Video Vagabond

Hello there, vagabonders. This is Anthony, and I'm sending you what will be the final update/episode of VIDEO VAGABOND in its current iteration. Over the last 6 months, I have been planning my new podcast, which is an offshoot of VAGABOND - it's called CYBERPUNK CINEMA and EP1 will drop on 01/10/24! I wanted to thank all of you listeners for checking out my podcast over the last couple of years, and I know you will LOVE what I have in store next! So, vagabonders, come over to my next podcast and become cyberpunkers! This is a subject matter that I'm extremely passionate about, and I can't wait to breakdown all things cyberpunk.So, Video Vagabond will morph into THE VIDEO VAGABOND PODCAST NETWORK and its first podcast under that umbrella will be CYBERPUNK CINEMA! Come with me as I dive deep into the dark future of science fiction! 

Video Vagabond just had an awesome conversation with riff-master, song-writer, and heavy-metal guitarist DAN LORENZO. Dan has been rocking since the 1980s, with thrash-metal band HADES, to groove-metal band NON-FICTION, to his recent outings with VESSEL OF LIGHT, CASSIUS KING, and PATRIARCHS IN BLACK! It was a wide-ranging conversation as we dove deep into song creation, killer albums, favorite movies, analog days versus digital, physical media, and how NOT to sell your soul to the devil! Dan is a really chill dude who has seen it all in the metal/rock world. He's also a prolific song-writer and riff-maker who is on his way to metal immortality. The man is a survivor and lifer of metal! He really is an inspiration and a good hang. So this, if you haven't already noticed, is the MUSIC EPISODE. I hope you all enjoy our convo. I sprinkle in some PATRIARCHS IN BLACK songs throughout, so give it a listen and purchase his albums. Rock on!Dan's IG - https://www.instagram.com/danlorenzock/Dan's Website - https://www.danlorenzo.net/index.htmlPatriarchs in Black IG - https://www.instagram.com/patriarchsinblack/Anthony's IG - https://www.instagram.com/stormgiantproductions/Video Vagabond IG - https://www.instagram.com/video.vagabond/

Do you want to control your creative content? Are you sick of uploading your films to a website and then seeing it forgotten days later? Have you always wanted to start your own dedicated video content channel? If so, then you've chosen the perfect podcast to listen to because we have the answers you're looking for! Video Vagabond had an excellent conversation with writer/director JON RYAN SUGIMOTO - from skater, to stand-up comic, to video content creator, to Tik Tok personality, to a filmmaker on the verge of a breakout! Jon and I discuss all things film - from script to screen, from concept to creation, from struggles to success, from casting to pre-viz, as we dive deep into the entrepreneurial/independent spirit it takes to become seen in this business. We don't pull any punches. This is the best episode yet! Thank you, Jon, for bringing it!So sit back, relax, and enjoy the show...Jon's IG - https://www.instagram.com/jonryanisdead/Jon's YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@jonryanisdeadAnthony's IG - https://www.instagram.com/stormgiantproductions/Vagabond IG - https://www.instagram.com/video.vagabond/Music by TONKS -https://jambox.io/artist/tonks/602ab3ab1b11fd67e5545aa7

Always bet on black! Join Skip and I as we delve deep into Part II of The Wesley Snipes Experience with the Die-Hard-On-A-Passenger-Plane turkey called PASSENGER 57 (1992). A movie that we both enjoyed as 13-year olds but did not give a fuck about in our forties. Wesley Snipes sleepwalks and collects his paycheck in this 84 minute thrill-ride that somehow has the plane land and there is a chase through a yokel carnival! WTF. The late-great Tom Sizemore steals the movie as Sly Delvecchio, and Bruce Payne has one of the worst Alan-Rickman-ripoff performances as the villain Charles Rane (just don't call him insane!).  Stallone was originally going to star in this but he wisely chose to make STOP! OR MY MOM WILL SHOOT instead (a rare win for STOP!). So, store your trays, put your seats in the upright position, and kindly turn off your electronic devices, because we gotta land this freakin podcast and we only got a narrow runway, tighten your seatbelts, it's gonna be a bumpy ride!

