Scottscope

Short Film Review: Lego Captain America

2012-02-09T17:12:00.000-08:00

Captain America, with shield and pistol in tow, bursts in ona secret Nazi meeting. Catching those inattendance completely off guard, he commences to make mincemeat out of everyonein the room. Reinforcements arrive, butto no avail. All who enter are shot,sliced, or eviscerated. Even a helicopterarmed with a Gatling proves to be no match for America’s favorite supersoldier. At the end of it all, Cap emergestriumphant.

The apocalypse is upon us. Marvel Studios has been outdone by a bunch of guys with a camera andsome Legos. Lego Captain America is the CaptainAmerica film that they would never have the guts to make. In fact, guts Is the opportune word. This thing is wall to wall with blood andentrails. It owes as much to Dead Alive and Punisher: War Zone as it does to the title character. Sound like a weird combo? It most certainly is, but it makes for funviewing.

The short offers nothing in the way of context or story (orcharacter and dialogue for that matter). Cap bursts into the room with guns blazing and things just get moreinsane from there. Lego minifiguresdon’t have many points of articulation, yet the guys at Forrestfire Films workthe Hell out of them. The stop motiontechnique allows them to cut corners and hide the minifigures limitedmovements. The viscera are provided by acombination digital squibs and Claymation.

The guys at Forrestfire films are obviously connoisseurs ofpop culture. The clip is only two and ahalf minutes long, yet contains plenty of references to other films. As a whole, it plays sort of like the openingdining room slaughter in Punisher: WarZone. One of the Nazi officers bearsa striking resemblance to the character Arnold Toht from Raiders of the Lost Ark. Inone hilarious moment, Cap even uses his shield as a flying guillotine. The grand finale is reminiscent of certainscenes from the Morpheus rescue in The Matrix.

The musical accompaniment in Warner Brother’s old Looney Tunes shorts was used in arelatively sophisticated manner. The orchestralcompositions aided in telling the story, often making the adventures of BugsBunny and company play like silent films. Lego Captain America does somethingsimilar with Franz Liszt’s “Les Preludes.” The piece underscores the over-the-top carnage on display, emphasizing thevisceral impact.

Lego Captain Americais insanely silly, yet undeniably thrilling. I had a much better time with this than I had with Captain America: The First Avenger in its entirety. What inspired Forrestfire Films to makesomething so off beat and entertaining? Wasthis simply meant to be a goof? I couldon for days with such questions, but the intent behind this little gem isultimately of little consequence. It hasentertainment and replay value to spare, and that’s all that counts.

Movie Trailer: The Amazing Spider Man Trailer #2

2012-02-07T18:04:00.000-08:00

I’ll just go ahead and put it out there: I really don’t want to like The Amazing Spider-Man. I already got the Spider-Man movie of my dreamseight years ago with Spider-Man 2. I’ve been a fan of Sam Raimi since Darkman, and I always saw him as beingthe ideal choice for this property. Thisreboot wipes the slate clean and starts from scratch, tossing everything Raimiand company did out the proverbial window. That really irks me, yet I still don’twant the film to fail. I want to beproven wrong come opening day. Spideyhas been my favorite superhero since childhood, and I root for him no matterwhat. I’ll gladly eat a nice big sliceof humble pie if the final product delivers.

One thing that is made clear right from the outset is that AndrewGarfield’s version of Peter Parker will be a vast departure from Tobey McGuire’s. The goofy nerd of the Raimi films has been replacedby a brooding, rebellious loner. He’sshown aggressively confronting school bullies. In keeping with this theme, the film seems to be portraying theemergence of Spider-Man in New York City as the beginning of a rebellious youthmovement. His insignia is shown adorning a wall,graffiti style. Whether it was placedthere by Peter himself is not revealed, but it seems to suggest that he hassupporters among the populace.

Parker also exhibits more swagger while donning the Spideycostume. He makes a transition thatMcguire was never allowed to, morphing completely into the wise cracking web-slingerfrom the comics. His body language ismore mime-like, and his fighting capabilities have been considerablyupgraded. A confrontation with Swat teammembers shows him to be nimble and precise, like a parkour expert or a mixedmartial artist. The movements feelspontaneous and instinctive, instead of looking as though Peter had the fightmapped out in advance. This Spider-Man doesn’t mind putting a fewcops in the hospital to make a getaway.

As silly as it may sound, Marc Webb’s vision of Spider-Man seems to have a bit in commonwith the fascist version of Batman from TheDark Knight Returns. He’s a costumedrebel that strikes fear in the powers that be. I find that idea troubling, but nonetheless intriguing. Raimi’s version of Parker went too far leftat times, turning him into a court Jester. Peter Parker 2.0 has been given a massive dose of testosterone. In a way, that sort of kills the nerd wish-fulfillmentangle of the story. This kid looks likehe was already confident and confrontational before getting bit by aradioactive spider. Still, as a lifelongsupporter of the Arachknight, I pray that my fears will be allayed.

Movie Review: Chronicle

2012-02-05T14:00:00.000-08:00

A trio of teenagers are blessedwith telekinetic powers after coming in contact with a strange glowing object. Each handles their new-found abilities indifferent ways. Matt’s (Alex Russell) inner superhero isslowly awakened. Already brimming withconfidence and swagger, Steve (Michael B. Jordan) takes it all in stride. The overly timid Andrew (Dane Dehaan) gradually comes outof his shell, but years of being bullied at school and at home have given him apronounced dark side. He obsessivelydocuments his entire life on video, and manages to capture the trio’s super-powered experiments and misadventures in great detail. With each use, their powers grow exponentially. In Andrew’s case, that metamorphosis hastragic results.

Chronicle is yet another entry in the moribund “found footage”genre. Multiplexes have recently beenblitzed with a gaggle of such films, which usually fit neatly into the horrorcategory. Chronicle marries the “found footage” approach to the world of superheroes. The resulting film treads some very familiarground, but ultimately proves much bolder than any number of similarly themedprojects.

Perhaps director Josh Trank andcowriter Max Landis thought the “found footage” gimmick would be a good way todistinguish the moderately budgeted Chroniclein a marketplace already swarming with superheroes. That choice proves to be a blessing and acurse. The conceit feels increasingly forcedas the film progresses. As Andrew’scharacter arc approaches its logical conclusion, it seems ever more unlikelythat he would feel the need to document his every waking moment. One can easily understand the allure of thistechnique. It allows for easy exposition,and plays perfectly into the audiences voyeuristic fantasies. Such benefits notwithstanding, the decisionto shoot the entire movie in this way is a glaring misjudgment in an otherwiseairtight film.

The one place where the foundfootage conceit proves most beneficial is in the apocalyptic events that takeplace during the closing act. It allowsthe ensuing mayhem to be seen from something of a first person perspective,increasing the tension exponentially. The viewer is plunked right in the middle of the action and thusdisoriented. This is perhaps one of thebest and most necessary uses of shaky cam ever attempted. It reduces the viewer to the position ofspectator as super-powered beings decimate a major city.

Chronicle provides the audience with three very sympathetic andlikeable characters. The dramatic scenesin most found footage movies are often a chore to watch. In the Paranormal Activity films, they act asfiller, padding out the running time between jump scares. Chronicle, on the other hand, is populatedwith living breathing characters. Trankand Landis appear to have taken a page from the Stan Lee handbook, observing howordinary people react to extraordinary circumstances. Each character represents one of the manypersonality types found in the microcosm of high school, but they are allowedto be more than the sum of their parts.

One of Chronicle’s many charms is how simply and easily it goes about itsbusiness. It offers just enoughexposition before moving on to the next moment or event, never dwelling onanything a nanosecond longer than it has to. There are pretty much no major set-pieces save for the final act, butthe film manages to be exciting and engrossing regardless. The characters are allowed to have fun withtheir powers in scenes that would likely feel meandering in lesser hands. Here, they play as character development andstory progression.

Dane Dehaan provides the film’sbroken heart. He’s more than theproverbial 90lbs weakling presented in most superhero stories. His home life has rendered him ineffectual. His inability to assert himself in any waymakes him a powder keg of pent up rage. Even as he descends into madness and megalomania, he remainssympathetic. Matt and Steve are a bitless flamboyant, though each goes through a somewhat more subtle evolution thanAndrew. The events that they experiencetogether bring them closer, and give each of them insight into each other. The actors make these sometimes manipulativemachinations feel genuine and organic.

Chronicle takes two ideas thatwould seem to be diametrically opposed, meshes them together, and comes up withsomething that feels familiar yet fresh. Those who are seasoned in such stories will know exactly where the plotis going, but the film manages to make even the most cliched developments feelnew and exciting. Chronicle is an unexpectedly stunning and tragic take on thesuperhero genre.

Mission Not Quite Impossible: One Teenager's Unrelenting Quest to See 'Juice'

2012-02-01T08:16:00.000-08:00

In 1992, I was rediscovering my NY roots. Having lived in Lithonia, GA for six years atthat point, I wasn’t really a New Yorker anymore. Though I still enjoyed much of the rap musicthat came from there, my growing fascination with West Coast gangsta rap hadnearly converted me by that point. Iwasn’t really feeling the then emerging generation of NY rappers. Brand Nubian and Leaders of the New Schooljust didn’t move me, at least not at first. Their videos sucked, and their production left something to be desiredin my eyes. However, by 1992 I wasslowly coming back to the fray. Somekids from Queens had started going to my High School. I liked their swagger, and in turn befriendedthem. Another influence in that same regardwas my cousin, a native of the Parkchester section of the Bronx. He had just signed a deal with Wyld Pitchrecords, and the B-Side of his first single

celebrated the home town in grandfashion. As if some sort of omen, a film appeared on the scene that seemed tocater to my feelings at the time.

The commercials for Juicemade two things instantly clear. Thefilm dealt with Hip-Hop, and it featured a rapper in the lead role. I knew relatively little about 2Pac at thetime. Yo! MTV Raps Today had the video for “Trapped” on heavy rotation. I wasn’t fond of the song itself, but I likedthe concept and the video. Pac had acertain charisma about him. The way heaccessorized showed that he understood myth making and iconography better thanhis peers. The fingers on both of hishands were adorned with gaudy yet princely rings at a time when truck jewelrywas considered passé. I dug stuff likethat. Dude seemed cool, and the movieseemed like it was for me. It was anamalgam of all the things I was into at the time: Black gangsterism, Blackmilitancy, Hip-Hop, and NY swagger. Well, there wasn’t much in the way of militancy, but 3 out of 4 ain’tbad. Come rain or shine, I’d be there onopening night.

As if to whet my palette further, the soundtrack wasofficially released weeks before the film itself opened. The video for Eric B & Rakim’s theme song“Juice: Know the Ledge” was doing the rounds on MTV and BET. It featured a slightly different Rakim thanthe one I had known up until that point. He seemed a bit more thuggish and gritty, the lyrics a touch moreprofane and violent. He boasted of“knockin’ niggas off” and “knockin’ niggas out.” The garish black and white video felt authentic. The God seemed to have updated his style tosuit the times. He was already the firstrapper that I had ever deemed as my favorite, so I was all for Rakim 2.0.

I found the soundtrack at a local mom and pop recordstore. I snapped it up immediately. At home, I popped into my stereo system and leaptinto it head first. I ended up fastforwarding through most of the New Jack Swing stuff (introverts often take awhile to warm up to R&B). I alreadyliked “Know the Ledge,” but four other songs caught my attention. Chief among them was Cypress Hill’s mindnumbingly repetitive “Shoot em’ Up.” Inthe three months prior to January of 1992, I had become a Cypress Hill nut, andthus sought out anything they had to do with. By the weekend of the film’s release, I knew all my favorite songs from thesoundtrack back to front.

I was as ready as anyone could possibly be for thatfilm. As it turns out, some were feelinga different sort of anticipation for it. Actually, it was something more akin to fear and anxiety. The openings of both New Jack City and Boyz n theHood, which were released mere months apart from each other in 1991, hadbeen marred by violence. Riots and evenmurders occurred at certain theaters showing the films on opening weekend. The media gleefully fed such stories to analready fearful and racist populace. Just like that, this new and emerging brand of cinema aimed squarely atBlack teens became irreversibly stigmatized.

Juice seemeddoomed to continue that trend. Theposter, which featured 2Pac’s character Bishop cradling a .38 revolver, becamea cause of concern for some. That imagehad been plastered everywhere in the weeks preceding the film’s release. Many feared that it would attract the wrongkind of crowd to cinemas, thus inspiring violence in the streets. L.A.P.D Detective James St. John was quotedas saying that the ads for Juice were “Like waving a red flag in front of abull.” That such a characterization ofthe films target demographic was incredibly racist and pessimistic didn’t seemto occur to anyone. None the less, thedetractors got their wish. The film’sdistributor, Paramount, agreed to have the gun airbrushed from later postersfor the film.

Actor Khalil Kain, who played the character Raheem Porter inthe film, pointed out a striking similarity between the poster for Juice andthat of a certain summer Blockbuster that had been released the year before. Terminator2: Judgment Day, which had been released nearly 8 months before Juice, featured an equally menacingimage. It showed the title character,played by Arnold Shwarzenegger, brandishing a sawed off Winchester 1887rifle. That image featured prominentlyin the films ad campaign, and didn’t stir up a whisper of protest. The double standard was obvious to anyone witha brain, but low budget films starring and aimed at Black teens rarely get thesame level of consideration as mega-budget blockbusters with white stars.

On the night Friday, January 17^th, 1992, a friendand I ventured down to the multiplex on Panola road in Lithonia, Georgia. The place was packed. The lobby was bursting at the seams withkids. It was also under the watchful ofa few uniform cops scattered throughout. I had been to any number of films at that theater in the previous 3years. Not once had I ever seen copsstationed in that lobby. I suddenlyrealized that it was simply a sign of the times. The authorities in Lithonia were well awareof the stigma attached to films like Juice,and prepared accordingly.

My companion and I had met with a couple more friends as wewere waited in line. Just then, one ofthe cops stood next to the ticket booth and loudly announced “If your under 17and don’t have ID, you’re not getting in to see Juice! I repeat, no oneunder 17 is getting into Juicewithout a parent or guardian!” I couldhave sworn that he was looking me dead in the face as I said it, seeing as howI was the tallest kid in that long line. Again, I had been to that theater numerous times to see R Rated movieswithout a parent or guardian in tow. Notonce did they ask me for ID or make any obvious effort to enforce the ratingscode. Suddenly the sentiments expressedon the Public Enemy, BDP, and Ice Cube albums I had adored seemed real in a waythat they hadn’t before. Here was theman, trying to stop Black kids from seeing a Black movie. “Fucking pig” I thought to myself as we leftto the theater.

My friends and I walkedout to the parking lot, feeling defeated. This was a roadblock we had not anticipated. Two scalpers that had originally approachedus in the lobby started berating us for not partaking of their services when wehad the chance. They laughed at us,continuously yelling “Y’all stupid.” Stupid we may have been, but it seems thatGod was keeping extra special watch over children and fools on that night. Up from the back parking lot comes Zack, adark-skinned brother from our subdivision who was a few years out of highschool. We approached him and explainedour little dilemma. He looked at us andsmiled before saying in his Lithonia drawl “C’mon. I got y’all!” As we walked inside the lobby, we saw those same idiot scalpers beingthrown into the street like refuse by the cops. Of course, they went into their show business, yelling bold protests atthe officers.

We sat down in the theater. “Know the ledge” pulsated over the opening credit sequence, priming theaudience for the hood style epic to follow. What we got instead was a disjointed and meandering reality tale thattook a jarringly tragic turn at the halfway point. Whatever its flaws, the first viewing wasamazing. The audience was electric,laughing and gasping at all the right moments. One of my friends laughed at the way I seemed to be able to anticipate eachsong from the soundtrack. I was instantlytaken with the character of Bishop. JoePesci’s portrayal of Tommy Devito in Goodfellashad given me a taste for such loose cannon types. Bishop was legitimately cold hearted andscary, and that suited me just fine.

In the end, the experience was a memorable one, though mostof my native Georgian peers disagreed. They found the film to be pointless and meaningless. I liked it, though my rediscovery of my NYroots prevented me from admitting that my Georgia peers indeed had a pointabout its quality. Either way, Juice wassomething to get excited about at a time when my interests were stillmaturing. I no longer view it as a goodfilm, but it remains a very found memory from my adolescence. Looking back, much of the way I viewed NYC atthe time was based on that single film. Funny how much a B-Movie can alter ones perception. The Juice may not have been filling or nutritiousin the long run, but man did it taste good going down.

Short Film Review: Archetype

2012-01-26T13:54:00.000-08:00

During a mission,a massive war machine known only as RL7 suddenly begins having memories ofbeing human. These visions become a hindranceto its intended purpose. The corporationthat created RL7 enters its robot consciousness in hopes of fixing the problem. Such efforts prove fruitless. To complicate matters even more, RL7 has developedother humanlike tendencies such as curiosity and rebellion. The malfunctioning machine goes AWOL, hopingto find answers to the many questions that its troubling visions have broughtabout.

Archetype is the brainchild of Aaron Sims,a concept artist who has worked on recent blockbusters such as Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, The Incredible Hulk, and the ill-fated Green Lantern. The seven minute science fiction film is essentiallya showreel for his skills and talents, but it also manages to be a compellingiteration of a very familiar theme.

The openingshot of a ship hovering over a Grand Canyon-like vista beneath an overcast skyis like a giant matte painting come to life. It doesn’t necessarily look “real,” though it still exhibits a dreamysense of artistry. The thin brushstrokes are evident in the highly detailed rendering of the landscape andskies. While these images may not havebeen painted by hand, they exude a hand painted feel. This immediately makes the world of Archetype feel more akin to films thatused practical FX once upon a time.

After the giantship deploys a platoon of war robots, the camera zooms in on ground levelcombat taking place in a wooded area. Thesescenes take on a District 9 sort of ambience,as the robots fire weapons that seem to nearly disintegrate their humantargets. It’s all shown through theview/perspective of RL7. It’s impressivehow well the obviously CG animated robots blend in with both their humancounterparts and real surroundings. These FX would not feel out of place in a mega-budget sci-fi film.

The scene thenshifts to an intense debriefing/interrogation of RL7 by corporate personnel. Robert Joy sits across the table from RL7,who is shown only in medium shots and tight close-ups. Again, the craftsmanship and imagery of District 9 come to mind. RL7 looks startlingly real in close up. He could just as well be an animatronic. In a world where often sub-par FX are oftenpraised to the heavens, Archetype’s meticulous craftsmanship is admirable.

It thenbecomes evident that the interrogation is taking place inside the “mind” ofRL7, and Robert Joy has been placed there via a virtual reality headset of somesort. He is immediately pulled out as theunit becomes belligerent and violent towards him. ThoughI am not too swift on the uptake, the dialogue seems to suggest that all ofthese units have been implanted with the minds/memories of humans, and likewisehave to be “wiped.”

The way thefilm handles its central idea, of a machine suddenly developing a consciousnessand “memories,” is reminiscent of Paul Verhoven’s classic sci-fi satire Robocop. This is particularly true of the moment where RL7 unexpectedly breaksfree of captivity. Robert Joy exudesexactly the kind of slimy creepiness and lack of empathy that corporatemilitary types are required to have in these kinds of stories. In the short time he’s given, Joy creates awell realized villain.

Though Archetypemay have been chiefly been made with computers, it has a decidedly old school texture. It seems like the FX were achieved via avariety of different techniques, leaving the viewer somewhat unsure of how itwas all pulled off. That is exactly whatmade the Special effects extravaganzas of yore so wondrous behold. Even the highest quality CG animation isoften just that: animation. Aaron Simshas married considerable skill to a tried and true sci-fi trope. Someday, this guy may create an entire filmthat takes the genre to the next level. Bravo, sir.

Three New Clips from ‘The Raid’ Take Action Choreography to Dazzling New Heights

2012-01-21T18:37:00.000-08:00

Over the past few days, three new eye-popping clips from The Raid have surfaced. Each one displays a slightly different aspectof the film’s action choreography. Fromthe looks of things, it’s a Frankenstein’s monster of an action flick (and Imean that in the most complimentary sense), assembling parts from a variety ofdifferent sources. These scenes are thevery definition of organized chaos, as they refine mindless carnage into a fineart.

The first clip, titled “Four-On-One” features one of thefilm’s heroes being chased to a dead end by a bloodthirsty foursome wieldingmachetes. The various maneuvers this guypulls off in order to avoid getting hacked to pieces is mindboggling. Even more mindboggling is the fact that hedoes it all in an enclosed space with multiple combatants. The timing on display is incredible, and thefinishing move defies any expectations the viewer may have. It’s a real show stopper.

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The second clip shows the hero working over a group ofvillains with a combat knife. He uses itwith such dexterity that it almost seems like a mere extension of hishand. He manages to hit a variety ofstriking points in shockingly short amount of time. There are multiple shots where he stabs anattacker in the thigh, than proceeds to cut a swath down to the knee. It’s excruciating to watch but unbelievablycool. Under-cranking and speed ramping may be involved here, but it’s not atall obvious. This guy moves like he washit with a dart of B12.

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The third and final clip features some close quarters Gun-Fuand some savage axe wielding action. Grappling techniques are combined with close-quarters gunplay. In an instance that mimics (and tops) a keymoment from the opening gunfight of John Woo’s action classic Hard Boiled, a bad guy takes multiplerounds to the head at point blank range. It all unravels at an unnerving pace, but the intensity on display neverwavers.

How any film can maintain such a pace for 90 minutes or moreis beyond me. These don’t even appear tobe major set pieces. Those who are virgins to Southeast Asian actioncinema will likely be shell shocked. Gareth Evans has apparently pulled out all the stops and pushed throughclean to the other side. This film mayvery well set a new bar for action cinema. In the wake of John Woo and Yuen Woo Ping, I never thought such a thingpossible. As high as my anticipation is,I’m looking for this film to exceed my expectations.

Movie Review: Red Tails

2012-01-21T16:39:00.000-08:00

As their white counterparts wage war with the Nazis over theskies of Europe, the Tuskegee Airmen wait patiently in the wings. Uncle Sam, however, apparently sees them assomething of a nuisance and would have them permanently sidelined as World WarII rages on. However, this particularband of brothers flat out refuses to let their talents wither and die on thevine. With the help of powerful alliesin the upper ranks of the military, the airmen eventually earn the right tofight and possibly die for a country that hardly values such a noble sacrifice.

Supposedly having finally put Star Wars behind him, George Lucas can now focus on his other enthusiasms. RedTails has the distinction of being the first Lucasfilm release in 19 yearsthat isn’t related to either Star Warsor Indiana Jones. After 24 years in development Hell, it’sfinally ready for exhibition. The shadowof the well-received HBO original film TheTuskegee Airmen looms ominously overhead like a dark cloud. RedTails looks to distinguish itself from made-for-cable competition byoffering pulpier and more thrilling take on the material.

As has been well documented, Lucas is largely responsiblefor the various forms of baby boomer nostalgia that dominated pop culture in lastquarter of the 20^th century. Red Tails continues down that same path,albeit without the unflagging energy of the original Star Wars or Raiders of theLost Ark. WWII as imagined byLucasfilm is a dreamland of heroic daring-do and mustache twirling villains. Despite such dated touches, Red Tails falls right in line with thekind of ultra-serious Black military dramas that have become common since A Soldier’s Story. That’s not to say it attempts the same levelof depth and resonance, only that it plays everything very straight faced.

The cast of characters featured here mainly function asstock character types, defined entirely by personality traits and physicalticks. Ne-Yo plays Andrew"Smoky" Salem as a snuff chewing hick. He comes off as more of a cartoon than anactual human being. Terrence Howard’susual shaky voiced shtick serves him well here, though he isn’t asked to doanything outside of his particular skillset. A bit of House Negro vs. Field Negro tension is allowed to play outbetween David Oyelowo and Nate Parker, but it’s mostly shown as an occasional flareup in their otherwise close friendship.

The film mostly treats the adversity faced by the airmen asfodder for a story about a group of scrappy outsiders looking to provethemselves to the powers that be. Racialconfrontations are handled in a superficial manner. The indignities that were suffered by theairmen in real life probably ran deeper and darker than anything Red Tails would be willing to show. To the films credit, the characters are neverpassive victims, even when attempting to build bridges with the otherwise antagonisticwhite fighter pilots. The film has nopretensions about itself, though a much more substantial entertainment clearlycould have been crafted from this material.

Convert the galactic dogfights in Star Wars to the skies of WWII Europe, and you have an idea of howthe air combat in Red Tails playsout. Fighters slip in and out of tightsqueezes like thread through a needles eye. In some instances, they charge headlong into the camera itself with gunsblazing. The film’s opening titles evokethe sensibilities at work. This is anold war comic come to life, or perhaps even a pulp novel. It’s all rather quaint, but not offensivelyso.

Red Tailspopulates the same cinematic universe as IndianaJones save for the latter’s supernatural elements. However, even Indy’s outings showed a bitmore willingness to explore the dark side. To be fair, Lucas never had such intentions for Red Tails. Unlike his playmateSteven Spielberg, he sought not to make the grittiest and most harrowing warfilm imaginable. He opted instead tomake the kind of film that he would’ve liked as a boy. While that might not be in line with moderntastes, in its own way it’s sort of fitting. Though I would have preferred something more along the lines ofSpielberg’s approach, I have a bit of affection for the lighthearted, cornball sentimentsof Red Tails.

DVD Trailer: The Frank Matthews Story: The Rise and Disappearance of America's Biggest Kingpin

2012-01-17T12:37:00.000-08:00

In the annals of African American organized crime, no one’sshadow looms larger than Frank “Black Caesar” Matthews. His story bears an uncanny resemblance tothat of the fictional character Keyser Söze from the film The Usual Suspects. In theearly 1970’s, he lorded over a heroin empire that stretched out over 21 states.His fearsome reputation preceded him, to the extent that even the Italian Mafiaconsidered him a threat. He sought to organizeBlack and Spanish gangsters into a nationwide network that would eventually pushLa Cosa Nostra completely out of the drug trade. His dream was not to be, as he wasapprehended before it could come to fruition. U.S. authorities had him in their grasp, yet still he managed to disappearwith nary a trace. According to legend,he skipped the country in 1973 with 15 million dollars in tow. He hasn’t been seen or heard from since.

Though the basics of Matthew’s story have been covered in ahandful of books, relatively little is known about him. Details of his personal life remain rather scarce. Of course, the scarcity of such informationhas only added to his already considerable mystique. In recent years, various colleagues of mine havemade great strides in uncovering the man behind the myth. Chief among them has been noted true crimeauthor Ron Chepesiuk. Chepesiuk hasstudied the Matthews phenomenon for a number of years and covered it in hisliterature. In 2007, he and directorAnthony Gonzalez set out to make a documentary entitled Black Caesar: The rise and disappearance of Frank Matthews. A trailer was released in December of thatyear, but the project was never completed.

Thankfully, Ron Chepesiuk has recently developed a ratherfruitful working relationship with another colleague of mine, documentary andfeature filmmaker Al Profit. Profit isthe best there is at street documentaries, and he has taken it upon himself tohelp Ron Chepesiuk finish the journey he started in 2007. TheFrank Matthews Story: The Rise and Disappearance of America's Biggest Kingpinwill finally see the light of day. From thelooks of the new trailer which Profit recently posted on YouTube, it willindeed be as epic as the life of its subject. Profit’s artistic fingerprints are clearly visible. Interviews and testimonials are splicedtogether with Stock footage and set to music of the period. Previously unseen photographs of Matthews arebriefly glimpsed. What’s amazing is thatthe trailer manages to give a through outline of the Matthews story while enticingviewers to find out more.

The story of Frank Matthews is easily the most epic of itskind, and I can think of no one more qualified to tell it than Ron Chepesiuk andAl Profit. They’ve done the field work,and attempted to fill in the many blanks. The Frank Matthews Story: The Riseand Disappearance of America's Biggest Kingpin will hopefully answer manylong standing questions, and may even go a long way in finally solving thislittle mystery. The only perceivabledownside is that such an amazing tale may ultimately prove impossible to top. This isn’t a rags-to-riches story chroniclingthe rise and fall of an organized criminal. It’s a large scale portrait of a bad guy who somehow managed to actuallyget away with it. That’s something thatthat audiences rarely ever get to see. It also has the added distinction of being based in truth. That's about as good as such stories get.

Street Justice: An Interview with Michael Morrissey, Writer/Director of ‘Boy Wonder’

2012-01-17T05:52:00.000-08:00

Vigilantes have longbeen a fixture on both the movie screen and the comic book page. Many of the first action films focused on violentloners who take the law into their own hands. Many others have featured copsthat play so fast and loose with the rules that they might as well beconsidered vigilantes. Pretty much everysuperhero operates outside the confines of the law, regardless of whether theyuse super powers, gadgets, or guns. Needless to say, such depictions of vigilantism rarely have anything todo with realism. They usually serve as aspringboard for cathartic, stylized bloodletting. Everyone loves to see those that prey onsociety get their comeuppance.

In the rare case ofMichael Morrissey’s film ‘Boy Wonder’ (Click here to read my review.), comics served asthe primary inspiration for perhaps the most realistic vigilante film inyears. When listing the very best filmsof 2011, influential film critic Roger Ebert gave the film an honorable mentionof sorts, regarding it as excellent. ‘BoyWonder’ is definitely one of the more low key films of its kind, as MichaelMorrissey took a decidedly concise approach the material. That quality became instantly evident upontalking with him. This is a man who hasa lot to say, yet manages to convey those thoughts in relatively few words.

Scott Wilson: Howdid the idea for Boy Wonder comeabout?

Michael Morrissey:I’ve been a comic book fan since I was about ten years old. It’s kind of the movie I wanted to see. I wanted to see a real take on the vigilantegenre. I wanted someone to take thecomic book hero seriously for once, and for it not to be a guy in goofy tightsand a cape. It’s the movie that I wantedto see and it’s from my youth and comic books.

Scott Wilson: Mostpeople know the Boy Wonder asBatman’s sidekick Robin. Why did youchoose Boy Wonder as the name of yourfilm?

Michael Morrissey:The name just came to me. I know whoRobin is. It’s kind of a misdirection,which is what the whole movie is about. I don’t mean misdirection in terms of trying to fool people intothinking my movie is about Robin. Youthink hero when you think Boy Wonder. You think perfect kid, and when you first meet this character you thinkthat about him. He’s going to fight badguys, he’s smart, he’s intelligent, and he’s physically fit. But he’s really not the Boy Wonder. He’s the anti-BoyWonder in some ways. He’s a twistedindividual. It just seemed to fit withme. I fought with everybody about thename. It makes a lot of sense to me butnot to everybody else (Laughs).

Scott Wilson: Whydid you choose to do a realistic drama as opposed to an action picture or atraditional superhero movie?

Michael Morrissey: Tome, this was a real superhero movie. Iwas a fan of Frank Miller comic books in the late eighties and early nineties,as well as the whole X-Menseries. The stories that I liked, like Daredevil, weren’t so actionpacked. They were more about emotionalcontent. That’s why the movie’s pace isthe way it is. I felt like that’s what Iwas doing. I would love to do actionmovies someday, but I didn’t think it (BoyWonder) warranted that. That’s justpart of the story.

Actress Zulay Henao (Left) and Michael Morrissey (Right) preparing to shoot a scene on location.

Scott Wilson: Althoughyou didn’t mean for Boy Wonder to bean action film, were you at all influenced by classic action films and urbanvigilante movies like Death Wish?

Michael Morrissey: Iwas influenced by action films, but not so much Death Wish. The Professional is something thatsticks in my head. I love The Professional even though it was ahitman and not a vigilante. I loved Unbreakable. Everybody kind of hated that movie from M.Night Shyamalan, but I thought it was great. It (Boy Wonder) wasn’t trying tobe Death Wish, even though I thought Death Wish was a great movie. It just happened to be the same topic. If any movie really influenced me, it was Taxi Driver.

Scott Wilson: You set your movie in Brooklyn, NY. New York City is considerably safer now thanit was in the 1970’s or 1980’s. If youhad made Boy Wonder in either ofthose eras, or made it a period piece that took place in either era, would youhave increased the amount of violence in it?

Michael Morrissey: Idon’t think so. I think you can find theunderbelly of New York if you go looking for it right now. I don’t think it walks up to you that muchanymore, but if you go looking for it I think you can find it. For Sean, he was picking out people and usinghis database. I don’t think it matteredwhat actual crime was happening everywhere. I think it was about the specific individuals he was looking for.

Scott Wilson: Thefight scenes in Boy Wonder take intoaccount Sean Donovan’s (the main character) physical size and all of thedrawbacks that entails. Opponents whoare physically bigger and stronger than Sean are able to throw him around. He has to use weapons to beat them. What made you take that approach to the fightscenes as opposed to going the Jason Bourne route?

Boy Wonder star Caleb Steinmeyer (Left) and Michael Morrissey (Right) shooting on location in a New York subway car.

Michael Morrissey:I’m about 165 lbs. I’ve studied martial arts since I was about 13 yearsold. You can have all the great moves inthe world, but if you have a big guy against you, he’s going to take you for aride. You need to be able to fight alittle dirty if you’re going to win, and I think Sean is all aboutresults. His hero character is all aboutresults. He gets down and dirty. He’s going to try to fight conventionally,but if that doesn’t work he’s going to go the other route. He’ll even use a gun if he has to.

Scott Wilson: Youhave Sean Donovan using a variety of different weapons, from expandable batonsto semi-automatic pistols. Why not justhave him amass an arsenal of guns and shoot his targets? Did you feel that it would make the film lessinteresting to just simply have him use guns?

Michael Morrissey: Ithink there’s no punishment in that for Sean. He wanted to punish thesepeople. I think that every villain he’sgoing after is really like his father. He’s not happy until they are punished. It’s kind of why I think he lets them beat on him in the beginning. He gets beat up a little bit and then he kindof takes them on. He does what he alwayswanted to do to his dad. His dad used tobeat up on him but he never did anything back. So in these fights he’s getting beat and he turns around and he beatssomebody else. In one of these scenes hehas this wicked fight and he almost gets himself killed and then he finallyshoots the guy. He realizes it’s not goingto get any better than that, that he’s not going to win this fight. Sean wasn’t just about eliminating. He wasdefinitely about punishing people.

Scott Wilson:Mark Millar initially proposed Kick Assto be a more realistic take on superheroes, but he seemed to renege on thathalfway through with the introduction of Hit Girl. Also, the action scenes became a lot moreapocalyptic and unrealistic. Do you seeyour film as staying more true to that central idea of a realistic take on asuperhero?

Michael Morrissey:I think its two different movies. Ithink that the mindset and the motivation of Mark Millar’s character in Kick Ass are so different fromSean. People go “Why did he dothis? Is he trying to help people?” I’m like “Sean is not doing it for you andfor the public. He’s doing it for himand his beliefs.” I think that thecharacter in Kick Ass is doing itbecause he thinks it’s cool. It made himpopular. I think that Sean is a verydemented kid and that Mark Millar’s character is kind of just a regular kidthat wanted to be cool. Walking aroundin a scuba suit makes for a good comic and a good movie. I don’t know if it makes for a drama, thepsychological background of a kid who would do something like that, even thoughthat kid would be weird.

Michael Morrissey (Center) and Boy Wonder star Caleb Steinmeyer (Right).

Scott Wilson:Will you ever use this kind of material to do a more traditional action and/orsuperhero picture?

Michael Morrissey:Definitely. First and foremost, I’m opento anything. As a struggling filmmaker Iwould be happy to do that. I think thatwhat’s most important is that your characters are real. What I liked about the most recent Iron Man is that I believed him. I believed that was Tony Stark. I believed he had that whole life aroundhim. I believed he had emotions. They’ve got to be real and their motivationshave to be real. I think that I canapply this to a traditional action flick. That’s one of the reasons I loved the Bourne movies. I believed inJason Bourne. I believed he was a realcharacter. I really think that’s what’simportant.

Scott Wilson: Howdid it feel to have your film recognized by Roger Ebert on his “best of” listfor 2011?

Michael Morrissey:It’s mind blowing. I read it while I wasworking and I looked around the room. Itjust doesn’t compute to me. Of all thefilms, he picked mine. It was one of25. I grew up watching him on TV. He’s like the only name my parents know. I told them about his review, and they werelike “Wow!” People have problems withRoger Ebert. I think he’s a greatcritic. Well, obviously now I do. He says what he likes. He doesn’t have to defend himself. It’s humbling and insane to see that hepicked our film. It’s really amazing.

Scott Wilson:What can we expect from you in the future? Is this the last we’ll be seeing of Sean Donovan or can we expectfurther adventures with him?

Michael Morrissey: Ikind of had a script written in my head for BoyWonder 2 or whatever we would call it. I think it’s a real interesting story. Where does this kid go now? Iwould be happy to do that, but I’m not pursuing that right now. I’m pursuing a project called Mother, which is a psychological horrorthriller about the one survivor of a serial killer and how she deals with therest of her life. I guess it’s thepsychological portrait of somebody who doesn’t have a regular life. There are different twists and turns. It’skind of what I want to get done, but if BoyWonder does really well and there’s a financier who wants to help me makeit, I’d be happy to make Boy Wonder 2.

Gina Carano Goes 'Haywire' in the Opening Scene of Steven Soderbergh's New Action Flick

2012-01-10T18:00:00.000-08:00

The opening scene of Steven Soderbergh’s upcoming actionfilm Haywire was recently posted overat Hulu. It gives viewers but a taste ofthe brutal fisticuffs that await them come opening day. It takes place in a diner, where Gina’scharacter Mallory Kane has her morning coffee interrupted by Aaron (ChanningTatum). It starts out in a fairly mundanemanner, with Tatum delivering his lines in drowsy fashion (I can’t tell if he’sdoing so intentionally or if he’s simply being himself). At the 3:07 mark, the things suddenly eruptinto a brutal and destructive scrap. Thelead character is mercilessly beaten before turning the tables and her opponentand pounds him into the linoleum.

The musical score sounds lifted from a 1970’s cop show ordetective movie. Interestingly, theaction plays out completely free of musical accompaniment. That choice greatlyenhances the animalistic brutality. Theway that Aaron tears into Mallory is stunning indeed, and totally justifies theunexpected heroics of the Good Samaritans that come to her aid. Even a waitress gets in on the act. There is a hint of humor lying justunderneath, though it’s unclear whether that is intentional or not. This is the kind of extreme violence thatwill elicit winces from some and nervous laughter from others.

Careno’s background as an MMA fighter helps withthe suspension of disbelief, as does her athletic physique. Still, the issue of a 145 pound woman beingable to dispatch larger male opponents in such a manner hangs heavy over theproceedings. Could even a highly trainedfemale operative perform the way Careno does here? I’m willing to suspend disbelief if I can geta few decent fights scenes out of it, but that may be a problem for otheraudience members who are sticklers for realism in these kinds of films. I’m also curious as to how Soderbergh’s approachwill suit this kind of material. The snarkytone of the Ocean’s Eleven films issomewhat different from what Haywireseems to be attempting. I’m a sucker formartial arts and gunplay, so I figure it’s worth the price of admission to findout.

The Tuskegee Airmen Fly High and Hit Hard in 7 Minute Preview of ‘Red Tails’

2012-01-10T12:14:00.000-08:00

Red Tails opens inmovie theaters across the country in less than two weeks. Screenings have been held, yet there is stillno real word as to its quality. That’smore than a little troubling when we are so close the wire. Many want this film to do well, and forobvious reasons. The immediate future ofBlack films not squarely aimed at the “Chitlin’ Circuit” crowd could very wellhinge on how Red Tails performs on itsopening weekend. Black audiences are being encouraged to comeout en masse, so as to show Hollywood that such films can be profitable. If RedTails is to receive the desired level of success, it would be nice if themovie itself was deserving of it. The film will likely have to be exceptionallygood to enjoy any measure of crossover business.

As if to wet the pallet of audiences even further, sevenminutes of footage from the film recently got posted over at Vimeo. It juxtaposes both the action oriented anddialogue driven elements. The former bears all the familiar stamps of Lucasfilmproduct. The action is firmly steeped inLucas’s child hood influences. It’sessentially 1940’s daring-do rendered with the best modern film-makingtechnology available. It’s all very reminiscentof similar such footage from the first three Star Wars films, where the pilots can be seen in their cockpitscommunicating with each other in the thick of battle. It’s damned exciting to see Black facesbehind the controls of these flying machines in the midst of large scale action.

As for the dramatic elements, the moments presented hereplay competently. The cast clearly takesthe subject matter seriously, though the dialogue does seem of the stoicallynoble variety. Terrence Howard and CubaGooding Jr. do their usual thing. Watchingthis, I’m beginning to think that black actors in Hollywood are encouraged toplay military dramas the same exact way every time out. At this point, it’s clear that the films toneis deadly serious. In order for that towork, the various elements of the production will have to be firmly insync. Then again, maybe Lucas doesn’tmean for this to be Oscar fodder. He’sgone on record as saying that the tone of the film is rather corny andjingoistic. That can work to, as long asLucas isn’t writing the script.

Though I’m a bit worried, I’m still rooting for Lucas andcompany to pull this off. Red Tails need not be a flawless masterpiece. It only needs to have something more to recommendit aside from the aerial dogfights, which are admittedly a large part of thefilms appeal. I used to watch the DeathStar trench run in Star Wars andimagine myself behind the controls of an X-Wing fighter. Lucasfilm is now giving Black kids across thecountry a chance to do just that, albeit not in a galaxy far, far, away. More power to him.

RT Clip from Tambay Obenson on Vimeo.

An Inquisitive Trio of Friends Explore the Unknown in a New Clip From ‘Chronicle’

2012-01-09T17:03:00.000-08:00

I’ve pretty much ignored the “found footage” genre for thelast year or so. My skepticism islargely fueled by its rather gimmicky nature. Even the best ones are one trick ponies with little to no repeat value. What little novelty factor the genre has leftis fast being squandered by unimaginative filmmakers who seem content on using itfor a series of cinematic smash-and-grabs. By the time audiences realize what they've been sold, the box office receipts have been tallied and production costs have been recouped. From there it's on to the next one.

My skepticism aside, Chroniclepeaks my interest. The story revolvesaround three teenaged friends who are endowed with strange powers afterinvestigating a crater. They initiallyuse these new found abilities to indulge in some youthful mischief, but theirantics soon give way to truly destructive behavior as their ids begin to fullymanifest.

To my knowledge, the “found footage” approach has never beenapplied to superhero films. The veryidea brings lots of tantalizing possibilities to mind. The films trailer played like a mash-up of Akira and Heroes. It also seemed tostress a slight horror angle to the material. That is not unexpected, as the “found footage” genre is mostly associatedwith horror of some sort.

A series of clips have recently been released, many of whichshow the characters exploring their powers in various ways. The latest one shows the trio of friendsstumbling upon a mysterious crater in the woods. As is required by such stories, they decideto investigate the crater a bit too thoroughly, leading to unexpectedconsequences. When the trio finallydiscovers what lies at the end of dark cavern, a few multicolored images strobein rapid succession. The clip endswithout spoiling the outcome.

I really hope that Chroniclemanages to live up to the promise of its marketing and advertising materials. Withevery passing day, the proposed live action adaptation of Akira seems that much less likely to ever emerge from the depths ofdevelopment hell. The third season of Misfits was hugely disappointing. Chronicleseemingly offers another opportunity for this subject matter to be doneright. Let’s hope that its makers havesomething more to offer than shaky camera work.

DVD Documentary Review: Motown Mafia: The Story of Eddie Jackson and Courtney Brown

2012-01-08T13:13:00.000-08:00

In the early 1970’s, Detroit Michigan was the setting of abloody and ongoing underworld war. Theviolence that resulted knew no bounds and claimed many lives. Amazingly, in the midst of the maelstromstood two of the most unlikely generals one could imagine. Eddie Jackson and Courtney Brown lorded overa heroin ring that grossed millions of dollars while maintaining a virtuallynon-existent body count. This made themstand out from other heroin kingpins of the day, who by and large preferredgunplay to diplomacy. At a time whenBlack gangsters around the country began to firmly establish themselves in the dopegame, Eddie “Fat Man” Jackson and Courtney “Field Marshal” Brown were playingfrom an entirely different playbook.

In the world of street documentaries, the films of Al Profitoccupy their own unique lane. Neither asamateurish as other such works nor as watered down as the more polishedofferings from supposedly respected outlets, the films of Al Profit offerlittle known underworld history in a flashy but professional package. Like other works in his oeuvre, Motown Mafia: The Story of Eddie Jackson &Courtney Brown is a well-researched yet briskly paced rags to riches storyfrom the Motor City.

Visually, Motown Mafiais like a buffet. Al Profit uses blackand white stock footage, brief reenactments, newspaper clippings, and exclusivephotographs to tell the story. He makes smoothtransitions between each medium, blending it all together into a sepia tonedslide show. The audience is made to feelas though they are thumbing through a photo album with an old relative whoprovides a verbal caption for each picture. Al Profit’s voice over narration bridges the gaps between segments,making the film play more cohesively.

As always with Al Profit, the soundtrack for Motown Mafia is populated withselections from various periods and subgenres of Black music. Scenes are underscored with rap musicinstrumentals (Westside Connection’s infamous “Gangstas Make the World Go Round”pops up frequently throughout.), dusty blues, and classic soul. The contrast between eras and styles providesan interesting balance. The musicalambiance is true to period, yet it shows how the musical (and criminal) valuesof the early 1970’s still inform modern sensibilities. As expected, Motown Mafia is a joy to listen to. It’s like tuning in to an extraordinarily varied radio mix show.

As with Rollin: TheDecline of the Auto Industry and Rise of the Drug Economy in Detroit and Streets of New York: The Rise and Fall of Crimein New York since 1970, Motown Mafiaoffers a sturdy timeline of urban entropy. The prosperity of the Paradise Alley and Black Bottom neighborhoods isshown vividly. They served as hubs ofculture and legitimate entrepreneurship. All of that came to a halt in the early 1960’s due to urbanrenewal. It’s important to note that AlProfit is perhaps the only maker of underworld documentaries that contrastsboth the legal and illegal sides of Black entrepreneurship, depicting how thedecline of one gives rise to the other. This makes Motown Mafia comeoff more like an actual historical document, and less like an episode of Gangland.

Lasting a little over an hour, Motown Mafia compresses a considerable amount of information into arelatively short running time. Interviews and testimonials from various family members, associates, andemployees are placed at appropriate intervals. Eddie Jackson’s fanatical enthusiasm for his father’s legacy is offsetby the broken down demeanor of the old timers and veterans. All of it goes a long way in painting the desiredpicture of the fat man, though it would have been nice to hear from people whowould’ve painted a more villainous portrait of him. Also, one wishes that some of the financialclaims made throughout could have been better substantiated. However, Al Profit’s colorful presentationmore than makes up for such minor nitpicks.

Motown Mafia: TheStory of Eddie Jackson and Courtney Brown is another compelling entry intoAl Profit’s growing library of urban crime lore. It combines the exploitative flare of asupermarket tabloid with polish of a highly respected news outlet. Al strikes the sweet spot the so many of hiscontemporaries miss. I don’t know howmany more of these he has planned, but if he maintains this level of quality,anyone seeking knowledge of Detroit’s darker history will have an amazinglibrary to peruse.

Mixtape Review: Raekwon - 'Unexpected Victory' (Includes Free Download)

2012-01-02T14:32:00.000-08:00

Raekwon the chef has been on a serious roll for the pastthree years, seemingly making up valuable time lost in the late 1990’s andearly 2000’s. He now offers a mixtape totide fans over until he can accommodate them with something a bit morefilling. The between meal snack istitled Unexpected Victory, andfeatures plethora of shaolin soldiers in training, as well guest appearancesfrom fellow lyrical kingpins. The collectionreveals its chief architect’s varied musical tastes, while also exposing hisartistic limitations.

Producer Scram Jones proves himself to be musically agile withthree versatile offerings. He effectivelychannels Rick Rubin era Run DMC on “The Brewery.” Providing a suitably sharp contrast is theaptly titled “Silk,” which emanates a mellow Marvin Gaye style vibe. Violins maintain a steady low key whine inthe background. Rae adjusts his deliveryjust so in order to suit the mellow vibe, as does guest CL Smooth. “That Good Good” is a pulsating pimp strutdown the Soul Train line. A monotone humblows trough the cavernous landscape of the track as bass heavy horns burrowunderneath the ground. Harpsichordstrings complete the heroin laced players ball ambiance.

9^th Wonder adds a haunting old soul sensibilityto “Pinebox Story” another of Rae’s patented tales from the crack side. The sample plays as though lifted just as theneedle began to skip on the vinyl. It consists of tambourines, xylophones,jutting bass, and mournful singing. The suitably short story tells the tale of flossyyoung hustler who gets caught slipping by his elders and pays an ugly price inthe process.

Semaj expertly manipulates Loose End’s soothing “You Can’tStop the Rain” for “Luxury Rap.” “ThisShit Hard” features hard rock guitar wails over keys that creep along like acentipede, giving the listener the sonic willies. The title speaks of going straight to thesource to cop the purist cocaine available, and then properly cooking it up intocrack: “Fuck a middle man, I can get it direct/Cook it up, let it bubble up andcook in the Pyrex.”

Producer Vin Da Chin injects a bit more sonic diesel intothe listener’s bloodstream on “MTV Cribs.” Triangles twinkle in the night sky as violins escalate into the heavens. Flutes blow softly in the breeze as bongosbeat out a bubbling tribal rhythm. Raegives the listener a virtual tour of the ultimate hustler’s abode and all itsaccoutrements. Featured guest BustaRhymes adopts a spoken word cadence, making for a nice change of pace from hismanic, rapid fire spit. “Chupa Cabra” sounds like the title creature peering fromthe tall grass and waiting to pounce on its prey. Capone-N-Noreaga join the chef, and engage ina bit of their penchant and forth.

Unexpected Victoryswitches between musical modes, juxtaposing an 80’s rap/rock sound with variousforms of R&B. The mellow tracks proveto be more musically appealing than the harder edged ones. The production remains consistent throughout,despite the long list of contributors. Theone unforgivable misstep is R&B singer Altrina Renee’s solo offering“Facetime.” Not only is it woefully out of place here, but its faux radio showopening proves better than the actual song itself.

As with other Wu projects, affiliates and protegesabound. All are adequate, but the by nowtiresome subject matter and routine deliveries make them all sound the same. Raekwon himself is similarly hampered by hisseeming lack of growth, though he proves to be as lyrically dexterous as ever. The lack of surprises makes this Unexpected Victory play more mundanelythan it would have in an earlier era.

The album maintains it's unifying theme of an O.G. passing ongame to younger players, hoping that they dutifully carry on tradition. Though it sits comfortably as an extended interlude within the CubanLinx chronology, it’s apparent that Raekwon himself remains in a timewarp. His subject matter stoppedevolving a long time ago. As a result, hispupils may feel as though they’ve heard it all before. Though the sermon still sounds good, it wouldbe nice to see a bit of an evolution on the part of the preacher.

Click here to download Unexpected Victory.

Movie Review: ‘Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol’ The IMAX Experience

2011-12-21T15:08:00.000-08:00

After being sprung from a Moscow prison, IMF agent EthanHunt (Tom Cruise) and his team infiltrate the Kremlin in order to acquireinformation on a target known as Cobalt. The mission ends in unmitigated disaster, and the Kremlin is decimated. The President of the United States enacts “GhostProtocol,” effectively turning Hunt and his team into international fugitives. Unable to operate in an official capacity,the remnants of the IMF must pool their resources and talents to clear theirnames and avert a nuclear holocaust. Intelligence Analyst William Brandt (Jeremy Renner) is along for theride, as he hopes to find redemption at missions end. Failure is most definitely not anoption.

Mission: Impossible –Ghost Protocol is the fourth entry in producer/star Tom Cruise’s 17 yearold spy franchise. Each one has beenhelmed by a different director, who in turn applies his own sensibility to thematerial. This time out, Brad Bird takeshis first plunge into live-action filmmaking. His credentials up until this point include well received animated faresuch as The Iron Giant and The Incredibles. Fortunately, he proves as adept at workingwith real actors and locations as he is with cell and computer animation.

What is most surprising about Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol is that it visually recallsthe animated offerings of Brad Bird from a visual standpoint. The framing and composition of certain scenesis oddly reminiscent of The Incredibles,particularly the shot of Tom Cruise sprinting from the exit of the Burj Khalifaas a massive sandstorm looms overhead. Tom Cruise’s stiff, slightly comical running posture calls to mind thatof Mr. Incredible in the jungle. Thatparticular brand of déjà vu occurs throughout each and every action sequence. Though the medium of expression has changed,Brad Bird’s eye has not.

That sensibility transfers over to the staging of the actionset-pieces, which are outlandish indeed. Ethan Hunt would have to have adamantium bones and rubber skin to endurethe many falls and scraps he does here. The film treats such otherworldly endurance casually. After all, it’s named Mission: Impossible for a reason. Hunt and his counterparts may as well be superheroes the way they boundfrom one insane stunt to the other. Theplethora of clever gadgets and inventive scenarios goes a long way in smoothingover the obvious implausibility. BradBird, in accordance with his stunt people and FX technicians, keep the audiencetoo caught up the excitement to focus on the details. Under his guidance, the films adrenalinenever lags.

Some chinks begin to show in the films proverbial armor inthe department of story and character. As before, the plot is impenetrably labyrinthine. It seems purposely designed to leave the viewerin the dust, making it hard to keep track of the particulars during importantmoments. Tom Cruise makes for a sturdyprotagonist, though his ability to shrug off emotional and bodily damage of anysort makes him a bit of cartoon. The incomprehensibilityof the plot, coupled with the lack of character depth makes everything seemjust a tad superficial. As a result, thefilm comes off as simply a visceral tour de force. Ethan’s the mouse sent charging through themaze while being chased by a ferocious cat. The details don’t matter, so long as he gets the cheese and makes it outalive.

Brad Bird steers Mission:Impossible – Ghost Protocol as if he were driving a Mack truck. He aims it like a weapon, barreling overanything in his path. By the time it’sover, victims and bystanders alike will be wondering just what hit them. They might also find themselves hoping thatBird turns around for a second pass, as such danger is amazingly exhilarating. Mission:Impossible – Ghost Protocol has a pronounced hint of desperation thatmanifests itself visually and sonically. One wonders how long James Bond or Jason Bourne would last in theimagination of Brad Bird, as he would surely put them through the trials ofjob. Mission most definitelyaccomplished. The director of the next Mission: Impossible film has his workcut out for him.

Movie Trailer: The Dark Knight Rises

2011-12-19T15:06:00.000-08:00

Though I adore Christopher Nolan’s vision for the capedcrusader (sans the incomprehensible fight scenes, of course), I realize that itisn’t for everyone. The Dark Knight was essentially a crime film featuring asuperhero. It made Batman a supportingplayer in a story that made allusions to 911 and the USA PATRIOT Act. Perhaps that is why many fans found it just atad pretentious. Not to mention thatwhile Nolan can be heavy handed, his intent is sometimes murky. For that reason, an in-depth analysis of thenew trailer (or at least an attempt at one) might be in order.

Little is known about the actual plot details of The Dark Knight Rises. Having shouldered the blame for theatrocities of Two-Face in order to protect the legacy of DA Harvey Dent, Batmanincurs the all-encompassing wrath of the Gotham PD. He disappears from the scene, resurfacingeight after the events of The Dark Knight. Gotham faces an all knew threat in the formof the menacing Bane. This is an ordealthe likes of which Batman has never faced. The following are key moments from the new trailer.

As the trailer opens, a seemingly tearful Alfred bears hissoul to Bruce Wayne. He laments hisfailures as a legal guardian. That Alfrednow questions himself in light of the path Bruce has taken adds an air oftragedy to the proceedings. The Dark Knight hinted that the presenceof Batman in Gotham might have escalated an already bad situation. Alfred’s dialogue in this trailer goes a longway in confirming such suspicions.

Jim Gordon is shown giving some sort of address at a privatefunction. As he does so, an attendeereveals that the mayor is “dumping” Gordon. He is described as a war hero, the likes of which is not needed duringpeace time. Gordon is being cast asideas a new age is being ushered in. Hefought in the trenches, and is now being expelled like lower income residentsbefore gentrification.

Bruce Wayne is then shown dancing with Selina Kyle at a ballof some sort. She warns him of a coming storm that thewealthy will not be shielded from. Shealso implies that Wayne and the rest of Gotham’s elite have not done right bythe lower classes. This is interestinggiven that Batman Begins showed Bruce’sfather to be a philanthropist. Could The Dark Knight Rises be saying thatBruce has not lived up to that legacy, and in fact might have betrayed it bycreating Batman?

