Wanna Watch: Step Brothers

We last saw Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly together on the big screen in Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. That was two years ago, and it was one hell of a funny movie.

In July this year, we'll be treated to a Will Ferrell-John C. Reilly reunion, in a movie called Step Brothers. Two spoiled guys, Brennan (Will) and Dale (John) find out they'll be stepbrothers after their single parents get hitched. You know what, just check out the trailer right here:

Adam Mckay directs- the same dude who also directed Talladega Nights and Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy. Will Ferrell is working on the modern-day adaptation of the 1970's TV show The Land of the Lost, which should be due out in 2009.

Cheers, everyone!

Wanna Watch: Forgetting Sarah Marshall

Summer's coming up, which means there are a whole lot blockbusters all lined up so we can all troop to the cinemas for movie kick-assery.

Sure I'd love to catch all the big ones- Iron Man, The Dark Knight, Hellboy 2, Indiana Jones- but here's one I wouldn't want to miss at all: Forgetting Sarah Marshall.
Two reasons for watching Forgetting Sarah Marshall: 1) It's got Judd Apatow and his crew, and 2) Kristen Bell of Veronica Mars fame. And that's really all the reason you need to watch. Check out the trailer here.

Anyway, if you still need a synopsis, here's one we got from meltdownpt on YouTube.

Struggling musician Peter Bretter (Jason Segel, Knocked Up, How I Met Your Mother) has spent six years idolizing his girlfriend, television star Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell, Veronica Mars). He's the guy left holding her purse in paparazzi photos and accidentally omitted from acceptance award speeches.

But his world is rocked when she dumps him and Peter finds himself alone. After an unsuccessful bout of womanizing and an on-the-job nervous breakdown, he sees that not having Sarah may just ruin his life. To clear his head, Peter takes an impulsive trip to Oahu, where he is confronted by his worst nightmare: his ex and her tragically hip new British-rocker boyfriend, Aldous (Russell Brand), are sharing his hotel.

But as he torments himself with the reality of Sarah's new life, he finds relief in a flirtation with Rachel (Mila Kunis), a beautiful resort employee whose laid-back approach tempts him to rejoin the world. He also finds relief in several hundred embarrassing, fruity cocktails.

For anyone who has ever had their heart ripped out and cut into a billion pieces comes a hilarious, heartfelt look at relationships—featuring Paul Rudd, Jonah Hill, Bill Hader and Jack McBrayer. Part romantic comedy, part disaster film, Forgetting Sarah Marshall is the world's first romantic disaster comedy.

There you have it. Check out the official Forgetting Sarah Marshall website here- it's got a whole lot of fun stuff, including downloadables and exclusive content.

Cheers, everyone!

The After Dark Horror Fest, Revisited

I've had my eye on the After Dark HorrorFest since it started out in November of 2006. After Dark Films is a horror film production company and distributor founded by Courtney Solomon- the Canadian Director who gave us 2000's Dungeons and Dragons and An American Haunting.

The company organizes this annual independent horror film festival- the first Horrorfest taking place from November 9 to November 11, 2006- which opened in over 500 theaters in 35 American cities.

The movies were supposedly not your garden-variety horror movie. In fact, according to the Wikipedia article, the 2006 films' trailer states "the content of these films are considered too graphic, too disturbing, and too shocking for general audiences."

The films featured in the 2006 HorrorFest run included:

The Abandoned

A film producer who was adopted as a baby and sent to America returns to her native Russia and the family farm. Once there, strange things begin to happen. After completion of the festival, this film was released to general theatres on February 23, due to being named the Fan Favorite.

Dark Ride

Ten years after he brutally murdered two girls, a killer escapes from a mental institution and returns to his turf, the theme park attraction called "Dark Ride".

The Gravedancers

A group of friends' lives are invaded by a trio of hostile ghosts after they engage in a drunken bout of gravedancing during a wake for an old chum.

The Hamiltons

A picture-perfect American family is always kind, loving and respectful to their neighbors… except that they usually wind up killing them.

Penny Dreadful

A young girl and her therapist take a road trip to help her overcome her phobia of riding in cars. This trip turns deadly as an escaped mental patient starts a new spree of killings.

Reincarnation

A film crew recreates a gruesome mass murder at a hotel only to find themselves suffer fates they are acting out in the film.

