#& he's voiced by danny trejo what more could you want?

[swan2swan]

Oh gosh Tronos is going to become an ally I’m so excited he’s my favorite

#he's a lightning-breathing space dragon voiced by danny trejo #and he wears armor #what more could you want? #swan watches 3 below

[photolover82]

The Masked Singer Season 5 Episode 1 Recap: The “Game Changing” Premiere, Let’s Meet Group A (Commentary & Guesses)

Hello my fellow Masked Singer friends! Welcome (or welcome back) to Ana’s Masked Singer recap, where I, Ana, recap every episode of the Masked Singer! Woohoo, the first one of Season 5 and I am so excited wow! Season 5 was off to an amazing start, with Group A performing for the first time. I really enjoyed this one, so let’s get into the recap:

Ok, so to start, we have a new host aka Neicy Nash, and I really liked her, she was like the female version of Nick Cannon. I enjoyed her banter with Ken too so it was great I liked it a lot.

Also, let’s talk about the infamous cluedadoo or how I am gonna call him the freaking “Rooster” 🐓🐔 who is not really an actual contestant competing but he is feeding us the clues (hehe see what I did there?) ...

He was kind of mysterious and I am intrigued honestly, but I still have so many questions, will he have clues? He did say that we have to guess who he is as well so how will this work? Anyways having said that, let’s get into the main 5 of Group A which are Snail 🐌, Seashell 🐚, Russian Dolls 🪆, Raccoon 🦝, and Robopine 🦔.

Let’s start with the eliminated contestant who was

*DRUMROLL PLEASE*

The Snail 🐌

Commentary: He sang You Make My Dreams by Hall & Oats and it was good, nothing amazing or mind blowing (we’ll get to those performances later), but I didn’t expect him to go home first (I’ll explain who I expected later too). I really enjoyed it personally, the song is well known and catchy, I was bopping my head. It was a solid performance. I would give it a rating of a 7/10. I kind of felt the same way about Baby Alien last season that I felt about Snail going home.

Anyways, having said that, he was revealed to be (to my surprise)...

*DRUMROLL PLEASE*

Kermit the Frog 🐸

Omg ok, I didn’t expect that, when I tell you my jaw dropped, I am not kidding. My first impression guess was Ted Danson for God’s sake.... like I didn’t get this and I am so mad I didn’t because when I rewatched it, I totally heard the Kermit in there, and I saw people say it on Twitter, but I was like nah they wouldn’t do that, these people are trolling... and wow yeah I was wrong, I felt like a 🤡. BUT OMG IT WAS KERMIT, WHAT AN ICON. The most famous contestant on the show ever... how dope! Now, we need Miss Piggy on the show, because she’s another icon lol. I wonder what she said about this hehe 😜

Anyways, now that that’s done with, let’s go over the remaining 4 and give you my subpar guesses, the first ones of season 5:

1. Raccoon 🦝

Commentary: Ok like yikes my eardrums... this one’s one of the worst performances I have seen on the show, like it was so screechy oml. He honestly should have gone home instead of Snail, Snail was done dirty. I really don’t understand how he is still in the competition... Sorry I wish I had something nicer to say but he was just yikes, I’m sorry it kinda seems like he isn’t singing on purpose, it seems like a joke.

My guess for Raccoon is (I am 💯 on this):

Danny Trejo

Reasoning/Clues: So like this sounds stupid, but when the guy sang, Danny Trejo’s face popped into my head for some reason... idk my logic sometimes isn’t logical... but anyways the clues align:

Been in Prison for a long time= he was in prison in California when he was young because he got into a lot of trouble with drugs

Read Hunchback of Notre Dame= he said that during his time in prison acting kind of helped him survive and he would recite Wizard of Oz and... you guessed it... the Hunchback of Notre Dame

2. Russian Dolls 🪆

Commentary: ok, so I already knew how they were gonna sound but I am still super impressed. I feel like there are more than 2 people, maybe 3, I feel like I heard 3 voices in there. They sang Man in the Mirror by Michael Jackson and it was impeccable, their harmonies are really great, and their voices blend together amazingly.

They are (again I am positive about this one):

Hanson

Reasoning/Clues: I know like everybody on the internet says this, but when I did the voice matching, it really does sound like them (even tho idk much about them personally)... but anyways here are clues that match:

Used to be the world’s hottest toy but then got replaced by shiner toys= they were popping off with their song MMMBOP in the 90s until they were replaced by other boy bands like *NSYNC and Backstreet Boys

Bus Stop= reference to a lyric from their song Man From Milwaukee

Sign that says Mitzfitz Toyz Store= Abbreviation of the guys’ first names, which are Issac, Taylor, and Zac aka ITZ

3. Seashell 🐚

Commentary: I am so happy that her voice is just as good as her costume, costume wise she is my favorite, and I am happy to report that her voice is also one of my faves. She sang Listen to Your Heart by Roxette and honestly she reminds me so much of Jellyfish, someone who is amazing vocally but has a bit of nerves at first. She does ease into it as it goes on and I really enjoyed it, she was great! However, at first, I thought she was someone else but then I heard her voice a second time and it sounded familiar....

My guess is (I feel good about this one):

Tamera Mowry

Reasoning/Clues: Besides her voice that made me think it was one of the twins, but the clues made me specifically think Tamera:

Hot Dog= the twins were born in Germany and Hot Dogs are German

Witch Broom= References to the Disney movie her and Tia Mowry did, Twitches, which btw is the reason I know them (that and Sister, Sister), that movie was my childhood I loved it

Chameleon= in an episode of Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Tia gets bitten by a chameleon and turns into the evil twin aka Tamera

Rooster clue: “No 2 Shells are the same”= she’s a twin lol, and she isn’t the same as her sister kinda thing

4. Robopine 🦔

Commentary: BRO I WAS SHOOK WHEN I HEARD THIS ONE SING. If you saw my costume rating, I was like meh I am not a huge fan of this costume, it’s kinda scary looking, and I just wrote it off, but BOY I WAS WRONG. My jaw was on the floor when I heard this man’s voice on the TV for the first time. He is absolutely my favorite of the night with his rendition of Never Too Much by Luther Vandross. His voice is BUTTER 🧈, so freaking smooth and wonderful. I just want him to sing me to sleep or for my birthday, like man I love him so much.

This one is so hard omg but I am gonna guess for now (it’s not a good guess, subject to change):

Eddie Murphy?

Reasoning/Clues: Ok, so I am not even gonna give reasoning, bc I don’t really know who he could be, I just threw Eddie Murphy because the man can sing and he is the age that was told... what really tripped me up was that he said he was in his 60s and has GRANDCHILDREN.... like he could be lying but it was so nonchalant that it was too good to be a lie, I was so confident at first thinking Chris Jackson but that what he said to the judges about grandchildren tripped me up, but also the judges thought he was lying but I am gonna act like he wasn’t and the only person I thought who could fit that profile is Eddie Murphy (or someone else said Terry Crews but idk I don’t think the man can sing like that)... however a lot of people say that it is Tyrese Gibson but that’s if the whole age thing is a lie but it is a good guess. Here are the clues tho:

Can of Soda Men in Black Drinking from

Spaceship Flying into Strands of DNA 🧬

He “used 411 day and night just to make a connection... until a certain angel said hello and a random call changed everything”

George Washington Figure

Now on his next mission

Anyway, that is it! I hope you guys enjoyed this recap! Don’t forget to follow, like, comment, and do all the social media-y things people do. Tell me whose your favorite performance/do you agree with my guesses? Lemme know! See you in the next recap! Bye guys 👋🏼😄

#the masked singer #themaskedsinger #celebrities #the masked singer season 5 #hollywood #music #kermit the frog #snail mask

[jesawyer]

You as the lead designer of FNV had any involvment with the voice acting? And since we're at it, where came the decision to hire famous actors such as Matthew Perry, Danny Trejo and Zachary Levi (and many others) to do voice acting in FNV and how much that impacted on the cost of production?

I would say I had some influence as the director and more direct influence as a writer on the project.  I think we (Obsidian) had the idea to see if Matthew Perry wanted to be involved because we heard that he really liked Fallout 3.  In general, Bethesda likes having high profile actors in key roles and they were instrumental in getting a lot of people on board with the project.

On the base game, I wrote Arcade and Chief Hanlon so I was involved in their casting and sat in on their recording sessions to help give context and inform the session director when needed.

On Honest Hearts, I wrote Joshua Graham and Daniel, so I made their casting choices and attended their sessions.  Critically, I missed the first round of casting for Joshua Graham and had to make time to go through the submissions.  The designer who was in the first round had suggested passing on Keith Szarabajka.  Listening to Keith’s submission was rough because it was given on a cell phone on a windy day and he had a cold -- it sounds like a joke, but that’s really what we had to listen to.  Easily one of the best decisions I made on that project was to keep Keith in the casting pool.  Even with all of the quality issues with the casting recording, I could tell immediately that he was going to knock Joshua Graham out of the park.

As for cost, it wasn’t cheap, but these things are always subject to negotiation.  I think it’s risky to cast TV/film actors for voice because the skill set used for voice acting is quite different.  Some actors truly can do it all, but not everyone can.

[xxcorndogxx]

Sandor Clegane x Reader||Chapter Twenty Four

(Danny Trejo is your dad) I watch as Sandor kicks over the box. The white walker rushing out. It runs for the first person it sees. Queen Cersi. Sadly Sandor grabs the chain yanking the walker back. Away from Cersi. When he does the walker turns to face him. As it runs to him he draws his sword. Chopping it in half as it attacks. The white's upper half keeps crawling to him. It reaches out for him and he hacks its handoff. I walk back to stand by Lord Varys. Qyburn picks up the hand. It still moves. Jon takes the hand from him. Ser Davos approaches and lights a torch.

"We can destroy them by burning them," Jon announces as he lights the hand. After a moment he drops it.  "And we can destroy them with dragon glass." He holds out his blade. "If we don't win this fight, then that is the fate of every person in the world." Jon stabs the walker. "There is only one war." He approaches the queen. "That matters, the Great War and it is here."

"I didn't believe them until I saw them. I saw them all"

"How many?" Jamie asks.

Sandor stands behind Brienne and I stand next to him. His arm around my waist.

"Hundred thousand at least." Daenerys answers.

Euron Greyjoy walks over and examines the walker.

"Can they swim?" He asks.

"No." Jon answers.

"Good, I'm taking the Iron Fleet back to the Iron Islands."

"What are you talking about?" Cresi asks.

"I've been around the world, I've seen everything you couldn't imagine and this, this is the only thing I've ever seen that terrifies me." He proclaims. He walks to Daenerys. "I'm going back to my island, you should go back to yours. When winters over we'll be the only ones left alive."

He's got a point.

"He's right to be afraid, and a coward to run. If those things come for us, there will be no kingdoms to rule. Everything we suffered it would have been for nothing. Everything we lost will have been for nothing. The crown accepts your truce. Until the dead are defeated they are the true enemy." Cersi proclaims. "In return, the King in the North would extend this truce. He will remain in the North where he belongs. He will not take up arms against the Lannisters. He will not choose sides."

