Rob St. Mary's Reel Recap

Top Ten Films by Rob St. Mary

10 - Most Werner Herzog films but chiefly “Aguirre: The Wrath of God” and “Fitzcarraldo”. Working with the crazed but amazing Klaus Kinski, Herzog tells stories of men driven by ambition into the wilderness: one, it’s the drive for gold and the other, a drive to bring art to a small town in the Amazon. Herzog is one of the greatest filmmakers of the past 50 years who can work both ends of the film spectrum – as a fiction storyteller and a documentarian.

9 - “Pulp Fiction” – Quentin Tarantino’s 1994 film is the high water mark of his career. It was innovative for taking ideas from the French New Wave, film noir, Blaxploitation and making it hip for modern American audiences. I saw this when it came out in the theater when I was in high school and it really lit a fire under my imagination when it came to film. I believe I’ve seen “Pulp Fiction” more times in a theater than any other film, 13 times.

8 - “Dawn of the Dead” – the zombie film that can’t be topped. George A. Romero’s 1978 film is about more than just bloodletting and horror. The film is a statement on consumerism, small group dynamics and how we live. The remake is bad. But, I just don’t feel that dead people should run.

7 - “Battles Without Honor and Humanity” – Kinji Fukasaku is one of the most overlooked Japanese directors. While it’s easy to like Kurosawa’s samurai films, Fukasaku’s movies may be violent but it’s very humanistic. This is not violence entertainment sake. It’s shocking, bloody and awful – just like how violence truly is in real life. Fukasaku’s “Battles Without Honor and Humanity” series – shot over 2 years in the early 1970s – is a five film arc telling the tale of rival gangs in post-atomic bombed Hiroshima. This series makes “The Godfather” look like kindergarten and never loses a step.

http://projection-booth.blogspot.com/2012/06/episode-67-battles-without-honor-and.html

6 - “A Clockwork Orange” – I saw this film at the age of 9. My father wanted to show it to me the day we got our VCR. Hardly a kid’s film, but even then I knew it was something special, even if I didn’t know why. Today, I see it as Kubrick’s philosophical masterpiece. Sure, “2001” is visually stunning. “The Killing” is a masterwork of non-linier story telling. Basically, I could say every one of his films is amazing piece in its own way – but “A Clockwork Orange” has always been the film I come back to. It’s a film that talks about what humanity truly is, even at its most inhumane.

5 - “The Dark Knight” – More than a Batman movie, but one of the best comic book movies ever. The Dark Knight is an examination of the post-9/11 America and the War on Terrorism. 

4 - “Brazil” – Terry Gilliam’s darkly comic “1984”-like tale is about the nightmare of structure and bureaucracy run amok. It also shows that behind all the plans and facades of the order lies a chaos that cannot be controlled. It also offers one of the most hopeful downer endings ever.

3 - “There Will Be Blood” – Paul Thomas Anderson’s greatest film to date. This will be the movie that will be on the “SIGHT AND SOUND” greatest films of all time lists in 20 or 30 years. “There Will Be Blood” is a digs deep into the twin drivers of the American story – business and religion.

http://projection-booth.blogspot.com/2013/09/episode-133-there-will-be-blood.html

2 - “Blade Runner” – What needs to be said about it? It’s an existential neo-noir that asks us fundamental questions about what it means to be human. Also, I don’t care what Ridley Scott says; Deckard is not a replicant – END OF DEBATE!

http://www.projection-booth.blogspot.com/2012/09/special-report-blade-runner.html

1 - “The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie” – Luis Bunuel’s 1972 surrealist comedy of manners is so important to me that the first, and so far – only, tattoo that I have is the poster art to this film. It tells the tale of two couples, a single woman and a priest who keep trying to meet for dinner, but fate has other plans. Everything from they showed up on the wrong day for dinner to finding themselves on stage to live fire military exercises taking place on the front lawn keeps them from stuffing their faces. The first time I saw this, I hated it. I didn’t get it at all. I came back about ten years later and it makes so much sense to me. Funny, considering Bunuel was always cagy about talking about his films, their themes in meanings. But, I guess that’s why it works for me.

