City of Ember

And this is why I go to festivals. Per the director Gil Kenan, this was the "premiere [of the] finished film for the first time in front of a live audience." What a pleasure to attend.

Sure, there are some spots where I think the plot could be tightened, but it's a beautiful telling of a great story. It's a fine ending to another film festival.

City of Ember
2008, directed by Gil Kenan

Rock N Rolla

OMG it's complicated. It takes the first 20 minutes just to introduce all the characters and their motivations. Oh, wait - yeah, it's a Guy Ritchie British gangster film. Of course.

It's really no different than Snatch. But, if you liked Snatch - and I did - you'll probably get a kick out of this one too. I did.

Rock N Rolla
2008, 114 minutes, directed by Guy Ritchie

Role Models

This was officially the "first screening of the final print of the film", aka the world premiere. Director David Wain and star Paul Rudd attended. As a "stupid" adult comedy, I don't tend to expect much. Sure, I didn't so much like Zack and Miri, but audience laughter can go a long way towards correcting the deficiencies typical of the genre.

For this one the biggest problems were the holes in the plot. Weird as that sounds for an adult comedy built on stupid laughs and double entendres, it just wasn't sufficiently realistic for its own made-up world. Movie-long plot drivers get summed up in single sentences, or just get dropped entirely for the sake of the central theme.

But it was full of consistent laughs that played well with a movie-loving audience. If you want to see a comedic love story featuring Elizabeth Banks this fall, certainly pick this one over brand Z.

Role Models
2008, directed by David Wain

Alien Raiders

As my last non-"secret" screening of the festival, this acts as my final choice from the standard lineup. I intended to see it at a midnight screening earlier in the week, which, as it turns out, was the world premiere. The director said, "Warner Bros. calls it a 'special advanced screening', but as far as I'm concerned it's the premiere."

Aliens invading Earth. Who's been taken over and needs execution, and who's an innocent to set free? It takes a special kind to make that call, and they have set their sights on a grocery store in small-town Ohio. Alas, it was sooo obvious from the start how things would all turn out, but the story was still fun to follow. This is well worth a rental.

Alien Raiders
2008, 85 minutes, directed by Ben Rock

Appaloosa

Ok. Well I was all set with a rant about how they announced a new secret screening last night at 11:00, ten minutes after I'd left for the day, then they put the rest of the tickets up for sale at 11:00 Wednesday morning (instead of 90 minutes before the first show time), so that when I arrived at noon Wednesday to get my Thursday tickets, they were all sold out, then how I didn't want to see stupid Burrowers anyway and I'd rather go give me dinner money to Maudie's again.

Then my optimism prevailed and I stood, in the lobby, while the secret screening sat, Burrowers sat, the other two films sat, and I was left as the last man standing, literally. When Ed Asner failed to show, I was offered one of the reserve seats and got to see this preview screening of Appaloosa.

So, I retract all those bad things. It worked out.

One of the ways I define "adventure" is a film that seems to have run through a solid story arc, and then it picks up and keeps going in a new direction, often (but not always) in a new locale. This western fits the bill, with a well-told, complex story, much longer than expected. If you yearn for the days of western film, and still enjoy the way Hollywood makes them now, this is well worth admission.

Appaloosa
2008, 114 minutes, directed by Ed Harris

Astrópía

This is - hands down - the best genre film for gamers of the 2000s. They hit all the right points. Drag your buddies out of WoW, take those dice out of their hands, and get them to a screening.

"At least this one doesn't start in a bar."

Astrópía
2007, directed by Gunnar B. Gudmundsson

Tôkyô zankoku keisatsu (Toko Gore Police)

My god, that's crazy fucking shit. This is no doubt best-of-show for splatterfest.

Tôkyô zankoku keisatsu (Tokyo Gore Police)
2008, 110 minutes, directed by Yoshihiro Nishimura

The Brothers Bloom

I didn't see any films last Monday night, opting instead for a great series of shorts by Nacho Vigalando followed by the Fantastic Fest awards ceremony. Tuesday I was back at the grind.

This movie is best summed by two choice quotes from the film:

"He writes his cons like dead Russians write novels - with dramatic arcs and vulnerable heros and shit."

"- This isn't an adventure story.
- What are you talking about? It totally is!"

I don't think the plot is as subtle as it wants to be, but it's still a good play. Definitely recommended.

The Brothers Bloom
2008, 109 minutes, directed by Rian Johnson

JCVD

This is Jean Claude Van Damme's Lost in Translation. Faced with the reality of aging, he makes up for years of shitty action films by making one with almost no action at all. See this as soon as you can, and grab your buddies at the office to bring along.

JCVD
2008, 96 minutes, directed by Mabrouk El Mechri

The Crème (The Cream)

Man gets facial cream that, when sparingly applied, makes everyone else see him as a celebrity - until it wears off. Hilarity ensues. But then he lets a good thing rot. What an idiot. Can he pull it out?