"Just the King in the North? Not me?" Daenerys asks.

"I would never ask it of you. You would never agree to it. And if you did, I would trust you even less than I do now. I only ask it of Ned Stark's son. I know Ned Stark's son will be true to his word."

We all look at Jon.

"I am true to my word." He starts. "Or I try to be. This is why I cannot give you what you ask. I cannot serve two queens. And I have already pledged myself to Queen Daenerys of House Targaryen."

"Then there is nothing left to discuss." She stands. "The dead will come north first. Enjoy dealing with them. We will deal with whatever's left of you."

We watch as she leaves. After talking Tyrion goes to speak with his sister.

"How are you feeling, little dove?" Sandor asks turning to me.

"Alright."

"You aren't dizzy, you don't need to pee?" I shake my head.

"I just went. I am tired though."

I move to sit in a chair and he stops me. He sits and pulls me on his lap. I rest against him. After a bit, Tyrion returns and the Queen does as well. We stand as they approach.

"My army's will not stand down. I will not pull them back to the capital. I will march them north to fight alongside you in the Great War. The darkness is coming for us all. We will face it together and when the Great War is over, perhaps you'll remember I chose to help. With no promises or assurances from any of you. I expect not. Call our banners. All of them."

I walk through the garden once more. I haven't been here in ages. I see a bunch of those flowers that Sandor would get for me. I pick one and place it behind my ear. I move to leave the garden and Cersi is there.

"My dear, Y/n."

She doesn't smile.

"Your grace."

I bow slightly.

"Look at you." She examines me. "All grow up. Married, pregnant. I wonder how your father will take the news."

She smiles.

"He doesn't know? You didn't tell him?"

"No. I wanted to wait until you were here so you could talk. I'm sure he won't be too delighted to know that his daughter married The Hound and is with his child."

I shift uncomfortably.

"Your grace, if you may. I have to piss." I confess.

"I know how that is. Can't hold it in for long with that bundle of life in you."

She nods me to leave. I rush up the stairs with a hand on my stomach. I turn a corner and almost fall. I ran right into Sandor, luckily he was quick to grab me before I could fall.

"Little dove?"

He looks concerned.

"I have to piss," I explain.

I hold onto his arm as we walk. He keeps me steady. My father turns the corner. His eyes meet mine and he smiles. It wavers as his eyes scroll down to the hand Sandor has resting on my somewhat large stomach. I have to be at least 6 months at this point. For a moment no one move.

"Father," I speak in a calm voice.

I feel Sandor stiffen. He knows my father hates him.

"You." My Father glares at Sandor. "You-." He points his finger at Sandor. He occasionally moves closer. "-took my daughter away. Kidnapped her from her room and you had the nerve to put a child in her." He shouts.

I really have to pee.

"I didn't kidnap the girl. She came with me of her own free will."

"Bullshit. My daughter knows how much I hate you-."

"Exactly. How much you hate me. Not her."

"Well, she doesn't love you."

"I do love him!" I shout. "Father, he's my husband. I love him with all my heart. With all my soul I am his and he is mine."

"You didn't. You did not marry this man."

His face red with anger.

"She did," Sandor grumbles.

"Why?"

I really have to pee. I hold my legs as tightly together as I can. While they scream and argue I cling tighter to Sandor's arm.

"Sandor," I mumble.

The tingling downstairs is very strong almost painful. I don't know how much longer I can hold it.

"Sandor!" I call louder tugging on him.

"What!?" He shouts turning to me.

I am taken aback. He's never yelled at me. He is quick to place his hand on my face.

"I'm sorry, little dove. You caught me in the heat of the moment."

"I have to pee. I can't hold it." I pout.

We start to leave but father stops us.

"You're not going anywhere with her." He's firm. "She will stay here with me. I'll have you killed or sent away and when that child comes from her I'll kill it myself."

"She will go with me. I married her. She's not yours anymore." He defends.

"She's my daughter!"

"Sandor," I mumble.

"She's my wife!"

I feel a little leak out.

"She won't be your wife after I kill you." He threatens.

"I'd like to see you try old man."

And just like that, there it goes. Everyone's silent as the piss hits the floor. Drops rolling down my legs. Tears slipping from my eyes out of embarrassment. Sandor looks down at me.

"Little dove." He coos. "I'm so sorry, I forgot." He apologizes.

"I told you I couldn't hold it long." My father's eyes meeting mine.

"Your daughter has now pissed herself because you wanted to argue. I was helping her to the bathroom." He explains.

"Y/n." My father reaches to me.

"Enough. You've done enough. I'm a grown woman. I can make my own choices. You need to live with that." I shout. "Now if you'll excuse, I've soiled myself."

I walk off. Sandor follows. Back in our room, Sandor helps me wash myself. He brings me a new dress from my wardrobe.

"Thank you."

I smile. He kisses my forehead. He helps me pull the fabric over my body. He lifts me up and carries me to bed.

[ryanmeft]

Movie Review: Dora and the Lost City of Gold

There is a line of thinking which holds that you will enjoy things more if you turn off your adult brain and think like a child. I disdain this argument for two reasons. First, it assumes children cannot appreciate quality in their entertainment. Second, it posits that if you do not enjoy something, it isn’t because that thing was flawed, but because you’re an old grump. Dora and the Lost City of Gold kicks away both of these tired assumptions and delivers an exciting, irreverent, funny, well-made film that could serve as the first great pulp adventure for kids too young for Indiana Jones, while being legitimately interesting to adults. It is proof of my frequent assertion that you can make a good movie out of any subject.

Dora, who debuted as a 7-year-old adventurer educating children on culture and language in one of Nickelodeon’s most successful shows, has grown up. She’s 18, played by Isabela Moner (who also voiced a ten-year-old Dora on a follow-up show). She’s lived all her life in the jungles of Peru, accompanied only by her adventurer parents (Eva Longoria and Michael Pena) and her monkey Boots (voice of Danny Trejo, and yes, you hear him talk through the monkey at one point). Her one human friend her age, her cousin Diego (Jeff Wahlberg) moved from the jungle when she was 6. Her parents have spent years on the trail of a lost Incan city named Parapata. Much like when you were a kid and wanted to do whatever it was your parents did, Dora inherits their love for adventure and frequently gets herself in trouble. After endangering herself to a particular degree while thinking she’s found the city, her parents decide she’s not gained enough responsibility to continue the search for Parapata with them, and send her to school in L.A. while they continue the search.

From the off, the movie is spiced with just enough irreverent humor to clue in those of us who have seen dozens of episodes of the cartoon that this is not that. The first few minutes strongly suggest that the entire TV show was actually just the product of Dora and Diego’s imaginations, though it somehow does so in a way that doesn’t feel dismissive of the kids who grew up with it. Once grown, screenwriters Nicholas Stoller and Matthew Robinson provide the still-wide-eyed Dora with more comic fodder riffing on the show; a seconds-long explanation of a dangerous flower (“Can you say severe neurotoxicity?”) had me laughing as hard as anything I can remember this year. The characters poke fun at the show in a way that feels loving rather than insulting (“Who is gonna recognize one specific fox?”). This may be chalked up to the fact that the movie chose to employ at least one bona-fide comedy writer: Stoller’s credits include Forgetting Sarah Marshall, still one of the funniest films of this century, and director James Bobin’s Muppets movies, which also had a successful balance of whimsy and satire.

Moner is the key to the movie’s success. Her Dora is excitable, energetic, and optimistic, but never cloying or insulting to any age of viewer. She may have grown up in the jungle, but she’s not stupid: she understands that some people are mean because they’re damaged, and she knows what sex and dating are (parents, take comfort: her comments about mating practices will, like much of the film’s adult-geared humor, pass by your little ones without notice). She regularly embarrasses the now grown Diego, who just wants to get through the day with as little drama as possible. “This is High School,” he insists. “It’s life or death,” and frankly my own High School experiences incline me to agree. Also attracting Dora’s attention are over-achiever Sammy (Madeleine Madden), who is a toned-down version of Rachel McAdams’ Mean Girls character, and Randy (Nicholas Coombe), a shy nerd who, although the movie never quite goes there with it, would be Dora’s perfect match. These companions, who naturally eventually end up on the search for Parapata, are not given the same emotional or comic development as Dora, but they are supposed to be foils for her, representations of flaws she does not possess who she can play off of, and they are successful at this.

Dora eventually stops receiving messages from her parents, deduces they are in trouble, and enlists her reluctant classmates to rescue them. This comes with the introduction of both a band of mercenaries working with a CG Swiper the Fox (voice of Benicio Del Toro) and a guide, Alejandro (Eugenio Derbez) who is not the clueless, bumbling adult of kids movies, yet also not quite the fearless explorer he would like the kids to believe he is. I particularly appreciated his role, which is developed to an extent adults in these movies rarely are.

The adventures in the jungle have the tone of amusement park rides the way you remember them from childhood, as opposed to the way they actually were. The special effects and sets are deliberately just this side of realistic---gigantic rainbow flowers that spit poison, a throne room that feels like something out of an escape room, and other locations remind you of the mix of unreality and immersion you get wandering a really good man-made park. The film offers extended surprises in the story, too. If you ever wondered why characters in adventure movies never have to use the restroom, this one somehow manages to address that in a way that is both hilarious and does not feel low-brow. Dora’s inevitable moment of doubt in her leadership abilities feels real and true. And there’s an extended callback to the cartoon, which I won’t spoil, that only a truly inspired creative team would ever have thought of, and only a truly trusting studio would ever have signed off on. (As a side note: are there any fans of Don Rosa in the audience? And did you get the sense, during the stunt with the sluice gate, that the writers have read a particular comic of his?). I can only imagine what wonderful ideas the filmmakers didn’t use for this entry. A lot of family films get sequels, but this is one of the only such movies that absolutely needs one.

People ask why I get so tired of all-ages entertainment that panders to what viewers have already decided they want, or that employs cheap use of pop songs and recycled gags instead of real wit. They want to know why I can’t just turn my brain off. It’s because, every so often, you get a movie like this, something in the grand tradition of Holes or The Red Balloon, which knows that if you make a good film, kids and adults will respond. Against, arguably, all odds, a TV show designed to teach young kids about the world has been transmuted into one of the best live-action family films you can get. If anyone else out there would like to take a cue from Bobin and company and start making their all-ages fare with actual brains and heart and risk, I just have this to say: “Swiper, yes swiping.”

Verdict: Highly Recommended

Note: I don’t use stars, but here are my possible verdicts.

Must-See

Highly Recommended

Recommended

Average

Not Recommended

Avoid like the Plague

 You can follow Ryan's reviews on Facebook here:

https://www.facebook.com/ryanmeftmovies/

 Or his tweets here:

https://twitter.com/RyanmEft

 All images are property of the people what own the movie.

#dora and the lost city of gold #dora the explorer #isabela moner #michael pena #movies #eva longoria #james bobin #nicholas stoller #matthew robinson

[cerastes]

Here's a few New Vegas questions since i love that game hope ya dont mind Which faction do you usually side with in the main game? Favorite companion? Favorite build? Fav weapons? Fav DLC? What do you think of Ulysses? I personally like him but alot of people find him annoying and long winded

Which faction do you usually side with in the main game?

