Dustin Nguyen Movies
Better Luck Tomorrow and Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift director Justin Lin takes a comic look at a longstanding bit of cinema mythology with this mockumentary exploring the making of Bruce Lee's unfinished final film Game of Death. When martial arts star Lee died in 1973 after having shot roughly twenty-minutes of the full-length feature, director Robert Clouse vowed to complete the film using a Bruce Lee look-a-like. Though the film was eventually released into theaters in 1978, fans continue to debate just how much involvement Lee had in the making of the film nearly three decades after the fact. Perhaps viewers will never know for certain just how much of Lee they are seeing in the final product, but in this knowing satire director Lin offers a hilarious look at how things might have gone down while simultaneously skewering mainstream cinema for it's stereotypical treatment of Asian-American actors. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- McCaleb Burnett, Roger Fan, (more)
As Anti-French rebellion spreads throughout 1920s-era Vietnam and colonialist sanctioned units of Vietnam agents attempt to track down and destroy the rogue cells, a French educated Vietnamese agent finds his loyalty put to the ultimate test in this martial arts action drama starring Johnny Nguyen. Le Van Cuong (Nguyen) was rooting out Vietnamese rebels from French occupied Vietnam when be began to resent the fact that he was spilling the blood of his fellow countrymen. When a high ranking French official is assassinated, Coung is assigned the task of finding and killing the notorious rebel leader responsible for the hit. Cuong's conscience is stirred, however, when he happens across Vo Thanh Thuy - the daughter of the elusive rebel leader. Though Cuong's superior wants to use Thuy as a pawn to get to their intended target, Thuy would rather commit suicide than betray her father. Touched by the Thuy's undying devotion to both her father and her country, Cuong vows to help the girl escape to safety even if it means sacrificing his own life in the process. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Johnny Tri Nguyen, Ngo Thanh Van, (more)
Filmmaker Jeff Adachi turns his critical lens on Hollywood in order to highlight the dangerous but seldom explored reality of cinematic prejudice. With fifty film clips spanning a century on the silver screen, Adachi chronicles the experiences of Asian men in American cinema. From ethnic stereotypes to the limited roles available to talented Asian actors, this look at a highly visible form of racism reveals just how much damage can be done by the image making machine in Hollywood. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
A former drug-addict in her early thirties attempts to put her shady past to rest while paving the way for a brighter future in director Rowan Woods' tale of love, trust, and redemption in modern-day Australia. Tracy Heart (Cate Blanchett) hasn't lived her 32 years so much as she has simply survived them. Ravaged by the drug-addiction and determined to redeem herself in the eyes of her overworked single-mother Janelle (Noni Hazelhurst), Tracy makes a personal vow to open her own business and turn her life around before it's too late and life has passed her by. Tracy's plan is complicated, however, when three men from her past reappear with their own plans for the future. In addition to the troubling re-appearance of her ex-boyfriend Jonny (Dustin Nguyen), her criminal-minded brother Ray (Martin Henderson) seems hell-bent on making a name for himself in the underworld, and the emotional demands of troubled family friend and ex-football star Lionel Dawson (Hugo Weaving) have left the emotionally vulnerable Tracy shaken and confused. When Tracy's modest dreams of a happy life catch the attention of feared criminal kingpin Bradley "The Jockey" Thompson (Sam Neill), she is forced to place her fragile trust in the hands of her skeptical mother and take one last trip into the past to confront her greatest fear.
