- Emilia Clarke vs The FBI in ABOVE SUSPICION [Trailer]
- Emilia Clarke vs The FBI in ABOVE SUSPICION [Trailer]
- Ben Wheatley Returns with IN THE EARTH [Trailer]
- Ben Wheatley Returns with IN THE EARTH [Trailer]
- Josh Hartnett is Memorable in Drug Drama INHERIT THE VIPER [Review]
- Cube Meets Saw in MEANDER Trailer from Mathieu Turi
- EIFF 2019: ANIARA is a Deeply Haunting Sci-Fi Experience [Review]
- BERLINALE 2021: TIDES Comes After Hell [Trailer]
- EIFF 2019: ANIARA is a Deeply Haunting Sci-Fi Experience [Review]
- Darkstar Pictures Announces Free Online Film Festival!
- Re: Occupation, Australian Sci Fi movie
- Slice of Life, Blade Runner inspired short
- Is Snowpeircer a sequel to Willy Wonka?
- Re: Yesterday
- Re: Yesterday
- Yesterday
- Re: White Night (or where do I get my 30 + from now?)
- Re: White Night (or where do I get my 30 + from now?)
- Re: White Night (or where do I get my 30 + from now?)
- Re: White Night (or where do I get my 30 + from now?)
- Don't Mess With the SCAVENGER [Trailer]
- BERLINALE 2021: TIDES Comes After Hell [Trailer]
- LUNATIQUE Director Returns with WASTELAND 3 Promo [Short Film]
- A Comet Destoys Earth in GREENLAND Trailer
- Interactive WAR OF THE WORLDS Adaptation Out Now!
- 8K Trailer for Train to Busan Sequel PENINSULA Drops Hard!
- Making a Bomb Shelter in a Funhouse is a Bad Idea in IMPACT EVENT [Trailer]
- Retro Slave: FOX's Post-Apocalyptic Sitcom WOOPS!
- TRAIN TO BUSAN Sequel PENINSULA Gets a Teaser Trailer
- New on Blu-ray and DVD for March 11, 2020
- The Apocalypse Kills Women in ONLY [Trailer]
- SATOR is a Welcome Addition to the Folk Horror Canon [Review]
- Women in Horror Month: NEAR DARK
- SOUTHLAND TALES: The Cannes Cut [Review]
- A Woman's Mind Unravels in BIGHT HILL ROAD [Review]
- TIFF 2020: Vanlife Gets a Reality Check in NOMADLAND [Review]
- TIFF 2020: APPLES, THE WAY I SEE IT, PIECES OF A WOMAN & ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI [Capsule Reviews]
- TIFF 2020: The Truth Tellers Return with THE NEW CORPORATION: THE UNFORTUNATELY NECESSARY SEQUEL [Review]
- TIFF 2020: NEW ORDER is Brutal, Violent & a Must-See [Review]
- TIFF 2020: ENEMIES OF THE STATE, Or Are They? [Review]
- TIFF 2020: HOLLER Explores Life in a Dying Town [Review]
- Split Personality Thriller MINOR PREMISE Coming Soon [Trailer]
- Who Hunts Who in HUNTER HUNTER? [Trailer]
- SKYLINES Is Coming! [Poster Premiere]
- Enter for Your Chance to Win a Blu-Ray Copy of 2067 [Contest]
- Saskatoon Fantastic Film Festival Returns with In-Person Event [Line Up]
- Family Drama & Creature Feature. WHAT LIES BELOW Brings Both? [Trailer]
- LUNATIQUE Director Returns with WASTELAND 3 Promo [Short Film]
- Producer Adrienne Biddle on Horror, Working with Bryan Bertino & Their Latest THE DARK AND THE WICKED [Interview]
- Joe Manganiello is a Washed Up Superhero in ARCHENEMY [Trailer]
- Nightstream Horror Festival Launches Next Week [Lineup]
- 2067 Director Talks Inspiration, Environment & Time Travel [Interview]
- THE STRANGERS Director Returns with THE DARK AND THE WICKED [Trailer]
- Michael Shannon is Crime Boss in ECHO BOOMERS [Trailer]
- Hair Extensions Get Horrific in BAD HAIR [Trailer]
- TIFF 2020: Vanlife Gets a Reality Check in NOMADLAND [Review]
- VIFF 2020: Sobriety, Reintegration & Telekinesis Come Together in THE CURSE OF WILLOW SONG [Interview]
- VIFF 2020: Revenge Thriller Re-Examined in VIOLATION [Interview]
- VIFF2020: Director Loretta Todd on the Making of Her Debut Feature MONKEY BEACH [Interview]
- TIFF 2020: APPLES, THE WAY I SEE IT, PIECES OF A WOMAN & ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI [Capsule Reviews]
- TIFF 2020: The Truth Tellers Return with THE NEW CORPORATION: THE UNFORTUNATELY NECESSARY SEQUEL [Review]
Jack In
Latest Comments
Latest Forum Posts
PA News
Latest Reviews
Older News
Crew
Marina Antunes
Editor in Chief
Vancouver, British Columbia
Christopher Webster
Managing Editor
Edmonton, Alberta
DN aka quietearth
Founder / Asst. Managing Editor
Denver, Colorado
Simon Read
UK Correspondent
Edinburgh, Scotland
Rick McGrath
Toronto Correspondent
Toronto, Ontario
Manuel de Layet
France Correspondent
Paris, France
rochefort
Austin Correspondent
Austin, Texas
Daniel Olmos
Corrispondente in Italia
Italy
Griffith Maloney aka Griffith Maloney
New York Correspondent
