S-VHS Trailer

     My brother recently sent me a link to the trailer for the sequel to the film VHS. I reviewed the first VHS last year on this link. Check out the new trailer for the sequel, S-VHS, now!

TNL Fail Compilation For November 2012

     I'm a little late posting the TNL video this month but it's always better late than never!

Trap: Volume One

     I just played this game over on NOTDOPPLER and it's pretty damn cool. Check it out. It's a good way to waste some time!

Trap: Volume One - Play it on Not Doppler

World War Z Trailer

     The new trailer for next summer's adaptation of Max Brooks' book World War Z was just released. It looks like it will be a good one!

Dragon Baby

     The little guy has some serious moves!

Fail Compilation For October 2012

     It's been a while since I've posted anything but I have a couple of things lined up so you can look for some new content and reviews soon! In the meantime sit back, relax, and enjoy the October fail compilation from TNL. This shit's fifteen minutes long!!!

 

GoPro Hero3

     The new GoPro action sports camera is now available for pre-order. The GoPro website says:

"The Wi-Fi enabled HERO3: Black Edition is the most advanced GoPro, ever. No expense was spared during its development, resulting in a GoPro that is 30% smaller, 25% lighter and 2x more powerful than previous models. Wearable and gear mountable, waterproof to 197' (60m), capable of capturing ultra-wide 1440p 48fps, 1080p 60 fps and 720p 120 fps video and 12MP photos at a rate of 30 photos per second, the HERO3: Black Edition is the world's most versatile camera."

     Check out the awesome promotional video that was shot completely with the Hero3.

Judge Dredd 3D Review

     About a week after it's release on September 21'st I got to see Dredd 3D. Being a huge fan of the 2000AD comic series I had high hopes for the film and I wasn't let down. The movie is simple and to the point just like Dredd himself. There are copious amounts of brutal violence for the gore hounds and plenty of inside visual references for the comic fans (like the Fatties).

     I've already written about Dredd and the movie Here and Here so I won't repeat myself. If you're looking for a fun movie to see and don't mind a little bit of brutality, Dredd 3D is a great choice. I give the movie a 8/10.

     If they ever do a sequel I hope we get to see the Dark Judges or Chopper!

September Fail Video

     It's almost October so it's time for another TNL fail video.

Toronto After Dark Film Festival 2012

     A couple of months ago I went to a special summer screening put on by the Toronto After Dark Film Festival for the movie VHS. Today I received an Email listing the first ten films announced for this year's festival taking place October 18-26.

   The trailers for the first ten films are available in THIS YOUTUBE PLAYLIST. The selected moves are:

REC 3: GENESIS (Spain) 
An official selection of the SXSW Film Festival, the latest instalment of the hit Spanish zombie movie series relocates the action to a lavish wedding where the guests - including the bride wielding a chainsaw - try to survive a terrifying outbreak of the undead! 

EXCISION (USA)
A disturbed teenager (AnnaLynne McCord) deals with the stresses of her home and school life by escaping into a world of bloody fantasies where she performs surgeries on herself and and those around her. A major hit at Sundance, the film co-stars cult icons John Waters, Traci Lords and Malcolm McDowell. 

GRABBERS (Ireland) 
In this Sundance audience crowd-pleaser in the mould of TREMORS, when a small Irish town is invaded by bloodsucking tentacled aliens, the locals discover that getting drunk may be their only way to survive as it gives them some resistance to the creatures!

A FANTASTIC FEAR OF EVERYTHING (UK)
A dark and quirky comedy about a very nervous writer played by fan favourite Simon Pegg (SHUAN OF THE DEAD, HOT FUZZ, STAR TREK, SPACED) struggling with a slew of mental demons while working on a new novel about Victorian serial killers.

DEAD SUSHI (Japan)
A vacation resort faces an attack of killer sushi in this outrageous horror comedy from the same deliciously deranged Japanese filmmakers who brought you MACHINE GIRL and TOKYO GORE POLICE!

LLOYD THE CONQUEROR (Canada)
A crowd-pleasing fantasy comedy about three male college students who are roped into battle with Derek the Unholy, a dark wizard who is determined to hold onto his title as champion of the Larpers. Co-stars Mike Smith (aka “Bubbles” from TRAILER PARK BOYS), Harland Williams (DUMB & DUMBER) and Brian Posehn (SARAH SILVERMAN PROGRAM). 

DOOMSDAY BOOK (Korea)
Winner of Fantasia Film Festival’s Best Film Award, this trio of apocalyptic tales features the rise of sentient robots, a zombie virus outbreak and an asteroid on a fatal collision course with earth. Co-directed by acclaimed Korean filmmaker Jee-woon Kim (I SAW THE DEVIL, THE GOOD THE BAD AND THE WEIRD,  A TALE OF TWO SISTERS) 

SUSHI GIRL (USA)
A reunion dinner for a gang of vicious criminals reopens old wounds with deadly consequences. This stylish, ultraviolent crime film in the mould of Tarantino’s RESERVOIR DOGS features a genre cast to die for including Tony Todd (CANDYMAN),  Michael Biehn (TERMINATOR), Danny Trejo (MACHETE), Sonny Chiba (KILL BILL) and Luke Skywalker himself, Mark Hamill! 

WRONG (USA)
A hit at Sundance, fans of David Lynch and the Coen Brothers will delight in this latest cinematic oddity from the deranged mind of Quentin Dupieux (RUBBER): an absurd crime thriller about a man and the very strange things that happen to him as he tries to track down his kidnapped dog. 

UNIVERSAL SOLDIER: DAY OF RECKONING (USA)
Action legends Dolph Lundgren and Jean-Claude Van Damme reunite in the latest bone-crunching chapter of the popular Universal Soldier sci-fi action movie series. Joining them is Scott Adkins (EXPENDABLES 2). This time to survive, the Unisols must battle anarchy amongst their order, weeding out the weak, and testing their strongest warriors in brutal, life-or-death combat!

     The list looks good to me and I would totally be interested in checking out Grabbers, A Fantastic Fear Of Everything, Doomsday Book and Universal Solider: Day Of Reckoning! There are ten more movies to be announced at the end of September and I'll be sure to post them up here when the list becomes available.

     200 all-access passes are available for purchase now. For $168  (40% less than buying the tickets individually) you get admission for all the films and priority access (they let you enter the theatre first).

Fail Compilation For August 2012

     Another month, another one of the best fail compilations from the cool people over at TNL.

The Mill US Showreel 2012

     The visual effects (VFX) company, The Mill, has released a showreel of their work and the video is stunning. Not only do the effects look great but the showreel edit is sweet as well. For anybody who is interested, the song is Midnight Conspiracy & Cenob1te by The Eye (Original Mix). Check out the video.

Lucas Brunelle's Line Of Sight

     Last night I watched Lucas Brunelle's film Line Of Sight. The documentary (directed and edited by Benny Zenga) shows a first person view of underground bike messenger street racing in cities such as New York, London, and Tokyo. The film also visits the bottom of the ocean, the streets of Mexico City, the jungles of Guatemala, and the Great Wall Of China.

     The video is often exhilarating and entertaining at the same time with tons of traffic and pedestrian dodging footage. However, I can't help but see these riders as a danger on the road. They ride the wrong way down one way streets, cut off cars, blow through busy red light intersections and break pretty much every rule of the road that exists. At one point Brunelle is being interviewed and he explains that he feels safe riding the way he does around New York. He believes that if you stay where you are he'll take care of everything else. However, no matter how good you are, you can never predict the actions of pedestrians, drivers or other riders.

     Within the first minute of the film a rider smashes the side view mirror of a car and almost gets doored. In another scene Lucas himself rides directly into a pedestrian who is trying to get away from the rush of oncoming cyclists. And in yet another scene a rider is hit by a car driven by an elderly woman. On one hand Brunelle is trying to tell us that this type of reckless riding is no danger to the public, yet he shows us footage of property damage, and collisions with pedestrians and cars.