I tend to go Independent. My first ever run was NCR, I liked the benefits they came with, I had Boone with me, I hate Caesar’s Legion more than anything in the world, it was a very natural progression.

I tried a Caesar’s Legion run. Didn’t stick. Ended up just betraying them and butchering them. Can’t stomach them, not even to satisfy my curiosity.

I had already pissed off the NCR by that point and Mr. House doesn’t register as an option in my brain, so I just… Grabbed my stuff and did my own thing. It turned out to be very very fun. Scavenge weapons and armor, jury rig them, sell them, amass a fortune, arm yourself to the teeth, obliterate anyone that has beef with you. It’s a good life. I like the concept of just taking on the world by your own virtue, with your own skills. Independent is fun. Could I kill Yes Man, I would, not because I dislike the bot, simply because I feel like it ties me down a bit too much for my liking.

Favorite companion?

Raul. Guy’s hilarious, his every interaction is a punchline, he’s voiced by Danny Trejo, and he’s got a mean aim. I don’t play with companions anymore, but for sure Raul was my favorite when I did. Rex also is very fun to have.

Favorite build?

Guns/Melee/Stealth/Repair. The Ol’ Reliable, never lacking, always fun. Nothing like being able to always keep your arms in tip top condition and make a fat profit on the side by repairing Supersledges with pool cues. Blast a few heads open from afar while hiding, watch them stumble around, blast a few more heads until they finally know where the shots are coming from, but that’s fine, that’s why you have Oh Baby! in reserve.

Fav weapons?

Bloodnap, Anti-Materiel, Paciencia, Christine’s CoS Silencer Rifle, Oh Baby!, Big Boomer, Saturnite Fist Superheated, Survivalist’s Rifle, Knock Knock, A Light Shining In Darkness and All-American.

Fav DLC?

Lonesome Road. All DLCs for New Vegas are fantastic, in fact, when I play New Vegas nowadays, I more or less just play base game until I’m level 10 or so and then go to the DLCs, ignoring the base game almost completely, but Lonesome Road has a special place in my heart above the other three. 

It’s a very personal, solemn journey. The dialogue choices all feel like a proper character you can build instead of a paper doll you are meant to project into, a perfect compromise between having a proper character be the PC and having the self-insert paper doll, and the neutral tone of most choices is gone for emotion. It’s a very desolate, oppressive DLC, in which someone wants to make you pay for something you weren’t even aware you had a hand on, by their terms, in their turf.

You travel through beautifully deserted, ruined places, you find fun new weapons, strong enemies, traps and loot, it’s very much the ultimate experience the game can offer you without mods, and it was very inspiring when I first played through it.

What do you think of Ulysses?

My favorite character, haha. I love Ulysses in the narrative. I can understand why anyone would find him annoying; he is, after all, a walking filibuster, but his segmented way of talking, his purple prose, and his demeanor all make him wonderful to me. I especially like that he’s a hypocrite, and that you can actually make him face his hypocrisy if you find his audio logs and pick the right Speech options.

However, beyond all, I adore that he’s desperately looking for an identity, for something to believe, to fight for. That’s the tragedy of Ulysses: He’s extremely patriotic, but he has no flag to devote all this patriotism to. He’s so desperate, so bitter, and yet so debonair without it feeling contradicting that is just builds a character that truly feels like someone who has walked all the miles this world has to offer and seen all the things its end has brought to the surface, not just someone who we are told did these things. He’s my favorite even though he feels pain every day of his life, his fervor is more intense. The only way to put him down is with rationale or with bullets, and neither way is easy. 

#long post #always happy to talk about video games #new vegas

[wolfsskull-moved]

there's no reason for me to be surprised really but i honestly took it for granted that people would love raul bc i love him so much. kind of baffled that there are ppl who never rescue him... they're missing out, he's one of the best characters in the franchise hands down.

#he's such a complex interesting & well-written character #& he's voiced by danny trejo what more could you want? #es maravilloso y lo quiero con todo mi alma #raul tejada #fallout: new vegas #fallout #wolfsteeth personal

[wonderfulworldofmichaelford]

Michael in the Mainstream: Dora and the Lost City of Gold

Of all the things to get a live-action adaptation, who the hell would have ever expected Dora the Explorer? And adding onto that: who the heck could have expected it to be good? Well, let’s back up a bit to see how we got here, cuz I think there’s a few things that can explain such a seemingly baffling statement such as “The Dora movie is pretty good, actually.”

First up is the original show. Dora the Explorer is one of the most weirdly hated shows of all time.

Like, the show is clearly and blatantly made for little kids to teach them observational skills and even a little Spanish; it’s got some cute characters and is corny but inoffensive, so it really just baffles me why everyone and their mother hated it. The point I’m getting at here is that the show wasn’t awful and its simple Point A to Point B adventure plots are ripe for expansion, so this idea was not doomed from the get-go.

Then there’s Nickelodeon itself. Lately they’ve really been pulling themselves out of the dark ages as of late. They’ve been working with Netflix to bring back old shows, they’ve redeemed the SpongeBob franchise, they took Butch Hartman behind the shed and put him down… the last few years of the decade made up for the first few for sure. So why not, while you’re at the top of your game, do something crazy like making an Indiana Jones-lite affectionate self-parody of a reviled cartoon for toddlers?

The worst thing I can say about this movie is that they underuse some of the best elements of the film, namely Swiper and Boots’ voice. Swiper is here played by Benicio Del Toro of all people, and he’s fantastic every time he’s onscreen… but Swiper only has a couple of scenes, and he’s only a major player in one of them, and about half of his limited dialogue is variations on his catchphrase (“Awww man!”). This is despite the fact he is inexplicably aligned with the criminals chasing after Dora which, while admittedly hilarious due to Swiper’s existence or status as a fox is never really commented on as being abnormal, could have easily been expanded on or even used as an excuse to make Swiper the big bad as opposed to just an elite mook.

Boots is an issue to a lesser extent, because he is a major player in the film despite not talking or wearing his boots (which is lampshades early on). The issue is that he does have a voice, that voice being none other than Danny Trejo, but Trejo only plays him in a single scene where he gives Dora a much-needed pep talk. The issue isn’t that this is bad, unfitting, or even a total waste - it’s one of the best and funniest scenes in the film and is very effective as a surprise. I’m just salty that Trejo only got to do this one paragraph of dialogue. Give me more Danny Trejo, dammit!

That’s really where the big issues end. Sure, there’s some other nitpicks, like there being a few too many moments of lowbrow toilet humor and the reveal of who the villain is being incredibly obvious because it is literally the same twist from the recent Hey Arnold! movie, but this is a movie with a younger audience in mind so it’s pretty forgivable to an extent. Most of the rest of the film is remarkably competent, with decent characters, plot, and humor. It’s all relatively simple and fun, but what really elevated this film is one performance: Isabela Merced as Dora.

Merced plays Dora as an over-eager, overenthusiastic young girl who is smart as a whip and rarely has a frown on her face. As a real wild child who grew up around nature, some of the film is dedicated to that sort of fish-out-of-water element inherent when you throw a character like this into a place where they don’t understand, and the fact that she is thrown into high school, a place where so many people feel like they don’t fit in and are alienated, makes it infinitely more relatable. Merced is just overall a blast, making Dora the most engaging wildlife enthusiast in Nickelodeon’s roster since our lord and savior Nigel Thornberry; in fact, her Dora has a lot more in common with Nigel than the original Dora while still recognizably being Dora, which frankly is the best possible way things could go.

This is a remarkably competent and fun adventure film for the whole family… sort of. It feels more like a slightly edgier take on Dora aimed at the people who grew up with her while also being accessible to younger audiences. It’s simple, fun, and mostly entertaining, so if you like Indiana Jones-esque jungle adventures this is a pretty good choice. I honestly think this is good enough to deserve a sequel… though I mostly just want more Dora, Boots, and Swiper.

#michael in the mainstream #review #movie review #dora the explorer #dora and the lost city of gold #nickelodeon #danny trejo #benicio del toro #swiper no swiping #adventure movie

[tokupedia]

Japan World Heroes II Day 1 part 2: Mr. Stephen Ford

Stephen Ford from Kamen Rider Dragon Knight was our next guest, was a little late getting in. (My mother tagged along, mostly out of objection from being left alone in the hotel.) 

He humbly joked about being an actor, having his start in the now forgotten Disney show Even Stevens and “being in every kid sitcom ever” in bit parts. He also stated he doesn’t act much anymore, as he finds the style of “make it big or be relegated to bit roles” draining on him and he now is aspiring to be a film director with an upcoming undisclosed project featuring his buddy and fellow Dragon Knight cast member Mike Moh. 

He revealed that he met Danny Trejo on the audition set of Dragon Knight, who wanted his daughter to get a role as Maya/Kamen Rider Siren. Mr. Ford said it started out as the most terrifying experience of his life, because Mr. Trejo is often an intimidating, mean figure in his movies. But Mr. Trejo is in reality the sweetest, nicest person you could meet and shook Stephen’s hand and was very friendly towards him. He also said his predecessor who played Kit in the Pilot had “no personality” according to the casting director, something Mr. Ford had and why he was chosen to be Kit. Stephen admitted he felt horrible after that, as the guy now had nothing while he thrived off his failure. Santa Clarita, where the show was filmed, was an hour drive from where Stephen lived. The writers strike of ‘08 nearly killed the show after 5 episodes, but it was saved due to independent funding and writing. He did admit a stuntman did some of his fights, since he only took one karate class.

He then went on to tell us about the whereabouts of his co-star Matt Mullins, who now has a prosperous career working as a stuntman for Marvel Studios! He also confessed that Mr. Mullins didn’t know how to drive a motorcycle before the show started. (Much like Hiroaki Murakami from Skyrider). 

He also admitted some of his ADR recordings on the show made him cringe after hearing them firsthand and he wants to do more work in video games. Stephen also admits that if we watched Dragon Knight carefully, you might catch him falling asleep on camera due to the fact that the independent production ran for long work hours, which at the time Stephen wasn’t used to. He also wanted to announce he has a new youtube project involving the Call of Duty game franchise down the line. He also loves lurking about SDCC in disguise, saying he may go as Starlord next year. During the Q&A Stephen confessed he wore the Ryuki suit...but only once.

And once again, Mr. Ford controversially implored the audience to torrent his show as studio execs see no value in releasing Dragon Knight despite cast members appealing for it. One fan mentioned possibly contacting Shout! Factory, which piqued Mr. Ford’s interest, but he thinks that the studios including Warner Bros. will never give Dragon Knight another chance and thus no deal can be arranged. He also joked about meeting Nolan North several times, with the actor never remembering Stephen’s name. 

He also told the audience to never go solely into acting unless you have the resolve and skill to make it and endure, otherwise you will end up a “one gig wonder” with only one role in your resume and a long and possibly permanent period of unemployment afterward. Its better in Modern Hollywood to be a jack of all trades, so you can pivot to other job opportunities when business is slow. Can’t get an acting gig? be in production or the director’s chair. No live productions? be an animation voice actor etc. This does make it harder, but at least you will survive.

