodrama. And while there is enough chemistry between Hader to provide a genuine love song, it's too bad the bad girl party anthem had to end so soon.

2015, amy schumer, bill hader, judd apatow, romantic comedy

JUDD APATOW DIRECTS AMY SCHUMER IN TRAINWRECK

2015 rating: **1/2 Actress Amy Schumer, while scoring at the Box Office, has somewhat misled her target audience, being that her titular...

PAUL RUDD & MICHAEL DOUGLAS IN ANT-MAN

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hS7On8Yi_G4/VajiCf9v3FI/AAAAAAAAoMU/3EJgdiJ4dAk/s1600/1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hS7On8Yi_G4/VajiCf9v3FI/AAAAAAAAoMU/3EJgdiJ4dAk/s320/1.png" width="226" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 2015 rating: ***1/2</td></tr> </tbody></table> Michael Douglas is one of those great good actors, and he not only steals ANT-MAN, but his exposition-wielding Dr. Hank Pym is pretty much everything here. In fact, before working class hero thief Scott Lang, played by Paul Rudd, conveniently discovers the suit that can shrink him to the size of... you know... there was a whole history between Hank and his wife that could have been its very own movie, shown in flashbacks during the plan and execution of a big caper against Pym Industries, now run by a nefarious short-cutter who wants... like your usual comic book heavy... to rule everything his way.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7CYZMf4_Iyg/VajiGqN_LvI/AAAAAAAAoMc/6RkrAc_9Pfk/s1600/2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7CYZMf4_Iyg/VajiGqN_LvI/AAAAAAAAoMc/6RkrAc_9Pfk/s1600/2.png" /></a>The Heist genre is taken to the hilt, including funky instrumental music lifted straight from Quentin Tarantino's JACKIE BROWN, and a band of ragtag underdog thieves including comic relief Michael Pena, a funny enough guy who often tries too hard.<br /> <br /> Beneath the engaging caper, a busy hybrid of MISSION IMPOSSIBLE and SPIDER-MAN yet with the origin story built straight into the central plot-line, much of the film feels like a hard sell to make this unlikely hero fit within the "serious" Marvel mainline, including one battle against the least important Avenger. In that, Lang, with a neat way of getting in and out of danger, is worthy of the canon: Unfortunately there are too many real (overly CGI) ants on board, making him more passenger than driver while turning an otherwise legitimate adventure into HONEY I SHRUNK THE SUPERHERO. Thankfully, Paul Rudd is likable enough despite attempting to be Tony Stark Light, and Michael Douglas really keeps things in check: helping his creation rise above expectations for both the characters and the audience.

2015, marvel, michael douglas, paul rudd

PAUL RUDD & MICHAEL DOUGLAS IN ANT-MAN

year: 2015 rating: ***1/2 Michael Douglas is one of those great good actors, and he not only steals ANT-MAN, but his exposition-wielding...

RYAN REYNOLDS & BEN KINGSLEY IN SELF/LESS

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dmvxmOzDYTk/VaRNLMTBWGI/AAAAAAAAoL4/XKWW4R4iF8o/s1600/selfless.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dmvxmOzDYTk/VaRNLMTBWGI/AAAAAAAAoL4/XKWW4R4iF8o/s320/selfless.png" width="145" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2015 rating: ***1/2</td></tr> </tbody></table> <span style="font-size: large;">Modern Science-Fiction needs only a simple everyday word or term to make an impossibly far-fetched premise believable. In the case of SELF/LESS, a process called Shedding is what a rich powerful dying man does to become young again i.e. remain living. And we get a nice twenty minutes with the iconic Ben Kingsley before he turns into Ryan Reynolds, not continuing his life in the business world but playing street b-ball and having lots and lots of sex. Meanwhile, our young/old hero, taking pills to aid the transition, suffers from mysterious flashbacks relating to a group of deadly suits out to retire him permanently.</span><br /> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;">Effective action scenes bookend an overlong and not very moving (or interesting) romantic mid-section... And while Reynolds does a good job given the mental and physical intensity of his new life, you might forget he was ever anyone else... Ben Kingsley or Mickey Mouse, it really doesn't matter since SELF is <i>his</i> ride, the best stuff occurring in <i>the now</i> despite everything else relying on the past.  </span>

2015, ben kingsley, ryan reynolds, science-fiction

RYAN REYNOLDS & BEN KINGSLEY IN SELF/LESS

2015 rating: ***1/2 Modern Science-Fiction needs only a simple everyday word or term to make an impossibly far-fetched premise believabl...

