Full Contact
is the
revisiting of a
martial arts revenge story filmed some four years prior –
Bloodfist. The remake
sees the setting move from Manila to Los Angeles, and Don Wilson
replaced by fellow kickboxer Jerry Trimble. Considering it’s a
noticeably less ambitious picture,
Full Contact holds up
surprisingly well.
The
story: A martial artist (Trimble) arrives in the city to find that
his brother’s been murdered while
participating in an underground fight circuit.
Under the tutelage of an unconventional trainer (Marcus Aurelius), he
prepares to enter the fights
to uncover the killer’s identity.
Director
Rick Jacobson was, at the time, busying himself with mostly
run-of-the-mill action features, so it’s surprising how much he
ends up getting out of this. With
the help of engaging
camerawork and a script that
firmly establishes its characters before dropping them into the heat
of action, the filmmakers get
the most out of their limited resources. Despite the presence of some
bad acting (that’s
nevertheless counterbalanced by some decent chemistry between Trimble
and Aurelius),
it feels more like a genuine movie than many other
video releases – not to be
mistaken for a theatrical feature,
but it could definitely be
aired on some channel
other than SyFy,
Surprisingly,
the action content ends up being a minor disappointment. It’s not
that the ample fighting is bad – Trimble’s fights are always
highlights, thanks to the star’s excellent kicks – but despite
having no less than three choreographers working on them, the fights
tend to meld together, with not nearly enough variance in fighting
styles or combatants’ personalities.
The story’s strong enough
that this doesn’t kill the film, despite its genre, but it’s
ironic that the time I should choose to browse my phone during a
karate movie
is during the karate scenes.
This
one’s not worth buying a VCR for, but if you already own one, give
Full Contact a look –
especially if you’ve been impressed by Trimble in other movies.
Full Contact
(1993) Directed
by
Rick Jacobson (Ring
of Fire III: Lion Strike) Written
by
Robert King (based on a story by), Beverly Gray (Fire
on the Amazon) Starring
Jerry Trimble (The
Master),
Marcus Aurelius (Kung
Fu Brother),
Denise Buick (Angelfist),
Raymond Storti (Amazon
Warrior) Cool
costars:
Pro fighters Howard Jackson, Alvin Prouder, Gerry Blanck, Joe
Charles, Dino Homsey, Hyon Lee, Dennis Keiffer, and Jeff Podgurski
all appear as onscreen combatants, as do Hiro Koda, Michele and Jamie
Krasnoo, Mark Zacharatos, and Rae Manzon. Content
warning:
Sexual
assault, violence against women, homophobic dialogue Title
refers to:
A set of rules in combat sports that allows
you to strike your opponent as hard
as you want but not wherever
you want. Sort of a misleading name, since the fights in the film
have no restrictions. Cover
accuracy:
The vertical
stills
do indeed occur. Oddly, while Jerry Trimble rocks
the terrible combination of a hoodie and short-shorts, his hoodie in
the movie is gray. Number
of full-length fight scenes: 15 Copyright
Califilm
“Touch that gun, I’ll shove it up your ass and pull the trigger!”
Even
23 years after
its release, Ballistic
is a breath of fresh air. I put off buying it for a long time because
of the
higher-than-average price tag it
goes with these days, but
that was a mistake; it’s
worth every penny.
This isn’t the perfect action movie and
it isn’t
quite unique
enough to be in a class of its own, but it gets
enough of the genre’s necessities
right while also adding
some extra
touches
to make for a genuinely worthy
video entry.
Putting its assets to good use while avoiding any glaring faults,
this is a great vehicle for
first-time star Marjean Holden and
a real hidden gem in the VHS mine.
The
story: When a straight-shooting detective (Holden) is falsely
implicated in a murder, she must prove a conspiracy between the
department and a sleazy arms dealer (Sam Jones).
