Awash in Resolutions, 2011 Edition

The Japanese Macaque, or snow monkey when they don't want to be constantly teased about their name, are enjoying a nice dip in the sauna, so what better time to officially re-launch the 2011 Edition of Geek Monkey?  To be fair, there's still a bit of tweaking to be done: adding links and changing the back ground to something other than "forest wallpaper that was popular back in 2001" but on the whole I'm satisfied with the basic look of the thing, and it's high time to get writing again anyway.

Which begs the question, "Writing about what?"  

Good question.  

The name Geek Monkey, for better or worse, implies a certain type of content that, while dear to me, doesn't quite capture everything I want to cover.  Sure, I want to talk about the movies, books, comics, video games and other assorted nerd ephemera that catches the macaroni curls of my brain (and let's not use this as a chance to argue geek vs. nerd; I'm probably both, and at 38 don't really care about the distinction), but I also want to capture those moments in time that affect me as a husband, a father, and a human being.  A weblog in 2011 seems to be no longer in style, an out-of-date digital soapbox millions write to an audience of themselves.  If that's the case so be it - I've made my peace with talking to an empty space years ago.

That being said, I want to try and find some kind of balance this year, both in my writing and in my life.  With that spirit in mind, my New year's Resolutions for 2011, complete with some concrete, measurable goals: 

1. Seriously get back in shape - The goal is to be at least 25 pounds lighter that I am currently am this time next year, plus all medical tests in the normal range.
2. Return to daily meditation - Sit zazen for 30 minutes a day
3. Write more - Average 5-6 entries a month here at Geek Monkey, potentially more when combined with the film criticism I write over at Celluloid Moon (which I also need to step up on)
4. Read more - The second half of 2010 was a colossal bomb when it came to reading.  So I want to pick the pace back up and do at least 3 books a month, or 36 books this year.  This will coincide with the "Write more" resolution, since I plan to record each book I read this year, both here and, where applicable, over at Un:Bound.
5. Grow a beard - Hey, what can I tell you?  I've grown many a Van Dyke (I will argue the difference between a Van Dyke and a goatee), but have never manage the elusive full beard.  With the rapid loss of hair on my head, I figure now's as good a time as any to try it.  Photographic evidence to follow.
6. Publish some fiction -  Even if it's only to this blog, I want to have some fiction writing on the web available for anyone who cares to read it.
7. De-clutter - I have way too much crap in the house.  I buy too many CDs, DVD, Blu-rays, and books when I haven't read, watched, or listened to what I already own.  So the goal is to cut back what I'm buying and get rid of the stuff I don't need.  I'll have to come back with a more concrete way of measuring this.
8. Get the damn lawn GREEN - I mean it - my lawn looked like like the aftermath of trench warfare last year, a bigger embarrassment when you look at my neighbors' all who have perfectly manicured, lush green lawns.  This is the year I take care of that.  Photographic evidence to follow.
9. Take more pictures - I love taking pictures, and I don't do it often enough.  We'll fix that this year, and post them here.
10. Kid #2 - This is the last year we're going to try for a second child.  Neither of us want too large a gap between Jack and kid #2, and the medical risks for my wife are already large enough without getting into the age thing.  But we both agreed we would try our hardest (he he, "hard") to make it happen this year, so we'll see.

That's it.  Have a great 2011 and we'll see you soon!

Under Construction for 2011

Severely neglected, but soon to be remedied...

The site's going under the knife for some major renovating, with the plan being to jump into 2011 full throttle with a new look and new vigor.  

I probably say that every year, but at least every year I mean it...

So for the next few weeks things may look pretty damn ugly.  Items may appear and disappear, whole section may up and leave, never to return.  I promise it'll be temporary, and when I do return there will be new content that will strive to be more than kvetching and diatribes against the injustice of Pitchfork, whose Top 50 Albums of 2010 has quite a few albums I like, including Kylesa's latest, which you can read all about below.

See you in the New Year.

Metropolis Restored | 1927, 2010

I suspect many of us knew METROPOLIS before we ever had a chance to actually see it.  My first exposure to it as a complete (or as close as it was considered to be then) film came some time in the early 90s, with the color tinted Giorgio Moroder version, edited and scored by the electronic music pioneer.  But the images - those stark, expressionistic cityscapes rising to the heavens, the iconic "Other" Maria sitting under an inverted pentagram as rings of electricity pulsed around her and, perhaps for me, the brand most burned upon the brain: a solitary man fighting to maneuver two rods attached like the hands of some nightmarish clock (with only ten hours to squeeze in an extra work day I'd learn years later), vainly aligning them to flickering bulbs that never stay for more than an instant -these images that have been etched in my movie memory far longer than I have any right to claim to them.

Watching the new "complete" version of METROPOLIS on Blu-ray, featuring over 30 minutes of additional footage recently unearthed in a vault in Buenos Aries, and boasting a gorgeous 5.1 recording of the original score brings those images vibrantly back to life, feeling as new and striking as the memories I hold of them.  The difference being that those singular visual memories are now tied together in a coherent structure, acting as signposts on a road where the story, long held to be a shortcoming of the film, comes to the forefront.  Running just under two and a half hours, it's surprising that METROPOLIS actually feels shorter, as the additional footage brings a depth to the story that engages the viewer as much as the overall design and effects did in the past.

The Epigram that starts METROPOLIS reads: "THE MEDIATOR BETWEEN BRAIN AND HANDS MUST BE THE HEART!" and this message, seemingly so on the nose for 21st Century viewers, echoes the tone the rest of the film will take.  The colossal city of Metropolis is actually two cities: the sprawling, dreamlike upper city where the white collar executives (the Brain) run everything, building gargantuan gardens and stadiums for the delight of their young, brash sons, and the underground city of the the workers (the Hands), who sweat and starve and toil to keep everything running for those privileged who live above.  The city is run by Joh Fredsersen, who has no time for anything other the running of the city, much to the dismay of his son Freder (Gustav Fröhlich), who after meeting the saintly Maria who intrudes with a mass of children into the Eternal Gardens to introduce Freder to the plight of his "brothers" below decides to head into the Underground to see for himself how the city lives and breathes.  He finds that Maria is the one thing holding the workers in check from rioting, and his heart goes out to both the workers and the beautiful woman who hopes for a brighter future.  Throwing a wrench into the works is Joh Fredersen, who likes things the way they are, and he enlists the assistance of the evil Dr. Rotwang, who uses his newly created Machine Man to take the form of Maria, and incite the workers to revolt, thereby allowing Fredersen the leeway he needs to put the workers down once and for all.

Although the earlier cuts of METROPOLIS were more than enough to show the visual genius of Fritz Lang, the restored, complete version takes his directing prowess to another level entirely.  Entire subplots are revealed, showing a deft hand at parallel storytelling and artful cross-cutting between events.  We see the fate of Worker 11811, the poor man at the clock machine who Freder replaces.  He takes Freder's place, only to fall prey to the vices Freder himself is escaping.  We see the mysterious Thin Man (most assuredly not Nick Charles), hired by Joh Fredersen to find out where his son is and to expose what's going on with the workers.  The climactic flooding of the underground Worker City is much more substantial, and as Lang cuts from one set of action to another we that METROPOLIS is not only the progenitor of much of our now classic science fiction imagery, but it also works as a phenomenal action film, ratcheting up tension as fine as anything that would come a quarter of a century later from more modern masters like Alfred Hitchcock (who was reportedly a visitor to the set, according to the excellent documentary that is included with the DVD/Blu-ray).

I mentioned earlier how much better the restored film plays as a whole, even though it's substantially longer than it was before.  This comes at a small cost to some viewers: due to the conditions of the newly found footage (a 16mm reduction taken from an original 35mm print) the new section are very rough - no amount of digital re mastering can take away the lines of age and missing section of the frame due to size.  Small price to pay, however, to see a true film masterpiece as close to its original format as we can get - there's so much in METROPOLIS that stands out throughout the language of cinema - the excellent documentary included on the disc opens with the direct influence the film's architecture had on Ridley Scott's BLADE RUNNER.  Roger Ebert, in his Great Movies essay on the film, remarks on influences as far reaching as DARK CITY, BATMAN, and even DR. STRANGELOVE.  And after watching the stunning Blu-ray transfers of the BACK TO THE FUTURE films, I can't help but see some of mad Dr. Rotwang in good ol' Doc Brown.

In its truncated form, METROPOLIS was a grand achievement in filmmaking.  Seeing the crisp, clear images now, being able to grasp the story as a whole, and reveling in the sheer joy of the technical effects on display, what was a towering work is made even more colossal, even more grand and enormous.  And even better, the storytelling on display is as fresh, as engaging, as it must have been to people experiencing its like for the first time, over 80 years ago.

In Lieu of Reviews (returning shortly), My Movie Thought of the Day

Having spent an evening watching the in-depth documentaries The Beast Within and Superior Firepower on the ALIEN ANTHOLOGY Blu-ray set, I've come away even more impressed with Ridley Scott and ALIEN, and even less impressed with James Cameron and ALIENS.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Welcome to My Surreal Nightmare: House (1977) in Images

Being a (belated) Film #12 in Hail Horror 5.

I actually watched HOUSE, the 1977 Japanese freak-fest by Nobuhiko Obayashi before either HABIT or SOMBRE, picking it up the day it was released in a typically gorgeous Criterion edition.  The back of the DVD describes the film, a truly inventive visual tour de force by Obayashi (who after a series of similar in aesthetic short films got his start in crazy commercials like the infamous MANDOM spots with Charles Bronson) as "An episode of Scooby-Doo as directed by Mario Bava" and that's not too far off the mark.  Seven quirky school girls travel into the country to stay with lead girl Gorgeous's aunt, who has been alone in her house with just her cat ever for years.  Turns out Auntie is more than just an eccentric spinster, and the trip turns into a surreal nightmare complete with man-eating pianos, flying decapitated heads, musical numbers, animation, some terrific matte painting and martial arts.

The best comparison I can make is to Sam Raimi's EVIL DEAD 2, a "horror" film that was so exuberant and fun you were smiling more than you were screaming.  So rather than go into more detail, here are a few shots to whet your appetite:

Seriously deranged and delightful, if you haven't caught up to HOUSE yet, do yourself a favor and check it out, if only to see a man transform into a bunch of bananas.