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What does it take to survive a night among the living dead? Anyone familiar with George A. Romero’s classic 1968 film Night of the Living Dead knows your chances really aren't that good.
Until October 27, Nictophobia Films is bringing the genre changing horror film to the stage with Night of the Living Dead Live! at the Theatre Passe Muraille to celebrate the iconic film and explore the chances of surviving a night among the undead.
Let us set the scene. Theatre Passe Muraille is situated down a quiet old Toronto back street, away from the noise and crowd of Queen Street, in a big old building that looks like an old firehall (but was originally a bakery built in 1902). The creep factor already sets in before the show even starts.
Night of the Living Dead Live! starts off much the same as the film does, with Barbra (Gwynne Philips) and her brother Johnny (Andrew Fleming) visiting their father’s grave. Barbara is noticeably uncomfortable in the graveyard; something Johnny takes advantage of by teasing that “They’re coming to get you, Barbra”.
Barbra is attacked by a strange zombie-like man (Trevor Martin), who Johnny tries to fend off but he falls and bashes his head killing himself. Barbra flees to a farmhouse where she discovers a woman’s mangled corpse, screams and that’s when Ben (Darryl Hinds) enters to try and calm her down. Barbra slowly descends into a shock-driven comatose state as Ben begins boarding up the doors and windows.
While taking cover in the farmhouse, Ben and Barbra meet Harry (Mike Nahrgang) and Helen (Dale Boyer) Cooper, who have been hiding out in the cellar with their daughter Karen and teenage couple Tom (Andrew Felming) and Judy (Dale Boyer). This is where it all starts to go downhill.
This is the point that you notice the character list has started to outnumber the cast list. With a cast of only six, each person is relied upon to play multiple roles, seamlessly pulling off quick costume changes, having to be on one side of the stage one moment and then directly across the stage a half a second later. We’re always so impressed by the talent and organization this kind of acting requires. Props to Dale Boyer particularly, who was called upon as two main characters often having to quickly transform from one to the other in the same scene multiple times.
The classic film is iconic in black and white, something the production team decided to try to incorporate into the play. Each character was wearing a layer of white-ish makeup, turning themselves a black-and-white film colour of grey. The stage set was created with subtle blacks and greys and whites causing a similar black-and-while tv feel and the video screen projection used throughout vital scenes was vintage looking, intertwined with actual clips from the film. This whole feel played out extremely well and was very cool to watch.
Instead of using the entire run of the play to take us through the movie scene for scene, Night of the Living Dead Live! is done through a series of multiple endings, where the characters are all faced with different issues and challenges as they desperately try to survive the night. The play starts at the beginning, with the local Sheriff coming to inspect the farmhouse scene. He and his deputy run through theories of what could have been done differently to help ensure their survival and each theory is played out – to their endless demise – in front of us on stage, each scenario cleverly incorporating elements from the film for the audience's amusement.
The entire production is incredibly well done and the concept is quite cool. We don’t think enough people know that this play exists; we were supremely surprise by how many empty seats there were at last night’s production.
If you’re at all into zombie culture or classic horror films or are just looking for an interesting, unique night out, Night of the Living Dead Live! is something you need to see before it’s too late.
Tickets are currently on sale.
images from official website
Who would have thought that a movie about policing the dead would end up making for a clever and entertaining Thursday night? We apathetically attended the screening for R.I.P.D. last night and wound up leaving pleasantly surprised, dare I say impressed by what could have been a terrible, horrible movie.
Brief synopsis: A recently slain cop named Nick (Ryan Reynolds) joins a team of undead police officers working for the Rest in Peace Department, whose job is primarily to wrangle the escaped dead who roam our mortal streets and putting them back where they belong.
Nick is partnered with Roy (Jeff Bridges), a loose cannon cowboy with his own way of handling things. They’re both under the supervision of Proctor (Mary-Louise Parker), who has her own complicated relationship with Roy and the precinct. When Nick and Roy stumble on a case linked to Nick’s own murder, the two find themselves in the middle of the apocalypse, the end of the world resting on their shoulders.
The first twenty minutes sets the pace for the rest of the movie. There are some interesting camera shots; shots that make the first action sequence look much like a video game with quick zoom in shots on targets, rapid movement around corners, close-ups on people in action. Based on the comic book, they really took advantage of that comic world and brought that to the screen for a very cool and distinctive feel. However, with the 3D component, the quick jetting around was sometimes a little too much to handle, but it was brief and unique enough to make it worth it.
From there, things shift from video game format to a reminiscence of Ghost or What Dreams Will Come, where your hero crosses over to the other side for the first time and has to deal with the change in life status. The transition holds a refreshing tone, despite it being done in many movies before, which helps give the movie a bit more of a credible feel instead of seeming cheesy.
This is where we first meet Proctor, a recruit so to speak, who presents Nick with his choice between a 100 year tour with the R.I.P.D or facing judgement and trying his odds against the big guy. While the character’s mannerisms and overall feel doesn’t stray too far from her iconic Nancy Botwin in Weeds, Parker is still delightful in the role and her banter with Bridges adds a lighthearted comedic component that again, doesn’t seem cheesy and makes for some of the better moments in the film.
Reynolds is trying his hand again at the leading man role, which we feel he often seems to struggle with. We have nothing against him, he’s a fine enough actor, but often he doesn’t seem to really rise to his full potential, or the potential needed to carry a movie. He’s great with the side kick one liners, he creates a strong dynamic between characters and certainly isn’t to be forgotten about, but the reason Reynolds works so well in this movie is because of Bridges. Hands down.
Bridges brings the Wild, Wild West to gunslinger Roy. He’s always running his mouth, spouting ridiculous anecdotes and wearing a cloak of cocky arrogance, but the kind of arrogance that is almost charming from a veteran officer who’s been on the job forever. His emotional attachment to his hat, the way he breaks in the Rookie, it’s all entertaining and laughable. Apparently Zach Galifianakis was suppose to play this role, but we really can’t think of anyone who would have done a better job than Bridges.
Overall, R.I.P.D. has a real Men in Black feel to it, right down to the CGI “Deados” that seem to be very similar to the aliens hunted in MIB. There’s been a lot of talk that it’s a blatant rip-off, even. And sure, it's not the most original or well made movie, but keeping that in mind, it’s still a fun enough movie that adds a bit of comedy to the afterlife in a somewhat reviving way.
Images from Google images
Two hours and twenty minutes of a tattooed, motorcycle riding Ryan Gosling? Yes please!
Those were our only thoughts heading into the eOne pre-screen for The Place Behind the Pines last night. And really, those were the only thoughts we needed, as these days, once Gosling’s name is attached to something, there’s a pretty great chance that we’re going to enjoy it.
The film opens on Gosling’s abs. Seriously. He’s pumping himself up for his stunt show that night in the Globe of Death at the funfair that his character, Luke, is currently touring with. We follow the sweeping camera as it tails him across the fair and onto his bike for the jaw dropping and dangerous stunt that sets the scene for what is Luke’s unique skill: stunt driving.
This particular night, however, the funfair has returned to the small town of Schenectady, a town we quickly find out that Luke hasn’t been to in over a year, when he last saw a woman name Romina (Eva Mendes).
He still remembers her, even though their time together was supposed to just be a fling, and after discovering that she’s raising their son, his harboured guilt and parental responsibility pushes him to quit his stunt driving job to stay put and try and provide for his family. To try and do what is right. But the minimum wage job he landed after impressing a mechanic with his driving skills just doesn’t cut it and soon enough, Luke and the mechanic are robbing banks.
That pretty much sums up the first part of the film, a film which slowly transitions throughout into three distinct parts; your bank robber thriller, your cop story and then the coming of age adolescent film, or basically the repercussions of all the former mistakes playing out on the next generation.
The blurred line as part one evolves into part two is where we first meet Bradley Cooper as officer Avery Cross. He stumbles onto Luke’s last heist and jumps right into a car chase through narrow alleys after Luke loses the cops by speeding through a cemetery and bypassing a barricade. Apparently inspired by Cops and America’s Most Wanted car chases, this is one of the more adrenaline filled scenes in an otherwise sombre movie.
Avery now crosses into the limelight and the film shifts to focus on his struggle with being dubbed a hero and the impact of what taking down Luke has had on Luke’s family and his own family. He can’t even look his own child in the eye without thinking of how he’s deprived Luke’s boy of his father.
No cop movie is complete without the corrupt dirty cop, in this case played by Ray Liotta, who pops up to bully Avery into swiping evidence from the evidence room to plant on criminals and get the big arrest. Not sure if this entire tangent was necessary, it tests Avery’s morals and plagues him with additional guilt and emotional struggles, but other than the heartbreaking scene that brings Avery into Romina’s house and puts Luke’s child in his arms, this sagging middle could have been excluded.
