Category Archives: Movie Reviews

post

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

Posted on by

dsotmDr. 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 14th until August 3rd, 2016.

post

Slash (2016) [Fantasia International Film Festival 2016]

Posted on by

slashA 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.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978): Collector’s Edition [Blu-Ray]

Posted on by

invasion-blurayPhilip Kaufman’s 1978 remake and adaptation of “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” remains one of the most resounding arguments for the purpose of remaking films. Often times like the case of “Invasion of the Body Snatchers,” directors can rework certain ideas and add something to the mythology, allowing for a starker and very bleak vision that helps a film stand on its own. John Carpenter achieved that with “The Thing,” and Philip Kaufman succeeds in adding his own layer of dread and futility with “Invasion of the Body Snatchers.” A lot of horror movies are filled with some tinge of hope that perhaps humanity or our heroes will prevail over the unusual menace threatening to consume a portion of Earth.

Continue reading →

Seoul Station (2016) [Fantasia International Film Festival 2016]

Posted on by

seoul“If I had a place to go… I wouldn’t have stayed at Seoul Station.”

Yeon Sang-ho’s animated prequel to the excellent zombie action film “Train to Busan” is every bit as terrifying as its successor, and occasionally much more intelligent and biting in its social commentary. While “Train to Busan” is a very emotional look at class warfare and how the society divides in the time of crisis, “Seoul Station” is a very evocative commentary on the poverty crisis in the world. This horrific zombie virus is able to thrive thanks to the massive homeless population in South Korea, and it’s confronted more than once in how the government views its homeless as animals and sub-human even before the flesh eating ghouls appear.

Continue reading →

Mother’s Day (2016) [Blu-Ray/Digital]

Posted on by

Sadly, ever since “Love Actually” became a standard of the holiday, Hollywood has enlisted hokey melodrama director Garry Marshall to give us a new holiday based ensemble piece of garbage almost every year. “Mother’s Day” is the latest insidious melodrama about a group of very rich, very healthy Caucasian people bickering about how hard their lives are. One character played by Jennifer Aniston, even decides to throw a humongous party for her sons, just because. Man, can you imagine what would happen if these people ever stepped out of their bubbles? “Mother’s Day” is about mother’s day, the mother of all holidays, everyone seems to be obsessed with mother’s day, and they talk about mother’s day because, mothers!

Continue reading →

post

Battledream Chronicle (2016) [Fantasia International Film Festival 2016]

Posted on by

battledreamI was a bit mixed on French anime “Battledream Chronicle” until the very end. I love the concept from Alain Bidard. It’s a very unusual mix of “Tron” and “The Matrix” where world decisions and lives are based around a virtual reality game based around gladiators and battling that results in actual lives lost. Set in the year 2100, humankind has managed to achieve paradise, but that’s been taken away by an evil computer AI. The computer has recruited various warriors from across the world to compete for the fate of their country. The team Mortemonde is on the verge of dominating the world after winning endless tournaments, and it’s up to Syanna to compose the perfect team to stop AI and give the world its freedom back.

“Battledream Chronicle” has a very unique idea that could be developed in to such a remarkable film, but in the end I had a difficult time finishing. Bidard takes such a long time developing any kind of characters and spends an obscene amount of time building up to the finale. For some inexplicable reason, entrenches us in to the middle of politics and characters bouncing dialogue off of one another, and how much is at stake if heroine Syanna doesn’t choose the proper teammates to take in to combat. I loved a lot of the concepts behind this digital tournament, including the soldiers that rule over it, and the weapons that are handed to the various gladiators to take in to combat. I wanted to know so much more about this bits and pieces.

But Bidard takes us more mystical here and there, relying on a lot of symbols and icons to represent various weapons, and conveying this digital world as something that’s one step up to achieving a higher state of mind. You’d think that would amount to a rich and complex fantasy, but I found it pretty muddled and I didn’t think there was enough glimpses in to the digital realm of Farandjun as there should have been. That said, “Battledream Chronicle” should be applauded for employing a large cast of minority heroes, including main character Syanna, who is African American. There’s also the wonderful animation which really compliments the quasi-futuristic aesthetic that kept the film walking the line between hard science fiction and dark fantasy.

I’d suggest checking this out if you’re a science fiction fan prone to experimenting and dabbling in more out of the ordinary fare. I found it fairly mediocre and severely lacking in action and excitement.

post

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

Posted on by

alchemistA 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 14th until August 3rd, 2016.