Yakuza Apocalypse - A Vampire Yakuza is the Least Weird Concept in the Film

So if you haven't heard of Takashi Miike, he's considered to be quite the prolific director.  The guy has put some great serious films, to great action, to OMFGWTF moments.  Yakuza Apocalypse falls into the batshit crazy realm. A new Yakuza idolizes his boss who helps the neighborhood by keeping out big chain stores and enforcing a "no hurting the civilians" rule.  The boss is a vampire, and it isn't long before some wacky...hunters?...show up and take out the boss but not before passing the dark gift to the new recruit, who vows to avenge his boss.  But then a frog-type mascot shows up and kicks everyone's asses.

It's a fun ride, even if everything doesn't make much sense.  The action is good, but a little underwhelming given you have Yayan Ruhian from Raid fame.  I wasn't expecting this to be Raid quality fighting, but you have this amazing martial artists and he's not given the room he deserves.  There a good number of laughs, but most are from how bizarre some parts are...like the frog mascot.  It will kick some ass...then needs help going up the stairs.

This is good example of a midnight screening type of film.  It's kooky, you'll enjoy it, but it's not going to win any awards.  And the batshit crazy is a even throughout the film, but doesn't compare to the ending of The Lesson of Evil, which is still my favorite film of his that I've seen.

Overall, I'd say a 7 out of 10 for entertainment value.  I would have paid a normal ticket price to see this, and I'd see it again if it played as part of a Miike double or triple play.

February - A Slow, Cold Burn

February is the directorial debut of Osgood Perkins, who wanted to invoke some of the 70's horror films in terms of pacing and vibe.  Set during the end February at an all girls boarding school, Kat and Rose are left at the school since their parents are late picking them up for break.  Rose told her parents pick up was a different day so she could try to deal with a personal issue, but the headmaster and two of the faculty are trying to keep Kat's spirits up saying that maybe her parents were delayed.  During the night, not all is as it seems.  Outside of the boarding school, Joan is on the run and is aided by Bill and Linda on a journey of their own.  Everyone's stories revolve around the school.

This is very slow burn, and may not succeed in keeping your attention before things pick up.  It's not perfect, which the director agreed with, but for his first time, it does show a little promise.  There is a decent story here, but it is kind of clunky getting there.

Performances are ok.  Lucy Boynton is solid as Rose playing the older classmate trying not to care...but is a little worried about her issue.  Emma Roberts as Joan is subdued most of the film...not physically, but is just kind of there until her part get relevant...though even then we've seen more of her in American Horror Story and the Scream Queens premiere.  And finally Kiernan Shipka as Kat is the quiet freshman with maybe something to hide and a little creepy.  The rest of the cast are just there as support...except maybe James Remar as Bill, whose intentions are a little vague for awhile.

As I started to piece everything together, there was a moment I was hoping the film would take on path, which would have been a little refreshing than the path is ended up taking.  I don't want to spoil things, but I was hoping [redacted] would have [redacted].

Overall, like the performances, the film is just ok.  I wouldn't recommend spending money to see this in the theatres, but could be a good Netflix watch, especially if Perkins improves on his filmmaking.  I'd give this a 5 out of 10.

The Assassin - Subtlety and Beauty on 35mm

The Assassin, direct by Hsiao-hsien Hou, is about a woman who was taken as a child by a "nun" and trained to be an assassin.  While unmatched in combat, she fails a mission due to the target's child being with him.  Her master sends her back to where she was born and orders her to kill the man she was promised to marry, a man she cared for before she was taken.  She must now decide where her loyalties are; with her master or with the man she loved as a child.

From the beginning of the film, it is unbelievable has beautiful this film is...even as it starts in black and white.  The setting of rural China with majestic mountains, fields, forests, and marshes is a pleasure to watch, enhanced by the clarity of the 35mm print.  Hou, who won best director at Cannes for this film, lingers on scenes longer than most, but it allows one to soak in at all in.

These shots also serve another purpose, I think, in that it allows you to think more about the plot.  This is a slow paced movie that does not spell everything out for you.  The story is there, but you will need to pay attention to characters and names.  It also allows you to appreciate how certain scenes are shot.  There were a few scenes shot with sheet drapes in front of the camera, sometimes layered that would barely obscure your view...with the actors barely out of focus.  But once the wind moved the drapes and the characters could be seen with pure clarity, I had to wonder if this effect was done to mimic how the characters, and the audience to a degree, weren't seeing what exactly was happening.

The fight sequences are few, but very well done.  Apparently Hou only really shoots a scene once, wanting to keep things as real as possible...even if a little bit flawed.  I didn't see any real flaws in the fights, so great work to Hou and his actors.

Overall, I really enjoyed the movie.  Probably more so for how well Hou and his team shot the film than the story, but I would watch again and pay more attention to the plot. As we are given a voting slip after each film with scores between 1 and 10, I gave this film a 6 out of 10.  The first film is hard, you don't have a reference to what else can be seen.

The Assassin - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3508840/

Fantastic Arrival - Leading up to Day 1 of Fantastic Fest 2015

About Fantastic Fest

Fantastic Fest, held in Austin at the Alamo Drafthouse's South Lamar location, was started by Tim League of the Alamo Drafthouse in 2005.  The fest shows primarily films in the horror, sci-fi, fantasy, Asian, cult, and action films in addition to special and/or "secret" screenings and wide array of activities and events over the 8 day festival.

I've known about FF for the past couple of years, thanks to my go-to film and culture website, Birth.Movies.Death (formerly Badass Digest).  I've read great reviews of the fest as well as the films and the events, and some of the pictures have looked insane.  While I got to see one film last year while I was in town for MondoCon, I had been late to the game in terms of getting a badge and that was all I could get together.

Around April of 2015, I noticed that the Alamo Drafthouse had an auction up, and one of the items up for bid was a 2015 FF Fan Badge.  I bid on it when it was about $10 below cost ($300) and set a max of $310.  Luck was on my side and I got it at the $310 range.  Since I have some friends living in Austin and a goof amount of Virgin America points built up, I was able to make it this year...even during the 10/15 deadline for work...well I am working remotely anyway.  :)

So here I am now in Austin, starting this blog to review the fest, films, and events.  I am also working...multitasking!

While the films do not start until 5pm tonight, I wanted to provide a quick explanation on how the Fest works.

FF runs from Sept 24th through Sept Oct 1.  It operates in two phases: Phase 1 is Sept 24th through Sept 27th and Phase 2 is Sept 28th to Oct 1st.  Almost all of the films play once each phase with a couple exceptions like the secret screenings, which may differ, the opening and closing films, and special events.  Each day there 5 rounds of films, with 3-5 films playing per round.  By my rough count...that is about 70+ films overall.

You can attend FF in a number of ways:

• Super Fan - You are guaranteed your first choice at each round.  This is the most expensive badge, but you get to see exactly what you want to see.
• Fan - You are guaranteed a seat at each round, but might not be your first choice of film.  
• Individual Tickets - if there are seats available for any films in any of the rounds, they will be available on the FF website.

If you have a badge, you are given access to the FF ticketing website.  You must log in each day to select the films you would like to see, in order of preference for each round, for the next day.  You have until 4pm the day before to complete your selections, otherwise you are SOL.

The exception is opening day, which was open from Monday Sept 21st to Wed Sept 23rd until 4pm.  This was to allow people traveling to have ample time making their selections.

Coming Attractions

For opening night, I was able to get 2 out of 3 of my first choice films, which is a great start.  I also have already made my picks for tomorrow's rounds.  For now, I'll just give a heads up what I'll be reporting on later tonight once I finish with all the films.

• Round 1 - The Assassin 
• Directed by Hou Hsiao-Hsien (won best director for this film at Cannes 2015)
• During the ninth century, a general's young daughter is kidnapped and trained to become an exceptional assassin. When she doesn't execute a mission, she is ordered to kill her betrothed, forcing her to choose between love, family and the assassins.
• Initial thinking is that this will be an awesome film, which is good because this was my 2nd choice for the opening round.  
• Round 2 - February
• Directed by Osgood Perkins
• Two young students at a prestigious prep school for girls are assailed by an evil, invisible power when they are stranded at the school over winter break. 
• Opening Night film.
• Looking forward to seeing more of Emma Roberts, as I've liked her in American Horror Story and recently Scream Queens.
• Followed by Opening Night party, which is a demonic Xmas party with people dressing in ugly Xmas sweaters.
• Round 3 - Yakuza Apocalypse
• Directed by Takashi Miike
• When Kageyama is bitten by his dying vampire boss, he must get used to his new powers before seeking revenge.
• I'm a fan of Miike who puts out an ungodly number of films a year, and the ones I have seen have their moments of batshit crazy.  Also this stars Yayan Ruhian, an amazing martial artist from The Raid films.

Thanks for reading, and I'll be back later with a report on how the first day went.