The Instructor (1981)

 

The Instructor (1981)- * *1\2

Directed by: Don Bendell

Starring: Bob Chaney, Don Bendell, Bob Saal, and Lynday Scharnott

A man known only as "The Instructor" (Chaney) is, naturally, a Karate instructor in Akron, Ohio. He and his buddy Thumper Rhodes (Bendell) love going on long jogs together, and beating up punks in the local trainyard with garbage can lids. When the town ne'er-do-well Bud Hart (Saal) takes an extreme dislike to Mr. Instructor and Thumper, many Martial Arts battles ensue with his gang of goons, both in and out of the ring. This especially escalates when some of Hart's guys attack Dee (Scharnott), a disciple at the Karate school. Meanwhile, there's a pudgy, bearded white guy named Mr. Fender who is dressed in a ninja outfit and fancies stalking around the neighborhood. What the HECK is going on here? We may never know...


As if the above confusion wasn't enough, throughout most of your viewing of The Instructor, you may continually ask yourself "What IS this?" - and the answer appears to be that it's a local low-budget labor of love. If you enjoy such regional and/or no budget and/or nutso offerings such as The Skid Kid (1991), Furious (1984), Kindergarten "Ninja" (1994), Iron Thunder (1988), or Twin Dragon Encounter (1986), you may get something out of The Instructor.


Either it was Bob Chaney's dream to become an Instructor, or it was The Instructor's dream to become a moviemaker, but we're not sure which. Thumper a.) looks like Frank Zappa, and b.) is named Thumper. Fight scenes break out and have a funky soundtrack behind them, making this whole odd outing seem more 70's than 80's. The sound quality seems to be from the 1920's. If not earlier. Everything is muffled, dull, and almost unhearable, which is a shame because Mr. Fender the wacky ninja gets an internal monologue. We don't hear the thoughts of anyone else, but we're blessed to hear his inner mental workings. Well, if you can hear them, that is.


Naturally, the fighters are all on the older side, so you get some classic Middle Aged Punks. The end section features an extended car chase. You can tell they were trying. While the movie has pronounced pacing, plotting, acting, editing, and sound issues, that's not really the point. They got off their butts and actually made a movie, which should inspire a positive "anyone can do it" feeling. The fact that it was released on VHS by Vestron only serves to reinforce that, especially with its very cool box art. The fact that it's not especially indicative of the movie itself is also beside the point.


If you enjoy handmade, homemade filmmaking, especially along the more "WTF" end of things, why NOT check out The Instructor?

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

Force: Five (1981)

 

Force: Five (1981)- * *1\2

Directed by: Robert Clouse

Starring: Richard Norton, Amanda Wyss, Bong Soo Han, Peter Maclean, Joe Lewis, Sonny Barnes, Benny "The Jet" Urquidez, Pam Huntington, and Mel Novak

Reverend Rhee (Han) is a cult leader who, along with his devoted disciples, is sequestered away on a remote island. When Senator Forrester (MacLean) wants to rescue his daughter from the cult, he calls in "The Best" - i.e., a team of five high-kickin' Martial Arts fighters comprised of Jim Martin (Lewis), Lockjaw (Barnes), Billy Ortega (Urquidez), Laurie (Huntington), and Ezekiel (Norton). Will our quintuplet of action heroes exfiltrate the girl? Or will they fall to the hands of a man known only as The Assassin (Novak)?


Coming hot on the heels of the Jim Jones Guyana tragedy, which occurred in November of 1978, Force: Five reimagines the tale if Benny the Jet, Richard Norton, and the rest of gang showed up at Jonestown and saved the day. It's also reminiscent of other newsworthy cults of the time, such as the Rajneesh group, which is what the Netflix documentary series Wild Wild Country is all about. However, Force: Five also a comedy, complete with a Kill and Kill Again (1981) vibe, or a certain A-Team sensibility. Imdb.com even claims it's a remake of Hot Potato (1976). Which would explain why it reminded us so much of...Hot Potato.


