Tweak Bird – Tweak Bird


As you may have noticed I’m in a mood for simple rock music these days. Well then let’s have a look at another band which doesn’t need complex arrangements or five different instruments to knock me out of my socks.

Dirty guitar, aggressive drumming, The Future’s coming, that’s how Tweak Bird’s second and self titled album welcomes you. Two very feminine voices will lead you through the coming 27 minutes and 16 seconds. Shock moment: when you google the very feminine voices you’ll find two very bearded men, one on guitar, one on drums. So again, we’re talking about a two-man-band here. And again, no lack of energy! Round Trippin’ is a 1:12 minutes shorty which may cause massive brain damage. It is followed by A Sun / Ahh Ahh , the album’s first single. This track pretty much sums up the sound of these two fellows: distorted rock’n’roll with a Red Indian touch, due to the singing, including a psychedelic and 70s touch. Did he write Red Indian? Yep! If I had to draw a picture about how this sounds, it would look like the CD’s cover.

Beyond increases the pace again and so we’re already half trough. The second half starts with two powerful but melodious tomahawks before Flyin’ High offers us the peace pipe, filled with dubious substances. The get-out dance is called Distant Airways, very dark, very dry, you’re alone in the desert again, have fun with the coyotes!

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V42dOH57kGc]
Recommendations: The Future, A Sun / Ahh Ahh, Beyond.

Slash-In-The-Box


As you for sure have noticed, Eric and me have a soft spot for all kind of different short movies. Yesterday, when I was talking to Eric about what reviewing next, I came to the conclusion to do one of my all-time favorites and well-known classic short flick (I won’t tell you which one I mean;)). Before I went to bed I checked all my mails, twitter and stuff just to see that writer and director Nick Everhart wrote me a direct promotion message. I have to say that my timeline was full of puff pieces for Slash-In-The-Boxes all over the day and that’s why I already have seen it. But it only was later that day, after the private message, when I decided to postpone my other review and to give this one a try.

The main reason behind my idea of doing a review is not the fact that Slash-In-The-Boxes is a horror movie but as I already wrote in another post, it’s my idea of supporting young directors and producers who love what they do and that’ s exactly what you can see and feel while watching this 5 min long flick. The most important and simultaneously the most difficult  thing about (horror) short movies is to draw the exact balanced line between building up an atmosphere with an interesting story and coming to the point as soon as possible while keeping the right moment of climaxing in mind. I’ll try not to spoiler  but I can assure you that this movie achieve all these, even though subjective, criteria.

Furthermore, kudos to Nick Everhart for the Baseball scene and the well elaborated and typical slasher camera move at the end of it. While talking about stuff I like and movie characteristics I have to say that the cast of Elizabeth Masucci was a really nice choice. Every man likes having a pretty girl in his horror movie. The role of a cute, blonde slasher flick girl wearing short pans is always nice to watch.

Enough ass-kissing now. There are also a few things which I didn’t like. The first murder scene doesn’t work for me and the fake blood could have been a bit more realistic. Why doesn’t it work? Of course this is a personal opinion again but I blame the vertical camera movement for it. I think that the duration of the scene is a bit too long and too constant.

Spoiler in the next paragraph

I really liked the ending but something bothers me. Maybe I just don’t get it (if so, please explain it to me in the comment box), but how is it possible that a head of an adult man all of a sudden fits into a small clown toy box thing? I don’ t get the shrinking of the head. For me, the scene would have worked much better if it was the box growing (and not the head shrinking).

The critics may sound like I don’t appreciate or like the movie, which isn’t true. All in all Nick Everhart did a great job and as a horror fan you should not miss this short.

Slash-In-The-Box from NICK EVERHART on Vimeo.

pictures are retrieved from the official website PopGoesTheEvil.com  and Vimeo



Staplerfahrer Klaus

Directed by: Stefan Prehn & Jörg Wagner

Produced by: Michael Sombetzki

Starring: Konstantin Graudus

It seems just like yesterday when I first saw this gem of a short movie at Luc’s place. I remember watching Forklift Driver Klaus 6 years ago and the impact it had on me, since I’m not the biggest gore afficionado; but this masterpiece was just right for me. But what is this movie about, after all?

This shortie is about Klaus’ first workday as a forklift driver where everything could possibly go wrong, from people falling off the forklift to amputations and a possessed motorsaw. The movie’s runtime is 9 minutes and just perfect for a no-brainer which parodies work safety films from the 80’s at its best.

Considering the budget of 90,000 € the effects are well made and the entertainment is at it’s highest possible value; so whenever you see this DVD for sale (which should cost no more than 5 bucks) grab this classic as fast as you can because it’s totally worth the money. The DVD features over 70 minutes of bonus material from interviews with the makers, storyboard and so on. Needless to mention that this movie earned a lot of awards among other the Canal+ International Award for Best Short Film in 2001.

