blue screen, silver screen

Break

2007-02-09T17:40:00.000-08:00

Hi folks. It's been a good 12 months, but I'm going to take a break from posting for a time. I'll be back when inspiration strikes. Here's one for last call:

Goodbye - Steve Earle

Thanks.

Punk Cover: The Ramones

2007-01-28T11:16:00.000-08:00

California Sun - The Ramones

1
2
3
4!

Teddybears Featuring Iggy Pop (Why Not?)

2007-01-21T11:47:00.000-08:00

Punk Cover: Social Distortion

2007-01-09T17:52:00.000-08:00

Under My Thumb - Social Distortion

This is the early version.

Punk Cover: X

2007-01-04T17:45:00.000-08:00

X - Soul Kitchen

Best band ever.

Punk Cover: Dickies

2007-01-02T18:09:00.000-08:00

Punk Cover: Angry Samoans

2006-12-31T08:32:00.000-08:00

What is it that makes old songs sound great when punk bands do them?

Time Has Come Today - Angry Samoans

Happy NYE! ( But when did everything get initialed, anyway?)

David Bowie and Bing Crosby

2006-12-25T17:32:00.000-08:00

VHS Flashback

2006-11-27T06:16:00.000-08:00

I went to a friend's place on Saturday for a party. We ended the night watching a DVD transfer of old stuff they had videotaped in the 80's, mostly music videos. Here are a couple of highlights:

Hard, loud and fast!

Fan Appreciation with Iggy Pop

2006-11-22T06:19:00.000-08:00

Buzzcocks: Double Shot of Vintage Video

2006-11-19T08:39:00.000-08:00

Ms. T and I were listening to Singles Going Steady in the car yesterday, and it inspired me to hunt for some video of the Buzzcocks in their late 70's heyday. Here's what I found:

I'd say "Ever Fallen In Love" is the better performance of the two, but I personally enjoy "What Do I Get?" better, what with the short tie and wrong notes and all.

T.Rex Extra Good.

2006-11-16T20:43:00.000-08:00

My friend Mike just sent me this. All hail T.Rex:

My Hometown

2006-11-15T07:15:00.000-08:00

Hey everybody! Let's see what's going on in my hometown. I heard there was a pee wee football game being played. How cute. Let's watch:

Oh shit.

Sigh.

Alpha Hippie Goddess

2006-11-11T10:13:00.000-08:00

I have always considered Michelle Phillips the ultimate hippie goddess. I loved her look from the days of the Mamas and the Papas, and apparently she's kept her marijuana-loving 60's values.

I thought about Michelle this morning as I listened to my favorite song by The Brian Jonestown Massacre, which is drenched in patchouli:

If Love Is The Drug, Then I Want to O.D.

Even the BJM boys themselves have been mistaken for female hippies.

Strange.

Hey! Been Dyin' To Meet You!

2006-11-03T06:22:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to say hey.

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Friday Night with Led Zep

2006-10-20T20:11:00.000-07:00

There's just something about listening to Led Zeppelin and drinking good beer on a warm Friday night in October.

Here's to the Zep!

Shout At The Dubya!

2006-09-23T09:35:00.000-07:00

Venezuela's leader Hugo Chavez has called US President George W Bush "the devil" in a speech at the United Nations General Assembly.

"The devil came here yesterday," he said, referring to Mr Bush's speech on Tuesday. "It still smells of sulphur today," he added.

Shout At The Devil - Motley Crue

BBC news

Lelouch short film

2006-09-16T11:09:00.000-07:00

Veronica Lake, We Love You

2006-09-04T22:07:00.000-07:00

Sullivan's Travels was on this afternoon on TCM. We love Veronica Lake in this film, or any film. She's classic Hollywood. Read more about her here.

Vodka: Don't Do It, Kids!

2006-09-02T07:48:00.000-07:00

Oh Christ. I lost count of how many drinks I had last night. Mrs. West invented a new cocktail called the Pink Pussycat. It's basically a Cape Cod with a splash (or more) of Limoncello lemon liqueur. It's a delicious drink for the end of summer.

