Saturday, September 29, 2012

Fantastic Fest 2012: NEW KIDS NITRO- He Said/She Said



NEW KIDS NITRO
Directed by: Steffen Haars and Flip van der Kuil
Written by: Steffen Haars and Flip van der Kuil
Starring: Huub Smit, Tim Haars, Wesley van Gaalen, Steffen Haars, and Flip van der Kuil 
Synopsis: Our favorite five dutch friends are back for more drinking, crazy antics, and zombie fighting. 

Thursday, September 27, 2012

Fantastic Fest 2012 Review: SINISTER


Directed by: Scott Derrickson
Written by: C. Robert Cargill and Scott Derrickson
Starring: Ethan Hawke, Juliet Rylance, Clare Foley, Michael Hall D'Addario, James Ransone, and Vincent D'Onofrio
Synopsis: A man moves his family to a house where a murder took place in order to write his next best seller, but strange and eerie events begin once they move in. 

Fantastic Fest 2012 Review: ROOM 237- He Said/She Said

ROOM 237
Directed by: Rodney Ascher
Starring: Bill Blakemore, Geoffrey Cocks, and Juli Kearns
Synopsis: A documentary dealing with different interpretations and hidden facts about Stanley Kubrick's classic Stephen King adaptation, THE SHINING.


Fantastic Fest 2012 Review- DOOMSDAY BOOK


DOOMSDAY BOOK
Directed by: Kim Jee-Woon and Yim Pil-Sung.
Written by: Kim Jee-Woon and Yim Pil-Sun
Starring: Kim Kang-Woo, Kim Gyu-ri, Park Hae-il, Ryoo Seung-bum, Koh Joon-hee, Song Sae-byeok, Jin Ji-hee,  and Bae Doon-Da
Synopsis: Three looks at the way that the world will end. 

Fantastic Fest 2012 Review: MIAMI CONNECTION



MIAMI CONNECTION
Directed by: Richard Park and Y.K. Kim
Written by: Richard Diamand with story concept by Richard Park and Y.K. Kim
Starring: Y.K. Kim, Vincent Hirsh, Richard Diamand, Maurice Smith, Angelo Janotti, and Kathy Collier
Synopsis: A motorcycle ninja gang terrorizes Miami with their stupid cocaine, and it's up to synth rock band, Dragon Sound, to stop them with the power of friendship and tae-kwon-do.

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Fantastic Fest 2012 Review: LOOPER- He Said/She Said



LOOPER
Directed by: Rian Johnson
Written by: Rian Johnson
Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis, Emily Blunt, Paul Dano and Piper Perabo
Synopsis: A Looper, an assassin that murders people from the future for the mob, has to fight his future self while running from his employers. 

Fantastic Fest 2012 Review- AMERICAN MARY


AMERICAN MARY
Directed by:  Jen and Sylvia Soska
Written by: Jen and Sylvia Soaks
Starring: Katharine Isabelle, Julia Maxwell, and Paula Linberg
Synopsis: A medical student gets involved in the world of body modifications.

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Fantastic Fest 2012 annouces their Fantastic Fest Award winners


Even though I am insanely jealous of all our friends and colleagues that are still down in Austin for Fantastic Fest, I wanted to post about the award winners that were honored yesterday. I am very happy with a lot of the selections especially with the Audience Award Winner which is my favorite movie of the festival so far. Just as a heads-up, we will be having more reviews for the rest of the week and up to next week followed by a "best of" article from both Jonesy and I. For now, check out the award winners after the break.

Saturday, September 22, 2012

Fantastic Fest 2012 Review: DREDD 3D


DREDD 3D
Directed by: Peter Travis
Written by: Alex Garland
Starring: Karl Urban, Lena Heady, and Olivia Thirlby
Synopsis: Two Judges are trapped in a tower block and must fight through 200 floors of thugs to take down the head of a ruthless drug gang.

Fantastic Fest 2012 Review: FRANKENWEENIE


Directed by: Tim Burton
Written by: John August
Starring: Charlie Tahan, Winona Ryder, Catherine O'Hara, Martin Short, and Martin Landau
Synopsis: A young boy loses his dog, but with his aptitude for science, he is able to bring his dog back from the dead. 


Fantastic Fest 2012 Review - THE HISTORY OF FUTURE FOLK


THE HISTORY OF FUTURE FOLK
Directed by: John Mitchell and Jeremy Kipp Walker
Written by: John Mitchell
Starring: Nils D'Aulaire, Jay Klaitz and Julie Ann Emery
Synopsis: Aliens come to earth to save their own planet, form an acoustic guitar/banjo duo instead. 

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Fantastic Fest 2012 Review: TOWER BLOCK


TOWER BLOCK
Directed by: James Nunn, Ronnie Thompson
Written by: James Moran
Starring: Sheridan Smith, Jack O'Connell, Ralph Brown, and Russell Tovey 
Synopsis: After a young boy is beaten to death, the residents of a soon-to-be-demolished tower block are assaulted by an unknown sniper. 

Fantastic Fest 2012 Review: THE EXORCIST IN THE 21ST CENTURY

THE EXORCIST IN THE 21ST CENTURY
Directed by: Fredrik Horn Akselsen
Written by: Fredrik Horn Akselsen and Christian Falch 
Starring: Father Jose Antonio Fortea 
Synopsis: A documentary that follows a modern Vatican sanctioned exorcist and a woman that has been allegedly posesed by demons for 15 years. 

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Fantastic Fest Trailer Round-up: THE COLLECTION, MIAMI CONNECTION, SINISTER, WAKE IN FRIGHT


Javi here with the last bit of pre-Fantastic Fest coverage. Today we have a plethora of new trailers for you. All of these movies will be playing at the festival with subsequent releases in the near future. I've included a brief synopsis as well as the screening times at the festival for anyone that's going. I will say that these trailers all make me wish I could see all of the movies. I think I'll be moving things around to be able to make WAKE IN FRIGHT and MIAMI CONNECTION. Check out the trailers after the break.

A new trailer for THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY is here and it looks damn good.


There's a reason we haven't really said much about the whole "turning THE HOBBIT into 3 movies" fiasco that nerds were freaking out about. That's mostly becuase while I can seee how this is a total cash grab, I trust Peter Jackson's vision and if he needs to draw from the appendices, then so be it as long as the story is good for the three movies. That being said, I think that the new trailer for THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY looks to be a great preview of what we can expect from the first installment of the new trilogy. Thanks to Apple, you can check out the trailer after the break.

TV Review: DOCTOR WHO S7E3 "A Town called Mercy"


                                   



Before I begin, I have to say that "A Town called Mercy" is one of probably my favorite episode of the season. The episode breaks up expectations left and right and did not stop surprising me until the very end and it was one of the more seriously introspective episodes so far. As always, I will be spoiling everything up until this episode.

Check out the review after the break.

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Javi's Most Anticipated Fantastic Fest 2012 Films!



Finishing up the post by Jonesy, I'll be highlighting most of the most intriguing and anticipated Fantastic Fest films. I'm not sure about my short counterpart, but I am discounting movies that I will be able to see in the theaters within the next few months from this list. Even though I really want to see FRANKENWEENIE (shut up), LOOPER, and SINISTER, they will not be anywhere to be found on my list, which you should check out below:

Monday, September 17, 2012

Jonesy's Most Anticipated Fantastic Fest 2012 Films!


This was a really tough piece to put together. The line up for Fantastic Fest 2012 looks so awesome, it was difficult to narrow it down to just five films that I'm looking forward to. If I put everything that I'm excited about, then this might never end. And there are always films that I stumble into that completely floor me. Also, there are no shorts on this list, but you best bet I will be seeing at least one shorts program. 

Now onto my list!

Friday, September 14, 2012

TV Review: DOCTOR WHO S7E2 - Dinosaurs on a Spaceship



To first set-up the episode, we start with the Doctor being date-raped by an Egyptian queen Nefertiti after saving her. It seems that the Doctor has a weakness for feisty ladies since the queen refuses to leave him alone and comes in the TARDIS with him whenever he is called to Earth in the future. At this point in the future, we have a space defense system and they need the Doctor to investigate why that ship is headed towards Earth, and if it's hostile, the Doctor needs to stop it before they are forced to blow it up. After being tasked with this mission, the Doctor brings in a big game hunter Ridell, the Ponds (including Rory's dad, Mr. Weasley a.k.a. Bryan) with the Queen in tow to the TARDIS to help him with this newest adventure.

TV Review: DOCTOR WHO S7E1 - Asylum of the Daleks


As something new, I'll be starting to write more recaps and reviews of TV shows, specifically, DOCTOR WHO and whatever other shows I have time for. Before we get into yet another recap for some weeks old episodes, I kind of wanted to just a give a little bit of my history with DOCTOR WHO.

I had heard a tons of stuff about this "longest running sci-fi TV show" and honestly didn't know that much about it other than that. The rebooted series came on to Netflix which had four seasons....And then I kind of hated it. I was pretty confused as to what the hell Destro (9th Doctor Christopher Eccleston) was talking about all of the time, the graphics were a little goofy, and Rose Tyler's eyebrows just bugged me. So I dropped it for a few months. Then I came back to it, and I almost did not stop until Matt Smith started his run as the Doctor.

The show captivated me just like it has so many others. It's funny that this is probably one of the first times I've actually written or talked about the Doctor considering that, while I watching the David Tennant run, I was thinking of writing an awesome "Why Doctor Who reinforced my Atheism" post that never quite happened. I'm usually not one of those people that likes constant change and giddy optimism in my pop culture and because of this, it's actually a really strange show for me to like.

And to be perfectly honest, ever since 11th Doctor Matt Smith and current show runner Steven Moffat came into the picture, I've had a hard time adjusting to the show, but eventually came to embrace the different style of writing. One thing I still have not come around to is the Internet's love of Amy Pond and Rory Williams. I've always found them grating in their own way, and they are my least favorite modern era companions. But that is another piece for another time. Since life got in the way, I'll be doing a review of the two episodes of the season so far starting with the opener, ASYLUM OF THE DALEKS, and then DINOSAURS ON A SPACESHIP.

Netflix Instant: TV & Movie Picks - Past Fantastic Fest Edition!

Since Jonesy and I will be doing Fantastic Fest, THE most fun movie festival around, I decided to highlight a few of the past Fantastic Fest titles that are on Netflix Instant. I will admit I cheated a little this week in picking my movies. My good friend, Carolee, one of the directors of the upcoming VHS culture doc, REWIND THIS! put together a list of all of the movie that have ever played at Fantastic Fest and even added which ones are on Netflix! I picked three that I want to watch at some point after I come back from the trip. In addition, look for coverage beginning on Thursday, September 20th. Remember to follow @WDYMS, @JaviFuentes and @angjonesy for any non-review updates and shenanigans while we're down in Austin. Now, go check out these movies after the break.

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Stream the Jonny Greenwood score for THE MASTER now!




Javi here. If you're at all into movies, you've been anticipating the release of the next Paul Thomas anderson movie, THE MASTER, his first movie since 2007's THERE WILL BE BLOOD. The movie deals with a not-Scientology-like of cult surrouding a not-L. Ron Hubbard-like character in a suspiciously similar time frame. As much as I want to see the movie, I am also interested a lot in the soundtrack. The director is working once again with Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood and I am happy to say that thanks to Paste Magazine, we have word that the album is now streaming ahead of its actual release. go listen to the soundtrack here on Spotify!

I particularly like Greenwood's scores becuase he is someone that has always grown and gotten more profificent in compositions and layers within Radiohead. It's interesting that someone that can fill stadiums has been quoted to say that he gets a bigger thrill from composing and directing an orchestra than playing art-rock. Look for a full review of the soundtrack from me before Fantastic Fest.

THE MASTER comes out on September 21st. It is directed by Paul Thomas Anderson and stars Philip Seymour, Joaquin Phoenix, and Amy Adams.

Monday, September 10, 2012

Fantastic Fest Shorts for 2012!


There are always hidden gems at festivals, and sometimes the best parts of programming comes in the form of the shorts. Every time I go to a festival, I try my hardest to take in as many short films as possible because most of the time, they end up being the highlights for me. No doubt I will make sure I attend at least one of the sets this year.

Check the list after the jump.


Fantastic Fest 2012 Announces Signature Events!




It's about that time again! It's our favorite time of the year. Time to travel to Austin to go to our favorite genre festival, Fantastic Fest. It's the best time of the year filled with movies, beer, and friends. We will be bringing you updates on as many events and movie reviews as physically possible starting with Fantastic Fest's release of their signature event series. Not only is the festival jam packed with movies, but it also plans exciting events every night of the week including themed parties and boxing matches!

Check out the list below!

Sunday, September 9, 2012

Netflix Instant: TV and Movie Picks



Happy Sunday! Please forgive my late Netflix column, but the movies I picked this week carry one of my favorite themes...complete randomness! Enjoy.


I didn't become a sushi fan until a few years ago, and even with that I enjoy more of the rolls rather than the actual raw fish type of sushi. JIRO follows the sushi master, Jiro, as he runs his 10 seat restaurant in which a plate of sushi is $300. His restaurant is housed in a subway station but is legendary in Japan. Fair warning, there are tons of delicious food porn shots that will make you run out and get yourself some sashimi. 


Even with the weird voice immodulation of Gina Carano, HAYWIRE ended up being an entertaining film. It's not the caliber of the BOURNE films, it's a fun revenge movie with great action scenes. 


I was sad to miss this one last year at The Asian Film Festival of Dallas because I heard nothing but praise from everyone who saw it. The story sounded fascinating about a cabbie hired to be a hit man and getting in deeper than expected, and I'm excited it's finally on Instant.


Friday, September 7, 2012

PARANORMAN Review - He Said


PARANORMAN
Directed by: Chris Butler, Sam Fell
Written by: Chris Butler
Starring: Kodi Smit-McPhee, Casey Affleck, Leslie Mann, Anna Kendrick and Christopher Mintz-Plasse
Synopsis: Young boy that just happens to be able to see ghosts is tasked with lifting a 300-year old curse.

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Netflix Instant: TV & Movie Picks- En Español!


Javi here with a terribly delayed Netflix column. Let's blame the long weekend or something. But, this week I wanted to highlight some great Spanish titles that are on Netflix! All come very highly recommended and are not for the "I don't want to read my movies" types.