There was something I’d meant to mention in the most recent podcast; specifically around the subject of haunted vessels and “Homeboy Gon’ Fuck The Phantom”…
I’m reminded of a scene from a contemptible horror movie from 2002, titled Ghost Ship. The premise of the film is that a salvage crew journey to retrieve the hidden treasures of a sunken cruise ship…but it’s got g-g-g-ghosts!!!
The scene is of one crewman, seduced by a phantom temptress, being lured into dropping trou and positioning himself behind her to tap dat ethereal ass. To his surprise, he instead falls through her intangible form, plummeting to his death at the bottom of an elevator shaft.
Now, his first mistake was impatience. If I’m going to get to work behind a woman, it won’t be in a doorway. I can wait until she reaches a nearby wall or something that will offer some resistance to my efforts.
Not a good plan!
Furthermore, if I do intend on getting in while the getting’s good, even in mid-stride, I’d have to be in pon farr to not recognize an elevator shaft. Should I choose to believe that the woman weren’t already dead, I’d assume that she wouldn’t be far from it after my first thrust in front of an open elevator shaft.
What’s most unnerving is the reaction of his teammates upon discovering his carcass. The camera stays fixed on their reactions, with his fate just out of frame. They’re distressed that their friend has been found dead; gruesomely impaled on protruding rebar…but no one makes comment about his pants being around his ankles.
Seriously. Not one word. Not even a perplexed wince. If anyone jumped to the conclusion that he was taking a leak into the shaft when his assassin shoved him to his doom, they didn’t vocalize it. I suppose everyone just accepted that Greer died as he lived…
This is a cool sketch comedy recreation of Street Fighter Alpha 2. Whomever directed it must have been a genuine Street Fighter fan, given the level of detail applied. There’s no way that any TV show in America would clear the sweet use of pyrotechnics, especially the ones used in the Chun Li Vs. Bison fight. Also notice Sodom’s Engrish intro.
My personal favorite special effect was Sakura throwing a pie in the face of the superimposed fanboy. The effect of Sakura’s fireball can easily be done using a fog machine, an Airzooka, and a stage light.
In the Method to Madness podcast, I’m joined with my good friend Kevin “The Business” Gray to discuss great anime and video games that you should be watching as well as ones you should feel ashamed you are watching.
This episode, we discuss…
Friday the 13th part VII
(and other horror movies)
Happy Halloween! Kevin and I had so much fun with our Phantasm podcast, we decided to keep going on some of the other horror movies we know and love/hate. I figured that we’d might as well keep the mics hot and share it with all of you!
In the Method to Madness podcast, I’m joined with my good friend Kevin “The Business” Gray to discuss great anime and video games that you should be watching as well as ones you should feel ashamed you are watching.
This episode, we discuss…
Phantasm
Phantasm is a fun cult series of horror movies that might be about an extra-dimensional Amish dude. He’s a snappily-dressed, hard-working man freeing up valuable real estate by turning our buried dead into enslaved jawas for his homeworld. Then two meddling kids and a sex-crazed ice cream man come along and get all up in his Kool-Aid. He is also made of banana custard…evil banana custard.
It’s not so easy to find cosplay of Street Fighter IV’s new hotness, Crimson Viper. This is strange, since C. Viper’s costume design just about begs the attention of the cosplay community! The best that I’ve found is the creation of a girl known only online as Phoenix Kasai.
Not only does Phoenix Kasai fit the mold, but she also answers one of my biggest questions: How the hell do you get your hair to look like that??
Okay, so I finally got around to seeing Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. I haven’t been that interested since I didn’t like the first movie, but everyone I know wants to talk about it and insisted I see it ASAP. So here goes…
I have a shit-ton of things going on right now (most presently, the awesomness that is Animazement), but I absolutely had to give an update on the video game documentary that I was recently filmed for.
First, it’s no longer going to be a feature film. Instead it will be an ongoing online series; a move that makes plenty of sense. The first episode is up and running and this is where you’ll see my handsome mug!
I won’t go into much more details this time, but here’s the clip!
