Author Archives: Jonathan Williams

Wild Bill’s stays in the fight despite Georgia MMA controversy

On Dec. 15, Wild Bill’s hosted not only its final Fight Night of 2012, but what appeared to be the final mixed martial arts event in Georgia for the foreseeable future. Following the departure of former Georgia Athletic and Entertainment Commission Executive Director Andy Foster, the GAEC has been at a standstill with the office of Secretary of State Brian Kemp.

Foster, a former fighter who helped establish Georgia as one of the country’s top MMA states after being appointed in 2008, recently resigned to accept the same job in California. Though the GAEC offered a few suggestions for Foster’s replacement, Kemp’s decision to appoint Kelly Farr as the interim director has dealt quite a blow to the local fight scene. Promoters complain that Farr has no knowledge of or interest in MMA. And the GAEC was refusing to allow any fights to take place in 2013 until a more suitable replacement could be made by the Secretary of State’s office.

During a Dec. 11 GAEC meeting, however, Wild Bill’s Fight Night promoter David Oblas of Undisputed Productions was given approval to put together a Jan. 19 MMA card. With a decade of fight promoting experience, and having recently celebrated his sixth anniversary of Wild Bill’s Fight Nights (the biggest and most frequent MMA events in the state), Oblas has a lot to lose if professional fighting comes to an end in Georgia.

“I pay people to punch each other in the face,” says Oblas. “That’s what I do for a living. This could be a huge financial stress for a lot of fighters, gyms, promoters, managers, venues and bartenders. If Evander Holyfield should want to fight here in his home state of Georgia, that simply cannot happen until this is changed. But this ruling allows me to continue to do such legally in 2013 with the first show in Georgia set for Saturday, Jan. 19 at Wild Bill’s.”

This small victory does not mean the GAEC will continue to sanction MMA and boxing events as 2013 progresses, which means this Saturday’s event could still be the final fighting event in Georgia. But while the GAEC and fight promoters claim that Farr doesn’t even show up to most of their meetings, the Secretary of State’s office is confident in his ability to serve as Executive Director until a permanent replacement for Foster is appointed.

“He has been the permanent secretary before, prior to Foster,” says Press Secretary Jared Thomas. “He has had more than 300 fights that have all gone on safely under his watch when he was the director previously. He has also overseen the hiring of the most recent executive director who just left. As far as the office of the Secretary of State is concerned, we have absolutely full faith in Kelly Farr’s abilities to function in the capacity because he has done the job successfully before.”

While this bout seems to be far from over, for now fight fans can at least count on this Saturday’s fights to to get 2013 off to a pummeling start.

“Mama” gives birth to some semi-frightening moments

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When Guillermo del Toro presents (or produces) something, it usually means you’re in for a throwback horror film that creates suspense by not showing (or at least making you wait to see) whatever creatures are instilling the fear. And he tends to gravitate towards stories in which children are a conduit for some supernatural force, which offers an added creepiness.

Lilly (Isabelle Nélisse) still displays feral tendencies while Victoria (Megan Charpentier) adjusts a little better in "Mama." Photo courtesy Universal Pictures.

Looking more like the great Spanish horror film The Orphanage than the critter-fest Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark (which you can read about here), Mama is based on a Spanish-language short film by Andres Muschietti, who directs this full-length version. Mama definitely has the kind of creepiness that is present in most of del Toro’s offerings, focusing on two young girls who spend most of their formative years fending for themselves in a cabin in the woods. That is, of course, after their father murders their mother, kidnaps the girls and inadvertently careens off an icy mountain road in a fit of rage. It turns out the Blair Witch-like house he finds is haunted by a similarly malevolent spirit, which disposes of the frenzied father just before he turns his gun on his daughters.

When the girls are finally rescued five years later, there’s obviously a bit of adjusting to be done. Their uncle (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and his girlfriend (Jessica Chastain) agree to take the girls in when the doctor overseeing their recovery (Daniel Kash) offers them a housing upgrade in exchange for his continued observation and input. It all seems like an ideal situation, especially when Victoria (Megan Charpentier) and Lilly (Isabelle Nélisse) gradually begin to shed some of their feral tendencies and adapt to their more sterile environment.

Annabel (Jessica Chastain), Lilly (Isabelle Nélisse) and Victoria (Megan Charpentier) aren't the only ones in the house! Photo by George Kraychyk.

As if this sudden unplanned parenthood wasn’t a big enough strain for the couple (especially Chastain’s raven-haired rocker), it soon becomes apparent that the girls have brought some intangible presence back from the woods with them. Lights begin flickering, large moths begin appearing, strange sounds emerge from the girls’ bedroom and the uncle ends up in a coma after being knocked down the stairs of his new home. It’s all quite frightening, especially since Mama doesn’t let you see this presence responsible for all this chaos. At least not at first.

It’s established in the opening scenes that the younger Victoria (Morgan McCgarry) wears glasses. And the first glimpse of the maternal monster is from Victoria’s perspective after her glasses have been shattered in the car accident. After the girls are found, Victoria is given a new pair of glasses, which she chooses to take off whenever Mama is present. So all we get for maybe the first third of the film is a blurry view of some misshapen specter. But once Mama makes her presence more obvious, she suddenly starts appearing very clearly on screen, which pretty much destroys any mystery that had previously been established. So by the film’s climax, this ghost is getting as much screen time as the humans she is terrorizing.

Annabel (Jessica Chastain) prepares to confront whatever is hiding in the closet. Photo courtesy Universal Pictures.

There’s still some tension to be felt as the maternal instinct of Chastain’s character kicks in to challenge Mama, whose background is explained as the doctor’s research leads him to some shocking discoveries. And the performances within the film certainly help convey this fear, especially that of Chastain, who is on a roll with equally impressive outing in recent films Lawless and Zero Dark Thirty (which you can read about here and here). But revealing too much too soon hinders the dramatic effect of the finale, which is oddly happy despite the tragic fate of some of the characters.

www.mamamovie.com

Street violence and a broken home can’t stop a yearning for family in “Luv”

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These days, it’s not that uncommon for a kid to grow up under the guidance of his grandmother and uncle rather than his mother and father. But even under such non-nuclear family circumstances, skipping school to learn some harder life lessons with your uncle doesn’t normally include learning how to shoot a gun and witnessing your first murder.

Vincent (Common) and Woody (Michael Rainey Jr.) have a quite a day on the streets of Baltimore. Photo by Bill Gray.

Such is the case with Luv, which sees its theatrical release after its Sundance Film Festival debut last year. After serving eight years in prison, Vincent (Common) returns to the mean streets of Baltimore in hopes of opening his own restaurant and turning his life around. But he quickly learns it’s not always that easy to leave your previous life in the past, especially when some people aren’t happy to see you back on the streets (and certainly don’t want to see you succeed while they’re still caught up in the street life). So a day that begins with the minor indiscretion of keeping his 11-year-old nephew Woody (Michael Rainey Jr.) out of school in order to show him how to be a real man quickly turns into a learning experience of a different kind when Vincent is forced to return to his violent past in order to achieve a better future.

At first, Woody is loving his day off as Vincent takes him to a tailor to get his own suit, teaches him how to drive his Mercedes-Benz and takes him to visit his uncles Arthur (Danny Glover) and Fish (Dennis Haysbert). But when Vincent finds out he needs a few thousand dollars in order for his business loan to be approved, Fish encourages him to do one more deal in order to get the money he needs to open his own restaurant and finally make a legitimate living. Woody’s rite-of-passage-like day turns into a Training Day-like scenario when Vincent’s reluctant drug deal goes bad, forcing Vincent to shoot an unstable Nigerian dealer (Sammi Rotibi). Vincent, the subject of Woody’s superhero-like drawings, realizes he needs to show Woody a few other things (such as driving a car and shooting a gun) in order for them both to make it through this harrowing day.

Woody (Michael Rainey Jr.) embarks on his next journey in "Luv." Photo by Bill Gray.

With a cast that includes veteran actors like Glover and Haysbert (the “Are you in good hands?” guy from the Allstate commercials), as well as rapper-turned-actor Common (whose future is clearly not in good hands with Fish), it would be hard for Luv not to be good. But it’s the emotionally powerful performance of the young Rainey that really makes this movie about a boy who ultimately just wants to reunite with his estranged mother that much more intriguing. And after the climactic final confrontation between Vincent, Arthur and Fish leaves Woody crying in the woods when the police arrive, we eventually find out that he has learned a few valuable lessons in survival amidst all the inadvertent violence he has seen. But as Woody takes his surprising next steps into manhood, his future is just as uncertain as Vincent’s was just a few hours earlier.

www.luvthefilm.com

The Guns are no longer firing, but there’s no ban on their Smog Veil retrospective album

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Back in the ’80s, The Guns fired off several rounds of angsty punk rock that, at the time, was an influential part of the Cleveland music scene. Founded by suburban teenagers Scott Eakin and Dave Araca, The Guns were drawn from a conceptual punk band known as The Dark to embrace a more aggressive hardcore sound. The duo was eventually joined by bassist Sean Saley and became a fixture on the Cleveland scene opening for the likes of Hüsker Dü, Agnostic Front and Black Flag. After Saley’s family moved to Florida in 1984, The Guns played under a few different incarnations before its members moved on to other projects, with the band’s final performance being in 1986. After becoming an award-winning tattoo artist, Araca died of a brain aneurism in 1994. In 2005, Eakin and Saley reconvened for a Guns reunion at the Cleveland’s Screaming festival, with Saley moving to drums and Eakin’s fiancé Karen Gortner on bass. This version of The Guns played once more the following year at Cleveland’s Screaming, just months before Eakin had a fatal heart attack.

Both original Guns are now in the big holster in the sky, but that certainly doesn’t mean there is a ban on these Guns. Having recorded some tracks in ’84, as well as some new songs in ’05, The Guns had a stockpile of ammunition just waiting to be discharged. And in true ’80s punk rock fashion, Smog Veil Records has done just that with limited edition double vinyl LP retrospective simply called The Guns. And Saley, who currently plays drums for doom metal band Pentagram and D.C. hardcore band Teamster, is still happy to talk to Wrestling with Pop Culture about his days as an integral part of this underground icon.

First off, tell me a little bit more about this double vinyl release.

It’s a retrospective of the band’s entire existence, so there’s stuff that’s on there from about ’82 until around ’86 or so. It spans four or five years, the entire history of the band. The centerpiece is a 1984 recording that was intended at the time to be released as a full album, but never was. There’s a couple of sessions on there that were professionally recorded, aside from the live cuts from a boombox and all that stuff. But all of this happened between 25 and 30 years ago.

Is there any significance to the timing of the release? Is this some sort of anniversary for the band or anything like that?

No, not really. This has been happening for a really long time now. When we recorded the album that is the centerpiece to this whole thing in ’84, the reason it was never released was simply that we ran out of money. The guy who was going to put it out had a budget to record everything and press it onto vinyl. But we pretty much spent all his money just recording it. So it just never happened. But this has been on somebody’s back burner for a good six or seven years. It was supposed to come out on a California label called Grand Theft Audio. Tom Dark was talking with the guy who ran that label for a really long time, but the whole thing just eventually fizzled out. So Tom caught up with Frank Mauceri from Smog Veil Records and Frank was used to releasing older material from various Cleveland bands. The two of them have been talking about it for a few years, but I don’t really know how the seed germinated and someone said, “Let’s do this now.” So it’s not a particular anniversary or anything like that.

