Friday, January 25, 2013

One Down Two To Go



Runtime: 85 minutes

Directed by: Fred Williamson

Starring: Fred Williamson, Jim Brown, Richard Roundtree, Jim Kelly

From: Camelot Films

I'll admit this right away: the last time I tried using Hulu Plus, it made my computer act all funny. I don't know why but it did. That's why I hadn't used it in a few days. But, I tried it tonight and it worked fine, so yay for that. I decided to see this film, one I've known about for a long while now. It features four awesome blaxploitation dudes coming together for one last hurrah in a genre that had died off after a few glorious years.

The plot: There's a martial arts tournament (that and “karate” is what they called the obvious kickboxing matches going on in the then-new Meadowlands Arena in New Jersey, now seen in modern times as a real dump but back then it was seen as great. It's some guys from California against some local guys. Despite loaded gloves being used, the out of towners still win... and the people who put a giant bet on the New Jersey boys winning don't want to pay up. Kelly and Roundtree investigate to get their cash, but run into problems and a galpal of theirs gets raped and then kidnapped. They call in Brown and Williamson to save the day.

I heard good things about this. Turns out I did get entertainment... bu it's mainly laughing at this stupid ridiculous movie. Gunshots happen in a stairwell and the bad guys in the stairwell at the time don't hear them? It's illogical stuff like this which bothered me, along with real obvious padding being done for an 85 minute movie and a “that's it?” finale.

Still, there's plenty of odd things to note. For example, you randomly see a bunch of shirtless white hairy dudes sharing a joint. This doesn't lead to anything. The sheriff of the town is a guy who looks to be in his 80's. A blonde bartender (who you've seen a few times before) is for no reason showering in Williamson's hotel room without his prior permission... and I swear it looks as if she's pleasuring herself in there! He finds this sight and of course, the director/producer manages to have a love scene for himself.

But there's more... like a mutt dog having a cigarillo stuck in its mouth, some hilarious early 80's facial hair, and a self-professed karate expert (who you don't see use it at all) that is a big bald dude that looks like a cross between Gert Frobe, King Kong Bundy and the big fat bald guy from Stir Crazy. There's also a one scene cameo from Joe Spinell and you get to see him mack on a lady in a sterling blue pantsuit.

While I was hoping for a legit awesome action film, if you want to laugh at a shitty stupid movie then this is a good one to pick. I'll be back Sunday night, as long as I don't have further computer issues, that is.

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