Terminal Entry (1988)

Terminal Entry (1988)- * * *1\2

Directed by: John Kincade

Starring: Edward Albert, Patrick Labyorteaux, Paul L. Smith, Rob Stone, Sam Temeles, Heidi Helmer, Yvette Nipar, Jill Terashita, Tracy Brooks Swope, and Yaphet Kotto











Captain Danny Jackson (Albert) is a Strike Team Leader who is trying to stop Islamic terrorists from crossing over the borders of the USA from Mexico. He’s working with Colonel Styles (Kotto) and their mysterious and overweight boss Stewart (Smith). Complicating their job is the fact that the terrorists are now communicating via the all-new technology of “going online”. This is confounding them, especially Jackson, who is a man of action who would rather be shooting a machine gun from a speeding jeep than tinkering around on a computer like some kind of nerd. 

Which brings us to the activities of six teens - Bob, Tom and Howie (Labyorteaux, Stone and Temeles) and their prospective girlfriends Chris, Tina and Gwen (Helmer, Nipar and Terashita) who go out to a remote cabin in the woods to play the awesome new online game, Terminal Entry. What they don’t realize is: this game just got real. The kids are messing around with the same system the terrorists are using to communicate, and that Jackson and Styles, along with reporter Dominique (Swope) are trying to crack. It all comes to a head when the teens, the baddies and the heroes converge. What will happen?

We LOVED Terminal Entry. It was only natural that a movie would be made that marries together two standards of the video stores of the day: action movies and Romps (teen sex romps as we call them). But one of the most fascinating things about this movie is how ahead of its time it was. 

Who else in 1988 was talking about computers going “online”, Islamic terrorists (“suicide hit squads” in the movie) crossing our borders, and kids with headsets heavily involved in interactive video games? The movie is so ahead of its time, the filmmakers didn’t even realize it was unrealistic to give all the guys girlfriends. It was before the trope of “girlfriend-less dork” even developed in the popular consciousness. Of course, Terminal Entry will never get any credit for being ahead of the curve by anyone except us.

It’s wall-to-wall “80’s Awesome” as everything from the clothing, to the dialogue and of course the computer graphics scream 80’s. To us, that’s a very good thing. Even the Celebrity Video intro oozes with 80’s charm. It’s probably our favorite VHS label intro. 

Further increasing its 80’s cred is the presence of Rob Stone, who is instantly recognizable to Mr. Belvedere fans as Kevin on that classic show. Sadly, this is his only film role to date. Also, the movie features Edward Albert at his coolest, as he plays the hero with aplomb with machine guns and missile launchers. He’s the only dude awesome enough to bring nunchuks to a rural forest fight outside of a Godfrey Ho joint. Presciently, he says, “They’re bringing the war to us.” Yaphet Kotto is always nice to see, and he puts in a cigar-chompingly good role. We also loved seeing fan favorite Paul Smith. Tracy Brooks Swope, who was in such “classics” as Counter Measures (1999) and the immortal Keaton’s Cop (1990) is also on board.

And lest we forget Patrick Labyorteaux as Bob. He’s the charismatic, funny, wacky kid who looks like an 80’s version of Leave It To Beaver’s Tony Dow, and lives by BPOL - Bob’s Philosophy Of Life. Based on his monologue during the end credits (which are yellow on blue), perhaps they were setting up a series of “Bob” movies or TV shows. They seemed to be investing a lot in his character. 

Fascinatingly, it was all produced by the mysterious Sandy Cobe, the man behind the great Revolt (1986) and a few other items. The music by Tweed Sneakers is appropriately 80’s, and our man John “Action USA” Stewart did stunts.  It all adds up to a solidly fun movie that is ripe for reappraisal.

