Gangland (2001)

Gangland (2001)- * *

Directed by: Art Camacho

Starring:  Sasha Mitchell, Vincent Klyn, Tim Thomerson, Costas Mandylor, Sam Jones, Kathleen Kinmont, Kristanna Loken, Ice-T, and Coolio



"It's survival of the baddest."






Set in the far distant future of 2010, Gangland is the tale of a post-apocalyptic wasteland where a plague runs wild. Yes, another one. Evil bad guy Lucifer (Klyn) kidnaps scientist Dr. Adams (Thomerson) because he’s close to figuring out a cure for the plague and he wants it all to himself. Meanwhile, Derek (Mitchell), Jared (Mandylor), and Alexis (Kinmont) go on the run from all the rampaging post-apocalyptic punks (what is it about the future that always breeds so many punks?). 

While on the run, they take time out to engage in fight scenes with them occasionally. Will our three heroes survive long enough to be able to get the plague antidote from Lucifer - who has also bothered to make an unkillable, Frankenstein-like superbaddie to fend off his attackers? Find out today?

Gangland pretty much defines the term “low budget”. And yes, technically speaking, this movie is “bad”, but not for anyone with a sense of humor. Corral your buddies together, watch and enjoy. Presumably all the resources the filmmakers had went to the cast. You might think, if you just saw the cast list, you couldn’t go wrong, though Ice-T, Coolio, Kristanna Loken and Sam Jones simply make cameos. But our main heroes Mitchell, Mandylor and Kinmont kicking, punching and shooting goons might be enough, but your tolerance for stupidity, dumbness, idiocy, imbecility and ineptitude (truly, a movie like this does define the subtle differences in these words for you better than a dictionary ever could) has to be pretty high.

Fan-favorite Sasha Mitchell beats up more future-punks here in much the same way he did in Class of 1999 II: The Substitute (1994). Heck, it was only eleven years later in the worlds of that and Gangland. A plus goes to the fact that this is one of those “set in the future that is now the past” movies. We love those. We actively seek them out. 

Helping out Mitchell on his quest (before we move on, watch out for his scene in the jail. His performance is truly a powerhouse) is Costas Mandylor, who walks away from fire in slow motion, and Lamas Wife Kinmont who looks disturbingly like Chelsea Handler in this movie, but no others that we’ve seen her in. Vincent Klyn, Mario Van Obama himself, is especially Peebles-like (well, Peebles from Exterminator 2 (1984), complete with throne, sunglasses and army of goons).

We’ve learned that great hair and clothing still exist in the future, which is a relief. One of Lucifer’s Lieutenants wears a spaghetti-strap tanktop almost all the time, except when he puts a leather vest with gold rings stitched up the sides and the word “wiseguys” painted on the back of it, over said tanktop. 

Add to this mix the fact that it looks obviously shot on backlot-style sets (that you can visit anytime you want if you visit Universal Studios), and maybe a “fan-favorite death” or two, among all the absurd beat-em-up and shooting scenes, and you have...a movie.

Featuring two songs (the title song and “Freak”) by rapper C-Tab (Ice-T and Coolio must not have been available), Gangland is pretty lame by most standards, but provides humor value if you watch it with other people.

Comeuppance Review by: Ty and Brett

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

Death Before Dishonor (1987)

Death Before Dishonor (1987)- * * *

Directed by: Terry Leonard

Starring: Fred Dryer, Brian Keith, Sasha Mitchell, Joesph Gian, Paul Winfield, and Joanna Pacula












When Col. Halloran (Keith) assigns Gunnery Sgt. Burns (Dryer) and his young Marines - including Ramirez (Gian) and Ruggieri (Mitchell) - to the turbulent middle east country of Jemal, despite the willingness of the local military to use their help, at first they don’t get to do too much. This is thanks to the politically correct, out-of-touch views of Ambassador Virgil Morgan (Winfield), who doesn’t want to step on any toes. 

But Morgan, and the rest of the Americans, get a rude dose of reality in the form of a terrorist named Jihad (Tarkington) who is orchestrating acts of terror in the region. A photographer, Elli Baumann (Pacula) is documenting his rise to power. When he and his goons kidnap some of Burns’ men, including Halloran, Burns decides to take matters into his own hands and becomes a one-man army bent on revenge! Will he face death, dishonor, or NEITHER? Find out today!

Death Before Dishonor is a classic example of the Reagan-era patriotism film. It features good, noble Americans doing heroic deeds - and in this era of cynicism, irony and anti-Americanism, movies like this are not only highly refreshing, but also needed. It was just nice to see America portrayed as upstanding good guys for a change, something you rarely, if ever, see on TV these days.  Based on the subject matter, the movie is perhaps more relevant today than it was back when it was released. They should release Death Before Dishonor back into theaters! Now wouldn’t that be something?

