Palm Springs 2011 Schedule Grid Available

I'm not really sure why they're purposefully trying to hide it making it soooo subtle, but a brilliantly helpful PDF of the Palm Springs Schedule grid is online now. Just follow this link to download it.

Can't wait to print my own personal copy out and start marking it up...

Tiny Furniture

Self-obsessed, entitled, YouTube dufuses love, live, and try to find themselves in NYC while occasionally screwing each other in large pipes on construction sites and casually talking about tentacle rape porn.

Don’t worry, the cephalopod-on-girl action isn’t close to the most distasteful kink bantered about onscreen here, so there’s still plenty for you to discover while watching Tiny Furniture. Shot on a modest budget using a digital SLR and casting her family as actors, the film's writer/director/star achieves a raw, open and honest feeling of verisimilitude. So far so good.

Lena Dunham definitely knows how to put a film together that makes you feel the pain of the characters in a picture one is encouraged to assume is at least partially autobiographical.  Whether you find her onscreen persona and vapid friends worth watching or not will likely vary quite a bit based on your interest in the post-college pre-adulthood void, tolerance for watching people learn through poor choices, and your taste for listening to people talk through it in true indy style.

For the full review you can follow this link over the Three Imaginary Girls.  

Palm Springs 2011 - By the numbers - with bonus complete film list

Here it is, the thing I know no one but me eagerly antipcates, the annual histogram of what countries are represented at the Palm Springs International Film Festival.  Sue me, I loves me my pivot tables.  So without further adieu here's the chart (click in for readable full resolution).  And if you want to make your own after the jump is the complete list of film's playing this year in Palm Springs.  Shoot me a note if you'd like the source file for some reason.

Just click for the full res (aka readable) version

This represents 58 or so countries - with the following per-country breakdown:

Country	Count
USA	33
France	13
Germany	12
UK	11
Canada	7
Spain	7
Belgium	6
Italy	6
South Korea	5
Sweden	5
Australia	4
Chile	4
India	4
Iran	4
Brazil	3
Denmark	3
Ireland	3
Israel	3
Japan	3
Netherlands	3
Norway	3
Poland	3
Switzerland	3
Argentina	2
Bosnia-Herzegovina	2
Czech Republic	2
Hong Kong	2
Peru	2
Romania	2
Russia	2
Serbia	2
Turkey	2
Austria	1
Bulgaria	1
Chad	1
China	1
Costa Rica	1
Ethiopia	1
Finland	1
Georgia	1
Greece	1
Greenland	1
Hungary	1
Iceland	1
Iraq	1
Kenya	1
Kygystan	1
Lebanon	1
Phillipines	1
Slovakia	1
Slovenia	1
South Africa	1
Taiwan	1
Thailand	1
Uganda	1
Uzbekistan	1
Venezuela	1
Vietnam	1

Palm Springs 2011 - What I've seen pre-fest

The full schedule for the 2011 Palm Springs International Film Festival is now out.  I went through the list and looks as though I've seen 18 of the films so far.  Of these I definitely recommend Garbo the Spy, Kawasaki's Rose, and The Sound of Noise - though there are tons of interesting things I haven't seen yet.  Very exciting stuff!

Here's a brain dump of what I've seen and some recommendations. I tried to give a sense about each film that might help in making your decisions. If you've seen any of the films playing at the festival this year already would love your thoughts in the comments section.

• A Screaming Man (Chad) - a former swimming champion now in his 60's who works as a pool attendant in an upper class hotel in Chad.  Around him swirls civil war which he tries to avoid, paying off people to keep his son who also works at the pool safe from the draft.  When the hotel is privatized things begin to change and the small, but calm world he inhabits begins to unravel.  Humiliated by having to change jobs and makes a series of decisions in response that he may live to regret.  The film won a jury prize in Cannes this year and is definitely a well made film that boasts a fair degree of subtlety combined with starkly contrasting environments between inside and outside the hotel world.  I was hooked effectively early, but I felt as things spiraled further it pushed a bit too far into the melodrama camp for me to truly love.  Great though to see something from a part of the world that in my experience is under-represented at times on the festival circuit.
• Bibliotheque Pascal (Hungary) - The film Bibliotheque Pascal is many different things.  It's Hungary's national submission for the 2011 foreign language Oscar.  It's a sumptuously shot film with aspects of magical realism throughout.  And mixed into this is some jaw droppingly nasty people and plot points that made me question the point of the entire exercise.  As this awesome IFC.com review accurately calls out (in addition to imagining the surreal pitch meeting that led to the filmmakers getting funding) one thing you cannot call this movie is the standard cookie cutter story many film goers complain about.  I'd suggest you read my full review if you're interested.  As a story it's absolutely original - and has a strong visual style that's compelling.  But, for all the beauty and sadism displayed I couldn't find anything that made me intellectually interested in the proceedings.  I'll be first to admit that some deeper aspect of the content may have gone completely over my head.  I liked the fantastical elements, felt many of the performances were strong (creepily strong in the case of Pascal the owner of the slave camp/brothel) but as a full experience things didn't click for me.  I just kept feeling as though I was missing the point of the proceedings.
• Certified Copy (France) - Juliette Binoche and William Shimell recreate the roles of Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy - just older, in Italy, and with some sort of joint schizophrenic / break from reality type of disorder.  OK, I'm mostly kidding about that last part.  But the similarity is obvious in that two people very different from each other spend a day before a train leaves walking around and talking.  I was very tired when I saw it - so given that I sort of dug it for a while until I began to struggle with staying awake I think it's probably worth another viewing.  At least for me.  If you hated Richard Linklater's to films about walking around and talking I'm not sure Certified Copy is going to be your cup of tea. 
• Garbo the Spy (Spain) - A stranger than fiction documentary about a Spanish self appointed double agent who was awarded both the Allied and Axis powers highest accolades during WW-II.  His lies so completely believed by the Nazis that the D-Day invasion's success can be in large measure credited to him.  Even days into the attack the Germans still expected the real offensive would be coming elsewhere and therefore refused to deploy all their forces to Normandy (thankfully). Strongly recommend.
• If I Want to Whistle, I Whistle (Romania) - f I Want to Whistle, I Whistle is this year's Romania's official entry for the best foreign language Oscar race this year.  While I thought it was somewhat interesting to watch I'm fairly certain you'll be wasting your money if you bet on it to win this year's award. Contrary to the compulsion people seem to be having to compare every film set within a mile of a prison to last year's masterpiece A Prophet this is an entirely different sort of film, and on a much smaller scale.  Though to be fair - it does take place in a prison.  I didn't come away feeling this was a film that would stick with me long term - and the most interesting part for me was a sense of the setup of a Romanian medium security incarceration facility.  Slowly paced I suspect some would describe it as boring.  For me it's a decent film, well acted by the lead but not interesting enough to put in a "must see" category.
• Kawasaki's Rose (Czech Republic) - - directed by Jan Hrebejk who is one of those directors where I'll see anything new they do at a festival.  I didn't love his last film Shameless - didn't dislike it, just wasn't blown away.  But as Beauty in Trouble was one of those festival gems that took me by surprise I'm more than willing to go back and try his new stuff at least a few more times.  With Kawasaki's Rose he's definitely back in my view.  The story involves a family and what transpired in the past.  Eschewing telling the story in flashback the complex reality of a woman's parents life under the prior oppressive regime and the true story of a variety of relationships come to light.  It's best to see this one as fresh as possible and just to give yourself to the film's storytelling.  So I won't elaborate on the story anymore.  I still prefer some of Hrebejk's earlier work but this is a solid film worth seeing.
