If you live anywhere else in the world other than Pittsburgh, you’d never care about this movie. But within Allegheny County, Striking Distance is celebrated with the same ardor that some folks reserve for movies like Gone With the Wind and Citizen Kane. Sure, other movies have been filmed here. But few have the names of our streets shouted or have riverboat cops or just feel like Pittsburgh, the biggest small town in the world.

Maybe that’s because writer/director Rowdy Herrington (Jack’s Back, Roadhouse) is a native son (a Yinzer, if you will) who even worked at the venerable PBS station WQED, home of Mr. Rogers.

That means that this is a film packed with Pittsburgh. Real neighborhood names. Real streets — even if somehow Bigelow Boulevard (the phrase “Take Bigelow!” is constantly used in town (or “tahn”) 26 years after this movie was made) — doesn’t match up with the real one. In fact, I live literally two minutes from the giant hill that the police cars tear down (Center Street in Duquesne, just a few hundred feet away from where Martin is buried in Tateh Cuda’s Braddock garden) and I can attest to the fact that it absolutely decimates shocks and bumpers. Even real TV newspeople Sally Wiggin and Ken Rice show up. This is a town where local news (and newspapers and KDKA AM radio) are all still important. Striking Distance gets it.

Don’t take our word for it. This two-part post on the Pittsburgh Orbit shows off exactly how much this city loves this movie.

Detective Sergeant Thomas “Tommy” Hardy, comes from a family of cops — five generations of them, some Italian and some Irish (honestly, this should be Polish, but all movie cops must be Irish). He used to be a former homicide detective, but he didn’t follow one of the most basic rules of being a Yinzer: He told Hornes how Kaufmann’s does their business by testifying against his partner and cousin Jimmy Detillo (the late Robert Pastorelli).

En route to the Policemen’s Ball with his father, Vincent Hardy (Frasier‘s and Diane Court’s dad, John Mahoney) — a place where everyone will surely hate him — a call comes in. The Polish Hill Stranger has been spotted. There’s a huge chase — seriously, that second Pittsburgh Orbit article goes into great detail about this — that ends with Tommy injured and his father shot and killed.

The police arrest Douglas Kesser as the Strangler while Jimmy decides he’s never going to prison, diving off the 31st Street Bridge right in front of Tommy.

Our hero reacts to this by getting drunk for two years. He’s finally reassigned to the River Rescue Squad, which sadly doesn’t exist to the level that it does in this cinematic masterpiece. He’s joined in the lack of sobriety by his cousin Danny (Tom Sizemore) who has also left the force.

On one of his first river cases, Tommy finds the body of a girl who ends up being his ex-girlfriend. It’s not the last dead ex that he’ll find by the end of Striking Distance‘s 102 minute running time.

That’s when he meets his new partner, Jo Christman (Sarah Jessica Parker), who discovers from her boss, District Attorney Frank Morris (Homicide‘s Andre Braugher) that Tommy was demoted because he told a reporter that the Polish Hill Strangler had to be a cop.

Speaking of that killer, he starts calling Tommy and playing Sam the Sham and the Pharaoh’s “Little Red Riding Hood.” The only problem is that most of the cops, like Detective Eddie Eiler (Brion James!), are still holding a grudge against our protagonist. One of those cops that really has a grudge is Tommy’s uncle Nick (real-life cop Dennis Farina), now a captain, who blames him for what happened to his sons, one dead and the other a drunk.

There’s another Policemen’s Ball that Jo asks Tommy to take her to. After some initial awkwardness, his family embraces him. This would be a scene that Steel City audiences would go nuts over, as favorite son Tom Atkins shows up as Uncle Fred. Of course, Danny shows up drunk and Tommy gets into a fistfight. But the upside is that the partners fall into bed with one another, as usually happens when you’re a cop. And in an 80’s movie. And you’re Bruce Willis or Sarah Jessica Parker.

