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Film Review: THE STRANGERS: PREY AT NIGHT (USA 2018)

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The Strangers: Prey at Night Poster
Trailer

A family staying in a secluded mobile home park for the night are visited by three masked psychopaths, to test their every limit.

Director:

Johannes Roberts

Writers:

Bryan Bertino (original screenplay), Ben Ketai (screenplay) | 1 more credit »

Stars:

Christina Hendricks, Bailee Madison, Martin Henderson

 

THE STRANGERS: PREY AT NIGHT serves as a loose sequel to the 2008 horror schlock THE STRANGERS that was written by Bryan Bertie who also co-wrote this sequel with Ben Ketai.

A family – mother, father, estranged daughter and her brother spend a night at a mobile campground owned by their uncle only to find him murdered and cut up.  ‘The strangers’ make the family their next target who hold up in one cabin.  The strangers wear various masks and dispatch their victims with weapons like knives and axes.  The killers are Dollface (Emma Bellomy), Pin-Up Girl (Lea Enslin) and the man in the mask (Damian Maffei).

It takes 30 minutes before the first victim is discovered, in this case, the uncle.  (Alfred Hitchcock took a full hour to reveal the first victim in THE BIRDS).  Director Roberts spends the time investing in the family issues.  Parents Cindy (Christina Hendricks) and Mike (Martin Henderson) love each other, but have problems with the youngest daughter, Kinsey (Bailee Madison) who they are sending to boarding school.  The son, Luke (Lewis Pullman) is the model child, playing baseball while obeying what mummy and daddy ask.  When daughter storms out at one point, brother is sent after her to calm her down.  They discover the body while the parents go in search for them after a weird visitor asking for Tamara show up twice.

At this point, horror fans will likely ask themselves that with this super slim storyline, what tactics will be used to pass the time.  The answer is a variety of them like: the family playing silly games; false alarms like a dog that appears out of nowhere and scare them and never show up again in the campground or in any part of the movie; useless dialogue and lots of walking around.  (The family spends a lot of time running from the predators.)

The next question horror fans will ask is which of the 4 of the family will be dispatched first or is the script going to keep them alive.  The answer comes right after the 30 minute mark when poor mother gets a knife right in the back.  At least this solves the enmity between mother and daughter that was pre-eminent during the first 30 minutes.  Father gets it next, pretty badly while in the car leaving the younger siblings to care for themselves.  “Leave us alone.”  is the line that is screamed out to the strangers and repeated a number of times in the film.

Several obvious question come up – the most important of which is the reason the strangers are on a killing spree.  Daughter gets to spring this magic question to one of her stalkers right before dispatching off with her.  And her answer: “Why not?”

Same reason millions of moviegoers are paying good bucks to see low-budget slasher flicks like this one: Why not?

Roberts is a British director specializing in cheap horror flicks, his first being SANITARIUM, a 5000 quid production released around the world.  THE STRANGERS shows a little promise but nothing really something to scream about.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdPz3NKf9fg

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Film Review: NELLY ET SIMON: MISSION YETI (Canada 2017)

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Mission Kathmandu: The Adventures of Nelly & Simon Poster
Quebec City, 1955. Nelly Maloye, an ebullient novice detective, accidentally crosses paths with Simon Picard, an ambitious research assistant in anthropology at the local university. Backed…See full summary »

Directors:

Pierre Greco (co-director), Nancy Florence Savard (co-director)

Writers:

Pierre Greco (co-writer), André Morency (co-writer)

Stars:

Sylvie Moreau, Guillaume Lemay-Thivierge, Rachid Badouri

 

A Quebecois animated feature, it would be assumed that English Canada would get the English version.  The film opens after premiering at TIFF kids 2018.

The film is set in Quebec 1956.  The Nelly and Simon of the title are two friends that embark on an expedition in the Himalayas in search of the Yeti, a sort of missing link.

Nelly Maloye is a very amateur private eye who stumbles into the research lab of Simon Picard.  Picard is a young anthropologist.  Frustrated and nearing the end of his research grant, Simon has yet to find evidence of the existence of the elusive Yeti and prove his hypothesis that the Yeti is the missing link in human evolution.  Given a three-month reprieve by his wealthy yet suspicious investor, Simon reluctantly accepts Nelly’s help as they set out on a mission through the Himalayas in search of the Yeti.  Using an explorer’s journal that supposedly contains the location of the mythical creature’s den, the two must learn to combine their methodological and improvisational approaches if they are going to be able to navigate the challenging terrain. 

Nelly and Simon caters mainly for younger kids, judging from the humour.  The animated humour contains lots of slapstick (Simon, the sherpa all falling down in the underground cave and swept away in the underground stream; the dancing and laughing Yeti tribe).  The characters frequently gesture with frantic movements and there are kid anecdotes like good luck or bad luck story told to the sherpa.  The animation looks great, though not concentrating on detail – similar to a cross between the look of the INSPECTOR GADGET cartoons on TV and the look of the Belgium comic book “The Adventures of Tin Tin”.  The use of shadows enhance the atmosphere of the private investigator’s world.

The film aims at a message (though too obvious) for the younger folk too, that all species (like the Yeti) need to be respected and not turned into a circus.  The bad guys are once again the establishment like Simon’s boss and Simon’s financier, Edward who wants to make money from the discovery of the Yeti.  Edward is clearly the villain of the piece, and he gets what is coming to him (in slapstick terms) at the end.

One wishes that for this grand adventures set in the mountains and with the discovery of a tribe of (Shrek-looking ) Yeti’s, the film could have been funnier.  Perhaps the Quebecois jokes did not translate well into the English version.

For adults, the film can be a bit childish, especially with the introduction of a rather unfunny chatty myna bird named Jasmin.  The film also lags in the middle.  Still there is no excuse for an animated feature not to cater to both adults and kids, films like SHREK and even the fairytale BEAUTY AND THE BEAST serving as examples.

SIMON ET NELLY is an ok family animated feature but one wishes it could have been catered more to the adults.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvukQXpI3Ws

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Film Review: THOROUGHBREDS (USA 2018) ****

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Thoroughbreds Poster
Trailer

Two upper-class teenage girls in suburban Connecticut rekindle their unlikely friendship after years of growing apart. Together, they hatch a plan to solve both of their problems-no matter what the cost.

Director:

Cory Finley

Writer:

Cory Finley

Stars:

Kaili Vernoff, Paul Sparks, Svetlana Orlova

 

THOROUGHBREDS is about two upper-class teenage girls in suburban Connecticut rekindling their unlikely friendship after years of growing apart.  Before one can dismiss this as a boring teen chick flick (though it is a bit of a teen chick flick), THOROUGHBREDS is a deliciously black comedy that won the Best Film Award at the Denver International Film Festival and nominated for Best Film at the London Film Festival.  And it is a very good film!

When the film opens, Lily (Anya Taylor-Joy) is tutoring Amanda (Olivia Cooke).  These two have been friends before but have not seen each other for a while.  Apparently, Amanda’s mother has hired her, besides the tutoring, so that the isolated Amanda can have a friend.  Amanda is a person who feels nothing, though she has learnt to fake feelings that include crying on cue.  Lily on the other hand, feels everything.

As the plot thickens, they decide to do away i.e. kill, Mark (Paul Sparks), Lily’s stepfather as he is a complete dick and besides doing her and her mother no good, does no good for anyone else in the world.  They blackmail the local drug dealer, Tim (Anton Yelchin in his last role) to do the killing while they stay away as an alibi.  However, when Tim chickens out and never shows up, the story gets nastier.

THOROUGHBREDS demonstrates the worse in men, without any sexual allegations (as going on in today’s current events) involved.  This is personified in Lily’s stepfather, Mark.  Mark is self-centred, obnoxious, rude and plainly a bad human being.  Finley’s script is clever enough to reveal this side of the male character.

Another brilliant touch is the character development undergone by both Lily and Amanda.  It is not really character development but character change.  As the story progresses, Amanda’s character flows into Lily’s and vice versa.  By the end of the film, it is difficult to distinguish the two, as the two start to work together.

The film also brilliantly contains one line that poses a very important question to everyone: “Do you think your life is worth living?”  This line also explains Amanda’s reason for going through her final deed in the story.

The soundtrack is varied.  The suspenseful moments are accompanied by a tribal soundtrack complete with the sound of bongo drum beats and screeching while other moments by classical songs like “Ava Maria”.

Finley’s music is divided into untitled chapters, each one radically different from the previous.

One might complain that the film’s pace is a bit slow, but the film is nevertheless compelling.  One might also complain that the characters are distant and one cannot feel close to the characters.  This might be true but one should not feel close to characters on a black comedy.  The film also contains some Hitchcockian moments that would do the Master of Suspense proud.  Warning: spoiler alert (skip the bold italics but I wish to make the point.)   The actual killing of the stepfather is not shown on screen, but the segment showing the blood on the gloves and apron of the murderer is more effective.

The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 21, 2017 under the title THOROUGHBRED.  Indie news accurately describes the film as HEATHERS meets AMERICAN PSYCHO.  If you like your entertainment twisted, you are in for quite the ride!  
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qylb0dvPOf8

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TIFF Cinematheque Presents – Filmmaker in 5: Sidney Lumet

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TIFF Cinematheque Presents – Filmmaker in 5: Sidney Lumet

In the first of the series Filmmaker in 5, the late director Sidney Lumet is selected with 5 of his notable films to be screened from March 10-16th.

The films are:

12 ANGRY MEN

PRINCE OF THE CITY

SERPICO

DOG DAY AFTERNOON

NETWORK

Though Lumet has never won an Oscar for any singular film, he did receive a Life Achievement Oscar.  Yes, he has made over 50 or so movies including MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS recently screened by TIFF Cinematheque.  He is well-known to be able to elicit the best performances from his actors.  His last film BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU’RE DEAD with the late Philip Seymour Hoffman was a minor classic. 

Thee are many fond traits that can be observed from his films.  For one, he is a kind director who examines the sufferings of the common individual.  His films are thus,often angry films such as NETWORK where people scream outside their windows: “I am as mad as hell, and I am not going to take this anymore!” or SERPICO where the angry cop, mad at the corruption of the NYC Police Department takes it out on his girlfriend.  His girlfriend is given a 3-minute rant as Beatrice Straight did in NETWORK winning her a Best Supporting Actress Oscar.  Lumet’s films often contains very angry individuals or as many as 12 as in 12 ANGRY MEN.  Lumet was kind enough to offer a sensitive look at the gay man, in one of the earliest films to deal with homosexuality with sensitivity and positivity.

A more complete series would perhaps be something TIFF Cinematheque should look at.  I have not seen Lumet’s controversial EQUUS (the play about a young man blinding horses) or BYE BYE BRAVERMAN.

Below are capsule reviewed my favourite 3 of the 5 films to be screened.

