The Ghost (2001)

The Ghost (2001)- * * *

Directed by: Douglas Jackson

Starring: Michael Madsen, Julie Lee, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Richard Hatch, Michael Paul Chan, Al Leong, George Cheung, Brad Hunt, Louis Herthum, James Hong, Brad Dourif, and Henry Smalls as Henry

Jing (Lee) is an assassin for the Tongs who is so elusive, she's known as "The Ghost". After she gets on the wrong side of evil baddie Chang (Tagawa), he vows to hunt her down and kill her. She makes that much harder for him by flying from Hong Kong to Los Angeles so she can pose as the Asian mail-order bride to a man named Edward Cosgrove (Hatch). While initially the relationship between the two is just for her cover, she gradually begins to genuinely fall for the good-natured Edward.

Meanwhile, an underling for Chang, Inspector Wu (Chan), and a bunch of his heavies, follow Jing to L.A. But because they don't know where she is, they end up at the doorstep of one Daniel Olinghouse (Madsen), of Olinghouse Bail Bonds. Olinghouse and a Lt. Garland (Dourif) of the LAPD have a working relationship despite some past troubles, and the men are tasked by Chang and Wu to find Jing. 

But it comes at an ever-increasing price. Olinghouse's bail bondsmen Browner (Herthum) and Sink (Hunt) may be masters of disguise, but it's going to take all the ingenuity of Olinghouse to finally track down the crafty Jing. Will anyone finally bust THE GHOST?

Yes, The Ghost is stupid and dumb and all that, but thankfully it's the GOOD kind of stupid and dumb. It's all very enjoyable and entertaining - far more so than you'd think it might be. Of course, there are the standard low-budget pitfalls: a cheap overall look, rough edits, amateurish acting, questionable fight choreography, and the like, but somehow, against all odds, it manages to win you over. You have to love it. It only adds to the viewing experience. 

If you like awkward dialogue delivered awkwardly amidst awkward stagings, The Ghost is the movie for you. It easily could have been another dud like Double Deception (2001), but it manages to sidestep that by having a silly charm all its own.

The solid cast and 85-minute running time also help a lot. First off, we have Julie Lee as The Ghost. Her character does go through an important arc: she starts off as an Asian Minnie Driver, but she ends up as an Asian Anjelica Huston. We really grew to love her flat-as-a-board line readings in her husky (some wags might say "mannish") voice. Especially in her "beating up MAP's (Middle-Aged Punks)" scene, she was reminiscent of Tiana Alexandra going undercover as "Cinderella Pu" in Catch the Heat (1987). She was good in her Martial Arts fight scenes, but it's hard not to be upstaged by Henry Smalls as Henry.

The Ghost, as a film in total, needed more Henry! His character was unquestionably the movie's highlight. Any time he was on screen, we shouted "Yes!" We loved him, and we should have seen more of him. 

Of course, there's plenty of Michael Madsen here for us all to enjoy. He brings his classic charisma, gravelly voice, and fantastic fashion choices to the fore. He's sort of the nucleus of the film and what we see revolves around him. The scenes between Madsen and Brad Dourif showcase an "odd couple" vibe that's fun to watch. Tagawa plays - you guessed it - a bad guy, just as he's done in every role in his career. We'd love to see something where he plays the good guy. But it seems he was typecast just because he looks evil. It's a shame.

On the other end of that spectrum, Richard Hatch plays the innocent guy caught up in all this, not to mention the romantic male lead, and honestly it's probably the best Hatch we've seen to date.

B-Movie mainstays such as Al Leong, George Cheung, and James Hong, among others, round out the cast. The whole outing is amusing and funny. Maybe you have to have a sense of humor to enjoy The Ghost, which it seems not everybody does.