Bonus: You can also see Kurt Russell in a super fast cameo as a man on a boat, Roscoe Orman (Gordon from Sesame Street) as Sid, Jodi Long (she’s the girl who argues about reincarnation in New Order’s “Bizarre Love Triangle” video) as Kim Lee, Mike Hodge (Judge Delano Burns from Law and Order) as Tommy’s boss Captain Penderman and Timothy Busfield as Officer Sacco.

After the couple thinks they’ve found another body – just rugs — it’s revealed that internal affairs have had their eye on Tommy. During a court hearing to kick him off the force, the big reveal happens: Jo is really Emily Harper of the Pennsylvania State Police, there to discover evidence of misconduct. However, she perjures herself and Tom goes unpunished for stealing police files so he can discover who the strangler really is.

I don’t really want to reveal any more, because I want more people outside of our fair city — and even those within it — to watch this movie. You can get it for $1 or less at any used store, except right here. Here, it’s going to be $10 and up. Also: this movie is hard to find on blu ray and has never had a big Shout! Factory reissue. I’m here to change that. And I’m volunteering our services to do a commentary track.

After thirteen weeks of filming, the original cut of this movie, called Three Rivers, bombed with test audiences. Extensive reshoots were held in Los Angeles, pushing the action and making the lovemaking scenes sexier.

One of the big test audience notes was that the film was confusing. That’s because Willis would continually insert his own story into the movie. A crew member said, “He had scenes rewritten. He did what he wanted to do. We were working with Orson Willis.” Willis was enraged that he had to do reshoots, blaming Herrington, who defended him despite the way he was treated.

With the new title of Striking Distance and all this extra work, including a totally new ending, the movie still bombed everywhere in the world but here. Such is life.

That said, if you want to get people to cheer in Pittsburgh, you can always work a few of these quotes into your conversation:

“Never scald your tongue on another man’s soup.”

“Who’s the best cop now?”

“You belong on the river, you fuckin’ rat!”

I reiterate this offer: Shout Factory — or whatever boutique label would like to release this — we really need to do commentary on this, along with the original Three Rivers cut. We can easily sell a few hundred copies at a table in the Strip District on Saturday morning.

Bonus: Listen to us discuss this movie on our podcast.

Noticeably, this movie doesn’t start on a beach or with hot tubs. No, we’re back in the Civil War, as we learn the tale of hidden gold. And while three agents are on a mission to stop some drug lords, they find that gold. However, thanks to a corrupt agent, a ruthless criminal kingpin is attempting to hunt them all down.

Welcome to the first movie directed by Drew Sidaris, who has moved up from working on the second unit for several of the Malibu Bay films we’ve covered already this week.

Seeing as how Fit to Kill was supposed to be the end of the series, this starts everything off brand new. This has some of the elements — and actors — of Andy Sidaris’ films, but everyone has pretty much new characters. Bruce Penhall plays Chris Cannon, Mark Barriere is Mark Austin, Suzi Simpson (January 1992 Playboy Playmate of the Month) is Becky Midnight and Tanquil Lisa “Tai” Collins(who appeared in the October 1991 issue of Playboy and would go on to write for Baywatch) plays Ava Noble.

On the bad side, we have the returning Rodrigo Obregon as Santiago and Julie Strain as Jewel Pather.

This movie’s follow-up, The Dallas Connection, can either be seen as a sequel or remake. Strain, Obregon and Cassidy Phillips are back as villains but play different characters and the heroes work for a totally different agency. Strain plays Cobra in that film and is revealed to be a L.E.T.H.A.L. agent, a role which she’ll play in the rest of  Sidaris’ movies.

Julie Strain really makes this one watchable. I’m saying that not just because of her looks. She understands exactly the type of movie she’s in and makes it work. While Andy only produced this film, it doesn’t stray far from the formula.

You can get this from Mill Creek.

L.E.T.H.A.L. agents Donna and Nicole are back, doing what they do best — wearing swimwear and getting into hot tubs. No, I’m being silly. What they do best is spy action and here, they’re protecting Mr. Chang, a wealthy Asian businessman, and keeping his rare diamond out of the hands of a jewel thief.

