Lesson number one . . .
Wednesday, June 17, 2015
Saturday, June 13, 2015
Thoughts on Mad Max: Fury Road
1) Lives up to the hype
2) Not bothered by the CGI (it's used judiciously and appropriately)
3) The stunts are magnificent
4) Proof that a sequel/remake need not be bad (Though does not justify Hollywood's current sequel/remake/reboot obsession. If anything, raises the bar for them to make ones that are actually good films in and of themselves)
5) Strong action heroines do not equal feminist propaganda
6) George Miller directs vehicle action like Yuen Woo-Ping directs kung-fu like John Woo directs gunfights like Busby Berkeley directed musicals. Action that advances the story, reveals character and revels in artfully capturing physical possibilities onscreen.
7) Minimal plot and character details usually sink blockbuster action films, but done right like here can create mythic, haunting and, dare I say it, poetic atmosphere.
8) Tom Hardy is both great as Max and the heir to Clint Eastwood's mantle as the Man with No name.
9) Other films I found myself thinking of while watching: The Warriors (1979), Fantastic Planet (1973) and Once Upon A Time in the West (1968).
10) Can't remember the last time a film got my blood pumping like that.
11) Hereinafter, the action in any movie should not be described as "visceral" by any critic until it can equal this one.
1) Lives up to the hype
2) Not bothered by the CGI (it's used judiciously and appropriately)
3) The stunts are magnificent
4) Proof that a sequel/remake need not be bad (Though does not justify Hollywood's current sequel/remake/reboot obsession. If anything, raises the bar for them to make ones that are actually good films in and of themselves)
5) Strong action heroines do not equal feminist propaganda
6) George Miller directs vehicle action like Yuen Woo-Ping directs kung-fu like John Woo directs gunfights like Busby Berkeley directed musicals. Action that advances the story, reveals character and revels in artfully capturing physical possibilities onscreen.
7) Minimal plot and character details usually sink blockbuster action films, but done right like here can create mythic, haunting and, dare I say it, poetic atmosphere.
8) Tom Hardy is both great as Max and the heir to Clint Eastwood's mantle as the Man with No name.
9) Other films I found myself thinking of while watching: The Warriors (1979), Fantastic Planet (1973) and Once Upon A Time in the West (1968).
10) Can't remember the last time a film got my blood pumping like that.
11) Hereinafter, the action in any movie should not be described as "visceral" by any critic until it can equal this one.
Tuesday, May 5, 2015
Time to Include Everybody
Taking a moment to help a worthy cause. Local Chicago actress Emjoy Gavino has launched The Chicago Inclusion Project, an effort to encourage greater diversity in theater, including different people of different ethnicities, physical abilities and gender identities. On the horizon is a staged reading of William Saroyan's play The Time of Your Life at Victory Gardens Theater, which will hopefully be the first of many such performances.
If you would like to contribute to this effort, The Chicago Inclusion Project currently has an indiegogo campaign to raise funds for its activities.
Getting Ripped!
In-between weekends kung-fuing my way through The Big, The Trouble and The Little China with New Millennium Theatre Company and balanced against being a husband, dad and keeping up with Chicago Aikido Club, I'll be joining some of the good folks at American Blues Theater onstage or their annual Ripped: the Living Newspaper Festival.
The one-night event is based on a 1930s Works Progress Administration (WPA) era program that brought actor/director Orson Welles, and playwrights Arthur Miller and Clifford Odets into public attention. A series of short 10-minute performances inspired and ripped from today’s headlines will be presented to raise American Blues Theater's arts education program The Lincoln Project in Chicago Public Schools.
Ripped: the Living Newspaper Festival takes places from 7:00 pm to 9:30 pm on Tuesday, May 12 at the Greenhouse Theater Center, 2257 N. Lincoln Avenue on the downstairs mainstage. Tickets (which also include food and drink) are $5 and available at www.AmericanBluesTheater.com/tickets.
Friday, April 17, 2015
Meet Wang Chi
Dennis Dun (as Wang Chi) and Kurt Russell (as Jack Burton) in Big Trouble in Little China
New Millennium Theatre Company is rolling out the publicity for their modest little Cowboy Western mashup/tribute/spoof of John Carpenter's 80s cult classic Big Trouble in Little China.
They have a little "Meet 'Wang Chi'" video up with me talking briefly about joining in the fanboy mayhem. Check it out here.
Wednesday, April 8, 2015
Some material reposted from the blog of Chicago Aikido Club (CAC)
Last weekend, Professor Donald Levine of the University of Chicago passed away on April 5 after a long period of illness. I first met Professor Levine as an undergraduate in 1993 when I took his Conflict Theory and Aikido course, followed by training with him as a member of University of Chicago Aikido Club.
A professor of sociology, Professor Levine began studying aikido in his 40s, eventually receiving the rank of yondan (4th degree black belt) under the Aikido Schools of Ueshiba (ASU). Over the years, he served as the conduit by which many young people first discovered and nurtured their interest in the martial art. He was also the founding president of Aiki Extensions, Inc., an organization that networks and supports individuals involved with “off-the-mat” aikido applications.
I actually started studying aikido the year before I met Professor Levine as an exchange student to Waseda University, however my time with him proved very influential on my training overall. It was through him that I was introduced to the teachers and schools that have informed my aikido to this day: Kevin Choate, Marsha Turner, Wendy Whited, Joe Takehara, etc. He will definitely be missed.
A service in memory of Professor Levine will be held at 1:00 pm on April 9 at KAM Isaiah Israel Congregation, 1100 E Hyde Park Boulevard, Chicago, IL 60615.
Reposted from the blog of Chicago Aikido Club (CAC)
Dr. Joe Takehara (竹原譲), senior instructor of Chicago Aikido Club (CAC) and a founding member of the original Illinois Aikido Club celebrated his 84th birthday on Saturday, April 4 at a party organized by his daughter Susanne. The lively gathering was attended by members from the CAC, as well as members of theMilwaukee Aikido Club, Chicago Aikikai and Ravenswood Shorin-ryu Karate Dojo. Happy Birthday Takehara Sensei!!
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