Guest Writer: Eric Anderson, founder of Nerd Chapel
This weekend Avengers:Endgame is re-releasing in theaters. I have teamed up with Scott Bayles and Nathan Marchand to provide content on each other’s sites inspired by the great film. Spoilers!
When we first met Tony Stark (Iron Man), he was a businessman
who liked fast cars and lived for himself. Now as we enter the theater for one
last big hurrah, and a huge one it was, all we knew is that he is stuck on a
planet far away. We knew from trailers he seems to be stranded in space, and
that is how we find him at the beginning of Avengers:
Endgame. In deep space, he has no hope to give.
Captain Marvel finds Nebula and Tony on the last bit of
oxygen and food they had left. Stark has even passed out and could barely look
up to see her as she came to assist. His morale, like all of them, was so low,
it wasn’t even reachable. They had lost and half the universe was disintegrated
by the Mad Titan.
He is essentially carried home to Earth and painfully steps
out of the ship dehydrated and barely able to stand. We soon learn how angry he
is about everything. This was the man who had risked a one-way trip during the
invasion in New York during The Avengers
to save the Big Apple and stop an invasion; who tried to build “a suit of armor
around the world” in Age of Ultron; who
implored Captain America to stay on his side during Civil War. Now, it was time for, “I told you so.” Captain America
had left him and wasn’t there to fall with him, even though he did protect
Earth while Tony was away helping Dr. Strange. Tony is angry about the
separation, but he’s also beaten and almost out of health points. Tony doesn’t
even go with the team to face Thanos when they find out where he is. Dr. Strange
had given up everything to save him, but when they first go to take the battle
to Thanos, he is passed out in a hospital bed.
After finding out that Thanos has destroyed the Infinity Stones, they all come back cope with defeat and loss. Each one in his own way. For Tony, it means starting a family. He and Pepper get a house on a lake and begin raising a little girl named Morgan. Their form of coping is through family and solitude.
Family is an important theme in Scripture right from the
beginning. Genesis tells us that Adam does not have a suitable “helpmate,” and
so God creates a wife for him. God then tells them to “be fruitful and
multiply” (Genesis 2). As we continue reading, we find that many Bible heroes
had families. Abraham had two sons, one of whom was born miraculously in Abraham’s
old age. This same Abraham rescued his nephew Lot after he and many others were
captured. David had many children. Unfortunately, he did not always make good
choices, and so not all of them made good choices, either. Gideon had over 70
children and multiple wives.
We are not meant to live alone in isolation. Not all of us
need to have five kids, but we should all have family of some form. Family can
sit with us even without the words we need and still comfort us. They know what
food will calm us down and how to make us laugh. On the flip side, we can fill
those same voids for them on their rough days.
The other way Tony copes after all of this is solitude. In
Psalm 46:10, we are commanded to “be still and know that I am God.” This means
ignoring the five thousand needs to step away and pray. Jesus Himself stepped
away and prayed in lonely places on many occasions. He sought a refueling from
His Father in isolation. Again, family and solitude together.
Finally, Tony’s solitude is interrupted by Steve, Natasha,
and Scott with a wild idea. Tony blows it off at first, but it lingers. They go
back to experiment without him, but he does his own research. Now, in much
better health, he reluctantly rejoins the fight. They use Scott’s 12 percent of
a plan and, with some more input for the plan, they get the Stones. While Bruce
Banner is the one to bring everyone back, in the end Tony pays the high price
of his life and a snap to stop Thanos once and for all. The man who started
this journey 22 films and 10 years ago as a self-absorbed party animal gives
his life to save the world. All he needed was to see the great needs around him
and take a break from it with solitude and family before sacrificing himself to
save this planet. It didn’t need “a suit of armor around the world,” but we did
need an armored knight to accept the winning blow for the world. Nothing is
more Christ-like than that.
(Pardon me, True
Believers, as I get back into the habit of blogging).
As I discussed a few weeks ago, the American kaiju fandom had a meltdown when the Rotten Tomatoes score was revealed for Godzilla: King of the Monsters. It slowly dropped to 40% over the film’s opening weekend. Meanwhile, the audience score remained high (it sits at 83% currently). Unfortunately, despite pushback from outspoken fans, the film has been underperforming at the box office, only making $49 million its opening weekend. There’s been a lot of talk as to why, but I don’t think it’s just one thing but many working in tandem, and unlike he did in Godzilla: Final Wars, Big G couldn’t defeat all of these opponents.
Highly Competitive Movie Season
As much as I love Avengers: Endgame, it sucked the air out of the proverbial room. Every major studio tried to give the Disney/Marvel juggernaut at least a two-week breadth. Heck, if I remember correctly, KOTM’s release was pushed back a week or two to give the superhero epic as much space as possible. Unfortunately, KOTM still opened amidst stiff competition from other big franchises: Detective Pikachu, John Wick 3: Parabellum, Aladdin, and Dark Phoenix (making this the second time an American Godzilla film opened the week before an X-Men film). Given that Endgame dominated filmgoers’ time and money, they were less likely to go see something else that soon.
