Lowlife Love (2015) [Fantasia International Film Festival 2016]

Posted on August 3, 2016 by Emilie Black

A lowlife, 39 year old film, director uses his position to sleep with young actresses under promise of making them stars. While doing this, he’s trying to get his next film produced and cast. Around him: His best friend makes porn films to gather money for a filming budget; a young film writer wants to get his script produced; a young actress falls in love with the film writer, et al. Everyone seems to be out for their own careers and selves, not caring about others.

Lowlife Love is written and directed by Eiji Uchida and is a study of people doing everything they need to get to their ends, to get fame for themselves, no matter the cost to others and themselves. Uchida crafts a study of what drives people, some people, to go to ends some never would to get what they want. His style is a bit in your face, showing events and how they affect everyone involved but never truly getting to the bottom of the reasons and the feelings behind it all.

To bring this to the screen, Uchida has a cast of 30 or so, most of them giving decent performances. Unfortunately, most of the characters feel a bit thin and one dimensional at times, with a very few standouts. Thankfully, one actress shows nuance and layers in her performance, Maya Okano as Minami shows the best arc, the best performance. She shows great talent and becomes the best part of the film. Her performance shows naïveté at first and then a form of regret as she has lost her innocence throughout the events of the film.

The cinematography by Kenji Noguchi follows the tone of the film, framing the scenes in ways to enhance their feeling of despair and of need for fame. The film feels almost dirty some times, claustrophobic at others times, all through the look the images’ framing give it. He adapts his style to what the scene needs, showing versatility. However, the film’s story not being exactly great, this is a bit lost in the shuffle.

Lowlife Love is an attempt at making a dark dramedy about what goes on behind the scenes of some films but it makes it sound like it’s what goes on behind all films. The story could have been great but its execution, starting with the story’s writing, is not on point. A lot of it feels as though the filmmaker is trying hard but not hitting his mark, the characters feel exaggerated, and this all leads to a less than fascinating film. Unless one is really into director Eiji Uchida’s films, it may not be worth watching.

Fantasia International Film Festival runs from July 14^th until August 3^rd, 2016.

Dark Side of the Moon (2015) [Fantasia International Film Festival 2016]

Posted on August 3, 2016 by Emilie Black

Dr. Urs Blank is a successful lawyer with a pharmaceutical company hell-bent on becoming the biggest in its field in Europe. They ruthlessly merge with other companies and eliminate them. His work taking its toll on him, Blank goes through an accelerated mid-life crisis that brings him to try psychedelic mushroom with dire consequences on his psyche.

The film based on the novel by Martin Suter is adapted by Catharina Junk, David Marconi, and Stephan Rick. Their script is brought to the screen by Stephan Rick. This team creates an almost mesmerizing film in which we get to see a man go from a very business mentality, to a sweeter man, to a psychological break that leads to violence and out of character actions for the lead. The way this is shown is with a slow-burn of a film which takes its time to get to the point, but is absolutely worth it.

In the lead of Urs Blank is Moritz Bleibtreu turning in a nuanced performance of a man who thinks he’s going psycho after ingesting psychedelic mushrooms. His performance here is great and multi-layered; he gives his character depth and emotions, showing the right amount of guilt, of feeling lost, of despair. His character drives the film and his performance is pivotal, making it of utmost importance, which Bleibtreu grabs onto and for which he gives one the best performances of his career. Also, giving fantastically nuanced performances are Doris Schretzmayer as Blank’s wife Evelyn, Nora von Waldstatten as Lucille, and Jurgen Prochnow as Blank’s boss Plus Ott. The ensemble is very strong, a sign of good direction but also of good casting, done here by Veronique Fauconnet and Nilton Martins.

This reviewer being a photographer first and foremost, the cinematography for Dark Side of the Moon caught attention. Stefan Ciupek and Felix Cramer do an amazing job of framing the story and characters in a way that is stunning and that brings everything together. The fact that this was done by two persons shows how well they work together and adapt to each other’s style as never in the film does it feel as though two people did the cinematography, which is not an easy feat as each of them as his own style, his own vision.

Dark Side of the Moon is a slow-burn of a film, a stunning film, filled with great acting, and with a very good story. Not knowing it is based on a book until after watching it makes this reviewer want to track the book down and see what other layers to the story can be found there.

Fantasia International Film Festival runs from July 14^th until August 3^rd, 2016.

