STRAY CAT ROCK: WILD JUMBO (1970) **

In this second film in the Stray Cat Rock series, a gang of delinquents try to cheer up their down-in-the-dumps leader, Taki (Takeo Chii).  His spirits brighten when he falls for the rich, horseback riding Asako (Bunjaku Han).  When his buddies find a huge munitions stash, they horde the weapons for themselves.  Meanwhile, Taki and his new girlfriend join a religious youth group and he even signs the gang up, causing them to question his sanity.  However, it’s all a ruse to steal the church’s donation box.  Naturally, his trigger-happy friends bring their guns to the heist, and things end in predictably tragic fashion.

As with the first Stray Cat Rock movie, Delinquent Girl Boss, Wild Jumbo is episodic and slow moving.  The gang in this one feel much too naïve and unthreatening to make it worthwhile.  In fact, some scenes play like a Japanese version of a Beach Party movie.  I did like the part when a rival gang came after them and comic book thought bubbles and random cartoon inserts where humorously utilized.  The snazzy harmonica-driven score is pretty cool too.  

Despite one or two nifty moments, Wild Jumbo commits a fatal sin by having the usually dynamic Meiko (Lady Snowblood) Kaji relegated to the role of the “girl”.  Most of the time, she just sits next to Taki, not doing a whole lot.  At times she almost blends in with the background.  Wasting her considerable talents like this is downright criminal and unforgivable if you ask me.  Kaji gets to sing one song (at a campground), which is okay, but it’s far from her best stuff.  The same can be said for the movie itself. 

SHOWDOWN IN MANILA (2018) ***

DTV action legend Mark Dacascos makes his directorial debut with this fun flick that at times feels like a spiritual sequel to the iconic Showdown in Little Tokyo.  I’m not saying that just because it has Tia Carrere and Cary Hiroyuki-Tagawa in prominent roles either.  Like Little Tokyo, the banter between the two leads, Alexander Nevsky and Casper Van Dien is offbeat, quirky, and is often very funny.  Casper gets a lot of laughs as the sex addict private detective and Nevsky makes for a likeable and capable leading man.  It’s nowhere near as good as that classic, but it’s a largely entertaining DTV shoot ‘em up.

Tia watches in horror as her husband (played by Dacascos in an extended cameo) is killed in broad daylight by the evil Hiroyuki-Tagawa.  She then hires a pair of private detectives (Nevsky and Van Dien) to find her husband’s killer.  That’s easier said than done since Hiroyuki-Tagawa is a legendary “ghost” who only shows his face when he’s about to kill someone.  Since Nevsky has a score to settle with Hiroyuki-Tagawa, it gives him extra incentive to bring him down.

If the film was nothing more than Nevsky and Van Dien hunting Hiroyuki-Tagawa down, Showdown in Manila would’ve been a blast.  However, the last half hour turns into a B-level version of The Expendables as Nevsky gets his old crew together to track down his arch-nemesis.  The team includes such DTV luminaries as Olivier Gruner, Don “The Dragon” Wilson, and Cynthia Rothrock!  Not only that, but we also have Matthias Hues as Hiroyuki-Tagawa’s slimy henchmen.  Rothrock’s character is particularly hilarious as she wears camouflage fatigues in the jungle, yet has her hair is dyed purple, which you’d think would give her away to the enemy.  However, she’s so badass that she probably doesn’t care since she’s more than capable of taking care of herself. 

As a director, Dacascos has a no-frills style, but there’s lots of action, so it’s hard to really complain.  Even though the pacing gets kind of pokey at times, seeing this gang of familiar faces gathered in one place is just plain fun.  Maybe when they do the sequel, the team can have more screen time together. 

Screenwriter Craig Hamann (who collaborated with Quentin Tarantino on the unfinished My Best Friend’s Birthday in his salad days) also directed the Dacascos flick Boogie Boy.  

