directed by:
James Ristas written by: James Ristas genre: Sci-Fi, Fantasy |
I’m trying to recall if I even remember what life was like pre-RAMGOG. You really have to admire the determination and passion that some folks have. Writer/Director James Ristas is included in that assessment. He’s practically gone Shakespearean with his latest installment of his futuristic monkey-being story of RAMGOG this time around. Whereas most folks would have likely let the original RAMGOG film be what it was and simply moved on to whatever the next project might be…but not James, no. Instead, he decided to dig his heels in and continue to create more content for the RCU (RAMGOG Cinematic Universe, obviously) – and I’ll be real with ya…I didn’t see that coming.
So here we are again, watching what is undoubtedly one of the oddest uses of anyone’s time, no matter which side of the screen you’re on. I remember the original “RAMGOG!” film fairly well, actually, and as I started to roll through “RAMGOG VS. GOGMAR,” I immediately realized I was being sucked into this stuff all over again. For real, y’all, if I had any damn sense, or watched films and movies like most people do, I probably wouldn’t have all that much time for something like this, because it’s not made for the masses – but I’m me…and it is altogether bizarre what I am happy to devote my time to. I don’t pretend to have some kind of logical explanation for what will capture my attention or why…All I know is that if you’re gonna throw on some RAMGOG-related viewing, there’s a really good chance that I’m gonna sit down to watch it. I don’t want that statement to confuse anybody out there into thinking that this makes any real sense to me, but you can certainly infer that I’m usually keen to watch anything far off the beaten path. It don’t get much further out into left field than what you’ll see in the chronicles of this space monkey, but believe me when I tell you, Ristas is a seriously gifted mind & talented filmmaker. As “RAMGOG VS. GOGMAR” started up, all I could think about was how freakin’ cool everything in these films looks, and how most content creators would really benefit from taking cues from what Ristas does. Visually and audibly, the guy is able to generate sincere interest and engage with his audience through his work right away. Again, I’m not suggesting that it’ll make a whole lotta sense to most - and the jury is still out on whether or not it even makes any sense to me…but is it interesting to look at and listen to? Absolutely! Say whatever you want to about how you feel about the meanings of this or that in the philosophically-based content that fuels these strange Sci-Fi adventures, but on the most basic of levels, what we see & what we hear, you’d have to agree that Ristas is able to capture your attention instantly through what he does. The black & white look to it all is perfect for these films. It makes it so that it feels like we are discovering some kind of ancient Betamax tapes that have been floating around in a bunch of old space junk or beamed to us via satellite, and really has an otherworldly feel to everything you’ll experience. The authenticity in what Ristas does & the true craftsmanship he applies are present and accounted for. No joke. But I suppose that’s the real question, ain’t it? If great power comes with great responsibility, as they say – is Ristas being responsible by giving this wildly offbeat concept as much oxygen and time as he is? I don’t know that I have the answer for that if I’m being honest with you, and I think the only person who knows for sure is Ristas himself. In the realm of independent art, be it music or movies or otherwise, I’m a firm believer that as long as YOU enjoy what you’re creating, that’s every reason to keep doing it. If you’re responsible for a bunch of stockholders and giant corporations, I’m sure the justification for how any of us would spend our time & money changes significantly, which is pretty much why you don’t see a whole lot of things that look anything like RAMGOG in the theatres near you. That being said, Ristas has a wealth of adaptable skills, a unique perspective & style, and the intangible X-factor that would make him an asset to any production, in my opinion. I’m always willing to go down the rabbit hole with someone who dares to be different, and I’m quite confident that Ristas is the living embodiment of that. We’re talkin’ about a dude that has mastered the art of making low-budget content fully captivating, otherwise known as modern-day alchemy. Is it a good idea to keep these things short, as he has been? Definitely. Even clocking in at less than ten minutes in total run time like “RAMGOG VS. GOGMAR” does, you’d still need to watch this film about ten times in a row in order to make some kind of sense of it all, or have a rudimentary understanding of what Ristas is attempting to communicate to us through his work. That’s kinda the beauty of what he does, though; I can sit here and tell you confidently that a film like “RAMGOG VS. GOGMAR,” or indeed the original “RAMGOG!” are well worth your time to watch, even if I still don’t personally even feel like I’ve even scratched the surface of what Ristas is really up to. Sometimes, when you go about things the right way on a visual level, the right visionary talent is able to bypass our general need for major character development or plots that make some kind of sense to us.
“I trust my heart and my feelings – those do not lie,” says RAMGOG…and our furry metallic friend is right about that. I write my reviews the same way. So even in instances like this, where each time I watched “RAMGOG VS. GOGMAR” and got to the end, only to ask myself again, ‘what the hell did I just watch?’ – I still know beyond the shadow of a doubt that I completely enjoyed everything I just got to see. Now, I could theorize for sure. I could tell you that, deep down, I think Ristas has created a tale beneath the surface of all this cool-looking space-monkey stuff that’s somewhat Whitman-esque in tone, reflecting the whole philosophy of how we “contain multitudes” – that’s probably the guiding principle here. Told through a man-vs-self style that we don’t always realize is the case, it is merely part of the overall genius that we’re being exposed to. And believe me, I know what you’ll be thinking when you go to check this out for yourself…you’ll probably push stop for a moment or two to confirm that what you’re watching is what I was talking about, and I assure you it is. My own theories about what “RAMGOG VS. GOGMAR” might not be anywhere close to correct (although now that I’m looking at the title again, I think there could very well be a clue that confirms I’m onto something), but I can certainly confirm that what Ristas is writing is deeper than you’d think it would be. That’s another part of the genius at work here really…he’s wrapped a whole philosophical course in the strangest of costumes, and I have no doubt that a lot of what he does will fly right over the heads of the masses just like it does with my own. So yes…smart to keep it short, because it’s weighty content and concepts combined with Sci-Fi stuff too – it’s tough to absorb it all in one go, and even with two spins through it, you probably still won’t be able to make sense of it all. Or maybe, just maybe, I’m reading way too much into a story about a monkey. I’ll let you be the judge and jury on all that, but from my personal point of view, I think that Ristas is something truly special, and his uniqueness should be celebrated. His uniqueness could be easier for us all to follow, yes, I know – but it should still be celebrated. We need more writers and directors with the courage to do things as differently as this guy does. “RAMGOG VS. GOGMAR” gets four out of five stars from me – it’s wild to see something that is so unlike whatever the last thing you watched was. |
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