Howdy y'all, well this past weekend, I drove on down to Lincoln, Nebraska to check out the college/town. It actually seems like a pretty cool town (however, I dunno about the people there really). The college seems pretty sweet, their film school was funded by Johnny Carson and is located on the edge of downtown, between it and an art museum. They also have a really nice student theatre (that I had been to before to see Exit Through The Gift Shop). It seems like it would be a decent place to be (but really anywhere away from here would be a decent place to be). No matter where I end up, I'll be hopeful, excited, grateful for a change of scenery, and ready to start a life in movie making (hopefully not everyone there will be a close-minded prick, if you live or go there, tell me how it is).
Next, I must say, I'm very disappointed in myself. The short film script I was intending to write has not been happening. I've been stressed and distracted and everything else and haven't been able to write anything (yeah, writer's block). Anyway, after watching some films, I've thought of some more philosophy to write, I'll get back on track pretty soon I hope. I also hope that I will have it done to film it by the end of the summer (however, I'm not sure if I'll be able to make it). I'm hoping that once it's finished it will be worth watching for all of you, I wanna do something quality (or at least as quality as I can manage with what I have).
Anyway, I'm keeping this one short, I'm tired, bye.
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
The Twenty-fifth Bout-- It's Gojira!!!!
So, if you have been keeping up with this blof, you know that I'm a sucker for monster flicks... So, why not honor the campy Japaneseyness of the king of monsters?
That's right boys and girls, it's Godzilla!
Now, Godzilla and the monsters he fights are all owned by the Toho company in Japan so I'll start by giving you a run down of the beast and his opponents/allies...
First of (of course) is Godzilla, or Gojira in Japan. The first movie to include the monster was the 1954 Japanese film Godzilla. He has been in 28 films and numerous video games and comic books and has become a world wide pop culture icon. Godzilla began as a horrible destructive monster that was the outcome of huge amounts of radiation and began as a metaphor for nuclear weapons and radiation. However, later on he became a hero, fighting other radiated and space creatures. In the later incarnations he went back into being the destructive monster he began as. When he went to become a hero, his face structure changed away from the feral structure it began as. He also went from being the grey he began as to green, however, his most recent style made him grey again. He's a prehistoric creature that gained his size and powers due to atomic weapons. His primary power is atomic breath, which is a super powerful heat ray, he also is resistant to pain and has advanced healing along with super strength and the ability to use martial arts. He can also stay underwater for indefinite periods of time and can also fight underwater. There were three eras of the Godzilla films, the Showa, Heisei and Millennium eras, this photo shows all three...
In 1998, an American film version of the movie was made that followed nearly none of the trends of looks of the Japanese versions... the creature was taken and put into one of the Toho films, however, he was named simply Zilla and was a completely separate character. The American Zilla doesn't have atomic breath, but instead "power breath" which consists of strong bursts of wind when he roars. Zilla also isn't as strong as Godzilla but is much faster, he is also much more animal like and will not intentionally attack or damage anything unless provoked. It also can reproduce asexually.
My next creature in the long long list of Godzilla kaiju is Anguirus. He first appeared in 1955 in the film Godzilla Raids Again. Anguirus is four-legged and resembles an Ankylosaurus and has five brains, one in his head and one above each limb. Anguirus doesn't have many powers but does have claws and teeth and spikes all used as weapons. Later in the series he can roll himself into a ball and attack opponents like that, he is also incredibly fast and can jump tremendous distances. Even though he started as an opponent to Godzilla, he later became one of his allies. He has appeared in many of the films, they include Godzilla Raids Again, Destroy All Monsters, Godzilla's Revenge, Godzilla vs. Gigan, Godzilla vs. Megalon, Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla, and Godzilla Final Wars. He is one of Godzilla fan's favorite monsters.
Next up is King Kong, ironically. Now we know King Kong is an American movie monster but he DID go up against Godzilla in a few films. Unlike the American King Kong, kaiju King Kong was taller, incredibly strong and intelligent and grew stronger when injected with electricity, he could then release the electricity in a shock attack.
Mothra is the next kaiju in line. Mothra is generally always a hero, she's a protector of the Earth and generally also an enemy of Godzilla (due to his hatred of people), but is sometimes an ally. Mothra's first film was the 1961 film Mothra and has since appeared in many Godzilla films. Mothra generally dies when her larvae hatch from their egg state and she can fertilize her own eggs. Mothra is generally kind and hardly causes destruction unless it's on accident or necessary. Monthra has a silk spray in some of her forms, otherwise her fighting style involves bitting and scratching, beam weapons and poison gas, he is also psychic and can communicate with humans or attack enemies psychically. Mothra is also generally always accompanied by fairies that many times talk for her. Mothra has appeared in many many Godzilla and non-Godzilla films including Mothra, Godzilla vs. Mothra, Ghidorah, the Three-headed Monster, Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster, Destroy All Monsters, Godzilla vs. Gigan, Godzilla and Mothra: The Battle for Earth, Monster Planet of Godzilla, Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla, Rebirth of Mothra, Godzilla Island, Rebirth of Mothra II, Rebirth of Mothra III, Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack, Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla, Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S., and Godzilla: Final Wars.
Next up is King Ghidorah, Godzilla's arch-nemesis and the most powerful kaiju in the series. He has been in the most films and Godzilla usually requires an ally before facing Ghidorah. He first appeared in Ghidorah, the Three-headed Monster in 1964 and required two allies for Godzilla to finally defeat him. Ghidorah has three heads, two tails, giant bat wings and is golden. Ghidorah can shoot gravity beams from his mouth that resemble lightning and he can shoot lightning from his wings. He's able to use his gravity beams to draw and repel opponents, and can also shoot fire blasts, he also has golden armor. He can create hurricane winds with his wings and absorb life forces from enemies and can at times create magnetic fields.
One of the two allies Godzilla needed in order to defeat the monstrous Ghidorah was Rodan. Rodan started out as Godzilla's enemy, however, is mostly one of his best allies, along with Anguirus. Rodan has chest spikes that he can use as weapons, he started as one of the fastest kaiju but is now one of the slowest, he can, however, emit sonic blasts from his body. Rodan can also put his life force into others by dying. Rodan's first appearance was in the 1956 film Rodan, however, he went onto appear in many other Godzilla films such as, Ghidorah, the Three-headed Monster, Invasion of Astro-monster, Destroy All Monsters, Godzilla vs. Gigan, Godzilla vs. Megalon, Terror of Mechagodzilla, Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II, and Godzilla Final Wars.
The next kaiju to be included in a Godzilla feature was Ebirah. Ebirah is a sea monster used by the terrorist group Red Bamboo to protect their island.
Here is where I take a break and really examine how much of a nerd I am... I'm actually doing an entire post on Godzilla and will probably just go through and list all of the kaiju. I'm okay with this, one of the main reasons I wanted to do this is so I could get a good definitive list of the kaiju with decent photos. I hope you actually appreciate it and comment on the blog, I wanna hear some Godzilla fans. ANYWAY...
Back to business... another kaiju is the Giant Condor, however, I'm going to skip him and go onto Kamacuras, who is a giant mantis. Kamacuras attempted to eat a baby Godzilla before Godzilla stopped them. They only appear in Son of Godzilla, Godzilla's Revenge, Godzilla vs. Gigan, and Godzilla: Final Wars.
Another kaiju introduced in Son of Godzilla was Kumonga. Kumonga is a giant spider who can shoot webbing from his mouth. The webbing can expand into a net also. He is very resilient, being able to withstand multiple atomic blasts from Godzilla. He is a wonderful jumper and has sharp, sword-like legs that can slash up enemies. He has appeared in every Godzilla film that Kamacuras has.
Minilla is commonly known as the son of Godzilla, and was born when Kamacuras cracked open his egg prematurely. It's not known whether or not Minilla is Godzilla's actual, biological son, however, Godzilla generally trains and takes care of him like his own son. Minilla is very friendly with humans and is small, pudgy and human-like himself. Minilla is generally afraid of other monsters, however, is courageous when protecting someone. He can breath atomic smoke rings, and eventually learns an actual atomic ray from Godzilla, he can communicate with Godzilla over long distances using brainwaves over radio signals and can shrink down to human size. He appears in the films Son of Godzilla, Destroy All Monsters, All Monsters Attack, Godzilla vs. Gigan, Godzilla: Final Wars.
Baragon is the next monster to appear in the Godzilla series. He first appeared in the film Frankenstein Conquers the World (1964). He is a giant dinosaur monster that burrows underground and can shoot a flame blast from his mouth. He has a horn in the center of his head and giant ears. The suit used for Baragon was eventually used to create many other monsters in other Japanese TV shows, so a lot of the time, other monsters replaced Baragon but kept his traits and confused viewers.
One of the monsters used in replacement of Baragon was Gorosaurus. He doesn't have any specially abilities or powers and is just a generic dinosaur. In one film he was given Baragon's burrowing ability, however he generally just kicks and bites. He appeared in King Kong Escapes, Destroy All Monsters, All Monsters Attack, Godzilla vs. Gigan, and Ike! Godman.
Next is Varan, he has skin flaps between his arms and legs that allow him to fly much like a flying squirrel, he doesn't really have any special abilities other than flying at Mach 1.5 and his protective spikes.
Hedorah is another opponent of Godzilla and is generally known as the smog monster. Hedorah is an alien smog cloud that fell to Earth as spores and started to feed on Earth's pollution, and eventually took to form of Hedorah. Hedorah was capable of reducing the Earth to a wasteland, when fighting Godzilla, Godzilla was frequently injured. Hedorah is considered one of Godzilla's most challenging opponents. He can change his shape and form to fit a situation, with this he can move from water to land and even fly. Attacks can pass right through Hedorah, an atomic blast did very little to him and if any bit of him was still intact he could repair himself by consuming pollution. He can shoot lazer beams from his eyes and lob acidic bits of himself at his enemies to eat away at them, in his flying form he can release a sulphuric gas that can dissolve organisms. Hedorah was also used on the Frank Zappa album cover for the album Sleep Dirt.
Gigan is another kaiju first appearing in Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972). Gigan is generally very violent, destructive and brutal. He has two hooks for arms and a buzz-saw in his abdomen. Gigan was sent to Earth many times by alien races, and generally abandons whatever ally he has. Gigan can grab and stab enemies with his hook arms and they can sometimes release an explosion on impact. Gigan has retractable wings that allow him to fly up to Mach 3, he can sometimes teleport, he can use his buzz-saw to attack and can shoot grappling hooks from under his arm hooks to pull enemies into his buzz-saw. He also has a scatter eye beam.
Jet Jaguar is a robot that appears in Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973), and was created destroy, however, eventually gains sentience and helps Godzilla face both Gigan and Megalon.
Now Megalon. Megalon is the god of an undersea race. He first appears in the 1973 film Godzilla vs. Megalon, the film is generally seen as horrible and is considered one of the worse films in the kaiju genre. The film was used a lot on Mystery Science Theatre 3000.
King Caesar is another kaiju to appear in the Godzilla series. He looks like a mixture of a lion, a dog and a reptile and has a row of gems on his head that are probably used to absorb sunlight. The creature looks entirely organic, however, he's nearly all mechanical. He has an organic brain, however, he's nearly all mechanical, in order to awaken King Caesar, a member of a royal family must sing an activation song. He is incredibly fast and agile, and can redirect energy attacks that are shot at him. King Caesar only appears in the films Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla, Terror of Mechagodzilla and Godzilla Final Wars.
Mechagodzilla is the robotic version of Godzilla and is also one of his most challenging opponents. Mechagodzilla is made of a nearly indestructible metal and is packed with huge amounts of firepower. He has flame-throwers, beam attacks, and missiles. He can absorb attacks and shoot in multiple directions at once. Mechagodzilla's appearance and weaponry frequently change throughout the three eras of Godzilla films. He also has sentience and is not controlled by anyone. He is perhaps one of Godzilla's most popular opponents.
Titanosaurus is an ally of Mechagodzilla, even though he doesn't have more than biting and punching, he can cause massive wind attacks and whirlpools with his powerful fan tail.
Next up is Biollante. Biollante is a mutated rose that was infused with Godzilla's DNA. She can grapple with vines and inject a corrosive acid in her enemies. She has thorn spears on the end of her vines and can spit massive amounts of acid from her mouth and can fly into space to regenerate. She appeared in Godzilla vs Biollante in 1989 and never again in the Godzilla franchise.
Battra is another kaiju that appeared in the 1992 film Godzilla vs Mothra. Battra is basically an evil Mothra, he has the ability to fly in his adult form and the ability to swim and burrow in his larval form. In larval form he could use his horn as a battering ram and shoot electricity from it. In adult form his horn morphs into three smaller horns and he gains optic beams.
SpaceGodzilla was a modified clone of Godzilla. He has only appeared in the film Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla from 1994. SpaceGodzilla has more or less every ability that Godzilla has but he can control gravity, he can use gravity beams and gets his power from cosmic energy. He can encase himself in crystals that give him flight, his tail is incredibly strong and he can track Godzilla.
Another kaiju that is seen as one of Godzilla's most powerful opponents is Destoroyah. Destoroyah was able to withstand Godzilla's attacks and force the king of monsters to fight to his peak power, many times winning. Destoroyah is made up of many microscopic organisms and can adapt and regenerate. He can shoot a ray from his mouth that can vaporize anything in it's way, the horn on it's head can also shoot a beam blade that can cut through anything.
Then comes Orga, who is an imperfect clone of Godzilla, and Megaguirus who is the queen of a species of primordial giant insects, and Kamoebas, which is a giant turtle mutated by a space amoeba.
Well, there it is, there were some I forgot and feel free to call me out on them if you want to (I encourage you to), but I hope this post was fun and interesting (even if you don't like Godzilla). Sorry if I didn't get in depth enough, but like I said, I wanted to make a good list of the Godzilla kaiju and I feel like this one is fairly solid.
Anyway, be good, have fun and I'll see you on the next one...
Hasta la vista!
That's right boys and girls, it's Godzilla!
Now, Godzilla and the monsters he fights are all owned by the Toho company in Japan so I'll start by giving you a run down of the beast and his opponents/allies...
First of (of course) is Godzilla, or Gojira in Japan. The first movie to include the monster was the 1954 Japanese film Godzilla. He has been in 28 films and numerous video games and comic books and has become a world wide pop culture icon. Godzilla began as a horrible destructive monster that was the outcome of huge amounts of radiation and began as a metaphor for nuclear weapons and radiation. However, later on he became a hero, fighting other radiated and space creatures. In the later incarnations he went back into being the destructive monster he began as. When he went to become a hero, his face structure changed away from the feral structure it began as. He also went from being the grey he began as to green, however, his most recent style made him grey again. He's a prehistoric creature that gained his size and powers due to atomic weapons. His primary power is atomic breath, which is a super powerful heat ray, he also is resistant to pain and has advanced healing along with super strength and the ability to use martial arts. He can also stay underwater for indefinite periods of time and can also fight underwater. There were three eras of the Godzilla films, the Showa, Heisei and Millennium eras, this photo shows all three...
In 1998, an American film version of the movie was made that followed nearly none of the trends of looks of the Japanese versions... the creature was taken and put into one of the Toho films, however, he was named simply Zilla and was a completely separate character. The American Zilla doesn't have atomic breath, but instead "power breath" which consists of strong bursts of wind when he roars. Zilla also isn't as strong as Godzilla but is much faster, he is also much more animal like and will not intentionally attack or damage anything unless provoked. It also can reproduce asexually.
My next creature in the long long list of Godzilla kaiju is Anguirus. He first appeared in 1955 in the film Godzilla Raids Again. Anguirus is four-legged and resembles an Ankylosaurus and has five brains, one in his head and one above each limb. Anguirus doesn't have many powers but does have claws and teeth and spikes all used as weapons. Later in the series he can roll himself into a ball and attack opponents like that, he is also incredibly fast and can jump tremendous distances. Even though he started as an opponent to Godzilla, he later became one of his allies. He has appeared in many of the films, they include Godzilla Raids Again, Destroy All Monsters, Godzilla's Revenge, Godzilla vs. Gigan, Godzilla vs. Megalon, Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla, and Godzilla Final Wars. He is one of Godzilla fan's favorite monsters.Next up is King Kong, ironically. Now we know King Kong is an American movie monster but he DID go up against Godzilla in a few films. Unlike the American King Kong, kaiju King Kong was taller, incredibly strong and intelligent and grew stronger when injected with electricity, he could then release the electricity in a shock attack.
Mothra is the next kaiju in line. Mothra is generally always a hero, she's a protector of the Earth and generally also an enemy of Godzilla (due to his hatred of people), but is sometimes an ally. Mothra's first film was the 1961 film Mothra and has since appeared in many Godzilla films. Mothra generally dies when her larvae hatch from their egg state and she can fertilize her own eggs. Mothra is generally kind and hardly causes destruction unless it's on accident or necessary. Monthra has a silk spray in some of her forms, otherwise her fighting style involves bitting and scratching, beam weapons and poison gas, he is also psychic and can communicate with humans or attack enemies psychically. Mothra is also generally always accompanied by fairies that many times talk for her. Mothra has appeared in many many Godzilla and non-Godzilla films including Mothra, Godzilla vs. Mothra, Ghidorah, the Three-headed Monster, Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster, Destroy All Monsters, Godzilla vs. Gigan, Godzilla and Mothra: The Battle for Earth, Monster Planet of Godzilla, Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla, Rebirth of Mothra, Godzilla Island, Rebirth of Mothra II, Rebirth of Mothra III, Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack, Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla, Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S., and Godzilla: Final Wars.
Next up is King Ghidorah, Godzilla's arch-nemesis and the most powerful kaiju in the series. He has been in the most films and Godzilla usually requires an ally before facing Ghidorah. He first appeared in Ghidorah, the Three-headed Monster in 1964 and required two allies for Godzilla to finally defeat him. Ghidorah has three heads, two tails, giant bat wings and is golden. Ghidorah can shoot gravity beams from his mouth that resemble lightning and he can shoot lightning from his wings. He's able to use his gravity beams to draw and repel opponents, and can also shoot fire blasts, he also has golden armor. He can create hurricane winds with his wings and absorb life forces from enemies and can at times create magnetic fields.One of the two allies Godzilla needed in order to defeat the monstrous Ghidorah was Rodan. Rodan started out as Godzilla's enemy, however, is mostly one of his best allies, along with Anguirus. Rodan has chest spikes that he can use as weapons, he started as one of the fastest kaiju but is now one of the slowest, he can, however, emit sonic blasts from his body. Rodan can also put his life force into others by dying. Rodan's first appearance was in the 1956 film Rodan, however, he went onto appear in many other Godzilla films such as, Ghidorah, the Three-headed Monster, Invasion of Astro-monster, Destroy All Monsters, Godzilla vs. Gigan, Godzilla vs. Megalon, Terror of Mechagodzilla, Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II, and Godzilla Final Wars.
The next kaiju to be included in a Godzilla feature was Ebirah. Ebirah is a sea monster used by the terrorist group Red Bamboo to protect their island.
Here is where I take a break and really examine how much of a nerd I am... I'm actually doing an entire post on Godzilla and will probably just go through and list all of the kaiju. I'm okay with this, one of the main reasons I wanted to do this is so I could get a good definitive list of the kaiju with decent photos. I hope you actually appreciate it and comment on the blog, I wanna hear some Godzilla fans. ANYWAY...
Back to business... another kaiju is the Giant Condor, however, I'm going to skip him and go onto Kamacuras, who is a giant mantis. Kamacuras attempted to eat a baby Godzilla before Godzilla stopped them. They only appear in Son of Godzilla, Godzilla's Revenge, Godzilla vs. Gigan, and Godzilla: Final Wars.Another kaiju introduced in Son of Godzilla was Kumonga. Kumonga is a giant spider who can shoot webbing from his mouth. The webbing can expand into a net also. He is very resilient, being able to withstand multiple atomic blasts from Godzilla. He is a wonderful jumper and has sharp, sword-like legs that can slash up enemies. He has appeared in every Godzilla film that Kamacuras has.
Minilla is commonly known as the son of Godzilla, and was born when Kamacuras cracked open his egg prematurely. It's not known whether or not Minilla is Godzilla's actual, biological son, however, Godzilla generally trains and takes care of him like his own son. Minilla is very friendly with humans and is small, pudgy and human-like himself. Minilla is generally afraid of other monsters, however, is courageous when protecting someone. He can breath atomic smoke rings, and eventually learns an actual atomic ray from Godzilla, he can communicate with Godzilla over long distances using brainwaves over radio signals and can shrink down to human size. He appears in the films Son of Godzilla, Destroy All Monsters, All Monsters Attack, Godzilla vs. Gigan, Godzilla: Final Wars.Baragon is the next monster to appear in the Godzilla series. He first appeared in the film Frankenstein Conquers the World (1964). He is a giant dinosaur monster that burrows underground and can shoot a flame blast from his mouth. He has a horn in the center of his head and giant ears. The suit used for Baragon was eventually used to create many other monsters in other Japanese TV shows, so a lot of the time, other monsters replaced Baragon but kept his traits and confused viewers. One of the monsters used in replacement of Baragon was Gorosaurus. He doesn't have any specially abilities or powers and is just a generic dinosaur. In one film he was given Baragon's burrowing ability, however he generally just kicks and bites. He appeared in King Kong Escapes, Destroy All Monsters, All Monsters Attack, Godzilla vs. Gigan, and Ike! Godman.
Next is Varan, he has skin flaps between his arms and legs that allow him to fly much like a flying squirrel, he doesn't really have any special abilities other than flying at Mach 1.5 and his protective spikes.
Hedorah is another opponent of Godzilla and is generally known as the smog monster. Hedorah is an alien smog cloud that fell to Earth as spores and started to feed on Earth's pollution, and eventually took to form of Hedorah. Hedorah was capable of reducing the Earth to a wasteland, when fighting Godzilla, Godzilla was frequently injured. Hedorah is considered one of Godzilla's most challenging opponents. He can change his shape and form to fit a situation, with this he can move from water to land and even fly. Attacks can pass right through Hedorah, an atomic blast did very little to him and if any bit of him was still intact he could repair himself by consuming pollution. He can shoot lazer beams from his eyes and lob acidic bits of himself at his enemies to eat away at them, in his flying form he can release a sulphuric gas that can dissolve organisms. Hedorah was also used on the Frank Zappa album cover for the album Sleep Dirt.Gigan is another kaiju first appearing in Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972). Gigan is generally very violent, destructive and brutal. He has two hooks for arms and a buzz-saw in his abdomen. Gigan was sent to Earth many times by alien races, and generally abandons whatever ally he has. Gigan can grab and stab enemies with his hook arms and they can sometimes release an explosion on impact. Gigan has retractable wings that allow him to fly up to Mach 3, he can sometimes teleport, he can use his buzz-saw to attack and can shoot grappling hooks from under his arm hooks to pull enemies into his buzz-saw. He also has a scatter eye beam.
Jet Jaguar is a robot that appears in Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973), and was created destroy, however, eventually gains sentience and helps Godzilla face both Gigan and Megalon.
Now Megalon. Megalon is the god of an undersea race. He first appears in the 1973 film Godzilla vs. Megalon, the film is generally seen as horrible and is considered one of the worse films in the kaiju genre. The film was used a lot on Mystery Science Theatre 3000.King Caesar is another kaiju to appear in the Godzilla series. He looks like a mixture of a lion, a dog and a reptile and has a row of gems on his head that are probably used to absorb sunlight. The creature looks entirely organic, however, he's nearly all mechanical. He has an organic brain, however, he's nearly all mechanical, in order to awaken King Caesar, a member of a royal family must sing an activation song. He is incredibly fast and agile, and can redirect energy attacks that are shot at him. King Caesar only appears in the films Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla, Terror of Mechagodzilla and Godzilla Final Wars.Mechagodzilla is the robotic version of Godzilla and is also one of his most challenging opponents. Mechagodzilla is made of a nearly indestructible metal and is packed with huge amounts of firepower. He has flame-throwers, beam attacks, and missiles. He can absorb attacks and shoot in multiple directions at once. Mechagodzilla's appearance and weaponry frequently change throughout the three eras of Godzilla films. He also has sentience and is not controlled by anyone. He is perhaps one of Godzilla's most popular opponents. Titanosaurus is an ally of Mechagodzilla, even though he doesn't have more than biting and punching, he can cause massive wind attacks and whirlpools with his powerful fan tail.
Next up is Biollante. Biollante is a mutated rose that was infused with Godzilla's DNA. She can grapple with vines and inject a corrosive acid in her enemies. She has thorn spears on the end of her vines and can spit massive amounts of acid from her mouth and can fly into space to regenerate. She appeared in Godzilla vs Biollante in 1989 and never again in the Godzilla franchise.
Battra is another kaiju that appeared in the 1992 film Godzilla vs Mothra. Battra is basically an evil Mothra, he has the ability to fly in his adult form and the ability to swim and burrow in his larval form. In larval form he could use his horn as a battering ram and shoot electricity from it. In adult form his horn morphs into three smaller horns and he gains optic beams.
SpaceGodzilla was a modified clone of Godzilla. He has only appeared in the film Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla from 1994. SpaceGodzilla has more or less every ability that Godzilla has but he can control gravity, he can use gravity beams and gets his power from cosmic energy. He can encase himself in crystals that give him flight, his tail is incredibly strong and he can track Godzilla.
Another kaiju that is seen as one of Godzilla's most powerful opponents is Destoroyah. Destoroyah was able to withstand Godzilla's attacks and force the king of monsters to fight to his peak power, many times winning. Destoroyah is made up of many microscopic organisms and can adapt and regenerate. He can shoot a ray from his mouth that can vaporize anything in it's way, the horn on it's head can also shoot a beam blade that can cut through anything.
Then comes Orga, who is an imperfect clone of Godzilla, and Megaguirus who is the queen of a species of primordial giant insects, and Kamoebas, which is a giant turtle mutated by a space amoeba. Well, there it is, there were some I forgot and feel free to call me out on them if you want to (I encourage you to), but I hope this post was fun and interesting (even if you don't like Godzilla). Sorry if I didn't get in depth enough, but like I said, I wanted to make a good list of the Godzilla kaiju and I feel like this one is fairly solid.
Anyway, be good, have fun and I'll see you on the next one...
Hasta la vista!
Saturday, May 21, 2011
The Twenty-fourth Mistake-- A Fond Farewell
Happy end of the world today, live it up, at 6PM we'll all be gone!
First, I have no hope for the Captain America movie... BUT Hugo Weaving makes a bad ass looking Red Skull
Next, they're remaking the 1985 horror film Fright Night, it looks like it'll be a good one, it'll be on my list of upcoming films to see (hope I don't end up disappointed like A LOT of movies I really wanna see) http://www.imdb.com/features/summermovieguide/2011/movies/frightnight
This horror film remake looks like it could be decent too (and I love Guillermo del Toro)... it's Don't Be Afraid of The Dark... http://www.imdb.com/features/summermovieguide/2011/movies/dontbeafraid (do I rely too much on imdb? maybe)...
They're also making a Tintin film which COULD be interesting (of course it's being done by Steven Spielberg, so who knows)
Have a good last day y'all, I'll be at work!
Also... on this fine fine apocalypse morning, you should listen to The King of Limbs by Radiohead if you have not, great feel good music to die to...
AND, if you're feeling it, watch Donnie Darko by Richard Kelley (yeah, probably cliched), but what goes better with the world ending than a six foot tall anthropomorphic rabbit trying to get a kid to stop the world ending? I mean c'mon!
I wasn't going write an actual post today, because what would be the point right? but FUCK IT, I'll do it anyway, I keep finding cool things I wanna share!
ANYWAY... enjoy this...
First, I have no hope for the Captain America movie... BUT Hugo Weaving makes a bad ass looking Red Skull
Next, they're remaking the 1985 horror film Fright Night, it looks like it'll be a good one, it'll be on my list of upcoming films to see (hope I don't end up disappointed like A LOT of movies I really wanna see) http://www.imdb.com/features/summermovieguide/2011/movies/frightnight
This horror film remake looks like it could be decent too (and I love Guillermo del Toro)... it's Don't Be Afraid of The Dark... http://www.imdb.com/features/summermovieguide/2011/movies/dontbeafraid (do I rely too much on imdb? maybe)...
They're also making a Tintin film which COULD be interesting (of course it's being done by Steven Spielberg, so who knows)
Have a good last day y'all, I'll be at work!
Also... on this fine fine apocalypse morning, you should listen to The King of Limbs by Radiohead if you have not, great feel good music to die to...
AND, if you're feeling it, watch Donnie Darko by Richard Kelley (yeah, probably cliched), but what goes better with the world ending than a six foot tall anthropomorphic rabbit trying to get a kid to stop the world ending? I mean c'mon!
Thursday, May 19, 2011
The Twenty-third Problem-- Like Jazz
So, I dunno what I'm going to talk about in this post so I think I'm just going to "riff" a bit and see what comes of it... take it if you will (and you probably won't), but here we go, some possibly quality shit coming at you (or a short pointless post that will make you wonder why your life is so horrible).
First off, this is pretty cool, if you're interested in attending film school and want to know what film schools are available to you in your state or area, check it out... http://www.aboutfilmschools.com/
if it's helpful, that's awesome, if not then I'm sorry you clicked on the link, feel free to let me know...
This is an interesting story about an interesting sounding film with an interesting plot... apparently the film is about a mad plastic surgeon that turns his victim into a woman, it's called The Skin I Live In... http://www.imdb.com/news/ni10794268/ apparently it did really well at Cannes too.
Here's another little thing about Cannes (and one that Chris may like), Lars Von Trier was kicked out of the festival for remarks he had made about being a Nazi and sympathizing with Adolf Hitler, he also stated that the next film he does will be a three hour long porn (most likely a joke), but there you go... http://www.imdb.com/news/ni10794266/, http://www.imdb.com/news/ni10788149/
Well, now it would just make sense if I talked a bit about the Cannes Film Festival. It's the most prestigious film festival in the world and takes place in the Southern French town of Cannes (in case you were unsure). It's held every year and usually in May, with a jury of film makers, actors and critics reviewing the films that are entered in the competition part of the festival. There are various programs at the festival and it's broken down into sections. The first of the sections is the Official Section, the films in this section are either put in competition, where they compete for the Palme d'Or, in Un Certain Regard which presents a lot of films with different styles to introduce them into the international spotlight. There are out of competition films, which are not put up for a prize, there are special screenings, which are films that are matched to an specific environment. There's cinéfondation, which are a selection of art school shorts and mid-length films. Finally there are the short films competing for the Palme d'Or.
On top of the Official Section, there are also parallel sections that are not up for any rewards. The sub-sections of this are, The Cannes Classics, which are older films celebrating the heritage of film, Tous les Cinémas du Monde, which showcases films from a specific country each day, Caméra d'Or, which celebrates first films and then Cinéma de la Plage, which are public showcasing of non-competition films and classics.
Finally are the awards at Cannes, the most prestigious being the Palme d'Or, which is awarded to the best film of the festival, there's also the Grand Prix, which is the grand prize of the festival, the Prix du Jury which is a Jury prize, the Palme d'Or du court métrage which goes to the best short film, the Prix d'interprétation féminine which goes to the best actress, the Prix d'interprétation masculine which goes to the best actor, the Prix de la mise en scene, which goes to the best director and the Prix du scénario going to the best screenplay.
Cannes was supposed to first take place in 1939, however, with the outbreak of WWII, it didn't actually begin until the war was over in 1946. Cannes is currently being held this year and goes until the 22 of May.
Earlier I mentioned Chris, if you haven't checked his blog out do it... http://musingsofamoviedouche.blogspot.com/
Well, I think that's about it for tonight, I feel pretty sick and like I could pass out so I'll bid you adieu...
First off, this is pretty cool, if you're interested in attending film school and want to know what film schools are available to you in your state or area, check it out... http://www.aboutfilmschools.com/
if it's helpful, that's awesome, if not then I'm sorry you clicked on the link, feel free to let me know...
This is an interesting story about an interesting sounding film with an interesting plot... apparently the film is about a mad plastic surgeon that turns his victim into a woman, it's called The Skin I Live In... http://www.imdb.com/news/ni10794268/ apparently it did really well at Cannes too.
Here's another little thing about Cannes (and one that Chris may like), Lars Von Trier was kicked out of the festival for remarks he had made about being a Nazi and sympathizing with Adolf Hitler, he also stated that the next film he does will be a three hour long porn (most likely a joke), but there you go... http://www.imdb.com/news/ni10794266/, http://www.imdb.com/news/ni10788149/
Well, now it would just make sense if I talked a bit about the Cannes Film Festival. It's the most prestigious film festival in the world and takes place in the Southern French town of Cannes (in case you were unsure). It's held every year and usually in May, with a jury of film makers, actors and critics reviewing the films that are entered in the competition part of the festival. There are various programs at the festival and it's broken down into sections. The first of the sections is the Official Section, the films in this section are either put in competition, where they compete for the Palme d'Or, in Un Certain Regard which presents a lot of films with different styles to introduce them into the international spotlight. There are out of competition films, which are not put up for a prize, there are special screenings, which are films that are matched to an specific environment. There's cinéfondation, which are a selection of art school shorts and mid-length films. Finally there are the short films competing for the Palme d'Or.
On top of the Official Section, there are also parallel sections that are not up for any rewards. The sub-sections of this are, The Cannes Classics, which are older films celebrating the heritage of film, Tous les Cinémas du Monde, which showcases films from a specific country each day, Caméra d'Or, which celebrates first films and then Cinéma de la Plage, which are public showcasing of non-competition films and classics.
Finally are the awards at Cannes, the most prestigious being the Palme d'Or, which is awarded to the best film of the festival, there's also the Grand Prix, which is the grand prize of the festival, the Prix du Jury which is a Jury prize, the Palme d'Or du court métrage which goes to the best short film, the Prix d'interprétation féminine which goes to the best actress, the Prix d'interprétation masculine which goes to the best actor, the Prix de la mise en scene, which goes to the best director and the Prix du scénario going to the best screenplay.
Cannes was supposed to first take place in 1939, however, with the outbreak of WWII, it didn't actually begin until the war was over in 1946. Cannes is currently being held this year and goes until the 22 of May.
Earlier I mentioned Chris, if you haven't checked his blog out do it... http://musingsofamoviedouche.blogspot.com/
Well, I think that's about it for tonight, I feel pretty sick and like I could pass out so I'll bid you adieu...
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
The Twenty-second Nap-- Howdy Partner!
Let me start off by saying, if you have an iPhone or iPod touch and you see the AFI app and think, "oh hey, this could be cool..." don't get it, cuz it's nothing but a few videos, twitter and facebook updates and the top 100 list only, not really worth it.
Now on to my post, I say!!
Today, I'm doing another genre post and this one is on westerns (It'll probably take me another week or more). A western, is generally set in the portion of the Old West between the end of the Civil War and The Battle of Wounded Knee, some westerns though portray a time as early as the Battle of The Alamo or even go into modern times. What the American Film Institute defines as a western is a story that is "set in the American West that embody the spirit, the struggle and the demise of the new frontier". The hero archetype of the western is usually the same, a fairly nomadic cowboy or gunslinger of some kind. On the other hand, the western villain archetype was generally the same also, being a bandit or a Native American. Unfortunately Native Americans were largely portrayed negatively in westerns, especially early westerns. During the silent film era the western was extremely popular, however, not a lot of these films survived and once sound became the standard the western lost it's popularity. The western didn't regain popularity until the film Stagecoach, that launched the career of John Wayne.
Now, if you thought all westerns are cut and dry, you're wrong. There are many sub-genres of the western, and I shall share them with you...
What do you think of first when you think of western cinema? Probably the Classical Western. This began all the way back in the silent film era with the movie, The Great Train Robbery (1903). It is generally the style that everyone is used to, good cowboy and bad indian/robber.
Westerns that take place in the north, usually in Canada or Alaska are called Northerns. Films that are in this sub-category are The Far Country (1955) and North to Alaska (1960).
Euro Westerns were westerns made in western Europe, a lot being from Germany. One example is The Savage Guns (1961).
Aussie Westerns are westerns that were shot in Australia. Australia (2008) and The Proposition (2005) are examples of this.
Next is the Epic Western. In these westerns the characters are more complex along with the story lines, some epic, sweeping plot takes place where some ridiculous obstacle must be overcome. Alliances shift, men who stay away from violence are sometimes forced into it. A lot of them draw parallels to norse or greek mythological stories. Examples of this are Once Upon A Time in The West (1968), The Searchers (1956) and The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (1966).
Shoot 'em Up Westerns are just that, rely on violence, shoot outs and not very deep characters.
Ostern or Red Western were western films made in communist Europe, specifically the Soviet Union. The Red Westerns, were set in the American west and generally had favorable depictions of Native Americans as freedom fighters and an oppressed minority (which they actually were). Osterns, on the other hand, were set in central Asia or the Russian steppes and were set around the Russian Revolution or Civil War. Examples of Red Westerns are The Sons of The Great Bear (1966) and The Oil, The Baby and The Transylvanians (1981). Ostern examples are, Dauria (1971), The Bodyguard (1979) or The Sixth (1981).
Similar to Osterns are Revisionist Westerns or Anti-Westerns. There were revisionist westerns in the Soviet Union, however, after the 60s, America began to make revisionist westerns that questioned the old ways of making a western. One thing it did was portray Native Americans in a better light, not just showing them as evil savages like they had been for decades. Another way is by giving women a more powerful and prominent role in the west and showing the outlaws as anti-heros. Some examples of this style are The Assassination of Jesse James by The Coward Robert Ford (2007), Dances With Wolves (1990) , Cat Ballou (1965), True Grit (2010), Little Big Man (1970), and Dead Man (1995).
In the same vein are Zapata Westerns. Zapata westerns are a branch off of Spaghetti Westerns (which I will talk about soon, hold your horses) that were made in the 1960s and 70s and took place in Mexico. They generally all take place around the Mexican Revolution (they get their name from the Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata) and deal with strong political themes. Even though most Zapata Westerns were done by Italian directors criticizing fascist regimes and American capitalism, there were also American Zapata Westerns which made their heros less revolutionary and more "soldiers of fortune" hiring themselves out to make a profit.
Next are Contemporary Westerns! (cut down the excitement), these are westerns set in modern times, but usually have the same Old West archetypes like the anti-hero, the open landscapes and gunfights. These are films like El Mariachi (1992), Brokeback Mountain (2005) or No Country for Old Men (2007).
There are Curry Westerns, westerns made in India (slightly racist, I know).
Then there is the Weird Western. This is a film or comic or anything that combines the western genre with something that typically doesn't go with it, such as steampunk, like in the film Wild Wild West (1999), or superheros, like in Jonah Hex (2010). Then there are other, more common types in this sub-genre like Horror Westerns, which are like they sound, a mixture of horror or the supernatural with westerns, examples are Billy The Kid vs Dracula (1966) or The Burrowers (2008). Another little type is the Sci-fi Western. Which puts aliens or advanced technology into a western setting, examples of this are Cowboys & Aliens (2011), Westworld (1973) or Back to The Future Part III (1990).
Finally we come to one of my two favorite types of westerns, Acid Westerns. This sub-genre was started in the 1960s and 70s that combined metaphorical and philosophical ideas with the ridiculousness of Spaghetti Westerns and packaged it all up for the counterculture. The acid western takes a lot of the standard ideals of the western and turns them around. Instead of the west being a place of adventure, liberation and a new beginning, it becomes a place of death and destruction. What I love about the acid western is the look and philosophy of it, it gives everything this twisted, real and chaotic feel, a feeling of isolation and despair, while capturing the sense of drug use or psychosis. I also love the general depth of the acid western, taking everything from politics to religion and twisting it and putting it in the context of the horror of the Old West, films, especially ones like El Topo, also add an almost, tournament feel to the main character's overcoming of obstacles, and those obstacles have odd, unique and fantastic looks and abilities and beliefs. If you're looking for some acid westerns, here are a few movies that are considered acid westerns, Dead Man (1995), The Shooting (1966), Ride the Whirlwind (1966), El Topo (1970), Greaser's Place (1972), Zachariah (1971), and Dirty Little Billy (1972).
Now, for my second most favorite type of western and the one that many sub-genres take from, the Spaghetti Western. Spaghetti Westerns came about in the mid-60s and were primarily made by Italians (I know, racist again). Spaghetti Westerns generally take place around the Mexican Revolution and takes a leftist stance. A lot also talk about revenge and bounty hunters. I love spaghetti westerns, I love the low budget feel and the grittiness, the feeling that things are bad and it takes a bad ass to be a "hero" in the Old West, it's got politics, it's got the western feel and it spawned a lot of other styles like the acid western mentioned above. Examples of the spaghetti western are, or course, A Fistful of Dollars (1964), For a Few Dollars More (1965), The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (1966), then also The Mercenary (1968) and The Return of Ringo (1966), among many many others.
When I was a kid, I totally hated westerns, but after seeing what westerns COULD be, I began to enjoy them. I would love to do a modern western some day and hope to, anyway, that is all.
Nighty Night
Now on to my post, I say!!
Today, I'm doing another genre post and this one is on westerns (It'll probably take me another week or more). A western, is generally set in the portion of the Old West between the end of the Civil War and The Battle of Wounded Knee, some westerns though portray a time as early as the Battle of The Alamo or even go into modern times. What the American Film Institute defines as a western is a story that is "set in the American West that embody the spirit, the struggle and the demise of the new frontier". The hero archetype of the western is usually the same, a fairly nomadic cowboy or gunslinger of some kind. On the other hand, the western villain archetype was generally the same also, being a bandit or a Native American. Unfortunately Native Americans were largely portrayed negatively in westerns, especially early westerns. During the silent film era the western was extremely popular, however, not a lot of these films survived and once sound became the standard the western lost it's popularity. The western didn't regain popularity until the film Stagecoach, that launched the career of John Wayne.
Now, if you thought all westerns are cut and dry, you're wrong. There are many sub-genres of the western, and I shall share them with you...
What do you think of first when you think of western cinema? Probably the Classical Western. This began all the way back in the silent film era with the movie, The Great Train Robbery (1903). It is generally the style that everyone is used to, good cowboy and bad indian/robber.
Westerns that take place in the north, usually in Canada or Alaska are called Northerns. Films that are in this sub-category are The Far Country (1955) and North to Alaska (1960).
Euro Westerns were westerns made in western Europe, a lot being from Germany. One example is The Savage Guns (1961).
Aussie Westerns are westerns that were shot in Australia. Australia (2008) and The Proposition (2005) are examples of this.
Next is the Epic Western. In these westerns the characters are more complex along with the story lines, some epic, sweeping plot takes place where some ridiculous obstacle must be overcome. Alliances shift, men who stay away from violence are sometimes forced into it. A lot of them draw parallels to norse or greek mythological stories. Examples of this are Once Upon A Time in The West (1968), The Searchers (1956) and The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (1966).
Shoot 'em Up Westerns are just that, rely on violence, shoot outs and not very deep characters.
Ostern or Red Western were western films made in communist Europe, specifically the Soviet Union. The Red Westerns, were set in the American west and generally had favorable depictions of Native Americans as freedom fighters and an oppressed minority (which they actually were). Osterns, on the other hand, were set in central Asia or the Russian steppes and were set around the Russian Revolution or Civil War. Examples of Red Westerns are The Sons of The Great Bear (1966) and The Oil, The Baby and The Transylvanians (1981). Ostern examples are, Dauria (1971), The Bodyguard (1979) or The Sixth (1981).
Similar to Osterns are Revisionist Westerns or Anti-Westerns. There were revisionist westerns in the Soviet Union, however, after the 60s, America began to make revisionist westerns that questioned the old ways of making a western. One thing it did was portray Native Americans in a better light, not just showing them as evil savages like they had been for decades. Another way is by giving women a more powerful and prominent role in the west and showing the outlaws as anti-heros. Some examples of this style are The Assassination of Jesse James by The Coward Robert Ford (2007), Dances With Wolves (1990) , Cat Ballou (1965), True Grit (2010), Little Big Man (1970), and Dead Man (1995).
In the same vein are Zapata Westerns. Zapata westerns are a branch off of Spaghetti Westerns (which I will talk about soon, hold your horses) that were made in the 1960s and 70s and took place in Mexico. They generally all take place around the Mexican Revolution (they get their name from the Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata) and deal with strong political themes. Even though most Zapata Westerns were done by Italian directors criticizing fascist regimes and American capitalism, there were also American Zapata Westerns which made their heros less revolutionary and more "soldiers of fortune" hiring themselves out to make a profit.
Next are Contemporary Westerns! (cut down the excitement), these are westerns set in modern times, but usually have the same Old West archetypes like the anti-hero, the open landscapes and gunfights. These are films like El Mariachi (1992), Brokeback Mountain (2005) or No Country for Old Men (2007).
There are Curry Westerns, westerns made in India (slightly racist, I know).
Then there is the Weird Western. This is a film or comic or anything that combines the western genre with something that typically doesn't go with it, such as steampunk, like in the film Wild Wild West (1999), or superheros, like in Jonah Hex (2010). Then there are other, more common types in this sub-genre like Horror Westerns, which are like they sound, a mixture of horror or the supernatural with westerns, examples are Billy The Kid vs Dracula (1966) or The Burrowers (2008). Another little type is the Sci-fi Western. Which puts aliens or advanced technology into a western setting, examples of this are Cowboys & Aliens (2011), Westworld (1973) or Back to The Future Part III (1990).
Finally we come to one of my two favorite types of westerns, Acid Westerns. This sub-genre was started in the 1960s and 70s that combined metaphorical and philosophical ideas with the ridiculousness of Spaghetti Westerns and packaged it all up for the counterculture. The acid western takes a lot of the standard ideals of the western and turns them around. Instead of the west being a place of adventure, liberation and a new beginning, it becomes a place of death and destruction. What I love about the acid western is the look and philosophy of it, it gives everything this twisted, real and chaotic feel, a feeling of isolation and despair, while capturing the sense of drug use or psychosis. I also love the general depth of the acid western, taking everything from politics to religion and twisting it and putting it in the context of the horror of the Old West, films, especially ones like El Topo, also add an almost, tournament feel to the main character's overcoming of obstacles, and those obstacles have odd, unique and fantastic looks and abilities and beliefs. If you're looking for some acid westerns, here are a few movies that are considered acid westerns, Dead Man (1995), The Shooting (1966), Ride the Whirlwind (1966), El Topo (1970), Greaser's Place (1972), Zachariah (1971), and Dirty Little Billy (1972).
Now, for my second most favorite type of western and the one that many sub-genres take from, the Spaghetti Western. Spaghetti Westerns came about in the mid-60s and were primarily made by Italians (I know, racist again). Spaghetti Westerns generally take place around the Mexican Revolution and takes a leftist stance. A lot also talk about revenge and bounty hunters. I love spaghetti westerns, I love the low budget feel and the grittiness, the feeling that things are bad and it takes a bad ass to be a "hero" in the Old West, it's got politics, it's got the western feel and it spawned a lot of other styles like the acid western mentioned above. Examples of the spaghetti western are, or course, A Fistful of Dollars (1964), For a Few Dollars More (1965), The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (1966), then also The Mercenary (1968) and The Return of Ringo (1966), among many many others.
When I was a kid, I totally hated westerns, but after seeing what westerns COULD be, I began to enjoy them. I would love to do a modern western some day and hope to, anyway, that is all.
Nighty Night
Sunday, May 15, 2011
The Twenty-first Issue-- What Does Marsellus Wallace Look Like?
So, I'm going to do a post about Quentin Tarantino, if you ask why, it's because I really enjoy his films. I've had a lot of people ask why I like Tarantino but I respect him and his films. It think he does a good job with what he does, he may be ridiculous and over the top but he does a good job satirizing the film styles he enjoys while paying homage to them at the same time.
He was born Quentin Jerome Tarantino in 1963 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Tarantino never went to film school or even college and worked at a video rental store paying attention to the movies people liked to rent. He has stated that he plans to retire at the age of 60, he's currently 48.
Tarantino's first film was destroyed in a fire, however, the screenplay still exists and was the basis for another film. He gain a huge amount of respect and attention with his first major motion picture Reservoir Dogs. He gained even greater international success with his hit second film Pulp Fiction and after that he's more or less been able to do whatever movie he feels like doing. Unlike other directors like James Cameron or Steven Spielberg for example, he didn't just turn to making popular, big budget, epic, blockbuster spectacles, he is true to what he started out doing and makes the campy, ultra-violent films that he likes.
One thing I enjoy about his films is his frequent use of nonlinear narrative, it's in almost all of his films and his purposeful use of campy b-movie techniques and motifs. He makes his movies interesting and fun to watch while telling a good story and delving deeper into issues and just random cultural topics.
Now, let's give you a little run down of his films (considering I've seen nearly all of them)...
Tarantino's fist amateur film was call My Best Friend's Birthday (1987), which is about a guy who's plans to do something good for his best friend's birthday keep going wrong. I've never seen it and most of it was destroyed in a fire. Only a half hour of the film remains.
Reservoir Dogs (1992) was his first major film and involves the happenings both before and after a failed jewel heist. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105236/synopsis.
The film is one the most classic Tarantino films (even if it's not his most well known), many fans believe that this is one of Tarantino's finest films. I did enjoy this film a lot, from the opening discussion about the meaning behind Madonna's "Like a Virgin" to the end. There are many iconic scenes in the film, such as the stand off between Mr. Pink (Steve Buscemi) and Mr. White (Harvey Keitel),
the torture scene with Mr. Blonde (Michael Madsen), or the mexican stand off at the end. The movie truly is a classic with Tarantino's signature of over the top violence and gore, lots of profanity, and mild doses of humor. It also has Tarantino's OTHER signature of a nonlinear story line. It skips around a lot, however, it's never really hard to understand or follow. The films also starred many actors who would go on to other Tarantino films, like Michael Madsen, Steve Buscemi, Tim Roth, and Tarantino himself. Even though I enjoyed this film, I wouldn't say it was my favorite film by him. The movie was excellently done and had all of Tarantino's charm with a realness that hasn't been seen from him since Jackie Brown, however, I thought it was lacking something. Maybe it was plot elements, maybe it was something else, I don't know, it just wasn't my favorite. Worth the watch though, without a doubt.
Next up IS one of my personal Tarantino favorites, Pulp Fiction (1994). Which tells the separate, yet intersecting stories of a couple mobsters, petty criminals, drug addicts, fringe players and the like. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110912/synopsis. Pulp Fiction is probably the most classic Tarantino film and most likely his most endearing. It has everything thing that makes a Tarantino film a Tarantino film (a lot of which is in Reservoir Dogs also), you can tell that by his second film he polished his craft and it really shows. The dialogue is still iconic, the scenes are iconic, like the cheeseburger scene, the scene where Marvin (Phil LaMarr) accidentally shoots himself, the dance scene with Mia (Uma Thurman) and Vincent (John Travolta), the explanation of the gold watch and the dialogue about what Marsellus Wallace (Ving Rhames) looks like (does he look like a bitch?). The grotesque violence mixed with humor is there, the pop culture references are there, the plot line is entertaining, the repeated motifs, the nonlinear narrative is there, the style that plays on whatever film genre he's using (in this case a kind of neo-noir), everything is there AND it has wonderful portrayals by John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson (who has become one of Tarantino's #1 collaborators). This movie you should probably watch right now, seriously, stop the blog and watch it. If you have it, watch it, if you don't, get it and watch it. If you've never seen a Tarantino film, this is the one to start with (trust me).
Tarantino's third film, Jackie Brown (1997) is not as well known as his first two, or any after really. It's about a flight attendant who gets mixed up in drugs and drug lords. I haven't seen all of this film, only a small part of it (however, I DID notice it was on the instant queue on Netflicks), so I can't really comment on it much, however, I'm sure it's at least worth a watch (but there are reasons why it's less popular I'm sure). http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119396/synopsis. ANYWAY, there's that (and sorry about it).
Next came Kill Bill (part 1 released in 2003 and part 2 in 2004), his two part epic that is a play on everything from spaghetti westerns to old samurai flicks to gangster films. I liked Kill Bill, even though it's slightly ridiculous (I know that this is one of the films that Tarantino critics bring up). The film tells the story of a woman (played by Uma Thurman), who attempts to exact her revenge on the group of assassins that she previously worked for who tried to kill her on her wedding day. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0266697/synopsis + http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0378194/synopsis. I'll start talking about this film by saying that the second volume has, what is probably one of my favorite characters (and definitely my favorite Tarantino character) ever, Pai Mei. The horribly stereotypical asian kung-fu master who hates everyone and is a very harsh teacher, I thought the character was hilarious. ANYWAY, the film is a revenge film (which is a common subject for Tarantino), it has the violence and the nonlinear story yadda yadda, you already know all of that, this one also has the kung-fu spoof feel. It's paying homage to old martial arts films (I mean Uma Thurman's jumpsuit in the first volume is pretty much the same as Bruce Lee's in The Game of Death), but, just like all Tarantino films, strongly pays homage to what came before.
A lot of people, namely the ones that criticize his films don't really realize that Tarantino is in love with film and wants to relive it and recreate it and have other people enjoy it too. He jokes about what he loves and pays his respects too. I respect that. Once again, in this film, there are tons of iconic scenes, like the fight with the Crazy 88, the scenes with Pai Mei (who is an iconic character, even if he IS modeled after other kung-fu characters), and the five-point-palm-exploding-heart technique. The film is definitely worth a watch, especially if you like campy kung-fu films.
