A DISTURBANCE IN THE FORCE from Fantasia Fest is an entertaining documentary about the infamous disaster that was the Star Wars Holiday Special with insight from people involved and well-known Star Wars fans. It should appeal to both die hard fans and those who are looking for a fun time.
Hundreds of Beavers
If you are a fan of slapstick silent comedies and animation, you’ll have a ball with Mike Cheslik’s Fantasia Fest selection HUNDREDS OF BEAVERS. It is incredibly imaginative, very funny. A seemingly endless source of wonderful silliness.
Silver Haze
Silver Haze reunites director Sacha Polak with the star of her previous film Dirty God, Vicky Knight, who, like her character, is a burn survivor in real life. It’s a messy, but worthwhile film about trauma, anger, human connections, and ultimately forgiveness. It is streaming via OutFest LA.
River
Junta Yamaguchi’s two-minute time loop movie RIVER from Fantasia Fest is endlessly inventive like its predecessor Beyond The Infinite Two Minutes. This one drops the single-take camera wizardry and adds some romance. It is 86 minutes of laughs, movement, and creativity. If you haven’t seen Beyond The Infinite Two Minutes, it is free to watch […]
Aporia
Judy Greer tries to bring back her deceased husband Edi Gathegi with the help of a lo-fi time machine in writer-director Jared Moshe’s Fantasia Festival sci-fi APORIA. The first 25 minutes of the film would have made a satisfying short by itself. Instead Moshe uses it as a setup and goes on to explore the […]
Femme
Nathan Stewart-Jarrett and George MacKay are both fantastic in the neon-lit queer revenge thriller FEMME from Fantasia Festival. Writer-director duo Sam H. Freeman and Ng Choon Ping construct a near perfect script building on the themes introduced in their short of the same name. Intense from the first few minutes, it all leads to an […]
Egghead and Twinkie
Sarah Kambe Holland’s EGGHEAD & TWINKIE is an entertaining coming out/coming-of-age road adventure comedy with lively animation spread in. If you are looking for a feel-good movie with queer Asian representation, head over to the Outfest LA virtual platform, where it is screening this week only.
The Mattachine Family
THE MATTACHINE FAMILY is a story of found family in the gay community, a love letter to Los Angeles, and a showcase for Nico Tortorella. I wish it had fewer clichés, but it should satisfy most of its core audience. It is streaming this week via Outfest LA.
Talk To Me
Talk To Me from Australian twin filmmaker brothers Michael and Danny Philippou will be the horror movie of the summer. The film, which just had its Canadian Premiere at Fantasia Festival, is fun, old fashioned teenage horror constructed exceptionally well. It has lots of gore and body horror. A star in the making, Sophie Wilde’s […]
Chasing Chasing Amy
I was only mildly interested in Outfest Closing Night selection CHASING CHASING AMY when I first heard about it. Director Sav Rodgers’ film turned out to be both a beautiful love story and an unexpectedly revelatory making-of documentary. It is available to watch on Outfest virtual platform this week.