As a seemingly battered and imprisoned Bruce Wayne lies on abunk, Bane glowers over him and growls “When Gotham is ashes, you have mypermission to die.” This implies thatBane indeed means to raze Gotham to the ground, just as Ra's al Ghul did beforehim. Throughout this series, eachvillain has had different philosophical reasons for inciting anarchy. The dominant theme in this trailer seems to thatof class struggle. As always, Batmanmust find a way to avert the coming apocalypse. Is Bane, and by extension Christopher Nolan, requiring him finallychoose what side he’s on?

The rest of the trailer balances out such heavy themes with apocalypticimagery. The centerpiece of the trailer isBane crashing a crowded football game. Asa runner makes his way across the field and into the endzone, the earth opensup and engulfs the field, swallowing all of the other players. The runner himself does not realize what hastranspired until he turns around after scoring the touchdown. The image is both cataclysmic and shockinglyfunny. It’s unlike anything Nolan hasever attempted with such a large scale sequence. Another scene shows what looks like anairborne tumbler (possibly the Batwing?).

This trailer makes TheDark Knight Rises feel epic and dense. It looks packed to the gills in every possible sense. Nolan and company seem aware that they havean impossible task ahead of them. Theyhave to pull off arguably the biggest finish in the short history of superherocinema. Are superhero films ill-equippedto tackle such issues? Perhaps, but itwill be grand fun watching Nolan try to pull this off. TheDark Knight Rises actually looks like the grand finale it’s being billedas, and that’s a good sign.

Recently Released Test Footage Reveals The Green Goblin That Might’ve Been

2011-12-16T19:19:00.000-08:00

Spider-Man 3 madeit all too easy for detractors to focus on what Sam Raimi got wrong in bringingthe web-slinger to the big screen. That is unfortunate, seeing as how he had a relatively solid track record up to that point. The first Spider-Manfilm kicked the superhero revolution into high gear, proving the genre’s appealto be much broader than anyone had previously thought. Spider-Man2 is arguably the greatest film of its kind ever made. Yet, even those films had their share ofmissteps. Among the more nonsensical decisionsmade was to cover up William Dafoe’s wonderfully expressive face with a plasticmask/helmet hybrid. That design rancontrary to the one in the comics, where Norman Osborne sported a close fittingrubber mask more akin to something out of Mission:Impossible.

Some recently released test footage shows that there was, infact, a preferable alternative. Unableto convincingly replicate the “rubber mask” effect of the comic, Raimi initiallyconsidered having Osborne’s physical appearance change as a result of theperformance enhancing chemicals. Raimihad a team of make-up artists visualize this concept, and the results harkenback to his low-budget horror roots. Thedesign is reminiscent of the candarian demon from Evil Dead 2, sans the gaping grimace with multiple rows ofteeth.

Candarian demon from Evil Dead 2.

Many of the creature designs fromRiami’s Evil Dead films favored bulbouseyes with no pupils. That motif isrepeated here. Otherwise, the eyebrows,jaws, and mouth have full range of motion. The combination is suitably creepy. Why Riami did not go this route is anyone’s guess. It feels much truer to his sensibilities, andwould have allowed audiences to connect with the character of the Goblin much better. Instead, they got a green power ranger.

Music Video: Ludacris ft. Gucci Mane - Shake N Fries

2011-12-14T15:00:00.000-08:00

WARNING: The VideoReviewed In This Post Contains Sexually Explicit Content

Now that I’ve gotten that needless disclaimer out of theway, we can get down to business. Even overlyanalytical types like me need to unwind every now and then. Insuch cases, nothing does the trick better than a rap video featuring a bevy of voluptuousstrippers. Such clips usually accompany uptempo,raunchy party records. The latest bit of such recreational material comes from Ludacris and Gucci Mane, under the title "Shake N Fries."

Though I acknowledge Luda’s talent, I’ve never been a hugefan of his save for a handful of songs. These days, his comedic, irreverent shtick seems especially tired. Perhaps in a bid to remain relevant, many ofhis recent hits have been geared towards the skrip clubs. “ShakeN Fries” is no different, and wears its crass intentions on its sleeve. This time out, Luda enlists the help of GucciMane. The prospect of these two performing a duetis hardly enticing. Thankfully, the lyricallychallenged featured guest is confined to the hook. The beat sounds like it was pieced together on a Speak & Spell andthen outfitted with the requisite hand claps and 808 kicks.

The unremarkable song is accompanied by some trulyremarkable scenery. Bodies are contortedinto various pretzel shapes and booty cheeks jiggle like Jell-O molds. Virtual lapdances are handed out like Halloween candy. The 80’s graffiti motif had me expecting the dancers to start doingwindmills and backspins at any moment. Videoslike these hardly need any amount of critique or analysis. “Shake N Fries” speaks a universal languagethat any heterosexual male should be able to understand. Those who needtranslators, interpreters, or subtitles should seek professional helpimmediately.

Happy Birthday Clownface and Panda: ‘Body Bags: Father’s Day’ Turns 15

2011-12-13T19:48:00.000-08:00

It’s easy to forget how Quentin Tarantino’s masterpiece Pulp Fiction forever altered the courseof American pop culture. Its influencereverberated far beyond the confines of American cinema and could be seen in avariety of different mediums. In the years immediately following itsrelease, many tried to ape its style, often failing miserably. In 1996, comic book artist Jason Pearson paidtribute to the film as only he could, with an irreverent yarn that told the not-so-tendertale of an estranged father and daughter becoming reacquainted with one another.

Body Bags: Father’sDay is set in the fictional city of Terminus, Georgia. Various bounty hunter assassins, also called “bodybaggers,” battle each other for the contract jobs being offered by powerfulunderworld figures. Mack Delgado, alsoknown as the fearsome body bagger Clownface, is out to settle a score. A former protégé attempted to assassinate himand his partner Pops after the pair was awarded a particularly lucrativecontract. The assassination attempthaving failed, Mack and Pops frantically hunt down the traitor. In the midst of all this, Mack’s estranged daughterPanda arrives at his doorstep unannounced and eager to follow in his footsteps.Things go haywire when Mack and Pops attempt to fulfill the contract they’dbeen awarded. Panda is then forced todecide if she really wants to be a part of the family business.

Pulp Fictionoffered a rather offbeat view of American crime. In actuality, it was a dark comedy that usedthe underworld as its backdrop. Its universewas populated by inept, drug addled crooks that often embarked on some weirdadventures. Body Bags: Father’s Day operated on that same wavelength, albeitwith a few sci-fi embellishments. Terminus is populated with cybernetically enhanced killers and cyborgbodyguards. The main characters areessentially flamboyant racial caricatures. Clownface’s I similar to that of the Cholo and Pachuco subcultures. Throughout the series, he is shown sporting khakis,wallet chains, and Chuck Taylor Converse sneakers. The characters also refer to each other interms of racial epithets.

Long before Tarantino ventured into comic book territorywith Kill Bill, Jason Pearson was applyingthe Tarantino sensibility to the comic book page. Marvin getting his brains splattered all overthe inside of Jules and Vincent’s car was seen by many as the epitome of badtaste. The violence in Body Bags: Father’sDay went many steps further, combining the physics of Looney Tunes shorts with splatter film level bloodletting. The voluptuously bosomed Panda seems light asfeather as she bounds through the air, semi-automatics blazing. By contrast, Clownface barrels through eachand every panel like an unchained wrecking ball. The contrast of is at once outrageously sillyyet undeniably cool. This is due inlarge part to Jason Pearson’s amazing artwork, which combines gross exaggerationwith an eye for detail. Pearson neverforsakes the basics of good comic art, but still plays fast and loose with therules.

Clownface’s imposing shadow looms large over the wholeaffair. He’s an impossibly muscledbehemoth, possessing the ability to throw knives with such speed and force thatthey explode upon impact. In the veryfirst issue, He famously stabs a pregnant woman in the belly in order toextract vital information her from her coke dealing husband. Curiously, the act is suitably horrific butdoes not affect one’s ability to like or relate to the Clownface.

Body Bags: Father’sDay was released in 1996 to great controversy. It was a gift wrapped present for the likesof Bob Dole and others who felt that popular entertainment had long since oversteppedthe bounds of good taste. It featured ascantily clad 14 year-old female assassin. That showed a level of balls that even Tarantino might’ve lacked at thetime. The influence of Panda andClownface can clearly be seen in such characters as Big Daddy and Hit Girl fromKick-Ass. Unlike that series, Body Bags never presented itself as being a realistic take onanything. It had no such pretensions. Itwas a wild, rollicking ride that only wanted to entertain readers. It did that in spades, and left themclamoring for more. If there is anyjustice in the world, Body Bags willone day become a monthly series.

Movie Trailer: G.I. Joe: Retaliation

2011-12-12T20:06:00.000-08:00

Michael Bay’s Transformersfilms ushered in a wave of nostalgia for 80’s toy properties. Sylvester Stallone’s The Expendables tried to accomplish the same for 80’s actionheroes. The former was much moresuccessful than the latter, as TheExpendables required the action heroes of yesteryear to collectivize inorder to achieve a respectable level of bankability in the currentmarketplace. By comparison, The Transformers were able to achievemuch more without having to do a crossover with other toylines. Would it be possible for one form ofnostalgia to aid the resurrection of another? The makers of G.I. Joe:Retaliation seem to think so, as they have cast Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson ina lead role. While not actually an 80’saction hero, The Rock unmistakably comes from that exact same mold. Such iconography will now be used to aid the Joesin their second cinematic outing.

The story picks up right where the first film left off. The President of The United States orders the G.I. Joe team terminatedwith extreme prejudice, believing them to be traitors. Little does anyone know that the leader ofthe free world is currently being impersonated by Zartan, Cobra’s master ofdisguise. The termination of the Joes isbut the first step in Cobra’s latest plan for world domination. Their team largely destroyed, the remainingJoes set out to stop Cobra and clear their names.

2009’s G.I. Joe: TheRise of Cobra was but another of Stephen Sommers indistinct adventure yarns. It was easily as bad (or worse) than any ofMichael Bay’s Transformer films, butsomehow escaped the same level of scrutiny. John Chu steps in for Sommers this time out, and the difference isreadily apparent. From its openingmoments, the trailer stresses militarism over the properties more cartoonishelements. It actually looks like amodern war film set in the Middle East. Theapproach is a bit more akin to that of Michael Bay, though much more visually coherent.

Much of that is due to the presence of The Rock, who playsRoadblock. Though he looks nothing likethe cartoon and comic book incarnations of the character, he evokes the same ultra-masculineenergy. The character is a muscle boundmachine gunner, which is basically what the Rock is shown to be in thetrailer. He’s definitely a more fittinghero for such a film than Channing Tatum. The 80’s action hero iconography is fitting, seeing as how this film isbased on the 80’s iteration of the toyline.

Also adding to the distinctly 80's feel is Bruce Willis, who plays General Joseph Colton. His presence adds a nice bit of familiarity, suggesting that the film makers understand just what kind of film they are making. Those who were lukewarm on the first film need to be reassured that they will be in better hands this time out.

The most visually striking portion of the trailer showsSnake Eyes engaging a band of red clad ninjas in a bit of wire assisted swordfighting on the face of a snow capped mountain. The imagery seems borrowed from SilentInterlude, the 21^st issue of Marvel’s classic G.I. Joe comic series from the 1980’s. It also calls to mind the “fire element”battles from Chang Cheh’s blood soaked FiveElement Ninjas. Ninjas have alwaysplayed a significant part in the G.I. Joe mythos, and would make a welcomeaddition to any G.I. Joe film.

G.I. Joe #21 "Silent Interlude"

G.I.Joe: Retaliationseems a little more sure footed than the forgettable first film. It seems squarely focused on the actionelements of the property, which is the best approach for the material. The cartoons and comics were able includeelements of Sci-Fi and even fantasy. That kind of genre mixing is better achieved over a series of films,after the audience is properly oriented to one particular mythology. G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra tried, andfailed, to present all aspects of The G.I. Joe mythology in a single film. G.I.Joe: Retaliation seems to be easing the audience into it, distilling toproperty down to its militaristic roots.

Matthias Stork Answers Detractors in the Third Installment of ‘Chaos Cinema’

2011-12-12T18:24:00.000-08:00

The first two parts of Matthias Stork’s video essay Chaos Cinema drew the ire of many,inspiring a number of responses and rebuttals. Stork obviously took some of them into consideration when crafting thethird installment of his controversial series, which debuted this past Friday onPress Play. Stork doesn’t concededefeat, though he admits that he initially painted with broad brushstrokes. He apologizes for that oversight, whileanswering his critics.

Chaos cinema, as Stork loosely defined it in the first twoinstallments, is short hand for the muddled way that modern action scenes areoften shot and edited. The style doesn’tallow for anything resembling visual coherence, and the films soundtrack often actsas a sonic guide through the visual confusion.

Web-surfing, online video gaming and various forms of socialmedia have irreversibly altered the way audiences receive and processinformation. “Chaos Cinema” is touted byits defenders as being better equipped to suit the sensory needs of such anaudience. Stork handily shoots down thatnotion, pointing out that the online experience isn’t accurately mirrored bythe “Chaos Cinema” aesthetic.

Stork also points out that the inherently linear nature ofaction sequences doesn’t mesh well with more abstract styles of filmmaking. Action scenes are pure visual storytelling,and as such should be rendered with clarity. That sense of clarity was maintainedin previous decades, regardless of the stylistic approaches that came in andout of vogue. Chaos cinema abandons itentirely, offering flamboyant abstraction in its place.

To His credit, Stork does point out that chaos cinemahas been and can be used effectively (Paul Greengrass comes to mind.) A majority of today’s filmmakers employ it asa lazy alternative to crafting taut and balanced thrills. It’s much easier to assault the senses thanto deftly engage and manipulate them. Amaster showman should know how to make a sound and light show an understandablespectacle, as opposed to just a noisy distraction. It seems that some are angry at Stork forpointing that out. The truth is oftenhard to swallow.

Bane Leaves Batman Broken in the Second ‘Dark Knight Rises’ Poster

2011-12-11T10:31:00.001-08:00

Superhero comics are sometimes criticized by detractors asbeing stories that never end about characters that never age. Such a reading characterizes the form as lackinga sense of purpose, evolution, and finality. Likewise, that same criticism is often leveled against movie franchises featuringsaid heroes. The current trend of “rebooting”certain franchises does nothing to contradict that notion, as these rebootsusually occur without the previous cinematic iteration of the character havingreached anything resembling closure. The Dark Knight Rising stands apart fromits peers in that the marketing emanates a sense of finality. The second poster for the film places thatsentiment firmly in the forefront.

The poster shows Batman nemesis Bane in the background, hisback turned to the camera as he walks off into the infinite darkness of therainy night. Batman’s shattered cowloccupies the bottom half of the image. It lies on the floor like piece of smashed pottery. The message is simple and unmistakable: Banehas broken the Batman. It conveys theexact same idea as the cover of Batman#497 without actually showing the act in question. How bane will accomplish this goal remains tobe seen. Our hero will clearly face somereal adversity this time out. He will doso without the benefit of a cliffhanger, as this is being touted as theconclusion of a trilogy. It will beChristopher Nolan’s third and final Batmanfilm.

Christopher Nolan’s vision of Batman has had a first and secondact. This summer, it will receive athird and final one. This is the firstpiece of advertising for the film that makes such a point unequivocally. It almost feels like an artistic gauntlet hasbeen thrown down. Nolan might become thefirst filmmaker ever to present a full and complete portrait of a superhero,barring that this third installment lives up to expectations. In a perfect world, Warner Brothers wouldsimply retire the franchise for a decade or more after releasing Dark Knight Rises. Alas, the show must go on, whether or notNolan is calling the shots. This is abusiness, and cash cows must be milked indefinitely. Nolan’s artistic pretensions run contrary tothat thinking, and superhero films may end up being all the better for it inthe long run.

Movie Poster: The Amazing Spider-Man

2011-12-10T11:34:00.001-08:00

The teaser poster is here for The Amazing Spider-Man is here. It shows Peter Parker having crawled up the corner of two intersectingwalls in what appears to be a really dark alleyway. He sits perched in a crab walk position,while a light from above shines down on him. Peter Parker himself is almost completely covered in darkness, but hisprofile casts a shadow on the walls below him in the shape of the spider emblemthat adorns his costume. Beneath thiseye catching image is a rather weird tagline that reads “The Untold Story.”

So what does this image convey? Well, it certainly lets the audience know toget ready for a decidedly darker and more serious take on the material than SamRiami has ever offered, though that much could be gleaned from the very firstphoto of a pensive and unmasked Peter Parker in a tattered costume that wasreleased months ago. This is probablythe first piece of advertising for a Spider-Manfilm that focuses on an emblem rather than Spider-Man himself. In that sense, it is reminiscent of the adcampaigns for the Batman films, whichsometimes focus on the Bat signal by itself.

The hero casting a shadow that reveals his truenature/identity is also a trope that is borrowed from Batman. I’ve seen it used many times in thecomics. It also calls to mind the teaserposter for Star Wars Episode 1: ThePhantom Menace, where a young Anakin Skywalker casts the shadow of DarthVader. Further comparison of these twoposters makes the tagline for the TheAmazing Spider-Man seem even stranger. “The Untold Story” suggests that we will be learning something aboutSpider-Man that we hadn’t learned from any of the prior films. The films trailer stressed nothing more than areimagining of his origin story. Bycomparison, the much maligned Star Warsprequel actually did have an untold story to tell.

The poster is great. It’s both moody and eye catching, and solidlydistinguishes this reboot as featuring the title character in a new light.Whether or not the dark and brooding treatment befits the wall crawler has yetto be seen, but this bit of advertising art is perhaps one of the coolest everoffered for this decade old franchise. Strangely though, it doesn’t really stoke my interest for the film itself. Oh well, either way they’ve already got mymoney.

Music Video: KRS-One – Aztechnical

2011-12-09T19:09:00.001-08:00

When an iconic artist appears to be long past his prime,fans find themselves wishing he would either return to form or just call it aday. While the latter would be the mostrealistic option, it’s not so easy for those who’ve tasted success to throw inthe towel. They often begin trying to theirglory days, making it all the more obvious that their skills have atrophied. Amazingly, some artists are able to keeptheir tools sharp indefinitely. KRS-Onehas long purported himself to be such an artist, and his upcoming 20^thstudio album Just Like That aims toprove it.

“Aztechnical,” the secondsong and video from Just Like That, dealswith the apocalyptic myths surrounding the year 2012. It specifically targets the alleged significanceof the date December 21^st 2012 on the Mayan Calendar. Much like his classic song “Why is That?” Itattempts to debunk myths and misinformation. KRS again enlists the help of producer Mad Lion to recreate the energyand attitude of his golden era self. Forthe second time in a row, the results are surprisingly effective.

Right from the outset, the song blaringly announces itsarrival. Primal drums bubble and poundbeneath uproarious horns and a ringing electric guitar. The combination of sounds emanates a seriousjungle vibe, almost like a tribal ceremony. Robust as ever, KRS begins to shout the preamble to his latest sermon. The beat and the vocals seem to be competingwith each other. The clash makes for anunsettling, yet compelling, listening experience.

