Upcoming Film Preview: Detention

Upcoming Film Preview: Detention
Directed By: Joseph Kahn
Starring: Josh Hutcherson, Dane Cook, Spencer Locke, Shanley Caswell
Country: USA
Release Date: April 13, 2012

Plot Synopsis: (from Wikipedia)

The film centers around Riley Jones (Shanley Caswell), a clever but cynical social outcast at Grizzly Lake High School who is harboring an unrequited love for ironically named hipster, Clapton Davis (Josh Hutcherson) who is in turn, head over heels for Ione (Spencer Locke), a beautiful but self-absorbed cheerleader. All four are waiting out their final year of high school, but it's anyone's guess if they'll ever see graduation, as a serial killer known as Cinderhella is on the loose and preying on Grizzly Lake's student body. The principal (Dane Cook) is certain Cinderhella is a disgruntled student and figures he can keep the prom from turning into a bloodbath by putting the likely suspects in all-day detention on the day of the big dance.

If the inclusion of Dane Cook doesn't scare you off, this one actually looks pretty interesting. I'm all for slashers, even if a lot of them turn out like Laid to Rest. You can check out the trailer here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UkdZd_muq4

Upcoming Film Preview: The Expendables

Upcoming Film Preview: The Expendables
Directed By: Sylvester Stallone
Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Dolph Lundgren, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Eric Roberts, Steve Austin, Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mickey Rourke, Danny Trejo, Randy Couture
Country: USA
Release Date: August 13, 2010

Plot Synopsis: (from IMDb) "The Expendables is a hard-hitting action/thriller about a group of mercenaries hired to infiltrate a South American country and overthrow its ruthless dictator. Once the mission begins, the men realize things arent quite as they appear, finding themselves caught in a dangerous web of deceit and betrayal. With their mission thwarted and an innocent life in danger, the men struggle with an even tougher challenge one that threatens to destroy this band of brothers."

Did you look at that cast?! Seriously, go back up to where it says "starring" and look again. Of course I'm going to see this. I don't care what it's about - there are guns and that cast. I'm in. This is a can't miss. If only someone with a better sense of irony were helming it - but, alas, we'll see what Sly can do with this.

Upcoming Film Preview: Frozen

Upcoming Film Preview: Frozen
Directed By: Adam Green
Starring: Emma Bell, Shawn Ashmore
Country: USA
Release Date: Feb. 5, 2010 (limited)

Plot Synopsis: "Three snowboarders become stranded on a chairlift at a ski resort. Realizing it'll be a week before the resort opens again, they are forced to make a series of life-or-death decisions."

Adam Green is best known amongst the horror set for Hatchet and his Halloween shorts, but this one, which stands outside of the horror genre, does look really interesting. Supposedly this is one of the most tense and trenchant films you're ever likely to see - some had said Jaws on the slopes. I don't know how true all of this is, but you bet your ass I'm going to give Mr. Green a shot. Keep a look out this Friday as the film gets its inital limited run.

Upcoming Film Preview: Until The Light Takes Us

Upcoming Film Preview: Until the Light Takes Us
Directed By: Aaron Aites/Audrey Ewell
Starring: Harmony Korine, Varg Vikernes, Hellhammer
Country: USA
Release Date: Winter 2009
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Plot Synopsis: Documentary "chronicling the history, ideology and aesthetic of Norwegian black metal". It looks like a better, Norwegian-focused version of Metal: A Headbanger's Journey. Hopefully someone from Gorgoroth shows up to make it a real party! In all honesty, this should be a really good picture because there is a great story built-in from the start. From church burnings, to murder, the black metal scene is pretty notorious for being insanely violent and just a little on the crazy side. Looking forward to it.

Upcoming Film Preview: Shutter Island

Upcoming Film Preview: Shutter Island
Directed By: Martin Scorsese
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley, Max Von Sydow
Country: USA
Release Date: Feb. 19, 2010
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Plot Synopsis: (from IMDb) It's 1954, and up-and-coming U.S. marshal Teddy Daniels is assigned to investigate the disappearance of a patient from Boston's Shutter Island Ashecliffe Hospital. He's been pushing for an assignment on the island for personal reasons, but before long he wonders whether he hasn't been brought there as part of a twisted plot by hospital doctors whose radical treatments range from unethical to illegal to downright sinister. Teddy's shrewd investigating skills soon provide a promising lead, but the hospital refuses him access to records he suspects would break the case wide open. As a hurricane cuts off communication with the mainland, more dangerous criminals "escape" in the confusion, and the puzzling, improbable clues multiply, Teddy begins to doubt everything - his memory, his partner, even his own sanity.

Now, we're talking about a Scorsese film here, so color me interested to begin with. We're talking about a Scorsese film with horror elements and I'm all over this bitch. Did I mention that Jackie Earle Haley also has a role? Yeah. It just keeps getting better and better. I will say that when I first saw the trailer, I didn't exactly jump out of my seat, but knowing Marty's work I'm not too worried that we're in for disappointment.

