Da Vinci's War (1993)

Da Vinci's War (1993)- * *

Directed by: Raymond Martino

Starring: Joey Travolta, James Russo, Vanity, Richard Foronjy, Branscombe Richmond, Melissa Moore, Harold Joseph Green, Sam Jones, and Michael Nouri












When his sister is violently murdered by arch-baddie Mintz (Russo), Frank Da Vinci (Travolta) wants revenge. Da Vinci, a highly-decorated Vietnam vet, wants to leave his past behind him and move on with his life, getting involved with his local mission, and forging a relationship with the religious Lupe (Vanity), who cares for his young niece when he's not around. 

But Da Vinci is also still in touch with his 'Nam buddies, who all have too-appropriate nicknames such as the Shakespeare-quoting Hamlet (Foronjy), the guy in the wheelchair named Wheels (Green), and the guy of unimportant Asian origin that may or may not be Hawaiian, Don Ho (Richmond), among others. But even Da Vinci's ever-loyal charges aren't enough to get to the bottom of the murder of his beloved sibling, so he enlists the help of hired killer China Smith (Nouri). 

At first Smith doesn't want to be bothered with Da Vinci and would rather concentrate on his girlfriend, mysteriously named Fred (Moore). But after inexplicably talking to his computer (the computer never responds), he gets some info on Da Vinci that changes his mind, and he enlists in DA VINCI'S WAR. But will there be victory or defeat?

 The original Da Vinci code, this is pretty much an Italian-American variant on Gordon's War (1973), right down to the title. But this particular War is about as "Direct To Video" as it gets in its look and feel. Around these parts, however, that's not considered a negative, but other people might want to be forewarned about the low-budget vibe. 

Director Martino is a largely un-talked about figure in the DTV world, having worked a lot with City Lights/PM and been involved with their Anna Nicole Smithsploitation in the 90's. He obviously spent his budget on the stellar B-movie cast, which besides the aforementioned names also features fan favorite Sam Jones, as well as Bob Golic and a whole bunch of Travoltas, such as Rachel, Nicole, and Sam (the latter behind the camera, along with Addison Randall).

 Joey, quite possibly the most talented Travolta to date, is initially unrecognizable with his facial hair. But once he utters the immortal line “Aw Geez!”(in a surprisingly dramatic reading of that Travolta-ism) we know it can only be him. In other cast news, there’s also Gino Dentie, who released the “Direct Disco” album in the 70’s, and who also collaborated on the song “Da Vinci’s March” with Branscombe Richmond. So there’s more than enough on-screen talent, but it doesn’t entirely translate into a wholly enjoyable and completely cohesive final product.

What’s good about Da Vinci’s War is that it is from a time before Tarantino knockoffs polluted the market. And that both James Russo and Joey Travolta, at different points, walk in slow motion, thus looking cool. Plus Michael Nouri gets a great intro to his character. 

What’s bad about Da Vinci’s War is that it falls prey to the typical low budget pitfalls: stodgy acting, a stiff feel, and low-energy valleys that we as viewers have to go through. Not to say that there aren’t a few okay moments (not to mention some unintentionally funny moments), but the balance isn’t always in the movie’s favor.

While the epilogue after the movie states that it is dedicated to all the homeless veterans, the sentiment is undercut somewhat due to the fact that on a banner over all the vets, they misspelled the word “homeless”! If they’re trying to get our sympathy by informing us of the “homless” vets, they should run their banner through spell check. Unless the point is to announce their lack of hom. Or maybe they’re going the route of little moppets selling lemonade with a sign with a few backwards letters in order to draw us in. Our vets deserve better than that. But the banner is over what can only be described as a shuffling “Homeless Veteran’s Choir” and they all sing, led by Vanity of course. So that must be a movie first.

In the end, Da Vinci’s War sports a never-to-be-replicated cast assemblage, but it lacks the forceful punch it could have had.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty 

Double Deception (2001)

Double Deception (2001)-*

Directed by: Shundo Ohkawa

Starring: Louis Mandylor, James Russo, Rei Kikukawa, Maya Hoshino, Udo Kier, and Joe Estevez












Luke Campbell (Mandylor, not the guy from 2 Live Crew) is a bodyguard hired to protect Lisa Ozaki (Kikukawa), the daughter of a wealthy Japanese businessman. Due to a recent spate of kidnappings perpetrated by the evil Snake (Russo), Mr. Ozaki hired a lookalike named Maria (Hoshino) to confuse the kidnappers and keep his daughter safe. However, when a two million dollar ransom is at stake, things get very confusing indeed as allegiances and alliances change and shift, while Luke and Lisa go on the run. Will this kidnapping plot go as planned?

