Missing in Action

Colonel James Braddock, still haunted by his time in a Vietnamese P.O.W. camp, reluctantly agrees to return to Vietnam with a government liaison, hoping to find other American soldiers who are still missing in action. After discovering the location of a camp still holding American soldiers prisoner, Braddock leads an all-out assault in an effort to bring his fellow soldiers home. Missing in Action, Cannon’s attempt to cash in on the Rambo franchise, is a decent movie for what it is. Slightly too long with a sluggish pace, Missing in Action saves most of the excitement for the third act, which goes balls to the wall with explosions and high speed raft chases. M. Emmet Walsh lends a bit of levity to the proceedings, playing Braddock’s old army buddy Jack “Tuck” Tucker. And Chuck Norris delivers exactly the type of performance you would expect from him, no more, no less.

Rating: 60%

(Image from Wikipedia)

Invasion U.S.A.

Communists have invaded America and only one man can stop them, former CIA agent Matt Hunter. Invasion U.S.A. is an exercise in excess. Every scene in the movie goes big. Chuck Norris's character carries dual Uzis. When the terrorists attack a residential neighborhood, they don't blow up one house, they blow up six. When a car explodes, it crashes into five parked cars. Also, there are fan boats, multiple vehicles being driven inside a shopping centre and Chuck Norris wrestling an alligator. Plus, for some reason, the movie is set at Christmastime.

Rating: 71%

(Image from Wikipedia)

The Prowler

aka Rosemary's Killer

In 1945, on the night of the graduation dance in Avalon Bay, Rosemary Chatham and her new boyfriend were brutally murdered. The killer was never found. Flash forward to 1980, where preparations are underway for the first graduation dance since that tragic night back in 1945. Spirits are high among the soon-to-be college graduates, but someone is about to ruin their night. Someone with an old score to settle. The Prowler is a semi-independent horror movie from the golden age of slasher films. It's definitely riffing on movies like Halloween and Friday the 13th and there's even an allusion to Jaws at one point. Plot wise, The Prowler is very similar to My Bloody Valentine. Which is likely coincidental, since they were both released the same year. The cast, the music, the setting and the killer are all on point, but The Prowler's script is a little weak. There's not enough going on in the movie, which feels padded out by some long sequences where the main characters explore the same old house twice. The Prowler's main selling point is definitely Tom Savini's special effects makeup. Unlike some of Savini's other work from this era, The Prowler never holds back during the kill scenes. There are several long, lingering shots of people being stabbed and skewered in The Prowler. The kind of shots that typically got cut down by the MPAA in Friday the 13th films. Though not obscure by any means, The Prowler is an under the radar slasher that is well worth seeking out.

Rating: 71%

(Image from Wikipedia)

Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter

Everything should be smooth sailing for young Tommy Jarvis (played by über thespian Corey Feldman). Now that the local axe weilding maniac is dead and his body has been taken to the morgue, things should be nice and calm for once around Crystal Lake. Then again, the cabin next door is being rented by a bunch of horny teens. And there's some guy lurking in the woods looking for his missing sister or something. But Jason's dead...right? I mean, what could go wrong?

Rating: Corkscrew through the hand%

(Image from iconsoffright.com)