Increasingly, the plot of Andy Sidaris movies are becoming McGuffin laden adventures that the G.I. Joe team would undertake, but the Joes never got Lady Jaye, Scarlett, The Baroness and Zarana to strip down to their thongs. Such is the wonder and genius of Mr. Sidaris’ oeuvre.

If you’re wondering, “Will bumbling agents attempt to use remote control weapons to kill our heroines?” Good news. The answer is yes. Their names are Evel and Kenevil this time.

You may also ask, “Do my favorites come back?” Sure they do. Everyone from Skip, Ava, Edy, Shane, Lucas and Bruce are here. None of the guys can shoot a gun to save their lives, even seven movies down the road.

Kane (R.J. Moore, son of James Bond’s Roger) is back, as he’s just one of the bad guys out to steal that massive diamond, which was liberated from Russia at the end of World War II. Rodrigo Obregon also comes back as yet another bad guy, but at least he has Julie Strain as Blu Steele, a new and dangerous villain for the ladies to battle.

Then you may ask, “Is she going to be a good guy in the next movie?” You’ve seen too many Andy Sidaris movies. Go outside and get in the sun for a bit.

This was meant to be the end to the series and it is Dona Speir’s seventh and final time appearing in one of the L.E.T.H.A.L. Ladies movies. But come on. The saga must continue.

I recently read on Twitter that the women of Andy Sidaris movies have more backstory than Black Widow in the Marvel Universe movies. That’s kind of sad, really. Who knew that a director who mainly liked to show silicone-enhanced breasts would be more woke than people making multiplex pleasing films twenty plus years later?

Well, this one ends with a hot tub party instead of an after the credits reveal. That’s the world of Andy Sidaris, protecting the world, saving giant diamonds and having heaving mammaries pop into your face every ten seconds.

You can get this from Mill Creek.

There’s a new bad guy — Martin Kane, who is played by Geoffrey Moore, who is the son of Roger. Actually, I lied. He’s supposed to be the same character played by Pat Morita in the last film! What is going on here!?!

Regardless of that craziness, Kane has smuggled a nuclear trigger out of China. The goal? Sell it to Middle East terrorists. And the very first undercover agent to try and get it back gets killed. Time to call Donna, Nicole and Edy. Time to take lots of showers. Time to make sweet, sweet love when not avoiding remote-controlled death devices.

All of your favorites show back up here. Beyond the girls mentioned above — Dona Speir, Roberta Vasquez and Cynthia Brimhall — Bruce Penhall is back as Bruce Christian and Michael Shane as Shane Abilene.

Rodrigo Obregon plays an evil operative named Pico who takes advantage of Donna after she gets amnesia. They go beard splitting on the beach while the rest of the team looks for her. But there’s another baddie — Raven, who is played by everyone’s favorite Asian henchman Al Leong — who gets his own lion’s head blazer to go with Kane’s lion’s head boat. Raven also has an amazing helicopter that he uses to kill all manner of people. The bumbling dup pf bad guys — now named Wily and Coyote — also come back and yes, their weapons still come from Acme.

Another return is Ava Cadell, who is now a DJ/sex therapist who does her radio show from the hot tub. As you do. Also: the camera focuses mainly on her breasts, which makes sense, as they take out nearly the entire frame, decimating anything that comes near them by sheer force of gravity and will.

Geoffrey Moore isn’t the only famous son here. Tony Peck, son of Gregory (and one-time husband of Cheryl Tiegs), plays Lucas.

To tell the truth, I kinda loved Hard Hunted. It’s the same plot as nearly every single Andy Sidaris film, but for some reason, I’ve achieved nirvana — or Stockholm Syndrome — by watching every single one of them in one week.

The moral is: When you’re trying to rescue a nuclear trigger hidden inside a jade statue, it’s totally smart to just slow down and do squat thrusts in the cucumber patch with your fellow agent. Saving the world can wait. Making love in the sand can’t.

You can get this on blu ray from Mill Creek.

