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August isn't especially famous for its great movies. As months go, the eighth one on the calendar has often been a bit of a wasteland for Hollywood, as blockbusters peter off, kids have a lot less free time and money, and studio executives need to find somewhere to dump their proverbial dead bodies.

If you want a good example, you can pretty much throw a dart at any year after "Jaws" popularized the concept of summer blockbuster season. For example, let's take a look at 1993. 30 years ago, August was a month for dreck comedies like "Son of the Pink Panther," family film misfires like "Father Hood" and "Surf Ninjas," and the weird-ass "Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday."

But then again, there are exceptions to every rule. There were also a few excellent motion pictures in August 1993. The increasingly timeless classic "The Fugitive" came out that month, along with...

Romy Walthall, who starred in 1989’s The House of Usher opposite Oliver Reed and Donald Pleasence, was a regular on Steven Bochco’s Murder One and appeared on Hotel Malibu opposite Jennifer Lopez, has died at 57. Her son, Morgan Krantz, confirmed Walthall’s passing on Twitter.

Often going by the stage name Romy Windsor, the actress had a steady run of TV work in the ’80s and ’90s, including a recurring role on the short-lived TV series Man of the People starring James Garner and six episodes on another Bochco-created series, Civil Wars. Walthall also appeared on some of the biggest shows of the era including T.J. Hooker, Moonlighting, Quantum Leap, Jake and the Fatman, Matlock, L.A. Law, Diagnosis Murder and The X-Files.

Whitehall’s onscreen career began in 1984 with a trio of performances: a small part in the Jerry Bruckheimer/Don Simpson-produced film Thief of Hearts, two episodes...

Nathan Jung, best known for his portrayal of Genghis Khan in the original Star Trek series, died April 24 at age 74. The location and cause of death has not been disclosed by his friend and attorney, Timothy Tau.

Jung began his acting career in 1969 with a role as Genghis Khan in “The Savage Curtain” episode of the original Star Trek.

From that launching pad, he went on to numerous guest shots on some of the biggest television shows of the 1970s and 1980s, including M*A*S*H*, Starsky & Hutch, CHiPs, General Hospital, Manimal, Riptide, Hunter, Sanford and Son, and Kung Fu.

In the 1990s, he had stints on Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, Martial Law and Burke’s Law.

Jung also can claim to be one of the few actors who worked with both Bruce Lee and his son, Brandon Lee. Opposite Bruce, Jung appeared on a 1969 episode of Here Comes the Brides.

Nathan Jung, the actor who appeared in “Star Trek: The Original Series,” “The A-Team” and “Kung Fu,” has died. He was 74.

Jung died on April 24, his close friend and attorney, Timothy Tau, confirmed to Variety. The cause of death has not been disclosed.

Jung kicked off his acting career in 1969 with his role as Ghengis Khan in “The Savage Curtain” episode of “Star Trek: The Original Series.” From there, taking advantage of his tall stature, his television resume exploded with roles on the biggest shows from the 1970s and ’80s. Jung appeared on “M*A*S*H*,” “Starsky & Hutch,” “CHiPs,” “General Hospital,” “Manimal,” “Riptide” and “Hunter.” He also held roles in “Sanford and Son,” in which he played Helen Funai’s cousin, Saburyo, and “Kung Fu,” in which he plaed the Dark Rider. In the ’90s, he had stints on “Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman,” “Martial Law” and “Burke’s Law.

Video game movies get no respect.

They're panned by critics, face abuse from fans and only the rarest of them actually make money. Yet, even the worst of these movies have those who will defend them to the death — flaws and all.

With Alicia Vikander's new Tomb Raider actually getting decent reviews (by video game movie standards), the team at Heat Vision decided to look back on their picks for what deserves to be considered the best of the genre.

Surf Ninjas (1993)

Rotten Tomatoes: 12 percent

Box office: $4.9...

Veteran film producer Evzen Kolar, whose credits include the 1997 Harvey Keitel drama “City of Industry,” has died in Los Angeles at age 67, his family announced Monday. The Czech-born filmmaker also produced the 1993 Leslie Nielsen-Rob Schneider comedy “Surf Ninjas” through his Kpi Entertainment production company and director Zalman King’s “Delta of Venus.” In addition, he produced John Avildsen’s 1999 Jean-Claude Van Damme action movie “Inferno” (a.k.a. “Desert Heat”), Bruce Beresford’s 2001 period drama “Bride of the Wind,” and John Irvin’s 2003 comedy “The Boys and Girls from County Clare” starring Colm Meaney, Bernard Hill and Andrea Corr.

