One Miss Akiyama Rina takes over the mantle of Hottie of the Day.
Akiyama Rina from Tokyo is one of Japan’s top tv actress and has also done major gravure idol work. She’s famous for having been one of the regular cast members of the Kamen Rider Series. These tokusatsu franchises are similar to the Power Rangers live-action tv series in the US. Ms. Akiyama has done several different Kamen Rider series and has even made a cameo in Konami’s Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater game as a poster found during the game. Her gravure modeling work has made her quite famous for showing off one of her best features and that would be her buttocks which was voted as Best in Japan in 2007. This claim to fame has even earned her the nickname of “Oshirina” which combines the Japanese word for buttocks “oshiri” and her first name of “Rina”.
I, for one, will not disagree with those who voted her best in 2007.
One of my most anticipated events for 2010 is close to happening. Animation Studio MadHouse has adapted the very popular manga title, Gakuen Mokushiroku aka Highschool of the Dead. This manga is the brainchild of Sato Daisuke (writer) and Sato Shouji (illustrator) who combine a couple of themes popular with the shōnen (stories popular with young men and teens) demographic. I’m talking about heavy action, horror and, most important of all, very high on the “fan-service” aspect of the genre.
The plot to Highschool of the Dead is quite simple. An unknown event causes those who die to return to life as flesh-eating zombies and it has spread globally within hours. There’s never an explanation as to whether its viral, biological or even supernatural which has caused the dead to return to life as zombies. The manga (and the soon-to-be-released anime series) focuses on a group of Japanese highschool students who band together to find their family and survive in a zombie-infested Tokyo. While it’s an ensemble cast the manga does concentrate on the character of Komuro Takashi who must help his friends and strangers survive the zombies and the humans who have taken advantage of the seeming apocalypse which have grabbed a hold of the world.
Highschool of the Dead doesn’t have earth-shattering themes outside of friendship and honor. It doesn’t have the same gravitas as some of the best zombie stories and films in the market, but what it does have is a story that’s fast-paced with little filler, lots of violence and gore, and the aforementioned “fan-service” which means lots of provocative poses from the heavily endowed female characters. It’s really tailor-made for the teenage boy and young men crowd. The trailer above shows hints of those “fan-service” shots. The fact that the illustrator is also a well-known hentai artist shouldn’t make the look of the women in Highschool of the Dead too much of a shock and surprise.
Comic books which have been adapted for the big-screen have had an uneven track record. For every excellent film-incarnations like Spider-Man 2, X-Men 2, The Dark Knight and Iron-Man we get dregs like Elektra, Ghost Rider and Daredevil. The last couple years filmmakers have gravitated towards the deconstruction side of comic book superheroes. Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight was as much an action-thriller as it was a meditation on the superhero psyche and mythmaking. Then there was 2009’s Watchmen which tried admirably (though failed in the end) to adapt Alan Moore’s epic deconstruction of the superhero archetypes.
It’s now 2010 and we get the first comic book film of the year. The film is an adaptation of Mark Millar (writer) and John Romita, Jr.’s (artist) ultraviolent comic book title from Marvel’s Icon Comics (their creator-owned publishing line). Kick-Ass was optioned and adapted by British-director Matthew Vaughn and screenwriter Jane Goldman. Unlike most comic book films of the past decade, Vaughn’s Kick-Ass was independently-financed (with help from Brad Pitt and his Plan B Studio) and made which was the best thing that could’ve happened to this project. With a free rein to make the film he wanted without corporate studio meddling, Matthew Vaughn was able to craft a fun and violent romp of a film mashup that collides superhero archetypes and conventions with “real world” grounding.
The story and premise for Kick-Ass is actually quite simple enough to follow. We have high-schooler and avid comic book fan Dave Lizewski asking his best friends and fellow comic book fans why no one has actually tried to be a superhero. The answer he gets from his like-minded friends doesn’t instill hope in his dream. While they are huge fans of superheroes and comic books they stop at actually trying to be one in real-life. Dave, on the other hand, knows that it’s possible for one to try and be a superhero even without powers. He believes that determination, conviction and the need to help those in need would be all that someone requires to become a superhero. With these criteria in mind he sets off to do the very thing he had asked his friends about. He accomplishes this by ordering (for the amount of $99.99) a green and yellow wet-suit and head cover plus a pair of batons and a taser gun. His first attempt at superherodom fails spectacularly as he’s stabbed and violently run over in the street. This near-fatal introduction to the world of superheroes doesn’t deter Dave when deep down even he knows that he’ll get killed if he continues on his quest to become the next Spider-Man.
