#You make this whole set to try and mimic a 70s vibe and do a not terrible job of it

[shaykesqueer]

Oh, oh no. I kind of. Retract everything I said about Late Night with the Devil because. I didn't know they used AI in that film and I.

Any amount of disappointment I felt before is now just. Quadrupled. I found a lot of the film to be a little lazy, and this just completely confirms it for me. Props to people who worked on the film and did the actual vfx and sfx, there were good bits so someone must have been pulling their weight, but. Nah. Nah that ain't it.

I also have seen people praising this film because it's 'new' in terms of genre and I think I saw one review that was saying the practical effects are Rob-Bottin-esque which. Not. Really? Don't. Compare this film to The Thing. It will lose.

But this kind of set up isn't new? Like, at ALL? We've had a found footage/analog horror boom and even though a lot of that is on Youtube, there's a lot of films that follow this format. And. BETTER. Any movie in the VHS franchise, Hell House LLC, Lake Mungo. And if you want to praise a NEW indie film for being weird and kind of revolutionary and different, may I direct your attention back to Skinamarink?

I'm not saying the film was all bad, I definitely enjoyed more than a few moments in it and I wanted to give it the benefit of the doubt. But this all just confirms my gut feeling that it's just a watered down, lazy version of countless other, better films.

[britesparc]

Weekend Top Ten #359

Top Ten Future Transformers Spin-Offs

So I finally went to see Bumblebee, the delightful, charming, and utterly loveable Transformers spin-off/prequel from Travis Knight. It’s a great little film, on a much smaller scale than the other films in the series, offering some beautifully retro Amblin vibes whilst telling a more compelling and characterful story full of warmth, heart, and genuinely good performances. And as a great big Transformers fan (is there no Transformers equivalent of Trekkie or Browncoat I can adopt?) I got a huge thrill from the recreation of war-torn Cybertron, straight from the iconography of the classic ‘80s cartoon series. I spent the first ten minutes just cooing and bubbling, going “Look! Wheeljack! And Arcee! And Ratchet! And Soundwave! And Shockwave! And Ravage!” and so on.

Anyway, I think the film is all kinds of great, and captures the spirit of the brand and the stories much better (in my opinion) than the Michael Bay ones do. But if one spin-off could succeed where the “mainline” films failed, could that trick be repeated? And this got me thinking: what other stories and characters are ripe for the big-screen treatment? Where else can Transformers go cinematically, without doing any kind of real follow-up to The Last Knight?

Here, then, are ten suggestions. Rather than proposing any kind of reboot or reimagining of the property, I've tried to find stories that could exist within the loose canon of the movies (which, to be fair, is a fairly shifting proposition anyway, with several movies contradicting one another in large and small ways). So, inspired by my love of the original characters, and often by stories I’ve read in the meantime, and with the potentially large caveat that I’ve still not seen The Last Knight and therefore might actually be retreading story grooves already worn, here are ten suggestions for possible future Transformers spin-off movies.

Megatron: Dawn of the Decepticons: drawing heavily from both IDW’s Megatron: Origin and More Than Meets the Eye, this will be a biopic, essentially, of tyrannical baddie Big Megs. Although I know there’s a strong influence from The Fallen in Cinemegatron’s backstory, I don’t see how we can’t square this with the portrayal developed primarily by James Roberts. Megatron is a miner, struggling under a brutal regime on an off-world energon mine, who has the strength and smarts to lift himself and his co-workers out of bondage. But will he remain true to his principles or follow the advice of a mysterious old ‘bot (who turns out to be The Fallen)? Basically the tragic tale of a charismatic working-class leader breaking bad and becoming a monster. Could feature an Optimus Prime cameo – maybe as Orion Pax?

Last Stand of the Wreckers: a moderately-straight adaptation of the Nick Roche/James Roberts classic, one of the most beloved Transformers series of all time. Instead of Bumblebee’s delightful whimsy and Megatron’s tragic drama, this is a straight-up war movie. Obviously it’d have to be tweaked from the comic: no more Garrus-9 or Decepticon Purge. Perhaps tweak the last third to be a bit more like Rogue One or Seven Samurai; the Autobots decide to stay, and die, for a cause. I’d put some more mainstream ‘bots on the team, from the original cartoon and movie. Perhaps it could, like Bumblebee, even be set on Earth in the past, and end up being a story covered up by both the Autobots and Sector 7? That way you’d make it cheaper by having more humans and a little less CG. But the basic gist – an Autobot black ops squad is sent on a mission that goes very badly wrong and most if not all of them die whilst trying to work out what it means to be an Autobot in the midst of this war – should remain the same.

Windblade : whilst I don’t necessarily think the movieverse should adopt the “Thirteen Colonies” storyline from the comics – and I definitely don’t think they should adopt the “all the girls left” sausage-fest fudge that was required after Arcee was declared the “only” female Transformer, especially as Arcee herself and newcomer Shatter both feature in Bumblebee – I do  like the idea of Windblade as some kind of ambassador or diplomat, travelling the universe. Perhaps she left Cybertron before the war really escalated (with besties Chromia and Nautica too, natch) to pursue peace elsewhere? Part flashback to pre-war Cybertron, part  return-to-Earth narrative, it would be a great opportunity to focus on the often-sidelined female Transformers and  have a positive feminist message. I’d have them team up with a now-adult Charlie and her estranged daughter... Verity Carlo. The baddies should be combiners, to go with the “Combiner Hunters” toy set.

Beast Wars: at the risk of causing controversy, I wouldn’t make this a straight adaptation of the popular cartoon. Not unless they want to meddle in far-flung futures or alternate timelines (although, er, see below...). Rather, I’d introduce the concept of “Beast Modes” that mimic organic creatures perfectly (like the “pretender” Decepticon in Revenge of the Fallen that looks like a sexy human girl, because of course she does). So my pitch is this: a lonely Autobot scientist, on a research ship that has more-or-less escaped the war (let’s make him Perceptor, for kicks) has developed this “beast mode” technology that hides Transformers in organic shells. His ship is attacked by Decepticons, but he rockets his subjects into space where they follow Prime’s signal and eventually land on Earth, befriending a young boy (younger than Sam or Charlie; let’s say about 12). But Decepticon hunters (I’d go for Carnivac, Snarler and Catilla – who later has a change of heart – all of whom have inorganic beast modes) follow. So it would share similar tropes with Bumblebee and the first Transformers, but with three or four cute animals instead of robots. This would skew young, perhaps even younger than Bumblebee.

Rodimus Prime: I know Hot Rod is in The Last Knight, but from what I hear he isn’t really representative of the character of Hot Rod/Rodimus from across other aspects of Transformers fiction. Regardless, this film isn’t about him: it’s about Rodimus Prime. Set in the future, it tells a Next Generation-style story of a human/Autobot alliance. Very much a sci-fi space opera, it would feature Rodimus going on a quest to discover the roots of a mysterious force that is attacking human colonies, and its apart links to an ancient Transformer legend. But is he abandoning Earth at its darkest hour to go on a wild goose chase through space? Rodimus must battle his own self-doubt as a leader, as well as a growing number of humans and Transformers who question the alliance. It would have a similar tone to your average Star Wars movie.

Wreck-Gar: Transformers films often have funny moments, but you’d never call any of them a comedy. Wreck-Gar is a comedy, Deadpool-style (but without the filth). A severely-damaged Transformer who crashes to Earth no memory and manages to rebuild himself in a junkyard, Wreck-Gar is a crazy, pop-culture-spouting dervish who just trashes every room he’s in, even though he’s not malicious or a bad guy. Indeed, he is chased by a trio of Decepticons (Swindle, Brawl, and Vortex) who are cruel and unusual (and Swindle wants recompense for a deal gone wrong). An all-out wacky comedy is something not often attempted by big-budget action movies; I’d even go whole hog and get Ward and Miller on board to shepherd the humour to the screen.

