CAUTION: Yen's blog contains harsh language and even harsher notions of propriety. Reader discretion is advised.
Since I've already posted about my obsessive collecting of Star Wars and Bowling For Soup media, I may as well round off March by showing you the one other area where I get a bit rabid. Especially whenever I'm in a secondhand bookshop.
The works of Mr Brian Lumley. He's a British horror/fantasy/sci-fi author, originally from the same part of the world as I am. I was introduced to his writing in 1995, and he's the one who's really responsible for me reading as a pasttime. I never really saw the point until I'd read Necroscope.
Brian Lumley's vampires make others look like stroppy 14yr old goths. Which, as I understand it, a lot of them actually are these days. Anyway, on with The Collection...
^^ Click for bigger (486kb). Opens in new Tab/Window. (S) = Signed copy. (S/P) = Signed and personalised copy.
Row One: 1. Necroscope (UK Edition) 2. Necroscope II: Wamphyri! 3. Necroscope III: The Source 4. Necroscope IV: Deadspeak 5. Necroscope V: Deadspawn 6. Vampire World I: Blood Brothers 7. Vampire World II: The Last Aerie 8. Vampire World III: Bloodwars 9. Necroscope: The Lost Years, Vol 1 10. Necroscope: The Lost Years, Vol 2 11. E-Branch: Invaders 12. Necroscope: Invaders
Row Two: 13. Necroscope: Defilers 14: Necroscope: The Touch (S) 15. Necroscope: Avengers 16. Necroscope (US Edition) 17. Necroscope (French Edition) 18. Vampire World III: Bloodwars (US Edition) 19. Necroscope: The Lost Years, Vol 2 (US Edition) 20. The Burrowers Beneath 21. The Transition of Titus Crow 22. The Clock of Dreams 23. Spawn of the Winds 24. In The Moons of Borea
Row Three: 25. Mythos Omnibus Vol 1 26. Mythos Omnibus Vol 2 27. The Compleat Crow 28. The Taint, And Other Novellas (S) 29. Haggopian, And Other Stories (S) 30. A Coven of Vampires 31. Fruiting Bodies, And Other Funghi 32. Dagon's Bell, And Other Discords 33. The Second Wish, And Other Exhalations 34. Demogorgon (original print) 35. Demogorgon (reprint) 36. Return of The Deep Ones, And Other Mythos Tales
Row Four: 37. The House Of Cthulhu 38. Tarra Khash: Hrossak! 39. Sorcery in Shad 40. Hero of Dreams 41. Ship of Dreams 42. Mad Moon of Dreams 43. Ship of Dreams (reprint) 44. Iced on Aran (reprint) 45. Psychomech 46. Psychosphere 47. Psychamok 48. Psychosphere (original print)
Row Five: 49. Khai of Ancient Khem 50. The House of Doors 51. The House of Doors: Second Visit 52. E-Branch: Invaders (Book-club hardcover edition) 53. Necroscope (German Edition) 54. The House of The Temple (#97/300)(S) 55. Freaks (#404/750)(S) 56. Screaming Science Fiction (#un-numbered/300)(S/P)*1 57. The Nonesuch (S) 58. Ghoul Warning, And Other Omens (S/P)*2
Row Six: 59. Ghoul Warning, And Other Omens (1999 reprint) 60. Necroscope: The Plague-Bearer (#136/250)(S) 61. Necroscope: The Plague-Bearer 62. Necroscope: Harry and the Pirates (proof copy) 63. Necroscope, And Other Weird Heroes (large-scale paperback) 64. Necroscope IV: Deadspeak (S/P) 65. Necroscope: The Lost Years, Vol 1 66. Necroscope: The Lost Years, Vol 2 67. Necroscope, And Other Weird Heroes (hardback)
Row Seven: 68. Necroscope: Defilers 69. Necroscope: Avengers 70. Necroscope: The Touch (hardback) 71. Necroscope: The Touch (large-scale paperback) 72. Necroscope: Harry and the Pirates (large-scale paperback)
And in case you hadn't noticed that I'm fixated with Necroscope, here are the comics based on some of those books...
^^ Click for bigger (180kb). Opens in new Tab/Window.
73. Necroscope Book I (TPB, issues #1-5) 74. Necroscope Book II, Issue #1 75. Necroscope Book II, Issue #2 76. Necroscope Book II, Issue #3 77. Necroscope Book III, Issue #1 78. Necroscope Book III, Issue #2
What can I tell you? I prefer Trade-Paperbacks; they're easier to look after. Books 2 & 3 were never finished, hence the individual issues.
+ + + + +
Each book has been read at least once. Several have been read a few times, and some have been read a lot. Usual rules apply: I'm not claiming to have more than anyone else (there are constant re-issues of Brian's work, and I just don't have the money or the shelf-space to keep up), they just make me smile.
With the exceptions of one or two short-story compilations where I've already got most of the content, and with the exceptions of independently published short stories (magazines/fanzines etc), I think I've got most of what he's written in one form or another. I haven't even started hunting down the Roleplaying books yet, as I'm not sure that's a box I want to open.
All that remains is for me to thank you, dear reader, for indulging me, and to thank Mr Brian Lumley for many, many hours of great reading. Long may he continue.
*1 This is from a run of 300, but was formerly owned by the author, so is an un-numbered edition. Even rarer, I guess?. *2 This is an original 1982 printing, formerly owned by the author. Mint condition. Signed and personalised to me. This is my holy grail.
DISCLAIMERS: • ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organizations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.
CAUTION: Yen's blog contains harsh language and even harsher notions of propriety. Reader discretion is advised.
I, erm, don't want to generalise about South American gangsters, but do you think it's a massive coincidence that the Bolivian gangster Diego Mendez from GTA: Vice City Stories (2006) bears more than a passing resemblance to the Mexican gangster Bigotón from El Mariachi (1992), at all?
Yeah... I think you probably already noticed, but you weren't going to say anything. Am I right?
DISCLAIMERS: • ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organizations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.
CAUTION: Yen's blog contains harsh language and even harsher notions of propriety. Reader discretion is advised.
Dear Bowling For Soup, my friends say this is obsessive, whereas I say it's almost complete*. Which of us is right?
^^ Click for bigger (765kb), opens in new tab/window.
DVD-Size Cases: 1. The Great Burrito Extortion Case (Sony China Release) 2. Live & Very Attractive (2 disc version, Region 0)
Row One: 3. Gary & The Wisemen, 1997 album 4. Bowling For Soup (self-titled) 5. Cell Mates 6. Rock On, Honorable Ones! (FFROE Ppressing) 7. Rock On, Honorable Ones! (UK MfN Pressing, 2003) 8. Tell Me When To Whoa! 9. Let's Do it for Johnny! (Promo) 10. Let's Do it for Johnny! 11. Let's Do it for Johnny! (Japan release, bonus tracks) 12. The Bitch Song (Promo) 13. The Bitch Song (Promo)
Row Two: 14. The Bitch Song (UK CD Single) 15. Girl All The Bad Guys Want (UK CD1) 16. Girl All The Bad Guys Want (UK CD2) 17. Drunk Enough to Dance (UK release, pre-Punk Rock 101) 18. Girl All The Bad Guys Want (USA Promo DVD) 19. Rare Enough to Dance (k*shots custom) 20. Emily (UK Promo CD) 21. Emily (UK CD1) 22. Emily (UK CD2) 23. Punk Rock 101 (UK CD Single) 24. Punk Rock 101 (USA DVD Single)
Row Three: 25. Here We Go (Japan Promo) 26. BFS Goes to the Movies 27. Alice@97.3 Promo CD (exclusive acoustic version of 1985) 28. 1985 (UK CD Single, 3-tracks + video) 29. A Hangover You Don't Deserve 30. A Hangover You Don't Deserve (USA DualDisc Release) 31. The Rare Stuff You Don't Deserve (k*shots custom) 32. Almost (UK CD Single) 33. Ohio (USA Promo) 34. Live & Very Attractive (3 Disc Pizza Box Edition) 35. Live & Very Attractive (3 Disc UK Promo CD/DVD)
Row Four: 36. Father Christmas (Promo disc via the UK store, custom cover) 37. High School Never Ends (UK CD Single & Promo DVD) 38. The Great Burrito Extortion Case 39. I'm Gay (Promo DVD) 40. I'm Gay (UK CD Single) 41. London Bridge (UK Promo CD) 42. Tuned Magazine exclusive acoustic CD 43. When We Die (USA Promo CD & Promo DVD) 44. Phineas & Ferb long+short theme songs (k*shots custom) 45. My Wena (USA Promo CD) 46. My Wena (USA Promo DVD)
Row Five: 47. My Wena (UK Promo CD) 48. No Hablo Inglés (USA Promo CD) 49. Sorry For Partyin' (UK release) 50. Sorry For Partyin' (Japan release, bonus track & DVD) 51. And Sorry for More, B-Sides (k*shots custom) ---. Harrington, my alter-ego at the BFS Army 52. 2009 UK Tour VIP CD 53. 2010 UK Acoustic Tour VIP Podcast CD 54. 2010 UK Acoustic Tour merch-stand CD 55. Merry Flippin' Christmas Vol.1 56. Playlist: The Very Best of BFS
That's pretty much it. There are a couple of other promos with the same artwork so I didn't include them. Primarily, I'm a covers-man. If it looks different, I want it.
As with the Star Wars DVDs, this is more of a reference for my peeps at the BFS Army than a blogpost in itself. Also, I'm not claiming to have more than everybody else, it's just my collection and it makes me smile.
As with most things in this life, the fun is in the hunt. Ciao!
* I'm only joking... I don't really have friends. I used to, but they wouldn't all stand in height-order when they were together, so I had to ditch them. I realise now that I was a fool over this, of course. I should have made them stand in the alphabetical order of their names...
DISCLAIMERS: • ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organizations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.
CAUTION: Yen's blog contains harsh language and even harsher notions of propriety. Reader discretion is advised.
"Before we go any further, we should move down to the other end" he said to his companion. "That open door is letting in a terrible George Raft". He was looking at me now. "...draught." he said with a slight grin.
Christopher Lee was talking to me. Christopher Lee had just used Cockney Rhyming Slang to me. I smiled, nodded and continued the relocation to the other end of the soundstage. 6th April, 2001.
How did this happen? Okay, as briefly as I can make this: I don't work in the movie industry, I'm a graphic designer. In 2001, I was living in Kent, sharing a flat with my BFF (and fellow Star Wars geek). He doesn't work in the movie industry either, he's a mechanical engineer. He was designing arcade machines at the time. Not video-games, but the ones with the cascading coins, grabbing arms and conveyor belts. One of the supplier reps of these conveyor belts was visiting his office in March 2001. He mentioned to him that his company had made a massive conveyor for installation at the famous Ealing Studios. They were using it to make the new Star Wars film. Now in this situation, you want to play it cool. The rep might be bullshitting, or might be mistaken. Even so, you don't want to start drooling like an excited puppy, just because someone's said the name of your favourite film series. My BFF played it cool. As it turned out, the rep must have been trying to sweeten a deal, because he arranged for BFF to go to Ealing and 'help out' for a day with one of their guys operating the belt.
Understandably, he was going pretty hyper inside. It could go belly up at any point, of course, or could just have been an empty promise (it's worth saying now that the themes of "trying to play it cool" and "being aware that it could go belly up" apply for more or less the rest of this blog entry). Anyhow, in late March 2001, BFF did indeed get to visit Ealing Studios in London, where Lucasfilm (under the name JAK productions, named after GL's three children) were filming pickup shots for SW Episode II: Attack of the Clones. He signed a Non-Disclosure Agreement, played it cool all day, and that evening he told me everything. Spoilers? Don't care in that situation, thank you.
And that was that. Until he spoke to the chap from the conveyor company again, and managed to swing another day on set. But because he'd been there before, he didn't need to be accompanied by their people. He could take someone else if he wanted. He asked me if I'd like to go. Which, I suppose, is a bit like asking a smackhead if he'd like to visit a heroin refinery. We went to Ealing Studios on Friday 6th April, 2001.
After a 5am set-off, I slept in the car and had an IV-drip of coffee and Diet Coke for the rest of the day. We arrived at Ealing for a 7am start, and I did my very best to "look like I'm supposed to be there". Given the nature of my 'real' job, and given that there were now two people on-set who actually had nothing to do with the production, I'd made us polo-shirts with the logo of the conveyor company on them. Y'know, so we'd "look all official". As it turned out, we looked like the most official people there. George Lucas was on-set (obviously), as were Rick McCallum, Hayden Christensen, Natalie Portman, Ewan McGregor, Anthony Daniels... and Christopher Lee. Also visiting the set (but not working that day) were Kenny Baker and Warwick Davis.
After the initial shots with the conveyor were taken and approved (to be detailed in another entry), the conveyor was used as a static soundstage. Christopher Lee was present early, but not needed until the afternoon, so he sat in the crew area with a young lady, with whom he was engaged in conversation. The chatting was frequent enough between shots that I think she may have been a journalist writing an interview piece. She could have been a relative or friend, of course, but she was listening very intently to what he had to say, and body language didn't suggest a regular conversation. Maybe he just has a way with the ladies. I dunno. She was pretty hot, that's all I'm saying.
Either way, it was in between set-ups, and equipment and machinery was being moved around and in and out of the stage. With this in mind, the massive hangar-door was open, and it was April in London. Which is to say, it was indeed quite breezy.
What then happened was the interchange as detailed at the start of this post. Christopher Lee doesn't speak in a Cockney accent of course. He speaks almost exactly the same as he does in most of his roles: clearly and refined. Along with Alec Guinness and Peter Cushing, he's of the generation of actors that are/were complete gentlemen. It should also be pointed out that he didn't need to explain to me what he meant by "George Raft". Not that Mr. Lee was to know that I have a low-level obsession with rhyming slang, or indeed that I wasn't an American member of the crew, to whom the slang may be an enigma. With the best will in the world, it's not that difficult to work out. Although bizarrely, I didn't know who George Raft was at that point. I know now, obviously, and it's a phrase I use to this day. Although any (and all) rhyming slang I use now is followed by a three second gap... then word I meant all along. That's how the professionals do it.
Oh, and George Lucas said hello to me on his way to the toilet, but that's another story.
Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go and close that door...
DISCLAIMERS: • ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• Photos and videos appearing in this blog post are for informational and reference purposes only, and no ownership of copyright is claimed or implied by me. The intellectual and physical copyright of such material belongs to its creators and owners.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organizations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.
The plot: Bradley Cooper gets some magic pills that make him all brainy and want to take his shirt off. Well, alright, only once. But I suspect that's in his contract...
The cast:, Limitless sees Cooper as his charming self, even as the slobby Eddie Morra, a struggling writer who stumbles across a colourless narcotic that enhances everything about his mind. Abbie Cornish plays his on/off girlfriend Lindy, who's pretty good for the scenes she's in, but sadly most of the film doesn't require her to be there. Robert De Niro appears to be stuck in Meet-The-Parents-mode as Carl Van Loon (because there's a name you can take seriously), with all the restrained aggression of 'Jack Byrnes' but little of the humour. The rest of the cast do a fine job in making this a pleasantly tense ride. Oh, and Anna Friel stars as Eddie's ex, Melissa and looks fucking terrifying. Seriously good make-up and acting in her major scene.
The film: This is quite another ride from the one hinted at in the trailer. Nowhere near as many laughs (not that I was expecting a comedy), but way more thrills. It doesn't exactly deal with the subject of addiction, but it's certainly addressed here. A very slick action thriller, highly stylised (almost bordering on 'Scott Pilgrim' levels) for the first hour, and nicely accessible. A couple of loose ends at the finalé, but my mind wasn't on those as the film didn't pan out the way I was expecting. That's a good thing, I hasten to add, it just caught me off-guard when the end-credits started to roll.
The rest: Nice soundtrack and score, camerawork fits in seamlessly with the stylisation, smooth script. I found very little to fault (…like I'm some kind of professional). Any glitches there are, are more than compensated for by the rest of the movie.
The verdict: If you like Bradley Cooper, you'll enjoy this greatly. He's not acting too far outside of his established range, but he hasn't quite outstayed his welcome yet (with me at least). It'd be nice to see him take on something a little heavier, and this movie hints that he could pull it off well. This is very enjoyable, even if the ending seemed a little incomplete (not that there's any room for, or hint of, a sequel).
A very solid 6. Catch it in the cinema if you can, the opening titles and general feel of this look great on a screen that size.
DISCLAIMERS: • ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organizations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.
The last (and indeed first) time I watched a Matthew McConaughey movie was, I kid you not, 1996*. The film was 'A Time to Kill', based on the John Grisham courtroom thriller, which while certainly passable, did nothing to convince me that I should follow the man's work more closely. Indeed, the looks of his subsequent offerings only strengthened that idea. So, the only lasting impression in my mind of MM is as a white, middle-class lawyer. Ironic then that the first film of his to grab my attention after fifteen years has MM starring as a white, middle-class lawyer.
And you thought he was being typecast in shit romcoms...
Plot: The Lincoln Lawyer sees MM as a crooked criminal defence lawyer (with a Heart Of Gold™) working out of the back of his car (erm... yes). Although he's used to defending the obviously guilty, he's pushed onto a case that's more than he can handle, as the past comes back to bite him on the arse.
Now this one looks as if it's spent a lot of time on the edit-suite. The reason it's called The Lincoln Lawyer, is that he operates his lawyering out of the back of his Lincoln Sedan. There's a part in the trailer where his young daughter is spending the day with him in 'his office' and they're discussing that fact. But that isn't in the print of the film I saw. It's evident that he doesn't have a fixed office, but it's barely even hinted at that his car is his office. Instead of that particular line of exposition, the first hour centres on Mick Haller (MM) taking and analysing the case of a young wealthy realtor (small-eyed Ryan Phillippe) accused of GBH on a prostitute. Now there's hints from the get-go that this case is more than it's made out to be, but this doesn't begin to develop until after that hour. Then, the plot picks up pace and becomes a very enjoyable courtroom/crime thriller. It feels slightly too long for what actually happens, but I put that down to the aforementioned buildup. There's a very nice GTA-style opening sequence which hints of a smoother film than the one we get. This is why I suspect there's been a re-edit at some point, and not by the same people that originally worked on it. Although I could well be mistaken, but it just feels disjointed.
Despite what I've said about old Captain Vanilla, McConaughey's pretty good in his role; with just the right amount of combined sleaze, humility and warmth to make his character believable. The rest of the cast are also a credit, and I was genuinely shocked when one of the most interesting supporting members is killed off midway through the movie. The stakes needed to be raised, and raised they were. Plot-wise, the ending's curiously open, but we're left with the impression that all will pan out well. We're not supposed to like a bent lawyer, but it's pretty hard not to in this case. It's also worth saying that, thinking about the smaller supporting roles, there are threads which aren't tied up. They might not need to be for this story, but this isn't a 22 part TV series, and it would have been nice to get some closure on his client Gloria**, who helps him from inside prison, for example. Again, there's a feeling that some things were cut for time, which could have been avoided if the first half of the movie had been trimmed.
All in all: It's a good movie, but not necessarily 'cinema' material. You'll lose nothing by watching it at home in a few months time.
It'd have been a 6 if the first hour had been tighter (ie: forty minutes).
*I'm not counting Tropic Thunder. He was in it, but it wasn't a MM-'vehicle'. I'll be honest, I don't even remember him being there, but IMDB and RT both say he was, and that's fine. ** It's also not really explained why Gloria, a coke-addicted prostitute, has such a brilliant, high-profile defence lawyer who takes 10k bungs to get people off. Where would she find that kind of cash?
DISCLAIMERS: • ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organizations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.
CAUTION: Yen's blog contains harsh language and even harsher notions of propriety. Reader discretion is advised.
This is really just for Tony, but if you fancy face-palming in despair for 10 minutes, read on…
^^ Click for bigger, opens in new tab/window.
Shelf One: 1. Bonus disc from the 2004 Widescreen OT box set, R2. 2. Bonus disc from the 2004 Fullscreen OT box set, R1. 3. Bonus disc from the 2005 Episode III Walmart Exclusive set, R1. 4. Laserdisc transfer of 'The Making of Star Wars, SPFX: The Empire Strikes Back, Classic Creatures: Return of the Jedi" (custom) 5. The Phantom Menace, R2. 6. Attack of the Clones, R2. 7. Revenge of the Sith, R2. 8. Revenge of the Sith, R1, Fullscreen (Walmart exclusive with #3) 9. Clone Wars (Genndy Tartakovsky) Chapters 1-20, R1. 10. Clone Wars (Genndy Tartakovsky) Chapters 21-25, R2. 11. The Clone Wars movie, Blu-Ray, R2. 12. The Clone Wars movie, 2-Disc set, R1. 13. The Clone Wars movie, 1-Disc set, R2. 14. The Clone Wars: Downfall of a Droid, 1 episode promo (HMV Exlclusive), R2. 15. The Clone Wars: A Galaxy Divided, Season 1, Volume 1, R2. 16. The Clone Wars: Clone Commandos, Season 1, Volume 2, R2. 17. The Clone Wars: Season 1, Volume 2, R4. 18. The Clone Wars: Season 1, Volume 3, R4. 19. The Clone Wars: Season 1, Volume 4, R4. 20. The Clone Wars: Season 2, Volume 1, R2. 21. The Clone Wars: Season 2, Volume 2, R2. 22. The Clone Wars: Complete Season 1, R2. 23. The Clone Wars: Complete Season 2, R2. 24. Droids, R1. 25, 26, 27. 2004 Fullscreen OT Box set, R1. 28, 29, 30. 2004 Widescreen OT Box set, R2. 31, 32, 33. 2006 Widescreen OT re-issues (with bonus unaltered versions), R2. 34, 35, 36. 1995 Laserdisc transfers (custom) 37, 38, 39. 1997 Special Edition Laserdisc transfers (custom)
Shelf Two: 40. George and Me (documentary), R0. 41. Hardware Wars (spoof), R2. 42. Thumb Wars (spoof), R2. 43. The Unauthorised Star Wars Story (documentary), R2. 44. The Stars of Star Wars (documentary), R2. 45. Star Wait (documentary), R1. 46. The Phantom Menace, 1999 Laserdisc transfer, R0. 47. Attack of the Clones, Telesync, R0. 48. Revenge of the Sith, Telesync, R0. 49. Revenge of the Sith (mistranslated subtitle version), R0. 50. Complete Droids, VHS transfer (custom). 51. Complete Ewoks, VHS transfer (custom). 52. Clone Wars (Genndy Tartakovsky), Chapters 1-10 with web-exclusive commentaries (custom). 53. Clone Wars (Genndy Tartakovsky), Chapters 11-20 with web-exclusive commentaries (custom). 54. Clone Wars (Genndy Tartakovsky), Chapters 21-25 pre-DVD-release TV-rips (custom). 55. The Muppet Show featuring Mark Hamill, Peter Mayhew etc (custom). 56. Star Wars Tech (History Channel), R1. 57. Robot Chicken: Star Wars, R2. 58. Robot Chicken 2: Star Wars, R2. 59. Ewoks (animated), R1. 60. Caravan of Courage / The Battle for Endor, R1. 61. R2-D2: Beneath the Dome, R1. 62, 63, 64. 2004 Widescreen OT Box set, R3. 65. Family Guy: Blue Harvest, R2 66. Family Guy: Something, Something, Something, Dark Side, R2 67. Family Guy: It's a Trap, R2.
And there we have it. official VCDs and audio CDs not included. I'm not claiming to have more than anyone else, it's just my collection, and it makes me smile.
One day, if I have enough time, I'll list my VHS copies. Then you'll cry…
DISCLAIMERS: • ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organizations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.
CAUTION: Yen's blog contains harsh language and even harsher notions of propriety. Reader discretion is advised.
Ladies and gentlemen, this is Ahmed Best.
Ahmed is the actor that personifies Jar-Jar Binks in the same way that Anthony Daniels has made C-3PO his own.
Now as you're probably aware (since it's been stated relentlessly since 1999), Jar-Jar doesn't sit well with a lot of adult Star Wars fans. The main complaint is that he's a goofy, silly addition to the GFFA, carries no substance as a character and gets in the way of the dark, brooding action that the fanboys wanted. Jar-Jar, it's claimed, is for kids...
*NEWSFLASH* Jar-Jar Binksis there for the kids. He's there to show the kids that it's okay to be clumsy, and to be different from those around you. Jar-Jar's there to show that it's often good enough just to have a good heart. You don't always need The Force to be a hero, and you don't need to be bustin' moves like Bruce Lee. You just need to be you. Is that really such a bad message to be sending to the kids in this day and age?
It's remarkably simple: be yourself and do the best you can. In terms of a moral outlook, isn't this the best advice you can give to anyone?
And yes, Jar-Jar is childish and 'funny' and says things like "Icky icky poo!". The kids love that, that's why he's there. My nephew was five in 1999 when he saw tPM, and he loved Mr Binks. Like many others of his generation, he thinks of Star Wars as being primarily the prequel trilogy. The OT is still there, but it's not hisstar Wars. As a result, Jar-Jar is just part of the journey. He's one of the lighter aspects of the film(s), just as my generation had R2-D2 and C-3PO bickering all the time, and The Ewoks. The thing to try and remember is, Star Wars has always been about appealing to kids. It's essentially a series of children's films. Arguably the most expensive and influential ones of all time, but children's films nonetheless. It's part of why I love them so much: they take me back to my childhood. Even/especially the new installments - it's about being in that familiar galaxy. Kind of like a soap-opera, but with better weapons.
Although the Original Trilogy had multi-generational appeal, it was the kids that were driving it. That's why the Kenner/Palitoy line was (and still is with Hasbro) the front-runner in merchandising. Each new 'generation' of Star Wars (The OT in 1977, the PT in 1999, the Clone Wars series in 2008) is designed to bring in a new generation of fans, which keeps Star Wars alive. Otherwise, we'd all be banging on about a film that came out in 1977, and there'd be no new merchandise, no new releases, and just no movement behind the whole thing (example: E.T. - A great film, occasional re-releases on new formats, and a legacy approach to merchandising. Fine as it is, but there's nowhere to go with it).
If Star Wars is to continue (and it will, whether you or I like it or not), it has to draw new blood into its circle. That new blood doesn't come from the novels, comics or video games. As great as they are, they're for existing fans who are looking for more stories from the GFFA. It comes from parents taking their kids to the movies that they loved when they were younger.
So, as you've probably gathered, I've got no real problem with Jar-Jar Binks' inclusion in the Star Wars canon. Despite what I've said above, I never really gushed over him that much, he just was what he was. That is, until 2009 when it became apparent what Ahmed Best brings to the character.
When animated The Clone Wars series began on Cartoon Network (or SkyMovies in the UK), there was word that several actors from the films would be voicing their characters. For the movie that opened before the series, Sam Jackson returned to play Mace Windu and Christopher Lee reprised his Count Dooku. These were the big ones. We learned that Anthony Daniels would be returning as C-3PO, but with the best will in the world, that's expected now. C-3PO is his character, and he cares about how he's portrayed. When it was announced that Ahmed was voicing Jar-Jar, the usual fanboy grumbling commenced (more about his inclusion at all, rather than the casting choice), and not much was thought about it. Binks is, after all, an essentially animated character to begin with. Ahmed provided the core-movement and space-reference on the set of the movies, but the visuals themselves were mostly CGI.
Episode 8 of Season 1 rolled around, Bombad Jedi, with Jar-Jar and C-3PO having a mini-adventure of their own. Two 'comedy characters', both voiced by their original actors, in what was largely a farce/slapstick storyline. But it worked. With no dark, brooding action to detract from, their animated antics were very entertaining to watch.
