T-Shirt of the Week: WEEK 16

Some people believe you can tell a lot about a person by the shoes they wear. I believe you can tell more about a person by the t-shirts they have worn. This is the story of my life, as told by the t-shirts I have worn.

The Other Side

Back in late 1992 and early 1993 stories started popping up about some filmmaker in Texas who made a feature film for $6000, financed in part by money he earned from participating in sleep study program. The filmmaker was Robert Rodriguez and the movie was El Mariachi, both of which would become part of an inspirational fairytale of independent filmmaking that has endured all of these years. Other films and filmmakers have come along in the following years that have made names for themselves in the world of micro-budget indie cinema; but what separated Rodriguez from the likes of Kevin Smith and Ed Burns was that he had made a shoot ‘em up action flick, as opposed the sort of talking-heads movie most aspiring directors use to make their mark. Rodriguez defied the conventional wisdom that said the best thing a filmmaker with no money could do was shoot a conversation between two or three people, all seated around a table. It takes a certain type of talent, and hefty set of balls to do what Rodriguez did with El Mariachi. And by that standard, Atlanta-based filmmaker Gregg Bishop has some really big balls.

The New Project: DAMAGED GOODS

Watch the trailer for my new film, DAMAGED GOODS. Then stop by the DAMAGED GOODS MySpace page, add us as a friend, and take the “Am I Damaged Goods Quiz.”

Strictly Business

Sixteen years ago I went to the theater with my friend Freeman to go see the Wes Craven film The People Under the Stairs. Unbeknownst to either of us, The People Under the Stairs was no longer playing, and the only viewing option open to us was a film neither of us was likely to have watched under any other circumstances—Strictly Business. But, we were in the mood to watch a movie—and everyone knows what that feeling is like—so we decided to take a chance and watch a romantic comedy, when what we really wanted to see was a horror film that was a thinly disguised metaphor of the Reagan era.

The Postcard Bandit

Australian director Andrew Dominik’s film Chopper was one of my favorite movies of 2000. Likewise, director Ray Lawrence’s 2001 film Lantana was amazing, and Phillip Noyce’s Rabbit-Proof Fence was simply brilliant. All three films are Australian, and top a rather lengthy list of movies that have come out of either Australia or New Zealand over the years, and have earned a special place in my heart. And while I have not seen every movie ever made in Australia or New Zealand, I don’t recall ever seeing one that wasn’t at least pretty damn good, which was what was running through my mind when I watched The Postcard Bandit. “It’s from Australia,” I said to myself. “How bad can it be?”

Colon Cancer and the Double Penetration

“We’re not sure what’s wrong with your stomach. It could be anything—something you’ve been eating, an ulcer. It could be colon cancer. We won’t know until we run some tests.”

Wrong Turn 2: Dead End

Why would anyone make a sequel to Wrong Turn? That was the question burning in my brain when I heard there would be a follow-up to the 2003 horror flick that was mildly entertaining, but not exactly a film destined to make the history books. My only two interests in watching Wrong Turn 2: Dead End was the fact that Henry Rollins was in it, and that it would be so bad I could have fun eviscerating the damn thing. But much to my surprise, WT2 wasn’t half bad. In fact, it was really pretty good.

Macbeth

Even though no other writer has had their work adapted to film more than William Shakespeare, adapting his work to film is no easy task. This is especially true of those films that choose to work with Shakespeare’s original, 16th century dialog, as the Bard’s flowery prose can tax the most talented actors out there. There’s a lot to be said for any movie that endeavors to bring Shakespeare to life, but it is a challenge that many films fail to realize completely. Australian director Geoffrey Wright’s take on Macbeth is one of those films that works very hard to put a new twist on a Shakespearean classic, with mixed results.

T-Shirt of the Week: WEEK 15

Some people believe you can tell a lot about a person by the shoes they wear. I believe you can tell more about a person by the t-shirts they have worn. This is the story of my life, as told by the t-shirts I have worn.

Resident Evil: Extinction

For what it was, the first Resident Evil movie was pretty entertaining. At the time it came out there wasn’t much going on with zombie films, and it provided a fix for fans of the genre. Inspired by the video game of the same name, the first Resident Evil borrowed heavily from the mythology created in George A. Romero’s zombie classics, while simultaneously bypassing the intelligence and the relevant social commentary. The sequel, Resident Evil: Apocalypse used the same formula, only without any of the good parts, resulting in a craptacular mess of epically stinky proportions—as well as some dumb-ass, Rawhead Rex-looking monster. And now comes the third installment in the franchise, Resident Evil: Extinction, which is not nearly as good as the first film, but doesn’t suck ass quite as much as the second film.