2023 PorchFest in Rutherford

November 5th, 2023 by Mr. C


It was a fun day of free outdoor live music in Rutherford, NJ at Porch Fest! It would be a day of 13 bands playing at 7 homes using the porch as their stage! PorchFest was originally started in Ithaca, NY in 2007 and now this gathering of the arts & community has spread across the US in towns of all sizes! Thanks to the Rutherford Arts Committee as well as to the homeowners who generously lent their porches & lawns to the wonderful local musicians who shared their time to showcase their music!


1st stop was Mad Slap Tones jamming out with their rock r&b

Mad Slap Tones at PorchFest in Rutherford

Watch out for this young band, Ghost Notes! The trio couldn’t have been more than 13 yrs old, maybe even younger especially the drummer! They showed a lot of charisma and musical chops! They certainly are developing the sound and look of the future of rock!

One of the organizers of the Porchfest. I didn’t catch his name!
Rutherford Coffee Company
Good Coffee and Colombian pastries incl the beef puff pastry!
Reminder to us that Martin & John Dull and friends are playing at Williams Center across the street next weekend!
Springwood’s Electric Luau – jamming to Ukele rock!
Foul play
Cyclone Static
Specter on Woodward Ave – photo by Chocko
Raising Arizona in NJ! – Photo by Chocko

Posted in art | Comments (0)

Getting spooky in Hackensack!

October 30th, 2023 by Mr. C

Posted in art | Comments (0)

2023 Tour De Bronx

October 27th, 2023 by Mr. C

The artwork looks like a Toofly production but I’m not 100% positive. Anyone knows, let us know!

—————————————————————————————————————-

First thing that came to mind while riding on the Grand Concourse while pedaling towards Yankee Stadium was the Tony! Toni! Toné! Song – “It feels Good”….it certainly felt good last Sunday to be riding in the 29th annual Tour de Bronx bike ride again this year! It’s been quite a few years since I rode this open street tour of The Bronx. I would guesstimate about 4000 riders came out that morning. The bike ride would start on 161st street & the Grand Concourse and end at the Bronx Botanical Garden. I parked my car at Fordham University which is directly across the street from the Botanical Garden. I then biked to the start line which was about 4 miles away close to Yankee Stadium. The ride started at about 11:15 am. The 40 mile folks started a little earlier. Overall, it was a fun ride and of course the tour is always free! This is one big reason why I continue to ride the Tour de Bronx! Besides riding in a very underrated and under appreciated borough of NYC, it’s just a hop, skip, & bridge away from NJ! I’m already looking forward to the 30th anniversary of the Tour de Bronx in 2024!

——————————————————————————————————————–

I parked at Fordham University which was across the street from the Botanical Garden
Biking on the Grand Concourse towards the starting point. This was the Andrew Freedman Home. The Kool Herc mural is right next to this but was covered by branches.
Starting point of the ride, the 40 mile riders started out first.
Peter Gunz & the Bronx borough president with a little motivational speech before the ride!
a big bottleneck when entering the Bronx River Greenway
one of my favorite areas of the ride when heading into the Concrete plant area on the Bx River greenway

Tags: , ,
Posted in community, mr. c, photos, sports | Comments (0)

disc golf at FDR State Park in Westchester County, NY

August 4th, 2022 by Mr. C


We enjoyed the layout of the 18 hole disc golf course at FDR State Park in Westchester County, NY . The majority of the holes were in wooded areas but a few did open up the baskets to the skies! There were a handful of tee offs that sketched us out a bit in that if you were off a little to the right or the left, that disc would get lost in the outgrown bush. We did end up losing a disc in the marshes. 


watch out for flying saucers!
18th hole

Posted in art | Comments (0)