The early 00's were not the best time for movies, so that means that The Ghost is probably the best movie of 2001 by default. For B-Movie DTV denizens such as ourselves, it's well worth seeking out.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

Aftershock (1990)

Aftershock (1990)- * * *

Directed by: Frank Harris

Starring: Jay Roberts Jr., Chris DeRose, Elizabeth Kaitan, James Lew, Matthias Hues, Chuck Jeffreys, Al Leong, Chris Mitchum, Michael Berryman, Russ Tamblyn, Gerald Okamura, John Saxon, and Richard Lynch

"Chill Out, Mushroom"-Prisoner

In a post-apocalyptic world, society is broken up into fascist-type overlords and their minions who try to control the population, and the rebels who fight the baddies for their freedom. Everyone in society is required to have a barcode on their arm. However, the underground resistance is gathering steam with their "Start To Question!" campaign, which they push through flyers, spray-painted walls, and other means. 


The catalyst for the ultimate battle between the Empire and the Rebels is a beautiful extraterrestrial named Sabina (Kaitan). Baddie Oliver Quinn (Saxon) wants to experiment on her, but rebel Willie (Roberts Jr.) wants to run away with her. Will it be World War III...again?




Aftershock may be one of the many, many post-apocalyptic movies out there (we call them post-ap's for short), but it has a handful of things going for it that its competitors don't. Its Star Wars-esque plot allows for some actual ideas to come forth, which is more than some of the others can claim. Also, on the whole it's a lot better than, say, Bloodfist 2050 (2005) or Dragon Fire (1993). It's directed by Frank Harris, who is very well known to us from his action films of the 70's and 80's, and the whole thing gets funnier and more enjoyable as it goes along. By the halfway point, things really start to pick up. 

But, unquestionably, Aftershock has one of the best B-Movie casts ever. We don't say that lightly. Somehow Harris was able to corral an amazing bunch of people - and the whole thing doesn't even fall prey to Lone Tiger Effect. Sure, with such a cast, not everyone gets all the time in the spotlight they perhaps should, but the movie overall is far from a dud. Here's a breakdown:




- Jay Roberts, Jr. as Willie, the rebel with the earring, motorcycle, rattail, and Martial Arts moves is the main hero and love interest for Sabina. We hadn't seen him since White Phantom and were glad to see his triumphant return.
- Chuck Jeffreys as Danny, Willie's sidekick. His energy, athletic ability, and Eddie Murphy-esque charisma was more than welcome.
- Elizabeth Kaitan as Sabina, the alien. Her transformation from clueless creature from another world to wise woman was genuinely charming. She learned all she knows by soaking up the info from a container of floppy disks (as we all did back then...though isn't this the future? Anyway...) and it's well-noted that she wears fireproof clothes.
- John Saxon as the evil Oliver made the perfect main baddie. If he's the Darth Vader, then...
- Richard Lynch as Commander Eastern was the Emperor. He wasn't in it that much but it was nice to see him.
- James Lew was one of the enforcers, and...
- Chris DeRose was one of the others. Both were heavies but DeRose looked more like Chris Noth than ever.
- Chris Mitchum - we haven't even gotten to Chris Mitchum until now! Normally his presence alone in a movie would be enough for us. Here he's one of the rebel commanders. You can always use more Mitchum but what are ya gonna do?
- Matthias Hues is a hulking, punchfighting, almost Conan-esque brute. He doesn't say anything, but his partner in crime is none other than...
- Michael Berryman - even by his standards his character is extremely bizarre, a cross-dressing fighter of the wasteland.
- Russ Tamblyn is also on board as a bartender and good guy. What little screen time he has, he makes the most of with a sympathetic character.
- Al Leong and
- Gerald Okamura both have blink-and-you'll-miss-em cameos as fighters in some of the Punchfighting/battle scenes.




This reads more like the lineup for a convention like Chiller Theatre than a cast list for one movie. For the cast alone, Aftershock is worth seeing. The post-ap aspects (post-aspects?) aren't amazingly different from others of its ilk, but the main difference is the terrific cast. 

Filmed at the Kaiser Steel Plant in Fontana, California and the Domtar Gypsum Paper Mill in Vernon, California - because obviously places where they used to make paper and steel now look like bombed-out wastelands - Aftershock does have some standout moments, mainly after the halfway point, and the cast is fantastic. That should be enough for at least a one-time watch.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

The Replacement Killers (1998)

The Replacement Killers (1998)- * * *

Directed by: Antoine Fuqua

Starring: Chow-Yun Fat, Mira Sorvino, Michael Rooker, Kenneth Tsang, Jurgen Prochnow,  Patrick Kilpatrick, Til Schwiger, Clifton Gonzalez-Gonzalez (aka) Collins Jr., James Lew, Al Leong, and Danny Trejo










John Lee (Yun-Fat) is an expert marksman/gunman/assassin/gun enthusiast who works for crime lord Mr. Wei (Tsang). All his life he’s followed the orders of his superiors, but when his latest hit is meant to be carried out not just on a hardworking cop named Zedkov (Rooker), but also his seven-year-old son, Lee finds he can’t pull the trigger. In order to disappear and get back to his family in China, he needs forged documents, so he goes to see Meg Coburn (Sorvino), an expert in such things. 

Soon enough, Wei sends many waves of goons to kill off the unlikely duo. When an underboss, Kogan (Prochnow), can’t kill them fast enough, Wei sends for “The Replacement Killers” - played in the movie by Schweiger and Trejo - to kill not just Zedkov but also Lee and Coburn. This all sets the stage for lots and lots of gun shooting. Who will get killed and who will get replaced? Find out today...

It seems pretty obvious, especially looking back now, that The Replacement Killers was an attempt to bring John Woo-style action to Hollywood. Woo did act as executive producer, after all, but did not direct the film. That, in this case, went to Fuqua, and this was his first feature-length production after a career making MTV videos in the 90’s, and it really, really shows. 

There is a lot of style and flash, but not much of a narrative structure, as you might expect from a background like that, and certainly on someone’s first attempt. (Evidently there was more character development at one point, but it was left on the cutting room floor). If this all sounds like negative criticism, it’s not. The movie is lightweight and entertaining, and without a doubt it delivers the action goods.

Chow-Yun Fat is one of the coolest cats around, and no one looks more awesome shooting guns or putting on sunglasses. In the 90’s there was an attempt by Hollywood to also put Jackie Chan in theaters, and that was appreciated, but seemingly did not last long. We, of course, enjoyed seeing Operation Condor (1997) and Jackie Chan’s First Strike (1996) on the big screen. If it could be done with Kung Fu, why not Gun-Fu? And who better to play the classic “killer with a conscience” than Chow-Yun Fat? With endless gun battles and slo-mo moments (slo-moments?...actually that would be misleading as there are no slow moments in the film), all set to the sounds of the prerequisite late-90’s electronica such as Tricky, The Crystal Method and Death in Vegas (apparently Portishead was unavailable), how can you lose? If you’re a fan of action setpieces (and who isn’t), you don’t.

Such things as described above were tried unsuccessfully before, i.e. Killing Time (1998), but, thankfully, The Replacement Killers gets the simply-plotted assassin shooting movie right. There’s enough cannon fodder for the good guys to shoot at and it never really lets up. 

Backing up Fat and Sorvino is an impressive cast of Comeuppance favorites: Michael Rooker as the cop, Danny Trejo as one of the Replacement Killers, the fascinatingly-named Clifton Gonzalez-Gonazalez (AKA Clifton Collins Jr.)  is the “Machine Gun Joe” character, Patrick Kilpatrick as a baddie, Jurgen Prochnow as another baddie (looking a lot like Robert Davi here), and, in blink-or-you’ll-miss them goon roles, action mainstays James Lew and Al Leong. And at only 84 minutes without the credits, it all comes in at a good running time. More movies - hell, ALL movies - should be 84 minutes. Kudos to the production for a reasonable length here.

So while wags may complain that there’s not much substance and the whole thing is like an extended music video, those people are missing the point. There’s no time to waste as The Replacement Killers remains fast-paced, enjoyable fun.

