Steel Frontier (1995)

Steel Frontier (1995)-* * *

Directed by: Paul G. Volk

Starring: Joe Lara, Bo Svenson, Brion James, Kane Hodder, James Victor, Stacie Foster, Brian Huckeba as Chicken Boy and Adolfo "Shabba Doo" Quinones





In a post-apocalyptic future, survivors live in a dirty makeshift town named New Hope. It seems tires are valuable so workers toil away in the tire yards. One day, a band of marauders known as “The Deathriders” roll into town. Through violent tactics, they sack the town of New Hope and institute J.W. Quantrell (James) as leader. Quantrell then makes his son, Julius (Victor) Mayor. Their plan is to institute what they call the “United Regime”. But a savior arrives in the form of a gunfighter named Yuma (Lara). 

He pits various factions against each other (not forgetting about Bo Svenson as Ackett, Kane Hodder as Kinton and Brian Huckeba as the immortal and show-stealing “Chickenboy”). Yuma attempts to save the lives of Sarah (Foster) and her young son as she is a widow trying to make it in this tough world. But there are many pitfalls along the way, not the least of which are desert-dwelling cannibals named “Roach Eaters”. Will Yuma save the day and ride off into the sunset?

PM attempts to marry two genres here: the post-apocalyptic actioner (in the vein of the Mad Max series but perfected by the Italians) and the Spaghetti Western (started and perfected by the Italians) with generally entertaining results. 

Like in the Italian post-ap’s, cars have wacky contraptions glued to them and people wear wacky outfits. But because this is a PM, it has much more action than the usual slog. There’s pretty much non-stop shooting, chases, stunts, fights and blow-ups. There’s even minimal dialogue at the outset of the movie, telling the story mainly visually, which is difficult to do. But this is a PM synthesis of Yojimbo (1961), hence For A Fistful of Dollars (1964) and For A Few Dollars More (1965) (and any number of Clint Eastwood’s 60’s/70’s output - including a bus chase reminiscent of The Gauntlet, 1977) along with a futuristic twist. So you get what’s going on here.

Even the name “Steel Frontier” indicates what you’re in for: “Steel” indicating the future and “Frontier” indicating the Western. There’s also some biblical symbolism worked into the storyline, a lot of which revolves around Joe Lara looking especially like Jesus this time around. He puts in an especially charming performance - this really is Lara at his absolute best. A location in the movie is even reminiscent of fellow Lara vehicle American Cyborg: Steel Warrior (1993). Maybe he lives in that industrial wasteland for real. You know Kane Hodder because he wears a hat with a Jason logo on it, and the guy who plays Julius has orange hair, making him, naturally, “Orange Julius”. Svenson puts in a standard performance. Brion James should have been more involved.

Because there is terminology such as “The Drylands” and the tire farmers are derisively known as “tire suckers”, this would seem to be PM’s Neon City (1991). But Steel Frontier is far better than that movie. 

To see PM’s take on not one, but two classic genres together in one film, don’t hesitate to see Steel Frontier. And did we mention Chickenboy?

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo (1984)

Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo (1984)-* * *

Directed by: Sam Firstenberg

Starring: Lucinda Dickey, Adolfo 'Shabba-Doo' Quinones, Michael 'Boogaloo Shrimp' Chambers, Peter MacLean, and Ice-T











Kelly, Turbo and Ozone are back in Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo, the only breakdancing-based sequel in movie history. This time around, a community center named Miracles is at stake. A nefarious land developer, Douglas (MacLean), wants to bulldoze the beloved property to make room for a shopping center. The kids can save it, but they must raise the proper amount of money. And there’s only one way to do that: dance, dance, dance! Do you know of another way?

All the same colorful costumes and funky tunes return this time around as well, as does Ice-T, wearing one of the best outfits of his career in the first scene he appears in. We also find out that Kelly comes from a wealthy family, and, when she gets the opportunity to star on the stage in Paris, or help out Miracles, what will she decide?

 For this Breakin’ film, the directorial reins were handed over to Sam Firstenberg, the Cannon mainstay and director of many action films, including Revenge of the Ninja (1983) and American Ninja (1985). Under his watch, this film becomes more of a traditional musical, with clearly-defined “numbers” wherein setpieces are set aside for that purpose, then the action of the film goes back to normal. Luckily, this leads to insane and very funny scenarios, not the least of which are the killer opening scene and the hospital scene. Coming off Turbo’s “broom dance” in the first film, we here have him doing a very impressive, pre-Lionel Richie dance on the ceiling. Is it now to be inferred by the viewer that Turbo has magic powers? He’s certainly more of a human cartoon than ever before, enhanced by his Woody Woodpecker-like mischief, which he is definitely aware of, and it even gets him into trouble during the infamous “I stole your lunch” sequence.

