Sorry, couldn’t resist.
I didn’t hate the new Karate Kid movie like jefbot did in today’s strip, but I certainly didn’t like it as much as the original. After seeing the movie last weekend, my buddy Coolhand and I sat for over an hour at Red Robin’s (as we tend to do after seeing movies), dissecting the reasons why it just didn’t work as well as the ’80s version for us. I’ll spare you the details, as it would take more space than would be prudent for this blog but, in short: a) The main character, Dre, was too young. He would’ve worked better as a teen. b) It was too long. 140 minutes!? c) The relationship between Dre and his sensei, Mr. Han, wasn’t as developed as Daniel-san’s and Mr. Miyagi’s. Again, this could be the age thing, but I bought the friendship that was struck in the original much more than in the remake. d) You’re the Best by Joe Esposito. This epic song was in the original but not in the remake.
Anyway, the new Karate Kid made $55.7 million in its opening weekend and is still going strong, so what do I know?
BWAHAHAHAHA oh, methinks I might be first!
yup! you da first, ESQ! try these on: 😎
Now with that out of the way…with that kind of mentality, Cornfather would fit right in with my husband and I! In our 30’s and still have a refreshingly dirty mind. And dirty puns are the best, you can almost hear the rimshot (which in itself is a funny word, ya think?) ba da bum ching!
i think most healthy minds are at least a little dirty, don’t you, ESQ? heheh. i constantly have to censor myself at work for fear of saying a filthy pun at the wrong time and getting called into HR.
and yeah, see, your “funny word” would get me in trouble at the office. ha! love your dirty mind. 🙂
A dirty mind is a terrible thing to waste. Seriously, in serious situations or when I’m dealing with quite professional people…my mind is still picking out the dirty stuff and I giggle, in my head, like a 10 yr old “He said duty (doody)”… or many a “That’s what she said”…and then I run home and share my idiocy with my hubby, who shares my same juvenille sense of humor. I think I need help…hahaha
I’M HOME!
Yeah that whole “jacket off” thing had hubby and I in stitches.
The strip is always clever… but this made me guffaw. There’s no better dick joke than a clever dick joke.
big thanks, 11TN! getting a guffaw from you makes me happy to no end. more quality dick jokes to come. *snicker*
Yeah. I haven’t seen it yet, but I actually am going to see Toy Story 3 over it…
and great strip, I laughed out loud…. : P ….and 2nd comment. 😀 Sha sha sha shaaaaa!
Sigh. third* Damn you Eleventeen. TT__TT -shakes fist-
woo! thanks for the laugh-out-loud, Ahero! didn’t get to see Toy Story 3 yet, but really need to watch it soon before i hear too much. did you see it yet? (no spoilers!) 😀
and you gotta watch out for 11TN – he’s a sneaky one.
And don’t get me started on the new ‘Karate Kid.’ I wish the creators had some respect and at least called it ‘Kung Fu Kid.’ Total misnomer.
i seem to remember an interview with Jackie Chan where he said they were either going to call it “Kung Fu Kid” or they were going to explain why it was called “Karate Kid” but yeah, neither happened.
You know why it’s not as good as the original? Because the original was just that, wheras the current trend in film seems to be “them 80s kids are growing up. quick! cash in on the nostalgia of their collective youth!” you know why it’s made so much money? because we’re all suckers and that sh*t totally works on us. (ok, ok, some of the movies falling under this trend HAVE been pretty entertaining. but still!)
case in point: my wife and i saw the A-Team last night and both totally enjoyed it. but here’s the thing: while the green light for the making of that film may or may not have come from the mindset i described earlier, it felt like the filmmakers actually liked the A-Team. they took the time to make a fun movie that, while certainly updated for our time, felt like the A-Team as opposed to just making an action movie with little more than a passing similarity and then slapping that name on to ensure that we’d go see it. in short, the A-Team seems more “Dammit, the A-Team was awesome, it’s high time we had a movie.” whereas the new Kid seems more “Crap, they’re gonna nail us to the wall when they notice our movie is a total Karate Kid ripoff. Well, let’s use that name and call it a remake and maybe we’ll get away with it.”
