By Ellen Donbeck

The Intro

While many dream of saving the whales and other endangered species around the globe, Captain Paul Watson and his crew of crazy volunteers are doing just that…be any means necessary.  Filmmaker Peter Brown, and loyal crewmember, documents thirty years of expeditions all over the world.  These missions, lead by Captain Watson aboard the ‘Sea Shepard’ include stopping the gruesome baseball bashing tactics of seal hunters, animal crushing icebreakers, illegal drift nets, and native whale hunting rituals.

Now…when I say stopping I don’t mean greeting you with a clipboard as a commission-seeking employee of an animal rights organization. I mean ramming their ship into the bad guys boat, literally ramming.  Though some may see Captain Watson’s point of attack as ironically violent in his quest to save wildlife, nobody has ever been injured.  This guy is smart.  Not only can Watson find a ship like a needle in a haystack, while ramming these boats he strategically takes out the fishing equipment and heart of the ship like a pro.  Brown often refers that “angels” that surround Watson, saving them from disaster, legal trouble, and failing these missions, protect him.  But truly, it’s more than that, Watson was born to do this, and he’s damn good at it.

The film gives an intimate portrayal of what it’s like to be a crewmember aboard The Sea Shepard, puking and all.  The tough conditions of life at sea are smelly, stinky, and rough.  Still, members are dedicated and spend time joking and cutting up more than you would think.  One of the scenes even includes a crewmember jerking off his banana during a pep talk, much to disliking of the speaker.   Don’t be fooled by their twisted sense of humor, the crew are not there for a free vacation (if you would call it that).  When it comes to saving the wildlife, they’re serious; often putting their own lives on the line.

In watching Brown’s documentation of Captain Paul Watson and his faithful crew you can’t help but be inspired.  How many times have you been standing with friends, talking about shit you wish you could change?  Watson and Brown are doing it.  Those that can’t grasp the importance or value of their work may never in their lifetime.  However their children’s children will when these incredible creatures are still around, thanks to the Captain.

The Interview

1. From the very beginning of the film and throughout….there is a constant underlining of humor.  Though elements of humor are quite the opposite of the films serious nature, meaning the creatures aka victims, is their a motive behind including humor in this film? Is it much like the media attraction which adds to the missions fire??? or is it simply part of the human spirit during a mission as intense as these quest?

The humor in the film comes from me, and my way of dealing with trying to help save our wilderness. I have lived two lives over the years. One as the eco-activist you see in Confessions of an Eco-Terrorist, and the other is that of a father of two children, a mortgage holder, and blue collar TV director (www.peterjaybrown.com). I have always found that humor breaks the ice in just about any situation, and I use it every day.  We all take ourselves and our little problems too seriously, and I feel humor is a way of reaching out and connecting with the other side. I laugh at myself all the time. Perhaps the “sealers” will see how silly they look, have a good laugh, and give up sealing… who knows, stranger things have happened.  Humor is part of us all.

2. We traveled with you all over the globe, is there a mission in the film not included that was difficult to exclude from the film?  Can you tell us about any of them?

Well, there were lots of missions over the years, some more interesting than others. For the film, I used campaigns and issues I was intimately involved in, and also did my best to show a world-wide scope. We are one earth and I was trying to make my film about things I was passionate about. Sea Shepherd is a small group and we had to choose our targets carefully. Captain Paul Watson has always tried to represent the animals, to give them a voice and a fighting chance at survival, and I have done what I can to help over the years. As you’ll see from my film, I did more than most. I was lucky to have friends like Bob Hunter and Paul Watson. As I helped them over the years, they helped to make me who I am today.

I think the movie made my points, so I do not regret leaving anything out.

3.  You make several comments about the admiration of the females on the boat and the “crazy vegans”, why do you think these “types” of individuals are attracted to this work in particular….what makes their staying power along these missions stronger than the men or “cheese eaters”?

