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.
Just a warning, this review is full of spoilers. I’ve added a cut to keep from ruining the movie for people who have not yet seen it. Though I use the term “ruin” lightly.
I’ve been on a kick for watching British comedy shows lately. Shows like Spaced, Charlie Brooker’s Screenwipe, but so far my favorite has been Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace. The premise of the show is that a self-proclaimed best-selling horror novelist named Garth Marenghi once wrote, produced, directed, and starred in a hospital horror drama television show back in the 1980s called “Darkplace”. This show within the show is so over the top in creating something that looks like it was made in the 1980s by a self-serving hack with a shoe-string budget. It brilliantly succeeds in making a show that looks terrible. It’s not just a spoof of bad acting, but the sets, editing, and audio/video effects are filled with subtle amateur mistakes that will get you chuckling.
Here’s the first half of my favorite episode; I encourage you to at least watch through the opening credits.
Shots have been leaked of the upcoming live-action Dragon Ball movie trailer which reveal James Marsters’ appearance as the villain, Piccolo. I’m not a fan of Dragon Ball to any degree, but I do loves me some Buffy The Vampire Slayer and its cast. And ever since I’d heard that Marsters had been cast as Piccolo, I’ve been dying to see what kind of costume they would design for the film.
I’d say I’m disappointed, but then I don’t know why I’d expected anything better. Maybe I was just really looking forward to seeing Marsters with Piccolo’s alien antennae. But no–what a shock–they made him up like a vampire.
Bit of trivia: James Marsters was originally cast to play Capt. Picard’s clone, Shinzon, in Star Trek: Nemesis. In hindsight, he probably would have been a better choice, having a closer resemblance to Patrick Stewart, but the movie was still awesome despite his absence.
The trailer for the upcoming Watchmen movie was leaked earlier this week. This trailer excites me, but not because it’s of The Watchmen… In fact, I stand to lose a lot of comic geek street cred’ by admitting that I’ve never read the classic graphic novel. Worry not! For I intend to correct that by the time the film hits the theaters.
What gives me a tingle about the trailer is the use of a rare Smashing Pumpkins track for its soundtrack, The Beginning Is the End Is the Beginning. If it sounds familiar, that’s because its the sister track to the song The End Is the Beginning Is the End, which was used in the soundtrack for the 1997 abomination, Batman & Robin. “TBITEITB” can be found on a CD single released only in Europe, along with “TEITBITE” and two instrumental remixes.
Before the advent of digital distribution a la iTunes, many a time did I used to hear one song off of an album and wish I could purchase a CD single, only to resort to shelling out the expense of the full album. Thus was the case with the Batman & Robin soundtrack. Fortune smiled upon me when I discovered an import of the “TEITBITE” single in a local record store. It was the best $6 I’d ever spent because to this day, it’s probably my favorite Smashing Pumpkins record and still finds a place in my regular music rotation.
From what I understand about the plot of The Watchmen, I believe the use of “The Beginning…” is quite appropriate. If I’m interpreting the lyrics correctly, “The End…” feels like it symbolizes Genesis, or the rise of humanity. How we assume our rite as God’s chosen ones on Earth and the self-proclamation of our glory. Conversely, “The Beginning…” is more akin to Revelations in that it illustrates humanity’s downfall. Our own arrogance leading to our destruction and cries as God foresakes us.
My message to Warner Bros. is this: Mission accomplished. I am excited about this movie. Not only that, but I now plan to pick up the Watchmen trade paperback sometime in the next few months.
If you're new to Alpha Counter or Method to Madness, we've put together a nifty sampler of some of our best stuff! http://t.co/6ghHHnAi15 hrs ago
Ideally, I'd like to borrow someone's hotel room, but I may need to have to find somewhere public and hope there's minimal noise/distraction 15 hrs ago
I'm interviewing someone at Animazement, but need a quiet place w/ at least 1 electrical outlet. My need to scout out the convention center. 15 hrs ago
Who can I high-five for getting Unico in the Island of Magic on the Animazement video room schedule? 1 day ago
Oh, what the hell... We now have an Official Alpha Counter Facebook. If you like us, please Like us! https://t.co/Jkdh7wAO1 day ago
Hey, Method to Madness listeners: Out of curiosity, what's your favorite episodes of the podcast so far? For reference: http://t.co/Hi3DPOFp1 day ago
I had a dream that a fan offered to get the @AlphaCounter crew into a convention but we couldn't afford the travel expenses. #NIGHTMAREBOAT2 days ago
Maybe the reaction to my name is like a trigger word. It works in the same way as MK-Ultra sleeper cells, only benign. 4 days ago
Maybe my name is some unknown glitch in the English linguistic code. Like there's a percentage of folks just wired to have that reaction. 4 days ago
Is "Sean" registering in peoples' minds as a title? Like "Sir", "Doctor", or "MC"? Do some people not know "Sean" IS a name? 4 days ago
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.