Tappanzee Bridge ~> Tarrytown ~> Sleepy Hollow

August 2nd, 2022 by Mr. C

Lighthouse at Sleepy Hollow
waterfront at Tarrytown side

We rode over the Tappanzee Bridge pathway once again and explored the waterfront area in Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow. After riding over the bridge and into the local streets of Tarrytown, I do have to say riding on Broadway was pretty sketchy. There’s a lot of cars on a pretty high speed road and not enough real estate for bike riders. I just stayed on the sidewalk and cruised down broadway and made a left to dive through to the waterfront. I’ll have to come up with a better way or routine next time. The views of the Tappanzee were amazing once by the waterfront and the lighthouse at Sleepy Hollow was uber cool especially with the little pedestrian bridge to the lighthouse. Of course the lighthouse was closed and it looked like some renovations are being done so maybe in the near future there will be access to this historic lighthouse! We ended the day with a nice Greek hefty lunch at Lefteris Gyro!


view from a bridge
Sleepy Hollow lighthouse
murals by the lighthouse
pedestrian bridge over railroad tracks overrun by nature by Kingsland Point park!
Tarrytown Music Hall. Henry Rollins performance in September!
much needed grub from Lefteris Gyro before pedaling back over the Tappanzee!
the cheesecake baklava caught my eye & belly at Lefteris! sugar high! it was the perfect fusion of what is greek & new york!

Posted in mr. c, photos, travel | Comments (0)

frisbee golf in Warwick, NY

July 31st, 2022 by Mr. C

the 18th hole disc golf basket at Warwick Town park in Warwick, NY

We made a little frisbee golf excursion the other day to check out the 18 hole course at Warwick Town park. I believe this park & disc golf course has been around for at least 15 years maybe even longer. Any regulars at Warwick please chime in!

This course goes through woods and back onto a beautiful open field. This disc park is maintained really well and the lawn is manicured very meticulously. There are two disc tee off pads for each hole, one silver (beginner) and one blue (advanced) to their matching two baskets options, one silver (shorter distance for beginner) and one blue basket (longer for advanced). There was one tee off pad that we had a hard time finding, I think it was #5 which was around the corner from the woods and into the open field. It was mainly a 3 par course per hole for the silver tee to silver basket. We didn’t really keep score but we estimate we were about +20 each at the end of the 18th. We’ll have to work on that for the next time! All in all, great time and a great well kept park!

—————————————————————————————————————–

Warwick Town Park, Warwick NY
Mondocurry Jr demonstrating the disc throw through the wickets!
Hole 2
18th hole, finish him!
17th hole about to get schooled!
Wolfe Woods, another disc golf course within the course!
We could not end the day without getting some ice cream at Bellvale Farms Creamery especially when we’re in the neighborhood already!
view by Bellvale Farms Creamery

Tags: , , ,
Posted in mr. c, photos, sports | Comments (0)

Run, Walk, Bike, Explore the Tappanzee Bridge path

July 24th, 2022 by Mr. C

New Tappanzee Bridge AKA Mario Cuomo Bridge opened in 2018
Photo source: https://mariomcuomobridge.ny.gov/
Just riding into the multi use path on the Tappanzee Bridge from the Rockland Landing side.

—————————————————————————————————————-

A few weeks ago we cycled over the Tappanzee Bridge multi use path for the first time and it was amazing! This pedestrian path opened in 2020. I would never have dreamed that we could do this as the old Tappanzee Bridge, there were no walk or bike paths. The original Tappanzee bridge
opened in December 15, 1955 and served it’s duty for providing access for commuters and truckers alike until a much needed new bridge was in the plans to deal with costly repairs and maintenance.

In 2018, both spans of the new Tappanzee Bridge opened to the public! On June 15, 2020 the 3.6 mile multi use path was opened! The Nyack side walkway is called the Rockland Landing located at 1200 Rt 9W South Nyack. The Westchester Landing path is located at 333 South Broadway, Tarrytown.

It was surreal to find yourself pedaling over the Hudson river in this vast open location. You look over one side and the beautiful Hudson River exposes itself then you look over in the other direction and a massive multi-lane concrete highway engulfs you. You can seriously hear and feel the vibration of the cars, motorcycles, & trucks zooming right by you.


parked our bikes at Boxer Donuts & Expresso Bar in downtown Nyack
walked around the Famous street fair in Nyack
The Tappanzee Bridge opened on December 15, 1955
photo source: https://mariomcuomobridge.ny.gov/
Photo source: https://mariomcuomobridge.ny.gov/
in 2017, the first span of the new bridge opens alongside the old bridge.
photo source: https://mariomcuomobridge.ny.gov/

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in community, mr. c, photos | Comments (0)

biking at the Jersey shore from Atlantic Highlands to Sandy Hook

July 22nd, 2022 by Mr. C

Sandy Hook or Sea Bright!

