Monthly Archives: March 2023

DELTA FORCE COMMANDO (1987) AND TEN ZAN: THE ULTIMATE MISSION (1988)

delta force commando mark in foregroundDELTA FORCE COMMANDO (1987) – Balladeer’s Blog’s salute to cult icon Mark Gregory continues, with two movies that proved he could be just as dynamic as the villain as he was playing the hero, like in his other action flicks. Previously, I’ve reviewed Mark’s two movies in which he played the post-apocalypse/ dystopian biker Trash in 1990: The Bronx Warriors and Escape from the Bronx, plus his Thunder Warrior trilogy of Rambo knockoffs, and even his quasi-peplum Adam and Eve vs the Cannibals in which, as Adam, he fought dinosaurs, cavemen and green-skinned cannibals.

mark g picBecause Italian filmmakers were always Enzo-on-the-spot with cash-in imitations of mainstream movie hits, it was inevitable that they would produce flicks coat-tailing on the popularity of Delta Force. Mark Gregory’s screen presence in Delta Force Commando reminded me of what a shame it is that he walked away from his acting career in 1989, just when he was at the peak of his game and his earnings. If only he’d signed up with Cannon films then.

I’ve long felt that if Mark had held on into the 90s, he might have turned up as either heroes or villains in movies made by Quentin Tarantino or Robert Rodriguez, and, in the 21st Century, as a player in one of the Expendables movies. Again, as either a good guy or a bad guy.

mark gregory in dfcHell, in Delta Force Commando, Mr. Gregory spices up the schlock as the main villain, even though his character is never even given a name! Hey, that’s Italian exploitation cinema for ya!

Villain X, as I’ll call Mark’s character (at right), has a much shorter haircut than usual and dresses like a Miami Vice or Scarface ’83 gangster in his first several scenes.

Villain X, who has scarring on the lower left side of his face, speaking of the Pacino movie, leads a covert mark aiming weaponteam of communist commandos from Nicaragua in a daring raid on a military base in Puerto Rico. Villain X and his team succeed in making off with a nuclear bomb despite a few firefights, one of which kills the pregnant wife of Delta Force member Lieutenant Tony Turner (Brett Baxter Clark). Continue reading

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NEWS ROUNDUP: MARCH SIXTH

It’s time for another news roundup from Independent Voter site Balladeer’s Blog.

media biasTHE DEMOCRAT MEDIA OUTLETS THE WASHINGTON (Jeff Bezos) POST AND ROLLING STONE FORCED TO CORRECT THEIR LIES ABOUT AN FBI WHISTLEBLOWER EXPOSING THE FAKE “INSURRECTION” NONSENSE. Propaganda is too kind a word for the corporate media, it doesn’t matter if it’s the Post and Stone on one end or Fox News on the other.

DEMOCRAT CHUCK SCHUMER ACCEPTED THE MOST CONTRIBUTIONS FROM BLOATED TYCOONS AT AND AFFILIATED WITH PLUTOCRATIC BLACKROCK. It’s life here in the Biden Regime’s corporate fascist kleptocracy.

biden mocking fentanyl deathsA TERRIFIC THREAD REGARDING MSNBC’S LIES. All the news outlets are biased in favor of one political party or the other. Why do Democrats still try to pretend that outlets which pander to THEIR preconceived notions “tell the truth?”

DEMOCRAT CHUCK SCHUMER CALLS FOR GOVERNMENT CONTROL OF OPPOSITION PARTY BROADCASTS. Because of course he does. But he sees nothing wrong with Democrat control of NPR and PBS. More HERE. And HERE. Continue reading

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2023 COLLEGE BASKETBALL POSTSEASON CONTINUES

NAIA

charlie_toughOREDIGGERSFRONTIER CONFERENCE: CHAMPIONSHIP GAME – The MONTANA TECH OREDIGGERS and the PROVIDENCE UNIVERSITY ARGONAUTS clashed in this conference title game. Points flew like shrapnel as the Orediggers led 62-55 at Halftime, then defeated the Argonauts by a Century Club final score of 103-95. Asa Williams notched 23 points to lead Montana Tech. * THE OREDIGGERS ARE FRONTIER CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS *

dordt defenders logoGREAT PLAINS ATHLETIC CONFERENCE: CHAMPIONSHIP GAME – In this title tilt the DORDT UNIVERSITY DEFENDERS faced the UNIVERSITY OF JAMESTOWN JIMMIES. At the Half, the score was knotted up at 42-42, and from there the underdog Defenders managed some separation from the Jimmies for an 86-81 victory. Jacob Vis led Dordt University with 21 points. * THE DEFENDERS ARE GPAC CHAMPIONS * Continue reading

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CONCLUSION: ADAM WARLOCK VS THE MAGUS

This weekend’s escapist superhero blog post will present the final 4 parts of the 1970s clash between Adam Warlock, who is coming up in the next Guardians of the Galaxy movie, and the Magus, evil head of a thousand-planet empire. For the first 3 parts, click HERE

adam w by flemingPART FOUR

Strange Tales #181 (August 1975)

Title: 1,000 CLOWNS

NOTE: The writer dedicated this issue to the brilliant Steve Ditko, “Who gave us all a different reality” and it’s drawn largely in the style of Ditko’s early Doctor Strange stories.