However, it does pave the way for Avery to shed his cop persona and find his true calling, which plays out as the secondary story in the third part, which jumps fifteen years later to Luke’s son Jason (Dane DeHaan) and Avery’s boy AJ (Emory Cohen) becoming fast friends in high school, with their father’s torrid history pressing down hard on their heels creating huge waves in their lives, whether they realize it or not. This eventually leads to the climax of the film, circling back around to the beginning and forcing everyone to face their demons head on.
The Place Behind the Pines is clearly an actor driven film. Everyone cast plays a powerful role in creating the haunting, detail driven story and Gosling and Cooper are at their best, emoting their deep seeded pain with the slightest of actions.
The fresh faces of DeHaan and Cohen have big shoes to fill, but both show they might grow into forces to be reckoned with by successfully mirroring their elder counterparts. DeHaan especially, who brings Gosling’s brooding smoothly into his character, leaving no doubt that Luke’s blood runs deep within his veins.
That sentiment, of course, is one of the overall things to take away from the movie. How destined are we to follow in the footsteps of those who came before us? How deep does that blood run? If the closing shot of Jason kick starting a motorcycle for the first time and riding off into the horizon is any indication, it would seem that the cone doesn’t fall too far from the pine.
The Place Beyond The Pines opens in theatres Friday. The run time may seem daunting, but the film draws you in enough that you won’t be watching the clock, making this movie a welcome distraction from your own life.
Images from google images
Last night these CityGirls and their gaggle of girl friends had the opportunity to see a prescreen of Safe Haven before masses of girls drag their unfortunate boyfriends out to see it. Believe it or not but while we waited for our party to arrive, Ashley was caught grooving to the tunes of Justin Bieber!
Safe Haven is yet another adaptation from best seller novelist Nicholas Sparks. If you’ve never read any of his books, they all basically go like this: boy meets girl, they fall in love. One or both are deeply flawed. One may have a hidden, dark past. Once they realize that their love is greater than any obstacle, someone dies. Safe Haven is no different. It’s not new or even refreshing but it is entertaining and worth watching on cable.
Katie (Julianna Hough) is on the run, in search of her safe haven away from her past. She stumbles on Southport and decides to stay. One can hardly blame her for wanting to; it’s on the beach with a tight knit community. Not wanting to get close to anyone or setting down roots, she keeps everyone at arm’s length but she can’t help but notice Alex (Josh Duhamel), a widower with two young children.
Unfortunately, Katie’s past come roaring back into her life, putting her life and the lives of Alex and his children in danger. The South Carolina coast is simply beautiful and that alone was worth the price of admission.
As with most movies being released these days, they are just too simple. We’d figured out exactly what was going on from within the first few minutes and spent the majority of the film waiting for it to catch up to us. But even so, the romance part of it wasn’t completely nauseating and you won’t need a pint of Ben & Jerry’s and tissue to watch.
images from google
As avid readers, if a movie is based off of a book, chances are we’ve already read it and know the story. The rule of thumb with these cases is that the book is always better and we’re okay with that, we’re prepared for that.
Understandably, not everything will work on screen in a two hour time slot and certain elements have to be changed or left out to make the story work.
But a great adaptation is able to do this without butchering the existing story. After all, if you’ve bought the rights to a book and are basing your movie off of it and marketing it as such, wouldn’t you want to stay true to the text and characters?
That’s what we don’t understand about the movie Beautiful Creatures, which we saw an advance screening of last night at the Scotiabank theatre. Having read and really enjoyed the book written by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, we were looking forward to seeing how they would bring this refreshing story to life. While it shares similar elements you expect from a supernatural teen book, there were also very unique tones that set it apart from, say, Twilight, or every other book/movie of the same genre and we felt so much could be done with that to make a great, unique movie.
So why, then, did Alcon Entertainment and writer/director Richard LGravenese think it was a great idea to completely change the entire story when adapting it to film? Sure, the characters are the same, the fate of mysterious Lena Duchannes (Alice Englert) is still uncertain and her life is still heavily intertwined with that of Ethan Wate (Alden Ehrenreich) and certain elements still play out as expected, but the events that do stay true to the book happen out of sequence (for no real reason) and the main events in the movie just never happen in the book. They are completely fabricated.
We cannot for the life of us understand why you would secure the rights to a book and then change the story completely. It isn’t just about making it work on screen, the Beautiful Creatures story does work, the story is strong as a whole. In fact, we would argue it might have even worked better. But what we were left with was a replica of every other teen movie, a number of plot holes that didn’t have to be there and a handful of very angry viewers (we were not the only ones).
It would be really nice to sit down with authors Garcia and Stohl and hear their opinion on the film. We can’t imagine that anyone would be comfortable seeing their own creation ripped apart at the seams and sewn back together so jaggedly and carelessly. It would break our hearts to hand over something we had worked so hard on only to see it completely gutted. We genuinely feel bad for them.
Granted, we don’t know much about the movie business or how it works. It’s not hard to imagine that these days Hollywood is so busy chasing the top box office slot that they care little for creative integrity or doing justice for an existing fanbase. And I’m sure buying an existing idea and manipulating it is easier than having to come up with your own work from start to finish. But that shortcut was the first of many in the making of this film and it really shows. If they were hoping for the next Twilight, they’re falling very, very short of that. Even the Twilight train wreck manages to be more credible than this disastrous attempt.
As an original movie, Beautiful Creatures isn’t horrible. There were actually some really cool things about it and some strong scenes. But tying it to a book series (a series that we happen to really, really enjoy) and then completely revamping it, that’s just never going to work for us. And while we’re just two people with little to no influence on a massive machine like the movie industry, our distaste for this won’t do much overall. But we are certainly getting sick and tired of seeing these great ideas completely ruined. Something’s gotta give.
Beautiful Creatures opens in theatres on Valentine’s Day, but don’t ruin yours by going to see it.
Images from Google images
Dave Grohl has got to be the coolest dude in Rock n Roll. Not only is he a wicked good musician, but he’s been around forever and has been a part of some really big musical projects that have shaped the rock and roll world.
With the Foo Fighters currently on hiatus, Grohl’s creative energies have jumped off the stage and behind the camera for his directorial debut Sound City, a documentary about the legendary LA studio of the same name.
Sound City follows a typical documentary style laying out the colourful history of the studio with interviews from former employees and artists who all had an opportunity to be a part of the magic. Artists such as Fleetwood Mac, Neil Young, Rick Springfield, Tom Petty, Metallica, REO Speedwagon, Rage agains the Machine, Queens of the Stone Age and Foreigner all recorded there and Nirvana’s Nervermind was put to tape in those very rooms, an album which of course blew up and put the studio on the map.
But as time went on and technology grew, it was hard to deny that the recording process itself was changing. The physical and literal sense of recording music in a studio was becoming less and less standard and more people were recording through digital programs like Pro Tools. While these progressive options can make certain things easier, it can also arguably make certain people lazier and over saturate the market with "musicians" who may not really have any place in the business at all.
Not to mention the change in the entire dynamic of music and live shows (I was just at a show this past weekend where not a single instrument was played. Other than vocals, every other element was pre-recorded and played digitally through the sound system. Not exactly my idea of a live show).
It takes real skill to manipulate and record to tape, but once programs like Pro Tools started becoming more popular, Sound City just couldn't keep up and eventually closed its doors in 2011.
It was at that point that Grohl purchased several items from the studio, including the one of a kind Neve mixing console that was the foundation of every recording done in that studio. The way they spoke about that console and the sound it produced, you would think it were magic. And maybe it was, for on paper, everything about that studio shouldn’t have worked, and yet listening to the albums recorded there, that sound really is like nothing else.
But Sound City is more than the remains of a battle between analog and digital recording; it’s a nod to a family who helped produce some of the greatest albums music has ever seen and a chance for some very iconic artists to show their thanks and respect to the studio that jump started a lot of their success. It’s a celebration of the authentic human element of music, the flaws, the feeling, the things that you don’t necessarily hear in today’s music.
Sound City is a reminder of what music used to be like and a reassurance that those genuine musicians are still out there, writing music, recording albums, creating feeling and making magic.
Sound City is currently playing at the Tiff Bell Lightbox until February 7 and is available On Demand.
images from google images
I am in no way a fan or an expert on Tarantino films. I tolerated Kill Bill, I’ll idly watch Pulp Fiction when it’s on cable (my copy is still shrink wrapped and I’ve owned it close to 8 years) and don’t even talk to me about Jackie Brown. But the trailers for Django Unchained piqued my curiosity so when I had the chance to catch the prescreen last night, I did.
