This Review Roundup features two releases out this week and two I got after their release date. First is Arcadian which stars Nicolas Cage as a father of two boys played by Jaeden Martell and Maxwell Jenkins in a post-apocalyptic setting with aliens/creatures. I don’t remember if they specify if they are aliens or just natural creatures. The creatures live underground and come out at night, but their specific origins might not have been mentioned. Cage and the boys live alone scavenging to stay alive following rules and guidelines (like being home at a certain time and boarding up windows and doors every night). There is another family not too far that the one boy visits and goes there when he shouldn’t (he’s supposed to scavenge with his brother), he falls and Cage has to go back to protect him. The creatures attack and the family dynamic is altered. It’s nothing ground breaking and feels like a ripoff of A Quiet Place, but the creatures are decent enough. They make a weird vibrating thing with their heads which I hadn’t seen before. Cage can do this type of movie in his sleep and it isn’t one of his better films of late, but it’s good enough for a watch.
Second we have The Double Crossers. This 1976 film is about a police officer investigating the death of his father who was involved in smuggling. He quits his position and teams up with his father’s former smuggling partner to get answers and revenge. There’s martial arts and explosions and all kinds of ridiculous action. It reminded me of Andy Sidaris films minus the nudity. If you like B-movie action then this is fun and even features Sammo Hung. The oil company side story trap is so random and I howled at certain explosions and fight sequences. If you enjoy this genre you will have fun with it especially if you like Bruce Lee clones type flicks which I do. Is it a great crime drama? Of course not, but I found it very entertaining.
Next is The Miracle Fighters. This 1982 Asian fantasy martial arts film also made me howl at times especially the character in the barrel fighting. The first time I saw it I had to pause the film to make sure I didn’t miss something. This is about a man who married a woman he wasn’t supposed to and is told to kill her. He refuses, but she is killed anyways so he attacks those involved and kidnaps the young prince. He accidentally kills the boy, but years later finds another boy who others think is the prince. That boy grows up and teams up with two taoist priests while a sorcerer is looking for him. It’s utterly ridiculous at times with multiple fantasy sequences making no sense. If you enjoy wuxia you might like it. I don’t know if it’s something I’d watch again, but it’s just ridiculous enough to be entertaining the first time.
Last we have a Sonny Chiba doubleheader, Beast Fighter: Karate Bullfighter & Karate Bearfighter. In Karate Bullfighter Chiba plays a man who makes a name for himself at a karate competition. He gains a following and there is some cool martial arts in it. It’s called Bullfighter because he literally fights a bull in it. In Karate Bearfighter he’s no longer part of the martial arts competition world and gets involved with the Yakuza and literally fights a bear in it. I’ve gotten into Sonny Chiba films over the years and I dug these. They are ridiculous movies, but Chiba was a great entertainer and there are some fantastic fight sequences in both films. They look very mid 70s and have that stylized action you expect in Chiba films. If you are a Chiba collector I highly recommend this two film collection.
The Nerds Templar 