But now I'm paying the price. When will I ever learn? The worst part is that I wake up early, hungry and hyper/spaced-out. Ah well. At least there's music to ease the pain:

Hungover Together - Supersuckers with Kelley Deal

How does Kate do it, anyway? She always looks so good after a night of partying. Something tells me she didn't have smoked salmon fettuccine for dinner last night, unlike yours truly.

Kate 1

2006-08-24T20:21:00.000-07:00

Let's face it. The real reason the internet was invented was this:

Naked pictures of Kate Moss.

Herbie Hancock: Rockit

2006-08-20T07:33:00.000-07:00

Lebowski, Recut

2006-07-23T08:00:00.000-07:00

Hello Larry!

2006-06-28T20:37:00.000-07:00

Ladies and Gentlemen, behold the majesty of a new television program called Pants Off Dance Off. Have you met Larry?

Larry is my hero. I think he's had tummy enhancement plastic surgery. He's a brave man, but not as brave as a female clown named Brooklyn, who strips down to a frightening g-string/thong/thing. Unfortunately I can't find Brooklyn on Youtube at the moment, but I can tell you she chose a good song to dance to:

Jet- Are You Gonna Be My Girl

These are the End Times. Enjoy.

Chuck Norris Is Cool?

2006-06-12T05:46:00.000-07:00

About 10 years ago I worked in the publishing industry. One of my colleagues had just left a rival publishing house, and he said they were a little misguided sometimes. As an example he pointed to the fact they had just signed Chuck Norris to a book deal. They thought Chuck was cool, and the young people loved him. He was not. They did not. He was known mostly for his chop socky skills and making not-good movies like Good Guys Wear Black.

But flash-forward 10 years and you see Chuck Norris novelty t-shirts for sale on MySpace ads, and he's name-checked by Damian Marley in a hit song. Chuck is cool. He's hip. His tears cure cancer, but he has never cried. Something like that. How did this happen? Sure, we watched a little Walker, Texas Ranger for kicks back in the 90's, but only because it was Saturday night and we were too drunk to change the channel. We didn't tune in for any hipster points. Strange. Ah, kids today. They just do shit to annoy me.

Anyway, Chuck Norris is a badass in martial arts. He's a tough guy. Here's a tough guy song, written by another martial artist:

Sick Boys - Social Distortion

Now you kids get the hell off my lawn! Hi-Yaa!

Repo Man

2006-06-06T07:42:00.000-07:00

I know a guy who worked as a repo man in the American Southwest. He would repossess anything, this guy, not just cars. He repo'd horse saddles, for example. Anything of value was subject to repossession. Even somebody's wife.

That's bizarre, but not as strange as the film Repo Man. It's Alex Cox's anti-nuclear, anti-evangelical, anti-conservative, punk rock science fiction 80's masterpiece. Here's the trailer. Here's a choice clip from a kind soul on Youtube.

And now, a little music from the film:

Repo Man - Iggy Pop

Harry Dean Stanton is the man.

Iggy Pop, On 120 Minutes and On Vinyl

2006-05-30T07:50:00.000-07:00

Check out Iggy Pop circa 1986, in the Cry For Love video, as played on 120 minutes. I like Ig's answer to Dave Kendall's question at the end there:

Here's the song, from my vinyl collection (as you will soon be able to tell):

Iggy Pop - Cry For Love

Looks like the original album is out of print, but there's a good compilation out if you'd like to buy.

Take Care, My Brother, Take Care

2006-05-22T07:17:00.000-07:00

Mrs. West just got a Walker Brothers compilation, which includes the title song from the British film Deadlier Than The Male. The song is great, and it matches the fun, show-bizzy quality of the film. The film is a sort of James Bond knockoff from 1966, featuring female assassins played by Elke Sommer and Sylva Koscina. It's a lot of fun, this movie. I was introduced to it while watching Quentin Tarantino's week of programming on the cable channel Trio. That female assassin thing worked out well for him in Kill Bill.

So here's the song:

Walker Brothers - Deadlier Than The Male mp3

Here's the Walker Bros. CD and the DVD of the film if you want to pick them up. Cheers.

