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A forgotten Mark Wahlberg cop movie from the 1990s feels like an origin story for his character in The Departed. While Mark Wahlberg action movies might be ten a penny now, back when he was making the transition from rapper to actor, he was more eclectic in his choices. He followed Boogie Nights with projects like Three Kings while mixing in bigger budget fare like The Perfect Storm. He made his action debut in 1998's The Big Hit, a bizarre mixture of wacky comedy and Hong Kong-style action flick.

In the following years, the genre would yield some of Wahlberg's biggest hits, including the Transformers sequels or 2007's Shooter. That said, arguably Wahlberg's best performance was playing Sergeant Dignam in The Departed. This was very much a supporting role for the star, with the story involving Leonardo DiCaprio's cop Costigan going undercover in the Irish mob, while Matt Damon...

A former Triad gang member praises The Corruptor for accurately telling the story of a corrupt police officer that he personally knew. The film is criticized for lacking realism when it comes to actual gang activity, including shootings and bombings. Despite featuring a powerful combination of stars with Mark Wahlberg and Chow Yun-Fat, The Corruptor was met with mostly negative reviews from critics and audiences.

The Corruptor is assessed by a real-life former gang member, who reveals that it draws heavily from a real-life figure. Released in 1999, The Corruptor is directed by James Foley, with Chow Yun-Fat and Mark Wahlberg starring as cops in New York City attempting to put an end to drug trafficking and violence by the Chinese Triads. The film, which features some standout action scenes and shootouts, features a storyline involving the Triads attempting to bribe Yun-Fat's officer Nick Chen, a practice that wasn't uncommon at...

Mark Wahlberg may be an Academy Award nominated actor and producer, former rapper, underrated comedian, restaurateur and regularly finds himself named as one of the highest-paid talents in Hollywood, but over the last two decades you’re a whole lot more likely to see him starring in a run of the mill action thriller than a prestige drama, comedy or family film.

The 49 year-old has built a decent career out of headlining mid-budget genre movies that do solid if unspectacular business at the box office and are the subjects of middling but hardly scathing reviews. If you were looking for one of Wahlberg’s efforts that saw him playing a character with a military or law enforcement background that wields a gun on the poster, there are hardly a shortage of options to choose from.

The Corruptor, Four Brothers, Shooter, Max Payne, Contraband, Broken City, 2 Guns, Patriots Day and...

Jake Wilson Feb 28, 2017

From The Big Hit to Patriots Day, we explore Mark Wahlberg's dozen films where he holds a gun on the promo poster....

Mark Wahlberg is a man of many talents. His rhymes are fresh, his frown is legendary, and it turns out he’s pretty decent in a bout of fisticuffs.

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And then there's his acting. He has been in a wealth of films, usually fighting for, or alongside, the American flag. He's a gun-toting ass-kicker, and the world seems to dig it.

This is his game, his brand. Wahlberg moves between moral, no-nonsense cop and powerful, maverick law breaker and whilst he doesn’t always play armed characters, it is through these films that we can see the strands that...

How many Mark Wahlbergs are there? I ask because I like the guy who showed up in this week's "Ted 2." I like goofball Mark Wahlberg. I like belligerent Boston Mark Wahlberg. I like dancing silly Mark Wahlberg. I like dim bulb but well-meaning Mark Wahlberg. I do not, however, care for "I'm smarter than I look" Mark Wahlberg. I do not like humorless Mark Wahlberg. I do not particularly care for serious action mode Mark Wahlberg. And when I look at the ones I don't like side-by-side with the ones I like, I find it hard to reconcile that this is all one person. So again… I ask… how many Mark Wahlbergs are there? When Paul Thomas Anderson's "Boogie Nights" was released, it was a breakthrough for the young actor, part of a banner year in his nascent acting career. He had made a few films before that, including...

James Foley, who hasn't directed a feature since 2007's Perfect Stranger, is in negotiations to direct the Jacob's Ladder remake for Ld Entertainment. We first reported on the project back in June.

The original thriller, directed by Adrian Lyne, starred Tim Robbins as a Vietnam veteran who suffers from bizarre hallucinations while trying to uncover clues about his checkered past. The new film is said to be more of a contemporary homage than a remake, introducing new characters and situations while tackling the same existential themes as the original.

Jeff Buhler (Midnight Meat Train) is writing the script, based on a first draft by Jake Wade Wall (When a Stranger Calls). Ld Entertainment's Mickey Liddell and Jennifer Monroe are producing with Michael J. Gaeta and Alison R. Rosenzweig. No production schedule was given.

James Foley is best known for films such as Glengarry Glen Ross, Fear, The Chamber and The Corruptor.

Each week we take a look at what’s new and what’s essential viewing on the various VOD and movie streaming services.

This week’s theme seems to weighty and important drama although there is the best comedy from last year as well, a classic buddy cop action flick, zombie lunacy and Star Trek. Perhaps because we are moving into the awards season, Netflix has decided to move with it and add some acclaimed drama for the long dark nights ahead.

Pitch Perfect (2012)

For a comedy about acapella made in the wake of the success of Glee, Pitch Perfect sure is a well written and performed film. Coming as a complete surprise at the end of last year, the story should have led to all manner of clichés as wannabe DJ Anna Kendrick arrives at college and is inducted into an all-girl acapella group who are failing into blandness...

Jessica Chastain gets the spotlight this weekend as she sits atop the box-office at both #1 and #2. In first was the Guillermo del Toro-produced horror Mama, racking up $28.1 million on a $15 million budget. A CinemaScore of only "B-" isn't going to help its chances in the long run, but with a budget that small and a #1 finish, it should do quite well overall and it still has overseas prospects to look forward to. In second is Zero Dark Thirty, adding $17.6 million to its total, which is now over $55 million. I'm sure those campaigning for a Best Actress Oscar for Chastain will love this extra bit of attention as Mama has certainly proven it's not going to effect her chances one bit. As for the last time an actor scored the #1 and #2 position at the box-office... Well, that was Chastain as well in 2011 with The Help and The Debt. Before that,...

“Returned from Shanghai film directed by RZA of Wu Tang w Russell Crowe, Lucy Liu, on Man With Iron Fist, To tape Oprah Winfrey Show Mad Fun!”

Those are words from a Tweet posted by Foxy Brown herself, Ms Pam Grier on Saturday afternoon. I was buried for much of the weekend, so I missed it, because I do follow Pam on Twitter (thanks to reader Roen for the heads-up).

I suppose we can glean from that single sentence that Ms Grier is in RZA’s anticipated directorial debut, The Man With The Iron Fist.

We’ve been talking about this project for awhile, so I won’t rehash; feel free to search the blog for previous posts on the film.

Other cast member’s of the film include Russell Crowe, Lucy Liu, Byron Mann (Streetfighter, The Corruptor), Darren Choo (Romeo Must Die), and Osric Chau (2012) and others.

Corey Yuen...

We’ve been talking about this project for awhile, so I won’t rehash; feel free to search the blog for previous posts on the film.

Additional casting news surfaced today. First, it was rumored that Russell Crowe had signed on to co-star, although the role he is to play was never revealed. The rumor is now a reality, as a report from FilmBizAsia.com (courtesy of Twitch) confirms Crowe’s casting.

Also, from the same article, I learned that Lucy Liu (what the heck has she been up to) is also in the cast, as are other Asian American actors, namely, Byron Mann (Streetfighter, The Corruptor), Darren Choo (Romeo Must Die), Osric Chau (2012) and others.

Corey Yuen (Transporter 1, 2, 3) is directing the action sequences.

Shooting is scheduled to be over at the end of February, so, I’d expect that we’d see some stills and footage soon enough.

(Left) Then & Now: Wahlberg in the infamous Ck campaign in 1991. Wahlberg yesterday in Missouri.

In my weekly column at Towleroad, I barely mentioned what will likely be the big box office draw this weekend, the Mark Wahlberg/ Will Ferrell comedy The Other Guys. I note this because I was moved to discuss National Underwear Day in the same article and what modern star used underwear so successfully to boost their initial fame? Why did I ignore him so? The Other Guys poster implies that you'll be seeing a kind of self-aware satire of a buddy cop comedy. You know... the kind Edgar Wright already delivered memorably with Hot Fuzz (2007). Could these two American hams really top that Brit wit? I'm doubtful... but perhaps they're not trying. I haven't seen it. Maybe the poster is misleading.

Anyway...

Let's look at Wahlberg's career as told to us through movie posters. Is there...