Tag Archives: Bradley Scott

Brad reviews PROJECT GUTENBERG (2018), starring Chow Yun-Fat & Aaron Kwok!

Posted on by Bradley Crain

There was a time when Chow Yun-Fat was one of the hardest working actors in show business. He had 11 different films come out in 1987 alone, and his dedication to making movies would eventually lead him to superstardom all around the world by the turn of the century. Alas, even the greats must eventually slow down and by the end of the 2010’s, it felt like he had practically retired. He only starred in one film between 2017 and 2019. That film was 2018’s PROJECT GUTENBERG, and to say I was looking forward to the film would be quite the understatement. The filmmakers knew how to draw me in as the trailer recreated Chow’s famous scene from A BETTER TOMORROW where he lights his cigarette with a counterfeit $100 bill. The movie promised to play up his most iconic on-screen images, and I was down for it!

PROJECT GUTENBERG introduces us to an artist named Lee Man (Aaron Kwok), who’s been arrested in Thailand and taken to Hong Kong. The local police interrogate him for information about a ruthless counterfeiter known as “Painter.” Reluctant to talk at first due to fear, Lee is convinced that he must provide some information, or he could spend the rest of his life in jail. He eventually begins to tell the story of his time with the elusive criminal mastermind, played by Chow Yun-fat, through a series of flashbacks. Director Felix Chong (writer of the INFERNAL AFFAIRS and OVERHEARD trilogies) has crafted a story that seems like the confession of small fish being used to bait a big fish, before eventually turning into something much more sinister and fascinating. I won’t say anything else about the plot as there’s much fun to be had in watching it unravel!

I’m going to state right up front that Chow Yun-Fat is in prime form. Some actors age with grace, and then there’s the 63-year-old Chow of this film, who’s managed to age with almost a mythic gravitas. This film masterfully highlights his incredible charisma, recreates iconic images of his past gunplay, and then turns it all on its head by making Painter into one of the most evil bastards he’s ever played on screen! It’s an incredible use of his legendary career to provide levels of depth that no words on paper ever could.

Even with the iconic images of Chow Yun-Fat, PROJECT GUTENBERG would not work nearly as well if it wasn’t also a captivating crime thriller. Its counterfeit money operations, double-crosses, gun battles and international intrigue pulled me in, and I found myself on the edge of my seat at times as the story unfolded. The last 30 minutes of the film made me question everything I’d seen up to that point, but in a way that did not take away one moment of my enjoyment. It’s not a completely unique ending, as film lovers will certainly notice, but it works.  

Aaron Kwok’s character of Lee Man is weak in comparison to Painter, but the actor navigates the tightrope of showing just enough emotional desperation that we understand why he’s doing what he does. When the plot starts taking some crazy twists and turns, I was still right there with him. I’ve always liked Aaron Kwok, and even with his bad haircut in the film, I still thought he did a fine job. I also want to shoutout actress Zhang Jingchu (RUSH HOUR 3, OVERHEARD), who plays the woman that Lee Man loves. Her character drives a lot of Lee’s actions in the film, and I found her very beautiful and compelling. Last, but not least, Liu Kai Chi (KILL ZONE, CALL OF HEROES) gets one of the best supporting roles in the film as a vital member of the counterfeiting team who befriends Lee before making an unforgivable mistake.    

PROJECT GUTENBERG was a critical and box office smash when it was released in China in the fall of 2018. It won Best Picture, Director, Screenplay, Cinematography and Editing at the 2019 Hong Kong Film Awards. On a budget of around $40 million dollars, it would bring in over $150 million in China alone, on its way to around $200 million worldwide. It’s a slick crime thriller that serves as a reminder that in the right role, Chow Yun-fat is still one of the great movie stars on the planet. This film understands that, bet the house, and won big.

PROJECT GUTENBERG is currently streaming on the free “Fawesome” streaming service.

Brad reviews THE STORY OF WOO VIET (1981), starring Chow Yun-Fat!