INTERVIEW WITH NATALIE BURN INVOLVING 'AWAKEN'

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Q7UU51E1h28/VaHI5VHTPFI/AAAAAAAAoKc/Oe3DIvOf33E/s1600/Screen%2Bshot%2B2015-06-23%2Bat%2B5.23.28%2BPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Q7UU51E1h28/VaHI5VHTPFI/AAAAAAAAoKc/Oe3DIvOf33E/s400/Screen%2Bshot%2B2015-06-23%2Bat%2B5.23.28%2BPM.png" width="168" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Natalie Burn Interview</td></tr> </tbody></table> <i>AWAKEN is a suspenseful and mysterious, action-packed motion picture that takes you for a ride, and beyond. With a sense that anything can happen at any time, we follow the main character, Billie Kope, played by actress, writer, producer and Cult Film Freak interviewee NATALIE BURN as she... with an eclectic group of survivors... goes up against extremely dangerous odds while figuring things out along the way...</i><br /> <br /> <b>Tell us about your job as a co-writer and producer: How did you get AWAKEN from the page to the screen?</b><br /> <br /> It’s very important to understand that in order to make any kind of project possible, you need to have a clear-cut vision of what you want done and what type of  message you want to convey to the world. You want something that will ultimately spawn curiosity from people, something that will touch people’s hearts, and most importantly, something that will inspire them. <br /> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KhlXB9-B3V4/VaHJGRH8nbI/AAAAAAAAoKk/MSIq7g1ZMsk/s1600/Screen%2Bshot%2B2015-06-23%2Bat%2B5.23.37%2BPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KhlXB9-B3V4/VaHJGRH8nbI/AAAAAAAAoKk/MSIq7g1ZMsk/s320/Screen%2Bshot%2B2015-06-23%2Bat%2B5.23.37%2BPM.png" width="160" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Natalie Burn</td></tr> </tbody></table> What inspired me to pursue the <i>Awaken</i> project was me taking the step to show a struggle with family, devastation and then, hope, to people who have experienced  any form of extreme loss. The more truth you bring to the script, the more people will feel the authenticity of the movie. When I started to run through ideas for a project, I wanted something real and that’s when I came across this interview about a boy who had gone to get an operation on his nose and never woke up. Later his mother insisted on an autopsy and found out the boys organs were all gone...<br /> <br /> When I saw this I knew this was a subject I should tackle. So, step one is the actual IDEA and then it’s time to make it happen! From its inception to its completion, <i>Awaken </i>has been MY project.  It’s something that I am very proud of and most of all it has served as a giant learning experience for me. I’ve learned so much about making movies, everything from what type of cameras to use, what type of lighting to use, and how to deal with the cast and crew on set. I’ve realized as a young producer it’s all on me, so I make sure to come to the set a little bit earlier than everyone else and just breathe in the moment of the project. I channel my emotions and get ready for the long hard day ahead of me. <br /> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lNL0J1gkV7c/VaHJTFYBWZI/AAAAAAAAoKs/PGgiWsktN4g/s1600/Screen%2Bshot%2B2015-06-23%2Bat%2B5.24.03%2BPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lNL0J1gkV7c/VaHJTFYBWZI/AAAAAAAAoKs/PGgiWsktN4g/s320/Screen%2Bshot%2B2015-06-23%2Bat%2B5.24.03%2BPM.png" width="152" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Natalie Burn</td></tr> </tbody></table> <b>Whats it like working as a leading lady/action heroine?</b><br /> <br /> My character quickly evolves form survivor to butt-kicking bad-ass in <i>Awaken</i>. As the lead, I knew that I would have to bring everything out of myself for this role, so I went through two months of training with Benny the Jet, who also played my father in the movie. We kickboxed; we were wrestling and boxing for several hours a day, six days a week! This was very important to me because, as I said earlier, I want to inspire people... especially women... because I remember the action heroines that inspired me, like Sigourney Weaver, who may be the most iconic and enduring female action hero ever portrayed in a science-fiction film.<br /> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-olzlZvb6Ylg/VaHJxPtW26I/AAAAAAAAoK0/eAxjFhdjwAY/s1600/Screen%2Bshot%2B2015-07-11%2Bat%2B6.57.27%2BPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-olzlZvb6Ylg/VaHJxPtW26I/AAAAAAAAoK0/eAxjFhdjwAY/s320/Screen%2Bshot%2B2015-07-11%2Bat%2B6.57.27%2BPM.png" width="198" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A ripped Linda Hamilton in T2</td></tr> </tbody></table> Another actor who really opened up my eyes was Linda Hamilton and her role in <i>Terminator</i>. Even though she started off as the stereotypical damsel-in-distress, she eventually morphed into a muscle-bound weapons expert who would stop at nothing to defeat the Terminator, which is what I felt like my character in <i>Awaken </i>was like: a strong and determined girl who will not give up until she does everything to find her sister.