Blog Archives
No Rest for the CineCoup’ed
Two more weeks down, and twenty-five more teams have exited the CineCoup contest. I’ve been blogging about being part of Team Starkers in the CineCoup Film Accelerator, a grueling socially-driven contest to award one three-person team $1 million to make their feature film. We started at ninety-one teams from all over Canada. Now there’s fifty-seven. And this weekend they’re voting on the Top 40, so another seventeen teams will be shown the door.
The competition’s been heating up, and the best teams are definitely raising their game to earn a shot at that Cineplex money. There were two challenges to deliver over the past few weeks. The first was to create two possible movie posters for your film. I was surprised to see how professional and well designed the results were, once again showcasing the talent so many of these teams possess. There’s a great gallery of all the posters you can check out on Pinterest. (You can still vote for your faves, if you click on the images, taking you through to each poster’s CineCoup page.)
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Trailer Time: The Hangover Part III
Vegas
junkies, rejoice! The trailer for The Hangover Part III has just been released, and this spring the wolf pack heads back to the strip to wrap up the unhappy trilogy of errors – Vegas-style.
Slotted for release on May 24, 2013, the third and final chapter will see Galifinakis, Helms, Cooper, Jeong and other favourites going hard on the hijinks. Also rumoured? Melissa McCarthy – which has me sold.
But here, enjoy the trailer:
I’m a huge fan of sin city; this is why I loved The Hangover. I don’t think I’m alone… the first movie grossed almost $45 million in its opening weekend; this may look dismal compared to The Hangover Part II, which took place in Bangkok and took in over $85 million at its debut. But the Las Vegas antics were always at the heart of the movie’s success, and if the franchise hopes to continue its box office run to the bank, it’s wise to bring the wolf pack back to the familiarity of the strip.
No doubt The Hangover Part III will prove one of the bigger summer blockbusters; even if the movie can’t live up to the original, everyone loves a good Hangover story… not to mention another movie-based excuse to go on a Vegas binge of your own!
Say “No” To Seppuku. Say “Yes” To Bushido And 47 Ronin #1 On The Wednesday Run – November 7, 2012
Many people are familiar with the historical “Forty-seven Ronin” story. It’s legendary in Japanese culture – but make no mistake to think it mythical. No, the revenge of the “Forty-seven Ronin” is a true story from 18th century Japan and the most famous account of the samurai code of honour called “bushido”.
Plays, novels, movies and even operas have been made of the famous tale.
And now you can experience it in the form of sequential art, in a five issue mini series published by Dark Horse Comics. And, in keeping with the theme, the creators behind the monthly series are also something of legend.
31 Days of Horror: Creepshow
Halloween is my favourite holiday for a good reason – costumes, candy, mischief… but I think what really thrills me is the idea that all things evil could become awesome. As a kid, I adored this holiday because it flipped convention on its head – celebrating the things that would normally horrify people, Halloween definitely sparked a love for the horror genre. And Creepshow nurtured it in to a full blown obsession.
Creepshow was released in 1982, directed by George A. Romero and written by Stephen King. With credentials like that, I probably don’t need to add that it was inspired by the classic E.C. Comics of the 1950s. Tales from the Crypt, The Vault of Horror, Weird Science and even MAD magazine were the creations of this incredible publisher. No doubt these inspired horror icons like Romero and King, but I was born in the 80s and this movie was to be my first taste of their genius.
If you’ve seen this Michael Jackson video, or this Twisted Sister video, or the beginning of Tenacious D, you’ll recognize the beginning of Creepshow… A Dad who unknowingly rouses bad mojo by being mean to his kid. In this case, tossing the Creepshow comic book in the garbage, inspiring rebellious kids everywhere to lust for blood.
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Star Wars VII Coming as Disney Buys Lucasfilm Ltd. for $4.05B
Star Wars fans must have felt a tremor in the force today when their greatest wet dream (or horrific nightmare) became a 2015 reality… As reported by Wired and a million other parts of the interweb, Disney has purchased Lucasfilm Ltd. and the incredibly lucrative Star Wars franchise in a deal worth $4.05 billion.
Whatever you may think of the franchise, this is a big deal. Disney is stockpiling franchises it seems, grabbing Pixar, Marvel and now Lucasfilms Ltd. in the past 7 years.
For some, this is good news; securing the longevity of the Star Wars franchise with a new film promised for 2015. But the reaction wasn’t entirely positive…
31 Days of Horror: The Human Centipede
There is a little doubt that horror films have had to raise their game in recent years. While classic horror has a certain artistic, romantic charm, there is a more insidious sub genre that seeks to twist the audience’s moral limits and test their psychological fortitude: “torture” films.
The Human Centipede is probably the most notorious “torture” horror film to make it in to North American theatres and more importantly, Netflix. This is how many of my friends were first exposed to the film and, lured in by the unique premise, this is how many came to loathe this movie. But despite widespread revulsion and even refusal to watch the film (and its sequel) in their entirety, I am stepping up in defence of The Human Centipede as one of the most successful visceral torture horror films.
Saturday at the Movies: Paranormal Activity 4
Paranormal Activity 4 was released this weekend just in time for the Halloween horror cash grab, and although it was exciting to be part of the ‘fan voted’ advance screening in Toronto, the movie doesn’t really make my cut. In the same spirit as the Oren Peli created Paranormal Activity, this movie relies on a variety of filmed footage to reveal the plight of a family being haunted by evil spirits.
If you’re a fan of the first 3 movies, this continues the story of Katie, Hunter and the bizarre coven. Minimal spoilers – the movie doesn’t rely very heavily on the original storyline.
I didn’t find this to be a scary or compelling horror movie, but Paranormal Activity 4 does have its moments for those seeking a fun “jump out of your seat” date night. Check out the trailer and more after the jump.
31 Days of Horror – 28 Days Later vs 28 Weeks Later
Some people just want to watch the world burn; the rest of us want to watch movies about the world burning. Our love for the horror genre reflects our obsession with our own demise, and not because we have a death wish – but rather because it offers an opportunity for triumph. The obsession with an impending zombie-pocalypse usually comes ripe with romantic notions of survival; but in reality, how far would you go to survive?
28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later try to take this question to heart, pushing the terror of a zombie-esque outbreak further than classics like Night of the Living/Dawn of the Dead. Not only are there stronger, faster, more vicious undead to contend with, but these contemporary movies also demonstrate the darker horrors of human survivalism.