Before the big anime invasion of the 1990s, America saw Japan as a place of great cultural mystery. Their cars and electronics were flooding into our market, but we still had no clue about Japan outside of old WWII Bugs Bunny cartoons.
But we were curious…
A product of that curiosity is a movie called Gung Ho–released in 1986, directed by Ron Howard and starring Michael Keaton. The plot revolves around a small mid-western town whose lives depend on the local auto factory keeping everyone employed. The factory’s previous owner shut the place down, so Hunt Stevenson (Keaton) flies off to Japan to convince a Japanese auto manufacturer to set up shop there. They accept, there’s a culture clash, but everyone comes to terms in the end.
I enjoy this movie not because it’s not your typical “East meets West and hilarity ensues” comedy, but because of there’s a noteworthy subtext in the film’s message. One that sheds an unpleasant light on American culture. More disturbing is that it’s as relevant now as it was 15 years ago.
As Americans, we’ve been raised in a depraved society for the past couple generations. The movie addresses how the Americans (and we) believe that we’re the best–deserve the best–even though we’ve done little to actually deserve it.
The workers of the town had it pretty cushy and had gotten too used to those comfortable conditions. Even in a situation where they’re desperate to save their families, they whine and moan, with a strong sense of entitlement. They fail to understand that in order to succeed (or sometimes just survive) you have to put your ego aside and bust some serious ass. It escapes them that their lax attitude is what caused the factory to originally fail.
In the movie, the Stevenson is told by the factory’s management that if the workers don’t cooperate, he’ll be fired the plant will be shut down. However, they make the offer that if the factory is able to match the company’s production record (15,000 cars in one month), the plant can stay and everyone receives their previously higher wages.
When Stevenson breaks the news, the workers revolt. In order to get them to agree, Stevenson feeds them a lie that if they settle for 13,000 cars, they get a partial raise. The workers agree to this, setting this as their goal, dismissing the opportunity for a greater reward.
As part of our sense of entitlement, we don’t know what it’s like to work hard for what we want. We’ve been raised instead to accept the silver or bronze medal; to settle for less because it’s easier. Unfortunately, real life doesn’t often work that way. You either fight for the prize or walk away hungry.
By the film’s end (and I don’t mean to spoil it for you), the American workers realize that they’re the ones that have to compromise in order to save their town. Meanwhile, the Japanese warm up to valuing quality time with friends and family as much as the pride in one’s work.
In1992 a similar movie came out, Mr. Baseball, with Tom Selleck, though there’s more of a romantic incentive for his character to conform. Gung Ho is worth at least a rental, though I’m sure you could buy the DVD for under $5. I promise that despite my rantings, it’s a very clever comedy.
Strangely enough, there was a TV series based on the film, starring Scott Bakula in place of Michael Keaton as Hunt Stevenson, though some of the movie’s cast reprise their roles for television. It’s no surprise however that the series only lasted nine episodes, since there’s no way it could live up to the film.
I had my first video recording session for the documentary I’ve been asked to participate in. It went okay, I guess. It was fun to do, sure… In fact it was very similar to how Matt and I conducted an episode of our Alpha Counter radio show. Heh, technical hurdles and all.
The big thing that the director later discussed with me was that during the entire thing, I had plenty of interesting things to say, but I didn’t offer much visually. He’s right–I kinda stayed in “business mode” the whole time, approaching each question clinically with little animation. Not good cinema.
With that feedback, I’m reviewing my positions on the subject and digging up some relevant personal stories. I think that if I engage the thing like a conversation rather than an interview, I’ll give a more lively performance.
I’m quite certain that I’ll have another shot at recording the material covered today since the video files came out painfully choppy. So unless the co-director is the Gandalf of video editing, we’re going to have to use a different method of getting usable footage.
The guys are still looking for people to contribute to the film, so if you have any expertise or notable experience in dealing with video game addiction or side-effects of a techy lifestyle, contact them through the link I posted above.
Before the big anime invasion of the 1990s, America saw Japan as a place of great cultural mystery. Their cars and electronics were flooding into our market, but we still had no clue about Japan outside of old WWII Bugs Bunny cartoons.