At first glance I thought this film may have been made-for-TV after every copy I found online appeared to be taped off of your Uncle’s VCR. Though research tells me this film was a theatrical release and a bonafide box office hit in the summer of ’71. Can you believe there was a time when a movie with no star power about a young man and his rat pals could be a hit? Let me introduce you to Willard.
Initially, I was going to review the Vincent Price thriller, The Abominable Dr. Phibes for Shocktober Day 3, but I had a change of heart because I wanted to show that the 1970s were more than campy monster movies and splatter films. So instead I proudly present the directorial debut from Italian Giallo director Dario Argento “L’uccello dalle plume di cristallo” or in English, “The Bird with the Crystal Plumage.” What is “Giallo” exactly? Apparently, “Giallo” is Italian for “Yellow” which gets me nowhere. Digging a little deeper I found that in Italy you used to be able to purchase pulp murder/mystery novels with unique yellow covers. Though what makes a film distinctly Giallo? Let’s find out with my take on The Bird with the Crystal Plumage.
There’s nothing like The Legend of Korra on TV, and now that sadly includes Korra itself, which transitioned to online-only midway through its third season after Nickelodeon massively dropped the ball at marketing the show. You see, the first three episodes of “Book Three: Change” (the series calls seasons books) leaked, forcing the network decided to rush the season out, announcing the premiere just a week before it aired and with almost no fanfare. Not surprisingly, Korra experienced series-low ratings, and before the show could recover it got bumped into cyberspace.
For a big fan, this transition has been bittersweet. On the one hand, this is exactly the show I wish kids were watching. It’s truly all-ages entertainment, smart, beautifully made, and an action series with a kickass female lead, there aren’t a lot of those going around. But on the other hand, it’s been six weeks since “Change” ended and the new season, “Balance,” is already available to stream. It undoubtedly will be the last, and it’s kind of crazy to think that the world will be without Avatar again before 2015.
I first got into this franchise is college, when some YouTube videos inspired me to check out The Last Airbender, which was cursing into its excellent final season. I was aware of the show before that, it was something my brothers watched, but Nickelodeon stigma kept me away. I’m glad I gave it a chance, because that show ended up being among my favorites of all time, and now its successor is finally getting to be at that same level.
“Change” is all about the ramifications of the last season, “Spirits,” which ended with Korra deciding to leave the portal between the worlds open, allowing spirits and humans to live together. This has caused at least two major shifts in the world: Republic City is overrun with spiritual greenery and people all over the world are discovering they can airbend. This allows Korra and the rest of Team Avatar a chance to finally get out of the city and travel the world as they begin rebuilding the Air Nation.
There are obstacles along the way, none of which is more dangerous than Zaheer, a dangerous, philosophical anarchist who is fittingly played by Henry Rollins. After discovering he can now airbend, Zaheer escapes from prison and reunites his own team featuring an armless waterbender, an earthbender who can create lava, and a firebender with combustion skills like that guy from The Last Airbender. Together they set out to capture Korra, and prove to be the most dangerous and exciting villains the series has ever had.
Probably the greatest thrill of The Legend of Korra for me is how exciting and amazing it is to get beautifully animated and choreographed magical kung fu fighting on a weekly basis. Having enemies that are capable of each kind of bending meant that every fight this season was interesting and different from the last, especially the final battle of the season, which, because of spoilers, can’t be explained but must be seen.
I couldn’t get as invested in this show as I am if I just watched for the fighting, however, and “Change” is also the strongest season of the series in terms of character development. Previous mistakes are undone and turned into opportunities for growth, insights into hidden pasts are given, relationships are shifted, broken, and strengthened. For the first time, I’m starting to really care about this Team Avatar the way I did about Aang’s Team Avatar. No easy task considering every season of Korra has been about half as long as one of The Last Airbender.