Posted on by Bradley Crain

When I became obsessed with Chow Yun-Fat in the latter half of the 1990’s, I would constantly search for his movies at the Suncoast Video Store in the Park Plaza Mall whenever we’d go to Little Rock. Unfortunately, I’d run into cheap looking DVDs with titles like “God of Killers,” but I’d buy them anyway. That’s the title under which I first attempted to watch THE STORY OF WOO VIET, starring a young Chow-Yun-Fat and directed by Hong Kong legend Ann Hui. Whoever distributed the film was making a blatant cash grab on Chow Yun-Fat’s worldwide popularity at the time, and the DVD was terrible. I turned it off after a little while because the print was so dark you could barely see it, and the subtitles were illegible, constantly falling off the screen. I had not attempted to watch the film again until very recently. My friends on “Podcast on Fire” devoted an episode to THE STORY OF WOO VIET, which piqued my interest again. Lo and behold, I found a fine print with English subtitles streaming on Tubi!

As the story starts, we meet Woo Viet (Chow Yun-Fat) on a boat full of starving refugees. We learn that he’s a former Vietnamese soldier escaping to Hong Kong in hopes of making his way to the United States. It’s a tough start as we see a baby die of malnourishment and an old man murdered by Vietnamese special agents, which leads to Woo Viet fighting off and killing those same agents, all within the first 15 minutes. On the run for murder, he’s lucky that his Hong Kong pen pal, social worker Lap-Quan (Cora Miao), can help him get fake papers for his escape to the United States. As he’s getting ready to leave, he meets the beautiful Shum Ching (Cherie Chung), who’s also using fake documents to get to the U.S. Unfortunately, the Hong Kong trafficker who’s supposed to be helping them, has sold Shum Ching to a powerful gangster in the Philippines with plans to turn her into a prostitute. When she’s taken away from the Manila airport, Woo Viet goes after her. Unable to kick enough ass to save her, he ends up working as a hired gun for her kidnapper in hopes of buying her freedom. Throw in Shaw Brothers legend Lo Lieh as Sarm, Woo Viet’s partner in crime in Manila, and the stage is set for an escape to a better tomorrow or loneliness and a quick death.

After viewing the film, it’s probably best that I couldn’t watch THE STORY OF WOO VIET back in the late 1990’s. At that time, I wanted Chow Yun-Fat as the honorable gangster of films like A BETTER TOMORROW and THE KILLER, or the badass cop of HARD-BOILED. I could not have appreciated director Ann Hui’s work here, the second film in her “Viet Nam trilogy.” Gritty and downbeat, it’s about as far away from John Woo’s stylish films as you can get. When the violence comes, it lands with a painful thud as nails enter heads, knives slash bodies, and even toothbrushes are shoved through cheeks. This is Ann Hui working within a genre film plotline while infusing it with something akin to bleak realism. She would go on to develop her legendary career with the next year’s BOAT PEOPLE, and she would use Chow a couple of more times in films like LOVE IN A FALLEN CITY and THE POSTMODERN LIFE OF MY AUNT. This is not peak Ann Hui, but she still brings something interesting to this early effort.

As far as the performances go, Chow may have been 5 years away from the superstardom of A BETTER TOMORROW, but he already had what it took to be a film lead. Even in a film like this, without his heroic bloodshed honor, he has a way of making it look easy. Cherie Chung is appealing as Shum Ching, and she was soon on her way to film stardom in Hong Kong hits like PEKING OPERA BLUES, AN AUTUMN’S TALE (with Chow), and John Woo’s ONCE A THIEF (also with Chow). Like many Hong Kong actresses before her, after a string of successful films she would get married and retire in 1991. I like Cora Miao early in the film as the kind social worker, but she fades as the film progresses. Miao would work with Chow and Ann Hui frequently throughout the 80’s. Like Chung, she retired in 1991 and married director Wayne Wang (THE JOY LUCK CLUB). Finally, I wanted to give a shoutout to Lo Lieh as Woo Viet’s one friend, Sarm. While he may be known best for his classic work with Shaw Brothers in films like the FIVE FINGERS OF DEATH and THE 36TH CHAMBER OF SHAOLIN, he gives a solid character performance here and would go on to work in Hong Kong for another two decades.

THE STORY OF WOO VIET is not at the top of the list of films that Hong Kong legends Chow Yun-Fat and Ann Hui would work on, but it’s still an important watch to see their obvious talent at this point in their careers. I’m glad I finally watched the film in 2026. After all the life I’ve lived since those days digging through the DVDs at the Park Plaza Mall, there’s no way it could have hit me the same way then that it does now.

Brad reviews THE LAST TYCOON (2012), starring Chow Yun-Fat!

