Gorgon Reviews

Dear Lara was watched as part of the Cascadia International Women’s Film Festival 2026! It had its showing on Sunday, May 3, as part of the festival.

I am often in awe of people who can devote their whole lives to a talent or craft, and become experts in these fields. I also often wonder what my life would have been like had I decided to pursue an art at the age of 8 with an unrelenting passion to become the best at it. Would I have been somewhere? Would I be limited by where I was or the income of my family?

Plenty of programs exist like this for kids, from elementary age to older. Academies and schools that teach the basics, but also let people achieve their potential in sports or music. Unfortunately, these schools sometimes can be often lead to abuse. Not just the emotional/mental abuse of a “gruff, angry mentor” demanding perfection seen in movies (and reality), but also sexual abuse. Lara St. John, musician and director of this documentary, wants to tell her own story about what she encountered as a teenager. And also to make it clear, this is not as isolated a case as one would think.

It is a very brave thing for someone to come forward with information about being assaulted, especially when its against people who hold positions of power. And it is important to note that Lara did not just do this one time, she did it several times, as the situation was was covered up when she tried to bring it to light. And of course, bringing it up again in situations like this documentary.

The worst part is, that her story is not unique. In this documentary, Lara talks to others to tell their stories and truth, and for many of them, they also have stories of cover up and institutions ignoring/not caring. These are stressed kids, teens, and college students, who are taken advantage of by adults whom they are meant to trust, and because those adults can play an instrument really good, they are often given a pass. Even sometimes just moving locations to a new facility, to continue to work with those under their care.

And honestly, it is really sickening. But what adds to it is that it is also not shocking to hear about the cover ups. It feels par for the course now. This does not mean it is acceptable or these stories don’t matter, because every story like this matters the more spotlight we can shine on these incidents, the hopefully we get closer to eliminating them.

Dear Lara is a powerful piece dealing with a serious topic, giving voice to those who have been shutdown, and done in a way to give the survivors of these incidents hopefully their power back.

4 out of 4.

Tough Old Broads was watched as part of the Cascadia International Women’s Film Festival 2026! It had its showing on Sunday, May 3, as part of the festival.

We love trailblazers around here. Because it is in fact, hard, to blaze a trail, and people who are strong enough to be the first to try something (that isn’t like…gross I guess) should be celebrated, especially if they are working towards equitable rights and things that are just common sense.

Tough Old Broads is a documentary set to let us know about three different women who in fact, “blazed trails,” in the past, and are still using their clout and their voice to support others looking to do the same. These women are Sheila Watt-Cloutier, Sharon Farmer, and Kathrine Switzer.

A picture of a man literally trying to keep womenkind down.First up we have Sheila Watt-Cloutier, who has been working on various jobs and Inuk activist work since the 1970’s. She has dealt with politics at a larger scale since the 90’s, written quite a few books, but the main point here is her work being a woman and one of the first to start legal action against the US for its role in climate change.

Sharon Farmer, a photojournalist, transitioned from working at newspapers into working at the White House. In fact, she was the first woman and first POC to be the official white house photographer, during the Bill Clinton terms.

And finally we have Katherine Switzer, who is a runner! She is seen in the photo above, mid Boston Marathon with a race organizer trying to forcibly stop her, as she was the first woman to enter the Boston Marathon.

Now, all three of these women are still active in there spheres. They run charities, write books, give talks, and work on inspiring the next batch of game changers. All three have very interesting stories worth looking at and are putting in work despite their ages. This documentary is a good look at chasing your dreams and doing what was seen as impossible at the time.

2 out of 4.

Appofeniacs was watched as part of Fantastic Fest 2025! It had its showing on Saturday, September 20th as part of the festival, and it was the North American Premiere of this film!

AI! Is it the future? Is it the not-future? Did it write this review?

No, no it did not. The fears about AI are real though. For example, taking peoples jobs, and destroying the arts. But an even bigger thing that people should fear is “Deepfakes”, technology that makes videos of non-real footage. You know, the footage could be used for crime, to trick people, porn, or any number of things. You could now have a video that isn’t real of you saying slurs, beating someone up, or naked. That can get you fired, get you in trouble with the police, and ruin your real life relationships because hey, its on video, it must be real.

But surely, most people don’t worry about this because most people aren’t important so why would they be targeted like politicians and celebrities? Well, the ease of this technology means more and more people holding a grudge, because you cut them off in a restaurant, or didn’t hold open a door, and your life gets ruined.

That is the story of Appofeniacs, and it is truly frightening!

Starring a whole slew of people you mostly will not recognize, but let me sprinkle in a couple you might! his includes Aaron Holliday, Harley Bronwyn, Jermaine Fowler, Paige Searcy, Scarlett DeMeo, Sean Gunn, Simran Jehani, and Will Brandt.

Honestly, the only photos for this movie is the hot tub, I was forced to do it.

This is a strange movie, because I had to vaguely describe it, because I truly think this is one of those films where you should just go along the ride, and see where the characters and experiences take you. A lot of scary places, I assure you, and a lot of places where I also would not know how to react in real life should it happen.

This is a film full of dramatic irony and unfortunate circumstances. When the bad guys make good points, and the good guys are kind of dumb, it’s a rollercoaster of emotion.

I do think this is a fun movie, and a bit scary, given how easy it is to imagine this sort of stuff can actually happen.

3 out of 4.

Coyotes was watched as part of Fantastic Fest 2025! It had its showing on Saturday, September 20th as part of the festival, and it was the World Premiere of this film!

Live is swell for people who live in the Hollywood hills! It must be, because you live in the Hollywood Hills. Big houses, big yards, fancy cars, rich people.

Now of course this has some negatives. A man (Justin Long) rarely sees his wife (Kate Bosworth) and daughter (Mila Harris) because he is working all the time. Dreams are being deferred, hours spent climbing the corporate ladder, and for what? A nice house? A dog? Shitty neighbors?

None of that backstory matters too much right, because a big storm hits the area knocking out the power, and they are going to be without it for awhile. On top of that, there are reports of coyote attacks in the area? That is really weird, because coyotes really don’t attack people. Not even if they are hungry and afraid. And yet, these ones do. And when they are stuck in their mansions and hills, with their transportation out failing, surviving a gang of coyotes who seem very pissed off might just be an impossibility.

Also starring Keir O’Donnell, Katherine McNamara, Brittany Allen, Norbert Leo Butz, Norma Nivia, and Kevin Glynn as the exterminator.

Everything I know is allergic to stabbing, so I am sure this work.

There is not much that I can do to describe this movie, its coyotes attacking rich people! Unfortunately, not the CEOs of major tech companies, no, just regular rich people. Well, one of them is kind of suspect, but he is also funny so I forgive him.

The crux of this movie is that these coyotes are out to kill, an animal that any person who knows about coyotes and hears about this plot, will be quick to tell you they don’t do this. And that is okay, it is a fake movie, could have been wolves, foxes, whatever. It is just things that are dog like and wild. Anyways, Coyotes is actually a lot of fun. Justin Long has an inherent goofiness to himself no matter his role, especially in horror films, and in here he has to play a father who definitely cares about his wife and kid, but isn’t a strong hero at the same time.

And you know, then we get comedy. We get some actual scary moments, we get off the wall moments, and we just get some pure comedy. Fun deaths, silly situations, and a little bit of fear. That is what I want in my horror comedies.

This movie doesn’t have underlying commentary, outside of hey, be good to your loved ones. Instead I’d think of it as a what if story. What if coyotes were dicks and attacked people? And what if people are silly?

Have fun, and lock your doors.

3 out of 4.

Touch Me was watched as part of the Seattle International Film Festival 2025! It had its showing on Saturday, August 2nd as part of the festival, and it was the Canadian Premiere of this film!

Do you have someone in your life whose simple touch is enough to drive you insane and pleasure? Well, that is sort of what is happening in this movie!

Joey (Olivia Taylor Dudley) is going nowhere in life, and her slacker roommate (Jordan Gavaris) is going there with her. Joey was recently in a relationship with someone though, Brian (Lou Taylor Pucci), who just knows how to drive her insane. He speaks so calmly, he can dance, and well, he has tentacles.

Oh yes, he is actually an alien on earth, and building a society. But that touch? That ALIEN TENTACLE TOUCH? Just does something for her. Hell, it does something for her roommate too. It is clearly the best thing in this world, and it is from off world. It is like the best drug, and they need it more, and more, and more.

But, why can her roommate join in? Why isn’t she good enough for herself for Brian? Does Brian have any ulterior motives? You know it!

Also starring Marlene Forte.

That tentacle touch drives my world into new colors.

For a film about an alien’s super sexy tentacle touch, I expected, and this might come across as crude, a lot more sexy tentacle touch! Come on, if you are going to make it a little erotic, give me more than a couple strange colored vague scenes. Make me want that tentacle touch. Not that tentacle touches were on my mind the past. Like, if you are an independent movie with a real freaky theme, I would hope you really get freaky with it, you know?

And that is the main part of complaint. Give me more weird stuff!

Because the three leads all did a really great job. Main character, roommate, and alien, they were all super strange and I loved their roles in this movie. I think the ending gets a little messy in a good way, and things of course crumble down, but this is a movie that could do more showing and less yapping.

I am just saying, the people who are into this thing, might be disappointed with how little we get, and the people who aren’t …well, aren’t going to watch it anyways.

Maybe the next sexy alien tentacle movie will deliver more, but for now, this was a decent first shot!

2 out of 4.

Désolé, Pardon, Je m’excuse was watched as part of the Seattle International Film Festival 2025! It had its showing on Wednesday, July 30th as part of the festival, and it was the World Premiere of this film!

Who doesn’t love a good torture flick? Wait, not torture flick, but actually someone getting tortured. Yeah, apparently in this world people can just release videos of themselves torturing people and people just like, watch it and think its interesting. Go figure.

Ella (Eva Prévost) works in some job and has to do customer support, but when these new torture videos hit the net she is all over it. Who cares about jobs and responsibilities? And for some reason, her boss (Tobie Pelletier) is totally fine with it, because she is hot. Anyways, Ella has dreams of getting into the torture game. It sounds fun! So she begs to take her bosses AirBnB so she can torture someone to death. Again, normal thing to do.

He says she should start smaller, maybe a nice dog, but sure, she can have two days.

Well, long story short, she ends up capturing a guy to torture accidentally. And it doesn’t go well! More and more people get involved, and well, shenanigans!

Also starring Luc-Olivier Boutet, Julianne Boucher-Telmosse, Jo Cormier, and Guy Jodoin.

Getting tortured is best done with someone who can smile.

Well. First thing that takes getting used to is how really into torture the people in the world seem to be. Like, the beginning is so silly, it is almost confusing as a viewer. But once the plot gets established, and Ella gets going, we realize she is just a confused young woman who doesn’t know anything and just wants to help people. Even if she is bad at it.

Honestly, the movie was a blast though. The main character is just so…silly and yet earnest at the same time. She is hard to describe, but she is the main character and we are here to figure out how to get out of her weird scenario that she is totally responsible for. I didn’t expect a second person to get involved, nor did I expect 5 or more.

And yet, the movie goes in a way that makes sense, and ends in a way unexpected. Another fun slight contradiction, but this is the realty and we have to accept it.

3 out of 4.

Buffet Infinity was watched as part of the Fantasia International Film Festival 2025! It had its showing on Monday, July 28th as part of the festival, and it was the World Premiere of this film!

What if you went to a buffet that had…everything? Every food you can imagine, and every food you cannot imagine. Endless refills, for affordable prices? A fantasy for sure, and, that is still true in this movie. But let us set up the scene.

Somewhere in the US, there is a town, that is set in the 80s or 90s, a little vague on purpose I imagine. And in this town, we watch TV and are channel surfers through the local channels. And we apparently watch a lot of advertisements. Because that is what this movie is. Local ads, and news reports, and occasionally something else a little bit weird.

We will learn about insurance agents, lawyers, pawn shops, and the local restaurants, like a really good sandwich shop, and a new buffet. They want you to come out and visit them. But, somehow, people end up going missing. Large groups of missing adults, and kids. Where are they going? Why is the restaurant getting bigger? Is any store actually manned by real people, or is everything a lie? What is the BUDGET of these local eateries and businesses to make so many commercials?

A mystery and a strange one, for sure…

Missing Person? Probably not important!

Buffet Infinity is what we call one of them there experimental movies. You go in with an open mind, and you are going to get a very different movie experience than you are used to. And it is a movie that surprisingly, would benefit from multiple watches I imagine. To watch as things get more bizarre, to pick up more clues along the way.

As I saw it as a screener, I also had the benefit to watch it in breaks. I might have lost info, but I definitely saved myself a headache at one moment, which I believe was a personal sick issue, but the type of film that it was, constantly shifting its commercials/news/frantic nature, it didn’t help. I love it when movies try something, and this is the type of thing that would take a person a lot of planning to do. I guess local TV ads are relatively easy to make, that is how local businesses can get it done. But to plan on where your ads go, and how they evolve, and to make the thing longer than 30 minutes? That requires a lot of creativity.

This film was less scary, and more bizarre and amusing. It has the vibe completely correct for this type of movie, and likely a budget to match. I can say with all certainty that I am still not fully sure what happened by the end, but the ride was worth it for me.

3 out of 4.

Good Game was watched as part of the Fantasia International Film Festival 2025! It had its showing on Sunday, July 27th as part of the festival, and it was the World Premiere of this film!

Esports, it is so big right now. And Good Game is not the first movie to exist about esports in a “underdog sports story” and it certainly won’t be the last, but it is definitely the one to talk about right now.

To set the stage, we are in Hong Kong, and we have our group of ragtag people ready to make a team. We have someone aptly named Solo, whom was just kicked off of his esports team for trying to do too much on his own. We have Tai, who owns a failing internet cafe, because kids only play games on their phones now, and he employs his daughter Fay, who cannot hold a normal job at all. And we have Octo, a former movie star, now also faded to obscurity, who just likes to play games with his wife because she is losing her mind, literally, and the games help keep her functioning and thinking.

So of course, these four are going to make a team, to compete in a upcoming tournament for a lot of cash that they can just enter and it is perfect timing! But, their main problem is, they aren’t very collectively skilled, especially against groups who play together all the time. And they all have issues that will, of course, get in their way of achievement.

Starring Yanny Wing-yan Chan, Man-Chung Lam, Will Or, and Meng Lo.

Don’t worry about the fifth person here. They are not on the team!

Okay, so, like I mentioned, a ragtag group of people coming together to do sports and succeed is not a new concept. Nor is it a new concept for Esports. So going into this movie, I was a little bit waiting for it to really wow me with somethin new. And unfortunately, it did the absolute opposite, and I kind of hate it.

First note, and every E-sports movie does this. They are not playing a real game that people know about of course, it is a made up one for the movie. It is FINE. But when we have to watch the “game” for so much of the movie, it becomes awkward. Regular sports don’t have this issue. Even movies about made up sports don’t have this issue because they can still play them. But I am left watching a generic shooting game, with rules that fit for the movie, and just have to trust their word. In an attempt to make it more exciting, the Player Characters that they controlled were played by real people too, to give it an action feel to it, but when we don’t even know the real rules of the game (because its made up and just sort of winging things), it never really grabs the excitement that can exist for real properties.

Now secondly, movies need tension for people to care. And sometimes that tension is obvious, like this movie. Ailing wife, mother disapproving of the gaming, anger issues. And they will all happen, and none of them really…seem to matter. Who cares if a mom is upset, when you are an adult, and literally doing it with your other parent? If your wife is sick, and she approved of the game playing, she will still be fine with it even if she is unconscious. (That does sound more shallow than I want it to be, but…it is a movie).

More importantly, there is one pivotal scene that really just got under my skin. The rules of the match where to protect a single player for the game time, if they do, then they win, and if they lose, they lose. An attacking and a defending team. For the movie to have the group have a FALLING OUT, because the player who needed to survive to win, did whatever he could to survive, makes absolutely no sense. It is a video game they are playing, for money they all need! I can’t imagine a scenario with real people where using teammates as shield would piss them off in this scenario. No one is getting actually hurt, and they all have the same goal.

It is just…It is a movie that is trying to use real sports drama in esports, for age groups and morals that don’t exist in gaming community. The movie stated out standard and cliche, but it became a bad film and I struggled to get through the last half hour, knowing it not only offered me nothing new, but absolutely bad plot points.

0 out of 4.

Hellcat was watched as part of the Fantasia International Film Festival 2025! It had its showing on Friday, July 25th as part of the festival, and it was the World Premiere of this film!

I will say I think HELLCAT is a terrible name for a school mascot, but not a terrible name for a movie. I am sad to be the one to tell you this, but this movie has nothing to do with the TV show from 15 years ago named Hellcats, about competitive cheering. And I watched that season of a tv show, I think!

No, this Hellcat is about a lady, who wakes up in a trailer and confused, very confused. Lena (Dakota Gorman) does not remember how she got in this little slice of a home, but she knows she is alone in it and it is moving down the highway. Eventually, she is able to communicate with the driver, Clive (Todd Terry), who says that she is safe, and he is going to take her to a doctor.

A doctor, what for? Well, seems like she was bit by SOMETHING, and is infected, and this guy saw it happened, and is going to try and get her cured before it is too late. That is, unless its all a lie and she was abducted and is being gaslit.

Oh what a time to be stuck in a trailer.

Also starring Jordan Mullins and James Austin Johnson as a talk show radio guy.

I have seen beds like this before, but it is not due to murder.What would you do, if you were locked away and had to believe your captor? Specifically kept away from information and loved ones in the process? You know, like 10 Cloverfield Lane, where your bunker is barreling down the highway. The thriller element is a lot stronger than the horror element in this film, even though I would say by the end of it, there is a tad little bit of horror element into it. But honestly, this is a thriller movie by and by.

It was also a longer movie than I thought it would be given its limited scope of action pieces. I guess the outside of the trailer is explored, as is front seat, and a couple of set locations. Honestly might have worked better as an almost entire, shorter, bottle episode like film. I think Gorman and Terry did a wonderful job portraying these characters and the huge amount of distrust and confusion over this situation. It is just one of those things where the story itself doesn’t live up to the acting.

It is a simply story, which isn’t the issue. Just the few reveals we get along the way aren’t as exciting as the initial premise. It has its cool moments! The film still warrants a watch and has some fun conversations with the leads and other side characters. But I can’t tell you where things wrong. Maybe a discrepancy with budget and what they wanted to do, or the search for a bigger payoff and twist. But it is a simple story that should have stayed a little bit more simple. Hell, I watched Locke, which was just Tom Hardy on the phone for two hours, and it was gripping. We could have done a lot more with talking and not showing in this case.

Hellcat, an interesting idea, good acting, but a poor payoff in the end.

2 out of 4.

Here at Gorgon Reviews, we are always trying to check out more and more festivals out there, to see what new films are coming our way. And Fantasia Fest has been on my radar for years! I just missed out on it last year, the timing wasn’t there for me, but I am happy to say I am finally able to get to watch a few of the movies this year.

Without wasting too much time, here are some titles in particular I am excited for.

All You Need Is Kill“The innovative, time-looping Japanese sci-fi novel finally gets the anime version it deserves, visually striking, dynamic, and intense, with fierce and fluid action, and a look all it’s own.”

For many of you, this title should sound familiar, even if you didn’t read the book (I know I did not). Because it is absolutely the story that Edge of Tomorrow was based on (notably NOT called Live Die Repeat despite the confusing advertising). I do not know how close Edge of Tomorrow was to the source material, but I am excited to see an anime take on it, given the novel itself is also from Japan.

Anything That Moves“From the director of All Jacked Up and Full of Worms comes a darkly comic erotic thriller about a bike-courier sex worker caught in a deadly small town conspiracy and a serial killer’s reign of terror.”

This film I am excited for partially because there are so many descriptor words here that just almost feel like pulled out of a random word generator and a movie was born. But also, All Jacked Up and Full of Worms is absolutely a movie I have seen before, and I don’t remember how it was or where I watched it. But it is the type of title one cannot forget. Let’s see what this director can do.

The Bearded Girl“A rebellious, sword-swallowing bearded girl decides to leave her carnival sideshow home behind in search of love and adventure. A debut feature that’s charming, dryly funny, and filled with a fairy-tale aesthetic.”

I can’t be specific, but this absolutely gives me some Princess Bride vibes. You know, if the princess had a beard and went and had an adventure on her own. A fairy tale aesthetic really sells it home, and I always love when my protagonist in a movie has a beard. ALWAYS.

Fixed“From the visionary director of PRIMAL and SAMURAI JACK comes an adult animated comedy about Bull, an average, all-around good dog who discovers he’s going to be neutered in the morning!”

I realize that there could be more words to hype up this movie, so let me go ahead and state it hear. I mean, this is the guy who brought us Dexter’s Laboratory and Powerpuff Girls as well! He also directed every Hotel Transylvania movie, which I can forgive, because this is a movie made for adults with Idris Elba as the lead voice, as a dog about to lose his manhood. That sounds like a recipe for success.

The Girl Who Stole Time“What will unfold when a village girl with the power to control time encounters a cold-faced assassin? Top-tier digital animation from China, with a heartfelt story and on-point humor.”

The description itself lacks a little hype, but it also has a lot of mystery over what the story is really about. In all honesty, this movie sold me at the title alone, and I can’t wait to see what comes from it.

Good Game“Tai and his team of oddballs underdogs will have to combine their strengths in gaming if they’re to win a fierce esports competition.”

A movie like this sure, has a pretty generic and standard plotline for films. Plenty of underdog to champion stories out there. Why is that? Because they work. They are fun. They are having good times. There is room for shenanigans and silly ways of achieving success. So yes, I do want to see it work in the esports format as well!

Hold the Fort“An HOA turns out to be more hellish than usual in this wildly amusing, creature-packed horror/comedy about newly minted suburbanites forced to take part in a battle against monstrous forces.”

All of my homies hate the HOA. I moved time zones to go to a new place with one of our main focuses being no HOA to deal with. Now, I don’t think I am mistaken here, but I don’t recall a single horror movie about HOAs in general turning out to be evil demonic entities. We did have a movie called Karen from the BET, which was about, well, a Karen. But she was just a regular nasty woman in the neighborhood. So yeah, give me a horror movie dealing with an HOA. It reflects reality the most of any movie on this list.

Influencers“CW is on the prowl again. With the versatility of a chameleon and a spider’s skill in weaving a nasty web, she’ll welcome nasty twists and fatal errors in paradise!”

This description of a film made me laugh. I hope it wasn’t meant to be remniscient of superhero movies and shows, but hearing Chameleon/Spider and a character named CW, which of course is a TV network with a ton of heroes, it is where my mind absolutely went. This might be the film on here that sounds closest to a regular film you might actually get to see in theaters somewhere someday, so I am surprised I included it, but by golly, it looks interesting.

OBEX“Conor’s life takes a turn for the fantastical as he is transported into the video-game world of OBEX, where he must rescue his kidnapped dog and come to terms with the grief buried deep inside himself.”

I will be honest. Almost every single movie about someone getting sucked into a video game makes absolutely no sense. It feels like they were made by people who have never played a game before and only had them described. They lack consistency, make obvious references, and usually just feel like a game of unrelated puzzles and no plot. Will OBEX break the trend? I don’t know, but I always give this plot line a chance, hoping for the one that finally excels.

Terrestrial“Jermaine Fowler shines in a completely original and unpredictable dark comedy sci-fi thriller about belonging and paranoia, from the director of HOT TUB TIME MACHINE.”

And finally, a movie with almost no real description in it about the plot, a few genre buzz words, so on its own, might not be something to notice. However, it did say it was by Steve Pink, and I will give the man who gave us Accepted a shot.

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If you are going to Fantasia Fest, let me know what you are hoping to see, and stay tuned for hopefully a lot of reviews and interviews from the pictures coming out of Montreal!