Don Movie Reviews

I can never seem to get enough of the martial arts genre, with all it's wonderfully told stories of battles between the representatives of good and evil, who don't like to use guns, but would rather decide the victor of the battle the old fashioned way, mano-a-mano.

BLACKBELT stars kickboxing champ/martial arts legend/blackbelt hall-of-famer Don "The Dragon" Wilson as Jack Dillon, a karate instructor and former police officer hired to protect sucessful rock songstress Shanna (Deidre Imershein) from a nasty relationship with her record producers, who plan to have her killed for refusing to renew their contract. But her biggest threat comes from John Sweet (Mathias Hughes), who wants to kill Shanna. Why? Well, kinda hard to explain, but it has to do with Sweet being seduced into a sexual relationship with his mother. Since Shanna looks like Sweet's mother, who Sweet later killed for loving another man, he seeks to kill this apparent re-incarnation of his mom.

BLACKBELT can best be referred to as GAME OF DEATH meets THE BODYGUARD. It has fantastic kung fu battles, and Wilson is not hte only martial arts king here. The cast is primary component is professional martial artists, and here there is a whole slew of gangsters judo punks who team with Sweet to take Dillon down, since he defeats them all in a barroom brawl.

There are guys here that are in several of Wilson's other films, many of them from his (better known) BLOODFIST films, so he has some buddies that he has to beat up, unfortunately. But then, that's what happens in a kung fu flick, KUNG FU FIGHTING!!!!! I think that the fights are well staged and edited, very realistic.

Of course, there's the madatory final showdown with Dillon and Sweet, and it's easily the best in this flick. It was, sadly, yet another of Wilson's direct-to-video movies (Only a few of his starring flicks have seen theatrical releases), but it deserved a big screen audience as much as the next action film. I'm telling you, you have to check it out. It a fabulous action thriller that prooves what his fans alredy know, which is, Don "The Dragon" Wilson Rocks AND Rolls, baby.

Finally, Martin Schenk's debut film Blast is being released on DVD in Region 1. I've been wanting to see this film for quite some time now. Unfortunately, it never got a wide theatrical release.

The film has been available on Region 2 DVD for at least a few months now, in Greece, Finland, and probably a few other countries (I'm only sure about Greece and Finland though).

The scary thing is, the disc released in Finland is pan and scan. That is completely unacceptable. All I can say is, the Region 1 disc better be widescreen, preferably 16x9 enhanced. There is NO excuse nowadays for not releasing a film (especially a new film!) in its original aspect ratio.

Here's hoping for a 16x9 enhanced DVD that deserves 5 stars!

Any TRUE Martial Arts fan who has seen the Bloodfist films will agree with me when I say that this flick rocks AND rolls (Although I can't help but feel that the caption FORCED TO FIGHT may have worked better for Bloodfist II.)As both a Kickboxer (who held many championships in the World Kickboxing Association)and an action star, Don "The Dragon" Wilson is superb. There's not much story here other than the bad guys want The good guy dead, but this movie is set in a maximum security prison, so the story is very much an secondary consideration (which is often the case with kung fu movies.) Not only is the fighting terrific, but Don "The Dragon" even gets to do more acting than usual in his films. FORCED TO FIGHT may not be a critical favorite, but it works exceptionally well.

But fun. It's about a boy who's struggling to get over his father's death when Ben killed him in self defense. It's fun, emotiomal, dramatic, and many more adjectives I can't think of right now.

This is an excellent episode.Hoss finally gets to meet his uncle Gunar who turns out to be a comanchero.Nevile Brand is great playing the long lost uncle who in the end is not what he appears to be after all.

Being a big Charles Bronson fan, i consider this to be among one of his best movies. The usually tight lipped quite guy is actually very colorful and alive in this action packed thriller. What a great cast also that are along for the ride Robert Duvall, Jull Ireland, Randy Quaid, Sheere North and even John Houston. Also, Another great score by Jerry Goldsmith. The real winner here is Bronson's performance.
Well for the DVD? it is barebones not even a trailer and although i would have loved to see some extras on this, chances of that happening are very remote. The biggest joy is to finally have this in the widescreen format 2.35:1 after countless years of watching the lousy pan and scan versions on video and laserdisc, this is a real treat to have and a MUST own for bronson fans.