~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cate Blanchett, Sam Neill, (more)
The fourth and final season of the semi-satirical action series V.I.P. finds the generously endowed Pamela Anderson still front and center (so to speak) as Vallery Irons, the nominal head bodyguard of the VIP security agency. Also still on hand are Vallery's employees (who, technically speaking, employ her!), among them former spy Tasha (Molly Culver, munitions expert Nikki (Natalie Raitano), ex-boxer Quick (Leah Bail), onetime Japanese martial-arts star Johnny (Dustin Nguyen), and mild-mannered computer genius Kay (Leah Lail). The season opener is "21 Val Street", an obvious homage to costar Dustin Nguyen's previous series 21 Jump Street. Subsequent episodes features such guest stars as actors Mark Hamill and Erik Estrada, comedian Louie Anderson, sex symbol Yasmine Bleeth, pro wrestler Tyler Mane, filmmaker Jim Jarmusch and even psychologist Dr. Joyce Brothers! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pamela Anderson, Molly Culver, (more)
In view of her well-publicized divorce from singer Tommy Lee, star Pamela Anderson Lee reverts to just plain Pamela Andersonas the tongue-in-cheek action series V.I.P. enters its third season in syndication. Otherwise, things haven't changed much since Season Two: Anderson's character, gorgeous professional bodyguard Vallery Irons, is still the figurative head of the V.I.P. security agency, still proving her worth to her doubting (and eminently more qualified) coworkers Tasha (Molly Culver), Nikki (Natalie Raitano), Quick (Shaun Baker]) and Kay (Leah Lail). Dustin Nguyen, previously seen on recurring basis in the role of VIP's resident martial-arts whiz Johnny Yuh, is now a full regular, acknowledged as such in the opening credits of each episode. The celebrity cameos which were so much a part of the series' previous seasons have diminished to trickle this year, though we are still graced with the presence of such luminaries as Engelbert Humperdinck and Weird Al Yankovic. Otherwise, the Big Names appearing herein--Stephanie Zimbalist, Corben Bernsen, George Takei et al--are relegated to standard guest appearances as characters other than themselves. Also weaving throughout the season's proceedings is a shadowy assassin named The Owl, who befitting his mysterious nature is nearly always portrayed by an uncredited actor. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pamela Anderson, Molly Culver, (more)
Eric Koyanagi made his feature directorial debut with the triple plot threads weaving throughout this comedy. Romantic coffeeshop worker Isaac (Dustin Nguyen), hoping for his ideal woman, is taken aback by leather-lady Thaise (Tamlyn Tomita). Actor Troy (Garrett Wang), fed up with casting directors seeking Oriental stereotypes, faces further problems with his longtime girlfriend Cleveland (Lindsay Price). Rastafarian Slim (Darion Bosco), who smokes joints and recites Bob Marley, joins his gal Casey (Keiko Agena) to take evasive actions when they are menaced by a gun-toting heavy. Koyanagi links his episodes with ethical treatise re the quest for happiness. Shown at the 1998 LA Independent Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Darion Basco, Dustin Nguyen, (more)
In a futuristic, high-tech world run by huge corporations, Parker Barnes (Denzel Washington) is an L.A. policeman serving time for killing the psychotic who murdered his wife and child. Lindenmeyer (Stephen Spinella), a Dr. Frankenstein of the computer era, has created a monster, Sid 6.7 (Russell Crowe), a virtual reality entity which is programmed with the character traits of scores of mass murderers. Sid 6.7 has escaped the control of its creator and is now running amok. The privatized police force in charge of keeping the peace in the city is run by Elizabeth Deane (Louise Fletcher). Barnes has volunteered to test a new criminal tracking system based on a virtual reality device. His job is to find Sid 6.7, with the help of psychologist Madison Carter (Kelly Lynch). Barnes gets out of prison and reinstated to the police force to pursue his dangerous prey. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Denzel Washington, Kelly Lynch, (more)
