Friday, July 29, 2011

Bo (short film, 2005)

Hearing about what the new sequel to "Happy Feet" will be about, I kept thinking, this premise has been done over and over way too many times, here's one of 'em. A student film from Animation-School-Hamburg in which a timid little man strives to fulfill his destiny. Kinda like how the first try was to go au naturel with a dunce cap and what seems to be the most honest depiction of genitalia I've ever seen!

By Wolfram Späth, Sinem Sakaoglu, Kathrin Harms, Jan-Phillip Dombrowski and Katja Wesner

Thursday, July 28, 2011

The power of five



I'll start here, because I used to race home to watch it. We have the basic five: lead guy, dark version of lead guy, little version of lead guy, big version of lead guy, and girl. Don't think this is isolated.

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Here, small version of lead guy is cut into two parts.



What's that? Five lions? My goodness, I wonder who the five people are!



It's a tried and true formula.



I am NOT making this up.



The meme lasted longer than it should have.



Notice how the Yellow Ranger does not wear a skirt. There's a reason for that.



And if you ever watched the show, you know who the five are.

It's an inescapable formula. I would hope that, someday, we can be released from its horrific grip.

Oh, lord...it's a trope.

GOODBYE JAPANESE ANALOG TELEVISION!

The end of an era....



May you rest in peace!

Friday, July 22, 2011

VOLTES V!!!


Join a team of 5 guys in their search for their ol' man in a giant robot against an alien empire hell bent on claiming the earth as it's own.
(there, I made it sound convincing enough)

Ninja Hell Presents Zardoz at San Japan


Hat tip to Dangerous Minds

Ninja Hell VS Zardoz at San Japan! GO FORTH...AND blah blah blah...

Thursday, July 21, 2011

The Ruling Class (1972)



I had watched this film in high-school, as we were studying Peter Barnes (Red Noses was playing at the local theatre).

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The Ruling Class is not an easy film to take, and I don't say that because of the musical numbers. It's about a man who, for all intents and purposes, is God, but a loving and forgiving god. He's an affable fellow, given to flights of fancy.



It's when he's made sane that things go downhill.



One form of insanity takes over the other and it is very dark indeed.



What I do love about watching this is seeing Nursie when she was young.



Having destroyed or eliminated everyone who both knew him when, or stands in his way, our reformed psychopath takes his rightful place amongst those who rule us.

It is a bitter and cynical film. I still recommend it. You'd have to be crazy to want that kind of power.


Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Robert "It's a gas" Tilton



Oh, fart jokes. Will you never stop being funny?
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Probably not.



No. He'll always be funny.

Robert Tilton is an American televangelist who achieved notoriety in the 1980s and early 1990s through his infomercial-styled religious television program Success-N-Life, which--at its peak in 1991--aired in all 235 American TV markets (daily in the majority of them), brought in nearly $80 million per year, and was described as "the fastest growing television ministry in America."

In 1985, two Canadian men began distributing a video they compiled lampooning Tilton and his ostensible conversations with God. The video exploits Tilton's facial expressions and preaching style. Entitled Pastor Gas, the video featured a medley of footage from Success-N-Life overdubbed with well-timed sound effects of flatulence. Unofficial VHS copies of the video circulated in the United States through the late 1980s under such titles as Heaven Only Knows, The Joyful Noise, and The Farting Preacher. After the hosts of The Mark & Brian Show, a radio program in Los Angeles, mentioned the video on the air, the video's authors saw the market potential and began selling official copies of their creation. Similar videos have since been made in more recent times using more recent footage of Tilton and are distributed throughout the internet, all under the Farting Preacher name. The video distribution (including digital bootlegs distributed online) expanded public awareness of Robert Tilton and his controversial television ministry.

The Hypnotic Eye



A question was asked. A question was answered.

There will be more on this later; don't worry.

The Loved One (1965)



The Loved One: An Anglo-American Tragedy (1948) is a short satirical novel by Evelyn Waugh about the funeral business in Los Angeles, the British expatriate community in Hollywood, and the film industry.