Conclusion: LOVE LOVE LOVE

If you’re curious enough you can watch the whole movie on the video platform of your choice; yeah, you know what I’m talking about.

Save The Chapel


This is a very important issue for me. I just read on Cinemassacre’s homepage that the chapel from the classic zombie movie Night of the Living Dead (1968) is in danger. Gary Streiner, who lives in Evans City and was the sound engineer for the film, started a campaign (Save the Chapel) to save one of the last pieces of this horror classic.

He started a Facebook donation site and already gained 5000 dollars. 50.000 dollars are needed. He has one year to get all the money. If it is not raised by then, officials will tear the chapel down!

Even if you do not want or can’t donate, please spread the word!!!

Watch the movie legally and for free as it is a public domain film!

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_f2Enn8x5s]

Important Link (Video + Facebook link included)

Cinemassare

Le bagman – Profession: Meurtrier

Here comes another shorty. I have seen “Bagman” a few years ago and I came across it again today by pure accident.

I declare this Canadian flick, with a duration of 19 minutes, the best fun splatter amateur movie of all times. The story is the weakest aspect of the movie, but as so often in gory movies nobody cares about it because this is definitely much more fun than a profound story. Nevertheless I will do a brief summary: A girl wakes up in a hospital and tells a cop that she and her boyfriend were motivelessly attacked by a masked killer, who slew down the latter one. The girl succeeds in escaping but shortly after runs into a group of pseudo pimps. The Bagman insists on joining the party and the clash turns into one perfect freak show massacre. Guess who wins?! Bagman, the professional killer!

The actors are really, really bad and at first I had big difficulties to believe that this could work. In retrospect this is exactly why the movie is that damn funny. The actors know that they aren’t talented but they play with it and the bad acting is overdone on purpose. The directors completely concentrated on the splatter and gore effects and the Bagman dismembers people, detaches body parts, crushes heads and splashes in about blood and bowls while using all different kind of weapons. You can clearly see that movie and gore enthusiasts were at work here, and managed to do something completely funny and outstanding. Bagman has been made with a lot of love and sticks out the genre.

I have to say that this is one of the first times where I think that the German movie title fits better than the original. In Germany you buy the movie “Bagman – Operation Massenmord! and that’s exactly what the movie is about: A fucking Massenmord” but a damn hilarious one. Perfection!!

I have nothing more to declare. Just watch the movie and Happy Halloween.

Here is the full movie:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toXMdCazsnM]
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r62aNnXOmVw]

Buy this movie here and support independent art!



The Hunt

I always hated the fucking dog at DuckHunt on the NES. His gleeful and malicious laugh always made me wish I could jump into my television and beat the crap out of that sucker! But this short movie made me shit my pants in fear as it is a dark take on the NES classic. Ain’t you a sweet little doggie? A-goo-goo-goo … Gosh, I better run and hide…

This movie is courtesy of Rainfall Films so give these guys a shout-out and some credit.

Tame Impala – Innerspeaker


And now to something completely different: psychedelic rock.

This is about another of my favourite albums of 2010, which is already a lie, because I only discovered this band in 2011. It became my personal soundtrack of the summer, and the story behind this band is an exceptional one, considering the business that rules nowadays. Although the style and the sound of Tame Impala is everything but not suitable for mainstream listeners, they managed to be top of the Australian indie-charts with their first EP in 2008. This is a modern fairy tale regarding that there was almost no marketing machinery to contribute to this success. It would be like recording a few songs of your garage band with a semi-professional recorder and finish up by being played in the national radio all damn day.

Innerspeaker is their first full-length album. I must say, psych-rock never used to be one of my preferred genres. I guess this is mainly because it sometimes is kind of boring listening to endless and moony songs. Strangely this is not the case when listening to Tame Impale. Although the first song turns out to be just one of those musical smoked trees I just described, Desire Be Desire Go kills the cliché and reveals the true flair of this band, which the boys themselves described perfectly when defining their band as “a steady flowing psychedelic groove rock band that emphasizes dream-like melody.” For me, it is all about the psychedelic groove rock part that makes this work so adorable.

Lots of people compare them to the Beatles due to the front man’s voice. There is however one main difference: the songs on Innerspeaker actually have a climax (I like the Beatles nevertheless, don’t panic). Another point I’d like to highlight is the grooving bass play, whose interaction with the drums shape the soul of the songs. The blurred guitar play and the resounding vocals round it all over. Not to forget the electronic features, which appear from time to time.

Songs like Solitude is Bliss show how tranquil and talented these young guys already are, which, on the contrary, doesn’t mean that you can’t hear any passion to experimentalise anymore. Expectation starts as a light, fresh-faced track which grows into an epic giant when you expect it to be already over. The riff in The Bold Arrow Of Time could have been from Kyuss themselves. I Really Don’t Mind washes you away from this world with a sudden electronic blast before the drumming wakes you up again.

All in one this is an album which may cast a spell over you, or which you will not like at all. I think there is no third possibility.

Coming back to the cliché mentioned in the beginning: I actually was at a Tame Impala concert this summer, and yes, the location unfortunately was full of green smoke. However, what remained in mind far more stronger was their cover version of Massive Attack’s Angel. Lots of kudos for that one!

Recommendations: Desire Be Desire Go, Lucidity, Solitude Is Bliss.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxvf7gR4-2M]

The Binding Of Isaac

Platform: Windows & Mac OS X (Steam)

Developped by: Edmund McMillen & Florian Himsl

Published: 28 September 2011

Help little Isaac find a way to hide from his fundamentalist christian mom who wants to kill her son in order to proof her devotion to God. This indie RPGesque game leads you through a handful of levels in Isaac’s basement with a lot of ugly-faced enemies to kill, but beware! Despite the childlike graphics the game itself is pretty disgusting considering the cruel and scary hurdles little Isaac must overcome to survive and, YUCK, the bosses at each level end get scarier and more repulsive.

If the graphics look familiar to you, don’t be surprised. “The Binding of Isaac” is a side project of Team Meat’s (Super Meat Boy) Edmund McMillen who developped the game along with Florian Himsl. The soundtrack was composed by Danny Baranowski, who also contributed the O.S.T. in Super Meat Boy.

If you’re into heartless and gruesome game action mixed with simple gameplay and adorable graphics (oh the irony) this game is most definitely worth a try.

Available for 5,98 € on Steam and considering that indie developers do not solely live of love and tons of coffee, I summon all of you to support indie games as much as possible.

Lebanon

Written and directed by: Samuel Maoz

Starring: Yoav Donat, Itay Tiran and Oshri Cohen

Release date: 15th October 2009

“Man is steel. The tank is only iron.”

Little did I know about the First Lebanon War and after watching this movie, I don’t want to know much more about it because war is something disturbing that agitates me. After the latest happenings in Libya and the “murder” of Muammar Gaddafi, I felt the sudden urge to watch this movie; not because it’s got something to do with the libyan “revolution”, but I was saddened that once again the bad guy got killed before his trial could take place with Gaddafi having the possibility of revealing a few inconvenient truths and facts about our western countries, but that is not going to happen now.

What’s it got to do with “Lebanon”? Well, I center my thesis on the failure of diplomacy and democracy. When you kill a fascist leader before he has his trial to which he may explain his points of view that’s a throwback in diplomacy and democracy. Because one has to listen and accept (not tolerate) an “asshole’s” opinion, no matter if it corresponds to our ideals or not. And when you start a war against a neighbour country, like in the movie, that is a throwback as well in both aforementioned points.

Last but not least, how many men had to pay with their lives for something they stood for or not? In our society, we tend to only recognize facts or numbers and forget the cruelty and barbarity of a war. We’re successfully stunned by media coverage and are barely shocked when seeing pictures of a dead fascist leader soaked up in blood. We’ve all become comfortably numb and that’s why this movie matters to me and this is why I drew parallels to the libyan revolution and “Lebanon”.

“Lebanon” is the story of Israeli paratroopers and a lone tank invading southern Lebanon on 6 June 1982. The tank’s crew consists of Assi, Hertzel, Shmulik and Yigal who follow orders of their Commander Gamil to invade a small city and head towards a place they call Saint Tropez.

The whole mission turns into a disaster and the troop will land in some kind of ambush in an apparent dead end, with the tank being seriously damaged by a bazooka.

The whole action in the movie is centered on the insides of the tank with a few crosshair shots to the outside world. What you get to see, as a spectator, is the raw and perishing atmosphere of a war zone. You can smell the anxiety of each soldier and you suffer a lot throughout the whole movie, feeling more and more miserable with each bullet being shot and with every single blood drained body lying on the floor. One can almost feel the claustrophobia prevailing inside the tank, that is in a deplorable state after the bazooka strike and you don’t know if you should sympathize or pity the crew in it’s desperation with Assi getting insane by the end of the movie as the whole situation becomes more hopeless with each passing minute.

I was absolutely speechless after having watched “Lebanon” as it is a gut-wrenching and merciless experience. It reflects the cruelty and reality of war perfectly and gives the spectator the right insight into something he may have not experienced or imagined yet. For most of us we simply do not know what war is.

Sometimes we do care too little about what is happening around us, in some exotic countries we can barely spell. Perhaps we’re just trying to avoid some inconvenient truths as well? Let this movie open your eyes a little.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTvYM-hyFSk]