Hey folks, Harry here... The great thing about these Genre Festivals in Europe is that often times they provide the clue to finding the best damn Genre films in the world... which often times never end up playing at a theater near you. Take 2009 LOST MEMORIES or AVALON or ST JOHN WORT.... You'll probably never get to see them on a big screen, but here we get to hear about them so we can search and dig till we get them on DVD for our All Region Playing Pleasure! Here ya go...
Hi Harry, Rellik here with a quick update from the Fantasy Filmfest in Germany-
FRAILTY
Frailty opened the festival with great success although the ending left me somewhat disappointed.
I don´t want to spoil anything but want to say that the movie certainly earned its good reputation, even if I take
the ending into account. Since the movie is already out in the states, i will continue with the other films:
AVALON
Today I saw Avalon, which I had seen earlier on DVD, but it is way more powerful on the big screen, naturally. I
can only agree with your review on Avalon although I was very surprised how "poetic" it was. If anyone has the chance
to see it in a theater, go for it. If you follow the structure, one can certainly see parallels to Ghost in the Shell. And Ash
IS Major Kusanagi in real life...
St John Wort
Next up was St John Wort. Expecting a Videomovie like Blair Witch, I was treated to one hell of a movie with excellent pictures that were so intensely altered they were hard to make out as being "not film". The japanese proved they can make excellent and stylish films on video without having to sacrifice the moody lightning of film. They used DVCPRO for the main parts, and DV for the "charactercam", so to speak. The plot involves 2 gamedesigners (and former lovers), who venture to an abandoned house that belonged to one of the designers father. They want to check the house out to get ideas for their game, which shows striking similarities to the adventure the two are having inside the house... I will be so bold and bet that this movie will be on my Top 5 list. You need to watch it. The movie has a great style and even the ending credits are done so cool that the complete audience did not move until it was finished. GO see that movie. And watch it on a BIG screen please. To think that it will be ok on TV because it is video (which worked with Blair Witch ) is a mistake. It deserves a big screen just like Avalon.
I´m off now to see Human Nature with Tim Robbins, and will report back tomorrow
Rellik
Day 2
Hi Harry,
Rellik here with an update on Day 3 of the Fantasy Filmfest. On todays menu: Nine Queens and 2009 Lost Memories.
Nine Queens:
I still am trying to figure how the festival scouts found this one. I am talking to them today so I will hopefully learn more. The info I
gathered so far: It was released in Argentina in 2000 and found a limited US release. (IMDB LINK: http://us.imdb.com/Title?0247586
Telluride Film Festival) It is a very clever script and is similar to the 1973 film by George Roy Hills, The Sting. That fact alone combined with
very fresh and honest dialogue present us with a film that one simply will have to smile at. The plot involves 2 small time scam artists who meet
by chance one night in a gas station and help each other out as one gets into trouble. They stick together and team up the next day to
test if they can work together. Then they get a chance of a lifetime: A possible scam that can get them a lot of money if they manage
to get it done right. Without spoiling anything, I can savely say that the twists and turns in this one are very good and will keep audiences
suprised until the credits roll. Certainly on the best films list for the festival.
2009 Lost Memories:
Click Here
Beneath its cheesy title is a very eager film from Japan and Korea (it was the international premiere) that tries to combine elements of John Woo´s Face/Off with a very engaging plotline and elements of Stargate/Indiana Jones. This doesn´t make sense you say? Well, see the movie to understand. It certainly offers qualities that US audiences come to like like big, overdone dramatic music (think Bruckheimer here) and it is too long and looses itself in firefighty (although they are enjoyable). On the good side there has to said that the plot is certainly interesting as the film opens with a setup that puts Japan as the winner of WWII, with A-bombs dropped on Berlin instead of Nagasaki and Hiroshima. As a result, Japan is now the occupying force of Korea, which does not sit well with a group of terrorists that insist of changing this. The two main characters, a japanese and a korean are partners at the JBI (Japans Bureau of Investigation..) and are the leading officers as well as very close friends. In the course of the movie, however, their friendship is put to the ultimate test while we laern the "true" nature behind the terrorist group. While some elements may sound corny, the film was very good and the audience thoroughly enjoyed it. Again, the only downside was that it lost itself somewhere one the way to plot point III and thus needs more focus. I would, however recommend this film and encourage all open minded filmbuffs to give it a try. It offers an interesting look at asien filmmaking today and represents the new breed of asian cinema.