New York, NY
Stephanie O
Floating Correspondent
Quiet Earth Bunker
Jason Widgington
Montreal Correspondent
Montreal, Quebec
Carlos Prime
Austin Correspondent
Austin, TX
Latest news







I've come to realise that the line between "so bad its good" and just plain bad, is personal, a line that we come to discover on our own after years of trial and error. I finally came to grips with this truth a few years ago when I saw Tommy Wiseau's The Room. It was a packed house and the crowd was energetic and interactive, exactly the kind of audience that makes such dreck bearable, but even with the audience, I couldn't find any enjoyment in the movie; I just wanted out as soon as humanly possible. When news emerged that Drafthouse Films was releasing a little seen 1980s flick titled Miami Connection and that the "lost gem" was gaining popularity as a movie so bad it's good, I feared another Room-like experience. Thankfully, that isn't the case. Not at all.
The story behind Miami Connection isn't a new one. Y.K. Kim, the movie's co-star, writer, producer and co-director was discovered by a director while Kim was shelling a book about taekwondo. Director Richard Park later met with Kim and pitched him the idea of a movie. Kim saw it as his big break opportunity, his chance to make a really great action movie and so he did what anyone with a dream and a possible way into the system would do: he put it all on the line using up his savings, mortgaging his school and borrowing heavily to finance his dream project and oh, what a project.
Kim co-stars as a member of synth rock band Dragon Sound. All of the members look too old to be UCF students but we're supposed to buy that they're all in college and financing school by performing their sweet sounds. Oh yes, and every member of the band is a martial arts expert; that's importnat. Or at least it seems important...
Dragon Sound find themselves on the good side of the fight against "stupid cocaine" smuggling bicycle gangs and ninjas when one of the group members falls for the sister of a local gang leader. There's also a storyline about the band being targeted because the previous band who had the regular gig at Club Park Avenue have taken out a hit on Dragon Sound but that story, along with so many other tidbits of Miami Connection, doesn't really go anywhere.
It's even more ridiculous than it sounds. Quite honestly, the entire thing is a jumbled mess of scenes that go no where, others that are included to introduce some new piece of information that is never used and still more that are there simply for the sake of being there. Case in point: the two band performances at the beginning of the movie. For a minute it feels like a moment taken out of The Lost Boys (sax man anyone?) with the band rockin' out onstage while adoring fans party on in the dance floor. It's hilariously goofy but the songs are so damned catchy that damned it! I was humming along before each song came to an end. Point of the scenes? There isn't one but that doesn't make them any less entertaining.
There are fight sequences for the sake of fight sequences and though some confrontations are as goofy as the musical performances, some are genuinely fantastic. When Kim gets into the action he really gives it his all and it comes through in the sequences that sometimes feel like they're pulled from a far better movie. We would expect nothing less from a 9th degree black belt and Kim doesn't disappoint, delivering on the promise of effects free action.
It's over the top and goofy and kind of dumb but that's part of what makes Miami Connection so entertaining. Kim set out to make a serious action movie but his effort, and the help of a few uncontrollable events, has resulted in a movie that transcends the bad and enters the realm of joyous entertainment. It's endearing and catchy and fun and the kind of thing you want to watch with friends, create drinking games to and have parties themed after. It may not be the best movie ever but it's definitely the best 80s movie that you've never seen and one that everyone can enjoy.
And if "Friends" doesn't get your foot a-tapping, you should probably get your ears checked.
Miami Connection begins a limited engagement at Vancouver's Pacific Cinematheque on April 5th.
You might also like






