Suspect on film

RIP Tura Satana, 1935 - 2011

2011-02-06T19:59:00.001-05:00

There's lots of buzz around the internet this weekend about the passing of the iconic film actress Tura Satana. The roles she played on the silver screen left an incredible impression. If you've seen any of these you'll know just what I mean.

Here is a teaser video of an in production documentary "Tura - The Kick-Ass Life"

She recently had been working on her autobiography, titled My Kick-Ass Life, which hasn't been published yet.

Our deepest condolences go out to the family, friends and fans of Tura Satana, we'll miss you! Online comments appear on her face book site here.

The official Tura Satana website is www.turasatana.com

Stan Lee got his Star today

2011-01-04T18:52:00.001-05:00

Yep, the Man who created Striperella, finally got his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Heck, here in Toronto we knew Stan was famous when he came to this very street back in 1968 - as guest of honour for The Triple Fan Fair in Mirvish Village.

I wonder what took them so long down in Hollywood.

Leslie Nielsen Dead At 84

2010-11-28T22:32:00.002-05:00

"I never drink wine..." "oh, what the hell. Let me try it." " ...It's good!"
- Leslie Neilsen, Dracula, Dead and Loving It.

Canadian actor and comedian Leslie Nielsen has passed away after a battle with pneumonia at the age of 84. There are plenty of reports and tributes on the web today, check out a few - like this one here. November 28, 2010

R.I.P. Leslie.
One of Canada's finest entertainers is probably going to be remembered for "Don't call me Shirley" more than any of his earlier accomplishments like the wonderful flick Forbidden Planet - but that was okay by him.

-----------------------
Rumack: "I won't deceive you, Mr. Striker. We're running out of time. "

Ted Striker: "Surely there must be something you can do. "

Rumack: "I'm doing everything I can... and stop calling me Shirley!"

SUSPECT BLOG! Starting..NOW!

2010-11-15T09:04:00.004-05:00

Howdy folks! Luis here on a sunny monday morn - drinkin' the strongest cup o'coffee I can make and still keep my heart firmly in my chest and reading WALKING DEAD (which of course we stock at the store).
We also re-stocked the amazing HAMMER magazine LITTLE SHOPPE OF HORRORS #21 -#25 last week. They're selling fast though (as though we didn't expect THAT.
We're also bringing back the Tuesday deal to T.O. - Starting in December Tuesdays will be rent one 7 day rental - get the second 7 day rental for free! (free one is of same price or less, naturally). So for you smarties out there get enough for the week.. for cheap.

We've also restocked this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tFgZ6DmXmw

and this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCj8sPCWfUw

So come on down and gulp down a Blood Drink and peruse our massive library of bizarreness.
-L

Perfect time of year for the Walking Dead

2010-10-31T18:07:00.000-04:00

Happy Halloween

And remember The Walking Dead is here.

ELVIRA'S BACK!

2010-09-25T18:21:00.000-04:00

Elvira Mistress of The Dark returns to U.S. TV screens this weekend in her all-new Elvira’s Movie Macabre. She will kick off her premiere with hosting Night of The Living Dead! Elvira will be on tv screens on a weekly basis bringing back the groovy horror hostess (Saturday night/Sunday morning at midnight on September 25th 2010).

Elvira’s Movie Macabre originally aired back in 1981 showcasing some of the best or worst (depends on how you perceive them) B-Movies. You can read more about this series in a recent interview with Elvira.

So far no Canadian stations have picked this series up.

Grindhouse fest SHOCK & AWE returns

2010-09-23T17:03:00.002-04:00

Saturday September 25, 2010
"SHOCK AND AWE" - THE DUSK TILL DAWN GRINDHOUSE EXPERIENCE
11:30pm The Fox Theatre (2236 Queen Street East, Toronto, Ontario) Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 at the door.
GET 'EM NOW!!

SHOCK AND AWE tickets can be purchased at the Fox Cinema box office, Suspect Video (605 Markham St., near Bathurst and Bloor) and Eyesore on Queen.

SHOCK AND AWE is the dusk till dawn grindhouse homage showcasing an eclectic mix of exploitation, from killer tarantulas (Kingdom of the Spiders), awol commie agents (Dolph lundgren in Red Scorpion), an Osmonds espionage musical (Goin Coconuts) and ending with the home video classic GHOULIES. Most of the prints have been unseen on the big screen in Canada for decades, and the event padded with lots of ta...sty themed food at the snack bar, SHOCK AND AWE is not a film screening, it's an event! 6 films, one night/morning!
Sleep when your dead, and join the celluloid sleepover!

SCREAMFEST RETURNS TO TORONTO

2010-09-22T23:35:00.002-04:00

Horror in the east end:
Toronto's unofficial showcase of the weird and twisted is at Scream Fest 2010, a one night only showcase of horror movie-making on Thursday, September 23rd at the Fox Theatre. Filmmakers and fans are invited to a marathon of scary-themed shorts and discussions at this second annual film event.

7pm: Doors open Get Your tickets and everything else you need to know about the 2010 Toronto Screamfest at the Official Facebook Page.

We're Back - More horror, less filling

2010-09-22T23:32:00.002-04:00

Back to blogging to announce that Suspect Video has a new location on the web:
www.suspectvideo.ca !! See us there... or at the shop at 605 Markham St. Toronto

Happy Halloween!

2006-10-31T19:46:00.000-05:00

FREE CREATURE FEATURES BEGIN

2006-06-26T18:10:00.000-04:00

This week kicks off the start of Creature Features in Toronto,an open-air movie series with free admission.

Tuesday evenings, from June 27 to August 29 the fine folks running Yonge-Dundas Square bring you a new season of big, scary, sometimes ugly, always entertaining monster movies.

