Extreme Force (2001)

 

Extreme Force (2001)- * * *

Directed by: Michel Qissi

Starring: Hector Echavaria, Michel Quissi, Youssef Qissi, and Nikki Lemke

Marcos DeSantos (Echevarria), Cole (Youssef Qissi) and Bianca (Lemke) are a trio of thieves. But they're not your garden variety smash-and-grab types. They use slick and intelligent methods against high-class targets. After their latest score, Marcos wants out. He's not such a bad guy after all and he decides he's had enough. This doesn't sit well with the malevolent Cole, who is always on to a new score. Cole, being the baddie and all, shoots Marcos. This isn't a spoiler. It's just the beginning.



For some reason, some of the political higher-ups of Mongolia are visiting Orlando, Florida, where our trio of thieves are based. After Marcos gets shot, he is spirited away to the secret beachside base of said Mongolians. Part of his recuperation involves re-training everything he knows with the taciturn Martial Arts master Kong Li (Michel Qissi). He has to convalesce in much the same way Radical Jack once did. R-Jack didn't have Kong Li, but you get the idea. Once at odds, now partners, even Kong Li has to succumb to Marcos's winning charm.



What follows is a sort of Original Odd Couple revenge mission as Kong and Marcos try to find Cole to get justice (but not Cole Justice). Will our two heroes employ some classic EXTREME FORCE against the baddies?



It's called EXTREME FORCE. Of COURSE we're going to watch and review it! The only question is why it took so long to get here. Well, good things take time. Yes, the budget is quite low and the cinematography isn't exactly Kubrick-level. Just about everyone in the cast sounds post-dubbed, which gives an otherworldly feel to the proceedings. Especially with all the accents. But you're not watching Extreme Force for the technical whys and wherefores. If you're going to nitpick that sort of stuff, best avoid it altogether. But if you want to have some fun as Hector Echevarria and Tong Po...sorry, Kong Li, get involved in one silly beat-em-up fight after another, you may have a winner on your hands here.



There are not one, but two barfights. Clearly, with Qissi as director and co-writer, not to mention a plot that isn't the most intricate on God's green earth, special time and attention is paid to the fight scenes, which paid off. They're very fun to watch. A special highlight comes when Marcos and Kong are riding horseback in the countryside and they come across some bumpkins who want to steal their pants. That's right, I said pants thieves. You gotta watch out for 'em. Marcos, Cole and Bianca want diamonds and jewels, these dudes want pants. Circle of life. Hakuna Matata. Anyway, it doesn't go well for the bumpkins.


There are some pacing issues: after a fast-paced and fairly intricate fight scene, it takes seemingly double that amount of time just for Marcos to leave the building. There are other examples, but no matter. Hector Echevarria seems like his usual happy self throughout - he was in Los Bravos the same year; no wonder he was so happy. At one point he gets in the back of a limo and the driver is blasting this Latin music and he does a sort of sitting-down Merengue. You can't help but love it.


Then Marcos/Hector is in an elevator with two elderly women. The elevator stops and he gets out and walks away. The two oldsters then mention how he should be in Chippendales and say, "Look at THAT!", like Hector is the biggest hunk on earth. It's scenes like the above-mentioned that make Extreme Force Extreme Force. Even the end credits are Extreme - they blast in and out in a way that we've never seen before, but seems entirely appropriate to what we just watched.

If you liked Los Bravos, you should definitely check out Extreme Force. If you haven't seen that, and have no idea what we're talking about, see both anyway. Ignore the typical low-budget pitfalls and just have some fun.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

Ex-Cop (1993)

 

Ex-Cop (1993)- * * *

Directed by: Pat Kerby

Starring: Rick Savage, Sandy Hackett, Douglas Terry, Susan Paris, Joan Chamberlain, Angi Davidson, Gabriela Macs, and Richard Cornell

"You suck, news lady!" - Ronny Witherspoon

Pete Danburg (Savage) is a cop. He's not yet an EX-COP, we'll get to that a bit later. Danburg is described as "The Best" vice cop in the history of the Las Vegas Police Department. He's turned down offers to go to other departments because the vice squad is all he knows, according to him. He has a loyal friend and partner, Willy Latham (Terry), and they're after a razor-slasher named Ronny Witherspoon (Hackett) who is terrorizing the area. They eventually catch up with Witherspoon at the Lake Mead marina and shoot him, saving the life of Chance Tatum (Chamberlain), a news reporter undercover as a prostitute. However, in the course of this encounter, Witherspoon's straight razor, an integral piece of evidence, goes into the water.


Four years later, Danburg is now in his dream position - an EX-COP. Due to lack of evidence (apparently his whole case dependend on that darn razor), Witherspoon is paroled. He did not die in the shootout, he only has a limp - and a burning desire to get revenge on Danburg, Latham, and Danburg's daughter Tess (Davidson), a gymnast. Now that the evil slasher is back out on the loose, Pete Danburg sends Tess out to live on the ranch of his brother Stony (Cornell). This plan doesn't exactly work and Witherspoon kidnaps Tess. Now the stage is set for the ultimate showdown. The EX-COP vs. the baddie Witherspoon. What the heck is going to happen now?


Ex-Cop is a ton of AIP fun and is well worth seeking out. It has a rough-hewn charm that is all but absent from movies made these days. We applaud director Kerby and his filmmaking cohorts, who had the drive, wherewithal and guts to try to make a Dirty Harry/Charles Bronson film with essentially zero budget. In 1993. Thankfully, they went ahead and did it and it's a huge success.


A lot of this has to do with Rick Savage as Danburg. Everything he says is pure gold. He indeed could have been one of the "elder statesmen" of action. However, just to be clear, this is not the same man that did adult films, nor is it the bass player for Def Leppard. This Rick Savage is his own man. A REAL man. An elderly man. While it's never really explained why a man of his advanced age is still on the force, even before he becomes the inexplicably vaunted ideal of the Ex-Cop, this (and of course the romance he finds time for with Chamberlain) all predates the age confusion found in Righteous Kill (2008) many years later.


Naturally, the high brass of the LVPD want Danburg out because they claim he's a "Cowboy". There's a WYC that tells him this and they want him to turn in his badge and gun. Danburg also has a drinking problem and is disgruntled. Every other "Cop" cliche you could possibly imagine is here as well. Thank goodness. You have to get into the spirit when you watch Ex-Cop. Once you're in that spirit, wondrous things await you.


About an hour into the film, we get a Pete Danburg break, where he's not really around. This is the only real flaw here. The movie suffers when Rick Savage is not on screen. Also, Danburg's wife Cat (Macs) has a thick accent, presumably of some European origin, and it's hard enough to understand what some of the actors were saying, so this didn't help much and was never explained (not that Danburg's actions need explanation. He marries thickly-accented foreigners and asks questions later). Then the slasher menaces a prostitute named Lacie (Paris) for a while. Then Willy spends some time with his son, an infant named Willy Jr. Where's Danburg during all this? That's what the audience needs to know. That's certainly what we were asking.


