THE PACKAGE (Jesse V. Johnson, 2012)

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Re: THE PACKAGE (Jesse V. Johnson, 2012) February 15-19 inU.

Postby Jox on 15 Feb 2013, 10:21

www.cinemaheadcheese.blogspot.com/2013/ ... ead+Cheese)

“The Package” coming out February 19th courtesy of Anchor bay is a superior action film then most.


Now my favorite action star of all time plays the villain in this one. That man is Dolph Lundgren who is probably the best actor working in action movies. He's got more depth and smarts in him then most guys. He always brings something special to his characters.

Outside of the Universal Soldier films, Dolph never really plays the villain that often. But he pulls it off big time in this flick.

From the plot you may think this is “The Transporter” with Steve Austin. It's not, this is a better movie. It's gritty, it's violent and it features some of the best punch em up sequences committed to celluloid.

This is do to the director Jesse V. Johnson, who is one of the best current action directors. This man can take a small budget and put every single penny of it on screen. His resume is an action fans wet dream. Pit Fighter was an excellent no-budget fight flick. The Last Sentinel starring Don The Dragon Wilson and Katie Sackoff was an above average sci-fi shoot em up fest. Alien Agent with Mark Dacascos and Billy Zane was a solid film all around. But Jesse's masterpiece was his most personal film “Charlie Valentine”.

Johnson was first a stuntman before he was a director so he knows how to properly film an action scene. All of the fights in “The Package” are hard hitting and realistic.

Johnson understands that action needs emotion. There needs to be emotion connected to the action, that's what the Hong Kong directors do so well. Am I calling Johnson the American John Woo? No, but I'm calling Johnson the next Vic Armstrong who also is a stunt man/director. Who just so happened to work with Dolph on the gem of a film “Joshua Tree”.

Very few DTV action directors give a shit about there films but Jesse does. He's an action fan who delivers the goods for the fans of these kinds of flicks. I put Jesse right up there with John Hyams and Roel Reiné. Two directors who also crank out quality action films.

Action films may be dying slow horrible deaths at the cinema's. But “real action” is still very much alive on the small screen. Thanks to folks like Jesse V Johnson who understand what elements are required to make a solid film.

Anchor Bay releases “The Package” on a Blu-ray/DVD combo pack and the film looks outstanding. The film was shot on HD on a Arri Alexa so the film looks slick! It's presented in it's orginal widescreen aspect ratio of 1.78 : 1.

The audio is equally impressive, the music never gets in the way so you can clearly hear every bone breaking and every bullet fired.

Extra's are non existent which is a shame because both Dolph and Jesse can deliver really good audio commentary's. It's a small gripe, but it's a great film so I don't mind so much.


This film comes HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for fans of Steve Austin and Dolph Lundgren. I'll tell you this, I reviewed a screener of the film but I liked it so much that I still am picking up a copy of it on Blu-ray when it hits the streets on Feb 19th. You should to, otherwise you'll be missing out on one of the best action films of the year.
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Re: THE PACKAGE (Jesse V. Johnson, 2012) February 15-19 inU.

Postby Jox on 16 Feb 2013, 01:37

Can anybody make the 7.10pm (PST) show tonight with the Q&A with Austin?
http://www.laemmle.com/viewmovie.php?mid=8780

I don't get why Anchor Bay only releases stills with Dolph in his robe... :?
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Re: THE PACKAGE (Jesse V. Johnson, 2012) February 15-19 inU.

Postby Jox on 17 Feb 2013, 13:30

Apparently there was an LA Times review friday that praised Dolph!

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Re: THE PACKAGE (Jesse V. Johnson, 2012) February 15-19 inU.

Postby Jox on 18 Feb 2013, 21:00

PRETTY COOL REVIEW IN THE L.A. TIMES! 8)

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/mo ... 3640.story

Review: With 'The Package,' Dolph Lundgren grows ever hipper
He again makes the most of a small role, elevating the film starring Steve Austin in the process.

By Mark Olsen
February 15, 2013

Seriously, y'all, let's try to settle this: When did Dolph Lundgren become so cool?

In the last few years, he has gone from some sort of where-are-they-now punch line to the B-grade action movie's answer to Cary Grant. Forget how he looks with a rocket launcher, have you seen him rock a pocket square? After having come across as the suave one amid the hard-core macho puffery of the "Expendables" pictures as well as diving into the psychotropic madness of "Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning," with "The Package," Lundgren continues his recent streak of making the most of small roles, elevating each movie in the process.

As a small-time enforcer hustling hard to pay back his brother's debts, Steve Austin gets more screen time, powering through his share of groan-inducing one-liners and using the blunt "How about losing the towel?" to seduce a freshly showered lady friend. Lundgren, on the other hand, transforms a scene in which he simultaneously makes a fruit smoothie and kills a guy into something almost sweetly domestic.

Directed by Jesse V. Johnson from a script by Derek Kolstad, "The Package" is a relentlessly straightforward story in which Austin is tasked with delivering a mysterious package to crime boss Lundgren, with others fighting to intercept it. Notwithstanding the strange scene in which a female villain is revealed to have been a sadistic military interrogator — "I did it for fun," she says — to somehow clear a path to Austin beating on her, "The Package" is uncomplicated guy's guy movie time, the screen version of the starchy passing pleasures of bar food.

