#Patrick Cooper

Boston’s Regan Smith Clarke Turns One; Remains Fresh

I went to school and lived in the Boston area for most of my 20s. I can safely say that for the most part, the MA youth dress like shit (OL bloggers excluded). Lots of “Yankees Suck” shirts and “Believe in Boston” caps with battle-damaged brims.   That’s where Regan Smith Clarke steps in.

Inspired by vintage signs and advertisements, RSC is a Boston-based clothing company that’s been turning heads for a year now with their solid designs and integrity. Created by a Boston local who thought it’d be a good idea to name a clothing company after himself, RSC currently slings tees, hoodies, tote bags, and prints adorned with original designs that truly POP! To celebrate their first birthday, RSC has released a commemorative shirt, the “Year One.” And now, there’s an app for that!

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American Revenge

Inspired by John Shelton Lawrence and Robert Jewett’s study, Myth of the American Superhero and my ever loving hard-on for Charles Bronson, the “American Revenge” mix features clips from some of my favorite vigilante movies. The beginning features footage from the videotaped confessions of Bernhard Goetz (aka the Subway Vigilante). With the mix, I leaned towards some lesser known films and excluded any rogue cops (sorry, Dirty Harry).

I’m not the best editor in the world, but I hope you like it and I hope you share it.

“Whereas the classical monomyth seemed to reflect rites of initiation, the American monomyth derives from tales of redemption…combining elements of the selfless servant who impassively gives his life for others and the zealous crusader who destroys evil.” – Myth of the American Superhero

OLOST – Outland Suite

Today’s pick: the “Suite” from Jerry Goldsmith’s score for Outland (1981).

Part two after the jump.

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OLOST – Maniac Cop Rap

Welcome to the first edition of OLOST. When you say it out loud, it sounds like you’re remorseful for the end of Lost. But what it really means is Omega Level Original Soundtrack. This is going to be a Mon-Fri post where I, Patrick “Swift Dick” Cooper, posts a song or other audio-related nugget that I hope you enjoy. I listen to a lot of movie scores because I hate the human voice. Unless it’s unexpectedly rapping at the end of a movie.

Which brings us to today’s song, “Manic Cop Rap.” Last night I bought Maniac Cop 3 at Walgreens. I live in Florida, so that makes sense. Enjoy.

Sam Rockwell Dances Better Than You; I’m Full of Excuses

Hello lovelies. It’s me, Patrick. The other douche of Omega Level. I’ve been kind of MIA lately. In the immortal words of Han Solo, “It’s not my fault.” I’ve had bronchitis for a week and started a new writing gig that requires me to write my balls off for nine hours a day. It’s sadly hurting my extracurricular writing BUT I thought I’d pop in a say that I’m still here. I still love you all.

With that crap out of the way, I’d like to share with you this joyful video of Sam Rockwell dancing like a boss. Most the footage is from Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, but there’s some nice variety sprinkled throughout. Even Moon! Ya-yeah! The video helped perk me up for a long day of writing and watching the dog fart.

See you at tomorrow’s Cage Match.

Drive Angry Almost Makes It to the Finish Line


Drive Angry isn’t the movie Nic Cage devotees have been waiting for. It’s not a return to his genius form last seen in 2009’s Bad Lieutenant. He talks through his teeth and snarls a lot, but there are a lot of actors who can snarl better than Cage. It appears he’s trying to act cool, while it was probably his manic genius that got him offered the role in the first place. With that said, Drive Angry is still great in the expected ways a ridiculous b-movie should be. Oodles of blondes, bullets, and blood. But, sadly, having all the ingredients to a bitchin’ movie doesn’t mean it’s going to come out right.

Cage plays Milton (how subtle), a hardass who looks like a chewed up piece of gristle with a blonde wig on. Milton escapes from hell to avenge his daughter’s death and to save his granddaughter from a satanic cult. Sounds like a conflict of interest, but Drive Angry refuses to be bogged down by trite things like exposition. While Milton is pursuing the satanic cult and their Elvis-like leader Jonah King (Billy Burke), he’s accompanied by Piper (Amber Heard) – a firecacker with a mean right hook and a foul mouth. All the while, an unstoppable force calling himself the Accountant is out to drag Milton back to hell.