Well, it’s official. I always thought Strip Nude for Your Killer and Play Motel were the sleaziest giallo I’d ever seen. Good news. Or bad news, depending on your morals. Ruggero Deodato is here to let you know that there’s no limit to the depravity that he can bring to your TV set. Seriously, I feel like I have to wash it now after this one. I guess that’s what I should expect from the maker of Cannibal Holocaust.

This movie starts off with a sex worker making love to a ponytailed man in a suit in the middle of her kitchen while her sister watches and touches herself. Trust me, it’s not going to get any cleaner as it goes on.

Vida (Katarzyna Figura, The Player), Ludmilla and Sissy (Ilaria Borelli, Life Is Beautiful) are three gorgeous sisters living together in a Budapest apartment. The next day after the opening sex scene, Ludmilla finds the bloody remains of the ponytailed man, a pimp named Yury (Yorgo Voyagis, Frantic), in the washing machine.

Inspector Stacev responds to the police call, but the body is gone. He believes that this is all in Ludmilla’s head but soon, he’s making time with all three sisters. One by one, they tell him that they are innocent, blame one another and then have sex with him. Obviously, this makes his girlfriend Irina incredibly jealous.

So why are the girls putting him through this? Has there really been a murder? Is he next? How many sex scenes can Deodato fit into a film (the answer is an awful lot)?

Shameless put this out a few years ago and I’ve heard rumors that Arrow may be re-releasing this soon. It’s pretty decent, but you might want to know what you’re getting into before watching this with people not ready for the excesses of Italian films.

Paul Andolina is back just in time for St. Patrick’s Day. You can also find even more movies in his website Wrestling with Film.

I can still remember catching parts of the movie Leprechaun as a kid while watching the Sci Fi channel on the play room TV. Since then it’s been a bit of tradition to watch it during the month of March. I don’t always get a chance to watch it but when I do, I always have a good time. The entire franchise is near and dear to my heart as I’ve binge watched it more times than I can remember. I thought I’d take a look at some of my favorite films from the series this week.

There is no better place to start than with the movie that started it all 1993’s Leprechaun. I imagine it’s a Saint Patrick’s day staple for a lot of fans of horror as it is shown on the SyFy channel pretty regularly during this time of year. They usually have a marathon of the entire series on or near the 17^th of March. 

Leprechaun is about a young lady, Tory, and her father, J.D. They move to a house in North Dakota for the summer not knowing that ten years prior Dan O’Grady after returning home from Ireland, rich, was met with tragedy in the same house. Dan had stolen gold from a leprechaun and the leprechaun made his way to the states to wreak havoc on O’Grady in an attempt to recover his gold. He doesn’t manage to do so though instead becoming trapped by Dan, the leprechaun has the last laugh though causing Dan to have a heart attack.

Tory and J.D. are really in for it though. The guys they have hired to paint, Nathan, his younger brother Alex, and Alex’s friend Ozzie are an interesting bunch. Ozzie, after spilling paint all over himself unleashes the leprechaun and the day takes a turn for the worst. Ozzie and Alex find the gold and J.D. is bit by the leprechaun who is hiding in a tree pretending to be a cat.  J.D. has to be taken to the hospital leaving the younger folks to fend for themselves against the evil leprechaun.

The leprechaun is played by Warwick Davis, I don’t think the franchise would be the same had anyone else got the role of the leprechaun. His makeup is as interesting as it is gruesome while his antics and playfulness bring a lot of whimsical terror to the film. The Leprechaun also happens to be one of Jennifer Aniston’s first film roles. Unfortunately, she’s not too fond of being associated with the film; it’s a shame, really, because she does a fine job in the film. I would have loved to see her in some more horror roles. The character of Ozzie is quite sympathetic as he really is more of a child than his size and age would lead you to believe. Alex although young tries to act more mature than he really is even when he seems to be scared and his brother, the older, stronger, Nathan spends most of the movie injured yet still heroic.

I also happen to love the soundtrack. Especially the little ditty that plays near the beginning that goes, “I say I need a four leaf clover, one that’s strong and won’t blow away. Won’t you be my four leaf clover?, be my lucky charm that’s here to stay.” This movie will always have a special place for me so I’m pretty biased when it comes to it. If you love creature features, practical effects, and humor than this movie will more than likely entertain you. Whether you’re just looking for something to watch this Saint Patrick’s day with your pints and whiskey or you want a unique little feature to watch all year long, Leprechaun is sure to whet your whistle.

