Wrestling With Film

I love to browse my local Family Video, I don’t know if I’ve ever spent less than 20 minutes going up and down the new release wall searching for my next watch. One of the films that caught my eye was 2099: The Soldier Protocol because David Arquette was on the cover. You may remember him capturing the world heavyweight title in WCW or like many others you know him as Officer Dewey Riley in the Scream franchise. I happen to really enjoy him as an actor so I rented it and threw it in today.

This film is about Matt Mills, a convict turned volunteer for an experiment to make him walk again. It showcases the experiments he is subjected to after he is injected with nano-particles by scientists. The main scientists in this film are Dr. Snyder played by David Arquette and Dr. Turner.

The nano-particles help Matt recover when he is deprived of oxygen, beaten, and his limbs are broken. He gets stronger and stronger as the cycle moves forward with the experiments. Along the way he is hallucinating about his daughter and wife. Things take a turn when Matt is able to overpower one of the men sent to break his legs. Doctors Snyder and Turner continue to observe him with Turner becoming sympathetic with the subject.

David Arquette’s performance as Doctor Emmett Synder was a wonderful thing to watch. You could tell from the beginning that doc wasn’t all there but to see his nonchalant attitude toward Matt and his flippant use of a stimulant to numb him to the experiments was an experience. Arquette plays to the role brilliantly. Some folks think he shouldn’t have been cast to play this part but Arquette brings a weirdness to this role that I haven’t seen him display since 1999’s Ready to Rumble. Dr. Snyder is an odd duck and Arquette brings that oddness in spades. By the end you can really tell that Snyder has lost his marbles after witnessing cycle after cycle in the wheel from his center at the spindle.

A lot of folks may find this film overly boring and noneventful but I enjoyed it due to Arquette’s performance and the mystery surrounding Matt volunteering to go through the wheel. If you have some time to spare and want to watch something science fiction related with a fair bit of martial arts thrown in this is the one for you. You can watch it on Hulu.

Christopher Annino is a man of many faces, throughout his life he has worked in the circus, as a fireman, a professional wrestler, an actor, and a director/producer.

Christopher was trained to be a professional wrestler by Susan Tex Green and Furman “Big Hoss” Jeffords. He later would go on to form friendships with his idol, Killer Bee Brian Blair, Gary Wolf AKA Pitbull #1 as well as Chris Michaels from ECW. He owes these three a great deal as they helped him in some of his darkest times

Christopher got into filmmaking because of his experiences with the movies Hook (1991) and Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991) which opened his eyes to how stories could be told well through film. He also went to clown school which helped land him a role in the Jerry’s Kids Marathon on the Connecticut based CBS affliate channel WSFB. Later on in life after a bad injury which saw his back destroyed Christopher decided he would direct films.

Christopher has helped direct, produce, and star in multiple films some of these include Attack of the Zombie Tumors, Silent Times, and Crucifire. He also has multiple productions in the works as well. Most of his films star professional wrestlers in some capacity. He feels that wrestlers should be seen as a hybrid of actors and athletes and that they are the finest of both genres. According to him their ability to adapt and improvise at a moment’s notice is a massive asset in filmmaking. Some of the productions currently in the works include Killer Bees Society, Circle of Champions the History of Woman’s Pro Wrestling, and The Lolipop Gang.

Christopher’s films are not the only ones he has worked on, he did some directing and acting in Biju Viswanath’s Marathon, he was also a production assistant on the Richard Gere starring Hachiko: A Dog’s Story. If you check out his IMDb profile it is absolutely chock-ful.

When the reckless actions of an out-of-control LAPD officer get his partner killed in a deadly hostage situation, he gets suspended from the police force and heads to Mexico. On his way he stops in Red Mesa, Texas where he faces off against corrupt cops.

The great thing about Letterboxd is that you can make a list of movies starring wrestlers and then narrow down your list to a specific streaming service to see what titles are streaming where. This is how I discovered American Justice was streaming on Tubi and Amazon Prime.

American Justice stars Tommy “Tiny” Lister, known for his roles as Zeus in No Holds Barred and Deebo in the Friday series, as Jack Justice, an LAPD cop with a penchant to take things a bit far sometimes. After the pursuit of a couple of robbery suspects sees his partner killed by one of the suspects and both suspects dead by Justice’s hands, he is suspended by his superior officer. He is told to go far away.

