The animated series Scott Pilgrim Takes Off gets us back into the wonderful, wild and insanely colorful world of Bryan Lee O’Malley‘s original graphic novels. Our first entry point to this universe was Edgar Wright‘s 2010 film which lovingly adapted those works. It was awesome – filled to the brim with Wright’s style and charm, yet the great live-action film retained the 2D atmosphere of the books. Now fast-forward more than a decade later and Netflix dropped this incredibly reverent and all encompassing eight-part animated series. It cherry picks the best from O’Malley’s ideas and Wright’s film (including the voice cast who return and reprise their roles) to expand/explore the…
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G-S-T Review…’The Watchers’ Is A Tame Bump In the Night
From the novel by A. M. Shine (we aren’t even going to pretend we’ve read, or even heard about this before the film), this story blends a good amount of quasi mythological elements with horror tropes. It consistently builds in ways you don’t see coming. And twists? Yeah there are a few…so the source material certainly sounds ripe for Blinding Edge Pictures to do their thing. And off we go. Forget all you know, or think you know. Going into The Watchers, you might need to take a step back. Sure, this is a “Shyamalan” film, but Ishana’s, not M. Night. Strip away all pretense, and familial ties, and this…
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G-S-T Review…’Tonic’
In Derek Presley’s latest film, Tonic, we follow the ups and downs of a barfly jazz pianist. In this down home story – told over one exhaustive night – Sebastian Poe (played by Billy Blair) is a man out of options who constantly weighs his pressured offer to commit murder in exchange for his drug debt to a crooked cop. A no-win “what would you do?” scenario if ever there was one. But let’s clear some things right up front. There is no Liam Neeson, no flashy cuts and edits, or heroic music. In fact, there is no music at all (save for needle drops and source music which was done live) just the…
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[Fantastic Fest Review]…’The Visitor From the Future’
You can tell from the very first few seconds that The Visitor From the Future (Le visiteur du futur) is going to be different. And at Fantastic Fest, this is our kind of different. François Descraques brings his film to FF where it was met with applause, acclaim and plenty of split sides and ticked funny bones. In the story, young Alice protests against the construction of a nuclear plant created by her father and soon after a strange visitor takes them in 2555 – a future devastated by the explosion of the facility – in an attempt to convince him not to build it in the first place. It is…
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[Fantastic Fest Review]…’The Banshees of Inisherin’
For those needing a change of pace, and prefer something with subtlety and substance, The Banshees of Inisherin is your cup of tea. Tea? Feck tea! In Ireland, they drink something stronger. So serve up a pint and prepare to enjoy every last drop of this hoppy, foamy, and delicious slice of cinema from Martin McDonagh. Set just about 100 years ago, on a fictional island just off Ireland’s west coast, we jump to the end of two characters’ lives – who never really had much going on – when one decides that the banality of life is just not enough. As time is slipping away for all of us,…
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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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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…
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‘Toy Story’ in Concert with The Dallas Symphony Orchestra
In a symphony setting usually known to perform the works of Ravel, Stravinsky, and Bach, who would’ve thought seeing Toy Story in concert would be so enthralling? Well, film fans for one. But actually, what Randy Newman did for that very ambitious animated property (which Pixar debuted in 1995) has gone on to delight people all over the world. So, like the film itself, his music is a huge draw. People are likely more familiar with “You’ve Got a Friend In Me” and “I Will Go Sailing No More” than the score for the film, but through the Pixar in Concert series, symphony halls have been showcasing the tremendous effort…
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Podcast Review: Baz Luhrmann’s ‘Elvis’
Well now lawdy, lawdy, lawdy, Miss Clawdy! 2022 has been an such amazing year for film, and more importantly cinematic experiences…and we’re only at the halfway mark. We’ve seen the return of The Dark Knight, Top Gun and now The King of Rock ‘n’ Roll. It’s safe to say that going back to theaters is an event again (thank goodness!). Further, seeing Elvis on the big screen is one of the most exciting times you’ll have this year. It sure was for us. Baz Lurhamann‘s long-awaited biopic is headlined by Austin Butler who dons the titular icon’s shoes (and jumpsuit). He delivers the goods and then some! The King casts…
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G-S-T Review…’Jurassic World: Dominion’
It’s actually unfair of us to compare Jurassic World: Dominion (and the other parts of the dinosaur franchise revival) to what Steven Spielberg did back in 1993. It’s not that the director utilized a special effects frenzy to guarantee success. He actually made sure we believed dinosaurs were back. And then he terrified us when he made sure we believed they had been let loose. That’s a sense of wonder few films today have the ability to convey. Does that mean everything that would come after didn’t stand a chance? Up to a point, yes. He even experienced it himself with the The Lost World: Jurassic Park, but at least…
