Forget it Jake, it's Zombietown.
So, the event went well. not super-well, but it was a shit load of fun. I sang a song with my good buddy Matt Roche. I will probably post some pictures and video from the event later next week. I make no promises that any of it will be very good. Time flew by so quickly, I could barely think, much less guage how things were going.
On the subject, as a funny reward, I guess, I bought a bunch of zombie films and video games the other day. Listening to the commentary of the remake of Dawn of the Dead is an exercise in frustration. There seems to be so little thought involved in the making of this movie. I saw it in its theatrical run and thought it was sort-of fun, sort-of dumb, and, overall, an angry-making experience.* Now I know why. There's lots of commentary in the vein of, "ooooh I like this shot," or "well in the unrated version we can show this scene." I realize this is a systemic problem with commentary tracks in general, but it seems more awful here than anywhere else. Perhaps it's because the commentary is as empty and vacuous as the movie itself.
Somebody, just hire Paul Verhoeven to do every single commentary track. He's the only one who seems to know what the fuck he's doing on those things. Fucking bullshit...
*On getting angry: I, for a while, was under the impression that horror films were supposed to be subversive in some way and not this slick, commodified, McDonalds-like product to sell tickets. But I later realized that, though some people have used horror to make truly subversive works, the genre is probably one of the most prone to crass commercial exploitation. DUH, right? And yet, seeing this happen in the horror film makes me more angry than anything because even if you want to make some sweet coin by making a horror movie, you can still aim for something much more interesting than just BOOGITYBOOGITY moments (as long as you include a fair amount of BOOGITYBOOGITIES). I'm also probably very angry because this remake of Dawn of the Dead made it clear to me: showing gore is no longer a political act.
On the subject, as a funny reward, I guess, I bought a bunch of zombie films and video games the other day. Listening to the commentary of the remake of Dawn of the Dead is an exercise in frustration. There seems to be so little thought involved in the making of this movie. I saw it in its theatrical run and thought it was sort-of fun, sort-of dumb, and, overall, an angry-making experience.* Now I know why. There's lots of commentary in the vein of, "ooooh I like this shot," or "well in the unrated version we can show this scene." I realize this is a systemic problem with commentary tracks in general, but it seems more awful here than anywhere else. Perhaps it's because the commentary is as empty and vacuous as the movie itself.
Somebody, just hire Paul Verhoeven to do every single commentary track. He's the only one who seems to know what the fuck he's doing on those things. Fucking bullshit...
*On getting angry: I, for a while, was under the impression that horror films were supposed to be subversive in some way and not this slick, commodified, McDonalds-like product to sell tickets. But I later realized that, though some people have used horror to make truly subversive works, the genre is probably one of the most prone to crass commercial exploitation. DUH, right? And yet, seeing this happen in the horror film makes me more angry than anything because even if you want to make some sweet coin by making a horror movie, you can still aim for something much more interesting than just BOOGITYBOOGITY moments (as long as you include a fair amount of BOOGITYBOOGITIES). I'm also probably very angry because this remake of Dawn of the Dead made it clear to me: showing gore is no longer a political act.
posted by DMW at 12:21 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home