The story moves on to Dave finally getting his superhero fame by stopping a beatdown of a stranger and having this event caught on a bystander’s camera phone and uploaded said video on Youtube. With this amateur video on Youtube getting millions of hits and views, plus Dave’s own creation of a MySpace page for his alter-ego the world finally gets it’s real-life superhero in the form of Kick-Ass. A name that spurs not just tens of thousands of fans on Kick-Ass’ MySpace page but also a boom in sudden Kick-Ass merchandise in Dave’s local comic book shop. Through it all Dave revels in the attention his alter-ego has been getting even the unexpected attention of the girl of his dreams, Katie Deauxma (played by the lovely Lyndsy Fonseca). An attention born out of a misunderstanding where Katie believes Dave to be gay because of circumstances revolving around his near-death experience of his very first attempt at crimefighting.
On the sidelines of all this we get introduced to the film’s real “superheroes” in the form of Big Daddy (played by Nicolas Cage) and his sidekick and 11-year old daughter, Hit-Girl (Chloe Moretz). We see early on that both Big Daddy and Hit-Girl are the real thing though calling them superheroes would be a stretch since they seem to be more vigilantes who happen to wear costumes and with no compunction at all about killing the criminals. These two are definitely not Batman and Robin (one of many easter egg-like references to comic book characters and storylines). Their story parallels that of Kick-Ass’ but where Dave seems to enjoy just playing at being a superhero and the adoration such role-playing gives him both Big Daddy and Hit-Girl actually have a focus and mission in their own attempts. These are two individuals who believe in the superhero roles they’ve taken on themselves and have prepared and trained themselves well for the violent consequences and ramifications of their mission.
The rest of the film takes the audience on a peculiar coming-of-age journey for one Kick-Ass. As stated earlier he’s pretty much all talk with a rose-tinted view of a superhero’s life. What he has read in his comic books doesn’t prepare him for the reality of actually trying to act and become a true superhero. While writer Mark Millar takes a dim and cynical view of what Kick-Ass is trying to figure out and accomplish (most of the comic’s morality ends up being that bad things happen to good people with the best of intentions), director Matthew Vaughn and screenwriter Jane Goldman take a more hero’s journey approach (sprinkled liberally with foul language and bloody violence). While Dave Lizewski’s attempts to live up to his hero persona of Kick-Ass range from succeeding through luck to failing miserably and at times fatally, by the end of the film circumstances (which have spiralled out of his own control) forces him to finally face up to the fact that if he really wanted to be a superhero he needed to finally do more than just talk and pretend to be one and actually act and perform like one.
This is in contrast to Hit-Girl’s own journey which doesn’t start her off as clumsy and unsure of herself. Instead we see in Hit-Girl the type of individual Kick-Ass wants to be but is unable to through most of the film. Where Kick-Ass suddenly realizes that he’s way over his head once the bodies start dropping in bloody ways, Hit-Girl doesn’t lack in confidence but is in control of every situation she’s confronted with. Whether it’s rescuing Kick-Ass from death (more than once) or finally launching the climactic assault on her and Big Daddy’s focus and reason for being. Hit-Girl is the true superhero with Big Daddy really her sidekick. Everyone else, from Kick-Ass to Red Mist (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), just pretend and play at being costumed superheroes. Hit-Girl is the personification of the female antihero of the recent comics, but unlike most female characters in comic books she’s not the fringe character or the one in need to help. She’s the one who rescues everyone and willing to sacrifice her very life to live up to the ideals (however twisted they may be to the audience) she has set for herself.
Kick-Ass may have been an post-modern exercise in trying to deconstruct and then acknowledge the superhero archetype and themes, but first and foremost it is a very fun and exhilarating rollercoaster ride of an action film. Vaughn and Goldman were able to capture the exciting and fun side of the original comic despite leaving behind some of the meanspiritedness of Millar’s writing. Goldman definitely has an ear for inserting comedy beats into the film to keep the story from becoming too serious and thus slowing down the film. In fact, I would say that Kick-Ass was a very fast-paced two-hour film that would alternate between comedy and action with a tender moment spliced in at the last third of the film. Much of the comedy in Kick-Ass come at the expense of Kick-Ass himself as he stumbles his way through most of the film either out of his league or just pantshitting scared of what he’s gotten himself into. Nicolas Cage’s characterization of Big Daddy also drew some major laughs as he alternated from a twisted version of Mr. Rogers as Damon MacReady to channeling Adam West’s “Batman” when dressed up as Big Daddy.
