Here's a review out of Fantasia for the anime film Pompo: The Cinéphile, which is a love letter to the joy of cinema and making films, filled with some great characters.
Tag: Fantasia Film Festival
Fantasia Film Festival Review: Yakuza Princess (2021)
She very much holds her own in the action scenes. The fight choreography is strong and (CGI) gore is always steady, with some strong sequences sprinkled throughout, especially a fun scene set in a graveyard. It’s also very well-shot, balancing hand-to-hand combat and gun action. It doesn’t have the variety of chorography to sustain long, drawn-out fight scenes, so if you’re searching for great ones like seen in The Raid or even The Night Comes for Us (both Indonesia actioners), this one doesn’t have it. It underwhelms in certain areas because of that, especially as it doesn’t have a scene that I think will be remembered in a couple of years. However, it’s still a good showcase for MASUMI as a badass hero coming into her own, with some fun scenes to make it worth the two hours.
Fantasia Film Festival Review: Tin Can (2021)
The structure works, as we learn information the same time as our main character Fret, or at least as to what’s happening outside her can. Smith’s horror is at its most effective when we’re hearing visceral screams and just imagining what’s happening. It’s impressive what he can do with visuals and lighting, too, where one of the film’s most chilling moments is simply an old man smiling at us through his grated window, prophesizing.
Fantasia Film Festival Review: Brain Freeze (2021)
The 25th Fantasia Film Festival opened earlier tonight with Julien Knafo's zombie film "Brain Freeze," a fun film with laughs, great commentary and some truly unique visuals.
Fantasia Film Festival: 14 Most Anticipated Films
Featured Image: Tom Meeten as Paul Dood in Paul Dood’s Deadly Lunch Break. (Courtesy of Fantasia.) Last year, I was lucky enough to be able to cover the Fantasia International Film Festival for my first festival as a member of the press. It was an exciting time; reviewing films and doing interviews for them. I’m … Continue reading Fantasia Film Festival: 14 Most Anticipated Films
News: Fantasia Film Festival Announces First Wave of Titles
The Fantasia International Film Festival recently announced the first wave of programming for its 25th edition of the festival, which will take place online from August 5 to 25, 2021. You can find the full list of titles in the first wave here, and one interesting aspect of this year’s festival is featuring a focus … Continue reading News: Fantasia Film Festival Announces First Wave of Titles
Filmcraziest Interviews – Ben and Jacob Burghart on their short film Suspense
On this episode of Filmcraziest Interviews, I’m joined by writing and directing brothers Ben and Jacob Burghart, whose short film Suspense (my review here) recently premiered at Fantasia Film Festival with The Block Island Sound.
The film stars Jelani Talib and Robert Coppage III and is written and directed by Ben and Jacob Burghart. It follows an army pilot who finds himself suspended from a canopy of trees above the forest floor by his parachute. After contacting his co-pilot, they realize there’s something stalking them in the dark.
Fantasia 2020 – The Legend of Baron To’a (2020)
Directed by: Kiel McNaughton. Starring: Uli Latukefu, Nathanial Lees, Jay Laga’aia. Runtime: 1h 43 min. Released: This film had its North American Premiere at Fantasia Film Festival on September 2, 2020. In Kiel McNaughton’s directorial debut, The Legend of Baron To'a, he creates a larger-than-life world on a small cul-de-sac in New Zealand, where the … Continue reading Fantasia 2020 – The Legend of Baron To’a (2020)
Fantasia 2020 Short Films – A Strange Calm, Break Us, Dead Birds and Regret
My last batch of short film reviews out of Fantasia Film Festival, including Austin Rourke's "A Strange Calm," Rioghnach Ni Ghrioghair's "Break Us," Santiago Menghini's "Regret" and Johnny Kenton's "Dead Birds."
Fantasia 2020 – Anything for Jackson (2020)
I knew very little about Anything for Jackson going into the film and did not know that this was an exorcism film. Well, it’s actually a reverse exorcism. Basically, this scenario is born out of the idea of there being someone you would do absolutely anything to see again. For Audrey (Sheila McCarthy) and husband Henry (Julian Richings), that’s their two-year-old grandson Jackson. They need to find a host for Jackson to bring him back, and luckily Henry works as an obstetrician and they grab a woman named Shannon Becker (Konstantina Mantelos), a soon-to-be mother.
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