Movie Talk - Bruceploitation Part 7: Bruce Lee's Deadly Manuals of Death!

Well, the Kato costume finally shows up on someone... I'm not counting that "documentary" either.

Well, it’s that time. Every January, I delve into the archives of kung fu movies and look for ones that fit within the phenomenon known as Bruceploitation. Now, I’ve explained what this is in previous posts, but if this is your first one, here’s a quick description. When Bruce Lee died in 1973, studios were trying to cash in on the craze. They’d churn out movies about his life, revamps of his previous movies, really weird movies, and movies that centered on his death. You had guys with stage names like Bruce Li, Bruce Le, Dragon Lee, and Bruce Lea kicking butt and taking names.

It’s a weird subgenre and I think I’m almost done. I’ve found some really bad ones, but there have been some nice gems here. When I do eventually end this segment, I’ll list the best ones off. I’m not there yet, though. Today, I got six movies for this post. I was going to do seven, but I think I had enough of these movies for now. I even got one that actually has no Bruce impersonator, though I don’t know if it makes it good or not. I also have one that has “Bruce Lee” fight “Superman.” Guess which one I’m going  to talk about first.

Movie Talk - Bruceploitation Part 6: Return to the Gauntlet of Imitation Movies!

This whole cover is a lie. There are no ninjas, no real Bruce Lee, and no AK-47's!

Well, it’s time for my favorite segment of this month: Bruceploitation! Heck, it was pretty much Bruceploitation week after work. I needed something to watch while exercising since these movies don’t require a lot of attention most of the times. For those who don’t know, Bruceploitation was a phenomenon that occurred after the death of martial arts star, Bruce Lee. Studios were trying to churn out kung-fu movies that had lookalikes in the place of Lee. You had stage names being thrown around like Bruce Li, Bruce Le, Bruce Leong, Dragon Lee, and others. Heck, even Jackie Chan was in one of these movies… and it actually wasn’t bad either.

While it is tacky and sometimes shameless, I kinda like this subgenre. You never know what you’ll find since these movies vary in terms of quality. You got some decent ones out there, and you have ones that make you wonder who got drunk that day. I found one last year (Bruce’s Fist of Vengeance) that took the cake in how laughably bad it was. This time, I got another variety of films. While I don’t have anything as weird as “Bruce Lee Fights Dracula and the Godfather along with Popeye,” I do have one with kung-fu little people, bronze Shaolin monks, and some crappy comedy…. I’m doing that one first, ain’t I?

Movie Talk - Bruceploitation Part 5 - Are We There Yet?

Hmm... so this is either Praying Mantis style, "Flipping the Bird" style, or "I'm Trying Not To Step On These  Full Rat-traps" style. 

Well, it’s time to get back into the weird subgenre known as Bruceploitation. It’s been a thing for years during this month. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, Wikipedia has a good description. If you don’t like clicking on links, here’s a quick summary. Brucesploitation was a phenomenon that occurred in the 1970’s after Bruce Lee’s sudden death. Filmmakers were trying to milk Lee’s death by putting out movies with look-alikes. Even Jackie Chan, who I’ll get to later, was a “clone.” Even if the movie had nothing to do with Bruce Lee, they’d title it with some related to the dude.

When you get to the movies themselves, they tend to vary in quality. You’d get some that are pretty entertaining movies in their own right. While they’re not awesome movies, they are at least decent. Then, you would also get some that are dull, some that  are dreadful, and some that have pretty ridiculous. If you read previous posts, you’ll know which ones I’m talking about. Unfortunately, I don’t have anything like The Dragon Lives Again, but there is one that is somewhat close. Anyway, here are five movies from that weird genre.

Tales From the $3.99 Bin! - Bruce Lee: The Dragon Rises #1

Next up for the month is a pretty modern comic. Back in 2016, an independent publisher called Darby Pop released a mini-series called Bruce Lee: The Dragon Rises. It’s a book for all ages. I don’t remember when I first heard about it, but I was kind of interested in it. It lasted four issues and I own the first two. It’s been released in the trades since then. Today, I’ll just be talking about the first issue to the miniseries.

One of the biggest things about it is that Shannon Lee, Bruce Lee’s daughter, is actually involved in it. She and Jeff Kline wrote the story. Kline was a producer and writer on some of the recent Transformer shows and Jackie Chan Adventures. Finding that out helps me get this comic. The artwork is handled by Brandon McKinney, the colors are done by Zac Atkinson, and Troy Peteri does the letters. Reginald Hudlin is on here as a consulting producer which sounds weird. I guess that means he’s the editor? Oh well, on to the synopsis!