The lesson begins. KRSuses the hysteria surrounding the year 2012 to illustrate his point. He shows how such fears are exploited by theentertainment complex, and how the populace is susceptible to such tactics dueto their willful ignorance. Simplyresearching such phenomena would render it impotent. Likewise, cultural pride and self-knowledge arealso effective counter measures. Apeople with no sense of their own history and culture will swallow anything thepowers that be present them with.

KRS then offers an intricate and detailed breakdown of thescience behind the Mayan calendar, as well as a history lesson about how Cortezconquered the Mayans. He did so bythoroughly learning their culture and applying what he knew. He turned theirfear against them. KRS tears through anamazing amount of information in a matter of minutes. He does so with the speed of a cheetah. The listener may find themselves holding onfor dear life at certain points. Still,it’s a compelling listen in that it grabs ahold of one’s attention and never andmaintains that grasp throughout.

As expected, the video makes heavy use of Mayan imagery. As with “Just Like That,” green screeneffects are likewise heavily used. Allthings considered, the special effects are impressive for such a meagerproduction. They aren’t on the scale of anythingby WETA or ILM, but they achieve the illusion to a good enough degree that thelistener is never distracted.

“Aztechnical” is a good example of rap music as a form ofcommunication. After all these years, it’sstill an effective forum for the dissemination of vital information. Listening to this song is much easier thandoing the actual footwork that KRS must have done before writing it. Ironically, that is exactly the kind ofapathy and laziness that the song decries. It seems that in trying to cure said apathy, KRS has actuallycontributed to it in an odd and unintended way. Then again, maybe I’m just overthinking a really dope song.

Movie Review: Boy Wonder

2011-12-06T16:57:00.001-08:00

The very concept of a “realistic” superhero film would seemto be a gross contradiction in terms. The fantastical conventions and tropes of the genre seem irreversibly resistantto such iterations. This has not stoppeda plethora of filmmakers from offering pseudo realistic takes on the caped andcostumed set. Kick Ass, Watchmen, andChristopher Nolan’s Batman films allpurport to be the genuine article in terms of grit and realism. All of the aforementioned address the variousimplausibilities and impossibilities of the genre in a myriad of ways. Though these films can in no way beconsidered artistic failures, none of them ever has ever been completely successfulin accomplishing their goals. Writer/DirectorMichael Morrissey has attempted to remedy this problem with his grittyvigilante film, Boy Wonder.

Sean Donovan is a seemingly ineffectual teen leading aseemingly uneventful existence in Brooklyn. He’s a severely introverted young man who scores straight A’s in all ofhis classes. However, his meek andunassuming demeanor disguises a huge propensity for violence. At night he prowls the streets of Brooklyn,brutally assaulting and sometimes murdering any violent criminal he happensupon. His one man campaign of vigilantejustice is the result of a horrible childhood tragedy. As a young boy, hewitnessed the brutal murder of his mother by a carjacker. He hopes to one day exact vengeance on herkiller. Until that point, his crusade willcontinue indefinitely.

As one can easily assert by reading the plot synopsis, Boy Wonder Is not film about Batman’sbrightly costumed sidekick Robin. MichaelMorrissey, an avowed comics fan, has taken the origin stories and revengefantasies inherent to the form of comics and allowed them to play out as abrutal urban drama. The results are attimes uneven, but nonetheless intriguing. The stripped down approach essentially turns the film into anunrelentingly dark character study of a young man who could be considered ablue collar version of Bruce Wayne, sans the “no killing” policy.

There are no huge set pieces or lavish special effects. The drama is not punctuated by constant orrelentless action. The set pieces are mostlylow key, centering on brutal one-on-one confrontations that end fairlyquickly. Though the hero is obviouslytrained and proficient in combat, the fights unfold in a rather messy and spontaneousmanner. Caleb Steinmeyer’s size andweight are surprisingly taken into account. Larger, stronger opponents are able to fling him around like a rag doll,yet he is able to turn the tables on them through resourcefulness and use ofvarious weapons. One wishes that thesescenes could have been filmed more clearly, but the muddled aesthetic is inline with the tone that Morrissey is aiming for.

The film has some slow moments, but the movie soldiers throughon the strength of the performances and character relationships. Caleb Steinmeyer is the darker version ofPeter Parker that Spider Man 3 ineptly tried to bring to life, only here it’snot played for laughs. Steinmeyerelicits sympathy despite his emotionally distant performance and brutalnature. As detective Teresa Ames, ZulayHenao exudes both ambition and sex appeal. Her motherly concern for Sean seems genuine and even suggests a feint hintof sexual attraction to him. Of course,the characters consummate professionalism would prevent such a thing from evercoming to fruition. It’s that kind of complexity that keeps thefilm from feeling as routine and mundane as it might have otherwise played.

BoyWonder won’tappeal to everyone. It lacks the obviousand vulgar thrills of traditional action pictures and modern superhero films. It is not in the same mold as either Spider-Man or Death Wish. It holds the viewer’sinterest through more subtle and cerebral means than either of those films. Though the execution isn’t flawless, it is nonethelessa thoughtful film with a lot on its mind. It actually seems interested in what might really happen should a psychologicallyunbalanced teenager actually decide to take the law into his own hands. BoyWonder is worthy viewing for anyone who has ever wanted to see the conceptof superheroes taken deadly serious.

Music Video: LBP Stunts Chicago - Boogie Woogie Feng Shui No. 5 (Live Action AMV - Anime Music Video)

2011-12-05T17:41:00.001-08:00

LBP Stunts Chicago seems to have a bottomless reserve ofenergy. They channel it into a number ofendeavors, from short films to experimental clips and now music videos. You read that last part right: musicvideos. No, LBP has not formed a band ofany sort (or God forbid a rap group). Theyhave simply put together some visual accompaniment for a few existing pieces ofmusic. The visuals in question are not arandom collection of disconnected images. No, these are recreations of key fight scenes from some three of themore notable anime properties from the past 20 years. The curiously (though fittingly) titled Boogie Woogie Feng Shui No. 5 (Live ActionAMV - Anime Music Video) is a trilogy that clocks in at about sevenminutes, but acts as a greatest hits package of sorts.

The first segment recreates the climactic fight from Cowboy Bebop: Knocking on Heaven’s Doorwith Jeffrey Griffith in the role of intergalactic bounty hunter Scott Spiegeland Alexander Hashioka-Oatfield as the villain Vincent Volaju. The fight takes place in broad daylight on a buildingrooftop rather than in at night the upper reaches of an Eiffel Tower typestructure. However, from the standpointof fight choreography and costume design, the recreation is dead on. The moves feel instinctual and reactionary. This exasperating slugfest ends in a chest poundingdraw.

The next entry splices together scenes from Both Ninja Scroll and Samurai Champloo. It recreatesthe blind swordsman confrontation from the former. I’m not intimately familiar with the latter,so I have no idea what scene it’s emulating. The scene is a three way brawl featuring Vonzell Carter as Jin/Jubei, MickeyFacchinello as Sara, and Brendon Huor as Majaro Utsusu. It actually calls to mind the climactic threeway lightsaber fight that ends Star WarsEpisode 1: The Phantom Menace. Thisfight feels a bit more measured and calculated than the first, perhaps becauseit involves weapons instead of hand to hand combat (not to mention that one ofthe combatants is a blind man). Thepacing isn’t as relentless, suggesting that each character has to stop andthink before executing a move. Thefighting in the first felt more instinctual and reactionary. There are, of course, the requisite poses andintense stares to punctuate the action. Theforest setting and musical choice add an serene undertone that feels at oddswith some of the aggression shown onscreen.

The ending segment adapts a duel from Sword of the Stranger. BredenHuor plays Nanshi and Seth Austin plays Luo Lang. It takes place on a hilltop. Seth Austin’s animated facial expressionscall to mind the melodramatic character designs often attributed to animevillains. In doing so, it constantlyreminds the viewer of the form that this video pays homage to. It also injects a bit of adrenaline into theproceedings. Seth’s sleeveless redbutton up calls to mind Ken from the StreetFighter franchise, or even one of the characters from Double Dragon.

Director/editor/cinematographer/fight choreographer EmmanuelManzanares keeps things from getting too monotonous by offering a varied numberof settings and fighting styles. The differencesare subtle, but will be noticed by attentive viewers. Each entry has a distinct mood and energylevel, which is likely why they were chosen. Manzanares also shows that live action translations of such material don’thave to be literal so long as they capture the spirit of said scenes andproperties. Such an undertaking can beachieved with minimal resources.

Boogie Woogie FengShui No. 5 (Live Action AMV - Anime Music Video) is a nice little YouTube stockingstuffer the holiday season. LBP Stunts Chicago have a similar workethic and business model to rappers like Lil Wayne or Gucci Mane, only theirartistic output is consistently of a much higher quality. Like mixtapes from the aforementioned drugaddled rap stars, LBP deems everything they do worthy of mass consumption. They pump it out assembly line style. Thankfully, they have tons of talent andenergy to spare, not to mention an equal measure of cinematic vision anddiscipline to saddle it to.

Boogie Woogie Feng Shui No. 5 (Live Action AMV - Anime Music Video) from LBP Stunts Chicago on Vimeo.

LBP Stunts Chicago Makes Muggers Think Twice in New Test Footage

2011-11-28T18:38:00.001-08:00

LBP Stunts will not be denied. It’s just that simple. Even the throwaway material from those guysis worth a look. Their latest experimentwas conducted as a test of the Sony FS100 Super 35mm digital motion camcorder. It’s a bit of test footage depicting a physicalconfrontation between a mugger and a victim in a multilevel parking garage. Emmanuel Manzanares plays the attacker and ShawnBernal the target. As expected, the twoengage in a bit of fierce fisticuffs. Asis the standard for LBP stunts, the choreography comes at the viewer fast andfurious. Moves and countermoves areunleashed in rapid and hard hitting succession.

Two versions are provided, one with filtereffects and one without. Both areequally satisfying, and would feel right at home in any number of urban actionflicks from the 1980’s. The clip barelylasts a minute and a half, and as such doesn’t provide enough material for myusual over-analysis. Keeping that inmind, I will keep the preamble short and get right to the goods. Enjoy.

With Filter Effects:

Without Filter Effects:

'The Raid' Gets a Somewhat New Trailer

2011-11-28T17:57:00.001-08:00

As the excruciatingly long wait for the North Americanrelease of Gareth Evan’s Indonesian action extravaganza The Raid continues, plans have already been announced for both asequel and a Hollywood remake. Meanwhile, many of us stateside continue to salivate over the red band trailerthat got released a few months back (you can read my review here). A newextended trailer got released recently, which contains much of the same footageas the first. It was originally shown atthe Indonesia International Fantastic Film Festival. GarethEvans posted it on his blog yesterday. Itshows a bit more graphic violence and boasts a new musical composition by FajarYuskemal and Aria Prayogi. It againemphasizes the insanely kinetic energy on display in the various fight scenesand shoot outs. Though it offers onlyminor differences from the red band trailer, it still demands countless viewingsby any self-respecting adrenaline junkie. Such well-crafted carnage goes a long way in satiating the collectivelonging for the heyday of Hong Kong action cinema. Screen Gems needs to get this into NorthAmerican theaters and then onto Blu-Ray ASAP.

The Raid Trailer v.2 from Merantau Films on Vimeo.

Surviving the Game: An Interview with Michael “Mick-Man” Gourdine A.K.A Candy Man, Author of Chili Pimping in Atlantic City (Part 2)

2011-11-22T15:53:00.001-08:00

In the second part of ‘Surviving the Game: An Interview with Michael “Mick-Man” Gourdine A.K.A Candy Man, Author of Chili Pimping in Atlantic City’ (Click here to read part one), The Candyman offers unprecedented insight into the drug game aspracticed by New Yorkers. He also revealssome little known truths about the “sporting life.”

Scott “Tre” Wilson:Throughout your book, you talk about having sex with the women under youremploy even after you’ve turned them out. Isn’t that like getting high on your own supply in a sense? I was under the impression that such behavioris a no-no in the pimp game.

Michael “Mick-Man”Gourdine: No, it’s not. They expectthat. If you’re their man, they expectthat. Doing that (having sex) with awoman that is not under your thumb, is a direct violation of the rules. But once she is, it’s not a violation of therules. You are expected to serviceher. You are never expected to payher. She’s never expected to hold money,but you are expected to provide that service. That is a rule, even though those rules are deviated from. Chili pimps are given leeway with therules. They are not expected to know allof the rules. They are not expected toabide by the rules by the letter of the law, because after all, they are chilipimps. They are not bona fide orqualified. They are not capitol P-I-M-P’s. They’re chili pimps. Chili-pimping is the minor leagues. That’s how you break into the game, and howyou leave it.

Scott “Tre” Wilson: Inyour book, you also say that drug dealers are nothing more than squares with aconnection and that most of them end up being tricks because they have nogame. What lead you to such conclusions?

Leroy "Nicky" Barnes supposedly turned informant due to his wife's infidelities.

Michael “Mick-Man”Gourdine: That’s like knowing the difference between a criminal and acop. I played both sides of thatfence. A drug dealer, even though he’snot a square because he makes his money from crime, has a squares heart. He has a working man’s heart. He is a very emotional person. He’s isn’t seasoned. He’s not hardened in the world ofemotion. He’s hardened as far asviolence and crime, but inside he’s a big little boy. Emotionally he’s like a little boy. He’s very emotional and it’s easy for a womanto push his buttons. He’s not seasonedin the art of the cat and mouse chase between men and women. In essence he’s trying to buy a woman thesame way bought a big house or a big car. He winds up dealing with women who are with him because of what he hasand not who he is. When a pimp is with awhore, she’s with a pimp because of who he is, not what he has.

They (Drug dealers) wind up gettingbroken eventually because of it, especially when he gets with a girl who hassome game and who knows the game. Shemakes a giant sized ass out of him. Lookat all of them. They wind up puttingcars and houses in women’s names. Hewinds up doing 185 years while she’s left with everything, and he did all thework! So I would demote him from squareand make him a whore. That’s what hereally is.

Scott “Tre” Wilson:What’s the biggest misconception that people have about the sporting life?

Michael “Mick-Man”Gourdine: The biggest misconception, as you read in my book, is that peoplefind themselves in the sporting life through different avenues and fordifferent reasons. Sometimes theydevelop relationships with women who are in it or around it and the womenintroduce them to it. Some of them arefascinated by it and they try to gorilla their way into it. But the biggest misconception is that peoplein the sporting life are actually these evil whip carrying predators that areat a Greyhound bus station or hanging out outside of a high school and preyingon young girls. Although people likethat do exist, people who practice the “turn-out” are not the majority.

The legendary Bishop Don "Magic" Juan

There are people like the legendary Don MagicJuan, who had women who had been in the game for years that tried to impresshim and had to audition to be under his employ. He did not have to ride around the junior high school looking for theyoung girl or the runaway. It’s a coexistencebetween two people who have a relationship and they’re trying to make money, especiallythe chili pimp. We’re not talking aboutthe boss player with a huge stable that has so many girls he doesn’t even knowthem all. We’re not talking abouthim. We’re talking about a chilipimps. A chili pimp is working on acombination of trust, survival and the necessity of survival. They’re not making the women do it. They’re not predators.

The biggest misconception, I would say, is that pimps arecontrolling the prostitution game. Theyare not. The prostitutes are controllingthe prostitution game. That’s what I wasjust trying to explain. The pimp is notin control. He’s providing aservice. He’s actually under heremploy. Sometimes he’s working harderthan she is. After all, she’s justfucking! He’s providing protection andlegal assistance. He has to look forher. He has to provide her with shelter,medical attention, food, and clothing. Hehas to parent her. He’s basically a paidmanager.

In a resort place like Vegas orAtlantic City, he has to work really hard because there’s other pimps she cango to, and she has ass to sell. He canfind himself homeless and living out of a garbage can, or calling back home andasking somebody to Western Union him money to get his broke ass out of there ifhe’s peeled of his girls or if he blows ho-less. So he has to constantly play the game oflooking like he’s in charge. Convincingthe girl that he’s in charge, convincing the girl that he needs her and thatshe should be with him versus the dude who is riding around in a differentRolls Royce every day of the week and all he has is 420 Mercedes. He has to convince her that it behooves herto stay with him. He is working damnedhard, and he is not in control and no one knows that more than he does.

What a pimp is actually trying to do is reverse the gamethat women have been playing on men since the beginning of time. A woman will live with a man. She’ll be married to him. She’ll cook for him and clean for him, andactually convince that motherfucker that he’s in charge when everybody knows he’snot. And for a while he falls asleep,and believes he’s really in charge! That’sall he (The pimp) is trying to do, he’s trying to convince her that he’s reallyin charge, but he always knows he’s not. The more he knows that, the more power he will eventually have. The second the pimp becomes powerless, ho-lessand eventually shoeless is when he thinks “I got all my hoes in check! They all know! They know what’s up!” No. That’s usually the one that ends up crying in the street as soon as theygetting into somebody else’s Rolls Royce. So that’s the biggest misconception, that he’s in charge of thegame. They have the power ofchoice. They choose their pimp. I’m sure you’ve heard that one before, right?

Scott “Tre” Wilson:Yes, I have.

Michael “Mick-Man”Gourdine: They choose. The personwho chooses is always the one with the power, right?!

Scott “Tre” Wilson: Yes.

Michael “Mick-Man”Gourdine: So there you go (laughs). They’re choosing pimps, they have the power. He doesn’t, and he knows it.

Scott “Tre” Wilson: Inyour book, you describe yourself as the third most corrupt cop in the historyof the NYPD. How is it that you escapeddoing serious jail time with all the things you described and participated in?

Michael “Mick-Man”Gourdine: That’s a very fair question. That’s a question that I have answered in the book, but I will tell youalso. I pride myself on making verycalculated steps and moves and being the very best criminal I can possiblybe. Another thing is I have secrets overranking people in the police department. People who I worked with who became ranking people, people who don’twant me to really start talking. That’swhy my life is not in jeopardy now. Ihave been in trouble since leaving the police department. I have called certain people and said that Ineed discretion and courtesy to be extended to me out of state or I might starttalking. Courtesy was granted. They’ve come to my house after I wasinterviewed in ASIS Magazine, and Itold them that we agreed that as long as I don’t name certain people, murders,and heinous crimes that went down back in the 1990’s, that no harm shall befallme. Whether I’m riding around New York Citywith a trunk full of guns, no plates or what have you, I haven’t had anytrouble. I haven’t been arrested foranything. Basically they have ammunitionagainst me and vice versa.

That was the trick to being a good, corrupt policeofficer. I knew secrets of criminals as wellas fellow cops and used it as leverage to put the squeeze on people and to getthem to do what I want. The same way when I was a correction officer I gotinmates to do what I wanted. I will finda way to make your life uncomfortable if you don’t do what I want you todo. The same way a pimp gets a girl todo what he wants her to do. He findsways to make her life better or worse. Whatevershall behoove him, such as secrets, he will find a way to make it happen. It’s just like in life: Brain before brawn. There are people who have functioned in lifewho use force and put the gorilla hand down when it comes to everything. I try to use finesse, reasoning, discretion,and it has served me well. I have aminimal amount of enemies. I don’t havepeople who will wish me harm, or that much harm, I should say. Even if I was shot, hurt, or my propertydestroyed, I didn’t take it personally and I tried to find a way to quell thesituation in a manner that benefitted everyone. Whether I paid somebody, or whatever penalty I had to pay, monetary orotherwise, to make a problem go away. Thishas been my saving grace, my ability to shrewdly reason with people.

