Tag: 2021

[Fantasia 2021] Dreaming About “Strawberry Mansion” and those Fields too…

Strawberry Mansion is a unique film. As a viewer and analyst fascinated with how the mind makes sense of reality through dream, this movie tries to provide some food for thought.

Strawberry Mansion: A great sci-fi premise with trippy, arthouse execution | Ars TechnicaBy Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Writers/Directors Albert Birney and Kentucker Audley may well have been listening to The Beatles song, “Strawberry Fields Forever” when they came up with the story for Strawberry Mansion. There’s an 80s nostalgic quality in this film’s design. Part of it is because it was filmed that way, and the other with the set design. Another layer includes 50s style science fiction elements set against a 80s fantasy in a mostly character driven drama about what makes Arabella Isadora (Penny Fuller) tick.

She’s a widow, and all the dreams she’s catalogued are being audited. In the future, there’s technology which allows people to record their dreams. As for why anyone would want to, the reasons aren’t entirely clear. It’s definitely offered to those who want to look back at their lives. However, I don’t think she’s strapping the Doc Brown (Back to the Future) invention on just so she can collect all those subconscious thoughts. Neither has this film once said she’s using it herself to make sense of her past.

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[Fantasia 2021] Building a “Kratt” to Conquer Boredom

Kratt is one of those types of horror comedies that I can see underperforming because not everyone is familiar with Estonian folklore.

Kratt (2020) - IMDbFantasia Film Festival 2021
Screening Online until Aug 25, 2021
Tickets can be purchased here.

Kratt is one of those types of horror comedies that I can see underperforming because not everyone is familiar with Estonian folklore. Technically, there is no creature to fear. Instead, it’s what the kids fear as they spend a summer without technology, and at grandmother’s house! They can’t run away, but find friends to play with.

Writer/director Rasmus Merivoo crafted a wickedly funny fable which considers what tweens can do when left on their own. They’ll have to create their own entertainment and after making local friends, they find a spell book and make a golem. However, unlike the traditional Jewish servant of lore, who is inherently neutral, answering to their master’s commands, the Kratt will deviate when no further work is asked of it. It’ll turn on their master and kill. 

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[Fantasia 2021] The Sensory Experience that is Phil Tippett’s Mad God

This mystery nightmare tour found in Mad God focuses on the descent through Hell–the ruins of Earth presumedly–with a nameless figure in search of something.

Phil Tippett's 'Mad God' Finally Arrives | Animation World NetworkFantasia Film Festival 2021
Encore performance Aug 24th 9:00 AM (EST)
Tickets can be purchased here

At a cursory glance, Phil Tippett’s Mad God looks like a product spat out of many creative minds. There that genre fans can recognize from the movies he’s worked on, namely Dragonslayer. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and Robocop, but as for who produced this wild trip, the concept is 100% Phil.

The story came from a cumulation of experiences from this special effects maker’s life ever since he thought of it 30 years ago, and it took many more to realize. On this list includes the advice he was given from fellow filmmakers and also him reading a lot of Milton and Dante. The visuals are comparable to that of splicing all that’s creative from Tim Burton, Clive Barker, H.P. Lovecraft, Jan Švankmajer, Guillermo del Toro and Guy Maddin’s into a huge melting pot, and it works. This master of stop-motion animation crafted a movie that would’ve been shelved for good had it not been for his fans and colleagues who said, you gotta finish it.

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[Fantasia 2021] When All You Need is Love, Life and Goldfish

The tunes are catchy, and I’d buy the soundtrack to Love, Life and Goldfish.

Sukutte goran (2021) - IMDbFantasia Film Festival 2021
Spoiler Alert

Love, Life and Goldfish (すくってごらん) is one of those rare Japanese musicals where it’s tough not to smile at the end. The tunes are catchy, and I’d buy the soundtrack. I’ll have to watch it again when it hits other festivals (or arrives on home video) to affirm one minor detail which stuck out near the end—namely, was that fan featuring the shape of Jingoro the cat from Kimagure Orange Road (KOR)? 

Makoto Kashiba (Matsuya Onoe) used to work at a prestigious bank in Tokyo, but due to some weird mistake, he gets sent out to work at this firm’s operation in a small town. He can’t deal, much less cope. He had a bright future as an accountant … or not. It seems he was never pleased with his life even when he thought he was going places with his firm. I’m fairly sure he tried to speak his mind, and it was frowned upon, hence his transfer and personality change. 

One night while getting to know this new township, he meets Yoshino Ikoma (Kanako Momota). She runs an arcade of sorts. One game involves participants catching as many goldfish as possible in a set amount of time. Its significance is not just about the fact there’s plenty of fish in the sea but also, why should he catch one? In this film’s case, why fall in love with this particular girl? The answer is simple: he was smitten. She’s very much like Hikaru Hiyama.

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The Great Yōkai War: Guardians, Trailer and Closing out Fantasia 2021

Instead of seeing the previous hero all grown up and dealing with this new threat, we have a new boy wonder, Kei Watanabe (Kokoro Terada) in The Great Yokai War: Guardians.

The Great Yokai War GuardiansStylistically, The Great Yōkai War (妖怪大戦争) is a movie that only Takashi Miike can imagine. This filmmaker is better known for his ultra violent movies, but for this franchise, he switches gears for a 90s style family friendly product where the spiritual entities aren’t all that terrifying. They’re either muppets or Farscape races. I want to hug the cute ones. Well, mostly the girl who allies with Tadashi, the hero, and the hamster named Sunekosuri. The latter is a “pet” for part of the film. This lad gets tagged during a local festival to become the guardian and the rest of the story becomes something like 3×3 Eyes–but minus the Sanjiyan. 

The film is serviceable, and the franchise world is one I’d love to be taken a bit more seriously. Studio Ghibli‘s Pon Poko got the struggle right. The spectacular yokai parade was a feast for the senses.

Sixteen years later, we may finally have it. The Great Yōkai War: Guardians (妖怪大戦争 ガーディアンズ). Instead of seeing the previous hero all grown up and dealing with this new threat, we have a new boy wonder, Kei Watanabe (Kokoro Terada). He might be back, but he’ll be tough to recognize due to age. Kadokawa Pictures’ press release describes this film as an all new adventure. This time, the plot is about humanity vs nature. We can’t see the spirit world and they’ll have to protect us from a dire threat! 

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[Fantasia 2021] Hayop Ka! The Nimfa Dimaano Story

All Nimfa Dimaano (Angelica Panganiban) needs is love, but it’ll come at a price if the colourful, animated feature film Hayop Ka! Is any sign.

Hayop Ka! The Nimfa Dimaano Story PosterAvailable to Stream On Demand
Tickets can be purchased here

All Nimfa Dimaano (Angelica Panganiban) needs is love, but it’ll come at a price if the colourful, animated feature film Hayop Ka! is any sign. In English, this Filipino word means, “You Animal!” And it’s not meant to be kind. Here, this feline works as a salesperson and when she sells Iñigo Villanueva (Sam Milby), a wealthy entrepreneur, the wrong perfume. He tracks her down instead of going to the store and the problems that erupt between him, her boyfriend and her defines much of the tale.

Her beau, Roger (Robin Padilla) is jealous. He thinks she’s cheating on him and to make matters worse, he’s willing to go to extremes to win her back. We’re dealing with an anthropomorphic take on Fliipino culture and here, the main protagonist is flirting with two huge canines. Roger is of mongrel descent and Iñigo is a husky.

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