Movie of the Week: Traces of a Dragon: Jackie Chan & His Lost Family

So something I don't normally talk about, my love for kung fu movies. I get great enjoyment out of them, and there are quite a few action stars that I watch. Jackie Chan is one of the first for me. I'd seen his movies before, but it wasn't until I saw Rumble In The Bronx on the big screen that I really came to under just how awesome Jackie Chan was. And that wasn't his best work, I came to find that later. My friend Eric and I would watch these great kung fu movies and  it was the best of times. 

Now I say this to point out my own naivete when it can to Asian culture and lack of knowledge in the subject of a kung fu movie. I've been watching collections of great stars, trying to enjoy them with subtitles and not badly dubbed. Jackie Chan's weren't as bad because he spoke English and dubbed most of his works. Now I've come accustom to both formats and don't mind either. Years ago, I would have hated this documentary.

Ugh, I have to read!?

So I saw this documentary was added to Netflix and saw Jackie Chan's name. I read the info about was intrigued. It wasn't about Jackie's rise or his childhood per se. It was about him finally learning about his parents past and that he had four siblings he didn't know; as well as a different sir name. It's an emotional ride as you learn the super rough time his dad had growing up and trying to make it in war torn China. You learn with Jackie about his dad's past, and his brothers from another mother. Then you hear the tale of his mother who had it equally tough and find out about Jackie's two sisters from another father. Both stories are heart wrenching, and tragic tales of just how hard it was growing up, raising a family, and the painful choices one makes for family in those times.

Jackie's Dad is a badass.

Not at all what I was excepting from this documentary, but it was amazing. I love learning about the past history of other countries. My ignorance to what the rest of the world has or is going through gets cleared up a little more with just taking the time to listen and understand why things happen. I really recommend this, you should check it out. 3 out of 5.

Movie of the Week: The American Scream

Well, it's that time again. Time for me to do a movie of the week, and time for me to recommend another documentary on Netflix! This week, I decided to pick The American Scream. This film documents a few different people and the time and money they spend preparing their houses for Halloween. They turn their houses into haunted houses, sounds simple, right?! No, these people (especially their families) go through hell trying to do this.

It's quite interesting to see how much these people go through, just for their love of Halloween. There are quite a few interesting characters as well. I found myself hooked within the first few minutes, just in awe of what I was seeing. This also showed me that I will NEVER go through that much just for one day. That sounds like no fun, and I don't like doing things that aren't fun. These people are absolutely fucking crazy.

I'd check it out while it's streaming on Netflix, it's really worth a look. 4...FUCKING...STARS.

Movie of the Week: The Imposter

So it's my time to do a movie of the week again, so I've obviously found another awesome documentary for you to check out! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY! This has kind of become my thing, and I'm okay with that. This is a pretty strange story that I had never even heard of, but I stumbled upon this while browsing Netflix and was pretty blown away.

Without spoiling too much, a kid went missing, a guy pretends that he's a kid so the cops will take him to a shelter, and later uses the missing kids identity so he doesn't get caught. As fucked up as all of that sounds, it only gets stranger and more confusing. I was hooked into this story after about the first five minutes. I really can't say much more than I have without spoiling it (Why would you want to watch a documentary that was totally spoiled for you, idiot?!) So I'm not going to say too much more about it.

You should check this one out, as it is on Netflix's instant queue. It's an extremely strange story, emotional, and overall just an awesome documentary. WATCH IT! Seriously, what are you waiting for? Oh, you're still here? Go to your Netflix enabled device and watch this...right now. Do it. DO IT!!

Movie of the Week: Bully

So it's time for another movie of the week, which can only mean one thing....ANOTHER DOCUMENTARY! I'm sticking to my little trend of suggesting a documentary on Netflix, and this week we have a really emotional one. Instead of just recommending this to you, I'm kind of going to go into detail talking about this movie.

First of all, I have been bullied. I'm not the first person to get bullied, and I'm surely not the last person to get bullied. Getting picked on at school was one of the many reasons why I decided to get in trouble and do the best I could to avoid school at all costs. This also lead me to treating other kids like crap, because I thought that would some how make me "cooler". It's really fucking stupid, and I regret how I behaved in Jr. High and High School. No one deserves to be treated like they don't matter, to be name called constantly in a very serious manner, or to be physically attacked by others for absolutely no reason. Being picked on yourself isn't a reason to mess with others who did nothing at all wrong to you.

Now as far as this film goes, it's very sad and at times gets hard to watch. I'll just warn you right off the bat, if you're a really emotional person who doesn't like movies that will make you feel depressed, this is NOT the movie for you. As a person who has both depression and anxiety issues, this movie really bummed me out. There were times when someone would do or say something, so I would pause the movie and just yell at the screen "PEOPLE ARE FUCKING TERRIBLE! I HATE EVERYONE!" This is one of those movies that makes you lose hope in humanity. Both because the parents raising these children did a terrible job, the teachers and other staff at the schools are doing a terrible job, and the children themselves are ass holes.

There is one kid in particular that I really felt bad for. He's literally just trying to make a friend on the school bus, when the other kid tells him that he's going to cut his face off and kill him. Yeah. This actually happened. Just seeing what this kid has to go through every day at school, just because of the way he looks, is really sad. It even leads to his younger sister saying she gets made fun of due to her being related to him. That's just fucked up.

Even in my recent years I've been a huge ass hole to people, most of whom didn't deserve it. I feel like I've made some really good strides and have tried to treat others how I'd like to be treated. I now choose to bull shit and joke around, and not be a ruthless dick head to people for no reason. This movie really showed me how much you can really mess up someone's life just by treating them so poorly. It also showed me that people really should do a better job raising their children. Seriously, it shouldn't be hard to tell them not to be a such a fucking dick to other children.

This movie isn't for everybody, but I think it's really worth a watch. It is on Netflix right now, so check it out!

Movie of the Week: Jiro Dreams Of Sushi

"Once you decide on your occupation... you must immerse yourself in your work. You have to fall in love with your work. Never complain about your job. You must dedicate your life to mastering your skill. That's the secret of success... and is the key to being regarded honorably." -Jiro Ono

So it's that time again for a movie of the week. So I obviously went ahead and chose another documentary! YAY!! As you can tell from the title of the film, this movie is about a man and his love for making Sushi. It's quite interesting see all he has gone through, and how seriously he takes his work. He's work very hard at being the best at what he does, which he has apparently succeeded at. (Though he keeps working at his craft, trying to get better and better.)

My MAJOR issue with this film is the subtitles. They're SO hard to read. I feel like it would have been really easy to figure out a font/color that would work better. Seriously, it was damn near impossible at times to see what the hell they were talking about.

Outside of that, this is a great documentary. It's on the Netflix instant queue, so I'd suggest you check it out.

Movie Of The Week: Like Water

"Don't get set into one form, adapt it and build your own, and let it grow, be like water. Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless — like water. Now you put water in a cup, it becomes the cup; You put water into a bottle it becomes the bottle; You put it in a teapot it becomes the teapot. Now water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend." -Bruce Lee

It's time for another movie of the week. I have once again chosen a documentary, because I felt like it! Instead of another documentary about a Pro Wrestler, I have chosen a documentary about arguably the greatest Mixed Martial Artist of all time, Anderson Silva. I am a bit biased, considering he is my favorite fighter, so I figured I'd love this from the start. This is a great "behind the scenes" look at what a fighter goes through, physically and mentally, before a fight. It's made even better due to the real life drama between Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen leading up to this fight.

You get to hear from Dana White, the UFC's president, about how pissed off he was with Anderson Silva's very lack luster performances and antics in his last couple of fights leading up to this. It seemed as though Anderson was not in the right frame of mind in his fights, and was not performing at his best. So it was interesting to see how he would perform against a fighter who would constantly pressure him. This fight was one of the most exciting fights I've ever watched, I was freaking out the entire time. It also has one of the greatest finishes to a fight I have ever seen.

Considering Anderson Silva is from Brazil, there is quite a bit of subtitles because they are speaking in Portuguese. This doesn't bother me at all, but I know that some may not fans of having to read subtitles while watching a movie. But to those people I say, there is a cameo by Steven Seagal! Yay! But seriously, this is a very interesting documentary, though if you're not a big fight fan, you may not be that interested in it. Thankfully, I am. It's on Netflix's instant queue, so I'd suggest checking it out!

Movie of the Week: CM Punk: Best in the World

Hey guys and gals, Bobby here. As the title says, this is the "movie" of the week. I know, I know, this isn't a film really...it's a documentary. Not only is it a documentary, it's a documentary about a "wrassler"! Why would you want to watch a documentary about a fake pro wrassler? Well, because this is probably one of the best wrestling documentaries ever released, and it's a great documentary in general. Not only is it about a wrestler and his wrestling career, it's a really interesting story about someone from Chicago who people thought wasn't going to be good enough. The music in this is great, The Bouncing Souls kick it off, and of course Lars from Rancid is interviewed quite a bit for it. So any how, trust me when I say this is a great watch, not just for a wrestling fan, but for anyone interested in a great documentary. This is on Netflix's instant queue, so check it out!