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February 28, 2011

DEFENDING THE INDEFENSIBLE @ Toronto Underground Cinema

Who will stand up for the criticized, the panned, and the hated? Which movie critics are brave enough to DEFEND THE INDEFENSIBLE?

Starting March 4th, The Toronto Underground Cinema will be host to an exciting, new monthly film series: DEFENDING THE INDEFENSIBLE. The series is a monthly examination of overlooked, panned, and shunned films defended by local film scholars, writers, and bloggers.

Every Friday night, the DEFENDING THE INDEFENSIBLE film series will pair an emcee and critic to screen and then interrogate and defend films considered contentious by the critical and genre-fan community.

As a blogger and film reviewer, I find myself from time to time coming to passionate defense of films that others have panned (for example: see my long-standing disagreement with Mail Order Zombie host Brother D about the merits of Burial Ground: The Nights of Terror). That's why I'm very excited about seeing DEFENDING THE INDEFENSIBLE at the Toronto Underground Cinema.  

This Friday, DEFENDING THE INDEFENSIBLE debuts with a Double Bill:
March 4th: Special Series Opening Double Bill ($15 double bill) LOCATION: Toronto Underground Cinema (186 Spadina Avenue, Toronto, Ontario) 7pm: Alien Resurrection, Defended by Norman Wilner (Now, MSN). Hosted by John Semley (Torontoist, amongst others) 9:30pm: Freddy Got Fingered, Defended by John Semley. Hosted by Norman Wilner
 If you're a film fan, critic, or just a fan of movie debate and the enduring struggle of the underdog, come out and enjoy DEFENDING THE INDEFENSIBLE.
 
Full press release and details after the jump

February 9, 2011

Gamera Saftey Dance

One of the reasons things have been quiet here on the blog front is that I've become engrossed in amassing and watching kaiju (giant Japanese monster) films such as the Toho Godzilla series. Along the way, I've fallen in love with a goofy, jet-propelled turtle named Gamera and Shout! Factory's superb releases of the original Gamera series on DVD.

So, to note the fact that I'm spending much of my free time not blogging but instead watching doofy movies about guys in monster suits who beat on each other, check out this bizarre video of Gamera footage from Gamera vs. Guiron (1969) set to a modern, techno update of the song Saftey Dance. Two great tastes that taste great together. Thanks to No Class Kris, my Screamwave podcast co-host, for linking me to this video.

Screamwave #30: GOJIRA / GODZILLA

Up from the depths
Thirty stories high
Breathing fire
His head in the sky
Godzilla!
Godzilla!
Godzilla! 
 
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For episode #30, Aaron and Kris turn their attention to that mean, green (actually charcoal-grey), Tokyo-stomping machine: Godzilla! Aaron and Kris review Godzilla’s his first-ever appearance in the Japanese film GOJIRA (1954) and then compare it to its 1956 American edit starring Raymond Burr: GODZILLA: KING OF THE MONSTERS. Along the way, Aaron explains his newfound addiction to giant monster movies, and he and Kris discuss their love of kaiju mayhem.

After exploring the devastation Godzilla wages upon Tokyo, in Earth and Beyond your hosts take a brief stop-over in Picher, Oklahoma for another type of urban devastation. Picher, you see, is a modern-day ghost town virtually wiped out and deemed a hazardous waste zone by the US government. If not giant atomic monsters, what could devastate a whole community?

*This episode is guaranteed 99% Godzookie free.
Illustration by No-Class Kris from X-Agency Inc.

[original music by Nathan Fleet]

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Show Notes
Kris and his buddy “Zippy”