Mr. Ford then revealed he did try to audition for Power Rangers once during the Disney era, but he didn’t get the role and he didn’t remember which season. 

He also told fans that he was shocked that Kamen Rider had no presence in the USA when he tried to get research for his role. He actually had to resort to going to a video store that sold bootleg copies and bought a 10 disc set of Ryuki to study what Kamen Rider was.

After the panel ended, I was nervous, but my mother stopped Mr. Ford and I asked a question: “Toei has a Multiverse for Kamen Rider and the show is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2021, if Toei asked, would you return as Kit Taylor for a World of Dragon Knight episode in a cameo?”

He smiled, surprised Kamen Rider was that old and said he loved comic book concepts such as the multiverse, saying he would love to come back for such a special occasion if asked.

This made my day and answered a burning question for Rider fans all over the world.

#kamen rider dragon knight #stephen ford #kamen rider #japan world heroes #convention

[rivetgoth]

Okay, the verdict is out, I finally got to watch THREE FROM HELL after anticipating it for ages and I got some thoughtz.

First, some full disclosure, so y’all know where my biases are:

1. I genuinely adore House of 1000 Corpses and I consider The Devil’s Rejects one of my favorite movies of all time. In general I really adore a lot of Rob Zombie’s work — I also loved 31. That being said, he’s been hit or miss in the past and there’s some stuff of his I really detested too, but overall he’s not only impressed me but stood out as the creator of some of my absolutely favorite films. I wanna clarify this because I’ve seen a lot of people write up scathing reviews for this film that literally start with “I HATE ROB ZOMBIE’S MOVIES!!!!!” and that just seems like a really unfair way to approach a review specifically for a sequel. Idk what you’re expecting to get out of it.

2. Speaking of that, I love good horror sequels and some of my favorite movies of all time are specifically sequels. I fall in love with characters and concepts and I love seeing them expanded on in fun ways. I have no inherent negative feelings towards sequels at all.

I say all this to point out that I was genuinely looking forward to this movie without any unfair biases, it didn’t have to change my mind on anything larger than itself, like “convince me that Rob Zombie is a capable film director after all” or “convince me that sequels have artistic merit” or anything like that.

My overall thought, before I explain anything else, is pretty much that I feel like the first half of the film is extremely promising and fun, and the second half of the movie is so bad that I more or less wish I’d just turned it off halfway through and pretended that was the whole film. And, given the fact that so many of the developmental issues with the film that led to its shakiness came from Sid Haig’s declining health, I almost feel like this wasn’t a movie that had to be made at all — at least in this form.

I read one review that pretty much said that for Rob Zombie to revive this series he needed a damn good reason, and he never managed to make that reason clear. And I feel like that’s exactly what my overall takeaway was here. The ending of Devil’s Rejects is pretty much perfect. In order for that to be retconned and expanded upon, something really mind blowing had to happen. In general, even when you’re not taking the risk of retconning an ending of such epic proportions, if a sequel is made to something I want to see it do something new and uniquely memorable in its own right. Devil’s Rejects itself is a perfect example of this; one of the things I completely adore about it is the fact that it expanded upon the very classic retro slasher feel of 1000 Corpses to center the attention on the killers and recreate them as antiheroes with an entirely different tone. Similarly, Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 stands out to me as one of the great horror sequels, partly in the way it so fearlessly completely shifts it’s tone away from the total frenzied isolation horror of TCM 1 and does something entirely different. Other series try less for “perspective/atmosphere shift” and more for “just go bigger” and that can work too — I think the increasing extremity of gore and complexity of the traps in the Saw series (which I love) is a good example, especially through the first three films which are by far the best as a coherent trilogy.

The WEIRD thing about Three From Hell is that Rob Zombie has clearly proven that he 1) understands the idea of sequels that build upon original films in unique new ways 2) has no qualms being increasingly and shamelessly extreme and shocking and horrific. But instead, I felt like Three From Hell is... jarringly tame, actually, compared to what we got from Rejects. And I mean, in some ways that’s fine, I didn’t necessarily miss the way-too-long graphic rape scene in Rejects, which is a miserable chore to get through in just how sickening it is. But there’s no moment where I felt that we get anything more extreme or intense than what’s seen in Rejects. It all feels like it’s been toned way down, which is bizarre to me. The victims aren’t people we’re sympathetic towards like the traveling musicians we meet in Rejects, and their deaths aren’t particularly gruesome - The majority of the deaths in this movie are “shot in the head” or “stabbed.” That’s it. The climax of the film is extremely similar to the opening shootout of Rejects, with significantly lower stakes and less memorable artistic direction, meaning that one film’s introductory scene is able to create a more intense moment than this one’s entire two hour duration.

The thing is, I feel like the first half of the movie really has potential. There are things I could nitpick — for example I love Richard Brake and I feel like Foxy is fun but flat — but the majority of my complaints would be things that, if the movie had a stronger second half, could easily have been further developed and solved. In fact, the first half of the movie feels like it’s gearing up to pretty much be exactly what I’d want out of a Rejects sequel. It’s weird and engaging and markedly different from its predecessors. It focuses on Otis, Spaulding, and Baby’s survival and arrest after the ending of Rejects, the subsequent trial, and then Otis’ escape and attempt to save Baby (after Spaulding is given the death penalty; more on that later). There’s a ton I love here, mostly Otis and Baby’s relationship being given more time in a really interesting way. The stakes are high and Otis clearly cares about his sister to a degree that feels like a fitting continuation of Rejects’ attempts at showing sympathetic or relatable aspects to these characters that makes them very three dimensional and complex. Bill Moseley is the fucking greatest and his ability to make Otis so completely depraved and unrestrained while also clearly caring about his family is one of my favorite things about the series and this played it up really well. You get the feeling that Otis is genuinely concerned for Baby, even after she’s freed, although it mostly comes out in yelling and deadpan snarking. Baby, meanwhile, gets the beginning of a completely fascinating character arc that included my favorite dialogue and scenes through the entire film as we’re shown that after a decade in prison she’s gone completely off the deep end. She rambles on about being Snow White and saving kittens and cries while hallucinating ballerinas with cat heads. By the time she’s free even Otis is expressing vocal concern for her. We get to meet the first half of the film’s main antagonist, Warden Virgil Harper, who was memorable and fun and felt right at home in the Rejects canon. We got the chance to see him developed into a character you almost start to feel sorry for; he’s cocky, but he clearly has no idea how in over his head he really is. On top of this, the scene when the clown shows up at Harper’s house while Otis and Foxy are torturing him and his friends and family is the best torture scene in the film in the complete absurd awfulness of the clown trying to put on a funny show while everyone is sobbing and a man is bleeding out.

At this point, the movie is going in a direction I totally dig. By the time Baby is finally free and able to reunite with Otis and he’s picking up on how fucked up she’s become, I’m genuinely excited to see how things will develop. It feels like Rob Zombie was setting up a film where we get to explore the siblings’ dynamic in a way that’s new and intriguing but developing from the things people loved in Rejects, which is that perfect blend of “utterly irredeemably despicable people” and “genuinely likable, oddly human characters.” Baby and Otis only really have each other at this point (Foxy is there, but even in the movie itself they allude to the fact that he really barely matters — a bit of a copout of a running gag, but whatever), and Baby actually voices this. It hit me at that moment how all of their family has died, and considering how much family has been a driving force for these characters, they were literally initially introduced in 1000 Corpses as the classic murder family and that’s all been taken from them, it’s genuinely sad. Spaulding’s death feels like it could be the final catalyst for... something to come from this, as that was Baby’s father and such a hugely important member of the Firefly family. We have Otis and Baby, alone (well, accompanied by Foxy) in the late 1980s (also a COMPLETELY not utilized detail), on the run as the country’s most wanted serial killers and trying to cope with the weird scenario of being merciless murderers who’ve had their entire family taken from them.

But we don’t get any of that in the second half. At all. Instead, we have Baby suggesting they all run away to Mexico. They do, winding up in a little hotel in the middle of nowhere full of prostitutes and alcohol. Baby wins a knife throwing contest against some big misogynistic guys. Then Danny Trejo’s character’s unmentioned son shows up (oh yeah; Danny Trejo was here for about 5 seconds, he died early on), has about 3 lines of dialogue, sends in 20 masked luchadors to kill Baby and Otis, they have an extremely long low stakes shootout, and with the help of the second half’s most interesting but still underdeveloped and shockingly unironically sympathetic character they burn Danny Trejo’s son alive and the movie ends. And that’s it. The characters regress even further backwards than their Rejects counterparts. They don’t really do... anything, actually. Otis fucks some women and then lays in bed flirting with them until the luchadors show up with their machine guns. My favorite moment was Otis’ attempts at saving Baby’s life by telling Aquarius (Danny Trejo’s character’s son) to let her go because he was the only one responsible for his father’s death, and they share a brief exchange about family. But that was one interesting moment amidst an extremely stale and low stakes plot separate from anything I care about after the intensity and high stakes present in the previous movie’s climax, and even this movie’s first half. A lot of things are recycled here, like the revenge plot driving the antagonist, but Sheriff Wydell’s descent into righteous insanity in Rejects was given way more time to develop, or a character betraying the Fireflys’ trust, but instead of the extremely memorably shocking, selfish betrayal from Charlie who was a longtime acquaintance clearly considered family (plus he actually attempts to “redeem” himself in the end), this is betrayal from a random hotel owner we do not know or care about. When the credits roll and we see Otis and Baby and Foxy driving away to... somewhere, I don’t even know where they’re going, I’m not even really sure what I’m supposed to feel. I chuckled a little at Baby being allowed to drive after an earlier argument where Otis asserted she shouldn’t, but that was it.

I hadn’t read anything about this movie before watching it, because I didn’t want anything to be spoiled for me. I was really excited for it! I learned that Sid Haig, who of course passed on only very recently (RIP), was dealing with very serious health issues that made him unable to film the movie, when originally the film had been written with the original infamous three - Otis, Baby, Spaulding - as the leads for the whole thing. Rob Zombie wanted to honor him with at least a cameo, knowing that the movie wouldn’t be the same without the Captain, but aside from a brief few minutes of screen time he had to rewrite the whole rest of the film with Spaulding removed. I feel like that’s where a majority of the problems with the movie lie. It’s why Foxy is as flat as he is and it’s why there’s an awkward uncertainty in how to deal with the loss of the Captain as the patriarch and why the whole idea of Otis and Baby’s aloneness is so awkwardly glossed over, like Mr. Zombie noticed the elephant in the room enough to address the turmoil but didn’t want to rewrite the entire movie from scratch to account for one of the most important characters in the franchise (maybe THE most important) being unexpectedly killed off.