Posted on by Bradley Crain

When fans of Hong Kong cinema think of high-quality film craftsmanship, the name Wong Jing doesn’t immediately come to mind. Sure, he directed one of my all-time favorite films, GOD OF GAMBLERS (1989), and he’s had his share of box office success over the years, but he’s also churned out a lot of crap. His name is not often the stamp of quality on a film production, but there’s something about working with Chow Yun-Fat that will sometimes bring out his best.

THE LAST TYCOON tells the story of Shanghai crime boss Cheng Daqi, portrayed here in two separate timelines by actor Huang Xiaoming in his younger years, and by the legendary Chow Yun-Fat in his older years. When we meet young Cheng, he seems like an awfully nice guy and then fate places him in a jail cell with the shady Mao Zai (Francis Ng). To escape and save his own life, and with a little help from Mao, Cheng commits his first murder. Forced to flee, Cheng aligns himself with a gang led by Hong Shouting (Sammo Hung). A natural leader, and as badass as it gets, Cheng rises rapidly in the ranks. The narrative isn’t as straight forward as this sounds so far, because it leaps frequently back and forth between younger Cheng and older Cheng. When the film finally settles in with Chow Yun-Fat for its latter half, we have seen how Cheng rose to become one of the most powerful men in Shanghai. We also understand how he has found himself in an extremely difficult wartime position with the Japanese that will test his loyalty to his country, as well as to the people he loves.

Right out of the gate, I want to give kudos to Wong Jing for putting together a highly entertaining film, set against an incredible 30-year backdrop of historical Shanghai! I don’t mention it in the summary above, but THE LAST TYCOON finds time to feature an abundance of romance between Cheng and the two loves of his life. We’re talking about grand melodrama done right, offset periodically with awesome action sequences, whether they be hand-to-blade street brawls, heroic bloodshed shoot-outs, or explosive wartime bombing raids. The emotions and the blood flow very strongly in this one!

The role of Cheng Daqi fits Chow Yun-Fat like a glove. He emotes early and often, and when he takes a break from that, it’s usually to pick up a pistol that he’s able to wield with maximum precision and efficiency. For a long-time fan like me, it’s high-quality fan service that fits seamlessly into the pulpiness of the story. As the younger version of Cheng, Huang Xiaoming does a fine job with the romance and the action. It seems perfectly natural that he’d eventually turn into the legend. Huang gets a lot of screentime, and without his solid portrayal, I don’t think the film would have worked nearly as well.

I did want to mention some of the notable supporting performances in THE LAST TYCOON. Veteran Francis Ng is as reliable as ever as we see his character go from a mystery lifesaver at the beginning to an evil villain by the end. The role may be underdeveloped, but Ng makes it work. I’m going to be looking for more from actor Gao Hu, who’s a total badass in his role as Cheng’s loyal soldier Lin Huai. Present over the entire 30-year timeline of the film, the man’s expert switchblade skills and gun-handling abilities are crucial to Cheng’s safety! Yolanda Yuan and Monica Mok are very good as the two women in Cheng’s life. They are very different, but it’s easy to see why he loves them both, and I think the movie ultimately gets the ending right where the romance is concerned. Finally, I did want to mention that I was somewhat disappointed in the character of Hong Shouting, played by the legendary Sammo Hung. Even though he was a powerful boss, I don’t think he comes across very strongly in the film. For someone of his stature, I see this as one of the few missteps from writer / director Wong Jing.

Small quibbles aside, I recommend THE LAST TYCOON without any reservations. Fans of Chow Yun-Fat and Hong Kong cinema can’t go wrong!

THE LAST TYCOON is currently available for streaming on Amazon Prime, Tubi, PlutoTV, and Plex.

Happy Birthday, Jimmy Page & thanks for the DEATH WISH II soundtrack!

Posted on by Bradley Crain

I’m a movie guy more than a music guy, but I still love Jimmy Page. His soundtrack for DEATH WISH II has been a part of my entire life. It’s such a strange, unique score, but it seems to work perfectly for the movie. I was only around 10 years old when I first saw an “edited for TV” version of the movie in ‘83 or ‘84. To be completely honest, the music kinda scared me. I laugh when I type that now, but it’s the truth! Parts of the soundtrack were rearranged again a few years later for DEATH WISH 3, the Charles Bronson movie I’ve watched more than any other.

Happy Birthday, Mr. Page!! Thanks so much for being Michael Winner’s neighbor and composing that soundtrack. This guy from Arkansas truly appreciates it!

I’ve attached a link to the soundtrack below for your listening pleasure!

