A Serbian Film
I had high expectations for this one and it did not disappoint. I walked out of the theater disgusted and angry at the directors, so in my books, the movie worked. It went overboard for a few scenes, but overall, it was a well acted movie. I really liked the main actor, and I look forward to his other films. Only see this movie if you have high limits for disturbing films. It is NOT for everyone (or anyone, as some would say).

Birdemic: Shock and Terror
This was the funnest movie in the entire festival. Nobody walked into this expecting a masterpiece. We all knew from the get-go that it was going to be crap.. and we loved every minute of it! The movie has an important environmental message regarding global warming, but it is lost among all the crap that covers it. The CGI looks like clip art and everything is exaggerated. Still, with our trusty coat hangers in hand, we laughed and cried all the way to the end. This is a must see movie, but it has to be among friends who enjoy watching crap. Oh no, I have to go, I hear a mountain lion!

Black Death
This was a clever witch hunting movie set in medieval times. It was pretty slow along the way, but I really enjoyed every minute of it. It was one of the films that had us talking afterwards. If you have ever wondered HOW somebody became a witch hunter, then watch this movie.

Bodyguards and Assassins
I have to admit, I was a bit disappointed by this film. It is a pretty good movie, but the trailer gave the impression that it would contain a delicious gooey kung fu center. Instead, we got an interesting political story, which while still enjoyable, was not was I was expecting. Donnie Yen had his action scenes, but that was about it. Good movie, just don’t expect too much kung fu.

DJ XL5’s Bollywood Zappin’ Party
THIS WAS AWESOME. DJ XL5 releases a ton of footage of Bollywood and Kollywood movies which had me in tears. He had obviously spent a lot of time researching everything and the payout was grand. There was some live animation, which was ok, but the real party was in the videos. If this ever plays again in Montreal, you must see it.

Doghouse
This was another British zomcom film, but it did not live up to the master Shaun of the Dead. It had its moments, but overall was passable as a film.

King of Thorn
I used to be a big fan of animé back in the day, but I find that I am watching less and less. I feel like most films and tv shows are always repeating the same typical elements, but that rant will be for another day. This movie surprised me by not being as generic as I expected, but it also didn’t overly impress me either. I would recommend it to animé fans, but I am not sure if everybody will enjoy it.

Metropolis - Restored Original Cut
This was the most incredible thing at Fantasia this year. I had never seen the movie before, but seeing it restored with a live orchestra was an experience I will not forget. The movie itself is a masterpiece, with elements that surpass its time, but it was the addition of the orchestra that really moved me. Since it is a silent film, the pace and decibels of the music was what really brought you to the edge of your seat. If you ever get an opportunity to see this, do not hesitate to go!!

Nevermore: An Evening With Edgar Allan Poe
This was the first play I had ever seen within the festival. You are an audience to Edgar Allen Poe (played by Jeffrey Combs) as he tells us stories and reads from some of his works. It doesn’t take long before you start forgetting this is a play and start thinking that the real Poe is in front of you. It was an incredible event and I am really happy I saw it. Even if you don’t know Poe, I highly recommend this.

Sell Out!
This Malaysian musical comedy had me in stitches through-out the entire film. The story is hilarious, the songs are catchy and funny, and the whole movie is a blast from start to end. I hope they release it on DVD here, because I would love to have this one in my collection. If you have a chance to see it, check it out! It is very different than what we are used to, but that’s what makes it better. Highly recommended.

Symbol
My biggest dud of the festival. I had high hopes for this one, but I didn’t really enjoy it. The jokes were predictable and stretched out for way too long. It would have been a great short story, but instead was made into an excessively long movie. That said, the woman behind me laughed nonstop, so your mileage may vary.

Tucker & Dale Vs Evil
This comedy closed the festival, and it was a hoot and a half. I was laughing almost nonstop from beginning to end. It has a lot of brutal deaths, but it is not a horror movie. It is hard to explain without ruining anything, but you must see this movie if/when it comes out!! And it is CANADIAN!

