Hot Takes On Film

  Dave Made a Maze (2017 US) I don’t know what to say about this film except Dave Made a Maze. Well, actually a Labyrinth to be more exact and it's made of cardboard. Writer/Director Bill Waterson brings us this batshit crazy absurdist/surrealist/comedy/fantasy/horror. If this all sounds weird that’s because it is but I can almost guarantee you that this is the craziest film you have seen. Despite it’s premise at it’s core is an Odyssean tale which includes a Minotaur, Sirens and demonic cardboard vagina. Yes you read that right. I am in absolute awe of the production design and just how much imagination it took to put that together. The budget was $500 k which in Hollywood terms is a micro-budget. If you have been with me for awhile you will remember that I love indie filmmakers with a unique idea that can execute well and I really do think that they did that here. Now let’s talk about the script. Waterson said in an interview that he did not want to make a statement with  Dave Ma

  Hawk The Slayer (1980 US) it’s #FondueSunday and today’s entry is this campy sword and sorcery film. A prince fights his evil brother for the realm and a magic sword. If you like cheese and I know that many of my readers do, you will like this. It is actually fairly well paced and actually has some engaging effects for 1980. Jack Palance was the evil brother and he looked like he was having a great time being over the top evil. It has a 40% rating on Rotten Tomatoes so you know it will meet your cheese needs. I’ve been told the tabletop rpg players loved this movie because it fits in with D and D fans and for the longest time there were no other movies that fit that bill. You can find it on Tubi for free.

  The Love Witch (2016 US) It’s #FemaleFilmmakerFriday and todays entry is this fantasy from Anna Biller about a witch searching for true love. What I really loved about this is that it feels like it was shot in 1968. Biller really nailed it. I was 10 minutes into the film and I went back to verify that this was actually shot in 2016. Yup! It was. What made the “look” really pop was that it was shot on 35 mm film. Shooting on film is pretty hard. you have to have your poo poo together before you turn on the camera and clearly Biller did. She had a lot to say about the male gaze, fantasy, fear, religion and the Femme Fatale. I could probably write a 10 page film theory paper on this but that would be boring so I will only say it’s there and to watch for it. Although, the film has a lot to say it’s not all ivory tower academic speak. It’s very entertaining. Femme fatales, when done right, are so…dare I say it..Fun. Samantha Robinson really shined as the femme fatale. She is now on my lis

  Welcome to #FantasyJune. For those that have been with me for a bit you will remember that January was #SciFiJanuary. I wrote a bit about what SciFi actually is and essentially the big takeaway was that SciFi and Fantasy are opposite sides of a very similar coin. Whereas SciFi is all about science including the softer sciences. Fantasy is all about magic and what is not explained. What makes a film fantasy or SciFi hinges on what drives the story. Using a computer in a fantasy film does not make it SciFi and talking about religion in a SciFi does not make it fantasy. I submit that these two genres can’t mix. It’s like oil and water. When I see platforms such as Amazon or Netflix classify a film ScFi/Fantasy I get annoyed. It’s one or the other. So here are the subgenres that I will be discussing. Religion This is a tricky one and will ultimately lead to arguments. For many, religion is explained so it’s not magic. For others, just having an element of religion makes it fantasy. Dune

 Shrek (2001 US) Its #FemaleFimmakerFriday and today's entry is this now classic animated kids film directed by Vicky Jenson and Andrew Adamson. An Ogre sets upon rescuing the princess from a tower guarded by a dragon. If you are interested in going to see Dungeons and Dragons you will find there is a similarity to Shrek with D&D being just a bit more mature and live action. Jenson was not the first choice of director in charge of story. Kelly Asbury was first choice but departed to work on another film. Jenson and Adamson had their work cut out for them as a lot was going wrong including their star Chris Farley had passed away. Jenson was in charge of story and she was tasked with finding the right tone and story for the film. She did great and the film won an Oscar for Best Animated Feature. You can clearly see her influence on the film: for instance the princess does not really need rescuing. When I first saw that I was like, "wow! I didn't know they could do that?&

 Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023 US) Chris Pine and Michelle Rodriguez lead a campaign in the fantasy comedy. I use the word campaign because it really ran like a D&D campaign complete with side quests. I know its not part of the Animation April campaign but I went to see it yesterday and had to share. It had a lot of FX so that can be a form of animation (CGI). So yeah that's what I'm going with. John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein write and direct. They clearly are D&D fans. In fact I heard that they had the cast play D&D. Believe it or not this isn't the first time a campaign made it to the screen. Vin Diesel admitted that The Last Witch Hunter was his character and campaign. In fact, he told Rodriguez that he was Jelly of her role in this film. Now for the question Du'Jour. Do you need to know D&D to get the film and the answer is "Nope". You can just go and watch. If you do game you will get a ton of references. One s