You are about to witness the strength of street knowledge as Skip and I breakdown the first movie in our Action Block called The Wesley Snipes Experience with the film that started it all, NEW JACK CITY (1991)! Come join us as we venture from 1986 to 1989, through the beginning of the crack epidemic in NYC, to Flavor Flav MCing at the Spot Lite, to Chris Rock doing his best junkie routine, to Ice-T only making 26K for his first movie and he's bringing it, to Mario Van Peebles (MVP) directing his first movie, to Judd Nelson inexplicably playing an Italian cop that should've been played by a young Johnny Depp or Michael Imperioli, and finally to Wesley Snipes absolutely killing it as the undisputed champ of drug kingpins, Nino Brown. So, sit your five-dollar ass down before I make change, because you gotta rob to get rich in the Reagan era,  we are takin' over the Carter, because this thing is bigger than Nino Brown, this is big business, this is the American way...Go to...Anthony's IG - https://www.instagram.com/stormgiantproductions/Video Vagabond IG - https://www.instagram.com/video.vagabond/Featuring Music by...Nite Owl - https://jambox.io/royalty-free-music/jmbx_delorean/5eb95efb4a894067f03aaefc

Fast-forward eats the tape! We are back vagabonders with another action-packed episode of VIDEO VAGABOND. This a SKIP SPECIAL episode, as our boy Skip picks the episode before the next ACTION BLOCK (to be announced at the end of this EP, so you gotta' listen to find out!). Shane Black sold this script for 1.75-million on spec in 1990. That is a shit-ton of money back then. Bruce Willis, Shane Black, Tony Scott, Joel Silver, all in their primes. What could go wrong?Everything! But that's why we love this mess-terpiece. It's a disaster with great dialogue. Probably the most quotable movie we've done on Vagabond. So, sit back, relax, and enjoy the show - just don't fast-forward, because it'll eat the podcast! 

It is finally here...the one...the only...OUT FOR JUSTICE! This is by far our best episode yet and it's definitely our favorite action movie that we have covered on Video Vagabond! This is Steven Seagal at his very best - speaking fluent Italian and Spanish, buying a six-pack of seltzer water from some punk kid on the street, beating the living shit out of a pimp and throwing the pimp through a windshield, doing his best Brooklyn accent (which isn't very good, but heck, he's trying), fight-choreographing the greatest SCENE IN FILM HISTORY with the Bar Fight Scene, and getting his revenge on the Station Wagon Tough Guy!Anybody seen Richie? Anybody know why Richie did Bobby Lupo?!?!? Come join Skip and I and the ghost of Jerry Orbach as we take a deep dive into the sheer fucking brilliance of OUT FOR JUSTICE. They don't make movies like this anymore, that's for sure. So, sit back, grab some beers and a shot or two of bourbon (only if you're over 21, okay tough guy!), and listen to us breakdown this amazing movie and enjoy our random-ass tangents of pop-culture history! Don't be a bad guy, be a nice guy! 

"A retired DEA agent is out to hunt down and take out a Jamaican drug posse that has targeted he and his family for murder." Yes, vagabonders, this is Part III of the Steven Seagal ACTION BLOCK and we will be covering MARKED FOR DEATH (1990)! Things take a turn for the supernatural in this ultra-violent, gritty action piece starring your favorite POS aikido master, play-slapping connoisseur, and worst-runner ever, Mr. Seagal himself.There are plenty of tangents, lots of stories, and tons of profanities in the episode. Everything a growing boy needs.  This episode will surely put hair on your chest!So, buckle-up, film fans...because we will be heading to an unnamed country in Latin America (could it be Val Verde?), then to Chicago, and all the way to Jamaica! And you wouldn't believe who Jimmy Cliff sings with on a song...you're gonna have to listen to find out. 

Part II of the Steven Seagal ACTION BLOCK is here with HARD TO KILL (1990)! The first appearance of Seagal's trademark ponytail and the film that launched him to stardom. Join us as we experience a Seven Year Storm, talk to random grocery store owners about the Oscars, bring home champagne to our wives, slip into a coma for 7 years as we miss all of the cultural events from 1983 to 1990, wake up and immediately know our lives are threatened by crooked cops, then recuperating in a conveniently available Far East retreat in Ojai, California to avenge the murder of our family! "You can take that to the bank, Senator Trent...the BLOOD BANK!"  