Now, I LOVE some films that have been to developmental hell and back and came out as solid movies. In fact, there’s an extremely special place in my heart for films that fought tooth and nail to be made. It inspires me as a creator myself and it’s why indie low budget horror is my favorite genre of movie. I absolutely love seeing creators fight to bring their artistic visions to life against the odds. There are fantastic sequels out there where major actors either died or refused to/were unable to return and the stories were reworked or the actors replaced. I feel like something went wrong here. The moment he realized that Sid Haig would be unable to return, Rob Zombie should have set the whole thing aside and done a total rewrite. Right now, the knowledge of what was going on with Sid Haig behind the scenes makes the movie’s shortcomings go from “poor writing and storytelling decisions” to “genuinely extremely sad.”

One of the things I totally love about the writing of Devil’s Rejects is the way Rob Zombie inserts seemingly random moments that do nothing but add to the overall atmosphere and tone of his world. Random arguments, random character quirks, random shots of random things that simultaneously add a gritty “anything goes” realism as well as a surreal absurd humor. I’m also ALL for disjointed, nonlinear, or otherwise experimental and strange plots with a lot going on in them, I don’t think a big genre shift halfway through a movie is inherently bad. In the past, it’s been Rob Zombie’s fearlessness with experimenting with strange, often shameless storytelling decisions that have made his films so memorable and enjoyable and even inspiring to me. But in Three From Hell, there’s just a sense that everything feels kind of... disconnected and unfinished. It feels like two different movies were trying to be made and neither were fully developed. It just ends up sort of feeling like a kind of sad mess.

[cooper-r-r-jones]

CC wrap up 2019

Thursday: I woke up bright and early hoping to get into Hall H (stupid me, you can never get in unless you camp over night).  So Stood in line for the exhibit hall and bought a bunch of junk (will post pics later).  Down side I was walking to Sea Port Village (small shops and restaurants), it’s about 10 minutes away and one of the places I usually go to was closed.  Permanently >_< had lunch, rested for a bit and then went back to the exhibit floor and bought more junk.

Friday: Early once again and managed to get into Ballroom 20.  First panel was Syfy’s it came from the 90′s, there was some nostalgia but most of the things they had were shows I’ve never heard of or watched.  Then again I was a kid in the 90′s and mostly watched cartoons.  Got stuck watching Veronica Mars Revival, tried to keep an open mind but it’s not my cup of tea.  Finally got to see what I wanted to afterward, Steven Universe.

We got to see a new trailer and hear a new song from the movie, sung by Estelle.  I think the most interesting question was since Pearl knew Rose’s identity, why doesn’t Sardonyx? Rebecca Sugar said it’s like a relationship between parents and children.  Where you have Garnet and Pearl as ‘parents’ and Sardonyx is a ‘child’ and Sardonyx only knows what she is told.  Since Pearl never said a thing about Rose, therefore Sardonyx would not know about Rose.  The other question I liked was someone asked how the cast feel about ships and do they like them.  Michaela Dietz answered she liked Onion’s dad’s ship XD

Once it was done I ventured out for food, yet another mistake.  I went to the mall nearby (also a 10 minute walk in another direction).  No one bothered to tell me 90% of the mall had it’s business closed which included the food court.  Left the mall and tried to go to the sushi place the year before, there was a sign in the window saying it was closed permanently >_<  Found a burger place and inhaled it.

Sat in one of the rooms waiting for Roosterteeth.  First on I saw went over the horror genre in comics, I don’t care much for horror but it was very intriguing to listen to.  Got stuck with a comedy show by Fred Savage (I didn’t think it was funny) and a new show called neXt which is about a super computer trying to take over everything (I didn’t care for it).  Then Roosterteeth showed up (hooray!), we got to see Adam Kovic’s new show which looked like a bunch of silly shorts.  A clip from RWBY, it was a fight scene but it wasn’t complete yet, you could still see what needs to be animated.  It was pretty cool.  Saw a trailer for Achievement Haunter season 2 and the bury Gavin alive.  I was cringing the whole time.

Saturday: Last time I woke up really early and dear god it was taking it’s toll!  I stayed in room 6bcf all day cause there were a lot of panels I wanted to see.  First off was a new series on netflix called Seis Manos which is about these martial artists in Mexico, there seems to be a super natural twist to it was well.  It stars Mike Colter, Jonny Cruz, Angélica Vale, Vic Chao, and Danny Trejo.  Looks promising!

Saw Quick Draw which was always funny, cartoonists such as Sergio Aragonas, Scott Shaw and Floyd Norman are given prompts and they draw them.  Scott Shaw told a story once he drew himself as well poop.  One of his lesser known creations, he put peanut butter all over himself at one Comic Con and walked around like that.  He went back to his hotel and cleaned himself.  A week later the plumbing in every room exploded with peanut butter.  Ew!

Cartoon voices came immediately after, which had Marieve Herington, Adam McArthur, Laraine Newman, Lex Lang, Eric Lopez, and Fred Tatasciore.  They did a cold read of Repunzel and were free to ad lib what they wanted to say.  I wish I could’ve recorded it, my sides were splitting by the time they were done.

Saw Sesame Street for it’s 50th anniversary and the cast of Critical Role.  Beging to wonder if I should start the series, but I have no idea on where to start.  What I really wanted to see was Hideo Kojima, he did not disappoint.  And as usual kept a number of things in mystery.  We got introduced to Nicolas Winding Refn who will also be in Death Stranding.  He was in the clip we saw, the guy has a device on his heart and technically he’s dead.  The device starts his heart and he lives in 21 minute increments.  For the 3 minutes he’s dead he’s looking for his family on the other side.  It was awesome!

Last panel of the day was What We Do In The Shadows, we saw the episode with the vampire council.  When it was done the cast came out along with the creators Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi.  They were all very funny, although I do feel bad for Matt Berry since now every time he goes to work and someone see’s him, they yell, ‘bat!’.  The moderator was going to as Kayvan Novak if that was his real hair or a wig, it was his real hair.  He says in Nandor’s voice “Yes and I have Guillermo comb it for me”.  I was dying.

Sunday: Nothing really exciting, just last minute things to buy if I didn’t get them on Thursday.  Went home and passed out!

#but over all i had fun #comic con 2019 #sdcc2019 #me #my life #long post #will post pics later #it's been a lazy week #and hot

[amplesalty]

Halloween 2021 - Day 14 - 3 From Hell (2019)

HE CALLS THEM HIS FIREFLIES, MAGGLE!

Much like tying up the duology of the 28... series on Day 2, today we round out Rob Zombie’s ‘Firefly’ trilogy dealing the homicidal family of the same name. First we had House of 1000 Corpses, then Devil’s Rejects and now we have 3 From Hell. Or should that be 2 From Hell...2.5? We’ll get onto that.

House I covered many moons ago in 2014 and Rejects I watched the following year but after I had fallen off making actual blog posts about the movies. Which is a shame as I could have talked about DDP being that one. Both, as I’m coming to understand with Rob Zombie movies, were filled with gross shit, excessive violence and weird imagery. Namely that merman thing that ended up happening to Rainn Wilsons character in House of 1000 Corpses.  But quite why it needed a sequel is a little beyond me. I guess it did fairly well for itself financially but the ending resulted in the remaining Firefly family members facing their final showdown with the police as they raced towards a police checkpoint guns glazing, only to be taken down with a hail of bullets to the sounds of Free Bird.

Or, so we think, as the opening of 3 takes the form of some sort of news cast telling the story of their miraculous survival before facing trail for their crimes. I like how the names of the movies crop up in the backstory, the House of 1000 being the name given to their initial killing spree and the Devils Rejects being referred to as a cult name.

This newspiece really sets the tone for this strange level of sympathy levelled towards the family throughout the whole movie. All these talking heads from the general public who see Captain Spaulding as this anti authoritarian voice and Baby as a sex symbol. Otis too, I guess in that weird way that women will write love letters to these serial killers in prison. Rounding off with some rousing cries of ‘Free the three!’.

I guess it’s always been there in the series, like the double turn you get towards the end of Rejects where the Sheriff is torturing the Firefly family and hunting down Baby like The Most Dangerous Game. Still, it’s just kinda weird to see the movie try to elicit this reaction in relation to a bunch of rapists and murderers.

So, about the title, I know Sid Haig who played Captain Spaulding died around this time and that obviously impacted filming as he’s written off fairly quickly as having received the death penalty. It doesn’t seem to have been the result of any terminal illness but his gaunt appearance certainly comes across that way. It’s a shame as he’s always a strong part of these movies, there’s something amusing about how curt he is with people. I guess he’s kinda deceptive being the clown and all, like people would never approach Otis as he looks shifty as all hell and Baby has the sex appeal thing going so it’s usually a bunch of guys being tricked into following her because they think they’ll get laid but with the clown makeup, I guess people find him more approachable which he really isn’t.

There’s a Firefly half-brother who is drafted in though to make it a trio again but yeah, it’s not really the same. He helps spring Otis from a work release outing which results in the death of Danny Trejo’s character who has returned from Rejects, and this leads into the big plot point in the final act of the movie when his son comes looking for revenge. This is becoming a bit of a chain here, the Sheriff hired Trejo and DDP to help catch the Fireflies so he could have his revenge, then Otis kills Trejo for his revenge, then Trejo’s son wants to kill them for his revenge. An eye for an eye and the whole world goes blind.

Also, what kind of TV news just shows a man being executed on live TV?

But that still leaves the small matter of Baby who is locked in her prison, often in solitary unless she’s been let out by a guard who promptly shoves in a cell with two other crazed inmates looking for blood. You see what I mean about the sympathy angle? You kinda want to root for the person on the bad end of a handicap match. Still, how is Otis going to get her out?

By taking the warden’s wife hostage of course, along with another one of the higher ups in the prison who helped deny Baby her parole. Of all the great mysteries in cinema and all the debates that take place, I feel like this one should be a big one:

What were those two couples planning on doing that night when they invited the clown over. That seems like a weird thing to do for anything other than a kids party so...was it a sex thing? What kind of weird orgy is this between two couples and a clown?

So the warden has to sneak Baby out of prison by dressing her in a guards uniform and bringing her back to the others. Where she promptly helps slaughter everyone held captive. Which, I get that the guy is just wanting to help his wife and friends but, how can you possibly trust this bunch of maniacs? You know exactly what they’re capable of. Either just bail on everyone or, at worst, call in a fucking S.W.A.T team. Did you really think you were just going to walk out of there alive? Or that you’d be able to sneak attack them during their family reunion?

It does give us the delightful scene of Baby chasing one of the wives down the street and knifing her to death in front of some old lady who’s just chilling in her yard and gives his rather meek wave back to Baby.

So the Firefly family make their way across the border where they seek to hide from the long arm of the American law whilst taking in some of the local customs. Only, they’re sold down the river by one of the locals who alerts the aforementioned son of Danny Trejo’s character.

He has this whole Lucha inspired hit squad all decked out in white suits and masks. Pretty sweet looking, it’s like something out of Saints Row 3. Oddly enough, the music playing as they make their way into town is ‘In a gadda da vida’. That’s really weird how that comes up again for the second time in as many days. Is this going to be the new It’s a Wonderful Life?