While it's ostensibly rated R, it feels very PG in its execution. The triumph of the Robert Clouse standout Gymkata (1985) isn't exactly threatened here, because Force: Five contains more than enough stupidity, but the stuntwork is very good, and there are some amusing "classic 1981 drive-in" Kung-Fu fights along the way. But there are long stretches with actionless moments, which slow things down.


It was nice to see a young Richard Norton, who looks alarmingly like Matthew McConaughey from Dazed and Confused (1993) here. It really could be his doppelganger. Bob Schott as Carl is a classic meathead, and it was nice to see Amanda Wyss, no matter for how short a time, here as well. Wyss has been in an impressive number of 80's classics, including A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), Better Off Dead (1985), and Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982), among others. This was so early in her career, she was credited as Mandy Wyss. Interestingly, she was on the short-lived TV series Jessica Novak, and Force: Five has Mel Novak. Coincidence?


Anyway, Force: Five is a bit like a cross between Never Say Die (1994) and Catch the Heat (1987). The former for the cult aspect, and the latter for the "Karate Comedy" aspect. It all opens with a funky theme song and it's perfect for the drive-ins and grindhouses of the early 80's. It shouldn't be confused with Heroes Three (1983).


Also not to be confused with the 1975 TV movie Force Five (note the missing colon), this Force: Five was released on a Media tape during the golden era of VHS. Overall, it has some decent moments but there's really no "wow factor" here. The cast is good, and it's all very competent, but a little something extra really would have fleshed it all out.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

Car Crash (1981)

 

Car Crash (1981)- * * *

 Directed by: Antonio Margheriti 

 Starring: Joey Travolta, Vittorio Mezzogiorno, Ana Obregon, Ricardio Palacios, and John Steiner

Paul Little (Travolta) is a stock car racer, and his best buddy Nick (Mezzogiorno) is his mechanic. The two men live to race, and they don't cheat, which really hacks off mobster Eli Wronsky (Palacios) who didn't want them to win a rigged race. After drawing the ire of the gangsters, Paul and Nick travel to Acapulco so they can be part of a new race called 'The Imperial Crash'. Along their journey they meet Janice Johnson (Obregon), an antiques dealer, and sparks fly between her and Paul. When the three of them go to the mansion of the wealthy Kirby (Steiner) and his snooty butler Gershwin, more chaos ensues before they can get to the final race. But Kirby's friendship will prove invaluable later on. Will the gangster baddies rub out Paul and Nick before they can even get to The Imperial Crash? Or, while they're in sunny Mexico, will there be - to quote Atomic Swing - a CAR CRASH in the blue? Find out today!



Antonio Margheriti has always been among our favorite directors, and Car Crash seems to be one of his lesser-seen works. Despite the cult status of Margheriti, the presence of Joey Travolta, and the fact that it was a Italian-Spanish-Mexican co-production which ensured a worldwide release, it appears as though the only way to see it in the U.S. is the Sony VHS.

While there are some scenes of light shooting and beat-ups, there are plenty of blow-ups and, of course, car races and crashes. Over almost 100 minutes, the film does slow down at times, but the camaraderie between Paul and Nick is good, and some drama is needed because it can't be all cars all the time.



One of the best things about Car Crash is the music by Mario and Giosy Capuano. It's really tremendous stuff and it helps keep the movie afloat. It ranges from hard-driving rock to synth to folk cues, and it's a treat for the ears. They were an interesting choice to provide the music, because it appears that this is their one and only soundtrack. It should come out on CD or vinyl, stat. I would say reissued, but it appears it has never been issued in the first place, which is a shame. I think a lot of people would buy it. It would be perfect for a company like Digitmovies.