You were part of the band for a large part of its existence…

Maybe about half of it. It originally started as two people, Scott and David. They were in another band together called The Dark with Scott’s older brother Tom and Robert Griffin. Then they decided they wanted to play their own faster stuff with a more hardcore sound. So they did maybe four or five shows as a two piece for about a year or so. I ended up meeting those guys at a show in Cleveland and kind of wormed my way in, for lack of a better term. We were friends, we were hanging out and they had this band while I was playing drums in a couple of other bands and was OK on bass. So one day I just said, “You guys don’t have a bass player. We hang out all the time anyway, so why don’t we try to do this together?” That lasted for for close to two years, but during that time we played tons of shows between the middle of ’83 and the beginning of ’85. After I left, Bob Ries came in playing bass and singing some of the songs, basically taking the role I had had. Before I left, we got Scott Silverman in the band as another guitar player. But we only had a few rehearsals with him before I moved to Florida with my mother as a teenager.

That version of the band went on for about another year and a half or so before they broke up. So I was kind of in the middle of it, and it was sort of the heyday as far as shows and all that stuff. Later on, when you get into the sort of final lineup of the band, I think they probably became a better band at that point. They were super tight, everybody was learning to play their instruments better and there was definitely more of a metal influence towards the end. That was there when I was in the band, but by the end of it David had gotten an extra bass drum and suddenly every song had thundering double bass on it. So I think the final incarnation was probably really the best band. It’s too bad there’s not a proper representation of that lineup as far as a studio recording or anything like that. There’s some live stuff on this album that’s pretty lo-fi, but if you listen to it they’re just so tight it’s ridiculous.

There were pretty much three completely different lineups. You had the sloppy ’77 teenage punk stuff, then when I came into it we started writing more traditional really fast hardcore songs that started morphing into metal. But by the end they were probably more of a metal band. But all three lineups were almost equal in length, so I was right in the middle.

There were some reunion shows a few years ago, but with the two founding members no longer with us do you think there’s any possibility of seeing the surviving members getting together to perform in some capacity?

One incarnation of The Guns: (left to right) Dave Araca, Bob Ries, Scott Silverman, Scott Eakin. Photo by Mike Psenicka.

Unfortunately the original guys, Scott and Dave, have passed away. I stayed in touch with Dave when he was still around. During my last visit with him, I was supposed to get a tattoo from him, but it didn’t end up happening. Then he was gone, so that’s very unfortunate. One thing that’s obviously bittersweet about all this is that those two guys started the band, they were the heart of it all the way through, and it’s a terrible feeling to know they’re not physically here to see this album’s release. But I’m glad it’s out and I’m certain they would be happy about it.

I didn’t stay in touch with Scott as well. We had a reunion show, which was just me on drums and him playing guitars and singing, then we got his fiancee to play bass and it worked out really well. So he and I were in touch a little bit during his last couple of years and I’m really glad that happened because he was definitely one of my best friends growing up. I stay in touch with Bob through Facebook and stuff and I’m Facebook friends with Scott [Silverman], but I don’t think I’ve ever seen him post anything. I probably talk to Tom Dark, Scott’s older brother, more than anybody. After living in Florida briefly with my mom, I’ve lived in D.C. since I was 18 and played drums with Government Issue for a while. And I’ve lived here ever since.

Scott Silverman is still out there and he’s been in a couple of well-known bands since those days. He’s jammed with Brant Bjork from Fu Manchu with a band called Brant Bjork and The Bros. Bob also still plays, but he lives out in Seattle. So there aren’t really any plans and I couldn’t even imagine ever trying to get together in any capacity because David and Scott were The Guns. They started the band, they were the two constant members all the way through, they did the heart of the writing. So without those guys, I don’t think there’d ever be any attempt at trying to play or anything.

It’s good to see you’re still actively performing with Pentagram these days. How does that compare to your time in The Guns?

On an underground level, Pentagram is a pretty well-known band that has been together in one incarnation or another since the early ’70s. We toured Europe in June, did some one-off dates on the East Coast after that, then went back overseas last month to do some shows in the U.K., Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Germany.

I also play drums for a local D.C. hardcore band called Teamster, which is kind of along the same lines as The Guns, but maybe even a little faster, harder and more brutal. So I am still active in music, love it and get out there as much as I can. I’m definitely a lifer as far that goes, so I’ll be doing it until I drop dead or can’t do it anymore.

