REWATCH: The Phantom [1996]

Ever since we first watched "The Phantom," it has lingered in the backs of our minds (or at least the minds of Kay and Sarah for some reason). Now finally getting back on the rewatch vibe, we decided to give it another go and it was just as delightful as we remembered. A lot of that can be attributed to the fact that the villain is the campiest villain since M. Bison in "Street Fighter." It's a joy. You can read my original review of this movie here.

Spoon Rating: 8

24 Hours To Midnight [1985]

After our enjoyment of "Low Blow," Adam discovered that Leo Fong, the star, is also a film maker and was specifically responsible for an early Cynthia Rothrock film called "24 Hours To Midnight." Or at least it's technically a Rothrock film. Her character spends most of the movie in a full ninja costume and it's definitely not her. A big giveaway is the fact that she doesn't actually fight, but she still is here to kill. Apparently, she pulled out of the film, so a "Plan 9" Bela Lugosi tactic was used instead.

The plot is your standard "Kill Bill" concept. Her husband is killed within the first few minutes of the film and she spends the rest of the movie killing off the frugal mob gang responsible for his death with a new weapon each time. Fairly frequently we get flashbacks that are often just the scene of Rothrock crying in her car unconvincingly and we get some voice over from her to try to conceal her lack of presence in the film. In the b-plot meant to pad out the film, we have two cops, a guy who looks about 17 and a woman with fried hair and face, and they are investigating gang activity in the area and trying to find the source of these deaths. They are really incompetent and not convincing as cops and were maybe added into the film to pad it out when they couldn't have Rothrock kicking butt.

Overall, this movie was pretty dry. There was a little comedy, bad acting, and a boom mic in a shot, but ultimately it didn't really pay off. You can do better and you can especially do better if you want Cynthia Rothrock.

Quote: He whipped on them people like they was his stepchildren.

Spoon Rating: 3

Night Of The Kickfighters [1988]

We got another with a title that doesn't match. Apparently this film is also called "Night Raiders", which isn't much better but as Adam pointed out, there's a lot of kicking in this movie for a movie that shouldn't really have any. This movie is ultimately a rescue mission movie with a team of characters but that premise doesn't even get established until at least halfway through. And aside from our main character (somewhat) none specialize in kicking.

We get an opening that doesn't really tell us anything aside from establishing our main villain lady who is campy and dresses like a D&D villain and our hero who looks way too much like other white men in the movie. We get some set up about a government developed laser that doesn't come up again and a girl who is about to get married when she gets kidnapped. Our main guy gathers together a ragtag group including a stoner witch a lot of gadgets he developed and a magician with a grandiose voice and style. They interrupt our villain's lazing around wearing a snake and being fed grapes by her tall lackey when they break in but she uses microwaves to melt some brains. In they end, they blow up her boat with a very bad effect and the kidnapped girl is able to get married with our ragtag group in attendance.

Overall, this movie is really borderline. We got some solid laughs from the characters and bad effects, but the film was also poorly constructed in a way that occasionally left us a bit confused. Watch at your discretion.

Spoon Rating: 5