Of course, it was 1981, and one of the first scenes takes place in an arcade with plenty of pinball machines and stand-up games. But, moving on from that highlight, much has been made of Margheriti's use of miniatures during some of the racing scenes. Far from a negative, it comes off as delightfully charming as far as we're concerned. If they had called the movie "Hot Wheels" it would have been entirely appropriate. Of course, Margheriti used plenty of "fast motion" to give the feeling of more speed, which gives things an old-timey "Keystone Kops" feeling which may or may not have been intentional.



John Steiner does an atypical role as the foppish Kirby, and his butler Gershwin is annoying so it's great when Nick finally punches him in the face. Nick also has some great insults, calling people "Jerk Brain", also, and we quote, "Your mother eats moose meat!" Obviously Nick was quite ahead of his time, as these two insults together were clearly the precursor to Judd Nelson in Conflict of Interest (1993) and his immortal "Jerk Beef".



Naturally, it all comes to a head at The Imperial Crash, which seems like it would be a good band name. Car Crash is decently entertaining most of the time, and would have been perfect for the waning days of drive-in theaters. Hopefully it'll get a physical release in a digital format so more people can see it and re-evaluate it, or just evaluate it for the first time.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

Kill and Kill Again (1981)

 

Kill and Kill Again (1981)- * * *

Directed by: Ivan Hall

Starring: James Ryan, Anneline Kriel, John Ramsbottom, Ken Gampu, Norman Robinson, Marloe Scott Wilson, Bill Flynn, Eddie Dorie, and Stan Schmidt 

Steve Chase (Ryan) is still 'The Best' when he returns for this sequel to Kill or Be Killed (1976). This time around, a rich baddie named Wellington Forsyth III has taken over the town of Ironville, South Africa. He's renamed himself Marduk, renamed the town New Babylonia, and he's using some sort of potato extract to turn thousands of people into mindless slaves. 

All this comes to the attention of Steve Chase when he's approached by a woman named Kandy Kane (Kriel of Reason to Die fame), and she informs him that her father Horatio Kane (Ramsbottom), a renowned scientist and not David Caruso, has been kidnapped by Marduk and forced to help create the serum used to zombify the population.

Chase's next move is to assemble a team in classic fashion, rounding up his buddies Gypsy Billy (Robinson), Hotdog (Flynn), Gorilla (Gampu), and The Fly (Schmidt). Together, the team invades the compound and attempts to extract Dr. Horatio Kane, but they're going to have to face Marduk's mind controlled Martial Artists. The top man of which is Optimus (Dorie). Will Steve Chase live to kill again...AGAIN?

Kill and Kill Again is a mixture of Martial Arts and broad comedy, but it's more watchable than similar fare such as Catch the Heat (1987) and Hot Potato (1976). There's a lot of comic-bookiness and plenty of outright silliness on display which is entertaining, but not 101 minutes worth of entertaining. If KAKA (that's the abbreviation for Kill and Kill Again) had been about 80 minutes, it could be a new classic. We love a good "assemble a team" movie and we're always up for some off-kilter 80's fun. But the running time is too long. A lot of the talking parrot jokes and other groan-inducing comedy could've been cut. But, on the whole, it's still worth watching, even if it's just to see how influential it is...

Stephen J. Cannell must have seen this movie and it "inspired" him to create the A-Team, which premiered in 1983. Gorilla is like B.A. Baracus, even down to the character trait of being afraid of airplanes. Hotdog wears a similar hat and has a similar demeanor to Howling Mad Murdock. Chase is like Dirk Benedict's Face, etc. At one point, right before they're going to storm the compound, they suggest doing it in teams, with Chase saying, "We're the B Team". We could go on, but there are other comparisons to be made.

What are the odds that the CSI Miami writers would have come up with the name Horatio Kane all on their own? And the creators of Transformers must have liked the name Optimus. Marduk clearly inspired Adam West's Professor Marduk from Maxim Xul (1991), and Marduk's girlfriend Minerva (Wilson) has a short, pink haircut that must have inspired the singer Pink (or P!nk as she sometimes prefers it). A movie highlight comes with a 'Bullet Time' effect that must have inspired the Matrix series, not to mention the Sniper series. So while certain people may make fun of Kill and Kill Again, clearly we're still seeing its influence in the culture.

