Cool guys don't look at explosions, and such is the case with The Expendables 2, which is pretty much nothing but cool guys, explosions, and the making fun of both. Sylvester Stallone reteams with his Expendables crew for this pretty silly and plot-thin movie about a commando team tasked with doing something heroic that involves a black box, a town of women and children whose miner husbands/fathers have been taken hostage by the evil Vilain (get it?) played by Jean-Claude Van Damme, and lots and LOTS of self-parody. Fans of '80s action movies (and hell, the last Expendables) will eat it up -- the Chuck Norris scene is really pretty awesome -- and it's a mindless good time seeing all these dudes together on the big screen especially with Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger given a little more to do. Just don't look for anything resembling a story, or great acting. Extras: Featurettes on assembling the (literally) massive cast, '80s action movies, the real-life weaponry and militia men behind the movie, deleted scenes, gag reel (DVD/BD).
Box Set Must-Buy
It's hard to believe it has been 20 years since Quentin Tarantino made his directing debut with Reservoir Dogs, and went on to change the Hollywood landscape forever with seminal films like Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill and Inglourious Basterds. Celebrating these last two decades (and just in time for the director's next movie, Django Unchained) is the 10-disc Blu-ray release Tarantino XX, which contains eight of the filmmaker's best work: Reservoir Dogs, True Romance, Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown, Kill Bill Vols. 1 and 2, Death Proof and Inglourious Basterds. Special features to the set include an in-depth critics' discussion about how the director has redefined cinema over the years, and a behind-the-scenes look at his career via interviews with stars and crew. There are, however, no new features to the individual movies themselves--but the cool Mondo-designed packaging will make you ditch your old standalone versions in favor of this set.
