Freddy's Friday Night Dance Party!: The Fresh Drippings of Bel-Air Edition!

Well, the new version of The Karate Kid opens today, and surprisingly it looks better than I would have ever thought. However, I think that it only appears that way due to the presence of Jackie Chan. The fighting also looks like it will be elevated from the original, but that's probably because it's the more flashy art of Kung-Fu, not Karate, this time around. Funny, Kung-fu? Karate Kid? Eh, what's the difference, it's not as if anyone can differentiate between China and Japan anyways. Even if it looks okay, I still can't help but hate it. Why? Because I cannot stand that little girl, Jaden Smith, who isn't even worthy of Ralph Macchio's Jersey ball sweat. Sorry. It's not even his fault really so much it's his one-trick dad that I don't like, and shit rolls downhill as they say.

I'd rather not spend a dance party explaining my reasons for hating Will Smith post Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, because it's all about the music, man. Even more so, it's all about the original Karate Kid, and while it's not set off in some foreign land, or filled with near wire-fu Martial Arts, nor does it have an all-star cast and a robotic pre-teen with cute braids, it has heart, inspiration, and a drunken Miyagi. Oh, and it also has one of the greatest montages outside of a Rocky film. It's the type of montage that has you doing sit-ups and stretches within minutes. Just remember, there is only one person better than you, and that is you when trained to fight, trained to be strong and trained to be the best...around.

Written and performed by Joe Esposito, You're the Best is the hype song for the All-Valley Karate Championships as well as the hype song for my day-to-day life. You're the Best is just one of many classic songs made to pump up the audience in movies where adversity was faced head-on by whomever the underdog may be. An interesting note about this song is the fact that it was written for Rocky III, but after being nudged for Eye of the Tiger, it was again replaced by Maniac on the Flashdance soundtrack before making The Karate Kid cut. While I love the song, it is a little hokey even compared to Maniac and Eye of the Tiger, two songs that proved to be much more popular at the time. Still, bounced around or not, the song has an important place in cinema and in the hearts of Karate Kid fans across the globe.

CNAMB Presents: Monster of the Week!

Some monster are driven by a deep seated anger and rage that comes from having a tough and unfair childhood spent on the streets - some find a way to get that anger and hatred out in a socially acceptable way. Having an outlet, such as boxing to get the anger out is a good thing, but it doesn’t make the person less the Monster if they are driven by hurting others without remorse. Some aren’t able to take the negative experiences of a past difficult life and turn them into something positive for others with their success.

This is the case with this week’s Monster, so without any further ado, the Monster of the Week is…

James "Clubber" Lang!

Appearing in 1982’s Rocky III, James “Clubber” Lang is the opponent and antagonist to the great Rocky Balboa. Clubber Lang is an angry man, and as he works his way up the boxing ranks, his anger is fueled by watching Balboa win frivolous title matches against weak and lesser opponents. He see’s someone at the top that in his eyes doesn’t deserve it and it just makes him all the more upset. Lang is played by the great Mr. T and I think I need not explain who that man is (loved his cereal), but I will say that his performance in Rocky III is quite fantastic. We know that Mr. T was a real life tough guy, that’s what got him the role in Rocky III, but the real T is one of the kindest and most noble people to work in film and television, and that is evident from his positive messages to children over the years. His real life persona almost mirrors that of Lang in a sense, but he decided to make a positive impact, instead of a negative one with his success.

Mr. T is as far from Clubber Lang as it gets and that is what makes him so great in the movie…Lang is incredibly intimidating and he’s as scary as a broken condom. Rocky Balboa has faced many antagonists, but what separates Clubber Lang from the rest of the pack is he never shows any signs of kindness, nor is he apologetic for his negative actions. He is just a mean dude that only wants to knock the block off Rocky Balboa out of hatred and jealousy. Even Ivan Drago wasn’t that bad of a guy and in the end, he showed signs of couth, giving respect for Rocky as a fighter, which eventually led to the end of the cold war. Thank god.