Under The Gun (1988)

Under The Gun (1988) - * * *

Directed by: James Sbardellati

Starring: Sam Jones, Vanessa Williams, Nick Cassavetes, Don Stark, Dan Tullis Jr., Michael Halsey, John Russell, and Rockne Tarkington








 Mike Braxton (Jones) is a rough-and-tumble St. Louis cop who is distraught after his partner dies during the course of what they initially believed was a routine investigation. But Braxton soon discovers his problems are about to get much bigger. His brother, Tony Braxton (Cassavetes), who we believe had a hit with “Un-break My Heart”, gives Mike a desperate call from L.A. and tells him he’s in deep trouble. It seems Tony was involved in illegal plutonium trafficking, and now the goons of the nefarious Simon Stone (Russell) are after him. 

Mike comes to L.A. and all hell breaks loose, with Stone unleashing his arsenal of goons on the unkillable cop, such as Frank (Halsey), Leon (Tarkington), and Joey (Stark), among others. Meanwhile Mike has to protect Samantha Richards (Williams) from the flying bullets and rocket launchers. Will they get out from UNDER THE GUN? Find out today…

Not to be confused with Under The Gun (1995), starring, and we quote the DVD box, the “likable action star Richard Norton”, THIS Under The Gun also features a likable action star, in this case Sam Jones. In the pantheon of 80’s action stars, we would rank the coolness of hair as follows: 1. Michael Dudikoff 2. Dolph Lundgren 3. Sam Jones. Having the third coolest hair of the 80’s action stars is no mean feat. (Feel free to leave a comment if you disagree with/want to add more to this list). Mike Braxton is the type of man who doesn’t back down from a fight, and there are plenty of cool action bits to keep fans entertained.

The baddies seem to have a larger-than-usual proclivity towards rocket launchers, which we certainly applauded, and Sam Jones gets some nice “hero shots” which cast him in a very valiant light. By contrast, Vanessa Williams plays the classic “complaining woman” and isn’t that likable. This clichéd role/performance was unfortunate and hurt the movie, but not enough for us to not recommend it. 

The sax/wailing-guitar soundtrack was entirely appropriate to the proceedings, and the fact that the illegal plutonium is being transported in a Robotech lunchbox adds to the interest, especially for 80’s fans like us.

And that’s just the thing, there were so many movies like this on the video store shelves of the 80’s and 90’s, it seems Under The Gun got lost in the shuffle. But the whole thing is well-paced and entertaining, so we can chalk up another winner to Sam Jones, one of the more reliable names of the day. This one only enhances his reputation. Featuring the catchy and energetic songs “Talkin’ Bout Love” by Debra Laws and “Paralyzed” by Brenda Reierson, despite a couple of minor flaws, we can put Under The Gun in the winner’s circle. 

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

Bloodfist V: Human Target (1994)

Bloodfist V: Human Target (1994)-* *

Directed by: Jeff Yonis

Starring: Don "The Dragon" Wilson, Steve James, Don Stark, Denice Duff, and Joe Son












Jim Stanton (The Dragon) is a thug working for a crime syndicate...or is he? After a gunshot wound to the head, Stanton loses his memory. While trying to put back the pieces of his life, he runs into Candy (Duff), a streetwise young woman who seems to share Stanton’s concerns about what his past life may have been. Soon they go on the run, trying to figure out why people like Marcus (James) and Agent Blake (Stark) are inserting themselves in, and disrupting, their lives. After many twists and turns, Stanton gets to the truth...but will it be too late?

We love Don “The Dragon” Wilson and Steve James, so naturally we were excited to see this movie. Unfortunately, in our opinion, it’s one of the weakest in the Bloodfist series. The plot is so disjointed, it’s impossible to have any investment in the characters and their plight. It just adds layer upon layer of dumb, unwarranted plot twists, like some nonsense about plutonium once we’re already deep into the movie. It falls into the same traps many movies fall into, with an annoying kid/woman, this time the Denice Duff character. From a visual perspective, it’s way too dark and pseudo-stylish. We’re glad you were trying to dazzle us with your style, but we can’t SEE anything, so what’s the point? The low budget is plainly obvious in threadbare set design of just blank walls with no decoration.

