fantasia 2021

Fantasia XXV Review: Rob Jabbaz’s THE SADNESS, Crowdpleasing Horror, Evolved

I only have maybe two or three other people who write for this site who are more suited to discuss horror cinema. Regardless, the genre I usually cover sometimes veers into the gruesome and horrific enough that my own viewing experience ultimately warrants some growth along the way, and so upon covering Fantasia, I couldn’t resist checking out The Sadness, the feature directorial debut of Taiwan-based Canadian filmmaker Rob Jabbaz who, as of this write-up, just won Best First Feature out of the festival. Other critics and festival programmers who’ve seen this film have had plenty to say, in addition to this being a film definitely made for a crowd. Under lesser-life threatening circumstances, I would certainly agree, and not for nothing either with Jabbaz’s inaugural crowdpleaser serving up as a timely arrival for theatergoers, at a very tender moment in history more than a year and a half following […]

Fantasia XXV Review: Kazuaki Seki’s JIGOKU-NO-HANAZONO: OFFICE ROYALE, Hell Hath No Fury Like A Salarywoman Scorned!

Lee B. Golden III

The last six years of buzz and fandom hit pretty damn hard as audiences galavanted over their favorite moments of the rather male-dominated HiGH&LOW franchise. Having conquered multiple mediums right through its streaming launch on Netflix last year, imaginably it left a certain curiosity as to what a more female-centric take on gangbuster action cinema would look like. Leave it to the creative controls of screenwriter Bakarhythm, and filmmaker Kazuaki Seki as they bring you of a world beneath the veneer of quiet, reserved female office workers – a world where OL (office lady) gangs frequently collide in their daily battles for dominance over one another. It’s a brutal, violent and rigorous responsibility, the kind that sets a person apart from the “ordinary” types who lead idyllic, mundane and modestly fulfilling lives – people like Naoko (Mei Nagano), for example. This is the world presented in Seki’s feature directing debut, […]

Fantasia XXV Review: Tsutomu Hanabusa’s TOKYO REVENGERS, As Gangsta As It Gets

Lee B. Golden III

There’s ample reason why it is anyone in my time zone, or living within three hours within it, can tell you their perceptions about the state of live-action projects based on any Japanese IP to negative avail for the past decade. Granted, barring any such announcements made in the last four or five years, it still bears noting the phenomena of what we’ve seen on the feature film front, specifically with Japanese studios. That’s not to say Japan hasn’t had its misses, but the hits are nearly as consistent as you would expect compared to anywhere else. Warner Bros. Japan’s own streak remains supreme of late with Kakegurui shepherd Tsutomu Hanabusa’s treatment of mangaka Ken Wakui’s Tokyo Revengers, based on the 2017 manga adapted for TV by Liden Films this Spring, and for this summer’s big screen run by Izumi Takahashi (Zebra, Museum, One Night). The bulk importance of films […]

RAGING FIRE Heats Up A North American Release With The Official U.S. Trailer

Fantasia XXV Canadian Premiere: RAGING FIRE, An Electrifying Closure To Director Benny Chan’s Legacy

Jacques Karavasilis

Originally published 8.16.21: From a professional standpoint, the last seventeen months were quite hectic for me. Briefly, the translation business was not slowed down in the least by the pandemic, quite the contrary. Amongst other things, I am very grateful for the work – a regular income proved to be one less worry. Work not only kept me busy and paying the bills, it contributed to keeping me sane (long daily walks also helped). The pandemic ensured my disconnection from most people, including friends and acquaintances and the interests/hobbies we share. This year, Fantasia is also part of the general disconnect. As such, I had no idea the film festival’s 25th edition would feature the Canadian Premiere of Hong Kong Director Benny Chan’s (Chan Muk-sing, October 7, 1961 – August 23, 2020) very last film, Raging Fire. Usually, I keep track of these things as martial arts and films still […]

Fantasia XXV Review: Travis Taute’s INDEMNITY, A Pulsating Political Action Thriller With A Healing Touch

Lee B. Golden III

Barring the Bourne comparison I made when I posted the most recent trailer for Indemnity, I can earnestly say that the new espionage thriller from writer and director Travis Taute offers something much more authentic in its execution. There’s poetry even – the kind that can only be tapped into with solid writing and acting to boot, which is certainly what Taute aims to deliver for a film that might have been handled a lot less desireably if it were anyone else at the helm, to say the least. The film opens as we meet Theo Abrams (Geduld), still suffering from psychological tramua as he’s been since forced into a leave of absence from his Cape Town fire brigade after losing two members of his squad months earlier. The residual affects of Theo’s condition frequently test the ever-shaky ground of his marriage with the loving Angela (Nicole Fortuin) and their […]