Before The Net (1995), before Hackers (1995), there was Terminal Entry. As it says on the back of the box, “Terminal Entry picks up where War Games left off.” We think it should be enjoyed by a new generation of fans.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

Red Sun Rising (1994)

Red Sun Rising (1994)- * * *1\2

Directed by: Francis Megahy

Starring: Don "The Dragon" Wilson, Michael Ironside, James Lew, Mako, Terry Farrell, Ken Davitian, Stoney Jackson, Edward Albert, and Soon-Tek Oh











Thomas Hoshino (Wilson) is a half American-half Japanese cop with a strong sense of honor. When his partner is killed whilst in Japan, he tracks the baddies responsible all the way to Los Angeles.  It turns out the main culprit is no ordinary baddie. Jaho (Lew) is a supremely evil monster with a very special weapon literally at his fingertips - the Death Touch. In order to combat against this supposed Death Touch, Hoshino reaches out to an old associate, Iga (Mako) and he trains him in not just Martial Arts but magic powers. Hoshino also ends up working alongside no-nonsense L.A. cop Karen Ryder (Farrell). Ryder comes into the picture because a gang war is brewing between street gangs the 72nd St. Icemen and the Malitos. 

Could Jaho have anything to do with the impending gang throwdown? Can it be stopped? Can anything stop...the DEATH TOUCH? Find out today!

We believe Red Sun Rising: The Legend Of The Death Touch (if you include that on-screen subtitle) is one of Don The Dragon Wilson’s best movies. Could it be a coincidence that when he escaped the clutches of Roger Corman, his best work appears? There have been other movies that revolve around, or at least mention some kind of “Death Touch” (also sometimes called the “Dim Mak”) but here it receives what has to be its ultimate cinematic representation. Add some training sequences and an all-star B-movie cast and it’s pretty tough to go wrong.

James Lew (he gets an “Introducing” credit here although he’d been in plenty of movies before this) puts in a hiss-worthy bad guy performance, with Soon-Tek Oh backing him up. Michael Ironside as Ryder’s Captain does pretty much a sit-down role, but it’s one of the better ones we can remember. Ken Davitian is on hand as the prerequisite Wacky Taxi Driver, and Stoney Jackson has a pretty small but worthwhile role as Gamal. 

Edward Albert of Kenderson!!!!!!! fame has a low-key role that perhaps should have been bigger, but that’s the problem with these “all-star” movies. Not everyone gets enough time in the sun. But for once, Mako is not the victim of that. His role is meaty and substantial, with plenty of screen time. Don the Dragon is delightfully wooden as always, and it should also be mentioned that Art Camacho has a small role as a Malito. Perhaps stealing the movie was Terry Farrell as Ryder. We weren’t familiar with her before, but she’s tough, smart and funny in equal measure. Farrell should have done more material like this.

Wilson, besides merely starring in the movie, receives the credit “Executive In Charge Of Fight Action”. Who else can claim that distinction? Providing his foil is Mako, and when we first see him, although he is the wise sensei, he is wearing a shirt that says “I am the big banana” with a large picture of a banana, with matching banana-print pants! We applaud the filmmakers for not going with the typical cliches. He’s more intelligible than usual and he puts in a bright, happy performance. 

Ryder and Hoshino go through the typical American vs. Japanese “culture clash” that we’ve seen before but it’s usually played for laughs. As for the training sequences, they could have used a pounding, anthemic rock song, but maybe they were taking a different tack this time. And seeing as how this was the mid-90’s and Street Fighter and its Ha-Do-Ken was huge, this is finally the movie to see it in. Interestingly enough, the Street Fighter (1994) movie came out the same year.

Seeing as how this is a “gang war” movie as well as a “death touch” movie with a mega cast, it really tries to be all things to all people and basically succeeds.

Featuring a title song (we always love those) by Angela Carole Brown and Phil Settle, Red Sun Rising is a very good example of what Don The Dragon can do and would be a good starting place for people not familiar with him. It’s also a good example of 90’s video store action that’s worth seeing.

Comeuppance Review by: Ty and Brett

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

Getting Even (1986)

Getting Even (1986)-* * *

AKA: Hostage Dallas

Directed by: Dwight H. Little

Starring: Edward Albert, Audrey Landers, and Joe Don Baker














Here is the on-screen crawl viewers of Getting Even will read when they pop the tape into their VCR:

Afghanistan: The Spring

A new lethal weapon has been developed. It kills silently by ravaging the body. It is a poisonous gas that destroys the flesh. There is no known defense.