The next film was Death Proof, which was one movie in the double feature Grindhouse (2007), the other film being Robert Rodriguez' Planet Terror. Death Proof tells the story of a stunt driver that uses his customized car to kill unsuspecting women. Now, I must say that I thought this was the worst Tarantino film I've seen. I won't ruin the ending for you, but it was just awful, in fact it ruined the entire film for me (I hate it when that happens). Anyway, I'm not going to say a lot about this film, it had Tarantino's style, it had the low budget feel and purposefully horrible editing and confusing jump cuts to make it feel like a 70s grindhouse horror. I just wouldn't recommend this one personally. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1028528/synopsis
Tarantino's latest film (made in 2009) was the WWII revenge film remake of Inglourious Basterds (that's right, remake). http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0361748/synopsis. It told the story of a group of Americans who go into Nazi occupied France in an attempt to take out Hitler during a movie premier. The movie seemed to have more humor than a lot of Tarantino's previous works, with Brad Pitt's character being one of the more interesting characters in Tarantino's library. Christoph Waltz also played a delightfully demented Nazi commander, the character was excellently portrayed. It's another Tarantino film that is full of iconic scenes and lines, but unlike most Tarantino films, it is not done out of order, it DOES however have titles cards for each section (which is VERY common in his films). This movie includes another of my most favorite Tarantino characters, Hugo Stiglitz, who is a rogue Nazi that eventually joins the Basterds (and, more or less, a total badass). I think that this film will go down as a Tarantino classic, and one people will remember, if you haven't seen it yet, watch it for sure.
Tarantino has already announced his next two projects. The first once being a spaghetti western about a slave who goes and exacts vengeance on his former master, it's going to be titled Django Unchained, Christoph Waltz and Samuel L. Jackson have both been announced as part of the project. The film that was announced after that he will be doing a third volume of Kill Bill, the reason for the length between the installments was to give The Bride and her daughter at least ten years to get settled. I personally can't wait for either of these projects, both sound great.
Finally, I've found this photo of a statue of Bruce Lee in Hong Kong that I thought was cool and would share...
ANYWAY... there it is, hope you liked it, buh-bye...
He was born Quentin Jerome Tarantino in 1963 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Tarantino never went to film school or even college and worked at a video rental store paying attention to the movies people liked to rent. He has stated that he plans to retire at the age of 60, he's currently 48.
Tarantino's first film was destroyed in a fire, however, the screenplay still exists and was the basis for another film. He gain a huge amount of respect and attention with his first major motion picture Reservoir Dogs. He gained even greater international success with his hit second film Pulp Fiction and after that he's more or less been able to do whatever movie he feels like doing. Unlike other directors like James Cameron or Steven Spielberg for example, he didn't just turn to making popular, big budget, epic, blockbuster spectacles, he is true to what he started out doing and makes the campy, ultra-violent films that he likes.
One thing I enjoy about his films is his frequent use of nonlinear narrative, it's in almost all of his films and his purposeful use of campy b-movie techniques and motifs. He makes his movies interesting and fun to watch while telling a good story and delving deeper into issues and just random cultural topics.
Now, let's give you a little run down of his films (considering I've seen nearly all of them)...
Tarantino's fist amateur film was call My Best Friend's Birthday (1987), which is about a guy who's plans to do something good for his best friend's birthday keep going wrong. I've never seen it and most of it was destroyed in a fire. Only a half hour of the film remains.
Reservoir Dogs (1992) was his first major film and involves the happenings both before and after a failed jewel heist. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105236/synopsis.
The film is one the most classic Tarantino films (even if it's not his most well known), many fans believe that this is one of Tarantino's finest films. I did enjoy this film a lot, from the opening discussion about the meaning behind Madonna's "Like a Virgin" to the end. There are many iconic scenes in the film, such as the stand off between Mr. Pink (Steve Buscemi) and Mr. White (Harvey Keitel),the torture scene with Mr. Blonde (Michael Madsen), or the mexican stand off at the end. The movie truly is a classic with Tarantino's signature of over the top violence and gore, lots of profanity, and mild doses of humor. It also has Tarantino's OTHER signature of a nonlinear story line. It skips around a lot, however, it's never really hard to understand or follow. The films also starred many actors who would go on to other Tarantino films, like Michael Madsen, Steve Buscemi, Tim Roth, and Tarantino himself. Even though I enjoyed this film, I wouldn't say it was my favorite film by him. The movie was excellently done and had all of Tarantino's charm with a realness that hasn't been seen from him since Jackie Brown, however, I thought it was lacking something. Maybe it was plot elements, maybe it was something else, I don't know, it just wasn't my favorite. Worth the watch though, without a doubt.
Next up IS one of my personal Tarantino favorites, Pulp Fiction (1994). Which tells the separate, yet intersecting stories of a couple mobsters, petty criminals, drug addicts, fringe players and the like. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110912/synopsis. Pulp Fiction is probably the most classic Tarantino film and most likely his most endearing. It has everything thing that makes a Tarantino film a Tarantino film (a lot of which is in Reservoir Dogs also), you can tell that by his second film he polished his craft and it really shows. The dialogue is still iconic, the scenes are iconic, like the cheeseburger scene, the scene where Marvin (Phil LaMarr) accidentally shoots himself, the dance scene with Mia (Uma Thurman) and Vincent (John Travolta), the explanation of the gold watch and the dialogue about what Marsellus Wallace (Ving Rhames) looks like (does he look like a bitch?). The grotesque violence mixed with humor is there, the pop culture references are there, the plot line is entertaining, the repeated motifs, the nonlinear narrative is there, the style that plays on whatever film genre he's using (in this case a kind of neo-noir), everything is there AND it has wonderful portrayals by John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson (who has become one of Tarantino's #1 collaborators). This movie you should probably watch right now, seriously, stop the blog and watch it. If you have it, watch it, if you don't, get it and watch it. If you've never seen a Tarantino film, this is the one to start with (trust me).Tarantino's third film, Jackie Brown (1997) is not as well known as his first two, or any after really. It's about a flight attendant who gets mixed up in drugs and drug lords. I haven't seen all of this film, only a small part of it (however, I DID notice it was on the instant queue on Netflicks), so I can't really comment on it much, however, I'm sure it's at least worth a watch (but there are reasons why it's less popular I'm sure). http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119396/synopsis. ANYWAY, there's that (and sorry about it). A lot of people, namely the ones that criticize his films don't really realize that Tarantino is in love with film and wants to relive it and recreate it and have other people enjoy it too. He jokes about what he loves and pays his respects too. I respect that. Once again, in this film, there are tons of iconic scenes, like the fight with the Crazy 88, the scenes with Pai Mei (who is an iconic character, even if he IS modeled after other kung-fu characters), and the five-point-palm-exploding-heart technique. The film is definitely worth a watch, especially if you like campy kung-fu films.The next film was Death Proof, which was one movie in the double feature Grindhouse (2007), the other film being Robert Rodriguez' Planet Terror. Death Proof tells the story of a stunt driver that uses his customized car to kill unsuspecting women. Now, I must say that I thought this was the worst Tarantino film I've seen. I won't ruin the ending for you, but it was just awful, in fact it ruined the entire film for me (I hate it when that happens). Anyway, I'm not going to say a lot about this film, it had Tarantino's style, it had the low budget feel and purposefully horrible editing and confusing jump cuts to make it feel like a 70s grindhouse horror. I just wouldn't recommend this one personally. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1028528/synopsisTarantino's latest film (made in 2009) was the WWII revenge film remake of Inglourious Basterds (that's right, remake). http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0361748/synopsis. It told the story of a group of Americans who go into Nazi occupied France in an attempt to take out Hitler during a movie premier. The movie seemed to have more humor than a lot of Tarantino's previous works, with Brad Pitt's character being one of the more interesting characters in Tarantino's library. Christoph Waltz also played a delightfully demented Nazi commander, the character was excellently portrayed. It's another Tarantino film that is full of iconic scenes and lines, but unlike most Tarantino films, it is not done out of order, it DOES however have titles cards for each section (which is VERY common in his films). This movie includes another of my most favorite Tarantino characters, Hugo Stiglitz, who is a rogue Nazi that eventually joins the Basterds (and, more or less, a total badass). I think that this film will go down as a Tarantino classic, and one people will remember, if you haven't seen it yet, watch it for sure.
Finally, I've found this photo of a statue of Bruce Lee in Hong Kong that I thought was cool and would share...
ANYWAY... there it is, hope you liked it, buh-bye...
Friday, May 13, 2011
The Twentieth Word-- Unlucky Bastards
Hey Hey y'all, it's Friday the 13th (not the horror movie)... and it's your unlucky day!!! Why's that? because I'm going to post another short comedy script for your viewing pleasure...
HERE WE GO!!
HERE WE GO!!
(Open on a room full of people all talking and partying, the door opens in walks a man with long black hair, jeans, a black t-shirt.)
Ron: (in a deep gravely voice) Hey everybody
Everybody: Hey Ron!
(Ron spots a girl in the corner that he doesn’t know and moves over to her.)
Ron: (in a deep, indifferent voice) Hey, I’m Ron… who are you?
Shelley: (uninterested) Uhh… Hi, I’m Shelley…
Ron: (unchanged) So… what are you into? I like Death Metal, and Doom Metal… and Thrash Metal and Black Metal… and Power Metal and Nu Metal… really any kind of metal… (short pause, thinking) aluminum, steel, iron… brass… nickel… PVC and various plastics… (short pause) really any building materials… brick… (Shelley leaves without Ron noticing) wood… wood’s always nice… concrete… stone, you know… (pauses to think) marble… limestone… granite… sandstone… monzonite… slate, you know… (pauses) diamond… uhhh…. (looks to where Shelley was) hey, where’d you go? (looks around and takes off)
sorry for that being so lame, I just wanted to get a post in on Friday the 13th... hate me if you want...
For some reason this interests me too... http://www.imdb.com/news/ni10551500/
apparently they're selling the car Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (it actually runs) at an auction and Dick Van Dyke was the last to drive it... and look what else they're auctioning, pretty sick!
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
The Nineteenth Drag-- Which New Wave?
There are a lot of movements in film, however, nearly every civilized country that was producing films after the 1960s and the fall of the studio system had a new wave movement. That new batch of film makers making film in a new way and using plots that pushed the boundries of taboo. From the art house to the grind house to the film schools, it's new film makers making independent films. Let's go through a few new wave movements, shall we?
Starting a bit far from home, Japanese New Wave. The Japanese New Wave started in the late 1950s and went onto the 1970s. It began around the same time as the French New Wave and has, at many times, been considered a copy of the French movement. However, the Japanese New Wave started up roughly at the same time. The movement primarily included young students who studied as film critics and focused on questioning and opposing social norms. The movement didn't last that long, not past the 1970s, with only a few residual film makers still making films past the 70s. Some of the major film makers in the Japanese New Wave movement are Susumu Hani, Hiroshi Teshigahara, Nagisa Oshima, Yasuzo Masumura, Masahiro Shinoda, Shohei Imamura, Seijun Suzuki, Ko Nakahira, and Kaneto Shindo. The topics of these films were uncommon for Japan at the time, topics like sexuality, generder roles, racism, heros from social outcasts, and critiques of social structure, all of these weren't generally done in the society before this. Some of the films in this movement are In The Realm of The Senses (1976), Cruel Story of Youth (1960), Naked Island (1960), Tattooed Life (1964), The Revolutionary (1962), Boy (1969), Double Suicide (1969) and many others. An example of the change in Japan is the use of these subjects in comic books, like the manga Yu Yu Hakusho, where the main character is a High School delinquent.
