It Stains the Sand Red (2017)

Colin Minihan’s “It Stains the Sand Red” is a movie that only has about an hour’s worth of story for its premise. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a neat and interesting idea for a zombie movie, but one that runs out of steam by the time the second act is introduced. You can literally see the wheels falling off mid-way, and what should have been the end, feels a lot like a ton of filler that belongs to another movie altogether. As with all zombie movies from indie filmmakers, there are a ton of George Romero nods and winks, and they’re a mixed bag. Some of them are neat, like the opening of the film, which is an homage to the opening of “Night,” while some induce eye rolls a la the newspaper with the headline “The Dead Walk” dangling from a police vehicle.

Continue reading

Atomic Blonde (2017) [Fantasia International Film Festival 2017]

A beautiful but deadly MI6 agent is sent to Berlin in 1989, right at the time the wall is about to be taken down, so that she can navigate her way through the cities and the web of spies and double agents there to get her hands on a list of them with powerful information.

Continue reading

Wu Kong (2017) [Fantasia International Film Festival 2017]

Based on the legend of the Monkey King, Wu Kong is a retelling of Sun Wu-kong’s story where he is born and sent back to his mountain where he is raised and trained by a monk to then go create some mayhem and cause some changes in the realm of Heaven. 

Continue reading

Boyka: Undisputed (2016) [Fantasia International Film Festival 2017]

Following the death of an opponent, Boyka questions why he is doing this sport and what he wants from it. As a means of atoning for the death, he goes to visit the deceased’s wife to try and help her as best he can to in turn be able to forgive himself.

Continue reading