February 13, 2008
I'm not weird at all ...
A friend who is studying film at UCLA just shot me a link to this clip that she directed. Neat stuff. She's come a long way since she interned with us in Knoxville ...
Posted by Bob Benz at 7:10 PM | Comments (0)
June 29, 2007
The Humans Are Dead ...
I finally got around to watching HBOs "Flight of the Conchords" the other night and loved it. It had me laughing out loud despite the perplexed look on Lara's face while she watched the same scenes.
This post on Boing Boing sums it up very well and also provides a link to the most excellent "The Humans Are Dead" video.
Posted by Bob Benz at 2:50 PM | Comments (0)
March 22, 2006
The Apocalypse of Pooh ...
Via BoingBoing, I found this link to a 1987 mashup of Winnie the Pooh and Apocalypse Now. The intro drags a bit, but once it hits stride, it's a scream, especially for Apocalypse Now fanatics like me. Winnie has come a long way since the Tao of Pooh ..
Posted by Bob Benz at 8:38 AM | Comments (2)
January 16, 2006
Video stuff ...
I finally found a video conversion application for the Mac that I like, so I've been downloading a lot of stuff and moving it to my video iPod today.
The software is iSquint, which makes it much easier to convert files for use on the iPod. I'm liking it a lot. And it's free, though I think I'll probably donate if I keep using it at the rate I have been.
And I keep coming up with new video sources. A few of my recent favorites:
Bedazzled: A nice mix of bizarre video, photos, etc., and political rants. This is the site that turned me on to iSquint. It doesn't hurt that the site has the same name as one of my favorite movies (not the 2000 remake ... the 1967 original with Peter Cook and Dudley Moore. Hilarious.)
Sonic Pollutions: This is a great source of stuff from the '60s. It's not just links to video, either. She provides a lot of great background and history. Quickly becoming one of my favorite sites.
YouTube: I still haven't figured out how to grab video from this site, but I catch myself checking it out often. It's wildly inconsistent and has a lot of strange stuff along with the occasional gem. I'm astounded by the sheer amount of stuff that's uploaded here. I subscribe to the RSS feed, and there area about 200 new posts every time I check. Amazing.
Recent stuff I've moved to my iPod includes several vintage videos from Pink Floyd (Syd Barrett era), Jefferson Airplane and the Thirteenth Floor Elevators. Also uncovered a BBC Pink Floyd documentary that I'll probably be watching during the interminable plane ride to L.A. tomorrow.
Posted by Bob Benz at 7:47 PM | Comments (0)
November 18, 2005
Video iPod (reprise)
So after seeing our Mac Whore's video iPod, I rushed out and bought the 60 gig version. I opted for the black version. All I can say is that it's astoundingly cool.
The first thing I did was checked out the music videos and TV shows available in the iTunes store. I downloaded several videos (Mazzy Star, U2, Everclear, Velvet Underground, among others) and then downloaded the two pilot episodes of Lost, a TV show that I'd heard a lot about but never bothered to Tivo.
It's massively, mind-bogglingly phenomenal.
During my gauntlet of business trips this week, I put the video iPod through its paces. As soon as the airplane's wheels went up somewhere above Memphis, I started watching the first episode of "Lost." It works. Really well. The small screen is very crisp, and when you wear headphones, it really pulls you into the movie. It's a great way to endure a flight when you're too tired to read and too cramped to pull out your computer. (And "Lost" is all that; I'm downloading the first season as I write this. I love the fact that there are no commercials and wonder if there's a business model here for people who are willing to pay for commercial-free content.)
The one thing I'm tripping on is ripping DVDs to my computer so I can put them on my iPod. I downloaded Mac the Ripper and, as the Mac Whore suggested, Handbrake. Both are cool and work well, but I think my G4 Powerbook just doesn't have the huevos to do this work. Ripping a DVD is mind-numbingly slow (like, all night). So now I'm toying with an upgrade to one of the G5 desktops ... Funny how technology has that domino effect.
Now I just need the iTunes store to expand its horizons and start offering A LOT more stuff to chose from -- at least until I get a Mac fast enough to rip DVDs for viewing on my iPod.
Posted by Bob Benz at 8:06 PM | Comments (3)
June 30, 2005
Land of the Dead
It took George Romero 20 years to file the fourth installment in his zombie series. And it was worth every second of the wait.
I went to see Land of the Dead not knowing exactly what to expect. I'd read that Romero didn't film in Pittsburgh, which was weighing heavily on me. It was that Pittsburgh tie that scared the hell out of me the first time I saw "Night of the Living Dead" as a child. But even though the production didn't happen in Pittsburgh, it still was set there. They refer to Mount Washington, and the city under siege clearly is Pittsburgh, up to and including the three rivers.
In this installment, the zombies are evolving and developing a bit of smarts, with Big Daddy leading the way. The film also is infused with the bizarre social commentary that has made Romero's flicks so much fun to watch. During it, I kept thinking about the Wall Street Journal's recent series of articles on the widening gap between rich and poor in America. Romero nails it in this flick.
Dennis Hopper is great, but John Leguizamo's portral of Cholo is awesome. Also loved the fact that Tom Savini had a role as "machete zombie." Don't need to say much more than that ...
The special effects are the best I've seen. The gore flows freely, and Romero doesn't jump on the fast-moving-zombie bandwagon of "28 Days Later." While I liked that film a lot, there's something about that tottering zombie amble in the Romero flicks that consitutes the definitive zombie.
This one is a must-see ...
Posted by Bob Benz at 8:29 PM | Comments (0)
April 19, 2005
How to survive a zombie attack ...