On his way to Mexico, he notices a couple of cops roughing up a man on the side of the road in Red Mesa, Texas. When he stops in to complain at the police station though, it becomes evident that most of the force is corrupt. He becomes the scape goat for the sheriff and his force’s sordid dealings such as the murder of a drug dealer and another cop. However, with the help of non corrupt officer Alexa and a man who owes him a favor, he gets to cleaning up the town.

I had no idea what to expect with this movie, I didn’t watch a trailer before I hit play on it or read up about it. I saw the poster featured Tiny Lister and I knew I would end up watching it eventually and decided there was no better time than the present. Tiny was not the only wrestler in the movie as John Morrison shows up in the film as one of the crooked cops, Reid. I ended up having a decent time with the film in the end.

This is a violent and upsetting film as most of the cops are a bunch of racist assholes and there is a lot of fighting, shooting, and general mayhem in this film. It seems to pay homage to some exploitation films with it’s dark subject matter and reprehensible characters. Even Justice’s past is shrouded in darkness as he tells Alexa that he used to make problems disappear.

I would have never thought to cast Tiny Lister as a cop in a million years but it works. His mostly calm demeanor in the film is in stark contrast to the Sheriff, played by John Schneider (Bo Duke in The Dukes of Hazzard), who looks like he is ready to explode in every scene. Tiny chews the scenery beautifully and even though his character is a man of few words, when he does talk he nails those words to your mind. John Morrison does a good job as well as the goofy but hateful Officer Reid. I would recommend the film solely to hear him tell his squirrel in the pants story.

Unfortunately, I don’t think this movie will find itself many fans. It’s a low budget mean spirited film about setting things right. It’s shot well but I think it’s too brightly lit for people who enjoy these types of vengeance stories. However, for fans of Tiny Lister or John Morrison it is absolutely worth seeking out for their performances.

Valerie buys a house with a gruesome past. Four of her friends come over to help her move in and have a housewarming party. After a strange encounter with a creepy neighbor, the ladies discover an old Ouija board in the basement and unwittingly unleash a horrifying evil. Can they survive the night?

I’ve started to become quite the fan of Brad Twigg’s work. You may remember my reviews for his films, Killer Campout, and Wrestlemassacre. Wrestlemassacre recently saw a DVD release from Wild Eye Releasing which you can pick up here. Brad asked me to give Deathboard a watch since it will be coming out soon. After him telling me that the wrestlers Mad Maxx Morrison and Jimmy Flame were in it, I knew I had to watch it.

Deathboard has a lot to offer fans of B horror films, it’s got pretty ladies, a crazed killer, and my personal favorite, wrestlers. Mad Maxx plays Valerie’s kooky neighbor, Milton Harris, who waltzes in on the girls while they are having a conversation in her new house. He warns them that it probably isn’t the best idea to be there and they should stay out of the basement but the girls go in the basement anyway. You see, the house used to belong to Cyrus Riker, a killer who made a pact with Satan to gain immortality.

The movie takes place over the day and night that Valerie has her friends, Kathleen, Dawn, Annie, and Pam help her move in to the old Riker place. We get to spend a good chunk of time getting to know the girls and seeing their friendship, they get pizza, drink, discuss their lives. Then the killings begin to start back up after a brief ouija session. 

I had a lot of fun with this movie. The girls all do a great job with their roles, I’m especially fond of the characters Pam and Kathleen. My favorite parts of the movie are whenever Milton shows up, as well as Jimmy Flame’s role as Bo. Jimmy is hysterical as Bo. It was also really cool to see The Winner Andy Vineberg as Lt. Kincaid and TJ Mathis as his partner, Sgt. Wilson.

The gore on display in this one during the killings is top notch too, it’s chunky, it’s slimy, it’s perfect. There is also a bit of nudity for the folks who like that in their horror. I’m sure you won’t be disappointed with either.

If you are fan of any of Brad’s other films, you’re going to love this one as well. If you haven’t seen any of his previous work, I suggest you give Deathboard a watch and dive into his filmography. Brad is someone whose work is always something I look forward to. Deathboard should be releasing sometime within the next two months so keep your eyes peeled for it soon.

