Jekyll Island (1998)

Jekyll Island (1998)- * *

Directed by: Ken DuPuis

Starring: Don Mogavero, Brion James, Everett McGill, Olivia Burnette, Finola Hughes, and Phil Morris

Alex Madison (Mogavero) is a college professor whose class seems to be "Criminal Studies". In other words, he teaches his impressionable young charges all about robbery, burglary, and how to get away with either one. No one seems to mind, or notice, that this is what he is teaching. In any case, Mr. Madison knows of what he speaks, as he is some sort of master jewel thief by night.


So, naturally, Madison goes to Jekyll Island, Georgia (which is a real place, in case anyone out there didn't know) to steal some jewels. Things get complicated when a politician, Lawton Goodyear (James) and his daughter Savanah (Burnette) get entangled with Madison's thieving ways. Madison ends up hiding out in a house with Savanah, and Goodyear sends his security guy, Dalton Bradford (McGill), to find out what's going on. In the midst of all this, a detective named Ronnie Fredericks (Hughes) is hot on Madison's trail, and Carlton Johnson (Morris) is antagonizing Madison. Now that the whole island is locked down, will Alex live to teach criminal behavior to marginally-interested 90's teens ever again? Will he escape with the jewels - AND HIS LIFE? You probably will never have to find out!


(Shaking head) Oh, Mogavero, Mogavero, Mogavero. What hath you wrought this time? As if Pressure Point (1997) was not enough, along comes Jekyll Island. You get the odd impression while watching it that HE thought that this was some pretty snazzy stuff. This is at odds with the fact that there's not much here that would appeal to most video renters. The plot is dull and uninvolving, the writing stale, the camerawork and lighting pedestrian, and the pacing nonexistent.


At least Moges (as we call him) had the good sense to surround himself with some quality actors this time around. Sure, Pressure Point had Steve Railsback and Larry Linville - we're always down for some Linville - but he upped his game with this follow-up, getting Brion James, Everett McGill, Finola Hughes, and Phil Morris, whose name might not be known, but he's been in tons of stuff and is best known as Jackie Chiles from Seinfeld. As this was 1998, he was hot off that role, although here he's more Mario Van Peebles or Fred Williamson-esque. In any case, the downside for old Moges with getting all this starpower was that it made his performance seem even more stilted, oddly and unnecessarily quiet, and awkward than it already was.


The City Heat VHS puts Mogavero's face front and center on the box. We know not why. Was Mogavero ever famous enough to warrant that? Were City Heat trying to position him as some kind of badass? I mean, yeah, he KIND of looks like Robert Englund, but that's not really enough.


To be fair, we are treated with some 1998 internet, and there is one cool (and highly ridiculous, in a good way) scene towards the end. Unfortunately, this is not enough to justify the other 90 minutes. If we really reach, we could say that Alex Madison goes to Jekyll Island as an expression of his dual self - i.e., college professor by day, jewel thief by night - much like a certain JEKYLL and Hyde duality. But we're not even sure this was done on purpose. That being said, in the cast list during the end credits, a yacht gets its own credit amongst the other actors. That's right, "Yacht - The Milly B" is seen along with the other thespians. This may be the first time an inanimate object gets CREDIT. Hey, some of the actors were wooden but this is ridiculous!


In the end, there's no legitimate reason why anyone would expend effort to see Jekyll Island. If there were some odd circumstance where this movie fell into your lap, and you wanted to see a Brion James performance you haven't seen yet (and one worthwhile scene late in the film), MAYBE you could justify it. But if we're all being honest with ourselves, as painful as that can be sometimes, we should probably face the fact that this was just some Blockbuster shelf-filler.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

Back In Business (1997)

 

Back In Business (1997)- * * *

Directed by: Phillippe Mora

Starring: Brian Bosworth, Joe Torry, Dara Tomanovich, Maggie Egan, Guy Torry, Alan Scarfe, Wynn Irwin, Michael Clarke Duncan, and Brion James

Joe Elkhart (Boz) is just a humble car mechanic in L.A. who is a regular caller to the radio talk show of psychologist Dr. Sonia Brody (Egan). He's trying to get over the feelings of anger and aggression he feels after being a good police officer who was kicked off the force after trying to expose some dirty cops. This leads him to re-connect with his old partner Tony Dunbar (Torry), and the current cop and the ex-cop try to catch the evil drug lord David Ashby (Scarfe). Pretty soon, the FBI is involved with them, and Elkhart is involved with fellow therapy maven Natalie Walker (Tomanovich). It all comes to a head with the final showdown between our heroes and the evil Emery Ryker (James). Will Elkhart and Dunbar be BACK IN BUSINESS? Or will they be out of business?




To quote the back of the VHS box, "Named NATO 'Action Star of Tomorrow' for his high-octane performance in Stone Cold, Brian 'The Boz' Bosworth is back in business as maverick ex-cop Joe Elkhart." We didn't know NATO was in the business of naming action stars anything, but apparently they are. Finally, some tax dollars well spent. In Germany, this movie was called Stone Cold II: Heart of Stone - which is an interesting factoid, but really this has less to do with the classic Stone Cold, and more to do with buddy cop action/comedies wrought by 48 Hours (1982) and Lethal Weapon (1987).

The movie is filled with the non-stop banter between Bosworth, who plays a more vulnerable type this time around - you could best call him a lovable lunkhead - and the Chris Tucker/Eddie Griffin stylings of Joe Torry. Don't confuse him with his brother Guy Torry, who makes a splash at the beginning of the film.

There's a lot of silly humor amongst the shootings and blow-ups, and the radio talk show angle was a bit different. The film was made during the height of popularity of shows like Dr. Laura, so why not have Brian Bosworth be a caller on her radio show? It's an interesting combination. The whole sequence at the car auction where Joe Torry dresses up like an Arab Sheik may be a comedic movie highlight, but you know there's going to be some chases or shootouts just around the corner.

Let's face it, this isn't as good as Back in Action (1994), with Billy Blanks and Roddy Piper. You could easily mistake the two. Well, at least the titles. One of the recurring themes on the soundtrack is a drum solo that sounds like the beginning of Hot For Teacher. We were just waiting for The Boz to say, "I've got my pencil..." While the movie has blink-and-you'll-miss-them appearances from Michael Clarke Duncan and fan favorite Wynn Irwin, clearly the boo-hiss baddie is Brion James this time around, and he does it well.



Director Philippe Mora was last heard from on this site as the director of Death of a Soldier (1986), with Reb Brown. He's probably best known for directing 80's horror movies such as The Howling II: Your Sister is a Werewolf (1985) and The Beast Within (1982). He keeps things moving, and while there are a couple of slow moments towards the beginning (the basketball sequence goes on too long), things pick up considerably soon enough.


Sure, it has plenty of the "Stupid" moments we've come to love, or at least expect, but since when is that a problem? It's part of what keeps Back in Business afloat. Apparently it wasn't successful enough overall (despite its tenuous Stone Cold connection) to warrant a series of sequels with EPMD-esque titles.


Fans of The Boz (aren't we all?) and of the buddy cop genre will likely warm to Back in Business.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

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

Red Heat (1988)

 Red Heat (1988)- * * *1\2

Directed by: Walter Hill

Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, James Belushi, Ed O'Ross, Brion James, Gina Gershon, and Peter Boyle

A violent, drug-dealing baddie named Viktor Rostavili (O'Ross) made a huge mistake. He shot and killed the partner of Moscow policeman Ivan Danko (Arnold). After Viktor flees to Chicago to continue his evil ways by associating with a gang called The Cleanheads, Danko follows. The no-nonsense Danko has only one thing on his mind: bring Viktor back to Russia to face justice. When he's teamed up with wisecracking Chicago cop Art Ridzik (Belushi), their personalities don't exactly mesh...at first. As cultures cross, mutual respect and cooperation grows. But are Danko and Ridzik in over their heads? Will they work together to bring down the baddies? You probably already know the answer...it's time for some RED HEAT!

Red Heat is a time-tested winner and an obvious 80's buddy cop classic. It was a mainstay on cable and on VHS during the golden age of the video store. Even people who aren't as die-hard into action movies (if you'll pardon the turn of phrase) as we are have likely seen it. Because it's a mainstream Hollywood production, it has all the high-quality production values you would expect it to have. The writing and direction by the great Walter Hill is, of course, excellent. It's total entertainment and a blast to watch from start to finish.

Arnold as Ivan Danko pioneered the "non-Russian playing a Russian" that Dolph specialized in later on in his career with such outings as The Russian Specialist (2005) and The Killing Machine (2010), among others. Now it's almost commonplace to do that, but Arnold was first. Speaking of similarities between Arnold and Dolph, Ivan Danko has the same "Russian Haircut" that the similarly-named Ivan Drago has in Rocky IV. Apparently filmmakers thought that having a square, spiky brush cut said to the audience "I'm a stony, humorless Russian". 

