Kevin's Top 10 Cult Films

Hello, My name is Kevin Siter, I’m a writer/actor working on getting all my ideas in movies and tv shows. You can check out what I’m currently working on, A show called Fighter’s High which is a martial arts comedy at http://www.youtube.com/FightersHigh.

I’ll get to what Fighter’s High is about in a article somewhere down the road but for now let’s get down to business.I’m a movie geek of the highest order. I live for good cinema and here is a fun list of some of my favorite cult films.I tried to stay away from the usual stuff and went with some stuff you may not have heard of, which is good because if you’re like me you always want to learn about new films!

10. Django - This a classic spaghetti western directed by Sergio Corbucci and starring Frank Nero as Django.Django is a mysterious gunslinger dragging a coffin which conceals a Gatling gun into a town with two warring factions, The KKK and a gang of Mexican bandits each trying to persuade him to work for there side in finding gold.

Known for it’s over the top violence and brooding anti hero main character, it’s been said that this film influenced Clint Eastwood before he did his Man with No Name series with Sergio Leone.My favorite director, Takashi Miike just remade this movie last year as Sukiyaki Western Django which is another great cult film as well.

This film influenced anime like Cowboy Bebop and Gungrave. Quentin Tarantino drew influence from this film for Reservoir Dogsin Micheal Madsen’s classic scene in that movie.

9. A L’Interieur - This one of the best, if not the best, horror movie I’ve seen in a long time.A pregnant woman is involved is a very grizzly accident which changes her life and sets the tone for this very intense movie. I love horror movies from Europe because their grasp of atmosphere is always incredible.

The gore is some of the best I’ve ever seen and the cat and mousegame played between the main character and the villain is so tense andjust off the chart crazy. I give the top recommendation I can give: This is a groundbreaking horror film that I know a lot of people won’t able to handle for its “I don’t give a damn” attitude.But that’s why I loved it.

Instant Classic!

8. 13 Game of Death - Combine elements of Saw, Falling Down, and Fight Club and you have this amazing Thai film called 13 Game of Death.

A down on his luck office worker named Chit gets the chance to be in this wild game for 100 million dollars doing 13 tasks.Each one more intense and wild then the last. This movie is a great conversation piece. What would you do in Chit’s place? Would you go through everything he does for the money?

Excellent Film. The Thai movie industry continues to make awesome cinema!!!!

7. Ichi The Killer- This film changed how I look at modern film. This is Takashi Miike’s masterpiece and opened my eyes to him as a director. Tadanobu Asano steals the show as Kakihara.

The thing I worship about Miike as a director is that he makes each film like it is his last chance at making a film…So he goes all out and makes a multi-layered event in each film he makes.
This movie has so many elements: Yakuza power struggles, complicated relationships between every character involved, and fetish upon fetish upon fetish.

This movie screams cult cinema at it’s finest!

6. Wild Zero - ACE! Lock n ROLL! Oh man, This is why the Japanese are the best at making cool movies.
Guns, Zombies, UFOs, Trannys, Katana Guitars, And of course the mighty band Guitar Wolf rocking out!This movie teaches us two important life lessons: Killing zombies is a fine art and Love has no borders, nationalities or genders! This movie also has the greatest drinking games known to man!

Every time any member of Guitar Wolf combs there hair you do a shot! And Let me tell you, These guys stay combing there hair!!!!

5. The Beyond- This a excellent Italian horror movie from the master, Lucio Fulci. The Seven Doors Hotel is the scene of a murder as a mob kills a man who they believe is a warlock.

This sets in motion one of the seven gates of hell opening which lets the dead enter the world of the living. Fast forward to modern times as a young women inherits the hotel and plans to reopen it. But this brings the gates of hell open once again.

This film has a very surreal and dream like quality to it, and the iconic imagery and violence is like nothing ever put to film.

4. The Human Tornado - This is one of the funniest films of all time in my opinion; brought to us by the late great Rudy Ray Moore.

This serves as a sequel to Dolemite, but if you haven’t seen Dolemite it doesn’tmatter because this movie stands on it’s own with it’s wild characters and crazy sense of humor.

3. Lady Snowblood- This revenge story stars Meiko Kaji as an assassin seeking vengeance against some bandits who raped and murdered her family. This is based off a manga by Kazuo Koike who also made Lone Wolf and Cub!

Quentin Tarantino said in a interview that this movie is what inspired him to make Kill Bill. Watching this movie, that is very easy to see.

2. The Machine Girl - This is my kind of movie. The Machine Girl is about Ami, a Japanese schoolgirl whose life is changed forever when her brother is killed by the insane sonof a power hungry Yakuza clan.

