Showdown at the Grand

It's entertaining enough but it really doesn't have the budget or imagination to compete with movies like Grindhouse or Mars Attacks as an homage to old B-Movies.

Lundgren is perfectly cast as a washed-up action movie star and plays along with the limited material he has to work with. Terence Howard seems to treat it too seriously as if it's making a serious point about independent cinemas closing which the movie seems too arch to be doing.

It can just never get the balance between chaos and pathos right for that to happen.

There's just a constant feeling that self-refenential B-Movies were so much better in the late 20th Century and that nostalgia ain't what it used to be.

This was pure fun and I had a number of LOL moments (Moses vs. Nazis) that was a mashup of Tarantino and Cinema Paradisio (Best Foreign Language Film 1988) with maybe a shoutout to French "Elvis" Johnny Hallyday? For me the simplicity of the story comes with a warm fuzzy feeling of being a kid watching movies on the big screen on a Saturday afternoon and walking away having been on an adventure. Shout out to Dolph Lundgren who owned his cheesy 70's b-flick character. Pure fun and I think anyone who doesn't enjoy the film is thinking too hard and needs to enjoy the ride and not try to figure out why the roll bar is too tight. I for one love independent film making for this very reason, artists enjoying making films and entertaining audiences. I was entertained.

If you love cinema and have knowledge of the form you'll love this film. Two titans coming together for a fantastic performance and a fun romp through cinematic history. Anyone who loves movie theaters and the experience of them will get it! Interested to see the next film from this director. We don't get many movies like this anymore No politics besides a criticism of the capitalist nature that has ruined movies in general. It's all action, fun dialogue, and unique characters that inhibit the screen. These are the types of independent films I loved from the 90s and early 2000s. A director with a vision and an agenda to entertain!

George Fuller (Terrence Howard) runs an old movie palace, the Warner Grand. He is having a special showing of a 90's post-apocalyptic action thriller with star Claude Luc Hallyday (Dolph Lundgren) making an appearance. Meanwhile, he is being harassed by land developer Lynn (Amanda Righetti) and her thugs who want his theater for a neighborhood rebuild.

Action starts too late and ultimately is too little. The movie is obviously setting up for a fight with all the movie prop weaponry. Dolph Lundgren needs to show up sooner. He is a better actor than most give him credit for. At the very least, he can be fun. He needs to be unleashed. This is spending too much time setting things up. The final battle is only the last third of the movie and is rather a bit underwhelming. This is not enough.

A cheeky fun styled film . I could easily see this being a cult classic, with years of creating new fans. It's got fun acting, stylistic scenes , great photography and classic ending. Characters that have a heartwarming fun personality you could relate to and attach herself to. You can easily put it on for a stay in Friday night matinee or end the week with it on a Sunday movie night. It's entertaining, it's fun and a pleasure to watch. I recommend giving it a chance. Great look , fun style , memorable characters , heartwarming scenes and just an overall entertaining film to watch for many years to come.