Wednesday Warriors – Page 7

Captain Jack Sparrow

Posted on April 29, 2015April 26, 2015 by Jack Flacco

In an era when pirates sailed the high seas, looted and pillaged innocent ships of their booty, a man of no certain countenance appears from the fog. An expert swordsman, an even greater marksman, he leads an adventure-packed tale featuring a crew of swashbucklers not seen since the days of Errol Flynn.

Today, Wednesday Warriors salutes Captain Jack Sparrow, the eccentric and often-humorous main character from the series Pirates of the Caribbean.

The box office hit of the 2000’s, the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise brought together some of the very best actors in Hollywood to treat the audience to an all-you-can-eat rendition of the Disney ride that goes by the same name.

In the lead role, Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow, portrays a disheveled pirate who not only lives by his wits but also has luck land on his lap on more than one occasion. For the audience, the draw to such a quintessential character is his free spirit and lack of living a responsible life. The freedom of the ocean lends Jack his independence–independence from duty to country, independence from those who seek to place him in shackles.

Fashioned after The Rolling Stones‘ Keith Richards, Jack wafts from step to step in an almost-constant inebriated state. He’s had his fair share of battles, but the battle he should be most proud of is the fight he wins gaining the respect of his audience. With every stroke of his sword, the cheers directed to his onscreen persona increases. No other character of the series illicits the audience’s loyalty as much as Jack Sparrow.

He truly is a larger-than-life character worth cheering for.

Aside from Jack’s mastery with a weapon, he also displays a kind heart to those he calls his friends. No one would think it though, given his predisposition to how he interprets a promise. What his friends might understand a promise, he might understand as an agreement with plenty of loopholes to benefit his free spirit. One thing’s for sure, there’s no tying down Jack. When he gets something in his head, he jumps in with both feet without thinking if it might be right or not to do.

And should his friends end up at the end of a sword, prepare to see Jack swing into the scene with weapon drawn and boots ready to kick butt. He’s not one to allow his friends to fall into the hands of no-good and vagabonds. He will protect them at the cost of his life.

Captain Jack Sparrow is Wednesday Warrior’s swashbuckling hero who leads his fans from one adventure to another. Arr!

What do you like about Captain Jack Sparrow? Is he a good movie character worth emulating in real life–in attitude, that is?

Wednesday Warriors

Sam Witwicky

Posted on April 22, 2015April 23, 2015 by Jack Flacco

What would you do if you found out your car wasn’t what you thought it was? You’d take it to where you had bought it and either ask for your money back, or sue the car company of course. But let’s say your car is not what you thought it was because it’s not of this world? You could very well take it to its manufacturer, but that would mean you’d have to travel a few million miles to get there.

Megan Fox as Mikaela and Shia LeBeouf as Sam Witwicky

Joining my Wednesday Warriors series is Sam Witwicky, the high school motormouth who happens to come upon one of the greatest discoveries to ever hit earth.

Transformers opened to become one of the biggest box office draws of 2007. It spawned three sequels (Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Transformers: Age of Extinction) and secured Hasbro‘s franchise as a guaranteed money cow for Paramount Pictures.

Based on the toy by the same name, Transformers introduced the world to Shia LeBeouf as Sam, the stress-induced teen, and Megan Fox as Mikaela, his love interest. The film is an assault on the senses. From the very first frame to the last, the plot revolves around explosions, more explosions and lots of explosions. The never-ending barrage of pyrotechnics is simply an amazing thing to watch.

Add to it a good helping of fast cars, stunts and tense moments, the film pulls off a brilliant show for anyone wondering what a big budget summer flick ought to look like.

In the midst of the damage is a teenage boy stuck in an alien car that has a mind of its own. Sam’s frantic nature propels the story forward by making every scene a snapshot into impending doom. The heightened energy he expels from his rogue dealings with the Autobots makes him a prime target of the Decepticons.

To boot, the geeky savior hooks up with his dream girl, Mikaela, who takes it upon herself to instill courage in her otherwise tormented friend. While he attempts to outrun and outfox the Decepticons, she acts as his sounding board for all his crazy ideas.

As neurotic as Sam appears, there’s a side of the young teen only Mikaela and the Autobots know. He would give his life for those he believed deserved saving. Through the mayhem of artillery fire and bombs blasting, Sam devotes his loyalties to a cause that would eventually save the world at the cost of almost losing his life.