DOG DAY AFTERNOON (USA 1975) ****
Directed by Sidney Lumet

 

My personal favourite Lumet film that was banned in movie anal-retentive Singapore where I was living at when DOGDAY AFTERNOON was released.  It was banned of the reason the bank was robbed in the film – the money used to pay for a sex change operation for one of the homosexual robbers (Al Pacino).   The entire film is the robbery and attempted getaway.  As expected Lumet’s film is a compulsive watch from start to finish not only from the excitement of the robbery but equally from the drama of the robbers and the hostages.  The entire enterprise is treated by Lumet as a circus with spectators cheering the robbers (the other played by John Cazale) on.  The cops are clearly the and guys who cannot be trusted.  The audience is also on the robbers side.  Pacino and Cazale deliver outstanding performances with Lumet accomplishing a rare achievement of a lengthy credible sag baed on jet a magazine article of the robbery.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CF1rtd8_pxA

NETWORK (USA 1976) ****
Directed by Sidney Lumet

Lumet’s most outrageous film (understandably being based on a Paddy Chayefsky script), a farce on the dealings on a TV network that came away with 4 Academy Awards including three for acting.  Beatrice Straight won the Best Supporting Actress for what was a 3-minute performance.  “I am as mad as hell, and I am not going take this anymore!”  This is the magic line that also won Chayefsky the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.  This script contains many monologues she he actors get to dream and strut their stuff.  Peter Finch (who won the Oscar posthumously for Best Actor) plays a news anchor that sends his news show ratings soaring sky high after he threatens to blow his brains up on live television.  The madness escalates in all ways leading to a crazed climax.  The film’s last line which summarizes the entire film: This is the story of Howard Beals, the man who was killed on live television because he had poor ratings.  The film did not get as high praise as expected likely because it was all too crazy, but its is undoubtedly extremely entertaining and totally amusing.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cSGvqQHpjs

SERPICO (USA 1973) ****

Directed by Sidney Lumet

Written by Waldo Salt and Norman Wexler, adapting Peter Maas’s biography of NYPD officer Frank Serpico, who went undercover to expose corruption in the police force, SERPICO is a film about another very angry man by Lumet.  Serpcio (a brilliant performance by Al Pacino) is so mad because almost everyone in the NYPD is on the take and there is no one he can turn to.   After witnessing cops commit violence, take payoffs, and other forms of police corruption, Serpico decides to expose what he has seen, but is harassed and threatened by his peers.  His struggle leads to infighting within the police force, problems in his personal relationships, and his life being threatened. Finally, after being shot in the face during a drug bust on February 3, 1971, he testifies before the Knapp Commission, a government inquiry into NYPD police corruption.   Lumet’s film traces all the events with conviction and gusto, even inciting the audience’s anger at the corruption going on.

Trailer: www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtTRYns

 

 

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Film Review: FLOWER (USA 2016)

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Flower Poster
Trailer

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A sexually curious teen forms an unorthodox kinship with her mentally unstable stepbrother.

Director:

Max Winkler

Writers:

Alex McAulay, Matt Spicer|1 more credit »

Stars:

Zoey Deutch, Kathryn Hahn, Adam Scott

The film begins with teen Erica (Zoey Deutch) giving a blow job to a sheriff Dale (Eric Edelstein) in his cop car while being filmed on the cell phones by Erika’s friends  (Dylan Gelula, Maya Eshet).  They threaten Dale, extort money, split the money and go their own ways.  An exciting start of the film, no doubt and what transpires through the rest of the film matches the incident in terms or surprise and vulgarity.

The story settles on Erica and her mother (Kathryn Hahn from BAD MOMS) who loves her but gives her free reign.  Erica makes the extra cash not only for herself but to earn enough for bail to spring her father in prison.  Mum has a new boyfriend and Erica promises to be nice to his son, her new step-brother, Luke (Joey Morgan) who has just been sprung from re-hab.  Luke is mentally unstable, fat and is troubled after he accused a teacher of molesting him.

The sparks start flying when the teacher Will (Adam Scott) is seen at the local bowling alley.  Erica decides to help her step-brother.  Good intentions using bad tactics never result in things going well.  Director Max Winker (son of Happy Day’s ‘Fonzie’ Henry Winkler) plays the film as a black comedy which largely works despite a few flaws.

The script co-written by Winkler with  Alex McAulay and Matt Spicer contains problems the foremost being credibility.  The audience is supposed to believe that Erica can make extra pocket money by giving blow jobs which she finds acceptable.  She also offered to give one to her step-brother out of pity.  When questioned, she likens the penis to be similar to a finger without a nail.  But a finger does not pee or cum either.  The script also has Eric fall in love with her fat step brother who actually have no redeeming qualities except for the only one good deed he had done.  Erica is also put up by her long-suffering mother, a point hard to believe.  When mum finally blows up, the story suddenly becomes believable with the mother/daughter confrontation segment making the film’s best part.

The film benefits from some excellent performances mostly from Deutch as the lead and comedian Kathryn Hahn as the mother.  Hahn has proven her comedic and dramatic potential in films like BAD MOMS but also demonstrates that if the vehicle is extremely bad as in A BAD MOM’S CHRISTMAS even she cannot save the movie.  Adam Scott plays the odd role (as least he is an actor daring enough to undertake risky roles like this one and the one in HOT TUB TIME MACHINE 2) as the pervert.

The film ends up a rather unbelievable morality tale that borders borders on farce because of the incidents in the story.  The film is supposed to demonstrate that good intentions are all that count.  But it also truthfully shows that if good intentions come about by criminal means there is a price to pay.  Luke ends up in prison and Erica under house arrest.  Entertaining to a point, one wishes the film could have been better.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmYcbgJBv7s

Film Review: MEDITATION PARK (Canada 2017)

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Meditation Park Poster
An aging woman questions her life after suspecting her husband is having an affair.