This Tuesday at 9 p.m. you can catch a rare 3-D screening of 1954's The Creature from the Black Lagoon (free glasses for the first 300 patrons). the series will run through a list of scary classics including The Blob, The Birds, Alien and Jaws. The series wraps with the (funny looking) recent Godzilla - Aug. 22 and Peter Jackson's version of King Kong — on Aug. 29. All shows are free.

And if all this wets your appetite for cool monster movies - the original Godzilla, aka Gojira, is being released this September - never before seen on DVD. Check out the website at www.godzillaondvd.com for more on this is classic version - the way it was before Hollywood stuck in those wacky Raymond Burr scenes. And be sure to check out the selection of classic flicks at Suspect this summer!

CURTAINS CLOSE ON TORONTO'S FESTIVAL CINEMAS

2006-06-18T20:36:00.000-04:00

The Kingsway, the Royal, the Revue Cinema on Roncesvalles and the Paradise theatres are closing permanently on June 30, 2006. A sad summer for film buffs in this city.

The notice at www.festivalcinemas.com states: "It comes with much heartache that we announce that the Festival Cinemas will cease operations of The Revue, Kingsway and Royal theatres at the end of June. If you have any questions or concerns please contact 416-856-2044. It is because of your support we have been able to stay in business for almost 30 years, thank you."

One other Festival theatre – the Fox – will remain open for now. The fate of the buildings themselves is not known at present. The Royal, which has been designated as a Heritage Building, is presently up for sale while there is an online petition to save The Revue. If you go to "Save The Revue" at http://www.PetitionOnline.com/revue/ you'll see their plea -
"Toronto is about to lose a great cultural resource. Festival Cinemas is closing all of its five second-run theatres in less than a month. One of these theatres, located in the quickly developing neighbourhood of Roncesvalles Village, is a 95 year old landmark and the oldest continually running movie house left in Ontario. Please sign the petition ..."

The closing of these discount cinemas mean more to the city than just the loss of a cheap movie ticket, or a place to see older films on the big screen. Film fests, like Colin Geddes's Kung Fu Fridays, are now without a home. In Geddes' case it even puts his film collection in peril as there is no place to store his 500-plus reels of Hong Kong films.

You can read more on his blog here - kungfufridays.blogspot.com

According to the Cinema Treasures website email messages of support can be sent to: kingswaytheatre@yahoo.ca and revuecinema@sympatico.ca .

SEE US THIS (late) SUMMER !

2006-06-13T20:20:00.000-04:00

Hey boils and ghouls!
All your pals and gals from the stores (well not ALL of us but a few of us anyway) will be at our not-to-be-missed booth at Rue Morgue's Festival of Fear this September 1-3, 2006. The annual frightfest will be, as always, at Toronto's Metro Convention Centre (255 Front Street West).
The Ghoul of Honour will be none other than Alice Cooper!
With special guests-among others: Guillermo Del Toro, Jeffery Combs, Linda Blair, "Rowdy" Roddy Piper and a special friend of Suspect, author Gemma Files.
We'll have oodles of new stuff for sale-some things at special blow out prices!
Check out Rue Morgue's site for more info.
See you all there.

MOVIE TRAILERS AT GOOGLE!

2006-06-13T17:29:00.000-04:00

If you like to check out the latest movie trailers online, like this YouTube preview of Paramount's NACHO LIBRE, there's now another source for you to get your fix:

Google has recently launched Google Video Movie Previews, a destination for audiences to watch trailers for films that are in theaters or coming soon. See it here!

FILMPORT STUDIO A GO IN TORONTO

2005-12-22T00:15:00.000-05:00

Variety.com has reported that a major film studio in Toronto has the green light. Phase one of Filmport will include six soundstages, one of them a 45,000 square-foot megastage, North America's biggest constructed specifically for its purpose, and production office and support facilities totaling 232,000 square feet.

A new ruling by the Ontario Municipal Board has cleared the way for construction to begin on a long-awaited megastudio for the city.

When complete, the complex is expected to house more than a dozen soundstages totaling 550,000 square feet of production space. Filmport is part of a larger plan to revitalize Toronto's dilapidated port district. You can read more here.

ROGER CORMAN DVD SERIES

2005-12-11T03:11:00.000-05:00

The first wave of Roger Corman DVD releases hits stores on Dec. 13 and will include Death Race 2000, with a commentary Corman recorded with star Mary Woronov (Calamity Jane). Corman also hosted a new featurette on the DVD called Playing the Game: Looking Back at Death Race 2000, which includes interviews with actor Martin Kove, writer Charles Griffith and others.

Disney owns the rights to most of Corman’s movies and plans to distribute them via Buena Vista Home Entertainment throughout the next few years, with director’s commentary. The first installment of the Corman collection will also include "Rock 'N' Roll High School," "Big Bad Mama" and "DinoCroc."

B-movie king Roger Corman told SCI FI Wire that he will record commentaries for dozens of his movies including Brain Dead, Big Doll House, School Spirit, Welcome to Planet Earth and Attack of the 60 Foot Centerfold. Corman said he won't do a lot of preparation for the commentaries, he says he likes to do them fresh.

BIG BOSOMS ON THE BIG SCREEN?

2005-12-11T02:01:00.000-05:00

"Big Bosoms and Square Jaws: The Biography of Russ Meyer, King of the Sex Film," the book by Jimmy McDonough has been optioned for a film. The Dark Horizon site notes that director/producer Rob Cohen ("Fast and the Furious", "Stealth") and former Revolution Studios player Todd Garner have picked up the rights for Cohen to direct.

Meyer, who died in September 2004 at the age of 82, was the infamous director/writer/producer of sexploitation romps such as "The Immoral Mr. Teas", "Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!", and the 1970 cult classic "Beyond the Valley of the Dolls", written by that Ebert guy.

Cohen had been in charge of recutting Beyond the Valley of the Dolls when he was a 23-year-old studio flunky.

DreamWorks SKG Bought Out

2005-12-11T01:08:00.000-05:00

DreamWorks SGK is being sold to Paramount Pictures, reports the Wall Street Journal. Buying the DreamWorks studio, formed by Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen, almost doubles Paramount's slate of films for 2006 and would add a library of 60 movies. Paramount may also get distribution rights to films from DreamWorks Animation SKG (producers of Shrek), which is a separate company.

Other film news: An article in USAToday says we can look forward to more ads on the big screen. According to forecasters money spent on in-theater ads increased by 18% this year to $400 million and likely will go up by about 15% each year through 2008.

MIRRORMASK DVD NOTE

2005-11-30T00:29:00.000-05:00

Neil Gaiman's blog mentions that lots of people have written to let him know that MirrorMask has, according to Amazon.com, a US release date of February 7, 2006.
Originally the date we'd seen mentioned was Jan.10th. Sometime soon, at any rate. If you didn't catch the limited release of this film - it's a Jim Henson Pictures fantasy by Gaiman and Dave McKean (of Sandman comics fame). The story revolving around Helena (Stephanie Leonidas), a 15-year-old girl who wishes she could, literally, run away from the circus and join real life. But such is not to be the case, as she finds herself on a strange journey into the Dark Lands, a fantastic landscape filled with giants, monkeybirds and dangerous sphinxes. On her quest to return home, Helena searches for the Mirrormask, an object of enormous power, which is her only hope of escaping the Dark Lands. Directed by McKean.

NOW: SUSPECT IS BEST

2005-11-27T02:13:00.000-05:00

NOW Magazine, a weekly Toronto entertainment paper has proclaimed Supect Video as Hall of Famers for the best indie store.
Now's special Best Of Toronto edition has retired their annual Readers Poll.
"To recognize those favourites that topped our Readers Poll five times or more over the last 10 years, we are inducting the following people and places into our Readers Poll Hall of Fame. Congratulations!"

BEST INDIE VIDEO STORE - Suspect Video
BEST SPECIALTY VIDEO STORE - Suspect Video

So if you haven't seen us lately, why not drop in and check out our selection of movies, wacky toys, books and magazines.

RUE MORGUE CINEMA FOUNDED

2005-11-26T23:41:00.000-05:00

MoviesOnline.ca reports that Rod Gudino, founder of Toronto's own Rue Morgue Magazine and president of Marrs Media Inc., has announced he will be leaving his post as Editor-In-Chief this December, a post he has held for the past eight years. Gudino will be leaving the magazine to launch and develop Rue Morgue Cinema, the new wing in the company's expanding operations. He will be succeeded by former managing editor Jovanka Vuckovic. Best of luck Rod, make us some great stuff.

SF GRANDMASTER ELLISON GETS NEW FILM

2005-11-26T22:48:00.000-05:00

In 1975 Harlan Ellison's prize-winning novella, Vic and Blood, was filmed as A BOY AND HIS DOG. He's written a few things since then and garnered a few more awards. In fact the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) has announced that Harlan Ellison will be named Grand Master at next year's Nebula Awards Weekend in Tempe, Arizona, May 4-7, 2006.

His work DREAM CORRIDOR is part of a recent co-production deal between Image Entertainment and Dark Horse to finance films. Seven projects are in production for the first slate of films including one helmed by John Landis and cult favorite Bruce Campbell, another starring Tom Sizemore and Edward James Olmos and the one written and hosted by Harlan Ellison, according to DVDexclusive.com

These are in various stages of production for either theatrical or DVD distribution and there are five others in development. Landis will direct Gone, a haunted house tale set to begin lensing in June. Ellison's project is the Twilight Zone-type
anthology Dream Corridor, on which preproduction is set for early 2006.

Campbell (Evil Dead, Army of Darkness) also will star as himself in My Name is Bruce, a comedy/horror film set to start rolling in January in which he is kidnapped from the set of a "B" horror movie and forced to play the role of his movie character.

Sizemore and Olmos will star in Splinter, about a cop on the skids who teams up with an idealistic young female cop to stop the murder of gang members.

ARISTOCRATS COMING IN JAN.

2005-11-25T19:19:00.000-05:00

ThinkFilm will release "The Aristocrats" on DVD Jan.
24, reports Variety.com

The Disc will have two hours of bonus features, including extended versions of the central joke told by most of the comics, a making-of featurette, contest-winning amateur live-action and animated film versions of "Aristocrats" jokes, an "Aristocrats do The Aristocrats" highlight reel and commentary by co-creators Penn Jillette and Paul Provenza.

Also expected in January is The Corpse Bride DVD, to be released on January 31. Extras on this Tim Burton film include several behind the scenes featurettes with the cast and crew and a music only track. The box office take of this film has now reached over $80 million worldwide.

ONE MINUTE OF FILM

2005-11-24T19:20:00.000-05:00

Oooops, this has already started -The One Minute Film fest is on now and it's already 20 minutes after the hour. So you've missed about 20 films already.

The One Minute Film & Video Festival is a Toronto-based short film festival featuring works of exactly 1 minute in length, centered around a common theme. Held tonight, Nov. 24, 2005 - this is the third annual fest.

Details are on the image with this post or at their site.

If you're near the Bloor Cinema you may have time to catch a few of the 64 films that they're showing.

BUBBA HO-TEP IS A CULT FIGURE, REALLY!