The U.S. Government has recruited the one man capable of capturing and disarming this weapon.

His mission: PROJECT VIPER

His name: TAGGAR

This describes the plot of Getting Even better than we possibly could. But there are a few other things this helpful intro left out. Taggar, or “Tag” for short (Albert) is a Bruce Wayne-like industrialist/adventurer from Dallas who wears power suits during the day while in his massive skyscraper, Taggar Enterprises, and at night travels with an elite band of special ops and gets into action-packed scenarios.

Taggar Enterprises specializes in “Chemicals, Robotics and Microtechnology”. Plus they have their own book, their building has a “TE” helipad for the official “TE” chopper, and they even have stylish “TE” jackets for their employees to wear in their downtime. Tag even zooms around in his rockin’ sports car with “TAG ENT” as the license plate. All this success must have really cheesed off rival Texan chemical researcher King Kenderson (Baker). He acts like a classic cowboy but deep down is an insecure man, constantly afraid of being labeled “a loser”. The flashy, capable and awesomely-named Taggar gets his goat so much, he steals canisters of the deadly gas weapon described above and threatens to release it over Dallas unless he gets fifty million dollars.

So, with the help of Paige Starson (Landers), Taggar snaps into action in a series of stunts, fights and chases in a variety of different vehicles in order to take down Kenderson and save Texas. Can he do it?

Here, Edward Albert throws his hat into a fairly crowded ring as another camouflage face-painted, rocket launcher-toting hero. He resembles a cross between Tom Selleck and Robert Goulet, and the whole affair is classic 80’s action fun. The plot is a bit bizarre, as rival chemical researchers battle for supremacy, but this different take makes Getting Even (not to be confused with the other Getting Even, 1988 with Harrison Muller, Jr.) worthwhile. The war between the suave city man and the “country bumpkin” is a tried-and-true “country mouse vs. city mouse” tale, but this one has lots of classic 80’s computers and a blasting theme song.

In the dialogue department, we get gems such as the shouted “Adios, Russkies!” during the opening action scene, and the ultimate moment in this film, or perhaps in all of Edward Albert’s career (and yes, I am aware we’re talking about Punchy himself) is when he yells at top volume and intensity, “KENDERSON!!!!!!!!!!” Great stuff. Great I tell you.

Perhaps the film is set in Dallas to try and capitalize on the popular TV show of the time, but with an eye on giving action fans a reason to visit that city. It seems Taggar would have fit in well on that show.

Released on VHS in the U.S. on Vestron, if you see it somewhere, pick up Getting Even.

Comeuppance Review by: Ty and Brett

Fist Fighter (1989)

Fist Fighter (1989)-* * *

Directed by: Frank Zuniga

Starring: Jorge Rivero, Edward Albert, Billy Graham, and Matthias Hues






"There can be only one winner."





C.J. Thunderbird (Rivero) is a drifter who closely resembles disgraced Massachusetts Senator John Kerry. He's going south of the border because he received a telegram informing him that his friend died at the hands of a mysterious fistfighter named Rhino Rhinehart (Hues). Along the way, he wrist-wrassles a few meatheads and gets in a few barfights. He makes it to Bolivia and enters the underground fighting world, with the aim of defeating Rhino. He befriends a gregarious promoter named Punchy (Albert). The fights are controlled by corrupt gangster Vance (Mike Connors), who is in bed with the local authorities, so he has Thunderbird sent to prison.

While there, there is yet more underground fighting, this time in a cage. Enter: The Beast, a hairy, Robin Williams-like creature that murdalizes everyone in the ring. The evil warden Moreno (Simon Andreu) promises Thunderbird his freedom if he defeats The Beast. Will Thunderbird prevail? Will he get his one shot at Rhino? What will happen to Punchy? How much fist-fighting can one human stand? Find out tonight!

