SLUGFEST - VOD Action Movies

This week on SLUGFEST... it's a very special episode. Partially because we broke format to cover Crank 2: High Voltage , a movie that opened theatrically in the US. But mostly because this was a racist, homophobic, misogynist train wreck that hurt our eyes, ears, stomachs, hearts, souls, and bums. It's a shame, because it also features some very innovative cinematography, editing, choreo...

Ryan and Brant hop into a time machine, to check out the dystopian future in 1997's Drive . Starring Kadeem Hardison and Mark Dacascos, the future looks surprisingly like... 1997. Not to be confused with the unrelated 2011 movie Drive starring Ryan Gosling, the slugs really enjoyed most aspects of this movie, including fantastic martial arts, a scene-stealing Brittany Murphy, and wanton acts...

This week, SLUGFEST enters the world of 2020's Jiu Jitsu .  Supermonks who square off against an alien, who comes to earth to fight our greatest martial arts champions. It stars Nic Cage, Tony Jaa, Alain Moussi, Frank Grillo, and Juju Chan. What could possibly go wrong? As it turns out, a LOT. Jiu Jitsu is available on Amazon Prime and Apple Movies. Do you like the show? You dang straight you...

This week, SLUGFEST studies at the feet of the ancient Chinese military genius Sun-Tzu, who famously advised, "keep your great VOD action movies close, and your lousy VOD action movies closer." In that spirit, Ryan and Brant are keeping The Art of War II: Betrayal verrrrry close. This sequel features the return of Wesley Snipes as Neil Shaw, and introduces a plot that defies logic and co...

It's a very special SEAGAL-SIZED episode, as we talk about  2008's Pistol Whipped , starring Steven Seagal. The master of joint locks finds himself in debt to a mystery benefactor. Seagal is then forced take on organized crime threatening Bridgeport, Connecticut. It's a heaping-helping  of... extracurricular justice . Clocking in at over 90 minutes, we had to invite our first repeat...

Are you ready for the bloodiest of bloodbaths? Brant and Ryan watched 2018's The Night Comes for Us , starring Joe Taslim and Iko Uwais. Tune in and listen to them pretend like the experience didn't leave them permanently traumatized. The Night Comes for Us is available on Netflix . Do you like the show? Awwww yeah buddy. So help us out! Listen, rate, review, and share our show over at A...

SLUGFEST takes in the next chapter in the Boyka saga: 2010's Undisputed 3: Redemption. Another week, another must-watch . When will the streak end!? This time Yuri Boyka gets sent to a Georgian Prison where the fight stakes are: you win ... or you die! ...And quite possibly you win and you die! Ryan and Brant disagree  on the current Undisputed sequel rankings. Ryan delights in the more forma...

SLUGFEST reviews 2009's Blood and Bone , trying to make a little green in the fight game. It's a must-watch spectacular: Michael Jai White owns the ring, and Eamonn Walker crushes it as a passionate, brutal crime boss. Julian Sands is a creepy, rich English snob—and he plays one in this movie, too! /RIMSHOT/ Ryan is the beneficiary of Brant's first apology (ever), and Ryan waxes poe...

SLUGFEST talks about 1975's The Flying Guillotine , directed by Meng-Hua Ho and starring Kuan Tai Chen . Come for the classic 70's kung-fu and outrageous dubbing; stay for the flying  beekeeper's hat of death. No, that is not a typo. The Flying Guillotine is currently available for Amazon Prime subscribers . Do you like the show? Sure you do. Then help us out! Listen, rate, review,...

Back in 2018, Nic Cage and Laurence Fishburne were Running with the Devil .  SLUGFEST retraces their journey (from a safe distance). Ryan argues for the half of this movie that falls south of the border, while Brant just wanted more scenes with Cole Hauser and Adam Goldberg. Running with the Devil is currently available on Hulu . Do you like the show? Sure you do. Then help us out! Listen, rate, r...

The Slugs take on 2018's Revenger , starring Bruce Khan as a police detective whose drive for revenge leads him to an island populated with... serial killers! This happy lark is rated a must-watch —by unanimous decision! Ryan gushes over Khan's superior athleticism, while Brant overanalyzes the logistics of an unsurveilled murder-island that enjoys shared international custody. Revenger...

The SLUGFEST operators get tactical and reconnoiter 2018's All The Devil's Men , now streaming on Netflix . It stars Milo Gibson, son of Mel, and the always amazing William Fichtner. Because of the dangerous and classified nature of this mission, Ryan and Brant were joined by friend of the show, DJ Tone. We suit up, lock and load, keep our heads on a swivel, eyes on our six, and try to s...