Bruce Lee: The Dragon Rises #1

Writers: Shannon Lee and Jeff Kline

Art: Brandon McKinney

Colors: Zac Atkinson

Letters: Troy Peteri

Design: Steve Blackwell

Consulting Producer: Reginald Hudlin

Tales From the Magazine Bin! - The Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #15

A few years ago, I looked at something different for the blog: a magazine. It wasn’t any ordinary magazine, though. The Deadly Hands of Kung Fu was a black-and-white comic magazine that Marvel published for 33 issues. The Kung Fu craze was at full force in the 70’s, so Marvel not only created characters like Shang-Chi and Iron Fist, they also had this magazine. The magazine contained reprints of comics, “how-to” articles, and reviews on stuff. After I looked at the one from a few years ago, I thought I'd watch out for these.

Today’s issue is #15 and it’s the magazine’s annual. It was released during the Summer of 1974. We actually get three regular-paged reprints in here this time. An artist named Nick Cardy handled the pretty cool cover of Shang-Chi and Iron Fist kicking butt. If only they had actually teamed up in the magazine.  "Midnight Brings Dark Death” was first printed in Special Marvel Edition #16."Heart of the Dragon" first came out in Marvel Premiere #16. Finally, "Retreat" originally came out in Master of Kung Fu #19.

Movie Talk -The Ip Man Trilogy

This is a lesson for you gun nuts: never point a loaded gun in someone's face especially if it's Donnie Yen.

Next up for the month is a look at a series of movies starring Donnie Yen. I have to admit one thing though: I wasn’t a fan of Yen really until recently. I had seen him in bit roles over the years in movies like Blade 2, Highlander: Endgame, and Shanghai Knights. Nothing really stood out to me but I did know he had nice moves. I didn’t really appreciate him until I saw his overseas work like Flashpoint, Iron Monkey, and the ones I’ll be talking about today. He has an even bigger reach now that he’s appeared in the recent Star Wars movie, Rogue One.

The Ip Man trilogy has been released over the last few years. I’ve seen them all on Netflix undubbed and dubbed. As the titles suggest, they are about Yip (also called “Ip”) Man. He was a master of the style, Wing Chun, and trained many students. One of these students was a lad by the name of Lee Jun-Fan, aka Bruce Lee. It comes back to him in one way or another, doesn’t it? Anyway, the teacher has been the subject of a lot of things in Chinese media recently. Not only are there Yen’s movies, but there are a few other movies about the man out there. So, let me see what these three movies have to offer.

Movie Talk - Bruceploitation 4: The Spinoff to the Sequel of the Remake of That One Bruce Lee Movie

It's a fake Bruce Lee vs. a fake Muhammad Ali!

Well, if there’s one thing January is going to bring, it’s going to be another trip to the genre know as Bruceploitation (BP). If you don’t know what that is, Wikipedia can help you there. If you don’t like actual research (like me), then here is a quick summation of the genre. BP was a phenomenon where producers tried to make money off the death of martial arts actor, Bruce Lee. Basically, they’d make movies that involved the name of Lee and it was in name only. I don’t think many who actually knew Lee were involved with them. Different martial artists were getting thrown into that “Next Bruce Lee” title and even the movies involved Lee’s name even though he never appeared in them. Some stock footage from previous movies would be used but that’s it.

For the last few years, I’ve gone into this swamp of weirdness and yells. Sometimes, there is some good to be found. You might get a decent movie or two. Then, you might get something so ludicrous that it needs to be seen. These movies can bring laughter in a “so bad it’s good” way. Today’s movies can end up on a scale of decent to “What in God’s Name Did I Watch.” So, sit down and read about how I spent most of my weekend getting to know these “movies.”

Favorites - Ten Bruce Lee References in Pop Culture

Well, it’s a new year once more. 2016 brought its mix of good and bad like any year does. Let’s not forget that. Here’s hoping 2017 can be a little better than the previous year. As usual for January, welcome to Martial Arts Month. Yeah, it’s such an original title, I sarcastically say. Every year around this time, I look at the various things in movies, games, or TV that involve the martial arts. I barely know any styles myself but I’ve always had a love for this stuff.