Slash (2016) [Fantasia International Film Festival 2016]

Posted on August 3, 2016 by Emilie Black

A teen discovers slash fan fic and writes some about characters from his favorite series Vanguard. After an older girl reads some of it and he gets in trouble in school for its graphic nature, she pushes him to post it online for all to see and to get feedback. This gets him noticed by one of the moderators of the forum and he’s encouraged to go read an excerpt at a Comic-Con type convention. Writer/director Clay Liford adapts from his own 2012 short of the same name, changing the lead’s obsession from Harry Potter to a fake series called Vanguard.

Here he builds a coming of age story where the two leads, Neil and Julia, are at different points in their teenage evolution and in their sexual awakening. Both characters feel real and have natural interactions with each other and with the adults and teens around them. The characters and situations are believable, especially for someone (like this reviewer) who has encountered many a fan fic writer and read a few horrendous and other decent bits of it. Setting the film partially at a comic-con works here as it puts the two nerds in what feels like their natural environment, where they fit in better than in their school or home settings.

Both leads here are talented and natural at their parts. Michael Johnston plays up Neil’s awkwardness, creating a very human 15 year old nerd with dreams, aspirations, worries. His character is never a caricature of emerging teen writers and never a send up of nerds as is often seen in these types of movies.

Playing opposite Michael Johnston is Hannah Marks as Julia, the less sheltered and more experienced fan fic writing 16 year old who shows him the ropes in terms of getting out there and finding himself. Marks plays her character full force, never skimping on any emotions, yet never exaggerating or hamming it up. The viewers feel with her, go through her emotional roller coaster with her. The supporting cast, including a great Michael Ian Black leaving his sarcastic persona behind, does a great job and let Michael Johnston and Hannah Marks shine, not over shadowing them while also turning in good performance.

The film’s cinematography by Ellie Ann Fenton makes it look a bit like it belongs on current MTV or on a big screen at a convention, which is not a bad thing as this style lends itself to the subject matter at hand. The way the scenes are shot, their settings also add to this. The film looks good and is well framed, making it easy to concentrate on the two leads.

Slash is a well-crafted film about teen experiences and sexual awakening for the teen nerd, mainly viewed through the eyes of a fifteen year old boy. His experiences and feelings are relatable, making even the uncomfortable moments work. The film is touching in parts and a bit cringe-worthy in others, which are both good things here. The film is entertaining and a glimpse into two slash fan fic writers’ lives.

Fantasia International Film Festival runs from July 14th until August 3rd, 2016.

The Alchemist Cookbook (2016) [Fantasia International Film Festival 2016]

Posted on July 30, 2016 by Emilie Black

A man trying to survive in a shack in the woods plays with alchemy to discover an ancient secret to a better life. Inadvertently, he summons a dangerous being who doesn’t take too kindly to his dealings. The Alchemist cookbook is written and directed by Joel Potrykus who is known for independent horror films shot in Michigan and who considers his style in the vein of Jim Jarmusch which is something each viewer can judge for themselves, but this reviewer did not really see that.

Here he crafts a fairly slow boil of a film. It starts with an alchemy cooking sequence set to a great track, giving the impression that it might be an upbeat, fast moving film, but it soon becomes clear that the lead, Sean, is a paranoid man playing with forces he doesn’t fully understand. Unfortunately, past that opening scene, the film feels slow and like it might need some extra oomph or perhaps to be edited differently. It’s not boring but it’s not enthralling either.

The cast for this small budget is, well, small. The lead of Sean is played by Ty Hickson who does great as the paranoid, perhaps desperate, man trying his hand at alchemy. His performance here is good and worth seeing and he proves he can carry a complete movie on his own as the only other actor has only a few scenes and those scenes are always with him. In the only other human role in the film is Amari Cheaton as Cortez a typical gangbanger who tries to help his friend Sean while also getting himself into trouble. His performance feels more exaggerated and caricatured while less on point than Ty Hickson’s. The last cast member listed is Fiji as Kaspar (the cat), as is usually the case with cats, he does a fabulous job while remaining rather nonchalant about the whole thing.

The film has some nice bits of science alchemy and some good effects. The last third does amp up the horror factor and what can be seen is well done and executed. These special effects are by Jeffery Husselman with visual effects by Scott Baisden and Daniel Falicki.

Also worth noting are the cinematography and the soundtrack. The cinematography by Adam J. Minnick does a great job at making all outdoors images feel desolate in their settings while the indoors shots feel cramped to go with small shack the lead lives in. This adds to the atmosphere here and is very well done.

The soundtrack for this film is mostly provided by way of an old tape deck that the lead character uses. The song choices and what is fast forwarded tell a lot about the character, which makes him feel real, more like the crazy, paranoid version of someone every viewer knows. His musical choices also reflect his internal turmoil, by letting him “choose” those songs, something so few films do.

