I am vastly entertained by it all... Or not.

Dear Mr. Vernon, We accept the fact that we had to sacrifice a whole Saturday in detention for whatever it was we did wrong. But we think you're crazy to make us write an essay telling you who we think we are. You see us as you want to see us... In the simplest terms and the most convenient definitions...... But what we found out is that each one of us is a brain... ...and an athlete... ...and a basket case... ...a princess... ...and a criminal... Does that answer your question?

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Submissions by Stephanie Kruger:

Cultura

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Fantastic Fest 2012 Day 1- Dogs, Chaos, Pickled Penises, and More

In the great tradition of Fantastic Fest, opening night was a mess. Frankenweenie had its World Premiere and just like years past some of the admittance was open to the public. Only this year it was the public and some lap dogs. No this is not a euphemism. Actual lap dogs were in attendance. It was a PR stunt that seemed cute until I learned that Tim Burton himself is allergic to dogs and couldn't sit in the same theater as them. I believe he still slipped in and greeted the audience. I don't know exactly because I decided to swim upstream of this madness (after having to check my cellphone and Kindle due to security reasons for the premiere showing in the same building) and see the Korean film Doomsday Book instead. I am glad I did because it was a good way to start the fest. Doomsday Book has been six years in the making. It was to be a three-part film directed by Kim Ji-Woon, Yim Pil-Sung (director of HANSEL & GRETEL and ANTARCTIC JOURNAL) and Han Jae-Rim (THE SHOW MUST GO ON). The production was started in 2006 but due to lack of funding they were not able to complete Han's portion of the film so it was shelved. Eventually they obtained additional funding and were able to restart production in 2010. Han's portion was abandoned and the remaining two directors collaborated for the third portion. The first segment, titled "A Brave New World" directed by Yim Pil-Sung is your average viral outbreak film. It does have highlights though. Such as the genesis of the virus which comes from a harried young Korean man who defies trash recycling laws, dumping mixed trash (including a mysterious looking rotted apple) into the compost bin. The following fun, quick cut sequence shows the travels of the virus back into the food system. The other highlight is a political debate that travels from politics to personal attacks and eventually evolves into a strange impromptu folk music jam. The symbolic use of an apple and the Garden of Eden that is a bit much towards the end. The second segment, Kim Ji-Woon’s “The Heavenly Creature” is a heady, philosophical look at spiritual enlightenment and technology. It is very well done. Set in the future, the focus is on a service robot (that looks a lot like the robots from I, Robot and the Bjork "All Is Full Of Love" video) that resides in a Buddhist monk temple. An engineer is sent to look into the service robot and what he finds is a group of monks that believe the robot has reached a level of enlightenment beyond their reach. Then it becomes apparent that they may believe that the robot is embodying a reincarnation of Buddha. What transpires is an fascinating look at what consciousness is and where it may lay. The idea of technology holding consciousness is seemingly a threat to some and is strongly objected to. I found this segment to be fascinating but the guy next to me fell asleep and snored a bit. This being one of the first screenings of the fest, I think that guy is in for a LONG week. The third segment, "Happy Birthday" is a collaboration between the two directors. This follows a young girl, her parents, and her uncle. A large mass is hurdling towards Earth and impending doom looms. I don't want to give specifics because this bit is a little more off the wall. It is an enjoyable ride. One great portion of this is the meltdown of the news anchors on TV. Highly entertaining. All in all Doomsday Book was a good start to the fest. Next up was the documentary, Final Member. This one made all the guys in the audience squirm. Sigurdur “Siggi” Hjartarson established, owns, and operates the Icelandic Phallological Museum. It is home to the largest collection of mammalian penises. I like to refer to them as a bunch of pickled penises but that is really only the foundation of this doc. You see, Siggi's collection is not complete. He is missing one. A human penis. Well after many years of pursuing the elusive male appendage, two people have stepped forward wishing to leave their penis to the museum. One is a fellow Icelander who is a 95 year old former explorer and self pronounced womanizer. The other is a Californian who is not so much concerned about helping complete the collection as he is wishing to let his appendage, named Elmo, seek out fame and glory for itself. So much so that he is willing to part ways with it BEFORE he passes. Yup, you couldn't make this stuff up folks. The situation becomes even more bizarre and intriguing. The film is partially a study in legacy and ego. It may seem like a bizarre topic for a documentary but it is so much more than that. Last film of the day was an Argentinean film. Memory of the Dead by Director Javier Diment, and writer Martin Blousson. A woman's lover dies and she gathers his closest friends together to perform a ritual to bring him back to life. The story is different. But the film? The film is an Evil Dead rip off. Specific shots are used (shakey cam shot of the exterior of the house with the same boiling demonic sound) and even scenes are lifted from Evil Dead 2 (Ash's laughter breakdown where the inanimate objects in the cabin come to life in laughter). I felt that being inspired by and recreating are two vastly different things. It kind of upset me and made me excuse everything I liked about the film. It's not a terrible film but like I said before, I can appreciate an homage to a film but ripping a film off is too much. I guess I should have stayed for the Q and A but I didn't trust myself to NOT stand up and ask "What inspired you to rip off Sam Raimi's Evil Dead?"

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This is so disturbing and well done. Much respect... Boo Boo does what he has to and frankly Yogi has had it coming....

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Fantastic Fest 2010 @ 9 am after website fail. Chaos still reigns...

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Sunday afternoon.

[filmben-deactivated20220217]

[jacquescostaud-deactivated20181]

filmbear:

Yum.

Here’s to gays who drink good beer!

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Badass commercial.... Its odd too...

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fantasticfest:

The Top Gun of horror franchises? From the documentary Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy, it’s revealed that the gay subtext in Nightmare On Elm Street 2 was intentional.

And this was a mystery? Have you SEEN the film? I mean COME ON!!! Its gayer than Bruce Vilanch!

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Oh Ralph.....

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WTF?! Well wait... Whats the baby's name?

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I really, really, REALLY need to know the story behind this Patrick Swayze tattoo.... Really...

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Too funny...

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I bottled my Watermelon Wit beer today. Replaced the traditional coriander and orange peel with red chili and lime peel. Had a taste. Crazy waves of subtle flavors.

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One these things is not like the other in this piece by Brandon Bird called “Uncanny Valley.”

[insectrecords]

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(via insectrecords)