BONUS CONTENT ALERT! The final installment of Jean-Claude Van January is 2001's The Order . Ryan and Brant are teleported to the holy city of Jerusalem for a celebration of life, love, and kicks that land above the collarbone. Ryan is very distracted by JCVD's vivacious face paint, while Brant is very distracted by JCVD's vivacious co-star. Join us as we smash some Faberge eggs and...

2018's Black Water , Starring Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren is available now on Amazon Prime . Ryan and Brant continue their descent into the depths of JCVD’s catalog in celebration of Jean-Claude Van January. ...And this week, the boys hit bottom. Like the show? Help us out! Listen, rate, review, and share our show over at Apple Podcasts or over on Spotify . Want to give us your t...

SLUGFEST's celebration of Jean-Claude Van January continues with the 1999 film, Inferno . Ryan and Brant are joined by special guest and friend of the show, Scott Mountain, to discuss one of Van Damme's weirdest movies. It's like if Yojimbo was set in Area 51. Don't know what that means? Neither do we.  Like our show? Tell a friend. Rate and review. Subscribe. Do you like the s...

It's episode two of Jean-Claude Van January , and our next stop takes us to JCVD's homeland of Belgium for the 2018 gritty knuckle duster, The Bouncer . Watchability is at all-time highs as Ryan and Brant soak in one of Van Damme's best all-time performances as muscle-for-hire who is past his prime and in over his head.  Like the show? Help us out! Listen, rate, review, and share ou...

2020 is finally over! We're so excited because that means it's officially Jean-Claude Van January over at SLUGFEST. Our first stop on the Muscles from Brussels world tour is a secluded Russian Prison, to watch 2003's In Hell , directed by Ringo Lam. Its got guns, knives, car chases,  incinerations, fighting tournaments, and JCVD learning to escape the most dangerous prison of all......

Ryan and Brant watch 2010's  The Stranger , starring Stone Cold himself, Steve Austin. He's big. He's beefy. He smashes people. He's got no memory (unless you count the distractingly frequent flashbacks). Plus, Ryan teaches Brant about the WWE's Attitude Era and the origins of Stone Cold's "Austin 3:16" catchphrase. Do you like the show? So help us out! List...

Welcome to the party, pal! To celebrate the season, SLUGFEST breaks the VOD format to review a theatrical release. Ryan selected an early oeuvre of Bruce Willis, an obscure art-house film by the name of Die Hard .  Yippee ki yay podcast listener ! Like our podcast - go head over to Apple Podcasts and give SLUGFEST a review and a rating! Do you like the show? So help us out! Listen, rate, review, a...

Imagine a really crappy knockoff of 1988's Die Hard . Now imagine an even crappier knockoff of that knockoff, that was made a full twenty-five years later. That's right; Ryan and Brant watched the 2020 Netflix original, Welcome To Sudden Death , starring Michael Jai White. We have... a lot of questions. Why do these guns have so many rules? Why are Jai White's shirts so tight? Why i...

BOYKA! BOYKA! BOYKA! It's the prison tournament movie to end all prison tournament movies. Ryan and Brant slug it out over who is the better fighter—Michael Jai White or Scott Adkins. They do agree that this movie is MUST WATCH. Starter jackets! Sad harmonicas! Shit Shoveling! This movie has all of the things. Do you like the show? So help us out! Listen, rate, review, and share our show over...

What's better than one action hero? THREE ACTION HEROES!!! What's better than one action villain? THREE ACTION VILLAINS!!! Ryan and Brant face a Triple Threat , Jesse V. Johnson's 2019 action smorgasbord.   Featuring Tony Jaa, Iko Uwai, Tiger Chen, Scott Adkins, Michael Jai White, and Michael Bisping, this convoluted spectacle of cinematic action will leave you screaming at your TV,...

It's like Taken , except with convincing hand-to-hand combat, there's a nurse with a heart of gold, and it's in Vietnamese. That's right, Ryan and Brant have stumbled in 2019's Furie . Prepare to see Veronica Ngo ( The Last Jedi ) do what it takes to get her daughter back from kidnappers. And "what it takes" includes getting punched, kicked, choked, stabbed, run...

A deadly, virulent illness. Right-wing militants. An out-of-shape strongman leader and his sycophants who lack even a basic understanding of science. No, we're not shifting gears to talk current events. Ryan and Brant review Steven Seagal's original DTV movie, 1996's  The Patriot.  So brew a nice hot mug of wildflower tea, put on your finest duster, and dive in. Do you like the show...

As we're all stuck in quarantine, sometimes it's important to reflect on the important things. Like maybe don't remember public transportation through rose-colored glasses. Or consider how breaking quarantine can result in a zombies biting through your corteroid artery. We intended to review Train to Busan and release it for Halloween, but Brant totally effed up getting this done in...