Assemblog: July 26, 2013

Idris Elba in Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom

New this week on Popshifter: Brad is a big fan of two new Scream Factory Blu-Ray releases: Ninja III: The Domination and The Howling; Jeff rethinks not having given Bulletboys a chance before and urges others to give the 2006 version of The Wicker Man another chance; I review the vinyl reissue of White Fence‘s self-titled debut as well as the splendid Lenses from Soft Metals, and marvel at the brilliant, hilarious Computer Chess.

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Assemblog: January 4, 2013

The Place Beyond The Pines

New this week on Popshifter: We’ve got Best Of 2012 lists from me as well as Megashaun. You can also peruse all our Best Of 2012 lists, if you’re so inclined.

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Toronto After Dark 2012: Top Five Picks – American Mary

By Less Lee Moore

What:

American Mary: A disillusioned medical student decides to ply her trade in the shady underworld of unregulated surgeries and body modification with horrifying consequences. (Synopsis from the Toronto After Dark Film Fest website)

Who:

Written and directed by The Twisted Twins, a.k.a. Jen and Sylvia Soska.

Why:

At the risk of restating the oh-so-obvious, women do not frequently get taken seriously in the film industry, especially in genre films. Although there are many strong female characters throughout the history of horror, there are more Final Girls and Scream Queens than horror heroines, much less writers and directors. The film also boasts women behind the camera including casting, production, art and set decoration, production and costume design, and effects makeup. American Mary should ace the Bechdel Test.

Twins Jen and Sylvia Soska were born in Vancouver, where they filmed 2011’s exploitation smash, the ultra-violent (and controversial) Dead Hooker In A Trunk. The appeal of a female Canadian horror director—much less two—cannot be overstated. American Mary received a lot of positive attention at this year’s Fantastic Fest, including the performance of lead actress Katherine Isabelle (from horror cult classic Ginger Snaps).

When:

American Mary‘s Canadian premiere takes place on Thursday, October 18 at 9:45PM.

Where:

Bloor Cinema, 506 Bloor Street West.

Fantastic Fest 2012: The Reviews and Awards Are In

By Less Lee Moore

Another Fantastic Fest has come and gone. Congratulations to the people behind all the films that won awards, especially Here Comes The Devil which won Best Picture, Best Screenplay, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Actress in the Horror Feature category. A well deserved round of applause! (You can read my Here Comes The Devil review on the TIFF Vanguard blog here.)

For a complete list of all the award winners, check the Fantastic Fest website.

I’ve also picked my favorite reviews of each film that I’ve previously mentioned on Popshifter, along with a couple of movies that weren’t on my radar but which I now want to see, based on the reviews coming out of the Fest.

No doubt you’ll be hearing more about these movies on Popshifter in the coming months. Enjoy!

American Mary (Fear.net)
Horror Feature Best Actress Special Mention: Katherine Isabel

The American Scream (Indiewire and Theater Thoughts, because I couldn’t choose a fave.)
Best Documentary: Director Michael Stephenson

Antiviral (Complex)

Combat Girls (Twitch’s review was so wonderful it made me add this to my “must see” list.)
AMD “Next Wave” Spotlight Competition Winner for Best Actress: Alina Levshin

The Conspiracy (Very Aware)

Frankenweenie (Bloody Disgusting)

Holy Motors (Screen Crush)

Looper (Geek Nation)

Sinister (Bloody Disgusting)

Taped (Film School Rejects)

Tower Block (Fear.net)

Vanishing Waves (I am not posting any reviews here because the few I started to read were spoiler-heavy. Here’s the trailer again to refresh your memory, though.)
Fantastic Features Best Picture, Best Director: Director Kristina Buozyte
Fantastic Features Best Screenplay: Bruno Samper, Kristina Buozyte
Fantastic Features Best Actress: Jurga Jutaite

Wake In Fright (Another outstanding review from Twitch on this rarely seen Australian film from 1971 put this on my radar. Drafthouse Films picked up the film and it will play in New York on October 5 at The Film Forum and again in L.A. on October 19 at The Nuart. A national release will follow with VOD and home video releases in early 2013.)

Assemblog: September 21, 2012

Grease 2: “Friday night . . . talent show!”

New this week on Popshifter: Danny calls Bob Mould’s Silver Age “flawless;” Cait thinks Coal Porters’ Find The One is “gorgeous;” Elizabeth Keathley introduces a new series on “linear television” I look at the art of Frankenweenie; chat with Andrea and Paul of horror lecture series The Black Museum; give you the goods on Fantastic Fest 2012; and review Jason Lapeyre’s great new film Cold Blooded.

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Fantastic Fest 2012: What’s It All About?

By Less Lee Moore

What is Fantastic Fest? If you’re a film superfan, especially a fan of what’s commonly known as “genre films” (horror, sci-fi, action, anything that doesn’t fit neatly into the mainstream), then you probably already know. For everyone else, I’ll just quote from the Fantastic Fest website: “Fantastic Fest is the largest genre film festival in the U.S., specializing in horror, fantasy, sci-fi, action and just plain fantastic movies from all around the world. Fantastic Fest is held each year in various venues, but primarily at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema on South Lamar in Austin, Texas.”

Ah yes, the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema. Founded by Karrie and Tim League (who is famous for his zero tolerance policy on bad behavior in theaters) in 1997. It began as a second run theater but eventually became a first run theater specializing in distinctive and unusual programming. Although it now includes nine locations across the US, the Austin location is perhaps the best known, and it’s also Fantastic Fest central.

This year’s Fantastic Fest started on Thursday, September 20 and runs through next Thursday, September 27.

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Movie Review: Cold Blooded

By Less Lee Moore

Jason Lapeyre‘s Cold Blooded is only his second feature film, but it’s already obvious that he’s a director to watch. The film has a terrific trailer that gives hints at the goodness within; it doesn’t spoil anything but it does leave you wanting more. Cold Blooded is definitely more than your average indie thriller.

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The Art Of Frankenweenie: From FanExpo to Fantastic Fest

By Less Lee Moore

At this year’s FanExpo Canada, I was fortunate enough to take a trip through the mind of Tim Burton. No, I wasn’t shrunk down like Fantastic Voyage or anything. The kind folks at FanExpo worked with Disney and Mr. Burton to present an exhibit of the artwork for the movie. Since Frankenweenie will premiere at Austin’s Fantastic Fest tonight (and will open in wide release October 5), I thought it was a good time to share these terrific photos with you.

First some history: Frankenweenie was a 29-minute short Burton made in 1984. The story is about a kid named Victor Frankenstein who decides to bring his beloved dog Sparky back to life after poor Sparky is hit and killed by a car.

Like the original, the full-length Frankenweenie is in black and white, but the new version is much longer and will also be released in 3D.

These photos do not do the exhibit justice. The detail was amazing and I literally wanted to play with everything there, even the fake Tim Burton desk.

Take a look at these images and don’t forget to check out the movie in October!

Assemblog: September 14, 2012

You’re Next, 2011

New this week on Popshifter: Emily dares you to get “Les Sucettes” out of your head in her review of France Gall’s Made In France and John places Mary Edwards’s Eastern/Central & Mountain/Pacific in his Top Ten of 2012.

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Assemblog: September 7, 2012

Lord Of Tears

New this week on Popshifter: I have mixed but positive feelings about the new Weep release, Alate and suggest that you check out Blind Benny’s great new EP, No Honor, while Cait adores the reissues of 20/20’s self titled debut and Look Out! (and not-so-secretly wants them to get back together).

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