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Colm Meaney, who played Miles O’Brien on both Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, was honored on February 14 with the Irish Academy Lifetime Achievement Award, presented to him by the Irish Film & Television Academy. Among those paying tribute to the actor was his longtime friend and Star Trek co-star and director, Jonathan Frakes.

During his time on Star Trek, especially during his DS9 era with the franchise, Meaney took time off to appear in a wide range of features in America and abroad. His seemingly endless list of credits, which saw him portray good guys and bad guys, and tackle both supporting roles and leads, includes The Dead, Die Hard 2, The Commitments, Under Siege, The Last of the Mohicans, Con Air, The Van, Hell on Wheels (in which he co-starred with future Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' lead Anson Mount), Tolkien, Gangs of London,...

Stars: Daisy Ridley, Matthew Tuck, Clive Owen, Lee Boardman, Rufus Jones, Taz Skylar, Ruth Gemmell | Written by Matthew Orton, Simon Uttley, Paul Andrew Williams | Directed by Martin Campbell

Since the original Die Hard took the world by storm in 1988, it has inspired countless sequels and knock-offs. Often built around the same basic premise, these films have become a sub-genre in their own right. From Die Hard 2: Die Harder set in an airport, to Under Siege on a naval vessel, Passenger 57 on a plane, and even Olympus Has Fallen and White House Down in the White House, the formula has been repeated in various locations, with a lone hero taking on the bad guys and saving the hostages.

Now, Cleaner, directed by Martin Campbell and written by Matthew Orton, Simon Uttley (James Hyde – The Very Thought of You), and Paul Andrew Williams, brings the formula back to where it all started,...

By now the "'Die Hard' on a"-style movie is basically its own genre. John McTiernan's legendary 1988 actioner spawned more imitators than perhaps any movie in Hollywood history. Many action fans know, for instance, that "Speed" is essentially "Die Hard on a bus," and its follow-up, "Speed 2: Cruise Control," literally was supposed to be "Die Hard 3" before its script was rejected in favor of the "Die Hard with a Vengeance" screenplay. "Cliffhanger" is "Die Hard" on a mountain, "Air Force One" is "Die Hard" on a plane. Heck, even today we're seeing the movie reproduced in the form of Netflix thriller "Carry-On," a Christmas action movie which is essentially just "Die Hard 2" with Taron Edgerton and Jason Bateman.

While many of these imitators are excellent action movies in their own right, the "Die Hard" formula doesn't always produce such quality. Take "Aftermath," a new movie...

The massively underrated Renny Harlin/Shane Black action film with Geena Davis and Samuel L. Jackson is getting a well-deserved upgrade. The Long Kiss Goodnight is also a notable movie that Samuel L. Jackson says he would love to do a sequel for. However, as fun as it is, the Christmas action film can always stand strongly on its own without the concern of a follow-up that misguidedly taints it. However, hopefully the film will find a new audience as Blu-ray.com is now reporting that The Long Kiss Goodnight is getting a 4K Ultra-hd release, courtesy of Arrow Video. And if you’re a fan of the film, it’s Christmas time for you, because you’re getting all the goodies to come with it.

The description reads,

“From screenwriter Shane Black and director Renny Harlin comes ass-kicking action thriller The Long Kiss Goodnight.

Eight years ago, Samantha Caine...

After a lengthy hiatus, Netflix’s spy series “The Recruit” is back for season 2, and it’s bringing a few new faces with it.

Don’t worry, we’re still with the characters that fans have come to know and love. It’s just that, this season, Owen Hendricks’ (Noah Centineo) antics take us to South Korea, after he was kidnapped at the end of last season. And that means a whole new set of spies (and potentially enemies).

Here’s who you need to know and remember in “The Recruit’s” Season 2 cast.

Noah Centineo as Owen Hendricks in “Yhe Recruit” (Photo Credit: Netflix) Owen Hendricks (Noah Centineo)

Owen was recruited to the CIA as a lawyer, and has since found himself in just so many sticky situations. He’s played by Noah Centineo, who shot to fame with “The Fosters” and Netflix’s “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” franchise.

I’m unsure if Netflix is trying to drum up some competition between spy thriller shows. The Recruit’s second season is set to stream this week, while the puzzlingly uber-popular The Night Agent’s sophomore effort premiered the week before. For my money, there is no competition.

Both shows are imperfect, but The Recruit has far more fun with its genre premise than The Night Agent. Led by heartthrob Noah Centineo, the second season offers thrills and laughs while smartly dropping some of the dead weight of personal relationships.

I’ll offer another hot take on the subject — The Recruit is smarter than the latter.

Related Real Reason Why Lana Condor and Noah Centineo Never Dated in Real Life is Far From What The Actress Said Netflix’s The Recruit Review and Synopsis

The second season follows Centineo’s Owen Hendricks, who has just finished a crash course in...

