America has long been considered the land of opportunity. If you had a dream, and a desire to make it come true, anything was possible. From 1967 to 1993, Cannon Films produced a distinctive line of low- to medium-budget films. But, while trying to make their versions of polular films they admired (or envied), they wound up releasing films that were spectacularly awful. That just about sums up this history lesson about the long defunct company. But, for a time, and not lacking any ambition, they certainly made a run at rivaling (or outright copying) anything coming out of the major Hollywood studios. Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus – two strong,…

Of all the oddities found at Fantastic Fest, some titles seem tailor-made for the genre fans who flock to Austin every September. Now Wastelander Panda may come across like something between an Old Spice commercial and a love of anime, but, as ludicrous as it sounds, the story works. The plot – giant pandas making their way thorough an apocalyptic outback – is really kind of cool, and even more so if you just go with it. This 60 minute story is a fantasy piece that builds very well, and the episodic nature of the story keeps you wanting more. The future depicted in the savage world of the Wasteland universe…