Thunderbird has a cute dog, played by "Kelly". He steals the movie. He out-acts everyone and could easily be the new Benji. You really care about his plight. The other characters all have great/silly names: C.J. Thunderbird, Rhino Rinehart, The Beast, and "Harry Lang Moses" AKA, of course, PUNCHY.

During the prerequisite training sequence, instead of a Rocky-like pounding, inspirational rock tune, it is Punchy talking a mile a minute to C.J.

C.J. is never seen without his stonewashed jeans, even in the ring. Did we mention he is a dead ringer for John Kerry? If you've ever wanted to see the windsurfer-in-chief punch and fight his way to freedom, this is the movie for you.




The addition of the character of The Beast is welcome because it is so crazy. It is never explained if he is some kind of genetic mutation or just an angry, hairy dude. It is reminiscent of the exploitation gem La Bestia In Calore AKA S.S. Hell Camp (1977).

Fan Favorite Matthias Hues puts in an accent-drenched performance as Rhino. He is always welcome and has a charming presence, even as a bad guy. He lets his fists do the talking and wears some oversized suits. We all love Hues.

Despite a slumping, sagging middle section, Fist Fighter is a worthy addition to the bare-knuckle, underground meathead genre.


Comeuppance Review by: Ty & Brett

Shootfighter (1992)

Shootfighter (1992)-* * *1\2

Directed By: Patrick Allen

Starring: Bolo Yeung, Michael Bernardo, William Zabka, John Barrett, Martin Kove, and Edward Albert






"You-disgraced-the-art-of-shoot-fighting."






This opening quote sets the tone for this lively beat-em-up starring the ever-lovable Bolo Yeung as Shingo.

The plot revolves around two buddies named Ruben and Nick played by Zabka and Bernardo respectively. Yeung plays their mentor. There is the prerequisite montage where he teaches them to "shootfight" and also they play basketball with young black children and Shingo smiles in an oddly fatherly way. Before the shootfighting tournament, there is a fight in a grocery store a la Cobra (1986) where Bolo shows off both his fighting and his broken English skills.

You may remember Zabka as Johnny from The Karate Kid (1984) where he infamously swept his leg at Macchio. Apparently he couldn't get enough karate-chopping action, so he hooked up with director Patrick Allen to give birth to Allen's one and only cinematic baby.



Ruben and Nick get embroiled in an underground "shootfighting" ring. They eventually have to shootfight each other...to the death, but not before battling an array of wacky baddies in the ring, such as "Boa", who acts like a snake (including the hisses) and Mongoose, who adopts a mongoose fighting style, whatever that means. Some fights have a surprising amount of gore (i.e. limbs and fingers being broken off in a bloody mess), and this provides unintentional laughter and it sustains the viewer's interest until the end.






Martin Kove plays the evil mastermind, inexplicably named "Mr. Lee", who is behind all the shootfighting, and in his villainous rage, slices a pineapple with a samurai sword.

What is "shootfighting" you ask? Well, that question is never quite answered satisfactorily, but after doing some research we were able to determine (by reading the back of the VHS box) that it is a "forbidden sport so brutal it's banned from the civilized world".

Prepare to get uncivilized with this classic.

Comeuppance Review by: Ty and Brett

Extreme Honor (2001)

Extreme Honor (2001) -* *

Directed by: Steve Rush

Starring: Michael Madsen, Olivier Gruner, Edward Albert, Antonio Fargas, Martin Kove, Charles Napier and Michael Ironside










"Extreme Honor" has one thing going for it: A hilarious title! As an added bonus, a character uses it in a sentence! "You have a lot of honor, You have extreme honor." If you are renting it for the usual antics by Michael Ironside, Olivier Gruner and Michael Madsen, you'll be disappointed. They don't have a lot of screen time.



The gunfight at the end is so fake, it's funny. Instead of bullets flying through the air like a John Woo movie, it just shows a flash of the gun and a sound effect. If you love that idea, let me introduce you to "Red Serpent"....



Comeuppance Review By: Ty