CRAWL (2019) *** ½

Legends of horror, director Alexandre (Piranha 3-D) Aja and producer Sam (The Evil Dead) Raimi teamed up for this solid and effective alligator thriller. Kaya Scodelario comes to Florida in the face of a massive hurricane to check on her father (Barry Pepper).  When she arrives, she is horrified to find he’s trapped in his crawlspace suffering from a gator wound.  The pair then must fend off hungry gators while in the midst of raging winds and an ever-rising flood. 

Aja makes good use of the claustrophobic setting.  He deftly takes Florida’s two worst nightmares, hurricanes and gators, and combines them into one satisfying popcorn thriller.  The suspense is tightly wound and the film crackles when Scodelario (who has an Amber Heard quality about her) is risking life and limb to save her dad.  The various subplots (that include a gang of thieves whose hurricane heist is foiled by swarming gators and rescue workers getting turned into gator chow) are pretty much only there to pad the body count (and running time), but they also help provide the brief but juicy gore.  I could’ve also done without Scodelario’s swimming flashbacks (that seem inspired by The Shallows), although they don’t detract from the main story too much.

What really matters is that Aja does fine job setting up the scares and springing them like a master.  Flawed though it may be, whenever Aja is cooking up the suspense, Crawl delivers the goods.  It’s certainly more respectable than your typical SyFy Channel Original, but the film wears its down and dirty craftsmanship like a badge of honor, which to a Killer Alligator Movie fan is commendable. 

SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME (2019) ***

Spider-Man:  Far from Home is in the proud tradition of sequels like National Lampoon’s European Vacation, The Karate Kid 2, or The Bad News Bears Go to Japan in that the same stuff that happened in the first movie happens again, except this time it happens in a different country.  Not only does it suffer from some major deja vu, it’s also saddled with one of the lamest villains in the history of Spider-Man comics.  Your mileage may vary of course, but I always thought Mysterio was a stupid adversary, and the movie does little to sway me.  Not only was his costume, a green cape with a fishbowl for a helmet, dumb, his powers of illusion have always been cheesy as Hell. 

Jake Gylllenhaal isn’t bad as old Fishbowl Face.  He’s engaging, charming, and full of megalomaniacal glee when his character finally goes off the rails.  It’s just painfully  obvious what his intentions are from the get-go.  The plot has him teaming up with Spider-Man (Tom Holland) to battle some “elemental” monsters that are tearing their way across Europe.  I mean, sure.  You can trust a guy named “Mysterio”, right?  Because of that, the plot contains virtually no surprises (well, until the awesome post-credits scene, that is).

The way the filmmakers updated Mysterio to make him fit in with the established MCU will make you roll your eyes too. The finale is also pretty weak.  Having Spider-Man fight an army of drones comes as anticlimactic, especially compared to the high-stakes ending of Endgame (not to mention the previous Spider-Man movies).   There is at least one visually striking sequence where Mysterio’s illusions mess with Spidey’s mind, although that’s as close as the filmmakers come to making him an effective villain. 

The plot is painfully predictable and the fight scenes may be largely uninspired, but everything in between bristles with fun. The character work is particularly endearing as the scenes involving Peter Parker’s high school pals are delightful.  In fact, the supporting characters shine brightly and virtually steal the movie out from Holland.  Angourie Rice and Jacob Batalon get a lot of laughs as the fledgling lovebirds Betty Brandt and Ned.  Zendaya is equally impressive as Peter’s crush MJ who steals every scene she’s in.  Martin Starr and JB Smoove are also fun as Peter’s harried teachers.  It’s also a blast seeing Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) bossing Spider-Man around and saying things like “Bitch, please!”  Holland is game, gets plenty of laughs (especially when he dons his black suit), and holds the often messy movie together with his winning charm. 

Some of the best moments deal with how the world has adjusted to the fallout of “The Snap”.  The loss of Tony Stark hangs heavy not only on Peter, but the movie as well.  Because of that, and the slight narrative, Far from Home often feels like a placeholder for something bigger.  That eventually comes during the jaw-dropping post-credits (which I wouldn’t dream of spoiling).  It offers great tease to what the future has in store for everyone’s favorite web-slinger.  It’s just that getting there is kind of a slog. 

