Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Jekyll; a BBC show with Joss Whedon Style


I'm sure I'll get in trouble with the Steven Moffat fans for comparing him to Joss Whedon, but I cut my teeth on Whedon-style, so that's the comparison I'll make.

Jekyll was a six-episode BBC series from 2007.  It was written by Doctor Who scribe, Steven Moffat, and starred James Nesbitt, an actor from Northern Ireland known in the UK for roles in Cold Feet and Murphy's Law.  Nesbitt played Dr. Jackman and his mysterious alterego, Hyde.  The show also featured Michelle Ryan, as a psychiatric nurse hired by Jackman & Hyde to assist them, and Gina Bellman as Claire Jackman, the doctor's wife.

I caught wind of the show while doing someo f my more eccentric online research on werewolves; the Jekyll and Hyde story is often considered a variation on the werewolf theme.  I was intrigued enough to track down a copy of the DVD set at the library and started watching.  Nesbitt is amazing as the title characters.  He wears very light prosthetics and manages the character change mostly through his acting and the acting of the supporting cast.

The plot is a sequel or continuation of the original story.  Dr. Jackman begins to experience episodes in which the Hyde persona emerges.  He realizes this is not a split personality, as the other persona actually exhibits different physical traits.  He then pursues the mystery and discovers a secret history and conspiracy afoot.

The writing is clever and in turns, dramatic, comedic, and scary.  Hence, I compare it to Joss Whedon's best work on Buffy and Angel. If you're into those shows, this is worth tracking down; you won't be disappointed.

Not to mention that Ryan and Bellman are HAWT!  Did I just print that?  Oh, well, too true not to point out.


Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Short Action Film: Ghost Recon Alpha


This film was made as part of the marketing campaign for the video game, Ghost Recon Alpha.  It shows a US Army Special Forces special reconnaissance team in action in the near future.  The resolution is a little open ended to allow the game action to pick up, but the movie is really pretty good for its length and genesis as part of an ad campaign.

Monday, June 25, 2012

Ironclad!

Medieval siege action starring Paul Giamatti as the evil King, and the ever reliable James Purefoy as a Knight Templar determined to hold the castle.

Saturday, June 16, 2012

Warriors: Viking Terror! Part 5


The conclusion to the Warriors seriesViking Episode.

I should post their Samurai episode some time too...

Recent Seminar: Brotherhood of the Blade



I recently attended a Kali / Filipino Martial Arts seminar with Kuya Doug Marcaida.  My prior experience with Kali has been through my Jeet Kune Do training.  In fact, my JKD instructor suggested this seminar and invited me along.

The video shows the flashiest parts of the seminar.  I actually found Kuya Doug to be very practical minded and he stressed the same fundamentals of posture, balance, movement and structure that I am familiar with.

But flashy looks cool.

Friday, June 15, 2012

Warriors: Viking Terror! Part 4


Part Four of the Warriors: Viking Terror! episode.

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Warriors: Viking Terror! Part 3


Part three of the Warriors series Viking Terror episode.

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Warriors: Viking Terror! Part 2



Former Green Beret Terry Schappert brings us the second part of the Viking episode from the series Warriors!

Hank Reinhardt on Viking Sword & Shield

The late swordsman Hank Reinhardt demos some of his research into fighting with the sword and round shield.

Wednesday, June 06, 2012

Iron Man 3 Images


Uh, yeah.  That says AIM: Advanced Idea Mechanics.


UPDATE: A better view of the sign.


Meanwhile, it looks like the Iron Patriot armor is in the movie.  Which is weird, because Norman Osborn can't be in the Avengers movies.

Warriors: Viking Terror! Part 1


The first part of a series examining the Viking Warrior culture.

Monday, June 04, 2012

Stray Cats: She's Sexy & 17




"I got some roots of Retaliation right here..."


Okay, the weirdness surrounding GI Joe: Retaliation continues to grow.  One of the reasons released for pushing the movie back to next March is that the relationship between Roadblock and Duke (The Rock and Channing Tatum) tested so well with audiences that the studio wanted to add more of it in.  (It was also assumed this meant revising the script so Duke doesn't die.)

But...

Channing Tatum says he hasn't been contacted and knows nothing about any reshoots

"I don't know. Truly, I haven't seen the movie. I did my part and then all this stuff is going on, so they haven't come to talk to me about anything. They talk about a lot of stuff; who knows if it's the industry or the actual studio? You never know."