'Hellfire' (2026) Movie Review

According to author and famed writing teacher, John Gardner, all fictional stories can be boiled down to one of two plots: someone leaves town, someone comes to town. (OR maybe you subscribe to Christopher Booker’s Seven Basic Plots approach, or one of the many other theories, but for our purposes today, we’ll stick with Gardner.) Hellfire, the latest from direct-to-video action auteur Isaac Florentine (Ninja: Shadow of a Tear, Undisputed 2 and 3), follows this formula to a tee. 

'Armor' (2024) Movie Review

It happens on occasion that two movies with similar plots release on top of one another. There was Armageddon and Deep Impact in the summer of 1998, Dante’s Peak and Volcano in 1997, and November 2024 gave us Aftermath a few weeks ago and now Armor. And talking about these two DTV armored-car-heist-on-a-bridge movies, Armor is not only the lesser of the two, by far, there's nothing of value or interest to find here. Except for die-hard Sylvester Stallone completists.

'Lights Out' (2024) Movie Review

Lights Out knows what you came to see. (And it's not the horror Lights Out.)You came to see Frank Grillo throw down. And throw down he does. Constantly. It’s also precisely the movie it advertises itself as, and while your mileage may vary, if this is your thing, this is very much your thing. It begins with a tactical running battle and moments later there’s a bar brawl. If that sounds like a good time, you’re in luck.

'Til Death Do Us Part' (2023) Movie Review

You’ve seen this opening countless times in an endless parade of Lifetime movies. It’s the day of the big wedding. Everyone is at the church. The handsome groom hangs out with his boys. The hunky best man struggles to put the finishing touches on his toast. The bride, radiant and ever so in love, looks into the mirror and gets cold feet. Even the title font and opening score scream this specific brand of light, fluffy, inoffensive made-for-cable romantic fare. 

'The Best Man' (2023) Movie Review

Even in the best of circumstances, weddings are stressful as hell. Sure, they’re lovely, joyous occasions, but you’ve got a monumental logistical task, simmering family drama, travel, accommodations, drunk relatives. It’s a lot. And then you have to worry about a crew of vengeance-minded mercenaries showing up on the day to wreck up the joint. Oh, that didn’t happen to you? Cool, cool. Though that is the basic premise of Shane Dax Taylor’s The Best Man.

'High Heat' (2022) Movie Review

Remember to tip people who work in restaurants, and tip them well. Not only is it polite, but they have also unfettered access to do unspeakably vile things to your food should the need arise. Also, in the case of director Zach Golden’s new action thriller High Heat, the proprietor of the eatery in question may be an ex-KGB operative. So maybe don’t get on her bad side if you can help it.

'Section 8' (2022) Movie Review

There’s a lot going on in Section 8, a lot. Director Christen Sesma (Paydirt) and writer Chad Law (Daylight’s End, Close Range) and Josh Ridgway (Howlers) crafts a hodgepodge of DTV staple plotlines, splicing together revenge drama, sprawling conspiracy thriller, tactical action, and more genre fundamentals. To be honest, there’s probably not a ton of appeal beyond extant fans of this type of film, but for those of us already on the hook, this shit is like supercharged catnip. It's chaotic and herky-jerky at times, but delivers balls-out fistfights and shootouts, and takes enough wild swings that it’s ultimately pretty damn fun.

'Gasoline Alley' (2022) Movie Review

Gasoline Alley is, if we’re being honest, not great. It has script issues, up and down acting in a number of roles, and a handful of other problems. But at its center there’s Devon Sawa as a grizzled ex-con tattoo artist accused of a crime he didn’t commit chain smoking, driving muscle cars, and tough-guy-quipping his way through the seedy underbelly back rooms of Hollywood. If nothing else, that makes it compelling enough to be watchable. 

'Seized' Trailer: Scott Adkins, Isaac Florentine, And Mario Van Peebles In A Cowboy Hat

Scott Adkins, Isaac Florentine, Mario Van Peebles in a cowboy hat? The upcoming action/revenge movie Seized has all of that, which is more than enough to get me fully on board. I don’t know how I let this trailer slip by, but damn, it’s here now and that’s all that matters.

'Legacy Of Lies' Trailer: Scott Adkins Is An Ex-Spy With A Troubled Past

Thank god for Scott Adkins. While we’re lucky if we get a couple of big, bloated studio action movies a summer, maybe one in the fall, the British martial artist consistently churns out three or four (sometimes more) badass DTV actioners a year. And they tend to be the low-budget, bone-crunching, from-a-bygone-era style we adore around these parts. We’ve kept an eye on the development of Legacy of Lies for a while now, but we finally have our first trailer, and it is good.

