Media Babe

The Guard

Sat, 03 Sep 2011 07:01:13 GMT

If you like movies like In Bruges, Perrier's Bounty, and Snatch then I cannot recommend highly enough that you go out ASAP and see The Guard.

I just saw it tonight and it was awesome! Funny, snarky, clever, well-written, intelligent, and oh so very wrong in all the right ways. :D No surprise that lead actor Brendan Gleeson, one of the main reasons In Bruges is so great, is what makes The Guard (in part) so great. :D

It's currently playing at The Egyptian and it nearly broke my heart to see such a great film in such an empty theater on a Friday night. It deserves better! Go see!!

Catching up is hard to do...

Sun, 12 Jun 2011 22:20:09 GMT

And I'm being exceedingly slow about it this year. I managed to write 47 reviews (or pico reviews) out of the 70 some odd movies that I managed to see this festival. I hope to finish up, catch up and have reviews for everything this coming week or so, though obviously that won't be of much use to most people now. ;) Still, there are some movies that will be getting a big screen release or least a local one, so it might be somewhat useful to you. ;)

Movies yet to get reviews include:

Backyard
Beginners - This is in theaters now. Definitely go see it! It's a great movie! One of the best of the fest!
Bibliotheque Pascal
Black Bread
Burke & Hare
Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff
A Cat in Paris
Copacabana
Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame
Ex
The First Grader
Four More Years
Gainsbourg
Hayfever
Karate-Robo Zaborgar
Kung Fu Panda 2
Life in a Day
My Afternoons with Margueritte
Our Home
Revenge of the Electric Car
Simple Simon
Sound of Noise
Third Star
Toast
The Trip
Young Goethe in Love

I'll probably concentrate on stuff that is out now, is coming out soon, playing at the Best of SIFF, or that we have available at Scarecrow Video. :)

Best of SIFF??

Sun, 12 Jun 2011 22:01:17 GMT

Well, I have to say that I'm extremely disappointed in the Best of SIFF lineup for next weekend. Most of the films are ones that I either saw (and those are good choices) or had little to zero interest in seeing. There were definitely far better films that could have been picked than were picked, alas. There are, of course, a few exceptions, but in the end virtually nothing has been slated that I didn't see and hoped to catch. For those who are curious, you can see what was picked here.

Of the ones chosen, I can personally recommend Simple Simon, Paper Birds, How to Die in Oregon, and Life in a Day. I will definitely go see Best of SIFF shorts, because that is always guaranteed to be pretty great. I've also heard from many people that Being Elmo (will probably go see, despite hating the Elmo character) is quite excellent as well as To Be Heard (not my thing). Sadly, though, none of the films that I missed, heard high praise of, and hoped to see were put on the schedule. Siiiiiiigh.

To say that I am very disappointed is quite the understatement. :(

SIFF - The Final Day

Sun, 12 Jun 2011 16:20:01 GMT

Well, it's been a weird SIFF for me this year. Not sure why writing reviews has been more of a chore than a pleasure, but such is life I suppose.

Here are some quick recommendations for the final day. They're barely even pico reviews, but there ya go.

Poupoupidou - Definitely one of my favorite films of the festival. The trailer is amazing and won me over in a heartbeat. I feared that the movie would not live up to its promise, but it did. An author unexpectedly discovers inspiration in the most unlikely of places when a local celebrity turns up dead, an apparent suicide but with mysterious overtones. As he delves into her life, which runs a surreal parallel to that of Marilyn Monroe, he finds himself falling for a woman he never even met. A fanciful, charming, funny, tragic, and quirky sort of thriller, a story told in reverse, a mystery to be unfolded, all in a brutally cold and snowy part of France. I loved it.

Today - Neptune - 1:30

The Poll Diaries - his has been brought back for one of the TBA slots and I HIGHLY recommend it. Set during the eve of WWI on the border of Germany, Russia and Estonia, a young girl returns home with her mother’s corpse and a two-headed fetus in a jar for her father. That right there sets the stage for the strange, bizarre, and dysfunctional story that is to follow. The cinematography and setting is astonishing and stunning, the story dark and strange, and the whole film from start to finish is fascinating, suspenseful, and captivating. One of the best films of the festival, hands down.

Today - Pacific Place - 9:30

SIFF DAY 21

Fri, 10 Jun 2011 01:13:37 GMT

Yesterday I lamed out for the most part. Didn't feel like dragging myself out for press screenings, and nothing I really felt like going out to that evening either. It was really quite nice, actually, to just have a relaxing day at home doing nothing to cleaning and reading and napping. Ahhhhhh!

Today I awoke refreshed and ready to seize the day. Saw two press screenings and now I'm at work (la!) at the Neptune. Come by and say hi! ;)

Holy Rollers - The True Story of Card Counting Christians - The first half of this movie is quite simply AWESOME. Fast and funny, well-edited, stylish and clever, this film whisks you along on a gambling adventure that is part Rainman and part Ocean's 11. In fact they intersperse scenes from Rainman, along with other famous movies, to compare the Hollywood 'vision' of gambling with their reality. The film deals with the story of how this group of Christians came together and made a business out of blackjack and how they justify the means to themselves, their families, and their communities. Unfortunately the film simply goes on too long and makes some crucial errors by not following up on what is clearly an important interview, which makes me wonder if the director was perhaps a fellow Christian and friend of this group and, as such, biased in his choice of what to show and, more importantly what, not to show. Questions of greed, suspicion, discrimination, religious fervor, and morality begin to raise their ugly heads like a hydra; interesting and provocative but in the end something of a buzz-kill to the initial exuberance of the first half.

What I found surprising is that the SIFF write-up for the film is inaccurate. It claims that these people are using blackjack in order to fund their churches and communities. This is not the case, according to the film. It is, quite clearly, a business; there are investors, there are managers, and there are players (employees) and as far as the film depicts, they are all in this to make money for themselves. Basically, they "work" 40 hours a month playing blackjack to make a living rather than 40 hours a week in a regular job and "supposedly" put the rest of their time into their Christian faith. This is the only way their "work" gives back to the Christian community; their claim that they do it in order to have more time to dedicate to pastoring, their church, and their community. But this is something we are told in non-explicit terms and do not see. This movie clearly pushed some hot buttons in the people around me, as several individuals walked out during the press screening. Even though it was overlong and could have used some editing, overall it was entertaining and certainly very interesting. No matter what your stance or opinion on either gambling or Christianity might be, there's something of interest to take away from this film. I think any film that posits such controversial ideas and conversations is a film worth seeing.

USA, 2011 (93 minutes)
Director: Bryan Storkel

Director Bryan Storkel, producer Jason Connell, cinematographer Brian Liepe, and other cast and crew members are scheduled to attend

Festival Screenings
6:00 PM Sat, June 11 Admiral Theatre (Screening on STANDBY - advance tickets not available)
3:30 AM Sun, June 12 SIFF Cinema

Funkytown - Based on true stories, this Canadian film does an excellent job of capturing the changing of the times at the end of the 70s, from when Disco ruled to the point where Punk and New Wave start to make their move. Following a number of different characters - a highly successful radio DJ and TV celebrity, an up-and-coming model/starlet, a corrupt music manager, an aging singer whose career is on the rocks thanks to disco and poor management, a sexually conflicted young Italian dancer and restauranteur, a gay TV host and celebrity on his way down from success - we watch as their lives become intertwined, mostly for the worst, through the Starlight club, which boasts to be the first Disco dance club in North America. The music really makes the film, and it's not all disco, capturing not only the times but a suffusing the movie with a vivacious energy. Although the film is long, and you can feel its length, it's never boring or uninteresting. It's a fascinating look at how times change, music changes, and people change, sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse. Some people shoulder adversity and manage to rise to the top; others are crushed and crumble beneath it. Even though only a few characters in the film are really likeable or deserve your respect, they're all interesting and engaging, whether they're rising like a phoenix or crashing like a burning car. Way more enjoyable and entertaining that I had expected. A really good film that I highly recommend checking out.

