Louis does Toronto After Dark Festival - Review of War of the Dead

It's the middle of the Second World War and a group of American and Finnish soldiers are sent to attack a German bunker.  In doing so they stumble upon one of the most horrible and closely guarded secrets of the Nazi regime.   The unit's mission having now changed, the small band of men try to both survive the onslaught and destroy the bunker from whi ch they sprang as they now face an enemy more terrible and terrifying - the undead.

This is a dark film.  Literally and figuratively. The movie takes place over a single night with the final shot being the first light of the next morning. The lighting is such that you can (mostly) see what is unfolding onscreen. Except for the bunkers, I was never sure if what I saw was soundstage or built set.  I found the sets to be accurate, almost to the point of distraction as the director seemed to want to show every type and style of period setpiece he could come up with.

The acting is competent with veteran British actors Andrew Teirnan (Survivors) and Mark Winggett (The Bill) working alongside Finnish actor Samuel Vauramo  and strongman Jouko Ahola.  If their performances fail to deliver, I find fault with the writer and director first as I didn't find myself caring about any of them.

Save Magdalena Górska's brief and confusing foray into the film's narrative, there isn't much that one can find sympathetic about the plight they find themselves in.  The problem is twofold - the first one being the characters themselves are relatively humorless.  Soldiers tend to joke, even when the situation is hopeless.  This movie desperately needed some comic relief in it somewhere.  The second problem is that the Nazi-Zombies were neither Nazis or Zombies but captured Russian soldiers who were experimented on.

The opening shot is of a solider of unknown origin, in a frock, getting shot and turning into undead.  The rest of the movie they are in uniform, side cap and all attacking our heroes.  Most have been given special powers of speed, strength and endurance, but seem unable to speak.  Still they manage coordinated attacks, leaping from the ground to the top of a building in a single leap, breaking doors and windows yet somehow unable to keep up with a car moving at a walking pace.

"Dead Snow" this is not. It isn't "Outpost" either. It really isn't comparable to any of sub-genre of Nazi-Zombie films even though that is the impression the trailer gives.  The narrative is a bit hard to follow as the main characters tend to wander aimlessly for a bit. After dying one by one, the final few then decide to call in an airstrike from the middle of the bunker full of super undead.  Even as a horror fan I found this quite hard to accept as a legitimate way to handle the problems the plot gave itself.   Much of it felt forced, out of place and fake.  Even though, the gore is well done it is not enough to save this film from itself.

I'd wait for it to come out on cable.

Filed under  //  Bill   Jouko Ahola   List of zombie films   Nazi   Nazi-Zombie   Nazism   United States   World War II   Zombie   film   nerdiness   pop-culture   tumblrize   xavierpop  
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Louis Does TADFest - Review of Exit Humanity

Edward Young (Mark Gibson), a young soldier encounters an enemy that does not die when shot.  Such is the opening of writer-director John Geddes' "Exit Humanity".  Set in the era just after the end of the American Civil War, the movie explores a man struggling with both his existence and and his tenacity to survive a landscape that has been overcome with zombies.  His original task of  finding a lost child eventually changes to finding a land without the dead. While along the way he finds another former soldier with a mission of his own to save his sister.  A mission that Young takes up alongside his new friend.

The movie contains beautiful, lengthy shots of the Collingwood, Ontario landscape where it was shot and meant to stand in for 1870's Tennessee.  The set design of the era ends up acting more of a centrepiece than a backdrop as it is as much a character of the film as the actors walking across the screen.  Long, simple shots of the natural countryside permeate the film.   At no point does the director visually allow the set to deviate from the mood and tone, letting the landscape and scenery slowly unfold as both the movie and the men move through it.

The soundtrack is first rate, well produced and as stunning as the landscape though, at many points throughout the film, it seems as if the wrong soundtrack was used. As a result the scenery, action and soundtrack don't always mesh well to create the mood intended by the director.  The overuse of driving beats during moments when quiet contemplation is required only serves to confuse and ultimately tire viewers.  Pacing was too slow to allow for such a driven, speedy soundtrack. The movie had such great potential as all of the elements are there. The poor pacing is what eventually did it in as even the most ardent of fans will likely been worn out long before the movie reaches its climax.

While early emotional turmoil helps build a character that the audience both cares about and can identify with, the dissention into an existential crisis every few minutes about losing humanity over killing zombies just becomes tiresome as one hopes for the action to begin. The action never really does begin, much to the disappointment of zombie fans.  The few zombies we see are well done, but are regulated to minor character status, rather than an ever present threat.

The cast is stacked with Dee Wallace (Cujo), Stephen McHattie (Haven), Bill Moseley (The Devil's Rejects) and narrator Brian Cox (The Ring).  Newcomer Mark Gibson does an excellent job as the main character showing a wide emotional range.  He conveys the character with depth and a slight touch as it is called for. However, having such talent cannot overcome the various problems the film has with its pacing, dialogue and editing issues.