     For me Line Of Sight is at its best when we get to see the scenes in Guatemala and in China. The footage is beautiful and there is a short action scene filmed in Guatemala that while showing irresponsible riding is staged so there is no danger to the public. As for the music I enjoyed the soundtrack which featured bands such as Van Halen, Guns N Roses, Motorhead, M.I.A, White Zombie, Neurosis, Lightning Bolt and Holy Fuck. If this were a choreographed action film I would give the movie a 9/10 for the stunt riding but since this is a documentary and the riding is simply dangerous I give Line Of Sight a 3/10.

Fail Compilation Video For July 2012

     TNL does it again!

How To Catch A Kangaroo

     Charles Manson teaches us how to catch a Kangaroo in 30 seconds.

Ken Block's Gymkhana Five!

     These videos just keep getting better. This time they close down chunks of San Francisco for some epic driving and kick ass production values.

V/H/S Review

     On Wednesday July 11th, the Toronto After Dark Film Festival presented a summer screening and the Canadian premier of the horror film V/H/S. The movie was a sellout and it received a great reception from the audience. As of right now there is no Canadian theatrical release planned but it is scheduled for a limited release in the USA on October 5th, 2012, and on VOD in late August.

     The movie is made up completely from found footage, which after the Blair Witch, Paranormal Activity 1, 2 & 3, Cloverfield, Super 8, The Zombie Diaries, [REC] 1 & 2, Diary Of The Dead, Quarantine, The Last Exorcism, Apollo 18, The Troll Hunter, Chronicle and Project X some people may be getting tired of. However, unlike some of the previously mentioned films, the found footage concept is integral to the story of this movie.

     The concept of the film (without revealing any spoilers) revolves around a bunch of scummy hipster d-bags who are hired to steal a VHS tape from an old man's house. While in the house the group finds a bunch of tapes and plays several of them to find the one they were sent to steal. Each tape played is a separate film from a different director who was instructed to make a short (roughly 20 minute) horror movie using the found film genre. During the course of the anthology there are 5 tapes played in addition to the wraparound story that features the home invasion.

     The film works well because unlike many horror films where you sit around for an hour and a half waiting for something scary to happen for 3 minutes, the various directors of the V/H/S anthology only have about 20 minutes each to create their story and deliver the horror resulting in a nice fast pace. Some of the stories are better than others but they are all very good. I won't describe the short films for fear of spoiling some of the movie. The features have a nice mix of horror and some genuinely funny moments to break up the tension.

     I'm not convinced that the film is one that needs to be seen in a theatre as I believe it would be just as effective on the small screen. However, if you are a horror fan I would definitely suggest seeing this movie in some form. I give V/H/S a 9/10

     Check the trailer out!

CBC.ca | Metro Morning | Not Always Heard

     My cousin is on the radio! I'm looking forward to seeing the play on July 10th.

CBC.ca | Metro Morning | Not Always Heard

Fail Compilation Video For June 2012

     Once again TNL has put together the best fail moments of the month. Enjoy!

North By North East 2012

     Every year NXNE invades Toronto's bars and clubs with all types of live music. This year the music festival took place from June 11-17 and featured over 700 bands. I was lucky enough to get a pair of all-week wristbands from a friend so I attended several of the festival shows.

     On the Thursday night I started with CALiPH at Crawford on College St. for some rap. The show was supposed to start at 9:00 but the sound system was still being set up so it wound up beginning about 20 minutes late. The music was good but I felt like I was the only audience member who wasn't related to or personal friends with the performer so that was a bit awkward. I give CALiPH a 6/10.

     The next show was at The El Mocambo on Spadina for The Army Girls. Army Girls are a two piece (guitar and drums) punk/soul band from Toronto. I can't say I was feeling the music so I used the time to catch up with a friend I hadn't seen in a couple of years. Army Girls get a 4/10.

     After the El Mocambo I headed over to The Garrison on Dundas for Grass Widow and The Black Belles. I had been told Grass Widow was an edgy band but what I heard was standard pop/punk/garage rock from an all female band. They played competently and sang in harmonies but once again this band was not my cup of tea. I suppose I should have done more research into the bands that were playing but with over 700 to choose from the options can be daunting. I give them a 5.75/10

     The Black Belles completely filled The Garrison up. The place was packed and hot. This goth girl garage band was signed to Jack White's record label (Third Man Records) and they actually sound a lot like a female white stripes. The band dressed in black dresses, black sun hats and with black lipstick and eyeliner. They looked to be boiling under the lights but they put on a good show and people seemed to be enjoying it. I give them a 7.5/10

     Afterwards I made my way towards the Wrong Bar on Queen to see Purity Ring but when I passed by there was a massive line-up outside so I decided to call it a night and head home for some sleep instead.

     On Friday I spent the entire night at Wrong Bar. The band list for the night was DZ Deathrays, Bass Drum Of Death, METZ, The Men, and The Deathset. I got to the venue at 9:00 and ran into the same friend I met on Thursday night.

     DZ Deathrays was the first and my personal favorite band of the night. They are a Drum/guitar duo who play some heavy rock similar to Death From Above. The vocals were good, the music was good, the energy was good and the audience was having fun. I give DZ Deathrays a 8.5/10. I'd go see them again.

     Bass Drum Of Death came on next at 10:00. This band was similar to DZ Deathrays but with an extra member and a bit more punk. They were also good with their fuzzed out vocals and guitar and I'd give them a 8/10.

     METZ played at 11:00. They are an experimental/noise/post-punk band from Toronto. This band was also ok. The bar was full and hot but I had a good spot near the side. Lots of energy but guitars that sound out of tune don't excite me (guess I don't get the experiment) so they get a 7/10.

     The Men went on stage for Midnight. The Men actually played the previous night at The Garrison right after The Black Belles but I missed it because I wanted to try and check out Purity Ring. To me they sounded like more of METZ so they also get a 7/10 however, the audience started crowd surfing so the band's rating goes all the way up to 7.5/10!

     At 1:00 The Deathset began to play but I was tired so I went home after the first song. Guess I'm getting old. Like the Pursuit Of Happiness said:

"Speaking of hearing, I can't take too much loud music
I mean I like to play it, but I sure don't like the racket
Noise, but I can't hear anything
Just guitars screaming, screaming, screaming
Some guy screaming in a leather jacket
Wooah!"

     On Saturday night I decided to take it easy and spend the night with some punk music at The Great Hall. The lineup for the night was Take Drugs, The Mahones, Teenage Head and The Nils. 

     Take Drugs are a new punk band from Toronto but they were tight and played some straight forward punk. I enjoyed their set and the singer was entertaining. I give them a 7.5/10

     At 11:00 The Mahones took to The Great Hall's stage. The Kingston band has been playing Irish punk music since they formed for St.Patty's day in 1990. They have released 10 albums and were one of the first Irish punk bands around. They were great live. The songs were good and fun, the audience was having a blast and the band looked to be having one too. I would definitely check these guys out again and I give them a 9/10.

     At Midnight I got to see Teenage Head! Teenage Head formed in 1975 in Hamilton , Ontario and were one of Canada's most famous punk bands during the early 80's. Many people consider Teenage Head to be the Canadian equivalent to The Ramones and after seeing them live I would not disagree. The band played many songs off of their breakthrough 1980 album Frantic City including Infected, Disgusteen and Let's Shake. This show was my favorite from this year's NXNE and I give them a 10/10.

     I had originally planned to see Nadja at The Garrison on Sunday night but I ate too much at a Father's Day lunch and was burnt out from 4 nights in a row of concerts (including the non NXNE Blood Ceremony show on Wednesday night) so I skipped the show and relaxed instead.