After the death of her father, Elizabeth travels to a remote island, where a convent may hold the secret to the death of her mother. There, she finds nuns who conduct strange rituals in the catacombs beneath the building in an attempt to hold the evil there at bay.

One of the first Western films to be shot in the Ukraine following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the birth of this movie was as difficult as Elizabeth’s. The sets and locations are otherworldly yet inexpensive, but the political situation was rife with problems, like two coups that took place during the shooting and dubbing of the film.

Director Mariano Baino had only directed the short Caruncula before this, but his eye is steady and strong. There’s a definite air of looming Lovecraftian dread in this. It looks almost like a Soavi film. And while it has no score, the sound effects more than make up for it.

Any film that has squads of nuns burning buildings and killing people — as well as a crucified zombie nun and a savage elder god hidden beneath the world — is worth checking out. It doesn’t have the greatest story in the world, but when has that ever stopped our enjoyment of a horror film?

You can find it from Severin (of course!) right here. It’s also streaming on Shudder.

Between Hollywood Shuffle and his HBO specials, Robert Townsend was a major force in comedy in the 1980’s and 90’s. This early attempt at showing what an African-American superhero would be like is sorely overlooked.

Jefferson Reed (Townsend, who also directed, produced and wrote the film) is a high school teacher who dreams of playing jazz, stuck in a neighborhood ruled by the Golden Lords gang and drug lord Anthony Byers (Frank Gorshin, the Ridder from the 60’s Batman TV show). After he stops them from raping a girl, the gang, led by Simon Caine, chases him into a dumpster. That dumpster is then hit by a meteor. Days later, he awakes in a hospital where his major injuries have already healed.

The meteor also gives him powers, like x-ray vision, flight, improved strength and hearing, super speed, invulnerability, telekinesis, dog communication and the power to absorb the knowledge of books. His power set totally seems like someone rolled him up at random in the old Marvel Super-Heroes TSR role-playing game.

With the help of his parents (Benson‘s Robert Guillaume and The Jeffersons’ Marla Gibbs) and neighbor (James Earl Jones in a hilarious, wigtastic performance), Meteor Man stops 11 robberies, destroys 15 crack houses and brings the Crips (Cypress Hill!) and the Bloods (Naughty by Nature!) together. He even plants a garden in the middle of the food desert that his neighborhood has become.

The Golden Lords learn who Meteor Man is, as well as the fact that his powers are fading. The community even wants him to leave to keep the gang from attacking them, but he takes the fight to the gang, despite the fact that he has no powers. He’s saved by Marvin (Bill Cosby), a homeless man who has also found part of the meteor.

Meteor Man finally defeats the gang, but not before his dog is fatally hurt. Marvin comes and uses the last of his powers to save the dog. Then, a gang of hitmen all attack the community — led by Luthor Vandross, no less — before Cypress Hill and Naughty by Nature come back to save everyone. Sometimes guns really do solve everything!

The film is packed with stars, like Eddie Griffith as one of our hero’s friends; Sinbad; Another Bad Creation as the Junior Lords; Big Daddy Kane; Don Cheadle; Tiny Lister (Zeus from No Holds Barred and Deebo from Friday); Biz Markie and Wallace Shawn (The Princess Bride).

Meteor Man even got a six-issue series from Marvel where he’d meet Spider-Man and Night Thrasher (who at the time was one of Marvel’s most prominent African-American heroes). The comic used the original ending of the film, where Jeff discovers a larger part of the meteor in Arizona, as a plot point.

I wouldn’t say this is a great film, but it’s entertaining and the runtime flies by. Numerous re-writes led to a script filled with plotholes and subplots that go nowhere, like Jeff being in love with his ex-girlfriend Stacy, as well as his numerous phobias. But don’t let that stop you from enjoying this slice of pop culture from the early part of the 90’s.