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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The Fantastic Fest 2022 Line Up Is Bananas!
It’s Fall, and to the team at GoSeeTalk, the end of September is truly the most wonderful time of the year. We’re heading to Austin, TX to our cinematic safe haven to cover the one-and-only Fantastic Fest. Celebrating its 17th year as the best damn fest there is, Fantastic Fest continues to showcase and unleash some of the mightiest, macabre and mind-bending genre films out there. And there’s no paucity of WTF during this precious little Fest that serves Texas-sized tricks and terror. So let’s get to the good stuff as the press blast touts the entire slate of delights and frights hitting screens (silver and digital) late September and…
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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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Music Review…’The Batman’ Is A Ballet of Brooding, Brains and Brawn
There’s a lot to love in the music of Michael Giacchino. He’s been to space, he’s been lost on an island, he’s been to the moon, far from home, he’s been up and inside out, and when it comes to modern composers, he’s the right one to let in if you want to get to the heart of the story. On that note, this film marks his fourth time collaborating with Matt Reeves, and what a team they have made over the years. The Batman finds him exploring new ground, well, for Reeves that is; Giacchino is all kinds of familiar with a superhero sound. But the world of dark…
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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,…
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G-S-T Review…’The Innocents’
In The Innocents, a group of children face something extraordinary about themselves. Something that in another film would be used for spectacle and wonder, and a more commercial agenda. In another film, those kids would be superheroes facing a vile monster threatening to exterminate us as a species. But The Innocents takes place in a Norwegian building complex that reeks of the mundane and limits associated with low-class families. The kids play in a sandy park that’s full of rust. Ida, a young girl, is sick of having to help her autistic sister Anna. Anna doesn’t speak. When Ida pinches her, she doesn’t cry for help. Ida simply watches as…
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Interview…Composer Dominic Lewis on the Multiple Soundscapes of ‘Bullet Train’
2022 has been a thrilling year for cinematic experiences, and one of the most exciting times we’ve had was with David Leitch’s Bullet Train. Federico and I were excited about it when we discussed our most anticipated films, but man did it deliver! Films these days tend to pander and not stray too far from sequel/prequel territory and it’s so good to get an original IP like this (and I bet the book is even better!). It’s just a fun time in the theater. What was thrilling enough to watch on screen only marginally outshines the auditory journey on this white-knuckle actioner starring Brad Pitt. Composer Dominic Lewis has a…
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G-S-T Review…’Bullet Train’
Going to the movies should give you all the feels you’re looking for. When seated in a darkened theater, it should be exciting, and a source of entertainment you can’t get anywhere else. These days, with new content at your fingertips any day of the week, a narrative really needs to move the mercury to grab your attention. Well, look no further than David Leitch’s Bullet Train. Adapted from the novel of the same name by Kōtarō Isaka tells a story of a group of assassins who find themselves on the titular locomotive. Little by little (and dead body after dead body) we find out the who, the why and the WTF. The movie, having heavy doses of action and hand-to-hand combat, is a surefire knockout, and the…