The great Fred Dryer is always cool, whether he’s initiating his new Marines (which mainly involves a lot of beer-chugging and grunting), or chasing/shooting the baddies.  The movie is peppered with little standout moments, and it all plays out as if an episode of Hunter took place in Iraq or Afghanistan. It was nice to see Dryer act out his personal vendetta, with the full might of the 1980’s-era military. Of course, you know the main baddie is really bad when his name is Jihad. Kind of a dead giveaway that he might be a dangerous Arab terrorist. Of course, there is the prerequisite machine gun shooting, as well as the prerequisite torture, but Dryer gets off some great lines and is a leader you can believe in.

It was also cool to see a young Sasha Mitchell here in the ranks, before his Kickboxer 2 (1991) and Class of 1999 II (1994) (and of course Step by Step) fame. Joanna Pacula did the best she could in kind of an unnecessary role, and an off-camera Franco Columbu is credited as “body building coach”. Because you’re definitely going to need Columbu to work your quads so you can be in the proper shape to stop the terrorist bad guys. 

In all, “Death Before Dishonor” is sort of “What you see is what you get”. It’s a nice package of action where the good guys are good and the bad guys are bad. And in our uncertain, confusing times that we live in today, that’s a comfort. Recommended.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty 

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

Class Of 1999 2: The Substitute (1994)

Class Of 1999 2: The Substitute (1994)- * * *

Directed by: Spiro Razatos

Starring: Sasha Mitchell, Nick Cassavetes, Gregory West, and Caitlin Dulany










In the future of 1999, punks rule the hallways and classrooms of our nation’s schools. Sure, they may look like they’re between 35 and 40 years old, but they still enjoy spray-painting the walls and causing general mayhem. But not if John Bolen (Mitchell) has anything to say about it. Bolen is a stone-faced cybernetic organism that believes just about everything in the world “leads to anarchy”. So he stops problems at their source by violently killing anyone he believes to be a no-goodnik. 

When a young, pretty, and somewhat naive teacher, Jenna McKensie (Dulany) wants to testify in a trial because she witnessed a murder perpetrated by evil student in his mid 30’s Sanders (West), school authorities do nothing, local cops advise against it, and her boyfriend Emmett (Cassavetes) is relatively ineffectual. It’s a good thing John Bolen is here to bring corporal punishment back to the school system! For some unknown reason, Jenna actually takes a shine to the possibly misunderstood killer robot. But when Bolen flips out and can no longer “maintain order”, will he mistakenly turn on Jenna? Find out today!

Why a second sequel to Class of 1984 (1982) - let’s not forget about Class of 1999 (1990) - technically speaking, needed to exist, we don’t exactly know - but there’s plenty of fun to be had here. Because it was filmed in the 90’s, it not only has some VR (because in the future students will learn using those big, bulky masks), but the final third of the film actually is a Paintball Gone Wrong, or PGW, slog. But therein lies one of the problems with the movie. 

It moves along at a nice clip for a little over the first half, but then slows way down towards the end. It’s almost like a robot running out of fuel. It needed to have a giant lunch like John Bolen does in the movie. The movie is at its best when Bolen is going around killing punks, but can that sustain a whole 90 minute film?

Sasha Mitchell is great as Bolen. Imagine a robotic Keanu Reeves. Which shouldn’t be too tough. Mitchell as this Keanu-bot shines in his role, especially when he just stands there emotionlessly after walking away from an explosion. Most people would continue to walk. He just stands. That’s just how emotionless he is. 

He really meets his match against the punks (even in the end credits, they’re known as “punks”). They tend to wear jumpsuits, and have strange makeup and bizarre hair. Because it’s the future, you see. Sometimes they even wear their jumpsuit with a leather vest. Now that’s a fashion statement. 

But as we’ve seen before, Bolen has an all-black “revenge outfit” that he puts on when things get serious. Mitchell has some good lines and some very entertaining stone-faces that help the movie along. But once it gets to the PGW section, the movie as a whole seems to lose focus and go off the rails.

