We list our favorite films from the 2023 edition of the Fantasia Film Festival, a showcase for cool genre films from around the world. The 2023 edition of Fantasia has come to an end and let me tell you: this year was a good one. From personal looks at the dark web to Indian demons, … Read more
New Life hits close to home as it follows one woman’s journey to stop an apocalyptic pandemic, all while dealing with her failing body. PLOT: A mysterious woman on the run, and the resourceful fixer assigned to bring her in. Their two unique stories inextricably link, as the stakes of the pursuit rise to apocalyptic … Read more
The Adams family returned to Fantasia this year with “An Adams Family Picture Show,” a Great Depression period piece set among carnies and liars inflicted with trauma from World War I. It’s their biggest movie so far, with extras and sets that recall “Nightmare Alley” (both the original and Guillermo del Toro’s color tribute), in … Read more
Mark H. Rapaport’s “Hippo” boasts executive producer credits and kudos from Jody Hill, Danny McBride, and David Gordon Green. Indeed, this memorable feature directorial debut has the air of their work, namely “The Righteous Gemstones.” In his own way, Rapaport has also concocted a strange American family and committed to an absurd tone, in which … Read more
“New Life,” which had its world premiere last night at Fantasia, starts with an arresting set of images: a woman with blood on her face, making her way through a quiet neighborhood. Her name is Jessie (played by Hayley Erin), and she is in a desperate hurry from something. We then get a sense of who … Read more
Something that’s really important to me as well is everyone getting comfortable with each other’s energy. That’s really more, for me, what rehearsals are about. And then, when we’re blocking and rehearsing on set, that’s finding the nuances of the scene. But the language is already there because we’ve talked about it a lot. It … Read more
Yamaguchi is a storyteller who clearly is interested in coincidences, happenstances, and timelines. Which might explain why his new film is about another infinite two minutes, concerning characters at a Japanese inn who find their lives jumping back to their original starting place every 120 seconds. The focal character for this trippy but sober and … Read more
The film’s tone is mournful and moody, folded into a story of coming home and not knowing who you are. When Charley becomes aware of what he has done, he has a great deal of shame and terror about it; he wants to be put down. This inner sadness piles on his lost relationship with his … Read more
Imagine having a device that can shoot a bullet back in time. Add Judy Greer to the mix and you’ve got an intriguing time at the movies. PLOT: Since losing her husband, Sophie has struggled to manage grief, a full-time job, and parenting her devastated daughter, but when a former physicist reveals a secret time-bending … Read more
Nic Cage is at his Cagiest here with random screaming, intense eye contact, and an accent you don’t want to miss. Film’s not half-bad either. REVIEW: After being forced to drive a mysterious passenger at gunpoint, a man finds himself in a high-stakes game of cat and mouse where it becomes clear that not everything … Read more