Toronto After Dark 2012: Wrong Review

By Less Lee Moore

I’m going to completely avoid pun-filled pull quotes like “Wrong Is So Right!” in this review, in part because it would be corny, but also because it would be a sad attempt at competing with the genuine humor found in Quentin Dupieux’s latest film.

The trailer for Wrong conveys all you need to know about the movie itself—man loses dog; man goes on bizarre quest to find dog—but it might help you appreciate it more when you know more about Quentin Dupieux. He’s also known as the weirdo musical entity Mr. Oizo, and if you enjoy his output under that moniker, you’ll definitely like the score for Wrong. Dupieux is also responsible for last year’s bizarre horror “spoof” Rubber, about a killer tire.

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Assemblog: October 26, 2012

Don’t cry, Vlad. You’ll ruin your makeup.

Okay you guys, truth: I’ve been way too busy with Toronto After Dark to do a proper Assemblog this week. It will be okay, though. We’ll make it through together. In the meantime, here’s what’s new this week on Popshifter.

You can read my ongoing Toronto After Dark 2012 Film Festival coverage here, including reviews of American Mary, After, Citadel, and Resolution.

Danny ponders the hype machine in his review of Gary Clark Jr.’s Blak and Blu; I call out the haters in my assessment of Prometheus on Blu-Ray; Chelsea discusses the legendary Rick Berlin and his latest, Always On Insane; Ricky thinks Black Moth Super Rainbow’s Cobra Juicy is their most accessible album yet; Emily defends black cats on Halloween; Jemiah suggests Zombie Eye for the Living Guy as a guideline for the would-be undead; and Emily bids a fond farewell to Ceefax.

—Less Lee Moore, Managing Editor

First You Ceefax, Then You Don’t

By Emily Carney

Back in the halcyon days of broadcast television in the UK, a BBC teletext service called Ceefax (which stood for “See Facts”) was devised in an effort to provide viewers with the most current, continuously updated information possible, encompassing news, financial information, weather, and sports. It debuted in 1974.

Ceefax was actually the first teletext system used in the world. The system was originally limited to thirty “pages” of information and had a wonderfully eight-bit, low-tech (at least to viewers in 2012) vibe. It resembled being trapped in a Radio Shack Tandy computer. Occasionally viewers even were able to enjoy some cheesy, TRS-80-style “print @ line…” graphics in weather maps, among other things. It was pretty cool for its time. Eventually the BBC put on some smooth-as-silk easy listening tunes to go with the pages.

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Book Review: Zombie Eye For The Living Guy: Look Undead, Cook Undead, Dress Undead, and Live Undead

By Jemiah Jefferson

In a world where The Walking Dead is one of the most successful TV programs on the air, where politics shambles on brainlessly, and it seems that the end times are nigh, why wouldn’t you want to dress like it’s Halloween? If you live for the absurd and obscene, there is at last a lifestyle book for you and your peers. This black-hearted parody of the best-selling Queer Eye for the Straight Guy tie-in books brings an undead perspective to the perennial challenge of living well, looking good—or, in this case, horrible&mdash’and being exactly the decaying, mindless flesh eater you’ve always wanted to be.

For those who have read the Queer Eye book, the parody is dead-on and hilarious. With sections titled such things as “Inner Preparations,” “Should I Eat Human Brains?” and “Social Skills,” every aspect of the gruesome, yet satisfying world of being a walking abomination is addressed with wit, variety, and a very silly thoroughness. Yet this is not just a point-by-point parody; Zombie Eye also contains quite a few pointers to enrich and enliven (so to speak) any good zombie costume for those still breathing.

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Toronto After Dark 2012: Top Five Picks – Wrong

By Less Lee Moore

What:

Wrong: An absurd crime thriller about a man and the very strange things that happen to him as he tries to track down his kidnapped dog.

Who:

Written and directed by Quentin Dupieux, also known as Mr. Oizo.

