When I was 6 years old I started taking Karate classes at Santamaria's in Killeen. I saw Chuck Norris there. I had a polaroid taken with him. My parents took me out of Karate classes after I started showing a lack of interest 'cause that shit was expensive. This was around '83 or '84. Chuck Norris was about to do the Missing In Action movie around this time. I have always liked most of the early Chuck Norris movies. Most of my friends made fun of them, but I didn't give a fuck. Me and my friend Kevin were WAY into them. One time, he was like- "Chuck Norris movies are always good". Not too many people would say that out loud, but my friend was being serious when he said that, and that's kind of bad-ass. Whenever I see Chuck Norris movies nowadays Kevin's endorsement always rings in my mind. It's kind of what prompted me to go on a Norris-renting spree over the last couple of months. Here's some that I like a lot.
Future Kill is a movie that I watched when it first came out on VHS. At the time I had no idea that two of the people from Texas Chainsaw Massacre were in it. Ed Neal (the crazy hitchiker brother of Leatherface) plays Splatter, the armored bad guy who kills most things in his path. He shoots drugs and calls people "stupid fuckin' bitches". Marilyn Burns (the girl who survives in Texas Chainsaw) plays Dorothy Grim, the lady who helps the frat boys elude the rogueish street gangs. There's really no point to this movie. Just people running around with eye makeup on in alleyways. There's drugs, random stabbings, street trash, and punk music (including a song from the Big Boys on the soundtrack). This movie was shot in Austin, TX in 1983 / 1984. It's odd to see what the city looked like back then. Red River looks like a ghost town. One scene is shot at The old Ritz on 6th St. (which is now the Alamo Drafthouse Theater), a punk band is playing while people get stabbed in the back of the head. It's weird to think that this was made 25 years ago. Terrifying actually. Available at I Luv Video on Airport on VHS.
Do you remember discovering the Sho Kosugi ninja movies in the 80's? If you don't, you missed out, but here's your chance to catch up. The first was Enter The Ninja, starring the great Italian actor Franco Nero as the white ninja. Sho Kosugi actually plays the bad ninja in this movie. It's a classic, but probably not as action-packed as the next two to come. Revenge Of The Ninja came next and packed a serious punch with the action movie fans. It was way more violent and fast-paced. The ninja fight scenes were more original and filmed better. By the time the third installation was conceived, the ante had been upped and we needed something crazy to keep our interest in the series. Ninja III: The Domination was just what the doctor ordred. It's about the white girl from the "Breakin" movies getting possessed by an evil grey ninja who went crazy killing a bunch of rich people at a golf course. This film plays like a great 70's Marvel comic book. There's a surreal sex scene involving a can of hot n' spicy V8 juice that's semi-nauseating but great. All of the supernatural posession scenes are great, kind of like The Exorcist mixed with an old episode of Kung Fu. This was originally released by Cannon and is only available on VHS at I Luv Video on Airport.