Superchunk: Look, Listen, Buy

2006-05-20T11:35:00.000-07:00

I love Superchunk. Ever since I heard the Tossing Seeds tape I've been hooked. I especially love their singles. Here's one called Watery Hands. Please proceed to look at the video, listen to the mp3 and then buy the CD.

Look:

Listen:

Superchunk - Watery Hands mp3

It's a funny, interesting video. Is that why MTV didn't show it much? Also, I'm pretty sure David Cross and Janeane Garofalo don't actually play keys on the song. Yeah.

Buy:

Watery Hands [CD Single] [EP]

Captain Kaman and Gnarls Barkley

2006-05-19T12:38:00.000-07:00

We've been watching tons of NBA playoff games on TNT and ESPN and ABC. I'm rooting for the LA Clippers. I love their center, Chris Kaman. He reminds me of Captain Caveman. Observe the photos. There's something about the names and the hair.

After the game we watch Inside The NBA on TNT to see what the very opinionated Charles Barkley has to say. This leads to our next feature. Check out the very trippy video for the song Crazy by Gnarls Barkley:

Fare Thee Well, Gentle Friend...

2006-05-18T22:06:00.000-07:00

Goodbye Marissa Cooper. I'm going to miss your big eyes, bad posture and danger-prone lifestyle. Sigh. You were one of the best things about The OC.

By the way, I couldn't help but notice you pawned your pearl necklace in my neighborhood, downtown Torrance (The LAC). Strange. Anyway, best of luck to you in the afterlife.

What will Mischa Barton do next? I'm sure her publicist will let us all know soon. In the meantime, here's a great song about the afterlife. I'm basically an atheist but this song still makes me cry:

Steve Earle - Pilgrim

You can buy the Steve Earle here. Farewell Marissa. Hey, one last thing. You are really dead, right?

A Case Of The Hives

2006-05-15T22:30:00.000-07:00

This weekend, while lost in the seemingly random world of HDTV on cable, we were lucky enough to catch the concert special called The Hives, Live From Las Vegas. Great band. Great show. Great suits. It's The Hives circa 2005, rocking like it's 1965. The singer is right: You love The Hives. The new CD is great, but how about a classic track for now:

The Hives - Hate To Say I Told You So

First the Dutch. Now the Swedes. Got mad love for Northern Europe these days.

Christian vs. Heathens

2006-05-14T21:31:00.000-07:00

I recently found out (with a slight bit of apprehension) that Hollywood is re-making one of my favorite movies, "The Wickerman". I hope it's good, 'cuz the original is fantastic! The Wickerman (1972) is a sexy and intelligent take on the Pagan Horror film, and a thorough pleasure to watch. It's beautifully shot for one thing--filled with sassy and stylish British folk-- and it's quite a unique and thought-provoking story of determined righteousness being hoisted by its own petard. Come to think of it, this is actually a great time for a re-make!!

I won't go into the details, but the original features Britt Eklund as the seductive barmaid and Christopher Lee as the dashing Lord Summerisle, pillar of the pagan community. The upright Police Sergeant, so intensely played by Edward Woodward, is going to be played in the new version by Nicolas Cage. Neil LaBute (In the Company of Men) is directing/writing, so there's hope there will be enough atmosphere, wit and intelligence to make it all worthwhile.

For a complete plot synopsis check allmovie.com and please SEE THE ORIGINAL!!

For the extremely alluring and suggestive "Willow's Song", (from what is most likely Django's favorite scene), click here.

For local Wickerman Festivals, check your nearest head shoppe.

A Dutch Film, And Yes It's Weird

2006-05-12T07:37:00.000-07:00

Last night I watched The Vanishing, a Dutch film from 1988. It's been many years since I've seen it, so it was like watching it for the first time. It's a very good film about a man obsessed with the disappearance of his girlfriend. Years after the event he launches a campaign to find her and to have her abductor step forward so he can understand what happened to her. I won't give away the story in full, but I will tell you the boyfriend and the abductor share the problem of obsession.