Comeuppance Review by: Ty and Brett 

Rapid Fire (1992)

Rapid Fire (1992)- * * *1\2

Directed by: Dwight H. Little

Starring: Brandon Lee, Powers Boothe, Nick Mancuso, Raymond J. Barry, and Al Leong



 "Unarmed and Extremely Dangerous..."







Jake Lo (Lee) is a sensitive art student who exorcises his demons from his father dying in the Tiananmen Square massacre by drawing nude women with imaginary dragons floating behind them. All seems well for Jake until he witnesses arch-baddie Antonio Serrano (Mancuso) killing some of his rivals at an art opening. Soon, the Italian mob and the Chinese triads are both after Jake's head. 

Thankfully, with the same hands he uses to paint and draw, he can also use to pain and draw blood from the baddies! When he's shipped temporarily from his native L.A. to Chicago to help badass cop Mace Ryan (Boothe) fight the drug lords, at first he's reluctant, but, Lo and behold, he eventually throws himself into the role of hero. Will Jake Lo come out of this mob war alive? Find out today!

Rapid Fire is classic 90's-style action all the way, and thank God. It's movies like this that keep us energized and coming back for more. The more Rapid Fire-like movies we see, the more we grow to despise the quick-cut/CGI garbage being churned out today. This is all Lee, baby! 

His fight scene with Al Leong is a killer, as are Lee's other beat-em-up scenes, which feature awesome stuntwork and ace Martial Arts. Looking at the credits, a veritable town of people worked as the stunt crew, and as far as we can tell, they all acquitted themselves admirably. The whole outing has a glossy, theater-quality look and feel that reminds you of the good old days when winners of action movies like this came to the theater, were big hits on video and cable, and leave you wanting more. So many movies are agonizing slogs - with Rapid Fire, the time melts away. Why can't it be the other way around? Why can't it be that movies you enjoy seem to last a long time and the bad ones go quickly? Ah well, such is life.

It even starts with an old-school opening that they just don't do anymore. It's the main hero, in this case Brandon Lee, executing his moves against a black screen, in an independently-shot sequence that has nothing to do with the plot, it's just a cool visual exercise to get us ready for the proceedings. 

It has a perfectly simple plot that never flags, and the humble charm of Brandon Lee carries a lot of what we see, and he's counterbalanced by the grizzled Powers Boothe as the awesomely-named Mace Ryan. You'd think a Chicago cop named Mace Ryan would be worthy of his own movie. Sadly, it never materialized. But in a weird coincidence, Boothe co-stars with Raymond J. Barry, and the two were both in Sudden Death (1995) together. It truly is a small action movie world.

Brandon Lee, as Jake, is a classic 90's coolguy: with his motorcycle and leather jacket/vest, we called him Mr. Awesome throughout most of the film. Nick Mancuso is always great, and he plays the stark-raving baddie with aplomb, executing some classic lighthearted racism you just can't do anymore. 

Add some time-honored sax on the soundtrack, as well as some songs by the band Hardline (they get TWO songs, one of which appears in the trailer. You'd think this dedication to Hardline would have given them better visibility, even back then), and you have an unqualified winner. Director Little also did Getting Even (1986) of 'Tag Taggar' fame. Too bad he didn't do more movies like these. But we should be happy with what we have. And Rapid Fire has become a staple movie from the golden age of modern-day action. Now that it's available as an inexpensive DVD, there's no excuse not to own it.

Comeuppance Review by: Ty and Brett 

Deadly Target (1994)

Deadly Target (1994)- * * *

Directed by: Charla Driver

Starring: Gary Daniels, Aki Aleong, Ken McLeod, Byron Mann, Al Leong, Ron Yuan, and Susan Byun












Charles “Charlie” Prince (Daniels) is a Hong Kong cop who travels to L.A. in order to bring arch-criminal Chang (Mann) back to his home country to face justice. The tenacious Prince will stop at nothing to achieve his goal, because the arrest of Chang is personal to him. His “cowboy” attitude initially rubs his temporary partner Jenson (McLeod) the wrong way, but of course they learn to work together. Naturally both men are Martial Arts masters, which surely is a coincidence. Somehow Prince finds time for romance with Diana Tang (Byun), but Chang and his army of goons are going to prove difficult to stop: their criminal network is vast and their firepower is huge. Will Prince and Jenson finally achieve their goal?