most def, Jed: i was thinking, had i not seen the original, i might have enjoyed this new Karate Kid a lot more. but knowing all the story and character beats before they happened just took away any freshness. especially since that stuff was done more effectively in the 80s version anyway.
and yes! i saw The A-Team too, and thoroughly enjoyed it. while the story wasn’t all that great, at least it wasn’t a rehash, and the actors and director all seemed to be having a lot of fun making it. lots of little callbacks to the show (the van will be back in the next one, right? right!?) to show some respect, and, like you said, it just felt like The A-Team, even while carving out its own identity as a big, fun, summer action movie.
gah! that poor van! even knowing it’s fate ahead of time through the previews i was saddened. and so early in the film. here’s hoping for an even better van in part two. also dug that they gave a reason for B.A.s fear of flying. and of course, the post credits scenes…
I have no desire to see the movie, because I’m a total 80’s child at heart. This strip had me seriously laughing out loud, because as soon as I saw the 2nd panel; it instantly made me think of my boyfriends shirt that he has. It’s a light yellow with red lettering and a Mr. Miyagi head in between the writing that says “Mr. Miyagi *insert Mr. Miyagi’s head* wax off” I should get a picture of him wearing it, and post it to my twitter feed. (which I’ve been neglecting)
Anyway, in regards to the last statement you made in your blog: “Anyway, the new Karate Kid made $55.7 million in its opening weekend and is still going strong, so what do I know?” I think it’s because people want to recapture some part of their adolescence, but if you ask me: if you want to do that, just watch the original. 😛 Great strip, Jeff!
ha! that shirt sounds awesome, Spanky! heheh. definitely send a pic over if you see him wearing it again. 🙂
i think, like you mentioned, audiences “recapturing their adolescence” is a big part of its success, as well as people who grew up in the 80s trying to impart some of that nostalgia to their kids. but i agree with you: best way to do that is to watch the original. i just don’t think this one’s going to have the same impact as the Morita/Macchio version.
not interested in it. havent been a fan of jackie chan since the last cop story.
i do still like Jackie Chan, jf#300, although it would be hard for me to argue that his work in the Police Story films wasn’t some of his best. and Jackie does do good work in The Karate Kid, but i think Pat Noriyuki Morita’s character, Mr. Miyagi, was much more iconic, and his friendship with Daniel-san was more believable than the one between Mr. Han and Dre.
Jeff dahhhhhlink…I have to say this is one of the best strips yet. Cracked me up so hard, my office mate asked what I was laughing about. Especially since I haven’t finished my first cup of coffee. Yeah Da Pixie is SO not a morning person!
Anyway, I love a good dirty joke. They make my day. Especially if they are cleverly done.
As for the whole New Karate Kid thing….Oye, let me get out the soap box.
*stands on soap box* Dear Hollywood, PLEASE stop rehashing my childhood to try and make a fast buck. It wouldn’t bother me so much if your “remakes” were just that. But alas they are not. You figure you have to toss in more blood, guts, sex, gore, drug use, and alcoholism to try to make the move sell. All you are doing is taking that cherished memory and wiping your collective a**es with it. Shame on you! BADNESS Forbid you find a truly original idea and back it.
For Example, one of my new Horror movie faves was but on a shelf for years then released straight to DVD…3 YEARS after the promised relase date. People completely forgot about this movie though it got rave reviews from almost everyone who saw a prescreening. This movie is called Trick R Treat….It has Anna Paquin pre True Blood and is in the anthology style of Creepshow or The Twilight Zone movie. And it SCARED me…I mean really creeped me out… Watch it. You will appreciate the subtle nuances and the tie ins are worth it. Mike Doherty is a genius.
