Film Festival
Fantasia Festival Review: The Block Island Sound
One of the most powerful elements of superior genre cinema is that of mystery. It’s hard to process or categorise the unknown. That which cannot be explained by science or which sends your senses into overload. Admittedly, as The Happening so notoriously demonstrated, it doesn’t always guarantee a good film. Especially when the temptation to …
Fantasia Festival Review: A Mermaid in Paris
Depictions of mermaids on the big screen tend to be one of two things. They’re either the mythical terror of the deep who lure men to their deaths or they’re a perfectly tractable partner for a leading man. It’s safe to say that most roles are written by men! There’s normally very little imagination involved. …
Fantasia Festival Review: Lapsis
Whilst the gap between rich and poor continues to grow wider with each passing year, a new unwelcome industry sector has gained prominence within the western world. The gig economy and zero-hour contracts are just the latest blights on society. They allow employers to get richer, by offering commitment-free employment, but afford workers little or …
Fantasia Festival Review: Bleed with Me
The film industry has traditionally been a bit of a boy’s club. Whilst diversity has gradually seeped into film-making, with huge advances made over the last few years, there’s still a long way to go. Although this improvement has been across the board, genre cinema has generally lagged behind the curve. As a result, we’ve …
Fantasia Festival Review: Kriya
When most people think about the cinema of India, thoughts naturally turn to Bollywood. Whilst the all singing, all dancing Hindi film industry is something of a corporate juggernaut, there’s a thriving independent cinema sector which struggles to make its voice heard. However, over the last couple of years we’re beginning to see Indian directors …
Fantasia Festival Review: Special Actors
Of all the countries in the world it’s probably Japan which most regularly creates the most unusual, odd and unlikely cinema. It does seem to be a fertile breeding ground for filmmakers, leading to some of the wackiest and imaginative films you’re likely to see. This was the case with One Cut of the Dead. …
Fantasia Festival Review: Unearth
Whilst fracking is hugely controversial in countries such as the UK, it’s far more prevalent and accepted in America. Indeed, Hydraulic fracturing has been a part of oil and natural gas extraction in the US since the post-war period. Today, it’s a huge industry and, despite record low prices, there’s still a rapacious demand for …
Fantasia Festival Review: You Cannot Kill David Arquette
Hollywood lore is littered with tales of famous actors who went off the rails. It’s an industry which encourages egos and nurtures narcissism. The curse of celebrity can be a high price to pay for becoming a film star. David Arquette came through in the same generation as the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio and Matthew …
Fantasia Festival Review: Detention
Between 1949 and 1987 there was a period of political oppression in Taiwan which was dubbed the ‘White Terror’. This span of marital law saw a continuous crackdown on freedom of speech and literature which promoted ‘dangerous ideals’. Over one hundred thousand Taiwanese and Chinese immigrants were imprisoned during this time. Schools and universities were …
Fantasia Festival Review: The Oak Room
There’s no way of actually knowing how far Storytelling dates back through human history, but it’s a fair bet that ever since homo-sapiens could speak that oral traditions have existed. Predating writing, it’s the way families, communities and societies has imparted knowledge between generations down through ages. It remains, to this day, the main way …