About ten years ago I was going through Peter Weller's filmography and came across underrated classic Shakedown. Co-starring Sam Elliott, the New York set thriller follows a lawyer and his high school buddy turned cop as they fight crooked police officers and powerful drug dealers. Writer-director James Glickenhaus and company created an atmospheric, entertaining and exciting 97 minutes that has infinite rewatchability. Shot on the grimy streets of NYC and boasting impressively practical stunts, the film oozes authenticity. Press and interviews on Glickenhaus always seemed a little light, he was from a well off family and liked expensive cars, made a series of flicks like The Exterminator, The Soldier with Ken Wahl, The Protector with Jackie Chan and McBain with Christopher Walken among others before seemingly retiring from the film business.
Thanks to action movie aficionado david j. moore, I discovered an entire treasure trove devoted to Glickenhaus, his business partner Alan Shapiro and their adventures in the film business during the go-go, foreign sales, film market, VHS, genre fueled 80's and 90's. Marco Siedelmann, Nadia Bruce-Rawlings and Stephen A. Roberts pull together the people who made it happen and lived through the era to provide a time capsule and first hand account of a revolutionary time. Through a series of interviews long and short (where did Joseph Zito have to run to?) along with photos of posters, actors, parties and legal documents, we're taken back to the time when you could make a movie for a certain price as long as the poster looked good. You hear from producers, lawyers, assistants, financiers (lending is better than investing) and actors who mainly reminisce about the familial feeling and overall fun the company had. Long hours were a no brainer but staff were provided gym memberships to keep in shape and pulled in to help out wherever necessary.
I didn't realize Shapiro-Glickenhaus touched so many films whether by financing, distributing or producing. The team rented a space above Hollywood Boulevard to watch people line up for Dolph Lundgren's big budget Red Scorpion but instead saw everyone going to Pet Cemetery instead. While not a box office smash, the film's initial VHS orders topped 100,000 copies at $50-$60 a pop! Smaller fare like Maniac Cop and Frankenhooker would live on as action and horror were the fare everyone in the states and around the world wanted to buy. There's a funny story about how a certain film had to have at least one boob, not even a pair, every 7 minutes. With the exploding VHS market and global demand for product, Shapiro-Glickenhaus became a key player at The American Film Market and Cannes, always throwing big and attention grabbing parties. If a film needed a name to attract more buyers, someone like Danny Aiello would show up for a day and collect 50 grand.
There's detours to the 90's direct to video golden age with interviews from the likes of Jalal Merhi and Cynthia Rothrock, making movies to take advantage of Canadian tax breaks and the like. Merhi recounts a screening where everyone started to leave early, not because they didn't like it but because they wanted to buy the rights immediately. As for Shakedown, it's painted as the company's shot at the big time as Universal had come in to distribute. Needing a product to release by a specific date, the $10 million film was semi-rushed but was a big success for the company. Surprisingly, Sam Elliott gets a couple of mentions for being not the nicest guy around.
The book is full of photos but with no captions there isn't a lot of context. You kind of glean what you need to from the following interview. Since the book is purely interviews, topics come and go and I wish there was a little more focus on each title than we're provided. But for anyone who grew up on 80's and 90's action or horror flicks, is a fan of Cannon, Carolco or Nu-Image, this book is for you.
Between The Expendables, Stranger Things, barcades, endless Transformers and Alien sequels and synthwave soundtracks everywhere, the 2010's have been very 80's centric. VHS remains a collector's niche and Cannon Film fans were treated to terrific documentary Electric Boogaloo. Cannon and Nu Image staple Sam Firstenberg is now the subject of proposed book Stories From the Trenches that will dig into his colorful history of breaking into the film business, working with independent film luminaries and genre stars. Firstenberg directed American Ninja, sequel The Confrontation as well as Breakin' 2, Avenging Force, Revenge of the Ninja, Ninja III and many more. His films were filled with the likes of Michael Dudikoff, Steve James, Kirstie Alley, Sho Kosugi, John Rhys-Davies, David Bradley, Mark Dacascos, Eric Roberts, Michael Madsen and Robert Vaughn.
Spearheaded by Marco Siedelmann, a journalist and author who has conducted hours of interviews with Firstenberg and his colleagues. Siedelmann has already provided genre fans with The Untold, In-Depth, Outrageously True Story about Shapiro Glickenhaus Entertainment, a deep dive into the foreign pre-sale, VHS fueled exploitation fun of the 80's and 90's that gave us Maniac Cop, Frankenhooker, Shakedown and other favorites. I'm currently halfway through that entertaining and educational tome of a bygone, go-go era and am looking forward to tales from some of my youth shaping flicks.
Stories From the Trenches has nearly reached it's Kickstarter fund raising goal so donate if you can before Monday, May 15th!
Since seeing Kurt Russell at Beyond Fest a couple months ago I've been revisiting his vast body of work like Tombstone, Captain Ron, Stargate, Big Trouble In Little China, Unlawful Entry, Miracle, Sky High and the 1996 classic action thriller Executive Decision. I'd nearly forgotten that Steven Seagal gets high billing but is killed off in the film's first act. Remember when I told you my theory that Dammaged Goods style action movies died in 1996? The kind starring charismatic, physical heroes who took care of the job with machine guns, muscles, martial arts and one liners? To refresh your memory, check out my piece on Sylvester Stallone, who along with Arnold Schwarzenegger, ushered in a cottage brand of action flick in the 80's and paved the way for lesser cinematic icons Steven Seagal and Jean-Claude Van Damme. While no other action star would reach the heights of the two kings, mysterious Aikido expert and would be CIA agent Seagal nearly got there after bursting onto the scene with 1988's Warner Brothers starring vehicle Above the Law with no prior acting experience. The sub-$10 million flick grossed nearly $20 million.
Before that, Seagal had the distinction of allegedly being the first non-Japanese to open his own Aikido studio in the mother land. Working in Hollywood it's rumored that he broke Sean Connery's wrist while training the James Bond star for Never Say Never Again and impressed uber agent Michael Ovitz who got Seagal in with Warner Brothers. While Jean-Claude Van Damme toiled with low budget filmmakers, independent studios, first time directors, no name casts and $1 million budgets, Seagal had a major studio behind him and familiar faces beside him his first time out. Follow up Hard to Kill more than doubled Law's take and audiences were hooked on the tall, often pony tailed hero who spoke in whispers and took out dozens without ever taking a punch with painful looking joint locks and throws. Fight scenes in Seagal movies always elicited real groans and winces as it looked like people really got slammed into the floor or through a table. Seagal's "aura of invincibility" went with his mysterious past as a martial arts instructor in Japan coupled with his own hints of working with or for the CIA.
