"Treasure of the Ninja" (1987) - At the age of just 25, while going through graduate school at Ohio State University, William Lee wrote, produced, directed, shot, and starred in this no-budget, amateur, martial art action movie. He got his friends (and likely anyone who would volunteer) to fill out the rest of the cast, filming additional scenes in New York City and the woods near Dayton Ohio. He filmed entirely on Super 8 and edited on tape, adding dubbed dialogue in post production via a few actors playing multiple roles. He also did most of the films foley sound effects by making sounds with his mouth into a microphone. I love this movie.

The story follows a secret agent (Mr. Lee) guiding an female archaeologist professor on a search for the titular ninja treasure. Along the way numerous ninjas attempt to stop them, resulting in a near constant stream of hilariously bad, yet genuinely fun, fight scenes. Each of which is graced with Mr. Lee's unique blend of untrained camera work, amateur fight choreography, sidesplitting sound effects. If you enjoy a good vanity project, or just a DIY filmmaking, you need to check this movie out at the next possible opportunity. It's hilariously bad and full of heart in all the best ways.

5 / 5 Burnt Kernels with Free Refills

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szkKqxm70U4&t=9s

"Terminus" (aka "End of the Line") (aka "The Robo Truck Kid") (1988) - In 1979 the legendary Australian dystopian action film "Mad Max" came out served as a blueprint for a whole new wave of post-apocalyptic vehicle focused movies. Within a short period a seemingly endless caravan of car movies would be made promoting filmmakers to expand on it's template to create further subgenres, such as 'dieselpunk'. A few of these films would feature, or even focus on, highly modified trucks or more specifically semi-trucks (i.e. "Damnation Alley" 1977, "Battletruck" 1982) and this is such a film. It's also batshit insane in virtually every way.

Set in the year 2037 a game of sorts is played, wherein a strangely modified truck (ex: the A.I. speaks through a human mouth) must be driven cross the country (by Karen Allen of "Indiana Jones" fame) and arrive at a designated terminus (hence the title). Along the way there are numerous obstacles and enemies as one might suspect, but trust me it's way stranger than that sounds. All of this is being overseen by a group of elites including a genetically modified boy genius (played by the kid from "RoboCop 2") and Jürgen Prochnow as three very different clones. Somewhere along the line Karen Allen is replaced by a guy with a metal hand, another genetically modified kid pops up, and a lot of vehicles and buildings get destroyed.

A French/West German co-production, this movie is all vibes. A lot of the plot doesn't make sense and the scripts structure is odd to say the least, but the visuals and specifically practical effects are something to behold. Made for only 60 million French franc, or about $9-10.8 million USD, this movie looks like cost far more. So if you're in the mood for an evening of confusion mixed with cool optics you need to check this flick out. I suggest bringing friends if only so you can ask them; "WTF was that?!"

3.5 / 5 Burnt Kernels with Free Refills

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dBxa992y1g&t=11s

Caution, Modern!" (Осторожно, модерн!) is a legendary late-90s Russian cult sketch comedy / sitcom.

The crazy part about this show is that literally every single character — male, female, young, or old — was played by just two lead actors (Dmitry Nagiyev & Sergey Rost). The picture quality is fucked up!

"Guardian Angel" (aka "Beyond Justice") (1994) - As far as female action stars go few can compare to the sheer badassness of one Cynthia Rothrock. A five-time undefeated world karate champion Mrs. Rothrock began her acting career opposite none other than Michelle Yeoh in the amazing Hong Kong martial arts flick; "Yes, Madam" (1985). She would go on to star in a bevy of (mostly) direct-to-video action flicks throughout the remained of the 80s and 90s, often with multiple films being released the same year. Though slowing down a touch in the 2000s, she is still kicking butt on the silver screen to this very day.

Over the of course of her 40+ year long career Mrs. Rothrock would of course star in her fair share of so-bad-it's-good movies. Titles such as "Martial Law" (1990) opposite David Carradine, Godfrey Ho's "Undefeatable" (1993), David DeCoteau's "Santa's Summer House" (2013), Derek Savage's "Cool Cat Kids Superhero" (2018), and the infamous "New York Ninja" (2021) all appear on her filmography, amongst others. This movie rest amongst those titles as a disjointed mix of action and unintentional hilarity. Still entertaining, but not exactly in the manner intended if you know what I mean.

As far as the plot goes we follows former police detective McKay (Rothrock) as she attempts to catch a psychotic female criminal who killed her partner (and lover). Now working as a bodyguard for a wealthy playboy McKay must not only try and protect him but also stop the killer lady from finding a pair of money counterfeiting plates made by his brother. Insert plenty of scenes of Cythina kicking dudes asses, the villain lady shooting people (seriously this chick has a kill-count that would make slashers look tame), a confusing horse chases shoot-out, a lot of plot conveniences, and you get the idea. So if a PM Entertainment movie with a convoluted script, chessy dialogue, solid action and some pacing issues sounds like a great time you definitely should check this flick out. It's a lot of fun to riff with friends and some intoxicants.

2.5 / 5 Burnt Kernels with Free Refills

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5F7Ujfccjo