Double Deception is a junky, low-budget film that feels low budget. Many times, thanks to quality acting and writing, movies can overcome a lack of funds. Unfortunately, that is not the case here. There are plenty of stupid fights and chases, and some amazingly moronic dialogue thus making this movie a tough sit. It’s a standard plot that you’ve seen before, but this time there are Japanese actors with extremely thick accents that are hard to understand. The quality of the tape is muffled and there’s plenty of wooden acting on top of that. So, from an audio standpoint, there’s a lot to be desired.

From the minute, early on in the movie, when we see some baddies with those cheap plastic glow-in-the-dark Jason-style hockey masks, it’s easy to see there’s trouble brewing. Udo Kier seems to take things somewhat seriously, but it’s hard to tell as his role is basically a cameo and is nothing more than an all-too-brief walk-on role. Same thing with Joe Estevez. It’s hard to believe this is the second time we’re saying this, but: This movie needed more Joe Estevez! Apparently he’s more important to the structural integrity of movies than we heretofore believed.

There’s a guy in the movie that’s like a stupider Gary Busey, and there’s plenty of 90’s-style high-waisted pants, and a large dose of “90’s tech” cell phones. It’s hard to believe this movie came out in ‘01. It feels more mid-90’s. Rei Kikukawa is attractive, but she should have been subtitled. It would have been more coherent and possibly some entertainment value could have been gained from her trying to communicate with Louis Mandylor. As it is now, Double Deception suffers from a lack of just about everything, with cohesiveness being the main casualty.

It’s hard to imagine anyone renting this in a video store back in the day, but here it is. We can safely say, this movie exists. That’s pretty much all there is to say.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

Detour (1998)

Detour (1998)-*

Directed by: Joey Travolta

Starring: Jeff Fahey, James Russo, Robert Miano, Tim Thomerson, Gary Busey, Evan Rachel Wood, and Michael Madsen













Danny Devlin (Fahey) and his buddy Ziggy Rotella (Russo) are in a small-time gang, and they decide to rob 1.2 million dollars from mob boss Gianni Grasso (Miano). However, Mo (Busey), who works for Grasso, double-crosses him by talking to Danny and Ziggy. Grasso’s men go after them, and eventually Danny, Ziggy, and Gillette (Williams), the third gang member, end up in small-town Rosalia, where Danny grew up. It turns out his mother died and left him the family dairy farm, and it’s in her will that he must tend to it. While back in his old stomping grounds, he reconnects with past family members such as Mel (Thomerson), Daniella (Wood), and his brother Burl (Madsen), who is the sheriff in town. Will Danny go straight, or will the temptation of future heists and crimes be too strong?

When we first saw that there was a movie that had this amazing cast, obviously we were intrigued. And the icing on the cake comes when you’re watching the opening credits, and after the extensive list of familiar names, the final credit is “Directed by Joey Travolta!” (I added the exclamation point. Sadly that’s not on his actual screen credit). You’d think, “how could this possibly go wrong?” Well, unfortunately, Detour falls prey to Lone Tiger (1999) Syndrome, which we’ve talked about before, which means that just because a movie has an impressive cast, doesn’t mean the movie itself is going to be any good. Sometimes it’s even a substitute for good writing and direction, and they hope the audience won’t notice.

Joey Travolta seems to be more talented in front of the camera than behind it, as evidenced by his role in Wilding: The Children Of Violence (1991). Disappointingly, Detour is just one of many 90’s Tarantino knockoffs. It tries too hard to be cool, and every other scene has some annoying “alt-rock” song of the time on the soundtrack. No one in the cast of fan favorites can save the uninspired writing. Busey and Madsen come off best, however - Busey slightly more low-key by his standards, and Madsen does what Madsen does, that is, look bored and contemptuous of even having to be there. But somehow when he does it, it totally works. Fahey goes a bit over the top at times, and even though this is supposedly an action movie of some kind, there are scenes of farm work - yes, FARM WORK - when other stuff should be going on to capture the viewers’ interest and imagination.

The movie also falls prey to some other common DTV pitfalls, such as the fact that many scenes are underlit and it’s too dark to see anything. That just adds to an overall junky look and feel. But on the bright side, Gary Busey wears pajamas the whole time, and James Russo has an evil hat. Take for instance a scene in a kitchen where Fahey and Thomerson are talking. On top of the refrigerator, there is a can of a Mr. Peanut product that we think are called “Zonks”, but it’s too dark to really tell. This can of Mr. Peanut Zonks (?) steals focus from the supposed drama going on. “Does that really say ‘Zonks’?” “I don’t know, I can’t read it...I hope it says Zonks...but I’ve never heard of Zonks...” “Maybe they’re only sold in Canada.” “Who is a better mascot, Mr. Peanut or the Pringles man?” “Mr. Peanut, because he has a top hat, a monocle, cuffs, a cane, and can do things, like dance around. All the Pringles guy has is a mustache”.  That’s OUR dialogue, not from the movie. In other words, Mr. Peanut out-acts some of our favorite people this time around.

An amazing, once-in-a-lifetime cast is squandered because they didn’t have good material to work with. Ultimately, this is wasteful of the talented cast, so avoid this Detour into lameness.