Christmas 2024 saw Netflix deliver the latest in a seemingly infinite line of kinda cool action movies ultimately doomed to become the digital equivalent of fossils buried on the servers of the streaming giant. "Carry On" is an action thriller set in Lax, in which Taron Egerton's Tsa officer must thwart a plot to unleash a deadly nerve agent onboard a plane. In other words, it was a Christmas action movie set entirely in an airport, and was therefore inescapably indebted to "Die Hard 2."

That particular action sequel has a bit of a strange legacy, which extends beyond influencing middling Netflix movies. While the 1988 original sits atop pretty much every ranking of the "Die Hard" movies, 1990's "Die Hard 2" is surely a contender for second best. The legacy sequels discounted themselves from the conversation by turning Bruce Willis' John McClane into another generic superhero action archetype, which...

Colm Meaney, the Irish actor perhaps best known for playing Miles O’Brien across all seven seasons of “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” but with a wealth of other major film and TV credits to his name, is set to be honored with the Irish Academy Award for lifetime achievement.

Presented at the Irish Film & Television Academy (IFTA) awards on Feb. 14, the honor will celebrate a career spanning five decades that has seen Meaney work with some of the world’s most renowned filmmakers and actors.

“To say I was surprised when I got the news that IFTA wanted to give me this award, would be an understatement. I was truly shocked,” said Meaney. “To be asked to join this long list of very illustrious previous recipients is a huge honour, and I’m thrilled and looking forward to a good night in Dublin.”

Film credits on Meaney’s resume include...

As we enter 2025, the future of the box office looks as uncertain as ever, but if there's one thing we know for sure it's that we're all destined to scroll the Netflix interface for years to come. In recent weeks, amid the usual festive fare, the streamer offered up its usual cavalcade of kind of okay "content" that exited our collective cortex as quickly as it entered. Netflixers sent Megan Fox's sci-fi thriller "Subservience" to the top of the streamer's charts over the festive period, while the Keira Knightley-led spy thriller series "Black Doves" similarly triumphed in the Netflix rankings.

But Netflix's 2024 wasn't entirely defined by slickly-produced yet somehow instantly forgettable films and TV shows. Amid the 10 best Netflix movies of 2024, we had some real standouts, including what proved to be a breakout turn for Aaron Pierre in the excellent "Rebel Ridge" and the affecting family drama of "His Three Daughters.

Bruce Willis’ John McClane in Die Hard was a role that proved to be crucial to the industry. Before his role as one of the best action heroes in Hollywood, Willis had only starred in the fan-favorite TV series Moonlighting. However, his salary at the time for 1988’s Die Hard was revolutionary for a first-time movie star in the industry.

Bruce Willis in a still from Die Hard 2 | Credits: 20th Century Studios

Willis shared that he did not get the deserved appreciation. He was probably referring to the media questioning his exorbitantly high salary at the time. However, The Sixth Sense actor was only scratching the surface of his career achievements in the industry when he received his first Die Hard salary.

Bruce Willis did not get the deserved appreciation for changing the Hollywood pay structure Bruce Willis as John McClane in Die Hard | Credits: 20th Century Studios

Bruce Willis was a TV star,...

Last Updated on December 26, 2024

Action fans have plenty of choices when it comes to Christmas viewing. You can watch John McClane take down bad guys at Nakatomi Plaza and Dulles International Airport in Die Hard and Die Hard 2; root for Rambo as he destroys a small town in First Blood; thrill at the sight of Marion “Cobra” Cobretti taking on the Night Slasher; see James Bond deal with love, loss, and Blofeld in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service; have a Shane Black marathon, starting with the Martin Riggs / Roger Murtaugh pairing Lethal Weapon; watch Houston police officer Jack Caine battle an extraterrestrial drug dealer in I Come in Peace (a.k.a. Dark Angel); take in a viewing of Batman Returns… the list goes on and on. But one movie that doesn’t get enough credit for being a sci-fi action Christmas classic is director Charles Band’s 1984 film Trancers…...

This week on the Film Stories Podcast Network, our array of film and TV chats are Christmas themed appropriately talking a brace of John McClane, festive Muppets and more. Here’s what we’ve been up to…

At the Movies in the 90s

Welcome to the (Christmas) party, pal! A. J. Black and new guest Mark McManus get into all things Die Hard 2 for this festive episode, which comes with an important announcement to boot…

Britcom Goes to the Movies

In the festive finale of the podcast’s third season, hosts Rob Heath and Guy Walker, with guest comedian Rob Gilroy, tackle 2014’s Christmas family comedy Get Santa…

CineMortuary

Wherever you find podcasts, it feels like Christmas! To bedlam with the premise of the show, instead Rob Yeomans, Dave Walker and Chris Wilson throw off the ghostly shackles of horror and enjoy the best Christmas film of all time...

Art Evans, the actor who appeared in Die Hard 2, A Soldier’s Story and so many more movies and TV shows beginning in the 1970s, has passed away at the age of 82. The cause of death was diabetes.

