Fantasia 15 - Thursday
I was mostly packed for my big trip the night before, which was wise considering my state after Temple. I had a... less than pleasant evening, and was eager to get out of the city. Michael and the rest of our crew (Nicole and Amanda) pulled in a little ahead of schedule. Tired and unfed, I packed up and we hit the road, the only thing I forgot was my phone. I'd miss the ability to tell time, but it's not like anyone was planning on calling anyone. If our trip was a horror movie, this would come back to haunt me.
The weather was gorgeous and we made great time on our way to Canada. The border crossing was very quick, and we arrived in front of the hall with fifteen minutes to spare. Nicole and I grabbed our tickets (lots of tickets) and we sat down for our first movie.
13 Aassassins (director's cut) : Takashi Miike - Lord Naritsugu is a rapist, killer, and sociopath. He's also related to the Shogun ,and immune to any official punishment. Unofficially, a samurai is willing to accept dishonor and death to do what must be done. He recruits eleven other skilled samurai (and one semi-supernatural peasant), and sets a trap for the sociopathic Lord. Thirteen assassins fight against three hundred soldiers at the end of the reign of the samurai. Takashi can take any genre and make it both amazing and disturbing. 13 Assassins a far cry from Ichi the Killer, but still manages to creep you out on occasion. The last third of the movie is one epic battle scene that puts movies like 300 to shame. No so-mo, so CGI, just brutal down and dirty sword fighting. An excellent start to the festival. 4/5 katanas.
We all stuck around for the next film directly after.
Gantz : Shinsuke Sato - Ordinary people are snatched away at the moment of death by Gantz, a black sphere with strange powers. The former dead must hunt down alien threats for points, and get cool guns and slick latex suits which protect and augment their abilities. Some people take to their new status well, others try to avoid fighting at all. I found the movie very frustrating at first, since unlike the Matrix most of Gantz's recruits are not good at fighting. The pacing was slow at times, which I guess is more the style of manga based films, and there were lots of cutsey/angsty moments. The fight scenes do get more awesome, and by the end of the film there is some great character growth. The film sets you up for the sequel, which was also showing this year. 3/5 black spheres
The rest of our crew couldn't get tickets to the next film, so I was on my own for the next film.
Absentia : Mike Flannagan - Holy crap this was a good movie! A woman is about to declare her husband legall dead after being gone for seven years. Her ex-junkie sister shows up to visit her after vanishing herself for a few years. The movie gets creepier and creepier as the woman keeps seeing her dead husband showing up, and we learn that there are lots of other disappearances in the neighborhood too, all focused around a tunnel leading under a highway. This film had a very small budget and used almost no special effects, but it managed to creep out and scare the audience over and over again. The performances start a little weak but get better quickly. You're always meant to question whether something supernatural or mundane is going on, but make no mistake: the lack of effects make whatever is going on utterly terrifying. Easily one of the best films I saw this year or any year. The director and several cast members gave a Q&A after the movie, one of the great things about Fantasia is getting to talk with the creators about their films. It was followed by The Suicide Tapes, which was another harrowing short film. If this film comes to Boston, you Must See It. When I get it, there will be a viewing. 5/5 tunnels
After the movie, I returned to the hotel. There was a note with the address of a techo night, and a reminder that my posse was at Peel Pub for dollar shot night. I walked down to the pub, but I couldn't find them there. I polished off a dozen shots and grabbed a cab. Keep in mind that Canadian shots are wee little things, since alcohol is tightly metered Up North. My gregarious driver kept me entertained, but was as puzzled as I was when no bar existed at the address I had. He found the address on his phone and we drove there, the street was right but the numbers were wrong. The bar was dark and mostly empty, and pretty seedy. My posse was no where to be scene. Remember how I didn't have my phone, and remember how I didn't think I'd need it? Rather than drop any more money on a cab, I walked the thirteen blocks or so back to the hotel. Crossfit makes real life easier, so I was mostly sober when I returned, but not ready to end the night on a down note. I drifted into a Eurotrash bar juts down the street from the hotel for some pricey martinis, and watched the Pretty and Popular dance the night away. I decided that night that this would be the Do It Big weekend, a philosophy that would guide all my remaining decisions.
