Remember the cartoons of your past? Remember the cheap animation, the gratuitously awesome plots, hilarious voice acting, and pretty much everything that made them great? Me too! Sadly, the nineties are gone, and with them the outstanding cartoons we all came to love. Now we're left with decent animation, but at the price of pretty much everything else. Don't fret though, our savior has arrived, enter "The Haunted World of El Superbeasto".
Written and directed by Rob Zombie, "The Haunted World of El Superbeasto" has everything that cartoons from the nineties wish they did. Profanity, full-frontal cartoon nudity, rats coming from a rectum, nothing is missing from this guaranteed cult classic.
Starring the voice talents of Tom Papa as El Superbeasto and Sherri Moon Zombie as Suzi X, Superbeasto's sidekick and sister, the plot revolves around the dubious Dr. Satan (voiced by Paul Giamatti, best casting ever!) vying for unimaginable power. However, the only way to lay claim to this power is if he marries a woman with the mark of the beast. More specifically, Dr. Satan needs to marry a chick with the number 666 on her ass. I know, the red tape, it'll drive you nuts!
After a long day of shooting porno flicks and killing Medusa-like monsters (at the same time), Superbeasto decides to relax at his favorite bar. To his surprise though, the lovely Velvet Von Black (portrayed vocally by Rosario Dawson) is on deck to strip in such a way that would even make my ex blush. The dance, being so outlandish, immediately entrances our hero, causing him to fall in lust. Needless to say, Superbeasto begins his courtship of Von Black.
But as fate would have it, Von Black bears the mark that Dr. Satan requires of a bride. So as any evil doctor would do, he dispatches his lowly gorilla assistant to go capture Von Black in the hopes of making her Mrs. Satan. A hilarious sequence occurs where Superbeasto walks in Von Black's dressing room, only to see her in what appears to be the "wheel barrel" position with Dr. Satan's gorilla. After questioning whether he should join in or leave, Superbeasto takes his humble exit with sadness. However, he quickly discerns that something is amiss and he should investigate, but he returns to discover that the stripper has been kidnapped.
A sequence with Suzi X stealing the head of Hitler ensues, and then Superbeasto talks to his sister, asking for her help in rescuing Von Black. Knowing full well that Superbeasto just wants to boink the stripper, Suzi X goes over a list of terms used for sexual intercourse, trying to make sure he has some type of decent agenda planned. A ploy to rescue Von Black is formed and then the movie takes us on a rollercoaster ride through absurdity, randomness, cult cinema and the questioning as to whether or not we're really going to touch ourselves inappropriately.
Guest appearances by Danny Trejo, Bill Moseley, Clint Howard, Ken Foree, Sid Haig and Michael Myers (Yes, THAT Michael Myers), as well as musical narratives (how can you go wrong with "Zombie Nazis standing at a wall now!") ensure that this film sticks with you for hours after its initial viewing. More so, Rob Zombie did a tremendous job combining elements from classic cinema with what the cartoons of yesteryear really wanted to show us. This is a breath of fresh air breathed into the rapidly decaying lungs of the animated world we're given today, Family Guy and Robot Chicken included. This is truly a cult cartoon, made by cult cartoonists, for cult cartoonists! "The Haunted World of El Superbeasto" is surely the animated film hit of the season, and a movie not to miss. Rent it for the family tonight!
Showing posts with label Rob Zombie. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rob Zombie. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Halloween II - My Thoughts
My stepfather says that my blog is lacking in the area of film, and that he most certainly is entitled to a press pass for advanced screenings more so than I because of the amount of cinema information he has on his blog. That being said, although I wrote this a few weeks back, here is a review of the film and a rebuttal to someone's response pulled from the Halloween II imdb.com message boards. I hope this beefs up the movie section of my blog just a little.
Please feel free to look me up at imdb.com if you'd like to see the post in its originality and the responses of others to my thoughts - my ID on the site is Fuzznubb. Note - Steer clear of my thoughts about the MGS movie!
(Notice my attempt to use big words and sound intelligent, except for when I spell Lauri's name "Lori", or when I use the word "confliction")
Review
"Rob Zombie succeeded with this film, case closed.
You may be asking "why"? I'll tell you.
He knew going into this project that he'd be getting a lot of flak. He made a movie (Halloween - 2007) that wasn't entirely based on original ideas, but ran with it. He gave us a new perspective to Michael Myers with which we could understand more so why he acted the way he did when he got older. He even gave us a film that technically shouldn't have spawned a sequel. This is where the flak comes in.
Not whatsoever did Rob Zombie ever pull the wool over our eyes. He knew that a sequel was illogical, yet he did it, and he did it well. Aside from the beginning where we got the Hospital sequence, H2 is entirely made up of something out of Michael Myers' element. It wasn't about just wearing a mask and having moments where we're startled by Myers appearing somewhere unexpected. He went above and beyond what was expected from Michael Myers. We expected a killer, what we got was emotion.
I know, I know. What do I mean by "emotion"? I'll tell you.
Myers was scorned. The man was hurt. All his life he was the victim. Hell, even when he was victimizing others he was the victim. Granted, being a victim doesn't always give exception to murder, but still... All he wanted was his family back, and he got a gunshot to the head instead. Yes, I'll admit that he went about getting his sister back in all the wrong ways, but you have to keep in mind that he's dealing with the mindset of a ten year old. I'm also sure he had some prepubescent angst built up as well.
Zombie gave us a massive look at the "Myers that cares". He showed us just how far someone would go to be a family man. He gave us insight to the man behind the Shatner mask. Just because he wields a butcher's knife and dresses in a jumpsuit doesn't mean he can't love and feel compassion..... Or anger for betrayal. Wouldn't you want to run someone through for taking you away from your family?
Further, Zombie gave us a dark vision than what was ever expected. The tone, the setting, the brutality, it was all enveloped in a grim veil. The deaths, although raw, were real (as real as Hollywood can get without actual death). Myers had a linear thought process and he used his one-dimensional thinking to turn all of his victims into bloody, sinewy pulps. Screw hanging people in front of a staircase with a pumpkin on their head, he just unleashed himself in a flurry of violent confliction.
As for the "White Horse", although it was cheesy at moments, it did help advance the plot in a more analytical way. To me, it made you ponder the intentions of both Myers and Lori at times. It offered a thought process along the lines of "Is Lori just acting like that or is something more dubious about to happen?" It at least gives me an interesting outlook about things.
Concluding, I can see why people disliked this for what it was, but I think everyone should at least give it another chance from a different perspective, especially when the unrated version comes out. Anyways, that's my two cents about this film. Hope you enjoyed it."
Rebuttal
"I was reading my post and the responses of others, and I feel like I should reiterate a few things or offer a better explanation.
First and foremost, I didn't mean that Myers was in any way a victim we should feel bad for. I meant he was just put into the position where he was the victim starting out. Hell, look how he was raised. His "stepfather" was a complete douche to him, his mother was a stripper (praise be to Sheri Moon Zombie!) for whom he got crap for from the kids at school, and no one really treated him like an individual. He was scorned at life and that's when he decided to take matters (and a knife) into his own hands. At this point, it was no longer about making the pricks pay or being the victim, it was about a blood bath. My sympathies ended for him there.
Secondly, I do have to correct myself. There was a point in which Myers did string someone up and I appreciate the person who pointed that out. However, the hanging in this film was more to the point than the last one. He stomped the dude's face in and didn't want to leave the evidence behind in the alley. Although he's still screwed up in the head, I'm fairly certain he used what thinking power he had in order to create a diversionary tactic (much like he did in the first one at times) inside the strip club. The only thing he left lacking here was indeed the pumpkin head. To me, that shows that although he was killing everyone in the first movie, he may have still had some sort of demented sense of humor, unlike in this movie where he was just straight to the point with everything. More so, if you pay attention to the first film, there'll actually be a moment where he stops and just looks at the pumpkin, maybe appreciating what he did or laughing on the inside. That's just my hypothesis though.
Lastly, I thought this film was a very needed breath of fresh air, but they did label it incorrectly. I don't really think this version of Halloween could be considered a horror film. If you look at all the elements it has more to do with being a psychological thriller than anything else. Yes, it has the intense sequences of violence and gore, but I'd say it belongs in the category more so of Silence of the Lambs or something like that. I would like to point out though, that the only reason I enjoyed the film was because it wasn't what everyone expected. To me, everyone expected a slasher film. What everyone got was a film where you had to think outside of the box, and that's what I look for today. Too many films fail to explore outside of a linear thought process, and I think this film got past that. The only major concern I can see is that everyone just wanted the "expected" version or no version at all. The only thing I can say to that is as long as there's a Hollywood, there'll always be films we hate or enjoy. Well, that's just my two-cents anyways."
Wow, I use the term "linear thought process" and "that's just my two cents" too much. I should be slapped.
Please feel free to look me up at imdb.com if you'd like to see the post in its originality and the responses of others to my thoughts - my ID on the site is Fuzznubb. Note - Steer clear of my thoughts about the MGS movie!
(Notice my attempt to use big words and sound intelligent, except for when I spell Lauri's name "Lori", or when I use the word "confliction")
Review
"Rob Zombie succeeded with this film, case closed.
You may be asking "why"? I'll tell you.
He knew going into this project that he'd be getting a lot of flak. He made a movie (Halloween - 2007) that wasn't entirely based on original ideas, but ran with it. He gave us a new perspective to Michael Myers with which we could understand more so why he acted the way he did when he got older. He even gave us a film that technically shouldn't have spawned a sequel. This is where the flak comes in.
Not whatsoever did Rob Zombie ever pull the wool over our eyes. He knew that a sequel was illogical, yet he did it, and he did it well. Aside from the beginning where we got the Hospital sequence, H2 is entirely made up of something out of Michael Myers' element. It wasn't about just wearing a mask and having moments where we're startled by Myers appearing somewhere unexpected. He went above and beyond what was expected from Michael Myers. We expected a killer, what we got was emotion.
I know, I know. What do I mean by "emotion"? I'll tell you.
Myers was scorned. The man was hurt. All his life he was the victim. Hell, even when he was victimizing others he was the victim. Granted, being a victim doesn't always give exception to murder, but still... All he wanted was his family back, and he got a gunshot to the head instead. Yes, I'll admit that he went about getting his sister back in all the wrong ways, but you have to keep in mind that he's dealing with the mindset of a ten year old. I'm also sure he had some prepubescent angst built up as well.
Zombie gave us a massive look at the "Myers that cares". He showed us just how far someone would go to be a family man. He gave us insight to the man behind the Shatner mask. Just because he wields a butcher's knife and dresses in a jumpsuit doesn't mean he can't love and feel compassion..... Or anger for betrayal. Wouldn't you want to run someone through for taking you away from your family?
Further, Zombie gave us a dark vision than what was ever expected. The tone, the setting, the brutality, it was all enveloped in a grim veil. The deaths, although raw, were real (as real as Hollywood can get without actual death). Myers had a linear thought process and he used his one-dimensional thinking to turn all of his victims into bloody, sinewy pulps. Screw hanging people in front of a staircase with a pumpkin on their head, he just unleashed himself in a flurry of violent confliction.
As for the "White Horse", although it was cheesy at moments, it did help advance the plot in a more analytical way. To me, it made you ponder the intentions of both Myers and Lori at times. It offered a thought process along the lines of "Is Lori just acting like that or is something more dubious about to happen?" It at least gives me an interesting outlook about things.
Concluding, I can see why people disliked this for what it was, but I think everyone should at least give it another chance from a different perspective, especially when the unrated version comes out. Anyways, that's my two cents about this film. Hope you enjoyed it."
Rebuttal
"I was reading my post and the responses of others, and I feel like I should reiterate a few things or offer a better explanation.
First and foremost, I didn't mean that Myers was in any way a victim we should feel bad for. I meant he was just put into the position where he was the victim starting out. Hell, look how he was raised. His "stepfather" was a complete douche to him, his mother was a stripper (praise be to Sheri Moon Zombie!) for whom he got crap for from the kids at school, and no one really treated him like an individual. He was scorned at life and that's when he decided to take matters (and a knife) into his own hands. At this point, it was no longer about making the pricks pay or being the victim, it was about a blood bath. My sympathies ended for him there.
Secondly, I do have to correct myself. There was a point in which Myers did string someone up and I appreciate the person who pointed that out. However, the hanging in this film was more to the point than the last one. He stomped the dude's face in and didn't want to leave the evidence behind in the alley. Although he's still screwed up in the head, I'm fairly certain he used what thinking power he had in order to create a diversionary tactic (much like he did in the first one at times) inside the strip club. The only thing he left lacking here was indeed the pumpkin head. To me, that shows that although he was killing everyone in the first movie, he may have still had some sort of demented sense of humor, unlike in this movie where he was just straight to the point with everything. More so, if you pay attention to the first film, there'll actually be a moment where he stops and just looks at the pumpkin, maybe appreciating what he did or laughing on the inside. That's just my hypothesis though.
Lastly, I thought this film was a very needed breath of fresh air, but they did label it incorrectly. I don't really think this version of Halloween could be considered a horror film. If you look at all the elements it has more to do with being a psychological thriller than anything else. Yes, it has the intense sequences of violence and gore, but I'd say it belongs in the category more so of Silence of the Lambs or something like that. I would like to point out though, that the only reason I enjoyed the film was because it wasn't what everyone expected. To me, everyone expected a slasher film. What everyone got was a film where you had to think outside of the box, and that's what I look for today. Too many films fail to explore outside of a linear thought process, and I think this film got past that. The only major concern I can see is that everyone just wanted the "expected" version or no version at all. The only thing I can say to that is as long as there's a Hollywood, there'll always be films we hate or enjoy. Well, that's just my two-cents anyways."
Wow, I use the term "linear thought process" and "that's just my two cents" too much. I should be slapped.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