Why:

If you remember Rubber, the movie about a serial killing tire, you’ll want to catch Wrong. If you know of Quentin Dupieux from his Mr. Oizo music and videos, you’ll also want to catch Wrong. The film was declared the Most Innovative Feature at Fantasia Fest. For a three-week film festival, this is huge praise.

The trailer is hilarious and the cast is impressive, including Jack Plotnick (who was also in Rubber), William Fichtner (one of the most diverse character actors around), and Steve Little (from Eastbound and Down). If you’re still not convinced, watch the trailer again.

When:

Wrong makes its Toronto premiere on Thursday, October 24 at 9:45PM.

Where:

Bloor Cinema, 506 Bloor Street West.

Toronto After Dark 2012: Resolution Review

By Less Lee Moore

Perhaps more than any other movie I’ve seen this year, Resolution will be the hardest to explain or describe. It’s not necessarily for fear of spoilers, because even if I wrote out the entire plot in detail it would probably 1) reduce the movie to some kind of gibberish and 2) not actually ruin anything because the joy of Resolution is all in the experience of watching it.

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In Defense Of Black Cats During Halloween

By Emily Carney

Black cats are frequently maligned for their perceived status as being “bad luck” to people. Each year during this time, I come across many Halloween scenes in party stores depicting these feline creatures in graveyards, slinking around, bringing much fear to trick or treaters and leaving little turds filled with bad vibes strewn around neighborhood yards (not sure about the last part, but cats definitely are fans of frequent BMs). But enough of that . . . because it’s all conjecture. Here’s why black cats are the most gorgeous, loving, wonderful cats to own.

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Toronto After Dark 2012: Citadel Review

By Less Lee Moore

Like The Brood, Ciarán Foy’s Citadel was inspired by real life events. David Cronenberg’s iconic 1979 horror film showed the physical manifestation of anger through mutant, murderous children and channeled the rage the director felt following an ugly divorce. Citadel features a gang of similarly mutated murderers and reflects the director’s struggle to deal with the physical and emotional toll he endured after being attacked by a gang of kids.

Both films deal with the fantastic, but while Cronenberg tends to sublimate his angst through far more outlandishly indirect tropes, Citadel unflinchingly examines what it’s like to live, sleep, and breathe fear.

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Music Review: Black Moth Super Rainbow, Cobra Juicy

By Ricky Lima

I’ve had the pleasure of introducing some of my friends to both Tobacco and Black Moth Super Rainbow over the years. I explain to them that both artists are fronted by the same person, and they usually comment that they don’t see much of a difference between the two. That is when I usually go into a rant about how BMSR is a more folk driven project with organic textures where as Tobacco is a more harsh sounding, hip hop-driven project.

After reading interviews with Tom Fec (the mastermind behind Tobacco and BMSR) it becomes clear that this kind of distinction drove Fec away from making more BMSR music. He felt boxed in by making his records sound like a Tobacco record or like a BMSR album and that there was no growth in making albums sound a certain way. After a very successful Kickstarter, however, Fec is back with a new BMSR album titled Cobra Juicy.

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Music Review: Rick Berlin & The Nickel and Dime Band, Always On Insane

By Chelsea Spear

An old saying about the Champs-Elysses: If you stand on its corner long enough, you’ll run into someone you know. This adage is also true for Boston rock legend Rick Berlin‘s career. Berlin has honed his barbed sense of pop music over almost four decades, fronting the ambitious bands Orchestra Luna and Berlin Airport and playing a weekly residency at the drag bar Jacques Cabaret.

A series of very fortunate events positioned Berlin as an unlikely overnight success. A longtime fan sent him a check for $10,000 out of the blue, which allowed him to record his latest long-player, Always On Insane. Not long after its completion, rustic rock favorites Dr. Dog invited Berlin to open for them at their recent Boston engagement, introducing him to a younger audience.

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