Rush Hour film series

The Rush Hour film series is a series of Hong Kong-American martial arts/action- comedy films starring Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker, directed by Brett Ratner, and distributed by New Line Cinema. The main plot centers on a pair of police detectives: a Hong Kong Police Force inspector and an American LAPD detective (portrayed by Chan and Tucker) who go on a series of misadventures often involving corrupt crime figures. All three films achieved commercial success and incorporate elements of martial arts and the buddy cop sub-genre. 

Rush Hour was released on September 18, 1998 grossing $244,386,864 worldwide.  Martin Lawrence and Dave Chappelle were originally considered for the role of James Carter, but Chris Tucker was finally chosen for the part. Director Brett Ratner, a big fan of Jackie Chan's Hong Kong movies, felt that American audiences would not be familiar with the jokes in Jackie's other movies, and deliberately re-used some of his gags. For example, the scene where Inspector Lee accidentally grabs Detective Johnson's (Elizabeth Peña) breasts is a reference to Jackie Chan's film Mr. Nice Guy (1997).  Jackie Chan, fortunately, did win over the hearts of the audience.  Many people found him hilarious, and a great actor. 

Rush Hour 2 was released on August 3, 2001. The film grossed $347,325,802 worldwide, making it the most successful film in the Rush Hour series. In an interview, director Brett Ratner admitted that the first part of the karaoke scene with Chris Tucker was not supposed to be filmed. Tucker refused to act like Michael Jackson with the cameras running. During takes, he went up as entertainment for everyone. Secretly, Ratner told the cameramen to film it but to not let Tucker notice them. On an episode of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Tucker said that while he was filming this movie in Hong Kong, many locals mistook him for NBA star Kobe Bryant. In the film, while Tucker's character is running up the stairs, the old woman shouts, "Move out of the way, Kobe" to him. This film obviously had a very strong cast and crew connection, which is key for a well-made film to be produced.  It also creates the feel-good emotion that comes with great films. The mural on the wall of the Heaven on Earth Massage Parlor was copied from one in Scarface, which Harris Yulin and Ratner appeared in. It is funny to see a parody take place in such a popular film.  The scene where Jackie Chan and Tucker are running down the street naked in Hong Kong was an actual take; production could not block the street off for the shoot. The scene where Chan and Tucker run in the streets was inspired by a scene in The Accidental Spy (2001) which Chan made before this movie. Ratner saw the film and decided to include a similar scene in Rush Hour 2 (2001).  Although this film incorporates a lot from past films, it was very well put together, and obviously, the public reacted positively to it.  

Rush Hour 3 was officially announced on May 7, 2006, and filming began on July 4, 2006. The film, set in Paris and Los Angeles, was first released on August 10, 2007, and grossed $258,022,233 worldwide. Academy Award-winning film director Roman Polanski co-stars as a French police official involved in Lee and Carter (Chan and Tucker's characters) case.  This movie, said by most audiences, did not live up to the expectations of the last two movies in the series.  Rush Hour 3 was literally, rushed, and not as well made, I believe.  The story and plot could have been executed better. All in all though, it was a good third movie to a big series.  

Because of the films' collective box-office success, director Brett Ratner and writer Jeff Nathanson were considering the production of a fourth installment. In the DVD audio commentary for Rush Hour 3, Brett Ratner joked that the fourth Rush Hour film could be released in 2012. Ratner and Nathanson are exploring many concepts, including the use of the motion capture technique for the possible sequel and various different film projects with Chan and Tucker. It has been reported that the fourth film may be set in Moscow.  Although I think that this series has had its run, and maybe they should just leave the legacy of the great movies alone, I don't think I would mind seeing a Rush Hour 4.  I would not like to see actors that are not Chan and Tucker.  To conclude, I think they should just leave it as is and count their blessings.  

This series was hilarious and is a must see for everyone who loves comedies!  Chan's stunts are impeccable and fun to watch.  Tucker's humor ties it all together in a fun, feel good, action-comedy. 

