How about some old school sci-fi? Last man on Earth is based on the Richard Matheson science fiction classic “I am Legend”. It was later remade as “The Omega Man” with Charlton Heston.

The summer of Sci-Fi is still going strong…

Blindness (2008):

This film takes “an eye for an eye will make the whole world blind” to the extreme!  Fernando Meirelles’ Blindness is about the unraveling of a society plagued with an unexplained epidemic of blindness. I’m such a sucker for dystopian science fiction, and this film really impressed me. Gritty, disturbing, provoking, and overall kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. In a time where visual culture bombards our every waking minute, I found this film especially poignant. Of course it seems like I always find out that behind a great film is a great book, so now I really want to check out the 1995 Portuguese novel by Josè Saramago that inspired the film. If you’re a fan of Children of Men (and who isn’t!?) then I highly recommend this film.

Event Horizon (1997):

Paul W. S. Anderson’s Event Horizon is a British sci-fi horror film about a crew of astronauts’ journey to recover a spaceship that mysteriously disappeared for 7 years.  Although the effects are a little dated, I really enjoyed this film and picked up on the horror and science fiction references right away (The Haunting, The Shining, Alien, 2001, etc…).  Since I’m a huge horror and haunted house fan, I loved the idea of a haunted ship, which was even equipped with a creepy naked dead lady in a bath tub and a tidal wave of blood.  Laurence Fishburne is such a badass in this movie! “Fuck this ship!” and the New Zealand dude from Jurassic Park makes an incredibly creepy villain! Overall I loved this film and if you’re looking for a new guilty pleasure, then this is the film for you.

X-23: Innocence Lost (2005):

I bought a few issues of NYX back in 2003, but between switching teams in the middle and collectors making it hard to find and super expensive, I never got the chance to read the first appearance of X-23. I always thought see looked like a badass so I decided to check out her origin story, collected as X-23: Innocence Lost by Craig Kyle, Christopher Yost, and Billy Tan. To my surprise, I found out this story made for me! Part WE-3, part Gunslinger Girls this story is super sweet with its combination of government super weapons and young girl assassins. I’ve always had a love/hate relationship with Wolverine.. I love adamantium skeletons and he’s pretty hardcore, but I also get sick of him being thrown on every X-men team ever and I enjoy reading comics where he gets shot in the crotch. So I think the invention of a girl Wolverine is ingenious and she’s pretty much my new favorite X-Men character.

For more X-23 check out her very first appearance in X-Men: Evolution on hulu: http://www.hulu.com/watch/84367/x-men-evolution-x23#x-0,vepisode,1

The Omega Man (1971):

Boris Sagal’s The Omega Man, is very loosely based on Richard Matheson’s novel I Am Legend, and is the second film adaptation, after Vincent Price’s The Last Man on Earth.  I think this film started out really well. I loved the opening scene of Charlton Heston speeding around in a hot car (similar to the opening of the Will Smith I Am Legend film) and style and tone seemed pretty dead on. Where this film lost me was with the portrayal of the vampire/zombie plague victims.  When the film stuck to the original story there are some really amazing moments, but when it starts to deviate it just turns into lameville.  Because I’m such a huge Richard Matheson fan, I won’t really be pleased with any film adaptation, and it seems like The Omega Man could’ve been really sweet film, but in the end, I prefer The Last Man on Earth over this.

For more sci-fi reviews, check out my previous posts: Summer of Sci-Fi Part 1, Summer of Sci-Fi Part 2

It’s been a great summer for sci-fi and I think I’ll be able to squeeze in one more round of reviews before classes start. I’m pretty new to the Sci-Fi genre, so if you have any recommendations, please send them my way.

The Robot reviews the terrible movie “Doomsday” which was recently released on Blu-Ray

I will admit that during my exploration of the human animal, I have found myself on rare occasions feeling regret at the demise of what more liberal minded robots call the “Creator Species.”  Then I process a “film” the likes of Doomsday and this regret evaporates. Read more of review here

Omega Man: follows the last man on earth as he fends off a bunch of afro’d albino druids whilst trying to find a cure for their condition. You can watch it as a simple horror film, but there’s  more to it that meets the eye, with the most obvious theme being the cold war: ‘the family’ vs 1 man with his gadgets, cars and fancy trickery. There’s also messages about race, morality, Christianity and the biological warfare in there too if you scratch below the film’s surface. Fitting with his embodiment of the USA (and NRA figurehead) Heston is heavily armed throughout, as well as being ever-topless despite not being too buff. All-in, the acting, storyline, music and characters are all so surreal and camp that it’s hard to feel any horror / terror, although in the context of when it was made it would have definitely played on the contemporary fears. It’s watchable but really, really cheesy.

