LORDS OF SALEM Posters!

There are a slew of sick images for Rob Zombie's Lords of Salem at Zombie's Facebook page, including these excellently wicked teaser posters.

Though this one seems a little more winsome than wicked.

LORDS OF SALEM
Mon., Sept. 10, 11:59pm:  RYERSON
Wed., Sept. 12, 5pm:  CINEPLEX YONGE AND DUNDAS 6

SEVEN PSYCHOPATHS. Seven Posters.

In Bruges writer/director, Martin McDonagh's new dark comedy, Seven Psychopaths recently got a series of 7 character posters. One for each of its titular psychopaths, who're being played by an impressive ensemble cast including Sam Rockwell, Colin Farrell, Christopher Walken, Abbie Cornish, and Woody Harrelson. Sam's the man, so click on his poster below to be taken to Indiewire to check out all of them. Two of the posters have "Shih Tzu" as "Shit" jokes, but it's unclear if there are one or two Shih Tzus in the film. I guess we'll find out on the 7th.

SEVEN PSYCHOPATHS screening times:

WORLD PREMIERE: Fri., Sept. 7 11:59PM:  RYERSON THEATRE
Sat., Sept. 8, 3:30PM:  SCOTIABANK 1

An Introduction to the Madness

Since this will be my first TIFF, my first Midnight Madness and my first time aiding the fine guys and gals of this fine MM blog (heck, it'll be the first time I've left the country), I'd like to take a few sweet, precious moments of your time to introduce myself. My name is Justin Souther, and I'm a film critic based out of Asheville, NC, where I help run the Asheville Film Society, and co-curate a weekly horror film series at the local theater.

Beyond that, I write reviews for Asheville's alt-weekly the Mountain Xpress, record the very haphazard film podcast Elitist Bastards Go to the Movies (hence the quite frightening piece of artwork up top--that'd be me in the middle) with my cohorts Ken Hanke and Steve Shanafelt. In my free time, I'm usually watching whatever Netflix true crime program my wife Laura Marie is currently into, and occasionally tweeting embarrassing nonsense from @veryanal.

I'm quite giddy about my first trip to Toronto, hoping to find out what the big deal about Tim Hortons is, and praying mightily that Mayor Rob Ford does something silly while I'm in town. And of course, watching way too many movies.

THE LORDS OF SALEM Teaser!

A figure wearing a faceless, iron mask, seemingly hammered directly into bone, handed me a slip of crumpled, bloody paper before falling to the ground convulsing, shrieking unspeakable things. I turned away, I am ashamed to admit, the paper still clutched in my hand. It was no more than a URL. As you will see, it leads to what is apparently a teaser for The Lords of Salem shot at a concert.

Risk madness and despair--watch with the gathered crowd and gasp as Rob Zombie ascends what appears to be a cherry-picker, probably an unholy one.





LORDS OF SALEM
Mon., Sept. 10, 11:59pm:  RYERSON
Wed., Sept. 12, 5pm:  CINEPLEX YONGE AND DUNDAS 6

DREDD 3D Poster and Clip: Judgment Is Coming

Midnight Madness 2012 opens with Dredd 3D, the first 3D movie ever to play the program and the first of two this year!

Check out the official poster and this clip from San Diego Comic Con that Bloody Disgusting says  "[puts] the slow motion madness on display." (More at Bloody Disgusting).

DREDD 3D screening times:
Thurs., Sept. 6, 11:59PM:  RYERSON
Sat., Sept. 8 12"30PM:  CINEPLES ODEON

Why Machida was Right, Jones was Wrong, and Vitor is Intriguing

Hey guys, this is my first opinion piece in a very long time. I wanted to show that I can write opinion just as well as anyone in the MMA media as well as being a technical analyst. I hope this article goes some way towards proving that assertion!
Cheers,
Jack


UFC 152 was recently thrown into further confusion with the news that Lyoto Machida had turned down a rematch with Jon Jones. While many saw this as the second "duck" by a major fighter in 24 hours, Lyoto Machida'schoice not to fight Jon Jones makes a lot more sense than Jones' decision not to fight Chael Sonnen. News has also emerged that Vitor Belfort will be stepping in to face Jones at UFC 152 - a very brave call for a middleweight - and it is certainly worth considering how the two fighters match up.

A great deal of speculation has been made around these fights and fighters and around who is ducking whom but I hope that I can bring some of the technical information about what happens in camps and in the cage to light where other writers would stick to gossip.

Why Machida was Right to Turn Down Jones

The news that Lyoto Machida was scheduled to fight Jon Jones at UFC 152 on September 22 was puzzling to me. It bewildered me that Lyoto Machida would take a rematch with so much to work on in his game at such short notice. Lyoto Machida was stopped pretty emphatically by Jon Jones in their last meeting due to Jones' better wrestling and, more importantly, due to Jones exploiting holes that have always existed in Lyoto Machida's striking game. The error that Jones exploited in Machida's striking is not something that can be changed overnight, it is something that Machida has had trained into him since infancy under the karate tutelage of his father.

The sport of MMA is a bizarre one in that a single quality victory will make everyone forget how you lost your last fight and leads to demands for an immediate rematch of the lost fight. Cain Velasquez showed no inkling of improved striking defence in taking down and pounding out the wrestling averseAntonio Silva, yet it was somehow enough to convince UFC brass and fans that a rematch with Junior Dos Santos was in order. The exact same thing happened with Lyoto Machida when he knocked out Ryan Bader as the latter gave up trying his hand at strategy and rushed Machida with his right hand cocked behind his head and his chin leading the charge. Ryan Bader was not trying to exploit the hole in Machida's counter-punching that the Jackson's MMA camp have already demonstrated and Ryan Bader is a far, far cry from Jon Jones.

Continues at: http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2012/8/24/3264905/UFC-151-152-Jon-Jones-Lyoto-Machida-Vitor-Belfort-Chael-Sonnen

It's Official! MIDNIGHT MADNESS 2012!

It's official! Okay, so this news might be old stuff for the Midnight Madness faithful, but this post kicks off the 2012 Festival season for our humble little blog!

Stay tuned for exclusive info on these killer flicks as well as all the other things you want/need to know about TIFF 2012!

Drum roll, please!

CALLING ALL GENRE GEEKS:
WHEN THE WITCHING HOUR STRIKES, MIDNIGHT MADNESS
SHOCKS AND EXCITES

Action-packed thrillers, nerve-wracking chillers and pitch-dark comedies will bewitch audiences at the Toronto International Film Festival®, with a Midnight Madness programme chock full of shocking and rocking cinematic experiences. Nine world premieres stack this slate of international works programmed by Colin Geddes, guaranteed to awe even the most devoted genre fans.

“Audiences clamouring for this highly anticipated lineup can expect wild rides and crazy adventures into the most chimerical and wicked worlds imaginable,” said Geddes, TIFF Programmer. “Expect everything from outrageous horror comedies to mock-doc eco-apocalypse thrillers, featuring trans-dimensional bugs, lewd Catholic priests, meat monsters and dog-napping psychopaths that will animate the Ryerson Theatre when the clock chimes 12.”

The Midnight Madness selection includes films from Don Coscarelli (Phantasm, Bubba Ho-Tep), Academy Award® winners Martin McDonagh (In Bruges) and Barry Levinson (Diner, Rain Man), JT Petty (The Burrowers, S&Man) and heavy-metal horror maven Rob Zombie. Onscreen performances feature Clancy Brown, Abbie Cornish, Colin Farrell, Paul Giamatti, Selena Gomez, Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell, Eli Roth, Tom Waits, Christopher Walken and Karl Urban.

Midnight Madness Opening Night

Dredd 

Pete Travis, USA/United Kingdom/India

World Premiere

The endlessly inventive mind of writer Alex Garland (28 Days Later) and director Pete Travis bring the iconic masked police officer Dredd to life in this futuristic neo-noir action film. Filmed in 3D with stunning slow-motion photography sequences, the film returns the celebrated comic book anti-hero to his dark, violent and visceral roots. Starring Karl Urban, Olivia Thirlby and Lena Headey.

The ABCs of Death

Kaare Andrews, Angela Bettis, Adrián García Bogliano, Bruno Forzani & Hélène Cattet,
Ernesto Díaz Espinoza, Jason Eisener, Xavier Gens, Jorge Michel Grau, Lee Hardcastle,
Noboru Iguchi, Thomas Cappelen Malling, Anders Morgenthaler, Yoshihiro Nishimura,
Banjong Pisanthanakun, Simon Rumley, Marcel Sarmiento, Jon Schnepp, Srdjan Spasojevic,
Timo Tjahjanto, Andrew Traucki, Nacho Vigalondo, Jake West, Ti West,
Ben Wheatley, Adam Wingard, and Yûdai Yamaguchi

World Premiere

Twenty-six directors... 26 ways to die! The ABCs Of Death is perhaps the most ambitious anthology film ever conceived, featuring segments directed by over two dozen of the world’s leading talents in contemporary genre film. With each director assigned a letter of the alphabet, they were then given free rein in choosing a word to create a story involving a tale of mortality. It’s an alphabetical arsenal of destruction orchestrated by some of the most exciting names in global horror including Ben Wheatley (Kill List), Ti West (House of the Devil), Jason Eisener (Hobo With A Shotgun), Adam Wingard (You're Next), Xavier Gens (Frontieres), and Nacho Vigalondo (Time Crimes).

Aftershock 

Nicolás López, USA/Chile

World Premiere

In Chile, an American tourist’s vacation goes from good to great when he meets some beautiful women travellers. But when an earthquake ravages the underground nightclub they’re in, a fun night quickly turns to terror. Escaping to the surface is just the beginning as they face nightmarish chaos above ground. Starring Eli Roth and Selena Gomez.

The Bay 

Barry Levinson, USA

World Premiere

A brutal and harrowing film about a deadly parasite, The Bay chronicles the descent of a small Maryland town into absolute terror.

Come Out and Play

Makinov, Mexico

World Premiere

Beth and Francis vacation before the birth of their child. Francis insists on venturing to a more serene island, Beth hesitantly agrees. They set out to a beautiful island, but soon discover it’s mysteriously abandoned, and the only people on the island are children. Beth and Francis are left to uncover the mystery of the disappearances, and a day in paradise quickly turns into a struggle for survival. Cast includes Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Vinessa Shaw and Daniel Gimenez Cacho.

Hellbenders 

JT Petty, USA

World Premiere

Hellbenders, an R-rated 3D exorcism comedy, follows the Order of Hellbound Saints (Brooklyn Parish), a highly secretive and profoundly blasphemous men of God, as they battle demonic forces too terrible to be cast out by traditional Vatican-approved methods. Cast includes Clancy Brown, Clifton Collins Jr., Robyn Rikoon and Andre Royo.

John Dies at the End 

Don Coscarelli, USA

Canadian Premiere

In John Dies at the End, it’s all about the Soy Sauce, a drug that promises an out-of-body experience with each hit. Users drift across time and dimensions. But some who come back are no longer human. Suddenly, a silent otherworldly invasion is underway, and mankind needs a hero. What it gets instead is John (Rob Mayes) and David (Chase Williamson), a pair of college dropouts who can barely hold down jobs. Can these two stop the oncoming horror in time to save humanity? No. No, they can't. Adapted from David Wong's audacious trans-genre horror novel, John Dies at the End is written and directed by Don Coscarelli (Bubba Ho-Tep) and also stars Clancy Brown and Paul Giamatti.

The Lords of Salem

Rob Zombie, USA/United Kingdom/Canada

World Premiere

Heidi, a radio station DJ, receives a wooden box containing a record. Heidi listens and the bizarre sounds within the grooves immediately trigger flashbacks of Salem's violent past. Is Heidi going mad or are the Lords of Salem returning for revenge on modern day Salem?

No One Lives
Ryuhei Kitamura, USA

World Premiere

From the director of Versus and The Midnight Meat Train, No One Lives is a smart and original horror movie with, at its heart, a killer in the grip of a dark and twisted love affair. A ruthless criminal gang takes a young couple hostage and goes to ground in an abandoned house in the middle of nowhere. When the captive girl is killed, the tables are unexpectedly turned. The gang finds itself outsmarted by an urbane and seasoned killer determined to ensure that no one lives. Featuring Luke Evans, Adelaide Clemens, Derek Magyar, Lee Tergesen and America Olivo.

Seven Psychopaths 

Martin McDonagh, USA/United Kingdom

World Festival Premiere

Written and Directed by Academy Award® winner Martin McDonagh, the comedy Seven Psychopaths follows a struggling screenwriter (Colin Farrell) who inadvertently becomes entangled in the Los Angeles criminal underworld after his oddball friends (Christopher Walken and Sam Rockwell) kidnap a gangster’s (Woody Harrelson) beloved Shih Tzu. Co-starring Abbie Cornish, Tom Waits, Olga Kurylenko and Zeljko Ivanek.

Tickets to screenings for this programme will be available for individual purchase as well as through the Midnight Madness Pack, which includes all 10 screenings for $156, or $100 for students and seniors. Purchase Festival ticket packages online 24 hours a day at tiff.net/festival, by phone Monday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. ET at 416.599.TIFF or 1.888.599.8433, or visit the box office in person from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. ET at TIFF Bell Lightbox. The 37th Toronto International Film Festival runs September 6 to 16, 2012.