Art Evans had well over 100 credits to his name, normally playing smaller roles. One of these key ones was in Die Hard 2, in which he played an air traffic controller who aids in John McClane’s latest fight against terrorists. Another came in 1984 with A Soldier’s Story, co-starring alongside Howard E. Rollins Jr. and Adolph Caesar as an army private. While Caesar would end up receiving the bulk of the attention (receiving Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations), Evans was also making his own mark.

Art Evans got his career started the previous decade — after time studying theater and on the stage — earning his first credit on sitcom Chico and the Man.

Veteran film and television actor Art Evans, who played Leslie Barnes in Die Hard 2, has died. He was 82. Evans passed away on Saturday, December 21, of complications from diabetes, as confirmed by his wife, Babe Evans. His obituary noted he “passed away peacefully” while “surrounded by family.” “Art was not only an incredible actor but a devoted husband, friend, and source of light to everyone who knew him,” Babe said in a statement to EW. “His laughter, passion, and love of life will be deeply missed. While our hearts are heavy, we celebrate the legacy of joy and inspiration he leaves behind.” Born on March 27, 1942, in Berkeley, California, Evans’ acting career spanned over 40 years, with over 120 credits across film, theater, and television. He started out at Frank Silvera’s Theater of Being in Los Angeles before landing the starring role in The Amen Corner, which made its Broadway debut in...

At 82, Art Evans, a talented character actor known for his vast work in film and television, passed away. His diabetes, which he had been fighting for years, caused problems that led to his death on December 21. Babe Evans, his wife, confirmed the news and paid heartfelt tribute to his life and career.

“Art was not only an incredible actor but a devoted husband, friend, and source of light to everyone who knew him,” she said. “We will miss his laugh, passion, and love of life very much.” Even though our hearts are heavy, we are proud of the joy and influence he leaves behind.

Evans began his acting career at Frank Silvera’s Theater of Being. He was born in Los Angeles on March 27, 1942. He made it to Broadway and played the lead role in “The Amen Corner” in 1965. In the middle of the 1970s, he moved on to TV,...

Art Evans, the actor best known for his role as Leslie Barnes in Die Hard 2, has died. He was 82.

Evans died “peacefully in his sleep” surrounded by family on Dec. 21, a rep told The Hollywood Reporter.

“We are heartbroken to share that Art has passed away,” said his wife, Babe Evans. “Please respect our privacy at this time. A memorial will be held for friends and family to attend at a later date. Thank you.”

Evans’ Leslie Barnes is an air traffic control tower employee who helps Bruce Willis’ John McClane stop terrorists. In addition to the Die Hard installment, the actor also appeared alongside Denzel Washington and Adolph Ceasar in 1984’s A Soldier’s Story as Private James Wilkie.

During his career, Evans amassed more than 120 credits. On the big screen, Evans als appeared in films such as Christine, Big Time, Youngblood, National Lampoon’s Class Reunion, Fright Night, School Daze,...

Art Evans, the actor known for his roles in Die Hard 2 and A Soldier’s Story, has died. He was 82.

The actor’s rep tells Deadline he died on Saturday, Dec. 21 of diabetes, “a condition he courageously managed for many years.” No other details were immediately available.

“Art was not only an incredible actor but a devoted husband, friend, and source of light to everyone who knew him,” his wife Babe said in a statement. “His laughter, passion, and love of life will be deeply missed. While our hearts are heavy, we celebrate the legacy of joy and inspiration he leaves behind.”

His talent reps LyNea Bell and Charleen McGuire remembered him as “a remarkable talent who touched many lives with his work. He will be deeply missed by all who knew him.”

Born March 27, 1942 in Los Angeles, Evans came up at Frank Silvera’s Theater of Being before landing...

Art Evans, a film and television actor known for his roles in “Die Hard 2” and “Fright Night,” died Dec. 21. He was 82.

Evans’ death was confirmed to Variety by publicist Erica Huntzinger. The cause of death was not disclosed, although the obituary noted he “passed away peacefully” while “surrounded by family.”

In a statement, Evans’ wife Babe Evans said: “We are heartbroken to share that Art has passed away. Please respect our privacy at this time. A memorial will be held for friends and family to attend at a later date. Thank you.”

Evans amassed over 120 credits in film and television over the past 50 years. Starting at Frank Silvera’s Theater of Being in Los Angeles, he took a starring role in “The Amen Corner” which eventually transferred to Broadway in 1965. One of his early credited film roles was the first victim in the John Carpenter 1983 film “Christine.”

Evans went...

Bigger. Smarter. Faster. Meaner. Higher definition.

From director Renny Harlin, Deep Blue Sea swims onto 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray on March 18 via Arrow Video.

The 1999 killer shark movie has been newly restored in 4K from the original camera negatives, approved by Harlin, with original DTS HD-ma 5.1 and Dolby Atmos audio.

Saffron Burrows, Thomas Jane, LL Cool J, Michael Rapaport, Jacqueline McKenzie, Michael Rapaport, Stellan Skarsgård, and Samuel L. Jackson star.

Written by Duncan Kennedy (Bait) and Donna Powers & Wayne Powers (Valentine), Arrow’s limited edition set features new artwork by Luke Preece.