Hello world! We hope our readers are doing well – all 3 of you! Sorry for our severe absence from this blog but honestly we or at least I didn’t have
much interesting going on plus I was feeling kinda blue bayou. We promise to try to pick things up again. This bike ride at the Jersey shore helped inject me with some of those much needed endorphins! Let’s see if we get lucky today and run into the Boss at Sandy Hook or Kevin Smith and Jay Mewes (Jay & Silent Bob) at Leonardo, NJ!

It was great being back in Monmouth County, NJ – an area where I spent about 12 years working. We used to have an annual beach day outing for our company which was held at Sandy Hook usually towards the end of September. New Jersey, for all you that do not know because our state is so different – most beaches in NJ charge an admission fee per person to get on the beach or in this case, Sandy Hook which is a national historic park and former military base charges a parking fee which to my amazement is $20 now! Another point to note that these entrance fees are usually in effect between Memorial Day to Labor day which is basically all summer long. Anytime outside of these dates, there are no entrance fees! I’m sure that is why my former company had their outing after labor day plus it’s usually much cooler in temperature in their defense!

Anyway, we took our bikes back to the former stomping grounds and rode from Atlantic Highlands to Sandy Hook beach! And we avoided the $20 entrance fee because we were on bicycle! Of course we rode on a day that would start this little heat wave in NJ/NY but it was worth it! The total distance we rode was about 20 miles round trip and boy I’m glad we were
somewhat prepared with the liquids because it was Buster pointdexter feeling hot,hot,hot! We stopped at Slater’s Deli on Rt 36 in Leonardo for their awesome subs and pork roll breakfast sandwiches!

Sandy Hook is an amazing destination of natural riches that has an extensive ocean and bay beaches for swimming, surfing, paddle boarding, fishing, picnicking, scuba diving, wind surfing, & bicycling. Of course we’re not forgetting about you, the professional sun bathers out there! For the nature explorers, the park has hiking trails, salt marshes, bike paths, and a forest with much wildlife. We saw a few deer roaming around even in this hot weather! God bless you bambi! The National Park Service took over Sandy Hook in 1975 after the U.S. Army decommissioned Fort Hancock which served as an active military base from 1874-1975.

It’s about a 1.5 – 2 hr drive to Sandy Hook from NYC but there is the Seastreak Ferry that departs from 35th st & East river or Pier 11 Wall Street that goes to Atlantic Highlands, Highlands, & Sandy Hook. From Atlantic Highlands or Highlands, it’s about a 10 min car ride to Sandy Hook or you can bike there in 25 minutes or so.

The Seastreak Ferry info can be found here .

———————————————————————————————————

Great neighborhood deli and a serious pork roll breakfast sandwich! glad to see Slaters survived these past few years. 

Slater’s Deli
866 NJ-36, Leonardo, NJ 07737

We picked up a few subs and a breakfast sandwich for some fuel for the ride! 

Slater’s Deli
866 NJ-36, Leonardo, NJ 07737

We parked on First Ave in Atlantic Highlands and picked up the Henry Hudson Bike Trail across the street from the skate park to head towards Popamora Point in Highlands.
Life is like a balance of rocks!
Popamora Point Beach is kind of a hidden gem or jam at the very least! It’s a free beach on the bay side of Highlands. It’s very quiet and peaceful. It’s a mix of crushed rock & sand. 
looking From Popamora Point area the island jetting out is Sandy Hook National Gateway Recreation park. You can barely make out the Verrazzano bridge and NYC skyscrapers
at 11 o’clock point of view , you can barely make it out because it was very cloudy and foggy that day is the Verrazzano Narrows bridge & NYC in the background. On the other side of Sandy Hook on the Ocean side as this is the bay side, you can make out Coney Island & Brighton Beach especially at night with the Coney Island amusement park lights!
Rolling past Popamora point now, we continue onto Shore Drive in Highlands toward RT 36 to cross the bridge to Sandy Hook.
Made a right onto Miller Ave. Greetings from Highlands!
Made a left onto Rt 36
on the bridge going towards Sandy Hook
On the bike path towards Sandy Hook! Cars on the left are paying $20 entrance fee
Did I say it was hot today!? So hot , not many bicyclist out
talk about a projectile!
Rockets, missiles, & all that jazz!
looking at the bayside of Sandy Hook by fort hancock
Sandy Hook lighthouse
Mortar battery area
Mortar area
Mortars fired from here!
Making our way back, had to fuel the bodies! Aloha from NJ!
Last stop to hydrate and see if we run into Jay & Silent Bob and hope to check out a hockey game on the rooftop! Stop by for some drinks, ice cream, play some lotto or perhaps see if Dante or Randall are working!

