Reviews

Point Doom is not a chick flick, far from it. It is a hard rock extravaganza with heavy metal music, rappers, strippers and believe it or not some great drama. From the moment Ice T opens up the movie with a couple of beautiful women snorting cocaine from the camera lens you know you're in for an e ticket ride. The plot is very simple but the stylish direction and performances are outstanding. Andrew "Dice" Clay proves that he can act and Richard Grieco comes across at first as another pretty boy but we eventually learn how much depth there is to his character. Angie Everhart plays against type and carries it off well, playing a role that is opposite of her supermodel persona and she really pulls it off. None other than Sebastian Bach (Skid Row) who's gone from playing on screen villains to Jesus Christ proves that he too has some real acting chops. What more can I say about this film except, that this incredible cast coupled with some really cool action makes Point Doom a winner.

Fists of Iron is your typical "Fight film with a heart". Even though the story's been told a zillion times, Director Munchkin gives it a fresh perspective. He brings the sometimes predictable script to life with interesting characters, and fight "maestro' Art Camacho does a great job with the fight action. Michael Worth makes up for his lack of charisma with his earnestness and veteran actors Sam Jones and Marshall Teague practically steal the show. Overall it is a very well done low budget flick proving that low budget doesn't have to equal bad filmmaking.

What more can be said of the man whom millions consider one of the greatest action stars of all time. Enter the Dragon is the Citizen Kane and Bruce Lee is the Orson Welles of the martial arts film genre. This film marked the most successful merging of both Hong Kong and American cinema. From the opening scene to the final fight scene it was Bruce Lee at his best. His near perfect physique, leading man good looks and innate charisma transcended the derivative script and gave it a timeless quality. Having read the original draft of Enter the Dragon originally titled "Blood and Steel", The final film is a far cry from it. He turned major monologues into short but memorable phrases like "It is like a finger pointing away to the moon". Very few people then, and now could utter those words and be taken seriously. It was Bruce Lee not writer Michael Allin who gave the movie it's spiritual core and it was Bruce Lee not directed Robert Clouse who gave it its sense of cinematic style. Proof of this lies in the fact that both Allin and Clouse were never able to reproduce the quality or success of Enter the Dragon before or after Bruce Lee. Bruce borrowed heavily from Clint Eastwood's persona and gave it his own unique twist. After all these years, Enter the Dragon stands alone in the genre and stands as one of Hollywood's most profitable feature films.

I didn't know what to expect with a pairing of Lorenzo Lamas and Mystikal but I rented the DVD anyways and man was I surprised. The film didn't waste any time in getting to the point. Having seen some of Mystikal's previous work I was pleasantly surprised at how great he was in this movie. He came off very natural as an actor. The script was pretty good although there were several holes in it but it kept things moving. The directing and action were pretty good. The best thing about the movie is that all the characters seemed pretty real with a couple exceptions like the warden who seemed to be very stiff. There are some real cool exchanges between the characters and their initial introductions in the movie are great. They weren't all good or all bad like characters seem to be in most B films. The only real complaint I have is that it seemed extremely low budget, but overall it was worth the rental.

Two words "Rampart Scandal". Final payback is the kind of movie you see is if you've ever heard of the rampart scandal and wondered why it happened. Just like that scandal there are no real winners but a lot of empathy for both sides. Richard Grieco is excellent as a washed up cop who quits in disgrace over moral issues and Martin Kove is equally great as his nemesis. Overall the cast is quite good for a low budget feature. Corbin Bernsen, John Saxon, Pricilla Barnes and Laura Harring rounds out the cast of actors. The film is well written and directed and overcomes many of it's failings by the stylish directing and purposely gritty cinematography.