Look, I know I’m not winning anyone over by writing about how special this franchise has become to me. It’s probably too late anyway, given the digital death sentence Nickelodeon has given the franchise. But I had to write something, and if you are interested at all, you can stream the whole series at Nick.com right now and catch up in time to be on board this sinking ship before she’s completely underwater. I have the utmost confidence “Balance” will be amazing. And I know I’m going to miss her a whole lot when she’s gone.
Hey there, shocktoberphiles! Yes, it is true that I’ve agreed to partake in this year’s Shocktober by reviewing a few “classic” horror films from the ’70s. Now to be clear, I am by no means a horror movie expert, and especially in the last few years I’ve found myself shying away from horror movies more and more when it comes to the genres I choose to spend time with. But, I figured John could use a friend to help him out with the Herculean task of reviewing 31 movies in 31 days, and this blog is nothing if not about friendship. So though I may not be a horror buff by any means, I would say I have a fair bit of expertise when it comes to Hollywood’s golden age, and perhaps it’s fitting that the first film I’ll be reviewing stars one of old Hollywood’s consummate tough broads, Joan Crawford. And not only that, but the British horror flick Trog also served as Crawford’s final film, and thus let her go out the way any legendary actress would want to — by getting upstaged by a guy in a shitty caveman costume. Continue reading
As you can tell from the Shocktober posts which surround this one, fall is here. You might not have thought much about it, since the season doesn’t get enough love. No one wants Autumn to come because that means the summer has to end, and then once it’s here everyone wants to skip through it to get to winter and that wonderful Christmastime. This week’s podcast is for anyone who can recognize all the fun that September, October, and November can be. I’m talking about the new school year. I’m talking about the release of most of the good movies and video games for the year. I’m talking about Halloween. I’m talking about Thanksgiving. I’m talking about Black Friday… Wait never mind, Black Friday sucks.
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Blood. Guts. Gore. If there’s one thing 1970s horror movies accomplished it was unleashing exploitation cinema upon the world like a deranged lunatic. Of course, no one was more deranged than Herschell Gordon Lewis. At least that’s what I have been told to believe. I, like many, first became aware of the “Godfather of Gore” through the blood-curdling shock fest that is Juno. If you don’t recall the scene, a puzzled Ellen Page finds a tape of The Wizard of Gore on Jason Bateman’s coffee table. Bateman responds by saying “Oh yeah. It’s Herschell Gordon Lewis. He’s the ultimate master of horror.” Later in the film, they sit down to watch the film and enjoy it. Now that I’ve finally seen The Wizard of Gore I can tell you that Jason Bateman is full of shit.
Shocktober. 31 Days. 31 Movies. 31 Nightmares. If you thought I’d be running out of ideas after almost 7 years you’d be dead wrong. In fact, this year may be the best or should I say BEAST yet. Continuing the themed lists that started in 2011 with “Shlocktober”, followed by “I Love the 80s” in 2012 and “Terrifying 2000s” in 2013, this year is “Seventies Screamers”. Don’t let the bad title fool you, this is going to be ghoulish good fun.
But why the 1970s? If you’re a student of film chances are you’ve heard the term, “New Hollywood”. This was a time in the 1970s when many American filmmakers came to prominence and shaped the era into the decade of the director. We all know about the greats like Scorsese and Coppola but it wasn’t just dramatic directors making their mark. Many masters of horror emerged in the 1970s. Talents like David Cronenberg, John Carpenter, Wes Craven, Tobe Hooper (a few of which we’ll be talking about) stomped their bloody cinematic footprint in the 1970s. Not to mention filmmakers in other parts of the world rose to greatness. Italian filmmakers like Lucio Fulci and Dario Argento became the top names in the Italian “Giallo” movement. Additionally, we finally started seeing horror films emerge from the land down under… No, not hell, Australia.
The 1970s saw plenty of trends, some good and some bad, but all worthy of discussion. There were Giallo films, slasher films, exploitation films, and a weird fascination with killer animals. We’ll talk about all that and more this month and by “We’ll” I mean that I’ll be joined this year by fellow Mildly Pleaser Colin Wessman. So sit back, relax, and remember, it’s only a movie, it’s only a movie, it’s only a movie….
