Tag: Fantasy

GKIDS End of Summer & September Lineup!

GKIDS Company LogoComing to Select Theaters
Please check website for showtimes near you.

Anyone who missed catching the CGI animated spectacular-spectacular, Lupin III: The First or Promare on the big screen will be excited to learn they’re back! There’s no holding a thief down, and the the latter, neither can mutants be restrained! In what’ll be different this time around is a 4DX experience! That is, viewers can get the feel of what it’s like riding in Lupin’s Fiat 500, and the latter … it’ll be explosions and other ground-shaking fun.

Plus, Studio Ghibli 2021 Returns! There’s no denying most of this studio’s works look better on the big screen, and the films that’s being presented and are celebrating an anniversary include: 

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From Fantasia 2021 to Shudder, Spine of Night is More Than Chilly!

The Spine of Night bestows untold power and protection. Not everyone can lay claim to it, and nor can just anyone wear it as a badge of honour than emblem of power.

The Spine of Night - Rotten TomatoesFantasia Film Festival 
RJLE Films

Usually wearing a twig or a leaf is not enough to protect a person from harm in this fantasy movie, Spine of Night. But when you’re Tzod (Lucy Lawless, Xena: Warrior Princess), and you know this plant has mystical properties, I suppose it’s okay to wander the world mostly naked. Thankfully this animated movie inspired by Frank Frazetta and Ralph Bakshi takes its cues elsewhere as it’s very ambitious in its scope, and is not scared of getting bloody that’d make Conan the Barbarian mutter, “Crom,” as wannabe kings and corrupt soldiers of fortune seek out The Bloom. With this plant, they can rule the world.

The Spine of Night bestows untold power and protection. Not everyone can lay claim to it, and nor can just anyone wear it as a badge of honour than emblem of power. Tzod is trying to protect it, and is laying as low so nobody can track her. Perhaps that’s why we see her in some strange outback, climbing up hills and poking her head in places faraway from humanity until she can find shelter. However, there’s another resident in the cave she found. The Guardian (Richard E. Grant, Withnail & I), is inquisitive, and asks why she’s here. Tzod explains, and that’s where the real stories unfold.

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Closing out Fantasia 2021 with the Shorts Program

Fantasia 2021 - Death and the Winemaker No Fantasia Festival is ever considered complete without looking at the short films offered. When I can’t be in Montreal for the closing film, The Great Yokai War: Guardians, checking out these shorts collections is the next best thing! That way, I can see who are the up-and-coming talents and perhaps get a sense of what may get turned into feature length works. There was a lot I could have looked at, but decided to settle on two programming blocks. 

I looked at the Circo Animato 2021 and Things That Go Bump in the East selections. These had the overlap of pieces I was curious about, and the pieces that stood out for me are:

Death and the Winemaker
By Victor Jaquier

If Ingmar Bergman was alive, I’m sure he’d have praised this short. Not only does the titular character have to face Death, but also he’ll have to keep this figure happy! The artistic design behind this haunting animation is simply gorgeous and I’m sure there’s a bit of a The Legend of Sleepy Hollow vibe intentionally put into the direction. There’s no relation to this Disney work, but the ambience just felt familiar.

According to IMDB, this filmmaker hasn’t made a lot of works. I’m certainly wanting to track these other shorts down and hope they’re somewhere in the Internet.

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[Fantasia 2021] Cryptozoo Deconstructed in this Movie Review & Analysis

Cryptozoo Movie PosterFantasia Film Festival 2021
Available to view on demand Aug 21 9PM and Aug 23 9AM (EST)

Magnolia Pictures
August 20, 2021 (USA)
Please check local listings

Dash Shaw‘s Cryptozoo is a kind of animation that fans of this genre would expect to be released by The National Film Board of Canada rather than Adult Swim. The art style used in this film is something I’d expect from this digital media producer who encourages independent arts. I can see this creator further his trade with more shorts and daring narratives.

Lauren Gray (Lake Bell) is trying to save Baku, an eater of dreams, from the black market. It looks like a tapir from afar, but there’s more to this animal’s snout should it meet a sleeping human. This creature is lurking somewhere in the veil between worlds, and she can’t help this cryptid because it’s unwilling to be caught. Some people fear it and others will embrace it. This creature sucks nightmares (fears) away.

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Victoria, BC’s Fringe Festival is Back! Journey with Alice as …

Anyone who knows that movie will realize that Alice is struggling in this Fringe Festival performance, but eventually she perseveres.

Victoria FringeAug 13 to Sept 24 — INTREPID THEATREAug 13th to 18th
Tickets can be purchased in advance here.

The Victoria Fringe Theatre Festival is back, and it’s adapted to allow enthusiasts of the dramatic arts to attend shows in person and online. That is, for the live stage shows, instead of rows of seats, we have tables. This change makes sense as we are still in a pandemic, and it allows for some distancing between social bubbles so that small groups of friends can stick together when going to a performance.

Kicking off the 2021 edition, the shows are spread throughout four weeks at The Metro theatre venue. All the in-person events will take place here, and for once, we’re not running around town to get to another show. One year, the Fringe will return to that format, but until the health officers say we’re past the health scare, I believe Intrepid Theatre will stick to this new format.

To read a list of my picks of the Fringe, I’ve published a guide on my food & theatre site, Twohungryblokes.com

In the show to kick off the Fringe, Alice explores Wonderland, not in the Lewis Carrol sense but ala Carl Jung. This young girl is losing her mom. In the opening act, she’s asked to see the doctor. Afraid, instead of wanting to face the inevitable, she steps into a void and hits a barrier. 

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[Fantasia 2021] I Want to Break Free! Prisoners of Ghostland

Instead of storming the fort, this champion better live up to the label of “Hero” in Prisoners of the Ghostland.

Prisoners of the Ghostland (2021)Playing Aug 20, 9:45 PM
Cinéma Impérial
Montreal, Quebec
Tickets available to purchase online here.

Online Screening on 
Aug 23, 2021, 7:00 PM
Geolocked to Canada
Tickets can be bought here.

Also coming to theatres and VOD Sept 17, 2021

Nick Cage will always be Nick Cage. He’s quite the “national treasure” in that regard. He’s a very versatile actor and I really have to wonder if he’s ever declined a role. These days, we’ve seen him as a butcher, baker, and candlestick mak—ok, perhaps not. The films of 2021 have made him a chef–and he’s an onary one in Pig–and Willy’s Wonderland. It’s amazing in how he carries this film without really speaking a lot. In his latest, Prisoners of Ghostland, he’s a bank robber turned soft.

He gets caught, and Cage’s character is given a chance at freedom if he can locate Bernice (>Sofia Boutella). She ran away from her tormentor, The Governor (>Bill Moseley) who rules Samurai Town. She went into hiding the neighbouring territory, Ghostland. This wasteland is where many refugees like to hide.

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