The following is a press release: September 24-October 1, 2009 www.fantasticfest.com Fantastic Fest is proud to announce the winning films from the 2009 festival. Taking top prize in the Next Wave competition is the darkly comedic drama from Britain, DOWN TERRACE. The audience award goes to A TOWN CALLED PANIC, the best horror film goes […]
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The timing is right. The entire world is struggling to find its way out of a recession. Middle America is pissed off and broke. U.S. unemployment is soaring and the economic meltdown continues. So along comes the provocateur filmmaker who has spent the last 20 years raging against the machine, and he’s aiming at a […]
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You can look at this list as a sequel of sorts to lists that J.D. and I wrote in 2006. The Top 10 Overlooked Movies lists were designed to give you something to rent that you may not have heard about or had the wrong idea about. Think of this as an updated version of that […]
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Day Three was a very good day for film at Fantastic Fest. It went from “Fish Story” to “Toy Story” to Takashi Miike’s “Yatterman” to the one-two horror/comedy punch of George Romero’s “Survival of the Dead” and D. Kerry Prior’s “The Revenant.” “Fish Story” – rock fist way up Considering Fantastic Fest usually leans towards […]
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With the exception of a few arthouse hits, the type of Japanese films that gain notoriety in America tend to lean towards the violent or random. Potentially a little bit “weird” for the art crowd, and a little too “art” for the weirdos, “Fish Story” (Fisshu sutôrî) is a breath of fresh air that deserves […]
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“Paranormal Activity” movie review Find out why Eric’s actual theater-going experience ruined the movie for him here. I try really hard to go into movies without prejudice. But with the advertising tactics being employed to push “Paranormal Activity,” I’ve found it very difficult to not be extremely skeptical. Take a look at the posters. They’re […]
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Fantastic Fest day 2 brought Lars Von Trier’s “Antichrist,” a Danish film called “Terribly Happy,” a Japanese comedy called “Robo Geisha,” the George Clooney-Ewan McGregor comedy “Men Who Stare at Goats,” and the British horror comedy “Doghouse.” Maybe it had something to do with the fact that it was the last movie I saw beforehand, […]
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Fame is fleeting and, by itself, unsatisfying. So what are we to conclude about a group of kids chasing a dream, not of being a great singer, dancer, or musician, but only trying to grab the spotlight for themselves? “Fame,” the remake of the 1980 film, gives us a variety of characters from the meek […]
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Our friend and sometimes co-host Ryan Magnuson has started a new original web series called “The Sports Buddaye” and although episode two was released last Friday, I just found out about it today. Oops. Here is episode two, which covers week one of the NFL and the continuing woes of Kansas City sports organizations. […]
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Will Ferrell may have made a career out of playing caricatured man-child characters who don’t want to grow up, but the kind of sweetly stunted misfits who live in the real world (where you have to pay rent, get a job, and grow old) don’t quite look like Ferrell. In the Humboldt Park area of […]
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Eric and guest co-host Ryan Magnuson (The Sports Buddaye) review Matt Damon in the new Steven Soderbergh movie “The Informant!” which is at least partially based on the true story of an agri-business VP who got into some pretty hot water in the early 1990s. Soderbergh plays the movie for laughs and Damon put on […]
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I often dread going to see romantic comedies such as “Love Happens.” 1,000 times burned, 1,001 times shy. Romcoms are usually known for only their lack of originality, convoluted nature, and eagerness to play on overused themes. As it happens, “Love Happens” isn’t a bad film. In fact its a fair bit better than I […]
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Here’s what I learned from Jennifer’s Body. 1) Academy Award nominated screenwriters are just as good at writing mediocre horror flicks as everyone else. 2) People should really stop giving Æon Flux director Karyn Kusama work. 3) Asked to do some real acting, and without Michael Bay’s lascivious ogling lens, Megan Fox (who isn’t allowed […]
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If you are one of those moviegoers who needs simple, clear-cut reasons for the motivations behind your main character, then Steven Soderbergh’s rollicking big business satire “The Informant!” is not for you. The director has handled this kind of corporate whistle-blowing story before in “Erin Brockovich,” but this movie is another beast completely. With a […]
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Warren J. Cantrell is back again. Our prolific contributor of verbose Top 10s has written so many lists for Scene-Stealers that he’s actually started his own site, 10rant.com. We’re glad to have him back with a fantastic list of the best boats in movie history. If you’ve got an idea for your own Top 10, […]
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