Honor (2006)

 Honor (2006)- * *

Directed by: David Worth

Starring: Roddy Piper, Russell Wong, Joanna Pacula, Jason Barry, Linda Park, 

LT Tyrell (Piper) is an L.A. cop and bar owner, and he and his wife Rose (Pacula) are thinking of packing it all up and retiring to Brazil. A guy named Ray (Wong) is the neighborhood baddie, who not only sends out his goons to get protection money from the local businesses, he also stages underground Punchfights. He also has a tragic history with Tyrell.

When the Tyrell's adopted son Gabriel (Barry) comes back from a Special Ops mission, he seems disturbed. The seemingly-ubiquitous Ray forces Gabriel to Punchfight for him, threatening that for every fighter Gabriel beats, that's one member of the Tyrell family he'll leave alone. Even Kate (Park), Tyrell's former partner, is powerless to stop all this feuding and brawling. Will it all be just a matter of HONOR?


Well, it's better than director David Worth's previous effort American Tigers (1996), but that's not saying much. Honor is humorless and dour; the problem with these latter-day Punchfighters is that by this point in time, viewers have seen this type of thing many, many times before. 

By the time the 2000's rolled around, makers of Punchfighters could not just retread the same old ground. They either had to bring something new to the table, or at least make it fun. Shootfighter (1993) had colorful characters that were clearly delineated, such as Boa and Mongoose. Fist Fighter (1989) had memorable characters such as Punchy. Warrior of Justice (1995) is just a spasm of pure insanity dreamt up by the fevered mind of Jorgo Ognenovski. Honor has none of these sorts of attributes. By 2006, what Honor was doing was pretty well-worn stuff.


Not that it's all bad, of course. Thankfully, the filmmakers had the good sense to make it 80 minutes. That was a blessing. Something like Honor should be 80 minutes. It's perfect for that sort of running time, and other makers of these sorts of things should "Honor" the viewers' time like this. So points go to them for that. Plus, it's always nice to see one of our heroes, Roddy Piper.


He gives one of his more serious dramatic performances that we've seen to date. The problem with the Tyrell character is that a nice guy like him isn't going to start busting heads right away. He has a long fuse, which means we have to wait quite a while until we see Roddy unleashed. 

Some people might not like that. However, viewers won't fail to miss the They Live graffiti on the wall, as it's shown twice, rather clearly. And Jason Barry as Gabriel was also rather brooding as the estranged son. Russell Wong stands out as the evil baddie that the audience can boo and hiss at.


The directorial career of David Worth is certainly a mixed bag. While we enjoyed Lady Dragon (1992) and Lady Dragon 2 (1993), and Chain of Command (1994), not to mention True Vengeance (1997), we have mixed feelings about Air Strike (2004). We weren't crazy about Soldier's Revenge (1986) and the aforementioned American Tigers is pretty awful. We've been on the record for years about how we think Kickboxer (1989) is overrated. Honor falls into the mid-range/end of the Worth spectrum. It's not entirely "Worth"-less but it definitely could have used some color or pizazz of some sort.

So, for the Piper factor and the reasonable running time, Honor may be 'worth' checking out for Punchfighting fans. But keep your expectations tamped.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

Immortal Combat (1994)

Immortal Combat (1994)- * * *

Directed by: Dan Neira

Starring: Roddy Piper, Sonny Chiba, Kim Morgan Greene, Tiny Lister, Meg Foster, and Deron McBee

John Keller (Piper) and his partner J.J. (Chiba) are cops. J.J. is also a ninja. Keller travels to the Caribbean island of Saint Marta and discovers that a company called HybriCo is manufacturing a race of super-warriors, presumably so they can be victorious in punchfighting matches around the globe. Quinn (Foster) is the lead baddie-ess who controls her nefarious employees, who look like off-duty Ghostbusters. HybriCo’s main success story is Muller (McBee, AKA fan favorite Malibu), an unkillable super-oaf who wears a sleeveless tuxedo shirt with a red bowtie and red matching cummerbund. While in Saint Marta, Keller makes friends with Yanagi (Lister), and develops a romantic interest with (yet another) journalist named Karen (Greene), but while initially J.J. stays home and trains, eventually he joins Keller on Saint Marta so they can put an end to all the madness...but will their combat be IMMORTAL? Find out today...

