Picnic at Hanging Rock 1975 Australia

Ha! The joke's on me. I first saw this movie in the early eighties and was let to believe it was based on an actual event. I have seen it a couple of times since and it always made me wonder what happened to the girls in reality. Now, trying to Google the facts it seems the film is based on a novel by Joan Lindsay. In the book and in interviews she kept up the illusion of it being inspired by true events. It isn't. It's one of those stories people want to be true. And maybe it should be true.

I have to read the novel. It is, among other things, about aboriginal dreamtime. The girls seem to disappear into a crack in time.

9

Wonder Woman 2009 USA

Pretty good animated Wonder Woman video. Nathan Fillion lends his voice to Steve Trevor so that's cool. The story and images are quite mature. It's not a movie for very small children. 

Included are two very interesting documentaries on her background.

There is something about Wonder Woman that I like very much. The mix of beauty, strength and feminine warmth is quite unique in comics. Too bad DC seems to be changing her into more of a warrior without the loving qualities. As the picture at the top shows the new comic has a silver tiara and eagle while they have always been gold. Silver is cold, gold is warm....

One of the important aspects of WW in her early days has also been missing for decades. There was a very strong bondage element to those early comics. She was getting tied up all the time. This sexually deviant personality trait makes her a much more likeable character to me. I would love to see a good writer tackle this subject.

The way american comics are the sexual stuff probably won't return. The stories are getting bloodier all the time but the girl can't enjoy being tied up.

 Wonder Woman/Diana has a classical nose in this version. Looks good!

My oldest comic. 1947. 

7.5

Frazetta: painting with fire 2004 USA

The immensely talented Frank Frazetta. A look back at his life and work by the man himself as well as by artists who were influenced by him. 

Some stray thoughts I had while watching the documentary. In his later life Frazetta suffered stroke after stroke. Which makes me wonder if talent like this, being able to put this power, this almost tangible world onto paper purely out of ones imagination comes at a price. He was able to focus so completely on his work, producing his most famous paintings in burst of energy of hours after which he was exhausted. 

Frazetta was a talented athlete as well. Where he managed some impressive feats by the same mind over matter concentration.

It's wonderful, transcending the mundane flow of things when you create something and know it's good. While drawing I don't have this often. But this week I wrote a full script for a comic book story of 8 pages. While working on page 7 I realized I had something really good here. It's a kick. Now I have to draw it. That's the real hard, time consuming work.

I have this recurring dream in which I have produced my perfect comic book pages. This might be it. Of course in the dream there's always the fear that after this my talent is gone. Hopes and fears man.

  Frazetta felt most at home doing this type of cartoons. More so than his famous paintings.

Dave Stevens, Mike Kaluta and Bernie Wrightson talking about the master. Not a bad bunch of artists.

 Frazetta drawing left-handed after losing the control in his left arm because of a stroke.

The man and his paintings.

 I had a poster of this painting on my wall as a teen.

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Women on the Run 1992 Hong Kong

If you have any good taste at all you won't like this movie. It will utterly disgust you. It's so terribly, terribly bad.

I loved it. It had nude kung fu! Hoodlums play soccer with a cute little doggie! Women are betrayed and gang-raped! A man's penis is shot of! Wow baby!

Dig it.

In Vancouver evil men kick around little doggies for fun.

And this is what they do to Chinese women.

Of course actual pubic areas can't be shown.

Just desserts!

8.5

Dixie Ray Hollywood Star 1983 USA

Entertaining story, good production values. It even stars Cameron Mitchell of High Chaparral fame. The sex scenes are very good. One of the best porn movies I've seen.

Kelly Nichols, humped by John Leslie. There's a very cool interview with Kelly in Cinema Sewer vol. 3 (Highly recommended for lovers of pulp and smut). Kelly talks about always having been a pulp and comic book fan. She mentions Virgil Finlay, the Silver Surfer, Kirby and meeting Stan Lee. Who says comic book fans are just nerdy boys?

Cinema Sewer website 

The main attraction. Lisa DeLeeuw. Stunning! I have this suspicion that Linsner's Dawn is partially based on Lisa DeLeeuw. There's a rumor that Frank Thorne's Red Sonja is inspired by her as well but here the dates don't match up. His Ghita could very well have some Lisa in her.

It must have been 1980 when I bought the Hustler with this picture of Lisa in it. Of course at some point I threw my girlie magazines out. This picture however I still have. It may be pornographic but to me it's beautiful. From her freckles to her pussy to her hand on her breasts.

8.5

Tetsuo the iron man 1989 Japan

One of those movies where it's not very useful to write about the story. It's like an extended, demented video-clip. And it's fucking great. People merging with metal. Industrial music. A nightmare.

I have some doubts about the Tartan DVD. It's just 64 minutes while the official running time is 67 minutes. Tartan was British which often means censored. These DVDs were much to expensive as well. I wonder if there is a different, better version out there....

8.5

A History of Violence 2005

It seems that good horror directors also make very good gangster movie directors. Brian de Palma shot 'The Untouchables' and 'Scarface'. David Cronenberg 'Eastern Promises' and in this case 'A History of Violence'. 

Based on a comic book story as every other movie seems to be. Is it the fact that in a way the storyboards are all ready there? Are producers lazy? Are comic books this well suited for movies?

My guess is that comic book writers and artists are very visually and action oriented. It's a medium that where the raw material is very cheap to produce. When you have the time and some talent every fantasy can be put on paper. Visual effects becoming easier to produce means that the film industry can now put this on the screen. 

A comic like 'Kick Ass'. was even purely meant to be made into film. And I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of writers have movies in the back of their minds.

But back to 'a History of Violence'. It's good. Viggo Mortensen, Ed Harris. Very good acting. Fun story. Great director.

Baaaaad people.

Things I miss (at least on a conscious level) when watching the movie but notice when making stills. The creepily pointy boots and the 'open' sign. Love those details.

Barbed wire.....

Why is the image of a beautiful woman with her robe open to reveal her naked body so exciting? And why do I prefer pubic hair in a time when smoothness is the thing?

8