Raw Courage (1984)

 

Raw Courage (1984)- * *

Directed by: Robert L. Rosen

Starring: Ronny Cox. Art Hindle, Tim Maier, and M. Emmet Walsh

Man, Pete Canfield (Cox) really likes to run. Running being the driving force in his life, he and his buddy Roger Bower (Hindle), and a young runner-in-training (i.e. a RIT), Craig Jensen (Maier), decide to do what any normal trio of dudes with a lot of time on their hands would do: go on a 72-mile whisk through the New Mexico desert. Armed with only their fanny packs and their disturbingly short shorts, the men start their traipse promisingly enough. But there's something lurking in the scrub brush that's really gonna slow down their time: a militia group called the Citizen's Brigade has flown in from Colorado for some reason and really doesn't take much of a shine to our running-obsessed pals. Led by the sinister Col. Crouse (Walsh), the situation quickly devolves into the runners versus the gunners as the battle ensues. Will Canfield, Bower, and Jensen dig deep to find their RAW COURAGE?




Written by Ronny Cox and his then-wife Mary, seemingly their intention with Raw Courage was to combine the "Friends have to combat a threat in a rural environment" film like Deliverance (1972), Rituals (1977), or Southern Comfort (1981) with the "Nerd finds his strength to fight" film best exemplified by Straw Dogs (1971), with the "running" film such as On the Edge (1985) or Personal Best (1982). Fitness trends, including running, were on the upswing in the 80's. Apparently the Cox family felt now was the time to put all this stuff in a blender and serve it up to the viewing public.

Or, to put it another way, the Coxes could have just exclaimed, "Hope ya like RUNNING!" because boy do you get a lot of it in this film. So-called "Weekend Warriors", or war games, were also something that was a bit more relevant and on people's minds back in '84. Soldier of Fortune magazine was a hot seller on newsstands, so, as other films have used as well, these groups made a quick-and dirty baddie troupe that filmmakers evidently felt didn't require much character development. They're just bad, that's all. They note that they're preparing for "The Crunch", which is not explored but it's hinted at that it's a cashless society/New World Order future. So maybe the Citizen's Brigade are just ahead of their time, who knows?




Raw Courage does boast some impressive and novel cinematography by Frank P. Flynn, who especially excels with hand-held work. There's a nicely synthy score by Johnny Harris and some standout editing by Steve Polivka. But here's the problem: once the main conflict is established between the runners and the militia, the film doesn't change, grow, or arc. It hits that wall, and then it's just "run, chase, run, chase, a militia guy dies, run, chase..." and so forth. There's no development beyond that, or surprises, or twists - and that's the vast majority of the film. It's more or less an 82-minute chase scene.




Your tolerance for that may vary. Further upsides include the heroes using their running skills to defeat the baddies, and the runners facing real-life running hazards such as dehydration and cramps. Presumably this is the favorite film of the staff of Runner's World magazine. The big party planned for when the runners eventually were to cross the finish line was sponsored by Capri-Sun and features a Capri-Sun blimp. We could have used more of that blimp. We really could have.




Raw Courage, AKA simply Courage, is the only directorial effort for Robert L. Rosen to date, although he has done other jobs in the film industry for a long time now. The New World VHS could be found in many video stores, and the tagline "Find It Or Die" (referring to your raw courage, presumably) is a memorable one. That's really the point in the end: Raw Courage is a tape that you'd see in your local video store. Maybe you'd rent it, maybe you wouldn't - they sure did their best to make runners running away while on the run an appealing prospect, assuming the film doesn't give you motion sickness - but it was THERE. It was almost a comforting part of our video store landscape. So, almost beyond the qualities and merits of the film itself, it was part of that beloved video store world. Is that enough? Probably for a one-time watch it is.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

Missing in Action (1984)

Missing in Action (1984)- * * *1\2

Directed by: Joseph Zito

Starring: Chuck Norris, M. Emmett Walsh, Willie Williams,  and James Hong













Col. James Braddock (Chuck) spent several years in a North Vietnamese POW camp. After escaping, he’s now home, but he’s a troubled man. He’s invited by the American government to go back to Vietnam to investigate/talk about the phenomenon of soldiers still Missing In Action. Tensions flare, thanks to the evil General Trau (Hong). Braddock, being the badass that he is, decides to go off on his own into the jungle (actually with Tuck (Walsh), an old army buddy), and rescue any remaining POW’s himself. While in the midst of their mission, they face an endless stream of baddies trying to stop them. It’ll take all the firepower and skill Braddock has to defeat the enemy and save the missing men. Can he do it?

