fantasia 2019

TRULY AMERICAN INDIE: A Word With AMERICAN FIGHTER Director Shaun Piccinino

The 23rd Fantasia Festival just wrapped while my review coverage of the event is also finally culminating. Click and you’ll find at least one review for director Shaun Piccinino’s latest hard-hitting action drama, American Fighter, billed as a non-canonical follow-up to Alex Ranarivelo’s notable hit, American Wrestler: The Wizard. About six years since our first interview, I finally got to reacquaint with Piccinino over last few weeks about his work just as film screened in Montreal for the festival. Needless to say, there’s more to come from him and his at Truly Indie Studios, and I’ll be sure to help spread the word. Enjoy our conversation below! Hey Shaun, I’m glad we can catch up again in the wake of your latest premiere. How have you been? Thanks Lee, I’ve been great! Working on so many wonderful projects, I feel truly quite lucky actually and grateful for all the great […]

Fantasia Review: Livin’ On A Prayer, Jason Kim’s THE DIVINE FURY Is A Divine Knockout

Lee B. Golden III

Well Go USA Writer/director Jason Kim’s fourth and latest film brings the ultimate battle between good and evil to the big screen with supernatural thriller, The Divine Fury. Rejoining his Midnight Runners actor Park Seo-Joon, fans are in for a dark, supernatural tale that runs on plenty of pathos to couple with otherworldly intrigue, and a touch of gore and gruesome imagery to boot. Martial arts action is merely the icing on the cake for the spectacle and drama that Kim takes aim at for The Divine Fury, specifically showcasing a mixed-martial arts trained character. Not a whole lot of MMA gets exhibited here for Seo-joon’s portrayal, but it’s plenty enough in terms of invoking fisticuffs with super-sized battles involving a few wire gags, practical effects and average-to-fair CG to amplify things. For all this, Seo-joon takes the wheel in the role of Yong-hu, an undefeated MMA champion at the […]

FANTASIA XXIII: Audience Award Winners Announced

Lee B. Golden III

The 23rd Fantasia Festival is about wrapped and finished until next summer. I still have one film to work on though I do have a bit of a window before its release, so I think I’m good. Tackling this festival was a little more dexterous, although thankfully I managed to get in some viewing time. One title I’d caught up with long prior was The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil which is taking home top honors for Best Action! Feature. Other Audience Award recipients were announced as well, chosen from 138 feature films and over 200 shorts. I didn’t get to check out Promare which won Best Animated Feature but GKids is rolling that one out next month so hopefully I’ll get lucky. I definitely wanted to check out the Best Asian Feature winners, including Shinobu Yaguchi’s Dance With Me which also screened at Japan Cuts last month. Kiril Sokolov’s […]

Fantasia Review: Shaun Piccinino’s AMERICAN FIGHTER Flies A Flag Of No Holds-Barred Underdog Heroism

Lee B. Golden III

Following their exploits with Alex Ranarivelo’s American Wrestler: The Wizard, producer Ali Afshar and actor George Kosturos brace for more fictional territory under the stewardship of filmmaker Shaun Piccinino. Their latest effort, American Fighter, returns Afshar’s on-screen persona, Ali Jahani, back on camera for a more martial arts-tinged, revved up sequel that welcomes Tom Flanagan into the fray, and actor and BJJ blackbelt, Sean Patrick Flanery. It’s 1981 and George Lucas’ Star Wars has long since become a burgeoning franchise hit. On the other side of the world, the deadly Iran Revolution is underway, and at the behest of his father, Ali has long since relocated to California to live with his Uncle. One day, the two head to the airport where Ali is expected to finally reunite with his family until things take a dark turn. With his mother trapped in Tehran and held against her will, and no […]

Fantasia Review: In Rob Grant’s HARPOON, A Boatload Of Long-Begotten Baggage And Bloodthirsty Betrayal

Lee B. Golden III

While most small-scale high-seas thrillers I’ve watched in recent years turned out to be a little too pedestrian for my tastes, Rob Grant’s own Harpoon proves itself a cut above others. Turbo Kid and Knuckleball star Munro Chambers has become one of the most upstanding performers in film today and he’s joined by an equally livening cast with Christopher Gray and Emily Tyra. Actor Brett Gelman paints a vivid overture that coalesces with a sheer burst of violence as Richard (Gray) suddenly attacks Jonah (Chambers) in his own home with Richard’s girlfriend Sasha (Tyra) stepping into mitigate. Upon being gifted a harpoon for his birthday, fallout over the incident ensues with Jonah and Sasha downplaying Richard’s notions of infidelity between them, and Richard looking to make amends in part with all three spending the day on his family’s yacht. The three eventually, seemingly settle the score with Richard letting Jonah […]