Immortal Combat is classic 90’s fun all the way. It kicks off with a bang-up opening sequence and pretty much maintains a peppy pace throughout, with plenty of action, fight scenes, and other shenanigans. The filmmakers were in tune with what fans want, which is a rarer phenomenon than you might think. While the movie overall is a winner, truth be told, it is overlong at 109 minutes. If they could have trimmed it down to 90 or less, we’d be talking about an all-time classic right now. As it stands, it’s still a winner - it’s what Overkill (1996) SHOULD have been. Just imagine a Raw Force (1982) for the 90’s - but with more shirtless men punching each other. 

Roddy, as usual, is engaging and charming in the lead role, and he brings energy to his fight scenes. Chiba brings an old-school badassery that’s a nice counterpoint to Roddy. Chiba’s English isn’t that great, which doesn’t really help when he’s getting emotional in the scenes with his pretty, white, blonde daughter (he’s explaining why he has one, which we wish they didn’t bother doing), but it doesn’t matter when he’s doling out ninja stars like playing cards. Besides, it gave off a Chinatown Connection (1990) vibe, which is never a bad thing. Plus, Roddy has found himself in a similar situation in Last To Surrender (1999).

It was nice to see Roddy teamed up with his old They Live (1988) pal Meg Foster, and she does indeed make the most of her role here. We also enjoyed seeing a happy, upbeat Tiny Lister, instead of the usual evil version. Why he plays an Asian (?) man named Yanagi remains to be discovered. Of course, the real star of the show (in all of our hearts) is Malibu, who, naturally as a course of being immortal, grunts a lot and makes strange noises. More than usual. His hair is especially Lorenzo Lamas-esque this time around. 

There’s punchfighting, slo-mo gun-shooting, a WYC (White Yelling Chief), and the whole concept of putting Roddy Piper in a situation with ninja action was inspired. Rounding out the 90’s cred, it even goes into a Surviving the Game/Most Dangerous Game situation at one point. We wish the Karen character wasn’t a cliched reporter role, and had more involvement in the butt-kickery, but hey, it goes with the territory.

Featuring plenty of songs by Liz Constantine, including “Resort To Kill” (also the alternate title of the film, which, presumably, was changed at the last minute to cleverly put a spin on SubZero, Johnny Cage, Sonya, Scorpion, Joe Lieberman, and the gang), and released by A-Pix entertainment on VHS, despite its length, Immortal Combat is a gem and well-worth seeking out. 

Comeuppance Review by: Ty and Brett

Also check out write-ups from our buddies, DTVC and 10k Bullets!

The Bad Pack (1997)

The Bad Pack (1997)- *1\2

Directed by: Brent Huff

Starring: Robert Davi, Ralf Moeller, Jeep Swenson, Brent Huff, Sven-Ole Thorsen, Roddy Piper, Larry B. Scott, Shawn Huff, Marshall R. Teague, and Vernon G. Wells










In the dusty border town of Los Robles, Texas, an evil white supremacist group led by Lamont Sperry (Teague) and his loyal henchman Sven (Ole-Thorsen) set up shop. I guess if you hate Mexican people, you go to the source, right? 

Well, two brothers decide the only way the destitute community can rid themselves of the baddies is by checking the ads in the back of Soldier of Fortune magazine, and hiring some mercenaries to kill them all. They take a train to L.A. and meet with a man named Biker (Wells), but he refuses their offer. Eventually they find the right man for the job: a one-man fighting force named McQue (Davi). What follows is classic “Assembling a Team” as McQue goes and finds people with special, individualized skills for the mission: Dash Simms (Piper) is the driver, Remi Sykes (Shawn Huff) is the sniper assassin, Kurt (Moeller) is the muscle, etc. This newly-christened (but never actually said out loud) BAD PACK is promised millions of dollars from the cache of the evildoers if they succeed...but will they?

The Bad Pack is a disappointment. With a galaxy of B-Movie stars on display and Brent Huff both in front of and behind the camera, you’d think it would be a no-brainer to make an awesome action classic. Not so much. But they did get the ‘no brain’ part right, as the movie is very, very dumb. It’s filled with stultifyingly stupid dialogue that drags down the whole project. Also, it needed more action. Saving all the action for the big climax is a no-no. Seeing as this is a supposed action movie, you should really have action DURING the movie. Doesn’t Brent Huff, of all people, know that?

There’s something sanitized about it - what little action scenes exist throughout the movie are quick and bloodless, and there’s minimal bad language and no nudity. It’s almost an action movie for the whole family. 

