Saigon Electric screening at the 34th annual AAIFF

August 14th, 2011 by Mr. C


SAIGON ELECTRIC made its east coast premiere at the Asian American Independent Film Festival with Stephane Gauger (director) on hand to introduce & conduct a brief Q&A session after the screening at the Clearview Cinemas in Chelsea.
Breakdancing would be the name of the game and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam would be the backdrop for this fun filled drama of b-boys and b-girls showing their goods in the hood! All elements of this form of street dance would clearly be represented as toprock, downrock, power moves, & freezes would each have their own time to shine in the gritty streets of old Saigon! The film would start out with a soundtrack of vietnamese hip hop while a viet b-boy whips around a few downrock and power moves knifing through the wind and puddles of water that lay in the way! This made for a beautiful moving image as the techniques of the dance moves displayed in slow motion & then to faster shutter speeds really enhanced the windmill and downrock breaks! Don’t sweat the technique, y’all! This would set the tone for some sweet eye candy of street expression as the story would unfold into something more than just hip hop. The plot would fuse in Mai, a young girl from the countryside making her trek into the big city to audition for a dance school with her ribbon dancing ways when she befriends Kim from the Saigon Fresh dance crew as they bust a move on the city concrete. Relationships between a country bumpkin, an urban dance team, a rich brat, & a grumpy old landlord would go from like oil mixing with water to a well infused blend of a vinaigrette by the end of the movie! As Mai battles with her insecurities, another battle would also brew in the form of breakdancing! The Saigon Fresh crew are preparing for an all out b-boy/b-girl battle on the dance floor with their more well to do counterparts, the North Killaz for the right to represent Vietnam in the next round of competions in Korea! Other complications that would add some sauce to this urban feel good dance story would be a dosage of falling in & out of love, friendships, a rediscovery for the appreciation of life from the old man, & a reality check when the saigon fresh crew gets evicted from the community center where all the orphans find refuge & solitude in favor of erecting a hotel funded by a hong kong conglomerate. The rich kid would also be an ingredient added in the pot to offer some contrast to the poor, working class of Ho Chi Minh city. The final battle between the Saigon Fresh crew vs the North Killaz will determine the destiny of the community center! The finale will be the dance offs of all dance offs! Some really intricate rocksteady break moves performed with ‘NAM flare accompanied by familiar beats and scratches will definitely enhance the dance! The use of traditional vietnamese drumming will also bridge the gap when east meets west!

I thought the film was very entertaining and refreshing to watch! I also found myself cheering on some of the characters in the film which is usually a good sign. We can all predict what the outcome of the story will be but the way the movie was presented and cinematically shot really added some whip appeal to it! Although the cast in the movie were 1st time actors/actresses, the passion in executing their art form really bled through the screen! Besides that, growing up on hip hop, trying to breakdance (I emphasize TRY), spinning on the wheels of steel, and appreciating the other 3 elements of the art form (the emcee, beatbox, and graffiti) didn’t hurt the situation either! I think the combination of an honest performance from a rookie cast coupled with an awesome display of breakdancing blended together with a great soundtrack (DJ Slim,Felt1,DJ One) definitely added to the seal of approval! The Q&A with the director would truly seal the deal! He seemed to be a real sincere & down to earth dude who presented his film with conviction! Here are some really cool points to note from the film extracted from the Q&A with the director Stephane Gauger:

*Hired real street dancers from Ho Chi Minh City & Hanoi (NO acting experience)

*All Vietnam based production cast except two NYC natives: cameraman Nguyen, & the producer.

*Director is not a dance or hip hop guy, but loves humanity and realizes that Vietnam is a changing society. He was born there & visits on a regular basis since the mid 1990’s.

*Hip Hop is a relatively new art form in Vietnam embraced by the youth for 4-5 years now.

*Soundtrack is a hybrid of hip hop artists from Vietnam & from Vietnamese Americans from San Francisco.

*Dancers in film have only been dancing 2-3 years & practice about 3 days a week.

*Dance choreographer is from L.A. who teaches at the Debbie Allen dance academy. He choreographed the Saigon Fresh crew while VIET MAX from Vietnam choreographed the north crew.