Scott “Tre” Wilson: Inthe Hughes brothers Documentary AmericanPimp, there was pimp from the DCarea who said that he’d known pimps who went up to New York City with a bunchof women and came back home with shoe strings holding up their clothes. What did he mean by that?

Michael “Mick-Man”Gourdine: (Laughs) New York is a microcosm of the world. It’s where the world comes together. There’s some of everything going on. If you come from a place like the Midwest,you’re expecting people to play by the rules. You’re expecting the game to be Black and white. In New York, there are various shades ofgrey. Chicago pimps will only deal withChicago pimps because they’re paying people like Gangster Disciples or the ViceLords for protection to control their territories, so no one’s coming from outside. In New York, just like the stock market,there are people coming from all over the world. So you could run into people whose game istighter than yours, who’ll have people rob you constantly. It’s not going to go smoothly. It’s not a conducive place for the game. New York is like a bank job. You hit it fast and you leave. You stick around long enough and it’s goingto fall apart. It’s like Vegas. The longer you stay, the worse you’re goingto do.

Scott “Tre” Wilson:You speak of Pimps from the Midwest having much tighter game than pimps fromNew York. Is there any particular facetof the criminal life at which New Yorkers excel at on a world class scale?

Michael “Mick-Man”Gourdine: Drug dealing. Drug dealingis our thing, and there’s a reason for it. New York City has the most financed police department in the world. High tech equipment, you have cops that useultra-red goggles and super-listening devices. The flip side to that is the New York drugdealer has to be very adept at his game so that it’s mastered. You can go into Harlem and you can order adrug. You can order crack cooked withRemy Martin. You can order crack cookedwith rum. We created crack cocaine. Crack cocaine was created in New York City in1984. The precursor to that was freebase. We are experts at narcotics: Cooking,manufacturing, and distributing narcotics. Most of our parents are on drugs. In New York, drug usage and dealing is a tradition. With the police department being so good, wehave to be so good.

This photo from the CD insert of Raekwon's classic solo debut Only Built For Cuban Linx references New York City's tradition of cooking, manufacturing, and selling narcotics.

Leaving New York, police departments are amateurs. They can’t even deal with us. They have to call in Feds. People come from New York and set up shop, especiallyif they’re white. If they’re, let’s say,some Italians or Irish guys who are going to blend in? Local cops don’t know what to do withthem. You will find New York drug dealerseverywhere throughout this country and abroad. You go right now down into Trinidad, and say “find out who the biggestdrug dealers are,” and it’ll be some motherfucker from New York. Some Trinidadian dude who came to New York asa child, learned the game and got deported or went back there on his own and setup an army. He learned the best cookingtechniques.

In other places, they call it crack, but it’s really nothingmore than base cocaine. New York peopleknow how to rewash it, recook it, and add ammonia. That changes the DNA molecular structure ofthe cocaine, hence making it 20 times more addictive and powerful. That’s what crack is. It’s base cocaine that’s been geneticallymodified. You’ve changed the molecularstructure by adding ammonia. You’vechanged it by doing that. We know how tocut heroin with certain things. We know thatevery dope fiend looks for that hot flash that he gets from strychnine, so weuse extra strychnine. Instead of usingmorphine to cut it, we’ll use Oxycontin. We’ll use speed with it, which is what I always call the breaks and thegas. When you put speed with heroin, it’slike somebody speeding up the car and then stomping on the breaks. That’s why you’ll see them charge, then nod,charge, then nod. We’re the masters ofthe chip. We’ll go someplace whereeverybody’s asking for cocaine, and there are cocaine dealers everywhere, and we’reputting just a little bit of heroin in the cocaine. So all of a sudden, our cocaine is betterthan everyone else’s. In turn, we’returning all of our clientele into dope fiends without them knowing it. So meanwhile, we’re selling cocaine anddope. We’ll take over the market in acity that way.

We, especially Black people, have way more access to heroinin New York then we do cocaine. Inplaces like Harlem, Blacks are not even allowed to deal cocaine. All we can deal there is heroin. That was an agreement that was reachedbetween the Blacks and the Dominicans back in 1993. So we’re always looking for a way to maximizeour profits, and what do we have over Dominicans and Columbians in NewYork? We speak English and there areniggas everywhere. Every town has thenigga side. Every city has the wrongside of the tracks, but we’re also facing problems with that too.

The further we go west, the more we run into the gangs fromthe far west, so there’s a thin balance with that too. So we can’t go so far, and we can’t evenoutbid their suppliers, which are the Mexicans in Tijuana. What we do is we’ll surrender that. We’ll go to someplace like, say, Omaha,Nebraska. We’ll make some quick moneyquietly. Once we start making too muchnoise, the Vietnam 18^th Street Gangsta Bloods are going to shut usdown and we’re going to leave town quietly with our New York plates, heading ontointerstate 80 in the middle of the night. What we usually do is, New York people look for small towns outside ofbig towns. Small little places where thegangs are afraid to go, because once you go looking like Boyz N the Hood or Menace IISociety, the powers that be are going to crack down. So we’ll go into town and open up aFootlocker, sneaker store, or a barbershop and try to quietly do it, the NewYork way. But the game we excel in thatnobody does like us is the drug dealing. That’s our thing.

*You can purchase Michael Gourdine's book Chili Pimping in Atlantic City: The Memoir of a Small Time Pimp and Hustler for the best available price from the Strategic Media Books website.

Cool Characters: Roland Bishop

2011-11-21T17:50:00.001-08:00

Hood films have never been known for their subtlety. Even the best ones often hammer their pointshome. They have always fallen squarelyon the nurture side of the nature vs. nurture argument. Most explanations for criminality are oftenspelled out in the most overt and expository manner possible. It’s as if the filmmakers don’t trust the audienceto come to the appropriate conclusions on their own. Still, somewhat vague and ambiguous characterizationssometimes slipped through the cracks. Therandomness of street crime dictates that not every murder has a clear orlogical motive. Any otherwise “realistic”movie about the streets would be somewhat dishonest if it ignored such afact. In the midst of the hood movieonslaught of the early 1990’s, a future Hip-Hop legend would be cast as one of hood cinema's definitive sociopaths.

Juice focuses onthe lives of Bishop (Tupac Shakur), Q (Omar Epps), Raheem (Khalil Kain), andSteel (Jermaine Hopkins). The four Harlem teens playfully dub themselves “TheWrecking Crew.” Their days are rarelyspent in school. They divide their timebetween hanging out in pool halls and wandering the streets. They endure frequent intimidation by a PuertoRican gang lead by the young Radames. Growing weary of how “The Wrecking Crew” has little to no presence on thestreets, Bishop and Raheem come up with a solution: rob the local bodega and itsowner, the troublesome “Old man” Quiles. The score will provide them with some quick cash and establish them as aforce to be reckoned with. However, whatshould be a simple robbery takes a very wrong turn when Bishop’s Napoleoncomplex comes bubbling to the surface. His quest for power ultimately tears the crew apart.

Juice was one of anumber of films in the early 1990’s that would play a part in shaping theemerging hood film subgenre. It wasdirected by Ernest Dickerson, who had previously served as Spike Lee’s directorof photography. Like Boyz N the Hood, it was essentially acoming of age tale with a dash of tragic violence thrown in. Unlike Boyz,it didn’t tug so obviously at the audience’s heart strings. It took its inspiration from the likes ofMartin Scorcese’s naturalistic crime film MeanStreets. The milieu was changed fromLittle Italy to early 90’s Harlem and the soundtrack was changed toHip-Hop. Tupac Shakur, then known mostlyfor his happy-go-lucky verse on Digital Undergrounds 1991 single “Same Song,”was cast as Bishop. He won the role overNaughty by Nature’s Treach and Digital Underground’s Money B. By the time the film was released, 2Pac’sdebut, 2Pacalypse Now, had only beenin stores for a couple of months. Itwasn’t setting the charts on fire, but songs like “Brenda’s Got a Baby” weregetting love in the streets.

As played by Tupac, Roland Bishop was a force of nature akinto Michael Myers. No particular reasonis given for his murder spree save for his self-espoused thirst for power. The movie offers a vague clue into his homelife in a small scene which shows his jailbird father catatonically staringinto the television. The Wrecking Crewsacquirement of a snub nose revolver provides Bishop’s id with the necessarycatalyst for his violent tendencies. Hefinds that he has the ability to kill without regard or conscience. Even fellow crew members are not safe fromhis wrath. Tupac, in his feature film debut,inhabits the role with every fiber of his being. His eyes have a hollow vacancy, and thepistol becomes like an appendage to his hand. Bishop and his gun are unmistakably one. His descent into sociopathic behavior is all the scarier because it isnot adequately explained.

Aside from 2pac’s performance, and theexceptional soundtrack album, Juicewas rather unremarkable. The characterof Roland Bishop is an essential building block of 2Pac’s mystique. Despite the Black Militant imagery of hisdebut, Pac’s contradictions had many wondering just what to make of him. Roland Bishop offered a very clearly definedmanifestation of his dark side. For betteror worse, the shadow of Roland Bishop still looms large within 2Pac’slegacy. He is the very definition ofseemingly pointless and misdirected rage.

Short Film Review: Rosa

2011-11-21T14:26:00.001-08:00

Cyberpunk has been around since the early to mid-1980’s, andhas long since become just another pop culture well that genre filmmakersreturn to time and again. As such, itwould seem to have run dry by now, seeing as how cyberpunk imagery has becomean integral part of the dystopian sci-fi filmmaking language. Video games have also made extensive use ofsuch stories and settings. However, likeso many other fantasy genres, cyberpunk has much more to offer than what haspreviously been shown, even if just in a superficial or visual sense. In fact, the imagery is probably best suitedby no dialogue at all in some cases. JesúsOrellana’s animated short film Rosalikely would have thrived in the silent film era, since it functions mostly asa beautifully rendered dream.

A cybernetic being named Rosa awakens from an extended hibernation. She is a child of the Kernel project, and assuch is charged with rejuvenating the earths collapsed ecosystem. As she wanders through the desolation, she isspied upon by other such beings. However, her counterparts mean not to aid her mission, but to impede it. They do so violently, yet Rosa pushes onuntil the bitter end.

Rosa is ananimated short film of the computer generated variety, yet it’s wholly unlike anythingattempted by Pixar or Dreamworks. It wasconceived and created by comic book artist Jesús Orellana over the course of ayear. It feels exactly like a work of artthat is driven by a single vision as opposed to a collaborative effort. It tells its story completely throughvisuals, offering nothing in the way of expository dialogue or voice over. Though it isn’t abstract or surrealist in thestrictest sense, it does invite individual interpretation. It’s also derivative, though not negativelyso. Like many of the most worthy modernworks, it draws inspiration from its creators many influences.

To say the film is visually striking would be an almostlaughable understatement. Orellana takesmore than a few cues from Ridley Scott, meshing the worlds of Alien and Blade Runner into a strange hybrid. The color palette is similar to the one used inside the downedspacecraft carrying the eggs on LB-426 in Alien. Everything looks like it was filmed with lowlighting in a murky, algae covered fish tank. Dust and other particles float as though inside of a snow globe. The slow, deliberate movements of thecharacters add to this effect. The setdesign in one moment shows a bunch of houses with vaguely Asian architectureorganized in the fashion of Brazilian favelas. The clash of motifs and styles is striking.

The character designs add to the atmospherics. Rosa and her counterparts are walking Pinocchio metaphors. They are pale marionettes with biomechanicalbodies that look like humans with the skin ripped off to reveal the rawmusculature underneath. Again, the slowmovements reinforce the puppetry metaphor. After the other two cyborgs stalk Rosa like a pair of Hyena, they engageher in lighting fast fisticuffs. Thescene is as well choreographed as anything one is likely to see in a live-actionmartial arts film. It’s mostly a series ofblocks and counter moves of the Wing Chun variety.

Through it all, there is a theme of life coming forth fromdeath. This theme is manifested quiteliterally in both the storyline and the accompanying visuals. Rosa’s blood causes roses to bloom whereverit lands. Droplets of it turn into rosepetals when carried by the swirling winds. She is, in essence, the life bringer. She is pitted against a couple of adversaries who are essentially destroyers.Even the “tragic” ending seems to give the message of beauty coming from forthfrom ugliness. The story can be summedup simply as the eternal struggle of polar opposites, in this case life anddeath.

Rosa is a short,yet very memorable piece of Cyberpunk storytelling. It adheres to the most basic rule offilmmaking: show, don’t tell. Evenwithout the accompanying plot description it will make sense to even the mostcasual viewer. It also invites theaudience to fill in certain blanks. Aswith any worthy piece of filmmaking, Rosakeeps ones wheels turning long after the end credits begin their ascent up thescreen. Well done Mr. Orellana.

ROSA from Jesús Orellana on Vimeo.

Payphone Pimping Ain’t Easy: An Interview With J-Zone

2011-11-19T11:32:00.001-08:00

Living outside the boxcan be a lonely existence. Some do so bychoice, usually as a way to distinguish themselves from the pack. That kind of pretentious facade is usually nothingmore than an elaborate ruse. Much harderto figure out is the authentically odd duck, that rare kind of weirdo who is,quite simply, being himself. Such an individualhas an especially hard row to hoe, seeing as how people tend to roundly dismissanything they can’t easily categorize.

J-Zone has always beenthe proverbial odd duck, and that suits him just fine. He represents a corner of the Hip-Hopexperience that is rarely acknowledged or exposed. He was one of many “indie” rappers who cameto prominence in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s. His quirky, self-styled brand of rap musicallowed him to cultivate a small but loyal following and traveling theworld. None the less, he opted for anearly retirement and decided to re-enter the workforce. His experiences as a recording artist haveculminated in his latest endeavor, the frequently hilarious and oddly touchingbook ‘Root for the Villain: Rap, Bullshit, and a Celebration of Failure.’

He agreed to take abreak from recording the audio version of his book on cassette tape (Yeah, youheard that right), and give the world some insight into the enigma that isJ-Zone. During our interview, I foundhim to be something of a kindred spirit. I suspect I will not be alone in that.

Scott “Tre” Wilson:Rap fans seem to have a very hard time embracing anything out of the ordinaryor off the beaten path. Do you thinkthat’s the result of media influence, or do you think that people areinherently narrow-minded?

J-Zone: I thinkpart of it is that a lot of people don’t have the capacity to think forthemselves. They just don’t have the time. Forming an opinion is hard work. I’veactually heard people say that when people listen to music, they don’t want tothink. They don’t want to absorb toomuch. A lot of times people listen tomusic when they’re running, or in their car, or doing laundry or whatever. So stuff that isn’t that deep or profound hasa tendency to be easier to digest. Iguess people who are in charge of marketing and media try to push that stuffbecause simplicity sells. But even if you’redoing something that’s different, you’re always going to have a little troubleunless you can find a niche. I alsothink that media, DJ’s, taste-makers, and journalists should take more chancesinstead of trying to cater to what’s already popular. They should try to breaknew ground, which is what the job of DJ’s and media is. People might open up to stuff. In general, a lot of times when it comes toentertainment, people like their entertainment to be simple. Anything that’s not super-duper simple ordumbed down is a little bit of a harder sell.

Scott “Tre” Wilson:Your influences seem to include a lot of obscure artists and albums. Do you consciously try to avoid things thatare popular or mainstream, or do you simply listen to what you like?

J-Zone: I listento what I like. This morning I was doingpush-ups, listening to The Chronic,which is one of the most popular Hip-Hop albums of all time. Last night I was listening to Baritone Tiplove,which was a cassette only release from 1991. To me, good music is good music.

Baritone Tiplove

On the other side of the token, I was in the indie Hip-Hopthing for a while, and that quadrant of the music business is just as elitistas people in the mainstream. As soon asyou sell 15 units, you have people who think you’re officially no longercutting edge, because somebody else likes you besides you and your five boys.

I’m a record collector. When you look at record collecting, people get into it for sampling forbeats and stuff like that. You can’t goout looking for Stark Reality records and not know James Brown, becauseeverybody has James Brown and they’re not that obscure and everybody knows it. That’s the foundation: Kool & the Gang,James Brown, The Meters, The Ohio Players, Parliament. That’s the foundation of digging. It’s just as irritating when people go forrarities solely because they’re rare, but I just happen to likeeverything. A lot of stuff I happen tolike is an acquired taste. Everythingabout me is an acquired taste. When youembrace a lot of music that’s an acquired taste, by default, a lot of it Is goingto be music that a lot of people didn’t like, or that a very small percentageof people were exposed to. So I justappreciate a wide variety of things, and I just like a lot of stuff that’s veryniche market. In turn, a lot of thatshit is obscure, and when I like it I pursue it.

Scott “Tre” Wilson:A lot of mainstream rappers go to great lengths to create and maintain theirpublic image. Was your image as a rapperpainstakingly calculated or did you make it up as you went along?

J-Zone:Everything was made up as I went along. Myproblem was, I had a persona but I didn’t go to great lengths to do it. I was known for giving interviews and sayingshit and people would be like “what the fuck did he just say? I didn’t expect him to say shit like that.” It wasn’t totally calculated. When I started out, all my stuff was veryself-deprecating, but halfway through my career I said “You know, I want totalk some shit. I’m always talking aboutbeing the whipping boy and saying ‘woe is me’ in a funny way, but I’m just goingto flip it on ‘em and get real arrogant, because I feel like being arrogant.” A lot of people didn’t like that, buteverybody is dual-natured. We allcontradict ourselves every day. We havethis ambiguous behavior.

People didn’t know what to make of it (My behavior), sobecause of that it was hard to pigeonhole. It was very hard to categorize. Somepeople pigeonholed me as kind of like this novelty thing, like comedy rap. People were like “He’s very serious about hisproduction craft, but he’s a goofball as an artist.” They didn’t know where to put me. In terms of that, my image was kind of allover the place. The only common groundwas that it was comedy. I was known forbeing funny, but then I would switch it up. I was influenced by Prince Paul, but I was also influenced by TweetyBird Loc, Eazy-E, Tim Dog, De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, Geto Boys, 2 LiveCrew, X-Clan, and Kid N Play. I took alittle piece of everything. So when youdo that, your image tends to be a mixture of all those things. Unless you were exposed to that wide varietyof artists, you’re going to be like “What the fuck is this?” I think that’s what happened to me, at leaston the music side. I was hard tocategorize and that got me in a lot of trouble.

The infamous Tim Dog

Scott “Tre” Wilson: Duringyour career as a rapper did you find that so-called underground rap fans wereany more intelligent and open-minded than mainstream rap fans or is that just amyth?