Get ready for “Adam Warlock Meets The Prisoner.” The title 1,000 Clowns is obviously a reference to the Herb Gardner play (and later movie) A Thousand Clowns. Gardner’s play dealt with a happy non-conformist forced to try to fit in with “normal”, conventional society for family reasons. 

The title and the theme of nonconformity may come from Gardner’s play but this installment of The Magus almost seems as if it’s an episode of the 1967 Patrick McGoohan series The Prisoner (previously examined here at Balladeer’s Blog). Adam’s resistance to conditioning by the Universal Church of Truth puts one in mind of the Prisoner’s resistance to the Villagekeepers. The surreal, off-kilter presentation is also reminiscent of that program.   

Adam WarlockSynopsis: Adam Warlock has come to after his lapse into unconsciousness caused by the trauma of his Soul Gem’s theft of Kray-Tor’s soul at the end of last issue. He has awakened into a bizarre alternate reality with walkways and small islands of matter floating in an endless sky. Bizarre symbols and designs ornament the skyscape like imagery from an acid trip. Continue reading

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MARCH THIRD NEWS ROUNDUP

Independent Voter site Balladeer’s Blog presents another look at current events.

biden is a train wreckSENATE HEARINGS ARE EXPOSING EVEN MORE OF THE POLITICAL BIAS OF THE BIDEN REGIME’S DOJ. They target only dissent and aid only the regime’s cronies.

CALLOUS AND UNCARING BIDEN LAUGHS AT A MOTHER WHO LOST HER SONS TO FENTANYL FROM BIDEN’S STILL OPEN SOUTHERN BORDER. More HERE. When his predecessor did far less it caused apocalyptic headlines for weeks.

AND YET ANOTHER DEMOCRAT OFFICE HOLDER – THIS TIME A MAYOR – ARRESTED ON CHILD PORN CHARGES, INCLUDING DISTRIBUTING. Democrats, can you please leave children alone?

CONGRESS CALLS OUT BIDEN’S DISASTROUS POLICIES AND THE INFLATION THEY CAUSE. Joe Biden’s war on the working class and the poor continues.

democrat hypocrisy continuesDEMOCRAT MOB STORMS THE CAPITOL AND INTERFERES WITH CONGRESSIONAL FUNCTION. When non-Democrats do such things, Democrats call it an “insurrection” (LMAO).

CLUELESS, OUTDATED AND UTTERLY USELESS REPUBLICAN PARTY STILL PREFERS WHINING TO KEEPING UP WITH THEIR OPPONENTS IN THE MEDIA ARMS RACE.

Continue reading

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1990: THE BRONX WARRIORS AND ESCAPE FROM THE BRONX

1990 bronx warriors1990: THE BRONX WARRIORS (1982) – Spaghetti-pocalypse movies were to the 1980s what Spaghetti Westerns were to the 60s and 70s. Italian-made ripoffs of post-apocalypse and/or dystopian flicks like The Road Warrior and Escape From New York were everywhere back then.

Today, Balladeer’s Blog takes a look at two such movies that starred cult icon Mark Gregory, real name Marco De Gregorio. Years ago, I covered Mark as Adam in Adam and Eve vs the Cannibals. Last week I reviewed his Thunder Warrior trilogy of Rambo imitations, this week it’s the pair of films in which Mark played a dystopian man of action called … Trash.

Talk about making your hero’s name a joke right off the bat! He SHOULD have been called something like Vandal, which has much more panache and was more befitting of a character following in the footsteps of Mad Max and Snake Plissken.

1990 bronx warriors in italianThe story is set eight years in the future from its 1982 release and presented a crime-ridden New York City run by plutocratic corporations who have every politician in their pocket. So, just think of New York as it is right now.

Crime in the Bronx has become so out of control that the borough has been declared a No Man’s Land in which gangs and other criminals rule the streets and any law-abiding citizens are on their own. Most of the gangs have silly theme costumes like the gangs in The Warriors, so there’s some of that movie’s flavor in this, too. Continue reading

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COOL-NAMED SPORTS TEAM: FLORIDA STATE COLLEGE AT JACKSONVILLE

florida state collge at jacksonvilleCollege: FLORIDA STATE COLLEGE AT JACKSONVILLE

Team Name: BLUE WAVE

Location: Jacksonville, FL Continue reading

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