Shottas

This is one of the coolest movies EVER! It is also the most bootlegged movie ever made. It was in bootleg circulation for years before it had it's official release. Not only is the making of this movie interesting, the bootleg history...it is a gorgeous looking movie with a strong emotional and violent narrative.

A few months ago we picked up a shitload of dvds. We do that every now and then when we see a movie store with a sale. I like to collect movies. It's really the only thing I collect anymore. I used to collect all kinds of things...decal glasses (I used to make Mister Anchovy pull over his car for garage sales...my collecting addiction was so strong).

Stagg and I both love action and gangster movies so we have quite a few of them. One of my favourite movies is an old Jamaican classic called Rockers and when I heard of Shottas I knew I had to get it because it sounded like it would be a good double bill with my old beloved movie Rockers. I am also a huge fan of Scarface by De Palma (I love the Howard Hawks one too). Actually, a lot of people might not know this...but long before rap culture picked up on Scarface the goth and punk scene was really into the movie. I often went to pals houses and not only would they have punk stuff, they often had a poster of Al Pacino's role as Scarface. I have owned two video versions and a dvd version...and worn them all out. Somewhere I have a commenorative box set of Scarface. Sometimes after a night of clubbing friends would come back to my place (I had to let the babysitter go home) and we would watch movies all night...a fave being Scarface.

Shottas is powerful and frightening. Jamaica and Miami are the setting and the movie stars one of Bob Marley's sons., Ky-Mani Marley and takes the title from Jamaican term for "gangstas". Two teen boys rob a soda pop truck in Jamaica, partly because they are tired of eating "sardine sandwiches" and they purchase visas with their booty and become major players in the underground scene in Miami crime. Marley is very strong in this role and I immedately was bonded with his character. All of these guys are monsters though, make no mistake, because they know it too.

The cast is awesome with a fellow Stagg and I really like. He played a similar role in the movie Belly and he is fantastic but I can't find anything much about him on the internet...(hhhmmm?) Wyclef Jean makes an appearance (from The Roots), and Spragga Benz and Paul Campbell are very good, with just enough melodrama to keep the movie rooted in it's "B" traditions. This genre of film has a rich history with soundtrack and the soundtrack here is dead on. Another endearing aspect of this genre of film is language. The patois, the jargon and vernacular is part of the joy of this film. But it is not for the squeamish: it is for "Blood Clots" only. There are moments of reall cool in the cinematography. I particularly liked two scenes. One in a mans' washroom in a night club. It is a shoot out done in slo-mo and it really grabbed me. The other is in the hot tub of Louie Rankin's gangster Miami crib backyard. The lighting is incredible and feels both monolithic and exploitive. The effect is brilliant. I am so glad we own this one and the extras really pull it all together. Even the history behind the movie seems to be a bit of a rags to riches story...and not fully revealed. And the good news? There is going to be a sequel.

SOUNDTRACK:

Damian Marley - Welcome to Jamrock
Barry Brown - Far East
Nitty Gritty - Trial and Sticks
Little John - In the ghetto
Bob Marley - Coming from the cold
Bounty Killer - Dead this time
Hawkeye - long Bad time
Spragga Benz & Lady Saw - Backshot
Damian Marley - Catch a Fire
Big Yard Allstars - Gangsta Story
Tonto Irie - It a ring
Ky-mani Marley - Fire
Junior Cat - Would A Let You Go
Pinchers - Bandelero
John Wayne - Call the police Me
Nicky Seizure - Quench the fire
Ky-mani Marley - I Believe
Ky-Enie - Rain
Inner Circle - Discipline child
Nicky Seizure - Revelation time
Ky-mani Marley - The March
Kenneth Milligan - Shottas

Word Searches That Found This Blog

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George Braque icon work
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the truth about the world, he said, is that anything is possible

Shoot Em Up: A Fairytale

I am so glad I own this dvd version because this film is so much fun to watch again and again. In the feild of Sin City and Kill Bill this is operatic violence and comedy. I adore all three of the main actors and their energy and skill works in the same manner that John Woo accomplishes with his actors amid mayhem. Monica Belluci is not only sexy and gorgeous she is funny and is the soul of the story. In a movie where there are not only more bullets, but more guns, than words...we need her centered mothering hooker. When I saw Croupier (if you're going to Vegas, click on yellow text) I said to myself, self, you will attend every movie this man makes in the future. And I have. How wonderful is Clive Owen? He is one of the coolest action stars and draws a viewer in, no matter and especially despite how over-the-top a premise might be.

Paul Giamatti could hardly have just played HOB's John Adams, really? Because here he is far from ethical...he revs us up with his intelligence and wit. He's a hoot as a pudgy-Everready-bunny-villian with the best of them. Although this movie is out to break convention, and it does, partly by casting Giamatti as the bad guy, it still has to give us enough real hard core classic action to compete with it's predecessors/peers ( GODS=John Woo, Noriyuki Abe, Shunichi Nagasaki, Hideo Nakata, Sam Pekinpah, Sergio Leone, John McTieran, Richard Donner, Yimou Zang, Tony Scott)...and does it ever. There were so many action sequences in this film that really were sucessful. My very favourite though was Owen grabbing a rope and falling down a spiral staircase killing off dozens of henchmen. Very cool.

The love story, the baby, the settings were all worth getting this dvd for home and more. It's obvious the director, Michael Davis ( 100 Girls, Monster Man) spent a lot of time working out details of the baby within the action. Having the abandoned baby as part of the conflict was clever enough, but having it tied to Owens back throughout some of the most violent action gave the audience a whole new way to have face time during such action. Really well thought out.


And what good is an awesome headbanging fairytale with out a massive soundtrack? ...again another genre, like the gansta film,(Shottas) that showcases music in a fun adrenaline serving POW!

SOUNDTRACK: (scored by Paul Haslinger)

Switch On, Paul Oakenfeild
Ace of Spades, Motorhead
Landscape, J Marr
Patient Eye, Midnight Moives
Little Landmine, DJ SWamp
Money, Jesca Hoop
Play With Your Pussy, Max Romeo
Think Fast, All Too MUch
Coral Den, Midnight Movies
Killer In The Rain, DJ Swamp
Black Bubblegum, The Dillinger Escape Plan
Zen, Strapping Young Lad

Cut. Super. Mindblowing.

Bloody cast members of the excellent Shot In Bombay. I watched this one afternoon with some snacks and tucked into blankets. It was so much fun and I fell in love with many of the cast and crew in this documentary. I knew nothing about the history of the film they were making or the flamboyant star, who was often hours late for his scenes. Sunjay Dutt is a popular Indian movie star who was also charged with weapons violations and the documentary follows his legal case (spanning over 15 years, or more!) and the movie Shootout At Lokhandwala a crime action film directed by Apoorva Lakhia. Directed by Liz Mermin about the making of Shootout At Lokhandwala which is based upon the real-life gunbattle between gangsters and Mumbai Police. Mermin was asked to make the documentary because the Indian film industry has often been misrepresented by Western media...or at least many Indian film makers felt it has been in the past. I am definately going to check for more of Mermin's docs as she really did an awesome job on this one. For two hours, I was hooked.

Remember "shottas" is Jamaican term for ganstas? Well "goondas" is Indian term for gangstas.

I loved Apoorva Lakia as he was directing, he would often yell out when a scene was to his liking "Cut. Super. Mindblowing." It was great...I've walked around lately saying just those words...when I buy groceries etc. At one point he says "Cut. Blasting. It blasts the mind." He is a young hip seeming guy and I can't wait to see his newest movie Mission Istaanbul.

The doc engages many of the crew and some of the interviews are pretty cool. One actor says...

"This is Indian cinema.
You don't go for logical.
You go for emotions."

Beautiful!

I also enjoyed watching the actor, Vivek Oberoi, primp and talk about his character the gangster, Maya. He is super charismatic and he is going to be in Mission Istaanbul so I am looking forward to seeing more of his work. He's got a real vibe I like, and he's easy on the eyes!

Documentary directed by Liz Mermin about the making of Shootout At Lokhandwala which is based upon the real-life gunbattle between gangsters and Mumbai Police. Mermin was asked to make the documentary because the Indian film industry has often been misrepresented by Western media...or at least many Indian film makers felt it has been in the past.

I really like this clip because it captures in a minute or so exactly the technical things I enjoyed in this documentary. I liked some of the technical workings and I lied the two guys talking at the end on how to deliver lines. See, how they throw one character on the bookshelves, then go back, saw the shelves in the middle. Film him being thrown again. Really fun stuff!

Related Links:

Official site for Shootout At Lokhandwala.
Very good review and general background.

The Best Movies of The Decade

I should probably wait until after the Festivus movie releases...I mean Avatar and Red Cliff and Sherlock Holmeslook incredible. (if they are...I'll add them to the list) But I'm too excited to start work on this list. The following are movies that I believe are very very good especially and despite their genre. (does that make sense as a qualifier heh heh)

It's not like I've seen every movie made this decade...but I watch more movies than your average bear. I watch a shitload of movies. I love all genres of film and find valuable lessons, scenes and characters even in the lowliest of movies. All of the movies in this list are "high end" movies though. I haven't listed anything that sucks. But you may disagree...isn't that fun?! I also think that all of the movies on my list locked horns with the history of filmmaking on some level. I believe all of them have in common an accomplishment of using the narrative opportunties in filmmaking sometimes in innovative ways as well as exploring characters. Plus they are all damn entertaining or compelling emotionally which is probably the most important quality in movie making.

This decade of the 00's had a tough act to follow. Not only did the 1990's produce some amazing movies...the year 1999 had some of the best movies period. And about ten of those outstanding movies of 1999 all dealt with the nature of reality...which boosted their stature in my opinion.

:)

I'm not putting these movies in a hard order of preference I simply wrote a list as movies came to my mind. I also may have forgotten some movies that blew me away and I will add them accordingly...in fact if you think I've missed one please add it in the comments and why you believe it should be on my list and I will take your views very seriously. I'll take your objections to my list very seriously too...so here goes...

Basically, I feel these are all movies both excellent and worth your time to sit, let go of your ego and watch...


:)

Eastern Promises
Mulholland Dr.
Little Miss Sunshine
Hotel Rwanda
Last King of Scotland
Grizzly Man
Donnie Darko
I'm Not There
Inland Empire
Wall-E
Up
Dogville
A History of Violence
Casino Royale
Doubt
Shottas
Mesrine
No Country For Old Men
American Gangster
Borat
Irreversable
The Departed
Somethings Gotta Give
High Fidelity
Kill Bill Vol.1 and 2
Inglorious Basterds
Michael Clayton
Cache
The Descent
Waltz With Bashir
Sin City
American Psycho
Shawn Of The Dead
Brokeback Mountain
Let The Right One In
The Bourne Identity
Amelie
The New World
Apocalypto
Wendy and Lucy
Unbreakable
Cast Away
Cloverfeild
Star Trek
28 Days Later
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
The Life Aquatic
The Royal Tenebaums
The Dark Knight
Badder Santa
There Will Be Blood
City Of God
Zodiac
The Lives of Others
Ghost Dog
Pan's Labyrinth
Oh Brother Where Art Thou
Almost Famous
Slumdog Millionaire
Elephant
Memento
Lost In Translation
Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind
Adaptation
Farenheit 9/11
Battle Royale
Bowling For Columbine
Gladiator
Crash
Gangs Of New York
Master and Commander
Frost/Nixon
Children Of Men
Before Night Falls
Iron Man
The Wrestler
Syrianna

And just for fun...I'd like to add a category of "best double bill". The Passion of The Christ and The Da Vinci Code.

