Action Movie Anatomy hosts Ben Bateman and Andrew Ghai break down Point Break! Point Break is a 1991 American action crime thriller directed by Kathryn Bigelow, starring Patrick Swayze, Keanu Reeves, Lori Petty and Gary Busey. The title refers to the surfing term point break, where a wave breaks as it hits a point of land jutting out from the coastline. Reeves stars as rookie FBI agent Johnny Utah, who is investigating a string of bank robberies possibly being committed by surfers. Johnny goes undercover to infiltrate the surfing community and develops a complex friendship with Bodhi (Swayze), the charismatic leader of a gang of surfers.

Action Movie Anatomy hosts Ben Bateman and Andrew Ghai break down Kill Bill Vol. 1! Kill Bill: Volume 1 is a 2003 American martial arts film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. It is the first of two Kill Bill films produced at the same time, and was followed by Kill Bill: Volume 2 (2004). It was originally set for a single theatrical release, but with a runtime of over 4 hours, it was divided into two films. It stars Uma Thurman as the Bride, who seeks revenge on an assassination squad led by Bill (David Carradine) after they try to kill her and her unborn child. The film received positive reviews from critics and was a commercial success.

Action Movie Anatomy hosts Ben Bateman and Andrew Ghai break down Demolition Man! Demolition Man is a 1993 American science fiction action film directed by Marco Brambilla in his directorial debut. The film stars Sylvester Stallone and Wesley Snipes. The film was released in the United States on October 8, 1993. The film tells the story of two men: an evil crime lord and a risk-taking police officer. Cryogenically frozen in 1996, they are restored to life in the year 2032 to find mainstream society changed and all crime seemingly eliminated. Some aspects of the film allude to Aldous Huxley's dystopian novel, Brave New World.

Action Movie Anatomy hosts Ben Bateman and Andrew Ghai break down Rocky IV! Rocky IV is a 1985 American sports film written and directed by Sylvester Stallone, who also starred in the film. The film co-stars Dolph Lundgren, Burt Young, Talia Shire, Carl Weathers, Tony Burton, Brigitte Nielsen, andMichael Pataki. Rocky IV remained the highest grossing sports movie for 24 years before it was overtaken by The Blind Side.  It is the fourth and most financially successful entry in the Rocky film series In the film, the Soviet Union and their top boxer make an entrance into professional boxing with their best athlete Ivan Drago, who initially wants to take on World Champion Rocky Balboa. His best friend Apollo Creed decides to fight him instead, but is fatally beaten in the ring. Enraged by this, Rocky decides to fight Drago in Russia to avenge his friend and defend the honor of his country. Critical reception was mixed, but the film earned $300 million at the box office. This film marked

Sync up your Blurays and join Action Movie Anatomy hosts Ben Bateman, Andrew Ghai, and Anatomy of a Movie host, Marisa Serafini, in watching Rocky IV! Rocky IV is a 1985 American sports film written and directed by Sylvester Stallone, who also starred in the film. The film co-stars Dolph Lundgren, Burt Young, Talia Shire, Carl Weathers, Tony Burton, Brigitte Nielsen, andMichael Pataki. Rocky IV remained the highest grossing sports movie for 24 years before it was overtaken by The Blind Side.  It is the fourth and most financially successful entry in the Rocky film series In the film, the Soviet Union and their top boxer make an entrance into professional boxing with their best athlete Ivan Drago, who initially wants to take on World Champion Rocky Balboa. His best friend Apollo Creed decides to fight him instead, but is fatally beaten in the ring. Enraged by this, Rocky decides to fight Drago in Russia to avenge his friend and defend the honor of his country. Critical reception was mix

