Monthly Archives: January 2011

Quickie Review: The Last Starfighter (dir. by Nick Castle)

Posted on by Arleigh

The Last Starfighter was a nice little sci-fi action movie which was revolutionary when it was released due to it’s use of an early version of CGI-effects. For 1984, the special-effects was quite new and showed just what was possible in the years to come.

The film itself was a fun and simple sci-fi actioner which owes a lot to the arcade shooters which were popular during the 80’s. Even the main plotline of the film was pretty much about a video game sent by a benevolent space-faring Rylan Star League looking to find a few good Starfighters to save their federation from the danger that was Zur and the Ko-Dan Armada. Lance Guest plays Alex Rogan whose only past-time at the trailer-park, where he lives with his mother and younger brother, is his girlfriend Maggie Gordon (played by 80’s genre favorite Catherine Mary Stewart) and constantly playing a video game called The Last Starfighter. Alex’s expert skills in beating the game brings about a new wrinkle in his hum-drum life which seems to be going nowhere. A seeming con-man of a salesman by the name of Centauri (played with gusto and energy by Robert Preston) comes out of nowhere and gives him an offer and opportunity that is out of this world.

The rest of the film brings about Alex’s reluctance to join the Star League as a Starfighter and pilot of the Gunstar fighter. He thinks it’s all a mistake and that he wasn’t signing up for some sort of intergalactic war that may just kill him. Like most action movies Alex will have an epiphany of what his role and destiny must be and, with some reluctance, finally takes the challenge by the controls and goes off to fight Zur and the Ko-Dan Armada with his lone Gunstar and his trusty navigator and all-around lizardman mentor, Grigg (played with equal parts seriousness and fun by Dan O’Herlihy).

For those like me who grew up during the 80’s and enjoyed watching these simple but fun sci-fi films The Last Starfighter was quite the blast from the past which still delights and entertains despite the corny dialogue and cheesy effects. The CGI-effects of the Gunstar and the Ko-Dan Armada looks dated but I still can’t take my eyes off the screen whenever these early looking CG effects come on. The acting is pretty standard B-movie quality with everyone seeming to have fun with the premise and giving it their all. There’s nothing to write the Academy about but in the end the performances do just enough to make the audience like the characters.

The Last Starfighter was quite the underrated scifi action film which should’ve done better than it did when it first came out. It’s since gained a cult following on video and always a welcome sight whenever it comes on cable. The film might seem dated compared to the super advanced CGI-effects laden blockbusters we have now but it still entertains the people who grew up watching it as kids and who have grown up since.

Lisa Marie Does The Green Hornet (dir. by Michel Gondry)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

And I would!  For an overweight, kinda disheveled guy who gives off a definite fear-of-intimacy type of vibe, Seth Rogen has a definite charisma and appeal to him.  But, is he believable as a super hero?  That’s the question posed by the new film, the Green Hornet.

In The Green Hornet, Rogen plays Britt Reid, the son of a wealthy Los Angeles newspaper publisher.  Britt has a difficult relationship with his dad (played by the great Tom Wilkinson).  His dad constantly reminds Britt that he’s wasting his potential and Britt responds by holding wild parties and throwing TVs off of balconies.  (I’ve always wondered what the children of rich people do whenever their favorite show comes on since they always seem to be destroying any nearby televisions.)  Anyway, Britt’s dad suddenly dies and just as suddenly, Britt inherits both his dad’s newspaper and one of his dad’s mechanics, Kato (Jay Chou).  It turns out that Kato is something of a genius who spends his spare time sketching women, bullet-proofing cars, and making weapons.  Kato’s also a skilled martial artist.  Well, of course, what else can Britt do but fight crime with Kato as his loyal sidekick?  Of course, fighting crime means coming into conflict with the biggest crime lord in Los Angeles, a paranoid Russian mobster (Inglorious Basterd’s Christoph Waltz) who is having a rather bloody midlife crisis.  Along the way, Rogen also hires Cameron Diaz to work at the newspaper and soon finds himself competing with Kato for her affections.  (I can’t remember, off the top of my head, the name of the character that Diaz plays but it doesn’t really matter.  Much like Gwynneth Paltrow in the Iron Man movies, Diaz is mostly there to be herself.)

So, is Rogen a convincing super hero?  No, not really.  But that’s kind of the point of the entire movie.  If The Dark Knight was the first truly postmodern comic book movie than The Green Hornet is the first mumblecore one.  If The Dark Knight was the first movie to question what the deeper meaning of comic book heroism might be, The Green Hornet is the first movie to confidently answer with “there are none.”  As played by Rogen, Britt becomes a super hero because there is literally nothing else to do.  Kato becomes his sidekick for much the same reason while the film’s villain spends most of his time agonizing over what his evil catchphrase should be.  That’s the genius of a The Green Hornet: it’s a super hero film about people who seem to understand that they’re characters in a super hero film and therefore, they have to act accordingly even while they comment on the absurdity of it all.

There is a plot to The Green Hornet but it’s really not that important.  Ultimately, this film is all about Britt’s relationship with Kato.  Kato is upset to constantly find himself being referred to as being the Green Hornet’s sidekick.  Britt, meanwhile, is painfully aware of the fact that he contributes next to nothing to the team.  Both of them find themselves competing for the affections of Diaz who doesn’t appear to have feelings for either of them.  At first, Britt and Kato do the whole male bonding thing and then, after Waltz comes after them, they end up going their separate ways only to reunite in time for the film’s conclusion.  This is a bromance disguised as an action movie but, fortunately, Chou and Rogen are both engaging and likable and they have a definite chemistry together that makes them fun to watch. 

That’s probably the best way to sum up The Green Hornet.  It’s a likable, entertaining, and frequently very funny movie that has a few memorable moments and, in this case, that’s more than good enough.

Cave of Forgotten Dreams by Werner Herzog (Official Trailer)

Posted on by Arleigh

One of the films to be announced after the success of James Cameron’s Avatar that would also make use of 3D cameras came from an individual who many wouldn’t consider as a proponent of 3D filmmaking. Even during and after the production of this documentary film this filmmaker still is not a total convert to the process. What he did do is use the most advanced filmmaking technique to capture on film exactly what he wanted and 3D filmmaking was the only to give his vision justice.

The filmmaker I’m talking about is the great German director Werner Herzog. The film in question is his documentary about the cave paintings in the Chauvet Cave, Cave of Forgotten Dreams.

In an unprecedented move the French government allowed Herzog to film this documentary in the Chauvet Cave but with some heavy restrictions on what sort of equipment he  and his crew could use. They were also limited in where they could stand to film scenes within the cave. Despite these restrictions what scenes people saw during a showing at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival gave enough people an impression of Herzog’s vision.

The documentary will be released by IFC films this Spring of 2011 with the History Channel getting the rights to show it on TV. This is one of the films of 2011 of which I am very interested in seeing and the fact that it’s Herzog working in 3D is something that needs to be experienced on the big-screen.

From Caligula To El Topo, Lisa Marie Does Six More Trailers

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

As I type this, it is freezing outside and I have got such a cold!  Fortunately, I have another edition of Lisa Marie’s Favorite Grindhouse and Exploitation Trailers to keep me occupied while I struggle to regain my health.

1) Caligula

I can’t believe I haven’t featured the trailer from the infamous Caligula yet.  There’s actually several trailers to choose from as this film was released in so many different versions.  I’m going with this one because Bob Guccione’s pompous voice over manages to be amusing, annoying, and yet oddly charming.

2) Caligula: The Untold Story

One of the lesser known facts about Caligula is that, while Caligula was being filmed, Italian director Joe D’Amato decided to get in on all the publicity by making his own low-budget rip-off, this one co-starring his frequent muse Laura Gemser (who had previously starred in the Black Emanuelle series and would later design the goblin costumes in Troll 2).  With all the drama around the production of Caligula, Caligula: The Untold Story actually ended up being released first.

3) Troll 2

I don’t really love this trailer, to be honest.  It’s actually a bit dull and it  doesn’t even allow us to hear the guy with the glasses go, “Oh my Godddddddddd!”  But I’m including it anyway because how can you not include Troll 2?  Plus, I also rewatched the documentary Best Worst Movie a few days ago so I’ve got Troll 2 on the mind.

4) Troll

Now, this is a trailer!  It’s interesting that Troll 2 is a bizarre and busy film with a boring trailer whereas the original Troll is a boring film with a bizarre and busy trailer.  Also, listen carefully to the trailer’s narrator because you don’t want to miss the prophetic Harry Potter reference…

5) Strip Nude For Your Killer

From Andrea Bianchi comes this enjoyably trashy giallo classic.  Only the Italians could make a film called Strip Nude For Your Killer.

