Andy's Top 10: Favorite Action Stars!

Well, Sam got this train rolling and I figured I had to match him. While certainly a difficult list to fill, and all of his would definitely go in my top 10, I have to vary at least a little bit with some of his choices in my top 5. And given that I couldn't choose just five, I'll just go ahead and post 10 (top 5 with descriptions/pictures) . Also, as a heads up if you're wondering why Bruce Lee or Jackie Chan didn't make the list, I put them under martial artists given that the main component of their movies is through their skill, technique, and knowledge of a martial art instead of explosions, charisma, grit, and guts. While technically action, I'm separating them so we can put together a different list later. And don't start with the whole "Seagal and van Damme are martial artists" thing. Anywho, here's the list. Enjoy!

10. Steven Seagal

9. Jean-Claude van Damme

8. Nicolas Cage

7. Sean Connery

6. Steve McQueen

5. Kurt Russell

Why? Kurt Russell is a bad ass. He's one of the main models for Metal Gear Solid character Solid Snake and he plays the role of stone cold awesome extremely well. The gritty and tough Russell hangs with the best of them whether he's torching extra-terrestrials, blowing up Chinese thunder gods, or sending the world into the stone age just for inconveniencing him, he knows how to kick ass and take names. "Welcome to the human race."

Favorite Kurt Russell action movies:

-Big Trouble in Little China

-Escape from LA/NY

-The Thing

-Tombstone

-A bunch of others

4. Bruce Willis

Why? The Die Hard series basically set in stone how cool the guy could be, but he kept on kicking ass. An all-around tough guy who can play the stone cold killer or the guy who just keeps getting beaten down and picking himself up. "Yip ki yay, mother fucker."

Favorite Bruce Willis action movies:

-Die Hard series

-The Fifth Element

-Pulp Fiction

-Sin City

3. Mel Gibson

Why? See Sam's entry. And would you really argue with that mustache? "I'm just here for the gasoline."

Favorite Mel Gibson action movies:

-Lethal Weapon series

-the Patriot

-Mad Max series

-Payback

2. Arnold Schwarzenegger

Why? The man practically defines over-the-top action movies. No matter what action movie of his you're watching, you can bet there's going to be a huge body count, awesome one-liners, and a whole lot of "rrrraaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!"-ing going on. "Stick around."

Favorite Arnold Schwarzenegger action movies:

There are way too many to list all the ones I like, but to name a few

-Commando

-Conan the Barbarian

-True Lies

-Predator

-Running Man

1. Harrison Ford

Why? He was bestowed the roles of two of the most iconic characters in movie history: Han Solo and Indiana Jones. Aside from that, he can genuinely act. None can match his cocky-yet-honorable hero willing to lay down his life for what he believes in and stealing away all the ladies. And if you don't like it, I'll take a line from Mr. Ford's presidency: "GET OFF MY PLANE!"

Favorite Harrison Ford action movies:

-Indiana Jones series

-Star Wars series

-Blade Runner

-Air Force One

-Patriot Games

Kings vs. Ducks 12/22/11

Welcome back, Mike Richards (1:10)

Sam's Top 5: Favorite Action Stars!

Okay, I know. I said this would be up last Sunday. And if you look at my other blog I have a bad track record of saying articles would be posted and either never getting around to it or posting it very much later (come to think of it I STILL haven't posted my Disney list...that was about a year ago). So for now on, no more promises or guarantees!

Now lets get down to it! Here is MY list of the action stars I most adore. Maybe we can get Andy to come up with one of his own and then maybe we can follow-up with a discussion on our lists. Who knows. Like I said, no promises. Coming in at number 5...

5. Sean Connery

Besides the 007 series (Sean and Daniel Craig being my favorite James Bonds of all time) I can't remember too many action movies this great man has been in. BUT, The Rock is in my top 2 favorite action movies of all time, and this dude is a big part of why that is. In a movie full of top Navy SEAL badasses this old geezer out-survives them and almost single handedly eliminates a terrorist threat. To me, that's enough to earn him a spot on this list.

Favorite Sean Connery Action Movie(s)

- The Rock (1996)

4. Micheal Biehn

I wish this guy was still going strong. Back in his day, he was the man! Any movie I've seen him in he was instantly one of my favorite characters. Whether he's gunning down aliens, taking down the terminator or leading a group of hardened Navy SEALS into Alcatraz, this is one guy you want on your side.

Favorite Michael Biehn Action Movie(s)

- The Terminator (1984)

- Aliens (1986)

3. Jean-Claude Van Damme

This guy screams action movie greatness! Yes, most of his movies were cheesy but doesn't that make a good action movie great in most cases? Watching him kick ass is just about as exciting as it gets. He's a true action movie God. Also, if you ever doubted him or his acting abilities check out JCVD. Believe it or not, this man can act! Great performance.

