Strength and Honour (2007)

 

Strength and Honour (2007)- * * *

Directed: Mark Mahon

Starring: Michael Madsen, Vinnie Jones, Luke Whelton, Richard Chamberlain, and Patrick Bergin

Sean Kelleher (Madsen) used to be 'The Best' - in this case, the best boxer in County Cork, Ireland. When he accidentally kills a man in the ring, he gives up punching forever. He even promises his young son Michael (Whelton) he'll never box again. Things change drastically when it turns out that Michael has a rare heart condition that only a Los Angeles doctor and $300,000 will cure. Going back to what he knows, Sean is aware that a local no rules bareknuckle fighting tournament called the Puck could be the answer to his money woes.



So, because he's been out of the game for so long, he goes back to his old trainer, O'Leary (Chamberlain). But the current champion of the Puck is a dangerously violent and unstable lunatic named Smasher O'Driscoll (Jones). Apparently, you don't just win the Puck - if you win, you are the Puck. You are also crowned King of the Travellers. Someone with a stable house (i.e. not a trailer) is not even allowed to enter the Puck. You have to be a Traveller, which appears to our American eyes to be a sort of Irish Gypsy. Leader of these people, Papa Boss (Bergin), helps Sean and his supporters in their mission. Now Sean is fighting for a cause. Not because he just enjoys hitting people, like Smasher, but because his son's life is on the line. To defeat Smasher and win/become the Puck, and become King of the Travellers, he's going to need Strength - but does he have the Honour?



Strength and Honour is an earnest Irish drama that also happens to be a Punchfighter. That might account for the divided opinion that seems to follow the film. Lovers of earnest Irish dramas probably aren't going to watch it (or will never have heard of it), but the sort of viewer that enjoys the simple-minded spectacle of shirtless men endlessly punching each other likely won't warm to the more dramatic aspects.


The familiar story trajectory we've seen many times before, rather than grating on the viewer with cliches, feels more comfortable this time around, kind of like coming home. While the Puck is Punchfighting through and through, the rabid crowds don't clutch cash in their hands. That's because these working-class people probably don't have much cash to spare, but also because the Puck is not about money. It's about tradition, and, yes, Strength and Honour.


We're spelling "Honour" like that because this film never received a U.S. release, so American distributors never got the chance to change it to the U-less spelling. In any case, What makes all the difference is that Madsen really seems to care about the proceedings. Like Marlon Brando or Burt Reynolds, Madsen is an actor that, if he feels the material is not worth caring about, he openly just doesn't. But, thankfully, here he does. DTV fans may just want to tune in for the final fight between Vinnie Jones and Michael Madsen, a confrontation not seen before or since (as of this writing).


But there's a lot more going on here to sink your teeth into. Patrick Bergin and Richard Chamberlain of all people round out the more well-known names in the cast. Both are quite welcome and help the film to rise above its low-budget station. Better-than-average outdoor cinematography (the indoor scenes are a bit dark) also helps a lot, and even in the more downtrodden places, the viewer gets a glimpse of the beauty of Ireland. The acting is also top-shelf and there's plenty of grit to go around.

Now, the last time we saw an Irish film about someone who trains for a fighting tournament - a sort of Irish Kumite, if you will - it was Fatal Deviation (1998). Besides the plot similarities, these two outings could not be more different. S&H is somber and downbeat. FD is silly and ridiculous. If you feel like comparing and contrasting, a double feature would probably be an interesting night's entertainment.



To quote Imdb user themoviehunter-1: "Strength and Honor is a story of hope and personal triumph, and in this world filled with Matrix-wannabees, B-level comedy full of toilet humor, and 300 million dollar glitz, it's refreshing to find a film with no gratuitous sex, gore, or profanity. This film has such a strong and simple theme, you won't have a feeling of apprehension taking your 13 year-old daughter to see it (and she'll probably hug you on the way out of the theater). To put it in a single phrase, this movie is what good film-making is all about."

While Strength and Honour may be serious-minded, we still get a flamboyant psycho as only Vinnie Jones can do it, regarding the Smasher character. There's much else to recommend here, so we won't mention everything, but we will definitely give Strength and Honour a strong recommendation.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

Sharpshooter (2007)

 

Sharpshooter (2007)- * *

Directed by: Armand Mastroianni

Starring: Mario Van Peebles, Al Sapienza, Bruce Boxleitner, Catherine Mary Stewart, Lee Reherman, and James Remar 

Dillon (Remar) is a professional assassin. After a lifetime of traveling around the world killing people for the CIA, he finally wants to hang up his sniper rifle and retire. But, wouldn't you just know it, he's convinced to do the classic and time-honored "One Last Job". Flick (Van Peebles), his boss, convinces him to travel to Julian, California, a rural fishing village. It's there he's supposed to pose as a Los Angeles lawyer just out to get some "R n' R". However, his true mission is to assassinate an evil baddie named Richard Phillips (Sapienza).

Of course, Phillips has a large mansion and a respectable amount of goons at his disposal. As Dillon is figuring out his mission, he meets a magazine writer named Amy (Stewart), as well as Sheriff Graham (Boxleitner), the law in that small town. However, as you might expect, after some double-crosses, back-stabs, and general intrigue, the hunter becomes the hunted and now Dillon has to use his lifetime of survival and killing skills to defend himself against the organization that trained him and that he's worked for for years: the U.S. government. Can he do it? Will he live to be the ultimate SHARPSHOOTER?


Sharpshooter is a made-for-cable outing that should have been much better than it is, based on the people involved. Not only does it feature fan favorites Remar - last seen around these parts with Quiet Cool (1986) - and Mario Van Peebles, it also has Boxleitner and two other people with 80's cult pedigrees - Catherine Mary Stewart from The Apple (1980) and Night of the Comet (1984), and it was directed by Armand Mastroianni of He Knows You're Alone (1980) fame. There's even a small part from Lee Reherman as Ziggy (of course his name is Ziggy) - the guy from Champions (1997) who looks like David Letterman and has a similar name.

So you'd think, with all that talent involved, the end product would be something other than the standard fare that we get. It has many, many cliches that we're all used to seeing by now: One Last Mission, the baddie mansion, Prerequisite Torture, the double-crosses, etc. Remar is good as always and his narration adds something, but it's not enough. It slows down a lot around the mid-point and never really recovers. There's also some very silly green screen during a chase sequence that did not need to be there. It didn't help matters.


It's not that the movie overall is bad, but it's nothing you haven't seen before, and done better elsewhere. There's not a lot of reason to go out of your way to seek out Sharpshooter. It seems like the brief given to Mastroianni was to make a telefilm version of Sniper (1993) mixed with Shooter (2007), and give it a similar title. As we said before, Remar, Stewart, Van Peebles, and Boxleitner are all fine in the film and none of this is their fault, but there's not a lot for the audience to hang on to. We were never given the red meat that we want. It's just a movie on a screen.


As much as we'd like to, we can't really recommend Sharpshooter. It delivers absolutely nothing new to the One Last Mission genre, which really is a genre unto itself at this point. Unless you're a completist as far as any of the talent involved goes, we can safely say you're not missing out on much if you never see it.

They should rename it “Dullshooter”.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

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

Scorpion (2007)

Scorpion (2007)- * * *

Directed by: Julien Seri

Starring: Clovis Cornillac, Francis Renaud, Karole Rocher, Caroline Proust, and Jerome Le Banner

Angelo (Cornillac) was born to fight. Or so he thinks. After a bad break, Angelo hits the skids, becomes semi-homeless and all but loses the will to live. When a shady promoter named Marcus (Renaud) approaches him to revitalize his career, because he recognizes him as an up and coming boxer from years past, Angelo sees that Marcus wants the newest, hottest style in underground fighting - MMA. So Angelo duly shakes off his slovenly ways, does his push-ups and crunches, and trains to get back in the ring. After fighting his way through the standard Boxcar Guillaumes, he is ready to beat the snot out of the heavy hitters.

As you might expect, there are a couple of problems. One involves a woman named Virginie (Rocher). Even though she leads a miserable life as both a prostitute and a bartender under Marcus, Angelo sees her and her young son Milan as a chance for redemption and a new life away from the grueling rigors of underground fighting. At first, Virginie rebuffs him and he's back in his rage-filled ways. But can that change?

The other involves a woman named Lea (Proust), who appears to be a reporter doing a story on underground fighting but, as fate would have it, is a police officer trying to get dirt on Marcus. It doesn't help that underground fighting is illegal in Paris. Naturally, it all comes down to "One Last Fight" - but it's going to be a doozy, with Angelo having to square off against a mighty mountain of meathead named Elias (Le Banner). Will Angelo be able to turn his life around? Will Marcus be held to account for his illegal wheelings and dealings? And what about Virginie and Lea? Will a powerful female influence calm the raging waters of the SCORPION?

"FINISH HIM!!"...is not said in this film, and anyone expecting a biopic on the beloved Mortal Kombat character will be sorely disappointed. However, Scorpion - this Scorpion - is a quality film, and a rare example of an underground fighting movie that's so good, it really doesn't need most of the underground fighting we see on display. Paradoxically, all the fight scenes tend to bring the movie down. Seeing as the film is an unnecessary 98 minutes, they could have cut a lot of the MMA fights because the storyline stands on its own.

Scorpion is an improvement over director Seri's previous film, The Great Challenge (2004), and it shows that he's a true filmmaker in the time-honored French tradition. It seemed that he wanted to temper that "Frenchness" a bit by having an MMA-based storyline, but we say that wasn't needed. We say go with your gut and your traditions - and clearly where Scorpion shines is in its gritty drama, its serious-minded tone, and its high-tier cinematography.

In that sense, Scorpion is a lot like Redbelt (2008) - a high-caliber film all-around that not only doesn't need to lean on extended fight scenes to pad out the running time, but barely needs the fight scenes at all. The plot follows a standard Punchfighting formula we've seen countless times, but the actors carry it off in a way that's much better than usual.

Scorpion is a good film, and it shows that French guys can be tough. Fans of Punchfighters in the MMA vein with an open mind will get the most out of Scorpion.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

Urban Justice (2007)

Urban Justice (2007)- * * *

Directed by: Don E. FauntLeRoy

Starring: Steven Seagal, Eddie Griffin, Jade Yorker, and  Danny Trejo


 "When Revenge is personal, justice can be brutal."









Simon Ballister (Seagal) is distraught since the shooting death of his son. His son was a cop in the ‘hood, so naturally, Ballister goes to said ‘hood and rents a downtrodden apartment so he can live amongst the urban folk, aka racial and ethnic minorities. He then proceeds to do more damage to Blacks and Latinos than any racist skinhead could ever dream to. In his quest for revenge, he discovers that crime lord/drug dealer/Scarface (1983) enthusiast (duh), Armand Tucker (Griffin) might be the key. After seeking help from his buddy Chivo (Trejo), Ballister goes after Tucker in a no-holds-barred quest for URBAN JUSTICE.

This Seagal outing was a lot of fun. Make sure you watch it in a group like we did for best results. You know when the cynical Seagal is playing the Urban Cowboy and speaking in “Ebonics” that you’re in for a raucous good time. For the movie as a whole, try to imagine a poor man’s Dark Blue (2002) or Street Kings (2008). Trying to capitalize on those great James Ellroy-penned tales but with Seagal in the lead is a guarantee for pure silliness, and Urban Justice doesn’t disappoint in that department.

And while Jade Yorker deserves special merit as Gary in this film, despite what you think of Seagal, and despite what you think of Urban Justice in particular, Eddie Griffin rules this movie. He has a lot of energy and funny dialogue, and he seems to be giving his all. So top marks go to Mr. Griffin, whose performance acts as a motor that propels the whole movie along. 

By comparison, the sluggish Seagal is mainly dead weight (write your own joke). The movie could have used much more Danny Trejo as well, as his screen time is pretty limited. He and Seagal don’t even fight, they just talk for a few minutes. A definite wasted opportunity there.

On the technical side, the squibs used in the gunshot scenes are pretty over the top...but then again, we’ve never seen someone be shot in real life, so for all we know, it could look like an entire pitcher of Kool-aid explodes out of your back. We just don’t know. We’re trusting director FauntLeRoy for our ballistic information here. Mainly because we only trust people with three capital letters in their last name.

Plus there are way too many extreme close-ups of Seagal’s face here. Not just close-ups. EXTREME close-ups where his giant mug fills the entirety of your screen. Whether he demands this, or FauntLeRoy thinks it’s integral to the storytelling, we don’t know. But the natural human instinct is to yell “too close! Too close!” Honestly, no one needs to get that close to Seagal.

So if you’ve ever wanted to see Steven Seagal in the ghet-to (to use the Bill Cosby pronunciation) and communicating with his fellow homies on “their level” (predating Steven Seagal: Lawman), this is the movie for you.

Comeuppance Review by: Ty and Brett

Also check out write-ups by our buddies, DTVC and The Video Vacuum!

Diamond Dogs (2007)

Diamond Dogs (2007)-* * *

Directed by: Shimon Dotan

Starring: Dolph Lundgren, Nan Yu, and William Shriver










Xander Ronson (Dolph) is an American ex-Green Beret laying low in Inner Mongolia, of all places. He’s deeply in debt, and fights in...wait for it...illegal underground Punchfighting matches to make ends meet. Brought before a judge, it is determined he must finally pay all his debts or go to prison. Luckily - or perhaps not - this is just when snobbish jerkbag Chambers (Shriver) offers Ronson a lucrative job. He hires him to act as security as he travels with his team to go deep into uncharted territory to find something called the Tangka - a Buddhist tapestry said to be cursed. With few options at hand, Ronson reluctantly accepts. 

