trabajador

Two videos from our mystery artist this time:

In this weeks thrilling episodes, our heroine defeats rape and escapes in an automobile. At least, i think that's what happens.

It is interesting that we seem to be getting more of a narrative, rather than just continued themes and symbolism.

i do like that if you're not paying close attention, it seems like she was defeated in the second video, the raggmopp dragging her off somwhere. However, she's wrapped in the fur of one, and the one pulling her looks rather dejected. Then there's the sideways shots of her in the car, wind from the open window playing with her hair. If you miss those, the shot of the car at the end may be a pleasant surprise, i knew it was for me the first time i watched it!

There's a lot of interesting things going on, the raggmopps suggestive pose on the floor that grants her freedom, the sweaty man trying to hold the creatures back, the woman seeing our heroine falling and walking out on a man in bed. Incidental, but the raggmopp's pose on the hood of the car makes me laugh.

From the samurai armour we can extrapolate she gains strength from her fall.

Dark, but hopeful.

Aliens and predators and bears. Oh my!

Having recently watched my way through the very loosely tied Aliens and Predators films (save for the bland Predators) i feel like sharing my thoughts on the unique progression of the series.

Alien (1979)

There's just something about Ash.

Alien is one of my favourite films for a variety of reasons, it's essentially a group of space truckers getting picked off by an unimaginable terror, there's great acting, brilliant creature design, it's also very much about rape. But more importantly it's still frightening as fuck.
Now the sexual imagery of the movie is impossible to deny, the alien's phallic everything, the egg and facehugger's feminine qualities, Ash oozing white goo after sexually assaulting Ripley. Personally i view the alien as a distortion of humanity, similar to this nerve-ending homunculus:

We're  all hands and genitals, facehuggers and aliens. Now the sexless android Ash, resented human beings, he admired the alien because it was pure, it had a purpose, he tries to emulate its raw sexuality by shoving a porno mag down Ripley's throat. It's a fascinating scene. 

Now what i love about our space truckers, is that they're all very real people. There's all the subtleties and nuances of real human interaction, rare for films, especially horror and sci-fi.
Another thing i find interesting is that in an early draft of the script, the writer comes out and says: "The crew is unisex and all parts are interchangeable for men or women." And that really plays to the strength of this film i think, they're characters first. Ripley isn't so much a badass woman, as she is a woman that happens to be badass.
And honestly the threat of the alien isn't restricted to sex, look at the last two kills, it throws Parker against the wall and penetrates him, and then gives Lambert the tail between the legs. Honestly the only time i feel Ripley being a female comes into play, is at the end, when the alien plays Peeping Tom. The male gaze of the alien (and the audience) wouldn't be nearly as affective had it been Tom Skerritt in his skivvies.

Aliens (1986)

Meet mother.

Now this film is the prototype for all the Cameron films to come. Making the female lead strong through motherhood? Check. Evil rich/corporate dude? Check. Space marines? You bet your ass!

Now obviously the showdown between Ripley and the queen is all about motherhood and such. But other than that, this film is about Vietnam, war, soldiers.

In the first film the alien was a dark reflection of the crew, it's slightly transparent dome was akin to their helmet, the biomechanical look, their fancy steam-powered suits.  In this film the alien is a reflection of the soldiers, completely opaque domes and pointier edges, it's the marine's armour, they're also numerous and expendable.

The marines take a literal approach to the space, they set up a command center, barricade doors, secure hallways, and so on. The aliens however, come through walls, come down out of the ceiling, they're literally fighting in a different space than the marines. Newt was able to survive because she lived like they did.

While it is nice Aliens has tremendous influence on everything to come, it's been done better (unlike Alien). The most recent example would be, Battle: Los Angeles, a far superior film about marines fighting a twisted version of themselves.

One thing that's always bothered me about the end of this film is they gave the queen emotions, she protects her eggs as a mother would, she gets angered when Ripley kill them. The aliens otherwise lack emotions, and this was a weird contradiction. If Ripley's motherhood is her strength, why is it the downfall of the queen? Shouldn't her lack of maternal instinct have been her weakness?

Predator (1987)

Most homoerotic scene to grace cinema. It also ended racism.

Predator also takes cues from Vietnam, but it's also about the phallus vs. the yonic, man vs. nature.
Much like Aliens, you've got a group of exaggerated soldiers being lied to by their leaders. The soldiers are phallic, they're big, strong, sexual tyrannosauruses. And i've yet to mention their ridiculous guns! The predator on the other hand, is yonic or as Danny Glover affectionately calls it in the sequel a "Pussyface", it's tribal, it's natural "She says the jungle... it just came alive and took him." This thing isn't so much invisible as it is the jungle. Women are a threat to the manly Sparta fun of war and arm wrestling, the soldiers want to kill the woman as she's a threat to who they are, the Predator never gives her a second thought. Arnie transforms from über phallic "Stick around" to the opposite, he fights like the Predator, hiding in nature, it's why he wins at the end, he's no longer who he once was. "What the hell are you?"

Predator 2 (1990)

Come here and give me a nice, wet, slippery kiss!

This film was oddly ill received. It takes place in a dystopic 1997, where crime has risen 400%. We're transplanted from the green jungle to the concrete one, gang wars rule the streets, and Danny Glover is the baddest motherfucker around. This film is almost a parody, but really it's just taking the exaggerations of the soldiers in Predator, and spreading it to the world at large. Though basically this film does seem to take place in the same universe as Demolition Man and Escape from LA, i mean, everyone packing heat on the subway is dark humour in a very sobering way. Oddly enough one of the reviews i read, complained of racism. That because the Predator is played by a large black man, and has dreadlocks or an "Afro-style braided hairdo" that we're supposed to fear him? Not sure i buy that.

Not to say this isn't a racist film though, the two gangs are minorities, Colombians and Jamacians, a bit safer than just saying they're Americans that happen to be Mexican or black. Glover also ends the film in whiteface, with the predator ship taking off and covering him in ash, it brings to mind an unfortunate parallel to the first film, Arnie won by not being phallic anymore, so Glover won by not being black anymore? Perhaps the film judges him for being a black cop, working for the white man, and if the Predator is representing black stereotypes, then Glover be-heading it... It's interesting.
This film also expands on the rituals of the Predators, not killing an armed woman, because she was pregnant, honouring both the death of a fallen, and the one who respectfully took him down. It also shows that the wrist-bomb is more than an honourable death, more than a final  "Fuck you", it also keeps their technology out of the wrong hands

Mostly it's a decent movie that takes a lot from both Predator and Aliens (including Bill Paxton!) and opened the way for less serious action/sci-fi films. It's definitely a product of its time though.

Alien³ (1993)

I loved you in Repo Man!

i find it funny that Cameron considers it a slap to the face that Newt and Hicks were killed off so a different story could be told. i mean, he injected a motherhood story into Aliens, the Ripley of Alien was no mother, there was no child waiting for her at the end of that long space journey.

It's also said this film just hits the resent button, which is sort of true, a small group against a singular alien, but it explores some nice themes.

Aliens had facing and overcoming trauma, Ripley finally agreed to go because she was tired of living in fear. She realizes along with the audience that the alien is less of an evil rape god, and more of a giant rape bug. She recovers and even flirts with the gruff voiced Hicks a bit. In ³ this is accelerated to the point of Ripley being on the sexual prowl, she engages the doctor. This is a reflection of her being alien, both in the sense that she's the only woman on this planet, and that she's pregnant with the new queen. "I'm part of the family now."

This film is also the mashup of at least three scripts, one involving monks on wooden satellite,  another just being a prison planet. The monk story had them believing the alien was a demon, a punishment from their god. It's interesting angel, and really should have stayed in the story. The prisoner monks we get in the film themselves really do have an interesting left behind aspect to them. They knew they had sinned, and this hostile planet, this smelting plant was their punishment, their hell. And this is why the rape scene has always felt wildly out of place (aside from the rape goggles), ex-criminals or not, they were still devoted to their faith, and it the scene only seemed to exist to make Dillon look like a good guy. The monks should have been terrified of Ripley, she was nearly one in the same as the alien.

Dillon: Yeah, well you don't wanna know me, lady. I'm a murderer and rapist of women.

Ripley: Well, I guess I must make you nervous. 

And did we really need a literal rape scene in an Alien film? (The answer is no)

Alien: Resurrection (1997)

Jim Henson's Alien Babies.

In theory i should love this film, it was directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, one of the most whimsical directors around, the terrifying Chris Cunningham was behind the special effects (and honestly, i do love the look of the newborn alien), and it was penned by Joss Whedon, who can occasionally pull off something clever, but this was definitely one of his many cringe worthy moments. It's also the only film on this list i saw in theaters.
To be fair though, the story does continue theme of the Alien films, Ripley is more alien now than ever, so much a sexual predator she crudely demands "Who do I have to fuck to get off this boat?" and symbolically ripping the pharyngeal jaw out of an alien to present it as a matador would present the bull's tail to his paramour (or was that just an invention of Hemingway?) not to mention the castration implication.  Winona Ryder's character is also interesting, she's a robot built by other robots, so they put emotions in her, and she's by far more human than human. A far cry from Ash. There's also that great scene where Ripley confronts and destroys all the past versions of herself, the imperfect ones. There's a lot of clever things being toyed with in this film, but they never really follow through, and much like Predator 2, it can't quite decide if it wants to be a parody or not. It's nearly interesting!

Alien vs. Predator (2004)

My, what lovely doe eyes you have.

My god this film makes no sense, that said, it's not as bad as i remember. It's not good by any measure, but at least the pretty pictures didn't leave me bored. Of the many problems, it lacks any characters, the aliens are incidental (they could have been anything), and the confrontation between aliens and Predator had the biggest mistake of letting popularity influence the fight:

"They squeezed it dry. He survived, he’s now in Disneyland in Orlando and no way am I going back there. How did he end up in Disneyland?" - Ridley Scott on the alien

In the film we get the this overblown clash of Titans, because it's not two freaky aliens duking it out, it's literally two franchises,  the aliens get some cheap kills in on the Predators because they're more experienced, (four movies vs. two) they're more popular, and there's he derivative nature of Predator 2.
Think of it like Darth Vader, in the original Star Wars, he's just an enforcer, a weapon Tarkin has on a leash, a lot of people don't respect him. Then in the next two films, not only is he suddenly the Emperor's right hand man, he's also Luke's father. The prequels went as far as to make him into Space Jesus. All because he resonated with the audience, he was meaningful to us. So in AvP instead of exciting action between two monsters, we get drawn out slugfests between film icons. They expect us to care because of the reputation.
Onto the nonsense though, why does everyone have guns on a trip to Antarctica? Did they all just watch the Thing before leaving? Why didn't the Predator set off his bomb once he got facehugged? Why couldn't his people tell he was pregnant? Why all the slomo? Actually i kind of liked the bullet time facehuggers, completely pointless, but fun. i also liked that a relationship formed between protagonist and the doomed Predator. Just a nice display of the honour bound hunter, the Predators aren't entirely psycho killers.

Now let's talk about Charles Bishop Weyland.

Really, I'm human, why are you looking at me like that?

In Alien³ we meet someone claiming to be the creator of Bishop. Weyland-Yutani sent him as goodwill, a face Ripley could trust. The thing is, this is total bullshit. No, he may not be an android, but he's not human, he's the personification of W-Y, its lying face. The company has done nothing but work against Ripley since the beginning "Crew expendable" To believe that a robot designer would care enough about an alien to live and and continue to demand Ripley's life with his face sloughing off is, well frankly, inconceivable. Ripley was no fool, she leapt. AvP was clever enough to realize this, and introduced the original Bishop, the head of Weyland, just in case you didn't get it.

Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (2007) 

Bound by tradition and honour.

Now this movie was quite a surprise, i'd rank it in the top three of the series, right after Alien and Predator.

One of the most bizarre complaints about this movie was that it had shallow characters. My question is how did they miss the soldiers of Predator and Aliens? The cops, the prisoner monks, the space pirates, everyone in Antarctica? i made a point of mentioning how i loved the realistic characters in Alien, well this is the only other film in the series that features real people. An alien horde takes over a small town in Colorado, we get to see it from town people's point of view, and it's fantastic. It's a shame if audiences are finding characters shallow simply because they're not larger than life. Part of the problem might have been that people were failing to realize that the protagonist of this film wasn't any of the town folk, it's the Predator. The film follows him, his trip to Earth to avenge the death of a fellow hunter he cared for, to destroy the unholy Predalien hybrid, and to eliminate the alien threat on Earth. He also kills a few humans, it's his nature. This film really play out as a requiem for the Predators, and brings in the future of the Alien films.

One of my favourite moments is right after the facehuggers get loose, they catch a boy and his father hunting in the woods. You get to see the alien burst out of this ten year old kid's chest, it sets the tone for the rest of the film, no one is safe. And they go on to prove it many times. There are some nice touches, callbacks of sorts, in Predator 2, a woman in is spared because she's pregnant, in this film the Predalien seeks out pregnant women specifically. Just as the original alien was a dark version of us, this is a dark version of Predators.

There's also exciting action, good acting (especially Predator), and it's a lot of fun. i'm already sold on any project the Brothers Strause do in the future. (Also you should check out Skyline, why not?)

Ladies and Jellyspoons

None of these films were ever really meant to be tied together, and trying to connect them into a coherent story, a canon, will just make you insane, or really boring at parties. But overall, the original films are brilliant and interesting, and gave us iconic creatures and great cinematic experiences. The sequels while lesser in quality, at the very least tried to bring new things to the table while continuing themes they noticed in the previous films, to varying degrees of success. However this summer, Ridley Scott is returning, and rewriting history with Prometheus, and i for one am both terrified and excited.

sever

In this weeks installment of iamamiwhoami or heroine is raped by a raggmopp. Quite the Valentine's gift.

At the beginning of the month we also recieved a warning: 20120611

Something is coming in either June or November. Suspense!

Hard to believe this is the first video since July, also quite surprising to see that y has garnered nearly five million views. i just continue to be amazed at how this project built itself up with cryptic videos on youtube. Just nice to see someone embracing the capabilities of the internet and how it can change media and the way we view things.

Dr. Jones, or How We Got Along After the Bomb

When you look at it, Raiders of the Lost Ark, is about two scientists racing for the same goal. They have their ideological differences, Jones does it for the the greater good, Belloq does it for fame.
But what is it that they're looking for? Not some religious artifact, no, they're on a race to build an atomic bomb.

Dr. Jones wants this for the prestige it will bring his museum, his country, it's a very patriotic cause. Belloq on the other hand, just wants his name attached to the find, he doesn't care for the means, the Nazis have the cash, so he works for them.

Now during WWII, America put its money into the development of the bomb, the Nazis however, were more interested in rockets.

This contrasts with the commitment the German leadership made throughout the war to the effort to build a rocket. They sunk enormous resources into this project, indeed, on the scale of what the Americans invested in the Manhattan Project.

 - Mark Walker "Nazis and the Bomb"

Raiders of the Lost Ark supersedes that with a reality where Germany is pursuing nuclear weapons parallel with America, and not only that, but actually beats America to the punch and test the weapon first.

Belloq, dressed to be a king in the books of history, takes his bomb to an island, cameras are rolling, the whole world is watching. Belloq and all the Nazis on the project are wiped out by by a force they couldn't control. 

What happens to Dr. Jones' project in the wake of all this?

The whole idea of nuclear warfare is shelved, put away in a warehouse never to be spoken of again.
It's an interesting thought, if the Nazis had been the first to unleash this devastating power, would America be willing to use it later?

Drive

Quentin Tarantino published a list of what he thought of the films in 2011.

He lists Drive under Nice Try.
I can see why he doesn't love it though, it takes inspiration from everything in a way similar to what he does (hell it even takes from Tarantino) but the end product is something very different.
i'm not Tarantino though, so i can say without a doubt that Drive was the best film of 2011 (that i saw anyway!)
Not only that, but i can say it's one of the best films i've ever seen, it's gripping, thrilling, and interesting on so many levels.
And has one of the best uses of a hammer outside of Oldboy.

The trailers do it great injustice, they make it seem like some high-octane car chase action flick, when in reality, there's two car chases that are more about the intensity of the situation than the speed, and the rest is very low key, a lot of things go unspoken, and i appreciate that.
To get a better idea of the tone of film, watch the opening credits:

Lovefoxxx :3

This movie is very much a lovesong to the 80's, the style, the music (including the theme song that spells out the story) characters reminiscing of the 80's, the character archetypes, hell it even turns into an 80's slasher for a bit:

Complete with slow walk and everything!

After seeing this i looked up the director and honestly wasn't surprised to see it was the same director that was behind Valhalla Rising:

The same unspoken quality, same cartoony CGI violence. Really though it just told me i should stop putting off watching Bronson.

i suppose it's impossible not to mention Taxi Driver, as there are striking similarities, but while Taxi Driver is about a man going insane and questionably being viewed as a hero, Drive is about the driver becoming human, and then unquestionably a hero. This cool and calm machine, meets a cute girl and her son, spends a weekend with her, and it changes him, he becomes human "The best time of my life" We see him becoming human in his rage and rash decisions , he's suddenly not so collected anymore. By the end of the film he's elevated to the divine. Valhalla Rising had similar themes, and i'm told Bronson does as well.

If you love film, if you love storytelling, if you love the darker bits of the 80's, i cannot recommend this film enough.

On earworms.

There are three songs from the 90's that are forever stuck in my head, a line or two from each will always sneak up and lodge itself in.

Laid by James

The less interesting video, but it's uncensored lyrically.

i'm not entirely sure where i first would have heard this song, perhaps the video was 120 minutes one night, my older sister did have the CD so perhaps i randomly came across it going through her music. Regardless i was a bit wowed but how unabashed and without shame this song goes into sexual and romantic issues.  The opening lines have always stuck with me, with the bed being on fire with passionate love. Even though it was never meant in a sexual context, it reminds me of Midnight Oil song, how can you sleep when your bed is burning?

It's understandable why poor James is going crazy.

Also bravo to a song mentioning gender roles and a guy feeling pretty.

Discoball World by David Garza

This song was featured in an issue of the CDROM magainze LAUNCH. (Oh LAUNCH, you introduced me to Cake, Poe, Everclear, and even let me know the Presidents of the United States of America had a second album coming out. <3) If not LAUNCH it might have been some random compilation my sister gave me. i've never been able to find too much of his music, but listening to bits on youtube, it seems like he's comparable to Jeff Buckley, which makes him AOK in my book. He has unique poetry in his lyrics, and i love the deep loss of love in the lyrics of this song: "Everyday I miss the you I used to know" ""I can't forget the day that you forgot me" "I lost God, I found you" And honestly a line i'd never payed much attention to until now "I fell for your coffee eyes, your half-and-half white lies" Clever, but it's also reminiscent of my favourite song of all time. (Perhaps one day i'll sing la te da too)

Now those songs are great honestly, i love them both, i never get tired of either, and the way they've shaped me is probably quite important. However, the next song is torture, and it never goes away.

Forget About Love by Gilbert fucking Gottfried

i've only seen Return of Jafar once, my grandparents bought it for all my cousins and me to watch at their house, i don't even really remember how Jafar comes back, or what he does, but this song, has been in my head since 1994. Honestly, i'll just be going about some mundane task when "Forget about his charms, forget about the way he held you in his arms" Or i'll just want to burst out with "It matters so much!"

At least in my head it's not in Gilbert's lovely voice. i don't know though, actually listening to the whole song for the first time in a few years (i do look it up every now and then) it does have terrible singing, and it's so damn cheesy, but it does have elements in there of something from a traditional musical, elements i do enjoy, so perhaps it's because of this song i can appreciate things like this or this. It's still pretty god awful though.