While it was great to see fan favorite Robert Davi in a lead role like this - especially when he’s foiling robbers at a diner with his canefighting skills or popping extended, unnecessary wheelies on his bright green motorbike, we wish the movie overall was of a better caliber and better suited to his skills. And because the whole outing is pure 90’s (of the pay-channel and back-shelf-of -the-video-store variety), there are not one but two scenes of Punchfighting: one with Battle Creek Brawl’s mega-meathead Jeep Swenson (R.I.P.) and Ralf Moeller, and another with Brent Huff and some other guy. Presumably these were the scenes meant to tide us over until the finale.

Marshall Teague, as the main baddie, looks a lot like George Lucas in this movie. And that’s in the scenes when he doesn’t look like Kenny Rogers. This really brought to the silver screen what George Lucas is probably like in real life. Yet another character we didn’t mention thus far, Jeremy Britt (Scott) plays a Black nerd (Blerd?) whose only function in The Bad Pack is that he owns a laptop. He claims to be the guy who “gets them the information”, as if the other members of the team don’t have access to the internet. But it was the golden age of Urkel, so, that decision makes sense.

But that leads us to two terms we coined - first is the Lone Tiger effect, when you think a movie is going to be good because of a stellar cast, but instead it’s a mess because there are TOO many characters and no one gets enough time in the sun. That’s The Bad Pack. 

Also it’s a Lacktion movie: a supposed action outing that lacks action. That’s The Bad Pack as well. Add to that some annoying characters and some light bathroom humor, and our good will is falling precipitously. And it’s all such a waste. The potential is CLEARLY there for a better movie, but it falls flat. Roddy Piper as a DRIVER who only marginally participates in the (of course) final warehouse fight? Are you kidding me? But on the bright side, Ralf Moeller stole his scenes and is quite good in it, as is Shawn Huff (that would be Mrs. Brent Huff).

Sadly, audiences who watch The Bad Pack are Huffing the fumes of the glory of the past work of the participants.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

Also check out a write-up from our buddy, DTVC! 

Jungleground (1995)

Jungleground (1995)- * *1\2

Directed by: Don Allan

Starring: Roddy Piper, Torri Higginson, JR Bourne, Jeff Wood, and Rogue Johnston









Lt. Jake Cornell (Roddy) is a Canadian cop who is somewhat on the edge, but he gets pushed to his limits when he must survive in a ruthless, lawless urban center of the Great White North called Jungleground. The gang that controls Jungleground are a bunch of Norse mythology-inspired baddies called the “Ragnarockers” or just “Rockers” for short. Members include Thor (Wood) and Loki (Johnston), but the leader is of course Odin (Bourne). When Odin kidnaps Jake’s girlfriend Sammy (Higginson of Airborne (1998) fame) - just as he was about to propose to her, no less - he proposes to Cornell that if he can survive the night in Jungleground, he will free Sammy. So Jake must use all his survival instincts to fight through a night fraught with all sorts of obstacles. Will he make it?

Jungleground, not to be confused with Thunderground (1989), is a decent Roddy outing. Some of the most entertaining aspects of the movie are just how 90’s it is, and just how Canadian it is. Sure, Roddy is charming as usual, but how can he compete with Boy Meets World-style hair, rollerblades and high-waisted jeans? Marry that to the Canadian DTV vibe we’ve all seen many times before, and you get the general sense about the proceedings. 

This was back in the day when all Roddy had to do was flash his million-dollar smile and wear a pre-Trenchcoat Mafia trenchcoat, and you had half the movie right there. One of the flaws of the movie is that Roddy didn’t get a cool intro to his character. You’re just kind of thrown in - there should have been an action scene or at least a scene where his Chief was screaming at him because of his rogue ways. But ultimately Roddy carries the movie, so it all smooths out later.

It has all the cliches we know and love, some of which include yelling while shooting a machine gun, and the prerequisite torture. There are plenty of chases, shootouts and blow-ups, not to mention Roddy executing some classic wrestling-style moves on the baddies, so all the right ingredients are there. 

But as is often the case, the movie starts to lose steam before the climax. More than likely that’s because this is a DTV version of The Ultimate Warrior (1975), The Warriors (1979), Escape From New York (1981), or any other movie where someone has to survive/escape through a treacherous urban environment. There’s not much more to the movie than that, but do we really need any more? But to the movie’s credit, characters do say the word “Jungleground” a lot...it’s not just a movie title, it’s the name of the place - and a way of life.

While Back In Action (1993) and Tough and Deadly (1995) remain our favorite Roddy’s that we’ve seen to date, Jungleground is not bad and is probably a one-time watch.