*It wasn’t a political thing that he named the north crew the north killaz. It was the vietnamese dance crews’ choice.

*Soundtrack of the film will be available for digital downloads in the future. Follow Saigon Electric on facebook to get the latest updates.

SAIGON ELECTRIC will be released in 12 major cities on October 7th! We also recommend adding the documentary, PLANET B-BOY to your watch list if you haven’t seen it yet! This will get your breakdance juices flowing with some heavy competition of B-Boy crews from the far east, local, & yonder!

Trailer of Saigon Electric via TheXocompany@Youtube

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SUPER INFRAMAN (1975)

August 11th, 2011 by Mr. C


Director: Hua Shan
Producers: Shaw Brothers Studio
Actors: Danny Lee,Bruce Le,Terry Lau
Genre: SciFi fantasy,kaiju,monsters,martial arts action

Due to the success of ULTRAMAN & KAMEN RIDER in Hong Kong, Shaw Brothers Studio came back with a HK phooey kaiju chop of their own, known as SUPER INFRAMAN! Literally translated from the chinese characters as Chinese Superman! I think the marketing folks wanted to name the movie as similiar to Ultraman as possible without stepping on the boundaries! This film is most certainly a fun filled mashup of colorful & evil monsters led by a pretty, but devilish lady princess with a one track mind to invade & destroy earth with the help of her radioactive goons! What stands in their ghoulish ways is a crazy scientist, his research team, & their nuclear bionic creation, a masked chinese heroine blessed with the extraordinary powers of kung fu, a thunder fist, laser beams, a fire bomb, & the ability to grow to an enormous size! For being a 1975 production, the special effects, costumes, and the Skeletor-He Man looking set design was pretty darn good in my opinion! The kung fu fighting was also first rate and flowed really well, thanks to the fighting choreography of the great Tang Chia! If you have ever seen a power ranger episode then you’ll have a decent idea of what to expect with this film! Super Inframan is eons better with a more twisted looking monster cast, crazy FX, cooler costumes, & more fighting! Some of these outrageous monster characters included the mutant drill, fire dragon, plant monster, the crabman that turns into a gi-normous version at will, and the skeletor mount devil soldiers! The evil princess & her henchwoman, the sexy witch eye had costumes that looked like Madonna might have copped’ for one of her world tours with her torpedo breasted inspired self! The chinese superman was played by none other than DANNY LEE! (The Oily Maniac, The Killer, The TeaHouse, Blood Brothers). Though, I’m pretty sure when the masked superman came on the screen, it wasn’t Danny Lee in the costume as I have never seen him kung fu fight like that before! Especially, when Super Inframan is doing backflips on the clouds and does butterfly kicks on the crabman! All would not be well on earth as the Professor and the Chinese Superman look for ways to save society from the mount devil demons! Some cool scenes (there are many) that stood out for me included the boat ride with the monsters & the professor to mount devil, the supersize fight scene, & the He Man like set melee between the mutant drill, skeleton soldiers, the research team, & Super Inframan!

As far as I know, there are two great options available on DVD for SUPER INFRAMAN. One is the hard to get copy of the IVL/Celestial-region 3 variety and the other more readily available, but still excellent quality which includes the english dubbed & subbed soundtracks distributed by Image Entertainment. There is a really neat DVD insert written by Damon Foster & August Ragone on the Image version that explains the background of the cast members, & the inspirations for the movie which will also explain the heavy assist from Japan and their most excellent cinematographer, TADASHI NISHIMOTO aka HO LAN SHAN! HLS was reported as having the most influence on Shaw Brother films and HK Cinema with his technical cine-bravado and ‘art’-look on film! The writeup on the DVD also divulges that Danny Lee’s sidekick in the movie was played by the famed, brucesploitation actor, Huang Kin Lung AKA Bruce Le! No wonder the kicks were of the high flying & entertaining variety in the film! Another shocking revelation (for me at least) from the insert was that BASIL GOGOS (famous artist/illustrator of the “Famous Monsters of Filmland” magazine) did the international poster art for SUPER INFRAMAN! I’ve got to hit up BASIL GOGOS with a sketch at the CHILLER THEATRE CONVENTION this year! Whichever version of the film you get, you will not be disappointed with the radioactive crustaceans & powerplant monsters roaming about, waiting to get their scales handed to them by a kung fu demon kicking & backflipping, chinese superman!

Trailer of Super Inframan via JetJagga@Youtube

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Breathless (2009)

August 6th, 2011 by Mr. C

Director: Yang Ik Joon
Actors: Yang Ik Joon,Kot Bi-Kim,Man-Shik Jeong
Genre: korean crime drama with hints of dark comedy

This film was recommended to me by a fellow mondo cinematic crime lord from the boogie down who is more astute to korean crime dramas than I am and marked that this might be up my trashy five and dime chinatown alley! I didn’t realize that BREATHLESS was going to lead me on a roller coaster ride of emotions from a complete low to hovering on a high flame of anger then back down to a brief simmer of hope to finally getting suplexed, and while in the process of getting up, to get kicked in the nuts with the prospects of almost wailing like a child for the finale! Despite these tears for fears with being more than just a bruiser & basher film which I am usually well accustomed to, I raised my paws up with a fuzzy fistful of approval for Breathless!

At first glance, I thought the movie was going to be about hired goons and their hard knock efforts to smash up the democratic hopes of protesting students but no, that would be too one dimensional, not to mention boring! These hired guns of sorts would not discriminate, y’all! Superficially, this movie was about a day in the life of a local gang led by a calm & somewhat compassionate ring leader being strung along by the moving parts of his loanshark operation led by his right hand henchman played by actor, Yang Ik Joon who also happens to be the director of the film! We would follow this all star debt collector for his brutal daily beatdowns, smackdowns, shakedowns, & verbal knockout punches of unfortunate & unsuspecting gambling degenerates. Along with the ferocious punches, bruising heel stomps, & blinding blunt objects to the head, a barrage of dirty mouth, verbal abuse f-bombs, & curse words that the devil would say RIGHT ON to, would be a valuable weapon of choice for this troubled man. A meeting by chance with a high school student would add another dimension of self discoveries that would give him another dice roll in life.

However, underneath the surface of this day to day operation would dig up deep scar tissues of this henchman’s past that would reveal the reasoning behind his foul mouthed self, his anger, constant loathing, & his solace in violence. One relationship would lead to another mutually inclusive one as stories will intertwine with each other which will lead to a whole host of revelations & similiarities between the two families. A stunning finale would reveal a full circle of events leading on to another generation of rock & rage.

Say your graces, give high praises, & don’t forget to kiss/hug/hi five your parents the next time you see them because BREATHLESS will truly take your breath away when you see what it’s like along with the aftermath on the other side of the parenting train tracks. A refresher course on dysfunctional families, filial piety, a domino effect of verbal & physical abuse , and a cold hard stare in the mirror of reality will be in-store for this screening!