By 1992, Warner Brothers had already produced or distributed three of Seagal's four titles and backed Under Siege, a reported $35 million, Die Hard style actioner set on a battle ship. Above the Law director Andrew Davis had already lent a bit of class to Chuck Norris with Code of Silence before doing the same for Seagal on Law and was recruited for a second run. As former Navy S.E.A.L. turned cook Casey Ryback, Seagal fights, shoots, stabs and sabotages his way through a terrorist takeover lead by more than capable actors like Tommy Lee Jones and Gary Busey. A true action classic, Under Siege would open to $15 million opening weekend, good enough for the 9th largest of the year on it's way to an $83 million U.S. take and $156 million worldwide. Now on top of the world, Seagal would exercise his spirit and ego on his next film, the ecological themed On Deadly Ground, which he would also produce and direct. The $50 million Alaska set film takes on oil cartels and Inuit treatment head on while ending with a monologue by the star discussing how the world is dying. A noble endeavor but the film would gross less than half of Under Siege and earn few critical marks.
With success always comes controversy and rumors of Seagal's prickly attitude and unbelievable ego on and off set began to surface. A dispute with writers on Marked for Death, kicking Gary Busey off the sequel to Under Siege, thinking he could easily deliver an Academy Award winning performance if Hollywood hadn't pigeonholed him, taking potshots at JCVD on late night TV, misrepresenting the tribal nations people of Alaska, being accused of sexual harassment, Seagal's quick rise to the top was now catching up to him. Warner's had signed him to a four picture deal but pumped the brakes on Ground as the budget swelled to reevaluate. They also wanted any budget overages on 1995's $50-60 million Under Siege 2: Dark Territory to come out of the leading man's $10 million salary. Territory would hardly recapture the spirit, scale or excitement of the original but would still gross a solid $100 million worldwide.
But 1996's Executive Decision marked the beginning of the end. Long had Seagal carried a film as a super badass who never got hurt but now in Decision, he was making room for the guy who couldn't fight or shoot, the glasses wearing, tuxedo sporting analyst Kurt Russell. We see Seagal and his commando team slashing throats and taking out bad guys right away but it's Russell's smarts that save the day and stop a plane full of nerve agent from crashing into Washington D.C. While Seagal sacrifices himself for the mission and dies 40 minutes in, his career would never be the same. Warner Brothers fully backed Executive Decision with a reported $55 million budget, in house super producer Joel Silver (Die Hard, Lethal Weapon) was behind the scenes and legendary company editor Stuart Baird (Superman, Gorillas in the Mist) was making his directorial debut. I'm sure it was a shock in 1996 to see THE Steven Seagal get killed in the film but by the end you kind of forget he was even in it.
1996 follow up The Glimmer Man, a $45 million buddy picture with Keenan Ivory Wayans that he starred, produced and wrote music for, would gross a paltry $20 million compared to Decision's $69 million. 1997's Fire Down Below, another big budget action movie with an environmental message, would only bring in $16 million, $3 million less than Above the Law had nearly 10 years earlier but with $40 million more budget. By 1998 the party was truly over as The Patriot went Direct to Video. Joel Silver would provide some career juice with 2001's Exit Wounds that was part of a short stint of martial artists paired with rappers that also gave us Jet Li's Romeo Must Die and Cradle 2 the Grave. From there it mainly DTV fare with Seagal gaining more and more weight but appearing in the films less and less with filmmakers not caring if the audience could tell they were using a double or not. Seagal would crank out 2-3 films a year and still command a $5 million fee while dealing with FBI investigations, private investigators and very public lawsuits from former associates that hinted at mafia involvement.
As the home video market fell out in the 2000's, Seagal's output stayed steady as budgets got smaller and schedules shorter. A stint on reality TV followed with the short lived Steven Seagal: Lawman as the fully commissioned deputy performed his civic duty for the Sheriff's office in Louisiana. A villainous turn in Robert Rodriguez's Machete marked a return to cinemas after a near 9 year layoff. Seagal hasn't lacked for work though as he's released SIX films in 2016 alone. His latest, Contract to Kill comes out this weekend and features none other than Dammaged Goods favorite Russell Wong so it will be the first Seagal flick I've actively watched in years. Now "put your hands up!".
A couple of cool videos celebrating the glorious 80's, today! First up is synth artist Gunship with their latest track, Tech Noir. You know, like from The Terminator?! I don't watch too many music videos anymore but this one was just very clever, inspired, fun and violent! Watch as our hero utilizes the power of VHS tapes to rescue the damsel in distress; battling evil icons of the era like Pinhead, Jason and Leatherface while harnessing the power of Robocop, Rocky, He-Man and...a Care Bear?!
Next up is a video sent to me from a Dammaged Goods supporter who attended The Van Damme Double Dip, one Chris Anthony. Mr. Anthony has put together an homage to classic arcade side scrolling brawler Double Dragon, where Billy and Jimmy Lee battle thugs after the death of a lady friend. Martial arts, 8-bit tunes and super knees to the face action ensues. Keep spreading the gospel of the 80's and 90's, my friends!
After a nice morning workout it was time to finish up one of Chuck Norris' greatest flicks and successes, 1986's The Delta Force. A full on Cannon production as co-studio head Menahem Golan directed the flick and co-wrote with regular Norris and company collaborator James Bruner. Inspired by the 1985 Trans World Airlines hijacking where Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad members took control of Flight 847 and demanded the release of 700 Shi'ite Muslims from Israeli custody. Passengers of Jewish descent were separated from the others, traveling military personnel were beaten, U.S. Navy Diver Robert Stethem was killed and it took two weeks and intervention from then U.S. President Ronald Reagan along with Lebanese officials to free the remaining hostages. The hijackers original demands were met when Israel released over 700 prisoners. Many of the original perpetrators remain at large while one was arrested in 1987, sentenced to life in prison but paroled in 2005.
In the film, events more or less unfold as they did in reality for the first half. We meet Captain Scott McCoy (Norris) during the disastrous Operation Eagle Claw where poor planning and communication, unexpected conditions and inefficient training ended with the deaths of eight Delta Force members and the failure of rescuing hostages in Iran. Tired of the bureaucrats planning and his men dying, McCoy resigns after rescuing his teammate Pete Peterson (William Wallace) from an exploded helicopter. Cut to five years later and New World Revolution terrorist Abdul (Robert Forster) and one accomplice hijack a plane waving guns and grenades. Passengers with Jewish sounding names are separated, three military divers are beaten and the hostages come to grips with the possibility of dying. Meanwhile the smartass and crusty Colonel Nick Alexander (Lee Marvin) is given the greenlight to make up for Eagle Claw and get the hostages free. McCoy gets the call and rejoins his crew which includes Bobby (the always great Steve James) and Pete. It's a good thing McCoy came voluntarily because Alexander had a Presidential decree ordering him back to service.
