W Is War (1983)

W Is War (1983)- * * 

Directed by: Willie Milan

Starring: Anthony Alonzo, Paul Vance, Joonee Gamboa, Den Motero, and Anna Marie Gutierrez









A frightening new gang is running wild on the streets of Manila and terrorizing the citizens. They are all bald and wear bizarre leather costumes. Imagine a cross between Buddhist monks and Zipperface-style leather freaks, and you’re just about there. A good cop named W2 (Alonzo) gets into a scuffle with the gang and...wait. 

The guy’s name is W2. W2. There’s also a guy in the movie named R2. In real life he’s played by Bing Davao, so we don’t know which is cooler. So the good guys are like tax forms meet Star Wars. When W2 shoots the evil gang leader’s brother, said leader, Nosfero (Montero) wants him dead, and that seriously puts a crimp in W2’s new marriage with W2’s Wife (Gutierrez) (her name in the movie is credited solely as “W2’s Wife” - but then again, if you were W2’s wife, isn’t that all you’d want to be known as?). 

After Maj. Medina (Gamboa) takes away W2’s badge and gun, he goes on a solo mission to stop Nosfero and the evil gang, which he discovers is a cult. When he finds out they kidnapped a bunch of schoolchildren, and are about to enter into a million-dollar opium-smuggling deal, he really snaps into action. Find out just how he does it as W2...IS WAR.

God bless the Philippines. They provided us with so much cinematic entertainment in the 70’s and 80’s, and this is one of their more off-kilter entries. It’s a bit like Cobra Thunderbolt (1984) (which is Thai, but who’s counting?) meets Search for Vengeance (1984). 

Much like how the centerpiece of Cobra Thunderbolt was our beloved Lt. Molly and her shooting a machine gun at the baddies while riding a jetpack, here the main focus is clearly the gang/cult and their wonderful attire. It’s like a Mad Max situation, but the movie gives no indication it takes place in the future. Is the Philippine economy really doing that bad? It can’t be, because their film industry seemed to be doing gangbusters then...but that didn’t stop Nosfero and the gang from being the “biggest pot producer in Asia” to graduating to lucrative opium deals. They sure got a ton of extras to be in the gang, and we can see the lure. Not the drugs -- the outfits, of course.

It’s even explained that people follow Nosfero because he has strong powers of hypnotism. And all this time we thought it was his fashion-forward sideways ponytail. Also, the higher-ups in the organization get cool single-name appellations like Pendragon and Voltar. In order to beat them, W2 slaps some metal siding on his car - and himself, becoming, quite literally, a knight in shining armor - and rolls into battle. 

The final 30 minutes or so of the movie is one extended battle sequence/climax. It goes from a strange curio with wacky dubbing and odd people in the first half to an out-and-out exploding hutter, with blow-ups, guard tower falls, and the works in the latter half. It all has a funky, 70’s-style score from Ernani Cuenco, and director Milan is handy with wide-angle lens effects. He also directed the hard-to-find and awesomely-named Ultimax Force (1987).

Released on the great Paragon label during the VHS era, it has also, interestingly enough, received a DVD release on the Telavista label. Both U.S. formats used the original title, simply “W”, not to be confused with the Twiggy movie of the same name. You could walk into a video store in the mid-80’s and find two movies called W, one on Paragon and the other on Lightning. It truly was an amazing time. We were really spoiled back then. But much like W2, W continues to survive.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

The One-Armed Executioner (1983)

The One-Armed Executioner (1983)- * * *

Directed by: Bobby A. Suarez

Starring: Franco Guerrero and Jody Kay













Ramon Ortega (Guerrero) is an Interpol agent living in the Philippines. His professional and personal relationships have never been better, including his marriage to his hot blonde American wife Ann (Kay) - until one day tragedy strikes. A gang of super-evil baddies kill Ann, destroy his life, and, to add insult to injury, cut off one of his arms. Naturally, Ramon then spirals into alcoholism and depression. After threatening to kill all his assailants, his boss Wo-Chen (who can only be described as an Asian Tommy Lee Jones) states “you’re not ready” (and insensitively warning “hands off”), and puts him on a grueling training regimen. Now back in fighting shape, Ramon sets off to make good on his promise of revenge. But will he complete his mission what with his handicap of having, you know, only one arm? Find out today!