Favorite Jean-Claude Van Damme Action Movie(s)

- Sudden Death (1995)

- Universal Soldier (1992)

- Timecop (1994)

(screw it, they're all good!)

2. Mel Gibson

Ah, Mel Gibson. Not only one of my favorite action heroes but one of my favorite all-time actors. I don't care what people have been saying about him lately, I know Mel for his acting and his acting only. And he always entertains. This guy has done so much for the action genre, and even though he's starting to age I can only dream of a Lethal Weapon 5.

Favorite Mel Gibson Action Movie(s)

- Lethal Weapon Series

- Mad Max Series

- Payback (1999)

1. Bruce Willis

Yes ladies and gentlemen, hands down my favorite action star ever. Bruce Willis instantly made John McClane one of the most famous action heroes ever to be put on screen. Die Hard remains my favorite action movie (and favorite Chrstmas movie) to this day. There are so many awesome quotable lines to be shared from that film and even more memorable moments. Best part is, that's only ONE of his amazing action movies! What I like most about officer John McClane is that he is so believable to me. The guy is a troubled cop with a pissed off attitude who is just having a really bad day, but he doesn't quit and against all odds he gets the job done time and time again. The Die Hard series will forever be remembered as one of the great action movie series' ever and if you tried filling Bruce Willis' roles with any other actor, it wouldn't be the same.

Favorite Bruce Willis Action Movie(s)

- Die Hard Series

- Red (2010)

- Lucky Number Slevin (2006)

- Sin City (2005)

- Tears of the Sun (2003)

(I can keep going but I won't for the sake of the readers, so here)

YOU SHALL NOT PASS...

...Up this opportunity! Aside from the much anticipated Batman movie set to release next year (and the official trailer just released...which looks awesome), another one that we here at TB13 have been looking forward to for awhile is The Hobbit. And hey, guess what? That trailer just came out, too (to the best of my knowledge, anyhow)! Art thou excited?

We Go In, We Kill

Eat, Pray, Queef
Get More: SOUTH
PARKmore...

Expendables 2 Trailer!!!!

Yes, this looks AMAZING! I'm especially excited to see JCVD thrown into the mix. Along with Norris of course. It's also great to know that Bruce Willis and Arnold will be getting bigger roles. So to build excitement for the release of this movie I thought it'd be cool if I came up with a top 5 list of my favorite action heroes as well as a top 5 list of my favorite action movies. Andy, would you like to get in on this as well? I'll have them posted by the end of the weekend...I hope.

Some Comedy for Your Thursday

Here's an Irish comedy group by the name of the Rubberbandits. Some hi-larious stuff they've got. Enjoy!

Introduction to "The Kings Corner"

Alright everybody. Here is the official first post for a new segment I'll be starting. Anytime you see the title "The Kings Corner" it's time for Los Angeles Kings hockey news. The authors of this blog are HUGE Kings fans so I apologize if you're not. Maybe you're a fan of hockey but not the Kings. If that's the case, I'll attempt to fit in important NHL news in general as I see fit. I don't apologize, however, for any smack talk I start aimed at other teams (specifically the Canucks and those damn ginger twins).

Cool, so lets get started. Todays news story is HUGE. Kings President/General Manager Dean Lombardi announced today that head coach Terry Murray has officially been relieved of his duties. In the mean time, assistant coach John Stevens will assume interim head coach duties. For some fans this may be shocking but for most fans it brings back hope and excitement for the future.

Coach Murray began his tenure with the Kings during the 2008-09 season. During that time he compiled a 139-106-30 regular season record. In regards to the Kings franchise all-time head coaches, Murray ranks third in wins, fourth in games coached (275) and first in winning percentage (.560). Murray also reached the 100 win mark faster than any other coach in Kings history and is one game away from his 500th win (Kings are currently on a 4 game losing streak).

Besides coaching are beloved Kings, Terry Murray was head coach for the Washington Capitals, Florida Panthers and Philadelphia Flyers. His overall record as an NHL coach stands at 499-383-130. Murray, who coached his 1,000th NHL game against the Minnesota Wild on 11-12-11 (LA 5, MIN 2), ranks 17th all-time in NHL history wins and 19th in games coached.

His stats don't sound bad. So for those of you new to the sport you may be wondering, why the heck did they fire him? DUI? Nope. Domestic dispute? Nope. You see, Terry Murray did a lot of good things with the Kings. He helped develop a strong defense, and brought the Kings to the playoffs the past two seasons. Currently, however, our Kings are ranked dead last in the NHL when it comes to offense. You may have a bitchin' defense, but it takes goals to win games.

