American Ninja DVD

 

TITLE-American Ninja

SOURCE-MGM DVD

I was sure I saw this back after it hit home video. Nope cause I remembered nothing of it when watching it the other day. Guessing I saw part 2.

Joe Armstrong is a Army soldier. He has no memory of his life from about 10 years before now. But he is a skilled Ninja. 

Start of the film a car with the General's daughter gets attacked by criminals. Oh yea this Army base is in the Philipines. The daughter is played by the brunette lady from Weird Science. Not not Kelly Lebrock this is Julie Aronson. She was in a Friday the 13th and I have noticed her popping up in lots of 80s films.

But anyways the car is attacked but thankfully Joe AMERICAN NINJA Armstrong is nearby to save her. He uses his ninja skills to dodge bullets and kick ass. 

They escape and he gets her back to the base. He gets in trouble. End up fighting the kung fu guy from I'm gonna get ya Sucka. After beating him they become best friends. 

This entire film is insane. Armstrong has agility above what a human could do. And it appears that some times he has Ninja Magic like this is the old Sega Shinobi arcade game.

If I had seen this when it came out as a pre teen I would have loved it. Seeing it now as a adult I love it but for totally different reasons. This feels almost like a bigger budget version of all those Godfrey Ho cut and paste Ninja movies. All Armstrong needs is a headband that says Ninja and the Garfield phone.

Not many 80s action movies can compare to the insanity and just pure,i'm betting cocaine fueled,wackiness of American Ninja. I totally see why this spawned a franchise. Rumor is Chuck Norris got offered the lead and refuses cause his face would be covered for the last third of the movie. I want to believe it was because Chuck wasn't bad ass enough to be AMERICAN NINJA!

American Ninja gets a A-

Hellblazer Tainted Love TPB

 

TITLE-Hellblazer vol 7 Tainted Love

SOURCE-Vertigo TPB

Hellblazer is a title I read off and on for most of it's run. Been trying to get the full run in TPB form and working my way thru the TPBs I have.

This is part of the Garth Ennis(Writer) and Steve Dillon(Penciler) run. Which besides Jamie Delano's runs is the best.

John has met back up with Kit. They move in with each other. He celebrates his 40th birthday and after that all goes to shit. Kit leaves him to head back to Ireland. John gives up and becomea  drunk living on the streets.

Still you got the Hellblazer touches. Like Archangel Gabriel showing up and losing his heart. Or the vampire storyline where thanks to something from previous issues John defeats an ancient vampire. One that has been around a long time. 

Ennis and Dillon blend words and art so perfectly in this. And even coming into the middle of a long storyline I didn't feel lost.

Yea I know the Keanu film isn't that loved. It is ok. The TV Show was amazing but so few saw it. Seems the only way to get the true form of John Constantine is in vol 1 of Hellblazer.

Hellblazer Tainted Love gets a A.

Captain America The Ghost Army OGN

 

TITLE-Captain America The Ghost Army

SOURCE-Marvel Comics/Scholastic Books

Written by Alan Gratz and drawn by Brent Schoonover this is a untold tale of Cap back in World War II. Over in Europe with Bucky,after fighting a bunch of ghosts of dead soldiers,our duo learn of the US Ghost Army. A troop of 10 or so soldiers that use various devices and tricks to make it seem like they are a huge army. Like huge speakers playing soldiers marching.

We also learn that Baron Murdo is here. Helping his grandfather aid the Nazis. That ghosts of dead soldier Cap fought,they are cause of Murdo's Ghost Machine. Which he wants to use to bring Dormamu to Earth.

Full of action and a few twists and turns this is a OGN made for the younger readers. Which is why Scholastic was co publisher. 

Gratz writes a story that is easy to follow and also from what I remember of Cap's WWII years this doesn't contridict anything. Plus the ending is a nice way to possibly get more books. With us seeing Murdo heading to meet the Ancient One. And another character heading to Wundogore Mountain.

Captain America The Ghost Army OGN gets a B.

Daredevil Born Again Marvel Premier Collection TPB

 

TITLE-Daredevil Born Again

SOURCE-Marvel Premier Collection TPB

Ahh Born Again the Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli Daredevil run that is now becoming the newest season of the Daredevil TV show. And I'm guessing that show is why I found this TPB from 2024 in a local Walmart. Couldn't pass it up for 15 bucks.

I was 11 when Daredevil vol 1 #227 came out. I had read most of Miller's first run on DD. But by this time I was deep into other Marvel titles and a few indie books. Thankfully the comic shop owner talked me into adding Daredevil back to my pull list. 

