Victoria is a movie with a gimmick. This is not to say that Victoria isn’t a worthwhile film or that it’s a film that can’t stand on its own, but the gimmick it carries is undeniable or rather, the gimmick carries the film.
Is this your first year attending Fantastic Fest? Are you lost in a sea of options? Do you have no clue where to turn because all your friends and family are watching the latest Kardashian escapade instead of attending the most epic film festival in existence? Don’t worry you’re safe here. For your ultimate guidebook, …
When people think of a film festival’s must see flicks, most are geared towards the films with the largest following and the biggest marketing campaign. But then again this is Fantastic Fest. The final frontier of rebel festivals that goes against the grain of all that mainstream hoopla. A great example of the Fantastic spirit, …
The final wave of Fantastic Fest 2015 has finally been announced and it features a crop of festival darlings along with Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson’s highly anticipated stop-motion animation film Anomalisa. The Cannes Grand Prix winner Son of Saul joins the list as well as the new film from director Matteo Garrone, Tale of …
One of the greatest genre film festivals in the world (some say the best) has just announced its second wave of titles, including a few titles so anticipated you’ll wish you’re in Austin next month. Below are 35 more films to add to the 23 already announced in the first wave. They include Ridley Scott’s …
Nightcrawler, the directorial debut of screenwriter Dan Gilroy, has a strong kinship with Sidney Lumet’s Network. Both take a satirical view of broadcast journalism, portraying the profession as a cold-blooded environment where sensationalism takes center stage. If there is one difference that separates the newer film from its 1976 predecessor, though, it is that the former possesses none of the latter’s biting wit. Nightcrawler is incredibly heavy-handed with its message, and the satirical dialogue is far from profound.
I am a Knife with Legs Written and directed by Bennett Jones USA, 2014 Comedian Bennett Jones spent seven years making I Am a Knife with Legs. During that time he packed as much humorous material – nonsensical jokes, absurd musical numbers, crude animation – as could fit in an 85-minute time frame. Though it …
Cub scouts and crazed killers are are such a wacky combination for a horror film, and therefore viewers should be able to expect a fair amount of insanity from Jonas Govaerts’ debut feature; however, it is only in its final act that Cub finally achieves the appropriate atmosphere. Those last 20 minutes are exhilarating, and they more than make up for the first 65. It is not that the first two thirds of Cub are terrible; they just don’t really lead anywhere.
The Cabin in the Woods was the final frontier for slasher films… or at least it should have been. Drew Goddard and Joss Whedon’s 2011 horror-comedy took all of the subgenre’s tropes and turned them on their head. It acknowledged every character stereotype and rejected each one. The slasher film received a complete deconstruction, and now it may be best to simply pack it away. Sadly, The Town That Dreaded Sundown heralds an uninspired return to form. It just may be the blandest movie to feature violent homicide and ruthless killers.
In the 2010 film Rabbit Hole, a character compares grief to a stone that you carry around in your pocket. There are times when it is easy to forget about this extra weight, but then one day you reach into your jacket and suddenly remember that it’s there. The grief of losing a loved one can never fully vanish. It will always be there in some form, whether it be as a stone in your pocket or as a spindly fingered, top hat-wearing boogeyman. If that latter comparison makes little sense, then you should see Jennifer Kent’s The Babadook. In addition to being a thoroughly satisfying horror film, it is an extraordinary character-driven story about a woman trying to recover from the loss of her husband.
It is never clear what exactly Marie is turning into. The sudden manifestation of thick body hair would seem to suggest a werewolf, but When Animals Dream does not follow the normal werewolf mythology; there are no full moons or silver bullets to be found here. Regardless of its ambiguity, though, the story of Marie’s transformation makes for a wonderfully atmospheric horror film. When Animals Dream may suffer due to an underdeveloped screenplay, but it never loses touch with its profound spookiness and suspense.
It seems only natural for an expansive anthology like ABCs of Death 2 to offer up such a mixed bag
of short films. There are 26 in total, each running for approximately four to five minutes. Such the-abcs-of-death-2-stills-3time constraints act as a hindrance to many of the directors involved in the project. A large number of the shorts are either underdeveloped or conventional in terms of their story. However, there are a handful of standouts that make the viewing experience worthwhile.
Blindness is a difficult affliction to understand. By simply closing their eyes and walking around, people could easily comprehend the act of not being able to see, but they would probably be unable to grasp the loneliness and isolation that occurs when the world is permanently cast into darkness. With Blind, Eskil Vogt has provided viewers with a thorough exploration of a woman and the ailment that confines her to her apartment. His character study is immensely thoughtful, and it allows the viewer to immerse oneself in an unusual new world.
With a scant running time of 76 minutes, Darkness by Day cannot afford to waste any time in revealing its story. Regardless of such tight constraints, though, the film spends most of its time on uninspired dialogue and vague character interactions. It claims to be a horror story, but its moments of fear are often too fleeting to have much of an effect.
When it comes to amour fou, no case may be more famous than that of the Lonely Hearts Killers. Two middle-aged lovers, Raymond Fernandez and Martha Beck, posed as brother and sister in order to con widows out of their money. Raymond would marry the women and attempt to gain control of their assets, but Martha always ended up killing them in a jealous rage. When they were finally caught, the two murderers mocked society for not understanding the purity of their love.
The tenth annual Fantastic Fest kicks off in Austin TX in just over a week, and we will once again be present to cover the festival. We are excited to announce the final wave of programming as well as many guest appearances including James Gunn, Edgar Wright, Nicolas Winding Refn, and Ti West. This programming wave …
Blue Ruin Written and directed by Jeremy Saulnier USA, 2013 Stories of revenge aren’t hard to find in American cinema; most are grim shoot-‘em-ups with less interest in the aftermath than in pushing their ultra-determined heroes to pull the trigger and reach a bloody catharsis. So the new independent picture Blue Ruin stands apart from …
The day began as all days should probably begin: with a sold-out crowd taking shots of Jack Daniels to ward off the cat flu. The day ended as all days should close: with an exceptionally lively and entertaining martial-arts film made by a group of passionate people who know how to kick ass. Yes, Day …
There are just two—count ‘em, two—days until Fantastic Fest 2013 kicks off in Austin , Texas, at the Alamo Drafthouse Lakeline. In case you hadn’t been keeping track, I’ll be there for the majority of the festival covering as many movies as possible. (I will be a movie-watching/reviewing machine, just you watch.) If you’ve been …
September, as most cinephiles know, is a month almost entirely lacking in film festivals. What’s that? Something going on in Toronto? A film festival, and it’s happening right now? Well, if you say so. Seriously, though, with TIFF starting in full today, and the New York Film Festival kicking off once again at the end …
Anyone reading this likely knows that the end of summer portends a few important milestones in a moviegoing year, chief among them the proliferation of film festivals in locations as diverse as Venice; Toronto; Telluride; and, of course, Austin, Texas. Yes, we’re just over 5 weeks away from Fantastic Fest 2013. Today, the organizers announced …
Vanishing Waves Directed by Kristina Buozyte Screenplay by Bruno Samper and Kristina Buozyte 2012, Lithuania Writing and directing a film about entering another person’s mind is one of the more creatively demanding tasks you can set up for yourself. One does not simply convey the infinite machinations and uncertain boundaries of consciousness on film, and …
The American Scream Directed by Michael Stephenson 2012, USA Stationed in a neighborhood in the small town of Fairhaven, MA, the team behind The American Scream follows three unique families as they each transform their home into an elaborate celebration of Halloween. The resulting film is an inspiring and heartwarming examination of human creativity and …