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'Moon' and 'Fish Tank' Lead BIFA Nods
Filed under: Comedy, Drama, Independent, Romance, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Awards, Mystery & Suspense, IFC, Sony Classics, Fantastic Fest, Oscar Watch
Fall brings with it awards season, and among our first round of nominations are those of the British Independent Film Awards. According to Empire, Andrea Arnold's acclaimed Fish Tank took the lead with eight, while Duncan Jones' similarly lauded Moon came up with seven, including one for lead actor Sam Rockwell.I'm personally happy to see the savage political satire In the Loop getting due notice, especially its expletive-laden screenplay, since it'll likely go overlooked when it comes to Yank laurels (sad but true, although I'll be happy if it's not). Meanwhile, the multiple nods for An Education and Bright Star only parallel their warm reception Stateside and their likely contention in next year's Oscar race.
And after being quietly blown away by it at Fantastic Fest a few weeks back, I'm also glad to see Down Terrace get some love under the Raindance Award category. Enough of these awards, and maybe that puppy'll earn some distribution in our neck of the woods. (You listening, IFC?)
Fantastic Fest Review: District 13: Ultimatum
Filed under: Action, Thrillers, Magnolia, Theatrical Reviews, Fantastic Fest, Remakes and Sequels
When it reached American audiences two years after it opened in France, 2006's District 13 (or B13 here) served as a breezy introduction to the art of parkour, not to mention director Pierre Morel's knack for shooting action sequences both energetically and visibly (an underrated quality, that last one). Morel moved on to Taken, though, while parkour began to infiltrate more high-profile Hollywood fare, like Casino Royale and Live Free or Die Hard.
However, writer/producer/all-around action maven Luc Besson stuck around to cash in on the promise of a follow-up, and now we're greeted with District 13: Ultimatum, a competent if flabby rehash of the first film's race-against-time plot and dystopian setting.
Fantastic Fest Review: Merantau
Filed under: Action, Drama, Foreign Language, Theatrical Reviews, Fantastic Fest
Just as bad business and worse storytelling conspire to rob us of the physical glory that is Tony Jaa, in steps Indonesia's Iko Uwais, bringing the martial art of silat to the big screen in a big way with Merantau.
Yuda (Uwais) leaves his small farming village on "merantau," a rite of passage meant to demonstrate a young man's independence from his family. However, life is tough once he arrives in Jakarta, and tougher still once he steps in to help Astri (Sisca Jessica) as she's bullied by first her boss, then the head of a European human trafficking ring (Mads Koudal).
Fantastic Fest Review: Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant
Filed under: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Universal, Theatrical Reviews, Fantastic Fest
Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant has the unfortunate fate of arriving at the height of the vampire resurgence. I fear a lot of potential movie goers will dismiss it as part of the wave, as a major studio (Universal) trying to rush an adaptation of a very popular young-adult book franchise in an attempt to capitalize on the Twilight demographic. And while I understand that sentiment, in this particular case it's a shame, because Paul Weitz' film stands tall whether it was made inside or outside this temporary rise in the vamp popularity. Remove the cynical marketing climate and The Vampire's Assistant is a charming, imaginative, and most importantly, very entertaining film for children, teens and adults alike.
Having not read any of the 12 books comprising author Darren Shan's young-adult Cirque Du Freak saga, I can't attest as to how faithful an adaptation it is, but the macabre world About a Boy director Paul Weitz has brought to life on film feels like the kind of mysterious wonderland I could have easily lost myself in as a child. That's not to say that The Vampire's Assistant is a children's film, far from it, but it's the kind of film that's full of content that's simultaneously adult and juvenile, the breed of subtle scripting that provides eye candy for teenagers and nostalgic mind candy for adults.
Fantastic Fest Review: Daybreakers
Filed under: Action, Horror, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Lionsgate Films, Theatrical Reviews, Fantastic Fest
Ten years from now, 95% of the human population has been transformed into vampires, with those few uninfected survivors evading capture as best they can and those already captured being farmed for every last drop of their blood. However, supplies are dwindling, substitutes aren't working, and vampires who are driven by starvation to feed on one another tend to mutate for the worse.
This is the world of Daybreakers, a more ambitious and straight-faced follow-up than anyone might've expected from the Spierig Brothers in the wake of their cheeky low-budget aliens-and-zombies debut, Undead; better yet, it's a smarter and more refreshing take on the vampire genre than most of late, and a solid action flick in its own right.
Read the rest at Horror Squad!
What's Up at the Squads
Filed under: Action, Comedy, Horror, Independent, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Thrillers, Mystery & Suspense, Fantastic Fest, Comic/Superhero/Geek
Well, it's October now, and just as all sites set their... well, sights on all things horror, Horror Squad's been ahead of the curve by covering it all year round! A-ha!