Ex-Cop is very much in the same vein of the other AIP material being released by them at this time, such as Cop Out (1991), Extreme Vengeance (1990), and Burning Vengeance (1989). If these comparisons don't mean much to you, just translate it into this one word: FUN.


Sandy Hackett is Buddy's son. He's the only one in the cast who has any acting resume to speak of that we could find. All the others are first-timers and/or only-timers. So we are treated to the very awkward interactions and line deliveries of non-actors. But everyone here was trying. That's what makes all this so great.


This should be a cult movie. Much like another AIP favorite, Brutal Fury (1993), this isn't a horror movie, so it never developed a cult following. But both of these films should have. Vinegar Syndrome, where are you on these? VS released "Geteven" (1993), which, like "Excop", features the main title as one word, in quotes, on the screen. So it would be perfect for one of their releases.


A shredtastic guitar player named Troy Walls is credited with "Musical Scoring" for the film, and his band "Crisis" (their quotes, not ours) get three songs on the soundtrack. Their songs are catchy female-fronted metal and they should have opened for Doro. But what they do get is a live performance that takes place at the bar where Witherspoon finds Lacie. Much like Tess's gymnastics routines, we get to spend some time with them. Sure, those scenes are Pete Danburg-less, but they're still cool. They're a product of their time and place. Unlike Tess, and to the ultimate detriment of mankind, we don't wear skintight Body Glove shorts anymore. C'est La Vie, Pete Danburg. We hardly knew ye.


Just why the idea of Danburg being an Ex-Cop is dwelled upon so much in this film is never explained, but YOU should be dwelling on finding yourself a copy. It's a gem and it's downright delightful.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

Fists Of Steel (1989)

 

Fists Of Steel (1989)- * * *1\2

Directed by: Jerry Schafer

Starring: Carlos Palomino, Marianne Marks, Robert Tessier, Rockne Tarkington, and Henry Silva

Carlos "Conquistador" Diaz (Palomino) is an ex-Marine who served in 'Nam. Due to some sort of accident with his hands, his knuckle and finger bones were replaced with metal joints. Hence, he truly has FISTS OF STEEL. The CIA tries to recruit Diaz because they want to catch an evil baddie named Shogi (Silva) and his sidekick Katrina (Marks), who is described as "The Best". Naturally, at first Carlos is unimpressed with the CIA's offer, but when they show him what appears to be news footage of Shogi killing his father, he then gets hoppin' mad and goes on his own mission to get revenge against Shogi. He ends up traveling to Hawaii, where he encounters more baddies, such as Saylor (Tessier) and Rijar (Tarkington). But will Shogi feel the wrath of Diaz's FISTS OF STEEL?


Fists of Steel - not to be confused with Hands of Steel (1986), the classic Paco Queruak vehicle - starts with a cool song and logo, so the audience immediately gets sucked in. Then we see Henry Silva's Shogi character, inexplicably dressing up as various different characters in order to kill people. Just why he does this is never explained later in the film. Maybe the idea is that he's just so evil, he enjoys playing a bit of dress-up as a hobby as he kills his prey.


You really do care about Carlos's plight, and the whole thing overall has an odd vibe that's easy to love. As of this writing, Fists of Steel is a VERY rare movie, and not deserving of its hard-to-find status. You've gotta love Carlos's gym buddies and some of the other non-actors that give FOS a lot of flavor. No one knows why Silva is named Shogi, but Tessier is a sailor named...Saylor. Makes sense.


Every supposed flaw of Fists of Steel could be turned into a positive. For example, the movie is very repetitive - it seems there wasn't a lot of plot to be developed in between the fight/action scenes, so a lot of dialogue is repeated multiple times - but that can be very funny. The idea that the Carlos Diaz character has metal hands isn't really played up to the fullest - usually that just means that an extra-loud noise is heard whenever he punches anybody. That's pretty much the extent of it. But it all works out in the end because no one ever said all of this is supposed to be on a completely even keel.


With that in mind, there are two twists towards the end of the film (don't worry, no spoilers here). Let's just say that one is completely unsurprising, and the other one is truly a surprise. As if a movie of this sort even needed a twist, here they give you two. Or, really, in our eyes, one. But Palomino facing off against at least two guys who exclusively play baddie roles - Silva and Tessier - it's all worth it right there.


Director Jerry Schafer worked with Francis Ford Coppola on one of his first projects, Tonight For Sure (1962), and then a scant 19 years later directed Female Mud Wrestling Championships (1981), a documentary about female mud wrestling championships. This project featured both Carlos Palomino (as a referee) and Marianne Marks (as an interviewer), which led into his final directorial project, Fists of Steel. What a career.


Featuring the memorable songs "Eyes of the Stranger" by Nicci Sill, and "Left With the Right" by Robert Terry, Fists of Steel is a worthwhile and fun watch, if you can find it.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

Fire In The Night (1985)

 

Fire In The Night (1985)- * * *

Directed by: John Steven Soet

Starring: Graciella Casillas, Patrick St. Esprit, and Muni Zano 

Terry Collins (Casillas) is a small-town girl who works at the local diner. Her problem is that professional jerk Mike Swanson (St. Esprit) is constantly harassing her. The Swanson family "owns the town" and Mike does what he pleases without consequences - until Terry finally decides she's had enough.

The two make a bet, that Terry can throw Mike into the water at the waterfront. If she wins, the tyranny of the Swanson family may finally end. God help us all if Mike wins the contest. He arrogantly doesn't take Terry all that seriously. Naturally, the first thing the Collins family does is go to the International School of Folk Dance. They try to enlist the help of Manolo Calba (Zano) for Terry's training. Of course, he initially says no but eventually agrees. The stage is now set for the ultimate showdown: Terry vs. Mike. Who will get thrown in the water? That just may be the most important question you've ever asked yourself...

Fire In The Night has been described as "a low-budget Karate Kid", and that's not too terribly far off the mark. Perhaps the filmmakers thought they would confuse viewers (and avoid lawsuits) if the trainer was of Philippine origin and the student was a woman. In any case, the film is filled with rough-hewn charm. It's very 1985, and Casillas's line readings are wonderfully flat and carry a lot of the entertainment value here.

Burt Ward is here for a few brief minutes. He appears to be the head of some sort of Karate academy, but wouldn't his best advice be to use Shark Spray on the baddies? We liked that Terry's parents want her to get her revenge and are fully a part of her going to get trained to potentially kill someone. You don't usually see that level of parental consent. Patrick St. Esprit comes close to stealing the show as Mike, the guy who is a total jerkass 100% of the time, all the time. We hate to keep using the word "jerk" to describe him, but really Mike Swanson is the picture-perfect, dictionary definition of what a jerk can, should, and, dare we say, must be. St. Esprit does it well, anyway.

