Prometheus Blu-Ray Review
Prometheus Blu-Ray
Starring Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Guy Pearce, Idris Elba, Logan Marshall-Green, Sean Harris, Rafe Spall and Charlize Theron
Written by Jon Spaihts and Damon Lindelof
Directed by Ridley Scott
Audiences were not prepared for what Ridley Scott unleashed upon them this summer when Prometheus was projected on screens across the country this summer. Coming nowhere near the tone of his previous Alien film, Prometheus is very heavy on the SCI part of the equation and very light on everything else. Scott goes completely cerebral for a film clearly inspired more by 2001: A Space Odyssey. The question remains, doe s the film play better the second time around? (more…)
Ruby Sparks Blu-Ray Review
Ruby Sparks Blu-Ray
Starring Paul Dano, Zoe Kazan, Chris Messina, Annette Bening, Antonio Banderas, Elliot Gould and Steve Coogan
Written by Zoe Kazan
Directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris
Now available on Blu-Ray and DVD from 20th Century Fox is the quirky comedy from writer/star Zoe Kazan, Ruby Sparks. Zoe, granddaughter of prolific director Elia Kazan, is following in the footsteps of her parents by writing Ruby Sparks. Yet when it came to directing the film she was more than happy to let the tandem of Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris of Little Miss Sunshine fame take the lead. It’s been six years since Dayton and Faris stormed the indie scene with the runaway sensation of Sunshine, will Ruby Sparks make that six year span without a follow-up worth the wait?
29 year old high school dropout Calvin, who at 19 wrote a ground-breaking novel (more…)
TAD 2012: Dead Sushi Review (Kirk Haviland)
Toronto After Dark Film Festival 2012
Starring Rina Takeda, Shigeru Matsuzaki and Kentarô Shimazu
Written by Noboru Iguchi, Makiko Iguchi and Jun Tsugita
Continuing a long tradition of Japanese splatter films at Toronto After Dark – past years have also brought us Tokyo Gore Police, RoboGeisha and Vampire Girl vs Frankenstein Girl – we were treated to Noboru Iguchi’s Dead Sushi for the 2012 edition of the festival. One of Iguchi’s first films outside of the Sushi Typhoon label since that company launched, Dead Sushi has been hailed as a fun romp that returns Iguchi back to the form of Machine Girl, the film that helped launch Typhoon in the first place. (more…)
Top 5 films to watch around Halloween (Liberal Dead)
Top 5 Films to watch around Halloween
Movie Junkie TO (Kirk Haviland)
Hello fellow Genre Heads! After seeing some of the other guys chime in on this subject I thought I would lend my voice to the argument. For me Halloween, much like Christmas, is about going back and visiting the classic films I grew up with. Not ‘classics’ like the Universal Monsters films and the like, but the classic films from the 60’s/ 70’s/80’s and 90`s. But my ultimate list of the top 5 will span all the way up to a few scant years ago.
Sadly this list may end up being a little less obscure than some of my compatriots,… (more…)
Body Mod Goddesses: the Soska Sisters dissect ‘American Mary’
Courtesy of Twisted Twins Productions
After their successful Canadian Premiere at the Toronto After Dark Film Festival, we were able to sit down with the Canadian Born directors the Soska Sisters, aka the Twisted Twins, to discuss their latest offering, the dark and twisted American Mary. So here’s what the ladies had to say:
First off I should congratulate you ladies on a fantastic Canadian Debut of a American Mary which I am proud to support. I was wondering if you could talk about the genesis of the project, and the involvement of a certain high profile director/producer.
Sylvia Soska: Thank you so kindly for saying so, I am so proud of the film that we have……………………………………….. (more…)
TAD 2012: Resolution Review
Toronto After Dark Film Festival 2012
Starring Peter Cilella, Vinny Curran, Zahn McClarnon
Written by Justin Benson
Directed by Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead
Resolution, the hit film from the Tribeca and Fantasia festivals made its Toronto debut at Toronto After Dark 2012. Another cabin in the woods style thriller in a year that has also given us ‘Cabin in the Woods’, Resolution is a smaller more compact story that strives to tell an equally intense and original story. But the question is can they succeed?
Mike (Cilella) receives a deranged video via email from his junkie friend Chris (Curran)……………………………… (more…)
TAD 2012: After Review
Toronto After Dark Film Festival 2012
Starring Steven Strait, Karolina Wydra, Madison Lintz and Sandra Ellis Lafferty
Written by Jason Parish and Ryan Smith
Directed by Ryan Smith
Making its Canadian Premiere as part of Toronto After Dark 2012’s Sunday night lineup was the fantasy thriller After. The tale of a pair of bus crash survivors who awake to an empty town hopes to harken back to a darker version of the more whimsical films of Joe Dante and Steven Spielberg back in the 1980’s. But can After live up to such a high pedigree? (more…)
TAD 2012: Citadel Review
Toronto After Dark Film Festival 2012
Starring Aneurin Barnard, James Cosmo, Wunmi Mosaku, Jake Wilson and Amy Shiels
Written and Directed by Ciaran Foy
After receiving numerous awards at festivals around the world, including SXSW, Citadel finally makes its Toronto debut as part of this year’s Toronto After Dark Film Festival. The dark/grimy tale of a man that desperately wants to protect his family but has been so traumatized that he can’t, features a breakout performance from both its lead actor and director.
Tommy (Barnard) and his pregnant wife Joanne………………………………………… (more…)
Abraham Lincoln Re-Animated – Nimit Malavia and Matt Whelan discuss their short film The Great Calamity
Abraham Lincoln Re-Animated – Nimit Malavia and Matt Whelan discuss their short film The Great Calamity
Hello All. Kirk, aka Movie Junkie TO, here again with another interview. This time with Nimit and Matt, two of the guys behind the new animated short/motion graphic novel The Great Calamity. The short film is from the Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter DVD/Blu-Ray out this week from 20th Century Fox. Nimit is the Key Concept Artist/Illustrator and Matthew is the Animation Director. At the time of the interview recording I had not been able to see the film, but I have been able to catch up with it now and can say the animation is fantastic. Enjoy!
Movie Junkie (MJ) – Hey guys, glad we could get to talk today……………………………………. (more…)
Can ‘Pitch Perfect’ actually satisfy men as well as women? (Film Review)
(L to R) Denise (WANETAH WALMSLEY), Ashley (SHELLY REGNER), Cynthia Rose (ESTER DEAN), Fat Amy (REBEL WILSON), Stacie (ALEXIS KNAPP), Beca (ANNA KENDRICK), Chloe (BRITTANY SNOW), Lilly (HANA MAE LEE) and Jessica (KELLEY ALICE JAKLE)
Pitch Perfect
Starring: Anna Kendrick, Skylar Astin, Ben Platt, Brittany Snow, Anna Camp, Rebel Wilson, Alexis Knapp, Hana Mae Lee with John Michael Higgins and Elizabeth Banks.
Written by Kay Cannon, based on the book by Mickey Rapkin
Directed by Jason Moore
Every decade we seem to get that one young female driven comedy, you know that one teen/”chick flick” film, that manages to transcend the basic genre trappings with a smart, funny script and great performances. The 80’s brought us Sixteen Candles, 90’s the Amy Heckerling classic Clueless and back in 2000 we got the cheerleading opus that spawned many inferior sequels, Bring it On. And now, 12 years after Bring It On, we get the next contender to join this exclusive group with Pitch Perfect.
Beca (Kendrick) is an aspiring DJ forced to go to college by her professor father……………………………………. (more…)
TAD 2012: Cockney’s VS Zombies Review
Toronto After Dark Film Festival 2012
Starring Harry Treadaway, Rasmus Hardiker, Georgina King, Alan Ford, Honor Blackman, Michelle Ryan and Richard Briers
Written by James Moran and Lucas Roche
Directed by Matthias Hoene
Another entry from the UK, Toronto After Dark presented us with the FrightFest hit Cockneys vs Zombies for its Canadian premiere. The horror comedy set in London’s infamous east end aims to take off from where Shaun of the Dead left off also uses the insular setting of an elderly age care home to stage most of the action. The combination of the care home residents and young protagonists out to save their granddad is unique, but does it work?
Brothers Andy (Treadaway) and Terry (Hardiker),………………………………………….. (more…)
PUBCast!! Dead Air Podcast Bonus Episode Live from Toronto After Dark 2012
Hello All. Jeff Konopka and I have a bonus surprise for you guys!! We have a live podcast straight from the Pauper’s Pub at Pub After Dark at Toronto After Dark Film Festival. You’ll get a great taste of what a Pub After Dark is really like with all sorts of fantastic guests. You’ll get to hear from the Directors and Cast members of the films Resolution, Crave, Eviction and Game of Werewolves. Plus other pub goers and fellow bloggers alike. THIS IS A HELL OF A FUN LISTEN! Enjoy 🙂 (more…)
TAD 2012: Inbred Review
Toronto After Dark Film Festival 2012
Starring Jo Hartley, Seamus O’Neill, James Doherty, James Burrows and Nadine Rose Mulkerrin
Written by Alex Chandon and Paul Shrimpton
Directed by Alex Chandon
From the UK we get our next Toronto After Dark 2012 selection, Inbred. Taking direct influence from films like Deliverance, Alex Chandon brings us one of the most un-repentantly, vile and crude films since perhaps A Serbian Film. But is there actual story worth watching amongst the blood splatter and septic tank contents?
Inbred starts with two social workers, the overly eager Jeff (Doherty)……………………………… (more…)
TAD 2012: American Mary Review
Toronto After Dark Film Festival 2012
Starring Katherine Isabelle, Antonio Cupo, Tristan Risk, Davis Lovgren and Twan Holliday
Written and Directed by Jen and Sylvia Soska
The Soska Sisters, better known to those in genre circles as the “Twisted Twins”, arrived at this year’s Toronto After Dark Film Festival with their 2nd feature film, American Mary. The creators of the provocative Dead Hooker in a Trunk return with a graphic horror thriller based in the world of extreme body modification. Does American Mary live up to the promise most genre fans found in Dead Hooker?
Buried under medical bills and tuition…………………………………………… (more…)
PIF 2012: Lost Rivers Review
Planet in Focus Environment Film Festival 2012
Lost Rivers (2012)
Directed by Caroline Bâcle
This year’s opening night of the Planet in Focus Environmental Film Festival kicked off with the world premiere of Caroline Bâcle’s Lost Rivers. The documentary aims to inform us of the rivers under major cities around the world, and the efforts from a dedicated few to save them.
Once flowing through nearly every developed city in the world, rivers provided the infrastructure upon which most modern metropolises were built. Lost Rivers leads us down the drain into vast underground museums of urban development that have sprung up surrounding the protection and unearthing of these flowing rivers. The films takes us through the hidden river networks of London, Brescia (Italy), Montreal and Toronto where intrepid groups of subterranean explorers known as “drainers” reveal the buried waterways that house the secrets of each city’s past. The film also explores some of the recent government funded initiatives to resurface and revitalize these forgotten waterways in Yonkers and Seoul, and the more grassroots efforts in places like Toronto……..
Paranormal Activity 4 Review
Paranormal Activity 4 (2012)
Starring Kathryn Newton, Matt Shively, Brady Allen, Aiden Lovekamp and Katie Featherston
Written by Chad Feehan, Zack Estrin and Christopher Landon
Directed by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman
New this weekend in theaters from Paramount Pictures comes the latest installment in the Paranormal Activity series: Paranormal Activity 4. Starting with superbly crafted tiny indie film that became a sensation that was the first PA, the series has gone on to generate millions in revenue for little cost for Paramount and has managed to supplant the Saw films as the recurring new film each year for Halloween in theaters. But has the film series exhausted itself creatively, and perhaps more importantly has it outstayed its welcome with its audience?
Paranormal Activity 4 takes place five years after Paranormal Activity 2, which ended with Katie’s (Featherston) dispatching of her sister’s family and the abducting of their baby, Hunter. The 4th film follows the life of teen Alex (Newton), along with her boyfriend Ben (Shively), her parents and her little brother Wyatt (Lovekamp). Alex’s mom takes Robbie…………………………………..
PIF 2012: Bay of All Saints Review
Planet In Focus Environment Film Festival 2012
Bay of All Saints (2012)
Directed by Annie Eastman
Part of the lineup at this year’s Planet In Focus Environmental Film Festival, Bay of all Saints takes us deep into an area of a world we rarely get to see. In Brazil’s Bay of all Saints district the otherwise homeless have taken to the water for refuge. Rows and Rows of palafitas, haphazard hand built shacks supported directly over the water on stilts, house this makeshift urban community. When the government decides that the land is too valuable as a development project to allow these palafitas to continue to exist, the residents are slated for relocation. Over the course of six years, Norato, a friendly and flirty refrigerator repairman raised in these sea-lodged slums, guides us through the personal histories and daily struggles of Geni, Jesus and Dona Maria, three single mothers that have settled on the bay.
Drool and Vomit: The Cast of A Little Bit Zombie Speak Out!
Hello All, Kirk here, aka Movie Junkie TO, with another interview. This time I got to sit down with the cast of the Canadian horror comedy A Little Bit Zombie. The following is my chat with cast members Kristopher Turner, Shawn Roberts and Crystal Lowe. I was also able to sit down with director Casey Walker which should show up on the site soon enough.
Enjoy!
Movie Junkie (MJ) – Thanks for sitting down with me today guys. I really enjoyed the film when I saw it earlier this year. I wanted to ask a few questions about how you made the film. First off, one of my favorite parts of the film is the use of practical effects over CGI in most situations, I can think of one particular scene involving vomit, Crystal. I wondered if you guys could talk about how it helped your performances and the decision to go with the practical effects to begin with.
The Barrens Blu-Ray Review
The Barrens Blu-Ray
Starring Stephen Moyer, Mia Kirshner, Allie MacDonald, Peter DaCunha, Erik Knudson, Chantelle Chung, David Keeley and Shawn Ashmore
Written and Directed by Darren Lynn Bousman
New this week to DVD and Blu-Ray from Anchor Bay Entertainment comes The Barrens. This take on the classic campfire stories that have dominated family camping outings for decades comes from the enigmatic Darren Lynn Bousman, more known for his inconsistency than any one film in particular. So what does the director of Saw 2-4, the divisive Repo, The Genetic Opera and the outright abysmal 11-11-11 have in store for us this time?
It’s known as the Jersey Devil, the long rumored winged beast spawned 400 years ago,……………………………………………..
TIFF 2012 Clip and Picture Day Reviews
Photo from TIFF.net
Starring Isidora Simijonovic, Vukašin Jasnic, Sanja Mikitišin, Jovo Makisc and Monja Savic
Written and Directed by Maja Milos
Jasna (Simijonovic) is a teenage girl living in the poor suburbs in the south of Belgrade, Serbia. She, like many girls her age, likes to record everything around her using a mobile phone camera. She is making videos of herself, her school friends, family and Djole (Jasnic), the boy of her dreams. Her family life is a mess, her father is terminally ill and mother is barely coping. Jasna cannot figure out how to cope with this and it leads her further down the wrong path, leading to more and more time hanging out with her school friends, partying and drinking. At one of the parties, she finally starts a conversation with Djole and later they develop an intense sexual relationship. When he realizes that she will do anything to be close to him, Djole starts using her as a sexual object. Jasna……………
Dead Air Episode 21: Toronto After Dark Preview Show
Here is my latest guest spot on the Dead Air podcast!! This time we launch into out Toronto After Dark 2102 Preview!! We do a day by day rundown of the ENTIRE lineup! So join Jeff Konopka, Shawn Savage and myself as we count down all the reasons you need to see the fest!! And last but not least the Pub After Dark Pub Nights!!! And if you see Jeff and me around the pub come say hi, or better yet buy us a beer! 🙂
Sinister Review
Sinister (2012)
Starring Ethan Hawke, Juliet Rylance, Michael Hall D’Addario, Clare Foley, Fred Dalton Thompson and James Ransone
Written by C. Robert Cargill and Scott Derrickson
Directed by Scott Derrickson
In theaters this weekend from Alliance Films, just in time for Halloween, we get the newest horror title from director Scott Derrickson, the director of the Exorcism of Emily Rose. With the mainly lackluster theatrical year we have had to date for the horror genre, Cabin in the Woods withstanding, the real question is can Sinister deliver where others this year have failed? And can one of us, online film Critic C. Robert Cargill, aka Ain’t it Cool News’ Massawrym, really write a film that lives up to the hype?
Baring his Fangs, Zak Kilberg talks about Midnight Son
Midnight Son Zak Kilberg Interview
Hello everyone, Kirk aka Movie Junkie TO here again with a second interview from the guys involved with Midnight Son. My first interview can be read here. This time I get to sit down with one of the film’s leads, Zak Kilberg, for some one-on-one questioning. Enjoy!
Movie Junkie (MJ) – It’s great to talk to you again Zak, it’s been a while since Toronto After Dark last year. Congrats on the DVD release.
Zak Kilberg (ZK) – Hi Kirk, so happy you’re doing another piece on Midnight Son! Toronto After Dark has been a huge champion of our film and we all love that festival and everyone involved up there. I had a great experience coming up to Toronto for the premiere and meeting everyone!
MJ – Zak, let’s start with how you became aware of the film and eventually landed the…
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Princess Bride 25th Anniversary Blu-Ray Review
Princess Bride 25th Anniversary Blu-Ray
Starring Cary Elwes, Robin Wright, Mandy Patinkin, Christopher Guest, Wallace Shawn, Andre the Giant, Fred Savage, Peter Falk, Carol Kane and Billy Crystal
Written by William Goldman
Directed by Rob Reiner
Celebrating its 25th anniversary this year is The Princess Bride, a small fairy tale that over time has become a timeless classic spanning generations. Featuring new packaging as well as a brand new 30 minute long special feature on top of all of the features from the 20th anniversary edition, the 25th anniversary edition turns out to be a packed Blu-ray. The question remains: is this edition worth the upgrade if you already own a copy of this classic yarn?
In case you don’t know the story, when a young boy falls ill his grandfather pops round to visit him. In an attempt to cheer up his grandson (Savage), Grandpa (Falk) has brought a…
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