KQEK.com

13/09/2024

Prior to re-launching KQEK.com with a new set of reviews in November, I've been setting up a new media channel, which is set to soft-launch in the coming weeks.

As a prelude to the formal debut of BHA+ - my nascent Vintage Video Review & How-To Patreon channel – the first post is a lengthy podcast conversation with Canadian-born musician, composer, producer, filmmaker Spookey Ruben, whose 2024 tour hits Toronto today on gloriously ominous Friday the 13th at .

As we discuss Ruben's shift from music to film to music videos whilst building a career as prolific songwriter after time at , I've interpolated numerous samples of his work, as well as some underscore from PUZZLEFACE, his short film that's also notable as featuring an appearance by filmmaker as, what else, God.

http://bigheadamusements.libsyn.com/bha-episode-01-interview-with-recording-artist-filmmaker-spookey-ruben-2024-09-10

Special thanks to at Daniloff Productions for setting up our Q&A, and do follow BHA+ for further updates.

Coming soon: an Intro to the channel's mandate, a vintage camcorder review + test footage, some historical pieces, and another filmmaker Q&A in October.

--- MRH

25/07/2023

Don McKellar's LAST NIGHT (1998) is the first review after a long pause at KQEK.com. The film screened at the R***e Cinema for National Canadian Film Day, and alongside the review is the Editor's Blog with a simple explanation (or sorts), and news of a new channel on vintage video gear that's in the works: https://kqek.com/mobile/?p=20743

Don McKellar’s LAST NIGHT (1998) is the first review after a long pause in activities at KQEK.com

23/06/2023

The return of Vidiots:

A 1984 video store "Vidiots" has reopened in Los Angeles, this time in a 94-year-old movie theatre. NBC News' Gadi Schwartz sits down with the owners to talk about video rentals and their return.

01/05/2023

When Int'l Video Store Day began back in in 2010, there was something like 10-13 stores in Toronto. 13 years later, we've got 2. For any city to lose its last store is a huge blow to its community of film fans.

Kingston’s last video rental store, and one of the last ones remaining in Canada, closed its doors for good on Tuesday.

11/07/2022

Modest blog + video in an occasional series of sorts: (Mis)Adventures in Video, Part III: Film School Snapshots & Gary Blakeley’s The Trend (1987) https://bigheadamusements.com/wordpress/?p=3431

28/01/2022

New @ KQEK.com – review of AN ANGEL FOR SATAN / UN ANGELO PER SATANA (1966), Barbara Steele's final Gothic shocker before leaving Italy, released on Blu-ray from Severin Films: https://kqek.com/mobile/?p=20719

17/12/2021

It's been a tough year and tougher few months to focus on writing, let alone work on creative audio & video projects, so amid the awfulness of 2021 and the new variant that for many brings fears of repeating last winter's dumpster fire, for whatever reason, an idea fermented in my brain.

'Do a Christmas album.'

Spoken word, that is.

And in spite of several impossible-to-fend-off stressors, the deed is done: “PROSE & POETRY TO CELEBRATE OR SPIKE CHRISTMAS” which is available on Bandcamp for streaming & purchase.

It'll be followed by a second project in a few months, but hey, if you need a narrator or require voice editing & mixing, feel free to DM.

Special thanks to for the perfect cover art that synthesizes the tonal shifts & humour of pieces by , , and Me.

Please enjoy some distracting nonsense:

https://markrhasan.bandcamp.com/releases

31/10/2021

The authors touch upon several aspects of film history, but I'd add one more unwritten tenet, alongside making everything available via streaming, and filmmakers acting as ambassadors to film culture: make it available to own. I don't care if it's digital or physical, but the option to buy and watch in perpetuity on any media should be available, and without proprietary software and on limited devices.

The bulk of restored film history can't exist at any single time in any place for immediate streaming. The option to own and build a personal library & archive should never be regarded as a luxury, or an excessive indulgence. In other words, Don't be Disney.

The discourse around film history — veered away from nuance and toward snap judgments or stopped altogether — is bad, but there are signs of hope.

10/10/2021

New @ KQEK.com – Two fine entries in the Spanish giallo genre by Eloy de la Iglesia: CANNIBAL MAN (1972) starring Vicente Parra, Emma Cohen, and Eusebio Poncela + NO ONE HEARD THE SCREAM (1973) starring Vicente Parra, Carmen Sevilla, and Tony Isbert, both on Blu from Severin Films: https://kqek.com/mobile/?p=20679

24/09/2021

New @ KQEK.com - review of Severin Films' new Blu-ray edition of the 1980s-styled screwball comedy OVERBOARD (1987), starring Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell, directed by Garry Marshall, and written by Leslie Dixon, plus some comparative thoughts on the 2018 remake starring Eugenio Derbez and Anna Faris. https://kqek.com/mobile/?p=20658

01/09/2021

New .com - review of Hilla Medalia's lively documentary THE GO-GO BOYS: THE INSIDE STORY OF CANNON FILMS (2014) from Multicom Entertainment / MVD https://kqek.com/mobile/?p=20636

23/07/2021

Pretty sure my colleagues agree with the bevy of opinions in this piece, and the idea of a multipurpose filmic hub free from corporate tentacles:

Here's what we know so far about when and where the beloved Vidiots video store will make its comeback — plus, photos of the new location.

12/07/2021

First podcast in 14+ months. Jesus, what a time gap! I interviewed Donna Wise 3 years ago, and this new piece was a delight to conduct. Marvellous abstract paintings. We discuss her work, techniques, and painting through the pandemic: https://kqek.com/mobile/?p=20593

05/07/2021

It's a picture symbolic of where the brain's been for the last 3 months (minus pink lemonade concentrate). Just posted (yes, really) is a review of Joe D'Amato's blood-lite sharksploitation oddity DEEP BLOOD / SANGUE NEGLI ABISSI (1990), plus some details of upcoming podcasts. https://kqek.com/mobile/?p=20578

15/04/2021

It might be as impossible as finding an uncut Greed (1924), but then material from Metropolis (1927) emerged through a series of incredible sleuthing and determination, and hope: https://www.wellesnet.com/brazil-hunt-lost-ambersons/

The hunt for the lost, longer edit of "The Magnificent Ambersons" will focus on the holdings of four film collectors in Brazil.