Brief thougts on Charlie Chan at the Circus

With possibly the best sense of place in the entire series this is another one of the films that is near the top of the entire run of Chan films.

The plot has Chan and some of his sons getting involved in the dark happenings in and a round a circus. The film manages to walk the fine line between being both light and dark. You have the humor of Number One Son's attempts to help, but you also have the seriousness of the main mystery. sometimes the two tones don't work together, but here they do and the result is truly satisfying.

I really like this film a great deal and in a twisted sort of way think that this would be nicely paired with Todd Brownings Freaks, with which it shares a setting and some of the same actors.

The Amateur (2025)

Ramy Malik stars in a new cinematic version of Robert Liddel's novel. Filmed before in 1982, where it starred John Savage, the film has Malik as a CIA analyst who is rocked to his core when his girlfriend is murdered in terrorist attack. Despite being a milquetoast, he wants to take revenge himself. His bosses don’t want him to, but he pushes and is trained and sent into the field. Unfortunately for everyone nothing goes as planned and the mechanizations of the gamemasters go horribly wrong.

Big budgeted and very slick, this version of the story isn’t bad, but its so hip and happening and slick that you really can’t connect. It doesn’t help that Malik, while a very good actor, is not really right for the role. He is much too buttoned up and up tight. The result is that we don’t get much range in his role as he moves from uptight guy into a James Bond-ish sort of role. It doesn’t help that he did play a Bond villain so we know he can kick ass since he took on the best spy in the world.

The other problem is that what was a relatively simply conspiracy in the original and source is made into something much larger. Bigger isn’t better and the result it feels fake.

Is the film bad? No. I watched the film twice…. I had the film on as background the second time, so it can’t be that bad.  Worth a look on a slow night on the couch.  Though if given the option give the John Savage film a shot since you’ll feel for the main character more.

Big Cheese (2025) starts its theatrical run Friday

This film is a great deal of fun. Following a group of cheese mongers who want to be considered the best in the world, the film follows the unlikely and somewhat insane crew, as they prepare to into battle with the rest of the world.

Despite being a picky eater, I love really good food films. I love films that make me want to eat things I would never think of eating. While I like some cheeses I don't have a big love for others. At the same time, I love listening to people wax poetic about the wonders of cheese.

To be completely honest I have no notes for THE BIG CHEESE. I just love the film and the people on screen. This is a great story well told. To be completely honest, I was just watching the film smiling, not taking notes and laughing. That's all I need.

When the film ended, I sent some emails telling people they had to see it and I went looking for cheese. 

Thats a rave, I never go out of my way looking for cheese.

See this film, it is so much fun.

Late Fame (2025) opens Friday

LATE FAME has great performances from Wilem Dafoe and Greta Lee but is otherwise a film of half realized ideas.

The plot has a bunch of 20 somethings hooking up with a once briefly famous poet (Dafoe) who works in the Post Office. They have read his book of poetry and and want him to be part of their clique. He joins and tries to write some new material for their upcoming salon.

The gem of an idea gets lost about a third of the way in as the film flounders and goes from pillar to post. Great ideas about getting older  are lost next to badly written and badly acted scenes involing the young turks. The film sputters to life infrequently but it never maintains its footing.

It doesn't help that Kent Jones, for all his year promoting and writing on film is an unimaginative director. Yes he is technically proficent  but he has no style of his own. Much of the film feels like it was cribbed from other, better, inde films. That may play okay with the art house crowd who don't watch many small inde films, but  as someone who tends to focus on these small films, I didn't see anything new.

The worst part is the script itself. The first third of the film is solid and focused as it nicely sets things up, but then the film stops having a real narrative thrust and we are left with random scenes that don't connect. Threads are brought up that get abandoned and it all ends in a moment that they must have had when they wrote the first third but didn't know how to get it. The result is series of failed dramatic scenes that break everything part just so the film ends well.

Its a mess.

On the other hand both Dafoe and Lee are awards worthy and deserving of a better film together with a real script and an experienced director.

A pointer toward Peril at Pincer Point (2026) Fantasia 2026 Scary Movies 2026

A sound recordist for a movie returns to the filming location to get the sound needed to finish the film.  Along the way he ends up caught up in the life and folk lore of the village.

I can't really review this. It's not that it's bad, more that this black and white film is so mannered and so intentionally put together that how you relate to the humor (I sisn't find it remotely scary or suspenseful) will determine how you will feel about the film. If the humor strikes you you will laugh your ass off. If you don't like the style you will sit there stone faced.

