Insights from the Cinematic World: _Action

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance

host Rider: Spirit of Vengeance is an 3D superhero film based on the Marvel Comics antihero Ghost Rider. It is a sequel to the 2007 film Ghost Rider and features Nicolas Cage returning to the starring role as Johnny Blaze/Ghost Rider. It is also the second film to be released under the Marvel Knights banner after 2008’s Punisher: War Zone.

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Red Tails

Red Tails is directed by Anthony Hemingway. The story, written by Ridley, is inspired by true events. This movie stars Cuba Gooding, Jr. and Terrence Howard. Red Tails is a high-flying action adventure film inspired by the heroics of the first all-African American aerial combat unit to serve in World War II.

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Contraband

The movie Contraband, directed by Baltasar Kormákur, starring Mark Wahlberg and Giovanni Ribisi, is a remake of the Icelandic thriller Reykjavik-Rotterdam. The plot centers on a security guard and former alcohol smuggler on the Iceland-Netherlands route who is tempted back into illicit business by a dubious friend after encountering financial problems.

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G.I. Joe: Retaliation

G.I. Joe: Retaliation is an 2013 science fiction-action film directed by Jon Chu, based on Hasbro’s G.I. Joe toy, comic and media franchises. G.I. Joe: Retaliation features an ensemble cast, with Dwayne Johnson, Bruce Willis along with Channing Tatum, Arnold Vosloo, Ray Park, Jonathan Pryce and Lee Byung-hun reprising their roles from the first film.

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Die Hard

Based on 50 reviews collected by the film review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, 94% of critics gave Die Hard a positive review, with an average rating of 8.2/10. The film’s title and its story of a lone hero battling a multitude of single-minded opponents in an isolated setting also became a common descriptor for later action movies: “Die Hard on a _____” became a simple and easy way to define the plot of many action films that came in its wake. For example, 1994’s Speed was called “Die Hard on a bus”, 1996’s The Rock was dubbed “Die Hard on an island”.

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Miss Bala

Miss Bala is a 2011 Mexican drama film written and directed by Gerardo Naranjo. The film premiered in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival.

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One for the Money

One for the Money is a 2012 Comedy crime thriller film based on the 1994 novel of the same name, written by Janet Evanovich. Directed by Julie Anne Robinson, the screenplay was written by Liz Brixius, Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith. It stars Katherine Heigl, Jason O’Mara, Debbie Reynolds, Daniel Sunjata and Sherri Shepherd.

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Underworld: Awakening

Underworld: Awakening is the third sequel in the Underworld series (with Rise of the Lycans being the prequel to the first film Underworld and Evolution being the first sequel). Måns Mårlind and Björn Stein are directing the film with a screenplay by Len Wiseman, John Hlavin, and Allison Burnett.

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Machine Gun Preacher

Machine Gun Preacher tells the inspirational true story of Sam Childers, a former drug-dealing criminal who undergoes an astonishing transformation and finds his unexpected calling as the savior of hundreds of kidnapped and orphaned children in war-torn Sudan.

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The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games is a film directed by Gary Ross and based on the novel of the same name by Suzanne Collins. It stars Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth. It is scheduled to be released on March 23, 2012.

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Detective Dee And The Mystery Of The Phantom Flame

A period epic from genre master Tsui Hark (Seven Swords), DETECTIVE DEE directed by Tsui Hark is an action-packed, visually breathtaking Sherlock Holmes-style mystery starring some of China’s top acting talent: Andy Lau, Bingbing Li, Carina Lau, and Tony Leung Ka-fai.

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Drive

Ryan Gosling stars as a Los Angeles wheelman for hire, stunt driving for movie productions by day and steering getaway vehicles for armed heists by night. Though a loner by nature, Driver can’t help falling in love with his beautiful neighbor Irene (Carey Mulligan), a vulnerable young mother dragged into a dangerous underworld by the return of her ex-convict husband Standard (Oscar Isaac).

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