While the events that inspired the film are harrowing, frustrating and sad, the film derived is a fantastic time in the 80's vein of action film that no longer exists. In actuality, The Delta Force is a bit of a odd case as it's part docudrama, part deeply cast disaster movie and part ridiculously entertaining action movie. Joining Norris, Marvin, Forster and James are familiar faces from the 60's and 70's like Rat Packer Joey Bishop, 12 Angry Men's Martin Balsam, The Inglorious Bastards' Bo Svenson, The Magnificent Seven's Robert Vaughn and The Poseidon Adventure's Shelley Winters. There's plenty of human drama in the first hour as families are separated, there's flashbacks to the Holocaust, the young Navy diver is killed and dumped on the runway and the Jewish hostages are taken while the women and children are released. This all builds up for a cathartic second hour where the commandos are given the go ahead and resources to bring the hostages home.
After landing in Beirut, the movie veers from history and gives us the
story many viewers would like to have seen. Basically, the Delta Force
commandos roll in on dune-buggy's and motorbikes to take out the bad
guys with extreme prejudice. Like this is how America kicks ass, extreme
prejudice. Working with Mossad intelligence, McCoy and Pete infiltrate the terrorist hive where their local contact is taken by Abdul and plunges to his death. His sacrifice doesn't go wasted as Chuck and his buddies do the Damme thing and show up to get the job done. There's three sites where hostages are being held and rolling in under the cover of darkness with blue lights on their vehicles and U.S. flag patches on their shoulders, it's finally showtime. By this point the action takes us by air, land and sea and into the streets. You get a pretty destructive car chase with Chuck hanging out the side firing his Uzi and several jeeps and cars being flipped and exploded. Then there's the mass hostage rescue where McCoy and Bobby blow out the floor from beneath, emerge and waste the terrorists using machine guns and night vision goggles. Plenty of baddies get riddled with squibs and tumble down stairs, Steve James gives a strong thumbs up and Chuck wastes a dude hiding under a bed then delivers "sleep tight, sucker". Outside, the main force attacks with missile equipped motorcycles and dune buggy's mounted with M-60's in a hail of explosions and property damage.
The physical stunts and destruction are pretty incredible. McCoy uses a bazooka to blow up some bad guys then takes a zip line down the building because Marvin's Alexander is in a hurry. Gunfire and squibs destroy rooms and bodies, motorcycles ramp and fly all over the place, flames burn right next to actors, every other car explodes, Norris and James fire bazookas near simultaneously then shake hands and the final big stunt involves Chuck Norris' double chasing a moving airplane, riding on on the seat of a motorcycle, grabbing a rope and climbing up...it's just terrific stuff set to Alan Silvestri's exciting and way overused yet effective electronic score. Then when McCoy catches up to Abdul, it's payback time to the max as Chuck flies in through a window on his motorbike and proceeds to thrash Abdul with punches, karate kicks and Judo throws all over the house through furniture, out a window, smashes his arm in a car door then blows him up with a rocket from his bike. Phew!
Once the hostages are freed and everyone is headed home, the Delta Force hands out cans of Budweiser beer and everyone sings "America, The Beautiful" before coming back to reality as Pete dies from his wounds. With their families waiting, the freed hostages celebrate while Delta Force carries off their dead and heads off to their next mission. I couldn't help but think this would make a great double feature with 1990's Charlie Sheen and Michael Biehn starring Navy Seals, another middle eastern terrorist tinged tale of heroism, sacrifice, skill, one liners and showcase of America's ass kicking acumen. Originally set to star Cannon's "two Chucks" Norris and Bronson, the latter fell out over unknown reasons. Probably financial as they both took home up to $5 million a picture. Marvin made his deal within 20 minutes after speaking with Golan and settled for a somewhat paltry $50,000 for 8 weeks of shooting towards the end of his career. Marvin was a much better choice than Bronson at this point as he was still lithe, dignified and trim while Charlie was no longer the granite featured muscleman of his youth.
Opening on Valentine's Day of 1986, The Delta Force grossed nearly $6 million at 1,720 theaters behind Down and Out in Beverly Hills and The Color Purple on it's way to a $17.7 million total. That put it at #50 for the year but would be one of Norris' highest earners alongside Missing in Action, The Octagon, A Force of One and Good Guys Wear Black. 1990's sequel would earn less than half of the original. The Delta Force would be Oscar winner Lee Marvin's final film as he died in 1987. Cool and buff sidekick Steve James would go on to re-team with American Ninja star Michael Dudikoff in Cannon's Avenging Force and Ninja sequel The Confrontation before showing up as Norris' cop buddy in Hero and the Terror. James sadly passed away in 1993. Cannon Films would be on it's last legs as 1987's costly trio of under performers Over the Top, Superman IV and Masters of the Universe along with a crashing bond market spelled doom for the mini-major known for genre and art house films alike.
Space Invaders: Sci-Fi in the Arcade Age blasted off this past Thursday at The Egyptian in Hollywood with a double feature of alien filled adventure with 1984 and 83' awesomeness; The Last Starfighter and Krull. Starfighter is the story of one Alex Rogan (Lance Guest), a smart yet frustrated teen living in a small trailer park in California mountain country. His mom manages the park and works as a waiter. He's too busy fixing outdated electrical grids and antennas to hang out with his friends at the beach or have fun. Aspirations to attend non-community college are dashed when a loan isn't approved, his sweet ladyfriend Maggie (Catherine Mary Stewart) tries to cheer him up but Alex finds solace in the one thing he's really good at; flying/shooting arcade game Starfighter. One night Alex breaks the record and is soon visited by Centauri (Robert Preston), a recruiter for the inter-galactic defense network The Star League. You see, Star League is under attack by the evil Rylons and it's up to Alex and his co-pilot Grig (Dan O'Herlihy) to take out the armada. The video game was an elaborate plan by Centauri to find Starfighters to which he collects a referral fee.
The Last Starfighter is pure 80's goodness. You've got the put upon lead who just wants to do something more with his life but looks doomed to small town mediocrity (Luke in Star Wars, Marty in Back to the Future and Kevin from Masters of the Universe). You've got the quaint community filled with interesting and zany characters then an the opportunity for otherworldly adventure. To me, the core message is simple, "if that's what you think, that's all you'll ever be". The 80's really taught us to believe in ourselves as it was a cinematic time of optimism and exploration via Steven Spielberg and George Lucas. Directed by Nick Castle with a script from Jonathan R. Betuel, The Last Starfighter gives us heart, humor and action that all still holds up today. Sure the then cutting edge computer graphics are vastly outdated but overall it's still a funny, fun and rousing time at the movies you don't see too much today. Craig Safan's score is bombastic and memorable, giving it an even bigger feel even if some of the sets look a little cheap. Guest is convincing as Rogan, the mixed up kid who isn't sure he's up to the challenge of saving the galaxy. Preston knocks it out as the fast talking, pseudo space con-man and Robocop's O'Herlihy is terrific as the mentor with a huge laugh Grig.