Fantasia Review: Shinsuke Sato’s KINGDOM Is A Soaring, Sweeping Epic That Dares You To Dream

Lee B. Golden III

Following the success of Bleach, I least expected Shinsuke Sato to have directed his latest rags-to-renown action adventure epic, Kingdom – a title in what would be a series of thrilling back-to-back films from a director who first landed on my radar around 2004 with a DVD copy of The Princess Blade from A.D. Vision. Actress Yumiko Shaku starred in that one and showcased key action direction by Donnie Yen, and it aptly invoked Sato in his early growth as a filmmaker who knows action. I still have yet to see all his films, but to date, he’s never let me down; I toiled through the Bleach anime before the film and save for what you can read for yourself, I can easily say it is one of the best films I’ve ever seen, and I’m proud to say I’m not alone in that opinion. Instantaneously, upon seeing the teasers […]

Fantasia Review: Jimmy Henderson’s THE PREY Is A Decent Throwback To 90’s Action Fare

Jacques Karavasilis

After the last credits rolled and the lights were turned back on, I turned to my friends Sébastien and Debby. They both looked pleased with their latest, respective movie experience, so I ventured: “An honest, decent throwback to 90’s action fare?” The responses were unanimous. Now, don’t get me wrong! The Prey is nothing to write home about (even though I admit to taking pleasure in sharing this review with you), but it is still a decently crafted action yarn; yes, the kind that used to make their way to our Cineplex’s or VCR’s in the early 90s. For instance, picture an independent director/producer attempting to create their own version of something akin to First Blood, but with very little money. You get the idea? The premise behind Jimmy Henderson’s (Jailbreak) The Prey is far from original: An undercover cop in a remote jungle prison is forced to become human […]

FANTASIA Review: Lee Su-Jin’s IDOL – Politics With No Swan Song

Jacques Karavasilis

Director Lee Su-jin’s Idol explores different themes. The ones that resonate the most have to do with a father’s (Sol Kyung-gu) love for his son, and a rising politician’s (Han Suk-kyu) hunger for power and success; their respective dysfunctional families; and the irony of fate (no connection whatsoever to the 1975 romantic comedy). The lead characters are both passionate, albeit desperate in their individual mission: one in the most unselfish of ways, the other totally self-centered. Much like a mischievous child, Director Lee Su-jin seems to take great pleasure in shocking his audience. He does so from the very first lines of dialogue, and proves quite successful at it in the early going of the new Korean release. The problem with Lee’s Idol is that he clearly does not abide by the adage of Less is more. Although the numerous turns of events in the storyline prove captivating and clever […]

FANTASIA XXIII: ‘Idol’, ‘Ride Your Wave’, ‘The Fable’ Among Jury Prize Winners For 2019 Festive Installment

Lee B. Golden III

All I can assert from this point going forward is that while some of these titles have seen earlier audiences before this month, moviegoers will have plenty to look forward to in several genres. Our own Jacques Karavasilis has been on hand at Fantasia in Montreal and will have a pair of his own reviews ready soon and I still have several of my own ready and waiting. Most of all worth noting is some of these recipients, including and especially Kan Eguchi’s The Fable. I saw it in June and I humbly agree with the jury this week in their announcement for the film’s ACTION! Award for Outstanding Action Movie. Check out the announcement below and stay tuned as we dole out more Fantasia ahead. 23RD EDITION OF FANTASIA ANNOUNCES FULL LIST OF AWARD WINNERS Lee Su-Jin’s IDOL takes top honours, nabs fest’s coveted Cheval Noir Award for Best […]

Fantasia Review: In Abner Pastoll’s A GOOD WOMAN IS HARD TO FIND, Mom Knows Best

Lee B. Golden III

Strong feminine protagonists each come at their own measure from project to project. While some are constructed better than others, an inherently worthwhile angle to build a story on, particularly to the benefit of filmmaker Abner Pastoll who ultimately finds his in feature debut, A Good Woman Is Hard To Find. Actress Sarah Bolger leads the cast in a role that conveys a stoic, reclusive existence that ultimately comes out of its shell, finding redemption in one of the darkest corners of the human psyche. She plays Sarah, a recently widowed and living as a single mom with her two children, son Ben (Rudy Doherty) and daughter Lucy (Macie McCauley). The neighborhood they’re in dredges up nothing short of terrible memories and regret for Sarah’s mother (Jane Brennan) in the wake of rumors regarding the life of Sarah’s now late husband. Reasonably, life has been more cumbersome for the family, […]

Fantasia Review: Dark, Action-Packed NO MERCY Toils In Pulse-Pounding Vengeance With Sobering Results

Lee B. Golden III

Trigger Warning: This review discusses rape, bullying and sexual abuse. Actress Li Si-Young’s latest exposure to Western audiences now lies in Lim Kyoung-Tack’s feature debut, No Mercy, a film that instantly drew my attention last December even as it underwent its former title, “Older Sister”. To be frank, I’m actually keen on the film being titled “Sister”, as opposed to its current title in order to appeal more commercially to consumers – I get the reason for the change though there’s nothing major to complain about here. What does matter is how the film sells itself from start to finish. We cut to a prelude of our heroine already behind the wheel of a car as she speeds to her next destination before confronting a mechanic, bareing the very image we see on the film’s official poster – the red dress, red heels and dragging a boss-level sledgehammer which she […]

FANTASIA 2019: Well Go USA’s THE DIVINE FURY Gets A Late Addition, Don Lee’s THE GANGSTER, THE COP, THE DEVIL Gets An Encore

Lee B. Golden III

Kim Joo-hwan’s supernatural MMA thriller, The Divine Fury, is officially screening as a late addition to this year’s 23rd edition of the Fantasia International Film Festival. A day after its South Korean release, the film will screen on August 1 immediately following Hiroyuki Imaishi’s animated powerhouse feature debut out of Studio Trigger, Promare. Well Go USA has slated an August 16 U.S. select theatrical release. The Divine Fury is written and directed by Kim and boasts a dazzling mix of horror and mixed martial arts starring Park Seo-jun (Parasite), Woo Do-hwan (Tempted) and Ahn Sung-ki (The Divine Weapon). Park plays a champion fighter who, as a child, abandoned his Christian faith, only to become afflicted with stigmata as an adult. When he realizes that he may at the center of a demonic plot to take over the Earth, he uses his martial arts prowess to take out the ghouls sent […]

BLOOD ON HER NAME: Catch The First Teaser For Matthew Pope’s Fantasia Thriller Debut

Lee B. Golden III

Debut director Matthew Pope and producer Don Thompson are currently readying their place at this year’s Fantasia Festival to showcase their latest offering, Blood On Her Name. The two also penned the film which will screen for the Cheval Noir Competition whereupon both will be on hand to host the film’s Fantasia rollout. That event is just over a week out as of this piece with screening dates set for July 17 and July 19. The festival just rolled out an official teaser – firstly revealed by Entertainment Weekly – for the new dramatic thriller for which festival programmer Mitch Davis has obliged folks curious to see what Pope is bringing to his first crowd. A body lies bleeding on the ground in front of small-town garage owner Leigh Tiller (OZARK’s Bethany Anne Lind). The killing wasn’t planned, it was an accident, borne of self-defense. In a panic, she decides […]

George Kosturos in AMERICAN FIGHTER (2019)

AMERICAN FIGHTER: George Kosturos Ups His Game In The Official Extended Trailer

Lee B. Golden III

Filmmaker Shaun Piccinino is proudly taking the floor at the Auditorium des diplômés de la SGWU for the world premiere of his new action drama, American Fighter. The film, which returns actor George Kosturos to the screen in a loose follow-up from Alex Ranarivelo’s American Wrestler: The Wizard, is screening on July 28 for this year’s 23rd Fantasia Festival which just unveiled an extended trailer above, and programmer Rupert Bottenberg sums up the film accordingly: It’s 1981 and the California sun is shining bright, but there are dark clouds over college kid Ali Jahani, a wrestling champ. He’s haunted by memories of revolutionary Iran, from which he escaped as a child. Those disturbing dreams are realized when bad news, not his beloved parents, greets him at the airport. He’s desperate to get his mother safely out of Iran, but this can’t be done through conventional channels. And it can’t be […]

FANTASIA XXIII: Here Are Twenty Titles You’re Not Gonna Want To Miss!

Lee B. Golden III

Believe it or not, the twenty-third installment of Fantasia Festival is only a week away, and the next seven days will be a blur if you’re not caught onto the festival updates or haven’t bought your tickets yet. We covered the first wave and the full-line up and the selections here are especially full of promise, including no-brainers like The Crow, the newly restored 4K presentation of Ted Kotcheff’s watershed action movie hit, Rambo: First Blood, and the late Ringo Lam’s hit 1992 Hong Kong thriller, Full Contact. There’s lots to choose from at the official website, but we’re spotlighting up to twenty titles to help you get started. At the very least, you won’t be disappointed! Hit up the gallery and tap each image to enlarge with details in the black below.