Powering Down

Sorry about the lack of posts here on Explosions Are Rad recently. Unfortunately, it’s going to be just the beginning. Thanks to an increase in work and some upcoming shifts on the homefront, it doesn’t look like the site will be able to go on any long. We didn’t do this for long, but it was fun while it lasted. If you’re interested in checkout out more reviews from the writers, check out UnitedMonkee.com which has a much broader focus. Thanks for reading and keep kicking ass!

Trailer Time: I, Frankenstein, 47 Ronin & Out Of The Furnace

After showing off that new image of Aaron Eckhart as Adam, the I, Frankenstein gang unveiled the first trailer which comes packed with winged monsters, fire, Bill Nighy and Yvonne Strahovski, all of which are very good things. The film opens on January 24, 2014.

The latest 47 Ronin trailer features a good deal of footage we’ve already seen, but a bit more of Keanu taking on the dragon. Still looks like a lot of rad stuff in this film which debuts on December 25th.

Out Of The Furnace finds Christian Bale delving into the world of underground fight clubs run by Woody Harrelson in Out Of The Furnace. The December 6th debuting dramatic thriller looks pretty intense if we do say so ourselves.

For Your Home Viewing Pleasure: October 8th, 2013

We can’t speak to the quality of the Will and Jaden Smith father and son sci-fi flick After Earth, but we can say it’s out now on Blu-ray, DVD and the like.

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns Deluxe Edition gives Batman fans what they really wanted from this adaptation of the seminal Frank Miller Batman series: everything on one three disc set.

It’s funny when you think back to the days when, first, Lucasfilm didn’t want to put the Star Wars out as a set on DVD and then it took a while to get them on Blu-ray. Now in the past few years we’ve had a number of different sets. There’s two more now, Star Wars Trilogy Episodes IV-VI and Star Wars Trilogy Episodes I-III that include both DVD and Blu-ray versions of the films.

Hasbro’s latest home video offering Transformers Prime: Beast Hunters – Predacons Rising looks great on Blu-ray and features a pretty fun story even if you’re not steeped in the lore. Don’t believe us? Check it out!

In other TV-related news, A&E Home Video has a collection of The Avengers episodes featuring none other than that iconic super spy herself: Emma Peel. Dubbed The Avengers: The Complete Emma Peel Megaset the set contains all 51 of Diana Rigg’s episodes as the character on the three discs.

Finally, Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life is now available on Blu-ray, so that’s a thing.

Machete Kills Ramps Up With Clips & Posters Before Debut

After this week we probably won’t hear too much more about Machete Kills because the film debuts this Friday. Before we can start lining up for our tickets, though, director Robert Rodriguez and company have a number of new trailers, clips and posters for us to check out. 

Above you’ve got a nice little Sofia Vergara-specific mini-trailer, while below you’ll find an incredibly NSFW clip of her talking to her loyal army of prostitutes. 

Michelle Rodriguez and Lady Gaga also got in on the short trailer action:

If you prefer your looks at ladies a little more static, then feast your eyes on the latest character poster, this one featuring Alexa Vega’s Killjoy. 

And finally, here’s Robert Rodriguez and the cast talking about the network of actors he’s amassed throughout his career. 

If you’re still not interested in Machete Kills, which opens this Friday, you’re pretty much a lost cause. 

Trailer Time: Jack Ryan: Shadow One & Escape Plan

The timing is pretty crummy for this first Jack Ryan: Shadow One trailer to hit so close to author Tom Clancy’s recent passing, but it’s still nice to celebrate the man’s work which had been so influential. This first trailer from the Year One type film stars Chris Pine, Keira Knightley, Kevin Costner and Kenneth Branagh who also stars as the bad guy. The film opens on December 25th.

Escape Plan, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone, now has TV spots that seem to be playing in fairly regular rotation. Better yet, they do a pretty solid job of explaining the film in greater detail than we’d seen previously. This one bows on October 18th.

 

Marvel’s Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. S1E2 “0-8-4”

As it turned out, last week’s premiere of Marvel’s Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. on ABC was the kind of show where the bloom fell off the rose as the week went on. The more opinions we read and heard, the more we realized that the episode was a bit dull and probably wouldn’t have hooked nearly as large an audience as it did had it been presented as a completely original show. But, a generally likable cast and the intriguing tease of an O-8-4  were interesting enough to bring us back for me. As you can imagine, SPOILERS follow.