Seriously, though, as Weinberg told you, we've kicked off our Fates Worse Than Death series -- today's entry from yours truly regards that ever grisly Event Horizon. (Your suggestions are also welcome.) Peter's got the latest on the best in this week's genre discs (Trick 'r Treat, ho!), and newbie Brad McHargue keeps up the Fantastic Fest coverage with his look at Jake West's horror-comedy, Doghouse.
Mind you, the Sci-Fi Squad crew ain't slouching either, whether it's concerning their new genre DVDs of the week, their Fantastic Fest interview with Stingray Sam director Cory McAbee, their wonderfully gonzo glimpse at next month's disaster-tastic 2012, and a gallery of the downright geekiest tattoos I have ever seen.
So get crackin'! After all, this October only comes one time a year... or something.
Fantastic Fest Interview: Dolph Lundgren from 'Universal Soldier: A New Beginning'
Filed under: Fantastic Fest, Interviews
Dolph Lundgren with the Alamo Drafthouse's Lyrae Anderson
Dolph Lundgren isn't the first name that springs to mind when you think "chemical engineer," is it? You might be surprised to know that the guy who has made a career out of playing muscular bad dudes in movies has a masters in that field from the University of Sydney, and he was also a Fulbright scholar to MIT. However, he dropped out after two weeks to pursue acting full time, and that's left us with his performances in everything from Rocky IV to The Punisher to Universal Soldier.
He'll also be going toe to toe with Sylvester Stallone once more in The Expendables, but we found him returning to his Universal Soldier roots at Fantastic Fest in Austin with a sneak peek at Universal Soldier: A New Beginning. Read on beyond the break for the full interview, including an homage to Rocky IV that you'll see in onscreen.
Fantastic Fest Review: Down Terrace
Filed under: Comedy, Drama, Independent, Fantastic Fest
If "The Sopranos" had been cooked up by Mike Leigh instead of David Chase, the result might resemble Down Terrace, an unassuming little dramedy that barely seems to mesh with the genre criteria of most other Fantastic Fest programming and yet managed to take home a handful of awards, and rightfully so.Karl (Robin Hill) has followed in his father's footsteps, to the extent that they've both just been let out of jail, and Bill (Robert Hill) wonders who may have ratted them out. Karl has more pressing concerns, though -- namely, a girlfriend (Kerry Peacock) whose pregnancy will require more responsibility on Karl's part than he's ever known.
Sure, Bill's not terribly keen on the prospect of becoming a grandfather, just as Maggie (Julia Deakin) is wary of becoming a grandmother, especially with them all already living under one roof. But their top priority is finding the leak and plugging it, because although we're never explicitly told what criminal shenanigans the family is involved in, it quickly becomes apparent that they'll do whatever is necessary to protect their interests, as their paranoia draws them closer -- and downward -- together...
Fantastic Fest Review: Rampage
Filed under: Theatrical Reviews, Fantastic Fest
This is my first time reviewing a film directed by the notorious Uwe Boll (Bloodrayne, Postal), and I am a little disappointed. I'd always heard that Boll provides critics with wonderful opportunities to incorporate the most colorful derogatory phrases possible in reviews, perhaps even creating new metaphors specifically to describe the mediocrity of his films. I was ready to have fun after the movie, rather than while watching it. However, it turns out that Rampage, Boll's latest film, is not at all a bad film. In fact, many people may actually like it, as much as it's possible to like a film about a senseless massacre. What is this world coming to?
Rampage is about Bill (Brendan Fletcher), a college-age guy who's disgusted with everyone and everything around him, from his parents -- with whom he still lives -- to the barista who can't make Bill's favorite drink properly to incompetent fast-food workers. His friend Evan (Shaun Sipos) shares his disgust. Bill assembles a full-body Kevlar suit and decides to go on a rampage (thus the title) of destruction in his small town. Falling Down is Capra-esque in comparison. However, the ending is satisfyingly unpredictable -- I assumed an obvious outcome, and was pleased to be wrong.
Fantastic Fest: Discussing the Future of Video on Demand
Filed under: Distribution, Exhibition, Fantastic Fest
For many filmmakers, film festivals are a way to potentially secure distribution for their indie films. Maybe a very few will hit the jackpot and land a deal with a big studio. However, most deals are likely to incorporate a limited -- if any -- theatrical release, followed by DVD or increasingly, online distribution or video on demand (VOD). At a brunch hosted by Cinetic FilmBuff during Fantastic Fest, a bunch of film journalists gathered to discuss the future of VOD and alternate methods of distributing films.
The big question we discussed is: How do people watch movies these days? Movies that don't get theatrical distribution are often automatically considered second-tier, and the term "direct to DVD" is still derogatory. But many people do most of their movie viewing in their own homes, either on TV or on a computer or other device, like the iPhone. We watch movies on DVD, but also on cable, through VOD channels that are available through cable TV or online, and through online streaming sites, like Netflix Watch Instantly and Hulu. A month ago, I had the choice of watching World's Greatest Dad on Amazon VOD, or waiting a week to see it in the theater -- this model made it possible for people in any city, not just those getting a theatrical release -- to watch the movie.
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