Canada (Quebec), 2011 (133 minutes)
Director: Daniel Roby
Cast: Patrick Huard, Justin Chatwin, Sarah Mutch, Raymond Bouchard, Paul Doucet

Director Daniel Roby scheduled to attend

Festival Screenings
9:30 PM Fri, June 10 AMC Pacific Place
3:30 AM Sun, June 12 AMC Pacific Place

SIFF DAY 19

Tue, 07 Jun 2011 07:48:48 GMT

Well, Wednesday was all kinds of disappointing. We were supposed to have a press screening of Norwegian Wood (which was really the main reason I went to the press screenings in the first place), but the copy they showed didn't have subtitles. Gee. Thanks. Second movie was okay, but the third movie (which was supposed to be Spud got replaced by a movie I wasn't really interested in seeing. So instead of seeing 5 movies that day, I only saw 3. Most vexing.

Lys - This movie is crazy short! It was preceded by a short film called Roman's Ark which I found vaguely interesting visually, but not particularly interesting (or even exactly clear) as a film, short or not. Siiiigh. Lys likewise felt a bit incomplete and lacked a great deal of explanation. A new power plant, using a supposedly clean and renewable energy source called Anima, suddenly starts having catastrophic failures resulting in massive blackouts at the same time that a mysterious girl is found in the reactor chamber. Quickly it becomes clear that they do not have control over this energy source, which may be far more volatile than they initially realized, and for better or for worse it appears that the strange girl, Lys, might be the either the key to understanding this new mystery, or a weapon to bring about their destruction.

I think this the first time I've ever felt that a movie at the festival should have been longer, but this one really needed a little more beef along with its bun. Too many questions left unanswered, too little actual plot or character development. It needed more and, honestly, I think there could have easily been more to it. Characters were dreadfully two-dimensional, some utterly arbitrary, and as a result it was difficult to feel engaged in the film. Told in a series of flashbacks, there is also a distinct lack of a clear timeline, which really would have added to the clarity and possibly even the tension of the story. Rumor has it that this is the director's thesis project and, despite all of my complaints, it was still interesting and well made. In the end, however, I was more interested in what it could have been with some more time and more money, rather than in what it was.

Germany, 2011 (52 minutes, 76 minutes total)
Director: Krystof Zlatnik
Cast: Hanna Schwamborn, Horst-Günter Marx, Marc Hosemann, Catherine Bode Ecki Hoffmann

Director Krystof Zlatnik scheduled to attend.

Festival Screenings
9:30 PM Fri, June 10 Neptune Theatre
11:00 AM Sat, June 11 Neptune Theatre

My Afternoons With Margueritte - One of Gerard Depardieu's better roles in a long time, but the film still felt very inconsistent. A hard working, simple man, struggles against the abuse of his past and his present, against the fact that nearly everyone takes him for a simpleton and an idiot. Everyone, that is, except Margueritte, a charming, friendly and erudite woman he meets in the park and becomes friends with, bonding over literature. Okay, okay, it's not fair to say that everybody picks on him - he has a surprisingly lovely and loving girlfriend. It's a charming little film about the value of a person and how worth is made up of so much more than simply the intelligence that one possesses. It wasn't quite as delightful and wonderful as I had hoped it would be, but it was perfectly pleasant, with moments of true grace and beauty from time to time.

Fuck My Life - Wheeeeee, this was fun! This film fully embraces the technology of our time, with texting, Facebook, and cell phones being one of the primary forms of communication between individuals, whether it be calling out for help or asking for dating advice. Interestingly enough the actual title of the film is Fuck Your Life, which embodies more clearly the attitude of many of the characters who feel that their friends and lovers have done them wrong. The lead character realizes what he has lost after he dumps his girlfriend and spends the rest of the movie trying to win her back, despite everyone's advice that he move on and forget her. It's very much a "he said, she said" sort of movie, where characters are "interviewed" and often give very differing accounts of the various actions of our protagonist. In the end, though, every character feel very real and believable, even when the situations are ludicrous or highly coincidental. It's a playful, silly, wry, clever, and yet also utterly spot on about people and relationships.

SIFF DAY 17!

Mon, 06 Jun 2011 08:02:36 GMT

Love Crime - A smartly wicked retelling of All About Eve, this film is a strong proponent of the saying, "All is fair in love and war". This time the war is in the business arena, the battlefield the office, and the order of the day is take no prisoners. In a style that faintly recalls the conflict in a far fluffier movie, Working Girl, a demanding and ladder-climbing executive uses the skills of her assistant, taking credit for her ideas, in order to achieve her desires. When the assistant decides to take matters into her own hands and follow suit, she finds herself up against a vicious and ruthless adversary. But two can play at that game.

The two lead actresses really carry the weight of the film, and they are both pitch perfect in their performances. For the beginning of the film and their talents alone it is worth the price of admission. Alas, there are some very obvious and awkward flaws in the writing and the logic of the story. Contradicting pieces of information, overlooked or forgotten clues, some obvious plot points, and simply illogical conclusions mar what could have been a deliciously perfect mystery. Additionally in what I can only assume was an attempt by the filmmakers to stretch out the mystery of the film served in the end only to stretch it too far, bypassing suspense and straying into tedium. The soundtrack unfortunately exacerbates this problem; the lazy laid back jazz reduces the tension rather than increasing it as the music should have. Still, an interesting and enjoyable film, it just should have been much tighter and more gripping.

SIFF DAY 16!

Sun, 05 Jun 2011 19:51:31 GMT

Saturday was Day 16! Only one movie for me. I had work and then was completely exhausted and needed SLEEP! ;)

Boy - The trailer for this film would lead you to believe that it is silly and playful, with flights of fantasy and foolishness. And while it does embody these aspects, it's also a much more serious and at times sad film about what happens when a child's hero proves to be a disappointment. Eleven year old "Boy" lives with his aunt, his brother and five other children where he often is the eldest and most responsible member of the household, taking care of the cooking, cleaning, and feeding of the other children. His two heroes are his dad, who is absent for a myriad of possible reasons, and Michael Jackson. Everything changes, however, when his father suddenly returns. The reunion is exciting and joyous, but Boy quickly learns what happens when your childhood hero turns out to be nothing more than a flawed human being. Boy's daydreams, where his father and Michael Jackson become one, are probably one of my favorite parts of the film! But even when the story takes a turn for the serious, it is still a good film, balancing the playful nature of a parent connecting with his children and the struggle when the needs of each cannot be satisfied by the other. All of the performances are excellent, especially those of the children. Definitely a film worth seeing, just be prepared for some serious tones as well as cheerful ones. Make sure you sit through the credits for a hilarious extra and, if you're a complete-ist about such things, there is a tiny little extra right at the very end as well. ;)

SIFF DAY 15

Sat, 04 Jun 2011 19:21:26 GMT

Yesterday was Day 15 at SIFF in my estimation (Day 16 in theirs - bah!) and was a mixed sort of day. Two meh films and two really fun and excellent films!

EDIT: Whoops! I totally forgot that I saw a press screening today - the closing night film! Review to come soon. Yeah, yeah, I know, I say that all the time! :P

Life in a Day -

Juan - A modernized version of Mozart's Don Giovanni where a dashing womanizer accidentally kills the father of his latest conquest, but doesn't have the good sense to get out of town while he still can, leading himself deeper and deeper into disaster. The trailer for this film looked very exciting and dynamic and I had high hopes for it. Alas, while I was watching it I found I kept just thinking of ways that I would have made the film that would have been (IMHO) an improvement. For myself, I wished that this film was more dynamic both visually and cinematically. The music of opera lends itself toward the dramatic, and though I enjoyed the idea of modernization, which does take away from the traditional dramatic presentation of fancy costumes and sets, I felt they could have emulated these effects through distinctive lighting, camera angles, brilliant color (or the opposite, stark and striking B&W) and stylish costuming. There are certain moments that captured these aspects and my interest briefly, but so much more could have been done. Additionally, I did not agree with the choice of changing the language from Italian to English. There were English subtitles anyways, and the English language just really didn't fit the music and it made some of the modernized translations sound rather foolish.

Our Home - If one is a fan or a reader of the works of spiritualist medium Chico Xavier, then this film will most likely appeal to you. I, alas, found the film both rather annoyingly preachy and, by turns, slightly cheesy. The lessons shown here I have certainly seen in other films, but done with a much more subtle and deft handling. A man who lead a somewhat selfish and self-absorbed life, finds himself struggling after his death with the choices that he made and the prejudices he held during his life on earth. Though the production values are certainly quite elegant, I found it a rather boring and overly familiar rendition of 'heaven', where everyone wears flowing loose outfits of white and pale colors and sit about on perfectly manicured lawns, listening to elegant and demure classical music. Though there is a tip of the hat toward an inclusivity of all religions, there is very little shown to express the diversity of individuals. As with Juan I found myself watching and picking out all of the things that I would have done differently to make this a more interesting and inclusive film. But, seeing that it's based on a specific work of a specific author, I suppose there was not much room for alteration or exploration on the theme. My biggest problem with the film is that it all felt just a little too obvious. Familiar themes on hell/purgatory, familiar themes on letting go of control and opening yourself up to God and having faith, familiar themes on learning from your past and becoming a better person. Though many people have raved about this film, neither I nor most of the people sitting around me during the screening were particularly enamoured of the film.