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Cung Le: Dragon Eyes

August 5th, 2011 by Mr. C

via FightSportTV @Youtube

I had missed CUNG LE’s meet & greet appearance at the AFTER DARK FILMS booth promoting his new project at the 2011 san diego comic con so this update serves as a chance to hype up his soon to be released action packed film called DRAGON EYES directed by John Hyams and produced by Joel Silver! The film is still in the editing phase and hopefully, will be playing at the theatres in early 2012! Warner Brothers is mentioned in the mix so maybe this would mean a bigger release to the masses! It stars Cung Le (his 1st ever starring role), Jean Cleade Van Damme, & Peter Weller (from Robocop). Cung Le, a vietnamese-american martial artist from San Jose, California is a former undefeated san da kickboxing champion and former middleweight champion in the MMA organization: STRIKE FORCE. LE has also fought in the prestigious K-1 Tournament with an impressive 3-0 record! He has been highly coveted in INSIDE KUNG FU and BLACK BELT MAGAZINES since the mid 1990’s! His martial arts background includes tae kwan do, sanshou (chinese grappling/kickboxing), & wrestling. Cung Le is one bad ass mofo with a heart of gold, real humble but confident at the same time! His signature move is a reverse scissor takedown which is executed so beautifully that it looks like art in motion! This takedown is not a finishing move of a fight but it does prove to be a demoralizing one for his opponents before he goes in for the kill! I am surprised that CL hasn’t gotten more play in movies but then again, kicking ass in real life and in the ring doesn’t always translate into motion pictures. The fight game often lends to brutal, direct, & powerful blows as opposed to the flowery, complicated, & giant moves of the ebb & flow variety native to onscreen fighting! LE is slowly but surely building up his fight film chops with the help of Yuen Woo Ping, Cory Yuen, & Donnie Yen! Cung Le has appeared in a few movies that you might have seen but did not know that he was lending his kickass hand & foot to the screen! Yuen Woo Ping’s, TRUE LEGEND & Teddy Chan’s, BODYGUARDS AND ASSASSINS come to mind! He always seems to play the villain role. I’m guessing pro fighters have that square jaw & rugged look that looks too bad ass not to play the antagonist! Not for nothing, but I love Donnie Yen for his martial expertise, style, charisma, and his films, but Cung Le would eat Donnie & his children for breakfast and still have room for pho, ‘fo sho’ !

DRAGON EYES is about a man in prison played by Cung Le who is being mentored in the fight game as well as in proper jailhouse survival etiquette played by a character no other than the smooth Belgian one himself, Jean Cleade Van Damme! With Le’s release, he attends to some house cleaning on the streets uniting two street gangs to rival forces against a crooked cop! Right on! Sounds like a ton of action & non stop fighting to me! The story sort of reads like Michael Jai White’s fan favorite movie, BLOOD AND BONE! If Dragon Eyes can come close or eclipse the action in that film then “beam me up Scotty, I control your body” ! I’m thinking if Cung Le is doing the fight choreography, stars in it, & has the old ghost of Jean Cleade by his side then it’s either going to be another cult status favorite for fans or it’s going to be a train wreck like NO RETREAT, NO SURRENDER! Rest assured that if Cung Le is in the film some boombastic’ fighting is going to go down and go down hard! Also, look out for LE in Wong Kar Wai’s, THE GRANDMASTER and Rza’s, THE MAN WITH THE IRON FIST!

Check out Cung Le’s official website and twitter account!
http://cungle.com/
http://twitter.com/#!/CungLe185

Another prolific & talented martial artist in the same age range with a similiar background lurking around San Jose as well is ERNIE REYES JR! (his dad, Ernie Reyes SR is a martial arts legend!). What’s in the water in San Jose that breeds these martial art prodigies?

via TheMMAguide @Youtube (reporting from 2011 SD comic con)

via yeticket @Youtube (reporting from 2011 SD comic con)

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Sushi Girl

August 3rd, 2011 by chocko


Mark Hamill

James Duval, Andy Mackenzie and David Dastmalchian

Cortney Palm and Jeff Fahey


The cast and crew intro at the Sushi Girl panel at San Diego Comic Con (video courtesy of pcimprezzive)

Most of the cast and creators of the movie Sushi Girl made the trek to the San Diego Comic Con to debut the official trailer, show some scenes and take part in a Q&A session. We were a little disappointed that Sonny Chiba couldn’t make it to the panel, but Mark Hamill (Star Wars) was in the house along with Tony Todd (Candy Man), Andy Mackenzie (Shoot ‘Em Up), David Dastmalchian (The Dark Knight), Jeff Fahey (Lost), Cortney Palm (Sunday Morning High), and Noah Hathaway (Neverending Story). After watching the trailer and two scenes, I couldn’t really figure out was going on, as far as the plot. There were lots of badass gangsters who were not happy in the least bit, a naked girl that gets sushi eaten off her, and Mark Hamill looking like a fat Kurt Cobain. Don’t get me wrong, the movie looks very promising, the trailer has a Reservoir Dogs/Grind House quality that I like about it, Danny Trejo(Machete) is in the movie too? Sushi Girl definitely has a killer cast.

