Posted Oct 28th 2009 3:48PM by William Goss
Filed under: Comedy, Drama, Independent, Romance, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Awards, Mystery & Suspense, IFC, Sony Classics, Fantastic Fest, Oscar Watch
Fall brings with it awards season, and among our first round of nominations are those of the British Independent Film Awards. According to
Empire, Andrea Arnold's acclaimed
Fish Tank took the lead with eight, while Duncan Jones' similarly lauded
Moon came up with seven, including one for lead actor Sam Rockwell.
I'm personally happy to see the savage political satire
In the Loop getting due notice, especially its expletive-laden screenplay, since it'll likely go overlooked when it comes to Yank laurels (sad but true, although I'll be happy if it's not). Meanwhile, the multiple nods for
An Education and
Bright Star only parallel their warm reception Stateside and their likely contention in next year's Oscar race.
And after being quietly
blown away by it at Fantastic Fest a few weeks back, I'm also glad to see
Down Terrace get some love under the Raindance Award category. Enough of these awards, and maybe that puppy'll earn some distribution in our neck of the woods. (You listening, IFC?)
Posted Oct 10th 2009 7:02PM by William Goss
Filed under: Action, Thrillers, Magnolia, Theatrical Reviews, Fantastic Fest, Remakes and Sequels
When it reached American audiences two years after it opened in France, 2006's
District 13 (or
B13 here) served as a breezy introduction to the art of parkour, not to mention director Pierre Morel's knack for shooting action sequences both energetically and visibly (an underrated quality, that last one). Morel moved on to
Taken, though, while parkour began to infiltrate more high-profile Hollywood fare, like
Casino Royale and
Live Free or Die Hard.
However, writer/producer/all-around action maven Luc Besson stuck around to cash in on the promise of a follow-up, and now we're greeted with
District 13: Ultimatum, a competent if flabby rehash of the first film's race-against-time plot and dystopian setting.
Continue reading Fantastic Fest Review: District 13: Ultimatum
Posted Oct 9th 2009 8:18PM by William Goss
Filed under: Action, Drama, Foreign Language, Theatrical Reviews, Fantastic Fest
Just as bad business and worse storytelling conspire to rob us of the physical glory that is Tony Jaa, in steps Indonesia's Iko Uwais, bringing the martial art of silat to the big screen in a big way with
Merantau.
Yuda (Uwais) leaves his small farming village on "merantau," a rite of passage meant to demonstrate a young man's independence from his family. However, life is tough once he arrives in Jakarta, and tougher still once he steps in to help Astri (Sisca Jessica) as she's bullied by first her boss, then the head of a European human trafficking ring (Mads Koudal).
Continue reading Fantastic Fest Review: Merantau
Posted Oct 8th 2009 1:03PM by Peter Hall
Filed under: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Universal, Theatrical Reviews, Fantastic Fest
Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant has the unfortunate fate of arriving at the height of the vampire resurgence. I fear a lot of potential movie goers will dismiss it as part of the wave, as a major studio (Universal) trying to rush an adaptation of a very popular young-adult book franchise in an attempt to capitalize on the
Twilight demographic. And while I understand that sentiment, in this particular case it's a shame, because
Paul Weitz' film stands tall whether it was made inside or outside this temporary rise in the vamp popularity. Remove the cynical marketing climate and
The Vampire's Assistant is a charming, imaginative, and most importantly, very entertaining film for children, teens and adults alike.
Having not read any of the 12 books comprising author Darren Shan's young-adult
Cirque Du Freak saga, I can't attest as to how faithful an adaptation it is, but the macabre world
About a Boy director Paul Weitz has brought to life on film feels like the kind of mysterious wonderland I could have easily lost myself in as a child. That's not to say that
The Vampire's Assistant is a children's film, far from it, but it's the kind of film that's full of content that's simultaneously adult and juvenile, the breed of subtle scripting that provides eye candy for teenagers and nostalgic mind candy for adults.
Continue reading Fantastic Fest Review: Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant
Posted Oct 7th 2009 6:33PM by William Goss
Filed under: Action, Horror, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Lionsgate Films, Theatrical Reviews, Fantastic Fest
Ten years from now, 95% of the human population has been transformed into vampires, with those few uninfected survivors evading capture as best they can and those already captured being farmed for every last drop of their blood. However, supplies are dwindling, substitutes aren't working, and vampires who are driven by starvation to feed on one another tend to mutate for the worse.
This is the world of
Daybreakers, a more ambitious and straight-faced follow-up than anyone might've expected from the Spierig Brothers in the wake of their cheeky low-budget aliens-and-zombies debut,
Undead; better yet, it's a smarter and more refreshing take on the vampire genre than most of late, and a solid action flick in its own right.
Read the rest at
Horror Squad!
Posted Oct 7th 2009 8:02AM by William Goss
Filed under: Action, Comedy, Horror, Independent, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Thrillers, Mystery & Suspense, Fantastic Fest, Comic/Superhero/Geek
Well, it's October now, and just as all sites set their... well, sights on all things horror,
Horror Squad's been ahead of the curve by covering it all year round! A-ha!
Seriously, though, as
Weinberg told you, we've kicked off our Fates Worse Than Death series -- today's entry from yours truly regards that ever grisly
Event Horizon. (Your suggestions are also welcome.) Peter's got the latest on the best in
this week's genre discs (
Trick 'r Treat, ho!), and newbie Brad McHargue keeps up the Fantastic Fest coverage with
his look at Jake West's horror-comedy,
Doghouse.
Mind you, the
Sci-Fi Squad crew ain't slouching either, whether it's concerning
their new genre DVDs of the week, their
Fantastic Fest interview with
Stingray Sam director Cory McAbee, their
wonderfully gonzo glimpse at next month's disaster-tastic
2012, and a gallery of
the downright geekiest tattoos I have ever seen.
So get crackin'! After all, this October only comes one time a year... or something.
Posted Oct 5th 2009 9:33PM by Kevin Kelly
Filed under: Fantastic Fest, Interviews
Dolph Lundgren with the Alamo Drafthouse's Lyrae Anderson
Dolph Lundgren isn't the first name that springs to mind when you think "chemical engineer," is it? You might be surprised to know that the guy who has made a career out of playing muscular bad dudes in movies has a masters in that field from the University of Sydney, and he was also a Fulbright scholar to MIT. However, he dropped out after two weeks to pursue acting full time, and that's left us with his performances in everything from
Rocky IV to
The Punisher to
Universal Soldier.
He'll also be going toe to toe with Sylvester Stallone once more in
The Expendables, but we found him returning to his
Universal Soldier roots at Fantastic Fest in Austin with a sneak peek at
Universal Soldier: A New Beginning. Read on beyond the break for the full interview, including an homage to
Rocky IV that you'll see in onscreen.
Continue reading Fantastic Fest Interview: Dolph Lundgren from 'Universal Soldier: A New Beginning'
Posted Oct 5th 2009 7:10PM by William Goss
Filed under: Comedy, Drama, Independent, Fantastic Fest
If "The Sopranos" had been cooked up by Mike Leigh instead of David Chase, the result might resemble
Down Terrace, an unassuming little dramedy that barely seems to mesh with the genre criteria of most other Fantastic Fest programming and yet managed to take home a handful of awards, and rightfully so.
Karl (Robin Hill) has followed in his father's footsteps, to the extent that they've both just been let out of jail, and Bill (Robert Hill) wonders who may have ratted them out. Karl has more pressing concerns, though -- namely, a girlfriend (Kerry Peacock) whose pregnancy will require more responsibility on Karl's part than he's ever known.
Sure, Bill's not terribly keen on the prospect of becoming a grandfather, just as Maggie (Julia Deakin) is wary of becoming a grandmother, especially with them all already living under one roof. But their top priority is finding the leak and plugging it, because although we're never explicitly told what criminal shenanigans the family is involved in, it quickly becomes apparent that they'll do whatever is necessary to protect their interests, as their paranoia draws them closer -- and downward -- together...
