Digidreams German Mediabook Blu-ray Synopsis: After Clint Eastwood, Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzengger, he is now looking for his place in the ranks of the last action heroes of the present. Samantha Crain is a glamorous supermodel who has everything in life but true love. The path to that coveted life goal turns out to be unexpectedly dangerous for Samantha when she receives a package from her sister containing a rare lotus flower. According to legend, the flower's petals bestow infinite power on those who taste them. A group of powerful Shaolin monks, who follow Samantha and her involuntary gift, also believe in this. But Samantha is lucky when bouncer Ed Malloy enters her life to protect her from all dangers and to win her heart. (88 Mins)

 

UK DVD Synopsis: Sam Crain, a professional model, is asked by her sister to smuggle a package from Europe to Portland, Oregon where she discovers that her sister is battling Chinese Shaolin Monks. Fleeing the monks, Sam unwittingly draws Ed “Brainsmasher” Molloy, a nightclub bouncer into danger and he ends up rescuing Sam and her sister from the Shaolin's Ninjas. (84 Mins)

 

Medusa Pictures UK VHS Synopsis: He's Rambo, Superman and The Terminator all rolled into one magnificent, muscle-bound fighting machine. He never backs down and he eats bullies for breakfast. He's strong, he's brave, he's invincible. He's the bouncer with attitude, the toughest guy in town with a hard head and a soft heart – especially for beautiful young models in distress. He's Ed Malloy – The Brain Smasher! This raucous, outrageous action comedy stars America's hottest young comedian Andrew Dice Clay (star of 'The Adventures of Ford Fairlane') and the gorgeous Teri Hatcher (from TV's 'The New Adventures of Superman'), outwitting, outfitting and outrunning a gang of deadly Chinese ninjas in a thrill-a-minute story that will delight fans of wild adventure movies like 'Big Trouble In Little China'. Gasp in amazement as the Neanderthal Brain Smasher keeps the peace whileleaving his enemies in pieces. Laugh out loud at his feeble attempts to seduce the air-head model while trying to save the world from the ultimate weapon of destruction – a tiny red flower! The Brain Smasher... It's mind blowing. (84 Mins)

 

Views: Gifted with everything except true love, beautiful supermodel Samantha Cain receives a package from her sister – an 'Indian Jones' type of botanist who has sent a very rare lotus flower – and requests that Sam meets her with the flower in Portland, Oregon. At the same time, a group of evil Chinese Shaolin Monks (who are continuously protesting that they are not ninjas due to their choice of costume) also want to get their hands on the flower. They believe that, after eating its petals, that they will gain infinite power and immediately track Sam down to gain the lotus. But once in Portland, Sam hides out in a nightclub where she catches the attention of tough bouncer Ed Malloy – nicknamed the 'Brainsmasher' – who agrees to help her stay alive and reach her sister. But Malloy soon learns that there's a heavy price for love as he comes up against the 'ninjas' time and time again, fighting for their lives and proving why the call him the Brainsmasher!

 

I just adore Albert Pyun's insanely silly rom-com, and if there's one thing I really regret, it's having talked to him more about it when he was round for dinner. In 2012, I was lucky enough to have Albert and his wife Cynthia as guests of my event, the Yellow Fever Independent Film Festival, here in Belfast, where we got to premiere his newest film Road To Hell – which was his personal sequel to Streets Of Fire with Michael Pare. While that was an experience in itself, getting to enjoy his Q&A sessions and live-commentary of his Captain America Directors Cut, I have to admit that I more fondly remembered our time spent together talking about filmmaking – his films, my films, how we direct. I was extremely lucky to have that time with him and hear his stories, and found him to be an incredible inspiration which is why, the following year, I created the Albert Pyun Inspiration Award which we give away to one lucky filmmaker every year. Having started his film journey in Japan under the great Akira Kurasawa, Takao Saito, and Toshiro Mifune (who initially invited him), Albert has often received harsh criticism for his work, but has delivered some incredibly fun films throughout his career. These include his epic debut, The Sword & The Sorcerer, Radioactive Dreams, Dangerously Close, Captain America, Cyborg, Nemesis, Kickboxer 2 & 4, Dollman, and many more – including this, of course. While often seen as the creator of the American 'cyber-punk' genre, Albert had also been attached as the director of many incredible titles which never came to fruition such as Total Recall, He-man, Spider-man, and others. Unfortunately, only a year after we met, this amazing man was diagnosed with MS and dementia which slowly started to put a halt to his filmmaking and health – an incredibly sad end to an amazing career...