For better or worse these songs seem integral parts of my thinking process.

biff's favourite songs of '11

Mostly in no particular order.

Ashley's Song by Des Ark

Now this song is a bit different from the rest of her work, but i was still quite psyched when this album came out. After randomly coming across this song, i was instanly reminded of Circa Survive, only with female vocals. So you know, Circa Survive.
this song is so brutal due to it's topic, and the raw emotion that pours into this song is why it's currently my most played. Just dark and amazing.

Que veux-tu by Yelle

Now, i don't speak Fench, but Yelle is nice enough to give us English translations.
And it's easy enough to parse that not only does Yelle write ridiculously catchy pop, they also write clever lyrics that suit the music so. My biggest bummer of the year was discovering this group the week after they played in Portland.

Midnight City by M83

M83's Hurry Up We're Dreaming is a fantastic dreamscape of the 1980's. It's cheesy and and endearing, and one of my favourite albums of the year. i never thought they'd top Kim & Jesse, and yet, here we are. Midnight City is my church.

Settle Down by Kimbra

i love this girl's voice and style. Very soulful, retro, and beautiful. i also quite enjoy this video is about little girls playing at being mature, just in case you were inclined to take the song at face value. Nebraska Jones is a pretty cute name though.

Spitting Blood by WU LYF

This song is a wonderful ritual to ancient and forgotten gods. It is the pagan heat lamp our hearts all lack.


A+ Brain by 1994!

That van is a rockin'
rock on van, rock on

Swim Good by Frank Ocean

Frank Ocean is one of my favourite artists this year, Nostalgia, Ultra is a great listen. And he's featured on one of Tyler's best songs, and the only tracks worth a damn on Watch the Throne.

Bad As Me by Tom Waits

Mr. Waits continues to be the craziest hobo with the loveliest songs.  Bless his heart.

Good Vibrations by the Beach Boys

Don't care what you say, this is completely applicable to this list. The original Beach Boys Smile is out, and Good Vibrations continues to be the greatest pop song of all time.

City Grrl by CSS

Lovefoxxx :3
i love her attitude, i love the driving synth, this is by far their best song yet.

Sandwitches by Tyler, the Creator, Hodgy Beats, and the Roots

This is the performance that sold me on Tyler, i love the censored lyrics, the zombie girl, the horn, the energy, WOLF GANG.
And the entire thing is capped off perfectly by Mos Def swooping in out of nowhere to repeatedly shout "Swag!"

Mother by Wye Oak

Despite her claims to not be badass, this song is fucking badass, it's one of the greatest covers i've ever heard.

212 by Azealia Banks

Azealia Banks is adorable, has a ridiculously foul mouth, and completely amazing skills. This girl is going to be huge if she keeps this up.
She did pick a twitter fight with Kreayshawn recently though. Don't fight, i <3 you both.

Nightcrawlin' by Royal Canoe

This song is a holy experience, it fills me with awe, the slow build up, the distortions, it's magnificent.

Colours by GROUPLOVE

This song is here on the virtue of it having grown on me, not that there's anything wrong with it, it just seems generic, like every other song on alternative radio sounds exactly like this.
However it includes a few elements that i make it noteworthy.

King Park by La Dispute

It took awhile for La Dispute to grow on me, there was something grating about such small hands the first time i heard it, but eventually i realized i couldn't get it out of my head.
And since mewithoutYou has gone on to became Emmet Otter's Jug Band Jamboree, it's nice to have a hardcore pick up where they left off, odd Christian overtones and all.
Regardless of what you believe "Can I still get into heaven if I kill myself?" is damn haunting.

Rites of Initiation by Circle Takes the Square

That's right, the whole EP, it's really meant to be listened to all at once anyway.
Honestly, new Circles Takes the Square was probably the biggest surprise of 2011, and it's ridiculously good to boot.
The entirety of Decompositions will be mindblowing

Keep My Addresse To Yourself, Cause We Need Secrets by FUCKING WEREWOLF ASSO

i believe this speaks for itself.