3 From Hell feels like a fairly mediocre way for the series to sign off. Maybe they already had too much invested to pull out once they realised how sick Haig was but, just looking at him, was it not already obvious from the start? Plus, it feels like if you’re going to bring the series back after 10 years, you should have some grand idea in mind that you want to see play out but there’s really anything extravagant going on. There’s not much of the weird imagery in play outside of that implied stuff with the clown or a woman having her face cut off but we’ve seen that before. Doesn’t seem to have been worthwhile resurrecting the franchise from either a critical or financial point of view, the movie apparently running at a loss, and you undid that cool ending from Rejects. Going by the ‘good guy’ undertones surrounding the Firefly family, maybe Zombie just couldn’t stand the idea that these guys were dead and wanted to take the opportunity to have them ride off into the sunset rather than a Bonnie and Clyde style shootout like last time.

#Halloween 2021 #3 From Hell #firefly trilogy

[justasparkwritings]

Codename Cupid Chapter 18

Previous: Cricket & Bunny

Pairing: Jeon Jungkook x OFC

Genre: Secret AgentAU, Government AgentAU

Rating: PG15

Word Count: 1.4K

Warnings: Swearing

Summary: Our resident P.I. finds who she's been looking for, and gets an unwelcome surprise. 

(two shorter chapters today!) 

Harboring Hoseok

Present Day

           I found Jung Hoseok.

           Let me back track that statement – After months of digging, harassing my sister for more help, using all my contacts in various bureaus, lying to Euna that I’d made progress when I hadn’t, I finally have found Jung Hoseok, Hoseok Jung.

           I know, you’re wondering, how? What finally cracked the case? How did I, the person incapable of finding Min Yoongi, lucky enough to stumble into Park Jimin, find Jung Hoseok?

           You’ll be shocked, you’ll be amazed, you’ll be dumbfounded that I stumbled into him in the most millennial way possible, because I found him on, don’t hold your breath:

           Instagram.

           That’s right, I stumbled upon Jung Hoseok on fucking Mark Zuckerberg owned, Instagram. It was a coincidence, a twist of fate, that I was even in the vicinity of him, because we do not live in the vicinity of each other. I wasn’t sure he was even alive; I wasn’t sure if he had moved continents or countries. But, in the ether, he resides.

           Sometime after Jungkook told me he loves me, and after I created permanent scarring on his back from my too long fingernails (they’ve since been cut multiple times), I went to my favorite Barre3 studio. I’m not going to lie, I go regularly. I’m addicted. Yes, it can be cult-ish, but have you ever worked out so thoroughly your ass hurts when you stand? Or listened to a teacher relay the message that you are strong, that your body is powerful, that you can accomplish any challenge? If not, and I know this is propaganda, but like take a class. I can give you a discount.

           The point is, somewhere between sumo squats and parallel bridge lifts, I noticed this woman, stunning, who seems to come to class every day before or after she hits the gym with her trainer. The. Stamina. Can you believe? On a Wednesday, I accidentally bumped into her, spilling some of my water down her Sweaty Betty matching set. I apologized profusely, and she laughed it off, saying it cooled her down. She noticed my earrings, liked them, and ever since then we’ve been texting. We’ve even gone so far as to get coffee, which prompted me to do my favorite activity, troll her Instagram. Some people say Instagram is going the way of Facebook, which it easily could be, but it’s so damn fun that I pray every day the trend continues in its favor.

           A public figure, Genevieve Yang is the height of couture. She is at every fashion week, Milan, Paris, New York, and donates nearly as much as Kwan and Seo, combined. Leaving the spotlight to work on a smaller sect of her organization, focusing on women’s reproductive rights, specifically women in poverty, she’s rarely photographed or seen outside of said events. Instead, she works 8-5, exercises regularly and rumor has it, is vegan. She’s the eldest of three, and her siblings are a pediatric cardiologist and a Rhodes Scholar. Within the universe of the Lee’s, she’s looked down upon for being biracial, her father, a first generation Nigerian-American, fell in love with her mother, a first generation Korean American from Busan, during their study abroad stint in Italy. I’ve been dying to find a connection to the Lee’s, and here, in all her melanin glory, is Genevieve.

           In scrolling through her Instagram, I came across a photo series from a few weeks ago. To my surprise, standing with his arm around Genevieve’s shoulder, stands a man with dimples so deep and rays of sun beaming through the photo and barreling past my phone screen.

           Jung Hoseok.

           And who should be next to him?

           Lee Kwan-Min.  

           They’re in an ornate ballroom, gold ceilings and ball gowns, masquerade masks held in their manicured fingers. They’ve been drinking and dancing, as is evident in their, what Jungkook would call Asian Glow, and in the caption.

           Drink every night bc we’re drinking to our accomplishments

           A paraphrase from a Drake song, it seems to ring true as I scan through the other photos of the evening. It must’ve been Lee Enterprises semi-annual gala, masquerade theme taking turns with Gatsby or in the era of Bridgerton, Regency London. Their summer event, Polos & Picnics, is as you guessed it, a Lacoste and Perignon soaked day drinking celebration of everyone’s summer tans and Hampton houses. It’s anyone’s guess which event raises more money, or costs more to put on. Jun-Seo and Kwan-Min throw a few other smaller events, brunches and casino nights, all earnings going to their philanthropy. The galas are the hottest ticket in North America, and I am still stunned that Hoseok had made it into the embrace of Kwan-Min.

           Think Crazy Rich Asians meets the Met Ball. It’s all anyone ever wants to attend, and damn if I’m not jealous every year.

           Hoseok is tagged in the photo series, and by clicking on his name, I can see our mutual friend, and nothing more. The age-old question every millennial has to ask themselves is this, is that enough to send a follow request? I don’t know if it is, but what’s the worst that can happen? He blocks me? Alright, that gives me information that I can use. Sure following him would be the best case, but he could leave it pending for weeks.

           I send the request and text my newest friend, Genevieve Yang, who immediately calls me.

           “Oh Y/N, what do I owe the pleasure?” Genevieve asks.

           “I just thought we could chat, I was looking at your Instagram and-

           “Oh my god! Do the pics from the Masquerade look good? I can’t tell if people love them, or just tolerate them, you know?” She sips loudly on what I assume is some green smoothie, her favorite non H2O beverage.

           “Sure, absolutely, I totally know,” I lie.

           “Don’t lie to me,” Genevieve scolds.

           “They’re beautiful, but I didn’t recognize who was in that first one with you,” I bait.

           “Come off it, you absolutely know,” She laughs but I swear I can hear her rolling her eyes.

           “The woman looked familiar, but I don’t know from what,” I tell her, curiosity in my voice. “I have no clue who that man is.”

           If she could see me, she’d laugh. A barely eaten sandwich, cold coffee in a travel mug I got when I was 20, and dark circles under my eyes from my inability to sleep the last few nights. The paranoia of the last letter has seeped into my subconscious, and I can’t bring myself to sleep unless Jungkook is nearby, of which, he isn’t. Gone on a business trip for the last three nights, gone for five more. How incredibly rude of him, but there isn’t much I can do when his boss could possibly be 007 incarnate. Or Danny Trejo.

           “She’s one of the heirs to Lee Enterprises,” She tells me.

           “The Lee Enterprises?”

           “Oh so you do know?”

           “I’ve heard of them, how could you not? Their parties are exclusive, and that’s putting it generously,” I respond sipping on my own beverage. Two can play ASMR phone games, Genevieve.

           “Oh, the most exclusive, top of the line guests, one year, Beyonce performed, and the next, Adele,” She regales me, tempting me to go off topic.  

           “Are you dating that guy? He’s gorgeous,” I inquire.

           “Hoseok? No, no, not for me. I think he was going to ask Kwan out,” Genevieve says.

           “Really? A new boyfriend?”

           Scoffing loudly, “Just because she isn’t like her siblings doesn’t mean she doesn’t date.”

           “None of them have a particularly stellar track record,” I remind her.

           “Does anyone?” She breathes.

           “I suppose not,”

           “Mm, anyway, Hoseok is eying Kwan, I’m single and you’re still with that guy, who?”

           “Jungkook,”

           “Mm, I think Hoseok might know him,” She says.

           “What?” I ask.

           The thing with being a P.I. is accepting the reality that nothing is a coincidence. There are no happy accidents, nothing is considered fate. I’ve been so, blinded, by my personal connection with Jungkook to see the larger picture. What if he is part of this? Could he be conspiring with these other men? Does he know them, like they seem to be implying? How fucking blind have I been?

           “Yeah, he said something to me later, about knowing a Jungkook and wondering if they were the same. He said that it’s not a common name in Korea, so why would it be here?” Genevieve’s soft voice pulls me back from my panic attack.

           “Yeah, say, does Hoseok know a Namjoon?” I ask.

           “I don’t know, do you want me to ask?” Genevieve sets her drink down, the sound clinking through my phone.

           “Uh, no, no, that’s okay,” My hands hastily move against my keyboard, searching Hoseok’s followers for Namjoon.

           But I don’t find him.

           Instead, my blood runs cold at who I find.

Next: Codename Miss Cuttlefish, If Ya Nasty

#clubjimin #houseofddaeng #codename cupid #codename #BTS #BTS fanfic #Jeon Jungkook fanfic #jeon jungkook #kim namjoon #kim namjoon / rm #jung hoseok #jung hoseok / j hope #kim taehyung / v #kim taehyung #min yoongi #Min Yoongi / agust d #min Yoongi / suga #park jimin #thebtswritersclub #ficswithluv #btsgoldnet #bangtanarmynet

[velmaemyers88]

In Conversation with Danny Trejo: From Character Actor to Taco Mogul

The actor talked to Fortune about his adventures in Hollywood and with Trejo’s Tacos.

Nothing about Danny Trejo is what you might expect, including his secret to success.

“Everything good that’s happened to me is a direct result of me helping other people,” says Trejo, 75, whose surprisingly compact 5-foot-6 frame—clad in all black, his long dark hair hanging loose alongside a silver cross necklace—is tucked inside a booth at the Hollywood hub of his booming taco business, Trejo’s Cantina.

His soft-spoken reflectiveness and fondness for high-fives belie a life that could have gone very differently: Born to Mexican-American parents in Los Angeles, Trejo spent most of his young-adult life in and out of California prisons for drugs and robberies. It was during that time and since then that he honed his boxing talents (a helpful skill in venues like San Quentin), got sober at 25, became a prolific character actor, and, from working as a youth drug counselor and motivational speaker, discovered how much he loves giving back.

Danny Trejo inside the kitchen at Trejo’s Tacos on July 11, 2019. Photograph by Joe Toreno for Fortune

Today, Trejo’s iconic craggy visage fronts eight Trejo’s Tacos locations across Los Angeles, and the eats are a hit: The Los Angeles Times named the rainbow cauliflower tacos on its 2017 list of 10 favorite recipes; the Cantina location serves around 500 diners a day on weekends; and there’s talk of expanding the business, which now includes a doughnut shop, outside California. (He’s also recently launched Trejo’s Cerveza, currently for sale at L.A.-area Whole Foods and Total Wine.) Somehow Trejo also still has time for acting: He’ll soon add 20-plus roles to his nearly 300-credit film and TV résumé, including a second Machete sequel and August’s Dora and the Lost City of Gold, in which he voices a monkey named Boots, a role Trejo says proudly “will give me a whole new audience.”

