The AWESOME Disgruntled's Real Secondary Champion: Part 6

*Blog post started on August 10, 2020.

Perhaps three post a week is too much. It is catching up to my output. On top of that, NinetyForChill.com (Should I go and sit on that Twitter handle?), officially has more blog posts than MainEventoftheDead.com, my primary blog that is meant to encourage assistance with the production of my zombie versus indie wrestler script (If you would like to see a treatment or offer ideas on how to get this project out of development hell, drop me an email at russthebus07@gmail.com).

This means that I will need to slowdown my viewing of "crappy" sub 138-minute flicks. I guess I have my anime expertise to fall back on and plenty of cartoons to watch, but change is hard. With anime being put out in season box sets, it will be easier to lose track of time. Nine to five (six) is my lifestyle now. Those all nighters would be ill-advised.

Things may slow down for me with my vacation next week. Checking out the old stomping grounds, my favorite bars included, should take up so much time, it will just be best to say, "Damn. Guess I will save those posts for next time." That will work, unless I throw in a fight with online trolls who suggest I leave the country, believe that the amendments after 10 did not change the Constitution, and/or are Islamophobic. 

Trying to be a bit healthier before my doctor's appointment tomorrow has left me going to bed early opposed to snacking and watching TV. Meaning if I get into a Twitter beef, there goes an evening. It will all be worth it when they willfully silence themselves by blocking me.

There are better victories to be had I know, but having just returned from my appointment with a lot to work on, this fight might be the only thing to keep food from my mouth. A better solution would be to take my writing home. The "doctor" (PA) suggested journaling, but my thoughts for the most part deserve to be heard, hence blogged.

It can add to my frustration since I have to do my damnedest to creatively identify someone as an asshole (who is not an conservative troll) without dropping their name. With that said, I might just have to refer to myself only by gimmick last name so when I break big, no one will track down Ma and Pa Stevens to tell them what was said about them. All that can be said about the appointment is the PA noticing I am stressed the fuck out.

There is no time to be stressed right now. If I want to relax and be forgetful next week, we got to get these blogs in the archive. With only six years left, lets return to my current distraction, the Disgruntled's Real Five-Star Championship.

The 121st Disgruntled's Real Five-Star Champion:(Intercontinental/United States/Philadelphia TV/Baltimore TV/X Division)

TNA X Division Champion SANADA (April 4, 2014 to July 10, 2014)

ROH slipped up when it came to booking Jay Lethal's second reign as TV champion. Lethal would eventually go on to win the World Championship. He would defend each title separately and subsequently lost the TV championship first. It leaves me feeling like the TV championship was just an afterthought.

SANADA would eventually lose the championship to Austin Aries who would surrender it to challenge for TNA's primary championship.

It is all a question of psychology I suppose. Can you build up a title only to let it slip and deem it unimportant when champion also holds a larger title? Or, do you distinguish that it is not equal to the world title but essential to becoming THE champion?

Check out the rest of this blog and the indie/correct view on wrestling at The "Disgruntled's Real Championship Wrestling"

90-min. Stallone - "Escape Plan 2: Hades" - Why Not Knock Off "Tron: Legacy"?

*Blog post started on August 13, 2020.

Medical appointments have passed, but with a one month follow up scheduled. Yes, I am still stressed about that. And yes, I am too honest to just cancel an appointment because it would not work with my schedule and wait till my next health scare.

Any other stress is probably undue bullshit. The Snapchat girl is sending mixed messages, going from work focus to "why can't a man satisfy me?" mode. Why do you not tell me to get over there and take care of you?

To make matters work, I at least got girls talking on three other platforms. This leaves me with three other conversations to worry about. Should I message them just to make sure they know I am still interested? Did I cross the line with some political commentary? Do they only chat from nine to five?

If you want to be totally up to speed with the life of this aspiring screenwriter/producer/pro-wrestling mind, check out "The AWESOME Disgruntled's Real Secondary Champion: Part 6".

And there are of course the blog posts that I need to all have prepared before my vacation. Because I got to justify my Netflix DVD subscription, my most recent disc had to get back to Carol Stream before the next billing period. "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" is next up which is good because I got to slow down my output for NinetyForChill.com. But until we get to the way I should be handling my Terry Gilliam collection (To my credit, my copies of "Brazil" and "12 Monkeys" were both purchased at heavily discounted prices.), we must tread through another post 2015 action movie starring Sylvester Stallone.