The Arrested Development Pilot: One of the best pilots EVER

Arrested Development aired it's pilot on FOX on November 2nd, 2003. Since then, throughout its four seasons, the show has received 6 Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and recognition for being one of the funniest shows aired on television.

In my personal opinion, the pilot of this show is one of the strongest pilots for a television series I have ever seen. Typically, pilots are ruled out to not be considered the best, but this show breaks that rule. In this episode, you are introduced to every important character in the series. The main character, Michael Bluth, played by Jason Bateman, narrates the episode and gives a detailed description of his highly dysfunctional family members. The fast paced editing and highly saturated coloring make the episode even more intriguing to watch. Lower thirds are used as well as many graphics to point to certain things and create different vectors.

Another aspect that I found interesting is that when they go from one setting to another, they don't just cut it, they create two different boxes on the screen and then bring the next scene into full. I have never seen that done on a TV sitcom before. The dialogue that is used is absolutely hysterical and the conflicts that arrive are so coincidental and unrealistic that they make you laugh out loud. The killer cast of Jason Bateman, Michael Cera, Portia de Rossi, Will Arnett, and many more add hilarious antics with each of their lines. Overall, this pilot was incredible and really set a high standard for situational comedies.

Jane the Virgin

Jane the Virgin is an American serial comedy-drama television series that debuted on The CW on October 13, 2014. It is a loose adaptation of the Venezuelan telenovela Juana la Virgen created by Perla Farías.  On January 11, 2015, the show was renewed for a second season.

Set in the scandalous city of Miami, the series is about the surprising and unforeseen events that take place in the life of Jane Villanueva, a 23 year old, hard-working, religious young Latina woman whose family tradition and vow is to save her virginity until her marriage.  Jane is serious with a detective, her boyfriend of four years, Michael Cordero, Jr., who proposes to Jane. Her dreams of a simple life with her fiancé are shattered when a doctor mistakenly artificially inseminates her during a checkup. And to make matters so much worse, the biological donor is a married man, a former playboy and cancer survivor who is not only the new owner of the hotel where Jane works, but was also her former teenage crush.  This man, Rafael Solano, also happens to be the doctor's brother.  

I like this show because every episode leaves off on a major problem that needs to be resolved in the next episode (cliffhanger).  It leaves me wanting more every time.  Also there is not only the main plot with the main characters, but many sub plots with minor characters that make every minute of the show interesting.  The diversity of the characters on the show make it easy for the audience to identify with at least one character.  There are many different personalities, for example Jane, the goody- two-shoes, honest, faithful virgin, or her mother Xiomara "Xo" Gloriana Villanueva, the outgoing, sexy, singer who, as the result of a one-night stand, became the teenage mother of Jane. 

I think the show is definitely worth watching.  It is funny, romantic, and has a fun twist of both fun and scandal. I believe the show has a lot to offer, and has a plot that leaves a lot to work with.  

Parks and Recs' Mocumentary Style

My favorite comedy show by far is the sitcom, "Parks and Recreation" starring Amy Poehler and many other hilarious actors. The style that is used in Parks and Rec is "mockumentary" and the cinematographer, Michael Trim, conducts it in such a way that is so entertaining and flows beautifully. Many people compare the style of the show to "The Office," but I believe that "Parks and Recreation" exceeds the cinematography of "The Office" and makes it smoother and funnier.

The shots are sometimes rough and shaky, but that is an aspect of the mockumentary style that really makes it come to life. Throughout every episode there are several times where characters break the fourth wall and stare straight at the camera. The actress who stands out the most when doing this is Aubrey Plaza who plays the character of April Ludgate. In many scenes she makes hilarious faces and reacts to things that other characters say by breaking the fourth wall and it adds to the humor of the show perfectly.

The excellent zooms, pans, and various other camera movements follow the characters in a way that is intriguing and entertaining. There is never a dull moment because the camera is basically always moving. "Parks and Rec" has come a long way since its pilot episode, which was not the strongest, to their seventh and final season where I'm going to bawl my eyes out because this show became a television phenomenon. The mockumentary style was a perfect way to go about filming this series, and it really makes it easier not only to connect with characters but to be involved with the various different plots. The writing for this show is absolutely hysterical and the style of it keeps viewers entertained for hours on end. I highly recommend that everyone take some time out of their days and watch this show.

