A terminally ill former government agent reckons with mortality while bonding with a clone birthed to cure humanity’s ills in Lee Yong-ju’s high concept thriller
Aug 11, 2021 • Subscribe
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The Hut (피막, Lee Doo-yong, 1981)
A shamaness finds herself trying to exorcise the restless ghosts of the past when called to cure the son of a noble house in Lee Doo-yong’s eerie drama.
The Roundup (범죄도시 2, Lee Sang-yong, 2022)
Ma Dong-seok returns as maverick cop Seok-do this time righting wrongs abroad he tracks a vicious Korean ganger offing tourists in Vietnam.
The Roundup: No Way Out (범죄도시 3, Lee Sang-yong, 2023)
Good bad cop Seok-do faces off against corrupt cops and yakuza drug dealers in the third instalment in the popular series.
A Bloodthirsty Killer (殺人魔 / 살인마, Lee Yong-min, 1965)
A hapless middle-aged man finds himself haunted by the spectre of wronged femininity in Lee Yong-min’s eerie gothic chiller.
Killing Romance (킬링 로맨스, Lee Won-suk, 2023) [Fantasia 2023]
A once famous actress sets out to reclaim her autonomy from an abusive, controlling, billionaire husband in Lee Won-suk’s hilariously off the wall comedy.
Ju-on: Origins
(This is one of the ones I watch so that you don’t have to, folks. Spoilers ahead.) Against all odds, I still hold out hope for Japanese horror—that…
Midnight (미드나이트, Kwon Oh-seung, 2021) [Fantasia 2021]
A deaf woman and her mother become unwitting targets for a sadistic serial killer in Kwon’s extraordinarily tense chase through the darkened streets of Soeul
Follow The Light (2021) review [Fantasia Festival 2021]
The narrative might not offer anything new at a thematical level, but stands out due to his refusal to spell things out and, instead, imply certain subjective truths…
Not Out (낫아웃, Lee Jung-gon, 2021)
A young man goes to drastic lengths to make his baseball dreams come true in Lee Jung-gon’s unexpectedly dark character study
Action Hero (액션히어로, Lee Jin-ho, 2021)
A student dreaming of becoming an action star decides to expose institutional corruption at his uni while making a film in Lee Jin-ho’s action dramedy
The Sadness (哭悲, Robert Jabbaz, 2021) [Fantasia 2021]
A young couple find themselves caught up in an epidemic of sadistic violence in Robert Jabbaz’ defiantly depraved satirical horror
Shari (シャリ, Nao Yoshigai, 2021) [Fantasia 2022]
A red monster roams the landscape smearing its blood wherever it goes in Nao Yoshigai’s surreal documentary hybrid.
Tokyo Revengers (2021) Review [Fantasia Film Festival]
“An exciting blend of satisfying violence, tensive moments, surges of pleasing lightheartedness, and touching emotional moments.”
Seire (세이레, Park Kang, 2021) [Fantasia 2022]
A new father finds himself haunted by paternal anxiety and old transgressions in Park Kang’s eerie folk horror.
Ju-shin Ly-ger: Ogiue Maniax Status Update for July 2021
Summer 2021 anime is just beginning, and there are plenty of shows I’m looking forward to. Chief among them is Getter Robo Arc, bringing the classic giant robot…
Tokyo Revengers (東京リベンジャーズ, Tsutomu Hanabusa, 2021) [Fantasia 2021]
A dejected 27-year-old gets a second chance to face his high school trauma in Hanabusa’s high school delinquent x time travel manga adaptation
Kakegurui 2: Ultimate Russian Roulette (2021) review [Fantasia Festival 2021]
“Hanabusa’s second outing proves to be as enjoyable and thrilling as the first.”
I am More (모어, Lee Il-ha, 2021)
Lee Il-ha’s musical documentary follows transgender drag artist More as she prepares for a concert in New York celebrating the 50th anniversary of Stonewall.
Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko (2021) [Fantasia Film festival]
“A great animation film that offers an emotional and moving celebration of the strength of the bond between a daughter and a mother.”
Fantasia International Film Festival Confirms Complete 2021 Programme
In cinemas and streaming across Canada Aug. 5 – 25
Chorokbam (초록밤, Yoon Seo-jin, 2021) [Fantasia 2022]
A small family contend with the persistent unfairness of the contemporary society in Yoon Seo-jin’s slow burn indie drama.
Dreams of Fire (2021) review [Fantasia Film festival]
“McKie’s film is not only the best dance-film of recent years but might very well be one of the best Japanese films to be released this year.”
Sexual Drive (性的衝動, Kota Yoshida, 2021) [Fantasia 2021]
A strange spirit of sexual liberation visits three troubled couples in Kota Yoshida’s odyssey of food-themed eroticism.
Anemone: A Fairy Tale for No Kids (아네모네, Jung Ha-yong, 2021)
A winning lottery ticket that may or may not have been bought exposes the cracks in an already unhappy family in Jung Ha-yong’s extremely dark comedy.
The Book of Fish (자산어보, Lee Joon-ik, 2021)
An “evil learning sinner” and a fisherman fixated on Neo-Buddhist thought butt heads while compiling an encyclopaedia of fish in Lee’s contemplative drama
Ju-On: The Grudge (2002) review
Shimizu’s narrative remains, after all these years, an effective horror film and a J-horror classic in its own right.
The Mole Song: Final (2021) review [Fantasia Film Festival]
Miike’s narrative delivers everything a fan of the previous narratives desires and even succeeds in inviting newcomers to delve into Reiji’s past exploits.
Love, Live, and Goldfish (2021) review [Fantasia Film Festival]
“While Makabe’s narrative does not offer anything truly new or groundbreaking, what it does brings to the table is served with excellence.”
Next Door (옆집사람, Yeom Ji-ho, 2021) [Fantasia 2022]
An aspiring policeman becomes embroiled in a kafkaesque series of events after waking up next to a dead body in next-door’s apartment in Yeom Ji-ho’s deliciously dark farce.
Fantasia 2010
Tuesday, Fantasia announced the highlights of its programming and posted all the details on its website . The 14th edition of the Fant...
Bleach, Naruto, King of Thorn, Metropolis, Oblivion Island: Haruka and the Magic Mirror
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detective fiction, 推理小説、games,
Girl from Phantasia, When They Cry, Umineko: When They Cry, When the Seagulls Cry Specials
Dear Pyongyang (Yang Yong-hi, 2006)
Raised in Japan director Yang Yong-hi finds herself struggling to accept her parents’ commitment to North Korean ideology in her moving personal doc Dear Pyongyang
Soulmate (소울메이트, Min Yong-keun, 2023)
The close friendship between two young women is disrupted by the onset of adolescence in Min Yong-keun’s remake of Derek Tsang’s friendship drama.
Remain In Twilight (くれなずめ, Daigo Matsui, 2021) [Fantasia 2021]
A group of high school friends is forced to confront unresolved grief while rehearing for a wedding in Daigo Matsui’s moving metaphysical drama
Satoshi Kon: The Illusionist (Satoshi Kon, l’illusionniste, Pascal-Alex Vincent, 2021) [Fantasia 2021]
Pascal-Alex Vincent paints an enigmatic picture of the late Perfect Blue director
Lee Marvin Centennial
“Lee was my kind of actor, a real tough-looking, tough-talking sonofabitch.” – Sam Fuller Lee Marvin was born in New York City on Feb. 19, 1924. Today marks…
Dr. Lamb (羔羊醫生, Danny Lee Sau-Yin & Billy Tang Hin-Shing, 1992) [Fantasia 2022]
Inept Hong Kong police attempt to understand the motivations of a sadistic serial killing taxi driver in Danny Lee Sau-Yin & Billy Tang Hin-Shing’s gruesome Cat III thriller.
Jigoku-no-hanazono ~Office Royale~ (2021) review [Fantasia Film Festival]
“An absurd and crazy cocktail full of violence and funny twists and unexpected turns.”
Fantasia Confirms Second Wave of Titles for 2021 Virtual Edition
Streaming in Canada Aug. 5 to 25.
Hello! Tapir (嗨!神獸, Kethsvin Chee, 2020) [Fantasia 2021]
A small boy begins to process grief and loss while searching for nightmare-eating tapirs in Kethsvin Chee’s charmingly retro fantasy adventure
Good morning (안녕하세요, Cha Bong-ju, 2022)
A lonely high school girl discovers the meaning of life after being taken in by the patients at a hospice for the terminally ill in Cha Bong-ju’s lighthearted…
Zombie Infection (Belaban Hidup: Infeksi Zombie, Ray Lee Voon Leong, 2021)
An indigenous village discovers isolation is no longer enough to keep them safe when faced with an undead threat in Ray Lee’s zombie drama
Anime Herald Talks With Johnny Yong Bosch
Anime Herald: As someone who's been in the industry for plus-20 years at this point, what would you say is the biggest change to occur within the anime
Afternoon Landscape Dir: Sohn Koo-yong (2020) South Korea [Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival 2021]
Afternoon Landscape is an absorbing exploration of the quiet areas of Seoul that evoked memories of my own. It plays as part of the Yamagata International Documentary Film…
Georama Boy, Panorama Girl (ジオラマボーイ・パノラマガール, Natsuki Seta, 2020) [Fantasia 2021]
Lovelorn teens experience parallel moments of romantic disillusionment in Natsuki Seta’s charmingly retro teen comedy
Goodbye, Don Glees! (グッバイ、ドン・グリーズ!, Atsuko Ishizuka, 2021) [Fantasia 2022]
Three teenage boys come to terms with past and future while on a climactic summer adventure in Atsuko Ishizuka’s heartfelt coming-of-age anime.
Follow the Light (光を追いかけて, Yoichi Narita, 2021) [Fantasia 2021]
An alienated young man resentful of his forced relocation to the countryside bonds with an intense classmate in Yoichi Narita’s gentle coming of age drama
Jigoku-no-Hanazono: Office Royale (地獄の花園, Kazuaki Seki, 2021) [Fantasia 2021]
Office ladies go to war in Kazuaki Seki’s anarchic, Bakarhythm-scripted transposition of the yankee manga to the world of the OL
Bruce Lee Comics (1994)
In looking through boxes of comic books I purchased in the 1990s, I found five issues of “Bruce Lee,” a comic series from 1994, published by Malibu Comics.…
In the Name of the Son (아들의 이름으로, Lee Jung-gook, 2021)
A mild-mannered designated driver finds himself torn apart by the unresolved trauma of the buried past Lee Jung-gook’s intense character study