Tagged: Ric Meyers

Fity-seven channels and nothing’s on…

  • News
  • August 5, 2007

olympus-digital-camera-24Yesterday was a very special day for lots of folks.  In the baseball world a couple of home run records were set, in the political world attendees at the progressive blogosphere’s Nerd Prom (yes, they have one too) schmoozed with the Democratic presidential candidates, and we at ComicMix celebrated head honcho Mike Gold’s 57th go-round in life.  All the incriminating photos my camera could muster can be found here.  And here’s our review of what we columnist types have been up to this past week:

I finally got to meet all of Mellifluous Mike Raub‘s many M-named sons, and the one with the "S" name.  He’s been busy as usual with the newest Big ComicMix Broadcasts:

I’m on vacation from my day job this coming week, so who knows, you might even see my byline again on something other than my column and this wrap-up…

Beat the heat and read

This little homebody has had enough of running around in The City.  Sometimes you just have to stay home and collapse before facing another workweek, and what better way to relax than with another reading of some fine ComicMix columns?:

And some listening to Mellifluous Mike Raub‘s most recent podcasts?:

And by phrasing everything in the form of a question?

RIC MEYERS: Tokyo Shock

ric-meyers-100-1109283It’s that time again. I’m back on my annual summer filmfest tour. My first, and favorite, stop is FanimeCon in San Jose (“By Fans, For Fans”) California, where my friends at Media Blasters showcased riches aplenty – some recent, one brand spanking new.

Now, I’ve been fans of M.B. for awhile, since they’re the only (legal) place to get such classic Japanese samurai (a.k.a. chambara) films as Hideo Gosha’s Goyokin, such fine “old school” kung-fu films as 7 Grandmasters, and such rare, treasured Japanese action TV series as Baian the Assassin and Zatoichi the Blind Swordsman. But this time they’ve outdone themselves … at least in terms of this column’s raison d’etre.

Let’s start with their recent output. They’re repacked and repackaged two cult favorites in ways both wild and weird. First, topping anyone’s list of “you may regret it but you’ll never forget it” movies is renegade firebrand director Takashi Miike’s graphic (is there any word stronger than graphic I can use?) live-action adaptation of the landmark manga Ichi the Killer. Once seen, you’ll know why “graphic” or even “explicit” don’t cut it (“cut’ it … get it? Anyone seeing the film will).

This tale of a repressed, demented, vigilante going after the worst yakuza sado-masochist ever put on film is a work of extreme “so-excessive-it’s-funny” art (art using mostly the color red). So it makes sick sense that Media Blaster’s “Tokyo Shock” division would package their new Double-Disc Special Edition in a Collector’s Blood Bag.

ichi-5487813First, the good news: the mass of extras do nothing to lessen the impact of this literally unforgettable entertainment (although I almost hoped it would, given the intensity of the flick). They include a new 16×9 transfer, audio commentary with both the director and the manga artist/writer (Hideo Yamamoto), interviews with the actors and producer, and an illuminating on-the-set making-of doc.

The only place the frills falter is with “The Cult of Ichi” and Eli Roth interview featurettes in which horror writers and “torture chic” filmmakers heap bloody praise on the film. What they have to say is pretty much what anyone would probably say, but it you like their work, it might be fun to see them give voice to what you would probably think after seeing the movie.

Now, the bad news. While the packaging is “clever,” it is also wildly impractical. It took me more than two minutes to extract just one of the two discs from its sticky plastic prison, and it was nigh impossible not to get my grubby paw prints all over the wrong side of the DVD. (more…)

RIC MEYERS: Pan’s Labyrinth, Children of Men, Droopy

ric-meyers-100-6313276Oh, you lucky consumers. This week, all the benefits of DVD watching have come to the fore with four classics that come in four different varieties. First, celebrate all ye cinema-of-the-fantastic fans, for two of the greatest science fiction and fantasy films of the 21st century are now out on disc but only one in a way that shows how superior the DVD format is to virtually every other medium.

I love fantasy. My first non-pseudonyminous novel was a fantasy, Cry of the Beast. My latest novel is a fantasy, Murder in Halruua. My first non-fiction book was The World of Fantasy Films. So it’s a great pleasure to now write about Pan’s Labyrinth, probably the best fantasy film since, well, the director’s previous mixing of monsters and Spanish history, The Devil’s Backbone (2001).

Even after directing Blade II and Hellboy, Hollywood still gave Guillermo del Toro’s extraordinary Oscar-winning new film its due, and New Line Home Entertainment is no exception, crafting one of the great DVDs to showcase it (and they’ve had some practice, considering they also backed the Lord of the Rings special editions). There is a single disc DVD, which only sports the director’s loving audio commentary, but let’s pretend that doesn’t exist (along with the fullscreen version).

pans-1481520Instead, go right to the Two Disc Platinum Series, which envelops the already magical, monstrous, mystical, and majestic film with gobs of film-enhancing extras. All too often, even when a DVD has loads of extras, they’re not really film-enhancing. They may be film-promoting, film-marketing, film-indulging, or even film-smoke-blowing, but it only takes a few of those to know the real deal when it comes around. Each of the documentaries included on the Platinum Edition make successive viewings of the film all the more enriching and enjoyable.

