Author: Eric S.B.

Martial Arts, Movies5 Comments

Besouro: Black Lives Matter

Eric S.B.

With all that has been happening surrounding the Black Lives Matter movements nationwide, I began thinking about the powerful legacies of African resistance, struggle, and revolution in the face of slavery in the Americas and the Caribbean. There were many whose shoulders we now stand on. The first few names that come to my mind include: Toussaint L’Ouverture in Haiti, Nat Turner in the U.S., José Antonio Aponte in Cuba, and the list goes on. In Brazil it was first Ganga Zumba, then, and most importantly, Zumbi dos Palmares.

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DC Comics, Television2 Comments

Constantine: Blazing Hell with NBC

Eric S.B.

I’m not going to pretend I’m a huge Constantine fanboy. I do remember hearing about the character as a teen. I saw the Keanu Reeves movie version and thought, “So Neo takes out demons too? Whoa. Bogus.” Ah method acting by Professor Reeves. Somebody that knows the comics and is really into it would call me out quickly if I tried to get into it all. I just wanted to briefly mention why the new NBC series starring Matt Ryan is working for me.

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Marvel, Movies2 Comments

Days of Future Ferguson

Eric S.B.

Originally posted on Silva Culture

I finally saw X-Men: Days of Future Past at our local close-to-DVD-release cheap theater that we South Minneapolitans all love, The Riverview. I loved it. I knew a few of the main comics discrepancies beforehand, but they didn’t bother me. It was gripping, the effects were sick, and I for me personally, I’m not sure there’s a limit to great acting performances once Jennifer Lawrence and Michael Fassbender hit the screen in damn near everything they do. All of that said, once I was waiting for the credits and the usual Marvel post-flick teaser, I started thinking about something else: Ferguson, MO.

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Martial Arts, Movies, Sports8 Comments

The Way of the Dragon: The Career of Cung Le

Eric S.B.

Just to get the obvious out of the way: Cung Le is no Bruce Lee. Nobody ever will be. That said, I don’t think anyone else currently walks in the shadow of The Dragon quite like Dragon Eyes. As he trains for his next UFC headlining Fight Night in Macau on August 23 against Michael Bisping, I thought it would be fun to point out some similarities between Lee and Le and why, whether you’re into Mixed Martials Arts (MMA) or not, it will be worth getting up early on a Saturday morning to watch the fight.

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Martial Arts, Movies, Origins4 Comments

Enter the Soya: A Nerd Origin

Eric S.B.

Two mysterious lands far away from one another — yet linked by seas of soybeans — birthed a child born of melody, harmony, rhythm, and the smell of soy sauce. The child was destined to become a musician… and a tofu-loving pescetarian. But first, between musical gifts, came dreams of Jedi knighthood, ninjas, and flying with a cape.

My dad says he took me to Return of the Jedi when I was 3. I don’t remember it, but judging from the reaction my mom gives when this is mentioned, it happened. What I do remember very well from childhood is becoming obsessed with Superman in the early 80s. It seemed about right being surrounded by farms in a Nebraska town 60 miles from Smallville (okay, the Kansas border). Superman links farmland Nebraska with farmland Goiás (Brazil). My dad and my tio Laurinho took me to Superman III a year later. Remember, it took a bit more time for movies to travel back then. After that, it was capes and the same tio, or anyone else I could get, making me fly in both Brazil and the U.S. while trying not to break stuff.

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Martial Arts, Television, Video Games3 Comments

Street Fighter Assassin’s Fist: This Hadoken Is Finally a K.O.

Eric S.B.

Street Fighter II: The World Warrior. That means something to millions of a certain age range. It is a deity on the pantheon of video games and keeps evolving to the present day. It isn’t the primary reason I got into training in the martial arts, but I’d be lying if I didn’t admit it was one of them.

After years of playing Street Fighter II — hell, I remember playing the elusive Street Fighter in the arcade in Brazil — Hollywood and Capcom were ready with their big feature film in 1994 with Jean-Claude Van Damme as Guile. And… it was shit. Stinky, smelly, nasty, horrible shit. Perhaps the greatest actor ever to come from Puerto Rico — Raúl Julia, who played Bison — passed away shortly after the film’s release, making Street Fighter his final film. I couldn’t help wanting to erase it from his filmography just to let it end in acting gold with The Burning Season. In 2009, there was another Hollywood Street Fighter film featuring Kristin Kreuk as Chun Li. Haven’t seen it; I’m told not to see it.

A year later in 2010, a fan film called Street Fighter Legacy popped up online. No real budget, quite short, plenty of things that could be better (those eyebrows yikes!), but there was an essence that finally someone had gotten it right.

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