Moving a bit closer now is Indian New Wave, also known as Parallel Cinema. It began around the same time as the Japanese and French movements, but has lasted a bit longer, the section known as the "new wave" took the portion from 1952 to 1976, however, what is known as "parallel cinema" lasted from 1946 to the present day. It branches off from the mainstream Indian cinema known as Bollywood and focuses on seriousness, realism, social commentary and naturalism. The early directors of this movement were Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak, Bimal Roy, Mrinal Sen, Khwaja Ahmad Abbas, Chetan Anand, Guru Dutt, and V. Shantaram. Parallel Cinema started way back in the 1920s but reached it's height in the 70s and 80s, however, by the 90s it had a major decline, primarily due to the cost of creating the films and the fact that the return was not guaranteed. People would go to underground financiers but that proved to only lead to it's downfall, along with piracy, political and economic turmoil and the popularity of TV. Recently, Parallel Cinema is on the rise once again as films that don't quite fit Bollywood. Some of the films in this movement include Sawkari Pash (1925), Pather Panchali (1955), The World of Apu (1959), Pyaasa (1957), Ankur (1974), Swaham (1994) and My Brother... Nikhil (2005).
Another step toward us is the Iranian New Wave in cinema (that's right, even Iran had a new wave). The new wave movement in Iran was quite innovative and talked a lot about political and philosophical topics, it also used highly poetic language. The shift into the new wave came after the social and political changes in the country and a shift to more romanticism. It draws parallels with Italian Neorealism. Some of the major directors from the Iranian New Wave are, Dariush Mehrjui, Nasser Taqvai, Masoud Kimiay, Parviz Kimiavi and others. One major film in the movement and the beginning of it is The Cow (1969).
Up next is the French New Wave. The French are generally seen as the originators of the new wave scene with most others copying them, however, most of the new wave movies came around the same time as the French. The French New Wave is actually influenced by Italian Neorealism and Classic Hollywood. The major things about this movement is the rejection of standard, classic cinematic form and depictions of youthfulness, and using editing, narrative and visuals to discuss political and radical subjects. This is another movement that was started by film makers that begin careers as critics. The leaders of the movement were Francois Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard, Eric Rohmer, Claude Chabrol and Jacques Rivette. The French New Wave was popular in the 50s and 60s and came a lot from the climate of the world after World War II. France began to revert back to the old ways and this movement was a revolt against that. The whole thing was to keep the stories honest, the plot from being too linear and to move the art form forward like directors like Charlie Chaplin, Orson Welles and Alfred Hitchcock did before them. They dealt with existential themes and absurdity, they used jump cuts and long tracking shots, they used improvisation and circular shots, they were just trying to do something different, to tell a story, not follow standard traditions. In turn, the French New Wave influenced other film movements, even the American movement, it came full circle. Some of the films from this movement are The 400 Blows (1959), Breathless (1960) and Le Beau Serge (1958) and many many others.
Right across the "pond" we have The British New Wave. This movement once again took place in the 50s and 60s like the other New Wave movements. Unlike the existentialism and poetry of the other movements, the British New Wave focused on everyday life, the working class, and just discusses class in general. However, the style is very similar to the French New Wave with it's air of spontaneity and use of real people as opposed to extras. By 1964 the movement was over with new films out of Britain being more comical and fantastic and not focused on real and serious issues. A few films from the movement are Room at the Top (1959), The Entertainer (1960), The Loneliness of The Long Distance Runner (1962) and Billy Liar (1963).
And finally we get home, that's right the American New Wave, or New Hollywood. Our new wave movement came later, from the mid-1960s to the '80s and was influenced by the French New Wave. The new film makers of the American movement changed the way our studios looked at and marketed films. These film makers weren't independent film makers either, just willing to try new things. The studio system in America was failing and European art cinema was becoming more popular, thus this movement began. Most of these directors came from film schools, many were members of the 60s counterculture and most were young. The films kept the artistic aspects and put more energy and sexuality in their films. The movement began to come to an end around the 70s with the release of films like Star Wars, primarily because it began the American cinema to be more interested in making blockbusters over art films (which has carried onto today). Many excellent art films of the time also spawned unnecessary sequels just to make money, like The Godfather. Some of the big directors on the movement were Woody Allen, Hal Ashby, Francis Ford Coppola, Dennis Hopper, Stanley Kubrick, Geroge Lucas, Richard Lester, John Milius, Roman Polanski, Sydney Pollock and Martin Scorsese (many are still making films). Some of the big films are Bonnie and Clyde (1967), The Graduate (1967), The Godfather (1972), Harold and Maude (1971), A Clockwork Orange (1971), One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) and many many others.
Finally, I'll talk about No Wave cinema. It came later, from 1976 to 1985, and like, the musical New Wave movement abandoned structure for mood and texture. It was largely an underground movemet that started in New York. Some of the film makers associated with it are Amos Poe, Eric Mitchell, Vivienne Dick, and James Nares. It spawned a new generation of underground independent film makers also like, Jim Jarmusch, Steve Buscemi and Vincent Gallo.
There it is, New Wave in a nutshell, sorry it was such a long time coming but I hope you enjoyed it and hope it's up to your standards.
There are tons more new wave movements that I wasn't able to discuss but you can look it up, or maybe I'll talk about it later. Some are Australian New Wave, Brazilian New Wave (Cinema Novo), Portuguese New Wave (Novo Cinema), Czechoslovak New Wave, Hong Kong New Wave, Romanian New Wave, Taiwan New Wave and Dogme 95 (which was a movement in 1995, largely from the likes of Lars Von Trier). There are also the revivals of other genres such as Film Noir and Remodernism.
Later Gators!
Starting a bit far from home, Japanese New Wave. The Japanese New Wave started in the late 1950s and went onto the 1970s. It began around the same time as the French New Wave and has, at many times, been considered a copy of the French movement. However, the Japanese New Wave started up roughly at the same time. The movement primarily included young students who studied as film critics and focused on questioning and opposing social norms. The movement didn't last that long, not past the 1970s, with only a few residual film makers still making films past the 70s. Some of the major film makers in the Japanese New Wave movement are Susumu Hani, Hiroshi Teshigahara, Nagisa Oshima, Yasuzo Masumura, Masahiro Shinoda, Shohei Imamura, Seijun Suzuki, Ko Nakahira, and Kaneto Shindo. The topics of these films were uncommon for Japan at the time, topics like sexuality, generder roles, racism, heros from social outcasts, and critiques of social structure, all of these weren't generally done in the society before this. Some of the films in this movement are In The Realm of The Senses (1976), Cruel Story of Youth (1960), Naked Island (1960), Tattooed Life (1964), The Revolutionary (1962), Boy (1969), Double Suicide (1969) and many others. An example of the change in Japan is the use of these subjects in comic books, like the manga Yu Yu Hakusho, where the main character is a High School delinquent.
Moving a bit closer now is Indian New Wave, also known as Parallel Cinema. It began around the same time as the Japanese and French movements, but has lasted a bit longer, the section known as the "new wave" took the portion from 1952 to 1976, however, what is known as "parallel cinema" lasted from 1946 to the present day. It branches off from the mainstream Indian cinema known as Bollywood and focuses on seriousness, realism, social commentary and naturalism. The early directors of this movement were Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak, Bimal Roy, Mrinal Sen, Khwaja Ahmad Abbas, Chetan Anand, Guru Dutt, and V. Shantaram. Parallel Cinema started way back in the 1920s but reached it's height in the 70s and 80s, however, by the 90s it had a major decline, primarily due to the cost of creating the films and the fact that the return was not guaranteed. People would go to underground financiers but that proved to only lead to it's downfall, along with piracy, political and economic turmoil and the popularity of TV. Recently, Parallel Cinema is on the rise once again as films that don't quite fit Bollywood. Some of the films in this movement include Sawkari Pash (1925), Pather Panchali (1955), The World of Apu (1959), Pyaasa (1957), Ankur (1974), Swaham (1994) and My Brother... Nikhil (2005).
Another step toward us is the Iranian New Wave in cinema (that's right, even Iran had a new wave). The new wave movement in Iran was quite innovative and talked a lot about political and philosophical topics, it also used highly poetic language. The shift into the new wave came after the social and political changes in the country and a shift to more romanticism. It draws parallels with Italian Neorealism. Some of the major directors from the Iranian New Wave are, Dariush Mehrjui, Nasser Taqvai, Masoud Kimiay, Parviz Kimiavi and others. One major film in the movement and the beginning of it is The Cow (1969).
Up next is the French New Wave. The French are generally seen as the originators of the new wave scene with most others copying them, however, most of the new wave movies came around the same time as the French. The French New Wave is actually influenced by Italian Neorealism and Classic Hollywood. The major things about this movement is the rejection of standard, classic cinematic form and depictions of youthfulness, and using editing, narrative and visuals to discuss political and radical subjects. This is another movement that was started by film makers that begin careers as critics. The leaders of the movement were Francois Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard, Eric Rohmer, Claude Chabrol and Jacques Rivette. The French New Wave was popular in the 50s and 60s and came a lot from the climate of the world after World War II. France began to revert back to the old ways and this movement was a revolt against that. The whole thing was to keep the stories honest, the plot from being too linear and to move the art form forward like directors like Charlie Chaplin, Orson Welles and Alfred Hitchcock did before them. They dealt with existential themes and absurdity, they used jump cuts and long tracking shots, they used improvisation and circular shots, they were just trying to do something different, to tell a story, not follow standard traditions. In turn, the French New Wave influenced other film movements, even the American movement, it came full circle. Some of the films from this movement are The 400 Blows (1959), Breathless (1960) and Le Beau Serge (1958) and many many others.
Right across the "pond" we have The British New Wave. This movement once again took place in the 50s and 60s like the other New Wave movements. Unlike the existentialism and poetry of the other movements, the British New Wave focused on everyday life, the working class, and just discusses class in general. However, the style is very similar to the French New Wave with it's air of spontaneity and use of real people as opposed to extras. By 1964 the movement was over with new films out of Britain being more comical and fantastic and not focused on real and serious issues. A few films from the movement are Room at the Top (1959), The Entertainer (1960), The Loneliness of The Long Distance Runner (1962) and Billy Liar (1963).
