Last night in Montreal was held the premiere of a new Canadian horror film, Matthew Saliba’s Frankenstein Unlimited. This anthology based on some aspects of the Frankenstein mythos is a collaborative effort of six local filmmakers, the majority of them supporters & friends of the Cult Sirens universe. I was personally amazed by the imagination displayed in cleverly modernizing key elements from that timeless story.
You can find more info & show support by visiting the film’s official website.

Gail Kim: two posts in a row, gaahh! She’s featured as an assassin in a new action film that got limited release last Friday, Royal Kill. Gail was so great to work with and also so impressive in her stunt work, that her part got extended.Goes to show you that maybe lady wrestlers could maybe have more interesting movie career than some of their male colleagues…? Go to the official website.

Marvelous poster from an upcoming action film!

Since getting applauded around the world for her role in Clean in 2004, Maggie Cheung had been going in a period of semi-retirement these last few years. She could be glimpsed for about three seconds in 2046 and seen in Ashes of Time Redux, but as far as a real new role… nothing. Even as a big fan, I wouldn’t want Maggie wasting her time in any insipid American romantic comedy or some such unworthy project. Well, we can now rejoice with the announcement that she has been cast in Quentin Tarantino’s next high profile movie, Inglorious Basterds, a more of less remake of a 1978 Enzo G. Castellari war a with another spelling (mainly Inglorious Bastards but the original title remains Quel maledetto treno blindato).

Maggie is hired to play Madame Mimieux, a Chinese woman living in France (?) during WWII, who runs a cinema theater that secretly hides Jewish refugees. Interestingly, that role was first destined to French actress Isabelle Huppert. The cast also includes Brad Pitt and Mike Myers, among many other interesting names.

One of my biggest cinema tragedies remains the cancellation of Christophe Gans’ Bob Morane, where Maggie Cheung was destined to play Miss Ylang-Ylang, with Vincent Cassel in the title role. Alas, it was not meant to be.

“More Latex! More Party! Extra Everything!” the tagline screams. Well, I’ll be going to the premiere of this documentary in a couple of days. This is very exciting, mainly because I had the chance to briefly talk to some of the people involved and sure enough, they are extremely obliging and friendly. Actually, director Martin Perreault and event promoter Éric Paradis were kind enough to supply me with some sought-after tickets for the event.

Don’t forget that this is part of the 2008 Fetish Weekend, of which I talked about some time ago. Our gracious hostess and honorary Cult Siren Bianca Beauchamp will of course be the point of focus for this premiere. Expect a full report next week! And check out the official site!

Photo by Martin Perreault - © Copyright Bianca Beauchamp & Martin Perreault

So there’s a chance for a new Red Sonja movie, even if Rose McGowan and Robert Rodriguez aren’t a couple anymore (or are they? who knows about these things?). Well, I’m all for any comic book adaptation starring a strong heroine… but these action movies taking place in ancient legends are more often than not stiff and monotonous, with more duds than gems in the lot (exemple: anyone remember the 1985 version?). Rodriguez will produce, with Douglas Aarniokoski directing. All this was revealed during a panel at the San Diego Comic-Con International last month.

Can Miss McGowan handle the action, though? Is beheading Thulsa Doom’s minions more demanding than shooting zombies with an artificial leg? Only time will tell. This promotional poster is still very nice to look at, though. Shooting starts in October.

OK, so we talked recently about a remake of Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill! Right? But is it already done, with another name? Check out Bitch Slap, supposed to come out at the end of this year. And what about that poster? Go to the official site and admire the trailer. Can’t this be as awesome is it looks? A trio of sexy gals kicking butt in the desert, how can it go wrong?

Why not sharing a couple of pictures concerning the upcoming zombie comedy Zombie Strippers? First of all the poster, which gives a grindhouse feel to the production (as if the title itself was not trashy enough!).

And then, here’s the awesome beauty of co-star Jessica Custodio, looking mighty fine and leggy in this pose. Of course, (former?) adult movie star Jena Jameson has the lead female role and there’s the involvement of Robert Englund.