Females are attracted originally by their love for animals. They stay because they are treated with the respect they deserve. Lots of people want to save whales, but you look around, and only a handful of them are actually doing it. A lot of them are women! Women have passion for marine mammals, and Sea Shepherd allows them to express it.

The vegans are ultra passionate and disciplined. Their life style is a bit harsh to begin with, so shipboard life was easy. They are tough, determined, and won’t eat you in a lifeboat. What better shipmates can you have?  There was a time – years, when Sea Shepherd was the only game in town where you could really do something about crimes against nature; if you wanted to do something to stop whaling, sealing, drift-net fishing, Sea Shepherd was your vessel in more ways than one.

I think I make an honest assessment of women in my film.

As far as vegans go, I love them but you have to laugh at them sometimes… lighten up, I got my honey from “free bees”.

4.  In the start of the film- Captain Paul Watson makes a comment about being insulted on the comment that he was part of ‘Greenpeace.’ The late Bob Hunter- whom the filmed made tribute to in it’s credits was once president of Greenpeace. Hunter was included in missions and Watson’s quest.  Any comments of Watsons frustrations with being linked to the organization?

Paul Watson’s fight with Greenpeace goes back years and much has been written about it. Bob Hunter and Paul were friends as long as I knew them, and they remained friends with a true admiration for each other.

My feeling on all political disputes is that money is at the root of the problem. As I have always been a volunteer, I never got involved on the monetary or corporate side of things because the folks I met on the front lines were usually all good people. But organizations run with money, and both Greenpeace and Sea Shepherd go after the same dollar. When this happens in politics, all hell breaks loose.

Both Paul and Greenpeace have different philosophies about how to save the planet. Watson thinks Greenpeace raises huge amounts of money and do nothing. Greenpeace thinks Watson is a “loose cannon” who is violent and therefore counter-productive to raising money. Watson is frustrated, as he will forever be remembered as “the guy from Greenpeace”. I am sure he feels GP has enough publicity.

I favor Watson and know that Bob Hunter and Al Johnson and others do too. I am for us agreeing to disagree and getting on with solving our problems as best we can.

I might point out that the Japanese just announced they were giving up whaling in Antarctica, not because of Greenpeace, but they stated that it was because of Sea Shepherd (as most recently seen on Whale Wars)! Let’s see who takes credit.

I was there two seasons of Whale Wars as first mate, and I am sure eco-groups who I have never heard of will be taking credit and asking for money so “it never happens again”.

5. Media has played a huge part in spreading the work in these missions and seems to be the fuel that allows them to continue.  In the past thirty years- media has changed drastically.  How has blogging, social networking, etc changed the way you do missions, or has it?

I am sure all the “new media” changes everything in how campaigns are run, etc. I am learning a bit about it with this film. For my part, it does not change much. I am either actively interfering with something “on the ground”, or I am “documenting” actions for release. Either way I do my job the same way. I first practically take what action is planned, and second I observe such actions with my camera. I am the same story-teller provocateur I was thirty years ago… today it is just easier to get the word out and to organize people to do something about it.

6. Do you guys and women ever take a day off? Would you consider any aspect of your life normal?

Once on board the ship you are pretty much “on” 24/7. Most professional crews are on a month, off a month, but SSCS crews pretty much live on board for extended periods of time. Between campaigns the ship still needs daily up-keep so there is always someone there. I do not speak for Sea Shepherd today, but I am sure Paul spends every waking moment raising money to keep all his ships afloat. It is a huge job and GOD BLESS PAUL… although I am a pagan!!!!

Paul’s life is tough. As a long time volunteer (30 years and 20+ campaigns) I just need to arrange my time off to go on campaigns. I do sometimes give months or years “to planetary duty”, and it is always worth it.

7. In Peter Brown’s personal experience, what the fuck is it like to be on a ship KNOWING you are about to RAM into another?

Ramming the ship of a “bad guy” is worth the weeks at sea it takes to find them. People always ask if I am not afraid. The quick answer is no I am not afraid… I sometimes get very intense… but fear is not an emotion that hinders anything I do. The parts like ramming a ship are not the dangerous parts… at those times, everyone is awake and on high alert. The dangerous parts are when some kid falls asleep on watch and BANG! But I must admit we get dedicated kids, and grumpy old f*ckers like me, who to date, have an amazing safety record. Luck? Angles? Who knows for sure.

I used to tell my kids that not to worry about daddy because “god is a dolphin!” The minute I step on board a ship, I am focused on the mission and getting everyone home safely, and that’s it.

I trust and respect Paul Watson completely, or I wouldn’t be there in the first place.

8. The Film’s title- CONFESSIONS of an ECO-TERRORIST plays into an impression the film really defies, why did you choose the title?

I chose the title because it works. The real terrorists are out there killing the seals, the whales, the oceans… I am a conservationist, the ultimate conservative in fact, but who would go to a film named: CONFESSIONS OF AN ECO-CONSERVATIVE?

Terrorist is a term used against environmental activists for years. I always say that “one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter,” so I am very careful with titles. I do what I believe is right when I feel I can make a difference. I have been lucky enough to have found myself in many world changing situations over the years, and I am proud to be associated with Paul, Bob and others that term has been used against.

Winners in this world write history, so I figure, we “vegan-pussy (a term South Park endeared us with) /eco-terrorists” will be will treated like heroes in the future. Eco-activists may be a pain in the ass today, but they make great ancestors! For humans to have a future, Paul Watson and others like him must win or there will be no future.

So don’t be afraid of titles or getting your feet wet… get off your asses and get out there and make a difference. It is in us all!

I Sell The Dead

I love zombie movies.  The gore and scenes of slaughter are almost filler for me, because what I really love is the variety that you just don’t see done well with other monster clichés.  Zombies truly lend themselves to a large range: comedy and slapstick, all-out gorefest, thriller (pun intended), and just about every exotic virus known or unknown to man.  Apocalyptic in scope, or just one group trapped in a cabin in the woods, these plots can occur anywhere, in any context, at any time.  So here is a wide range of some of the best.

Pontypool (2009)

Nothing is more isolated than narrating a zombie holocaust in small-town Ontario from the isolation of a morning show radio booth.  In an interesting spin on the typical “Zombie Virus” scenario, the infection in Pontypool is spread through language, Tourette syndrome gone wild.  Based on the Tony Burgess novel Pontypool Changes Everything, this one makes the list.

Re-Animator (1985)

It’s more difficult to combine any other movie monster with comedy than the zombie.  Gore, zombies, and humor lend themselves so well to the screen that it’s difficult to come up with a list of ten movies and not include five of these gems.  In this one a reagent is used to reanimate bodies, but it all goes horribly awry.  Think of Weird Science, but instead of some hot chick you can summon zombies.  It’s just as exciting.  This film has also made Jeffrey Combs a cult hit to all of us who thought we were too cool for Star Trek.  (Just to clear things up… no, he did not die in 9-11.)

I Sell the Dead (2008)

This is a personal favorite of mine, and I would love to bump it up a few notches on the list but I know too many people would bitch.  Grave robbers run into trouble with a competing grave robbing guild, Ron Perlman is a monk, an alien circus freak corpse is somehow central to the plot, and Angus Scrimm looks as creepy as ever.  How can you go wrong?  The answer is you can’t.  Watch this movie.

The Seprent and the Rainbow (1988)

Wes Craven throws his hat into the zombie ring with this late-80’s release starring Bill Pullman as Dennis Alan, a Harvard anthropologist.  Upon hearing of a voodoo drug used to zombify people in Haiti, word gets back to the U.S. and Alan is approached by a large pharmaceutical property more than interested in this discovery.  This film is set apart from the others on the list in that an added layer of depth via political strife is crucial to the plot.  Alan is harassed, tortured, and arrested by local Haitian warlords and yet still pursues this Voodoo drug.  He is eventually kicked out of Haiti, but returns for a strange, yet satisfying, ending.

