Living with Chucky (2022)

Living with Chucky (2022)

Dir. Kyra Elise Gardner

A documentary in which various cast and crew members from the Child's Play movies discuss their experiences of the filmmaking process and their relationship to the killer doll, Chucky.

The montage of clips near the beginning is a great reminder of why the knee-high slasher is such an iconic character; it made me want to re-watch all seven movies again. (The shitty reboot from 2009 is ignored, as it ought to be.)

For the most part, the doc follows a traditional formula, which is a collection of talking-heads clips arranged into a basic chronological narrative of the filmmaker's / editor's design, including words from actors Alex Vincent, Brad Dourif, Christine Elise, Jennifer Tilly, and Fiona Dourif. There's also input from some of the writers, producers, directors, and puppeteers.

As a Child's Play fan, I enjoyed it very much, but as a documentary it does stumble a little.

Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds (1978)

Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The WotW (1978)

I don't personally regard every song on Jeff Wayne's début concept album to be perfect in itself, but when considered as a whole I feel it's a masterpiece of adaptation, design (including artwork) and aural joy. It's an album I've loved for 30+ years.

Actor Richard Burton narrates the story, based on H. G. Wells' famous 1898 novel; his euphonious baritones are perfectly suited to the work.

Completing the magic are a String and Prog Rock accompaniment, together creating a sweeping aura that carries the listener on a stirring, emotional journey. The changes in tone and dramatic intensity move it seamlessly from ominous to propitious, from elation to woe, all the while able to satisfy people in search of storytelling just as much as people in search of music. It's a work of art that's rich in imagery, content, and 1970s style.

Princess Mononoke (1997)

Princess Mononoke (1997)

Dir. Hayao Miyazaki

There's often an environmental message in Hayao Miyazaki's works, but it's much more aggressive in Princess Mononoke than in any Ghibli film that he'd made prior, and because of that it feels less safe.

It's Nature versus Industry in a war that neither side can win. Trapped in the middle is a village Prince named Ashitaka. The youth is unwilling to take sides, but at the same time is determined to put an end to the conflict. He's even prepared to die, if necessary.

The girl with the warpainted face on the cover is San. She sides with the animals, which gives her a very direct focus, initially, but, for reasons that are too spoilery to go into, she's also one of the more interesting characters.

Ghost in the Shell: Original Soundtrack (1995)

Ghost in the Shell: OST (1995)

Composed by Kenji Kawai

Kenji’s use of modern synthesised technology spliced with traditional Japanese instrumentation captures the very essence of the GitS film.

A female choir sets the tone on the opening track, but what follows is primarily minimalist, reliant on sparse percussion, chimes, bells, and an oddly eerie atmosphere. The feeling of floating in a sea is an apt analogy to describe the ominous embrace and peaceful, enveloping serenity of it.

It's both emotionally sombre and spiritually beautiful, which seems like an impossible contradiction to me. But I adore beautiful contradictions.

Return to the Planet of the Apes (1975)

Return to the Planet of the Apes (1975)

13 episodes, approx. 30 minutes each.

An animated TV Series that borrows characters from some of the previous Planet of the Apes live action productions but is nevertheless its own thing, requiring no prior franchise knowledge.

The ape-world is more technologically advanced than we'd seen before, with concrete buildings, televisions, and automobiles with internal combustion engines, putting it closer to Pierre Boulle's original 1963 novel than any of its film or TV predecessors had come.

The means by which the three human astronauts — 

Jeff Allen (Austin Stoker), Bill Hudson (Tom Williams), and Judy Franklin (Claudette Nevins) – get to the titular 'planet' is similar to how it was for Taylor and Brent in Films 01 and 02, respectively.

The relationship that the trio of astronauts have with chimpanzee scientists Cornelius (Edwin Mills) and Zira (Philippa Harris) is reminiscent of how it was with the human-sympathisers and Taylor, making it feel like some kind of parallel timeline.

Stray Cat Rock: Films (1970)

Stray Cat Rock: Films (1970-71)

Dirs. Yasuharu Hasebe / Toshiya Fujita

There are five movies in Nikkatsu's Stray Cat Rock / Alleycat Rock series, but they aren't connected in any meaningful way other than being thematically similar and each one having actress Meiko Kaji in a lead role.

In the first, 01. Stray Cat Rock: Delinquent Girl Boss (1970 / Dir. Yasuharu Hasebe) a group of street-savvy women, really just 'chicks' with knives and razor blades, fight for a purpose when a sukeban (delinquent girl) rides into town and provides guidance.

It's interesting seeing the traditional roles of the sexes reversed in a 70s setting, and exploring how rules are applied and disregarded in the contrasting arenas of the street and the boxing ring, but, ultimately, Delinquent Girl Boss is 80+ minutes of style over substance played out to a soundtrack of funky jazz and psychedelic rock. If Dir. Hasebe had further indulged his willingness to explore a film frame's role in the telling of a story, then things might've been better.

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (1983-84)

He-Man and the MotU (1983-84)
Dirs. various | Seasons: 02 | Episodes: 130 (total), approx 23 mins each.

In theory, writing about the original MotU TV series should be a simple task because it isn't a difficult series to describe —  it's a mix of High Fantasy and Science Fiction, wrapped up in a 1980s bun — but the characters and their world have been such a defining part of my life that finding the words is proving to be difficult. It'll probably sound ridiculous, but if I could reach deep into my soul and paste that onto the page, much of what's there would be MotU-shaped.

Within the colourful blobs of joy would be identifiable forms. There'll be one that looks like a stone castle with a skull entrance. Next to it would be a jagged mountain with a giant snake wrapped around it. Elsewhere, you'd see a large cat the size of a lion, but green with orange stripes, and red armour on its back and head.

And there would be heroes, different in temperament but each one cut from the same cloth, standing together, poised to defend, strong in spirit and steadfast in purpose as they do their utmost to prevent the forces of evil from realising their selfish goals, lest the innocent suffer. A cliché it may be, but it's a cliché with a true heart, and that heart beats in time with my own. Put simply, I adore 1980s era MotU.