We’re truly sorry to be so harsh, that’s not normally “us”, but we’re disappointed. There are some positives, however: Joe Son yelling and shooting a machine gun, the Steve James/Don The Dragon fight which was nice to see, the musical theme which sounds exactly like the MASH theme song “Suicide is Painless”, and the fact that this is an ideal role for Don - because of his amnesiac status, he can look as confused, stunned and out-of-it as he wants, and it actually works towards the plot. But sadly, there’s no escaping the fact that this movie is a waste of Steve James’ talent (and heartbreakingly, his last movie role before his untimely death) - and even Don’s awesome long hair doesn’t last and he gets a haircut.

Although Don forgets everything, thankfully he doesn’t forget how to do Martial Arts. That part of his brain remained intact. And while Joe Son is credited as “Beefy”, no one ever calls him that on screen. So many wasted opportunities. Well, except for the time-honored opportunity Don takes to get unnecessarily shirtless, an opportunity he seems to take as often as he can. But either because this movie has a conscience, or because it was Corman policy, the movie doesn’t go on too long, it’s around 80 minutes. So there’s some mercy there.

Bloodfist V: Human Target sadly goes in the “disappointment” column. We recommend spending your time elsewhere.

Also check reviews from our buddies The Video Vacuum and DTVC! 

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

American Dragons (1998)

American Dragons (1998)-* * *1\2

AKA: Double Edge

Directed by: Ralph Hemecker

Starring: Michael Biehn, Joong-Hoon Park, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Byron Mann, and Don Stark






"East meets West with a vengeance!"




American Dragons is a hugely underrated film that more people should definitely know about.

Biehn plays Tony Luca, an NYC detective working undercover trying to take down the Fiorino Mafia family. When some unfortunate events cause that investigation to "go sideways", he is transferred to another case, in the Chinatown area where there have been some murders. It seems someone is bumping off Yakuza gangsters and leaving a mysterious Black Lotus emblem.  Enter Detective Kim (Park) from the Seoul police department. He comes to America because he has a score to settle with the evil Matsuyama (Tagawa, playing yet another gun-toting bad guy, see Danger Zone etc...). He teams up with Luca, who also has his own score to settle with amoral gangster Rocco (Stark). So it goes that, despite some initial conflicts due to their different cultures, the two pugilistic cops must take down their respective enemies before a mob war breaks out between the Mafia and the Yakuza.

American Dragons is stylish and artsy, yet dark and brooding. It has an engaging storyline, and despite the fact that it has some brutal, gritty violence, it also has some unexpected humor which leavens everything out.

You really get your money's worth, as there are two personal vendettas that must be settled, and two super-evil bad guys that must get their comeuppance. Luckily, there are two heroes, in the form of Park and Biehn. Biehn gets some great lines and seems as intense as the movie itself. Try to imagine a better, more adult, mature version of Last to Surrender (1999). Also, if you can, try to imagine a MUCH better version of Massacre (1985). While 'Dragons shares some plot elements from those two films, what's really interesting is the similarity it bears to Punisher: War Zone (2008), both in the style in which it is filmed and the plot.

The cinematography truly is a double edged sword here, as it is inventive and stylish, but often the scenes are just too dark to see. It's almost funny how every bar, restaurant, police station or anywhere else in the movie never turns its lights on. A lot of the time it looks like they are talking in the dark. The station house resembles the one from the Law and Order franchises, and that adds to the "police procedural on steroids" feel and even the Captain of the Precinct is reminiscent of that show's Van Buren. But here they're clearly trying to save money on electricity.

The whole movie is a of a much higher caliber than the usual action junk, and you can tell some thought went into everything, from the rockin' soundtrack to the fact that even here there's a training sequence! This, and other clues tell me the filmmakers are action fans themselves and know what they are doing. It's nice to know you're in good hands when you watch a movie.

So remember, "So foul a sky clears not without a storm" and watch American Dragons tonight - it's a cut above the rest.

Comeuppance Review by: Ty and Brett