Kill and Kill Again continues the tradition of projecting the opening credits on people's body parts that was started in the previous film, usually James Ryan's. Ryan is very suave, has a classic 80's mullet, and looks slightly like Billy Drago. While his "Kill" duo may remind viewers of Day of the Panther and Fists of Blood (both 1988), the Jason Blade duo, it's also worth noting that Ryan appeared in Code Name Vengeance (1987), Rage to Kill (1988) and The Last Samurai (1990).


The whole Marduk/mind control plot seems inspired by the Jim Jones incident that occurred in Guyana. But Jim Jones didn't have an odd-looking pasted-on beard. So far as we know. It may also remind you of the 'leader' episode of The Simpsons. He even forces half of his assembled flock to be shirtless men, in what may be the largest shirts vs. skins match of all time. Each of the 'assemble a team' moments comes with its own fight scene, and of course there's a barfight as well. The whole thing is perfect for drive-ins.

Speaking of the barfight scene, the film was cut in the UK by 73 seconds on its initial release, and it was probably this scene. Why? Because James Ryan dares to use nunchuks. The BBFC hates nunchuks. There are also Raphael-style sais in another scene. Could this have influenced Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as well?

In the end, we can see that director Ivan Hall improved a lot since Vengeance Cops (1971). Kill and Kill Again is a fun and ridiculous ride, but the ride is too long. Despite the over-inflated running time, we'd still recommend it, because it's just so nutty.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

Southern Comfort (1981)

Southern Comfort (1981)- * * *1\2

Directed by: Walter Hill

Starring: Powers Booth, Keith Carradine, Brion James, T.K. Carter, and Fred Ward









In 1973, a regiment of the Louisiana National Guard travel out to the remote bayou for a routine training mission. The men, including Spencer (Carradine), Hardin (Boothe), Reece (Ward), Poole (Coyote), and Cribbs (Carter) have differing attitudes towards life and their situation. It all seems simple enough, but when they accidentally draw the ire of some local Cajun folk, the crafty Cajuns start killing them off one by one as punishment for their perceived incursion into their territory. 

Not to mention their capture of a local man, simply known as Trapper (James). Now trying to survive with limited resources in a harsh and unfamiliar environment, our National Guardsmen literally have to fight their own war at home. Who will die, who will survive, and who will live to find out the true meaning of SOUTHERN COMFORT?

Only the genius of the great Walter Hill could take elements of the Wilderness Horror subgenre, the war movie, the Western, the suspense thriller, and the Asian-style “Heroic Bloodshed” film, and tie it all together with allegorical and metaphorical themes and undercurrents, all the while on the surface allowing it to appear to be a Deliverance/Most Dangerous Game-style survival outing. 

Strictly speaking, this isn’t a straight-up action movie, though it certainly has those elements, but Hill’s style, especially with this movie, was so imitated and duplicated in the years following this, we just had to include it here for being the benchmark that it is. Just watch any Cirio Santiago-directed jungle slog or any Italian war film shot in the Philippines (i.e. Eye of the Eagle III or Dogtags, respectively) and you’ll see what we mean. The influence of 

Southern Comfort reverberated throughout the video store era of the 80’s/early 90’s and beyond, and it’s easy to see why. There’s a certain disturbing quality to it, especially in the final third. And as much as we enjoyed Hunter’s Blood (1986), that film can’t really compete with the staying power of Southern Comfort, because there’s so much more depth here, despite the surface similarities. Or perhaps it’s the presence of Joey Travolta. One or the other.