Detention - If you want a high-octane, wicked fast and funny, whiplash dialog movie then this is the film to see! Students at a high school are tossed into turmoil when one of their own is murdered by a character from a popular horror movie, all of them wondering who will be struck next. This is the ultimate teenager/highschool horror flick, with a bizarre twist. Harkening to such films as The Breakfast Club, Heathers, Real Genius, and Scream this movie makes a mockery of them all and then some. The peculiar choice of the director is to move the film past the obvious horror parody and into the realm of mocking multiple genres, tropes, and culture. The movie is bursting at the seams with references to films, pop culture, and music, at a pace that is so dizzyingly fast that you probably need to see it several times just to catch them all. Personally I think it would have been more successful if it had reined itself in a bit more and dropped a few of the film and genre references as some of them quite simply do not serve either the film or the story as a whole and, in fact, detract from the perfection of the rest of it. That said, its an utterly hilarious and wild romp, with clever uses of text and fonts throughout, witty dialog, and excellent cinematography and editing used to capture that crazy and traumatic time and place that we call "high school".

The Whisperer in the Darkness - For those of you who saw and enjoyed The Call of Chuthulu (SIFF 2006), prepare yourself to be similarly dazzled and delighted by the second film of this talented team of filmmakers! Based on yet another work by H.P. Lovecraft, this time they give us a full-length feature done in the style of a 1930 horror/mystery film. A professor of folklore finds the original documents of a infamous writer of "folklore" depicting a strange and disturbing cult and creatures at the same time that massive flooding in Vermont brings to the surface reports of strange and unnatural remains. Invited to come and examine new and shocking evidence, the professor soon finds himself embroiled in the dastardly plans of monsters beyond human comprehension and the possible end of the world. Lovingly filmed in a film-noir style, this movie manages to beautifully capture the look, style, and performance of a period film. From the absolutely perfectly written musical score, to opening credits, to the spot-on performances of the actors, to the creative props, this film is a treat for the eyes and a charming and entertaining homage to the films and serials of the 1930s.

SIFF DAY 10 - Pico reviews

Mon, 30 May 2011 06:50:31 GMT

Wow. Today, Day 10 of the festival, I got to see two very good, but very different films. Pico reviews for now, longer reviews soon.

We Are the Night - A stylish, solidly-made, and entertaining film about a pack of female vampires who are looking for the next perfect individual to join their group, only to discover that their latest conquest is not as eager and willing to maim and murder men. The characters really are the delight here, each of them unique and fascinating, some deliciously entertaining. Second up is just the pure style and panache of the film. Not a horror film, and relatively speaking the gore is pretty mild for a movie about vampires. But it was damn fun and well made. Totally recommend it if you're looking for some lighter, more commercial, film festival fare.

Black Venus - Astonishing. Intense. Grim. Fascinating. This film follows the true story of a "Hottentot" woman brought to Europe from Cape Hope to "exhibit" herself in a sideshow manner. Promised riches and fame, her life story is a disturbing tale of a woman who is both the master of her own destiny and a manipulated and abused victim at the same time. Not an easy film to watch, with moments of great beauty, pride, and self-determination intermixed with abuse, corruption, and tragedy.

SIFF DAY 7!

Fri, 27 May 2011 07:55:30 GMT

Lordy, Lordy, I am SO far behind! :( Today is currently Day 10, but these reviews are, as you can see, for Day 7. Fortunately I managed to see 2 and a half press screenings on Thursday, so at least those will be informative and, more importantly, timely.

Wasted on the Young - This is yet another one of those films that is a well-known and potentially overdone trope, and yet is done here so well that it is definitely worth seeing. Students of a private school get embroiled in a struggle over morality, apathy, and disinformation when a wild party thrown by the captain of the swim team goes a step too far. Visually, it is vibrant, exciting, and stylish. For the cinematography alone, I enjoyed this film. Beautiful angles and use of contrast, clever shifts that compare and contrast the real from the imagined all contribute to make this a visually arresting film. The story is grim, but a fair depiction of the balance of power in a school system and the abuses thereof that happen in any social situation where those who have beauty, money, and the means can get away with almost anything. One of the more intriguing choice is the notable lack of any parents, teachers, or adult authority figures throughout the entire film; a haunting echo of Lord of the Flies on multiple levels.

Salvation Boulevard - If you're looking for a silly, fluffy, dumb fun movie in the festival this year, this would probably be it. After an unfortunate accident, the minister in charge of a huge Christian community that is on the brink of creating their very own 'city' decides to frame one of his constituents in the hopes of escaping any fallout. Wacky hijinks ensue.

It has a huge and impressive cast that is, for the most part, wasted in terms of talent, but all of whom play their parts with panache and humor. Basically, don't come in expecting too much. But the premise is by turns amusing and entertaining, the acting funny and cheesy, and the overall experience pleasantly mindless and enjoyable. It's nothing to write home about, but you'll find some genuine laughs (and likely some genuine winces if you have issues with evangelical Christianity) and plenty of fodder to poke fun at and snark over. The ending is a bit odd though. It's rather abrupt and unexpected, leaving one with a faint sense of, "huh?". Part of me feels like there was more to be done, but I'm honestly not sure what exactly that would be.

Vampire - If you want to learn how to be a sick serial killer, then this is the movie for you. If you enjoy films that brutally manipulate and victimize women, then this film is for you. If you enjoy poorly written scripts, with stupid characters, and often rather wooden acting, then this movie is for you. If these things are not your cup of tea, then I strongly recommend that you give Vampire a miss. Right from the start the film is unconvincing on so many levels. They portray people who are suicidal as being pretty much complete idiots. I can assure you, they are not. It portrays women as being pretty much complete idiots. We are not. It seemed highly misogynistic, pointless, gratuitous, and just plain unpleasant. I can't give this film a fair review because after one particularly unpleasant and excessive scene I, along with at least eight other people, walked out of the theater. But from what I was told by those who stayed behind it clearly did not improve from that point on.

Backyard - Whoops! Forgot to put this one in. This is just a marker for now - full review coming later.

Fathers & Sons - I think one of my favorite parts of this film is the massive Impact font quotes that slam up on the screen before each different story starts, the sound of gunfire, screams, and explosions ringing out in the background, each quote echoing the sentiments of the story to come like, "The son eats the fruit, the father gets the rind" and so on and so forth. We have the son who is meeting his father for the first time at the funeral of his mother, the son whose father chooses being happy over being successful, the four sons who gather after their father's death to go over his will, and the son who can't stop being embarrassed by his of flamingly gay Hindu Bollywood dance choreographer father. The stories are at times awkwardly painful, awkwardly funny, and an odd mix of touching and just plain bizarre. The film wasn't consistently my thing, but there was enough funny and enough thoughtful to keep me engaged.

SIFF DAY 6!

Thu, 26 May 2011 07:11:38 GMT

OMG. I can't believe I've missed SO MANY days of the festival! On Friday, Day 1, I was sick as a dog and had to work at the Neptune, so no movies. Saturday, Day 2 I was completely and utterly toast and pretty much spent the day dying. Sunday, Day 3, I did manage to see three films (Four More Years, Beginners, and Ex), which I will write reviews for soon! Then of course Monday, Day 4, I was dead again and got the pneumonia diagnosis, and ever since I've been hiding at home, resting and recuperating.