J-Zone: That’s amyth. That’s definitely a myth. A lot of people were underground for the sakeof being in something different. A lot ofpeople would just say, “Oh he’s on major label, I don’t want to listen to him. He’s a sell-out.” I was like, “You don’t know that.” There was plenty of underground CD’s thatwere garbage. There was major labelgarbage, but there was also good major label shit and good underground shit. To me, music was music.

I wasn’t underground just because. I was sampling my ass off, so there was noway I could put out any of that shit on a major without fucking getting putunder the jail. On top of that, thesubject matter was all over the place. Iremember I had Atlantic Records showing some interest in me early in my career andthey were like “We love your album. Itscomedic genius but you have to make some songs for the club.” I was like, well, what does that mean?! Picture me making a record about theclub. If I make a record for the club, tome that means I’m popping bottles, I dance, I break my ankle and I’m homejerking off at the end of the night because I broke my ankle and can’t danceand can’t pull no chicks. To me that’s aclub record (Laughs). They’re like “Nahman, we can’t play no records with you jerking off and put that shit on theradio.” So in turn, I wasunderground. So it’s not I came out withthe intent of saying “No, I’m too underground.” I just did whatever came naturally. I had records that could have been on commercial radio if they had givenit a shot. I had records that had an icecubes chance under a fat girl’s ass that anybody would play that shit duringthe day. So I just say music is musicand I like everything.

There are ignorantmotherfuckers on both sides. There werepeople like “Yo, you disappointed me when you said your favorite rapper isSugar Free.” I was like, Why not? Sugar Free is great! The typical underground rap fan in New Yorkdoesn’t listen to Sugar Free. I justknow what I like when I hear it. I don’tthink underground rap fans are any more or less intelligent than mainstream rapfans. Maybe they’re less easily swayed becausethey seek stuff out, but even then, an underground tastemaker says “Yeah, youshould like this” and they will like it. People like whatever a blog tells them to like. A lot of times people just don’t seek shitout. Whether it’s an underground blogwith 300 followers or a mainstream blog with 3 million followers, If they say“Yo, this is a record that you should like” and then you go and like it becausethey do, then it doesn’t matter whether it’s underground or mainstream. Bottom line is you can’t make up your ownmind about what you want to listen to.

Scott “Tre” Wilson:Do you think that Hip-Hop adequately addresses all aspects of its fanbase? Do you think there’s a particular type ofHip-Hop fan that isn’t being addressed or represented?

J-Zone: No, Idon’t believe Hip-Hop addresses its entire fanbase. After a while, I felt I was the type ofHip-Hop fan that wasn’t being addressed. That’s why I made records that were in their own little niche. I look at myself, and I have friends who aresimilar to me. I’m a native NewYorker. I’m a Black guy. They have stereotypes of what you’re supposedto do as an adult young Black male. Whatyou’re supposed to listen to, what you’re supposed to watch. I’m a 34 year old Black male and New Yorknative who’s educated and intelligent, but at the same time, when I’m in my carriding around with a girl I’m listening to Tim Dog. I don’t listen to Luther Vandross in thecar. I love Luther Vandross, but Ilisten to Tim Dog when I’m riding around in the car on a date. I’m 34 years old and I have a Gumbyhaircut. Why not?! I still have a fullhead of hair, I take advantage. So yougo around people and they wonder what to make of you.

I live in Jamaica, Queens, which is a predominantly Blackneighborhood. Trying to talk to womenover here, they think I’m too eccentric. They’re like “You’re too quirky, you’re too weird.” But if I go into the city and get around someof the more artsy crowd, some girls have told me “You’re kind of hood for me. You’re kind of Hip-Hoppy and kind of Hood.” So it’s like I’m too hood for this and toonerdy for this. So I don’t fit inanywhere. In recent years I haven’theard as much stuff that speaks to a person like that. I remember growing up, that void was filledby acts like Digital Underground. Theykind of walked the line and hit everything. They had a whole album with this SexPackets ideology where it’s like fantasies, and they’re talking about wetdreams and jerking off. It’s kind oflike nerdy, quirky shit. But then thebeats were hard. They were from Oakland andthey were funky. When you were growingup, that kind of music shows you that it’s okay not to fall into a stereotype. That it’s okay to not fit into expectationsbased upon your age, your ethnicity, your level of class, your location, oreducation. Things you’re supposed tolike and do. I’m not saying there’s notstuff out there like that right now, because I’m not that entrenched in what’sgoing on. When I was making my records,I didn’t hear that much stuff, especially on a mainstream level, about that.

I would think people would look at entertainment assomething they could relate to, but in recent years I’ve found that people lookat entertainment as something to distract themselves from their own personalmisery. People watch these horriblereality shows on TV to get their mind off of their everyday bullshit. I worked in a high school where 90% of thekids were in poverty and they liked to listen to people rap about Maybachs and makingall this money. That’s nothing they canrelate to, but maybe they don’t want to hear about being broke. I’m the opposite. I like to hear music that speaks to me. I just think they don’t want to hear musicthat speaks to them. They want to hearfantasy stuff. I think they want to bedistracted from their reality. If you’repoor and you lost your job, maybe you want to hear about people balling. I don’t know, I’m just guessing. To me it seems like a lot people really don’twant to hear what they can relate to. Kidsespecially, live vicariously through the artist. That could be an explanation.

Scott “Tre” Wilson:Do you think that people who prefer sample based production to synthesizedproduction are behind the times and/or curmudgeons, or do you think that samplebased bears are inherently better than synthesizer beats?

J-Zone: Well, theanswer to the first part of the question is Hell fucking no! It’s basically saying do you like your gritswith sugar, or do you like your grits with salt and butter? That’s really it. Some people prefer a cleaner sound. Someprefer live instrumentation, and some prefer sampling. I like both. I like Ant Banks, who plays a lot of stuff. The Bomb Squad from Public Enemy, who aresampled based, are my favorite producers. I much prefer sample based because that’s how I learned how to makebeats. I’m such a fan of 60’s and 70’sfunk that I’m a sucker for a good chopped up sample and some crazy drumbreaks. I prefer that. Being completely subjective, I say samplingwins. So does liking liveinstrumentation better than sampling mean that you’re wrong? No. Does liking sampling production mean that you’re behind the times? Hell fucking no! It can’t be! How could it be when 90% of the classic Hip-Hop records were samples? If that’s the case then we have to rewritehistory. So I definitely don’t think youcan be a curmudgeon for that. It’s just amatter of taste.

Scott “Tre” Wilson: In Your book, you talk about the impact thatvideo shows like Yo! MTV Raps had onyou as a child. Do you think that being initiallyexposed to Hip-Hop through television affected your perception of it? Do you think that makes you different fromthe guys in the 70’s and 80’s who were exposed to it primarily through blockparties and 12 inches?

J-Zone: I don’tthink either one is better than the other. At the end of the day, when they were doing those block parties I wasthree years old. So what could Ido? It’s not like I had a way to gothere and watch it. I just think it’s adifferent experience. I think watchingit, absorbing it through videos and TV, I think eventually you’re in for alittle more of a shock because you have to learn stuff first-hand. A lot of stuff was violent. At Hip-Hop shows fights would break out. There would be beef between artists. A lot of times an artist’s persona wastotally different than how an artist was in real life. So if you have a front row seat to it, youcan kind of see it and your view of it is a little better.

When I started getting into the music business, I startedworking with people. In the videos, alot of people got Benzes and Beamers and shit. Then you meet them and they’re doing landscaping jobs to pay theirrent. There’s nothing wrong with that,but you kind of have to learn. I thinkit’s more of shock. You kind of have to decideto actually enter the music business to find out. The learning process is alittle more of shock, because you can only absorb but so much fromtelevision. Whereas if you’re at a show,you can see what’s going down. So Ilearned a little bit later, and in turn it was more of a shock to me. Like “Okay, this guy’s persona is like atough guy, but he’s really full of shit. Okay, this guy is rapping about being in a club and he’s singing to thechicks and being soft, but I just saw him knock somebody out for no apparentreason. Okay. I’m learning how this works.” So I think it’s just a different method ofabsorption. As you get older and decideto enter the music business you get to see a lot of it face to face, and atfirst it will scare the shit out of you.

Scott “Tre” Wilson:You did a bit of traveling in your career as a rapper. What’s the main difference between howHip-Hop is viewed in America and how Hip-Hop is viewed abroad?

J-Zone: In myexperience, when I went overseas, the fans were still fans. That shocked the fuck out of me, because herewe take stuff for granted because it’s readily available. I was performing in New York twice amonth. So after a while, it’s like, whogives a fuck? He’s from New York. During my career, everybody in New York wastrying to rap. So after a while you’reperforming for your peers. You get offstage, and instead of people asking “Where can I buy your CD?” or “Yo, can yousign my CD?” They’re saying “Nigga, let me give you my CD.” When you go overseas, I just felt like therewas a greater appreciation for we were doing. We went all the way out there. Wewere working hard and pushing our stuff. I didn’t feel like I was performing for competition. I was performingfor fans.

When I would go to Hip-Hop shows, yeah I made beats. Yeah, I had a beat tape in my backpocket. Yeah, I had a businesscard. Of course I had records in thetrunk. But when I came to see EPMD atTramps, right after my first album came out, I went to see EPMD at Tramps. I didn’t go up to DJ Scratch like “Yo, I’mJ-Zone! Check out my record!” I went as an EPMD fan because I had been anEPMD fan for ten years. I felt like a majorityof the time when I performed in the states, a lot of people in the crowd, especiallyin major cities, were guys who are trying to get on themselves. Not only could you not make any money, butyou just couldn’t feel the appreciation.

In America we just don’t have enough appreciation for thearts. In other countries the governmentwill dole out money to bring people there to perform. They’ll sanction festivals and stuff likethat. I just think that here in thestates, because so many musicians are from here, we kind of take it forgranted. There’s not a lot of emphasisplaced on the arts. Arts are being takenout of the schools. Schools are alwayscutting music and athletics. I feel likeit’s not as valued here as it was overseas, and because of that, my experienceas an artist overseas was a lot better.

Scott “Tre” Wilson:Do you think that being an only child had an impact on your work? If so, what impact did it have?

J-Zone: It definitelyhad an impact on my work. When you’reyoung and you don’t have an older brother to show you the ropes, you’re kind ofan outsider. My parents divorced when Iwas six. My father was around, but I wasin a single parent household. I wouldstay with my grandparents from time to time. I was always the youngest one amongst adults. So I kind of had to learn how to grow up a littlequicker in terms of maturity and do things on my own. I would get home from school and my mom didn’tget home until 10. It’s four o’ clock andI’m hungry. I’ve got to go find somemoney and get something to eat. Go getsome kind of job or something and get something to eat. So I think it affected my business acumen. Take, for instance, my first album. I finished the album. I played it for some people. Nobody bit, so I put it out myself. Now people want to offer me a recorddeal. With the book, I had an agent workmy book. Everybody liked it, but theyall said “Oh, he doesn’t have a big enough fanbase.” So I pressed it myself. A lot of people are like “Why don’t you justwait for another publisher or send it to this guy.” My whole approach is rooted in being an onlychild. My mom ain’t home, so I got toget something to eat. Okay I finishedthe book, so why am I going to sit around? I always had to fend for myself, so I feel like I took that theory and broughtit into my music.

J-Zone's first album, Music For Tu Madre.

, being an only child your imagination starts to runwild. So I imagine that I’m a littlemore eccentric than the average cat because I didn’t have an older brother beatmy ass every day to kind of keep me grounded, so I had imaginary friends. I would draw fictional album covers with meon them with a big fro or a high top fade, playing an instrument or cutting upturntables. That quirkiness came frombeing an only child because there was no one around me saying “Yo, you’re doingthat weirdo shit, what the fuck is wrong with you?” Nobody was around me to stop me from being aspace cadet. So when I started makingmusic, I would play stuff that sounded normal to me for people and they werelike “Yo, you’re fucking bugging, what the fuck are you talking about? Why are you talking about jerking off on arecord?” I was like “Yeah, because whenI was in High School I was jerking off, what the fuck?!” So a lot of that eccentricity was rooted inbeing an only child. Most kids have anolder brother to slap them into shape. Iwas bored, my mind would start wandering and I would start doing bugged outshit. In terms of being self-sufficient,when you got nobody to help you and you’re on your own, you’re not going to sitaround and wait, you’re going to go. I thinkit helped me from a business stand point and I think it definitely influencedme being kind of eccentric with my art.

Scott “Tre” Wilson:If you could get Doc Brown’s time traveling DeLorean from Back to the Future and go back in time, what rapper would you erasefrom existence?

J-Zone: There arerappers that I just thought plain sucked. Obviously I think a lot of the shit that’s coming out now is just plainterrible, and a lot of that is just my age. This whole Kreayshawn, V-nasty thing, those two bitches I would go backand make sure there was no fucking going on that night! There’d be no sex in the champagne room! I’ve heard bad shit. You hear a Souljah Boy record and you’re like“Oh that’s kind of bad,” But you give it a pass because it’s not for mygeneration. It’s for the youth. But those two bitches? That shit ain’t for nobody! I could bend far enough to say, Okay, my twelveyear old cousin, Souljah Boy’s for him, therefore it’s not deplorable. I don’t like it, but I’m not in a position tosnap on it because I’m older and just in a different spot. I have no problem with Lil Wayne even though Idon’t listen to him. I don’t have aproblem with Drake. That’s just not my generation. But Kreayshawn and V-Nasty, those two bitches? I was like, somebodies gotta be beat down forthat. Not even so much for this whitegirl saying nigga every other word. Whatbothers me the most is that it’s just so fucking bad! It’s getting hits just because it’s bad. It almost makes me feel like if you come outand you’re just exceptionally bad you’ll get hits. It’s almost like the reverse theory, like “Letme see how shitty I can be to get hits.” Some A&R will definitely sign that shit. You’ll get hits. So I would make sure that they were taken outof here, like completely wiped out.

DJ Quik Pays Tribute to Heavy D as Only He Can

2011-11-18T23:15:00.001-08:00

As Hip-Hop continues to mourn the passing of Heavy D, itseems that no tribute to his memory and legacy could possibly be enough. The expected tribute mixes from old schoolDJ’s are par for the course, and it’s always great to hear the songs thatendeared Heavy D to his fans. Still,such a huge personality demands something a bit grander. Such huge expectations can, of course, nevertruly be met. In such a situation, it’sthe more unexpected tributes that tend to have the greatest impact. An artist who would appear to be theantithesis to all the Heavy stood for (at least to those not paying attention)has chosen to poor out a little liquor for a fallen comrade, albeit one fromthe other side of the country. DJ Quik,who early in his career never hesitated to engage east coast rappers in verbalfisticuffs, has crafted a funky send off for the overweight lover.

The track is called “HeavyMr. Big Stuff.” Over double timedrums, Quik loops a falsetto refrain of the word “heavy.” Hand claps and funky guitars fill accompany a looming, menacing bassline which oddly mirrors the larger than life persona of Heavy himself. Almost thirty seconds in, Quiklet’s loose with a rapid fire verse that amazingly and succinctly describeswhat made Heavy D great. This small yeteffective tribute makes perfect sense when one thinks about the legacy of bothartists. Much of Quik’s music revolvesaround partying and good times, just like much of Heavy D’s music did. Quik’s brand of party music may have been abit more profane, but it shows that he and Heavy had more in commonartistically than many people realize. “Heavy Mr. Big Stuff” shows that game truly recognizes game, and that Heavy D’s impactwas felt well beyond the confines of Mount Vernon.

DJ Quik - Heavy Mr Big Stuff by DJQuik

Movie Poster: The Expendables 2

2011-11-18T22:37:00.001-08:00

As a tribute to the larger than life action extravaganzas ofthe 1980’s, The Expendables wasmerely adequate. It had its moments, butit wasn’t the hard hitting, ultra-militaristic alpha male free-for-all thatmany fans were hoping for. It feltespecially safe after 2008’s blood drenched Ramboentry. One could almost feel Stallonepulling his punches until the CGI enhanced carnagein the final reel. Well, the good thingabout sequels for such films is that they offer a major chance forimprovement. The era of body buildingsuper soldiers has yet to receive the proper tribute. If the poster is any indication, The Expendables 2 will offer much moreof the same, only bigger.

The cast has swelled to include Jean Claude Van Damme andChuck Norris. Both are second or eventhird tier action heroes when compared with the likes of Stallone,Shwarzenegger, and Willis. Still, theyplayed a big part in defining their particular era, and that alone warrantstheir inclusion. Jason Statham and TerryCrews are also back. Jet Li isnoticeably absent, not that it will matter much since he was barely present inthe first film. Shwarzenegger isfeatured prominently, though there is no indication that his role will beanything more than a glorified cameo. There’s no way to tell until a proper trailer is released, and eventhen, we won’t really know until opening night.

Happy Birthday Brundlefly: David Cronenberg’s Remake of ‘The Fly’ Turns 25

2011-11-18T19:01:00.001-08:00

Modern superhero movies often portray scientific accidentsas a form of rebirth. While there is a veryobvious downside to becoming a superpowered freak, there are certainly a greatnumber of advantages as well. PeterParker has an acute sixth sense that alerts him to danger, and he can lift manytimes his own body weight. Bruce Bannersgamma fueled temper tantrums make him one mild mannered nerd that anyone wouldbe afraid to piss off. If Stan Lee andhis stable of artists wanted to take an even more disturbing approach to thatmaterial, they might have portrayed such bizarre scientific blessings as a fullon curse, A disease which slowly transforms the human body into something trulyhideous. In August of 1986, a daringCanuck filmmaker did just that by offering a disturbing new take on a classichorror film.

Seth Brundle (Jeff Goldblum) is a brilliant but eccentricscientist who is on the verge of a historic breakthrough. He has developed a pair of “telepods” thatcan teleport matter from one location to another in the blink of an eye. He reveals their existence to the beautiful journalistVeronica Quaife, who eventually takes a liking to him. As their romance begins to blossom, Brundleponders how to successfully transport living matter in the telepods. His first attempt ended in gruesome failure. After making the necessary adjustments,Brundle uses himself as guinea pig. Hisexperiment proves successful, except for one minor but ultimately importantdetail: A common housefly hitched a ride at the starting point. Unaware of thetiny stowaway, Brundle emerges from the second pod with a feeling of rejuvenation. His newfound euphoria soon gives way tohorror, as he gradually morphs into a grotesque human/insect hybrid.

The original 1958 version of The Fly was limited by the technology and moral standards of thetime. By 1986, the MPAA’s ratings systemhad given filmmakers considerable leeway as far as gore was concerned. Likewise, advances in technology had allowedspecial effects technicians to render the destruction of the human body moreaccurately than ever before. Canadianfilmmaker David Cronenberg would take full advantage of the relaxed social moresand advanced visual effects that had become common place by the mid 1980’s,using both to the fullest extent. He waswell suited to the task, as his resume up until that point consisted of filmsin which the human body played host for all manner of physical and psychicterrors. He was also adept at using such imagery to comment on the humancondition.