In our world, at least, The One Armed Executioner is a video-store classic. Producer/co-writer/director Suarez had previously lit up drive-in screens with gems like Cleopatra Wong (1978), but now he’s firmly in the VHS era. He would follow that up with American Commandos (1986) to further reinforce that. TOAE was originally released on VHS in the U.S. on the great Paragon label. As great as that was, it’s nice to have the Dark Sky DVD which offers a cleaned-up, widescreen version, and it’s paired up with the aforementioned Cleopatra Wong as a double-feature. 

The tone of TOAE is much darker than the sprightly Wong, as befits the revenge movie style. Seeing as how revenge movies are among our personal favorite genres, this can proudly sit with the others in our revenge collections.

The movie gets off to a bang, features plenty of fighting, shooting, and blow-ups, and, of course, a classic, extended training sequence (in the woods, naturally). The music by Gene Kauer is killer and keeps you engaged. Even some guard towers get blown up, and this isn’t even an Exploding Hut movie. As the baddies are attempting to flee in their speedboat towards the end of the movie, we see there’s a swastika emblazoned on it. 

Apropos of nothing, as if the baddies weren’t bad enough, we’re now clearly shown they have a Nazi Boat. What follows is a helicopter-boat chase (Nazi Boat, specifically) - did you expect to chase it with another boat? But this isn’t your average heli. It also has a large logo emblazoned on it, but it’s not a swastika. Oh no, these are the good guys. Naturally, their logo reads “The Small Fry”. It looks like the sign for a restaurant. Presumably all restaurants in the Philippines have their own attack helicopters. At least that’s what we believe based on what we’ve seen of their country.

It truly was a different time, so do check out the Dark Sky DVD. You get two sides of Suarez: the fun side and the dark side. And you can hark back to the days of hunting down revenge movies on VHS, so it’s a win-win.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty 

Violent Protection (1976)

Violent Protection (1976)-* * *

Directed by: Umberto Lenzi

Starring: Maurizo Merli, John Saxon, Barry Sullivan, and Massimo Deda













Betti (Merli) is a Cop On The Edge who is brought to Naples to help bust up the protection rackets plaguing the city. The top brass doesn’t necessarily approve of his unorthodox methods, but you can’t argue with his results! It seems the crime wave Betti has been called upon to stop is being promulgated by “The Generale” (Sullivan), and he’s intertwined with businessman Francesco Capuano (Saxon). 

Along the way, Betti befriends a sassy young boy, Gennarino (Deda, who reprised this role in the Violent Protection spinoff movie Weapons Of Death (1977)). Now Betti must wage a one-man war on crime and the baddies are going to wish they had some protection from this violence!

Violent Protection is an entertaining and worthwhile entry into the Poliziotteschi genre. Italy in the 70’s was having some real problems with crime and kidnappings, and these hard-hitting cop movies came along to exploit that situation. Luckily, most of them are actually good movies that are highly watchable. 

Umberto Lenzi, like many of the directors of his generation, was a journeyman-style artist, a man versatile in every genre - Spaghetti Westerns, Giallos, Crime movies, Peplums, War movies and more - but is seemingly most known for his horror output in the 80’s, like Cannibal Ferox (1981), Eaten Alive (1980) and the wonderful Nightmare City (1980). He brings his best attributes on board for Violent Protection, and the results are worth seeing.

Maurizio Merli was a mainstay of the genre, and it’s no wonder, he’s perfectly suited to the part of the determined and mustachioed cop. John Saxon also pops up a lot in these genre movies, and Barry Sullivan rounds out the cast of well-known names. 

There are plenty of memorable action setpieces, from the high-speed motorcycle chase to the scenes in the bowling alley and the train. The dubbed version has some interesting choices of dialogue, where characters call each other “You crud!” and “Ya fathead!” in that classic yell-y dubbed way we’ve all come to know and not love. But the excellent score by Franco Micalizzi pastes everything together nicely.

