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This my third time attending the Fantasia Film Festival, one of the crème de la crèmes of genre cinema. It is also the 20th anniversary of the festival. I have seen the triumphs of films like Boyhood, Frank, Tangerine, and Cop Car have been my past favourites of Fantasia. I was so excited for this festival reveal that I got up at 4 AM, 5:30 AM, and 6 AM when my alarm finally went off, even though the press conference was only at 11 AM. The festival has over 130 diverse features from North America and around the globe. As for films that I hope get revealed, I am hoping for a premiere of DC latest dark (Anti) superhero gritty action film Suicide Squad from director David Ayer, and Kevin Smith's indie dark comedy Yoga Hosers. I feel that these two films fit the festival mandate and will be crowd pleasers.

Yoga Hosers

Sadly, no big superhero movies will be premiered this time, which means no Suicide Squad. The big titles at this year's Fantasia Festival are going to be real crowd pleasers with the horror fans. Director David F. Sandberg and producer James Wan are here to help you with those sleepless nights with their supernatural horror thriller, Lights Out. The thieves are not safe when they break into the home of a blind army veteran with a dark side (Stephen Lang) in Don't Breathe from director Fede Alvarez and producer Sam Raimi. If you're more into physiological thrillers, then Mike Flanagan is sure to deliver with the closing film Before I Wake staring Jacob Tremblay. Without a doubt I am amped for the festival's opening film King Dave, from one of the best Quebec film makers working in the business today Daniel Grou (Podz).

King Dave

That said, here are some more horror films you might want to check out. One that is sure to lure audiences is the beautiful visual nature of The Lure from director Agnieszka Smoczynska, which is described as a musical art house horror film. Shelley from director Ali Abbasi is best described as Antichrist meets Rosemary's Baby in a Bergman slash Von Trier operatic style. There is something deeply disturbing to be found in We Are the Flesh from director Emiliano Rocha Minter. Far from his Back to the Future days, Christopher Lloyd stars in the dark horror film I Am Not a Serial Killer, and will be hosting the premiere of the film August 2nd in the early evening. There is also a refreshing dark twist on the holidays that can be found in Red Christmas from director Craig Anderson.

Red Christmas

Crime action thriller films are another staple at the Fantasia Festival, and here are some that should not be missed. There is something dark and sinister brewing in Let Me Make You a Martyr from directors Corey Asraf and John Swab, which stars an unrecognizable Marilyn Manson as a deranged hitman. Manson will be at the late evening premiere of the film July 22nd. Mel Gibson is back in his home turf of action genre cinema in Jean-François Richet's action film, Blood Father. Based on the popular Danish crime novels, A Conspiracy of Faith from director Hans Petter Moland deals with a case of religious fanaticism and child abuse that boasts a conclusion that will leave you thinking long after. If you are looking for that gritty western film be sure to check out Outlaws and Angels from director JT Mollner.

Blood Father

When it comes to comedy, think of ridiculously over-the-top and dark, because that is what you will get from the genre at the Fantasia Film Festival. The most apologetically Canadian dark comedy film, Yoga Hosers from director Kevin Smith, will be premièring in all of its Canuck craziness. Following the success of his indie comedy hit What We Do in the Shadows, Taika Waititi brings his New Zealand comedy Hunt for the Wilderpeople before moving on to direct the next instalment of the Thor series. If you are looking for a romantic comedy with heart then be sure to check out Heart Attack from director Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit. For the romantic comedy about how two people meet over the love for fan fiction be sure to check out Slash from director Clay Liford.

Slash

Documentary films are used as a way to enlighten and inform, but at the Fantasia Film Festival they will entertain the audiences. Trekkies rejoice as Adam Nimoy's documentary film For the Love of Spock will explore the legacy of the iconic character Mr. Spock who was portrayed by the late Leonard Nimoy. As for a documentary that I am hoping to get informed from, I am leaning towards the HBO documentary Beware the Slenderman that explores a dark internet phenomenon of Slenderman, and how it entered the real world. Did you ever want to know how the movies monsters are created? Then be sure to check out Creature Designers - The Frankenstein Complex, which will be proceeded by the presentation of a Cheval Noir award to director Guillermo del Toro (Hellboy, Pan's Labyrinth).

For the Love of Spock

From the dark and the darkly light-hearted the Fantasia Film Festival has something for the genre loving film audiences. I would like to conclude this article by congratulating the Fantasia Film Festival for its 20th anniversary, and as always from all of us of the At the Movies (with Iconic Sounds) family have a good week at the movie, bon cinema, et bon Festival Fantasia 2016!

Remi's Fantasia 2016 full selection list
Follow Remi's Film Viewings
Follow Fantasia film reviews as they happen!

--All of what is new and out! Tune in the At the Movies (with Iconic Sounds), every Tuesday at 8AM, only on CJLO 1690AM.

Hosted by Pauline Nesbitt

Stories written by Saturn De Los Angeles + Catlin Spencer + Patricia Petit Liang

Produced by Saturn De Los Angeles

Here is DJ Philliam's final Montreal Comiccon recap! Thanks again to the fine folks at Comiccon and Palais des congrès for another great year! Main photo by Brian 'Döc' Holidæ from Geektastiq Cypha. Check out our Instagram @CJLO1690AM for more photos Montreal Comiccon cosplayers!

Robin Lord Taylor was the first Q&A I attended in morning. Waiting in the hall with music from Gotham playing in the background made it so exciting. Robin took questions from fans regarding Gotham, relayed how much the film and his role as the Penguin impacted his career, his favourite scenes to film, and what he enjoyed most about portraying Penguin. He was also featured as a guest on the Walking Dead where he didn't have lines just a death scene, and it was the best thing he'd ever done on another show.