The Alchemist cookbook is not a bad film but it has issues with pacing and with sections of the story feeling like filler. The acting by the lead is good and he carries the film well. The music is his best supporting character, but it’s not enough to make this reviewer want to see it again or be able to fully recommend it.

Fantasia International Film Festival runs from July 14^th until August 3^rd, 2016.

The Lure (2015) [Fantasia International Film Festival 2016]

Posted on July 29, 2016 by Emilie Black

Sirens attracted by a musician playing on the beach seduce him and his band into taking them in. With them, they become part of the entertainment at a night club while openly being sirens. When one of the girls falls for an earthly boy, she wants to trade her tail for legs, no matter the cost.

Written by Robert Bolestro, The Lure follows two siren sisters, Golden and Silver, as they navigate life on dry land. The story he builds here is interesting and entertaining with lead characters that attract attention and keep it. The story takes some unexpected turns and some less so, but all of them are fun to watch (even the ones less fun for the characters). The ending (no worries, no spoilers) is touching without being schmaltzy. Directing this modern fairytale is Agnieszka Smoczynska who takes the script and turns it into a kind of film version of a Bjork video. She creates a colorfully loud film in some scenes and a subdued one (color-wise) in others.

The way she shoots a domestic fight or an operation is fantastic and something this reviewer has not seen many times before (and I have seen thousands of films). Many scenes are shot in unexpected and original ways, making the film very unique. Adding to these directorial choices is the cinematography by Jakub Kijowski complementing the story and framing every image perfectly. The way this film is shot brings out its peculiar, exciting scenes and contrasts them excellently with the darker ones.

Playing the sirens are Marta Mazureka as Silver (Srebrna) and Michalina Olszanska as Gold (Zwota), both giving great performances. Mazurek shows her soft side, playing the more innocent siren who falls for a human. The way she develops her character is sweet and makes the viewers care about her like a little sister. Olszanska plays the other sister, more bold and mean almost. She brings out the killer side of sirens with gleeful abandon making her performance mesmerizing. One of the support characters stands out form the rest due to the actress’ performance, Wokalistka Krysia, the mom-type character who takes the girls in.

This performance by Kinga Preis is fantastic and layered. She shows the character’s vulnerability and her caring side, than switches to the performer side when her character hits the stage and commands attention, almost stealing scenes from the girls at times. A few of her performance pieces were reminiscent of LuLu.

Also more than worth the price of the ticket is the special effects for the sirens’ tails. They look as real as can be, with fishy scales and some glistening. They are beautiful and grab the attention. There is also some juicy, gooey gore in the aforementioned surgery scene that looks good. Unfortunately, the IMDB page for The Lure has no special effects or visual effects credits.

The Lure is a comedy/drama/musical/horror and as the sirens are singers being taken in by a band the music is highly important. The numbers and performances on screen with the band and then with the girls are fun, flamboyant at times, and highly entertaining. The pop songs are catchy and do not overstay their welcome while the choreography by Kaya Kolodziejczyk and Jaroslaw Staniek adds some sexiness to the girls’ already alluring performances.

The Lure is a great film, like a long form music video that works, reminiscent of Bjork and Mylene Farmer with a true Polish spirit. It offers a lot and is fun while remaining touching. It must be noted that it is Polish cinema’s first musical. The whole crowd at Fantasia ate it up and come out talking about what they had just seen.

Fantasia International Film Festival runs from July 14^th to August 3^rd, 2016.

I, Olga Hepranova (2016) [Fantasia International Film Festival 2016]

Posted on July 29, 2016 by Emilie Black

What pushes someone to once day decide they have had enough and that the only solution to be understood is to commit mass murder?

In 1973, in Prague (Czech Republic), 22 year old Olga Hepranova drove a truck into a waiting crowd, hitting 25 people and killing 8 of them. The film is the story of how Hepranova got to this massacre. Taking on the hard task of writing this story for the screen without falling into sensationalism or exploitation, writers Roman Cilek, Tomas Weinreb, and Petr Kazda, they took a delicate subject and turned it into a touching and beautiful story of a girl who feels as though she is being bullied and who has a long period of bad luck.

After long enough of asking for help and not receiving it, she decides to take drastic measures. They do not build Hepranova as a martyr or anti-hero but simply as a complex human being in need of help. Directors Petr Kasda and Tomas Weinreb took this script they co-wrote and turned it into a beautifully sad tale of a woman who possible could have been saved. The way they shot the film, in tandem with cinematographer Adam Kozakl in black and white and with very somber tomes is sublime. It takes this very heavy subject matter and make it bearable to watch. They craft a film that mesmerizes its audience while making them just a bit uncomfortable.

