Author Topic: Grim Horizons: Post-Apocalyptic Marathon  (Read 19149 times)

CSSCHNEIDER

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Re: Grim Horizons: Post-Apocalyptic Marathon
« Reply #10 on: March 16, 2010, 06:07:38 PM »
5.


Right At Your Door
2006
Dir. Chris Gorak

A series of Dirty Bombs are detonated across Los Angeles.  Toxic Ash rains down on suburban LA as the blast clouds rise into the Hollywood his, carried by the same sea breeze that spreads LA's notorious wildfires. 

Husband and wife Brad and Lexi are caught in the middle, though Lexi was one of the many unfortunate souls that was near ground zero.  Following advice from radio broadcasts Brad seals the house with duct tape and plastic, leaving Lexi cut off from safety.

The film follows them as they struggle to survive, Lexi outside in the gray ashy aftermath and Brad hot and tired fearing for his wife.

Shot on Digital Video for next to nothing this is a valiant attempt at making a small interpersonal film with a large scale backdrop of Apocalyptic proportions.  A few rather great CGI shots of downtown LA in smoke and flames helps to sell the situation while allowing you to stay in the small house with Brad.  Sadly, photographically there is nothing interesting going on, nor is the production design anything grand.  This film attempts to do what Cloverfield eventually did 10000 times better, but they did have a large budget.  If this film cost more than $15,000 I'd be surprised.  So, with one tenth the budget of Cloverfield this is a solid attempt.  Its a shame the story isn't great.  The ending is in the Boy and His Dog vein, but not nearly as effective.

Grade C

So far this marathon has taught me LOADS, but most of the films have been a bust.  I hope some of the upcoming entries are better.  Keep the suggestions coming.  If I haven't seen it I'll be sure to add it to the list.
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Sam the Cinema Snob

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Re: Grim Horizons: Post-Apocalyptic Marathon
« Reply #11 on: March 16, 2010, 07:02:18 PM »
So far this marathon has taught me LOADS, but most of the films have been a bust.  I hope some of the upcoming entries are better.  Keep the suggestions coming.  If I haven't seen it I'll be sure to add it to the list.
Yea, I was going to say, just seems like most of these films are as bad as the future they present.

CSSCHNEIDER

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Re: Grim Horizons: Post-Apocalyptic Marathon
« Reply #12 on: March 16, 2010, 09:18:14 PM »
So far this marathon has taught me LOADS, but most of the films have been a bust.  I hope some of the upcoming entries are better.  Keep the suggestions coming.  If I haven't seen it I'll be sure to add it to the list.
Yea, I was going to say, just seems like most of these films are as bad as the future they present.

The genre is ripe for low budget direct to video/drive-in fare.  I think that's why most every list I've taken advice from shares about 5 titles in common, those are legitimately the best this genre has to offer.  However, I am learning a lot.  One title I'm incredibly excited for is No Blade of Grass.  It hasn't had an American DVD release apparently, so I'm trying to track down a VHS as even the illegal world of Torrents has been a bust.  This is a shame since it was shot in Anamorphic Panavision in 1970!!!  I love 70s Anamorphic.  The glass is just... its everything I want movies to be. 
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CSSCHNEIDER

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Re: Grim Horizons: Post-Apocalyptic Marathon
« Reply #13 on: March 16, 2010, 09:25:15 PM »
I just made the above post and one of my awesome Archive buddies sent me a link to an Anamorphic DVD rip of No Blade of Grass.  I may stay up late and watch it tonight after it has Downloaded. 

***Note to anyone in the industry who reads this and wants to condemn me for pirating movies.  Put it on DVD and I would have rented it, or viewed it legally. 
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CSSCHNEIDER

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Re: Grim Horizons: Post-Apocalyptic Marathon
« Reply #14 on: March 16, 2010, 11:36:51 PM »
5.



Battle Angel Alita
1993
Dir. Hiroshi Fukutomi
Based on the Manga of the Same Name

Dear James Cameron,
Stop mucking about on Pandora with the blue people and MAKE THIS MOVIE!!!!

With Love and Hugs,

CSSCHNEIDER


Seriously, this was awesome.  I loved the Manga when I read it a few years back after finding the first three issues in First Edition English printings in a small used book shop in Notting Hill (they were later stolen when I my apartment was robbed).  I've sought this Anime Adaptation out a few time, though I never put a lot of effort into finding it, afraid it would pale in comparison the the source material I fell in love with.  When building my playlist for this marathon I tossed it in seeing this as a good place to bend the rules, though they don't bend to far.  While this isn't the solitary individual versus the wasteland I'm mostly watching, it follows many of the motifs of Post-Apocalyptic stories, though there wasn't a cataclysmic event.  Man just ruined the planet slowly and the fortunate moved onto a floating platform like in Astro Boy.  The less fortunate reside in the slums of the planet surface.

This world reminded me a lot of Bladerunner, in a good way.  Lots of violence, killer replicant type robots, in a burnt out dystopian city.  All things I can get behind.  But the best thing is that this is another example of the Anime/Manga obsession with turning cute little girls into savage, super power endowed killing machines.  Though, she's not a little girl.  In the comic its stated from the beginning that she was originally a Government Military Fighterbot that got scrapped.  Now, rejuvenated by a goodly Doctor of Robots and Cybornetic Organisms she's out there as a bounty hunter.

Presented as two 30 minute episodes this could have been a great series, though it's graphic violence:


would have still relegated this to video shelves. 

The craft of this Anime is really great.  Beautifully realized with excellent music and bursts of violence it oozes 'cool scifi'.  The end of the second episode especially has a brutal realization.

This isn't without it's faults.  The dialog is as many Anime's are, very expository.  But here its not terrible, and by that I mean not as bad as A Wind Named Amnesia.  Also the pacing is a bit jarring.  They race through this.  I wish it was 80 minutes long and they took their time showing instead of telling at times.  Especially with some of the action.  Could have been drawn out more for dramatic effect.  I'd say if my biggest criticisms are that I wanted more, than it can't be that bad.

I've been so excited by the prospect that someday James Cameron will bring this to the Big Screen.  I saw Avatar, and no I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it either.  What I saw in it was the potential to make the most badass version of this concept and these characters that I nearly foamed at the mouth.  Now, I'm more excited than ever at the prospect of Cameron's Alita vision.

Until then track this down.  For Anime fans I'd call this a must see.


Grade B+
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CSSCHNEIDER

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Re: Grim Horizons: Post-Apocalyptic Marathon
« Reply #15 on: March 17, 2010, 09:56:29 AM »
6.


No Blade of Grass
1970
Dir. Cornel Wilde

The world watches in horror as China, India and Africa are ravaged by a disease that attacks and kills the family of grasses.  Wheat, Barley, grass etc are dying fast creating a famine so dire that China has taken to nerve gassing over half their population to ensure the survival of their race.  Soon it becomes known that eating any of the diseased crops will poison and kill humans and animals.  Livestock quickly becomes scarce as they die or are killed for food.

The disease makes its way to the UK, and a young scientist discovers that they intend to lock down all major cities starting with his own,  London.  Contacting his girlfriend's family they create a caravan and flee towards the safety of a family farm in the North.   Along the way they encounter many horrors and have to make some terribly hard decisions to stay alive.

To be fair, this film was more bad than good, but the good was worth it.  Firstly, this movie is paced incredibly fast.  At 85 minutes in length there is barely room to breath, and much of the problems of the film reside here.   They don't take their time when they should, but to be fair, the fast pace does add to the sense of dread.

The writing is all over the place.   The dialog is often very basic, but they tell you what you need to know and move on.  The worst writing falls on the female characters.  I think whoever wrote them never actually met a woman.  Here women are one of two things; morally bankrupt skanks or weak conservative women folk.  Only one woman even picks up a gun and its in the 11th hour of need.  That bothered me a lot.

The other big area where this film suffered was in being incredibly dated.  The score reminded me of the Adam West Batman series or the Monkees.  Very brassy and often silly or overly on-the-nose.  

Where No Blade of Grass surprised me was in its ambition.  Right At Your Door is designed to be a small, intimate film with a larger than life off screen setting, No Blade of Grass makes every effort to showcase a large scope calamity.  The riots they staged in London are really impressive and I found them quite scary.  They reminded me of the car scene in War of the Worlds, with mobs of people rocking cars over out of spite.  This film must have been a large undertaking in production and I would say the visualization of the script succeeds quite well.

I was really excited to see this film, and while it didn't totally deliver it did satisfy me and was fairly interesting in the way in which it dealt with moral dilemmas.  Worth seeking out, but not essential.

Grade C+
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smirnoff

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Re: Grim Horizons: Post-Apocalyptic Marathon
« Reply #16 on: March 17, 2010, 10:04:16 AM »
I remember really enjoying Battle Angel Alita, and being super excited when I heard Cameron was thinking about remaking it. For a long time I thoughts that what Avatar was going to be.

zarodinu

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Re: Grim Horizons: Post-Apocalyptic Marathon
« Reply #17 on: March 17, 2010, 04:23:25 PM »
Like following this marathon, but it seems like you are not liking most of the films, have you watched the original Dawn of the Dead?  It is a great post apocalyptic tale.
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CSSCHNEIDER

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Re: Grim Horizons: Post-Apocalyptic Marathon
« Reply #18 on: March 17, 2010, 04:34:22 PM »
7.


Stalker
1979
Dir. Andrei Tarkovsky
Based in Part on the Book The Roadside Picnic

An event of unknown proportions has occurred.  Some think it a meteorite, others a crash landing of beings from beyond the stars.  Whatever the cause an area now known as the Zone has been cordoned off from a nearby city.  It is no longer inhabited and slowly nature has reclaimed it, though its laws no longer govern.  The heart of the Zone is a special place known as the Room.  Inside the Room your deepest and strongest wish is granted.  Getting to the Room is nigh on impossible without the help of a guide or Stalker, and even then you must be found worthy by the Zone itself.  And what you may set out to acquire may be overridden by your soul's deepest subconscious desire.

Our story begins when the Stalker rises from his bed and leaves behind his home and family to guide two men out of the city, through the Zone and to the threshold of the Room.  Along the way we learn of the Zone's incredible properties, lack of natural physics and feel the overwhelming dread associated with the contrasting natural beauty.  This is a confusing place made more so by the characters analyses and philosophical discussions.

I found this film extremely beautiful, if at times heady.  And while much of the cinematography is beautiful it was certain shots that left me speechless.  It would be easier to show you stills than try and put words to:





Unfortunately unlike Days of Heaven or Baraka where the whole was equally as stunning as a single frame, I found single shots or ideas more beautiful than the whole.

As for a Post-Apocalyptic film, all the elements are present, and I strongly feel this will be the trippiest and most advanced film I'll see in this marathon thematically.  I wish more of the films in this marathon were like this, though I wish this film was a tad bit tighter, especially in the middle.  It got a bit ponderous.   Normally films of this nature don't sit well with me, but this is the best film I've seen so far, and the one I plan on stealing/borrowing the most from.

I know many of you have already seen this, but if you haven't make it a priority.

Grade B+
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CSSCHNEIDER

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Re: Grim Horizons: Post-Apocalyptic Marathon
« Reply #19 on: March 17, 2010, 04:36:21 PM »
Yup, I've seen Dawn of the Dead and prefer the original, as you state, to the remake (though the remake is quite good as well).  If you think of others don't be afraid to mention them!  I appreciate all the help!

Next up in the marathon will be a Dystopian film, not a straight Post-Apocalyptic film.  Stay Tuned!
Taste is discerning, not all encompassing.

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Know the Difference Between Arts and Crafts

"Pain is Temporary, Film is Forever..." --John Milius

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