Special Features:

Audio commentary by screenwriter Duncan Kennedy (new) Audio commentary by filmmaker and critic Rebekah McKendry (new) Audio commentary by director Renny Harlin and star Samuel L. Jackson From the Frying Pan Into the Studio Tank – Interview with production designer William Sandell (new) Beneath the Surface – Visual essay by Bloody Disgusting’s Trace Thurman (new) When...

Last year, when Renny Harlin was promoting his film, The Bricklayer, JoBlo asked him about the making of Die Hard 2: Die Harder, and he had high praise for star Bruce Willis, who he compared, favourably, to the new generation of action stars, who seem reluctant to ever allow themselves to get beaten up on-screen, Willis never had this issue, said Harlin: “I really wanted Bruce Willis to get really screwed up. His face is a bloody mess by the end of the movie, and like you said, it really does make the character more heroic. They are really taking punishment and keep going.”

However, as we reported a little while back, there was one line Willis didn’t love in Die Hard 2: Just the fax, ma’am…

It’s a line that made audiences laugh, but, in his book “The Last Action Heroes,” writer Nick de Semlyan interviews Harlin,...

Some actors are simply suited to playing bad men, and while Robert Patrick isn't a heavy every time out, the films for which he's best known for feature him giving good guys a hellaciously hard time. The one-time athletic standout at Bowling Green State University got his start taking bit parts in exploitation films directed by the famed Filipino filmmaker Cirio H. Santiago (his 1976 actioner "The Muthers" is a must-watch), and eventually found his way to Hollywood where he landed his breakout role as the liquid metal T-1000 in James Cameron's 1991 action movie classic "Terminator 2: Judgment Day."

Patrick demonstrated real range in '90s films like "Fire in the Sky," "The Cool Surface," and "Striptease," but for the most part Hollywood knew he could deliver the sneering goods as a villain, and he took these roles without hesitation. (He's especially nasty as the white supremacist DC supervillain August...

Two years ago, Universal Pictures teamed with producers David Leitch and Kelly McCormick of 87North Productions and director Tommy Wirkola to bring us the highly entertaining, R-rated holiday thriller Violent Night (read our 8/10 review at This Link)… and now, star David Harbour is celebrating the holidays with the script for Violent Night 2 in hand!

Harbour, who played Santa Claus in Violent Night, shared a picture on social media that showed him hanging out with Santa… and, yes, holding the Violent Night 2 script.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by David Harbour (@dkharbour)

Scripted by Patrick Casey and Josh Miller (Sonic the Hedgehog), Violent Night showed what happens when a team of elite mercenaries breaks into a wealthy family compound on Christmas Eve, taking everyone inside hostage. But the team isn’t prepared for a surprise combatant: Santa Claus is on the grounds, and he’s about...

Netflix’s new action movie “Carry-On” has transformed an empty airport terminal into an accurate copy of Los Angeles International Airport (Lax), marking a creative breakthrough in filmmaking. This novel approach allows for an immersive movie experience without disrupting airport operations.

Director Jaume Collet-Serra, known for his compelling storytelling, chose to film the historic terminal of Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (Msy). This decision gave the production team unrivaled access and flexibility, which would be difficult to obtain in a crowded international airport.

“We took over the old Msy in New Orleans and redesigned it to look like Lax,” Collet-Serra stated in an interview with Tudum. “It was thrilling to have the entire space to ourselves and explore areas of an airport not usually seen by passengers.”

The film, which debuted on Netflix on December 13, follows a young Tsa agent, played by Taron Egerton, who finds himself in a...

Carry-On director Jaume Collet-Serra explains how his new Netflix action film was able to recreate the bustling Los Angeles International Airport during its busiest day of operations. Featuring Kingsman star Taron Egerton as a young Tsa agent who finds himself at the mercy of a mysterious traveler (Jason Bateman) with deadly intentions, Carry-On recently made its streaming debut on December 13.

Speaking with Tudum, Collet-Serra explained how his latest movie could film its action sequences in what appeared to be one of the world’s busiest airports. Revealing that while the movie was set in Los Angeles, production took place in New Orleans, with the old terminal of the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport standing in for Lax. By having access to the whole space, the director’s team could redress the set to more closely resemble Lax and access areas not typically available to regular passengers. Check out his...

Warning: Major spoilers for Carry-On below!Netflix's intense new thriller Carry-On remakes one of the best Die Hard sequels - but improves on the premise in some key ways. The Die Hard movies were so successful they spawned an entire subgenre, be it "Die Hard on a Boat" (Under Siege) or "Die Hard in the White House" (Olympus Has Fallen). Carry-On does nothing to hide its connections to the Bruce Willis classic, as Tsa agent Ethan has to stop Jason Bateman's mercenary on Christmas Eve in an airport.

Carry-On casts Taron Egerton as Ethan, who is the type of everyman hero that Willis plays in Die Hard. Most of the genre tropes are correct and present too, including an intellectual villain and the hero having to use his smarts to save the day. Despite all the comparisons to the original, Carry-On feels more like a remake of Die Hard 2: Die Harder instead.

