22 April 2011 - Celebrating Easter & Earth Day with Horror
Is there a better way to celebrate Easter (and Earth Day) than sitting around and watching some horror movies? That doesn't involve dye anyway. Here's a short list of properly themed monster movies. Plus a short featuring Jesus vs. the Easter Bunny.
Night of the Lepus from 1972, stars Janet Leigh, Stuart Whitman, and DeForest "Bones" Kelley. Giant, mutated, flesh-eating rabbits - yes, rabbits - terrorize an Arizona ranch. Has a "Mother Natures's revenge" to it, so it fits for Earth Day, too. Bonus!
Also from '72 is Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster! This must have been a bad year, ecologically speaking. At any rate, a smog-eating, poison-spewing beastie is out to destroy Japan, and only Godzilla can stop it. When did Godzilla become "man's friend?" According to the trailer, he's saving the Earth. Still worth a look.
Critters 2: The Main Course from 1988 is set during an Easter celebration. Unhatched critter eggs are mistaken for Easter eggs by the good folks of Grover's Bend. It Features the talented ladies, Liane Curtis and stapled Roxanne Kerohan.
The fine folks at Crappy Worl Films bring us the 2006 flick, Easter Bunny, Kill! Kill! A slasher in an Easter bunny mask brings terror to an abusive situation.
And to finish it off, the battle of the century, Jesus vs. the Easter Bunny. Ever wonder who would win? Know you'll know.
14 April 2011 - Fox Kills Apes
20th Century Fox has apparently taken a blood oath to completely destroy one their most beloved franchises, The Planet of the Apes. Their latest re-screwing-with will use CGI apes instead of the signature ape make-up effects.
I'm not sure who came up with this brilliant idea, but may I suggest that he/she get back on their meds as soon as possible. I don't know if they've become a danger to themselves, but the general public definitely needs to be shielded from them. Even Tim Burton's craptacular entry used make-up effects.
The ape faces are arguably the most recognizable make-up prosthetics in existence. They allowed the actors a great range to work with, except in the second one where they simply used masks for the crowd shots. And, yes, they were terribly obvious. But look at any of Roddy McDowall's appearances. He was a master at letting emotion show through.
While we're on the topic of animals, I'd like to point out some great work being done to assist animals by the Japan Earthquake Animal Rescue and Support. This is a collaboration of three established and registered animal rescue NPOs in Japan. It's creation is to coordinate rescue and support efforts for animals in crisis due to the March 11 Earthquake and Tsunami in Northern Japan.
I also like to put a shout out to the ASPCA. They do great work and they can always use additional support. For readers who have been around a while, I regularly put up links to them. And I do put my money where my mouth is. I'm an ASPCA Guardian and I give a monthly donation.
As a bonus for reading through my animal support PSAs, I've put in a video via Funny or Die below for comic relief. It's an interesting video from Daniel Beals titled The Zombie Whisperer. Good for a laugh or two.
Japan Earthquake Animal Rescue and Support
ASPCA
7 April 2011 - Thong Girl, Invasion, & More!
We'll start off with a quick reminder that the premiere of Thong Girl 4: The Body Electric is tonight at 7 PM in Nashville, TN. Thong Girl creator Glen Weiss will be on hand, as well as a number of the film's stars, including Stacey Dixon, Tony Domenico, and upcoming Thong Girl, Maxx Kelley. Be sure to check this out As Weiss says, "Hey, where else can you go to see a bikini-clad superhero shoot lasers out of her butt? For only $6!" I couldn't have said it better myself. Check out the Facebook Event for the full scoop. You can click the flyer image at right for a larger version.
Meanwhile, across the pond, the fan funded film, Invasion of the Not Quite Dead has starting filming. Writer/Director A.D. Lane has taken cast and crew to Bulgaria to shoot the intro to his take on the zombie genre. As reported earlier, this film is being completed funded by fans. Lane has performed a number of marathons on Twitter to assist in the fund-raising. He's offering various producer packages as incentives to your donations. The more you donate, the more swag you'll receive.
We're going to be doing a little programming work around here over the next few days. If things look a little crazy when a page loads, just reload it and it should be okay. If the page still does not load properly, please hit our contact page and let us know. We will be testing off site, but we never catch everything. Your help will be greatly appreciated!
1 April 2011 - Crampton & Gordon Hit Evil Bong
Before getting to the main event, as it were, I must relate that I have already been the recipient of an April Fool's prank. One that I wish to save my faithful readers from.
Some dubious fellows invited me to watch some “T 'n' A” wrestling. Now, I'm picturing some scantily clad women ripping at each others clothes in some slippery substance. Some oil, jello, foam, anything along those lines. Maybe Lisa Comshaw using her nom de wrestling, Tory Sinclair, to grapple some unsuspecting foe into submission. At any rate, my mind was following the T 'n' A suggestion.
To seal the deal, I was further baited with the promise of free Guinness. Unable to resist that dark, frosty goodness, my resistance was defeated. At this point, I should have known something was up.
It turns out that T 'n' A wrestling is actually TNA wrestling. It's a bunch of dudes! What a revolting development that was. At least I was able to snag some free Guinness. And I will have my revenge. Oh, yes. I will have my sweet revenge.
Now, on to more important matters. As previously reported, Flashback Weekend and Full Moon Productions have banded together to present the premiere of Evil Bong 3-D: The Wrath of Bong in both 3-D and Sniff-o-rama. The event will take place at the Portage Theatre in Chicago, IL.
There will be 35mm screenings of the classic films, Re-Animator, From Beyond, and Castle Freak. Screen sirens Barbara Crampton and Robin Sydney will be on hand for photo ops and autographs. In addition, Charles Band will participate in Q&As and present his Full Moon Road Show.
The exciting NEW announcement is that master Lovecraftian filmmaker Stuart Gordon has joined the list of participants. He will be introducing his classic films along with Barbara Crampton. What a rare occasion this will be. Tickets to this event are only $25. Full details can be found in a copy of the flyer above left and at the Full Moon by Flashback Weekend link below. Tickets can be purchased in advance, at the Full Moon Direct link below.
Full Moon by Flashback Weekend
24 March 2011 - April Film Events in Nashville
April not only brings Spring flowers, but movie events to Nashville, TN. First up comes the premiere of the latest adventures of Nashville's own super-heroine, Thong Girl. Seven days later, the week long Nashville Film Festival begins.
Glen Weiss will be premiering the latest installment of his Thong Girl series on April 7th at the Belcourt Theater. Thong Girl 4: The Body Electric, pits the title character against the evil Electar, who is determined to destroy Nashville with a new form of electricity. The movie stars Alex Del Monacco as Thong Girl and features appearances by Lloyd Kaufman, Stacey Dixon, and Jim O'Rear. Tickets to the premiere are set at $6 and the show will begin at 7:00 PM. Full premiere information can be found by clicking the link below.
From April 14th to 21st, the Nashville Film Festival will be held at the Regal Green Hills Stadium 16 in Nashville. The theater is located at 3815 Green Hills Village Dr. I'm particularly interested in the Graveyard Shift screenings. This year five films fit within the category that's described as, “a mash-up of the strange, the funny, the patently offensive, the gross, and the bizarre.” Here they are:
Evan Glodell's Bellflower follows two friends as they venture out into the world to begin their adult lives. Literally all their free time is spent building flame-throwers and weapons of mass destruction in hopes that a global apocalypse will occur and clear the runway for their imaginary gang "Mother Medusa". While waiting for the world to end, their call to excitement comes unexpectedly when one of them meets a charismatic young woman and falls hard in love. It stars Glodell, Jessie Wiseman, Tyler Dawson and Rebekah Brandes.
André Øvredal's The Troll Hunter, mentioned here before, tells the story of three students investigating a series of mysterious bear killings, and all signs point to a mysterious man named Hans. Eager to get their story, they follow Hans deep into territory cordoned off by the government and they discover that Hans isn’t a poacher, he’s The Troll Hunter. A secret government agent charged with protecting the citizenry from the gargantuan horrors that lurk in the desolate reaches of the far north! It stars Hans Morten Hansen, Tomas Alf Larsen, Johanna Mørck and Knut Nærum.
In Todd Rohal's The Catechism Cataclysm, Father William Smoortser drops his bible into a toilet at a rest stop just before embarking on a day-long canoe trip, breaking loose all glorious hell. It stars Steve Little, Miki Ann Maddox, Robert Longstreet, and Koko Lanham. A song titled, “God Will Fuck You Up,” is featured, which makes this one a must see.
Álex de la Iglesia's The Last Circus is about two clown's fighting over the love of a woman. When his father is imprisoned by Franco, Javier is charged with avenging him. Cut to Madrid, 1973 and Javier has taken his father’s place in the circus and has fallen in love with Sergio, a violent man’s girlfriend – and the revenge begins. It stars Antiago Segura, Caroline Bang (in the second image above), Antonio de la Torre and Raul Arevalo.
And finally, Codependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same from Medeleine Olnek. Its' an homage to those bad sci-fi b-movies that would we love so much. Three lesbian aliens are sent to earth to have their hearts broken because their emotions are so strong, they’re destroying their home planet’s ozone layer. It stars Lisa Haase, Susan Ziegler, and Jackie Monahan.
17 March 2011 - Irish Horror & Guinness Day!
At some point today, you're going to be between parties, or bars, or you just need some slow sipping time. What can you watch that will keep the wearing o' the green theme intact? How about some authentic Irish genre movies?
The Eliminator, not the one with Michael Rooker, features a futuristic supercar, gore, zombies, and the resurrection of St. Patrick. Say what?
Conor McMahon's Dead Meat and Stephen Bradley's Boy Eats Girl feature flesh-eating zombies as their undead stars.
Patrick Kenny's Winter's End and Billy O'Brien's Isolation deal with the captivity theme. The first among family, the latter among strangers, both against the participant's will.
Steve Barron's Rat is much more comedy than horror, it is fun watching a Guinness drinking rat who leaves droppings on the good doilies. And it has the lovely Kerry Condon in it.
There may be more out there, but this should be enough to keep you busy for one night. For no other reason than it being St. Patrick's Day, I've posted a couple of pictures to get in the spirit The top image is of Eva Birthistle. Dubbed by The Irish Times as the Irish scream queen. Who am I to argue with that? Followed by a trio of lovely lasses decked out in Irish flag swimsuits. Now, where's my fek'n Guinness? Éirinn go Brách!
12 March 2011 - Boycott Greedy NFL Owners and Players
Negotiations between league owners and players have reached an impasse. Forcing me to have a new battle cry, "Fuck the NFL!"
Prima donna players were trolling for more money and wanted spending caps removed from teams so they could go to the owners with the most cash. I'm guessing Jerry Jones would get his pick from all of them as he recently spent 1.3 billion to build a stadium for Dallas team. That's right. 1.3 BILLION for a damn football stadium.
Now that a lockout is in effect, pampered players whine to the world on their Twitter accounts. Dante Stallworth wants to go work for Obama. And millionaire Aaron Curry - who I hope is jesting - tweeted, “I'm officially unemployed and now filing for unemployment checks.”
Unbelievable. These guys must have Adonis DNA and tiger blood. They're true epic winners. Join me in boycotting the NFL so that everyone involved really loses their jobs. That would be excellent. I'm switching to rugby.
On to something a little more entertainment oriented, the season finale of SyFy's Face Off airs next week. Little Megan was booted at the end of last episode leaving Sam, Gage, Conor, and Tate to compete for the grand prize. Who will win? A poll on their website shows Tate to be the fan favorite. Followed closely by Conor.
I've put a couple of images up from the second episode of the series. It included the body painting contest. I really loved these two in particular. The undersea is from Jo and the girl breaking out of her bark skin is from Anthony. I would love to know if prints of these would be made available. Awesome work. And below is Songify This' ode to Charlie Sheen (and the NFL) – Winning. Enjoy!
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