Fortune chatted with Trejo in early July about his food-mogul renaissance, his adventures in Hollywood, and how he learned to channel a misspent youth into a force for good.

Fortune: Trejo’s Tacos feels like an L.A. institution, yet it’s only three years old. What inspired you to get into the restaurant business?

Trejo: My mom was a gourmet cook. When I around 12, I’d say, “We should start a restaurant,” but my dad was like a Mexican Archie Bunker. “Hey, we’ve got a kitchen right there!” [Laughs] Seven years ago I did a low-budget movie called Bad Ass, and one of the producers, Ash Shah, noticed that I didn’t like junk food. I am pretty picky! A few movies later, Ash says, “Danny, you should start a restaurant.” He created a business plan for Trejo’s Tacos. My team said, “If nobody’s asking you to front 50 grand, seems like a good idea!” We opened, and it totally blew up. Two years ago we opened the doughnut shop, and we sell out by 2 p.m. every day.

Anthony Bourdain raved about your tacos when he filmed Parts Unknown here in 2017. What was that day like for you?

Amazing. He joked, “You’re Mexican and you have a cauliflower taco?” He loved it. At around five or six o’clock at night, you’ll see a lot families coming in here. One woman told me, “Thank God for this place.” The kids can be gluten-free, mom can be vegetarian, and Dad can have cow!

Trejo’s Tacos offers gluten free and vegetarian taco options. Photograph by Joe Toreno for Fortune

What’s your favorite thing on the menu?

I love the nachos with steak and two eggs on top for breakfast.

Your latest incarnation as a restaurateur is another twist in an already surreal career. To what do you attribute your staying power?

I have good people around me. The same agent for 25 years. I met my assistant Mario at San Quentin when I made a movie there, and he was a prisoner. He’s been with me for 15 years.

You were discovered while working as a boxing coach on the set of the 1985 Jon Voight movie Runaway Train. But it wasn’t until you were cast as the knife-throwing Navajas in your cousin Robert Rodriguez’s 1995 film Desperado that you started to play substantial roles. Is it true you didn’t know you were related until shooting began?

We first met when I auditioned in L.A. He said, “You remind me of the bad guys in my high school.” I said, “I am the bad guys from your high school!” Then we filmed in Acuña, Mexico. My family from San Antonio visited the set. My Uncle Rudy says, “Who’s that?” I say, “Robert Rodriguez, the director.” He whistles at Robert, “Hey! Say hello to your second cousin Danny!” I was like, “What’s up, cousin? Make my role bigger!” But he didn’t. He said, “Danny, you can do more with your face than most actors can with dialogue.” I’m walking around with no shirt, all these tattoos, people asking for my autograph. Robert says, “They think you’re the star.” I said, “You mean I’m not?” Nobody really knew [lead actor] Antonio Banderas at the time. He was quiet—unlike me. [Laughs]

Trejo’s Tacos and Trejo’s Coffee merchandise on display for purchase. Two years ago, Trejo opened a doughnut shop that sells out by 2 p.m. every day. Photograph by Joe Toreno for Fortune

Robert went on to create the vigilante-hero character Machete for you. How did he evolve from a minor character in the Spy Kids franchise to fronting two, soon-to-be three features?

After he put Uncle Machete in Spy Kids, Robert did the Grindhouse movies [with director Quentin Tarantino], and they needed fake movie trailers. One was for a Machete movie. At the premiere, everybody was like, “You have to do that movie.” Machete was the first Mexican superhero. I was almost in tears when I saw 8-year-old kids dressed like him on Halloween.

Of all the people you’ve worked with, when have you felt the most starstruck?

With Robert De Niro, when we did Heat. Then Robert [Rodriguez] somehow got him to do Machete! I see him on the set and he says, “Well, well, well, number one on the call sheet now, eh?” I was like, “Can I get you some coffee, Mr. De Niro?” [Laughs]

For what roles are you most often recognized when you’re out in the world? Seeing your severed head on a turtle in season two of Breaking Bad left quite an impression with fans.

Spy Kids. Machete. Anchorman. Bubble Boy. And every Mexican I know loves Blood In, Blood Out. For Breaking Bad, I remember my agent saying, “Danny, you’re going to have a Hollywood first: You’re going to go across the desert on a turtle.” I’m thinking it’s a cartoon, or a really big turtle? “Actually, no. It’s just your head.” [Laughs]

A lot of your roles lean campy, but you’ve also acted in serious films like Maggie Gyllenhaal’s Sherrybaby about a mother who’s a drug-addicted ex-con. When did you think to yourself, “Wait, I can actually act?”

I’m a drug counselor at a place called Western Pacific Rehab. A few years ago, my son Gilbert cast me in a drug-themed movie he wrote called From a Son. There’s a scene where I break down and cry. I’d never had to do that in a movie. I was thinking I’d do a John Wayne, tough-guy thing, but my son…shit, he’s so brilliant. He reminded me of stuff from when he was young. He showed me a picture of us from 1985, when he was a little baby. Then, I couldn’t stop crying. I didn’t even cry at my parents’ funerals.

Trejo’s silver cross necklace and watch. Photograph by Joe Toreno for Fortune

Did you surprise yourself in that moment?

Completely. I thought, “Wow, okay, this must be acting.”

Your son is named after your Uncle Gilbert, who you’ve said led you down a path of crime when you were a teenager. What do you remember about that time?

My dad came from a family of 11, and Gilbert was the youngest. He was only six years older than me. I had no siblings, so he was like my older brother. Unfortunately, he was also an armed robber and a drug addict. He showed me how to rob when I was 14. He gave me a sawed-off shotgun and put me in front of a mirror to practice. “Give me your money, bitch. I’ll slap you!”

Your first acting job.

[Laughs] Yes. We robbed an Asian grocery store together called Far East Market in Burbank. We had a revolver, but you had to hold it just so or it would fall apart. I go, “Give me the money! Give me the money!” The woman gives me $8 from the cash register. I grabbed it, and we ran down Lankershim as this guy comes out of the back, screaming, with a hatchet!

How do you feel now about the crimes you committed?

I feel regret. I’ve never been mean, but I’ve also never let anybody take advantage of me. In prison you’re predator or prey. My friend Cookie and I had a protection ring for young kids coming in, including for gay couples who’d been married on the streets. When I got out of the pen, I’d get cards from kids we protected. Their parents also said thank you.

Did your own parents live to see your success?

My mom did. My dad saw me get sober but never saw me get into acting. He would have laughed. Even my mom was like, “Get a job, mijo,” even after I’d worked with Robert De Niro in Heat! She did get excited when I was on The Young and the Restless in 2008. She had four of her friends over to watch, and they were like, “Oh, my God.” That was it. I’d made it.

Over the years you’ve appeared in dozens of commercials and ads—selling products from Snickers to AARP—and you’re now a spokesman for the erectile dysfunction product Giddy. What appealed to you about tackling that taboo subject?

We don’t talk anything in our society—condoms in high school, birth control. We definitely don’t talk about erectile dysfunction, especially in the Hispanic community. I don’t know a man who hasn’t experienced it. I think it’s like everything I do—teaching people to neuter their dogs, warning kids about drugs, you need to show them you’re cool. You need a face like this to get through to them. Not so much as “Danny Trejo” but the guy from Spy Kids, the guy from Heat, the guy from Desperado. People think, “Okay, I want to hear what this guy has to say.”

More must-read stories from Fortune:

—Woodstock 50 lives on for now. But here’s how it all unraveled

—‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’ debut overperforms—but can its spell last?

—Amazon’s TV bosses want to remind you (again) why they’re not Netflix

—A taste of Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul’s new mezcal

—Listen to our new audio briefing, Fortune 500 Daily

Follow Fortune on Flipboard to stay up-to-date on the latest news and analysis.

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[weeklyreviewer]

In Conversation with Danny Trejo: From Character Actor to Taco Mogul

The actor talked to Fortune about his adventures in Hollywood and with Trejo’s Tacos.

Nothing about Danny Trejo is what you might expect, including his secret to success.

“Everything good that’s happened to me is a direct result of me helping other people,” says Trejo, 75, whose surprisingly compact 5-foot-6 frame—clad in all black, his long dark hair hanging loose alongside a silver cross necklace—is tucked inside a booth at the Hollywood hub of his booming taco business, Trejo’s Cantina.

His soft-spoken reflectiveness and fondness for high-fives belie a life that could have gone very differently: Born to Mexican-American parents in Los Angeles, Trejo spent most of his young-adult life in and out of California prisons for drugs and robberies. It was during that time and since then that he honed his boxing talents (a helpful skill in venues like San Quentin), got sober at 25, became a prolific character actor, and, from working as a youth drug counselor and motivational speaker, discovered how much he loves giving back.

Danny Trejo inside the kitchen at Trejo’s Tacos on July 11, 2019. Photograph by Joe Toreno for Fortune

Today, Trejo’s iconic craggy visage fronts eight Trejo’s Tacos locations across Los Angeles, and the eats are a hit: The Los Angeles Times named the rainbow cauliflower tacos on its 2017 list of 10 favorite recipes; the Cantina location serves around 500 diners a day on weekends; and there’s talk of expanding the business, which now includes a doughnut shop, outside California. (He’s also recently launched Trejo’s Cerveza, currently for sale at L.A.-area Whole Foods and Total Wine.) Somehow Trejo also still has time for acting: He’ll soon add 20-plus roles to his nearly 300-credit film and TV résumé, including a second Machete sequel and August’s Dora and the Lost City of Gold, in which he voices a monkey named Boots, a role Trejo says proudly “will give me a whole new audience.”

Fortune chatted with Trejo in early July about his food-mogul renaissance, his adventures in Hollywood, and how he learned to channel a misspent youth into a force for good.

Fortune: Trejo’s Tacos feels like an L.A. institution, yet it’s only three years old. What inspired you to get into the restaurant business?

Trejo: My mom was a gourmet cook. When I around 12, I’d say, “We should start a restaurant,” but my dad was like a Mexican Archie Bunker. “Hey, we’ve got a kitchen right there!” [Laughs] Seven years ago I did a low-budget movie called Bad Ass, and one of the producers, Ash Shah, noticed that I didn’t like junk food. I am pretty picky! A few movies later, Ash says, “Danny, you should start a restaurant.” He created a business plan for Trejo’s Tacos. My team said, “If nobody’s asking you to front 50 grand, seems like a good idea!” We opened, and it totally blew up. Two years ago we opened the doughnut shop, and we sell out by 2 p.m. every day.

Anthony Bourdain raved about your tacos when he filmed Parts Unknown here in 2017. What was that day like for you?

Amazing. He joked, “You’re Mexican and you have a cauliflower taco?” He loved it. At around five or six o’clock at night, you’ll see a lot families coming in here. One woman told me, “Thank God for this place.” The kids can be gluten-free, mom can be vegetarian, and Dad can have cow!

Trejo’s Tacos offers gluten free and vegetarian taco options. Photograph by Joe Toreno for Fortune

What’s your favorite thing on the menu?

