Several of the Fantastic Fest films that I reviewed made their way onto Netflix streaming. Being the helpful sort, here’s my handy guide to the what to see and what to skip.
My review from the 2007 Festival:
A well-crafted, ingeniously plotted time travel thriller, Timecrimes made its WORLD premiere at the Festival last night. Not only that, director Nacho Vigalondo had literally just finished the final cut one week before. Previously nominated for an Oscar for the 2003 short film “7:35 de la mañana”, Vigalondo beautifully shot his first feature on a tiny budget. Like all great time travel stories, Timecrimes lures you with red herrings and misdirection. The film lags a bit in the second act as it falls into stereotypical plotting, but is redeemed with a fantastic third act and superior acting throughout.
The conversation with Vigalondo after the film– he was in attendance- was entertaining. Vigalondo, whose English is self-admittingly not that good, provided several purposefully humorous and insightful moments.
Someone in the audience asked a complex time travel question which Vigalondo could not understand in English. Another patron translated it into Spanish. The director shook his head. “I don’t even understand the question in my native tongue. Next.”
When discussing the overall morality theme of the movie: “[When a cheating man is caught with his mistress by his wife], the only way to save the marriage is to kill the girlfriend.”
On how he raised the funds for his first feature: “I’m the only one in the world to use an Oscar [nomination] to make a time travel movie.”
2007, again:
Starring renowned Hong Kong actor and director Donnie Yen as a no nonsense Dirty Harry-type cop in pre-Chinese takeover Hong Kong, Flash Point offers the perfect combination of cop drama and martial art combat. As the film begins, Inspector Jun Ma (Yen), known for his violent treatment of suspects, is demoted to being charge of the police music division. When Ma’s undercover partner encounters problems with the Viet mob, Ma doesn’t let a little thing like a demotion stand in his way. At a slim 88 minutes, Flash Point thrives on character development and well placed action scenes. The climatic battle between Yen and the collection of bad guys is mind boggling.
Jump to 2011:
Let The Bullets Fly quickly establishes the picture’s exquisite tone from the opening sequence. A lone train car–steam spewing from it spout—being pulled by a team of horses along railroad tracks. After gunshots are exchanges, events quickly lead to an exaggerated comedic train derailment in the finest Chinese movie slapstick fashion. With 1920s China as the backdrop, screen legends Chow Yun Fat and Jiang Wen (who also directs and wrote the screenplay) deliver virtuoso performances as the power hungry, greedy gangster and the Robin Hood style bandit, respectively. The thinly veiled pro-Chinese Revolution story abounds with fun fight scenes, intriguing interactions, and as the title promises, abundant gunplay, all wrapped within the epic feel of a Sergio Leone western.
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My comments from the 2011 Festival:
The balls-to-walls Korean crime drama The Yellow Sea electrifies with creative bloody combat using a machete, kitchen knives, and even a dog leg, intense chase sequences, and a riveting story. Cab driver Gu-nam, living in Yanji City, a Chinese region between North Korea and Russia dominated mostly by Joseonjok (Chinese citizens of Korean ancestry), goes deeply into debt to send his wife to Korea for work. After not hearing from her in six month, he fears she has left him. When largely due to his gambling problem, Gu-nam begins missing repayments to local thugs, he accepts an opportunity from powerful crime boss Myung-ga to wipe the slate clean. He must journey to South Korea and kill a man! While there, Gu-nam searches for his wife. Things goes horribly wrong and Gu-nam must escape the police and gangsters. The Yellow Sea is sure to thrill even the most jaded crime film fan.
In which I speak poorly of this movie:
Despite an interesting premise, The Corridor delivered a mediocre horror experience with a scant few shocks. After spending several years in a mental institution following the death of his unbalanced mother, Tyler invites four childhood friends to the family cabin in the Canadian wilderness for a wake. After scattering his mother’s ashes, Tyler begins to have visions of a room in the forest surrounded by shimmering walls. In an attempt to prove he’s not insane, Tyler shares his experience with his friends. This time the it appears as a long corridor. Soon after the men start acting strangely then eventually psychotic even homicidal. The performances ranged from average to of the film, nothing memorable. While not a terrible script, it exhibits nothing particularly original or exemplary. The boring film feels very much like a first movie, full of potential that ultimately fails in its boredom.
And on the same day I destroyed The Corridor, I lavished praise:
Based on Jo Nesbø’s bestselling book, the taut, intelligent Headhunters reveals the secret art thief identity of successful corporate headhunter Roger Brown (Aksel Hennie). Initially just a well crafted caper film, unexpected plot twists morph the story into something completely different yet equally fascinating, culminating in a creative, surprising, and satisfying conclusion. Hennie delivers a pitch perfect performance, perhaps the best of the festival, as the unlikable lead, replete with inferiority complexes and disgusting displays of arrogance. Director Morten Tyldum superior handling of scene and action produces a top flight, edge-of-your-seat thriller. Ripe for a remake, see Headhunters before the inferior American remake hits theaters.
One of the funniest movies I’ve seen at Fantastic Fest:
An extrapolation of the hit Danish TV series of the same name, the riotous comedy Klown follows two longtime friends (Frank Hvam and Casper Christensen reprising their roles as exaggerated versions of themselves from the show) on a canoe trip to an exclusive one-night-a-year brothel for a “Tour De Pussy.” Before the debauchery begins, Frank accidentally learns his longtime girlfriend is pregnant. Fearing he is not father material, she contemplates getting an abortion. In a misguided attempt to prove her wrong, Frank kidnaps her 11 year old nephew, forcing him along on the journey. Chaos ensues. A raunchy film along the lines of The Hangover, Klown offered many laugh-out-loud scenes expertly combined with bittersweet, incisive moments.
It’s a bit early for this years films to show up streaming, but if history is any guide, some of best will eventually be there.
*As always with streaming movies, things may change at a moment's notice. YMMV*