A FAMILY THING (1996) – Robert Duvall & James Earl Jones are brothers!

Posted on by Bradley Crain

Just for the hell of it, I went on a little Robert Duvall marathon for his birthday on January 5th. I started the marathon off with his superior western with Kevin Costner, OPEN RANGE (2003). Next up was Duvall’s excellent crime film with Joe Don Baker and Robert Ryan, THE OUTFIT (1973). Duvall was in badass mode in this one. Based on one of Richard Stark’s “Parker” books, this was my first time to watch the film and damn, it was excellent. After that, I watched the bleak THE ROAD (2009), starring Viggo Mortensen, where Duvall just had a small part. It was a downer. I finished off the marathon late in the evening with A FAMILY THING (1996). I remember when this movie came out in the 1990’s because it was co-written by Billy Bob Thornton. Thornton was still a year away from his massive success with the movie SLING BLADE, but I knew him from his writing and co-starring in the superior crime film ONE FALSE MOVE (1991), as well as his small role in TOMBSTONE (1993). As an Arkansan, I knew Thornton was from Arkansas so I had taken a particular interest in him. But I was only 22 years old when A FAMILY THING was released, and a movie about a couple of old guys resolving family issues didn’t seem that appealing to me. As a guy into his 50’s, the entire concept seems more interesting to me now, so I gave it a spin for the first time to close out the marathon.

The story opens up in rural Arkansas with Earl Pilcher Jr. (Robert Duvall) getting the shock of his life when his beloved mother writes a final letter to him and instructs her local pastor to deliver it a few days after her death. The letter tells Earl that his biological mother was a black woman named Willa Mae who died in childbirth. It seems that Earl’s dad had gotten Willa Mae pregnant, and since he came out white, his “mother” was able to raise him as her own without having to tell him the truth. The letter also tells him that he has a half-brother named Ray Murdock (James Earl Jones) living in Chicago. It’s her dying wish that he meet Ray and get to know him as family. Pissed at his dad, and wanting to honor his mom, Earl heads to Chicago to meet Ray. Earl knows that Ray is a cop so he’s able to track him down. They immediately don’t like each other, but through a variety of circumstances, Earl ends up staying at Ray’s house for a couple of days. While there, he meets Ray’s wise, old Aunt T., Willa Mae’s sister (Irma P. Hall) and his sullen son Virgil (Michael Beach). Will the two men continue to push each other away, or will they eventually find the family connection that exists under all that messy past? 

I was surprised how deeply I was affected by A FAMILY THING. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t get teary-eyed a couple of times. The movie may use issues of adultery and racism to get the ball rolling, but more than anything else, it seems to understand that life is messy and that people are messy. We’ll disappoint ourselves, we’ll disappoint other people, and other people will disappoint us. There’s a reason that many people find their love in dogs and cats instead of people, because real relationships can be tough. The truth about my own life is that I could not have appreciated this film in 1996 at only 22 years of age. I was too naive. That’s no longer the case in 2025, and I can now truly relate to this story of two men who share a painful history, find common ground, and decide it’s worth moving forward together because family really does matter.

A movie like A FAMILY THING has no chance of working without a great cast, and this movie is a thespian jackpot. Robert Duvall is spot on perfect as the good ole guy from Arkansas, with a little bit of a racism engrained down deep into his soul, who now has to deal with the fact that he is half black. The scene where he confronts his dad about the lies that had been told to him all his life is as good as it gets. James Earl Jones matches Duvall in the even trickier role as the man who has always known about his “white” half brother Earl. This man has buried his hatred away for Earl’s father for decades, who he blames for the death of his own mother, and now has to deal with those feelings being dredged back up to the surface when Earl shows up in Chicago. Jones perfectly balances his character’s desire to keep the past in the past, with his decency as a man who doesn’t want to just throw Earl out on the street. He eventually softens towards him no matter how much bitterness he has for Earl’s dad. And neither Duvall or Jones even give the best performance in the film. That honor goes to Irma P. Hall as the blind, but extremely perceptive Aunt T. She sees through all of their bullshit, as she states to each of them on different occasions, and encourages them to get to know each other because they’re family. As they play games of racism and bitterness, she reminds them they are brothers no matter the color of their skin. It’s the performance of a lifetime and was at least worthy of an Oscar nomination in my opinion. 

