Fantasia Film Festival: The Battery Review by Oz & Panagiotis Drakopoulos
Oz’s
Take: THE BATTERY. WHO IS THE BATTERY? MICKEY
(Actor/Producer Adam Cronheim)? BEN (Director/Writer/Producer/Actor
Jeremy Gardner)? ME? YOU? Fuck zombie movies, fuck them all compared
to this low budget masterpiece. I’ve seen it all “being an old
man,” but this one, this one sparked my imagination.
I
talked with the guys from the film and I can't say that I didn't
leave impressed. Aggressive, energetic, projective, intense,
personal, and ambitious, these fellas had all the proper
dealing/recipe to make a fuck you soup. Fuck you standing for
imagination, representation and expression, and not genital exercise.
A beautiful zombie flick yet light on the zombies. The human person
was the main star here. You are like this, I am like this but what WE
are at the end of the world where our only neighbours/contact to
walking flesh is zombies? Oh but don't say the z word, Mickey has
issues dealing with this. Why? Cuz he has issues of letting go,
letting go of yesterday, letting go of sanity, letting go of comfort
and security. This new world isn't here to welcome you or hug you or
keep you warm, this world is here to strip you bear boned. This world
is here to fucking measure your mettle and what you are willing to do
to survive. Ben is your guide to this reality and Mickey is a false
hope that wants you to stick to your yesterday. A journey that tests
both men to their limits, it was a pleasure and an honour being
included on the ride.
Panagiotis’
Take: The Battery is
one of those films that will leave you wanting more. Wanting you to
feel uneasy and asking questions about humanity. The premise of the
film follows two former baseball players Ben (Jeremy Gardner) and
Mickey (Adam Cronheim) trying to survive the zombie apocalypse.
Tension mounts between the two. Ben feels at easy living a nomadic
and undomesticated life. While Mickey is unable to cope with his
current living conditions and wants a static lifestyle, a bed, a
woman, shelter, and to be social with human life (outside of Ben).
The constant fighting between them leads to many twists and turn, and
an horrifying ending. The Battery could
easily take place in the same universe as The
Walking Dead television series or any of
George A. Romero zombie film. With a budget about $6000, this film
does more with less. It’s all the story and the human drama of two
people trying to survive in a world run by zombies. The
Battery is a film that everyone should check
out and experience for themselves. A true hidden gem and a game
changer to the horror genre.
Fantasia Film Festival: DOOMSDAYS Review by Panagiotis Drakopoulos
DOOMSDAYS
is one of the most unique films I’ve ever
seen. It’s a comedy about preparing for the apocalypse. The story
is about two friends Dirty Fred (Justin Rice) and Bruno (Leo
Fitzpatrick) who are uncertain about the future due to the declining
petroleum resources will lead to the collapse of the modern world.
Instead of waiting for the end, both men decide to live life as a
couple of vagabonds. Breaking into vacant homes and staying there
until they run out of supplies or when the home owners return. This
becomes a daily routine until they meet with up a runaway teenage
named Jaidon (Brian Charles Johnson) and a woman at a party named
Reyna (Laura Campbell) join the duo on their travels. This leads into
huge shift within the group. DOOMSDAYS is
great film with an awesome cast and a very original concept. The
principal cast has a special bond between them, to a point where
these fictional characters feel like real people. This from a strong
script and direction from writer/director Eddie Mullins. I enjoy
watching the film and planning on watching it again at the festival.
I highly recommend this film and look forward for Mr. Mullins next
project.
Fantasia Film Festival: Rurouni Kenshin Review by Panagiotis Drakopoulos
Rurouni Kenshin is
based on the popular manga(comic) of the same name, created by
Nobuhiro Watsuki, which appeared in Weekly
Shonen Jump back in the mid 90s. The two plus
hour film was able to cover the first major story arc of the comic.
With some minor changes to the original source material. The film
follows a wanderer named Himura Kenshin (Takeru Satoh), who wants to
spend his days in peace. But a decade prior, he was a former assassin
with a bloody past known as “Hitokiri Battosai.” While on his
journey he meets the lovely and compassionate
Kamiya Kaoru (Emi Takei) the owner of her late
father’s dojo. After this faithful encounter between the two,
Kenshin must wield his sword again to take down an evil businessman
named Takeda Kenryu (Teruyuki Kagawa). Rurouni
Kenshin is the perfect film for both a male
and female audience. Insane and over the top action scenes mix with
romance and a sprinkle of comedy all around. There are some issues I
do have with the film. Some of the comedy bits during the most
dramatic scenes in the film felt in weird and out of place, and
trying to compress a long a comic story into a 135 minute film felt
overwhelming. Yet, this is still a great film that got a loud
applause from the audience when the credits rolled on screen. If
Rurouni Kenshin is
playing at your local cinema or film festival I highly recommend for
you to watch this film.
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