Hi, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab...
Come on... I know there’s more of you out there who are currently wallowing in the sheer geek overload of the FanTasia Film Festival in Montreal. It’s looking more and more like I’m not going to be able to make it up there for even a few days of filmgoing, which just kills me. I look forward to this like a little kid looks forward to Christmas, and this is the first year I’ve been invited that I haven’t been able to work the schedule out.
A new friend from here in LA made it up there, though, and I spoke to him a day or so before he left. He seemed really excited about going, and he promised he’d send in some reports about what he saw. Here’s the first one:
Hello AICN, everyone...
FanTasia film festival 2004!! I'll be covering some of the highlights of the fest from July 15 - 21. Since Moriarty couldn't be here for the week (ha-ha...heeheehee), he told me I could report on the fest. So, here it goes....
Okay...arrived in Montreal..customs tells me my passport is not valid..OH SHIT!!!....wait, all i need to do is sign it...phew..(this is my first time traveling to another country). Okay, get to the hotel, throw my bags in the room and race to Concordia University.
Wow...this place is really cool. Oh man, really hot woman working at the box-office. First indication that this fest is going to rule.
CbabbittRAIN(me): I'm here to pick up my tickets
Cute ticket girl: How many?
CbabbittRAIN:...........
(damn she's hot, almost tempted to act like an ass and ask for a number...oh man, I'm such an immature geek)
Cute ticket girl(smiling): how many tickets?
CbabbittRAIN:.....uh....oh, yeah..eighteen tickets.
Cute ticket girl(surprised): oh...a lot...
CbabbittRAIN: yup...
I feel like the coolest person in the world.....
Get my tickets and rush to the line for Ping Pong.....oh my god, people next to me are geeking out about Kill Bill, this is so cool.....7:30 p.m....line lets in. Enter theatre hall Concordia....THE SEATS SMELL LIKE URINE....this may be the closest thing to a grindhouse experience I ever have...the crowd is pumped!!! The lights dim....
Now for something you readers may actually be interested in....
PING PONG: (Japanese cinema)
Okay...if you ever host a film festival, whether it's with your friends or hundreds of guests, make sure PING PONG is the first film you screen!! This film is absolutely incredible. This is a story about the importance of friendship, role models, love, pride, insecurity, and compassion. Smile and Mr.Peco are two 17 year old kids who have been friends since early childhood. They are both part of the ping pong team at their local high school. Smile is quiet, brilliant, and a bit insecure. He is an extremely talented ping pong player and idolizes his best friend, the exciting, exuberant Hiroshina...aka Peco.."Mr. Peco to you". Peco wants to be the best Ping Pong player in the entire world. Basically, this is a story of how the power of friendship can help you overcome all odds.
This film is an explosion of pure cinematic energy!! It's hilarious, exhilarating, moving,....it's just fucking cool. I love these characters. Granny, Demon, Kazume(the "bad guy"), Butterfly Joe, China, the ping pong team, Smile, and Peco. I love that this film makes ping pong seem like the coolest and most important thing in existence. I love that Mr.Peco is as great a superhero as Peter Parker/Spiderman...in fact, i think Mr.Peco may be my favorite superhero in film this year. I love that the Ping Pong matches feel like epic martial arts duels. I love the score. I love it that the first film i saw at this fest had me sobbing like i was during ROTK. I love it that the audience erupted in cheers when the film concluded. This film better be released in the United States. Seriously, it may just be the best movie you'll see all year. I can go on and on about the perfection and glory of this master work of Japanese cinema. This is the kind of film you see 5 times in the theater. I swear, the Mr.Peco vs. Kazume match is just as exciting and even more emotional than the Spidey/Doc Ock train battle. This film is THAT great!!!! "Enter the Hero"!!!!
SWORD IN THE MOON:(Korean cinema)
......well, this is not the best film to see after witnessing the brilliance of Ping Pong. It's not that this is a bad film, it just seemed tame in comparison. This is a blood and guts sword slicing epic that almost works. Production design and costume design is amazing. The recreation of ancient Korea is a sight to behold. Now all this film really needs is a character that you actually care about. The film is essentially about an assassin seeking revenge on a King and friend that betrayed his people. His vengeance has to be the most tedious quest the genre has seen. Ouch!!
