Daily Blog Challenge post 20...
Yesterday's post was a bit of a cop-out, right? I just made a list movies that I thought could make for a good scenarios or adventure setting. It's not even a very long list..haha. Well, I've been trying of thinking of some ways to actually use them, and I'll likely turn them into some sort of semi-regular post of the rest of the month. The posts will mostly be loose notes and ideas on ways to use the plots, and possibly some of the characters, in different types of RPGs. There will definitely be some spoilers, so if you haven't had the "pleasure" of seeing all the films from yesterday's post yesterday, you may want to hold off on reading the posts related to those films.
Up first is the 1964 gore "masterpiece" 2000 Mainiacs, by H.G. Lewis!
Plot:
Six unsuspecting Yankees are lured into Pleasant Valley, a town is in the midst of a centennial celebration. What is unknown to the Yanks, is that the events commemorate the day a band of renegade Union troops decimated the town. The townspeople seek revenge on the northerners.
In a D&D setting, the adventurers could discover a civilization thought to be long dead. It would require a little set-up. It would probably help if the players knew that a certain race or intelligent species no longer existed in the game world. It could be a background part of the campaign setting or something that is revealed in an earlier point in the plot. Try introducing the lost civilization when the adventurers are in need. Maybe they barely escaped a fight and need healing. Or they are lost in the wilderness or dungeon. Maybe they are lost in an unknown location due to some sort of teleportation trap. The adventurers can be taken in, given food, medical attention, and shelter and are generally treated as guests of honor, but something isn't right. They slowly learn that things are not what they seem, just like in Pleasant Valley.
Who are these strange creatures? What do they want with the adventurers? Where did they come from? How do they fit into the extended campaign? That's for you to decide.
Showing posts with label movies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label movies. Show all posts
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Horrific Inspirations...
Daily Blog Challenge post 19. I'm kind of at a standstill here. I'm having a hard time coming up with a topic with which to wax poetic. With that said, I really do want to stick to my plan of 30 posts in 30 days. Seems like quite an accomplishment for such a new blogger. It's not that I don't have anything game related on my mind. Not that case at all, really. The problem is that most of my players are also readers. There are a few ideas that could probably be expanded here, but they would act as spoilers for the guys, and nobody needs that, right?
I'm in the process of reading James Raggi's Death Frost Doom, right now. The adventure takes some of it's inspiration from a classic cult horror film (which I'm trying to keep secret, since I hope to run it for my crew at some point. I have a feeling knowing the inspiration might take a little from the experience). So, since I'm a bit stumped for something to write about right now, I'm just going to make a list of ridiculous horror movies that I'd someday like to rip off for some inspiration for a one-off game setting/scenario:
I'm in the process of reading James Raggi's Death Frost Doom, right now. The adventure takes some of it's inspiration from a classic cult horror film (which I'm trying to keep secret, since I hope to run it for my crew at some point. I have a feeling knowing the inspiration might take a little from the experience). So, since I'm a bit stumped for something to write about right now, I'm just going to make a list of ridiculous horror movies that I'd someday like to rip off for some inspiration for a one-off game setting/scenario:
- 2000 Mainiacs
- City of the Living Dead
- The Beyond
- House by the Cemetery
- Werewolves on Wheels
- Race with he Devil
- Versus
- Mystics in Bali (actually, I'd run a whole campaign in this universe.)
- Demons
- Death Bed: The Bed That Eats (or maybe not...)
Friday, November 5, 2010
More on Stealing Your Game
Here's my forth post for the DBloC Challenge.
It's seems that topics tend to pop up around the same time in the blog world. It's possibly a random coincidence, or more likely, the result of looking for things you've been thinking about recently. Just yesterday, I made a post about plagiarizing from some of my favorite films and TV shows for game settings. Today, The Opportunist from the RPG Musings blog, wrote about "borrowing your plot" from other sources. Now, The Opportunist is a bit more accomplished a gamer and writer than I, and he makes some great points. He also reference some other good articles on the topic, including an earlier article he had written, an article from James Wyatt in his Dungeoncraft Column, and an article by Stephen Radney-McFarland published in his Save My Game Column.
So anyway, what does all this mean? Well, the Opportunist lays out a nice method for creating something unique from your borrowed ideas, combing scenes from Raiders of the Lost Ark and one of the Pirates of the Carribean films. Like I said yesterday, the goal here isn't to run your characters, point by point through the plot of a specific film or television episode, but to take a few key points and ideas and come up with something new and, hopefully, exciting. Using his methodology and my ideas, here's what I've come up with...possibly coming to a gaming table near you some day.
1: Think of a Story
I'm starting with Assault on Precinct 13 (the 1976 original by John Carpenter, not the 00s remake which I didn't bother seeing. In the film, a police precinct is under siege by what seems to be an unstoppable street gang.
2: Think of Another Story
Here I'm going with another gritty gang related film, The Warriors. In the film, a gang called The Warriors are framed for killing a gang leader trying to unite all the gangs in the area. They must get back to the home turf alive.
3: Key Events
Here's a concept that might work for a D&D group:
The PCs are passing through a town they have not visited in the past. The townspeople are receptive, but a bit apprehensive about the strange new visitors, as the town does not usually host outsiders. A rival of the town's leader, takes this opportunity to assassinate the leader. The rival, now the de facto leader, implicates the "outsiders" in the killing, and puts a bounty on their heads to cover for himself. The PCs must escape the town, possibly with limited casualties to the misguided townspeople, depending on the party's alignment. They discover an abandoned outpost near the town. Knowing they much too far from safety, they hole-up in the outpost and prepare for the siege.
What I find particularly interesting here is that you can make this all setting generic. It would work great in a gritty urban setting, where the PCs are gang members or police or innocent community members and they are defending an apartment building or police station. You could just as easily use this concept in a sci fi, pulp, or horror setting, by reskinning the threat. The PCs become adventurers, investigators, heroes, cattle rustlers, vampire hunters, etc. The threat becomes zombies, orcs, cultists, space pirates, etc. The stronghold becomes a farm house, a spaceship, a yacht, etc.
It's seems that topics tend to pop up around the same time in the blog world. It's possibly a random coincidence, or more likely, the result of looking for things you've been thinking about recently. Just yesterday, I made a post about plagiarizing from some of my favorite films and TV shows for game settings. Today, The Opportunist from the RPG Musings blog, wrote about "borrowing your plot" from other sources. Now, The Opportunist is a bit more accomplished a gamer and writer than I, and he makes some great points. He also reference some other good articles on the topic, including an earlier article he had written, an article from James Wyatt in his Dungeoncraft Column, and an article by Stephen Radney-McFarland published in his Save My Game Column.
So anyway, what does all this mean? Well, the Opportunist lays out a nice method for creating something unique from your borrowed ideas, combing scenes from Raiders of the Lost Ark and one of the Pirates of the Carribean films. Like I said yesterday, the goal here isn't to run your characters, point by point through the plot of a specific film or television episode, but to take a few key points and ideas and come up with something new and, hopefully, exciting. Using his methodology and my ideas, here's what I've come up with...possibly coming to a gaming table near you some day.
1: Think of a Story
I'm starting with Assault on Precinct 13 (the 1976 original by John Carpenter, not the 00s remake which I didn't bother seeing. In the film, a police precinct is under siege by what seems to be an unstoppable street gang.
2: Think of Another Story
Here I'm going with another gritty gang related film, The Warriors. In the film, a gang called The Warriors are framed for killing a gang leader trying to unite all the gangs in the area. They must get back to the home turf alive.
3: Key Events
Here's a concept that might work for a D&D group:
The PCs are passing through a town they have not visited in the past. The townspeople are receptive, but a bit apprehensive about the strange new visitors, as the town does not usually host outsiders. A rival of the town's leader, takes this opportunity to assassinate the leader. The rival, now the de facto leader, implicates the "outsiders" in the killing, and puts a bounty on their heads to cover for himself. The PCs must escape the town, possibly with limited casualties to the misguided townspeople, depending on the party's alignment. They discover an abandoned outpost near the town. Knowing they much too far from safety, they hole-up in the outpost and prepare for the siege.
What I find particularly interesting here is that you can make this all setting generic. It would work great in a gritty urban setting, where the PCs are gang members or police or innocent community members and they are defending an apartment building or police station. You could just as easily use this concept in a sci fi, pulp, or horror setting, by reskinning the threat. The PCs become adventurers, investigators, heroes, cattle rustlers, vampire hunters, etc. The threat becomes zombies, orcs, cultists, space pirates, etc. The stronghold becomes a farm house, a spaceship, a yacht, etc.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Going to try to resurrect this here blog
I dropped the ball. There for a while, I was watching way more than I could write about, so I gave up. I decided to give the writing a shot again, though. Still no specific plans for the direction my writing will go, but as before, expect some stuff about gaming, movies, beers...whatever I'm getting into.
Now playing?
Porno Groove - The Sounds of 70's Adult Films
Secret Stash Records and Fantasy Productions have teamed up to bring you the definitive Porno Groove collection. I grabbed this vinyl only compilation of songs from various Fantasy Productions films at Mindcure yesterday with some of the money I made that the Belvedere's record swap. The band, The Up Stroke, I assume was something of a house band at Fantasy, as they provided all the tracks here. Sure, it's got a little bit of the "wacka-chicka" vibe, it is 70s porn after all, but there really seems to be something more there. This stuff doesn't fall into all the tropes you are expecting. There is significant variety across the tracks, even if they all fall into the same general genre. I'm not ashamed to admit the draw of the comp was based on the connection to 70s cinema, adult or otherwise, over any overt interest in funk or soul. I'm really veering off my usual path here, after years of being locked down on punk and metal, with the occasional 70s-80s, usually synth oriented, horror soundtracks (Carpenter, Frizzi, Goblin).That said, I'm digging the smooth grooves. I've heard enough stuff like this in various forms of 70s cinema, that it sounds somewhat familiar, even with a fairly limited knowledge of the genre. I think this is going to be more of a download genre for me, as I really can't afford to get too involved in another area of collecting, but I'll probably continue to pick up other odds and ends, if I come across them.
If anyone can recommend some good blogs to explore more soundtrack recordings (porn, or otherwise), hook me up with some in the comments section. Thanks.
Now playing?
Porno Groove - The Sounds of 70's Adult Films
Secret Stash Records and Fantasy Productions have teamed up to bring you the definitive Porno Groove collection. I grabbed this vinyl only compilation of songs from various Fantasy Productions films at Mindcure yesterday with some of the money I made that the Belvedere's record swap. The band, The Up Stroke, I assume was something of a house band at Fantasy, as they provided all the tracks here. Sure, it's got a little bit of the "wacka-chicka" vibe, it is 70s porn after all, but there really seems to be something more there. This stuff doesn't fall into all the tropes you are expecting. There is significant variety across the tracks, even if they all fall into the same general genre. I'm not ashamed to admit the draw of the comp was based on the connection to 70s cinema, adult or otherwise, over any overt interest in funk or soul. I'm really veering off my usual path here, after years of being locked down on punk and metal, with the occasional 70s-80s, usually synth oriented, horror soundtracks (Carpenter, Frizzi, Goblin).That said, I'm digging the smooth grooves. I've heard enough stuff like this in various forms of 70s cinema, that it sounds somewhat familiar, even with a fairly limited knowledge of the genre. I think this is going to be more of a download genre for me, as I really can't afford to get too involved in another area of collecting, but I'll probably continue to pick up other odds and ends, if I come across them.
If anyone can recommend some good blogs to explore more soundtrack recordings (porn, or otherwise), hook me up with some in the comments section. Thanks.
Monday, February 15, 2010
For the love of lousy cinema!
We're 46 days into 2010 and I've already watched 26 movies, which is better than one every other day. If this weather holds up, I might be able to get that average up to one a day. In a related note, I got a Netflix subscription over the weekend, which will give me access to tons and tons of new stuff. I did stick a bunch of wrestling DVDs into my queue, and those won't count for the movies list (unless they are documentaries, like Beyond the Mat, for example).
I gotta dig through the movie list in the Australian Exploitation Film Documentary, "Not Quite Hollywood", that I watched yesterday. There were a bunch of films I'd like to add to my queue.
I gotta dig through the movie list in the Australian Exploitation Film Documentary, "Not Quite Hollywood", that I watched yesterday. There were a bunch of films I'd like to add to my queue.
Snowmageddon!
This snow has given me plenty of time to watch movies, but I've been lazy about writing them up. I'll probably continually update this post, as I get around to it, giving more detailed reviews. I'm also going to start listing the format, in case others are looking to see something. Stuff like Vanishing Point, She-Devils on Wheels and This Ain't Hollywood were all watched using the free streaming service on Netflix, for example.
11. The Great Escape
12. Bullit
13. The French Connection
These ran back to back on TCM last weekend. Damn. I missed the first hour of The Great Escape, but since I got to see hours 2 & 3, I figured I'd count it. I've seen it enough times to know what happened. TCM is great. I think these were uncut(?) or at least lightly cut and there were no commercials. I should watch that channel more often. AMC seems to show more movies I'm interested in though. (TV)
14. Serenity
I never much paid attention to Jos Whedon. I knew a lot of other nerds that just loved his stuff, especially Buffy, but I never watched it. Ever. I didn't even know about Firefly until well after this movie was made. Last summer, I noticed that all the episodes of Firefly were on Hulu, so I decided to see if they held up to the hype. After watching two, I was hooked, and sorely disappointed the series got dropped the way it did (but I guess I'm part of the problem, because I wasn't paying attention when it was on...oops). Anyway, due to fan demand, they released this film that continued the story of the member of Serenity. It played out like a big-budget extended episode of the series, which was great. I loved that they left it a bit open in-case there is a push for additional episodes or films in the future. (DVD)
15. Martyrs
Wow. Fucking brutal. Still not quite over this 5 days later. The French are making some intense stuff over the past decade. This new wave of French horror is very exciting to me, because it recalls many of the 70s exploitation and revenge films I'm so fond of. Very violent films based on real-life horrors, rather than ghosts and goblins (see also Baise-moi, Irreversible, Haute Tension, Inside, etc) Martyrs tells the story of a young girl who escapes from a life of abuse and ends up in a mental health facility. That's enough to get you started. See it.(DVD)
16. The Mist
I really had no interest in this, especially after the mixed reviews by friends who saw it. It seemed that some loved it and some hated it. I've never been much of a Stephen King fan, and I've never actually read the stroy this is based on, plus the CGI monsters even looked kind of lame in the trailer. All in all, not bad. Actually, way better than anticipated. I think they could have left a little more to the imagination, ala The Thing. You don't need to see EVERYTHING. A little more of the "we don't know what's out there" would have been refreshing. There were part I really liked and parts I hated. It was a bit over long, but in general, a fun flick. Well, not really fun. It was damn bleak, but yeah...you get the idea.(DVD)
17. Get Crazy
Most of Fear, Lou Reed, and Malcolm McDowell are in this movie. It's pretty lousy but fun. Ed Begley Jr. is a scum-bag business man who wants to put some famous club out of business (I think it's actually the Fillmore, in the movie). Essentially him and his lackey's try to sabotage the annual New Years Concert, which brings all kinds of "big stars" in for one night. It's supposed to be bands that got there start there, but are now huge superstar arena rockers. All the bands are fake, although it is clearly Lee Ving singing Hootchie Cootchie Man. It's free on Impact OnDemand right now if anyone is dying to see it. (Impact OnDaemand)
18. Blood Feast
Somehow, Brad never saw this little nugget of 60s gore. I've got about 1/2 the lines memorized. Such a classic piece of crap. I'm ready for the Egyptian feast! Amazing. (DVD)
19. Vanishing Point
Been meaning to watch this for a while and it fits in with all the other car chase/muscle car/road movies I've been watching. Signed up for Netflix this weekend and noticed it was available streaming. Nice. Watching this was partially inspired by Death Proof and the Dodge Challenger at the end. (Netlix Ondemand)
20. She Devils on Wheels
Kind of crappy female biker flick from HG Lewis. Kind of fails because it's not as gory as his gore flicks or as nudie as his nudie flicks. Pretty slow, too. Stick to his gore flicks. (Netflix onDemand)
21. Not Quite Hollywood
Awesome documentary about Australian exploitation. Covers Sexploitation, Horror and Action, mostly. Talk to the directors, stars, etc. I don't know a whole lot about Australian genre films, aside from Patrick and The Road Warrior, and this inspired me to dig deeper. One of the better documentaries about the film industry I've seen. Tons of gore and nudity clips from the movies, too. Awesome. (Netflix onDemand)
22. The Werewolf
50s werewolf movie cashing in the renewed popularity of the Universal flicks, I'm guessing. Not bad. Takes place in the US. Lycanthropy caused by medical experimentation. Cool concept, but a little slow. (On Fearnet onDemand)
23. Planet Terror
24. Death Proof
I actually own the Japanese Grindhouse box set, and it has the theatrical release as a double feature, with the trailers and other stuff in tact. I think this version is far superior to the American DVD releases, but whatever. (DVD)
25.GORP
Stupid 80s sex-comedy with Fran Drescher and Dennis Quaide. Really awful, but it had a few moments. (On Impact OnDemand)
26. See No Evil
Horror vehicle for WWE wrestler Kane. Typical Lion's Gate fare. Kinda hot dudes and chicks in a gory little mess of a movie. There are some good things and bad things about it, but if you go in expecting complete shit, you'll probably be pleasantly surprised. I actually saw this theatrically because I over heard the dudes working in Incredibly Strange Video talking about how it wasn't as bad as they thought it would be. How's that for a ringing endorsement? (DVD)
11. The Great Escape
12. Bullit
13. The French Connection
These ran back to back on TCM last weekend. Damn. I missed the first hour of The Great Escape, but since I got to see hours 2 & 3, I figured I'd count it. I've seen it enough times to know what happened. TCM is great. I think these were uncut(?) or at least lightly cut and there were no commercials. I should watch that channel more often. AMC seems to show more movies I'm interested in though. (TV)
14. Serenity
I never much paid attention to Jos Whedon. I knew a lot of other nerds that just loved his stuff, especially Buffy, but I never watched it. Ever. I didn't even know about Firefly until well after this movie was made. Last summer, I noticed that all the episodes of Firefly were on Hulu, so I decided to see if they held up to the hype. After watching two, I was hooked, and sorely disappointed the series got dropped the way it did (but I guess I'm part of the problem, because I wasn't paying attention when it was on...oops). Anyway, due to fan demand, they released this film that continued the story of the member of Serenity. It played out like a big-budget extended episode of the series, which was great. I loved that they left it a bit open in-case there is a push for additional episodes or films in the future. (DVD)
15. Martyrs
Wow. Fucking brutal. Still not quite over this 5 days later. The French are making some intense stuff over the past decade. This new wave of French horror is very exciting to me, because it recalls many of the 70s exploitation and revenge films I'm so fond of. Very violent films based on real-life horrors, rather than ghosts and goblins (see also Baise-moi, Irreversible, Haute Tension, Inside, etc) Martyrs tells the story of a young girl who escapes from a life of abuse and ends up in a mental health facility. That's enough to get you started. See it.(DVD)
16. The Mist
I really had no interest in this, especially after the mixed reviews by friends who saw it. It seemed that some loved it and some hated it. I've never been much of a Stephen King fan, and I've never actually read the stroy this is based on, plus the CGI monsters even looked kind of lame in the trailer. All in all, not bad. Actually, way better than anticipated. I think they could have left a little more to the imagination, ala The Thing. You don't need to see EVERYTHING. A little more of the "we don't know what's out there" would have been refreshing. There were part I really liked and parts I hated. It was a bit over long, but in general, a fun flick. Well, not really fun. It was damn bleak, but yeah...you get the idea.(DVD)
17. Get Crazy
Most of Fear, Lou Reed, and Malcolm McDowell are in this movie. It's pretty lousy but fun. Ed Begley Jr. is a scum-bag business man who wants to put some famous club out of business (I think it's actually the Fillmore, in the movie). Essentially him and his lackey's try to sabotage the annual New Years Concert, which brings all kinds of "big stars" in for one night. It's supposed to be bands that got there start there, but are now huge superstar arena rockers. All the bands are fake, although it is clearly Lee Ving singing Hootchie Cootchie Man. It's free on Impact OnDemand right now if anyone is dying to see it. (Impact OnDaemand)
18. Blood Feast
Somehow, Brad never saw this little nugget of 60s gore. I've got about 1/2 the lines memorized. Such a classic piece of crap. I'm ready for the Egyptian feast! Amazing. (DVD)
19. Vanishing Point
Been meaning to watch this for a while and it fits in with all the other car chase/muscle car/road movies I've been watching. Signed up for Netflix this weekend and noticed it was available streaming. Nice. Watching this was partially inspired by Death Proof and the Dodge Challenger at the end. (Netlix Ondemand)
20. She Devils on Wheels
Kind of crappy female biker flick from HG Lewis. Kind of fails because it's not as gory as his gore flicks or as nudie as his nudie flicks. Pretty slow, too. Stick to his gore flicks. (Netflix onDemand)
21. Not Quite Hollywood
Awesome documentary about Australian exploitation. Covers Sexploitation, Horror and Action, mostly. Talk to the directors, stars, etc. I don't know a whole lot about Australian genre films, aside from Patrick and The Road Warrior, and this inspired me to dig deeper. One of the better documentaries about the film industry I've seen. Tons of gore and nudity clips from the movies, too. Awesome. (Netflix onDemand)
22. The Werewolf
50s werewolf movie cashing in the renewed popularity of the Universal flicks, I'm guessing. Not bad. Takes place in the US. Lycanthropy caused by medical experimentation. Cool concept, but a little slow. (On Fearnet onDemand)
23. Planet Terror
24. Death Proof
I actually own the Japanese Grindhouse box set, and it has the theatrical release as a double feature, with the trailers and other stuff in tact. I think this version is far superior to the American DVD releases, but whatever. (DVD)
25.GORP
Stupid 80s sex-comedy with Fran Drescher and Dennis Quaide. Really awful, but it had a few moments. (On Impact OnDemand)
26. See No Evil
Horror vehicle for WWE wrestler Kane. Typical Lion's Gate fare. Kinda hot dudes and chicks in a gory little mess of a movie. There are some good things and bad things about it, but if you go in expecting complete shit, you'll probably be pleasantly surprised. I actually saw this theatrically because I over heard the dudes working in Incredibly Strange Video talking about how it wasn't as bad as they thought it would be. How's that for a ringing endorsement? (DVD)
Monday, February 8, 2010
More Movies. Been lazy about writing
7. Until the Light Takes Us
Question for people that didn't know the story before going in...Did it make any sense? I was sitting there wondering that the whole time...it seemed so disjointed. Jumping from Varg rambling about corn flakes and posers to Fenriz walking around and smoking to Varg talking about stockpiling weapons to to some pictures of people who died to robot voice Faust to Fenriz walking around smoking cigarettes some more to Varg talking about varg burning churches to stock footage of Norwegian news to Varg talking about how awesome jail is because he got to read a lot of books to Fenriz almost in tears about how trendy BM was getting to a bunch of random pictures of Varg to Frost walking around then riding an airplane to uhh...what is this performance art thing? Is that Frost or some artist in corspe paint? They were just talking to Frost, so I think that is him, but maybe not...hmm....
The whole thing seemed "messy" or something. I felt like the director kind of failed to tell a story. Conceptually, I like the idea of them trying to play Varg and Fenriz as foils, but they ended up just being talking heads on the screen. If you're at all familiar with this scene, it's nothing new. I thought the mini-doc that's a bonus feature on "Metal: A Headbangers Journey" did it a lot better, and it about 30 minutes, but whatever. It's still cool that it actually played here.
8. Dirty Mary and Crazy Larry
Yeah...keeping up with the car chase movies I mentioned in my last post about movies. I picked up this DVD because I think they name-dropped it in Death Proof. I don't really know much about gearhead/car chase movies, but this one is pretty rad. Peter "I rarely survive a movie I'm in" Fonda, plays Larry, a down on his luck Nascar driver who needs money fast. Along with his mechanic, they hold up a grocery store then run from the cops. Mary, a local girl with a thing for the Larry, jumps in to increase the mayhem. The acting is actually pretty good and there are some genuinely tense moments between characters. The cops sort of get the "Dukes of Hazard" treatment, constantly ending up in ditches, but it works. I barely know anything about cars, but I know I like Dodge Chargers and this movie has Dodge Chargers!
9. Race With the Devil
We were looking for something to watch while the snow poured down Friday night. Here's another one Brad borrowed from his coworker, which also features some good chase scenes, but this time it's a satanic cult chasing Peter Fonda, Warren Oates, and Loretta "Hot Lips" Swit in an RV! How's that for mixing it up?! Anyway, this is pretty much straight up drive-in fare, with Oates and Fonda witnessing a satanic ritual/murder. The cult catches on and starts chasing them. Every where they turn for help, they get a cold shoulder. Eventually the viewer picks up that this is bigger than just a cult, as horrible things happen every time they stop the vehicle. Snake attack, low-bridge gag, and the satanic ritual were definitely the highlights for me.
10. Two Lane Black Top
The snow was still falling Friday night, so we knew we weren't going anywhere, so we decided to pop in this early 70s cult classic, starring James Taylor as Driver, Dennis Wilson as Mechanic, and Warren Oates as GTO. I still don't really know what the hell is going on with this movie, but I liked it. Is it really just a road movie or is it THE road movie. Is it just a couple gearheads traveling across the country or do they represent something larger? And why cast a couple of musicians who can barely act? For the name recognition? Is that it or something else? The film left me with so many questions and very few answers, but sometimes that's okay. I can't imagine a better representation of the isolation of the road. There are millions of others traveling those same roads, yet you know nothing about them. I know very little about the "art of film making", but the pacing, lighting, dialog, even acting (or lack there of), really pushed this beyond "just a movie" for me, but I'm still not sure why. Weird stuff.