• Love in a Puff (Hong Kong) - Damn, there's always a few films at SIFF that I see but never quite get to writing about.  This is one of those stories.  As described in the Palm Springs Guide "In an alley packed with loudmouth co-workers taking a cigarette break, a mild-mannered advertising executive meets a cosmetics salesgirl. As smoke gets in their eyes, one thing leads to another…"  I have a hard time remembering what I thought about this film with total recall.  My sense is love the concept, enjoyed the start, didn't really live up to the potential fully.  Oh yeah, there's a side thing about a guy in a trunk - what I remember thinking is that would have made a much better movie.  If you see it let me know if you agree.  Sorry for the cryptic comments.  ;-)
• Monga (Taiwan) - A fight over a chicken leg leads a Taiwanese man into a set of friendships that will provide entry into the world of organized crime.  Another film I've not previously written about, but one that's worth checking out if you like crime stories with a bit of saga thrown in.  Some people might compare it to the flashbacks in the second Godfather film.  It's perhaps not quite at that caliber, but falling short of that bar isn't likely going to leave you too upset.  Recommended.
• October (Peru) - A moneylender/loan-shark is a sad sack sort of fellow, who appears to be very into his aloneness.  Until a baby is dropped off at his place when he's not around.  He tries to play it off that he found the baby but practically everyone seems to know it's his son with one of the many prostitutes he visits on a regular basis.  After some less than successful attempts to conduct business with the baby around he hires a woman from the neighborhood to care for the child while he lends mother, and looks for the mother.  An interesting film mixing quiet moments of sadness with humor (especially as the main character attempts to pass off a counterfeit 200 peso note he was stuck with to everyone he meets with limited success).  I liked but didn't love this film. But I cautiously/slightly recommend it as I know a lot of folks really dug it. And there are definitely bits of genius in the mix.
• Of Love and Other Demons (Costa Rica) - A beautifully shot film following a very gorgeous girl in a story that gives you new and exciting reasons to be pissed off at the Catholic church.  I'd say that had I been more fully dosed with caffeine, sugar and perhaps some crystal meth for good measure I probably would have enjoyed the film considerably more.  As it stands I loved the look of it - but the pacing left me literally fighting the urge to nod off.  Beautifully shot as a piece of visual art - but the story didn't really break any new or particularly interesting ground for me. The visuals made it worth seeing for me, but remember I see a lot of films so if you're only going to see a few at Palm Springs might not want to put this towards the top of your list.  
• Sound of Noise (Sweden) - musical terrorists - a brilliantly original film. Do I really need to say more?  Probably not for everyone, and it's not in my top ten of 2010 or anything, but this is one of those things that will never make it to your multiplex yet deserves to be seen.  I will admit to maybe being a little overwhelmed by the end, but having a bunch of musical guerrillas burst into a bank shouting "this is a gig!" makes up for a lot.  'nuff said
• The Athlete (Ethiopia) - Biopic on marathoner Abebe Bikila.  It is an interesting story, with some great scenery.  Other than the history didn't break especially new ground for me as a film.  Nothing to avoid though
• The Double Hour (Italy) -Twisty noir-ish Italian thriller that will keep you guessing.  At least for a while.  A couple meet at a speed dating event, then things go wrong, then right, then very wrong.  Who's who and what's what are the questions of the day.  The end may be guessable but the ride is interesting enough to recommend.
• The Hedgehog (France) - Lots of love for this film going around.  Personally I found it OK but far below the superheated recommendations I'd heard before going at SIFF.  Paloma (Garance Le Guillermic) is a young precocious 11 year old living in an apartment building of wealthy Parisians.  Fighting a premature sense world weariness/ennui she decides she will take her own life on her next birthday unless she sees a reason to go on. Paloma is very well played, precocious and very amusing at times.  I did enjoy the film and at least mildly recommend it for the festival. But a after seeing it I can't completely shake the feel that while talking about about misperceptions and snap superficial judgments the movie itself traffics in a lot of familiar cinematic tropes.
• The Man From Nowhere (South Korea) - An action thriller that crosses the "you fucked with the wrong mysterious stranger" deal with the highly trainer killer/young girl dynamics of The Professional in a mostly effective way.  A woman tries to take something that doesn't belong to her from very bad people - she and her daughter are put in peril.  A neighbor with a mysterious background gets drawn in - which turns out to be their only chance as he slowly begins to care about the kidnapped girl's welfare.  It fell short of being truly dynamite in my opinion - and I haven't been able to put my finger on why exactly.  But it's a generally solid entry in the action/thriller genre space.  This is not casual kid in peril fare - so if that really creeps you out I at least wanted to point that out.
• The Owls (USA) - I caught The Owls at SIFF where after seeing The Penitent Man I apparently lost all fear of seeing something horrible and tried this film which had the scary description
  

  "Veteran filmmaker Cheryl Dunye uses flashback, split-screen, and assorted documentary-style techniques to tell the story of four middle-aged lesbians attempting to cover up the murder of a much younger friend in this hybrid thriller that explores gender, sexuality, and identity."

  Thankfully it turned out to be pretty watchable.  Amongst other things I learned that Owls stands for Older Wiser Lesbians.  Also nice to see that people who can accidentally murder a party guest, bury her, then have a group dynamic breakdown isn't limited to straight white men or sorority girls anymore.  There are some odd aspects of this film in it's presentation - but none of them pulled me out of the story enough to feel disruptive in a bad way.  Nice for a change of pace.  I assure you many people will not feel the same way about this definitely in the experimental category film.  So don't blame me if you go. ;-)
  
• A Somewhat Gentle Man (Norway) - I think this is one where I'm going to steal/repeat the description of the film used in the prior festival catalogs (VIFF) - "Newly released from prison, Ulrik is beset by sexually under-serviced women, plagued by his former partners in crime, and about to become a grandfather. Stellan Skarsgård’s lovely, rumpled performance as an ex-con trying to rebuild his life and relationships beautifully anchors Hans Petter Moland’s good-natured comedy." - yep that's mostly accurate indeed.  I don't really know that I would call it a "good-natured comedy" as from what I can recall it does bend towards the black end of the spectrum.  But it's definitely worth seeing if the description sounds like the sort of thing you enjoy. 
• Waste Land (Brazil) - Documentary about an artist engaging with the works in the largest landfill in the world to create art.  It's an interesting and well shot film.  Folks tell me it's not entirely fair to compare it with Garbage Dreams but I do feel that there is some overlap in terms of background material.  I personally wouldn't say this is a must see film - but it's definitely not a bad choice either.

Palm Springs First Announcement - By the Numbers

OK, it's starting to be a compulsion. But every time I get a list of films from a festival I'm immediately curious what the distribution of countries represented are. Thanks to excel answering that question isn't that difficult. When I get a full list of Palm Springs films together I'll likely repeat the exercise. But for the first 83 they've announced here's a look at how that breaks down. Thirty-two unique countries are listed as the primary country for the films published yesterday. In some cases there are multiple countries listed - to simplify things I'm only using the first listed as the "primary" one. We all have the odd things that amuse us...

Hard to read at this size, but click on the graph for its full glory.

Palm Springs - The First Mini Preview Reviews

Here's a first set of tips for Palm Springs based on things I've seen.  Once the full list is announced I suspect there will be more overlap and hopefully I can point to some old reviews I've done.  I believe that announcement comes later this week as tickets go on sale.  Looks like the festival is having a solid year as all normal and half passes are sold out.  Hoping it's not even more overcrowded than normal.  But at least you're usually waiting outside in far nicer weather than Seattle has this time of year. I do really recommend checking out A Somewhat Gentle Man (details below).