6) El Topo

“El Topo is bloody…El Topo is sexual…”  It’s also widely cited as being the first midnight cult film.  It’s also one that I’ve been meaning to review on this site for a while.  However, until then, here’s the trailer.  (By the way, some might debate whether El Topo should be included here.  What they’re forgetting is that a good deal of the 70s Grindhouse fare were actually misunderstood art films.  Plus, El Topo did play almost exclusively in grindhouse theaters until John Lennon saw it and declared it his favorite film of all time.)

Song of the Day: For Whom the Bell Tolls (by Metallica)

Posted on by Arleigh

It took awhile but Metallica has finally made another appearance in the “song of the day” feature. This time around they return with one of their best songs. A song which has become iconic of early-Metallica amongst their most die-hard fans. The song is “For Whom the Bell Tolls”.

This track comes in third on the band’s second album and was inspired by Ernest Hemingway’s 1940 novel, For Whom the Bell Tolls. It is also the song which contains one of the best opening riffs in metal history. A riff not born from lead guitarist Kirk Hammett’s axe, but from it’s bassist Cliff Burton. This opening riff shows Cliff Burton at his best and the fact that people continue to mistake the riff as guitar instead of bass just shows how talented the man was.

This song is all about Burton’s work on the bass with Hetfield supplying the vocals and Hammett’s lead guitar work almost behaving like an accompaniment. It is no wonder that whenever talk comes around as to who is the best metal bassist (or just rock bassist) ever no discussion could ever be considered credible if Cliff Burton’s name was not included.

While Burton died just two years after the single’s release while th eband was on tour in Sweden his contribution as both writer and composer to this song will forever cement his legacy amongst metal and music fans for countless generations.

For Whom the Bell Tolls

Make his fight on the hills in the early day
Constant chill deep inside
Shouting gun, on they run through the endless grey
On they fight, for they are right, yes, but who’s to say?

For a hill, men would kill, why? They do not know
Stiffened wounds test their pride
Men of five, still alive through the raging glow
Gone insane from the pain that they surely know

For whom the bell tolls
Time marches on
For whom the bell tolls

Take a look to the sky just before you die
It is the last time you will
Blackened roar massive roar fills the crumbling sky
Shattered goal fills his soul with a ruthless cry

Stranger now, are his eyes, to this mystery
He hears the silence so loud
Crack of dawn, all is gone except the will to be
Now they see, what will be, blinded eyes to see

For whom the bell tolls
Time marches on
For whom the bell tolls

Lisa Marie Does Murder By Decree (Dir. by Bob Clark)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

A week ago, I had a very odd dream, one that was more disturbing than frightening.  I saw myself walking down a fog-covered street in London.  Simply by the way I was dressed and the distant sounds of horses crossing cobblestone streets, I knew that this was towards the end of the 19th century.  I walked down the street, aware that there were people near me who I could hear but couldn’t see because of the thick fog.  Finally, I reached a shabby-looking boarding house.  As I watched myself starting to open the front door, I realized that, in my dream, I was Mary Kelley, the final victim of Jack the Ripper.  And, by stepping into that boarding house, I was heading towards my own death.  That’s when I woke up.

Over on my twitter profile, I describe myself as being a “sweet little thing with morbid thoughts.”  I guess my fascination with the mystery of Jack the Ripper is an example of those morbid thoughts.  Out of all of the Ripper’s victims, Mary Kelley has always been the one that I’ve felt “closest” to.  She was murdered on November 9th, 1888.  I was born on November 9th, 1985.  Like me, she was a fallen Irish Catholic.  Like me, she had red hair.  While the other Ripper victims were all in their 40s, Kelley was only 25 years old and, for the longest time, I believed I was destined to die between my 25th and 26th birthdays.  (I’m 25 years old so hopefully, that was just my imagination working overtime.)  I think what truly made Kelly’s murder stand out in my mind is that she was killed in her own room, probably attacked while she was either asleep or passed out.  Being attacked while asleep has always been one of my phobias, one of the reasons why I’m often happier with insomnia than sleep.

