By Mark Saldana Rating: 3 (Out of 4 Stars) Brazilian director Vicente Amorim presents a film full of style and some panache that looks great on the big screen. It is obivious that filmmaker has drawn from various inspirations and does so in some dynamic visual ways. Unfortunately, the writing that went into this screenplay… Continue reading YAKUZA PRINCESS
Category: MAIN
Fantasia 2021: ALIEN ON STAGE
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
Fantasia 2021 Review: THE RIGHTEOUS
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
Fantasia 2021 Review: KING CAR
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
THE GATEWAY
By Laurie Coker Rating: D+ Well-crafted, slow-burn character-driven dramas can entertain more effectively than those riddled with nonstop action. Still, under the hand of an ineffective director, slow-burn can turn to listless and dull. ‘The Gateway,’ starring Shae Whigham and Oliva Munn, smolders so sluggishly and somberly that the story gets lost in the shadows… Continue reading THE GATEWAY
aGLIFF News: Centerpiece film Boulevard! A Hollywood Story and Firebird
By Liz Lopez Austin’s oldest film festival, aGLIFF (All Genders, Lifestyles, and Identities Film Festival) announces changes to the schedule and access availability for screenings and special events for PRISM 34 taking place August 26 – September 6, 2021. The Opening Night screening of the North American premiere of Blitzed: The 80s Blitz Kids Story… Continue reading aGLIFF News: Centerpiece film Boulevard! A Hollywood Story and Firebird
CANDYMAN (2021)
By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) At this point, I believe that horror producers seriously need to give Jordan Peele all of the sequel/reboots. YES! Offer them all to him. The man has a brilliantly creative mind for horror. He has proven it with his original films Get Out and Us, but… Continue reading CANDYMAN (2021)
Fantasia 2021 Review: SWEETIE, YOU WON’T BELIEVE IT
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
Fantasia 2021 Review: KING KNIGHT
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
Fantasia 2021 Review: ALIEN ON STAGE
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