the buzz log

Okay, so, like, in a fight, who would win: a panda or a commando-trained hair stylist? The Buzz Multiplex turns into the Octagon this weekend, with a cuddly ailuropoda melanoleuca on one side, and Adam Sandler on the other. Meanwhile, as the blockbusters battle for box office dominance, a Mongol warrior quietly rises among the limited releases.

1. "Kung Fu Panda" (PG). Better than "Shrek"? That's the murmuring from critics, who sound almost surprised about how much they like the latest from Dreamworks. Searchers, though, have been spoiling for a good panda fight since October of 2007. Both males and females are interested and its no wonder -- the family movie of the week stars Jack Black, as well as Dustin Hoffman, Seth Rogen, Lucy Liu and Angelina Jolie. Among the cooing reviews, Time critic Richard Corliss traces the movies' critters and insider references to their Hong Kong '70s film inspirations—a few of which starred Jackie Chan, the voice of Monkey. The film's fidelity to martial arts may explain the surge in "kung fu" searches.  

2. " You Don't Mess with the Zohan" (PG-13). Adam Sandler trims down and buffs up as a Mossad Israeli soldier who resurfaces in his dream gig as a New York hairstylist. The comedy has become a Rohrshach humor test: Rolling Stones pines for a Groucho Marxist satirical twist and the New York Times raves about it being the "finest post-Zionist action-hairdressing sex comedy." With a cast that includes John Turturro, Mariah Carey and, well, Rob Schneider, "Zohan" lands among the top 7,500 searches thanks to males (65%). One man probably not in the pro-Zohan group: Mel Gibson. Fox News reports that Sandler is doling comic payback to Mr. Gibson for his drunken outburst two years back. Hair stylists never forget.

3. "Mongol" (R, limited release). Not since John Wayne... well, let's forget about that biopic. The life of Genghis Khan gets another big-screen retelling, this time from a Russian director. NYT calls this first in a trilogy a "big, ponderous epic"—but in a good way. Searches have risen 93%, but overall interest is mild.

Filed under: Movies, Martial Arts, Cartoons

Back off, Grasshopper. After decades of kung faux, the small screen is going all-out for the fighting arts. The Buzz Dojo counts four offerings this August, with nary an Octagon in sight.

MTV reality show "Final Fu" sticks to the rules with traditional points scoring and sparring restrictions. The show's combatants have been leaning towards the taekwondo discipline, which explains why that fighting style ranks number one in the Buzz martial arts category. Despite its corny title, the program has tussled its way into our top 15,000 searches and host Ernie Reyes, Jr. earned Buzz too, up 21% this week.

In between all the spandex on FitTV, documentary "Deadly Arts" features a Canadian martial globe-trotter doing a Jacques Cousteau in the fighting world. The six-part show hits four of the most popular martial-arts forms in Search—Karate, Aikido, Capoeira, and Muay Thai—as well as some esoteric styles. The "Deadly" documentary originally aired on the National Geographic Channel. Now, the channel looks inward in the upcoming "Fight Science," in which a special lab dissects the finest martial arts forms. The lab took more than a year to build...didn't anyone tell them about the 36 chambers?

Equal opportunity knocks and knocks-out. The Oxygen Network skips the catfights and aims straight for the carotid with "Fight Girls," which is now registering a Buzz blip on the radar. No mixing of martial arts here: The estrogen-pumped version trains seven ladies in Muay Thai, from the deserts of Las Vegas to the jungles of Thailand. Now that's hot.

Filed under: TV, Martial Arts

The Super Bowl wasn't the only sports term gaining ground in the Buzz over the weekend. And, no, we're not talkin' about the Lingerie Bowl (though that sad spectacle did bob up 200% in Search on Sunday). We're talking about the unstoppable UFC, which jumped into our top five searches after Saturday's pay-per-view card.

Searches on the UFC soared 127%, a sure sign that the mixed martial arts style of fighting is coming of age. Not surprisingly, it's more of a hit with the dudes, who account for over three-quarters of searches on the organization. Queries on Saturday night's heavily hyped event, the UFC 57, were up a solid 181%. Even those not willing to part with enough dough to watch the fights live checked the results online, resulting in a whopping 1,747% increase in searches on "ufc 57 results."

The evening's main event pounded Search into submission. Octagon legends Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture faced off for the third time, and their rubber match rocked Buzz. Queries on "liddell couture 3" (+355%) and "couture vs. liddell" (+272%) elbowed their way into our top movers. Searches on the victorious Liddell shot up 304%, while the vanquished Couture leapt 341% as he headed off into retirement after the loss.

Filed under: Sports, Martial Arts