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The Toxic Avenger Musical
April 22-May 21, 2016
Southwark Playhouse, London

The British premiere of super-monster mop boy rock n roll award winning musical comedy from the Tony Award-winning creative team behind Memphis , Joe DiPietro and Bon Jovi's David Bryan, and based on the 1984 cult classic film from Troma Entertainment comes to Southwark Playhouse for a five-week run,.

The musical is not only a superhero monster adventure but also a sweet love story between Toxie and a beautiful blind librarian The tale of The Toxic Avenger Musical unfolds at a time when the citizens of Tromaville are in dire straits and desperately in need of a hero. Enter Melvin, an aspiring earth scientist determined to clean up the toxic waste problem, with his trusty and ultimately iconic spaghetti mop. When a corrupt Mayor and her government goons try to stop his heroic feat, Melvin is tossed into a vat of toxic waste and transformed into The Toxic Avenger , New Jersey's first superhero!

Secondhand Lions is a 2003 USA family comedy drama by Tim McCanlies.
Starring Haley Joel Osment, Michael Caine and Robert Duvall.

BBFC category cuts were required for a PG rated 2003 cinema release. Uncut and 12 rated on home video. Uncut and MPAA PG rated in the US.

Summary Notes

A boy named Walter is dropped by his mother Mae at his great-uncles' house. Later,Walter will find out his great-uncles' big secret. And rumors say that Hub & Garth, Walter's great uncles, have stolen much gold & money. (some

 say they stole it from Al Capone) Did they really steal that money or not?

See video from YouTube

Sex Murder Art: The Films Of Jorg Buttgereit is a set consisting of:

• NEKRomantik
• Der Todesking
• NEKRomantik 2
• Schramm

US: Uncut and MPAA Unrated for:

• 2016 Cult Epics [Sex Murder Art] (RA) Blu-ray at US Amazon released on 12th April 2016

Nekromantik is a 1987 West Germany horror by Jörg Buttgereit.
With Bernd Daktari Lorenz, Beatrice Manowski and Harald Lundt.

Not released in the UK for fear of censorship from 1987-2014. Passed 18 uncut for DVD in May 2014.

The promotional material suggests another version of NEKRomantik but I haven't come across this before

The Death King is a 1990 West Germany horror drama by Jörg Buttgereit.
Starring Hermann Kopp, Heinrich Ebber and Michael Krause.

Pre-cut for UK VHS. Uncut in the US.

Nekromantik 2 is a 1991 Germany horror by Jörg Buttgereit.
Starring Monika M, Mark Reeder and Lena Braun.

Not released in the UK for fear of censorship from 1991-2015. Passed 18 uncut for DVD in August 2015.

Schramm: Into the Mind of a Serial Killer is a 1993 Germany horror by Jörg Buttgereit.
Starring Florian Koerner von Gustorf, Monika M and Micha Brendel.

Yet to be released in the UK, initially out of fear of UK censorship, but now just a matter of time.

Promotional Material

Cult Epics presents Sex Murder Art: The Films of Jorg Buttgereit, a collection of his four horror underground films; the necrophilia classics Nekromantik & Nekromantik 2, the death and suicide anthology Der Todesking (The Death King) and the premiere of the serial killer film Schramm on Blu-ray. Includes exclusive Soundtrack CD's of the films and a 40-page booklet containing interviews and photos with Jorg Buttgereit and collaborators. Fully Uncut & Uncensored versions.

Special Features:

• New Director's Approved HD Transfers
• Two versions of Nekromantik
• Exclusive Introductions for each film by Jorg Buttgreit
• Q&A with Jorg Buttgereit
• Audio Commentaries
• The Making Ofs
• Featurettes
• Still Photo Galleries
• Jorg Buttgereit Trailers
• Documentary: Corpse F*****g Art
• Short films: Hot Love, A Moment of Silence at the Grave of Ed Gein, Horror Heaven, Bloody Excess in the Leaders Bunker, My Father
• Music Video: Half Girl by Jorg Buttgereit
• Original Motion Picture Soundtracks
• Live Concert of Nekromantik 2
• BD Exclusive new art design by Silver Ferox
• Exclusive CD Soundtrack of Nekromantik & Der Todesking
• Exclusive CD 2 Soundtrack of Nekromantik 2 & Schramm
• BD Exclusive 40-page perfect-bind booklet with Interviews & exclusive photos

Schramm: Into the Mind of a Serial Killer is a 1993 Germany horror by Jörg Buttgereit.
Starring Florian Koerner von Gustorf, Monika M and Micha Brendel.

US: Uncut and MPAA Unrated for:

• 2016 Cult Epics R0 Blu-ray at US Amazon released on 12th April 2016
• 2016 Cult Epics R0 DVD at US Amazon released on 12th April 2016

Yet to be released in the UK, initially out of fear of UK censorship, but now just a matter of time.

Promotional Material

The story of a deranged serial killer from the director of Nekromantik. Lothar Schramm (Florian Koemer von Gustorf) is dying, face down in a pool of his own blood. Behind his closed eyes, fractured memories repeat themselves. He runs by the sea. He lusts after the whore (Nekromantik 2's Monika M.) across the hall. He staggers through life uncertainly. He kills. Schramm is the story of the notorious Lipstick Killer Lothar Schramm's last days on earth. Revealed in a series of tightly constructed flashbacks, the film offers an unflinching look into the mind of a serial killer. Uncompromising in its depictions of violence and perversion, Schramm is a poetic masterpiece of horror guaranteed to make you squirm.

Cult Epics presents Jorg Buttgereit's last directed horror feature SCHRAMM. Uncut, Uncensored in new High Definition and with new bonus features, including the early horror short films by Jorg Buttgereit.

Special Features:

• New Director's Approved HD Transfer (taken from the original 16mm negative)
• Exclusive Introduction by Jorg Buttgereit
• Audio Commentary by Jorg Buttgereit and writer Franz Rodenkirchen
• Audio Commentary 2 by Actors Florian Koemer von Gustorf and Monika M.
• The Making of Schramm
• Still Photo Gallery
• JB HD Trailers
• Short film: Horror Heaven HD with optional Audio Commentary by Jorg Buttgereit
• Short film: Blutige Exzesse im Fuhrerbunker (Bloody Excess in the Leaders Bunker) HD
• Short film: Mein Papi (My Father)
• Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
• New DTS-HD MA 5.1 Surround

From 31 March 2016, the BBFC will delegate to the Cinema Advertising Association (CAA) the regulation of all cinema advertisements in the UK.

Following a Government consultation, the BBFC and the CAA agreed to end the dual regulation of advertisements shown in UK cinemas. Henceforth, the CAA will assess and classify all cinema advertisements. The BBFC retains its classification role in relation to trailers, public information films, campaigning films and all other theatrical works.

DCMS carried out a public consultation in May 2012 on the future regulation of cinema advertising. At the time, the BBFC and the CAA both classified cinema advertisements. The BBFC and the CAA argued in favour of removing this dual regulation and duplication of responsibility. As a result, the BBFC has stepped back from the day-to-day classification of cinema advertisements and sub-contracted responsibility for classifying such advertisements to the CAA.

In the event of there being any doubt as to whether a particular film should be considered an advertisement, the BBFC shall determine whether such film requires to be classified in accordance with its Classification Guidelines and will inform the CAA accordingly.

Banglasia is a 2015 Malaysia comedy by Namewee

An irreverant comedy from the Malaysian director Namewee was banned by government film censors for promoting homosexual lifestyles, mocking troops and ridiculing national security issues.

Namewee's film Banglasia, which centres on a group of individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds who find themselves forced to accept each other's differences, was banned from cinemas last year after 31 scenes were deemed inappropriate by local censors.

The Malay Mail reports that the Malaysian home ministry has published its official reasons for refusing the film a licence, in response to a written request from MP and human-rights activist Sivarasa Rasiah:

This film has a title, theme, storyline, scenes and double-meaning dialogue with implicit messages that were feared could raise controversy and public doubt, the response reads, adding that it mocked national security issues, specifically the Lahad Datu intrusion ... ridiculed the capacity and role of security troops in maintaining peace as well as national security ... includes allegations and negative perceptions towards government agencies related to citizenship ... and accentuates negative sociocultural lifestyles such as lesbian gay bisexual transgender (LGBT).

