[Weekly Update] August 30, 2021

And just like that, temperature dropped in Montreal, and we are a little over a month away from our first snow. On the bright side, our Australian viewers are about to experience summer!

Remember to stay safe while you party!

CHANNEL UPDATE

• Work on our next video has been slow, mainly because my insomnia is getting nasty again. I'm also experiencing some major burn out at the moment, so I'm taking things a bit slower than usual. Sorry for the delay again!
• In any case, the script for our Gun Fu video is still being written. It'll be a two-parter series, with the first one focusing on the birth in Hong Kong, and part two focuses on how it grew in Hollywood.
• If you have any Gun Fu movie suggestions, particularly ones from Hollywood, leave me a suggestion!
• I also have a collaboration planned for the near future. Although things are having a small hiccup right now. Hopefully things will workout. Announcement coming soon.

MEDIA TALK

• For no particular reason, let's talk about wrestlers turned actors.
• One revelation of mine when working on this channel is that modern day kung fu and WWE wrestling has a lot in common. Not only are they staged, both disciplines produce a lot of actors over the years.
• For kung fu, it is pretty self-explanatory. Many kung fu stars came from an opera background, where acting is an expected part of the occupation.
• But in a way, being a wrestler is also a form of acting. A wrestler's entire career is to play a persona, a character.
• Although this also explains why a lot of wrestlers play the same characters in every single movie.
• These days, when thinking wrestlers turn actors, we all think of the same man: The Rock. Indeed, D. Johnson is one of, if not the most high paying actor in Hollywood right now.
• Man has a lot of charm, what can I say. Often, it doesn't matter how crappy a movie is. And we all know he is in a lot of craps, his performance makes things that much more tolerable. Over the years, The Rock cultivated this down to earth, easy to approach persona. He's like a friend we never met. And because of that, when we see him on screen, the familiarity is always comforting.
• In terms of acting capability, however, The Rock is actually surprisingly competent, as long as he is willing to try. In a previous update, I already gushed about his performance in Jumanji 2, in which he plays Danny DeVito. But if you compare his early appearance in the Fast and Furious series, you can see he is capable of doing more dramatic roles. Not to mention he single handed carried the live action Doom movie.
• Sadly, The Rock is already past his hardworking phase, and is currently doing films for pleasure only. He only wants to act as himself, and have fun making movies. Still, watching him have fun is an entertaining act. So, I won't complain... much.
• That said, if the Rock doesn't make a career break through soon, he might get replaced by John Cena in the near future. Oh yes, I'm saying it.
• Now, John Cena can't act. I don't think that's a controversial thing to say. Even in the ring, JC isn't known for being an expressive type. But what he lacks in acting talent, he makes up for it in comedy chop.
• Seriously, he is funny just standing there. Watching The Suicide Squad was a surreal experience for me because of this. While other actors are trying to be funny, John Cena just... IS funny. He walks funny, he stands there funnily. Even with a mask on, the way he moves is funny, and not in a fourth wall breaking way either.
• And when does try to be funny, the timing of it absolutely kills. There are already plenty of clips of him on the internet, so go take a look. I particularly enjoy his character introduction, in which he banters with Idris Elba, the other unexpected funny man in the film.
• Oh, and JC speaks Chinese, too. With the current Hollywood strategy, John Cena is basically a money printing machine.
• Oh and there's Dave Bautista. Haven't seen much of his movies, yet. Dude can't really act, nor is he particularly funny. But I'd say he offers the best fight scenes out of all three. His performance in the Ip Man spin off, as well as the fight in Blade Runner 2049 are both very legit.
• Let's go old school and do a lightning round:
• Over the years, the Hulk Hogan name kinda stinks. Yes, he has his own charm, and honestly I kinda like Santa with Muscles. But unlike the Rock, who spends a lot of efforts in charity, or Bautista, who's a vocal activist. The Hulkster just don't have much going on.
• Rowdy Roddy Piper didn't have a lot acting credits, but he was in They Live. That's enough for me. Rest In Peace.
• Similarly, Andre the Giant didn't act much. But he'll always be remembered as the charming giant in The Princess Bride.

Believe it or not, I actually don't watch wrestlings. I have no idea how I know so much about it, either. Although to a real wrestling fan, I know practically nothing.

Still, I hope this nerdy update is entertaining for you. And all goes well, hopefully I can still have a new video ready for this week!