Steven Seagal Lawman: A Euphoric Experience

I can't even begin to describe how INCREDIBLE Steven Seagal: Lawman is. It's like the Grand Canyon...You just have to go see it for yourself...and be prepared to have your mind blown. (Wed @ 10p-11p on A&E. Holla at that.)

Basically, this series is COPS, but 1000x better because Steven Seagal is one of the cops! And for all the doubters out there, he is the real deal Holyfield. He's a legit police officer. This ain't some fake shizz like The Hills. Real police work. In a bad part of town (Jefferson Parrish, Lousiana), and Seagal doing what he does best....BEING STRAIGHT UP BAD-ASS!!!! Dude can really fight, can really shoot a gun, really has that hair, and is really that zen. I can't even believe Seagal is still this bad-ass at 59. 59 and still taking names!

This show is pretty much flawless. Probably one of the best opening credit sequences in TV history, where Seagal gives two amazing quotes right off the bat!
-"I make a living in the movies, but for the past 20 years, (dramatic pause) I've also been a cop."

-"My name is Steven Seagal. That's right. Steven Seagal. Deputy Sheriff."

You just have to watch this show. It's a euphoric experience.

There's been four episodes so far, and Seagal has already done the following amazing things (SPOILER ALERTS):
-During target practice, Seagal shoots the tip off of a Q-tip.
-Incredible Aikido demonstration to his team.
-Seagal's amazing vision to see crimes unfold before anyone else does.
-Seagal's crazy dogs!
-Seagal's blues band plays for a charity concert to raise money for a children's hospital!!!! (Steven Seagal with the Mojo Priests!!!! He sings and plays guitar!)

WHAT CAN THIS MAN NOT DO!!! BEST REALITY SHOW ON TV RIGHT NOW IF NOT ALL TIME!!

Jamie Foxx is underrated (exclude his Oscar).

Sometimes, I don't think Jamie Foxx gets enough credit for his multi-hypenate dominance. (Yeah, I know he's won an Oscar, Grammys, other awards etc., but exclude that). In the modern era of multi-hypenate actor/singers (Miley, Leighton Meester, Scar Jo, LiLo, Jessica and Ashlee), let's not forget the dopeness that is Jamie Foxx. Seriously, his talent is off the chain. Bonus Jams has been down with Jamie ever since the In Living Colour days. We even liked The Jamie Foxx show (which carried the O.G. version of The WB for years (exclude Dawson's Creek and Felicity)).

Here is just a sampling of some of my favorite clips that I found on youtube.



I mean, this clip pretty much sums it all up. Jamie can sing, play piano, do stand-up, do comedy, and act (his impression of Luther in this clip is spot-on). He's just straight up an ENTERTAINER!



Jamie's tribute to Serena Williams is incredible. He even had Tom Cruise, Samuel L., and Lebron rolling in this clip. I'm not saying these guys are the authorities on comedy, but Jamie is pretty ridiculous in this clip. Straight ENTERTAINMENT here.

This Is It: Would have been the greatest concert of all time. ALL TIME!

WARNING: SPOILER ALERTS BELOW

Michael Jackson: This Is It - Basically, this post-humorous documentary takes BTS footage shot during MJ's concert rehearsals (maybe from the 2 or 3 best rehearsals he had) for his would-have-been 50 concert stint in London and shows viewers what that concert would have been like - pretty much THE GREATEST CONCERT EXPERIENCE OF ALL TIME. OF ALL TIME! (Sorry Taylor Swift).

This concert had everything. Pyro. Dope cinematic sequences. Great wardrobe. Dancers blasting onto the stage. A pretty tight band (the female guitarist is ridiculous!). And of course, MJ showing his artistic genius and singing/dancing some of his all-time mega-classics.

For the most part, MJ still got it. A very Brett Farve-like performance during his rehearsals (of the 4 TD variety vs. Green Bay). For a 50-year old dude, he was still hanging w/ his 20-something dancers. And in a lot of moments, the band and dancers were trying to keep up with him. (MJ still knows his shizz.) I was most impressed with MJ's voice. Despite conserving his voice during most of the rehearsals shown, he still sounded awesome (at one point he felt the music on one song, went off, and sounded ridiculous). Clearly, MJ was at home on the stage. This is the lab where the mad genius did his magic.

For an MJ fan (moderate or super), I think you'll be down with this film. You get to see and hear MJ perform your favorite songs in new and exciting ways. Also, seeing MJ do all these little things to make performances better was one of my favorite things in this doc. MJ suggesting a pause here, and extra leg kick there, holding a note here, etc., was so on point it was insane. We get to see a master practice his craft. And, even if he was doing these concerts to pay off debts, he didn't just half-ass his way through rehearsals. He truly cared about putting on the most ridiculous show of all time. As a fan, you gotta appreciate an artist putting in the time and effort to give you the best entertainment experience possible.

For a fan of documentaries, you'd probably wish for more back-story, interviews, personal life revelations, and story arc. But, MJ was shooting this BTS footage for his own personal library allegedly, so the footage wasn't really intended for a documentary persay. However, this doc does give people a chance to see MJ in a different light than the last decade or so of his life. No tabloids, no paparazzi, no eccentric behavior. Just an all-pro working on his game.

MJ's practice clothes is pretty awesome in this doc, except for the Ed Hardy sweats he wore in a few scenes. Even MJ had his faults...

Glee...still haven't seen an episode, but have seen these youtube clips like 50,000 times now

Glee: This series got a full season pick-up I think, so viewers are digging it. I've never actually seen a full episode, but I've heard/read mixed reviews about it. Amazing. Gleeful (ha ha). Plot scenes are filler between musical numbers. Overrated. Etc. Either way, it's got a loyal following (all the 18-49 kids love it!) and will be on 'til at least next year.

Not sure if I'll watch a full episode (I've already committed to like 8 series) (maybe I can hit up the S1 DVD in the summer), but man, these Glee song covers pop up all over the web, and they're pretty darn fresh. I think I've practically seen/heard all of these clips, so I feel like I've watched the entire series already anyways. Am I right?

My fave is the Salt 'N Pepa classic Push It. Other fresh ones include Don't Stop Believing (legendary Journey), Rihanna's Take a Bow, and the dope Bon Jovi/Usher It's My Life/Confessions mash-up.

Chris Rock Making a Doc....We're In

Chris Rock documentary: He has a pretty good comedy track record (huge understatement), so this doc is probably going to be a winner. The trailer is dope.

Kelly Osbourne will win DWTS

There's way too much new television to watch, and unfortunately, I won't be able to watch DWTS full-time (in life, one must be willing to make sacrifices). However, my blind pick to win is Kelly Osbourne. Why? She's got all the tools to appeal to a wide net of voters. She's young, a survivalist (had some addiction problems), reality show star, dad is OZZY, probably has some natural dance ability (she did put out a few records awhile back), got the cool British accent, not a swimsuit model type, likeable, and she's sassy. Basically, Kelly appeals to many demographics. Hence, she gonna beat out my boy Aaron Carter (an early favorite).

Newscaster Reveals Suppressed Perversion...Film at 11.

Wow. This clip is so amazing I had to transcribe it. Probably one of my favorite web clips of 2009 and possibly a candidate for the all-Decade team. Ernie Anastos - This is what you'll be remembered for by anyone under 30...unleashing your inner perv.

Ernie: "Takes a tough man to make a tender forecast, Dick."
[1. What does this even mean? 2. Dude's name is Dick. I guess that leads Ernie's mind to his next line.]

Dick: "I guess that's me..."
[I'm sure Dick really wanted to say, "What's wrong with you, yo?"]

Ernie: [cuts off Dick] Keep f#cking that chicken.
[I don't know how Ernie makes tender chicken, but if he ever invited me over to his house for Thanksgiving dinner, I would say no. Imagine him making a tender turkey. Takes basting a turkey to a whole other level.]

Dick: [laughs] Okay, I'll do.
[Dick is probably thinking, "Wait, why did I just say "Okay, I'll do." I'm not into poultry. I'm into women."]

FEMALE NEWSCASTER'S EYES BUG OUT.
[AMAZING, AMAZING reaction by her. She's so creeped out.]

Ernie: Before we continue...
[Plays everything off as normal. I guess I agree. Who hasn't told someone once in their life, "Hey, keep f#cking that chicken.", right? It's an everyday saying, like "Good job." or "See ya later".]

The clip actually continues with the female newscaster introducing a fitness segment where she is exercising and Ernie remarks, "Hey, looking good over there." VERY PERVY something on Ernie's part.

I had to wikipedia this dude, and learned that he's actually quite a baller:
-He has won 28 Emmy Awards and nominations, and was nominated for the prestigious Edward R. Murrow Award for excellence in writing.
-He served as an anchor at WABC-TV from 1978 to 1989, when he joined WCBS-TV as the 5 PM and 11 PM anchor. He worked at WCBS-TV for the first time from 1989-1994. He then joined WWOR-TV in 1997, and served as an anchor at that station until 2000, when he rejoined WCBS in January 2001. He left WCBS for the second time in 2005, after signing a $10 million dollar, 5-year contract with WNYW-TV ("Fox 5").

