So….. My brother and I randomly sat down to try our hand at a podcast!
Sadly, I think I derailed some of the finer points he was trying to make, but oh well, it was fun to make.
Here’s hoping we do it again sometime!
It’s funny, as the release date for The Avengers slowly draws nearer, I’m starting to realize more and more the fact that there’s very little chance of it being shitty.
I have a great deal of love for Marvel comics, so just getting a chance to see the characters of that universe being brought to life in 200 million dollar budgeted films is enough to make me happy.
It doesn’t matter so much if the acting is great, or the plot deeply layered, as long I get to see the spirit and energy of the characters brought to life, there’s very little chance I’ll walk away from an Avengers movie wanting my money back.
Then again, I would’ve said the same about Transformers, that is, until Michael Bay dumped ass all over my childhood and raped my wallet…
TWICE.
"I swear I will not kill anyone... But I WILL shit on all of your childhood heroes."
That being said, while it’s a bit difficult to determine exactly what the plot of the movie is based on the trailer, (as should be the case, given that it’s only the first theatrical trailer) in many ways I applaud the marketing folks over at Marvel/Disney for cramming in screen time for virtually all of the heavy hitters that have been confirmed to be appearing in the film.
Tom Hiddleston’sLoki appears to be the central villain of the film, though based on the uncertain events at the conclusion of Captain America, in my mind it’s entirely possible that Red Skull could have a hand in things as well.
My bet is, he does.
Given the Hulk’s unstable nature, as well as the plot of the first Avengers comic, I’m guessing he’s going to end up being manipulated by Loki at some point; resulting in a heel/face turn at some point in the film.
I don't think I'm alone in saying I'd like to see a bit of THIS somewhere in there though.
Speaking of the Hulk, his reveal at the end of the trailer was well utilized, as he’s the one confirmed Avenger we really haven’t seen up to this point.
Despite no shortage of explosions and FX shots though, I can’t help but feel that this first trailer was cut from footage of a yet unfinished product.
At least I hope that’s the case.
There are numerous shots that feel very “static,” lacking in energy and purpose to a degree that they feel almost amateurish.
Seriously man, count how many shots there are of single characters, standing in boring and vacant locations.
"DURRR!!! I'M THE BLACK WIDOW AND I JUST FARTED A BUS EXPLOSION! DURRR!!!"
Chances are you’ll run out of fingers and toes on that one.
At the same time, many of the FX shots, particularly some of the exploding cars, look to me as if they are meant to be templates for CGI compositing.
It’s rare to see explosions in Hollywood films these days where the detonation source and materials seem plainly visible, and as such; I wouldn’t be surprised if the aforementioned exploding car shots are awaiting some sort of energy beam effects to cover all that up.
It’s funny, as I write this nitpicky article, I can’t help but be reminded of the early trailers for Iron Man.
I remember seeing the early TV spots for Iron Man, and being largely unimpressed.
I don’t know if you recall, but the pacing of these commercials was very weak, and some of the effects shots were not quite finished, resulting in advertisements that didn’t at all reflect the awesomeness of the final product.
Compare this early TV spot:
To the later released full trailer here:
Not only is the composition better, the special effects, particularly in the “tank shot” sequence, are rendered with more detail and smoother animation.
When you’re dealing with effects heavy films like this, it’s entirely possible that the computer effects crew will end up working on the project up until the release date.
While I could be wrong, I’m really hoping this is the case with The Avengers, as while it looks totally acceptable at this point, it doesn’t look at all exceptional.
What else can I say about this?:
Captain America’s costume looks a little bit too stretchy and “pajama-y” for me to give it a thumbs up.
Am I wrong in thinking it looks kind of like the live-action Kick-Ass costume?
Hank Pym should get a nod or a cameo, as I’d love to see The Vision or Ultron show up in a movie someday.
Kudos to the marketing department for excluding any and all shots of the Avengers working together or “assembling,” as that’s one of those oh-so-important fanboy moments that’s probably best left for the theaters.
Here’s hoping Agent Coulson gets an action beat somewhere in there, ’cause he’s been consistently fun over the years.
I’ve got my fingers crossed that the always solid Jeremy Renner won’t suck asĀ Hawkeye… ‘Cause let’s face it: he’s Hawkeye.
"Who? Me?"
For once I’m actually hoping Joss Whedon decides to “George Lucas” his movie with distracting lights and colors in every shot.
Seriously man, this is the fuckin’ Avengers movie.
It’s only gonna’ premiere once, and you’ve been hyping it for like 4-5 years now.
Go balls out, or don’t waste my motherfuckin’ time.
No Avengers film, or any film for that matter, should have boring-ass shots of The Black Widow standing ever so casually in front of pitiful exploding buses, or for that matter; Nick Fury firing rocket launchers while standing in front of my dad’s garage.
BOH-RRRRRIIIIING.
Anyway, that’s about all I’ve got to say on this one, hopefully it turns out fun for everyone, ’cause at this point if any one film this coming year could hope make good on that promise, it’d have to be The Avengers.
If it does in fact start to suck when I’m in the theater though, I know exactly the phrase that’s going to come to mind:
In a market where film studios routinely invest upwards of 100 million dollars on their high profile projects, it only makes sense that producers would display a preference to go with “whatever works.”
According to Michael Bay (and ONLY Michael Bay) this, is what "works."
This of course results in a lot of studios continually aping each other’s films from year to year in hopes of breaking even, or better yet; turning a profit.
In my lifetime alone, I can think of several trends in movies that have come and gone.
Naturally, I have compiled a brief list of said trends:
1. Old TV Show Adaptations
Pictured: One of my favorite films. Hands down.
The first genre trend I noticed, even as a child; was the slew of old TV show (and cartoon) adaptations of the 90’s.
It makes sense, given that Nick at Nite was in the process of becoming an established “thing” at the time; not to mention the fact that a number of the filmmakers of this era were likely of the age group that would’ve grown up watching a lot of the 60’s TV shows.
While I can’t say who started actually this trend, or if it was even that profitable; it’s managed to stick around long enough to the point in which I doubt it will ever die.
TV shows will always be lovingly remembered by somebody, so as time goes by, it’s only natural that some poor deluded fool will pony up the money to make a movie of them in tribute.
Here’s hoping we don’t see a Seinfeld or Frasier movie 10 years from now.
2. Videogame Movies
Also known as, "Party of Five and Iron Chef Team-Up To Fight Terminator 2."
As with TV show adaptations, videogame movies were something that sprang up during the 90’s, smack dab in the middle of the Super NES era.
While it’s hard to call videogame movies a trend in the fullest sense of the word, it’s evident that they were intended to be one in the mid-90’s.
Following the release of the surprisingly decent Mortal Kombat, videogame movies were stuffed down throats our en masse.
Unfortunately, with releases like Super Mario Bros., Double Dragon, and Street Fighter stinking up the theaters; the trend never really caught on as strongly as I’m guessing it was intended to.
Despite this, videogame culture has apparently grown exponentially over the years, leading to videogame movie adaptations becoming increasingly regular.
The movies stick suck some serious balls for the most part, but the point is; they have yet to reach a point where they are no longer profitable, and thus they continue to exist.
Truth be told, this “trend” is actually more symbolic of the birth of a new film genre as opposed to a trend, but oh well; it’s my blog.
Fuck you.
3. Comic Book Movies
SPIDER-MAN LOVES 'MERIKUh! WHY DON'T YOU LOVE 'MERIKUh!?
Comic book movies are, as THE INTERNET seems to want me to say; kind of a big deal.
While they’ve existed in one form or another for quite some time, it wasn’t until the release of Tim Burton’sBatman in ’89 that we really saw them become en vogue.
Richard Donner’sSuperman doesn’t really count, as at the time, it was entirely in a league of it’s own; only serving to spawn weak-ass imitators as opposed to profitable blockbusters.
Anyway, Batman served to open the floodgates and give way to the release of countless comic book films, many of which were of course; Batman sequels.
In response to the angsty, MTV culture of the day, as well as the popularity of “less-than-mainstream” comics, movies like The Crow, Barb Wire, Tank Girl, Judge Dredd, The Mask, and Spawn were all cranked out in short order.
While the success of these movies (except for The Mask) was largely scatter-shot, the success of Blade in ’98 ushered in the Marvel dominated era of the 2000’s.
I kinda' miss the days when Wesley Snipes was cool... And not poor.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past decade or so, you’ve probably come to realize that Marvel is the flamboyant and insatiable whore of the comic book movie world.
The arrogant bastard that likes to prance about and shove his cock in your face and demand you tell him how amazingly massive it is.
*Ahem!* Not like I’ve ever had that happen to me or anything…
Routinely whoring out it’s intellectual properties from year to year, Marvel rode the success of X-Men and Spider-ManĀ (and a string of critical failures)Ā to take the film world by storm, largely through sheer volume of production.
In the 13 years since the release of Blade, Marvel has released a total of 25 major motion pictures, averaging nearly 3 films a year.
While it’s hard to call them rivals these days, (times have changed) DC manages to release, at best; 1 film a year.
The only difference is, DC films have a tendency to win Oscar nominations.
Catwoman: Protecting the World from Modesty and Cosmetics Moguls.
Anyway, for better or worse, strip-mining the previously established characters and events from comic books is kind of the thing to do for Hollywood producers in this day and age; and based on the record-breaking revenue gained from said movies, I’d say it’s what the audience is into as well.
Which brings me to the eerie prospect of a 4th trend in films that I would prefer not see come to pass.
Some way, some how, they managed to get Liam Neeson to get on board the Battleship bandwagon, (I’m guessing it involved a free trip to Hawaii…) and in all honesty; I’m just plain confused by it all, aliens notwithstanding.
To my knowledge, Clue is the only other board game movie in existence at this point; and while that has kind of a cult following in some (seriously demented) parts of the world, Battleship just never really seemed like movie material in my mind.
To me, Battleship was always that one game my friend and I could never play without cheating.
Seriously man, after 5 minutes of calling out “Miss” to each other, inevitably someone would peek over the game, find a ship, and basically win the game.
Even the name “Battleship” doesn’t seem all that marketable to me.
It’s non-descript, it gives virtually zero indication of what to expect in the film outside of maybe a battle or 2 involving ships.
Oh well, goofy military shit is en vogue at the moment, so I’m guessing therein lies to the logic to the production house’s gambit.
The really puzzling part in all of this, is the fact that I recall hearing rumblings of a Monopoly movie being in the works.
I heard about the Battleship movie awhile back, but it wasn’t until I saw the trailer the other day that I truly realized they were actually going to make it.
What I mean to say is, I really hope Battleship doesn’t start a board game movie trend, ’cause I’ll tell yah’, I’m not an analyst, or anywhere near an expert in these matters; but if this shit comes to pass, we’ll be in for some epic-ly shitty over the next several years.
*Caution! This article contains spoilers for ALL of the live-action Transformers films!*
Before you lose your shit and start calling blasphemy at the title of this post, please take heed and understand the face that the above phrase is only in reference to the live-action Michael Bay version of the character.
Optimus Prime was, and is; one of my biggest heroes.