The Crème (The Cream)
2007, 83 minutes, directed by Reynald Bertrand

Terra

First Sunday screening. This one was preceded with two near-finished clips of Disney's Bolt. It looks great and is going to be another hit for the whole family. Terra, on the other hand, is too violent for kids, but it's an epic adventure in it's own right. There's plenty of political overtones and anti- war themes, but that's appropriate these days. And it was a really pretty story; one to cherish. I'd happily watch this again, preferably with my wife and (adult) friends.

Terra
2007, 85 minutes, directed by Aristomenis Tsirbas

Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer

Awesome.

Film-stealing performance by Robert Englund, followed by even more awesome.

Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer
2007, 85 minutes, directed by Jon Knautz

Seventh Moon

Ugh. Shakey-cam. I should have seen it coming. What else should I expect from the director of the Blair Witch Project.

The was a "good" film. It hits all it's marks. It just didn't do anything unexpected. Everything was by the book. Is it worth seeing in the theater? Absolutely if you can stomach shakey-cam. Just don't expect brilliance.

Seventh Moon
2008, directed Eduardo Sánchez

Santos

This Chilean production was so new it lacked synchronized subtitles. On the face this is a comic-book superhero (oops sorry DC, "santos") story, built with dialog and cinematography perfectly drawn from the small pages, but this is no kids story. Ignoring the occasionally raunchy language and bits of nudity, the film is intended for adults because it's a love story in disguise - a mostly sad one at that.

I liked the film - don't get me wrong - but the funny parts of the film weren't enough to balance the sad parts. I don't think that was the intent. I look forward to the prequel and sequel to bring a sense of closure.

(The director said this wasn't the final version - he has 10 minutes more to cut for release. Maybe he'll balance it out.)

Santos
2008, 100 minutes, directed by Nicolás López

Chugyeogja (The Chaser)

One film has minor technical difficulties, and the whole day's schedule is shot. I missed the first ten minutes of this one while foolishly watching the credits for Left Bank.

The Chaser is a gritty crime drama. Ex-cop turned pimp realizes his missing girls are all going to the same number. He sets out to save the latest one before she, too, is sold away. If only that was all the culprit did to them...

Spoiler Warning
This movie has what I'd call a "progression ending," kind of like the Empire Strikes Back. The hero finds a small sense of inner focus and a new purpose in life, but ultimately it means everything else went very, very wrong.

Chugyeogja (The Chaser)
2008, 125 minutes, directed by Hong-jin Na

Linkeroever (Left Bank)

As expected, Alamo's wireless network failed yesterday. It's not the signal strength that's the problem, it's the DHCP server or the router. Eventually they just run out of or stop serving IP addresses. Thank goodness for Maudie's Cafe down the street and their free, functional wireless.

Anyway, I don't have much to say about Left Bank. It's a dark film, with predictable turns and a confusing ending. If you're up for run-of-the mill occult secret drama, go for it.

Linkeroever (Left Bank)
2008, 102 minutes, directed by Pieter Van Hees

Feast 2: Sloppy Seconds

I'm hesitant to say something bad about low-budget film. I know that a director has to work with what he's given, and in this case he was given half the money of the first film to make two sequels. But... I'm just disappointed. Feast was really good. This just wasn't.

The first movie was a great splatterfest, with a reasonable plot and special effects that were surprisingly good. This time they didn't try as hard. The first film established that the monsters wear skulls and skins to hide their appearance - which also helped carry the suspense. This time, there were just too many "beasts" walking around in rubber suits. Come on guys, slap on the furs and skulls and it would look better and fit fine.

Then, a splatterfest needs to have, you know, deaths. The first movie started out by killing the first "main" character in less than a minute. This time too many survived. Sure there was splatter - plenty of arterial blood and goo and gore and other body fluids - but the characters just got up and kept going. It wasn't realistic even for a low-budget alien-invasion horror film.

I'm glad I saw Feast 1, because after watching this I never would have rented the first.

Feast 2: Sloppy Seconds
2008, 90 minutes, directed by John Gulager

Your Name Here

What the frak? People writing when high aren't as funny as they think they are.

Phillip K. Dick non-biography.

Your Name Here
2008, directed by Matthew Wilder

Surveillance

Told as a series of nothing-held-back flashbacks contrasted with less-than honest testimony, this crime story unfolds in a dramatic way. And then, uhh...

Surveillance
2008, 98 minutes, directed by Jennifer Lynch

Vikaren (The Substitute)

Alien substitute teacher. Just the concept is funny. Then, when it's rendered with such a charismatic cast of adults and children, and perfect cinematography, backed by a worthy script, it confirms the best reason to attend film festivals: to see great movies.

