Madness Indeed!

Last night’s screening of Jennifer’s Body was absolutely crazy. With all the paparazzi there, the red carpet outside the Ryerson Theatre seemed like one gigantic flash bulb. In addition to the stargazers stacked three deep to see Megan Fox appear, there was also a perhaps even larger – and certainly louder as the shrieks could be heard from blocks away – female contingent awaiting the arrival of former O.C. star Adam Brody. It was nothing short of bedlam. Once everyone got seated, the cast and crew came up on stage to introduce the movie. It was no surprise that Megan Fox looked positively striking in her black dress and old-school starlet do.

Megan Fox

Fox and co-stars Johnny Simmons & Amanda Seyfried.

Director Karyn Kusama

So, yes, Jennifer’s Body.

After high schooler Jennifer (Megan Fox) is possessed by a demon as the result of a botched satanic ritual, her best friend Needy (Amanda Seyfried) must stop her from consuming her fellow students.

I had a lot of fun with this movie. But, let’s face it – this was not a hard sell for me. I think my only reservation going in was how much ‘Juno-speak’ there was going to be. Diablo Cody may have won an Oscar, but that doesn’t change the fact that I didn’t buy a good chunk of the stuff uttered by the characters populating her debut, Juno. Fortunately, this is not the case with Jennifer’s Body. The dialogue is still unquestionably Cody’s, but this time around I believed that people might actually say the things coming out of Fox – who has a lot of the best lines – and Seyfried’s mouths. Hell, I can see MYSELF using the term ‘freaktard’ given the next opportunity. If I got anything from the Q&A after the movie, it was that there is a huge amount of respect for Cody as her peers in attendance were quick to point out that this project was born of everyone wanting to work with her.

Producer Jason Reitman & Writer Diablo Cody.

Fox, Simmons, Seyfried & Adam Brody.

Let’s not take away from the other senses though, as the movie LOOKS pretty gorgeous, as well. And even if director Karyn Kusama hadn’t mentioned the cult classic Heathers in her introduction, the parallels would have been obvious, going even deeper than that they both involve high school-centric dark comedy. That being said though, make no mistake, this is meant to be a mainstream film. It still has the intrusive soundtrack-selling transitions – a point later brought up by Adam Brody’s character in a clever bit of self-reference – and a feeling that it is sometimes holding back. What sets Jennifer’s Body apart from the usual chaff Hollywood trots out are the two leads. Fox and Seyfried excel together onscreen and bring forth a rivalry I haven't seen the likes of since perhaps 2000’s Ginger Snaps.

All the bells and whistles aside from last night’s premiere, I had a very enjoyable time with Jennifer’s Body. But, as I said, I’m an easy lay.

For more (and better) pictures from the night, click here, here, here, here & here.

The Madness Starts Tonight!

That time is upon us once again. The 34th annual Toronto International Film Festival kicks off tonight. For the next ten days, I will be posting regularly, so stay tuned. Things'll get started with a bang tonight as the Midnight Madness opener is the Megan Fox vehicle Jennifer's Body. There have already been a few sightings of Ms. Fox shopping downtown, so it should be quite the spectacle. Talk soon!

More Corman.

Here is an interview my friend Robert Mitchell did with legendary director/producer Roger Corman at last week's Festival Of Fear.

How Final We Talking Here?

Things have been so crazy lately that yesterday was the first chance I’d had to check out the new Final Destination movie.

Based on Nick’s (Bobby Campo) premonition, a group of people avoid a disaster at a NASCAR race. Soon after though, the survivors begin dying in freak accidents. Has Death come calling again?

Horror franchises were abundant in the eighties and nineties, but the only two ongoing series nowadays are Saw (which I gave up on after number three) and Final Destination. I don’t know what it is, but there is a level of creativity inherent in this series that keeps me coming back. I’m always extra aware of my surroundings after seeing one of these movies, making sure where I set down my cup or park my car isn’t setting off some sort of Rube Goldberg machination of death. And this one is in 3-D, which adds an extra level (I almost said dimension) of entertainment.

I have to say though that this one left me a little nonplussed. It just didn’t seem like the death sequences were as imaginative as they have been in previous installments. I give props to the car wash and theatre set pieces, as they were top-notch, but the rest didn’t seem like they were raising the bar at all. It’s disappointing because these are the guys who brought us Final Destination 2, which is far and away my favourite. I will say it was nice to see Krista Allen, but then not so much watching her meet a gruesome end – twice.

If only all soccer moms looked like this.

I think my biggest beef was the abundant use of CG in the movie. I know Greg Nicotero and Howard Berger of KNB EFX worked on this in some capacity, so I would have hoped for more practical effects. I know the reason they increasingly favour CG augmentation, but that doesn't make it any less unfortunate. I’d like to be able to fall back on the 3-D technology, but even that wasn’t as well utilized as it was in the My Bloody Valentine remake earlier this year. The NASCAR race at the movie’s opening is well executed, but that is as good as it gets in terms of the 3-D. The rest of the gags have varying degrees of success from well done to laughable, a CG cork and a snake that looked like it belonged on an old episode of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys being among the latter. I guess the last thing I should mention is the lacklustre ending. It struck me more as a money-saving ploy rather than the unique finale I’m sure they were attempting.

Don’t get me wrong. There’s obviously a certain level of fun to be had here, but I can’t help but feel that this racecar of a franchise may have run its course.

Don't Kill The Messenger XXIX

Well actually, just think of this as a mini-edition. I'm just throwing a couple of things up here to kill some time before I take off to see the new Final Destination movie.

Halloween Bunnied!

Angry Alien has a new 30 second Bunnies video up and this time they've covered seminal slasher film Halloween. Check it out below.



You've Just Been [REC]'d.

Here's the final trailer for [REC] 2.



I'm sure you can imagine how stoked I am to see this. Just seven days to go!!!

Saturday Vids

That was a nice break after a long stretch of posts. I just wanted to pop in and serve up a pair of cool horror shorts, courtesy of Twitch. The first is The Chest by writer/director Evrenol and the second is Simon Rumley's Handyman Wanted. Click on the pictures below to see the shorts. Enjoy your long weekend!

The Chest

Handyman Wanted

Okay, I Lied.

THIS is the last time I'll reference this movie on THS. Click to enlarge.

Sometimes my mind and pencil wander at work. Imagine what I could do if I could actually draw?