On the other hand there is much to recommend it.

The film looks great. Shot in a black and white style that creates it's own head space, the look of the film is enough reason to try it, especially if you like films with a unique look. 

The film also has a loopy sense of reality. Humor aside, the film creates it's own world. The result is a film that is very much not like anything else out there. (Hollywood? Not in the least. )

I have no idea if you will like this, but if you want something that is not from Hollywood, see this film.

God Skin (2026) Fantasia 2026

The film is looks nowhere near as cool as this poster

A young man gets pulled into fighting matches in order to win the money he needs. He fightsin a tournament  using God's Skin, a nano device that gives him and the other fighters, superpowers.

This a perfectly okay martial arts action film. I say that because the film doesn't do anything special nor does it try to spice things up out side of the nano technology. If you've seen any number of action films you are going to write the story in your head.

The big problem with the film is that fight scenes, while perfectly fine, are anemic.  Most are set in the arena whoch is just and empty room with a pacing that seems like a half a beat too slow. They aren't bad but at the same time they aren't anything to write home about.

Worth  look on a rainy night on the couch, but not something to see at festival prices.

The Specials (2026) Fantasia 2026

A group of hitmen are assigned to masquerade as dancers in order to get close to their target.

This mix of crime, comedy and dance shouldn't have worked. Certainly one would not have expected the hard edge to a story in Hollywood hand would have been a feel good family film. On the other hand the film keeps it real enough that we can't be certain what is going to happen.

Bouyed by aa firest rate cast and direction that always keeps the film tonally on target, THE SPECIALS grabs us early and pulls us along. The truth of the matter is the film makes us think this isn't going to work and we are a good way in before we realize we are fully invested.

What an absolute delight.

Try it.

A pointer toward Bowels of Hell (2026) Fantasia 2026

that about sums it up

I'm not certain but this has something to do with parenting, gender identity, realtionships and toilets that become portals to hell. 

I say "has something to do with"  because I really don't know. This film is firing so much stuff at the walls that  some of it sticks and some of it bounces off and some of misses and plops on the floor.  There was so much here and so many changes of tone and plot threads that I kind of got... annoyed. What was it  about...? Who was it about?

I didn't care because I wasn't sure what I was watching.

I applaud Fantasia for running it. I just don't know what anyone will think.

Birdcall (2026) Fantasia 2026

In an age when birds spread a deadly disease a Jon and Rosie couple go outside their isolated cabin with tragic results. The Jon is infected and tries a new cure he is working on.

This is an okay found footage horror film. While I like the idea of the film, I find I am at odds the the slightly jokey and knowing telling of the tale. Jon is a bit too upbeat. Assitionally there is a sheen to how its filmed that makes it feel less like something shot in a house in desperation. It creates a distance that shouldn't be there and as a result we are looking at a film instead of real life.

Worth a look as part of a collection or if you stumble on it but you don't need to search for this.

Tokyo Burst: Crime City (Titled on the film Tokyo Burst The Roundup) Fantasia 2026 BIg Bad FIlm Festival 2026

Loosely connected to the Korean Round Up Series it follow a Japanese cop who gets hooked up with a Korean cop in order to take down some bad guys.

I'm sorry if that is really vague but the truth is there are way too many characters and way too much going on to worry about the details of the plot. In other words, yes, I got lost. 

What matters here is the action, and there are copious amounts of it, all of it incredibly brutal and ugly. Body parts drop to the floor and blood flies. People get hurt badly. The fights are such that they make you verbally react.  Watching the film I was wided eyed and slack jawed.

While watching this film I was struck by how much more powerful the fights are in short sequences rather then in something like the recent THE FURIOUS where the battle goes on for two hours. Watching the frightening beauty of the fights here I was struck by the power of the fights. Not because of the brutality but because the filmmakers wrapped them up in plot and characters that give them weight.  People get hurt, even the main characters. While things are sided so we know they will ultimately come out on top, we also know they will get their asses kicked and have to stop for a bit. The use of short sequences  keeps us on our toes since we don't know what is going to happen. With a long sequence or a film that is all action, we know that nothing bad can happen  for X amount of time. Here that isn't the case. They get hurt and they feel it. This may sound like a digression, but the truth is its an explanation of why this film resonates so strongly and stays in our heads.

TOKYO BURST is full of great action and funny one liners. It is very recommended.

A Safe Distance (2026) Fantasia 2026 (contains a spoiler)

A woman is left in the forest  by her boyfriend when she isn't keen on his proposal. She meets up with couple who are also bank robbers.