Another is Shutter Island. That movie was one of the BEST suspence thrillers I have seen in ages. You have to understand, My record for figuring out a movie is, no joke, 15 minutes. I have to remind myself not everyone watching wants to know exactly what’s going to happen when I figure it out. Had no idea how Shutter Island was going to end and was pleasantly surprised! (And I am in love with Leo…he’s my next ex husband)
In closing, I will not be watching Karate Kid because 1) I loved the originial and 2) do you remember when they tried to revamp the series with a female student? Hilary Swank? Yeah…how about no!
I will however be watching the remake of Nightmare on Elm Street because I’m a sucker for a horror movie.
XOXOXOXO
Pixie
…..*blinks* CF said wax off!!!! *giggles*
You mean, “The Next Karate Kid” starring two-time Academy Award winner, Hillary Swank..that’s the new, proper way to refer to that classic. Heh heh. 🙂
mornings are (usually) not my friend either. blegh.
SO glad you LOL’d with this one, Pixie – if i ever make a strip that has you ROFL, let me know! 😉
thanks for the tip! i’m definitely going to track down Trick R Treat now. would love to watch a genuinely scary movie! hopefully i can find it on NetFlix and add it to my queue.
i still haven’t seen Shutter Island! i’ve heard a lot of mixed reviews on it but the fact it’s a thriller directed by Martin Scorcese means i must see it. glad to hear you liked it so much.
i do remember The Next Karate Kid with Hillary Swank! but unlike KK 1&2, i only watched that one once. heh.
The Nightmare on Elm Street remake is another movie that i’ve heard mixed reviews of (some friends hated it, some loved it) that i’ll have to see ‘cuz i’m intrigued, much like my reason for seeing the new Karate Kid. i just have to see what they’ve done with it!
XO back atcha! heheh. CF said “jacket off.” *snicker*
*Lying in my bed with a broken leg and wondering what is wrong with movies that werent short because of producents.*
Hi guys im back.
Welcome back, Maryz! I hope that that broken leg of yours heals up super quick for you!
Thanks but I kinda doubt it. 5 hours operations arent just for show.
The real kicker is that i actualy came home and then fell down some stairs.
WB maryz. What happened to the leg pal? Hope you feel better ASAP!
When I came home I noticed Im mising a wallet. I figured I left it in the bus and rushed to the station where we have a nice long steep set of stairs. I sliped on the second one and stoped somewhere in the middle. Damn rain.
Ironicaly the bus wasnt going anywhere for at least another hour so there was no rush. Oh, I got the wallet by the way.
so sorry to hear about your leg, Maryz. like Spanky said, i hope it heals up quickly, even with the 5 hour operation. if i had some bacta i could send over, i totally would. 😉
glad you got your wallet back, though. that would’a been horrible if you’d broken your leg and not gotten your wallet back. i hope you aren’t in too much pain and am sending healing vibes your way. 😀
I’m so not going to see the Karate Kid remake, especially after your review. Why do they hafta do so many remakes?
cuz then they don’t have to come up with an original thought.
It’s like all those remade Christmas specials, their trying to milk it till it’s dry…and then milk it some more.
while i agree with both DJ and Z here, i do think that remakes can be done well, it’s just most of them are cash-grabs trading in on the good will of their original incarnations, sadly.
remakes are never better than the originals.
well, most of the time.
“most of the time” is true, Jaeh; i can only think of a couple movies i enjoyed more than the originals, where the number of bad remakes are so numerous i couldn’t even list them all here.
We got free tickets to go to an advanced showing, but once we got there decided to walk a mile and a half to Sweet Tomatoes instead. My friend and I fully expected that it was going to be rubbish and preferred a delicious soup and pasta buffet to two hours in a packed theatre to watch a mediocre movie.
Good thing we did, too. If we’d watched the movie we would have missed the last bus back to town and been stranded.
ooh, i’d gladly trade my Karate Kid viewing experience for a bowl of delicious soup and a pasta buffet, Sharra! just need to find someone who can make that happen. 😉
Remakes almost never go over as well as the original. And about the title: The original was called the Kung Fu Kid in Asia. “RELEASE THE KRAKKEN”!!! sound familiar?
