Anderson Silva Blog's

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Midnight Madness at Trailers from Hell: Don Coscarelli

Previously on Midnight Madness at Trailers from Hell, we looked at MM alumni Stuart Gordon's contributions to Trailers From Hell, a site dedicated to the proposition that any movie can be great in 2 1/2 minutes. Now it's Don Coscarelli's turn.

Midnight Madness alumni Coscarelli is responsible for one of my most cherished memories: seeing Bubba Ho-Tep on the legendary Uptown Theatre's big screen, with Coscarelli, Bruce Campbell and a Madness crowd in attendance in 2002.

At Trailers from Hell, Coscarelli comments on four trailers. The first is Elvis' finest movie, King Creole, directed by Micheal Curtiz (Casablanca) featuring Walter Matthau as a rotten to the core club owner.

Coscarelli also discusses Sydney Pollack's Three Days of the Condor starring Robert Redford, Ishiro Honda's Godzilla and the evil hand classic, The Beast With Five Fingers, starring Peter Lorre. You can see them all at the Trailers from Hell website.

AICN Hearts KILL LIST, DRIVE, and other TIFF selections at the Melbourne International Film Festival!

A contributor named 'Tyler Turden' over at Ain't It Cool News caught Midnight Madness selection Kill List as well as TIFF 2011 selection Drive down under at the Melbourne International Film Festival and had glowing reviews of both.

For the creepy, genre-bending Kill List:

I thought this film by Ben Wheatley was totally kick ass. A serious genre bender; this one plays leapfrog with your expectations. What starts out as exercise in British miserablism soon morphs into a tense hitman drama and then into something else entirely. I imagine this will become a serious cult hit...

And for the star-studded, action-packed, road rash instructional video Drive:

This film is fucking sweet. It is a bizarre mash up of (in no order) 80’s Michael Mann visual sheen, Jean Claude Van Damme posturing, David Lynch weirdness and Paul Verhoeven violence! No shit!

There`s also reviews of TIFF 2010 selection 13 Assassins and much more. You've still got a few days to lock down your selections for this year's Festival, so make sure you don't miss these two insane thrillfests!

Kill List screening times:

Saturday September 17 11:59pm Ryerson

Sunday September 18 3:15pm Scotiabank Theatre 4

Drive screening times:

Saturday September 10 9:15pm Ryerson

Sunday September 11 9:00am TIFF Bell Lightbox 1

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Three Things You Didn't Know About Bobcat Goldthwait

Anyone who grew up in the late 80’s – early 90’s probably remembers Bobcat Goldthwait as Zed from the Police Academy movies. But, did you know…

1. If you were at Midnight Madness 2010, he was probably nearby. Goldthwait was scouting Toronto locations last year and took in a few Midnight Madness screenings. He also caught Adam Wingard’s A Horrible Way to Die, which inspired him to make his Midnight Madness Entry God Bless America.

2. He knows how to entertain people late at night. Goldthwait is a highly successful television director whose credits include Chappelle’s Show and The Man Show. Plus, during his time directing Jimmy Kimmel Live ratings rose to over 2 million viewers a night.

3. He really knows how to fire up late night TV. In the 90s he had a penchant for going on late night tv and trashing the sets. The most memorable incident was when Goldthwait was on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and he set a chair on fire! NBC has made sure the clip is impossible to find online but here’s a pic to prove it.

GOD BLESS AMERICA Screening Times:

Fri., Sept. 9th, 11:59PM, RYERSON

Sun., Sept. 1tth, 1:30PM, AMC 6

Fri., Sept. 16th, 6:30PM, AMC 7

YOU’RE NEXT Screening Times:

Sat., Sept. 10th, 11:59PM, RYERSON

Mon., Sept. 12th, 6:30PM, AMC 7

Fri., Sept. 16th, 4:00PM, TIFF BELL LIGHTBOX 2

Monday, August 29, 2011

Midnight Madness at Trailers from Hell: Stuart Gordon

Trailers from Hell was born of belief, a belief that there should be a website devoted to horror and exploitation film trailers and that these trailers should include the commentary of current filmmakers. It was born of the belief that, "Any movie can be great at 2 1/2 minutes!"

Trailers -- you know -- those fast-paced 2-to-4 minute theatrical promo shorts that have preceded the Feature Attraction since the dawn of sound? An exciting montage of all The Best Parts of a movie the exhibitors want you to NEED to see! Full of swirling letters screaming hyperbolic promises of THRILLS! ACTION! MYSTERY! ROMANCE! Packing all the highlights of a whole picture into its own mini-movie in just a few minutes!