Evzen Kolar, a veteran film executive who also produced such movies as Surf Ninjas and City of Industry, has died. He was 67.

Kolar died Tuesday in Los Angeles after a brief illness, publicist Jan Kean announced.

In 1993, Kolar launched the production company Kpi Entertainment, where he produced Surf Ninjas (1993), starring Rob Schneider; the Zalman King erotic drama Delta of Venus (1995); City of Industry (1997), starring Harvey Keitel and Stephen Dorff; John Avildsen's Inferno (1999), with Jean-Claude Van Damme; and the Bruce Beresford period costume drama Bride of the Wind (2001).

Kolar also produced the Samuel Goldwyn...

Larger-than-life polyglot worked with Morgan Freeman, Sean Connery, Jean-Claude Van Damme.

Evzen Kolar, the Czech-born producer of The Boys & Girl From County Clare and City Of Industry, has died in California after a brief illness. He was 67.

Kolar was born in Moravia in the Czech Republic to a diplomat and got his first taste of entertainment as a child actor, before becoming an assistant director in Europe on commercials, television projects and features.

He lived in London in the late 1970s and produced fringe theatre before moving to the Us in 1979 where he built a name for himself as a production executive, notching up numerous line producer and producer credits.

After stints as vice-president of production at Fireline Productions, a subsidiary of the Armand Hammer Company, and CEO at Crossover Films Ent, Kolar worked as a line producer. His credits included Never Say Never Again with Sean Connery, Street Smart starring Morgan Freeman, Master Of The Universe with Dolph Lundgren...

What ever happened to the little brother from Surf Ninjas? Is he still acting? Still surfing? Still using martial arts to make the world a safer place? I sat down with Nic Cowan, who played little brother Adam in Surf Ninjas, to find out… Synopsis: When surf-lovin’ brothers Adam (Nic Cowan) and Johnny (Ernie Reyes […]

The post Hdtgm: A Conversation with Nic Cowan (co-star of Surf Ninjas) appeared first on /Film.

I haven't seen the 1993 action comedy Surf Ninjas for since I was a kid, but I absolutely loved that movie and watched it all the time when I was growing up. A lot of kids my age grew up with 3 Ninjas, but I never bothered to see any of the movies in that series — I just rewatched Surf Ninjas for the twentieth time instead. (I'm well aware it probably doesn't hold up very well, but I don't have any plans to rewatch it again any time soon.)

Anyway, I just found out that Nic Cowan, the actor who played the youngest brother, Adam (the kid who could see the future in a Sega Game Gear), is an artist now. Not only that, but he's created a piece of Surf Ninjas art that's being sold by Los Angeles' Gallery 1988. Check this out:

Take a look at the newest print from artist...

Stars: Ernie Reyes Jr., Ving Rhames, George Takei, John Savage, Maria Conchita Alonso, Matthias Hues, Sara Downing | Written by Adam Boster, Kenneth Chamitoff | Directed by Kenneth Chamitoff

I’m a huge fan of martial arts flicks, be they traditional wuxia titles or modern Mma-inspired b-movies, my DVD shelves are pretty much weighed down by fight flick after fight flick. Despite the lack of shelf space that is currently upon me, the chance to check out and add a new kick-ass film to my collection can never be passed up. So when I spotted Submission on the shelves of my local Asda I knew I had to have it. It also didn’t hurt that the film is littered with a cast of familiar names and faces, including Ernie Reyes Jr., who starred in a couple of my childhood favourites: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3 and Surf Ninjas.

Also known as The Red Canvas...