Continue reading Fantastic Fest Review: Down Terrace
Posted Oct 5th 2009 11:32AM by Jette Kernion
Filed under: Theatrical Reviews, Fantastic Fest
This is my first time reviewing a film directed by the notorious
Uwe Boll (
Bloodrayne,
Postal), and I am a little disappointed. I'd always heard that Boll provides critics with wonderful opportunities to incorporate the most colorful derogatory phrases possible in reviews, perhaps even creating new metaphors specifically to describe the mediocrity of his films. I was ready to have fun after the movie, rather than while watching it. However, it turns out that
Rampage, Boll's latest film, is not at all a bad film. In fact, many people may actually like it, as much as it's possible to like a film about a senseless massacre. What is this world coming to?
Rampage is about Bill (
Brendan Fletcher), a college-age guy who's disgusted with everyone and everything around him, from his parents -- with whom he still lives -- to the barista who can't make Bill's favorite drink properly to incompetent fast-food workers. His friend Evan (
Shaun Sipos) shares his disgust. Bill assembles a full-body Kevlar suit and decides to go on a rampage (thus the title) of destruction in his small town.
Falling Down is Capra-esque in comparison. However, the ending is satisfyingly unpredictable -- I assumed an obvious outcome, and was pleased to be wrong.
Continue reading Fantastic Fest Review: Rampage
Posted Oct 2nd 2009 11:15AM by Jette Kernion
Filed under: Distribution, Exhibition, Fantastic Fest
For many filmmakers, film festivals are a way to potentially secure distribution for their indie films. Maybe a very few will hit the jackpot and land a deal with a big studio. However, most deals are likely to incorporate a limited -- if any -- theatrical release, followed by DVD or increasingly, online distribution or video on demand (VOD). At a brunch hosted by
Cinetic FilmBuff during Fantastic Fest, a bunch of film journalists gathered to discuss the future of VOD and alternate methods of distributing films.
The big question we discussed is: How do people watch movies these days? Movies that don't get theatrical distribution are often automatically considered second-tier, and the term "direct to DVD" is still derogatory. But many people do most of their movie viewing in their own homes, either on TV or on a computer or other device, like the iPhone. We watch movies on DVD, but also on cable, through VOD channels that are available through cable TV or online, and through online streaming sites, like Netflix Watch Instantly and Hulu. A month ago, I had the choice of watching
World's Greatest Dad on Amazon VOD, or waiting a week to see it in the theater -- this model made it possible for people in any city, not just those getting a theatrical release -- to watch the movie.
Continue reading Fantastic Fest: Discussing the Future of Video on Demand
Posted Oct 1st 2009 6:25PM by Kevin Kelly
Filed under: Awards, Fantastic Fest
Director
Jess Franco was on-hand at Fantastic Fest during a screening of his 1969 film
Venus in Furs, and he was surprised by the presentation of a Lifetime Achievement Sword. Lars Nilsen, film guru extraordinaire of the Drafthouse presented the award as part of the celebration of Franco's films going on during Fantastic Fest. The festival officially opened last Wednesday with a midnight screening of Franco's
Eugenie: The Story of Her Journey into Perversion (1980), and since then they've shown
Succubus (1968), and
The Bare Breasted Countess (1973).
Franco has directed nearly 200 films since 1957, up to and including
A Bad Day At The Cemetery from 2008. He's worked tirelessly in Spanish cinema as everything from composer, writer, cinematographer, and editor for years, and his films are truly different. To dismiss them as arthouse schlock is a crime, and if you have a chance you should seek out one of the three films featured on this
special Franco poster created for Fantastic Fest. They are chock full of oddities, nudity, and era-specific slang.