Make up FX wizard Chris Walas was charged with visualizingthe merging of man and insect. He andCronenberg decided to portray Brundle's metamorphosis in a series of stages,each one more ghastly than the last. Brundlewould start out human, but by films end would be an ungodly monstrosity. A stand out among the films staggeringly grotesquemoments is the infamous “vomit-drop.”

Seth Brundle demonstrating the ghastly "vomit-drop."

The elaborate makeup and animatronic FX posed the danger ofupstaging the story and characters. Fortunately the screenplay by Cronenberg and Charles Edward Pogue assuredthat the human elements remained intact. It was equal parts allegory, character study, and tragic love story.Brundle’s predicament would not only ravage his body and his psyche, but takean amazing toll on his relationship with Veronica. Goldblum and Davis also do their part topreserve the more fragile parts of the story. Seth Brundle is as sympathetic a protagonist as has ever occupied ahorror film. His growing horror at hissituation begins to mirror that of the audience. Veronica’s concern for him feels real, evenwhen her devotion stretches credibility. Their love affair is touching, making the outcome all the moreeffective.

The many strengths of TheFly made it much more than a convincing freak show. It played not only as an effective allegoryfor the AIDS epidemic, but also as a much darker version of the Spider-Man origin story. Whereas Parker becomes a hero, Brundlebecomes an abomination known as “Brundlefly.” It’s a journey of discovery that ends in the bowels of Hell. It’s truly a shame that 20^thCentury Fox recently decided to pass on Cronenberg’s proposed remake/sequel. One cringes at the very idea of what newhorrors he had in mind for his audience.

The Thousand Pounds Fight Team Has Their Mettle Tested In Streets of Arkham City (Sort of)

2011-11-16T19:43:00.001-08:00

Batman: Arkham City is easily as addicting as any narcotic. After buying it last week, my XBOX 360controller has become permanently fused to my hands. The numerous fights and melees, which happenfrequently and at the drop of dime, are enough to have ones thumbs andforefingers in a perpetual state of cramped exhaustion. The Thousand Pounds Fight Team admittedlyknows such addiction all too well, and has decided that merely playing the gameis not enough. The next logical step is to enter the game grid and try onesluck on Gotham’s streets. In keeping with that spirit, they have puttogether a test video which aims to accurately recreate the combat style andcamera angles of the game. It’s set tothe strains of the “Arkham City Main Theme” by Nick Arundel. Altogether, it’s an aesthetically accuraterecreation of the game. Now if only theycould build a time travelling Delorean, go back to when The Dark Knight was still in the planning stages and handChristopher Nolan this test footage as an audition reel. Maybe he would have taken the hint.

Music Video: KRS-1 – “Just Like That”

2011-11-16T19:02:00.001-08:00

With every passing day, New York City’s legacy as thebirthplace of Rap music and Hip-Hop culture is looking more and more like the losthistory of a forgotten kingdom. This isdue to the big apple having zero mainstream presence in the music as of late. As Drakes second album is poised to set a newcreative bar for the next of generation rap stars (or so various media outletsare saying), the traditionally east coast brand of the music is now somethingthat youngsters can see on VH1, like some well-preserved museum exhibit. If such a place existed, KRS-1 wouldundoubtedly be a key attraction. However, the Blast Master continues to release new music in the vein ofthat which made him a giant so long ago. He now sounds the horn for the forgotten legacy he represents with “JustLike That.”

“Just Like That” reteams KRS with Mad Lion. The same Mad Lion that made his mark on theDancehall Reggae circuit with the KRS-1 produced “Take It East” back in1994. The two have now switched roles,with Mad Lion adjusting the levels on the mixing board. He employs the familiar intro of “Cha Cha Cha”by the Fania All Stars. He lets thesample play out a bit longer that it did on Kool G Rap’s “My Life,” allowing fora slightly larger portion of the horns to be heard. He underpins the delicate sample with crashingdrums, upping the adrenaline quotient considerably.

KRS-1 takes the listener on a Hip-Hop history tour of the BigApple, telling the story from his perspective. He does so in a fashion not too dissimilar from his 1993’s single “OuttaHere.” This time around, he seems a bitmore energized. He speaks with theexuberance of someone who found their place in the world by becoming a part ofa movement. He also speaks with morethan a hint of desperation, fighting to keep this history alive for ageneration who could seemingly care less.

Aside from producing the track, Mad Lion also directed the video. He employs green screen to superimpose KRS infront of various backgrounds, all of which are historical NYC landmarks. He even puts KRS in front of the Manhattanskyline, where he towers like a monster from Hip-Hop Kaiju flick. In one moment, KRS stands in the walkway of asubway station with posters of his various album covers plastered on the walls. Another moment shows him in front of a brownstoneamidst inanimate cardboard cutouts of his peers from the 1980’s. The gray-blue hues and consistently overcastskies would otherwise suggest sadness, but here give the proceedings a photoalbum effect. A photo album adorned withgraffiti tags, that is.

“Just Like That” offers a brand of rap music that can onlybe considered a throwback in today’s world. The airwaves are now populated by harmonizing, over emotingrappers. Hooks and tribal call andresponse chants are the only form of lyricism that one is likely to here. Gangsters, revolutionaries, and superlyricistsare no longer the icons of choice. Thecurrent generation has no ties whatsoever to the old ways. Some may call that progress, but I call itregression. Luckily, KRS is still hereto remind me of the days when Hip-Hop looked like miles and miles of undiscoveredcountry to my young eyes.

Movie Trailer: Urban Fighter

2011-11-16T18:10:00.001-08:00

An action renaissance is upon us. At the rate things are going, American martialarts films (or American films with decent fight scenes period) will one daybecome the sole province of low budget independent filmmakers. Independent stunt teams and film companies continueto prove unequivocally that big or even average budgets aren’t needed forwell-staged action. When special FX technologybecomes refined to the point where the average citizen can render convincingCGI on their home PC, the major studios will surely be in trouble. Until then, scrappy independent crews willcontinue turning out product like UrbanFighter.

Contrary to what the title might lead one to believe, Urban Fighter is not a long lostBlaxploitation film or hood style martial arts flick. A young Biker (Mike Möller) earns his freedomby entering a bareknuckle fighting tournament. He and other recruits train vigorously under the care of a keeper who isordered to keep them alive under penalty of death. The ex-Biker and his fellowstudent rebel and are soundly beaten for their trouble. The ringleader is then returned to prison,where he is sentenced to hard labor. Hethen enters another tournament, this one arranged by prison officials takingplace behind prison walls.

The trailer for UrbanFighter contains any number of tropes that are right out of the B-Levelaction movie playbook. The brawlingbikers are like something from Every WhichWay but Loose. The training montagesare an essential part of any martial arts or sports film. The tournament scenario has been a staple ofboth action movies and video games for decades, ditto for the crookedauthorities and prison officials. These clichésare paraded throughout the trailer for UrbanFighter like a series of familiar faces in a police line-up. The B-level execution makes them all the morerecognizable.

What ultimately stands-out from the very first viewing arethe fights and stunts. Though very obviouslychoreographed, look and sound real. Blows and bodies land with the queasy smacks and crunches. Any speed ramping or under-cranking thatmight have been used isn’t readily apparent. Everything seems to move at a fast, though not superhuman, pace. It all seems to remain somewhat within therealm of believability. Director/StarMike Möller and his fellow fighters seem to have limitless agility and energy. Möller also shows himself to be quitecompetent with the staging and filming of fights. When taken all at once, the various featsdisplayed in this trailer are dizzying.

The acting and dialogue feel a bit raw, but I’ve come to seethat as par for the course in these kinds of productions. People look at movies like Urban Fighter expecting to see one thingand thing only: insane fights. The titlesays it all. That is not to negate the otherelements of the production, as the story may in fact be solid. However, filmmakers like Möller have beenknown to compensate for such deficiencies with inventiveness andaggression. Both are evident in thetrailer for Urban Fighter. It may not be a showcase for the finer pointsof acting and dialogue, but it still appears to have much to offer.

Music Video: RZA f Justin Nozuka, Kobra Khan & James Black - "Gone"

2011-11-16T16:28:00.001-08:00

Though the RZA has never been the best or most charismatic rapperin the Wu-Tang Clan, I have always found his abstract and off beat style intriguing. His verses take on the characteristics ofurgent stream of consciousness rants, almost as if he can’t control his ownthoughts. Every now and then, thisapproach has yielded moments of inspired genius. Still, he can be just as effective when applyinga stricter discipline to his delivery.

His latest offering, “Gone”, is a mournful dedication to thememory of fallen Wu-Tang Swordsman Old Dirty Bastard. He enlists a considerable amount of backup byway of vocalist Justin Nozuka, rapper Kobra Khan and guitarist James Black. The song proves to be exactly the sum of itsparts, with each participant pulling his musical weight and crafting a songthat is sparse yet very effective.

As the song begins, the lonely strums of an acoustic guitarare all that can be heard. Electronic drumscome in, typing out an equally lonely battlefield march. Justin Nozuka solidifies the sadness withstrained, mournful vocals. As the drumsand strings rise like yeast over the horizon of the track, a ghostly, cavernouswhistle undercuts Justin’s singing. Before RZA speaks a single word, the song puts the listener in a sad anddesolate mood, making them spiritual pallbearers for the soul of deadfriend.

RZA is relatively sedate this time out, his vocal tonesounding like it was manipulated on the pitch control of an old fashionedturntable. His lyrics are straightforward and descriptive, using pronounced Islamic symbolism. James Black stitches the track with electricguitar stabs that echo off into the distance. It at once overpowers RZA vocals and gives them a sturdy foundation. RZA speaks of bringing forth offspring as aform of metaphorical resurrection and eternal life. He begins to take on a ghostly presence asthe track proceeds.

Kobra Khan offers nothing earth shattering, but his verserings out with clarity of purpose and theme. He speaks of a lost love, and his vocal tone is comfortably in keepingwith the other elements of the song. Anextended solo from Justin closes the song out as it proceeds to the metaphoricalburial site.

David F. Mewa channels the sad energy of the track into hisnearly five minute clip. As the lonelyguitar strains begin, sparks are shown cascading down like rain drops as a ceilingfixture sways in the background. It lookslike a factory setting bathed in sepia tones. The slow motion photography sets the sad tone. A pair of legs is shownstanding in the rain, the sparks seemingly having morphed in raindroplets. The camera zooms in on ahooded figure cupping his hands beggar style. The figure is reviled to be Justin. Things constantly go in and out of focus. The setting switches between a lonely hallwayand an indoor cemetery with skeletal looking dead trees. The frame seems to shake in unison with thepulse of the beat. RZA stands in frontof a pile of old TV sets and confers with a hologram projection of ODB and the videomaintains a consistent visual motif of arms crossed in an embrace.

“Gone” isn’t particularly pleasant to listen to or look at,but funerals are rarely pleasant occasions. “Gone” wallows in sonic despair and sadness. The pain it expresses will never be eased orerased. The RZA speaks of eternal lifeand existence, yet the instrumentation offers the listener no respite from shadowof death. “Gone” won’t be making anyradio or ipod Playlists, but it undoubtedly succeeds as a work of art.

Cool Characters: John McClane

2011-11-16T15:04:00.001-08:00

From the outset, action heroes were almost always portrayedas stoic supermen. From the sneering “Dirty”Harry Callahan to the dead pan Paul Kersey, protagonists in action films rarelyshowed anything resembling vulnerability. Even the ones who used fists instead of guns (such as Bruce Lee) possessedsome sort of otherworldly ability that made them more than ordinary men. By the time the 1980’s rolled around theywere even outfitted with comic book physiques that made the ultra-masculineideals they represented seem that much more unattainable. It was in the latter part of the decade thata high concept offering from producer Joel Silver would set a precedent in thegenre by going against that trend. Itcast a TV star who was physically unremarkable and without a hint of stoicismin the lead role plunkedhim in the middle of a warzone.

New York City Police Detective John McClane (Bruce Willis) fliesout to Los Angeles on Christmas Eve to reunite with his estranged wife HollyGennaro (Bonnie Bedelia). He meets upwith her in the Nakatomi Plaza skyscraper, where her employers are throwing a massiveChristmas party. Not too long afterMcClane arrives, the building is besieged by a small but highly organized groupof terrorists lead by the dapper and calculating Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman). They take the 30 or so partygoers hostage andlock the building down tightly. McClaneevades capture but remains confined to the building. Left with scarcely little in the way ofoptions, McClane must figure out a way to not only survive, but to save hiswife and aid the authorities in taking out the terrorists. So goes the plot of the first Die Hard.

Die Hard took anovel concept and managed to up the novelty factor with a stroke of inspiredcasting. The film was based on RoderickThorp’s thrilling 1979 novel NothingLasts Forever. The book told thestory of Joe Leland, a retired police officer and WWII vet who travels to L.A.to see his estranged daughter. The filmtook the basic premise, eschewing the daughter for the wife and changing thehero’s surname to McClane. Otherwise, Die Hard remained fiercely loyal to itssource material, using dialogue, situations, and characterizations right out ofthe novel.

Clint Eastwood and Richard Gere were originally consideredfor the role of McClane. Instead, it washanded off to Bruce Willis, who at the time was known primarily for known forthe hit TV series Moonlighting. To say he was an unlikely choice was anunderstatement. His only two cinematicoutings up until that point had been a pair of forgettable Blake Edwardscomedies that came and went unceremoniously. He had a blue collar brand of northeastern charisma, characterized by adisarming smirk. He also had an average physiqueand a dissipating hairline. Next to Schwarzeneggerand Stallone, he seemed like nothing more than a bar patron, hardly the kind ofman who could take on a terrorist cell and win.

Yet, such attributes made him much more effective in the rolethan his chiseled brethren. McClane wasn’tphysically superior to his adversaries. He didn’t know martial arts, and his training was limited to whatever helearned in the police academy. Though hewas hardly a coward, he spent most of his time running and hiding from hisenemy rather than facing them head on. Ashis situation grew bleaker, his confidence waned and his vocabulary grew moreprofane. His marriage was in trouble dueto his old fashioned values, and he had a bigproblem with authority. As played by Bruce Willis, John McClane wasthe most recognizably human action hero yet. He was the audience for the film, thus making him easy to root for.

Die Hard was a sizeable,though not runaway, success. Itsinfluence proved further much reaching than its box office take indicated. It not only started a franchise, but steeredthe entire action genre away from using superhuman protagonists. Working class heroes became the order of theday. The same went for high conceptplots in which the action was corralled into a confined structure orspace. None of that would have happenedhad Die Hard not been as taut and suspensefula film as it was. Its hero won over thecrowd simply by surviving his ordeal, and wound up changing action cinema inthe process. It doesn’t get any moreAmerican than that.

Frank Miller Embraces His Inner Fascist, Declares War on The Occupy Movement

2011-11-14T06:05:00.001-08:00

Legendary comic book artist and writer Frank Miller, whofamously turned the caped crusader into a fascist in the seminal graphic novel The Dark Knight Returns, now advocatesfascism in the real world. In a rantposted on his website, he disregards the Occupy movementas one populated by “louts, thieves, and rapists.” He also dismisses them as an “unruly mob”that does nothing but “harm America.” Millermanages to do all of the aforementioned in first paragraph alone. His rant maintains the same tone throughout,even going so far as to take jabs at the sheltered man child who at one time worshiped him, before execrable works such as All Star Batman and Robin and mostrecently Holy Terror eroded suchdevotion. Though inflammatory, his stance isn’t exactly surprising, given the militaristicand fascist tone of even his most respected works.

Nowhere is Millers political stance more apparent than inperhaps his most famous work, The DarkKnight Returns. The graphic novel,originally published in four parts throughout 1986, has a 55 year old Batmancoming out of retirement to save an increasingly lawless Gotham from devouringitself. He declares war on a vicious newyouth gang, and faces off against the man of steel. In the process, he declares a vigilante formof martial law and becomes an enemy of the United States government. The book cast fascism as form of revolutionin the modern world. (IE an America dominatedby liberals and scum). This dystopiantake on Batman became an instant sensation and virtually changed the characterovernight, ushering in the “grim and gritty” era of superhero comics.

Since the publication of TheDark Knight Returns, Miller has made such tales his stock in trade. His superb Sin City series of graphic novels revel in the misogynistic anddated values of film noir and old detective stories. Women are often portrayed as murderoushookers, or damsels in distress who are violently liberated from their captors. 300(both Millers graphic novel and the subsequent film adaptation) played as aslick piece of right wing propaganda. His recent Holy Terrorcontinues this trend, recycling many familiar themes from his past works.

With his November 7^th rant, Miller now lets suchsentiments manifest themselves in reality as opposed to the comic bookpage. That he does so is evidence of manwhose works have always come from a very real place. It’s also evidence of a man who is detachedfrom reality. What’s very telling is howMiller openly embraces any number of myths about the Occupy protesters (Many of which are soundly trounced in this entry from Devin Faraci’s long running column The Devin’s Advocate), such asthe idea they protest capitalism while openly enjoying the creature comfortsand fringe benefits it provides. If Miller truly believes that, he obviouslycan’t smell what he’s shoveling.

The irony of all this is that the iconic character thatMiller reconfigured in his own image likely would not approve of hisstance. A great many Batman stories fromvarious mediums portray Bruce Wayne as both philanthropic and charitable. Though a billionaire (Who uses the image ofan irresponsible playboy as subterfuge) Wayne recognizes that his war is notone against the poor or the working class. In Miller’s own Batman: Year One,Batman issues a dire warning to a corrupt upper class: "You've eatenGotham's wealth ... your feast is nearly over.” It seems that Bruce Wayne doesn’t suffer such types well.

Two fisted vigilantes swooping in to declaremartial law and solve society’s woes with brute force looks and reads great onthe comic book page. Such stories giveus an outlet for our darkest fantasies, and cast our icons in an intriguing newlight. However, they should remain onthe page and the screen, never to cross over into reality. Miller has become the proverbial fanboy completelylost in a fantasy world. In Miller’scase, it’s one of his own design. Werehe to exist in the real world, Batman would probably side with the Occupy Wall Street protestors against the police forces that now act as a Gestapo for the corrupt onepercent. Miller would do well to keep inmind the thoughts of a real life revolutionary, Malcolm X: “If You’re notcareful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressedand loving the people who are doing the oppressing.”

Damien Walters Takes to the Air With a Vengeance in His Latest Showreel.

2011-11-11T18:02:00.001-08:00

DamienWalters is Hollywood’s last line of defense against the onslaught of digitalstunt men. This British gymnast and parkourexpert only very recently got his start in the industry in 2008’s Hellboy II: The Golden Army. Since then, he has built up a consistentresume of top notch work. He doesanything a digital stunt man can, except he does it for real, without the aidof wires or computerized trickery. Theguy has to be some kind of physical anomaly. He flips through the air, bounding effortlessly off ledges andwalls. He flips over (and through)moving cars. He turns regularsomersaults into visual poetry. The guyis simply a real life superhero. Everyyear about this time, he releases a showreel that displays his abilities invarious settings and obstacles. Thelatest one got released just yesterday and it really is something tobehold. This guy is a true artist, usingany available structure or landscape as his canvas. This video has more reply value than yourfavorite song. Once you click play, you’llbe hooked. Enjoy.