SHOWDOWN IN LITTLE TOKYO (1991) – In this film Dolph Lundgren plays Sgt. Chris Kenner, a white man born and raised in Japan, steeped in its traditions and culture, and an expert in its martial arts techniques. Brandon Lee, who plays wise-cracking cop Johnny Murata, is the opposite: he’s a man of Japanese heritage born and raised in sunny Los Angeles, a “valley dude” who loves malls and pizza and knows nothing of his own culture. In spite of this, he too is an expert fighter, having trained from age four.
When they meet in a diner shootout in Little Tokyo, Yin meets Yang, and they realize they are destined to be beefcake buddy cops together. It’s perfect because they both have had issues retaining partners. They combine powers to take on the untouchable Iron Claw gang, leaders of the Yakuza underworld that is permeating the underbelly of Los Angeles. A new drug, “Ice”, which is stronger than “Rock”, “Nuke”, “HDS”, “White Buffalo” or any other fake movie drug, is hitting the streets and Iron Claw is suspected of its distribution. When Kenner and Murata infiltrate an Iron Claw-controlled night club, things get personal when Kenner flashes back to his childhood, and realizes the Yakuza boss he is fighting is actually the man he witnessed murder his parents when he was a child. Time for some revenge! On top of this, Kenner falls for the woman singing in the night club (Tia Carrere in a career-defining performance), which of course, leads to things getting even more personal than before. The gang members dress to the nines in flashy suits and drive big American sedans from the late 50s. Brandon Lee’s one-liners and wise cracks know no bounds (as we will find out). COMMANDO director Mark L. Lester took the helm on this one, and it’s a boiled-down 78 minutes of wall to wall action.
This movie has one of the best endings to a mano-y-mano hero/boss fight we’ve ever scene. Keep your eyes peeled for Gerald Okamura (SAMURAI COP and NINJA ACADEMY) enjoying a torture scene as “The Master of Pain”.
B-MOVIE BINGO
is a game that is exactly like it sounds — OR MORE. It’s simple–we play bingo to the most awesome movie cliches ever committed to celluloid, like: “LONG BORING SCENE OR MALE PONY TALE”, “TEAMED UP WITH ROOKIE OR ANIMAL”, and “WHITE SUIT OR TROPICAL ENDING”. For maybe the first time in a theatre, see the relatives and employees of A-list actors you know and love like Sylvester Stallone, whose brother bears a remarkable resemblance to him. Compete for prizes! Yell at your fellow movie nerds over the elusive and mysterious “BLANK SQUARE”! Relax: it’s B-MOVIE BINGO.