Posted Oct 1st 2009 1:45PM by William Goss
Filed under: Action, Drama, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Thrillers, RumorMonger, Fandom, 20th Century Fox, Movie Marketing, Fantastic Fest
Last night saw attendees of the Real D-sponsored Fantastic Fest greeted with an extended look at footage from James Cameron's forthcoming
Avatar, and with it (for me at least) a more defined shift in expectations for the long-awaited film. The footage -- more often than not composed of extended scenes from
Avatar Day -- still looks terrifically realized in 3-D, but the bits and pieces of story filled in by producer Jon Landau between scenes and the voice-over of Sam Worthington's character during them suggest something a little less... rapturous.
Continue reading Fantastic Fest: 'Avatar' - A Little Less Conversation, A Little More Action
Posted Oct 1st 2009 8:02AM by Jette Kernion
Filed under: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Fandom, Fantastic Fest
When I went to see
Metropia (and
reviewed it) at Fantastic Fest on Saturday night, all I knew about
Alexander Skarsgard was that he had a role in the film, and that he was the son of actor Stellan Skarsgard -- I hadn't seen him in anything.
Metropia director Tarik Saleh had told me earlier in the day that Alexander Skarsgard was in Shreveport shooting
Straw Dogs, but would drive down here for the screening, and I thought that was awfully nice of him. I hoped the screening would have a full house so the actor wouldn't feel like his efforts were wasted.
I don't watch the TV show
True Blood, and had no idea that Skarsgard had such a following of female fans. The theater was packed, and many attendees were nicely dressed women. During the Q&A, more audience members than usual were snapping photos. Admittedly, Skarsgard is very easy on the eyes. But I was completely taken aback when, after the Q&A, a crowd of women mobbed the Alamo Drafthouse lobby to get photos taken with Skarsgard. As a friend of mine remarked, it was as though a cloud of estrogen had descended upon the film festival -- there are plenty of women at Fantastic Fest, but they aren't usually clamoring around a male movie star.
Continue reading Fantastic Fest: Alexander Skarsgard and the Cloud of Estrogen
Posted Sep 30th 2009 8:32PM by William Goss
Filed under: Action, Thrillers, Warner Brothers, Fantastic Fest
One can't ask too much of a film called
Ninja Assassin -- that's a given -- but James McTeigue's proper directorial follow-up to
V for Vendetta does its damnedest to take that insta-pulp title and weave around it a worn-out tale of forbidden love, family betrayal, and government conspiracy. Complete with some hard-to-see fight scenes and some harder-to-hear dialogue, all delivered with a poker-straight face and capped off with some super-splattery kills, it's like a graphic novel adaptation with comic book punctuation, a film so flagrant in its fakery that it almost forgets to have any fun.
Continue reading Fantastic Fest Review: Ninja Assassin
Posted Sep 30th 2009 3:15PM by Jenni Miller
Filed under: Action, Comedy, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Fandom, Fox Searchlight, Fantastic Fest, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Trailers and Clips
Those lucky ducks at Fantastic Fest got to peep many weird and fabulous films, not the least of which is Gentlemen Broncos. The movie, which is directed by Jared Hess of Napoleon Dynamite fame, stars the always-dreamy Jemaine Clement from Flight of the Concords as an utterly ludicrous author who steals a book manuscript from a dorky teen, played by Michael Angarano. Sam Rockwell has two parts in Broncos -- one as a super-hairy superhero with a bald ladylove and one as a sort of, uh, tranny Captain Kangaroo. In this exclusive clip, Sam, in all his hairy glory, tries to explain why you can't look tough while drinking a smoothie. It's also really hard to drink a smoothie with a giant beard, as you'll see after the jump.
As Peter Hall wrote in his Fantastic Fest review of Broncos, "there is no denying, though, that seeing Sam Rockwell ride a fake deer shooting rockets out of all its orifices is the answer to a dream I never realized I had."
Me too, Peter. Me too.
Watch the video after the jump.
Continue reading Exclusive 'Gentlemen Broncos' Behind the Scenes Clip
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