Tag: Musical

Blood on Black Wax: Horror Soundtracks, (and Musicals) An Interview Redux

Blood on Black Wax: Horror Soundtracks on Vinyl is a wonderful book which looks back at nearly all the music from the greatest horror cinema classics.

Blood on Black Wax: Horror Soundtracks Book CoverRelease Date: May 13, 2019
Available for pre-order on AmazonBlood on Black Wax

Blood on Black Wax: Horror Soundtracks on Vinyl is a wonderful book which looks back at nearly all the music from the greatest horror cinema classics. No, we are not talking about a rerelease of all these tunes, but instead, we will get an opening of a time capsule which looks at the unique history and artwork of these works. This hardbound, full-colour, 240-page book ​spotlights the intricate (and often rare) artwork on the LP sleeves, as well as album reviews, release details, and wild backstories.

Jeff Szpirglas reviews albums and old movies for Rue Morgue Magazine, and his bibliography does not end there. He’s written many books for young readers and is a second-grade full-time teacher. This vocation puts him in an interesting position should he decide to demonstrate his love for horror to impressionable minds. Aaron Lupton is the music editor for the said magazine and is a passionate and nerdy collector of horror soundtrack LPs. He also is the co-host of From My Parents Basement podcast with Eric Gaudet and Gary Pullin.

In what prompted the decision to create this book was when Szpirglas approached Aaron about putting together a special edition digest issue of the magazine focusing specifically on horror soundtracks. At the time, Rue Morgue had been releasing special editions on subjects ranging from horror collectables to Canadian horror, and he felt that a soundtrack book was a no-brainer. In his own words, So much of what makes these films effective often comes from sound and music working in conjunction with the images and the rhythms of editing.

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Seder-Masochism, An Animated Magnum Opus

Blood on Black Wax

By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Seder-Masochism is an animated film that’s not easy to classify. In one level, it’s a very loose retelling of Passover Seder, and in another, it’s an animated Broadway musical! One part developed to entertain and another part attacking the patriarchy within organised religion, I’m not certain if I should worry. I have my own opinion about following the light and never patronise how others follow God.

With this work, the events from the Book of Exodus are retold by Moses, Aharon, the Angel of Death, Jesus, and the director’s own father. The Goddesses, humanity’s earliest deities, are well represented. Presented are effigies of Lilith, Catal Huyuk, the Venus of Hohle Fels and the Venus of Willendorf. Great Isis is just as important, and a lot of time is spent interpreting what this ancient Egyptian culture’s spiritual path is like. Much of it is accurate, including the roles she played in Greco-Roman times. With these character designs, the way these Egyptian figures look suggests a sense of worry because of what’s looming.

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How to Make Christmas Last with The Grinch on Feb 5th!

thegrinch
Available to pre-order on AmazonBlood on Black Wax

In Whoville, The Grinch watches over all and before his change, he could not wait for the holidays to be over. During the yuletide season, he has plenty to bah humbug about. With the home video release on Feb 5th, fans of Dr Seuss and Grinch can reflect upon all that’s happened and realize the smiles can last year round.

The updated version owes a huge debt to its realization back in 1966, with the first animation voiced by and starring Boris Karloff. While it’s tough to beat the love for the Chuck Jones animated work and the song, “You’re a Mean One, Mr Grinch,” this update by Illumination Studios does a very respectable job. To make this release perfect, Universal should have included the original work (studio ownership notwithstanding). Not only is the song given a hip hop take by Tyler, the Creator but also new characters are introduced. Fred is particularly adorable as a very rotund reindeer which The Grinch uses to get around. The animators would not do this unless they plan on having them come back.

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Getting into the Holiday Spirit with Anna and the Apocalypse

Anna and the Apocalypse is an enjoyable romp around the Christmas tree. There are times we do not know who is chasing whom given the two different villains in this work

Anna and the ApocalypseBy Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Anna and the Apocalypse is an enjoyable romp around the Christmas tree and it’s a crazy enough concept where making it a musical works. Plus, there are times we do not know who is chasing whom when considering there are the two different villains. Maybe the ornaments or gifts can prove useful to combat zombies but what about the other obstacles?

Not even playing Michael Jackson’s Thriller can prove to stave them off. I have seen dance-offs in a live performance from a different tale and it’s a marvel to watch. The music was rockin and I wanted to hear more. The melodies in this movie are joyous enough to toe tap but ultimately the focus is with the coming of age story.

In this movie, we are immediately warned of an impending (zombie) epidemic but for the titular character, earnestly played by Ella Hunt, she ignores it. Other stakes are at work; she wants to break out of the expected (to go straight to college) after high school graduation and explore the world. But the destiny has other ideas. The world soon falls apart. The coming of it to the small town of Little Haven in Scotland is inevitable. Before she knows it, everyone she cares for will either succumb or die. Such is the norm for this genre.

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The Vintage Tempest’s Picks of Whistler Film Festival 2018

Blood on Black WaxBy Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

The Whistler Film Festival is a jam-packed five-day event taking place north of Vancouver, British Columbia. Established in 2001, local talents and industry bigwigs are here not only to ski but also look at the spotlight of refreshing new talents. This show is not for star spotting. I visited this resort to marvel at the Milky Way and get back to Nature; though for others, to mingle with the likes of Kim Cattrall, Ryan Reynolds or Jason Priestley is more enticing. Even Hollywood’s elite might be here looking for the next big thing.

With no surprise, Mary: Queen of Scots is the gala film. Saoirse Ronan plays the title role, and Margot Robbie is Queen Elizabeth I. Both are rivals for the throne, and for who gets it, they can look at John Guy’s book Queen of Scots: The True Life of Mary Stuart, which posits the theory that Mary and Elizabeth actually met and planned how to rule. Their on-screen tête-à-tête is one to marvel at.

To revisit this mountain resort town has been on my list for a while, and this year has enough reasons for me to go. The following are my genre picks which caught my eye.

The summaries are from this event’s website:

Anna and the Apocalypse

Nov 29 8:30pm
Squamish Cultural Center

Sun, Dec 02, 9:00am
Rainbow Theatre

Okay, so you want to see something different at a film festival. How about a Scottish Christmas musical zombie movie? Yup. Shaun of the dead meets Glee. This is the wackiest premise for a film since Trey Parker’s Cannibal The Musical (1993) or Darren Lynn Bousman’s The Devil’s Carnival (2012). When a zombie apocalypse threatens the town of little haven at Christmas time, Anna and her teen friends have to slash, decapitate and sing their way through an assortment of undead snowmen, elves, Santas and Christmas shoppers just to make it across town to the safe haven of their high school. The singing and dancing are show-stoppingly good at times as if the players are auditioning for a Broadway play. And if you are a truly twisted soul, maybe this will even put you in the Christmas spirit.

[Editor’s note: This movie will play at select theatres beginning Dec 7 courtesy of Orion Pictures. Please check local listings]

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfWIfwKJ7vA&w=560&h=315%5D

Elijah and the Rock Creature

Dec 02 4:00pm
Village 8 Cinema

A delightful family film that structurally resembles E.T., but on a tiny fraction of the budget. It demonstrates what great costume design and luminescent photography can accomplish when filtered through the eyes of visual artist and painter Jennifer Walden in her first feature, shot near Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories.

Elijah and his mother are grieving a loss when they decide to see the stars in Wood Buffalo National Park, the largest dark sky preserve in the world. Elijah gets separated from his party and wanders the beautiful but marker-less landscape, frightened and lost. Along the way, he encounters a mythological rock creature “from beyond the stars”, who is also trying to find his way home. Together, they become a team. But when Elijah tries to explain the existence of his extraterrestrial guide, the folks back home assume he is suffering from hallucinations.

Using mostly local talent, with a particular nod to costume designer Adrienne Cartwright, this is proof that resonant stories can be made in any part of this country, and it marks the arrival of a major new directorial talent on the Canadian scene.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2adUuk35ZR8&w=560&h=315%5D

At Eternity’s Gate

Nov 28, 9:00pm
Nov 30, 12:00pm
Rainbow Theatre

Willem Dafoe is Vincent van Gogh. With his sunken cheeks and haunted eyes, it is difficult to imagine any other actor in the role. The film, directed by acclaimed artist Julian Schnabel (Basquiat, The Diving Bell & the Butterfly), focuses on Van Gogh’s final months, living hand to mouth in the south of France. He drinks too much, is extremely productive, but fails to connect with the locals, who taunt him and tease him. His artistic response to the beauty of the country around him continues to inspire him, even as his daily life and very survival become more difficult. Using lighting and natural settings, Schnabel successfully evokes the artist’s unique way of seeing the world around him. The nature of genius, and of artistic obsession is captured with deep insight in this oft-told story, but it is Dafoe’s performance as Van Gogh that will stay with you, long after the final images from the film have faded. This is the film’s first festival showing in Canada.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T77PDm3e1iE&w=560&h=315%5D

Treeline

Nov 30, 9:45pm
Dec 02, 9:45pm
Maury Young Arts Center

Trees are the oldest living beings humans have encountered since our time on Earth. They provide us with sustenance, shelter, fuel, and materials that we cannot live without. This year’s winter film from Patagonia takes us on a journey through the enshrined cypress groves of Japan, into the ancient bristlecones of Nevada and through British Columbia’s own towering red cedar forests. We follow skiers, snowboarders, scientists and healers as they each explore their relationship with the silent giants. Vancouver filmmaker Jordan Manley breathes life into these forests with his stunning cinematography. A unique look into the power of nature, treeline is as visually encapsulating as it is spiritually moving.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAuFIf2dNHk&w=560&h=315%5D

Shortwork Series

Up to nine short films make up this unique set of screenings. Beginning November 28th, each day will offer something special. Of note, Girl in the Galactic Sun (see below) and Cedar Tree of Life will certainly sate the sci-fi enthusiast and hedgewitch in me. Guy Maddin is one of three directors in Accidence (Day 2, Nov 30 12pm)

The following make up unit four, of student’s works, (playing Dec 3, 1:30pm). Of these pickings from this category, I find the shorts offered in this collection may well traverse beyond the line of what fantasy, a thriller or science fiction means. Rod Serling must be proud!

EGG – A surreal animation about a woman locked in her home with an egg, towards which she feels both attraction and fear. She eats the egg, she repents; she kills the egg; she lets the egg die of hunger. The woman controls the egg… or does the egg control the woman?

Fantasmagoria – Struggling to cope with the loss of her daughter, a grieving mother embarks on a surrealist journey filled with bizarre characters in search of peace in the realm of lucid dreams. As she gets closer to her daughter, Mara comes to realize what she needed all along.

Girl in the Galactic Sun – A genderless alien who longs for a different life decides to transform into a woman in order to reproduce and save the species. G944 arrives at the Galactic Sun Facility unaware of the risks, and its desperation to understand what it is to be a woman leads it down a dangerous path with unnerving consequences.

Details Revealed for Lu Over the Wall Home Video Release

lu
Blu-ray available to pre-orderBlood on Black Wax

The fun new musical feature Lu Over the Wall from anime auteur Masaaki Yuasa (Mind Game, The Night is Short, Walk On Girl) will be released on Blu-ray™ + DVD combo pack, DVD and digital download on February 5, 2019 from GKIDS and Shout! Factory. An official selection of the 2018 Sundance Film Festival and winner of the Cristal, the highest prize of the 2017 Annecy International Animation Festival, this film makes its home video debut following a limited theatrical release this year.

This release is presented in both the original Japanese language and English dub versions. Bonus features include audio commentary and an interview with Director Masaaki Yuasa, trailers and TV spots.

This wonderful tale looks at the life of Kai, a teenager uprooted from a small fishing village to go live in the big city. In Tokyo, he needs a way to connect. When his classmates invite him to play keyboard in their band, their jam sessions bring an unexpected guest: Lu, a young mermaid whose fins turn to feet when she hears the beats, and whose singing causes humans to compulsively dance. But when an ancient prophecy threatens Lu and the village, Kai and his new friends must save the day in this toe-tapping adventure for the entire family.

Bonus Features:
· Interview with Director Masaaki Yuasa
· Audio Commentary with Director Masaaki Yuasa
· Trailers
· TV Spots