Scott Adkins' Thriller 'Legacy Of Lies' Has A Release Date

If you’re a regular visitor to this particular corner of the internet, you know we get rather excited for any news pertaining to the works of one Scott Adkins. The preeminent DTV action badass, the man stays busy—he had five movies come out in 2019, and 2020 is shaping up for a similar run. One we’re particularly jazzed for is the international espionage thriller Legacy of Lies, which finally has a release date.

'Debt Collectors' Trailer: Scott Adkins And Jesse V. Johnson Reunite To Kick Ass In This Sequel

Around these parts, we stan Scott Adkins. Especially when the British martial artist teams up with director Jesse V. Johnson. They’re like the current power duo of DTV badassery. (Triple Threat, Savage Dog, Accident Man.) Now the pair returns with Debt Collectors, the sequel to their 2018 offering, The Debt Collector. Check out the first trailer below.

'Final Kill' Trailer: Randy Couture, Billy Zane, And Doctor Drew Team Up For This DTV Actioner

If you’re familiar with this website, you already know damn well that a DTV action movie starring Randy Couture, Billy Zane, Danny Trejo, and, for some reason, Dr. Drew, is very, very, very in our wheelhouse. So without further ado, here’s the trailer for Final Kill, it’s…exactly what it looks like. 

'Running With The Devil' (2019) Movie Review

There’s a lot going on in Running With the Devil, but also somehow absolutely nothing at all. It jumbles together too many storylines, drug movie clichés, flat characters, and an epic cast of B-movie all stars.

'Avengement' (2019) Movie Review

To give you an idea of the level of brutality in Avengement, the latest team-up from star Scott Adkins and director Jesse V. Johnson, at one point Adkins’ character, Cain Burgess, straight up bites out a dude’s jugular with a ferocious snarl. And no, this isn’t a vampire movie. This is a gritty, mean, down and dirty crime story about gritty, mean, down and dirty criminals. It’s also Johnson’s most ambitious film to date, as well as maybe his best.

Jean-Claude Van Damme's 'The Bouncer' Gets A Dark, Gritty Trailer

As someone who grew up on Jean-Claude Van Damme movies, I’m happy he still largely makes the same types of movies he always made. (There are, of course, variances with the likes of JCVD and Jean-Claude Van Johnson, both of which are meta, self-referential, and great.) Sure, they all land on VOD these days, but by and large, he continues to work in the same low-to-lowish budget action realm ad the bulk of his career, with roughly the same awesome-to-stinker ratio. Some of his films rule, others not so much, but this trailer for his latest, The Bouncer, looks like it might be the former rather than the latter.

'The Debt Collector' Trailer Is Here To Collect What You Owe

It probably comes as no surprise I’m excited about a Scott Adkins movie. In fact, The Debt Collector landed on my most anticipated movies list for 2018. But now we have a trailer, and it’s not only suitably badass to fit in the cinematic martial artist’s resume, it takes him to places he doesn’t usually go. Check it out below.

'Braven' (2018) Movie Review

He’s a big-time cinematic superhero, playing Aquaman in the DC movie universe, but I have to say, I think Jason Momoa is best suited to low-budget, direct-to-video-style action fare. Sure, he’s a ripped Adonis of a human being, but he also has a relatable, everyman quality. And this is on full display in Braven, a solid, reasonably entertaining, if unremarkable new noir-inspired Canadian thriller. It scratches a very particular itch for those longing for the types of beefy-father-protects-his-brood pictures Schwarzenegger and Stallone turned out in the ‘80s.

'Scorched Earth' (2018) Movie Review

If you’re in the mood for a direct-to-video post-apocalyptic bounty hunter saga starring a former female MMA champ and helmed by the director of Sliding Doors, and I know there are some of you out there, Scorched Earth is 100% your shit. For the rest of you, it may not have a place on your must-watch list. Unless you fall into that first category, the Gina Carano-starring, Peter Howitt-directed sci-fi actioner probably isn’t for you. Then again, I’m squarely in that camp, so, hell yeah.

'Kickboxer: Retaliation' Trailer Has Both Kickboxing And Retaliation

Who knew I’d be so on the hook for a revamped Kickboxer franchise? Okay, everyone who’s ever met me knew that right away. But I am. Kickboxer: Vengeance was pretty rad, if little more than a rehash of the original. So you can bet I’m amped for the upcoming Kickboxer: Retaliation, which just dropped a new trailer ahead of its impending release.