The beautiful Anika (Yu) is the stepdaughter to chambers, and following her is likely what truly entices Ronson. In addition to trying to get the Tangka and all the pitfalls they encounter along the way, another team of baddies is chasing them, and these guys will stop at nothing to get it. Who will end up with this sacred artifact? (Meaning the Tangka, not a DVD of Diamond Dogs).

At the outset when we see Dolph somewhat down on his luck, and Punchfighting in another land, it immediately brings to mind Sweepers (1998), where similar things go on. Dolph, with his shaved head, looks especially grizzled here, and that’s to his credit - he does a nice acting job, and with little flash. There’s plenty of violence on show, leading the viewer to conclude this is a worthy Dolph adventure story, more or less.

While this “Saturday afternoon adventure” falls somewhere between big-budget opuses like the Indiana Jones series and Direct-To-Video items like Skeleton Coast (1988) or Laser Mission (1989), it’s reasonably well-made and has some impressive locations. It should also be noted that there’s a reference to the Stallone classic Over the Top (1987) hidden in the movie somewhere. See if you can find it.

Shriver, in his first credited movie role, plays the obnoxious, hate-able baddie whose hairstyle isn’t just a ponytail - that wouldn’t be irritating enough - it’s actually some sort of ponytail bun, also does a noteworthy acting job, assuming his personality isn’t really like that in real life. Ronson shows amazing patience with him - this movie would get five stars if after the thousandth snide, catty remark Chambers makes, Dolph just punches through his face, but alas, it’s not to be. In a big budget version, we felt Kevin Spacey could have played Chambers.

Although the film is called Diamond Dogs, neither diamonds, dogs, nor David Bowie are anywhere in sight. Interestingly, it can be surmised that the writers of the film are glam rock fans, judging by the title and the choice to name Dolph’s character Ronson, presumably after Mick Ronson, who among other career achievements played with David Bowie. And seeing as there were supposedly production problems on this film, and a presumed sequel got axed, Bowie can never make a cameo in the future.

Despite pockets of dullness that spring up throughout the film, Diamond Dogs is a decent Dolph outing. It won’t blow your socks away, but for a later Dolph it’s a good one-time watch.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

Missionary Man (2007)

Missionary Man (2007)-* *

Directed by: Dolph Lundgren

Starring: Dolph Lundgren, Matthew Tompkins, and John Enos III

Ryder (Dolph) is a mysterious man on a motorcycle who rides into a dusty ol’ southwestern town. Knowing only that he always carries his bible around, and that he likes tequila, be befriends a family of Native Americans, but makes enemies with the local (and prerequisite) evil land baron, Reno (Tompkins), and his goons. Reno even tries to get some bikers to take Ryder down, led by the charismatic Jarfe (Enos III). Reno wants to take the land from the Indians (if you can still call them that?) and build his own casino. But Ryder doesn’t approve of his ruthless, murdering tactics, so he deals with them the only way they understand: with some shotgun justice! Will Ryder rip the bolo ties off this new crop of middle-aged punks?

The idea of Dolph as a preacher on a motorcycle who comes to clean up a town sounds good on paper. And in some ways it does work. But this rehashed plot is nothing new, and it lacks a certain verve. Taking liberally from Pale Rider (1985), The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976), Billy Jack (1971) and Walking Tall, 1973 (to name a few obvious examples), thanks to some boring, talky bits and some weak, jerky, short fight scenes, a lot was left to be desired from these “Dolphings With Wolves”.

We don’t want to go too hard here, as there are some cool parts herein. John Enos III of Bullet (1996) and Stealth Fighter (1999) fame unquestionably steals the movie as Jarfe. He only shows up towards the end, but he should have been the main villain instead of Reno. As stated earlier, Missionary Man boasts a cool concept, but it’s just so derivative, it becomes hard to be invested. To overcome this, there should have been more excitement and edge. The movie needed a literal and figurative punch-up.

And it doesn’t hurt that the colors on the DVD are all weird. Supposedly there were some technical issues that weren’t resolved in time, so the movie has a washed-out, grainy look that doesn’t do it any favors. But if you always wanted to see Dolph instead of Lamas in an episode of “Renegade”, here you go. Plus Lamas’ name in “Renegade” is Reno Raines, and the baddie here is named Reno. Coincidence?

