Author Archives: Emilie Black

“Injustice for All” and Other Joker Themed Shorts

Posted on by

InjusticeForAllWith the release of “Suicide Squad” in theaters and its Joker making movie headlines, now is the perfect time to look at a few shorts and fan films starring or about The Joker; or “Mr. J,” if you’re nasty.

Injustice for All (USA) (2016)
Lex Luthor visits Harleen Quinzel who is kept in solitary at Arkham Asylum to find out as much as he can about her beloved Mr. J.  Through her storytelling and expanded scenes of The Joker’s activities, we see a bit of his past and his visits with other DC characters including Catwoman. This short film written by Donavan Darius and Joseph Bryce Hart and directed by Danny Mooney is a look at The Joker taken from a different angle compared to most of his feature film appearances.

Continue reading →

Fantasia International Film Festival 2016 Wrap-Up

Posted on by

fantasia-2016This year’s edition of Fantasia was their 20th, having missed only three or four, I was eager to attend this anniversary year.  As usual since moving from Montreal to Southern California, I was only able to attend for a short period, so I made sure to enjoy it as much as possible, making it a point to see films with a crowd and going to the official festival pub while attending the same week as the market and a few friends. I also made a point to see as many movies as possible, seeing a grand total of 28 films for which the reviews can be found at the below this piece (before the list of winners).

Continue reading →

She’s Allergic to Cats (2016) [Fantasia International Film Festival 2016]

Posted on by

allergictocatsLife is hard in Hollywood for a budding filmmaker who works as a dog groomer to make ends meet.  As he struggles to survive and get his career going, Mike Pinkney daydreams and makes experimental videos and meets the girl of his dreams.  As he tries to get his future to be good, he struggles through work, with his dreams, with his rat infested apartment, his landlord, and his possible relationship.

Continue reading →

Let Me Make You a Martyr (2016) [Fantasia International Film Festival 2016]

Posted on by

martyrThe official plot for Let Me Make You a Martyr is “[a] cerebral revenge film about two adopted siblings who fall in love and hatch a plan to kill their abusive father.” (IMDB.com)  Watching the film, the plot doesn’t seem that simple.  Multiple people plot to have another killed while living difficult lives as best they can, some trying to do some good at the same time.

Continue reading →

Atmo HorrorX (2016) [Fantasia International Film Festival]

Posted on by

atmohorrorxThis review must start with a warning: Even though this reviewer watched this movie attentively, getting any of it was very, very difficult; if not nary impossible, so external information sources had to be sought, mainly from IMDB and the Fantasia program book.  That being said, let’s start with its official summary on IMDB: “Through a surreal chase of spying, Catafuse, a dubiously dressed creature, hunts humans with the help of Molosstrap.  But in a world ruled by the pharma industry, reality becomes so complex, that the mastering of insanity might just be the only way out.”

Continue reading →

Bed of the Dead (2016) [Fantasia International Film Festival 2016]

Posted on by

bedofthedeadTwo couples in their twenties book a room with a particularly big bed at a sex club, to explore some options for one of the guys’ birthday.  Once on the bed, it becomes clear that supernatural forces are at play as they start hallucinating and being picked off one by one.  A cop investigating the aftermath discovers more than he expected and is pulled into the situation deeper than he planned.

Continue reading →

Kidnap Capital (2016) [Fantasia International Film Festival 2016]

Posted on by

kidnapPhoenix, Arizona.  A group of kidnap victims are taken in a house like many others.  There they are kept captive, beaten, and forced to contact family and friends for their ransom.  Part of the group is an expecting couple who are split up as they keep the men and women separately.  The father-to-be does everything he can to protect his wife and unborn child.

Continue reading →