In a way this is a horror film, about the horror of uncertainty, meaninglessness, lack of knowing. If the boyfriend could only know what happened to his girlfriend, then he could get over it. There is also a strange kind of horror in watching the abductor joyously research and rehearse the kidnapping. He spends hours each day in fine-tuning his plan, as if he's an ordinary hobbyist.

The Dutch. They bring something special, something new. How do they do it? Perhaps a listen to the Shocking Blue will help us understand. Nirvana covered this song. This is the original:

Shocking Blue - Love Buzz

Tot ziens.

More Love For Blondie

2006-05-06T07:42:00.000-07:00

I'm still on a Blondie bender. Here's a few favorite tracks:

Blondie - Dreaming

Blondie - Union City Blue

Blondie - In The Flesh

If memory serves, the second track above was used well in the Oliver Stone horror film The Hand, circa 1981.

Okay enough film trivia. Now just dig the Blondie.

I Am In Love With Debbie Harry!

2006-05-04T07:47:00.000-07:00

I saw this video on VH1 Classics this weekend. I love Blondie. I love Debbie Harry. She is the pop icon of pop icons. I am totally in love with her coolness, style, poise, voice, everthing. Don't tell my girlfriend!

Dig On The Brian Jonestown Massacre

2006-05-02T07:43:00.000-07:00

A few days ago Mrs. West and I watched a DVD called Dig, about the Brian Jonestown Massacre and the Dandy Warhols. Dig is a damn good documentary of the two bands and their very different personalities and career choices. BJM chooses independent record labels, self-destruction, violence and very good music while the Dandys choose a major label, careerism, peace and hit-making. Ah but that's an oversimplification. Still, I have to hand it to Brian Jonestown Massacre for doing it their way. They're real rebels, as the lyrics to this song show:

Brian Jonestown Massacre - Wasting Away

I was also fortunate enough to see BJM play a gig recently. Here's a personal account. Dig it.

My Girlfriend Hates This Movie: Blade

2006-04-30T12:26:00.000-07:00

At this point I would like to introduce the first film in a recurring series called My Girlfriend Hates This Movie, But I Love It. Ladies and gentlemen, from 1998, I give you Blade. It stars Wesley Snipes as Blade, savior of the human race. That's not enough for you? It also stars Kris Kristofferson as Blade's fellow warrior, and the Kiefer-lite stylings of Stephen Dorff as an evil halfbreed vampire. Yes, it's a vampire movie. But a very hip New York vampire movie with nightclubs, martial arts, black magic and blood, blood, blood!

It's based on a Marvel comic book, and it has great special effects. Mostly though, it features Wesley Snipes doing some awesome chop-socky on the evil vampires. One scene features a blood rave. Traci Lords is in this film. What more do you need to know? Get the DVD or check the listings on TNT. It's almost always on TNT.

Raymond Chandler

2006-04-17T22:09:00.000-07:00

"Okey, Marlowe," I said between my teeth. "You're a tough guy. Six feet of iron man. One hundred and ninety pounds stripped with your face washed. Hard muscles and no glass jaw. You can take it. You've been beaten half down twice, had your throat choked and been beaten half silly on the jaw with a gun barrel. You've been shot full of hop and kept under it until you're as crazy as two waltzing mice. And what does all that amount to? Routine. Now let's see you do something really tough, like putting your pants on." - Phillip Marlowe to himself trying to bust out of a sanitarium where the bad guys have held him captive in Farewell, My Lovely (by Raymond Chandler)

Phillip Marlowe is not really a tough guy, but he can be tough. He can have fun with the bad guys and he'll forgive the forgiveable. He does his best to protect the weak and expose the corrupted, but he ultimatly lets fate take care of itself. Cause fate will ultimately equal justice as long as he keeps a personal sense of right and wrong. But even that gets blurred sometimes.

Here's a song that is completely unrelated except by title
Raymond Chandler Evening by Robyn Hitchcock

Below are a few of the movies based on Raymond Chandler's Phillip Marlowe novels. Some are better than others, but, as all of his stories are worth reading, all of these movies are worth seeing.

The Big Sleep - Played with laid back humor on top of a hurt cynicism by Humphrey Bogart, this is the first and arguably best of the Marlowe movies. There's generous portions of greedy men, fresh women and the dark ominous nighttime. Directed by Howard Hawks, this is a movie that can be watched every few weeks and still create something new with each viewing.

