Elliot is less a Chuck Norris of the Maritimes and more like a regular Corky St. Claire with his quirky ambition for amateur production and his affable delusions of grandeur. He prides himself on his karate skills and his one-fifth Japanese heritage, and his relationship with his Chinese-Canadian girlfriend Linda hints that an element of cultural fascination (if not fetishism) underlies his escapist quest to be Canada’s first martial artist of the movies.
Archival footage of their first film, They Killed My Cat, offers some hilarious insight into the farfetchedness of Elliot’s dream of making it big. He makes schlock. The movies are B-level pics at a modest appraisal or hokey diversions that make the Harry Knuckles films look like John Woo. They’re films that please fans of Saturday night cinema, so anyone with a taste for grungy alternative film will love the behind-the-scenes madness of Kung Fu Elliot.
Read
the full review here.
Kung Fu Elliot screens:
Toronto: Magic Lantern Carlton Cinemas, Nov 7-13
Ottawa: The Mayfair, Nov 14-20
Sudbury: Best of Hot Docs, Nov 8 (one night only)
North Bay: Best of Hot Docs, Nov 15 (one night only)
Winnipeg: Cinematheque, Nov 21
Update: Jaret Belliveau and Matthew Bauckman will be doing a Q&A via Skype for the Friday and Saturday screenings at The Mayfair theatre in Ottawa!
Ottawa: The Mayfair, Nov 14-20
Sudbury: Best of Hot Docs, Nov 8 (one night only)
North Bay: Best of Hot Docs, Nov 15 (one night only)
Winnipeg: Cinematheque, Nov 21
Update: Jaret Belliveau and Matthew Bauckman will be doing a Q&A via Skype for the Friday and Saturday screenings at The Mayfair theatre in Ottawa!