Joe Don Justice

(imdb)

FINAL JUSTICE-1985-2 Italian mobster brothers kill a sheriff and his deputy Geronimo (Joe Don Baker) chases them to the Mexican border. He kills one of them and captures Palermo (Ven-antino Venantini; CANNIBAL FEROX (1981)) who vows revenge. For some reason, Geronimo is assigned by Chief Wilson (Bill McKinney), to take Palermo back to Sicily to stand trial but through sabotage and violence Palermo escapes when the plane makes an emergency landing in Malta. Geronimo is ordered back to the US but instead he goes out on his own, shooting and disregarding orders. He's assisted by local Gina (Patrizia Pelligrino). Palermo's boss (Rosanno Brazzi) gives Palermo 24 hrs. to get rid of the American. 

Stupid low budget crime drama filmed entirely in Malta by producer/writer/director Greydon Clark (who plays the doomed sheriff). A US-Italy co-production. Baker (who died in May of 2025) starred in director Clark's JOYSTICKS in 1983. Rossano Brazzi (who directed and starred in THE CHRISTMAS THAT ALMOST WASN'T in 1966) was in Abel Ferrara's FEAR CITY the year before this.

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He's A Bad Mother...

SHAFT-1971-This kind of relic from the '70's is in a way the ultimate "black exploitation" film. In most movies the lead character has trouble with a racist individual or racism in general but here John Shaft "the private dick who's a sex machine for all the chicks" really has nothing but disdain for white people. In the mostly actionless plot Shaft (Richard Roundtree) refuses to help a white police captain fight crime but takes the case of finding the daughter of a ruthless Harlem gangster named Bumpy (Moses Gunn) kidnapped by the Mafia. He enlists some black militant drug dealers to assist him. He has sex with his girlfriend but when she says "I love you" to him over the phone he just replies "Yeah, I know" and hangs up and later has sex with a white prostitute. In the climax he leads the gang (dressed up like cooks, janitors and bellhops) in an assault on the building where the mob is holding the daughter. After the rescue and some fighting, Shaft just laughs as the police have to deal with the mess he's made.

Shaft acts cool and tough but there's too much talk. Perhaps Life magazine photographer turned director Gordon Parks wasn't sure which way to take the story: serious cultural drama or action packed crime drama. The best part to me was the on location scenes of NYC in the early '70's (especially the 42nd Street area).

 Author Ernest Tidyman (THE FRENCH CONNECTION) wrote the screenplay based on his novel. SHAFT spawned two sequels and a short lived TV series. The Isaac Hayes soundtrack won an Academy Award.

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Cold

COLDBLOODED-1995-A weird emotionless bookie named Cosmo (Jason Priestly) is, for some reason, promoted to hit-man by his new Mafioso boss (Robert Loggia). He becomes the protege' of the present hit-man named Steve (Peter Riegert) and proves to be better than his teacher. He kills various people (including one of the film's producers Michael J. Fox in a cameo) and falls in love with his yoga teacher (Kimberley Williams). Eventually he wants out of "the company" but doesn't find it that easy to do.

This is a strange black comedy that has some funny moments especially from Riegert who's great but Priestly to me seems to channeling Johnny Depp in his performance and the conclusion isn't very good. Director Wallace Wolodarsky wrote MONSTERS VS. ALIENS.

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Massacre Mitchell Style

DUKE MITCHELL'S MASSACRE MAFIA STYLE-(aka THE EXECUTIONER)-1978-If you've ever seen the very bizarre BELA LUGOSI MEETS A BROOKLYN GORILLA, you'll remember the comedy team of Mitchell & Petrillo who did a take-off on the the popular team of Martin & Lewis.

Well the Dean Martin clone of the duo Duke Mitchell produced, wrote and directed this THE GODFATHER rip-off but apparently he only had beer money to finance it. The acting, direction and editing are all terrible. Mitchell plays Mimi Micelli who narrates his story which begins in Sicily where he grows up after his father has been deported by the US. Mimi returns to the states later and hooks up with his old friend Jolly (Vic Caesar). They kidnap a mob boss Chucky Tripoli (Louis Zito) and hold him for ransom (they send his severed finger through the mail as proof). After crashing Chucky's son's wedding and he and Tripoli decide to team up. Mimi swears a lot, spouts racist slurs, smokes and kills with a shotgun. He forms The Sons of Sicily Defense League but their spokesman is shot dead on live TV. A gangster named Bones (Fred Otash) who's fed up with Mimi's antics beats him up and makes him go into the movie business! Mimi and Solly go to a black pimp called Super Spook (Jimmy Williams) to get some girls for their movie. After they insult him he says "you guys have been been watching too many Humphrey Bogart movies". (he's actually right in a way) When he declines their offer they crucify him on a church cross.

There's killing, some gore and an explosion at a funeral that kills all the mourners! Mimi's ridiculous speech at the end includes a swipe at THE GODFATHER movie and novel. His bloody death involves a shotgun hidden in a loaf of bread.

It's called LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON when the credits are shown at the end. Mitchell also wrote the movie and sings the end theme. He made one other movie GONE WITH THE POPE (which he started filming before MASSACRE) but died (in 1981) before it was finished. It was rescued from obscurity by Grindhouse Releasing (co-founder by Sage Stallone who died in 2012), Buck Flower (who has a very small role) was the only other cast member I knew.

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