The whole venture is classic 90’s, from the VR to the PGW. This particular VHS seemed to be a video store mainstay back in the day. While some people may say this movie is nothing more than a “Substitute” for a better film, we say it brings back video store memories and isn’t bad. And any movie that takes place in the future which is now the past gets extra points in our book.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

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

Kickboxer 4: The Aggressor (1994)

Kickboxer 4: The Aggressor (1994)- * * *

Directed by: Albert Pyun

Starring: Sasha Mitchell, Thom Matthews, Kamel Krifa, and Michele Kransnoo












At the start of this installment of the Kickboxer franchise, we learn that the dastardly Tong Po (Krifa) has framed David Sloan (Mitchell) and sent him to prison for a crime he didn’t commit. As if that wasn’t enough, Po kidnapped Sloan’s wife. The DEA then approaches Sloan with an opportunity to get Tong Po: enter his underground Martial Arts tournament under an assumed name and take him down from the inside. Sloan agrees, mainly so he can find and rescue his wife.

 So he goes to Mexico where the tournament is being held, and he ends up meeting a spunky female fighter, Megan (Krasnoo), but also has to contend with Tong Po’s ruthless bodyguard, Bill (Matthews). Will Sloan finally defeat Tong Po and bring his wife to safety? Find out today!

Kickboxer 4 shows us a more serious, more adult David Sloan. Gone are the carefree chuckles and bright, multi-colored Zoobas. Now he wears toned-down plaid shirts and never cracks a smile. Albert Pyun, as he always does, creates a black hole of happiness where no fun can escape. But that being said, this is one of the strongest Pyun movies we’ve seen to date. It has a nice pace and maintains the viewers’ interest with a variety of different methods.

The movie opens with some clips from the previous three Kickboxer installments. There are even a few spoilers, so watch out. But now, Tong Po has gone through a hilariously absurd evolution: in the first movie he was simply a Thai kickboxer, but now he’s “the most powerful drug lord in Mexico”. 

How you make a job transition like that, we can’t figure out (nor do we want to). And let’s not forget that this movie came out in 1994, at the height of Mortal Kombat-mania. The tournament set up by Tong Po bears many similarities to the classic game, and in case any of these were lost on you, Po even says at one point, “finish him”. But perhaps the most stunning aspect to Tong Po’s reinvention is that he’s now...wait for it...a record producer! Imagine him in the control room with your band! We wish this angle was expounded upon more, and not just mentioned in a throwaway line.

As far as the DEA giving David Sloan a secret identity, the name they chose for him, “Jack Jones”, isn’t going to win them any prizes for originality. Unless they’re trying to confuse Tong Po, making him think the British pop singer from the 60’s is now a Punchfighter. 

Sloan spends a lot of the running time of the movie sneaking around the compound looking for his wife. He even dresses up as a ninja to do so. But if he really wanted to blend in, he’d wear a wildly-colored button-down shirt. Whoever chose the shirts for the goons in the movie is to be applauded. They’re one retina-singing eyesore after the next, and they look like if Jackson Pollock designed a line of Cosby sweaters. But Tong Po’s “shirt patrol” literally are one of the most colorful aspects of this movie. Like how tennis matches have ballboys, Po’s death fights have colorful blobs drag the beaten, bruised and dead bodies off the court.

Interestingly, one of the fighters has a Dacascos shirt, and he was to take up the mantle from Sasha Mitchell in the next and (to date) final installment, Kickboxer 5 (1995). Could that have been foreshadowing?  But as for the movie as a whole, clearly Pyun learned something about fighting movies after the horrendously awful Bloodmatch (1991). Sure, a lot of the fight scenes could have used some music, and Pyun does seem to have some sort of allegiance to Thom Matthews, but on the whole, Kickboxer 4 is a crowd-pleaser. Seemingly against all odds, Pyun pulled off a decent movie this time. We’ve got to give credit where credit is due.

So if you’re ready to see Cody, er...I mean David Sloan back in action one more time, you just might find that Kickboxer 4 is a pleasant surprise.


Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

Also check out write-ups from buddies, Ruthless Reviews, DTVC, Ninja Dixon, and The Video Vacuum!

Kickboxer 3: The Art Of War (1992)

Kickboxer 3: The Art Of War (1992)- * * *1\2

Directed by: Rick King

Starring: Sasha Mitchell, Dennis Chan, Ian Jacklin, Noah Verduzco, Alethea Miranda and Richard Comar












Ace kickboxer David Sloan (Mitchell) travels to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, along with his trainer/mentor Xian (Chan) for an exhibition bout. When destitute street scamp Marcos (Verduzco) tries to steal his camera, Sloan realizes Marcos and his sister Isabella (Miranda) have a hard life and need some guidance and understanding. So he takes a liking to the two urchins. 

Meanwhile, Sloan prepares to face off against an evil, ruthless kickboxer named Martine (Jacklin). His manager is Lane (Comar), a criminal who also has his hands in white slavery and prostitution. When Lane and his goons kidnap Isabella, it becomes personal for Sloan, and he, along with Xian and Marcos (“The gringo, the philosopher, and the boy”, as their “Machine Gun Joe” character notes) go on a revenge mission to save Isabella and get justice. Will they succeed?

