WRETCHED REVIEWS: FRANKENWEENIE

FRANKENWEENIE

Voice cast includes Charlie Tahan, Martin Short and Catherine O’Hara

Directed by Tim Burton

Written by John August

Disney

It is slightly ironic that 30 years after Disney allegedly fired then fledgling animator Tim Burton for wasting their money making his (somewhat) macabre short movie Frankenweenie that the studio would hire the iconoclastic director to flesh out the concept in stop-motion and at feature-length. But Burton’s legacy of creativity and profit (he returned to the Mouse House to direct Alice in Wonderland) means that the professional oddball can pretty much do what he wants, with or without Johnny Depp.

EXCL: “NIGHTBREED: THE CABAL CUT” SCREENS IN TORONTO TONIGHT!

The DLB recently spoke to Russell Cherrington, the restoration director of Nightbreed: The Cabal Cut, the extended/re-purposed version of Clive Barker’s notoriously troubled second film as a director, for MSN Canada. You can read that article here.

Cherrington, alongside Mark Miller from Barker’s Seraphim Films and effects animator Paul Jones, will be in Toronto tonight (July 19) to present the new Nightbreed as part of Rue Morgue Magazine‘s Cinemacabre film series. The screening starts at 9pm and takes place at the TIFF Bell Lightbox (350 King St. West).

EXCL: JUAN CARLOS FRESNADILLO TALKS “INTRUDERS”

28 Weeks Later director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo’s follow-up film Intruders hits DVD/Blu-ray after receiving only a limited theatrical release this spring, and we recommend it to rent. The dark fantasy film stars Clive Owen (Closer) as a father whose daughter Mia is being terrorized at night by a figure in her room she calls Hollow Face. A parallel story shows a boy in Spain dealing with the same monster. There’s a connection we won’t give away, but figuring it out is half the fun.

I got the chance to talk to Fresnadillo about Intruders at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival.

WRETCHED REVIEWS: ABRAHAM LINCOLN: VAMPIRE HUNTER (2012)

ABRAHAM LINCOLN: VAMPIRE HUNTER

Starring Benjamin Walker, Dominic Cooper and Rufus Sewell

Directed by Timur Bekmambetov

Written by Seth Grahame-Smith

20^th Century Fox

Much like the founding father himself, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter is as honest a title as any movie has ever had. Indeed, if you give yourself up to its sheer ridiculousness then you’ll have a great time in the theatre. If you are especially fond of the laws of physics or decide to tsk-tsk the assorted clunkers that litter Seth Grahame-Smith’s script – which he adapted from his own book – then you’ll likely shake your head in disbelief and wonder how many Duplass Brothers films the budget could have covered. To you I say fuck off.

THE ART OF “FRANKENWEENIE” COMING TO TORONTO

Tim Burton fans in and around Toronto later this summer who are eager to get a look at the director’s new film Frankenweenie ahead of its October 5 release  have another reason to visit Fan Expo this August.

EXCL: SCOTT SPEEDMAN TALKS “UNDERWORLD” AND “THE MOTH DIARIES”

The DLB recently spoke to actor Scott Speedman (Underworld, upcoming The Moth Diaries) about his new romantic comedy The Vow and snuck in a couple of questions about his recent genre past and future.

Tell me about working with director Mary Harron (American Psycho) on the upcoming vampire film The Moth Diaries.

Yeah, very smart woman. Very, very talented director, obviously. That’s really why I wanted to do that thing. I got on that movie five years ago, I think. Yeah, I was just jumping at the chance to work with her because I’ve loved her movies in the past.

EXCL: OREN PELI TALKS “THE RIVER”: PART ONE

The Oren Peli-produced TV show The River, about a team of camera-equipped adventurers documenting their attempted rescue of a beloved nature show TV host (Bruce Greenwood), debuts tonight, and The DLB recently had the chance to talk to Peli (best known as the director of Paranoral Activity) about it:

What is your background as a horror fan?

I’m not specifically a horror fan. I like any good movie or TV show, so I do like some of the horror movies that are more like the slow burn ones, stuff like Rosemary’s Baby and The Others, Sixth Sense. Not so much the slasher horror movies. So that’s the kind of stuff I’m usually drawn to.

NSFW! FLESHLIGHT PROMISES ADULT TRICKS AND TREATS FOR HALLOWEEN

Sex toy company Fleshlight is getting into the Halloween spirit  with the release of their Fleshlight Freaks series. Available in five different models — The Cyborg, The Alien, The Drac,The Frankenstein and The Zombie — the Fleshlights and Fleshjacks are certain to raise your spirits this holiday season.

TORONTO AFTER DARK ANNOUNCES NEXT SLATE OF FILMS

Toronto After Dark Film Festival founder Adam Lopez announced the next slate of macabre movies to show at his fast-growing genre film festival, which will take place at the Toronto Underground Cinema between Oct. 20 and 27, on last night’s edition of Inner Space. Among the new additions:

EXCLUSIVE! “SNOW WHITE” SCREENWRITER SPEAKS

The DLB recently asked screenwriter Jason Keller (Machine Gun Preacher) about his work on the upcoming Snow White movie being directed by Tarsem Singh (The Cell, upcoming Immortals).

Tell me about working with Tarsem Singh and working on Snow White.

First of all, Tarsem Singh I can’t say enough about. As we as fans know, he’s a visual genius. He’s such a genuine guy and so passionate about film, and it was a blast working with the guy.

Snow White, what we wanted to do, we wanted to have fun with this movie. We were lucky enough to have Julia Roberts play the Evil Queen, and we wanted it to be a fun, comedic adventure, and I think it’s going to be absolutely great.

The as yet untitled Snow White film opens March 16, 2012.