Director:

Mina Shum

Writer:

Mina Shum

Stars:

Sandra Oh, Liane Balaban, Tzi Ma

Before viewing MEDITATION PARK, one should be made aware of the legacy behind Hong Kong actress Cheng Pei Pei who executively produced and stars as the lead in the film.  Cheng Pei Pei was a star in her youth, who rose to fame from her first Shaw Brothers swords fighting action movie directed by King Hu, COME DRINK WITH ME.  She was rumoured to be the mistress of one of the Shaw moguls.  She continued her action roles in many other Shaw productions.  Her last well known role was Jade Fox in Ang Lee’s CROUCHING TIGER HIDDEN DRAGON.  She always sports the tomboyish short haircut, which she still does in MEDITATION PARK.  In MEDITATION PARK, Cheng Pei-Pei shines and shows star power as it is seldom seen.

Cheng stars as Maria, a devoted wife and mother who is forced to reassess her reverence for her husband after she finds another woman’s thong in his laundry.  She discovers that her supposedly devout husband, Bing (Tzi Ma) is not the perfect husband she thought him to be.  They are visited by their daughter (Sandra Oh) who wishes her mother attend the brother’s wedding.  The brother has been disowned by Bing.  Maria starts tailing her husband to find out more of his affair.  At the same time, Maria opens up her life and finds companionship through  her assortment of friends as well as through a neighbour (Don McKellar).   She finds that life has more to offer than just tending to her husband, and to one who has been unfaithful at that.

Shun’s (DOUBLE HAPPINESS) covers many issues the main one being, oddly enough, a senior’s coming-of-age.  Maria learns to stand for herself finally and do what is right.  Shun also brings in her Chinese culture in the Canadian setting.  Maria is shown as the typical Chinese elder, who stays home.  Maria speaks limited English and cannot drive.  When she tails her husband, she pays $240 in cab fare before learning how to ride a bicycle instead, a cheaper means of tailing her husband.

There are some magnificent performances on display here, Cheng Pei Pei’s being the most obvious.   Sandra Oh, who has been in Shun’s films in the past is always good and a pleasure to watch.  Her confrontation scene with her father, also brilliantly played by Tzi Ma is the film’s highlight.

Shun injects some sentimental moments through the character of a neighbour (McKellar) that Maria meets.  Kleenex should be handy for the segment where he announces the death of his sick wife.

Shun does not compromise her film for the typical Hollywood ending.  The father does not end up attending his son’s wedding as would be expected.  Maria and Bing do not reconcile in the usual way.  This is what stands out in Shun’s film, which is a big improvement over her past two efforts.  MEDITATION PARK should be seen for it being Shun’s best work and for Cheng Pei Pei’s controlled yet powerful performance.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMo7DdGdaq8

Review: 90th ACADEMY AWARDS 2018

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The 90th Academy Awards ceremony (2018) took place at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California.  During the ceremony, AMPAS presented Academy Awards aka Oscars in 24 categories.   Comedian and late show host Jimmy Kimmel did the honours as M.C. for the second consecutive year.   

The Oscars always discouraged politics, well maybe till now.  Winners of awards that deliver political or activist related speeches often get boo’ed off stage, the most memorable example being Michael Moore boo’ed off stage way back when.  Two current issues will take the stage along the winners this year.  One is the February NRA boycott.  It is reported that anti-NRA badges were put into the swag bags given to the stars.  It would be interesting to see who will be wearing these badges.  The other is still the #MeToo movement.  The latest victim is Ryan Seacrest.  As news mounted against him regarding sexual allegations, the decision had to be made whether he should cover the red carpet.  When the time finally arrived, Seacrest was on the red carpet, with stars like Christopher Plummer and Richard Jenkins stopping by for interviews.  (E! supported Seacrest saying that there is insufficient proof to Seacrest’s allegations of sexual misconduct.)  The female equality movement was emphasized throughout the ceremony that reached its fever pitch during  the rousing Frances McDormand’s Best Actress speech.

Host Kimmel began by reminding everyone women and men, women (coming first) that it is the grand 90th anniversary.  Jokes were first made regarding the wrong envelope for Best Picture last year.  “When you hear your name announced, do not come up right away.”  Most of the humour were funny enough, credit to Kimmel with the funniest joke was related to Best Picture Oscar Nominnee THE SHAPE OF WATER.  “The year will be remembered for the fact that men screwed u so much that women started dating fish.  But he mentioned milestones this year such as Rachel Morrison being the first Oscar-nominated female cinematographer for MUDBOUND. 

The ceremony had a few unforgettable nostalgic moments.  After a clip of Eva Marie Saint in the black and white ON THE WATERFRONT, the Best Supporting Actress appeared to present the Oscar for Best Costume design.  After a standing ovation, she recalled working with Edith Head, one of the greatest film costume designers of all time.  The clips celebrating the Academy Awards 90 years of film with many unforgettable scenes made the other highlight.

Jimmy Kimmel’s giving away of a jet ski to whoever gives the shortest acceptance speech is the ceremony’s running joke.

The Oscar’s best timely moment is James Ivory’s acceptance speech for Best Adapted Screenplay right after a spill on equality and fairness in movies.  He stresses the importance of first love whether be straight gay or otherwise in his writing.  Then black writer Jordan Peele won for Best Original Screenplay for GET OUT.

And if anyone noticed Jane Fonda said “The Winner is..”  instead of “The Oscar goes to..” in the presentation of the Best Actor Oscar to Gary Oldman for DARKEST HOUR.  His speech?  “To his 99-year old mother: “Put the kettle on, I am bringing the Oscar home.”

Right up to the end of the ceremonies, no one could guess which film would win the Best Picture Oscar, whether it be “SHAPE OF WATER or “THREE BILLBOARDS”.  The best joke of the evening was the presentation of the Best Pictures Oscar.  Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty did the honours the second time around.

Below are the full list of nominees with asterisks beside the winners.

Best Picture:

“Call Me by Your Name”

“Darkest Hour”

“Dunkirk”

“Get Out”

“Lady Bird”

“Phantom Thread”

“The Post”

“The Shape of Water” ***

“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”

 

Lead Actor:

Timothée Chalamet, “Call Me by Your Name”

Daniel Day-Lewis, “Phantom Thread”

Daniel Kaluuya, “Get Out”

Gary Oldman, “Darkest Hour” ***

Denzel Washington, “Roman J. Israel, Esq.”

 

Lead Actress:

Sally Hawkins, “The Shape of Water”

Frances McDormand, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” ***

Margot Robbie, “I, Tonya”

Saoirse Ronan, “Lady Bird”

Meryl Streep, “The Post”

 

Supporting Actor:

Willem Dafoe, “The Florida Project”

Woody Harrelson, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”

Richard Jenkins, “The Shape of Water”

Christopher Plummer, “All the Money in the World”

Sam Rockwell, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” ***

 

Supporting Actress:

Mary J. Blige, “Mudbound”

Allison Janney, “I, Tonya” ***

Lesley Manville, “Phantom Thread”

Laurie Metcalf, “Lady Bird”

Octavia Spencer, “The Shape of Water”

 

Director:

“Dunkirk,” Christopher Nolan

“Get Out,” Jordan Peele

“Lady Bird,” Greta Gerwig

“Phantom Thread,” Paul Thomas Anderson

“The Shape of Water,” Guillermo del Toro ***

 

Animated Feature:

“The Boss Baby,” Tom McGrath, Ramsey Ann Naito

“The Breadwinner,” Nora Twomey, Anthony Leo

“Coco,” Lee Unkrich, Darla K. Anderson

“Ferdinand,” Carlos Saldanha

“Loving Vincent,” Dorota Kobiela, Hugh Welchman, Sean Bobbitt, Ivan Mactaggart, Hugh Welchman

 

Animated Short:

“Dear Basketball,” Glen Keane, Kobe Bryant ***

“Garden Party,” Victor Caire, Gabriel Grapperon

“Lou,” Dave Mullins, Dana Murray

“Negative Space,” Max Porter, Ru Kuwahata

“Revolting Rhymes,” Jakob Schuh, Jan Lachauer

 

Adapted Screenplay:

“Call Me by Your Name,” James Ivory ***

“The Disaster Artist,” Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber

“Logan,” Scott Frank & James Mangold and Michael Green

“Molly’s Game,” Aaron Sorkin

“Mudbound,” Virgil Williams and Dee Rees

 

Original Screenplay:

“The Big Sick,” Emily V. Gordon & Kumail Nanjiani

“Get Out,” Jordan Peele ***

“Lady Bird,” Greta Gerwig

“The Shape of Water,” Guillermo del Toro, Vanessa Taylor

“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” Martin McDonagh

 

Cinematography:

“Blade Runner 2049,” Roger Deakins ***

“Darkest Hour,” Bruno Delbonnel

“Dunkirk,” Hoyte van Hoytema

“Mudbound,” Rachel Morrison

“The Shape of Water,” Dan Laustsen

 

Best Documentary Feature:

“Abacus: Small Enough to Jail,” Steve James, Mark Mitten, Julie Goldman

“Faces Places,” JR, Agnès Varda, Rosalie Varda

“Icarus,” Bryan Fogel, Dan Cogan ***

“Last Men in Aleppo,” Feras Fayyad, Kareem Abeed, Soren Steen Jepersen

“Strong Island,” Yance Ford, Joslyn Barnes

 

Best Documentary Short Subject:

“Edith+Eddie,” Laura Checkoway, Thomas Lee Wright

“Heaven is a Traffic Jam on the 405,” Frank Stiefel ***

“Heroin(e),” Elaine McMillion Sheldon, Kerrin Sheldon

“Knife Skills,” Thomas Lennon

“Traffic Stop,” Kate Davis, David Heilbroner

 

Best Live Action Short Film:

“DeKalb Elementary,” Reed Van Dyk

“The Eleven O’Clock,” Derin Seale, Josh Lawson

“My Nephew Emmett,” Kevin Wilson, Jr.

“The Silent Child,” Chris Overton, Rachel Shenton ***

“Watu Wote/All of Us,” Katja Benrath, Tobias Rosen

 

Best Foreign Language Film:

“A Fantastic Woman” (Chile) ***

“The Insult” (Lebanon)

“Loveless” (Russia)

“On Body and Soul (Hungary)

“The Square” (Sweden)

 

Film Editing:

“Baby Driver,” Jonathan Amos, Paul Machliss

“Dunkirk,” Lee Smith ***

“I, Tonya,” Tatiana S. Riegel

“The Shape of Water,” Sidney Wolinsky

“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” Jon Gregory

 

Sound Editing:

“Baby Driver,” Julian Slater

“Blade Runner 2049,” Mark Mangini, Theo Green

“Dunkirk,” Alex Gibson, Richard King ***

“The Shape of Water,” Nathan Robitaille, Nelson Ferreira

“Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” Ren Klyce, Matthew Wood

 

Sound Mixing:

“Baby Driver,” Mary H. Ellis, Julian Slater, Tim Cavagin

“Blade Runner 2049,” Mac Ruth, Ron Bartlett, Doug Hephill

“Dunkirk,” Mark Weingarten, Gregg Landaker, Gary A. Rizzo ***

“The Shape of Water,” Glen Gauthier, Christian Cooke, Brad Zoern

“Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” Stuart Wilson, Ren Klyce, David Parker, Michael Semanick

 

Production Design:

“Beauty and the Beast,” Sarah Greenwood; Katie Spencer

“Blade Runner 2049,” Dennis Gassner, Alessandra Querzola

“Darkest Hour,” Sarah Greenwood, Katie Spencer

“Dunkirk,” Nathan Crowley, Gary Fettis

“The Shape of Water,” Paul D. Austerberry, Jeffrey A. Melvin, Shane Vieau    ***

 

Original Score:

“Dunkirk,” Hans Zimmer

“Phantom Thread,” Jonny Greenwood

“The Shape of Water,” Alexandre Desplat ***

“Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” John Williams

“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” Carter Burwell

 

Original Song:

“Mighty River” from “Mudbound,” Mary J. Blige

“Mystery of Love” from “Call Me by Your Name,” Sufjan Stevens

“Remember Me” from “Coco,” Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Robert Lopez      ***

“Stand Up for Something” from “Marshall,” Diane Warren, Common

“This Is Me” from “The Greatest Showman,” Benj Pasek, Justin Paul

 

Makeup and Hair:

“Darkest Hour,” Kazuhiro Tsuji, David Malinowski, Lucy Sibbick ***

“Victoria and Abdul,” Daniel Phillips and Lou Sheppard

“Wonder,” Arjen Tuiten

 

Costume Design:

“Beauty and the Beast,” Jacqueline Durran

“Darkest Hour,” Jacqueline Durran

“Phantom Thread,” Mark Bridges ***

“The Shape of Water,” Luis Sequeira

“Victoria and Abdul,” Consolata Boyle

 

Visual Effects:

“Blade Runner 2049,” John Nelson, Paul Lambert, Richard R. Hoover, Gerd Nefzer        ***

“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2,” Christopher Townsend, Guy Williams, Jonathan Fawkner, Dan Sudick

“Kong: Skull Island,” Stephen Rosenbaum, Jeff White, Scott Benza, Mike Meinardus

“Star Wars: The Last Jedi,”  Ben Morris, Mike Mulholland, Chris Corbould, Neal Scanlan

“War for the Planet of the Apes,” Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, Daniel Barrett, Joel Whist

Interview with Festival Director Lari Teräs (Toronto Int’l Spring of Horror & Fantasy Film Festival (TISH))

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Toronto Int’l Spring of Horror & Fantasy Film Festival (TISH) had its first event in 2016. The festival was launched by filmmakers and genre film aficionados Lari Teräs and Jonathan Lewis in order to give people of Toronto access to quality genre films throughout the year.

Our aim is to showcase the best genre films from around the World from new filmmakers and seasoned veterans. We focus on new voices and prefer creativity over big budgets. In addition to dedicated short film blocks, we aim to schedule each feature with one short and a genre appropriate music video at the beginning to set the mood. We also run Toronto’s first and only annual Scream Queen/King Competition along with other social events.

Our lineup will be announced March 10, 2018 and the festival will be held April 6-8, 2018 at the Carlton Cinema.

http://www.springofhorror.com/
https://www.facebook.com/SpringOfHorror/
https://filmfreeway.com/TorontoSpringOfHorrorFantasy

 
Matthew Toffolo: What is your Film Festival succeeding at doing for filmmakers?

Lari Teräs: We offer a fun environment to screen their work in downtown Toronto. We promote the films before and over the course of the festival; buying Facebook ads, blasting the trailers out not only promote us, but also the filmmakers and their films. We then continue promoting their films after the festival while visiting conventions such as Horror-Rama and on our social media.

If wanted, we give feedback to anyone who asks regardless of whether their film was accepted to screen or not. Toronto is also home to plenty of reviewers and distribution companies to whom we have been making our presence known more as we have grown.

After we ended up on FilmFreeway’s Top-100 Best Reviewed festivals list, we were then contacted by a very notable production company asking for insights on upcoming filmmakers and we were more than happy to drop a few names from our Alumni, hopefully aiding them further in their careers.

To top it off, in keeping with the fun nature of the festival, we award the best films with our coveted Cleaver the Beaver bobblehead(!) statue.

2) What would you expect to experience if you attend the festival this year (2018)?

We think genre films and festivals should be fun and the atmosphere relaxed. In addition to the screenings and Q&A’s, the venue (Carlton Cinema) is fully licensed and we hold two bar nights as well as Toronto’s first and only annual Scream Queen/King competition. That is an experience by itself both to viewers and participants. All that combined makes it a very fun and social atmosphere.

3) What are the qualifications for the selected films?

We appreciate creativity and new ideas. The main criteria is that they are genre films (horror, fantasy, sci-fi, etc.) or something genre film fans would like to see. Assuming the film fits our categories, we rate how much we enjoyed watching the film, whether we would want to go see it ourselves and whether it had elements we had never seen before.

Part of the selection process is keeping a good variety and balance of different types of movies. Late night, we like to schedule something more gory and outrageous while daytime might be better suited for more contemplative films.

4) Do you think that some films really don’t get a fair shake from film festivals? And if so, why?

I do believe that nowadays there is a good variety of festivals out there catering to most types of films. Genre films like horror and fantasy might be underrepresented at the very high profile festivals, but horror fans are pretty good at finding their way to the genre film festivals.

5) What motivates you and your team to do this festival?

Basically our love of movies. I’ve always enjoyed watching movies and hosting movie nights for friends at my house. After doing a festival tour with my film Blood Riders and experiencing a wide variety of festivals (good and not so good), we wanted to expand those movie nights to a festival of our own. We also realized that there was a large gap in horror film festivals in the spring in Toronto, so we decided to fill the void since we believe good genre films should be available all year long!

6) How has your FilmFreeway submission process been?

The submission process has been great. Last year we got on the Top-100 Best Reviewed Festivals list for quite a while, which definitely boosted our submissions significantly. Furthermore, we have noticed filmmakers whose works we have previously screened resubmitting to us, which is always nice to see. The only downside is that the amount of quality submissions we receive makes the selection process very hard.

7) Where do you see the festival by 2023?

As mentioned before, our submissions have increased significantly, and our attendance also hiked last year, so we’re looking to extend our festival by a few days very soon and hopefully have a weeklong event by 2023. We’ve always played music videos in front of our screenings and we’re looking into introducing live music at our parties in the coming years.

However, our main goal is to always keep the fun and social atmosphere going. Bigger, Better and Bloodier!

8) What film have you seen the most times in your life?

Donnie Darko. It is an extremely well written and beautifully shot film that really captivated me when I first saw it. The absolutely hilarious “Tucker and Dale vs. Evil” is a close second.

9) In one sentence, what makes a great film?

Interesting story supported by witty dialogue with complex characters drenched in blood. (Blood may or may not be optional depending on the genre…)

10) How is the film scene in your city?

The film scene in Toronto is very active both on the independent and studio film side. It is without a doubt one of the top markets in North America. The horror film scene should also get a special mention as it is very supportive of each other and a delightful group to be a part of.

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Interviewer Matthew Toffolo is currently the CEO of the WILDsound FEEDBACK Film & Writing Festival. The festival that showcases 20-50 screenplay and story readings performed by professional actors every single month. And the FEEDBACK Monthly Festival held in downtown Toronto, and Los Angeles at least 3 times a month. Go to http://www.wildsoundfestival.com for more information and to submit your work to the festival.

Film Review: HANNAH (Italy/France/Belgium 2017)

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Submit your Screenplay to the Festival TODAY

Hannah Poster
Intimate portrait of a woman drifting between reality and denial when she is left alone to grapple with the consequences of her husband’s imprisonment.

Director:

Andrea Pallaoro

Writers:

Andrea Pallaoro, Orlando Tirado

Stars:

Charlotte Rampling, André Wilms, Stéphanie Van Vyve

 

Charlotte Rampling plays HANNAH.  HANNAH is a Charlotte Rampling vehicle.  If you do not like her, this is a film definitely to avoid.  Rampling is in every scene of the film and she is heavily relied on to make this movie.  In her hey day, Rampling was one of the highest paid European stars.  She was young and beautiful and starred in sexy films like films like THE NIGHT PORTER, and blockbusters like ORCA THE KILLER WHALE.  She finally won an Academy Award nomination for 45 YEARS a few years back after playing sexually frustrated character roles as in UNDER THE SAND and SWIMMING POOL.  

When the film opens, HANNAH is accompanying her husband (Andre Wilms) to what appease to be a prison.  Her husband is to be imprisoned for reasons unexplained and Hannah has to deal with it.   The film is an intimate portrait of a woman drifting between reality and denial when she is left alone to grapple with the consequences of her husband’s imprisonment.  Besides the fact, other thins are not going all for Hannah.  Her dog is not eating, her son does not want to see her any more and prevents her from seeing her grandson, for again reasons unexplained.  The only solace is her emlyerm which she works for as a cleaning lady.  She appears to be kind, giving Hannah her old clothes that she no longer can wear that are still attractive.  Hannah must cope.  Hannah breaks down and cries in the bathroom on day.  This is pretty much the film.  Not much story, not much plot, not much explained n terms of reasons things occur to Hannah.  To director Pallaoro, those explanations are unimportant even though one might argue that they are to make the story more believable and to have the audience therefor care for for Hannah.

Director Pallaoro shows that Hannah is not the only person in the world having difficulties.  On Hannah is riding the metro one day, she witnesses a young black lady in the same train screaming at an unseen passenger how she has had it and cannot take it anymore.  She bangs the train doors and finally exits the trains while Hannah is clearly disturbed by the incident.

A film that runs on similar lines as Hannah and one that demands comparison is Chantal Akerman’s JEANNE DIELMAN, 23 QUAI DU COMMERCE, 1080 BRUXELLS which detailed its heroine Jeanne Dielman leading a hums drum life that eventually leads to her suicide in the film’s shock ending.  Akerman’s film was 3 hours long, repeatedly showing Dielman performing identical household chores.  While this sounds boring, it is not, especially when the film ending with a shocking suicide.  Pallaoro’s film, however does not work as well.  Akrman understands her character whereas Pallaoro does not seem to know what to do with HANNAH.  Despite Rampling’s riveting performance, though fans of hers have seen her in roles like this, HANNAH is a hard watch and will be a definite bore to many.  HANNAH is a depressing film involving a character that can never seem to redeem herself as everything else around her is going wrong.  Do we need to watch a film like this?

The film is shot in French.  Rampling is English educated in France.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jq6mB1Syt-I

Submit your Screenplay to the Festival TODAY

Interview with Festival Director Mike Messier (AVALONIA Film Festival)

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Avalonia Festival is named in honor of a continent lost is the mists of time, as if dissipated by magic; thus we are here to celebrate the unique Art of our own world of creation. Avalonia Festival II is now accepting submissions of short films, teasers, trailers, film photography and film posters.

Contact

 
Matthew Toffolo: What is your Film Festival succeeding at doing for filmmakers?