Okay, those are all the positives. In the negative column, there is a definite slowness to the movie, especially around the midway point where there is a dance recital (there's a surprising amount of "folk dancing" in Fire in the Night). It's then that an already slow film almost just stops in its tracks. Director John Steven Soet, who had previously directed a rare film called Skirmish (1981), and has directed nothing since FITN, evidently had some experience and cred in the Martial Arts community, which is a bit surprising considering how little forward drive, intensity, or energy FITN actually contains.

However, though, the charms of Fire In the Night do outweigh its faults (in this case, the charms ARE the faults, or perhaps the faults are the charms). It's best to see this if you're in an especially charitable mood. If you are, the overall stiffness, and things such as blows not coming anywhere near their target, people that look like they are in their 40's playing characters that are supposed to be in their 20's, boom-mike shadows, and the like, will seem delightful rather than amateurish.

Fire In the Night is low-budget, independent filmmaking, warts and all. And there's a lot to appreciate about that.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

President's Target (1989)

 

President's Target (1989)- * * *

Directed by: Yvan Chiffe

Starring: John Coleman, Martin Kove, Antonio Banha, and Bo Hopkins

An on-screen title card informs us that we're "Somewhere In Latin America". At a high-powered meeting of government officials, they all vow to work together to stop the worldwide spread of drugs. All seems to be going well, until a masked band of baddies storms into the place and shoots everyone in sight. But they didn't count on one thing...Peter Caine (Coleman). After finding out that he's "The best operator the CIA has" - and that his code name is Stalker - Caine proceeds to find out who was responsible for the massacre, and get revenge, Peter Caine-style. But not before he's nursed back to health after the massacre by a kindly old incomprehensible fisherman, and has what are presumably a handful of Vietnam flashbacks along the way. Here for the ride are Sam Nicholson (Kove) and Marty Rogers (Hopkins), but who is the ultimate bad guy at the top? Could it be, in true Simpsons fashion, Mendoza (Banha)? And who exactly is the PRESIDENT'S TARGET in all this?


If we've established anything by doing this website over lo these many years, it's these two truths: that 1989 was a high water mark year for movies on VHS appearing on video store shelves, and that El Presidente titles (well, they're not always slogs) are chief among them. If you happened to enjoy such films as One Man Out (1989), Merchants of War (1989), Overthrow (1987), SAS San Salvador (1982), Hour of the Assassin (1987), or To Die Standing (1991), to name but a few, you will likely also enjoy President's Target. It just may be your favorite of the bunch, because it features two things those films don't: a 79-minute running time, and John Coleman.



Coleman himself is a National Treasure, and should have been in WAY more action movies. Depending on what light he's in, the rock-faced Coleman may resemble Ted Danson, Erik Estrada, Lou Ferrigno, or perhaps Ben Affleck or George Clooney. His face is nothing if not a prism that may take on many shades, colors, and moods. He's essentially a human combination of two 70's fads: the mood ring and the pet rock. Certainly he could be described as a lovable meathead, and the icing on the cake is his Ryan O'Neal-esque acting style. What's not to love about the guy?



But, perhaps fearing that the manliness of Coleman wouldn't be enough to carry the full 79 minutes, Coleman is backed up by genre stalwarts Bo Hopkins and Martin Kove. It was nice that they were here. The presence of both guys is always appreciated. Hopkins actually utters the words "El Presidente", so they must have known what they were doing. Director Yvan Chiffre, who may or may not be the Bond villain from Casino Royale, had an impressive career as an actor under his belt, but he did direct three movies. This is one of them. Thankfully, it stars John Coleman.



The vibe of President's Target is certainly a bit "off", which was hugely welcome. El Presidente's can get awfully dull and sloggy because most of the time, they're pretty standard fare. This time around, the weirder vibe, shorter running time, and power-trio of stars work mightily in the movie's favor.


Despite the South American setting, President's Target was filmed in Setubal, Portugal and features some nice locations. It's one of those (as of today) VHS-only wonders that only a trawl through the video store of life can sometimes bring forth. It just may be one of the best El Presidente's we've seen to date.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

Red Mob (1992)

 

Red Mob (1992)- * * 1\2

Directed by: Vsevolod Plotkin

Starring: Vladimir Menshov, Sergey Veksler, Dmitri Volkov, and Aleksandr Rozenbaum

Oleg (Menshov) is a toughguy who, on his return from the Russian war in Afghanistan, becomes the lead instructor of a survivalist training camp. It's here that he trains anyone who signs up in how to survive in rugged terrain, shirtless horse riding, and other valuable tricks of the trade. When his young son Yura (Volkov) is kidnapped by the evil Jaffar (Rozenbaum), both Oleg and his second-in-command Nick (Veksler) snap into action. They employ all the warrior skills they've got on their mission to save Yura from the clutches of the RED MOB. Will they survive another day? Do find out...




We're very happy that Vinegar Syndrome rescued Red Mob from certain obscurity in the U.S. Now that it's available on their DVD/Blu-ray combo package, we can see all the Russian blow-ups, Russian shootouts, and Russian helicopter explosions for ourselves. One of the best aspects of the movie was the dubbing, which is pretty entertaining in its own right. Especially for Yura, who looks like he's about twelve years old but his voice sounds like a 35-year-old man. Red Mob gets off to a bang-up beginning and we're definitely interested in seeing what happens...




The biggest flaw with Red Mob is the 113-minute running time. If it was 85 minutes, we might be dealing with a new classic, but it's filled with a lot of extra stuff and the audience isn't always exactly clear on what's going on. But, on the flip side of that, a lot of time is allotted for blow-ups, including multiple helicopters. All in all, it's an interesting product of its time and place, and for that it's definitely worth seeing.

The soundtrack has plenty of synthy moments and Nick steals the show when he does the classic 'screaming while shooting a machine gun.' Red Mob is light years better than Solo Voyage: The Revenge, the so-called "Russian Rambo" movie from 1986, which we watched but decided not to review for the website because of its extreme dearth of action. That's certainly not the case with Red Mob, which delivers a lot of action goods.




Despite any language or cultural differences, if nothing else, Red Mob proves that action truly is universal. So, yes, it is a bit on the long side, but we would encourage any interested parties to check out RED MOB.


Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

Brutal Fury (1993)

 Brutal Fury (1993)- * * *1\2

Directed by: Fred Watkins

Starring: Lisa-Gabrielle Greene, Tom Campitelli, Annette Gebron, Jennifer Winder, Karen Eppers, and Thad Dougherty

Something unpleasant is going on at Lincoln High School in Texas. A rapist is on the loose, drugs are rampant, and the teenagers are approaching their mid-40's. Even though Detective Bill Griffin (Campitelli) is investigating, and his new wife Molly (Gebron) is going undercover at the school 21 Jump Street-style, heshers with Iron Maiden and Dio shirts are still overdosing and/or being arrested. What remains of the student body can't abide this. Hence, a group of girls form a "secret sorority" called The Sisterhood and also called The Furies.