It’s William Fichtner, as the Accountant, who steals every scene in Drive Angry. He pulls off homicidal cool so convincingly while simultaneously looking uncomfortable in human skin. He’s got the funniest lines, the best kills, and a power tie that screams confidence. Amber Heard is…well, hot. That’s all she needs to be in this movie. B-movie legend Tom “Thrill Me” Atkins makes a great appearance as the police captain. But then there’s Cage.

Through the whole hour and 40 minutes I was asking WHY is Cage playing it so cool?! You escaped from Hell and you’re armed with a gun called “The God Killer” – be manic and jittery and scream a lot! I think he was going for Clint Eastwood or John Wayne redemption reaper. He’s just boring.

The 3D is put to good use. Meaning lots of limbs and bullets flying towards the screen. There’s not a boring moment and the frequent action sequences are done really well. Surprisingly, there’s not a lot of car chasing going on in Drive Angry. Shoot outs, brawls, and shoot outs while fucking and chugging Jack Daniels make up the action here.

If all the elements are there, how did filmmakers Patrick Lussier and Todd Farmer (My Bloody Valentine 3D) end up delivering a flaccid movie? They obviously know what makes grindhouse flicks so entertaining, but just throwing the ingredients into the same movie doesn’t automatically make a good movie. Story and characters to root for are essential too. Can’t blame them for trying though.

This review originally appeared on the Mishka Bloglin.

CAGE MATCH: The Week in Nic Cage

And you thought last week was slow. With Drive Angry 3D one week away, we’re hitting some sloooow news pockets here at Cage Match. Hopefully things pick up – I’m sure there will be a slew of interviews and such for DA next week. I’ll be interviewing him in my miiiiiind.

But I never come to Cage Match empty handed, folks. I suppose I would have this week if it wasn’t for my beautiful and talent fiance. For Valentine’s Day, she painted me the above homage to Bad Lieutenant. This is the greatest VD gift ever and is now proudly hanging in Cage Match Headquarters.

Prepare your minds and assholes next week for the OL Drive Angry Circle Jerk! Or just my review, whatevs.

Commando, As Told By Alex From Africa

I never thought I would have anything in common with a small boy from Tanzania. That’s in East Africa where they drink the blood of the unborn and the air is filled with AIDS. But me and young Alex, representing the 607, apparently, seem to have the same taste in red-white-and blue action movies. See, Alex loves Commando, the 1985 balls-out Arnold Schwarzenegger movie. And he wants to tell you all about it.

I’m just playing about all that AIDS jive. The video is from Mama Hope, a campaign aimed at educating the ignorant about the true state of contemporary Africa. Not all children are soldiers, but if they keep watching Commando, who knows. (video via FilmDrunk)

CAGE MATCH: The Week in Nic Cage

Can you hear those crickets chirping, mon ami? That’s how slow of a news work it was in the world of Cage. He didn’t buy anything or yell at anyone on the street! WTF!?

To make clicking “Read the rest of the entry” worth your while, I had to do something I’ve been avoiding since Cage Match began: write about The Croods. Never heard of it? That’s cool, I wish I never did. Well, let’s (begrudgingly) do this.

Drive Angry 3D Red Band Trailer; Oh Hell Yes

My goal in life used to be “beat Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out.” Now it’s “stay alive long enough to see Drive Angry.” The tongue-in-cheek red band trailer was released earlier this week and it features so, so many awesome clips. From Amber Heard punching a topless girl in the face to severed limbs to Cage sneering at everything (IN 3D), this is why red band trailers exist, folks. This is gearing up to be the exploitation flick of the year and I’m moderately excited *flips over coffee table, punches out all the windows in the house*

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Michael Jackson Is Alive and Well In Brazil

This cab driver in Brazil is more Michael Jackson than Michael Jackson. I have no input for this post except AWESOME.