 Ozone is still dealing with his anger issues, although the viewers’ hearts will be warmed with the increased screen time of cute little kid Hot Dog. This movie is more fantastical than the first Breakin’ (1984) film, and the decision to step away from realism shows that the filmmakers wanted to change things up and not do the same thing twice. It has a more clearly defined plot than the original installment, and any fan of upbeat, fun, silly entertainment should love it.

For fans of musicals and 80’s nostalgia alike, this is a sequel that is definitely worthy and makes a great back-to-back double feature with the original Breakin'.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

Breakin' (1984)

Breakin' (1984)-* * *

Directed by: Joel Silberg

Starring: Lucina Dickey, Adolfo 'Shabba-Doo' Quinones, Michael 'Boogaloo Shrimp' Chambers, Ben Lokey, Christopher McDonald, Ice-T, and Jean-Claude Van Damme












Those of you who read this site regularly know that, aside from the usual action fare, we will review a classic 80’s dance movie from time to time. Well, they don’t get any more classic than Breakin’, a gem of a movie that is well known for good reason.

Kelly Bennett (Dickey) is a waitress who is an aspiring dancer. Strictly by chance, she witnesses the street dancing of Ozone (Quinones) and his buddy Turbo (Chambers) and her life is changed forever. She befriends the two, and just in the nick of time. A dance crew comprised of two men and one woman, the Electro Rock crew, has challenged them to a dance-off. But Ozone and Turbo must teach Kelly, now dubbed Special K, the ways of Breakin’.

Now shed of her formal dance training, she goes to her agent James (McDonald) for his support. He is reluctant at first, but once he sees TKO, as they are now called (“Turbo, Kelly and Ozone”, get it?), he is won over. Plus a potential love rivalry between James, Ozone, and Kelly’s former dance instructor Franco (Lokey) is making Kelly’s life even more complicated, as is Ozone’s hot temper and his loyalty to “the streets”. Will TKO pop and lock their way to fame?

Breakin’ is nothing more than infectious, irresistible fun. It’s filled with charm and 80’s nostalgia, thanks to the music and clothing. There’s plenty of creativity on display in the dance moves and the outfits. Plus it’s positive. It really celebrates friendship and the can-do spirit. It comes from a time when battles were fought on the dance floor with moves, not on the streets with weapons. They truly don’t make ‘em like this anymore. That’s why people gravitate to movies like this today. Because they are not making any more of them.

Interestingly, because this is a Cannon film, a young Van Damme can be seen in a crowd scene clapping along to the beat and smiling away. Naturally, he’s wearing a black wrestling singlet for no reason. He’s not listed in the credits, but it’s clearly him. Ice-T makes an appearance as the “Rap Talker” at the club Radiotron. His role would be highlighted a bit more in the follow-up film. Plus, this brings into focus that this movie isn’t that far of a departure from the action films we normally watch. A Cannon movie featuring Van Damme, Christopher McDonald and Ice-T is pretty much par for the course for us. But instead of fight scenes, there are dance scenes, and the training sequences are to learn dance moves, not fighting moves. Two sides of a coin I tell ya.

To compare this to some other movies we have on the site, Ben Lokey as Franco is very Roy Kieffer-like as the dance instructor, recalling Dance or Die (1987), the whole clash of “high” and “low” cultures aspect is also explored in Knights of the City (1985), and, while the soundtrack is good and vitally important, we felt the soundtrack to Body Rock (1984) was better because it had more memorable songs.

Director Joel Silberg went on to direct Rappin’ (1985) as well as Lambada (1990), so we know where his head is at. He did not go on to direct the Breakin’ sequel however. But after Breakin’ ends, there is a big on-screen announcement: “Coming Soon: Electric Boogaloo: The Dance Sensation of Tomorrow”. So they knew then that there would be a sequel. There’s just too much energy to be contained in one movie.

It’s colorful, fun, funny, and even heartwarming. What’s not to like? Anyone who hasn’t already seen Breakin’ definitely should.

Comeuppance Review by: Ty and Brett