Rambo V - Great Movie

I have not been so enthralled with the Rambo franchise over the years. For me they didn't rate up there with The Transporter franchise or John Wick, but they were fun enough.

Actually, for me the John Wick franchise took a fall with the third chapter as I've blogged about.

As for Rambo V, I suspect it's the last and final episode for the Rambo franchise and it was a great one. I mean, finally we have men acting like men and women acting like women. And that is not to be mistaken as men are strong and women are weak. No. Women are strong too. But in real life they're not going around beating up and/or killing everyone. Not like in a Halle Berry fantasy, anyway.


No. In Rambo V, women are strong and determined individuals who, as adults, have their shit together, but as teenagers, they don't. (Kind of like in real life.) And that is the basis of this story. In Rambo V, you have an adult woman and a teenaged girl (her niece,) who live with Rambo, and the niece makes a choice that is not the right choice. Imagine that...


They're both strong women, but neither one of them go around beating up twenty men all at the same time. I mean they don't beat anyone up. And that was a refreshing twist in the Hollywood universe these days. I have grown very weary of watching women beating up and killing men left and right, at every turn, and sometimes as many as fifty men all at the same time.

So no. This movie was realistic. Gritty, and quite brutal. Because in the Rambo character, we have an ex special ops military man. He's trained to kill, and trained to survive. He's a veteran of wars and, of course, a veteran of the four  previous Rambo experiences to his credit.



And as an older man, the Rambo character still exudes toughness. He looked strong. Probably because of Stallone's workout ethic and yes even the steroids he doesn't lie about taking, unlike other Hollywood musclemen, (i.e. The Rock,) But whatever...

Rambo V Last Blood worked, and it was great. It was refreshing and I'll take it any day. And at this point I'll take it even over John Wick. At least over John Wick Chapter 3. No wanna be tough chicks in the Rambo franchise. Thank god.

John Dunn was a Controversial Figure

In the latter half of the Nineteenth Century, not very many people in the English colony of Natal liked John Dunn. He was a white man but he lived with the black tribes in Zululand. It was his own choice. When he was seventeen, he worked for a group of white men, making a delivery through dangerous Zulu territory. He did the job, but when it came time to get paid, they didn't pay him.

So he moved away from white society with a girl who was half-black and lived in Zululand until one day by chance Captain Joshua Walmsley, the Natal border agent, found him.

By then, Dunn was more Zulu than white. He barely remembered how to speak English. But Captain Walmsley retaught him English, how to read and write, and provided a home for John, his wife, Catherine, and the three children they had in the years they lived in the wild. Walmsley even hired John as his assistant. But Captain Walmsley and his wife, Maria, were about the only white people to like John. They were the only white people who didn't care that he was married to a colored girl.

The word "colored" to people in South Africa back then meant a person who was half white and half black. Catherine's father was an Englishman, but her mother was a native from the Cape Colony. And she had to deal with racism all of her life. But not from John. John Dunn, in my  opinion, was a perfect example of a man who didn't care about skin color. To John Dunn, people were people no matter what the color of their skin. To John Dunn a man was a man, no matter what race he was or what language he spoke or what kind of home he lived in.

I believe I'm the same way. Race never mattered to me. I can honestly say that all my life, skin color did not matter to me. Nor the country of a person's origin. Nor the language that a person spoke. I have always believed that people are people no matter what color is their skin. I am proud to say that, because I know that it's true. Anyone who's ever known me knows that it's true.

And John Dunn was like that. But he had to deal with racism. He had to deal with prejudice. He had to deal with the English belief that they were superior. And they took their racism to the Zulus by making war against them. The Zulus didn't do anything to the English. But the English declared war on them anyway. It's all in my book, John Dunn, Heart of a Zulu.

And John Dunn, Heart of a Zulu is quite a story, beginning with his participation in the Zulu Civil War of 1856 to the end of the Anglo Zulu War of 1878-79. That means he fought in, not one, but two Zulu wars. And he survived them.

As Mr. Spock raising an eyebrow in Star Trek would say: Fascinating!

Or as that German soldier smoking a cigarette in Laugh In would say: Verrrry Interesting!

True Stories and Taking Liberties

I love stories, (books or movies) that are based on true stories. My fourth book, John Dunn, Heart of a Zulu, is based on the true story of John Dunn, the White Chief of Zululand. Sure, I took some liberties, one of which was when I had him marry the daughter of King Cetshwayo, the Zulu king. Although he did marry several daughters of Zulu chiefs, he did not marry, (in real life,) any daughters of the top guy, King Cetshwayo.

(Note: the Zulu kingdom was composed of several "kraals" which were like separate villages within the Zulu boundaries, and each "kraal" had its own chief. One of these chiefs was John Dunn, thus the reason he became known as the "white chief" of Zululand.)

But John Dunn did have 49 Zulu wives, plus his original wife, who was half white and half Xhosa, which was a black tribe in another part of South Africa, (Nelson Mandela was of the Xhosa, I read somewhere.) So I thought it made an interesting subplot to have one of those Zulu wives the daughter of King Cetshwayo, especially when the Zulus went to war against the British, and the British forced John Dunn to choose a side--their side.

Now the movie 300 was great, to me, since it was about the true story of the 300 Spartans who held off the Persian invading army for three days. It ranks as one of my favorite movies, even. And I was glad to see the sequel come out, 300: Rise of an Empire, which focused on the true story of the Athenian Naval victory over the Persian fleet, that sealed the Greek victory over the invading Persians.

But to me, Rise of an Empire took some liberties that were highly questionable. The female warriors. Both the Persians and the Greeks were chauvinistic societies. Sorry ladies, but it's true. Unfortunate, even. But true. In Rise of an Empire, they gave us a mighty female leader of the Persian fleet who fought like she was Wonder Woman. This was going too far. No way, no how would the mighty Persian fleet be led by a woman admiral. That was going too far, and a woman who fought in the front lines as if she were Hector or Achilles? No.

And then in the end, you had the Queen of Sparta, the widow of King Leonides, in the front lines battling away with sword in hand, (and no shield,) as if she were a seasoned veteran of battles. Nope, no way, no how. These were liberties that just did not work. I still enjoyed the movie, but it doesn't rank as an all time favorite. And nothing against women or women warriors, mind you. I know they existed. But not in Persia, and not in Greece. (And, excuse me, but I consider the myth of the Amazons, to be just that. A myth.)

And even if women warriors did participate in those Greek-Persian wars, it wasn't the Queen of Sparta, and it wasn't as an Admiral of the Persian fleet. Oh well. It's Hollywood. Bring on 300: part 3. I'll be there in the front row! (Well, actually, not the front row, but I'll be there.)

Another Cop Shooting

I had posted recently about a cop shooting someone, and how the media and other watch groups seem to be automatically ganging up on the officer. Meaning that the officer should NOT have shot the person, and it was a bad cop the whole way.

I went on to say that I was glad that I wasn't a cop, and I was glad that I had talked my son out of being a cop. It's got to be one of the toughest jobs to be had, and to me, at least, the negatives make it a job that just isn't worth it.

Because once again in the news, there's a story about another cop shooting, and once again, the media is making it sound like it was a bad cop, a tragic shooting, and all the cop's fault. Now, as I said the last time, I wasn't there, and I have no clue as to how it all came down. Maybe it was a bad cop. Maybe both times, it was a bad cop, and it was all the cop's fault. And if you go by the news report, that's exactly how it was in both cases.

But that's the news report. To me, at least, there's another side to the story. The cop's side, and both times, the media gives no hint to that side of the story. It's all about how the cop was quick to take someone's life, as if the cop was actually looking forward to killing someone. Actually hoping to kill someone. As if cops become cops so that they could kill someone. Really, that's just how the news reports make it sound.

I know there are people that want to kill people. Murderers are in no short supply, and that's one of the reasons I wrote Killer of Killers. But I just refuse to believe that murderers are wearing police uniforms. I just don't buy it. Policemen are themselves often targeted by murderers, and it's a situation that is not enviable by any stretch of the imagination. That, plus the fact that society and the media seems quick to take the side of the law-breakers, makes me firm in the belief that being a cop is one of the most difficult jobs out there. Period.

Not Worth It to be a Cop

I just read in the news that a cop killed an 18 year old boy who was wielding a screwdriver. The family is shocked and understandably critical. They say the boy was already subdued by two officers when a third officer came up and shot him. There was no word from the cops at this point, other than they are still investigating it.

So who knows what the truth is? So far it's only a one-sided story. But I have heard of murders committed by whackos with screwdrivers. Screwdrivers can kill. And it was the family themselves who called the cops in the first place. I cannot make any other comments, since I wasn't there, and I don't know the full story.

But I'll say this: I'm glad I'm not a cop. I actually studied to be a cop when I first started college. After getting a job at the local police department, I quickly changed my mind. There just isn't any "cop" blood in me. I didn't get along with anyone in that police department. Hold on. I'm not saying cops are bad people or anything like that. I figure being a cop is the second most difficult job in the world. (Middle School teachers being first!)

But seriously, when my son told me he was considering being a cop, I told him, "No way!"

Why did I tell him that? For the same reason I told him he shouldn't join the army. No way should he put his life on the line for people who don't appreciate it. And really, it seems that most people don't appreciate it. The story today...and several in the past...indicate that when this kind of thing happens, (someone being killed by cops,) then the world is up in arms against them, calling them all kinds of names. Horrible names. I just can't comment. Because like I said, I wasn't there, and I haven't been there for any of the other similar incidents, either.

I remember when some Oakland cops got killed by some deranged shooter a few years ago, there were people in Oakland who actually paraded in the streets CELEBRATING. To me, that was just despicable. And it's for that reason I'm glad I never became a cop, and would never want my sons to be cops.

Ditto with the military. I remember some horrible comments about the NFL player Pat Tillman who joined the military and was killed in Afghanistan. People were saying crap like it served him right for wanting to "play" armyman. Can you believe that? So no way would I ever risk my life, (or see my sons risk their lives,) for people like that. It's not worth it.

So yeah. I'm glad I'm not a cop. And I'm glad my son is no longer considering it. And the last thing I'll say is that I am one person who DOES appreciate what cops do, and what people in the military do. Make no mistake, I know there's always a bad apple in every barrel. That goes without saying, and it applies to every profession. You don't condemn an entire profession, though, for those few bad apples. Bottom line, anyone who risks their lives for the greater society, like cops and soldiers do, deserves props. But I'm just one person. Sure there's more like me who appreciate them. But the people who don't...there's enough of them to make me shake my head. That's all.