Film Festival
Fantasia Review: Seobok
Humans are the only animals who contemplate their own mortality. I’m not quite sure how you could prove this, but as evolved sentient creatures we approach death with a mixture of trepidation, fear and occasionally glee. The quest for immortality has occupied man for millennia, with concepts such as the Fountain of Youth dating back …
Fantasia Review – Satoshi Kon: The Illusionist
When Satoshi Kon died from cancer at the age of 46 in 2010 the world lost one of the greatest living filmmakers. In a career which only lasted a decade, he made four iconic films and one of the most outstanding animated series of the century. Perfect Blue, Millennium Actress, Tokyo Godfathers, Paprika and Paranoia …
Fantasia Review: Brain Freeze
Many of us, at one time or another, have made our escape plans should a zombie apocalypse suddenly breakout. It’s perfectly normal behaviour. There have been so many films and TV series about an undead dystopia it’s hard to keep up but as any good scientist knows you need to track down the source of …
Fantasia Review: Broadcast Signal Intrusion
Mystery is one of the most powerful and compelling elements within genre cinema. The ability to keep your audience, and lead, in the dark can make for an enthralling viewing experience. There have been some great examples of this being done well, including Pulse, White Noise, In the Mouth of Madness, Ringu, The Blair Witch …
Fantasia Review: Kratt
In the same way that animated films are not just for children, horror movies aren’t necessarily the sole purview of adults. Like thousands, if not millions, of other teenagers, I grew up secretly watching the likes of The Evil Dead, Hellraiser and Cujo. Until the former got stuck in the video player anyway. However, there …
Fantasia Review: Alien On Stage
I suspect no one in the audience to see a new science fiction film on 22 June 1979 will ever forget that night. Alien tore up the rule book and completely redefined what the genre could be. Ridley Scott’s film remains on of the greatest journeys into space and still inspires writers, filmmakers and artists …
Fantasia Review: Strawberry Mansion
While filmmakers may be constrained by finances or restricted by the availably of technology, the limits of the human imagination are almost boundless. Genre cinema provides a perfect safe space for experimentation and innovation. It’s unique in that way because by the very nature of science fiction, anything and everything is possible. This is most …
Fantasia International Film Festival 2021 Preview
Now in its 25th year, Montreal’s Fantasia International Film Festival continues to push boundaries by showcasing the best in new international genre cinema since its inception. It’s a festival which just goes from strength to strength. With a commitment to diversity and screening challenging ground-breaking cinema from Canada and around the world, it’s one of …
Tribeca Review: Ultrasound
Whilst on the face of it the science fiction film genre should be relatively narrow in terms of definition, when you think about it there’s actually a surprising number of elements and areas which fall within its parameters. It’s easy just to dismiss it as simply time and space, but it encompasses literally anything outside …
Sheffield Doc/Fest Review – 9/11: One Day in America
I’d argue that we can define modern history as the period before and after September 11th 2001. Anyone waking up on that Tuesday morning would never have believed the events which were about to transpire. The attack on the World Trade Centre was the deadliest on US soil, killing just under 3000 people and injuring …