refinedsugar

A gritty look at an unwell human being who also happens to be a cop via director Abel Ferrera & actor Harvey Keitel in the lead role is 'Bad Lieutenant'. To the shock of no one his acting is brutal, raw & vulnerable. I understood why he got kudos back in the day, but consider me a little bit surprised there isn't much in the way of a story here. Leaving it to get by on scenes of drug or gambling depravity and little to grasp onto narratively.

An unnamed NYPD Lieutenant (Keitel) drifts from crime scene to crime scene while he indulges in both illegal pharmaceutical recreation and a love for sports gambling both on and off the clock. A rapidly deteriorating blur of a man who is barely keeping it together over the span of a couple of days when a Nun is brutally raped. When he's assigned to investigate there comes a spiritual crossroads, but is it too little, too late for redemption?

Common faces in Victor Argo, Paul Calderon as fellow cops and long time Ferrera contributor / on-and-off girlfriend / fellow drug user Zoë Lund (Ms .45). Real life ex-NYPD cop Bo Dietl has a bit part, but it's Frankie Lou Thorn as the Nun who stands out the most in a supporting cast. Lots of guerilla filmmaking, a fondness for popping off his service weapon at odd times and delights in portraying drug use (no shock given Ferrera, Lund). Use of nudity during the rape and hospital exam is off putting, more than a little explotative and firmly unnecessary.

I left my viewing of 'Bad Lieutenant' equal parts wondering what all the fuss was about and debating if having seen it in '92 would it have altered my viewpoint. You get killer acting from Keitel who gives himself over to his role, but the tale is neither fresh or shocking if you've sat thru enough pieces of dark cinema. I kept waiting for the pic to shift into next gear and it never did.

A direct sequel to 'Turf War' aka 'Lady Rider' director / main star Alex Maisonette returns to his tale of drug dealers, bad bikers and corrupt cops done on a fifty dollar budget. His house continues to be used for any scene, ___location possible in another convoluted story where dialog was clearly once again made up on the spot. If you want to see Fat Joe slum it again for five minutes of screen time or enjoy horrible movies that bore you to death you've found a winner.

Det. Rodriquez (Maisonette) must keep up the good fight when big time drug dealer Flash (Fat Joe) gets released from his charges and corrupt Sgt. Rivera (Damien Borges) tries to have him removed from the case. More betrayals, more bikers, more drug dealings and the return of Lady Rider (Veronica Ramos) who continues to seek a measure of revenge for what happened before.

Feeling like a bad made-for-tv movie, the first minutes are literally a recap of the previous film and another chance for Maisonette to conduct a masterclass in dry emotionless voiceover. Poor props, guerilla filmmaking in the streets and amateur acting ... the nice way to put it. People loving to have conversations in cars, back lots, home back yards, insert shots of chess boards to further drive home the title and dollar store drama.

Horrible pacing and story that doesn't have enough absurd moments to make it a "good" bad movie, 'Checkmate' is really awful. Dialog stretches on forever to extend runtime and put viewers to sleep. Having multiple characters utter "Checkmate" might be the biggest laugh or groan to be found here.

A setup I've seen done countless times. One note characters galore. The obligatory warehouse shootout for the finale. 'Radical Jack' is a by the numbers dtv action pic thru and thru. If you came looking for a dose of Billy Ray & cheese there's some here, but be wary of anyone dressing it up to sound better than it actually is.

Ex-CIA, Ex-Navy Seal Jack Reynolds (Billy Ray Cyrus) is recruited by the Agency to takeout gun runners in rural Vermont. The family of Lloyd (George 'Buck' Flower) and son Rolland (Noah Blake), but its the sale to the man responsible for killing Jack's family that gets him interested. As Kate (Dedee Pfeiffer) Rolland's former mistress is caught in the middle.

Buck who had a long career playing kooky roles usually of the homeless / alcoholic variety is horribly miscast. Not at all menacing or portraying the sense of power. Blake the stock slimy paper thin additional villain. Billy Ray isn't bad for the action lead, but the pic does him or viewers no favors. Dedee checks off a routine romance, but usually the woman in question is more likable than this.

On it's own 'Radical Jack' wouldn't suffice as a lazy Sunday watch for undiscriminating action junkies and it doesn't have enough real zesty moments to be recommendable to bad movie fans. A low budget flick going thru the paces it's more than a little boring at times. Novelty of Billy Ray is it's biggest asset, but it ain't enough.