Dragon Ball Z Uncensored

[Derek Payne]

There are several good Miike movies. You just need to be careful because when he makes a bad movie it's fucking unbelievable bad.

[Spamdini]

Genius Party
***
http://www.fantasiafest.com/2008/en/films/film_detail.php?id=39

A collection of short animated movies from the from Japanese anime studio 4 Celsius.

Genius Party: A short, beautifully animated intro that served really only as a display of artistic mastery. No plot, but looked really need and served its purpose quite well.

Shanghai Dragon: The tale of a shy, bullied boy who finds a magic pen that brings objects to life. Another extremely well animated piece that looked extremely similar in style to Tekkon Kinkreet. Very fun story with the kid taking on a Power Ranger/Kamen Rider-style outfit to fight the baddies as well as a robot with a six-shooter who generates cigars from his fingers. The best film of the bunch.

Deathtic 4: Another winner. A group of zombies with different useless powers try to bring a living from back to the world of the living. Dark and creepy cel shading and goofy characters made it a joy even after the previous showstopper.

Doorbell: Things start going downhill. Rather poorly animated short that could probably pass off as Japanese television anime but pretty lousy for the big screen. The plot had potential but the resolution was complete BS. Would have been the lowlight, but...

Limit Cycle: Oh god! This was so terrible that it was booed after it finished! Philosophical garbage that would make the makers of Neon Genesis Evangelion blush. And it was so damn long too! I was thinking of giving the whole show a low rating because of this trash! Awful awful awful.

Happy Machine: A nice rebound. A baby embarks on a surreal journey that is reminiscent of Cat Soup. Not as good as the first trio of films but very cool in its own right.

Baby Blue: A decent finale. The animation is nice but nothing mindblowing or original like the stuff we saw earlier. Likewise, the plot is fine but hardly memorable. Still, it wasn't Limit Cycle so it was still a step up.

It you download this movie, skip Limit Cycle. If you happen to see it in theatres, take a smoke break or something. It's really devastating to an otherwise strong collection of shorts.

[Spamdini]

[REC]
* 1/2
http://www.fantasiafest.com/2008/en/films/film_detail.php?id=244

A very run-of-the-mill zombie horror movie in the verité style (like Blair Witch). A camera crew accompanies a group of firemen on a typical call in order to free an old woman who is stuck in her apartment. However...SHE'S A ZOMBIE! :O On top of that, no one can leave the building because the police and government have sealed off all exits and are forcing everyone to stay inside in order to control the disease which is causing the zombies.

The whole thing was completely ho-hum and predictable. The only new spin on the whole zombie genre is that it's done from a first person camera, which does lend a certain level of intensity in certain scenes. However, there are way too many cop outs in terms of plot devices ("oh look, a tape recorder with all the answers!") and it's ultimately more boring than scary.

A Hollywood re-make is in the works under the name Quarantine. You probably shouldn't watch that either.

[Spamdini]

A note on Genius Party. I got to the movie later than my friends so when I arrived they were engaged in a mighty battle of Mario Kart DS which I joined. Then we asked a couple people in seats next to ours with DS's if they wanted to join. After that, random people throughout the theatre started popping into our games too and we had 8 person races. Just thought that was rather neat.

I've gotta play catch up with these reviews! I've got four more to write. I'm not seeing any more till Monday so that should help.

[Spamdini]

Second Skin
****
http://www.fantasiafest.com/2008/en/films/film_detail.php?id=27

A documentary about nerds playing World of Warcraft and other MMORPGs. This would probably offend the half of FTU that plays that game, but I found it quite amusing. It mainly follows the story of three groups of people: four friends who play WoW religiously and are preparing for the newest expansion by buying enough pizza pockets to last them a month, a man and woman who fall in love through Everquest and finally meet face-to-face, and a WoW junkie whose life was destroyed by the game and enters WoW rehab.

Along the way there are touching stories like cripples who many learn how to socialize and feel free through MMORPGs and other more tragic ones like the crazy woman who runs the rehab center (really just her house) after her schizoid son shot himself after becoming obsessed with WoW. No shortage of humorous situations and lines by these wacky misfits, even if the crazies are slightly less whacked out than in King fo Kong. They're mostly nerds who play lots of video games and could pretty much be most of the people here, myself included.

On a side note, I bought a ticket to another documentary next week called I Think We're Alone Now about people who stalk the 80's pop singer Tiffany. Got my fingers crossed!

[AdvisorExedor]

Shut your ass you fucking gay bitch.

[Spamdini]

Mad Detective
*** 1/2
http://www.fantasiafest.com/2008/en/films/film_detail.php?id=97

A rare solid offering from Hong Kong nowadays. A former detective who recreates crimes with his own body and can see the inner personalities of people is asked to help on a case. Apparently a cop has gone missing and his gun has been used in robberies and murders. However, it's hard to tell in this detective is genuinely gifted or just insane, especially after he cut off his own ear and gave it to his captain as a present.

Johnnie To is well known at Fantasia and does not disappoint with his latest work. The characters aren't all fleshed out very well aside from the titular mad detective, but he's entertaining enough to compensate. The suspense towards the end is exciting as well.

And...that's all I remember. I shouldn't wait a week to write these things.

[Spamdini]

DJ XL5's Hellzapoppin Zappin' Party
http://www.fantasiafest.com/2008/en/films/spotlight.php?id=11
** 1/2

A mash-up of different short comedic movies. The movie was preceded by kitschy movie clips and old commercials that would precede movies. These were arguably the best part of the movie, particularly clips of Ultraman playing a ukulele and playing on the beach with some monsters. The rest was uneven, from the genuinely amusing (fake trailers spoofing American Ninja) to the downright awful (an animation that makes Jon's flash skills seem like Pixar). Half of the movies were French-Quebec movies and while some were decent, let it be known that Quebec humor is not among the most refined in the world. Dumb is a better description. That said, some of the worst movies were generic Youtube garbage from the States. I'm not sure why they even bothered adding these.

It was late and the crowd was rowdy which helped. Plus most of these movies were done on no budget by local moviemakers which added some charm. Overall, not great but passable.

[Spamdini]

Idiots and Angels
*** 1/2
http://www.fantasiafest.com/2008/en/films/film_detail.php?id=93

The latest movie by Bill Plympton (Hair High, short films Your Face and Guard Dog) and as one of my favorite American animators, I was very excited about this. As expected, the animation was outstanding and it contained his trademark dark humor. It was completely devoid of dialog, which worked for most part though it made some of the slower parts duller than they might have been otherwise.

Upon further analysis I'm not sure what the message was supposed to be, but I didn't really care since I was entertained. Not as strong as Hair High or his best shorts, but possibly his best looking work to date.

[Magic Juan]

Quebec humor is so bad. The Tete-a-claque people should be killed in their own homes (Which is severe because it is necessary to spare other people from having to interact with them again at any point in time ever).

[HellaKitty]

Sure, I Suppose Thats A Fair Assessment. But Who Are You To Know Whats Right For Him?

To Each Their Own, Thats What My Mother Always Told Me.

[Spamdini]

The Rebel
Vietnam
****
http://www.fantasiafest.com/2008/en/films/film_detail.php?id=106

This was quite the pleasant surprise given that I only went to see it because I had never seen a Belgian movie before. It's the tale of a Vietnamese officer working for their French occupiers who has had enough of the repression and bloodshed he's had a hand in. He decides to help a young female rebel escape from jail and make it back to her revolutionary father. However they are both chased by the Vietnamese army, led by the Vietnamese version of General Vegeta who is unfazed by any attacks and possesses super strength.

A little slow and overly sentimental at times, it makes up for any heavy handed commentary by having awesome fight sequences. The hero's style seems to be something like Muay Thai with lots of kicks and elbows combined with crazy flips for extra powerful spin kicks. Vietnamese General Vegeta is one of the most badass movie villains I've seen in a while and is able to style and profile in slick suits while being an undefeatable terror. Seriously cool and recommended!

[Spamdini]

I Think We're Alone Now
USA
http://www.fantasiafest.com/2008/en/films/film_detail.php?id=89
****

In case you were wondering when a documentary about people obsessed with Tiffany was coming out, wait no further! This exploration into mental disorders and crippling loneliness takes a relatively obscure celebrity and shows that anyone can latch onto to anything given the right mix of insanity and lack of social skills. It follows two people: a chipper Santa Cruz resident with Asperger's Syndrome who is convinced Tiffany is his best friend and that they share psychic powers, and a hermaphrodite who cusses a lot and is deeply in love with Tiffany and wants nothing more but to meet her.

Second Skin was ridiculously hilarious, but I could at least relate given my own unhealthy video game obsession. This one is also funny at times, but more often quite sad. These people are obviously not well and delusional, but oddly charming at the same time (at least the dude without a vagina is). You don't feel like mocking them quite as much and the more human aspect makes it more touching even if it comes at the cost of comedy. Well worth a look as well.

[Spamdini]

I'm way behind on these since the festival finished last Tuesday and I have five more reviews to write. I'll try to plow through them.

[Spamdini]

Repo! The Genetic Opera
USA
***
http://www.fantasiafest.com/2008/en/films/film_detail.php?id=227

This movie is probably the only one that gave me truly mixed feelings this year. The premise is that it's a rock opera done almost entirely in song about a world where organ failure is commonplace and new organs can be bought from a company called Geneco. However, if you miss a payment the repo man comes and takes the organ back, thus killing you in the process.

It's a neat idea and comes off ok but it so obviously panders so the late night goth/emo/hipster group can jerk their dicks to how "cool" it is. Cult movies that try to be cult movies usually suck hard. In a way, it sort of taints how I perceive the whole movie which in of itself was decent. Still, I can't help shake how contrived the whole thing feels so I can't tell if three stars is generous or if I'm undervaluing it. Whatever. Chris will probably be giddy over Alexa Vega prancing about in goth clothing because that's probably his thing.

[Big Fagot]

Chris is a faggot bitch!

[Psarevo]

I didn't read anything in this thread except that post, and I was confused for a second.

But then I realized, it wasn't me.

It wasn't me who you were calling a faggot bitch.

[Spamdini]

Going By the Book
Korea
http://www.fantasiafest.com/2008/en/films/film_detail.php?id=76
****

An uptight traffic cop is give the role as bank robber in a mock robbery in order to test the capabilities of their town's police force. However, he takes his job extremely seriously and begins making the police look bad by twarting the police's attempts to stop him. Since it is just a mock robbery, there are no real guns or killing, but that's what makes it amusing. The "robber" hangs signs around people's necks to show their supposed tied up, dead, raped, etc.

I much lighter movie than I expected which is nice. There were plenty of horrors and screwed flicks already. The trailer also made it look like he snapped ended up shooting people for real which would have made no sense. Instead, you get a very entertaining tale about a guy who got dicked around all his career and is just trying to be the best cop or robber he can be. Another Korean hit at Fantasia.

I'll have to finish these off when I get back from vacation, but I'm remembering less and less...