This is classic Cannon all the way, and they really hit paydirt with this one. Thanks to the high-quality cinematography, the rousing, triumphant score, and the longer running time, Missing In Action has that big-screen feel. While the pace, at least for the first half of the movie, may seem a bit on the slow side to modern viewers, that’s just the way things worked back then. It’s a pre-ADD generation action movie. And we’re all the better for it. It’s ultimately a rewarding experience, and Cannon (as well as moviegoers) obviously thought so too, as this spawned two sequels to date (maybe we haven’t seen the last of Braddock...?). 

Surely this film was at the forefront of the exploding hut/guy falling out of a guard tower/mindless shooting jungle movie back in the golden age of the 80’s. Along with the Rambo series, not to mention countless Direct-To-Video items, these movies capitalized on the craze for patriotic movies with plenty of violence that were so in vogue in the Reagan 80’s. To hammer the point home even more, stock footage of Reagan is actually IN Missing In Action 2. If you even THINK about communism, Braddock, Rambo, or any number of other heroes will mow you down with a machine gun that’s taller than they are. So there. Take that you stupid commies.

As for the cast and crew, Chuck Norris here started to take tentative steps toward his Texas-based clothing style that would manifest itself most fully during the Walker: Texas Ranger years. His hair and beard are at their reddest and most impressive here, and when he wears his sunglasses, you really can’t even see his face. M. Emmet Walsh is always a welcome sight to see, and he plays a similar character in Red Scorpion (1988), which was also directed by Joseph Zito. As good as Walsh is, we also felt the role could have been played by Nick Nolte. 

Lenore Kasdorf of L.A. Bounty (1989) fame is onboard, as well as James Hong, who’s been in pretty much everything. For our purposes here, he was in the same year’s Cannon vehicle, the great Ninja III (1984), and much later was in Talons Of the Eagle (1992). Willie Williams, whose entire movie career seems to have been in Vietnam (or Nam-like) Jungle movies such as Final Mission (1984), Savage Justice (1988), Saigon Commandos (1988) and, not coincidentally,  P.O.W. The Escape (1986), continues his tradition with the movie at hand today.

Also it has been said that none other than Van Damme appears in an uncredited role as “Car Driver”, but we didn’t see him, so we can’t necessarily confirm that that’s actually true. But he’s also credited with stunts, along with Aaron Norris, who would go on to direct the second sequel, Braddock, as well as Dean Ferrandini, who would go on to direct Overkill (1996). The next year after this, Zito would direct the ultimate Chuck movie, Invasion U.S.A. (1985) This is a nice trial run for that masterpiece.

If there was going to be a movie version of the 80’s Nintendo game Jackal, this could be it. It’s a shoot-em-up where the hero must save the hostages. But here the hero is outspoken on the M.I.A. issue and is Chuck Norris. I guess those are the only two differences.

Missing In Action is undoubtedly a classic and is completely worth seeing. In our eyes, however, the series would improve even more in the subsequent two outings, so watch out for those as well.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

Also check out write-ups by our buddies, DTVC and Ruthless Reviews!

Red Scorpion (1988)

Red Scorpion (1988)-* * *

Directed by: Joseph Zito

Starring: Dolph Lundgren, M. Emmett Walsh, Al White,  and Brion James












Lt. Nikolai Rachenko is a Russian Special Forces soldier assigned to go undercover in Africa to root out an anti-communist leader, Kallunda (White) - don’t forget, Rachenko’s superiors are all commies. While in the midst of this deep cover, Rachenko becomes sympathetic to the anti-communist cause and realizes he has been manipulated by the higher-ups. So he goes on an explosion-packed killing spree, shooting and, when need be, dismembering his enemies (hey, it was an emergency). Rachenko may seem like a man of stone, but it’s clear he yearns to be free. Along the way he meets an obnoxious American journalist, Dewey Ferguson (Walsh) and an elderly African tribesman shows Rachenko his human side.

