Vancouver 2021: CRYPTOZOO Review
A young couple go for a walk in a forest, make love, and encounter a gigantic fence. On impulse they decide to climb over it, curious about what could be on the other side. Anyone who has seen a Jurassic...
Rabid NEON GENESIS EVANGELION Fans: Start Your Engines...
Last year, Scottish distributor Anime Limited announced that their next Ultimate Edition Blu-ray release would be for the classic anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion, to be released this year. The release of any of their Ultimate Editions is news in...
New York Asian 2021 Review: TIME Is On The Audience's Side
When Ricky Ko's Hong Kong comedy drama Time played at the International Film Festival Rotterdam earlier this year, it nearly won the audience prize. It's a testament to how easy the film is on the eyes, though its charms never...
Neuchâtel 2021 Review: TIDES (aka. THE COLONY)
This year the Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival had a treat for the locals programmed in at the end: the International première of Swiss film-maker Tim Fehlbaum's apocalyptic science fiction action drama Tides (soon to be released state-side as The...
Rotterdam 2021 June Part Review: POUPELLE OF CHIMNEY TOWN
Based on a children's book written by Japanese comedian Nishino Akihiro, Poupelle of Chimney Town is an anime film which premièred in Japan on Christmas of last year. That's a fortuitous time of the year to see it for sure,...
Review: MANDIBLES, Gigantic Fly, Absurd Misadventures
Written and directed by Quentin Dupieux, the film stars Gregoire Ludig, David Marsais, Adele Exarchopoulos, India Hair, Romeo Elvis, Coralie Russier, and Bruno Lochet.
The 20th Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival: Awards Time!
Last weekend saw the end of the 20th edition of the Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival, or NIFFF, and a great edition it was. COVID-restrictions were loosened a mere week before the start, allowing venues suddenly to be two-thirds filled....
Melbourne 2021: Engaging and Eclectic MIFF Lineup Revealed
The Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) returns for a very nice sixty-ninth time in selected cinemas and at home via a streaming pass system this year. It initially feels quite piecemeal, making your way through the guide to work out...
The 20th Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival: A Preview
This Friday sees the start of the 20th edition of the Neuchâtel international Fantastic Film Festival (NIFFF for short). Partly on-line and with Covid regulations in place, this year the festival still opts to get as theatrical as possible under...
Rotterdam 2021 June Part Review: THE DAY TODAY Fast-forwards To The Past
One of the world premières this year at the International Film Festival Rotterdam was Maxence Stamatiadis' The Day Today (original title Au Jour d'Aujourd'Hui), an intriguing little science fiction film which starts slow, but manages to elegantly get some points...
New Trailer For Mamoru Hosoda's BELLE
Eleven years ago, Japanese writer-director Mamoru Hosoda made what is in my opinion one of the best films of this century, animated or other: Summer Wars. In it, he showed, with flair, a fairly prophetic tale of the impact widespread...
Review: RIDERS OF JUSTICE, Mads Mikkelsen Leads the Charge
Mads Mikkelsen, Nikolaj Lie Kaas and Andrea Heick Gadeberg star in an action-comedy/drama from director Anders Thomas Jensen.
Imagine 2021 Review: ABSOLUTE DENIAL Casts Doubts
Last month's Imagine Film Festival Amsterdam was an on-line only event unfortunately, but that didn't stop the festival from scoring a true world première, and one with an animated film, no less. That film is Ryan Braund's feature debut Absolute...
Imagine 2021 Winners Awarded!
Of the film festivals in the Netherlands, there are four which I will regularly attend. Rotterdam has the International Film Festival, which is by far the largest. Camera Japan and BUTFF Breda are wonderful small fests, each with its own...
Rotterdam 2021 Review: MANDIBLES Is Dumb Fun With A Big Fly
Writer-director Quentin Dupieux cannot be charged with choosing middle-of-the-road subjects for his films. Ever since he made a serial killer thriller about a living car tire with homicidal psychic powers (Rubber, for those interested...), there has been no predicting what...
Now Streaming: AUDIO GUIDE, Free To Watch Until March 10th
Australian director Chris Elena's short Audio Guide may only be 14 minutes long, but rest assured it will stick with you for a lot longer than that. Its premise, as with many good things, is a simple one: a young...
Slamdance 2021 Trailer: CODE NAME: NAGASAKI
With a slew of fantastic short films, Norwegian writer-director Fredrik Hana has established his reputation as a filmmaker with a sharp eye for hauntingly beautiful visuals, anchored by dark, gripping narratives. Now he's back with his first feature-length documentary, Code...
Rotterdam 2021 Review: DEAD & BEAUTIFUL, Poor Little Rich Vampires
Dutch director David Verbeek is no stranger to the International Film Festival Rotterdam: his newest film Dead & Beautiful is his seventh feature to play there. For quite some years we've been hearing bits and pieces about "this vampire film"...
Rotterdam 2021 Review: THE CEMIL SHOW
People going mad. It's a good topic to cover as drama, and in film history we can see plenty of great examples of such stories, from Polanski's Repulsion to Todd Phillips' recent Joker. This year, the International Film Festival Rotterdam...
Rotterdam 2021 Review: RIDERS OF JUSTICE Provides All Sorts Of Therapy
Today saw the beginning of the 50th International Film Festival Rotterdam, and the title which started it a few hours ago was Riders of Justice, the new film by regular fest-guest Anders Thomas Jensen, starring Mads Mikkelsen. Out of necessity,...