Of course, there is a lot of humor in the film, and it all works quite well. It's classic Arnie all the way. He makes a lot of great faces and has a ton of amusing stone-faced looks that he gives throughout the proceedings, mainly at Belushi. Those reactions are worth the price of admission alone. The timing and the chemistry between Schwarzenegger and Belushi is fantastic. It's a crucial element in any buddy cop adventure and here everybody nails it.

Red Heat can stand tall in the canon of the buddy cop action comedy boom of the 80's. It delivers what you want in spades. Remember when Jay Leno and Pat Morita were "As different as Hot Dogs and Sushi"? Well, as fondly as we remember Collision Course (1989), Red Heat is even better. I know, hard to believe. In part because of the power of Hollywood and Walter Hill, not only does the film have a great look to it, but there are plenty of fine character actors to fill out the cast. 

Standouts include Gina Gershon as Cat, the dance instructor caught in the middle of all the mayhem (and yes, there is one dance instruction scene), Peter Boyle as the harried police captain, Donnelly (aren't they always harried?) - although it must be said he doesn't really yell at Danko and Ridzik all that much, so he just barely misses the label of WYC but in spirit he really is. Laurence Fishburne is a fellow cop, Sven-Ole Thorsen is a shirtless Russian, and Brion James is, what else, a baddie underling. We could go on and on, but it all adds up to a lot of color and interest for the viewer.

I know we're having a lot of fun here today, but I do think it's important to quickly pause and remember the cultural context. In 1988, relations between the then-Soviet Union and America were typically frosty. TV news often reported on what was going on behind the Iron Curtain, and it usually took on an ominous tone. However, in just a year or two, the Berlin Wall was going to fall and presumably a thawing of the relations was in the offing. So the zeitgeist was perfect for a film like Red Heat, which mirrored that geopolitical situation in its own way. Perhaps less successfully, so did a film like Russkies (1987).

Anyway, they don't make movies like this anymore, which is a real shame. At least we have our VHS tapes, DVDs, and Blu-Rays to preserve this golden time of filmmaking. Just recently, Red Heat was released on 4K, which, as of this writing, not all that many films have been. The fact that it was chosen for a 4K release says a lot. I think its legacy is assured for a long time to come.



Also, it was nice to see the original bus chase. As you may know, both Rangers (2000) and Running Red (1999) used recycled Red Heat footage in their "bus-chase" finales. As we said, the legacy lives on. Featuring some classic sax on the soundtrack as the finishing touch to this 80's classic, it's very, very easy to love Red Heat.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

Deadly Ransom (1998)

Deadly Ransom (1998)- *1\2

Directed by: Robert Hyatt

Starring: Loren Avedon, Lisa Crosato, Francesco Quinn, J.J. Perry, and Brion James












Max Lightener (Avedon) is a Navy Lieutenant, used to staging raids with his strike team. When his fiancé, Jackie (Crosato) is kidnapped, he teams up with a guy named Luis (Quinn) and snaps into action. It turns out the main baddie behind the kidnapping is a drug-doing no-goodnik named Bobby Rico (James). Faced with such an opponent, Lightener later calls in the assistance of his strike team so he can initiate “Operation Shadow”, i.e., get his girlfriend back. Also Lightener supposedly has some precognitive abilities a la Michael Pare in Blink of an Eye (1992), but that’s not developed very well. Will Lightener strike like lightning or lighten his load?

Okay, let’s start with some positives. (There aren’t many, so don’t get comfortable). In an apples-to-apples comparison (or should we say Avedon-to-Avedon comparison?), Deadly Ransom is better than the other Avedon-produced film, The Silent Force (2001).  While it does have a similar feel, which makes sense, Deadly Ransom has some funny knife-throws, an exploding helicopter which looks like it was lifted from some other source, Avedon shoots people while sliding down a rope like an angry, full-grown gentleman invading a DZ Discovery Zone, and one member of his strike force looks like noted pervert Anthony Weiner. This calls into question the effectiveness of his strike force. The movie contains shooting, blow-ups, and some silly fights. It's lit well.

There. Now that we’ve front-loaded what positive attributes we could scrape together out of the movie’s 97 minutes (including the end credits), here are the problems. Avedon remains unlikable. It’s hard for the audience to get behind his mission because we simply don’t like him very much. You can tell he produced the movie because there are multiple scenes of his face. Evidently he believes his face is so powerful it can stop a sniper’s bullet. As we all remember, Avedon played an evil kickboxer that fought David Hasselhoff in a classic episode of Baywatch entitled “Kicks”. THAT should have been a full-length feature instead of Deadly Ransom. Avedon should have realized that.

