Category Archives: Martial Arts

Episode 106: New York Ninja (1984/2021)

Hello again!

We’re back with Erik’s pick this week, and we’re watching Vinegar Syndrome’s passion project, New York Ninja. This film was shot in 1984, and wasn’t completed until 2021. In the episode we dive into the interesting history behind this film, and the modern creation and resurrection of this lost gem. 

There’s a gang of thugs roaming the New York streets, quietly abducting women and selling them into international sex slavery. The ringleader of this operation is a maniacal murderer- ‘the Plutonium Killer’- and he has some VERY unusual abilities thanks to past radiation exposure via secret government experiments. If this sounds like a lot… it’s because it is. 

While witnessing one of the women being abducted on the streets, Nita Liu tries to interfere and is ultimately killed by the ruthless gang. After learning of the murder of his wife and unborn child, John becomes a vigilante in pursuit of justice and revenge.

After being thrust into the public eye by a local news crew, the masses dub John the “New York Ninja” and champion his vigilantism. His transformation into a folk hero is juxtaposed with severe disapproval by local law enforcement, who seem more intent on stopping John than making the gang of thugs pay for their crimes.

Will justice prevail? Will John take down this international crime cabal? Will we ever make sense of why the Plutonium Killer can inexplicably turn into other people? Join us on this episode to find out!

BUY NEW YORK NINJA FROM VINEGAR SYNDROME!!! NOW!!!

Episode 93: No Retreat No Surrender (1986)

Welcome back!
It was Erik’s turn to pick the flick this week, and he graced us with the 1986 teen karate movie, No Retreat, No Surrender- which (barely) stars Jean-Claude Van Damme in his second credited role. Bad Movie Sunday (@BadMovieSunday1) recommended this to us a while ago, and we are sooo glad we finally got around to it…

When the mob tries to strong-arm Tom into selling his dojo- which they plan to use as a front for their criminal activity- Tom resists and is badly beaten. He quickly decides to close the business, and relocates his family from sunny Los Angeles, all the way to Seattle. Injured and defeated, Tom swears off fighting for good. However, it’s not quite as easy for his son, Jason. Jason makes an enemy on their first day in the new neighborhood, which in turn ignites a rivalry between himself and the local dojo. With nowhere to turn, Jason prays to his idol, Bruce Lee for guidance… After which, the ghost of Bruce Lee promptly appears before him, ready to teach all of his martial arts secrets. CUE DOPE TRAINING MONTAGE!
Will Jason be able to harness the power he needs to get the girl, win over the dojo, and get revenge for his father by defeating the deadly Ivan Kraschinsky? Only one way to find out!

We spend a little time comparing this movie to the likes of Sidekicks, Breathing Fire, etc. We also discuss the sweet martial arts in this movie, how this was originally meant to be a porno flick, and why Jason’s dad is such a little bitch. Listen up!


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Episode 89: Ninja 3: The Domination (1984)

Hello again!

We’re back at it this week with a pick from Erik, and he selected 1984’s Ninja 3: The Domination. Also, in bizarre, experimental fun, we had our good friend, Victor, join us for the flick this week… and it was his very first B movie experience ever! We had fun destroying his innocence, and discussing this crazy-ass movie.

Ninja 3 follows a young woman named Chris, who is possessed by the spirit of an vengeful ninja, after a fateful encounter right before his death. The Black Ninja uses Chris as a vessel to seek vengeance on the police force that rightfully took his life- nearly destroying hers in the process. Her only hope seems to lie in the hands of the mysterious Yamada (played by Sho Kosugi), who shows up seeking to avenge the death of his master, and the loss of his left eye- both of which the Black Ninja took from him many years ago. Can Yamada exorcize the evil within her and defeat the Black Ninja once and for all?

This movie is a hilarious display of 80’s stereotypes, and we had a great time dissecting them. Also, Victor talks about his first B movie experience, we discuss how to get a date in the 80’s, and whether or not V8 is an aphrodesiac.

We also want to apologize to Bad Movie Sunday, who was planning on covering this flick next. Sorry to steal your thunder! But seriously, WE BLAME ERIK!

Listen up!

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Episode 88: Killing American Style (1990)

Aaaand we’re back. Flippin’ finally!

