19th March, 2007
Jump Sideways Pewpew!
Monday, 10:13 pm in Art
![[ image ]](http://archive.void-star.net/image/20070319_jumpsideways.gif)
I went to see Edgar Wright’s (Shaun of the Dead) new film, Hot Fuzz this afternoon. Most. Awesome. Film. Ever. Forget that culturally insensitive 300 crap* and go see this film right now. Seriously, stop reading this and go get yourself some tickets.
Anyway, since coming back I’ve had this huge urge to jump sideways while firing two guns. Alas I can neither jump sideways with sufficient vigour, nor possess any number of guns, let alone two, let alone two that can fire bullets. So here is 
randomredux’s Miriah filling in for me, because she’s been on my brain for the last few days. Trying out a bit of a different look for Miriah; something harder and, let’s face it, actually Asian-looking. I still can’t fucking draw guns.
I like drawing Miriah since she’s fun to dress. This outfit is ‘inspired’ by a Bollywood film I was watching last night, Main Hoon Na (another awesome film; also featuring people jumping sideways while firing guns… and singing!). It’s based on the outfits Amrita Rao’s character wears in the first half of the film, before her inevitable sissyfication in order to Get The Guy (to be fair, The Guy gets a similar treatment).
![[ image ]](http://archive.void-star.net/image/20070319_pewpew.wip.png)
Man, that right gun is terrible…
In other news, I went out to Gem Aquatics today. Gem are Canberra’s friendly ‘local’ (it’s in Belconnen) aquarium specialists; I used to go there with my dad when I was a wee tiger and he kept a tank, and again later in my teens when I kept a tank. I was very impressed with Gem; every single previous pet shop I’ve gone into has either completely ignored me, or been extremely patronizing when I outlined the kinds of equipment I was looking for. A woman in Petland in Phillip spent about fifteen minutes trying to talk me out of running a planted tank because it was ‘expensive’** to do CO2 injection. Well, yeah, if you buy off-the-shelf. But for a 28L tank I think I’ll try one of the DIY yeast-based alternatives, cheers; I’m not an idiot, I have read about what I want to do. Anyway, the lady from Gem was very helpful and not at all patronizing, so she got the money. Hah! It probably helped that she was about my age, though even the older owner woman was very nice, and we had a good chat about the benefits of home ownership versus renting.
Anyway, I spent most of today boiling my driftwood to get the tannins out. I still haven’t called the agent to actually ask if I even can keep a fishtank, but that being said I haven’t actually bought anything that can’t be boxed back up and put in the cupboard until we move into our own place.
I’ve got almost everything I need for the first stage of a set-up (the inanimate stage); the only thing I’m missing is appropriate lighting, which is going to be an issue because the tank I’ve got is a non-standard length (40cm) and doesn’t have a split lid; d’oh. The lady from Gem said they can cut lids, though, so I’ll have to go back to discuss options.
Pics and a set-up blog entry when (if?) I get the go-ahead from the agent to install. Otherwise… er, wait eighteen months I guess.
- * We saw a trailer for it. Say what you like about Tehran, I think that if someone decided to depict my treasured cultural heritage as a bunch of degenerate, barbaric, mutant sand-niggers I’d get a bit upset too… Also, homoerotic much? I mean, don’t get me wrong, I usually like that kind of thing, but… not when it’s so… straight.
** I told her I “Had a lot of expensive hobbies.” I’d bet my sketchbook she thought I was talking about drugs. I was actually talking about roleplaying books and computer games.
- « Previous
- Next »
Related Posts
Comments
-
By the power of Greyskull!
I loved “Hot Fuzz”! It got so delightfully absurd from the point where Angel stumbles across the Neighbourhood Watch at night in the courtyard. My favourite scene was when Angel did his awesomely comical jumps over the many fences. Speaking of which, if you like the movie, you might like “Shaun of the Dead” too (if you haven’t seen it already), by the same people.
I personally cannot wait to see “300” and this is coming from the mindset that this is based on the comic book by Frank Miller rather than being anything historical/political. The fight sequences (deliberately made to not be historically accurate, but plain awesome) are going to be so cool! At least… from the trailers I’ve seen.
I really like the first line-drawing!
-
The Spartans Lost
Yeah, I saw Shawn of the Dead at my fiancé’s house a couple of years ago now. I’m a zombie-flik lover from way back but no-one else watching the film was, nevertheless everyone seemed to enjoy it. Wright and Pegg are just… yeah, wow. I think what really suckered me into Hot Fuzz was that not only was it brilliantly written but it was also a delicious visual work of art (all that loud music and quick cutting); seems nowadays in films you either get one or the other, but rarely both. The humour in it was also vaguely reminiscent of Pratchett, which helped, plus I liked the way they picked up all the little foreshadowing bits (jumping sideways while shooting two guns, every farmer and his mother, etc.). Most enjoyable film I’ve seen in ages.
300, on the other hand… I simply can’t watch that film for two reasons. I mean, the first is that I just fucking hate Frank Miller and the ground he walks on; everything he does seems to ooze the impotent rage of a 14 year-old nerd who never grew up and is still attempting to take vicarious retribution against every single jock and cheerleader who made fun of him rather than, like, growing up and getting on with life like everyone else. From what I’ve heard the film is just a soul-less glorification of violence for the sake of violence. Like, don’t get me wrong; I love mindless gore and violence as much as the next girl (er, you know what I mean) but what does bother me is hyper-nationalistic eroticised violence. That violence is supposed to be an end in and of itself rather than a last resort. From what I’ve read, there’s no character development, no tension, no real plot and the dialogue is (in Frank Miller style) ludicrous and painfully clichéd. It’s all just erotiscised violence.
The other thing is, I don’t think any of that would bother me as much if this film wasn’t also tortuously racist and homophobic (another Miller trademark). Like I said, I can see why the Iranians (and even some Greeks) are getting upset. Reducing the Persian-Greek conflict to this fatuous tale of Good Dudes vs Bad Dudes is historical revisionism at it’s most repulsive. The Persians had a magnificent empire, and ratified some of the world’s first human rights. And yet they get reduced to a bunch of mutant savages? Xerxes is rolling in his crypt/grave/pyre/whatever. I just can’t turn my brain off at that, especially now (rightly or wrongly, it’s easy to see how nervous Iranians see this film as propaganda for a US invasion of their country). If this was a fantasy film, fine, but you’ve got to be pretty naive to believe there aren’t going to be people who are going to see this film and think that it’s somehow historically or culturally accurate.
And that’s not even touching on the homophobia (Xerxes the Screaming Queen with his gold chains and panties) which still somehow manages to run in parallel to this weird homosocial celebration. I guess the message is it’s okay to be a Man, so long as you’re a Man’s Man in tight leather thongs… just stay away from the eyeliner.
I mean, it’s all a bit ironic, really, considering that it’s the Spartans who are the historic queers. Maybe that’s what this film needs; more Spartan man-lovin’.
Though I’d honestly settle for any kind of soul whatsoever…
-
If you haven’t already, have a look at Spaced. It feels more cinematic because of the movie + popculture references/ techniques (especially zombies and Star Wars) that are packed into this pokey little TV show. In some ways, the popculture references and heavy use of quick cut-away scenes make it similar to Family Guy (both series started in 1999).