While she’s not busy beating up the creator of Fantastic Fest, Tim League, Michelle Rodriguez is off making some pretty bad ass films. She was the strong female lead (not the damsel in distress) in this summer’s Machete, and now it seems that she’s got another machine-gun-toting action film in the works with Citizen Jane.

As awesome of a premise as you could come up with given that title, you can imagine what the filmmakers were thinking of when this concept was written out.

Citizen Jane stars Michelle Rodriguez as Charlotte Foster Jane, a lethal assassin hell bent on avenging the murder of her parents in this guns blazing, action packed retelling of Orson Welles 1941 classic, Citizen Kane.

She will do anything for her Rosebud…

Set to release September 5th of next year (during Fantastic Fest ’11, no doubt), we will hopefully get some more info about the film as we get closer to the release date. In the meantime, check out the intense teaser trailer for it after the jump and ask yourself “What would you Xanadu?”

Continue Reading →

By Shannon Hood and Jane Almirall

Each day we will provide you with capsule reviews and impressions of the films we see at Fantastic Fest, along with any activities or interviews we attend.  Complete reviews and interviews can be found on the site in upcoming weeks.

Day one of fantastic fest we hit the ground running and went straight from the airport to pick up our press badges.  We managed to cram in three screenings for the day, starting at 4pm.  Not too shabby.

Screening: Stone. Directed by John Curran and starring Edward Norton, Robert De Niro, Frances Conroy, and Milla Jovovich.  Summary: A convicted arsonist (Norton) looks to manipulate a parole officer (De Niro) into a plan to secure his parole by placing his beautiful wife (Jovovich)  in the lawman’s path.

Jane’s thoughts:  This was an unusual experience for me.  I was half expecting this to play out like a thriller-but instead I watched a slow (but evenly paced) meditative, existential character study.

The performances were great, but I can’t say I enjoyed the film (to its credit,we discussed it a great deal afterwards.)

The characters in Stone never quite feel like actual people, rather they represent certain characteristics of humanity.  Their stories slowly unfold to reveal that in the end, we are back at the beginning and haven’t moved an inch.

Continue Reading →

At the risk of repeating myself too much I will again express my love for a film festival in Austin, TX known as Fantastic Fest. It features some of the best and most innovative programming and events of any festival I’ve been to and is also a whole lot of fun. So naturally, whenever there’s news from the fest, as their is today, I’m going to share it.

With that in mind comes today’s news. Fantastic Fest has announced its opening night film and, drum roll please, that film is the vampire thriller Let Me In. The film, directed by Cloverfield‘s Matt Reeves, stars Chloe Moretz, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Elias Koteas and Richard Jenkins, tells the story of an alienated boy named Owen (Smit-McPhee) who spies on the other residents of his apartment complex. His only friend is his new neighbor, a young girl (Moretz) who lives with her silent father (Jenkins) and who turns out not to be at all what she seems.

The film will screen following a red carpet event and kick off the fest on Thursday, September 23rd at The Paramount Theater in Austin. Knowing the fest as I do this seems like a perfect film to kick things off. Sure, some people may not be into this upcoming remake of the terrific Let the Right One In but as a fan of Reeves’ earlier work on Cloverfield and after having seen some info about this new film, I’m convinced this was a great way to go.

Fantastic Fest runs from September 23-30 in Austin, Texas. Check out the full press release after the jump.

Continue Reading →

Remember the first time you saw Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer? If you were like me, you felt a bit dirty by the end for watching it, and a little sick to your stomach due to its disturbing realistic violence.  At the conclusion of Red, White, and Blue I had that same mix of shame and disgust, and I wasn’t exactly excited about an upcoming lunch of shredded beef burritos, if you know what I mean.  It takes quite a bit to conjure up such a visceral reaction in me, so kudos to director Simon Rumley (The Living and the Dead) for pushing all the right buttons.

The movie begins with a bang (or two, or three) of the sexual variety. Erica is the type of woman who looks like she was rode hard and put away wet.  She recklessly scours the bars of Austin on a nightly basis and picks up different men that she  sleeps with.

To demonstrate the emotional disconnect her character has, she promptly tells a suitor who is going to make her breakfast:  ”I don’t stay  over, I don’t fall in love , and I don’t  f*&% the same guy twice.” She’s clearly damaged goods. One night she has a foursome with three guys that are in a band, who come into play later in the movie.

Continue Reading →

Last night in Austin during Fantastic Fest (which runs from September 24th to October 1st), guests were treated to a party at the newly-minted High Ball bar. One of the main reasons for the party was to introduce some of the Japanese filmmakers responsible for fest entries like Hard Revenge, Milly, Vampire Girl Vs. Frankenstein Girl and “Secret Screening” Robogeisha to festival attendees.

During the evening, Fest co-founder Tim League kicked things off with, what else, Karaoke. Next, the Japanese contingent served as judges for a “Samurai Call” contest where contestants, fortified with delicious Sake, would use their best voice and call for a Samurai. Finally, and this is the really interesting part and something that makes Fantastic Fest the great time it is, there was a Japanese pole dancing demo provided by one of the Japanese actresses in attendance. And yes, she even brought her own pole all the way from Japan. And no, its not that kind of pole dancing, so get your mind out of the gutter.

Fortunately for those of you who couldn’t be in Austin last night to witness this unique demonstration of skill and beauty, I happened to have my video camera with me and captured the entire thing for your viewing pleasure. So, click through to watch this incredible demonstration and get a little taste of what Fantastic Fest is all about.

Continue Reading →