VIDEO VAGABOND has triumphantly returned with Season 2 of your favorite podcast that delves into action movies from the 80s and 90s! We are doing things a little differently this year/season, as we have categorized our selections into what we call ACTION BLOCKS! We choose one Actor/Director/Martial Arts Discipline and we go over 4 straight action movies in a row to create an ACTION BLOCK. We were heavily inspired by the Season 1's CRAIG R. BAXLEY ACTION TRILOGY. Our first selection is none other than the 6th degree Aikido black belt himself, the one and only Steven Seagal! We will be going over his first movie, ABOVE THE LAW (1988). This film acts as a primer for all of his other films that he made, as Steven Seagal went from aN instructor at a struggling dojo to an action star overnight, as super-agent Michael Ovitz thought he could make a star out of anybody. He was right. We hope you enjoy Season 2 and we're super-psyched to get back at it. Let's fucking go!"You may be above the law...but you ain't above MINE!"

Hello, Films Fans! My apologies for my lack of pods lately, but I'm knee deep in pre-pro for my new short film, ROOKIE CARD, that I'm shooting in late-August. That has obviously occupied a lot of time, understandably, but I'm eager to get back on the airwaves and continue to talk all things Vagabond! Here's a sneak-preview of the next TEN episodes!-Skip and I will be breaking down a bunch of TNP films, namely - "Tango & Cash" (1989), "Big Trouble in Little China" (1986), "Over the Top" (1987), and last but not least - "ROAD HOUSE" (1989)! It's going to be freakin' awesome! -I will also be putting together a cluster of episodes on "How to Make a Short Film." Some of you out there haven't made a short yet, others have made dozens, but I promise you that both sides of the spectrum will get a kick out of my "How to" series. A little bonus? I plan on having some of the cast and crew on to discuss their experience on ROOKIE CARD, and also their career experience in this industry. Their stories are fantastic and are a great insight into filmmaking. -Lastly, I'm lining up a BIG interview soon, and hopefully that'll open doors to me going 1v1 with other actors and filmmakers of that era! Talk soon,Anthony La Pira

Video Vagabond celebrates it's double-digit entry with two Van Dammes for the price of one as we hilariously breakdown one of our TOP FIVE JCVD FILMS - "Double Impact" (1991). This film absolutely rocks. It's filled with loads of unintentional comedy, great fight sequences, memorable quotes, and balls-to-the-wall action.DOUBLE IMPACT tells that tale of two twin brothers, separated from birth after their parents' gruesome murders, as they reunite in order to avenge their parents' death. Van Damme pulls double-duty as he plays Chad, the happy-go-lucky LA dance/karate instructor, who becomes a fish-out-of-water as he travels to Hong Kong to meet Alex (also played by JCVD!), a rough-and-tumble scoundrel with slicked-back hair and an all-black wardrobe. This is Van Damme at his apex! This is Van Damme's double-album! That's right, hot take, DOUBLE IMPACT is JCVD's the WHITE ALBUM! Join us as we also rank JCVD's TOP FIVE FILMS (1988-1997) during his amazing run where he was #3 behind Arnold and Stallone as action-heroes of the 80s/90s! We hope you enjoy! Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/video-vagabond/id1603519515Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/0ZKxLf4sa8CACVOK27rVhA?si=c9-o6croSgO-FLAjfl9tHA&nd=1

Video Vagabond returns with an action-packed episode of Thursday Night Prime, with the Brandon Lee starring vehicle, "Rapid Fire" (1992)! RAPID FIRE tells the tale of Jake Lo, an art student, who witnesses a Mob killing, that sends him on the run from two warring factions of the criminal underworld! Skip Segal and I breakdown the film, with a twist...we decided to use an Alternate-Earth timeline, and figure out which films Brandon Lee might've starred in, had he not tragically died during the making of THE CROW. Would Brandon Lee have market-corrected Keanu Reeves? Could Brandon Lee have starred in SPEED instead of Keanu? What about THE MATRIX? Or, was Brandon Lee destined for the Direct-to-Video purgatory that consumed other TNP alumni like Dolph Lundgren, Jeff Speakman, and Brian Bosworth? Find out in the new episode of Video Vagabond! Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep08-thursday-night-prime-showdown-in-little-tokyo/id1603519515?i=1000555805770Spotify  - https://open.spotify.com/show/0ZKxLf4sa8CACVOK27rVhA?si=c9-o6croSgO-FLAjfl9tHA&nd=1

Thursday Night Prime returns to Video Vagabond with the 1991 action-comedy, SHOWDOWN IN LITTLE TOKYO! Skip Segal returns to the program as guest emeritus as we travel back to 1991 as Dolph Lundgren (Blonde Dolph!) makes his 2nd Appearance on TNP as he's joined by Brandon Lee, in his first major US role as the wise-ass side-kick. SHOWDOWN is an absolute treat, clocking in at 79 minutes with a 58 body count (great ratio!) with enough snappy dialogue and cringe-worthy moments that'll give you flashbacks of early-90s lunacy. Directed by Mark L. Lester, who also directed CLASS OF 1984, COMMANDO, ARMED & DANGEROUS, and CLASS OF 1999, the film is action-packed with slow-motion gunshots, plenty of explosions, indiscriminate violence, and graphic nudity. Just what a growing boy needs! So, sit back, make yourself some popcorn, grab a beer (make it a six-pack!) , and enjoy the rollicking trip down memory lane as we dive deep into...SHOWDOWN IN LITTLE TOKYO! Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/video-vagabond/id1603519515Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/0ZKxLf4sa8CACVOK27rVhA?si=c9-o6croSgO-FLAjfl9tHA&nd=1

CYBERPUNK Cinema makes it's victorious return to Video Vagabond with the much maligned, often mocked, yet sometimes great and thought-provoking Brett Leonard Virtual-Frankenstein 1992 box office hit, "The Lawnmower Man"! Three decades since its release, THE LAWNMOWER MAN is an enigma - it's as bad as you feared, but way better than you remembered. Pierce Brosnan stars as Dr. Lawrence Angelo, a scientist who is on the cutting-edge of a VR treatment that could revolutionize education. The terrific Jeff Fahey plays Jobe Smith, a mentally-disabled simpleton who mows lawns and takes care of a local church. Jobe becomes Dr. Angelo's first human subject in the VR trials of Project-5, and Jobe becomes increasingly smarter and self-aware at an exponential rate. At first, it seems like a miracle, until Jobe starts unlocking ancient and arcane powers of extra-sensory-perception and starts developing a God-complex. It's up to Dr. Angelo to stop his creation before it destroys reality itself.I hope you enjoy today's deep dive breakdown. You can check out the Video Vagabond podcast at the following links...Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/video-vagabond/id1603519515Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/0ZKxLf4sa8CACVOK27rVhA?si=c9-o6croSgO-FLAjfl9tHA&nd=1Stitcher - https://www.stitcher.com/show/video-vagabondPodcast Addict - https://podcastaddict.com/podcast/3758748

Skip and I breakdown the thrilling conclusion to the unofficial CRAIG R BAXLEY ACTION TRILOGY with the Brian "The Boz" Bosworth starring vehicle, "Stone Cold" (1991). STONE COLD is a film about a tough Alabama Cop (Boz) who is recruited by the FBI to go undercover and infiltrate the Lance Henriksen-led white supremacist biker gang called The Brotherhood! The film is the best in the Action Trilogy (although Skip thinks otherwise), and the last 15 minutes are the most violent and insane final sequences you'll see in an early-90s action flick. Just batshit crazy. So, sit back, relax, and enjoy the show of Skip and I dissecting a film long forgotten by time...but not be Video Vagabond!You can find the podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and Podcast Addict. Buzz - https://www.buzzsprout.com/1907015/episodesSpotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/0ZKxLf4sa8CACVOK27rVhA?si=c9-o6croSgO-FLAjfl9tHA&nd=1Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/video-vagabond/id1603519515

Part Two of the CRAIG R. BAXLEY ACTION TRILOGY, Video Vagabond is proud to present the Dolph Lundgren vehicle, "Dark Angel" (1990)! DARK ANGEL was a SF/Action film about a renegade cop, who teams up with an FBI Agent, to hunt down an extraterrestrial drug dealer through the city of Houston. Skip Segal and I breakdown the film, what works, what doesn't work (a lot), and what made us laugh (lots of unintentional comedy in this one). DARK ANGEL was once known as "I Come in Peace", a very unoriginal title for a very unoriginal movie. But to an 11-year old kid in 1990, it was cool AF. So, sit back, relax, and enjoy the show of Skip and I dissecting a film long forgotten by time...but not by Video Vagabond!You can find this podcast at Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and we are also newly listed on Stitcher and Podcast Attic.  https://www.buzzsprout.com/1907015/episodes

