Category Archives: Movies

Cinequest 2022: Fanga

Posted on August 16, 2022 by ricbret

Tale as old as time… we all know the song from Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. And we’ve probably have seen a production other than the animated Disney cartoon. But this is a movie truly a “tale as old as time” given its roots in folktales and myth. And with Fanga, writer/director Max Gold is going back to the source material, and added a modern twist. Continue reading →

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Cinequest 2022: The Day I Found a Girl in the Trash

Posted on August 15, 2022 by ricbret

The Day I Found a Girl in the Trash is a near-future science fiction story. Typically near-future SF is anywhere from five to ten years out from “today.” This allows the writer/producer to focus on a smaller aspect of change. Continue reading →

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How To Survive Cinequest 2022

Posted on August 14, 2022 by ricbret

A viewer’s guide to what USA Today readers voted the Best Film Festival. I’m happy, so happy, to update this pre-Covid-shutdown article for use in 2022. This year Cinequest moves back from virtual film festival to one of in-person smiles, … Continue reading →

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Why I Judge Books by Their Cover

Posted on April 17, 2018 by ricbret

Book Judgement is someplace where I can review and express my love for the manufacture of books, the binding, typography… Continue reading →

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Cinequest 2018: Little Women

Posted on March 5, 2018 by ricbret

Louisa May Alcott wrote Little Women 150 years ago, and [amazon asin=0147514010&text=the classic novel] has been made into several movies since. This year the newest version is showing at Cinequest! First-time Director Claire Niederpruem retells this ageless story in a modern setting. Continue reading →

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Cinequest 2018: Peaches

Posted on March 3, 2018 by ricbret

We all know the rules of time travel by now. Never travel to a time and place where you’re sure to meet yourself. Never do it twice at the same time. Three times is a very bad idea. And a dozen or so… well that could be real trouble. Continue reading →

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Cinequest 2018:
Charlie and Hannah’s Grand Night Out

Posted on March 2, 2018 by ricbret

This is one of those cases where you’re best prepared when you’re unprepared. 
Trust me. This film is what film festivals are for. Continue reading →

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Cinequest 2018: Hunting Lands

Posted on March 1, 2018 by ricbret

The Hunting Lands invites us along for a hunter’s pursuit, stalking a killer of a different kind. Continue reading →

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Cinequest 2018: How to Cinequest!

Posted on February 28, 2018 by ricbret

As regular listeners to the Fanboy Planet Podcast know, San Jose’s award-winning Cinequest film festival opened last night.  Opening night at Cinequest typically features an independent film that has or is expected to shortly gain general distribution, and last night’s … Continue reading →

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The Dark Tower – Defending the Rose

Posted on August 6, 2017 by ricbret

The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed.
Probably the best opening line in literature. Yeah, better than Call me Ishmael.
(Seriously Ishmael, I was just asking you for a name to write on your coffee cup!) Continue reading →

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Cinequest 2017: Two Euro Thrillers – Loop and Pyromaniac

Posted on March 3, 2017 by ricbret

Granted, like any other art, not every film is for everyone. We try to focus on giving you reviews that meet our fannish criteria. And today, on the fourth day of San Jose’s Cinequest we have two thrillers, one with a science fiction bent, that you may want to check out. Continue reading →

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Cinequest 2016: Encores and Last Chances

Posted on March 12, 2016 by ricbret

We’re down to the wire at Cinequest! Late last night, the Cinequest encores were announced.  These make up the bulk of Sunday programming in the festival’s final day. As I predicted, there are still too many great films to see them all. … Continue reading →

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Cinequest 2016: Catch-up Reviews

Posted on March 10, 2016 by ricbret

Reviews from Cinequest 2016: Demimonde, Eye in the Sky, Friends Effing Friends Effing Friends, Lost In Munich, Parabellium, The Phoenix Incident Continue reading →

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Cinequest 2016: Embers

Posted on March 3, 2016 by ricbret

It’s a quiet armageddon. Every day you wake with a limited knowledge of the world, of yourself, and of those around you. Some smaller things do stick, but the cohesiveness of what we were, of who we were, is gone. Waking experience teases some of this out to consciousness, but we still see a stranger in the mirror. Continue reading →

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Cinequest 2016: Sight Unseen Recommendations

Posted on March 2, 2016 by ricbret

Now that Cinequest is fully upon us, I need to touch on a small subject of interest to those of you going to the festival. There are WAY too many great films to see everything. Way too many. And some are terribly hard to review for reasons that will be obvious in a few paragraphs. But luckily those same programs are very easy to recommend, and do fall on my “Don’t Miss” list.
Continue reading →

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Cinequest 2016: The Brainwashing of My Dad

Posted on March 1, 2016 by ricbret

A longer commute, talk radio, a loving father turns into an angry, bitter, obsessive… brainwashed by a poisonous media. Continue reading →

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Cinequest 2016: Friends Effing Friends Effing Friends

Posted on February 29, 2016 by ricbret

My first must-see entry from the Cinequest film festival is a sexy story that takes the “friends with benefits” motif to the next level. Continue reading →

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Star Wars VII trailer: Storytelling & the invisible structure

Posted on September 25, 2015 by ricbret

Storytelling and structure from Presentation Zen master Garr Reynolds by way of Star Wars: The Force Awakens and a priest named Father Roderick… Continue reading →

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Cinequest 2015: Short Catch-Up Reviews

Posted on March 7, 2015 by ricbret

Although I’ve written up a good many of the films I’ve seen at Cinequest, there are several I just hadn’t gotten to yet. Given this is the closing weekend and we have a day of encore showings on Sunday, I wanted to get some notes out to you and hopefully help your viewing decisions. Continue reading →

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Cinequest 2015: Bad Exorcists

Posted on March 6, 2015 by ricbret

In the end this film delivers a lot of laughs, mixed with just enough shocks and scares. And that’s exactly what I was looking for. Continue reading →

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