That being said, after (finally) watching Transformers: Dark of the Moon, I can honestly say, with an absolute degree of certainty; that Michael Bay’s take on the character barely qualifies as a “in name only” representation of the original Optimus Prime.
Much like the Roland Emmerich take on Godzilla, commonly known as GINO or "Godzilla In Name Only."
Watching Optimus Prime evolve, or should I say, degenerate; from film to film has been a horrific and sickening process.
The original character of Optimus Prime was that of a regal and clean-cut goody goody.
He was noble to the point of being kind of a tool, he rarely was at the forefront of combat, deferring most of the dirty work to his Autobot cohorts, and in every case, regardless of how practical it may be; he did whatever he could to stand for peace and altruism.
He was an admirable role model for impressionable young children, and one that, in a perfect world, would still hold up to this day.
The first live-action Transformers movie, a mediocre film overall, but easily the best of the trilogy; took many liberties with it’s interpretations of many of the Gen 1 characters, however when it came to Optimus Prime, it mostly got it “right.”
In Transformers 1, Prime was every bit as regal as his old self, with the sole exception of a few uncharacteristically goofy moments.
One of his finer moments in the film came at the very end, when Prime attempted to sacrifice himself and the All-Spark.
Sam, being the mental giant that he is, instead decided to kill Megatron with it.
He never once suggested using it to destroy Megatron, nor did he ever seem at any point prepared to outright kill his lifelong rival.
While his character was never developed to the point in which anyone could really care about him, it was nonetheless very appropriate to have Prime mourn the death of Jazz at the film’s conclusion.
Really Prime’s only really odd moment was during his battle with Bonecrusher, wherein he basically decapitated the severely outmatched Decepticon without giving it a second thought.
While somewhat shocking, dealing with his opponent at the time, quickly and efficiently; was cause enough justify Prime’s course of action.
Even so, while it was cool to see Prime cut loose and kick-ass, it’s hard for me to associate the phrase “stone cold killer” with him.
Pictured: One of the innumerable problems that made up the blasphemous pile of poo that was Revenge of the Fallen.
Probably the worst in the trilogy, Revenge of the Fallen’s version of Optimus Prime was worse than the first film, but in my opinion; not quite as bad as the 3rd one.
Not all too different from his Transformers 1 counterpart in speech and mannerisms, the one really noticeable change in his character came in the form of a gung ho, “kill them until they die from it” attitude.
I’m guessing it makes me sound like a pussy to say so, but I was downright shocked to see Optimus blow Demolishor’s head off at the beginning of the movie.
It's all in good fun until someone gets hurt...
While far from the dumbest or most offensive sequence in the movie, seeing a childhood hero think nothing of executing a defenseless opponent just seemed really fuckin’ wrong to me.
Similarly, it came as a shock to me that Prime would brutalize and utterly obliterate The Fallen at the film’s conclusion.
The world was no longer in danger, and in his “Super Saiyan Prime” form, The Fallen seemed to be no match for him; so in my mind it seemed kind of odd for Prime to go the extra mile to butcher and obliterate his opponent.
Sadly, that last part is a direct quote.
I’m not at all opposed to killing in Transformers movies, however I do take offense to unjustified killing via the hands of Optimus Prime.
Killing Blackout during the 3-on-1 battle in the forest (arguably the best scene in any of the movies) came as a result of necessity I.E. defending himself and more importantly, Sam.
Decapitating a defenseless, and largely incapacitated opponent, was hard to justify outside of appealing to a bloodthirsty audience.
There was a phrase that Prime tossed around in virtually every episode of the old TV show, namely that of “Easy, Ironhide.”
This phrase was meant to separate Prime from his more bloodthirsty counterpart.
The phrase was used in Transformers 1, but somewhere down the line they decided to ditch it and the philosophical implications it brought to the table.
That being said, while Prime was obviously trending towards a more bad-ass persona in Revenge of the Fallen, in my eyes they took this much too far in Dark of the Moon.
"Peeeeaaace..... No Peace..."
Prime’s role in Dark of the Moon was somewhat diminished in comparison to the previous films in the series, however his behavior in the 3rd film was borderline offensive.
First off, and this applies to all of the Autobots; I found the idea of the Transformers rallying behind the U.S. military to combat terrorism to be more than a little insulting.
Throughout every film, Optimus Prime has declared himself to be an ally of humanity, making it completely absurd that he and the other Autobots would seemingly align themselves exclusively with the U.S., a single nation among hundreds of others.
I know these movies have obligations to portray the U.S. military in a certain way, largely due to multi-million dollar contracts with the armed forces; but attempting to trick kids into believing they’ll get to hang out with autonomous transforming robots when they sign-up is more than a little offensive.
Oh well, at least it’s not as dumb, or as blatant as Taiwan’s military ad campaign:
Moving on, it’s hard to deny that Prime’s gung ho/take no prisoners attitude from Revenge of the Fallen was turned up to 11 for Dark of the Moon.
Gen 1 and first film alum, Ironhide, as well as a handful of other Autobots are killed in the film, however at no point does Optimus Prime take a moment to reflect on their passing.
The death of any Autobot is always going to be a big deal, but for IRONHIDE, one of the most well known and beloved characters in the franchise to pass on without acknowledgment; is pretty fuckin’ lame.
What’s also pretty fuckin’ lame is hearing Optimus Prime arrive at the battlefield and declare bullshit G.I. Joe phrases like:
That’s a direct quote by the way.
I don’t care how many civilians the Decepticons kill, to hear the venerable leader of the Autobots order a fuckin’ genocide on the opposition is just plain fuckin’ wrong.
To make matters worse, Prime once again can’t seem to stop himself from killing everything in sight.
Countless (generic) Decepticons meet their fate at the hands of Prime in Dark of the Moon, however the really offensive deaths come at the film’s conclusion.
At the end of the film, Prime is severely wounded and faced with 2 opponents, Sentinel Prime and Megatron.
At one point Megatron proceeds to offer Prime a truce, whereupon Prime interrupts him and proceeds to tear his fuckin’ head off.
Following this, a mortally wounded Sentinel Prime crawls about on the ground and begs for his life, whereupon Prime interrupts him and proceeds blow his fuckin’ head off.
Apparently, negotiation is not one of the Autobot’s strong suits.
I don’t know about you, but shit like this grinds my motherfuckin’ gears.
It’s like the equivalent of a grossly unwarranted and unexpected heel-turn of a beloved face in wrestling.
The only difference is, in wrestling shit like that usually ends up paying off in the long run.
Corporate Rock, while hard to swallow in the first few months, was one of his better moments.
G.I. Kill-Master Prime, as well as any of the live-action Transformers films, will likely continue to be shitty as ever 10 years from now.
Anyway, I won’t be writing a review for Dark of the Moon, (it sucked) but I felt I needed to pound out this article, because I genuinely felt that this interpretation of the character was entirely “wrong.”
Oh well, I guess this is the kind of shit you have to expect from movies when the military is heavily invested in their making, the countries’ been at war for over a decade, and kids have been living off Call of Duty games and their imitators for the past 8 years.
Pictured: The Azn Badger proudly wearing an official Azn Badger's Blog t-shirt and an Ultimo Dragon mask.
Well folks, the time has come and the Azn Badger will be taking a break from blogging for a week.
That is to say, I won’t be writing anything over the next several days, though I have a feeling the blog will be updated every day with content of some sort.
No promises as to whether or not said content will be of any sort of quality, but oh well.
Anyway, I’m leaving on a trip for Tucson, Arizona tomorrow morning, so have fun without me until I get back.
That being said, I leave you with this classic moment from Armageddon wherein a song is sung that has something vaguely to do with me taking a plane ride in the near future:
Pictured: Michael Bay getting set to impale some poor soldier with his massive, military hardware induced boner.
Just so we’re clear, I haven’t actually seen Transformers 3 yet.
I will see it eventually though, mostly out of obligation.
Sure, seeing the first 2 in theaters is a pretty good reason to do the same for the third, but in all honesty; it’s my lifelong passion for the Gen 1 cartoon that keeps me coming back to the Michael Bay movies, regardless of their overall level of quality.
Reviews and opinions mean close to nothing to me at this point, so don’t bother trying to dissuade me from wasting my money or what have you.
If it’s got Optimus Prime in it, doing anything vaguely Prime-like, it’s my civic duty to go see it.
I know it sounds silly, but when it comes to Transformers, Godzilla, and Arturo Gatti; every show is worth seeing on some level.
Even when he lost (or should I say, ESPECIALLY) he was always a joy to watch.
Fan boy-i-ness aside, I’d like to change the subject of this wildly unfocused post, and draw attention to something I stumbled across on Topless Robot.
Cue video:
What the fuck is up with the stock footage Michael Bay!?
In this day and age, where blockbuster movies routinely cost upwards of $100 million to produce, are we to believe that Paramount and Michael Bay were forced to cut corners to the point of cannibalizing their own films from only 6 years ago I.E. The Island?
The use of stock footage, in films of all budgets is pretty much standard practice, but even so; this just seems kind of lame from an artistic standpoint.
I mean, if you’re going to strut around town calling yourself the “Cars, Asses, Explosions, Racial Stereotypes and Sunsets Guy” wouldn’t it be in your best interest to go balls out and stage your own shit for every movie, rather than, I don’t know; STEAL FROM YOURSELF?
Oh well, from a technical standpoint it makes sense for Mr. Bay to borrow footage from his own films.
As many personal touches as the man is known to add to his films, color correction is probably the most noticeable, meaning it would probably be easier to match stock footage from pre-existing movies in his filmography as opposed to grabbing someone else’s and having to color correct the shit out of it.
Pictured: The World Through The Eyes Of Michael Bay
Anyway, as much as this sounds like a pissy rant, it’s really not.
From what I understand, these 2 shots are the only instances of cannibalized stock footage; (not counting the truck load of military footage) and really that’s not too bad.
Truth be told, I’m used to far worse.
I grew up watching movies like Godzilla vs. Gigan, which made extensive use of stock footage from previous Godzilla movies.
Hell, virtually every Godzilla movie of the 70’s was produced on the strength of special effects footage ripped from Toho’s film libraries.
And that’s not to say this practice was only restricted to the Japanese film market, rather it was; and largely still is, common practice in virtually all film markets, big and small alike.
Take for instance, Hollywood in the 1950’s:
That, ladies and gentleman, was Bela Lugosi… Uh, saying stuff, while pretending to look upon stock footage of a busy street.
The only reason the use of stock footage in Transformers 3 stands out at all, is because the footage is borrowed from the director’s own filmography, and is still relatively “fresh” as opposed to the more typically employed public domain type stuff.
Borrowing from nature documentaries and military archives is one thing, but outright stealing tailored and personalized shots from your own filmography, and then compositing special effects over them is indeed quite low.
Oh well, it’s not like this is something that’s going to offend anyone on a personal level or anything.
At most, it just reflects poorly on Michael Bay and Paramount, making them look lazy and/or inept.
In any case, I’m hoping to see the movie sometime soon; and no, I won’t be going into it looking for reasons to hate it.
Here’s hoping Optimus Prime does something cool over the course of 2 and a half hours, as that’s all I’m really asking for!
*Sigh* THIS, is cooler than the entirety of Transformers 2...
In the case of the former 2, neither made any attempt whatsoever to expand on what made the original films great.
Psycho was of course a shot for shot retread, making it essentially “Psycho with Vince Vaughn” and little else.
Elm Street expanded on a sub plot or 2 that was already embedded in the mythology (though wisely underplayed) of the series, but ultimately came across as soulless and downright ugly due to it’s poor pacing and even worse special effects.
Sometimes the old ways are best...
Rollerball… Well, Rollerball was pretty much as complete a fuck-up a filmmaker can produce… Especially when said filmmaker happens to be someone talented like John McTiernan.
I think it’s best we all just move along and pretend Rollerball never happened.
Anyway, in light of all the buzz surrounding the new embarassinglyĀ Twilight inspired Teen Wolf and Fright Night remakes, I decided to put (literally) a few minutes into coming up with a handful of movies that I actually wouldn’t mind seeing get remade at some point.
That alone should tell you this movie is worthy of a big budget remake.
The original Robot Jox was a pretty awful low budget sci-fi film with mediocre stop-motion and miniature effects.
Despite all this, the core concept; that of robotic gladiatorial competitions being staged in place of war between nations, definitely still holds water in my book.
It worked for Rocky IV, it worked for Ip Man 2, and it would’ve worked for Robot Jox, had the production had some flash to go with it’s premise.
The end product would be dumb as all hell, but with state-of-the-art special effects, and even an ounce of the heart of Rocky IV; I think it could be stupid fun.
Anyone wanna’ come with me to see Real Steel when it drops this October?
2. The Land That Time Forgot
... Is that T-Rex drowning?
Surprisingly enough, this one was already remade in 2009, in the form of a “mockbuster” produced by the oh so infamous crew over at The Asylum productions.
Given that everything The Asylum produces is essentially of the “ironically bad” variety, I don’t think it’s asking too much if we pretend the 2009 version of The Land That Time Forgot never happened.
Hmm, I wonder how many times I’m gonna’ have to say that over the course of this article…
Anyway, The Land That Time Forgot was a classic adventure story loosely based on the work of Edgar Rice Burroughs AKA The Tarzan Guy.
When I was young, this film was one that I could always depend on to bring a smile to my face.
Even to this day, Land has a lot going for it.
It had cool period costumes and tech (WWI), explosions and volcanoes, and of course; giant dinosaur puppets fighting German sailors.
That's what I'm talkin' 'bout!
Dinosaurs are always a win in my book, but when you put them head to head with U-boats and machine guns, well; it’s very hard to get that wrong.
In my mind, a solid modern remake of Land would play out kind of like the Skull Island segment of Peter Jackson’sKing Kong remake, only for 2 hours instead of… Well, 1 hour… And with less giant gorilla ice-skating.
In my eyes, more dinosaurs always equals a better film.
3. The Day of the Triffids
The Day of the Triffids’ plot concerns a meteor shower than blinds everyone on the planet who views it, leaving the vast majority of the population virtually helpless.
The remaining sighted individuals find themselves thrust into a nightmarish world of violence and danger as disorder and chaos threatens to consume the last vestiges of society.
As the icing on the cake of it all, a new threat emerges in the form of vampiric, mobile plant creatures called Triffids that consume humans and multiply at a fantastic rate.
Triffids has been remade before, but not successfully; or with a Hollywood budget.
It’s hard to argue Triffids’ premise isn’t intriguing, however the reason I’d be interested to see a remake, is because the film is kind of silly to look at by today’s standards.
Pictured: The title monster.
On paper, the plot sounds amazing, but in execution; the film just doesn’t hold up all that well.
As with seemingly every movie I mention on this list, I think Triffids would be a helluva’ thrill ride with a new coat of paint and a few extra bits of characterization.
What can I say other than the fact that it’s a thrilling and accessible adaptation of an amazing piece of fiction.
From a technical standpoint, few films can measure up to Leagues’ combination of Oscar winning effects work and absolutely brilliant casting direction.
In that sense, it’s hard to imagine a retread of Leagues being better than the 1954 version, however it’s one of those stories that I feel should be shared with the youth of every generation.
What I wouldn’t give to see what modern special effects could do for the giant squid sequence…
It’s a B-movie by today’s standards, and is indeed kind of hokey; but if you ask me, Them! is a terrific suspense thriller.
The pacing is absolutely brilliant, the Cold War metaphors none-too-subtle, and the monsters memorable, formidable, and truly horrifying.
At it’s core, Them! is about giant ants trying to take over the world of man.
One of the greatest successes of Them!, is the fact that it tells an epic-sized story without sacrificing characterization.
To that end, if Them! were to be remade, I think I’d actually prefer to see it maintain a similar scale to the original.
Modern special effects allow filmmakers *cough!* Michael Bay *cough!* to fill the screen with all sorts of crazy shit, to the point in which some of the craziness and spectacle actually loses some of it’s impact, or worse yet; ends up going unnoticed on the periphery of the screen.
While I admit it would be cool to see an army of ants bum-rushing L.A., truth be told; I found the sewer sequence at the conclusion of the original film to be more than sufficient for a climax.
The really cool thing about remaking Them!, and this is totally unrelated to the actual integrity of the film; is the fact that you could do all sorts of crazy J.J. Abrams shit with the marketing.
A good chunk of Them! didn’t even make mention of giant ants, so I think it would be kind of cool to tease the movie as a cop thriller or military action flick, without showing a frame of ant action.
Imagine how fucked up that would be to show up at the theater expecting Black Hawk Down or L.A. Confidential, only to end up having giant ants thrown at you a half an hour into the movie?
Sure, plenty of people would feel robbed or jilted somehow, but if the movie ended up being half as good as the original Them!, chances are a lot of people would end up loving it.