But there’s no denying Dolph is cool, and his CSI-like trading of his sunglasses for granny-style reading glasses is a nice touch. But his coolness alone isn’t enough to overcome the flaws of Missionary Man. The bottom line is the Missionary Man concept should have gotten a better execution.

Yes, it’s run-of-the-mill plotwise, but there are some definite standout moments. It’s tough, but we just can’t put our full blessing behind Missionary Man.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

Animal 2 (2007)

Animal 2 (2007) -* * *

Directed By: Ryan Combs

Starring: Ving Rhames and Vicellous Reon Shannon











Animal 2 is just as good as the original.

James "Animal" Allen (Rhames) is back in jail for a crime he didn't commit. On the outside, his son James Jr. is framed for murder. The only way James Jr. stays out of jail is that Animal fights Mexican and Black prisoners.

As usual, Ving puts in a good performance as James. Shannon as Darius makes you forget that Terrence Howard was the original character. He has a great speech towards the end. There's also some decent fight scenes. The only problem with that is during the fights the movie repeats the same music over and over again. But that's not a big deal.

The movie lays the groundwork for an "Animal 3" which I would look forward to seeing.

Animal 2 is just as good as the first one, which is surprising for a DTV sequel.

Comeuppance Review by: Ty

The Contractor (2007)

The Contractor (2007) -* * *

Directed By: Josef Rusnak

Starring: Wesley Snipes, Lena Headey, and Charles Dance








The Contractor is the best DTV Snipes movie yet.


Agent James Dial (Snipes) has to take out a target in London. It goes as planned, but the police and his former employers are after him.




The movie has a good mix of action and drama. Snipes (finally) looks interested in the material and it shows. Lena Headey and Charles Dance also have their time to shine too. It's fast-paced and suspenseful. I think it's better than the similar titled\plotted Shooter (2007) with Mark Wahlberg. The Contractor was actually called "Shooter" but it was changed for obvious reasons.

I'm excited to report that The Contractor is worth seeing and not the usual piece of DTV junk that Snipes has foisted upon us in the past.

Comeuppance Review by: Ty

The Mad (2007)

The Mad (2007) -* * *

Directed By: John Kalangis

Starring: Billy Zane and Maggie Castle





The Mad is a decent but very silly horror flick.

Jason Hunt (Zane) and his family stop at a small town restaurant. While there, the townspeople turn into zombies after eating the hamburgers. Now Jason and his surviving daughter Amy (Castle) have to escape and figure out the mystery.



For a direct-to-video horror movie, this wasn't so bad. I expected the worst because it's distributed by the same company that put out UKM (2006). Zane saved the movie with a funny performance. There were some good gore scenes too. The only flaw in the movie is the editing. There's no need for the movie to turn into a epileptic fit. It only happens a few times though.

The Mad is a good rainy day movie. It's fast-paced and gory, topped with an entertaining Zane performance. Recommended.

Comeuppance Review by: Ty

Until Death (2007)

Until Death (2007) -* * *

Directed By: Simon Fellows

Starring: Jean-Claude Van Damme and Stephen Rea











Until Death is a very entertaining action\drama.

Anthony Stowe (Van Damme) is a heroin-addicted, strung out cop who's trying to find his old partner Callaghan (Rea) who's turned dirty. When a sting goes awry, Stowe is shot and put into a coma. He wakes up and tries to right all the wrongs he's done.



Van Damme is excellent in the role. He puts a lot of effort into it and it shows. Rea plays a good bad guy, he goes a little over-the-top near the end though. The action scenes are limited, but they work well. There are a couple surprises with the characters I didn't expect. This is on par with Replicant and Wake Of Death in the Van Damme canon.

Overall, Until Death was way better than I imagined, and I was excited to see it at the time.





Comeuppance Review by: Ty

First Born (2007)

First Born (2007)- * *

Directed By: Isaac Webb

Starring: Elisabeth Shue









First Born is a cliched but watchable thriller.

Laura (Shue) is a dancer who gets pregnant and moves into a country home with her husband (Steven Mackintosh). After the pregnancy, she starts getting post-partum depression. She uses Tom Cruise AKA Mapother's misguided advice to not go on drugs. She starts seeing and believing things that aren't real.

Elisabeth Shue puts in a good performance, but the script and plotting are lacking. It's basically the same scene for 90 minutes. Laura goes crazy and no believes her, ad nauseum. The ending, while interesting, can't bring the movie up to snuff in time.



Overall, First Born is a decent movie, but the script, idea and execution could've been way better.



Comeuppance Review by: Ty