We really enjoyed Kickboxer 3. It’s a lot more entertaining and fun than you might think. The whole concept of a guy, who, as far as we know, is just a simple kickboxer, going on a dangerous mission and shooting people to save a girl he really just met is just so great. More plots should be like this. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what it is, but something about Sasha Mitchell is also very appealing. He makes a good lead man. 

A total change of pace from Van Damme, Mitchell appears to be the ultimate California dude. A cross between Freddie Prinze Jr. and Keanu Reeves, when we first see him in the movie he’s wearing red overalls with no shirt. And his outfits just get better from there on in. Plus he has a winning chuckle that really brings you over to his side. And when Lane hatches his nefarious plan to “tire him out” before the big fight, his assistant says, “he’s like a machine!” - the fact that he’s an indefatigable warrior who is proficient in guns as well as fists, but that he also cares about children, makes you really root for him.

Mitchell has some amazing line readings as well...but his wardrobe is quite impressive: he has not just one, but two Benny The Jet shirts. Giving him a counterpart in the clothing department is his wise sensei Xian. Xian is always ready with a learned maxim, such as “clothes don’t make a woman beautiful...but it helps!” A movie highlight comes when, in their travels around Rio to get answers, they run into a gay Samba choreographer. For some unknown reason, this guy has goons! In the midst of some sort of Carnival rehearsals, he sics his goons on Sloan, Xian and Marcos! It’s nutty ideas like this that move Kickboxer 3 above its seemingly lowly status as a third entry in a series. But let’s also remember director Rick King’s previous movie before this was Prayer of The Rollerboys (1990). So, there you go.

But back to Sloan’s true nemesis, Martine, Ian Jacklin doesn’t say too many actual lines of dialogue (It‘s mainly just your classic yells of “RAAAAHHHH!!!), but he’s still sufficiently evil. He even taunts his opponents by spontaneously breaking into a dance of “The Running Man”. Weirdly, Ian Jacklin, here more than ever, resembles another Ian, Brown. Both the actor/fighter and the singer for The Stone Roses have a distinctly monkey-like face and could be brothers. No insult is intended, it’s simply a description. Ian Brown should have gone into acting instead of pursuing a solo career. Then a movie could be made where Keanu Reeves and Sasha Mitchell are brothers, and Ian Jacklin and Ian Brown are brothers. Sadly, it looks like we won’t see that imaginary film any time soon.

While there is a bit of filler during the “evil training” sequence, Kickboxer 3 provides solid entertainment and is pretty crowd-pleasing. Some of its more absurd moments and ideas help a lot, as does its winning cast, so we can certainly recommend it.

Comeuppance Review by: Ty and Brett

Also check out write-ups by our buddies, DTVC, The Action Elite, Ninja Dixon, The Video Vacuum, and Ruthless Reviews!

Kickboxer 2: The Road Back (1991)

Kickboxer 2: The Road Back (1991)- * *1\2

Directed by: Albert Pyun

Starring: Sasha Mitchell, Cary-Hiroyuki Takawa, Vince Murdocco, Michel Quissi, Dennis Chan, Heather McComb, Peter Boyle, Brian Austin Green, and Matthias Hues


***900th Review***


"Better than Kickboxer"-L.A. Times







David Sloan (Mitchell) runs a humble gym in L.A. where he teaches street kids the philosophies behind fighting. When hot shot fight promoter Maciah (Boyle) and his associate Sanga (Tagawa) offer to give Sloan some major fights and basically rocket him to fame, Sloan declines, because money and notoriety mean nothing to him, he has far too much integrity. 

Disappointed, they take on Sloan’s friend and fellow fighter Brian (Murdocco) as a client. Unfortunately, Brian must fight the evil Tong Po (Qissi) - the man that killed David’s brothers. So the fact that Kurt Sloane (Van Damme in the previous movie - who spells his name with an “E”, which is either an indication of Estevez-Sheen-style family dysfunction, or a simple oversight) is now dead and there’s a brother that was never previously mentioned, and it’s something us as viewers are supposed to simply ignore. 

Seeing as how Tong Po has some sort of strange, unexplained obsession with killing the entire Sloan (e) family, Xian (Chan) trains David, and then the climactic moment finally comes when this new Sloan brother takes on the vicious Po in the ring. What will happen?

While it’s a good thing that Sasha Mitchell took over from Van Damme - if the Kickboxer series was to continue without him, anyway - because Mitchell is likable and has good screen presence, the other side of the coin is that Albert Pyun directed Kickboxers 2 and 4. Pyun’s movies tend to have many scenes that drag, and this movie as a whole is too dark and logical. There are no wacky, bizarre edges. 