Comeuppance Review by: Ty and Brett 

Also check out a write-up from our buddy, DTVC

Terminal Rush (1996)

Terminal Rush (1996)- * *

Directed by: Damian Lee

Starring: Don "The Dragon" Wilson, Roddy Piper, Brian Warren, and Brett Halsey




 “It’s classic stupid if you ask me.” - Snookie








Jacob Harper (Don the Dragon) is a Deputy Sheriff in a small town near the Hoover Dam. As if having to fend off rednecks who harangue him because of his Indian (i.e. Native American) ancestry wasn’t enough, now a team of heavily-armed baddies has taken over the dam. They threaten to blow it up if they don’t get twenty-five million dollars in ransom. (They’re holding the dam hostage, so that makes sense, right? Eh, never mind...) 

Raising the stakes are the fact that Harper’s wife is pregnant and his beloved father, Nate (Halsey) is trapped in the dam. Harper’s going to have to use all his wits and Martial Arts skill (actually just a bunch of pew-pew gun-shooting, but more on that later) to save the dam and beat the bad guys. But has he met his match in Bartel (Piper)? The VHS box art would seem to indicate so. For Harper to complete the mission, will it be dam successful or dam impossible? And you thought we wouldn’t do a ‘dam’ pun in the first paragraph...

Terminal Rush is a scraggly straggler in the unending 90’s parade of “DieHardInA” movies. Ironically enough, the long list of such films is interminable indeed. And this ranks towards the end of the pack, if we may mix a metaphor. 

While the opening of the movie is highly ridiculous and funny, with government officials spitting out random nonsequiturs in between credit titles, while throughout the whole sequence, a big, framed, centered picture of Bill Clinton beams out at us, the audience. So far, so silly. 

But then it takes a turn for the mediocre, with tons of mindless shooting between no-one-knows-who, and instead of an abandoned warehouse, it’s the inner workings of the dam, which looks exactly the same. The whole look of the movie is drab and washed-out, in typical Damian Lee style. He’s not reppin’ Canada properly. And we’re not even Canadian. So why do we keep watching these things?

Because we think our cinematic heroes, Don The Dragon and Roddy Piper will save us. Granted, Roddy plays a rare baddie role here, but you get the point. In classic fashion, Don’s character, Harper, is ex-Special Ops, ex-Special Forces, and “if anyone can save us, he can”. 

But, as we alluded to earlier, he does more shooting than Martial Arts, which was a disappointment. His minority Indian status allows him to get away with moments like: after he beats up/kills a baddie, his one-liner is, and we quote, “That’s a dreamcatcher”. If you didn’t just groan, feel free to do so now. Viewer warning: it doesn’t get any better from here on out.

Yes, the movie is startlingly dumb, but it does have Roddy wearing bizarre eyeblack throughout the entire outing, which can be seen on the box cover. It truly is the original guyliner. Just why he wears it - and why he wears it for the entirety of the movie - is never explained, but our introduction to it is lifted from a gag from Airplane! (1980). Roddy can pull it off. The gag, not the eyeblack. 

Meanwhile, there’s a Black guy named Snookie (Warren). Truly he’s the original Snookie. The Jersey Shore cast members must be huge Terminal Rush fans. And what could be more apt than naming a little orange moppet after a strapping Black gentleman? Plus his voice sounds exactly like Samuel L. Jackson’s. If you ever wished Jackson appeared in Terminal Rush, just close your eyes during Snookie’s scenes. You’re not missing much anyway.

Sadly, a few silly beat-em-up scenes, an exploding helicopter, and Roddy Piper with a missile launcher can’t distract from the fact that the whole endeavor lacks interest or suspense. But it does have one of our favorite items, repeated footage. 

Apparently some goons walking down steps while shooting machine guns was deemed so amazing, we had to see it multiple times. Featuring the typical 90’s word Terminal in the title (see our Terminal Justice review for a more detailed analysis of this phenomenon), this Terminal Rush is a terminal bore.

Comeuppance Review by: Ty and Brett

Also check out write-ups from our buddies, DTVC and The Video Vacuum!

Tough and Deadly (1995)

Tough and Deadly (1995)-* * *1\2

Directed by: Steve Cohen

Starring: Roddy Piper, Billy Blanks, Richard Norton, Sal Landi, Phil Morris, James Karen, and Lisa Stahl












Elmo Freech (Piper) is a rough-and-tumble Private Investigator and ex-cop who does things his way. He ends up teaming up with a mysterious man who has lost his memory, John Portland (Blanks). But Portland appears to be a trained fighter, and together the two men - who certainly don’t always see eye to eye - get deeper and deeper into a conspiracy that goes all the way to the top. They’re going to have to work together and fight to get to the truth. Can they do it?