Upcoming Film Preview: The Haunted World of El Superbeasto

Upcoming Film Preview: The Haunted World of El Superbeasto
Directed by: Rob Zombie
Starring: Paul Giamatti, Rosario Dawson, Danny Trejo, Sheri Moon Zombie, Bill Moseley
Country: USA
Release Date: 9/22 (Straight to DVD)
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Plot synopsis: (from IMDb) Based on the comics of Rob Zombie, the story follows the adventures of El Superbeasto, a washed-up Mexican luchador, and his sultry sidekick and sister Suzi-X as they confront an evil villain by the name of Dr. Satan. The adventure, set in the mythic world of Monsterland, also has a character named Murray the robot

I'm not Zombie's biggest fan. In my opinion, his Halloween is absolute garbage and the only thing worth a damn that he's done, filmwise, is Devil's Rejects. However, I am excited to see what he does with this monster that has been in the works for years. The cast alone is super exciting, here's a rundown: Paul Giamatti, Rosario Dawson, Danny Trejo, Bill Moseley, Sid Haig, Dee Wallace, Clint Howard, Harland Williams, Brian Posehn, Ken Foree, Tom Papa. Granted, this is not the first Zombie picture to house a cast that sounds like a horror fanboy's wet dream, but it still makes you want to see it.

Upcoming Film Preview: A Serious Man

Upcoming Film Preview: A Serious Man

Directed By: Joel and Ethan Coen
Starring: Michael Stuhlbarg, Richard Kind, Adam Arkin
Country: USA
Release Date: October 2, 2009 - Limited Release
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Plot Synopsis: A black comedy set in 1967 and centered on on Larry Gopnik (Michael Stuhlbarg), a Midwestern professor who watches his life unravel when his wife prepares to leave him because his inept brother (Richard Kind) won't move out of the house.

Well, if you are not interested in seeing how the Coens will follow up No Country and Burn After Reading, you may not care about interesting cinema. I'll admit it, I'm an unabashed Coen Brother adorer. I love everything from Blood Simple to Barton Fink to Intolerable Cruelty (with, perhaps, an exception for The Ladykillers). So, I don't even have to know a damn thing about this movie and I will be the first one in line at the ticket booth, just because the name COEN is atop the marquee.

Upcoming Film Preview: Thirst

Upcoming Film Preview: Bakjwi (Thirst)

Directed by: Chan-wook Park
Starring: Kang-ho Song, Ok-vin Kim
Country: South Korea
Release date: August 28, 2009
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Plot synopsis: A beloved and devoted priest (Song Kang-ho from The Host) from a small town volunteers for a medical experiment which fails and turns him into a vampire. Physical and psychological changes lead to his affair with a wife of his childhood friend who is repressed and tired of her mundane life. The one-time priest falls deeper in despair and depravity. As things turns for worse, he struggles to maintain whats left of his humanity.

Yes, that's right, it's another vampire film. But, hopefully Thirst will be this year's Let the Right One in. Judging from Park Chan-wook's reportoire, I'd have to say that that is actually a really good possibility. His past flicks include some of the best films of the decade, including Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance and Oldboy.

Upcoming Film Preview: Big Fan

Upcoming Film Preview: Big Fan
Directed by: Robert D. Siegel
Starring: Patton Oswalt, Kevin Corrigan, Michael Rapapaport
Country: USA
Release date: August 28, 2009
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Plot Synopsis: While it might sound like a perfect set up for a silly comedy, Big Fan, the store of a life-long New York Giants fan (Patton Oswalt) whose life changes completely when he is beaten up by a Giants player, keep in mind that this movie was written and directed by Robert Siegel (writer of last year's The Wrestler). From what I've heard, this is actually a fairly powerful movie, that may sometimes suffer from Siegel's lack of prowess behind the camera (it is his directorial debut, after all). I'm definitely looking forward to it.

Upcoming Film Preview: Jennifer's Body

Upcoming Film Preview: Jennifer's Body
Directed by: Karyn Kusama
Starring: Megan Fox, Amanda Seyfried, Adam Brody
Country: USA
Release date: September 18, 2009

Plot synopsis: The film follows little-miss-perfect cheerleader Jennifer Check(Megan Fox), who becomes possessed by a demon and starts feeding off the boys in a Minnesota farming town. Her best friend is forced to kill her, escape from a correctional facility, and track down the devil-worshiping rock band that caused her transformation.

The film has a super interesting premise, although it was written by the over-hyped Diablo Cody (Juno). The casting of Megan Fox ain't gonna hurt the films draw with the male crowd, and I'm actually pretty interested to see if they can pull something like this off. Amy Sedaris is getting thrown somewhere into the mix, and that's never a bad thing. Director Kusama has directed Aeon Flux and Girl Fight, neither of which I have seen.

Upcoming Film Preview - Colin

Upcoming Film Preview: Colin

Directed by: Marc Price
Starring: Alastair Kirton, Daisey Aitkens
Country: UK
Release date: ???
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Plot synopsis (jacked from IMDb): Our hero Colin is bitten by a Zombie; he dies and returns from the dead. We follow him as he wanders through suburbia during the throes of a cadaverous apocalypse.