ADR at its finest?

So these past couple of weeks have been really stressful for me and I know many other people as well. Well I wanted to share really well done ADR (automatic dialog replacement) that I found that will make all the stress go away!

Okay the ADR in these clips aren't exactly right or what the character was saying before it was altered but you have to admit it was pretty impressive. If the content that they were saying wasn't so weird it would be pretty believable.

These videos were done by youtuber badlipreading. The about section of the youtube page says "I put 

words into other people's mouths." I guess that is true!

Well I hope this made your stressful life just a little bit better or at least distracted you from doing something important!

Foley Can Make or Break Your Film

So I was on one of my favorite websites, Devour.com and stumbled upon a video called "bad foley." Now, coming from an audio minor and a person that simply appreciates the art of sound in general it was almost disturbing to see how bad sound in film can really be. Even though this video was made as a joke, it can really make you appreciate how much time foley and mixing go into the process of film making. Especially with scenes that do not require that much natural sound, its the art of creating the deceives the audience to make them believe it is real. I encourage everyone to take a look at this video, it will make you laugh, or if your a sound guy, possibly cry.

  http://devour.com/video/star-wars-bad-foley-edition/

Unexpected Humor: Trailer Park Boys

So a couple weeks ago I was looking for something to watch on Netflix. I was pretty tired so I didn’t think too much about what it was. I figured I would be asleep fairly quickly so it wouldn’t really matter if it was that great. I don’t even remember how I decided, it might have just been a random click, but I settled on the show Trailer Park Boys, a show I have never even heard of before. I settled in with a decent amount of certainly that it was going to be lame, but before I knew it, I was on the third episode and I was anything but asleep.

            It is a mocumentary style show that follows two newly released cons Julian and Ricky, including their friends and foes, as they try to survive in the Sunnyvale Trailer Park community. What’s great about the show is that it leaves a lot of room for adlibbing. It is minimally scripted which makes it easy to see how connected each actor is to his or her character. The mocumentary style also calls for a more intimate atmosphere and makes the viewer feel even that more involved in the show.

            When I first started watching it, I had a hard time finding any sort of sympathy for Julian and Ricky. From the minute they were released from jail they returned to their old tricks and schemes, not even imagining that they would ever get caught again. But as I watched more and more episodes, I found myself understanding their characters and seeing how kind hearted they actually were. Even though they continuously made poor choices, the final scene of the show was always something sweet that would make me go right back to liking them again.

            Their friend Bubbles, a Sunnyvale icon, also made me become gradually sympathetic to every other scummy character. Bubbles is the moral silver lining of the show, and seems to constantly bring Julian and Ricky back down to earth. Without him, I don’t think the two would have any kindheartedness left in them.

            I highly recommend this show even though I do realize that it is an acquired taste. It is a different type of humor that might not be for everyone. But it is a lighthearted comedy that has many touching moments and I think everyone should give it a try.

Old Spice Commercials are Black Magic.

So today, like most friday afternoons I spent searching the web looking for interesting things that I could possibly write a blog post on. Normally I'm looking for small interesting tid bits from movies, or running themes in TV shows. But recently while watching videos on YouTube I remembered some funny commercials a couple years back that starred this guy.

                                                                   "Hello Ladies..."

I remembered two iconic Old Spice commercials that I had seen and it wasn't until I watched them recently that I appreciated the difficulty of the commercial. So as a preamble before you watch this scene, just remember that it is all done in one take and there is no CGI whatsoever (except for the diamonds)... Enjoy.

So that is a very impressive commercial. The amount of bells and whistles and things that have to be timed perfectly is unreal. The moving sets, the props and everything needs to be in perfect synch. Here was the one thing that made me watch this commercial over and over again was the fact that I could not figure out how the hell he managed to get on the horse. I mean it is a completely continuos shot and he never even breaks stride. My best guess is he is on wires the entire time and they hoist him up after he exits the boat set. But really I still have no clue. Comment if you know how they did it.