Zombie (1979)

A.K.A. Zombi 2, Island of the Zombies, Zombie Island, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.  Hated by the Conservative British Parliament for its gore (not saying much—a crumpet with too much jelly might make them wheeze), this is among Fulci’s best.  I always get asked, “Are you a Romero guy, or a Fulci guy?”  I tend to lean Fulci.  A zombie fighting a shark explains why.  Anyway, the island of Matool is cursed and the dead come back to life.  Obviously, the dead are zombies and a lot of people get killed.  If you’ve never seen this movie, you will be as annoyed by Paola as I… but don’t worry.  Fulci takes care of business.

Evil Dead (1981)

Honestly, I flipped a coin.  It was this or Evil Dead 2.  I consider Army of Darkness to be more in the period epic category than zombie film, belonging in the same league as Gladiator and Elizabeth: The Golden Age.  At its core Evil Dead is a classic something-dark-in-the-woods horror flick.  Made on a shoestring budget with minimal effects, the film still manages to have some great scares.  Now lauded for its cult status now as a comedic hit, but I dare anyone to make a horror film on this type of budget and not laugh at the result.

Dellamorte Dellamore, or Cemetery Man (1994)

Something is wrong in the ground at Buffalora Cemetery in the Italian countryside.  Within a week of burial, the dead awaken.  Francesco Dellamorte comes from a long line of Dellamorte’s tasked with the duty of killing these poor saps as they emerge.  Francesco, however, has big dreams and is not content with the family business after he discovers he possibly killed the love of his life.  If you know someone who thinks Twilight is the ultimate Halloween love story, show them this film.  You may just save a lost soul.

Dead Alive (1992)

Otherwise known as Braindead in New Zealand, this under-the-radar pre-LOTR Peter Jackson movie is perfect.  A Sumatran Rat-Monkey is responsible for a zombie virus spread through biting, of course.  When poor Lionel’s mum is bitten by the Rat-Monkey, Lionel takes it upon himself to see to it that she is cared for after she emerges from the grave.  Naturally zombies get out of hand and Lionel can’t control all of them.  Sedatives and zombies just don’t work that way.   It all leads up to a finale that is worth the price of admission.

White Zombie (1932)

So this is “the film that started it all.”  The original masters were lost until the 1960’s, and the film was all but forgotten.  The modern “remaster” still suffers from terrible sound, but this is definitely worth watching.  Béla Lugosi stars as Murder Legendre in this film, still on the cusp of “talkies” that the acting has the exaggerated, delayed reactions necessary to silent film.  Adapted from a play, White Zombie depicts the origins of the zombie genre—Haitian voodoo—long forgotten in our era of viral zombies existing solely to prey on live humans.

(Free download and stream)

Night of the Living Dead (1968)

Not “the film that started it all,” but so seminal to the genre that it absolutely must be included on any list.  The raw, black and white footage adds to the silent atmosphere, generating a more frightening effect than most modern cameras and special effects could reproduce.  (In numerous dreadful attempts, none have come close to reproducing this original.)  Add to that a complex layer of social commentary in an era of civil rights and domestic unrest and the term “classic” still does little justice.

FILM FOR BRIGHTON UK BASED BAND PLAGUE SERMON

3RD GENERATION PROCESS…SHOT ON DIGITAL 8 …THEN FILMED OF THE SCREEN…THEN FILMED OFF THE SCREEN AGAIN….)

SHOT (ON DIGITAL 8), BUILT AND EDITED (ON iMOVIE) BY CRAIG MURRAY

NOT DEINTERLACED

PLAGUE SERMON:THE DOVES FLY NORTH, THE CITY IS FORSAKEN from CRAIG MURRAY on Vimeo.

Bronson

By Jack Randall

Bronson is a Bertoluccian temple to the bestial deity that is Charles Bronson, “Britain’s most violent criminal.” Formerly Michael Peterson, formerly a circus strongman, and formerly a bare-knuckle boxer in London’s East End (his promoter donned the Bronson title on him), Bronson managed to turn a seven-year sentence for robbing a post office into life without parole. How? He loved every minute of prison.

