So it seems the best Puppet Master films of this century haven't had anything to do with Charles Band or Full Moon. Back in '04, Band loaned out the PM franchise to the SyFy Channel to produce a TV movie that I watched then, forgot and rewatched to find its among the better films starring these killer puppets. Band's films are so minimalist (cheap) that they sacrifice watch-ability and marketability for basic producibility and even profitability.
PMVDT spends the extra chump change to cast a few C-level marquee names, build at least one impressive set and actually give the star puppets some on-screen energy and motivation. More so, the script has a potent plot about evil corporate occultism, child media manipulation & the sacrifice of innocence for the bloodthirsty greed of the elite. These are natural extensions of the themes found in the classic PM films but Band has always ignored story, integrity or art to self-promote himself and his brand.
Saturday, August 25, 2018
Friday, August 17, 2018
Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich
I am blown away by how excellent this first movie-watching experience was. Finally we get a reboot that delivers by creating a new continuity without plagiarizing or disrupting the source material. And unlike the well-meaning but unoriginal and lazy reboots coming out of Hollywood, "The Littlest Reich" isn't stifled by political correctness and trying to please everyone. Yet it doesn't sacrifice intelligent morals for its shock value.
Its a simple yet clever premise based on the essential ingredients of a classic modern tale. Essentially its a dark spoof of the original film with the same motives but its own voice, style, universe, politics and point of view. Most importantly it only strengthens the subtext of the original story and showers it in obvious fandom.
Where I think the screenwriter struck genius is making this a film for fans of the original first and foremost but still accessible to wider tastes, not the opposite. Too many reboots and sequels throw out the appeal of the old for eager accessibility by not studying the story mechanics that do or do not still work. This fella knows you have to have Nazis, puppets, slasher victims and 80s fanboy chic, but he finds new uses for all of these things. He fashions something personal from the first film and transplants it to a modern platform. The Puppet Master mythos is reinvigorated but NOT re-purposed.
TLR echos the many obsessions, themes, tropes, aesthetics & appeal of the entire PM catalog, so it fits in like a jewel among its dated and meager family to uplift them to younger, hipper and maybe less educated critics who wouldn't expect so much value from a reboot of an 80s horror cheapie about killer dolls. This is why its not just great cinema, its a great meta meditation and pop cultural commentary on cinema itself. And I'm grateful that a modest indie production could still accomplish this in 2018.
Its a simple yet clever premise based on the essential ingredients of a classic modern tale. Essentially its a dark spoof of the original film with the same motives but its own voice, style, universe, politics and point of view. Most importantly it only strengthens the subtext of the original story and showers it in obvious fandom.
Where I think the screenwriter struck genius is making this a film for fans of the original first and foremost but still accessible to wider tastes, not the opposite. Too many reboots and sequels throw out the appeal of the old for eager accessibility by not studying the story mechanics that do or do not still work. This fella knows you have to have Nazis, puppets, slasher victims and 80s fanboy chic, but he finds new uses for all of these things. He fashions something personal from the first film and transplants it to a modern platform. The Puppet Master mythos is reinvigorated but NOT re-purposed.
TLR echos the many obsessions, themes, tropes, aesthetics & appeal of the entire PM catalog, so it fits in like a jewel among its dated and meager family to uplift them to younger, hipper and maybe less educated critics who wouldn't expect so much value from a reboot of an 80s horror cheapie about killer dolls. This is why its not just great cinema, its a great meta meditation and pop cultural commentary on cinema itself. And I'm grateful that a modest indie production could still accomplish this in 2018.
Monday, August 13, 2018
Godzilla 1998
Few films have given me the intense sadness that this film gives. As I grew bored watching it, I researched the troubled production and failed release. Its the perfect example of how not to make a film. But almost all tentpole Hollywood spectacles are reminiscent of this film. This bad movie might be superior to the 2014 reboot simply because its not as boring.
Thats not to say its not bland and boring in its own right. We have a bloated, past his prime Matthew Broderick surrounded by more C-list actors re-enacting scenes from Jaws, Independence Day and Jurassic Park. Its done in a heavy camp tone courtesy of openly gay German director Roland Emmerich, who sneaks in a lot of subversive images and ideas such as Godzilla being a pregnant male victim this time around and the many baby Godzilla's taking the place of black men in a large basketball stadium. Gay Nazi humor? I dunno. The film is a sick joke on immigration and a huge critique of American nationalism with a very communist slant.
You can argue "Zilla"is some kind of Luciferian metaphor as its a hermaphroditic animal god bent on depopulation. Emmerich's films are obsessed with normalizing depopulation: Independence Day, 2012, Day After Tomorrow. This film is maybe one of the earliest examples of an openly pro-NWO Hollywood blockbuster. Its offensive propaganda that will be a curio someday soon.
The film starts with a lot of good moments. The film looks good and Emmerich actually tells the story visually with a few memorable setpieces and action scenarios. Some moments are extremely disturbing in psycho-sexual ways. But we don't care about any of the annoying cartooned humans, the broad humor is very flat and Godzilla himself seems like an afterthought.
I recommend it as evidence of Hollywood's sick leftist capitalist agenda, depressed Y2K aestheticism and a sometimes amusing slice of poorly rendered schlock.
Thats not to say its not bland and boring in its own right. We have a bloated, past his prime Matthew Broderick surrounded by more C-list actors re-enacting scenes from Jaws, Independence Day and Jurassic Park. Its done in a heavy camp tone courtesy of openly gay German director Roland Emmerich, who sneaks in a lot of subversive images and ideas such as Godzilla being a pregnant male victim this time around and the many baby Godzilla's taking the place of black men in a large basketball stadium. Gay Nazi humor? I dunno. The film is a sick joke on immigration and a huge critique of American nationalism with a very communist slant.
You can argue "Zilla"is some kind of Luciferian metaphor as its a hermaphroditic animal god bent on depopulation. Emmerich's films are obsessed with normalizing depopulation: Independence Day, 2012, Day After Tomorrow. This film is maybe one of the earliest examples of an openly pro-NWO Hollywood blockbuster. Its offensive propaganda that will be a curio someday soon.
The film starts with a lot of good moments. The film looks good and Emmerich actually tells the story visually with a few memorable setpieces and action scenarios. Some moments are extremely disturbing in psycho-sexual ways. But we don't care about any of the annoying cartooned humans, the broad humor is very flat and Godzilla himself seems like an afterthought.
I recommend it as evidence of Hollywood's sick leftist capitalist agenda, depressed Y2K aestheticism and a sometimes amusing slice of poorly rendered schlock.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)