Documentary: Dogtown and Z-Boys (2001)

Dogtown and Z-Boys is a documentary that takes you through the history and lives of the legendary Zephyr surf and skateboarding team. The film, directed by Stacey Peralta and narrated by Sean Penn, is full of vintage surf and skate video footage, photos, and interviews with the Zephyr team. Based on the book Dogtown - The Legend of the Z-Boys and featuring a killer soundtrack (Jimi Hendrix, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Stooges, etc.) this is a ride not be missed.

Documentary: American Hardcore - The History of American Punk Rock 1980 - 1986

Paul Rachman's feature documentary is a chronicle of the underground hardcore punk years in the US from 1979 to 1986. Generally unheralded at the time, the early 1980s hardcore punk rock scenes in Washington D.C., Los Angeles or Boston gave birth to much of the rock music and culture that followed.

Hardcore back then was more than music - it was rather a social movement, created by alienated Reaganomics-era kids . A movement which could be self-destructive and nihilistic, but just as reassuring and positive at the same time.

American Hardcore traces this lost subculture, from its early roots in 1980 to its sudden decline in 1985. Recent interviews and great live footage from Black Flag, Bad Brains, Minor Threat, SS Decontrol and Gang Green make this a real gem. Intelligent retrospective.

Check it out.

http://www.american-hardcore.de/

Girls and Guns: The Bikini Bandits

"All you need to make a film is a girl and a gun", french cult director Jean-Luc Godard apparently once claimed. What is it this fascination with scantly-clad, but heavily armed women in popular culture, as most recently documented in the controversial reception of a US web-based reality show called „Girls and Guns“? From Homer's godesses to Jeanne d'Arc, from Barbarella to Pam Grier and Charlie´s Angels, from the voluptous vixens of Russ Meyer, Jamie Lee Curtis (Blue Steel) to Lara Croft or the more recent Bikini Bandits, predominantly male audiences seem to be fascinated with strong female characters, who know how to defend themselves.
If they wear a bikini, that is. Although I´m not so sure about Jeanne d'Arcs casual clothing choices.

Unlike the gun-bunnies at ToughSportsLive, the Bikini Bandits appear to be a parody. They are a band of bikini-clad, gun-toting superhotties who star in internet shorts and their own movies. And they have that other, decisive ingredient: Rock n Roll.

The Bikini Bandits starr in videos by A Perfect Circle, hang out with Tool and had Dee Dee Ramone play the Pope in one of their flicks. In other words: they rock.

So, what´s the deal with all these machine gun maids and superheroines? Since I am far from being a social scientist, I leave the research to the scholars and just mindlessly embrace this weird popular culture phenomenon . By the way, „Girls and Guns“ comes with a subscription for similar intellectually challening shows such as cockfighting or Brazilian cagefights….what else could we ask for?

Feel free to add your comments. I might pick up this topic again after having seen the new Rodriguez / Tarantion Grindhouseflicks Planet Terror and Death Proof…. or I´ll add a little something on rrrriot girls or the like‚ `cause, actually, nothing beats a girl with a …guitar!

Further reading or unadulterated mindless indulgence:

http://www.girlswithguns.org/

http://www.moviebadgirls.com/

http://www.girls-with-guns.co.uk/

http://www.atomfilms.com/home.jsp

http://www.ifilm.com/video/2683985

The Return of Frank the Tank?

In the sequel to the comedy Old School, the rumored plot focuses on the first film's three main characters—Mitch (Luke Wilson), Frank (Will Ferrell?), and Beanie (Vince Vaughn)—who head to Daytona Beach for spring break. However, rumors have it that Will Ferrell is reluctant to join the cast for some more streaking fun in Old School Dos, which I feel, is one hell of a bummer.