Episode 171 - Miami Connection: LIVE!

[Cam Bert 8145]

Wait, so he also developed an Asian accent?

I think that came later when he got into the drug trade and tried to sell himself as a real ninja. I mean would you trust a ninja with a Floridian accent?

[tomspanks 9039]

I think that came later when he got into the drug trade and tried to sell himself as a real ninja. I mean would you trust a ninja with a Floridian accent?

 

You're right. Yashito was a shrewd businessninja.

[Cam Bert 8145]

I've seen this movie a half dozen times or so and the thing that always gets me in the closing scene. Dragon Sound seem like a bunch of tight nit close friends, but I ask you where is Only Oats in that final scene at the hospital? Captain Israel is there. Jim's brother father is there and Mark and Michael Phelps are there naturally because they took him there. Only Oats is the only member of the band, depending on Jane's status, to not be there. If one of your best friends and fellow band mate was rushed to the hospital wouldn't you want to be there? Especially if you sing songs about friendship.

[Cameron H. 23786]

They were barely breaking even, I think. Before taking Jim suit shopping, the guys said they had $200, $60, and $50, respectively.

 

...and what little they had, they blew entirely on a suit he could wear to meet his father.

[IRONicmerMAN 391]

I think that came later when he got into the drug trade and tried to sell himself as a real ninja. I mean would you trust a ninja with a Floridian accent?

Out of all Floridians, these are the least trustworthy.

[firsttimecallerlongtimelistenr 3590]

Chris Geere was in After Earth!

[firsttimecallerlongtimelistenr 3590]

this is your fault taylor anne

 

[ChunkStyle 1160]

HDTGM have really done a service for all mankind with this movie and episode.

 

The only thing that could have made this movie better is if one of the production logos at the start of the movie had been the UCF Computer Science Department. Y.K. probably convinced them to split the budget as this movie would be a fantastic recruiting pitch. Speaking of the budget how is it possible this movie cost $1M ($2.2M in 2017 dollars)? How much of that made it to the screen? 10%?

 

One thing I really loved is that it kind of felt like an old Hong Kong Kung Fu movie in that every person in the movie seemed to know some level of martial arts. And they all use it a lot. When the band that was fired go and confront the club owner it immediately breaks out into fight between them and when it was finished it had the feeling of "This is normal. This is how we resolve things in Orlando."

 

The club owner might be my favorite because he had the bold vision to go for the Las Vegas residency model for his musical act. He knows that Orlando is a destination city and when families are bringing their little kids to Disney World the trip won't be complete until the whole family has gone to a seedy night club and seen the best fucking Taekwondo rock band in central Florida.

[FisterRoboto 7499]

I haven't listened to this ep yet but holy shit if y'all aren't watching You're The Worst yet then WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH YOUR LIVES

 

My first response when I saw the guest:

 

 

And then my second response was to tweet you.

 

Also, I fucking love this movie. I'll have to listen to the ep to see how much they get into the story of this film's production, but it's straight up insanity. My friends and I saw it at one of the first screenings after Drafthouse Films acquired the rights, and we still quote it to each other all the time. "I never knew you had a father" is a line that kills me every fucking time.

[tomspanks 9039]

I can't fault Y.K. Kim for inserting this film trope into his masterpiece, but can we demand that Hollywood no longer have cops or henchman test a bag of cocaine in the dead center with a knife?

 

 

I get what they are trying to communicate; they need to test if the product is pure... but does the buyer not have any concern that this bag will leak in transit? Just think of all that wasted nose candy!

 

In the end, I would totally respect the tester to simply cut the corner of the bag and then break out one of those potato chip clips to seal it up. Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezey

 

I have a follow up to this. We see that the stupid cocaine is smuggled in ramen boxes, with a few ramen packages thrown on top. Later, during the ninja raid, when the ninjas steal the boxes of the stupid cocaine:

 

 

They leave the extra ramen packages behind! I feel like they should've spent the extra 2 seconds and taken the free bags of ramen. They're delicious, man.

 

Also, I loved the beginning when the drug den scene opens with owl hooting noises. Are there many owls in Miami?

[Cameron H. 23786]

 

I have a follow up to this. We see that the stupid cocaine is smuggled in ramen boxes, with a few ramen packages thrown on top. Later, during the ninja raid, when the ninjas steal the boxes of the stupid cocaine:

 

 

They leave the extra ramen packages behind! I feel like they should've spent the extra 2 seconds and taken the free bags of ramen. They're delicious, man.

