Sonny Landham Movies
Born William Landham, he is a former stuntman turned supporting actor, onscreen from the '70s. ~ All Movie Guide- 1993
This sleazy little drama offers a grim slice from the lives of those who work in a seedy LA dime-a-dance ballroom. First there is ex-cop Miguelino who now makes a living finding ballrooms to buy while the drug-addicted dancer Sparkle gets drug money by informing for the mob. There is also the sharp-witted and freewheeling Mercedes and finally Billie, who puts up with the lasciviousness of her clients only during working hours. Billie is a dreamer and has fallen in love with two very different men. One is pizza delivery boy Bobby. The other is the wealthy Diamond Jim, a professional gambler who is unfortunately in deep trouble with local Vietnamese gangsters. When they suddenly show up to the gaudy dance hall to collect their debt from him, Billie gets caught in the middle and tragedy ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brittany McCrena, Sonny Landham, (more)
- 1993
In Best of the Best 2, Alex Grady and his partner, Tommy Lee, turn their karate talents toward crime fighting. An illegal fighting club, headed by Wayne Newton, is a center for crime and criminals. Alex and Tommy decide to take it down but first they have to fight their way through Brakus, the big evil, and his growth protein-engorged posse. ~ Brian Whitener, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eric Roberts, Phillip Rhee, (more)
- 1992
- R
This crime thriller concerns three cops (Jason Carver, Sam J. Jones, Sherrie Rose) and their quest to stop a criminal kingpin (Richard Lynch) and the corrupt chief of police (Mickey Rooney). ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- 1991
- R
Fred Williamson directed and stars in this average action film as Col. Wright, who teams up with a paroled thief (Bo Svenson) and the former lover of a Colombian druglord to rescue the kidnapped World Security Ambassador. Henry Silva is the kingpin, and the film is full of nudity and violence, but fails to engage much interest. Despite a veteran cast which includes Chuck Connors, Sonny Landham, and Van Johnson, gratuitous strippers and prostitutes provide much of the visual interest. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
Sylvester Stallone is a tough but essentially decent convict in a relatively humane prison. He's on such good terms with the authorities that he's occasionally allowed a weekend furlough. This idyllic situation ends abruptly when he's transferred to a nasty prison run by sadistic warden Donald Sutherland (remember way back when Sutherland played good guys and Stallone played secondary hoodlums?) Harboring a grudge against Sly over an unfortunate incident at another prison, Sutherland does everything he can to make Stallone's term a Hell on Earth. But in the end, it is Sutherland who is Stallone's prisoner--and, since Sly's name comes first on the credits, it is Sutherland who blubberingly confesses to a string of crimes perpetrated on the helpless inmates. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sylvester Stallone, Donald Sutherland, (more)
Ex-football player Carl Weathers stars in this violent action film as Detroit policeman Jericho Jackson. The dedicated but brutal cop is plunged into nefarious doings concerning a crooked industrialist (Craig T. Nelson) and his drug-addicted girlfriend (pop-singer Vanity), breaking many people's bones before solving the case. Sharon Stone stands out in a cast of genre veterans including Nicholas Worth, Sonny Landham, and Robert Davi. Heavy on the sex and violence, this film harkens back to the glory days of 1970s blaxploitation, but is a bit too mean-spirited to be as much fun. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carl Weathers, Craig T. Nelson, (more)
Dutch (Arnold Schwarzenegger) has a code of honor which he will not violate, even when his life depends on it. Paradoxically, his code of honor gives him the backbone to survive as a military special forces operative when he is sent on a covert mission to rescue another group which was sent in to assist some nefarious U.S. government plan in a Latin American country. Once there, he encounters an old army buddy (Carl Weathers) who has gotten too deep in the CIA's good graces for Dutch's comfort. When he and his team go into the jungle to rescue the others, they get involved in a pitched battle with local guerillas, but they are more than capable of besting these vicious fighters. However, not long after that, they encounter signs that the equally capable men they were sent to rescue were all killed unawares and in an unusually gruesome fashion. Given their training, it should have been impossible for anyone to best all of these commando warriors. Soon, the men from Dutch's own team get picked off one by one, as they grow aware that they are up against something uncanny, not of this world, something that is hunting them for sport. Why? Because their skills make them worthy opponents for the perfectly camouflaged Predator. This carefully paced action movie was given poor reviews by many movie critics, but was sufficiently satisfying for its (largely male) audiences that a successful sequel (Predator 2) was released in 1990. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers, (more)
Firewalker stars Chuck Norris as Max Donigan, an ex-Marine, and Louis Gossett, Jr. as his buddy, Leo Porter. Both set out to help Patricia Goodwyn (Melody Anderson) find a lost Aztec city and a temple filled with gold. After a few misadventures, their nemesis "El Coyote" (Sonny Landham) comes into view for awhile to make it clear that they are not without serious competition. Barroom brawls and a capture by hostile Native Americans throw roadblocks in their path, but the fearless trio forge onward toward the temple and their destiny. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chuck Norris, Louis Gossett, Jr., (more)
- 1986
In this sci-fi film an astronaut finds himself endowed with superhuman powers after he was exposed to severe radiation resulting from a solar disturbance during the time he was in space. He uses those powers to find the one who murdered his colleague. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Greg Evigan, Deborah Wakeham, (more)
- 1986
This actioner was originally the pilot for a television series and follows the exploits of former pro-football player, Fortune Dane, a policeman investigating the assassination of nine people. During his search for the culprit, Dane is framed and must also clear his name. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1985
The first of two full-length television sequels which reprise the 1967 original, finds two convicts (Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine) again forced to lead a suicide mission behind enemy lines. This time, they head into Germany to thwart an unbelievable plot to assassinate Hitler. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine, (more)
In Fleshburn Calvin Duggai (Sonny Landham) is a Native American who can't put his wartime experiences behind him. His main beef is against the team of psychiatrists who shipped him off to an institution. After making his escape, Duggai kidnaps the four doctors and maroons them in the middle of the desert. Now, he reasons, they can experience the hell he's been through, both as a soldier and as an American Indian. Of the four abductees, Sam MacKenzie (Steve Kanaly) stands the best chance for survival--and that chance is none too good. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steve Kanaly, Karen Carlson, (more)
- 1984
When first released as Grace Quigley, this odd little black comedy proved too fey and quirky even for the most devoted fans of Katharine Hepburn. The star plays the title character, an old, worn-out woman with nothing to live for. Accordingly, she hires professional assassin Seymour Flint (Nick Nolte) to kill her, albeit gently. As she ponders the prospect of a peaceful death as opposed to a miserable life, Grace convinces Seymour to murder not only herself, but all other poor souls who have grown tired of life. As it turns out, there are several people who'd be willing to pay for this "courtesy," and soon Grace and Seymour, together with his ditsy girlfriend Muriel (Kit Le Fever), are conducting a land-office business! Entered into competition at the 1984 Cannes Film Festival, Grace Quigley made no impression whatsoever. Screenwriter A. Martin Zweibeck withdrew the film, recut it to his satisfaction, and reissued it as The Ultimate Solution of Grace Quigley. Though this version was a marked improvement over the original, the film was still not quite the Harold and Maude-like "cult favorite" that everyone hoped it would be. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Katharine Hepburn, Nick Nolte, (more)
- 1984
B.A. (Mr. T) owes his life to his fellow Vietnam veteran Captain Fallone (James Callahan), a former army doctor. Now it is B.A.'s turn to repay the favor when he and the rest of the A-Team respond to Fallone's call for assistance when the tropical island where his clinic is located is overrun by murderous drug dealers, who have enslaved the local populace to do their heavy lifting. A mercurial native woman named Kalani (Carole Davis) looms large in the proceedings, as does a derelict WW2 tank which the Team "resuscitates" in the slam-bang action finale. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
A variation on the "buddy-cop" hybridized genre, 48 HRS. greatly bolstered the career of Nick Nolte and made comedian Eddie Murphy a bonafide box-office sensation. When a pair of reckless cop-killers break out of prison, grizzled detective Jack Cates (Nolte) is left no alternative but to spring fast-talking hustler Reggie Hammond (Murphy) from the penitentiary in order to find the criminals. The catch: the pair only have 48 hours to complete their assignment before Hammond must return to prison. Naturally, the two despise each other and even engage in fisticuffs, but eventually the danger facing them proves a strong enough common bond for them to play on the same team, and even achieve a little mutual admiration. ~ Jeremy Beday, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nick Nolte, Eddie Murphy, (more)
With Poltergeist, directed by Tobe Hopper, Steven Spielberg had his first great success as a producer. Released around the same time as Spielberg's E.T., the film presents the dark side of Spielberg's California suburban track homes. The film centers on the Freeling family, a typical middle class family living in the peaceful Cuesta Verde Estates. The father, Steve (Craig T. Nelson), has fallen asleep in front of the television, and the dog saunters around the house revealing the other family members -- Steve's wife Diane (JoBeth Williams), sixteen-year-old daughter Dana (Dominique Dunne), eight-year-old son Robbie (Oliver Robins), and five-year-old Carol Ann (Heather O'Rourke). Soon strange things begin to happen around the house; the pet canary dies, mysterious storms occur, and Carol Ann is summoned to the TV set, where a strange shaft of green light hits her and causes the room to shake ("They're he-e-ere!"). As curious events continue, Carol Ann is repeatedly drawn to the television, where she begins to talk to "the TV people." Soon Carol Ann is sucked into a closet, disappearing from this reality plane. Unable to find his daughter, Steve consults Dr. Lesh (Beatrice Straight), a para-psychologist from a nearby college. Lesh finds that paranormal phenomena is so strong in the Freelong household she is unable to deal with it and sends for clairvoyant and professional exorcist Tangina (Zelda Rubinstein) to examine the house in hopes of finding Carol Ann. Tangina makes a horrifying discovery: Carol Ann is alive and in the house, but is being held on another spectral plane. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Craig T. Nelson, JoBeth Williams, (more)
A handful of part time soldiers unwittingly turn a field exercise into a miniature war in this offbeat action drama from writer and director Walter Hill. A group of National Guard reservists are sent to Louisiana on a chilly weekend for war games exercises. None of these weekend warriors seem especially happy to be there, especially laid-back Spencer (Keith Carradine), tightly-wound macho man Reece (Fred Ward) and transplanted Texan Hardin (Powers Booth). While making their way through swamp country, the reservists discover their maps are out of date and they've become lost. Rather than march back to camp and start over, they decide to "borrow" several canoes they've found by the banks of the bayou, which should put them back on track. When a Cajun local catches the soldiers stealing his canoes, Stuckey (Lewis Smith) fires a few rounds in his direction; for the purposes of their exercises, the Guardsmen have been given blank shells, so Stuckey imagines this is a harmless way to scare the man off. However, the Cajun soon returns fire -- with real bullets. After Poole (Peter Coyote) is killed by a shotgun blast, the Guardsmen find themselves lost in a place they do not understand, surrounded by angry men determined to drive the unwelcome visitors off their land at all costs. A taut and atmospheric action film which is also serves as an intelligent and evocative metaphor for America's role in the Vietnam war, Southern Comfort also features an excellent score by guitarist (and frequent Walter Hill collaborator) Ry Cooder. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Keith Carradine, Powers Boothe, (more)
Walter Hill's hip, super-stylized action film unfurls in a dystopian near-future, when various gangs control New York City. Each gang sports a unique moniker ('The Warriors,' 'The Baseball Furies,' 'The Rogues'), with a costume underscoring its "theme"; each, in turn, is also responsible for one geographic area. Hill sets up the landscape as a massive, violent playground - replete with bridges, vacant subway tunnels, parks, abandoned buildings and the like, all ripe for exploration and adventure. As the tale opens, the titular Coney Island has traveled to the Bronx to attend a city-wide meeting of all gangs; at that event, however, the psychotic leader of a rival gang, The Rogues (David Patrick Kelly of Dreamscape) assassinates the head of the city's foremost gang, but The Warriors are pegged as culpable. This sends the gang fleeing through the labyrinthine city. With every thug in Manhattan in vicious, homicidal pursuit, they must also overcome all obstacles in their way. Throughout, Hill keeps the onscreen violence absurd, exaggerated and unrealistic, downplaying death to an extreme degree; despite this fact, the film sparked a massive amount of controversy and an ugly backlash for allegedly inciting violence and destruction in several theaters where it initially played. James Remar, Michael Beck and Deborah Van Valkenburgh lead the ensemble cast. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Beck, James Remar, (more)
Abigail Leslie is Back in Town was the brainchild of prolific (200-plus titles!) sexploitation director Joe Sarno. In the tradition of Durrenmatt's The Visit, a young woman is driven from a small town in disgrace after a messy extramarital affair. When she returns, she goes the "Harper Valley PTA" route, proving that her tormentors are no better than she. Joe Sarno insists that it's based on a true story. Originally the title was Abagail Leslie is Back in Town, indicating that someone in the publicity department needed a spell-checker. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
