Film Buff Friday: Audition

The notorious "Audition" hits the streets on Blu-ray 2/12/19 - can you stomach it?!

One of the most shocking J-horror films ever made, Audition exploded onto the festival circuit at the turn of the century to a chorus of awards and praise. The film would catapult Miike to the international scene and pave the way for such other genre delights as Ichii the Killer and The Happiness of the Katakuris. Recent widower Shigeharu Aoyama is advised by his son to find a new wife, so he seeks the advice of a colleague having been out of the dating scene for many years. They take advantage of their position in a film company by staging an audition to find the perfect woman. Interviewing a series of women, Shigeharu becomes enchanted by Asami, a quiet, 24-year-old woman, who is immediately responsive to his charms. But soon things take a very dark and twisted turn as we find that Asami isn't what she seems to be... Pulling the audience into a story that will lead to one of the most harrowing climaxes in cinema history, Miike twists and turns us through delirious editing and shocking visuals for one of the most depraved nightmares of all time!

Bonus Materials

• Brand new 2K restoriation of original vault elements
• Original 5.1 Dolby Surround Audio
• Optional English subtitles
• Audio commentary with director Takashi Miike and screenwriter Daisuke Tengan
• Brand new commentary by Miike biographer Tom Mes examining the film and its source novel
• Introduction by Miike
• Ties that Bind – A brand new interview with Takashi Miike
• Interviews with stars Ryo Ishibashi, Eihi Shiina, Renji Ishibashi and Ren Osugi
• Damaged Romance: An appreciation by Japanese cinema historian Tony Rayns

• Trailers
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Matthew Griffin
• FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector's booklet featuring new writing on the film by Anton Bitel

Order Here: https://mvdb2b.com/b2b/s/AV187

Michael's Musings

#TBT: Take A Bow
Michael Shinafelt

Today is the last day of the first month of 2019 - if this is any indicator of how the rest of the year is going to play out, damn slow the F#ck down! I need to take some time to smell the napalm in the morning. Or at the very least how fresh my clothes smell after I wash them, that's the practical choice. Fresh clothes smell for the win Alex.

Time to dive in...

Hello January 31st 2019!

We all know now what many have suspected, Tori Spelling is a Unicorn

The Superbowl is this Sunday, so there's that

When people tell me to go to Hell, Uh, I can't. Satan has a restraining order against me

Make out naked

If life knocks you down, get back up and tell it "You hit like a bitch"

Tomorrow is another day. The more you know.

Your legs are like jam, you can't spread them just a little

Jussie Smollett

Sending positive energy Jussie Smollett's way 

MAGA my ass!

Celine Dion, worth it, or not? Discuss...

It only takes two, but wait till you try three 

Maroon 5 declined to do a press conference regarding the Superbowl in case you care

Apparently you can now sue people for accidentally colliding with you on the ski slope, things that make me go yawn

Wake up with a dose of me at:

https://www.instagram.com/michaelshinafelt/?hl=en

https://twitter.com/MShinafelt   

Hump Day & Chill

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Just Because...Gaga & Martin

I Wanna Hold Your Hand
Lady Gaga & Ricky Martin

Just Because she's a Lady, Just Because he's Livin La Vida Loca & Just Because they are together on the red carpet, look boys & girls it's Lady Gaga & Ricky Martin!

Awards Shows, in this case the SAG Awards, can make for some strange yet wonderful bedfellows. I mean seriously never did I ever entertain the thought that I would see Gaga & Martin together. It was the image no one knew they needed until they were captured together forever in this photo op.

Photo ops are good for that sort of thing. 

I wonder if perhaps we could expect some sort of collaboration from these two in the near future? If so, one wonders if it would be of the music or acting variety. Give it time I am sure it will go down, so to speak.

Now get out there and make Daddy proud...

Mic Drop! 