Marjean
Holden is a fixture of the U.S. action scene, but despite her career
spanning theatrical, video,
and TV
work, she’s been underutilized as
a martial arts star. She’s
best known for her exotic but disappointing role in Mortal
Kombat: Annihilation (1997),
and to date, Ballistic
is the only action picture she stars in. There’s no apparent reason
why she’s seen so little
lead roles, as Holden uses
the opportunity to prove
herself the complete
package. She has an engaging screen presence and more than one note
to her acting. Her martial arts lack the world-class sheen of a
Cynthia Rothrock but she’s yards better than, say, Mimi Lesseos. Or
Michael Dudikoff. In a
perfect world, Ballistic
would be the rough freshman effort that helps lead to a polished solo
career. As is, it’s a good
demonstration of how to build up a potential star, especially when
you have plenty of other
assets at hand.
The
production values are what you’d expect from an upper-level DTV
studio like Imperial, and the cast is surprisingly great for this
kind of film. Sam Jones is an appropriately smug villain, and Charles
Napier brings some dramatic
clout to the ensemble. Cult hero Richard Roundtree plays Holden’s
onscreen father, and while I’ve grown
to regard Roundtree as
someone who gets top billing and then only appears in a handful of
scenes, he’s a genuine character here and is made full use of as an
action veteran. And amid
a fair number of recognizable
enforcers and onscreen combatants, the great star-to-be
Michael Jai White shows off his moves as he does in few films that
he’s not
actually starring
in. Everyone plays to their
strengths, whether that be martial moves or dramatic prowess. While
nobody was about to win awards for this film, no one’s phoning it
in, either.
The
things
that set this movie apart
are Holden’s
relationships to some of the other supporting figures –
specifically Richard Roundtree and her onscreen boyfriend Joel Beeson
(The Dragon Ring). You
can guess that martial artist Beeson will make his way into the
greater story, but it’s not until the film’s second half when
Roundtree’s character is released from prison and joins in the plot
that both assume prominence almost equal to Holden. In a lesser
movie, this might give the impression of
the filmmakers not having
confidence
in their star’s potential to headline, but surprisingly good
writing conveys the importance of family in this scheme.
Thematically, Holden’s
family – defined by their entertaining,
well-established
interrelationships – proves itself stronger than the shifty
criminal enterprise. It’s probably
not what the 18-36 male demographic was demanding, but the film’s
all the better for it.
The
fight content is a mixed bag, but
even here there are definite high points. Again, Michael Jai White is
fantastic, even if he can’t always find opponents to match his
acrobatic skills. Joel Beeson is a pretty decent kickboxer; in any
other incarnation of this film, he’d be the lead. And while Marjean
Holden may technically be the least skilled performer to have more
than one fight, she proves versatile in a weapons-based match and has
a fun climactic brawl against
Corinna Everson – the bodybuilder from Double Impact
who you’ll subsequently
agree was severely
underutilized in her fight with Jean-Claude Van Damme.
All
of this plays out under the direction of Kim Bass. Bass is one of the
very few women who’ve directed a martial arts film in the U.S., and
while her aesthetic approach is
virtually indistinguishable to my eye,
she’s got a sense
for action and deserves much credit for everything she gets out of
her main characters. I can’t
think of many directors who’d produce the same familial kinship in
a picture while also filming skillful karate encounters, and
in light of that, it’s a
shame that Bass has yet to direct another martial arts feature. On
the other hand, that just makes Ballistic
stand out all the more. I like this movie a lot, and
the fact that there are few others like it makes it a little
precious. There’s a good chance others will like it, too, so give
it a look if you happen to find it on TV or in a thrift shop.
Ballistic
(1995) Directed
by Kim
Bass (Kill
Speed) Written
by
Don Lamoreaux (creative consultant for Day
of Days) Starring
Marjean Holden, Joel Beeson, Richard Roundtree (Shaft
trilogy),
Sam Jones (Flash
Gordon) Cool
costars: Charles
Napier (The
Silence of the Lambs),
Corinna Everson, James Lew (Balance
of Power),
Julie St. Claire (A.J.’s
Time Travelers),
Michael Jai White (Blood
and Bone),
Vincent Klyn (Cyborg),
Robert Miano (Broken
Blood),
Nils Allen Stewart (Mercenary),
Georges Bejue (Cage
II) Content
warning: Sexist
dialogue Copyright
Imperial Entertainment Corp.
