Here's a still from Wes Meaux's Walking Dead fan film. I make such an angry zombie (the one on the right) I wasn't really acting, I only had an hour of sleep that night
I did have this uber depressed blog written due to a series of events that happened on August 1st, but I thankfully deleted it. Instead I figured my return to blogging should be considerably quieter. Every summer there is a series of foreign or made for DVD films that make for a great alternative to the glossiness of the Hollywood machine. And now with HD or in my case an HD projector you can imitate a summer movie experience for the price of a movie rental. Here are a couple "quiet" summer flicks you may not know about..or even care about.
5. Wargames: The Dead Code: There has been a plethora of made for DVD sequels to big budget films this summer. Even those that were badly reviewed had surprisingly good productions values for a direct to DVD (namely the ghastly but good looking Lost Boys the Tribe and the costly Starship Troopers 3) The Dead Code is no exception. I think what made me enjoy this more then the average person is I rewatched Wargames moments before popping the Dead Code in. I was pleasantly surprise to find out this wasn't a stand alone story as I had originally thought. It connects rather well to the original and references our culture of Facebook ,My Space, and World Of Warcraft better then any movie I've seen in a while.
4. Machine Girl: One of the first flicks I saw this summer, the film is a satire of Grindhouse films and those trashy Asian films we used to hide and watch with our geek friends in Jr. High. I don't even think I could describe this one just check the trailer out…
3. L: Change The World: Much like the recent X- Files film I really wish this would have added more to its source's mythology, but as a stand alone film it's not too shabby. It's weird to see L from Death Note fame involved in a case that normally a James Bond type would handle. L is racing to stop a deadly virus from being released by some crazy environmental group headed up by a rogue agent from L's agency. It has car chases, explosions, a global threat…all the things that make a summer blockbuster great
2. Stargate: Continuum: This stands out above the group as being the best direct to DVD this summer and probably the most theatrical. The films biggest flaws are the first 5 min and last 5 min feel like an episode of the TV series, but once we get into the meat of the film it's fucking fabulous. It's a very epic story that takes place over the course of a year and shakes the fabric of the whole Stargate universe. Not a whole lot of knowledge about the series is required but it helps some.
1.Poultrygeist: I was extremely impressed when I read this newest Troma film was beating Speed Racer in it's per theater grosses. That might not sound like a lot in Hollywood standards, but we are talking about a Troma film. And what a fucking Troma film! It has everything…fuck it's even a musical. Up until The Dark Knight this was the best film I've seen this summer and here's a taste as to why:
No not tittytown...which actually sounds like a good place to go right now, but if you have been watching ESPN you know that Parkersburg is competing with the big boys of sports to grab Titletown USA. For more info check out the video below:
I ask everyone to head to the following link: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/titletown/index and cast your vote for my hometown. You can vote as many times as you want to, there's no limit.
Most of my love for trashy films came from my Dad. I used to make jokes growing up about the films Dad would pick up at the video rental store. They had to feature shoot outs…in a strip club, had to feature character development…in a strip club, had to feature love scenes…in…yes a strip club. A lot of films were obscure and usually starred Shannon Tweed but once in a while we would get some big budget trash. Travis and I spoke for couple of hours tonight on the subject of the films my Dad would let me watch growing up. During our discussion I felt nostalgic, a film popped into my head that was a sure fire winner for my Dad. How can you go wrong with man's man Bruce Willis and hooters? Well in 1994 a lot went wrong, legendary director Richard Rush hadn't been behind the camera since 1980's excellent The Stunt Man, and his big come back was balls to the wall. With The Stunt Man, Rush was nominated for Best Director at the Oscars, for his next film he was nominated for Best Director again but this time it was at the Razzies. None of that matter though in a living room inside of a middle class home resting on the border of Ohio and West Virginia in 1994 as a 16 year old had some bonding time with his father. There was nothing like father and son connecting over glimpses of Jane March's bush. Color of Night might have been a bad film in almost everyone else's eyes but it was time with my father, and that holds it in high regard for me. So how do I feel about it now? Honestly I'm not sure. All I have is my memories; I haven't seen it since I was 16. Its 14 years later and I feel it's time to revisit the film. I'm kind of afraid to; I fear it will ruin my good memories to watch it now. Then again maybe I'll recapture something. Sometimes when you have a lot of friends who are film fans it can become overwhelming. Don't get me wrong I wouldn't give up any of the people I have met in the last two years for the world. But when you have a lot of similar friends who are as expert as you are in a subject, its human nature to get in to a dick waving contest, I'm man enough to admit I've waived my dick around on occasion, there's nothing wrong with it and it's all in fun. Sometimes I think it's easy to get caught up in it all and forget the moments that made you love film in the first place. A lot of times the moments we are the fondest of are not the first time we saw Godfather II but the first time we stayed up late at night and watched One Crazy Summer on HBO. I'm hoping (if I'm able to) by tracking down Color of Night, I'll be able to remember what it was like to be 16 again. I think it would be nice to go back in time 14 years for 2 hours, and worst case? I'll get to see Jane March's bush and there is no harm in that.
Couldn't find the trailer but I did find this strange music video
virginal