Dude is pretty legit on the journalism scene and is making $2 mill a year! Man. See, rich people say crazy things when on live television. That's just the way the world works.

Thank you for all the iconic movies

This is becoming an unfortunate year for the passing of many great entertainers. Patrick Swayze will best be remembered for his role in the VERY iconic Dirty Dancing (pretty much everyone of a certain generation has seen it), but he's done some great work in many other films as well. Of course, there's Ghost, but there's also a few pop culture just-plain fun films like Roadhouse and Point Break. Yes, Patrick Swayze was in the male Hollywood sex symbol category for awhile (esp. during his Dirty Dancing years), but he's done some great acting too. He was an ACTOR. Two of my favorites was when he was in Donnie Darko and Too Wong Foo....He's pretty dope in those films. Also, his Chippendales sketch with Chris Farley is epic and still one of the best SNL sketches ever. Thank you for your work. You will be missed by many of your fans.

Memories of Murder: NETFLIX THAT!

My boy Quentin Tarantino (Okay, fine. I've never met the man) considers Memories of Murder (2003) one of his Top 20 movies of the last 17 years (# of years he's directed professionally), so I thought I'd give this film a look. GOOD CALL BY ME.

This is another dope film coming out of South Korea, which is home to more than just those delicious grapes that taste like Jolly Ranchers and stain your teeth. South Korea is home to compelling, unique, and great movies! In hip-hop terms, South Korea is taking it to the NEXT LEVEL.

Basically, Memories of Murder is about a serial killer that invades a small rural town in Korea during the mid-80's, which is based on a true story. That's all I'll say about the plot because I want you to see it for yourself!

This film has a lot of great elements to it. Style, humor, rich characters, suspense, great emotions, the works. Hopefully, you'll totally get lost in the movie when you watch it like me. A great experience for the viewer.

Overall, I'd give this film a "NETFLIX THAT!"

Rambo 5 is coming, but where is Over the Top 2???

It was announced today that Rambo 5 has been greenlit. Ageless wonder Sly Stallone is at it again! Stilll killing fools at age 62!

Variety says the storyline for R5 is about John Rambo fighting his way through human traffickers and drug lords to rescue a young girl abducted near the U.S.-Mexico border. How does Rambo solve human trafficking? By blowing mofos away with big guns and knives and then groaning with conflicted introspective agony!

I'm kind of annoyed that Sly is doing R5, mainly because this means that he has once again put off doing a sequel to Over the Top. WHEN ARE WE GOING TO GET OVER THE TOP 2? C'mon Sly, bring that back! Arm wrestling competitions are an ageless topic. Bring it back! We need to know what happened to Lincoln Hawk!

Happy Birthday Michael Jackson

In honor of the King of Pop's birthday, here's a video of one of the greatest songs he ever wrote. This song had a HUGE impact on the WORLD back in the day. Big ups MJ (Lionel Richie and Quincy Jones helped put this track together, but still, MJ's on it)!

Also, in my humble opinion, MJ assembled quite possibly the GREATEST SUPERGROUP of all-time. Sure, Jay-Z can get Rihanna and Kanye to perform on a dope track, but MJ got EVERY great artist of his generation when "We Are the World" was recorded. EVERYONE.

To this day, I still understand how Dan Ackroyd got in this video, but big ups to him for the cameo.

I'm always a sucker for a film like this....

A friend and (Double Oh Three Productions collaborator) send this short film our way, about the big and small moments in life, all thrown into one clean film.

Quentin Tarantino's Top 20 of the Last 17 Years

This is a repost from LA Weekly. I thought it was an interesting article:

Video: Quentin Tarantino's 20 Favorite Flicks of the Past 17 Years

By Quentin Tarantino in Foundas on Film, Hollywood

When Ella Taylor asked me to rename my top five films of all time, I tattled off the obvious titles. She then asked, "Any since the last 17 years?"

"In my top five?" I asked incredulously.

"Well, okay, top 10," she relented.

"Well, let me think about that."

And upon later reflection, I realized there was one movie released in the last 17 years that I love so much that, yes indeed, it could find its way onto that tough 10 list that constitutes the history of cinema.

That film would be the late Kinji Fukasaku's Japanese masterpiece, Battle Royale.

