Felony (1995)

Felony (1995)- * * *

Directed by: David A. Prior

Starring: Lance Henriksen, Leo Rossi, Charles Napier, David Warner, Jeffrey Combs, Cory Everson, Ashley Laurence, and Joe Don Baker












When a “Cops”-like reality show films a drug bust, and said bust goes sideways, everyone in town wants the tape it was filmed on. The heinous massacre of twelve police officers caught on video was masterminded by arch-baddie Cooper (Warner), and the cameraman who barely made it out of there alive, a guy named Bill Knight (Combs) finds the next couple of days quite trying indeed. 

Everyone from Cooper’s right-hand man Taft (Henriksen) to the mysterious Donovan (Baker) wants a piece of Knight. Meanwhile, Detectives Duke (Napier) and Kincade (Rossi) are working the case and trying to get to the truth of this tangled web. But when Knight meets an attractive nurse named Laura (Laurence), things seem to be looking up for Mr. Knight...but in this complicated web of twists, turns, and constantly changing allegiances, who can really tell? And who is going to commit the ultimate FELONY?

David A. Prior, known to action fans all over as the AIP guy, here corrals an amazing B-movie cast for this non-AIP outing. It was 1995, video stores were booming, and with the right cast, they had a place for Felony on their shelves. With Jeffrey Combs as the main character, Ashley Laurence as the female lead and sidekick, and Lance Henriksen with an impressive array of multi-colored shirts, that was just the beginning. 

We get Joe Don Baker with a triumphant introduction to his character, with an alley rescue scene that is really a lot like the one in Ring of Steel (1994), also with Baker. Maybe rescuing people in alleys is his “thing”. And with his fringed jacket that he no doubt bought at the local buckskinnery, he gives Seagal a run for his money. Then there’s Napier playing a guy named Duke, as he would right around the same time on The Critic, and Leo Rossi doing his best southern accent. Add to that David Warner with a grenade launcher and a small role from Cory Everson, and you have a recipe that raises Felony above the average dreck.

Prior was surely going big-time with this one, indicated by not just the cast, and the fact that it was released by New Line, but also the level of stunt work, with PM-style car-flipping and blow-ups. Cooper even kills off a lot of cops just like baddies do in PM movies. And of course there is the standard pew-pew bullet shooting. He was aiming high, and it works for the most part. At least it’s better-acted than usual, thanks to the experienced cast of familiar names. 

It’s basically as dumb as an AIP movie (and we mean that in the best possible way, of course), with plot holes so big, Stephen Hawking has warned us all that they could potentially slow down the space-time continuum. But this time Mr. Prior has more resources at his disposal than usual. There are even some interesting contemporary references, like to the Tonya Harding-Nancy Kerrigan hoo-hah that everyone was talking about at the time. If only we could have heard David Warner utter the name “Gillooly”, Felony would have shot up a few points.

So go back to a time when strippers stripped to sleazy heavy metal (presumably this is the song “Dynamite” by a band called Psychic Underground listed in the end credits), and to a time when an array of B-movie stars such as this could assemble for a project like this.

Comeuppance Review by: Ty and Brett

Dead Man Walking (1988)

Dead Man Walking (1988)-* *

Directed by: Gregory Dark

Starring: Wings Hauser, Brion James, Pamela Ludwig, Sy Richardson, and Jeffrey Combs













In the far distant future of 1997, the world is a post-apocalyptic wasteland (yes, another one). Many survivors have a deadly plague and their quarantined area is known as “The Plague Zone”. When super-evil baddie Decker (James) and his minions, including Snake (Richardson) kidnap the daughter of a wealthy businessman, his chauffeur, Chaz (Combs) goes into the plague zone to try and rescue her. But he brings along a mercenary, Luger (Hauser) to help him. The devil-may-care Luger and the skittish, nerdy Chaz are the original odd couple - but will they use their combined mixture of brains and street-smarts to outwit the baddies, rescue the girl and defeat Decker once and for all?

Anyone who reads this site regularly knows we try to always find movies that are set in “the future” but are now the past. Dead Man Walking certainly qualifies, but sadly this movie is nothing more than a programmer, a Sunday-afternoon time-waster that adds nothing new to the already-tired “Post-Apocalyptic” movie so prevalent in the 80’s. We all know the Italians mastered the genre; it was fairly presumptuous for Gregory Dark to assume he could outdo them. This is a director known for his porn movies, “erotic thrillers”, music videos and wrestling stuff. And Street Asylum (1990). It seems his heart was not in this project. There is only so much actors can do with mediocre material, and talented men like James, Wings, Richardson and Combs are fighting an uphill battle here.