Spanish-American filmmaker Jaume Collet-Serra returns to his genre roots with “Carry-On” (2024), essentially creating an airport thriller set around Christmas Eve in the vein of “Die Hard 2,” with shades of “Phone Booth” thrown in for good measure. Unlike his usual collaborations with Liam Neeson in these moderately-budgeted action films with Hitchcockian bents, Serra chooses Taron Egerton as the lead here, and in the process re-introduces Egerton to the zeitgeist of the Netflix Original Movies, albeit with better filmmaking prowess.

Carry-On (2024) Plot Summary & Movie Synopsis Who is Ethan Kopek?

Serving as the cold open for the movie, the opening sequence shows a man in shadows, wearing a cap and a black jacket, accepting the delivery of a mysterious package, before killing both the Russian dealer and his nephew for asking double the amount agreed upon. The mysterious introduction of the antagonist counters the much subtle introduction to our protagonist, Ethan Kopek...

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Carry-On is an action thriller film directed by Jaume Collet-Serra from a screenplay by T.J. Fixman. The must-watch Netflix film follows Ethan Kopek, a young Tsa agent who a mysterious passenger blackmails into letting an unchecked package slip onto a flight on Christmas Eve. If he doesn’t follow his orders, his blackmailer will kill his pregnant girlfriend. Carry-On stars Taron Egerton, Jason Bateman, Sofia Carson, Danielle Deadwyler, Logan Marshall-Green, and Theo Rossi. So, if you love the thrilling story, nail-biting drama, and compelling characters in Carry-On, here are some similar movies you should check out next.

Die Hard 2 Credit – 20th Century Studios

Die Hard 2 is an action thriller film directed by Renny Harlin from a screenplay co-written by Steven E. de Souza and Doug Richardson. Based on the 1987 novel 58 Minutes by author Walter Wager,...

You can’t swing a Christmas tree at the moment without crashing into one of the many dubious seasonal offerings festooned across the Netflix front page like so much cheap tinsel. Between sexy snowmen (Hot Frosty), Christmas strippers (The Merry Gentlemen), a ticket tout romance (Meet Me Next Christmas) and the latest evolution of the Lohanaissance (Our Little Secret), there’s enough shoddy yuletide fare to make even the holly jolliest of Christmas lovers want to garrotte an elf with some fairy lights.

However, amidst all the saccharine schmaltz and candy cane cliche, the streamer has also slipped a surprise treat into our stockings in the form of this unexpectedly watchable airport thriller. Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, who pioneered an entire sub-genre in which Liam Neeson murders people on assorted modes of public transport, Carry-On sets out its stall on a busy Christmas Eve at Lax. Bored Tsa agent Ethan...

The first thing in my mind upon streaming Netflix’s Carry-On is its airport premise takes place on a Christmas holiday, which instantly reminds me of Die Hard 2. While the latter is more of a high-stakes action thriller filled with bigger action, explosions and stunts, genre specialist Jaume Collet-Serra isn’t here to replicate the go-big-or-go-home thrills of Renny Harlin’s 1990 blockbuster. Instead, he prefers a low-key approach, relying more on building up the tension and suspense than going all-out.

The story goes like this: A young and lowly Tsa officer Ethan Kopek (Taron Egerton) working at Lax. He recently learns his girlfriend Nora (a stunning Sofia Carson), who also works in the same airport but as a manager for the airport operations, is pregnant. The news somehow leaves him with a mixed feeling and not to mention his seemingly dead-end job at Lax remains stagnant for so long.

One of the biggest cinematic disputes is over whether Die Hard is a Christmas movie or not; well, be prepared to add another film to that argument, as Netflix released a similar one in December 2024. John McTiernan's 1988 action movie follows Bruce Willis' John McClane, a detective who gets trapped inside a skyscraper on Christmas Eve when terrorists take over. Since its release, many have insisted that Die Hard is a Christmas film based on its setting and timeline. Meanwhile, others have rebutted that sentiment.

Die Hard's success in the late 1980s led to a franchise revolving around Bruce Willis' John McClane. In addition to the first movie, the series includes Die Hard 2 (1990), Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995), Live Free or Die Hard (2007), and A Good Day to Die Hard (2013).

While many prefer traditional Christmas films (e.g. It's a Wonderful Life) or cheesy rom-coms (e.g. Hot...

Bruce Springsteen’s “Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town” plays out as we pan down from the sky to find a mysterious man we’ll know only as Traveler (Jason Bateman) arriving to make a deal for an ominous suitcase, murdering everyone on sight before he acquires it. Within moments, Jaume Collet-Serra establishes the new Netflix action thriller Carry-On as festive fanfare that doesn’t fuck around. Having spent the last half-decade navigating the studio blockbuster minefield with Jungle Cruise and Black Adam, Collet-Serra’s latest sees the director return to what he does best: a mid-budget programmer with genuine, everyday characters in drastic situations and a little more on its mind than you’d expect.