But upon singling out Battle Royale for all-time honor, I decided to list my top 20 films that came out in the last 17 years, 1992 to 2009. The only limitation I put on the films was they had to be able to withstand many viewings. So some great movies, like Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ and Apocalypto, didn't make it because I've only seen them once, and once was enough. Except for Battle Royale at the top spot, the others are listed alphabetically:

Battle Royale (Kinji Fukasaku)

Anything Else (Woody Allen)

Audition (Takashi Miike)

The Blade (Tsui Hark)

Boogie Nights (Paul Thomas Anderson)

Dazed and Confused (Richard Linklater)

Dogville (Lars von Trier)

Fight Club (David Fincher)

Friday (F. Gary Gray)

The Host (Joon-ho Bong)

The Insider (Michael Mann)

Joint Security Area (Chan-wook Park)

Lost in Translation (Sofia Coppola)

The Matrix (Andy Wachowski & Larry Wachowski)

Memories of Murder (Joon-ho Bong)

Police Story III (Supercop) (Stanley Tong)

Shaun of the Dead (Edgar Wright)

Speed (Jan de Bont)

Team America: World Police (Trey Parker)

Unbreakable (M. Night Shyamalan)

Right Said Fred Comeback....Really?

I get that people need to try and make a living, move forward w/ their careers, get a paycheck, etc., and that's cool, but wow. Wow. Wow. Right Said Fred back in the building? Really?

For a video named "Sexy Bum," there are a lot of unsexy bums throughout this video. It's like they made an omelet without cheese, ham, bacon, and veggies. They should rename the video "Bum."

If Right Said Fred is back, I wanna see Roxette, Martika, Nelson, and Warrant come back too. Bring everyone back. The KLF, the Divinyls, all them cats.

LA Food Story now in Post....

We finally wrapped production on our latest cinematic venture, LA Food Story. The shoot was dope, and now we gotta take care of business in post. Shout outs to the production crew and cast for doing their thang this past weekend. Also, big ups to all our vendors who helped us out.

Now let's make this happen, post-team!

Above is a cool publicity picture we took during the shoot.

JCVD: Incredible

If you're not a Jean-Claude Van Damme fan, then you need to get on board this hot tamale train (SYTUCD reference). Jean-Claude Van Damme is simply incredible, and in JCVD, you'll see the great Jean-Claude like you've never seen him before! EXPOSED and UN-BELIEVABLE!

Bloodsport - epic. Kickboxer - classic. The one where he's a twin - Eddie Murphy like skill. The one w/ the hockey ring (Sudden Impact) - amazing. Double Team - Dennis Rodman. The Quest - sucked but not his fault. Jean-Claude is a national treasure (I'm adopting him from Belgium). And in his most daring role yet, Jean-Claude lays it all on the line in JCVD by playing HIMSELF in present time.

Vunerable, dynamic, self-effacing, honest, the high leg kick thing - Jean-Claude is all these things and more in his performance of himself. Quite possibly, his BEST performance ever/ very close to when he beat Chong Li in Bloodsport.

JCVD is so amazing that I don't even know how to describe this movie. I can't. You just have to watch it. The whole time I was like, "I'm watching a mad genius at work. In 10 years, I will understand what this movie meant to me. JCVD is ahead of its time."

Once you'll see it, you'll understand. However, I must say this:

WARNING: PLOT SPOILER ALERT

The JCVD monologue is one of the most AMAZING pieces of cinematic work I have ever seen! The monologue is unbelivable for so many reasons! It was like Leo holding Kate in Titanic esque in epicness. THE MONOLOGUE IS AMAZING!

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Movies That Shatter My Childhood Memories

Wow. I really can't even get into the specifics of this movie. I'm in so much pain right now. I mean, I didn't have high expectations, but man, I feel queasy.

Overall, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Pain in My Head.

G.I. Joe: A movie I will be sucked into watching. Why you gotta play on the nostalgia card?

Basically, studios are like, "Let's make a movie about every toy the 18-49 (more 18-34 really) year-old demo played with as a youth. We'll have big explosions, a big cast of random mis-matched celebrities, and film titles with a colon followed by an epic statement. No one will be able to resist us."

....You had me at big cast of random mis-matched celebrities.

I kind of hate myself for wanting to watch this movie, but it's G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra starring Dennis Quaid, Channing Tatum, Marlon Wayans, and Sienna Miller. How can I resist?

We're Forever Your Girl, Paula.

When New Kids became NKOTB. When MC Hammer released The Funky Headhunter "gangsta" album as "Hammer". When Full House added the second set of twins. When Fresh Prince switched out moms. These are the moments that changed history forever, and now we've come across the biggest turning point of the 21st century - The incredible Paula Abdul leaves Idol.

