Dale Hawkins R.I.P.

Delmar Allen "Dale" Hawkins (August 22, 1936 – February 13, 2010)

Comic Book Confidential (1988)

Comic Book Confidential is documentary by Ron Mann that examines the phenomenon of comic books in the United States since their inception in the 1930's up to the present (which at the time was the late 1980's).

The film does a nice job of explaining the history of the medium through an array of quality interviews with comic pioneers like William M. Gaines (founder of EC Comics and MAD Magazine), Jack Kirby (creator of Captain America) and Will Eisner (creator of The Spirit). The documentary also examines much of the controversy that surrounded comic books in their early days when many, including the US government, were of a mind that comic books could be the downfall of the nation's youth.

The film touches on the super hero genre (with interviews with Marvel's Stan Lee) but mainly focuses on the outsiders and underground comic evolution. There are many great interviews with R. Crumb (Zap!, Mr. Natural, Fritz the Cat), Art Spiegelman (RAW, Maus), Gilbert Shelton (The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers) and Harvey Pekar (American Splendor). There is also an examination of the role of women in comic books with the likes of Lynda Barry (Ernie Pook's Comeek) and Shary Flenniken (Trots and Bonnie). The film also visits with some then relatively new faces to the art form like Jaime Hernandez (Love and Rockets), Frank Miller (The Watchmen) and Sue Coe (How to Commit Suicide in South Africa).

The interviews are fantastic and are juxtaposed together nicely with examples of the artist's work, often narrated by the artist themselves. Fans of comic books will definitely enjoy this trip through the diverse and wonderful world of comics.

H-Bomb Ferguson - Rock H-Bomb Rock (1951)

Hailing from Cincinnati, Ohio, H-Bomb Ferguson (born Robert Ferguson in 1929) first made a name for himself in 1951 with a 45 on Macon, Georgia's Atlas Records. The 45 featured "I Love My Baby" and its B side "Rock H-Bomb Rock". Atlas, primarily known for their blues output, was beginning to get into the (then very new) field of rock 'n roll and H-Bomb Ferguson was a prime candidate to show 'em how it's done. Both sides are great but I think "Rock H-Bomb Rock" really demonstrates what a force Ferguson was and why he deserves a place among the founders of rock 'n roll.

Rock, H-Bomb, Rock - H-Bomb Fe...

Punk: Attitude (2005)

Punk: Attitude is a documentary showcasing the history of punk rock music and culture in the United States and in the United Kingdom. The film uses archive footage of classic punk performances as well as current interviews with punk rock musicians, fans and promoters. The main complaint many people have with this film is the bands that were not mentioned (Stiff Little Fingers, The Replacements, etc) but honestly, there's no way that a film, no matter how in depth, could mention every band/artist that helped shaped the face of punk rock music.

The film does do a good job of giving the audience a sense of how punk rock happened and why. This film probably won't shine any new light on the genre for people who have been fans of punk rock music for a while, in fact many of the performance footage has been used in several other documentaries and specials.

The film spends most of its time focusing on and discussing the early punk bands of the late 1970's such as The Ramones, The Dead Boys, The Clash, The Sex Pistols and The Damned. The film then gives a brief rundown of the 1980's hardcore punk scene but doesn't delve at all into non-hardcore punk bands of the 1980's (The Minutemen, The Replacements, Husker Du). The film then shows some even briefer clips of some pop-punk bands of the 1990's and 2000's. Honestly, I'm glad the film chooses to focus most of it's attention on the early 70's punk movement because I feel that these were the best and most significant punk bands. Perhaps a sequel is in order for a more in depth look at more punk bands from the 80's and 90's.

Overall, the film is very well done. It should be very enjoyable for fans of punk rock music and a great history lesson for anyone who thinks punk rock started with Green Day.

Willie Dynamite (1974)

Definitely one of the tamer entries in the blaxploitation genre as far as violence and nudity are concerned (what did you expect with Gordon from Sesame Street as the titular pimp?) but nevertheless, an enjoyable piece of soul cinema for those who enjoy that sort of thing. While the film doesn't really do anything The Mack or Superfly didn't do earlier and better, it still has its moments. The movie features some of the best and most outlandish costume and set-design in 70s cinema as well as a pretty kickin' soundtrack and one of the dopest purple and gold Cadillacs you'll ever see on film. All in all, a fun watch for fans of the genre, but certainly not essential.

The Shades - Ballot Bachs (1968)

Little is known about this monster psychedelic instrumental. It's from a group called The Shades from Webster City, Iowa. It was originally released in 1968 on Princeton Records as the B side to a tune called "When You Said Goodbye". Later that year it was picked up by Chigao-based Cadet Records, known primarily for their jazz and soul releases. The Cadet release flipped the A and B sides. As far as I can tell, this lone 45 is the group's only output. Definitely one of the heavier and energetic psych instrumentals, especially considering this came out at the height of the flower power folk craze. Check it out!

Ballot Bachs - Shades

Dai-Nihonjin [AKA Big Man Japan] (2007)

I gotta admit, I love the premise of Big Man Japan; a mockumentary about a washed-up super hero that defends Japan from invading giant monsters. However, the film has some problems in the execution that keep me from loving the movie as much as I do the concept.

The film is broken up into documentary-style segments, showing the mundane, sometimes depressing, everyday life of our hero (when he's normal size) mixed with outrageous CGI fight scenes of the Big Man fighting a wide array of bizarre (and often hilarious) monsters threatening to destroy the city. The CGI isn't great, but looks good enough and the character/monster design is very unique and creative. The main problem I have is that the documentary segments get pretty boring and tend to drag on far too long, especially at the beginning of the film where it feels like it takes forever to get going. However, the film definitely picks up steam and is actually quite smart and funny.

Had Hitoshi Matsumoto (who directed and stars as the title character) trimmed some of the more boring scenes and cut this down to a lean 90 minutes, I would probably have given this 4 stars, however, it's still a weird, unique and fun movie that I would recommend. It's like "This Is Spinal Tap" meets "Ultraman". How can you not love that?