As so much of the film rests on her shoulders, the part of Olga Hepranova had to be cast perfectly. Actress Michalina Olszanska (mesmerizing in The Lure) was chosen and she is perfectly gloomy and fantastic. She clearly understood the depth and seriousness of the part, never over acting, always giving her all and stepping in Hepranova’s shoes, no matter how uncomfortable the process looks. She loses herself in the part and shows tremendous talent, proving that she is a start to keep watching. The rest of the cast is also very good to great with one stand, Klara Meliskova, as Olga’s cold, unloving mother.

She shows how one woman can be there and take care of basic needs for her child while showing absolutely no love or affection toward that child. Most characters are played as cruel or cold, except for the character of Miroslav, a man who tries to help Olga but has his own problems. This part is played by Martin Pechlat who brings a bit of light to the film by not being as serious as the rest of the cast. However, this is not in a funny or goofy way, but by showing just the right amount of light, even though highly flawed, to Olga’s life and the film.

The film is a must for fans of 70s Eastern Europe. The costumes by Aneta Grnakova and the art direction by Alexandr Kozak are perfectly on point. They give a great idea of what Prague and its people looked like in 1973. They do a very detailed job, bringing the era to life. I, Olga Hepranova is a somber film with a dark subject that is a part of Czech history. It was important that filmmakers behind the film pay attention to details and that they be careful to not over-dramatize the story. They do this while creating a perfectly gloomy film that should make any audience feel something.

The very timely subject matter of a mass murderer running people over with a truck is unfortunate but it should not keep people from seeing this film when the genre, style, or subject matter is something they would like to watch. This is not a film that is a feel good one; on the contrary, it’s depressing, sad, and beautiful.

The Unseen (2016) [Fantasia International Film Festival 2016]

Posted on July 28, 2016 by Emilie Black

In a small Northern Canadian town, a man who left his family behind to protect them receives a call that his daughter needs him. Risking everything and possibly exposing the fact that he is becoming invisible, Bob Langmore takes a job for the local drug dealer to be able to see his daughter and help as best he can.

The Unseen is writer/director Geoff Redknap’s first feature as such, having made himself an enviable career in special effects on projects like The Cabin in the Woods, Supernatural, and Deadpool. His background in effects shows in how Bob’s progressive invisibility is brought up and showcased. Rednap not only does this really well, but he also creates believable characters and situations within an “invisible man” scenario. The broken family dynamic feels real and human while their reactions and interactions blending naturally with the situations that are anything but natural. The story does take its time getting started, making the first act seem long but once it does get going, the pace changes and the story makes the wait worth it.

The lead actor chosen for the part of Bob Langmore is very important and so Aden Young was carefully chosen and does great with the conflicted character who want to stay hidden while making sure his daughter is safe. Viewers can see his struggle between self-protection and his need to protect his child. Young’s performance shows this inner conflict and worry, as well as care and determination. Supporting him as Bob’s daughter Eva is Julia Sara Stone whose expressive doe eyes lend themselves perfectly to the part of a girl finding herself while finding out her father’s secrets. Another good performance in the film is Camille Sullivan as Eva’s mother and Bob’s ex, Darlene. Her performance of as a caring mother feels genuine and adds to the family dynamic.

These three, with the help from the support cast, bring the story to life in a realistic manner, as much as can be. The effects, as can be expected from a special effects artist turned film writer and director, are great. They are not only CGI as one would expect lately, but a mix of traditional effects, animatronics, and visual effects. This paired with the original take on a man who is becoming invisible creates a striking look for the titular “unseen” man. The way this look is created and how it evolves is a new take on the subject and very interesting. Yes, it’s gross at times, but it’s absolutely worth it. The look is unique and interesting; the way it evolves keeps the attention. The crew behind this does a fantastic job.

Framing the story and its effects is the cinematography by Stephen Maier which showcases the Canadian North, almost creating a new character out of the locations and making some scenes feel as cold as the weather. To go with these images, director Rednap tasked Harlow MacFarlane with composing the music for the score which mixes typical score music and industrial sounds that fit the settings perfectly as it sounds organic in the woodmill environment and in the rest of the film. The songs chosen to add to the score are sometimes haunting, beautiful, and well chosen. Only one song felt out of place, but the rest of the songs quickly made up for it.

The Unseen is an interesting take on the invisible man trope, showing a new way for the invisibility to take hold as well as a new source for it. The acting is very good and the story works on multiple levels. It’s a fairly serious horror drama but not stuffy or heavy per sey. It explores an original side to the often seen story of a struggling broken family amidst the invisible man aspects.

Fantasia International Film Festival runs from July 14^th to August 3^rd, 2016.