The panel featured an enthusiastic cast and the whole time I couldn’t believe one of my childhood heroes Luke Skywalker was sitting right in front of me! Mark Hamill talked about how nobody ever thought about casting him in a movie as a villain despite his many years providing the voice of The Joker in the Batman animated series. He also went on congratulating the cast and crew on the their hard work and sincerely complimented them on their performances, driving resident badasses Andy Mackenzie and Tony Todd to tears. I thought these guys were joking around but they were genuinely moved by Hamill’s kind words and encouragement. Tony Todd was obviously the most touched and looked like Candy Man needed a hug. I ran into Tony after the panel and I told him that I was looking forward to the movie and he was really hyped up and told me that this movie “is gonna be a game changer.”

So, after checking out the Sushi Girl website to get more info, the plot pretty much focuses on five thieves who reunite six years after a diamond robbery goes wrong. The money’s still missing and things get hectic fast during a congratulatory sushi dinner. OK, but we still do not know much about this mysterious Sushi Girl. Will she layeth the Smackdown on these goons, is she merely just eye candy for fanboys? I guess we’ll find out soon. As of now, there still is no release date for the movie but the best thing to do is follow the movie online via facebook and twitter for updates.

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All Star panel of female creators: SD Comic Con

August 1st, 2011 by Mr. C

The “best of the best” of these multi-talented writers/producers on this comic con panel shed a little insight on their success stories as well as hardships while trying to rise above the ranks of a traditionally male dominated field in the comic/sci-fi film genre. This estrogen connection cast of all stars would ultimately prove that if you have a great story to tell to your audience and you are able to deliver this message in an intelligent & entertaining fashion then it doesn’t matter if you are an alien, martian, monster, male, or female! Right on! It’s true that there are a few more obstacles that females have to contend with in this field but the ladies on this panel are knocking down barriers one by one, making it just a little bit easier for the next wave of creative writers to breakthrough! As we will discover from this discussion, you’ll have to learn to roll with the punches, don’t burn any bridges until you’re well across them, develop a thick skin, & take any advantages that may be bestowed upon you, & run with them! The special guests included : MARTI NOXON (screenwriter/producer) of Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Angel, Mad Men, Fright Night, & Glee; GALE ANNE HURD (producer) of The Walking Dead, Terminator, & Aliens; MARJORIE LIU (writer) of X-23, Daken: Dark Wolverine, Black Widow, Dirk and Steele novel series; JANE ESPENSON (writer/producer) of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Battlestar Galactica, Torchwood, & Caprica; & LAETA KALOGRIDIS (screenwriter/producer) of Shutter Island, Ghost in the Shell, Bionic Woman, Avatar, & Fantastic Voyage. The moral of the story from this all star cast of creators: Be persistent, keep on writing, keep on submitting your work, & keep on, keeping on despite rejections!

Check out a brief clip below from the Q&A portion of the panel! Maybe this will help inspire some of you soon to be writer/producers of the next big hit TV/FILM/Comic/Novel series!

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Comic Con 2011 Cosplay

July 29th, 2011 by chocko

Cosplay at the San Diego Comic Con was off the hook as usual. Walking around the convention hall and running into a Cylon, a centaur, Darth Vader and Bart Simpson in the span of 10 minutes is pure magic and can only happen at the Con. Keep it up freaks, geeks and true believers!

(photos by chocko)

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BLACK DYNAMITE – animated series – ADULT SWIM: SD Comic Con

July 29th, 2011 by Mr. C

“All you suckas gather around!”

“He’s the smoothest, baddest, muther to ever hit the big screen…main man, Black Dynamite!”

“He’s super cool & he knows Kong fu!”

“Drives a $5000 car and wears a $100 suit!”

“When it comes to the ladies, BD is outta sight!”

“When the mob kills his brotha and puts the dope on the streets, Black Dynamite gets back in the game and is playing for keeps!”

“Black Dynamite is badder than Shaft, The Mack, & Superfly put together!”

