About 2 months ago the Fantasia website went online, we took a good look around trying to get information for this years movies but there was little information, we were left to guess what was going to happen. Our first impression of the Fantasia webpage was not the best, every year they have a cover image for the festival (this is used to guide cover and posters) and this years image really did not have to do with action cinema or anything Asian. We are not crazy about the cover image this year.

About a week before the festival start, the guide was made available. I hurried and printed out the movie listing and decided to check out was exciting movie lay in store for us. At first glance we were disappointed in the selection of movies, as there was many movies on the list that had absolutely nothing to do with the Fantastic Asian festival. With closer examination we found there were quite a few movies that hold promise such as: Ring 0 the prequel, Attack the gas station (korean comedy), Uzumaki and a few others. One thing we found disappointing was the lack of HK movies, there were maybe 4 or 5 and in previous years there were about 20. There is also no kung fu this years. But we are sure there are some surprised in store for us as every year. I hope this will be a great festival.

All pictures are provided by A. Thisdale. So a big thanks to him!

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[8:00 am] It is Monday morning, we have it settled we are getting our Fantasia passes today, the special premier movie (X-Men) is on Wednesday so if we are to get our premier pass we must go today.

[2:00 PM] We just got back, good thing I told the boss we'd be late. We got to Imperial and there was already a line up for passes. It seems we are not the only hardcore fans, a little after 1pm we got our festival passes. and headed back to work. In 2 days time we'd be back here to see X-Men.

[10:00 am] I ran upstairs to pick up my X-Men pass from Janick who picked it up for me the day before. As I went back to work I had the joy of showing of my pass to the premier of one of the most awaited films. Ok so its showing off but it felt good.

[5:30 pm] I just got into line... wow there are a lot of people, its packed actually. The entire KFC team is here, we are waiting for X-Men with great anticipation, especially Dan and he is still talking about this movie! I am still waiting for my guest as my pass is good for 2 people, I told him to be early as they gave out more passes than there was room. As we waiting in line we are watching two guys fighting across the street, they seem to be having some sort of argument, it looked like something out of a gangster rapper movie, with everyone in line watching them they looked kind of stupid in their over exaggerated mannerisms. Time flies by and my guest is still not here, low and behold the line starts moving. I give up waiting for my friend as my KFC associate won a special entry pass and we get to go in first. We run in and get a hold of some really nice seats in the middle. I decide to go out 45 min before the movie starts to find my friend with luck he is there waiting I grab him and bring him in. We are all set for the movie.

You'd expect KFC Cinema to be here don't you, unfortunately we were not. The reason was the movie that was playing had no interest to us. In Between The Moon And Montevideo was what was playing as opening movie, if you haven't heard of it don't worry. It is some sort of low budget cheesy Canadian sci-fi flick. We personally did not agree with the film as opening so we did not go. (We cant be there every night). The next day in our coverage will be day 4. We have an excellent line-up, namely one Attack The Gas Station so stay tuned. Oh that reminds me we must get our tickets for day 4.

[1:20 pm] I leave home to get down to Imperial, I am supposed to meet Janick to wait for Albator aka Captain Harlock. (an old cartoon series from the late 70’s). It’s slightly raining outside, but its not bad as it is refreshing warm summer rain. I arrive to the movie theater over one hour before the movie starts and there is already a line. I get into the front of the line along side of Janick. With everyone having their umbrella open its like being under a tent. While in line we are chit chatting with our Photographer of possible shots to take that would look good. They finally let us in and we get settled for the movie.

[5:30 pm] Albator: The movie was good but nothing from like we remember as kids, I run off to get some food and its back in line again. This time we wait for Attack the Gas Station. Two hours of waiting in line went by fast as we joked around and other friends joined us. Antoine (our photographer) took a couple of pictures of the poster for Gas Station and one shot to the long line that had formed. Our anticipation was slowly building as we were guessing this movie would be a lot like Quiet Family from the previous year. We finally got in.

[9:50 pm] Gemeni We did not have to go far as we were staying for the next movie, Gemini a Japanese horror movie. We were still in our seats talking about Attack the Gas Station as the movie simply blew us away. Soon enough the movie started.

[11:30 pm] Well I can easily say that was weird and not just a little. I wasn’t all that good and it was extremely bizarre. It was more strange than scary, I wonder what the other Japanese horrors during the festival have in store for us. Well that’s it for tonight, gotta get some sleep, from the studios of KFC Cinema have a nice evening.

[5:00 pm] I just finished work and the movie starts at 5:30… I gotta run fast for this one. Good thing Janick is already there in line and has a place for me. Like I guessed the theater is completely packed, Janick said they were people waiting in line since around 1 pm and I thought we were hardcore to wait a long time in line. Today’s movie is Vampire Hunter D (the new version).

[7:30 pm] Vampire Hunter D was a nice movie, some people said it wasn’t that good but I found it quite enjoyable. There was maybe one fight scene that was badly cut (basically missing the fight) other than that the story was decent and the animation looked good (very dark toned colors). That’s the only movie for me today, Janick will be catching Blood later tonight hence the reason why I am still standing in line. Janick went to get some food. I am not crazy about gore like movies so that is why I am skipping on Blood. The scary thing here, there is a surprising amount of people in line right now, and its at least 2 hours before we get in. If you ask me we must spend just as much time waiting for these movies as watching them. Janick is back, gonna get my ticket for The Mission tomorrow. Well I am out of here, have fun in line Janick.

[11:00 pm] Blood like most of the films at Fant-Asia was sold out. But unfortunately this movie was another deception. I don't know if it was because they showed the movie so late and I was tired or was it that the movie was slow and without action or gore. We were not about to stay till the end, after more than 45 minutes me and Antoine had enough. We were expecting a film of psychological horror but this was more of a drama with only a few little elements of horror with nothing else. In my opinion this was another movie that was not in the right place in the spirit of Fant-Asia.

[8:30 pm] Like the title for this day says, we are on a mission to see Johnnie To’s latest movie The Mission. This was one of the few HK action movies this years. We already had it on DVD and it was set to be reviewed soon. So yet again we were in line, the first ones once again (we really have too much time on our hands). It was surprising to see how many people were there in line so early, especially since it was pretty cold outside. You must be all wondering how we can spend so much time in line, well I consider it to be a part of the FantAsia experience. We are not just going out to see some movie, this is a festival for fans of a specific genre. So waiting in line is really chilling with all the hardcore fans getting ready to experience some foreign cinema. You’d be surprised how fast time does pass while we wait, we have lots of things to see considering its downtown and conversation sparks easily in line. Even complete stranger will start chatting sometimes. Enough chatting from me… gotta catch the Mission

[11:45 pm] The Mission: This was some real good HK action the way only Johnnie To can bring it too you. The movie had a great story and incredible gun fight scenes. Story had quite a punch to it near the end aswell. We will look forward to bringing you the full review of this movie next month. For now I suggest any HK action fan to check it out, its worth. Well were gone for the next 2 days (no good movies playing), we’ll be back on Friday for the weekend coverage. I think we have close to 10 movies in 3 days to see, hopefully we can bring you some wild surprises.

[11:45 pm] Bullets over Summer was not the high action that I expected but the movie had a really great story line. It was one of those really nice stories with great characters, it was less of an action movie and more of a drama. Most people liked it more or less because of the lack of action, I personally found it was a great movie and should not really be classified with action. The next movie is IKU, this movie was sold out in 3 hours. There is a crazy line to get in for this movie and once again it looks like the organizers of Fant-Asia fucked up as they sold too many tickets or there's too much people form the Press with free Access Pass. At least 100 people were kicked out as there was no place. Lets see if this movie is as good as I hope it will be.

[2:00 am] IKU : Sometime after the middle of the movie, I was just waiting for the movie to finish, I wondered why I wanted to see this movie in the first place. I’ve come to learn the hard way that sci-fi and porn do not mix even if it sounds like a great combination, its not. This movie was just plain weird, the story was not understandable, the porn was not that good nor was the sci-fi. I would classify this as an art movie ( I am sure there are certain people that would adore this movie). Basically this movie is not for everyone, only a certain few would find it interesting, but sorry we don't.

[6:30 pm] ALICE: That was not quite what I was hoping for. The CGI was nice, but the movie was well umm sleepy. The story kinda sucked and there was nothing really getting us into the movie. This movie was a deception as we had hoped it would have been a great CGI anime. We have the Convent next, this is a horror comedy, in the B movie style. I know this has nothing to do with Asian cinema but lets see if its good or not.