Marvel Cinematic Universe Scorecard: 

Avengers:  Age of Ultron:  ****
The Incredible Hulk:  ****
Iron Man:  ****
Thor:  Ragnarok:  ****
Ant-Man and the Wasp:  ****
Spider-Man:  Homecoming:  ****
Iron Man 3:  ****
Captain America:  Civil War:  *** ½
Ant-Man:  *** ½
Guardians of the Galaxy:  *** ½
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2:  *** ½ 
Avengers:  Infinity War:  *** ½
Black Panther:  *** ½ 
The Avengers:  ***
Captain America:  The First Avenger:  ***
Captain America:  The Winter Soldier:  ***
Captain Marvel:  ***
Spider-Man:  Far from Home:  ***
Thor:  ***
Thor:  The Dark World:  ***
Iron Man 2:  ***
Doctor Strange:  ** ½ 

2019 Superhero Scorecard: 
Avengers:  Endgame:  ****
Alita:  Battle Angel:  ***
Captain Marvel:  ***
Shazam!:  ***
Spider-Man:  Far from Home:  ***

Dark Phoenix:  ***

STAR HUNTER (1998) * ½

Fred Olen Ray co-directed this boring, no-budget mash-up of Predator and The Most Dangerous Game that blatantly recycles footage from Roger Corman movies in lieu of special effects.  An alien hunter comes to the hood to stalk humans for sport.  A handful of third-string high school football players (along with their vice principal, played by Stella Stevens) are stranded when their bus breaks down.  A seemingly kind old blind man (Roddy McDowall) offers them shelter, but it’s obvious (to the audience anyway) he’s not of this earth.

Man, if you thought Roddy hit career nadir with Laserblast, wait till you see him in this flick.  Dressed like an extra from V and constantly wearing sunglasses to hide his shame, poor Roddy was in “Strictly for the Paycheck” mode here.  It makes Laserblast look like Star Wars by comparison.

The repetitive shots of our heroes running past the same warehouse and alleyway sets will get on your nerves real quick.  The script tries to explain it by saying that they’re trapped under an invisible force field, but that doesn’t mean it works.  Sometimes it looks like they’re obviously indoors when they’re supposed to be outside and vice versa.  

Also, why would an alien hunter spend its time stalking third-string high school football players anyway?  Wouldn’t it want a challenge?  Sure, maybe Schwarzenegger or even Danny Glover might be too tough to hunt and kill, but anyone would’ve been better than these dopes.  Even by The Most Dangerous Game standards, Van Damme or Ice-T would’ve been worthier adversaries.  It doesn’t help that the alien looks less like the Predator and more like Twiki on steroids. 

The good news?  The ever-lovely Wendy (Fugitive Rage) Schumacher has a brief topless sex scene, which is the highlight of an otherwise dreary movie.  Other that that, the only thing dangerous about this game is how deadly dull it is.

KILLING AMERICAN STYLE (1988) **

Killing American Style is the unmistakable work of Amir Shervan, director of Samurai Cop and Young Rebels.  It features all his trademarks:  Cheap action scenes, gratuitous nudity, and Robert Z’Dar acting like a madman.  As a bonus, we have none other than Jim Brown as the detective out to bust Z’Dar.

Hardened criminal Z’Dar is on a bus bound for prison.  His buddies try to bust him out, and during the escape, one of his crew is shot.  Z’Dar breaks into a house and forces the bikini-clad inhabitants to call for a doctor.  When the kickboxing man of the house (Harold Diamond) comes home early, he must find a way to save his family.  

The opening holds a lot of promise.  There’s a long scene where bad guy John Lynch auditions some prospective dancers. After a lot of spandex-clad gyrating, Delia Sheppard (also in Young Rebels) gets the job when she balls him in the bathroom.  A Chorus Line eat your heart out! 