And finally we get home, that's right the American New Wave, or New Hollywood. Our new wave movement came later, from the mid-1960s to the '80s and was influenced by the French New Wave. The new film makers of the American movement changed the way our studios looked at and marketed films. These film makers weren't independent film makers either, just willing to try new things. The studio system in America was failing and European art cinema was becoming more popular, thus this movement began. Most of these directors came from film schools, many were members of the 60s counterculture and most were young. The films kept the artistic aspects and put more energy and sexuality in their films. The movement began to come to an end around the 70s with the release of films like Star Wars, primarily because it began the American cinema to be more interested in making blockbusters over art films (which has carried onto today). Many excellent art films of the time also spawned unnecessary sequels just to make money, like The Godfather. Some of the big directors on the movement were Woody Allen, Hal Ashby, Francis Ford Coppola, Dennis Hopper, Stanley Kubrick, Geroge Lucas, Richard Lester, John Milius, Roman Polanski, Sydney Pollock and Martin Scorsese (many are still making films). Some of the big films are Bonnie and Clyde (1967), The Graduate (1967), The Godfather (1972), Harold and Maude (1971), A Clockwork Orange (1971), One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) and many many others.
Finally, I'll talk about No Wave cinema. It came later, from 1976 to 1985, and like, the musical New Wave movement abandoned structure for mood and texture. It was largely an underground movemet that started in New York. Some of the film makers associated with it are Amos Poe, Eric Mitchell, Vivienne Dick, and James Nares. It spawned a new generation of underground independent film makers also like, Jim Jarmusch, Steve Buscemi and Vincent Gallo.
There it is, New Wave in a nutshell, sorry it was such a long time coming but I hope you enjoyed it and hope it's up to your standards.
There are tons more new wave movements that I wasn't able to discuss but you can look it up, or maybe I'll talk about it later. Some are Australian New Wave, Brazilian New Wave (Cinema Novo), Portuguese New Wave (Novo Cinema), Czechoslovak New Wave, Hong Kong New Wave, Romanian New Wave, Taiwan New Wave and Dogme 95 (which was a movement in 1995, largely from the likes of Lars Von Trier). There are also the revivals of other genres such as Film Noir and Remodernism.
Later Gators!
Monday, May 2, 2011
The Eighteenth Painting-- The People It Kills Get Up And Kill!
So... I mentioned in one of my earlier posts the Criterion Collection. Well, I'm going to take this quick chance to post the horror films that are available from The Criterion Collection... just for shits and giggles...
Antichrist (Lars von Trier)
The Blob (Irvin S. Yeaworth)
Blood for Dracula (Paul Morrissey)
Carnival of Souls (Herk Harvey)
Corridors of Blood (Robert Day)
Cronos (Guillermo del Toro)
Diabolique (Henri-Georges Clouzot)
Empire of Passion (Nagisa Oshima)
Equinox (Jack Woods)
Eyes Without a Face (Georges Franju)
Fiend Without a Face (Arthur Crabtree)
Flesh for Frankenstein (Paul Morrissey)
The Haunted Strangler (Robert Day)
Haxan (Benjamin Christensen)
House (Nobuhiko Obayashi)
Jigoku (Nobuo Nakagawa)
Kwaidan (Masaki Kobayashi)
The Night of The Hunter (Charles Laughton)
Onibaba (Kaneto Shindo)
Peeping Tom (Michael Powell)
Repulsion (Roman Polanski)
The Silence of The Lambs (Jonathan Demme)
Sisters (Brian de Palma)
Vampyr (Carl Th. Dreyer)
The Vanishing (Geroge Sluizer)
Videodrome (David Cronenberg)
White Dog (Samuel Fuller)
I've finally watched the AMC series The Walking Dead, and I must say I'm quite impressed and addicted (it's too bad the first season only has six episodes). I had already liked the little bit of the comic I had read and the show does a great job with the story. Thus I am here, watching this show re-interested me in all things zombie and I'll be discussing all things zombie in my newest blog here (that's right, branching out beyond the realms of film).
Trivia Question: Who is known as the Godfather of all Zombies? The answer is George A. Romero.
Romero is a Canadian-American film director and probably one of the most important figures in the zombie world. He has an unbelievable record for classic zombie flicks and really set the standard for zombie lore in popular culture. He started with 1968's Night of the Living Dead, and after that all zombie films changed. Romero is such a influential figure in horror that there would be no zombies as we know them without him. Zombies would still be the voodoo, witch doctor controlled minions and not the massive, swarming, undead army that we've come to expect. I'm almost certain that nothing I can say about the man can truly express his contribution to horror and the modern zombie.
Now, what's funny about these forms of horror monsters is the fact that, in our present day, in the year 2011, the monsters are challenging each other. Zombies and Vampires are in a competition for supremacy in popular media. Vampires are huge, Twilight, the vampire books, the vampire TV shows, there are vampires all over the place today. However, zombies are ALSO infiltrating popular media. The Walking Dead, Left 4 Dead and other zombie games, zombie comics, zombies are also all over the place. So who wins huuh? which classic horror staple wins this proliferation into popular media? it's really just a matter of personal preference. For me, it's the zombie apocalypse that wins the day. Zombies retained their brutality unlike the current portrayals of vampires, who have become shining love story playboys (but if you're into that, more power to you). Really, the battle between zombies and vampires can't BE won, people like what they like and there will always be brutal and lame depictions of both, so I must say, I'm a fan of monsters, and if you're doing a good job, keep doing it. There's also one thing EVERYONE agrees with... no one cares about werewolves (poor werewolves).
Back to the zombies!
Chances are you've played video games too... well, if you're a zombie fan you've probably played Left 4 Dead, and probably Dead Rising also. Now, I thought Left 4 Dead was a good zombie game, it had everything you need in a game like that, and urban setting, a muti-player aspect, a four man team and enough zombies with enough variety to keep you going. It didn't really have the lonely, direness of others but it DID provide some jumps and the 4 person coop play was excellent. Now, as for Dead Rising, I always thought that it could have been really good. It had the loneliness aspect and the psychotic characters that you'd expect to show up in a zombie apocalypse. It had the mall setting that felt like you just stepped straight into a Romero film. It had the ability to pick up nearly anything and use it as a weapon in a fairly open ended map. Sounds fun huuh? What did it for me though was the 3 day story line time limit and the fact that if you didn't finish the story quests in time you would lose. It cuts down on the extra story quests and the fun of mowing down zombies. Overall Left 4 Dead had a more escape the city, Walking Dead, zombie apocalypse feel and Dead Rising had a more Romero, zombie onslaught, stuck in an mall with asylum inmates feel. Both were cool, but Dead Rising lost too many points in my book.
But there it is, my zombie post, sorry it was short and not too in depth. I promise you better next time ladies and germs.
Stay classy San Diego!
Antichrist (Lars von Trier)
The Blob (Irvin S. Yeaworth)
Blood for Dracula (Paul Morrissey)
Carnival of Souls (Herk Harvey)
Corridors of Blood (Robert Day)
Cronos (Guillermo del Toro)
Diabolique (Henri-Georges Clouzot)
Empire of Passion (Nagisa Oshima)
Equinox (Jack Woods)
Eyes Without a Face (Georges Franju)
Fiend Without a Face (Arthur Crabtree)
Flesh for Frankenstein (Paul Morrissey)
The Haunted Strangler (Robert Day)
Haxan (Benjamin Christensen)
House (Nobuhiko Obayashi)
Jigoku (Nobuo Nakagawa)
Kwaidan (Masaki Kobayashi)
The Night of The Hunter (Charles Laughton)
Onibaba (Kaneto Shindo)
Peeping Tom (Michael Powell)
Repulsion (Roman Polanski)
The Silence of The Lambs (Jonathan Demme)
Sisters (Brian de Palma)
Vampyr (Carl Th. Dreyer)
The Vanishing (Geroge Sluizer)
Videodrome (David Cronenberg)
White Dog (Samuel Fuller)
I've finally watched the AMC series The Walking Dead, and I must say I'm quite impressed and addicted (it's too bad the first season only has six episodes). I had already liked the little bit of the comic I had read and the show does a great job with the story. Thus I am here, watching this show re-interested me in all things zombie and I'll be discussing all things zombie in my newest blog here (that's right, branching out beyond the realms of film).
Trivia Question: Who is known as the Godfather of all Zombies? The answer is George A. Romero.
Romero is a Canadian-American film director and probably one of the most important figures in the zombie world. He has an unbelievable record for classic zombie flicks and really set the standard for zombie lore in popular culture. He started with 1968's Night of the Living Dead, and after that all zombie films changed. Romero is such a influential figure in horror that there would be no zombies as we know them without him. Zombies would still be the voodoo, witch doctor controlled minions and not the massive, swarming, undead army that we've come to expect. I'm almost certain that nothing I can say about the man can truly express his contribution to horror and the modern zombie.
Now, what's funny about these forms of horror monsters is the fact that, in our present day, in the year 2011, the monsters are challenging each other. Zombies and Vampires are in a competition for supremacy in popular media. Vampires are huge, Twilight, the vampire books, the vampire TV shows, there are vampires all over the place today. However, zombies are ALSO infiltrating popular media. The Walking Dead, Left 4 Dead and other zombie games, zombie comics, zombies are also all over the place. So who wins huuh? which classic horror staple wins this proliferation into popular media? it's really just a matter of personal preference. For me, it's the zombie apocalypse that wins the day. Zombies retained their brutality unlike the current portrayals of vampires, who have become shining love story playboys (but if you're into that, more power to you). Really, the battle between zombies and vampires can't BE won, people like what they like and there will always be brutal and lame depictions of both, so I must say, I'm a fan of monsters, and if you're doing a good job, keep doing it. There's also one thing EVERYONE agrees with... no one cares about werewolves (poor werewolves).Back to the zombies!
Chances are you've played video games too... well, if you're a zombie fan you've probably played Left 4 Dead, and probably Dead Rising also. Now, I thought Left 4 Dead was a good zombie game, it had everything you need in a game like that, and urban setting, a muti-player aspect, a four man team and enough zombies with enough variety to keep you going. It didn't really have the lonely, direness of others but it DID provide some jumps and the 4 person coop play was excellent. Now, as for Dead Rising, I always thought that it could have been really good. It had the loneliness aspect and the psychotic characters that you'd expect to show up in a zombie apocalypse. It had the mall setting that felt like you just stepped straight into a Romero film. It had the ability to pick up nearly anything and use it as a weapon in a fairly open ended map. Sounds fun huuh? What did it for me though was the 3 day story line time limit and the fact that if you didn't finish the story quests in time you would lose. It cuts down on the extra story quests and the fun of mowing down zombies. Overall Left 4 Dead had a more escape the city, Walking Dead, zombie apocalypse feel and Dead Rising had a more Romero, zombie onslaught, stuck in an mall with asylum inmates feel. Both were cool, but Dead Rising lost too many points in my book.
But there it is, my zombie post, sorry it was short and not too in depth. I promise you better next time ladies and germs.
Stay classy San Diego!
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