fantasy

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 […]

Your Next Viewing: ALPHA RIFT

Christina Ortega

I was hanging out with a friend once and we were geeking out over Game of Thrones, Thundercats, and some kind of anime that I can’t remember now. Then I asked him if he wanted to join my monthly RPG game, I think my cohort was playing Vampire the Masquerade at the time. He looked me, looked intensely serious and a bit judge-y, and said something to the effect of that being “too geeky” for him. So apparently there are levels of geek and even some geeks are embarrassed by things that are “too geeky”? If that is the case, and your level of geekiness includes enjoying role-playing games and fantasy movies, then you absolutely have to see Alpha Rift. This movie is overflowing with geekiness: from the opening scene that went back and forth between an intense swordfight and a heist (I love heists!) to a few friends who […]

ALPHA RIFT Unlocks The Fantasy And Adventure In The Official Trailer

Christina Ortega

“What if I told you the stories you grew up with were all true?” All I needed to see in my inbox to capture my attention was “starring Lance Henriksen.” I met him once at a convention and each time we passed each other he greeted me like an old friend. So after seeing his name, I eagerly opened the press release for a fantasy film called Alpha Rift. And was awed. We open with a heist, but a clumsy participant breaks an odd-shaped object. It shatters, releasing a malicious looking green smoke. Next we cut to an over-sized D20 (a twenty-sided dice) and my inner nerd is excited. There is talk of fairy tales, but a familiar voice says the line that opened this piece. And then we get a montage of a seemingly normal kid thrust into a heroic path that is his destiny that involve some modern-day […]

Your Next Viewing: VALLEY OF THE GODS

Christina Ortega

When I received an email about a fantasy/sci-fi drama including a writer, the Navajo community, an ancient legend, and Josh Hartnett, I knew I had to see the film. I sent out my screener request immediately and am glad to report that I was not disappointed in Well Go USA Entertainment’s latest: Valley of the Gods. Here is the official synopsis: Starring Josh Hartnett, Bérénice Marlohe and John Malkovich, VALLEY OF THE GODS contrasts abundance and poverty through three separate storylines, featuring a middle-class writer (Hartnett), an eccentric trillionaire (Malkovich), and a struggling Navajo community. Post-divorce, copywriter John Ecas undertakes the biography of the richest man on earth, who is dead-set on mining sacred lands for uranium. When modern advance runs afoul of long-dormant guardians from ancient legend, even the most unimaginable wealth may soon meet its match. I am a big believer in viewers forming their own opinions on […]

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Shortfilm Review – WARRIORS (2016)

Warriors is an Argentinian short film that uses martial arts as the back drop of a deeper message. Directed by and co-starring Fabricio Martin, the story takes place in a private martial arts competition with our protagonist and another opponent. What seems to look like a martial arts drama goes into something more, with a message that resonates with anyone and not just martial artists. From what we are shown at the beginning, Pablo is an underground fighter that is participating in some illegal looking competition to pay for his grandmother’s house so she doesn’t get evicted. His coach, however, is in it for the money and wants Pablo to hide a knuckle duster in is left glove to finish the fight when the time is right. At the critical time when Pablo has his opponent pinned to deliver that punch, it switches to a more metaphysical fight. Pablo is […]