For a little while, it’s your typical Shervan tits-and-action romp.  The fun pretty much dries up though once Z’Dar and his goons take control of the house.  It’s here where the film devolves into a kind of half-assed Desperate Hours.  The home invasion scenes are sluggishly paced and become quickly monotonous due to their repetitive nature.  Seeing Jim Brown trying to maintain his dignity in such schlocky surroundings certainly is worthy of a few chuckles, but not nearly enough to put Killing American Style into the win column.

SHAFT (2019) ****

When Richard Roundtree sauntered through the streets of New York in 1971’s Shaft, it announced not only the arrival of an iconic African-American action hero, but the arrival of an entire genre of Blaxploitation action films.  In 2000, Samuel L. Jackson took up the mantle as Shaft’s nephew, made the character his own, and brought the concept into the 21^st century.  Now it’s Jessie T. Usher’s turn to portray the next generation of bad mother... I’ll shut my mouth.  

I don’t think it’s a surprise to anyone that Usher has some very large shoes to fill.  The fact that the filmmakers tackle this subject head-on is the key to enjoying Shaft.  His Shaft is a computer-savvy millennial sorely lacking the masculinity of a bygone era.  When his friend is murdered, he is left with no choice but to turn to his estranged father, Shaft (Jackson) for help.  While attempting to solve the case, they try to reconcile their differences while Shaft tries to impart manly wisdom and badass hard knocks street smarts to his gun-shy son.

If you want an updated, modernized take on a Blaxploitation classic, stay far away from Shaft.  Watch last year’s sadly neglected Superfly remake instead. If you want a hilarious Buddy Cop action comedy that’s more of a throwback to the action flicks of the ‘80s than a love letter to the ‘70s, then the new Shaft is where it’s at. It also happens to be the most entertaining movie of the year.  In fact, this Shaft is the best Shaft that’s ever Shafted.  

(Oh, and for the record, actual the on-screen title of Shaft (2019) is Shaft (c) MCMLXXI, which is pretty cool.)

I can understand why some reviewers were put off by the tone of Shaft.  The original films were gritty, hardnosed, and badass.  This one plays more like a Lethal Weapon sequel.  There is nothing wrong with that either.  It acknowledges that Shaft’s methods, while they still work, have gone the way of the dinosaur.  While he constantly verbally dunks on the perpetually in-over-his-head Shaft Jr., the son continually proves that he can hold his own against his own man.  Sure, he may be a little prim and proper, but when the shit hits the fan, he proves to have enough of the old Shaft magic in him to be worthy of the name. 

The generation gap comedy is the most entertaining portion of the film.  The plot is rather predictable and bare-bones, which is fine, seeing as the plot is straight out of your standard detective movie.  Infusing humor and heart to a traditionally gritty franchise was a bold move, but director Tim Story pays it off in surprising and often hilarious ways.

I can understand why many will be dismayed.  Shaft repeatedly tells his son to rally against “The Man” while the film simultaneously is a product of said Man.  It’s (slightly) homogenized and lacks the aggressive swagger of the original.  However, it pays tribute to every incarnation of the character, embraces it, but sends it kicking and screaming into the future.  It’s about family, fathers and sons, and kicking lots of ass along the way.  I’m a sucker for shit like this.

It’s also Jackson’s best post-Snakes on a Plane performance, which automatically kind of makes it a must-see.  

Roundtree eventually gets in on the fun during the finale.  It’s truly a blast seeing three generations coming together to battle the bad guys, and it makes for a fist-pumping good time.  There’s even a moment that directly references an iconic scene from the original that subverts your expectations and also happens to be one of the funniest things you’ll see all year.

Even though Jackson gets most of the laughs, it’s Usher who gets the best line of the movie.  When his vengeance-seeking father sets out to get payback on the man who mistreated his son, Shaft Jr. asks, “Can’t we just send him a tersely-worded text?”