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Showing posts from December, 2010

The Top Five of 2010: Jason's Picks

As I said in my review for True Grit, 2010 was a terrible year for movies. I ventured to a theatre perhaps five times this year and sought out very few of the year's offerings on DVD. Given that our Basement duties require us to seek out the odd, obscure and crappy, Shawn and I have little time to catch up on the latest releases anyway. But I was able to scrounge up a Top Five for the year, which are listed below. Keep in mind these are my biased choices based on what I've seen. Films that could very well be in the running include The King's Speech, 127 Hours, The Social Network, The Fighter and a slew of others. But, based on what I've watched, I will stand by and hang by this list. Remember, Shawn and I are back in The Basement next Friday (Jan. 7) at 10 p.m. PST on 92.5FM CFBX Kamloops and www.thex.ca . The podcast will be up by the Monday. We'll put the urban legend documentary Cropsey and the mockbuster sequel Mega Shark Versus Crocosaurus on the chopping b

Micro Review: True Grit (2010)

As a whole, 2010 was a terrible year for movies save for a select few gems, not the least of which are The Town and Inception. To have a late-year release come and best those two films took me totally by surprise. The fact The Best Movie of 2010 comes from Joel and Ethan Coen does not. We didn't need a remake of John Wayne's classic Western, but the brothers have gone back to the source material, the 1968 novel of the same name, and done a retelling that's all their own. The film is a fine balance between drama and action picture, with a healthy dose of character study and black comedy added to the mix. And don't forget four of the best performances anyone is likely to see in years. Best of all, True Grit is relentlessly entertaining. You don't need to wind your brain up too much to enjoy the hell out of it. It's hard for a movie to get much more Good than this.

Skyline: Jason's Thoughts

Nowhere near the train wreck many say it is, but not quite the fun ride as Anthony Michael Bosa and Shawn believe it to be. Still, there's lots to like in The Brothers Stause's alien invasion flick, including some crazy alien creatures and a number of great special effects/action sequences. In fact, the film's only real flaw is a cast of characters I wanted to see die rather than survive and an ending that doesn't quite work. Still, this is a decent B-movie that entertains despite its flaws. I doubt I will watch it again, so it rates a Bad from me. Sorry dudes.

Micro Review: Black Christmas (1974)

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night! A holiday classic of a different sort, this Canadian made horror flick set the trend for slasher films to follow. Granted, Carpenter perfected the genre with Halloween four years later, but this set the stage for his success. The film is cold, classy, and straightforward; relying on suspense and psychological shocks for its scares. Black Christmas also has the advantage of good acting by the female leads played by Margot Kidder and Olivia Hussey and a witty sense of humour. The film still manages a good slice of old-fashioned terror more than 30 years after it was made.A must watch every year, and light years better than the remake. A Good for sure!

Micro Review: The Other Guys

A fun and funny riff on the buddy cop/action genre made popular in the 1980s, with Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg playing their mismatched partners to the hilt. This is everything Cop Out should have been: clever, exciting, witty and silly without being stupid. The action sequences are brisk and well staged and the humour works more often than it doesn't. I laughed a lot through The Other Guys, which is more than I can say for most mainstream comedies these days. That, and the fact the film is narrated by Ice T and features the sexy Eva Medes, earns this a Good from me. FYI: Samuel L. Jackson and Dwayne Johnson, who play the hero cops, aren't in this for long. Fans take note.

Guest Review: Skyline

We've heard a lot of bad buzz about this movie since it's release, but now that Anthony Michael Bosa has weighed in, we may give it a watch. And thanks to him for taking one for the team. Merry Christmas dood! One word. Awesome. Yes, it has it's one flaw: too much drama between the characters. On the flip side, awesome effects, good action, incredibly awesome enemies and, of course, the Army that tries as usual. GO MARINES! I can see why most people would not like this film. They expect too much nowadays, or, they really just don't appreciate awesome. THIS IS A FUN MOVIE PEOPLE!!! They are not going for Oscars, just entertainment! Plenty of that. The heroes, or cast as I will call them, are always on the run from something cool. Nowhere to go, nowhere to hide. Look out! Big bad guy! (That rhymes!) If you like sci-fi,or enjoy action, this has both. I was excited to see this film and it did not disappoint me. It had a different ending which I thought was mega