[8:45 pm] The Convent: That movie was really good, it was one of those horror comedies that was cheesy with style. Everybody in the audience really enjoyed it, far more than the previous movie. The director was there to present the movie, he was really happy about the reaction in the crowd as everyone enjoyed it. Well that’s it for today, Janick and I are off to grab some General Tao Chicken.

[3:30 pm] Legend of the Sacred Stone was really good, I am surprised that a movie of this sort could be this good. The use of puppets was done with extreme mastery and the special effects were great. This was a movie in the Fantasy kung fu style, also it had a mix of old (Kung Fu Colt Masters) and new (The Stormriders) style. A very beautiful movie to see, and the puppeteers that did the movie was extremely talented. They should have had more movies of this type this year at Fant-Asia. Not necessarily with puppets but with fantasy kung fu. Up next is Rebirth of Mothra 3, only reason we are watching this movie is to keep our places for 2000 AD. I know that sounds kinda lame, maybe Mothra 3 will be interesting.

[11:40 pm] Dead or Alive: We are currently leaving the theater, no the movie is not over yet. It sucks and I am tired. If I stay any longer I’ll fall asleep and wake up tomorrow still in the theater. We saw the trailer to the movie and it was filled with high action, it turns out to be the 1st two minutes of the movie only after that the movie keeps on falling fast before it becomes dead boring. (do note this is also our 5th movie so our patience is low) Simply said we did not like it at all. We are not impressed by this movie weekend, we had more deception than good surprises. We still have a couple good movies left in the festival, at least we hope they are good. Be sure to catch us for Mondays coverage. We have Attack The Gas Station again (not enough good movies so we go watch the one we liked again) also Running Out of Time presented by Lau Ching-Wan and Chaos from the direction of Ring 1 and 2. So stay tuned.

[7:30 pm] Attack the Gas station was still great the second time around. Right now the theater is filling up, the crowd seems ecstatic. It isn’t really the movie they are waiting for but for Lau Ching-Wan, its no surprise he has done many great films in his career. Also Running out of Time seems like a great movie. You should see the people cheering as Lau Ching-Wan came on stage, I think it’s the first time I heard the crowd cheer like that. Mr. Lau must be really surprised that so many people are cheering for him so far from home. The movie is starting so lets check it out.

[10:00 pm] Running Out of Time was simple incredible, Andy Lau and Lau Ching-Wan give a wonderful performance on screen. The action was intense and it was follow by a more intense story, the main characters were also superb. This was simply a great film. After the film Lau Ching-Wan answered some questions, the women in the audience were wild, the chicks really dig him. He answered a few really interesting questions here are a few things which he said : For him the most important thing in a movie is the script he would rather be in a movie with a good script and playing a not so interesting character rather than in a movie with a bad script and playing a special character. For him the script of the movie he will be playing in is very important. He also likes to play extreme characters like the one he played in the Longest Night. He has several friends in that police that give him some inspiration in his many police roles.

[12:15 pm] Chaos was certainly interesting, this is a slow thriller with a deep story line. There are more twists in the plot than you can imagine. It starts off intense but slows down towards the end. All in all it is a good thriller but not something to watch when you are sleepy. Well that is all for today, we don’t have many days left. Here is a preview of some of the movies we will have from the festival : The Victim, Ring 0, Freeze me, Blood the last vampire, Ultraman Tiga: Final Odyssey, Audition and maybe some more.

[7:00 pm] Ring 0: Why did that evil man have to push poor Sadako into the well… nooooo poor poor Sadako. This movie had an interesting twist, Sadako was not the evil one, she was a victim during the movie. You completely understand why she would cause a curse 30 years later. The weirdest thing was (spoilers ahead...) the two Sadako’s one good one evil. Some people liked that part in the story, others did not at all. I find the movie in general was basically answering questions that you had after Ring 1. This one wasn’t really scary at all. Next up we have Freeze me, another Japanese flick.

[9:25 pm] Freeze Me: That chick in the movie was flipped out, it was an ok movie nothing really special. I guess you can add this title to the countless ordinary films we’ve seen so far. The movie wasn’t bad but its not something you will see twice.

[5:20 pm] Ultraman Tiga: I really wish Antoine was here today, the organizers of Fant-Asia put on a show for us before the movie started. They had a monster and a Ultraman fight with some nice pyrotechnic effects. This is great when they do stuff like that, it shows that they are really into what they are doing. The Ultraman movie was ok, considering I am not much of a fan of monster movies. Anyone who is a fan of this genre would’ve of probably loved this movie. Next up is Audition, I wonder if this movie is going to be good. Where off to get some cheap fast food and then back in line.