One thing which Matthew Vaughn has shown with is third feature-length film was the ability to create and shoot some very good action sequences. He even made an interesting stylistic choice to film his action sequences differently depending on whether it was Kick-Ass who was the focal point in the fight or whether it was Hit-Girl or Big Daddy doing the mayhem. Vaughn chose to shoot Kick-Ass’ fight sequences with comedy in mind as the character clumsily fought his way through his opponents. Even when he finally finds his inner superhero in the final fight with his newly discovered nemesis Kick-Ass still fought more on instinct and blindly swinging away instead of actually fighting like an expert. The same couldn’t be said about when Hit-Girl or Big Daddy were the main focus in the action scenes. These two characters were trained killers pure and simple. Their fight choreography was the exact opposite of Kick-Ass’. Hit-Girl’s was especially well-choreographed to show just how honed a fighter and killer Big Daddy’s 11-year old daughter really was even when confronted by over a dozen heavily-armed gangsters and drug dealers. It’s the Hit-Girl action scenes which drew the biggest positive reactions from the audience and rightfully so. Chloe Moretz truly sold the idea of an 11-year old costumed vigilante killer and the film was better for it.
Chloe Moretz star-making performance brings us to the overall performances of the film’s cast. While pretty much everyone who sees this film will agree that Chloe Moretz as Hit-Girl pretty much steals every scene she’s in Aaron Johnson as Dave Lizewski/Kick-Ass also does a very good job in his performance. He anchors the film as the everyman, or everyboy for this film, the audience will gravitate towards. He’s believable as the stumbling and naive teen whose dream of becoming a superhero turns his life upside-down and rightside-up. We can sympathize with his teen need to be accepted and, ultimately, find his identity. It just happens that he find it in the midst of playing at being his dream girl’s fake gay BFF and then as the superhero he finally became in the end. Nicolas Cage, Clark Duke and Lyndsy Fonseca were good at their “sidekick” roles. On the other side of the superhero spectrum we have Mark Strong as mob boss Frank Dimico doing a wonderful job. Christopher Mintz-Plasse as Chris Dimico/Red mist makes for a great counterpoint and mirror to Dave Lizewski/Kick-Ass. But where Dave finally learns to be a hero and take the role seriously, Mintz-Plasse’s Chris never learns the true meaning of what a hero is and just continues to be the wannabe that Dave started off as but finally shed in the end.
Kick-Ass does a better job at deconstructing the superhero world of comic books than Zack Snyder’s Watchmen of 2009. While the comic book version of Kick-Ass will never be in the same league and level as Alan Moore’s Watchmen the film version flip-flop and shows that sometime the simpler story makes for a better film. Vaughn and Goldman did a great job in adapting the darker and more nihilistic writing of Millar. But while changes were made to allow the story to be more accesible to the general public, the film still manages to keep the spirit of the original source material intact but minus the cuckolding the story’s intrepid hero gets hit with twice to end the story.
Even with the controversy over the Hit-Girl character and of Chloe Moretz protrayal of this blood-soaked and foul-mouthed killer it shouldn’t diminish the fact that Kick-Ass set out to be both thought-provoking, fun and entertaining and succeeds in accomplishing all three. While the film has flaws they’re not so glaring or even distracting that they take away from one’s enjoyment of the film. Even for an “origins” tale Kick-Ass manages to escape being too overly reliant on dialogue to explain everything that’s going on to the audience. The fact that a sequel was already being talked about even before the film’s release shows confidence in both Millar and Vaughn that there’s further adventures and stories to show and tell about Kick-Ass and Hit-Girl. I, for one, will be there to see what they will be up to next.
This song has been a favorite Johnny Cash track of mine. God’s Gonna Cut You Down really brings the Old Testament gospel side of Johnny Cash to light. This song will probably get more mentions and airplay with it’s usage by Ubisoft in the release trailer for their latest Sam Fisher game, Splinter Cell: Conviction. While it’s probably not the way I would want young people to get introduced to Johnny Cash by way of video game at least they will get to hear and learn one of the greatest musical icons in American music history.