By now, I'm sure most of you have already seen something about this. After making the rounds at Cannes, this little bastard is getting hyped out the ass. The impressive thing? This is a no budget movie. By no budget I mean $70. Literally. I've seen several low-budget zombie films, rarely are they good, so I am patiently awaiting this one. It'll be interesting to see what these guys were able to pull off for just a little bit more than the price of an Xbox game.

Upcoming Film Preview: The House of the Devil

Upcoming Film Preview: The House of the Devil

Directed by: Ti West
Starring: Jocelin Donahue, Dee Wallace
Country: USA
Release date: ???

Plot synopsis: Set in the eighties, The House of the Devil is the story of college student Samantha Hughes. Samantha takes on a job babysitting on a night when there just so happens to be a lunar eclipse. Slowly, Samantha begins to realize that her clients have something more in store for her than just babysitting, something far more sinister.

I'm not sick of these eighties throw back type films, at least in horror, yet, especially if they manage to capture some of that eighties charm. I'm a huge fan of the poster art, which harkens back to the early eighties, and does it well. This thing has the chance of being a pretty decent little flick. Most of the people involved here are relative new-comers, including the writer/director Ti West (The Roost) and starlet Jocelin Donahue. Of course the exception to that is Dee Wallace, who is no stranger to horror cinema.

Upcoming Film Preview: The Road

Upcoming Film Preview: The Road



Directed by: John Hillcoat
Starring: Charlize Theron, Viggo Mortensen, Guy Pearce, Robert Duvall
Country: USA
Release date: 10/09
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Plot synopsis: A father and his son traverse through the burned out hull of America. Headed for the coast to escape the cold, dark winter, they have just a pistol to defend themselves against the lawless bands of brigands that stalk the road.

Well, the trailer for this just hit the net a couple of days ago, and I must say I'm impressed. I've never read the Cormac McCarthy book, but I've only heard good things, so I hope that the films lives up to the expectations. The cast is pretty star-studded and I'm always up for a post-apocalyptic adventure!

Upcoming Film Preview: Pontypool

Upcoming Film Preview: Pontypool

Tagline: "Shut Up or Die"
Directed by: Bruce McDonald
Starring: Stephen McHattie, Georgina Reilly, Rick Roberts
Country: Canada
Release date: May 29, 2009 (limited)
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Plot synopsis: Set in a small Canadian town, where one morning a team of radio DJs begin getting reports of bloody, violent incidents sweeping across the town. Eventually the DJs learn that the violence is due to a virus that is communicable through speech.

Now, this is the first time that I have heard of a zombie movie where the catalyst for the "disease" was somehow related to speech or language, so sign me up! This little Canadian film is said to be really unique and original, and the synopsis sounds like it. I do want to say that in my days as a DJ, I had the idea for a zombie movie set in a radio station first. Be on the look out for Pontypool.

Upcoming Film Preview: Drag Me to Hell (Sam Raimi) - New Horror!

Upcoming Film Preview: Drag Me to Hell

Tagline: "Christine Brown has a good job, a great boyfriend, and a bright future. But in three days, she's going to hell."
Directed by: Sam Raimi
Starring: Alison Lohman, Justin Long, Lorna Raver
Country: USA
Release date: May 28, 2009
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Plot synopsis: Loan officer Christine Brown, played by the cute-as-a-button Alison Lohman, in an effort to prove that she be as "hard nosed" as anyone else, evicts what turns out to be an old witch from her house. Christine then finds herself the victim of a the witch's curse which turns her life into a living hell.

Sam Raimi (Spider-Man, Evil Dead) has finally come back to writing (along with brother Ivan) and directing horror with Drag Me to Hell. It's been a long time now, and I don't know that the genre film world has really forgiven him for his latter day follies with his Ghosthouse Pictures production company. The inclusion of Justin Long (Waiting, those Mac commercials) and the fact that the film is PG-13, just like the other Ghosthouse trash, makes me nervous. I will probably give Raimi the benefit of the doubt, plop down my $8, and watch this one at the theater.

Upcoming Film Preview: Grace

Upcoming Film Preview: Grace

This will be a new, hopefully semi-regular column in which I do a mini-preview on upcoming movies that have grabbed my attention. Today's preview is Paul Solet's Grace.

Directed By: Paul Solet
Starring: Jordan Ladd, Gabrielle Rose, Stephen Park
Country: USA/Canada
Release Date: ???
View the TRAILER

Plot Synopsis: Madeline Matheson (Jordan Ladd) loses her unborn daughter, Grace, but is determined to carry the baby to term. Once the baby is delivered, she is resurrected, only there's something not right about Grace...

Seems like a really interesting movie. From what I've read it's hard to determine one genre to put it into, but horror probably works best. From what I can gather it got a good response at Sundance this year, and Anchor Bay bought it up. No word on a release date yet, but I speculate it may end up being a straight to DVD release (unfortunately). Looking forward to watching this, American horror could sure use a boost.