That´s all for today folks, I am off for a little Q+A, followed by 4 films today: Red Siren, Mutant Aliens, Eight legged freaks and Funny movie.
Rellik
DAY 3
Hi Harry,
Rellik here with another update on the Fantasy Filmfest. This time I got six flicks for you:
Red Siren
The french film (filmed and presented in english) featuring Asia Argento starts of as a stylish thriller with an interesting plotline
that is hinted in the trailer, but sadly turns into a rather simple action flic after the first 30 minutes. The plot and characters lacked
depth, which is a shame since I think the actors could have delivered if challenged with a better script. The look and mood of the film
is top notch, especially the visuals and the sound. It is one of those movies where the main reason you dislike it is because of missed
opportunities. Maybe fans of actionfilms will like it on a friday evening before watching the glorious fliks of the past, but if you came
to see the advertised thriller, you are in for a disappointment.
Mutant Aliens
Bill Plympton´s cartoon wants to offer a 90 minute ride for those who dislike the everything-is-fine-and-good films from Disney, but sadly,
while some jokes certainly worked ('the audience loved it) they are neither very original nor impressive. The quality of the cartoon may be
"artsy" to some, but being spoiled by japanese anime, this here is a shellshock. The whole ninty minutes probably have less detail and
precision then 2 minutes of your "average" anime. This is highly subjective of course, but it is save too say this work here just is less
challenging. The short film prior was good,though. It was called "Eat" and had just the right timing for the jokes. The feature however, dragged
along and offered, in the end, a disneylike happy end. The way it was achieved is certainly more bloody and grotesque, but for me,
it just did not have any rhythem or enough original jokes.
Eight legged freaks
This one proved to be a crowdpleaser after all and scored points for a) not taking itself serious and b) those funny little scenes like
the "indiana Jones guy" with the ladder in the parking lot. Was it scary? Not to the Fantasy Filmfest audience. Was it funny? You betcha!
Writing anything more however would be unjustified so I will contine with the films.
A funny movie
Yes, that IS the title. The Korean movie offers a "Scary Movie" type spoof of your typical asian action movies as well as the everpresent
rivalry between Korea and Japan. Since both sides are equally stupid, the only winner in this one is the audience. Though one needs to
know about Japan/Korea and their movie culture, the physical comedy is there as well. The funniest scene involves the access pass for
the Korean Police... A crowd pleaser that however, cannot entertain throughtout as it looses a lot of steam in the final reel. At 118 min,
it is rather long so maybe some cuuting could help it become more enjoyable.
Say Yes
Now here is a superb thriller. This is the kind of material that draws people to festivals like this. An aspiring author gets his first book published
and to celebrate, takes his wife for a 4 day vacation to some kind of Korean Beach resort. On their way, they meet a creep man in a diner
who they later accidently (or rather not so) hit with their car. The man argues that they take him along towards their destination. On the way,
he then asks theem how much longer they want to live... Now before you say anything, this film sure starts very typical for a thriller/slasher,
and the story is nothing original, but the way it is presented and played out by the actors is worth your ticket. The movie shifts gears more then
twice and does not let down at the end. It offers a thriller not for the faint of heart and follows it logic till the end. Even the cliched twist at the end here is believable and a logical resolution out of this cruel tale. A recommended film for the thriller/slasher crowd, who likes more reality
based horror then supernatural. See it!
Wendigo
Hyped as a festival hit, the film offers a solid story of a family vacation gone horribly wrong because of hostile enviroments. The acting is honest and good, but the story is too straightforward and leaves the audience no room for thought. The young kids performance is very refreshing, as it feels real instead of those hollywood kids that either scream too much or don´t scream at all. The title refers to an indian myth about an angry spirit, that lives in the woods and can assume any form, be it man or beast, tree or animal. It will be the revenging angel for the boy, who can see it while others can´t. Some will say this can be seen as another "Sixth sense", but it is something entirely different. The images are more like the little scary thoughts of children that seem to take on way greater importance as they have in reality. Like a tree looking like a monster in the dark. Wendigo is not a bad film, it just misses some background and depth. The whole third act is also way too short, while the first drags on too long. In the end, a promising film with some flaws.
That is all, 3 days to go...
Rellik