OH MY GODDD
CLASH OF THE TITANS WAS THE BIGGEST WASTE OF TWO HOURS OF MY LIFE.
If I hadn’t been there with friends, I would have walked out. As it was, they didn’t want to walk out with me, for whatever reason…
So that would be one that it would be wise for me to check of my “to watch” list?
eh. if you liked the original, i’d say it’s worth a rental if you’re curious, Z. or maybe a cable viewing would be easier to recommend.
not sure if you saw it in 3D, MM, but that even added to its crappiness. some shots looked okay, but some just didn’t look right at all.
it’s called “Kung Fu Kid” in Asia, DJ!? wow. then it’s even sillier that they didn’t go with that title here. the studio must’ve thought it would confuse people or something. or that it wouldn’t hit the right nostalgia buttons without the “Karate Kid” title. lame.
and yeah, the new Kraken should have never been released. or it should’ve been allowed to eat the girl. again: lame.
Wow! The bot went semi-blue with this one. I think it’s hysterical! Very clever and yet still very “clean.” The real Mr. Miyagi would be proud and probably would’ve given you one of his cars. Love, love, love the dialogue, the facial expressions, and your ability to combine a “Karate Kid” review with a good ol fashioned dick joke. 😀
Cornfather said “dick” LMAO *snort*
*gigglesnort*
i’m happy you liked it, MC! maybe this strip will usher in a new era in blue humor for JEFbot. or, ya know, not. thanks, man! 😀
Wait I missed CF saying *whispered* dick?! What the HECK is going on with me?!
Dirty! ; 0 But super funny and true! I think I’m gonna pass this movie… Something about that kid I don’t care for… Great strip as always Jefbot! I love your reaction in the 3rd frame! Perfection!
thanks, Funnyshaffer! yeah, it’ll be interesting to see where Jaden Smith’s career goes from here. having parents like his helping him out certainly won’t hurt!
On the plus side, at least Jackie Chan still gets work.
yup, yup. while i prefer his action roles, i’ve gotta say he handled his dramatic scenes in this movie superbly.
You had me at “dick joke” 🙂
but will i have you at “fart joke,” John K? 😉
Heh heh. I concur with the Bot’s review. In addition to the Bot’s thoughts, however, let me add (i) the Cobra Kai were way cooler than the Fighting Dragons, (ii) Johnny was a better bully than the kid in the new version, (iii) “sweep the leg” and “get him a body bag” were cooler lines than “break the leg” and…well…nothing, (iv) Miyagi’s hot clap and healing massage was cooler (hotter?) and more dramatic than Mr. Han’s healing bubble vases of cottonball fire, and (v) no one sells the pain of being beaten to a pulp like Daniel LaRusso. Of course, seeing the epic countryside of China may have been slightly better than seeing the abandoned lot behind an apt building in Reseda (I had a friend that actually lived in the LaRusso apt complex when they were filming), but I’d probably prefer seeing pictures of China on the Travel Channel with Samantha Brown. Strike first, strike hard, no mercy! Cobra Kai never dies!
agreed, Sean Luke! sadly, pretty much all the cool lines in the new Karate Kid were a) taken from the original, and b) weren’t as cool. and the easy, fun, teenage romance between Daniel and Ali (the photo booth, halloween party, beach) vs. the awkward, somewhat uncomfortable, kid romance between Dre and Meiying (Dance Dance Revolution booty shake, puppet show kiss) left much to be desired. and yeah: Cobra Kai > Fighting Dragons. but the Mortal Kombat viewscreen was kinda cool. 🙂
MORTAL KOMBAT! Damn it I still play that game…FTW!
That last anonymous comment was me!
LoL Was the Cornfather ever a government employee of any kind? Just askin because I know a lot of those (having now been in two government jobs) and I’ll have to say, the sense of humor is about the same there. Yes, sadly the minds that run our country and states (probably even our counties, cities and towns) are twisted individuals… Can’t say I blame them though…you have to get your laughs somewhere.
