Absolute Underground TV

Fantasia Film Festival 2021
Available to view on demand

Frank and Zed is Jesse Blanchard's debut feature film, and his studio Puppetcore is an operation that I'm sure many horror makeup fans would love to work at. 

The people who work there now must have had fun creating this movie, as it really gets crazy with the effects offered in this movie about a Frankenstein monster and a ghoul. Technically, the latter is a zombie. All this over the top massacre is the orgy of destruction to which the villagers fear coming. This film wastes no time in explaining the situation in the beginning act and the waiting for this moment to happen is certainly worthwhile. Without a proper story, none of the action would be understandable. 

Fantasia Digital Film Festival 2020
North American Debut

When considering Troma Entertainment spent 45 years of disrupting media, they are showing no signs of slowing down! Their latest, #shakespearesh*tstorm is a reimagining of William Shakespeare'sThe Tempest, and they topped themselves! We get everything this studio is famous for–namely a car being flipped and gross out humour– that any Tromaphile will love to digest. In this case, blast out of a certain orifice!

Forget trying to get praise from Quentin Tarantino, filmmaker Takashi Miike might want to put his support into Shion Sono’s (Suicide Club, Love Exposure) action comedy Why Don't You Play in Hell? (地獄でなぜ悪い) that will be arriving in video stores and video on demand January 28th. This over-the-top gonzo madcap film features Hirata (Hiroki Hasegawa) as an aspiring guerilla style filmmaker intent on making a masterpiece ala Bruce Lee's Game of Death with his film club. Sasaki (Tak Sakaguchi) is cast into the yellow jump-suit leading role, and Kill Bill this movie is not. To make a film within a film about two feuding Yakuza clans is a fun approach to see how Hirata's movie crew stumble into a gang war. To see what transpires next is hilarious, like it was lifted from a Japanese cartoon, and the fallout is not without some classic moments taken from traditional theater.

Emerald Queen Hotel and Casino
November 08, 2014 AT 8:00 PM

There’s a musical battle brewing in the tour that’s featuring Cheech & Chong ever since they paired with the band bearing the name of War. In their return to the Pacific Northwest at the Emerald Queen Hotel and Casino, there’s no mention of the band and for ol’ time fans wanting to see more of the comedy duo, they just may get it. In their Canadian leg of the tour, the show was billed as Cheech & Chong with musical guest War. Perhaps the confusion has gotten their marketing department’s attention and there’s some adjustments to the advertising going on.

Jackhammer is one of those comedic homage movies that plies its trade well. It looks at the world of adult entertainment (male stripping) and has fun with it. The humour is at times lowbrow, and it works. The writing team crafted a very good tale about two estranged brothers not only reconnecting with each other but also with life.