Then again, maybe “a lot of people” don’t appreciate giant monster movies the way I do…
Anyway, there’s my list, feel free to point out some movies you think I left out.
Yesterday we took a good long look at one of the most sophisticated and beautiful songs in videogame history.
While one would expect that we would continue with this trend as we ascend the the prestigious Top 3 of the Top 10 Videogame Songs, I’m sorry to say that’s not the case.
Perhaps more now than ever, I feel I need to reiterate that:
This is my list, and you will respect EVERY DAMN THING I HAVE TO SAY.
*Ahem!* On that note, I’d like to introduce you to #2 on our list from the Playstation classic, Soul Edge/Blade:
#2. Soul Edge – The Edge of Soul
I realize now, more than ever; that I’m very much a product of my time.
The 90’s was the decade of the fighting game, and as such; games of that genre play host to some of my most beloved gaming memories.
Like many young boys of the day, I hopped on the Street Fighter 2 bus and rode that thing all the way to around 2005… when my fighting game reflexes mysteriously went down the crapper.
That’s a story for another day though.
Soul Blade was Namco’s sister series to their wildly popular and innovative 3D fighting series, Tekken.
Tekken = JAPAN.
Featuring some of the most impressive graphics and animations of day, as well as an in-depth “quest” mode for the home version, Soul Blade was a wildly addictive fighting game that was easy to pick up, but difficult to master.
In short, Soul Blade was kind of a big deal back in the day.
In an era when everyone wanted to play fighting games, but often lacked the technical competence to be competitive with their friends; Soul Blade was basically the go-to weekend rental of it’s time.
... A time that appears to have abruptly come to an end as of 5 minutes ago.
Soul Blade is one of maybe 2 games on this list I never owned, but in all seriousness; I probably put more hours into than most games I’ve owned.
From the gameplay, to the design, to the breathtaking soundtrack; Soul Blade was a top tier PS1 game, such that I honestly find myself tempted to pick it up again from time to time.
Which brings me to why “The Edge of Soul” ranks so high on my list.
I know it’s really fuckin’ stupid, but the opening cinematic of Soul Blade was, to the 10 year old me; one of the most mind-blowing and graphically spectacular sequences, ever.
Take a look for yourself:
FMV was still relatively new to me in 1997, (I had a shitty computer) but even so, the opening of Soul Blade was leaps and bounds beyond anything I’d seen in a game up to that point, possessing a degree of polish that even the FMV heavy Final Fantasy VII couldn’t begin to rival.
Everything element of the opening of Soul Blade, from the music cues, to the thoughtful selection of relevant clips that do much to flesh out the principle cast of the game; is top notch, such that I wouldn’t think it too far-fetched to name it as one of the best openings in gaming history.
Despite the inherent corniness of the song, “The Edge of Soul” had a fair amount to do with making both the opening of Soul Blade, and the game itself; as incredible and memorable as it was.
The lyrics and vocals are admittedly kind of weak, certainly nowhere near the grandeur of yesterday’s “The Best Is Yet To Come,” however the quality of the sampling and instrumentation of the music, combined with the pulse-pounding nature of the song; make for a terrific, if not consumately 90’s “pump up” song.
“The Best Is Yet To Come” may ooze substance and sophistication, and is indeed beautiful; but the simple fact of the matter is that it’s not a song I would ever really listen to outside of it’s usage in Metal Gear Solid.
“The Edge of Soul” is an undeniably fun song that I’ve kept in my library nearly as long as “Makenai Ai ga Kitto Aru,” and as such, I think I’d be lying to myself if I claimed “The Best Is Yet To Come” meant more to me.
Sorry kids, style beats substance this time.
Let this be an isolated incident…
Check back tomorrow as we crown our #1 on our list of the Top 10 Videogame Songs!
I really don’t know how to feel about this match-up.
On paper Pacquiao vs. Mosley is basically supposed to be the big-budget event movie of boxing’s 2011.
What they don’t tell you though, is that this particular movie happens to be directed by Michael Bay, and thusly contains no substance whatsoever… and stars Shia LeButtFuck.
What I mean to say is, while the (manufactured) hype surrounding this fight is genuinely admirable; I find it difficult to view it as anything but yet another case of a damaged or declining fighter being tossed to the prime lion that is Manny Pacquiao.
It’s sad to say, but as much as I like/likedSugar Shane, based on his performances in his recent bouts I.E. the one’s that have most of us viewing him as a CRIPPLED OLD MAN, it’s hard to picture him succeeding where others have failed.
Then again, it’s hard to argue that Mosley’s decent chin, caginess, and sneaky overhand right make him any less likely to beat Pacquiao than the chinless wonder that is Miguel Cotto, and the “I move my head… Sometimes” duo of Ricky Hatton and Antonio Margarito.
That being said, let’s take a minute to think on some factors that could potentially (but not likely) win the day for Sugar Shane:
1. Shane Makes It A Rough Fight
This one’s a long-shot, given that virtually no one has been able to put it into practice against Pacquiao; but Shane’s recent implementation of clinch heavy tactics under Brother Naazim’s watchful eyes, (which has NOTHING to do with his age…) is one that could do well to offset Pacquiao’s angles and smother his punch output.
Little Known Fact: Pacquiao Is Not "A Hugger." No Siree...
In theory, this would slow the pace of the fight in Shane’s favor, and potentially allow him to steal the bout by landing the more emphatic blows while initiating and breaking from clinches.
The problem with this strategy, is that Shane doesn’t exactly have the best skill-set to get in position to tie up Pacquiao with any sort of regularity.