I left the pretty girls behind (and there we so many pretty girls) and crashed back at the hotel room, which was still empty. The lights were off for maybe five minutes before my posse returned. Apparently they had a window seat at Peel Pub, and all of us managed to miss seeing each other. Apologies were made, more drinks were had, and all was forgiven by night's end.
The Do It Big weekend had begun.
The weather was gorgeous and we made great time on our way to Canada. The border crossing was very quick, and we arrived in front of the hall with fifteen minutes to spare. Nicole and I grabbed our tickets (lots of tickets) and we sat down for our first movie.
13 Aassassins (director's cut) : Takashi Miike - Lord Naritsugu is a rapist, killer, and sociopath. He's also related to the Shogun ,and immune to any official punishment. Unofficially, a samurai is willing to accept dishonor and death to do what must be done. He recruits eleven other skilled samurai (and one semi-supernatural peasant), and sets a trap for the sociopathic Lord. Thirteen assassins fight against three hundred soldiers at the end of the reign of the samurai. Takashi can take any genre and make it both amazing and disturbing. 13 Assassins a far cry from Ichi the Killer, but still manages to creep you out on occasion. The last third of the movie is one epic battle scene that puts movies like 300 to shame. No so-mo, so CGI, just brutal down and dirty sword fighting. An excellent start to the festival. 4/5 katanas.
We all stuck around for the next film directly after.
Gantz : Shinsuke Sato - Ordinary people are snatched away at the moment of death by Gantz, a black sphere with strange powers. The former dead must hunt down alien threats for points, and get cool guns and slick latex suits which protect and augment their abilities. Some people take to their new status well, others try to avoid fighting at all. I found the movie very frustrating at first, since unlike the Matrix most of Gantz's recruits are not good at fighting. The pacing was slow at times, which I guess is more the style of manga based films, and there were lots of cutsey/angsty moments. The fight scenes do get more awesome, and by the end of the film there is some great character growth. The film sets you up for the sequel, which was also showing this year. 3/5 black spheres
The rest of our crew couldn't get tickets to the next film, so I was on my own for the next film.
Absentia : Mike Flannagan - Holy crap this was a good movie! A woman is about to declare her husband legall dead after being gone for seven years. Her ex-junkie sister shows up to visit her after vanishing herself for a few years. The movie gets creepier and creepier as the woman keeps seeing her dead husband showing up, and we learn that there are lots of other disappearances in the neighborhood too, all focused around a tunnel leading under a highway. This film had a very small budget and used almost no special effects, but it managed to creep out and scare the audience over and over again. The performances start a little weak but get better quickly. You're always meant to question whether something supernatural or mundane is going on, but make no mistake: the lack of effects make whatever is going on utterly terrifying. Easily one of the best films I saw this year or any year. The director and several cast members gave a Q&A after the movie, one of the great things about Fantasia is getting to talk with the creators about their films. It was followed by The Suicide Tapes, which was another harrowing short film. If this film comes to Boston, you Must See It. When I get it, there will be a viewing. 5/5 tunnels
After the movie, I returned to the hotel. There was a note with the address of a techo night, and a reminder that my posse was at Peel Pub for dollar shot night. I walked down to the pub, but I couldn't find them there. I polished off a dozen shots and grabbed a cab. Keep in mind that Canadian shots are wee little things, since alcohol is tightly metered Up North. My gregarious driver kept me entertained, but was as puzzled as I was when no bar existed at the address I had. He found the address on his phone and we drove there, the street was right but the numbers were wrong. The bar was dark and mostly empty, and pretty seedy. My posse was no where to be scene. Remember how I didn't have my phone, and remember how I didn't think I'd need it? Rather than drop any more money on a cab, I walked the thirteen blocks or so back to the hotel. Crossfit makes real life easier, so I was mostly sober when I returned, but not ready to end the night on a down note. I drifted into a Eurotrash bar juts down the street from the hotel for some pricey martinis, and watched the Pretty and Popular dance the night away. I decided that night that this would be the Do It Big weekend, a philosophy that would guide all my remaining decisions.
I left the pretty girls behind (and there we so many pretty girls) and crashed back at the hotel room, which was still empty. The lights were off for maybe five minutes before my posse returned. Apparently they had a window seat at Peel Pub, and all of us managed to miss seeing each other. Apologies were made, more drinks were had, and all was forgiven by night's end.
The Do It Big weekend had begun.