With no trace of whoever Michael Peterson may have been, a makeup-covered Charlie Bronson takes to the stage to tell his life story. Played expertly by Tom Hardy, this alter ego has no other desire but to become famous through sheer anarchical force of will. Brute force and sheer rage blend seamlessly with quick wit and a sometimes-affable nature to create a character who can only be described as the eye of a hurricane. A brilliant artist, his other hobby is taking hostages, stripping naked, donning war paint, and taking on guards in full riot gear. In any other man it would seem a death wish, but for Bronson you can tell it’s sheer love of the game.

Thirty years in solitary confinement do not a stable mind make, and director Nicholas Winding Refn jumps in and out of Bronson’s self-narrative with ease, all the while Refn accomplishes such visual mastery that the contrast with the sheer brutality is in and of itself a reflection on the duality of Bronson. The story meanders through the hundreds of institutions that have attempted to hold him, in the process making him Britain’s most expensive prisoner as well. Bronson succeeded in making a name for himself, so strip down, rub on your armor, and get ready.

By Alexis Guerra

Famed director and visionary, Tim Burton, is notorious for taking the twisted and abnormal and manufacturing it into works of art so incredibly thought-provoking and full of human content that people from all walks of life can relate to it. No stranger to movie remakes, his last attempt, (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) met a sea of mixed reviews and didn’t quite hit the mark with audiences.   Still, once the buzz of the acclaimed and eagerly awaited Alice in Wonderland thundered onto preview screens and movie posters, it became clear that a winner had emerged. I had the pleasure of seeing this movie last weekend in 3D and it lived up to all the hype it garnered from an entertainment perspective. Burton’s astounding visuals and menagerie of zany fractured Lewis Carroll characters are given new depth and life as we re-enter a world where the Red Queen (played by comical Burton muse, Helena Bonham Carter and sporting a larger than life dome of a head) has overthrown her sister, the White Queen, (a pristine and angelic, Anne Hathaway) and the only way to bring back peace and order to Wonderland is to have Alice (now nineteen years of age and played by a perfect Mia Wasikowska) slay the evil Jabberwocky.

Those intent upon seeing a remake of the original Disney version will be sadly disappointed as the story now takes place some time in the future and Alice’s past adventures are only touched on in flashbacks. Still, Burton manages to take all of Carroll’s beloved characters adored by generations and rather than alter them, instead finds a way to breath new life into them. Johnny Depp’s Mad Hatter comes through as a moral compass to Wasikowska’s bewildered Alice, proving through his madness that he is capable of empathy and emotion. Other lovable past creatures (a mischievous spot-on Cheshire Cat, befuddled twins Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, and the cantankerous yet wise caterpillar are just a few others we encounter along the journey) who also offer their advice to the puzzled heroine as she makes her way through the labyrinth known as Wonderland in order to save her new-found friends and make her way home again.

There were a few moments where the material seemed geared for a younger audience and a few lagging transitions, but overall Alice and Wonderland was a fantastical romp through a classic children’s tale but with a welcomed fresh eye and edge to it. In the words of the White Queen, Burton has truly created a “Champion”.

were subjected to occupation, violence, and many other atrocities. The documentary, directed by Georges Franju (Eyes Without a Face), depicts the brutal realities of the Parisian meat industry and does not conceal the grotesque methods used to slaughter and slice these animals. It was neither for nor against carnivorism, however one can make the surrealist connection between these slaughterhouses and the meat-grinding violence committed unto fellow human beings in the recent war.

Franju, while discussing the color format, said, “If it were in colour, it’d be repulsive… the sensation people get would be physical one.”

Forgive the unintended censor but please be warned that this documentary contains graphic scenes.

With a handycam and ingenuity, Murray makes complex films with nearly no budget at all.