Adding a creative edge to what is becoming a more widespread but tired genre coupled with both the seriousness and sparseness of the film should attract a larger audience however the pacing and the lack of blood will alienate the core of zombie film fans.  I really wanted to like this film.  I want to watch zombies kill and be killed, not be treated to two hours of someone's angst about losing their humanity doing so.

In the end, the film never delivers on its promise.

Filed under  //  film   nerdiness   pop-culture   tumblrize   xavierpop  
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Updated!! Amazing Spider-Man trailer now online in HQ Goodness!!

This is it for me.

This is the last bootleg/leaked/stolen/cam trailer I am posting. I am realizing that I am actually doing a disservice to you by showing you them in their darkened form that wasn't meant for consumption.

What got me here is the latest  Amazing Spiderman trailer that has just made its way online. It is like the Dark Knight Rises trailer that broke last week where you couldn't tell a thing. It's almost the same thing here however you can tell a lot more.

With that said, I like what they have done with the reboot. I like the choices they made with the cast, the costume and the look and feel of the film. This cam-shot trailer makes me very eager to see the full HD one that is going to be dropped during the upcoming Comic-Con shortly.

What do you think?

source -  JoBlo.com.

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Behold the greatness of the Batman: Arkham City's Penguin Trailer

My gawd, my interest level was already through the roof for the upcoming ridiculously anticipated video game Arkham City with Original Article

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Hot Video: Where the EFF is Peter Bishop?

I'm all caught up now.

The season finale surprisingly surprised the hell out of me.

I was very happy with how they finished off the season. I quite literally cannot wait for the next season to start in 4 weeks.

If you haven't seen last season yet, hurry because then you will know exactly what I mean when I say:

Where is the EFF is Peter Bishop?

Check out the trailer for the next season which is in essence the next chapter in Original Article

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Louis Does Toronto After Dark Festival - Review for Father's Day

Best known for its' cult classic"The Toxic Avenger" Troma Entertainment is the granddaddy of independent filmmaking.  With hundreds of titles as both producer and distributor in its arsenal, they are best known for bringing us schlock and bad movies everywhere while providing a way for even the most marginally talented people to get work.   In allowing filmmakers complete freedom to go wherever their creativity takes them we as viewers are sometimes lead down the path to some very bizarre, sometimes humorous and sometimes sad places. Always in a very Troma-like manner this journey is always accompanied by cheap production and even cheaper jokes abound.

If you're not a fan of "The Toxic Avenger" or do not enjoy shocksploitation films then stop reading. I can assure you this film is not for you.  Find something more suitable to your taste.  It's not that the movie is bad, it's that the design of the filmmaker is to offend and shock and that is not for the faint of heart.

"Father's Day" is a amazing film in every regard.

It is an ultra-violent exploitation film that seeks to assault the viewer in every way possible.  It is aptly played as a cheaply made 70's horror flick complete with bad sound, lighting and dialogue. By design, the audience winces and squirms at what takes place on-screen because the actors give us the performance we need with both a straight face and the conviction the parts call for.  Given how the material is so grossly bad, the importance of the actors executing their parts as they do and with a professionalism is what allows the movie to not only work well, but succeed.

The plot (without giving too much away) is about a serial rapist/killer that targets fathers.  A one eyed man names Ahab (Adam Brooks) vows to hunt him down and kill him in an act of revenge.  This gore infused nightmare is an action-packed, ultraviolent, slashfest that can only be described as gore porn.  Not in the same way that "Hostel" or "Antichrist" could be considered gore porn, no this is  much, much worse. It's not just that it is grossly over the top in terms of both quantity and variation of rape and torture, but it's done only to disturb the viewer and emulate a bygone era of filmmaking.  An era that, in its worst self indulgent moments, never stopped seeking to exploit anything and everything it could while also understanding that there were limits to how l ong one would sit through watching others pain.  This movie operates under no such illusion.

I think nearly everyone will be repulsed by this film.  As they should be.  It's not made to attract the audience that would enjoy "Twilight" or "Shaun of the Dead". It is a film meant to attract a much darker and more hardcore horror fan.  I'm not suggesting you don't see it. Rather I am simply warning you of just how deep the rabbit hole goes, which is far deeper than most are willing to go.

You have been warned.

 

Filed under  //  Adam Brooks   Arts   Exploitation film   Movies   Toxic Avenger   Troma   Troma Entertainment   film   nerdiness   pop-culture   tumblrize   xavierpop  
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Louis does Toronto After Dark Film Festival - Review of Opening Night's Monster Brawl

Director Jesse T. Cook has put together an offbeat and amusing horror movie.  It's a pure fan film as it plays just like a wrestling pay-per-view event, only with monsters as the combatants and the heart of a graveyard as the ring.

This particular combination ensures that teen boys will flock to it as the long discussion of who is the best monster in a fight is played out in real-time. From the warm up rounds right to the closing credits, we are treated to a running commentary from our hosts while the action  is unfolding before us.

As a result, this plot is minimalistic, however this fact has little effect on the quality of the film as the monsters fighting is really the only reason to watch and man do they throw down in spades.

Buzz Chambers (David Foley) along with Sasquatch Sid Tucker (Art Hindle) provide the running commentary, with Foley doing an amusing Howard Cosell impression.  The actors play their parts perfectly by bringing us the required witty banter and mimicking wrestling's overblown showmanship to the hilt.  Long time wrestling fans will recognize  Jimmy “The Mouth of the South” Hart as the pre-fight announcer and mixed martial arts fans will cheer to see beloved UFC referee Herb Dean. As well, Lance Henriksen makes an audio appearance as the voice of the announcer.

The monsters themselves are the stars of the show, with back stories presented for each, prior to the festivities.  Fights are between Frankenstein, the Werewolf, the Mummy, Lady Vampire and other classically inspired creatures.  Even if the characters aren't as well known, the back stories provide a reason to cheer (or boo) for them.

There are five fights total. The first two are middleweight,  the second two being heavyweight and the final fight being the winners of the two heavyweight bouts facing off.  The flow of events never feels rushed nor drags. Roughly equal amount of time is given to  the fights and the transitions between the fights.  The fights themselves are a little underwhelming and feel just as staged and formulaic as the wrestling they seek to emulate. Rather than focusing on each monster's unique talents, the film instead has heavy reliance on the wrestling style the rest of the film emulates so well.

The makeup is well done, as are the effects.  While not having a significantly large budget could have harmed the film, the effects and graphics actually enhance the impression you are watching a Wrestlemania event.  The Gore Brothers have done a terrific job creating each of the monsters and the in-fight effects.  The set is appropriately creepy as a graveyard is made into a battleground, (complete with fog and a grizzled caretaker who warns of evil disturbed).  The between fight stats along with the title sequences are very well done and lend an air of creditably to the proceedings.

Overall this is a fun and campy horror film.  Recommended as a nice alternative to some of the harsher and darker films of the horror genre. I would consider it for teens and above as the graphic violence may be too much for younger viewers.

 

 

Filed under  //  Art Hindle   David Foley   Herb Dean   Horror film   Howard Cosell   Lance Henriksen   Monster   Mummy   film   nerdiness   pop-culture   tumblrize   xavierpop  
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American Reunion Red Band Trailer ..and it's pretty much what you'd expect

I was going to give this a pass. I mean how many of these movies can you make. The first couple were funny and made huge stars out of the cast. But I am getting old and this stuff shouldn't be funny anymore right?

Right?!?!

Alright, I have to admit that I laughed out loud during this trailer, much to my chagrin, and that earned this trailer a spot here. The whole gang is back and if the the movie is like the trailer, then it will definitely worth the watch.

What say you?

source  -  Empire.

Filed under  //  Alyson Hannigan   American Pie   Arts   Empire   Jason Biggs   Teaser trailer   United States   film   nerdiness   pop-culture   trailer   tumblrize   xavierpop  
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Shah Rukh Khan in Toronto on Oct 26th for RA One Premiere...You Betcha!

Hey Indian Cinema fans, do we have a scoop for you. Looks like King Khan himself, Shah Rukh Khan will be in Toronto to attend the premiere of his upcoming movie Ra One.

I've got a press relase on its way, once I get a chance to look at it, I will post more details.

In the meantime, if the recent IIFA awards was any indication, folks should start warming up their vocal cords now.

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#Yesplease!! - Star Wars Muppets Action Figures Coming to Disney Theme Parks This Fall

I seriously, seriously need to have these.

The Muppets dressed as Star Wars characters is the most brilliant idea ever.

Don't think so?

Well stop reading this blog.

Seriously..go away.

How can you not love Beaker as C-3PO/Dr. Bunsen Honeydew as R2-D2, Link Hogthrob as Han Solo/Fozzy the Bear as Chewbacca, and Sam the Eagle as Obi-Wan Kenobi/Gonzo as Darth Vader with his chicken Camilla serving as a Stormtrooper. And of course, it wouldn't be the Muppets with Kermit and Miss Piggy who are Luke and Leia. Hold on...aren't the dating?

Awkward.

Anyways, here are some images.

Enjoy.


 

source - ComicsAlliance

Filed under  //  Beaker   Bunsen Honeydew   Chewbacca   ComicsAlliance   Darth Vader   Link Hogthrob   Miss Piggy   Muppet   film   nerdiness   pop-culture   tumblrize   xavierpop  
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