Ami tries to take things into her own hands and seek revenge on them but gets her arm sliced off in her first attempt at getting vengeance for her brother.

So in a move that would only come out of Japanese cinema, she replaces her missing arm with a Gatling gun! Great action scenes, over the top acting, and enough blood is spilled to fill a river!!

1. Old Boy- Director Park Chan-wook brings us the story of Oh Dae-su , a man locked inside a room for 15 years without knowing the reason why. When he does get out, his life doesn’t get any easier He is trapped in a web of secrets and deceit. He seeks revenge on the people who have done this to him and along the way falls in love with a woman he meets a a sushi bar upon his release.

The scene in the sushi bar is famous because Choi Min Sik whoplays Oh Dae-su eats a live squid! This film has a very original fighting scene, done in one continuous take!

It is really something you’ll never forget after seeing it. The twists and turns of the plot are some of the bravest ever in film history and it will be a movie I’m sure you’ll never forget.

That’s it for now, I had fun writing this list and I’ll check back every once in awhile with whatever is grabbing my interest in movies, music and video games.

Thanks for reading!

--Kevin Siter (Honorary Super Dude!!)

Weekly Trailer Talk (Sounds Better Than "Teaser Talk")

Okay, Super Dudes...it appears to be that time again. That time is, of course: Monday-Time.

And "Monday-Time", of course, means it's time to talk about the most exciting movie or game trailers I've seen lately.

Unfortunately, I have very little to say this week.

When we treat ourselves to Movie and Game trailers, we tend to only be massively disappointed by the actual movie/game that we pay $10 to see.

I think, at the moment, there are a handful of films that I am actually looking forward to. And when I say this, I mean that I actually will consider paying money to see them!

I may be forgetting some, but the ones that stand out (and are coming out in the near future) are:

WATCHMEN, THE SPIRIT, STAR TREK, and THE WRESTLER.

The mention of STAR TREK may be pushing it. I believe that's still a few months away.

Anyways...the three trailers of the day were going to be:

X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE, GOD OF WAR III, and BRUTAL LEGEND.

Wolverine looks like it may be the best movie to bear the X-MEN label. It has a great cast, and characters (like Gambit) that I've been dying to see.

God of War III is intriguing. I've never actually played a God of War game but I sortof know what to expect. It looks overwhelmingly beautiful, stylized and (most importantly) FUN.

Brutal Legend, is tough to describe. On one hand, it looks like it could be an absolutely terrible game. On the other hand, the character, animation, and Jack Black combination could actually make it fun. I guess we'll have to see. The trailer only premiered at the Video Game Awards.

The REASON I said that those were "going to be" my picks is because I'm doing something a little different tonight.

I was much more impacted by another trailer I saw...

...a trailer for (what could potentially be...the worst movie ever made).

I'm speaking, of course, about FIRED UP!...

Starring two actors who are eerily familiar, but not good enough to hold up their own movie...this high school comedy makes no fucking sense to the point that it actually made me angry to watch.

The synopsis attempts to make it sound like it's a story that hasn't ever been done before, when in reality, it's a story that's been done (literally) to death. And when I say "done"--I mean "FUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCKKKKKKED."

The premise is: Two college football players, who may be jerks, but they're really (deep down) the sensative type. Decide to go to a Cheerleading Camp and pretend to be Cheerleaders so they can (maybe?) get laid.

Now...from the trailer, you can deduce that there is the "One Obligatory Snippy Girl Who Knows What Their Plans Are From The Start."

And the main character is in love with her (of all people), because...why not??

You go to a camp full of 300 girls and you pick the one girl that you have no chance with.

Oh, but I'm sure he has a chance.

In fact, I would bet any conceivable amount of money that they wind up together in the end.

Nothing about this movie looks appealing. Sometimes you see a trailer and you say to yourself: "That looks fucking awful."

...but there's usually something about it that makes you consider that SOMEONE is going to see this movie...this movie is SOMEBODY'S type of film.

FIRED UP! doesn't seem to be anyone's type.

(and I actually sat through The Love Guru)

The only reason that I'm not actively boycotting the cunts off of Sony Pictures is because I am in the Nuggnut Hall of Fame now, and I need to keep up appearances, behaving accordingly...

And while I'm on the subject, Universal, stop making fucking American Pie movies!

-alexG.

Laundry List of Complaints

Laundromats are always humble buildings with no supervision, populated by seedy characters. You pop quarter after quarter into one of the washing machines, wondering why the hell it costs so much just to do a load of laundry.

Consider this: It costs $1.25 to wash a load, and it costs $2.00 to get the same load anywhere approaching dry. If you buy the detergent and the dryer sheets there, you’re out another $3.00. By the time it’s all said and done, you’ve spent $6.25 cents just to wear clean clothes for another week. Of what tangible good is that? Is anyone impressed that your clothes are clean? Do they feel better against your skin when they’re clean? Are you going to lose your job at Subway if your clothes are a little dirty? NO.

The concept of watching clothes came from an older time, back when people used to work outdoors, in the elements. Of course it’s a good idea to wash clothes caked with dried mud or covered in dust and dirt—but if you’re like me and your typical day consists of sitting around in your house, sitting around in your office and sitting around in your car, then the worst you get on your clothes is some mustard stains and a little bit of sweat if you forget to turn the AC on.

Washing clothes that aren’t visibly dirty in some profound way is a waste of time. Jeans in particular can be worn for months on end without being changed or washed. They were designed for rugged workmen who spend their days lifting heavy objects and kicking each other in the balls with steel toed boots for no reason other than the passing amusement that they garner from it.

Most of us use them for the far less rugged feat of sitting around the house, wondering when it will be time to eat again. The only time an American’s jeans are under any stress at all is when we try to squeeze our bovine asses into a pair that used to fit us 5 years and 30 pounds ago. The only items that should be laundered with regularity are socks and underwear. Socks need to be washed because they stink like a reindeer’s wet asshole after only a day on your feet, and underwear because not all farts are what they seem.

Also, no amount of shaking, no matter how thorough, ever seems to fully dislodge the final droplets of urine from one’s cock after taking a piss. But honestly, it’s cheaper to just buy new socks and underwear at Wal-Mart than it is to launder them. To recap, shirts should only be washed when they become visibly dirty in some way. A good rule of thumb is that if stains make up an area of more than 15% of the shirt, it should be washed in the eventual future.

Jeans pretty much never need to be washed unless you spill honey on them or something. Socks and underwear should be thrown away and replaced with new socks and underwear on a regular basis.

Following my expert advice, you should cut your trips to the Laundromat down to a modest annual visit. You’re welcome.

--The Amazing Atheist (Honorary Super Dude!!)

Jessie Lee's Top 5 Creepiest Emails

So, my vagina is pretty epic. Yeah I said it, I have an epic vagina. No, this is not something self-proclaimed, I'm just told this. With that said, I would like to introduce myself...
Hi, my name is JessieLee (yes, I prefer it as one word), and I am a professional vagina model.
Alex and Dave have been stalking, uh I mean "following" me on Twitter, and found me to be pretty interesting.
They asked me to write a little segment for their blog.
So, here it is: My Top 5. :)

I get a lot of interesting, but mostly disturbing, emails on the regular. For some reason, guys always think I will, like, fall in love with them or something if they send me a super-creepy email. I would like to share with you the "Top 5 Creepiest Emails" I have received.
Enjoy! :)

1. "I bought a stroker off the web site and everytime I watch a DVD from Burning Angel I forward to your scene and jack off.
I bet I've pumped a few gallons of dick sauce in that thing thanks to you - you're my favorite Angel. I think you have the best attitude and the best bod, my cock is popping out of the top of my boxers just thinking of you. love & pussy wrecking fucks"

At least he didn't send me the "dick sauce" that he mentioned. I guess Dana DeArmond is the only lucky one.

2. "If i lived in nyc i would b at ur party getin body shots tha whole time and my tounge on ur clit would b ur gift from me"

Aw really? He is too sweet. How could I pass down such an offer, right?

3. "you think that with a cock like this i can do porn?"

Attached was a photo of a penis laying on a laptop. Ugh...

4. "I'm having alot of trouble finding work and am getting desprate iv only got one more unemployment check comming then im basicly up shits creek i have alot of experience doing electrical work i dont know if you could foward my number to anyone needing any kind of work done ill do anything at this point carry speakers set up sound systems lighting (etc..etc..ad nauseum)"

I didn't respond to this email, so he wrote me again.

"***-**** is my number name is rich thanks."

Me: "I am not an agent. Find your own work. Thanks."

"lol ok im just fucking desprate and trying to find something in the entertainment industry."

The subject line was his phone number and "im just fucking desperate." I proceeded to block him.

5. "do you do private sessions?"

Me: "what do you mean?"

"umm...like basically what you'd be doing if you were shooting a scene, and getting paid accordingly.....but in private...and no camera.."

Me: "i am not a hooker."

Yeah, I blocked him too lol.

6. "hey there ...let me know about this idea ...we can do a 3 some {2 guys one girl} and we can both suck dick and i will take the load ...or i can be the first male to do a bukake video? that could be a big seller? any ideas? or things you want to try."