Well were back in line, you know those cheeseburgers are like really flat. I mean like that meat is wafer thin. That is what I call a rip off. Don’t mind me I just feel like ranting but I’ll spare you all from the speech of the evils of the corporate world. On the other hand I am not lacking the time to rant, not much is going on in line. Janick ain’t saying much and I just want to sleep. Oh look a drunk got hit by a car, I am serious. Right across the street there is this drunk riding a bike and he nearly got hit by a car. He is carrying two garbage bags filled with cans, bottles or something, he is probably looking for a depanneur where he can exchange for more beer. Well the fellow is certainly serving us with good entertainment, seems like he is telling things to the security guard guy of the Francofolies (music festival in Montreal). You should see this guy trying to get on his bike, he is seriously screwed, that guy is bound to get hit by a car for sure. Poor screwed up people in the city, I know some of you out there would not agree with my mentioning of the drunk. (it might be cruel but the guy brings it on himself) Things like this happen all too often, there is always something of the sort while waiting in line. Like that old senile lady that barks, Daniel was really scared of her. Anyways lets go see Audition.

[31 July : Day 13]

The Last Day!

Best Asian Movie:
1st Running out of Time
2nd Blood The Last Vampire
3rd The Mission

Best Comedia:
Attack the Gaz Station

Best International:
1st The Nameless
2nd Anatomie
3rd Ricky 6

Here's our own list of movies that deserve recognition.

KFC General Tao Winners:
1st Attack The Gaz Station
2nd Running Out of Time
3rd Legend of The Sacred Stone

and our

Best Picks:
The Mission
Bullet Over Summer
Vampire Hunter D
Audition
Ring 0

Closing Commentary

We were really disappointed with Fant-Asia this year, I mean compared to last year this has been a major step back. In our opinion there should have been more Hong Kong like in the previous years (from us you’ll always get that more Hong Kong message). I am not saying they did not try but some things did not make any sense. Such as the opening movie (Moon over montevideo), what the hell was that and how is it related it to Fant-Asia. Then there is the association with Just for Laughs, that unfortunately brought in several movie that really did not have its place at the festival such as “ La Vie apres l’amour “ please excuse the language but what the F@%K is that movie is doing at Fant-Asia. Its just as foreign as snow is in winter and it was playing at the theater down the street. Seriously, you could of used that slot to play something far more interesting or at least related to Fant-Asia. Then there was the problem of movies that just sucked but were related to fantasia, in that area we have nothing to say as it comes down to a matter of personal taste. We may have not liked but someone else could have adored it.

Since we are ranting we might as well continue, another aspect at Fant-Asia this and in most years is a trouble of organization and press passes. They oversold tickets for movies more than once, that means some poor sucker who had his ticket was kicked out because of no place. Now one of the main problem was were the many many many press pass holders. I think at IKU, 100 members of the media showed up, well a lot of people got kicked out. I am not saying not to give out any Press Passes but to make sure you are giving them to the right people. I say ¾ of the press at Fant-Asia were not even there to do any reporting, they were there for a free movie (Of course I could be wrong so I am not putting this info in stone) While some people are enjoying a free moving, the hardcore fan is getting kicked, I consider that wrong. One thing that I heard while in the theater is one fellow showing off his press pass that his father gave to him (supposedly a journalist), now where the journalist... he is not doing much in the way of reporting with his son running off with a pass. We can't even remember how many times we heard: ``I got my pass from a friend who wasn't really interested by these movie``. Anyway these are just some thoughts of mine.

For next year there seriously has to be a better line up of movies, from what we heard the organizers could not agree which movies to get and that what caused the trouble with the lineup . We also heard that Golden Harvest (major HK studio) was charging too much for its movies, which is sad as all the best HK is released by Golden Harvest. But anyway, even if the movie line-up was not that great and we got some trouble with the pass and tickets, we had the chance to meet some really nice people, from the crew of Fant-Asia to the simple hardcore fans who were in line every day like us and we think that it's something to consider. We cant wait to see what the next Fant-Asia will be, cant be worst than this years. We just hope that the Fant-Asia organization will take in consideration opinion of the fans for the next Fant-Asia. Thank you for following our little Fant-Asia journal and be there next year , because the KFC crew will be there for sure. Also special thanks to everyone that came along with us or helped us out in other ways.