That may be a bit harsh...it's okay, but not nearly as emotional as it should be. At least there's some cool action. One particularly bad-ass scene has our assassin slice a soldier's neck with a leaf. Very cool sequence that woke up the audience. The sword play is pretty good for the most part. The film is okay. Not great, not horrible, a hair above average. See it for the production values and action, but don't expect serious character work..
DEAD LEAVES:(Japanese anime)
This may very well be the most fucked up film ever made. This is tasteless, sadistic, repulsive, masochistic filmmaking from production I.G. Oh my fucking god...I'm not exactly sure what i saw....i couldn't believe it, i didn't want to believe it. Before the film began, a Fantasia representative introduced the film. He said, "Sixty years from now when I'm on my death-bed, this will be the anime I'm thinking about.....because it's REALLY FUCKING WEIRD" That was an understatement. If you're into the following things than this film is for you. If not, stay the fuck away from this animated beast. Okay, here we go: HYPER-VIOLENCE, EXPLOSIONS, BULLETS, BLOODY MASSACRES, EXPLODING BODIES, ROBOTS THAT PULVERIZE PEOPLE, A PRISON WHERE THE INMATES DANGLE FROM MEAT HOOKS AS TUBES SUCK THE SHIT OUT OF THEIR ASSES, SEX, LOTS AND LOTS OF SEX, MUTATED FREAKS, A CHARACTER WITH A DRILLING MACHINE FOR A DICK, PORNOGRAPHIC LEVEL SEXUAL IMAGES, HUGE BODY COUNTS, MACHINE-GUN PACKING NEW BORN BABIES....you know what, I don't even want to write about this thing anymore....This is F.U.B.A.R. Watch at your own risk. I feel ashamed to say that I actually liked this film.
Paranoia Agent: (anime series)
Satoshi Kon is a genius. His films Perfect Blue, Millennium Actress, and Tokyo Godfathers are astonishing achievements in Japanese Anime. Paranoia Agent is his latest work of brilliance. Fantasia screened the first three episodes of the television series, leaving us all with the ultimate cliffhanger. This series is reminiscent of the madness and suspense of Perfect Blue. So far, five different characters have been mysteriously attacked by a young boy that carries a bat and zips through the streets on roller blades. Each one of these characters struggles with their own personalities, only to be relieved of their inner angst once they've become the "little Slugger's" victim. I have absolutely no idea why these people have been chosen or where this story leads. Everything is a mystery. All I can say is that Satoshi Kon knows how to capture an audience. This series is suspenseful, frightening, and conceptually intriguing. Kon is one of the most exciting storytellers working today. This is a must see.
Cutie Honey: (japanese cinema)
"HONEY FLASH!!!!" This film is maybe the sweetest cinematic candy of the year!! Oh man, you have to see this film with a crowd of 700 rabid film geeks. The midnight show of Spidey 2 was pretty fucking crazy, but this was something else. This crowd was INSANE!!! Cutie Honey is a film with one purpose: ENTERTAIN!! How can i describe this movie?..........okay, imagine Power Rangers, Godzilla, tokyo pop, and Dragonball Z mixed together and executed with the energy of Matthew's talk show from Lost in Translation x1000!!!!! This is the most colorful movie i've ever seen. Cutie Honey is a cyborg crimefighter who uses supernatural powers(thanks to her iSystem) to battle the evil Sister Jill and the Panther Claw. Panther Claw kidnapps Honey's uncle in order to control the iSystem and dominate the world. So, Cutie Honey must save us all. This movie is really, really fun. It's........
GROOVY: costumes, music, sets, editing
WILD: enormous amounts of destruction, stylized action, colors, SO MANY COLORS
KOOKY: musical numbers, off beat humor, cheesy drama, 60's sensibilities
This film is 90 minutes of pure joy. Any film that has a villian sing a japanese pop song before a pivotal battle has to be entertaining, right? Cutie Honey is a blast!!!
Man, just reading about how much fun he’s having is killing me. He got back into town tonight, and when I asked him what he thought of the fest, the first thing he said was “FanTasia is heaven.” And on top of that, he was there for the screening of THE GOOD COP, with Kim Bodina actually in attendance. Anyone who’s seen IN CHINA THEY EAT DOGS or OLD MEN IN NEW CARS or PUSHER or BLEEDER knows why that’s so insanely cool I could just strangle this guy for his enormous good luck and excellent timing.
Hopefully we’ll hear more from CbabbitRain, and from any of you who are also enjoying the fest. Let us know what we’re missing!
"Moriarty" out.