Ultimately, Sam Witwicky is a hero thrown into a cause greater than himself. In the end, he’s an ordinary kid who turns around and saves Earth.

RANGER MARTIN AND THE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE, on sale now.
RANGER MARTIN AND THE ALIEN INVASION, on sale now.

Have you seen any of the Transformer movies? What do you like best about these sci-fi action flicks?

Wednesday Warriors

Brian O’Conner

Posted on April 15, 2015April 16, 2015 by Jack Flacco

Turbo-charged, Nitro-boosted Brian O’Conner—the cop with the metal—exceeds all limits this week on Wednesday Warriors.

The Fast and the Furious movie franchise may not win awards, but what it lacks in praises by the academy it more than makes up in heart-pounding, adrenalin-soaked, action-packed racing sequences. The photography is a blur, the editing is jarring, and the shear thrill of its biting score burns tread marks around the competition of wannabe imposters.

Inspired by article focusing on street racing in the 2000s, The Fast and the Furious torched the box office, raking in $207 Million on a production budget of $38 Million. It shot to #1 throughout North America in 2,628 theaters on opening weekend. Even then, the film had the markings of a juggernaut series few would reminisce in disputing.

Among the players stands Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel), a bulk of a man tearing like thunder on four wheels. A hijacker. A family man. He’s the guy who the cops have been wanting to jail for a long time. Next, Letty Ortiz (Michelle Rodriquez), the strong one. She’s Dominic’s girl. She has earned a god-like status among her admiring peers as a crazed driver that no one ought to mess with.

Then, there’s Brian (Paul Walker), the cop. The guy sent in to bring Dominic to justice.

How can one describe Brian without spoiling the story? He loves the thrill of the chase. He loves speed. Give him a choice between sitting in a sandwich shop ordering tuna and cranking the juice on his NOS (Nitrous Oxcide Systems) tank—he’ll choose street racing any day of the week. He is not a cop who goes by the book.

Torn by his allegiance to the police force and his newfound friendship with Dominic, Brian searches for a way to breach the boundary between duty and honor. Falling for Dominic’s beautiful sister Mia (Jordana Brewster) was not in the plan. Yet, neither was burning dust in one high-speed contest after another.

Eventually, Brian questions his abilities and weighs the consequences against losing the one thing that drives him. Respect.

[Author’s note: The first time watching The Fast and the Furious I remember how actor Paul Walker seemed like the everyman. His boyish grin and stellar gaze certainly captured the attention. When I heard of his passing on November 30, 2013, I didn’t know what to think. I was still recovering from the shock. I eventually learned Walker was the passenger that fateful day of the accident that had taken his life. Reports stated he died instantly. I still can’t believe he’s no longer with us.]

RANGER MARTIN AND THE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE, on sale now.
RANGER MARTIN AND THE ALIEN INVASION, on sale now.

Have you seen any of The Fast and the Furious movies? What did you think of Brian?

Wednesday Warriors

Mr. Incredible

Posted on April 8, 2015April 14, 2015 by Jack Flacco

Mild mannered. Father of four. Husband to a flexible wife. The muscle-packed Bob seems out of place working for an insurance company. His forearm alone is about the size of his boss’ head. So what is this hulk of a man doing working in one of the most low-key positions the corporate world has to offer?

Wednesday Warriors presents Mr. Incredible (a.k.a. Bob Parr), the animated superhero who makes fighting an archenemy look easy.

[Spoilers lie therein.]

Mr. Incredible was once a daily headline. He, along with the rest of the other supers, protected the country from criminals hell-bent on robbing, pillaging and killing innocent bystanders. But with great power comes great lawsuits. Eventually, the supers couldn’t come up with the cash to pay the judgments for the massive damage they had caused to the nation’s infrastructure and had to go into hiding.

Bob is one of those supers.

Dressed in a white shirt, black pants and sporting a tie tucked tightly around his neck, Bob can imagine a better place than sitting in an office watching a mugging take place just outside his boss’ window. Suffice it to say, once his boss gives him an ultimatum, Bob doesn’t work there anymore. Neither does his boss, considering a trip to the hospital reveals that almost every bone in his body is broken.

Bob’s life from drab insurance adjuster takes a turn for the better when someone contacts the former superhero with a special mission. The mission isn’t exactly what he expected though. He finds himself the target of a sinister plan—a plan dedicated to eliminating supers everywhere.