The cast is killer, the Louisiana locations are both picturesque and unsettling (captured gorgeously by cinematographer Andrew Laszlo), and the Ry Cooder score is the icing on the cake. The cumulative effect of the clever writing, brilliant direction, the great cast, strange yet pretty locations and the top-notch score is powerfully effective. You can’t ask for much more. If we have one minor quibble, it’s that the 105-minute running time might have been able to be trimmed down a tad. But everything else is in the “win” column for this fine film.

In high school English class, we learned about the four main drivers of narrative conflict. These are: Man against man, man against society, man against nature and man against self. Southern Comfort is one of the few movies that articulately expresses ALL of the four conflicts.

 But one of the other themes - and a constant in the work of Walter Hill - particularly stood out: the nature of masculinity. What does it mean to be “a man”? Is there a type of man that is “best”? One that is more effective? Does losing at a certain conflict make you “less of a man”? All these questions and many more are lurking just beneath the surface.

Hill also shows that not all the Vietnam-era action happened in Vietnam. This provides a point of difference that is worth noting. There’s some un-PC dialogue we all love and enjoy, and much like The Thing (1982), there are almost no women in the entire movie. The Shout Factory DVD/Blu-Ray combo is the package to buy - the movie looks brilliant and there is an insightful documentary included as well.

Southern Comfort is much more than a “man’s movie” - it cleverly explores themes that are damn near primordial in mankind. But it never loses its power to entertain, which is what good storytelling is all about. We strongly recommend it.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett

Also check out a write-up from our buddy, The Video Vacuum!

Firecracker (1981)

Firecracker (1981)- * * *1\2

Directed by: Cirio H. Santiago

Starring: Jillian Kesner, Darby Hinton, Joe Mari Avellana, Ken Metcalfe, and Vic Diaz









Susanne Carter (Kesner) is a beautiful female Martial Arts instructor (we’re informed multiple times that she’s a sixth-degree black belt) who travels alone to the Philippines in search of her missing sister. While on her quest, she runs afoul of a man named Chuck (Hinton) who not only fights in Karate tournaments himself, but is also involved in a variety of illegal doings with a man named Grip (Diaz). 

While Susanne has to navigate this treacherous world, she also finds time to enhance her Martial Arts studies, learning the Philippine art of stick fighting, known as Arnis - they even made a whole movie about it called Sticks of Death (1986). Will Susanne’s beauty and brawn combination lead her to find her sister and win the day? Find out today!

Jillian Kesner, of Operation Cobra (1997) fame was an ideal choice for the heroine of Firecracker: she’s attractive, athletic, and was not only game for the many fight scenes, but also the Cirio standby of  the nearly-nude girl fighting multiple attackers. It’s one of the standout scenes in the movie, as it would be again in the future for Silk 2 (1989) and Angelfist (1993). 

Firecracker is classic Cirio. It has a thin plot about a woman trying to find her missing sister, there are plenty of shots of the beautiful Philippine countryside and other local cultural things, plenty of fight scenes, and a lot of 70’s.early 80’s fashions on display. Plus at an audience-considerate 77 minutes, it never overstays its welcome.

Darby Hinton, who plays Chuck (did they try to get Chuck Norris for this role, fail to do so, then hope nobody would notice?) steals the (fashion) show with his multiple stylish outfits, not to mention his resemblance to basketball great Larry Bird. But it was a different time - a time when audiences would dress up nicely and go to a supper club to watch Martial Arts displays while they eat dinner by candlelight. 

A time when seemingly-random barfights could break out at a moment’s notice, a time when Jillian Kesner could step in and save us all with her newly-acquired Arnis skills. Has the world really gotten better since then? Clearly not.

With contributions by Philippine film legends Vic Diaz and Joe Mari Avellana, and a very cool main musical theme by Nonong Buencamino, Firecracker is an enjoyable gem that mixes two hot genres of the day: Martial Arts and exploitation. Now that it’s on DVD with the three-movie “Lethal Ladies” collection, there’s really no excuse not to check it out.

Comeuppance Review by: Ty and Brett

Also check out write-ups from our buddies, The Video Vacuum and The Action Elite! 

