Author: amfmstudios

The thing I love most about Fantasia is it is such a mixed bag of genre films. They come from all over the world and from all different perspectives. It is really the most diverse Festival I attend. There always ends up being several films I just don’t get, so I apologize to those filmmakers, but some films just were not for me. There also tends to be films that I absolutely fall in love with that are so out of left field that I never would have expected them. I still remember stumbling upon MEATHEAD GOES HOG WILD,  a…

Shelagh McLeod’s film ASTRONAUT should probably actually entitled ASTRONAUT? The film follows the journey of an elderly civil engineer Angus (Richard Dreyfuss) who has just been put in a nursing home by his family. His eyes ever drawn to the sky, Richard enters a competition to be a Everyman civilian passenger on the first commercial flight into space, ignoring the 65-year-old age limit and the health requirements questions on the form. Once he reaches the finalist stage, Angus becomes convinced that the company has cut corners and the runway will not support the aircraft as it attempts to lift…

All stills: (C)2019 CHIWAWA Chang PRODUCTION COMMIIEE(TOEI VIDEO, VAP, KADOKAWA, GEEK PIKTURES, TOEI ADVERTISING) Chiwawa is not only an interesting choice for a genre festival to play, it’s an interesting choice of a film to make. An examination of the impression one makes on the lives they touch, Chiwawa plays a bit like a mystery film with no mystery solved. Which is not at all anything negative. In fact, it’s a fascinating descent down a rabbit hole of modern culture. Our lead character Miki (Mugi Kadowaki), a young party girl who models for fun, has a love/hate relationship with Chiwawa…

Fantasia has arrived again, bringing its distinctive mix of genre films to Montreal and the world. The 23rd edition of the festival will welcome  close to 700 guests from all facets of the film industry, as well as hosting the 11th edition of the Frontières International Co-Production Market.  Amongst the 130 features from around the world, festival will host the World Premieres of MYSTERY OF THE NIGHT, BLOOD ON HER NAME, STARE, 1BR, THE DEEPER YOU DIG, and HOMEWRECKER; the North American Premieres of VIVARIUM, DREADOUT, and LES PARTICULES; and the Canadian Premieres of THE LODGE, PROMARE, ANOTHER CHILD, and SWALLOW. The…

Interview by Paul Salfen opens 7/20 in LOS ANGELES and 8/3 in NEW YORK CITY. One of our funniest interviews at Fantastic Fest 2017, film maverick Larry Cohen (Black Caesar, God Told Me To, Q: The Winged Serpent, The Stuff) talks about KING COHEN, the documentary detailing the true story of his film career. Told

I haven’t seen as many movies the first couple days of South by Southwest because I spent a good portion of one day at the CNN town Hall for Democratic primary candidates. I can report that two of the three candidates acquitted themselves rather well. John Delaney, despite being somewhat uninspiring and not really having anyone there to back him (judging by crowd response), had good answers to most questions. He seemed to  connect with the audience and wants to be president. I know everybody wants to be president when they run (especially if they declare a year earlier than…

SXSW has come to Austin once more, and despite days of 30 degree weather, its sunny and bright and pleasant, so that also means a legion of people here who are going to consider moving here. Let’s hope the films excite them enough that they don’t get out and enjoy our town. With that in mind, here is my preview. I tried to limit myself to one film per section so its not all midnighters (because honestly, those are the only films that make me want to brave the crowds anymore). Still, I found lots to pull me downtown. Oh,…

Sundance has come and gone and this year and I thought I would try something different. Instead of trying to write between gaps of my schedule  (when I was fully exhausted).  This time  I wanted to create wrap-ups of the sections after the festival ended,  because then I had a better sense of just how good all the films were, and how they rate against each other. With that in mind I’m going to start with the most traditional grouping of films at a festival, Narrative Features. Of course I didn’t see everything at Sundance, that would be impossible. However,…

Sure, Brending’s film serves as an essay on misogyny and celebrity, and there is a lot to love in the first half. The puppet pseudo-documentary dives behind the music of Junie Spoons, former innocent child idol turned sex-soaked superstar. Yes, the insta-star set is worthy of being mocked, as well as the automated music machine

Of course, Sundance isn’t the only game in town here in Park City. Renegade festival Slamdance is always good for a couple of gems and is where a few high profile filmmakers (Matthew Johnson of The Dirties and Operation Avalanche, and of course Christopher Nolan) were discovered. The chairs are awful, the screening room is hardly a proper venue for a festival this important, but here are 5 features worth the trip up main street. Film: High Flying Bird Director: Steven Soderbergh Section: Special Screening Synopsis: During a lockout, a sports agent makes a questionable proposal to a client. What…