TRAILERS FROM HELL is the brainchild of film director Joe Dante, new media entrepreneur Jonas Hudson, graphic artist Charlie Largent and producer Elizabeth Stanley. The series was born out of their mutual love of classic films of all types, but particularly horror and exploitation films.

TFH is the premier showcase for a breathtakingly eclectic assortment of trailers from classic era films both in their original form and punctuated with informative and amusing commentary by contemporary filmmakers.

This mandate is oh so compatible with Midnight Madness, though Midnight Madness is dedicated to the idea of 90 awesome minutes. Fortunately, Trailers from Hell has invited some Midnight Madness alumni to choose films and provide their commentary.

First up is director Stuart Gordon, whose movie Stuck premiered at Midnight Madness in 2007.

At Trailers from Hell, Gordon adds commentary to four film trailers:

William Castle's, Mr. Sardonicus

Nightmare Alley with Tyrone Power and Joan Blondell

The Thing With Two Heads co-starring Rosey Grier and Ray Milland. (And one of my sentimental favorites)

and the classic, True Grit, starring John Wayne and Kim Darby

Coming up on Friday, September 2, Gordon will be presenting the trailer for Cannibal Holocaust. From Trailers from Hell's newsletter:

One of the most brutal and controversial horror films of all time, Ruggero Deodato's fake snuff movie is heavily influenced by the makers of Mondo Cane. Banned in many countries due to inexcusable animal cruelty and all-too-realistic-looking gore scenes, it has been hailed as an anti-imperialist media expose and condemned as racist torture porn. Shot on location in the Amazon with a "found footage" format, it presages both The Blair Witch Project and that most terrifying of modern horrors, The Reality Show.

Dread Central has a First Look at the LOVELY MOLLY One-Sheet

DreadCentral has a first look at the poster for Eduardo Sanchez' Lovely Molly, which has its world premiere at Midnight Madness, as well as details on how to win an autographed poster!

Below you'll find an exclusive look at the film's one-sheet, but wait ... that's so not all! If you're lucky enough to be at the festival, the Lovely Molly crew will have five (5) copies of the poster with them that will be signed by the cast, director, and producers! Bitchin', right? Still not done...
[....] With the exquisite and haunting Lovely Molly, Eduardo Sanchez takes the first-person video horror genre he pioneered with The Blair Witch Project and evolves it into a modern personal horror film with the raw, intimate character exploration that evokes memories of early Polanski films like Repulsion or the classic Rosemary's Baby.

LOVELY MOLLY

Wed., Sept. 14th, 11:59PM, RYERSON

Thurs., Sept. 15th, 5:15PM, AMC 2

Sat., Sept. 17th, 4:00PM, SCOTIABANK THEATRE 4

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Like Midnight Madness on the Facebook!

We've decided to get with the cool kids and start up an official Midnight Madness Facebook page. Help boost our spirits and "Like Us." We really want to be accepted...

Big Changes At TIFF 2011, and some tips!

As you've probably figured out by now, TIFF has, like your high school prom date, made the slow, steady move south (geographically, you pervs!) Older but still much-loved venues like the Cumberland and the Varsity have fallen by the wayside, making way for brand new screens at TIFF Bell Lightbox and the Princess of Wales theatres.

Two other things you may not have noticed while furiously compiling your schedule:

- Did you know that you can search/select films on the TIFF website by programmer? Well, dummy, you can! So, for example, if you want to see what the twisted mind of our intrepid programmer Colin Geddes has chosen for TIFF 2011, even for selections outside Midnight Madness (usually just as terrifying/gory/madcap as the ten late-night selections), just check out his Programmer page. As a side note, these folks are pretty snappy dressers, huh?

- An online tool called TIFFr, which can be invaluable for narrowing down your schedule. Just add films to your 'shortlist' and TIFFr will populate with all the screening times for that film. Pick the screenings that fit your schedule and Bob(cat?)'s your uncle. Once you have your schedule locked down, you can Tweet it, email it, import it into your iPhone or Google Calendar, and send the link around. Who needs such frills as 'short term memory' anyway? Here's my schedule.

We're only about nine days out from the most blood-soaked, drama-filled, chilling, exhausting, most wonderful week of the year! Hope you folks have your cinema hats* on!

*not real hats