The Octagon (1980)

Although Japanese mythology can only vaguely pinpoint the origins of the ninja, Scott James can look at a roomful of corpses and determine that the cause of death “has to be ninjas.” Does it have to be ninjas? Couldn’t it be disgruntled employees? The Manson family? Ninjas are as good a guess as aliens, I suppose. Chuck Norris plays Scott James. James is, well, a guy like Chuck Norris. The film never fully explains James’ stake in the scenario except that he is an ex-soldier, ex-professional fighter, and he trained as a ninja. As the story progresses,  he acquiesces to call someone for “an assignment.” Who does he work for? It doesn’t matter. Scott James walks around kicking ass. Women swoon. Evil schemes fail. His entering a room is enough to stop a square dance. 

The movie is mostly a series of fights with an occasional break thrown in to attempt a plot. Eventually, we are treated to the martial arts expo that we are all waiting for. James and all his cronies converge on his old training camp run by his arch nemesis Seikura (Tadashi Yamashita). There, ninjas get a chance to show off their ninja training; training that covers important topics such as “how to hang around under leaves until an intruder happens by” and “how to stop in the middle of a fight you are winning and swing your weapons around skillfully until you get kicked in the head.” And throwing stars. Yes, there are throwing stars. 

The Octagon contains early appearances by “Oz” and Ghostbusters star Ernie Hudson and “man, that guy has been in everything” character actor Tracy Walter. The movie was written well before the Internet, before people had ready access to casual information. All that people knew about ninjas in 1980 was that they are awesome. That’s really all you need to know to enjoy The Octagon.

THE OCTAGON - Monday, April 26th at 8:00 p.m.

It's MONDO MONDAYS at The Loft, celebrating weird, wild and wonderful flicks from the Mondo side of the silver screen! Admission is only $2.00, and don't forget to check out our yummy "Mondo Munchies" snack bucket ... fill a cup for a buck!

Billups Allen's interest in writing began composing lyrics for the band Shoutbus and later for the band Corn on Macabre. Lyrical duties led to writing poetry and short stories. Several of his short stories were published in a book entitled Unfurnished published by Florida’s now defunct Schematics Records. Allen currently lives in Tucson, Arizona where he writes Cramhole comic zine, writes reviews for Razorcake Magazine and the Tucson Citizen and hosts a radio show called The Groove Tomb. www.billupsallen.com

A Lofty Interview with Spike - RJ Cavender

R.J. Cavender: For those unfamiliar, can you give a brief history of the Spike & Mike Festivals?

SPIKE: It all started in 1977 with Spike & Mike’s Festival of Animation and later the popular and infamous Spike & Mike’s Sick & Twisted. What we have accomplished is quite remarkable, if you really think about it. Creating a whole cottage industry producing, promoting & distributing our own theatrical as well as our own funding, marketing, 35mm lab conversion, producing many of their own shorts, creating yearly sequels that are as good or better than the previous year all without a publicist. US theatrical premiers that include Wallace & Gromit, Beavis & Butthead, the first films of Shane Acker, Andrew Stanton, John Lasseter, Pixar, Bill Plympton, Danny Antonucci, Eric Fogel, Breehn Burns, Tim Burton, Brad Bird, Pete Docter, Chris Wedge, Kenn Navarro, Marv Newland, Mike Johnson & Nick Park.


RJC: How is Spike & Mike’s New Generation Animation Festival different from the Sick & Twisted festival?

SPIKE: A New Generation of Spike and Mike Animation is different from the Sick and Twisted for several reasons. It features more award winning, avante garde, international films and filmmakers. It’s more sophisticated, artistic but still very cool, insanely humorous and accessible.


RJC: What special challenges are you facing now with content being so readily available on the internet?

SPIKE: The internet has made our live events more unique because the people are all united together to watch under one big screen and in one theatre, they play off each others energy. And we are working on a bunch of content deals via new delivery systems on the internet as well, so keep an eye out for us there too…


RJC: Where did your love of animation come from?

SPIKE: With exposure to all the world’s great animators you develop a great awareness and appreciation for the animated arts.


RJC: What’s your favorite short animated piece of all time?

SPIKE: My personal favorite is the “Bolero” scene from “Allegro non Troppo” by Bruno Bozzetto.


RJC: What else can we expect from Spike & Mike in the future?

SPIKE: We are currently working on television distribution deals and digital application deals, so keep an eye out for us there as well.

SPIKE AND MIKE'S NEW GENERATION ANIMATION - R.J. Cavender

I’ve been a fan of the Spike and Mike’s Sick and Twisted Film Festival for years now. So, naturally I was a little worried this new festival might be nothing more that a watered-down version of something I once loved.

It’s not.

In fact, the Spike and Mike’s New Generation Animation Festival could easily be one of the best things to ever happen to modern animation.

This collection features short films from around the world, most of them newer offerings, with a few great classics thrown in for good measure. Of the 19 short films presented I’d only seen a couple of them previously, and I probably watch more short films than most people. And while a few of the films offered can probably be found online, you’d truly be doing yourself a disservice to not see them on a big screen.



“The Hidden Life of the Burrowing Owl” by director Michael Roush was easily one of my favorite films of the festival. This dark little comedic piece had impeccable timing and an uneasy feeling of foreboding that brought this viewer in, and held me captivated until the last frame.

“Santa: The Fascist Years” by Bill Plympton made me remember why I fell in love with his work years ago. Plympton just has a warped sense of humor like no one else and this new one proves his work now is just as relevant as it ever was.

Another stand-out film was multiple award-winning “E1even Roses” by Canadian director Pedram Goshtasbpour. The look and feel of this film is like no other, as it integrates so many different techniques into a flawless piece of moving art. And the soundtrack by Tchaikovsky is just invigorating and fits the piece perfectly.

And, of course, what would a Spike and Mike festival be without an appearance by everyone’s favorite American man-of-action, Dr. Tran?

One thing I found particularly interesting about this collection is the lack of excessive computer generated animation. While a few of the films do have computer effects, it seemed that the focus for the festival was more on traditional animation and new uses of mixed media integrated with animation. I found this to be a really interesting choice, in a day-and-age of digitized-everything, that an animation festival can be both innovative and securely rooted in its past.

While this festival certainly lacked the white-knuckled depravity and gross-out gags of the “Sick and Twisted” collection, it was still edgy and innovative and incredibly entertaining. I also think that this collection is a bit more palatable for general audiences and would probably clock in at a PG-13 rating, so if you want to make it a family outing, you’d probably be safe to do so. I can’t really recall anything objectionable.

If this first collection is any indication of things to come, I’d say that Spike and Mike’s New Generation Animation Festival is set to be a yearly guidepost into the future of modern animation.

This is a Limited Engagement, so I’d recommend you come down to The Loft Cinema and see it soon! The festival ends on Thursday April 29th.

The Pit (1981) - Billups Allen

The beginning echoes a hint of Stephen King’s high school horror story Carrie (1976). Jamie (Sammy Snyders) is a creepy little kid. However on the surface, Jamie’s problems don’t seem too far outside of the realm of natural curiosity. In spite of this, people seem to hate him on sight. His schoolmates. The librarian. Even elderly ladies in wheelchairs ridicule him. His father wants to write him off as a “nutcase.” What is it that repulses people so about Jamie? The answer becomes pretty apparent when becomes hot for his babysitter Sandy (Jeannie Elias). Jamie is also taking orders from a strange looking teddy bear. 

Jamie’s parents take a cue from this especially difficult time in his life and decide to go on vacation without him. Sandy claims to be something of an expert babysitter having experience with troubled children. She exemplifies her expertise by parading around in towels and nightgowns. Jamie steals from her and stares at her chest while he asks how old her boyfriend is. The two form a real love/hate relationship. 

With all this going on, you might forget the movie is called The Pit. It turns out that the kid has a pit. He feeds it. It eats things. It’s full of monsters. While the film’s tone is somewhat dire up to this point, this horror film takes on a Dennis the Menace quality as bodies start disappearing around town. I don’t wanna give too much away regarding the pit and its actual contents, but the movie is good clean fun in the vein of the 80s heavy metal inspired classic The Gate (1987) and wholly worth seeing because someone actually says, “come on in, the water’s great.” 

THE PIT - Monday, April 19th at 8:00 p.m.
It's MONDO MONDAYS at The Loft, celebrating weird, wild and wonderful flicks from the Mondo side of the silver screen! Admission is only $2.00, and don't forget to check out our yummy "Mondo Munchies" snack bucket ... fill a cup for a buck!

Billups Allen's interest in writing began composing lyrics for the band Shoutbus and later for the band Corn on Macabre. Lyrical duties led to writing poetry and short stories. Several of his short stories were published in a book entitled Unfurnished published by Florida’s now defunct Schematics Records. Allen currently lives in Tucson, Arizona where he writes Cramhole comic zine, writes reviews for Razorcake Magazine and the Tucson Citizen and hosts a radio show called The Groove Tomb. www.billupsallen.com

LOFT STAFF SPOTLIGHT - Alyson

Name:
Alyson

LOFT Staff position:
Floor staff

I have worked at THE LOFT since:
July 2008

I grew up in:
I’m a Tucson native.

My birthday/age is:
25

When I am not at THE LOFT:
I like to bike, jog, swim, hike, and go for walks in interesting neighborhoods. I also collect vintage magazines and make decorations with pictures from them. I have this rather large collection of cookbooks from the ‘50s-‘70s full of hilarious pictures of bizarre space-age food that I secretly kind of want to make. I also spend a lot of time taking my cat, Hazel, for walks around the neighborhood on her leash.

I work at THE LOFT because:
Because I love the Loft, of course! I have always had a passion for history, and the Loft is a living piece of it, and in my 20s I’ve developed a passion for film as well, which the Loft has always been there to nurture. It’s like an amazing library where you can nourish your mind and drink beer at the same time.

A few of my favorite films are:
Fargo, Dr. No, North By Northwest, Rosemary’s Baby, The Philadelphia Story, Election, Darling, A Hard Day’s Night, Closely Watched Trains, If…., Playtime, Wayne’s World, Taxi Driver, Blow-Up, Wild Strawberries, Lolita, I Shot Andy Warhol, An Education, Knife in the Water, The 400 Blows, The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, The Knack…And How to Get It, and more where that came from.

My favorite directors are:
Ingmar Bergman, Frank Capra, Lindsay Anderson, Tony Richardson, Richard Lester, Mary Harron, Jirí Menzel, Stanley Kubrick, Roman Polanski, Sofia Coppola, and of course the Coen brothers.

My favorite LOFT experience was:
As a customer, I’ll never forget coming to the Persona/Blow-Up double feature in 2007. It was a delightful afternoon with two amazing films, and the first time I had had the pleasure of hearing one of Jeff’s intros.

My favorite thing about the Loft is:
My co-workers, the yellow curtains in the main theater, serving beer, and showing really important, great and/or rare films, like the Andy Warhol month we just did or His Girl Friday coming up. And the sheer size of the screen in the main theater will never fail to impress me — I’m still a little awestruck whenever I go in there for the first time during a shift.

Make up your own question here:
What’s that you say? Is Carey Mulligan the next Audrey Hepburn? No. No she is not.

Robo Vampire (1988) - Billups Allen

 One of my all time favorite “Mystery Science Theater 3000” lines has stuck in my head for so long that I involuntarily think about it on occasion when I am watching a convoluted film. The line is “meanwhile, in another movie.” I generally get a lot of satisfaction reflecting on that when it becomes appropriate. However this line was triggered so often during Robo Vampire it became maddening. Without a doubt one of the most confounding movies I have ever seen, director Godfrey Ho was clearly attempting to produce a film that would cash in on the success of Robocop (1987). He also seems to have made the film with his eyes closed. Light on the problems inherent in the making of this film might derive from one of many telling pieces of dialogue: “Orientals are a stubborn race.”

From what I can gather, there is a guy, and he controls vampires that have some hand in protecting a drug cartel. Somewhere along the way, a drug agent gets killed and is turned into a robot. Robots versus vampires; that part seems pretty clear. The rest of the movie primarily consists of roving gangs of kung fu people who run across each other from time to time. These incidents generally lead to passable karate, incompetent gunplay, or bouncing vampires. Fight scenarios are generally preceded by choice bits of dialogue like: “how dare you take my lover’s corpse powers and turn him into a vampire beast. Now we are condemned to a living death and we can never be together in the afterlife.” Since there is not a lot to latch on to with regards to describing the plot, I will share another favorite line of dialogue. Busting into a hive of drug smugglers, the robot makes the following Robocop-esque demand: “Drop your weapons in fifteen seconds. Fifteen. Fourteen. Thirteen.” Evidently his advanced brain did not process how much shooting can take place in fifteen seconds. What the hell, let me share another gem: “I’d pay a million, but it’s not up to me. The government’ll pay you (holding up two fingers) $20,000.”

This film is a the kung fu equivalent of a Jackson Pollock painting. The plot makes the films of David Lynch films seem like an episode of “Flipper.” It is too much fun to be missed, especially if you know anyone who has similar brain damage to the main character in Memento. I imagine someone like that would find this film very satisfying. There is much Internet pontification about the fact that the vampires bounce like rabbits. There is little that can prepare you for the sight of them. The big secret at play is that there are no actual robotic vampires. The title Robo Vampire is evidently a lot catchier than A Robot, Some Drug Dealers and Some Bouncing Vampires. This compels me to share one last bit of dialogue I felt was worth recording: “Bless our drugs.”

ROBO VAMPIRE - Monday, April 12th at 8:00 p.m.
It's MONDO MONDAYS at The Loft, celebrating weird, wild and wonderful flicks from the Mondo side of the silver screen! Admission is only $2.00, and don't forget to check out our yummy "Mondo Munchies" snack bucket ... fill a cup for a buck!

Billups Allen's interest in writing began composing lyrics for the band Shoutbus and later for the band Corn on Macabre. Lyrical duties led to writing poetry and short stories. Several of his short stories were published in a book entitled Unfurnished published by Florida’s now defunct Schematics Records. Allen currently lives in Tucson, Arizona where he writes Cramhole comic zine, writes reviews for Razorcake Magazine and the Tucson Citizen and hosts a radio show called The Groove Tomb. www.billupsallen.com

First Friday Shorts – R.J. Cavender

Lightning apparently can strike twice at The Loft, as my second monthly trip to the First Friday Shorts competition was just as much of a creative ‘perfect storm’ as the first.

For those of you who still aren’t ‘in the know’, First Friday Shorts is a monthly competition that’s been hailed by the Tucson Weekly as the “Best Local Film Event” and by fans of the program as ‘the most fun you can have in Tucson with your clothes on’.

The competition involves rowdy audience participation, blatant disregard for theater quiet zones, and “Gong Show” style eliminations.

Master of Ceremonies Max Cannon took the helm as our trusty captain, and sailed this month’s crowd into an unwitting Sea of Love, Vomit, and Dick-jokes. First Friday’s veteran Michael Sterner was onboard to co-host the event and add colorful commentary where most would dare not.

The rules for First Friday Shorts are simple: Anyone can enter a film in competition. Every film is guaranteed to play for 3 minutes, but after that the audience can call for the dreaded “GONG” if they’re displeased. If the gong is struck, our intrepid host stops the film and the next movie begins.

Night of the Lepus (1972) - Billups Allen

Night of the Lepus opens with an absurd news expose designed to explain why people should be concerned with rabbit overpopulation. Various bits of stock footage show people all over the world (and, most importantly, Arizona) rounding up the furry creatures and offing them. As the story unfolds, scientists Roy and Gerry Bennett (Stuart Whitman and Janet Leigh) are called in to experiment on the rabbits to find out why they are reproducing so quickly. Cruelty to animals seems to be a primary motivation of the first twenty minutes of the film until a key mammal injected with a growth hormone escapes back into the desert. It is not long before giant footprints begin appearing in the sand. As a member of the audience, it is hard to attach a lot of weight to this discovery, mostly because rabbits are not very scary.

From this point on, the film takes on the pace and tone of a typical “pseudo-science causes some animal to take over the world” scenario.  The rampage begins with shots of people screaming and a reverse close-ups of rabbit faces adorned with swaths of red paint. As the film continues in this vein, the film’s primary flaw holds true: rabbits are not very scary. 

As the need to up the ante arrives, we get slow motion shots of furry antagonists terrorizing miniature train set buildings and stuntmen in rabbit suits engaging in hand-to-hand combat with the townsfolk. Occasionally, a character is killed off. It is fun on a lot of levels; the predominant level being that rabbits are not very scary. 

The rabbits go on to do a number of uncharacteristic things like growl, dismember locals, cut phone lines, and eat horses. Night of the Lepus has all the charm of the scene in Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) when a bunny jumps up and bites a knight’s head off. You might think that 90 minutes of this would be tedious. However, the movie is endlessly engaging for one, solitary reason; I’ll leave you to figure out what that reason is.

NIGHT OF THE LEPUS - Monday, April 5th at 8:00 p.m.

It's MONDO MONDAYS at The Loft, celebrating weird, wild and wonderful flicks from the Mondo side of the silver screen! Admission is only $2.00, and don't forget to check out our yummy "Mondo Munchies" snack bucket ... fill a cup for a buck!

Billups Allen's interest in writing began composing lyrics for the band Shoutbus and later for the band Corn on Macabre. Lyrical duties led to writing poetry and short stories. Several of his short stories were published in a book entitled Unfurnished published by Florida’s now defunct Schematics Records. Allen currently lives in Tucson, Arizona where he writes Cramhole comic zine, writes reviews for Razorcake Magazine and the Tucson Citizen and hosts a radio show called The Groove Tomb. www.billupsallen.com

“Pop Goes The Loft” – R.J. Cavender

The last days of March brought with it the end of the month-long “Pop Goes The Loft” Andy Warhol film showcase. Every Thursday in March, The Loft presented a Warhol double-feature, culminating in the final showing of the films “Blowjob” and “My Hustler”.

Tucson band Monster Pussy kicked off the night with a flashback-inducing set of Velvet Underground songs to set the mood and mindset for the full ‘Factory Experience’. I really dug their choice of songs both familiar and eclectic from the Velvet’s discography. Their performance was rockin’ and bombastic, and I especially appreciated the lead singer doing vocal stylings of both Lou Reed and Nico. The illusion was complete when he donned a blonde wig for a full-on Nico impersonation for the song “I’ll Be Your Mirror”. It totally rocked. I fully intend to catch Monster Pussy doing their own original songs when they play at Plush later this month.

Program Director and Master of Ceremonies for the night Jeff Yanc took the stage after the band ended. If you’ve ever been to The Loft for a special event, you probably already know who Jeff is. He’s been the MC for most of the events I’ve attended at the theater including Mondo Monday’s, and he makes speaking in front of large crowds look really effortless. The short introductions that he does before each film always enhance the viewing experience for me, and I appreciate hearing a film’s history and some interesting factoids when someone does their homework like Jeff does.

Up first for the night was the 1963 film “Blowjob”, and it was everything the title implied, and yet both more and less. I found it fascinating, really. The entire film was just one steady shot of a man’s face, as the act implied in the film’s title is being performed on him off-screen. Now, because of the commentary before the film, everyone in the theater was privy to the knowledge of just who was performing said act and why, adding interesting layers onto an already provocative piece.

But, as monotonous as one straight shot of a person’s face, in black-and-white, and as a silent film might sound…it was anything but. In fact, it was more like watching a screen-test from the silent film era or a grainy old photo come to life. The sparse play of light on the actor’s face was always changing, as were his expressions, this leading to moments of hilarity followed by whole segments where his eyes would be covered in creeping shadows. The expressions of ecstasy and agony were interchangeable at times, and what seemed to be an ultimately frustrating off-screen situation made for some pretty interesting ‘living art’.

I talked to some folks during intermission and despite preconceived ideas that both they and I had about what the movie might be like, it completely defied expectations. I’m not sure I could have endured the full eight-hour running time on a piece like Warhol’s “Empire”, but at a lean running time of only thirty-five minutes “Blowjob” held my attention and ultimately…it didn’t suck at all. Sorry, I had to at least get in one juvenile joke.

The second feature for the night was 1964’s “My Hustler” which was an uneven combination of lingering voyeuristic beefcake shots and claws-out witty cocaine-socialite repartee. It was an interesting film, with two separate parts; each based more on conversation and minor details than any real action. I found it interesting, although what passed for shocking in 1964 certainly isn’t nowadays. And while it’s not my favorite Warhol project, the significance of the film and its influence can still be seen today in art that pushes the boundaries of what is considered ‘socially acceptable’.

Both films were presented in 16mm format and the prints were provided courtesy of The Museum of Modern Art Circulating Film and Video Library. Personally, I can’t express how much I enjoyed actually hearing a film projector tick away as I watched a film. Maybe that’s just an experience I don’t get to savor all that much anymore, but it’s sure to be one that I’ll have again soon at the Loft!
Oh and I almost forgot…the POP RAFFLE for the Warhol-inspired prize package was won by Nikki Sanchez. Her name was draw from all those who entered by bringing in cans of Campbell’s Soup throughout the month to the Warhol events. All soup collected will be donated to The Tucson Community Food Bank.



Monster Pussy covers VU's Waiting for the Man from Steven Soloway on Vimeo.


Don't miss the Warhol exhibit "Andy Warhol Portfolios: Life & Legends" at the Tucson Museum of Art, February 27, 2010 - July 3, 2010. Visit HYPERLINK "http://www.tucsonmuseumofart.org/" \o "http://www.tucsonmuseumofart.org/" http://www.tucsonmuseumofart.org/ for more information.