Thankfully, the non-Pyun-directed part 3 in the series was a much-needed shot in the arm and is a lot of fun. Sadly though, Pyun returned for part 4, as if to say “you kids were having too much fun in part 3”. Old Albert does have an over-reliance on slo-mo, but Pyun does include a montage with a great song, “A Man Alone” by Savoy Brown and a training sequence, separate and apart from each other. So it’s not a total loss.

Of course, none other than Peter Boyle himself is on board as Maciah, a man who wants to turn men beating each other into a worldwide commodity. In that way, this movie predates UFC. To see Boyle standing side by side with fan favorite Matthias Hues (inexplicably playing a guy named “Neil Vargas”) was a rare treat. Vargas’ brand of spandex-based fighting was certainly of its time, and perhaps an effective intimidation tactic. I know if I saw a long-haired musclebound brute with aqua tights on, I’d run the other way. But part of Xian’s training ritual for David Sloan is to have him wear a similarly-colored half-shirt while working out in the park, so maybe he’s fighting fire with fire. Or aqua with aqua.

Even before Sloan meets Xian, he seems to have a cultured philosophical mind, but Mitchell’s Keanu Reeves-like California Dude voice makes him seem like he’s going to end every thought-provoking maxim with “...Dude”. But Chan plays the Mr. Miyagi-like role endearingly enough, a mirror image of the suave but corrupt Sanga, played by regular face on the site, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa. So we’ve got Sasha Mitchell, Peter Boyle, Matthias Hues, Dennis Chan, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Vince Murdocco...what could be missing? Of course, Brian Austin Green! He plays a classic 90’s punk kid with a King Diamond shirt who, much like Thomas did to Jesus, doesn’t believe in the awesomeness of David Sloan. 

This must be what Megan Fox finds so endearing about him. Last but not least is Michel Qissi as the strange-faced Tong Po. Who now is just an out-and-out murderer who has the outward appearance of a kickboxer. He’s a serial killer who just uses kickboxing as his method of death. But as we’ll (briefly) hear about in part 4, he does become a record producer. So there’s that.

Kickboxer 2 is something of a mixed bag. The cast is good, but the Pyunniness is not. It’s a rocky way to start off the parade of sequels, but it’s not without some charm. It’s a mainstay in many used VHS sales, so if the price is cheap enough, it’s a viable addition to your collection.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

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

Kick Or Die (1987)

Kick Or Die (1987)- * *

AKA: No Hard Feelings

Directed by: Charles Norton

Starring: Kevin Bernhardt and Holaday Mason













From the vaults of AIP (Action International Pictures) comes a "Martial Arts" classic: "Kick Or Die"!




AIP is a company that produced a treasure trove of low budget direct-to-video films that specialized in action movies, as the company name implies. Being a low-budget production company, you would think they would have been familiar with their forebear American International Pictures, the original AIP. Why they used that name is a bit puzzling. Even though they made other types of genre movies, it was with action that they hit their stride. Although they ceased production in 1994, they left behind a legacy of VHS gems such as White Fury (1990), Alien Seed (1989), and Shredder Orpheus (1990) (Maybe they weren't all gems).




Kick Or Die is about a serial rapist who is terrorizing young co-eds at a small town college. The staff hires Don Potter (Bernhardt) to teach women self-defense. Obviously the college was aware of his status as the ultimate kickfighting machine. The ultimate shootfighting machine must have been taken. Bolo is a busy man.



While he's there Don encounters local bikers, who basically turn into punching bags for him. During one of his many brawls at a restaurant, he meets Eve Campo (Mason), and a relationship ensues. She wants to be a singer\dancer and there is an elongated dance sequence at a dance club. Don eventually confronts the rapist at his house and proceeds to punch him and not kick him, which was disappointing to say the least.

For a somewhat cool title, it does not live up to what it promises. There is surprisingly little kicking and virtually no dying. Kevin Bernhardt is no Sasha Mitchell in the action-actor department. He's not even Daniel Bernhardt. The world is too small for two DTV Bernhardts. Who should stay? Only you can decide.


The quality of this movie is typical AIP fare. If you have seen any AIP movies, you know what we're talking about. There is more kicking in the elongated dance sequence than in the whole movie. Maybe that is what the title refers to.

If you want to see a movie where a man kicks bikers off their motorcycles, this movie is for you. Puff Daddy clearly ripped off "Kick or Die" when he "thought" of "Vote Or Die". See the original tonight.



Comeuppance Review by: Ty & Brett