Still, until my dream, I had given much thought to Jack the Ripper or any of his victims for quite some time.  After the dream, I ordered a copy of The Jack The Ripper Encyclopedia from Amazon and then I rewatched my personal favorite of all the Jack the Ripper films, Bob Clark’s Murder By Decree.

Released in 1979, Murder by Decree mixes the facts of the Ripper case and the fictional characters of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson with the same Royal Conspiracy theory that lies at the heart of the better known film From Hell.  Unlike From Hell, Murder By Decree is an almost bloodless film.  Instead of emphasizing the savagery of the Ripper murders, Clark chose to focus on creating an oppresively grim and paranoid atmosphere.  Whether it’s the ominous image of the Ripper’s carriage slowly moving through the London fog or Holmes’ visit to a nightmarish insane asylum, Clark’s London is a grim and forbidding dreamscape that almost seems to have sprung from some lost example of German expressionism.

Into this dark and oppressive atmosphere, Murder By Decree drops the familiar and comforting characters of Holmes and Watson (played, respectively, by Christopher Plummer and James Mason).   I have to admit that I’ve never actually been able to bring myself to read any of the Holmes stories (though I’ve tried) but the characters are both so iconic that I feel as if I had.  Both Holmes and Jack the Ripper are characters that everyone feels they knew about even if they’re not sure when they first heard of them.   Though this might sound rather gimmicky to have these two characters meet, a good deal of the film’s strength comes  from the contrast between the nostalgic innocence of Holmes and Watson and the harsh reality of Jack the Ripper’s London.  By the end of the film, when Holmes’ voice cracks as he describes the conspiracy behind the Ripper movies, he’s gone from being an icon to being a stand-in for everyone who has ever been disillusioned by what they previously believed in.

Plummer makes for a surprisingly physical Holmes but he does a good job with the role, bringing a surprising vulnerability to the detective.  James Mason, meanwhile, makes for a perfect sidekick and he and Plummer both have the type of chemistry that Robert Downey, Jr. and Jude Law could only dream about.  The rest of the cast is made up of familiar English and Canadian character actors and they all give memorable performances.  Donald Sutherland is excellent as a haunted psychic but my favorite supporting performance probably comes from David Hemmings who plays a shadowy police inspector.  This is because every time I see Hemmings on-screen, I’m reminded of Dario Argento’s Deep Red.   

If I do have any issues with this film, it’s that it promotes the long discredited Royal/Masonic Conspiracy as a solution.  (This theory will be familiar to anyone who has seen or read From Hell.)  However, of all the various solutions that have been offered up in an attempt to explain and understand Jack the Ripper, the whole political conspiracy angle is undoubtedly the most cinematic and Clark makes good use of it here.  This is a film in which a growing sense of paranoia and unease seems to pervasively fill every scene just as surely as the London fog.  The viewer, in the end, is thankful to actually have the familiar characters of Holmes and Watson to identify with because otherwise, the worldview of Murder By Decree is almost unbearably dark.

By the way, the role of Mary Kelley in this film is played by a fellow redhead, the Canadian actress Susan Clark who tended to show up in a lot of low-budget, Canadian movies in the 70s.  Though she doesn’t have many scenes, she is sympathetic presence and Plummer’s reaction to his inability to save her from Jack the Ripper is a scene that has haunted me since the first time I watched this movie and every time since.

Battle: Los Angeles (Trailer 3)

Posted on by Arleigh

There’s not much else I can say about this upcoming alien invasion film coming out on 3-11-2011. I shall be there on Day One to see it in all it’s big-screen glory. This third trailer show’s a bit more of the alien race doing the invading and the unit of U.S. Marines set to repel and fight them off. I will say that final scene in the trailer with what looked like a massive construct made out of the rubble of Los Angeles just whetted my appetite to see this film even more. Talk about a moneyshot.

Below are the two other official trailer released for Battle: Los Angeles.

Battle: Los Angeles (International Teaser Trailer)

Battle: Los Angeles (Official Trailer)

 

Artist Profile: Luis Royo

Posted on by Arleigh

LUIS ROYO


Art is a word that has a broad meaning. It could mean art in the sense of how some people perceive music and films. Some people have begun to look at video games and similar entertainment media as art. I will always look at art, first and foremost, the realm of painters and those who create images on canvas and other similar materials. I also consider such individuals as purveyors of their own brand of entertainment. While some may not find entertainment when looking upon the works of masters in a gallery for others it’s the highest form.

