Fighting movie trailer - A Guide To Recognizing Your Fists

Lloyd Dobler was so right when he said kickboxing was the "sport of the future". At least partially.

I'm a pretty big mixed martial arts fan, my initial interest materializing as a child when I started learning Shotokan karate and watching first pro wrestling, then UFC when my friend Mark came to me with some VHS tapes of the first UFC events which featured our favorite at the time, Ken Shamrock.

Currently I favor guys like Lyoto Machida (who has a highly anticipated matchup later this month against Thiago Silva) and Cung Le (who is featured in this trailer, he's the Asian fighter in Tatum's first underground fight) who started with more traditional martial arts and branched into other facets.

With Never Back Down, Summitt Entertainment tried to branch into a real theatrically released film involving mixed martial arts, and this spring we have Fighting (what a boring title) which chronicles Tatum's character Sean Arthur as he battles poverty by getting involved in underground fights.



Cinematically it makes sense to seduce the audience into thinking that there's this dangerous and alluring underground system, a la Fast and the Furious. The story is typical, but with the twist being that the combat is something relatively newer.

The director, Dito Montiel, should be able to get some great footage of New York, as he is a native and used to be in a NY hardcore outfit. The other great thing it has going for it was Montiel directed A Guide To Recognizing Your Saints, also with Tatum, which was a terrific little slice of Queens way back when and had a great natural feel.

Strictly speaking from the perspective of say, someone who wants MMA to succeed in the mainstream as a legit sport (which it already is, and really is breaking ground), a film like this probably will not further that cause. Now technically, New York State has not sanctioned mixed martial arts, so the fact that the film revolves around underground fights makes sense. But the corruption and lack of rules and organization which the sport has managed to stay away from kind of doesn't bode well for someone coming in knowing nothing about MMA, if they don't like it, they might get the wrong impression. David Mamet's Redbelt took a story and used it within a legit fight circuit, which presented the idea of MMA as a sport rather than something for thugs to get into.

The movie had been filming all over the city last year, including some massive staging with some kick ass fake rain.

However, I'm sure Fighting will be entertaining. It's like Step Up (also with Tatum), but with fight fights, not dance fights.

For more on Fighting, IMDb it here. Or go to the official site. It releases on April 24th from Rogue Pictures.

Zero Bridge - Late Bloomer video (updated with new footage)

Occasionally you see bands that update or create entirely new videos for a song, always good as a DVD extra. New York's Zero Bridge, who just finished up some late night recording sessions on a new album, have added some footage to their "Late Bloomer" video, shot around the East Broadway F stop in Manhattan. Ch-Ch-Chinatown whud whud! Oh and the new girl in the video is hot, but that cake, it looked delicious.

Check them out on MySpace.

Late Bloomer

Recent Netflixing (Not Really 'Cuz I Own This on VHS Beeyotch!) - Laws of Gravity

"Mucka ferguson."

I don't even think it's out on DVD yet, and considering the budget and the quality of stock it's not really necessary (did I catch a boom in a shot?). I revisited this Brooklyn gem, from then first-time director Nick Gomez and featuring wonderful early performances from Edie Falco, Peter Greene (who I haven't seen in a WHILE) and Arabella Field (her first feature performance I think).



Adam Trese, who plays Jonny (similar to DeNiro's Johnny in Mean Streets, but in a more cutesy, baby-faced, modern version) has continued acting as well, but is also a successful real estate agent as well at Halstead! From his lips came one of the most ingenious non-profanity laced insults I've heard, which is why I started this post with it.



Gomez has since gone on to a very successful career as a TV director with shows like Brotherhood and earlier hits like Homicide: Life on the Street, after started off with 3 features (Laws of Gravity, New Jersey Drive, Illtown).



Whenever I see Edie Falco, I really take myself back always to this film. It was one of the first films I ever bought, on VHS, right after Reservoir Dogs and a couple of John Woo movies. I had never heard of it but I was intrigued as it seemed like a modern day Mean Streets.

