Fantasia XXIX: INFLUENCERS, THE WELL, And More In The First Wave!
Fantasia launches it’s 29th edition beginning July 17!
fantasia festival
Fantasia XXVI Review: For a Dose of Thrills, Make an Appointment with DR LAMB!
Scrolling through a list of available films to review for a film festival can be overwhelming. One should not judge a book by its cover, but sometimes a reviewer has to follow their gut and request films whose posters and titles catch their attention. I can’t explain exactly what drew me to Dr. Lamb at first, but once I read the brief description saying that it was about a serial killer in Hong Kong, I knew I wanted to watch it. Dr. Lamb was written by Kam-Fai Law and directed by Billy Hin-Shing and Danny Lee. It was originally released in 1992 but has been restored and re-released. Let me tell you right now: this is not your typical serial killer movie. For one, there are some humorous parts to it even despite the gore. Dr. Lamb has a balanced ratio of giggles and gags throughout this 90 minutes film. […]
Fantasia XXVI Review: Short Films Short on Time but Not on Entertainment
One of the aspects of covering film festivals that I look forward to most is covering the short films that are shown. This year’s selection of shorts at the Fantasia International Film Festival did not disappoint. My friend and I now have new favorite directors to watch for and we have obscure lines we can quote from these shorts for a laugh. You should try to view these as well: Meat Friend Meat Friend made its Canadian premiere on July 15th. Written by Stephan Johanson and Izzy Lee (Lee also directed), this short is horror and comedy and fantasy and just a meaty good time. A young girl microwaves raw hamburger meat which causes it to become alive. It just isn’t any sentient being though, this Meat Friend has the spirit of an ex-con who loves to teach young Billie lessons he has learned from his life of crime. This […]
Fantasia Adds Donnie Yen Action Thriller RAGING FIRE To This Year’s Festival Line-Up!
It’s always a welcome feat that festivals like Fantasia drop a surprise last-minute addition. This year, the 25th hybrid installment just got a little bigger with the announcement of action crime thriller, Raging Fire, starring Donnie Yen and Nicholas Tse. The film, the last was which to be directed by Benny Chan before his untimely death nearly a year ago, was acquired last month by Well Go USA for pending U.S. releases both in theaters and its in-house streamer, Hi-YAH!. Tickets are now available with Fantasia hosting the film’s Canadian premiere at the Cinéma Impérial on August 10. Check out the programming notes below as penned by Fantasia’s Chu King-Wei: Havoc reigns in Hong Kong! A disgraced former cop has returned for vengeance against his former mentor Shan, the decorated hero of the police force. He has assembled a wild bunch of merciless assassins to generate death and destruction till […]