Now if that commercial wasn't amazing enough Old Spice outdid themselves by making another one of these commercials even more elaborate than before. If you have the time, I really suggest you watch this.

 

In an interview with the star of this commercial Isaiah Mustafa he claimed that this took place on location on top of a lake. When he walks on water they put clear plastic panels underneath the water. The cake he catches, is a real cake, and the table saw he uses, is a real saw. If all of that wasn't fantastical enough look closely when he jumps into the hot tub. He is wearing bermuda shorts beforehand, and after the walls of the tub collapse he is wearing jeans and boots. Now Mustafa claims that the pants are real, and although he does not reveal the secret of how they did it. He said that no animation was used on the pants. I myself am skeptical.

I decided to post on advertising this week because I think it is very interesting that some really impressive stuff can be done not just for film and television.

Batman vs. Superman: not just a 2015 event

There's been a lot of buzz going around recently about the new 'Batman vs. Superman' movie coming out in 2015. Much of it has been directed at Ben Affleck, who was just confirmed as the new Batman. These two characters are getting a lot of attention right now with the Dark Knight series well on their way and the Superman series just starting up again. Their history goes far beyond the last 5 years though, and I'd thought it'd be fun to take a quick peak at what these characters have gone through in the past.

Firstly, let's go back to the dinosaur ages of 1966. Phrases like "gee wiz" were actually said, as you'll notice only 4 minutes into this episode from the Batman TV series:

The series was never viewed as especially good though, and they clearly had a struggling budget. 

Okay, maybe they were struggling with a little more then their budget. But before this show even existed, there was the "Adventures of Superman" TV show that started back when the pyramids were being built. AKA 1952. 

Moving way ahead in time though, this cartoon was released just last year and features an epic battle between Batman and Superman. I feel like this may give us a good idea of what to expect from the new movie coming in 2015, except instead of a cartoon it's real people and a sh*t load of special effects. 

Wilfred... What?

Last week, I wrote my post about the pilot of Psych, a comedy about a man who claims to be a psychic.  I haven't watched any more episodes of it. Oops.

However, I watched another pilot of a show recommended by a good friend.  Wilfred, a show featured on FX, was hilarious but left me wondering so many questions- all coming down to one word.



What?

My expectations for the show were high in terms of comedic effect.  I heard that the show was very funny, and was expecting to laugh a lot.  And I did.  It was very well written.  The concept of a talking dog induced by overdose just screams one word.

What?

I really appreciated the deeper meanings behind the comedy.  The episode opens with the main character, Ryan, writing an edit of his suicide note.  He attempts suicide, fails, so tries again.  After overdosing on what looks like NyQuil and some pills, he begins to feel hazy.  In this haze, Ryan is asked to watch his neighbors dog, Wilfred.  Ryan, due to the overdose, thinks Wilfred as a talking dog.

Again, what?

But as I was saying before, there is a deeper meaning.  Ryan is depressed.  The blank stare in his eyes, the sinking inflection in his voice, and the lack of effort to make something of his life shows that Ryan just doesn't know where to go.  But somehow, through this hallucination of a talking dog, he learns to "live his life" instead of float through it.  I was reminded of my project that I did with Kyle and Jake, Sperm Bank.  There are two characters, one on the serious side and one on the silly side, and the silly character helps the serious character come to a realization.

Aesthetically, this show is pretty modern.  The lighting is bright and the colors are saturated, which I believe helps make light of the serious aspects of the show.  There is low depth of field throughout most of the show, allowing you to see every last thing in the frame.  It is shot in handheld format, putting the viewer in the show and making it feel like they're actually there.

I really liked this show.  It was really weird, leaving me asking "what?" a lot.  But I think it has potential to create some great laughs and a very meaningful story.  I'll definitely be watching more episodes.

Psych

Browsing through Netflix as I always do, I came across a show I had never seen before.  I've heard about it through friends and peers, all of which had pretty positive feedback about the show.  I decided to watch the pilot and I liked what I saw.

