[Kill The Critic] The Independent Entertainment Blog [Film-Theatre-Comedy]

Fantastic Fest 2008 Picks - and Pans (Part Two)

We Continue With Our Best and Worst of the Festival, 18-25 September

Yesterday KTC picked and panned official selections of "America's best genre festival", including a short list of AMD New Wave, Comedy, and Documentary films, ending with Alamo Drafthouse Cinema's beloved Signature Series.  Today we dive into four more genres,   Drama, Fantasy, Horror, and Ozsploitation.  We strongly recommend referring to the official Fantastic Fest '08 guide or customizable schedule to ensure you won't miss the following picks (or pans).

Drama

KTC Pick

As soon as I read the description, I knew it could be as entertaining as the first and last time I watched "The Cook, The Thief, His Wife & Her Lover", or "Like Water For Chocolate" in a theatre.  Estômago - A Gastronomic Story (Brazil, 2008) may be the dramatic darling of the festival. A prisonaer with a talent for giving gastronomic pleasure becomes a chef in a Brazilian prison. This is a multi-layered tale of life, love, and murder inside and outside prison walls that I am compelled to recommend. There's something about fine film and food that makes the world a better place, so this film and the Alamo South make it 100 minutes of utopia. Estômago plays Saturday, 20/9 at 11:30 am and  Tuesday, 23/9 at 6:20 pm. 

KTC Pan

Belgium drama export Ex-Drummer might be one of the darlings of the festival among the nihilistic crowd that takes pleasure in humor at the expense of others perceived as weak, but it's unappealing to me. I love punk music, and the premise about two disabled men adding a celebrity author (and drummer) to their band, called The Feminists (cool name) seems alluring enough. But the more I knew about the elements of drama, humor, and violence, the less I wanted to watch.  

Fantasy

I couldn't believe it, but this genre appears to be lightweight in this year's festival at first glance. More gore and less whimsy seems to be the preference, but the four fantasy selections are heavyweight contenders for best of fest. 

Pick

Iceland is one of my dream countries to live in - or at least visit for at least a month. I love it for bringing up Björk and Sigur Rós, and now I love it for bringing us Astropia, where pop culture meets comic book geek fantasy. It's a good old fashion battle between good and evil, with a mystical comic book store as the portal to another realm. From the stills, the actor portraying the heroine Hildur slightly resembles Uma Thurman. See it today at 9:30 or Wednesday, 24/9 at 4:05 pm. 

Pan

After careful review and consideration, I couldn't come up with a pan in this genre. All four films seems like excellent exercises in fantasy, in particular the graphic design shorts of Fear(s) of The Dark. See all four films if you can fit it in your schedule. 

Horror

Personally, my least favorite genre, with the exception of clever, satirical films that happen to have a horrifying, nightmarish premise. Maybe it's all the blood and guts you see in most American films that usually turn me away from the genre. 

Pick

It was a tough call, so I decided to keep it a tie. Art of the Devil 3 (a prequel to a series I haven't seen - yet) and Wicked Lake are my mystic nightmare picks. Made in Thailand, Art of the Devil, has a message behind the gruesome violence - something about being careful what you practice - in this case, black magic. American made Wicked Lake takes a more blunt approach, with nudity and gross violence wielded by four revenge-seeking wiccan lesbians. Not sure what the lesson to be learned is in this one. The films have fierce woman as leads and perpetrators of the violence, which challenges the women as victims genre stereotype. Check the guide or online schedule for more information. 

Pan

Donkey Punch (Australia, 2008). I know there is a lot of hype about this one, with a an after-party on a boat, but try as I might to find something I really liked about it (like one reviewer's comparison to Shallow Grave), I just don't care to watch 7 spoiled clubbers deal with the consequences of a "donkey punch" party. Google this brutal sex act for more details. 

This ain't a yellow brick road, Dorothy. 

Ozsploitation

Browsing the festival guide was marks my first knowledge of the genre. when I first read the term, I thought it was a bunch of movies loosely based, inspired, or ripped-off from the Oz books and movie adaptations (The Wizard of Oz, and personal favorite The Wiz). But I was unaware of just how many filmmakers have exploited the land of...Australia.  Fantastic Fest hips me to the film jive and lingo. remember those Mad Maz movies?  Well, that series represents ozsploitation at its best - or worst - depending on your preference. I like the one with Tina Turner, though.   

Pick

The 1981 sequel to Mad Max is the obvious choice. Road Warrior is the excat opposite of  Woody Allen film - or maybe I should change that to Australian director John Duigan. So expect less dialogue and a lot more action set in the brutal outback. This is a free screening downtown at Republic Square Park, tomorrow night at 8:00 pm. If you miss this one,  check out our other pick, a visually sharp documentary Not Quite Hollywood., which is all about "the secret and not so secret history" of ozsploitation. Two screenings:   Sunday, 21/9 at 4:15 pm and Thursday, 25/9 at 6:45 pm.  

Pan

The one movie I'd have to be paid to see is playing Razorback (1984), which plays tonight at 8:00. The idea of a wild boar ravaging the outback is not my idea of a good time. 

Check back with us tomorrow for more picks and pans of  Pinku, Science Fiction, and Thrillers, plus festival party announcements!

~ diy danna