Tag: Frank Grillo

“Kingdom”: Muscles and Heart rolled into a fist

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“Every man will whisper to themselves at some point. Am I one of the weak or one of the strong?”-Alvey Kulina

In life, all men know and understand that they reside in a kingdom. They spend their entire life wondering where in that kingdom they belong. Down with the peasants. Cleaning up the streets. Defending with a sword in their hand. Hiding inside their home. Do they belong next to the throne or in the crowd watching the king? That follows all of us around every day.

Creator Byron Balasco(Without A Trace, Huff) didn’t just bring us a show about MMA and its fighters. This show is special because it stretches outside the octagon and into an uglier harder to depict fight in our life. The dysfunctional aspect of family. Nobody hits harder than your own family and the way they look at you. A stranger can punch you in the face 10 times but if a brother looks at you like something lesser than a man, the effect is shattering. The training, fight scenes and testosterone ballet in Direct TV’s Kingdom is fine seasoning and will keep you away, but the powerful hard knock portrayal of inner demons, family rust and the dangers that await these characters outside the ring is what will spin in my head for weeks until the second season premiere on October 16th.

What’s so good about this show? Everything, but let me be more detailed and articulate for those of you who need more a brochure for your next TV show binge.

Frank Grillo, a man with Atlantic City going on inside the high arches of that Italian hair, was born to play Alvey Kulina, the patriarch of a family of MMA fighters. Grillo is a 50 year renegade hitting his stride after years of hard work stealing scenes from stars like Liam Neeson, Tom Hardy and Jason Statham. Grillo sinks every ounce of himself into Alvey, a former fighter who is hanging on to life by investing his time as a trainer and mentor to his sons. Everything about Grillo is authentic and Balasco hangs the show on his shoulders, and the man doesn’t disappoint. You may feel like you know Alvey after a few episodes but by the 9th hour, every picture you have drawn will be tossed because he’s unpredictable and vulnerable in ways most tough guys are not on television.

If Grillo helps shape the soul of the show, Kiele Sanchez(who co-starred with Grillo in The Purge: Anarchy) is the heart of the show as Lisa Prince, Alvey’s woman and Achilles heel. Sanchez isn’t a name you will know before the show, but after you watch episode 10, she will be an actress to remember. Sanchez isn’t intimidated by the male dominated cast. She’s the Queen that nobody wants to push aside. In the same vein as Alvey, viewers will think they have seen Lisa and her arc before as the show opens up innocently, but things soon spiral out of control and that allows Sanchez to have some fun with Lisa.

Matt Lauria is a cracked glass of rage as Ryan Wheeler, a former champion who gets released from prison and has to deal with all his demons like they are residents in a house he can’t sell. He reconnects with Alvey, a man he respects but also a man who is with the woman he loves in Lisa. Kingdom does “messy” like no other show. Lauria never lets you get too close to Ryan, a violent man with enough rage to fill six rings of sorrow. This show balances itself on the tripod of lust with Alvey, Ryan and Lisa trading blows hour by hour.

Let me say something. I love Jonathan Tucker. Everything about the actor appeals to me. He has so many speeds the man is like a human treadmill. Comedy. Action. Romance. Wildness. Wacky. Heartfelt. Tragic. Tucker can play them all. I’ve loved Tucker since his work in the short run of NBC’s Black Donnelly’s. He squared off with Timothy Olyphant’s Raylan Givens on Justified earlier this year but his work as Jay Kulina will demolish everything he has stepped foot in before. Tucker unfolds here as a man who has snorted every drug and burned every bridge but seems like the most well adjusted “right where I need to be” person on the show. Tucker is a live firecracker as Jay, a fighter on the comeback trail.

What do you think of Nick Jonas? He sing and girls love him. Well, toss that out the window. Whatever the answer is, prepare to rethink it as he tackles the role of Alvey’s youngest son, Nate. This kid was the last person on my list of “I hope to see him in a physical fighting role sometime soon” but as the moral of the show pertains, forget about pre-conceived notions. Jonas is a quiet ball of fury here as a kid who doesn’t know what he wants but knows that breathing keeps all options open. Nate Kulina is the youngest but he is also the most responsible person on the show. Nick Jonas is going to blow you away and it looks effortless.

