Month: July 2018

I hope that everybody had a fantastic 4th of July and were safe during the festivities.  I certainly had a lot of fun with my last post.  It was a very explosive post.  But right now, I want to discuss something very serious.  It’s something that’s trouble for quite some time now.  It goes without saying that having fans can seriously contribute to the success of a film.  You get enough people to really like the film that you make and you’ve got yourself a fan base.  These are people that are willing to get behind you and prop up your movie and everything about it.  Fans can be very important.  Sometimes, even to the point where the only way you can make a sequel is if the fans are screaming for one.  Granted, it’s still a business decision, but fans can and have influenced those decisions.  But, like everything in the world, a fan base can have a dark side.  What do I mean by that?  The gist of it is that there are a number of fans who can sometimes go to far in loving a film.  By that, I mean people will become obsessed and sometimes exhibit some form of psychotic behavior.  It happens more than you would think.  You end up having film-makers and actors being stalked and/or threatened by complete strangers.  This sometimes can end up in a very tragic situation.  That’s why you see movie stars and celebrities file restraining orders against some people, because they feel threatened.

Now, the reason I bring this topic up, is because over the past few days, actor Ahmed Best, known for playing Jar Jar Binks in the Star Wars prequels, came out and detailed what his experiences were after Episode I was released and it was not good.  He got sent a number of death threats by some very vocal and rabid Star Wars fans basically saying that he ruined Star Wars.  According to a post he made on social media, the extreme negative reaction to his character almost drove him to suicide.  Thank God he didn’t, because it wasn’t his fault for how the character turned out.  I didn’t particularly care for the character either, but that’s no excuse and certainly not a valid reason for issuing death threats against someone who just wanted to entertain people.  He’s not the only one who faced the wrath of the fans after the film’s release.  Then-child actor Jake Lloyd, who portrayed Anakin Skywalker, basically got ostracized by people all over the world.  According to Jake, he got bullied at school in 2001 to the point where he got rid of all of his Star Wars memorabilia and left acting behind.  This also led to him having problems in his life later on, where he got in trouble with the law for reckless driving, resisting arrest and being diagnosed with schizophrenia.  It’s horrible, really.  These actors and film-makers don’t deserve the kind of hatred and venom that’s being spewed at them by what appears to be a very vocal minority of fans.  George Lucas himself stepped away from the franchise that made him a household name because people accused him of ruining their childhoods and destroying Star Wars.

Kelly Marie Tran, who played Rose Tico in last year’s The Last Jedi, was forced to close her Instagram because she was being targeted by racist cowards and extremely negative fans that didn’t like her performance.  Other fans as well as Rian Johnson and actors John Boyega and Mark Hamill came to her defense and openly criticized her attackers.  The advent of social media has led to unprecedented access to movies as well as actors and film-makers, mostly in a positive way, but it has also made it easier for the trolls to harass these folks who don’t deserve to be harassed.  Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn, recently came out and told some of these fans who felt that their childhoods were ruined to go to therapy and he’s not wrong.  He’s not targeting all of the Star Wars fans, as I also believe that the majority of Star Wars fans are genuinely decent folks.  Sure, they have opinions, but they try to discuss things in a constructive manner.  Those are the fans worth having.  The ones that continuously harass film-makers and actors, saying that these people ruined their childhoods and destroyed the thing they loved most are the ones that need some serious psychological help.  You don’t like a particular film in the series?  Great, discuss what you did and didn’t like in a respectful manner.  Film-makers and actors have a tendency to listen more to folks who do that.  To the toxic fans who constantly spew venom at folks like George Lucas, Rian Johnson and all the other people who just want to entertain you:  Get over yourselves.  Star Wars does NOT belong to you.  It never has and it never will.  As for the prequels and the new movies ruining your childhood?  Bullshit.  You’re lashing out because you’re jealous that these people are more successful than you and are doing what they love.