With a movie starring Dolph Lundgren, directed by Joseph Zito (forever in the hall of fame for Invasion USA, 1985 alone), and produced by Jack Abramoff (rumor has it his “evil hat” was an uncredited co-producer), you’d think the results would be just a bit more impressive. Not that Red Scorpion is bad at all - but it’s too long and the middle section drags. Perhaps that’s just to lull us before the big final battle, but it’s quite a lull. There’s no reason for this film to be 100 minutes. With the pedigree involved in the movie’s production, it’s not unreasonable to expect more.

The film has some really high-quality, impressive explosions. The team that worked on the pyrotechnics should be applauded. And of course, the hero gets tortured (there are some really impressive effects there too), but there are some nice underlying plot ideas in addition to the many “blow-ups”:  1. Think for yourself, 2. Communism sucks, 3. A friendship can exist between a geriatric African bushman and a blonde, Swedish hulk even if they don’t speak the same language 4. The intrigue of “who are the real enemies?”, and of course, playing the same, repetitive Little Richard songs over and over again will remind everyone of America’s greatness and freedom.

Interestingly enough, the one American character, Dewey, is obnoxious and unlikable throughout most of the film. If this movie is just a propaganda piece for the U.S., they aren’t helping their case by portraying Americans that way. But we do learn the secret of the “Red Scorpion” tattoo - later seen as the only, tenuous (at best) link between this film and its sequel. But there are actual scorpions in the movie that crawl on Dolph’s body. Whether they are “Red”, i.e., commies sent by his superiors, remains unknown.

There were a lot of anti-communist 80’s action movies, but this one has Dolph Lundgren, and apparently the filmmakers were so impressed with their explosions, rightfully I might add, that during the end credits, there are continuous explosion sounds. You don’t see them, you just hear them. While you may know what to expect with Red Scorpion, its messages help it stand out.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

Thunderground (1989)

Thunderground (1989)-* * *

AKA: Boxcar Blues

Directed by: David Mitchell

Starring: Jesse Ventura, M. Emmet Walsh, Paul Coufos and Michael Ironside




"It's not the underground...it's the THUNDERground!"





Thunderground is a very silly film. It's about a would-be boxer, Bird (Coufos) and a kid who want to fight the ultimate bad guy: "The Man" played by Jesse Ventura. The acting is pretty bad except Ventura who knows he's in a goofy film, and he overacts with glee.

I'm happy when movies like this see the light of day and not disappear off the face of the earth.

Thunderground is a mixture - a ridiculous mixture - of Rocky (1976), Over The Top (1987), and Bloodsport (1988). If you want to see hobos beat each other up and Jesse Ventura fighting in a remote forest, this is the movie for you. Also check out the semi-sequel to this movie Busted Up (1986) with Paul Coufos. He reprises his role as Bird.

Comeuppance review by: Ty

No Man's Land (1987)

No Man's Land (1987)-* * *

Directed by: Peter Werner

Starring: Charlie Sheen, D.B. Sweeney, Randy Quaid, Bill Duke, M. Emmet Walsh








Being A Charlie Sheen as well as a "Charles" Sheen (1997- to early 1999) fan, I was impressed by his performance here. I like his usual one-note roles. He puts a lot of energy into them. His character just wants to drive cars and avoid "The Man". D.B. Sweeney co-stars plays a man who idolizes Sheen. Randy Quaid co-stars as a cop who wants to bring Sheen down.


It is 80's excess at its best\worst depending how you look at it. For example, some of the themes included in the movie are: fast cars, wall street, over-privileged kids. Bad Influence (1990) has a similar plot, utilizing an actor (in that case Rob Lowe)who normally plays the nice guy, but wants to change his image and be bad.

Note: The script was written by Dick Wolf of "Law & Order" fame.

Comeuppance review by: Ty

Jack Of Hearts (2000)

Jack Of Hearts (2000) -*

Directed By: Serge Rodnunsky

Starring: Louis Mandylor, Nick Mancuso, Joe Penny, Roddy Piper, Ben Gazzara, and M. Emmet Walsh






This movie is pretty bad.

The plot: Some guy has a casino and gold is involved or something...I don't know, the editing and pacing are abysmal.

One the director's last movies, Paper Bullets (2000) was a masterpiece compared to this trash. M. Emmet Walsh and Ben Gazzara (They should know better) put in "paycheck" performances at most. The direction, writing, mostly everything about this movie is amateurish.

Don't be fooled by the cool looking cover or goofy tagline:

"Shoot from the hip or don't shoot at all"... It's barely an action movie.

Comeuppance review by: Ty