Billed as "a heterosexual movie by Gregg Araki," The Doom Generation is the director's self-styled bad-taste teen film. Amy Blue (Rose McGowan) is an obnoxious teenage speed freak and her boyfriend Jordan White (James Duval) is a passive, slow-witted poseur who won't have sex with her because he's terrified of AIDS (even though they both claim to be virgins). One day, they run across Xavier Red (Johnathon Schaech), a charming but enigmatic drifter who has a bad habit of killing people. Joining the young couple on a seemingly endless road trip, Xavier (or "X,"as the verbally challenged Jordan insists on calling him), proves a threatening and repulsive yet strangely alluring companion whose very presence raises issues of loyalty and sexual identity. The Doom Generation is dotted with a variety of eccentric cameo appearances, including comic Margaret Cho, actress Parker Posey, musician Perry Farrell, "Hollywood Madame" Heidi Fleiss, and onetime Brady Bunch star Christopher Knight. This is the middle installment in Araki's "teen apocalypse trilogy," which also includes 1993's Totally F***ed Up and 1997's Nowhere. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Duval, Rose McGowan, (more)
The heroes of the family adventure comedy 3 Ninjas return in this sequel (though not all of them are played by the same actors). Rocky (Sean Fox), Colt (Max Elliott Slade), and Tum Tum (Evan Bonifant) are three brothers whose Grandfather (Victor Wong) is a ninja master teaching them martial arts skills. The boys' Little League team has a big game coming up, but before they can hit the diamond, they have to help Grandpa return a sacred Ninja dagger to Japan. However, one of Grandpa's longtime enemies, now a wealthy and ruthless businessman, plans to steal the knife, and the boys are sent on a mission to Japan to rescue the valuable weapon. At first the tycoon sends his inept nephew to face off against the young Ninjas, but when that plan fails, Rocky, Colt, and Tum Tum are met by a team of trained warriors, who to their surprise are led by a teenage girl named Miyo (Caroline Junko King). Miyo soon strikes up a friendship with the brothers who are supposed to be her sworn enemies, and with her help they recover the knife and teach her a few things about baseball that come in handy when the big game finally rolls around. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sean Fox, Max Elliott Slade, (more)

- 1994
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Kit Walker is the 21st Century Phantom, one of a long line of superheroes who have lived in the jungles and dutifully defended mankind's precious natural resources. After the cataclysmic Resource War, Kit moves to the urban jungles of Metropia, looking to thwart the baddies. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
One of Charlie's (Philip Akin) former students is Jimmy Sang (Dustin Nguyen), a rising martial-arts movie star. While shooting a film based on his earlier life as a street gang member, Jimmy is apparently targeted for murder. But though at least one other person has been killed on the set, Jimmy refuses to cower in the corner, daring his attackers to come out into the open. As usual, Duncan (Adrian Paul) gets involved in the proceedings with startling results. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Adrian Paul, Stan Kirsch, (more)
With Heaven and Earth -- cobbled together from two autobiographical reminiscences (When Heaven and Earth Changed Places and Child of War, Woman of Peace by Le Ly Hayslip -- Oliver Stone completes his self-declared "Vietnam Trilogy" (the other films being Platoon and Born On the Fourth of July) of films examining the Vietnam War from different perspectives. Heaven and Earth begins in the central Vietnamese village of Ky La during the 1950s. Phung Le Ly (Hiep Thi Le) is an innocent peasant girl, helping her mother (Joan Chen) to tend the rice paddies while being lectured in the ways of life by her father (Haing Ngor). The idyllic peace of the village is disrupted when a jet bomber crosses the skies. Soon the village is decimated as the American-backed South Vietnamese government troops and the Viet Cong engage in brutal warfare in which the victims are the innocent villagers. Le Ly is both tortured and raped. She leaves Ky La for Danang for a life as a prostitute. There she meets the tall and craggy American soldier Steve Butler (Tommy Lee Jones), a kind but lonely man who isn't looking for sex but for someone to settle down with -- as he says, "I want an Oriental wife." They marry, and Steve takes her back to the United States, where her in-laws look at her not as a wife but as a pet. In the harsh glare of 1970s U.S. culture, Le Ly has trouble adjusting to the American way of life. But not as hard a time as her husband, who, after twenty years in Vietnam, discovers he cannot adapt to civilian life. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tommy Lee Jones, Joan Chen, (more)