Vikaren (The Substitute)
2007, 93 minutes, directed by Ole Bornedal

Dark Floors

"Everything's falling apart."

I've never heard of Lordi, and I don't know about their 12-movie story arc. But this film was very well crafted, with a very unexpected but surprisingly sufficient ending. A group of staff and patients at a hospital are caught in an elevator during a power short. When power returns and the doors open, something has changed. Floor by floor, as they make their way down, it just gets worse...

This isn't the usual meaning for the tag "descent into madness", but I have to reuse it here for the literal truth.

Dark Floors
2008, 87 minutes, directed by Pete Riski

This is in English, clearly intended for a wide audience.

Hvordan vi slipper af med de andre (How We Get Rid of the Others)

Lifted from the film, criteria for execution:

THE NEW COPENHAGEN CRITERIA
1 : Citizens that have received, over a long period of time, welfare or other social support, with the exception of state pension.

2 : Citizens who have willingly bypassed Danish law for the purpose of personal gain, including social fraud, systematic moonlighting, tax evasion, etc.

3 : Drug addicts and those who abuse recreational drugs, alcohol, etc.

4 : People who place excessive strain on the hospital system, far above the average.

5 : People who are incapable of caring for their own children.

6 : People who are out of work for unusually long periods of time. Including pensioners who have been invalided prematurely.

7 : People who have lived on the edge of the law for many years. Those who have often been in contact with the courts, swindlers, criminals, even though they haven't necessarily been convicted.

PARDON/EXEMPTION FROM PUNISHMENT
1 : It isn't enough to live up to a single criterion; it is recommended that at least three criteria are achieved before punishment is meted out.

2 : If an individual citizen - even though the person in question qualifies for several criteria - can provide some sort of proof that he or she has contributed to any kind of unselfish activity for the benefit of the common good then the individual will be free from punishment.

-----------------------------------------

It's an extreme. I have to wonder how many in my country would see this and think "Yeah, let's cut the dead weight. Nothing good ever comes from that class of society." Scary. See this one with intelligent friends.

Hvordan vi slipper af med de andre (How We Get Rid of the Others)
2007, 94 minutes, directed by Anders Rønnow Klarlund

I've seen this translated as How to Get Rid of the Others, but the above name was that used in the on-screen translation.

Zack and Miri Make a Porno

And so it begins - another film festival. This year I'm stressed because I can' t take off any work, due to upcoming travel. My first film is the opening-night extravaganza - the U.S. premiere of Zack and Miri Make a Porno at the galliant Paramount. Makes this feel more like SXSW.

Adult comedies can be great. This one was really good, even brilliant at times, but it also got pretty uncomfortable. If your going to see it, do so in a theater full of those who will love it, so you can share in their laughter to lighten the mood.

Zack and Miri Make a Porno
2008, 102 minutes, directed by Kevin Smith

It's not really "softporn", but there's enough adult content make it worthy of the tag.

Feast

I picked this one up at Vulcan Video on South Congress tonight, not because I'm a big fan of splatterfests, but because the sequel is premiering Friday night at Fantastic Fest, it's the best thing in its time slot, and I'm a big fan of watching films in order. It turns out rentals are free at Vulcan on your birthday, too, so that worked out well.

I skipped this at the fest a few years ago, but the sequel preview looked good. Splatterfests skip most the shocks and all that disturbing phychological stuff to give lots and lots of guts. That, together with the fun, campy feel, made this movie pretty damn good. I'm looking forward to the sequel.

Feast
2006, 98 minutes, directed by John Gulager

I Think We're Alone Now

This is a documentary about two people who have been obsessed with 80s pop star Tiffany since, well, the 80s. It's really kind of scary, especially the filmed interactions with Tiffany. I know some people feel broken and need to be made whole, but that can't be an excuse to bring that sort of fear into the life of someone else - especially someone they claim to care about.

I think this was officially the first film I've watched streamed on the internet. Appropriate, then, that it crashed 6 minutes in and took 30 minutes to get working again. (Hint: Firefox on Windows, unstable. IE on Windows, unstable. Firefox on OSX, wouldn't even start. Safari on OSX, flawless.)

I Think We're Alone Now
2008, 70 minutes, directed by Sean Donnelly

Ocean's Eleven

My wife recommended this series to me, having seen part of the third in a hotel months ago. We both sat down to see her Netflix copy of the first movie tonight.

I like this sort of large-cast adventure, with all the bits and pieces falling into place. I'm not sure why I skipped this one on release, as it kept me from seeing the rest. I'll fix that shortly.

As to be expected, some of the plot points are made for film. Big machine with green goo that knocks out power to the city? Heh. I appreciated it for the fun the props department must have had thinking it up. There's nothing wrong with a little fun, and this move was full of it.

Ocean's Eleven
2001, 116 minutes, directed by Steven Soderbergh