Under discussion:

The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters  (2007)

King of Kong: A fistful of quarters

            Christians have Jesus Christ, Islam has Allah and classic video gamers have Billy Mitchell. The man who held the Donkey Kong record for almost twenty five years is the subject of a documentary in which an unknown newcomer in the classic gaming circle, Steve Wiebe, poses a serious threat to Mitchell's ancient record and the subsequent mind games that ensues between both men.

Mitchell is a character unlike any other. Not only does he compare himself to the Red Baron, the most prolific World War II fighter pilot, he also models his life around the idea that he is leaps and bounds ahead of the pack when it comes to classic gaming. Although the community is so small and otherwise insignificant, he revels in the fact that he sits atop a virtual throne and praised by his followers. He exudes a level of confidence so unhealthy that it borders megalomania. His ties are decked in American colors and his trophy wife follows him around with a fake smile of epic proportions. Mitchell's public appearances are carefully choreographed and his constant smugness makes it easy to dislike him as a person. In his mind, he is truly the greatest classic gamer ever, although many of his records have been broken since the 80s.

That leads us to his competitor, Steve Wiebe. When he proclaims to having a new Donkey Kong record, the married father of two from Washington State quickly becomes thrust into the gaming limelight as he does his best to withstand the onslaught from the myriad of Mitchell disciples wishing to see him fail. Wiebe is Mitchell's anti-thesis: timid and soft-spoken, unaccomplished and unstylish. Although he has always been talented at several things, he was never able to overcome his greatest nemesis, himself. Too afraid to stand up to others and often failing at the most critical moments in his life. A self-taught Donkey Kong expert, he manages to beat Mitchell's long-standing record of 874,000 and is soon recognized as the all-time best. It's around this time that his rivalry against Mitchell goes into fifth gear.

Without giving away too much of the movie, it's a fascinating portrayal of the lengths at which some people will go to defend what is theirs. It also exposes the other major players in this scene, people such as Walter Day and Robert Mruczek, founder and head referee respectively of Twin Galaxies, the only ‘official' score keepers of classic gaming. These people would appear demented by the untrained eye, but they just live for their passion. Day refers to gamers as superstars and often speaks extremely highly of Mitchell, a regular occurrence in the documentary. Brian Kuh, another disciple, is sent to Wiebe's house on one occasion to ‘investigate' his Donkey Kong machine in the hopes of finding incriminating evidence that would discredit the record he had set on it. The movie probes even further into the compulsivity that most gamers have: a lot of them will stoop to sabotage and deceitful behavior to put someone off their game. I guess that only goes to show how important this is to them.

The most frustrating element of the movie lies in the fact that Mitchell repeatedly refuses to accept Wiebe's challenges, wherever they are. The aura of mystery that surrounds him is astonishing, considering that he is a staunch advocate of playing in front of an audience to have a gaming record validated. At one point a competition is held no more than ten miles away from Mitchell's home yet he declines to even appear. Mitchell might seem confident of his abilities on the outside, but that flair is overshadowed by his reluctance to meet or even play head to head against Wiebe, the only other player in the world capable of beating the record.

The movie does an excellent job of portraying the childishness exhibited by Mitchell and his followers. I laughed out loud when Kuh sneaks upstairs and calls Mitchell to update him on Wiebe's progress during a game. Mitchell, sitting comfortably in his living room looks completely unfazed, as if he were planning his next move at the very moment. Further more, the absurdities caught on tape are consistently topped by others: Walter Day referring to Mitchell as a Jedi, calling the gaming community ‘his child' or the obsession over reaching the mythical kill screen in Donkey Kong. So much importance is placed on these scores and results that it consequently traps these people in this surreal world that is restricted to other ‘mortals', i.e. normal gamers. The doings of this tightly-knit community left me baffled by the end of my first viewing but as I watched more and more, I came to understand their motives. Why would people let something so trivial take over their entire lives, you might ask? It's an addiction I suppose and everyone has a different one.

The saga continues to this day, as the Donkey Kong record continues to be broken, almost on a yearly basis. At the end of the movie we're told that Wiebe had successfully taken over as the official record holder with a score of 1,047,000 points, but Mitchell allegedly took back his title on the 25^th anniversary of his first record-setting day. The virtual war has just begun...

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Under discussion:

The Nomi Song  (2005)

The Nomi Song (2005)

Directed by Andrew Horn

Looks like an alien, sings like a diva!

An incredible documentary about Klause Nomi, a cult figure in the New Wave Underground scene during the 80`s.

Nomi was a German emigrant who in the 1970s and 1980s took downtown New York by storm with his unique look and incredible operatic voice. Dressing like David Byrne while spiking his hair and applying layers of eyeliner and white powder to his face, Nomi would sing pop standards like opera arias. He first came to the attention of New York's art scene in 1978 with his performance of Vaudeville in a "new wave" format at a four night event MC'd by artist David McDermott. The reaction was so overwhelming that he was invited to perform at all the top clubs in New York City, assembling a group of unknown artists at the time including Joey Arias, Jean Michel Basquait, Keith Haring and Johnny Sex.

Andrew Horn's portrait of the new wave star Klaus Nomi is quite simply a master piece. A vivid portrait of not only the man, but an era in which the underground ruled New York and a time in which the city itself was more welcoming to new and upcoming artists. The movie gathers interviews from many of the people who congregated around Klaus before his death in 1983 along with rare live performances from the man himself. The memories are vivid and touching, truthful and unforgiving. Sharing his darkest secrets to praising him as a genius, these testimonies are the making of a legend. The film takes us from the point in which he immigrated to the States, through his underground struggle; His pursuit of greater stardom in abandoning the East Village for a record deal and finally to his taking ill to what was then called the "gay cancer"

The party was over" says painter Kenny Schraf looking back on those pre-AIDS days. Klaus Nomi was the first semi-well known figure on the New York scene to die of the disease. He is best known to the mainstream for his back up vocals to David Bowie's Saturday Night Performance. However he will forever be loved and honored in the scene that matters (The Underground) with films like this exposing him to future generations.

Jimmy D.

Under discussion:

Dance of the Dead  (2008)

Dance of the Dead (2008)

When he couldn't get a green light for Dance of the Dead director Gregg Bishop took $15k which he earned from the profits from his short film and funded his own movie. The result was the hitThe Other Side  released in 2006. The film premiered at the Slamdance Film Festival and was picked up for a theatrical release. It was a huge hit with critics and after the producers saw his film they finally gave the go ahead forDance of the Dead. Thank god!

The film doesn't isn't in any way groundbreaking. If anything it could be best describes as a cross between Return of The Living Dead and Carrie only with the cast of Fast Times at Ridgemond High.  It all takes place around an all Americanhigh school on prom night. Of course like most high schools, the institution is located next to not only a graveyard but also a nuclear power plant. A chemical gets leaked without any explanation (but who needs on in a zombie film) and the dead turn to life.

The film's premise is very simple but the key to its success is that it never takes itself seriously. It takes you on a fun ride right from the first five minutes and never gives out. More importantly for a low budget film, the production values are great. They make with what they have and they do not aim too high. Too many small movies try to hard to do too much and we usually end up with bad computer effects. Here they stay away from CGI as often as possible and do an excellent job with the make up and prosthetics.

Joe Ballarini's smart script follows a group of outcasts from the school into the graveyard and all around town. In fact the best part of the film comes half way when the children shelter themselves in what appears to be a mansion.  Much like Night of the Living Dead, they board up the windows and doors in hopes to keep safe. Only they quickly discover they hid themselves inside a funeral home. All hell breaks loose and the children regroup only to getaway in what else but a hearse.

The cast of Dance of the Dead was put together with mostly non actors from Georgia with the exception of  Jared Kusnitz (Doll Graveyard) and Randy McDowell (Good Intentions). Jared Kusnitz, was actually in another  SXSW ‘Midnight movie called Otis. Here he pulls off another great deadpan performance and lands himself in a better film.

According to director-producer Greg Bishop, they "searched for months for the right kids, ones who were good at improv and whom acted natural. Justin Welborn who also appeared in THE SIGNAL steals the show in this film. He plays the student delinquent Kyle a redneck bully who has a reputation of beating up the student population. When the zombies come out he manages to turn his anger on them and in one of my favorite scenes takes out a dozen or so zombies in what resembles a WWE hardcore wrestling match complete with elbow drops, body slams and an onslaught of weapons.

Dance of The Dead may not be at the same level as Shaun of the Dead but it makes for an entertaining time. Highly recommended for any genre enthusiasts or a group of friends getting together for a movie night. Besides that what other movie has ever featured a zombie sex scene?

Dance of the Dead will be distributed from October 2008 by Lions Gate Entertainment in a deal with Sam Raimi's new partnership Ghost House Underground. The film is expected to be part of Ghost House's inaugural slate of offerings dubbed "October Horror".

Jimmy Dean

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