To start of a feature that will profile artists who have contributed to the furthering of their craft I choose one of my favorite artists of any field today. The first artists chosen is Spanish fantasist Luis Royo whose work has spanned several decades. His distinctive style of blending the sensual and erotic female form with very dark and apocalyptics settings and background has made Luis Royo one of the preeminent artist in the scifi and fantasy literary world. Royo has done covers for genre literature and has even branched out to creating covers for heavy metal bands and video game titles.

Luis Royo’s particular style was first limited to sketches whose images then unveils fully once he has put brush (both traditional and mechanical air) to the canvas. Such pieces have become quite sought after by collectors. While he’s not averse to having his pieces sold to private buyers it’s usually a rare thing for him to sell from his own collection. Most of his artistic pieces owned by private art collectors have been those sold by owners who had contracted Royo to do the piece for them.

In the 1990’s he began to create pieces both in sketch and finished form and collected them into artbooks. These books usually had their artwork fall under a specific theme Royo had in mind to tie everything together. Such collected artbook like Malefic, Prohibited, Tattoos and Subversive Beauty have become fan favorites and one doesn’t have to look too hard to find them in bookstores and comic book collectible shops.

In the last couple of years, he has begun to branch out to creating his artistic pieces using other mediums. He has begun to bring his own paintings to three-dimensional life through sculpture which he saw as just a logical step in his evolution as an artist. Maybe he’ll begin to learn how to adapt his subversive beauties beyond canvas and sculpture and into the world of CGI. From this artistic genius I wouldn’t put it past him not to make that next step into the digital realm.

Official Luis Royo Website

Scenes I Love: The Room

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

I’ve never actually seen Tommy Wiseau’s The Room in its entirety but I plan to as soon as I have 99 minutes to kill.  However, I have read countless reviews of this film online and, as a result, I ended up doing a search for the film on YouTube and I came across a few thousand scenes from this film.  And I quickly fell in love with what I saw.

It was hard to narrow down all of the scenes to just one so I decided to include two.  If I could, I would just include every single clip of the Room on Youtube but that would make for an awfully long post.

So, here’s the two scenes —

The first one is only a few seconds long but it features my name. 

For all of you single aspiring filmmakers out there, it’s not difficult to win my heart.  Just name a character after me.  She doesn’t even have to be a good girl.  In fact, I prefer it if she’s not.  Because after all, how else is she going to live up to the line, “YOU’RE TEARING ME APART, LISA!”

Our second scene is about a minute and a half long and I’m thankful for it because, for as long as I can remember, I’ve always wondered what guys talk about when they hang out on the roof.  I always figured they were up there enjoying the view, thinking about life and love, and maybe talking about how one of their friends is so annoying and dresses like he’s 40 and has no idea how bad his hair looks after he did whatever it is that he was trying to do with it.  I mean, that’s what I always do whenever I’m on a rooftop with my friends.  But it turns out I was wrong.

Apparently, they just act like guys.

One reoccurring theme I find whenever I read about The Room is the idea that The Room is one of the worst films ever made.  Having never seen the film, I can’t say whether it is or not.  However, I can say that unlike a lot of “independent” filmmakers Tommy Wiseau actually made his film and now it’s all over Youtube. 

Good for him.

Hottie of the Day: Melissa Giraldo

Posted on by Arleigh

MELISSA GIRALDO

The newest hottie of the day share similarities with four previous hotties. This latest choice for our hottie feature is the lovely Melissa Giraldo.

Ms. Melissa Giraldo come straight from Medellin, Colombia. Like her lovely sisters the Davalos Twins, Daniela Tamayo and Sandra Valencia she is also one of the more popular models in South America as her work in the swimwear and lingerie industry has made her quite sought after to model companies’ products. Melissa has become one of the exclusive models for PHAX swimwear and also Besame Lingerie. She has also appeared many times in magazines as the featured pin-up and continues to expand to new fields in modeling such as runway shows both in her local Colombia and throughout South America.

Like the other South American models featured in this site’s “hottie of the day” she has gained quite a loyal following outside of Colombia and South America due to the spread of her pictorials over the internet. Only time will tell when she will finally explode in popularity here in the US. I wouldn’t be surprised if she becomes one of the new Victoria’s Secret Angels in a year or two.