With those sentiments in mind, I was struttin’ my stuff walking side to side, grabbing my crotch while muttering DYNO-MITE when I entered the Indigo ballroom of the Hilton Hotel at the San Diego Comic Con! We were all excited waiting for the BLACK DYNAMITE animated series cast members to drop step (Patrick Ewing style) into the panel consisting of Michael Jai White (voice of BD), Kym Whitley (voice of Honeybee), Scott Sanders (director), Carl Jones (executive producer), & Byron Minns (writer/voice over). It was real groovy that most of the voices from this animated series were also the same actors/actresses that were from the BLACK DYNAMITE live action film from 2009 including Arsenio Hall, Tommy Davidson, Kym Whitley, & of course BD himself, Michael Jai White! For all of you that haven’t seen Black Dynamite the movie, it’s a blaxploitation comedy/action flick depicting a 1970’s former CIA named BD with expert ‘kong fu’ skills who is fighting against everything that’s NOT good in the hood especially THE MAN to avenge his brother while he maxes, relaxes, & pleases all the ladies at the same time! Black Dynamite is sort of a spoof to the blaxploitation films of yesteryear but also pledges its allegiance towards the brother films of the past as well. I was really enamored to hear that Adult Swim was backing, waxing, & adapting an animated series to this film because the story is just too good not to! You can feel the energy and spirit of Michael Jai White, the director Scott Sanders, Kym Whitley, & blaxploitation film expert & writer, Byron Minns as they talked about their new project on the panel as well as ping ponging around some funny stories! It would of been really cool if Arsenio Hall & Tommy Davidson could of made it to comic con as well! We had the pleasure to be able to view the 1st episode of Black Dynamite the animated series that night at comic con and in the famous words of BD… “ha-ha, can you dig it?!!!”. I certainly dug it and as Jim Kelly (Williams) from Enter the Dragon would say, it “came straight out of a comic book!”. Be sure to keep Black Dynamite on your Adult Swim radar in early 2012! It’s gonna’ be OUTTA’ SIGHT!

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BLOOD RED DRAGON comic book: Stan Lee, Yoshiki, & Todd Mcfarlane – San Diego Comic Con

July 29th, 2011 by Mr. C

The rock star from the east would meet the brazen comic creators from the west when YOSHIKI from X JAPAN, STAN LEE, & TODD MCFARLANE gathered at the Indigo Ballroom at the Hilton on one of the panels @ SD Comic Con! What was the special occassion for this eclectic mix of individuals, you ask? This trinity of artists would join forces to create a tale of a new superhero powered by the strength of music! BLOOD RED DRAGON is a new comic with Yoshiki as one of the characters who discovers the extraordinary powers exposed at his waist-side when he steps onto the stage of a concert on that stormy night! I was lucky to get a copy of Image’s BLOOD RED DRAGON preview issue which was available in limited quantities at the panel and it looks very promising! When you open the comic book, the mood is instantly set when Yoshiki’s music starts to play! Traditional kabuki like music pierced through my ears as I glanced at the first page! The artwork looked very dark, bleak, & ghoulish. The setting takes place “in the furtherst corners of deepest oblivion, lays a cathedral of sin. A place where those ordained in the DARKEST arts of damnation Dwell.” Blood Red Dragon was created by Stan Lee and Yoshiki. Todd Mcfarlane is the creative director and John Goff, the writer. All four were on hand at the comic con panel to promote the new project and to throw around some slapstick humor and plenty of brown nosing as they waxed poetic on each other! Stan Lee, Yoshiki, & Mcfarlane couldn’t have been more polar opposites of each other as witnessed on the panel, but the creative geniouses of this trio is no doubt off the galaxy scale! Yoshiki was the more reserved and shy one while Stan Lee was more silly, outrageous, & full of life even at his ripe young age! Todd Mcfarlane seemed to be the mad scientist and orchestrator of this super trifecta group! It was funny watching Stan Lee keep on complimenting Yoshiki on being the Bono of Japan and having the aura of the Rolling Stones & the Beatles all rolled up into one package! Yoshiki, if you didn’t know was a founding member of X Japan in the mid 80’s. X Japan was a very popular band with heavy metal influences that specialized in power ballads with Yoshiki wearing multiple hats of playing drums, piano, & song writing! Yoshiki scored the music for the comic for future renderings of the animated version of the story? Who knows? There could be a music video in the works with Yoshiki which wouldn’t be too far fetched because Todd Mcfarlane as we know has directed a few music videos in the past! Yoshi describes the music that he created for the comic book story as gothic, spooky, & Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind like! Be sure to look out for BLOOD RED DRAGON issue #0 at your nearest comic book store! Check out a brief clip of the brazen trio having fun at the panel below! Enjoy!