After the film, a giant panel was introduced that included director Castle, stars Guest and Stewart, composer Safan as well as producer Gary Adelson, f/x coordinator Jeffrey Okun and actors Chris Hebert and Peter Nelson.
- 3 sets of leads were under consideration before Guest and Stewart were cast
- Robert Preston was a real movie star, oozed charisma and kissed Stewart's hand when they met
- Preston's character was based on his role in The Music Man and producers were elated to land him
- Funded by Lorimar and Universal, Adelson convinced them they could do the f/x with computers even though he didn't know how
- Was cutting edge of technology and some days didn't know if they could do it
- Budgeted at $15 million, went over
- Shot quickly in northern California where it was very cold
- Nick Castle fostered a great working environment for the actors, fun and open
- The Playboy little brother Lewis flips through was real
- Sequel rights reverted back to writer Betuel who with Castle drafted a script and storyboarded it, got studio interest and then it all fell apart
- Sequel would deal with grown up Alex and Maggie and their kids who become next generation of Star League fighters
- Rights tied up with Universal, Betuel and Warner Brothers who bought Lorimar
- Castle had never worked with visual effects before and the film had everything else going on, drama, comedy, costumes, make up, etc
- Grig's mask was made from plastic, always pushing designers to allow more expression and O'Herlighy's performance show through
- Safan had a full orchestra for a week, scored it to temp f/x of dots on a screen
- F/X crew heard the score and worked hard to make visuals match quality of the music - F/X took a huge room of computers to accomplish 2 gigs of info, today could be done on cell phone
- Studio executive changed during production who didn't believe in film until first test screening reaction which was overwhelming positive
- Opened in wake of Ghostbusters and Gremlins but did better than studio expected
- Really found audience on video and HBO
It was a great night and the panel was terrific. With another movie playing they couldn't go on for too long which was a shame. Everyone there looked like they reflected on the experience with nothing but fondness and you could tell many of them were still close. It was a great start to the weekend of movie madness and bro'ing out.
If going to three conventions in a month wasn't enough fun, I've got a couple of packed weeks before taking off for a destination wedding. Coming off of Star Wars Celebration and a slight case of Con-fluenza, I've got one more day to rest up before a weekend full of 80's and 90's goodness starting with a double feature of mother fudging The Last Starfighter and Krull! You know, where a smart kid who lives and works in a trailer park gets the chance to go to space and fight an intergalactic war?! I've never seen Starfighter on the big screen so am very pumped for some innocent, post Star Wars, Spielberg flavored Americana and rising to the outrageous occasion. The American Cinematheque's Egyptian Theatre, where Dammaged Goods Presents proudly flies it's banner of repertory cinema and special events a la Dolph Night, An Evening With Carl Weathers and The Sunbow Celebration; is hosting a badass weekend of 80's science fiction films dubbed Space Invaders: Sci-Fi in the Arcade Age. Starfighter and Krull kicks things off Thursday with special guests including Star director Nick Castle, cast members Lance Guest, Catherine Mary Stewart, Chris Hebert and Peter Nelson along with composer Craig Safan, producer Gary Adelson and visual effects coordinator Jeffrey A. Okun! Phew! If that weren't enough, there will be a special presentation of rare behind the scenes material as well.
Friday night sees the classic terror then action in space masterpieces Alien and Aliens (aka #HicksLives aka #F@ckAlien3! aka #MichaelBiehnRules aka #HicksHudson86') with special behind the scenes material. On Saturday it's Blade Runner, the Final Cut with more making of materials and Sunday closes off with a Disney double feature of Tron and The Black Hole. Tron will also be a tribute to writer and #MovieBro Jay West who sadly passed recently. Jay was a mainstay on the repertory and genre film circuit as he was a fan, expert and collector of all things Alien and Tron. I found his work through his Beyond the Marquee site of news, reviews, interviews and more. When we saw Alien and Aliens at Hero Complex last year, the stage was adorned with prop xenomorph eggs that came from his personal collection. I introduced myself to the man at Hero Complex's Comic-Con party in San Diego last year and he was very warm and cool to chat with. The Tron evening welcomes VFX supervisor Harrison Ellenshaw and concept designer Richard Taylor along with more behind the magic info.
Information and tickets on the nights can be found HERE. Remember what Centuri said, "If that's what you think, then that's all you'll ever be!"The 80's taught us to believe in ourselves. See ya there!
How the heck did I not know about Miami Connection? The title drifted across my plate a couple of years ago, something about a martial arts rock band fighting ninjas with an 80's vibe. But there's been a lot of throwback 80's in the last few years. Movies like The Expendables, Hobo with a Shotgun and Manborg. A Cannon films documentary. Video game Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon with music score by Power Glove. Blood Bros' playlists on Mad Decent. All of those VHS style trailers. Little did I know that Miami was a film actually made in the 80's, released and quickly forgotten about in 1987 and by some minor miracle was given a second chance! Thanks to Turner Classic Movies Underground banner and a 2:00AM airing, now I know. And knowing is half the battle...
The story begins with immigrant and Tae Kwon Do master Y.K. Kim, who landed in the United States from South Korea in 1978. By the mid-80's he was kicking ass with a chain of successful martial arts schools, public speaking, authoring books and generally being liked by those around him for his positive outlook on life and charitable efforts around central Florida. While on a television program in South Korea, action movie director Woo-sang Park figured he'd made a good cinematic hero and the two set off to create a flick that would encapsulate Kim's philosophy of friendship, loyalty and martial arts. Against the advice of his closest friends, Kim sold his car, mortgaged his home and franchise to fund Miami Connection. With no prior background in filmmaking or even an interest in it, the shoot quickly devolved into a nightmare. There was no script, director Park spoke little English and the entire cast was more or less farmed from Kim's network of 10,000 students. With that pedigree you'd expect a fun home movie but instead Kim hoped Miami would be a blockbuster film that showed the greatness of Tae Kwon Do to the world. What he got was a near $1 million dollar catastrophe that almost crippled his life and sent him into bankruptcy.
Miami Connection is the story of Dragon Sound, a synth-rock band made up of Tae Kwon Do blackbelts. They jam on guitars and do kicks on stage. Meanwhile, some ninjas kill off some local drug dealers and the band Dragon Sound replaced wants their gig back, teaming up with the bad guys to snuff out the band. Mark (Kim) and his bandmates are all orphans who live and train together. Jim (Maurice Smith), has been trying to find his black-American dad for some time and finally has a lead. Meanwhile John (Vincent Hirsch) is trying to get to know Jane (Kathy Collier) whose brother happens to be leader of the evil gang. Martial arts brawling, shirtless mail reading, hardcore Tae Kwon Do demonstrations, catchy synth pop, bros pooling money for a suit, poor English and of course, ninja mayhem ensues. Miami Connection should not be a good movie or a good time. Story developments go nowhere, the acting is hammy, random montages and vignettes add nothing...But somehow, the sheer earnestness of the cast and ridiculous concept shines through the amateur production values. We don't get shoddy sets or cheap tricks to pull off elaborate stunts. The practical streets, woods, creeks and college campus locations all give Miami Connection a texture that rises above a Chuck Norris or Bruce Lee imitator or ironic love letter made today.