After going through a quasi-Satanic initiation ritual, this allows you to dress up in a black bodysuit and ski mask and beat up on pot smokers.


The ringleader of The Furies is one Trudy Jones (Winder). Her second in command is her friend Carol (Eppers). At a Karate class one day, Trudy notes the uncontrollable rage of a redheaded girl named Misty Roberts (Greene) and decides she'd be perfect for The Sisterhood. Misty is unhinged because her father was a fundamentalist preacher who railed against the evils of gym clothes.


When Misty ramps up the revenge, even her fellow Furies decide she's too whackadoo to be in The Sisterhood. Meanwhile, the net is closing in from the crimefighting team of the Griffins. Where you don't want to be is on the receiving end of a high school teen named Misty Roberts's BRUTAL FURY.


Attention Vinegar Syndrome or other specialist Blu-ray labels! Are you out there? Are you reading this? Because, in our ever-so-humble opinion, Brutal Fury is a cult classic-in-waiting. More people need to know about this movie. Heck, ANYBODY needs to know about this movie. It's a gem and a half. To see it is to love it - the only problem is, people need to see it!


It's just a victim of bad timing. If it had come out in the 70's, it would've hit the drive-in circuit and gotten more exposure. If it was directed by Jack Hill, it would be at least as beloved as his Switchblade Sisters (1975). If it had come out in the 80's (even though the film came out in 1993, it has a copyright date of 1988, which makes a lot more sense), it could have been Heathers before Heathers (1989). If it had Martial Arts, it could be like the similarly-themed Kick or Die (1987). But, no, sadly and alas, it got a nothing release from AIP, with another of their classic boxes where the models on the cover are not in the film.


Brutal Fury has it all: fantastic 80's fashions on display, toweringly high hair, a synth-tastic score, amateur and pro-am actors doing their best, and "teenagers" that look like they've got one eye on their pension plan. Nowhere is this more evident than with the evil rapist John Cain (Thad Dougherty) (of course his name is Thad). The idea that this man is supposed to be in high school is just very entertaining in its own right.


The slasheresque flashbacks to Misty's past with her abusive father, her mental breakdowns and her killings are pure gold, as is the classic initiation sequence. Brutal Fury has more in common with regional horror outings like HauntedWeen (1991) or The Night Brings Charlie (1990) than anything else. Although movies like Act of Vengeance (1974) or The Ladies Club (1986) (the latter of which, interestingly, came out in the U.K. as The Sisterhood) are some sort of template.


But there's even more fun to be had, because the "undercover drug dealer in school" subplot is super fun as well. Mix the Sisterhood in with that, and it's a recipe for success.


For a high school student, and especially for a girl, Trudy's voice is quite low. It makes Jodie Foster's voice sound like Alvin and the Chipmunks. No wonder she's the leader. There are a ton of great musical themes and stings on the soundtrack, including one that sounds almost exactly like Children of Bodom's 'Angels Don't Kill'. That would have been an apt theme for the movie had it only come out earlier. Could the COB boys have seen this movie? Well, probably not. But the similarity is definitely there. 

There are other musical highlights as well that we won't spoil, but we always love when there's a specially-written theme song that names characters in the movie. Here is no exception, and the end-credits song, "Misty", by Scott Jacob Loehr is both catchy and dramatic. Further bolstering its slasher comparisons, the song isn't a world away from Sleepaway Camp's "Angela's Theme" by Frankie Vinci.

Why Lisa-Gabrielle Greene, who played the fascinating character of Misty, only went on to do several episodes of Wishbone and nothing else is as mysterious as Misty herself. Think about that: Brutal Fury and Wishbone. That's it. The entertainment business sure is a strange place.


Anyway, we could sing the praises of Brutal Fury all day, but let's just end where we began and hope that a Blu-ray comes out sometime in our lifetime. If anything out there is ripe for rediscovery, it's this. Join the Sisterhood of the Traveling Sword and check out Brutal Fury today!

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

Dirty Games (1989)

 

Dirty Games (1989)- * *

Directed by: Gray Hofmeyr

Starring: Jan-Michael Vincent, Valentina Vargas and Michael McGovern

Johannes Kepler was an astronomer and mathematician that lived from 1571 to 1630, and was considered a scientific pioneer and genius in his fields of expertise. Kepler West (JMV) isn't quite on that level, but he's close. When Kepler West reconnects with old flame Dr. Nicola Kendra (Vargas) in Africa when they're both invited to check out a new nuclear storage facility, danger follows. Kendra wants revenge on the men who murdered her father, namely an assassin named Von Kleff (McGovern). When it's uncovered that baddies want to blow up the newly-minted facility, Kendra and Kepler snap into action. Well, action may be a bit too strong of a word, but they sure do...something in a race against time before the big blow-up. Can they save the day in an above-board way, or will they have to resort to DIRTY GAMES?

Dirty Games is a pick-up from AIP and not one of their in-house productions. Perhaps when they released films made by others for American distribution, they looked for more serious-minded titles to balance out their homegrown, silly ones. Much like they did for The Second Victory (1987). We're not sure if this is going to make any sense, but imagine a cross between The Killing Machine (AKA Goma-2) (1984) and No Time To Die (1984). In other words, Dirty Games is better than High Explosive (2001) but not quite as good as Danger Zone (1996). Hopefully that wasn't overly confusing, but the best way to describe Dirty Games is by comparison.

Like a lot of other South African movies we've seen, the pace is slow and the tone is bland overall. It's not bad, but it's sort of mediocre. It plays out a lot like a 97-minute episode of Airwolf. There are helicopters in the film and Jan-Michael Vincent has a very similar sunglasses-and-bomber-jacket ensemble to the one he had in that classic show. Except here there's no Dominic Santini to leaven things out with his fatherly good humor. Interestingly, Vincent does not appear at all drunk throughout most of the film's running time, except when he wears shorts. These Party Shorts or "Drunk Shorts" must have been his gateway to a good time had in Africa. Otherwise he seems commendably sober, in keeping with the film's tone.

Keep in mind that the theme of Dirty Games is not nuclear war, but nuclear storage. Perhaps this was the original "Storage War". One of the baddies looks a lot like George Peppard (at least he has similar hair) which reinforces the TV vibe. Overall, though, there should have been more action and JMV should have shot and/or beat up many, many more people. You have to wait a long time for anything in that vein to happen. Yes, he's supposed to be a scientist, but Scott Barnes was a social worker and that didn't stop him from becoming an action hero.