As some of you know, it’s been a rough month here at SCC… but after all the roadtrips, mountain-climbing, and hospital stays (not in that order), we are back and ready for action. We missed bad movies, and we missed every gosh damn one of you!
Tom picked the movie this week, and we watched the 1990 action flick, Killing American Style- directed by the one and only Amir Shervan. Tyler stopped by to watch this one with us- making it the third Shervan film we’ve covered on the show, and the second that Tyler has joined us for.

Killing American Style stars Robert Z’Dar as hardened criminal, Tony Stone, who -along with his partner, John Lynch- are on their way to prison for a failed heist. When Stone’s brother is shot in the process of helping them escape, they force their way into a nearby home and wait for help. The only problem is that the house belongs to all-American bad-ass/80s fashion victim, John Morgan. Morgan comes out strong but essentially becomes their errand boy for the entire movie, until finally he gets fed up and decides to unleash some good ol’ fashioned American whoop-ass on everyone! Hurray!

We discuss the obvious parallels between this and Shervan’s other films, including his bizarre perspective on American culture. We also discuss watermelon etiquette, bizarre set “design”, and lack of a solid goon game in this flick. We’re back!


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Episode 73: Breathing Fire (1991)

It was Tom’s pick this week and he used a bit of outside influence for his selection. The movie is 1991’s martial art, action, comedy Breathing Fire. Tom was merely a bystander on twitter when the The Bristol Bad Film Club (@TheOtherBBFC) tagged him in an image that Crap Film Clun (@CrapFilmClub) posted. About 5 minutes later Tom was sitting anxiously at his doorstep waiting for his newest eBay purchase to arrive. After it’s arrival, and with little to no expectation of the movie, it was put it on the television and allowed it into the hearts of Second Class Cinema. Tyler came on to watch this movie with us and as he states in this episode, this movie changed his life.

Listen up!

Special guest: Tyler
TylerRules

Can I get a pepperoni pizza but with no sauce or cheese? Oh also can you replace the pepperoni’s with 2 giant keys? That’s fine I’ll pay more.
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Episode 57: Revenge of the Ninja (1983)


Check out the whole movie here for free! Thanks Paramount!

It was Erik’s turn to pick the flick this week- naturally we ended up watching a ninja movie… We were in for a surprise, however, because 1983’s Revenge of the Ninja ended up being the best ninja flick we’ve seen to date.
After losing multiple family members to ninja violence (LOL), Cho swears off the ninja way, and he, his mother and his infant son, Kane, move from Japan to their new home in America. All is quiet for 6 years as Cho opens a successful art gallery and raises his son away from the violence of their homeland. That is until Cho discovers his business partner has been using their gallery as a front to sell heroin to the local mafia, who are not very happy with him… The thugs break into the gallery to steal the heroin, and kill Cho’s mother in the process. Cho must once again embrace the way of the ninja, and sets off on a vengeful path to save his son.
This movie is equal parts unintentional hilarity, and straight-up badassery. Listen up as we discuss the inventive kills, shoddy acting, and general awesomeness of this movie. We also briefly cover a First-Class Failure starring Billy Ray Cyrus, that we could barely tolerate 20 minutes of. Good times. Have you seen it? Is it worth finishing? Let us know!

Listen up

Best goon squad ever!
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Episode 35: 3 Ninjas: High Noon at Mega Mountain (1998) & Surf Ninjas (1993)


It’s still Kid’s Movie Month and we had ourselves a DOUBLE FEEEEATURE! It was ninja night here on Second Class Cinema as we watched both 3 Ninjas: High Noon at Mega Mountain and Surf Ninjas! Erik picked Surf Ninjas while we decided to pad out the ninja night with 3 Ninjas HNAMM as it’s been requested by multiple people. Tyler decided to come on by (who is ultimately getting the blame for 3 Ninjas) to help us to discuss these movies. Which one of these is ultimately the best ninjas movie for kids?

Don’t forget to check out http://www.fatfootfilms.com for some awesome short and feature length movies as well as a backlog of all of our episodes!

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Episode 34: Sidekicks (1992)


It’s still Kid’s Movie Months here and Tom chose the 1992 movie Sidekicks starring Johnathan Brandis and Chuck Norris!!! YAAAAAY!!! Special guest Eric comes on to help us with this childhood gem. Only by listening will you know how great Joe Piscopo really was in this movie.
And sponsoring the Kid’s Movie Month is none other than Fat Foot Films http://www.fatfootfilms.com! They’re pretty awesome people over there so you should check out their new feature length comedy How I Dumped My Ex-Boyfriends Body! Also coming soon to their site, the short 48hfp that Tom directed!

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