September 30, 2013

The Human Race (Paul Hough, 2013)

The Human Race is an atypical survival horror film containing some sci-fi elements and archetypal characters in inventive genre-bending situations.
January 30, 2015

Live (Noboru Iguchi, 2014)

What is most impressive with Live is its infectious energy.Every death, every plot point is sacrificed to the cinematic experience.
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 […]
December 5, 2010

The Housemaid (Ki-young Kim, 1960; Sang-soo Im, 2010)

The Housemaid (Ki-young Kim, 1960) is one of the oldest films known to have survived South Korea’s evolution from Third-World country to G20 powerhouse. The print shown at Fantasia this year was restored by Martin Scorsese’s World film Restoration Foundation in tandem with the South Korean government and follows The Housemaid (Sang-soo Im, 2010) remake’s stellar performance this year at […]
July 29, 2011

My Fantasia 2011: Selling out

A few weeks before the 2011 Fantasia Film Festival, the programmers released a tentative list of noteworthy films to be screened at the festival. Before then, I’m a little underwhelmed about the festival this year, enthralled in activities out and about in the city. Montreal in the summer is something to experience; it’s frustrating really, choosing between all the happenings […]