Chris Hardwick's Blog, page 2195
January 19, 2017
Audio Rewind: How Django Reinhardt Reimagined the Guitar and Became a Legend
Jazz, by and large, is an American tradition. Born from the Black experience in the early 20th-century United States, jazz became a cultural phenomenon—one of the country’s original and most enduring art forms. Very few jazz records were distributed overseas, though, so the pace of the style’s global promulgation was relatively slow, largely reliant on live performance. After World War 1, a handful of American jazz players, like Paul Whiteman and Lonnie Johnson, traveled across the pond to perform, inspiring a number of European musicians to take up the trade.
Most important of these early European adopters was Django Reinhardt, a Belgian-born, French jazz guitarist and composer. To this day he remains one of the most innovative and influential guitar players of all-time, but he gets very little recognition for it. This week he would have had his 107th birthday, had he lived so long, and today we give him his due.
Reinhardt was born in Belgium in 1910 to a family of Manouche Romani descent (Manouche is the term for a Romani person living in France). From a young age he displayed a natural savvy for music, picking up the violin, banjo, and guitar despite having very little formal training. He simply mimicked the hands of seasoned performers. At just 18, Reinhardt began recording and quickly attracted international attention. Jack Hylton, a British bandleader, traveled to France just to hear him and offered him a job on the spot. Reinhardt accepted, but before he could begin playing with Hylton’s band, tragedy struck.
The caravan that housed he and his wife caught fire. He was able to drag both of them from the inferno, but, in doing so, he suffered first- and second-degree burns that covered half his body. One of his legs was paralyzed, as were two of his fingers. Doctors told him two things: first, that they needed to amputate the leg, and second, that he’d never play guitar again. Reinhardt refused the surgery. Within a year, he was walking. His two fingers remained paralyzed, but rather than surrender his fate, he framed the disability as a new perspective. With it, he re-learned the guitar and fashioned an entirely new style in the process.
Paris, where Reinhardt spent much of his youth, was home to a number of Romani guitarists and one of the first distinct styles of European jazz. In the ’30s, the French expanded upon the music of Whiteman, who fused African-American jazz with symphonic music. Europeans at large injected this style with the economic and political woes of the post-war continent, coloring it with a number of local flavors. The most unique hybrid emerged from Reinhardt’s damaged hands. Using just eight fingers, the guitarist conceived what is known today as gypsy jazz, or jazz manouche. It’s a combination of American swing, French dance hall musette, and Eastern European folk, a wandering synthesis reflective of his Romani people’s nomadic tradition.
In 1934, with violinist Stéphane Grappelli, Reinhardt formed the Quintette du Hot Club de France. Reinhardt’s brothers, Joseph and Roger Chaput, played rhythm guitar in the band, and Louis Vola played bass. In this new style, the acoustic guitar emerged as a lead instrument (think about the future implications of this leap to prominence) and the rhythm guitars functioned as a replacement for drums. Reinhardt played lead, and while he was able to use his paralyzed fingers for some chordal support, all of his solos were played with just three fingers—a singular feat in the guitar world (check out the video above).
During World War II, Hitler banned nearly all jazz because he felt it represented a conspiracy to undermine German greatness. Gypsies were also systematically killed during the war, so Reinhardt exerted much effort to escape occupied France. His attempts were foiled, though, and so he remained in the country, playing and composing all the while. He managed to stay safe, and one of his songs, “Nuages,” became an unofficial anthem for the oppressed; a clarion call for liberation in Paris.
After World War II, Reinhardt returned to gypsy life and had a difficult time assimilating to the expectations that accompany celebrity. According to Django Reinhardt, a 1961 biography by Charles Delaunay, the guitarist skipped sold-out shows to “walk to the beach” or “smell the dew.” In this way, he once again challenged societal expectations, especially for a star; he was unconventional, beholden only to his whims—the mark of a true gypsy.
This did little to sully his legacy, though. His Quintette had become the most accomplished European jazz group of the era and it had brought distinguished noteriety to Reinhardt. He was able to tour in the US and play with erstwhile American jazz heroes like Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong. And even after he died he remained a champion for afflicted musicians. Jerry Garcia and Black Sabbath‘s Tony Iommi, both of whom lost fingers in accidents, were encouraged to pursue the guitar because of Reinhardt’s precedent.
He’s popped up in other places, too. Dickey Betts wrote the Allman Brothers Song, “Jessica,” in tribute to Reinhardt, and Jeff Beck called him “by far the most astonishing guitar player ever” and “quite superhuman.” His superhumanness was portrayed in the opening of the 2003 animated masterpiece, Triplets of Belleville, when a guitarist in his likeness removes his hand from the fretboard mid-song and successfully replaces it with his foot. It’s hyperbole, of course, but it speaks to Reinhardt’s legacy of persistence and innovation. Before he died of a brain hemorrhage in 1953, he recorded more than 900 sides and wrote nearly 100 songs. He is a paragon of making the most in the face of tragedy, and a template for those that choose to eschew the rigors of established style. To the pioneer, Django Reinhardt: happy birthday.
Image: William P. Gottlieb collection at the Library of Congress.
Kenny G’s Son Has a Heavy Metal Band That Absolutely Shreds
Go ahead, name your favorite ’90s saxophone player. If you said Kenny G, then congratulations, because you’re in the exclusive group of people known as everybody reading this story right now (we presume). That’s totally fair, since Kenny G has been a master of instrumental music for the majority of our lives. His brand of smooth jazz has surely, um… helped foster a romantic encounter or two, but it seems his son’s music will serve a totally different purpose.
Max Gorelick, who went ahead and used more than just the first letter of his last name, is not a saxophonist, but a guitarist. Along with Jake Miller and Asher Bank, he’s one third of the band The Mantle, a group that plays what is essentially the exact opposite of smooth jazz: heavy metal, citing influences like Animals As Leaders, Plini, and Dream Theater.
Gorelick first got some attention for his guitar chops (and he definitely has them) in 2012, when metal legends Megadeth shared a video of him playing a solo, adding, “His dad may live in your elevator, but Kenny G’s kid shreds!” It turns out that he, and his bandmates, are also extremely capable songwriters, as they’ve demonstrated on their self-titled debut album that released a couple days ago. The music isn’t too heavy to scare away non-metal fans, and it definitely shows a strong sense of both melody and virtuosity from the group.
How does Kenny G feel about his son’s decidedly less serene musical leanings? Based on his Twitter (which is a goldmine for dad jokes, by the way), he’s a super proud father:
My son Max just released his first album with his project The Mantle! Check out his album on Bandcamp!https://t.co/YFuG6mzoqN @themantleband
— Kenny G (@kennyg) January 17, 2017
— Kenny G (@kennyg) January 17, 2017
What a great album cover max !!!
— Kenny G (@kennyg) January 17, 2017
The Mantle is available to stream and download here, or you can listen below:
Featured image: Kiera Wood
Ghibli Bits: TALES FROM EARTHSEA
So far in our look at the Studio Ghibli movies not directed by either Hayao Miyazaki or Isao Takahata, we’ve seen what longtime Ghibli animators could do when given the reins. Whisper of the Heart was the work of the shoulda-been successor, and The Cat Returns was done by a very capable animator with many titles and years under his belt. But what about if someone with a little less experience was given the control of a whole feature film? What if this someone, who had grown up around animation, had never even worked in any facet of the medium, and what if they had also previously not shown much interest in doing so? And what if that someone was Hayao Miyazaki’s son? Then, my friends, we’d get 2006’s Tales from Earthsea.
Tales from Earthsea had been Hayao Miyazaki’s white whale—his dream project for many, many years. Based on a series of beloved fantasy novels by Ursula K. Le Guin (published between 1968 and 2001), the high fantasy world of dragons and princes and wizards and things was right up the Studio Ghibli founder’s alley. He had actively tried to get a movie made for years, but Le Guin, upon hearing an animation company wanted to make it, assumed it would be “Disneyfied” and refused the rights. Time passed, Ghibli’s fame grew, and finally in 2001, Miyazaki’s Spirited Away won the Oscar for best animated feature. Le Guin was impressed and eventually gave Ghibli the rights to her books, but Miyazaki was in production of another fantasy film, Howl’s Moving Castle, and couldn’t commit, given how long and meticulous Ghibli’s animation process was.
This is where things got tricky. Toshio Suzuki, Studio Ghibli’s producer and third co-founder, suggested that Hayao’s son Gorō Miyazaki direct it. This was an odd idea to many people because a.), Gorō Miyazaki had never directed animation of any kind before, much less a film, only being an adviser on Howl, and b.) he had been a landscaper for most of his adult life, unsure of whether he wanted to even go into animation. Naturally, this caused a bit of a rift between the father and son, with Hayao believing Gorō was far too inexperienced to be given this kind of responsibility, on a project the elder Miyazaki had dreamed of making himself no less. The two reportedly did not speak during the whole production of Tales from Earthsea.
On top of the family issues, there was also the question of which book in the Earthsea series would be adapted. Ultimately, none of them were, and though the character names remained the same, much of the plot for the film was actually taken from a Hayao Miyazaki’s manga, The Journey of Shuna. This complete disregard for the source material was a sour spot with Le Guin who pretty much disowned the movie upon its release.
The story takes place in a fictional realm of Enlad, which is coming under strange, troubling, and unprecedented times. At the beginning of the film, a ship of soldiers during a storm witness a battle between two dragons, in which one kills the other. This is completely unheard of, as dragons are supposed to be beyond killing each other. A fable among the people are that, at one time, dragons and men were the same species, but after time they started to diverge; those who wanted to be free became dragons, and those overcome by the want for possessions became men. The weakening of the “balance” between the two is causing problems. The king, pondering these problems, is surreptitiously killed by his son, Arren.
The bulk of the plot concerns Arren’s attempt to overcome the evil within him with the help of the wizard Sparrowhawk and the maiden Therru, whom Arren saves from slavers under the employ of the evil wizard Cob, a goth-y androgynous figure who wants nothing more than to kill and defeat Sparrowhawk and become the Archmage himself. Look, like most high fantasy stories, the plot is VERY dense, even if it’s not from the actual source novels.
With that in mind, the plot being real complex and sort of hard to follow to be honest, how well does Tales from Earthsea succeed or fail on its own terms, as a piece of work by Gorō Miyazaki? The answer is…fairly well? It’s undoubtedly very complex narratively and actually lulls in quite a few places without fully being explored, but it’s also an impressive feat of visual art. The designs of everything are fully within the classic Ghibli style, and look right at home among the elder Miyazaki’s work.
Two things really stand out in terms of visuals: the first are the dragons. I don’t think I’ve seen dragons in movies look like the ones in this movie; they’re spiny and sleek and sort of scary looking but also very beautiful. They’re seen only a few times in the movie and each time it feels magical and grandiose. There’s also a great deal of attention paid to them flying–something which Hayao Miyazaki also adores–and a shot at the end of the movie portrays the speed and swiftness of flight, a POV where the world gets distorted as it whizzes by. It’s breathtaking.
The second visual is the truly horrifying way the evil Lord Cob is shown, and especially when his beauty fades away and his true dead-eyed monstrous visage appears. The way he’s drawn even changes during this, with much more noticeable pencil strokes around his face, conveying that he doesn’t quite belong in this world. His demise is the stuff of nightmares, and much scarier than most things in Ghibli movies.
The movie was a big money maker that year in Japan, but was not received very well critically. It was nominated for Japan’s equivalent of the Razzie Award for worst animated film and it currently holds a 41% on Rotten Tomatoes—by far the lowest score of any Studio Ghibli movie. In truth, I don’t think the movie is that bad: It’s hard to follow, sure, and doesn’t quite have the childlike wonder or deep emotion of the studio’s best output, but it’s a visual marvel and at the very least shows off the grandeur and imagination in their designs.
Gorō Miyazaki, despite the reaction to the film, impressed his father and the two mended fences upon the movie’s release. He’d go on to direct another Ghibli movie, but we’ll talk about that one at a later date. Next week, however, we’re going to check out a movie by the true wunderkind of Studio Ghibli, someone whose two movies really established him as a talent to watch before branching out on his own. Hiromasa Yonebayashi’s The Secret World of Arrietty is next week!
Images: Studio Ghibli
Kyle Anderson is the Associate Editor for Nerdist. He’s the writer of Studio Ghibli retrospectives Miyazaki Masterclass, Takahata Textbook, and Ghibli Bits. Follow him on Twitter!
Did the New POWER RANGERS Trailer Reveal Too Much?!
It’s Morphin Time, people! With a mere two months until the premiere of the Power Rangers reboot film, a brand new trailer dropped earlier this morning and “Ai-yi-yi-yi-yi!” It gave away a lot of the things that we hadn’t seen yet—and maybe even a glimpse of the final battle. What’s it all mean? We’re breaking it down in today’s Nerdist News!
Join host and keeper of the Power Coins, Jessica Chobot, as she lays out the moments and revelations that you may have missed in the latest trailer. That includes a very interesting theory about Rita Repulsa and her relationship with Trini. Is there a reason that the film’s big bad is going after the Yellow Ranger in her own house?
Everyone’s favorite henches, the Putties, are also back in this new footage…and they look like they’re going full Katamari Damacy on us. There are Putties in this footage that appear to be made up of random things like a fire hydrant and a safety cone. (That’s what Rita gets for going non-union.) This trailer also gave us our best look yet at Alpha 5, as well as Bryan Cranston‘s Zordon. It also appears to lend credence to the rumors that Zordon was once a Red Power Ranger himself, many millions of years ago.
Finally, we’ve now seen the combined Megazord as it takes on Goldar in what we presume to be the film’s climactic showdown. But would Power Rangers really give the endgame away so easily? Because if Rita really does have the powers of the Green Ranger, she may be able to bring a much more formidable enemy into play for a real showdown with the Rangers.
Power Rangers will be released on Friday, March 24.
What do you think about our Power Rangers theories? Let’s discuss in the comment section below!
STAR TREK: DISCOVERY Adds Spock’s Father and Pushes Premiere Date and More TV News
It seems like Star Trek: Discovery takes a step back just as they make a forward move. For example, they’ve cast another character (yay) but also moved the premiere date again (boo). Read more in today’s TV-Cap and stick around for a clip from the next Star Wars Rebels, a tidbit about The Walking Dead toning down gore, and more.
Forward and Back. On a positive note, Star Trek: Discovery has added Spock’s father Sarek. He’ll be played by James Frain, which I think is an excellent decision. And on the flip side, the series has been delayed yet again. CBS All Access was set to drop the sci-fi show in May, but now it’s been pushed with no new date announced. CBS told The Hollywood Reporter: “This is an ambitious project; we will be flexible on a launch date if it’s best for the show. We’ve said from the beginning it’s more important to do this right than to do it fast.” Read more at Nerdist.
The Hows and Whys. FX will bring Legion to our screens and eye balls on February 8, and the series starring David Haller is tied to the X-Men. Haller is the son of Professor Charles Xavier. What do you need to know before you tune in? Dan has you covered in the above installment of The Dan Cave. [Nerdist]
Oh, the Possibilities. HBO knows they have a nest egg of sorts with Game of Thrones, and so of course, they’d be silly not to consider spin-offs. But what would they be? Michael W. has some suggestions and you can read them right this way.
Time to Learn. The upcoming installment Star Wars Rebels sees the beginning of Sabine’s training with the darksaber she found on Dathomir. A preview for “Trials of the Darksaber” shows Kanan teaching Sabine to use the unique weapon. Both characters shine in the short clip; I’m especially looking forward to the episode, airing on Disney XD on January 21.
Happy Returns. A quick blurb for fans of This Is Us: NBC has renewed the drama for seasons two and three. [The Hollywood Reporter]
Oh, Honey. For those of you who have been following the “will they or won’t they” regarding the Will & Grace reunion: it’s happening! No, for real this time. NBC made it official with an announcement and a teaser. The new 10-episode return is being billed as a limited series and will air during the 2017-2018 season. [Slashfilm]
Fitting In. Where will Powerless fit into the existing DC universe? Series executive producer Patrick Schumacker discussed it at Television Critics Association 2017 winter press tour. Get Jean’s full report here at Nerdist.
Saying Farewell. Girl Meets World has been canceled after three seasons. The final episode will air Friday, January 20. Before you get to the end, you can watch the cast say goodbye in the above video shared by Variety.
Dialing It Back. The season seven premiere of The Walking Dead made Twitter light up like a Christmas tree. I saw many comments about the events being too violent. The producers heard you and changed gears. Gale Anne Hurd appeared at the National Association of Television Program Executives conference and said they received the feedback and toned violence down for episodes they were still filming. Read more at Deadline. [IGN]
Just Kidding. Last Week Tonight with John Oliver is coming back with season four on HBO on February 12. An amusing promo for the return of the comedic news series features Oliver getting pulled into other HBO hits. [Nerdist]
The Past and Present. It’s recap time, friends. Go in the way back machine to enjoy the latest Game of Thrones Re-Throned, then hop to the future and read about Wednesday’s Vikings.
How do you think Spock’s dad will fit into Star Trek: Discovery? Tell me in the comments.
Featured Image: CBS
GAME OF THRONES Re-Throned: “The Rains of Castemere” (S3, E9)
Winter is coming, but not soon enough. So to help pass the time until season seven of Game of Thrones, we’re doing a weekly re-watch of the series, episode-by-episode, with the knowledge of what’s to come and—therefore—more information about the unrevealed rich history of events that took place long before the story began. Be warned, though: that means this series is full of spoilers for every season, even beyond the episode itself. So if you haven’t watched all of the show yet immediately get on that and then come back and join us for Game of Thrones Re-Throned.
Because the next best thing to watching new episodes is re-watching old ones.
——
Season 3, Episode 9: “The Rains of Castemere”
Original Air Date: June 2nd, 2013
Director: David Nutter
Written by: David Benioff and D.B. Weiss
Hmm, that’s weird, nothing of note happened in this episode. Nothing at all.
Yup, not a thing.
Nada.
……..
….No.
You can’t make me do it.
I don’t want to do it.
FINE! Fine.
This is the Red Wedding episode.
And it is still totally devastating—maybe even more so than when it first aired. Because originally, the shock of what happened was dulling in some ways, but on a re-watch there is no numbness, only the ever encroaching doom of what is about to happen and the emotional crush of experiencing it. You know it’s coming, you are powerless to stop it, and then it hits you with the force of a thousand Roose Bolton daggers to the heart. Every single moment before the arrows start flying is a lead balloon of sadness being dropped on you. Like when Talisa tells Robb if they have a boy she wants to name him Eddard. “Don’t you want to teach little Ned Stark how to ride horses?”
Uuuuuuungh. After you’re done slitting Catelyn’s throat just finish me off next.
Oh, and if what’s going on inside isn’t enough to ruin your day/week/life, don’t forget Arya arrives at the Twins just in time to see it all take place. Because she hasn’t experienced enough tragedy in her young life already.
It’s just awful in every way and time has only made it worse.
So let’s do ourselves a favor and forget about that horrible wedding for a minute, and instead think about how Robb ended up there, and whether or not it ever made sense for him to go back to Walder Frey for help.
Having righteously, but foolishly executed his bannerman Lord Rickard Karstark, driving away the Karstark forces, and having lost Winterfell to Theon (but not knowing it was now in the hands of Roose Bolton’s bastard), Robb decided to do something bold to change the tide of the war by attacking the Lannisters’ own home, Casterly Rock in the westerlands. Needing additional men to do so, he realized the only undeclared force with those numbers were the Freys, so he reached out to Lord Walder, the man to whom he had broken his sacred vow.
Trusting Walder Frey under the best of circumstances was a dicey proposition, let alone under duress—and especially after you have wronged him—but let’s imagine a world where Robb’s plan worked, and rather than being murdered at the Red Wedding he marched on Casterly Rock with all of his men, the Freys included.
In this episode he asks his mother what she thinks of the plan, but before agreeing with it she points out that if the Lannister forces arrived from King’s Landing before they took the castle Robb would become trapped between an army and the sea. Without a fleet, it’s hard to imagine his army fighting their way out when Tywin had far greater numbers.
Even if Robb did manage to escape in that scenario, where would he head next? Back to the Riverlands? Home to retake Winterfell? How would any of that help him win the war and exact revenge on Joffrey? Even in that case he is weakened and still searching for a plan that could lead to victory.
But what if he had taken Casterly Rock, and in doing so the gold mines? In practice a massive influx of money would help any war effort, though in this capacity it’s hard to wonder how that would give Robb the men who he needed most of all. Would he hire outside mercenaries from Essos? Doesn’t seem like a good way to win a war fought in Westeros, let alone the hearts and minds of the citizens you hope to have flock to your cause.
Not to mention, as Tywin will eventually tell his daughter, the mines had run dry—there was no gold to be had. So Robb would have taken the richest castle in the Seven Kingdoms, only to find it had nothing to offer but a beautiful view of Lannisport Bay (assuming the Iron Islanders didn’t ruin it by then attacking him too, either as opportunists or after making an unlikely but beneficial alliance with Tywin).
However, while that bit of knowledge might have been disappointing at first, it might have paid the biggest dividend of them all in the form of propaganda. That’s because announcing to the entire country that the Lannisters no longer had the wealth they claimed, the riches that gave them so much power, would have severely weakened them. And this might have taken place before the wedding of Joffrey and Margaery, giving the Tyrells pause about who they should be aligning with.
By taking Casterly Rock and learning the Lannister secret a big part of Robb’s plan would have become a battle of public relations, which was partly what he had been hoping for anyway.” Take his home, take his gold, take his power,” he said of Tywin, though instead the power would have been the perception of strength the Lannisters relied on so much.
(That calls to mind Varys’s riddle to Tyrion, about how power resides where people think it resides.)
Beyond just the damage that revelation would have done to Tywin, his oversized family pride would have made him furious. It’s almost a guarantee he would have marched on Casterly Rock to take back his family’s home. Unfortunately for Robb, no one would have been left to take advantage of a poorly guarded King’s Landing when that happened, what with Stannis’ forces having been decimated and all. Robb was the only other threat to Lannister rule, and he’d have no way to directly capitalize on such a move by Tywin.
So where would Robb’s big plan have ended up if he had taken Casterly Rock? In yet another battle, all of which Robb had won to that point, but with a few advantages. Namely that he would be able to expose that the Lannisters greatest strength was now a myth, weakening the commitment of the Lannisters allies, but also Robb may have made the unflappable Tywin Lannister lose his focus, because the war had literally come to his own home in a way it never had before. The great tactical mind of Tywin might have been compromised in a way it hadn’t been previously.
Whatever happened, that showdown would have been something the fate of the Seven Kingdoms would’ve rode upon.
Too bad we’ll never know, because long before Robb Stark was able to march on Casterly Rock the Lannisters sent him their regards.
And it hurts more than ever.
What do you think of this infamous episode? Would Robb’s plan have worked if Walder Frey hadn’t conspired against him? Or are you still too upset over the Red Wedding to care? Tell us your thoughts—or have a good cry—in the comments below.
Images: HBO
Puck Soup #34: Confessions of a Puck Bunny
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DEATH RACE 2050 is Old-School B-Movie Cheese at its Ripest (Review)
There’s a lot of colorful cinema history behind the wildly goofy Death Race 2050, but here’s a quick recap: in 1975 there was a broadly violent, extremely silly satire unleashed called Death Race 2000. Produced by B-movie mega-lord Roger Corman, the movie (which features the likes of Sylvester Stallone and David Carradine) turned out to be one of the prolific producer’s biggest hits, and it went on to enjoy a deservedly long shelf-life as a well-admired cult classic/midnight movie. Death Race 2000 also earned itself a nifty enough remake — 2008’s Death Race — which jettisoned much of the broad satire in favor of a more conventional action template, and of course, as is often the case in today’s movie landscape, that remake led to a series of sequels that showed up in 2010, 2013, and 2017. So where else is there for this property to go?
Right back to the original drawing board, it seems. Roger Corman is back, and his old-school b-movie goofiness is on full display in Death Race 2050. More of a remake of the original than a latecoming sequel–although it certainly could be taken either way–Death Race 2050 is all about emulating that mid-1970s drive-in/grindhouse/unapologetic b-movie lunacy that might be short on budget, but delivers the goods on tongue-in-cheek action, simplistic yet effective social commentary, and a bunch of actors who clearly get the tone of the piece, and are willing to go way over the top in silly, campy, and sometimes ultra-violent fun.
It’s tough to predict if Corman’s type of willfully bizarre and brazenly inexpensive kitsch will strike a chord with today’s more cynical b-movie fanatics, but speaking as one movie nut who adores low-budget cheese and pulpy, self-referential satire in equal measure, I had a pretty good time with Death Race 2050. It is, of course, impossible to recapture the innate lunacy of the original film, but kudos to a new generation of off-kilter filmmakers (including writer/director G.J. Echternkamp and co-writer Matt Yamashita) who not only get what the original Death Race 2000 was all about… they’re not ashamed to admit they love this stuff, either.
The plot couldn’t be simpler: in a stupidly horrific future there is a coast-to-coast race in which the drivers earn points for running over pedestrians. Yep. That’s pretty much the whole plot. There’s also a welcome diversion about a team of freedom fighters who are intent on destroying the racers by any violent means necessary, plus there’s an unexpectedly amusing parcel of cartoonish yet legitimately funny characters. Also tossed in: a “virtual reality” / viewer surrogate upgrade that works a lot better than expected and a handful of “oh, come on” action scenes that are goofily entertaining. And while Death Race 2050 may be a palpably “cheap” production in many regards, the casting director certainly earned their paycheck.
Not only do we get the always enjoyably oily Malcolm McDowell as a vaguely Trump-ish autocrat who runs the race; Manu Bennett as a stoic yet dryly funny bad-ass hero; Marci Miller as his plucky sidekick (of sorts); Folake Olowofoyeku as a maniacal rock star who mows down on her owns fans; Anessa Ramsey as an insane evangelist who does the same to her own flock; Burt Grinstead (wonderfully manic) as a genetically enhanced, sexually confused, super-muscular man-child; and veteran character actor Yancy Butler as the furious leader of several ill-fated race protesters.
It’s all very clunky and ramshackle and kitschy, but that’s just part of the “shaggy dog” charm of the production. There may not be much of a market these days for Roger Corman’s unique brand of oddball indie filmmaking, but Death Race 2050 capably indicates that there’s still a little juice left in the man’s tank. Those who sit down expecting a slick action flick in the vein of Death Race (2008) may walk away confused or irritated by Death Race 2050. Those of us with a healthy respect for Roger Corman’s admittedly wacky oeuvre may find themselves pleasantly surprised by Death Race 2050. It may be cheap and weird and intentionally dim… but it’s also pretty damn funny.
3.5 old-fashioned mega-cheesy burritos out of 5
Image: Universal Home Video
OMG! A Lisa Frank Movie is Coming to Overstimulate Your Eyeballs
If you grew up in the ’80s and ’90s, you are probably at least somewhat familiar with the name Lisa Frank. The artist—whose style pretty much consists of making images of everything that a 12 year old girl might hold near and dear to her heart—created neon colored depictions of adorable tigers, killer whales, dolphins, pandas, and unicorns. These images became the basis of stickers, trapper keepers, notebooks, and every other school supply you could think of (not to mention t-shirts and other apparel), becoming a huge influence on a generation of young girls. And now her electric-colored world will come to life at a movie theater near you!
That’s right: Lisa Frank’s particular brand of multi-sensory explosion is coming to your movie screens. According to The Hollywood Reporter, a live-action/animation hybrid movie based on Lisa Frank’s artwork is now in development, with Frank is partnering with Jon Shestack—who recently produced the Young Adult novel adaption Before I Fall—to produce the feature based on her cutesy candy colored world.
In a statement, Frank said “I have always wanted to do a feature film that brings the world of Lisa Frank to life. We have so much backstory on our characters and they have been alive in my imagination since the beginning.” So if you always wanted to know the reasons behind that baby tiger’s rainbow fur, or the motivations as to why that orca wanted to catch that musical note in the sky so badly, you are about to find out.
Shestack added, “Lisa Frank’s world is cheerful, it’s optimistic, it’s hip, but it is without snark. It’s just sort of impossible to scowl when you’re smiling, and why would you want to? I’m so stoked to be part of this.”
While imagine several kids will flock to see this, I also imagine a lot of folks who grew up with the world of Lisa Frank who are now adults will also plan to see this, possibly with the aid of certain substances. (Not advocating for that mind you, just being realistic here!)
Will you see the Lisa Frank movie when it hits theaters? Or is that just too much adorable rainbow cuteness for you to sit through for two hours? Let us know down below in the comments.
Images and GIFs: Lisa Frank
Schlock & Awe: CORRUPTION Made Peter Cushing Ashamed
Most people who read this column—and this site in general—probably already I am a massive fan of Peter Cushing. The actor always brought a level of class and legitimacy to all the movies he did, and he never assumed he was too good to be in horror and sci-fi movies, even though most of the time he demonstrably was. I’ve written about quite a few Cushing films in this column, from the great (Frankenstein Created Woman) to the decidedly not great (The Blood Beast Terror). But out of all the low-budget genre movies he did, he was only ever ashamed of one…the seedy, icky 1968 film, Corruption.
Cushing was known for being a very genteel person (truly listen to any interview with him to know how soft-spoken, polite, and just kind of adorably austere he was) and would often eschew taking roles in movies that were too salacious. Famously, in one of his Frankenstein movies, he’d routinely apologize to his lead actress for having to be rough with her when the script called for it. He never would have taken the role in Corruption were it not for his beloved wife who was in failing health and had mounting hospital bills. He did it for his dear Helen. But, as you can see from the trailer above, Corruption might well be one of the scuzziest British horror films of all time, full of gratuitous sex and violence and creepy menace toward women. You can imagine Cushing apologizing throughout the entire shoot.
This poster cracks me up. What a tagline! “Corruption is not a woman’s picture!” What a way to sell the movie to anyone. I’m sure they were using the constant brutality against women to get butts in seats, and might even have banked on women wanting to go see it with their beaus, since, as the rest of the slogan reads, “therefore no woman will be admitted alone to see this super-shock film!!” I mean, can you even imagine such a blatantly sexist tagline today? Well, you might be able to, but it would be met with outrage, surely.
And here’s the thing… it’s definitely a very misogynous movie, but it’s actually far less graphic than a lot of movies that would come after. It was shocking at the time, and it’s always weird to see Cushing as anything other than gentlemanly, but it’s definitely a major product of the late-’60s.
Anyway, let’s get to the plot. Cushing plays Sir John Rowan, a prominent and successful plastic surgeon who has a gorgeous young fiancée named Lynn (Sue Lyon), who works as a fashion model. At a raucous swinging London party—where Rowan is easily the oldest person there and feels very out of place and uncomfortable with all this counterculturism—he starts to become jealous of a sleazy photographer who is taking increasingly inappropriate pictures of Lynn, who seems super into it. Rowan has enough and he begins to physically accost the photographer, only to have a hot lamp get knocked over right on to Lynn’s face, badly burning and scarring her.
Overcome with guilt and his almost unhealthy fixation on Lynn, Rowan decides he can fix her face using experimental laser surgery, however he needs fresh glands (yes, apparently the glands are what’s important in your face skin) and decides, naturally, that only murdering young, beautiful women and removing their face-glands can help his love. After killing several woman, he is able to fix Lynn’s face, and everything seems to be fine, but while on holiday, her face begins to revert and Rowan begrudgingly has to try to kill again, now because Lynn angrily wants her beautiful face back.
Unfortunately, the girl they choose—a rather spacey, hippie chick—is a part of a dangerous gang of psycho burglars who decide to take revenge on the couple who roughed up their gal. The finale of the movie involves every character getting killed (including a pair of incredibly boring young lovers who have been concerned about Rowan from the start) by, of all things, the surgical laser going crazy and zapping everyone and burning the cottage down… but then maybe it was all a dream?!
Weird ending aside, the bulk of Corruption‘s plot was taken from the 1960 French medical horror film, Les yeux sans visage, or Eyes Without a Face. In that movie, a surgeon takes to killing girls to harvest their face to repair his daughter’s horrible scars, which were the result of a car accident where the doctor was driving drunk. What I think makes Corruption work on its own, though, is having it be a stuffy, middle-aged square who is killing in order to, essentially, cling to the allure of youth, personified by his fiancee, whose beauty, we discover, is pretty much only on the surface.
The fact that youth is something to both covet and fear speaks to the world of the late-’60s in Britain, which were much, much more permissive than the staunchly conservative country had been to that point. Corruption as a movie features intense violence and gore, which were very edgy at the time, which adds to the F-U nature of the story which demonizes both repressed middle-aged men and raucous, lawless youths. Pretty much nobody is spared, and even the boring couple—who are the only truly “good” characters in the movie—get laser-beamed the same as the guilty parties.
There are two versions of Corruption; one in which Cushing’s character terrorizes fully-clothed women with toned-down gore, for the British release, and one where his victims (played by different actresses) are nude and the gore is heightened, for the international release. To his credit, Cushing’s performance in the movie is strong and believable, but I can only imagine how much blushing and apologizing he did to his disrobed co-stars following these scenes. Just like the character in the movie, it’s amazing what people will do to help the people they love.
Images: Columbia Pictures
Kyle Anderson is the Associate Editor for Nerdist. He writes the weekly look at weird or obscure films in Schlock & Awe. Follow him on Twitter!
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