While Deadly Target has all the hallmarks of mid-90’s PM that we’ve come to know and love, such as constant Martial Arts fights, mindless shooting, car chases/cars flipping and blowing up in the middle of the street, exploding helicopters, and more mindless shooting, an element seems to be missing here. It’s not in the top tier, with movies such as Rage, Last Man Standing, Recoil and The Sweeper, and it doesn’t have the nutty/wacky factor of Wilding or Night Of The Kickfighters, but it’s a serviceable outing nonetheless, most likely, once again, because of the charm of Gary Daniels. While we’ve seen almost all of Ken McLeod’s filmography, somehow Daniels always steals the show. 

The presence of Susan Byun as the love interest was basically pointless, but if not for her, there would be almost no women in the whole production. Max Gail as Captain Peters was the classic WYC (White Yelling Chief) - too bad they couldn’t get his lookalike Peter Boyle to do the role. Ron Yuan, Aki Aleong, and Al Leong fill out the cast of familiar faces and names (well, if you watch a lot of 90’s DTV action product).

While that comfortable feeling of “dumbness” is achieved very quickly, what with Daniels beating up many people while wearing a leather jacket in an extended fight scene early in the film, during that same sequence, not only is there mindless shooting, but it looks like GENERIC shooting! It's just footage of a guy shooting a machine gun that could have been taken from any source was spliced in to fire mis-matchedly at Gary Daniels. We’re not saying that’s the case, but director Driver should have taken more care to make sure it didn’t look that way. But on the other hand, it’s really funny and we laughed, so all’s well that ends well. 

Interestingly, while Charla Driver has served in just about every capacity a person can while working on a film during her years with PM, this is the only movie she directed. Maybe that’s why the vibe is a little different, while all the main elements of PM are present and accounted for.

At least during the fight scenes, there appears to be some sort of baby powder on people’s heads, so when they get kicked or punched, the light picks up the flying particles. Also, while many movies have the time-honored sax on the soundtrack, Deadly Target bests them all by having a live sax player. Not only did he provide the smooth jams, but we can actually see what he looks like. 

Additionally, Gary Daniels proves once and for all that you’ve achieved true awesomeness as a human being if you can wear a vest with no shirt underneath as casual, everyday wear. Your body, your muscles and your confidence level must be so unimaginably high, you can pull it off. See also: Lorenzo Lamas. Finally, there’s an old Chinese gangster in the film named Mr. Zao. Presumably his first name is Po Po and he was named after the classic Kevin Federline song of the same name. Yes, the old man was named after the song. Not ridiculous at all. Think about it.

In the end, Deadly Target does provide all the kicking, punching, shooting, Gary Daniels, and blow-ups that fans want, but lacks that little bit of extra something to tie it all together. It’s still worth seeing though.

Comeuppance Review by: Ty and Brett

Also check out a write-up from our buddy, DTVC!

Action Jackson (1988)

Action Jackson (1988)-* * *1\2

Directed by: Craig R. Baxley

Starring: Carl Weathers, Craig T. Nelson, Vanity, Sharon Stone, Thomas F. Wilson, Bill Duke, Sonny Landham, James Lew, Charles Meshack, Al Leong, Bob Minor, Branscombe Richmond, and Robert Davi












Carl Weathers displays his winning charm in yet another title role. Weathers IS Detroit cop Jericho "Action" Jackson - and you know with a nickname like that he doesn’t mess around. Evil, megalomaniacal auto magnate Peter Dellaplane (Nelson) is killing off AWA (Auto Workers Alliance) members in order to keep a stranglehold on his already-impressive power. Dellaplane and Jackson have a past, as Jackson was demoted after roughing up his son before sending him to prison. Ignoring the fact that his wife is Sharon Stone in her prime years of hotness, Dellaplane also has a chick on the side, Sydney (Vanity), who he keeps drugged up with heroin. Sydney and Jackson now must team up to take down Dellaplane before he can frame Jackson for his many murders.