Mac Brandt does great work here as the fighter and drug pharmacy to the Kulina family. The “Freckled Dart Board” doesn’t get nearly as much screen time as the majority of the cast but puts it all to good use. He makes you want to see more of him. The wolf has some juice here. Also putting in fine work is Joanna Going, the “wife” and mother of the Kulina boys. You won’t know whether you should love or hate Going’s Christina, but the ride doesn’t stop hitting bumps until the final moments of the Season 1 finale. The trademark of this cast is deception. Right when you measure them for an overhand right located for your forehead, you don’t see the uppercut smashing you in the ribs.

Balasco has crafted a show that looks simple on the surface but breathes like a stoked fire with intensity. The Kulina’s gym, Navy Street, is on the fringe with bills and staying open. Jay and Nate are trying to establish themselves in the fight world and Ryan is reestablishing his ring persona while fighting all the urges outside of it. All the while, Alvey and Lisa seem to fighting the ugliest part of life. Cutting strings with the past and trusting the future. The actors may look gorgeous but their characters are all broken piles of glass. Speaking of glass, Lauria’s rage filled moment at the gym is so harrowing and out of control that I felt like smashing a mirror just to see if I got the same rush. Kingdom makes you want to hit a bag until your knuckles bleed. It’s workout video, graphic novel and poetic speech about identity that you won’t see coming.

Grillo is the bottle cap that’s ready to pop. You watch him and you see an actor who pulls pages of dialogue and looks from his bones. He’s the most authentic fighter you will see on any sized screen in 2015 and beyond. A man who has finally found a role fit for his amount of rage, charisma and stature as a true tough guy with a poker deck full of secrets.

What makes Kingdom different? The visceral punch that it hits you with and the way it defies normal TV family drama. This show is a pit bull with teeth, heart, and soul to make your time spent with it seem justified but required.

As Mac Brandt would say, “show some self respect” and watch Kingdom. Season 2 starts in a week.

The Purge Anarchy: Powered by Frank Grillo’s take on The Punisher

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GrilloCare for an entertaining fleeting dose of action packed cinema this summer! Welcome to the land of the purge, where people get 12 hours to set free all their animalistic demons and unleash evil on the streets. DeMonaco assembles a new cast of characters for this second go around in a series that is likely to only grow with the coming years. Ethan Hawke anchored 2013’s original, and while it made a ridiculous premise stand up inside a home invasion setting, the ending left more to be desired.  The Purge: Anarchy delivers on the promise of the original by taking the action to the streets and putting the badass better than ever Frank Grillo at the center of the action.

Grillo is a re-invigorated 51 year old action hero dropped into a plot that suits all his strengths. You have noticed him stealing scenes in films for the past few years. The trainer in Warrior, the sergeant in End of Watch and the wandering ex-con in Joe Carnahan’s captivating survival flick, The Grey. Grillo plays Leo, a man hitting the streets for a different kind of purge. Leo wants to cleanse his soul of deadly revenge, and when he stops to help a group of innocents on the verge of slaughter, he picks up the film and carries it for the entire running time.

In case you haven’t heard, Grillo was born to play Frank Castle, the Punisher, one of the roles Hollywood still hasn’t done right in two attempts. As my colleague, Max Foizey, proclaimed after the credits, “The Punisher was dropped into The Purge.” That is basically the ticking heartbeat of this film. Grillo unplugged! (more…)

A Few Words With Frank Grillo

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“First movie I saw with my pop. Longest Yard with Burt Reynolds. I said “I wanna be that guy””-Frank Grillo

640px-Frank_Grillo

On his twitter page, Frank Grillo plainly states, “I’ll fight any superhero with my bare hands.”  That’s the essence of the gifted actor and tells you all a movie loving soul needs to know about this underrated performer.   He is blunt, worthy of your attention and a lot more than “a face of film” in my opinion.  Grillo is a born and bred New Yorker just hitting the age of 50 this year and he hasn’t lost an ounce of will.  The statement could be blindly tied to his role as Crossbones in the next summer’s Marvel sequel, Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

However, when taken on its own, the Twitter bio can be placed on top of Grillo’s entire career.  He’s a fighter in this game of filmmaking and always will be.   Grillo takes on Jason Statham in this week’s Homefront and I had to chance to ask him some questions about his trade craft.