Great Strip Bot. I’m not sure I’d like to agree with the movie review, but I haven’t seen the movie yet, so I can’t really have an opinion about that yet :(….Hey wait!! That’s how I should spend my Friday off!! Thanks for the idea Bot!
no, i don’t think the Cornfather has ever worked for the government, Eptha, but you never know. heheh. and i think we’re all a bit twisted. at least everybody here in these comments. (all dysfunctions normal, and all.) 😉
if you see the movie, let me know what you think!
I did see the movie…Not Friday like I’d wanted, but I did go Sunday, and it was good. It was a remake in the vaguest sense of the term, being that there were similar events with much different circumstances. But just because you’ve seen the original, don’t think that you won’t get any surprises out of the new one.
I actually liked the movie. Was it the original? No, but to be honest, i actually prefer the remake. Chan didn’t give off the master vibe that Morita did back in the day, but he definitely sold the Han part to me. It was a very subdued Chan, without the constant joking that he has made his trademark, but with all the amazing fighting skills you would expect from a kung fu master. I didn’t care that much for Jaden Smith, especially in the scenes regarding the requisite love story, but i just don’t think his acting chops have fully developed.
In the original movie, I always laughed at the Cobra Kai guys. They were the people we mocked when I was in high school. I was actually terrified of Cheng. Whereas Johnny was a douchebag who knew karate, Cheng felt like he would be at home in the Yakuza.
Anyway, I liked the movie. So don’t just not see it because it is a remake. It has great choreography, beautiful scenery, and a decent (if somewhat familiar) story
yeah, like i said, i didn’t hate the film, but i gotta disagree that it was better than the original. just a difference of opinion.
i totally agree with you that the Cobra Kai guys were douchebags and rather laughable, but i think that’s why they were so cool! you wanted Danny to kick their butts because they were douchebags! the chinese kids were just cruel kids, without much personality and without really much of a reason to hate Dre.
and the fight choreography, like you said, was great (although i’ll believe Daniel-san’s limited-but-effective use of Karate over Dre’s unbelievable Tekken-Style-Kung-Fu-Master level of skill, anyday) and the scenery was extremely beautiful; i hope to take the hike up those narrow stairs to that fountain someday. (although i’m not going to stick my face in it when I get there like Dre did! okay, maybe i will.) 😉
I don’ t usually comment, but this one was laugh out loud funny, so I had to speak up. I love puns, the dirtier the better, and this one was a winner. I tip my hat in salutation.
thanks for the comment, Roborat! glad to see readers don’t mind the strip being a little more mature (i.e. adolescent) every now and then. 😉
I’ve got one thing to say: http://www.sweeptheleg.com/
awesome song, Stan! i think that’s gotta go on my next iPod mix. 🙂
Was there really no karate? That’s laaame!! Are you gonna go see Toy Sroty 3 it looks so cute. Haha I like Bot’s and CF’s face in the 3rd panel.
nope, no Karate, only Kung Fu, Natalie. they even make it a point to say that what we’re seeing is not Karate, so there’s no reason for Karate to be in the title.
definitely gonna see Toy Story 3! Pixar has done no wrong thus far, and i’m hearing TS3 will only continue their winning streak.
Wow. What a bunch of whiners.
*Bwuahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!*
I have to admit that I do LOVE the new kid. Maybe is ’cause I’m a Jackie Chan fan or something along that lines. I never liked the original kid. Sorry. I prefer to be honest. I fell sleep halfway through the original and was never interested in it. I even rented it a few days ago to have a “fresh’ a more mature view of the original in order to have some point of comparison for when I decided to go and see the new kid, but I couldn’t go past half of it. I just can’t enjoy the original.
As a matter of fact, I found out that the original Karate kid movie tanked in Puerto Rico and aparently didn’t last more than a couple of days in the main cinemas. Ralph Macchio is NOT a favorite here in the island, while Jackie Chan has a huge following of puertorican fans. I love Jackie Chan, so he was reason enough for me to go see the new kid, and since I enjoyed the movie then it was a plus.