Action Movie Anatomy hosts Ben Bateman and Andrew Ghai break down The Patriot! The Patriot is a 2000 American historical fiction war film directed by Roland Emmerich, written by Robert Rodat, and starring Mel Gibson, Chris Cooper, Heath Ledger, and Jason Isaacs. It was produced by the Mutual Film Company and Centropolis Entertainment and was distributed byColumbia Pictures. The film mainly takes place in rural York County, South Carolina, and depicts the story of an American swept into the American Revolutionary War when his family is threatened. Benjamin Martin is a composite figure the scriptwriter claims is based on four factual figures from the American Revolutionary War: Andrew Pickens, Francis Marion, Daniel Morganand Thomas Sumter. The film takes place during the real-life events of the Southern theater of the American Revolutionary War but attracted controversy over its fictional portrayal of historical figures and atrocities. Professor Mark Glancy, teacher of film history at

Action Movie Anatomy hosts Ben Bateman and Andrew Ghai break down Casino Royale with special guest Cathy Kelley! Casino Royale (2006) is the twenty-first film in the Eon Productions James Bond film series and the first to star Daniel Craig as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Directed by Martin Campbell and written by Neal Purvis & Robert Wade and Paul Haggis, the film marks the third screen adaptation of Ian Fleming's 1953 novel of the same name. Casino Royale is set at the beginning of Bond's career as Agent 007, just as he is earning his licence to kill. After preventing a terrorist attack at Miami International Airport, Bond falls in love with Vesper Lynd, the treasury employee assigned to provide the money he needs to bankrupt a terrorist financier, Le Chiffre, by beating him in a high-stakes pokergame. The story arc continues in the following Bond film, Quantum of Solace (2008), with implicit and explicit references to characters and events in Skyfall (2012) and Spectre (2015)

Action Movie Anatomy hosts Ben Bateman and Andrew Ghai break down The Bourne Legacy! The Bourne Legacy is a 2012 American action spy thriller film directed by Tony Gilroy, and is the fourth installment in the series of films adapted from the novels originated by Robert Ludlum, and continued by Eric Van Lustbader. Although this film has the same title as Van Lustbader's first Bourne novel, The Bourne Legacy, the actual screenplay bears little resemblance to the novel. Unlike the novel, which features Jason Bourne as the principal character, the film centers on Black ops agent Aaron Cross (played by Jeremy Renner), an original character. In addition to Renner, the film stars Rachel Weisz and Edward Norton.

Action Movie Anatomy hosts Ben Bateman and Andrew Ghai break down The Fugitive! The Fugitive is a 1993 American action thriller film based on the 1960s television series of the same name created by Roy Huggins. It was directed by Andrew Davis and stars Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones. After being wrongfully convicted for the murder of his wife, Dr. Richard Kimble (Ford) escapes from custody and sets out to prove his innocence while pursued by a team of U.S. Marshals led by Deputy Samuel Gerard (Jones).

Action Movie Anatomy hosts Ben Bateman and Andrew Ghai break down The Taking of Pelham 123 with guest hosts Josh Macuga and Ben Begley! The Taking of Pelham 123 is a 2009 American thriller film directed by Tony Scott, and starring Denzel Washington andJohn Travolta. It is a film adaptation of the novel by Morton Freedgood (writing under the pseudonym John Godey), and is aremake of the original 1974 film adaptation, which was also remade in 1998 as a TV film. Production began in March 2008, and it was released on June 12, 2009.

Action Movie Anatomy hosts Ben Bateman and Andrew Ghai break down John Wick with guest host Stef Z! John Wick is a 2014 American action thriller film directed by Chad Stahelski and David Leitch. Starring Keanu Reeves,Michael Nyqvist, Alfie Allen, Adrianne Palicki, Bridget Moynahan, Dean Winters, Ian McShane, John Leguizamo, andWillem Dafoe, the film stars Reeves as John Wick, a retired hitman seeking vengeance for the brutal theft of his vintage car and the killing of his puppy, a gift from his recently deceased wife. Stahelski and Leitch, both of 87Eleven Productions, directed the film together, though Leitch was uncredited. The film was written by Derek Kolstad, who completed the screenplay in 2012 and further developed it for Thunder Road Pictures. The film was produced by Basil Iwanyk of Thunder Road Pictures, Leitch, Eva Longoria and Michael Witherill. It marks Stahelski and Leitch's directorial debut as a team after multiple separate credits as second unit directors and stunt c

Action Movie Anatomy hosts Ben Bateman and Andrew Ghai break down Looper! Looper is a 2012 American science fiction action thriller film written and directed by Rian Johnson and starring Bruce Willis, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Emily Blunt. In the film, time travel is invented by the year 2074 (although it is immediately outlawed) and is used by criminal organizations to send those they want killed into the past where they are killed by "loopers", assassins paid with silver bars strapped to their targets. Joe, a looper, encounters himself when his older self is sent back in time to be killed. Looper was selected as the opening film of the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival. It was released in Australia on September 27, 2012, and in the US and the UK on September 28, 2012 by TriStar Pictures and FilmDistrict in the US, and Entertainment One in the UK.

Action Movie Anatomy hosts Ben Bateman and Andrew Ghai break down Minority Report with guest Roxy Striar! Minority Report is a 2002 American neo-noir science fiction action mystery-thriller film directed by Steven Spielberg and loosely based on the short story of the same name by Philip K. Dick. It is set primarily in Washington, D.C., and Northern Virginia in the year 2054, where "PreCrime", a specialized police department, apprehends criminals based onforeknowledge provided by three psychics called "precogs". The cast includes Tom Cruise as Chief of PreCrime John Anderton, Colin Farrell as Department of Justice agent Danny Witwer, Samantha Morton as the senior precog Agatha, and Max von Sydow as Anderton's superior Lamar Burgess. The film is a combination of whodunit, thriller and science fiction. It is also a traditional chase film, as the main protagonist is accused of a crime he has not committed and becomes a fugitive.

Action Movie Anatomy hosts Ben Bateman and Andrew Ghai break down The Matrix! The Matrix is a 1999 American science fiction action film written and directed by The Wachowskis, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, and Joe Pantoliano. It depicts a dystopian future in which reality as perceived by most humans is actually a simulated reality called "the Matrix", created by sentient machines to subdue the human population, while their bodies' heat and electrical activity are used as an energy source. Computer programmer "Neo" learns this truth and is drawn into a rebellion against the machines, which involves other people who have been freed from the "dream world". The Matrix is known for popularizing a visual effect known as "bullet time", (an optical effect that had its origins in the filmKill and Kill Again) in which the heightened perception of certain characters is represented by allowing the action within ashot to progress in slow-motion while t

Action Movie Anatomy hosts Ben Bateman and Andrew Ghai break down Die Hart with guest Jimmy O! Die Hard is a 1988 American action film directed by John McTiernan and written by Steven E. de Souza and Jeb Stuart. It follows off-duty New York City Police Department officer John McClane (Bruce Willis) as he takes on a group of highly organized criminals led by Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman), who perform a heist in a Los Angeles skyscraper under the guise of a terrorist attack using hostages, including McClane's wife Holly (Bonnie Bedelia), to keep the police at bay. It is based on Roderick Thorp's 1979 novel Nothing Lasts Forever, the sequel to 1966's The Detective, which was adapted into a 1968 film of the same name that starred Frank Sinatra. Fox was contractually obliged to offer Sinatra the lead role in Die Hard, but he turned it down. The studio then pitched the film to Arnold Schwarzenegger as a sequel to his 1985 action film Commando, who turned it down, as did a host of the era's ac

Action Movie Anatomy hosts Ben Bateman and Andrew Ghai break down Aliens with guest Ryan Brookhart! Aliens is a 1986 American science-fiction action horror film written and directed by James Cameron, produced by his then-wife Gale Anne Hurd, and starring Sigourney Weaver, Carrie Henn, Michael Biehn, Paul Reiser, Lance Henriksen,William Hope, and Bill Paxton. It is the sequel to the 1979 film Alien and the second installment in the Alien franchise. The film follows Weaver's character Ellen Ripley as she returns to the planet where her crew encountered the hostileAlien creature, this time accompanied by a unit of space marines. Gordon Carroll, David Giler and Walter Hill of Brandywine Productions, who produced the first film and the later sequels, were executive producers of Aliens. They were interested in a follow-up to Alien as soon as its 1979 release, but the new management at 20th Century Fox postponed those plans until 1983. That year Brandywine picked Cameron to write after read

Action Movie Anatomy hosts Ben Bateman and Andrew Ghai break down The Bourne Identity with guest Sara Stretton! Gladiator is a 2000 epic historical drama film directed by Ridley Scott, starring Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Ralf Möller, Oliver Reed (in his final film role), Djimon Hounsou, Derek Jacobi, John Shrapnel, and Richard Harris. Crowe portrays the fictional character, loyal Roman general Maximus Decimus Meridius, who is betrayed whenCommodus, the ambitious son of Emperor Marcus Aurelius, murders his father and seizes the throne. Reduced to slavery, Maximus rises through the ranks of the gladiatorial arena to avenge the murders of his family and his emperor. Released in the United States on May 5, 2000, Gladiator was a box office success, received generally positive reviews, and was credited with rekindling interest in the historical epic. The film won multiple awards, notably five Academy Awards in the 73rd Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Act

Action Movie Anatomy hosts Ben Bateman and Andrew Ghai break down The Bourne Identity with guest Roxy Striar! The Bourne Identity is a 2002 American-German action spy thriller film adaptation of Robert Ludlum's novel of the same name. It stars Matt Damon as Jason Bourne, a man suffering from extreme memory loss and attempting to discover his true identity amidst a clandestine conspiracy within the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). The film also features Franka Potente, Chris Cooper, Clive Owen, Julia Stiles, Brian Cox and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje. This, the first in the Bourne film series, is followed by The Bourne Supremacy (2004), The Bourne Ultimatum (2007), and The Bourne Legacy (2012). The film was directed by Doug Liman and adapted for the screen by Tony Gilroy and William Blake Herron. Although Robert Ludlum died in 2001, he is credited as the film's producer alongside Frank Marshall. Universal Pictures released the film to theatres in the United States on June 14, 2002, and

Action Movie Anatomy hosts Ben Bateman and Andrew Ghai break down Predator with guest Jason Sparich! Predator is a 1987 American science fiction action film directed by John McTiernan and was distributed by 20th Century Fox. It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as the leader of an elite special forces team, who are on a mission to rescue hostages from guerrilla territory in Central America. Kevin Peter Hall co-stars as the titular antagonist, a technologically advanced form of extraterrestrial life secretly stalking and hunting the group. Predator was written by Jim and John Thomas in 1985, under the working title of Hunter. Filming began in April 1986 and creature effects were devised by Stan Winston. The film's budget was around $15 million. Released in the United States on June 12, 1987, it grossed $98,267,558. Initial critical reaction to Predator was negative, with criticism focusing on the thin plot. However, in subsequent years critics' attitudes toward the film warmed, and it has a

Action Movie Anatomy hosts Ben Bateman and Andrew Ghai break down Con Air with guest host Yael Tygiel! Con Air is a 1997 American action film directed by Simon West and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, producer of The Rock. It stars Nicolas Cage, John Cusack, and John Malkovich. The film borrows its title from the nickname of the Justice Prisoner and Alien Transportation System. While scanning a newspaper article, Screenwriter Scott Rosenberg first learned of the special program, then visited its Oklahoma City base "to get an eyewitness perspective of the incredible operation, which quickly formed the genesis for Con Air."

