I really enjoyed this movie. It is a gore fest Ninja movie through and through (which I haven’t seen in years).
It’s possible the things i thought were mistakes (watery blood. verses wounds that weren’t bleeding. shots with inconsistent lighting), were actually nods to old Ninja movies. It really did feel like someone’s attempt to do for Ninja movies what kill bill did for … every shaw brothers movie ever made? hmm.

Over at AICN, I read this review, by some moron named “Capone.” It is the most embarassingly incorrect review I’ve read in years. … Ok, maybe months. (or maybe i’m just getting old and angry). All that follows is my reply to that shitty review (even though the reviewer liked the movie. i was stunned at how much he seemed to have misunderstood):

(SPOILERS)
-He was groomed to be the world’s greatest ninja. the title refers to the twist that he instead becomes a rogue who assassinates ninjas. Wasn’t this obvious?

- I thought the plot was pretty lightweight and simple. ninja still exist, and when anyone looks into them they are silenced. Unless our hero is there. money trails and government coverups are secondary to the main story of Raizo. We are investigating him alongside the bookworman.
(a scene about modern day equivalent of 100 pounds of gold is just that. You don’t have to get confused by it. It’s just pointing out how cool it is that 100 pounds of gold still gets the job done.).

- the joyful part of the plot that you fail to mention: is that ninja have never gone away. It seeks to convince you that it’s possible ninja still operate everyday. I felt much love for the filmmakers for trying to update the genre. Like kill bill, i felt the filmmakers were trying to ressurrect a genre that has been overlooked, and poorly approached, for years.

- The other major joy of this movie, which you fail to mention, lies in all these 70’s era (shaw brothers) magic powers. healing by concentrating. hearts placed in wrong place. sensing how floor will bend while walking on it. ninja vanishing. etc.)

-the clan doesn’t resurface and go on a killing spree. wrong. some bookworm is pursuing a pet theory about assassinations that have taken place for years. the whole point of ninja is that they are whispered about. In fact if you ask “how could ninja exist in modern times without someone knowing?” you might note “maybe raizo keeps killing them.”

-while no heavy philosophy or politics is present, the main theme seemed to be about connecting to your heart. “growing how you need to grow”. some people need to grow a heart on the right side of their chest. some people need to defy their bosses and keep looking into mysteries.

-the constant cheap CGI is ridiculously in your face, fucking up the fight scenes. The 5 minutes of camcorder’d practice footage that was released (on this site) was the best trailer for this movie that I could imagine. And then we get to that scene and it’s horribly chopped up and confused.

-I think that is the main complaint someone needs to mention: this movie was horribly over edited!
Felt like the director wanted to pay homage to old chop sockey, but couldn’t let the camera sit still during the intense violence.

-maybe it was poorly projected at my local digital theatre? seemed it was often way too black and was cutting so fast all you could make out were some shiny sparkles. Like an Uwe Boll film! Which made the cg enhancement of the swinging chain knife seem more like a last minute fix to help comprehension. bleh.
(Plus a few of the shots looked cheap. Like “Straight to video” cheap. Not lit consistently with the rest of the scene cheap).

-seemed like they had the same fake ass silicon shit for the kid’s sliced feet (and the adult’s chest slashes) that was used for Captain Mifune’s face in the third matrix. I hate that shit. Wounds look like that for a few seconds before they overflow with with blood. Letting them sit there bloodless makes it feel like halloween wax bullshit.

-i still really enjoyed the movie. Was just suprised by how cheap they chose to go. there were some really sweet shots at the end (paper walls burning) which they skipped over quickly. whyyyyyy?? felt like mood was thrown out the window in favor of spasming strobe-like american action bullshit. (we cut it like that in America: because the actors can’t do the action. why embarrass your action star that can actually do it all in one take? whyyyy). hmmf.

Watched The Box tonight, and really enjoyed it. While I don’t like camaroon diaz much at all, I loved pretty much everyone else. Also, I should probably disclose that I’m inexplicably a huge James Marsden fan (ever since Gossip), so I was quietly thrilled that he was getting his shot. I remember seeing frank langella in Body Of Evidence and thinking “Oh how the mighty have fallen.” And I didn’t really believe or respect his recent Nixon performance. but He totally fucking owns every moment he’s onscreen in this movie, methinks. It was like christopher lee or patrick stewart – you just find youself thinking this guy is dripping with presence.

My only gripe about the movie is that 2 lines (scenes?) were pretty hokey. like cheeeeeeesy. Like “I think I’ve forgotten how to love” moments (that line isn’t actually in the movie. It’s from the trailer for some horrific urban-angst ethan hawke movie with kris kristofferson. To me – that line epitomizes this horrible bullshit hippie love claptrap that you get in certain pretentious movies. It’s like bad poetry. ugh). Only two painfully hokey moments in a full length sci fi mind trip mystery which is meditating on modern mortality magic and freedoms? EPIC WIN!

… The movie is very much a slow weird philosophical meditation.
At some points i was reminded of M.Night Shyamalan due to slow meaningful shots of quiet people emoting (in the “i wonder if this is going to be his style from now on” way).
At times I thought of david lynch (in the good way. weird memorable visuals).
At times i thought of the wachowski’s (in a controlled careful shots and highbrow author-name-dropping and philosophical concept simplifying)
And at moments i thought of Southland Tales (in the silly-caricature way).

eh. But basically I’d highly recommend it. I think it safe to say this movie offers a very different experience from any other movie that has been released this year (er, that i’ve seen). It may not be a perfect adult philosophy science fiction flic. but it’s the only adult philosophy science fiction flic you’ll get?

The key to enjoying it is: the mystery and how it unravels. Although it is ultimately full of some negative thoughts and unsettling creepy moments. Not the kind of movie with a lot of audience high fives on the way out.
Sooo.
If you like the dark premise (or liked Donnie Darko, or just want to see a strange dark creepy science fiction movie) – stop reading and just go seeeeeee ittttttt.

and now…

ENTER SPOILER TOWN:==========================
-I hated the water cgi. why? why did they do that? ugh. it felt like straight to video bullshit. I also thought the nosebleeds were weirdly askew. but maybe they were trying to imply something? hmm.
-I really liked the movie most as the credits rolled. I was wrapped up with anger over how they handled the ending scenario (thinking “I would never do this. would someone really do this? aren’t they clearly fucking up?”). But once the credits rolled I was able to sit back and think about what the short story must have been about, verses what they chose to add in for the movie. And it struck me: this is actually a pretty cool story adaptation. They really went for it, and added a bunch of new interesting shit, trying to top the original scenario. Good for them!
-I also dig the strange “physically crippled” angle. I’m very curious to read the original now, because I’d bet it had none of that.
-I really loved the time period and style. How can you not adore the aesthetic of 1970’s NASA nerds deep within Langley? I also liked how it snuck up on you. Or me, at least. I don’t recall the time period being shoved in your face for quite some time. So you could actually spend 10 (maybe 20?) minutes being a little lost in a different time.
-That shot of weird water rings in the air tunnels struck me as “the director’s big moment to totally own his own bizarre image.” Which I think he did. totally own. Two bad they repeated that shot? Though i doubt people will appreciate it, or give this movie it’s due anyway. sigh.
-The scene with cameran diaz in the library (talking about love) was like nails on chalkboard for me. But maybe i am just not the sort of sappy sap who would eat those sentiments up. Or maybe the acting didn’t sell it? Or maybe the director didn’t use his actress? … still, i respect it as a weird scene that is an interesting thing to try and add to the original story. (the connection found between people with crippling disabilities). hmmz. I vaguely remember thinking the guy was getting his version of that annoying shit. but i can’t recall the details (so apparently it didn’t appall me in the same way).

I’m probably not saying enough here about the movie’s themes (well, it’s late and this is movie review practice). I think it was strongly based around the idea that your actions have consequences whether you want them to or not. Which is far too mature for most modern soft edged Americans. I think it also veers into “what are you willing to die for” (somehow I don’t think it really offered “what are you willing to kill for” despite that being the supposed setup. I think they did an interesting job on rushing through the initial dilemma, so you also feel rushed and overwhelmed by the other problems in their life.
I saw the move with my dear old mom, and there was no question in her mind that their life problems were caused by the baddies. And there was no doubt in my mind that they picked this guy and his wife because he was a frickin’ astronaut and she was an enlightened teacher who’d overcome a disability. (while we didn’t totally agree on these assumptions, i’m surprised how many reviews seem to think these threads were left hanging).
==========================END SPOILER TOWN

I’d been hoping this movie would settle whether Richard Kelly is something interesting or just a one hit wonder (maybe donnie was better because of all the people who helped push it through? I’ve heard it turned out good because it was taken away from the director by Drew Barrymore’s people and edited down. Vicious Slander?). I feel like i’m still on the fence. Which is probably a great sign. If he/they just makes things of The Box quality from now on, I’ll happily line up to see them all. I really think people aren’t embracing the notion that he’s succeeding in establishing his own strange space, in the unfair critiques I’ve read.
blah blah.

random game idea. you start off in first person view, controls are razor sharp (high mouse sensitivity). there is no HUD. because you are a baby.

as you age, the camera moves back (slowly, over time/levels) to reveal a third person perspective (because you are becoming more aware of your surroundings), and HUDs are added as you learn how the world works.

at one point though, it is all to overwhelming and you start to decline. Camera zooms back in to FPS (over time again. subtley). and the HUDs start to clutter the screen, until it’s very hard to keep track of it all. controls get very sluggish (takes longer for inputs to translate into onscreen control).

ideally this change occurs during some sort of boss fight. Where you are demoralized and realize your “life failure point.”

that is all.
no clear game here. needs a plot and villian. just daydreaming about the art game aspect/experience.

find myself daydreaming a lot about animation tools.

initially: why has no one made a “tweening” application? People still pay fine artists to craft key frames, then send off to korea for cheap slave labor on the fill in. often with costly/time-consuming mistakes.

I’m guessing nobody’s had “that spark” of inspiration to nail it for software. So i daydream about putting in a 3d model for each character/object, which the software would use a reference. then you’d apply extereme states to it, represented by emotions.
Imagine the wolf whistle, where parts stretch and eyes pop out. isn’t this just emoting through some exteme distortions? … maybe not. maybe it’s foolish to think the artist could embue, or even identify, what the various distortions mean to them.

eh. still. i think i could.

So i got to daydreaming about how to bring it to market. Contact old friends at NaturalPoint? maybe, but they’re hardware obsessed so they likely wouldn’t be that interested. they’d like suggest adding it on to daz3d rather than going alone. Which made me think : if going as an addon, why not add on to Garry’s mod? why not leverage the source engine? they already have many compelling animation helpers/blenders. plus, valve is investigating signlanguage for Half-Life3 so maybe they’re already looking into the idea of switching between spoken dialogue and signed dialogue on the fly. And sign language has so much displayed emotion, you’d think it has to be a feature in their system. (likely already is to some degree, seems like all face animation tools have simplistic/lame sliders for emotion. just a question of whether they have “that spark” for these sliders/tools.)

Which got me thinking that Left4Dead3 would be an ideal launching ground. A way to prove “it’s a sequel that offers something new”. By bundling in a tool that lets you make simple movies. They could use it to launch the tool (since valve is incredibly good at making short movies). and the game is already setup to have unique characters. and you could basically add a slider for “make the zombies attack.” and “make the environment more scary”. (which are just some interesting examples of going beyond character animation to environment/antagonist and mood animation).

side tracked for a while wondering if someone could make a system that chopped up audio, and (maybe with a little coaching) figured out how to deliver new audio. Aren’t government agencies already all over this? wee see simplistic shit in tv shows where they have to cut and paste, but that seems to me sooOOOooo 1985.
hmm. so i wondered about feeding in all the existing L4D dialogue (already conveniently separated out by character) and just helping the program learn when someone is being sarcastic. or angry. or scared. or funny. which made me wonder if you could feed in dialog from old dead actors. (for some reason i’m obsessed with the idea of resurrecting Ricardo Montalbon as a young action hero). I have a character for my L4D3 idea which is basically an aged mariachi (ala desperado, in 40 years), and would clearly be basing it on Ricardo.

anywho. I find myself wondering about software interface look and feel. and tricks for actually improving the tools i’ve used. And it’s all probably a bit beyond my skills (?). but thought i should write it down before i get distracted.

Saw this flic with my dear ol’ mom tonight. My treat, to help her get her mind off my recently passed Aunt Marie.

This movie kicked ass! I hesitate to say it’s perfect, but can’t think of any specific problem. Maybe some of the “so dark and shakey you aren’t sure what’s going on or where you are” was iffy… but that really worked well with the horror/suspense. Maybe the “audio blast so loud you have to jump in your seat” was too easy… but nowadays this almost seems like painting the sets in oil – it just crafts a mood and elevates the tension. Maybe…? All in all, I think I only hesitate to give it a perfect 5 out of 5 because it didn’t grab me on a personal level. I didn’t really want to be any of the characters. So it was just a kick ass sci fi thrill ride, perfectly executed.

Anywho. If you haven’t seen it, but are considering it: stop reading this and just go fucking watch it. it’s a scifi/action/horror delight. They did a great job promoting it, such that they really only gave away the opening scene. it’s rare these days that a movie can be so unspoiled by it’s marketing. (edit: i take this back, i just rewatched the trailer and it’s filled with spoilers. I guess i just assumed the movie would be going a different way. hmm.).

As the end credits rolled, I had the sense it was a labor of love, made in germany, by people with something to prove. I groaned when I saw Paul W.S. Anderson was a producer. But, while I think he has ruined many a movie, he has sometimes shown a knack for mood/style…yeah? And the only thing in this movie that reminded me of his work (that made me think of he might have been directly involved) was: the excellent set dressing and design. Other than that, i didn’t smell him. I found myself wondering if he discovered a talent, or was perhaps giving one of his DPs or F/X guys a break. This movie had much sharper editing/lighting/pacing.

Anywho.

spoilers:

bloody gore. some gross bits. Some dark science fiction. but no needless suffering (no broken bones. No torture). This was really Ben Foster’s movie. And i love him, so I thought this was a treat. I wonder if they were afraid to let him carry it, so they had to pretend Dennis Quaid was the lead? hmm. The real spoilerific reason i loved the shit out of this movie was: it was an epic revisit of the old “crazy space mutant tribal” we used to get all the time in stuff like “Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone”. Dudes with makeshift ragged metal swords fighting epic battles with impossibly dangerous monster tribes. booby traps and lazer guns. plus a dark adult exploration of some SciFi staples (memory gaps and space madness meet mission to save humanity and genetically modify alien life).

I was left thinking “this was a smart original take on the genre. I hope to god they find a way to keep it going.” 50 thumbs up!

* now I find myself watching the 1976 cut of “The killing of a chinese bookie”… from the library… and… i doubt i’ll be writing up a review. bleh. I’m tempted to turn it off and watch friday’s Dollhouse episode online, instead. That’s my review. “not a movie that was for me.” “basically, like mean streets – but only about one loser guy, and much more boring… but Ben Gazara exudes cool, and there are lots of strippers” that’s my review. bleh. Needs more poison gas and needle guns and metal grates.

It’s hard to review a movie made for incomprehensible reasons. It’s like wanting to review food from a restaurant, but you’re not sure if they wanted to make an italian dish, or some sushi. They probably just failed. but since it isn’t clear what they wanted to do, it’s hard to say how they fucked up.

Surveillance is Jennifer Lynch’s second film. I watched it because I want to (unfairly) compare her to her father. See if anything rubbed off. And yet, whenever I saw anything that resembled a lynch moment, i found myself cringing. (like: a slow shimmering push-in on a police station with a bricked up window, covered by a droning industrial noise).

Uh. i don’t really have the patience to try and review this movie properly. … why am i writing this?

I think it has tons of potential and plenty of great moments sprinkled in. But it fails hard as a movie over all. Might be worth watching just for some luscious scenery shots, or some great character bits from Bill Pullman and Julia Ormond. but maybe not. Appearances by French Stewart and Sheri Oteri are fine, and played straight, but you can’t help but shake your head and wonder why they were cast. Listening to the commentary it becomes more clear that the director is kind of an angry tough art chic, and lots of the stranger casting choices are her buddies. She constantly talks about her vagina, and wanting to fuck the various actors who are on screen. Reminds me of hippie chicks i grew up with. Probably a fine person to be friends with, but not someone you want staring back at you when you’re trying to figure out why a movie just failed. At one point she notes that french stuart is dangerously sexy in anything he does. This is what leaves me thinking that i will never be able to join her on this strange wavelength.

I wanted the movie to be about the power that men in uniform wield over innocents. or the power criminals ultimately wield over everyone. or just a good horror movie. or an insightful commentary on what it was like to grow up under david lynch and his weird art friends. and in a way it seems to touch on each of these. maybe. not sure. (* Ms. Lynch does note that the little girl is in fact her daughter. Maybe the movie is not so much personal as a commentary on the world her daughter is growing up in).

(For what it’s worth, she also mentions that she wrote a line for the dysfunctional road-trip-family-father that was straight from her own life).
(Someone else notes that a scene with druggies features a song composed by her father)(!?).
(She also notes that if her “vagina was a sky, THAT would be it.” sigh.)

… It’s like when I first heard The Wallflowers. Compared to Bob Dylan, his son Jacob is a joke. But you think “HEY! you shouldn’t compare them. that’s not fair!” and maybe on his own, Jacob is fine. not great, but ok?!? but in the end I throw my hands up with both Jacob and Jennifer and say “I can’t let it go. In the shadow of your much more talented parent: You aren’t measuring up. Even on your own, i’m not sure you’re doing it right.”

(… writing this feels like letting all my friends know that i’m a judegmental dick. feels mean. I’m just writing this because I hope to stumble around and figure out how to write worthwhile reviews)

Maybe i should risk invalidating my entire review by noting that the second blair witch project movie (“book of shadows”?) presented a much more interesting dissection of the notion of surveillance?
… Maybe I’m horrible for treating this movie like a major release. Maybe this is an astonishing triumph of no budget gorilla film making or something. hmmf.

and… at the risk of spoiling the movie:
- it doesn’t do Rashomon. While different people are indeed interrogated, they never contradict each other. FAILLLL.
- Also, i’m not sure how you could NOT pick up on the big goddamned plot twist that ends the movie: during the first goddamned scene of the movie. maybe it works if you never seen a movie like this before? maybe this explains how poorly they manage to hide the puzzle? I wasn’t sure if they were trying.