The fights in the flick are pretty solid in that 80's, awkward, kinda telegraphed, wait for it style. Given that the entire main cast are blackbelts, they get to show off their high kicking TKD skills and even fight with swords in a bloody final confrontation against the ninjas. Kim is not exactly the world's most charismatic leading man but really he's just there to support his friends and kick ass, which he does just fine. Two of his students turned co-stars, Angelo Janotti and Kathy Collier, were musicians in their own right and provided two memorable tracks; Friends and Against a Ninja. Friends reminds you of Nowhere Fast from Streets of Fire a bit and has awesomely simple lyrics like "loyalty, honesty, we'll stick together through thick or thin" with it's hand clapping drum beat. Against a Ninja starts with extreme guitar riffs and more hand clapping and lyrics about you know, ninjas being evil.
At the end of production, Park departed for Korea and Kim set about trying to sell the movie for exhibition. He estimates 100 companies turned him down, told him it was trash and that he shouldn't spend another cent. That seems pretty hardcore considering some of the low budget turkeys Cannon was producing at the same time. I guess those just had more famous and bankable actors. Feeling like a failure, Kim took the film to Cannes to drum up interest but struck out once more. One insider suggested several changes and Kim along with co-star/student Joseph Diamond read some books on writing screenplays and directing films to realize it needed things like a beginning, middle and end then reshot scenes. One distributor finally ponied up $100,000 to release the film in 8 theaters around Orlando with Kim working overtime to promote the flick via store demonstrations and local media. But a prominent local critic called Miami the worst film of the year before it's release and after 3 weeks, the movie was pulled and forgotten. Kim rebuilt his empire, stronger than ever and continued to spread the gospel of personal, financial and emotional fitness.
Cut to 2009, Alamo Drafthouse programmer Zack Carlson came across a print of the film on eBay and bought it for $50 bucks. After audiences responded well to the first reel, Carlson and his boss Evan Husney began their quest to redistribute the film. Kim thought it was a joke and hung up on Husney several times before being informed that Miami Connection had all the makings of a cult classic a la the also forgotten Troll 2. From there the film played in several film festivals and midnight screenings across the country to fevered reaction, several with Kim and cast in attendance, demonstrating moves and even playing Friends on stage. Today you can get a special edition blu-ray, vinyl soundtrack, band shirts and much more. That's the power of movies, baby. And a nice spinning roundhouse kick.
Looks like the 80's just ain't going nowhere, fast, as this week showed people still want their Starlog Magazine, 8-bit video games, VHS movie trailers and schlocktastic studio of the future, Cannon Films. So cancel your Saturday night date, break out the 2-liter of Shasta and crank up the synth wave as we round up all things great eight...ies.
- Non-profit The Internet Archive out of San Francisco looks to provide historians, scholars and the general public permanent access to digital records. Amongst their archives are over 200 issues of Starlog Magazine, the publication devoted to science fiction films, books and television series that had it's heyday in the 80's. Started by Kerry O'Quinn and Norman Jacobs with a later assist from David Houston as a one off guide to Star Trek, Starlog expanded into regular printing and ran from 1976 to 2009 for 375 issues. The company also published Comics Scene and Fangoria, focusing on comic book adaptations and horror films among other titles.
- The Internet Archive also unveiled over 900 8-bit coin-operated arcade game titles emulated for online play. As mall arcades died out in the 90's, you can save your quarters and spend your free time playing classics like Bionic Commando, Street Fighter II, Galaga, Golden Axe, Q*Bert, Dig Dug and Burger Time online instead.
- Speaking of video games, remember River City Ransom? The Double Dragon-esque NES beat'em up game where you went around punching dudes with brass knuckles and eating ramen? An officially licensed sequel, Underground, is on the way via a successfully funded Kickstarter campaign that revisits and expands upon Alex and Ryan's army'ing into River City looking for a kidnapped girlfriend.
- YouTube masher upper extraordinaire Chiefbrodyrules dropped his latest creation, a VHS, 80's style trailer for Captain America: Winter Soldier. Complete with Cannon Films logo, tracking lines and synth soundtrack, Brody culls footage from the Cap flicks, Avengers, Robocop, Scott Pilgrim VS The World, Machete and Nick of Time to create an awesome time capsule made way outside the actual era.
- And we can't reminisce about the 80's without talking about Cannon Films now can we? It's been a busy year for the former Go-Go boys of Hollywood with two documentaries hitting screens heightening their profile and the passing of co-founder Menahem Golan cementing their legacy. After several years in the making, Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films finished production and began rolling out at various film festivals. Featuring interviews with studio staples and stars like Michael Dudikoff, Dolph Lundgren, Tobe Hooper and Sam Firstenberg; the love letter to pre-sold, hastily made, schlocky exploitation fare sure to include nudity, action and or horror has been a hit with viewers.
Founders Golan and Yoram Globus were scheduled to participate but then in true Cannon fashion, created their own documentary called The Go-Go Boys: Inside Cannon Films to beat Boogaloo to the punch. At the Cannes Film Festival in May, the two former mini-moguls held court for a screening and attendees could check out both documentaries over the festivals run. Sadly, in August, 85 year old Golan passed away.
It was a guy's night out for Brad Pitt's latest, the World War II set, tank riding action-drama, Fury. Written and Directed by future Dammaged Goods Hall of Famer David Ayer, Fury opens up deep within Nazi Germany in 1945 where a desperate Hitler has every man, woman and child fighting for their dying cause. We meet the crew of Fury, a Sherman tank that has treaded a bloody path through Africa into Europe. Leading the outfit is Wardaddy (Pitt), a hard ass who whips his men and kills the bad guys but suffers in solitude. Behind him is Bible (Shia LaBeouf), bespectacled, respectable, little brother type to Wardaddy who always seems to be on the verge of tears. Loading the cannon and fixing Fury is the scary and brutish Coon-Ass (Jon Bernthal) while been there, done that know it all Gordo (Michael Pena) drives the big rig. When their gunner is killed in a skirmish, meek administrative typist Norman (Logan Lerman) is assigned to the crew and learns the ways and horrors of war from the experienced team and first hand.