This is one of the best looking and best acted films I've seen For Fantasia. Actually the truth be told that for the most part the script is kick ass. I think this is one hell of a norish crime drama.

And I am absolutely pissed off by the construction of the film. Because the film uses a flashback early in the film you know where this is going much to early on. It doesn't kill the film, but it takes what I thought what would have been a great film if it had been told chronologically and make it just a good one.  I know that's quibbling but this is so good at times  that I wanted it to be that all the way through.

Anyway- you'll like this. Give it a shot when it gets near you.

Motherwitch (2026) Fantasia 2026

A well known painter tries to bring her dead children back to life via a spell, however she triggers a curse in process.

I'm not sure what I think of this film. I went into the film expecting a horror film and instead got a period set tale that plays more like a drama where a mother deals with grief, and there is some supernatural things going on. I didn't find it scary and I found my expectations colliding with the films desire to be something greater than just a horror tale.

I don't know if the film succeeded or not. I do know I have to see it again to give it a fair shot. (And I do have to applaud Fantasia for running an off the expected path film so it can get discovered.)

In the film sounds interesting to you, give it a try.  

Black Zombie (2026) Fantasia 2026

This is a documentary on zombies, both the real ones and the ones from the movies.

This is a heady film in all the right ways. Seeking to restore reality to the out of control purely fictional notion of what zombies are BLACK ZOMBIE gives us a compelling history lesson of what the real "undead" are, while at the same time recontextualizing the zombies of popular culture.

I'm going to be honest and say I walked into this film blnd. Until I saw that this was a film for the Documentary Channel I didn't know what the film was, I simply  saw the title and decided to cover it.

Expertly done this film, this film will make you rethink the zombie on screen as well as freak out about the ones that inspired the movie monsters. The entire notion of being reduced to mindlesscreatures is frightening.

I need to see this film a couple more times, partly because it is so damn good, but more because there is som much here I have to see what I miss as well as connect up all the varios pieces

One of the great film finds at Fantasia and of 2026

pile on (2026) Fantasia 2026

Hu Lu's PILE ON is is punch in the face with a spikey set of brass knuckles. Its like having your chest caved in with the side of a building dropped from up on high.  It's a brilliant film, but I never want to see it again.

That is a rave.

The film has a young boy telling his family he can't go to a wedding because of school work. He's left behind...and promptly invites his friends over to be obnoxious boys... and then something happens.

You know this is not going to be an easy watch since the film opens with insects moving about after having their limbs pulled off. We see this up close and in such a disturbing way, that you maybe tempted to get up and walk out. While you might do that you'd miss a film that will rock your world even more.

I'm not going to say more other than this is a film that is going to put director Hu Lu on your radar and make you fear what she's going to do if he decides to show the darkside of life at a feature length. Lu has made a film that has moved me in ways that almost no other film has.

I can't say enough good about this film. Every choice is perfect. One of the things that staggered me was the pacing of the film. Watch how the early rapid edits are turned on their head with long pained shots that intensify what follows.

I know why this film has won numerous awards.

PILE ON is going to be one of the best films you'll see this year- and also one of the most deeply disturbing.

Metal Messiah (1975) Fantasia 2026

 

Tibor Takacs' first film has been restored and come to light...

The first film from the man who gave us the classic THE GATE, I MADMAN and numerous fun horror and science fiction films began his career with an off the wall film about an alien savior who becomes a rock star(?) or something. It's a film noir musical science fiction film that looks at times like it was made by a high school kid. Sure Takacs was about twenty when he made it, but geeze its a mess. Its based on a rock opera that I'm guessing was very much influenced by glam rock, Bowie, The Man Who Fell to Earth and Rocky Horror.

I truly have no words other than I would recommend this for Mystery Science 3000, except there is nudity.

Only inthe final section of the film of the rock concert and what follows does the film seem to work. However its too little too late. Before that the cheapness, the poor songs, weak staging and mix of styles undermines what we are seeing.

I want to see it with smart ass friends who love to riff.

Frankly seeing this film I have to either think that Takacs learned a hell of a lot from this since he went on to make some classic (and some of my favorite) films or the material was bad to start. I'm guessing a little of the formar and a lot of the later.

Worth a look for those collecting WTF films.

Galactic Ghoul (2026) Fantasia 2026

The name of this film may help the film get sold and may attract an audience who love exploitaion, however the trouble is what ever your mind is conjuring up when you hear the name,  This is not a scifi monster film, but its a scifi space opera about galatic kingdoms and greed and adventure.