Mike Messier: Our website Avalonia Festival sets us apart because we actually give our filmmakers the option to either share their actual film ​(or a teaser or a promotional still image)​ on our site to represent their film. This promotes both the work​ itself​ and the filmmaker​ ​as well as their cast and crew. ​Many or even most other film festivals concentrate so much on the live experience but are negligent to the online community which does not make much sense these days, as it’s very hard to get people to actually attend anything in person, while it’s relatively easy to get them to engage online. For those who can attend our live event on April 20, the admission is free ,while many festivals are very expensive So, Avalonia Festival plays well both as an in-person and an on-line experience. ​

In addition, Avalonia Festival’s Circle of Champions​ i​s a celebration of our Award Winning films with personalized Awards for each film. This is no copy and paste job​ for these Awards​! A lot of work goes into making the website very unique and to actually provide content and a web presence ​Avalonia ​filmmakers can be proud to be a part of!

2) What would you expect to experience if you attend the festival this year (2018)?

We will share our Award Winning Films ​at Avalonia Festival II on April 20, 2018 ​in a really great venue called Rhodywood Studios ​in Providence, RI ​with cozy seating, great picture and sound and complimentary snacks. Even better? Free admission for the audience. Winning filmmakers who are able to attend will have a few moments for a Q and A with the live audience.

3) What are the qualifications for the selected films?

Films must be 11 minutes or under to qualify as a “Short Film”, 3 minutes or under to qualify as a “180” film or 60 seconds or less to qualify as a 1 minute movie. We have many categories available to honor all types of films from doc to horror drama to music video to comedy to all points in between. We even have genres for films starring animals. We have no preference whether a film has already premiered at other festivals or is available online. We do prefer if the filmmakers allow us to share their film on our actual website, a status which is both optional for each film and can be changed down the road if need be​ with notice from the filmmaker​. Teasers, film posters and film photography may also enter in their own specific categories.

4) Do you think that some films really don’t get a fair shake from film festivals? And if so, why?

I can’t speak about the fairness of other festivals across the board because there are literally thousands if not tens of thousands of film festivals out there in the world. However, I will say, having entered many festivals myself and being both successful and, at times, disappointed, with my experiences, here are some lessons:

1) Art is a subjective medium, especially film. Being rejected by one, or even a thousand, film fests does not make any particular film “bad.” So do not be discouraged if your particular film is not a “festival darling”. Keep making movies!
2) Some films, quite simply, are just better geared for festivals, given whatever “trend” or “mood”, is going on at the moment of selection. So, that is not to say to conform your style or content to whatever is trendy, but just to say to “give yourself a break.”
3) Look over the fests you are entering and see how they match up in content with what your film is. For instance, there are fests that play specifically to low budget, edgy material. There are fests specific to Vampire films. There are some fests are fests with categories specific for Women Filmmakers, various ethnic groups, LGBQT etc so keep that in mind when choosing which fests to enter.
4) Also, considerations may be made by some fests for filmmakers within driving range of the actual live event. ​It’s more exciting to think that the actual filmmaker will be there in person, and so festivals may have a natural instinct to honor films geographically closer. ​
5) Shorter films usually have an advantage just by logistics. Feature films that have a possibility to make money are much more likely to get a distribution deal of some significance and shorts play better in fests. These things can change, though.

What I really tried to go from the get-go with Avalonia Festival is to have an online presence that honors both the filmmakers and the worldwide audience. If someone gives my website two hours of their time, they can really feel attuned to what the Avalonia Alumni is capable of. I ask any other film festival to show me a better​ -​ or more engaging – and free online – experience than Avalonia Festival.

5) What motivates you and your team to do this festival?

I wanted to provide a festival that would be the type of festival I would like to be a part of as a filmmaker myself.

I wanted to have a festival that had a website that actually gave the name of the winning films and even shared these films online for the biggest possible audience, beyond the seating capacity of whatever venue was used for a live audience. I’m not sure why so many​, otherwise wonderful, ​film fests have​ such lackluster or vague websites but they do. Anyone who wants to hire me to run their film festival website is encouraged to contact me and I’ll help them.

The other motivation is that Avalonia Festival is intended to bring views to my own project Distance from Avalon​ ​which is my Gothic narrative story about a school teacher and his philosophy about parallel universes. When people look into Avalonia Festival, they are also encouraged to look into Distance from Avalon.

6) How has your FilmFreeway submission process been?

So far, so good. I found FilmFreeway to be very user friendly as a filmmaker myself, and its entry process helped me win about half of my film and TV Awards. Running Avalonia Festival on it is also​ relatively​ easy, time consuming at times, but nothing I can’t handle. ​

7) Where do you see the festival by 2023?

That’s a great question. My ideal scenario were to be a global expansion and by that time, the Distance from Avalon films will have been made and I’ll be a highly respected and cherished individual. So we will see.

8) What film have you seen the most times in your life?

By now, Disregard the Vampire – A Mike Messier Documentary.

I’ve probably seen the most, because of the three years I put into it. This doc, which you may share with your readers, Matthew, directly lead to the creation of Avalonia Festival. Beyond my own work, Highlander, a fantasy time travel piece from 1986, starring Christopher Lambert, is the film I have seen the most and always enjoyed it.

9) In one sentence, what makes a great film?

A great film exhibits a personal standpoint or observation of the world that both challenges and engages an audience.

10) How is the film scene in your city?

The film scene is my exact city of Wickford, Rhode Island is more or less myself but about 20 minutes north of me my friend Tommy DeNucci of Cranston, RI is getting ready to shoot Vault, a major motion picture in the gangster genre with big names and an hour south of me our mutual buddy David Gere is producing several big action and horror films out of Cromwell, CT. Between the three of us, there are some nice things happening.

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Interviewer Matthew Toffolo is currently the CEO of the WILDsound FEEDBACK Film & Writing Festival. The festival that showcases 20-50 screenplay and story readings performed by professional actors every single month. And the FEEDBACK Monthly Festival held in downtown Toronto, and Los Angeles at least 3 times a month. Go to http://www.wildsoundfestival.com for more information and to submit your work to the festival.