Then something odd happened. Best, for whatever reason, didn't record the voice of Jar-Jar for episode 13, The Gungan General. The credited voice-actor was a Mr B.J. Hughes. No-one's sure exactly who B.J. Hughes is (series director Dave Filoni is keeping schtum on the matter), but one thing's for sure: he's bloody awful.
Over on the TFN Boards, even the SW fans who were traditionally Anti-Jar-Jar were basically saying "Look, I don't like Binks, but I at least want him to SOUND like the thing I don't like. What the hell is this?" It looked for a while like Best had left The Clone Wars, although he didn't reveal 'why'.
Then, just as it looked we'd been bequeathed a disliked character with a second-rate voice, Supply Lines aired in Season 3, with Ahmed voicing him. It was at this stage that I realised just how much I love Jar-Jar Binks. He'll never be a favourite character as such, but he's like a member of the family: irreplaceable.
ACE.
DISCLAIMERS: • ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• Photos and videos appearing in this blog post are for informational and reference purposes only, and no ownership of copyright is claimed or implied by me. The intellectual and physical copyright of such material belongs to its creators and owners.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organizations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.
Plot: Machete (Danny Trejo) is a hard-nosed Federal Agent, caught out by his enemies and sold out by his allies. Now he's out for justice, and bloody, red revenge.
Well, the films in my all-time Top 10 had better budge up a little, because there's another one to fit in now. This film is fucking awesome!
As this is a DVD-viewing, I'd normally give it a mini-review over on my Facebook page. But I enjoyed it so much, I'm going to gush about it here instead. If my local cinema had shown this last year, it'd have been a stupidly-close fight for film of the year alongside Kick-Ass. As luck would have it, the local Cineworld is reliably pedestrian for the most part, so this didn't get a look-in (neither did the Tarantino/Rodriguez 2007 Grindhouse outing).
Initially a trailer in the aforementioned pairing of Deathproof and Planet Terror, this has been brought to full, messy, loud, gory, slapstick life by director Robert Rodriguez. Most of the faces in the movie are comfortably familiar; Danny Trejo, Michelle Rodriguez, Cheech Marin, Jessica Alba, Tom Savini, with surprising turns from Don Johnson, Steven Segal and Robert De Niro. Oh, and Lindsay Lohan (I'm not sure why she's there, and while she's not great, at least she's not awful either).
I get the impression that the cast was assembled not by negotiations over fees and credits-placing, but more over the 'want-list' of actors and actresses reading the script and excitedly asking when they could start.
This movie is adrenaline from the word go. This, sadly, is its only let-down: common sense dictates that you can't keep that momentum up for 105 minutes, and that there's got to be some downtime to let the audience breathe and fit in a bit of plot. As the plot is beautifully minimal, you're pretty much stunned into submission in that downtime, so it seems like nothing's really happening. It is, of course, but it's hard to compare with the action sequences.
Not that it matters; the entire ensemble is a fucking joy to watch, here. And Danny Trejo makes me grin like an idiot anyway. This film triumphs on every level that it sets out to, and most importantly: it knows its place.
See if you liked: From Dusk 'Til Dawn, Planet Terror, Deathproof... actually, any of the work by Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez. Oh, and Drive Angry. It's awesome like that, as well.
Yes. 7. It's that awesome.
DISCLAIMERS: • ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organizations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.
Plot: In a bid to re-ignite their marriage, Maggie (Jenna Fischer) gives Rick (Owen Wilson) a 'hall pass' for a week. That's right, seven whole days of booze, women and tedious predicability!
Do you remember what comedies were like ten years ago? The Farrelly Brothers do. In fact, they're still writing and directing them like that; oblivious to the fact that gross-out comedies have, at least a little bit, moved on in a decade. It's kind of like they've taken Old School, smashed it into The Hangover, and sprinkled it with Date Night, somehow expecting it to be at least equal to either. It ain't.
Don't get me wrong, I did laugh. Approximately once every ten minutes. You can almost see the people with the clipboards at the back of the shot, watching the test-audience's reaction and scribbling 'insert joke and/or boobs here'. When it's funny, it's laugh-out-loud funny, but these moments are too measured and few-and-far-between to be convincing. There are also a few obvious moments where they've ramped up the language/nudity to get an R (US) / 15 (UK) rating. They just feel out of place with the rest of the movie.
I should also take a moment to thank Owen Wilson for playing Owen Wilson again. I'd almost forgotten what the puppy-eyed, floppy-haired, hapless, loveable sap was like since How Do You Know (last year), Little Fockers (last year), Night At The Museum 2 (the year before), Marley and Me (and the year before that), and for almost his entire career. *sigh*
Incidentally, Jenna Fischer and Christina Applegate are both very good, as is Derek Waters as the psychotic Brent. But that's because they're all a-c-t-i-n-g. Rather than just coasting from gag to gag, reading the cue cards and being themselves.
I probably shouldn't be so hard on this, but everyone involved should know better. EspeciallyStephen Merchant, who's a fucking writer himself! Although he's doing those godawful adverts for Barclays at the moment, too, so what does that tell you?
All in all: This will probably be quite watchable if there's a bunch of you and you're drunk and chatting during the bits where there are no jokes. when it works, it's great, but that accounts for about 15% of the film. It's not even 'comfortably familiar', it's just 'worn out'.
And a three's being generous, frankly.
DISCLAIMERS: • ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organizations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.
Plot: During the first wave of an alien invasion, a squad of marines has to make it from the drop-zone to the Forward Operations Base, rescuing civilians as they go.