The Man in Black takes what really is a very upbeat and hopeful gospel folk song and turns it onto it’s head. Using a rhythmic stomp-clap to accompany his acoustic guitar playing, Cash imbues God’s Gonna Cut You Down with a grimness that shows God in vengeful, Old Testament flame and sword vengeance mode. It is difficult not to get into this song even if one is not religious. The way Cash song-speaks the lyrics just pulls one into the song until it’s completely hooked it’s talons onto one’s mind and won’t let go. I know I get into humming the song almost by instinct whenever I catch a bit of it on the radio and now on tv.
God’s Gonna Cut You Down
You can run on for a long time
Run on for a long time
Run on for a long time
Sooner or later God’ll cut you down
Sooner or later God’ll cut you down
Go tell that long tongue liar
Go and tell that midnight rider
Tell the rambler, the gambler, the back biter
Tell ’em that God’s gonna cut ’em down
Tell ’em that God’s gonna cut ’em down
Well my goodness gracious let me tell you the news
My head’s been wet with the midnight dew
I’ve been down on bended knee talkin’ to the man from Galilee
He spoke to me in the voice so sweet
I thought I heard the shuffle of the angel’s feet
He called my name and my heart stood still
When he said, “John go do My will!”
Go tell that long tongue liar
Go and tell that midnight rider
Tell the rambler, the gambler, the back biter
Tell ’em that God’s gonna cut ’em down
Tell ’em that God’s gonna cut ’em down
You can run on for a long time
Run on for a long time
Run on for a long time
Sooner or later God’ll cut you down
Sooner or later God’ll cut you down
Well you may throw your rock and hide your hand
Workin’ in the dark against your fellow man
But as sure as God made black and white
What’s done in the dark will be brought to the light
You can run on for a long time
Run on for a long time
Run on for a long time
Sooner or later God’ll cut you down
Sooner or later God’ll cut you down
Go tell that long tongue liar
Go and tell that midnight rider
Tell the rambler, the gambler, the back biter
Tell ’em that God’s gonna cut you down
Tell ’em that God’s gonna cut you down
Tell ’em that God’s gonna cut you down
The five years or so has seen the rise of several new directors from France who’ve made quite a splash with their Hollywood debuts. There’s Alejandro Aja with Haute Tension (or Switchblade Romance/High Tension) who brought back the late 70’s early 80’s sensibilities of what constitutes a good slasher, exploitation film. Then there’s Jean-Francois Richet whose 2005 remake of John Carpenter’s early classic, Assault on Precinct 13 surprised quite a bit in the industry. Neither film made too much in terms of box-office, but they did show that a new wave of genre directors may not be coming out of the US but from France of all places. Another name to add to this list is Florent Siri and his first major Hollywood project Hostage shows that he has the style and skills to make it in Hollywood.
Hostage is another Bruce Willis vehicle that was adapted by Doug Richardson (wrote the screenplay for Die Hard 2) from Robert Crais’ novel. Hostage is a very good thriller with a unique twist to the hostage-theme. Willis’ character is a burn-out ex-L.A. SWAT prime hostage negotiator whose last major case quickly ended up in the death of suspect and hostages. We next see him as chief of police of a small, Northern California community where low-crime is the norm. We soon find out that his peace of mind and guilt from his last case may have eased since taking this new job, but his family life has suffered as a consequence. All of the peace and tranquility is quickly shattered as a trio of local teen hoodlums break into the opulent home of one Walter Smith (played by Kevin Pollak). What is originally an attempt to steal one of the Smith’s expensive rides turn into a hostage situation as mistakes after mistakes are made by the teens.
From this moment on Hostage would’ve turned into a by-the-numbers hostage thriller, but Richardson’s screenplay ratchets things up by forcing Willis’ character back into the negotiator’s role as shadowy character who remain hooded and faceless throughout the film kidnap his wife and daughter. It would seem that these individuals want something from the Smith’s home and would kill Willis’ character’s family to achieve their goals. The situation does get a bit convoluted at times and the final reel of the film ends just too nicely after what everyone goes through the first two-third’s of the film.
