Guilty Pleasure No. 21: Hawk the Slayer (dir. by Terry Marcel)

Posted on June 15, 2014 by Arleigh

Tonight was the season finale of Game of Thrones season 4. It was another great piece of storytelling that managed to juggle several subplots and giving each one their own time to shine.

The latest “Guilty Pleasure” is the 1980 epically mind-numbing fantasy film Hawk the Slayer starring the great Jack Palance in the the villainous role of Voltan the evil elder brother to the film’s title character, Hawk the Slayer. This film is in the other side of the quality spectrum of tonight’s Game of Thrones season finale.

Hawk the Slayer was part of the 80’s flood of sword and sorcery films that included such titles as Conan the Barbarian, Beastmaster and Ladyhawke. To say that this film was bad would be an understatement. Yet, I’m quite drawn to it whenever I see it on TV. In fact, it was on syndication that I first saw this when I was just a wee lad. I might have been around 9 or 10 when I came across it halfway through.

Maybe it was the fact that I was just discovering Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, but this film spoke to me. It had that timeless story of brother against brother. The evil tyrant with legions of evil ne’er do wells against a small band of class-specific heroes and rogues. I mean this had it all. We had the hero of the film who I would probably place in the swordsman class. Then we had Ranulf with his repeating crossbow that would be the band’s rogue. Of course, there’s Gort the giant with his mighty hammer and Baldin the dwarf skilled in the art of the whip. But the one character that really shouted RPG for me throughout this film was Crow the Elf who could fire his bow as fast as any machine gun I’ve ever seen.

I think it’s very awfulness is why I keep returning to it whenever I see it on TV. The acting is atrocious with special effects that even in 1980 would be seen as laughable. The characters themselves were so one-note that one wonders if the person who wrote the screenplay was actually a trained monkey. Yet, the film was fun for all those reasons. It’s one of those titles that one would express as being so bad it’s good. Even now, with childhood several decades past, I still enjoy watching Hawk the Slayer and always wonder when they plan to get the sequel set-up and made.

Oh, the synth-heavy disco-fantasy-western soundtrack was also something to behold.

Trailer: All Cheerleaders Die

Posted on June 14, 2014 by Arleigh

Lucky McKee is one of my favorite horror filmmakers since I first saw his 2002 film May. I’ve followed his career since and last year he premiered his latest horror film during the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival.

All Cheerleaders Die will have a limited release this summer and will most likely be available on Video On-Demand soon after. Whether I see it on the big-screen or in the comfort of my own home I know for a fact that my partner-in-crime, Lisa Marie, will be watching this as well. She won’t be able to resist after just seeing the title alone. It’s right up her wheelhouse, so to speak.

Trailer: Harbinger Down (Official)

Posted on June 10, 2014 by Arleigh

Last summer something caught my eye while scrolling up my Twitter feed. People I had been following were retweeting a Kickstarter campaign for an independent film. No, this wasn’t a Veronica Mars deal or Zach Braff begging the public for millions so he could make his own film. This was for a scifi-horror film that was going the whole practical effects route.

Harbinger Down is the brainchild of practical effects masters Alec Gillis and Tom Woodruff, Jr. whose own special effects studio Amalgamated Dynamics were instrumental in creating some of the practical effects for films such as the latest Godzilla and the underwhelming prequel for The Thing. It was their practical effects work for that prequel being replaced by CGI monsters at the very last second which convinced the two men to try and make a film using nothing but practical effects to show Hollywood bean counters and studio heads that there was still a place for the practical instead of going all-CG.

Their Kickstarter campaign to raise the funds to start Harbinger Down succeeded and in addition to the $387,000 or so raised and their own money and studio time the film began principal photography this past January. A rough trailer was shown around MArch, but now we have the first official trailer to Harbinger Down which looks like a love letter to Carpenter’s very own The Thing.

Scenes I Love: Centurion

Posted on June 8, 2014 by Arleigh

In honor of tonight’s episode of Game of Thrones which was once again directed by the great British filmmaker Neil Marshall I’ve chosen a favorite scene from his last film as the latest Scenes I Love.