An Eye For an Eye (1981)

An Eye For an Eye (1981)-* *1\2

Directed by: Steve Carver

Starring: Chuck Norris, Richard Roundtree, Christopher Lee, Professor Toru Tanaka, and Mako










Sean Kane (Chuck) is the best undercover narcotics cop in the San Francisco police department. During what he initially believes to be a standard bust, his partner is killed. His classic BYC (Black Yelling Chief) Capt. Stevens (Roundtree) yells at him for a while about his rogue ways, and, without even being asked in the traditional fashion, Kane turns in his badge and gun. But the threat is far bigger than he originally believes, as a reporter, Linda Chan (Chao) is murdered. 

So Kane teams up with his buddy James Chan (Mako) and the two men work together to get justice, results, or some reasonable combination of the two. But it’s not going to be easy, as dapper baddie Morgan Canfield (Lee) is a powerful man with connections, and his right-hand man has some massive right hands, because it’s Professor Toru Tanaka playing, as if he could play anything else, The Professor. So Kane and Chan have their work cut out for them, but even in the face of insurmountable odds, Kane never loses his cool, or doubts the fact that “he’s a human weapon!” Will an eye be taken for an eye? Find out today...

An Eye for an Eye is generally what people think of when discussing early-80’s Chuck: it’s a little slow, a little dull, but it’s steady, solid, and gets the job done. Perhaps the filmmakers didn’t trust Chuck alone at this early period in his career, so they loaded the movie up with action fan favorites: Mako, Professor Toru Tanaka, Roundtree, and of course Christopher Lee. 

Unfortunately, the fight between Mako and Tanaka left a bit to be desired, and Lee doesn’t show up until 43 minutes in. He should have been more murderous and sinister. But he does his usual professional job, and his mustache and pipe make him seem so sophisticated. Amazingly, in the same year, 1981, Lee starred opposite none other than Eddie Deezen in another San Francisco-set movie, Desperate Moves (1981). We don’t know which was filmed first, but to go from Eddie Deezen to Chuck Norris, or vice versa, is enough to make your head spin.

This was the phase of Chuck’s career where he had a blonde mop-top and no facial hair. He might be the only man of action to make the sweater-with-a-collared-shirt look seem intimidating. An Eye for an Eye follows the formula of “Chuck chasing a hulking brute who’s going around murdering people” template later used for Silent Rage (1982) and Hero and the Terror (1988). 

While Mako makes a great sidekick, and there are some excellent moves displayed in the fight scenes, there’s no conceivable reason why this needed to be 104 minutes. It should have been 90 at most. But then again, this was before ADD had come along and ruined people’s attention spans.

That’s just the thing: as we talked about in our Hero and the Terror review, we’re not against slow paces necessarily, but take a comparable action star of the day like Arnie. His personality, accent and charisma can help viewers power through the boring parts. Chuck doesn’t have those tools at his disposal. 

His co-stars ended up falling into some similar ruts: Roundtree ended up playing BYC’s again, most notably in A Time to Die (1991). Director Carver apparently had no problem with Chuck’s shortcomings and went on to work with him again with Lone Wolf McQuade (1983). From there he did Bulletproof (1988) with Gary Busey and Danny Trejo, and River of Death (1989) with Dudikoff. So his resume of video-store action speaks for itself. Finally, it should be noted that fan favorite Richard Norton is listed as a stuntman, but doesn’t appear in the movie, unfortunately.

An Eye for an Eye certainly has its moments, but there’s some dullness surrounding them, which is a common problem for Chuck movies. Don’t hesitate to see it, just be prepared for that.