He then felt the need to get even more desperate by emailing me again...

"hey there ...how are you? not to sound to needy lol but i lost my job i use to work for a big time bank making good money but not any more and i would like to shoot full time. i have done close to 20 films so i know what i am doing but if you can help me out with any conections or anything"

Dude.. I am not your agent. Why do guys always ask me for work?? Needless to say, I blocked him also.

--Okay, so I listed 6. I had to include the last one, I really did. Number one rule when emailing me:
DO NOT ASK ME TO GET YOU INTO PORN IF YOU ARE A GUY.
I will not take your email seriously. I will, however, take you seriously if you tell me how amazingly beautiful I am. ;)

--Jessie Lee (Honorary Super Dudette!!)

Trailers of the Week 3: Gamer Edition!

Unfortunately, there aren't any decent new movie trailers to speak of. For this reason, I've decided to find three future Video Games that look appealing. Again, understand that these may turn out to be the worst games ever--but if their trailers hold up, they should be fucking awesome.

1. Rise of the Argonauts

This is a Christmas pick of mine. Hopefully it comes to me wrapped in pretty bows. At my old house, we didn't have a chimney, so we decided to leave the door unlocked for Santa.

That was the year Santa decided to take away a majority of my Playstation 2 games. He did, however, leave The Bible Game and some a handful of others...

Santa knows what he likes.

Will Santa like this game enough to bring it to me and not take it away? We'll see.

Rise of the Argonauts will mark the third RPG release for the Playstation 3. I was never a huge fan of RPGs until I played Fallout 3...and now I'm addicted.

I think my main interest in this game comes from my fascination with the LucasArts game: Herc's Adventures--or as I like to call it: The Best Game Ever Made.

This game brings back my nostalgia for Herc's Adventures (even though I still own the game for PSone):

The oversized Hercules, the characters of Jason and Atlanta, and most importantly, what are bound to be some ass-kicking battles of mythological proportions!

2. Godfather 2

The first Godfather game was epic. I have it for Wii, which may or may not be a mistake; however, the controls served the purpose. Like the Manhunt 2 controls for Wii, they made the game a unique experience and allowed me to take the unneccessary brutality into my own hands. Who wouldn't want that?

The only thing that fucked up the game was that the map was too large and the cars too slow to navigate across the whole thing for every mission.

From what I've seen, the new Godfather game seems much larger in scale, but also much more involved. Hopefully these modifications serve to improve the game and not to take everything fun out of the first game.

3. Heavy Rain

Little is known about this game, and I won't pretend to know much. I'll treat you to a few sneak previews of it (which turn out to merely be a graphics trophy case). The only thing I know about it is that it plays out like a film and tells the story of several characters dealing with a crisis.

Supposedly, if you die as one character, they're gone, and you continue play as another.

That's what I read, that's all I know...

...but this game looks stunning.

(those last two links aren't from the game. FYI)

-Alex (SYNT!)

CraigsList and The Great Review Experiment

As some of you may have discovered (somehow we neglected to spread the word), we have a post on CraigsList encouraging anyone to send us any kind of material or website (that they created or have a personal connection to) and we will review it.

I'm not exactly sure what would prompt someone to do such a thing...but obviously they don't know us yet. I don't want to be a total dick...so I'll look at a few of the websites we received objectively...and then I will offer my opinion; for what it's worth.

So, without stalling any further, let's get to some reviews!

1. Without Smearing My Eyeliner

This is a Blogspot site much like our current domain. It is piloted by "Princess Honah" (or Anastasia Beaverhausen), a twenty seven year old blogger from Bumblefuck, Pennsylvania with a knack for keeping track of her daily goings-on.

There isn't much to say about the blog itself. It's relatively clean and well-maintained. There's no clutter and (like our blog, currently) almost no Comments. Objectively, it's a weblog. Nothing less, but sadly, nothing more. I like the style, passion, humor, and personality Honah/Anastasia/Whatthefuck brings to this endeavor, though. Her personality makes it stand out; however, what does it stand out from?

I usually don't bother with daily bloggings...They're annoying and only serve to give the disgruntled author a false sense of purpose and importance. This blog takes a few steps beyond the mundane details of life and brings style and flair to the equation. And that's a good thing!

There's also a podcast that I couldn't get into; but if you like the idea of listening to the daily happenings in the life of a woman inching ever-closer to thirty...it'd be right up your alley! Hey, she's got a nice voice!

She describes her work as "a gay-friendly podcast" which is...good, I guess? I'm not 100% sure what that means aside from the fact that it's not a "gay unfriendly podcast." I'd imagine our website is a "gay friendly website" as well. We sat down and listened to the podcast for awhile. It's not my thing, but I can't complain too much. The only real criticism I have is that the "episodes" are far too long for my taste.