 I thought I’d start the month with the one who started it all for me: Bruce Lee. Yeah, it always comes back to him in one way or another. He was one of the most influential martial artists in that he introduced the wider world to martial arts and Asian culture in general. Even though he left this world too soon, his influence can still be felt today especially in pop culture. He’s been referenced in a lot of places. Heck, he’s even an unlockable character in a UFC video game. So, here are my favorite references or homages to the man himself. They come from everywhere including movies, video games, TV, and more.

Favorites - Nine Favorite Fight Scenes from Martial Arts Movies

Hey, all. Well, it’s sort of been a good month. Other than some weirdness here and there, I had fun doing this themed month again. I finally got to talk about some things that have been a long time coming. Of course, Butt-kicking month will be back next year. Last year, I ended it on my favorite Bruce Lee fights. This time, I’m just going to talk about nine of my favorite fights scenes in movies. It’s not going to be in order or anything like that.

I originally wrote a lot of this stuff a couple years ago. I was going to post it at the end of my first Martial Arts Month, but I decided to do something else. As I said before, these are just some of my favorites. It’s not a definitive list of the best since a couple of these wouldn’t be on that list. You’ll see ones I’ve talked about before and some I haven’t gotten to yet on the blog. I will also limit it to one martial arts actor or series of movies. I may have to cheat with one you'll see.

Movie Talk - Bruceploitation 3: Rise of the Bruce Lee Knockoffs!

From left: David Cairadine, Bruce Lee, and Robin Williams... at least that is what the movie wants you to believe.

Well, it’s finally time to start off Martial Arts Month with the awesomeness that is Bruceploitation. I’m starting a little late, but that happens when you spend the previous month writing about characters similar to that Gosh-Darn Batman. For those that are new here, Bruceploitation was a phenomenon that occurred in the 1970’s after Bruce Lee died. There were a lot of actors being thrown into that “Next Bruce Lee” title. Movies were even marketed to make it look like Lee was actually in them. Some movies even had footage from Lee’s earlier movies to make it look like he appeared in it. Does anyone remember the 1978 version of Game of Death? I do and man, it was bad especially when you see scenes of Lee from other movies in it.

I saw a couple of them when I was younger but decided to dip into this weird pool a couple of years ago. I have to say I was quite surprised. These movies actually tend to range from decent to “what in God’s name did I watch” pretty frequently. You might have “biographies,” original stuff, sequels/remakes, or really weird stuff. There is one I’ll talk about today that definitely fits in that last segment. I have five movies for today, so let’s start with Bruce’s trip to Purgatory… oh yes.

Top Ten Bruce Lee Fights

So, I’m at the end of this month. It’s been good. I had some other things I wanted to do, but I had to cut it off somewhere. For my last post, I decided to revisit an old idea. Whenever the Super Bowl would come up, I used to write notes on Facebook detailing the match-ups I’d want to see. They were mostly comic-related, movie-related, or people-related. I was bored and just did it for fun. As for this Super Bowl, I hope the Seahawks win. I haven’t kept up with the NFL much but I might as well root for the underdogs. Besides, the Patriots have won enough.

Instead of talking about matches I want to see, I’m going to talk about my favorite fights from movies. This time, I’ll be talking about my favorite fights from a martial arts actor. In this case, it’ll be Bruce Lee. Heck, it might as well be him since I’ve seen all of his movies. Instead of going one step further like that Nostalgia Critic dude, I’ll just stick with my top ten fights. I'll also provide some links.

Movie Talk - Bruceploitation 2: Return of the Cash-Ins on Bruce Lee's Death!

Fists of Bruce Lee is the only place where you'll see a fake Bruce Lee fight a fake Napoleon Dynamite.

Well, it’s time to look at some movies that wanted to cash in on the death of martial arts actor, Bruce Lee. For those who don’t know, that’s the basic definition of Bruceploitation. Last year, I looked at some movies that tried to make money off his death. Some were rip-offs of his movies, some were unofficial sequels to movies, some were “biographical,” and some were just straight-up insane. I looked at The Clones of Bruce Lee last year and yes, there were actual clones. That should tell you how ludicrous this craze was.

Still, there is some fun to be had with these movies. While they may not be good works of cinema, they have their moments. They’re so diverse that they can go either way in quality. Some of the ones I looked at last year weren’t that bad in some areas. So, sit back while I spiel about five pieces of 70’s schlock.

