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Fantastic Fest

Our Movies editor, Jordan Hoffman, is down in Austin, Texas this week, reporting live from Fantastic Fest!

UGO Team By UGO Team September 23, 2010
  

Fantastic Fest 2010: Mutant Girls Squad Review

I like to think that the creation of any sort of expression defies national or cultural distinction - but, heck, let's face it, there's a special kind of crazy that comes from Japan.

Mutant Girls Squad, coming to you from the relatively new distribution arm Sushi Typhoon, is a nonstop parade of over-the-top absurdity.  Shot on video, our story (such as there is one) follows a young girl learning she is some sort of Japanese X-Man, then running around with her friends killing people with tentacles.

Rarely has there been a film that you just have to "be in the mood for."  To my surprise, I kinda dug this, even though it isn't usually my cup of tea.  I give Mutant Girls Squad a B and say some clever things about it in this video.

Fantastic Fest 2010: Rubber Review

The new guy I want to know everything about is Quentin Dupieux.  He is the writer, director, cinematographer, editor and one of the music composers behind Rubber, a very funny movie that is mostly about how audiences consume art, but is also, yes, about a killer tire.

As a living tire rolls through the desert, destroying all in its path for no real reason, we continually check back in with a group perched on a hill watching it all as "a movie."  Interacting with the tire are a cast of freaks who may or may not be "real people" or plants put there by the movie's murderous producers.

Yes, I know, what I just wrote makes absolutely no sense.  Maybe you just have to see Rubber when you can.  (Luckily, this is one that is definitely getting a release.)

Below you can hear me speak a little more eloquently about why this movie is great.  I give Rubber a solid A-.

Fantastic Fest 2010: Survivor of the Hippocampus Review

One of the most oft-overlooked elements of a quality film festival is the pre-feature short.

Programmers work hard selecting the right short to fit in snugly with the main attraction, but by the time the credits roll and everyone is lined up at the bathroom, the quick 15 minute gem seems like a lifetime ago.

I've seen a number of good (and not so good) shorts at this year's Fantastic Fest, but Julien Lecat's Survivor of the Hippocampus, a cleverly staged romp through the working mind, has been the best so far.

Here's a little video of me saying nice things about this little movie, once I realized how much I dug it.

Fantastic Fest 2010: Stake Land Review

The thing most wrong with Stake Land is timing.  I just don't know how many more post-apocalypse stories I can do right now.

Not as grim as The Road or the comic The Walking Dead, or as fun as Zombieland, Stake Land has a number of good scenes, but there's nothing in there other than "world building" that I truly dig.  (And, frankly, some of the "world building" is kinda dopey, too.)  Much like with the forthcoming Monsters, I found myself wanting to know more about this environment, but not particularly interested in the specific story of these characters.  Stake Land isn't gross enough to impress the gore hounds either.

It is will regret that I give this movie a C+.

Below is my InstaReview, where I was a little bit kinder than I'm being now.

Fantastic Fest 2010: Intergalactic Nemesis Review

It's gusty to be something other than a movie at a movie festival, but Intergalactic Nemesis was a welcome change of pace.

A mixture of foley art, live voice performance and comic book art by Tim Doyle, Intergalactic Nemesis is a fun celebration of the spirit of early comics.

It starts off perhaps a little too square for its own good, but once it gets its rhythm (and starts evoking the whacked-out sci fi of Rick Remender comics, instead of just Golden Age) it really becomes a great deal of pip.

There's a good chance this traveling show will come to your town, so keep your eyes open.  Below are my thoughts moments after exiting the theater.

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