2005-11-18T02:35:00.000-05:00

Neca has released details of their Cult Classics series 3 for release in 2006. This will include the following action figures:

Flyboy Zombie from the original "Dawn of the Dead"
Bubba Ho-Tep from "Bubba Ho-Tep"
John McClane from "Die Hard"
T-800 Endo Skeleton from "T-2: Judgment Day"

You can bet we'll carry these when they're available. Right now though, you can find a great selection of cool toys and action figures for your holiday shopping at Suspect Video's store locations - like The Corpse Bride.
Some of the other toys that have recently arrived are the newest series of FAMILY GUY figures, SLASH (GnR) and four different ELVIS figures. And this just in...
THE BEATLES: McFarlane's new Animated Beatles boxed set has arrived, this set comes with the 4 band members and instruments, including full drum set, and also includes a green crocodile.

WATERLOO FESTIVAL FOR ANIMATED CINEMA BEGINS

2005-11-18T02:24:00.000-05:00

Off to the west of Toronto, in the land that's home to Oktoberfest, is a film fest dedicated to animated films from around the world. The Waterloo Festival for Animated Cinema returns to Kitchener-Waterloo with the fifth edition of the unique animation film festival.

WFAC 2005 will be running November 17th-20th at the Princess Twin Cinemas in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.
A partial film listing is: Alosha Popovich i Tugarin Zmey (Alosha Popovich and Tugarin the Serpent), Fragile Machine, Frank and Wendy, Kumou no Mukou, Yakusoku no Bashou (A Place Promised in Our Early Days), Mind Game, Nyócker! (The District), Strings, Terkel i Knibe(Terkel in Trouble). More info can be found online at the WFAC website at http://www.wfac.ca

Related Film News: AKIRA DIRECTOR OTOMO GOES LIVE

Anime legend Katsuhiro Otomo, director of AKIRA and STEAMBOY, has announced that his next project will be a live action film of the anime, MUSHISHI. Based on a horror manga MUSHISHI MASTER by Yuki Urushibara, the story is set in turn-of-the-century Japan about a guy who can see invisible life forms called Mushishi which give humans a hard time.

TV SHOWS HIT THE WEB IN 2006

2005-11-15T17:29:00.000-05:00

In what may be another bid for world domination, Pinky and The Brain are heading on to the web.

Variety.com reports that Warner Bros. and America Online have pacted to create the first-ever television outlet online. Set to launch in January, In2TV will make up to 14,000 episodes from more than 300 WB TV series available on-demand for free with advertising.

The article goes on to state that shows will be offered as part of six "channels" -- essentially categories to organize content -- at launch, including comedy, sci-fi and cartoons. Two more are expected to follow next year.

Series available in the first year of In2TV will include "Pinky and the Brain," "Lois and Clark," "Falcon Crest" and "Babylon 5." Narf.

WARREN ELLIS BLOGS ON X-mas PORN

2005-11-15T14:53:00.000-05:00

Yes, Warren Ellis, who "writes comic books and graphic novels, videogames, animation, books, screenplays, tv and anything else he can steal money for" has a blog. I found this wacky comment about a new adult video on one of his more recent posts:

"I Ruin Both Christmas And Sex For You, With A Single Image"
Ellis' recent work includes the Zombie comic book BLACK GAS and the nifty DESOLATION JONES.

THE GOOD SIN CITY DVD - DEC. 13th

2005-11-14T01:22:00.000-05:00

This is the Sin City version worth the wait.The complete, expanded and unrated version of the film with never-before-seen footage integrated directly into the feature by director Robert Rodriguez. This essential two-disc DVD is presented in
ultra-stylish packaging, with hours of all-new bonus materials supervised directly by Rodriguez showing how this unique film was brought to life. Plus the complete reprinted first issue of Frank Miller's Sin City graphic novel The Hard Goodbye is included. This year's must-have gift for the holidays, Sin City Recut-Extended- Unrated is available on two-disc DVD on December 13th from Dimension Home Video.

In other film/comics news HELLBOY is a new animated TV series. Film Roman will be producing a hand-drawn HELLBOY direct-to-DVD feature and the series. The show's supervising director, Tad Stones, has launched an online Blog to update fans on the whole production, and stuff like his favorite colour.

KONG, THE 8TH WONDER OF THE WORLD

2005-11-11T17:15:00.000-05:00

Director Peter Jackson has helped produce bonus materials for the DVD debut of the 1933 original 'King Kong', which Warner Home Video releases on Nov. 22
While Jackson worked on his own theatrical remake he also worked on a new 2-hour/7-part documentary, RKO Production 601: The Making of Kong, the Eighth Wonder of the World, that will be included on the 2-disc set.

Among other things, the documentary will include a segment on the infamous "spider pit" deleted scene (including a recreation of the lost footage). Other extras will include a documentary on director Merian C. Cooper, trailers for other films by Cooper, and audio commentary by legendary stop-motion animator Ray Harryhausen, actress Terry Moore and special effects guru Ken Ralston.

Warner will release the classic in 3 versions: a two-disc special edition and a two-disc collector's edition packaged in a collectable tin and including a 20-page reproduction of the original souvenir program, postcard reproductions of the original one sheets,(with a mail-in offer for a reproduction of a vintage 27-by-41-inch movie poster) as well as a 4-disc box set featuring the "King Kong" special edition along with "The Son of Kong" and "Mighty Joe Young."
The DVD of "King Kong" was two years in the making and arrives just before Jackson's remake opens in theaters.

Gnaaarrrh ZOMBIES ON DVD !!

2005-11-09T17:19:00.000-05:00

New on DVD this week - The Devil's Rejects.