What surprises me about the film, considering it was made 16 years ago now, is not only is it documentary and realistic in feel, but it's down to earth. The drama is not forced, and the dialogue consists of lots of subtle shifts and hints that never are told, always shown. At the same time, it's a very straightforward movie: Jimmy (Greene) and Jonny (Trese) and their respective ladies Denise and Celia (Falco and Field) are Brooklynites where the men don't work but steal and hustle, and the women work late at jobs that can't afford much more than some beers and a bed. One of the great quotes, as character actor Paul Schulze's (24, Sopranos) Frankie asks about cable, Jimmy goes, "Nah we don't have cable, this is Brooklyn". Another great moment is when Jimmy relights an almost fully smoked cigarette bud to grab a couple extra drags. There's such a great street sense in this film; even though the tough guys have beefs sometimes, they have no problem either expressing it violently while still coming in constant contact with each other because it's a community here.

Sal (Saul Stein) is the local loan shark/muscle and Frankie is back from Florida under shady circumstances to sell guns and evade questions about being a rat. Jonny's temper gets the best of him EVERY time. In the middle of it all, Jimmy owes people here and there and isn't quite peaceful, but overall is the moderator of the whole sh-bang. The film does a great job in grabbing a sense of desperation, the sense that there are not a lot of resources for these characters to live on. Everything is driven by the characters' tempers, and the movie ebbs and flows on that, not on any coincidences or contrivances. The camera roams verite style and never veers or strays too far, giving everything a claustrophobic, intimate feel. The style is classic and showed cinematographer Jean de Segonzac's potential as a lenser for Law & Order and other TV series as recent as New York's Gossip Girl. The daily hustles that the men go through are both necessary for them to exist but stem totally from an antisocial mindset. And the performances are really top notch.

Greene actually makes for an interesting leading man; a heel in The Usual Suspects, Pulp Fiction, and The Mask, among other films, he has a calming presence and when he rages, it's of a righteous quality. His soft spoken nature and sleepy eyes get you behind him as he moves and shakes through the little world they have going. Trese makes good use of all the blow ups and tantrums; his lazy mouthed stare belies the anger-at-any-moment nature of his character and is fun to watch.

Falco shows you that she's going to be a force in the material she works on later in her career; a natural sarcasm flows out of her and she's the voice of reason in all of this. Field's tragic character, getting stomped on by Jonny, yet coming back to him out of pure love but almost destructively confrontational, has an interesting vocal rhythm and it brings flavor to the role in a movie centered on the men.

Each scene tends to have its own situational banter and at the same time works toward the overall story. It's that kind of down to earth feel that makes this film a winner. There are no artsy shots; no time for that. The dialogue flys around (people talk at the same time, oh Altman) and it breathes and brims. Shot in 12 days for less than 40k, you couldn't ask for a better hour and a half.

The bar where they filmed at was the Ship's Mast Pub (link to NY Times article) on North 5th in Williamsburg, which was shut down not too long after they filmed; John Gallagher, the owner, plays Bobby the bartender in the film. The rest of the film was shot in Greenpoint; it's great to see the difference then and now, especially considering that Williamsburg has evolved into something completely different from the rest of Brooklyn and at the time was still like many now upscaling 'hoods like parts of Park Slope, etc. suffering from lots of crime and social unrest.

One note: Bill Sage has an extremely small part as a friend of a harrassed patron at the bar. Turns out he has gone on to a serious TV and film career with recent stints on the short lived Cashmere Mafia.

Laws of Gravity was nominated for 4 Independent Spirit Awards including Best First Feature, Best Actress, Best Actor, and Best Cinematography. Gomez won the Wolfgang Staudte Award at the Berlin Film Festival in 1993 for this as well.

I love this movie; if you really want to see some great footage of a bygone Brooklyn, check this out.