Tales from the 50 Cent Bin! - Bruce Lee #1

A Bruce Lee comic book from the 90’s… Sometimes, life is good. For my last comic in this themed month, I’ll be looking Bruce Lee #1 from Malibu Comics. What’s Malibu Comics, you ask? Well, I’d tell but then I would have to show you this piece of “WTH.” To make a long story short, they were a comics company created in the late 80’s. They got a little popular in the 90’s with books such as Ultraforce and… Ultraforce? Anyway, they also had licenses to properties like Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter. I’ll get to their Mortal Kombat series one of these days. The company was bought out by Marvel when comics sales declined in the mid-90’s.

During their stint, they acquired the rights to do a six-issue Bruce Lee miniseries. I found the first issue in a 50 cent bin somewhere and I knew I was going to get it. I’ve seen the rest of the issues online, but I’m not spending more than a dollar on those issues. It’s definitely something that I look out for at shops. The writer of the first issue and series is Mike Baron who’s worked on books like the Punisher, The Flash, and Nexus. The artist is Val Mayerick and he was one of the creators of the Marvel character, Howard the Duck. Wikipedia had good things to say about this mini-series, so let’s see if they’re right about the first issue.

Movie Talk - Bruceploitation

Yes, this movie exists... and no, Bruce Lee doesn't destroy his clones in the movie. He's dead, remember?

 Bruceploitation… yes, this word actually exists. Microsoft Word hates it though. According to Wikipedia, “Bruceploitation is a cultural phenomenon mostly seen in the 1970's after the 1973 death of martial artist and actor Bruce Lee.” Bruceploitation (BP for short, hee hee) is basically equivalent to those Elvis impersonators that pop up from time to time. You had guys going by names like Bruce Li, Bruce Leung, Dragon Lee, Bruce Le, and my favorite, Bronson Lee. If there was actually a “Bob Lee,” then this would be even more hilarious.

A lot of the movies were mostly rehashes on Lee’s pictures. Some were even unofficial sequels to those movies. There were also some “autobiographies” if you can call them that. Some would also go play “conspiracy theory” on how Lee died. Then, there are some really weird ones. Bruce Lee Fights Back From the Grave (yes, that’s the title!!!) is one of them. You’d be shocked to know that the movie isn’t even about that weird premise. I think there’s also one where “Bruce Lee” fights alongside Popeye, James Bond, and Clint Eastwood… Yeah.

Today, I’m going to talk about some of the ones I’ve seen. Yes, I’ve seen a few BP movies. Some are actually decent while others are pretty subpar. I was able to view them all on YouTube since I actually don’t own these. You’d be shocked to know that Jackie Chan was actually one of the many clones! Luckily, he only did one movie (New Fist of Fury) and decided to go in a better direction. Since there are a lot of these movies out there, I’m only going to look at five starting with The Clones of Bruce Lee… yes, The Clones of Bruce Lee.

Movie Talk - Bruce Lee

Making men eat paper... Only God and Bruce Lee could make this happen.

So, what can I saw about Bruce Lee that hasn’t been already said? I mean, the guy was a legend! Not only was he one of the first Asian actors to hit it big in Hollywood, the man created his own style of martial arts. That’s cool in my book. He was also one of the prolific people that passed away in his prime (32 years-old). If you want to know more about him, watch a biography like Bruce Lee: A Warrior’s Journey and you’ll get all you need to know. I wouldn’t watch Dragon: A Bruce Lee Story for more info about him since that "biography” was so inaccurate. At least it was well acted. Today, I’ll be looking at the movies Lee did in his adult years. For those who don’t know, Lee did actually do some movies as a youth, but I won’t be looking at those. I’ll be looking at his five (technically four) movies.

Background

I pretty much saw all of these movies in my youth. Enter The Dragon is one of the first movies I remember seeing. Game of Death (the 1978 version) came second in the viewing process. I saw the rest of the movies like The Big Boss, Fist of Fury, and The Way of the Dragon when we used to go to this one rental store in Pulaski. I forgot the name of the place but I know it used to be on Minor Hill Rd. I own Enter the Dragon and The Big Boss but I don’t know where they are at this moment. Since I haven’t seen the pre-ETD movies and G.O.D. in a long time, I viewed them online at places like Netflix and Veoh.

Random Thoughts #28 - Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

Man, I got to finish that book. I stopped reading it when it started to get interesting. I got it at the library in Pulaski and it goes back Sunday. Luckily, it’s kind of a brisk read. Before I get to finishing that book and trying to seek out some movie called Blade Runner, here are a couple of random thoughts. I will say that work’s good and that I have nothing to say about women as of now.