Tough and Deadly is classic 90’s fun at its best. One of its main strengths is its healthy dose of humor. So many movies out there, DTV actioners included, take themselves so seriously - finally, here’s a movie with the guts to not take itself so seriously, but also has some killer stunts and fights, which are taken seriously. So it strikes a near-perfect balance of tongue-in-cheek, well, cheekiness, with some nice bone-crunching action. It’s a surprisingly rare mix, so our hats go off to the filmmakers on this win.

The movie really gives you what you want: on top of the humor, the stunts, fights, etc., it has a very good pace and nice energy. You can actually SEE what’s going on. Nothing is shrouded in shadow. Considering there’s a barfight AND a poolhall fight, as well as a (completely inexplicable) training sequence followed by a montage, Tough and Deadly truly has it all. 

Let’s not forget the Billy Blanks and Richard Norton fight, which gets the movie off to an engaging beginning. There’s also the classic “I want to listen to country!” “I want to listen to rap!” CD player confrontation between Freech and Portland. Just the names of the characters are insane - Elmo Freech, Winston Briggers (Karen), Trekkler, and Freech’s assistant Maureen Peek (Stahl). Yet, the great Richard Norton plays...Agent Norton. Does he feel cheated that he didn’t get a wacky name? At least he’s on board. That’s all that counts. 

Naturally, it all ends in the time-honored abandoned warehouse. Also Elmo Freech has a poster in his house that simply says “Pasta Sauce”. For his interior decoration skills alone, you should see Tough and Deadly.

It’s easy to see why Piper and Blanks teamed up again after Back In Action (1993). Piper’s charm and Blanks’ woodenness make an excellent combination. It’s sad that they didn’t team up on any more movies after this. But at least we have two. While debate continues to rage as to who -  John Portland or Elmo Freech - is Tough and who is Deadly - there’s certainly no shortage of face-punching action in this prime example of what the 90’s Direct-To-Video era could do.

Comeuppance Review by: Ty and Brett

Also check out write-ups by our buddies, DTVC and Cool Awesome Movies!

Back In Action (1993)

Back In Action (1993)-* * *1\2

Directed by: Paul Ziller

Starring:  Roddy Piper, Billy Blanks, and Rob Stefaniuk

"One Cop. One Vigilante.

Alone They're Unstoppable. Together They're Invincible."










In 1958, Tony Curtis and Sidney Poitier starred in The Defiant Ones (later remade as Fled in 1996). A decade later, Peter Lawford and Sammy Davis Jr. starred in Salt and Pepper (1968), the title of which pretty well spells out its intentions - in our overly-PC society we won't be seeing anything like that anytime soon. Then we saw Robert Culp and Bill Cosby team up for Hickey & Boggs (1972). But then "Black and White Action" reached its highest pinnacle to date in 1993 with the titans Billy Blanks and Roddy Piper in...BACK IN ACTION!

Roddy Piper plays Frank Rossi, a cop on the edge on the mean streets of Toronto. He's trying to stop a crime syndicate run by the evil Kasajian (Nigel Bennett) and his ultra-sadistic henchman Charles "Chakka" Bender (Matt Birman). When the gang shoots Rossi's beloved partner Wallace (Barry Blake) during a graveyard shootout, and then Chakka savagely eviscerates Wallace in front of Rossi's eyes, Rossi vows revenge.

Meanwhile, ex-Special Forces soldier, and now cab driver Billy (Blanks, who must have a Tony Danza-like contract wherein he can only play characters named Billy) gets swept up in the mayhem when he attempts to protect his sister Tara (Kai Soremekun). Her boyfriend is in the Kasajian gang, and she witnessed plenty of murder, and now she's the gang's number one target.

It thus transpires that Rossi and Billy come together, initially with different goals, but now with the same one: eliminate the Kasajian gang. But will their incessant bickering do them in before the gang does?

Back in Action delivers the goods. There is plenty of action and they sure don't skimp on the violence. The young-looking Piper is extremely charming, and has genuinely great comic timing and charisma. and this is easily Blanks' best performance. His karate moves are done with aplomb (and with a lot of growling and grunting). The filmmakers give the viewers a lot of what they want here - a REALLY evil villain that will elicit boos and hisses, constant action and violence, and a bit of nice camaraderie between the lead dudes.