Score: 6/10

This is purely a test run to show that I can review 8 films in 7 nights as my bearded friend Mike doubts me for some strange reason. I’ll be posting a new review each night starting from tomorrow which will be the 24th of August. It probably won’t be posted till the evening unless my usual schedule is at all changed.

The movies that have been picked for me completely at random by Mike are as follows:

1. The Omega Man. The 1971 film staring Charlton Heston.

2. Elephant. Gus Van Sant’s 2003 film about the Columbine School shootings.

3. Eagle Vs Shark. The 2007 film staring Jermaine Clement, one half of Flight Of The Conchords.

4. Rounders.  1998 film staring Matt Damon and Edward Norton.

5. Irreversible. The highly controversial 2002 film staring Monica Bellucci and Vincent Cassel.

6. Casablanca. The 1942 classic war torn romance movie.

7. Ocean’s Eleven and Ocean’s Twelve.

There you go. My list of 8 movies for 7 nights.  To make it very clear I haven’t seen any of these films before, apart from Ocean’s Eleven and that was a few years ago. I’m not exactly ecstatic about the choice he’s made, but at least he didn’t choose Once Upon A Time In America for me to be subjected to.

As this is a test run I’d like some feedback from people who read this. If my reviews go down spiffingly then I’ll continue, but with a slight difference, I’ll take requests. Anything that you want me to watch I’ll do it, purely because I feel I haven’t been punished enough in my life. So let’s see how Week One goes and I’ll decide what to do after that.

Right then, look out for my review of  The Omega Man tomorrow.

Spankyventura.

The Omega Man börjar med att vi får se en Charlton Heston som glider fram längs med Los Angeles gator. Vi inser snabbt att gatorna är öde, att rent utav hela staden är öde.

Om inte det är ett suggestivt intro vet jag inte vad som är.

Mannen Heston spelar heter Robert Neville och är den sista människan vid liv. På grund av ett hemmagjort vaccin klarar han sig när hela mänskligheten raderas ut efter ett världskrig som gått för långt. Änn finns det människor, men de är kraftigt förvandlade, klarar inte starkt ljus och påminner inte mycket om sitt forna jag. De ser Neville som en symbol för den gamla typen av människa, som låg bakom hela katastrofen och tycker det är bäst om han raderas bort.

Så Neville får alltså fullt upp när alla dessa zombie-liknande varelser ger sig efter honom. Självklart bygger The Omega Man på samma förlaga som I Am Legend, därav den snarlika handlingen. Här är det dock ingen Will Smith med hund, utan bara supertuffe Charlton Heston vi har att sympatisera med.

Han grymtar, pratar med sig själv och ser allmänt bister ut – precis som Heston alltid gör. Eftersom han är i bild nästintill hela filmen krävs det att han använder sin karisma, för annars blir det givetvis rätt tråkigt. Han gör det dock bra här och jag tycker han lyckas vinna över tittarens sympatier.

Överlag är The Omega Man en trevlig film, med det skrämmande budskapet att människan är destruktiv av ren natur. Med hjälp av bra scener, där det folktomma Los Angeles framför allt framhävs av ständiga utzoomningar som verkligen visar hur ensam Heston faktiskt är, skapas en tät stämning.

Dock är många effekter lite halvdana, vilket jag dock finner ganska charmigt. Tillsammans med ett väldigt skönt soundtrack som gungar fram så fort det vankas action blir charmfaktorn total. En del oförståeliga händelser drar dock ner betyget, samt att de elaka blekfisarna varken känns speciellt hemska eller farliga.

En annan rolig grej är att Heston alltid ser till att vara rätt klädd. Oavsett vad han ska göra har han alltid sett till att byta om till passande kläder. Man kan ju tycka att han som ensam kvarleva kanske har annat att tänka på, men tydligen inte.

Det är charmen The Omega Man lever på. Är man sugen på en post-katastrofrulle från 70-talet med Charlton Heston i huvudrollen, då är The Omega Man vad man vill ha.

Betyg: Tre nöjda pladd

Jim Lowe – Times Argus Staff

   Science fiction has long attracted hordes of movie-goers, perhaps because it predicts the future.
   “People are interested in the future and what it holds,” explained Eric Reynolds, creator of the Savoy Theater’s Sci-Fi July film festival, now in its third year. “I’m fascinated by the future. I would love to see what the earth looks like in 500 years – if human beings are still around – and I enjoy a good action-adventure story, which a lot of science fiction has.”
   This year, Sci-Fi July will present nine science fiction films at the Montpelier art film theater, from the classic 1956 “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” to the 1986 thriller “Aliens.”
   “There are different kinds of science fiction,” Reynolds said. “There are very positive and negative science fiction stories. This summer, for instance, there are two vastly different science fiction films that have already come out, ‘Star Trek’ and ‘Terminator Salvation’ – they’re very different futures.”
   One of the attractions is certainly the technology.
   “Everything we do is centered around technology – the computers and the Internet,” Reynolds said. “I think we’re making our way to what science fiction has shown us already.”
   Science fiction has also helped mold the technology, particularly the original 1966 “Star Trek.”
   “Even scientists use that as a guide for technologies that they’d like to see,” Reynolds said. “I think we have those – the cell phone looks very much like the communicator from the original ‘Star Trek.’”
   Sci-fi also predicted the personal computer, among other things.
   “All sorts of things have grown out of what people imagine,” Reynolds said. “Science fiction more and more is becoming science reality.”
   Several of this year’s films were on Reynolds’ list from the beginning, but there wasn’t space to schedule them.
   “Films like ‘Close Encounters’ and ‘Brazil’ were on the list the very first year, but I just didn’t have room to show them,” he said. “They’re great films – ‘Close Encounters’ is a favorite of mine.”
   In Steven Spielberg’s 1977 Oscar-winner, “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” follows a line worker who, after a encounter with UFOs, is drawn to an isolated area in the wilderness where something spectacular is about to happen. In a very different vein, Terry Gilliam’s 1985 cult classic, “Brazil” pillories government bureaucracy with a tale of an unimportant civil servant drawn into the world of terrorists over a young woman he dreams of.
   Last year, “Barbarella,” Roger Vadim’s 1985 erotic sci-fi spoof starring Jane Fonda, was the most attended film the festival. Hence, “Logan’s Run” and “Flash Gordon,” in the same vein. An Academy Award winner for visual effects, Michael Anderson’s 1976 “Logan’s Run” chronicles a future society which maintains its equilibrium by killing anyone who reaches the age of 30. Mike Hodges’ campy 1980 “Flash Gordon” is based on the macho comic book super-hero of the same name.
   “I would love to have some classic films in there, so ‘Invasion of the Body Snatchers’ and “Dr. Strangelove’ certainly fit that bill,” Reynolds said. “They both happen to be about the Cold War. They’re sort of from the same era, showing different aspects of that.”
   In Don Siegel’s 1956 “Invasion of the Body Snatchers,” which was subjected to several remakes, a community finds that its citizens are being replaced by emotionless alien duplicates. “Dr. Stranglelove,” Stanley Kubrick’s black comedy starring Peter Sellars and George C. Scott, satirizes the nuclear scare.
   Another that Reynolds has wanted to present from the beginning is “Planet of the Apes,” Franklin Schaffner’s 1968 film based on the novel by Pierre Boulle in which apes rule and humans are subservient.
   “I actually read the book a couple of years ago,” Reynolds said. “I thought it was a great book. It’s very different from both movie versions.”
   Charlton Heston. starred, as he did in a number of sci-fi films, including “The Omega Man” (1971) and “Soylent Green” (1973).
   Sci-Fi July has been attracting a small but dedicated audience since its inception, one that is growing.
   “The same people who come again and again – but that group is slowly getting larger and larger,” Reynolds said. “It seems to be mainly younger people, people in their 20s and early 30s.”
   But, that is changing. After complaints about the original 11 p.m. screenings being too late for some “older” people, Reynolds added matinees.
   “And we got a much wider range of people,” he said. “I think it’s people who like seeing classic or even campy films, and films that they have heard of but not on a large screen. They love the fact that we’re still doing it.”

Filminho safado é o termo mais apropriado para descrever esse filme picareta.
Baseado no livro “Eu Sou a Lenda”, de Richard Matheson, tem no seu nome original “I am Omega” a mistura de duas outras adaptações do livro, “I am Legend” com Will Smith de 2007 e o clássico “The Omega Man” com Charlton Heston de 1971.
Mas a semelhança com esses filmes, fica no nome e no clima apocalíptico, pois ao contrário dos clássicos, incluindo aqui Mortos que Matam (The Last Man On Earth) o filme não tem um bom roteiro. Na verdade o roteiro parece ser feito nas coxas. Um virus se espalhou pela terra, transformando todos os seres humanos em zumbis(?), que correm, pulam, fazem acrobacias, mas quando atacam alguem, ficam apenas parados esperando para tomar porrada. Mark Decascos é o protagonista, que interpreta Renchard, que se entende que seja um ex-militar faixa preta em artes marciais. Ele vive em uma casa nos arredores de uma grande cidade, matando zumbis e espalhando bombas na cidade (sem ao menos chegar perto dela).
Mas logo após fazer contato com uma mulher que esta presa na cidade, ele é convencido por dois outros ex-soldados a ir resgatar a tal mulher que se diz ser a portadora da cura para a doença. Um ponto “alto” do roteiro, é a forma como eles o convencem, explodindo sua casa.

O baixo orçamento do filme se vê na maquiagem precária dos zumbis, na falta de iluminação, nos cenários improvisados, onde mal vemos a cidade. A capa do DVD é uma enganação, onde se encontra a foto do Renchard em cima de um carro cercado de Zumbis, enquanto isso no filme não chega a acontecer nada parecido com isso.
Se não há outro filme no micro, na locadora, ou passando na televisão para se ver, eu recomendo literalmente perder 1:30 com esse filme, mas na realidade, ele não vale o tempo que “perdi” escrevendo esse review.

De flesta av oss har säkert sett den senaste filmatiseringen av Richard Mathesons bok I am legend. Den från 2007 med Will Smith i huvudrollen. Men visste ni att boken filmatiserats två gånger tidigare? Med två olika giganter i huvudrollerna; Vincent Price i den ena och Charlton Heston i den andra. Om ni nu inte visste detta, så kanske ni kan ta glädje av det här inlägget som kommer ta upp de tre olika filmatiseringarna.

The Last man on Earth (1964) var den första filmatiseringen baserad på Mathesons bok. I den spelar Vincent Price huvudrollen som Dr. Robert Morgan. Matheson skrev faktiskt originalmanuset till den här filmen, men efter att man valt att skriva om den så ville han inte stå med i creditsen. Istället står han med under pseudonymen Logan Swanson. Kanske ett första tecken på att filmen inte är så bra?

Men riktigt så illa är det inte. Den här filmen har en relativt kuslig stämning men är samtidigt ganska komisk. Bovarna i den här filmen är människor som förvandlats till vampyrer. De syns inte i speglar, tål inte vitlök eller solljus och dödas genom att man sätter en påle i hjärtat på dem. Ungefär vad Robert gör dagligen medans han försöker lista ut orsaken till smittan. För att vara en så pass gammal film lyckas den ändå leverera ett mörker som är långt före många andra filmer från den här eran. Det var även den här filmen som influerade George A. Romero att göra Night of the living Dead (1968).
Är man intresserad av att se den så kan man göra det här online.

Den andra filmatiseringen av boken heter The Omega Man (1971) och i den ser vi Charlton Heston som Robert Neville, den enda “normala” människan. Alla andra människor har blivit deformerade efter ett världskrig med biologiska vapen. Men eftersom Robert innan gjort en massa experiment med vaccin så klarar han sig. Men nu är de deformerade människorna ute efter honom, eftersom han är en forskare och påminner dem om den gamla världen. Det här är en film som är mer tempofylld än föregångaren, men detta innebär absolut inte att den är bättre – tvärtom. Sen är det så otroligt kul att se “mutanterna” springa runt i kåpor och solglasögon. Som äkta badguys!

I det senaste alstret, I am Legend (2007) ser vi Will Smith i rollen som Robert Neville. Den här filmen tycker jag är otroligt bra… fram tills de sjukt dåligt gjorda zombievampyrerna dyker upp. Då förs genast tankarna till filmen Langoljärerna. Kommer ni ihåg den? Filmen som är sjukt bra för att sedan förstöras av uselt gjorda datoranimerade hårspännen med motorsågsmunnar. I I am legend drar det här fenomenet ner en annars fantastiskt bra film. Men vi biter ihop och håller god min. Det är en okej film iaf.

No, no soy la alegría de la huerta. Puede parecer lo contrario, pero no lo soy. Dicen que soy bastante oscuro por dentro si miras detrás de esta careta. A mí no me cabe duda de que eso es cierto. He entrenado mucho para lograr disimular el mayor de los desprecios con la mayor de las sonrisas Licor del Polo en la boca. Y no, definitivamente no, no soy nada optimista. Ayer me tumbé debajo de un plátano de sombra después de arrastrar mi yeso durante un interminable kilómetro, uno de esos kilómetros de cuestas arriba y cuestas abajo que contiene esta infecta ciudad de subes y bajas. Allí, aplastado, me puse a pensar en lo maravillosa que sería para mí esta urbe si cayese desde ese cielo azul con boina grisácea una bomba de neutrones y yo fuese el único superviviente, al estilo de la repugnante película setentera “The Omega man” protagonizada por mr. Heston. A lo lejos veía que, sobre la ventana de un ático construido sobre un caro solar del Paseo de la Dirección, colgaba un cartel de se vende. Otro de tantos. Las vistas desde semejante piso deben ser increíbles, con la sierra aun nevada en mayo al fondo; pero los ruidos del túnel de Marques de Viana y de las bachatas a todo trapo de los ecuatorianos, que pueblan el parque Rodríguez Sahagún los domingos por la tarde con iguales modales que los gaboni los aledaños del monte Mutia, es muy posible que hagan poco habitable semejante paraíso de ladrillo terrenal. Las gentes que pueblan esta ciudad son como esa canción de la Velvet que me encanta y me enerva a partes iguales, “Sugar Ray”, sucia y gris, sentida y machacona, ronca acompañante para noches tristes, pero que escuchada largo rato, al estilo mantra tibetano, provoca el odio más nauseabundo hacia el género humano así como la más profunda de las depresiones. Las canciones de esa época compuestas por los ínclitos Reed y Cale son retazos podridos de animal de ciudad, son tripas a merced de los carroñeros. Los anfibios de urbe corren de un lado a otro boqueando, retorciendo sus branquias atrofiadas y comiéndose crudos los unos a los otros. Viajan desde sus casas a otras casas, desde esas porquerizas por inercia a otros lugares, en un movimiento caótico, absurdo e infinito, que dura años, hasta que en última instancia se arrastran hasta los tanatorios, que son como El Corte Inglés pero con ataúdes, con mucha gente, unos de cuerpo presente y otros menguante, unos guardando silencio y los otros hablando de fútbol u otras lindezas, unos haciendo que ríen, otros haciendo que lloran y los más sin saber qué carajo es lo que están haciendo allí. Sí, soy bastante oscuro, por dentro, y por fuera suelo llevar camisetas negras. Sí, engaño mucho a simple vista. Es cierto, la mayoría de vosotros no me gustáis un pelo. Cuestión de gustos, sobre ese cantar no hay nada escrito, en realidad no hay nada escrito sobre nada.

Hoy me he vuelto a tumbar bajo el mismo árbol. Algunas palomas torcaces han amenazado con cagarse encima de mí, y sus guanos son de un tamaño tal que podrían ahogar a cualquiera. Mi cuerpo y mis manos están doloridos a causa del noble arte de desgastar aceras con muletas. Si hay una cosa de la que te hace darte cuenta el no poder caminar es de lo sólo que en realidad estás en este planeta. Vienes del vacío sólo, caminas sólo, palmas sólo; es irremediable, ineludible, incuestionable. Existen multitud de momentos en esta asquerosa existencia en los que sólo te quedan tus huevos y tu tele. Durante esos interminables instantes hay que apretar los glúteos y tumbarse en posición fetal a admirar lo más absurdo dentro del absurdo. La vida pierde la poca credibilidad que parece poseer cuando te paras a mirarla a cámara lenta. Me ha gustado mucho cómo la niña vampiro Elli destripa a sus alimenticias víctimas en la genial, gélida e innegablemente sueca película “Déjame entrar”. Días después de haberla visionado van y me dicen que en el libro en el que se basa el film la adorable cría, a la que invoco cada noche para que venga a rescatarme, no es más que un niño capado hace doscientos años. Deberían haberse ahorrado esa trama gayer dentro de la fantástica historia, he sufrido una gran y heterosexual desilusión por su causa. Hablando del tema gaylor, he de añadir que la ballena Almodóvar ha perpetrado otro de los zurullos a los que nos tiene acostumbrados en los últimos dos lustros. Hay que ser muy ruin para ensuciar la carrera de Lluis Homar obligándolo a participar en semejante mamotreto, “Los abrazos rotos”.  Si cualquier otro director de eso llamado cine incluyera una enseñada de tetas gratuíta, cómo lo hace en este caso Pedrito con la insufrible Kira Miró, los críticos se le echarían al cuello de forma automática. Con este personaje pasado de rosca se defiende ya lo indefendible. En cuanto a infamia ronda ya el nivel de Teddy Bautista, pero su caso es mucho más grave, ya que hubo una época en la que Almodóvar atesoraba un enorme talento. El presidente de la SGAE siempre moldeó mierda. No haré demagogia sobre la asociación de chorizos que financia, en teoría, al gremio de creadores y autores. Lo que sí es cierto es que hay que ser muy hijo de puta para cobrar royalties en conciertos benéficos, pero hijo de puta con todas las letras; con perdón incluido, eso sí, para las putas, y un saludo a las de la Casa de Campo, que hace ya casi dos meses que no las veo.

La SGAE se labra a pulso el perfil de ser el demonio personificado, la bicha, el trono de Belcebú. Estoy seguro de que si en las Españas hubiese un levantamiento popular al estilo argentino, o de que si los talibanes consiguiesen sitiar y tomar el país, a quien primero se capturaría y colgaría cabeza abajo de alguna farola sería a Ramoncín. Los partisanos defensores del Emule lo agarrarían de las pelotas y lo conducirían a cualquier paredón al uso. Pronto prohibirán las descargas gratuítas los autores talibanes. Sus primos, los barbudos mulahs afganos, pronto conquistarán el caótico Pakistán, y poco más tarde se extenderán por el mundo. Nostradamus describía al Papa negro campando a sus anchas durante el Apocalipsis, y todo ello no es más que una metáfora de Obama con báculo corriendo por el patio de The white house con su nuevo perrito de aguas portugués. Hay que joderse, el perrito es acuático, pero dicen que no sabe nadar. Decía la canción de Lichis, creo que dedicada al planeta tierra:

<<Mi paisaje interior, contaminado
mi cabeza llena de pájaros enjaulados
las paredes de mi chabola aún guardan el recuerdo
de aquellas noches de invierno
follando como perros.
Por si te acuerdas de mí te he apuntado
en una barra de hielo
mi dirección y mis mejores deseos:
“¡Que te follen!”>>

Lo siento, no veo la salida de ninguno de los túneles. El fin del mundo nos da igual, caray, mujer. Mejor me follas como prefieras, al estilo Krahe o cómo te salga de ahí.

gachas@excite.com

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Airing Saturday, March 21

Like I said yesterday, while I started a bit early, I wanted to talk about some of the incredibly talented people who’ve left us behind, and now faced with that prospect, I know that there’s no way I can truly do that subject justice. But every year someone famous dies, leaving behind a (possibly) nice body of work, and all we can hope to do is remember them and why we liked them in the first place, right?

“The fall will probably kill you!”

Paul Newman, 1925 – 2008. The George Clooney to Robert Redford’s Brad Pitt. My mother made sure that our household when I was growing up was always very pro-Redford, so other than The Sting and Butch And Sundance, I had to discover Mr. Newman on my own, but even for just those two classics alone, he deserves high notice on this list. And for Road To Perdition. And, of course, for his delightful line of salad dressings.

“Florida, Florida, Florida!”

Tim Russert, 1950 – 2008. Here was the pundit that you didn’t quite realize the worth of until he was gone. This was the everyday kind of guy who knew what he was talking about and wouldn’t let himself be bullshitted. Am I the only person that missed his wild infectious enthusiasm for the sports of politics this last election cycle?

“Who’s the man who would risk his neck for his brother man?”

Isaac Hayes, 1942 – 2008. I don’t think it even needs to be explained why this is such a powerful loss. Just listen:

We’re just gonna try to forget about the whole Scientology thing though, alright?

“I was never one to obsess about the past. Too much to do in the future!”

Sir Edmund Hillary, 1919 – 2008. Mountain climbing and philanthropy. Not too shabby. Hillary, if you don’t know is one of the first men, along with sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay, to reach Mount Everest’s summit in 1953. When Hillary got back, he told his longtime friend, George Lowe, “Well George, we knocked that bastard off.” Awesome.

“One never knew, after all, now did one now did one now did one…”

David Foster Wallace, 1962 – 2008. A real loss. Not only a writer who had impressive output and influence, but who whose better days seemed to be laying ahead for him. Not so much, according to this very informative bit from Rolling Stone.

A remembrance of things past.

Harold Pinter, 1930 – 2008. A heavyweight of storytelling. Do I need to explain why Pinter is fantastic, do I? Do I really (though I still have some questions about The Birthday Party, but I’ll let them slide for the moment)? Maybe I’ll just throw out this clip as proof of the man’s immense worth:

That’s “The Betrayal,” one of my favorite episodes of Seinfeld, based on Pinter’s The Betrayal, but you can also find the entire episode on youtube, only re-reversed, which is actually kind of… unsatisfying.

Falsus in uno, falsus in omnibus.

Michael Crichton, 1942 – 2008. The sad thing is that his dead didn’t have any effect on me at all, you know? And it is sad because when I was ten, Crichton’s books made reading and being smart and most importantly wanting to be smart and enjoy that kind of thing in your reading cool. For a long time, this was the author who released a small masterpiece every few years and typically backed it up with a new degree that just screamed authenticity about whatever his latest cautionary tale was about, but the last few books… Tremendous crap. Not just the writing, but the angles he approached them from (he didn’t believe in global warming and thought that SETI was more religious idealization than anything approaching near science) and petty attacks on critics. He finished one last book before he died and it will be released in May of next year. Personally, I’m crossing my fingers in hope of the redemption of a literary master.

“I want to be evil.”

Eartha Kitt, 1927 – 2008. Not only did Miss Kitt want to be evil, but she made me want to fall in love with an evil girl. An affliction I’m happy to have still not quite shaken off.

“…From my cold dead hands.”

Charlton Heston, 1923 – 2008. This one’s tricky, especially since in the last few years of his life, Heston’s come to stand for and be a proud symbol of a lot of the things I despise in this world. And yet, the man was a brilliant actor once upon a time…

…which may seem like a trite statement when coupled with a clip from Wayne’s World 2 (which is a brilliant movie, alright?), but it’s very indicative of how strong of an actor Heston could be, even in cameos. And cameos were what he specialized in back in the 90s. But try not to remember the man as the racist gun nut that he died as, but as the mega star of biblical classics and Touch Of Evil and The Omega Man and The Planet Of The Apes. Oh, and another thing: “Soylent Green is people!”

“Why so serious?”

Heath Ledger, 1979 – 2008. This is the very definition of an actor cut down in his prime. By the end of The Dark Knight, you’re just hungry for the return of this character the way that Ledger’s played him, but you want to run out of the theater and get your hands on everything this actor’s ever done before and devour it. And sadly, while there’s been some wonderful films in his filmography, there’s also been some crap, and he leaves behind too small of a legacy for an actor so tall in talent.

Shit, Piss, Fuck, Cunt, Cocksucker, Motherfucker, and Tits.

Just note that other blogs will merely refer to the seven dirty words you can’t say on television, but Counterforce goes there and tells you them flat out. We’re fucked up, nasty people, we are. But from there we go into the creator of that bit of comedy, George Carlin, 1937 – 2008, and Bernie Mac, 1957 – 2008. I list them together because they’re both hilarious comedians who’ve certainly made their mark but also because I’m not huge fans of them, but for similar reasons on opposite ends of the sprectrum. Growing up, I wasn’t exposed to too much Carlin, but more of the people who were inspired by him, and yet somehow, I feel like I was more exposed to the comedians who inspired Mac. Somewhere in there is a happy medium in which I respect both of these funny men.

Countdown To Mystery.

Steve Gerber, 1947 – 2008. I end this list with the man you’ve probably never heard of, and that’s a shame. Gerber was a giant in the comics industry, creating Howard The Duck, which you can see up above (and yes, you remember the movie, you know you do)(cause it was hot, sweaty genius, it was)(nevermind it, though, go read the original comics, which were brilliant) and the awesome Omega The Unknown, not to mention work on hundreds of other titles. The man was loud and opinionated and he backed it up with awesome skills. Also, you can watch Howard The Duck on hulu, which you should totally go do right this second.