What are YOU going to do when these zombie strippers are coming onto you?

I’ve been watching movies for all my life, to put it very simply. As a youth, coming across an unexpected TV viewing on a boring Sunday afternoon of François Truffaut’s Les 400 coups (The 400 Blows) practically changed my life. I demanded to know more, see more. I soon knew that there were many serious films out there and here I was, barely 12 years old, avidly watching stuff from Bergman, Fellini, Curtiz, Bava, Renoir, Lang, Kurosawa and going nuts. I still kept my love from trash and cult movies, however, mixing it all up in my head and creating an unique universe.

There was a point in my life where I sought out classic motion pictures, and this even before the advent of home video. I was mesmerized by many of these titles but as the years went by, more and more were scratched out of my list of must-sees. All this to say that it takes a lot to impress me these days and I can’t remember the last time that I lived through a cinematic experience that I can qualify as shaking me up. Until recently.

For the first time, I had the privilege of viewing Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s Black Narcissus, a 1947 British film about nuns trying to run a school/convent in the Himalayas. I knew that this project was still considered one of the best visually colored film of all time, so all depended on the print that was showing on commercial television (on the Silver Screen Classics channel, if you want to know, where the majority of movies shown are usually in rough shape). It took me less than five seconds to decide that this copy was faithful to the original vision and I stayed tuned, to be absolutely glued to the screen, in a perfect state of bliss and wonder.

For me, a Powell/Pressburger film has always been something that comes out of a parallel fantasy universe, be it for its visual contributions, witty and original characters and unexpected plot delights. The faultless performances, Jean Simmons’ 17 years old beauty, the haunting soundtrack and the fact that each frame is a real work of art worthy of being hung on a wall totally floored me. Who would’ve thought that a movie starring Deborah Kerr as a nun would so enthrall me? This is the sort of surprise that is always welcome in the life of a movie fan, especially when considering that these events come fewer and fewer as years go by. Want to see a masterpiece? Try Black Narcissus.

Don’t know if this movie will enjoy a long run at the box-office, but we should note the presence of two exquisite actresses, namely Maggie Q and Aisha Tyler.

Firstly, Margaret Denise Quigley was born on May 22, 1979, and is of Vietnamese and Irish-American descent. In fact, her dad had met her mom during the Vietnam War. She was born in Hawaii, but eventually began a modeling career that took her to Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong. Maggie began her movie career in 2000 in the latter country with a couple of projects, one ironically titled Model from Hell. She could be glimpsed the next year in Rush Hour 2. Naked Weapon can be considered a breakthrough part in 2003, that movie being a sort of remake of the legendary cult thriller Naked Killer, starring Chingmy Yau. For North American audiences, Miss Q was mainly noticed in Mission Impossible III and Live Free or Die Hard. So now fans around the world can have the pleasure of watching Maggie paddle-wielding her way in this ping-pong comedy. So watch out for this actress with these unique facial features, a perfect blend of East and West.

Last but not least is Aisha Tyler, born on September 18, 1970, in San Francisco. Maybe the tallest female stand-up comic of all time (she stands 6 ft tall, not counting the heels), she used to skip school to attend improv classes. After touring and enjoying a comedy career, she made her debut on television by guest-starring in various series, like Nash Bridges. The spotlight was on her in 2001 when she hosted the satiric TV show Talk Soup and began popping on various televised projects. Her movie career has been a bit more discreet and we hope that bigger things will come her way in many higher-profile projects, as that unique mix of beauty and humor is not to be wasted another second. Still, she wrote, directed and starred in her own short film, The Whipper. As this is written, two movies having Aisha in their respective casts are in theaters, Balls of Fury and Death Sentence. For many years, there was this rumor that Halle Berry would star in a remake/homage of a blaxploitation picture of the seventies. May I suggest now Ms. Tyler, who would be perfect as the new Cleopatra Jones?