<br /> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fyQxl2jatf8/VaHKUQPXwvI/AAAAAAAAoK8/M5I9iYKMOK4/s1600/Screen%2Bshot%2B2015-07-11%2Bat%2B6.59.36%2BPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fyQxl2jatf8/VaHKUQPXwvI/AAAAAAAAoK8/M5I9iYKMOK4/s1600/Screen%2Bshot%2B2015-07-11%2Bat%2B6.59.36%2BPM.png" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Furlong in T2</td></tr> </tbody></table> <b>What was it like working with established stars Robert Davi, Edward Furlong, Micheal Pare and Daryl Hannah in AWAKEN? What did they bring to the table?</b><br /> <br /> It was an amazingly bright and memorable time working with such talent. I’ve always believed that experience is the best form of education anybody can get, and I make sure to retain as much as I possibly can from every actor I work with. I really admire how passionate these actors are about what they do and how they do it. The "performance" is really what ultimately sets actors apart from one another. You have to love the stage and camera and you need to have a real desire to entertain people. You want a flawless connection from a performer to your audience, which is really not that easily achieved if you are not willing to always keep your mind open to learning new and skillful techniques.<br /> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7-OrNemIXso/VaHKmt5YBpI/AAAAAAAAoLI/_OxYIWy1ihE/s1600/Screen%2Bshot%2B2015-07-11%2Bat%2B6.58.13%2BPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7-OrNemIXso/VaHKmt5YBpI/AAAAAAAAoLI/_OxYIWy1ihE/s1600/Screen%2Bshot%2B2015-07-11%2Bat%2B6.58.13%2BPM.png" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mel Gibson in E3</td></tr> </tbody></table> <b>And you had a role in THE EXPENDABLES 3: What was this like? </b><br /> <br /> Working on <i>The Expendables 3</i> movie was very entertaining and very helpful. This was the biggest project that I have ever been a part of so it was very interesting to see how and what all these actors do in terms of their preparations for their characters. The film was very physically demanding on everybody involved, so it was very important for these actors to stay on their workout routine. <br /> <br /> I remember seeing just how disciplined Ronda Rousey stayed to her training for the role. She would train constantly – often times more than the men! Every morning she was at the gym no matter how tough the day of shooting was.<br /> <br /> What I really enjoyed about filming was my experience playing the wife of Mel Gibson's character. He really took the time needed to develop his character and he did this by trusting his own instincts with acting; on top of that he did a tremendous work on getting deep into understanding his character. What kind of gestures does he have? How does one walk, talk, dress? I feel this is crucial for character development because it provides you with your own backstory for the role you are creating. And in the end makes you exactly the person you want to be in that film.<br /> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CMZ9p0yGbgw/VaHKtP11mFI/AAAAAAAAoLQ/2uWNqRgMj44/s1600/Screen%2Bshot%2B2015-06-23%2Bat%2B5.24.21%2BPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CMZ9p0yGbgw/VaHKtP11mFI/AAAAAAAAoLQ/2uWNqRgMj44/s320/Screen%2Bshot%2B2015-06-23%2Bat%2B5.24.21%2BPM.png" width="303" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Order AWAKEN at Amazon by <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Awaken-Edward-Furlong/dp/B00ZETGC2W/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1436689344&sr=8-1&keywords=awaken+natalie+burn">clicking this link</a></td></tr> </tbody></table> <b>Last but not least... What made you want to become an actress and how did you set out to become one?</b><br /> <br /> I’ve always had a passion for performing and even though I started dancing at a very early age, I’ve always dreamt of one day becoming a Hollywood star. I really enjoyed dance because it allowed me to really express all of my emotions out through choreography and dance...<br /> <br /> However, once I got injured I needed to find new ways of expressing myself and what better way to do that than vocally performing my emotions. That’s when I started to pursue acting so I made the choice to move to Hollywood and become an actor. I joined several well respected schools and eventually I realized that opportunity is something that you need to create on your own because waiting around for the next audition is something I’m accustomed to. So, I created my own production company, 7Heaven Productions, and started doing my own thing. My first project was a short film called <i>Fallen Angel </i>and then <i>Awaken </i>soon followed. Now I have 3 movies in development and I can't wait to make them happen!<br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GCFxFg6Xk1o/VaHK0z9lE5I/AAAAAAAAoLY/c_Rgb5vYfZY/s1600/Screen%2Bshot%2B2015-06-23%2Bat%2B5.24.48%2BPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GCFxFg6Xk1o/VaHK0z9lE5I/AAAAAAAAoLY/c_Rgb5vYfZY/s640/Screen%2Bshot%2B2015-06-23%2Bat%2B5.24.48%2BPM.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Awaken-Edward-Furlong/dp/B00ZETGC2W/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1436689344&sr=8-1&keywords=awaken+natalie+burn">Natalie Burn on the set of AWAKEN</a></td></tr> </tbody></table>