2. The Art of Sylvea

I linked to Sylvea's Artbreak site above, but here is her Blogspot Address as well. The reason I chose to link to the Artbreak site is because that's all you really need.

Sylvia Johnson from Portsmouth, NH is an artist (really? Yes, really!). The blogspot address has a few explanations of the artist's process and insight into her world, although I'm not sure it is a world that particularly interests me.

Sylvia's art is very interesting, however. Her paintings have a rolling psychedelic quality like a Salvador Dali Lava Lamp. To say that they are pretty pictures with no actual content would be a stretch, so I won't say it...I'll just think it.

The work obviously has meaning to Sylvia. The main purpose of her art is to stimulate the imagination and for the viewer to come to his own conclusions.

My conclusions are: Pretty cool--but where's the "Play" button? Let's get these bitches moving!!

3. ZachOsif.com

This review request came with a "Sure, Why Not?" As if Zach sought us out on CraigsList on some kind of alcohol-induced whim (which is incidentally how I wind up purchasing things on the Playstation Network).

Zach is an artist with a MySpace account--which is such a rarity in today's America, you know? I had made a MySpace for Super Dudes Power Squad, but I deleted it within the same week. I fucking hate MySpace.

Anyways, let's get back on topic, shall we? For a moment, seeing that Zach had a YouTube account, I got excited! Then I saw that his account is just a collection of other people's videos that he likes and I murmured "fuck."

The star attraction of course is his MAIN website, which I admittedly haven't been building up to very appropriately. His artwork is fucking awesome. Zach's paintings are a combination of Oil, Acrylic, and Latex on Canvas, mostly having to do with Controversy, War and Pop Culture. Doesn't sound too original, but the cliche works.

His art has a kind of Grand Theft Auto IV look...which, whether or not this was his intention, brings life and immediacy to his work.

And in the words of the great Forrest Gump: "That's all I have to say about that."

Want us to Review your shit?? Drop us a line at SuperDPS@gmail.com

The 5 Most Overrated Pieces in Recent Pop Culture

Recently, Penn Jillette has been creating short videos of his shrill bitchings to YouTube. One such video was of his ideas of what is underrated and what is overrated in current pop culture. Always the optimist, Jillette gave society a chance by saying the good things that he thinks need more credit. So, with that in mind, I present you with the five figures/phenomena/assorted things that I find overrated in pop culture today.


5. Guillermo del Toro--Writer, Director, Producer


In Esquire's 75th Anniversary Edition, it named the 75 most influential people of the 21st century. Guillermo del Toro was one of these people. Now, as reputable as Esquire is, being a step above Playboy, its reasoning behind the choice was kind of bullshit. It feeds us some crap about how he shows us the twisted realism of the human soul. That's pretty impressive considering he's only had three movies out in the United States. I'm not going to deny that he is a visionary when it comes to the design of costumes, creatures and various characters in his movies.
However, being good at CGI does not qualify one for a spot amongst the most influential people in the 21st century.


Let's discuss his movies for a minute, shall we?
Hellboy wasn't that bad of a movie. It had a solid anti-hero with interesting side characters and the snappy one-liners that the mainstream audiences cream themselves for. However, because it was his first major movie released in America, he didn't really have the clout to "Toro it Up" as much as he would like.
With Hellboy II: The Golden Army, he pulled out all the stops. It doubled in snappy one-liners, its characters lost complexity and it had a musical number. JESUS FUCKING CHRIST! A MUSICAL NUMBER!! In what kind of hellish bizarro-world does this make sense? What's next Guillermo? A tap dance extravaganza? Singing plays no part in graphic novel movies and never should...


...unless it's Little Lulu, she's just darling.
Also, David Hyde Pierce was no longer the voice of Abe Sapien, therefore offering nothing.


Doesn't really look Mexican.



4. Weezer--Middle-Aged Band


Remember when Weezer was actually a legitimate band that made decent music? Yeah, neither do I. It seems that Weezer’s place in music is simply to give fat fourteen-year-old girls that shop at Hot Topic something to identify with. Now, I have to give them the Blue Album and Pinkerton. Those two albums are considered well written in many music circles. However, the Red Album? Really? Two songs on that album prove why listening to Weezer is the musical equivalent to eating a shit sandwich. The first, “Pork and Beans.” The song is basically about how Rivers Cuomo doesn’t care what you think! He likes his life and he’s going to live it however he feels! Damn the man! Yeah! If he didn’t care what everyone thought of him he probably wouldn’t be a rock star, specifically one that craves attention from his lesions of pimply faced depressed fans.