Horror Channel is to screen an Easter Hammer-thon with back-to-back Hammer classics.

Some of Hammer's most popular films, including The Revenge Of Frankenstein, The Devil Rides Out and The Brides Of Dracula will be broadcast across the weekend from 3pm till 10pm on Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th March.

Plus, Horror Channel will be presenting Hammer Thursdays from Thursday 7th April for six weeks. This will be a Hammer movie at 9pm followed by a double-bill of Hammer House Of Horror at 10.50pm. First movie up is Countess Dracula.

Saturday 26th March

• 3.00pm. The Curse Of The Werewolf
• 4.50pm.The Brides Of Dracula
• 6.35pm. The Plague Of Zombies

Sunday 27th March

• 3.00pm. The Revenge Of Frankenstein
• 4.50pm. The Evil Of Frankenstein
• 6.35pm. The Devil Rides Out

Ghoulies II is a 1988 USA comedy horror by Albert Band.
Starring Damon Martin, Royal Dano and Phil Fondacaro.

UK: The cut US PG-13 Version was passed 15 for strong language, infrequent gory images without BBFC cuts for:

• 2016 101 Films RB Blu-ray at UK Amazon released on 11th April 2016
• 2016 101 Films R2 DVD at UK Amazon released on 11th April 2016

Censorship History

Originally uncut and R rated in the US. This was later replaced by a cut PG-13 version. The BBFC initially made cuts for a 15 rating but later passed the PG-13 version with a 15 rating which restored some of the BBFC cuts.

See further details at Melon Farmers Film Cuts: Ghoulies II

Promotional Material

For the first time available in the UK on Blu-Ray.

The Ghoulies are back and more devilish than ever, as they turn an unsuspecting carnival into a house of pandemonium in this wildly outrageous sequel to the original smash hit to Ghoulies!

Satans Den has received its final warning; either the not-so-creepy House of Horrors spooks-up its act and scares some customers fast or its gateway to hell will be closed for eternity. Just when Larry Prentice (Damon Martin) and his uncle Ned (Royal Dano) think theres not a ghost of a chance that theyll save their show, they get some uninvited visitors to spice things up. The Ghoulies makes Satans Den their home and profits soar as the demonic little creatures wreak havoc on the helpless fairgrounds. So take a ride on the Ghoulie-Go-Round and play some Bumper Ghoulies enjoy yourself because the Ghoulies will always get you in the end!

Ten Years is a 2015 Hong Kong drama by Jevons Au, Chow Kwun-Wai...
Starring Peter Chan, Lau Ho-Chi and Kin-Ping Leung.

Five thought-provoking shorts imagine what Hong Kong will be like ten years from now. In Extras, two genial low-level gangsters are hired to stage an attack, but they're mere sacrificial lambs in a political conspiracy. Rebels strive to preserve destroyed homes and objects as specimens in the mesmerizing Season of the End. In Dialect, a taxi driver struggles to adjust after Putonghua displaces Cantonese as Hong Kong's only official language. Following the death of a leading independence activist, an act of self-immolation outside the British consulate triggers questions and protests in the searing yet moving Self-Immolator. In Local Egg, a grocery shop owner worries about his son's youth guard activities and where to buy eggs after Hong Kong's last chicken farm closes down.

It's the Hong Kong movie that Beijing doesn't want people to see. Made on a shoestring budget, Ten Years became a surprise hit with local audiences for its dystopian view of the former British colony's future under Beijing's rule.

The filmmakers imagine a Hong Kong in which protesters set themselves on fire, political assassinations are used to scare the population into supporting repressive laws and children are enlisted as neighborhood political watchdogs reminiscent of Mao's Red Guards.

The film, an anthology of five short stories, each by a different director, has provoked widespread discussion and raised the ire of Beijing, with China's Communist Party newspaper Global Times denouncing the film as absurd.