Only one movie today but it was BRILLIANT!! :D

You Are Here - It calls itself a "Meta-Detective Story" and really, that's probably the most accurate description for this wildly inventive movie. I don't think I can praise this film enough. Delightfully surreal, bizarrely subversive, subtly brilliant, filled with riddles and rhymes, questions and convolutions, this movie is like a puzzle box, with layers upon layers, stories upon stories, all of them twisting and twining about one another, invading each other's space, teasing you with mysteries and ideas. It's more than just a film, it's a brain twister. It opens your mind up, peeling back the layers of cynicism and predictability. Then it artfully sparks your creativity and curiosity, exposing you to all the possibilities of both the possible and the impossible. It's definitely not going to be the sort of film that appeals to everybody. There's no real story or narrative, but rather a collection of what seems on the surface to be absurdist tales, but are in truth very intelligent, perceptive and thought provoking. From a "real life" recreation of John Searle's Chinese Room by the Scientist, to the collection of the Archivist which is starting to defy her attempts to catalog and control it, to the mystery of the door that leads to nowhere, to the Travel Analysts that track routes and arrivals where no two people can be in the same place at the same time, this film playfully challenges our perceptions of ourselves, of identity, of consciousness, of purpose, and ultimately of the mind and how it functions. It's the sort of movie that I feel like I need to see two or maybe even three more times to really 'get' it, and I want to do that! It teases me and tempts me with flashes of its true meaning and insights into its depths. I want to see it again and again to figure it out like the elaborate riddle that it is. If you want to see something fresh, something new and inventive, I cannot recommend this film enough.

It's really a pity it's only showing once more, and at 4:30. The audience was very small tonight and clearly will be so again tomorrow. Sadness!!

Canada, 2010 (78 minutes)
Director: Daniel Cockburn
Cast: Tracy Wright, R.D. Reid, Anand Rajaram, Nadia Litz

Festival Screenings
9:30 PM Wed, May 25 Harvard Exit
4:30 PM Thu, May 26 Harvard Exit

Update!

Thu, 26 May 2011 03:39:48 GMT

The bomb scare at the Harvard Exit was just that. A bomb scare. No actual bomb. No actual phone call either, just a suspicious looking guy acting very suspiciously in conjunction with a politically charged film. WHEW!

9:30 show tonight is a GO! :)

Holy Crap!

Thu, 26 May 2011 02:48:20 GMT

According to my friend king_chiron there was a bomb threat called in to the Harvard Exit today as they were preparing to show the ecoterrorism film If a Tree Falls.

They have cleared the building and the screening has been cancelled. No police or firetrucks on the scene yet though. Crazy!! I don't think anything like this has ever happened at SIFF before! We've had protestors on occasion and films that have had to be cancelled, but never for reasons like this!

If you were planning to see You Are Here at 9:30, be warned that they have not yet decided if they will be showing it or not.

Where did Media Babe go?

Wed, 25 May 2011 20:47:34 GMT

So I'm guessing that at least a few of you figured I decided to not write any more reviews or were wondering what had happened to me.

Alas my body had the terrible idea of having me catch pneumonia right at the start of the festival! Yay! And by Yay! I mean, of course, Boo! So for the past week it's been something of a haze between working, trying to cough up a lung, and sleeping insane amounts. I have reviews pending from last week's press screenings and reviews for the few movies I managed to go see on Sunday. Those will be up soon. I'm going to step out again tentatively tonight and see how things go.

So yes I'm still here and alive, just a bit wheezy and slower than usual. ;) Hopefully things will be back to normal soon.

SIFF DAY 0!

Thu, 19 May 2011 14:47:53 GMT

Okay, this post is WAY out of date, but such is life. Meant to post it on the 19th, but got pneumonia and it was all downhill after that. ;)

The festival considers this Day 1, but since there is only the opening night film, I've always thought of it more as Day 0. ;) I missed seeing any press screenings yesterday due to a) being sick and b) not feeling particularly inspired by the films being shown. It seemed the best day to skip, but I'll poke my fellow movie goers and see if I was right or not.

I'm going to try to see the three press screenings today, if my cough will let me. Bah. Stupid cold!

Saigon Electric - This is a film that we've all seen before with tropes that have, quite honestly, been done to death. Rich boy dates poor girl. Cantankerous old man rediscovers himself and his compassion. Young naive girl moves to the big bad city. Local youth center is at risk from urban development and something must be done. What this film has going for it, however, is that it tells these stories very well. The down side is that there are no surprises; this road has been traveled down too many times before and this version of it takes no detours. Though this looks like a hip-hop dance movie, that really is only part of the overall story. A young ribbon dancer hoping to get into a prestigious school finds herself making friends with the disassociated youth at a local after-school education center. Her confidence in shreds, she turns her attention and her energy toward the people around her, and helps to bring about a transformation in the community. At its heart, this movie is fun and has a genuine energy and honesty to it that cuts through the cliches. The acting is fresh and for the most part convincing, only occasionally devolving into caricitures and stereotypes. I was genuinely entertained even if there weren't any surprises.

Vietnam/USA, 2011 (108 minutes)
Director: Stephane Gauger
Cast: Van Trang, Quynh Hoa, Khoung Ngoc, Zen 04, Viet Max, Phan Tan Thi, Elly Nguyen

Director Stephane Gauger scheduled to attend May 28 & 30 screenings.

Festival Screenings
7:15 PM Sat, May 28 Neptune Theatre
3:00 PM Mon, May 30 Pacific Place Cinemas
6:30 PM Wed, June 1 Everett Performing Arts Center

Every Song is About Me - Gosh, this movie is very pretty... and pretty boring. It twines about the life of a man struggling to move on past the loss of 6 year long relationship, slipping back and forth from memories of the past to the frustration of the present to dreams of the future like a cat lazily winding its way through the legs of haphazardly placed tables and chairs. We see his love, we observe his loss, and we witness his efforts to find something to fill the gap, be it a new career, a new woman, or something else less tangible. Parts of the film are quite lovely and there is some beautiful cinematography in it. Alas there is just something missing, something to keep me connected despite the slow ambling pace of the film. It's a film about love and poetry, romance and bittersweet memories. But it needed something more - spice perhaps, more visually arresting moments, a hint of the erratic or the unexpected - to shift it up a gear from dozing to engaging.

Spain, 2010 (104 minutes)
Director: Jonas Trueba
Cast: Oriol Vila, Barbara Lennie, Ramon Fontsere, Bruno Bergonzini, Valeria Alonso

Director Jonas Trueba scheduled to attend May 29 & 30 screenings.

Festival Screenings
7:00 PM Sun, May 29 Pacific Place Cinemas
12:00 PM Mon, May 30 Pacific Place Cinemas
6:30 PM Mon, June 6 Admiral Theater

The Whistleblower - This is not an easy film to watch, as one might expect from a film about human sex trafficking. That said, it certainly does not go nearly as far as it could and as some films have done, but it more than clearly depicts the horror and the pattern of this brutal trade and exposes the horrifying truth of the abuse of power and the victimization of women that still goes on today. Rachel Weiss plays a police officer who is looking for a solution to her personal problems and thinks that she finds it in a UN peacekeeping posting in Yugoslavia. Expecting to work with other officers and skilled people she finds herself instead working with individuals that barely seem qualified for the duties they are given, people she soon realizes she can neither know nor trust. The handling of this film is definitely less 'indy' and much more straightforward and Hollywood. It's crafted like big screen release, with all the required pacing, shock points, and drama that that entails. This is really neither a detractor nor a boon to the film; it gives us a strong and familiar pattern to follow but that pattern in turn makes certain moments in the film painfully predictable. Regardless, the grim subject matter is more than enough to keep ones attention riveted to the screen, for better or worse. If nothing else it is a well-made film about a disturbing and important issue. That's reason enough for me to recommend it. It should prove a good wake up call for some and a good reminder for others.

Distributor: Samuel Goldwyn Films
Canada/Germany, 2010 (118 minutes)
Director: Larysa Kondracki
Cast: Rachel Weisz, Vanessa Redgrave, Monica Bellucci, David Strathairn, Nikolaj Lie Kaas
Awards: Palm Springs Film Festival 2011 (Audience Award)

Director Larysa Kondracki scheduled to attend May 28 & 29 screenings.

Festival Screenings
6:45 PM Sat, May 28 Egyptian Theatre
1:00 PM Sun, May 29 Egyptian Theatre
6:30 PM Tue, May 31 Everett Performing Arts Center

SIFF DAY -2!

Tue, 17 May 2011 23:52:55 GMT

Counting down! Counting down! :D Been working on my work schedule versus my movie schedule. Tough choices! So many movies, so little time! Here, have some press screening reviews! ;) Sorry they are late once again. I got stumped with the last one and then I got sick! Oi! Could my timing be any worse??

On Tour - An American group of burlesque performers are touring theaters in France, their "manager" returning to France with them to facilitate the process and arrange for the theaters. During their travels, however, business and personal problems arise to confuse and complicate things. I loved about half of this movie. The burlesque performers, their acts (which blessedly we get to see a great deal of) and their joie de vivre makes this film utterly shine with joy and energy and delight. Unfortunately the real-life woes of their manager act more as a distraction than contribute to the overall telling of the story. There is endless problem after endless problem with little actually explained and nothing resolved. You spend too much time trying to figure out what the heck is going on and it keeps interrupting the overall flow. Clearly these issues are essential for bringing certain aspects of the story to a head, but they could have simplified and focused them, perhaps reduced their number, to achieve same effect, but with greater impact and less drag on the rest of the film. Instead, as it currently stands, it tends to separate the film into two halves - the story about the burlesque troupe against the story of one man's attempt to mend his irreparably broken past. Still, despite this fact I highly recommend this film, especially if you enjoyed A Wink and a Smile (SIFF 2008) or burlesque in general. I almost must extend kudos for showing it as it is - women of varying ages, shapes, and sizes. Very refreshing to see in a cinematic world where most women are terribly thin.

France, 2010 (111 minutes)
Director: Mathieu Amalric
Cast: Mathieu Amalric, Julie Atlas Muz, Miranda Colclasure, Suzanne Ramsey
Awards: Cannes FIlm Festival 2010 (Best Director)

Festival Screenings
9:00 PM Sat, May 28 Admiral Theater
9:30 PM Thu, June 9 Neptune Theatre
3:30 PM Sat, June 11 Neptune Theatre

Perfect Sense - If nothing else, this film is thought-provoking, which is more than you can say of most films in this day and age. We see the world through the eyes of two people who come together - a chef at a fancy restaurant who specializes in seafood dishes and a scientist, a epidemiologist, who is searching for the reason behind a strange affliction that seems to be spreading across the country and around the world. There is just so much food for thought here, no pun intended, that even hours afterward I find myself mulling over the film. While the 'message' could be seen as being quite simplistic I don't think it is by any means obvious. One could see this film and take many different ideas away from it. It's a film about humanity, a film about loss, a film about handicaps, and a film about the end of the world as we know it. You could argue that it is a warning about the inhumanity of the human race, or of the environmental risk that we are putting ourselves in. It's a mystery, a love story, and a film about the determination to survive and even thrive. There are certainly choices and moments in the film that I disagree with - logistics that seem contrary to reality, thematic choices that break a sense of continuity, and a certain degree of absurdism that I think pulls the audience out of the film at one particular juncture. But in the end, here I am, still thinking about it, still asking questions of what the filmmakers intended, of what I made of it, and I suspect I'll still be thinking about it hours from now. That's a sign of a good film in my opinion. This film doesn't make perfect sense, but it will challenge the way you look at the world and how you use your senses.

U.S. Distributor: IFC Films
United Kingdom/Germany/Sweden/Denmark, 2011 (88 minutes)
Director: David Mackenzie
Cast: Ewan McGregor, Eva Green, Ewen Bremner, Stephen Dillane, Connie Nielsen

Festival Screenings
9:15 PM Sat, May 21 Egyptian Theatre
4:30 PM Wed, May 25 Egyptian Theatre

Paper Birds - A troupe of vaudeville performers regroup in the aftermath of the civil war which has left some of them devastated by loss and all of them struggling for survival and a place in the world. But their determination to continue their work bonds them together, creating new families to replace those that have been lost to war. But beyond the struggle just to find enough work to live there is the ever present pressure of the Franco dictatorship looming overhead and oppressing them.

I honestly have had a hard time trying to figure out how to write this review, exactly what I should say. The description of the film did not inspire me, but the film goes so far beyond the mere skeleton of the plot. It is a rich, evocative film that never becomes maudlin or melodramatic, but balances beautifully between the emotions and the politics of the times. The performances are excellent and while there are many moments that are highly predictable, there are also unexpected twists and turns to the tale. I can't seem to put into words why I would recommend this film except for the fact that it's simply very well written, filmed, acted, and put together. It's touching and entertaining, by turns thought provoking and tragic, but most of all it is simply very very solid and good all the way through.

Spain, 2010 (125 minutes)
Director: Emilio Aragón
Cast: Imanol Arias, Llu's Homar, Roger Princep, Carmen Machi
Awards: Montreal World Film Festival 2010 (Audience Award)

Festival Screenings
8:30 PM Thu, May 26 Renton IKEA Performing Arts Center
6:30 PM Sat, May 28 Pacific Place Cinemas
12:30 PM Sun, May 29 Pacific Place Cinemas

SIFF at Scarecrow Video!

Tue, 17 May 2011 00:14:24 GMT

Running later with this post than I would have preferred, but better late than never, yis? (Say yes!) ;)

Per usual, if there is no commentary otherwise, all movies listed are viewable on any player. If they are PAL format or a special region code (which will require you to have a special all-code DVD player or a computer that can handle such things) that will be noted after the title of the film. Hopefully I didn't miss any films and, as always, Scarecrow will continue to get films up until the end of the festival and afterward as well. So keep checking here for updates. :)

I know this information has already altered some of my choices for the festival and have eased up some pressure for me, so hopefully it will do the same for you! :D

Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me
Black Narcissus
Bruce Lee, My Brother
Burke & Hare (PAL Code 2)
Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff (PAL Code 2)
Copacabana
Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame (Code 3 & one non-region copy)
La Dolce Vita
Ex
Fire of Conscience
Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life (PAL Code 2 and one non-region copy)
If I Want to Whistle, I Whistle
Illegal
Mondays in the Sun
Moulin Rouge!
Outrage (Code 3)
Over Your Cities Grass Will Grow (PAL Code 2)
Pillow Book
Screaming Man
Stool Pigeon (Code 3)
Thief of Bagdad (without ELO soundtrack, of course)
Times and Winds
Toast (PAL Code 2)
The Trip (PAL Code 2)

Most of these are currently in the New Release section. Once the festival is over, Scarecrow will set up their SIFF 2011 section, as always. :)

SIFF DAY -3!

Mon, 16 May 2011 23:14:01 GMT

ZOMG! We're only three days away from the opening night! Where does the time go??!

Touch - Touching. Funny. Tender. Sensuous. Intriguing. By turns terribly sad and wistfully hopeful. These are the words I would choose to describe this delightful and unusual story. A young Vietnamese woman joins a manicure parlor and gains as a client a mechanic who hopes to save his marriage by having her clean his filthy hands that his wife so abhors. She, in turn, finds a kind of solace in his company as she guides him toward this goal, but all the while her own life is need of a healing touch in turn. It's a sweetly seductive film about the importance of touch, both physical and spiritual. It has a slightly removed-from-reality feel to it that seemed to put off some of the viewers, but which I found to be part of its charm, feeling at once crafted and natural, much like a play. I really liked this film, but as far as I can tell I'm one of the few who did? Apparently some found it lacking in areas of writing and production values.

USA, 2011 (109 minutes)
Director: Minh Duc Nguyen
Cast: Porter Lynn, John Ruby, Melinda Bennett, Long Nguyen, Hiep Thi Le

Festival Screenings
6:30 PM Sat, May 21 Renton IKEA Performing Arts Center
6:30 PM Mon, May 23 Admiral Theater

Director Minh Duc Nguyen scheduled to attend.

Man at Bath - It's softer than hard core porn, and harder than soft core porn, so I guess that makes this movie medium core amateur porn with lots and lots of unimportant filler that looks like it's trying to be artsy-fartsy and failing dramatically? Not the most gracious of descriptions but really, that's about it. Two lovers are parted when one goes to New York and the other remains behind in France, the relationship apparently at an end. Each goes on a journey to forget or replace the other, but neither one truly succeeds. It's kind of a odd and pointless sort of film and definitely will not appeal to a lot of people. We had at least 10-15 people walk out of the press screening, most of them fleeing at the first sight of a penis, which has many sightings throughout this film. I personally found it more mildly tedious and blasé than anything else. If there had been an intent to shock, it utterly failed to do so for me. But the real killer is the fact that you just don't really care about anybody in this film. They all seem rather self-centered and self-indulgent. We skip through time and place randomly, which only adds to the general confusion of the story and what is happening.