It happens all too frequently. You go to a movie building, pay your eleventeen-hundred dollars for tickets and concessions, and you sit through a movie bearing a title comprised of a single cryptic noun. Scourge, or Continuum, or Memorandum. These inherently enticing titles were the reason you ponied up the admission price in the first place, but you leave feeling disappointed that the movie doesn’t live up to the nebulous expectations such an indeterminate title engendered. Frankly, we’ve been both flimmed and flammed by these deceptive marketing smokescreens for too long. What we need are more movies that adhere to stricter standards of transparency. Movies are consumable products after all, so misleading people with obfuscating titles constitutes an affront to truth in advertising. We need more movies like Robocop, Snakes on a Plane and Surf Ninjas. These are pretense-free film titles that allow you to make a more informed choice in your b-movie viewing. Really...

We're not exactly thrilled about the new Gerard Butler surfing movie Chasing Mavericks, in which he essentially plays Bodhi from Point Break but without the bank robbing. But we won't fully judge it until it comes out, and in the meantime at least one cool thing is resulting from this project. Mashable points us to a viral video for the movie featuring two surfers who jump on motorized surfboards and take to the streets of New York, heading from uptown to Battery Park with the same slow-mo vibes and chill music normally found in real surfing videos. Remember "moto surf" from Surf Ninjas? This is a way cooler version of that. Here's the viral video for #Surfingnyc that was uploaded to YouTube promoting Chasing Mavericks: When young Jay Moriarty discovers the mythic Mavericks surf break, one of the biggest waves on Earth, he enlists the help of local legend...

With only a couple episodes remaining in the season, and its future in jeopardy with continuously falling ratings, Chuck did a number of things in "Chuck Versus Agent X" that reminded me of why I bought so many Subway sandwiches a couple years ago. This is still a fun show that has the ability to do a substantial story line well when it tries to.

Ellie taking forever to figure out that Chuck was still a spy, and Chuck continuing to keep it from her, was a plot that was running rather old this season. The heartfelt chat between Chuck and Ellie about the fact that she was using the Orion computer and he was still a spy was sweet.

But we all knew that was coming. What was great was that they wrapped that up quickly, figured out who Agent X was, surprised me in that moment, and then...

American Ninja Warrior - G4, 8 - Semifinals from Venice Beach, California. I wonder how the Surf Ninjas are placing.

Throwdown with Bobby Flay - Food, 9 - Season 9 Premiere. That smug little ginger best not be showing up unannounced in my kitchen.

I'd Do Anything - BBC, 9 - A talent-competition series in which aspiring stage actors vie for leading roles in a West End revival of Oliver! I was Fagan's understudy in the fifth grade, yo. Real talk.

Nicki Minaj Takeover - Fuse, 10am... - All day Nicki marathon. Bottoms up.

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart - Comedy, 11 - Owner of the win Paul Rudd stops by. <3

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In 2003, Quentin Tarantino redefined the kung-fu movie genre with Kill Bill: Vol. 1. In 2009, Director James McTeigue made a similar move. 90’s movies like Beverly Hills Ninja, 3 Ninjas, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Surf Ninjas had belittled one of Japan’s most deadly historical groups. McTeigue’s Ninja Assassin redefined the trending paradigm for ninja movies, which had been relegated to cheesy “fly-by-night” flicks and humorous bit comedies for the past two decades. The movie’s flair for overdramatic action sequences and semi-historical foundation reminded martial arts movie fanatics of just how cool and deadly ninjas could be on screen. Ninja Assassin stars Korean pop star Rain as Raizo, a ninja from the Ozunu clan. Raizo has been trained since childhood in the ways of Ozunu, the clan’s patriarch (Shô Kosugi) who recruits orphans into the family. The physical training is as deadly as the mental challenges Raizo must...

With the exception of Point Break and Surf Ninjas (that's right, I admit it) most of the truly great surfing films come in the form of documentaries like The Endless Summer and Step Into Liquid. And while Surf's Up is certainly a fine tribute to the sport, the fact that it's animated knocks it down from being a real surfing flick in the rules that I just made up. But now we're going to be riding some serious waves as Variety reports AnnaSophia Robb (Race to Witch Mountain) will star in Soul Surfer, a biopic about Bethany Hamilton, a professional surfer, who has prevailed in competitions despite losing an arm in a shark attack at age 13. Joining Robb in the Sean McNamara-directed (of Bratz: The Movie previously) surfing flick is Dennis Quaid (oddly enough not as the surfboard) as well as Helen Hunt as Hamilton's parents. Additionally, and...