Murder, My Sweet - Based on 'Farewell, My Lovely' with Dick Powell as Marlowe, completely hard-boiled and atmospheric, each character is unforgettable-- a classic film-noir experience.

Marlowe - Based on The Little Sister, with James Garner, It's the sixties and Marlowe is kind of fed up with the bullshit and selfishness he sees everywhere, but he's still willing to play the game, with a smart and sexy edge.

The Long Goodbye - Elliot Gould has been called the anti-Marlowe in this, Robert Altman's take, but this last novel was written in the early 50's and is actually verging on a 'Beat' sensibility, so I think Gould's hep portrayal is spot on, with his free-associating and stoney demeanor. And Sterling Hayden is unforgettable as the tragic macho writer Marlowe tries to understand and protect.

The Lady in the Lake - Okay, this one doesn't work so well, there's gimmick to it, where YOU see what Marlowe sees, YOU are the camera. A little stiff, I think Robert Montgomery would've made a pretty good Marlowe without the off-putting direction (and he directed it!). A great story nonetheless.

The Brasher Doubloon - Based on The High Window, I can't imagine George Montgomery as Marlowe, he was kinda pretty.... Ok, I haven't actually seen this, but I will as soon as it's put on DVD!

It's This Fucking Life

2006-04-15T20:10:00.000-07:00

Two of my favorite films of all time were released in 1989. One of them is Drugstore Cowboy. I don't know where to begin with how great this movie is, but let's start with the casting. It stars Matt Dillon in the performance of a lifetime. I only knew Matt as the tough guy in teen films of the early 80's. But it was a great choice to cast him as the lead. I didn't know Matt had it in him. Then you've got Kelly Lynch as Matt's partner in crime. They play the mother and father figures in a crew of drug addicts who rob drugstores, trade drugs and evade police in early 70's Portland, Oregon. Heather Graham and James Le Gros play the younger couple in the crew. Character actors Max Perlich and James Remar give great performances as a junkie and a cop, respectively. Plus there's William S. Burroughs playing a disgraced junkie priest.

The cinematography is beautiful, and director Gus Van Sant adds some experimental film touches when Matt's character hallucinates, as pictured above. He also subtly speeds up the film in certain moments. Maybe it's the Stan Brackhage influence or his training at Rhode Island School Of Design. In any case Van Sant gives us a very artful independent film. But it's also character-driven and story-driven and funny.

Van Sant based the film on a book by a man who served hard time for drug crimes. But you don't have to be a drug addict to learn lessons from this film. Here are some quotes from Dillon's character:

"All these kids, they're all TV babies. Watching people killing and fucking each other on the boob tube for so long it's all they know. Hell, they think it's legal. They think it's the right thing to do."

"For all the boredom the straight life brings, it’s not that bad. Even this crummy little room ain’t so bad. I actually wake up some mornings and I feel like something good’s gonna happen today. I’m a regular guy. I got my regular job. I got my regular room."

"It’s this fucking life. You never know what’s gonna happen next. That’s why Nadine spiked herself with the easy way out. That’s why Diane keeps going like she does. See most people, they don’t know how they’re gonna feel from one moment to the next. But a dope fiend has a pretty good idea. All you gotta do is look at the labels on the little bottles."

Then there's the music. I've long coveted the elusive Drugstore Cowboy soundtrack, and finally through the magic of Half.com I bought it. Here's a little music from the film:

For All We Know by Abbey Lincoln

The Israelites by Desmond Dekker

So there you have it. One of my favorite films. One last thought on this is that by watching Drugstore Cowboy you can understand normal American life by observing those who choose not to live it by the rules, even if they don't succeed.

Iwerks Is Screwy Spelled Backwards

2006-04-09T09:38:00.000-07:00

We've been watching a DVD set called Cartoons That Time Forgot all weekend. UB Iwerks is a great cartoonist. Learn more here. I can't believe I've never heard of him. Please enjoy his creation Flip The Frog, courtesy of Youtube.