The character development in the film were done well enough to give each individual a specific motivation and enough backstory to explain why they ended up in the situation they’ve gotten themselves into. Willis’ performance in Hostage was actually one of better ones in the last couple years. The weariness he gives off during the film was more due to his character’s state of mind rather than Willis phoning in his performance. I would dare say that his role as Chief of Police Jeff Talley was his best in the last five years or so. The other performance that stands out has to be Ben Foster as the teen sociopath Mars. Foster’s performance straddles the line between being comedic and over-the-top and could’ve landed on either side. What we get instead is one creepy individual who almost becomes the boogeyman of the film. In fact, the last twenty minutes of Hostage makes Mars into a slasher-film type character who can’t seem to die.
The real star of the film has to be Florent Siri’s direction and sense of style. From the very first frame all the way to the last, Siri gives Hostage the classic 70’s and 80’s Italian giallo look and feel. Siri’s use of bright primary colors in conjuction with the earthy, desaturated look of the film reminds me of some of the best work of Argento, Bava and Fulci. In particular, Siri’s film owes alot of its look to films such as Tenebrae, The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, and The Psychic. Certain scenes, especially the penultimate climax in the Smith home, take on an almost dreamlike quality. Siri’s homage to the classic gialli even gives Hostage some sequences that would comfortably fit in a 70’s slasher film.
Florent Siri’s Hostage is not a perfect film and at times its increasing tension without any form of release can be unbearable to some people, but it succeeds well enough as a thriller. It also shows that Siri knows his craft well and instead of mimicking and cloning scenes from the gialli he’s fond of, he emulates and adds his own brushstrokes. The film is not for everyone and some people may find the story convoluted if not dull at times, but for me the film works well overall. Siri is one director that people should keep an eye on.
Our latest hottie of the day is the lovely Ms. Bella Valentine.
Ms. Valentine is a glamour model born in Florence, Italy and who spent time growing up between Italy and Poland. She’s quite the cosmopolitan lass who is fluent in Italian and Polish in addition English and Spanish. Bella Valentine began her modeling career in 1999 as a runway model in Italy and stayed in the business for a couple years before moving to the US in a student exchange program in 2001. Still a teenager, she stayed in Northern California before moving onto Kansas City after high school to attend the Kansas City Art Institute. She soon dropped trying to study for a career as an artist and went into business school. After getting her degree in Business Management she tried her hand at the corporate game, but soon tired of it.
in 2008 she went back to modeling full-time and hasn’t looked back since. She’s been quite busy since her decision to return to modeling. Her work ranges from print and magazine ad modeling shoots to tv commercials in the Southwest region of the US. Miss Valentine has also done the promotion circuit as a model from 2008 to now. She has also worked with man of the top glamour modeling photographers in and out of the country. Her background in business has also given her the skill to start her own website business and looks forward to expanding her brand.
I wasn’t born yet when George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead was first released in theaters, but I’ve wished many a night that I was old enough to have seen this classic horror film on the big screen. Night of the Living Dead simply changed the film industry forever and showed that horror was taking an uncharted road toward realism, brutality, and true terror. Before Romero’s film, horror often echoed the classic 1940s Universal style or the technicolor Hammer Films. Night of the Living Dead became the torchbearer of what would soon evolve into the splatter and exploitation films of the following decades. The influence this film has had on horror filmmakers is still ongoing.
Zombie films existed long before Night of the Living Dead, but they mostly depicted the traditional Haitian voodoo variety—with zombies as heavily drugged victims forced into slave labor for merciless masters. Romero changed all that in 1968. Made on a shoestring budget even by the standards of the time, Romero and his friends decided to make their own horror movie. The premise was simple: radiation from a returning Venus probe (though later films in the series abandoned that explanation for something more vague) somehow reanimated the recently deceased—though these zombies only had the most basic motor skills. That alone was terrifying enough. But Romero took it further by giving the zombies a new motivation: an unending hunger for the flesh of the living. With this, Night of the Living Dead marked the birth of horror at its most extreme.
The story was heavily influenced by Richard Matheson’s apocalyptic vampire novel I Am Legend, and Herschel Gordon Lewis’ Blood Freaks and Two Thousand Maniacs. Matheson’s novel contributed the idea of an encroaching horror besieging the survivors, while Lewis’ films provided an unflinching portrayal of exploitative violence and gore. Lewis didn’t shy away from gore, but Romero was the first to put a solid story behind the carnage.
