From self-important start to self-important finish, this movie runs on all cylinders, managing to tackle every single social ill of the early 1970s that people pretended to care about.

Vietnam, women’s rights, Indian rights, environmentalism, alternative education, bigotry, and half-breed Green Berets that try to reconnect with their Indian heritage while practicing a unique mix of pacifism and whoop-ass are all represented.

Sure, you’ll cringe a bit when you hear Billy Jack talking about “checking your ego-trips” and his girlfriend Jane going on about “doing something creative that turns you on,” but most of the time you’ll sit there stunned that this movie about one man trying to come to terms with his past, his ancestors, the world that doesn’t want his kind, and the woman who can’t live without him isn’t recognized as one of the great films of the era. Continue reading “Billy Jack (1971)” →

Jalal Merhi has been called the Lebanese Steven Seagal. Unfortunately, I was unsure whether this was coming from his supporters or detractors.

Though he isn’t the waddling mass of chins and jowels that modern era Steve has transformed into, Jalal certainly has my backing in his claim to be Steve’s Middle East-based successor. After all, Jalal is prone to standing around muttering lines without conviction in between even duller scenes that he’s not part of. That’s vintage Steve right there. In fact, I would say that Jalal is selling himself short in that he is also the Lebanese Jean-Claude Van Damme since I couldn’t understand half of what he was saying due to his accent. Continue reading “Operation Golden Phoenix (1994)” →