And I’m so glad I did. It’s very rare that Hollywood can get a western done proper and it seems as though they need years in between to churn out another one. Django Unchained is its own beast but you can’t help but compare it to There Will Be Blood or No Country For Old Men but it was also funny, much like Maverick. Surprisingly enough, for a film with a runtime of 165 minutes, it didn’t feel that long at all.
Each character was well casted and each showed why they are deserving of their roles. Jamie Foxx’s Django Freeman was believable, Leonardo Di Caprio’s Calvin Candie was the perfect villain. Christoph Waltz has such an understated comedic timing that makes his Dr. King Schultz so lovable. Coupled with Samuel L. Jackson’s Stephen, we were presented with a film that was funny, brilliant and showed a stand-off that only Tarantino can pull off.
If you're looking for a film to see this holiday that will ensure laughs from all, make it Django Unchained.
images from google images
Timing is everything, or so we learned this week when Veronica happened to be on her way to the bathroom just in time to notice the glowing florescent office lights shining down on a glorious pass to the pre-screen of Les Misérables for last night at the Yonge Dundas theatre. We have been waiting months for this movie, so the opportunity to see it a week before it is actually released is nothing short of a Christmas Miracle.
Not only is this an adaptation of a legendary musical based on a novel that is considered one of the greatest novels of the nineteenth century, but Jean Valjean may just be one of the coolest names in the history of literature. Just say it... Jean Valjean... and tell me you aren’t instantly in love with him.
Les Misérables is set in a post-revolutionary France and tells the story of prisoner 24601, known as Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman), who is released from prison and breaks his parole to create a new life for himself. Ruthlessly persued by Inspector Javert (Russell Crowe), Valjean is determined to escape his dark past and along the way, his story intertwines with the likes of factory worker turned prostitute Fantine (Anne Hathaway), her illegitimate daughter Cosette (Amanda Seyfried) and the unscrupulous Thénardiers (Helena Bonham Carter and Sacha Baron Cohen), their daughter Éponine (Samantha Barks) and her friend Marius Pontmercy (Eddie Redmayne).
The cast speaks for itself. Big names, big voices, all making a big impact on screen and big commitments to their roles (Hathaway cut off her hair and lost a scary amount of weight for Fantine, Jackman also lost weight and grew a beard for Valjean’s prison scenes).
Though there are a number of film adaptations, this one seems to surpass them all visually. The cinematography is breathtaking, capturing that perfect vintage look and mixing it with closely cropped shots of the actors give everything a larger than life feel which is probably the closest you will get to replicating that indescribable feeling of a live theatrical production. There are many powerful, emotional scenes (the barricade, anytime anyone died – spoiler alert, people die) that the cast should be praised for; scenes that literally moved the majority in the theatre to tears more than once.
The best part, of course, is that it’s a musical. The cast has received high praise for the famous musical numbers like I Dreamed a Dream, Do You Hear the People Sing, Master of the House, and On My Own. I mean, who would have thought that Russell Crowe could sing like that? But even more impressive is the way in which the numbers were performed for the filming. Typically, the soundtrack for a movie musical is recorded in advance and the actors mime the playback during filming.
For Les Misérables, however, director Tom Hooper had every song recorded live on set to capture the spontaneity of the performances. There is no count in or predetermined tempo, the piano follows the pace of the actor so they have more freedom to act and perform, and the orchestral music is added in post-production. No director has every attempted such a thing on this large scale before and it really is an amazing feat that just adds to the magic of this movie.
Our only issue with this production was casting Amanda Seyfried as Cossette. We’ve liked her in many musicals, but are just not convinced that she could handle the high register required; her voice seemed weak and wobbly during a lot of her numbers, something that was pretty irritating. Samantha Barks was one of the weaker voices as well, but she still held her own during her big number and if her only real competition for the role was Taylor Swift, I think she did a far better job than doe-eyed Swift would have done, even if the song about heart break and being done wrong by a guy is kind of her shtick.
A movie can never be on par with a theatrical production, it will always lack that intimate, emotive feeling you get seeing everything play out in front of you and feeling those powerful voices cut through you live in that moment. But Hooper’s direction, the remarkable performances from Jackman and Hathaway and the lighthearted comedic endeavours of Bonham Carter and Baren Cohen come pretty darn close.
If you see one movie this holiday season, this should be it. Just remember to bring some tissues.
images from google images