Starscream: we’re always focusing on the good guys! Well, here you go: a story about a bot who’s born to be bad. Starscream would be set in the past (naturally, since he’s dead now) and follows Megatron’s least-reliable lieutenant as he heads to Earth to look for Megatron during the time when he was in stasis underneath the Hoover Dam. I can’t remember the chronology, but maybe this could even be set in the late 70s/early 80s, with Starscream  assuming a jet form more like his classic toy (and in that colour scheme, too). He’d be conniving, plotting, scheming, and essentially coming across like a giant metal version of Loki. Perhaps he’s playing a number of human “allies” off against one another, as well as some big Decepticons (Thunderwing? Tarn? Who haven’t we seen yet?) and even a troupe of Autobots he double-crosses. It could be darkly comic and incredible fun.

Hearts of Steel: Wild West Transformers! I mean, what’s not to love? Adapted from the IDW comic series (which was supposed to be out-of-continuity, but was so popular that writer John Barber retroactively incorporated it into the main Transformers timeline), this would need a bit of manipulation to change characters around (I don’t think Bumblebee should be in it, but given the often-contradictory nature of the movie timeline, I don’t see why we couldn’t bring back characters like Jazz, Ironhide, or maybe even Optimus himself). A rollicking steampunk adventure that hopefully would capture the freewheeling outback sci-fi tone of Back to the Future Part III, and hopefully not come across like another Wild Wild West.

Cybertron: I suppose this is a sort-of sequel to Megatron (see above). Set during the war, it’s a men-on-a-mission movie starring a young Optimus Prime (perhaps he could still be Orion Pax at this point). I don’t think we should worry too much about mythologies and intricacies of Transformer society the way James Roberts depicted it, but all the same they could do a lot worse than adapting his Shadowplay storyline, where Orion lead a team of misfit Autobots in an illegal heist to save the world. That kid of behind-enemy-lines vibe could give us a great Cybertronian war movie without wallowing in the grimdark explodey nature of Transformer combat. But especially if this was the movie where Orion earned his stripes and officially became Optimus, that might be nice. Like Megatron, of course, this would end up being an entirely CG affair.

Bumblebee 2: Energon Boogaloo? Look, the ending of the film – without wanting to give away spoilers – could be seen as neatly segueing into the 2007 Transformers film. One could imagine no additional adventurous meetings between Bumblebee and Charlie.  But on the other hand, let’s not rule it out. Perhaps Bumblebee has been on Earth, dicking around, since 1987, and during that time he got up to more mischief with his first best human friend. Some covert Decepticon invasion requires him to break cover, or he needs some kind of human contact to spy for him, and oh look he goes back to Charlie. I’d skip forward a little bit, to around ‘91 or ‘92, slap a bit of early grunge on the soundtrack. See what happens. Just bring back Travis Knight.

So there we are. My ideas for ten possible Transformers spin-off movies. I didn’t really intend for this to turn into ten pitches with little mini-synopses; it was really meant to just be a quick fun game of “stories or characters who’d make a cool movie” but then I thought about it too hard, as I tend to do where Transformers is concerned. Hey, look, some of these films could even tie together! Megatron and Cybertron especially, but you could scatter seeds of stories or references among the lot. Anyway. Wishful thinking. But hopefully a film like one of these will roll out before too long (see what I did there?).

[bairbreinspirationhandbook]

INSPIRATION HANDBOOK Bairbre Connolly

IDEA

For my inspiration handbook, my creative idea is recreating the soundtrack for the movie Carrie (1976) using modern-day music.

I chose this theme for the handbook because for me, career-wise, I am interested in selecting the music to accompany a TV advertisement. I have always been interested in how a song can enhance a visual. So i’ve always been passionate about movies and music videos.

I had the idea of focusing on the movie Carrie as it is my favourite movie, even though I don’t think the soundtrack is highly memorable. It suits the film in the sense that it’s a relatively low-budget 70s horror movie, but I was intrigued by the idea of giving it a more contemporary feel.

The purpose of the handbook is varied. It could be for a re-release of the movie with a whole new soundtrack, perhaps for its 50th anniversary, which would be the year 2026. Artists could contribute music to the project which would act as an interesting new platform to showcase their music to a new audience. Some of the scenes I believe could be highly effective ad campaigns. I can imagine the scenes being projected across a large room filled with people, maybe at some sort of outdoor event, which I feel would be a very artistic idea. I would love to have my favourite movies, music videos and live performances played in the bar I work in.

I think that for people who aren’t overly familiar with the movie, it may be beneficial to first of all watch the original scenes with their original music. Then you can really appreciate the difference when the new songs are played instead.

I have focused on 5 key scenes from the movie, and edited them all together in one video. I hope the video, even though it is just 5 scenes and with no dialogue, will tell the story of the movie. I have included the video as a youtube link.

INSPIRATION

One of my sources of inspiration for the project is Hitchcock’s 1960 horror classic Psycho. The iconic shower scene showcases the power of music and sound in setting a scene. Hitchcock had originally intended for the scene to have no music, but composer Bernard Herrmann insisted he try his composition. Herrmann created an all-string soundtrack composed of screeching violins and violas titled “The Murder”. He felt that the single tone colour of the all-string soundtrack reflected the black and white cinematography of the film.

For me it’s the perfect example of how the movie soundtrack really sets the atmosphere of the scene. The shrieking of the violins almost mimics the sound of Marion, played by Janet Leigh, as she is murdered in such a terrifying manner.

Carrie’s director Brian de Palma was heavily influenced by Hitchcock and Psycho in particular. Musically, this is evident in the violin motif that is played whenever Carrie uses her telekinesis powers, in a nod to Herrmann’s score. De Palma even named Carrie’s highschool “Bates High School” in reference to, of course, Norman Bates.

It is this impact of the shrieking violins that inspired me to explore how the music used in a film can really altar the overall atmosphere of the scene. For my handbook  I decided to focus on some of my favourite scenes from Carrie as it is my favourite film. I feel like the overall soundtrack for the film sometimes doesn’t do it justice. Pino Donaggio’s score is beautiful but the other music used throughout the film isn’t always as effective. Of course it was made in the 70s with a low budget, so the music will reflect this, but I thought it would be interesting to reinvent the soundtrack using modern-day pop music.

Another film that inspired me is Drive (2011), as I think it has one of the slickest soundtracks. The music is so captivating. James Verniere of the Boston Herald graded it an A, stating, "The cool crowd isn't just watching Drive; they're listening to it, too ... The Drive soundtrack is such an integral part of the experience of the film, once you see it, you can't imagine the film without it." the music in Drive is so integral because the film uses very little dialogue. The main character, played by Ryan Gosling, is simply named “The Driver” in the end credits as his character says so few lines and gives away so little information in the film. This influenced me in the sense that it showed me the importance of music in film and how it can really enhance the film itself. I adopted this influence in my reboot of the spinning dance scene from Carrie. I took the song Under Your Spell from Drive and put it over the dialogue, hoping to recreate the same effect.

Visually, the film is quite stylish and aesthetically pleasing to the eye. The soft blur of the retro 70s style has a vintage feel while also being fashionable today due to the vintage revival.

The songs I have chosen all have a similar vibe. They are essentially pop songs but feature an electro or 80s feel, evoking a sense of nostalgia that compliments the visuals. This means they fit in with the images of the film, while also bringing it up to date.

I have always had an interest in soundtracking TV advertisements /TV shows/films, and I think the results i got are really interesting. I feel like my some of my results could be used as an ad campaign, or even as a trailer for the film, perhaps the release of a new anniversary DVD.

As Carrie is my favourite film, I have watched and researched it many times over the years. My real passion is music, and I found that certain songs would remind me of Carrie when i listened to them, or evoke the thought process of “this song would sound good in Carrie”/”this song captures how I think the character of Carrie would have felt at this moment”.

This idea for my inspiration handbook is one that I’ve had in the back of my mind for years but never had the opportunity to utilise. Originally I had an idea a long time ago to remake the soundtrack or even the film using only music from the 1960s. The romantic lyrics and melodies from some of these songs inspired me further to want to recreate the soundtrack in a different style. I decided against using 60s music for my handbook as I think more modern-day music sounds far more interesting and it’s a more new and exciting idea.

Link to 60s playlist:

Carrie 60s Soundtrack

Another source of inspiration was a magazine photoshoot Lana Del Rey did where she was styled as Carrie; wearing a prom queen tiara and had trickles of blood down her face. This appealed to me as Del Rey is an artist I really admire. So this inspired the idea of merging this old movie with modern day artists and music. And the fact that it was my favourite singer dressed up as my favourite movie character made it feel personal.

FIVE SCENES

https://youtu.be/8rJz9KHmGO8

Scene 1. The detention scene. Song: Started Out - Georgia

For me this is one of the most memorable scenes as I love its energy and colour, as well as the fashion element. It is quite aesthetically pleasing to the eye. The students’ gym clothes are very on trend, and the focus of the camera on Miss Collins’ Reebok trainers mean it could almost be used as an advertisement for the brand Reebok, or for a shop such as Urban Outfitters which could sell clothes similar to the gym uniforms and of course the retro Reeboks.

The song I chose to accompany the scene is “Started Out”, released in 2018 by London artist Georgia. The song was was created using 909 drum machines and analogue synths, which gives it an 80s feel while still sounding fresh. I feel that its energy compliments the girls’ exercise routine really well. The “Not working out” lyric is effective because it mirrors what is happening on-screen.

Scene 2. Carrie and Tommy arrive at the prom. Song: Slumlord - Neon Indian

This scene has such an energetic and exciting feel, the sparkling stars and soft retro blur of the colours can make us feel like we’re really there at the prom. The song I’ve chosen here is Slumlord by electro chillwave band Neon Indian. I think it really goes well with the sweeping overhead crowd scenes.

This scene in particular I think could be used as a music video for the song. There isn’t too much going on on-screen that it takes away from the song, so you really hear and appreciate every detail of the audio.

Scene 3. The spinning dance scene. Song: Under Your Spell - Desire

This is probably my favourite scene from the movie, as it captures a really lovely intimate moment between Carrie and Tommy. Originally soundtracked by Katie Irving’s I Never Dreamed Someone Like You Could Love Someone Like Me, the scene is mesmerising. The crew set up a circular dolly track and the camera travelled around the pair in the opposite direction. The result was a dizzying feeling, much like Carrie’s whirlwind of emotions but also with a sense of unease.

The lyrics obviously reflect how Carrie feels about Tommy, so it’s quite heartwarming and romantic, yet at the same time suggesting that something sinister is stirring.

I heard this song in the movie Drive and it’s always reminded me of Carrie’s character, so for me this could absolutely be used as a music video.

Scene 4. Carrie and Tommy win prom king and queen. Song: Safe and Sound - Justice

This track really captures the pandemonium that is unfolding in front of our eyes. The intro of the airy vocals could be sung by the crowd, and when the bass groove kicks in carnage ensues. Carrie’s epic prom-night revenge is in full swing. I think it really works because the music is so upbeat and funky, while the scene is intended to be horrifying, especially the look on Sissy Spacek’s face throughout.

I think a good creative use for this scene would be to have it on television or a projector in a bar, clothes shop, or record store. In the latter, it would be an interesting way of promoting a song and a movie, potentially resulting in sales of said CD and DVD.

Having it on in a bar would just be something different so I think customers would find it interesting.

Scene 5. Carrie returns home after prom. Song: Let it Happen (Soulwax Remix) - Tame Impala

The soulwax remix of this Tame Impala banger has a mildly spooky feel, putting us on edge and anticipating what further antics Carrie is about to get up to. Its beat is infectious, drawing us in and making us anxiously wait for the beat to drop.

Again I can imagine this being displayed in a bar, it’s more authentic and cool than a normal music video that people have seen before.

Bairbre Connolly

bairbre_connolly@hotmail.com