2. Ads Revealed Too Much
KOTM had an ad campaign almost as aggressive as a certain other American G-film. So aggressive, in fact, that Legendary/Warner Bros. gave too much away. It revealed things that should’ve been surprises, both in terms of plot and the kaiju fights. By contrast, the ad campaign for Godzilla in 2014 erred on the side of minimalism (much like the film itself). Warner Bros. could’ve learned something from that or the advertising for Endgame, which kept secrets from the audience. As it stands, some people probably felt like they’d seen the whole movie just from the trailers.
3. Niche Audience
Like it or not, kaiju films aren’t “mainstream.” The superhero genre managed to broaden its appeal, but kaiju have yet to do that. I don’t know why since there’s a lot of overlap with the two, but even in Japan, where the genre came into being, the same is true. Ultraman is more popular than Godzilla. Regardless, the kaiju fans turned out in droves to see KOTM, but their numbers don’t compare to the likes of Marvel fans.
4. Audience Doesn’t Know What It Wants
On a related note, the kaiju fanbase, at least in the States, can’t seem to agree on what a kaiju movie should be. From what I can tell, every Godzilla film from both sides of the Pacific has divided them since 2004. There were complaints that there was too much human story and not enough monsters in Godzilla (2014) and Shin Godzilla, but now the complaint with KOTM is there’s too much monster action. The same was said about Godzilla: Final Wars (2004). Yet if you ask a fan to name one of his favorite entries in the series, he’ll likely pick a Japanese film that had little monster screen time like Monster Zero. This division not only makes the films and the fans look bad, it confuses filmmakers and undermines box office. It’s possible those disappointed with Godzilla (2014) for those reasons stayed home even though the problem was rectified.
5. Long Gap between Films
While some moviegoers complain of superhero fatigue, one of the secrets to the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s success is it usually releases two or three films a year. This maintains narrative momentum and brand recognition. Even individual series within the MCU often only have a two-year gap between entries. It’s been five years since Legendary’s Godzilla reboot. Yes, Kong: Skull Island came out in 2017, but it wasn’t marketed as part of the MonsterVerse. This stymied both recognition and momentum.
6. Critics’ Reviews…
While I previously wrote that review aggregate sites like Rotten Tomatoes have been given too much power, the fact remains that a film’s RT score can affect box office turnout. For better or worse, filmgoers will pay attention to the scores. It doesn’t always affect it, but it more often than not does.
7. …and the Fan Backlash
That being said,
the fans attacking critics as hacks because of their negative reviews hasn’t
boded well. While I can’t say for sure, many of their attempts to fight against
the tide of bad reviews by saying, “It’s a Godzilla film! It’s supposed to be
stupid!” isn’t making anyone interested in seeing KOTM. If anything, they should try talking about what they liked
about the movie or try to explain how the critics are wrong. You can catch more
flies with honey than vinegar. Sadly, the internet is flooded with vinegar.
Because of all this, Warner
Bros. considered
delaying the release of Godzilla vs. Kong
so they could “make an A+ movie.” There were several reasons why this might’ve
happened, but that’s a topic for another blog (that I may or may not write).
In the end, Godzilla: King of the Monsters is a good
film that faced an uphill battle, and the hill just kept getting steeper.
What do you think? Are there other
reasons KOTM underperformed? What are
they?
After nearly a year of escalating
hype, Godzilla: King of the Monsters
dropped in theatres this weekend. It was one of my most anticipated films of
2019. As a fan of nearly two decades, the co-creator of Kaijuvision Radio, and a
raging nerd, I went into it excited
but cautious. I remembered another American-made Godzilla movie from 20
years ago or so that had just as much, if not more, hype, and it failed to
deliver.
I walked out of my local
IMAX theatre with a huge smile on my face. Most fans did.
Critics didn’t.
All this week the
Godzilla fan community (in America, anyway) has been in a tizzy. As the critics
score on Rotten Tomatoes dropped (it sits at 40% currently) and the
audience score remained high (it hovers around 90%), the fans got defensive.
They became the latest fandom to declare critics “hacks” who didn’t know what
they were talking about, who just didn’t understand the genre or Godzilla.
While many fans—including myself—said King
of the Monsters wasn’t what critics claimed it was, others stamped their
feet, crossed their arms, and said, “I like because it’s bad like all the other
Godzilla films!”
Even Godzilla is shocked by his some of his fans’ behavior.
To be honest, I’m not all
that surprised. These fans have spent years defending their enjoyment of giant
monsters—or perhaps even hid it—when many people relegated such fare to
schlock. That’d put a huge chip on anybody’s shoulders. While other “nerdy”
genres like superheroes have gone mainstream, the kaiju genre is still trying
to gain wide acceptance. I don’t know if it ever will. Regardless, I think much
of this pushback from Godzilla fans stems from their defensiveness. Like many
nerds, they’ve made their fandom a huge part of their lives, and when they think
it’s being attacked, they see it as an attack upon themselves.
This isn’t to say that
the fans don’t have valid points. Rotten Tomatoes has grown from a website that
helped moviegoers make an informed decision about what films to see to a cultural
force that studios think they must placate. “Tomatometer” scores can make or
break a film now. At least, that’s what many movie executives fear. An
aggregate of bad reviews could destroy the millions of dollars they invested in
a film. That’s why they brag whenever one of their movies has a high RT rating.
The problem is people aren’t engaging with the reviews; they’re just looking at
the score and not reading what was said. They don’t realize that RT’s
system a critic only has to answer a yes or no question—“Is it ‘fresh’?”—before
posting a review on the site. A
rating of three out of five will count as “fresh,” so even a “B-” or “C+”
review will count. In other words, the 90% fresh rating could all be average reviews.
As one fan pointed out, it has ruined film criticism by reducing it to mere
numbers. But these are numbers given tremendous weight and power by lazy often readers
who succumb to some form of groupthink, either in agreement or disagreement.
This, in turn, has led to some borderline conspiracy theories about studios
bribing critics for good or bad reviews as well as theories that studios are
censoring bad reviews from users. I’m not saying any of this is true, but it is
certainly possible.
The “fresh” and “rotten” logos for both critics (top) and audience (bottom) scores on Rotten Tomatoes.
Fans say critics are
prejudiced against the kaiju genre and don’t appreciate it. There’s some truth
to that as I’ve pointed out. Their scores and criticisms often seem
inconsistent, to say the least. Godzilla (2014)
was criticized for allegedly not having enough screen time for Godzilla or the
monster fights while focusing on human characters. Now the common complaint
from critics is there’s too much time given to the monsters (I disagree, but I
digress). Who wouldn’t pull their hair out? It doesn’t seem possible to please
them.
But do fans know what
makes a great kaiju film? I’ve often heard fans say that they want a film that’s
nothing but kaiju fights. This has led to an image of the fandom that is, well,
less than flattering (one Twitter user said it made the fandom look like “knuckle
draggers”). In some ways it seems hypocritical. They fight against non-fans
labeling the films “trash” while advocating for movies that are empty spectacle.
As one YouTuber put
it, fans like the “social commentaries of the Japanese films, but when it comes
to American films, they just want Godzilla to eat buildings and punch monsters.”
I’ll be the first person to argue that there is substance—often profound
substance—in these films. Even the so-called “silly ones.” That’s why it vexes
me to hear such talk from fans. It’s especially annoying because they’re
basically saying, “This movie is nonstop action with human characters I don’t
care about, so I love it for the reasons critics hate it! Boo-yah!” It’s kinda
childish, honestly.
Ultimately, whether the reviews
come from critics or fans, they are simply opinions, and as a crude old saying
reminds us, everyone has opinions. It’s just that, for whatever reason—be it
experience, education, position, or whatnot—we have elevated the opinions of
critics. They are the dwellers in the ivory towers who know what true art is
while fans are the unwashed, ignorant masses. (Insert “sarcasm
sign” here). While fans have wanted to drop Oxygen Destroyers in
critics’ laps this week, if their reviews had been positive, I have no doubt
they would’ve celebrated and shared them as validation of themselves and their
fandom. But do these critics invalidate the opinions of fans? No. They are
allowed to like things other people don’t. They enjoyed it based on their own criteria.
One man’s trash is another man’s masterpiece. Many people watch Godzilla vs. Gigan and see a silly low-budget
kaiju film. I
watch it and see a meta-commentary on pop culture and globalism. Opinions
often change with time. When Citizen Kane
was first released, it has rejected by critics as too unusual. Now it’s regaled
as the greatest film ever made. The
Empire Strikes Back, which is commonly considered the greatest Star Wars film, was dismissed by critics
upon release. I say all of this to remind people that while there are objective
criteria for what makes a good story, the evaluation of art is still largely
subjective.
The cover of “Kong Unmade,” the newest book by film historian and kaiju fan John LeMay. It is available in paperback and KIndle on Amazon.
Tokusatsu film historian John LeMay has done it again! After indexing every kaiju (giant monster) movie from the 1950s to today with The Big Book of Japanese Giant Monster Movies, Vol. 1-2, his newest is essentially the third entry in what could be called his Lost Films trilogy. Previously he discovered unused scripts and story treatments for famous Japanese monsters like Godzilla and Gamera with the copiously-researched The Big Book of Japanese Giant Monster Movies: The Lost Films and more down-to-size Japanese science fiction and fantasy films with Terror of the Lost Tokusatsu Films. Now he brings readers the “lost films” of the granddaddy of all kaiju, King Kong, with Kong Unmade: The Lost Films of Skull Island.
While Kong’s impact on
pop culture is humungous, his filmography is surprisingly short. In all, he has
only ten official films (plus one upcoming movie) in over eight-and-a-half
decades. It’s not from a lack of trying, though, as LeMay details.
Director/producer Merrian C. Cooper tried for years to make another sequel to
the 1933 classic after the hastily-made Son
of Kong. The New Adventures of King
Kong would’ve been a “midquel” that took place while Kong was being transported
from Skull Island to New York, where he escaped into the jungles of Africa. A
similar and even more outlandish idea was Tarzan
vs. King Kong, where the big ape would’ve met the famous ape man. On the
other side of the Pacific, Toho Studios attempted to create Frankenstein vs. King Kong, which
eventually became King Kong vs. Godzilla.
After its massive success, a script for a rematch—cleverly titled Continuation: King Kong vs. Godzilla—was
written that would’ve had Kong become a surrogate father to a lost infant. And
that’s just a few examples!
Essays on these lost films aren’t all that’s in this new volume. There are “bonus reviews” and “development of” chapters on the Kong films that did get made. They detail many concepts that were abandoned or changed during the filmmaking process. For example, the script Peter Jackson wrote for his 2005 remake was originally quite different (Ann Darrow was British, for one thing). There are also essays on lost or obscure Kong media such as Don Glut’s Tor films and what would’ve been an animated sequel to King Kong Lives featuring Kong’s son (who would’ve had the ability to change his size) by producer/artist Robert Lamb. Several of these essays are written by excellent guest contributors. LeMay also writes on obscure and lost films that were inspired by King Kong, such as The Mighty Gorga and the infamous A*P*E*. If they don’t get a full-length chapter, they’re included in one of the book’s several appendices.
One improvement over
LeMay’s previous books is the inclusion of many images. These are photographs,
movie posters, and concept art. The aforementioned chapter on the proposed Kong
animated series includes concept art from Lamb, which gave me flashbacks to the
Saturday morning cartoons of my childhood. A downside of the images is some of
them are placed on right-hand pages opposite from the previous essay, and since
these don’t have captions, it isn’t apparent that they’re meant to signal the
next essay.
As usual, the design of
the book is creative. The spine is designed to look like it has a library index
code taped onto it. The title pages have a few ink splotches to simulate age
and a half-faded stamp that says, “This book has been discarded by the Skull
Island Public Library.” They’re wonderful touches, and the sort of clever
design choices I wish I saw more often in books.
If I may mention a fairly
significant nitpick, there are points I think the book could’ve been edited and
proofread a bit better, but this is coming from someone who spends a lot of
time editing in his work, so it’s hard for me to miss.
For fans of Kong, kaiju,
film history, and/or LeMay, this is a must-read!
Last weekend I saw the
trailer for the upcoming film Yesterday,
which spins the yarn of a down-on-his-luck musician who wakes up in world that
doesn’t remember the Beatles, so he takes credit for their songs to get rich
and famous. In other words, he’s an imposter.
While he is an
intentional deceiver, I discovered at the end of my first year as a graduate
student that I, too, am an imposter. Or at the very least I feel like one.
This is called Imposter Syndrome. In a nutshell, it’s the fear that one doesn’t deserve their accolades and accomplishments and will exposed as a “fraud.” That’s how I felt after getting A’s on both of my final papers this past semester—which were about kaiju and superheroes—because I thought they either weren’t written well or that their ideas were faulty. Along with that, I maintained a 4.0 GPA (something I hesitate to say for fear of jinxing myself), which is better than what I had as an undergrad. Not only that, but several professors have been advocating for me to get either a PhD. or an MFA. Apparently, I make connections in my schoolwork only PhD. caliber students make. Some of the same professors have said I’m an “excellent teacher” given my success as a graduate teaching assistant.
You’d think I’d read/hear
all of this and say, “I must be good at this school thing,” but instead I make
excuses for why it’s not that impressive. Those include 1) my aforementioned
inferior grades in undergrad, 2) people saying the university I’m attending isn’t
that hard (there was once a joke that said its acronym stood for “I Paid For
What?!”), and 3) feeling like I’m not as well-read as others and have to hide
the fact that I haven’t read/seen/played certain media that supposedly everyone
has. This is true of me not only as a grad student, but as a writer, a dancer,
a son, a friend, a (potential) boyfriend, and everything else.
The truth is—if I may
take the risk of being a little vulnerable—I’ve struggled with self-confidence
most of my life. Even if my performance and/or ability was exceptional, I felt
like it didn’t measure up to people’s expectations. I could and would still be
rejected, and I frequently was. As I grew older, I started playing the “comparison
game,” and since I tended to befriend really intelligent people, I felt like I
was the “dumb one” in the “smart group” (not realizing that this still made me
smarter than most people). I mean, when you hang out with Nick Hayden, who I’ve described as an
intellectual One-Punch
Man (he got a nearly perfect score in two years of Greek classes—and he
took it for fun!), it’s hard to think your knowledge and writing is up to
snuff. (What’s crazy is Nick is too humble to admit any of this).
Paradoxically, whenever I would, for example, get a bad assessment or a
rejection letter, I would say I deserved it but still get angry and think nobody recognized my talent. I, like all
human beings, am full of contradictions.
Sadly, imposter syndrome
isn’t recognized as a mental illness, although many of its symptoms, like
depression, are seen as such. Those can be treated, but that won’t cure it. A pill
can’t magic this away. In order to do that, I have to dig deep within myself,
identify my anxieties, face them, and surround myself with supportive and
truthful people. Ultimately, though, it’s up to me accept the fact as imperfect
as I am, I am worthy of their praise.
Do you struggle with imposter
syndrome? How do you deal with it? Why do you suffer from it?
It’s been a while, hasn’t
it, True Believers? I know I say this a lot, but please accept my apologies. I
was hard at work finishing my first year as a graduate student. If you’ve been following
me on social media, though, you know that I’ve picked up on writing Hope’s War and editing my novella for Children
of the Wells. That and a secret project will be my primary works this
summer. Stay tuned for more!
Speaking of summer….
A few months ago I wrote
that I would be going to G-Fest XXVI but as a panelist and not a vendor. I’ll
once again be part of “The Art of Kaiju Writing” panel and joining the panel
discussion of the upcoming Godzilla: King of the Monsters.
More importantly, though…
Promotional image for G-Fest XXVI. (Courtesy of www.G-Fan.com).
I’M HOSTING MY OWN PANEL!
I and my friend/fellow
writer Danny DiManna of the Godzilla Novelization
Project will be presenting on Toho screenwriters Shinichi Sekizawa and
Takeshi Kimura, who wrote many of the studio’s tokusatsu films from the 1950s-1970s.
(You probably heard me talking about them a lot on Kaijuvision
Radio). The fandom talks a lot about directors, actors, and composers, and
rightfully so, but almost never about screenwriters, which is a shame. Danny
and I hope to fill in that gap.
Here’s the description of
the panel you’ll see in the convention program:
Most of Toho’s classic tokusatsu films started with scripts penned by the Showa era creative team’s unsung heroes, Shinichi Sekizawa and Takeshi Kimura. Join Nathan Marchand (professional writer and co-creator of Kaijuvision Radio) and Daniel DiManna (creator/author of the Godzilla Novelization Project) as they explain how these polar opposite storytellers revolutionized the kaiju genre.
Friday 12pm (Kennedy Room): Sekizawa and Kimura: A Tale of Two Screenwriters Saturday 3pm (Ballroom 1): Godzilla: King of the Monsters Saturday 4pm (Kennedy Room): The Art of Kaiju Writing
You spent 42 days finding the Answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything, and now Nerd Chapel founderEric Anderson and I are proud to unveil the amazing cover art by Ruth Pike-Miller for the next step in your journey: The New 42: God Terraforms All Things.
The one constant in the
universe (besides the fact that everything freezes) is change. Good change, bad
change, and everything in between. Even in our favorite nerd/geek franchises.
DC Comics is (in)famous for hitting the cosmic reset button every few decades.
The movie theatre is full of re-imaginings of nostalgic entertainment. Even
video games aren’t immune to this. But now you may feel like God Himself hit
that reset button on your life. Has it left you lost and confused? Take heart!
God wants to give you a new direction. In these pages you will learn how to
navigate change with the help of a scarred samurai, some heroic robots, and the
world’s most famous kaiju, among many others.
Your next 42-day quest awaits!
The grand book release will be at Muskecon in Muskegon, Michigan, on March 23, 2019. Eric and I will be selling and signing copies. The book will then be available as a paperback and e-book on Amazon.
It dawned on me that I’ve been on a lot more podcasts since the last time
I indexed them, so I figured I’d update that list for all of you. For most of
these, I appeared as a guest or guest host, discussing everything from
storytelling to video games to Godzilla (no surprise, right? Heck, I’ve kinda
become the “kaiju guy” in most of my circles, and with good reason).
Admittedly, there are few not listed here. I recorded a podcast with
Zachery Oliver for “Theology Gaming” that was lost when he had computer
problems. The same thing happened with “The Bestselling Fiction Podcast” hosted
by Dan Dynneson.
Titles with an asterisk (*) were on the original list.
Happy listening!
Kaijuvision Radio
This is a podcast I co-created with Brian Scherschell on “the appreciation of giant monster movies and the discovery of their historical and cultural value.” I was the co-host for season one (episodes 1-36 plus two interviews), but sadly I had to step down before season two. I’m proud of the work I did on the show, so I obviously I’d love it if all of you listened to it. Even if you’re not into kaiju but enjoy learning about Japan, it’s a great podcast to listen to. Here’s the website.
Geek Devotions
(NEW!) This is a ministry headed by Dallas and Celeste Mora—“a pair of devoted geeks devoted to letting people know they are loved”—that uses nerd culture as outreach. They have a podcast, Comm Talk, a YouTube channel, and a website. Dallas was one of KVR’s first fans and promoters, so he invited us onto the YouTube channel for an interview as part of King of the Monsters Month in October 2017.
The Weekly Hijack* A “spin-off” podcast from “Derailed Trains of Thought” that discusses TV shows. -Episode 27: Doctor Who – The Magician’s Apprentice – I discuss the season nine premiere of Doctor Who with Nick Hayden, Tim Deal, and several others. (Scroll through the episode listing to find it).
Strangers and Aliens A show about faith, fantasy, and science fiction co-hosted by my buddy Ben Avery, who’s a comic writer
Theology Gaming University* A show about Christianity and video games.
–Podcast #58 – Video Games Inspiring Other Media – Theology Gaming – My friend Eric Anderson and I discuss video game adaptations to other media with host Zachery Oliver. –Podcast #62 – I discuss why gamers replay video games they’ve already played with host Zachery Oliver and TGU regular Bryan Hall. –TG Sessions #9 – Cheapness (I.e., You’re Not Special) – Zachery Oliver and I discuss what makes certain things “cheap” in both single-player and multiplayer video games. –TG Sessions #10 – Batman’s Fifty Shades of White Privilege – Remember when this video made me a troll magnet? I also incurred the wrath of trolls about an essay I wrote for TGU. Zachery Oliver and I discuss all of this. –Podcast #72 – One in a Mijinion – I join Zachery Oliver and Roberto Iraheta 20 minutes in, and in our ramblings we set out to solve a very important mystery: What the heck is an Infinity Mijinion? (In case you don’t know, that’s a Mega Man boss).
Forever Classic Podcast (NEW!) This is a show
that “seeks enlightenment through video games” started by my former colleague
Alex McCumbers (from my GigaGeek Magazine
days). Here’s their main website.
–Episode 11: Kaiju Games With Nathan Marchand –
Remember what I said about being the kaiju guy? Anyway, Alex invited me on to
talk about two of my favorite things: giant monsters and video games. We
discuss existing kaiju games—past and present—and what we think would make for
a great kaiju game.
Redeemed Otaku (NEW!) A podcast created and hosted by Bex Smith that seeks to “redeem your love for anime by turning to the truth found only in God’s Word.” Follow the show on Facebook and Twitter.
–42 – My co-author Eric Anderson and I are interviewed about our nerd/geek devotional, 42: Discovering Faith through Fandom. –Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters – Bex has me on to discuss/review part one of the Godzilla anime trilogy. Being that its kaiju and anime, it was the perfect crossover. –Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle – I return to Redeemed Otaku—this time joined by my fellow Godzilla fan Eric Anderson—to discuss/review part two of the Godzilla anime trilogy (that has a title weirdly similar to a class Star Trek episode). –Godzilla: The Planet Eater – In one of the best English-language analyses of the entire Godzilla anime trilogy, Bex, Eric, and I breakdown part three and put the other films into perspective. It truly is the best episode of Redeemed Otaku yet! (Don’t take my word for it—that’s what Bex said!)
This makes me miss having my own
podcast.
Do you have a podcast? What’s it
about? Would you be interested in having me on?
After a harrowing last
few weeks at grad school, what with final papers, grading, and other drama, I’ve
finally reached Christmas break (or as I like to call it: my two weeks’ paid
vacation). I suddenly have more time on my hands than I’ve been used to for a
few months. Hence why I’m able to post a blog for you all. 😉
I’ve always loved this
time of the year. I love summer for the freedom, fun, and weather (I have this
theory that people like the season they were born in), but October through
December is wonderful, in large part because of Halloween and Christmas. I’ve
been reflecting on why I like those holidays as much as I do, and while I love
them for different reasons, there is some overlap. Besides candy, of course.
What’s that, you ask?
They’re mythic.
Both Halloween and
Christmas have a tremendous amount of tradition and legend dating back
centuries. These add mystique to the respective months leading up to the holidays
themselves. Halloween dates back to Celtic harvest festivals and became part of
the early Christian Church’s observance of All-Saints Day, which included candlelight
vigils at the graves of the dead. As these pagan and religious sensibilities
clashed, new traditions arose: trick-or-treating, costumes, horror movies, etc.
Classic stories like “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” and Dracula, among others, became icons of the holiday. It makes people
think back on those scarier parts of our cultural mythos and everything else
those stories represent. When you’re a kid, you relish the opportunity to play
pretend, dress up as one of your favorite characters, and wander around your
neighborhood gathering candy. If you were particularly mischievous you played
pranks. It was the one night you could almost
get away with murder (not literally, of course). 😛
But Halloween is behind
us, and Christmas is before us. The yuletide season is one of love, generosity,
and family. It goes back to winter solstice festivals, but once again, the
early Church “Christianized” them by making it a day to remember the birth of
Jesus Christ. The strange thing is this wasn’t a big deal until the mid-19th
century. What changed it? A Christmas
Carol. Yes, Charles Dickens arguably created the modern Christmas celebration.
Other authors popularized the legendary Santa Claus, who delivered toys to all
the good children of the world on Christmas Eve (because he’s a Time Lord ninja with a bag of holding) using a
magical sleigh pulled by eight—or nine—flying reindeer. The night before
Christmas is treated as a mystical time where almost anything seems possible,
especially in the minds of children. That magic gives way to sheer joy on
Christmas morning as everyone enjoys the gifts left by Mr. Claus.
You knew I had to find a nerdy nativity scene. 😛
J.R.R. Tolkien is said to
have converted C.S. Lewis to Christianity by telling him that the story of
Christ was the greatest myth in history because it was true. For myself,
Christmas marks the beginning of that myth. The God of the Universe clothed
himself in flesh and allowed himself to be born in the humblest of places to
the humblest of parents and is visited the humblest of people. His birth was an
invasion of enemy territory, the beginning of an incredible mission culminating
with an epic destiny. To me, everything that has to do with Christmas—gifts,
fellowship, food, and the traditions I’ve mentioned—all point back to this. It’s
one of several reasons why I proudly wear a Santa hat during the week leading
up to Christmas. It symbolizes Santa, who was inspired by St. Nicholas, who
served the poor and needy out of his devotion to Christ. As we Marvel Cinematic
Universe fans are fond of saying, #ItsAllConnected.
So, Merry Christmas, True
Believers!
What are some of your favorite
holiday traditions? What are you planning to do for Christmas? How else is
Christmas “mythic”?
In the spirit of the holiday, I figured my blog this week should be a top five or top ten list for my favorite horror films. I put a list together—and remembered I’d done this in 2014. My list has changed a bit since then, but all five of those films are still on it in a different order. So, the entries with asterisks after the title were copied from the previous blog. Regardless, enjoy the new ones! Admittedly, it was hard to rank many of these, since they’re all great films. They’d make excellent additions to your Halloween festivities. Enjoy!
#10: The Exorcist (1973)
It might surprise you that I have this low on my list. It’s usually regarded as one of the scariest films ever made. (AFI would say that). My appreciation, though, has more to do with its place in history than anything else. I wasn’t allowed to see it growing up because it so terrified my mother as a teen that she forbade her kids to see it. When I finally did watch it, I saw why it’s become an icon of not only horror films but cinema. This is tale of a Catholic priest struggling with his faith while trying to save a little girl (Linda Blair) possessed by a demon. It’s simple, profound, and terrifying. Younger viewers spoiled on CGI laugh at the special effects, which is a disappointment because I think they hold up. It doesn’t help that the film has been parodied to the point that its potency is reduced on the younger crowd. For those who believe the spiritual warfare dramatized in this film is real, or those who have any sort of empathy, this is one of the greatest horror films in movie history.
#9: Suspiria (1977)
Amongst fans of Italian horror films, the name Dario Argento ranks as one of the greatest in the genre. The visionary auteur creates unique, mesmerizing horror movies, and Suspiria is considered to be his masterpiece. This story of an American dancer who joins a German ballet school that seems to be a front for a sinister force after a series of heinous murders is high on style. Argento’s cinematography and incredible use of color creates an unnerving atmosphere and a rich visual language full of symbolism. One of Argento’s trademarks is the use of creepy rock music created by the band Goblin, which makes the film like a commercial haunted house. If you’d like to see a film that feels like an Edger Allan Poe story, check this out!
#8: 28 Days Later (2002)
I had to include this since it was an influence on my first novel, Pandora’s Box. It’s still one of the most unique zombie films ever made. Although, I’d argue that it almost doesn’t count as a zombie flick, at least in the traditional sense. This follows a young man (Cillian Murphy) who wakes up after a 28-day coma to find London empty—except for vicious people infected with a virus that’s essentially rabies on steroids. (For those who’ve read my novel, you’ll understand why I felt like the filmmakers beat me to one of my ideas in the novel). Well before the Infected appear, the film plays on the fear of isolation with an empty city. The characters are the film’s greatest strength, something often lacking in horror movies. Interestingly, three endings were filmed and one considered in the scripting phase. Two of them were shown theatrically. The one used originally in the film is best, I think, since it’s the happiest. (Tragic endings are a bit overused in the genre). Check it out if you’re looking for a taste of British horror.
#7: Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)*
Wes Craven’s classic is a variation of the then popular (and overused) slasher movie: a killer who attacks victims in their dreams. Freddy Krueger became an icon with his trademark sweater, hat, claws, and dark wit. The film has an otherworldly quality to it thanks to the dream sequences. Plus, in a rare treat, it features a strong heroine who refuses to become Freddy’s next victim. Interesting bit of trivia: this is Johnny Depp’s first movie. He plays the heroine’s boyfriend.
#6: Dawn of the Dead (1978)
George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead was a game-changer in 1968, but it’s remembered more for its place in history than anything else. Romero’s first sequel is a classic because it’s a great film. Set in the early years of the zombie apocalypse, a group of survivors take refuge in a mall—until the zombies manage to get in. The characters and world-building would become the template all other zombie apocalypse movies would copy, but they lacked this film’s potent social satire on consumerism. Tom Savini’s gore effects get a lot of attention, but they serve the larger whole. The Italian version put together by Romero’s friend Dario Argento has a score by Goblin (the original film had no soundtrack), which actually complements the film well. A must-see classic for any horror/zombie fan!
The original Japanese poster and the U.S. DVD cover.
#5: Matango (1963)
As the co-creator and season one co-host of Kaijuvision Radio, I almost feel obligated to include this Japanese classic. (My collaborator, Brian Scherschel, will be covering it in the podcast’s current season). Crafted by the creative team behind Toho’s original Godzilla series, this trippy film was made in the tradition of 1930s Universal horror movies. I can best describe it as a story that begins like Gilligan’s Island (though it predates that show), turns into Lost, and ends like The Twilight Zone. Inspired by the short story “A Voice in the Night” by William H. Hodgson (though it’s equal parts Lord of the Flies), it follows a group of shipwrecked rich people on a bizarre island who are beset by mushroom creatures. The film was released on American TV under the unfortunate title Attack of the Mushroom People, which undoubtedly gave a bad impression. The creature effects might be considered quaint by today’s standards, but the real horrors are the characters who slowly turn on each other as the film progresses, giving into whatever vices they suffer from. The ending leaves the viewer with a gut punch of a social commentary. It’s a bit hard to find, but well worth seeing!
#4: John Carpenter’s The Thing (1982)*
This terrifying remake of a ‘50s B-movie is one of the smartest horror films I’ve ever seen. It has none of the stereotypical idiot characters. While it does have gross gore and freakish creatures, the real terror comes from the isolated Antarctic location and the paranoia that rips a tightly-knit science team apart as a shapeshifting alien organism takes over each of them.
#3: Fright Night (1985)*
A horror/comedy that is both genuinely funny and scary, it is a film with a perfectly simple concept: a teenage boy thinks his new next-door neighbor is a vampire, but no one believes him, so he desperately seeks help from a washed-up horror movie actor. The best characters aren’t the teenage hero, but the old actor–played by Roddy McDowall of Planet of the Apes fame—and the vampire (played by Chris Sarandon). The former is a cynical yet likable fellow with sharp, sarcastic wit (who’s not afraid to take jabs at the current horror movie trends), while the latter is a man whose often mesmerizing charm masks a powerful evil. Add in a cat-and-mouse game being played by the desperate teenage boy and his undead nemesis, and you have a fun (and frightening) night out.
#2: Jaws*
The movie that launched director Steven Spielberg’s career, created the summer blockbuster, and arguably inspired Sharknado. While based on the novel by Peter Benchley, it’s one of the rare times, I’d say, that the movie is better than the book (the novel was padded with an unnecessary subplot where Brody’s wife has an affair with Hooper). My favorite character is Quint, played by the scene-stealing Robert Shaw, a grizzled sailor with a Captain Ahab complex. He might be mad, but you can’t help but like his gruff attitude. Spielberg famously kept the anomatronic shark’s screen time to a minimum because he thought it looked fake. By doing so, he increased the film’s tension and gave the monster a stronger presence. Throw in classic lines like, “We need a bigger boat!” and you have an instant classic.
#1: Alien*
“In space, no one can hear you scream.” (One of the best taglines ever!)
IfI had to choose a film that would be the blueprint for crafting the perfect horror movie, it would be Ridley Scott’s classic tale of gothic science fiction. It has powerful atmosphere, a terrifying and unique monster, and strong characters (including a countercultural heroine). The set design is incredible. The Nostromo feels both safe and claustrophobic. It plays upon multiple types and levels of fear, including, shadows, the unknown, and even rape. And it includes only one truly gory scene, but it both shocks the audience and adds to the story. It’s too bad that only one of its sequels, James Cameron’s Aliens, even comes close to equaling it.
Honorable Mentions: The Universal Horror Series (too many to include or choose), Night of the Living Dead (1968), Halloween (1978)
What are some of your favorite horror movies/stories/authors?
A Man from Another Time Exploring Another Universe