Made for a couple of buck and with endless love this film is a trip. Yea, it leans into the humor at times, and yea it wears it's budget on its sleeve, but it does what it can to make us buy what we are seeing. The effects are solid and create their own world. The cast play it more or less straight.  Yea the script can be jokey, but at the same time the cast sell it.

I had a great deal of fun with this. Back in the golden age of Midnight Movies this would have been a classc Midnight film. It also would have played as a double feature with John Carpenter's DARK STAR (that's a rave).

If you want a really fun off Hollywood science fiction film give this film a shot.

Juice (1992)

The run of classic early ’90s “hood movies” is undeniable. Boyz n the Hood. South Central. Menace II Society. Banger after banger, I love these films. But my favorite of all of ‘em, the one I constantly went back to, was 1992’s Juice.

That’s not taking anything away from anything that came before or after it, but there was just something about the dynamic between this cast that always stuck with me.

The story itself is fairly straightforward. Four friends spend their days hanging out in Harlem, but after a robbery goes horribly wrong, their friendship begins to unravel.

Everybody here plays their part, but it’s impossible to discuss Juice without talking about Bishop, played by a film-debuting Tupac Shakur. And no, I’m not counting that brief appearance in the Chevy Chase disaster Nothing but Trouble.

Shakur sells the role, but he never overplays it. You see early on why Bishop is the way he is through his home life—or lack of one. As he begins to unravel, so does the movie. Every scene he’s in carries a sense of tension because you never know what he’s going to do next.

Opposite Bishop is Q, played by Omar Epps. An aspiring DJ, he's hoping to make a name for himself by winning a local competition. While Bishop is consumed by getting money, gaining power, and earning respect, Q dreams of making it through music. It's that contrast that makes their relationship so compelling.

Ernest Dickerson also deserves a ton of credit. Before stepping into the director's chair, he had already built a reputation as Spike Lee's cinematographer, and you can see that experience here. Juice has a gritty look without ever feeling over-stylized. The camera work always feels natural, allowing the performances to take center stage instead of trying to overwhelm them with flashy visuals.

As strong as the performances are, it's the way the story plays out that really keeps you locked in. Every decision has consequences, and once the dominoes start falling, there's no turning back.

You also can't overlook the soundtrack. As someone who grew up on '90s hip hop, it's an essential part of the experience. The music doesn't just play in the background—it becomes part of the film's identity, helping set the tone from beginning to end.

Whether this is a revisit or a first-time watch, Juice comes with a high recommendation from me. Plus, where else are you going to see Tupac playing an original Street Fighter arcade cabinet? Not Street Fighter II. Street Fighter.

Brief thoughts on Wind Breaker (2026) Fantasia 2026

Manga based action film has an outsider high school kid going to a new school. He wants to be the number one guy, even if it means fighting everyone. He ends up joinging the other local kids to be part of a group o who are fighting gang of outsiders who want to take over the town.

Good but not particularly remakable action film isn't anything we haven't seen in any number of films over the years. Well told and well made with some great one lines and characters, the film suffer doesn't rise  as high as the pieces because the narrative is much too run of the mill we have been here before.

At the same time this is the perfect sort of film for a rainy Saturday on the couch.

Worth a look

Brief thoughts on Last Footage (2026) Fantasia 2026

I'm not going to say much about LAST FOOTAGE because it didn't really work for me. Since I am not a fan of found footage films I thinks its better that I keep my feelings short and sweet.

The film has a bunch of friends going to visit the rubber plantation that one of them has inherited. Something is waiting for them.

Told in a first person POV via smart glasses and spinning out in a kind of real time the film tries to make things immersive as we are there as everything spins out of control. The problem with the film is there is a lot weak scenes that exist to build character and move us to the good stuff. the problem is the conversations are never realistic.

One things start to happen there is some great moments, but the film suffers because it takes too long to get there.

I know some people love this sort of thing, but I have very little tolerance.

if it sounds good to you give it a try.

Insectasy (2026) Fantasia 2026

A young woman who gets turned on by insects tries to navigate personal relationships and sexual desire.

I don't think this film worked for me. I appreciate what the film is trying to do, look at our internal desires and how we interact with the people around us, while making the so called sexy talk less than sexy. However at the same time I really never connected to what was going on on screen.  Its as if the filmmakers had this great idea but didn't know how to pull it off.

There are some wonderful moments here, but they are few and far between with the   hands of the filmmakers clearly visable as they try to make their points.

While there is some interesting stuff here, and I do recommend it if you want something intriguing but not wholly successful, I found it a miss.