I don’t think I would actually want to live in Japan, if only because it seems to be a rather more overtly misogynistic society than the relatively respectful Canada I know and love (emphasis on word overt), plus you know, the whole I don’t speak Japanese thing, but damn it sure would be a cool place to visit. I say this based on all the awesome movies that come out of that country. No where else on Earth seems so wildly bizarre, and so unselfconscious, unpretentious and unapologetic about it. Weird shit going down in Japanese movies is always played as being totally standard and they get away with a level of randomness no other country can match. Could a North American superhero flic suddenly pan to a dinosaur stomping on a bridge without it seeming like it was trying too hard?

Yatterman is an adaptation of a 70s TV anime but I’ve never seen the original so I can’t say how it compares, though I’ll assume its spot on because this film is entirely a live-action cartoon. It employs cartoon logic, pacing and ridiculous over the topness with the help of CGI robots and skull shaped explosions, as well as a generous portion of WHAT THE FRICKETY FRAKK?!

I don’t know if I can recommend Yatterman because just as sushi is an acquired taste, so is crazy. Imagine the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and amp up the WTF factor by about a gazillion percent. Also amp up the innuendo and deliberate humour. I laughed my ass off and literally, audibly said “what?!” so many times during this showing that I lost track of all the randomness. I’m not even going to bother outlining the plot because it really doesn’t matter. If you enjoy laughing both with and at weird ass shit, then this is the movie for you, but I suspect it wouldn’t have been quite as amusing without the Fantasia crowd clapping along with the song and dance numbers.

3 niqueheads [rating:30]

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Fantasia begins this Thursday so you’d think I’d take a break from movies beforehand but nope, I went to see Moon today in a proper theatre and it was time well spent.

Sam Rockwell is on a station on the moon and… stuff happens.  To say anything else would be giving it away but I will say that he is pretty much the only character in this film and it works.  I went in knowing very little about this film and I recommend you do the same.  Don’t read anything about it, don’t watch a trailer.  Just go.  You don’t need to see it in a theatre, I think DVD or download would be adequate but I enjoyed seeing it on the big screen. 

Even though it’s set in the future there’s almost a retro feel to this film, because while it isn’t slow it is calm and steady, kinda like Silent Running except, you know, good.  Well done to Sam Rockwell for totally selling it.  I had a few nitpicks but they mostly relate to the core concept so if you just take the plot on its own terms and suspend your disbelief then it works.  There are some fun sci-fi scenes and plot points but it’s mostly a cabin fever type deal, which is engrossing.  I wasn’t 100% engaged, my mind did wander a couple times but it only wandered to the point where I questioned what I would do in a similar situation.  It’s not like I was writing a grocery list or anything, so no, I wasn’t ever bored or disinterested. 

I feel like I’ve already said too much so I’ll shut up now.

4 1/2 niqueheads  [rating:45]

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KC has requested that I recommend a few choices for this year’s Fantasia.  There are some movies that look good but don’t fit into my schedule so we will be trying to download what we can’t see.  But here are the movies I am planning on viewing: 

Yatterman: Kitchy Japanese superhero romp.  A live action version of an anime from the ’70s.  Even the Japanese do remakes apparently.

Infestation:  American, giant bugs attack.  Looks hilarious, very tongue-in-cheek.

Love Exposure: 4 hour Japanese opus about sin, religion, love and whatnot.  This one has won several awards so I’ll go ahead and recommend it.

Instant Swamp: Typical Japanese kookiness.

Mutants: France’s take on zombies.

Yesterday: Canadian zombies.  Low budget, but the trailer sold it.

Tokyo OnlyPic 2008: Japanese satire of the Olympics… or something.  Looks very weird in a way only the Japanese can get away with.

My Dear Enemy: South Korean romantic comedy.  I’ve seen a few South Korean flics of this type before and they are always a bit weird and subversive, not your American style romcom.  (They inevitably get remade by American studios but I’ve never bothered to watch the remakes so I don’t know how faithful they are.)

Canary: This is the one I’m anticipating the most because it had THE best trailer I have EVER seen.  Utterly amazing.  I desperately hope the movie will be as good.  I don’t want to give too much away but it’s American and about organ donation.  Perhaps what the Island should have been, or so I hope.

Edison & Leo: Canadian stop-motion.

Cryptic: American science-fiction.  Time travel thriller.

Cyborg She: Japanese boy falls in love with android girl.  As one does.

Fine, Totally Fine:  More Japanese quirkiness.

Children: UK horror about killer kids.

Sans Desseins: Quebecois dude gets help with his love life from a ghost haunting his apartment.  Looks pretty funny.

Best Worst Movie: American documentary about the worst movie ever made, Troll 2.

Antique: Gay Japanese men run a pastry shop.  Obviously based on a manga.

Genius Party Beyond:  Japanese animated shorts.  If you see nothing else this year, see this.  Last year’s Genius Party was outstanding.  The genius in the title refers to the brilliance of the directors.

I always recommend the Japanese films.  I’m a sucker for their patented brand of zaniness, full of colour and life and hilarious mind-fucks.

The American documentaries also tend to be good.  It doesn’t fit into our schedule but there is also
The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia that looks good.

Also not fitting into our schedule but one we plan to find some other way is Most Love Death.  A German satire of American life, which is a mix of romantic comedy and torture porn brand of horror.

I will review the movies as I see them.

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Oh, it’s the same every year. I always swear I’ll cut down on movies, remembering how many of them sucked last year, remembering the pain of waiting for the pitiful organizers to get their shit together, remembering the discomfort of those broken down seats in that half-assed theatre that is really just an outdated auditorium. Hell, I’m too old for this shit! I can’t go through it again!

But then I see the schedule. I watch the trailers. I make my choices. How can I not see all these awesome Japanese flics? A four hour opus? Sign me up!  No, it’s not better to download these flics in the privacy of my own home.  Of course it’s more fun to watch them with fellow genre cinema enthuthiasts! That’s part of the experience!  Of course I’ll be drowning myself in movies again this year. Of course I will give up July for this torture. Of course I will. Of course, of course, of course.

And yet I haven’t even seen the full schedule and already this amateur hour shitfest is pissing me off. The festival begins in less than a week and they still don’t have the program on their website! The dvd and program comes out today so obviously the selections have been made, why not update the fucking site?  Ugh!  I know part of the charm of the festival is that it is run by lovers of cinema and not corporate moguls or something but the amateurishness really does wear thin after a while.

My god, I am such a cranky pants.  But life really does change when you hit 30.  Those moments just keep hitting me; moments where I realize I’m old.  I see boys with their pants riding halfway down their asses and I sigh disapprovingly, but that’s not a new style!  It didn’t use to bother me!  Why do I find it so ridiculous now?  Damn those kids and their rock n’ roll music.  Oh well, at least I’m still embracing new technologies.  I recently got an ebook.  The Sony reader.  It’s awesomesauce.  You’re jealous.

 

Stay tuned for Fantasia reviews to learn what you should see and what you should skip and why you should always spare your ass the discomfort of a poorly cushioned seat.

3 comments