A couple of unknown action movies - Afghanistan and mob

[Spancioc]

Hello everyone. I have a couple of movies that I had on VHS and would like to see them again and maybe you could help.

The first is an action movie with the translated title Running Hero, though I didn't get any titles that resemble the movie. Other clues:
- there is a scene in the beginning with the main character speaking to a guy that throws playing cards into a hat
- the main character and sidekick (a guy with round glasses) go with a truck and two other people: a woman and a guy; at a checkpoint, the two hide and the woman shows a bit of skin to distract the guard, plus some money in the passport
- the two characters are caught and locked in a room; main character manages to get rid of his handcuffs
- there's a scene with a white haired guy that puts a hot knife on the main character's neck, burning him
- set somewhere in Afghanistan as it has mujahedins
- later in the movie: a cave with a girl that's shot by a russian and then the whole thing collapses

The second is also an action movie with the translated title Fire Claw
- a woman has to walk on the highway because her car broke down
- she witnesses a mob killing and runs
- two hitmen get to her house and go to the first floor killing her boyfriend (or whatever the guy was), the woman being downstairs, saved by her cat
- the mob asks a guy to take her out, but they run together to a log cabin
- the last part takes place in a industrial area, ending with a bang as the two main characters escape with fire proximity suits and going to New Zealand or something similar
- the ending credits show them on a boat, him singing on the saxophone

If anyone has an idea what these movies could be called, please leave a reply.

Much obliged.

[M.10rda]

No idea what the first one is, but the second one (known to the O.P. as "Fire Claw") is CATCHFIRE (1990), directed by and starring Dennis Hopper:

>>> a woman has to walk on the highway because her car broke down/she witnesses a mob killing and runs

This is Jodie Foster; that's how the film opens.

>>> two hitmen get to her house and go to the first floor killing her boyfriend

Yep, the boyfriend is Charlie Sheen(!). Jodie narrowly escapes.

>>> the mob asks a guy to take her out, but they run together to a log cabin

The "guy" is Hopper. he falls in love w/ Foster and hides her in a cabin...

>>> the last part takes place in a industrial area, ending with a bang as the two main characters escape with fire proximity suits

Both Hopper and Foster are in Hazmat suits for no apparent reason at the climax - confronting the surviving mobsters in a factory or energy plant.

>>> the ending credits show them on a boat, him singing on the saxophone

This is true. Hopper plays the sax, and they are both on a yacht at the end when the credits roll...

See, this is why I keep digging through these archives... I knew I would find a totally random obscure one eventually that I could answer!

CATCHFIRE is right at home on Badmovies.org, no doubt. It feels like a half-assed Tarantino knockoff but it preceded RESERVOIR DOGS by 2 years. Hopper and Foster have no chemistry whatsoever. It's inexplicable why Sheen is in the movie for 5 minutes (other than to die). The bad guys are Joe Pesci, Dean Stockwell, John Turturro, and Vincent Price (?!?!?!) but no one has anything interesting to do in this terrible film. Bob Dylan shows up in one scene w/ a chainsaw!