It was a hit at the box office, earning more than 6 million Hong Kong dollars ($770,000), or more than 10 times its budget. But it abruptly disappeared from cinemas in January after an eight-week run, leading many to wonder whether pressure from Beijing was responsible. Now the only way to see it is at private screenings at universities and community centers, where it's often followed by a panel discussion with the filmmakers.

The film is up for the Best Picture award at the Hong Kong Film Awards. However, the organizers have reportedly indicated the ceremony likely won't be broadcast this year to mainland Chinese audiences by online company Tencent and state-owned China Central Television.

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is a 2016 USA action Sci-Fi fantasy by Zack Snyder.
Starring Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill and Amy Adams.

A great opening line in a Cinema Blend piece on the R rated version of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice:

Do you like movies? Do you like movies so much that you prefer for them to never end? If your answer is yes, then have we got good news for you. When Zack Snyder adds the footage that will turn Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice from a PG-13 popcorn movie into an R-rated violence opera (ok, it's not really that bad), it's going to turn an already long film into an absolute epic, specifically by making it a full half-hour longer.

Zack Snyder explained:

[The DVD version] is a half-hour longer, and some of that additional material is some of the stuff we took out for the rating. I was like, Cool, I can put it back in for the director's cut. There was nothing by design. This was the material I just put back in, and then when [the MPAA] looked at it again, they were like, Oh, now the movie's rated R. And, by the way, it's not a hard R. There's no nudity. There's a little bit of violence. It just tips the scale.

Weekend is a 2011 UK gay romance by Andrew Haigh.
Starring Tom Cullen, Chris New and Jonathan Race.

On a Friday night after a drunken house party with his straight mates, Russell heads out to a gay club, alone and on the pull. Just before closing time he picks up Glen but what's expected to be just a one-night stand becomes something else, something special. That weekend, in bars and in bedrooms, getting drunk and taking drugs, telling stories and having sex, the two men get to know each other. It is a brief encounter that will resonate throughout their lives. Weekend is both an honest and unapologetic love story between two guys and a film about the universal struggle for an authentic life in all its forms. It is about the search for identity and the importance of making a passionate commitment to your life.

The Catholic Church in Italy has effectively banned Weekend , a movie by British filmmaker Andrew Haigh, by declaring it unfit to be shown in any of the theaters owned by the church.

In an unusual move that prompted accusations of homophobic censorship, the Italian Conference of Bishops' Film Evaluation Commission classified the film as not advised, unusable and scabrous (indecent or salacious). The Commission listed the film's principal themes as drugs and homosexuality.

The result, according to its distributor Teodora Film, was that the film was shunned by the more than 1,100 cinemas which are owned by the Church and make up the bulk of Italy's network of independent/arthouse theatres.

The country's official film board approved Haigh's Nottingham-set drama for audiences over 14, compared with an 18 rating in the UK.

The large number of Italian cinemas owned by the Church are a legacy of the days when every parish had its own cinema and local priests controlled projections, regularly cutting sections of films they deemed unsuitable for parishioners. Most of these cinemas are now rented out to operators who do not have to be religious but do have to sign a contract which includes a clause agreeing to go along with the guidance issued by the bishops.

Only very rarely does the guidance make it clear the Church does not want a film shown at all with the only other recent example being Chilean director Pablo Larrain's El Club , in which the main characters are all Catholic priests, including one with a history of sexually abusing children.

Update: Weekend triumph

16th March 2016. See  article from theguardian.com

Weekend has now become a surprise box office smash in Italy, despite the attempt by the Catholic church to paralyse its release. The film achieved the highest per-screen average in the country this weekend, according to Variety . One screening at Rome's famous Quattro Fontane art house cinema pulled in receipts of more than 16,000 euro, the cityl's top haul.

Weekend, which was brought to Italy by distributor Teodora Film following the 2015-16 awards season success of Haigh's Oscar-nominated film 45 Years.

Variety reports 11 more Italian cinemas are now said to be interested in screening Weekend in the upcoming frame.