While there are a small handful of cool and/or okay moments, Dirty Games struggles and strains to maintain the viewers' attention. It's not what we'd call a must-watch. It's probably for Jan-Michael or AIP completists only.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

The Butcher (2009)

The Butcher (2009)- * * *

Directed by: Jesse V. Johnson

Starring: Eric Roberts, Jerry Trimble, Robert Davi, Keith David, Bokeem Woodbine, Irina Bjorklund, Vernon Wells, Geoffrey Lewis, and Michael Ironside







Merle "The Butcher" Hench is one cool dude. He's an ex-boxer, has a pair of golden guns, and he drives a 1969 Dodge Charger. His temperament is very even and he doesn't yell. He also has a gambling problem. As an enforcer for Irish mobster Murdoch (Davi), he is highly skilled in "the science of violence", as someone tells him. However, Merle's luck begins to change when he wins money from both Chinatown Pete (Woodbine), and Larry Cobb (David).

Meanwhile, thinking that Merle is "over the hill", he is set up as the patsy for a multi-million-dollar heist on a group of other gangsters. While Hench does end up with some of the money, and plans to use it to run off into the sunset with diner waitress Jackie (Bjorklund), he can't help but shake the fact that he needs to get revenge for the fact that Murdoch and his boys betrayed his long-time loyalty to them. So, risking it all - including a potentially brighter future with Jackie - The Butcher gambles one last time...for his life.

There's a lot to recommend about The Butcher. The style of it is fairly downbeat and a bit unorthodox, with some interesting flashbacks. It seems influenced by the "L.A. Noir" of the past. It's a fantastic showcase for fan favorite Eric Roberts as well, as he not only gets to ponder on the existential side of things, he also does some Eric Roberts-Fu on the baddies, and he shoots a whole heck of a lot of them as well. 

Director Johnson is almost venerable towards Roberts and gives him the starring role he deserves. There are a lot of other interesting character moments as well - Davi doing an Irish accent, instead of the expected Italian one, was a surprise treat. Woodbine and David as The Butcher's gambling cronies added a lot. The great Geoffrey Lewis as Naylor, the pawnshop owner, stood out. Although he only appears in the silent flashbacks, Vernon G. Wells is hiding in there as well. And this has to be one of the best-ever performances in Jerry Trimble's career.

The cast is strong and the main idea behind the film is simple but effective. We've seen a good amount of Johnson's films at this point, and he really seems to understand action and what the fans want. He's one of the very few directors out there that really seem completely dedicated to the action genre. 

While The Butcher is far from a thrill a minute - it's deliberately paced and takes time to build up a head of steam - Johnson seems to be showing the fact that you can combine action violence and quasi-film noir without a hitch. When the action does come, it's explosive. It's all the more impactful because of the character moments that surround it. Johnson does his best to eschew cardboard characterizations. 

We applaud everything about the film, with the exception of one little caveat. It's too long. At almost two full hours, we couldn't help but think that if it was trimmed down to 90 minutes or so, it could have worked better. Yes, we realize we just contradicted ourselves a bit - it takes time to build up character moments, so how can we say we love those moments and then want to cut them - but surely a few trims here and there just to get things down to a reasonable running time couldn't hurt.

Perhaps interestingly, the working title for the Van Damme film 6 Bullets (2012) was The Butcher. They must have realized that this The Butcher predated it, then they changed it. Then they got Joe Flanigan. As all movies should.

The Butcher is a solid film all around with a lot of good points and highlights. Its mix of thoughtfulness in with the violence was appreciated. There are interesting faces, as well as ideas, and the cast is excellent. The only thorn in the movie's side is that it's too long. So, as that's not a complete dealbreaker, we say check it out.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

Beyond Forgiveness (1994)

Beyond Forgiveness (1994)- * * *1\2

AKA: Blood Of The Innocent

Directed by: Bob Misiorowski

Starring: Thomas Ian Griffith, John-Rhys Davies, Joanna Trzepiecinska, and Rutger Hauer











Frank Wusharsky (TIG) is a Polish-American cop in Chicago. A festive evening of eating kielbasa and dancing to polka turns to tragedy when some baddies gun down his brother. Searching for answers as to who the evildoers are, Frank travels to his family's homeland - Poland, of course. Now a fish out of water, Frank finds an ally in lovable Polish cop Shmuda (Rhys-Davies). 

He meets resistance both from the official authorities and the Russian gangsters that are running wild all over Poland, but he does get further help from Anna (Trzepiecinska) - which leads him to the nefarious Dr. Lem (Hauer). Will it be a conspiracy that goes all the way to the top? Perhaps involving, in some way, the medical profession? Maybe you were B.O.R.N. to find out!

Beyond Forgiveness (AKA Blood of the Innocent) is one of the better TIG movies we've seen to date. It's certainly a heck of a lot better than Ulterior Motives (1992). But it's hard to beat the classic Excessive Force (1993). All in all, it's arguably number two in the TIG rundown.

That's because it has a lot of good things going for it. It's got a very enjoyable - dare we say classic - plot of a cop out for revenge and unafraid to shoot/kick/punch anyone who stands in his way, it's got more than a handful of cool lines said by TIG, and, even though this was a Nu-Image production, the whole thing was actually shot in Poland (and not Bulgaria) and has some very nice locations. 

Additionally, there are some quality blow-ups, shootouts, and fight scenes. Griffith is backed up with some top-notch talent this time around with not just Rhys-Davies, who also has some great lines and is charismatic and you grow to really like him, but also Rutger Hauer is here too, don't forget. His presence is enough to reassure audiences that we're watching something of substance. 

Trzepiecinska was more than just the eye candy - she gets in on the action and helps things along. This was one of her only (if not her only) non-completely Polish-made/Polish-language productions. She should have been in more.

It's a little surprising that this was directed by Bob Misiorowski, who we only know from two of his other duds, Blink of an Eye (1992) with Michael Pare, and Derailed (2002) with Van Damme. Beyond Forgiveness is leaps and bounds better than those two. Clearly Misiorowski was in his element here and it's definitely the best thing we've seen from him to date. 

Of course, it helps that there's a classic vegetable cart blow-up and there's sax on the soundtrack. That, and Griffith beats up some Polish meat factory workers. Obviously they want to kill him (?) - talk about not wanting to see how the sausage is made!

Beyond Forgiveness combines a solid revenge plot, nice locations, and quality actors. It even features what you might call a more mature TIG. We really enjoyed it.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

Accident Man (2018)

Accident Man (2018)- * * *1\2

Directed by: Jesse V. Johnson

Starring: Scott Adkins, Ray Stevenson, Brooke Jonston, Michael Jai White, Amy Johnston, Ashley Greene, Ray Park, Tim Man, and David Paymer

Mike Fallon (Adkins) is part of a firm of hitmen (and one hitwoman) who each have their own specialties when it comes to killing. Some are brutal, some are careful, but Mike's own unique brand of offing his clients comes in the form of making their demise look like an accident. He was brought up under the wing of Big Ray (Stevenson), his mentor and fellow hitman who now runs the local pub where all the hitpeople congregate.

When his beloved Beth (Brooke Johnston) becomes the target of assassination, Mike goes rogue to find out who ordered the hit. While it's bad that this course of revenge shatters his carefully-crafted life, the really bad part is that he is then the subject of a dreaded "Kill Brief" and all his former compatriots now come after him, and he has to fight his former friends and expert killers one by one. Will he finally get to the truth? Will it be a conspiracy that goes all the way to the top? What will become of the ACCIDENT MAN?