Georgia Wrestling Now welcomes Rocky King, Sugar Dunkerton and Chuck Porterfield

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Following last weeks Georgia Wrestling Awards announcements, it’s back to business as usual at Georgia Wrestling Now. This week, Team All You Can Eat’s Matt Hankins, Georgia Wrestling History‘s Larry Goodman and Wrestling with Pop Culture talk to longtime local wrestling fixture Rocky King about Boulware Wrestling Association’s Wrestling Extravaganza with John Rocker, Curtis Hughes and others Jan. 19. We also hear from Resistance Pro Tag Team Champion and Chikara star Sugar Dunkerton about his involvement in Pro Wrestling Resurrection‘s Speed Memorial Six-Man Showcase on Jan. 20. Then we talk to “The Voice of Reason” Chuck Porterfield about Shane Marx’s Platinum Championship Wrestling title defense against former champion Mason on Jan. 19. Listen every Monday at 7 p.m. in 2013 and call 347-324-5735 for questions or comments.

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“Gangster Squad” gives genre a Tommy gun blast without being too cliché

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Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn) and his goons Johnny Stomp (James Carpinello, left) and Neddy Herbert (Evan Jones, right) in "Gangster Squad." Photo by Wilson Webb.

Despite a stellar cast that includes Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling, Sean Penn, Emma Stone and Giovanni Ribisi, Gangster Squad looks like it could go either way. On the one hand, it’s portrayal of late ’40s Los Angeles is stylistically stunning with its period-appropriate costumes, Art Deco architecture and old gangster clichés. But on the other hand, it could just be an impressive assortment of talent all gussied up in retro garb to create a visual feast lacking in any other substance.

As it turns out, Gangster Squad is cheesy as hell, but intentionally so. Then I realized that director Ruben Fleischer was also behind the similarly tongue in cheek Zombieland, which was one of the better horror comedies in recent memory. But even though Gangster Squad is almost a caricature of old gangster flicks, with its colorful characters in fedoras, tough guy posturing and edge-of-your-seat car chases, it’s actually somewhat based on actual events (or at least the characters are based on detectives and gangsters who actually existed in L.A. during that era).

Sgt. Jerry Wooters (Ryan Gosling) woos Grace Faraday (Emma Stone) in "Gangster Squad." Photo by Wilson Webb.

Penn plays a retired Brooklyn boxer named Mickey Cohen who is determined to become the crime lord of L.A. The fact that most cops and politicians treat him like a celebrity certainly helps his cause. But Brolin leads a group of off-the-record cops whose mission is to systematically wipe out Cohen’s gambling operations before taking down Cohen himself. And to further complicate the situation, Gosling’s detective is fooling around with Cohen’s moll Grace.

Of course, there’s a lot of flashy fighting and comedic dialogue between the squad members throughout the rest of the film. Robert Patrick’s quick-drawing cowboy and his sidekick Navidad (Michael Peña) are particularly entertaining. But Fleischer’s flair for visuals is what often ends up being the scene stealer. For instance, during one close-combat scene involving guns, each time a shot is fired the frame freezes for a second, creating a very Dick Tracy-like comic strip feel. And during a climactic shootout between Penn and Brolin, we get slow-motion closeups of the ornaments from the Christmas tree being shattered in the crossfire.

Mickey Cohen (Penn) and Sgt. John O'Mara (Josh Brolin) in the final battle of "Gangster Squad." Photo by Wilson Webb.

Even though Gangster Squad is a bit of a gangster parody, it still offers enough serious action and intrigue to keep it from being a total spoof. And the chemistry between the actors (especially Brolin’s hero and Penn’s villain) creates a compelling rivalry that plays out as violently as the rest of the film. The fact that some of this stiff kind of actually happened just makes Gangster Squad that much more interesting and enjoyable.

www.gangstersquadmovie.com

Mission to find bin Laden makes for an intense movie experience with “Zero Dark Thirty”

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Navy SEAL's invade Osama bin Laden's Pakistani fortress in "Zero Dark Thirty." Photo by Jonathan Olley.