Every action film studio has made money off of Bruce, mostly with little taste. Goodtimes Video compiled alot of behind the scenes footage, and includes the behind the scenes featurette from "Enter the Dragon". Of special interest are the multitude of trailers from long forgotten kung fu classics. Most of which I saw during their original release(s) in the 1970's. Great for your collection, but not a film devoted entirely to Bruce Lee. Highly recommended. Enjoy.

Arguably the best crime film of 1968, and certainly one of the most influential films of the genre...."Bullitt" established new directions in the mood and style of crime thrillers, and firmly established McQueen as one of the key anti-hero stars of the 60's. Based on the gritty novel "Mute Witness" by Robert L. Pike, this was the first, and only, time McQueen portrayed a police officer (albeit a maverick one) in his movie career. In 1968 Steve was then riding high on the success of his previous crime film, "The Thomas Crown Affair", and "Bullitt" just propelled his star even higher into the heavens !

The plot is tight, economical and well crafted....taciturn, moody Detective Frank Bullitt (McQueen) is charged with the protection of a key witness vital to an upcoming trial involving Mafia connections. Whilst hidden away in a supposed secure location, the witness and his police guard are brutally gunned down by unknown assailants. The heat is turned up on Bullitt by his tough Captain (Simon Oakland) and the manipulative, opportunistic politician Walter Chalmers (Robert Vaughn) to come up with the right answers fast ! Between the draining investigation, Bullitt struggles to maintain his relationship with his cultured, sensitive girlfriend, Cathy (Jacqueline Bisset)

Primarily coming from a TV series background, Englishman Peter Yates (directing his fourth movie) did a commendable job as director on "Bullitt"...producing a complex, intense crime thriller with a unique style that would ultimately influence many other films. Yates would later to go onto direct Robert Mitchum in the excellent "sleeper" crime film "The Friends of Eddie Coyle" !

And of course "Bullitt" is reknowned for it's now legendary car chase between Frank Bullitt's 390 GT Mustang and the two hitmen in their black, Dodge Charger 440 Magnum barrelling through the city streets and highways of San Francisco....just don't pay too much attention to how many times they pass that slow-moving, green VW Beetle !!

The DVD transfer is excellent in both sound and picture quality, and the Limited Edition Set with the extra goodies (Single sheet poster, shooting draft, lobby cards etc.) is a real bonus for keen film fans !!

One of my favourite cop thrillers....McQueen sizzles on screen !!

Teen actor, Chris Olivero, and Hollywood legend, Richard Crenna, deliver outstanding and believable performances in this coming of age movie about a bratty, California kid, Mike Lewis (Olivero), who is shipped off to visit his grandfather, Ben Maxwell (Crenna), in Colorado. While there, the argumentative and often smart-aleck Lewis, stirs up enough trouble for the town and his kindhearted grandfather. After several confrontations, the disrespectful grandson decides he wants to return to his spoiled lifestyle in Los Angeles. His grandfather agrees, but decides the two will travel to California by way of horseback. A disgruntled Lewis, tries his hardest to come up with every excuse to avoid the trek to the Pacific coast, but finds himself on the losing end of the battle. Shortly after their journey begins, they meet up with a group of Ben Maxwell's longtime friends, who together, take Maxwell's grandson on the journey of a lifetime by exposing him to down-to-earth western values and hard-working morals. After many trials along the trail, lessons are learned and Lewis and his grandfather discover something about each other they never expected. The film is laced with thought-provoking topics, incredible chemistry, outstanding performances, and certainly the greater values in life that founded our nation. Just short of Oscar caliber for Crenna, this film is highly recommended for all! A great film with good, clean humor, and patriotic family values!

Goodfellas move to Las Vegas on steriods and a dash of speed. If you like mob films you will love Casino. It has all the right elements; sleezy, grity, sex, drama, dark humor, lots of violence, and lots of flowing cash. Hollywood ganster mob film with texture, vitality, and great cinamatagraphy. Never a dull moment. If you don't have this film in your library your are really missing out. Oh and the acting is superb. In my humble opinion Oscars all around. Entertainment to the highest level. Must have movie.