There’s a discourse on the movie’s use of fairy tale mythology, an examination of the colors and textures del Toro uses to deepen his work, a behind-the-scenes look at the creation of the movie’s creatures (spotlighting Doug Jones, the director’s favorite go-to man for these roles), multiple “director’s notebook” interactive menu pages, and, not surprisingly, considering del Toro’s avowed love for comic books, animated prequels establishing back-stories for four of the film’s fantasy favorites.

They’ve also added the memorable episode of PBS’ Charlie Rose Show, which interviewed the friends now known as cinema’s “Three Amigos” – del Toro, Babel director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, and the next man on our DVD hit parade, Alfonso Cuaron. Using the clout he acquired after directing Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Cuaron threw it all into his remarkable adaptation of famed mystery writer P.D. James’ recent science-fiction novel Children of Men.

I love science fiction. My second non-pseudonyminous novel (Doomstar) and non-fiction book (The Great Science Fiction Films) were science fiction. I didn’t feel there was a huge difference between SF and fantasy, but apparently tinseltown disagrees. For, while New Line gave Pan’s Labyrinth its due, Universal treated the bleak yet exhilarating Children of Men like a red-headed stepchild. (more…)

RIC MEYERS: The Thai’s have it

ric-meyers-100-7603117 As a contributor (audio commentaries, on-camera interviews, liner notes, and packaging copy) to more than three hundred DVDs in America and Asia, IÂ’’ve always wanted a source for what ComicMix is now allowing me to do — review DVDs specifically on the quality of their extras (audio commentaries, makings-of, et al). When deciding upon which DVDs to buy and which to rent, that’Â’s often the deciding factor.

All too often in DVD reviews, the extras are simply listed, which is misleading at best, since IÂ’’ve suffered through dry, taciturn, frustrating commentaries from a star-studded roster (the pre-ultimate edition The Spy Who Loved Me), but also reveled in funny, enlightening, seemingly drunken revelries (Conan the Barbarian). And even in the most prestigious publications, the critics get bogged down in their opinions of the films in question, leaving precious little copy for the quality of the extras accompanying them on the disc.

But enough raison dÂ’’etre. Now itÂ’s time for shameful confessions. Naturally, I wanted to fill this first edition with insightful analysis of the most famous, anticipated DVDs on the market, but find myself presently concerned with quirky titles many of you might not have even heard of.

So, what to do, what to do: detail the flowing bounty of extras to be found on the consistently entertaining but hardly hilarious Night at the Museum or well-made but uninvolving Dreamgirls, or tell you about the demented delights of Thai cinema?

Well, given that this site is called ComicMix, and IÂ’’m best known for Jackie Chan comics and my annual three-hour San Diego Comic-Con Superhero Kung-Fu Extravaganza, IÂ’’m going for the stuff thatÂ’s as exhilarating and under-reported as comic books. Staggering into video shops this week are some DVDs that will either have you trawling for Thai flicks forever or keep you from seeing another ever again.

born2fight-8833677 More accessible and superheroic is Born to Fight (Dragon Dynasty [The Weinstein Co.] Two-Disc Ultimate Edition), which is flailing feverishly to get out of the shadow of ThailandÂ’s most famous and popular action export (Thai Warrior, aka Ong-Bak). The same fearless stunt crew worked on both films, but the latter starred Muy Thai boxing great Tony Jaa, whoÂ’s attitude and strength mirror Bruce Lee while his acrobatics and films crib from Jackie Chan’Â’s homework.

In order to differentiate itself from Tony, the Born to Fight crew decided to create even sicker, and more bone-breaking stunts, while catering to Thai patriotism, in a plot that has a village overrun by nuke-carrying terrorists on the same day itÂ’s being visited by the Thai Olympic team. The discÂ’s main extra — an hour-long behind-the-scenes documentary – lays it all out in loving, if repetitive, detail, with many interviews and glimpses at the set-ups for the insane stunts.

It’Â’s hard not to marvel at the filmmakersÂ’ passion, love for Thai tradition, and the crewÂ’s willingness to risk their lives to gain America and AsiaÂ’s respect. The result is a flick that balances goofy and great (featuring one stomach-turning moment of near-suicide as a stuntman nearly gets ground up under a tractor-trailerÂ’s wheels). (more…)

Categories

Archives

Everything you need to make great comics!

comicmix-pro-300x69-2

Nucleus X

Bookshop Zaks