A ruthless drug lord must be stopped, pronto. Three able-bodied cops go undercover to bring the drug dealer to justice -- or, preferably, to kill him. Once in a while, the bad guys call a halt to the film's bloodshed to allow a sex scene to play itself out. Otherwise, this is essentially cable-TV stuff, blown up (sometimes literally) for the Big Screen. A good cast, headed by Michael Nouri and John Saxon, is the film's most tangible asset. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The tenth season of Murder, She Wrote begins as Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury) travels to Hong Kong, where she attends a banquet honoring a high-profile American businessman. With Jessica in attendance, a murder is a foregone conclusion--and sure enough, the businessman is poisoned to death. Coul this be tied in with the dead man's efforts to merge with the head of a controversial Chinese manufacturing firm? The answer may be within a hundred-year-old egg that Jessica holds in her well-manicured hand. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In this better-than-average kick-boxer foray, Brandon Lee (son of famed martial-arts film star, Bruce Lee) stars as a young art student who happens to witness a drug murder and is placed in protective custody by federal agents. It's not too long before he realizes that the only real protection he can count on is his own martial-arts training. This film is rated R for violence, sex and profanity. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brandon Lee, Powers Boothe, (more)
Duncan (Adrian Paul) believes that his Immortal friend, Kiem Sun (Soon-Teck Oh), is responsible for the death of one of Richie's (Stan Kirsch) pals who cashed it in while committing a burglarly under the influence of a lethal, mind-controlling herbal drug. It turns out that the actual culprit is a disciple of Kiem Sun, Chu Lin (Dustin Nguyen). Nonetheless, Duncan must confront Kiem Sun and convince him to stop experimenting with dangerous drugs -- before it is too late. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Adrian Paul, Alexandra Van Der Noot, (more)
The made-for-TV Earth Angel stars Cathy Bodewell as Angela, a prom queen who dies in 1962. Unfortunately, Angela has not always lived up to her name, and her entry into Heaven is held up indefinitely. She is given a chance to redeem herself by returning to earth in 1990, where she is to successfully complete an important mission. Thing of it is, she has no idea what her mission is-though she suspects it has something to do with romance. Clearly intended as a hybrid of Ghost and Peggy Sue Got Married, Earth Angel was first telecast March 4, 1991. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cathy Podewell, Cindy Williams, (more)
Jailed on a trumped-up charge near the end of season three, LAPD undercover officer Tom Hanson (Johnny Depp) is released from prison as 21 Jump Street enters its fourth season. The release has been engineered by Tom's partner, Officer Dennis Booker (Richard Grieco), who then resigns from the force (the better for actor Grieco to launch his own spin-off starring series, Booker). Back at 21 Jump Street headquarters, Tom resumes his duties as a member of a team of youthful cops who pose as teenagers in order to root out and bring down adult criminals. As in previous seasons, season four offers an interesting array of guest performers, among them future stars Robyn Lively and Shannen Doherty, hearing-impaired standup comedien Geri Jewell, and basketball legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. One episode, "Old Haunts in a New Age," affords the viewer a rare opportunity to see actress Pamela Segall, who is otherwise best known for her cartoon voice-over work on such animated series as King of the Hill (in which she essays the male role of Bobby Hill!). Although 21 Jump Street would be canceled by the Fox network at the end of its fourth season, the series lived on for an additional year in off-network syndication. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Johnny Depp, Peter DeLuise, (more)
Johnny Depp and the rest of the familiar cast of regulars report for duty as 21 Jump Street enters its third season. As before, Depp plays Officer Tom Hanson, one of a team of youthful LAPD undercover cops who pose as teenagers in order to bust adult wrongdoers. Newcomers to the series include Yvette Nipar as Tom's girlfriend, Jackie Garrett, who works in the DA's office; and Dennis Booker as Tom's new partner, Officer Dennis Booker (not surprisingly, Tom and Dennis don't get along at first, especially since Tom suspects Dennis -- wrongly, as it turns out -- of being a serial rapist). Other recurring characters during season three include Clavo (Tony Dakota), the orphaned nephew of Tom's co-worker Doug Penhall (Peter DeLuise); Doug's live-in girlfriend, Dorothy (Gina Nemo), who dumps him mid-season; and Blowfish (Sal Jenco), Jump Street's clumsy maintenance worker. Guest stars this season include Dom DeLuise, father of series regular Peter DeLuise; Mario Van Peebles, cast as an aspiring dancer; and Bridget Fonda, playing a homeless teen. Season three of 21 Jump Street concludes with the two-parter "Loc'd Out," in which an outraged Tom Hanson seeks personal vengeance against the punks who seriously wounded his fellow officer Ioki (Dustin Nguyen). ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Johnny Depp, Peter DeLuise, (more)