Group of coeds go looking for fun at cabin on the lake and find the cabin wasn’t always used for rest and relaxation.

Recently I watched Dragons of Camelot which features current NWA star Thomas Latimer as a knight of the round table; you may remember Thomas as Bram from TNA wrestling. I was researching wrestlers in film like usual when I came across this film which also had Latimer in it, titled, Crazy Lake. I was not passing up the chance to watch a movie with a title like that! I decided to not rent it and skip right to buying it because of the trailer.

Crazy Lake is a slasher film from 2016. The movie is about group of kids who go to a cabin in the woods to party it up which is a perfect set up for the killings; you got girls in bikinis, guys running around in their underwear and swim trunks, and lots of alcohol. Crazy Lake was the site of a government experiment where they loaded violent criminals up with drugs, tied cinder blocks to their legs then threw them in the lake.

Latimer plays a killer in this film and although he has zero lines of dialogue he does a great job lumbering around and being a powerful on screen presence. With a half mask similiar to Hannibal Lecter and wild unkempt hair and beard, he looks like one scary ass dude. Add the size of Latimer and his physical abilities and it makes him even more terrifying.

What really makes this film in my opinion though is the kids partying and the accompanying music during those scenes. All in all it is just a typical slasher film but I really enjoyed it because of the partying. Spring Breakers is one of my favorite films and I got a tiny bit of that vibe from some of those scenes

If you like slashers, you will probably enjoy this film. It doesn’t do too much to stand out from the many other slashers that come and go throughout the years but it’s a solid slasher. It also made a great addition to my wrestlers in film collection. Heck, even if there wasn’t a wrestler in it, this seems like something I would pick up anyway. You can rent it through Vudu, YouTube or can buy it digitally as well. I found my new copy of the DVD on Family Video’s website.

Beat Down is an irreverent comedy about wrestling, family and following your dreams no matter how painful that can sometimes be.

I used to spend every night searching through the movie section on cagematch.net. I’d look for hours through the list of movies on there to see what wrestlers were in what. It’s not updated as much anymore but I still do utilize it often. I’d throw every wrestler I could think of’s name in the search bar to see if they were in anything. One night I threw in Courtney Rush’s name and among her roles was the film Beat Down from 2012.

I spent a while searching online for the movie but couldn’t find a legal way to watch it so I figured I would never see it. I took the chance to message the film’s director Deanne Foley a few years back about the film but she said it was never released on DVD despite it playing festivals, getting a small theatrical release, and premiering on Canadian TV. Late last month she messaged me on Facebook saying she remembered me inquiring about the film and provided me a private link to watch the film. I was elated.

Beat Down is about a washed up pro-wrestler, Whitey, who went by White Lightning and his daughter Fran who pursues being a wrestler despite his protests. Whitey is played by Trailer Park Boys’ Robb Wells and his daughter Fran is played by Marthe Bernard. Fran runs off to join her dad’s ex-tag partner Jimmy “Dark Thunder” Langdon’s (Tony Nappo, Saw franchise) promotion Legend City Wrestling (a real promotion based out of Newfoundland that still operated during the filming of this movie but seem to be defunct now) after learning that her mother is not dead and that her father never promised her to not let their daughter wrestle.

This film has quite a few wrestlers in it too, Cherry Bomb/Allie (All Elite Wrestling, Impact Wrestling, Shimmer Women Athletes, and various independent promotions), Courtney Rush/Rosemary (Impact, Shimmer, various independent promotions), Mr. Fantastic (Legend City Wrestling), Andy “2 Dam Hyp” Roil, and Nikita. It also features Ed Power aka Loco, Xandra Bale, and Troy Merrick as doubles for the wrestling scenes.

With the help of her mom, the famous wrestler, Roxy LaRue, and her new found romantic interest Michael, Fran becomes Archangel. Her father Whitey attempts to put an end to her career because of his bad past with Dark Thunder, who slept with Roxy years ago, even going so far as planting drugs in what he thinks is Jimmy’s room. Fran’s journey in wrestling is something you really cheer for and when she gets screwed over by Jimmy, you just want to sock him in the face. 