Psych follows Shawn Spencer, an unemployed young man who is extraordinarily attentive to detail.   His attention to details helps him solve crimes that he sees being committed on the news.  That is, until police start to suspect Shawn's knowledge and claim that the information he is turning in can only be known by inside sources of the crime.  When being accused of this, Shawn claims that the reason he knows the solutions to all of the cases is that he is psychic.

The show is very comedically written.  There are many one liners that killed me.  For example, when Shawn and his buddy Gus are searching through a garbage can to find some evidence, they find nothing of significance.  However, Shawn is focused on other things... "This CD case!  It's totally nice!  Put it in the car...".

In addition, there is also a scene where Shawn mocks psychics, which I found clever and funny.  He played on the fact that all psychics base their readings off of what the client wants to hear.  "Your grandma would be very proud of you" said Shawn to a police officer, trying to prove he is psychic.

Along with the comedic script, the relationship between Shawn and his friend Gus is very "superhero and the sidekick".  Shawn is gusty.  He thinks he can get away with being a psychic, but Gus hesitant at first.  He doesn't want to help Shawn open their own detective agency because he is the character with the more logical way of thinking.  I feel like the relationship between the Shawn- the main character who is getting himself into something crazy, and Gus- the best friend who is more serious and logical, creates a very nice comedic conflict between the two characters.  I'm excited to see how their relationship continues to form.

The show, in terms of aesthetics, is pretty standard.  A wide range of angles and shots are used throughout.  Quick cuts are used to create a fast paced show.  But one thing I liked that the show did was use special effects to help the viewer see what Shawn was paying attention to.  If he was paying attention to a minute detail, a quick flash of colors around the object would be used to show what he was paying attention to.  Like the name tag below...

A very nice sound effect is added also to add aural attention to what Shawn is thinking about.  In addition to the added color special effects, a nice array of "woosh" and "ding" sounds are added to draw attention to what is going on in Shawn's mind.

Overall, I enjoyed Psych.  I'm probably going to continue watching it.  It's not my favorite show, but I liked it.

Key & Peele

Very recently my friend Jake introduced me to the comedy group Key & Peele. Now I'm sure that a lot of you have already heard of these guys because they are pretty popular, but I'm just getting around to seeing them and I would absolutely tell everyone to go watch their stuff.

Key & Peele are two comedians who got their start on the show MADtv, which was a sketch show sort of like SNL, just not as popular. After MADtv ended in 2009, two of the actors, Key & Peele went their own way and started up another sketch show on Comedy Central, called, well Key & Peele.

The sketches range from political oriented sketches to ones that are just plain funny. Here are a few examples from the show.

and probably my favorite sketch.

I would highly recommend this show to anyone. The show just finished its second season but you can just catch some re-runs on Comedy Central.

Family Guy

One of my favorite shows ever is Family Guy. Now I know that this show definitely isn't for everybody but I absolutely love it. It's the kind of show that I can watch at any time and always enjoy it. It's funny, enjoyable and easy to watch.

The show is about the Griffin family. You have Peter, who is the father of the family. He is the big oaf that's usually getting the family into some sort of crazy situation. There's Lois, his wife who is usually the voice of reason and understanding. Meg who is the daughter, is the typical teenage girl that the family happens to hate. Chris who is the son, who is basically just a teenage boy that has some funny moments. Brian who is also sometimes the voice of reason, but he's also the most political of the family. Then of course there's Stewie, the evil one year old with plans of world domination who also happens to absolutely despise his mother. There is also a huge array of side characters that all add to the humor of the show.

As I said before, the show isn't for everybody however. Many people will find it offensive, distasteful or just plain stupid. The show definitely isn't a satire like in the vain of South Park. It's more of a shut your brain off and laugh for half an hour type of show. Now don't get me wrong, there are some heartfelt moments and there are episodes that touch on touchy subjects such as abortion and religion and honestly I feel like they do those episodes pretty well. But for the most part, it's just a lot of fun.