The book was adapted in 1965 by Terry Southern into a sprawling film of the same name.

Everyone is in this: Liberace, John Gielgud*, Rod Steiger, Milton Berle, and Jonathan Winters.

Meanwhile, I am reading The Undertaking, a surprisingly funny and comforting book.

*This process is called "setting the features".

Friday, July 15, 2011

Galactic Mail


Galactic Mail from Asterokid on Vimeo.
Galactic Mail is a project I made along with my friend Jonathan Vuillemin aka Motraboy. It was produced by The Mill in 2008. We used XSI Softimage as a main tool. Check my website for more infos: asterokid.com

I don't always like CGI animation, but when I do it usually involves 3D dinosaurs on checkerboards.  Or something like this student film from 2008.

Thursday, July 07, 2011

Did I tell you how it was hot?



I do my best to stay inside.

Alice of Wonderland in Paris (1966)


Film Threat Review

10th Annual Asian Film Festival!

If you are near Dallas for the weekend of the 15th, you should totes check out the AAFD! Why, you ask? Check it out.



KARATE-ROBO ZABORGAR!

A clever hybrid of alternating parody of/homage to the transforming robot programs of decades past, and what must be labeled a kind of Matsumoto-esque social commentary, KARATE-ROBO ZABORGAR pulls from such disparate sources as the Power Rangers and BIG MAN JAPAN and melds them together with the mad vision of Director Noboru Iguchi (AFFD 2010 hit ROBOGEISHA).

Yutaka Daimon (Yasuhisa Furuhara) is a young crime-fighting superhero, who works with his best friend Zaborgar, a robot that can turn into a motorbike. Together they battle the evil Dr. Akunomiya, who is extracting the DNA from politicians and scientists to further his life-long project of a massive cyborg creature, with which he plans to rule the world. After a critical battle, the story advances 20 years later, when an older Daimon (Itsuji Itao) must reconnect with the long-absent Zaborgar to continue their work.


Can't make it out for that one? What about ZEBRAMAN 2: ATTACK ON ZEBRA CITY?



ZEBRA-BEEEEEEEAM!!!!!!

That looks like so much fun.

And if you're not up for rubber-masks, maybe you'd enjoy some CGI in CITY UNDER SIEGE?




Over-the-top action, I wuv you.

Tuesday, July 05, 2011

The East is Red, White, and Blue



Everyone in this video could break me in two. I say that out of fear and respect.

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I am extraordinarily grateful that I have never served any time in any kind of military organization. By the same respect, I am massively grateful for those who do (and part of why I volunteer with the Meet a Hero group). You should totes sign up for that.



These people are starving to death and they can still kick your ass.



I triple dog dare you to dance like that. Seriously. It gets cold there. You have to keep moving.



Beat that.



Ah, you beauty, pretty maiden,
Take a fancy to me,
Ah, rock-a-baby,
Take a fancy to me.

Little snowberry, snowberry, snowberry of mine!
Little raspberry in the garden, my little raspberry!


BONUS!



American propaganda! Although, I can think of a better soundtrack for this video.



Our Closest Cousin



Nnnng! That opening sequence never ends.

I was reading about how zoos cause the symptoms of metal illness in chimps. To be honest, I'm thinking that zoos are just where we get to see it, but that's neither here nor there. I AM pretty sure that the chimps in this show were crazy. I feel a little crazy watching it.

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See, this gag only works if you know who Ed Sullivan was. Even though, it's just wacky.



The experiment will never work, because the chimp doesn't know he's in a bad movie!



Personally, I cannot suffer the idea of sharing space with a chimp. It's like a toddler that can tear your face off. I'm just not cool with that.



Okay, a little explanation here. The reason there's an invisible monkey is because SOMEONE was upset there was a chimp in a truck ad. I'm not sure if it's funnier with the chimp or not. The jury's still out on that one.



I'll leave you on this one, but mostly because I have to stop here because monkeys freak me out. I'm sure we'll have more in the comments.

(shudder)



Our Favorite Video Tapes: The Little Fox



The Little Fox (1981)