Unrest

A med student collapses upon sensing a "presence" about her cadaver. Her fears are strengthened by the mysterious death of a friend. She must discover the connection before an angry spirit can wreak further vengeance.

Wicked Little Things

Recently widowed Karen Tunny and her two daughters, Sarah and Emma, move to a remote mountain home which Karen has inherited from the family of her late husband. However, she is unaware that the home is situated near an old mine, the site of an early 20th century tragedy in which many children were buried alive.

Snoop Dogg's Hood of Horror

The film is about three stories of residents who live in an inner city neighborhood whose actions in their lives determine their destination in the afterlife. This was a bonus ninth movie shown only on November 19th, which was only available for purchasers of all eight movie passes.

The Tripper

A group of young hippies set out for a drug-induced weekend of debauchery and fun. Unknown to them, a crazed madman obsessed with Ronald Reagan is lurking in the woods. This was a bonus tenth movie which played only on November 21st.

DVD's of 7 of the After Dark films from the 2006 festival- Dark Ride, The Gravedancers, The Hamiltons, Penny Dreadful, Reincarnation, Unrest and Wicked Little Things- were all released in March 27 of last year.

Being the fan favorite of the 2006 HorrorFest, The Abandoned was re-released to general theaters in February 2007, and was released on DVD on June 19. Snoop Dogg's Hood of Horror was released on DVD on September 11, 2007, while The Tripper came out on DVD on October 23 later that year.

The After Dark HorrorFest continued on 2007 with an entirely new set of independent horror films.

With the success of the first film festival, 2007's HorrorFest lasted a little more than a week- and took place from November 9 to November 18, in over 350 theatres across the United States.

According to the same Wikipedia article, the 2007 festival's trailer states: "Horror - a genre of motion picture intended to thrill viewers by provoking fear or revulsion through the depiction of grotesque, violent, or supernatural events."

The films featured in the 2007 HorrorFest run included:

Borderland

Written and directed by Zev Berman, this film centers around Phil (played by Rider Strong from Cabin Fever) and his two college buddies who road-trip down to a Mexican border town to celebrate their college graduation. They run into a cult looking for human sacrifice and their weekend becomes a bloody test of survival.

Crazy Eights

Inspired by Virginia Woolf's The Waves, this film chronicles the tragic events that occur when six friends reunite after 20 years upon the death of a mutual friend and decide to unearth a time capsule they buried. Upon opening the time capsule they find the dead remains of a child, which begins to haunt their everday life and could lead to their death if they can't uncover the mystery behind the child's death.

The Deaths of Ian Stone

Starring Mike Vogel in the title role, along with Christina Cole, Jaime Murray, and Michael Dixon. The films revolves around Ian Stone who is in a constant cycle of dying at night only to wake up with a different life.

Lake Dead

A group of teenagers inherit a motel on a lake, only to uncover a series of dark and frightening family secrets.

Mulberry Street

Co-starring Debbie Rochon and directed by Jim Mickle, a film about six evicted New Yorkers fighting off were-rats.

Nightmare Man

Written, produced, and directed by Rolfe Kanefsky, and starring scream queen Tiffany Shepis alongside Gwen Davis, Robert Donovan, and Richard Moll.

Tooth and Nail

The film, starring Michael Madsen, Vinnie Jones, Rider Strong, Robert Carradine, and Rachel Miner, revolves around a group of people in a post-apocalyptic world fight to survive against a band of vicious cannibals.

Unearthed

Written and directed by Matthew Leutwyler and stars Emmanuelle Vaugier from Saw II. A mysterious creature in a New Mexican town is the reason for the disappearances of several townspeople, nature dying, and animals being murdered.

One of the movies included in the original roster of films shown at the 2007 HorrorFest was the Xavier Gens project, Frontiers. The film was given an NC-17 rating by the MPAA, and it was decided that it would instead be released to theatres separately in May, 2008.

DVDs of the 8 films were already released last month- March 18, 2008. Personally, I haven't completed my collection yet, but as early as now, I'd like to catch up on my After Dark viewing in time for this year's HorrorFest 2009.

If you're a horror movie freak like me, you may want to check out all those great After Dark movies. Visit the official website to get updates, be part of promotional activities, and more importantly, get your own copies of the After Dark HorrorFest DVDs.

Film synopses and pictures from Wikipedia.

Cheers, everyone!