The tone of Deadly Ransom just feels off, and there’s no character development. Just a smidgen of depth to the characters - we don’t ask for much - would have gone a long way here. That is replaced by bickering between Avedon and Quinn, which is always a bad shortcut. When they’re not bickering, they’re training shirtlessly in the desert. Yay. Proving that the movie is straight-up racist, instead of dying by knife-throws like everybody else, when they kill a Native American, they throw a tomahawk at his head. Presumably they don’t know the meaning of the word “subtlety”. You don’t need to prove a cultural point with your choice of weaponry.

Despite the presence of an automated tank that looks like it has a smiley face, Deadly Ransom just doesn’t engage the audience. Is it really even that different from Mike Norris extravaganza Survival Game (1987) - just another Kidnap Slog? Sadly the answer is no, and it’s hard to imagine video store patrons consciously choosing Deadly Ransom at their local video store in 1998, or at any other time. Even the great Brion James can’t save it, and that’s not a good sign. It all feels kind of junky and trivial, and really shouldn’t go on anybody’s must-see list.

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!

Scanner Cop (1994)

Scanner Cop (1994)- * * *

Directed by: Pierre David

Starring: Daniel Quinn, Darlanne Fluegel, Richard Grove, Billy “Sly” Williams, Brion James, Cyndi Pass, Hilary Shepard, and Richard Lynch









As a little boy, Sam Staziak was taken in by a police officer named Harrigan (Grove) after his own father freaked out because they both have the scanner bloodline. Little Sam grew up to be a cop like his adoptive father, and now, as an adult (Quinn), he looks to follow in his father’s footsteps on the L.A.P.D. 

But an evil, unhinged brain surgeon (aren’t they all?) named Karl Glock (Lynch) is using unsuspecting normal citizens and using them for his sick, twisted experiments. He makes them believe all cops are supernatural, grotesque monsters, so when they see them, they snap and start killing them. 

Now trying to figure out and combat an amorphous, confusing threat before more boys in blue get killed, Staziak must tap into his scanner abilities which have caused him nothing but pain in the process. But too much scanning can lead to insanity and sensory overload. Dr. Joan Alden (Fluegel) is helping, but truly only Sam can come to terms with who he is and stop Glock in the process. Will he do it before it’s too late for the L.A.P.D. - and himself? Find out today!

Much like we said in our Scanner Cop II (1995) review, not being sci-fi fans, we weren’t going in expecting much. But there is more to Scanner Cop than you might think, and there are plenty of interesting ideas at work here that raise the level of enjoyment considerably. 

You can tell the writers actually thought about the plot a lot, which goes a long way and is much appreciated. The intelligence and serious, downbeat tone would surely do Cronenberg proud. Just the idea of a “scanner cop” is rife with possibilities, and the movie, thankfully, capitalizes on them. We couldn’t help but wonder why movies about other scanner professions never materialized: “scanner firefighter”, “scanner teacher”, “scanner professional boogieboarder” - the options are endless.

After a long career as a writer and producer, this was director David’s directorial debut. He’d worked with fellow Canadian Jeff Wincott a lot, as he was a writer on  Mission of Justice (1992) and Martial Law II (1992), and produced Marked Man (1996). David clearly learned a lot during his time doing other roles on film sets, because it has a professional look and you’d never know it was his debut. 

While the humorless, somewhat bleak approach he took was a good one this time around to sell the bizarre subject matter, some levity would have helped, and as David did not return as director for part II, seemingly a little more fun was had the second time around.

The cast is plentiful with B-movie stars: fan favorite Richard Lynch does his classic baddie thing, Brion James is in it for about 2 seconds, Hilary Shepard of Peacemaker (1990) fame plays Lynch’s assistant named Zena, predating Xena by a few years, Cyndi Pass of Mission of Justice is here too, and Billy “Sly” Williams plays a drug dealer named Eightball, among other names in the cast. While Richard Grove did a fine job as Harrigan, we can’t help but think Stacy Keach would have been a nice cast addition in that role. He even played a similar part in Irresistible Force (1993). But maybe that’s why he didn’t do it.

The Scanner Cop series was big on cable and in video stores at the time, and while that doesn’t seem that long ago to us, clearly it is, because in the movie characters smoke cigarettes indoors and in government buildings. Which tells us intelligent, well-thought-out sci-fi (or any types of movies for that matter) are getting farther and farther away in the past. Just compare this to the “syfy” channel’s “original movies”. The difference is crystal clear. As with its sequel, Scanner Cop is far better than you might think.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

Also check out write-ups from our buddies, The Video Vacuum, Film Guinea Pig, and Cool Target!