France, 2010 (72 minutes)
Director: Christophe Honoré
Cast: François Sagat, Chiara Mastroianni, Rabah Zahi

Festival Screenings
9:30 PM Wed, May 25 Egyptian Theatre
4:30 PM Thu, May 26 Egyptian Theatre

Actor François Sagat scheduled to attend.

An African Election - Generally I find politics to be incredibly depressing and upsetting. A documentary about politics I would expect to be even more so. So I would never have chosen to see this film during the festival, given my own druthers, but I'm very glad that I did get to see it during the press screenings. It was insightful, interesting, at times intense and gripping, but the biggest surprise of all was that it was hopeful. Hope and politics... that's a pairing we rarely get to experience. Ghana was the first state in Africa to claim independence and this film follows the electoral process of their fourth election. The two parties, the NDC and the NPP, are both essentially standing on the same platform - promising free education, more jobs, a greater integration of science and technology - the only difference is that each says they will deliver more and better than their opponents. The film takes us through Ghana's political history, the key figures, and the complications inherent in the electoral process in a country that is still trying to prove their independence and be an example to the world of how Africa's people can govern themselves responsibly. A film well worth seeing.

Ghana/Switzerland/USA, 2010 (89 minutes)
Director: Jarreth Merz

Festival Screenings
7:00 PM Thu, May 26 Harvard Exit
4:30 PM Fri, May 27 Harvard Exit

Director Jarreth Merz scheduled to attend.

SIFF DAY -7

Thu, 12 May 2011 23:19:14 GMT

Movies, movies, movies! Three movies today! Yay! Per usual no screenings tomorrow (Friday) or the weekend. More press screenings come Monday. Next Thursday is the opening night film! Yowza! Time, she is a flyin'!

Heh! As you can see I started these reviews in a timely manner, but here I am, ending on the late side.

Microphone - Right from the start this film poses the question, both literally and figuratively, "What is the difference between a documentary and a scripted movie?" This film is, in its essence, the answer to that. This movie blurs the boundaries between these two genres and brings something new and refreshing to the screen. A man moving back to Alexandria finds himself intrigued and captivated by the underground music movement there and strives, with the help of student filmmakers and the musicians themselves, to bring their stories and music to a broader audience. It's hard to know what exactly is fact and what is fiction in this film, but the truth of it is undeniable. From the supposedly supportive government arts department, who in one breath insist that they offer freedom of speech and on the other hand constantly deny new and politically contentious bands funding, to the culture itself, the modern half of which loves these street artists in conjunction with the more conventional beliefs that shun and try to shut them down, this film explores the determination of the artist to be seen and heard no matter what. My only complaint, and it's a minor one, is that the film feels a bit overlong by the end. The music, however, is wonderful. It is not just hip-hop and rap, but offers a wide range of beautiful, entertaining, intriguing and enjoyable blends of traditional and modern trends.

Egypt, 2010 (116 minutes)
Directors: Ahmad Abdalla
Cast: Khaled Abol Naga, Menna Shalabi, Yosra El Lozy, Hany Adel, Ahmad Magdy

Festival Screenings:
9:30 PM Mon, May 23 Harvard Exit
4:00 PM Tue, May 24 Harvard Exit

Red Eyes - I saw the trailer for this at the SIFF Member preview and I have to confess that I wasn't very excited about it at the time. Astonishingly enough, I found the actual film to be even worse. I suppose that if you are Chilean, or really into and familiar with Chile football (what we here in America call soccer), then perhaps you might find some value in this film. For everyone else, however, it is a complete mess. There is no focus, no direction, and the film quite honestly makes very little sense. We start off with a very mediocre team that performs poorly and generally loses. They keep hoping to make it to the World Cup, a goal they haven't achieved for 47 years, and it seems likely that they aren't going to make it now. Their attitude toward the game is basically, "Well, we're probably going to lose, but maybe next year we'll win!" Then, for no discernible or explained reason, they start to improve and win. As far as that audience can tell, nothing has changed. The coach is the same, the owner is the same, and while there is the vaguest hint that maybe some of the players have changed, we really don't have a clue. They just start to suck less. And while the crowd goes wild in the film, it goes mild to downright bored in the theater. Interviews occur left and right with no indication of who these people are, what they do or represent, and as a result little to no real interest in what they have to say. I'm really not sure how you can make a film about football boring, but this film succeeds! Throughout the film we keep hearing the cry, "GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLL!" but all I have to say is, "YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWN!"

Chile, 2011 (84 minutes)
Director: Juan Pablo Sallato, Ismael Larrain, Juan Ignacio Sabatini

Director Juan Pablo Sallato scheduled to attend

Festival Screenings:
7:00 PM Sun, May 22 Harvard Exit
4:30 PM Mon, May 23 Harvard Exit

Buck - This is a documentary film about Buck Brannaman, a real life cowboy who runs training sessions around the country with people who want to improve their relationship with and control over their horses. Most people "know" him through the book and film The Horse Whisperer, which was inspired in large part by his work and who ended up assisting on the film both as a consultant and a double for Robert Redford. But the film is about so much more than simply training horses. At its core, it's about knowing who you are and being the person that you want to be. Coming from a brutal background, Buck was inspired by Ray Hunt to start to teach people ways to teach and train horses that eschewed the traditional belief that you had to "break" them, a tradition of training that is both violent and cruel. Watching him work is like magic. He never actually 'whispers' to the horses, but he treats them not like dumb animals but beings who are both smart and have emotions. He respects them, helps them get over their fears, and in doing so earns both their respect and attention in turn. But he's also a brutally honest man when he needs to be, though usually that stark honesty is brought to bear on the owners who have brought their own baggage into their relationship with the horses. For those who are a bit sensitive there is one part of the film that was a bit upsetting and difficult to watch - a problem child horse with a predilection toward violence - but even then it was amazing to see how he worked with the horse and confronted its owner. All in all a great film that is worth seeing even if you have no particular interest in horses.

U.S. Distributor: Sundance Selects
USA, 2011 (88 minutes)
Directors: Cindy Meehl
Cast: Buck Brannaman
Awards: Sundance 2011 (U.S. Documentary Competition Audience Award)

Director Cindy Meehl and subject Buck Brannaman scheduled to attend

Festival Screenings:
7:00 PM Wed, June 8 SIFF Cinema
6:30 PM Thu, June 9 Kirkland Performance Center

SIFF DAY -8

Thu, 12 May 2011 15:52:05 GMT

Yesterday was -8 in the great countdown and once again I ended up skipping the first film (Bicycle, Spoon, Apple - reported as being good but a bit depressing) because I didn't think it sounded that interesting and I wanted more sleep. I'm getting the feeling that I'm not going to come anywhere near breaking my record this year. I just seem to need more 'me' time this year. But I'm feeling okay with that. One does what one can. ;)

How To Die in Oregon - With the subject matter at hand it would be, quite honestly, difficult not to make a deeply affecting film about the Death with Dignity movement that started in Oregon and is very slowly spreading. The film primarily follows one woman's journey through terminal liver cancer, but intersperses her story with those of others who have chosen this path of choice, those who fight for the right to make this very personal and difficult choice, and, to a lesser extent, those who refuse and reject this movement. Personally I would urge everyone who is on the fence about this movement to see this movie because, quite honestly, I don't think anyone could see this film and not be convinced that everyone deserves the right to die with dignity when the only other alternative is to die painfully, lingeringly, and helplessly. Make sure that you bring tissues with you to this movie. You're gonna need them. Despite that, however, this is in fact more a film about life and living life than it is about death. These individuals have all chosen to go out on their own terms, to not allow a crippling disease to reduce them to the point of suffering and helplessness, but to exit this world peacefully and with dignity and in the meanwhile live their lives to the fullest that they can. It is a choice of empowerment at a time when your body is turning against you and disempowering you. Powerful stuff.

USA, 2011 (108 minutes)
Director: Peter D. Richardson
Awards: Sundance 2011 (U.S. Documentary Competition Grand Jury Prize)

Directer Peter Richardson scheduled to attend.

Festival Screenings
4:15 PM Fri, May 20 Harvard Exit
2:00 PM Sat, May 21 Pacific Place Cinemas
3:30 PM Sun, May 22 Renton IKEA Performance Hall

Jess + Moss - When I was in high school an English teacher of mine once had us read a poem in class that described a farm setting. For our homework that night, we were to write about what the poem meant and share it in class the next day. I recall that I wrote that the poem was about war - the plowed and torn up fields representing the torn up earth and trenches of the battlefield, the red wheelbarrow filled with white chickens representing the bodies and blood of those who had died in battle. Each of us read what we thought the poem was about, eagerly awaiting to learn which of us was right, to learn what the poem was about. It was then that Mr. Wolfe announced that the poet in question wrote pastoral poems, the intent of which is to do nothing more than paint a picture in our minds. This movie is exactly like that.

