Bruno Mourral’s ‘90s throwback crime comedy KIDNAPPING INC. fuses non-stop violent action with Haitian politics. The mixing of the slapstick and the serious results in some tonal inconsistencies, but you might be willing to overlook them because the entertaining parts are so good. It also provides insight into daily lives of Haitians, who have to […]
Self Driver – Fantasia 2024
SELF DRIVER from director Michael Pierro is my favorite of the Fantasia 2024 selections I have seen. A cab driver with mounting debt starts using a rideshare app of questionable legality that promises a lot of money quickly. One strange customer after another tests the limits of what he will do for the money. Like […]
Cuckoo – Fantasia 2024
Tilman Singer’s CUCKOO is a creepy, bonkers horror movie in a year full of good ones. Hunter Schafer is wonderfully vulnerable as a teenager, who just lost her mother. Dan Stevens is a hoot as the goofy, fiendish German hotel owner. The sound and production designs are exceptional. If you can get past parts of […]
Black Eyed Susan – Fantasia 2024
Black Eyed Susan, cult director Scooter McCrae’s first film in 21 years, explores the implications of where AI technology is going as it relates to perverse, abusive behavior even if the victim is not a real person, but an advanced robot. The provocative opening scene is sure to offend some unsuspecting viewers. After that it […]
The Beast Within – Fantasia 2024
Alexander J. Farrell’s THE BEAST WITHIN with Kit Harington, Ashleigh Cummings, James Cosmo, and Caoilinn Springall blends werewolf horror with domestic drama and doesn’t quite get it right on either front. The lack of genuine scares will likely disappoint some and others might get frustrated that the familial conflicts are never explored beyond the surface. […]
The G – Fantasia 2024
Karl R. Hearne’s THE G starring the always reliable Dale Dickey is the best revenge movie I have seen in a while. It continues the recent trend of films about criminals taking advantage of the elderly and, as badass as June Squibb was in Thelma, they really mess with the wrong person this time. Dickey […]
The Dead Thing – Fantasia 2024
In Fantasia 2024 thriller THE DEAD THING from Elric Kane, Alex spends her days browsing profiles on the dating app Friktion until she finally finds the gentle and dashing Kyle. However he does not return her texts and when they finally meet again he does not seem to remember her. Blu Hunt displays Alex’s emotions […]
Dandelion
Nicole Riegel’s DANDELION is the story of a struggling musician, played compellingly by KiKi Layne, and has fine songs from The National members and Taylor Swift collaborators Aaron and Bryce Dessner. The romance involving Thomas Doherty’s character is moving and full of chemistry and there are striking 16mm landscape shots of South Dakota. Riegel’s debut […]
Darkest Miriam – Fantasia 2024
Naomi Jaye’s DARKEST MIRIAM is as quirky as one would expect from a film executive produced by Charlie Kaufman. Britt Lower’s mild mannered Miriam has a mundane life working as a librarian dealing with the same characters every day. Things take a turn when she starts a relationship with Tom Mercier’s cab driver Janko. It […]
Kryptic – Fantasia 2024
Kourtney Roy’s Fantasia Festival entry KRYPTIC is a hard one to decrypt, but that should not stop horror fans from enjoying this trippy film. The supernatural psychological thriller follows Chloe Pirrie’s character as she tries to trace the steps of a monster hunter who went missing. A film like this relies on the strength of the […]