Question for people that didn't know the story before going in...Did it make any sense? I was sitting there wondering that the whole time...it seemed so disjointed. Jumping from Varg rambling about corn flakes and posers to Fenriz walking around and smoking to Varg talking about stockpiling weapons to to some pictures of people who died to robot voice Faust to Fenriz walking around smoking cigarettes some more to Varg talking about varg burning churches to stock footage of Norwegian news to Varg talking about how awesome jail is because he got to read a lot of books to Fenriz almost in tears about how trendy BM was getting to a bunch of random pictures of Varg to Frost walking around then riding an airplane to uhh...what is this performance art thing? Is that Frost or some artist in corspe paint? They were just talking to Frost, so I think that is him, but maybe not...hmm....
The whole thing seemed "messy" or something. I felt like the director kind of failed to tell a story. Conceptually, I like the idea of them trying to play Varg and Fenriz as foils, but they ended up just being talking heads on the screen. If you're at all familiar with this scene, it's nothing new. I thought the mini-doc that's a bonus feature on "Metal: A Headbangers Journey" did it a lot better, and it about 30 minutes, but whatever. It's still cool that it actually played here.
8. Dirty Mary and Crazy Larry
Yeah...keeping up with the car chase movies I mentioned in my last post about movies. I picked up this DVD because I think they name-dropped it in Death Proof. I don't really know much about gearhead/car chase movies, but this one is pretty rad. Peter "I rarely survive a movie I'm in" Fonda, plays Larry, a down on his luck Nascar driver who needs money fast. Along with his mechanic, they hold up a grocery store then run from the cops. Mary, a local girl with a thing for the Larry, jumps in to increase the mayhem. The acting is actually pretty good and there are some genuinely tense moments between characters. The cops sort of get the "Dukes of Hazard" treatment, constantly ending up in ditches, but it works. I barely know anything about cars, but I know I like Dodge Chargers and this movie has Dodge Chargers!
9. Race With the Devil
We were looking for something to watch while the snow poured down Friday night. Here's another one Brad borrowed from his coworker, which also features some good chase scenes, but this time it's a satanic cult chasing Peter Fonda, Warren Oates, and Loretta "Hot Lips" Swit in an RV! How's that for mixing it up?! Anyway, this is pretty much straight up drive-in fare, with Oates and Fonda witnessing a satanic ritual/murder. The cult catches on and starts chasing them. Every where they turn for help, they get a cold shoulder. Eventually the viewer picks up that this is bigger than just a cult, as horrible things happen every time they stop the vehicle. Snake attack, low-bridge gag, and the satanic ritual were definitely the highlights for me.
10. Two Lane Black Top
The snow was still falling Friday night, so we knew we weren't going anywhere, so we decided to pop in this early 70s cult classic, starring James Taylor as Driver, Dennis Wilson as Mechanic, and Warren Oates as GTO. I still don't really know what the hell is going on with this movie, but I liked it. Is it really just a road movie or is it THE road movie. Is it just a couple gearheads traveling across the country or do they represent something larger? And why cast a couple of musicians who can barely act? For the name recognition? Is that it or something else? The film left me with so many questions and very few answers, but sometimes that's okay. I can't imagine a better representation of the isolation of the road. There are millions of others traveling those same roads, yet you know nothing about them. I know very little about the "art of film making", but the pacing, lighting, dialog, even acting (or lack there of), really pushed this beyond "just a movie" for me, but I'm still not sure why. Weird stuff.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Werewolves, Bikers, and 'bots
Just another update to the 2010 movie list...
4. Werewolves on Wheels
Surprisingly, I didn't have anything to do on a Friday night [ahem], so Tim came over for some movies. Brad would be showing up for the second half of the double feature. After watching CM Punk shave a nice young lady's head, to induct her into his straight edge lifestyle and ordering the pizzas, we popped 70s cult favorite, Werewolves on Wheels into the DVD player. Clearly cashing in on the popularity of Easy Rider, W.O.W. throws our unlovable gang of bikers (The Devil's Advocates), into the world of Satanic cults. Not realizing they've been cursed, and unwilling to listen to the mystical compatriot, Tarot, they continue on their way, overlooking the mysterious deaths amongst their ranks. Although kind of light on the werewolves and kind of heavy on the wheels, it's a fun little "trip" (Get it? Bikers use drugs...uh...) of bad editing, weird camera angles, and bad special effects. At points, it comes off like a ham-fisted art house flick meets the midnight movie, but it works. It entertains, and that's all it's supposed to do, right?
While killing time, waiting on Brad, we checked out the trailers on the disk and found one for The Losers, a Vietnam-era biker flick meets rescue mission, but more on that below. We decided we needed to track down the film, based solely on the trailer.
5. The Losers aka Nam's Angels
6. Futureworld
Impact OnDemand might be my favorite thing about having cable. It's one of the Free Movie channels from the OnDemand menu and features dozens of grimy action flicks every month. Sci-fi, sexploitation, blaxploitation, trash, grindhouse, sleazy comedy. Good stuff, and much more likely to have something interesting than FearNet it seems. Anyway, they must have purchased the rights to all of the American International Films, because they've always got tons of them listed. Today, I decided to check out Future World. I'm familiar with he franchise, remembering the Westworld box from visiting the video store as a kid. Somehow, I'd never seen either movie, which is a shame. From what I can tell (what they told me in the movie), one of the robots in futuristic amusement park Westworld went crazy, killed some people, and got the whole place shut down. They spent billions to get everything back on track and are reopening, but there is a sinister plot to take over the world by replacing high ranking international politicians. Pretty wild. Gotta track down a copy of Westworld now...hmm.