While the movie was released on one of our favorite VHS labels, Paragon, seeing as it’s a dubbed and pan-and-scanned release, a cleaned-up widescreen DVD would do the presentation of this fine movie a lot of good. Maybe MYA or Raro will take the case soon. There is a great end-credits song, “A Man Before Your Time”, which, confusingly, is said to have been played by The Bulldogs, but recorded by The Blue Jeans. We’re not entirely sure what that means, but check out the song at the end.

In all, Violent Protection should please both fans and newcomers to the Poliziotteschi genre.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

Death Promise (1977)

Death Promise (1977)-* * * *

Directed by: Robert Warmflash

Starring: Speedy Leacock, Charles Bonet, Thompson Kao Kang, Bob O'Connell, Bill Louie, Tony Liu, and Vincent Van Lynn



 “They’reputtinratsinthebuildinhelp” - Angry and Confused Tenant #1








Buddies Charley Roman (Bonet) and Speedy Leacock (Leacock) love nothing more than training in Martial Arts at the Ridgefield Self Defense Academy in New York City under Master Shibata (Kang). But something is upsetting their normally peaceful lives. Evil, ruthless landlords - and their goons, mind you - are trying all sorts of nefarious tactics to get tenants to move out, such as turning off heat, electricity and water. 

When Charley’s father, Louis (O’Connell), a feisty ex-boxer, tells everyone to stand strong and not give in, the antagonists graduate to more creative and dangerous means to flush out tenants. Starting all the trouble is a diabolical planning and zoning board, that naturally consists of a team of ethnic stereotypes. Jackson, Albano, Mirsky and Engstrom (Black, Italian, Jewish and WASP, respectively, played by Abe Hendy, Tony De Caprio, Thom Kendell and David Kirk, respectively), headed by the George Plimpton-like E. Bartley Alden (Van Lynn) want the land a particular building is on. And they have shirtless Kung-Fu fighting goons to ensure they get it. 

When Louis Roman is caught in the crossfire, Charley resolves to make the planning and zoning/stereotype board pay, so he travels to Asia to train even more in Martial Arts. While training under Master Ying (Liu), he meets young, enthusiastic fighter Sup Kim (Louie) who agrees to help him on his quest for revenge. Now with Charley, Speedy and Sup Kim prepared to take on the baddies, prepare for the ultimate real estate war as Charley vies to fulfill his DEATH PROMISE!

It’s hard to put into words just how much we LOVE Death Promise. We, and our circle of friends, have all watched it multiple times and it’s become part of the fabric of our lives. Forget cotton, give me Death Promise any day! It’s even become a sort of shorthand, for example, when discussing a certain movie, we might say, “Well, it’s no Death Promise, but...” Such is the level of awesome-tude we’re dealing with here. To us, anyway, this is an all-time classic and one of our “desert island” movies, for sure.

Cementing its status as legendary movie, it was packaged in a big-box Paragon with iconic, unmistakable box art. But the movie within is what counts. It has gritty NYC locations, and the World Trade Center towers figure prominently in the background of many shots, even, poignantly, during the final battle. This was the late 70’s, the height of Bruce Lee mania, and here is a prime example of Bellbottom Kung Fu, where dudes with amazing patterns on their tight, wide-collared shirts kick each other with the massive lengths of fabric at the bottom of their pants. Bill Louie even appeared in Bruce cash-in The Dragon and the Cobra (1980). So while most people were busy waiting in line for Star Wars in 1977, those truly in the know were diggin’ Death Promise.

Stacking another brick in the wall of awesome is the title song by Opus. It’s beyond funky. It’s almost like their mandate before recording the song was “out-funk Shaft, out-funk Super Fly, out-funk Trouble Man, just out-funk everybody”. We believe they succeeded. The song is a new, mutant strain of super-funk. It destroys all funk that came before it. If there’s ANY way to get this song in any form, let us know. 

As for the movie itself, it sadly was interestingly-named director Robert Warmflash’s only directorial effort to date. We really wish he had done more, but we count ourselves as lucky we have this. It was many cast members’ only effort as well, and the technical aspects of this movie are pretty amateurish, but so what? It adds charm and provenance. Give us a movie that’s a little rough around the edges, but has originality and personality, rather than the soulless Hollywood schlock that’s coming to theaters today. 