Not to be confused with the Yahoo Serious romp Mr. Accident (2000), Accident Man is an entertaining good time starring the ever-reliable Scott Adkins. He's joined this time around by a very solid cast of fan favorites such as Lady Bloodfight herself, Amy Johnston, as well as Ray Stevenson and Michael Jai White, among others. Adkins and White have not one, but two fights together and the action overall is well-executed. There's a strong sense of humor throughout and a lot of good energy propelling it all along.

It appears the story was based on a comic book, and that feel is definitely there. It's like a DTV Guy Ritchie movie, but better, and there appears to be a healthy dose of the John Wick series added to the mix for some extra flavor. 

But the whole thing is uniquely British and Adkins really seems in his element here. There are several references to their English identity, including pro-Brexit sentiment. Two songs by The Jam are on the soundtrack (can you guess which ones?) and Adkins does a very enjoyable voice-over narration of the tale. The soundtrack has some nice synthy moments that 80's fans will appreciate. 

Speaking of 80's classics, we have Michael Jai White screaming while shooting a machine gun and a classic barfight. The idea of a hitman club with its own unique characters, which then splinters and becomes a case of "best vs. the best" is an appealing one. It's done with style and you care about what's going on. It's all totally professional and should have gone to the theater here in the U.S. In days gone by it would have, but these days it doesn't have a chance at a theater release, sadly. But there's always Blu-Ray, DVD, and streaming services.

Scott Adkins and the gang have turned in another winner, and we absolutely recommend Accident Man.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

Mission Kill (1986)

Mission Kill (1985)- * *1\2

Directed by: David Winters

Starring: Robert Ginty, Cameron Mitchell, Merete Van Camp, Eduardo Lopez Rojas, Henry Darrow, Sandy Baron, and Olivia D'Abo

Cooper (Ginty) was a demolitions expert in 'Nam. He parlayed that into a career of blowing stuff up after returning home. When he meets up with his buddy, an older fellow Marine named Harry (Cam), at the Little Nashville Club to take in some ladies oil wrestling, Harry tells him he's running guns to the rebels in the South American country of Santa Maria. Harry, filled with a sense of patriotic pride (although what that has to do with the people of Santa Maria I'm not exactly sure), in his enthusiasm convinces the reluctant Cooper to come with him on one of his gun runs south of the border.

The two men hop into Harry's big rig, named Harry's Dream Machine, and they eventually reach their destination. However, much trouble follows as the baddies proceed to ambush them and Harry goes to the big oil wrestling ring in the sky. 

So Cooper figures the best way to get revenge is to join the rebels and slaughter as many of El Presidente's goons as he can. Thanks to an embedded wartime journalist named Bingo Thomas (Baron - unforgettable to Seinfeld fans as the irascible Jack Klompus), Cooper becomes an inadvertent media celebrity and the fight against El Presidente Ariban (Rojas) and the entrenched bureaucracy represented by Senor Borghini (Darrow) escalates to much bigger proportions than the rebels ever imagined before Cooper's arrival. But what about Sydney Borghini (Van Kamp)? Where do her true allegiances lie? You'll find out if you accept the mission that Ginty accepted: MISSION KILL.

In the 80's, there was a lot in the news about the turmoil in certain South American countries such as El Salvador and Nicaragua. While not South American, the incident on Grenada captured the public's attention as well. And, with the possible help of Stripes (1981), there was a renewed national fasciation with oil wrestling. With this context in mind, we have Mission Kill, yet another addition to the seemingly-endless El Presidente Boom of the 80's. Not just ninjas had a Boom back then, let's not forget. 

Mission Kill falls in with compatriots such as Cocaine Wars (1985) and Hour of the Assassin (1987). It's not particularly distinguished but it's not awful. It does have fan favorites Ginty and Cam, after all. Nothing with them could ever be a total disaster. But a better example of their pairing is another Winters film, Code Name: Vengeance (1987). In that case they're in Africa, not South America. But, you know, six of one, half a dozen of the other.

Despite some slow passages, we do get a healthy amount of shooting and blow-ups. The score has some very nice synthy moments underpinning it all. A brief exploding helicopter is also present and accounted for. We liked the plot device of Ginty being a demolitions expert: it gave a reason for the explosions (though one is never really needed, of course). He blew in Vietnam, and he blows today. 

Naturally, preceding all of this is an on-screen quote by William Faulkner from his 1950 Nobel Prize speech. Of course there is.

Featuring the catchy and memorable end credits song "Stand" by Jesse Frederick - which absolutely should have been used at about the mid-way point in the movie during a training sequence in order to pump things up but unfortunately isn't - Mission Kill can certainly be categorized as one of the El Presidente movies that took up video store shelf space in the 80's. It's not in any way bad, but it needed more focus and drive. If choosing between this and Code Name: Vengeance, pick Code Name: Vengeance. It's sillier and a bit more fun.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

Showdown In Manila (2016)

Showdown In Manila (2016)- * * *

Directed by: Mark Dascascos

Starring: Alexander Nevsky, Casper Van Dien, Mark Dacascos, Matthias Hues, Tia Carrere, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Polina Butorina, Olivier Gruner, Don "The Dragon" Wilson, and Cynthia Rothrock








Nick Peyton (Nevsky) and Charlie Benz (Van Dien) are buddies and private detectives, but they seem more like mercenaries. After her beloved husband, Matthew Wells (Dacascos), is slaughtered by some baddies, including Dorn (Hues), a certain Mrs. Wells (Carrere) pays a visit to Nick and Charlie. She wants both answers and revenge, so she goes with the best. It turns out the super-evil Aldric Cole (Tagawa) is behind all the chaos. One of the smarter moves made by Peyton and Benz includes calling in some most excellent reinforcements: Haines (Rothrock), Dillon (The Dragon), and Ford (Gruner). What will happen after the SHOWDOWN IN MANILA?



Showdown In Manila was a pleasant surprise. As it is the long-awaited directorial debut of Mark Dacascos, we knew he wouldn’t let us down, and he didn’t. The man knows too much about what works and what doesn’t work in the world of action movies to really produce a dud. As it was produced, in part, by Dacascos, Nevsky, and Andrzej Bartkowiak, and features a lot of the same cast members, this could have been another Maximum Impact (2017). Thankfully, it isn’t. It’s a lot better. It’s snappier, shorter, and the humor works a lot more. It mercifully doesn’t include Tom Arnold making references to his bladder.



Even the setting of the Philippines is a nod to the golden age of action in the 70’s and 80’s, as is the title, which is reminiscent of Showdown In Little Tokyo (1991), Showdown (1993), or pretty much any action movie in the past where people were having some sort of showdown. It seemed to happen a lot back then.



