Midnight Madness: the after party

It is only now, three days later, that I feel I am beginning to recover, physically and mentally, from the absurdities of Midnight Madness.  I'm sure there was at least one bartender at C'est What the last couple nights who was highly confused by the two empty stools in front of him, and perhaps a little bit concerned as to the whereabouts of "Cliff and Norm".

Kris mentioned in our last post that while not all the films were great, the screenings themselves were fantastic, and make me wanna do the whole thing all over again.  Thanks for reading Kris and my reviews - we put a considerable amount of effort into them, checking out and reporting on films to recommend or veto to YOU, the reader, if and when they are released theatrically or on DVD down the road.  Here's how the films break down for me, from best to worst:

1. Symbol
2. The Loved Ones (winner of the Cadillac People's Choice Award - Midnight Madness)
3. Bitch Slap (tie)
3. [REC] 2 (tie)
5. A Town Called Panic
6. Jennifer's Body
7. Daybreakers
8. Ong Bak 2: The Beginning
9. Solomon Kane
*n/a George A. Romero's Survival of the Dead

Cannot wait until next year, you're all "invited"(?).

-the coelacanth
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ten days, ten films, two men, two bikes, 40 pints, one bowl of shanghai noodles...

TIFF 2009 was a helluva experience.
Joe and I's decision to grab midnight packages this year came from last years festival. At last minute Joe picked up tickets for him and I to two midnight madness screenings, the only screenings we both could make with our work schedules.
Those two screenings were just so much fun that we promised to do more next year. So naturally, we picked up midnight madness packages and (without knowing it at the time) started a tradition.

They call it Midnight Madness for a reason, we were both losing our minds. When we talked to each other no one else really understood what we were saying. Basically we talked in one word sentences that were nods to in jokes on in jokes.
for example:
Kris: "Oh hey manz, i like the cask ale"
Joe: "Papa!"
... and then we would laugh, it's not that you don't get it. It's that we were out of our fucking minds.
All the gore, all the breasts, the zombies, the Jules's, the lack of sleep, the beer, the horror... the horror.
It was as psychologically disturbing and emotionally draining as i was hoping.
by the third film i was a zombie, by the 7th i was a demon of the night.
Can't wait to do it all again next year... we might even invite Tom this time! who knows?

Here's my picks of the fest from least enjoyable to most:

10: Survival of the Dead - People have said that this is a "step in the right direction" for George A. Romero but i think George should just be making good zombie films by this point.
9: Solomon Kane - Only problem with this fantasy flick is how mind numbingly mediocre it is.
8: Ong Bak 2: The Beginning - Rent it and watch the first 20 minutes and the last 15, skip through the rest.
7: A Town Called Panic - Great fun for awhile, but the novelty of watching yelling french toys gets tiresome after the 60 minute mark.
6: Jennifer's Body - The Midnight Madness crowd made this one more enjoyable than it really is. Moments of something truly special buried between a film trying to be something it's not.
5: Daybreakers - A vampire movie that's innovative and a lot of fun... when it's not spending time with all the wimpy humans which turns out to be too often.
4: [REC] 2 - truly expanded upon the experience of the first film while still feeling fresh.
3: Bitch Slap - Biggest surprise of MM, probably the worst of the films on here but honestly just too much fun. Walking out of this one we knew we saw a shitty movie, but why did we have giant smiles on our face?
2: Symbol - Surreal comedy that made me scared but also had me rolling in my seat with laughter while at the same time made me wanna jump on my seat and dance. Great stuff, i gotta own this when it comes out on dvd.
1: The Loved Ones - This Aussie horror flick from first time director Sean Byrne is just a beauty, and reinvigorates the genre with something new. Truly something special, also won the people's choice award this year for best Midnight Madness film so that's saying something. Here's hoping we get this one in the shoppe sooner than later.

Well that's pretty much it,
wanna thank Joe for being my light in the dark, my candle in the wind, my film buddy. Without you, there would be no way...
Also thanks to Scott for all the moral support. If it wasn't for you Joe and I might not have made it.
Thanks to Tom for getting our hopes up about coming to movies and/or coming to drinks.
Thanks Hey Manz" Pauly for bringing the noodles and sitting beside Joe.
Thanks to Kendall to braving that bad movie with me and bringing the crispers
Thanks to Alex for saving all those seats
Thanks to Colin Geddes for all the great picks.
And finally, last but not least a big thank you to Hopping Mad ale for getting me through, although you let me down that last night, our time was still a wild passionate ride i would never trade in.

-Dropkick