I love the nachos with steak and two eggs on top for breakfast.

Your latest incarnation as a restaurateur is another twist in an already surreal career. To what do you attribute your staying power?

I have good people around me. The same agent for 25 years. I met my assistant Mario at San Quentin when I made a movie there, and he was a prisoner. He’s been with me for 15 years.

You were discovered while working as a boxing coach on the set of the 1985 Jon Voight movie Runaway Train. But it wasn’t until you were cast as the knife-throwing Navajas in your cousin Robert Rodriguez’s 1995 film Desperado that you started to play substantial roles. Is it true you didn’t know you were related until shooting began?

We first met when I auditioned in L.A. He said, “You remind me of the bad guys in my high school.” I said, “I am the bad guys from your high school!” Then we filmed in Acuña, Mexico. My family from San Antonio visited the set. My Uncle Rudy says, “Who’s that?” I say, “Robert Rodriguez, the director.” He whistles at Robert, “Hey! Say hello to your second cousin Danny!” I was like, “What’s up, cousin? Make my role bigger!” But he didn’t. He said, “Danny, you can do more with your face than most actors can with dialogue.” I’m walking around with no shirt, all these tattoos, people asking for my autograph. Robert says, “They think you’re the star.” I said, “You mean I’m not?” Nobody really knew [lead actor] Antonio Banderas at the time. He was quiet—unlike me. [Laughs]

Trejo’s Tacos and Trejo’s Coffee merchandise on display for purchase. Two years ago, Trejo opened a doughnut shop that sells out by 2 p.m. every day. Photograph by Joe Toreno for Fortune

Robert went on to create the vigilante-hero character Machete for you. How did he evolve from a minor character in the Spy Kids franchise to fronting two, soon-to-be three features?

After he put Uncle Machete in Spy Kids, Robert did the Grindhouse movies [with director Quentin Tarantino], and they needed fake movie trailers. One was for a Machete movie. At the premiere, everybody was like, “You have to do that movie.” Machete was the first Mexican superhero. I was almost in tears when I saw 8-year-old kids dressed like him on Halloween.

Of all the people you’ve worked with, when have you felt the most starstruck?

With Robert De Niro, when we did Heat. Then Robert [Rodriguez] somehow got him to do Machete! I see him on the set and he says, “Well, well, well, number one on the call sheet now, eh?” I was like, “Can I get you some coffee, Mr. De Niro?” [Laughs]

For what roles are you most often recognized when you’re out in the world? Seeing your severed head on a turtle in season two of Breaking Bad left quite an impression with fans.

Spy Kids. Machete. Anchorman. Bubble Boy. And every Mexican I know loves Blood In, Blood Out. For Breaking Bad, I remember my agent saying, “Danny, you’re going to have a Hollywood first: You’re going to go across the desert on a turtle.” I’m thinking it’s a cartoon, or a really big turtle? “Actually, no. It’s just your head.” [Laughs]

A lot of your roles lean campy, but you’ve also acted in serious films like Maggie Gyllenhaal’s Sherrybaby about a mother who’s a drug-addicted ex-con. When did you think to yourself, “Wait, I can actually act?”

I’m a drug counselor at a place called Western Pacific Rehab. A few years ago, my son Gilbert cast me in a drug-themed movie he wrote called From a Son. There’s a scene where I break down and cry. I’d never had to do that in a movie. I was thinking I’d do a John Wayne, tough-guy thing, but my son…shit, he’s so brilliant. He reminded me of stuff from when he was young. He showed me a picture of us from 1985, when he was a little baby. Then, I couldn’t stop crying. I didn’t even cry at my parents’ funerals.

Trejo’s silver cross necklace and watch. Photograph by Joe Toreno for Fortune

Did you surprise yourself in that moment?

Completely. I thought, “Wow, okay, this must be acting.”

Your son is named after your Uncle Gilbert, who you’ve said led you down a path of crime when you were a teenager. What do you remember about that time?

My dad came from a family of 11, and Gilbert was the youngest. He was only six years older than me. I had no siblings, so he was like my older brother. Unfortunately, he was also an armed robber and a drug addict. He showed me how to rob when I was 14. He gave me a sawed-off shotgun and put me in front of a mirror to practice. “Give me your money, bitch. I’ll slap you!”

Your first acting job.

[Laughs] Yes. We robbed an Asian grocery store together called Far East Market in Burbank. We had a revolver, but you had to hold it just so or it would fall apart. I go, “Give me the money! Give me the money!” The woman gives me $8 from the cash register. I grabbed it, and we ran down Lankershim as this guy comes out of the back, screaming, with a hatchet!

How do you feel now about the crimes you committed?

I feel regret. I’ve never been mean, but I’ve also never let anybody take advantage of me. In prison you’re predator or prey. My friend Cookie and I had a protection ring for young kids coming in, including for gay couples who’d been married on the streets. When I got out of the pen, I’d get cards from kids we protected. Their parents also said thank you.

Did your own parents live to see your success?

My mom did. My dad saw me get sober but never saw me get into acting. He would have laughed. Even my mom was like, “Get a job, mijo,” even after I’d worked with Robert De Niro in Heat! She did get excited when I was on The Young and the Restless in 2008. She had four of her friends over to watch, and they were like, “Oh, my God.” That was it. I’d made it.

Over the years you’ve appeared in dozens of commercials and ads—selling products from Snickers to AARP—and you’re now a spokesman for the erectile dysfunction product Giddy. What appealed to you about tackling that taboo subject?

We don’t talk anything in our society—condoms in high school, birth control. We definitely don’t talk about erectile dysfunction, especially in the Hispanic community. I don’t know a man who hasn’t experienced it. I think it’s like everything I do—teaching people to neuter their dogs, warning kids about drugs, you need to show them you’re cool. You need a face like this to get through to them. Not so much as “Danny Trejo” but the guy from Spy Kids, the guy from Heat, the guy from Desperado. People think, “Okay, I want to hear what this guy has to say.”

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[wionews]

Comedy legend Jerry Lewis dies at 91

Veteran Hollywood comedian Jerry Lewis, who died Sunday aged 91, perfected a goofy brand of slapstick that endeared him to millions over the course of a career spanning six decades.

One of the most popular American entertainers of the 1950s and '60s, Lewis made his name as the clown behind such quirky comedies like "The Nutty Professor" but also won acclaim as a writer, actor and philanthropist.

The comedy legend, who at the peak of his popularity was among the world biggest movie draws, died at his home in Las Vegas early Sunday morning. 

"I can sadly confirm that today the world lost one of the most significant human beings," his publicist Nancy Kane said in a statement. "Jerry died peacefully at home of natural causes surrounded by family and friends."

Honoured with accolades at home and abroad, including a Nobel Peace Prize nomination and France's Legion of Honor, Lewis became known as much for his tireless efforts to promote awareness of Muscular Dystrophy as for his wacky comedy.

Over the course of 45 years, he raised some 2.45 billion dollars for combatting the disease with an annual television event.

Born Joseph Levitch in Newark, New Jersey to two New York City entertainers, Lewis first took center stage at the tender age of five, when he performed "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" He began playing at resorts outside New York City that catered to Jewish patrons, known by touring entertainers as the Borscht Circuit.

By age 15, he had assembled his own routine of lipsynching and made the rounds of New York talent agents, though to little avail.

At the age of 20, however, everything changed as Lewis embarked on arguably one of the most successful entertainment partnerships of all time with smooth crooner Dean Martin.

The two fed off each other in now-classic comedy gags, including pratfalls, slapstick and lots of seltzer water, signing a long-term contract with Paramount Pictures.

"That fool was no dummy," tweeted the comic star Jim Carrey, who cited Lewis as an inspiration. "Jerry Lewis was an undeniable genius an unfathomable blessing, comedy's absolute! I am because he was!"  

That fool was no dummy. Jerry Lewis was an undeniable genius an unfathomable blessing, comedy's absolute! I am because he was! ;^D http://pic.twitter.com/3Zdq9xhXlE

— Jim Carrey (@JimCarrey) August 20, 2017

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  Jerry Lewis was a comic and philanthropic icon. I send love to his family today.

— Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) August 20, 2017

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  Jerry Lewis was an angel to me. Loved him & will never forget what he did for me during one of the worst times in my life. RIP, Love Roe http://pic.twitter.com/0OoQV4yaae

— Rose Marie-Official (@RoseMarie4Real) August 20, 2017

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  Rest In Peace Jerry Lewis. Thank you for an entire lifetime's worth of laughs. You were one of a kind. http://pic.twitter.com/i6PoeJkg34

— Danny Trejo (@officialDannyT) August 21, 2017

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  Jerry Lewis passed today,millions around the world loved him,millions of kids he helped w/his telethons. R.I.P. &condolences 2 his family

— Whoopi Goldberg (@WhoopiGoldberg) August 20, 2017

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  I realize I may be late with all this but all know is,losing Dick Gregory & Jerry Lewis is a gain 4 heaven, but big loss for comedy

— Whoopi Goldberg (@WhoopiGoldberg) August 20, 2017

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  Some of the most notable films in Lewis' extensive repertoire include "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" (1959), "The Geisha Boy" (1958) and "Funnybones" (1984).

His box office grosses, spanning nearly 50 years, total 800 million dollars -- an impressive figure since movie tickets cost no more than 50 cents during the height of his popularity.

After 17 films together, the Lewis-Martin partnership split in 1956, but Lewis continued his career in comedy and Hollywood. He won acclaim for his dramatic role alongside Robert De Niro Martin Scorsese's 1983 film "The King of Comedy."

"Be a hit. Score," was his simple advice to young comedians, in an interview he once gave to Larry King, the celebrity interviewer and a longtime friend. "Get the audience laughing and happy. That's the secret."

At other times he was more humble.

"Funny is fragile. It's elusive," he told the Los Angeles Times in a 2010 interview. "It's elusive to everyone because you're never going to get a handle on what's funny."

Fellow comedian Carol Burnett -- who worked with Lewis several times -- marveled at his physical gifts.

"His voice could go up several octaves when he was supposed to be scared or insecure," she told CNN. "Our audience was just dying with laughter, because he did such wonderful things with his body."

Lewis' long career was not without controversy, however. News reports over the years have criticized him as volatile and ill-tempered and he was accused more than once of berating fans attending his shows. 

In 2007, during the 18th hour of his telethon, the then-81-year-old actor used a homophobic slur in introducing one person off stage -- later apologizing for "a bad choice of words."

Eventually, he was dumped as host of the yearly telethon by the Muscular Dystrophy Association, ending a nearly half-century run amid a growing sense that he had overstayed his welcome.

In recent decades, Lewis had been plagued by health problems, and was declared clinically dead in 1982 after a heart attack. Ten years later he was diagnosed with prostate cancer and in 1997 found out he had diabetes. A diagnosis of spinal meningitis in 2000 further caused his health to deteriorate.

But he was determined not to let ill health keep him from working as long as possible, including on a Broadway musical adaptation of "The Nutty Professor" as recently as 2011.

"I have to finish what I've started," he told the Los Angeles Times in 2010. "I want to do it before I leave."

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