Montreal, get ready to support another local filmmaker this week at the Fantasia Film Festival, with the world premiere of Mark Wiltshire’s most recent short film, My Avatar. Personally selected to work with renowned film director Oliver Stone, who supervised and mentored the editing of My Avatar, Wiltshire employs a mixed-media approach in the film’s …
Director Joseph Kahn has been directing music videos for two decades, working with big-time efforts like U2, Britney Spears, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mariah Carey, Christina Aguilera, 50 Cent, The Black Eyed Peas, Lady Gaga, and many, many more. Now he’s combined that experience with his love of all things pop culture to create one …
The Innkeepers Directed and Written by Ti West USA, 2011 Fantasia imdb Chuck Jones directed a trilogy of horror cartoons (Scaredy Cat, 1948, Claws for Alarm, 1954 and Jumpin’ Jupiter, 1955) featuring Porky Pig blissfully unaware that his life is in danger, while his pet cat, – Sylvester, naturally – only too aware of the …
The Innkeepers Directed by Ti West Written by Ti West 2011, USA Like The House of the Devil, his love letter to early ’80s horror, Ti West’s latest, The Innkeepers is a slow-burn and a re-imagination of classic horror tropes; but this time around his film is made up of two distinct genres – horror …
Visit the official Fantasia Film Fest website Well we are officially through the second week of the Fantasia Film Festival, so I figured we should do a quick look back at all the reviews we have posted in the past seven days. In seven days our crew has managed to post over another eleven …
The Corridor Directed by Evan Kelly Written by Josh MacDonald Canada, 2011 Tackling a difficult premise is often the kiss of death for first-time filmmakers. Many get lost in their “high-concept” vision, losing track of the human element that is needed to engage an audience. Though not impervious to the flaws symptomatic of these kinds …
Monster Brawl Written and Directed by Jesse T. Cook (2011) Canada Fantasia imdb It is only too appropriate that the World Premiere of Monster Brawl at Fantasia was presented by Tony Timpone, former editor of Fangoria Magazine, because if any film could be described as inspired by arguments from Fangoria it’s Monster Brawl. Or even …
True Legend aka Su Qi-Er Directed by Woo-ping Yuen Written by Chi-long To (2010) Hong Kong Fantasia imdb Beggar Su is the old man who trains Wong-Fei Hung (Jackie Chan) in the drunken fist style in the first Drunken Master, not coincidentally also directed by Woo-ping Yuen, so this film acts as a prequel to …
You Are Here Written by Daniel Cockburn Directed by Daniel Cockburn Canada, 2010 Equal parts video essay, fragmented “thought experiment,” and social satire, Daniel Cockburn’s You Are Here is one of the most audacious English Canadian features to come down the pike in years. (Admittedly, that’s not a terribly prestigious body of films.) Imbued with …
The Theatre Bizarre Directed by Richard Stanley, Buddy Giovinazzo, Douglas Buck, Karim Hussain, David Gregory, Tom Savini and Jeremy Kasten USA/France, 2011 A horror anthology in seven parts, The Theatre Bizarre is a throwback to the tradition of the port-manteaux films of the `60s and `70s. The main exponent of this type of film then …
Underwater Love Written by Tom Mes, Shinji Imaoka and Fumio Moriya Directed by Shinji Imaoka Japan/Germany, 2011 Whatever your tastes, there’s a very good chance that Shinji Imaoka’s Underwater Love is unlike anything you’ve seen before. A self-described “pink musical” – meaning it features sequences of soft-core porn to go with its songs – it’s …
Kill Me Please Written by Olias Barco, Virgile Bramly and Stéphane Malandrin Directed by Olias Barco France / Belgium, 2010 Other than abortion, no issue provokes as much passionate debate as euthanasia. Of all possible liberties, the “right to die,” as a base concept, stokes personal insecurities and misgivings in a way that can be …
People keeping asking me for recommendations for movies screening at the Fantasia film festival. Simon already posted a list of ten safe bets. Kyle posted a list of four wild cards, four must see films that could be disappointing but still worth watching for various reasons. Here is a list of screenings that I highly …
There are a lot of reasons to see Burke and Hare. The most obvious: This British black comedy film, loosely based on the Burke and Hare murders, is directed by John Landis, the acclaimed director of American Werewolf In London. Strangely most people think of Landis as a horror director, but he’s really a director …
The Fantasia Film Festival is celebrating it’s 15h anniversary, and they are doing it in style. Launched in 1996 with little financial backing, the festival has grown into one of the world’s largest genre film fest, fresh off a record year of 100,000 spectators in 2010. Fantasia has without a doubt become one of …
One of the largest and most influential film festivals of its kind in the world will be celebrating its 15th anniversary with three thrilling weeks showcasing international genre cinema, from July 14th to August 7th, 2011. The full line-up of over 120 feature films from across the world will be announced in another few weeks …
A Festive and Irreverent Fundraiser Event for this Holiday Season. Montreal, December 10th, 2010 – Forget about gravy, gift-wrappings, political scandals, general dissatisfaction and modern life. This is DJ XL5’s Christmas gift to you, Christmas Zappin’ Party – with an exclusive video participation from MC Gilles – on December 26th, at the majestic Théâtre Plaza. …
In spite of having grown up as a part of the Disney “VHS Generation”, one of the first groups of children to have the privilege and opportunity to enjoy nearly every Disney classic in the comfort of my home on demand, I don’t have much nostalgia for my childhood favourites. They still have a special …
The Disappearance of Alice Creed Directed by J Blakeson In the post-Tarantino era, a good crime movie is hard to find. A new generation of filmmakers watched Reservoir Dogs, True Romance and especially Pulp Fiction in awe, while also thinking, “I could do that.” Sadly the great majority of them could not, and the field …
——————— The Disappearance of Alice Creed Directed by J Blakeson In the post-Tarantino era, a good crime movie is hard to find. A new generation of filmmakers watched Reservoir Dogs, True Romance and especially Pulp Fiction in awe, while also thinking, “I could do that.” Sadly the great majority of them could not, and the …
Panorama-cinéma is collaborating with the 2010 edition of the Fantasia Film Festival to present three screenings of Kuroneko (1968), on July 9 (7:45pm, J.A. De Sève Theatre), July 14 (3pm, J.A. De Sève Theatre) and July 15 (6:30pm at the Cinémathèque Québécoise). The intimate experience of a magnificent 35 mm print from Janus Films (distributor …
Coffin Joe. For Brazil, nothing personified horror quite like him. He’s a deceptively simple villain. He’s doesn’t drink blood, he’s not undead, he has no magic powers. There is absolutely nothing supernatural about him. Nothing. He is just an undertaker in a top hat and cape with extremely long fingernails. What strikes fear into the …
Fantasia Film Festival 2009 – World Premiere Must Love Death Directed by Andreas Schaap Offhand, it’s difficult to think of another film that features both a “meet cute” and a nail gun, but in his first feature, Andreas Schaap manages to unite the two. Must Love Death, for better or worse, belongs to a genre …