Excess Flesh (2015) [Fantasia Film Festival]

Posted on August 20, 2015 by Emilie Black

FANTASIA FILM FESTIVAL

Jill moved to Los Angeles to start her career and now lives with her friend Jennifer who she has known for a while. Jill is a bit of a shut in, not finding work, slowly falling into depression. Jennifer is a working model and a party girl who is obnoxious and mean to Jill. Jill keeps trying to get Jennifer to pay attention to her, to be her friend, but Jennifer has better things to do. Jill just wants her friend as she knew her, understanding and supportive. Jennifer is being anything but. As things escalate, Jennifer becomes flat out abusive, sleeps with the man Jill was interested in, and treats Jill like a lesser person in general. The more Jill does to be liked, the less Jennifer respects her. That is until Jill cracks, she breaks down mentally, and goes batshit insane. She chains Jennifer in her room and tortures her more sadistically as her insanity reaches new levels.

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Fantastic Four (2015)

Posted on August 10, 2015 by Felix Vasquez

I’m not one of the people who were hoping for “Fantastic Four” to be a bad movie, but I’m not surprised it’s a bad movie. FOX has proven to be so embarrassed by Marvel’s original property, that I’m actually surprised “Fantastic Four” isn’t simply called “The Four.” It takes all opportunities to rework the source material, so who’s to say this wasn’t suggested at some point? When you fail to properly adapt source material (that I still say is impossible to adapt in to a good film), you can’t really be surprised when too many cooks feed us “Fantastic Four.” It goes without saying that “Fantastic Four” is a lousy movie. It’s a movie about four people whose worst enemies are themselves, and face off against a foe that looks like HR Giger’s version of OZ’s the Tin Man.

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Big Sky (2015)

Posted on August 4, 2015 by Felix Vasquez

“Big Sky” really isn’t that bad a picture until it decides to start getting surreal and existentialist. You figure a movie about survival would keep it simple, but Jorge Michael Grau tries to play the narrative with much more depth. That said, “Big Sky” is a perfectly fine thriller with a solid cast. It kept me invested, and it’s always fun to see child stars evolve in to more unique performers. This is one of the few roles Bella Thorne has taken on in her adult career where she’s not a shrew, and she plays the heroine very well.

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Synchronicity (2015) [Fantasia Film Festival]

Posted on August 2, 2015 by Felix Vasquez

FANTASIA FILM FESTIVAL

Jacob Gentry’s “Synchronicity” is the kind of film I really do enjoy. It’s non-linear, it has a taste of noir within it, and it’s filled with existentialist themes about parallel worlds and wormholes that dare to challenge its audience. “Synchronicity” is the kind of challenging fiction that will spark conversations among its audience and leave them pondering on the bigger questions that it poses right through to the end. I didn’t quite understand what was happening in the film for the first half, but Gentry really brings all of the narrative together making what seems like a scattershot series of events feel like one giant master plan. It’s a film in the tradition of “Memento” sparking brilliant visuals and a vivid world where nothing is ever really what it seems.

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Crumbs (2015) [Fantasia Film Festival]

Posted on July 31, 2015 by Felix Vasquez

FANTASIA FILM FESTIVAL

It’s amazing how a film like “Crumbs” is only an hour or so in length and can feel like an eternity. Goodness knows how much I love post apocalyptic films, but “Crumbs” ventures for surrealism and often too strange for its own good. Judging by the research I’ve performed online, the confusing material and disjointed story is intentional and director Miguel Llanso really had no answers for the symbolism in the film any more than the audience.

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The Demolisher (2015) [Fantasia Film Festival]

Posted on July 27, 2015 by Felix Vasquez

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 →

The Case of Hana & Alice (2015) [Fantasia Film Festival]

Posted on July 19, 2015 by Felix Vasquez

FANTASIA FILM FESTIVAL

Shunji Iwai’s “The Case of Hana & Alice” is apparently an animated prequel and adaptation of a much beloved indie titled “Hana and Alice.” The pair of women are almost like pop culture’s most iconic best friend in its home country, and this film chronicles how they met and became the best of pals. You really don’t have to see the original film, claims much of the press releases, but I’ll say that it might just help. Surely, there aren’t many references to the original film, but the original actresses return to voice their younger selves, and this might be exciting to folks that love the original film. For me, it was just a nice little bit of lip service and nothing more.

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