Up next, I'm gonna do a car chase block, I think. It will probably be Death Proof, Two-Lane Blacktop, and Dirty Mary and Crazy Larry, because I have them lying around. I'll have to see if I can track down Vanishing Point, White Line Fever or Gone in 60 Seconds.
4. Werewolves on Wheels
Surprisingly, I didn't have anything to do on a Friday night [ahem], so Tim came over for some movies. Brad would be showing up for the second half of the double feature. After watching CM Punk shave a nice young lady's head, to induct her into his straight edge lifestyle and ordering the pizzas, we popped 70s cult favorite, Werewolves on Wheels into the DVD player. Clearly cashing in on the popularity of Easy Rider, W.O.W. throws our unlovable gang of bikers (The Devil's Advocates), into the world of Satanic cults. Not realizing they've been cursed, and unwilling to listen to the mystical compatriot, Tarot, they continue on their way, overlooking the mysterious deaths amongst their ranks. Although kind of light on the werewolves and kind of heavy on the wheels, it's a fun little "trip" (Get it? Bikers use drugs...uh...) of bad editing, weird camera angles, and bad special effects. At points, it comes off like a ham-fisted art house flick meets the midnight movie, but it works. It entertains, and that's all it's supposed to do, right?
While killing time, waiting on Brad, we checked out the trailers on the disk and found one for The Losers, a Vietnam-era biker flick meets rescue mission, but more on that below. We decided we needed to track down the film, based solely on the trailer.
5. The Losers aka Nam's Angels
After telling Brad all about The Losers and how "WE NEED TO SEE IT", he informs us that it was sitting mere inches away from us the whole evening. As a strange coincidence, he had borrowed if from a coworker a few weeks ago and hadn't gotten around to watching the damn thing. He produces the VHS tape from a pile on the coffee table and we pop it in the VCR. The tape had seen better days, but it was watchable. The film on the other hand was a bit...um...rough. As is often the case, the trailer showed almost all the good parts, and those parts all happened about 85 minutes into the 90 minute film. A rag tag gang of bikers/soldiers are brought in on a mission to rescue an American POW. Released at the peak of the Vietnam conflict (1970), the film didn't pull any punches, even alluding to America's illegal bombings in Cambodia. Unfortunately, the band of bikers (again, the Devil's Advocates, weird), aren't really that likable, so it's kind of hard to care when they are getting screwed over. Unfortunately, I think we were victims of the trailer, this time. If I had watched this cold, I probably would have been all over it, but I over-hyped myself. Not that I disliked the flick, it just wasn't the over-the-top chaos I was expecting.
6. Futureworld
Impact OnDemand might be my favorite thing about having cable. It's one of the Free Movie channels from the OnDemand menu and features dozens of grimy action flicks every month. Sci-fi, sexploitation, blaxploitation, trash, grindhouse, sleazy comedy. Good stuff, and much more likely to have something interesting than FearNet it seems. Anyway, they must have purchased the rights to all of the American International Films, because they've always got tons of them listed. Today, I decided to check out Future World. I'm familiar with he franchise, remembering the Westworld box from visiting the video store as a kid. Somehow, I'd never seen either movie, which is a shame. From what I can tell (what they told me in the movie), one of the robots in futuristic amusement park Westworld went crazy, killed some people, and got the whole place shut down. They spent billions to get everything back on track and are reopening, but there is a sinister plot to take over the world by replacing high ranking international politicians. Pretty wild. Gotta track down a copy of Westworld now...hmm.
Up next, I'm gonna do a car chase block, I think. It will probably be Death Proof, Two-Lane Blacktop, and Dirty Mary and Crazy Larry, because I have them lying around. I'll have to see if I can track down Vanishing Point, White Line Fever or Gone in 60 Seconds.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Supertrash January 15th, 2010
A couple more movie updates.
The Warhol Museum, is showing exploitation film double features in conjunction with the Supertrash poster show. The show runs until the end of the month, so if you're a fan of exploitation, horror, action, or 70s porn, I highly recommend checking out the show.
This past Friday was the next to last double feature, with William Friedkin's "Cruising" and "Can't Stop the Music" starring the Village People (?!?!?).
2. Cruising
Directed by William Friedkin (most know for the Exorcist) and starring post-Godfather, pre-Scarface Al Pacino, Cruising tells the story of an under cover New York Cop (Pacino as Steve Burns) trying to catch a serial killer terrorizing the late 70s New York leather bar scene. I'd seen the trailer a few times, but never the whole film. It is a very gritty (and most likely, exaggerated) depiction of a small subset of the gay culture in a very specific time period, and for that alone, it was interesting. It's rumored that nearly 40 minutes of the film was cut to get an R rating. Friedkin claims it had no direct effect on the plot, but I sort of find that hard to believe. Many strings are left untied, and in the end, it's still quite unclear exactly what the film is trying to tell the viewer. Was Burns correct? Or was he the killer? Or did this lifestyle lead to violence, and there were multiple killers? Has Burns been changed by this whole event, or will he be able to leave it in his past? Overall, an "enjoyable" experience, especially for those interested in very grimy New York exploitation films, even if this is really the intended audience.
