Action & Adventure

One of the first recognizable "vigilante" films in American cinema, The Born Losers tells the story of Billy Jack (writer-director Tom Laughlin), a half-breed ex-Green Beret and Vietnam veteran who makes it his business to rescue a cute mod girl from a crew of vicious bikers. Much to his chagrin, however, he finds his lethal training gets him in as much trouble with the racist cops as with the bikers, and he soon becomes embroiled in a violent struggle against all parties involved. There is blood-letting and bone-breaking to burn in The Born Losers, not to mention lots of preaching on the part of Laughlin. However, it still tops the more famous sequel, Billy Jack, and it qualifies writer-director-star Laughlin for the status of true auteur. ~ Jeremy Beday, All Movie Guide

After Billy Jack belatedly became a box-office smash two years after its original release and The Born Losers, the biker film in which Tom Laughlin created the Billy Jack character, had enjoyed a highly successful re-release, Tom Laughlin brought everyone's favorite martial arts hero turned Native American mystic back to the screen for a third go-round in The Trial of Billy Jack. As Billy Jack (Tom Laughlin) awaits trial for murder, Jean Roberts (Delores Taylor) continues to operate her "Freedom School" on an Indian reservation, where the student-operated television station comes under fire for airing a series of hard-hitting political exposes (just how an alternative school run by threadbare hippies obtained cameras, broadcasting equipment and an FCC license is not explained here). The attempts to silence the student journalists and run Billy Jack out of town lead to a deadly confrontation between the kids and the National Guard. Tom Laughlin wrote and directed The Trial of Billy Jack, though on-screen credit is given to his son, Frank Laughlin; similarly, Laughlin also directed the first two films under the name T.C. Frank. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

An intense film about time travel, this sci-fi entry was directed by Terry Gilliam, a member of the comedy troupe Monty Python. The film stars Bruce Willis as James Cole, a prisoner of the state in the year 2035 who can earn parole if he agrees to travel back in time and thwart a devastating plague. The virus has wiped out most of the Earth's population and the remainder live underground because the air is poisonous. Returning to the year 1990, six years before the start of the plague, Cole is soon imprisoned in a psychiatric facility because his warnings sound like mad ravings. There he meets a scientist named Dr. Kathryn Railly (Madeleine Stowe) and Jeffrey Goines (Brad Pitt), the mad son of an eminent virologist (Christopher Plummer). Cole is returned by the authorities to the year 2035, and finally ends up at his intended destination in 1996. He kidnaps Dr. Railly in order to enlist her help in his quest. Cole discovers graffiti by an apparent animal rights group called the Army of the Twelve Monkeys, but as he delves into the mystery, he hears voices, loses his bearings, and doubts his own sanity. He must figure out if Goines, who seems to be a raving lunatic, holds the key to the puzzle. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide

Hiroyuki Kitakubo's cult anime hit comes to life in this live-action adaptation starring Gianna Jun as Saya. Saya has been hunting demons and slaying vampires for 400 years. Now it's the 20th century, and Saya is working for a clandestine organization known only as the Council. She's the last of her kind, a half-vampire, half-human samurai dedicated to ridding the world of monsters. Now with the Vietnam War raging in the background, Saya is dispatched to an American military base to do battle with the most dangerous vampire of all. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide