refinedsugar

The first two 'Asian Beauties' are very much bare bones titles. Good news is things have improved ever so slightly visually here in '3'. It mildly hits the spot and primarily because the segments move at a better pace. No intro, cheap title card and straight into the first scene.

"Kristen" poses in her black & purple bra, panties while standing in a tub that I swear I've seen used before in another title. It doesn't waste huge amounts of time as topless happens within a minute of stripping down and fully nude soon after (5 mins). "Na Chan" in a see thru top has her boobs visible right away and then comes off a minute later. Nice shots of her butt, but also an attempt to keep the kitty off camera. An outdoor shower for sights of her soaped up follows (8 mins).

"Lynn Thomas" the former PH Pet, PB Playmate strips indoors from a yellow bikini. Few semi-spicy shots as she twists around on a bench or laying on the floor here (5 mins). "Keeani" in pink lingerie strips as she stands or takes to a couch. Nothing explicit, but definitely nice shots down below (6 mins). "Debra" is a floral teddy strips down stopping first at her boobs before the rest in slow fashion. Not as spicy as previous, but decent (7.5 mins).

"Teanna" in a gold & black bustier & panties poses in a living room. Lots of closeups of her pretty face and butt in the first two minutes. I would have loved nudity to have come sooner, but at least a second half has good pieces many times in closeup (7 mins). "Francine" Dee is a model I've seen a few times over multiple titles and it's hard not to notice her huge boobs on such a tiny frame. That's the name of the game here outdoors at least initially in a hot pink bikini. Lots of twirling around lets you soak up her pretty face, body for an entire three minutes before topless. Then its a mix which allows for decent shots (10 mins).

'Asian Beauties 3' is quite honestly what should have been the blueprint from the start. Ladies get naked quickly or at least scenes have been edited better and you're seeing their full body being shown off. This third entry is pretty solid. One more rare win for JMH Productions.

Don't get me wrong I've enjoyed 'Poolhall Junkies' each and every time I've seen it. However that doesn't mean we can't be honest too about a story short on intelligence, content to waste time on side characters and stacked full of cliches. Critics ravaged this movie when it came out perhaps for just cause, but if you enjoy the game of pool and/or sports movie formula with known faces, snappy dialog there's enough solid pieces to make it worth your time.

Johnny (Mars Callahan) at a very young age is a prodigy at pool and has dreams of going pro. However what he doesn't realize is backer, substitute father Joe (Chazz Palminteri) doesn't have his best interests at heart. Flash forward to present day as Johnny (a very skilled hustler) finally gets the truth as he breaks free from not only Joe but the game itself. However between difficulties working a normal job, walking the straight & narrow and younger brother Danny (Michael Rosenbaum) he finds himself right back at it. Danny has inadvertently gotten mixed up with Joe and his new pro / hustler Brad (Rick Schroder) leading to one last big showdown.

Mars Callahan does well shouldering the responsibility of the main character. From his acting, attitude to his pool playing its all solid. Of course this was his baby from top to bottom which he also co-wrote, directed. Issues about the plot I'll go into later, but I'll state the obvious that big names Chazz, Christopher Walken add a lot of weight. Dare I say come close to stealing the movie. Unfortunately Alison Eastwood is stuck with the girlfriend "who doesn't approve of pool" cliche one note role. Rosenbaum while he injects energy into his part is also saddled with being stupid for stupid sakes to advance the plot. Much like fellow actors in Phillip Glasser, Anson Mount and Ernie Reyes Jr who play friends. Quite honesty they have some real stinkers for dialog aside from too much consideration being spent on them.

Walken is the gf's wealthy uncle supplying his usual fun nature, cute pieces of dialog. Plus he gets to conveniently act as Johnny's bigtime backer in the final frame. Given a killer speech you'd think was tailor made for him. Rod Steiger is here in his last role as the owner of their local poolhall. He's supposed to add heart, but for most of the movie he's just kinda there until (again) the ending where he's fed pointless dialog to be given a purpose. Chazz does the villain of the piece great getting a speech too. Like me you might find logic falling by the wayside if you start thinking about how long it took Johnny to put 2+2 together. Plus cliches 'a plenty once Danny is tangled up with Joe. Leaving Rick displaying a cold & detached style of character like he put to good use during his run on 'NYPD Blue'.

'Poolhall Junkies' is a pic I return to every couple of years and it always remains fun. I won't lie and say a pile of cliches and poor pieces to its story don't standout worse over time because they do, but Mars is solid and he's backed up by fine work from Chazz and Walken. Whenever you just play pool now and then or love the game this does it justice.

Make no mistake, 'Nightmare at Noon' is a bad movie. However your enjoyment of it is going to come down to how much you love a cast who never said no to appearing in cheese for a paycheck, a story heavy on wacky action yet short on intelligence. Plus almost a carbon copy of 'Mutant' which both Bo Hopkins, Wings Hauser did four years earlier to better effect is some regards.

Married couple Ken (Hauser), Cheri (Kimberly Beck) are driving thru rural America as tourists when they pickup hitchhiker Reilly (Hopkins) and then their RV breaks down. Stuck in a small Utah town (population <1000) unbeknownst to them they're now part of an experiment. The town's water supply has been tainted possibly by government agents lead by an Albino scientist (Brion James) so those who drink it become crazy violent almost subhuman. Banding together for survival with the local Sherriff (George Kennedy) can these folks stay alive?

What starts out as a slight spin on the zombie formula sticks to routine for the first two thirds whilst in town. Quickly figuring out something's not right then its cast either get turned or take out the green blooded freaks. Few gun battles, car stunts & explosions, even flamethrowers come into play. However by the time we reach the desert for a final showdown it's far from great. A well shot, but rather pointless bit of helicopters dualing and a way too pat ending considered what happened that also leaves you feeling like "what was the point then?".

With Wings having just recently passed away you can give 'Nightmare at Noon' a viewing for him or for the bad movie lovers out there just watch it for the obvious. It's more escapist action than true horror with a tiny bit of government conspiracy tacked on. A lack of logic, stupid characters annoyed me, but if you know what you're getting into you might enjoy what it has to offer.