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‘Fantasia 2000,’ and Why It Should Be Considered Part of the Disney Renaissance

“I think we’re all glad that they changed the name to Fantasia,” states Steve Martin dryly during his introduction of Fantasia 2000 regarding the film’s predecessor, which was originally called The Concert Feature. (Fantasia may be a slightly cooler-sounding title, but it’s not much more inviting to the average audience member than The Concert Feature.) …

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The Influence and Power of Disney’s Most Ambitious Project, ‘Fantasia’

The concept of the work of art that is unappreciated by the masses immediately, but gains a passionate and overwhelming following decades later is almost as old as time itself. A book, or piece of music, or painting, or sculpture, or film is unveiled to an indifferent public, save a few devout fans, and is …

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REEL MTL: Interview with Tom Berninger Director of ‘Mistaken for Strangers’

Fantasia has ended and it was one hell of a ride. When Fantasia rolls around town, the festival is a unique opportunity to sit down with filmmakers and cinephiles and have candid conversations about the love of reel. I had the pleasure of sitting down with Tom Berninger, whose film Mistaken for Strangers was one of the …

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Fantasia Film Festival 2013: Antisocial Tackles our Complex Relationship with Technology (Interview)

Antisocial is the feature length debut for directing and writing team Cody Calahan and Chad Archibald. In spite of their youthful appearances, they are not new to the Canadian film industry or Fantasia, having produced over ten short and feature length films – including Fantasia fan favourite Monster Brawl which screened at the fest in …

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Fantasia Fest 2013: ‘Massacre Time’ is an Exceptional Spaghetti Western

Lucio Fulci’s Massacre Time is playing at Fantasia in conjunction with the Festival du Nouveau Cinema as part of the The Django Project. The series takes a look at the western genre, as appropriated by other cultures, as it blends with irony, excess and pop-art. Though best known for his giallo thrillers, Fulci’s Massacre Time is an exuberant and exciting spaghetti western. Starring Franco Nero in a role obviously evocative of his work in Django, he plays a prospector who must return to his home and reclaim his family’s ranch from a man named Scott and his sadistic son Junior.

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Fantasia Fest 2013: Justine’s 5 Most Anticipated Films

Montreal’s Fantasia International Film Festival is back again with one kick-ass line-up. As always, Fantasia brings the best of genre cinema from all over the globe to some of the best audiences in the world. The Fantasia Film Festival is an experience like none other and the films are only part of the fun. It …

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Fantasia 2013’s Second Amazing Wave of Titles Has Been Announced!

Fantasia 2013 has announced the second wave of titles screening this year. If the first wave, along with the announcements of special guests wasn’t enough to get you excited, this surely will. 009 RE: Cyborg Japan Dir: Kenji Kamiyama Mechanized mayhem, mysticism and moral ambiguity meet when the influential ’60s manga/anime property 009 Cyborg gets …

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Fantasia Announces the Selected Projects of the 2nd Edition of the Frontières International Co-Production Market

For the unfamiliar, Montreal is a city which hosts at least one film festival each and every month of the year. Of the dozens of fests, Fantasia Film Festival is without a doubt our favourite, and is widely acclaimed as one of the largest and most influential genre film festivals in the world. They’ve just …

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‘The Human Race’ is essential viewing for fans of ‘Battle Royale’

Like Battle Royale, the 80 competitors react to their peril in a variety of ways. Some, like Eddie’s best friend Justin (Paul McCarthy-Boyington) become heroes, bottling up the runners to try and save the old marine from being lapped. Others become in turn suicidal, philosophical, stir-crazy, cynical, violent, revealing their true selves in the crucible of their desperation.

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Extended Thoughts on ‘Alice in Wonderland’

Alice in Wonderland Directed by Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson, and Hamilton Luske Written by Winston Hibler, Ted Sears, Bill Peet, Erdman Penner, Joe Rinaldi, Milt Banta, Bill Cottrell, Dick Kelsey, Joe Grant, Dick Huemer, Del Connell, Tom Oreb, and John Waltridge Starring Kathryn Beaumont, Ed Wynn, Verna Felton I should not pride myself in my …

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Fantasia 2012: ‘Excision’ Cut the Heart Out of My Chest

Excision Written and Directed by Richard Bates Jr. USA 2012 Fantasia imdb There were two films at Fantasia this year that took me on trips that I didn’t want to go on. The first was the winner of Fantasia’s Satoshi Kon Award for Achievement in Animation The King of Pigs. The second was Excision. Both films are about outsiders in high school, …

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Fantasia 2012: ‘Toy Masters’ does not Master its Universe

Toy Masters Written by Roger Lay Jr. and Corey Landis Directed by Roger Lay Jr. USA 2012 Fantasia imdb This year, Fantasia doubled the number of documentaries in their Documentaries From The Edge series from five to ten. Justine has already raved about The Mechanical Bride and I intend to write very positively about Despite the Gods and My Amityville Horror when I get a …

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Fantasia 2012: Depravity and lunacy cannot remain ‘Hidden in the Woods’ forever

Hidden In the Woods Directed by Patricio Valladares Written by Patricio Valladares and Andrea Cavaletto Chile, 2012 What exactly consists of a good groundhouse picture? Which conceivable, perceptible elements are sufficient for one movie fan, presumably one owing some familiarity in the genre, to conclude that groundhouse movie ‘a’ was swell, whereas movie grondhouse ‘b’ …

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Fantasia 2012: ‘Excision’ extremely unsettling, often amusing

Excision Directed by Richard Bates Jr. Screenplay by Richard Bates Jr. 2012, USA Writer-director Richard Bates. Jr. draws on years of movie-watching for his audacious feature debut Excision. The most obvious influences for Excision is possibly Brian DePalma’s Carrie, Todd Solondz’s Welcome To The Dollhouse and Michael Lehmann’s Heathers. Toss in equal parts Gregg Araki, …

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Fantasia 2012: It’s all fun and games in ‘Game of Werewolves’

Game of Werewolves Directed by Juan Martinez Moreno Written by Juan Martinez Moreno Spain, 2012 Ah, the classic werewolf creature. It is one of the vintage, most fondly remembered beasts made famous by Universal Studios back in the earlier days when cinema was but in its infancy. The first classic actor to portray the role? …

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Fantasia 2012: ‘Asura’ is messy in some areas, but packs a lot of realized potential

Asura Directed by Keiichi Sato Written by Ikuko Takahashi Japan, 2012 Who has not heard or read about the story of the man or woman who thought it was a neat idea to own as a pet, not a dog, cat, or some fish, but rather some wild beast they believed they could somehow tame …

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Fantasia 2012: Jennifer Lynch has ‘Chained’ the Serial Killer Monster

Chained Written by Jennifer Lynch, based on a screenplay by Damian O’Donnell Directed by Jennifer Lynch USA 2012 Fantasia imdb “I shall call you… Rabbit,” is the most chilling line of any film this year. Spoken slowly but deliberately with a slight lisp and a faint Germanic accent by Vincent D’Onofrio, the voice alone places Bob somewhere between Hans Beckert and Jeffrey …

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Fantasia 2012: ‘The Kick’ Makes Martial Arts a Family Affair

The Kick  Written by Jong-suk Lee, based on a story by Prachya Pinkaew Directed by Prachya Pinkaew Thailand/South Korea 2011 Fantasia imdb Traditionally, films that pit one country’s martial arts against the martial arts from other countries are blood-soaked chauvinistic affairs like One Armed Boxer and its sequel Master of the Flying Guillotine. Both great films, they up the ante on the Kung …

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Fantasia 2012: ‘Black’s Game’ Makes Unfamiliar Moves

Black’s Game aka Svartur á leik Written by Óskar Thór Axelsson, based on the novel Svartur á leik by Stefán Máni Directed by Óskar Thór Axelsson Iceland 2012 Fantasia imdb It would be easy to describe dismiss Black’s Game as an Icelandic crime thriller, but that would be short changing this stylish film that zags every time you expect it to zig, making choices that make …

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Fantasia 2012: ‘Smuggler’ Fails to Conceal its Influences

Smuggler aka  Sumagurâ: Omae no mirai o hakobe Written by Katsuhito Ishii, Masatoshi Yamaguchi and Kensuke Yamamoto, based on the manga Sumagurâ by Shôhei Manabe Directed by Katsuhito Ishii Japan 2011 Fantasia imdb The writers and director of Smuggler clearly watched Ichi the Killer a lot – A LOT – as kids. It’s all there: the yakuza setting, the gang war, the eccentric characters, the torture, the weird …

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Fantasia 2012: ‘Dragon’ an unusually human martial-arts showcase

Dragon aka Wu Xia aka The Swordsmen Written by Oi Wah Lam Directed by Peter Chan 2011 Hong Kong/China Fantasia imdb In a strange way, Dragon is a perfect companion film for the Shaw Brothers classic The Fists of the White Lotus that Fantasia presented this year. (Expect Edgar Chaput to review that film as part of his Shaw Brothers Saturday series soon.) Both films are about the never-ending cycle …

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Fantasia 2012: ‘Cold Blooded’ is one of the year’s best thrillers

Cold Blooded Directed by Jason Lapeyre Written by Jason Lapeyre Canada, 2012 When it comes to leading parts for female actors in cop and action films, the landscape is relatively barren. Even where such parts exist, rare as it is to begin with, all too often the roles are sexed up to the point where …

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Fantasia 2012/Shaw Bros. Sat.: ‘Fists of the White Lotus’ demonstrates that it’s cool to fight like a girl

Fists of the White Lotus (aka: Clan of the White Lotus) Directed by Lo Lieh Written by Tien Huang Hong Kong, 1980 *This week’s film was recently viewed at the 2012 Fantasia International Film Festival on a 35mm print, hence its inclusion in both the Fantasia 2012 and Shaw Brothers Saturdays columns. The old, evil …

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