I apologize to all the fans of the original. It was not my intention to insult you or anything along that lines.
…
Or perhaps that was the intention. Who really knows.
*evil laugh of doom*
no apology necessary, Sonitan! you like the new one and think it’s better – that’s cool. you’re wrong, but still, that’s cool. 😉
i am willing to admit that nostalgia could be coloring my brain somewhat to the original, but i just connected with it way more than the new one. ah, well. to each his/her own!
I’ve yet to see either, I’m relatively new to the world of Geekdom! 😀
not sure The Karate Kid would fall under normal geekdom, Rinthia, at least not in the same way that, say, Star Wars, Star Trek and comic book properties do. but i suppose it does have its own niche that people are passionate about, so i guess one could “geek out” about it! heheh.
see the original before you see the remake if you can!
Well… this strip actually educated me to the fact there WAS a remake, which says nothing for my knowledge of movie-dom.
I blame the Fallout series, WoW and Role-Playing.
Games so involving you forget there’s a world with cinemas just out that door.
Probably why my comic is taking 2 years to get off the ground actually… Guffaw.
Wonderful strip as always! But wasn’t there supposed to be a fan art page like… Yesterday? lmao (but not actually lmao-ing, only lmao-ing in spirit, because I doubt I actually have the vocal power to laugh parts of my body away).
i used to be heavily into WoW and i still dabble in D&D, AngelSquid, so i know where you’re coming from. i had to give up WoW just to be able to really focus on JEFbot since there was no way i had time to do both!
and re: the FANart page – yes! expect it soon. there will be five pieces of art at launch – all of them great! was swamped this weekend but should have it up *fingers crossed* by this wednesday. 🙂
Hi. I’m back. Did you miss me? I was at the Estes Park Wool Market learning to make yarn on a spinning wheel, then I was in Baltimore for a conference for work. Funnily enough, we just saw this movie with Taran’s Tae Kwon Do school today. He and my husband liked this new one better than the original. I think I’m more in your camp, but I did like the music in the new version. I totally agree with your points a) and c). I didn’t realize it was as long as it was. My biggest complaint was that the popcorn had about a half pound of salt on it. Ugh.
I love the CF’s look in the 3rd panel. And the *nudge nudge* in the last panel had me laughing. This strip was a good one. 😀
i totally missed you, shanna, and was wondering as to your whereabouts! making your own yarn on a spinning wheel!? awesome. can you spin gold from straw, now? (i bet you get that all the time.) heheh.
and i’ll bet if you saw the original in a movie theater again they’d get the salt-to-popcorn ratio just right. the new Karate Kid cares nothing for salt ratios! i am retroactively adding that as my e) point. 😉
thanks, and glad you liked the illustrations in the 3rd and last panel!
My god… I think you just set a record for most painful pun ever.
oh, i’m sure i can think of more painful ones than that, Alexander. i’ll have to prove it to you in future strips.
I never am a fan of remakes, I tend to avoid them like the plague.
Also, thanks for the laugh. 😀
you’re welcome, Z! always happy to supply a laugh. 😀
and i think your “no remake” rule is a good one to live by; you’ll certainly see far less bad movies than i have.
damnit I wanna see this movie! I’ve seen all the karate kid movies and half of the fourth one (let’s face it that movie was TERRIBLE.) Gotta whole buncha movies I wanna see too, toy story 3 (been waitin 11 years to see that!) splice, some others…..
…lol jacket off.
go check it out, Steve! i didn’t mean to dissuade anyone from actually seeing it since it’s a decent distraction for 140 minutes (ugh), but there are far better movies out there right now. i wanted to see Splice, too! unfortunately, it’s out of most of the theaters near me, already. will definitely be catching Toy Story 3, though.
and yes, the less said about The Next Karate Kid, the better. 🙂