Ronda Rousey to Star in ‘Road House’ Remake

Ronda Rousey arrives at the premiere of "The Expendables 3" at TCL Chinese Theatre on Monday, Aug. 11, 2014, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

Ronda Rousey arrives at the premiere of “The Expendables 3” at TCL Chinese Theatre on Monday, Aug. 11, 2014, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

Variety is reporting that UFC sensation Ronda Rousey is set to star in a remake Road House playinbg a female version of the role Patrick Swayze played from the original film. Production on the film is slated to begin next year with the search for a writer to pen the screenplay currently underway.

Rousey took to Twitter shortly after the announcement:

More as it becomes available

Michael’s Review: ‘Entourage’

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The Entourage boys are back with their first feature film with series creator Doug Ellin serving as director and it’s just what you would expect from the testosterone driven hit HBO show…women, cars, cameos, and Ari Fricking Gold. Eight seasons just weren’t enough to tell the tale of Vinny Chase and his boys as they conquer Hollywood and all the women in Los Angeles.

The film picks up six months after the show ended where we find Johnny “Drama” Chase (Kevin Dillon), Eric “E” Murphy (Kevin Connolly), and “Turtle” (Jerry Ferrara) riding a motorboat to a yacht party where their newly divorced friend, movie star Vincent Chase (Adrian Grenier) is partying it up with the locals in Ibiza. Reunited and it feels so good for this brat pack-esque crew who now look to the next chapter in Vince’s career. Hearing that his former agent, Ari Gold (Jeremy Piven) has returned from retirement and is now a studio exec, Vince reaches out to Ari, who offers Vince a new project, a project that Vince says he will only do if he can direct. And this is where the story begins.

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The project is called Hyde, which is a futuristic take on “Jekyll and Hyde”. Starring and directing in the film, Vince recruits E to be his producer and Drama to be his co-star, but things go south when the blooming budget and rumors of a disastrous rough cut of the film reach Ari, who is desperate for this film to be a success. Vince reaches out to Ari to convince him to fund the project with more money so he can fully complete his vision. Reluctant, Ari reaches out to Larsen McCredle (Billy Bob Thornton), an oil tycoon and studio financier who refuses to give any more money unless his son, Travis (Haley Joel Osment) accompanies Ari back to Hollywood and sees a version off the film. Determined to see this project to completion, Ari and Vince try to convince Travis to fund the extra money, but complication arise when Travis and Vince can’t meet eye to eye on the film. With time running out and a studio hungry for a hit, can Ari, Vince and the boys find their way to the finish line?

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Director Doug Ellin elects for the “if it’s not broke, don’t fix it approach” with his characters and creates a film that feels more like an over bloated, cameo filled episode of the television show. This approach isn’t detrimental to the film’s success, but limits the characters evolution past what we already know of them. As for the actors, they get to slip into a familiar shoe and do exactly what they did for eight years. Adrian Grenier, Kevin Dillon, Jerry Ferrara and Kevin Connolly all provide exactly what the audience wants and they do it fairly well, but there’s an empty feeling seeing these great characters not find anything new to do except drive around and talk about sex. Jeremy Piven is epic as always as the fast talking Ari Gold. Piven steals every scene he’s in and is the real star of this film as he was of the tv show.

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Overall, Entourage is for fans of the show and very few others. It is a fun trip down memory lane for many of us who invested close to a decade in these characters, but in the end, the film did little to expand the characters any further and left me wanting more from the plot.  Is the movie as enjoyable as the show? Sure, but not as creative. Let’s hope if the boys get another go around that they give us a little more substance than this.

Stars:

2 1/2 out of 5

After Credit Scene?

Scene during the credits

Trailer:

Michael’s Review: ‘Furious 7’

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Nevermind the overall story, Furious 7 is a wonderful tribute to the late Paul Walker. The actor, who died in a single car accident during a break in filming, left a huge void for the cast and crew, who scrambled to piece together their lives and reinvent the film so it would not only continue the franchise, but also honor Walker’s legacy following the tragedy.After thisa lot of the member started  to be more careful at driven and even a few talked about the Blackbox my car products, cameras for the dash of your car for more safety and to avoid any misunderstanding in the future to have it all in a recording.

Director James Wan (Insidious) takes the helm for this ride as the the crew take on their toughest opponent yet. Buckle up, this fast paced, action packed franchise shows no signs of slowing down.

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The events of Fast & Furious 6 have begun to haunt the crew as the older brother of Owen Shaw has come to claim vengeance. Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham), a former British secret service assassin who is more dangerous than anyone the crew has faced in their lives, is on a mission to take down those who almost killed his brother. After Shaw puts Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) in the hospital, Dom (Vin Diesel) realizes that his family is in danger. A simultaneous attack on his home and the death of long time friend Han, heightens the situation and Dom decides to take matters into his own hands before anyone else dies.

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Frank Petty (Kurt Russell), a covert ops director, enlists Dom to complete a mission to find a hacker named Ramsey (Nathalie Emmanuel) and bring back a high tech surveillance program called the God’s Eye, but getting Ramsey back isn’t an easy task. Kidnapped by a known terrorist named Jakande (Djimon Hounsou), things gets complicated and Dom must rely on his crew to help complete the mission as only they can.  With Shaw in toe and the prize in sight, the mission will take the crew across the globe in the race of their lives. Brian (Paul Walker), Letty (Michelle Rodriguez), Roman (Tyrese Gibson), and Tej (Ludacris) set off for one last ride, to take down the bad guys and protect the lives of those they love.

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Director James Wan should be commended for finding a way to complete this film in the face of such adversity. Paul Walker was the number two most important character in this franchise and his loss will be a huge one moving forward, but the way that Diesel, Wan and the studio found a way to complete his scenes and send the actor out on a high note is tremendous. Cast and crew pulled this film together after the tragedy and you can tell the passion they felt to honor the fallen actor with the best film they could.  Like the other films in the Fast and the Furious franchise, you need to turn your brain off before entering the theater, but this film is an action packed thrill ride from beginning to end that won’t disappoint. Furious 7 may not win an Oscar, as Diesel suggests it should, but it sure is a blast to watch.

Stars:

3 1/2 out of 5

After Credit Scene?

No

Trailer:

New Trailer: ‘Furious 7’ – Is it fast? Is it furious? Both!

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Continuing the global exploits in the unstoppable franchise built on speed, Vin Diesel, Paul Walker and Dwayne Johnson lead the returning cast of Furious 7.  James Wan directs this chapter of the hugely successful series that also welcomes back favorites Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Elsa Pataky and Lucas Black. They are joined by international action stars new to the franchise including Jason Statham, Djimon Hounsou, Tony Jaa, Ronda Rousey, Nathalie Emmanuel and Kurt Russell. Neal H. Moritz, Vin Diesel and Michael Fottrell return to produce the film written by Chris Morgan. www.furious7.com

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Michael’s Review: ‘The Expendables 3’- Michael Bay’s Wet Dreams Realized

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The franchise that keeps on truckin’ despite the average age of its stars being 143, is back and it’s exactly what you expect…loud. Sylvester Stallone, the mastermind behind this meeting of the biceps again headlines this testosterone fest using testosterone supplements as a vast array of co-stars, some old faces and some new ones. Sly’s band of merry men set out to kill as many people as possible without spilling an ounce of blood to achieve a PG-13 rating and make sure that this film stays “kid-friendly”, cause…’Merica! Read More →