Next, I attended Tom Felton's panel. I would have to say this was the best panel of the day by far. Tom discussed how much Harry Potter has influenced so many people's lives, and how much people care about the series. Many questions were asked about how it was like on set, and that if he stole anything from it. He also shared some hilarious stories about his time with the late Alan Rickman, and filming a scene at 4:00 AM outside of the castle for the scene with Dumbledore's death. There was another moment where they were in the potions class and Alan had a long cape that looked like a wedding gown, if anyone would were to step on it he would get really upset and scold them. The last question was from a little kid who said that she had never seen a Harry Potter movie before, and everyone gasped. She asked if she should get on that and Tom was like, "Let's make the audience decide!" Everyone shouted in a huge uproar, "YES!"

I head on over to the Square Enix booth afterwards to play the upcoming Deus Ex: Mankind Divided game on the PC. It was a fun and interesting futuristic first-person shooter set in the year 2099, with dark action and a cool story. As I was exploring the show floor, I noticed the artists' section and all the cosplay guests were still there. I waited in line for cosplay celebrity Jessica Nigri and talked to some nice people who were talking about RWBY and cosplay plans for next year. When the opportunity came, I finally met Jessica, said hi, and gave her a big hug. She signed my RWBY Volume 3 DVD that I picked up just that morning. I was really happy to meet her and have a nice short chat.

Around 2:35, I headed on over to Summer Glau's panel. She recalled memories of working on Firefly and the Sarah Connor Chronicles. Summer also recalled a lot of interaction with Nathan Fillion, being on set where one point she screwed up her line and Nathan jokingly yelled, "you blew it!" An emotional moment she also had was when Sean's character had a death scene. Summer cried so hard because she had such a connection. She had been practicing the scene for a while, and that when they were on set she was crying so hard, that they accidentally forgot to film the take. Joss Whedon had told her, "I'm so sorry, we forgot to record that", and he felt so bad.

The last thing on my check list was to see the Star Wars Concert Symphony, which gave me chills. It sounded like John Williams was actually there conducting the music and the performers who played the pieces were astounding, it was one of the best concerts I've seen for an orchestra in a long time.

--Phil Aveline hosts Turn on the Darkness, every Tuesday at 2PM.

Montreal Comiccon has come and gone, but we've got more recaps right here in the CJLO Magazine for those who missed it. Philiam from Turn on the Darkness takes us through day two of the conference, with quick game reviews and funny anecdotes from the Star Trek 50th anniversary panel. Main photo by Brian 'Döc' Holidæ from Geektastiq Cypha. Check out our Instagram @CJLO1690AM for more photos Montreal Comiccon cosplayers!

Saturday morning began with Ubisoft showing off their newest IP, For Honor. They showed a new trailer and a demonstration with an extra 20 minutes of unseen footage that showcased more of the combat mechanics, enemies and bosses, and gameplay that reminded me a lot of Dark Souls. Unlike Friday, where it was quiet and you were able to move around freely, the show floor was packed on Saturday and it was harder to go from point A to point B, which was a little overwhelming.

I managed to also get a hands-on with the HTC Vive, the game I played was called First Impact: Rise of a Hero by Red Meat Games. It was a unique experience trying VV for the first time. The goal of the game was to be the hero, performing regular super hero duties throughout the city using different abilities. I got a little bit dizzy, but it seemed to stop after a minute or so. Nevertheless, the visuals were pretty impressive for VR, and I was glad to experience it. First Impact felt like a whole other world.

I headed to the Yaya Han and Kamui panel around noon. It was an interesting cosplay Q&A about how they got into cosplay, their influences, good and bad, and embarrassing stories. After scouring through crowds on my way to the Vic Mignogna panel, I got lost along the way and missed it completely, so I took a break from everything and watched a Counter Strike: Global Offensive competitive match. It was interesting to see the game in a tournament setting with a big crowd in the esports room.

The second-to-last panel of the day was an Anime Dubbing Contest where an assortment of weird things happened, in a hilarious, and cringe-worth matter.

The last panel of the day was the Star Trek 50th anniversary, with William Shatner, Brent Spiner, and Kate Mulgrew. The panel opened with a montage of the Star Trek, Star Trek: The Next Generation, and Star Trek: Voyager intros. There was a homage to the late Leonard Nimoy and the recently-diseased actor Anton Yelchin, who played Chekov in the reboot series.

Shatner told funny stories about being on set, and how his role as Captain Kirk from the first Star Trek series changed his life. Brent Spiner and Kate Mulgrew had their share of interesting stories about being on the bridge as well. In Star Trek: Voyager, Kate said that there was a lot of testosterone in the room, and not enough ladies on the bridge to keep her company. Shatner made a few inappropriate, sexist jokes, which lead the crowd to boo him, and Brent shared some memories about Leonard Nimoy, and how he was a great person to work on set with. Shatner explained how he was going to meet Stephen Hawking, he wanted an opinion on certain things that he's doing, and other Star Trek related things. He also had a story about their invitation to meet Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre in the morning. As they were on their way to meet Coderre, there was a man blocking the road who seemed to be a bit discouraged to pick up after his dog. Shatner got out of the car, yelled at the man, "Hey, pick up your dog's feces! PICK UP YOUR DOG'S FECES!" The man then picked up after his dog, and walked off.

--Phil Aveline hosts Turn on the Darkness, every Tuesday at 2PM.