Category: Festivals

Imagine, if you will, a world where the movie Alien is re-imagined for a stage play where an amateur play director and amateur actors decide that this story this iconic movie story deserves a stage production. You haven’t actuallly crossed into the Twilight Zone, but the real world. This remarkable documentary shows what exactly could… Continue reading Fantasia 2021: ALIEN ON STAGE

Written and directed by and starring Mark O’Brien, this haunting psychological horror film deals with guilt (particularly Catholic guilt) and how that feeling can eat away at one’s soul. Henry Czerny stars as Frederic Mason, an ex-priest who lives with his beloved wife Ethel (Mimi Kuzyk) in a quiet and mostly uneventful life away from… Continue reading Fantasia 2021 Review: THE RIGHTEOUS

From Brazil, comes a strange and almost visionary movie with good intentions, but not exactly a great realization and execution. The film presents a world where the cars are the world (or at least this world) are sentient beings totally misunderstood and abused by humanity. The protagonist Uno has been endowed with the gift to… Continue reading Fantasia 2021 Review: KING CAR

From Kazakhstan, comes an uproarious horror comedy that actually made me laugh so hard I cried. The movie follows a trio of Kazakh men looking to get away from it all by taking a fishing trip in the woods. Nevermind that they know so little about fishing, camping or anything of the sort, these guys… Continue reading Fantasia 2021 Review: SWEETIE, YOU WON’T BELIEVE IT

By Mark Saldana Rating: 3 (Out of 4 Stars) I love a good off-beat comedy. And for all intents and purposes, King Knight is a good one, but not exactly great either. For my second film of Fantasia 2021, I chose what I thought sounded like a highly entertaining and potentially uproarious comedy about a… Continue reading Fantasia 2021 Review: KING KNIGHT

Rating: B Who would imagine taking a classic sci-fi film like Alien and adapt it for the stage? Well, a group of very daring and creative amateur dramatics group led by Dorset Bus Drivers did just that! Their serious stage adaptation for their community was most unsuccessful and of course disappointing. In the documentary, Alien… Continue reading Fantasia 2021 Review: ALIEN ON STAGE

By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) Stupid criminals. What are you going to do? Greed and desperation can be powerful motivators, but they can also seriously affect intelligence and judgment. These are the main themes that propel this tense and unnerving crime drama, and filmmakers Mikhael Bassilli and Luc Walpoth utilize them… Continue reading Fantasia 2021: BABY MONEY