The film opens simply enough, with a brother and sister heading to a rural cemetery to visit their dead mother. Right away, it takes on a disturbing tone, as both siblings come under attack from what seems to be a transient. Barbara, played by Judith O’Dea, flees for her life, with her brother Johnny already down. The tension of the opening sequence still makes my pulse pound every time I watch it. Soon, the story introduces the strongest character: Ben, played by Duane Jones in what became his signature performance. But even as strong-willed and level-headed as Ben is, he shares flaws that lead to critical mistakes later. The rest of the cast follows: Harry Cooper (Karl Hardman), his wife Helen (Marilyn Eastman), their injured daughter Karen (Kyra Schon), and the local couple Tom (Keith Wayne) and Judy (Judith Ridley). As the farmhouse becomes surrounded by a growing horde of undead, attracted by their noise, you’d expect the group to band together to survive the night until help arrives. But instead, misunderstandings and bitterness divide them, escalating into open conflict and self-preservation without concern for others.
The infighting and inability to cooperate is Night of the Living Dead’s strongest message—a bleak reflection of human nature in times of upheaval. The characters are fully realized, complex, and rare for horror films of that era. Their realistic portrayal makes their conflicts hit harder. After watching them fall apart, it’s easy to judge them as foolish, but realistically, many others faced with the same pressure might behave just as destructively. Romero’s harsh commentary on humanity’s failure to unite has led to conflict throughout history, and the film points this out in the bluntest, most brutal way possible.
The horror of Romero’s film is intensified by an economic choice. Color film was available in the 1960s but still expensive; only major studios or wealthy independents could afford it. Romero instead used black and white, helped by his background in documentary filmmaking, which made film stock easier to procure. This gave Night of the Living Dead its signature cinéma vérité look—grainy, raw, and immediate, like 8mm home movies of the era. Combined with Romero’s economical editing and minimalist, bass-heavy soundtrack, the film gains a life of its own. Its creeping dread was so tangible, I’m surprised more viewers didn’t walk out when it first played. The horror lingered long after watching.
There really isn’t much to complain about this film. Horror fans were given a movie that went well beyond exploitation. It also opened the door for a new generation of filmmakers who saw that movies could be more than entertainment—they could express social, political, and economic truths of their era. Night of the Living Dead had it all. It told audiences young and old that the era of silly, fantastical horror was over, and a new wave of realistic horror was about to descend. It didn’t shy away from violence. Flesh was ripped from limbs; intestines and organs were shown being handled and devoured. This “Vietnamization” of film violence launched a new era in what filmmakers could depict. But in 1968, this was the kind of violence usually reserved for drive-in exploitation fare—and initial audiences were unprepared. Not just adults, but 11- and 12-year-olds saw this as part of Saturday morning double features. One moment they were watching Flash Gordon or Buck Rogers, the next they faced flesh-eating ghouls and damning social themes bombarding their minds.
1968 is now seen as a turning point in filmmaking history. Night of the Living Dead influenced not just horror directors but filmmakers in all genres. It’s no surprise the film lives in the Smithsonian National Film Registry as a work that reshaped filmmaking art. Decades later, it still shocks first-time viewers and delights devoted fans. Night of the Living Dead didn’t just usher in a new era of horror and cinema; it announced the arrival of a genuine guerrilla auteur, a master of his craft.
1978’s action war film The Wild Geese is an adaptation of Daniel Carney’s unpublished novel about a group of mercenaries on a mission during the turbulent revolutionary times that beset Central Africa during the 1960s and early 70s. The film features an all-star cast of British actors, a true who’s who of the era. Under the direction of Andrew V. McLaglen, The Wild Geese manages to be an action-packed and well-told film with memorable performances.
The character Colonel Allen Faulkner, played by Sir Richard Burton, is loosely based on the real-life mercenary legend Michael “Mad Mike” Hoare. Hoare not only inspired this central character but also served as the film’s military and technical advisor. Adding to the film’s authenticity, one of the actors portraying a mercenary, Ian Yule, had served with Hoare in his mercenary company. This infusion of real-life experience gives the film a vivid sense of art imitating life and lends credibility to its portrayal of mercenary warfare.
The story begins with a meeting between Faulkner and British banker Sir Edward Matheson about a rescue mission in the fictional Central African nation of Zembala. The first third follows Faulkner’s recruitment of a 50-man mercenary team, including his reluctant old friend Rafer Janders (Sir Richard Harris). The film portrays the mercenary company training and preparing for the mission before being inserted behind enemy lines. The second half details the rescue of their target: a deposed African leader about to be executed by the man who overthrew him.
During the second third of the film, the action intensifies. Though tame by today’s standards, the sequences were energetic and well-shot for their time. The mercenaries are shown not as idealized heroes but as pragmatic soldiers who use ruthless tactics—such as cyanide gas and poisoned crossbow bolts—that may shock modern audiences. This realism reflects Hoare’s influence and presents mercenaries as professionals doing a dangerous job for pay, blurring the moral lines of warfare. Betrayal during the mission tests their survival in enemy territory.
Burton and Harris deliver excellent performances as hardened war veterans, while a younger Sir Roger Moore adds roguish charm as the Irish pilot Shaun Fynn. Strong supporting roles include Hardy Kruger as Pieter Coetzee, an initially racist Afrikaner who gains new perspective on the continent’s upheaval, and Stewart Granger as the principled banker Matheson.
Though relatively small budgeted compared to other war epics of the era, The Wild Geese carries an epic feel and should have appealed more to American audiences. Unfortunately, financial difficulties with the production company affected its U.S. release. Over time, video and DVD releases built it a cult following among war and mercenary film fans, a subgenre often dominated by lesser films. McLaglen’s straightforward direction keeps the film’s pacing steady, and the story balances action with political and philosophical themes in its final act.
The Wild Geese stands as a rare gem in war cinema that delves into a little-known subgenre. With strong performances by knighted British actors, a former Hitler Youth, and real-life mercenaries as extras, the film distinguishes itself from the many flawed war movies flooding late-70s and early-80s cinema. Its roots in actual mercenary experiences, highlighted by Hoare’s real-life involvement and character inspiration, make it a compelling and underappreciated classic for aficionados of the genre.
The good folks over at The Hollywood Reporter have reported that Frank Darabont’s tv series adaptation of Robert Kirkman’s award-winning comic book, The Walking Dead, have finally found the actor to play the series’ lead protagonist, Rick Grimes. The actor chosen came out of left field as his name was never even one people were clued in on. Fan favorites like Peter Krause and Mark Pellegrino were not even seen or heard having tried out for the lead role. Other names like Jamie Bamber (Battlestar Galactica’s Lee “Apollo” Adama) and Johnny Lee Miller (Eli Stone and Hackers) were also mentioned as having tried out for the role with the latter seen as the front-runner.
So, it’s seen as a surprise by many following the production of The Walking Dead to see the name Andrew Lincoln come up as the actor chosen to play Rick Grimes. The UK actor has worked in mostly shows and films in his native UK w/ Love Actually being the more recognizable of those he’s worked on. I think the choice was, and is, a good one. This is literally an unknown actor to US audiences so it will be easier for suspension of disbelief to be achieved for those watching.
While the reaction to this news is mostly one of guarded optimism there’s a very tiny but vocal group that seem to cry foul at this choice just for the fact that Andrew Lincoln will be a British-actor playing an American from the South. I think fans at times just think that dream choices for roles in their favorite stories should be the only ones chosen to play those roles whether they actually want to take on the role or not, or if they’re even good for the role.
For the detractors I say give the man a chance to get into the role before you put the man down. Oh yeah, one other thing…just be glad the show is actually being down and with strong creative people behind it. Put the fanboy/girl hat into storage.
For our newest hottie of the day we travel from the Land of the Rising Sun over to the United Kingdom to meet the lovely Ms. Rosie Jones.
Ms. Jones was born in July of 1990 in her hometown of Middlesex, UK. Rosie Jones is the latest in a long line of British Page 3 models who have gained quite the large fan following. Ms. Jones is still very young and still new to the game of glamour modeling over in the UK, but she has already been compared to past popular and successful British glamour models such as Keeley Hazell, Rhian Sugden and Lucy Pinder. Rosie has been busy modeling not just for the Sun as a Page 3 girl, but also for UK men’s magazines such as Loaded, Nuts and Front.
While her claim to fame is still her modeling work (most of which are topless) she’s got room to grow and her fast rising star in the glamour modeling world has many seeing her becoming one of the most sought after. It is more than likely that we will see her heavenly figure and natural beauty become more prevalent not just in the UK but in the US and the rest of the world.
Through the Shattered Lens