To start, I found Fury to be terrific. If you read this online journal regularly you know that World War II movies are among my favorites. So one with a big budget and a talented cast and crew behind it is right up my alley. Fury is brutal, it's intense and it's funny. If you're familiar with any of Ayer's previous work like Harsh Times, Street Kings, End of Watch or Sabotage, you know to expect a gritty, reality based tale of (mostly) men working in violent professions and the bond between them. While that hard edged machismo can come off near ridiculous in modern affairs, it suits Fury perfectly as Ayer doesn't glorify violence as much as show you the consequences, physically and mentally, in a time when the enemy was clear cut and soldiers were asked to execute and endure harsh realities. Wardaddy pushes his men to stay on their toes and do their jobs, which is to kill Nazi's. Especially crime against humanity extremist members of the Schutzstaffel or SS. They get it first and they get it bad.
Story wise, Fury doesn't explore anything we haven't seen in World War II movies before. War is hell, our troops were spread too thin, under trained and the finale is a few versus many. What makes it resonate into it's own memorable feature is the camaraderie between the crew members, the depiction of brutality of what these men had to do in order to survive and ultimately win the war. Brad Pitt is solid as Wardaddy, in a sense he's like the father of his men, riding them so they'll rise to the challenge and not get themselves or others killed. He's also surprisingly still yoked for 50 years old as a lingering shirtless scene shows Pitt's still got it and must have his Troy workout routine written down somewhere. LaBeouf is like the sensitive little brother and doesn't have the same kind of necessary mean streak as his comrades. Jon Bernthal is straight up terrifying as the savage of the group and I wondered if he was going to end up squaring off with Wardaddy or turning on the team. Ayer alum Michael Pena gets a lot of laughs as the wise ass while Lerman injects his role as the greenhorn who must adapt or die with believable nervous, boyish humanity.
All of Ayer's work focuses on the daily lives of characters who live and work in dangerous worlds. End of Watch and Sabotage neared docudrama levels as it felt like the audience was basically along for the ride. Fury, with it's period setting, shares the same closeness but doesn't come off quite so mechanical as just tagging along. The action is violent with faces and limbs being blown off and people being burned alive. There's a great fight between the Sherman and the German's faster, better armored Tiger that must be among the best depictions of close quarter tank battle ever put on the big screen. There's a mention of tracer rounds so you can see what you're shooting at but it seemed like every shot fired in the film was traced in a green or red line, giving it a strange, laser beam like feel.
While some might find the film nihilistic, I found it to be inspiring and a reminder to the great men and women who gave up their daily lives and were transported halfway around the world to fight, suffer and die for the greater good. Ayer continues to be one of my favorite directors working today with his unrelenting, raw and realistic approach to familiar genres where punches aren't pulled and an R rating is guaranteed.
Remember that time I said Arnold was looking surprisingly swole at Cannes in May riding a tank to promote The Expendables 3? Well the King of Kings has kept up his training regimen because he's looking more and more jacked. Recent snaps show him traveling the world and hitting the weights at Muscle Beach in Venice, California as well as staving off jet lag in India by getting a pump. At a car show of some sort, a beefy and vascular Arnie checked out sports cars with son Patrick and Taylor Lautner (?!), I'm guessing they're buddies from Grown Ups 2...With a short haircut and blondish locks, Arnold looked like Dutch 2.0, his character from 1987's Predator. Although I feel like that character should probably be a bit of a crumpled, shell of his former self in the developing Shane Black driven sequel, after losing his entire unit and brothers in arms (literally and figuratively, Jesse Ventura, Sonny Landham and Carl Weathers all sport some strong pipes in arguably the most macho film of all time).
While Arnold's recent cinematic conquests Sabotage and EX3 have been met with disappointing and plain embarrassing results, the flicks were enjoyable and the former Governor is still busier than ever. Whether it's finishing up shooting on the latest Terminator installment, traveling to Sacramento to catch up with Governor Jerry Brown and be on hand for his portrait unveiling, to his Symposium for State and Global Policy holding a Climate Change Summit to visiting Bakersfield to check out a fuel additive that reduces emissions, The Oak, like his trademark T-800 persona, just won't stop.
But it wasn't long distance because they're still here! Just checking in with your roundup of all things Dammaged Goods 80's appropriate... but today! The "Me" decade of excess, cocaine, yuppies, viral diseases, teased hair, amphibious comic book heroes and cartoonish action heroes continues it's comeback. From this week alone:
- The Expendables 3 is nearly here, the reunion of cinematic tough guys led by Sylvester Stallone and featuring no less than 80's icon Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mel Gibson, Dolph Lundgren, Robert Davi and Harrison Ford. Early word is that it's the best of the series yet with a nice mix of bro-humor and lots and lots of explosions. I'll be seeing all 3 of them in the theater this Thursday which means, yup, JEAN-CLAUDE VAN DAMME on the big screen! Crowds turned up to premieres in the United Kingdom, Spain and Germany this past week where stars Stallone, Jason Statham, Kellan Lutz, Antonio Banderas and Wesley Snipes greeted fans and media on the red carpet. This coming Monday, the boys are back in town stateside for the Hollywood premiere at the historical Chinese Theater.
- Speaking of The Real JC...VD, his seminal "born in Belgium but living in Los Angeles", revenge seeking, American dancing, Muy Thai fighting flick Kickboxer is about to be rebooted. This week's casting news saw Guardians of the Galaxy's Dave Bautista, Ong Bak's Tony Jaa and The Expendables 2's Scott Adkins rumored to be joining MMA champion Georges St. Pierre and newcomer Alan Moussi in the 3D update. No word yet on JCVD being lined up for a cameo...
- The weekend's number one movie? Why it's the latest adaptation of 1984's comic book phenomenon, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! Overcoming tepid reviews and misplaced keyboard warrior wrath due to it's connection to Michael Bay and Megan Fox, TMNT defied expectations and raked in a whopping $65 million shell-backs. Making it the 4th biggest opening in August of all time behind Guardians of the Galaxy, The Bourne Ultimatum and Rush Hour 2. A sequel has already been dated for June 3rd, 2016. Bring on Casey Jones, Bebop, Rocksteady and the Triceratons!
- Know what else came out in 1984? James Cameron's tech-noir, B-movie thriller masterpiece The Terminator! Production wrapped this week on the 5th installment with Arnold Schwarzenegger breaking the title on Instagram. What was once Terminator: Genesis has now become Terminator: Genisys...why? I dunno...
Spandex, tank tops, shoes without socks, Transformers, what's next?!
What happens when you hear that Beverly Hills Cop was originally going to star Sylvester Stallone but he dropped out 2 weeks before filming was to begin and took his ideas and put them into a different script and then you can't sleep one night and need a movie to pop in at 3:00 AM? Yup, you sit down and put on 1986's Cobra! Based on the novel Fair Game by Paula Gosling, I have no clue if Stallone's screenplay follows the book. I kind of doubt it... Basically, a cult, a New Order of psychos is looking to kill the weak and let the strong survive. One of their young, ambitious leaders is witnessed killing a woman on the street by a super model and she must go into protective custody. Enter Lieutenant "Cobra" Cobretti, a hard ass legend who works the Zombie Squad squashing murderers, rapists and thieves in a hard charging, shit talking, no rulebook, violent fashion that draws the ire of wussy bureaucrats and hypocritical journalists.