Sounds like a game, doesn't it? It pretty much plays out like one, too. From the off-the-shelf characters (troubled about-to-quit marine, rookie eager-to-please marine, bitter my-brother-just-died-on-duty marine, determined I'm-a-chick but-I-kick-more-ass than-the-rest-of-you marine... you get the picture) to the premise of go from point A to point B while keeping the survivors intact, it's essentially like someone wrote a decent squad-based shooter, then adapted it into a movie. If you watch it with this in mind, it's actually fairly good.
I say that because I wasn't expecting a lot from Battle: Los Angeles, and the first half hour did little to dissuade me from that feeling. The trailer and marketing seem to be shoving this into a slot like a kind of Earth-bound Starship Troopers, but I took it more along the lines of Gamer and Crank. The hand-held shakycam is overused, and it's ridiculously noisy. At the moments in the film where there are plot-points to hammer home, you'll barely notice because of the constant motion and noise. Not that it actually matters that much. Sitting towards the back of the cinema is recommended if you want to be able to focus on the action at all.
So, once you adapt to the fact that this is told from the marines' point of view, and that it's going to be fucking loud, it's good fun. It's thankfully lacking in the America-Saves-The-World vibe of Independence Day, but there is a fair amount of earnest, motivational speech-time. And I don't want to sound like I'm generalising, but despite the tick-boxes that each character falls into, the marines are basically the same type of character: marines. I know they're individuals, of course, but they're all the kind of individual who joined the marines and passed the training, y'know? What I'm saying is, when each one gets his 2-minute introductory sequence at the start of the movie, you needn't bother reading the name-card at the bottom of the screen. Once the bullets start flying, their names aren't important. If anything, the film is its own worst enemy in terms of generalisation.
And so to the rest: Visual effects, great. Aliens used sparingly and from varying distances, the same with their ships. Exposition, satisfactory. All that's revealed is what's needed, even if most of it is drowned out in shouting and gunfire. Scoring, up to scratch. Nothing outstanding, with 'dark ominous tones' for the most part, but it's what's expected and works well enough. The only irony in it all is that I noticed the 'stillness' during the BBFC-card: 'ooh, digital projection. Nice, I like a good steady picture'. This, obviously, was the last steady picture I saw for two hours.
Side note: You've got to almost feel sorry for Michelle Rodreguez. She's played this role so many times that if she ever gets a knock on the head, she'll be slotting people left, right and centre. But hey, at least she's still getting plenty of work, and she is fun to watch.
Sequels? It'd be nice to see how the same time-frame played out in different locations around the world. A bit like when the game Half-Life was expanded with Opposing Force and Blue Shift. It's possible that's what the title of the film is hinting at, or it may just be a generic title for a generic movie...
All in all: Low expectations are the key to enjoyment. There's nothing new here, but that charge can be levelled at most new movies these days.
It's way better than Skyline, and nowhere near as good as Cloverfield.
See if you liked: Aliens, Skyline, Cloverfield, District 9, Starship Troopers.
DISCLAIMERS: • ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organizations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.
CAUTION: Yen's blog contains harsh language and even harsher notions of propriety. Reader discretion is advised.
Do you remember when Bea Arthur from The Golden Girls worked at the Mos Eisley Cantina out of Star Wars?
No, of course you don't, it was only shown once. You see, during the Clone Wars it was being staffed by a Yarkora and a Weequay, and shortly before the Battle of Yavin, it was being run by Chalmun and day-staffed by a chap named Wuher. Under both management schemes, it was a pretty seedy place, full of dark corners and nefarious dealings.
Working the night-shift around 0-bby was a bartender named Ackmena who had a very different approach. Rather than throw the hoodlums out on the street at closing-time, she'd sing them a playful song, and send them cheerily on their drunken way.
* sigh *
I'm talking, of course, about the Star Wars Holiday Special. Commissioned by CBS after the success of Star Wars in 1977, for the Thanksgiving/Christmas period of 1978. The story outline was written by George Lucas, and it starred the principal cast of the first movie (Luke, Leia, Han, Chewie, R2-D2, C-3PO, and unused scenes of Darth Vader, ported over from Star Wars). George Lucas wasn't present for the production of The Holiday Special, as he was busy with the pre-production work for The Empire Strikes Back. It's amazing to think that these were being produced at the same time, but I'm jumping ahead there. The story is centered around Chewbacca's family, preparing for Life Day (a sort of Christmas/Thanksgiving/Day-of-Peace combination set), while Han and Chewie struggle to return to Kashyyyk because of the Imperial presence. Being a 'holiday special', this is interspersed with singing, dancing and light-comedy routines. Yes, you read that right.
The Holiday Special aired on November 17th 1978 (in the USA only), to reasonable viewing figures. It wasn't repeated, though. It was awful, see? Didn't you read that bit just now about singing and dancing? George Lucas was, understandably, devastated by what had been done to his creation. It was turned from the brash new cinematic kid on the block, into a placid variety-show. While Lucasfilm acknowledges the existence of tHS, it's never seen a re-broadcast or domestic-release. As luck would have it, a few brave souls recorded it on early home-video machines, and actually kept the tapes. It's not difficult to find on the internet these days, although the quality's largely crap. Seriously.
George Lucas, for many years, disowned the thing. Reportedly saying to Steve Sansweet (former Lucasfilm Head-of-Fan-Relations and SW-Ambassador) that if he had the time, he would 'hunt down every copy of it, and smash it with a hammer'. With the advent of the internet, nothing stays hidden for long, of course. It used to be a VHS tape traded at Sci-Fi conventions, but now you can find it very easily online. You don't want to, mind. Did I mention it's awful? No, even I, the guy with two Star Wars tattoos, can't bear to watch it in one sitting. The actual bottom-line is, all the Christmassy variety shows produced around this time were crap. It's just that the rest of them didn't end up as part of a sprawling cinematic empire (no pun intended).