Interstitial Overdrive: Abe Vigoda Status

2006-04-08T19:57:00.000-07:00

We loved him in The Godfather and as Fish on Barney Miller. Let's check on how our boy is doing.

Jack On Wheels

2006-04-08T10:05:00.000-07:00

Here's a partial list of the delights contained in the film Hell's Angels On Wheels: an angry Jack Nicholson constantly getting into fistfights; Adam Roarke as the leader of the gang; go-go dancers; bar fights; chain fights; knife fights with sailors; love triangle drama; menacing highway patrol officers; a beatnik painting bodies during a biker orgy; and the usual cans of Coors; reefer; choppers; and the open road.

Then there's the music. Sometimes utterly inappropriate and carefree and light. Other times groovy and a bit like this song by the Ventures.

What else can we say? Adam Roarke turns in a great performance. He's one of the best biker film actors ever. There's an appearance by real Hell's Angel Sonny Barger. At times it's like you're watching a documentary about bikers. Otherwise it's just a solid low budget 60's biker film. You'll see.

The Baddest Of The Bad

2006-04-03T18:30:00.000-07:00

Friday afternoon Mrs. West and I feasted on an uninterrupted viewing of The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. All 3 hours. We didn't fall asleep, which is the curse of watching Sergio Leone films on commercial TV.

Instead we had the special edition 2 DVD set (courtesy of Ma and Pa West). It's a shoebox-like package, with a DVD embedded in both the top and bottom of the box. Aside from the bonus disc of special features, it includes some postcard-sized movie posters of the film from around the world. See Japan's poster up top.

So about the film. It's Sergio Leone at his best. Best spaghetti western ever? Maybe. You can find out more about it elsewhere. Here's the trailer.

On this viewing of the film I tried to decide who was the baddest of the bad: Clint Eastwood or Lee Van Cleef. I was biased toward Van Cleef, but I have to say it's a draw. Eli Wallach is just crazy, so he's not really in the running.

Before I go, here's a little music from the soundtrack by Ennio Morricone. Mangia!

Interstitial Overdrive: No, You're Cheesy!

2006-04-01T21:16:00.000-08:00

What just happened? I just finished watching a 7-hour marathon of America's Next Top Model on VH1. I'd never seen the show before. I don't know how to feel. Anyway, please watch this unrelated Burger King ad while I sort out my feelings. I don't know who this "Dr. Angus" is, but he is my hero. The Dr. knows how to bust a move on the ladies, yes.

Choose Wondering Who The Fuck You Are

2006-03-31T08:26:00.000-08:00

"Choose Life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a family. Choose a fucking big television, choose washing machines, cars, compact disc players and electrical tin openers. Choose good health, low cholesterol, and dental insurance. Choose fixed interest mortgage repayments. Choose a starter home. Choose your friends. Choose leisurewear and matching luggage. Choose a three-piece suite on hire purchase in a range of fucking fabrics. Choose DIY and wondering who the fuck you are on a Sunday morning. Choose sitting on that couch watching mind-numbing, spirit-crushing game shows, stuffing fucking junk food into your mouth. Choose rotting away at the end of it all, pishing your last in a miserable home, nothing more than an embarrassment to the selfish, fucked up brats you spawned to replace yourself. Choose your future. Choose life... But why would I want to do a thing like that? I chose not to choose life. I chose somethin' else. And the reasons? There are no reasons. Who needs reasons when you've got heroin?"

So said the character Renton, played by Ewan McGregor, in the film Trainspotting. This little speech was a shot heard 'round the world of arthouse cinemas. I'll never forget the exhilarating experience of watching this film in a theater in Manhattan. That was 10 years ago. This movie still thrills me, in a way only Pulp Fiction and a few other films can. Here's a partial list of what I love about Trainspotting: the music, the kinetic energy, the humor, the accents, the shite, the rebellion, hopelessness, recklessness, tragedy, betrayal. I could go on. But instead I'd just like to share a little music from the film. These music files are in mp3 or AAC format, for your pleasure:

Nightclubbing by Iggy Pop

Born Slippy by Underworld

Temptation by New Order

Frakking Good TV!