Though the film poses many questions and could be interpreted in many different ways it seems to be more about capturing the experience and essence of what it is to be these two children of disparate ages, trapped in Kentucky during the hot summer, struggling with their own baggage and considerable issues. And to its credit, it does a good job of that. It is easy to feel the heat, the desperation, the frustration, the endless days yawning out before them, their need and their anger and their confusion. Visually (and to a lesser extent aurally) it's quite fascinating and beautiful - there are a lot of intriguing choices and techniques. But this is not enough to carry the film. Unfortunately due to a lack of any kind of story it's also exceedingly boring. I found myself dozing off multiple times during this film and left it feeling exhausted and ready for a nap. Personally I would urge this filmmaker to either make only short films, do photography or some kind of installation art instead, or consider making films more along the lines of Touch the Sound, where he can let his visual artistry run free but where the content will keep the audience awake and riveted enough to enjoy it. Alas, even at a short 82 minutes, I could barely keep my eyes open to enjoy his visual and aural exploration.

USA, 2011 (82 minutes)
Directors: Clay Jeter
Cast: Sarah Hagan, Austin Vickers

Director Clay Jeter scheduled to attend.

Festival Screenings:
9:30 PM Sat, May 21 Harvard Exit
4:30 PM Sun, May 22 Harvard Exit

SIFF DAY -9

Tue, 10 May 2011 23:23:14 GMT

I missed the first show of the day today, Dance Town, but it doesn't sound like it was a huge loss. Reports are that it was decent to good, but slow. I'll have to ask again for more details.

Page One: Inside the New York Times - This is a damn entertaining film. No, really. I liked it so much I'm seriously thinking about going to see it again. Basically it's a documentary about The New York Times, how it runs, how stories are made and chosen, but mostly how the changes in technology have been affecting not only this newspaper, but papers throughout the country and asking the question, will The Times be able to survive the changing of the time? Of course The New York Times is a huge paper that covers a huge number of different topics, so the focus of the film is on the media department of the paper, which specifically follows the change in media trends and how it affects the dissemination of information.

It's interesting, it's unexpectedly very funny, and it's thought provoking. I have to say, though, that they could have easily retitled this film "The David Carr Show" and it really wouldn't have been far off the mark. Not that this is a bad thing. Not at all. The man (an outspoken media columnist) is very interesting, entertaining, tough, and funny. He holds the spotlight readily. But really all of the individuals (Bruce Headlam - Media editor and Brian Steltzer - Media reporter, to name two of the more prominently featured people) who are followed throughout the film were excellent choices for focal points of the film bringing a refreshing sense of reality, great wit, and are just clearly very intelligent and interesting people. The only thing this film seems to lack is a very clear focus. It seems to ramble about a bit, like a conversation, with one point or idea sparking off a side story or interjection, where one is not always sure if you'll get back round to the original conversation or if it was, in fact, already finished. This aspect, however, didn't bother me at all, perhaps because that tends to be the sort of conversational style that I enjoy and seemed to reflect the rather intense and chaotic nature of the business, which is to say that you have information coming at you from all directions and you have to know how to receive it and study it and them move on to the next big thing. I wouldn't have thought that such a documentary would be fun, inspiring, and invigorating, but it was just that.

U.S. Distributor: Magnolia Films
USA, 2011 (88 minutes)
Director: Andrew Rossi

New York Times writer Brian Stelter scheduled to attend

Festival Screenings:
7:00 PM Wed, May 25 Neptune Theatre
11:00 AM Sat, May 28 Egyptian Theatre
3:30 PM Mon, May 30 Everett Performing Arts Center

Black, White, and Blues - I hate to say it but this film is bad. Not unwatchably bad for the most part, but definitely bad. It starts off mediocre but then by the end it is just 100% solidly bad. That acting is fair, though in truth some of the stuff this cast were asked to do must have been so egregiously hard that I suspect they are much better actors than they would appear on the surface of the matter. At its basic level, this movie is just one cliche' after another. Down on his luck, drunken, womanizing loser, with an inexplicable problem performing in public even though he's talented, dodges an angry loan shark by going with a man who has come to inform him that his grandfather has died and left something for him. They travel for awhile, the one acting stupid and unlikeable for the most part, the other almost saintly in his reformed ways and patient manner. He returns to his hometown to see what has been left him and tries once more for the love of his life that he done wrong. Booooooooring! But then there is an attack of bad writing. Really bad writing. It's the kind of bad writing that even a student in a screenwriting workshop would be ashamed to hand in. There's a brief moment when I thought they were going to jump the shark and do the ultimate cliche, and I actually breathed a sigh of relief when they swerved at the last minute and didn't. Little did I realize that there was another tank of water with another shark in it just a few minutes away that they did jump over. And then, as if that wasn't bad enough, the jumped over a shark that was the size of frikken Moby Dick in a moment that was so utterly ludicrous and unbelievable that I swear the entire audience practically groaned and rolled their eyes. It's one of those scenes where you think for a moment that you must have not understood. Or maybe you just had a stroke, cause you couldn't possibly have seen and heard what you just saw and heard. But, sadly, it was no joke. Or if it was, the joke was on us for thinking that just maybe, possibly, this film could at least end on a high note.

In the end, Mr. Peebles, a kick ass soundtrack and love note to the blues does NOT a good movie make.

SIFF DAY -14 and DAY -10

Mon, 09 May 2011 23:49:10 GMT

Well, well, well, here we are again, n'est pas? I never did get to writing movie reviews this weekend (twas a busy one!) but I was inspired and refreshed by all the kind comments and requests to keep writing. And so I shall! Thanks to all who spoke up. :)

As mentioned before, last Thursday was Day -14 of SIFF and I managed to catch two movies on that day.

Submarine - A young man has two goals in his life - to win over the affections of a girl in school that he likes while, at the same time protecting his parents somewhat awkward marriage from an interloper in the shape of his mum's first love. While in many ways this is just another teenage romantic comedy, it is, if nothing else, a well made, at times refreshing, and very enjoyable teenage romantic comedy. Much of the story is told through the droll and rather dry inner musings of the main character, which I enjoyed immensely as it often was delightfully quirky and amusingly self-referential toward the film, teasing, but not breaking, the third wall. I think if I have any complaint about this movie it is the fact that at some point they felt it was necessary to insinuate Drama (with a capital D) to make the film sufficiently interesting/provocative/dramatic. It's not that this is wrong, persay, but more the fact that this is what every film for the most part does and it would have been refreshing if they could have told this story without having to travel down the same old familiar road. But they did throw in some bumps and curves, which helped to vary the path a little and I found the ending pleasantly open and enigmatic. Definitely an excellent film if you're looking for something light and fun to relieve the often intense seriousness that can define the bulk of the films one encounters during SIFF.

U.S. Distributor: The Weinstein Company
United Kingdom, 2010 (97 minutes)
Director: Richard Ayoade
Cast: Sally Hawkins, Noah Taylor, Paddy Considine, Craig Roberts, Yasmin Paige

Director Richard Ayoade scheduled to attend.

Festival Screenings:
7:00 PM Fri, May 20 Egyptian Theatre
11:00 AM Sun, May 22 Neptune Theatre

The Most Important Thing in Life is Not Being Dead - This is a most unusual film. The first thing that I would say is that you cannot go into this film with any expectations or preconceived notions. The second thing that needs to be said is that you cannot make any assumptions or create any expectations while you are watching this film. If you do so, you do so at your own risk of tainting the experience! At first this movie seems to present itself very much as a wonderful sort of magical realism or surrealist fantasy sort of film. But do not be deceived, for things are definitely not as they appear... or disappear!

An elderly man, a piano tuner by trade, enters into a uncharacteristic period of insomnia during which he begins to hear and see things that don't seem possible and, in turn begins to ponder his past and his unusual 'gift' as he tries to unravel what is happening to him now and what it all means.

