Assemblog: November 9, 2012

Published on November 9th, 2012 in: Assemblog, Copyright/Piracy, Horror, Movies, Music, Soundtracks and Scores |

snister spoilers
Sinister, 2012

New this week on Popshifter: I give a wrap up of Toronto After Dark; Chelsea reviews The Red Machine, reminisces about ’90s Boston band Tribe, and raves about Sophie Auster’s debut EP The Red Weather; Danny wonders if Creedence Clearwater Revival’s new Ultimate box set will prove they’re the American Beatles; and Julie praises Firewater’s International Orange! as well as their recent concert in Cleveland.

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Fantastic Fest 2012: The Reviews and Awards Are In

Published on October 1st, 2012 in: Film Festivals, Horror, Movies |

By Less Lee Moore

fantastic fest 2012 poster

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: June 29, 2012

Published on June 29th, 2012 in: Assemblog, Copyright/Piracy, Horror, Movies, Music, Science and Technology, Science Fiction, TV |

gwdt final title
Image from The Art Of The Title

New this week on Popshifter: an attempt to answer the question regarding sex, violence, and horror in movies: Are we short-charging the teens?; reviews of new releases by Jesca Hoop, DIIV, Ty Segall Band, and Neneh Cherry & The Thing; in praise of singer/songwriter Gillian Welch; and a look at a 1974 John Lee Hooker concert now on DVD.

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Assemblog: June 22, 2012

Published on June 22nd, 2012 in: Assemblog, Books, Canadian Content, Film Festivals, Horror, Media, Movies, Science and Technology, Trailers |

vhs still
Image from V/H/S, 2012

New this week on Popshifter: Thoughts On: THE BAND, Music From Big Pink; reviews of Silver Jews, Early Times and Harry Howard and The Near Death Experience; new Robyn Hitchcock song “There Goes The Ice;” Theresa Andersson in Cambridge MA; an interview with author A. Jay Lee; and that burning question: Are The Originals The Best?

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There Is No Alfred, Only Proteus: Demon Seed

Published on May 30th, 2011 in: Climb Onto The Nearest Star, Horror, Issues, Movie Reviews, Movies, Science and Technology, Science Fiction |

By Less Lee Moore

Although technophobia has been around since the Industrial Revolution, the advent of computers in the 1960s and ’70s introduced a new level of fear into citizens of industrialized nations. Those under the age of 40 may scoff that anyone could possibly be afraid of a computer, but when they talk? That’s a different story.

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