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Director: John G. Avildsen

Starring: Ralph Macchio, Pat Morita, Elisabeth Shue, Martin Kove, William Zabka

Rocky director John Avildsen shows once again that he knows how to make audiences stand up and cheer, with this warm and charming screenplay by Robert Kamen, who would go to write such works as Gladiator and The Fifth Element. Memorable characters wonderfully portrayed have turned this gentle drama about a young man who learns life long values from a reluctant karate instructor into a classic. Macchio seems awkward with the physical aspects of his role, but this adds to his underdog persona, and there is some great, often imitated dialog (Wax on. Wax off, sound familiar?) and even some pretty cool martial arts scenes, all wrapped up in a believable story with some good 80’s tunes.

High Schooler Daniel Larusso (Macchio, who was 22 looking 17) has just moved to the land of sunshine from Newark, but meeting a cute girl, Ali (Elisabeth Shue) also gains him an enemy in her karate expert ex-boyfriend, Johnny (William Zabka) and all his Cobra Kai buddies. Life is rough for young Mr. Larusso until he is rescued by the elderly caretaker of his building, Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita in a career role), who besides being pretty handy with bonsai trees, turns out to be a little Okinawan ninja too. Who knew? Soon Mr Miyagi is using old time training methods to prepare Daniel to stand up to the bullies at the upcoming All Valley Under 18 Karate Championship. Can he do it?

The Karate Kid and its immortal characters have become an often spoofed comedy target, and for two simple reasons. Its good and its as memorable a motion picture as any you are likely to see. It did spin off a series of deteriorating sequels that got worse and worse, but the first pic is first rate.It looks a little dated now, but with an excellent classic story and a stellar script, this one is still worth taking a shot at.

Director: David Mamet

Starring: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Alice Braga, Joe Mantegna, Emily Mortimer, Ricky Jay, Tim Allen

I love a good martial arts film. The problem with kick flicks is that it is so damn hard to find a good one and all too easy to find bad ones, which actually have an appeal all of their own, of course, but I still prefer a good one, so when twice Oscar nominated writer/director David Mamet made this mysterious motion picture about a martial arts instructor trying to keep his principals in a world that now relies mainly on the government to provide our morality, I was glad to see it. Ejiofor is subdued, but effective in the lead and Mamet‘s favored stiff, rhythmic dialog style for his performers is thankfully downplayed here. Mamet’s story is slow but engrossing and full of secrets and twists combined with bursts of pretty good fight action all leading to an appealing ending with equal parts of originality and corniness.

Chiwetel Ejiofor is Mike Terry, a skilled and traditional martial arts instructor with a struggling school and an exasperated wife, played by Alice Braga who wants Mike to use his skills as a professional mixed martial arts competitor. Things get more complicated after an incident at the school involving a cop student and a distraught female visitor. Next, Mike finds himself defending a movie star in a bar fight and the game is on. The tricky story is not always convincing, but it is always interesting. Look for lots of familiar faces, from Mamet’s posse of favored performers, and the fight world celebrities like Randy Couture to Hollywood personalities, including Tim Allen who has a supporting role as the aforementioned movie star.

David Mamet’s clever writing is always worth a watch and Red Belt is no exception. Kung fu fans will be glad to see the genre return to the big screen and those dragged along with them will be pleasantly surprised by a film with a great deal of interest and entertainment value.