Now, Star Wars doesn’t have the only fans in the world, but they are the most vocal and some of them really do take things way too far and it leads to people having some serious issues with depression.  You can be a fan and not be obsessed with actors or a particular movie.  If you feel that Rian Johnson or George Lucas has damaged your childhood in such a way that the only response that you can give is one of hatred and venom, then maybe you need to take a step back and re-examine your life and your priorities.  Star Wars, at the end of the day, is just entertainment.  That’s all.  You can love it or you can hate it, but don’t take it out on people who really aren’t responsible for how their characters turn out.  I’ve also noticed that some comments on these stories are basically telling these actors and film-makers to get over it.  Let me explain something about depression:  “Getting over it” is not that simple.  If you’ve never suffered from depression, you will never know how real the struggle is.  A lot of these actors tend to suffer from some kind of depression and that can come with the fame that they get.  You have to understand that folks like Ahmed Best, Jake Lloyd, Rian Johnson and Kelly Marie Tran are people just like you and me and they deserve to be treated as such.

That’s my rant.  It was something that I needed to get off my chest.  I honestly hope that most of you agree with what I said.  If you don’t, that’s fine too, just be respectful.

Hey, there, y’all!  This here’s Major Tom wishin’ y’all a very happy Independence Day!  So, what do y’all do on Independence Day?  Do ya watch some strange sport where they wack some ball with a big wooden stick or a long metal stick?  Sorry, everyone:  That shit’s borin’!  So, how do y’all celebrate ‘merica’s birthday?  You celebrate it by blowin’ shit up, that’s how!  Fireworks and explosions!  That’s what this here holiday’s all about!  For this here post, I wanna share with you some things that get blowed up real good in them movies that get played on those big silver screens.  Usin’ my new patented “Ka-Boom-O-Meter,”  I’m gonna rank each explosion based on how much shit it actually blows up.  So, y’all get strapped in now, y’hear?  This is gonna be a lot of fun!!  Yeehaw!!

Independence Day

Holeee shit!  Them alien critters sure mean business, don’t they?  I mean, they really brought out the big guns, and blowed up our cities and shit.  That’s okay, though, we get back at ’em and show ’em what for!  I like ‘splosions here, because it’s mostly all real stuff and very little of that new-fangled CGI-crap and stuff.  If you’re going to blow stuff up, you’d best do it for real!  Kaboom-O-Meter rating for Independence Day:  KA-BOOM!!!  There’s no shortage of stuff blowin’ up, so for a holiday like the 4th of July, this is a pretty good one to start with.

Star Wars Episode IV

What’s better’n watchin’ a planet blow up?  Watchin’ it blow up twice, that’s what!  This here clip shows the difference between the 1977 version of Star Wars and the 1997 Special Edition.  Personally, I think both do a fine job of blowin’ up Alderaan.  “It’s as if a million voices cried out and said, ‘Aw, crap’, and were suddenly silenced.”  What?  Y’all tellin’ me that there wasn’t some person on that planet that wasn’t sayin’ “Aw, crap?”  Kaboom-O-Meter for Star Wars says: KA-BOOM, KA-BOOM!  Next!

Rambo III

It’s Rambo.  It don’t get more ‘merican than this!  Kaboom-O-Meter: KA-BOOM!!

Die Hard

Now, this right here’s a doggone classic.  You’ve got that Bruce Willis feller that jumps off the roof and them FBI agents shootin’ at ‘im, and then you got that terrorist dude just blowin’ shit up.  It’s got everythin’: Gunfire, fire, explosions, and people runnin’ for their lives!  Don’t that just uplift your spirit?  My all-powerful Kaboom-O-Meter says here:  KA-BOOM!

Terminator 2: Judgment Day

We got another classic, right here!  This here’s Terminator 2 where they’re about to blow the shit out of a buildin’ to keep this evil computer-thingamajig from nukin’ the planet!  Sounds like a plan to me!  Did it work?  Well, if it did, we sure as hell wouldn’t have gotten three of them lousy sequels.  My Kaboom-O-Meter says: “I’ll be KA-BOOM!”

The Dark Knight

Well, it ain’t everyday you see a movie actually bring down a building, but that’s just what these folks did.  It’s probably the biggest boom in the entire trilogy.  Everythin’ ’bout this scene is just awesome, from Joker just strollin’ away and watchin’ the whole thing blow up behind ‘im.  This one’s pretty satisfyin’.  Kaboom-O-Meter: “Why so KA-BOOM?”

