The Locator (2006)

The Locator (2006)- * * *

Directed by: Andre Buckner

Starring: Andre Buckner, Robert Gresham, Robert Mayo, Cristina Kellogg, and LaDonna Jackson

There are other men, and then there's BRAXTON (Buckner). Evidently, his "objective is to remove any threats to the safety and stability of the United States." At least that's not a vague objective. Many of said threats appear in Alpharetta, Georgia. Who knew? Max Demont (Gresham) is your classic Evil Whitey and he is an abuser in his relationship with Sara (Kellogg). There's also some intrigue and government assassin backstabbing, best exemplified by the line of dialogue "Lyles ordered me to take out Rivers". Lyles (Mayo) is the guy who is trying to control Braxton. NO ONE controls Braxton. After some shootouts, car chases, fights, and romance with Sasha (Jackson), Braxton comes to the final conflict. But isn't the real conflict who Braxton is, really? Or perhaps not. LOCATE this film tonight and find out for yourself!


The Buck(ner) stops here as director/star/co-writer/co-producer/co-everything Andre Buckner turns in his defining character, Braxton. Both Toni and Tamar Braxton were very hot at the time, so he was possibly riding on the cultural zeitgeist. Plus it has that "X" in the name that makes it sound cool. Just ask David Broadnax (anybody remember Mister Deathman)?


Like The Strike, The Locator has a down-and-dirty, local/regional feel to it, which we like. But this time Buckner is in control, presumably having learned from his prior directors such as Donald Farmer, and he felt ready to make films on his own. Getting the negative out of the way, The Locator falls prey - and falls pretty hard at times - to some of the standard low-budget pitfalls that can plague productions like this:

Very low or nonexistent lighting, and some of the worst sound quality we've ever heard. Many times it sounds like people are speaking through the McDonald's drive-thru speaker. Then they encased the speaker in a lucite box. Then threw it in the ocean. Which is so much the pity, because one of the best things about regional cinema is getting to hear people's local accents. So many people in Hollywood try so hard to get rid of their accents. In productions like this, they don't care. They're probably not even thinking about that. Which is great: Robert Mayo as Lyles has a pronounced Georgia accent and it's a joy to hear (when you can hear it).


It also suffers from repetition: seemingly every other scene is an exterior shot of the city of Atlanta with some hip hop beats playing behind it. We KNOW they're in Atlanta. I get that they thought that this might "open up" the film, but they did it too many times, to the point of ridiculousness. And some of the fight choreography isn't exactly Corey Yuen-level. But isn't that all part of the fun? Andre and the rest of the Buckner family (check out the credits, it's practically a Buckner family reunion) MADE this movie, put their hearts into it, and got it into stores, and now streaming. Shouldn't that be applauded, not demonized?



Even on this rock-bottom budget, they maintained the mainstays: a solitary hero determined to get the bad guys, "my last job" (which is funny considering there's a Locator 2), the car chase that includes Fast Motion, the conspiracy angle, the scene where one of the characters reads the hero's CV: ("purple heart, bronze star, special ops...") the "Disc" MacGuffin that everyone is looking for - and the classic parking lot fight. The homemade nature comes to the fore in some of the more bizarre aspects: at one point, Max yells at Sara, "Get out of the mirror!" (?????), and an audacious scene where a shooter in Georgia is, presumably, killing off people in Israel (?????). The movie even starts on a scene like this: a SWAT team surrounds a house and the only thing anybody says, over and over again, is "Yep". Then it goes right to a scene of meatheads inexplicably flexing.

We applaud Andre and the rest of the Buckners for getting off their duffs and actually making The Locator. Many people talk about making movies; they DID it. The results are not perfect. But in those imperfections, we find humanity and the magic of moviemaking. We look forward to seeing what Mr. Buckner and company do with Locator 2 Braxton Returns (and no, that's not a run-on sentence; that's the proper name of the film). In the sequel, we may find Braxton locating (did he Locate anyone here at all?) once again!

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

The Strike (2001)

 The Strike (2001)- ***

AKA: Fighting Chance

Directed by: Donald Farmer

Starring: Andre Buckner, Tony Luke, and Stephanie Sinclair 

Damon (Buckner) is a good-natured Martial Arts instructor who just wants the little tots in his classes to be the best fighters they can be. When his less level-headed brother Joe (Luke) gets involved in underground Punchfighting, or possibly Kickfighting, matches, Damon must snap into action. He then gets embroiled in a shady world with both gangsters AND mobsters, and maybe a few kidnapped women. Will Damon be able to save the day...mon? And will he have a FIGHTING CHANCE to survive?


First came Iron Thunder (1988). Then Razor Sharpe (2001). Now we have The Strike, starring our new favorite hero, Andre Buckner. He's very charismatic and we can see why he was the lead in some DTV films in the 2000's and 2010's. And before you call this a Homie Movie, just keep in mind he played "Homie #1" in a movie called Trust (2003). But that's before he came into his full potential and became the Buckner we all now know and love.


The Strike has that underground, homemade, yet professional look that fans of the genre will know and appreciate. If you've found, much less watched, The Strike, you're probably a die-hard who likely doesn't care if a movie has a multi-million-dollar budget. You just want to see if the project has heart, and The Strike certainly does. This may seem like an odd comparison - though not if you're a longtime reader to this site or a listener to our podcast - but The Strike is sort of like a cross between Equal Impact (1995) and Transformed (2005). If that means anything whatsoever to you, then that's sort of a picture of what we're looking at here.


An obvious oversight: the movie needed more Possum. Towards the beginning of the film, there's a fantastic old-salt boxing instructor named Possum. He's one of the best characters, and then he just goes away. He's also not credited in the film, so presumably it's a real guy named Possum. We wanted - nay, needed - more Possum. He was most likely in danger of stealing the movie from Andre Buckner, so they axed him.


A great moment comes when Joe wants to know who is on his girlfriend's T-shirt. She replies, "Juliana Hatfield, she's a singer!" She also goes on to namecheck "Jewel, Fiona, and Alanis". Joe's girlfriend is white. This Tough and Deadly (1995)-esque moment highlights the potential hazards and schisms of being in an interracial relationship. Joe's main problem is that he doesn't lift weights angrily to the album Hey Babe.



Other thoughts: There's an unframed "Things to Do" poster on the nightstand. Then a subplot appears involving a show very much like Hard Copy or A Current Affair, which were still very hot at the time. The Strike was staying current with the times. There's a guy with a mullet, and the music by Robert Lundhild stands out. Perhaps interestingly, The Strike was directed by Donald Farmer, known these days as a prolific purveyor of schlocky horror. His 80s and 90s work is just beginning to be released on Blu-ray (best exemplified by Scream Dream (1989) and the other titles released by Visual Vengeance). Idea: How about a Donald Farmer box set, Vinegar Syndrome?


The whole thing has odd pacing and a not-mainstream feel that I think fans will actually really like. Yes, it is a bit repetitive (we're told multiple times that "important people" appear at the illegal warehouse fights. Judging by the crowds (?) we see, we have to wonder how many important people there are in their town). But it's all part of the low-budget/no-budget fun. Sure, The Strike might not be for everyone, but the ones who it IS for will likely really enjoy it.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty