Fantasia 2023 review: ‘RESTORE POINT’ is life and death against progress and profit.

Fantasia Festival 2023 logoRESTORE POINT

It’s the year 2041, and humanity has reached the point where it can cheat death. Anyone who dies an unnatural death has the right to be brought back to life. All you have to do is to create a backup of your personality – a restore point – at least every forty-eight hours. But there exists a movement of people who try to sabotage this concept. “Agent Em” finds herself drawn into a case that is not as simple as it first seemed and the consequences of which reach to the highest levels of politics.


A wildly original premise and magnificent worldbuilding send Fantasia audiences headfirst into Robert Hloz‘s sci-fi crime thriller RESTORE POINT. It is 2041, and citizens have gained the right to resurrection if they die an unnatural death, as long as they have backed up their personalities and memories within 48 hrs. This information remains in the cloud. Following the murder of one of the lead scientists and his wife, a detective with a vendetta comes on board to discover corruption on every level.

I kept thinking about the franchise potential of this story. RESTORE POINT’s visual epicness from production designer Ondrej Lipensky is stunning. More reminiscent of Total Recall and Minority Report and less punk rock neon than Blade Runner. Aside from the overarching and mind-blowing plot device, it feels like a logically progressing technological surrounding. Costuming is beautifully subtle, punctuated by small angular details, predominantly around the collars and tailoring.

Matej Hádek plays David with an intentional glitchiness. The physical and emotional choices draw you into the mystery. Andrea Mohylová brings humanity that grounds her performance. You can see the gears turning, the struggle between the personal and principles of the case. Mohylová is badass, effortlessly carrying the action. She is extraordinarily watchable. As a duo, they are inarguably compelling.

The film is a commentary on automation and morality, progress, and profitability. It makes you think. It is a carefully crafted tale filled fueled by both greed and the greater good of humanity. RESTORE POINT will wow Fantasia 2023 audiences, forcing them to answer more than one “what if” long after the credit roll.



Review: ‘REVERSION’ will not soon be forgotten.

Reversion posterThere are often times when someone asks the question: “If you could go back in time and relive any moment, what would it be?” I don’t think there is a single one of us that can truthfully say, “I wouldn’t. Everything is perfect.” Would it be a good memory? Would be it something tragic or regrettable? And even if you could, what would you do with that moment? In Jose Nestor Marquez’s new film, such questions come to the forefront.
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REVERSION centers on Sophie Clé (Aja Naomi King), a delighted user of the Oubli, a wisp of high-tech jewelry that wraps behind the ear and uses neuroscience to help its users experience their most joyful memories as if they were happening for the first time.  In addition to being the head of marketing for the company that makes this revolutionary memory-enhancing wearable device, she is also the daughter of its inventor, Jack Clé (Colm Feore).
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Sophie’s most joyful memory is the last day she saw her mother alive, fifteen years earlier. But on the eve of the Oubli’s worldwide launch, a stranger named Isa (Jeanette Samano) kidnaps Sophie, setting off a chain of events that remind us all, you can’t escape what you can’t forget.
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Sophie’s life is really a well oiled facade. She utilizes the Oubli as a drug. Once Isa exposes the cracks in her carefully crafted present, Sophie begins to realize that manipulation, lies, and secrets have taken over this once spectacular idea of bringing peace and happiness to the general populace.
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Aja Naomi King has a great energy on screen and easily commands the lead. From her work on How To Get Away With Murder, I have already been impressed with her abilities and this is no exception. Colm Feore is always phenomenal with what seems like effortless ease. Gary Dourdan plays Ayden, Sophie’s driver, security, and closest ally. His strong, quiet presence is a perfect backup to Sophie manic potential. Isa is played flawlessly by Jeanette Samano. Simply based upon this role, I want to see her in everything. Someone is missing out by not casting her. Along with strong performances from Amanda Plummer and Lela Rochon, REVERSION has one outrageously talented cast.
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The look of the film is sleek and has some suggestive early Minority Report-esque allusions with technology intertwining with emotions and memories. The music is a wonderful bonus being both ethereal and haunting in all the right places. The plot gets more complicated as the film rolls along with twists you may not ever see coming. This film is much deserving of an audience and if you’re a sci-fi thriller fan, REVERSION is one to watch.
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Opening theatrically on October 9th, 2015 in New York (Empire 25), Los Angeles (Universal Citywalk) with a wider national release to follow.

The FOX Fall Schedule is Here!

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Dana Walden and Gary Newman, Chairmen and CEOs, Fox Television Group, today unveiled the FOX primetime slate for the 2015-2016 television season to the national advertising community during its annual Programming Presentation at the Beacon Theatre.

“Building on the phenomenal momentum created by GOTHAM, THE LAST MAN ON EARTH and, of course, EMPIRE, we’re infusing next season’s schedule with new ambitious dramas, smart comedies, aspirational unscripted series and big live events and specials – all from the best creators in the business,” said Walden and Newman. “And our strategy with these bold creative swings is simple: schedule them strategically, market them relentlessly and create events that break through and captivate viewers across every platform.”

Tuesdays are all-new this fall on FOX, with new comedies GRANDFATHERED and THE GRINDER, followed by killer comedy-horror series SCREAM QUEENS.

The new comedies kicking off an all-new Tuesday are GRANDFATHERED and THE GRINDER. A comedy about coming of age – at any age – GRANDFATHERED stars John Stamos (“Full House,” “ER”) as the ultimate bachelor whose life is turned upside down when he discovers he’s not only a father, but a grandfather. THE GRINDER, starring Emmy Award nominee Rob Lowe (“Parks and Recreation,” “The West Wing”) and Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award nominee Fred Savage (“The Wonder Years”), follows a famous TV lawyer (Lowe) who, after his hit series, “The Grinder,” is canceled, moves back home and joins his brother (Savage) at their family’s real-life law firm – despite having no formal education, no bar certification, no license to practice and no experience in an actual courtroom.

Award-winning executive producers Ryan Murphy (GLEE, “American Horror Story”), Brad Falchuk (GLEE, “American Horror Story”) and Ian Brennan (GLEE) meld comedy, mystery and horror in SCREAM QUEENS. All hell is about to break loose for the Kappa House sisters of Wallace University when a murder takes place, exactly 20 years after a mysterious death originally rocked their college campus. The super-charged anthology series is a modern take on the classic whodunit with a killer cast, including Emma Roberts (“American Horror Story: Freak Show,” “Scream 4”), Jamie Lee Curtis (“Halloween,” “A Fish Called Wanda,” “True Lies”), Lea Michele (GLEE), Oliver Hudson (“Nashville,” “Rules of Engagement”), Keke Palmer (“Akeela and the Bee,” “Masters of Sex”) and guest stars Ariana Grande and Nick Jonas (“Kingdom”), among others. With at least one casualty each week until the mystery is solved, anyone could be the next victim – or the murderer.

Two new dramas – the futuristic MINORITY REPORT and the Miami-set ROSEWOOD – debut this fall. Based on Steven Spielberg’s international blockbuster film and the first of his films to be adapted for television, MINORITY REPORT follows the partnership between a man (Stark Sands, Inside Llewyn Davis) haunted by the future and a cop (Meagan Good, Think Like A Man franchise, “Californication”) haunted by her past, as they race to stop the worst crimes before they happen.

Also joining the schedule this fall is ROSEWOOD. From executive producer Todd Harthan (“Psych,” “Dominion”), ROSEWOOD stars Morris Chestnut (“Nurse Jackie,” “The Best Man” franchise) as DR. BEAUMONT ROSEWOOD, JR., a brilliant private pathologist who uses wildly sophisticated technology and his drive to live life to the fullest to help a tough-as-nails detective (Jaina Lee Ortiz, “The After”) and the Miami PD uncover clues no one else can see.

The next mind-bending chapter of THE X-FILES debuts with a special two-night event beginning Sunday, Jan. 24 (10:00-11:00 PM ET/7:00-8:00 PM PT), following the NFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME, and continuing with its time period premiere on Monday, Jan. 25 (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT). The thrilling, six-episode event series, helmed by creator/executive producer Chris Carter and starring David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson as FBI Agents FOX MULDER and DANA SCULLY, marks the momentous return of the Emmy- and Golden Globe Award-winning pop culture phenomenon, which remains one of the longest-running sci-fi series in network television history.

In 2016, additional new series joining the schedule include devilish drama LUCIFER and modern gothic action series THE FRANKENSTEIN CODE; and two comedies, THE GUIDE TO SURVIVING LIFE and animated BORDERTOWN.

Based on characters from DC Entertainment’s Vertigo imprint, LUCIFER stars Tom Ellis (“Merlin”) as the charming, charismatic and handsome-as-hell original fallen angel, who, bored and unhappy in Hell, takes refuge in Los Angeles, where he uses his gift of persuasion to punish bad guys. But the longer he’s away from the underworld, the greater the threat that the worst of humanity could escape.

