EYE OF THE TIGER

year: 1986

cast: Gary Busey, William Smith, Yaphet Kotto, Bert Remsen

rating: **1/2

Gary Busey, a quiet, good-hearted and damn tough Vietnam vet gets out of jail, moves back to the small town where the crooked sheriff hates him and his wife and child are waiting. A gaggle of badass bikers led by William Smith ride into town and try raping a woman, and Busey saves her. This pisses off the bikers and now there's war. They kill Busey's wife and now war goes into overdrive. This movie isn't too bad for the revenge genre action flick, with nice directing from Richard C. Sarafian and plenty of blood and guts and before that a decent build up, but after a while there's just too many "fireworks" and not enough character-development.

ACROSS 110th STREET

title: ACROSS 110TH STREET

year: 1973

cast: Anthony Quinn, Yaphet Kotto, Paul Benjiman, Ed Bernard, Antonio Fargas

rating: ****

Anthony Quinn and Yaphet Kotto play two cops as contrary as can be: Quinn an aged, street-smart veteran Captain and Kotto as a politically-correct Lt. ready to take over Quinn's charge. After butting heads the duo end up working together to find three junky theives before the mob - lead by Anthony Francisco in hammy glory - finds and kills them. The camerawork is top-notch as is the acting, especially Paul Benjiman, Ed Bernar, and Antonio Fargas as the junkies, in way over their heads. The Quinn/Kotto story is really second-tier to that of the crooks and the mob, but it's a strong foundation: holding together a frantic, often compulsive film that holds back very little. And a strong soundtrack by Bobby Womack is a plus (the title song used by Quentin Tarantino in his own "blaxploitation" film "Jackie Brown"). And on the black/white urban-to-city sidelines, gravelly-voiced Richard Ward as a bookie-type with info, and put-upon mob brother-in-law Anthony Franciosa who needs info, fast, butt heads wonderfully.