Comeuppance Review by: Ty and Brett

Strike Force (1981)

Strike Force (1981)-* * *

Directed by: Charlie Piceni

Starring: Robert Stack, Dorian Harewood, Richard Romanus, Trisha Noble, Billy Drago, and Michael Goodwin











Captain Frank Murphy (Stack), Sgt. Paul Strobber (Harewood), Lt. Charlie Gunzer (Romanus), Sgt. Mark Osborne (Goodwin) and Sgt. Rosie Johnson (Noble) aren’t just any old L.A. cops. Together they take on the toughest crimes as an elite unit known as the Strike Force!

Strike Force was an hour-long police procedural drama TV show that ran on ABC from 1981-82 and produced 19 episodes in total. Active home video decided to put out what seems to be the first two episodes edited together, and then release it to the burgeoning video store market that was hungry for boxes to fill its shelves. The plot this time around concerns a disturbed man that’s going around town with an axe decapitating people on Tuesdays. But the Strike Force must find out the link between the victims in time to save the next one on the murderer’s list. Can they do it?

The 80’s were an amazing time - not only were shows like this being produced, but startup video companies were more than willing to release them into video stores all across the land (and beyond). Similar to what Vidmark did with Fortune Dane (1986). Just take some episodes of a show and put ‘em on video and see what happens. Even if the show was off the air, there was no intention of getting back on the air (like what happened with Family Guy) - it’s all about video store product for video store product’s sake. In that sense it’s very unpretentious and that’s very appealing.

About twenty years before The Shield had it’s Strike Team, Robert Stack had his Strike Force. Stack plays a divorced guy who lives in a sloppy house with his dog and appears to be feeding it a brand of dog food called “Doggone It”. The generation of actors that includes Robert Stack, Peter Graves, Clint Eastwood  and Chuck Connors will never be seen again. Now it’s just prissy, effeminate man-children like Leonardo DiCaprio. Thus, Strike Force will, if nothing else, remind you of a better time. Fans of shows like Adam-12 and Mannix will certainly appreciate what’s going on here, and the music of the show reinforces its strong A-Team vibe as well. This VHS tape in particular will appeal most to people nostalgic for this era or this show in particular.

Being part of the Strike Force, the team gets to go undercover all together, dressing up as chefs or a construction crew to get the job done (during the restaurant sequence, watch out for a young Billy Drago playing, what else, a bad guy - maybe his one shot in Strike Force typecast him for life. The show’s influence is still carrying on today; maybe it’s more powerful and influential than anyone realizes). It also recalls back to a time before political correctness. For example, Noble wears a shirt that says “Junk Food Is Good For You!” - this probably wouldn’t be allowed today. But the worst thing you could really say about Strike Force is that it gets a bit “standard” at times, but maybe that’s because there have been a lot of shows like it in the intervening years.

Released in an Active home video big-box, the only “Unsolved Mystery” here is why this show isn’t as well-known today as it should be.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

Enter The Ninja (1981)

Enter The Ninja (1981)-* *

Directed by: Menahem Golan

Starring: Franco Nero, Susan George, Christopher George, Will Hare, Zachi Noy, and Sho Kosugi













Cole (Nero) is a macho, mustachioed man who trains at a ninja school to master the art of Ninjitsu. Upon completing his studies, his rival, Hasegawa (Kosugi), presumably because Cole is a white Westerner, screams “He is not a ninja!” and storms off. Undaunted, Cole travels to the Philippines to visit his old army buddy  Frank (Courtney) and his wife Mary Ann (George). They have a lot of property there and they while away the hours enjoying cockfights with their poor laborers.

As it turns out, the sinister, “Mr. Big”-type villain, Mr. Venarius (Christopher George, no relation to Susan) wants their land. His henchmen, Mr. Parker (Gregory) and the memorable Siegfried “The Hook” Schultz (Noy) are ineffectual in securing Frank’s property for their own evil ends, so Venarius commands an army of white-suited baddies to take it. But they didn’t count on one thing: Cole and his newly-minted Ninjitsu skills! Additionally, Cole’s old nemesis Hasegawa is on the loose and Cole must deal with that. Will the power of Ninjitsu prevail for the good guys?

