Brainwaves: Showdown in Manila
Back in October of last year I wrote the following…
“Hollywood has never been accused of being original. And when a concept gets hot everybody wants a piece of the pie.
Whether it is space adventures, superheroes, vampires or zombies… one blockbuster equals dozens of attempts to duplicate the success.
This is why I’m surprised a direct to video production company or one of the cable networks has not tried to capitalize on the successful Expendables formula of bringing together multiple action stars for one epic adventure.”
It was that thought that was the catalyst to my cleverly titled Fantasty Flick, The Xpendable Ones. The concept, take action stars who had been snubbed by The Expendables franchise and bring them together for a mega-action movie!
I had such a good time dreaming it up that I eventually conceived a sequel entitled The Xpendable Ones: Prisoners of Warr and a third installment The Xpendable Ones: Urban Warfare is on the way.
But as Soul II Soul so eloquently put it, “Back to life, back to reality”…
Somebody did realize that The Expendables formula would work on a smaller scale. Producers Andrzej Bartkowiak and Alexander Nevsky and first time director Mark Dacascos are bringing this concept to life in the film, Showdown in Manila.
Dacascos and Nevsky are also starring in the film.
I believe I have documented my fandom for Mark Dacascos and I fully support him on his directing endeavors. The man is one of the more underrated action stars with his work in Only the Strong and China Strike Force being two of my favorite Dacascos performances.
But Dacascos is only the tip of the action iceberg. Showdown in Manila also has Don “The Dragon” Wilson, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Cynthia Rothrock, Tia Carrere, Oliver Gruner, Matthias Hues and Casper Van Dien.
Did you read that list? That is action star overload! Those names have been featured on this site many, many times over the past 11 months and I can tell you right now, as soon as I can get my hands on a copy of this film I will be reviewing it for the site.
Not much has been revealed about the plot of Showdown in Manila, and IMDB currently lists the film in post-production. Showdown in Manilia is slated for a release later this year.
Fantasy will become reality!
More Coming Attractions
- The Last Starfighter: News came out this past week that a TV series based on the often overlooked 80’s sci-fi action classic The Last Starfighter is in development. The show will not be about Alex Rogan, the lead character in the film who is recruited to fight an intergalactic battle due to his impressive video game skills. Instead it will focus on alien law enforcement. The title of the show is The Starfighter Chronicles. One unique feature of the show, is some of it will be shot for VR headsets, so viewers will get a 360 degree view. The Last Starfighter movie was the first to utilize CGI, so The Starfighter Chronicles being the first to incorporate virtual reality follows in the movie’s pioneering footsteps. Given my love for this classic, I’m sure I will give The Starfighter Chronicles a chance… although I don’t see me going out to buy a VR helmet anytime soon.
- Lockdown: I’ve talked about Lockdown before here on the site, but in the past few weeks more news has come out about the film, featuring the acting debut of WWE Superstar Dean Ambrose. First off, it is part of WWE Studios’ 12 Rounds franchise. The first 12 Rounds movie starred John Cena, the second Randy Orton. Ambrose plays a cop named Shaw, who is framed for a murder he didn’t commit and is now trapped inside his own precinct with the dirty cops who set him up. The movie will have a limited theatrical release and be available on demand on September 11th.
