Interview with Bruce LaBruce @ Vice

Vice.com has just published an interview with Bruce LaBruce:
http://www.vice.com/read/we-spoke-to-filmmaker-bruce-labruce-about-going-mainstream-and-the-secret-gay-cabinet-in-the-conservative-government321

15 Second Review: Antisocial (2013)

Extracting elements from films such as [Rec] (2007) and Kairo (2001), Antisocial seeks to hack into both the dwindling zombie craze and a body of other Interwebz paranoia flicks (think The Net (1995)). Unfortunately for writer/director Cody Calahan, Antisocial has arrived on the horror scene a decade too late. In itself, that is not enough to condemn the film entirely: had the movie been well executed, its tired premise would have been perfectly acceptable (or at least forgivable). Unfortunately the film itself is as scary as a plastic dog turd, and its "commentary" on social media is as subtle as a real dog turd. In sum, Antisocial is the horror equivalent of the pamphlet-turned-"TV movie" Cyberbully (2011), and that is hardly a recommendation.

15 Second Review: Vendetta

Danny Dyer has starred in some remarkably bad films, and his acting fluctuates wildly across his filmography. Usually, if Dyer is phoning it in, the film itself is appalling (NB: remember kids,  correlation does not equal causation). Vendetta is a strange combination insofar as Dyer is pretty dire, but the film itself is a fun ride. It is not a great movie in the "traditional" sense, but it is underpinned by an interesting - albeit unoriginal - set of ideas about the follies of retaliation. Outrageous in a fashion that reminded me of Nick Love's Outlaw (2007), Vendetta is fairly fast-paced and certainly kept me entertained.  For my money, it is easily the best Danny Dyer film I have seen: make of that what you will.

15 Second Review: Super

After recommending Super to a colleague recently, I dug out my copy to watch the wonderful opening credits sequence (which I might devote an entire post to in the future). I did not mean to watch the entire movie again, but I was completely sucked in. On its release, Super received negative responses from reviewers regarding its uneven tone and pacing. In fairness, it is easy to see why Gunn's approach would irritate filmgoers who do not like confrontation. However, these criticisms are unfair inasmuch as the tonal shifts are clearly intentional. Gunn allows the audience to become swept up in the conventions of superhero storytelling, then pulls the rug, revealing the stark reality under the spandex (ewwww). This pattern repeats numerous times, and necessarily so: Gunn makes a running joke of (a) conventionality's power once normalised; (b) how willing audiences are to play along with genre cliches, and (c) how willing audiences are to cheer on heroes who commit violence in the name of justice, even if it means overlooking the evident signs of psychosis. Some - I hope many - filmgoers will laugh along at their own gullibility. Others will hate being made to feel foolish, or will bemoan that Super simply is not Kick Ass. All I can say is that those in the latter camp are missing out on a "super" movie. Shut up, criticism.

Mattie Do Still Needs Money

A couple of weeks ago I posted about Mattie Do's Indiegogo campaign to crowdfund her new film Nong Hak. There are 9 days left and she is currently at $17392 of her $30k fundraising bid.

Her latest bid to garner interest is ingenious: if she reaches $30k she will make all of the materials (all footage, sound files, subtitle files) to her previous film (Chanthaly) available so that fans can cut their own version of the movie

What a fantastic idea. Check out the trailer for Chanthaly below for a taste of what you can get your editing equipment around. If you want to contribute, here is a link to the campaign: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/nong-hak-dearest-sister-a-lao-horror-film

UPDATE: Mattie Do No Longer Needs Money - with 4 days left, she has now raised $36k

Porn Vs. Your Brain

Good News: apparently watching porn does not shrink your brain after all (who would have guessed)?
http://www.wired.com/2014/06/is-it-really-true-that-watching-porn-will-shrink-your-brain/

My Eyes Hurt, My Brain Hurts...

...OK Go must have released a new music video. If only these fellas spent half as much time crafting their songs as they do crafting the videos. Still, it is an awesome watch (as always)