Overall, A FAMILY THING may compress the amount of time and potential therapy it would take to resolve the type of family history presented here, but it does find a certain truth in the power of relationships. Earl and Ray don’t have to recognize the fact that they are brothers. As a matter of fact their lives are just fine without each other. But it’s their willingness to embrace the messy truth and find a way to connect with each other that makes the movie meaningful to me! 

Here’s the trailer for A FAMILY THING.

SHANE (The TV Series) – Episode 2: The Hant (aired September 17th, 1966)

Posted on by Bradley Crain

Shane (David Carradine) is awakened in the night by the sound of someone outside his bunk. He sees an old man (John Qualen) looking in the window. He grabs his gun and gets outside in time to see the old man driving off over the ridge in a horse drawn buggy. The next morning Shane is telling Mr. Starett (Tom Tully), Marian (Jill Ireland) and Joey (Chris Shea) about what had happened during the night. At this point, Shane seems unsure if it was even real. They muse that it may have been a “hant,” or a ghost.

Shane takes Joey to Grafton’s General store. While he’s trying on some new leather boots, he accidentally bumps into a drunk cowboy (Carl Reindel) causing his whiskey to spill. The drunk confronts Shane. Shane is able to beat up the cowboy without having to kill him. And then the same old man from the night before comes in and just looks at every man in the bar. He appears to be searching for someone. He comes up to Shane and says, “You’re Shane.” Shane doesn’t remember the old man, and the old man just turns and leaves. 

That night, Marian, unable to sleep walks outside and sees Shane talking to the old man. Shane tells her he’s an old friend that she should go back to bed. Shane invites him into his bunkhouse. That night the old man tells Shane that he killed his son 4 years earlier in Black Falls, CO. He even shows Shane a picture of his son. Shane doesn’t remember him at first. As he looks at the picture, he begins to have short flashbacks of the young man. He’s eventually able to remember the entire exchange with the young man in a saloon in Colorado. He did kill the man, but it was in self defense. He tells the old man that he did kill his son and that he’s sorry. He tells him that it was either his son or him, and that’s the only reason he killed him. Shane then asks the old man what he wants…. I won’t spoil it for you, but the answer was surprising! 

Episode 2 is all about Shane being haunted by his past. David Carradine does the heavy lifting as his character tries to come to terms with the fact that he’s killed so many men that he can’t even remember them all. He even considers leaving the Starett ranch because he’s concerned that other people could show up in the future wanting to get vengeance on him. Old man Starett isn’t involved in the action at all in this episode. Marian is mostly there to encourage Shane to not be so hard on himself. There is a scene where he puts a blanket on her when he’s about to leave the ranch for good. She’s sleeping and takes Shane by the hand like she’s touching her husband’s hand. It will be interesting to see how far the series takes their relationship, but that will be for another episode. And Joey is not very involved outside of telling the family about Shane kicking the drunk cowboy’s butt early in the episode. I could hear “Linus” a little bit in his voice since I know that he would be voicing the character that same year in “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.” That was pretty cool. John Qualen is good in his guest starring role as the old man whose son was killed by Shane in the past. Qualen has been in so many TV shows and movies in his career going back to the early 30’s. He’s a very recognizable actor. 

All in all, I thought this was a solid episode. There was some real tension built up at the end of the when Shane is confronted again by that same drunk cowboy, and I was a little surprised by the resolution. 

#MondayMuggers – Why NIGHT OF THE RUNNING MAN (1995)?

Posted on by Bradley Crain

Every Monday night at 9:00 Central Time, my wife Sierra and I host a “Live Movie Tweet” event on X using the hashtag #MondayMuggers. We rotate movie picks each week, and our tastes are quite different. Tonight, Monday January 6th, we’re watching NIGHT OF THE RUNNING MAN, starring Scott Glenn, Andrew McCarthy, and John Glover.

In a nutshell, this movie is about a Las Vegas cab driver (McCarthy) who discovers a million dollars of stolen money in his cab. He is then tracked by a relentless and cold-blooded assassin (Glenn) sent to retrieve the money.

So why did Sierra pick NIGHT OF THE RUNNING MAN, you might ask? Well I asked her and she said, “I like that guy, Andrew McCarthy.” And that was it! I do remember watching the first hour or so of this movie on cable TV late one night about 25 years ago or so. I remember thinking it was pretty good prior to falling asleep. I’ve always liked Scott Glenn, even though he was a jerk in URBAN COWBOY. He’s a pretty vicious killer here so that should be fun. And John Glover is one of those guys I just enjoy seeing pop up in any movie. His bad guy in 52 PICK-UP is one of my all time favorite villains. Plus, this was directed by Mark L. Lester, the director of TRUCK STOP WOMEN, ROLLER BOOGIE, CLASS OF 1984, and COMMANDO. That’s quite a variety of flicks! And hell, it will be nice for me to see how the movie ends after all these years.