Mix Neon City (1991), Maniac Warriors (1988), and Omega Cop (1990) with the news reports inspired by Robocop (1987) and the “wacky”, “futuristic” set design in the vein of Shredder Orpheus (1990) (especially prevalent in the “Cafe Death” scene) and that should give you some idea of where we are here. Brion James stands out as an especially psychopathic bad guy, whose “evil clown” appearance makes him even scarier. Wings has shorter hair than usual, and plays a game we can only describe as “Chainsaw Chicken” while listening to jazz music. Apparently this is what goes on in the future. But the closest companion of all to this movie might be Nightmare at Noon (1988), which also featured Wings and Brion James, and it shares other similarities as well. But Nightmare at Noon is better.

Sadly, Dead Man Walking seems like it’s missing something. It’s hard to say what it is, perhaps some kind of verve or energy. As stated earlier, it’s an overdone idea, and something would be necessary to make it stand out from the pack. The real problem is that there’s not nearly enough action. This can barely qualify as an action movie. As it stands, this movie is okay, standard fare, but you’d think the cast would elevate the dull material and unfortunately that does not happen.

Clearly Tim Robbins is either a thief or just ignorant as evidenced by his 1995 movie of the same name. Perhaps the only good that the 1988 Dead Man Walking has done in the world is confuse video store patrons looking for the Susan Sarandon vehicle, only to accidentally rent this one instead. We’d love to see the look on their faces.

Also check out a review by Wings Superfan, DTVC! 

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

Cyclone (1987)

Cyclone (1987)-* * *

Directed by: Fred Olen Ray

Starring: Heather Thomas, Jeffery Combs, Ashley Ferrare, Troy Donahue, Dar Robinson, Michael Reagan, Huntz Hall, Tim Conway Jr, and Martin Landau












Cyclone is the tale of a radically awesome motorcycle and the people that want to get their hands on its secret energy source. Jeffrey Combs plays Rick Davenport, a nerdy, scientific type who has developed the multi-million dollar “Cyclone”, and even its helmet, which shoots lasers. For some reason, this dork’s girlfriend is Heather Thomas, who’s the hottest thing on two legs. When evildoers kill Rick (not a spoiler because it happens so early on in the film), it’s up to Teri Marshall (Thomas) - presumably no relation to Joe “Samurai” Marshall of Samurai Cop (1989) infamy - to protect the “clean energy” source. Everyone wants this thing, and there’s a conspiracy that goes all the way to the top - the big boss causing all the conflict is one Bosarian (Landau), the man sending out all the goons. Will Teri ride off into the sunset on the Cyclone?

Director Fred Olen Ray assembled a major cast for this one - besides the aforementioned Thomas, Combs and Landau, we also have Martine Beswicke as a police chief, Troy Donahue as Rick’s old contact, and they even dug up the legendary Huntz Hall, whose extensive career goes back to the thirties. Tim Conway, Jr. and Michael Reagan are teamed up as two of the dumbest cops in movie history. I wonder what their fathers would have thought. Bruce Fairbairn is on hand as Lt. Cutter, while Dawn Wildsmith plays one of the female baddies.

A standout scene occurs when Rick and Teri pay a visit to the Lava Club to see a band called Haunted Garage. A lot of funny dancing is seen, as well as Teri’s memorable outfit. The band doesn’t seem that talented musically, but they are able to crank out their signature tune, “Devil Metal” with aplomb and it will be stuck in your head for days. Speaking of the music, Joe Pizzolo provides the moody anthem “Are You Too Tough” as well as the memorable “Riding on the Edge of Night”, which provides the soundtrack for Teri riding the Cyclone down the streets of L.A. This guy could easily be the next Robert Tepper.

Because some of the themes in the movie revolve around clean energy and leaked information, Cyclone seems pretty ahead of its time. But really, it’s just comic-booky good fun and not meant to be taken all that seriously. It appears fairly tongue-in-cheek in the classic Fred Olen Ray way.  Thomas carries the movie on her looks alone, but she is amply supported by an army of B-movie names in this somewhat fluffy outing.

It ends with some impressive stunts and explosions, after the prerequisite chase scenes. I think there’s even a “NOoooooo!” somewhere in the mix, but the beeps and lasers coming from the soundtrack/Cyclone are pretty distracting.

Lastly, the film is dedicated to Dar Robinson, the legendary stuntman and actor. His final acting role was as Rolf in this film.

For the cast and to see Heather Thomas, Cyclone is worth it. Also helmet lasers.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty