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

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

• Wasteland Wanderers
• Aaron on Twitter — @thezedword
• Kris on Twitter — @XAgency
• Oklahoma town gets demolished over lead contamination
• America’s Nastiest Toxic Waste Dumps (And Whether Or Not You Live Near One)
• Fright Night Theatre: Maskhead

Kris and his buddy “Zippy”

Zombie Ink Comics to Release MonsterMatt’s Wolff’s Run

[Press Release]

Buffalo, NY January 19, 2011 - Buffalo-based independent comic publisher Zombie Ink Comics is proud to announce that they will be releasing Wolff’s Run written by MonsterMatt Patterson (MonsterMatt’s Bad Monster Jokes Vol. 1) and illustrated by tattoo-artist Bob Bieber. Zombie Ink is shooting for a mid-2011 release for the three issue mini-series.

Combining equal parts horror, sci-fi, and crime noir set in the Prohibition Era, Wolff’s Run promises to be a dark hard-boiled romp full of surprises! The story follows Frank Wolff, an illegal immigrant smuggler and rum runner on the Canadian border who crosses the wrong people and finds himself the subject of a twisted experiment! Wolff’s Run fits in perfectly with Zombie Ink Comics’ brand of underground pulp comics.

Screamwave #28: TWILIGHT MARATHON

"And so the lion fell in love with the lamb."

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Screamwave presents: A VERY SPARKLY NEW YEAR

On New Year's Eve, Screamwave invited friends and the members of the Horror in the Hammer crew to partake in a grueling endurance test: A Twilight Saga Marathon.

All three Twilight movies. One night. And we recorded it all. Seven people began, but only one could survive all three films. Who made it?

Listen to find out. Also this episode, find out how you can win a very special prize from Horror in the Hammer: one of the few remaining HEROINE HORROR CALENDARS. Details in this episode.

Happy New Year from Screamwave and Horror in the Hammer.

Sparkle on!

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Show Notes

• Heroine Horror Calendar (samples)
• Rufus's House of Horrors
• Coffincheater

Screamwave #27: THE WALKING DEAD (ep. 4-6)

"I aint so worried about some dumb dead bastard."

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For the last Screamwave of 2010, Aaron and Kris review the final three episodes of The Walking Dead, one of 2010’s most exciting new horror programs.

Then, in Earth and Beyond, your hosts talk about the case of Mary Clamser, a woman struck by lighting and cured of her multiple sclerosis. Freak coincidence or miracle?

Also this episode, you’ll hear two festive holiday parodies by Monstermatt Patterson, author of Monstermatt’s Bad Monster Jokes Vol.1

Sit back, enjoy, and we’ll see you in 2011 with more horror and more screams.

Happy Holidays!

[Original music by Nathan Fleet]

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screamwavepodcast@gmail.com

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Show Notes

• Monstermatt.com
• Unsolved Mysteries: M.S. Miracle?
• Bolt from the blues? Lightning strikes a chord

Creep Reel: THE MUTATIONS (1974)