From the film's gravelly yet sneering opening voiceover of Stallone reciting stats on violent crimes and the ensuing grocery store melee where Sly drops kick ass lines like: "I don't deal with psychos, I put'em away" to "You're a lousy shot, I hate lousy shots" to telling the armed assailant to go ahead and blow up the joint because he doesn't shop there to the knife throwing followed by multiple gunshot death, Cobra is just too hardcore for words. 80's hardcore. Bankrolled by Cannon Films 80's hardcore. Clad in tight jeans, black Henley, black jacket, black gloves, black boots, shades and a pistol with a Cobra on the white grip, Stallone is equal parts gunslinger, superhero and badass. Then there's Cobra going home to his bachelor pad and some homie is parked in his spot. Cobra first pushes the car out of the spot then puts his hand over the thugs mouth to pull a cigarette away and tears his shirt open. What?! Yup. Alpha as fuck. Then how does he relax? By watching TV, eating cold pizza and cleaning his gun. What a man!
So anyway, the New Order and their leader The Night Slasher (Brian Thompson from Terminator, Lionheart and The Van Damme Double Dip) are on the hunt for "dances with robots" model Ingrid (Beverly Hills Cop II's Brigitte Nielsen, then Stallone's wife) who saw him waste some chick on the street. After a botched assassination attempt at the local hospital, Cobra and partner Sergeant Gonzales (Dirty Harry's Reni Santoni) take Ingrid upstate to a safe house but not before engaging in a huge car chase scene which showcases Cobra's suped up 1950 Mercury and his trusty submachine gun. Betrayed and tracked down, Cobra has to finish off the New Order army, protect Ingrid and face off with The Night Slasher. Guess who walks away from that scrap?
Cobra is only 87 minutes long so you'd think it would be go go go, in your face action all the time but honestly there's a surprising amount of quiet moments worked into the film that gives you just enough meat to keep you interested between action scenes. I was surprised at the build up before set pieces with a great use of eerie music and sweeping vistas of worn down, back road California settings. Character wise, Cobra is the man, Gonzales is his trusted sidekick, Ingrid is the target/love interest, The Night Slasher is bad and then you have supporting characters like Cobra's supportive superior, his bitch ass superior and a chick who sells him out. You don't need to know more about them then what you're given and it works perfectly. While many probably just cast off the flick for it's violence, it's important to note how funny this movie is. Stallone has always had a dry sense of humor and Cobra showcases it in spades with comments about his partner eating too much sugar and being violent to watching Ingrid drown her fries in ketchup and waking her up because he's putting guns together to naming his character Marion to offset his manliness. Fight scenes are crisp and pack a wallop with Stallone showing off the best punches and running in cinema (sorry, Tom Cruise) then you throw in car/truck/motorcycle chases, ax fights and some light slasher movie antics and you have the feel good movie of Memorial Day weekend.
While lambasted by critics, Cobra opened to $12 million bucks, which at the time was distributer Warner Brothers' biggest opening ever! Like he did on Rambo: First Blood, Part II, George P. Cosmatos acts as a capable shooter to Stallone's influential star/producer with a heightened reality, western style confrontations and kinetic action sequences. It's said that the original cut ran just under 2 hours but after the success of Top Gun, WB and Stallone got nervous and went to cutting the flick down to it's sub-90 minute released form so theaters could play it more times in one day in the same way First Blood helped revolutionize the action film. While Cobra wouldn't be Stallone's next Franchise after Rocky and Rambo, it's still one enjoyable piece of action cinema. Especially at 3:00 AM.
This past Tuesday night consisted of the following: burgers and fries from Five Guys, whiskey and ginger ale, watching Michael Dudikoff and Steve James in American Ninja 2: The Confrontation with a buddy as in tuned to the glorious 80's as I am. American Ninja and The Confrontation were seemingly always on TBS or My 43 as a kid and you can bet your ass I watched them both. A lot. Then I picked them up on VHS before some genius finally put them on DVD. American Ninja 2 finds Army Rangers Joe Armstrong (Dudikoff) and Curtis Jackson (James) investigating a rash of missing Marines on some Bahamas-like island paradise. Rumors of giants dressed head to toe in black suits prompts the Army to send Armstrong and Jackson as they had already taken down a weapons dealer with a Ninja training facility in part I. Army VS Marine jokes, bar brawls, Levi jeans tucked into boots, wrist bands, sparky 80's soundtrack with steel drums, karate, genetically modified ninja, bright pastel shorts, Body Glove wetsuits, ninja laddering up rocks and ninja using a sawed off shotgun antics ensue.
Maybe it's because I've seen The Confrontation more times than American Ninja but I always liked it better. It just moves faster and is a lot of fun. By now, the story sees Dudikoff and James as buddies and their chemistry onscreen is palpable. So it's a shock to learn that the two didn't get along overly well over the first two films they were paired up in, Ninja and Avenging Force. James thinks it has something to do with Michael Dudikoff being a model turned actor thrown into an action role with no prior training. The fact that James was a stuntman and martial arts enthusiast complete with natural onscreen charisma and a muscular build too boot would probably unnerve many a co-star. While it was clear that Dudikoff was the star, James had some reservations and demands to be met if he was going to return. Basically he wanted more action, more humor and at least one scene with a female costar. All of those criteria were met and added to the fun of the picture. As Jackson, James gets to mix it up with ninjas on the beach, locals in a bar and more ninjas at the end while armed with an auto shotgun and huge butterfly knives clad in what looked like a leather vest. James' crazed/macho posturing, eagerness to scrap, dry sense of humor and wooing of a woman at a party give the movie plenty of memorable moments and helps make it more than just a low-budget, throwaway genre flick.
Released just under 2 years after American Ninja, The Confrontation would open on fewer screens to less box office, raking in $4 million on a rumored $350,000 dollar budget compared to the originals $10.4 million on a $1 million production. James would return to the franchise in American Ninja 3: Blood Hunt in 1989 before taking control of his own destiny and creating projects for himself. Sadly, at only 41 years old, Steve James passed away in 1994. Originally thought to have pancreatic cancer, his family believes that may have not been the case.
Welcome to G.I. JOE week and Hello, Joseph (Yo, Joe!, get it?) Our look at an individual member of the Joe clan. Things got hot while watching The Pyramid of Darkness, the third mini-series in the original G.I. Joe cartoon, as America's highly trained special missions force in a race to stop ruthless terrorist organization Cobra from activating a global electricity sapping device. Somewhere in the arctic, Joes Alpine and Bazooka intercept Major Bludd placing the third of four cubes needed to activate the Pyramid. Alpine and "Bazook" get separated from the main force and end up rafting the frigid waters on a small ice berg. To make things worse, they're attacked by killer leopard seals while Cobra Crimson Vipers under the command of evil ninja Storm Shadow, fire red lasers at them from the shore. It looks like it might be curtains for our guys until a pair of well thrown nunchucks knock the seals back into the water. Alpine and Bazooka look up to see a buff Asian dude clad in only black karate pants, white head band and red sash carrying shuriken (throwing stars) despite the frozen tundra and blowing snow. With that, America was introduced to "star of stage, screen and a regular on the gun show, Quick Kick, stunt man extraordinaire".