Traveler, played by Bateman with ruthless efficiency and sinister smarm, refers to himself as a “freelance facilitator.” His latest job: get that suitcase through airport security and onto a plane for surely nefarious means.

Plot: A mysterious traveler blackmails a young Tsa agent into letting a dangerous package slip through security and onto a Christmas Day flight.

Review: I will always have a soft spot for airplane thrillers. Whether it’s Red Eye, Air Force One, or even Die Hard 2, the airport/airplane is a dynamic setting. The cameras, the security, the massive amounts of people of all backgrounds moving through the space; there’s a lot of potential. Especially when it comes to a thriller. So I was excited to hear that we’d be getting a new airport action/thriller. Unfortunately, Carry On takes a very long time to get going and doesn’t have nearly enough action beats to justify the runtime.

The story of Carry On follows Ethan Kopek, a Tsa agent who is down on his own life choices. When a mysterious man forces him to let a dangerous package through security,...

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CinemaBlind’s Review: 80%

In my opinion most of Netflix original film are a hit and a miss and I am so happy to say that this Taron Egerton film fits into the category of a hit. Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra from a screenplay by T.J. Fixman, Carry-On is the perfect example of how action-thrillers should be made.

Carry-On follows Ethan Kopek, a young Tsa officer who is blackmailed by a mysterious traveler to let a dangerous package slip through security and onto a Christmas Day flight. While Ethan tries to run the blackmailer’s plan but he soon finds out how dangerous he is after the blackmailer threatens to kill Ethan’s pregnant girlfriend.

Carry-On has a certain charm to it, that you can only find in old action thriller films such as the first few Die Hard films.

All the excessively saccharine Christmas movies that come out during this time had me yearning for films like Die Hard, Home Alone, and Krampus; you know, stories that take the festive mood and turn it into something universally entertaining whilst spreading the word of the Lord and whatnot. Surprisingly enough, Dear Santa of all movies sort of scratched that itch. For starters, instead of having Santa Claus, it brought in a spawn of Satan because a kid misspelled Santa, which is totally relatable. It had some exceptionally great performances from the cast, and while the overall filmmaking left me unsatisfied, the message about being nice in this cynical world kinda got to me. Now, I had made peace with the fact that that’s the best Christmas movie that I was going to get this year. However, right when my sense of hope was about to flicker and die, Jaume Collet-Serra delivered Carry-On,...

As the endless debate over whether Die Hard classifies as a Christmas movie wages on, ever so tiresomely, director Jaume Collet-Serra declares his stance with Carry-On, a new Netflix holiday thriller that bears a lot in common with the sequel Die Hard 2. Taron Egerton channels John McClane as a Tsa Agent forced to go rogue when unexpectedly pulled into a terrorist plot at a crowded airport on Christmas Eve. While much simpler and more intimate in scale than Die Hard 2, Collet-Serra’s talents for taut suspense, tight plotting, and propulsive pacing ensure Carry-On delivers on big holiday thrills and energetic fun.

Egerton’s Ethan Kopek is a bit more law-abiding than his ’80s action-hero counterpart. Ethan is in good spirits when rushing to clock into his Christmas Eve shift at Lax, even as his newly pregnant girlfriend, Nora (Sofia Carson), points out his wasted potential in not pursuing...

While the Christmas horror movie seems to be having a moment right now thanks to the box office success of "Terrifer 3," we must not forget the time-honored tradition of the Christmas action movie. The most popular example of this sub-genre is, of course, John McTiernan's 1988 classic "Die Hard." Whether or not you want to count "Die Hard" as a Christmas movie is entirely up to you, but the fact remains that the film is set on Christmas Eve. And in the wake of "Die Hard," many other action flicks found ways to set their events during the hap-happiest season of all. Hell, "Die Hard" wasn't even the first '80s action pic to use Christmas as a backdrop. The first "Lethal Weapon" movie, released a year before "Die Hard," takes place around Christmas, so does the 1985 Chuck Norris movie "Invasion U.S.A.," as well as is Sylvester Stallone's 1986 trash classic "Cobra.

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Christmas is just around the corner, and it’s time to see brilliant classic movies, but if you are not in the mood to see Home Alone or Jingle All the Way for a millionth and want to see some adult movies. We at CinemaBlind have prepared a list of 11 best R-rated Christmas movies you can check out.

Violent Night (Starz & Rent on Prime Video) Credit – Universal Pictures

Violent Night is a Christmas action comedy film directed by Tommy Wirkola from a screenplay co-written by Pat Casey and Josh Miller. The 2022 film follows Santa Claus as he comes across a wealthy family’s compound, where an elite team of mercenaries has kidnapped the family on Christmas Eve. Violent Night stars David Harbour, John Leguizamo, Alex Hassell, Alexis Louder, and Beverly D’Angelo.

Die Hard Credit – 20th Century Fox

Die Hard...

Paul Schrader wishes he hadn't made ‘Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist’.The 78-year-old director helmed the controversial 2005 horror flick - which takes place before the events of the 1973 original - and now Schrader has admitted he never should have tackled the project because he doesn’t think he was “really suited” for the film.In an interview with MovieWeb, ‘The Card Counter’ director said: “I shouldn't have done it. It was not something I was really suited for.”Schrader - who has written some of Hollywood’s best thrillers like ‘Taxi Driver’ and ‘Rolling Thunder’ - added if he was presented with the chance to direct ‘Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist’ today, he would have turned it down.He continued: “I thought I could pull it off, but if I had that opportunity again, I would say, 'I think I will stick to what I do best.'”Schrader was...

With a whopping $250 million budget, Dwayne Johnson’s Red One is the most expensive Christmas movie ever made, but plenty of other holiday classics have cost a pretty penny, too. Some of the most beloved Christmas movies of all time have been produced for a relatively slim budget. Home Alone, Gremlins, and The Santa Clause all cost less than $25 million to make. Elf and Die Hard cost a little more to produce, because they required a lot of special effects, but they would still barely cover Red One’s catering budget.

But some stories cost a lot of money to tell. Bringing Santa and his flying reindeer to life on-screen doesn’t come cheap. The motion-capture animation required to make Robert Zemeckis’ A Christmas Carol and The Polar Express took tens of millions of dollars to pull off. The star-studded casts of movies like The Holiday and Daddy’s Home 2...

Samuel L. Jackson is in negotiations to star in J.J. Abrams’ forthcoming, untitled Warner Bros. movie, according to an insider with knowledge of the project.

The film stars Glen Powell, Jenna Ortega and Emma Mackey. Details about both Jackson’s role and the project in general are being kept under wraps.

Not much is known about Abrams’ new film except that it is not a time travel movie (as had been previously speculated) and that Abrams both wrote the script and will be directing. The project will be produced by Abrams and his production company Bad Robot.

The untitled movie is expected to shoot in the spring in the UK. This project will mark Abrams’ first feature as a director since 2019’s “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” and his first original feature since 2011’s Spielberg-indebted (and Spielberg-produced) “Super 8.”

Next up for the versatile Jackson, best known to...

Exclusive: Before filming got underway last month on action film The Beast, Renny Harlin (Cliffhanger) came aboard as director, taking over from the previously announced James Madigan (The Meg second unit director).

The team is halfway through an eight-week shoot in Madrid and Spain’s Canary Islands. As we previously revealed, Samuel L. Jackson (Pulp Fiction), Joel Kinnaman (Suicide Squad) and Guy Burnet (Oppenheimer) are starring.

The project had been due to start in early September but was pushed back a little due to LED stages needing further tech prep, we’re told. No reason was given for Madigan’s exit.

The film’s title refers to a presidential limousine nicknamed “The Beast” by the Secret Service. In the movie, when a militia of unidentified hostiles coordinates a coup against the U.S., the president (Jackson) uncovers the extent of The Beast’s highly classified offensive capabilities.

Keith Kjarval (Tin Soldier...

No one likes to be at the airport during the holidays. It’s crowded, it’s chaotic, and things go wrong. But you’ve never had anything happen like what Taron Egerton goes through in “Carry-On,” a holiday thriller coming to Netflix next month and got a trailer on Tuesday.

In “Carry-On,” Egerton plays a Tsa agent who’s working on Christmas Eve. He gets blackmailed into letting a mysterious man (Jason Bateman) slip a dangerous package onto a flight and then has to try to stop what he’s set in motion before it’s too late. It’s a Christmas action movie that’s Netflix’s version of “Die Hard”.

The trailer starts with funny, light-hearted stuff about the minor annoyances of working at the airport while “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” plays. Then it switches gears when Egerton’s Ethan Kopek gets a...

There are many rumors surrounding the cast of the The Terminator series, particularly Arnold Schwarzenegger. During various interviews, the director James Cameron even talked about being unsure about casting the actor as his lead.

Fortunately, he took the leap of faith and fans saw the amazing cybernetic android. However, this wasn’t the case for his co-star Robert Patrick, who played T-1000 in the second movie. The X-Files actor believed that he was the best suited for the role just like Schwarzenegger was the best Terminator.

Casting choice: Accepted at first glance Robert Patrick in Terminator 2: Judgement Day | Credits: TriStar Pictures

James Cameron‘s Terminator franchise established not only the director’s but also his leading man’s reputation and credibility in the industry. The series went on to birth successful sequels, TV series, video games, etc.

Related James Cameron: ‘If I had a little time machine’ on...

Hollywood’s most notable bombs are — sadly — just as well-known as its biggest hits, a factor that a new book joyously celebrates.

From British film critic Tim Robey, “Box Office Poison” digs up the dirt on some of cinema’s wildest misfires, from grand follies to misunderstood masterpieces, disastrous sequels to catastrophic literary adaptations, going behind the scenes to examine how they ended careers, bankrupted studios and changed film history.

Among the features in Robey’s crosshairs are David Lynch’s “Dune,” plus “Speed 2: Cruise Control,” “Gigli,” “Catwoman,” “Pan” and — of course — “Cats.”

In this exclusive extract from the book, being released by Hanover Square Press in the U.S. on Nov. 5, it’s the turn of the swashbuckling catastrophe that was Renny Harlin and Geana Davis’ “Cutthroat Island.” Costing upwards of $115 million to make, the watery flop sank almost without a trace in 1995, earning just $18.5 million globally and...

Timing is everything, horses for courses, styles make fights, and every movie, no matter how packed with potential on the page, is subject to the whims of fate. And here's a casting "what if" that, had it gone a different way, might've turned one of the most beloved movies of the 1990s into a colossal flop.

Let's take a trip back to late June 1988. The summer movie season is in full swing. After a pokey start thanks to Ron Howard's Memorial Day dud "Willow," the box office has picked up under the power of "Who Framed Roger Rabbit," "Big," and "Coming to America." Moviegoers were gearing up for the July releases, which, with the likes of "Short Circuit 2," "Arthur 2: On the Rocks," and "License to Drive" on deck, did not look particularly promising.

And what to make of "Die Hard?" A big R-rated action movie ought to...

"This world is infected by evil... and its people are capable of such madness." Ain't that the truth! Lionsgate has unveiled a teaser trailer for the next horror offering in the current The Strangers trilogy of movies, all of them directed by Finnish filmmaker Renny Harlin. The Strangers - Chapter 2 is "the chilling next chapter of The Strangers franchise" which began (as a complete restart) in the summer of 2024 earlier this year with The Strangers - Chapter 1 (trailer here). It's not really a prequel or a sequel, it's a re-imagining of this masked killers horror franchise. No plot details are included for Chapter 2 after the the couple on a honeymoon are tormented in Chapter 1. It was shot simultaneously with the first & third chapters between May and October 2022 in Slovakia. Director Renny Harlin has explained that these next two movies in The Strangers reboot trilogy will "go in completely different directions...

The old debate of whether Die Hard is a Christmas movie or not will probably never be settled, but for those who do categorize Bruce Willis' 1988 action adventure as a holiday classic, they'll need to accept that another of the actor's movies also fits the description - and it's not Die Hard 2. Although Bruce Willis did return to lead other Die Hard movies, the legendary actor also starred in a sci-fi movie that deserves to be labeled as a Christmas film just as much as the first two Die Hard stories.

The movie in question is widely regarded as one of Bruce Willis' best sci-fi movies. Despite arguably being known for more explosive franchises like the Die Hard series, Willis' litany of action heroes aren't the only characters that have allowed the actor to enjoy success. One of Willis' sci-fi projects stands out for several reasons, and while the...

Netflix has a holiday gift for fans of trash cinema. Jaume Collet-Serra, the director of "Non-Stop," is returning to the skies for a new action film, this one entitled "Carry-On." Collet-Serra is a maestro of this particular genre, having devoted a good chunk of his career to making ludicrous Liam Neeson action thrillers that are often ludicrously entertaining, and this one looks like it's cut from that same cloth. 

Taron Egerton stars as a Tsa agent who has to outsmart a mysterious terrorist figure, played by Jason Bateman ("Arrested Development"), who demands that the Tsa agent let a dangerous package slip through security at an airport, or else the terrorist will kill someone the agent loves. It's the type of high-drama, "what would you do?" scenario that permeated action movies in the '80s and '90s, and it looks like this could be a fun way to kill a...

Gotham, we have a problem.

Todd Phillips' long-awaited musical sequel to his Academy Award-winning, billion-dollar-grossing "Joker" is getting mixed reviews from critics, negative word of mouth from fans of the original, and seems likely to fall far short of the original's box office windfall –- which is bad news given its alleged $200 million budget.

What's the problem? Film critic Ali Arikan might've put it most succinctly this week when he wrote, "Joker: Folie à Deux" is like if Die Hard 2 was just Nakatomi Corporation suing [John] McClane for broken windows –- with Bruno Radolini singing American standards in between." Meanwhile, /Film's Bill Bria begs to differ, rating the film an 8 out of 10, praising the movie for being "remarkably honest and true to itself," he does appear to be (proudly) in the minority on this one. He's certainly not going to get much support from Lady Gaga's Little Monsters on social media.

LeVar Burton shared his thoughts on the late John Amos during an appearance on ABC’s The View today, praising his Roots costar – they played the enslaved person Kunta Kinte at different points in the character’s life – for his groundbreaking TV portrayal on Good Times.

“James Evans, the character that John played on Good Times, was the first Black man as householder on TV,” Burton said. “The whole family, the father making it work for the family. When I was coming up Black men were generally portrayed as absent fathers, shiftless, fodder for prison and criminals. And John Amos changed that. May his name forever be blessed.”

“And it will,” responded View moderator Whoopi Goldberg.

Amos died August 21 at the age of 84. His death was announced on October 1 by his son Kelly Christopher Amos. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s office, Amos died of congestive heart failure.