ABOUT GUELYLAND

"One of the smallest , independent kingdoms in the ciberuniverse. Nothing fancy. Population? Just me, myself and my jaguars, my movies and my books (and, at this very moment, YOU). Hided and secret like Skull Island or Opar, the ancients in Guelyland use to read the scrools of a minor god called Voor-Hes.
Most of the treasures of Guelyland are made of paper, plastic and vinyl.Guelyland dreams with expanding in deep more then in surface. The music of Nik Kershaw has been heard here. There are apes, lots of apes in Guelyland. Woody Allen and Bob Hope visit it quite often. Here we love books (the Kingdoms Library is both celebrated and secret) Here we are atheists but very tolerant and think of god a bit too often and much. Guelyland is, the stuff my dreams are made of..."

PEOPLE WITH TASTE. YOU CAN BE ONE OF THEM!!

Friday, June 25, 2010

BENEATH THE PLANET OF THE APES


From time to time i just take a short leave and fly to the planet of the apes. In my mind, i mean. Got the movies, the books, the music,... the Works. Plus, now we have the internet that makes everything much easier. Anyway, today I was going to tell you things about "Beneath", a trip to Beneath the Planet of the Apes (Ted Post, 1970).Is typical to say my favorite is the first and so, and in this account "Beneath" usually gets a low rating. Not in my book.Let's point out that Beneath The Planet of the Apes is the second of five movies and it picks up where Planet of the Apes ends (and even before).

Zira, Nova and Cornelius

In those days there were not sequels that use to continue the storyline of the first films. In those days (excepting "2001: A space Odissey", but that was Kubrick) the science fiction movies were not "intelligent films" so this couple started a trend that would go on during the seventies until the first star wars movie came out in 1977.A nihilistic movie,"Beneath" has the cojones of giving us the mother of all the unhappy endings. I remember falling for days in some kind of depression after I saw this film (I was like 12 or 13 at then, on peruvian TV for the first time in my life) and I could almost understand and agree with the Heston character for doing what he did after what happent to his dear Nova. I remember as well, and very, that a new dimention of musical terror was born in my mind with the off key chorus of gospell mutants.

The Mutants

As in the first movie the creationism versus evolution subtext of this entry in the series was quite daring , and seeing upside down crucified apes burn and been crushed by a bleeding giant statue of their religious patriarch in the middle of the desert or witnessing a mass attended by nuclear bomb worshiper skinless mutants beneath the ruins of New York didn't exactly add points in favor of the "creationist team".

Greetings from New York 3955 A.D. !

The thing is that it doesn't says that evolution is better either. It's just a fact and at the end we can't handle it . It is a tough merciless flick with no room for redemption or a crowd pleasing happy ending. Apes, humans and mutants (they are "technically" humans gone wrong, but you know what i mean) they all have his share in writting the ultimate destiny for the planet.
Only the beautiful Nova is out of guilt or responsability.

Take your stinky paws of her your double face uncredited mutant!

Now, something about the cast. Heston agreed to do the sequel with the condition that he should be killed cos didn't wanna hear more about it (at the end they agreed that he would be at the begining and the end).

Franciscus and Miss Harrison. Not in Kansas anymore...

James Franciscus (they couldn't get Burt Reynolds, in the first hand) kind of take over like a mini Heston (which is not as bad as it sounds). Linda Harrison as Nova is back (anyway she was the girlfriend of 20Th Century Fox mogul Zanuck). Natalie Trundy, as the mutant Albina (was the wife of producer Arthur P. Jacobs. Anyway). The great character actor James Gregory (they couldn't get Orson ) plays the militar gorilla Ursus.

General Ursus

As Cornelious is not Roddy McDowall (busy making his own movie in Scotland) but some David Watson. Maurice Evans and Kim Hunter are back as Dr. Zaius and Zira. Then we have the teve actor Don Pedro Colley playing a mutant credited simply as "Negro".
Of course you have to see the first movie to get this one. "Beneath" was made for half the budget of POTA (they didn't have to make or build so much stuff cos they had it from the first movie) so, unless you don't pay attention to the cheapy pull out masks that the extras show too often it looks quite cool (they re-use some sets from "Hello, Dolly!" and even the crashed spaceship is part of the "Jupiter I" from the Lost in Space series).

Dr. Zaius

These Planet of the Apes movies are very special for me. Kind of my favorite film saga. Full of adventure, scientific fiction (just love time travel speculations), apes, philosophical debates, misanthropic outsiders, Linda Harrison, and chocking moments one after another. People who likes these movies can talk and talk forever about it and there will be never enough theories that will come up because there are so many layers to peel. A great pub topic! The kind of movie that I know I will always will see again.
The drawings that you see here are taked from the still forthcoming book, From Aldo to Zira: Lexicon of The Planet of the Apes by Hasslein Books (hopefully coming out at the end of 2010).

