nemtuskii

The Leprechaun saga has earned a reputation for bringing humor to profoundly bizarre situations. Leprechaun 5: In The Hood certainly leaves this reputation intact. A trio of down-on-their-luck inner city rappers (Butch, Postmaster P, Stray Bullet) finds that breaking into the 'show' isn't quite as easy as they make it look on MTV. They have about as much success in the recording industry as the rotund Butch has with women. That ain't much. Their luck seems to change when Ice-T's sinister Mack Daddy character offers to help the trio with their career. Little do they know, there's more to Mack Daddy than meets the eye. After a tense confrontation with the eponymous Leprechaun, he manages to escape with his life. However, a Leprechaun can hold a grudge for a long time. And when Butch, Postmaster P, and Stray Bullet find out that Mack Daddy is in possession of one of the Leprechaun's magic charms, the inevitable five-way confrontation in the 'hood' is set to begin. Things don't go well for the rappers. Between making a stunning guest appearance in a house of God and fighting Leprechaun to the death, these hip-hop hopefuls undergo a humiliating trek in their effort to break out of the ghetto. While an unfortunate red-herring subplot hints that the rappers (and by extension, the Leprechaun) are headed for Vegas, the comic relief they bring to Leprechaun 5: In the Hood is welcome. Not that Warwick Davis has any trouble chewing scenery like he was feasting on the remains of the Leprechaun's overmatched adversaries. At last, his Leprechaun is encouraged to trade rhymes with his opponents, all the while wreaking havoc as only he can. This is one Leprechaun you don't want around your 'hood.' I felt that the film's weakest point was Ice-T's performance as 'Mack Daddy.' I've seen Ice as a New Jack Hustler, and I've seen him as an Original Gangsta. While he certainly brings a measure of restraint to the role of heavy, there was no way his rough-and-tumble street ways were going to outshine the over-the-top hamminess of Warwick Davis' Leprechaun. Leprechaun 5: In the Hood is a welcome addition to the Leprechaun franchise. Don't listen to the pundits who criticize the excesses and outright incongruities common to all straight-to-video camp. Sorcery and magic shamrocks aside, this movie shows how dangerous it can be when two totally different worlds crash straight into each other.

If you're familiar with Italian siren Carmen diPietro you'll want to check out this stock car racing/love triangle/morality tale focusing on the trials and tribulations of two hotshot auto racers and the women who love them. The track at Indy may get plenty scorched, but you've never seen it any hotter than this. Witness the dangers awaiting an up-and-coming racer who chooses success on the track over bedroom fun with a too-friendly spectator (played by Carmen DiPietro), whose physical attentions are really just a cover for the machinations of her bosses, crooked businessmen out to exploit the race car industry for their own personal gain. Hard-driving excitement and high-octane suspense are headed your way when you get behind the wheel of a copy of 'I ragazzi dell'autodromo.' Fasten your seatbelts because there are dangerous curves on this racetrack.