Big Match (2015) [Fantasia Film Festival]

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FANTASIA FILM FESTIVAL

Director Choi Ho’s “Big Match” is probably one of my favorite action movies of the year. It’s a wonderful amalgam of action, comedy, and thrills acting on a fast pace with a multi layered story of a man running against the clock. Choi Ik-ho is a man kicked out of professional soccer for rough housing and enters in to MMA to get his aggression out. With the help of his big brother Young-ho, Choi Ik-ho has become one of the greatest fighters of modern times. He’s kept under tight supervision by his big brother, a retired MMA fighter. But when he suddenly disappears, Ik-ho is suspect number one. Young-ho is suspected of being murdered, and Ik-ho is arrested.

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Pixels (2015)

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“Pixels” was a creative and eerie short film that took the concept of video games and turned them in to actual threats on reality. In the proper hands, the adaptation could have been “Scott Pilgrim” meets “Ghostbusters” with a hint of “Attack the Block.” Sure it’d have been silly, but it also could have been a lot of fun. Perhaps even a classic. The first thing to remember is that “Pixels” is an Adam Sandler movie first and foremost, so the viewer has to wade through a ton of Sandler nonsense to get to the actual point of the narrative. Sandler is a man child, as always, who attracts the attention of a beautiful woman out of his league and has a connection to children. He hangs out with his childhood friend who also happens to be the president of the united states. A lot of the juicy roles handed to Sandler’s friends, while Sandler himself seems lethargic through most of it.

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The Demolisher (2015) [Fantasia Film Festival]

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FANTASIA FILM FESTIVAL

I really do want to see more from Canadian director Gabriel Carrer, mainly because “The Demolisher” brought back waves of Nicholas Winding Refn and Michael Mann with it. “The Demolisher” is a slow burn and really stellar revenge thriller that picks up after an admittedly sluggish first half hour. “The Demolisher” picks up steam and collides in to an all out assault of blood shed, gore, and violence that help to explore the crumbling of a man’s sanity. Evocative of films like “Ms. 45” and “Death Wish,” Carrer channels the idea of trauma and its lasting effects and how it can toy with one man’s idea of justice for his beloved wife.  Continue reading

Monty Python: The Meaning of Live (2014) [Fantasia Film Festival]

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FANTASIA FILM FESTIVAL

You really have to appreciate the blunt honesty of the Python crew at their age and why they decided to team together after three decades to tour once again. They needed the money. After a brutal court battle over the creative rights of “The Holy Grail,” they were all left generally low on cash, so they decided to launch a stage show tour of their best bits to garner some quick cash and help seal their debts. There’s no fluff on a documentary that loves the Python crew. They love their fans, they love their work, but they need the money, and I respect the hell out of that.

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Assassination Classroom (2015) [Fantasia Film Festival]

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FANTASIA FILM FESTIVAL

It’s not often such a weird movie manages to win me over, but lo and behold “Assassination Classroom” really did. I doubt I will be back for the sequels unless I have to, but for almost two hours I was thoroughly entertained by such a richly developed and fun action movie. It avoids almost all of he clichés of an action movie, while also diving head first in to them, and sets up a bunch of storylines within its one hundred and ten minute duration. Based on the hit manga of the same name, “Assasssination Classroom” tries to fit in a bunch of threads in its run time and succeeds for the most part. The premise is so daffy and off the wall I could only gaze in sheer disbelief as two screenwriters approached this with sincerity.

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Invisible Centerfolds (2015)

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The oh so lovely Christine Nguyen is back in what is essentially a movie with the exact cast as “Sexy Warriors.” Though much more science fiction based, “Invisible Centerfolds” gets its kicks off of the comedy it mines from turning Christine Nguyen invisible. Think of it as the famous movie starring Claude Rains, except rather than a legendary male actor, it’s an obscenely sexy young Asian woman.

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I, Madman (1989) [Blu-Ray]

Tibor Takács’ “I, Madman” kind of snuck up on me when I first saw it twenty years ago. I was primarily invested in the movie for the whole idea of fiction coming alive. I had no idea it would evolve in to a gruesome slasher and Giallo. That’s not a set back for me, but it’s really surprising how “I, Madman” looks and flows like a living comic book, but is never shy about grue and gore.

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