Film Actually Ep033 (125) – The Mechanic Old and New

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Hosts: David McVay & Josh Philpott

This week we review “The Mechanic”, the original and the remake. We also take a look at a bunch of new trailers including: “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides”, “Captain America: The First Avenger”, “Your Highness” and “The Big Bang”. All this and a new Lists of Five: Five Movie Assassins. So get comfy it’s a long show this week. Film Actually is the official movie podcast of geekactually.com.

*Update 31/07/2012 – Film Actually was a split off from the main Geek Actually show and originally maintained numbering continuity with that show. That logic no longer works as the shows have become two unique entities, so we have gone back and re-numbered the Film Actually shows to reflect their true episode number. This show is now officially episode 33 but when you listen to the show you will hear it referred to as episode 125, this is why. Sorry about any confusion or inconvenience.

Film Actually is recorded live every Saturday. Go to geekactually.com/live for the schedule and to watch it

Your show notes:

Entertainment Buzz

New trailer for “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides”.
https://geekactually.com/2011/03/22/new-trailer-pirates-of-the-caribbean-on-stranger-tides/

Screen legend Elizabeth Taylor dies at 79 of heart failure
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/12517000/ns/today-entertainment/

The “Captain America: The First Avenger” trailer is finally here!
https://geekactually.com/2011/03/24/new-trailer-captain-america-the-first-avenger/

A director’s cut of the 1990 version of “Captain America” coming in May! WooHoo!
http://io9.com/#!5784495/directors-cut-of-the-1990-captain-america-movie-coming-in-may

The second Red Band trailer for “Your Highness”, we’re still not excited!
https://geekactually.com/2011/03/24/new-red-band-trailer-your-highness/

Trailer for “The Big Bang”.
http://www.slashfilm.com/the-big-bang-trailer/

Feature Film Reviews

‘The Mechanic’ (AKA “Killer of Killers”) (1972) directed by Michael Winner and written by Lewis John Carlino. It stars Charles Bronson, Jan-Michael Vincent, Keenan Wynn, Linda Ridgeway and Jill Ireland.

The Mechanic (or Assassin) Arthur is the best at his craft; he has made assassination an art form. He has learned to stay detached and methodical. But when he is told to kill his friend, Harry, it’s hard for him but he does it anyway. Harry’s son Steve wants into the business and Arthur decides to make Steve his apprentice. The plot thickens when Arthur finds out that Steve’s next contract is Arthur.

Our Verdict: A seminal 70’s classic and although dated still stands up today. Bronson is cold, clinical and methodical. The opening 15 minutes is still a cinema classic.

Watch the trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgBo7eWQlHY

‘The Mechanic’ (2011) directed by Simon West and written by Richard Wenk and Lewis John Carlino. It is based on the 1972 film of the same name. It stars Jason Statham, Ben Foster, Tony Goldwyn, Donald Sutherland and Mini Anden.

The Mechanic (or Assassin) Arthur is the best at his job; he says a bullet is easy but making it look like a hit didn’t take place is an art form. He has learned to stay detached. But when he is told to kill his friend, Harry, it’s hard for him but he does it anyway. Harry’s son Steve is so depressed over his father’s death he sets out kill every carjacker he can find. Arthur decides to make Steve his apprentice. And while Steve is not as refined as Arthur he learns fast but plot thickens when Steve finds out it was Arthur who killed his father.

Our Verdict: As a stand alone film it is DVD fodder at best, as a remake it doesn’t even compare to the original. It is more a poor “Transporter” film rather than a remake of the original.

Watch the trailer here: http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/independent/themechanic/

Lists of Five

This week our Lists of Five: Five Movie Assassins.

Just a reminder, because we never like to just make things easy on ourselves, our lists are not necessarily top five lists, they are more or a less a list of film recommendations within the theme of the list. The full lists can be found on our Facebook page.

This episode carries an explicit tag due to infrequent coarse language.

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