CITY BOY GEEKINESS

It's October and you know what that means: Horror movies! I love scary movies. In fact, this blog is filled with countless posts about horror movie reviews and lists. Slasher movies are my favourite from the genre. Even though it can be a little generic and cheesy, watching the Final Girl try to survive always pulls me into the story. This latest movie review is no exception. The film I will be reviewing today is the time-jumping slasher flick: Happy Death Day.

The Plot: University student "Tree" (played by Jessica Rothe) wakes up after a hard night of partying and lives her full day on campus, which just so happens to be her birthday. The problem, however, is that she's murdered by a mysterious masked individual. Instead of dying, she is forced to repeat the same day again and again to stop her death from happening.

The Results: 3/5!

Happy Death Day is exactly what it looks to be: A cheeky horror film inspired by the film, Groundhog Day. Beyond the rewind twist, this was a standard slasher flick with a killer going after the same one person. You're not going to get much originality from that. However, Tree was a fun and engaging lead character; I liked rooting for her to solve the murder and her interactions with all of the other supporting characters. She really carried the film and brought life to the adventure. Happy Death Day is a movie that won't change the horror genre, but it is one that you should check out and add to your slasher rotation. It's fun, cheeky, and adds a good bit of humour to the horror tone.

Recently announced in movie news, former High School Musical and Disney star Ashley Tisdale has secured the lead role in the upcoming Scary Movie 5.

While not much has been revealed about the plot, an official press release by The Weinstein Company and news reports have noted that movies such as Final Destination, Black Swan and Paranormal Activity will be a few of the movies parodied. Originally Scary Movie 5 was confirmed in 2009 but due to unscheduled production delays and setbacks had postponed the possibility for a fifth sequel.

Tisdale jumps on the heels to take over the lead-role from Scream Queen and Scary Movie staple Anna Faris, who famously played the role of the clueless Cindy Campbell for the previous four films. Rumours have circulated that while Faris is unsure if she'll reprise her role, fans are hopeful that she and Regina Hall will return for the fifth film. Tisdale is set to play "one of the film's leads" so the comment leaves way for potentially more characters to receive top lead billing on the infamous movie poster. 

Scary Movie 5 returns to theatres after a nearly six year hiatus - the last film was Scary Movie 4 which premiered on April 14, 2006.

Are you excited for the return of the Scary Movie series?

Horror fans rejoice! 

The popular horror movie series Scream may be making its way to a television screen near you. In an exclusive article revealed by TV Line, MTV is looking into the possibility of creating a television series based on the mysterious Ghostface killer and his list of untimely teen victims.

While no other updates have been reported (or if the yet uncreated pilot will be picked up by the network), fans should welcome the idea of seeing how this concept could be adapted to the small screen. I'm particularly excited to see how the show is created: will it follow the premise of Harper's Island (a set of main characters with one being the killer) or will it be an unsatisfying creation similar to Freddy's Nightmares (a "A Tales of the Crypt" style show).

Unconfirmed is if Scream legends Kevin Williamson or Wes Craven will take part in the television series or if they'll return for the rumoured Scream 5 (current news reports have shown that Kevin Williamson is not interested in returning). Until then, you can check out the exclusive article from TV Line to read the full details: (Article)

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

This is my most favourite holiday because I am a fan of seeing people in their costumes, the spooky aspect towards music, movies, and television, and just the campy fun with everything people do.I hope everyone has an amazing time this weekend whether you go out celebrating or simply going trick-or-treating for candy. Just be careful and be safe when you're out at night since people have gotten hurt by accident or have tasted bad candy; Urban Legends are not just stories, they've had to have derived from some nugget of truth. Have fun everyone and enjoy the spooky day before its over.

Halloween is my favourite holiday!

It trumps Christmas and even my birthday. I love everything associated with the day, from the scary to the creepy ever since I was a kid. Well, I'm not a fan of dressing up every year unless there is an occasion that warranted me to be in a costume, but I do have friends who love to dress up. If you might be having some trouble deciding on a costume, remember that the costume is not just an outfit but a fashion statement where the extreme is the new norm. Below is a list of costume ideas to help provide some inspiration as a starting point:

1. Superheroes and Villains

People think that men and young boys are the only ones who willingly dress up as superheroes; that is completely untrue. My friend, Emily, has decided to do a costume and she is dressing up as a female version of Flash. There are hundreds of comic book characters that one can choose from or even an original idea from a movie or television show. Never forget that you don't have to be a hero, villains are popular too and a character like the Joker will be a hot commodity this Halloween. NOTE: To you crazy kids in love, there are tons of couple combinations you can create with this category: sidekicks, villains in romantic war (Batman and Cat Woman), or even villain couples (The Joker and Harley Quinn).

2. Celebrities
It is not uncommon for a person to dress as a celebrity. However, it's usually done without a costume and claiming to be a celebrity. When time and effort are put to the test then something innovated can be created. This Halloween the two main costumes are most likely to be Lady Gaga and the cast of Jersey Shore

3. Video Game and Movie Characters

Mario, Link, Princess Peach, Goku, Sailor Moon, Chun-Li, Harry Potter, Dorothy and Toto, Alice in Wonderland and all the many Disney characters. They have all played a significant part of our childhood - they're the first thing that comes to mind when deciding what to be for Halloween. Make an homage to your favourite character or series! Just remember that these costumes will require precise outfits and are not cheap to create. Anime and Manga costumes are a prime example; you will be dipping into your budget.

Simple is always best. These costumes are more popular with girls because they love to add a sexy or evil side to these characters. Be careful which outfit you choose to become because you might be getting some cheesy innuendoes all night from drunken Halloween party-goers. A note to teenagers: always remember to review and have a final check to see if your outfit might be too risque to wear to school or in front of your parents.

5. Traditional

These are the costumes that we have grown up wearing more often than not. Vampires (going as someone from Twilight is a different category), werewolves, witches, mummies, Frankenstein, ghosts and a longer list of many more imaginative characters. More of a throwback to our childhood, these costumes are a cliche (at best) to being original or creative on Halloween. Try to add a little flair and uniqueness if choosing one of these costumes. They're cheap to buy and easy to make if you're on a budget.

6. Unique

Maybe be unique with your costume? Being individual really gets people talking the next day about what costumes they noticed on the streets or at a party. Most try to be objects like a Swiffer broom, gum under a chair, a speed bump or other everyday items. Try not to be too different because if people are completely unaware of what you're trying to pull off then the purpose may be completely lost.

7. Be Yourself

This is the laziest costume, even more than a zombie with dabs of fake blood. There is no bigger kill joy than saying that your costume is being yourself. However, if dressing up is not a thing that you like doing on Halloween then I can't force you to get dressed. Your only simplest form is to dress as yourself. I will admit that I have used this costume plenty of times but it has been done and it will still be used for years to come.

I hope you have enjoyed all the different types of Halloween costume suggestions. Choose something that you will have fun being because a fun night is being what you want to be. Though, choose at your discretion and remember that it will be cold on Halloween so dress warmly and have fun.

I'm a volunteer guy. Sometimes people give me a weird look at some of the events that I choose to volunteer. This time the weird looks came when I told people I would be volunteering for the 2010 Toronto Zombie Walk.

I love Halloween. It's my favourite holiday and I love everything about it, though I did not expect what I would find on Saturday. Thousands upon thousands of zombies (like there were zombies EVERYWHERE!) were coming through the word-works to get a complimentary toe-tag and participate in the parade.

I worked at the registration table since like 10:30 a.m. and things surely started off slow because the opening ceremony wouldn't start till 3 p.m. Once things began to get closer to the ceremony, zombies by the bus loads were making their way through the park to get registered for the event. The other volunteers and I at the Dundas location were frantically trying to register as many people as we could and get them notified in the statistics.

Suffice it to say that at 4:35 p.m. we had to shut down the registration booth. The walk had to begin from Trinity Bellwoods Park and make their way to Christie Pitts. We didn't even finish registering all the zombies for the walk, we had to usher them into the pitt and tell them to commence the walk.

I was so tired after those 7 hours that I choose not to join in for the big festivities at Christie Pitts. I will say that it was hilarious seeing all the original costumes that people choose to dress up as like Alice in Wonderland, Marie Antoinette, and someone came as Jesus with an actual life-size cross. The weather was really gloomy which was a plus for the ambiance but it started to rain and I felt so bad for the makeup artist who spent 7 hours straight helping people put on their make up.

Times have been busy lately and I will admit that I have been ignoring my Xbox 360 for a long while. I have priorities in my life at the moment but in times like this when there is a holiday coming up and I have free time; I have some available time to check out a game that I was really interested in playing. This section of reviews will be discussing the game that I am currently playing: Dead Rising 2.

The Story: Chuck Greene, a former motocross racer, is a contestant on the hit pay-per-view reality competition, Terror is Reality, in Fortune City. He competes to earn enough money to keep his daughter Katey with enough supply of Zombrex, a healing agent which prevents zombification for 24-hours; a bite she sustained during the Las Vegas outbreak. After the latest TIR event, an explosion erupts and zombies start pouring into the streets attacking the thousands of visitors to Fortune City and turning them into zombies. While Chuck is protecting his daughter in the safehouse with other survivors, he learns that he is being framed for the cause of the outbreak. With the help of CURE activist Stacey Foresythe, Channel 6 action news reporter Rebecca Chang, and Fortune City security chief Sullivan, Chuck must now uncover the truth while saving survivors in Fortune City in three days before help arrives.

The Good: Having played the original Dead Rising game years earlier, I knew the background of the game. I really enjoyed the storyline and uncovering the truth about the cover-up, The characters are all very different and I love how each one continues to grow throughout the three days. The missions to save survivors are unique and we get to meet some very interesting characters in this city. The combo option of combining weapons is a neat addition to this game and seeing what you can put together to deal out more damage.

The Result: 9/10! 

Dead Rising 2 was definitely an improvement to the first game and there were a lot of interesting quirks like the online play, money, survivors and storyline that I really loved. The only reason that I had to take away a point is because I could not stand the Chef when I had to face him and kept getting incredibly frustrated to see him regain his health. Nevertheless, I enjoyed this game and would recommend it to anyone.

I'm not a movie buff nor was I able to attend TIFF, Toronto International Film Festival, this year. However, whenever there is an interesting movie that is playing at the theatres then I would love to see what it is about. My guilty pleasure has to be a good, and hopefully not corny, horror movie. I grew up watching all these typical teen slasher flicks and what can I say, things haven't really changed. October is a great month to watch new movies that I like since Halloween is right at the end of month and studios love to pump out them out specifically for that holidays. Maybe some will actually be incredibly interesting, be the flavour of the month, or the next flop?

1. The Social Network - October 1

It's a recent movie that was just released detailing the behind-the-scenes events that transpired by Mark Zuckerberg while he was creating Facebook. I was really excited to see this movie but two people in my class, Zaira and Victor, say that it was alright and no plot. I think I might end up seeing this movie, however, I know how much of a movie buffs they both are so I might take their advice a tad.

2. Let Me In - October 1

This is a movie that features the most overused supernatural character: vampires. Though it is not your typical vampire movie that follows the same romantic genre that Twilight has, this movie seems to be about the complicated relationship between a human boy and his unknowingly, vampire, (girl)friend. I want to see this movie because it won't follow the average horror movie and have a darker style to it. Also the actress who plays the vampire girl is very talented and I remember her from the movie, Kick-Ass.

3. My Soul To Take - October 8

I can already hear the groans already. Even though you may think that it will follow the same generic plot that this category of horror may follow; this one seems to bring a new quality to the already established genre. Its about the legend of a serial killer who would seek revenge against the seven teenagers who were born on the night he was finally killed and the twist is: his soul might be in the bodies of one of the teenagers. This movie is brought to you by horror genius, Wes Craven, and I hope that it will be a good movie this month.

4. Paranormal Activity 2 - October 22

Paranormal Activity was the sleeper hit last year after it terrified consumers and left everyone wondering if they would be able to surpass their momentum from the previous film. I will admit that I briefly saw the original film and was not enamored by it at all. However, time has past and I will most likely rewatch it again before I flock to theatres to watch this film. We will see if I am able to be drawn in to this sequel because some sequels have shown to not live up to the hype or potential that was created from the first movie.

5. Saw 3D - October 30

This movie will be the one that I will receive the most apprehension from people when I say I want to watch this movie at the end of the month. Everyone has seen at least one Saw movie in their life and since Saw 3D is going to be the apparent last movie, we'll see, in the franchise then I have to go and watch it. I also am a big of the VH1 reality show, Scream Queens, where an asprining actress vies for a role in a Saw film. Tanedra was the winner of season 1 who appeared in Saw 6 and now season 2 winner Abby will appear in Saw 3D in an unspecified role. I can't wait to see how everything will end but hopefully it will arrive at a satisfying climax since it has been seven movies and some series have never ended on a high note.

Agree or Disagree with my list? Then comment below or shoot me a message on twitter and discuss.

For this article I will be counting down the top ten victims from the first ever Scream Trilogy. It has been 10 years since the last Scream movie has come out and with Scream 4 halting down in production, what better time then to take a look back at the most memorable kills and victims we saw on the silver screen by the hands of Ghostface. 

Note: I did not include any victims who were eliminated off screen or any of the killers' final demise. This list will comprise of those eliminated by the masked killer. Enjoy the list horror fans and prepare yourself on April 15, 2011 for the next trilogy.

