Bullet Points: East L.A. Warriors
It would be an interesting experiment to determine exactly when PM Entertainment hit their stride. After watching East L.A. Warriors, I think we can safely rule out 1989 as being that year…
- Bloody Birthday: The gang war between Los Lobos and The Boppers is out of control. Case in point, the birthday part for 13 year old Juanito turns into a blood bath when some of The Boppers do a drive by… killing two members of Los Lobos and a few innocent bystanders in the process including the birthday boy himself! The cops are growing frustrated, most of all Eddie Rodriguez (James Dalesandro, The Killing Zone), who grew up in East L.A. and with the gang banger way of life Back in Eddie’s day, someone actually dying as a result of a gang fight was a rarity since they fought with their hands not with guns. Eddie tries to get Miguel (the leader of Los Lobos) to tell him who did the drive by… Miguel isn’t talking. Eddie tries to get Paulo (who is Los Lobos adjacent, but not in the actual gang yet) to tell him… Paulo isn’t talking either.
- Born in East L.A.: The reason that Paulo (Kamar de los Reyes, Ghetto Blaster) sides with Los Lobos and the reason that Paulo has yet to jump in are one in the same. Paulo’s father and older brother were members of Los Lobos and both of them are long dead, so Paulo’s mother is vehemently against Paulo going down that same path. His mother’s objections don’t stop Paulo from rocking Los Lobos colors however as he cuts through Boppers turf to get to his restaurant job and on this particular day some Boppers spot him and kick his ass… it could have been worse, but Paulo is rescued by Aurelio (Tony Bravo).
- Later that Day: After his work day is over Paulo heads over to Aurelio’s house to thank him for saving his ass and to see if Aurelio can train him to fight. Aurelio sends him away… Paulo is persistent and asks once again when he spots Tony doing some martial arts training on the beach … Again Aurelio sends him away… This back and forth helps pad the runtime but eventually Aurelio relents and begins training young Paulo how to fight and in the process Aurelio learns something himself… Paulo is a natural leader and can be the one to change things in East L.A.
- I Was Told There Would Be Games in the Movie: Right from jump street as the opening credits play with establishing shots of Los Angeles, there is narration by local talk radio host The Blazer talking about a modern version of the Roman gladiator games that takes place ever few years in East L.A. when the gangs all declare a truce on the streets, but then compete in fights to death inside the ring. We even get a quick glimpse of one of the fights that seems to be first guy who gets to the gun wins… then for well over an hour we hear The Games this, The Games that, but where the hell are these Games!? At the one hour and nine minute mark, the lights are flipped on, the doors are opened and the gang bangers surround the ring it is finally time for the Games!
- Chesare’s Palace: It is fitting that the man who oversees the Games is named Chesare. Chesare was played by Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs, who really helped build the PM Entertainment foundation with his series of Jon Chance movies. It was a nice to see LHJ play the bad guy, because make no mistake about it… Chesare is not someone looking to make the streets of East L.A. safer, he has something to gain from the Games and by the end even ends up in an unannounced main event against Aurelio… and with that a beef that goes way back will finally be settled!
East L.A. Warriors was not PM’s finest hour, but there were glimmers of the greatness that was to come. The biggest highlight was Kamar de los Reyes, who stole the show. Kamar looked like a star, he carried himself like a star and I wish he would have had more opportunities with PM Entertainment when they really started rolling and could have been in their action hero rotation.
East L.A. Warriors is a movie I am likely never going to watch again. I couldn’t decide what was more low rent, the original PM Entertainment logo or the audio quality of the movie. But as a PM fan I am glad I watched another of their earlier efforts if nothing else to give me an even greater appreciation for their later work.
I am not sure I could have a greater appreciation for Bonus Bullet Points than I already do…
- Familiar Face: William Smith played Mr. Martelli, Paulo’s boss at the restaurant. I always think of Eye of the Tiger when I see William Smith, but Smith would actually do a few movies for PM including Deadly Breed and The Last Riders.
- One Out of Two Ain’t Bad: Once they got rolling PM Entertainment was synonymous with their vehicular mayhem and sexy content. There were no car chases in East L.A. Warriors but we did get to see some candle lit make up sex between Los Lobos leader Miguel and his old lady.
- Suggestion Box: Last month when I shared my What If PM Entertainment Had a Box Set? with my fellow PM Entertainment fans on Facebook, there was a comment, that I took in jest, about East L.A. Warriors being in my imaginary box set… which put the movie on my radar (but probably wouldn’t make the box set cut until we get up to Volume 4 or 5), so this one is for you Shane S. Seedy!