So join us tonight to for #MondayMuggers and watch NIGHT OF THE RUNNING MAN. It’s on Amazon Prime, as well as Tubi and Freevee.

DEATH WISH – It’s a wonderful life…at least it has been for me!

Posted on by Bradley Crain

Over the next 5 days, I will discuss Charles Bronson’s DEATH WISH series in chronological order. This series has brought me countless hours of entertainment over the last 40 years, so enjoy and let me know your thoughts!

“Don’t ever make a death wish, because a death wish always comes true!” – I’ve always thought this was kind of a corny saying on the original DEATH WISH trailer, but as one of the world’s biggest Charles Bronson fans, I still hold the original DEATH WISH (1974) in extremely high regard. This is the 70’s revenge classic that made Bronson a box office superstar in his home country, while simultaneously influencing the way vengeance was depicted on screen for decades to come. DEATH WISH is one of the most underrated and influential films from a decade that was full of great films.  

If you’re reading this review, I’d be about 99% positive that you know the basic story of the film. Charles Bronson plays Paul Kersey, a conscientious objector whose wife is killed and whose daughter is raped by a group of criminal thugs in New York City. When the police are incapable of providing justice, Kersey turns into a sidewalk vigilante and stalks the streets and subways of New York, luring thugs to mug him so he can shoot them with his 32-caliber Colt Police Positive pistol. Vincent Gardenia plays detective Frank Ochoa, who’s put in charge of finding the vigilante and putting an end to his one-man mission of justice.  

It’s been 50 years since DEATH WISH was released into theaters and it’s hard to fathom just how controversial the film was in its time, especially since I wasn’t even 1 year old when it was released. The graphic rape scene that kicks off the events of the film, combined with the vigilante subject matter, turned off so many big stars, including Jack Lemmon, Henry Fonda and George C. Scott. This opened up the door for Charles Bronson who didn’t have any such misgivings. They just didn’t understand what a nerve the film would touch with the filmgoing public, who were tired of their cities being overrun by violent criminals. The movie became an audience participation movie unlike any others of the time with cheering in the seats every time Kersey offed another criminal. The controversial film became one of the top box office hits of the year and the biggest of Bronson’s career. 

DEATH WISH was the fourth of six films directed by Michael Winner and starring Charles Bronson. In typical Winner fashion, the film has some strange touches, but the director is extremely effective in building the motivation for vigilante justice that was required for the film to thrive. He handles the action sequences well, and his cast is outstanding. Bronson & Gardenia are perfect in the lead roles, and the lovely Hope Lange has the brief, infamous role as Kersey’s brutalized wife. Stuart Margolin is especially memorable as the Arizona businessman who gives Kersey his gun. There are also a number of actors in small roles who were not well known when the movie was made who would go on to successful film careers. The biggest is Jeff Goldblum who has the most memorable role of the three muggers who attack Kersey’s wife and daughter at the beginning of the film. It’s a brief, but no holds barred performance for sure. Oscar winning actress Olympia Dukakis has a small role as a cop who expresses her frustration about the amount of leg work expected of her by Detective Ochoa. And finally, Christopher Guest has one scene as a young cop who finds the wounded vigilante and recovers his gun.  

On a personal note, this film holds a special place in my heart as the first Charles Bronson film I ever saw. It was probably in 1984 or ‘85, and I stayed up with my dad to watch the late movie on our local TV station. The movie happened to be DEATH WISH. As bad things were happening to Kersey’s family at the beginning of the film, my dad told me not to worry, that “Charles would get them.” That intrigued me and let me know that Bronson had a reputation that preceded him. From that point forward, I wanted to rent a Charles Bronson film every time we went to the video store. And the rest, as they say, is history!

BONUS: The definitive book about the DEATH WISH film series was written by my friend, author and film historian Paul Talbot. The name of the book is BRONSON’S LOOSE: THE MAKING OF THE DEATH WISH FILMS. If you have any interest in Charles Bronson, the DEATH WISH series or Cannon Films, I can’t recommend Paul’s books more highly.