Season two of 21 Jump Street finds a team of youthful LAPD officers continuing to weed out adult criminals by posing as high-school teenagers -- a sort of Mod Squad for the 1980s. Back in harness are Johnny Depp as Officer Tom Hanson, Peter DeLuise as Officer Doug Penhall (less chubby and comical and more "buff" and action-prone than in the series' maiden season), Holly Robinson as Officer Judy Hoffs, and Dustin Nguyen as Officer Harry Truman Ioki. And as before, the team takes its orders from no-nonsense police captain Adam Fuller (Steven Williams). This year's crop of guest stars is an impressive one, including Lynne Moody, Marcia Rodd, former Adam-12 leading man Kent McCord (as Tom Hanson's father), and a young Brad Pitt, cast as a popular high schooler who inexplicably commits suicide. Among the season's top episodes are the two-part "Besieged," in which the team swoops down upon a deadly crack ring and also attempts to expose a rogue cop, and "Christmas in Saigon," in which viewers learns the real name of Vietnam refugee H.T. Ioki. Season two ends on a semi-cliffhanger, as the LAPD higher-ups consider the possibility of disbanding the Jump Street team. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Johnny Depp, Peter DeLuise, (more)
The first action-adventure series from the Fox network, 21 Jump Street inaugurates its first season with the series' two-hour pilot episode, in which young police officer Tom Hanson (Jeff Yagher) joins a special undercover unit of the LAPD. Named for its headquarters, an abandoned chapel, the Jump Street unit is comprised of youthful cops who can pose as teenagers, making it easier for them to bust criminals and drug dealers who prey upon high-school kids. After the initial pilot, Jeff Yagher was replaced, and the role of Tom Hanson went to Johnny Depp, an assignment that would make him a star. Hanson's fellow officers during season one include Doug Penhall (Peter DeLuise), who in the earlier episodes projects a more roly-poly, comic image than he would in future years; Vietnamese refugee Harry Truman Ioki (Dustin Nguyen); and African-American Judy Hoffs (Holly Robinson). For the first six episodes, the team takes its orders from Captain Richard Jenko (Frederic Forrest), an ex-hippie who is more or less simpatico with their youthful zeal and tendency to bend the rules. But when Jenko is killed by a drunk driver, he is replaced by a more traditional, by-the-book leader, Captain Adam Fuller (Steven Williams). The series' first batch of 13 hour-long episode features a number of soon-to-be stars in guest roles, among them Josh Brolin, David Paymer, and Jason Priestley. 21 Jump Street managed to hold its own against the formidable competition of CBS' 60 Minutes during the series' maiden season, rapidly establishing Fox as the favorite network of teens and young adults. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Johnny Depp, Peter DeLuise, (more)
Premiering April 12, 1987, 21 Jump Street was the Fox Network's first attempt at an action-adventure series. Essentially an updated Mod Squad, the series concerned the exploits of a group of young-looking cops, working undercover as high school students. In the 2-hour opening episode, officer Tom Hanson expresses discomfort at having to be a teenager again; evidently his earlier life was none too pleasant. Jeff Yagher played Hanson in the premiere; he was replaced in all subsequent episodes by star-in-the-making Johnny Depp. Other regulars include Holly Robinson as Judy Hoff, Dustin Nguyen as Ioki, and Peter DeLuise (Dom's son) as Penhall. Frederic Forrest is also on hand as the obligatory authority figure-himself an unreconstructed flower child. 21 Jump Street remained a Fox network fixture until September 17, 1990; an addition season's worth of episodes were filmed in Vancouver for first-run syndication. Trivia note: the series' original title was Jump Street Chapel, but this was changed lest viewers mistaken the program for a religious weekly. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide



























