The Karate Kid...lets discuss the greatness.

Also - Cruel Summer is not at the date place - it's on Daniel's first day at his new school as it's daytime and the sun is shining (DYS!)

Favourite bit - Must focus danielsen. Best karate still inside. I still use this as a motivational line. I do not motivate many people, but it makes me feel good.

The IMDB entry

A 'celebration' of sorts

I never am able to fully enjoy that crane move because, I mean, how did he do it? First off, it's virtually a physically impossible move to begin with (don't tell me you all haven't tried it, whether as a kid or drunk, two weeks ago, at a party. You know you have). Secondly, his leg is like BROKEN or something, I mean he's limping back all over the place and totally hobbling on his way back to the fight and obviously can't put pressure on that leg. So suddenly he can land on it with the FULL FORCE OF HIS BODY and kick another person in the face? How does it work!!!

more karate kid greatness: when daniel wins the tournament elisabeth shue comes out for the loving embrace and just fucking towers over tiny ass ralph maccio.

http://www.ec.com.my/webproxy/nph-proxy.pl/010110A/http/whatever-dude.com/wdimages/dposts/kkid5.jpg

(and checking the above i found this: http://www.cyberkwoon.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=9397&view=next which is like ilx meets cobra kai...)

http://sports.espn.go.com/page2/movies/s/simmons/020830.html

I like when Johnny is rolling a joint on the toilet. When I was little, I had no idea what he was doing!

Those Kobra Kai skeleton suits are ill.

Why would Ali like a dork like Daniel?

i will plug my article about breakin and beat street again here -- http://www.freakytrigger.co.uk/nylpm/2002_03_01_nylpm_archive.html#11072845

Huh:

Superstar actor Will Smith will produce an updated version of The Karate Kid, which was originally released in 1984. The remake will feature Smith’s son Jaden Smith in his third major role since his acting debut alongside his father in the movie The Pursuit of Happyness. The original 1984 flick starred Ralph Macchio as Daniel La Russo and Pat Morita as the famous Mr. Miyagi and was set in Las Angeles California. The new version of the film, which is being written by Chris Murphy, centers around a meek young boy who lives in Beijing. He turns to a mentor to build character, defend himself against a bully and to learn that there is more to the Martial Arts than the physical element of fighting. The Karate Kid was originally produced by Jerry Weintraub, who will co-produce the updated version with Smith’s Overbrook Pictures’ James Lassiter and Ken Stovitz. The updated version of The Karate Kid is slated to begin filming in China early next year. Jaden, 10, will next be seen on the big screen in the upcoming movie The Day the Earth Stood Still.

Oh yuck. I'm tired of Will Smith trying to turn his kid into a star.

yeah loved that one

Zabka is reliably dirtbag comedy gold all the way through, I love how much he leans into the dumbness

I guess playing Johnny's terrible stepdad wasn't his last onscreen role, but it was nice to give Ed Asner a sendoff in something I was actually watching not just to see him.

yeah agreed!

tbc I love how Daniel, Daniel's wife, Johnny, and Alli kick it over vodka martinis despite drinking martinis with vodka in them.

lol

Elizabeth Shue being 60 (soon) trips me out.

Maybe not as much as Ralph Macchio being 22 years old when the movie was filmed, and Randee Heller (who played his mom) being 36.

There was only a 3 year gap between Karate Kid III and My Cousin Vinny, but I remember when the latter came out thinking "Ralph went away and got old!"

I enjoy the weird out-of-time quality of the original Karate Kid... maybe it's remembered as classic 80s film now, but it feels like it could have been set anywhere from like 1946 to 1996, some smeared out American adolescence from the end of WWII to the World Wide Web

the end of Karate Kid III, with the little hand drums? unforgettable. no quality judgment one way or the other, i'm just never going to forget it.

i think the hand drums was Karate Kid 2

that sounds right though i haven't seen it since i watched in the theater back in '86. pretty memorable.

i do love how Kreese was apparently teleported in from another movie, probably rated-R, where he was playing an evil henchman. Absolutely one of the most absurd characters to ever appear on screen, contextually speaking. but...

https://c.tenor.com/2NwXxMMYhXYAAAAd/tenor.gif

The first movie has many merits, but it's hard not to laugh at how out of shape and awkward both Macchio and Morita look throughout. Daniel's training between the start of the movie and the tournament appears to result in zero improvement in his fitness, and Morita looks soft and cuddly in every scene except for the 20 seconds or so where he's doubled by Fumio Demura.

Another gripe: we're told that Miyagi has been living in California for more than 40 years, but his Yoda-like pidgin English is supposed to be both plausible and hilarious ... this aspect of Morita's schtick wasn't funny then and hasn't aged well.

I'll admit to having a little personal animus toward the film because it marked a transition in how people in the US perceived teaching and learning martial arts. The kids in The Karate Kid are 20-somethings playing high school students, but the target audience was younger, and after the movie's success there was a big expansion in the number of commercial martial arts schools aimed at children, along with a corresponding decline in the interest and participation of adults. The martial arts world has changed a lot since 1984, but if you say "karate" to most people in the US today, their immediate association is with the place Mom takes Mason on the afternoons he doesn't have soccer practice.

I enjoy the way Cobra Kai leans into that absurdity, but it would be funnier if all the karate students were played by under-12 child actors.

Another gripe: we're told that Miyagi has been living in California for more than 40 years, but his Yoda-like pidgin English is supposed to be both plausible and hilarious ... this aspect of Morita's schtick wasn't funny then and hasn't aged well.

*cues Japanese flute*

the bonzai techniques in this film can also be applied to manscaping