Robot vs. Donut

On a recent foray into the wilds of the internet I stumbled upon the fantastic robot/donut art of Eric Joyner His illustrations feature not only lots and lots of old school tin robots and sprinkle-covered donuts, but some of my favorite giant city-crushing monsters as well. Even the rough sketches are amazing.
Enjoy!

Michael Bay vs. the Optimus Prime Directive

or.....why Transformers really isn't a huge waste of time.

While I still maintain that the most noteworthy things about Michael Bay is the way in which he is ridiculed in Team America (Fuck Yea!), I can at least now claim to have genuinely enjoyed one of his films. Although described as an "American Pie meets Generic Things Blowing Up movie" by one blog poster, the good news about Mr. Bay's latest summer blockbuster offering is that it doesn't suck. Not even remotely. And that's quite an amazing feat for the director of Armageddon and Pearl Harbor. Sure, most of the jokes were rather forced and there were plenty of cliched moments ( like the hot young female computer expert and the nerdy black introverted hacker genius teaming up to break the seemingly impossible alien code and save all humanity. or something like that).

With more than a nod to current events, the worst case scenario presented is not the annihilation at the hands of giant alient robots, but the possibility of all-out-war with nations like North Korea and Iran. And then there's the brief shot of a bumbling president character with a distinct Texas twang.

And while Michael Bay (as he often does) gives more than a passing nod to the defense-industrial complex and American military enthusiasm, It's less of a glorification and more of a reflection upon current events and a not-so-subtle critique of Bush regime militaristic strategy.

But that's not really the point of the film or this review. What is most important is that the robots are absolutely fantastic and kick much ass. If anything, I'd like to have seen less humans getting screen time and more robots transforming and fighting. Hopefully the next film (and there almost certainly will be a sequel) will focus more on characters like Starscream ( a pivotal character in the original series). And Mr. Bay, in case you're listening, please please please turn Soundwave into a boombox again.

So yes, the film could have been better. But it served its purpose. I was entertained for well over two hours, I'll watch it again on DVD and, well, it has robots. Lots and lots of robots.
And best of all, Ben Affleck is nowhere to be seen. That, in itself, is step one towards creating a successful film.

Summer is Here, come get some

Recently discovered the "mud" animation work of San Francisco Chinese American animator Joseph Sunn. all the way from 1926. It's super fun. So i'll be featuring a bit of his work over the next couple of months. There isn't so much of a story. but for fans of claymation and stop-motion, it's a must-see. Anyone that knows me reasonably well, knows that i like to watch certain things: stop-motion animation, zombies, robots. I'm just waiting for someone to combine all three. Or perhaps that will be my next film. Hmmmm......

Beyond that, I've pulled out some classic educational films and contemporary video shorts.

So what else? Oh yea, I just hung a brand new (to us) larger screen. so no more small screen on the floor. now we can watch a larger projection and hopefully fit more viewers into the gallery.

Russian Sci-Fi invades Secret Movie Night

almost can't wait for Tuesday night. It's finally time to screen what i love the most: space travel, robots, giant monsters, alien worlds. what more could you ask for?

It's time for Pavel Klushantsev's 1962 Russian sci-fi/thriller "Planeta Bur" ("Storm Planet"),featuring a spaceship full of brave cosmonauts, the planet Venus, a robot named John and lots of the aforementioned monsters.

as far as I'm concerned, this film has it all.

so yea, this film has been ripped off countless times, by the likes of Roger Corman and many others. But this is the real deal. A very well written and prescient work, surprisingly so perhaps, although it's not without its communist leanings.
Nevertheless, it set new standards at the time for it's imaginative storytelling and inventive special effects. For me, it's the Communist answer to Fred Wilcox's 1956 "Forbidden Planet". Both way ahead of their time in terms of effects, storytelling and manner of conveying that human element so often lacking in modern sci-fi filmmaking.