 

Before Brainsmasher: A Love Story, I had never heard of Andrew Dice Clay – nor did I rush out to find more of his work afterwards. While he most definitely suits the role of Ed Malloy, and delivers enough loud-mouthed comedy during his adventures, I can only imagine had Pyun had the budget behind him, that someone like Kurt Russell may have made this film much bigger than it actually was. But that would make sense, as Malloy is the Jack Burton of this film – and this film is, respectively, a low budget adventure in the vein of Big Trouble In Little China. Interestingly enough, the great Peter Kwong (who plays kung-fu master Rain in the aforementioned John Carpenter classic) plays one of the leading Shaolin Monk-ninjas, and does a fantastic job in the process. One of Hollywood's most popular American-Chinese actors, Kwong started in the business as a child actor before going on to star in television shows and films such as The Renegades, The Golden Child, Steele Justice, Angel Town, Ghost Rock, and Cooties. Equally, Yuji Okumoto does a great job as the head Shaolin Monk-ninja, Wu, and is a familiar face to martial-arts movie fans with roles in the likes of Albert Pyun's own Nemesis, Blast, Mean Guns, and films such as Robot Wars, American Yakuza, Bloodfist 5, Red Sun Rising, Sammo Hung's Martial Law, and more. I really enjoyed Teri Hatcher and Deborah Van Valkenburgh as the Cain sisters also. I love Valkenburgh! She's such a natural,and I've long been a fan of hers since her debut in Walter Hill's gang classic, The Warriors – one of my childhood favourites. Of course, soon after that came Streets Of Fire, another gem of a film to which Albert Pyun himself was a huge fan; hence his sequel I mentioned called Road To Hell, which saw her return. She works so well with Hatcher who plays her supermodel sister, and love interest of the Brainsmasher. The cheerleader-turned actress started life in the business as a television actress before some small film roles came calling. I'd say that her role here was probably one of her first in film as a lead actress, with the ever popular Lois & Clark: The New Adventures Of Superman making waves around the same period, making her role as Lois Lane one of her most recognised. Of course, over the years she has went on to star in a host of big titles including Seinfeld, Tomorrow Never Dies, Desperate Housewives, and the Supergirl television show. And finally, the late Brion James shows up as a fast talking detective who enjoys interrogating Hatcher until the 'ninjas' arrive. With over 170 credits to his name, James was a popular character actor who appeared in many favourites of both the small and big screen, such as Blade Runner, 48 Hours and its sequel, Flesh & Blood, Steel Dawn, Red Scorpion, and Pyun's own Nemesis, Hong Kong '97 and Spitfire, among others.

 

One thing I love about Brainsmasher: A Love Story is how it was shot; coming across like a late80s/early 90s music video for the most part (and in the most positive way). Cinematographer George Mooradian, who worked on films such as The Blues Brothers, Escape From New York, Dick Tracy, and most of Pyun's own titles, delivers a beautifully captured film enhanced by some gorgeous lighting and comic-book angles. These are even more noticeable in this German Blu-ray release is got, which allowed me to enjoy the film in its correct ratio for the first time and in full HD. Previously, I had only ever watched it via its UK release of both VHS and DVD in 4:3 ratio, so this experience was definitely the best and one I would most highly recommend. Albert's love for rock songs and live music is evident once again with a fun soundtrack and live-performance in the nightclub scene; which also sees the Chinese ninja's take-down the band members in hilarious fashion. I also think that the humour in Pyun's script was massively missed by most upon release, with a lot of its lines written and delivered like an old 1950s detective drama. But it works if you get it! In hindsight, this would have made for a fantastic remake with Jackie Chan or Sammo Hung in the mid-90s, although actually stands as Albert Pyun's most 'Hong Kong' looking movie to date with its aforementioned visuals, humour, and action. Dan Inosanto student and sifu Burton Richardson handles the fight choreography, and while it is still a far cry from the Hong Kong styled action most of us have adored for decades (although a style Albert told me he wasn't really a fan of himself in films), he still delivers a host of fun fights throughout. This would be Richardson's first job as fight-choreographer, having just came off Jeff Wincott's brilliant Mission Of Justice as a stunt-player. Burton would continue to choreograph for Pyun in Knights, Kickboxer 4, and Heatseeker, as well as other films such as Kickboxer 5: The Redemption, Fire Down Below, and Kate. In 2007, Richardson would make his starring and directorial debut in the martial-arts drama, One Percent Full – an 'American movie with a Filipino heart' as it claims, also starring Ronnie Ricketts; a popular Filipino actor/director who appeared in many Hong Kong titles for Philip Ko Fei. In Brainsmasher: A Love Story, the fights are both fun and funny, with some great acrobatics, moves and humour interlaced throughout – with one scene in particular having the gang of monks 'golf-clap' one of their men when he impresses with a tricky jump. It's all very tongue-in-cheek, but I love it and can only recommend this underrated action-comedy from Albert Pyun!

 

Overall: Played for laughs, wonderfully shot, and often hilarious, Brainsmasher: A Love Story is one of my favourite Albert Pyun movies and a lot of fun!

 

Digidreams Blu-ray Extras: Script, Press-pack, Artwork Gallery, Photo Gallery, Trailer