Propane explosion sends six to hospital on Uwe Boll movie set

Here' a story I wrote for today's Kamloops Daily News about a former Kamloops resident turned movie extra who witnessed Tuesday's explosion on the set of In the Name of the King 2. By JASON HEWLETT Daily News Staff Reporter A cloud of propane filled a tent full of movie extras minutes before an explosion sent several people to hospital in Maple Ridge with varying degrees of burns, a witness to the blast said Wednesday. "It was a huge explosion. The fireball was bigger than the tent," said Adrian Berry, a former Kamloops resident. Berry, an extra on the set of the Uwe Boll-directed movie In the Name of the King 2, narrowly avoided being caught in the blast himself. He had just left the tent and walked about 10 metres down a path at Golden Ears Park in Maple Ridge where the fantasy/adventure was filming, he said. In the moment it took him to take a picture and turn back to the black, 24-metre long tent, the blast happen

Guest Review: Tron Legacy

Anthony Michael Bosa is in The Basement with his thoughts on the Tron upgrade. Read on for details! This is a excellent sequel to the classic from my youth. The disc fighting, light cycles and new machines were all awesome and done with a good homage to the original. However, there were no tank battles, which is a disappointment. But at least the tanks were there! The upgrade to the grid and the fact that they used CGI to make certain characters younger played well into the film. All in all, if you liked the first film, or even if you didn't, this is worth a watch. A Good review from me.

Micro Review: The Town

A seriously awesome Ben Affleck movie? You bet! The actor, who quickly became the butt of many jokes at the beginning of the last decade, re-invented himself as a director to watch with Gone Baby Gone. With The Town he pulls out all the stops in front of the camera and behind it. This is a gritty, exciting, emotional, fast paced and fun crime picture. In other words, it's a brilliant piece of work. Affleck surrounds himself with a solid supporting cast, including The Hurt Locker's Jeremy Renner, and cements his credentials as a serious filmmaker who doesn't let style get in the way of a good story. An award worthy picture, and a Good rating from The Basement from me.

Jason and Shawn review: Restrepo and The Horde

Restrepo Jason: It's tough to put my feelings for Restrepo into coherent thoughts. As a filmgoer, my mind has been trained to expect certain things from a war movie, and Restrepo gives me all of them. But this isn't fiction, it's real. The documentary is like a punch in the gut at times. Other moments are an amusing portrait of men who have chosen a soldier's life. We see them bond, suffer boredom together, live together, die together and grieve together in one of the deadliest place in the world. I felt like I was there for all of it and suffered the deployment with them. I had to keep telling myself this was really happening, which proves what an exceptional documentary this is. I give it a Good rating only because we don't have a higher ranking. Shawn: I had to switch viewing modes while watch this documentary. Where I usually long for some violence and stuff blowing up I was glad to see as little of it as possible while watching Restrepo. My eyes were absolu

Next on the chopping block: Restrepo and The Horde

It's our last episode before Christmas and the final broadcast of the year, so how do we intend to celebrate? By going to war . . . and then to France to fight zombies! Shawn and I will be taking the next couple of weeks off. But we'll be back at 10 p.m. PST on Jan. 7, 2011. This means that, after we post the podcast and written reviews by Monday, activity on the blog will quiet down save for the occasional review or piece of news. Regular posts will resume on Jan. 3. We here in The Basement want to take this opportunity to thank all of our readers and listeners and wish each and every one of you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. We look forward to entertaining you in 2011! But first, we've got tonight's show on the chopping block, with reviews of the Afghanistan war documentary Restrepo and the French zombie splatterfest The Horde. We'll also present for your listening pleasure our thoughts on the best Christmas-themed movies, another Three Minutes With

About that Hellraiser remake . . .

Good news/bad news time on the Hellraiser remake front. Custom renders we dictate the bad news first so here it goes: it's still getting made. The good news is it will be rated R. Back in October we reported that Dimension Films was moving ahead with a PG-13 Hellraiser remake, which is like adding insult to injury. If we're going to suffer a reboot of Clive Barker's classic, at least give us our blood. Maybe the folks over at Dimension read our blog, maybe not, but they've decided to do just that. Director Patrick Lussier and screenwriter Todd Farmer, who partnered on the great My Blood Valentine 3D and the upcoming Drive Angry 3D, are on the project. This news also holds promise, although it means there's a good chance the Hellraiser project will be in the third dimension. Snore! Once again, stop with the remakes! Just sto . . . Fuck  it. You don't listen anyways, Hollywood.

Firestarter. A twisted Firestarter.

What's the latest film to be targeted by the remake cannon? Try the 1984 Drew Barrymore horror flick Firestarter. Or so says Variety. That film was an adaptation of Stephen King's classic novel of the same name. Technically one can argue this isn't a remake at all, but another interpretation of the book, which features a little girl with the frightening ability to telepathically light fires. Screenwriter Mark L. Smith, who wrote 2007's underrated horror film Vacancy, is said to be penning the redo. Production is expected to begin next year despite no director being attached to the project. Do we care? No. Will that stop the film from being made? No. World keeps on spinning.

Trailer Alert: Fast Five

It's a crazy-ass day for yours truly outside of his Basement duties, but I would be remiss not to present this awesome trailer for the next installment in The Fast and The Furious franchise: Fast Five. Granted it looks like more of the same, but there's something about hot women, hot cars and Vin Diesel acting cool that pleases the B-movie fan in me. Throw in Dwayne Johnson and the promise of lots of stunts and I'm sold. And hot women. Cool. Here's the trailer:

It's meaningless awards' season once again

Alright, maybe that's a tad unfair. Awards like the Golden Globes and the Oscars are important to those who are nominated and those who win. But, to a movie fan, does it really matter? Hmmm?. I think not. It's especially meaningless to fans of Basement cinema as genre pictures and low-budget films often go unnoticed. But, to our credit we loved The Hurt Locker before the Academy did. Now that the preamble is out of the way, the 68th Golden Globes were announced earlier to day by Josh Duhamel, Katie Holmes and Blair Underwood.We've included the full list for you below. Shawn and I have watched hardly any of the nominated pictures, so we aren't in a position to comment. But I'm sure someone out there cares! BEST MOTION PICTURE - DRAMA BLACK SWAN THE FIGHTER INCEPTION THE KING'S SPEECH THE SOCIAL NETWORK BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE - DRAMA Halle Berry, FRANKIE AND ALICE Nicole Kidman, RABBIT HOLE Jennifer Lawrence, WINTER'S

Midnight Movie gets rehashed in Cineplex

What's worse than a remake or a reboot? How about stealing an idea from a low-budget horror gem and pushing forward with a film of your own. Mandate Pictures, who produced The Grudge, Drag Me To Hell and The Strangers, is developing Cineplex, a horror movie about a group of teens being stalked in a movie theatre by the same killer they are watching on screen. Sound familiar? That's because it's the same plot for Midnight Movie, which Shawn and I reviewed months ago on our podcast. We both gave it a Good because it was an original idea and well made despite the minimal budget. It's a fun premise, and could benefit from a bigger budget, but I'd recommend checking out Jack Messitt's film before giving the glossy, Hollywood-produced project a watch. We'll keep you informed on the film as it develops. In the meantime, check out the trailer for Midnight Movie.

Jason and Shawn review: Satan's Little Helper and The Girl Who Played With Fire

Satan's Little Helper Jason: Six years is a bitch of a wait to watch a movie, but finally getting to see Jeff Lieberman's low budget horror-satire made this movie geek very happy. Satan's Little Helper is a perfect companion piece to Carpenter's Halloween and Trick r Treat for a late October film festival. Granted, the film is hampered a bit by it's budget, but the ride is still a fun one. On the one hand, the film is a cautionary tale about detached, video-game playing youth. On the other, it's a creepy story about a nameless serial killer going on a murder spree in a small American town . . . with a twist! And we never learn who or why! A Good rating from me! Shawn: Wow. This movie was neat. For the low budget, it was damn well worth the watch. This features a bunch of phenomenal Halloween costumes throughout, including a wickedly creepy Satan outfit worn by the killer. The kid, who ends up being the killer's little helper, deserved a punch here and th

Next on the chopping block: Satan's Little Helper and The Girl Who Played With Fire

A Halloween-themed horror film might seem like an odd choice to kick off tonight's episode, but the holiday is a Basement favourite and the movie, Satan's Little Helper, has been on the to-do list for quite some time. Jeff Lieberman's dark horror/comedy premiered at a number of film festivals in 2004 before heading straight-to-DVD in 2005. Even then, it's not an easy flick to find. But we in The Basement have done so, and will share our thoughts with you some time between 10 and 11 p.m. this eve. Then there's the sequel to the international movie and book sensation The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. Jason loved that film (and book) and Shawn hated it, calling the movie one of the worst he's ever seen. How does The Girl Who Played With Fire stack up? Stick with us! We're also going to bring back our Top Five segment, this time talking about the five most unnecessary love scenes in movie history. As is usually the case in The Basement, the subject is open

Hugh Jackman throws some robot punches

Does a movie about two robots punching it out sound exiting? Even when one is controlled by Wolverine himself? In theory, I'd say no. But this preview doesn't look too bad. It doesn't look terribly exciting either, but I am intrigued. The film is called Real Steel and it stars Hugh Jackman as a washed up fighter who teams with his estranged son to build a robot boxer in a future society where the real deal has been outlawed. It sounds like a typically cliched sports movie with a sci-fi twist. The fact that it's directed by Shawn (Date Night) Levy doesn't bode well. Here's the first trailer for the film, which doesn't actually hit theatres until late 2011. There's still lots of time to build some positive buzz for this flick, which has the potential to be a good B-movie with a budget.

Teaser trailer for Transformers 3 lands on the net

I'm having a hard time drumming up much enthusiasm for Michael Bay's third Transformers flick. For one, it's the third movie. And the second one wasn't all that great. But still, it's a Transformers movie, so we'll pay it some respect by posting the teaser trailer below. In kind of a nice touch, the trailer takes place in the past during the first moon landing. The plot itself has to do with Autobots and Decepticons duking it out over something. Being a Michael Bay movie, stuff will blow up. Tranformers: Dark of the Moon, hits theatres July 1.

Robin Hood Vs. vampires

That's about the best way to sum up Sherwood Horror, the latest revisionist telling of the Robin Hood legend. The film, which is expected to begin production in 2011 under the direction of John Regan, tells the story of ex-con Rob Locksley, who returns home after a six-year absence to find his town overrun by vampires. He enlists the help of his old roughneck hunting buddies to wage war against the evil and, we suspect, rob from the rich to give to the poor. 'Cause that's what Robin Hood did you know. It also sounds like the story has been moved to the present. Last I heard there were no roughnecks in Ye 'Ole England. Sherwood Horror's cast includes DJ Perry, Bill McKinney, Taymour Ghazi, Terry Jernigan, Mike Powers, Paul Proios and Austin Two-Feathers. Albanian actress Alma Saraci was just cast as Marion, and we've included her picture in this article. 'Cause that's what we're like here in The Basement you know. Does the world need another t

Bond back in 2012

MGM's financial problems have put Bond's, James Bond's, latest adventure on the backburner for years. The films usually follow a release pattern of every two years, meaning another installment was due this fall. Alas, no dice. Now Deadline is reporting that production is slowly moving forward on 007's latest and the film is scheduled for release in November 2012, provided the Mayan apocalypse doesn't get us all first. Daniel Craig, arguably the best Bond since Connery, Sean Connery, is back. As is director Sam Mendes, who was scheduled to take the helm before all this financial crap got in the way a couple of years back. No word yet on the plot or villain, but there's still lots of time for that to come together.

Amber Heard comes out of the closet

She's become the focus of many a man's lust and sexual fantasy and, let's face it, this news might not change much: Amber Heard is a lesbian. The star of All the Boy's Love Mandy Lane, The Joneses and the upcoming Drive Angry 3D attended the GLAAD 25the Anniversary Celebration on Saturday night with partner Tasya van Ree. Afterward she spoke to the website AfterEllen.com about her decision to come out of the closet. The blond bombshell said she no longer wanted to be a part of the problem by hiding her sexuality. I'm sure a lot of guys out there feel like they just lost their chance to be the sexy star. To those in mourning we here in The Basement say this: sorry boys, you never had a chance anyway. And FYI: GLAAD stands for Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation.

