A Ghost Story (2017) [Fantasia International Film Festival 2017]

After his death, a man goes home dressed in a white sheet to try to reconnect with his grieving wife.

A Ghost Story an intimate haunting film by David Lowery that explores themes of grieving, remembering, being remembered, learning to let go, and ultimately love.  Here Lowery creates an intimate look on a couple in a short time before killing the husband, leaving his wife in shock and trying to figure life out for herself.  He also explores this death from the deceased side of things without ever going in the cheesy or creepy worlds many ghost story films go to in order to do this.  Here he creates 2 strong leads that have very few lines, yet manage to pass emotions and feelings through watching these two people interact before the husband’s death and how they are after it.

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Undress Me (2017) [Fantasia International Film Festival 2017]

I can’t wait to see more from director Amelia Moses in the future, as she seems to be a promising horror director with a lot to say. Though “Undress Me” is a short film, it’s also a very grotesque and disgusting body horror film. “Undress Me” will inspire many audiences to interpret its message and I perceived it as an allegory for rape and the psychological fall out that comes with being raped.

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Tilt (2017) [Fantasia International Film Festival 2017]

Kasra Farahani’s “Tilt” is a compelling and sometimes spellbinding dramatic thriller about the American dream and the ideas about fulfillment and freedom. Set amongst the backdrop of the turbulent election that gave the Presidential seat to a wealthy and very loud mogul, “Tilt” is a sharp and often disturbing look at the disintegration of a man. “Tilt” is fairly simplistic but rich in substance as it depicts America as something of a stagnant pool where freedom reigns but nothing ever changes. Joseph Cross’s performance as a self important filmmaker and struggling artist is astounding, as he injects layers of frustration and anger at a world that he never fully comprehends.

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Star Wars: Dark Legacy (2017)

We all know well and good about the turbulent and peaceful relationship between the Jedi and his padawan, but how often do we get to see the relationship between Siths and their apprentices? “Dark Legacy” explores the typically twisted and weird relationship between the Sith and their apprentices and how it can be emotionally draining and quite violent. The training revolves more about brainwashing and the Stockholm syndrome and director Anthony Pietromonaco delves in to the demented dynamic and how it makes or breaks the apprentice.

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The Mummy (2017)

After “The Wolfman” and “Dracula Untold” failed to launch the intended Cinematic Universe, Universal has hitched their ride on “The Mummy,” a movie so broadly developed and so utterly stale, that it feels more like a pitch for a movie than an actual movie. So much of “The Mummy” and its tedious, monotonous, lifeless run time is spent propping up storylines, explaining, over explaining, and flash backs. Rather than watching characters experience, and go through the wringer, and develop, Universal spends an enormous amount of time creating this tidy, and sanitary action thriller that is hell bent on establishing the universe its set in, rather than engaging us in an actual movie that is somewhat entertaining of compelling.

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