I loved how this film started. It is wonderfully mysterious and charming and quirky and strange. Black & white film lives side by side in perfect harmony with color. Right from the start your views and opinions about reality are challenged and teased with strange ideas and imagery. Alas, this proved to be my downfall, for when the story and circumstances changed, I was too in love with my concept of the film and found myself helpless to be anything other than disappointed at the sudden shift in direction. I had to spend some time struggling with my assumptions and wishes to reopen myself to the film and it is this experience, dear reader, that I hope to protect you from. I don't know if I would have continued to love the film if I had managed to curb these tendencies, but I would like to think that I would have. Regardless of this dilemma, this is one of my favorite film of all the films that I have seen thus far.

Switzerland/Spain, 2010 (82 minutes)
Directors: Olivier Pictel, Pablo Martin Torrado, Mark Recuenco
Cast: Emilio Gutierrez Caba, Marian Aguilera, Merce Montala

Director Pablo Martin Torrado scheduled to attend.

Festival Screenings:
9:30 PM Thu, June 9 Egyptian Theatre
1:30 PM Sat, June 11 Pacific Place Cinemas

And then yesterday was Day -10. Oh, how the time flies!!

3 - This film is very difficult to categorize, which is both appropriate and ironic, since the theme of the film as a whole is how as human beings we label, categorize, and apply rules to our lives, believing that we need them in order to live. But in the end often these very labels, categories and rules are used against us - to hurt and shame and deprecate - sometimes even by ourselves against ourselves. A long-term couple fall into uncertain times and as a result are brought even closer together. However, at the same time they ironically also find themselves attracted to another man, the same man, each pursuing him in secret outside of their relationship with all of the parties involved none the wiser, both literally and figuratively.

Initially as I was watching I found myself trying to figure out which filmmaking niche this film fit into, what it was about, and found myself casting about helplessly. It was about everything, really - life and death and love and choices and work and play and... and.. and. As a result it was starting to feel like it was about nothing in particular, becoming simply a slice of life film, a dissection of three people and the people in their lives. Then, like a light switch, it suddenly turned into a romantic comedy of errors, complete with the perfect musical score, comedic timing, and cleverly witty cinematography. Not that the film up until this point was not good, merely unspecific and unclassifiable. And even this recognizable moment did not last, but it did feel like the 'ah-ha!' moment, the point from which the dilemma has been put forward and the rest of the film as a result pulls together and becomes unified. For me the first half of this film felt more like a set up for the rest, but with more details and development than was strictly necessary. I don't know if there were tropes being explored that I did not recognize, a play on the whole concept of being unclassifiable, or if the filmmaker simply wanted us to be firmly steeped in the details of these people before bring everything to a head.

For those delicate about such things, there is a lot of sex in the film and men on men action. Some people in the audience found the ending a bit silly I think - there was a fair amount of snickering and giggling. The very final scene did feel rather cheesy and contrived compared to the more direct and honest approach of the rest of the film, but as a whole I found it quite enjoyable and entertaining and a good reminder that love comes in many forms and we should consider carefully before judging either ourselves or others.

U.S. Distributor: Strand Releasing
Germany, 2010 (104 minutes)
Director: Tom Tykwer
Cast: Sophie Rois, Sebastian Schipper, Devid Striesow

Festival Screenings:
7:00 PM Fri, May 20 Neptune Theatre
1:30 PM Sat, May 21 Neptune Theatre

Natural Selection - A woman from a small Christian town struggles impotently within her own marriage to a man who denies her what she wants and pressures her to be obedient to what he perceives to be God's will. When he has a stroke at a most inauspicious moment, she realizes not only that he's been lying to her their whole marriage, but also that she feels utterly lost without him - without any real family to call her own. In a desperate attempt to honor his last wish, she heads out on a road trip to find and collect the son he had that she never knew about. Despite the fact that the man in question is more than a little questionable, she goes out of her way to convince him, care for him, and bring him back home with her. Grimly wacky hijinks ensue.

I was not expecting to like this film, but it really was surprisingly good and affecting. The most impressive aspect of it, especially for an US film, is the realism of its look. People and places are not model perfect and beautiful. Drug addicts look like drug addicts. Middle aged housewives look like middle aged housewives.Nasty dirty dives looks both nasty and dirty. That's really quite refreshing. It's also an unexpectedly empowering movie about a woman who has been bullied and controlled most of her life finally stepping out and taking some control for herself and making her own choices and decisions. We really see her grow from an obedient, if frustrated, and sheltered person into a brave, problem-solving, action taking individual. It also, blessedly, stays true to being an independent film with no touch of Hollywood or commercialism about it. Even the religious aspects of Christianity, don't devolve into either praise or condemnation, but rather offer up a believable view of the morals and mores of a small, cloistered town in Texas and the people within it. I think it is a film worth watching.

USA, 2011 (90 minutes)
Director: Robbie Pickering
Cast: Rachael Harris, Matt O'Leary, Jon Gries, John Diehl
Awards: SXSW Film Festival 2011 (Grand Jury Prize, Audience Award)

Director Robbie Pickering scheduled to attend
Festival Screenings:
4:00 PM Sat, May 21 Renton IKEA Performing Arts Center
7:00 PM Wed, May 25 Egyptian Theatre
4:00 PM Fri, May 27 Egyptian Theatre

A Barefoot Dream - Well, I think we've all seen this film before. The reluctant and infinitely flawed coach with the unexpected heart of gold. The underdog team of young rapscallions just waiting to be tamed into a professional team with a chance of breaking out from their tumultuous history, the struggle between the community and the outsider, and the tale of, if not a rags to riches story then at least an obscurity to fame one. Unfortunately this underdog football/soccer film uses far too many cliches, not only it the plotlines, but in the dialog as well. There were moments where I honestly was cringing and wondering just how the actors involved could say such lines and not be cringing themselves. Perhaps it was an issue of poor translation? I would like to hope so, but sadly I doubt it.

So much of the film is just so painfully obvious and overwrought. It feels like emotional blackmail about half of the time, with hopeful young children with desperate and needy eyes tugging at your heartstrings right and left. But the fact that I was aware of being bombarded by all this emotionalism meant that for the most part I felt fairly immune to it. There was also a peculiar choice of having one of the characters speak in English, even though it made no sense and he sounded stilted and awkward in doing so. Someone commented that it was good, at least, to see the story of East Timor, the culture and the people there, but I honestly never really felt like I had much of a grasp on that other than it was a newly independent county with a lot of violence, history, and problems to work through and a great deal of poverty. I am glad that I now know more about East Timor, and it's always wonderful when a country and a people so much in need of something to be proud of and united behind have that opportunity. I just wish it hadn't been made in a way that felt quite so commercialized. In seeing that it was an Oscar submission for 2010, I can't help but wonder if they deliberately tried to make it so in the hopes of winning said bid.

South Korea, 2010 (120 minutes)
Director: Kim Tae-gyun
Cast: Hee-soon Park, Kei Shimizu
Awards: Official Oscar Submission 2010 (Foreign Language Film)

Festival Screenings:
1:15 PM Sat, May 21 Renton IKEA Performing Arts Center
9:00 PM Tue, May 24 Admiral Theatre
7:00 PM Thu, May 26 Pacific Place

Keeping up is hard to do...

Sat, 07 May 2011 04:38:13 GMT

Thursday was Day -14 in the great SIFF press screening countdown. I saw Submarine and The Most Important Thing in Life is Not Being Dead, both of which I liked quite a bit, the latter I even loved at times. Alas, I have not yet managed to write reviews for them yet. Having a hard time with motivation this year. So check back tomorrow, I should have reviews up by then.
:)
In the meanwhile, here are the movies that I hope/plan to see next week. So check back for reviews!

3, Natural Selection, A Barefoot Dream, Dance Town, Page One: Inside the New York Times, Black White and Blues, Bicycle Spoon Apple, LOVE, Jess + Moss, Microphone, Red Eyes, and Buck!

Not feeling the love...

Sat, 07 May 2011 03:24:14 GMT

So just a heads up to those two readers out there who actually check out this blog; I have to confess that I'm not feeling the love for writing movie reviews this year. I don't know if it's because so far I haven't seen very many movies that have really excited me or if I just feel like I'm shouting down a well, and nobody is listening, so why bother?

I'm going to try to write reviews for this year, but honestly I'm finding it hard to do so. Just am not feeling very motivated or inspired to do so.

If you do read this journal, and like hearing what I have to say about films, do give me a shout out. That will probably help in terms of motivating me to write reviews. Cause without an audience of at least a few, this is kind of masturbatory at best. :}