Clearly, the standout aspect of ‘Manila is its stellar cast. For our two main heroes, we have the power team we’ve all been waiting to see together – Nevsky and Van Dien. Both are likable and they make a great duo. For some reason Nevsky seems to get a lot of “shade” online but we think he’s a solid action presence and has a Schwarzenegger-esque sense of humor. He doesn’t seem to take himself too seriously, but he can still give the baddies a quality pounding. Nevsky should have been around in the 80’s, but now that he’s in our era, he can act as a sort of “throwback” action star of the type we’re more used to. 

Matthias Hues feels like an old friend at this point, and Tagawa always – ALWAYS – plays the baddie. He must have that kind of face. Carrere isn’t hunting relics anymore and it was nice to see her (and she was, of course, in the aforementioned Showdown In Little Tokyo, as was Tagawa). Things pick up when our heroes meet up with the reinforcements in the jungle. Seeing fan favorites Rothrock, The Dragon, and Gruner shooting and fighting people in the jungle really brought us back. It’s a direct reference to the 80’s and early 90’s. There just should have been less (or, ideally, no) CGI or questionable muzzle flashes. But that’s a minor quibble when we see our favorite stars back in action. Literally.



The three reinforcements should have had more screen time, but we’re happy with what we have. While they’re all wearing camo in the jungle, including Rothrock, her bright pink hair streaks kind of defeat that purpose…but it’s all part of the fun. The movie is filled with silly shootouts and amusing humor. It would’ve gone to theaters in the 80’s for sure.



Featuring the T.a.T.u-esque theme song, “Another Life” by Polina Butorina (who was in both this and Maximum Impact and sings both theme tunes), Showdown In Manila is about as close as we’re going to come these days to golden era-style action, and we applaud Nevsky, Dacascos, and the gang for that. We say keep ‘em coming.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

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

The Hard Way (2019)

The Hard Way (2019)- * *

Directed by: Keoni Waxman

Starring: Michael Jai White, Luke Goss, George Remes, Grant Campbell, and Randy Couture

Payne (White) is just a humble bar owner in New York City who pays his bills, minds his business, and beats up gangsters that try to muscle in on his turf. When he gets word that his brother Cody (Campbell) was killed by baddies, Payne does the only sensible thing: he flies to Bucharest, Romania to get answers. 

While there, he links up with Cody's crimefighting partner Mason (Goss). Complicating matters are the fact that there is a psychotic baddie named Joe Vig (Remes) who is torturing and murdering people, including some of Payne's and Mason's beloved girls at the local strip club. Now they're mad and want revenge. But Briggs (Couture) may have something to say about that. Will things be done the Payne/Mason way, or...you guessed it...THE HARD WAY?

Not to be confused with The Hard Way (1989) with Miles O'Keeffe, or The Hard Way (1991) with James Woods and Michael J. Fox, or any other movie called The Hard Way, this particular Hard Way puts fan favorite Michael Jai White in a situation that isn't ideal.

The opening fight scene between White and the gangsters is fun, but then the film becomes much more dour and serious than it needs to be. White goes to Romania (of course it's Romania) and then a lull ensues. A lot of stupid, inane dialogue and an unengaging plot, unfortunately, also ensues. 

The Hard Way isn't great. It isn't eye-scratchingly awful either. It's just mediocre. It's watchable enough, we suppose, but you don't care about the characters as much as you should or could. There's nothing extraordinary going on here.

Of course, that doesn't dampen our fandom for Michael Jai White. He's by far the best thing here, but he can't overcome the deficiencies of plot and characterization. None of these weaknesses should come as a surprise from anyone who has seen anything else by director Waxman. 

He's made a lot of latter-day DTV outings with Seagal. 'Nuff said. His smartest move this time around was replacing his usual muse Seagal with White. But he needed to go further and make something audiences might actually care about. Lazily leaning on cliches like a crutch isn't going to win you any new fans and converts. It's long past time for Waxman to think outside the box, if he's capable of doing so. 

Goss is perfectly fine, if a bit bland, as the support. Toll Road himself, Couture, is here too. He has yet to set the acting world on fire (maybe because of his surprisingly high-pitched voice) like Dave Bautista, but maybe he's just not getting the right material.

Michael Jai White should be in another movie like Blood and Bone (2009) instead of undistinguished fare such as this. As The Hard Way is a Netflix Original Movie, they should have known that, and made something more catered to the fans, not to mention what White excels at.

So, The Hard Way is yet another middle-of-the-road modern-day DTV actioner. While it certainly had the potential to be something special, we didn't think it was anything to get excited about.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

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

U.S. Seals (2000)

U.S. Seals (2000)- * *1\2

Directed by: Yossi Wein

Starring: Jim Fitzpatrick, Greg Collins, Ty Miller, Justin Williams, Geff Francis, and Hayley DuMond





"Keep your eyes on the chicken."



Mike Bradley (Fitzpatrick) is the leader of a SEAL team which also includes his compadres Cosgrove (Collins), A.J. (Miller), Gaines (Williams), and Gepson (Francis). They are routinely sent around the world to dangerous hotspots to do what SEALs do best. Unfortunately, some of the baddies involved in one of their raids enacts a tragic retaliation on Bradley's family. Now burning with revenge, he travels to Albania (of course) to get justice. Along the way, he and his team enlist the help of the mysterious Lucia (Du Mond) - but where do her allegiances truly lie? Will Mike Bradley and his team be the ultimate U.S. SEALS?


What's interesting about U.S. Seals is that it starts off as your standard military slog - you know, the standard, run-of-the-mill type of thing you've seen countless times before. At about the midway point, however, it becomes more of a revenge movie. Against all odds, it picks up steam and becomes more entertaining than it was before. So, that does set it apart from some of its contemporaries.


One of its many problems, however, is that it needed more of a name to help things along. Someone like a Damian Chapa, Nick Mancuso, Arnold Vosloo, Jack Scalia, Antonio Sabato Jr., or maybe a Mandylor. Either Costas or Louis will do. The main guy is sort of Matt LeBlanc-esque and all the other actors seem like they would be more at home on a 90's TV sitcom like Friends or Seinfeld. Odd for a military outing like this.


The turnaround from just a plain 'movie on a screen' to an enjoyable revenge plot was the neat trick that U.S. Seals pulls off. Still, you never get to know the characters all that well, so it makes it harder for us, the audience, to care about their plight. But it transforms nicely enough starting from the second half, we suppose.


Of course, there's all the military jargon and mindless shooting you could ever ask for. It's easy to see why the great Isaac Florentine stepped in to direct U.S. Seals 2 (2001). He gave the second installment a lot of life and pizazz, as he usually does. So that was a smart move on Nu-Image's part to bring him into the mix, even if it was just to change things up.


Other items of note: both pagers and minidiscs are seen on display, there are some classic old-school guard-tower falls for fans of that, Bradley's son seems to develop a foreign accent about 45 minutes into the film, and when one of the SEAL team members jumps from a train, he yells a very half-hearted (and thus very funny) "Aaaaah." 