"Escape Plan" was an amusing enough movie that may have taken itself a little too seriously. With two sequels being shot back-to-back, one would suspect any other franchise to be taking itself way too seriously. Fortunately, when you realize these flicks are solely for the Chinese mainland (Free Hong Kong!), it is easy enough to relax and enjoy "Escape Plan 2: Hades" for the braid dead trash that I hoped "Rambo: Last Blood" would have been.

Escape Plan 2: Hades (2018, 1 hour 36 minutes)

Breslin Security has expanded from prison breaks to encompass rescue missions. With Ray Breslin tired of doing the physical work required in testing the effectiveness of prison security, Shu serves as his top agent. Unfortunately, the last bout with terrorists only allowed for half the assets to make it back home. If fellow agent Kimbral had skipped trying to further promote Breslin by blowing up the terrorists' weapons cache and arrived at the rendezvous on time, the results would probably have been different.

Ray fires Kimbral and puts Shu on leave to work on his team leadership skills. Shu decides to head back to Shanghai to visit his family, and make sure nothing happens to his satellite genius cousin, Yusheng, at a Bangkok bachelor party. At least being at his cousin's side means he will not have be alone when they are kidnapped to soon awake in a black op prison site called H.A.D.E.S.

The Zookeeper has been hired by a Swiss competitor to Yusheng. Shu and his cousin are there to be tortured until they give up the patent information for Yusheng's new satellite communication technology. HADES is far more complex than the last prison Ray broke out of and with the Zookeeper having inmates fight for luxuries, how long can our protagonists last?

We know Ray is going to do anything he can to get Shu out, including recruiting the towering DeRosa to give them some extra firepower, but will not make a move until he is certain of success. It is all a matter of figuring out the location and layout of the prison. Time is one thing Shu has and with Kimbral being a fellow inmate, what he has learned from Ray gives him all he needs to win the day. But after all the damage that Breslin has done to the private prison industry, things seem far too easy.

"Escape Plan 2: Hades" starts out like any silly 80's action movie, but it makes a sudden turn to attempt and capture "The Matrix" cool aesthetic that exposes all of its weaknesses. It is kind of like "Tron" without the teleporting laser and smooth incorporation of effects. With punching and kicking being your primary means of action, our characters are not in the right movie. Especially Stallone who I do not believe knows how to kick.

I suppose the concept of a computer controlled prison allows for twists to constantly occur, but the narrative is far too predicable. The idea is to make the audience to try and figure out the puzzle as they go along. Its mistake is the constant twists to mock us just when the nerds develop a theory on how the protagonist can escape. This leads the audience to just quit caring, so only the stupidity of villain(s) can the film get them reinvested. That is a whole lot of stupid.

Director Steven C. Miller is accustomed to making stupid films. He directed a fun remake of "Silent Night, Deadly Night" ("Silent Night), but that film featured a script that does not necessarily make sense as it works to a big reveal. What made the film fun was a cast of screen chewers and shocking violence. The film chewer in "Escape Plan 2" is Stallone who is essentially there only for his brand value. He is not the lead, so he cannot chew the fat off of this film.

As for the violence, you get one great fight scene, otherwise the film is too quick to resolve its scenes. This leaves the flick with nothing for Miller to catch and over expose. If it left us with graphic scenes to linger on, it would play towards Miller's strengths. It also lacks a sense of humor or clever wit that can save an action movie. All of that is reserved for Dave Bautista's screen time. Since the third film in the franchise also features him, you have to admire the writer, Miles Chapman, doing the bare minimum to leave the audience wanting more.

"Escape Plan 2: Hades" might have figured out how to make a Chinese-funded trilogy work, leaving the audience just interested enough for a third film. In this case, I think this interest stems from wanting justification for putting up with a quickly produced sequel that lacks heart. It has some fun moments, but it also wants to prove itself smarter than its audience.

"HADES" might show up the audience with its twists to indicate intelligence, but it does not change the fact that it is built on a metaphoric swamp. How smart can you be if you are still sinking? Hopefully the wreckage of this castle will be enough to serve as a sturdy base for "Escape Plan: The Extractors".