In THE FRANKENSTEIN CODE, from executive producer/writer Rand Ravich (“Life,” “Crisis”) and executive producer Howard Gordon (“Homeland,” “24”), a disgraced, 75-year-old ex-sheriff, whose life ends at the hands of corrupt cops, is brought back to life and given a second chance by a pair of young tech scientists, as a 35-year-old (Rob Kazinsky, “True Blood”) with unpredictable near-superhuman abilities.

THE GUIDE TO SURVIVING LIFE is a new young ensemble comedy about a group of friends living together for the first time. Each episode is told from the perspective of COOPER BARRETT (Jack Cutmore-Scott, Kingsman: The Secret Service), a wickedly charming and deeply flawed recent college grad whose life is filled with terrible choices, excellent mistakes and fantastic misadventures.

A new animated comedy from FAMILY GUY’s Mark Hentemann and Seth MacFarlane, BORDERTOWN is a satirical look at the cultural shifts taking place in America. Exploring family, politics and everything in between with a cross-cultural wink, the series centers on two very different families living in a fictional Southwest desert town on the U.S. – Mexico border.

AMERICAN IDOL will begin its 15th – and final – season this January on FOX. A season-long celebratory event, AMERICAN IDOL XV will feature host Ryan Seacrest and judges Jennifer Lopez, Keith Urban and Harry Connick, Jr., as they search for the final IDOL superstar and pay tribute to the past 14 seasons of amazingly talented contestants and the millions of fans who tweeted, texted and championed their IDOLs.

NEW GIRL returns to the Tuesday comedy block in January with a season of uninterrupted episodes.

As previously announced, GREASE: LIVE, a three-hour production of the massively popular crossover musical “Grease,” starring superstar singers, dancers and actresses Julianne Hough (Safe Haven, Rock of Ages) and Vanessa Hudgens (Broadway’s “Gigi,” Spring Breakers), will air LIVE Sunday, Jan. 31, 2016 on FOX. With Hough as the angelic “Sandy” – Rydell High’s most talked-about newcomer – and Hudgens as iconic bad girl “Rizzo,” this first-ever live television production of “Grease” will re-imagine the hit musical for an entirely new generation.

Additional FOX series include: ARE YOU SMARTER THAN A 5TH GRADER?, BOB’S BURGERS, BOOM!, BONES, BROOKLYN NINE-NINE, BULLSEYE, EMPIRE, FAMILY GUY, GOTHAM, HELL’S KITCHEN, MASTERCHEF, MASTERCHEF JUNIOR, THE SIMPSONS, SLEEPY HOLLOW, SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE and WORLD’S FUNNIEST.

Additional schedule information to be announced.

Following are the FOX fall 2015 primetime schedule, as well as social media information for and synopses of the new series:

FOX FALL 2015 SCHEDULE
(All Times ET/PT)

MONDAY
8:00-9:00 PM                          GOTHAM
9:00-10:00 PM                        MINORITY REPORT (new)

TUESDAY
8:00-8:30 PM                          GRANDFATHERED (new)
8:30-9:00 PM                          THE GRINDER (new)
9:00-10:00 PM                        SCREAM QUEENS (new)

WEDNESDAY
8:00-9:00 PM                          ROSEWOOD (new)   
9:00-10:00 PM                        EMPIRE

THURSDAY
8:00-9:00 PM                          BONES
9:00-10:00 PM                        SLEEPY HOLLOW

FRIDAY
8:00-9:00 PM                          MASTERCHEF JUNIOR
9:00-10:00 PM                        WORLD’S FUNNIEST

SATURDAY
7:00-10:30 PM                        FOX SPORTS SATURDAY: FOX COLLEGE FOOTBALL

SUNDAY
7:00-7:30 PM                          NFL ON FOX
7:30-8:00 PM                          THE OT
8:00-8:30 PM                          THE SIMPSONS
8:30-9:00 PM                          BROOKLYN NINE-NINE
9:00-9:30 PM                          FAMILY GUY
9:30-10:00 PM                        THE LAST MAN ON EARTH

BORDERTOWN (new), THE FRANKENSTEIN CODE (new), THE GUIDE TO SURVIVING LIFE (new), LUCIFER (new) and THE X-FILES (new) join the schedule in 2016, as do returning series AMERICAN IDOL XV, BOB’S BURGERS, HELL’S KITCHEN and NEW GIRL, among others.

FOX Announces Debut of ‘X-Files’ and Other Primetime Series for 2015-2016 Season

x-files-coming-soon-logo-128615

Dana Walden and Gary Newman, Chairmen and CEOs, Fox Television Group, today unveiled the FOX primetime slate for the 2015-2016 television season to the national advertising community during its annual Programming Presentation at the Beacon Theatre.

