From Fantasia 2024: «Dirty Bad Wrong»

Posted on 30 July, 2024 by Zed Kosnar

This year at Fantasia 2024, I had the chance to see some short films, and although I could not check as much as I wanted to, I was lucky that the ones I saw were very good.

And the short “Dirty Bad Wrong” directed by Erica Orofino, was not only good, but a great example of “Less is more”.

From the official synopsis:

Desperate to keep her promise to host the best superhero party for her 6 year old, young mother Sid, a sex worker, takes extreme measures and books a last-minute client with a dark fetish.

We don’t get nothing too graphic or extreme.. On the screen. However I’m sure in our minds, we are filling the gaps, and we know that whatever happened to be that client’s fetish was very gruesome. (there are hints, and they are not that hidden)

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Desde Fantasia 2024: «Párvulos»

Posted on 29 July, 2024 by Zed Kosnar

Después de que el mundo pasara por un desastre mundial que diezmó la mayor parte de la población. Tres hermanos sobreviven con problemas en una casa aislada en lo profundo de un bosque, esperando a que sus padres regresen después de que salieran buscando alimentos y otros recursos. Aparte de hacer labores diarias y estar atentos a que no llegue ningún intruso a su hogar, los dos hermanos mayores también cuidan de un monstruo que vive en su sótano.

Benjamín, el mas pequeño de los hermanos, solo sabe que el monstruo solía vagar por el bosque, que sus padres lo capturaron y que es importante mantenerlo encerrado y alimentado por seguridad de ellos. Pero un día, cansado de ser tratado como un niño inútil y que no lo dejan ver al monstruo, Benjamín decide romper las reglas y bajar al sótano., iniciando una reacción en cadena que les cambiará la vida para siempre.

Y esa es la premisa de “Párvulos”, el quinto filme de el director Mexicano Isaac Ezban, que fue presentado ayer en Fantasia 2024. En esta ocasión, se nos cuestiona que tanto podemos ir por nuestros seres queridos, cuando el mundo como lo conocemos, ya no existe.

Estoy siendo vago con la premisa adrede, no porque crea que si les doy mas detalles les voy a destruir el filme o las posibilidades de que lo disfruten. La historia es bastante simple y es mejor que vayas tomando las piezas del rompecabezas poco a poco a como nos las van soltando. Hay varias sorpresas en varios momentos y los puedes adivinar si pones atención a los detalles.

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Desde Fantasia 2024 : «A Samurai In Time»

Posted on 29 July, 2024 by Zed Kosnar

En los días finales del periodo Edo, Shinzaemon Kosaka, un Samurái miembro del clan Azu, se bate en un duelo a muerte con Kyochiro Kazami un miembro de un clan rival. Antes de que alguno de ellos pudiera dar el golpe final, un poderoso trueno se deja escuchar sobre ellos. Shinzaemon entonces despierta en una villa remota, en pleno día, y sin rastro alguno de su rival.

Después de ver a unos bandidos tratando de atacar a una mujer indefensa, Shinzaemon se ofrece a ayudarle a un samurái que aparece para salvar a la joven, y es aquí donde Shinzaemon recibe la primera sorpresa de muchas en ese día: Shinzaemon ahora se encuentra en Kyoto en el tiempo presente. Esta en medio de un set de grabación, y lo que acaba de presenciar no fue un ataque real, sino una representación de un Jidaigeki (Un drama de época) que estaba siendo filmado. Después de ser confundido con un extra en la producción, nuestro protagonista es expulsado del set, siendo aventado a un mundo que no puede reconocer, y es aquí donde empieza la diversión (para nosotros).

Esta es la premisa de “A Samurai In Time”, el nuevo filme escrito y dirigido por Junichi Yasuda, que fue presentado ayer en el festival Fantasia 2024. Este filme no es el típico relato cómico de “El pez fuera de el agua” con temas de viajes temporales, sino que es un excelente homenaje al género Jidaigeki, con un buen golpe emocional que no me esperaba.

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From Fantasia 2024: «Párvulos»

Posted on 29 July, 2024 by Zed Kosnar

After the world went through a disaster that decimated a big part of the population. Three brothers struggle to survive in an isolated cabin deep in the woods, as they wait for their parents to come back from scouting for food and resources. Besides their daily chores, and keeping an eye out for any intruders that might come to their home, the two older brothers take care of a monster that resides in their basement.

Benjamin, the youngest of the brothers, has always been told that this monster used to roam the woods and was captured by the parents, and that it’s important to keep it locked and fed so the brothers can stay safe. But, one day, tired of being treated as a little child and kept away from the monster, Benjamin decides to see it for himself, starting a chain reaction that will change their lives forever.

And that is the premise of «Párvulos», the fifth film from Mexican director Isaac Ezban, presented yesterday in Fantasia 2024. This time, we are questioned about how far we would go for our loved ones, when the world as we know it, is pretty much gone.

I am being a little vague on purpose with the synopsis, not because I believe that giving more details will destroy the film or your chances to enjoy it. The story is quite simple and is better if you take the information little by little as it is delivered. There are some surprises here and there, but you can guess them if you pay attention to details.

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From Fantasia 2024: «A Samurai In Time»

Posted on 29 July, 2024 by Zed Kosnar

In the final times of the Edo period, Shinzaemon Kosaka, a Samurai member of the Azu clan, starts a duel to the death with rival clan member Kyochiro Kazami. Before either of them can land the final blow on his opponent, an immensely powerful thunder is heard above them. Shinzaemon then suddenly wakes up in a remote village, in plain daylight, with his enemy nowhere to be found.

After seeing some ruffians trying to attack a defenseless woman, Shinzaemon tries to assist a samurai who appears to defend her, and here is where Shizaemon receives the first of many surprises of the day: He is now in modern time Kyoto. He is in the middle of a filming set, and what he just witnessed is a Jidaigeki (A period drama) being filmed. After being mistaken for an extra in the film production, our protagonist is kicked out of the set, thrown into a world he cannot recognize, and this is where the real fun (for us) begins.

This is the plot of “A Samurai in Time”, a film written and directed by Junichi Yasuda, which was presented in Fantasia 2024 yesterday. This film is not a regular “fish out the water” comedy involving time travel, but is an excellent homage to the Jidaigeki genre, and also has a deep emotional punch that I was not expecting. Continue reading →

Desde Fantasia 2024: «Heavens: The Boy And His Robot»

Posted on 28 July, 2024 by Zed Kosnar

Situado en un mundo donde la humanidad ya ha logrado explorar el universo para obtener recursos, y poco después hallarse en una guerra interplanetaria con Marte, Kai, un joven que perdió a su padre en la guerra, crece con la idea de integrarse a la Academia Mecha Corps. Su deseo de defender su planeta y encontrar a su madre que lleva perdida muchos años en el espacio, es lo que mantiene al joven avanzando a pesar de su débil condición física y de tener que trabajar mucho mas duro que el resto de sus compañeros cadetes. Cuando se le es asignado su propio Mecha, los dos empiezan a formar un lazo que los hará lo suficientemente fuertes para no solo sobrevivir el entrenamiento, sino también para poder vencer los siguientes obstáculos para sobrevivir la guerra.

Esta es la premisa de “Heavens: The Boy And His Robot”, el nuevo filme del director y escritor Rich Ho, quien trabajó mas de 10 años en este proyecto, y que fue estrenado anoche en Fantasia 2024.

Este filme me dejó con sentimientos encontrados, y haré lo mejor posible que pueda para explicar porqué.

La película se ve genial, los efectos especiales son excelentes y las peleas (tanto en los cielos como la tierra) son espectaculares, eso sin mencionar que todo pasa en plena luz del día y puedes ver todo con lujo de detalles.

Esto es en parte lo que me dejó con sentimientos encontrados. El creador de este proyecto, Rich Ho (Quien escribe, dirige, produce, compone la música y también trabaja en los efectos especiales) pasó años trabajando en crear la tecnología para poder realizar los efectos especiales de este film, y pueden ver que el resultado es simplemente sorprendente. Y solo por eso, el señor se ganó mi respeto.

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From Fantasia 2024: «Heavens : The Boy And His Robot»

Posted on 28 July, 2024 by Zed Kosnar

Set in a world where humanity managed to explore the universe for more resources and later got into an interplanetary war with Mars, Kai, a boy that lost his father to the war, grows up and joins the Mecha Corps Academy. His desire of defending his planet, and finding his mother that has been lost in space for many years, is what keeps him moving forward despite having a very weak constitution and having to work way more than the rest of his teammates. When he is assigned his own Mecha, the two start to form a bond that makes them strong enough not only to survive the training, but also the many challenges they will need to overcome in order to survive this war.

That is the premise of “Heavens: The Boy And His Robot”, the new film by writer/director Rich Ho, who spent more than a decade working on this project, and was presented in Fantasia 2024 last night.

This movie left me with mixed feelings, and I will try my best to explain why:

The movie looks amazing, the special effects are great and the fights (both in the sky and on the ground) are breathtaking, not to mention that they are all in plain daylight and you can see everything that is going on with a lot of details.

This is in part the cause of my mixed feelings. The creator of this project, Rich Ho (Who writes, directs, composes the music, and also takes part in the special effects) spent years trying to push the technology to create the special effects for this film, and you can see the result is nothing short of amazing. And, just for that, the guy has all my respect.

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From Fantasia 2024 : «This Man»

Posted on 26 July, 2024 by Zed Kosnar

A menace from beyond the realm of the living seems to be behind the grizzly murders that are increasingly taking place in several places in Japan. A couple of detectives trying to stop this apparent epidemic started to note a pattern: most of the victims were under psychological care, and before their demise, they were claiming to have recurring nightmares where a very particular-looking man was trying to kill them.

A happy couple that feels blessed with their daughter and a life free of worries, have their world shaken when close friends of the mother share that they also have recently seen in their dreams “This Man” (as has been described in the media), and fear that their death is approaching. Is this a case of mass hysteria, or is this an omen that humanity itself has its days numbered?

I was very interested in the plot of “This Man”, the new film from Tomojiro Amano that was screened in Fantasia 2024. I was glad that I was not disappointed. While I felt that this production did not have a big budget behind it, the story was very well developed and made very good use of the special effects with the resources available.

The characters were very likable and therefore you worry a lot when you see the misfortune starts to fall on them. (Although at the beginning of the film, I felt I was about to have a diabetic coma due to so much sweetness in the marriage mentioned before). Even when the film is not gory or very graphic, some moments might make you feel uneasy and the film surprises you by showing you that anybody can die in this story. Films like these, are the ones I enjoy the most. Continue reading →

Desde Fantasia 2024 : «This Man»

Posted on 26 July, 2024 by Zed Kosnar

Una amenaza que viene más allá del reino de los vivos parece estar detrás de los brutales asesinatos que están ocurriendo en aumento en varios lugares de Japón. El par de detectives que intenta detener esta bizarra epidemia de muertes notan un patrón: La mayoría de las victimas en algún momento eran atendidas por problemas psicológicos , y poco antes de sus muertes, aseguraban tener pesadillas donde un hombre de aspecto muy particular los trataba de asesinar.

Una pareja de casados que que vienen una aparente vida sin preocupaciones y que se sentían bendecidos por su hija, ven como su mundo se empieza a desmoronar cuando unas amigas de la madre le comparten que ellas también han visto en sus pesadillas a “Este Hombre” (que es como se la ha empezado a llamar por los medios), y ahora temen que sus muertes están cerca. ¿es esto un caso de histeria colectiva, o una advertencia de que la humanidad misma tiene sus días contados?

Desde el principio me atrajo mucho la premisa de “This Man”, el nuevo filme del director Tomojiro Amano, que fue presentado anoche en Fantasia 2024. Me dio gusto ver que no quedé para nada decepcionado, Mientras que sentí que esta producción no tenia mucho presupuesto detrás, la historia estuvo muy bien desarrollada y le sacó muy buen provecho a los efectos especiales y los recursos que tuvieron a la mano.

Los personajes principales me parecieron interesantes y con los que puedes empatizar, por tanto cuando empiezan a ocurrirles desgracias llegas a preocuparte por ellos. (aunque al principio del filme sentí que iba a tener un coma diabético por tanta dulzura de el matrimonio que mencioné antes). Aun y cuando el filme no es tiene mucha violencia gráfica ni hay reguero de entrañas, si hay momentos que pueden hacerte sentir mu incomodo y el filme te sorprende cuando deja muy claro que aquí cualquiera de los personajes se puede morir. Este tipo de filmes son mis favoritos (Venga el Factor Kosnar!!!). Continue reading →

From Fantasia 2024 : «Hell Is a Teenage Girl»

Posted on 25 July, 2024 by Zed Kosnar

I rarely review shorts (I just mostly recommend them). However, this Fantasia 2024, I saw several synopses that got my interest and made me think: “Why the hell not??” The first one to draw blood is “Hell is a Teenage Girl”, written and directed by Stephen Sawchuk.

I want to cut to the chase, so let me copy/paste the official synopsis and jump to the best stuff!

‘HELL IS A TEENAGE GIRL’ OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS:
Every Halloween, the small town of Springboro is terrorized by its resident SLASHER – a masked serial killer who targets sinful teenagers that break ‘The Rules of Horror’ – don’t drink, don’t do drugs, and don’t have sex! At the center of it all is Parker Campbell, the Slasher’s estranged biological daughter. In an attempt to clear her name and make things right with the town, Parker sets out on a life-or-death mission in hopes of ending his reign of terror once and for all…

Ok,

Let’s dig in!

I really liked this short. And I was surprised that it went for a serious route, when I am sure that other directors would take a comedic route, if not plain parody. This is a straight-up Slasher, and a good one at that!

Being only 15 minutes, it is understandable that a lot of background information could not be explained, but I think Stephen Sawchuk gave us all the information that we needed to understand Parker and her struggles. She is very likable, and it was cool to see that even when her life is a social living hell, she is not bitter at the whole world and nor wants to see it burn.

If anything, she wants to see only her father burn.

I think this could be expanded into a full feature, but it would need a lot of caution to not pad the plot with useless fillers or exposition. It would be tricky, but I am sure that we could see some moments of the original massacre that started the whole thing, without stealing the spotlight from Parker’s story. Continue reading →