Official UK cinema trailer for Johnnie To's Mad Detective.

Detective Bun (a role created specifically created for Lau Ching Wan) was recognised as a talented criminal profiler until he sliced off his right ear to offer as a gift at his chief's farewell party.  Branded as 'mad' and discharged from the force, he has lived in seclusion with his beloved wife May (Kelly Lin) ever since. Strangely, Bun has the ability to 'see' a person's inner personality, their subconscious desires, emotions, and mental state. When a missing police gun is linked to several heists and murders, hotshot Inspector Ho (Andy On) calls on the valuable skills of his former mentor Bun to help unlock the killer's identity. However, Bun's unorthodox methods point to a fellow detective and take a schizophrenic turn for the worse ...

www.maddetective.com | www.eurekavideo.co.uk

The Horror Vault is an anthology that consists of nine short stories. Inspired by classics from the past like Creepshow, Tales from The Crypt and of course Masters of Horror.

The film is now available from www.thehorrorvault.net and can be shipped worldwide from the US on region free DVD 

I suppose the notion of “not judging a book by its cover” should translate to CD art as well, but that’s exactly what I did when I purchased Based On A True Story by Fat Freddy’s Drop. What can I say – a fishing boat full of random looking ethnic, rastas and hippies getting attacked by a giant octopus just appealed to me for some reason. And by gum I’m glad I have a weird disposition for the above. Based On A True Story is probably one of my favourite albums of all time.

Fat Freddy’s drop comprised of vocalist Joe Dukie, DJ Fitchie, Fulla Flash on sax, Jetlag Johnson on guitars, Dobie Blaze on keys, Ho Pepa on trombone, and Tony Chang on cornet, haven’t has much exposure outside their native New Zealand. However on their home soil, the band is massive, achieving a top 40 album position for a staggering 90 weeks.

It’s difficult to place the album in any standard genre, though I’d summarize it as melodic, soulful dub with jazz infusions and a fat, funky baseline. The overall tone of the album is down-tempo though there are a couple of tracks where the trumpets, sax and base raise the beat to the funkosphere.

There isn’t a single ‘filler’ song so it’s impossible for me to list a typical best and worse track. Its one of the few albums I own where not only can I listen to the entire duration without skipping a track but I can do so over and over again. If I had to name standouts then it would probably be ‘This Room’, ‘Roady’ and ‘Flashback’.

If you buy one album this year then I would highly recommend you make it this one. 10/10

Track Listing: 1. Ernie, 2. Cay's Crays, 3. This Room, 4. Ray Ray, 5. Dark Days, 6. Flashback, 7. Roady, 8. Wandering Eye, 9. Del Fuego, 10. Hope

You can hear samples of the other tracks from Amazon.com

www.fatfreddysdrop.com

Buy from Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.com

Cannibal Flesh Riot! is a half hour short (29 for the "festival cut and 34 for the directors cut) that follows to ghouls as they go about their business one dark night.

Under used amongst classic monsters The Ghoul is a humanoid flesh eater. Not to be confused with Vampires who though sometimes are depicted as munching the flesh of the living (though normally just suck blood) or Zombies who eat the flesh of the living or dead. Unlike Zombies (and vampires in some tales) Ghouls are alive and though they do eat human flesh, they are content to munch on the dead (at least in director Gris Grimleys realisation of these mythical prowlers of the night).

Cannibal Flesh Riot! follows a night in the lives of two modern day American Ghouls called Stash and Hub. On the night in question they are once again hunting for dinner and that means grave robbing. Having knocked out the drunken caretaker all that remains is to find the cadaver of a recently deceased man Stash read about in the newspaper obituary. What follows is a routine (for the ghouls) night of searching the grave yard, while stash offers a variety of opinions on condiments and how they can be used to spice up a one food diet. Hub is somewhat afraid of condiments having once watched and educational cartoon for kids which features food people drowning as a warning to kids about putting too much on their food.

The project originally cam together when ex Nekromantic (a psychobilly band) guitarist Peter Sandorff approached multi talented artist Gris Grimly to see if he could combine their music and art. This had me worried as I thought "Oh god it’s going to be a clichéd extended guitar driven music video". How ever Peter Sandorff scoring is great adding a real atmosphere to the short and he keeps things pretty understated until the track over the title. Which is fine I have no problem with a full on song for the titles. The short takes place in a 50's style B movie setting and considering its shot on what was then the best consumer digital video it surpasses many films shot on much more expensive equipment. Grimley artistic eye has transferred well to "film" from fine art and comic style illustration. Cannibal Flesh Riot! Is one of those short films that are not trying to be a feature cut down. Its a shame that like short fiction there is not really a wider outlet for these films too short to really sell outside of a dedicated fan base and only real seen by festival audiences. I say that because like short fiction short film is an art in and of itself when done right and Cannibal Flesh Riot! is a great example of good short film making. I loved the combination of silent era style make up, Rami styling (Within the Woods, Evil dead) the 50's style set and dashes stop motion. Especially the stop motion, its something I personally just love to see used. I also thought it was brilliant the way Stash and hubs extended dialogue is witty, but routed in the mundane.

Grimley, Sandorff and crew have created and excellent short that's well worth going out of your way to see. If you can catch it at a festival or it becomes available to buy I highly recommend you. They spent a measly $6000 once again proving that while low budgets will always place restrictions, a healthy dose of talent can often deliver the goods anyway.

A lovingly crafted and brilliantly realized short from a very talented director and crew. 9/10

Cannibal Flesh Riot! - official website | www.myspace.com/cannibalflesh | Trailers

Death of the Neighbourhood is a "mystery" artist on Attic records (founded by down-tempo legend Andy Turner AKA AIM, who is best known for genre masterpiece Cold Water Music).

www.aticrecords.com

Are you cruisin' for a boozin'? The only drinking and driving you should be doing this Christmas is with the radio controlled Booze Cruze. Simply fill up with your choice of tipple and drive it over through the obstacle course and enjoy your reward. £16.95.

Available Here

This is one banana peel that keeps you on an even keel. Just peel and stick the non-slip banana on the floor of your bath or shower and you'll be sure-footed in no time. A packet of 3 (3?!) bath stickers, each measuring 9" x 3", costs $13.95.

Available Here

Sounds like a bit of an oxymoron, but German designer Ett La Benn has come up with the idea of Elegant Wiping, whereby napkins attached to your clothes steer you out of mucky-pup territory in style.

"This shirt collar with buttoned napkin works as a protector at hard drinking events and always gives you an elegant appearance. The system is completed by a further napkin attached to the cuff. Due to this you can eat without changing your habit of wiping your mouth with your shirt from time to time. The napkin is made of 100% cotton and guaranteed washable."

ett la benn

Available in a range of colours for $7, the Official Beer Glove is the perfect accoutrement for outdoor drinking. The sure-grip gloves hold your beer steady and chilled whilst keeping your hands tasty warm. Also suitable for indoor use for those who spent all their giro money on beer and can't afford to put the heating on.

Available Here

What to do with do poo's in the dark? The conundrum which must certainly be bothering the masses, not in the least vet Dr. Michael Thomann, whose patent-pending S3 Sanitation Safety Stick he believes to be the answer. With bulit-in scoop and flashlight, the S3 is guaranteed to: Work on any surface, Work at any location and Work with any stool type

Ideal for nighttime walkies and camping trips, the S3 is goodbye to the old fashioned hands-in-bags routine, and hello to shining, sanitised scooping. Retails for $24.99 and will soon be available in various sizes and colours.

Innovative Pet Solutions