Fantasia XXV Review: Junta Yamaguchi’s BEYOND THE INFINITE TWO MINUTES Is A Humble, Inventive One-Shot Delight

Lee B. Golden III

Shot safely in the confines of a building with a first floor café during the 2020 pandemic, Beyond The Infinite Two Minutes introduces Kato (Kazunori Tosa), a café owner struggling to spread the word and get his band off the ground. After leaving home for the day to his upstairs apartment, he spots himself on his television monitor, effectively communicating with his future-self two minutes from then with a monitor in the café. The ordeal snowballs out of control when Kato’s friends each get curious about what they can learn or benefit from seeing the future, exacerbating an already potentially precarious moment for space-time, and leaving Kato wearily panicked and trying to wait out the situation after initially believing it was just a dream. What happens next presents a cautionary forewarning for Kato and friends as the result of getting too far ahead of themselves after consulting with their future-selves’, […]

RAGING FIRE: A Cornered Donnie Yen Flips The Script And Brings The Pain In A New Clip!

Lee B. Golden III

I more or less tend to stave off of clip-sharing, as tedious as it is… At any rate, this might be the only clip I share from late director Benny Chan’s newest and final film, Raging Fire, which is already released overseas ahead of upcoming North American premieres at Fantasia and NYAFF, and nationwide via Well Go USA on August 13. Thus, consider this your reminder to get tickets where and when you plan to catch the film accordingly. The rundown? Donnie Yen plays the leader of a special unit of cops on a mission to investigate a team of mercs responsible for an explosive series of murders and attacks on his own department. The catch? It could be his former mentee from months earlier, played with a sterling performance by Nicholas Tse, and you’re welcome to check out my early NYAFF review to learn more about this amazing curtain […]

CATCH THE FAIR ONE: Tribeca Rescue Thriller Fave Lands At IFC Films For Next Year

Lee B. Golden III

Currently a part of this year’s 25th Fantasia International Film Festival line-up, director Josef Kubota Wladyka (“Narcos”, Dirty Hands) is proudly taking the mantle with his sophomore feature, Catch The Fair One, landing at IFC Films for a U.S. release in 2022. Trades broke the news on Wednesday for the upcoming revenge thriller which since broke ground at this year’s Tribeca festivities, winniny the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature, and signaling what’s being described as a “raw breakout performance” from real-life professional boxer, Kali “K.O.” Reis in her screen debut; The first Indigenous fighter to win the International Boxing Association middleweight crown, Reis is also currently the WBA Super lightweight champion. Written by Wladyka from a story developed with Reis, Catch The Fair One is billed as a “propulsive, edge-of-your-seat thriller”. Reis stars as Kaylee “K.O.” Uppashaw, an Indigenous former boxer who plugs herself into the dark and dangerous […]

INDEMNITY: South Africa’s Answer To Jason Bourne Just Landed An Explosive Official Trailer

Lee B. Golden III

If you’re keen on South African genre cinema and have been curious to know the goings on of late with the creators of Netflix series Blood & Water, then your answer has finally arrived with the official trailer for fugitive espionage action thriller, Indemnity. The film is set to screen for Fantasia’s 25th and hybrid installment, in addition to an in-person World Premiere on August 11 at the Imperial Theatre in Montreal, QC, and from the looks of things, attendees at Imperial are in for a real treat. I’ve mused plentily on South African action and stunts during the run of The Hit List and so to see the names Vernon Willemse and Grant Powell in the announcement below certainly rouses the excitement and curiousity. Check out the trailer above and read on: An ex-firefighter in Cape Town is forced to fight for his life after being accused of murdering […]

FANTASIA XXV: Twenty Titles You Don’t Want To Miss At This Year’s Hybrid Festival

Lee B. Golden III

The third wave just recently hit for the 25th Fantasia International Film Festival, which is hosting in-person and virtual screenings and events from August 5 through 25. Thus, peep the first wave and the second wave before hitting up the latest article and take in the full line-up as things rev up to help make for one awesome post-Covid semi-comeback. This site has a team of four which will be reviewing titles and hopefully getting to do an interview. As such, our obligatory curtain raiser is here to help spotlight some recommendations. We took the initiative to put together at least thirty selections, but I’m reducing it to at least twenty; At this rate, choosing for the list was quite the challenge, but that’s part of the fun though. Isn’t it? I’m fully aware the gallery function isn’t working properly, so I’m doing this in list format, citing descriptions directly […]

DREAMS ON FIRE Trailer: Bambi Naka Set To Ignite Fantasia With Illustrious Underground Dance Drama

Lee B. Golden III

International dance sensation and former lead back-up for Madonna, actress Bambi Naka, makes her latest screen outing in a role that will surely set the dance floor ablaze next month at Fantasia Festival in Dreams On Fire, from director Philippe McKie. The film has since released in Japan and is currently set to screen on August 8 at Cinéma du Musée as part of the festival. After running away from home to become a dancer in Tokyo, Yume (Bambi Naka) struggles against the harsh realities of what it takes to achieve success. She works as a hostess in the red-light district while taking dance lessons, and refuses to abandon her ambitions. DREAMS ON FIRE features the first leading role from celebrated Japanese dance idol, Bambi Naka, former lead dancer on Madonna’s Rebel Heart Tour and internationally recognized icon. An electrifying and dazzling feature debut from Canadian-born, Japan-based filmmaker Philippe McKie, DREAMS […]

FANTASIA XXV: THE GREAT YOKAI WAR: GUARDIANS Tops Out The Third Wave As The Festival’s Closing Premiere!

Lee B. Golden III

The 25th Fantasia International Film Festival is in full-throttle with its final wave of titles now available for viewing. This completes the full list among which the first and second waves are now available for sifting, but don’t sift too long… You’ll definitely wanna get a handle on those tickets first as they go on sale this Friday at 1:00pm ET. So read on below and head over to the website to learn more about partaking in this extraordinary hybridized 25th event! FANTASIA 2021 TO CLOSE WITH TAKASHI MIIKE’S THE GREAT YOKAI WAR – GUARDIANS AND PRESENT CAREER AWARDS TO SHUNJI IWAI AND PHIL TIPPETT FOR UPCOMING 25TH EDITION Lee Won-tae’s THE DEVIL’S DEAL, Paul Andrew Williams’ BULL, Vincent Grashaw’s WHAT JOSIAH SAW, Masashi Ando and Masayuki Miyaji’s THE DEER KING, Rob Jabbaz’s THE SADNESS, and Alexandre Bustillo & Julien Maury’s THE DEEP HOUSE are among the wealth of […]

FANTASIA XXV: James Gunn’s THE SUICIDE SQUAD Tops Off A Throat-Punching, Ass-Kicking Spectacular Second Wave!

Lee B. Golden III

The first wave has been making the rounds for Fantasia Festival 2021 for some time now. Alas, where there is a first, there was always going to be a second, and with none other than James freaking Gunn’s The Suicide Squad dropping the holyshitness for the Fantasia crowd as we gear up for the August festivities. Wave two, which you can dive into below, is loaded with some great fun to be had with Japanese CG animated Junk-Head, the gangbuster action comedy Office Royale, revenge thriller Yakuza Princess which was most recently picked up by Magnet for the U.S., as well as Prisoners Of The Ghostland which debuted for Sundance this year to some pretty ample reviews for director Sion Sono. Wave three comes in July and I’ll have my own curtain raiser up in due time. In the meantime, if you’ve been waiting for more on this year’s twenty-fifth […]

FANTASIA XXV: KAKEGURUI 2, INDEMNITY, NOT QUITE DEAD YET, KING CAR, CAUTION, HAZARDOUS WIFE And Much More As The First Wave Makes Its Way Online!

Lee B. Golden III

With Québécois zomcom Brain Freeze already lined-up for this year’s 25th film festival at Fantasia, the first official wave of titles is finally here with the second readying to announce next month, followed by the full programme in July, and it looks as promising as fans could hope. Tsutomu Hanabusa’s Kakegurui 2: Ultimate Russian Roulette is the first to note in the announcement below, as it’ll be joined by several more titles out of the Far East in accordance with the festival’s thematic focus this year, celebrating Japanese culture through film, per hints from Donald Caron’s poster design revealed last month. Fantasia 2021 will also maintain its virtual platform edge as it did last year through Festival Scope and Shift72, making its programme accessible to audiences across Canada from August 5 through August 25. That’s not to say the organization won’t try to get some in-person events going, which of […]

FANTASIA XXV: Québécois Thriller BRAIN FREEZE To Open This Year’s Virtual Festival In August

Lee B. Golden III

Julien Knafo’s Frontières prospect, Brain Freeze, will be the opening presentation for the virtual 25th installment of the Fantasia International Film Festival this summer. The chiller, produced by Barbara Shrier (The Year Dolly Parton Was My Mom, Mémoires Affectives), and starring leading Québécois Roy Dupuis (La Femme Nikita, The Rocket) – in his 50th feature with this role – alongside Iani Bédard (Mon Ami Walid), will have its world premiere on August 5 ahead of a Canadian release on August 13 from Filmoption International. The film’s announcement a few weeks ago also brought in tow the latest look at the festival’s official 2021 poster, illustrated by Donald Caron. Fantasia is celebrating Caron’s work as a mark of inspiration from the likes of Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima’s beloved Lone Wolf And Cub – a symbolic homage to the role Japanese culture has played in the festival’s history, as well as […]