I know that I should limit each ranking to only one person but these two deserve to share the spot together. Cotton survived a brutal battle at the end of Scream 2 to be killed off in the very first moments of the next installment. These two made their way on the list together because viewers hoped that Cotton would survive in time to warn Christine of the killer. Trust is very much an important aspect in horror movies and this pair shows that there definitely wasn't any, excluding the fact that Cotton was going to cheat on her with an unknown female (Ghost Face).

Many can deem Jenny McCarthy's role as the aging blond starlet to be a gimmick and that no one was surprised to see her character killed off early on in the film. However, her scene definitely turned out to be one of the few gems from a lackluster sequel. Her fight to stay alive using a bevy of fake props for her survival all culminating in a quick demise really brought out the anticipation and excitement that was severely missing. Her longevity may have been suspect and you knew that one of the bigger celebrities was going to get the axe early on, but you can't blame the girl for trying to stay alive? I thought so.

The first death is always the most gruesome. Most people tend to forget that there was another player in the first opening minutes of Scream. He barely had any lines (well his mouth was taped shut) and he was killed in the first couple of minutes right. The reason that he made his way onto this list is because when viewers were beginning to process how this horror movie would develop... you see this guy taped to a chair and bleeding in the backyard. I hoped that Casey wouldn't get any of the horror movie questions wrong. Guess what... she did.

Scream 2 had some of the more anticipated and heavily performed scenes out of all the Scream movies. Nobody could forget the high speed car collision where Ghost Face tried to remove Officer Richards from the hood of a moving car while Sidney and Hallie were both screaming in the back seat. Suffice it to say that the Officer didn't survive the ride. Once Sidney and Hallie had survived their encounter with the masked killer... Sidney gets the bright idea to go back and uncover the killer's identity. Conclusion: killer's not in the front seat but behind Hallie. Guess who didn't survive then?

We've all seen them in horror movies; even Sidney pointed it out earlier in the film: the big breasted blond who should be running out the front door instead of running upstairs. Tatum was funny and lovable with all the witty sarcasm but she was doomed from the start. In what was the most memorable yet hilariously "slap-your-head" acts of stupidity, Tatum decides to squeeze her way through a tiny dogie door from an electric powered garage door. The reason her kill is not higher on the list is that many can debate whether Ghostface was the actual killer. Her demise was at the fault of the garage door but the killer did press the button. It all depends on the interpretation.
 
5. Jennifer Jolie - Scream 3

Like the #10 spot on the list, this iconic victim comes from the lackluster conclusion of the Scream trilogy. Many of the kills near the end of the movie were quick and pointless, but this one made up for the two before. Jennifer was the sarcastic and spoiled actress who made her "big break" in the Stab franchise that covered Sidney's life: her character was Gale Weathers. She played the comic relief, but the last laugh was from Ghostface. Through what seemed to be a staple in the horror genre (big house, secret passageways), Jennifer was trapped behind the walls looking through two-way soundproof mirrors, desperately trying to scream for help while the killer was approaching. This appeared higher on the list because it's one of the more memorable scenes from the last movie.

This scene was the stereotypical celebrity kill in the opening minutes of the movie; an homage to the first Scream movie. Maureen and her boyfriend, Phil, are going to the advanced screening of Stab. Phil was killed off early in the bathroom and the killer (disguised as Phil in full Ghostface costume) has positioned his seating beside an unsuspecting Maureen. What happened next seemed to be an act of Mob mentality! Once Maureen realized something was up when she found blood on his jacket, the killer began to stab Maureen while everyone cheered him on thinking it was a publicity stunt and her to be the weak gimmick victim. Machiavelli would be proud.

Here is another gem from the second installment of the Scream trilogy and this one is provided by a Scream Queen herself, Sarah Michelle Gellar. Following on the heels of the memorable phone call and sorority scene, CiCi is the sober sister for her sorority who begins to receive creepy calls from a mysterious individual. When she turns on the house alarm, the killer emerges and chases her up the stairs to her doom (Sidney would be so disappointed). The throwing of seemingly random items and running through the house culminates in her being thrown over the balcony. This is a personal favorite from the franchise.

Do we even need to announce who the top victim/kill of the Scream trilogy movies: Drew Barrymore's performance as Casey Becker . The top spot has to go to the most suspenseful and scariest moment that defined the entire franchise to come. The difference between Casey's and Steve's death is that viewers got to know Casey and were fooled into believing that she would be the main character. Surprisingly, she would be killed nearly 10 to 15 minutes later on. She's the first victim who perfected the scary phone call conservation, the running from the killer, and had the first encounter with Ghostface on screen. Casey Becker truly deserves the number one spot as the top Scream Trilogy victims.