Billy Jack (1971)

I did not enjoy watching this film.

Sad that with this record the Boyz were ahead of the curve on the current administration sanctioning wild horse hunting news. But I suppose we are in the era of things used to establish how evil the villain is turning into an at best page three story about the current administration.

I watched a trailer for this before starting the episode- the one with the buildup to the kick- and I now think Skynet has gained sentience and is traveling in time to make perfect movies in the 1970s for the Action Boyz to cover.

The show’s reaction to the hippie kids is exactly why when you do these types of movies you just have one or two left-wing characters be your protagonist fighting the establishment. That’s why something like Cutter’s Way works a lot better. BTW, that Tom Cruise impersonator is somehow always consistently funny. He gets away with not being cringe for a celebrity impersonator.

Remember reading One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest for the first time during the OJ trial. That sentence somehow makes sense in this context. Can we get an episode on Suddenly (1954) starring Frank Sinatra and Sterling Hayden?

What happened within the last like 20 years that Navy SEALs have eclipsed green berets as the elite war fighter in popular culture?

If anyone else is a movie-podcast dork like me, it's like smacking your funnybone when the pods syncopate in strange ways. For instance the last 3 eps of Scott Hasn't Seen have been ABZ alums Island of Dr Moreau/Island of Lost Souls, Taking of Pelham123, and Billy Jack. And the Taxi Driver episode of Blank Check features an extended riff or 2 about Pauly and the robot having sex in Rocky 3. I keep waiting for gabrus to do his big john voice, have stanger say "take of your blouse" or rodgers do his bronson.

I think they say Wovoka. He was a spiritual leader who started the Ghost Dance movement and popular with hippies and counter culture types in the 60s and 70s.

Don’t have kids but if I did would definitely enroll them at the Action Boyz Freedom School, now pondering specifics of the curriculum

A good companion piece to this is Reel Injun. It’s about the portrayal of Native Americans in movies and pointedly how non natives usually got the roles.

Hearing Gabrus talk about the “Billy Jack kick” brought back memories l In the 4th grade, I learned Taekwondo from a Canadian family whose studio was next to a chicken farm (I live in Georgia). The patriarch of the family would call it “a billy jack kick” and honestly I thought it was named after a goat until today. Made me think I smelled chicken shit too for a moment.

Weird to hear you guys bring up Fremont, California in this one. I live in Newark, CA which is an enclave of Fremont, meaning it's surrounded on all sides like a little Fremont Island. Fremont is ... boring. Just another Bay Area Silicon Valley adjacent suburb that is mostly residential along with a huge Tesla factory. Fremont is mostly Asian and South Asian in terms of population, and I would guess most people that live here work in tech. When I was a kid, MC Hammer lived in the Fremont hills. Happiest city in the US? Like you said, happy if you can afford $2 Million for a three bedroom house.

I’m always so bummed when a movie forces BJJ grappling into fight scenes. I don’t want to watch John Wick rolling around with mafia goons trying to break their guard so he can apply a triangle choke and then repeating that process on the next guy

Gabrus sounds like he's on retreat in a tunnel

After this I would love to hear a Who'll Stop the Rain episode, especially since the Boyz have interesting takes on literary adaptations https://youtu.be/BNUWm7DSFWI?si=5bBOCi5Bb_HdaoBY

Heads up on Prescott, if you ever go. They pronounce it “ press-kit.” No idea why but they WILL correct you

AEW All In on Sunday had a Sting dad/son moment that made my old ass cry.

Strangely enough, both Bob’s mill and Dave’s Killer Bread are headquartered a few minutes drive from each other in Milwaukie, OR. 0/3 readers found this interesting.

Prescott AZ is beautiful

Wow.. Rodge somehow knew the story of the fake 49er defrauding a bunch of babes was gunna drop. Always on the pulse

Not quite a chop, but in Muay Thai, you are taught to throw high kicks at the neck as it's an easier/softer target than the temple. Also, Rodgers is right about Loughlin bullying Gene Wilder. I remember Wilder talking about it on Inside the Actor's Studio.

Still hard to believe this guy has a Super Bowl ring: When Mike McCarthy became the head coach of the Packers, he inherited an aging, legendary quarterback in Brett Favre who was perennially contemplating retirement. To motivate his veteran quarterback and unite a heavily transitioning team, McCarthy famously used clips from the iconic 1971 anti-establishment action movie Billy Jack during team meetings.

My dad loves Billy Jack. When we got a VCR in 84, he wasn't interested in it at all because he barely watched TV. He didn't even really know what it did. I was 14 and I hooked it up to the TV. A few days later, my Mom drove me to the nearest video store that was 20 minutes away in the next town one Saturday afternoon to join and rent movies. And back then it was a whole process. They agreed to use our Sears card instead of a credit card as a deposit. My sister and I rented two movies. I got Breakin'. They also gave you a six page typed list of what they had. When my Dad got home and saw us finishing up watching them, he got it. We begged for another trip to get more movies. He eventually agreed, but he was picking the movies. He came home with Billy Jack and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. My sister went to bed and I watched both with my Dad. And I remember thinking that Billy Jack was really weird but I liked it. And Cuckoo's Nest became one of my favorite movies. I used to have a Billy Jack hat. I traded hats with a stranger on Dead tour because he said "I think my hat was meant for you and yours was meant for me, man." Mine was a knit thing that cost 5 bucks and his was a fucking cowboy hat. I wore that thing for years.

I kinda randomly bumped into Don Cheadle in 2007 while he was walking a dog (might have been his dog) but due to my bad brains I couldn’t think of his name but I’d just seen Talk To Me so I yelled “Petey Greene!” and he threw up a fist. It was pretty cool.

This movie is pure chaos. I’ve had dreams that feel more coherent and linear.

sometimes a great notion is very good

Antiques smokeshow was sitting right there for you,

Life was better when Karate was considered a WMD.

✊🏻

I thought that they were setting up Bernard to be a good guy when he couldn't shoot the mustangs. But I guess it was just because he's a wuss.

Another good showcase for Prescott is the Sam Peckinpah/Steve McQueen rodeo movie Junior Bonner. Also a top tier parade movie.

Having your villain poach wild stallions from a reservation for the local dog food factory is such a hilarious JUST HOW EVIL IS THIS GUY?! intro.

The City of Irvine is one the only cities or municipalities nationwide where 70-80% of its landholdings is owned by a single corporation. The name of Corporation…”The Irvine Real Estate Company”. They also own The Fashion Island Shopping mall in Newport Beach, The Irvine Spectrum among a wide swath of outdoor malls and business parks throughout Orange County. They are massively corrupt.

Nothing I like better than a bunch of boys, on a retreat, watching a bunch of movies and Stanger getting stuck on the details of one of those movie for 6 episodes.

As a long time wrestling fan & from Portland. Anytime I here Billy Jack. My brain defults to Billy Jack Haines.