I won't get into the business aspects of the situation (i.e. contract issues, new contracts for the others, etc.), but the bottom line is Randy, Paula, and Simon are no more. (I know last season had four judges, which was like the experimental Saved By the Bell summer jobs at the Malibu Sands Hotel episodes, but Paula was still there).

Randy, Kara, and Simon just won't be the same. It won't. The three judge panel is nice cuz it gives Simon more air time. And yes, Kara has current street cred in the music industry, but she didn't sing Cold Hearted (/look into his eyes/oh no/he's been telling lies/ - genius). Cold Hearted, yo!

Paula IS American Idol. A girl from the Valley, turned unlikely Laker Girl, turned unlikely beloved late 80s/early 90s pop music icon. She was not the prototype pop star, but became a pop legend. She IS this show.

What will Paula say this week? What will she wear? When will be blow up on Simon? All that amazing, unpredictable, and overall Bill Walton-like judging will be gone. GONE. All that next-day water cooler talk is gone. Your entertaining judging will be missed, Paula.

Of course, Idol will still keep rolling strong financially, similar to Star Wars I, II, III, but it just ain't the same as the original (i.e. Star Wars episodes IV, V, VI). Simon's gonna need to carry the squad next season for awhile until the new three can gel as a group.

Don't leave, Paula! I don't want any Jar Jar Binks action next season.

(500) Days of Summer: Is no good movie safe from a "Chinese" family?

Warning: Contains specific references and possible plot spoilers.

First off, (500) Days of Summer is a buzz-worthy movie this season, and deservedly so. The film gives a realistic portrayal (through cool visual music-video esque devices) of recalling a relationship. (aka, your memories are all disjointed about some old dame, but then the shizz makes sense at the end.) Joseph Gordon-Levitt is gonna get mad love after this film, and indie-queen Zooey Deschanel does what she does best - Sing, wear vintage clothes, sport a bike helmet, and make you find it all endearing. Also, this film makes LA look good, which is always a plus.

However, I can't let this film off the hook with its Asian stereotype references. Hey, I like racial stereotypes like the next person, but when a movie only picks on Asians, I get a little defensive. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but Latinos, African-Americans, and basically anyone that isn't Asian is spared in this film racial humor wise.

Overall, the movie is somewhat stereotype free (that's cool), except when...

• IKEA scene - Tom specifically states that a "Chinese family" is staring at them when they're on the bed. Why he gotta point that out? When you cut to the family, it would be obvious to anyone that it is a "Chinese family" being played by a Japanese mom, probably a Laotian dad, a Vietnamese kid, a Cambodian kid, and a Burmese kid. C'mon, so obvious. Didn't really need to state that in the dialogue. Showing a shocked family without that specific dialogue is perfectly fine and still funny.
  
• Watching porno scene - Naturally, if you're gonna rent porn, you're gonna rent "Sweet and Shower." (See, sweet and sour is a Chinese food thing, so Sweet and Shower is porno Asian people humor funny.) Perfect opportunity to stereotype another race, but the filmmakers went Asian on this one, again. (Could've done "Smoke My Hookah" to throw a racial stereotype bone at the Persian communitiy).
• Korean liquor owner scene - Fine, I'm being racial here assuming that the guy was Korean (could have been Vietnamese), and true, Asian guys do run a lot of liquor stores in LA. And yes, the scene was pretty straight forward. Tom was just buying some stuff. However, the Asian dude kind of overracted, and I just found that poor.

Overall, these moments don't distract you too much from your entire viewing experience, and you can't please everyone with racial humor, but yo, mix it up a little bit. Throw the Asians a bone here. Sun Yue just got cut from the Lakers and Yao Ming is out for the next year.

5 Years So Far for Double Oh Three Productions

For the first entry of our new blog, we decided to take a look back at 5 years worth of our own independent filmmaking. We've been hanging in there, working hard for you, for 5 years now! During this time, we got an award-winning feature documentary self-distributed, several short films created, scripts written, and have had the opportunity to collaborate with many talented artists. Here's hoping for many, many more years of inspired filmmaking...

The Queen from Virginia: The Jackie Bong Wright Story





Go to Kenny

Go to Kenny Trailer from Double Oh Three Productions on Vimeo.

Break-up Therapy

Break-up Therapy from Double Oh Three Productions on Vimeo.

BPS

BPS from Double Oh Three Productions on Vimeo.

Mug for the Camera

Mug for the Camera from Double Oh Three Productions on Vimeo.