Virtual Assassin (1995)

Virtual Assassin (1995)- * * *
AKA: Cyberjack

Directed by: Robert Lee 

Starring: Michael Dudikoff, Suki Kaiser, Topaz Hasfal-Schou, Jerry Wasserman, and Brion James











 Set sometime in the future, Virtual Assassin is the story of Nick James (Dudikoff), a cop who, after the death of his partner at the hands of the evil Nassim (James) hits the skids. Due to his drinking and gambling, he lives in a trailer and is generally down and out. He gets a job as a janitor in a computer research facility, where Dr. Royce (Kaiser) is working on containing a deadly virus. Then along comes Nassim back into Nick’s life - he and his band of goons overtake the facility, with the aim of controlling the virus and Nassim becoming the lord and master of the universe because he holds untold power. But they didn’t count on one thing: a badass janitor who intends to foil their nefarious plans. Will Nick James settle the score with Nassim? Or will he become the ultimate VIRTUAL ASSASSIN? Find out today!

It’s comforting to see Michael Dudikoff’s hair is still awesome in the future. Virtual Assassin is one of the better “DieHardInA” movies we’ve seen to date. Besides Die Hard (1988), the movie seems to be influenced by Blade Runner (1982), Robocop (1987), The Terminator (1984), Firepower (1993) and Freejack (1992) (the movie’s original title, Cyberjack, would seem to indicate that). But, far and away the film that Virtual Assassin most closely resembles is Virtuosity (1995). It borrows many ideas and plot points from that movie. Even the re-titling would indicate the desire to bring more “Virtuosity” to the goings-on. But it was the 90’s after all and cyber-things were huge. Hackers, VR, giant helmets and The Lawnmower Man were everywhere. So it was only a matter of time until two of the most popular DTV concepts of the 90’s - cyber-matters and DieHardInA - merged, and thus we now have Virtual Assassin for our viewing enjoyment.

Dudikoff rarely disappoints, and here he’s great as the grizzled, burned-out ex-cop who just wants to listen to baseball on a transistor radio (you’d think the technology would be a bit better there - everything else around him is a tad more high-tech), but has to not only face plenty of goons in order to save the day, but also a law-enforcement robot which doesn’t at all resemble ED-209. Brazenly, there’s something called “Skynet” - where have we heard that before? That seems especially blatant. Dudikoff’s personality carries the movie - but luckily it also has a good pace, some good ideas (besides the stolen ones) and is entertaining. Helping with that is the performance of Brion James, which is especially animated. Here he seems to be playing yet another albino baddie - let’s not forget Nightmare at Noon (1988) - but he’s better here. He makes a great villain to face off with Dudikoff. Face off with Dudikoff would also make a great name for a talk show.

Of course, because this is a Die Hard-esque DTV movie from the 90’s, there has to be one of those super-annoying, skinny, Eurotrash underlings, here named Numb (Cross). Probably the funniest underling is Reef (McKenzie) who is a stereotypical Jamaican who wants to trick Nick James into “smoking some spliff” with him. 

The impressively-named Topaz Hasfal-Schou as Meghan, Nassim’s evil female sidekick, resembles Robin Quivers, and Jerry Wasserman as Neil Jervis deserves some recognition as being one of those working actors you see a lot, but never makes the talk show or magazine circuit. We applaud actors like Wasserman. But just why all Nassim’s underlings are dressed in strange Halloween costumes is not explained.

Thanks to some nice touches and Dudikoff’s performance, Virtual Assassin rises above its lowly station as a humble 90’s Cyber-Die Hard. We enjoyed it, and the 90’s nostalgia factor has only ensured its enjoyability for the forseeable future.

Comeuppance Review by: Ty and Brett


Also check out write-ups from our buddies, DTVC, Saturday Night Screening, and The Video Vacuum!

Showdown (1993)

Showdown (1993)-* * *

Directed by: Robert Radler

Starring: Billy Blanks, Kenn Scott, Christine Taylor, John Asher, Ken McLeod, Patrick Kilpatrick, and Brion James












Ken Marx (Scott) is a 35 year old high school senior (judging by sight anyway) who transplants to a new school filled with punks, ne’er-do-wells and miscreants. But Ken is just your good-hearted American guy. He quickly makes friends with class clown Mike (Asher) and develops a serious crush on the beautiful Julie (Taylor). But there’s a problem: Julie’s boyfriend Tom (McLeod) is an angry, smothering jerk of the highest order. He goes to Martial Arts training under the militaristic, inhuman monster Lee (Kilpatrick) who teaches his students to have no mercy. Though he’s in over his head, Ken teams up with Billy (Blanks), an intriguing man who is the school janitor but was a former cop. 

