Kevin Brando Movies
Ted Kotcheff continues his First Blood fervor with Uncommon Valor. Gene Hackman stars as Cal Rhodes, a former Marine Colonel who has been getting the run-around for ten years from the government concerning the disappearance of his son and his buddies - all Marines who enlisted years prior and served in Vietnam. Rhodes' son was last seen in Laos, where he was fighting in the war and captured as a POW. When word gets back to Rhodes that the men may still be alive and held in prison camps, but the government still has the men listed as missing in action, Rhodes decides to take matters into his own hands. Contacting an old friend, oil baron MacGregor (Robert Stack), Rhodes is granted financial backing to form his own incursion force. He assembles a crack team of men, puts them through an intensive period of training. and heads back with them into the Laotian jungles to search for the MIAs. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gene Hackman, Robert Stack, (more)
- 1981
Virtually overnight, the remote Mexican village of San Remos has become a religious shrine thanks to the "sacred relics" unearthed by a young woman named Jacinta (Eugenia Wright). People from all over the world are crowding into the tiny community, hoping to be cured of catastrophic illnesses by Jacinta and her holy artifacts. At the request of Archbishop Vallejo (Rene Enriquez), Quincy (Jack Klugman) and Sam (Robert Ito) join an international medical team to determine if the ancient religious icons are genuine--and the results are quite astonishing for all concerned. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1981
- PG
- Add Saturday the 14th to Queue
In this early '80s send-up of venerable horror clichés, Richard Benjamin and Paula Prentiss star as John and Mary, an ordinary couple who inherit a mysterious house from a deceased uncle. Along with kids Debbie (Kari Michaelsen) and Billy (Kevin Brando), they move into the musty mansion, unaware that vampire Waldemar (Jeffrey Tambor) and his wife are desperately seeking an ancient book housed within its walls. Soon, Billy finds the book and learns that opening it releases an assortment of scary creatures. John and Mary, however, refuse to believe Billy's tall tales, not even after Mary ends up with puncture marks in her neck and an aversion to normal food. Soon, a mer-man is stalking Debbie in the bathtub, relatives are disappearing and monsters have taken over the house. Help arrives in the form of the wise Van Helsing (Severn Darden) -- or does it? Saturday the 14th provided the directorial debut for veteran horror screenwriter Howard R. Cohen, who would return to the same territory with 1988's Saturday the 14th Strikes Back. Benjamin, who is married to Prentiss in real life, also appeared in the horror satire Love at First Bite. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Benjamin, Paula Prentiss, (more)
Karate champ Chuck Norris returns for another chop-socky vigilante flick in The Octagon, one of a handful of undistinguished Ninja pictures released during the early '80s. Norris appropriately plays a retired karate champ hired as a bodyguard for a wealthy woman (Karen Carlson) plagued by a gang of vicious ninjas. Reluctant at first to take the job, he reconsiders when he learns the gang is headed by his longtime arch rival Tadashi Yamashita (Lee Van Cleef). The script -- as is the case in nearly every Ninja film -- has holes bigger than Okinawa, and the acting is downright atrocious, particularly that of Norris, who, thankfully, improved with time. However, the production values are fair, as is the direction, and the action sequences are often exciting and comparatively realistic. Recommended for genre fans only. ~ Jeremy Beday, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chuck Norris, Karen Carlson, (more)
- 1979
- R
Six recently divorced males gather 'round a restaurant table and talk about their past lives and their recently failed marriages while trying to piece their lives back together. This drama is somewhat interesting for presenting the topic of life after a divorce from a man's point of view. (And yes, Neil Sedaka sings the smash title song over the final credits - so don't change that dial!) Originally made for television, and broadcast on ABC in two parts - one on Wed., Sep. 5, 1979, and one on Friday, Sep. 7, 1979 -- this film was reissued on video about ten years later to capitalize on Billy Crystal's growing fame. When it arrived on home video, the picture received its first MPAA rating (R) and was edited down from its original running time of 150 minutes to 96 minutes. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
