Shamans of the Amazon

In the age of “The War Against Drugs” where governments lump native spiritual and visionary aids into the same category as the diabolical Crack and Heroine one finds him or herself questioning the reasons behind this association. How could a thousand year old spiritual tradition with no real cultural or physical side effect be deemed Taboo by the powers of the world? Why is it that the modern day politician has such hatred for ancient societies and their peaceful ways?

In Shamans of the Amazon a three part series, Dean Jefferys travels deep into the Amazon and to different parts of the world including Iraq to find answers about the Shamans of the Amazons, their quickly depleting rainforest, traditions, life, and freedom.

In the first episode Jefferys travels deep into the Amazonian rain forest with his 7 month old pregnant girlfriend and 1 year old child. They go to the Ecuadorian rainforest and meet with two shamans and experience the ancient hallucinogenic ayahuasca ritual. The filmaker does his best to translate the visions and spiritual messages he receives from the magic plant. The film has footage of a Shaman healing ritual and of shamans partaking in the ayahuasca experince. There is a great deal of intrigue that is summoned from watching this. You can see how this amazing plant makes the consumer have visions and insight into the natural world and makes one empathetic to the destruction of the planet.

In the second episode Jefferys concentrates on the political social and environmental impact of the progressive corporate world (Big Oil,) the demand of oil and the destruction of the Amazon and the native environment of the Shamans and their people. This episode has an incredible shock factor. I might be a tree hugger, but Jefferys holds no reserve to show the disquieting nature of corporations and their blatant disregard for the natural environment, historical and environmental preservation.

The last episode is mostly an in depth interview with Terence McKenna a world renowned psychedelic explorer, lecturer and author, and who had been researching and experimenting with hallucinogens including DMT since the sixties. You can see how this episode was consumed by Terrance and rightfully so, Terrnace was fighting a losing battle with cancer and died shortly after this interview. This episode holds astonishing insight into the great mind of Mr. McKenna and vital legacy he has left behind.

These films are not for everybody. They are cheesy at times and I could see how people might think it not worth their time. For me this film has made another integral notch in my mind. It aids in solidifying the notion that there is so much more to life than what the western world has led us to believe.

Shaolin Vs The Incredible

We decided to go far a "two-fer", and not by choice with Rarescope' re-release of Shaolin Vs Ninja and Shaolin Vs Tai-Chi.

Now, before we go any further, I feel the need to provide a small disclosure to your "spidey senses" that goes off right before you see a questionable movie. It's a Kung-Fu flick that you must watch with a grain of salt to enjoy, and while it's not the best Chinese cinema has to offer outside Shaw Brothers Studios in terms of production and story telling quality, if it's nothing else at least it's entertaining.

...Vs Ninja
The story of Vs Ninja isn't bad in its concept, just in its telling. Without revealing to much of the plot, it's as the name implies Shaolin Monks verse Japanese Ninja, a duel of conflicting religious concepts (and clothing) and a contest of kung fu between two ideals in order to find out if the Buddhist Monks are responsible for stealing money from the Shinto temple...or at least that what the dubbing implied. Despite the movie quality itself, it wasn't a bad movie, but one must think how much the dubbing destroys any attempt at sequential story telling. The dubbing is funny and borderline offensive which is only entertaining if you're between the ages of 5-14 or if you're running high off ether and goof balls.

Vs. Tai Chi
This movie is the polar opposite of Vs Ninja. The story was compelling and captivating and is much more in the vein of modern day Chinese opera movies such as Crouching Tiger and The Curse of the Golden Flower. The quality of the film is a little grainy, but not distracting, the villain and unfolding of events is great and there's even a display of Drunken Kung Fu not done by Jackie Chan. The best thing about this movie that sets it apart from Vs Ninja is that Vs Tai Chi is subtitled, and not new subtitles, but the original subtitles so that you get the full blown epic storyline.

Fido!

Ok, my first review is on the movie Fido, I was hesitant in wanting to watch this zomedy, I had to lower my expectations a little bit…. But it was different and I loved it. Even though it was not your typical zombie flick …..Wow, there IS a possibility of domesticating them…………

Set in the 50’s, wholesome values and post zombie-war society (haha) this movie feels like an episode of Rin Tin Tin. Overall I enjoyed it quite a bit as a whole. Carrie-Anne Moss stars with the Euro-chap from Head of the Class as Fido.

I thought the characters did a fine job not losing too much character to keep the nostalgia effective. Story could’ve used a little work, but overall a great idea to change things up. Kill count was mediocre, but if your girl is a bit on the squeamish side, it’s a well-balanced, feel good Zombie flick. Fuckin' see it!!

I’m a noob and forgot that I was not able to keep a copy of this movie to myself, so no screenshots……more zomedies on the way.