2006-03-27T20:43:00.000-08:00

I’ve been catching up with the first season of the new Battlestar Galactica series, courtesy of Netflix. I’m about halfway through the season now, and I’m ready to say it’s a damn good TV show.

I had some apprehension before I watched the first episode, because I’m old enough to remember the original series from 1978-80, which was heavy on the cheese, with cuddly pet robots and kindly old men and ah, well, I don’t remember what else, except it just seemed to be a Star Wars knockoff. To make matters worse, there was this story in my hometown (and I don’t know if it’s true) that a mentally retarded kid jumped off a bridge when the show was cancelled.

Yeah, so let’s just say in my head there was a taint to the show. But that all went away as soon as I started watching. It has grit, ruthlessness, humor, action and just good drama. It conveys a kind of sci-fi realism. For example, the characters curse. Well, sorta. They say "frak" instead of "fuck." Close enough.

Plus the special effects are really good. I hate to say the effects are realistic, because I’ve never battled evil robots in space in order to protect the survival of the human race. Really, never. But the show feels realistic during the outer space scenes. Spacecraft zoom around and blow each other up but you hear very little sound, because there’s no sound in outer space (attention aerospace engineers: correct me if I’m wrong).

It also feels like I’m watching an epic war movie. Aside from the air battles, there are battles on land between humans and Cylons, the particularly evil robots that are programmed to exterminate the human race. They're big scary hunks of metal. Meanwhile back on the Galactica, the humans themselves negotiate power among the President, the military commander (Edward James Olmos) and his staff. Plenty of military-style conflicts are worked out. Also the music recalls the military drama Black Hawk Down.

There are also some great characters, especially Starbuck, as played by Katee Sackhoff, pictured above. She’s the hard-drinking, card-playing, cigar-chomping top gun fighter pilot who challenges authority. I suspect she has the same appeal Xena, Warrior Princess had in certain bars in big cities.

But back to the Cylons. They were robots created by humans. They rebelled and overthrew their masters. Now they’re out to kill the human race for good. What seems to drive them is the knowledge that it’s kill-or-be-killed when dealing with humans. That and a total belief in God. When interacting with humans, they speak like true believers. They hate blasphemy. They believe their souls will never die, that their spirits will be transferred to another body. They have no problem dying in the war or blowing themselves up around civilians. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? For me it's this relevance to the here and now that makes great science fiction.

The Cylons also have the ability to appear in human form. Some are blonde bombshells. Some are regular guys. Some appear only in the heads of humans. Some have forced humans to commit treason. I could tell you more, but just watch for yourself. I promise, no cuddly robot pets.

Look Death In The Face

2006-03-23T06:03:00.000-08:00

You only live twice:
Once when you are born
And once when you look death in the face.

--Ian Fleming

To me there's something magical about the James Bond movies of the 60's. These films have a certain essence, an essence that somehow expresses what cinema is all about. This is what film does best. Maybe not what it should do according to some, but what it actually does best.

Or am I moved too much? Maybe it's a guy thing, and that's why you see Bond marathons on Spike TV on holidays. These films give us boys the escapism of a hero's adventure story with the added delights of cars, gambling, booze, sex and gadgets. But at the same time their subject matter reflects the very real political issues of the day. The Cold War, for example, is the issue addressed in You Only Live Twice. Bond goes to Japan, fights evil and saves the world from pending nuclear destruction.

But enough about that. This film is really about style and entertainment. The style comes largely from production designer Ken Adam. Behold his stunning set of a hollowed-out volcano converted into an evil lair, complete with a rocketship and a monorail. The characters sport the sharp fashions of the mid-60's. The movie has beautiful music, too. The title song has to the best Bond song ever. Listen to Nancy Sinatra sing it here. What else can I say? It has the first full view of the villain Ernst Stavro Blofeld, with the shaved head and monacle. He clutches a white cat. (By the way, watch how frightened the cat is at the 1:46:54 mark; poor kitty). You're looking at the inspiration for Dr. Evil.

And then of course there's Sean Connery. Maybe he looks a little ridiculous in his Japanese disguise, yes. And some say he was bored with the Bond role by this time. But he's still Sean Connery, for god's sake. What's that you say Sean? Thanks but it's still all you. Hard to believe all this fun began with a short poem about death.