Having heard some rumblings of controversy and seen trailers implying that it is mostly about the incredibly intense moments leading up to the discovery and assassination of Osama bin Laden, if I had any expectations going into Zero Dark Thirty it was that the film would be a patriotic thriller offering a sense of national pride. Though it’s hard not to rally behind the efforts of Maya (Jessica Chastain), Dan (Jason Clarke) and the other CIA agents who tirelessly strive to find the man responsible for (among other things) the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Zero Dark Thirty is a lot more than just an action-packed manhunt.

After being assigned to work alongside Dan at a Pakistani prison where a detainee is broken down through torturous tactics such as having buckets of water poured over his face until he almost drowns, being pulled around on a dog leash and being stuffed into a box barely big enough to hold him, Maya quickly becomes hardened by the harsh realities of war and interrogation. As if she wasn’t already determined enough, her steadfast obsession with locating and killing bin Laden only grows stronger when this inhumanely-treated prisoner named Ammar (Reda Kateb) reveals the name of bin Laden’s personal courier. Maya is convinced that finding this courier will lead her directly to bin Laden, so she spends the next several years of her young career tracking him down.

Jessica Chastain plays Maya, the young CIA agent determined to find bin Laden in "Zero Dark Thirty." Photo by Jonathan Olley.

The first two acts of the film involve Maya and her team tirelessly investigating any lead they can find until most of their colleagues are ready to give up the search to focus on finding sleeper cells outside of Afghanistan (especially as terrorist attacks continue). But after several years (including the loss of colleagues and attempts on her own life), Maya finally catches the break she’s been looking for when Dan (now a tie-wearing desk-jobber in D.C.) bribes his way to the phone number of the courier’s mother. After what seems like a wild goose chase that will never end, the suspected courier is finally discovered driving into a heavily-protected compound that seems like just the type of fortress in which bin Laden might sequester himself. The back-and-forth between Maya and her higher-ups becomes increasingly discouraging because most of them are hesitant to move forward with infiltrating this compound due to the uncertainty of bin Laden’s presence there. But Maya seems to have a sixth sense about the situation and assures them that bin Laden is inside.

Navy SEALs use night vision goggles to infiltrate bin Laden's compound. Photo by Jonathan Olley.

Her confidence is what wins the dedication of a group of Navy SEALs led by Patrick (Joel Edgerton), who agree to sneak into Pakistan using stealth helicopters from Area 51 that technically don’t exist. And this is where the tension that has been building throughout the entire film comes to its exciting conclusion as these helicopters enter Pakistan through the cover of night and the soldiers’ extensive military training kicks in. As one group of SEALs works its way through the compound with machine-like precision and efficiency, Hakim (Fares Fares), who has been an instrumental part of the operation since Maya’s quest to find the courier began, has to keep the locals at bay as they begin to gather in the nearby streets to find out what is happening.

Since this film is based on an important piece of history that occurred in 2011, the fact that the SEALs pick off all the adults in the compound and eventually get bin Laden is no surprise. What is somewhat shocking, however, is how Maya and her team obtain this victory. Having relied on torture in the early stages of her hunt, she quickly goes from looking like a fresh and innocent new agent to someone capable of any sort of manipulation in order to achieve her goal. This is a quality that is both unsettling and admirable, and Chastain adeptly navigates the transformation like a war-hardened soldier on a stealthy mission amidst a cast of potential show stealers including Mark Strong, Jennifer Ehle and James Gandolfini. And given the heinous crimes against bin Laden and the rest of al-Qaeda, as well as the potential for even more massacres if they are not found and stopped, Maya’s by-any-means-necessary approach is understandable, if unrelatable. And the emotionally solitary closing scene reveals the toll these stressful few years have taken on her, as well as the satisfaction she feels in knowing that it is finally all over.

www.zerodarkthirty-movie.com