THE LAST STAND - Arnold Returns - "Mindless Fun"!

[AndyDursin]

Looks good. And with a sense of humor too...

[mkaroly]

HA HA HA! Now THAT looks like a winner! I'm all over that when it comes out.

[John Johnson]

[Monterey Jack]

Mid-January release...we have a winner, folks!

[AndyDursin]

Mid-January release...we have a winner, folks!

Considering Stallone's RAMBO revival, TAKEN, THE GREY and several other action films have been released in January and done pretty well in recent years, I think it's a wise move, especially considering Arnold is trying to re-establish his career.

Besides, January isn't a death sentence anymore. If this was the '90s, sure, but there have been some decent films released in January over the last 5-10 years -- not to mention movies that might've sucked but made lots of money (like all the Underworld pictures!). It's not just a dumping ground for Christmas wannabes that got moved out of that slot because they were so terrible (which is what it typically used to be -- hello NOTHING BUT TROUBLE lol!).

[Monterey Jack]

I'll admit The Grey was a pretty awesome movie, and Taken was good (albiet puzzlingly overappreciated/successful), but overall, January is a pretty lean month for quality movies, and the fact that Arnie's solo "comback" is being relegated to such a release slot isn't very encouraging.

[AndyDursin]

I'll admit The Grey was a pretty awesome movie, and Taken was good (albiet puzzlingly overappreciated/successful), but overall, January is a pretty lean month for quality movies, and the fact that Arnie's solo "comback" is being relegated to such a release slot isn't very encouraging.

Remember though: this a $30 million, virtually low budget Lionsgate action flick. It's not a high profile studio picture -- and really, it's a trial balloon to see if Arnie can get some of his movie mojo back after a long hiatus. Really it makes total sense for it to come out in January, especially when Rambo did well for them a few years ago (not great business, but good enough). And it's the same type of deal: aging action star trying to revive his career to a degree. Absolutely, the studio is trying to get it out there in the least competitive marketplace -- not necessarily because it's bad (maybe it is; who knows), but also because they honestly don't know what they have now with Arnold starring. This whole project is a wild card, which is why the film has such a modest budget. It's like they have to sell the film AND the star at the same time.

Arnold's been off the screen for years and his "brand" was fading even before he took over the Governator's office (movies like Collateral Damage and End of Days fizzled, and even the decent Sixth Day flopped). Have to see how he fares in this type of flick before someone commits to ponying up the kind of money, and budgets, his movies routinely used to have. Until then, this is the type of project we'll see -- hopefully it'll be entertaining.

BTW this brief article cites that Schwarzenegger took a pay cut to star in this film, and that the movie is a "testing the waters" type of project to see what he can get back in terms of an audience:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... aters.html

[AndyDursin]

12 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes -- all of them positive and from some believable outlets at that. So for the moment (surely someone won't like it), it's at 100% fresh.

Tickets SOLD

[Mike Skerritt]

This is getting good write-ups from online folks of our generation who tend to know the difference between garbage and a solid B-movie. BULLET TO THE HEAD seems to be getting the same kind of buzz.

Strange that it took the action heroes from the 80's to show the kids today how it was done in the 80's.

[AndyDursin]

This is getting good write-ups from online folks of our generation who tend to know the difference between garbage and a solid B-movie.

Exactly, good point Mike. This isn't a $100 million grade A studio film. It is a B-movie, $35 million independently financed film that looks like it's going to deliver exactly what it promised -- and yeah, that fits the bill for a January movie in 2012.