Quick Stop
58 Leonard Ave, Leonardo, NJ 07737

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in mr. c, photos, sports | Comments (0)

Kenny Scharf : When Worlds Collide (2020)

December 24th, 2021 by Mr. C

———————————————————————————————————–

This movie was an inspiring look into the life & art world of Kenny Scharf! We’ve always enjoyed the murals painted by him when we randomly stumbled across them while combing the streets of the dirty NYC. His art seemed to bring all his painted subjects to life even the inanimate ones! I had no idea Kenny’s background stretched back to days spent with Keith Haring, Jean Michel Basquiat, & Andy Warhol. All four of these folks along with all the graffiti writers of the time transformed the street art & culture of lower manhattan unto a world of its own! The documentary really sets apart his friendship with Haring and how influential he was in his life no matter how polar opposites they seemed to be. I admired how competitive they were with each other in the art sense and the School of Visual arts in Manhattan seemed to be the breeding ground.

I loved how the center of Scharf’s life revolved around his family and his connection to his own self no matter how dark things got like in 1980s NYC or when he lost Haring to AIDS in 1990. You can tell he was a very well rounded & grounded individual. 

I also enjoyed the fact that Kenny Scharf was able to tell his own story along with his wife & kids! As a matter of fact the director of this documentary was Malia Scharf, Kenny’s daughter! 

The doc followed Kenny around to his studio in L.A. during current times as well as providing amazing archival video, still, & sound footage from the 1980s with Haring, Basquiat ,and the likes! The film goes on to extrapolate Scharf’s thirst for abstract expressionism & nuclear annhilation in the art realm. His canvas was literally everything including everyday inanimate objects which he brought to life! He was in love with nature and incorporated it in his paintings. He was also a fan of cartoons and the Jetsons which he frequently incorporated into his pieces! Cartoony subjects made art more accessible & fun according to Scharf. Of course along with the light hearted & fun times in his life, there were plenty of dark shadows that inhabited his mind as well from his experience in NYC in the 1980s & early 1990s in specific to the club scene in NY at the time. AIDS also annihilated 1/3 of his creative friends around him. His witnessing of his dear friend Keith Haring taking his very last breath while he held his hand was a very emotional part of the film as Scharf retold the story in the documentary. All these experiences good & bad manifested into his work. 

Kenny Scharf, Andy Warhol, Keith Haring
Scharf and Keith Haring

Kenny described his art very well in the film. He has the syndrome of seeing faces in everything! Everything is a person and everything has a personality.  Even objects not living or breathing has a personality & a face to them! He also gives a lot of credit to the graffiti artists for making art accessible to everyone. Art should be for everybody not just in the art gallery. The street was the main way to communicate. 

As if his skill & being wasn’t enough, Scharf also had many layers to his art. He made animation & video performance art. Merger & fusion of fine art culture & pop culture is what Kenny truly is! He loves to advertise free thinking & directed it right at the people! 

As for the current Kenny Scharf, he seems happy to still create his art in his studio in L.A. alongside his wife & kids! Now he is obsessed with garbage, plastic garbage in specific – taking the discarded, unwanted & turning it into something! The film describes Kenny very well. He is a showman, a performance artist, an emcee of the art realm. It’s not about being a star or being famous. It’s just about being an artist. 