What's weird is that this is the first Blanks/Piper vehicle, yet it is called BACK in action. Shouldn't the follow-up, Tough and Deadly (1995) be called Back in Action? What are they back from exactly? Anyway...

Bizarre antics ensue when two men, who can only be described as "The Karatio Brothers" invade Blanks' apartment. They seem to be twins with beefy physiques who wear striped spandex and seem like a meathead version of Mario and Luigi. Luckily Billy fights them, gratuitously (?) in his underwear. Another great (?) Blanks moment is when he runs in slow motion while screaming and shooting two machine guns. Compare that to self-indulgent dreck like Ticker (2001) where Steven Seagal simply walks down a hall and does nothing action-related. The villain Kasajian in some sort of trance, chanting "smoke is death" over and over again. And watch out for "The Giant"...

Piper's contract must include a 15-minute fight scene, which occurs during the prerequisite bar brawl. He gets to employ some of his wrestling moves such as a sleeper hold and a choke slam. Roddy and Billy should have been the "Wesley and Woody" that swept Hollywood in the mid-90s. Alas, it was not to be. Can you imagine these two in Money Train (1995)?

For a fun, entertaining time, with a lot of high-quality technical elements like good camerawork, Back in Action is prime stuff.

Comeuppance Review by: Ty and Brett

Last to Surrender (1999)

Last to Surrender (1999)-* * *

Directed by: David Mitchell

Starring: Roddy Piper and Han Soo Ong













Nick Ford (Piper) is a tough cop on the beat and on the edge. While working the mean streets of Seattle's Chinatown, he fails in his attempt to capture super-evil crime boss Tiger (Andy Yim). Ford is then reluctantly partnered with by-the-book Chinese cop Wu Yin (Ong). In the their tenacious quest to find the deadly Tiger, they fly to Burma and find themselves deeper in the culture and the danger than ever before.

Will they survive their many mishaps to bring down Tiger? More importantly, will they survive EACH OTHER?!

Roddy Piper as Ford is the type of cop who has an attitude but gets results. Piper strongly resembles Motley Crue's Vince Neil in this film. A trend in the movie industry seems to be "Team up Roddy Piper with someone with a different race and see what happens." see: Back In Action (1993), Tough and Deadly (1995), and now Last To Surrender. Sure, he calls Wu "Chinese Takeout", but he charms the audience's pants off with his million dollar smile.

Han Soo Ong as Yin is the opposite of Ford. He is polite, has patience, and sees Ford as a hard-headed stupid Yankee. You like him and want Wu to get along with Ford. A big chunk of the movie is set in the Burmese jungle and Yin and Ford are forced to get along in order to survive.

Last to Surrender has some entertaining humor that makes the movie more palatable. Piper gets some great lines. Some of which include "I hate oil" and "I hate tacos". He also gives a passionate defense for hot dogs. And let's not forget his infamous $92.00 jacket. Once the "Original Odd Couple" get to Burma, they meet Bong-Bong, a comic relief character as indicated by his name.

There is an interesting correlation between 'Surrender and the David Heavener vehicle Massacre (1985). Both deal with an angry white cop in the midst of Seattle's Chinatown. It would make an thought-provoking double feature.

Even though Last To Surrender was released on the cusp of the new millennium, in its spirit it is truly an old-school actioner to keep an eye out for.


Comeuppance Review by Brett and  Ty

No Contest (1994)

 No Contest (1994) -* *

Directed By: Paul Lynch

Starring: Andrew "Dice" Clay, Shannon Tweed, Robert Davi and Roddy Piper






"A Roller Coaster Ride of Full Frontal, High-Octane Action!"






No Contest is a silly rip-off of Die Hard (1988).

Sharon Bell (Tweed) is hosting a beauty pageant when Oz (Clay) and his band of criminals take over the proceedings. Now it's up to Sharon to save the day!

This movie is worth-watching for the unintentional comedy. The climax is hilarious. Dice and Tweed battle it out on a rooftop using martial arts. The sight of Clay doing roundhouse kicks and other similar moves is very amusing. Tweed also can't do karate and there's always a long shot instead of a closeup.


The acting by all is horrible, but it's not a big deal because you can't take this seriously. Taking a cue from such luminaries as Charles Sheen, Deborah Gibson, Joseph Lawrence and Jonathan Bon Jovi, you will note on the DVD box, this film stars, of course, Andrew Clay. Who's that? Does removing the Dice make people who wouldn't normally watch this kind of material suddenly come around?

If you've been asking yourself "Can Andrew "Dice" Clay perform martial arts?" Rest assured: This is the movie you've been waiting for!

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