Sat down the day after buying this TPB and unlike most comics I didn't just toss it into a stack and leave it unread for months/years. Nah those first 3 pages of issue 227 caught my attention and about an hour later I had read Born Again for the first time since I'm guessing 2003.

So what is Born Again? This was when  Frank Miller decided to revamp Daredevil. He lost everything,his law firm,his license to practice law,his home. Lost it all. And all because his old girlfriend Karen Page had sold him out. She had moved out west years before to do movies. Ended up doing adult films. Got on drugs and in the first 3 pages we see her desperate for a fix. Telling her dealer "I know Daredevil's real name" handing this man this info. Then over the course of a week seeing this info make it's way up the chain to Kingpin. A man  who wants to destroy Daredevil. And armed with this info will do that.That first issue ends with Matt Murdock at his now blown up home. Holding the tattered remains of his costume. 

The next issue titled Purgatory has Matt going and confronting Kingpin getting beaten almost to death. Then placed in an old car and thrown into the river. He escapes barely. And Kingpin finds out the car was found but no body in it. Which haunts him.

3rd issue has Matt homeless living with the bums in the alleys. He gets knifed by a guy in a Santa outfit. Ben ,a repoter at the Daily Bugle that knows Matt is Daredevil,is told to not investigate the Kingpin's war on Matt Murdock. After the knife attack a badly wounded Matt ends up being taken to the care of Sister Maggie.

4th issue Karen makes it back to NYC,thanks to a dealer that takes an interest in her. Ben after having his life threatened almost kills the story on Kingpin. Kingpin has a Daredevil costume made for a violent mental patient. And Matt learns Sister Maggie is his mother. Who he had been told died when he was born.

Issue 231 has Matt fighting the fake Daredevil in a brutal fight for a code approved comic in the 80s. Ben keeps working on his story which almost cost his wife her life. And a somewhat happy ending with Matt and Karen re-uniting.

232 Karen kicks heroin. And Kingpin uses his connections to bring in the semi failed experiment on the Super Soldier project,this time a Nam era soldier known as Nuke. Who is a upper addict and being used by a black ops group to go fight battles the US proper can't be in. Sent to Hell's Kitchen this super soldier might be more than Daredevil,who is just healed from the beating in the second issue,can handle.

233 is just perfect. The Avengers show up and take care of Nuke. Daredevil delivers Nuke to Ben's desk at the Bugle and a few people that helped Kingpin take down Matt Murdock flip on Kingpin. Sure Kingpin will not do time but he lost a major amout of power. We end with Matt and Karen in Hell's Kitchen celebrating they made it through all this alive.

If it was just those issues ,and they are recolored,it would be worth the 15 bucks. Nah we get more. We get layouts from Mazzucchelli. Then the complete script to issue 233. Plus the covers of all the TPB collections of this. Every cover in this collection without the logos and stuff.

Just a loaded collection. Sure it is a tiny bit smaller in height and width than a normal TPB. Still for this cheap price it is worth grabbing.

Daredevil Born Again Marvel Premier Collection TPB gets a A.

The Dream Team DVD

 

TITLE-The Dream Team

SOURCE-Universal DVD

Talk about a forgotten comedy. Might be it got overshadowed by Keaton's other big hit in 89,some film called Batman,might just be this wasn't as big as I thought it was.

Michael Keaton is a pathological liar and has anger issues, which means he has spent the last year or so in a Mental Hospital in New Jersey. His therapy group has Peter Boyle,who thinks he is Jesus,Christopher Lloyd,a neat freak that believes he is a doctor at the hospital and Steven Furst ,who only speaks in TV soundbytes. Their doctor arranges for them to go see a baseball game in NYC. But on the way they stop for Furst to take a piss break.  I know the feeling when ya gotta piss you GOTTA PISS.

While in an alley for Steven to piss,the doctor sees to corrupt cops kill someone. Doctor gets knocked out and taken to a near by hospital. Listed as John Doe. Furst gets back to their van but can't explain to them what happened.So you got 4 mental hospital patients loose in NYC and the wacky hyjynx start. 

Keaton of course is the lead. And I sometimes forget he was always great in comedies. For me though Boyle and Lloyd steal the movie. One scene has the four going into the  hospital to see their doctor. Boyle is dressed up like a nurse. Sees a man laying on a gurney in the hallway "You are healed my son. Get up and walk" Boyle tells him. They keep passing by and in  the background you can see the man attempt to stand and just fall flat to the floor.