Jean Michel Basquiat and Kenny Scharf

When worlds collide was Scharf’s piece from 1985. In the documentary, he visited his painting which he hasn’t seen since those times. 


When Worlds Collide piece by Kenny Scharf from 1985 (oil and paint on canvas)

Everything is existing at the same time, tranquility & chaos can coexist.” – Kenny Scharf 

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in art, community, movies, mr. c | Comments (0)

Dreaming of a Jewish Christmas (2017) – a musical documentary

December 18th, 2021 by Mr. C


This documentary was a fun take on how Jewish Americans have taken a tradition not their own & created something they can call their own encapsulated with song, dance, & chinese food!? I’m not Jewish but I have some friends who are (sounds like a racist intro) and if I shine a bright light in their face and interrogate them with questions including where were you on the night of December 25th Christmas Day most would probably tell me that they went to the movies during the day & at night they went to a Chinese restaurant for dinner! Hell (pardon the bad timing and usage of the word) that kinda describes my Christmas Day as a Chinese American! 

Jews have a more important connection to Christmas in songs with familiar lyrics known to everyone such as chestnuts roasting in an open fire, let it snow, I’ll be home for Christmas, walking in the winter wonderland, Rudolph the red nose reindeer, white Christmas, & many many more songs that were written by Jewish composers! Jews were not considered & treated as white nor black, but were regarded more as orientals when they landed in New York harbor in the 18th century and started creating a new life in the tenements of the lower east side of Manhattan. The New York Jews were outsiders & foreigners initially because of language barriers so they created a tradition of their own! The children of these immigrants wanted to write a narrative or song (pun intended!) of their own.

When the Jewish wrote Christmas songs they weren’t writing them as an experience of being a Jew but as an outlet for being American. The songs created national unity, freedom of expression, and ultimately a way to provide food for their family while being true to themselves.

Some of the most entertaining parts of the film were when the workers of the Chinese restaurant started breaking out in song & dance with Christmas songs! Hey, this might make a great Broadway musical! 

The Jewish & Chinese immigrant experience living in NYC probably has more parallels & similarities than differences especially when it’s Christmas Day. It was fun to see these two groups that are the same but different – mesh on this holy day! There’s definitely a superficial & commercial glow to Christmas but in the end it’s still a day to try & make people happy and feel that they belong. These Christmas songs provide a wonderful mood & soundtrack to this. Salute to Irving Berlin, Mel Tormé, Jay Livingston, Ray Evans, Gloria Shayne Baker, Johnny Marks & others I missed for these tunes!

Take it away with Xmas song and dance Mr. Wu!

What I gathered from the film was that Jewish Americans who created these instant classics were actually creating tunes of their heritage and experience as a Jew living in America for example “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer” was really about accepting me as who I am regardless of how I look. There were hardships living in America as an immigrant so these songs & lyrics helped fuel a sense of belonging. The film elaborates on the importance of this song & the message behind it.

There’s no denying the power in these Christmas songs and we owe it all to these Jewish American composers! The lyrics are often melancholy & sad but still uplifting and provides a sight line for being hopeful & compassionate. Christmas is a day for inclusion regardless of ethnicity. It’s the American way!

Dreaming of a Jewish Christmas is quintessentially a reality of living the American dream. Recommended viewing especially for the holidays!

restaurant staff bust out in christmas song and dance!

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in community, movies, mr. c | Comments (0)

The Band From Glen Rock High reunion concert + Uncle Floyd

December 5th, 2021 by Mr. C

Display case of musical artifacts from The Band From Glen Rock High at Glen Rock High School!
Glen Rock High NJ auditorium

