2003-12-05 - 1:31 p.m.
I had a pretty strong hunch that there would be some cultural cross-pollination happening as a result of my increased exposure to persons of independent thought and free minds at the Silver Snail. I just figured most of it would be comics related. Some of it is, for sure: JVL has been whining at me - pardon, 'instructing' me, in the endlessly repeating but relentlessly jovial manner of Teddy Ruxpin - to read 'Yukiko's Spinach', and Joe has me boning up on my Frank Miller. But earlier this week I was given an order to see a very peculiar film.
I have the hot pants for Jeffrey Falcon.
Six String Samurai came highly recommended. Despite my reservations at hearing that it was about Buddy Holly travelling to Vegas to become the new King after Elvis's death, while being pursued by Death, who resembled Slash, I dutifully went to Suspect Video and rented it.
***WARNING: spoilers ahead***
It may never make my all-time top ten list, but it sure was interesting. And pretty! Bright, gorgeous cinematography and costuming, with the small exception of the very visible duct tape under Buddy's tuxedo during his Saint Sebastian-style death scene.
To someone who's never seen it, I would apply my patented Definition-by-Triangulation theory, and say it was 'Tank Girl' meets 'Phantom Menace' meets 'Fubar'.
If you are into Kurosawa; enjoy stubble-jawed, laconic, emotionally-distant Caucasian men performing acrobatics and decent kung fu; or are an aficionado of ugly Russians showing off their extremely poor tiger-claw form - good news! This movie could be for you.
If you're uncomfortable with the idea of 'Spinach Monsters'; abhor the sight of persons in gas masks or space helmets; detest hearing the word 'polka' spoken aloud by ultra-fake futuristic Nazis; hate rusty metal and dirty tuxedos; or dislike sand because it gets under your toenails and in your bathing suit - I have three words for you. Avoid, avoid, avoid.
It just occured to me that I wrote "spinach" twice in this entry, in two totally unrelated media mentions, neither time referring to the vegetable itself. Weird. And yesterday it was oregano. Maybe my body's trying to tell me it's not getting enough greens.
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