Lloyd has a great scene where he goes to visit his wife and daughter. Both of whom he hasn't talked to since he went to the hospital. All thru out the film Lloyd has a clipboard with him. Won't let anyone touch it. But when his daughter asks for it to put her drawings on you can see him struggle to let it go but he does.

Of course our group saves the day. The corrupt cops get taken down. And all ends well. With Keaton even meeting back up with an ex-girlfriend.

While the premise is nothing but that part from Once Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest,when Jack takes the guys out for a day in the city,just expaneded to a full length movie. What makes this stand out is the casting. While Keaton,Lloyd and Boyle are still remembered for how great they are/were,Steven Furst is forgotten.. Back then he was a bigger name cause of St Elsewhere.

The dvd looks decent sounds good. And it is an older DVD release. The extras are a trailer and a few TV spots. I do know this has a blu ray release and I plan on  tracking it down soon.

The Dream Team while not even in the top 10 comedies from the 80s is still worth seeing.

The Dream Team gets a B-.

Honey I Shrunk the Kids DVD

 

TITLE-Honey I shrunk the Kids
SOURCE-Disne DVD

By the time this was out in 1989 I was rarely seeing any Disney film. But sometime in 1990 my mother was home for the weekend. Wanted to rent a movie. So up to Homeport Video I went got this and something else. Watched the movie, enjoyed it and never saw it again.

Sure I watched the TV based on the film, but not until it was on THE HUB all the time. Never saw the sequels and really had forgotten most of this first film. Then weeks ago at a thrift found it cheap. 

Mom was wanting something to watch after dinner. I knew I had this so put it one. Ok why was Disney release movies in 4:3 format on DVD?

Rick Moranis is a inventor.  Working on a shrink ray. It accidently gets triggered. Shrinks his two kids plus the sons of the next door neighbors,who are played by Matt Frewer and the lady that was Buffy's mom on Buffy the Vampire slayer tv show. 

The kids get sucked up by a dust buster and then put in the trash. Ending up in the far back part of the backyard. Most of the film is the 4 kids traveling the back yard. With some great action parts. Like when the son of Rick and the neighbor's oldest son end up riding a bee. The fight between the ant the kids train and a scorpion is also well done. Then you get that bit near the end with the lawnmower. Of course being a Disney film you know the kids survive and get made normal size at the end.

The FX work surprised me in how well it hold up. Lots of this was done on sets with oversized props so looks amazing. The green screen stuff doesn't look as good. While still not looking like total crap.

No extras on the disc. Wasn't expecting any when I saw it was 4:3. The audio is clear. The picture looks crisp.

Honey I shrunk the Kids gets a solid B+

Doomsday Squad #1

 

TITLE-Doomsday Squad Issue 1

PUBLISHER-Fantagraphics

Now I had heard about this 70s John Byrne series for years. Might have even flipped through an issue before. But until recently never owned an issue never read an issue.

Was a nice day shocking warm for this time of year. Filled up my travel tumbler with drink,grabbed a stack of comix and was sitting on my back porch reading comix and looking out at the lake.

Had just got this Fantagraphics reprint. Oh yea while this serie started in the 70s,published as Doomsday + 1 by Charlton,it got recolored and reprinted in the 80s by Fantagraphics once Johny Byrne had made his name on a few titles over at Marvel. Recolored cause anyone that has read Charlton stuff can tell you the colors were either average or horrible.

Set in the new future a few scientists are on a space statio orbiting the Earth. A nuclear war breaks out and they watch it from outer space. Rations are almost out so they try to figure out where to land. Possibly they are the land humans alive. 

Discovering that thanks to a storm Greenland has low radiation levels that is where they land. Seeing on the way that the ice melting has caused almost all the coastal cities world wide to flood.

Landing in Greenland they see a Wooly Mammoth trapped in an ice flow. This melts and also what appears to be a ancient Viking is freed. After escaping this Viking joins the group and they start to a port to find a ship and head off. Hoping to find supplies and maybe other humans.

This is a very 70s sci fi series. Byrne at this time wasn't a great writer,and still this 1 issue got me to go order the rest of the run. There is 7 total. All easy to find in the Fantagraphics reprint run.

The art is that 70s/early 80s John Byrne. Back before he started going to fast. One of the female scientists has redhair and in Greenland puts on a black snowsuit. Making her look like mid 70s era Black Widow.

If you enjoy 70s sci fi and/or John Byrne art track this down. Bonus each issue has a new back up story with various properties Fantagraphics was publishing back then. Issue one  a  Dalgoda story. Always love the art on Dalgoda but the story has never caught and kept my attention.