Comeuppance Review by: Ty and Brett

Never Surrender (2009)

Never Surrender (2009)- * *1\2

Directed by: Hector Echavarria

Starring: Hector Echavarria, Patrick Kilpatrick, Silvia Koys, BJ Penn, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, Georges St. Pierre, Heath Herring, and James Russo




"I found something worth fighting for."








Diego Carter (Echavarria) is a world-famous MMA fighter who is enticed by a mannish woman named Sandra (Koys) to join an underground Punchfighting circuit. It is run by the ruthless Seifer (Kilpatrick) - ruthless in the sense that what he's really running is a prostitution ring. He calls them "consorts", and if you win a match, you get a consort, or your opponent's consort, or something like that. It's all just a tawdry excuse to have Skinemax-style softcore porn scenes with plenty of unwanted, un-asked for Hector Echavarria nudity. Ew. All this nonsense leads up to "The Tournament", presumably the ultimate battle for the ultimate consort. Also, Carter falls in love with Sandra. What's REALLY going on?

This movie is like a 90-minute training video for Hector Echavarria. Somehow he was allowed to direct this thing, and it has all the inept editing and strange cuts you might expect. You never see blows connect because there's an unnecessary cut right before the blow lands.Undue emphasis is put on the fact that he uses the late night-advertised product the Perfect Pushup in his training rituals. Echavarria invited all his fighter buddies to be in the movie, whether they belong there or not, and they even go by some of their real names.

In the beginning of the film, two burly men in shorts are grappling, grunting and sweating while a song with the lyrics "45 minutes of Loooove" plays. Then they grab each other's legs for the takedown. Wags who would decry these movies as homoerotic...may have a point here.

Also it should be noted that Diego's "...punches carry the dream of a small child who grew up off the coast of La Plata."

Naturally, The Tournament has "no rules and no referees", and Seifer notes, "is tax free". Is this a comment on today's political landscape? I know I go to modern-day Punchfighters for top-shelf punditry.

Patrick Kilpatrick looks like Howie Mandel now, and screams and yells just like Nick Mancuso in Death Warrior. However, this movie makes Death Warrior look like a masterpiece. James Russo is barely in it, which was a disappointment.On the bright side, Crusher's involved.

Overall, this movie is beyond dumb. Its structure resembles a brainless video game, but with more grunting.

Comeuppance Review by: Ty

The Box (2003)

The Box (2003)-* * *

Directed by: Richard Pepin

Starring: James Russo, Theresa Russell, Brad Dourif, Steve Railsback, Jon Polito, and Michael Rooker





This is an excellent movie that takes chances. The whole cast is great, but the standout is James Russo as Frank. Russo never goes over the top. Frank just wants to live his life quietly. He is forced into violence. Theresa Russell, Michael Rooker, and Steve Railsback also put in very good performances. It is very unpredictable.

When Frank and Dora  (Russell) find a box full of money, other characters get involved including dirty cops.

Usually James Russo is in Z-grade junk like (Deep Core, The House Next Door, Sonic Impact) It is nice to see him in a good movie for once.

In the end: If you want to see a solid, tough crime drama, watch The Box.

Comeuppance review by: Ty

Paper Bullets (2000)

Paper Bullets (2000) -* * *

Directed By: Serge Rodnunsky

Starring: James Russo, Ernie Hudson, and Jeff Wincott









Paper Bullets is another action film by Serge Rodnunsky. He's definitely hit or miss. One of his other films, Jack Of Hearts, is terrible.


John Rourke (Russo) is A Cop On The Edge  who's son is kidnapped. Nothing stands is his way to find him, not his captain (Hudson), fellow cops (including Wincott), Nobody.

The action scenes are well-filmed and the actors do their best with the cliched roles they've been handed. Russo and Hudson are always entertaining.

If you're looking to fill a B-movie addiction, this is a good fix.

Comeuppance Review by: Ty

Voodoo Dawn (1998)

Voodoo Dawn (1998) -*1\2

AKA: Fait Accompli

Directed By: Andrezej Sekula

Starring: Michael Madsen, Rosanna Arquette, Balthazar Getty and James Russo








Voodoo Dawn is a not-too-thrilling thriller. Michael Madsen stars as Frank, who is let out of prison after a curse is set upon him. He wants to reclaim his status as a bar owner. But the voodoo curse won't let him... As you can see, the plot is minimal, and as the movie progresses, it gets even smaller.

Madsen and Arquette try, but can't get anything out of this except a paycheck. James Russo plays a washed up hick. If that is the character or him in real life, I couldn't tell. Madsen has been in better Direct-to-Video productions like Supreme Sanction (1999), or Executive Target (1997). Rosanna Arquette is one of the better Arquettes, but she needs to pick out better material. I like all the actors involved, But I wish they will put their efforts into something more worthwhile next time.

Also known as "Fait Accompli".


Comeuppance Review by: Ty