Furthermore, if Weezer only cared about doing what they want and not making money or building a fan base why would they make a video including every Internet phenomena in it? They knew that every kid and his brother (and even his mom for that matter) would watch it just to catch a glimse of those stupid unicorns talking about candy mountain and all the other useless crap that YouTube has to offer. So not only are they hypocrites, but the song wasn’t even that good. Really Rivers? You eat candy and pork and beans together? I hardly believe that.

The next song is "Heart Songs." Can someone please get Rivers Cuomo a tampon? He’s bleeding from that giant vagina of his….oh wait, that’s his mouth. I swear to Christ, what is the point of making a song about all the bands and songs that you liked as a kid? I don’t know about you but when I was thirteen I didn’t exactly have the most impeccable taste in music. (Unless N’Sync is considered impeccable, and oh, I think it is). One of the lyrics is “Got together with my bros” Rivers Cuomo just said "bros". You know, like the term frat boys use to refer to their friends. I can’t even go on any further than this. I just threw up in my mouth.

You're not Buddy Holly...


3. Japan



How many times have you heard some Anime geek talk about how much greater Japan is than any other country in the world? Depending on who you are, anywhere from "all the fucking time" to "not at all." I fall into the “all the fucking time” category. Now Japan has some pretty cool things going for it. Technology and Ninja Warrior come to mind. But for everything cool that comes out of it, fifteen completely insane things follow. How many seizures do their cartoons have to give us before we learn our mistakes?


Oh, and did you know that Japan’s women’s rights are pretty much non-existent and the majority of the Japanese hate the Koreans that live there even though they forced them to come during World War II? Yeah so if you think Japan is cool, then you’re a sexist AND a racist. Also, this:




That's Poop. As a Hat...Case Closed.


2. Hunter S. Thompson

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is a pretty awesome book. Gonzo journalism is another pretty awesome thing that Hunter S. Thompson is accredited for creating. Another thing that Hunter S. Thompson is accredited for creating? Indie fucktards that think they’re awesome and unique because they’ve heard of Hunter S. Thompson. Since the release of the movie Gonzo so many hipsters have jumped on the Thompson train that it’s derailed and killed several bystanders at the train station. Do you know how many douche bags dressed up as Hunter S. Thompson this Halloween without knowing anything about his work? All of them.

I can say with absolute certainty that one of these ass clowns is a rapist. My money is on the middle guy.


1. Rickrolling

Rickrolling is the Internet craze that involves tricking an unwitting victim into clicking on a link that they think will bring them to a related web page. Oh, but it doesn’t. Instead it brings them to the video of 80’s one hit wonder Rick Astley’s video of “Never Gonna Give You Up.”

Ginger.


To be honest, the first time I was rickrolled I thought it was pretty funny. It continued to be funny for at least a month or so after that. Then it happened. While innocently watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, I looked on as puppets sang about friendship. Suddenly, with a halt of puppet voices the music started playing. Rick Astley burst forth from the float like a newborn babe from the womb. The entire audience of the parade got rickrolled!


Not only did rickrolling jump the shark, but it did a couple of flips on the way over as well. How about a new type of rolling with a different washed up star? My suggestion: Ruckerrolling. How great would it be if you were clicking through the Internet, possibly looking at kittens when you decide to click on a link for kitten care. Then BAM! There is Darius Rucker singing about the Tender Crisp Bacon Cheddar Ranch. Now that’s comedic gold!



"Please Make Me Relevant Again!!"


--Michelle Scott (Honorary Super Dudette!)

Should We Stop Making Violent Movies???

To discover the possibility that the work one has devoted one’s entire life to is unnecessary or even detrimental to the existence of human society may come as a dreadful shock, but it is an issue that every action filmmaker must face at some point in his or her life. Having been fascinated with action sequences in film and aspiring to replicate them throughout the entire latter portion of my teenage years, the idea that pursuing this craft is bad and perfecting it even worse in the grand scheme of the universe causes me to agonize at long stretches over the significance of the work that I aim to achieve. With the entire collective genre of the action film shouldering the burden of countless accusations – the promotion and influencing of violence throughout the world and the desensitizing of the world’s youth to violent subject material notwithstanding – one would wonder if it would be better that action movies or movies containing violence in any shape or form were completely erased from the face of the planet. But certainly, I tell myself, a genre that has generated such overwhelming appeal throughout the history of cinema must be good for something; a convincing argument in our defense seems constantly to be at the tip of my tongue, but it invariably dissolves as I struggle to put it to words. In my pursuit to find a justification for the existence of the action film, I have realized that trying to logically refute many of the common points of concern in regards to the genre is an exercise in futility; the negatives are there, and to ignore or falsely disprove them would be nothing more than to live in a disillusioned fantasy of self-deceit. However, I believe that the first step towards redemption for the art of the action filmmaker is the acceptance of such commonly associated shortcomings and the understanding that they are not as universally negative as they seem. (cont.)