Interstitial Overdrive

2006-03-22T07:34:00.000-08:00

We interrupt this important blog to bring you a recurring series called Interstitial Overdrive.

If you've ever seen Pimp My Ride, then you'll enjoy this, V-Dub Style, ya!

"And We Wanna Get Loaded!"

2006-03-20T20:01:00.000-08:00

Peter Fonda. Nancy Sinatra. Bruce Dern. Diane Ladd. Roger Corman. Hells Angels. Davie Allan and the Arrows. What could bring them all together? A little movie called The Wild Angels. It's a biker film from 1966, and it gives us all the things a biker film should. It brings the choppers, the fights, the mamas, the beers, the reefer, the freaking out of the squares, the fuzz guitar theme song, the Iron crosses and racial hatred, the motorcycle cops and most importantly the cool of Peter Fonda and the heat of Bruce Dern. I have to agree with allmovie.com on this one. It's definitive.

The Wild Angels also contains Fonda's famous speech about freedom. It's a speech that launched some powerfully sleazy rock songs by the likes of Primal Scream, Mudhoney and more. Here it is: "We wanna be free! We wanna be free to do what we wanna do. We wanna be free to ride. We wanna be free to ride our machines without being hassled by The Man! And we wanna get loaded. And we wanna have a good time. And that's what we are gonna do. We are gonna have a good time. We are gonna have a party."

Swords, Wigs And Dubious Eyebrows

2006-03-19T09:27:00.000-08:00

Yesterday afternoon I popped in my DVD of Shaolin & Wu Tang for a little Kung Fu Theater of my own. This movie has it all: classic Shaolin martial arts, Wu Tang swordplay, spears, arrows, wigs, dubious eyebrows and beards and mustaches, dubbed dialogue in an English accent (sometimes with a hint of John Wayne), English subtitles that don’t match the dubbed dialogue, whip-snap sound effects with every landed strike of a hand or foot, and of course the unbelievably painful training sequences in the Shaolin temple.

This is Hong Kong Kung Fu cinema, circa 1981. The film stars Adam Cheng and Gordon Liu, in Liu's directorial debut. Liu plays a young student of Shaolin, while Cheng is a student of the Wu Tang sword style. An evil Manchu prince pits the two schools against each other for his own gain, and then it’s on! The fight sequences are like ballet. The plot moves quickly, and you get just about everything you’d want in a Kung Fu film. Here’s a good review of the film. One last thing: as you watch, listen for the bits of dialogue sampled by the rap group Wu Tang Clan. Enjoy.

Dragging A Coffin Through The Mud

2006-03-17T21:26:00.000-08:00

If a film begins with a man dragging a coffin through the desert mud, then you may be in for quite a ride. If the man then immediately observes a gang of sadists whipping a woman, and the gang are themselves suddenly shot by another gang wearing red scarves and hoods, and the red gang want to burn the woman at the stake instead of whipping her, then yes, you are into the deep psychological waters of the film Django. It is 1966, and your director is the Italian Sergio Corbucci. One of the other Sergios who made spaghetti westerns. Ah, but the term spaghetti western doesn't quite cover it, does it? Too cartoonish and stereotypical. Too non-threatening, too patronizing. Italian western. There, that's better. It's scary stuff. The machismo is pushed beyond real, the sadism, the weird images of a parallel-universe version of the Ku Klux Klan in red instead of white, the ear removal, decades before Reservoir Dogs. The red hoods were supposedly inspired by the ugliness of the available extras, but what else is driving that decision? Why all the mud? And what exactly is in that coffin our hero drags around? You'll see.

A Modest Manifesto

2006-03-17T08:07:00.000-08:00

Let us speak no more of Citizen Kane. Let us begin to speak of Hells Angels On Wheels. Let us speak no more about AFI's Top 100, but our own personal Bottom 100, or The Just As Good But Forgotten 100. Let us speak about the other Sergio(s). Let us admit television is our friend. Let us honor the digital video disc and the VHS cassette. Let us begin.