Doomsday Squad #1 gets a B-.

Stray Bullets Issue 6

 

TITLE-Stray Bullets issue 6

SOURCE-El Capitan Comics 

I have heard for 30 years now how great Stray Bullets was. And over those 3 decades collected a stack of the 40 or so issues. Just never really sat down read any of them. 

Seems this issue is a one and done. We meet Amy Racecar, a young girl who is in something that isn't a coma but that is the closest I can think of to what she is in. She doesn't talk or move. And in her head she is talking to God and learns that when you die you fade into nothingness. Heaven isn't waiting on you.

After years of all kinds of doctors trying all they can ,Amy's mother is at the end of her rope. So when a group of feds show up and offer to test out the new experimental Truth Machine on Amy the mother accepts. Once the machine is turned on they all see Amy in Heaven with God and learn what Amy knows about Heaven. Causing the Truth Machines inventor to jump out the window.

Momma Racecar gets mad. Grabs a knife starts attacking her daughter. Carving up her face. Then Amy regains conciousness,and kills everyones in the house. 

Amy goes on the run ,becoming a bank robber. Thanks to a FBI agent that is in love with Amy she keeps escaping. Then finally she is caught put on trial and the Truth Machine is used on her again. The world now knows what Amy knows. Heaven isn't where you go when you die. And it causes all kinds of shit to happen. 

The President talks Amy into saying she followed the machine. After this she gets offered a job. Going around talking to at risk teens. But before she can accept she rushes off to an escape pod in the White house and flies off into space.

Now haven't read the next issue I'm guessing the entire issue was in Amy's head as she lays in bed in her Not Coma. But I have no clue.

Amazing art plus a great panel layout and good writing makes this a series I now want to read all of.

Stray Bullets Issue 6 gets a A.

Piranha DVD

 

Title-Piranha

SOURCE-Shout Factory DVD

Yea normally I save horror stuff for October. Just after watching this the other night I felt the need to write about it. Now I have covered the 90s remake and the 2000s remake on this blog before. And I've seen  the original many times. 

First time viewing it had to be when it premiered on network tv. Sure it was some channels Movie of the week,who else remembers that? Each major OTA network would have a night of the week where they showed cut for tv versions of big movies. Would be a big deal when stuff like Alien played tv for the first time. I had to be 8 or so when I first saw Piranha and I loved it.

The plot is Jaws but replacing the giant shark with a pile of mutated piranhas. They are heading to a water resort and of course the owner doesn't want to shut it down.

Cheesy and cheaply made this is still the best Jaws rip off from that era. Decent FX work,ok acting and a decent plot.

This DVD is loaded. Got a great commentary,that is full of info on  the film. A almost 20 minute long featurette with Corman and others that worked on  the film. They even dug up the scenes added back into the TV version. Back in the day lots of the time when  a film was edited for tv it would cause the running time to be too short,average movie needed to be 90 to 95 minutes so a 2 hour block would have 25 to 30 minutes of ads,so cut scenes would be added back in. Some films even  had new scenes filmed for the tv version.

I know there is a great blu ray of this out there. Betting a 4k is either out or out soon. This DVD is a great cheap choice if you want to try out the film

Piranha gets a B-.

The Jerk 26th Anniversary Edition DVD

 

TITLE-The Jerk
SOURCE-26th Anniversary DVD

Talk about a film I saw often as a kid and then haven't watched in maybe 30 years. Steve Martin is a white man born into a black family in rural Mississippi. He heads out to make his life and just has wacky adventures.

The film is just one hour and almost 30 minutes of Steve Martin going wild on screen. With enough plot to connect the bits. 

For a bit he is working at a gas station. Which is a bit I remember seeing many times on  TV. Or when he joins the traveling carnival. Working as the guy that guesses your weight. He ends up hooking up with the lady daredevil motorcycle driver. Which brings one of the best scenes. Every few weeks Martin will mail some money home and send a letter. You get the famiyl all gathered around as Steve's mother reads this letter. "And I might be able to send more money next week getting a extra job,Shelia mentioned a blow job" And Steve's brother just busts out laughing while the rest of the family is puzzled.

Thanks to a tiny invention he made at the gas station Steve ends up rich. Married to Bernadette Peters and living in a huge manstion. Then he loses it all. But that money he was sending home his Dad invested it well and we end with the entire family back at the shack in rural Mississippi celebrating their new wealth.

The Jerk gets a A-.