Sunday, June 20, 2010

LA CULTURA DE LA BASURA SEGÚN VARGAS LLOSA


La definición de cúltura a través de los tiempos, según el polémico, casi siempre inteligente y genial novelista "Varguitas". Según él, ahora a cualquier cosa se le pega la etiqueta de "cultura" por miedo a pecar de incorrección política.



Yo pienso que algo no debe ser cultura y algo si. O será como cuando Los Prisioneros hablan de "La cultura de la basura" ó sólo cuestión semántica? A ver que opinan.


LA CULTURA DE LA BASURA
Escuchando radio Vamos al estadio
 Nos gusta el Julio Iglesias y el rockabilly 
Tenemos la cultura de la basura 
Tenemos la cabeza dura 
Comemos pan con pan
Leemos historietas 
La tele nos da sueño
pero de noche conservo un afiche de Raphael
y me peino como él 
Tengo un casete de Luis Miguel y colecciono servilletas de papel
De la cultura de la basura
Vamos al estadio Escuchando radio 
Nos carga Julio Iglesias y el jabón Lux 
Odiamos a los jefes de nuestra fábrica 
Copiamos a los jefes de nuestra fábrica 
Cenamos con los jefes de nuestra fábrica 
Marchamos por los jefes de nuestra fábrica 
De la cultura de la basura 
Somos la cultura de la basura tenemos la cabeza dura 
Somos la cultura de la basura tenemos toda el alma dura.

ÁLBUM DE ORO DEL CINE MUNDIAL


Este álbum fue concebido por la Editorial Almex (1959, Lima, Perú) con 390 cromos en 49 páginas. Lo que llamó mi atención en esta magnífica publicación fue que escapaba del ámbito típico de las estrellas de cine de Hollywood y locales, abarcando en cambio actores de industrias cinematográficas de muy diversos paises. Nos encontramos entonces con muchos actores que dependiendo de nuestra propia nacionalidad o interés en el tema podrían ser completamente desconocidos, interesantes y dignos de investigar. Sospecho que para los peruanos de 1959 los actores de cine americano, mexicano, argentino y español, pueden haber sido populares. No se que tanto sabían de cine japones, chino o malayo. La cosa es que aquí están y por eso ya tenian la chance de conocerlos. Me es difícil imaginar ahora, inclusive en nuestra sociedad globalizada, que un álbum de cromos (o cualquier esfuerzo editorial impreso) creado en el Perú le dedique páginas al cine cubano o alemán , por ejemplo.

Empezaba el álbum con un cromo de Ofelia Montesco (Ofelia Grabowski Edery. Loreto,1936- México,1983) que más conocida como "Carita de Cielo" de alguna manera representaría al Perú, aunque que su popularidad se debiera a una carrera hecha en Mexico (su extensa filmografía pasa por peliculas de Buñuel y El Santo).



Luego tenemos una selección de algunas página del cine de Hollywood con rotros muy familiares para los que gustamos del cine de entonces.




MEXICO
El cine mexicano, cuya industria era de las más populares por aquel entonces aparece aquí representada por sus grandes y queridas estrellas.




CUBA
El cine cubano, cuyas estrellas asumo pertenecen al periodo pre Castro son totalmente desconocidas para mí, lo que las hace más interesantes


ARGENTINA

ESPAÑA



FRANCIA


ITALIA


INGLATERRA


ALEMANIA
Mi hoy tan querido cine alemán y que por aquellos años no pasaba por su mejor momento tenía también sus estrellas internacionales (reconozco a Maria Schell ,Hortz Buchholz, Romy y Curt Jurgens)

CHINA Y MALASIA

JAPON

Friday, June 18, 2010

KING KONG FROM BLANGLADESH


Don't say you've seen the worst Kong ever until you see this one. My jaw almost hit the floor and I couldn't even laugh (even if I wanted). And, oh yes, this is not a Bollywood movie. I am guessing it's a comedy, but I am afraid I might be wrong. I am sure the critics from Dhaka in Bangladesh must have cried tiers of pain watching this. When you realice that this film is not from the 70's but from 2010...well. Let's hope they don't make a bangla Schindler's List.


Wednesday, June 16, 2010

ABOUT MEETING JAMES RANDI


I met James Randi last night. One of my real heroes from more then a decade now. Got to shake his hand, sign my old copy of Flim Flam, make him some questions, take him quite a few shots and listen some rational wisdom with his jovial sense of humor. I wrote about him before here and now i just want to say that he is a great human being. More then eighty years old and he still has the magic (pun INTENDED), he still have the strength to go around the world and fight for Reason, debunk fakers, liars and thieves (like Peter Popoff, that goes again fooling people by the name of "People United for Christ". That's what i frankly call same shit with a different name).As I said before, I hope and wish Randi lives a very long life. Because we need him. His cause is one of the very few we support here in Guelyland. I guess the easiest and laziest but good way to check him out is simply watching him on YouTube.So, here a few pics of the man I was very happy to make.

















WATCH ME, WATCHING YOU WATCHING ME

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