Al Leong, Everyone’s Favorite Asian Henchman
May 6th, 2012
As far as long-haired Asian henchman in popular action films of the 80’s and 90’s, I’d say that Al Leong has pretty much cornered the market. I pretty much defy each of you to deny that you’ve seen him somewhere – whether it be in Lethal Weapon, Big Trouble in Little China, Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure (in which he played Genghis Khan), Last Action Hero, or my personal favorite of his films, Die Hard. You know, he’s that Asian guy with the crazy martial arts whom you’d be scared to see on the streets, but generally ends up getting killed pretty quickly by the film’s hero. Read the rest of this entry »
The week had finally arrived for the big family Walt Disney World trip, partially courtesy of my Mom and Grandpa Murphy, whose inheritance provided some funds to supplement our park tickets. I think you all know how I treasure my vacations, so I wasn’t all that thrilled to be wasting a Saturday when we could have begun our trip on that day. But truth be told, it was nice to have a full day to tie up some loose ends, and get packed and ready for the week-long adventure. I was able to get to sleep at a fairly decent hour, especially considering that at 3:30am on the morning of Sunday, April 15, 2012, my alarm would be going off and I would be getting ready for the awesome travels ahead. 
I recently began an initiative of watching the highest rated critically acclaimed movies of all-time and this includes many foreign films, where my knowledge is considerably lacking. Thus far, my favorite of the overseas offerings has been Federico Fellini’s 8½. It is a film that is intensely difficult to describe, since the purpose of the film is not really to tell a story but to overpower you with the dazzling images of people, places, and things that Fellini committed to film. One of those people in the film was actress Barbara Steele. 
Even though I’m the consummate Superman fan, I must admit that I have yet to work my way through the four seasons of Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. (Mind you, the DVDs are all sitting in my basement ready to be watched – and will be soon). Even still, when I learned that Tracy Scoggins was going to be present at the Hollywood Show on April 2, 2011, I had this nagging feeling that I knew her from something non-Superman related. 
Slipping in between the immensely popular Pulp Fiction and the Kill Bill duology, was a the more subdued and subtle Quentin Tarentino film Jackie Brown. Not quite as impactful as its surrounding sister films, it is nonetheless a masterwork that I enjoy tremendously. One cool aspect of the film is that Tarentino chose the largely forgotten Pam Grier for the lead title role. She wasn’t exactly out of the business at that point, but had been appearing in minor roles in such films as Mars Attacks!, Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey, and Above the Law.