What becomes his escape from the real world suddenly throws Bob wanting to escape from a nefarious genius. It doesn’t help him in the least that his wife and children are supers as well. If anything, they all become targets to the evil menace who wants to see his arch-rival dead.

The film The Incredibles highlights what happens when good intentions yield bad results. Among the hilarious jokes resides a powerful story built on the simple premise that good overcomes evil. Within the smart dialog comes the character Mr. Incredible. He’s strong, resilient and difficult to get rid of. His power though, does not come from his sheer physical strength but his willpower to do good, even if it means dying for what’s right.

That is what it means to be a true hero.

RANGER MARTIN AND THE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE, on sale now.
RANGER MARTIN AND THE ALIEN INVASION, on sale now.

Have you seen The Incredibles? What did you think of Bob?

Wednesday Warriors

Marty McFly

Posted on April 1, 2015April 5, 2015 by Jack Flacco

Hello, McFly? I remember it so well. I was barely out of high school. It became the feel-good hit of the summer. Directed by Steven Spielberg, Back to the Future raked in piles of cash and made Michael J. Fox a household name.

For this week’s Wednesday Warriors, I salute Marty McFly, the kid who went back to the past to save the future.

This is one movie I’d love to spoil—but I won’t. If you’ve seen Back to the Future then you’ll know how wonderful a film it is. Shot in the mid-1980s, the flick features a time machine, plutonium, terrorists and a smart story wrapped in a catchy tune by Huey Lewis and the News called Back In Time.

Thirty years later, we have yet to have a working hoverboard, but that’s getting ahead of the story. [Edit: The hoverboard is real and you can see Tony Hawk riding it here!]

Michael J. Fox plays a kid who travels back in time to save his best friend’s life. The story takes a comedic turn when he actually spends a good chunk of it playing matchmaker to his teenage parents. Through Marty’s eyes, the audience enjoys the treat of working through multiple plot connections between timelines and characters. What happens in the past does not stay in the past.

What I find fascinating about the film is how it possesses the ability to stir the imagination with a simple story that grows more complex by the minute. I call it the mushroom effect. Like a mushroom cloud that begins with a small impact so does this story propel the viewer into a world of hilarity. If you’ve seen a rendition of The Barber of Seville, then you’ll know what I’m talking about.

The film also deals with time in an interesting way. The theory that someone could go back in time is not new. Einstein proved time is relative. We are now receiving images of supernovas that have long since disappeared from the universe all because their light has finally reached our telescopes after nine billion years. When we look into the sky, we’re looking at a snapshot back in time. The Back to the Future series presents the idea of parallel universes based on a changed time continuum. Star Trek deals with the same idea, but I digress.

Marty McFly’s special nervous way about him makes him the ideal candidate to suffer through the nonsense of a time breach. His witty comebacks allow for unexpected results where they insult the class bully, but also attract the wrong kind of female attention. His love for music also brings a new twist to the theme of who really invented Rock and Roll. If anyone needs to relax, it’s Marty. He expends enough energy on the screen to power several nuclear power plants.

But overall, when picking my favorite Top 10 movie characters, I would choose Marty. No matter how bad a situation gets, he’ll always end up making me laugh.

RANGER MARTIN AND THE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE, on sale now.
RANGER MARTIN AND THE ALIEN INVASION, on sale now.

Have you seen Back to the Future? Have you seen it more than once? What makes it so magical?

Wednesday Warriors

The Big Lebowski

Posted on March 25, 2015March 27, 2015 by Jack Flacco

Mistaken identity. Urination on a rug. Plot negligible. Hadn’t the title given it away, a fan would have certainly picked up on the cues. I’m talking about Jeff Bridges as Jeff Lebowski who references himself in the third person as The Dude. He has a problem with a soiled rug, bowls with fascinating people, and meets a richer version of himself.

Every so often, a movie comes out to blow away audience expectation of what a film should deliver. The Big Lebowski is a cult classic because of its ability to go beyond expectation. For today’s Wednesday Warriors, Jeff Lebowski takes center stage as The Dude who falls into a plot to pay a ransom for a kidnapped heiress.

Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, Steve Buscemi, John Turturro, Julianne Moore, Tara Reid, Sam Elliott and the late Philip Seymour Hoffman make the cast to this offbeat film a treat to watch.