https://www.facebook.com/events/154559924716730/

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'Detroit Ghostbusters' Short Film - Review

Kimberly Howard and Terence Cover came on our show for Episode 10 of The Not So Cool Kids Podcast to discuss the short film they were working on (at the time) called 'Detroit Ghostbusters.'  The project is a fan-film that is not connected in any way to the studio or filmmakers that made the original Ghostbuster films but throughout the short it is clear that it is definitely a "tip of the hat" to the original films.  The main characters - Dr. Sara Blakemoore (played by Kimberly Howard), Nathan Fueller (Terence Cover), and Dr. Simon Grey (Mike Kammer) come together to form a remote franchise of Ghostbusters in the Motor City, just in time to get their first case.  An office worker named Janet comes to the Detroit Ghostbusters with reports of an eerie disturbance that has left one of her co-workers too scared to go back to their place of work.  Sara, Nathan, and Simon are tasked with finding out what lurks in the cubical-clad office and eliminating it once and for all.

The 'Detroit Ghostbusters' film has some parallel familiar scenes to some notable scenes from the first Ghostbusters film with their own quirky cast of characters.  Dr. Sara Blakemoore is the leader of the Detroit Ghostbusters and she rules with an iron fist.  Her character is very Egon-esc, personifying a lab coat wearing nerd that is 100% serious about the prospect of catching ghosts.  Dr. Simon Grey strikes me as the "Peter" of the group, serious to a fault...the fault being his snarky attitude.  The third character, Nathan Fueller is very much like Ray from the original film because he is more heart than brains.  Fully committed to the task of Ghostbusting but Nathan sees it as a "nerd" conquest, demonstrated by the fact that the team found him on a cosplay listing for Craigslist.  All the performances were stellar in this film but I felt that the Dr. Simon Grey lacked some of the dialogue  that could have really made his character come alive.  Understandably so, I realize that sometimes scenes are cut to be considered a short film and if this was a feature, Simon's personality would be explored more in-depth.  The special effects in the film were spot on!  They made me remember why I loved the idea of Ghostbusting in the first place, the gadgets!!  A fun romp down memory lane with a unique cast of characters and a sure-fire short that could easily be made into a fan-film feature.

Make sure to see 'Detroit Ghostbusters' at any of the upcoming public screenings and let us know what you thought of the film.  Just e-mail us at notsocoolkidspodcast@gmail.com

The Not So Cool Kids Podcast "Com-Mix Review" - BarCode: Catalyst (Issue 1) from River Comics

Some plot **SPOILERS** are contained in this review.  Please read with caution.  
Reviewed by: Brian Titus - Producer/Co-Host of The Not So Cool Kids Podcast

River Comics is an independent publisher that recently released the first issue of a three part series called BarCode: Catalyst.  A historically charged and colorful melding of science fiction meets thriller.  The story follows the journey of a scientist named Dr. Arvind Verma during World War II, as he discovers a strange blue rock formation that spins his world on it's head.  The military "powers that be" strong-arm him into working with the government, separating him from his beloved wife Julia.  

A quick read but satisfying, BarCode: Catalyst issue one sets up a story set in a tumultuous period of world history but blends an engaging mystery with the introduction of a glowing blue mineral that appears to have a deadly purpose.  Straight out of the classified files of World War II, the idea is unique and isolating as it is set in the backdrop of four small islands in the Pacific Ocean.  While only being the first issue, it is clear that these characters' moralities will be colliding and clashing with each other throughout the continuation of the series, making for a interesting dynamic.  The illustrations are a blend of what appears to be sourced images paired with a Walking Dead style of illustration.  That being said, each page pops with various color palettes that make the art very eye-pleasing.  I'm looking forward to the building of character developments throughout the next issues but overall would recommend BarCode: Catalyst to readers.  That being said, I can only hope the full girth and meat of the story is yet to come.  

Author: J. M. Thakar, Illustrated by: Jackie Diaz

The first issue of BarCode: Catalyst by River Comics is available for $1.99 on Amazon Kindle eBooks, Nook eBooks, iBookstore, and directly at their website.

Let us know what you thought of our review and what you thought of BarCode: Catalyst issue 1 by sending us a message at notsocoolkidspodcast@gmail.com