Metalocalypse: Army of the Doomstar review
Dramatic Notices by Ron Russo
I attend the film premieres like everybody else, if it’s digital, a home viewing at 12:01 AM; do back to back viewings with a little research in between, and then immediately write the review for that or the following day’s edition, old school (I’m a former Adjunct Film Professor that taught the world’s only Adult Swim college course for 42 semesters, and also related to this article, Alfred Hitchcock a dozen semesters).
Brendon Small was a volunteer “telecon” guest in the world’s first ever Adult Swim college course in 2004; telecon in quotes as the video feed collapsed and we had to finish with just audio on a student’s cell phone for about 40 minutes, until his battery died. This was a “Home Movies” conversation about his two characters, Brendon, and guitar/piano/vocalist Duane-a forerunner to Skwisgaar of “Metalocalypse” which began the following year. The Thor Von Clemson Advanced Fast Hand Finger Wizard Master Class is a live-action special feature by Brendon on the “Home Movies” season 1 DVD set. Thor’s instructions include the acronyms ASATTN, “all strings are tuned to notes,” and TESICTYF, “the E string is closest to your face.”
Arguably the top prop in Army of the Doomstar is the electronic clip-on headstock guitar tuner, keep an eye out for these scenes. Nathan has a few great food and drink props: negative-Xanax, red wine, and coffee; and somewhat positive-chocolate milk and Cool Ranch Doritos-per Nathan,“best thing a death metal vocalist can eat.”
Titmouse and Williams Street have created a nominee for best musical? The wildly colorful Dr Rockso music performance would be a pleasure on a big screen at a theater. Dethklok starts the Babyklok tour on 8/30/23 in Houston; I saw them a few years back, it was an awesome performance. All five band members are voiced by the cocreators, Tommy Blacha and Brendon Small. They have complex comic dialogue with both regional and international voices, such as with Toki’s, “bowls of kombuchas.”
I believe this is Brendon’s first time at directing a feature length film. One of my all time favorite sequences is from Alfred Hitchcock’s Strangers on a Train (1951) where he does match cuts and a lap dissolve between the setting sun and the center globe of an amusement park ride called The Spider. Army of the Doomstar has a base entry/exit shot of a beautiful black night sky with twinkling stars. The opening adds Earth and another planet with solar flares that lap dissolve into the band’s backstage dressing room featuring a vanity light mirror. The shapes theme intensifies with another lap dissolve to the audiences’ twinkling phones and a giant fire pit. The following shot has Dethklok seated on stage throwing giant shadows against the backdrop; a primary element of the German Expressionist film movement, 1919-33, visually translating to something bad is looming, impending violence or usually death for the character(s).
Though, the film does play out along these lines, a bit dark and scary, it has an awesome general theme of together we can make things happen; a job whale done!
4.9 of 5 stars Where’s the new design guitar or other instrument for the marketplace, like the earlier Gibson Thunderhorse Explorer?
disclaimer: author submitted a not accepted script idea/storyboard sample to Titmouse in 2021 for this film entitled, Dethred.
aside: one of the coolest high-end Adult Swim merchandise offerings ever was a Dethklok blood fountain for $40,000! I inquired and it appeared to be a real contractor with actual building plans.
Brendon Small was a volunteer “telecon” guest in the world’s first ever Adult Swim college course in 2004; telecon in quotes as the video feed collapsed and we had to finish with just audio on a student’s cell phone for about 40 minutes, until his battery died. Below-a match lap dissolve example from my not accepted storyboard for the film.