For those of you needing a classically clever whodunnit to add to your cinematic plate this holiday session, look no further than Rian Johnson’s Glass Onion. The next installment in Benoit Blanc mystery series is whip smart, hilarious, exquisite and layered…you know, like an onion. Herein, Johnson and company outdo everything in their last detective yarn. Bigger stakes, bigger laughs, bigger onions – it’s an exceptional outing! Every element just sings, and again Rian enlists his cousin Nathan Johnson to write a fitting score to accompany the masterful story. While subsequent yarns in the series are meant to be stand-alone events, the further adventures of the Kentucky-fried character required Johnson…
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Interview…Fest Friends: Natalie Metzger, Joe Badon, Tiffany Kimmel, Dawn Luebbe and Margaret Miller
Fantastic Fest 2022 was one of the very best – it’s certainly tops in my book for all the years we’ve covered and attended. One take away that is more impactful and enduring than seeing some gonzo foreign film, sitting for a secret screening or getting in on the ground floor for the next big genre spectacle is the people. Whether it’s the fans, the festival staff (including those hard-working volunteers!) or the filmmakers, there is a certain kind of magical haze that only exists on the festival circuit. Moreover, I fondly (and sometimes fuzzily) recall the conversations, chance encounters and unexpected friendships that have emerged from being in the…
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Interview…Director Cyrus Neshvad on ‘The Red Suitcase’
Director Cyrus Neshvad’s The Red Suitcase is a heartbreaking story of a 16-year-old Iranian girl who is visibly terrified after picking up her red suitcase at the airport. She is seen to be lost in thought and taking her time to leave the departure lounge. What awaits her on the other side of the automatic doors is even more daunting than we thought. In the story, Neshvad uses the narrative as a metaphor for things the main character Ariane (stunningly played by Nawelle Ewad) faces culturally and personally; she does not accept how things are, the life her parents gave her, or the traditions that exist in her own country.…
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Interview…Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead Dig Deep into Sci-Fi with ‘Something In the Dirt’
Filmmaking dynamic duo, Justin Benson and Aaron Moorehead are scientific anomalies in cinema. Their stories are so uniquely their own and so much so, they find themselves at the forefront of the genre landscape. But they’re also at the forefront of their own cinematic lens. If infamous is when you’re more than famous, then “in cinema” means, they are actually IN the movies. Yet for all the intergalactic yarns that have endeared them to scores of festival crowds, they try to dive into people more than plots. And when they do, even something as seemingly simple as that becomes a huge hot pot of thought-provoking ideas and genres. Sci-fi, comedy,…
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Interview…Composer Theodore Shaprio on ‘The School for Good and Evil’, ‘The Pirates! Band of Misfits’ and Cracking Musical Puzzles
For more than two decades, Shapiro has been solving cinematic puzzles both light and dark. He scored some of Hollywood’s classic comedies—including Idiocracy, Old School, Tropic Thunder, and Dodgeball—with regular collaborators such as Paul Feig, Todd Phillips, and Jay Roach. He’s also cracked the code of political dramas (the Emmy-nominated Game Change, Trumbo), adventures both animated (Spies in Disguise), and unconventional (The Secret Life of Walter Mitty), as well as sexy, stylish mysteries (A Simple Favor). Shapiro is like a character actor, putting on different musical costumes and adopting accents to disappear into roles much like Jessica Chastain in The Eyes of Tammy Faye, which he scored with rays of…
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Interview…Composer John Debney on the Wicked and the Whimsical Worlds of ‘Hocus Pocus 2’ and ‘Luck’
One of our very favorite composers out there is John Debney. A great friend of the site, we’ve spoken to Mr. Debney over the years (including an awesome hour-long discussion about his unparalleled 40+ year career) and just love chatting about film, music and more. John has a true knack for scoring and because of his talents, time, and energy he has helped transform the soundscape of modern film music. Whether it’s a tent pole blockbuster or something more quaint and intimate, John digs deep, gives his all and the feature is so much better for his contributions. He’s also a chameleon; there isn’t one composer we can think of…
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[Fantastic Fest Interview]…Jason Eisener on ’Kids Vs. Aliens’
Jason Eisener’s passion for fun filmmaking oozes right through the screen. Fun, furious and fast-paced, KIDS VS. ALIENS is like a kids playset come to life. An inventive alien abduction flick that really commits to its concept with the right amount absurdly over-the-top elements. If you love Treevenge and Hobo With A Shotgun, this flick offers is a wild look into what makes Eisener’s mind tick is one of the best playing. You’re gonna want much more. Promise! Enjoy our fun chat with Jason about kids, aliens, toys and Rutger Hauer’s improv. If you weren’t at FF this year to enjoy all the pint-sized fun, worry not. It’s been picked…
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[Fantastic Fest Interview]…Carter Smith and Mark Patton on ’Swallowed’
Whether it’s at Fantastic Fest, or anywhere else, it’ll be hard to find a tighter or more claustrophobic narrative than Carter Smith’s Swallowed. With four key cast members thrown into a no-win scenario, it’s like a vice that tightens every second of this solid story. It gives me chills just thinking back on it. Of course it also doesn’t help (or maybe it does) that Smith shot this in 4:3 which only puts the characters that much closer to uncomfortable situations and Jena Malone‘s ferocity. That certainly amplifies the intensity and helplessness but man, oh, man it this a great ride. We sat with star/veteran horror icon Mark Patton and…
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[Fantastic Fest Interview]…Turmoil and Family Terror in ’Spoonful of Sugar’
One of the best and biggest surprises of the festival is Mercedes Bryce Morgan‘s acid-fueled stunner, Spoonful of Sugar. People like to say that a movie sticks with them after seeing it, but in this case we really and truly mean it. Unsettling, stunning and serious as cancer, Spoonful of Sugar makes you question family, friends, even horticulture in a film that shows that monsters exist everywhere…even within each of us. But it also asks an important question: do we nurture a monster in an attempt to manifest the life that we want? Answer that how you will, but in the meantime check out the film which, in a mark…
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Interview…Barry Burns on Mogwai, Signature Sounds, and Never Reading the Manuals
When it comes to one-of-a-kind sounds, look no further than the Scotland-based, post-rock band, Mogwai. They hit your ear drums with a one-two punch of style and experimentation, and always take you on a true musical journey. We first stumbled on them while I was visiting Japan in 2006. Maybe it was the reference to Gremlins that caught our eye, but once we heard “Auto Rock” we were hooked. Over the years, they have lent their skill and sonic textures to film, shows, documentaries and rocked out plenty of stadiums. In 2016 however, they really outdid themselves with the score to Kin by our friends Jonathan & Josh Baker. Not content…
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Interview…David Buckley on ‘The Sandman’ and ‘The Nice Guys’
Emmy nominated composer David Buckley is known for his versatility and prolific output. Having worked with some of the very best in the business, Buckley has been able to score a multitude of genres and projects including Universal’s Nobody starring Bob Odenkirk, Greenland starring Gerard Butler, Jason Bourne directed by Paul Greengrass and The Nice Guys for Shane Black and Joel Silver. Previous scores include the Joel Schumacher-directed thriller Blood Creek, Taylor Hackford’s action feature Parker and Rob Minkoff’s fantasy adventure The Forbidden Kingdom. For television, the hit Scott Free/CBS drama series The Good Wife and continues to score the spin-off, now in its sixth season, The Good Fight (for…
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Interview…Ultraboss on Strings, Shredding, Bach and Yacht Rock
For those of you on the hunt for new music and sounds you’ve likely never heard, Bandcamp has your fix. It’s an independent music platform that touts and supports thousands of artists from around the globe. My handle is RidgeRacer4, and over the years I’ve been introduced to hundreds of amazing sounds and albums. But the rabbit hole goes infinitely deeper. There’s literally a never-ending sound reservoir that keeps getting filled with more unique music each day. One artist we’ve really taken to is synth and six-string prodigy, Ultraboss. His real name is PJ d’Atri and PJ lives in Austria. Since I’ve been so drawn to the music on Bandcamp,…