A talented bunch of musical misfits who were all graduates of Glen Rock High School from the early 1970s including a funny & the most outspoken one of them all, Floyd Vivino (Glen Rock High graduate 1969) otherwise known as Uncle Floyd gathered together for a reunion concert billed as The Band from Glen Rock High. This one night only event took place at the Glen Rock High School auditorium and some of the concert footage will be used for the upcoming documentary called “The Band From Glen Rock High”.  The Band mostly played jazz influenced tunes and even sported out some funk-tastic ones as well! For a second I thought the Funk Brothers were in the house or even the contemporary likes of the Budos Band and similar ilks! Of course some classic concerto pieces from the symphony master Jim Feeney on the upright bass with his wife on the violin were magical and fun! We couldn’t leave out Uncle Floyd with his shaving cream routine and standup comedy bit are always a crowd favorite creating instant chuckles! A highlight for me and forgive me as I forget her name but it will come to me eventually was Cissy Houston’s piano player that records with Cissy from time to time. She really thumped those keys with soul, gospel, & gusto onto that piano solo she had. The Band backed her up like they have played together for years! We gave her a standing ovation after her performance! Another bone chilling vocal performance was from Donna Vivino. She’s the daughter of Jerry Vivino and she is one incredible Broadway singer! She has been acting & singing on Broadway since she was 8 yrs old! Donna sang an uplifting song from her breakthrough appearance from Les Miserable! The finale of the night went to Lee Shapiro on the keyboards and his contribution to Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons with “Oh What a Night”. And oh what a night it was!

The talented Donna Vivino, daughter of Jerry Vivino and Uncle Floyd’s niece singing a Les Miserables tune. She grew up singing on broadway.

During the early 1970s, Glen Rock High School students Lee Shapiro, Jerry Vivino, John Feeney, Frank Pagano, Jimmy Vivino, Doug Romoff, and Uncle Floyd Vivino all discovered each other through the love of music & friendships. Of course the Vivino family seemed to all possess the musical gene but Glen Rock High School & their music program led by Joseph Silsky seemed to breed professional musicians! Since graduating from Glen Rock High, the band members all went on to have very successful music recording careers. Lee Shapiro made his name & success playing with Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons. Jerry (Clarinet & sax) & Jimmy Vivino (guitar) are very accomplished jazz & blues musicians recording with the likes of Paquito & Cissy Houston. John Feeney, a virtuoso on the upright bass plays with the NY Philharmonic. And we all know how successful Uncle Floyd became!

Well for one night on December 2, 2021 – the Band from Glen Rock High gathered together for a reunion and once again created beautiful music together! They all honored their High School music mentor Mr. Silsky and gave him a lifetime achievement award! Mr Silsky was called on the stage and played the sax like a boss and would even make Clarence Clemons raise the roof from heaven!

The director of the film who is also a Glen Rock High School alumni announced that they will have a screening of “The Band from Glen Rock High” at Glen Rock High School so stay tuned!

Uncle Floyd on the horns!
1970s music teacher Mr. Silsky on the Sax next to Jerry Vivino, Jimmy on the guitar!
Uncle Floyd roasting and toasting Mr. Silsky!
Jerry Vivino on doubles with the clarinet and sax at the same time! talk about double fisted!
I forgot her name but she is a very accomplished piano player and Cissy Houston’s right hand lady on the piano! She is also a graduate of Glen Rock High from the 1970s!
She was slaying it on the piano! So much soul and jazz, so little time!
Jim Feeney on the Upright bass and Jerry Vivino on the Clarinet. They killed it with
a paquito influenced piece!

Uncle Floyd with a standup routine doing an impersonation on The Godfather and Don Corleone!
Uncle Floyd at his best! give him a microphone and call it a ham!
Floyd on the Cymbals!

Posted in art | Comments (0)

New York Ninja (1984) & re-enter the New York Ninja in 2021!

November 29th, 2021 by Mr. C


I was familiar with John Liu from his work in Secret Rivals & Secret Rivals 2 aka Northern Fists – Southern Kicks which was considered a second rate / second tier produced old school Kung Fu film as opposed to films from high budget movie studios like Shaw Brothers and Golden Harvest. That being said John Liu and his opposing counterpart villain in most of his films, the venerable Hwang Jang Lee aka Silver Fox always had great fight scenes together! So when I learned about this lost movie, NEW YORK NINJA which John Liu starred & directed in his only American production, I was like whaat!? And that the movie was based in a 1980s New York City, I was like whaat!? How come we never heard of it? New York Ninja was filmed entirely on 35mm in 1984, but the project was aborted during production and over time, all the original sound that accompanied the film was lost.