Welcome back to Video Vagabond! This is another episode segment called Thursday Night Prime (TNP), and my guest Skip Segal and I will be breaking-down the Carl Weathers vehicle, "Action Jackson" (1988), a blaxploitation action film produced by Joel Silver and starring a slew of character actors that show up in other Silver productions. The concept of this film was brainstormed on the set of "Predator", and it actually went on to do well in the box office and it slayed it in the home video department. ACTION JACKSON is Part I of the CRAIG R. BAXLEY ACTION TRILOGY that Skip and I will be tackling in the next couple of weeks. The other films in this unofficial trilogy include - DARK ANGEL (1990), aka "I Come in Peace" starring Dolph Lundgren and STONE COLD (1991) starring Brian Bosworth and Lance Henriksen. So, enjoy our hilarious breakdown of ACTION JACKSON and stay tuned for the Craig R. Baxley Action Trilogy deep dive. You'll love it. One last question...how do you like your ribs?  

This segment of Video Vagabond is called THURSDAY NIGHT PRIME, an ongoing series where we will be breaking-down martial-arts action movies from the 80s/90s. Please welcome my first guest to the podcast, Andrew "Skip" Segal, my former college roommate and a walking movie-encyclopedia. The first film that we will cover on TNP, will be the Jeff Speakman starring vehicle "The Perfect Weapon" (1991).  Listen as we hilariously breakdown this highly-entertaining martial-arts B-action movie that was produced by Paramount and was supposed to make Speakman a household name along the lines of Jean-Claude Van Damme and Steven Seagal (spoiler, it didn't). "The Perfect Weapon" introduced the world to Kenpo Karate, a fusion of ancient Karate techniques with modern scientific principles. It also gave us one of the best (and worst) opening montage sequences of all-time! Jeff Speakman is...THE PERFECT WEAPON. Enjoy!https://www.instagram.com/dm_retro.oneshot/

This segment of Video Vagabond is called CYBERPUNK CINEMA, an ongoing breakdown of Cyberpunk films from the 80s/90s, a genre of science fiction that jacked-into the sub-culture of the "high tech/low life" future where cybernetic implants made us less human.  The year is 1995. Hollywood has finally caught up to the Cyberpunk craze that started, cinematically, with "Blade Runner" (1982) and was popularized by the William Gibson novel entitled "Neuromancer" from 1984. Six films came out in 1995 that had aspects of Cyberpunk, but for today's podcast, I will be breaking down the three (3) films that I believe best exemplify what the core essence of Cyberpunk was, as seen from that year. I will be breaking down "Johnny Mneumonic" (1995), the Keanu Reeves action-film that was a proto-Matrix and has garnered a cult following; I will be also discussing "Hackers" (1995), a film that looks "fifteen seconds into the future"; and finally, my personal favorite from that year, "Strange Days" (1995), the Kathryn Bigelow-directed/James Cameron-written techno-thriller that was strangely prescient to our world today. https://www.instagram.com/dm_retro.oneshot/

Welcome to Video Vagabond, a podcast for film fans! This episode is an introduction to my podcast as I anecdotally breakdown the films that changed my mindset, that inspired me for a lifetime, and that made me look at the world in a different light. These are my Top Ten Cinematic Experiences - films that I saw (in the cinema) that altered my life and defined who I am, as a person and as a fellow filmmaker. The impact that these films have had on me are legion, and I'm thrilled to share those experiences with you today.  I'm sure that some of our Cinematic Experiences will overlap with mine, but I also want to hear from you, my listeners, on what films defined you! Here at Vagabond, I will be breaking down films from our collective childhood. The ones we watched endlessly on our VCRs. Those movies that defined us, that still haunt our dreams like implanted memories. That spark hour-long conversations at bars with strangers.  That come back to us, years later, and remind us of who we were as a generation of unsupervised, bicycle-riding kids who read the Anarchist's Cookbook for fun and ate Green Berets for breakfast. This podcast is for you.  Enjoy.https://www.instagram.com/dm_retro.oneshot/