Gaga on the Gram -
https://www.instagram.com/ladygaga/?hl=en

Ricky on the Gram - 
https://www.instagram.com/ricky_martin/?hl=en

"Homewrecker"

Filmmaker and horror fan Robert Hensley has made a delectable short film in the genre with the title Homewrecker - let me give my opinion on it before Robert explains it all to you.

I really love that he has gotten to the root of horror films from my youth, yeah they weren't all slasher films and bloodbaths, stuff like that. They had character, and played upon our inner anxiety and fears. 

Robert's short which won the Direct Monthly Online Film Festival is well deserved. It does  a quite modern take on an old tale La Llorona and it works like a charm. I have actually watched it a few times, it's that good. I felt the best way to convey the cool factor of it to all of you minions was this statement from the man behind it all Robert Hensley!!! 

"When did horror films become a vehicle for grotesque gore and franchisable maniacs with the weakest of plots barely gluing it all together? Thankfully, filmmakers such as James Wan are producing films which throw back to a more story and character-rich horror genre. This, too, is where I found the inspiration for HOMEWRECKER.

Rona

A huge fan of Hitchcock and Carpenter, I set out to create a short horror film which built up a sense of anticipation. The audience knows something is going on, something is coming, and it all leads up to that reveal. Blood and guts were incidental to the story as a whole.

I was inspired by the traditional fable of “La Llorona,” also known as the Wailing Woman or Woman in White. There are several variations of the tale, all featuring a beautiful woman who married for money, and kills herself in despair when her husband leaves her for another woman. In one version, she kills her children in a rage and then takes her own life when she realizes what she’s done. In all the various tellings, she comes back and walks the riverside where she drowned and wails for the loss of her children or her marriage. Whoever hears her scream is cursed to die.

For HOMEWRECKER, I focused on a failing marriage and a philandering husband. This was the catalyst for Rona to take her own life and her transformation into a vengeful spirit. While “La Llorona” is always connected to water: a stream, a river, or a lake, I chose to consider more domestic uses for water such as bathing, showering, and laundry. 

C&C (Chests & Crack)

The first horror film I actually had permission to watch was “My Bloody Valentine,” which has an infamous laundromat scene. Being a child of the eighties, the horror films I grew up with were R-rated, T&A, boy’s club franchises. I also wanted to pay tribute to these movies in some way. Getting permission to film a scene in a laundromat was a start!

Nudity was another. However, I made the decision to keep my female talent clothed, and undress the men, turning T&A into C&C (chests and crack). I cast actors who were not afraid to disrobe and appear nude on camera for a vigorous sex scene, which builds along with the drama happening with Rona at home.
​
Finally, the colors, saturation, and tones in the finished film find comparisons to the horror films of the 70’s and 80’s. Jason Lange, our cinematographer, who lit and shot HOMEWRECKER by himself, created a beautiful visual tribute to the films which inspired me."

Become a Homewrecker at:

https://homewreckerfilm.weebly.com/  

Sunday Funday -

Betty White

Today is Sunday, that means it's supposed to a Funday. Today I am feeling dorky, thus I am bequeathing my peeps with a gallery of celebrities making silly faces. "Yes" this is the Sunday Funday gift you never knew you needed until now. You're welcome...

Katy Perry

Daniel Radcliffe

Britney Spears

James Dean   

Smack Down!

Sealed With A Kiss
Sarah Paulson & Billy Eichner

Here I sit surfing the WWW imbibing in my raspberry smoothie when I come across an image of Sarah Paulson & Billy Eichner having a smack down on Andy Cohen's Watch What Happens Live. 

The American Horror Story co-stars are reunited and it feels so good...

Say what?! You are thinking. It's not a smack down of the WWE variety, it's of the kissing kind. "Yes" Sarah is going in for Billy's cheek with her puckered red lips like a football player heading for a touchdown!

Do you think she scored? Hey it's a sure thing.

Mic Drop!

Watch What Happens Live on IG -

https://www.instagram.com/bravowwhl/?hl=en