Before continuing, this 1998 Coen brothers movie possesses very little plot. Other than The Dude’s penchant for wanting compensation for a stained rug, and his cravings for White Russians, he doesn’t have a job, no prospects for employment and he carries on as a 1990’s hippie. But you know what? It works.

If I were to summarize the movie in a quick one-sentence review, I would say this: It’s about a bunch of guys talking about life and hanging out. If anyone’s attempting to find meaning in the film, there isn’t any. It’s simply about guys doing what they do best—being guys.

Jeff Bridges, Steve Buscemi and John Goodman in The Big Lebowski

However, that isn’t to say I haven’t found meaning in the movie. To me, The Dude represents someone who has figured things out. He knows himself well and understands his limitations. He has a way of communicating that, although others may find annoying, given he’s too laidback for his own good, brings everyone he speaks to into his world.

As many times as The Dude finds himself bound, kidnapped, drugged and lost, he always maintains a strong presence in his relationships with his friends. He may lose his mind every now and then, but he knows who his friends are. He never loses sight of those people who matter to him.

I enjoy watching The Dude react to every changing situation, whether it’s from a terrible bowling score or a car wasted on a bad bet. In all of The Dude’s dealings, he keeps one thing in mind—he keeps it real.

Jeff (The Dude) Lebowski is Wednesday Warriors’ down-to-earth character spotlight.

RANGER MARTIN AND THE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE, on sale now.
RANGER MARTIN AND THE ALIEN INVASION, on sale now.

Have you seen The Big Lebowski? What do you think of Jeff Bridge’s interpretation of The Dude?

Wednesday Warriors

Rocky Balboa

Posted on March 18, 2015March 20, 2015 by Jack Flacco

Rocky Balboa is one of the most recognizable movie characters in cinema history. Released in 1976, the movie Rocky pits Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers), the reigning boxing champ, with an unknown contender for a title shot at the World Heavyweight Championship of the World. The film also made a star out of Sylvester Stallone and propelled his career to new heights.

Today’s Wednesday Warriors series looks at Rocky Balboa, his trials, his successes and his life lessons.

If anyone were to describe Rocky, the first thing to pop out of anyone’s mouth would be, “Yo, Adrian.” But there is more to the character Rocky than the punchy delivery of lines and his often-slurred speech. Rocky is a symbol of perseverance. No matter how bad things get, he always seems to have that extra ounce of energy tucked away to use at the last moment when all things appear hopeless. It’s that will to never surrender that makes Rocky all the more imitable. His slight slowness does not deter him to see what’s in front of him. He knows the stakes to his battles. He knows the risk he takes every time he walks into that ring.

His record speaks for itself:

Apollo Creed—defeated.
Clubber Lang—defeated.
Ivan Drago—defeated.
Tommy Gunn—defeated.
Mason Dixon—defeated.

That list does not include the myriad of other contenders vying to overthrow him as the World Heavyweight champ, which he has also defeated.

Mickey (Burgess Meredith), his no-nonsense trainer believes in the clichéd school of hard knocks. To press Rocky for speed, he releases a chicken in an alley and tells Rocky to go fetch. Naturally, Rocky feels like a Kentucky Fried Idiot when he can’t catch it. Yet, he finds the time to laugh and carry on when he traps the quick-footed poultry in his grasp to raise it in the air in victory.

The other aspect in Rocky’s life is Adrian (Talia Shire). She’s the ugly duckling no one wants. He sees something in her no one else had seen. He sees her inner beauty. He sees her tender heart. And he see her strong and sensible mindset that keeps him anchored in reality. Their story is a familiar one. He visits her at the pet shop where she works, tells a few jokes and they go out for the first time skating. He walks her home. They become a couple.

Adrian is the only one who can give Rocky the reason to keep fighting. Without her, he’s nothing. She gives him the will to press harder than before. And with her help, he’s able to conquer his deepest fears.

Most of all, Rocky represents an unwavering belief in fighting for what’s right. In every fight, he sets his mind at winning. On the other hand, his opponent represents oppression. If anything, Rocky will do everything in his power to fight oppression. Have a look at Rocky IV. The film seeps in opposing countries working together to come to an amicable resolution.

Overall, Rocky may be the butt of jokes for reviewers, but he has proven no matter how powerful the competition, he manages to fight and win—even if the audience expects otherwise.

RANGER MARTIN AND THE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE, on sale now.
RANGER MARTIN AND THE ALIEN INVASION, on sale now.

Have you watched any of the Rocky movies? What do you think of the character?

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