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It's the rock and roll autobiography of the former bassist for Guns and Roses. It's well written and quite entertaining. But there were no big Aha moments. He got into a band. He got into alcohol. He got into drugs. He got sober. He wrote a book.
The one interesting thing was that he did most of his work on sobriety with the help of martial artist Benny the Jet.
So much for the flickr badge idea. Dammit
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What did he train in w/Benny? Or was it just counseling?
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He trained in Benny's own form of martial arts. He joined the dojo as part of his recovery. I want to say a lot of it was kick boxing.
So much for the flickr badge idea. Dammit
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He was also a great movie villain.
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I will never forgive director George Armitage for letting John Cusack kill the hell out of Benny the Jet in a brief street fight in Grosse Point Blank. It would be okay if he killed the hell out of an old lady in the wheelchair. But you don't kill the hell out of Benny the Jet -- not in hand-to-hand combat.
George Armitage should be deep-fried in his own shit for that offense -- and then tossed to the hogs.
Though it wasn't a bad movie otherwise -- Grosse Point Blank, that is. Sorry to have sort of changed the subject.
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That fight (Grosse Pointe Blank) was one of the best fights ever.
In the Tudor Period, Fencing Masters were classified in the Vagrancy Laws along with Actors, Gypsys, Vagabonds, Sturdy Rogues, and the owners of performing bears.
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No way, PPFY. Jackie vs. Jet (Benny) was much better. Jet vs. John? No way.
[youtube]rdXdimITCnc[/youtube]
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Yup, for a gritty, up-close, "realistic" fight, I'll go with Pointe Blanco.
Your fight above is *magnificent*, though.
Best fight for following a tactical progression through to a resolution is still Lee vs. Norris.
In the Tudor Period, Fencing Masters were classified in the Vagrancy Laws along with Actors, Gypsys, Vagabonds, Sturdy Rogues, and the owners of performing bears.
Okay, I needed to re-view the Cusack/Benny the Jet fight to give it a fair shake, because I'd forgotten all the details. Found it on youtube.
Yeah, I still have major problems with it. Benny is punching surfaces here rather than punching through. And pulling his power. And not really blocking at times. And I'm sorry, Cusack lacks the musculature to do almost everything that happens in the fight. Benny, meanwhile, is built like a wolverine and has been known to destroy tanks.
I do credit Cusack (or his double) for having the courage to go up against Benny even on a film set. Benny is known to lack control, and he hurt Jackie Chan time and again, even breaking his nose, during their "staged" fights. Jackie got so pissed that he wanted to fight Benny in a real ring. Fortunately, Sammo showed him some highlight reel footage of Benny in action, and Jackie calmed down. Jackie actually worked his broken nose into the movie, and the pain he's showing is real.
[youtube]H0ScNLt2zNc[/youtube]
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C'mon...for a movie-fight, it is pretty darn good. I liked that it didn't look like a bunch of katas, wasn't "pretty" but still stilted enough to get the idea of a fight without the chaos of a real fight. No stunt-doubles, I think. Cusak's hobby is kickboxing and Wikipedia notes "Cusack has trained in kickboxing for over 20 years under former world kickboxing champion Benny “The Jet" Urquidez. He began training under Urquidez in preparation for his role in Say Anything and currently holds the rank of Level 6 black belt in Urquidez’ Ukidokan Kickboxing system.[11]" But it *is* Wikipedia, so it may also be confabulated.
In the Tudor Period, Fencing Masters were classified in the Vagrancy Laws along with Actors, Gypsys, Vagabonds, Sturdy Rogues, and the owners of performing bears.
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... my pick would have to be the Pamela Anderson magazine fight in Borat. That was so gritty and up close that I'm not going to search for a web vid of it to post here. :vom:
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I was ruminating about John Cusack because he's in the new Jackie Chan film Dragon Blade, which just released in China for Chinese New Year, so I revisited this film. I don't think I've seen it since it opened.
It's actually gotten more awesome with age. It's the music. GPB has an outstanding soundtrack. And now, 18 years later, it's more nostalgic. I luv this film. It's really hilarious. Ackroyd is over-the-top funny. Minnie Driver is the sexiest she's ever been and I don't really think of her that way. Arkin is surely the inspiration for Analyze This 2 years later. Sister Joan is spot on, doing that sort of oddball character she does best. And John, well, it's my favorite of all his roles. This, Being John Malkovich and High Fidelity will always endear him to me. We'll see about Dragon Blade.
As to the H2H fight with Benny, it's okay. It was good for the time, but comes off as rather mediocre now. H2H choreography has gotten so much sharper. Plus John can't really kick very well and Benny is a super kicker, so from a skillz angle, the scene is only redeemed by tight editing. The gunfight in the convenience store is much better.
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