The only redeeming feature of tHS was the animated segment. A 10 minute cartoon by a company called Nelvana, which saw the heroes on a quest to overcome a sleeping-virus, which also brought us Boba Fett for the first time. Yes, ahead of tESB, viewers in North America saw Fett introduced as an un-trustworthy bounty hunter, cruel to animals and sparing with information.
The cartoon was a forerunner of the Droids and Ewoks series from 1985, also produced by Nelvana, but I'll blog about those in the future, probably.
The really strange thing about tHS and all it contains, however, is that the Star Wars fan community actually recognises its canonicity. It says a lot about the fandom that, generally, not only are we prepared to accept things like tHS, we find a way to justify them, and even defend them when they're bashed from the outside. Seriously, Jar-Jar Binks is nothing; nothing; compared to the atrocity that is tHS.
Throughout the novels, comics and video-games based around and through the Star Wars movies, there's a concerted effort by Lucasfilm to make sure one section of the storyline doesn't step on the toes of another. If glitches do occur, they can usually be retconned (retroactive-continuity) to explain both sides of the story. This approved continuity is what Star Wars fans refer to as the canon. Occasionally, there'll be a comic series with an 'Infinities' badge on it, a sign that it takes place outside continuity, like the old 'What If?' series from Marvel. But generally speaking, if it's got a Star Wars logo on it, Lucasfilm have stated that this actually happened in the Galaxy Far, Far Away. There are squabbles and disagreements among the fans, of course, particularly when it comes down to a matter of taste (eg: 'I didn't like that story, so I'm not going to see it as canon'), but there are some things that can't be escaped.
The Holiday Special was written by George Lucas and stars Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford, Peter Mayhew, Kenny Baker, Anthony Daniels and David Prowse. If that doesn't make it canon, nothing will. Even George Lucas' wishing-it-didn't-exist doesn't count. Because it does exist, we've seen it. We saw Art Carney as a kindly shopkeeper/ Rebellion-sympathiser. We saw Harvey Korman as a four-armed chef (long before the appearance of Dex's Diner in Episode II). We saw Jefferson Starship play a song with a sort of crap-lightsaber as a microphone. We saw a Wookiee family converse in grunts and growls, in un-interrupted 10 minute segments, with no subtitles. We saw Diahann Carroll starring in some kind of Wookiee-porn holovid, enjoyed by Chewbacca's sinister, mangy-looking father, Itchy (and you can't un-see that).
So with that in mind, Ackmena ran the Mos Eisley Cantina shortly after the Battle of Yavin. What do you want, proof?
DISCLAIMERS: • ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• Photos and videos appearing in this blog post are for informational and reference purposes only, and no ownership of copyright is claimed or implied by me. The intellectual and physical copyright of such material belongs to its creators and owners.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organizations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.
CAUTION: Yen's blog contains harsh language and even harsher notions of propriety. Reader discretion is advised.
Hello. I'm doing a series of Star Wars based blog posts on the A-to-Z of the Galaxy Far, Far Away. Each entry will be 1,000 words based loosely on its alphabetical subject.
This is the index page for those posts, which will be updated as each one goes live.
+ + + + +
A is for Arthur (and Ackmena).
B is for Best (and Binks).
C is for Cockney (and Christopher).
D is for Delegation (and Dooku).
E is for Eternal Life (and Endor).
F is for Fluffy (and Feral).
G is for Greed (and George).
H is for Hairy (or Hirstute).
I is for Ink (and Individuality).
J is for Justification (and Jedi).
K is for Kickass (and Katarn).
L is for Lignan Crystals (and Lager).
M is for Microscopic Lifeforms (or Midichlorians).
N is for Nelvana (Look sir, Droids!).
O is for Odeon (and Obsolete).
P is for Pret-a-Porter (and Printable).
Q is for Quietus (and Quackle).
R is for Reaction Time (and Rodian).
S is for Shoulder Pads (and Shadows).
T is for Trauma (and Trading Cards).
U is for Unique (and Unavailable in the Shops).
V is for Vastidity (and Videos).
W is for Wisdom (and Wrinkly).
X is for Xanthodontic (and Xenophobic).
Y is for Youngling (and the excitement of Youth).
Z is for Zealot (and NOT for Zoilist).
GLOSSARY: (ongoing)
ANH - A New Hope. Star Wars Episode IV.
AotC - Atack of the Clones. Star Wars Episode II.
EU - Expanded Universe. The stories in the books, comics and video games which have been worked into the accepted continuity of the Star Wars saga. Things which take place outside the movies.
GFFA - Galaxy Far, Far Away. The 'known' galaxy in which the stories from Star Wars take place.
OT - Original Trilogy. Star Wars episodes IV to VI, released from 1977 to 1983.
PT - Prequel Trilogy. Star Wars episodes I to III, released from 1999 to 2005.
RotJ - Return of the Jedi. Star Wars Episode VI.
RotS - Revenge of the Sith. Star Wars Episode III.
SotE - Shadows of the Empire. The 1996 multimedia project.
tCW - The Clone Wars. The animated movie or TV series.
tESB - The Empire Strikes Back. Star Wars Episode V.
tPM - The Phantom Menace. Star Wars Episode I.
DISCLAIMERS:
• ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• Photos and videos appearing in this blog post are for informational and reference purposes only, and no ownership of copyright is claimed or implied by me. The intellectual and physical copyright of such material belongs to its creators and owners.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organizations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.