Vampires
This was a great Belgian film that I hope comes out in Quebec. It is a documentary/comedy about a family of vampires living in Belgium. The documentary feels real which is what makes it so enjoyable. It is a riot to see how normal their lives are, although normal for them doesn’t always mean the same to us. It hits close to home at one point when they end up in Montreal! This is another movie I would like to have on DVD so that I can share with my friends.

Variola Vera
This is an older Serbian movie based on real events regarding a smallpox quarantine in Yugoslavia. The video quality was surprisingly beautiful given its age and the story was intriguing. Although, you know what to expect in the end, it really delivers a good amount of tension. I can’t recommend this movie to everybody since it is pretty slow paced, but if you are a movie buff, you should check this out.

Fantasia 2010 was the best iteration so far, and I can’t wait for 2011’s edition!
Congratulations to everybody involved!!!

Merentau

This is an Indonesian martial arts flick which feels slightly like Ong Bak. The style of fighting this time is silat harimau, which is something I had personally not seen before. The movie starts off pretty slow, but it soon picks up and never stops. The fighting is awesome and the hits look painful. The characters , especially the bad guys, are a lot of fun. Like Ip man 2, the enemy here are foreigners, only this time they operate a sex trade. When our hero messes with them, they get pissed and they want him dead. I didn’t recognize any of the actors, but the main bad guy was a hoot and a half. You’ll have trouble accepting him at first as evil, but he shows his “badassery” pretty fast and it is entertaining to watch. While the first half does drag a little, this movie is definitely worth it as a complete package. Go see it!

We Are What We Are

This is a movie about a Mexican family who are struggling to make ends meet. The father just passed away and he was the one responsible for bringing food to the table. With him gone, it is now up to the eldest son to take over. I don’t want to say much more, because I would ruin it. This was a great dramatic piece which totally deserves to be at a genre festival. While I did enjoy the overall movie, I think I had set my hopes too high beforehand and thus walked out slightly disappointed. People were comparing it to Let the Right One In, which is one of my favourite movies, so I was really excited. While it has a very similar pace, it never hit the highs that were found in LTROI. My friends loved it, and one said it is probably his favourite film this year, so that is saying a lot about it. I recommend everybody to see it, as it is a very good movie, just don’t get your hopes too high like I did.

I’ll post more when I can. The festival ends on Wednesday!

That said; Felicitations Daniel!
I wish you and your fiancé the best of luck and love!

Evil: In the Time of Heroes

This was a fun little zombie movie coming to us from Greece. It falls in the same realm as other comedy zombies movies like Evil Dead and Dead Alive. Not much of it made sense, but that wasn’t the point. It is always fun to see people kill zombies in various ways. A head cutting boomerang? Yes please! Billy Zane is in this movie, but he only plays a small role; his biggest scene involving a sort of “screen saver” moment in which his head revolves on a screen as he talks. It didn’t make much sense, but it all made us laugh. This movie is actually a sequel, so I am missing some knowledge of the previous events, but in the end it didn’t matter. Overall, even though it will never win any awards, it was a fun film to watch with the crowd.

Gallants

I was really excited for this movie. Not only did the trailer resemble an old-school kung fu movie, it was also going to be presented by the director and Bruce Leung! To be honest, I don’t know the actor that well, but I did love him in Kung Fu Hustle. He was a real blast before and after the movie, and I would have loved to have heard some more stories from the guy. The movie itself was a lot of fun and it had the crowd cheering and laughing all throughout. It is one of those movie where you enjoy it in the moment, but realize its flaws afterwards. The biggest problem with the movie was that it didn’t seem to have a real path. It starts by focusing on the kid, but by the end of the movie, it is more about the masters. As I mentioned before, it was still a lot of fun, but I would have preferred an ending with some resolution on the goal the kid had from the beginning. If it plays in your area, I still recommend that you check it out.