Billy trains Ken extensively in Martial Arts so he can defend himself in general and against Tom in particular. It all comes to a head at the evil dojo where, unsurprisingly, Lee stages underground Punchfighting matches. Who will be victorious in the final SHOWDOWN?

You gotta love these high school-set action movies. They range from annoyingly bad (Detention, 2003) to lots of fun (A Dangerous Place, 1995). Thankfully, Showdown falls towards the latter. It’s entertaining, fast paced, and enjoyable. If you’ve seen A Dangerous Place, you’ll note the similarities. We’ve all seen the “troubled school” scenario - kids acting wild, smoking, and even - just so you know things are out of control - riding skateboards in the halls. Brion James does nothing in this movie except harangue students and exhort to them the school rules. We’ve never seen him so animated, and he put as much life into the small role as he could, but James should have been given more.

Billy Blanks this time around is administering the training, as opposed to receiving it, a la Balance Of Power (1996). He’s even called at one point “Kung-Fu Janitor”. We never get tired of training sequences, especially if they have the right song behind them. In this case, “Draw The Line” by A.Z.R.O. fits the bill nicely. Playing opposite Billy as your classic evil sensei is Patrick Kilpatrick, who puts in an over the top performance. He’s not quite at John Miller levels, but seems to be aiming for it. So needless to say, we enjoyed it wholeheartedly. 

Compare and contrast to Marshall Teague’s performance in A Dangerous Place for further examination. Kenn Scott as Ken Marx clearly is stretching his acting chops, playing a dude with only one “N” in his name.

There are classic 90’s wisecracks, humor and sarcasm on display, and even a few movie references. It was obvious that the 90’s were upon us at this point. But rather than be irritating, it’s aged well, especially if you have nostalgia for that period in time. Clothing is the same way - note the color schemes which seem to include a lot of purple. Predating the current trend of constantly “raising awareness” about bullying, this movie should be shown in high schools (is that why there’s an edited version?). But director Radler (of Best of the Best 2 (1993) and The Substitute: Failure Is Not an Option (2001) - sticking with the whole high school theme) keeps things upbeat and moving at a good clip.

At the evil dojo, there are posters for China White (1989), Trained To Fight (1992), Black Eagle (1988), and King of the Kickboxers (1990), which featured Billy Blanks. It’s interesting to spot them, and some of them are fellow Imperial titles. The referential thing pops up again.

We liked Showdown (not to be confused with the Leo Fong Showdown, 1993 though we liked that one too), it’s an enjoyable film and is worth seeing.

Comeuppance Review by: Ty and Brett

Dead Man Walking (1988)

Dead Man Walking (1988)-* *

Directed by: Gregory Dark

Starring: Wings Hauser, Brion James, Pamela Ludwig, Sy Richardson, and Jeffrey Combs













In the far distant future of 1997, the world is a post-apocalyptic wasteland (yes, another one). Many survivors have a deadly plague and their quarantined area is known as “The Plague Zone”. When super-evil baddie Decker (James) and his minions, including Snake (Richardson) kidnap the daughter of a wealthy businessman, his chauffeur, Chaz (Combs) goes into the plague zone to try and rescue her. But he brings along a mercenary, Luger (Hauser) to help him. The devil-may-care Luger and the skittish, nerdy Chaz are the original odd couple - but will they use their combined mixture of brains and street-smarts to outwit the baddies, rescue the girl and defeat Decker once and for all?

Anyone who reads this site regularly knows we try to always find movies that are set in “the future” but are now the past. Dead Man Walking certainly qualifies, but sadly this movie is nothing more than a programmer, a Sunday-afternoon time-waster that adds nothing new to the already-tired “Post-Apocalyptic” movie so prevalent in the 80’s. We all know the Italians mastered the genre; it was fairly presumptuous for Gregory Dark to assume he could outdo them. This is a director known for his porn movies, “erotic thrillers”, music videos and wrestling stuff. And Street Asylum (1990). It seems his heart was not in this project. There is only so much actors can do with mediocre material, and talented men like James, Wings, Richardson and Combs are fighting an uphill battle here.

