Ten Taglines #4

Another round of personal catch-phrases from the old film collection:

1. Curdled: Movies show the murder scene, but never the clean-up afterwards...
2. From Dusk Till Dawn: Salma Hayek – Hotter than any True Blood Vampire!
3. The Mighty Peking Man: The Chinese King-Kong!
4. The Blues Brothers: Best car chase scene in a shopping mall!
5. Edward Scissorhands: No scissors on the waterbed!
6. Memento: You already know the ending, but still surprised by the beginning…
7. Super Bad: The best comedy of my generation!
8. Marie Antoinette: Rock songs can be applied to any time period…
9. Scanners: Mind-Blowing!
10. 300: Half-Naked Men know how to kick-ass!

The Tarantino Comics Rating System - Death List Five

For the past few weeks, I've been using the standard "5 Star Rating System" to appraise the things I've been checking out. However, since this blog is called Tarantino Comics, I had to come up with something worthy to live up to the name. Ideas ranging from bullets, Samurai Swords, and even Uma's crossed my mind, but they just weren't original enough. Then I got to thinking, how was the number five ever represented in a Tarantino Film? The Answer: Death List Five


As the Bride killed her way up the list, the closer she got to her goal. In a similar fashion, I plan to use the concept to rate my movies and comics: The higher up the list, the closer to awesomeness.

So here's how the rating system translates (and yes, I'm copying the description from Netflix):

1. O-Ren Ishii (Cottonmouth) - Hated It
2. Vernita Green (Copperhead) - Didn't Like It
3. Budd (Sidewinder) - Liked It
4. Elle Driver (California Mountain Snake) - Really Liked It
5. Bill (Snake Charmer) - Loved It

Please don't think I hated the Lucy Liu fight, I loved it, especially everything leading up to it. But when you compare it to the Five Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique that Beatrix landed on Bill's chest, it was mind-blowing! So for the purposes of this blog, Death List Five is much more fitting.

Grizzly - Another Giant Monster on the Loose

Grizzly was directed by William Girdler in 1976, the last feature shown on TCM Underground before going on hiatus for this year's 31 Days of Oscar. The premise is about a gigantic, 15 foot, Grizzly Bear attacking local campers. Very appropriately, it was paired with Night of the Lepus, a film about giant bunny rabbits attacking townspeople.

Grizzly's plot is pretty simple:

• Pretty young women, barely clothed, are being ripped to shreds by a giant bear.
• Drunk hunters decide to take matters in their own hands, leading to their own demise as they try destroy the beast.
• To prevent anymore deaths, the Local Park Ranger, a Naturalist, and a Helicopter Pilot decide to take down the Grizzly themselves.

Coming out barely a year after Jaws, Grizzly is considered a rip-off of Steven Spielberg's masterpiece. Some parallels include both monsters killing an innocent woman played by the same female actress (Susan Backlinie). Also, both behemoths were similarly destroyed by huge explosions. However the biggest likeness between the two films were the crews tracking down the giant creatures had similar personalities and professions. Being the engineer that I am, I had to put together a table comparing the brave trios in each movie:


Even though Grizzly comes nowhere near the greatness of Jaws, it did have some entertaining moments like women wearing flannel shirts being tossed around like rag dolls. But, the most shocking scene was when the bear attacked "Little Bobby," brutally severing the 8-year old's limbs. Keeping with the taboo of never harming children or pets, a close second was when a horse was decapitated by the mere swipe of the Grizzly's claws. Also worthy of note is the film's poster: It was illustrated by comic book legend Neal Adams who revived Batman as a detective after the cheesy Adam West TV show.

However, at the end of the day, I'd much rather watch Jaws. And although I see why Grizzly among other Jaws rip-offs like Orca and Alligator have a cult followings for their campiness, I give Grizzly - 2 out of 5 stars.

Black Panther: The Man Without Fear #513

When I heard Marvel was canceling Daredevil, I was outraged. It’s been a consistently good title for over a decade in the hands of only a few creators (Kevin Smith, David Mack, Brian Michael Bendis, and Ed Brubaker). Even Andy Diggle's concept of Matt Murdock leading a ninja assassin clan known as The Hand was pretty cool. So what urged Marvel to drop the title?

In the last issue of Daredevil, Matt Murdock was oppressing Hell's Kitchen through martial law. Controlling the city in his huge fortress called Shadowland, Daredevil was eradicating crime, but in the process imprisoning police officers and terrifying the local citizens. Since Daredevil was taking a lethal viewpoint against those deemed guilty, the other street-level heroes took a stance against him. After a lengthy battle, they defeated Daredevil, discovering he was possessed by an ancient evil demon. Even though Murdock was not himself, he personally exiled himself so he could revive who he once was.

Since Murdock is leaving for his personal journey, he asked Black Panther to be Hell’s Kitchen’s protector. So, with the passing of the torch, the name of the comic title changed, but the numbering of Daredevil continued (Marvel has previously done this with Incredible Hulk to the Incredible Hercules). So in Black Panther: The Man Without Fear #513, we discover T’Challa relinquished his power in Wakanda so he too can rediscover himself on the streets.

Written by David Liss, the groundwork for a great storyline is being established. T’Challa is going under a secret identify and running a diner so he can meet the local people and hear the latest gossip. Using the information he obtains while running the food joint, Black Panther goes on the prowl to fight crime in the city. In addition to the loss of his powers, T’Challa has the challenge of battling criminals who are not holding their punches since they have no fear in a “knock-off” vigilante.

To counteract Black Panther, Liss is also creating a new villain: Vlad the Impaler. Vlad is a Romanian crimelord who has the strength of Captain America. It is fun to read Vlad’s dialog since Liss writes his language like a hitman from “Eastern Promises.” Gaining a reputation through fear, Vlad has his sights on becoming the Kingpin and destroying the new guardian of Hell’s Kitchen.

To compliment this astounding story, Francesco Francavilla’s artwork is fantastic. With black and red overtones, Francesco was born to draw this story. Capturing the grittiness of Hell's Kitchen, Francesco also maintains the superhero element of comic books. I’ve met Francesco at comic cons and he is a great guy who knows Pulp (he also drew Black Beetle in my Pulp Themed Sketchbook). Check out Francesco’s blog Pulp Sunday, where he posts artwork harkening back to older movies, stories, and comics: http://pulpsunday.blogspot.com/

Although Daredevil is my favorite Marvel character, I am truly excited for this story to unfold. With an intriguing story that is remarkably illustrated, I give Black Panther: The Man Without Fear #513 – 5 out of 5 stars.

The Gauntlet - An Awesome Shootout

Clint Eastwood is a guy I've only discovered in the last year or so. Of course I know the name, but I really haven't seen any of his work. My first acquaintance with Clint was in Mystic River, a brilliant movie in which he did not the star, but directed. And with my garnering interest of westerns (highly influenced by Tarantino), I had to start with the best: The Good, The Bad and the Ugly.

Since I loved how Eastwood played the cool, calm, and collected persona in the Spaghetti Westerns, I've decided to watch another one of his acting roles in The Gauntlet. Detective Ben Shockley, played by Eastwood, is a drunk cop sent to escort a young lady, Gus Mally, from Vegas to Phoenix. Gus, played by Sondra Locke, is a sassy prostitute who is called into court to testify for a mob trial. However, the police commissioner who sent Shockley on the task, is a corrupt man tied-in with the case. The commissioner only sent Shockley as a setup, having every intention to kill them on their journey back to Phoenix. After surviving car chases, helicopter pursuits, and a biker gang, nothing will stop Shockley from delivering the girl to city hall, even if it means bursting into an armed gauntlet.

Not only did Eastwood play the main role, but he also directed the film in 1977. In one scene, Eastwood incorporated cinematic techniques trademarked by Sergio Leone. When the duo are being attacked by a biker gang on a train, the camera zoomed onto their faces, powerfully showing their fear and expressions. Another trait of note is the film's jazz score. Eastwood must have a love for jazz as he eventually directed Bird, a film biography based on saxophonist Charlie Parker. The film is also filled with action, utilizing real stunts and special effects without any CGI. Two sequences of note are:

• The Helicopter Pursuit: There is a real helicopter chasing a real motorcycle. As the chase is going on, you are able to watch from the both perspectives of the ground and the air. With the sequence ending in a helicopter collision, there is a huge explosion using awesome pyrotechnics.
• The Gauntlet: The movie's grand finale ends with the couple running a huge bus through a blockade of armed police officers. With thousands of bullets piercing through the bus, this is a cinematic delight to watch.

The movie may be a little dated, such as Shockley shutting Gus up with a slap to the face, but it has a lot of fun scenes and a story to keep you interested. Maybe Dirty Harry (which I plan to watch in the near future) is more recognizable than Shockley, but the movie poster attracted me with an awesome image by comic book legend Frank Frazetta. Overall, I'm glad to have watched this film, giving the The Gauntlet - 3 out of 5 stars.

Tarantino Comics - Issue 9

Before I showcase today's issue of Tarantino Comics, I'd like to give a quick shout-out to the website Everything Tarantino. They are a great provider of Tarantino news, ranging from film rumors, announcements, and appearances. In a recent post, they pointed out this blog, so thank you for the word of mouth! Please go check them out at http://www.everythingtarantino.com/

Tarantino Comics #9 was drawn by Josh Greathouse. Done at Dragon Con 2010, Josh was inspired by Tarantino's signature camera angle: The Trunk Shot! From the perspective of soon-to-be-earless Marvin Nash, Josh did an amazing job illustrating Mr. White, Mr. Blonde, and Mr. Pink's facial characteristics with his own style.

Feel free to check out Josh's artwork and webcomic at http://www.boneyardfranky.com/

Ten Taglines #3

Another segment of the first thoughts that pop into my head when you mention that movie:

1. Four Rooms: The quickest surprise ending ever!
2. Daredevil: Forget bullets, watch out for the paper clips!
3. House of 1000 Corpses: The killer isn’t necessarily the one wearing a mask…
4. Grindhouse: The reason I go to midnight showings!
5. Vixen: This girl will do just about anyone…
6. Repulsion: Silent dream sequences are terrifying…
7. The Midnight Meat Train: A lot more than muggings happen in the city subway…
8. Five Fingers of Death: Listen to the awesome revenge sounds of Kill Bill!
9. Blazing Saddles: Railroad workers should be on Glee…
10. Foxy Brown: Think twice before eating that pickled sausage…