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GAHAN WILSON: BORN DEAD, STILL WEIRD (2009) – screening at 2011 SD Comic Con

July 29th, 2011 by Mr. C


Director Charles Jaffe (pic by mr c)

Attending the 2011 San Diego Comic convention was a blast and the screening of this documentary which pays respect to cartoon artist, Gahan Wilson was a nice, fitting way to end the festivities for me. This film really does reinforce what comic con is all about. Chocko and I were taking a car ride along with some friends to get some grub at the authentic & delicious TACOS EL GORDO in Chula Vista while we explained to some fellow comrades what the heart-beat of comic con is besides all the hype & glory of mainstream hollywood which seemed to have infested the convention shores as of late. Chocko coined it very poignantly, that we shouldn’t lose sight of what comic con is really about: comic book artists-writers, illustrators, & cartoonists are the core of this celebratory weekend! That statement really hit home for me and reminded me of what’s up! I think I shedded a few nerd tears?!!! Well, without further adieu and without doing a copy & paste to repeat myself, check out my writeup HERE of GAHAN WILSON: BORN DEAD, STILL WEIRD at the UNSEEN FILMS blog! We also took some video footage (below) of the Q&A with Charles Jaffe, the director of the film after the screening! Enjoy!

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RIC MEYERS: KUNG FU EXTRAVAGANZA + FILMS OF FURY at SD Comic Con

July 28th, 2011 by Mr. C

Ric Meyers at San Diego Comic Con 2011 (Kung Fu Extravaganza) - pic by mr c

Ric Meyers’ Kung Fu Extravaganza program at the San Diego Comic Convention has definitely developed into a cult status type of an event over the years and 2011 was no different!
Basically, Meyers gives his blitzkrieg bop version of the best kung fu movie clips from new & retro films alike to satisfy the thirst for blood & violence of the “black belt theater” bulging gut, comic con crowd!

This years Kung Fu Extravaganza started with an appetizer of trailers promoting Eric Jacobus & THE STUNT PEOPLE, a crew of daring, throwback stuntmen/women with their new project called DEATH GRIP! If you don’t know who THE STUNT PEOPLE are then PLEASE, PLEASE check out their filmography! It’ll bound to bring back some memories of Hong Kong action of yesteryear! They also showed a trailer of JUSTICE FOR HIRE, an animation from the mixed martial art inspired comic book! It looks raw & full of action, y’all! Kaboom! After the trailer screenings, Ric Meyers threw in some kung fu nuggets by showing some old clips of Ron Van Clief, Carl Scott, Michael Jai White, Cheng Pei Pei’s COME DRINK WITH ME, & Etsuko Shihomi! Shoot, that got me throwing some compact jabs, uppercuts, & eye gouges into empty space! Sorry to the person sitting next to me!