The Life and Death of a Porno Gang

This was the first Serbian film on my list. It is quite different than most typical fantasia films, and I really appreciated that. It is good to have some fresh blood in the festival. The movie is a fake documentary on a film maker and where his life leads him. He started wanting to make science fiction, but when nobody would take on his ideas, he turned to pornography. He assembled a cast and crew and decided to try something new: porno theater! His first night was a success, but facing problems with the law, they decide to leave town and bring the show on the road. They visited small villages and performed nightly until they have to leave or get kicked out. They catch the eye of a film producer who proposes a new direction for the group which would make them a lot of money. Seems that foreigners like to see people die. So if he were able to provide them with people who want to die, why not film it and mix it in with their usual type of shows? In short, pornsnuff. Reluctant at first, but soon needing the money, they accept the offer and see where it leads them. Eventually their conscience catches up with them and the group starts tearing apart. Overall, I really enjoyed this movie. I found it a bit too long, but it was a refreshing new take for the festival. The idea is great and all the actors did a terrific job. While the content is really not for everybody, I highly recommend it.

I have only seen 4 movies so far, but the next two weekends will be intense. I am seeing a minimum of 2 movies per day, over the next four days. There is also a live-action play, which I am really looking forward to! So far, the festival has been a blast and I am enjoying every minute!

The second movie of the night was my first movie of the festival. I think that for the majority of fans, this was the REAL opening film. It is the sequel to last year’s hit Ip Man. This movie takes place after the events of the first with Ip Man trying to open a martial arts club in Hong Kong. There aren’t as many dramatic events compared to the first movie, but there are still some kick-ass fights. At one point, Ip Man must fight other local masters to prove that he is worthy to train his students. This takes place on top of a table which is hardly large enough to support two people. The entire cinema was cheering at this point. The fight between Donnie Yen and Sammo Hung was great stuff. As with Ip Man 1, there is an inclusion of a foreign master, this time hailing from England. He’s a western boxer and while he may not be as fast as the martial artists, he can throw a mean killer punch.

While I really enjoyed the movie, there are a couple of things that brought the overall rating for me down. The first is that I found the choreography in this movie to be slightly “unbelievable”. In the Masters fight, there were moments where both fighters’ arms would move so fast that they were a blur. While that is acceptable for a science fiction or fictional tale, I found it out of place in a movie based on a real person. Other scenes felt more like Wire Fu than Kung Fu. Besides the action, I also felt like the English actors overacted their parts. While this is most likely on purpose, (probably playing on the stereotypes the local population associate to the “foreign devils”) it felt slightly out of place to me.

Overall though, I still greatly enjoyed the movie and I highly recommend it to everybody. If you have never seen either Ip Man movies, then start with the original (which I still find superior) and you will want to watch the second movie right away. Donnie Yen does an excellent job as Ip Man, and the fights are all awesome!!

There is a lot of variety this year, with a huge selection from all around the world!
My list of movies hail from:

• Belgium
• Canada
• Germany
• Greece
• Hong Kong
• India
• Indonesia
• Japan
• Malaysia
• Mexico
• Serbia
• United Kingdom
• United States

The festival starts tomorrow!
Expect some mini-reviews throughout the month!
Hope to see you there!

There are two main events each year that steal all my attention away from everything else. The first is E3. As an avid gamer, I am always interested in what the big parties have to offer to the fans. This year felt like Microsoft and Sony were playing catch-up to Nintendo, while Nintendo innovated once more. Don’t get me wrong, Kinect and Move may very well be awesome, but they are attempts to cash into Nintendo’s casual market. I look forward to see what will come out these holidays and if it holds up to their promise.

The second event is about to take place. It is the one, and only, Fantasia Film Festival. As my site’s archives will show, I follow the festival extensively. It will not change this year. While I have been slow in updating my site these last few months, I will try to post as much as I can regarding the festival. The official movie list comes out today and Twitch already has revealed a bunch of the films we can expect. A plethora of great films are about to be digested by our hungry hungry eyeballs to feed our thirsty cerebellums. Expect more details soon, as well as my yearly film list.

In other news, I found out that Mr. Scruff and Bonobo will be playing in town next week for the Jazz festival!!

Now, I must return to the wild house hunt.
We have failed in capturing 5 buildings now.
It is only a matter of time now… I hope.

I have not disappeared.. I am simply out on the hunt. I will be back soon!

It. Looks. Awesome.

I hope it debuts at Fantasia this year…