Sin City: A Dame to Kill For

I hate the vast majority of comic book movies. The good ones are very rare. But holy fuck, if Sin City isn't a prime exampled of how to adapt a comic to the big screen then I don't know what is. The first one blew me away. Absolutely floored me. I was/am a huge Sin City fan and the attention to detail was all there. Every frame dripped with Frank Miller's presence. He was a co-director. Wouldn't let anyone adapt his books otherwise. And quite rightly. His partnership with Rodriquez is a match made in the sweaty, sleazy, back alleys of Basin City. It's gritty. It's authentic. It's perfect.

Neither of them drop the ball on the second installation, A Dame to Kill For. It's more classic Miller tales very artfully and painstakingly recreated in live action. If you like comics you must like Sin City. If you like Sin City you must see the movies. Simple logic. Can't be argued against.

Fucking awesome.

What Happened, Miss Simone?

Netflix produced a Nina Simone trailer. Sold.

This just recently came out. Very solid documentary about the high priestess of soul. Found out quite a bit about Nina's personality and her interesting life. I had no idea. If, like me, you just dug Nina's amazing voice but never knew the story behind the artist...check this out.

And Stanley Crouch is always entertaining to watch and listen to. He offers some commentary...

Dig it.

the Summit

This is a good doc on a botched K2 expedition. Eleven people died in the most deadly K2 climb in the mountain's history. This is the story of what went down. Well, as much as people can piece together. The truth is known to the mountain alone.

If you like documentaries like Touching the Void or any sort of survival tale...you'll dig this.

The Walking Dead: Volume 23 Whispers into Screams

This was an exciting issue. One of the best in recent memory. A lot of shit is going on. The cliffhanger from last TPB is resolved, and it's turned into a whooooole new thing. I'm not saying anything else. Stoked on this one.

Dawg Fight

I saw this pop up on Netflix so I added it to ye olde queue. Just watched it. Pretty decent. I really liked the main guy it profiles; DaDa 5000.

You've probably heard of Kimbo Slice. The dude is a UFC fighter and he went pro after being discovered in the backyard fighting scene of Florida. Evidently there are at least five fighters from a small backyard fight club in Miami who have made it to the pro level after being discovered on YouTube and whatnot.

This is the story of DaDa 5000, the guy who organizes the fights. He's one hell of a fighter himself, weighing in at a 260lbs. These dudes see fighting in the backyard as a way out of the ghetto. And sometimes...it works. But more importantly it bring the community together and it gives people something to strive for. And in many cases it settles beefs with fists instead of knives or guns.

It's a somewhat low budget doc, but it's not exactly a glamorous environment so it's alright. It doesn't need to be fancy. There are a lot of likable characters, some sadness, some loss, some triumph, and a whole lot of resilience...it's all there.

If you like MMA I'd suggest you watch this. No doubt.

Project A Part 2

I hadn't seen Project A Part 2 since I was probably 10 years old. I had recently watched Project A so I wanted to see the sequel. It's on Netflix and I had time to kill so I did just that. It ruled so hard, man. Great Jackie Chan flick. Golden era Golden Harvest production.

Jackie is an up and coming cop in Shanghai in what appears to be...the 20's? Earlier? In Project A he defeats some pirates. Kills their leader. In Part 2 they come back to seek revenge. On top of that there's a whole lot of police corruption going on, double-crossing, and a hefty dose of political radicals causing trouble. It makes for a relatively complicated plot. It's a bit tricky keeping track of all the subplots. But it's not rocket science either. Anyway, the movie is about action and comedy. That's what you're here for. And Project A Part 2 delivers both in spades.

If you like Jackie Chan, this is a must-see. Some classic stunts. But if you're not into 80's kung-fu then I guess you can live without it. Although I wouldn't recommend it.

Long live Jackie Chan.

Total Recall

I bought this for Pickle*, but the dude had already read it. So I figured fuck it, I'll read it myself. I was on an Ahhnold kick so what the hell.

I'm really glad I purchased it. It's an excellent read. Top class bio. Arnie charts his life growing up, through his body building career, then movie career and finally his political career. It's all there. Every rep.

The awesome part about his story is his mental fortitude. The dude is so god damn disciplined. It's a very inspiring read. You understand that Arnie wasn't a body builder who got into this or that...whether he was a body builder or not is irrelevant. The guy just had immense drive. He was going to succeed at multiple things in his life no matter what, and body building just happened to be one of the first major accomplishments. He's a scholar, an athlete, an actor and much, much more.

Arnold talks about his follies, too. It's not all glamour. He makes mistakes and he pulls back the curtain on a couple of them.

This book is highly enjoyable. But I found the final quarter less interesting because it focused on his political career...and that's obviously not as interesting to me. I prefer stories about lifting on Venice Beach or shooting Conan with John Milius. But if I'm gonna read about politics it might as well be about Arnold. So it's really a win/win. This is great.

I'd recommend this book to anyone who likes a good story of grit, determination, and personal drive. Or anyone who just wants to know about Schwarzenegger. I mean, who wouldn't want to know about the Austrian Oak?