You can't blame this on the players either (well, you can but I wouldn't). The talents there! We have stars like Anze Kopitar and Mike Richards on offense. As well as a good captain in Dustin Brown. And we have defensive players who can score goals like Jack Johnson and Drew Daughty. I didn't name them all but they all deserve to be mentioned, the players are there! You see, Terry Murray is the kind of coach who doesn't show much emotion (reference the picture above...that's him...the whole game) and sometimes, especially lately, it seems that the Kings need a fire lit under them to get them playing with the energy and intensity that they have. Yea, the players can deliver this fire to each other sometimes but the coach...their leader...should be delivering the emotion and intensity just as much, if not more. Terry Murray hasn't been delivering this as far as I'm concerned.

The following is some information I found from an article entitled "View from the Press Box: Patrick O'Neal" By Mike Kalinowski. It features some interesting news about the releasing of coaches in the NHL and how the team/players reacted...

It's been found that often a coach will get fired mid-season and then suddenly there is a huge turnaround in the way the team plays. Possibly because they're relieved they don't have to listen to the guy anymore?

Here are some examples from the article...

The Penguins fire Michel Therrien after losing in the Finals, and then win the Stanley Cup with Dan Bylsma.

The Devils fired John MacLean after one of their worst starts in franchise history, and then nearly make the playoffs under Jacques Lemaire. The team had pretty much the EXACT same roster as they did under coach MacLean.

The article put it best by saying it's like a relationship. Sometimes they work and sometimes after a few years it comes to an end. Maybe the coaches message gets stale? The Ducks just fired Randy Carlyle. He brought his team to win the cup a few years back, and right now they're playing terribly. Yes, a coach is only as good as his players. But the chemistry has to be there! We know that the Kings are well rounded with a roster of talented bodies. But maybe Murray's message was getting stale too? The coach is just as much a member of the team as the players on the ice. Our Kings are not playing with the talent they have and they need a coach to light that fire and show them what they're missing. It's time for a new message and a fresh start.

Go Kings!

*Sources*

-Lombardi Conference Call

-View From the Press Box: Patrick O'Neal

-Terry Murray Relieved of his Duties

Game Music

What with all these video games being posted and getting me all tingly in the nethers, I figured there should be some good video game music to go along with it (sadly I couldn't find the Jurassic Park/Metal Gear Raptors in the Kitchen scene mash-up). Here are a few of my favorites (in no particular order):

Feel free to throw around some of your picks if you're so inclined!

VGA's 2011

The trailers below are from this years Spike TV Video Game Awards. Looks like we are in for another great year of gaming goodness. I'll post more videos later as I come across them. Below are a few of my favorites. The last one especially. Naughty Dog is at it again!

Metal Gear?!

Get More: GameTrailers.com, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance - VGA 2011: Exclusive Revengeance Trailer, PC Games, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

Oh Yea...

Get More: GameTrailers.com, BioShock Infinite - VGA 2011: Exclusive Trailer, PC Games, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

From the Studio That Brought Us UNCHARTED...

Get More: GameTrailers.com, The Last of Us - VGA 2011: Exclusive Debut Trailer HD, PC Games, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

Ticketmaster

I just got an email from the superior court of California that ticketmaster is having a class action lawsuit filed against them for essentially raping people on their additional fees to ticket prices. It's about damn time! Those lousy pieces of crap practically ruined concert-going experiences for me due to the exorbitant amount of their processing fees. The inability to always go to the location to pick up the ticket nearly forced everyone and their mother to use ticketmaster for most musical events. Hopefully with the lawsuit there will be a reduction in the cost of ticket prices and I might actually pay to see a show again. The settlement basically says that if you buy from ticketmaster now you'll get credit, but it's costing them $11.25 million. Go team!

We Are LA!

UPDATE: Son of a....

Alright er'body. There's a Kings game on tonight so all of you fans better be watching. I'm talking about the NHL by the way. If you didn't know that please don't ever visit this blog again. Kidding! Kinda....

G4 Star Wars Charity Car Wash

Welcome

Thank you for...

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Thank...Thank you...for

Thanks for reading!

Introduction of Possible Greatness

Hello all,

This day we celebrate the establishment of what may be the greatest, nay, the mightiest musings of worldly affairs ever. The congregation of the minds of two men who fight for the amusement of themselves and anyone who shares a similar mindset. Joined by blood. Bonded by friendship. United in battle by brotherhood. The Brothers Thirteen are the collective of the blogs "The Blue Room" and "Around the Gills." Their combined powers will bring you an array of entertainment from sports (only the ones deemed appropriate and totally cool, so up yours 4-square, whose rules I will never understand completely!) to animation to musings on daily life. Do you want to see pictures on this blog? Well, good sir or madame, you may indeed find such things here! Music videos? Indeed! Video game reviews? Why certainly! A case of leprosy? Possibly, but not our doing, I says! So to show you we're serious about being laid back...EVERYBODY GETS LAID TONIGHT!