Action Movie Hall of Fame

In 1988, Bloodsport was released. It has exactly one star: Jean-Claude Van Damme, who is not good at acting. And how does the fighting hold up all these decades later? Bloodsport and JCVD are in the fight of their life. Can they beat the odds, and their way into the Action Movie Hall of Fame? Or will they get blind-sided along the way?

In 2008,  the Wachowski Sisters took the bold choice to follow up the Matrix Trilogy and V for Vendetta by using the IP from the Speed Racer cartoon to make Speed Racer the movie. Critically panned upon it's arrival, it has enjoyed a second life as a cult classic. But the film is still very decisive. Will Speed Racer have enough in the tank to cruise into the Action Movie Hall of Fame, or will it's mish-mash nature work against it, sending it back to the paddock, looking for answers?

Ahoy, matey. That's something people on a ship say, though it's not uttered once in 2003's Master and Commander: the Far Side of the World. To mark it's 20th anniversary, Matt and Dereck take a stab at reviewing this swashbuckling adventure. Due to it's poor return on investment, a sequel was never made. But where does that leave this film? Will it be able to sneakily maneuver it's way into the Action Movie Hall of Fame, or will it be left at sea?

Before the Action Movie Hall of Fame podcast launched, Matt and Dereck recorded a pilot episode, never before released to the public. The episode, meant as a test run, was a review 1998's Ronin. Now, 25 years after it's release, the guys revisit this movie that will always have a special place in the history of the AMHOF. In the pilot episode, Ronin did not make it into the Hall. Will anything change this time around? Or should Ronin just forget any of this ever happened, and walk away?

In 2018, a movie came out that changed the course of American Cinema: 2018's Den of Thieves. Okay, that may be overstating things. But it certainly borrowed heavily from some great American Cinema, plus Gerard Butler is unhinged in the best way possible in this. All this to say, Matt and Dereck will review this wildly entertaining heist movie. Does it have all the pieces in place to maneuver it's way into the Action Movie Hall of Fame? Or will it get left behind while the real mastermind is at a bar somewhere in London, trying to fake out people with a horrible British accent?

This week, Matt and Dereck go back to 1998 to visit the German cult-classic, Run Lola Run. The red hair streaking through the streets of Berlin. The Groundhog Day/Edge of Tomorrow-style story-telling. The pre-millennium electronica! Does this off-the-wall action crime thriller have enough ingredients to make a run at the Action Movie Hall of Fame, or will it find that it's plans aren't working out?

In 1998, Kurt Russell starred in the action movie, Solider. And in the 25 years since then, everyone has forgotten about this movie. Everyone, accept for Dereck. This week, he and Matt review what could be a cult classic, if you squint hard enough. Will Kurt Russell's steely-blue gaze be enough to penetrate the Action Movie Hall of Fame, or will those eyes experience something resembling actual human emotion, when it gets denied?

The John Wick movies have joined the conversation as one of the best action movie franchises since is exploded onto the scene in 2014. This week, Matt and Dereck do one of their special Parking Lot Reviews, minutes after seeing the JW4 in the theatre. How does this compare to the other John Wick movies? Is this too long, with a nearly 3 hour runtime? And does this franchise have any fresh ideas left? The guys talk about that, rank the Wick movies, and decide whether or not it will be up for potential induction to the AMHOF in 5 years time. 

The AMHOF is back! After an extended break (2 weeks), the tension has been building as part 2 of the AMHOF Double Feature dares to answer one of cinemas most hotly debated questions: which is the better White-House-Under-Siege-film-of-2013: Olympus Has Fallen, or White House Down?  Matt and Dereck will also decide if White House Down has enough of its resume to make it into the AMHOF.

There's no doubt about it: David Lynch's 1984 version of Dune is weird as hell. But it laid the groundwork for the Denis Villeneuve movies. There are actually a lot of similarities between the former and latter films when it comes to the arch of beats of the story. In this episode, Matt and Dereck will do a deep dive on this 84 Cult Classic. Why was it originally received so poorly? And does it have enough spice to make it into the Action Movie Hall of Fame? Or will this movie be disregarded and forgotten about, like a used heart plug?