Not only did Cannon films and Sho Kosugi lead the pack during the ninja boom of the 80’s, they actually kicked it off with this, their first “ninja” film back in ‘81. Let’s remember that besides the Sho movies, Cannon also gave us the American Ninja titles as well as movies such as Ninja III: The Domination (1984). Smartly, the main hero role is played by a man who was an established star, at least in many territories around the world: Franco Nero. It may seem weird that Sho has a secondary role as Cole’s rival ninja, especially when most of the film’s running time is devoted to “Nero-Fu”, but this was a proving ground for Kosugi, who after this ruled the ninja film world.

However, the opening titles sequence does have Sho, well, “showing” off his array of ninja moves and weaponry (a la Revenge Of The Ninja). Unfortunately, there’s no opening or closing credits song. The beginning and end of the movie deliver the ninja goods, but it’s what’s in the middle that lags. Yes, there is a lot of cool and bloody ninja violence, but the audience is not emotionally invested in the Cole character as portrayed by the dubbed-by-someone-else Nero. (Also I should mention that the “bad” ninja, Hasegawa wears a black outfit, the white guy, Cole, wears a white outfit, and there are some red ninjas as well. Could this be ninja profiling?) The characters of Dollars (Hare) and the aforementioned hook-handed Siegfried add color to the proceedings, and Christopher George camps it up as an over the top baddie, but the movie is just too long at 104 minutes.

While Enter The Ninja is classified rightly as one of the premier ninja movies, its slow pace is a hindrance and most of the film is a run-of-the-mill actioner - one that should have been trimmed down to at least 90 minutes. It has silly, Scooby-Doo-like musical stings, and despite the presence of people like Susan George, who we always love seeing, it’s hard to become invested. However, it is very well-shot and the Philippines locations look beautiful.

Like certain TV shows when you compare the first season to later seasons when the show hits its stride, such as The Simpsons or South Park, this pioneering Ninja Boom entry is not a bad film, but, for the ninja film fanatic, the best was yet to come...

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

Island Warriors (1981)

Island Warriors (1981)-* *

AKA: Warrior Women, The Country Of Beauties

Directed By: Chun Ouyang

Starring: Don Wong













Island Warriors, is a weird movie, but sadly but not enough to sustain interest throughout the entirety of its running time.

On the downside, it is basically, at its core, one of those generically “chop-socky” films with loud, ear-piercing dubbing, degrading film stock, and blaring, repetitive music. If this was the original Chinese release, it might be a different experience.

On the upside, it has some unique touches. For examples, read on.

As you might imagine, the action takes place on an island. It is a magical land populated only by women. They pass the time doing musical numbers, gymnastics, and a human jump rope. (Which is two people swinging a person around while another person jumps over them.) All the women live inside, you guessed it, a giant female statue, that shoots cannons out of its eyes.



The balance of life is disrupted when three pirates arrive on the island. After the initial shock, it is determined by the queen that they should wear chastity belts. When one of the pirates removes his, he is castrated and becomes a flaming gay stereotype. After some more hilarity, the men realize that male babies are cast into the ocean and when they see a baby boy in a bucket, they rescue it and that brings them into conflict with the “island warriors”.

The movie is surreal at times, as evidenced by how the island uses “pull-string” technology, where everything they want they get by pulling strings and there are some crazy, off-the-wall special effects and lights at the climax of the film.

Interestingly, the box art for the “Best Film and Video Co.” VHS (the version reviewed here) features a generic photo of two men locked in kung-fu combat (See picture on the top of the page.) This has nothing to do with the film at hand and must have been taken by the company that released it. This is especially odd because the idea about an island of women has good potential for cool artwork. They do wear some great outfits in the film.

Die-hard martial arts fans might want to check it out, but for others, it might be a bit too ridiculous, as the so-called “comic relief” gets grating at times.

Don’t be afraid to get stranded on this “Island” tonight!

Comeuppance Review by: Ty & Brett