Tag: 2024

[Interview] David Elendune on Welcome To Croglin at the 2024 Victoria Fringe

Writer/director David Elendune is pretty much a regular on the Victoria theatre scene since 2009 and with this latest being his 8th, he’s more than a veteran of this world!

Outpost 31 - Welcomed to Croglin
For advance tickets, please visit Intrepid Theatre’s website.

Coming to the 2024 Victoria Fringe Theatre Festival is Outpost 31’s Welcome To Croglin. This play written and directed by David Elendune concerns a lone, unnamed, struggling artist (Jared Gowen) desperately needing to find his muse.

It appears as the ghost of Katharine Hepburn (Christina Patterson), and what she says is thus: “Some days I’m Katharine Hepburn. Some days I’m Kate. Some days I’m Katharine Hepburn pretending to be Kate. Some days I’m Kate pretending to be Katharine Hepburn. For do not be mistaken, ours is very much an egocentric profession—perfect for stupid people who like to pretend they are not stupid. But alas, never quite knowing whether they are actually any good, or just plain lucky.”

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When There’s Nothing Too New in Entertainment for Hungry Ghost Festival 2024, What Else Is There to Watch?

Although there was never a huge demand for entertainment to enjoy during Hungry Ghost Festival, perhaps that’s best since the time should be spent honouring those whose have passed on by visiting their grave and giving their spirit a chance to smile.

Hungry Ghost Festival in Hong Kong
Hungry Ghost Festival Starts on Aug 18 and runs until Sept 2, 2024

The Hungry Ghost Festival is looking worse for wear in recent years, because sometimes I just want to see new content over repeating what I’ve said in the past. While some new material exists, I don’t recommend one of them.

The documentary, Island of Hungry Ghosts, is depressing because it’s about one particular refugee camp built on Christmas Island. Rumours say that many Chinese spirits roam the land in search of a place called home in this very remote community. When they weren’t given last sites, this work is a moving piece to follow. I understand the symbology concerning the crab migration that also happens, but this work won’t be for everyone.

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After Fantasia 2024, Here’s Where Baby Assassins 3 Nice Days Will Play Next

Good news, John Wick fans! Baby Assassins 3 will be coming to North American theatres in September! It has just as equally stunning fist-to-fist action as the last film, and there’s gun play too!

Baby Assassins 3 Nice DaysOnce armed with a proper rewatch from first film to the third, I was ready to tackle the aptly named Baby Assassins 3 Nice Days, which made its debut at Fantasia Film Fest. Even after the latest, I had to revisit the prior films to remind myself about what made this slugfest fun. With this latest, the dynamic duo finally get to go on vacation!

This film written and directed by Yugo Sakamoto is an action packed doozy! I’m sure he drew upon some other classic anime girls with guns series when he first fashioned this concept. There’s Dirty Pair and Noir, but I swear, everytime I look at this live-action take, I’m constantly reminded of Laverne & Shirley! The comedy is familiar, even though the world these youths live in are very different.

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[Fantasia 2024] In Sunburnt Unicorn, What is Alls Well Doesn’t Bode Well for Those Scared of the Future

The big question some people may have is with where in the world does the adventure in Sunburnt Unicorn takes place. It can be the Osoyoos here in British Columbia, or somewhere in Arizona–or could it be further?

Sunburnt Unicorn Movie Poster
North American premiere at Fantasia Film Festival 2024

Spoiler Alert

Frankie’s got a horn in Sunburnt Unicorn, and he doesn’t know how to use it. That’s because it may well be a car part embedded on his forehead after an accident has stranded him and his dad in a desert. As. for whether the fever dream that comes from being in the dry world for too long is real or not, I’m enjoying the concept! Here, the fauna identifies him as a saviour. Amusingly enough, I can imagine voice actress Diana Kaarina actually wearing a facsimile during recording.

This boy has issues. He’s not thrilled with the fact he’s going to a new school. Based on what I got from the argument they had preceding the crash, this lad was voicing his dissatisfaction. And with both their eyes off the road, just what he’s dealing with is a rather surreal parable concerning why it’s best not to behave; each talking critter he meets represents an aspect of himself, and what he learns to change his and their attitude makes for an interesting film.

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[Fantasia 2024] When The Dead Thing Involves More Than Just A Fatal Attraction

Be careful in who you ghost here, in this indie horror movie simply known as The Dead Thing.

The Dead Thing Movie Poster
Played at Fantasia Film Festival 2024 July 26 & 28, 2024

Alex (Blu Hunt) is a young woman who “would do anything for love.” And when I get this song by Meatloaf stuck in my head, to see what she will and won’t do in The Dead Thing can become fatal. When the question of who Kyle (Ben Smith-Petersen) truly is arises and this woman is trying to break away from him, life will not be like Paradise by the Dashboard Light either.

Had Meat’s music been used, I’d say we got a film to remember. In its current form, the question of what kind of reality Alex is living in is raised. She’s too reliant on her smartphone. As for her obsession with finding this man, whom we learn is dead (by the end of the first act), that’s when the maudlin drama turns into a thriller.

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Taking A Quick Look at Fantasia’s Short Film Selection, 2024 Edition

What’s offered here is a brief taste of Fantasia’s Short Film programs. There’s 17 different collections that’s still continuing to play. They may well appear at your local film festival next!

Fantasia Film Festival 2024 - Fantasia's Short FilmAs Montreal’s most beloved genre film festival enters its last week of celebrating an eclectic range of genre cinema, Fantasia’s short film celebration will have me keeping an eye out on these up-and-coming talents! Although I didn’t view everything in this category, what I saw so far is a great way to see what may get dreamed up to become feature length works in the future!

These filmmakers have come up with some fairly cool concepts. The following reviews do not make up a top five list, but are a sampler of what is there. I’m thankful to those who provided me with a screener, and I wish them all the best.

The True Shape of a Daisy

George MacDonald‘s narrative, “The Day Boy and the Night Girl,” provides the foundation for the cinematic The True Shape of a Daisy, and I’m fairly sure no one has ever compiled this tale into a book. This short story is available online.

What’s presented is a faithful adaptation, where we meet a witch named Watho, who would shape Photogen and Nycteris’ environments. True to their namesakes, one would live in perpetual daylight and the other at night. They don’t get to meet until later, and in this anime, they don’t live in enormous rooms. Instead, they are from a world of contrasts. The girl is from a beautiful forest, and the boy lived most of his life in a dark dungeon.

As an anime by Naoki Arata, I hope what she produced is more than just a tease, but an examination of how opposites can get along.

True Shape of Daisy

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