Mix Neon City (1991), Maniac Warriors (1988), and Omega Cop (1990) with the news reports inspired by Robocop (1987) and the “wacky”, “futuristic” set design in the vein of Shredder Orpheus (1990) (especially prevalent in the “Cafe Death” scene) and that should give you some idea of where we are here. Brion James stands out as an especially psychopathic bad guy, whose “evil clown” appearance makes him even scarier. Wings has shorter hair than usual, and plays a game we can only describe as “Chainsaw Chicken” while listening to jazz music. Apparently this is what goes on in the future. But the closest companion of all to this movie might be Nightmare at Noon (1988), which also featured Wings and Brion James, and it shares other similarities as well. But Nightmare at Noon is better.

Sadly, Dead Man Walking seems like it’s missing something. It’s hard to say what it is, perhaps some kind of verve or energy. As stated earlier, it’s an overdone idea, and something would be necessary to make it stand out from the pack. The real problem is that there’s not nearly enough action. This can barely qualify as an action movie. As it stands, this movie is okay, standard fare, but you’d think the cast would elevate the dull material and unfortunately that does not happen.

Clearly Tim Robbins is either a thief or just ignorant as evidenced by his 1995 movie of the same name. Perhaps the only good that the 1988 Dead Man Walking has done in the world is confuse video store patrons looking for the Susan Sarandon vehicle, only to accidentally rent this one instead. We’d love to see the look on their faces.

Also check out a review by Wings Superfan, DTVC! 

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

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

Red Scorpion (1988)

Red Scorpion (1988)-* * *

Directed by: Joseph Zito

Starring: Dolph Lundgren, M. Emmett Walsh, Al White,  and Brion James












Lt. Nikolai Rachenko is a Russian Special Forces soldier assigned to go undercover in Africa to root out an anti-communist leader, Kallunda (White) - don’t forget, Rachenko’s superiors are all commies. While in the midst of this deep cover, Rachenko becomes sympathetic to the anti-communist cause and realizes he has been manipulated by the higher-ups. So he goes on an explosion-packed killing spree, shooting and, when need be, dismembering his enemies (hey, it was an emergency). Rachenko may seem like a man of stone, but it’s clear he yearns to be free. Along the way he meets an obnoxious American journalist, Dewey Ferguson (Walsh) and an elderly African tribesman shows Rachenko his human side.

With a movie starring Dolph Lundgren, directed by Joseph Zito (forever in the hall of fame for Invasion USA, 1985 alone), and produced by Jack Abramoff (rumor has it his “evil hat” was an uncredited co-producer), you’d think the results would be just a bit more impressive. Not that Red Scorpion is bad at all - but it’s too long and the middle section drags. Perhaps that’s just to lull us before the big final battle, but it’s quite a lull. There’s no reason for this film to be 100 minutes. With the pedigree involved in the movie’s production, it’s not unreasonable to expect more.

The film has some really high-quality, impressive explosions. The team that worked on the pyrotechnics should be applauded. And of course, the hero gets tortured (there are some really impressive effects there too), but there are some nice underlying plot ideas in addition to the many “blow-ups”:  1. Think for yourself, 2. Communism sucks, 3. A friendship can exist between a geriatric African bushman and a blonde, Swedish hulk even if they don’t speak the same language 4. The intrigue of “who are the real enemies?”, and of course, playing the same, repetitive Little Richard songs over and over again will remind everyone of America’s greatness and freedom.

Interestingly enough, the one American character, Dewey, is obnoxious and unlikable throughout most of the film. If this movie is just a propaganda piece for the U.S., they aren’t helping their case by portraying Americans that way. But we do learn the secret of the “Red Scorpion” tattoo - later seen as the only, tenuous (at best) link between this film and its sequel. But there are actual scorpions in the movie that crawl on Dolph’s body. Whether they are “Red”, i.e., commies sent by his superiors, remains unknown.

There were a lot of anti-communist 80’s action movies, but this one has Dolph Lundgren, and apparently the filmmakers were so impressed with their explosions, rightfully I might add, that during the end credits, there are continuous explosion sounds. You don’t see them, you just hear them. While you may know what to expect with Red Scorpion, its messages help it stand out.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

Nightmare At Noon (1988)

Nightmare At Noon (1988)-* *1\2


Directed by: Nico Mastorakis

Starring: Wings Hauser, Bo Hopkins, Kimberley Beck, Brion James, and George Kennedy












When a mysterious man simply known as "The Albino" (James) decides the best place to try an experiment putting toxins in the water supply is the small town of Canyonland, Utah, all hell breaks loose. Normally-friendly citizens wig out, get extremely violent, and bleed green blood. All this is unbeknownst to entertainment lawyer Ken Griffiths (Wings) and his wife Cheri (Beck), who are traveling through the town in their RV. They stop to pick up the loner Reilly (Hopkins) and when they see the chaos in Canyonland, they decide to fight back. Aiding them is Sheriff Hanks (Kennedy). Will our heroes be able to put an end to the insanity?

