Fighting Mad (1978)

Fighting Mad (1978)- * * * 

AKA: Death Force

Directed by: Cirio H. Santiago

Starring: James Iglehart, Carmen Argenziano, Joe Mari Avellana, Joonee Gamboa,  Jayne Kennedy, and Leon Isaac Kennedy










Doug Russell (Iglehart), McGee (Kennedy), and Morelli (Argenziano) are Vietnam buddies. They’re on a boat headed home after finally completing their service - and stealing a cache of gold. The duplicitous McGee and Morelli stab Russell and throw him overboard. Instead of dying in a watery grave, he washes up on a remote island inhabited by two Japanese soldiers (played by Gamboa and Avellana) who have been living there since World War II. 

The two soldiers nurse Russell back to health, and also train him in Japanese Karate and swordsmanship. When he finally makes it back home to L.A., he has a new set of skills to use on his attackers. And he’s going to need them, because McGee is attempting to move in on Russell’s wife, Maria (Jayne Kennedy). 

All Russell wants to do is reunite with his wife and young son, but McGee and Morelli are making it hard for him, as while he was stranded on the island, the two men moved up in the L.A. underworld. Now they control many things, including the club scene, where they have Maria, a singer, blacklisted from performing. That’s clearly the last straw, and Doug Russell becomes FIGHTING MAD!

Hard to believe, but this is the twentieth Cirio movie we’ve seen. So we’re pretty familiar with his style, and Fighting Mad stands as a solid, snappy entry in his canon. It seems to have a faster pace than some of his other works, and the editing style reinforces that, with no scene ever going on too long. The parallel plotlines of Russell on the island doing his extensive training/what’s going on at the home front, and eventually the two coming together, made for entertaining viewing. 

There’s some nice humor to leaven things out, and plenty of 70’s style that is extremely visually appealing. Soft focus Jayne Kennedy mixed with giant, boatlike cars reinforce this feeling. As does the scene where Kennedy walks by the famous Rainbow club, and we see that Savoy Brown is playing with Baby, with Man performing a week later. Born Losers (1967) is on a cinema marquee, Fonzie is on the cover of People magazine, and haircuts were only 2 dollars. What a time.

Leon Isaac Kennedy (not to be confused with Lawrence Hilton Jacobs or Philip Michael Thomas) plays a good charismatic slickster, and how could you not love his great outfits? Iglehart also shines, along with his non-Japanese compatriots, in the Hell In the Pacific (1968)-inspired plotline. 

The scene in the barbershop is also a movie highlight, and all his sword work does indeed pay off later, with multiple “fan favorite deaths” following his training. They do indeed get some classic comeuppance! The final showdown between Kennedy and Iglehart features another favorite cliche, the “talking baddie”, who continuously says the hero’s name as he’s trying to bait him to fight. So Fighting Mad contains enough elements in its 90 or so minutes to certainly entertain.

A great example of Drive-In action, we can definitely recommend Fighting Mad.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

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

Naked Vengeance (1985)

Naked Vengeance (1985)- * * *1\2

Directed by: Cirio H. Santiago

Starring: Deborah Tranelli, Henry Strzalkowski, Kaz Garas, Steve Roderick, Nick Nicholson, Carmen Argenziano, and Bill McLaughlin








Carla Harris (Tranelli) is a woman who seemingly has it all: a rich and luxurious life as an actress with a successful lawyer for a husband. When her beloved hubby is killed by a common street thug, she travels back to her rural home town of Silver Lake, California, to live with her parents and re-evaluate her life. 

However, far from the serene environment she was hoping for, she has to deal with constant harassment from the local gang of good ol’ boys. Led by local butcher Fletch (Garas) and including gas station attendant Sparky (Nicholson), among others, their rude and lewd behavior eventually escalates into a full-on gang rape. When the disgusting thugs end up murdering her parents, as well as Timmy (Roderick), Carla has an emotional breakdown that leaves her in a near-catatonic state. While being observed for shock and other symptoms at the local hospital, Carla decides to bypass the seemingly ineffectual Sheriff, John Cates (McLaughlin) and dispense her own brand of justice. Violent vigilante justice, the only kind that gets results. But will she eliminate her attackers before it’s too late? Find out today!

While Naked Vengeance has a similar look, structure and feel to other Cirio movies, this ranks as one of his best, thanks to the intense, no-nonsense storyline and pace. It can proudly rank among other female-fronted revenge movies such as Ms. 45 (1981), Savage Streets (1984), Sudden Death (1985), and of course the movie it most closely models itself after, I Spit On Your Grave (1978). 

A lot of Cirio regulars are on show as well, mainly as the lecherous townsfolk - his stock company of actors, as it were, such as Kaz Garas (who resembles Powers Boothe), fan favorite Nick Nicholson, and Henry Strzalkowski, among others.  Cirio was kicked into high gear for this one, and, especially compared to his more standard outings, here he was surely in a state of grace.

Naked Vengeance is the time when the “Cirio Formula”, if there is such a thing as one, finally clicks and everything totally works. His method of repeating the theme song numerous times throughout the movie is employed  here, and thankfully it’s the driving anthem “Still Got A Love”, by Michael Cruz and sung by the main star, Deborah Tranelli. 

The cameraderie of the baddies is interesting: they all bowl together (and have nifty personalized bowling shirts to boot), and they even work out together on the same schedule in a place that can only be described as a “Villain’s Gym”. The day after their atrocity, one of them even says to his buddies, “Eh, I don’t feel like working out today.” There were no other patrons in the gym, either. Maybe you get 10% off your membership if you’re an evil scumbag. One of their beefs against Carla is that she changed her name from Olson to Harris, which in their view is true diva behavior that they cannot abide. Why Harris is a more glamorous name than Olson is not explained. Also of note is a movie marquee which is playing Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo (1984).