Ah, the golden 80’s. Just take a second to pause and reflect about that magical decade. Back to the review at hand, Action Jackson is classic 80’s action, reminiscent of Arnold vehicles such as Raw Deal (1986). It’s well-shot, and unusually well-written, with plenty of clever jokes and dialogue. But the film also has all the action the underground action movies have, but this came out in a time when things like this came to the theater and had a moderate-to-big budget behind them.

Besides the aforementioned Sharon Stone and Vanity, Weathers has an impressive cast to back him up: Bill Duke as the classic BYC (Black Yelling Chief), Thomas F. Wilson (Biff of Back to the Future, 1985 fame) as the joke-telling uniformed officer, Bob Minor as the evil assassin Gamble, Nicholas Worth as Dellaplane’s butler, Al Leong as Dellaplane’s chauffeur, James Lew as Dellaplane’s martial arts instructor, Charles Meshack of Fear (1988) fame, Sonny Landham and the ubiquitous Branscombe Richmond. It even has fan favorite Robert Davi in a small but important role. Last but not least is the “Coach” himself, Craig T. Nelson, looking more diabolical than usual, probably because of the hair. We even get to see him do some “Craig-Fu” - but does he really think he can beat Action Jackson in a fight?

The movie is funny, snappy and a great vehicle for Weathers’ charisma. But what else would you expect from director Baxley, the man behind Stone Cold (1991) and I Come In Peace (1990), among many others? It’s a product of a great time for cinema - and it’s also filled with great music, especially the title song by Madame X which you’ll be singing for days. It’s pretty tough to dislike this highly entertaining gem.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

Steele Justice (1987)

Steele Justice (1987)-* * *

Directed by: Robert Boris

Starring: Martin Kove, Robert Kim, Sela Ward, Bernie Casey, Ronny Cox, Soon-Tek Oh, Shannon Tweed, Eric Lee, Irene Tsu, and Asher Brauner

Choreography by Jeff Kutash




"You Don't Recruit John Steele. You Unleash Him."





Lt. John Steele (Kove) is a man who plays by his own rules. He survived the horrors of the Vietnam war, including being trapped in a cave with "ratbombs", or bombs strapped to rats. Now, in the "present day", both he and his 'Nam buddy Lee (Robert Kim) are L.A. cops. Helping them in their quest to take down the evil drug-dealing gang the Black Tigers is Reese (Casey). When the Black Tigers do something really, really bad (I'm a master at avoiding spoilers), Steele straps two bandoliers of bullets to his bare chest and gets the only kind of justice he can...STEELE JUSTICE!

Released in the prime of the video-store action glut of the 80's, despite its killer cast of favorites, it's fairly easy to see why Steele Justice got overlooked at the time. If a video store patron wanted this type of fare, are they going to spend their hard-earned money on a Rambo film or a Schwarzenegger vehicle, or Steele Justice? Thus it became a "die-hard action fan only" film. While it does have plenty of "shirtless shooting" and classic barfights, there are some things about the movie that are worth noting...

First off, John Steele (gotta love the name) has a gun that shoots knives. That's pretty memorable right there. But also he has a pet: Threestep the snake. He is named this because his poison is so deadly, you won't make it three steps before you die. Also, and this isn't said in the film, we can gather that Steele is a big fan of Lynyrd Skynyrd, especially the song "Gimme Three Steps". The bar he frequents also features the Desert Rose Band, featuring Chris Hillman of Byrds fame, so we know Steele likes country-rock. And speaking of his musical tastes, during a movie highlight, a car chase interrupts a video shoot for Astrid Plane (of Animotion fame), so we can also gather he hates 80's pop. Even though the video was choreographed (and perhaps stars) Jeff Kutash. And in true 80's fashion, there is a montage set to the song "fight fire with fire" by Hot Pursuit.

