Someone must have gotten a whiff of “Lethal Weapon” because while “American Ninja” was about lone wolf Joe Armstrong, “American Ninja 2” is a buddy action film with Joe Armstrong and pal Curtis Armstrong teaming up to kick some ninja ass. Steve James is given a much larger role this time around with Dudikoff also being allowed to speak more often for the role of Joe. If you look closely, he also manages to crack a smile and tell a few jokes here and there. The good thing about “Confrontation” is that James and Dudikoff have great chemistry together with a very “Power Man and Iron Fist” vibe evident throughout this latest action adventure. Their dynamic allows the series to open up more and give Dudikoff a chance to play off of someone while kicking ass.
Category Archives: Movie Reviews
American Ninja (1985) [Blu-Ray]
Golan-Globus’s “American Ninja” from 1985 is the perfect Regan Era action movie cum franchise starter that offers up the right amount of camp and action, along with the ninja glorification that dominated the eighties. Directed well by Sam Firstenberg, “American Ninja” is the introduction of action star Michael Dudikoff whose debut is rather memorable and dynamic. Despite the fact Dudikoff has about ten lines of dialogue in the entirety of “American Ninja,” he is pretty much the ideal American action hero. He looks like James Dean, he fights like Bruce Lee, and he’s a one man army from the military like John Rambo. The icing on the cake is that his name is Joe. Joe Armstrong. Get it? He’s an American Joe with the skills of the ancient Ninja.
3 Great “Harry Potter” Fan Films to Prep for “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them”
Pictured: The OMEN Chronicles
With “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” coming to theaters this week, some will binge watch (or read) the Harry Potter series (which in film form is just under 20 hours without breaks) while others won’t have time. That does not mean there’s nothing out there for those with less time to get hyped about going back into the magical world created by J.K. Rowling.
One quick search will give you hundreds of Harry Potter related videos and shorts that you can watch on You Tube. Of course, the quality of these varies greatly from “I can’t believe this is fan made” to “I can’t believe they’re letting people watch this” which is why we went through a ton of them to bring you some of the best ones out there.
Killjoy’s Psycho Circus (2016)
Full Moon sinks deeper in to pseudo-Troma territory by delivering another installment of “Killjoy’s Psycho Circus.” If you’re prepared for a movie that has literally no plot but spends ninety minutes advertising its product tie-ins, then you might enjoy what’s on display here. During Killjoy’s demented TV show, there’s an ad featuring the characters from “Evil Bong,” and the movie literally stops to promote the “Adam and Eve” website. They even bring on a model to talk to Killjoy to promote their products. I’ve heard of product placement before, but I’ve never seen a movie so lazy that it literally stops in its tracks to promote a product for a company.
The Trail of Dracula (2016) (DVD)
It’s funny how I know so much about Dracula and still can’t get enough of the character or the concept no matter where I turn. Intervision’s “The Trail of Dracula” is an hour long look in to the history of Dracula through the ages. There are tons of interviews and accounts from the creation of Bram Stoker’s novel, and the unauthorized adaptation called “Nosferatu,” right down to his pop culture influence in the modern age like “Vampire Hunter D” and “Castlevania.” While I would have loved a more thorough examination of the vampire legend and its various incarnations of cultures all around the world, “The Trail of Dracula” explores how Dracula eventually was crafted.
Green Room (2016)
Jeremy Saulnier has a habit for taking the characters he writes and literally throwing them in to the furnace to be scorched. With “Blue Ruin” he set his character down a path of destructive revenge, and in “Green Room” he takes absolutely zero prisoners. He doesn’t just build on four characters that end up in the wrong place in the wrong time, but he punishes them severely. “Green Room” is yet another superb dramatic thriller about innocence succumbing to evil that’s beyond pure emotion and impulse. Patrick Stewart’s character is a villain who works with a horrific sense of swiftness and cold instruction like a businessman trying to clean up an insignificant spill. The moment we meet him he’s a man unencumbered by emotion or anger, despite the fact every move he makes could mean the end of his lifestyle as he knows it.
The Short Films of Ithaca Fantastik 2016 [Ithaca Fantastik 2016]
As only a few short films were seen, here are mini-reviews for each of these titles.
Curve (Australia) (2016)
A young woman wakes up sitting on a curved surface, clinging to it for dear life. This short is very simple in concept, yet possibly one of the most grim and dark short seen this year. There is not clear, or unclear, way of the situation this young lady is in and signs are accumulating that others did not have any luck in her position. Written and directed by Tim Egan, the film has no dialogue and only one character, making the most of its location and the situation the character is in. The star, Laura Jane Turner, gives a very good performance and keeps the viewer on the edge of their seat as she tries to get in a better situation. The film is grim and her performance suits it well, showing desperation and a need to survive.