“Building on the phenomenal momentum created by GOTHAM, THE LAST MAN ON EARTH and, of course, EMPIRE, we’re infusing next season’s schedule with new ambitious dramas, smart comedies, aspirational unscripted series and big live events and specials – all from the best creators in the business,” said Walden and Newman. “And our strategy with these bold creative swings is simple: schedule them strategically, market them relentlessly and create events that break through and captivate viewers across every platform.”

Tuesdays are all-new this fall on FOX, with new comedies GRANDFATHERED and THE GRINDER, followed by killer comedy-horror series SCREAM QUEENS.

The new comedies kicking off an all-new Tuesday are GRANDFATHERED and THE GRINDER. A comedy about coming of age – at any age – GRANDFATHERED stars John Stamos (“Full House,” “ER”) as the ultimate bachelor whose life is turned upside down when he discovers he’s not only a father, but a grandfather. THE GRINDER, starring Emmy Award nominee Rob Lowe (“Parks and Recreation,” “The West Wing”) and Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award nominee Fred Savage (“The Wonder Years”), follows a famous TV lawyer (Lowe) who, after his hit series, “The Grinder,” is canceled, moves back home and joins his brother (Savage) at their family’s real-life law firm – despite having no formal education, no bar certification, no license to practice and no experience in an actual courtroom.

Award-winning executive producers Ryan Murphy (GLEE, “American Horror Story”), Brad Falchuk (GLEE, “American Horror Story”) and Ian Brennan (GLEE) meld comedy, mystery and horror in SCREAM QUEENS. All hell is about to break loose for the Kappa House sisters of Wallace University when a murder takes place, exactly 20 years after a mysterious death originally rocked their college campus. The super-charged anthology series is a modern take on the classic whodunit with a killer cast, including Emma Roberts (“American Horror Story: Freak Show,” “Scream 4”), Jamie Lee Curtis (“Halloween,” “A Fish Called Wanda,” “True Lies”), Lea Michele (GLEE), Oliver Hudson (“Nashville,” “Rules of Engagement”), Keke Palmer (“Akeela and the Bee,” “Masters of Sex”) and guest stars Ariana Grande and Nick Jonas (“Kingdom”), among others. With at least one casualty each week until the mystery is solved, anyone could be the next victim – or the murderer.

Two new dramas – the futuristic MINORITY REPORT and the Miami-set ROSEWOOD – debut this fall. Based on Steven Spielberg’s international blockbuster film and the first of his films to be adapted for television, MINORITY REPORT follows the partnership between a man (Stark Sands, “Inside Llewyn Davis”) haunted by the future and a cop (Meagan Good, “Think Like A Man” franchise, “Californication”) haunted by her past, as they race to stop the worst crimes before they happen.

Also joining the schedule this fall is ROSEWOOD. From executive producer Todd Harthan (“Psych,” “Dominion”), ROSEWOOD stars Morris Chestnut (“Nurse Jackie,” “The Best Man” franchise) as DR. BEAUMONT ROSEWOOD, JR., a brilliant private pathologist who uses wildly sophisticated technology and his drive to live life to the fullest to help a tough-as-nails detective (Jaina Lee Ortiz, “The After”) and the Miami PD uncover clues no one else can see.

The next mind-bending chapter of THE X-FILES debuts with a special two-night event beginning Sunday, Jan. 24 (10:00-11:00 PM ET/7:00-8:00 PM PT), following the NFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME, and continuing with its time period premiere on Monday, Jan. 25 (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT). The thrilling, six-episode event series, helmed by creator/executive producer Chris Carter and starring David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson as FBI Agents FOX MULDER and DANA SCULLY, marks the momentous return of the Emmy- and Golden Globe Award-winning pop culture phenomenon, which remains one of the longest-running sci-fi series in network television history.

In 2016, additional new series joining the schedule include devilish drama LUCIFER and modern gothic action series THE FRANKENSTEIN CODE; and two comedies, THE GUIDE TO SURVIVING LIFE and animated BORDERTOWN.

Based on characters from DC Entertainment’s Vertigo imprint, LUCIFER stars Tom Ellis (“Merlin”) as the charming, charismatic and handsome-as-hell original fallen angel, who, bored and unhappy in Hell, takes refuge in Los Angeles, where he uses his gift of persuasion to punish bad guys. But the longer he’s away from the underworld, the greater the threat that the worst of humanity could escape.

