D-Man

Thank you, Master. It was fun but I think the credit has to go to Kyle for the most part. His enthusiasm made for a great first subject to cut my teeth on. I'll also take this opportunity to thank Des once again. Dread Media is his baby but he has been generous enough to let me hold it once in a while.

Steel yourself, Koete. It's pretty harrowing. And brilliant.

Yeah, Dread wields words like a fuckin' samurai. It's all those haikus and shit. If "Children of Men With Stabbing" doesn't wind up on the American remake DVD box, there is no justice on the Earth.

What's funny is that I recently re-watched MACHETE and it is nigh unwatchable now in comparison to HOBO W/ SHOTGUN. The level of quality in the storytelling and general filmatic excellence is just worlds apart. Sorry, Machete, you were fun while you lasted but your slick Hollywood facade just can't measure up to the double barreled Hobo justice.

It's true.

That's what she said!

That's awesome! Congrats, man. I guess I'll be needing a tux, right? Fax me the dates and times and I'll let you know when to pick me up at the airport. Can I stay with you guys for a few days after the wedding? Huh? What?

While I enjoy our Roadkill Reviews immensely I have to admit they are not our most insightful. I'm usually driving during the review and I tend to fall back on gratuitous hyperbole when it's my turn to talk. Having said that, my opinion of HOBO W/ SHOTGUN has not changed one bit since that review was recorded.

Well, yeah, it is a lot like a Troma film except way more clever and with twice the heart and soul exhibited in any Troma film I've seen. Plus, I've yet to see a Troma film that features any performance that could match the brilliance of Rutger Hauer as the titular Hobo. One of the best performances of the year but one that's sadly destined to be utterly overlooked. So yeah, while HOBO certainly is reminiscent of Troma in it's depravity and certain aspects of it's style it's not nearly as empty headed as say, POULTRYGEIST, to pick an example. Troma is just so relentlessly lowbrow while HOBO has, at least, an aspiration for something more. Even if it is just mowing lawns until it gets back on it's feet. . . Thanks for asking, by the way.

When I first espied the headline to this thread I thought you meant the purple suited, 30s superhero Phantom vs. the Shark. That is a fight I'd pay to see.

Yeah, we kinda' stepped over the Spielberg question. DUEL is another one. It's kind of Hitchcockian, though, in a bloodless suspense fashion. The thing is, those two pictures are not really indicative of his screen catalog. They were 'foot in the door' type projects. Not really the kinds of movies he was intent on making once he got final cut and all that other good stuff that comes with success. CLOSE ENCOUNTERS, E.T. and even RAIDERS are widely considered his personal passion projects. While I love those films with all my heart they are a long ways from the "scary" movies he kick started his career with. In my opinion, Spielberg was not very interested in the mechanics of the horror genre. It's widely known he was frustrated with his inability to really showcase the shark in JAWS. It was out of necessity (due to the mechanical shark malfunctioning) that he was forced to use classic horror movie editing to build suspense in that film. He freely admits now that it made the movie better but at the time he wasn't happy about it. The reason he wasn't happy about it is that Spielberg wants to show us everything. It's one of the major themes throughout his career. Showing the audience things they haven't seen before. He's not interested in hiding the monster or threat like a classic horror film does. He wants to show it off under bright lights in the middle of the frame. The catch was he had to wait for his success to allow him to do that and for the technology to make it possible. While he was waiting for the opportunity he was falling back on horror movie structures and editing. A process he found somewhat easy and that ran counter to the kind of storytelling he was really interested in directing.

Now I'm kinda' wishing I'd remained incognito. It's like my secret identity has been revealed.

As will I. Anything Blade related actually.

You shoulda' seen the pompadour I was sportin' for that review.

I soooo wanted to love These Are The Damned. A disappointment, to be sure, but it's always valuable to examine what's not working in a story.

Films by Brian De Palma I can't believe I forgot to mention during the review: PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE - I haven't seen it. We need to cover it. THE FURY - His other psychic teenager picture. Released right after CARRIE. I have this on VHS. It's cheesy fun. BODY DOUBLE - So bad it's good. Probably the cheesiest film in his catalogue. My wife and I laughed our asses off at this one. Few directors could ever hope to exhibit such a wildly diverse catalog of films as De Palma. His range and his ability to experiment with different stories is perhaps unmatched in Hollywood. He had a number of flops (WISE GUYS, BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES, MISSION TO MARS) but they are always interesting failures. Having said all that I have to admit that MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE is perhaps my favorite De Palma film. I love the hell out of that stylish spy thriller. It has all the ingredients for the kind of smart action adventure I totally dig. The silent infiltration of CIA headquarters actually surpasses it's influences (RIFIFFI, TOPKAPI) in sheer nail biting suspense. A number of complaints are leveled at it's lack of realism but if you can buy into the hyper comic book aesthetic and appreciate the brilliant crosses and double crossses and the absolutely kinetic action sequences then you will be in for a fun ride. One of my favorite films of the 90s. Just make sure you close your eyes during the opening credits. Oddly, it's full of spoilers for the film.

Black Devil Doll?

No, your hearing will return to it's normal state. Your sanity however. . .

Ouch! And yuck, also. Good episode, anyway. Good to have you back, Dread. I hope now you have learned, you may never leave this valley! The price is your sanity!

I vaguely recall the anime character. That image, though, is so ridiculously phallic and sexual that I'm hoping for a crazy BARBARELLA vibe to the whole project. MACHETE in space, basically. Cobra should fuck every female in the galaxy, human or otherwise, while killing space freaks with his penis/arm gun. I'm talkin' a hard R here people if not an X rating. That would be the only way to get my ass into a theater for this. Edit: And for the record, It's my belief that high concept, high budget, 3D, X rated Sci-Fi porn is the future of cinema.

I think it's just that weird blow dry look he's sportin'. Hey, GL, Tony Monero wants his hair back!

I like this. A lot.

Thanks, everyone. It does these old bones good to receive your well wishes.

WOW!!!! THAT WAS AWESOME!!!!! Hearing the music. Seeing familiar faces. This gave me chills and hope for these films. That welcoming ceremony nearly brought me to tears. I loved LOTR so very much and the goodwill presented in this initial blog really went a long way toward making me excited for the HOBBT!!!! I can hardly wait. Thank you, dc20willsave. Made my day. And Happy Birthday, also. Have a good one.

And remember, son. If life gives you nuthin but razor blades, you get a baseball bat and you cover it in razor blades.