James Pax Movies
- 1993
- R
In this marital-arts actioner two rival boys master the art of fighting and as young adults engage in a deadly and illegal "shootfight," a match with no rules where only the winner survives. Some of the fight scenes are excellent, however, they are quite violent and gory. On video it has been released in two versions: the R-rated one is a little less explicitly violent than the unrated version. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1990
When a New York policeman takes a vacation in Hawaii, he finds that the serial killer he has been tracking followed him to Hawaii and began killing again. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kevin Kilner, Barbara Carrera, (more)
- 1990
When his son is killed in a drug-related incident, the father sets out to wreck his revenge on two Las Vegas law enforcers. (AKA Kill Or Be Killed) ~ All Movie Guide
- 1989
- Add Man Against the Mob: The Chinatown Murders to QueueAdd Man Against the Mob: The Chinatown Murders to top of Queue
An L.A. policeman (George Peppard) works with several partners to destroy the prostitution ring run by Chinatown's version of the Mafia. The film was originally produced for television. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Peppard
- 1989
The Nasty Boys refers not to a rock group but an elite corps of law enforcement officers. This fact-based TV movie is set in August, 1986. The place is drug-ridden North Las Vegas, Nevada. Unable to stem the drug trade by orthodox means, the police department organizes a group of "commando cops", who swoop down on the narcotics kingpins while garbed in identification-obscuring ski masks. These guerilla tactics worked beautifully in 1986, though the hooded vigilantism inherent in so extreme a police procedure has subsequently triggered racial tensions in some large cities. In 1989, however, The Nasty Boys was regarded as a merely a slam-bang piece of entertainment. It was designed as the pilot for a potential TV series, and was given a "sure-fire" network lead-in with the premiere episode of Baywatch (Baywatch clicked; The Nasty Boys clunked). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1989
Having previously essayed the role of real-life Canadian physician/political activist Norman Bethune in a 1977 TV movie, Donald Sutherland returns to the role in the 1989 theatrical feature Bethune: The Making of a Hero. Over a period of several decades, Dr. Bethune grows increasingly disenchanted with the corrupt politics that have fomented so many wars. Radicalized during the Spanish Civil War, he declares himself by fighting with Mao Tse Tung's Chinese Communist forces against the Japanese in World War 2. He remains a staunch Mao supported in the postwar years, winning him both loyal supporters and bitter foes in the West. This warts-and-all film makes no effort to cover up Bethune's personal demons, notably his boozing and philandering. Still, one emerges from the film wishing to learn just a wee bit more about the good doctor's motivations. Bethune: The Making of a Hero was released in the US in 1993 as Doctor Bethune. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Donald Sutherland, Helen Mirren, (more)
Once again, Charles Bronson plays a renegade cop out for vigilante justice in the darkest heart of the urban jungle. This time, he is targeting an especially ruthless pimp who has been leading innocent young girls into prostitution. When the pimp kidnaps the beautiful daughter of a Japanese businessman, rapes her and forces her to begin streetwalking, the cop decides to let nothing, not even the law, stop him from bringing the slimeball to graphically violent justice. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Bronson, Perry Lopez, (more)
- 1988
James Woods stars in this biographical portrait of war hero--and future Ross Perot running mate--James Stockdale, a naval pilot held as a POW by the Vietnamese for over eight years. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
Playing in a manner that can be conservatively described as larger than life, Kurt Russell plays a macho truck driver who agrees to go to the San Francisco airport and pick up his friend's (Dennis Dun) fiancee (Suzee Pai, freshly arrived from China. Suddenly, a gang of Chinatown toughs kidnap the girl right before Russell's eyes. After a wild chase sequence, Russell discovers that the girl has been abducted by a genuine, bonafide sorceror (James Hong), the ghost of a 3000 year old warlord. And that's just for starters. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kurt Russell, Kim Cattrall, (more)
- 1986
Not to be confused with the 1975 TV movie Bloodsport, this 1986 production was a spin-off of the recently cancelled police drama series T.J. Hooker. William Shatner is back as the aforementioned Hooker, a cop on special assignment to Hawaii (where the film was lensed). Accompanied by longtime professional colleagues Stacey Sheridan (Heather Locklear) and Jim Corrigan (James Darren), Sgt. Hooker endeavors to protect U.S. Senator Stuart Grayle (Don Murray) and his wife, Barbara (Kim Miyori), from terrorists, only to find that the assignment isn't quite as cut and dried as it seems. Telecast May 21, 1986, on CBS, Blood Sport did not result in a wholesale weekly revival of T.J. Hooker, as the producers evidently had hoped, though reruns of the original series continued to be seen on CBS' late-night schedule until September 17, 1987. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Shatner, Heather Locklear, (more)
This red-baiting action film stars Chuck Norris as Matt Hunter, a retired CIA agent who lives in the Florida Everglades. A communist invasion of Miami brings Hunter out of retirement to fight the encroaching hordes led by everyone's favorite low-budget bad guy, Richard Lynch. The film is extremely jingoistic, presenting the evil communists staging an invasion on Christmas, demolishing a church, and attempting to blow up a school bus full of children. From the same school of thinking which produced Rambo and Red Dawn, this film at least features some convincing gore by makeup wizard Tom Savini (Friday the 13th), working on his third gig for director Joseph Zito. Zito and Savini returned with Red Scorpion. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chuck Norris, Richard Lynch, (more)
