An Interview with Michael Borowiec and Sam Marine, directors of “Man Underground” [FrightFest 2016]

samandmikeMichael Borowiec and Sam Marine co-wrote and co-directed the feature Man Underground (review here) about a conspiracy theorist who loses his job and his marriage after what he believes is an alien visit.  Michael and Sam worked together beautifully on this film, here they are talking about it with Cinema Crazed.

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HollyShorts Film Festival 2016 Shorts Selections Part 2

QuenottesThe short film festival HollyShorts took place in Hollywood August 11th to 20th, 2016.  It showcased a ton–yes a ton–of short films from the US and around the world.  Here are more short reviews of some of these bite-sized films. This is Part two of the HollyShorts Film Festival Round Up.

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Fantasia International Film Festival 2016 Wrap-Up

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).

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

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.

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

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.

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