INTERVIEW WITH NATALIE BURN INVOLVING 'AWAKEN'

Natalie Burn Interview AWAKEN is a suspenseful and mysterious, action-packed motion picture that takes you for a ride, and beyond. With ...

NARCISSISTIC REVIEW OF BEST WORST MOVIE

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EmEQqvuDl4g/VGGnYslXGuI/AAAAAAAAkiw/TU0Pdikn4JY/s1600/t2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EmEQqvuDl4g/VGGnYslXGuI/AAAAAAAAkiw/TU0Pdikn4JY/s320/t2.jpg" width="182" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 2009 rating: ***1/2</td></tr> </tbody></table> A vehicle in which yours truly appears for an epic fifteen seconds (of fame), as one of many fanatical fans of the 1990 so-bad-it's-good horror flick TROLL 2 (having written a fan fiction sequel script), this documentary glosses through the making of an amazingly terrible but hilariously engrossing gem with neatly edited footage from the catastrophic cult phenomenon while centering primarily on today's George Hardy, who played Michael, the patriarch of the Waits family, swapping homes with a local Nilbog (spell that backwards) clan and eventually battling the town's sinister residents: a horde of goblins, not trolls. But that review is for another time. Let's center on BEST WORST MOVIE...<br /> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GrS7xeKtxfo/VGF5nITfirI/AAAAAAAAkiU/l1-E9mv7RFs/s1600/troll3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GrS7xeKtxfo/VGF5nITfirI/AAAAAAAAkiU/l1-E9mv7RFs/s320/troll3.jpg" width="313" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Michael and Me, 2007</td></tr> </tbody></table> Hardy, a successful dentist in Alabama, got the role while practicing in Utah – the rest is bad movie history! And our roving director is Michael "Joshua Waits" Stephenson... the child actor who starred in the film. He, along with creative cinematographers <a href="http://along%20with%20creative%20cinematographers%20katie%20graham%20and%20carl%20indriago,/">Katie Graham and Carl Indriago</a>, follow George from his sweet home Alabama to packed TROLL 2 screenings across America, winding up at an unsuccessful "rude awakening" layover at a celebrity autograph show. <br /> <br /> Seeming a bit exploitative about the less fortunate elderly actors in Utah while neglecting two important alumni, the "father/son" duo infectiously laugh off their past with younger cast members, including Darren Ewing, whose infamously adored "Oh My God!" scene went beyond-viral on You Tube. Although it's Italian director Claudio Fragasso who steals the show as the essential grouchy antagonist... he's not sure why T2, written by his wife Rosella Drudi, is considered so awful, while Hardy and Stephenson embrace this pop culture explosion, using their documentary as an outlet: with mostly captivating results!

documentary, george hardy, horror, james m. tate, troll 2, zeroes

NARCISSISTIC REVIEW OF BEST WORST MOVIE

year: 2009 rating: ***1/2 A vehicle in which yours truly appears for an epic fifteen seconds (of fame), as one of many fanatical fans of...