The main course of the program included the world premiere screening of Ric Meyers’ FILMS OF FURY, THE KUNG FU MOVIE which is a documentary based on the history of kung fu films told by showing…*PAUSE*…you guessed it…movie clips of some of the most influential films in the genre! The film starts out in animated form with a kid looking for the secrets of kung fu when he is suddenly transported to the shaolin temple! This would begin the tale of the history of chop socky films in chronological order that have really influenced western audiences! Kwan Tak Hing, a chinese actor who made folk hero, Wong Fei Hong famous on the screen from the 1940’s-1980’s was mentioned first as well he should be! If you haven’t seen MAGNIFICENT BUTCHER yet, then what are you waiting for?! Shek Kin is another godfather of HK cinema. Some of you might know this legend from Bruce Lee’s ENTER THE DRAGON playing the role of HAN. Director, KING HU was also given some screen time with his classic 1971 wuxia film, A TOUCH OF ZEN! Of course, SHAW BROTHERS film director greats, Chang Cheh, Lau Kar Leung, Sun Chung, & Chu Yuan were also a big influence! Who can forget movies like CHALLENGE OF THE MASTERS, SHAOLIN MANTIS, FIVE ELEMENT NINJAS (one of the most violent films), BLOOD BROTHERS (Ti Lung, David Chiang, Chan Goon Tai), VENGEANCE, EXECUTIONERS FROM SHAOLIN, FIVE DEADLY VENOMS, & the 36th CHAMBER OF SHAOLIN to just name a few. FILMS OF FURY would leave no stone unturned as Bruce Lee, Fu Sheng, Ti Lung, The Venom Brothers, Chan Goon Tai, David Chiang, Lau Kar Leung, Gordon Liu, Sammo, Jackie Chan (Supercop, Police Story, Armour of God), Angela Mao, Cynthia Rothrock, Michelle Yeoh, Jet Li, & Stephen Chow (Shaolin Soccer, Kung Fu Hustle) were all given some air time! Even American Fu was represented with the likes of Chuck Norris, Carl Scott, & Steven Seagal! (Yes, I know Seagal & Norris are not KF practitioners) Of course, we can’t leave out “GUN FU!” John Woo would be highly praised in A BETTER TOMORROW, THE KILLER, HARDBOILED, & BULLET IN THE HEAD. FILMS OF FURY would do a nice job in segueing into the new millenium with films like CROUCHING TIGER HIDDEN DRAGON, KILL BILL, and KUNG FU PANDA! All in all, Ric Meyers’ new project did a great job in jogging up memories of the past that reminded me of why I love this genre so much! To quote the almighty wise one himself, Po the Kung Fu Panda, “I Love Kung Fu!” . If seeing this film is hard to come by, Ric Meyers also has a book out under the same title.

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2011 NYAFF: favorite lists – finale, bon voyage!

July 19th, 2011 by Mr. C

Inspired by subway cinema’s top 5 audience favorites list , Mondo Curry’s (Femme Fatales & fave new movie list), & DB’s summation on the NYAFF from Unseen Films, I’ve decided to throw up my slacker A-D-D version!

Here is the lot of movies that I screened at the 2011 NYAFF:

MILOCRORZE: A LOVE STORY
HORNY HOUSE OF HORROR
DARK ON DARK (Short)
BANGKOK KNOCKOUT
PUNISHED
MACHETE MAIDENS UNLEASHED
RAW FORCE
DUEL TO THE DEATH
KARATE-ROBO ZABORGAR
ABRAXAS
SELL OUT
THE LAST DAYS OF THE WORLD
RINGING IN THEIR EARS
BATTLE ROYALE
RIKI-OH: THE STORY OF RICKY
ZU: WARRIORS FROM THE MAGIC MOUNTAIN
REIGN OF ASSASSINS
DRAGON INN
LOVE AND LOATHING AND LULU AND AYANO
THE BLADE
CITY OF VIOLENCE
THE UNJUST
THE YELLOW SEA
BEDEVILLED

My lists:

Worst of the lot: THE LAST DAYS OF THE WORLD
What the freak factor: HORNY HOUSE OF HORROR/DARK ON DARK(short)
Favorite new movie: REIGN OF ASSASSINS
Favorite new movie that surprised me : LOVE AND LOATHING AND LULU AND AYANO
Favorite retro movie: Tri-tie: DUEL TO THE DEATH , RIKI-OH: THE STORY OF RICKY, & BATTLE ROYALE
Favorite movie PERIOD on the list: THE CITY OF VIOLENCE
Favorite comedy: SELL OUT
Favorite soundtrack: SELL OUT & THE CITY OF VIOLENCE
Honorable mentions: MILOCRORZE: A LOVE STORY, THE UNJUST, & BEDEVILLED

TOP 5 martial arts/action sequences:

1) THE CITY OF VIOLENCE

2) BANGKOK KNOCKOUT

3) DUEL TO THE DEATH

4) RIKI-OH: THE STORY OF RICKY

5) DRAGON INN via burnkee@youtube link

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