While his first role was a bit role in a 1993 film called Deadly Rivals, I remember him hitting my vision in 2002’s Minority Report playing an officer colliding with Tom Cruise’s runaway cop.  That is signature Grillo.   Bashing skulls with the pretty boy movie stars and leaving a dent in your mind long after the credits roll.   In 2011’s Warrior, Grillo played a MMA trainer who brought Joel Edgerton’s professor back to the land of hand to hand combat warriors.  You didn’t catch his face on the poster, but that isn’t the point.  The point is the performance Grillo turned in that caught critic’s and fan’s attention.  To an actor, it’s all about the work.

When I call him a character actor, Grillo respectfully disagrees and lays it out firmly but fair.  “I’m not a character actor. Who is really?  Ernest Borgnine, I guess. I’m an actor. I’ve been leading on TV and in film. You need to understand the business to understand who’s the guy and who supports. It’s not a meritocracy.  A Character actor is an old term for an actor who plays the same character.”  Again, this is blunt response and not an actor being rude.  I respect Grillo for bringing it straight with me and not phoning in the answer.

When I ask him how much time he gives to a script to hook him, he says it usually happens quickly. “First ten pages and I’m in or out. It’s a gut thing or a money thing.  If the script’s good, I’ll do anything.”  Too many actors languish on scripts until they force themselves to do it or do so at the request of their agent.  Grillo sounds like an actor who takes his career and puts it in his own hands.  There is an old school grace about him that flickers throughout his words.  He leaves the B.S. to other actors.

Grillo continues on the idea of the label of character actor being overused.  “It all has a lot to do w international value.  Those guys are brilliant. But don’t necessarily have a lot of drawing power. Not a meritocracy.”  He sounds like a guy who knows what he has to do and will just keep fighting his way through juicy roles.

I asked him who is the biggest badass he has ever faced on film and his answer is unequivocally quick.  “(Liam) Neeson.  Hands down.”  Grillo and Neeson shared the screen in the outstanding and underrated film The Grey, directed by Joe Carnahan.  There is hope that Carnahan and Grillo will remake a Charles Bronson film someday if funding comes through.

What is up next for Grillo?  A lot of versatile film fare.  In 2014 he has Demonic with Mario Bello.  Captain America: Winter Soldier.  Big Sky with Kyra Sedgewick and Bella Thorne.  A Conspiracy on Jekyll Island with Minnie Driver and John Lequizamo, Ed Westwick, Mary McCormack as well as a Direct TV series called Navy St., which Grillo compares to Warrior.

My favorite Grillo scene is clear cut.  He is magnetic in every role he takes but his role as Sarge in End of Watch involved a scene at a cop’s wedding where Grillo’s weary and wise cop tells this group of soldiers about this incident with a partner.  He tells these young men how this guy took a bullet for him and that the bullet “was mine and he took it.”  Grillo says it was “last minute” and it plays in parts during the wedding scene but it’s one of the lasting images I took from that film and I rated it my top movie of 2012.  Grillo was a big reason for that.  He was so good as Sarge you would have thought he wore that badge for years.

That’s why Grillo calls himself simply an actor.   That is what he does and he does it very well.  I implore you to check out this man’s work and get to know his name as well as his face.  He has big things ahead of him and while fighting superheroes may be involved, I personally think something a lot better awaits Grillo.

After answering these questions the day before Thanksgiving, Grillo says thank you and that my work here on him is much appreciated.   Trust me, Mr. Grillo, for this film-addict, the pleasure is all mine and it will stay that way as long as he keeps working.

Signature Frank Grillo Films–The Grey, End of Watch, Warrior, Homefront, Pride and Glory, Disconnect, Prison Break, and a brief stint on The Shield.

Connect with Grillo on Twitter at his handle, @FrankGrillo. 

 

Written By Dan Buffa

Film-Addict Co-Creator/Writer

@buffa82 on Twitter

Reach me at buffa82@gmail.com

(Getting to talk to Frank happened on a whim.  Truly, out of nowhere.  I praised his work in a tweet on Tuesday and he replied in gratitude and I asked him about a quick interview and he complied.  This interview was done over Twitter direct message.   A way that Twitter is powering my passionate career as well as many others.  The global ground of opportunity.)