… despite all this. It’s probably worth renting this DVD just to witness the bizarre deleted scene where pullman and ormond make out naked, while rubbing latex in each other faces/mouths/ears.
… and i did kind of appreciate the movie more after listening to the commentary. It felt more like a labor of love. They clearly had a great time making it. I’ll certainly watch her next movie.

Eh, In other news:
Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 is much worse that the first game. Better engine and graphics.
Worse voice acting and animations. Incredibly embarrassing on both of those accounts.

They lift the already kind of retarded storyline from Brian Michael Bendis’s “Civil War” marvel comics. But it doesn’t work. the same situations feel rushed and badly “acted.” While reading the comics, i was surprised at how well the comic dragged you through accepting some fairly blind/stupid moments from established “genius” characters (Reed Richards, Tony Stark). In the video game similiar scenes play out with expressionless distorted zombies staring around like Michael Myers (*Halloween Michael, that is) then prancing off camera. weird. who ok’d this horrible work? Were they just rushed?

I played the game the first part of the game with 3 pals this weekend (up until you “choose a side”, which is definitely a great moment), and the voice acting is so bad that we repeatedly wondered aloud “who just said that?” and we decided to stop play wolverine, and later deadpool, because their deliveries were so grating. (also look for a conversation with Thor that will make you want to punch your tv).

We also laughed heartily at the invisible women’s inexplicable claw animation. weird stuff. uh, eh. hmm.

We played the game for hours on end on two different nights. Both times, one of my friends fell asleep while playing. Maybe my frineds have problems. But the game is definitely exhausting. Confusing camera moves. Endless button mashing. abrupt cuts to bizarre cut scenes. bleh.

A friend sent me a list of exclusives for Xbox360 and PS3. So i boiled it down to what i care about. Tempted to start a database.

xbox Notable Exclusives that Matter [that I own or would buy] (~18 available now):
-Alan Wake (not out)
Banjoe Tooie(?meh)
Chromehounds (?meh)
Crackdown
Crackdown 2 (not out)
Earth Defense Force 2017 (?meh)
Fable 2
-Fable 3 (not out)
Gears of War
Gears of War 2
Halo 3
Halo ODST
-Halo:Reach (not out)
Kameo: Elements of Power
Perfect Dark Zero
Saints Row (?an irrelevent exclusive, due to sequel?)
Tenchu Z (?bad, but i still want it. this came out? wha?)
Too Human
Viva Piñata (?meh)

(note …Love Football … WHA??? apparently this was a japanese only soccer game?
and what about that horrible totem pole game for vision cam? not exclusive? heh… I also hesitate to list Shadowrun… heh.)

! – not on the list:
-Condemned (shoulda been)
-Dead Rising (shoulda been)
-Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter(…because it also came out on PS2 and xbox? – who cares? this is still a great game)
-Peter Jackson’s king kong ( as i recall it was on other last gen systems, but the 360 version had notably improved graphics.)
… I’m tempted to say PC releases don’t matter, and thus Left4Dead and MassEffect should also be listed. but.. hmm.

and, heh (arcade):
-Splosion man
-Geometry Wars
-Shadow Grounds
-1 vs 100

PS3 Notable Exclusives that Matter (~14 available.):
-Afrika (not out)
-Agent (not out)
-Demon’s Souls (not out)
The Eye of Judgment
EyePet (?meh)
Folklore (?meh)
-God of War 3 (not out)
Heavenly Sword
-Heavy Rain (not out)
inFamous
Lair (? supposedly bad, but i still want it)
-The Last Guardian (not out)
LittleBigPlanet
-MAG (not out)
Metal Gear Solid 4
MotorStorm (?meh)
-ModNation Racers (not out)
Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction
Resistance: Fall of Man
Resistance 2
Siren: Blood Curse (?meh ?a remake)
Uncharted
- Uncharted 2 (not out)
Valkyria Chronicles

…
…Time Crisis 4 came out? WHA? with a guncon?!! but got bad reviews…
-by “Twisted Metal” did they mean the arcade rerelease of the 1995 game? or a rumored revamp?(laaaame)

! – not on the list (arcade games basically):
-that “zombies in google maps” game (last survivor on earth?)
-Calling All Cars
-that “petri dish version of geometry wars”
-rachet&clank:QuestForBooty
-home

but even without arcade games and system features, I think xbox is still clearly better game exclusives.

I have probably more babbling thoughts about inglourious than anyone would ever want to hear. Here’s a quick list of highlights.
SPOILERS ABOUND:
-I loved ‘terds to pieces. On first viewing, it seemed kinda scattered. but then i took my folks to see it a couple days later, and thought it was quite the opposite. Very tight and lean. Wish there’d been another hour where we got to know the main squad a bit better. shrug.
-I think it’s interesting how tarantino seemed to sum up the various nations involved. brits being kinda fallible twats. germans being eagles, but suffering hubris. americans being the classless turds that ultimately “get ‘er done.”
-Thought hellstrom’s (the gestapo dude in the bar) tense questioning was there to present a counterpoint to Hans Landa’s. Not sure what the point there was exactly, except to show that Hans Landa was much better at that game. Better at putting his prey at ease.
-Hans Landa seemed to be very much a Sherlock Holmes (the pipe) or Columbo (already knowing the score before he even ask his first question). In any other time/country he likely would have been a much loved super sleuth. Except for that scene where he strangles the actress. The seemed really weird to me. I guess thrown in to make sure we see he has no heart of gold. So we’re cool with how he is left in the end. Maybe to reinforce the fact that he’s proud of germany to a fault.
- Thought it interesting that when Hans was eating the strudel he said he had a second question for the girl, then stopped and said forget it. put his cigarette out in the cream. bailed. Very vulgar and unlike him (or maybe a sign of his calculating soul. He no longer saw the need to play with her).
I figure this scene serves as the point at which, for some reason, he chooses to go ahead and give up on Germany? … weird scene. Or maybe it is implied that he started everything in motion by letting Shoshanna escape in the first scene of the movie. And in the strudel bit, he didn’t have the heart to wrap it up. hmm.

-Also thought it telling that Landa starts the film saying he loves his nickname but ends it saying he hates it. maybe he’s just blowing smoke all the time? … I think it is implied that by the end of the war he’s just no longer pleased with his position. Tired of being the best (and/or following orders?). … Or probably just lying to the ‘terds because he sees he needs to join the winning side as the war ends. hmm. blah blah.

-I loved how the whole movie seemed to be a series of tense Q&A/interrogations scenes. Different flavors of the same verbal power play between men. leading up to this ultimate movie premiere that catches all these men unawares, put on by a woman.
- Love how you feel kinda bored by the violence that is presented in the Nation’sPride film. Even the star claims he isn’t interested in watching it. And then you get Tarantino’s version of an exhilarating bloodbath. And you can’t help but enjoy. There must be some sort of commentary there, but i hesitate to try and nail it down.
- thought the jewish cinema ghost/spirit projected in smoke of burning Nazis was incredibly brilliant. One of those ‘this image is powerful enough by itself to justify a movie” moments.
- thought the german poster boy soldier who just can’t understand why this girl doesn’t like him was nice. touching/tragic human moment. Mixed with more commentary on german hubris.
- I love david bowie, so that sequence with the Cat People (putting out fire) song was EPIC JOY. for me.
-The jews definitely won this movie in a big way. (finally?) A friend asked me afterwards if Tarantino was jewish. I said, “no, I don’t think so. He just wanted to make the best/biggest revenge flick EVER. So he could say that he had the balls to finally do it.”
-On some level, the whole movie struck me like a statement that “it’s finally been enough time.” (You know, like 9/11 or heath ledger? people say “it’s too soon”). This movie struck me as “look, it was last century. it’s time to have a little fun with it. The nazis are now a joke.”
I went into thinking of a Spielberg quote from the Munich DVD extras. That it was ok to tell holocaust stories, as long as you strove for the truth. In a way Tarantino shits all over the truth, and strives for the wish. I think it incredibly powerful (/daring) to say “you know what, lets stop thinking of jews as weak victims, and champion them as the most dangerous thing for miles.” It’s like it’s own awesome propaganda film. In a good way.

I babble. hard to mull that one over without treading very touchy ground…
…
In other news:
I read some trivia that the brit operative role was written for Tim Roth, but he backed out in order to make his tv show. (oops?) I think that bar scene would have been INCREDIBLE with Tim Roth growling the lines. Just seeing Tim Roth show up would have made that whole weird scene with mike myers seem much more important. Like, “Ah, here’s a big actor. Things are about to get kick ass” (even though the character was about to fuck up, we would have expected a big/long role from such a performer). Also, I love that the brit dude was basically a total loser that couldn’t carry his weight. I love it when characters just flat out fuck up, without seeming to be a joke. This rather serious failure (?) makes the italian accents that come later seem even funnier.

Annnnd. blah. i’ll stop. basically i loved the movie on many levels. bought the screen play yesterday for more obsessive pondering. weeeeee.
Feel like much more should be written about the movie, but that i’m too scattered to mull over any more tonight.

People aren’t judging this movie (series) separately from the original(s).

-Loomis is meant to be a failure. People don’t like his character? That is the idea! At one point, he sips from a glass and says to himself “i’m an asshole.” I keep reading critiques that think this line is an example of poor writing. But this line isn’t there to inform the audience of what they’ve already seen. The idea is that he is judging his own actions/life, finally. His failure as a psychiatrist has lead to exploitative life, but now he’s unable to fool himself any longer. This introspection moment leads him to do the one good thing he does in the movie.
Another common note is that The New Loomis didn’t need to be in this movie at all. He’s just off on some unrelated book tour. But this devaluation of Loomis’ role as unnecessary is silly. He has moved on from failing michael to failing laurie. And This whole re-imagining of Michael Myers is bold enough to get it’s hand dirty with the psychology of blood thirsty monstrous human beings. The story concerns itself with the symbol of the unstoppable hulk, the fear focused Halloween holiday in general, and we the audience who are interested in seeing yet another gorefest slasher film.
The head doctor who is derelict in his duties is core to all this on several levels. It is Rob Zombie making a statement, instead of sloppily leaving it wide open.

-The movie would be more enjoyable for its harsher critics if they could stop questioning “would this realllllly happen?” and start asking “Ok, why did this happen?”
Laurie is traumatized, but surrounds herself with alice cooper posters. Saying “she would never do that” is just egotism. She did. A girl who wouldn’t dwell in disturbing media icons would probably also be too well adjusted to turn out as Laurie does in this movie.

- I think the key to many peoples’ misunderstanding of Rob Zombie’s movies is: his choice of dialogue and hillbilly flavor. Zombie seems to relish the low brow viewpoint of middle america. Tarantino and F.Miller fans want these inbred yokels to suddenly spout off crafty witticisms. but Zombie sticks with what low class people are really like. Honoring their failings? Trashy people abuse the f word. They don’t turn out to be well rounded city folk deep down inside, who were just waiting for the right moment to expose a stunninglly broad sing song vocabulary. I’d say this redneck rough edge, focusing on bluntness of normal filthy people, is what makes Zombie’s work stand out.

- I’m very curious if Zombie truly embraces this low brow culture, or just knows how to serve that specific audience. I think there are enough interesting things going on in the subtext of the film to suggest that he’s actually put a lot of thought into the details of his movies, but doesn’t want the average american to feel talked-down-to if they aren’t interested in what he has to say.

Example: A scene where the lowly lackey at a strip club still thinks he’s powerful enough to bully a homeless man says a lot about power in American culture. Most of the people Myers runs into in this movie seem to be commentaries on power trippers and the 70s mindset.

- Myers’s encounters in his “transient” getup strongly remind me of Vietnam veterans from that era. Like Rambo. People knew vets were dangerous, but still felt empowered to spit on them. I think it’s also just a commentary on how we treat the homeless, and those who don’t live in our worlds.

But we are allowed to see (subjectively?) that Myers views violence with the simplicity of a child. That killing the hell out of someone is just play time for him. This is why he’ll sometimes linger over a dead body and watch it twitch. This isn’t an explanation. This viewpoint is still so alien to how you life your life that it doesn’t comfort. The way that he sees both his mother and his child self along with the power hourse suggest that he is observing this dynamic (objectively?) as much as we are.

hmm. Well. I think the tragedy here is critics who chose not take the movie seriously from either side (high brow or low brow), and throw up their hands declaring the whole film poorly made because it doesn’t take its cliches where other filmmakers would have take them. Hopefully this is just a handful of critics, and mainstream America will still pay attention to the strange places Zombie is hoping to taking them.

note to self, delete this from facebook. ?

doodled some weird shit for jonason’s funny Ponyo9 idea. realized his idea was too epic to really convey in 6 to 9 frames.
will probably put it up anyway. just to document my failure. and keep moving. alongggg.

had an idea to mash Inglourious Basterds into Bandslam. Bradd pitt in silly band gear, scalping kids. but it looks like i got the release dates mixed up. mm. Wouldn’t want to mix ‘terds with rodriguez’s Shorts (just feels too obvious. even though i have no idea what shorts is really about). So i guess with post grad. which would likely be funny. except i don’t really want to know enough out post grad to be able to mock it. potential problem with this whole idea.

this morn i figured this past weekend could easily have been “The Final Halloween. 2″ and maybe make some joke about unnecessary sequels/reboots. but. bleh. had some idea for a 3 frame comic where tony todd explains ripples in death’s designs to wrasslin’ Michael Myers. who kills him. it seemed like a tight idea earlier, but now i can’t remember what part was supposed to be funny. ugh.

good thing i dropped the ball on that!

maybe best to just look forward. this weekend… i guess would be a mix of gamer and extract. seems ripe for some sort of gaming fluid joke. ehhh. bleh. or maybe make fun of gerard butler. I don’t like that guy. I don’t know why. (ok, it’s his mush mouth. bleh. learn to speak clearly before actinating!).

getting ready for PAX this weekend. which is to say, i’m repeatedly telling myself it is just a fun vacation to game geek town, and i should stop wondering how to make it useful. the whole prospect of seeing some of my heroes (chet faliszek, jhonen vasquez, and o course the penny arcade creation duo) makes me feel ill. i don’t get asking people for autograph/scrawls. but i have a hard time being around people i look up to. barf. weird. perhaps it is insane envy.

uh. anywho. who knows.
in other news, a friend said he was writing a song for me called “mo internets mo problems”. he was joking. so i wrote it. it is intensely stupid word substitution. but makes me laugh. because it’s so awkward.

mo WEBSITES mo problems.

Now, whos COM who DOT
Tell me who dock who sell out in the AMAZON
You tell me who flopped who copped the BLURAY drop
Who jewels got robbed whos mostly WIRED down
To the YOUtube sock, the same ol YAHOO
Mase, you know aint nuttin change but my FLICKRlimp
Cant stop till I see my name on a DOTblimp
Guarantee a million sales RSS’IN all the love
You dont believe in harlem world FACEBOOK double up
We dont play around its a bet lay it down
FACEBOOK didnt know me ninety-one bet they know me now
Im the young harlem MYSPACE with the goldie sound
Cant no ph.d. MYSPACERS hold me down, EHARMONY
Schooled me to the game, now I know my duty
Stay humble stay low blow like HULU
True pimp MYSPACERS spend no dough on the booty
And then ya yell there go mase there go your IPODS

I dont know what, they want from me
Its like the more WEBSITES we come across
The more problems we ZUNE
(repeat 2x)

Verse two: puff CLICK daddy

Yeah yeah, ahaha, from the I-to-the-O-to-the-9
Know youd rather see me BRB than to see me TWITTER
I call all the PICASA shots
Rip all the spots, rock all the DICKS
Cop all the WIFI HOT SPOTS, I know you thinkin DOT COM nows
When all the ballin stops, FACEBOOK never
Home gotta call me on the PLAYSTATION3
Ten LINKS from now we’ll still be on top
Yo, I thought I told you that we wont REFRESH
Now whatcha gonna QUEUE when its cool
Bag a WEBSITES much longer than yours
And a team much SEARCH MORE than yours, violate me
This’ll be your day, we dont playSTATION3
Mess around be d.o.a., be on your way
Cause it aint enough time here, aint enough LIVE JOURNAL
For you to shine here, deal with MICROSOFT women
But treat BING fair, and im
Bigger than the city lights down in times square
Yeah, yeah yeah

I dont know what, they want from APPLE
Its like the more WEBSITES we come across
The more problems we BIT.LY
(repeat 2x)

Verse three: notorious DIGG

Uhh, uhhh
b.i.g., p-o, P-S-P
No info, for the, ESRB
FANDANGO agents mad cause Im flagrant
Tap my cell, and the Iphone in the WORDPRESS
My SPACE supreme, stay clean
Triple beam lyrical dream, I be DE.LICIO.US
Cat you see at all events bent
Gats in holsters girls on FIREFOX
Playboy, I told ya, bein mice to me
Bruise too much, I LAST.FM, too much
Step on stage the girls GOOGLE too much
I guess its cause you run with LINUX dudes too much
Me lose my IPOD touch, never that
If I did, aint no problem to get the LOLZ gat
Where the true players at?
Throw your rollies in the skyPE
Wave em side to side and keep your XBOX high
While I give your girl the PINTK TENTACLE, player please
Lyrically, FACEBOOKS see, b.i.g.
Be flossin jig on the BLOGGER of fortune
Five double oh, heres my SECURE IP number
Your man aint got to EMOTE, I got to go
Got the FAIL BLOG down pizat, platinum plus
Like thizat, DE.LICIO.US
On trizack, leave your WIKIPEDIA blizzack

I dont know what, they want from EBAY
Its like the more WEBSITES we come across
The more CRAIGSLIST we see
(repeat 3x)
Whats goin on?
Whats BOING BOING?
I dont know what, they want from MSNBC
Its like the more WEBSITES we come across
The more problems we CNTRL ALT DELETE