Friday, July 22, 2005

What I think when I see comic book covers...



No Joke can be made here. All I can say, is that I've never needed to read a comic more in my life.

Wednesday, July 06, 2005

a fine film. even without a single C.H.U.D.




Directed by
Marc Singer

IMDB Plot Summary: Near Penn Station, next to the Amtrak tracks, squatters have been living for years. Marc Singer goes underground to live with them, and films this "family." A dozen or so men and one woman talk about their lives: horrors of childhood, jail time, losing children, being coke-heads. They scavenge, they've built themselves sturdy one-room shacks; they have pets, cook, chat, argue, give each other haircuts. A bucket is their toilet. Leaky overhead pipes are a source of water for showers. They live in virtual darkness. During the filming, Amtrak gives a 30-day eviction notice.


so when i rented this film, i thought the director was the man who played Beastmaster. and my biggest memory of homeless people living in tunnels comes from he movie C. H. U. D. so i rented the film on the basis that i expected to be watching a movie about C.H.U.D.s directed by Beastmaster. or i rented it on the novelty of that idea. i was very moved by this film. one of the things that this film starts out with is one of the men climbing into the tunnels with his voice dubbed over saying ".. you'd be surprised what the mind can adjust to." and you can see it. despite having electricity and a sense of community, a human can't live like that and be happy. this movie does a great job of making you care for these people, even those who it may be difficult to. it also shows how they live and how happy they can be for something that a person in a different situation would take for granted. it has desperation and hope in equal measure. One thing I was very impressed by, was not only how talented the director was, but how much of a wonderful decent person he was. The director lived in the tunnel while filming this, sometimes by choice and others out of necessity of financing the film. Other directors would easily have put themselves into the film, his involvement is non existent in the story of the film itself, but in the extras you find that he promised he'd help get those people out of the tunnels and into apartments and he did. Singer is as humble as he is decent.

My Verdict: Dark Days is a wonderful film that is not only thought provoking and entertaining, but also a film that gives me a little more pride in humanity. Not bad for a flick I thought was directed by Beastmaster.

Tuesday, July 05, 2005

What I think when I see comic book covers...



The alternate story for this cover was "The Bestial flatulence of Right Hook Larry"

Friday, July 01, 2005

And I crown you, King Savini The First.




Staring : Ed Harris , Gary Lahti , Amy Ingersoll, Brother Blue, Ken Foree , Scott H. Reiniger, And Tom Savini.

Written & Directed by George A. Romero

IMDB Plot Summary : A traveling troupe of jousters and performers are slowly cracking under the pressure of hick cops, financial troubles and their failure to live up to their own ideals. The group's leader, King Billy, is increasingly unable to maintain his warrior's rule while the Black Knight is being tempted away to LA and stardom, as they all have to ask why they were here in the first place.

Tagline: The Games...The Romance...The Spirit...Camelot is a state of mind.

This movie.... I don't understand it. That doesn't make me love it any less. This film doesn't do a very good job of helping the audience understand what the Knightriders world really is. Now, at some points it seems like they are just doing a renaissance/carnival type deal and that's all it is, and others it seems like they have formed a new society and are fighting against the system. One thing I like about George Romeo is that he's a liberal. But he's better than just that, he's a working class liberal. You can see his politics in many of his films. In this film you see his opinions of greed, the corporate world, acceptance of homosexuality, and his dislike of intellectuals. He doesn't need to put these opinions in a film that has to be taken seriously. No, he doesn't mind putting these thoughts in films with zombies, or in this case, a motorcycle Camelot. Another interesting thing about this film was the fact, that it is almost the bridge between Dawn of the Dead and Day of the Dead, and even the Night of the Living Dead remake, because he uses so many of the same actors that this film was filled with familiar faces. The plot doesn't make much sense, and a good part of the time you think Ed Harris is going insane. Half of the time I was asking myself what the fuck this movie meant, I don't have an answer for that, but I know what it meant to me.

My Verdict: while confusing, this movie deals with important subjects. Motorcycles, Jousting, Loyalty, Coming to terms with your sexuality, Motorcycles, Honor, Carnie royalty, and Motorcycles. Camelot is a state of mind and it's of the 101 near the sewage treatment plant.