The 106th episode of 'The Sunshine Happy Kpants Hour' is uploaded and now available through iTunes, Talkshoe, Stitcher Radio and streaming LIVE right here!
Welcome back to another week of 'The Sunshine Happy Kpants Hour'! This weeks show topics include: 'Transformers: Age of Extinction', how long is too long? and do you really ever want to go back? It's a ramblin' kind of episode. I hope you still ENJOY!
The 105th episode of 'The Sunshine Happy Kpants Hour' is uploaded and now available through iTunes, Talkshoe, Stitcher Radio and streaming LIVE right here!
This weeks show is all about randomness, not intentionally. It's got good music and that's the main thing. Topics this week include: finding friends as we age, comics and how there's no wrong way to be creative. It's a decent little episode. ENJOY!
Songs played this week:
1) They're Coming To Get You, Barbara by No More Kings
The 104th episode of 'The Sunshine Happy Kpants Hour' is uploaded and now available through iTunes, Talkshoe, Stitcher Radio and streaming LIVE right here!
What else can I say, but it's a slightly larger show again. Hopefully full of wholesome ingredients and goodness. This weeks topics include: the stuff in all of us, nostalgia and a zombie topic of the week! It's a good one, kids! ENJOY!
Anyone who knows me, has read this blog or listened to any of my podcasts know.... I love zombies. Ever since I watched 'Dawn of the Dead' (1978) in 1996, I've been hooked. I just can't get enough zombies. Over the years, we've seen the market saturated with a glut of zombies every where. Any student out to make his first movie, wants to make a zombie film. They want to either change the genre somehow or just want an easy student project with minimal make up work and an open market. It's made the die hard fans have to dig even deeper through the muck and muddle to find the diamonds in the rough. There's still plenty of good stuff out there, but not always the most original stuff. When I first heard that Dolph Lundgren was making a zombie movie, I was geeked. I've been a fan of his work since I watched 'Rocky 4'. Then I heard that it was a zombie movie he was making. I got even MORE geeked! Then I heard it had robots too! I nearly had a nerdgasm all over the computer monitor. What more could you want in a zombie movie? To be honest, it stole from a basic concept I'd come up with years ago, but luckily it didn't steal my whole idea. What it did do though, was make a genre that is hard to improve on and gave it a fun little tweak that any horror movie fan will get a kick out of. Granted, you have to leave your brain at the door and make sure you have plenty of popcorn on hand. This is one of THOSE movies for sure.
The first thing that struck me with this movie was the way the zombies are dealt with. This really could have been done as a student film, if they hadn't stuck so much money into making the robots. In the process of focusing on them, they pushed the zombie effects to the side. The zombie make up, more or less, consists of some basic make up and a couple of applications. There's nothing fancy or even remotely good about the special effects in this movie. With that being said, they really did a stellar job with the robots. They played up on the fact that they were designed to be utilitarian in design, but perfectly suited to be combat ready. They're the straight man to Lundgren's hero and the perfect foil for the zombie hordes. The effects crew on this movie spent a long time designing the overall look and feel of the robots. They feel like they could honestly be in any factory out there right now. Doing a job on an assembly line, putting cars together, welding or other labor intensive work. I was really surprised at how realistic they really were. Granted, the effects didn't always hold up to a big budget standard, but it was way above average for this kind of Sci-Fi original movie. Back to the zombies, who needs to shoot them in the head when you can kill them by slitting their throats? Right? That's just one of the many ways these paper thin zombies can be killed again. It's as if they truly are just actors with make up on. This is the one part of the movie that bothered me the most. I mean, where's the danger when you can just shoot em' once and they're down? There's really no threat, other than when they're in big numbers. Then.... you're in trouble. Unless you have robots.
The basic premise of this movie is one that's been used a lot. Most famously in 'Escape From New York'. Send in the hero to an area everyone else is scared to go, have him rescue someone who's trapped and get back out safe. Yup. That's the premise of this movie too. Nothing new here, but still fun none the less. It tells the story of Max Gatling (clever, right?), a man on a mission. He leads a team into the hordes of zombies. Once inside, his team slowly begins to get smaller and soon his true intentions are discovered. He's not just there for any reason, he's there to rescue Jude by any means necessary. What he didn't count on was bringing a bunch of other people with him and that the basic bad guy in the story, is also Jude's boyfriend.... and the father of her unborn child. This makes everything much more complicated than before, but there's one thing Max didn't factor into the equation. The fact that there's a factory in the zombie infested zone and all of the robots inside of there, had gone bezerk not long ago. They were still alive and kicking, but now they were killing zombies, instead of humans. Soon they form an alliance and next thing you know: it's Dolph and robots vs. zombies! Much killing ensues. It's wonderful!
There's really not that much more to say about this movie. It's just big, dumb fun and to be honest.... in a sub genre of horror movies, it's really refreshing to see something you've never seen before. It's also a good thing to see Dolph Lundgren making a comeback. Luckily for him, 'The Expendables' keeps making more movies, as it keeps him working. This movie isn't going to change anyone's lives and it's really just a grade above the quality of 'Sharknado', but don't let that stop you from taking the time to watch it. This is a hidden little gem that needs an audience. I, personally, will eventually own this. I think it has a high re-watchability factor and one that will gain cult status someday. It's just so terribly and amazingly bad that it comes all the way back around to being good again. There's very little not too like about this movie and believe me, I tried really hard to hate it. I couldn't do it. I just kept smiling and wonder who in the hell came up with this story and why has it taken so long? George A. Romero this ain't. This is pure and utter schlocktastic good times! Watch this soon, please.
I'd give this 3 out of 5 stars and firmly believe it's got longevity built in. This is one that will live on in infamy. Mark my words on this.
This film had my interest from the first time I read about it and even more so, the first time I watched the trailer. I was sincerely afraid, over time, that the hype surrounding this movie would not payoff after my expectations were so incredibly high. My firm belief was that this would end up falling so far short of what I was hoping it would be that I think it brought my expectations to a more realistic level. Made me expect garbage. However, once this film started, it had me by the throat and wouldn't let go. I loved this film going experience.... from start to finish and it's been a while since a film caught a hold of me the way that 'Gravity' did. I was literally white knuckled for almost half of it and that's not easy with a jaded film goer like myself. Not too mention, that Sandra Bullock and George Clooney don't exactly seem like the obvious choice for this movie. It seems more like an indie movie with minimal effects and maximum script. Instead, thanks to the direction and weight of director Alfonso Curaon, you end up with a big budget film with an independent plot. I think that shocked a lot of people and also proved that you don't need a big budget blockbuster to put asses in seats and win awards.
Now.... I love films with people against overwhelming odds. That's why I'm such a huge zombie movie lover. I'm also a fan of disaster films and anything else that puts one person or a group against something so much greater than themselves. This film was exactly that on a different scale. It played up on an irrational fear of mine and a similar irrational fear of a lot of people. Running out of air, drowning, quicksand, etc. Actually, when I was growing up, I was intensely fascinated with being an astronaut and exploring outer space. I used to study the stars and constellations with great love and wonder. I dreamed of going out into space and exploring distant planets. I'd watch 'Star Trek' and 'Star Wars' and wonder what was out there beyond the stars. What I failed to think about back then and that was a solid reason not too want to go into outer space was everything that can go wrong and how completely how helpless you are. This film played up on those fears so effectively that it made me never regret my decision to keep my feet on the ground. I mean, just getting off the planet earth is dangerous enough, but once you're out there.... wow. It just gets even more insane. I think the opening bit about how "nothing can survive in space", drove that point home even harder and set you up for what was about to unfold. A story about survival in one of the most inhospitable places imaginable. It makes me feel breathless just thinking about it.
THE FOLLOWING PORTION OF THIS REVIEW CONTAINS MINOR SPOILERS!
In case you aren't familiar with the plot line of the film, it's a pretty basic story. A group of astronauts are working outside the shuttle, when something goes horribly wrong. Everyone is killed except for astronauts Ryan Stone and Matt Kowalski. Ryan is sent hurtling out into space and is nearly lost forever, when Matt eventually finds her and tethers himself to her. They go back to rescue the other crew members, only to find them dead. They then devise a plan to get to the space station and use that to get back to earth. The only problem is, there's basically a radio blackout, they're low on oxygen and fuel and one thing after the other keeps making it harder and harder to get home. Without giving too much else away, it almost becomes a comedy of errors and proves the point that whatever can go wrong.... will. That's all I'll give you, as I want the rest of it to hold the same impact it held for me.
One way or another, it's been a really long time since any film has made me want to run out and write a review. The only reason this has taken three days is due to illness. Otherwise, this would have gone up the same night I watched 'Gravity'. This movie put me right back into my childhood and poured gasoline on all of my fears and made them very, very real. I completely suspended all disbelief and was sucked 100% into the story line and the characters. I wanted them to succeed. I wanted them to not keep having bad things happen. I legitimately wanted them to all get home. It was like 'Open Water' in space, minus the sharks. It's the complete feeling of living a life that you no longer control. This is the film you should be watching in the dark, with nothing else going on and no one bothering you. You should be in the moment, so to speak. You should be giving 'Gravity' your undivided attention. Nothing less would be a cry in shame.
I give this a solid 4 out of 5 stars. The only reason I'm not giving it more, is I'm not sure of it's staying power. Will it hold my interest as much in a year, 2 years, 6 months? Only time will tell. In the meantime, this is a film that earned every accolade it received and is one that is NOT to be missed!
The 103nd episode of 'The Sunshine Happy Kpants Hour' is uploaded and now available through iTunes, Talkshoe, Stitcher Radio and streaming LIVE right here!
It's another really good week for music! Topics this week include Star Trek, my first car, coloring books and some lyrics I wanted to examine. It's a buffet of awesome. Dig in and ENJOY!
Songs played this week:
1) Lightning In A Bottle by Chasing Claymores
2) Hesher Boyfriend by Kelly Alvarez
3) Stars by The Broadcast Debut
4) No Crying by Jackpot, Tiger
5) I'm Gonna Leave This Town by Les Gordons
6) Or Basic Chemicals by The Glare Of The Day
7) Seasons (Waiting On You) by Future Islands - LIVE
The 102nd episode of 'The Sunshine Happy Kpants Hour' is uploaded and now available through iTunes, Talkshoe, Stitcher Radio and streaming LIVE right here!
I seem to have found my grove again, as you get a slightly longer show this week. Topics include some more thoughts on 'Godzilla', the history of dogs in my life and having too many choices in life. It's a jam packed episode for you to ENJOY!