Important note: the version released on Vestron is cut. The version released on Lightning is uncut. So for anyone planning on collecting this movie, make sure you get the Lightning version.

We love revenge movies here - hence the name COMEUPPANCE reviews - and Naked Vengeance is a gem.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty 
 

Malevolent (2002)

Malevolent (2002)-* * *

Directed by: John Terlesky

Starring: Lou Diamond Phillips, Kari Wuhrer, Jack McGee, Edoardo Ballerini, Carmen Argenziano, and Steven Bauer











Jack Lucas (LDP) is an LAPD cop on the edge. Putting him even closer to the edge of the edge is the fact that a psychotic criminal mastermind is trying to frame him for a series of murders. The obnoxious and annoying Oliver “Ollie” Chadwicke (Ballerini) has it in for Lucas and is going to slyly and shrewdly send him up the river. Fighting for his life against the bogus charges actually perpetrated by Chadwicke, Lucas must use his wits to defeat him at his own game. Teaming up with a stripper with a heart of gold, Jessica (Wuhrer), as well as his father, Warren (Argenziano), Lucas must not only defend himself against Chadwicke, but from the mistrust growing amongst his co-workers. Especially with Captain Pruitt (Bauer) breathing down his neck. Will Lucas get justice?

Malevolent is a surprisingly solid and entertaining cop drama/thriller. It was smart putting LDP in the lead role, because he can easily carry a movie like this with his charm, charisma and acting ability. You could even say this is the continuing story of Jeff Powers from Extreme Justice. This isn’t really an action movie, in fact all of the action was edited in from The Corruptor (1999) and Marked For Death (1990). Anyone who has seen those movies will surely recognize the footage. But at least Malevolent is open and honest about it, in its own way: both footage sources get large, easy-to-read screen credits at the end of the movie. Other DTV items don’t do that. They try to hide their patchwork nature. So we give the movie credit for its openness.

You have to take this movie for what it is, it’s not going to change the world but it’s really not bad either. In its quest to be gritty, or perhaps different, there are some horribly (intentionally horribly) edited sequences that are trying to be “cool”. If the movie was just edited normally, that would have helped. Plus there are some highly cliched, even stereotypical characters, such as Lucas’ partner Carla, played by Gwen McGee. But Ballerini did a great job as the baddie, he really makes you hate him. It’s always nice to see Kari Wuhrer, we were happy she was on board. It was also cool to see Jack McGee, of The Quest (1996) fame as the bartender. Steven Bauer should have had more screen time as the captain. Also, Simon Rhee is credited as one of the stunt players.

LDP even wrote the lyrics for the movie’s most memorable song, “Pray For Dawn”, a bluesy-type number. He should get more credit for being multi-talented. Fans of any of the cast members involved, DTV cop dramas, or fans of stock footage (we know you’re out there), or anyone with some spare time on their hands might want to check out Malevolent.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

A Better Way To Die (2000)

A Better Way To Die (2000)-*1\2

Directed by: Scott Wiper

Starring: Scott Wiper, Natasha Henstridge, Wayne Duvall, B'Nard Lewis, Carmen Argenziano, Joe Pantoliano, and Lou Diamond Phillips


"Some things are worth living for..."








Boomer (Wiper) is a young Chicago cop that gets mixed up in a war between federal agents, such as Dexter (Phillips), and shady gangsters and criminals, such as Cleveland (Braugher) who want a special computer chip. Apparently this chip contains sensitive information that leads all the way to the top. So Boomer ends up on a road trip of sorts, dodging dangers at every turn, and meeting wacky characters such as Flash (Pantoliano, not Jeff Kutash). All he wants to do is propose to his beautiful girlfriend Kelly (which is probably a decent idea considering it is puzzling why a woman of this caliber is with this dork in the first place)...but, as they say, life has other plans...

It seems, since the 2000’s, the term “Direct to Video” is synonymous with this type of production - a not-quite-movie-theater-quality, run of the mill, post-Tarantino crime thriller that relies more on cursing in the dialogue than on good ideas. This is a shame, DTV used to encompass all sorts of things, not the least of which was punchfighting movies. But, alas, this relatively new form of entertainment has paved the way for such personalities as Scott Wiper, a man whose career would not exist were it not for the miracle of DTV productions.

Despite the good cast, don’t be fooled. This is some sort of vanity project for the aforementioned Mr. Wiper. Just because he wrote The Last Marshal (1999), now he feels he’s entitled to write, direct and star in his own project, leaving the real stars in the background. Well, you’re no Scott Glenn, sir. (Note snarky attitude). Lou Diamond Phillips and Wiper should have switched roles. But we’re left with the unlikable (or unWipable) Wiper, who appears to be some sort of irritating cross between Edward Burns and Ben Affleck.

At the outset, it appears we’re in for a low-budget, gritty crime drama that’s at least striving for some measure of quality. Sadly, the “irony” sets in and we realize we’re in sub-Boondock Saints (1999) territory once again. Of course, why that movie has a gigantic following and was even re-released back into the theaters (an unheard-of move) while A Better Way to Die and its ilk are unnoticed by these same “fanatics” is unknown.

This movie is not impressive, although the (unfortunately) supporting cast tries their best. Henstridge has never looked better, but that’s not nearly enough to save this dud. Regrettably, a Better Way to Die is a waste of the talents of LDP, Braugher, Pantoliano, Henstridge and Sweet Lou (B’Nard Lewis). Avoid.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty