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Wait, you mean there's a feature length stop motion Vietnam war film made with 12" GI JOES called VIVA THE 'NAM? What?
Hola all. Massawyrm here.
I can’t believe this actually exists, but yes there is. And it is awesome.
It was almost 8 and ½ years ago that I first ran across Kieran Healy and Paul Hanley’s brilliantly insane stop motion short films VICTORY AT ANY COST and COLONEL KHARNAGE: THE COMMIE KILLER at the Cinematexas short film festival. I was just a cub reporter then, new to AICN by just a few months, but those shorts stuck with me to the point that I occasionally quoted them to people that had no way of ever seeing them. Well, after writing up this review, Paul Hanley contacted me to tell me that he was working on a feature length version of these shorts that incorporated the footage I had already seen. A feature length stop motion Vietnam war movie starring 12” GI JOEs? Yeah, I was in. I told him to drop me a line when he was finished.
Two nights ago he e-mailed me. It was finally done. 8 ½ years later and he had finally finished his feature length film. Now a lot has happened in those 8 1/2 years. Youtube happened. Two wars happened. ROBOT CHICKEN happened. Hell, the internet up and got itself in a damned fool hurry. While this was a great idea then, could this hold up now? Yes. Yes it could.
VIVA THE ‘NAM is a feature length, 100 minute stop motion film shot on 16mm about Holmes, a not-too-bright recruit who is drafted and sent to the hellpit that is Viet-fucking-nam. There he slowly loses his mind and becomes a crazed, bloodthirsty idiot always in the wrong place at the wrong time. What works about this film is that it isn’t simply a series of riffs on Vietnam war films – don’t get me wrong, there IS plenty of that – but it has an honest to god narrative driving the film from frame one. Holmes is an unwitting Lt. Dan, cursed to die in war as every generation before him has. He wants no part of his legacy, but the US Military has different ideas.
From that point on we watch as he slowly loses his mind, wandering through scene after offensive scene lambasting the US military, Vietnam War films, hippie freaks and the era itself. Filled with dozens of recognizable characters (and actors), including people you would never imagine had an action figure (one friend was prompted to ask “Wait, is that Ron Livingston”), this runs the gamut of subtle and sublime on up to the blatantly ridiculous. Much as you’d expect from something like this, it is something of a mixed bag. There are a few rough patches where the film slows down a bit, but invariably it always picks back up with another uproarious scene of absurdity. And the ending is so clusterfuck insane and side-splittingly funny, that it makes you forgive any flaws that arise.
After all, this is a passion project. This isn’t something someone spent a year working on in a studio. This is something someone spent 10 years working on in their garage. Some of the voice talent could use redubbing, the soundmix is a bit amateur and a few scenes could be trimmed for brevity, but all of the stop motion work is fantastic. The sets, the vehicles, the trees, the blood and guts are all painstakingly rendered to scale and just look cool as hell. And the jokes are at times completely uproarious. In an era when parody films like this are dull, tired and weak, this shows how it should done, taking a fresh approach, skewering a genre of film not parodied in almost two decades.
The film is seeing its premiere next Wednesday, Jan 27th at the Alamo Ritz and should prove to be an awesome experience. It is a brilliant work of deranged genius. I’m very curious to see what’s going to happen to this now that it is in a finished state. One thing is for sure, at least for one night here in Austin, you can see a stop motion GI JOE war movie on the big screen. And it is totally worth it.
Until next time friends, smoke ‘em if ya got ‘em.
Massawyrm
Got something for the Wyrm? Mail it here.
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That trailer was creepier than that Karen Carpenter biopic starring the Barbie doll. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrAA6VMIPb0)
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Choppy, but neat.
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Like all the winners in your "11 worst movies" list. I don't know how you forced yourself to willingly waste that much of your life. Guess you're a better man than most of us.
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Over ten years of his life spent on it? That's dedication!
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i still wanna see a good stop motion small gijoe film, with lots of blood, body parts and explosions
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Please notify us when (if?) this gets a general release. I'm in NYC and I'm already dying to check it out.
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and effort that went in to it?
Or is it good, as in you'd pay money to see it? -
Jan 21, 2010 9:09:44 AM CST
Don't know if I could sit through 100 minutes of this, but....
by flickapoo
...I love that there are people like this guy in the world.For every G.I. JOE: THE RISE OF COBRA we need two of these...just to restore the balance of cool.Godspeed my good man. Fucking. A.
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I need to show my dad these videos, he'd find them hilarious
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With all my action figures back in high school. Admiral Ackbar sends a crack team of soldiers and mutants to a jungle island filled with dinosaurs to stop a meglomaniac from trying to take over the world. I even stopped my weekly chore of mowing all of the backyard so that I had some huge patches of clover and grass to act as a jungle setting. Alas, I only shot the opening scene where Admiral Ackbar recruits the soldier who will be in charge of this mission. Had such cringe-inducing dialogue as "Are you familiar with the term... Dinosaurs?"
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I'm excited for this.
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comes to mind...havent seen that film in a long time.
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YOU'LL HAVE MUSCLES IN YOUR SHIT!
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Eeeeeeehhhhhh....
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Good luck to you sir! That's dedication...or the act of a mad man who actually lived through 'Nam.
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Jan 21, 2010 9:24:53 AM CST
I wasn't sold on the trailer but the boot camp scene
by david cloverfield
was hillarious. The way that dollie said "I can make a sissy tough, but the only thing I can make a commie is DEAD!". I'll check this out.
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ARE YOU FUCKING SHITTING ME PRIVATE SHIT?
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none of those look anything like the GI Joe dolls (err, I mean action figures) I had from the late 60's early 70's.
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...jungle environment, with the added bonus that dandelions are tough and stretchy and make excellent carnivorous botanical villains...
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I was actually reserving the giant dandelions to work as a potential food source for the hungry soldiers. Only it turns out to be a highly potent hallucinogen that drives one of the soldiers crazy. Damn, the more I talk about this, the more I want to revisit my childhood home and finish it.
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That's great dialog, in a snarky post-modern sense. Carry on, D.Vader.
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...filming it never even occurred to me...I would make elaborate drawings though. All my action figures ended up a sickly shade of flesh pink because plants, sand, water, ice, and mud eventually rubbed all the paint off. My favorites couldn't even stand up because the joints were so loose and wobbly...
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I think work on "Admiral Ackbar vs Dinosaur Island" will continue. As soon as I remember what the original title was, I mean...
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Jan 21, 2010 9:53:13 AM CST
...I specialized in aftermath. The battle was great and all...
by flickapoo
...but arranging the dead and broken bodies in the crushed plant environment was the best part...fun for hours...
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Reading about your action figure movie reminds me of high school when my brother and some friends made movies. We were all live action though, no toys. And your dialog sounds pretty familiar too. We also had many cringe-inducing moments. But they were fun to make.
Are you familiar with the term....(insert term)? <---- I think a new meme is born! -
Are you familiar with the term....(insert term)
I think a new internet meme is born! -
Looks more funny on a Adult Swim level of humor than anything really "good," and doing riffs on "Full Metal Jacket" and Ah-Nold is just gonna be worth maybe one occasional chuckle filled viewing. For 10 year's worth of work, I can't say this guy's the next Ray Harryhausen.
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d-bag? it applies to you vader.
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It's derivative but it's really fun.
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I just flashed on that old gem.
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now THAT would be fun to see...and certainly better acting than Rise of Cobra...
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someone was a little too optimistic in November of 2008 I see..."I mean, we only have the explosion scene and the helicopter shots left to do. How long can that take?"
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Weren't you just shot?
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You sound like you were a jr forensic detective.
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...if not hilarious.This might be better than I'm giving it credit for, and sure not all war movies should necessarily be reverential, but for some a comedy on the Vietnam War is kind of an oxymoron.-Cheers
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unless they're in pretty good shape they usually become all loose and would probably be hell to animate in stop motion. god knows most of mine got to the point where they couldnt stand on their own because they were so used. but then the advantage is they have much more articulation than the 12inch guys. though Robot Chicken did a few skits with them that were hilarious, they should make a feature. lol
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You ought to put your movies up on there for us to watch.
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Had trouble getting them to walk convincingly.
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Looks good. Can't believe I've been blocked from the Polanski talk back for what I can only assume was calling Beaks a twat???? Rapes ok but calling beaks a twat that's a no no
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How do you know you're blocked from the Polanski talkback? Sure it wasn't just a one-time error?
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Feature length to what purpose? This will never play in a cinema with that ridiculous voiceover job. It looks pretty wonky, too. This is all coming from a massive stop-motion fan. Just not a real movie, sorry. And cobody's going to sit and watch 1 youtube video for an hour and a half. I don't even think it's possible.
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Nah tried posting multiple times at different times of the day. I'm blocked. no problem posting on other talkbacks
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So why mention it?
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Michael Bay or this guy? I'd much rather shell out ten bucks to see this than Transformers 3: The Rapening.
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What does it say, that "this talkback name hasn't been activated or is blocked"?
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I think it's supposed to be riffing more on the stereotypical depiction of Vietnam in movies rather than Vietnam itself
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I have discovered the ultimate movie review equation. If Harry reviews a film near its release date and likes it and wyrm likes it, that is the worst film you have ever seen, and you should kill yourself before you watch idiots fighting over a bible.
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I'm doing it from my phone but no problems here??? Any way fuck it
This looks great and I agree give this fella Bay's money fuck Transformers 3 -
That's really and truly messed up.
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that it may be better than GIJoe RoC. I'm sure our friend BSB would digress. ':D
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AKA My older brother's GIJoes. kung fu grip fuck the world!
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1) You're probably right, and I'll definitely give it a chance.2) I'm not a totally humorless curmudgeon, just thinking aloud. And I can appreciate satire. My comment wa probably better aimed at the source material for what it's likely satirizing. Not that I'm touchy about the subject of war so much as glamorizing or minimizing it. Of course, making a statement against it when the movie is possibly poking fun at such things, much less when it's portrayed by G.I. Joe dolls, maybe wasn't the most poignant place to direct those comments.3) Nice handle! Sorry, my Dark Tower addiction and all.
-Cheers -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ywu1DeqXTg4
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"skewering a genre of film not parodied in almost two decades" man, time flies!
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I succumbed to the Return key of doom.
Anyway, as a fan of GI Joe in the 80s, and just seeing GI Joe: Rise of Cobra on dvd this past weekend (with an open mind) I really have to say I'm disappointed in this movie. It had so much going for it, and they ruined it. It moved too fast (pace/plotting wise). Plus out of hundreds of gi joe figures in the collection and plots from the cartoons and comics, we only deal with 6 or so Joes and 3 or 4 Cobra? And here's probably where my "old age" crankiness sets in, but when the Joes are going on a mission (to paris or the artic, can't remember) and they are in their jet and ripcord and the chick he likes are sitting next to each other with Ipods? Ugh. Killed it for me. -
and the camera moves smoothly. Also, it seems to have a beating heart at the center of its story. What an amazing accomplishment.
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it's a silly comedy, get a sense of humor
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That Channing Tatum/Tatum Channing is perhaps the worst actor out there today. His concept of emoting is just getting louder. I don't his eyebrows ever raised nor his eyes ever opened in that movie.
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Gonna get my ticket tonight!
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Channing Tatum merely sucks a huge amount of penises, and they get him roles. That's the only plausible theory.
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I was into blowing (up) my GI Joes, I had lots of fire works and I would cause 'total-fucking-destruction'
They have these tank fire works, they are these little paper tanks that have a little engine in the back that pushes them (like a small bottlerocket engine) and in the front they had mini fountains that shot blobs of fire and colored sparks.
I would disassemble these, and use the tank guns and tape them on to the Joes Weapons. Then using spare wicks, I would tie them all together so the Joes weapons would now "work"
I did this with many different Joes, and had them face eachother. Some were peeking out behind walls or kneeling in home made bunkers, but they all had their weapons armed and ready.
Then came the gasoline. Before we poured it though, we buried black cats all over the battle field. These are little fire crakers basically. We would cut the wicks so that they were really short, then we would bury them with the tops sticking up.
We would then pour the gasoline all over the entire battlefield, most of it focused in the middle with the blackcats.
Me and my friends them simultaneously lit the wicks on each side, causing the Joes to unleash their fury, and setting the battlefield a~blaze.
Explosions of flaming dirt and rock errupted in the battle field, but quickly stopped. Some Joes were on fire. We usually let it burn for awhile until it naturally went out. -
Jan 21, 2010 2:08:50 PM CST
Are you familiar with the term ... Dinosaurs
by ben_richards_bomb_collar
That's great.
I too tried to make stop motion movies with Star Wars toys. Got pretty far too, like maybe 3-4 minutes (which is a lot for stop motion).
I also had about a dozen WWII GI Joes that I would put in battle poses and take pictures of. -
spending 10 years working on a film, pouring your heart and soul into it, can make a director too close to their work. I don't think its all that creatively healthy. And hasn't 'Nam been done to death already? Still, I will see this if I get the chance.
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spending 10 years working on a film, pouring your heart and soul into it, can make a director too close to their work. I don't think its all that creatively healthy. And hasn't 'Nam been done to death already? Still, I will see this if I get the chance.
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Next, he needs to do a stop-motion remake of TRUE GRIT so we can watch that instead of the abomination soon to be in a theater near you.
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Fuck YEAH! Comin' your way to save the motherFUCKIN day now
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...but thought the show could use more wanton violence, social dysfunction and racial insensitivity, check out "The Danger Team."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2_T2E8F6bY -
Lord, have I sat through worse movies . . .
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I'm hoping to make it to the showing on the 27th
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...R Lee Emery crossed with John Wayne. Kinda freaked me out.
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I have no idea how he got the legendary role of Duke. And Ripcord is as far away as you can get from the Ripcord of the 80s. And if those super suits weren't enough, to actually have "Ripcord" Wayans trip and fall out of the van. Sigh.
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Good to see creativity is still alive as well.
Also, props on using a 12" Han Solo for the main character. -
This post of yours is now my motto for LIFE
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You are Sid from Toy Story....you evil man. However that sounds like the best thing ever for a kid! My Dad would have kicked the shit outta me for setting my toys on fire though
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Wonder why there wasn't any sound effects. It'll make a world of a difference.
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Follow your dreams.
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I got in trouble when I was a kid for something very similar to what you described, though I wish I'd thought of using black cats as mines. Most of my GI Joes and Star Wars figures ended up being shot to death with pellets. My neighbor had an air rifle that could put a hole through Chewbacca, and after a while we figured out how to aim for the belt piece of the Joes to snap the rubber band inside and make their arms and legs fly apart. I think everyone I knew shot up or burned their toys eventually. No wonder that stuff's worth so much now.
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... it was recorded in the back office of a carpet store by several college students on a lunch break. Still looks cool, though. ;)
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if I destroyed my toys. The worst that happened to them was a bit of dirt from playing outside. They are all stored in containers in my basement. My wife keeps saying to sell them or get rid of them, because I don't do anything with them and they just take up space. I don't think she understands men and their toys. Now I can tell her I'm saving them to create a stop motion epic. I'm sure she'd file for divorce.
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As hard as this guy probably worked on that - it looks like ass.
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With only LEGO Studios, with a fake Steven Spielberg signature on the box, but I made funnier and better stop motion of than that.
It was an awesome, if ruined by high-pitched voice, parody of reality shows, specifically Big Brother. -
Han Solo = Private Shit, nice.
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or maybe the "Adventure Team" could show up and kick some ass with their Kung Fu grip!!
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If you want to see vintage GI Joes doing what Joes should be doing, search for The Annals of Adventure on youtube
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