Action Movie Anatomy hosts Ben Bateman and Andrew Ghai break down Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation with guest host Stef Z! Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation is a 2015 American action spy film written and directed by Christopher McQuarrie. It is the fifth installment in the Mission: Impossible series and was preceded by Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011). It stars Tom Cruise, who reprises his role as IMF Agent Ethan Hunt. It is produced by Cruise, J. J. Abrams, and David Ellison of Skydance Productions. In the film, Hunt is on the run from the U.S. government as he tries to prove the existence of the Syndicate, an international criminal consortium. Filming began on August 21, 2014, in Vienna, Austria, and concluded on March 12, 2015. The film was released in North America by Paramount Pictures on July 31, 2015 to critical and commercial success. In its opening weekend, it took in $55.5 million at the U.S. box office and over $120 million worldwide.

Action Movie Anatomy hosts Ben Bateman and Andrew Ghai break down Mission Impossible 4 with guest host Stef Z! Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol is a 2011 American action spy thriller film. It is the fourth installment in theMission: Impossible series, and director Brad Bird's first live-action film. It stars Tom Cruise, who reprises his role of IMFAgent Ethan Hunt, with Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg, and Paula Patton as his supporting team. Ghost Protocol was written by André Nemec and Josh Appelbaum, and produced by Cruise, J. J. Abrams (the third film's director) and Bryan Burk. It saw the return of the first film's editor, Paul Hirsch, and is also the first Mission: Impossible film to be partially filmed using IMAX cameras. The film was released in North America by Paramount Pictures on December 16, 2011. The film was preceded by Mission: Impossible III (2006) and followed by Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (2015). Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol became the highest-grossin

Action Movie Anatomy hosts Ben Bateman and Andrew Ghai break down Lethal Weapon with guest host Alexis Torres! Struggling with age and retirement, homicide detective Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover) is partnered with young andsuicidal narcotics officer Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson). Together, they work the case of the alleged suicide of Amanda Hunsaker, daughter of a wealthy businessman who served with Murtaugh in Vietnam. Murtaugh and Riggs soon discover that Hunsaker was involved in a heroin-smuggling scheme led by a retired general (Mitchell Ryan) and his lead enforcer (Gary Busey).

Action Movie Anatomy hosts Ben Bateman and Andrew Ghai break down Independence Day with guest host Cathy Kelley! Taken is a 2008 English-language French action thriller film directed by Pierre Morel, written by Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen, and starring Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace, Leland Orser, Jon Gries, David Warshofsky, Holly Valance, Katie Cassidy, Xander Berkeley, Olivier Rabourdin, Gérard Watkins, and Famke Janssen. It is the first installment in the Takenfilm series. Neeson plays a former CIA operative named Bryan Mills who sets about tracking down his daughter after she is kidnapped by human traffickers for sexual slavery while traveling in France. Numerous media outlets have cited the film as a turning point in Neeson's career that redefined and transformed him to an action film star. The film was met with mixed critical response, but was a financial success, earning over $226 million at the box office. The film is widely credited with establishing Neeson as a credible ac

Action Movie Anatomy hosts Ben Bateman and Andrew Ghai break down Independence Day with guest host Autumn Chiklis ndependence Day is a 1996 American science fiction disaster film co-written and directed by Roland Emmerich. The film stars Will Smith, Bill Pullman, Jeff Goldblum, Mary McDonnell, Judd Hirsch, Margaret Colin, Randy Quaid, Robert Loggia,James Rebhorn, Vivica A. Fox, and Harry Connick, Jr. The film focuses on a disparate group of people who converge in the Nevada desert in the aftermath of a destructive alien attack and, along with the rest of the human population, participate in a last-chance counterattack on July 4, the same date as the Independence Day holiday in the United States. The screenplay was written by Emmerich and producer Dean Devlin. While promoting Stargate in Europe, Emmerich came up with the idea for the film when fielding a question about his own belief in the existence of alien life. He and Devlin decided to incorporate a large-scale attack when noticin