 

Also, I loved the beginning when the drug den scene opens with owl hooting noises. Are there many owls in Miami?

 

Here's my thing about that opening scene: why are they conducting a drug transaction in a house with no roof or walls in the middle of - what appears to be - a washing machine graveyard? While I appreciate the clandestine nature of what they're trying to accomplish, sampling drugs out in the open in an unfortified junkyard hardly seems advisable. They'd be better off just doing it at Villain's Gym or in the bathroom of the nearest CiCi's pizza.

[Cameron H. 23786]

They were barely breaking even, I think. Before taking Jim suit shopping, the guys said they had $200, $60, and $50, respectively.

 

It should also be noted the blankets on Mark's bed were U-Haul furniture shipping blankets.

 

So Dragon Sound earns enough for college tuition and Abnormal Psychology books for five people; rent/mortgage on a house (plus utilities); band equipment; "big" pizzas with everything on it (to be eaten everyday); grapes; a potential World Tour; and a suit. That's still pretty good.

[jnoodlervoss 9]

The crew touched on this briefly in the podcast, but I wondered how this group got together? They all are musicians, Tae Kwon Do experts, and orphans, so how did the find each other?

 

Were they:

A: a group of orphans that decide to live together, learn martial arts, and take up music;

B: a band that just happens to all be orphans that learned marital arts separately; or

C. a bunch of guys at the same dojo that found out they all were orphans and also play different instrument and/or sing?

 

I am just imagining all these options on those "tear-off the phone number" flyers on a community billboard (trope?). "Wanted: Bass Player who is an Orphan or Bastard. Must be a proficient in Tae Kwon Do and willing to live with several shirtless guys."

[taylor anne photo 11311]

this is your fault taylor anne

 

[i'll hold the mike 165]

The best thing about the tearful monologue about Jim's father is that it's immediately followed by the beach scene!

[tomspanks 9039]

Here's my thing about that opening scene: why are they conducting a drug transaction in a house with no roof or walls in the middle of - what appears to be - a washing machine graveyard? While I appreciate the clandestine nature of what they're trying to accomplish, sampling drugs out in the open in an unfortified junkyard hardly seems advisable. They'd be better off just doing it at Villain's Gym or in the bathroom of the nearest Cici's pizza.

 

Also, I feel like any gang like this in the 80s should have invested in some walkie talkies. It's one thing to patrol the grounds, but how are they supposed to sound the alarm if something's off? The same thing for Jeff's gang later on. They've got Oates as hostage and they know Dragon Sound is going to attack them, right? Why not have a few walkie talkies?

 

And speaking of the villain's gym, I was impressed and horrified at all the people working out in their jeans.

[Cameron H. 23786]

I think one of my favorite bits is after the "Tough Guys" biker gang scene, the movie cuts to a quiet night at Chez Dragon Sound as if to juxtapose the two lifestyle choices presented in the movie. In the scene, Mark takes a break from writing bitching lyrics about friendship and kind of just checks in with each of his orphan bros. When he gets to Tom's room, this happens:

 

Tom: Oh, how'ya doing, Mark?

 

Mark: I'm good. What are you doing?

 

Tom: I'm working up a new original here. I just got done with this keyboard part. What do you think?

 

Mark (no pause AT ALL): Oh, looks pretty good. I think Jim will like it, too.

 

Okay, I have no problem believing that Tom is some kind of musical genius and that he can casually transcript sheet music with nary a musical instrument in sight, but I refuse to believe that Rhythm Guitarist/Tae Kwon Do Nose Puller Mark is such a fucking virtuoso that - with only a quick glance at a page of original music - he can hear that shit so clearly in his head that he is able to offer an opinion as to its quality.

 

ETA: It also bears mentioning, that Tom is capable of harmonizing with himself which is just some next level, Tibetan throat-singing shit right there.

 

And just a quick nitpicky correction. Paul said that Dragon Sound was all guitar players - that's not true.

 

Tom - co-lead singer; lead guitarist

Jane - co-lead singer; hype person

Mark - Rhythm Guitarist; Tae Kwon Do antics

John - Bass guitar; Gross, Onstage Maker-Outer

Jim - Keyboardist; The Cute One

Jack - Drummer; The Dreamer

 

(I just realized, if you include "Jeff," this movie went to town on the "J" chapter of whatever baby name book they were pulling these character names from...)

[Cameron H. 23786]

 

 

Also, I feel like any gang like this in the 80s should have invested in some walkie talkies. It's one thing to patrol the grounds, but how are they supposed to sound the alarm if something's off? The same thing for Jeff's gang later on. They've got Oates as hostage and they know Dragon Sound is going to attack them, right? Why not have a few walkie talkies?