The main (naturally and cliche-edly Eurotrash) baddie looks like some sort of genetic melange of Kurt Loder, Michael Pare, Sam Donaldson, Peter Jennings, and what Jerry O'Connell will likely look like in the future. But mostly Loder. Instead of preening about and/or fighting our main hero in the time-honored final fight, you think he and Tabitha Soren will deliver us the MTV news.


So, while the first half may be your workaday military slog, the change of course puts U.S. Seals in a somewhat unique position among DTV SEAL movies of this ilk. Is it an all-time classic you must run out and see immediately? Hardly - but fans of this sort of thing may appreciate some of the differences here.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

Also check out a write-up from our buddy, The Video Vacuum! 

Killing Machine (1984)

Killing Machine (1984)- * * *

AKA Goma-2

Directed by: Jose Antonio De La Loma

Starring: Jorge Rivero, Margaux Hemingway, Ana Obregon, Aldo Sambrell, Hugo Stiglitz, Richard Jaeckel, Willie Ames and Lee Van Cleef

Txema Basterreneche (Rivero) is a simple truck driver who has enough problems in life with people trying to pronounce his name. The last thing he wants is more trouble. But that's just what he gets as he travels the highways between Spain and France as he hauls fruit. Evidently there is a French Produce Mafia who don't take kindly to Txema's fruit runs. The guys in the FPM (we assume that's the union initials for French Produce Mafia) are constantly calling Txema "That damn Spaniard" and "That Spanish bastard". Harsh words indeed, but things escalate from name calling and fruit-stomping to murder when the FPM burns Txema's truck - with his beloved Elisa (Obregon) inside.



Now burning with revenge, Txema hooks back up with former colleague Jacqueline (Hemingway). It seems that in their past, they were both part of a mysterious - and deadly - "organization". Now falling back on his old ways and killing skills, Txema starts taking out the trash - which is, in this case, a bunch of French produce truckers. Picot (Sambrell), Koldo (Stiglitz) and boss Martin (Jaeckel) are all on his list, but Txema eventually works his way up to the final showdown with arch-baddie and produce lawyer Julot (Van Cleef). Will Txema execute his final mission? And what does Tony (Aames) have to do with all this?



Well, you gotta give Killing Machine points for originality. We can't say we've ever seen what we would have to call produce goons before. That's right, produce goons. If you watch enough movies, and dig under every rock, you're bound to find something at least a little bit new and different. Despite some pacing issues, Killing Machine (AKA Goma-2, which is apparently some type of explosive), is enjoyable enough - a sort of European take on F.I.S.T. (1978) meets Death Wish (1974). 

A solid cast and music by the De Angelis brothers also help things along nicely. Revenge movies are among our favorites and it was nice to see fan favorite Jorge Rivero do what he does best. Evidently that includes punching French truckers. (How often do you get a chance to write - or read - the phrase "punching French truckers"? You gotta love it).



It was nice to see Margaux Hemingway, as she doesn't pop up too often around these parts, and you really have to appreciate her eye for art and home decor in the film. The legendary Lee Van Cleef was terrific as the main baddie, definitely a "boo-hiss" situation, and Richard Jaeckel as his underling was okay, nothing spectacular. 

The rest of the Spanish-language cast was fine too, including mainstays Sambrell and Stiglitz. The team-up we've all been waiting for, Jorge Rivero and Willie Aames, finally appears here. The rumors appear to be unfounded, as of this writing, that Willie Aames has legally changed his name to Willie Bibleman.



For an under the radar - or should we say under the CB - revenge film that should be more well known, do check out Killing Machine.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

The Return Of Superfly (1990)

The Return Of Superfly (1990)- * *1\2

Directed by: Sig Shore

Starring: Nathan Purdee, Tico Wells, Leonard Thomas, and Samuel L. Jackson

After living in Paris for some years, Youngblood Priest (Purdee) returns home to his old haunts in New York City. He is dismayed to find out that crack and violence rule the streets in 1990 and there is no honor among thieves like there used to be. He's been out of "the game" for so long because, supposedly, he's been running a legitimate business. 

He turns to his friend Nate (Jackson) for help and information, but Nate is a crack manufacturer and tied in with the drug gangs. When certain people in Priest's life not-so-mysteriously start dying, he then teams up with Willy Green (Wells), a heavily-armed survivalist type. The aim of the two newfound friends is to get revenge for the death of Priest's friends. Will they do it?

What's good about The Return of Superfly is that it's not at all slick. It's a low budget, gritty look at the New York City of the day, with songs by Eazy-E and King Tee on the soundtrack. Not to mention a pre-Freedom Strike Tone-Loc. Characters wear thick gold chainses and are hustling the best they can. Although, beware: the community might just band together to expel a local pimp.

Yes, to state the obvious, Ron O'Neal is not Superfly this time, but he's got a solid replacement. We enjoyed Nathan Purdee in the main role, although we couldn't help but imagine Billy Dee Williams or, perhaps more realistically, Ivan Rogers as Priest. Tico Wells as Willy adds a lot to the proceedings and is very likable. A young Samuel L. Jackson is also here, and he wouldn't be seen here on Comeuppance until Arena (2011). Leonard Thomas as Joey, one of the evil baddies, stands out with his inimitable laugh. Once you hear this guy chuckle, you may never be the same. 

It all opens with a bang (a very silly bang), but, in all fairness, The Return of Superfly falls victim to some very common pitfalls of low-budget filmmaking, namely some poor lighting and the plot sags in the middle and it slows down a bit too much. It could have used someone like Lawrence-Hilton Jacobs to liven things up. All in all, it should have been more like director Sig Shore's prior film Sudden Death (1985) - a movie we prefer to this one.




Perhaps it could be said that The Return of Superfly is the first (or, certainly, one of the first) of what came to be called "Homie Movies". In that sense it is a pioneering film - the Homie Movie boom of the 90's owes a lot to not just the original Super Fly from 1972, but this entry in the series as well.

Finally, we'd just like to note that there is a club scene where people play stand-up arcade games such as Rampage and (we think) Pole Position (we tend to point out things like that), and certain scenes are filmed in and around the Stamford area in our beloved home state of Connecticut (whenever there are Connecticut-filmed scenes in movies, we tend to point those out too). 

For those who may not know, Stamford is right outside New York City and such cinematic classics as Seagal's Pistol Whipped (2008) were also shot there. It's also the city where director Sig Shore sadly passed away at the age of 87. For the Super Fly series and Sudden Death alone, he will always be remembered.

Final words: we liked the street-level grittiness of The Return of Superfly, and the fact that Purdee as Priest comes back to a new world of crack and violence he doesn't quite understand, was a solid idea. Although it could have been a bit snappier overall, we say check it out if the early days of the "Homie Movie" float your boat.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

Also check out a write-up from our buddy, The Video Vaccum!