Texas sheriff John Wydell (William Forsythe) seeks vengeance against his brother's creepy murderers in this Western-flavored sequel to Rob Zombie's House of 1,000 Corpses. Wydell enlists the aid of two vigilante brothers, and the posse heads out to the Firefly homestead to take down Otis, Baby, Tiny and Captain Spaulding once and for all. Sid Haig, Bill Moseley, Sheri Moon Zombie, Matthew McGrorey and Leslie Easterbrook co-star. Loaded with all sorts of amazing extras.

Can't get enough zombies in your life? Maybe you want one for your very own? Well here's your chance - MyPetZombies sells life-sized, incredibly gross latex zombie mannequins.

Or if that's too up close and you just want to look at them without them looking back you can try the very latest, hip magazine, Girls and Corpses. That's right, there really is a magazine for every interest out there! Now that their second issue is out they're even looking for models. Check out this ad on the website "Are you a gorgeous, sexy, wholesome looking beauty who dreams of being in Playboy? Good luck. Well, here's the next best thing! How about being in GIRLS and CORPSES MAGAZINE?! Just imagine yourself hugging a rotting hundred year old Corpse hunk!" Applicants have until March 2006 to send them photos.

NEW FILM FEST DEBUTS IN TORONTO

2005-11-05T14:37:00.000-05:00

Toronto is host to fantasy fans from around the world this weekend, (Nov. 4-6) as the Fantasy Worldwide International Film Festival launches its inaugural event.

The three-day festival, will showcase Moongirl and 30 other films from six continents at Toronto's Bloor Cinema (just a short walk from the Markham St. Suspect Video store) . The lineup includes feature-length films, documentaries, animation, shorts and "a kaleidoscope of talent," says festival founder Johanna Kern.

The festival brings under one roof Mythology, Mysticism, Science Fiction, Magical Realism, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Legend and Archetype - although no Horror (at least this year).

ELECTRIFYING SILENT FILM

2005-10-21T02:45:00.000-04:00

Toronto has had the good fortune to see our own Nash the Slash perform a number of silent film scores over the years. He's even recorded his version of Nosferatu,(check his web site.) This year he reprises The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari - just in time for Halloween.
On Friday, Oct. 28 he gives an intimate Midnight Performance at the Camera Bar 1028 Queen St.W and on Saturday, the 29th Nash performs Caligari at 10pm at The Speakeasy, 120 Church St. It's a real treat, especially if you've never seen a silent film with live music before.

New on DVD: HE'S THE DUDE MAN

2005-10-20T19:03:00.000-04:00

A LOOK AT CORPSE BRIDE TOYS

2005-08-22T17:52:00.000-04:00

TOYS: McFARLANE TOYS have unveiled their line of 6 and 3-inch figures from the upcoming Tim Burton's Corpse Bride film. These nifty figures are scheduled to hit retail shelves in October.

THIN MAN COLLECTED ON DVD

2005-08-03T23:19:00.000-04:00

New on DVD this week
The sophisticated humor of MGM's Nick and Nora mysteries are finally out on DVD. The 7 disc collection features all six great classic films and a whack of extras. Really fun stuff - and if you've never seen them, well you have a treat in store for you.
Just released by Warner Bros., their site describes the films as "sparkling series featured the irresistible William Powell and Myrna Loy chemistry as husband and wife sleuths who solved murders with the aid of their wire-haired terrier, Asta. Set in the glamorous world of 1930s upper-class Manhattan, The Thin Man and its sequels established the standard for witty comedy, clever dialogue and urbane one upmanship."

BRUCE CAMPBELL - LOVE COMES TO TOWN

2005-07-15T16:13:00.000-04:00

Fresh from his San Diego Comic Con appearance, the Bubba Ho-Tep star brings his Summer of Love book tour to a Toronto 'big box' book store at 55 Bloor St. W on Monday, July 25th. The event is scheduled to start at 6:00pm

The king of the ‘B’ movie, Bruce (don't call me Ash) Campbell, will be reading from and signing copies of his novel Make Love the Bruce Campbell Way – a side-splitting send up of Hollywood starring (who else?) – Bruce Campbell. This may not be as hot and steamy as Jenna Jameson's "How To Make Love To A Porn Star," but I bet he'll be a real hoot to see in person.

His previous book, If Chins Could Kill - Confessions of a "B" Movie Actor, won this sound byte from Entertainment Weekly when they said "he's like the dinner guest you wish would never leave." www.bruce-campbell.com

DAVID BOWIE FALLS TO EARTH THIS SEPTEMBER

2005-07-12T03:46:00.000-04:00

The Man Who Fell To Earth is being given the Criterion treatment this September, along with another Nicolas Roeg title, Bad Timing.

Other September Criterion releases will be: An Angel at My Table, from Academy Award-winning filmmaker Jane Campion, about the harrowing true-life story of Janet Frame, New Zealand's most distinguished author; Masculin f?minin, from Jean-Luc Godard; and Naked, Mike Leigh's brilliant and controversial film stars David Thewlis as Johnny, a charming, eloquent, and relentlessly vicious drifter in London.

Criterion has announced the launch of a monthly newsletter, starting this July, (Hey, that's now! ) featuring info on upcoming releases, news, and other items of interest to Criterion collectors. Take this link to sign up!

FOUR COLOURS ON SIN CITY DVD

2005-07-02T03:03:00.000-04:00

There will be four different colour covers for Frank Miller's SIN CITY Dvd when it's released on August 19.

Be Warned: This won't be the version with added scenes and other nifty goodies, that you'll have to wait for when the Special Edition comes out.

UPCOMING FOXES: EMILY AND FAMILY GUY

2005-06-30T03:42:00.000-04:00

20th Century Fox plans a feature film on "Emily the Strange" that mixes live-action with animation according to Variety.

From her 1993 debut on promotional stickers and T-shirts distributed from the creator Rob Reger's garage, Emily has grown into an entire industry, including an apparel line, three bestsellers published by Chronicle Books and an upcoming quarterly from Dark Horse Comics.

"I had the idea to turn Emily into a movie about five years ago, following the first wave of publicity for the character," Reger said. "Since then, I've been approached by many studios and producers, but only Fox was willing to make me a true partner in the process, and thus ensuring the integrity of the character."

The deal follows Chris Meledandri's (Fox Animation studio) coup of acquiring rights from Theodor Geisel's estate to make a CGI-animated pic from the Dr. Seuss classic "Horton Hears a Who" with producer Blue Sky.

On DVD: Fox has also announced the direct-to-DVD movie Family Guy Presents Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story Unrated.

In this exclusive 83 minute DVD premiere, featuring brand new, never before seen content, Stewie, the maniacal baby genius, is distracted from his plans for world domination when he sees a man who looks just like him on television. Convinced that this man must be his real father (after all, how could he possibly share genetic material with the dimwitted Peter?), Stewie sets off on a cross-country road trip to find him.

The DVD, will be released on September 27. Bonus features include an alternate "Unrated" Audio Track (!), Full Screen Feature,"Making of" Featurette and more.

"Family Guy Presents Stewie Griffin" is something of a thank you to the show's fans who bought so many DVDs, MacFarlane said.

TIFF 2005 GETS 16 N.A. PREMIERES

2005-06-24T15:22:00.000-04:00

indieWIRE's reports the Toronto International Film Festival has issued a press announcement for the 30th annual festival, running September 8-17, 2005.
Planners unveiled twenty of the films that will screen in various sections, including 16 North American premieres on tap for the event.

Noah Cowan, Co-Director of the Festival, has this to say of the first 20 titles announced for the festival: "This is a wonderful opportunity for audiences to see these films for the first time in Canada, and in many instances, North America. The 20 titles out of the approximately 250 total features we'll be programming are the cream of the festival circuit, and are among the highlights of the international cinema scene."

In the international Masters section we'll see Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne's "L'Enfant," (winner of the Palme d'Or at this year's Festival de Cannes) Michael Haneke's "Caché," "Don't Come Knocking," from Wim Wenders, Alexander Sokurov's "The Sun," Hou Hsiao Hsien's "Three Times," and Lars von Trier's "Manderlay."

The Visions section presents Tsai Ming-Liang's "The Wayward Cloud," as well as Eric Khoo's "Be With Me," and Vimukthi Jayasundara's "The Forsaken Land," a winner of the Camera d'Or in Cannes this year.

Contemporary World Cinema section features nine films so far, seven of which are North American premieres. Carlos Reygadas acclaimed Cannes 2005 film, acquired by Tartan, is on tap. It is described as "the story of a man who struggles to come to terms with a guilty conscience after the death of a kidnapped child. Also set is Hany Abu-Assad's "Paradise Now" which was a hit at the Berlinale and later acquired by Warner Independent, described as the story of "two friends reunited to carry out a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv." Other films set for the section include Mohammad Rasoulof's "Iron Island" from Iran, Cristi Puiu's "The Death of Mr. Lazarescu" from Romania, Laila Marrakchi's "Marock" from France, Wang Xiaoshuai's "Shanghai Dreams" from China, Thomas Vinterberg's "Dear Wendy," Rakhshan Bani-Etemad's "Gilaneh" and Mark Donfirm-May's "Carmen In Khayelitsha," winner of the top prize at this year's Berlinale, from South Africa.

Two American films are already on tap for Toronto's Special Presentations section. Mike Mills' "Thumbsucker" from Sony Classics and Noah Baumbach's "The Squid And the Whale" from Samuel Goldwyn Films are both set for the section, after debuting at Sundance.

We'll report on the Midnight Madness line-up when the films are announced.

BILLY CONNOLLY's PET ZOMBIE FLICK

2005-06-17T16:54:00.000-04:00

On Film* Lions Gate Films and Anagram Pictures have nabbed Billy Connolly to star in FIDO according to The Hollywood Reporter. Joining Dylan Baker, Carrie-Anne Moss, Tim Blake Nelson and Henry Czerny in this film about a little boy, Timmy, and his best friend, a 6-foot-tall domesticated zombie named Fido. FIDO is a highly-stylized dark horror comedy set in a small town that has been frozen in an idyllic world reminiscent of the 1950's. Whoever thought they'd cross Sean of the Dead with Lassie?

In other upcoming film news, the Tim Burton Collective site reports that Warner Bros. have updated the official Web site for Tim Burton's forthcoming stop-motion animated movie The Corpse Bride.

Cinema giants merge: Cineplex swallows Famous Players

2005-06-14T04:50:00.000-04:00

Wanna buy a movie theatre?
The big news for movie going Canadians yesterday was the announced buyout of Famous Players by Cineplex Galaxy, who owns less theatres and made less in revenues last year. (?) Under an agreement with the federal Commissioner of Competition, Cineplex Galaxy will have to sell off 35 theatres, with 284 screens and annual box office revenues of $100 million, to complete the deal - which will see Viacom getting $500 million for Famous Players.
Cineplex has agreed to sell theatres in Calgary, Edmonton, Victoria, Vancouver, Lethbridge, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, London, St. Catharines, Kitchener, Hamilton, Kingston, Ottawa, Toronto, Gatineau, Montreal and Quebec City.
Which theatres in each city will go on the market is undetermined at the moment.
So who's going to buy all those movie houses? Will this the beginning of the 'branded' theatre? Say for example an MGM movie house that will only show MGM films, similar to the fast food outlets that will only sell you one brand of pop. Interesting times.

UNIVERSAL RELEASES RINGU 2, LUGOSI & HAMMER HORROR

2005-06-12T01:06:00.000-04:00

Some upcoming goodies from Universal: They are releasing The Ring Two, Ringu 2 and the 4-disc Ringu Anthology of Terror box set on 8/23. There'll be 3 different versions of The Ring Two, extras will include a new Fear on Film: Special Effects featurette. Ringu 2 will be available in an anamorphic widescreen unrated version. The 4-disc Ringu Anthology of Terror will include the original Ringu, Rasen, Ringu 2 and Ringu 0, all in anamorphic widescreen and featuring the original Japanese Dolby Digital 5.1 audio (with English, French and Spanish subtitles).

Slated for 9/6 release are The Bela Lugosi Collection (single disc with Murders in the Rue Morgue, The Raven, The Invisible Ray, Black Friday and The Black Cat) and The Hammer Horror Collection (a 2-disc set containing Brides of Dracula, The Curse of the Werewolf, The Phantom of the Opera, Night Creatures, Paranoiac, Kiss of the Vampire, Nightmare and The Evil of Frankenstein).

First sex doll invented by the Nazis?

2005-06-09T22:16:00.000-04:00

An article on blogcritics maintains that during World War II, Hitler's war machine created the world's first sex doll: Borghild. The 'field-hygienic project' was an initiative of Himmler, who regarded the doll as a 'counterbalance' for the sexual drive of his stormtroopers. The project was considered 'Geheime Reichssache', which meant 'more secret than top secret.'
The world's first sexdoll or 'gynoid' was built in 1941 by a team of craftsmen from Germany's Hygiene Museum in Dresden. Psychiatrist Dr. Rudolf Chargeheimer wrote the following note as the project went forward: The sure thing, purpose and goal of the dolls is to relieve our soldiers. They have to fight and not be on the browl or mingle with 'foreign womenfolk.'
Eventually, the project appear to have been put on the back-burner and what remained of the project was destroyed in the bombing of Dresden in 1945. Further reading available at Salon.com.

Verrry interesting, but what does this have to do with movies you might ask?
Heck, I'm not really sure. Maybe I'm just a sucker for weird news items about sex dolls, or wacky Nazis, naawww that's can't be it. More likely I'm just looking for any excuse to plug the recent dvd release of the exploitation flick S.S. GIRLS from Media Blasters. This Italian film, was directed by Bruno Mattei in the Seventies and starred Gabriele Carrara, Macha Magall and Marina Daunia.

A Blast From The Past - Old Theatres Pt. 2

2005-06-09T21:20:00.001-04:00

Continuing our look back some of Toronto's most popular movie theatres in the seventies... (Part 2 of 4)

The Fine Arts Cinema (Yonge St. at Castlefield)

One of two independent theatres covered here, the Fine Arts deserves attention. A great deal of care has been taken to create a special character quite unlike the usual manufactured dazzle of chain cinemas. Done entirely in muted brown and cream tones and accentuated with good graphics, the Fine Arts has a restrained and subtle ambience that is immediately appealing. The refreshment bar offers several types of espresso and there are chairs throughout the lobby for those viewers with an inclination for quiet conversation before the screening. The sound system is good here and every care is taken to see that the surroundings increase the viewer's enjoyment. The operators of this cinema know what they are doing and do it with style.

The Hollywood Theaters (Yonge St. north of St. Clair)
The designer of the Hollywood should be complimented, for the decor of this cinema complex is simple and stylish. Both the north and south screening rooms are quiet, elegant and comfortable. Prints and equipment are cleaned frequently to maintain quality and if the run is a particularly long one management will replace the original print. Films start on time, end on time, and in general everything runs smoothly. Unlike many other theatres, the Hollywood does not abandon latecomers or leave them to stumble about in the dark. Ushers direct late arrivals to their seats and do so as quietly as possible. An evening at the Hollywood would be almost perfect if someone could persuade the staff to be a little friendlier - on a busy evening it's hard to avoid the feeling of being herded on your way in.

The Imperial Six Cinema (Yonge St. south of Dundas)
This flagship of the Famous Players' fleet is a good illustration of what happens when you gild an architecural lily. The original theatre was done in creditable Louis XVI, but when it was subdivided in the early Seventies the result was a rather uneasy compromise between grace and glitter. Still it's an impressive theatre, and all six screening rooms are clean and comfortably furnished. Their sound head, a Simplex XL, is new and well matched with a Simplex 35 projector. The system is in mint condition and nicely controlled. Control is somewhate less apparent in the audience, however, where rowdies are occasionally permitted to keep up running commentaries on the film with no interference from staff.
More to come.

ARGENTO'S TRAUMA ON DVD IN AUG.

2005-06-09T21:20:00.000-04:00

Trauma by Dario Argento is slated for DVD release on August 23rd 2005, according to Fangoria's website. Anchor Bay has had this new disc in the works for some time, and stars his daughter Asia along with Christopher Rydell, Brad Dourif and Piper Laurie. It's a longer and complete cut of this later Argento chiller and features an audio commentary by author/Argento expert Alan Jones.

TORONTO'S FESTIVAL OF FEAR Con Guest List

2005-06-09T04:17:00.000-04:00

Rue Morgue's Festival of Fear is being held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre on August 26-28 '05.
The impressive guest list features Clive Barker, Elvira, Linda Blair, Margot Kidder, Tony Todd, Gunnar Hansen, Ken Foree, Elijah Wood, Crispin Glover, Jeff Lieberman (Satan's Little Helper), Ed Long and Damien Glonek (of Living Dead Dolls), Jhonen Vasquez (Johnny the Homicidal Maniac), James Marsters (Spike from Buffy), Brian Keene (The Rising) and more...

BUFFY ACTRESS PLAYS A WHAT??

2005-06-09T04:04:00.000-04:00

SARAH MICHELLE GELLAR is set to play a porn star in RICHARD KELLY's new movie SOUTHLAND TALES. The film is set in Los Angeles in 2008 and will also star wrestler-turned actor DWAYNE 'THE ROCK' JOHNSON.

The storyline entwines the lives of an action star stricken with amnesia, an adult film star developing her own reality television show and a policeman who holds the key to a vast conspiracy - all taking place during a three-day heat-wave and culminating in a huge 4th of July celebration.

Kelly - acclaimed director of cult film DONNIE DARKO - is also writing a prequel to the movie, which will be published as six separate 100-page graphic novels in the run-up to the film's release in 2006.

Watchmen Movie axed by Paramount

2005-06-08T02:05:00.000-04:00

Watchmen Movie axed by Paramount

Empiremovies.com reports that "After months of guesswork, Paramount Pictures has finally pulled the plug on The Watchmen, putting it into turnaround and taking it out to other studios."

The film's budget was rumored to be $100 million and new the new studio head
apparently found it too expensive. Alan Moore's celebrated superhero graphic novel, with director Paul Greengrass (The Bourne Supremacy)
attached, had been aiming for a summer start.

A Blast From The Past - Old Theatres Pt. 1

2005-04-01T05:44:00.000-05:00

There was a time when the Toronto movie landscape wasn't always dominated by Silver Citys or Cineplex mall theaters. Many of the old movie theatres are closed now. In their heyday they each brought their own style and atmosphere to the cinematic experience for people in this city. Here's a glimpse of what some of the movie houses were like in Toronto circa 1970s thanks to an article in a defunct entertainment digest, Toronto Calendar Magazine.

The Cinema (T-D Centre)
Deep in the heart of Toronto's financial district is the finest cinema in the city. Owned by Famous Players, the Cinema is a superb example of everything a film theatre should be. The color scheme is soothing and elegant. Tables and chairs are provided in the foyer for those early arrivals who are meeting friends or just need time to change their mood from business to pleasure. The refreshment bar serves memorable coffee in addition to the standard fare, and even that is better than average. The auditorium itself is an exercise in chic restraint. Walls are long sweeping expanses of eggshell white, wonderfully comfortable seats are in black and the whole is brightly lit and a visual delight. Screening is as good as the design and cinemeccanica sound system is of excellent quality and well maintained. More to come.

Tale of Two Sisters / New Cult DVDs

2005-03-26T02:03:00.000-05:00

A Tale of Two Sisters - The North American DVD debut of the greatest Asian horror thriller since "The Eye" will be available from Suspect stores in a deluxe 2 disc edition this week.

Some Upcoming New Cult DVD Releases

The next few weeks should see these titles released:
MARCH 29
ANGEL GUTS: THE COMPLETE NIKKATSU SERIES (5-DISC)
A BELL FROM HELL
CLONUS "Parts: The Clonus Horror"
CRIMSON RIVERS: ANGELS OF THE APOCALYPSE
DESPERATELY SEEKING SEKA
HELL'S BLOODY DEVIL
LADY IN A CAGE
ORGAZMO: SE, UNRATED
RED SILK
THE RETURN OF CHANDU
SALON KITTY (SINGLE-DISC EDITION)
SWEDISH WILDCATS
TALE OF TWO SISTERS
THE TOXIC AVENGER: 21ST ANNIVERSARY EDITION
TWILIGHT ZONE: SEASON 2

APRIL 5
AMITYVILLE HORROR COLLECTION (4-DISC)
CAMP FEAR
DEAD DOLL
DEEP EVIL
ELEKTRA
THE LEAVES FROM SATAN'S BOOK
MARK OF THE WITCH /THE BRIDES WORE BLOOD

APRIL 12
THE JESS FRANCO COLLECTION (4-DISC)
THE LEGEND OF WONG FEI HUNG
SCHOOL KILLER
SYNDICATE SADISTS
ULTIMATE NINJA

Bring Me The Head Of Alfredo Garcia

2005-03-25T05:15:00.000-05:00

Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia
(Damn, I love saying that, I have ever since I can remember) MGM has now released Sam Peckinpah’s masterpiece starring Warren Oates in a riveting performance. More details and online trailer at MGM's site...

Film Directors Can Blog Too

2005-03-24T00:33:00.000-05:00

director blogging

Item found on Blogger Buzz

Lions Gate Films has set up Blogger blogs for a few of their upcoming movies. So far David Duchovny (for House of D due out in April) and Rob Zombie are blogging, and a few other DirectorBlogs are coming soon.

Giant Monsters Attack

2005-03-22T03:06:00.000-05:00

New release: Kaiju Big Battel's SHOCKING TRUTH is coming to Suspect Video

Kaiju Big Battel brings the city-crushing monster mayhem of its sold-out live shows to living rooms across North America with its latest DVD release, Shocking Truth. The 108-minute DVD will be released on April 12, 2005 (Koch).

This DVD follow-up to the 2003 cult sensation, Terebi Sento, draws audiences into the underbelly of Kaiju Big Battel Universe. Encapsulating years of in-ring monster mayhem and ongoing storylines, it bring neophytes into the Big Battel world with its patented mix of action comedy.

Currently, the Kaiju Universe maintains an active roster of approximately 40 giant, city-crushing monsters, including a blue alien-glutton named Sky Deviler, a factory-worker-turned-soup-can called Kung-Fu Chicken Noodle, a dirty hare-sabe dubbed Dusto Bunny, Uchu Chu the Space Bug, and a despicable, square-headed mad scientist known as Dr. Cube. In additon to the Kaiju Commissioner, a few other priviliged humans also get a piece of the action, including Referee Jingi, a mustachioed official who enforces fairness and civility in the ring.
With Planet Earth under threat, do you dare miss it?