Laws of Gravity on IMDb

I Need To Get My Ass Here

Curiously walking by Morton's which, opening recently by the Marriott, seeming to have a whiff of duplication, I wouldn't say chain, because well, it's a bit fancier than that, but being by the hotel I kind of pinned it as a neat little trap for those staying near there.

Not so fast says The Brooklyn Paper. Incredibly not so fast, as they purport that Morton's eclipses the mighty Peter Luger's. Since I'm close by, I repeat, I Need To Get My Ass here.

Then I realized paying 85 bucks for a steak with my appetite might not be too prudent at the moment. I could always drink at the bar and watch others eat.

A Little Jailhouse Rock? No Hip Swerving Yet on Atlantic

The Brooklyn Paper reported on the most recent development about the push (and furious reaction) to re-open the Brooklyn House of Detention on Atlantic by Smith for those awaiting trial. As many have said before, Atlantic is not what it once was, and the changing makeup is certainly cause enough for protest to populating it with possible criminals. Granted, the city in general always has hotspots for crime and also the grit of the legal system (check out any courthouse in downtown Brooklyn or Manhattan, not the friendliest place even with police presence).

I actually see the mayor's point about if there is enough security, having this open won't be a burden. The area itself though has enough bad blood floating around downtown that it shouldn't spill somewhere that is now much more residential than before. The idea is that many of these people awaiting the legal process live in Brooklyn and their families can be close by. Don't you love convenience?

Notorious Trailer - Nobody Produces like Brooklyn Roots

Hopefully this'll be better than Get Rich or Die Tryin', because that was a bad movie from a great director (Jim Sheridan) and a great cinematographer (Declan Quinn). Notorious comes from director George Tillman, Jr., who previous did Men of Honor, which was well made but kind of underwhelming, and the '90s hit Soul Food. What's somewhat interesting is Reggie Bythewood, who co-wrote the film, whose credits include episodes of New York Undercover as well as Get On The Bus which was very engaging. However he did write Biker Boyz. Hmm....

I don't have high hopes, but I'd definitely like to see if I can spot some great location shots (a couple of buddies saw them filming in Crown Heights this past year). What would be great is to get a real slice of Brooklyn rap history; I think Get Rich didn't have an organic or natural feel as to how an artist develops out of a particularly New York upbringing. Getting a cast that includes Derek Luke and Anthony Mackie with Angela Bassett as B.I.G.'s mother, that's a start. The problem with a biopic like this is it can get simplified and sometimes there's no depth. As far as hip hop dramas go, it could be another Get Rich, or it could be an 8 Mile.



Notorious opens wide on January 16th, so if you are celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr., maybe take two hours to represent!

People at BellTel Love Parking Too!

Recent literature (from those infamous dudes at Clipper Equity) has informed the denizens, those pioneers of Downtown (well not really unless they get an adequate grocery store, how about along Duffield since it's a ghost block?) in the BellTel Lofts that a full-service parking garage is finally in the last stages of completion in the basement level(s) and dibs are going to the most faithful (some who have been waiting many moons for a place their car can call home). Excitement is abound at least for the time being with this glimmer of hope. At the suggested $250 a month plus 24/7 valet service, it seems comparable for those who have that much pocket change (plus the high-level security of the Metrotech, it's like a security party around there).

Certainly a welcome value-add to the lofts, and with Albee Square getting a makeover (check out this recent Brooklyn Paper article), gentrified bliss, ridiculous prices, and the death of a mini-hood with a posher rebirth seems to be in the works.

Real World Brooklyn Trailer, premieres January 7th. There Goes The Neighborhood

Looks like Real World is trying to really get their serious back with a much heavier trailer than the previous what 10 seasons. What happens in Red Hook stays in Red Hook? Obviously there's not too much footage outside the house, but did two of the housemates introduce themselves in Coney Island? That's a bit of an inconvenience from Red Hook, maybe they got lost...

MTV Shows

For more information and awkward photos on this probably insufferable yet intriguing season (transvestite? cute punk chick?), go to the official page at MTV.com: Real World Brooklyn or Nobody Let Us Film In Their Bars