November 6, 2013

Ip Man: The Final Fight (Herman Yau, 2013)

Ip Man: The Final Fight is centred around an ensemble cast of characters including Ip Man’s first students, so we get to see the evolution of Hong Kong in this period through their eyes.
December 16, 2013

The Lady Assassin (Quang Dung Nguyen, 2013)

The Lady Assassin, a martial arts blockbuster, is my first Vietnamese film. A light Sunday night screening at this year’s Fantasia Festival, it was attended by a notable number of people from Montreal’s Vietnamese community. Billed as a Vietnamese wu xia, in the film, a princess sold in marriage is taken in by a team of high-flying, ass—kicking, thieving assassins […]
December 29, 2011

Hello Ghost (Young-tak Kim, 2010)

Hello Ghost is hands-down the best film I’ve seen in 2011, utilizing appealing comedic techniques, and crafting new visual gags and convoluted situations.
November 24, 2010

A Frozen Flower (Ha Yu, 2008)

I’ve heard good things about the Korean film, A Frozen Flower. Outside from the gorgeous production value and box-office success, it has also been heralded for its inclusion of homosexuality in a period setting. I was hoping I would get to see it at this year’s festival and was glad to see it on the schedule, even if for only […]
October 17, 2013

Shield of Straw (Takashi Miike, 2013) | Lesson of the Evil (Takashi Miike, 2012)

Shield of Straw My first film at Fantasia in 2013 was Takashi Miike’s Shield of Straw, one of the director’s contribution to the festival. Miike is a known workhorse, directing sometimes three films per year, in a myriad of genres and styles. Yet, there seems to be a connecting thread through his films, which feels harder to ascertain for me […]