He doesn’t have a jab and his legs aren’t what the used to be, so jabbing his way inside or turning Pacquiao are things I just don’t see him being able to do.
What Shane does have in this equation though, are decent counter-punching skills, decent timing, and a great, but potentially declining chin.
He’s not gonna’ win on punch output, and he’s not likely gonna’ win on ring generalship, but if he can make himself out to be the only man to land punches of any sort of note, or better yet; put the Filipino on the mat, there’s a slim chance he can pull off the upset.
In other words, regardless of whether he wins or not, Mr. Mosley is gonna’ have to walk through fire to reach the final bell.
2. Pacquiao Gets Greedy/Has An Off Night
If you thought the last one was unlikely, prepare to readjust your standards.
Manny Pacquiao is not the same fighter he was 7-8 years ago.
He’s cleaned up most of his quirks, and these days he’s one of the best finishers on planet.
In short, he’s become a very complete fighter that, while human; seldom makes the kind of careless mistakes that get fighters hurt.
Well, except in the Cotto fight… That was just plain dumb. Ā Dumb and AWESOME.
*Ahem!* ANYWAY, the point is, Shane Mosley has proven himself to be an extremely tough fighter that rarely gets rocked/put on queer street.
As old as he may be, he also happens to be a somewhat slipperier fighter than Antonio Margarito, who as we all know; is pretty much as easy to hit as… well, Antonio Margarito.
The point is, Shane is cagey enough to do things like take 3 minor shots to give 1 decent one, or even play opossum.
He's playing opossum, I swear.
Once again, this is pretty much as unlikely as one can imagine, but should Pacquiao bite for a clever feint, or get greedy and stay in the pocket just a moment too long, I believe the old adage says: “Anything can happen in boxing.”
While both of those guys are just about as far from each other on the skill range as humanly possible, the fact of the matter is; is that both guys make their living by making other fighters look bad.
Both are safety first counter-punchers that are hard to hit and offer little in the way offering counter opportunities to their opponents.
While it’s hard to say how true it is these days, in his prime Sugar Shane was a middle range boxer-puncher.
He excelled in tight exchanges, and indeed won most of his fights by being one step ahead in said exchanges.
While it’s hard to see him pulling ahead of Pacquiao in terms of tempo, the fact remains that in Shane’s most recent fights, the one’s that have most, including me; writing him off as an aging and declining fighter, he’s been fighting the kinds of guys that make not just him, but everyone look bad.
Pacquiao’s handspeed, punch output, and plethora of clever angles will very likely prove too much for Mosley, however in his heart I think this is exactly the kind of fight Shane wants.
He’s a puncher moreso than a boxer, and at this point in his career, I think even Shane knows his abilities as a fighter are more dependent on his opponent standing in front of him, making mistakes, and taking the wrong punches *cough!* MARGARITO! *cough!* than him genuinely outboxing them.
Very few fighters choose to retire at what one could call the “appropriate” time, both in terms of their physical health and financial situtations; and I don’t think Sugar Shane is any different.
I’ve written several articles in the past regarding my disdain for this particular matchup, largely due to my objection to Shane Mosley as being a relevant element of the welterweight division.
My only hope is that the fight ends up being more competitive than we all expect it to be, and that both men retain their faculties for the foreseeable future.
Seriously man, the last thing I wanna’ see is Sugar Shane knocked stupid by Congressman Pacquiao… That’d just be sad.
As much as I adore everything that is Godzilla, and as much as I enjoy watching intelligent rats stage crazy-ass sword fights; Transformers: The Movie was far and away my favorite of these movies.
While some (read: Orson Welles) would criticize Transformers: The Movie as being an hour and a half long toy commercial, for kids who grew up watching it; there’s no denying that it had a charm to it that made it truly special.
More than that, Transformers had a severity to it, a real sense of life and death stakes that made you, especially as a child; truly give a damn.
Say what you will about it being a feature length marketing device, in my book any movie that goes out of it’s way to kill off nearlyĀ every major characterĀ in the franchise within it’s first 20 minutes has at least some semblance of legitimate dramatic merit.
Hell, of all the retarded-ass kid’s movies that I used to watch, Transformers: The Movie was one of the only ones my mom was willing to sit down and watch with me.
Unlike Scooby Doo. My mom fuckin' HATES Scooby Doo...
Combine the film’s rather morbid tendency to be cruel to it’s main characters, with decent animation and a kick-ass glam rock soundtrack; and you’ve got a recipe for success.
It’s interesting to note that, for me at least; Transformers: The Movie represents most of what I know and love about the original Transformers cartoon.
I was born a few years after Transformers began to fade from the mainstream, and as such; I really didn’t see much of the TV series outside of a re-runs on the “Power Cube” every once in awhile.
If it weren’t for me having an older brother that was around to experience the Transformers phenomenon first-hand, I don’t think I would’ve had nearly as strong an association with the Generation 1 stuff.
Thank God for my brother, otherwise I would’ve been denied the pleasure of growing up watching the 2nd MANLIEST MAN moment in all of movies EVERY FUCKING DAY!
While one could (and indeed should) argue that the live-action Transformer movies are overlong and meandering piles of tripe Elmer’s glued together with eye-fucking CG and rejected elements from the National Treasure movie’s scripts; the 1 thing I think we can all agree they did right, was Optimus Prime.
PIMP.
Optimus Prime is one of the most admirable and heroic characters in all of fiction.
Steadfast and noble, he is the picture of stoicism and bravery that we all wish we could live up to when the chips are down.
While the live-action movies flipped the charming minimalist aesthetic of the Generation 1 cartoon on it’s head, and often failed to allow him the opportunity to speak with the same regality by feeding him hokey lines; just hearing Peter Cullen’s voice come out of the CGI Optimus Prime was all I needed to see that even Michael Bay couldn’t completely fuck up his character.
