'Chainsaws Were Singing' (2024) Movie Review

When you hear about a DIY Estonian horror-musical that took the filmmaker (Sander Maran served as director, writer, editor, cinematographer, songwriter, and probably more roles) a decade to make, you can’t help but be curious. And Chainsaws Were Singing is all of that and so, so much more. This is a bizarre, wild time that goes way, way out in the wilderness and is something fans of movies like Cannibals: The Musical and Hundreds of Beavers need to check out.

Fantasia 2019: 'The Legendary Stardust Brothers' Movie Review

This is an updated version of an earlier review.

Dear The Legend of the Stardust Brothers, where have you been all my life? Seriously, this lost Japanese musical oddity from 1985 fills a gaping chasm in my soul I didn’t even know was there. It also has maybe the most WTF twist I’ve ever seen, and this is a movie that’s basically non-stop WTF moments from one end to the other.

SIFF 2019: 'The Legend Of The Stardust Brothers' Movie Review

Dear The Legend of the Stardust Brothers, where have you been all my life? Seriously, this lost Japanese musical oddity from 1985 fills a gaping chasm in my soul I didn’t even know was there. It also has maybe the most WTF twist I’ve ever seen, and this is a movie that’s basically non-stop WTF moments from one end to the other.

'Anna And The Apocalypse' (2017) Movie Review

Scottish import Anna and the Apocalypse delivers precisely what the premise promises: a zombie high school Christmas musical. Depending on how you feel about that combination of words, your mileage may vary. Personally, I find it largely delightful. 

High School Zombie Christmas Musical 'Anna And The Apocalypse' Has A Distributor, All Is Right With The World

Here’s some good news to get you through day. The gory, high school zombie Christmas musical Anna and the Apocalypse finally found a distributor.

'Anna And The Apocalypse' Trailer: A Zombie High School Christmas Musical. Yes, You Read That Right

Up for a gory high school zombie Christmas musical? Yeah, me too. So, you might want to check out the trailer for Scottish director John McPhail’s Anna and the Apocalypse, because it’s all of those things.

'The Lure' (2015) Movie Review

I know that there are droves of Rocky Horror Picture Show devotees out there, but while that cult classic has a place in my heart, for my money there is no movie musical more bat-shit crazy than the 1980 Cannon Films joint The Apple. Thank you, Menahem Golan, you magnificent, lunatic bastard. It easily ranks in my top ten films of all time, no question.

'La La Land' (2016) Movie Review

After Whiplash whipped up a frenzy, writer/director Damien Chazelle could do damn near anything he wanted. Helm a superhero movie? Probably could have done that. Tackle a big-budget summer blockbuster or weighty Oscar-bait drama? So many others have followed that path. But what does he do? He makes La La Land, a full-on throwback musical. And he absolutely kills it.

'La La Land' Belts Out A Dreamy New Trailer

I’m a sucker for musicals, and I love, love, love the fact that, after the massive critical success of Whiplash, when he could have done damn near anything he wanted, Damien Chazelle made a goddamn musical. And a musical starring the tag team of charm Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling to boot. La La Land hits theaters in December, and though it’s a few months off in the distance, it just delivered a dreamy new trailer.

SIFF 2016: 'WTF?!' Shorts

Short films are a notoriously tricky form. For every fantastic offering, you have to wade through a sea of less-than-stellar dreck. Over the Memorial Day weekend, the Seattle International Film Festival runs their annual shorts program, and while the WTF segment has its share of problems, it was, by and large, a strong collection. And every title on the docket certainly lives up to the moniker.

SIFF 2016: 'The Lure' (2015) Movie Review

I know that there are droves of Rocky Horror Picture Show devotees out there, but while that cult classic has a place in my heart, for my money there is no movie musical more batshit crazy than the 1980 Cannon Films joint The Apple. Thank you, Menahem Golan, you magnificent, lunatic bastard. It easily ranks in my top ten films of all time, no question.

Check Out The Trailer For 'Bang Bang Baby,' A Rock And Roll, High School, Mutant Musical

Well this looks bizarre enough to be a total blast. If you’ve been looking for a hyper-stylized, 1960s-set horror musical, Bang Bang Baby might be just what you’re looking for. Check out the trailer after the jump; I don’t think you’ve ever encountered a movie quite like this before.

Watch This 'Pitch Perfect 2' Trailer Take On The World

Pitch Perfect is easily my favorite movie of 2012. No joke, it’s on my top ten list for the year, though it should be much higher ranked in retrospect, as there was a stretch of ten days after it came out on DVD where I watched it at least once a day, and my views probably topped 30 throughout the rest of the year. So, as you probably guessed, I’m rather excited for the upcoming Pitch Perfect 2. Who expected competitive college a capella to be my jam? But now the first trailer is here, and I apologize in advance for the long periods where I disappear for days at a time and just watch this.

Blu-Ray Review: 'A Star Is Born'

 

When I ultimately seize control of the universe, which is, of course, an integral part of my five-year plan, there will be a special section of Hell reserved for Barbra Streisand. There’s a smug sense of superiority about everything she does that rubs me the wrong way, and she’s nowhere near as talented as she gets credit for. Babs can sing, I’ll give her that, I just hate every song she chooses to belt out—with the exception of “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers,” but that’s only due to the involvement of that most fantastic gentleman Neil Diamond. Watching her try to act, however, is physically painful.

Blu-ray Review: 'Cabaret'

Willkommen, bienvenue, welcome.

Somehow it’s been 40 years since the theatrical release of “Cabaret”. The movie won director Bob Fosse an Academy Award, and cemented Liza Minnelli as a full-fledged cultural icon. Picture the star, and the image the appears to most of us is big-eyed pixie Sally Bowles (for which she also took home Oscar) strutting on stage, belting out that final dirge about how life is a cabaret, my friend, to a full-house crowd dotted with khaki shirts and red swastika armbands. To celebrate the milestone, Warner has put together a new Blu-ray book of the musical.

'Les Misérables' Movie Review

Having never read Victor Hugo’s novel, nor seen the legendary stage production, the vast majority of what I know about “Les Misérables” comes from an episode of “Animaniacs”. That said, I do love a good musical, and I rather enjoyed this long awaited film adaptation, though it is an up and down ride at times. Even if you’re not familiar with the play, you’ve heard these songs before, the cast is fantastic across the board, even people I don’t usually care for (Anne Hathaway, I’m looking at you), and the costumes and production design do a great job of making you feel like you’re in 19^th century France. Everyone, even the upper class, are suitably grubby and smudged so that you believe they’ve spent their entire lives living in filth.

'Joyful Noise' Movie Review

I certainly didn’t intend to see “Joyful Noise”. You know the one I mean, the uplifting, feel good, everybody hug, Dolly Parton/Queen Latifah joint about competitive gospel choirs. The one where you see the commercials and think, who the hell is going to watch that? Apparently I will. Like I said, it was unintentional. I went downtown to attend a screening of “Contraband”, which is much more the speed of everyone who reads this site. That was the plan. But here’s the problem, I’m an idiot. I didn’t bother to double check what theater “Contraband” was showing at, and I just went to the one where the vast majority of local screenings are held. Like usual I wandered up to the obvious PR firm intern standing at the door with a list, told her I was here for the screening, wrote down my name and who I write for, and headed for the appropriate theater. Security didn’t even wand me.