The first thing you'll notice about Nightmare at Noon is its killer cast. It's pretty much a B-movie dream come true. However, we weren't totally convinced that it was being used to its full potential. Wings' personality should have shone through more, Kennedy is barely involved, and there isn't a lot of meat to Hopkins' laconic tough-guy. Neal Wheeler as Charley, the first victim, is reminiscent of the notorious cover for the Super Nintendo game "Phalanx". Brion James says literally nothing, but is somewhat intriguing as the main villain (backed up by his goons labeled APE, or, the "Agency for the Protection of the Environment"). He mainly looks through binoculars for most of his screen time. If you've ever wanted to know what it would be like if Johnny or Edgar Winter created small-town zombies in a Western setting that spew Nickelodeon-style Gak, here you go.

What director Mastorakis seemed to be aiming for is evident right in the title. "Nightmare" representing the horror aspect of the film, seemingly influenced by I Drink Your Blood (1970) and The Crazies (1973), as well as any number of zombie films, and "At Noon", representing the Western movie aspect. In fact, the characters even pass a movie marquee showing that High Noon (1952) is playing, and the final chase is taken from innumerable Western films.

A hybrid of this type is a worthy idea, but honestly it needed more blood, gore and nudity to rise to the level of an exploitation classic. It does have plenty of action movie-style thrills such as car blow-ups, stunts and much shooting, but it's hard to say if it all exactly fits. A lot of the elements were there, but not all. It's clear here that the golden 80's were ending, and the less-edgy 90's was on the horizon.
 

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

Street Asylum (1990)

Street Asylum (1990)-* *1\2

Directed by: Gregory Dark

Starring: Wings Hauser, G. Gordon Liddy, Sy Richardson, Brion James and Alex Cord





"This Cop Isn't Losing His Mind...It's Being Taken From Him!"







The always cool Wings Hauser portrays Detective Arliss Ryder, a cop on the beat working the seedier side of Hollywood. With crime rampant in the streets, Ryder is tapped by Captain Bill Quinton (Cord) to be a part of a new task force called Strike S.Q.U.A.D. (Scum Quelling Urban Assault Division). Every cop in the SQUAD has a secret microchip in their spine that makes them more aggressive. This causes conflict between Ryder and his wife. Arliss is teamed with the maniacal Joker (Richardson) and his non-stop cackling and downright insanity cause tension between them.

Ryder wants to find the man who shot him and the conspiracy goes all the way to the top. How does it connect to the mayoral candidate Jim Miller (Liddy) and how does Reverend Mony (James) fit into all this?

One of the flaws of the movie is that it needed more Liddy. There is a severe lack of the infamous jailbird and Watergate lawbreaker. He is entertaining as Miller in his first feature film. It is such bizarre casting, we wanted to see more of G. Sy Richardson almost steals the show as Joker. Wings is more of the straight man to these shenanigans. However Wings' character arc is more interesting.

Interestingly, Street Asylum bears a resemblance to Repo Men (2010). Hauser and Richardson parallel Jude Law and Forest Whitaker in that film. Both take place in a futuristic city where technology is implanted in the body. Coincidence? We think not.

Street Asylum shares the aspects of other Gregory Dark work, in the fact that it is grimy and bleak. Let's not forget Dark's recent triumph, the Kane vehicle See No Evil (2006).

To learn about Wings Hauser and his long career, please visit our friend The Direct To Video Connoisseur for an informative and entertaining time!

Comeuppance Review by: Ty & Brett

The Underground (1997)

The Underground (1997)- * * *

Directed By: Cole S. Mckay

Starring: Jeff Fahey,  Jastereo Coviare, Jillian McWhirter, Gregory Scott Cummins, and Brion James















The Underground is another winner from PM Entertainment. Fahey plays Brian Donnegan, a cliched cop character who has to stop the killings of rap stars. He gets in too deep after his partner is killed. Now he must stop the murders any way possible. He's doin' it freestyle...


Because this is a PM flick, you can expect good stunts. The pyrotechnics are cool and the car chase at the end is a blast. Jeff Fahey puts in an emotionless performance, but it works. The plot is silly and the dialogue worse, but that's part of the B-movie fun. If you like this one, I also recommend Hologram Man

In the end: If you like Jeff Fahey (and who doesn't...) or PM movies (and who doesn't...), check this one out.


Comeuppance Review by: Ty