There are some amazing situations and line readings that are absolutely priceless. Death Promise was clearly made for the 42nd Street audiences of the day, who were not well-known for paying strict attention to technical details. Warmflash probably never imagined it would even have a life on VHS, but it does. To us, it will always have a place in our hearts.

Everything about this movie is just so great, enjoyable and fun, from the narration that only appears once at the beginning of the movie, to the overall concept about evil landlords, to the super-secret “Mr. Big” who has a cat and predates Inspector Gadget’s Dr. Claw by many years. Not to mention Mirsky’s car phone - which is a rotary phone (talk about big pimpin’), and the fact that there’s a main character named Master Shibata, but it sounds like everyone is calling him “Master Ciabbata”, which makes him sound like some sort of Bread Sensei. 

There’s so much more we didn’t even mention. While the magic of Death Promise could never be duplicated, a movie that’s similar in feel is Gang Wars (1976). Both were distributed by classic NYC exploitationeers Mahler film. But only one has Warhawk Tanzania. We’ll let you guess which one.

We can’t speak highly enough of Death Promise. It’s truly one of our favorite films.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

Counter Measures (1985)

Counter Measures (1985)-* *

Directed by: Gerban Ceth

Starring: Monte Markham














Skycrane is a fleet of helicopters that go around Australia solving the types of problems that only helicopters can solve. When there are fires, Skycrane breaks out the heli’s with the large buckets that can release water on command, and when the wheelchair-bound Albert gets challenged to a race and he accidentally falls off a cliff, Skycrane hoists him to safety. The leader of this high-flying operation is Gus (Markham), an American. His sidekick is the comic-relief Ralph. But their greatest challenge comes when James Price, an evil land developer, and Johnson, a man who loves nothing more than deer poaching, start causing trouble in the Outback. Will these helicopters twirl their way to justice?

Counter Measures, not to be confused with the Michael Dudikoff outing with the same name, was made for Australian TV in the mid-80’s. Inexplicably, it was released in the U.S. on the great label Paragon, when they were still doing big-boxes and before they converted to their classic style with the movie title on one side of the spine, and some dots on the other. There are even spots for commercial breaks with light-hearted musical stings where you really want to say, “We’ll be right back”.

Not much really goes on - Counter Measures isn’t the most pulse-pounding action you ever saw, but it’s charming and certainly not bad. This is almost the type of movie they might play in school in the 80’s on a rainy day. It definitely would help if you’re into helicopters. While everything heli is certainly brought to the forefront, this is a long way from Blue Thunder (1983). But then again, it’s not really supposed to be. It’s everything you’d think a TV movie of this type, from this time and place, would be. It certainly paved the way for such items as Airwolf. Without Counter Measures, surely there would be no Stringfellow Hawk.

As far as the actors, Monte Markham is solid, but the guy who plays James steals the movie. But while Counter Measures is pleasant, if a bit bland and slow, the two best things about the movie are the beautiful Australian locations, and the music by Tony Baker. He puts in a nice synth/keyboard score with an appropriate and memorable theme. It seems to be largely based on fellow Aussies Jigsaw and their song “Sky High”, which makes sense . That song is also the main theme for Brian Trenchard-Smith’s The Man From Hong Kong (1975).

So for a Sunday afternoon time killer with some mild 80’s flair, Counter Measures is an inoffensive way to fit the bill.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

Riding the Edge (1989)

Riding the Edge (1989)-* *1\2

Directed by: James Fargo

Starring: Raphael Sbarge and Catherine Mary Stewart









Riding The Edge is an absurd, but entertaining and fun movie.

John Harmon is a scientist and he has invented a solar power satellite. But then he's kidnapped by middle-eastern terrorists, and the only person who can save him is his son Matt (Sbarge). Matt is a dirt-bike champion who uses his skills to defeat the terrorists while also figuring out who are the spies in the government.

The only problem with the movie is that the second half is too slow. Besides that, The movie is fun. The performances are average. There's one Afghan boy named Lawrence. That's just not very believable. As you can see this was released on the great Paragon label and has a classically 80's plotline.

In the end: The movie is silly, but it keeps your interest.

Comeuppance review by: Ty