Trouble Man (1972)

Trouble Man (1972)-* * *1\2

Directed by: Ivan Dixon

Starring: Robert Hooks, Paul Winfield, Ralph Waite, William Smithers, Julius Marris, and James "Texas Blood" Brown













Mr. T (no, not that Mr.T - Robert Hooks, who predated the mohawked maniac by many years) is one cool cat. He’s got the flyest threads, the coolest car, the hottest women, and the most no-sweat attitude to life anyone has ever seen. But he doesn’t ever brag or show off, he keeps an understated cool at all times. It’s not entirely clear what Mr. T does exactly, but he’s licensed to carry a gun (and to kill, presumably) - but he notes he has licenses to do many other things as well. Being a jack of all trades, two men, Chalky Price (Winfield) and Pete Cockrell (Waite) hire Mr. T to protect them against the men that are invading their illegal, underground gambling circuit. When a murder occurs during one such gambling outing, both Police Chief Marx (Smithers) and crime honcho Big (Harris) want Mr. T’s head, though he’s innocent of the shooting. Things get a lot more complicated from there, but suffice to say, Mr. T never loses his cool. But will he get out alive?

In our estimation, Trouble Man is one of the best films from the Blaxploitation period of the 70’s. It’s a crying shame that it was never released on VHS in America, where it then could have really developed the standing it deserves. This lack of presence in video stores may help to understand why this title isn’t mentioned among the old stand-bys of the genre such as Shaft (1971) and Super Fly (1972). But it did develop a following over the years nonetheless, and Fox finally released a nice DVD in 2005. Director Ivan Dixon has an immense career in the entertainment industry, but only really dipped his toe into Blaxploitation waters, having directed both this and The Spook Who Sat By The Door (1973) the following year after Trouble Man. Having been 42 years old at the time of his helming of this movie, it’s reasonable to assume he wasn’t entirely sold on the notion of so-called “Blaxploitation”, and spent a large chunk of his career in TV, both in front of and behind the camera. But he and writer John D.F. Black imbue this film with a lot of sly cleverness and wit, rising it above many of its contemporaries - but like Mr. T himself, not in a loud or showy way.

Perhaps the most memorable aspect of the movie, to a large portion of people anyway, is the excellent Marvin Gaye soundtrack and title song. Many people knew Gaye’s music from the movie far more than they knew the movie itself, having been released contemporaneously with the film on Motown Records. The utter coolness of Mr. T, the impeccable writing and direction, and the Marvin Gaye music make an unbeatable combination. With Trouble Man, you can travel back to a time when every man wore a suit (with a wide tie), dudes hung out in pool halls, and if you wanted to contact someone, your only choice was rotary phone. All of this just adds, as if it were necessary, another fascinating layer to this movie.

Movies in general have only gotten worse, not better, since Trouble Man. Long live Mr. T.

Also check out a review by our buddy, The Unknown Movies!

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

Prayer Of The Rollerboys (1990)

Prayer Of The Rollerboys (1990)-* * *

Directed by: Rick King

Starring: Corey Haim, Patricia Arquette, Christopher Collett, Devin Clark, Mark Pellegrino, and Julius Harris












In the future, the economy has collapsed and so the natural consequence of financial meltdown is increased rollerblade usage. In a world of anarchy, violence, gangs, drugs, lawlessness and uncertainty, Griffin (Haim) just wants to ‘blade it up in peace with his younger brother Miltie (Clark) and his friend Speedbagger (Harris). Trouble comes a-callin’ when Griffin’s childhood friend Gary Lee (Collet) grows up to be the head of the Rollerboys, a gang of murderous, drug-dealing thugs who skate in unison all over L.A. The cops see this as their chance to finally bring down the gang, so they recruit Griffin to go undercover as a Rollerboy. But Miltie gets too close to the Rollerboy lifestyle, and Griffin gets skittish. Especially with new drug “Mist” destroying lives left and right. All this while Griffin is trying to forge some sort of relationship with the mysterious Casey (Arquette). Will this Prayer be his last?

Prayer of the Rollerboys ushered in the 90’s in a big way: video stores were still huge, rollerblades were the future of being radically awesome, and everywhere you looked, skaters and snowboarders alike were slamming their Mountain Dews. The first word uttered in this movie is “Whoa!” - that should tell you everything you need to know. So it was perfect for its time, but ultimately this movie, like compatriots Shredder Orpheus (1990), Roller Blade (1986), and Roller Blade Warriors (1989), can all stand side by side as shelf-filler at your local video store.

Corey Haim has awesome hair. But he also has plenty of charisma and screen presence. This movie would make a decent double feature with Gleaming the Cube (1989), especially considering Christian Slater would have been perfect for the role of Griffin, AKA “Griff”, “Griffy”, and “Ramrod”, other names by which Haim’s character is known in this movie. One of the main problems is that the Rollerboys just aren’t as intimidating as they should be. Their choreographed, simultaneous arm movements as they skate will remind you less of A Clockwork Orange (1971) and more of the sheer intimidation power of Brian Boitano. Plus, with names like “Gary Lee”, “Bango” and the truly fear-inducing “Bullwinkle”, they don’t inspire a lot of competence, much less the terror of a “para-military” and “international” criminal organization. And the idea of a sterilization drug has echoes of Challenge of the Tiger (1980), and, interestingly enough, the adult film Rollerbabies (1976) - which is itself a takeoff of the then-popular Rollerball (1975). But in the movie the Rollerboys produce their own comic book. So, there you go.

While the movie isn’t that bad for a non-Italian post-apocalyptic direct-to-video time/shelf-filler aimed at the teen market, it gets pretty repetitive after awhile. At about the 55 minute mark, the movie begins to spin its wheels, much like a rollerblade itself. But director Rick King followed this up with his next movie, Kickboxer 3 (1992), which is a huge improvement. That movie is more of an audience-pleaser and avoids some of the clunkier moments herein. Live and learn, that’s what we always say.  We wish the kid who played Miltie, Devin Clark, did more acting work. He was really good as Miltie and showed a lot of promise. What happened to him? Additional kudos go to the great Julius Harris as Speedbagger.

While it probably works best now as a nostalgia piece, Prayer of the Rollerboys, despite its flaws, might work for you if you’re in the right mood.

Also check out a review from our buddy, DTVC!

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty