Episode 145 - To the Death (1992)

This one was found at the zero hour. While Cannon has a lot of action movies full of character, American Kickboxer 1 was not one of those movies. It was dull, characterless, and completely forgettable. It was its non-Cannon (and non-canon) sequel, American Kickboxer 2 that was more of a proper action flick, and a lot more fun at that. So it comes as even more a surprise that the almost unknown, yet hated by those who do, official sequel is better than both. To the Death, is pure Cannon Films, and it is amazing that it is not more well known.

The story is essentially about our main character dragged into fighting illegal, underground matches of death battles and a villain who choose more scenery than starving termites and a cast of characters more eccentric than is needed ( but is very much welcome) while this unfolds. What this leads to is a surprisingly enjoyable action flick that deserves far more visibility and notoriety than it has!

As always, the full episode has all the details. Check it out and see just why To the Death is better than its reputation, if it even has any, suggests it is.

Randy's Score: 3/5

JD's Score: 3/5

Up Next: Over the Brooklyn Bridge!

Episode 144 - Terminal Bliss (1992)

This one took some time to find. Though this is a drama starring Luke Perry during his peak years of popularity, Terminal Bliss has become nearly impossible to find. Though, after watching it, we can possible understand why that is.

Though it is a rather simple idea for a drama (rich kids live an empty life and fall apart) it is rather aimless and disjointed, a movie where nothing of consequence happens. Until it does, then it just sort of wanders to the next thing then ends. One might argue that is the point, but it doesn't make for a very exciting watch. In fact, it makes for a terrible experience. Find out what that means in the full episode above.

Randy's Score: 1/5

JD's Score: 1/5

Up Next: To the Death!

Episode 107 - Season 07 Wrap-Up!

Welcome to 2022!

For our first episode of the year, we present to you our season finale for season 7! It was a long road to get here where we covered a lot of films this year. In 2021, we actually covered more movies in a year than we ever have before. Because of that, we decided to split our Non-Cannon movies off into another episode that will be up next week. Today, it's Cannon only!

We once again want to thank you for tuning is for over four years, and hope you'll stick with us to the bitter end. It's been a long road, and we've still got some ground left to cover. Thanks for sticking around through 2021.

Here's to a great new year!

Up Next: Non-Cannon Wrap-Up!

Episode 102 - Rescue Me (1992)

This one was a bit of a time capsule. Essentially a movie that was even dying out at the time, Rescue Me is an attempt at a coming of age road trip movie mixed with a dab of action and drama, but not, as you might expect from the premise and poster, romance.

We went in to this with specific expectations but the movie wasn't quite what we thought it would be. This made both a bit of a surprise and a bit of disappointment, but we couldn't quite fault it for an attempt to do something a bit different at the time. That said, it's not quite good enough to get away with what it does, but it isn't a whiff either. Definitely worth seeing, especially if these genre mash-ups are your thing. They don't make them like this anymore.

Cannon's last few years have certainly been more interesting than we originally thought they would be. That said, we aren't quite done yet! There's still much more to see!

Randy's Score: 3/5

JD's Score: 3/5

Up Next: New York Ninja!

Episode 99 - American Samurai (1992)

No, it isn't quite the American Ninja sequel we've been waiting for, but American Samurai continues the proud tradition of Cannon action movies buoyed by two things: hot blooded males and insane obstacles that must be overcome. What's more, it is very close to American Ninja in just about every way except with samurai instead of ninja.

For our watch along we found the uncut version that was only released overseas, for some reason, and it feels like a movie that should have come out back in Cannon's heyday but was left to flounder on home video and with a censored cut. It should have had a harder push than it did. Nonetheless, it is a solid actioner that deserves far more attention than it currently garners, especially by action movie aficionados.

Not quite on par with the original two American Ninja movies, it is quite a bit better than the overwrought Avenging Force or dull American Ninja 3, American Samurai is definitely worth seeking out. Just be sure to watch the original uncut version.

Randy's Score: 3/5

JD's Score: 3/5

Up Next: Street Knight!

Episode 98 - Fifty/Fifty (1992)

We're back! After our summer-long special we finally return to the minefield of Cannon Films once again. 

This time we present to you the obscure buddy adventure movie Fifty/Fifty which is all but forgotten these days, and yet has enough going for it to make it worth seeing. Oddly enough, these latter day Cannon movies are a bit better than we were expecting.

That said, it does have it problems, mostly in being disjointed, which hold it back from its true potential. The film is not as good as it could be. Nonetheless, it a is a fun adventure film worth seeing, one that works better than it probably should despite its flaws. For movies to come back with, we could have chosen a much worse entry.

Randy's Score: 3/5

JD's Score: 3/5

Up Next: American Samurai!