August 01, 2016

Where Are The Classics Of Modern Cinema?


Remember when DVD first hit the scene? Like you, I went and bought every single movie I ever loved, or liked, or was mildly interested in. I even went so far as to quit a 'lucrative' career as a retail assistant in a CD store to begin an equally 'lucrative' career in a DVD shop. There, I would rarely end a shift without purchasing something with my employee discount.

By 2005 I had moved on from working in retail, yet I continued filling bookshelf upon bookshelf with DVD purchases. It seemed my voraciousness to build my own personal film library would never end. Until it did, sometime around 2010. No, I didn't begin streaming videos or illegally downloading films. I owned almost all the DVDs I wanted to own, and new movies just didn't interest me enough to actually buy them. Sure, every once in a while a film that was previously unreleased on DVD would materialise and I'd eventually buy it. Or a favourite would require a double (or triple) dip. Or Blu-ray. But for the most part, I gradually stopped buying DVDs.

So what happened? Did the film industry stop producing good movies? Where were the Blade Runners, the Rocky Horror Picture Shows, the cinematic failures that went on to be revered cult classics? Where are the films you'd want to buy and trawl through every special feature (including all 5 different audio commentaries)? Which movies, if any, will this current generation get nostalgic over in 30 years?

In 2046, will there be an uproar over
an all male reboot of this?

It was these questions that got me thinking. Surely there have been some middle to low budget, high quality movies since 2010. To prove to myself that there were, I went back into the dark recesses of my DVD library to find which movies, released from 2010 onwards, could possibly become cult or popular classics in thirty years time. After careful inspection, here are five of my picks for potential future classics:

June 11, 2016

A World Without Mel: Mad Max Fury Road



Full disclosure - I love Mel Gibson. No, I don't love love him, and I wouldn't say I even had a man crush on him. My love for Mel is purely based on an appreciation for his talent. Talent might even be too strong a word for it. What I appreciate most about him is his presence. Whether you consider him in his heyday as a young, charismatic leading man (sans mullet), or in his later years as an acclaimed director, you have to admit, the man has presence.

Now, obviously there's the private life of Mel that we're all aware of - his drinking, his relationships, his religion. To be honest, I generally avoid the tabloids and what celebrities do outside of their work. Fact is, some of my 'heroes' have been highly flawed individuals with questionable ideals. J. D. Salinger, for instance. Or Philip K Dick. Want to knock someone of the pedestal you've put them on? Read their biography.



Anyone who's had a quick look at this blog will undoubtedly notice numerous references to the Mad Max films (particularly Beyond Thunderdome, my favourite). So, when shooting began on Fury Road, I was excited to see where George Miller would take our eponymous hero. Since it's release, I've watched it repeatedly - and there are very few movies released this decade that I could say the same thing for. Fury Road is an extremely well made, highly watchable film, but it isn't perfect. Even on the first viewing, I knew something was off. Sure, the throwbacks to the previous films were often off-putting. The lack of screen time for Tom Hardy's Max was somewhat baffling. But my biggest issue with the film was the complete lack of disregard for the timeline.

George Miller has never been one to pander to the desires of the fans. Once you've seen Bruce Spence play a pilot in the second film and a completely different pilot in the third, it becomes pretty clear that Miller isn't fazed by a need to retain perfect continuity between films.

Bruce Spence: Gyro Captain/Jedediah the Pilot.

The society and structure of the world of Fury Road is so different to the previous films, so extreme, it would make sense to call this a comic book style reboot. Except you can't, because the prelude graphic novel released after the film tells us the first three movies are cannon. 



June 05, 2016

Sentimentality, Patriotism And Kevin Costner's The Postman


When people think of bloated, critically panned, post-apocalyptical Kevin Costner films, most would invariably recall 1995's Waterworld. The vast majority of film goers would fail to even mention The Postman, its far superior (and undeniably forgettable) successor. Released only two years after the theatrical failure of Waterworld, The Postman is widely regarded as signifying the end of Kevin Costner's box office appeal.

The year is 2013. After the collapse of civilisation, humanity has regressed to an 18th Century style subsistence, banding together to form small communities where towns are walled and governed by olde timey sheriffs. Opposition comes in the form of General Bethlehem, the despotic leader of a militia that raids towns and kidnaps young men to build his army. Costner plays Reluctant Hero #6, a travelling entertainer who becomes entangled in Bethlehem's army. When Costner finally escapes their evil clutches, he finds a postman's uniform and plays the part of civil servant in order to receive sanctuary in Pine View, a nearby town. His postman charade inadvertently snowballs into an institution, with others taking up the mantle of postman and connecting towns across the US with the power of pen and paper based communication. The film theorises that it's the 'little people', the postmen and sanitation workers and parking inspectors, who are the cornerstones of infrastructure and the linchpins of civilisation. Spoiler alert – thanks to the Postman and others like him, in as little as thirty years, modern day society is restored in all its pastel wearing glory.



Unlike Waterworld, Costner doused The Postman in arching white hot streams of sentimentality and patriotism. Regardless of its lavish cinematography and guilty pleasure appeal, it's this sentimentality, ratcheted up by James Newton Howard's bombastic score, that doomed The Postman to failure and made it impossible to watch without cringing. So, for your reading pleasure, here are the Top 5 Most Cringe Worthy, Eye Rolling Scenes in The Postman:

April 10, 2016

Film As Cultural Snapshot: The Breakfast Club.

Films, from time to time, can transcend the boundaries of mere entertainment. On rare occasion, (and generally in retrospect), they can form a kind of time capsule, existing as cultural snapshots or archives of a time and place in history. 


Regardless of nationality, our collective impression and understanding of an era is coloured by our knowledge of film. When I think of the 60s, I can't help but imagine London and the desolate landscape and apathy of Michelangelo Antonioni's Blow-Up. Similarly, when I think of the 70s I imagine the New York City of Midnight Cowboy (1969) and Taxi Driver (1976), with its violence and abject poverty. The 80s, conversely, are dominated by suburbia and the cliques and class systems of the American teen movie. 

We didn't spend the 80s cowering in fear from the red menace or the threat of imminent thermonuclear Armageddon. For most of us, the 80s were a time of rampant consumerism. In the west, the post war generation were buying their own homes and raising their children in a time of relative prosperity. And that meant more junk food, more toys, more music and more movies available than ever before in history. The drama in our lives focused primarily on relationships and the family unit. The desire to fit in, fall in love, be popular. This mid 80s milieu was never more prevalent than in the films of writer/director John Hughes. The unrealistic nature and fantastical elements of his films fail to detract from the fact that it is almost impossible to think of the 80s and not think of a song or scene or character from one of his movies.


The Breakfast Club is the ultimate representation of the 80s cultural snapshot. In it, Hughes presents us with a white, middle class version of diversity. Each character portrays one of five stereotypes - the jock, the bad boy, the princess, the weirdo and the geek. Their problems are our problems - from overbearing parents with high expectations, to absent parents, to negligent and abusive parents, teens the world over could see themselves on screen (albeit as attractive actors in their mid-twenties). Whether we grew up in Illinois or Wangaratta, we understood what it was to be left out, ignored, unloved, picked on. We wrongly assumed those different from us, those higher in the class system, were happy. In The Breakfast Club, Hughes presented us with someone for each and every one of us to relate to. Hence, our 80s experience was the John Hughes experience, and our memories of a time and place forever sublimated by an American, whitewashed, homogeneous John Hughes universe. 

On a totally unrelated note, here is another Read-Along mock-up, based on a movie you may have heard of before:



To see more Read-Along Records without the pointless theorising, click on the READ-ALONG tab at the top of the page.

April 05, 2016

View-Master Mock-Up: Paths Of Glory.

Ever wondered what Stanley Kubrick's 1957 anti-war masterpiece Paths of Glory might have looked like if it was released as a View-Master reel set? Something like this perhaps ...



More Kubrick View-Master sets can be found by clicking the VIEW-MASTER tab at the top of the page, along with a bunch of other sets that never existed.

View-Master Mock-Up: Fast Times At Ridgemont High.

Scripted by Cameron Crowe and based on his book of the same name, the 1982 coming-of-age classic Fast Times at Ridgemont High never warranted a View-Master reel set. But if it did, you and every other teenage boy in the 80s might have avoided wearing out a certain scene involving Phoebe Cates and a rain machine on your VHS copy.




To see more unlikely (and entirely unnecessary) View-Master mock-ups, follow the link or click the VIEW-MASTER tab at the top of the page.

March 25, 2016

Die Hard, Blade Runner And The Movie Tie-In.

Since the dawn of time, the film industry has looked to novels for inspiration, frequently mining books, comics and graphic novels for movie fodder. Conversely, movies that were scripted without any pre-existing source material were routinely adapted into comic or novel form (the novelisation). To close the loop, novels that were adapted into movies would later be re-released, featuring artwork from the film (and occasionally a title change), to create what is known as the movie tie-in. These rebranded novels were sometimes completely different to the film. Some might even suggest that slapping a celebrity's face onto a novel is a cynical attempt to cash in on the adaptation's success. Case in point:


March 12, 2016

Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey Trading Cards.

Much has been written about Stanley Kubrick's 1968 sci-fi classic, 2001: A Space Odyssey. I have no intention of adding to the noise. Instead, I've created a set of 2001: A Space Odyssey trading cards, plugging a gaping hole in the pop culture stream while simultaneously avoiding doing anything real or worthwhile or meaningful with my weekend. Enjoy!




Click on the TRADING CARDS tab to see more of the set.

March 02, 2016

View-Master Mock-up: Taxi Driver.

Between 1970 and 1981, GAF produced the Talking View-Master. This monstrosity used similar reels to the more common model, with the addition of a plastic record attached. Each time you pressed the lever to change the slide, an audio clip lasting 10 to 20 seconds would play. Unsurprisingly, the sound quality was terrible. An extensive breakdown of this and other View-Master models can be found here.

Inspired by the outlandishness of the Talking View-Master, I've created my next unlikely reel package - this time featuring Martin Scorsese's 1976 ode to urban decay, Taxi Driver.

February 29, 2016

View-Master Mock-up: A Clockwork Orange.

Up next in my series of View-Master reel sets that never existed, Stanley Kubrick's 1971 film A Clockwork Orange. Again, I've tried to remain faithful to the package design of the time period.

February 28, 2016

View-Master Mock-up: Full Metal Jacket.

Towards the late 80s, View-Master reel packaging became increasingly colourful and kid friendly - and this has been reflected in my latest mock-up for Stanley Kubrick's 1987 Vietnam war film, Full Metal Jacket



To see more Full Metal Jacket merchandise that never existed, check out this Read-Along Record.

February 26, 2016

An American Werewolf In London: View-Master Mock-up.

Here is the next View-Master movie reel mock-up, this time featuring John Landis' 1981 horror/comedy, An American Werewolf in London. This film was responsible for one of my earliest celebrity crushes (Jenny Agutter), as well as instilling in me an irrational fear of opening curtains (for fear of being stabbed by a mutant Nazi monster). It's a shame this View-Master set never existed - if it had, I could have desensitised myself to cinematic gore and violence from a much earlier age.


February 25, 2016

Stanley Kubrick's The Shining: Now Available in 3D!

Long before James Cameron reinvigorated the film and panel van airbrushing industry with his 2009 Sam Worthington vehicle Avatar, kids could hold a chunk of carcinogenic red plastic to their eyeballs and experience exactly what it must be like if everything was cut out of cardboard and positioned slightly apart from everything else. 


The View-Master was introduced in 1939, to a pre-war general populace who were clambering for stereoscopic images of tourist attractions. By 1981, it was standard fare in every child's toy box, with a variety of film and television licensed products available for purchase. These included you're typical 80s blockbusters, such as E.T. The Extra Terrestrial, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Jaws 3D, and The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension. A complete list of all available titles can be found at The View-Master Ultimate Reel List.

Although View-Master reels had, for many years, been designed specifically for an adult market, by the early 80s the target audience was predominately children - which is why we never saw the films of Stanley Kubrick released as a View-Master reel set. I am slowly rectifying this oversight with the first of a series of adult-centric View-Master mock-ups, beginning with the 1980 horror classic, The Shining.



February 14, 2016

Music, Memory and 80s Film Classics.

Music has always been an integral part of the film making process. Get the music wrong and a film can be ruined (think Ladyhawke), whereas the right music accompaniment can elevate a mediocre movie into the realm of the 'classic'.


Sound, like smell, are our most powerful triggers for memory. A song or piece of music can remind us of a film long after the plot, characters and visuals have been forgotten. With that theory as a jumping off point, I've created a list of the top 10 movie songs from the 1980s. Rather than using popularity or record sales as a basis for comparison, to be included in the list the songs must be:
  • indicative of the era
  • inexorably tied to the movie
Although dated, what sets these songs apart is the fact that, for many people, they cannot be heard without thinking about the film they were in. To make it a little harder, I've avoided using songs in which the title of the movie is mentioned. Unfortunately, that rules out the following sonic masterpieces:



So counting down from 10, click the jump to see the Not-At-All-Arbitrary, All-Time Most Memorable, Memory Inducing Film Songs From The 80s:

February 12, 2016

Colouring Books: Not Just For Adults.


Colouring books haven't always been designed for frustrated middle aged women with too much free time on their hands. There was a time in the not too distant past when colouring books were meant for children to colour while they waited for iPads to be invented. I've added some images from The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi colouring books to the PRINT MEDIA collection. Follow the link, or click the tab at the top of the page to see more examples of Star Wars themed anxiety relieving mindfulnessness.

February 06, 2016

Text On Film: Collector's Magazines, Storybooks And The 'Making Of'.


Back in the days before the internet spoiled everything for everyone with its wealth of information and zany cat videos, people would purchase books and magazines to meet their info gathering needs. Although they took up valuable living space and were a potential fire hazard, books were an excellent source of movie knowledge - especially for the young film aficionado.

Generally, there were four classes of film related print media available, each aimed at a certain demographic - the 'making of', the collector's magazine, the storybook, and the novelization (or movie tie-in). These were the DVD special features of my youth, expanding the film going experience beyond the theatrical release of a movie. 

I have photographed some of my pre-90s favourites and uploaded them to the PRINT MEDIA collection, which can be accessed via the tab at the top of the screen. Below are a few examples of those items awaiting your perusal.


Giger's Alien is a 1989 reprint of a 'making of' book, first published in 1979. It contains many of Swiss artist H.R. Giger's concept artworks for the film Alien, as well photos from the production. Giger himself supplies the text, documenting his transition from fine art to the commercial film industry. Of particular interest is the following section, which details the scene in which Ripley finds Dallas' cocoon - a scene that never made it into the final cut of the film. Prior to James Cameron's Aliens, we had never seen what happened to the biomechanoid's victims. According to early versions of the Alien script, the human host would actually become the egg that would later eject a facehugger, rather than the eggs being laid by a queen alien (as in Aliens).


Glossy collector's magazines have been promoting films for many years. The following example was printed in Japan and released in conjunction with the 1967 James Bond film, You Only Live Twice.


Released in 1964, this next James Bond magazine contains stories, photos and information on all of the Connery Bond films up to, and including, Goldfinger


To see more images from this magazine and others, click on the link or hit the PRINT MEDIA tab at the top of the page.

January 30, 2016

Obsolete Media And The Pop Culture Collector.


One of the obvious drawbacks of being a pop culture collector is the pervasive accumulation of stuff. The problem with having loads and loads of stuff is that, invariably, it is boxed away, never to be seen. As much as I love my stuff, I rarely get to see it. So, in order to resolve this conundrum, I've started posting images of stuff that I reckon might be of some interest to people who can't get enough of 70s and 80s nostalgia. The first batch of items belong to the Original Soundtrack or vinyl based film media family, and can be viewed by clicking on the FILM ON VINYL tab at the top of the page. It's smoke and dust free!

January 29, 2016

Collections Tabs Added To Obscure Pop Culture Blog.

Do you dislike words? Do you prefer your blogs to be more show and less tell? Well you're in luck - collection tabs have been added so you can now see my trading card and Read-Along mock ups in all their collated glory. Just follow the links or click the tabs at the top of the page, and you won't be bothered by words any longer.

And for those who are interested, here are some more Stand By Me trading cards, including the wax paper wrapper:



More Stand By Me Trading Cards.

Been hanging out for the next batch of fantasy trading cards based on Rob Reiner's adaptation of Stephen King's novella The Body? Well, you can now relax because the wait is over. Three more Stand By Me trading cards are complete and ready to add to your collection. You can see the first nine cards here, or simply scroll down the page to my previous entry. It's that easy!