Sweet Justice (1992)

Sweet Justice (1992)- * * *

Directed by: Alain Paris and Allen Plone

Starring: Marc Singer, Finn Carter, Cheryl Paris, Frank Gorshin, Marjean Holden, Michelle McCormick, Catherine Hickland, Patricia Tallman, Kathleen Kinmont, and Mickey Rooney







Sunny Justice (Carter) is a spunky female kickboxer not afraid to take on a man in the ring. This quality is going to come in handy, because she stumbles onto a small-town conspiracy that could go, eventually, all the way to the top. Upon the death of her sister Suzanne (Paris), the mayor of a dusty ol’ town named Los Olivos, Sunny returns home, and after speaking to the Sheriff and Suzanne’s boyfriend, Steve Colton (Singer), and local yokel Zeke (Rooney), she discovers the culprit: an evil land developer (yes, another one!) named Rivas (Gorshin) who is also dumping toxic waste into the old mine (presumably where Timmy from Lassie got stuck every week). Deciding  to cut through the bureaucratic red tape, Sunny reconvenes her old commando unit, an all-female fighting force sanctioned by the U.S. Army. Here is the team, along with some of their relevant credits:

-  Kim (McCormick) - from Hawkeye (1988) and Showdown (1993)
- Chris Barnes (Catherine Hickland) - from Robowar (1988)
-  M.J. (Marjean Holden) - from Ballistic (1995) and Automatic (1995)
- Josie (Patricia Tallman) - known for her work in horror movies, and had a small part in Road House (1989)
- Heather (Kathleen Kinmont) - we all know her, but for those who may not, she is the former Mrs. Lorenzo Lamas and was in a bunch of his movies, such as CIA Code Name: Alexa (1992), Final Impact (1992), and Snake Eater II: The Drug Buster (1989), among others, but she also starred in plenty of stuff on her own such as The Art of Dying (1991) and Gangland (2001), to name just a few. And in further non-Lamas Lamas news, this movie reunites Kinmont, McCormick, and Branscombe Richmond (in a tiny part) - all seen in the show Renegade.
- and, of course, Sunny Justice (Finn Carter), who, coincidentally, was on an unrelated TV show called Sweet Justice a few years later. And her sister, the hot mayor (Cheryl Paris), was in the unfortunate Liberty and Bash (1989).

Will this power-packed team of fighting women get to the bottom of the conspiracy and get their man? Find out today!

Sweet Justice is essentially a cross between Hell Squad (1986), China O’Brien (1990), and Frame Up (1991). To paraphrase our friend Cool Target, the first 30 minutes are kind of slow, but after that, things pick up and become very enjoyable. In Frame Up, the Evil Land Developer (perhaps we should start now capitalizing it and calling them ELD’s for short, we see them so much) was Dick Sargent, and here it’s Frank Gorshin. Maybe aging TV actors are drawn to the role because it’s so perfunctory? It must be like a working retirement for them. Gorshin puts in a wacky performance, even Riddler-esque you might say? Mickey “Maximum Force” Rooney (he’s synonymous with Maximum Force, isn’t he?) puts in a top-notch sit-down role, but to be fair, it’s tough to tell whether he’s standing or not because of his height. When one of Rivas’s goons punches Zeke in the face, that’s when all bets are off and the girls get their SWEET JUSTICE.

It’s your classic “assemble a team” movie, and we always enjoy those. You really have to admire anyone who’s willing to drop their job to go on an illegal killing spree with their buddies just because one of them enlists you to. There’s even a classic training montage and shreddin’ guitars play on the soundtrack during fights. You’ve gotta love it. The women and their diverse personalities and fighting styles keep it from becoming boring. We thought another title for the movie (or another like it in the future) could be “EMPOWERMENT”.  You get the idea.

The team leader, Sunny Justice, is a pre-The Fight (2001) woman who takes on men in the ring. She was truly ahead of her time. And in Street Corner Justice (1996), Marc Singer played the immortal Mike Justus. Sunny Justice and Mike Justus together again at last. We celebrated. Singer has never looked more like Kevin Bacon than he does here. Maybe it’s the hair. While Finn Carter takes on the Cynthia Rothrock role from the aforementioned China O’Brien (there’s even a fight in a gym just like in that movie), we thought that if Sweet Justice were made today, the part of Sunny Justice could be portrayed by Gina Carano.

Featuring the prerequisite sax on the soundtrack, as well as end credits ballad “The Glory of it All” by Sherry Cameron, Sweet Justice is rollicking entertainment, perfect for video stores of the 90’s. Released by Triboro on VHS at that time, Sweet Justice is sweet viewing.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty 

Bloodmoon (1997)

Bloodmoon (1997)-* * *1\2

Directed by: Kuang Hsiung

Starring: Gary Daniels, Chuck Jeffreys, Darren Shahlavi, Nina Repeta, Brandie Rocci, Keith Vitali, Rob Van Dam, Leigh Jones, and Frank Gorshin

In New York City, a serial killer with a very silly costume (Shahlavi) is going around beating up/killing all the meatheads in town. Chief Hutchins (Gorshin) assigns police detective Chuck Baker (Jeffreys) to the case. Aside from being an avid martial artist and cop, Baker also enjoys magic tricks. But when the man known only as “the killer” ramps up his evil doings by taunting the NYPD via his mastery of the newly-formed “internet”, a serial killer expert, Ken O’Hara (Daniels) is brought in to assist Baker. 

O’Hara is a good-natured divorced man with a young daughter, Lauren (Jones). Of course, he is also a highly skilled martial artist. When it is discovered that The Killer has murdered O’Hara’s beloved, elderly, mustachioed Kendo instructor, and is now after his cousin Kelly (Rocci), O’Hara finally gets angry and wants revenge. Naturally, at first O’Hara and Baker don’t get along, but they must team up to stop the mysterious killer with the detachable metal fingers.

Bloodmoon is a very entertaining movie, and has a pretty insane, off-kilter vibe. Sure, it’s a bit overlong at 100-plus minutes, and some of the more repetitive aspects of the movie could have been trimmed, but the excellent fights make up for any other minor flaws. It’s all Hong-Kong style fast-paced, creative moves meant to please fans of this genre. 

No doubt this was due to the fact that this is a Seasonal Films production directed by  Kuang Hsiung, who recently served as one of the action directors for Ip Man (2008). And the writer, Keith Strandberg, is responsible for penning the No Retreat, No Surrender (1986) and American Shaolin (1991) series. So that should give you some idea of what to expect here.

Chuck Jeffreys has charisma and humor coming out of every pore of his body, and even his magic tricks come complete with wacky sound effects. His resemblance to Eddie Murphy/Robert Townsend is uncanny.

Gary Daniels is, as always, extremely likable as the “mind hunter”, or profiler. He really gives Richard Norton a run for his money in the “white guy with an accent who is an excellent martial artist but is also very personable and likable” department. The legendary Frank Gorshin is awesome as the stereotypical angry chief. It was nice to see him, especially in a role like that. 

Let’s not forget Jeffrey Pillars as the classic computer geek Justice, and there’s even an early appearance from wrestler Rob Van Dam. Brandie Rocci is nice as the spunky Kelly in a role that will remind you of Cynthia Rothrock. Shahlavi as the baddie, complete with metal shoes that make for painful kicking, was a cross between impressive martial arts and out-and-out silliness. Kind of like the movie itself, really.

Add to that the nostalgic 90’s computers (and surely some of the earliest references to the Internet, GPS, and texting ever seen on film - movies like this never get credit for being ahead of their time) and you have a rollicking good time.

Great quality fights and many funny moments are the name of the game for Bloodmoon.

Comeuppance Review by: Ty and Brett