Sela Ward, as the love interest, appears heavily medicated. However, she does get to say the line to Steele, "The war isn't over for you. It just changed locations." Asher Brauner makes a brief appearance as "Mob Thug #1", and most of the names in the cast, including Shannon Tweed, Irene Tsu and Eric Lee make very short, almost walk-on roles.

Everybody knows/says the name "Steele" throughout the movie, and in true action movie fashion, it all ends in the typical abandoned warehouse. For generic 80's action that's so formulaic it can't miss, check out Steele Justice.

Comeuppance Review by: Ty and Brett

-------------------------------------------------

Also, Robert Kim sent us this email with this interesting story: 

My name is Robert Kim, I'm an actor and portrayed the role of Lt. Lee Van Minh (Martin Kove's Vietnam buddy) in the 1980's action flick, "Steele Justice."

I just read you review on Imdb, and had a little bit of trivia for you.  Remember you mentioned that, "Sela Ward, as the love interest, appears heavily medicated," you were actually more correct than you may have imagined…

As it turns out, at the time we shot the film, Sela was living with Richard Dean Anderson of "MccGyver" fame.  On the day before we filmed, she had accidentally walked through Richard's plate glass door leading to his swimming pool,
breaking her nose in the process.  So yes, she WAS medicated for most of her scenes, but she just put on her game face and did a credible job when most people would have not even showed up.

Just an interesting piece of movie trivia.

All the best!

Robert Kim
NYC

Cage (1989)

Cage (1989)-* * *

AKA: Sgt. Billy Thomas

Directed By: Lang Elliot

Starring: Lou Ferrigno, Reb Brown, Al Ruscio, Branscombe Richmond, Al Leong,  and Matthias Hues












Cage is an entertaining action pic from the 80’s.

The plot: Billy (Ferrigno) is a ‘Nam vet who tragically gets shot in the head on a mission. He survives but now is mentally challenged. He goes through a lot of grueling physical therapy and eventually becomes a productive member of society. He only has one friend, fellow vet Scott Monroe (Brown). Then slimy gangsters show up. They kidnap and brainwash Billy to go into the dangerous world of cage fighting. Scott must rescue his friend by going into the ring himself.



Cage is the only movie that delves deep into the idea of “Retard Strength”. This politically incorrect idea would never be made today. The fight sequences are brutal and predate UFC by decades. Cage was ahead of its time. Another movie of this ilk is called Shootfighter (1992) it stars Bolo Yeung. Lou Ferrigno puts in a sensitive performance as exemplified in his first fight scene when he jovially introduces himself to his mean opponent, with the now-immortal line “Hi!, I’m Billy!” Billy doesn’t want to fight and he is a sweet-natured man. But the gangsters attempt to corrupt him to be a fighting machine. Let’s not forget about Reb Brown and his classic yell. (e.g. Strike Commando (1987) and every movie Brown has been in.) Cage apparently had so many fans clamoring for more “Cagey” goodness a sequel was thankfully released 5 years later!

Comeuppance Review by: Ty and Brett

Death Warrant (1990)

 Death Warrant (1990) -* * *

Directed By: Deran Sarafian

Starring: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Patrick Kilpatrick, Cynthia Gibb, and Robert Guillaume





"I Don't Play and I Don't Puuunnnnnk"







Death Warrant is classic 90's Van Damme. This time around, Louis Burke (Van Damme) is a policeman who goes undercover in a jail to investigate a murder. While inside, he realizes there's not just murder, but corruption. Now he has to high kick and low split his way to justice.



After the weak Lionheart (1990), Van Damme realized that he should take a break from the Kumites, and the Underground Brawls and focus his efforts into a making a fun action pic. The final fight had all the ingredients for the usual Van Climax: Swift, brutal kicks to the face and an action hero trademark, an impaling.

Death Warrant is an undisputed Couch Potato Classic, or CPC for short.




Comeuppance Review by: Ty