35 years later in 2019, enters Vinegar Syndrome and so re-enter New York Ninja! They found & acquired the negative footage of New York Ninja untouched in a film lab and lying dormant for decades. The film was never edited, had no rolling credits, no audio, no soundtrack, no script, and no clues about who the cast members of the film & film crew were. To make an interesting long story short, the Vinegar Syndrome team did some research and eventually found John Liu the original director & actor in the film, at least 2 of the original cast members, & a few of the film crew. John Liu gave his blessings & good luck to Vinegar Syndrome with finishing the film! He wanted no part of his film anymore! Ok, where to start with no audio from the film and therefore no idea of what the story, plot, & inspiration was? Answer: write a script, score it, find voice overs, edit film – easy right!? Thank you Vinegar Syndrome for saving this film! I think you did John Liu some serious justice in digging out & fine tuning this hidden gem and awarding us fans with the prize! You can find more details of the behind the scenes of re-enter the New York Ninja on the release of this film on Blu Ray available now on Vinegar Syndrome’s website and hopefully a release to theaters soon near you as well! Note: As of this second on 11/30/2021, it looks like Vinegar Syndrome stopped the website sales temporarily because of the special Black Friday sales. Website orders will be back online in January I’m told! This movie is worth the wait, trust me!

Cover art of New York Ninja on Blu Ray by artist Kung Fu Bob O’Brien

New York Ninja (1984) couldn’t come at a better time with the current situation we have here in the dirty NYC in 2021! We need a throwback comic book like superhero fighting crime with his martial arts with vigilante spirit in a setting from early 1980s NYC. John Liu displayed some pretty impressive fight scenes & choreography including the scene with the villain performing a drunken sword segment & John Liu himself displaying some old school Jackie Chan like comedic kicking routines! The movie also provides a lot of campy, fun cheesy WTF moments as well as having the flare for the dramatic! John Liu’s character begins his NYC nightmare with his wife getting brutally murdered just for witnessing a kidnapping. Our hero tries to get help from NYPD but soon finds that they are no help so our efforts turn to the masked ninja dressed in white – fighting crime on the streets of NYC encountering all types of bad intentions from muggers, pickpockets, rapists, gang members, & some high class thug known as the plutonium killer! Is that the same guy stealing catalytic converters on our block in 2021? Wait, no – that would be the platinum killer!

New York Ninja no doubt possessed the midnight movie vibes deserving of an old times square screening from those Maniac times!

My favorite parts of the film had our hero vigilante fighting on NYC rooftops, chasing scallywags on those iconic water towers, running around deserted dumbo warehouses, scampering in graffiti ladened subways, and fighting stick up kids in the alleyways of NYC! Did I mention a Ninja on roller skates, too!? How about a Chinese ninja dangling from a helicopter!? The production of the film looked along the lines of Miami Connection but in a more gritty & frightening Charles Bronson Death Wish type of way. Some familiar voice overs in the film by Cynthia Rothrock and Don The Dragon Wilson authenticates those 1980 & 1990s martial art vibes! The soundtrack of the film was scored by Voyag3r. The tunes added edgy period correct 80s synth to the action & suspense! It complimented the movie very well! You can get the soundtrack & other merch by Voyag3r on their website. Listen to the “Battle on the Rooftop” by Voyag3r below!

If you love martial arts or vigilante films and/or are nostalgic for 1980s New York City, you have to watch New York Ninja! Go buy it at Vinegar Syndrome and watch the bonus extras as well! I couldn’t tell you when the last time I remembered having so much fun watching a movie! I heart NY NINJA! Hooray for NY Ninja! Find your white ninja suit and get some popcorn! By the way, the cover art for the Blu Ray release of New York Ninja is done by Kung Fu Bob O’Brien. The artwork is rad and jumps off the cover! Bob is a great artist and veteran of poster art and DVD/Blu Ray martial art movie covers. He’s also a real knowlegeable dude in films and martial art films in particular. You can buy his artwork and T-shirt designs here: https://www.36styles.com/kungfubobsart/

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in movies, mr. c | Comments (0)

Categories

Archive

brick & mortar record stores

cinema

music & eats!

services