 

And speaking of the villain's gym, I was impressed and horrified at all the people working out in their jeans.

 

1) Why did they take Oates' shirt off when they kidnapped him?

 

2) How come Jeff has a huge problem with his sister being in a healthy, monogamous relationship with a clean cut, college boy, but apparently has no problem at all with his sister getting harassed by the sweaty, drug-dealing gross-o's at Curves for Villains?

[RMislander 8]

I only saw this movie once several years back with a friend, and what we both remembered is this was a pretty thinly veiled anti-Japanese movie. Korea still holds a lot of animosity toward Japan because of Japanese colonization of Korea for the first half of the 20th century.

 

Enter a Korean-made movie where the winningest fighting style is Korea's national fighting style (Taekwondo). Meanwhile, the main enemies are a group of evil ninjas (ninjas rep Japan), and the song that's played over and over throughout the movie is Fight the Ninja (Japan again). Add to that one of the main "ninja" gang members runs around with a bloody bandage on his head which basically looks like he is wearing the flag of Japan on his head, and you get a movie that clearly says "Japanese ninjas are bad, so fight them with Korean taekwondo." There are other scenes that back this up, but it's been ages so I can't remember them all. For people wondering what the hell the plot was, probably the creator was less concerned with a solid plot and more concerned with sending this political message.

 

Still, one of the most ridiculous and entertaining movies I've ever seen!

 

[Cam Bert 8145]

And speaking of the villain's gym, I was impressed and horrified at all the people working out in their jeans.

Same thing for Dragon Sound too. When Michael Phelps and Mark go to rumble with the gang their outfits are questionable too. They put fingerless gloves on to protect their hands... maybe? They also wear jeans and tuck in their shirts. None of that can be good for fighting.

[FisterRoboto 7499]

It makes me so happy that Jimmy Shive-Overly's high-pitched giggle is legit the way Chris Geere laughs IRL.

[The_Triple_Lindy 2482]

 

Also, I feel like any gang like this in the 80s should have invested in some walkie talkies. It's one thing to patrol the grounds, but how are they supposed to sound the alarm if something's off? The same thing for Jeff's gang later on. They've got Oates as hostage and they know Dragon Sound is going to attack them, right? Why not have a few walkie talkies?

 

Which raises the question: How did Beard Guy #2 coordinate not one, but two ambushes of Dragon Sound without walkie-talkies or cellphones? The first time, BG#2 just waits for the band to finish the gig and then follows them, but a few blocks later, the rest of BG#2's crew blocks off the road and pins them in ... HOW? Unless they knew where the band was heading, there was no way the crew could predict where they'd be in order to be waiting.

 

The second time, it seems that they just see the band driving by, so I'll chalk that one up to dumb luck, I guess

[The_Triple_Lindy 2482]

 

And speaking of the villain's gym, I was impressed and horrified at all the people working out in their jeans.

 

Was anyone beside me hoping and praying that the woman on the pec fly machine would mix it up once or twice?

 

[The_Triple_Lindy 2482]

I only saw this movie once several years back with a friend, and what we both remembered is this was a pretty thinly veiled anti-Japanese movie. Korea still holds a lot of animosity toward Japan because of Japanese colonization of Korea for the first half of the 20th century.

 

Enter a Korean-made movie where the winningest fighting style is Korea's national fighting style (Taekwondo). Meanwhile, the main enemies are a group of evil ninjas (ninjas rep Japan), and the song that's played over and over throughout the movie is Fight the Ninja (Japan again). Add to that one of the main "ninja" gang members runs around with a bloody bandage on his head which basically looks like he is wearing the flag of Japan on his head, and you get a movie that clearly says "Japanese ninjas are bad, so fight them with Korean taekwondo." There are other scenes that back this up, but it's been ages so I can't remember them all. For people wondering what the hell the plot was, probably the creator was less concerned with a solid plot and more concerned with sending this political message.

 

[Cameron H. 23786]

 

Add to that one of the main "ninja" gang members runs around with a bloody bandage on his head which basically looks like he is wearing the flag of Japan on his head, and you get a movie that clearly says "Japanese ninjas are bad, so fight them with Korean taekwondo."

 

 

Honestly, the only thing I could thought when I saw that bloody bandage on his head was, "Sir, you appear to have a severe head wound. You may want to redress your bandages before it gets infected. Also, I strongly urge you to seek professional medical attention as the bleeding has clearly not abated."