Chad’s Pick: Craig R. Baxley edition
If you get an opportunity this week, take a couple of hours and spend some time with one of the most underrated action directors of the 80’s/early 90’s Craig R. Baxley. He was the director behind such films as Action Jackson, Stone Cold, and a little movie that I will never forget featuring former Duke basketball star Jay Bilas (I’m a Duke fan…sorry) called I Come In Peace. I know Brain will agree with me that Action Jackson is a ton of awesomeness and Stone Cold is a top 10 action movie of mine all time so you owe it to yourself to watch one of these films soon if you haven’t seen them. So do yourself a favor and jump on the Baxley bandwagon approximately 25 years too late.
All Synopses via imdb.com
Action Jackson: Jericho “Action” Jackson is a Detroit police sergeant who was demoted from lieutenant for almost tearing the arm off of sexually violent sociopath Sean Dellaplane, whose father is Peter Dellaplane, a major car manufacturer. But Dellaplane himself is violent as well. Dellaplane kills his wife Patrice by shooting her. And then he plants her body in Jackson’s apartment, framing Jackson. Dellaplane won’t miss Patrice very much, because he has a drug-addicted mistress named Sydney Ash. He keeps Sydney hooked with a free supply of heroin. Jackson suspects Dellaplane of masterminding a murder spree against local officials from the auto workers’ union. Dellaplane’s mission is to gain a political power base and choose the next president of the United States. Because of what happened to Dellaplane’s son Sean, Dellaplane has taken a particular dislike to Jackson. Jackson gets Sydney’s help in going after Dellaplane.
Dark Angel/I Come In Peace: Jack Caine (Dolph Lundgren) is a Houston vice cop who’s forgotten the rule book. His self-appointed mission is to stop the drugs trade and the number one supplier Victor Manning. Whilst involved in an undercover operation to entrap Victor Manning, his partner gets killed, and a sinister newcomer enters the scene… Along with F.B.I. agent Lawrence Smith, the two investigate a spate of mysterious deaths; normal non-junkies dying of massive heroin overdoses and bearing the same horrific puncture marks on the forehead. This, coupled with Caine’s own evidence, indicates an alien force is present on the streets of Houston, killing and gathering stocks of a rare drug found only in the brain… Caine is used to fighting the toughest of criminals, but up to now they’ve all been human…
Stone Cold: Joe Huff (Brian Bosworth) is a tough, go-it-alone cop with a flair for infiltrating dangerous biker gangs. The FBI blackmail Joe into an undercover operation to convict some extremely violent bikers who are angry at the capture of their leader.