Dante’s Peak

This is why you don’t mess with mother nature, y’all.  She’ll kill you deader than your girlfriend’s husband.  Mother nature’s all sorts ‘a psycho, y’know?  Best watch yourself, y’hear?  Kaboom-O-Meter: All-Natural KA-BOOM!

The Marine

John Cena’s fireproof, y’all!  He survives one ‘splosion after ‘nother and he ain’t even got one singed hair on ‘im!  What in tarnation is he?  The Terminator?!  Kaboom-O-Meter says: Holy Shit.  I’m out.  Well, my Kaboom-O-Meter’s all burned out right now, so we’d better all call it a night.  I don’t know about y’all, but I had some real fun with this one.  Again, this is Major Tom wishin’ y’all a happy 4th of July and be safe.  Don’t actually blow shit up that wasn’t mean to be blowed up, okay?  Leave that to the movies, alright?  Thanks y’all for comin.  This is Major Tom, signin’ off.

A while back, I got a chance to take a look at an independent action film called Fist 2 Fist 2: Weapon of Choice starring Hapkido master Jino Kang.  For an indie action film, it was a hell of a lot better than most big-budget action movies that came out in the past decade, in my opinion.  Not only did Jino Kang star in the film, he also acted as the film’s choreographer and co-director.  He’s got a real good eye when it comes to action and film-making.  An earlier film, Fist 2 Fist wasn’t nearly as refined as Weapon of Choice, but it was still a very solid and entertaining action flick.  When I was given an opportunity to check out a new short film series that Master Kang had been working on, Kid Fury, I jumped at the chance because I wanted to see what he could do with a short film.  As it turns out, quite a bit.  In addition to providing some very strong fight sequences, Master Kang also turns in a great performance as Master Huang.  Kid Fury ended up being one of the best short films that I’d seen in years.  Here’s the best part though:  Kid Fury didn’t end there.  It was intended as a pilot episode and thankfully, we got another episode: The Phantom Witch.

Shortly after the events of the first episode, young Jimmy is still on the lookout for his mysterious box.  Secretly “aided” by Master Huang, who survived being stabbed by Jimmy, the young fighter is told that a “phantom witch” has his box, and is given directions to her hideout.  I’m not going to spoil the story here, but it does take some surprisingly interesting turns and we are introduced to a new character, the Phantom Witch, played by Virginia Rollowjay.  The character is very interesting and clearly has some history with Master Huang.  That’s also where the sharp writing comes in.  Master Kang’s sense of humor is definitely on display here, as the interactions between the witch and Huang are pretty funny.  Timothy Mah as Jimmy is fantastic.  He brings a pretty high level of intensity to his character that’s looking for a box.  I have to say, Timothy is going to succeed at whatever he wants to do, whether it’s acting, music or the martial arts.  Or all three.  He also did some of the music for Kid Fury and it’s really good.  He’s extremely talented and I can’t wait to see what he does next.

While The Phantom Witch is only 18 minutes long, there’s more stuff packed into that 18 minutes than you will ever find in a 90 minute big-budget film put out by Hollywood these days.  Kid Fury: The Phantom Witch does exactly what a follow-up should do:  Up the ante and leave the audience wanting more.  I want to know more about this relationship between Huang and the witch, because that still has the potential for some more laughs.  But the fight sequences are still outstanding with Timothy Mah and Master Kang taking the lead.  There is definitely an air of mystery throughout the show that I really like.  The cinematography is really good and it still retains that semi-noirish feel from the first episode.  I really can’t wait to see where the next episode goes, and I absolutely hope that there will be a next episode.  Master Jino Kang has become one of my favorite martial arts actors/film-makers in the past 5 years.  While it may be true that his filmography may not be that large; it’s more about quality than quantity.  With Fist 2 Fist, Weapon of Choice, Kid Fury and Kid Fury: The Phantom Witch, Jino Kang is four for four.  I can definitely recommend Kid Fury without hesitation.  I think Kid Fury has the potential to become a new kind of phenomenon when it comes to short films.  I’m absolutely loving it right now.  So…to quote Oliver Twist: Please sir, I want some more.  Yeah, it’s definitely worth checking out.  I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.  One last point:  What’s in the box?