Bill Wallace Movies
- 1990
- PG
In 1980, 20-year-old novice director Stuart Paul exhibited far more chutzpah than talent with Falling in Love Again. Ten years later, an older, wiser Paul has picked up some talent, but it's still outweighed by sheer nerve. In Fate, Paul casts himself as the last of the truly nice guys (or so he regards himself). He has his future all planned, specifically an ideal marriage to the perfect woman. The next step is to find that woman. Cheryl Lynn co-stars, along with veterans Kaye Ballard and Susannah York, who seem to have a better grasp on what they're doing than the ubiquitous Mr. Paul. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stuart Paul, Cheryl Lynn, (more)
- 1988
- R
When his partner on the police force is murdered by the former CIA agent Kendrick (Gustav Vintas), Sam (Sam J. Jones) sets out to avenge his friend's death. He teams up with Jun Kim (Jun Chong) and kendo expert Bernard (Phillip Rhee) to rescue a scientist kidnapped by Kendrick. The villain hopes to use his victim's knowledge for the purposes of chemical warfare. Linda Blair plays Sam's sweetheart Sara, with former Playboy model Rebecca Ferrati as a seductive villainess in this well-crafted action feature. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sam Jones, Linda Blair, (more)
- 1986
Produced in the Autumn of the Golan-Globus collaboration, Avenging Force serves as a vehicle for American Ninja costar Michael Dudikoff. Cast as a retired secret service agent, Dudikoff runs up against a sinister right-wing political organization called the Pentangle. He comes to the aid of his best friend Steve James, a black political candidate who has become a target for the Pentangle's henchmen. Impressed by Dudikoff's martial arts skills, the Pentangle leaders try to convince him to join their cause-and to ensure his cooperation, they kidnap his little sister Alison Gereighty. Avenging Force concludes with a violent Enter the Dragon-style mano y mano squareoff between Dudikoff and the Pentangle flunkeys. The film's finale is "open" enough to allow for a sequel, which has yet to appear. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Dudikoff, Steve James, (more)
Although this American action film, which has little of Jackie Chan's comedic martial arts, was less successful in the U.S. than hoped, it is still a worthy effort. Chan plays Billy Wong, a New York cop whose partner is murdered by Hong Kong gangsters. His new partner is Danny Gorani (Danny Aiello). They are sent to rescue an American woman who was kidnapped and taken to Hong Kong. There, they must also stop a shipment of narcotics before it reaches the U.S. The mismatching of Chan and Aiello is reminiscent of the chemistry between Nick Nolte and Eddie Murphy in the original buddy-cop film, 48 HRS. The lack of success of this enjoyable thriller was unfortunate; Chan would not make another attempt to break into the American market until 1996 with the hit Rumble in the Bronx. ~ Jonathan E. Laxamana, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jackie Chan, Danny Aiello, (more)
In this martial arts flick, Los Angeles is once again torn by street gangs, who are still killing each other over the same things, year after year -- drugs, money, power and glory. Young (Jun Chong) is the leader of a gang, but his goal is to return to his homeland where he belongs and leave this the insanity of L. A. behind. Standing in his way is a turf war, a family falling apart at the seams, and a bang-up, knock 'em dead showdown with a powerful drug cartel and its chief hitman, Kruger (Bill Wallace). ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jun Chong, Phillip Rhee, (more)
- 1984
- R
In an uneven, patchy tale of bad guys versus good, Joe (Bobby Kim) comes back home to a town divided by racism and the nasty Cheng (Y. Tsuchimoto). In spite of the odds against him, Joe vows to get revenge against the men who killed his father years before. Joining up with Joe are a few others -- the bartender Harry (Bob Coulson) and an outlaw, Diego (Michael Stuart), and set against him are Cheng and his men and the martial arts master Kamikaze (Bill Wallace). Once the lines are drawn, the action continues until it ends in a puff of smoke and mirrors. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bobby Kim, Bill Wallace, (more)
- 1983
- R
An undistinguished martial arts kickeroo with a glowing sword thrown in for mystic appeal, this actioner stars Tadashi Yamashita as Tadashi, a Japanese cop who is caught up in a misguided war against crime. His nemesis is Dirk (Mel Novak), equally trained in the martial arts and commander of a paramilitary unit in an illegal war against top criminals. Tadashi is partially sidetracked when he helps a hooker retrieve the glowing sword that Dirk has nabbed for his own. A bit of karate in drag follows as the undercover Tadashi kicks up his heels, and that may be the best scene in this film. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tadashi Yamashita
To say that Chuck Norris is the star of Force of One may smack of redundancy. Norris is cast as Vietnam vet Matt Logan, assigned to instruct a big-city narcotics squad in the intricacies of martial arts. His star pupil turns out to be Detective Mandy Rust (Jennifer O'Neill). Initially disinterested in law enforcement, Logan is galvanized into action when his adopted son is killed by the villains. Force of One was designed as a follow-up of (though not a sequel to) the money-spinning Norris vehicle Good Guys Wear Black. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jennifer O'Neill, Chuck Norris, (more)