Tonight’s episode saw the pivotal Battle of Castle Black which showcases the battle of Mance Rayder’s 100,000-strong Wildlling army against the few hundred Night’s Watch defenders of Castle Black and The Wall. It was a very bloody affair that saw more than a few important deaths. It also highlighted the fact that Neil Marshall has to be one of the great action directors of this era. He’s able to work both with CG and practical effects and definitely do so on a budget (yet still making the whole episode look cinematic).

For those who have followed Marshall’s work they won’t be surprised by his work on Game of Thrones. He’s done large-scale battles before and none more bloody, brutal and chaotic as the ambush battle in the forest in Centurion.

Trailer: Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Crystal

Posted on June 7, 2014 by Arleigh

“Mūn Purizumu Pawā, Meikuappu!”

When it was announced in the summer of 2012 that a new Sailor Moon anime series was in production the anime fandom was all a-twitter about the news. Whether one was male or female, Sailor Moon was a major part of the viewing regimen of anime fans young and old.

It’s now two year since that announcement and we finally have the first trailer of the return of Sailor Moon back on the airwaves. The series title will be Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Crystal, but it will most likely be shortened to just Sailor Moon Crystal to keep it simple. Toei Animation will be the studio doing the animation work while the series will premiere on the network Niconico in Japan while it will also stream on the website streaming service Crunchyroll.

It’s been over 20 years since the original Sailor Moon series went off-the-air and to say it’s back with a brand new season has made anime fans ecstatic (grumblings about the change in animation style notwithstanding) the world over.

Sailor Moon Crystal to premiere on July 5, 2014.

Trailer: The Green Inferno (2nd Official)

Posted on June 3, 2014 by Arleigh

Ah, the Italian cannibal subgenre of grindhouse and exploitation films. It’s been awhile since we’ve had something like this. Sure, we’ve had cannibal-based films throughout the years with some even becoming cult hits (I look at Ravenous as an example), but not one that takes it’s setting and basic plot straight out of the cannibal films of the late 70’s and early 80’s from the Italian horror filmmakers of that era.

Eli Roth returns to directing after a seven years in hiatus to give horror fans a taste of the old-school cannibal flicks with his homage to Ruggero Deodato’s classic grindhouse film Cannibal Holocaust. The interesting bit about Roth’s film is how it’s title actually is part of the homage to Deodato’s film which was originally suppose to be called….The Green Inferno.

This is the second official trailer for The Green Inferno and it even uses a quaint, serene song to open it up the way Deodato’s film and trailer for said film does over thirty years ago. We don’t see much cannibal feasting going on, but it’s hinted at that it’s what’s for dinner.

Eli Roth’s The Green Inferno is set for an September 5, 2014 release date in the US.

AMV of the Day: Spiral Ascension (Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann)

Posted on May 31, 2014 by Arleigh

I still have a couple more winning AMV’s from this past Anime Boston 2014, but for now I think the latest entry to the “AMV of the Day” comes courtesy of Sakura-Con 2014. It’s another AMV using the time tested 30 Second To Mars song, “This Is War”.

For some reason this song remains a steadfast favorite amongst people who make anime music videos and it’s not hard to see why. It’s got a nice tempo and beat that goes well with many shounen anime. This time around it’s used for the video that won “Best Action” in this year’s Sakura-Con AMV contest. The creator of the video is one TheMFJuggernaut. With the popularity of the anime series Kill la Kill it’s always great to see people continue to take interest in Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann which was animated by Gainax animators who would later form the animation studio Trigger. The animation studio which gives Kill la Kill it’s look that reminded many people of Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann.

One fun thing about this video is how it shows how over-the-top the series got when it came to it’s mecha design. They didn’t know the meaning off “too big”.

Anime: Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann

Song: “This Is War” by 30 Second To Mars

Creator: TheMFJuggernaut

Past AMVs of the Day

Trailer: Snowpiercer (Red Band)

Posted on May 30, 2014 by Arleigh

Bong Joon-ho is a name that genre fans know well. He has made a name for himself in his home country of South Korea with such critically-acclaimed films as Memories of Murder, The Host and Mother. In 2013, Bong co-wrote and directed the adaptation of the French graphic novel Le Transperceneige. The film is his first English-language film and it has garnered much acclaim when it was released in South Korea in 2013.

Snowpiercer as the film has been titled will now make it’s North American premiere this year and with months of buzz following it’s Asian release many genre fans have been awaiting its arrival. It’s premise is simple enough and involves a train that never stops moving that circles the globe that’s going through a new Ice Age that has killed off most of the planet’s population save those riding on the global train.

It’s a film that explores that ever-popular subject of the “have’s versus the have not’s”. It’ll be interesting to see what new idea Bong Joon-ho brings to an old idea.

Snowpiercer is set for a US release on June 27, 2014.

Song of the Day: Blumenkranz (by Hiroyuki Sawano feat. Paperblossom)

Posted on May 28, 2014 by Arleigh

Kill la Kill is one of the more recent anime to come out of Japan to become a major sensation both in and out of the Land of the Rising Sun. It’s a series that some have called as too much of a slave to it’s fanservice scenes while some have called the series as much deeper than it’s visual surface has shown. Whatever the case, the series sports one of the best anime soundtracks of the past year due to the work by composer Hiroyuki Sawano.

It’s from this series’ soundtrack that the latest “Song of the Day” arrives from. “Blumenkranz” is the theme song for one of the series’ integral characters. It plays as a sort of walk-up theme music and it has become a favorite of pretty much every fan of the anime.

While the original song as sung by Japanese artist Rie was still in German it was heavily accented and has even confused some German speakers. An anime fan and native German speaker, singer Paperblossom has done the best cover of the song which has all the German lyrics spoken properly. It’s this version of the song that has become my favorite version of the song. I actually think it’s the superior version with all due respect to Rie’s original performance of the song.

One thing I’m sure of that this song would make for a killer entrance music for anyone looking to enter a room with much haughty and superior attitude.

Blumenkranz

Ich möchte stärker werden,
weil unsere Welt sehr grausam ist
Es ist ratsam, welke Blumen zu entfernen

Du fragst mich, ob ich mit dir komm
Du flüsterst mir in mein Ohr
Du fragst mich, ob ich deine Hand nehm
Ich hab keinen Grund, dich abzulehnen

Du fragst mich, ob ich mit dir komm
Du flüsterst mir in mein Ohr
Du fragst mich, ob ich deine Hand nehm

(Du flüsterst mir)

Ja, ich bin viel stärker, als ich je gedacht hab
Fliege höher!
Laufe viel schneller!
Vergiss die Wahrheit nicht!
Ja, ich bin viel stärker, als ich je gedacht hab
Ich entferne welke Blumen
Wieso siehst du so traurig aus?

Diese Welt ist grausam
Es ist traurig aber wahr
Diese Welt ist seltsam
Es ist fraglich aber wahr
Ist der Blumengarten echt oder falsch?

Ich möchte stärker werden,
weil unsere Welt sehr grausam ist
Es ist ratsam, welke Blumen zu entfernen

Was willst du von mir?
Ich mag wollen oder nicht, ich muss den Feind verfolgen
Ich bin nicht frei von dieser Welt

Egal wie hart du auch bist
Fliege höher!
Laufe viel schneller!
Du bist sehr stark
Du bindest einen Blumenkranz
Wieso siehst du so traurig aus?

Trailer: Guardians of the Galaxy (2nd Official)

Posted on May 19, 2014 by Arleigh

As promised by James Gunn over three days of teasing this trailer over the weekend we finally have the latest trailer from his upcoming addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe: Guardians of the Galaxy.

The trailer seems to expand more on some of the scenes shown in the firs trailer and still keeping most of the plot outside of the “losers team-up against Ultimate Evil” being introduced with this trailer. We do get something that people have been wondering about since the first trailer and that was how would Rocket Raccoon and Groot would sound. It’s still weird hearing Bradley Cooper’s voice come out of a suited-up raccoon, but Vin Diesel definitely nailed it as Groot. Though that’s not saying much.

We get a few more brief glimpses of Ronan the Accuser and, what should make hardcore comic book fans smile from ear-to-ear, the severed and floating head of a Celestial (2100 foot Godlike cosmic beings) that either will serve as the home base for the Guardians or for the Collector (Benicio Del Toro’s character).

It’s still a couple months away, but Guardians of the Galaxy seems to be getting the tone of Marvel’s cosmic side just right. We still haven’t even seen Michael Rooker’s Yondu character.

Guardians of the Galaxy is set for an August 1, 2014 release date.