3. Can't Stop the Music
Wow! Just wow! What a double feature. Straight from the S&M serial killer to the pseudo-documentary about the Village People and co-starring Olympian Bruce Jenner and Steve Gutenberg. I have to admit, the only thing I know about the Village People is like two songs, so I have no idea if this film even depicts any level of reality. I'm guessing the answer is no, but stranger things have happened. Essentially, this is the gay disco version of the Muppets Take Manhattan or something. Overly long, clocking in at over 2 hours, it's generally entertaining, although they could have cut most of the musical numbers completely to suit my tastes. Generally known as one of the worst movies of 1980, garnering plenty of Golden Raspberry nominations and winning (losing??) for Worst Screenplay and Worst Picture. I'm not sure I could sit through it again, but I'd highly recommend it to any fans of high camp, so bad it's good, garbage cinema.
The Warhol Museum, is showing exploitation film double features in conjunction with the Supertrash poster show. The show runs until the end of the month, so if you're a fan of exploitation, horror, action, or 70s porn, I highly recommend checking out the show.
This past Friday was the next to last double feature, with William Friedkin's "Cruising" and "Can't Stop the Music" starring the Village People (?!?!?).
2. Cruising
Directed by William Friedkin (most know for the Exorcist) and starring post-Godfather, pre-Scarface Al Pacino, Cruising tells the story of an under cover New York Cop (Pacino as Steve Burns) trying to catch a serial killer terrorizing the late 70s New York leather bar scene. I'd seen the trailer a few times, but never the whole film. It is a very gritty (and most likely, exaggerated) depiction of a small subset of the gay culture in a very specific time period, and for that alone, it was interesting. It's rumored that nearly 40 minutes of the film was cut to get an R rating. Friedkin claims it had no direct effect on the plot, but I sort of find that hard to believe. Many strings are left untied, and in the end, it's still quite unclear exactly what the film is trying to tell the viewer. Was Burns correct? Or was he the killer? Or did this lifestyle lead to violence, and there were multiple killers? Has Burns been changed by this whole event, or will he be able to leave it in his past? Overall, an "enjoyable" experience, especially for those interested in very grimy New York exploitation films, even if this is really the intended audience.
3. Can't Stop the Music
Wow! Just wow! What a double feature. Straight from the S&M serial killer to the pseudo-documentary about the Village People and co-starring Olympian Bruce Jenner and Steve Gutenberg. I have to admit, the only thing I know about the Village People is like two songs, so I have no idea if this film even depicts any level of reality. I'm guessing the answer is no, but stranger things have happened. Essentially, this is the gay disco version of the Muppets Take Manhattan or something. Overly long, clocking in at over 2 hours, it's generally entertaining, although they could have cut most of the musical numbers completely to suit my tastes. Generally known as one of the worst movies of 1980, garnering plenty of Golden Raspberry nominations and winning (losing??) for Worst Screenplay and Worst Picture. I'm not sure I could sit through it again, but I'd highly recommend it to any fans of high camp, so bad it's good, garbage cinema.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
2010 Film List
One thing I hope to regularly blog about is movies I've seen this year. I'll provide brief reviews and recommendations, where appropriate.
I was sick on New Years, so I decided to stay in rather than participate in any public debauchery. Since we were watching Freddie Got Fingered when the ball dropped (how appropriate), that's going to be my first film of the year.
1. Freddy Got Fingered
Sometime around 2001, someone at Regency Enterprises and 20th Century Fox decided it would be a good idea to give MTV favorite Tom Green some money for a feature film. Personally, I applaud the decision. Freddy Got Fingered, tells the story of out-of-work cartoonist Gord Brody (Green), and his misadventures when he has to move back in with the family. Honestly, the plot is not the reason you pop this disk into the DVD. Green goes significantly out of his way to offend, confuse, and disturb the viewer. Every gross-out gag is exploited to the fullest (it was originally pegged with an NC-17, and there are a few moments that I'm a bit surprised made it through in the R cut in 2001). One of my favorite comedies of the 00s, I highly recommend it to anyone who handle it's moronic, low-brow humor. Certainly not for the faint of heart or strong of mind.
I was sick on New Years, so I decided to stay in rather than participate in any public debauchery. Since we were watching Freddie Got Fingered when the ball dropped (how appropriate), that's going to be my first film of the year.
1. Freddy Got Fingered
Sometime around 2001, someone at Regency Enterprises and 20th Century Fox decided it would be a good idea to give MTV favorite Tom Green some money for a feature film. Personally, I applaud the decision. Freddy Got Fingered, tells the story of out-of-work cartoonist Gord Brody (Green), and his misadventures when he has to move back in with the family. Honestly, the plot is not the reason you pop this disk into the DVD. Green goes significantly out of his way to offend, confuse, and disturb the viewer. Every gross-out gag is exploited to the fullest (it was originally pegged with an NC-17, and there are a few moments that I'm a bit surprised made it through in the R cut in 2001). One of my favorite comedies of the 00s, I highly recommend it to anyone who handle it's moronic, low-brow humor. Certainly not for the faint of heart or strong of mind.
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