—Mark Olsen
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Re: THE PACKAGE (Jesse V. Johnson, 2012) February 15-19 inU.

Postby dolphage on 19 Feb 2013, 00:13

It's so awesome that the Big Guy is getting recognition for his acting! It seems like having an interesting character to play is a very important thing for him now, like he's having scripts re-written to punch up his role and stuff. It's paying off!
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Re: THE PACKAGE (Jesse V. Johnson, 2012)

Postby Jox on 19 Feb 2013, 11:24

Yep! And although you might think he's playing his usual "bad guy self" here, there's actually something more in his presence, his eyes and demeanor that's quite scary at times... plus there's the tragicness of the character, and he's purposely meant to look older and sick here
And again he's sporting a very classy wardrobe here, making you think how awesome he would be in a classic gangster role of the 30s with an Al Capone machine gun!
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Re: THE PACKAGE (Jesse V. Johnson, 2012)

Postby Jox on 19 Feb 2013, 22:23

Exhibitor Relations ‏@ERCboxoffice
Another EXPENDABLES w/out their dependables casualty: Dolph Lundgren & Steve Austin's THE PACKAGE scored just $1,095 in its debut.

Not that bad for an opening week-end of a unique release with no publicity and in comparison with US4.

New reviews:
http://bluray.highdefdigest.com/8106/the_package.html

http://www.wearemoviegeeks.com/2013/02/ ... lu-review/
After starting his career as an over-sized Russian robot in ROCKY 4, Lundgren has been given the chance to show off more of his personality. I’m not saying Lundgren should start working on his Oscar speech anytime soon, but he plays ‘The German’ with aplomb and the sort of light touch this dopey action flick needs.


Steve Austin interview:
http://www.craveonline.com/film/intervi ... he-package
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Re: THE PACKAGE (Jesse V. Johnson, 2012)

Postby Jox on 19 Feb 2013, 23:10

http://blog.mysanantonio.com/dvd/2013/0 ... ve-austin/
Unlike many movies of this genre, however, “The Package” is good enough to make you wonder why it wasn’t in theaters.
Admittedly, this isn’t one of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s epics, but it’s a pretty good movie nonetheless. It’s action-packed, offers touches of humor at appropriate moments
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Re: THE PACKAGE (Jesse V. Johnson, 2012)

Postby Jox on 20 Feb 2013, 11:36

Killcount
http://www.allouttabubblegum.com/main/?p=15838
http://blip.tv/AllOuttaBubbleGum/the-pa ... 2Ftr01-com)

Blu-ray.com review
http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/The-Packa ... 19/#Review
Dolph Lundgren, on the other hand, plays a sadistic health nut who's more than capable of punishing bad guys, doling out violence quirky and efficiently and with as much accuracy as he displays when reciting all the health benefits of a mango. He seems to take a page out of Christian Bale's American Psycho playbook, and he portrays that kind of character quite effectively, showing that he's far more than a muscled body (which anyone who's listened to his well-spoken commentary tracks already knows).


Steve Austin interviews
http://siteadmin.kisw.com/listen/stone- ... n-02-19-13

http://rodryan.iheart.com/player/?stati ... z2LQbYgMX9

http://www.gamerhub.tv/articles/stone-c ... e-package/
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Re: THE PACKAGE (Jesse V. Johnson, 2012)

Postby Nathan on 20 Feb 2013, 15:28

"Are we having fun yet?" - Dolph Lundgren, Universal Soldier
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Re: THE PACKAGE (Jesse V. Johnson, 2012)

Postby Jox on 20 Feb 2013, 16:37

I suspect they used the same location for the interiors of Dolph's house as the Bo Svenson's mansion in ICARUS, anyone else agrees with me?
(and it wouldn't be a surprise since it's shot in Vancouver as well with some of the same crew)
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Re: THE PACKAGE (Jesse V. Johnson, 2012)

Postby Nathan on 21 Feb 2013, 00:59

Jox wrote:I suspect they used the same location for the interiors of Dolph's house as the Bo Svenson's mansion in ICARUS, anyone else agrees with me?
(and it wouldn't be a surprise since it's shot in Vancouver as well with some of the same crew)


Shit, I knew I recognised it in the still where Steve is holding up the two machine guns, I just couldn't place it. I'm thinking the same now. I actually thought that set was one of the best bits in Icarus. Typical huh, they just finished putting it back together from when Dolph destroyed it the last time... :mrgreen:
"Are we having fun yet?" - Dolph Lundgren, Universal Soldier
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Re: THE PACKAGE (Jesse V. Johnson, 2012)

Postby Jox on 21 Feb 2013, 10:51

http://www.venganzamedia.com/Gazette/20 ... e-package/
The high point in this movie is The German. Lundgren plays this mysterious bad-ass for humor. Obsessed with culinary delights, The German regales his victims with recipes for fish sandwiches, fruit smoothies, and martinis. While even in his heyday Lundgren was never one for emoting on-screen, here the aging tough-guy has a subdued sense of playfulness that makes me wish he was given more to do.
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