The library is a wonderful place!

Yes, I stand by that statement. Looking at text on a screen can get a bit boring especially when you work in that field. So, I try to go to the library whenever I’m in the hometown. They actually have a good selection of Hardcovers and Trade Paperbacks. During my latest look, I decided to pick up “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” and finish it out. I also picked up a couple of other books that I kind of want to quickly talk about:

• Avengers: Endless Wartime – I was wondering how this was, so I picked it up. Recently, Marvel has started to release Graphic Novels in the same way DC releases their Earth One GNs. The key difference is that this is in continuity. The overall plot revolves around the Avengers going up against a threat from Thor and Captain America’s past. Overall, it was okay, but not that good. The dialogue was Whedon-like, but the overall story was full of “meh.” The artwork was also pretty dull and that’s weird because Mike McKone did the artwork. He’s usually better than this, so I don’t know what was going on there. The book pretty much exists because of the Avengers movie. That entire cast of characters is there as well as Wolverine and Captain Marvel. If you don’t read comics much, you might like this. Other fans might not like it as much.
• Batman and Philosophy: The Dark Knight of the Soul – Yes, I picked it up. “Don’t judge me,” I sarcastically say! It was one of those last-second grabs. The book is full of articles from different people and they try to enter philosophy into certain aspects of the character. They talk about why Batman does what he does and throw in names like Kant and Aristotle. I’ve only read a few of the articles and it’s okay. I’m not into philosophy much, so this has little interest with me. Also add the fact that a lot of the things have been talked about everywhere else online. It’s alright for those who want want to mix philosophy and Batman together.

Martial Arts Month

That’s right, folks! It’s a themed month based on the arts of martial… yeah, I’ll never say that again. Anyway, this basically gives me a little time to give a look at the different media that’s based around martial arts. While I really didn’t study martial arts, I’ve always had a love for it and the many styles. It mostly comes from movies and TV shows I’ve seen and my dad. I know that I’m going to look at some things that involve a certain bad mofo by the name of Bruce Lee. I will try to look at some other martial arts actors and their movies. I got a couple of comics I want to talk about and one of them is a Bruce Lee comic from the 90’s... be afraid and prepare to laugh. I also have a couple of surprises in store, so stay tuned. 

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Well, I’m out of things to say. If this is my last post for the year, I want to wish you a Merry Christmas, A Happy Kwanza, a happy Hanukkah (a belated one), a Happy Beer Day, Happy Black Thursday, and a Happy New Year. I wanted to get include them all today. Peace, God Bless, and be with your loved ones in this pretty hectic time.

Random Pictures of the Month - Dec.

Well, it's the end of the year and I have some pictures to end the year with.

Oh man... now that is one look I don't want from anyone.

I think Doc Ock needs to get his glasses or meds checked out.

Now this is one Christmas party I won't go to!

Yes, they did meet once. As you can tell, that meeting didn't go well.

Random Thoughts #7

Well, it's a Saturday night in Pulaski (brr!), and I have a presentation and two papers to work on. I think it's time for random thoughts before I get into those things.

Grad School
Well, grad school has been going well for me. From what I can tell, I'm doing okay. As I said, I have a presentation to perfect and two papers, wit one being a re-submit 'cause that unfortunately happens and one that shouldn't be too hard. My presentation is pretty much gonna be on how to manage your stakeholders in an IT (or IS) project. Here's hoping it turns out well. It also looks like I may be taking 9 hours next semester. Since two of the classes I have to take are both scheduled to my liking, I'll be taking those two on  Thursdays and on the other back on Monday. It should be interesting.

Women
Yes, this topic is back. Let's see...women. That's all.  ):|

Frank Miller...
I just read this little article on BleedingCool about Frank Miller's thoughts on Occupy _____. All I can say is "Wow." Now, I really have no thoughts on the Occupy thing. I have my own "occupying" I need to get to. Anyway, that's pretty much all I have to say on that topic. There are three things I have a hard time talking about: Politics, religion, and love. I'd rather listen to someone talk about them rather than I talk about them.

 .....................
So what will I be doing next? It looks like I'll be doing two GNs from the 80's (again). One is controversial, while the other is the aftermath of something controversial. Then, maybe I'll get to the next two issues of Suicide Squad.

Well, I'm out and about to start on these important things for school. I will now leave you all with someone I may or may not talk about in the future:

Bruce Lee vs. the rejects from The Karate Kid. I think Lee may win this bout.