I love films about wrestling because it gets wrestlers involved in so many aspects of the films be it stunt directing, stunts, or acting. Cherry Bomb is perfect in her role and she really makes you believe that her character is just a bad person in and out of the ring. Courtney’s small interactions with Fran are sweet despite her role as the heel French Kiss in the ring. Nikita has a small part as one of the wrestlers Archangel faces, Sapphire. Andy “2 dam hyp” Roil did the wrestling for the character of Whitey, Loco did so for Michael’s, Xandra Bale was the stand in for Archangel, and Jimmy’s was Troy Merrick.  I have seen Courtney’s other roles in Exit Humanity (2011) and Monster Brawl but I would love to see her do more acting. Cherry if she decides could be a huge asset in film and I hope I see her in a role some time.

The real stand outs in this film, though, are Robb, Marthe, and Tony. Robb is absolutely hysterical in his role as Whitey. I found myself laughing at his actions and words throughout the whole film. Tony plays the scummy promoter like he was born just for the role and Marthe brings such life to her character that I found myself fully invested in her hopes, dreams, and struggles.

This is a funny and charming little dramedy and I am hoping that this will one day see release as it is a great little piece about independent wrestling. It has a bit of everything in it as well; comedy, romance, betrayal. The film shows us what it means to chase your dreams, and the importance of family.  It is an absolute shame that this film did not make it to DVD.

 

 

 

Two thieves attempt to steal 80 million dollars of hidden Texas drug money from the famed ranch belonging to a dead member of the Cowboy Mafia.

When I see a wrestler is in an upcoming movie, it’s time for celebration. Even though the world around us seems to be crumbling, I still can find some comfort in film. I saw Dustin Rhodes (AEW,WWE,WCW,TNA) was going to be in this crime thriller a few months back. It was originally supposed to hit VOD on Valentine’s Day but it was met with a bit of a delay. Thankfully, I found the time to sit down with it today.

Dustin Rhodes debuted as Preacher Woodward in 2014’s Meet Me There, an independent horror film that not only features wrestling in it but also stars a few other wrestlers in cameos.  He also was in The Murders of Brandywine Theater alongside Diamond Dallas Page. He has also been cast to be the lead in the director of Copper Bill, Brett Bentman‘s upcoming film, Thunderclap!, along with Kevin Nash and R-Truth. I’m especially excited for Thunderclap! because I am a big fan of Nash’s acting and R-Truth is one of my favorite current stars in WWE.

Copper Bill is about a down on his luck gambler named Jessup who cooks up a scheme to rob one of the ranches of a legendary member of the cowboy mafia. He partners up with Mitchell (Dustin Rhodes), a tougher than leather debt collector for a man known simply as The Indian. They run into some trouble when after breaking into the mansion on the ranch, they discover that the grand-daughter the man’s ranch they are robbing is mute and doesn’t want to disclose the location of the millions they are after.

Dustin Rhodes churns out a wonderful performance as Mitchell in this film. He looks the part of a rough and tough no goodnik, with his myriad tattoos, cut off shirt, cowboy hat, and boots. His speech is natural, which is a thing not all actors have mastered. Sometimes I have a real hard time believing in character because something about their manners and line delivery just seems off. Dustin really gets a chance to showcase his acting abilities in this film, his ferocity in questioning the grand daughter, Lily, was outstanding. He really commands the scenes he is in, because of his physical stature. I imagine that Dustin will see many more roles in his future after his outing in Copper Bill.

This movie is quite violent at times, almost alarmingly so at some points. I really wasn’t expecting this from the movie for some reason but it is not out of place. The violence really works to further the plot, so it is not gratuitous.  They used their budget wisely in this film and pull off some great special effects through out. The movie is beautiful to look at and I had an excellent time with it. You can watch Copper Bill on Amazon Prime Video for a small rental fee. I think most folks who are into crime thrillers will enjoy this.

Brett Bentman certainly seems to be on a great path as a film maker who works with wrestlers as he also wrote and directed 90 Feet From Home starring Shawn Michaels. With two films starring professional wrestlers already under his belt and one more in the pipeline, he is someone I’m going to keep my eye on.