We take a deep dive into the explosive brilliance of the one-man army action movie with ten essentials you have to see… The 1980s were a glorious time for action cinema. They took all the tropes of the Western with near indestructible and stoic heroes taking on hordes of bad guys. They moved completely away […]
Iconic Characters Who Deserve Their Own Christmas Movie
Tom Jolliffe places some iconic characters into the festive chaos of the Christmas movie… It’s Christmas. You might already be fed up with the never-ending barrage of Christmas songs, the neighbours who have had their lights going since they threw out their pumpkins, and the barrage of Christmas movies. Are there too many? Maybe. So […]
Are the Old School Action Veterans Headed Into Forced Retirement?
With diminishing returns and a lack of interest from big-screen audiences, are old-school action heroes heading to the retirement home…? In the 1980s and 1990s, you couldn’t move for action heroes. Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger led a musclebound movement that led to younger, more grounded heroes like Will Smith, Keanu Reeves and Tom Cruise […]
The Essential Action Movies of the 21st Century
Tom Jolliffe offers up a list of essential 21st Century action films… As an action aficionado and self-confessed old git, I quietly nod in a small amount of agreement with Ridley Scott and Martin Scorsese’s Marvel/modern cinema shade. I grew up in an era when action was performed almost entirely in camera, with an eye […]
Liam Neeson’s Enduring Action Hero Appeal
Tom Jolliffe on Liam Neeson’s enduring appeal as an action hero… The sheer presence and charismatic Irish drawl of a certain Liam Neeson has long been engaging audiences. He meandered as a supporting artist for a number of years, before eventually becoming something of a critical darling in Schindler’s List, and his tall stature, rugged […]
Liam Neeson originally believed Taken would go straight-to-video
Despite being a financial success and one of the films that helped revamp Liam Neeson’s career, the actor reveals he initially had no expectations for the first Taken film. During a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, while promoting his upcoming film Made in Italy, Neeson admitted he initially thought Taken would be a straight-to-video film. “I’ve said this […]
Jessica Camacho joins Taken season 2
TV Line is reporting that The Flash star Jessica Camacho has signed on to the cast of NBC’s Taken for its upcoming second season. She is set to play a character called Santana, described as “a scary-smart, rule-breaking former Army captain who possesses an acerbic wit and calculated bravado. Her forte is logistics.” Taken is […]
Person of Interest’s Greg Plageman joins Taken as new showrunner for season 2
NBC’s prequel adaptation of the Liam Neeson-led film series Taken has just hired a new showrunner for its second season. Person of Interest executive producer and co-showrunner Greg Plageman will take over the reins from former showrunner Alex Carey. The second season of Taken is said to be much more of a procedural series, in the vein of NBC’s hit […]
Taken TV Series renewed for season 2 by NBC
The television series based on the Liam Neeson film Taken has been renewed for a second season. Serving as a prequel to the Luc Besson action franchise, Taken will be coming back for more episodes over at NBC. However, the series’ showrunner, Alex Carey – who also developed the project – will not be returning when […]
Liam Neeson rules out a fourth Taken movie
Fans of the Taken franchise hoping to see Liam Neeson’s Bryan Mills putting his very particular set of skills to use again will likely be disappointed to hear that the Irish actor has ruled out the possibility of a fourth entry in the series. Appearing on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert to promote his […]