Dr. Zeus has posted a guide to surviving zombie onslaughts over on Kuro5hin.
Fortunately, someone pointed out that Max Brooks (Mel's son) already beat him to the punch. But Zeus offers several helpful tips, including the good advice of determining whether you're dealing with fast- or slow-moving zombies and a poll on the best place to survive a zombie attack (a boat and an underground military bunker currently lead, but I seem to remember the underground military bunker theory falling apart in an ugly way during "Day of the Dead.")
Posted by Bob Benz at 6:57 AM | Comments (0)
November 5, 2004
They're coming to get you, Barbra
I finally got around to seeing "Shaun of the Dead." I was dubious. It's billed as "A romantic comedy. With zombies." Somehow, I wasn't certain that even zombies could rescue a romantic comedy. Thoughts of "When Harry Met Sally" ran through my mind. But I purged them with high hopes of gore and brain eating.
The gore and brain eating won out. The film brought a neat English sense of humor to the table that was much appreciated. There also were a few nice allusions to the masters of zombie films. When Shaun and friends are talking to his mother on the phone, telling her the only safe place is the pub, he shouts, "We're coming to get you, Barbra." Definitely a toss to Romero's Night of the Living Dead. Also, not sure if it's intentional or not, but Shaun's buddy, Ed (Nick Frost), has definite echoes of Gnaghi, the faithful sidekick in Cemetery Man, perhaps the greatest zombie flick ever made, which features the incredible Anna Falchi, to boot.
Added bonuses: Lucy Davis from "The Office" is in the cast. And this is the first zombie movie I'm aware of where a cricket bat is used to dispatch the undead. Very cool.
Posted by Bob Benz at 6:48 PM | Comments (0)
July 2, 2004
tiger, tiger burning bright ...
"When I lie on the beach there naked, which I do sometimes, and I feel the wind coming over me and I see the stars up above. And I am looking into this very deep, indescribable night, it is something that escapes my vocabulary to describe. Then I think, God, I have no importance, whatever I do or don't do, or what anybody does, is not more important than the grains of sand that I am lying on, or the coconut that I am using for my pillow. So I really don't think in the long sense.''
-- Marlon Brando
Posted by Bob Benz at 2:16 PM | Comments (4)
February 1, 2004
When there's no room left in hell ...
Looks like a remake of the George Romero masterpiece Dawn of the Dead is in the works. My Tivo downloaded a preview that I watched immediately. Then I went to the website for more details. Not a lot there. But it looks promising. It's supposed to be released in March.
I do have some concerns, as every card-carrying zombie fan will after the remake of Night of the Living Dead. That remake just didn't stand up, but the original was a tough act to follow. I did like the way Barbara's character was recast from catatonic terrorized victim to an ass-kicking woman of the '90s.
I'm particularly interested in how the new Dawn will handle the whole consumerism/mall satire that the original did so well. Also, the original was filmed in a mall a few miles from where I grew up, which added considerably to my experience of the film. It was pretty cool seeing zombies feast on bikers in front of stores that I'd actually shopped in.
A few worthwhile zombie links:
Now Playing: Alcohol & Pills from the album The Fallen by Audrey Auld
Posted by Bob Benz at 2:12 PM | Comments (1)
December 23, 2003
The Zombie Survival Guide
My staff, incredible folks that they are, gave me a few Cuban cigars and The Zombie Survival Guide. Needless to say, I was on the verge of tears. Now I can survive an onslaught of the undead and enjoy fine Cuban cigars while I do so.
The book is by Max Brooks, Mel's son. Very deadpan. I was expecting it to be a bit more over the top. But what they heck. We are dealing with the undead here. In includes details about the undead, fighting tactics and general strategies.
"Don't be carefree and foolish with your most precious asset -- life. This book is your key to survival against the hordes of undead who may be stalking you right now without even knowing it."
Guess that could apply to Christmas shoppers, too ...
Posted by Bob Benz at 10:26 AM | TrackBack
August 1, 2003
media matters ...
Hit a triple with the three CDs I bought last weekend, and "28 Days Later," the zombie film I went to see, kicked ass. I love it when a plan comes together.
-- 28 Days Later: I saw the version with the alternative ending. Not surprisingly, I like the bleaker approach better. But I think it better fits the nature of the film. I also was amazed at how much it pays homage to Romero. The shopping spree harkens Dawn of the Dead, with all its shopping mall antics. The captured zombie and military angle are very similar to Day of the Dead. And the alternative ending brings a bleakness that Night of the Living Dead invoked. But 28 Days still goes its own way. I particularly like the whole rage thing, and the fast-moving zombies really are creepy. Not sure what effect they used to capture that, but it worked.
-- "Electric Bath," The Don Ellis Orchestra. This CD is awesome. Stumbled across a piece on Ellis and decided to check him out. He plays a lot of off time signatures -- 5/4, 7/4, 19/4 -- and gives jazz a dip in psychedlia that's really interesting. I'll be buying more of his stuff.
-- "Chinatown," The Be Good Tanyas. These three women are incedible. I have "Blue Horse" already and fell for it immediately. This CD is just as good. Great version of Townes Van Zant' "Waiting Around to Die," and the originals are really solid, too.
They can play.
-- "The Three Pickers: Earl Scruggs, Doc Watson, Ricky Skaggs." Another winner. Scruggs, to my mind, is the father of bluegrass music (and he was way cool on the Beverly Hillbillies). Alison Krauss also appears on a few tunes. Very nice. And thanks to Tivo (all praise Tivo) I also found a "Great Performances" of this show, so I got to see the video, too.
Posted by Bob Benz at 8:31 PM | Comments (1)