“Bass is one of the very few women who’ve directed a martial arts film in the U.S“.
I think it is a mistake. He is a male director, look here : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TyXqPn2OYs. IMDb had made a confusion, there is an actress with the same name, but not the director of Ballistic.
Oh wow.
First of all, sorry for taking so very long to notice your reblog. Went right under my radar.
Second of all, you’re right. I got that wrong. I don’t think Kim’s IMDb page was quite as detailed at the time as it is now, but nevertheless, I need to be sure to double-check details on people I don’t know that well.
And lastly, thank you for taking the time to read my review and alert me. I’m going to either edit the original post or add an erratum note.
When
the definitive contest to determine the best b-movie villain takes
place, we won’t be able to begin considering a winner without a nod
to Stefanos Miltsakakis – almost certainly the most intimidating
baddie that karate videos ever offered. A genuine badass who had the
luck of being well-utilized in a film career spanning TV, video, and
theatrical incarnations, Miltsakakis made his mark in the martial
arts subgenre and helped ease the scene towards the MMA influence we
now see everywhere.
A
tough childhood as an immigrant set Stefanos on the path of combat
sports at a young age, and he learned wrestling and the ancient art
of pankration long before attaining cinematic fame. He earned a place
on the Greek national wrestling team and later expanded to
professional competition, headlining the 9th and 14th
World Vale Tudo Championships. He boasted a perfect fight record and,
according to some sources, was awarded the WVC Championship twice.
This was a fighter who could easily back up his film reputation,
which was forever cemented as an indomitable enforcer in several of
Jean-Claude Van Damme’s blockbusters.
Tragically,
Stefanos died in his sleep in the second week of January, aged 59-60
– possibly the end of his struggle with heart problems. Though the
martial arts fandom rightfully mourns the loss of one of its most
talented stars, we should also appreciate and celebrate the legacy
he’s left behind. Check out his most famous appearances in films
like Maximum Impact, but
don’t neglect his equally thrilling performances in
video productions.
Films
to See Bloodsport:
The Dark Kumite
(1999) – co-lead / co-fight choreographer Martial
Outlaw
(1993) – supporting role Derailed
(2002) – supporting role
Trivia:
Miltsakakis was set to
represent Greece in the 1984 Summer Olympics, but a knee injury
forced him to withdraw shortly before the event.
Another Roger Corman-produced
martial arts flick, another review. In short, Dragon Fire is
pretty decent.
The story: Off-world martial
artist Laker Powers (Dominick LaBanca) arrives on a dingy futuristic
Earth to find out that his brother has been murdered following
participation in a deadly street fighting circuit. With the aid of a
streetwise trainer (Kisu), he enters the fights to uncover the
killer.
Much credit goes to Dominick,
who’s definitely one of the more complete karate guys to not have
had much of a starring career. The film very much plays to his
strengths, taking the strain off his dramatic requirements via score
and cinematography while still highlighting his natural charisma.
He’s in good company with best buddy Harold Hazeldine, a lovable
kung fu dork, but that’s about the end of positive things I have to
say about the acting, as love interest Pamela Pond and trainer Kisu
will particularly test your ability to keep from laughing. Of course,
none of them are dealing with a fantastic script – expect a good
deal of convolution and using the action scenes as a crutch – but
that’s not to say it isn’t solid or doesn’t create a world
where thematic shortcomings break the picture.
For a movie that chose to set its
story in a sci-fi world, it’s not very ambitious. The neon-tinged
art direction is kind of cool, but the setting isn’t integral to
the story and may have been decided on because the studio wanted a
sci-fi flick and had stock footage from Battle Beyond the Stars
to use. Of course, as this ultimately is a martial arts exploitation
film seeking to showcase as many fight scenes as it can, there’s no
reason to be picky. After all, the fight scenes tend to be good. For
sure, there are some bad matches and some of the performers aren’t
utilized particularly well (I’m sorry, Rod Kei), but overall the
fights are a smorgasbord of diverse combatants with mildly unique
fighting styles. You’re sure to find at least some you’ll enjoy.
If Dominick LaBanca hadn’t
turned into a homophobic religious nut, I’d be disappointed that
this is the only movie he starred in, ‘cause Dragon Fire proves
that the guy had the right stuff to be a regular of the karate video
scene. The movie’s worth a watch if you’re not only interested in
Hong Kong-style fight scenes, so check it out!
Dragon
Fire
(1993) Directed
by
Rick Jacobson (Ring
of Fire 3: Lion Strike) Written
by
Robert King (based on a story by), Beverly Gray (Fire
on the Amazon),
Kevin Ingram Starring
Dominick LaBanca (Street
Survival),
Kisu (Shootfighter),
Pamela Pond (Sins
of Desire),
Harold Hazeldine (Out
for Blood) Cool
costars:
The impressive list of fighters includes Michael Blanks (Expect
No Mercy),
Dennis Keiffer (Mortal
Kombat: Annihilation),
Randall Ideishi (Black
Scorpion),
Rae Manzon (Firepower),
Carolyn Raimondi (Bloodfist
IV),
Jonas
Johannes (High
Kicks),
Rod Kei (Full
Impact),
Greg Duimovich (To
Be the Best),
karate master Val Mijailovic, and taekwondo stars James Choi and
Hyung Lee. B-movie boss Monique Parent (Jack
Vs. Lanterns)
appears as a dancer. Aaron Osborne, who cameos as a doctor, would
later win a Primetime Emmy for art direction on Without
a Trace. Cool
crew:
Editor
John Gilbert later
won
a Daytime Emmy for his work on V.I.P. Content
warning:
Sexual assault, flashing imagery Title
refers to: Cover
accuracy:
I’m pretty sure Dominick LaBanca throws a flying kick similar to
that in the movie,
but the red and orange background doesn’t match the film’s color
palette at all and we never see any
skyscrapers. Number
of full-length fight scenes:
18 Copyright
Pacific Trust / New Concorde
I
don’t know if anyone predicted in 1989 that Don Wilson – the most
decorated kickboxer of his time – would become the most successful
karate video star of all time. Nevertheless, Bloodfist
is a pretty good
springboard, featuring a
lively cast,
solid
production values, and no shortage of fight scenes. Even
if you’re not a Wilson fan, this one’s required viewing for
devotees
of the subgenre.
The
story: When his half-brother is murdered following participation in a
vicious martial arts tournament, boxer Jake Raye (Wilson) travels to
Manila to unmask the killer.
Even
as he’s just embarking on his solo career, Wilson comes to us more
or less fully cooked, charisma and action style already in place. You
can’t tell this is his first time in the spotlight, and he’s
surrounded by players who know their stuff as well. Michael Shaner’s
pretty likable as the comic relief, as is Riley Bowman (despite not
having much to do once she becomes a love interest), and Joe Mari
Avellana exudes presence and gravity as Wilson’s trainer. The
plot’s nothing special, but it’s solid in its simplicity. I wish
they’d done more with the emotional aspects in the characters’
relationships, though.
The
action content is exclusively martial arts-related, and while the
quality of the fights frequently dips via undercranking and
performers uncomfortable with the choreography, it’s generally
passable. It makes for some gravitas that all of Wilson’s major
opponents are given appropriate introductions and backgrounds, and
the matches between him and Billy Blanks and Cris Aguilar are pretty
memorable. Wilson himself will never be mistaken for Jet Li when it
comes to being a flashy onscreen combatant, but even he looks awesome
in his training montage.
Bloodfist
is also one of the more lavish and artful productions starring Don
Wilson, taking its time to showcase
wide cinematography, establish colorful locales, and have fun with
its art direction, camerawork, and editing. I’m not sure what
director Terence H. Winkless thinks of when he looks back on his 40
year career, but I hope he’s proud of what sound work he did here.
For certain, check it out at least once.
Bloodfist
(1989) [also known as Bloodfist
Fighter] Directed
by
Terence H. Winkless (Rage
and Honor) Written
by
Robert King (Cutthroat
Island) Starring
Don Wilson (Ring
of Fire series),
Joe Mari Avellana (Field
of Fire),
Riley Bowman (Stolen
Kisses),
Michael Shaner (The
Expert) Cool
costars:
Cris Aguilar (Death
Cage),
Rob Kaman (Maximum
Risk),
Billy Blanks (The
King of the Kickboxers),
Ned Hourani (Triple
Threat),
and
Greg Rocero (Live
by the Fist)
all appear as fighters, as does stunt coordinator / action guru
Ronald Asinas. Good old Vic Diaz (Blackbelt
II)
appears as a nasty police chief, and Marilyn Bautista (The
Big Boss)
has an utterly thankless role as Michael Shaner’s slavish
girlfriend. Cool
crew:
Cinematographer Ricardo Jacques Gale would later win awards for his
work on movies like West
Beirut. Post-production
director Chantal Feghali, who’d
also become a producer and visual effects consultant, would
eventually work on major motion pictures like The
Hunger Games
and Terminator:
Salvation. Content
warning:
Sexual assault, violence towards women, homophobic dialogue Title
refers to:
There’s literally a scene where Don Wilson holds up his fist and
it’s drenched
with blood. Additionally, even though Wilson probably wouldn’t
admit it, it could be a nod
to Jean-Claude Van Damme’s Bloodsport. Cover
accuracy:
Wilson and Billy Blanks do indeed through simultaneous flying kicks.
However, Blanks’ hairstyle seems to have changed between cover and
production, and I don’t recall him wearing those pants at any point.
Also, there’s no reason other than marketing to give him top
billing. Number
of full-length fight scenes: 19 Copyright
New Horizons
Bloodfist 2050
is the final
installment in the Bloodfist
series, the last movie by director Cirio Santiago released before his
death, and his final collaboration with U.S. counterpart Roger
Corman. It’s
a callback to martial arts
exploitation flicks of yesteryear,
released during a general
dearth of karate flicks, and
even now
remains one of the movies most rich in fight scenes. However,
it’s not
particularly ambitious and
has very evident shortcomings, so
it’s best viewed in context.
The
story: In a post-apocalyptic future Los
Angeles, a young fighter
(Matt Mullins) learns that his brother was murdered while
participating in a lethal fighting circuit. With the aid of a cynical
detective (Joe Sabatino), he enters the fights to uncover the killer.
Though
my long-term hopes for him as an action hero were ultimately
disappointed, baby-faced Matt Mullins is easily the best thing about
the movie. This is the single
most liberal display of his talents as an acrobatic fighter, and his
matches are all highlights. The
remaining 15 or so usually
aren’t
as good, featuring slow and
stilted choreography. Few of the combatants are worth watching for,
and as the action content’s almost entirely fight-oriented, it
means that the movie largely fails in this
regard.
The
screenplay is troublesome. The story is simple
and straightforward, but the
world it takes place in is so rife for developing
that not doing so feels lazy.
There’s so much possibility for social commentary – police
militarization and a water
shortage so severe that human
corpses are recycled for
their moisture, etc.
– but the movie’s decision to not examine any of it seems
indolent.
This especially feels so when
it chooses to instead fill up its runtime
with striptease and sex scenes. Some ten minutes of this 78-minute
flick is made up of these bits.
Jeez, straight people –
enough is enough!
The
movie is technically
competent, though there’s a
good deal of stock footage and the sets generally look junky. Then
there’s the editing, which
is jumpy
and abrupt and gives the impression that the filmmakers didn’t
shoot quite enough
footage. Of course, being
a Santiago film, this isn’t that big of a surprise or so
grand a problem. This
is seat-of-the-pants filmmaking, and if the filmmakers’
resources run just a size or two short, well,
that’s just the way the
dragon breathes.
Every
martial arts fan should watch
at least a couple of Santiago movies, if only for perspective.
Bloodfist 2050 is far
from perfect but hardly boring, so I recommend it if
only to fill that quota.
Check it out if you don’t have to go far out of your way, or catch
the TV version and skip all the nude scenes.
Bloodfist
2050
(2005) Directed
by
Cirio H. Santiago (Raiders
of the Sun) Written
by
Rick King (uncredited), Michael Henry Carter (The
Hunt for Eagle One
series) Starring
Matt Mullins (Death
Fighter),
Joe Sabatino (Batman
& Robin),
Beverly Lynne (Tanya
X),
Glen
Meadows (Embrace
the Darkness 3) Cool
costars:
B-movie staple Joe Mari Avellana
plays
the MC. His
fighters include Monsour Del Rosario (Bloodfist
II),
James
Gregory Paolleli (Beyond
the Call of Duty),
Chris Brewster (Bunraku),
Nash Espinosa (Operation
Rogue),
and Cris Aguilar (Death
Cage). Cool
crew:
Popeye co-directed the fight scenes. Yes,
you
read that correctly. Content
warning:
Police brutality Title
refers to:
As a remake of
the
original Bloodfist,
it
shares the same title.
The number 2050 is
presumably
the year in which the story takes place. Cover
accuracy:
Matt Mullins throwing a kick in front of the dystopian-looking city
is apt enough, but I have no idea who the other martial artist is.
Also, I have
no idea who the woman is.
That
doesn’t look like Beverly Lynne. Number
of full-length fight scenes:
22 Copyright
Concorde-New Horizons
My
opinion
regarding kickboxer/actor/activist Ian
Jacklin is a little more
complicated than with
most karate stars, but in a nutshell, I thought the guy was pretty
cool until I realized that he spends his life promoting
quackery
to
cancer patients. Nevertheless,
I enjoy
his acting
career and see it as
a microcosm of a
successful B-movie
trajectory, with
Death Match
being
the climax.
Created
outside of the major video studios, it has
an unambitious story but a good
production with
a huge amount of martial talent. It’s
required watching for fans of the subgenre and easily the best of
Jacklin’s
film
career.
The
story: An ex-fighter (Jacklin)
goes undercover in a deadly fighting
circuit
to rescue his kidnapped best friend (Nicholas Hill).
I
need to emphasize
the state
of the
production, even though it
may seem odd to praise a film for
looking average. Keep
in mind how easy it is for
indie movies
to turn out
like crud. By all rights, Death
Match should’ve
been
interchangeable
with
a
typical Cine
Excel
production (underpopulated
vistas, dubbed dialogue,
etc.) but it’s
actually
indistinguishable
from most
Pepin-Merhi or Shapiro-Glickenhaus actioneers.
As a matter of fact, it
would
be pretty aspirant
for a PM or SG production, given the impressive list of names in
the cast.
To be fair, we
sometimes only
get a
little taste of them
– cult stars Richard Lynch and Jorge Rivero have only one scene
apiece as Mafia bosses – but the list of talent goes on. Martin
Kove and Matthias Hues are
good as
the lead villains, with Kove supplying the drama and Hues most of the
fighting. Steven Leigh, Eric Lee, and Benny Urquidez don’t have any
fights
but do well in their dramatic scenes. Michele Krasnoo, Butch
Togisala, Randall Ideishi, Ed Neal and Peter Cunningham partake
in some of the highlighted brawls, and many more show up elsewhere.
If these names aren’t clicking, you haven’t been watching movies
like this
long enough. The
sheer accumulation of performers with reputations
in the
genre is amazing,
especially since
your average PM production sometimes wouldn’t
even spring for half.
Of
course, presence isn’t as important as utilization. The real
question is how good the 16 fight scenes are, and
the answer is that
they’re a mixed bag. On
the bright side, there
are no downright
bad matches and the choreography is nicely varied – some
street-fighting, some shoot boxing, and even a lone stick fight.
There
are some some surprisingly long shots highlighting lengthy exchanges,
and a
few
performers
have standout moments of
action. (I
really enjoyed the Matthias Hues-Dino Homsey bout.)
However,
for the most part, nobody performs the best work of their career.
Michele Krasnoo is made
the least of,
being introduced as a fighter but then only engaging in half
a
match. I have
the
impression that the choreographers were simply stretched too thin by
crafting this
many fights on a limited schedule. If
so,
then I wish the number of brawls
had been cut in half and the remaining ones given more flair.
Socially,
the movie has good points and bad points. Where the latter is
concerned, the fact that two women
are cast in
fighting roles is undermined by the
female lead
(Renee Allman)
abandoning
the sparks
of characterization to play a formulaic love interest. Additionally,
a sexual harasser (played by Bob Wyatt) is inexplicably made a
supporting character. However, I like that the movie seems to be
championing an anti-capitalist message, using organized crime and
fighting as metaphors. The villains trap fighters
in a system that depends
on their toil while devaluing their lives, and
the
same villains consider
theft against them to be the single greatest crime.
Threatening
their income by refusing to fight by their rules is likewise
punishable. The
protagonist sets himself apart from this system by having abandoned
organized fighting and claiming to compete solely “for the
competition” - not exactly a fair outlook
in light of all the pro fighters in
real life who earn their
income via
competition, but it’s
nevertheless a repudiation
of the metaphorical wage slavery in the feature.
Death Match
isn’t The
Godfather
when it comes to allegory, but it’s effective
in delivering its message.
There’s
a moment in
the film when
Jacklin’s character is weirded out by Martin Kove’s belief in the
supernatural powers of crystals. Retrospectively, it’s funny to see
Jacklin in the role of the skeptic (even
though
crystal power seems to be one of the few areas
of nonsense that Ian hasn’t stated a belief in), but I have to
admit
that he does well enough as the
lead. He doesn’t have quite the charisma of, say, Don Wilson, but
that’s not to say he wouldn’t have made a good star in the long
run. Indeed, I wish he would’ve been handed another top
role before the end of the martial arts genre’s video
golden
age. Nevertheless, his undisputed high point here is worth hunting
down if you’re a collector. Death
Match encapsulates
many of the essentials seen in movies like this and adds just enough
of
an inspired touch earn a recommendation from me. Check it out
wherever you can.
Death
Match
(1994) Directed
by
Joe Coppoletta (The
New Adventures of Robin Hood) Written
by
Curtis Gleaves (story & screenplay), Bob Wyatt, Steve Tymon (Ring
of Fire II: Blood and Steel) Starring
Ian Jacklin (Kickboxer
3),
Martin Kove (The
Karate Kid),
Matthias Hues (Bounty
Tracker),
Renee Allman (The
Stoned Age) Cool
costars:
Martial arts regulars Steven Vincent Leigh (Sword
of Honor)
and Eric Lee (Ring
of Fire)
appear in acting roles but don’t fight. Similarly, kickboxing hall
of famer
Benny Urquidez (Wheels
on Meals)
is limited to a training montage but offers his Jet Center studio as
a filming location. Sexy
pro wrestler Stevie “Puppet” Lee appears as the arena gong
beater. Richard Lynch (Puppet
Master III)
and Jorge Rivero (Centennial)
have one scene apiece as
non-fighting Mafiosos.
Onscreen
fighters include Nicholas Hill (Bloodsport
II),
Michele Krasnoo (Kickboxer
4),
Ed Neal
(Breathing
Fire),
Butch Togisala (Firepower),
Dino Homsey (Deadly
Bet),
Randall Shiro Ideishi (Black
Scorpion),
Debra “Madusa” Miceli (Shootfighter
II),
Jamie Krasnoo (Full
Contact),
and Nick Koga (Red
Sun Rising).
A performer called Hector Pena appears in a stick fight, but I’m
not sure whether he’s the actual Hector “Aztec Warrior” Peña,
world
champion fighter.
Also, kickboxing
legend
Peter
Cunningham is inexplicably credited as “Peter ‘Sugarfoot’
London” - leading to a snafu on IMDb where the film credit goes to
porn actor Peter London. Cool crew:
Composer Marco Beltrani –
who’d go on to earn two
Oscar nominations for his work on The
Hurt Locker
(2008) and 3:10 to
Yuma
(2007) – makes his feature composition debut with this one. He is
directly heard on the soundtrack playing guitar and
keyboards. Content
warning:
Group violence, violence against women, violence against children,
sexual harassment, sexual assault, ableist dialogue, graphic
description of an execution Title
refers to:
Either the main attraction of the underground fight ring or the
fights-to-the-death taking place at the end of the film. A “death
match” also refers to a hardcore
pro wrestling contest – a fact which may be relevant in
light of
stunt coordinator Brandon Pender’s history as a World Championship
Wrestling producer. Cover
accuracy:
Different covers
exist, but the most widely-distributed one is dominated by an image
of Matthias Hues. Hues is
one of the two lead villains, but relegating leading man Ian Jacklin
to a teeny-tiny graphic is misleading. Heck, Jacklin can’t even get
top billing, with Hues and Martin Kove claiming the large
print. Number
of full-length fight scenes: 16 Crazy
credit:
“No
music by Giancomo Puccini was used in connection with this picture”
- even though Richard Lynch’s character specifically mentions the
composer’s works. Copyright
Horseplay Productions, Inc.
Something I really loved about Black Panther is that it’s such a perfect example of how when you have a healthy number of women in a movie, there’s so much more freedom to have them behave and think and react in different ways, because none of them are bearing the weight of being The Female Character. You can show all kinds of different ways of being women without it being a statement on women in general the way it is when there’s only one female character.
men reviewing a male filmmaker’s movie: if you can’t understand the poeticism of this movie’s slow pacing, then maybe you are not ready to understand cinema!
men reviewing a female filmmaker’s movie: not a lot happened. 0/10 wack
Men reviewing men: “A deeply moving, personal journey.”
Men reviewing women: “Too personal.”
Listen up y'all. I’m a young, lesbian woman midway through a masters of fine art in Screenwriting as I prepare for a career in film and television. And this is the fucking truth.
About a month ago I met with a (young straight white male) professor about a script I was working on. The protagonist is an LGBT female struggling with a depression severe enough to have ended her last relationship. She is medicated for her depression and the medication itself plays a role in the script. This isn’t the plot of the film, just an aspect of the protagonist’s character.
The entire duration of the meeting with this professor was marked by his extreme disinterest in my script. Which, fine- you can’t please everyone, and honestly there were some major problems with the script that I’ll have to tackle during the rewrite. But the real highlight of the meeting was when, after being asked what he felt the biggest issue with my protagonist was, my professor responded: “Well nobody’s that sad. It’s just unrealistic.”
Three other scripts in my class feature protagonists struggling severely with depression. Two of those three are written by men. When I checked in with them afterwards, I was told by the other female writer that she’d received a similar comment from our professor. Both male writers, however, had been praised for their “sensitive and thoroughly human characters.”
Of the faculty in my program, only two professors (of close to 20) are female. The majority of the program is taught, run and managed by white, straight, cis males.
My point is this;; it’s not just Hollywood. As far down the career step totem pole in Screenwriting as formal education, men genuinely don’t believe that women are allowed to be emotive, expressive beings. If you say too little, you’re a bitch- if you say too much, you’re melodramatic and pathetic to boot.
Men don’t want women, men want female bodies on camera, and that is the single biggest crock of horse shit in this entire garbage industry.
Men don’t want women, men want female bodies on camera, and that is the
single biggest crock of horse shit in this entire garbage industry.
“I realized the Americans wanted me to film for three months but be with the crew for nine. And for six months, they wanted to record and copy all my moves into a digital library.”
“By the end of the recording, the right to these moves would go to them.”
“I was thinking: I’ve been training my entire life. And we martial artists could only grow older. Yet they could own [my moves] as an intellectual property forever. So I said I couldn’t do that.”