Bullet Points: Hot Rounds Of Information Goodness

Aaron Eckhart looks pretty badass in this teaser for the first I, Frankenstein trailer which hits tomorrow. [via Collider]

Amber Heard looks ready to handle anything in her solo Machete Kills poster. [via SHH]

Speaking of dangerous ladies with pointy objects, Jennifer Lawrence wants to shoot you with an arrow in the latest The Hunger Games: Catching Fire poster. [via Moviefone]

Hugh Jackman recently told the world that he’s got a part in Neill Blomkamp’s robot kidnapping drama Chappie. [via Screen Daily]

Michael Bay showed off this picture of Mark Wahlberg, Nicola Peltz and Jack Reynor from the set of Transformers: Age Of Extinction. [via Michael Bay]

Discovery Channel’s working on an Evel Kineval documentary called True Evel. [via Deadline]

Gina Carano’s In The Blood will be distributed by Anchor Bay and Fox home video. In the film, the MMA star goes on a mission to get her kidnapped husband back in the Caribbean. [via THR]

Maggie, the film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger as a dad trying to help his daughter played by Abigail Breslin after she gets bit by a zombie, has rounded out the family unit with Joely Richardson joining on as the mom. [via TheWrap]

Wonder Woman Fan Film Shows Off Character’s Obvious On-Screen Potential

Did you somehow forget that Wonder Woman is awesome? Well this fan film featuring the Amazing Amazon from Rainfall Films didn’t. Check out the above video of Princess Diana taking on armed mercenaries in the city and a giant monster with her Amazon sisters.

Hey, Warner Bros., give Wonder Woman her own movie already!

[via The Mary Sue]

Trailer Time: Need For Speed, Thor: The Dark World & Arrow

The first Need For Speed trailer featuring Breaking Bad‘s Aaron Paul hit last week and looks pretty interesting. The plot revolves around Paul’s ex-con character getting wrapped up in a cross country race for shady reasons. The film debuts March 14, 2014.

Marvel Studios is rolling out the PR juggernaut for the next film Thor: The Dark World. The movie opens on November 8th. This latest TV spot shines the spotlight on Natalie Portman’s Jane Foster, her concern for Chris Hemsworth Thor and her contempt for Tom Hiddleston’s Loki.

So, technically this is a clip and not a trailer, but it seemed to fit with the theme pretty well. The very first clip from the first episode of Arrow‘s second season features Diggle and Felicity reuniting with Arthur  on the island. The episode debuts on The CW, October 9th at 8:00 PM.

For Your Home Viewing Pleasure: October 1st, 2013

This week has a lot in the way of older movies presented in new and different ways, but not a lot of brand new action films. Still, there’s some pretty interesting offerings, so let’s jump in.

The biggest new release in our arena is the disaster comedy This Is The End which finds hyper-real versions of Seth Rogen, Jay Baruchel, Craig Robinson, Danny McBride, James Franco and Jonah Hill surviving the apocalypse.

John Cusack has been kind of slowly turning into Nicholas Cage over the past few years (see: The Raven), so it only makes sense that they’d appear in a movie together. In the thriller The Frozen Ground, Cusack’s a serial killer and Cage is trying to stop him. What more do you need to know?

Jean-Claude Van Damme fans will be happy to discover that two of his films are making their way to Blu-ray on the same set. Thanks to the Jean-Claude Van Damme Double Feature: The Order / Nowhere to Run you can watch both movies back to back without getting up from the couch.

We here at Explosions Are Rad hadn’t heard of the Chinese crime thriller Cold War before seeing it on Amazon this morning. But after seeing the trailer above, it’s certainly one we’re going to check out.

A pair of very different director’s cuts made their debut this week. Troy Duffy’s cut of The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day and Luc Besson’s The Extraordinary Adventures of Adele Blanc-Sec [Director’s Cut] now offer their more complete visions for their films.

1997 was a big year for fire-coming-out-of-the-ground movies. You had your Dante’s Peak and your Volcano. Whose side were you on? Well, either way, the Tommy Lee Jones starring Volcano is now available on Blu-ray.

We’ve only seen a handful of episodes of the current Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles show on Nickelodoen, but it’s pretty darn cool. We’re thinking of catching up more with the latest DVD release Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Ultimate Showdown.

If you’re looking to relive Tom Selleck’s 80s hey day all in one convenient box set then Magnum P.I.: The Complete Series might be right up your alley. The series lasted from 1980-1988 and consists of 42 discs.

Finally, Phineas and Ferb: Mission Marvel was pretty hilarious and you should watch it.