Fantasia 2006: The Order of One
Fantasia lists this as The Order of One, but IMDB has it as Order of One. Who knows? The official website uses the article, so there you go. It’s a total DIY low budget indie flick, shot for under...
View ArticleFantasia 2006: Five Deadly Venoms
The first time I saw Five Deadly Venoms, I was not as kind as I might have been. I enjoyed it a lot more this time — perhaps because I was in the mood, perhaps because it was on the big screen, or...
View ArticleFantasia 2006: Aziris Nuna
Saturday was our children’s movie day. Aziris Nuna was the first of the pair, and it was pretty much a generic children’s movie. It’s somewhat looser than you’d expect from a US flick of the same...
View ArticleFantasia 2006: The Great Yokai War
And finally… The Great Yokai War. Just, whoa. Miike isn’t one of my top five artists in the world (David Cronenberg, Richard Thompson, Wong Kar Wai, George R. R. Martin, probably Aimee Mann; list...
View ArticleFantasia 2006: Breaking it down
Let’s go to the tape, Chumley. I amended two grades; in retrospect, Wilderness was a touch better than I gave it credit for, and Samurai Commando 1549, while excellent, was not quite “I’d want to own...
View ArticleFantasia
We’re sadly not going to Fantasia this year, but next year with any luck, and it’s not like it doesn’t just keep getting better. I need to remember to call someone about ordering the program this year....
View ArticleToronto Int'l Film Festival: Midnight Madness
The TIFF Midnight Madness film list is out. It’s always interesting comparing their movies to Fantasia; you don’t generally see movies at both, because (as I understand it) there’s a mild rivalry. As...
View ArticleUpcoming Boston-Area Movie Festival Stuff
Noted: The Zombie Marathon, at the Somerville Theate. Movies include Shaun of the Dead, Fido, I Walked With A Zombie, 28 Days Later, 28 Weeks Later, Zombie, and Dead Alive. I suspect that’s the full...
View ArticleFantasia '08
Sadly I’m not going again this year, for good reasons involving schedule and finances, but that’s OK. It will not stop me from considering the lineup at length. The ticketing is wild this year. The...
View Article10 Hours, 5 Movies
In a hypothetical world, someone with a huge cache of Hong Kong flicks but without clearance to show them might ask attendees of a movie marathon to stay mum about the actual movies shown. In unrelated...
View ArticleFantasia 2015
Still not the singer or Disney movie. Man, has it really been nine years since I went to the best genre film festival in North America? Too long! Thus I am going this year, for sure, because Susan and...
View ArticleJeruzalem
Jeruzalem: D. This was a lot of wasted potential. You’ve got a promising if somewhat goofy presence — American backpackers trapped in Jerusalem during the apocalypse. The found footage twist is pretty...
View ArticleAnguish
Anguish: A Sonny Mallhi’s Anguish was excellent. There’s a teenage girl, Tess, with serious mental issues. Her mom is raising her alone while her dad is serving overseas. The question in this taut...
View ArticleCash Only
Cash Only: B Cash Only is a competent movie. I’m reluctant to call it a crime movie, since it’s not really about a crime per se, but it’s certainly about criminals. Mostly it’s about a repeat loser,...
View ArticleFull Strike
Full Strike: B This was pretty much OK. Very broad Hong Kong sports comedy with all the usual bits. There’s a drunken master, there’s an evil magistrate, there’s familial tension, and so on. Oh, and a...
View ArticleTales of Halloween
Tales of Halloween: B+ This review is maybe a bit of a placeholder; I did not take notes during the movie and I’d like to come back to it when I can find some better data on who directed what. For now,...
View ArticleThe Ninja War of Torakage
The Ninja War of Torakage: B This was the weirdest thing I saw at Fantasia. Underneath it all you’ll find a pretty standard historical ninja epic about Torakage, this poor guy who just wants to retire...
View ArticlePort of Call
Port of Call: A Excellent Hong Kong drama based on a real murder case from 2008. Aaron Kwok was superb in this; he goes old, with grey hair and a mustache, and really vanishes into the role. It’s a...
View ArticleToronto Int'l Film Festival: Midnight Madness
The TIFF Midnight Madness film list is out. It’s always interesting comparing their movies to Fantasia; you don’t generally see movies at both, because (as I understand it) there’s a mild rivalry. As...
View ArticleUpcoming Boston-Area Movie Festival Stuff
Noted: The Zombie Marathon, at the Somerville Theate. Movies include Shaun of the Dead, Fido, I Walked With A Zombie, 28 Days Later, 28 Weeks Later, Zombie, and Dead Alive. I suspect that’s the full...
View Article
More Pages to Explore .....