“This is the third and final version…cut from 52 minutes down to 33mins…5 extra scenes, no dialogue ( if you listen very carefully you’ll hear me reading Alice in Wonderland’s rabbit hole chapter word for word backwards…i mean very carefully)…more gore and over 400 new sounds from My black cat’s demonic symphony + tracks by Mogwai and Paperchase.

This has shown at festivals around the world …will be released in the not to distant future by a US company.”

Amalgam

AMALGAM (2007) 33 mins from CRAIG MURRAY on Vimeo.

Begotten is a 1991 Experimental/horror film, directed and written by E. Elias Merhige.

The film heavily deals with religion and the biblical story of the Creation. But as Merhige revealed during Q&A sessions, its primary inspiration was a near death experience he had when he was 19, after a car crash. The film features no dialogue, but rather uses harsh and uncompromising images of human pain and suffering to tell its tale.

The film was shot on black and white reversal film, and then every frame was rephotographed for the look that is seen. The only colors are black and white. There are no half-tones. This is intended to add to the eerie atmosphere of the movie, as sometimes the viewer cannot always exactly make out what it is being shown, but can still infer a sense of suffering. The look of the film has been described as “a Rorschach test for the eye”. Merhige said that for each minute of original film, it took up to 10 hours to rephotograph it for the look desired.

Mehrige also revealed in Q&A sessions that he would like this film to be the first of a trilogy. He is experiencing difficulties getting proper funding, and it is unknown if/when the two other films will be made.

Music video “Cryptorchid”, single for Antichrist Superstar by Marilyn Manson, was directed by E. Elias Merhige and includes footage from Begotten.

This film reached its apex of notoriety during its first screening when the audience began to riot. The surrealist film is also known for a provocative sequence in which an eye is bifurcated.  Enjoy.

Part 1

Part 2

What I like about Raimi is that he embraces the fact that his movies are not award winning caliber and that some films are just meant to entertain, and this one does it all! Featuring up and coming actors from “blink-and-you’ll miss-them” roles such as Alison Lohman (“White Oleander”, Matchstick Men”, yes, with Nicholas Cage!!!), and Justin Long (movies like “Waiting” and of course being associated as one of Drew Barrymore many revolving boyfriends on call), the casting and acting are actually quite superb.
Lohman’s character is endearing and Long is the ever-supportive boyfriend who completes her picture perfect world before it is shattered by Lorna Raver’s character, Mrs. Ganush.

The basic storyline is that of a classic morality tale; a young woman named Christine (Lohman) works as a loan officer in a California bank and is desperate to prove to her boss and snooty co-worker that she has what it takes to snag the new assistant manager position available, so when she denies an old woman an extension on her house loans to prove she has a backbone, all Hell breaks loose! The old woman, who Raimi makes no qualms about when featuring her repulsiveness, later waits for Christine to leave work before claiming her revenge on the young girl by dragging her into one of the most raucous, action –packed, violently gruesome and horrific girl-on-hideously old woman fights theater-goers have seen in years! Afterwards, she places a curse on Lohman’s character and the ramifications are far from desirable; a demon torments the accursed for 3 days before descending on them and, as the title depicts, dragging them to hell to burn for all eternity. Her only chance at survival is to find a way to pass off the curse to someone else within the allotted time, or else suffer the consequences…

This movie’s got the lockdown on suspense and the plot moves at a great pace, leaving no gruesome stone unturned, from the customary séance to rid the evil spirit to the ritualistic animal sacrifices. The audience becomes a fly on the wall as Christine’s world crumbles in both a comedic and horrific way with suspenseful twists and turns around every corner. By the end of the film we see a changed heroine whose fate leaves the audience riveted down to the last seconds of the film.

What I like about this movie is that Raimi doesn’t take himself too seriously. Too many horror movies nowadays try to recreate something that’s already been done and fail miserably, but Raimi proves that campy imagery and gory special effects can translate themselves into a new quirky genre of horror all on its own. I laughed, I cringed, I inwardly shrieked, and had the best time I’ve had in the theater in a very long time!