:)

Only The Middle Classes Will Find Working Class Story "Grim"

We've had an an interesting few years for movies that deal with poverty as a conflict. In some ways Fish Tank is a dance movie, but terribly unlike Fame, Save The Last Dance or Footloose. Fish Tank has more in common with Wendy and Lucy and Frozen River where the effects of contemporary economics plays out for females. Some of the most powerful films about poverty are the gangster rap movies made in the last twenty years...but there is also a quieter string of movies studying the characters who live in the margins of our wealthy lands. In some ways these films are excellent metaphors for independent film making and perhaps that has something to do with the independent original writer/directors making these movies. We could add Slumdog Millionaire, Gran Torino, Jamacain movies Life and Debt and Shottas as other examples of narratives studying environment and struggle. The film makers are pushing against a corporate capitalistic energy much like the main characters in their films. These films might seem like they fit into a box once called "social realism" but what a film maker like Arnold is doing is more like a genre-busting of the idea of working class motifs being used for a political agenda. No, these films have in common a respect for the emotional life of the characters stifled or contested by a bigger force than political idealism can legislate. I was impressed when I read a recent interview with writer/director Andrea Arnold (Red Road, Fish Tank) who points out an economic class system in the film industry...

Andrea Arnold sets her teacup back on it's saucer and flicks her eyes around the heavy paneling and drapery of London's Covent Garden Hotel, where she is holed up all afternoon giving interviews. "The thing about the film industry is that it's incredibly middle class, isn't it?" she says, "All the people who look at it and study it and talk about it-write about it-are middle-class, so they always see films about the working class as being grim, because the people in the film don't have what they have. I very much get the feeling that I'm seeing a different place. People at Cannes kept asking me about grim estates and I though, ugh, I don't mean that. I tried not to mean that."

The Essex estate in question is the setting for her new film Fish Tank and-depending on how your sliding scale of poverty is calibrated-it's not so bad, really. Certainly it's paradise compared to the looming los-res menace of the Glasgow tower block in Arnold's feature debut Red Road (2006), where the tectonic plates of death, sex and revenge crunched together with such riveting inevitability. Fish Tank the story of a troubled girl struggling to relate to her own physicality, builds up some fairly seismic emotional pressure too, but it's not so much the fault of the shabby, banal setting as of the cultural and emotional limitations of modern life. From, Sight & Sound Magazine.


Still from the MUST SEE movie Wendy and Lucy. You know I mean it when I start shouting in my posts :)

I'll tell ya what I'd like to see. I'd like to see Katie Jarvis perform on the hit tv show So You Think You Can Dance with a trailer for the movie. The elimination episode every week features all kinds of guest dancers and singers. I think wedding the idea of a character like this with a dance show that has accomplished bringing the art of the body back to the mainstream...would be a profound opportunity to showcase this story to young people.


Related Links:

1) Review in The Independant
2) The Guardian
3) Renewed interest in Keynsian economics?
4) Excerpt from movie...
5) Wendy and Lucy review.

Word Search Poem...

Word searches from site meters...make great found poems...here are some recent word searches from this site compiled:

i dreamt and thought life was beauty i woke to find that
song from Michael Douglas movies
Sid Robbins undecided notes
alex eames can recite all 62 new york counties in alphabetical order
luciano berio. blogspot
goth ethic diversity
50 greatest bands
when black intellectuals strike
porn actress xxx pirates style
green mechanisms ammons
male supermodel list
slowpoke candy
critical essays on slaughter house five
somagh spice
marin chilmole
ray charles sunglasses
transcendental art
trent reznor interview 2009
blood meridian epiloque
wired II/2006 "the church of non believers"
famous columbo villians
edward hoppper girlie show
shottas dictionary archive
michale jackson a beautiful world of candy
Had dreams...two of em. Both had my father in them
the process of making orgegano candy
no one leaves minx download
INLAND EMPIRE SLUTS
Peter Formby
highbrow and lowbrow humor in literature
kiss 1 ed paschke
josh holloway emmys
nostic animals
been my slut in the bedroom
ed paschke
google brian kipping
largest con ever
"the gossip" "music for men" site blogspot.com 2009
making of "the life of buddha" bbc
world surprise thing
laughing toy marmot
fuck the world paperback
spindle making
pimp chalice
George Braque icon work
when did the word gaudy change from celebration to tacky
steve warbasse
Quench the fire-Nicky Seizure
stuck on you credits ending
warhol elvis self portrait "chicago institute of art"
farm porn xx8
farmer porn
big blonde and beautiful
the truth about the world, he said, is that anything is possible