GROUCHY MALE REVIEW OF MAGIC MIKE XXL

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UkRkgHiRX_0/VZ7YKeNs80I/AAAAAAAAoJ8/fHDy8wDUCQw/s1600/mmxx.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UkRkgHiRX_0/VZ7YKeNs80I/AAAAAAAAoJ8/fHDy8wDUCQw/s320/mmxx.png" width="167" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2015 rating: *</td></tr> </tbody></table> Thank kitschy heaven for Joe Manganiello: The giant actor (who could have been the next Tony "Meat" Ganios if PORKY'S was remade), playing Big Dick Richie, is the best thing going for this limp MAGIC MIKE sequel, in which the only thing XXL is our airhead comic relief's stage name...<br /> <br /> And so now, instead of a Steven Soderbergh art film only partially centering on the kind of male revue that secretaries file in droves to catch on the big screen, especially with former stripper turned cinema dancer turned A-list Hollywood leading man Channing Tatum at the helm, we now have a bonafide road trip movie that's even more ponderous and, trying desperately to be artistic with askew insert shots, overlong conversations with a new disassociated love interest and added-on characters who act as if they've been around all along... like Mike's former boss Jada Pinkett Smith as a madame MC... the core fans wanting what men got with SHOWGIRLS are once again subjected (whether they know it or not) to Tatum's pretentious agenda to make his former trade, in which he's much too talented and professional to seem realistic, more ponderously deep than gloriously banal. 

2015, channing tatum, dance

GROUCHY MALE REVIEW OF MAGIC MIKE XXL

2015 rating: * Thank kitschy heaven for Joe Manganiello: The giant actor (who could have been the next Tony "Meat" Ganios if P...

WEDNESDAY EARLY REVIEW OF TERMINATOR GENISYS

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-n8VZoMqq-yU/VZN-UMo2MOI/AAAAAAAAoJg/sjsRKrefWSU/s1600/Screen%2Bshot%2B2015-06-30%2Bat%2B10.39.33%2BPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-n8VZoMqq-yU/VZN-UMo2MOI/AAAAAAAAoJg/sjsRKrefWSU/s400/Screen%2Bshot%2B2015-06-30%2Bat%2B10.39.33%2BPM.png" width="251" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 2015 rating: ***</td></tr> </tbody></table> While this rebooted sequel of the TERMINATOR series feels like a strategic opportunity to delete the fourth film, SALVATION, an overlong catastrophe taking place in a future where only random flashbacks should occur, it actually winds up erasing the third, RISE OF THE MACHINES, since a gung-ho Sarah Connor is ready for a new start after having experienced similar ups-and-downs of the first two (and best) James Cameron-directed adventures. So when futuristic Kyle Reese shows up in 1984 to save her life, she’s been through the ringer, and then some, and has a familiar face protecting her…<br /> <br /> To give anything else away, including what elements of each film are reused and/or recycled, or what time-lines are travelled, would be an absolute crime since... bookended between two segments of non-stop action is so much expository dialogue about what happened or what’s about to happen or what really happened when it almost <i>didn’t happen</i> the first time around, when everything began... at a certain point GENISYS, relying completely on scientific plot-twists, hits a major wall of downtime… But thankfully the characters, including a resilient and mysterious John Connor; the energetic duo of Sarah and Kyle; and Arnold Schwarzenegger being used with the right combination of kitsch and badass (“I’m old, not obsolete”), all help <i>morph</i> what begins to feel like an over-explained cable series pilot into the big budget spectacular that was needed to aptly reboot… or rather, sustain… a classic and creative franchise.

2015, action, arnold schwarzenegger, franchise, michael jai white, science-fiction, sequel

WEDNESDAY EARLY REVIEW OF TERMINATOR GENISYS

year: 2015 rating: *** While this rebooted sequel of the TERMINATOR series feels like a strategic opportunity to delete the fourth film,...