... However he proved himself all too capable of ruining Devastator.
As shitty as the live-action Transformer movies are, at least 5 minutes of them contain scenes of Optimus Prime being just as I remembered him.
That doesn’t forgive the 2 and a half hours+ worth of crap contained in the rest of the film’s running times, but even so; it counts for something.
That being said, our 2nd MANLIEST MAN moment is perhaps Optimus Prime’s finest moment, that of his heroic, and tragic; last stand against Megatron and the invading Decepticon forces:
Words can’t describe the EPIC MANLINESS of this moment.
At this point in the movie, the Autobots are really taking a pounding and don’t know how much longer they can hold out.
The vast majority of the Autobots from the first season of the TV series are killed off during the conflict, leaving Ultra Magnus and a ragtag group of Autobots, both young and old; to defend Autobot City.
Just as the cities’ defenses begin to crumble at the hands of Devastator, a lone shuttle swoops in from above; dropping Grimlock and the Dinobots in to pacify the rampaging Constructicon.
Pictured: The face of a winner.
As the Dinobots struggle in battle, Optimus Prime steps from the shuttle; grimly surveying the destruction of his people’s Earthbound sanctuary.
With any eerie sense of finality lingering the air, Optimus Prime transforms and rolls out; for perhaps the last time.
Pictured: JUSTICE on Wheels.
CUE AWESOME FUCKING INSPIRATIONAL ROCK SONG.
Pimp that he is, Optimus’ first move in battle is to RUN THE FUCK OVERThrust.
From that point forward, the difference in power and capability between Optimus and the rest of the Transformers becomes readily apparent.
Still in truck form, Optimus is fired upon by several Decepticons; with all of the incoming laser blasts having no effect other than maybe singeing his paint job.
Leaping into the air and simultaneously detaching his trailer, Optimus does a MANLY gravity defying flip through the air, all the while CAPPING THE FUCK out of every Decepticon in sight:
Way to put a hole in Soundwave's face there Prime.
Make no mistake, this is Optimus Prime at his PIMPEST and most BADASS.
With the majority of Megatron’s heavy hitters out of the picture, Optimus corners the evil robot and issues perhaps the MANLIEST of MANLY ultimatums:
Despite that EPIC-NESS, the 2 continue to exchange AWESOMELY MANLY remarks until, inevitably; Megatron claims he will kill Optimus with his bare hands, then proceeds to spear Prime’s ass to the ground.
As the 2 legends of Cybertron exchange blows, the young Autobot, Hot Rod; surveys the battle, itching for an opportunity to step in and prove his worth.
Cutting back to the fight, Prime manages to toss Megatron into a wall, whereupon the devious Decepticon takes an opportunity to go back on his previous declaration and toss a sharp rod into Prime’s hip.
Immediately capitalizing on his opponent’s moment of weakness, Megatron lifts his arm blaster and fires several volleys at Prime.
Deftly slipping the incoming blaster fire, Optimus rushes Megatron and cracks him with a wicked right cross, knocking the Decepticon leader to the ground and severing the blaster from his forearm in one fell swoop.
Take his heart Prime! Take his heart!
Ever the sneaky bastard, Megatron once again makes use of a foreign object, picking a beam saber off the ground and swiping it across Prime’s stomach.
Pictured: Megatron and Prime re-enacting the infamous "Taun Taun Scene."
Sparking from the gut, Prime clutches his wound and staggers backwards, prompting Megatron to leap into the sky and initiate one of the single coolest shots in cinema history:
With an AUTOBOT SHORYUKEN, Optimus manages to counter Megatron’s overhead assault, only to end up being mule kicked in the chest by Megatron’s immediate retaliation.
With both fighters off-balance, the 2 robots slam into each other and tie up in a grapple.
As Megatron threatens to tear out Optimus’ eyes, our hero nevertheless manages to overpower the evil robot, grab him BY THE EARS; and toss his ass a CITY FUCKING BLOCK.
With Megatron severly injured and face down on the ground, Prime retrieves his blaster rifle and points it at Megatron.
Acting very much out of character, the ruthless and dastardly Megatron pleads for mercy.
Rightfully suspicious of his nemesis’ uncharacteristic behavior, Optimus is ultimately robbed of an opportunity to gauge a proper course of action as Hot Rod jumps in from out of nowhere and tries to subdue Megatron, only to end up being held as his hostage.
Pictured: Why Hot Rod isn't exactly my favorite Transformer...
Grabbing a blaster pistol he found hidden amid the rubble nearby, and with Hot Rod now being used as his human shield; Megatron fires a volley directly into Optimus exposed stomach plate.
Too strong and too brave to take a knee, Optimus withstands the first shot, only to be felled by the 3 that follow.
Pictured: Far from the best Wednesday of Optimus Prime's life...
Ditching his hostage, Megatron stands over Prime and taunts him at gun point, with the words:
“It’s over Prime…”
With those words, Prime; summoning the last of his strength, rears back and uncorks the MOTHER OF ALL DOUBLE AXE HANDLES directly into the Decepticon emblem of Megatron’s chest.
Pictured: Far from the best Wednesday of Megatron's life...
His chest plate shattered to pieces, Megatron falls off the nearby ledge, bounces off the balcony below, and crumbles onto the ground below.
With their leader utterly defeated, the battered and beaten forces of the Decepticons flee from Earth; leaving the Autobots to tend to their own.
Shortly thereafter, Optimus Prime would die, and Megatron would begin life anew under the guise of Galvatron.
Anyway, this has been our 2nd MANLIEST MAN moments in all of movies.
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