Jason and Shawn review: Altitude and The Human Centipede First Sequence

Altitude Shawn: This isn't a monster movie. Or is it? There may have been a monster in it, or maybe not? I hate airplanes. I can't even fully explain why, but this movie does play on that fear. That said, it's a pretty weak movie despite an interesting idea and messed up ending. The beginning and end are great. Too bad nothing much happens in between. And the cliched characters got on my nerves really fast. A Bad movie for sure. Jason: A movie where the main idea is better than the end product. Altitude would have made a really great Twilight Zone episode, but there is not enough material here to sustain a feature film. The last 30 minutes, when we figure out what is going on and watch it all play out, are great, as is the opening scene. Too bad everything in between is pretty dull. A Bad rating for me on this one. The Human Centipede First Sequence Shawn: I've heard nothing but how disturbing this movie is and, in the end, I didn't find it that disturbing a

Micro Review: I Love You Phillip Morris

I'm not 100 per cent sure what to make of the Jim Carrey/Ewan McGregor romantic dramedy I Love You Phillip Morris. On the one hand it's a pretty darn funny comedy caper and on the other it's a heavy drama reminiscent of Carrey's more serious efforts. Some times it's both at once. I think it's the film's schizophrenic nature that prevented me from fully engaging in it. That and the fact that Carrey's character is so unlikable. However, when Phillip Morris works, it works well and has one of the funniest five minutes I've ever seen put to film. A Bad for me, and not recommended if you are the least bit homophobic.

Next on the chopping block: Altitude and The Human Centipede

Aerophobia, or a fear of flying, is not an uncommon affliction. And it makes perfect sense to be afraid of flying when a large tentacled monster is after the airplane you are in. Such is the concept for Altitude, a direct-to-DVD feature that recently appeared on video store shelves and VOD. Given that Shawn is not a fan of flying, nor I for that matter, it makes sense that we'd turn our executioner's axe on the film. Also on the chopping block tonight is The Human Centipede, a notorious Dutch horror film that is supposedly 100 per cent medically accurate in its depiction of how one makes, you guessed it, a human centipede. Some of our fans requested we watch this, and we're all about taking one for the team here in The Basement. Is the film as fucked up as it sounds? Stick with us! We've also got long-time Basement friend Anthony Michael Bosa hanging out with us tonight, a slew of new music for your listening pleasure, and the latest movie news to keep you infor

Some pics from Kevin Smith's Red State

I know Kevin Smith is not usually associated with horror. Correction, he's the last person I'd associate with the genre. But the writer/director known best for dick and fart jokes and Jay and Silent Bob is making just that . . . a horror film. Below are a couple of stills from the film, which is scheduled to premiere at the Sundance Film Festival early next year. They don't show much, but I have to admit I'm kinda jazzed to see if Smith can expand beyond the juvenile humour he's best known for. Over at Arrow In the Head , director Richard "Donnie Darko" Kelly, who has watched the film, is quoted as saying he's never seen such a reinvention for a filmmaker. Sweet. Has me psyched. Red State is about a group of misfits who run afoul of an extreme group of fundamentalists in Middle America. The pics below feature what I believe are said misfits, John Goodman sitting on a bed, and cutie Kerry Bishe looking scared. No word on when Red State will be r

Behold: Mega Shark Vs. Crocosaurus

A guilty pleasure for Shawn and I here in The Basement is The Asylum's mockbuster "classic" Mega Shark Vs. Giant Octopus. I mean, who can resist an ultra low budget monster movie starring Debbie Gibson and Basement fave Lorenzo Lamas? Throw in some of the best worst special effects of all time and a passion for film making and you've got a great beer movie. Now the inevitable sequel is about to be unleashed and the teaser trailer below is living proof this thing is gonna rule Basement cinema. Cheesy, melodramatic and loaded with non actors and set pieces that are sure to make our geek bones quiver with joy. I can't wait for this bad boy to hit video store shelves on Dec. 21. And you can be sure that Shawn and I will be ready with a review when the radio show returns from Christmas break! And now, the trailer for Mega Shark Vs. Crocosaurus! Movie Trailers - Movies Blog