In THE FRANKENSTEIN CODE, from executive producer/writer Rand Ravich (“Life,” “Crisis”) and executive producer Howard Gordon (“Homeland,” “24”), a disgraced, 75-year-old ex-sheriff, whose life ends at the hands of corrupt cops, is brought back to life and given a second chance by a pair of young tech scientists, as a 35-year-old (Rob Kazinsky, “True Blood”) with unpredictable near-superhuman abilities.

THE GUIDE TO SURVIVING LIFE is a new young ensemble comedy about a group of friends living together for the first time. Each episode is told from the perspective of COOPER BARRETT (Jack Cutmore-Scott, “Kingsman: The Secret Service”), a wickedly charming and deeply flawed recent college grad whose life is filled with terrible choices, excellent mistakes and fantastic misadventures.

A new animated comedy from FAMILY GUY’s Mark Hentemann and Seth MacFarlane, BORDERTOWN is a satirical look at the cultural shifts taking place in America. Exploring family, politics and everything in between with a cross-cultural wink, the series centers on two very different families living in a fictional Southwest desert town on the U.S. – Mexico border.

AMERICAN IDOL will begin its 15th – and final – season this January on FOX. A season-long celebratory event, AMERICAN IDOL XV will feature host Ryan Seacrest and judges Jennifer Lopez, Keith Urban and Harry Connick, Jr., as they search for the final IDOL superstar and pay tribute to the past 14 seasons of amazingly talented contestants and the millions of fans who tweeted, texted and championed their IDOLs.

NEW GIRL returns to the Tuesday comedy block in January with a season of uninterrupted episodes.

As previously announced, GREASE: LIVE, a three-hour production of the massively popular crossover musical “Grease,” starring superstar singers, dancers and actresses Julianne Hough (“Safe Haven,” “Rock of Ages”) and Vanessa Hudgens (Broadway’s “Gigi,” “Spring Breakers”), will air LIVE Sunday, Jan. 31, 2016 on FOX. With Hough as the angelic “Sandy” – Rydell High’s most talked-about newcomer – and Hudgens as iconic bad girl “Rizzo,” this first-ever live television production of “Grease” will re-imagine the hit musical for an entirely new generation.

Additional FOX series include: ARE YOU SMARTER THAN A 5TH GRADER?, BOB’S BURGERS, BOOM!, BONES, BROOKLYN NINE-NINE, BULLSEYE, EMPIRE, FAMILY GUY, GOTHAM, HELL’S KITCHEN, MASTERCHEF, MASTERCHEF JUNIOR, THE SIMPSONS, SLEEPY HOLLOW, SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE and WORLD’S FUNNIEST.

Additional schedule information to be announced.

Following are the FOX fall 2015 primetime schedule, as well as social media information for and synopses of the new series:

FOX FALL 2015 SCHEDULE
(All Times ET/PT)

MONDAY
8:00-9:00 PM                          GOTHAM
9:00-10:00 PM                        MINORITY REPORT (new)

TUESDAY
8:00-8:30 PM                          GRANDFATHERED (new)
8:30-9:00 PM                          THE GRINDER (new)
9:00-10:00 PM                        SCREAM QUEENS (new)

WEDNESDAY
8:00-9:00 PM                          ROSEWOOD (new)   
9:00-10:00 PM                        EMPIRE

THURSDAY
8:00-9:00 PM                          BONES
9:00-10:00 PM                        SLEEPY HOLLOW

FRIDAY
8:00-9:00 PM                          MASTERCHEF JUNIOR
9:00-10:00 PM                        WORLD’S FUNNIEST

SATURDAY
7:00-10:30 PM                        FOX SPORTS SATURDAY: FOX COLLEGE FOOTBALL

SUNDAY
7:00-7:30 PM                          NFL ON FOX
7:30-8:00 PM                          THE OT
8:00-8:30 PM                          THE SIMPSONS
8:30-9:00 PM                          BROOKLYN NINE-NINE
9:00-9:30 PM                          FAMILY GUY
9:30-10:00 PM                        THE LAST MAN ON EARTH

BORDERTOWN (new), THE FRANKENSTEIN CODE (new), THE GUIDE TO SURVIVING LIFE (new), LUCIFER (new) and THE X-FILES (new) join the schedule in 2016, as do returning series AMERICAN IDOL XV, BOB’S BURGERS, HELL’S KITCHEN and NEW GIRL, among others.

– See more at: http://www.fox.com/article/fox-announces-new-primetime-series-for-2015-2016-season#sthash.oSkmPfHH.dpuf