Quick Kick then takes out 6 Crimson Vipers in as many moves before mixing it up revered badass Storm Shadow. In an impressive bout of animated fisticuffs, Quick Kick and Storm Shadow trade blows before launching into simultaneous jump flying side kicks right out of a ninja movie that leaves the Cobra ninja face first in the snow. After a quick introduction, Quick, Alpine and Bazook hitch a ride on a Cobra Hiss Tank where we learn Quick was shooting a commercial for Frozen Fudgy Bars but his director left him in the cold, taking the money and equipment.
I think they could have also called him Quick Quip because homeboy's always cracking jokes, quoting the likes of John Wayne, Humphrey Bogart and Jackie Gleason and talking about movies he's done with the likes of Robert Redford. Quick Kick adds to the fun and goofy ass nature of The Pyramid of Darkness mini-series which also introduces us to Fatal Fluffies: cute, pet size alien creatures that morph into angry giant sasquatch type things when a special whistle is blown. There's subplots involving commando Snake-Eyes break dancing and cross dressing to evade capture and you get Alpine yodeling to cause an avalanche in the snow...yup, fantastic stuff.
In a later episode of Joe, we learn that Quick Kick, real name MacArthur Ito, is from Watts, California, where his parents run a general store. A quick search shows that Kick only had speaking parts in 11 episodes of G.I. Joe over it's 95 chapters and to my surprise was voiced by an Asian actor named Francois Chau. Chau has dozens of credits to his name, appearing on just about every television show since the 80's and more recently recurred on ABC's Lost. Even more to my surprise was that Storm Shadow's almost stereotypical "ah-so" whisper was voiced by Asian actor Keone Young, the mother fucking Baba Ram from Surf Ninjas! This was a huge shock to me as the only other prominent animated Asian characters I can think of, like Hamato Yoshi aka Splinter and The Shredder on long running Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were voiced by non-Asians. Although Shredder was played by Phil Avery aka Uncle Phil from Fresh Prince of Bel-Air so it's not a total loss. Then you had Samurai Jack, probably the only cartoon with an Asian main character, voiced by black actor Phil LaMarr of Futurama fame. I've met him and he's a cool guy. But you get what I'm saying, right?!
It's important to note that the show was only on for two years in 1985 and 1986. This is where the Marvel comic book series kicks in because that shit ran for decades. In his toy bio, Quick is born to Japanese and Korean parents and is not accepted by either culture growing up. He turns to martial arts and becomes a master in several disciplines before landing work as a stunt man. In the comics, his background is expanded upon as his stunt work catches the eye of an on set military consultant who persuades him to enlist. Soon after he's picked up by the Joe team and "awayyyy we go!". In the comics lore, commando Snake-Eyes is one of the core characters and his background as a ninja is one of the most memorable arcs. His rivalry with Storm Shadow is fierce and in the panels, Shadow puts a beating on Quick Kick.
The comic book version of Quick Kick would take part of several operations in multiple countries around the world over 5 years and nearly 20 issues. By 1991's universe shattering issue 109, Quick Kick, along with Doc, Breaker, Heavy Metal, Crazylegs and several others were killed in a botched mission in Trucial Abysmia.
Sylvester Stallone. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Steven Seagal. Jean-Claude Van Damme.
These four men were their own brand of action hero in the 1980's and 1990's. Big muscles, big personalities, bigger egos and biggest paychecks. But 1996 was the beginning of the end...
1985. Stallone was on top of the world, his Rocky IV and Rambo: First Blood Part II were the second and third highest grossing films of the year behind Back to the Future. Not only had Stallone written and directed Rocky but in the process won the Cold War while bringing some cathartic closure to Vietnam with Rambo. In 1987, he would make history by earning $10 million for Cannon's arm-wrestling, father son road trip adventure, Over the Top.
Where do you go when you're on top? Stallone quickly found out: to the middle and finally to the bottom. Further late 80's efforts would seemingly hit: Tango & Cash, an expensive, troubled production but solid box office earner and miss: Rambo III and Lock Up both underperformed. A 90's run at comedy in Oscar and Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot didn't pan out as audiences weren't interested in Sly laughers like they were of rival Arnold Schwarzenegger (Twins, Kindergarten Cop). In 1993 things were looking up as Cliffhanger was the 7th highest grossing film of the year, making $255 million, handily beating Arnie's summer entry Last Action Hero, while scoring solid critical reviews. 1994's Demolition Man and The Specialist would make decent bank but 1995's Assassins, the $50 million, dueling hitmen team up with Richard Donner (Lethal Weapon), Joel Silver (Die Hard) and Antonio Banderas would be a non-starter.
1996. At another crossroads in his career, Stallone signs a mammoth deal with Universal Studios worth $60 million for 3 pictures. The first flick would be $80 million disaster yarn, Daylight. Directed by Universal stalwart Rob Cohen, (Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story, Dragonheart, Fast and the Furious) Daylight stripped away much of what made Stallone a star in the 80's; the muscles, the violence, the one liners and replaced them with bland characterization and cliched reluctant heroics. The genre that Stallone and Arnold created and brought to the masses of the one man army cutting through red tape, hyper violent, skilled and physical types blowing away the bad guys while cracking wise was now making room for everyman heroes, keeping shirts on and no need for baby oil.
Daylight would be a financial disappointment and his next film with Universal, the $55 million ensemble murder mystery thriller D-Tox/Eye See You would languish for three years before being dumped in 78 theaters and sent quickly to DVD. By 2002 the party was over, Stallone went straight to DVD in Avenging Angelo. The good time 90's, magazine covers, international fame, the Planet Hollywood openings and $20 million paydays were gone and not coming back. Stallone would be relegated to supporting roles (Shade, Spy Kids 3D) while unsuccessfully branding himself with a supplement line, magazine and reality show. Five years since his last wide release, Sly went back to the well for 2006's Rocky Balboa and began his ascent back up the ranks, aligning himself with rising talent and former competition to stay afloat in the changed cinema landscape.
2013. The 80's and 90's are back. Stallone's third franchise, The Expendables, has been filming in Bulgaria and features new addition throwback favorites like Mel Gibson, Harrison Ford and Wesley Snipes. Joining the nostalgic tough guy club that already includes Dolph Lundgren, Bruce Willis, Mickey Rourke, Jean-Claude Van Damme and Chuck Norris.