Seth McFarlene is a man who has gotten very lucky in the television world. This show has been cancelled not once, but twice and brought back each time. He now has three syndicated shows, all of which are still releasing new episodes to this day and he just released a feature length film that did pretty well in the box office. He is a man that owes a lot to the fans and I think he does a pretty good job of showing it

Although the show has changed pretty dramatically in its over ten year run time, I still continue to love it. The newer episodes are definitely not as "smart" or "witty" as the older ones but I still think they do a pretty good job. It's a show that I think everyone should watch at least once, you never know, you just might like it.

Here is a little compilation of moments from the show. If you find these funny, chances are you'll enjoy the show.

Professionally Unprofessional Crew (VIDEO)

My friend Ben shared a link on Facebook that I thought was too funny not to share with all of you. Ellen Degeneres featured a short segment on mishaps involving the chyron, which occurred to such an extent in such a short time that there's nothing to do but laugh through it, and that's just what the news anchors did.




This reminded me of a conversation we had in class about all  crew members knowing exactly what their job is and being in charge of a certain aspect.  Clearly, the person in charge of chyron was either incompetent or there was actually something wrong electronically with the system, but it reminds us all about the importance of specialization. Sure, everybody needs to know how to do certain basics in different aspects of a production, but people also need to be very closely involved with their assigned position, and know how to instantly troubleshoot any problems that may arise, so that something like this never happens (even though this is a studio production, the lesson still applies.)

Importance of music in film

After reading a few blogs and after what we were speaking of in class today I thought I'd share my opinion on the importance of music in film. The music of a film can sometimes make or break the scene of it. For example, the scene in Robert Zemeckis' Cast Away, where Tom Hanks' character wakes up to find his best friend the volleyball "Wilson" missing and floating away in the ocean, is very heavily weighted on it's music bed. The reason for this being is because if you were to watch the scene with out the actual music  bed, it would actually be slightly comical. The scene itself begins with out a music bed but ends with one and rightfully so since the scene was NOT meant to be comical at all.
Here is the scene:

As the scene ends Tom Hanks' character begins to cry historically, if the music bed were not there to direct the emotion of the scene, the concept of a grown man crying that hard over a lost toy, is quite silly. Knowing the circumstances  it's not meant to be funny. Thus, the epic, emotional music piece. Family Guy actually mocked the scene and made it funny by making the famous reference of "Wilson!" and then adding a bit of comic reality coming from a cartoon volleyball. Notice there is no music bed.
Here's that video:

Oh, easy stupid comedy... On the oposite spectrum; a serious situation that shouldn't be funny is Something like the "WOW freak out kid". If this person were really this way or not is entirely debatable. I understand the boy was on Tosh.0 and made sure to stress that he was just acting. On the realistic side of things Human's can act animalistic and freak out the way he did, if I had a mental break down and freaked out about anything (especially being at his age) and it were filmed and posted on the internet by my Justine-Beiber-look-alike little brother I'd probably tell the world it was fake too so that Some day I could look forward to a normal social life in the near future. Aside from that rant, The concept of Asperger's syndrome, is a very serious issue that obviously can hurt himself and others. The reality is sad but the video is terribly funny.
here is that video:

The point is that music can change the entire mood of a film just like the setting of a terrible concept can make it funny.

How Movies Should Have Ended

OK so a few of my friends and I were watching clips on youtube and we ran across this channel that re does the endings of popular movies. They'r actually really funny. If you haven't seen any of the How It Should Have Ended videos before click on the title (thats where the link is) and watch a few of them. They'r really good!

it's friday

SOOO... im sure most of you have seen the horrid Rebecca Black music video for "Friday". If you have not, I discourage you from ever watching it if you want to save what you have left of your sanity. Anyway, the recent dubbing project we were just given reminded me of a video I happened to stumble upon while resisting my school work. It's a dubbed version of the song and it had me laughing pretty hard for a while. so i suggest clicking the link in the title.. and remember, tomorrow is friday. its the day before saturday. and after saturday comes sunday. in case you all forgot. thank you Rebecca Black for your incredible lyrical talents. they will surely be criticized for months to come. that is all.