Fantasia Film Festival 2014: GOAL OF THE DEAD Review by Ous Zaim

Magnificent opus of gore splatter and violence, a gruesome plate of zombies with a side of soccer. GOAL stomps all its genres tropes dead. Charismatic, light on its feet and hilarious, all offered at a demonic pace. Awesome and truly entertaining. Here, the subject of darkness is handled with subtle grace and style. Bravo on this one France, bravo! Tip of the hat to you, OF THE DEAD was mesmerizing, don't miss it once distributed.

Fantasia Film Festival 2014: THE HUNTRESSES Review by Ous Zaim

Take a journey into 17th century Korea but leave your serious hat at the door, this is a movie that is anything but. Silly as knees, South Korea delivers another contender to the festival. Following a trio of beauteous bounty hunters with martial art skills rivaling their toughest opponent. The spastic tone covers a deep sadness of the past yet keeps forgetting it is sad and continues it's goofball shuffle of slapstick humor and subtle romance. Depending on the level of sap one can endure, this isn't a movie for everyone.

Fantasia Film Festival 2014: THE FATAL ENCOUNTER Review by Ous Zaim

Taking place during the Joseon dynasty, the main theme of this story is ascension through tragedy. Beastly ambitions of aristocrats, painful arise of slaves, both have blood and rolling heads in common. Beautiful and meticulously organized, if not needing some work on the pacing. It is a bleak world of scheming royalty and murderous rival political factions that will capture your mind and transport you to another world.

Fantasia Film Festival 2014: CHEATIN' Review by Ous Zaim

Bill Plympton's latest marvel. Always original, always energetic. Plympton's perspective is amazing and can never be cloned. Veering away from his brand of manic visual metamorphosis, CHEATIN' takes a straighter route in it's story telling style. But that doesn't take away from offering spectacular entertainment. As always, Mr. Plympton runs away with your imagination and guarantees the laughs in this bizarre, bumper car of chaotic animation.

Fantasia Film Festival 2014: HWAYI: A MONSTER BOY Review by Ous Zaim

How do you overcome your fear of monsters? The solution presented in MONSTER BOY is to become one yourself, but is that the only choice? Unforgiving, brutal, and heartbreaking, no one will be left unscathed. Can cold blooded killers truly understand and offer mercy or is it all selfish projection? The performance by Yeo Jin-goo is electric. He will enter your heart like a bullet and leave traces of shrapnel, changing you forever. Pick of the week for foreign cinema.

Fantasia Film Festival 2014: COLD IN JULY Review by Ous Zaim

Michael C. Hall stars as mild mannered Richard Dane, a soft-spoken husband, father and after a break-and-enter home invasion goes horrifically wrong, an accidental murderer. In a southern world of uptight manners and rampant gossip, word of said event gets around fast and Michael must face a bereaved, vengeance-driven father. But not all is as it first seems. Joined by audience favorite Don Johnson, the plot thickens as they embark on a roller coaster ride into the darker side of life where the question is asked "What do you do when your dog goes rabid?".

Fantasia Film Festival 2014: NUIGULUMAR Z (GOTHIC LOLITA BATTLE BEAR) Review by Ous Zaim

Presented by the director himself the brilliant and flamboyant Mr. Noboru Iguchi, you just couldn't help but get into a pure KAWAI! mood from the start. And let me tell you, this shiny colorful on-screen gem will indeed keep a smile plastered on your face for its duration. Adorable, unbelievable and vibrant, BATTLE BEAR brings a bright new contender to the often grim world of the super-hero. Be warned, it starts and finishes with a manic pace that makes the time rocket into super-happy joyland. A must see.

Fantasia Film Festival 2014: THE HOOLIGAN FACTORY Review by Ous Zaim

A self-aware, surreal parody that takes itself lightly through out. Ridiculous and funny, the laughs in the audience was a constant echoing force. With touches of TRAINSPOTTING and FIGHT CLUB, hit on the head with a mallet by a demented cartoony spirit, FACTORY is a refreshing take on English soccer clubs. Ironic enough, and a huge thanks from this non-sporty nerdling, we don't see a single sliver of actual soccer in the entire flick. Second irony, the entire hour and a half was one big pissing contest, yet there are homo-erotic jokes sprinkled from the get-go. Buy yourself a ticket and go laugh.

Justice League Movie Will Be Directed By Zack Snyder, With Shazam, Metal Men, 100 Bullets and Fables Films Planned

It's finally official with The Wall Street Journal broke the news last night. Zack Snyder will be directing  Justice League after Batman/Superman:

First came “Man of Steel.” Next up is “Batman vs. Superman.” And then, “Justice League.”

Confirming the studio’s plans for a movie based on its iconic super-team for the first time, Warner Bros. president of worldwide production Greg Silverman said the studio has set plans to make a “Justice League” movie.

Like “Man of Steel” and its follow-up, which starts production next month, “Justice League” will be directed by Zack Snyder. Henry Cavill is expected to return as Superman, along with Ben Affleck and Gal Gadot, who play Batman and Wonder Woman, respectively, in 2016’s “Man of Steel” sequel tentatively titled “Batman vs. Superman.”

“It will be a further expansion of this universe,” said Mr. Silverman. “’Superman vs Batman’ will lead into ‘Justice League.’”

A script is still in development and Warner has not set a release date, though the movie is unlikely to come out before 2018. Mr. Silverman would not comment on what other heroes might join Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman in the movie. However the studio has recently been casting the role of Cyborg, a half-robotic hero who is expected to have a cameo in “Batman vs. Superman” and then appear in “Justice League.” Other DC heroes who have been in Justice League comic books include Aquaman, Flash and Green Lantern.

Also announced in the article is that Warner Bros. will be making films based on Shazam, Metal Men, 100 Bullets and Fables:

Warner Bros. has several other movies in development unconnected to the Justice League that are based on DC superheroes and fantasy and crime titles from its Vertigo line of genre comics, said Mr. Silverman and Toby Emmerich, president of Warner’s New Line Cinema label. They include “Shazam,” “Metal Men,” “100 Bullets,” and “Fables.”

All four of those properties have been in development by WB for years now. But the most confusing part of the article is that Shazam and Metal Men won't be connected to the DC Cinematic Universe, which is odd because these character have played huge roles in the DC comics universe for years. I don't know if this could be a misquote or the people at WB have a different vision on using these intellectual properties. I'll guess we have to wait and see at SDCC for any furthermore announcements.