--Jon Truei (Honorary Super Dude!)

(TO READ THE ENTIRE FASCINATING ARTICLE BY JON TRUEI, CLICK HERE!!)

Should We Stop Making Violent Movies? (Full Article)

To discover the possibility that the work one has devoted one’s entire life to is unnecessary or even detrimental to the existence of human society may come as a dreadful shock, but it is an issue that every action filmmaker must face at some point in his or her life. Having been fascinated with action sequences in film and aspiring to replicate them throughout the entire latter portion of my teenage years, the idea that pursuing this craft is bad and perfecting it even worse in the grand scheme of the universe causes me to agonize at long stretches over the significance of the work that I aim to achieve. With the entire collective genre of the action film shouldering the burden of countless accusations – the promotion and influencing of violence throughout the world and the desensitizing of the world’s youth to violent subject material notwithstanding – one would wonder if it would be better that action movies or movies containing violence in any shape or form were completely erased from the face of the planet. But certainly, I tell myself, a genre that has generated such overwhelming appeal throughout the history of cinema must be good for something; a convincing argument in our defense seems constantly to be at the tip of my tongue, but it invariably dissolves as I struggle to put it to words. In my pursuit to find a justification for the existence of the action film, I have realized that trying to logically refute many of the common points of concern in regards to the genre is an exercise in futility; the negatives are there, and to ignore or falsely disprove them would be nothing more than to live in a disillusioned fantasy of self-deceit. However, I believe that the first step towards redemption for the art of the action filmmaker is the acceptance of such commonly associated shortcomings and the understanding that they are not as universally negative as they seem.

Reading Lawrence Weschler’s “Valkyries Over Iraq” was a complete nightmare for me in that it communicated effectively and in relatively few words all of the reasons why people like me should not be making movies. Throughout his essay, Weschler synthesizes interviews from various industry members involved in the production of the war films Apocalypse Now (1979) and Jarhead (2005) in order to voice his primary concern with war films as a whole: regardless of intention, even films with the most adamant anti-war messages end up presenting in their depiction of warfare and chaotic battles an almost pornographic allure from which members of the audience will invariably derive a sense of pleasure and violent inspiration. The existence of the epic battlefield setpiece is especially pivotal to this concern – cited by Weschler as the failure of such supposedly anti-war films as Apocalypse Now, with the enormous spectacle of its infamous “Ride of the Valkyries” helicopter bombing referred to throughout the essay as an ironic, inspirational piece for overzealous, hot-blooded young soldiers – and the ultimate success of the unconventional Jarhead, which chooses to exclude such scenes entirely. In Weschler’s interview with Apocalypse Now director Francis Ford Coppola, Coppola is forced to admit that “to make a film that is truly antiwar, it would not be set anywhere near battlefields or theaters of war, but rather in human situations far from those” (258). The danger in this statement is that it can be extended by association to mean that making movies centered on violence without subconsciously filling onscreen violence with pornographic appeal is not possible if violence is shown in any form.

Faced with such a blindingly logical argument, even I myself, seemingly dismissed in value to the level below that of a pornographer by its words, cannot claim to be capable of completely refuting it. In trying to reconcile myself with the weight of such charges, I bring up in my mind the typical structure of many of the films that I so admire, as in concept form they do not seem to be unhealthy in the slightest. In actuality, a great number of the action films that I study so religiously follow benevolent characters with good intentions faced with situations forced upon them by malevolent circumstances beyond their control; violence resulting is merely incidental. Surely, I tell myself, the depiction of good triumphing over evil through necessary violence is not too terribly unhealthy for the average viewers eyes, but thinking more clearly into the matter, I must admit to myself that such a simple justification is a trap I cannot let myself fall into if I am to be honest with myself – regardless of the underlying themes of righteousness in such films, their highlights remain the violent spectacles that their stories seem to be in opposition to – in fact, believing in such a justification would even further solidify the arguments of Weschler who clearly discusses in his essay the problem of violent appeal in opposition to a film’s message. Taking a film like Michael Mann’s crime thriller Collateral (2004), a film following a hapless cab driver struggling to stop an assassin for hire who is forcing the driver to chauffeur him from hit to hit, into view as my case in point, anyone having seen the film would have a hard time trying to suggest that Michael Mann is trying to persuade people to drive around and commit murders, especially in light of his established reputation throughout his career for trying to represent violence as realistically as possible. However, when the film is brought up amongst its fans, the scenes undergoing the most enthusiastic discussion are almost inevitably the assassin’s calm dispatching of two muggers, or the infamously violent nightclub setpiece in which he must push through a massive crowd of dancers and armed bodyguards in order to reach a target. I, myself, must admit to skipping straight to such scenes whenever I pop the film into my DVD player, and the same could be said of many other movies I own in which cinematic action is present.

