Montreal’s Fantasia Festival wrapped up its 2021 edition yesterday and with that this year’s award winners have been announced. Hong Eui-jeong‘s Voice of Silence was awarded Best Film, with Igor Legarreta winning Best Director for All The Moons.
7.5
Office Royale is a delightful sendup of manga tropes that delivers on its promise of absurd clerical action.
5
You Can’t Kill Meme is an enigmatic look into the insidious ways meme culture developed after the 2016 election which proves too arbitrary in its focus.
6
It was just last year that I wrote about the zany manga adaptation Kakegurui (translating to “compulsive gambler”), which screened at Montreal’s Fantasia Festival. A year later the zaniness is back with Kakegurui Part
8.5
#Blue_Whale is a refreshingly grounded approach to the screenlife film that terrifies due to its credible inventiveness.
7
Wonderful Paradise throws everything at the wall, and even what doesn’t stick is still bizarrely fascinating.
5
I’m loving the recent uptick in positive representation of indigenous peoples in the media, with films like Blood Quantum and shows like Reservation Dogs reminding us that the native plight is still very real and that those living on reservations are still
5.5
Shunji Iwai’s pseudo-kaiju film proves we still have yet to crack the enigma and nuances of pandemic filmmaking.
7.5
Satoshi Kon: The Illusionist offers an informed and affectionate tribute to one of anime’s overlooked masters.
Austin’s Fantastic Fest is gearing up for its 2021 edition and today the first set of titles have been revealed. Julia Ducournau‘s Titane will be kicking off the festival, which already has an insanely impressive lineup.
With the Toronto International Film Festival quickly approaching, the lineups for the Tiff Docs, Midnight Madness, and Wavelengths have been revealed along with more special presentations and the Contemporary World Cinema program.
This year’s Tiff will be taking place from
4
Andrew Gaynord’s dark comedy about distrust and paranoia, All My Friends Hate Me, pits a birthday boy against his supposed friends as they gather for a weekend retreat in a posh manor. Unfortunately, the proceedings prove redundant as everyone involved is pretty
7
Playing out like the rowing equivalent of Whiplash, Lauren Hadaway’s intense, frantic and constantly energetic The Novice is an overwhelming but fascinating look at obsession. Isabelle Fuhrman plays Alex Dall, a college freshman who decides she wants to join the novice crew
4.5
Exuding the same artsy vibes of its recent indie folk horror brethren, Jonathan Cuartas’ My Heart Can’t Beat Unless You Tell It To is an ultra lo-fi,slow-burn thriller that, while visually appealing, lacks a bit in its overall narrative.
In addition to a special screening of James Gunn’s upcoming The Suicide Squad, the 2021 Fantasia Film Festival in Montreal has revealed its second wave of titles containing another buttload of features to be added to your watch list.
7
Indie auteur Mickey Reece’s latest, and perhaps most ambitious project to date, Agnes, is at once a conventional, yet massively compelling possession film, as well as a subtle rumination on religion and acceptance of past traumas. It’s not something that will not