Having declared myself beaten in the face of Weschler’s words, many disturbing questions present themselves. Do films containing violent material invariably cause people to take pleasure in and desire violence in their lives? Am I doing the world a disservice by continuing to pursue the work of my passion? Does the collective action filmmaking community lack a significant justification to exist? In wrestling with the burden of such implications of my work, I turn to the advice of my friends in the stunt filmmaking industry, many of whom have already begun devoting their professional careers to the production of action films.

Art appeals to human intuition far more than to reason

–Lucy Van Atta

Amidst the countless heap of ardent opinions thrown at me following my positioning of these questions, I found a particular kinship in the words of Paul Drechsler-Martell. As a professional stunt actor and aspiring action filmmaker, the significance (or lack thereof) of the action film is an integral part of Paul’s life, and, having ruminated himself at great length on the matter in his own personal experiences, he insists that the implications of Weschler’s words are not as fatal as they may seem:

Questioning the necessity of action films is almost like asking ‘why do people pay money to see movies that make them cry?’ What we desire the most in films is to feel; we go through different emotions like happiness, pain, fear, laughter, arousal, sadness, etc. and I think it's silly to think that films should be made only for the positive emotions or only for certain emotions in general.

An audience will naturally tend to seek out the highest emotional point in a film; in a war film, or in any action film in general, this is very likely to be the most violent scene in the story. To say that the appeal that one derives from such violent scenes is pornographic may be true in many ways, but in accepting it as truth, one must also be willing to admit that all other emotional peaks in other genres share an almost identical pornographic appeal as well. In the same way I find myself constantly replaying the most violent scenes in certain films, I am incredibly drawn to the happiest, the most tragic, the most horrifying, the funniest, or the most romantic scenes in others. Much in the same way that I view Collateral, as I watch Tim Burton’s Edward Scissorhands (1990), I find myself forwarding to the heart-rending scene in which the misshapen Edward, embracing the woman he loves in his arms, recalls the death of the loving scientist who created him, but this does not suggest in any way that I desire death and sadness in my life, just as my predilection towards the most tense scenes of Collateral has not caused me to tear up local clubs with a gun in hand. We, as filmgoers, enjoy experiencing emotional extremes in films not because these extremes define who want to be or what we want to happen in our lives, but because something about emotional extremes feels more inexplicably human to us than anything else that could be shown on the screens that we so intently study.

Doubtless, there will be a certain number of outliers amongst the public audience who seek to use cinema as a reference point justifying their own irrational behaviors; violent people seeking violent entertainment will find violent movies with which they feel they can relate, just as people who are wishing to wallow excessively in their own depression, prejudices, ideologies, etc. will seek out corresponding fiction in which they can immerse themselves.

The fact that we designate something as art means that it is art for us, but says nothing about what it is in itself for other people.

–Thomas McEvilley

In reading Terry Tempest Williams’ “A Shark in the Mind of One Contemplating Wilderness,” I discover that Weschler’s argument hits so hard only because he limits himself to the subject of the war film; just as the idea that pornographic appeal extends to all films, the possibility of wildly unconventional interpretations and their resulting influences upon people exists within every genre of film as well. By this rationale, negative influence can be gained from any film or artistic presentation; to be able to account for every last exception would be a battle lost from the beginning. There will always be another person who thinks it is ok to be racist, uncouth, and offensive to others after watching too much Comedy Central or another teenage girl who finds herself molding herself into the image of the superficial high school divas of Mean Girls (2004), but if we are to remove an entire genre of films from the shelves, then who is to say that next week, another genre won’t be subject to extinguishing? If we are to extinguish films entirely, who is to say that music or books will be safe once people begin to blame the emotional problems of the world upon them? To erase our fantasies and our experiences of the emotional extremes that we so love would be to destroy what makes us human. Now, after carefully analyzing this thought and its implications, I find that the answers I was looking for had been waiting for me in the pages of Weschler’s essay all along. Anthony Swofford himself admits that “art should expand rather than constrict people’s moral range,” and to these words, I cannot agree more.


--Jon Truei (Honorary Super Dude!)