• The Hedgehog (France) - Lots of love for this film going around.  Personally I found it OK but far below the superheated recommendations I'd heard before going at SIFF.  Paloma (Garance Le Guillermic) is a young precocious 11 year old living in an apartment building of wealthy Parisians.  Fighting a premature sense world weariness/ennui she decides she will take her own life on her next birthday unless she sees a reason to go on. Paloma is very well played, precocious and very amusing at times.  I did enjoy the film and at least mildly recommend it for the festival. But a after seeing it I can't completely shake the feel that while talking about about misperceptions and snap superficial judgments the movie itself traffics in a lot of familiar cinematic tropes.
• A Somewhat Gentle Man (Norway) - I think this is one where I'm going to steal/repeat the description of the film used in the VIFF catalog - "Newly released from prison, Ulrik is beset by sexually under-serviced women, plagued by his former partners in crime, and about to become a grandfather. Stellan Skarsgård’s lovely, rumpled performance as an ex-con trying to rebuild his life and relationships beautifully anchors Hans Petter Moland’s good-natured comedy." - yep that's mostly accurate indeed.  I don't really know that I would call it a "good-natured comedy" as from what I can recall it does bend towards the black end of the spectrum.  But it's definitely worth seeing if the description sounds like the sort of thing you enjoy.
• Certified Copy (France) - Juliette Binoche and William Shimell recreate the roles of Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy - just older, in Italy, and with some sort of joint schizophrenic / break from reality type of disorder.  OK, I'm mostly kidding about that last part.  But the similarity is obvious in that two people very different from each other spend a day before a train leaves walking around and talking.  I was very tired when I saw it - so given that I sort of dug it for a while until I began to struggle with staying awake I think it's probably worth another viewing.  At least for me.  If you hated Richard Linklater's to films about walking around and talking I'm not sure Certified Copy is going to be your cup of tea. 

Palm Springs 2011 - The Excitement Begins

This morning the Palm Springs International Film Festival issued their first substantive press release about the films to be appearing there starting January 6th.  If you want to read the details you can find it on their site here.  There's a lot of film names buried in there.  I took a few minutes to deconstruct it into a more manageable list.  I'm posting it here for everyone's convenience.  If you've got any tips on things you've seen - or are dying to see please, please, please leave a comment.  In year's past I'd try to go through the list and link to Variety reviews.  But given their super annoying paywall I'm not going to bother.  Over the next week I am hoping to find some reviews and post links time permitting.  For now have fun salivating...

So far I've seen only three of the announced films (The Hedgehog, Certified Copy, and A Somewhat Gentle Man).  Which is to be expected as most of the announcements are premieres of some sort.

If you're interested in tracking my ongoing posts around the festival in Palm Springs they'll be aggregated here.

If anyone wants an excel file of the list just ping me and I'll be happy to oblige.  Here's the 83 film titles and country I've gleaned so far:

• 3 Backyards (USA)
• 40 (Turkey)
• A Barefoot Dream (South Korea)
• A Somewhat Gentle Man (Norway)
• Acquainted With The Night (Canada)
• Another Year (UK)
• As If I Am Not There (Ireland/Macedonia/Sweden)
• Autumn Gold (Austria/Germany)
• Bardsongs (Netherlands)
• Beyond (Sweden/Finland)
• Ceremony(USA)
• Certified Copy (France/Italy)
• Cirkus Columbia (Bosnia and Herzogovina/France/UK/Germany/Slovenia/Belgium)
• Colors in the Dark (Germany)
• David Wants to Fly (Germany/Austria/Switzerland)
• Daydream Nation (Canada)
• Down the Shore (USA)
• Dusk (Netherlands)
• Essential Killing (Poland/Norway/Ireland/Hungary)
• Everything Will Be Fine (Denmark)
• Fifty – Nothing (USA)
• Habermann (Germany/Austria/Czech Republic)
• Haru’s Journey (Japan)
• Hello! How Are You? (Romania/Spain/Italy)
• Hermano (Venezuela)
• Home for Christmas (Norway/Germany/Sweden)
• I Am (USA)
• I Am Slave (UK)
• I Was a Child of Holocaust Survivors (Canada)
• Jane’s Journey (Germany)
• Juan (Denmark)
• Leading Ladies(USA)
• Little Murder (USA)
• Loose Cannons (Italy)
• Lope (Brazil/Spain)
• Lou (Australia)
• Love, Lust & Lies (Australia)
• Madly in Love (Belgium)
• Mammuth (France)
• Next Year in Bombay (France/India)
• Of Gods and Men (France)
• Outrage (Japan)
• Over Your Cities Grass Will Grow (UK/France/Netherlands)
• Oxygen (Belgium/Netherlands)
• Poetry (South Korea)
• Potiche (France)
• Rise (USA)
• Road to Nowhere (USA)
• Road to Nowhere (USA)
• Simple Simon (Sweden)
• Small Town Murder Songs (Canada)
• Solemn Promise (Serbia/Slovenia/France/Hungary/Croatia)
• Songs of Love and Hate (Switzerland)
• Special Treatment (France/Luxembourg/Belgium)
• Square Meter (Chile)
• Summer Coda (Australia/USA)
• Thanks (USA)
• The Albanian (Germany/Albania)
• The Border (Slovakia)
• The Desert of Forbidden Art (Uzbekistan/USA/Russia)
• The Edge (Russia)
• The Encore of Tony Duran (USA)
• The Hedgehog (France)
• The Hunter (Iran/Germany)
• The Last Lions (Botswana)
• The Life of Fish (Chile/France)
• The Light Thief (Kyrgyzstan/Germany/France/Netherlands)
• The Little Room (Switzerland/Luxembourg)
• The Matchmaker (Israel)
• The Names of Love (France)
• The Pipe (Ireland)
• The Poll Diaries (Germany/Austria/Estonia)
• The Recipe (South Korea)
• The Rescuers (USA)
• The Runway (Ireland/Luxembourg)
• The Space Between (USA)
• The Way Back (USA/Australia)
• The Whistleblower (Canada/Germany)
• The Woman With A Broken Nose (Serbia/Germany)
• Turquaze (Belgium)
• Wild Horse, Wild Ride (USA)
• Womb (Germany/Hungary/France)
• Young Goethe in Love (Germany)

Gallants (Hong Kong)

Caught Gallants in Austin at Fantastic Fest back in September.  Doing my final end of the year lists realized that maybe I never posted the review.  So here are some quick notes for the sake of completeness.

I think that broad audiences will enjoy this movie without the need to come to it with being prior fans of martial arts films or more specifically 70's era kung-fu flicks.  You know, the ones that probably played on local TV Saturday mornings when you were growing up.  OK, when I was growing up.  Starring several folks of that era the picture follows the travails of a couple of older kung-fu practitioners who've given up their life waiting for their master to come out of a coma.  In the meantime they've turned their martial arts studio into a tea-shop as the years tick by.  When a local real estate sleazeball (and kung-fu aficionado) needs some serious ass kicking it's clear these guys still have it.  Though "it" isn't as strong as it once was.  And there's no little blue pill for that.  With a message of the triumph of putting everything you can into your struggles regardless of any loss of power with age the Fantastic Fest description of Cocoon with kung-fu isn't far off.  Really enjoyed the film - and it's message about aging brought it unexpected depth.  But don't worry, you'll barely notice. ;-) 

2010 - The Guilty Pleasures

One of the many challenges faced by the "hero" of Please Please Me!

What follows is a list of "Guilty Pleasures" from 2010.  While I feel no one should ever feel truly guilty about liking a film.  This list consists of works that really stood out for me, but for reasons that may or may not translate to others.  Unless you like hot naked people covered in blood (in a B-movie way) - in which case some of it may translate.  ;-).  As always the order is purely accidental.

BTW - please feel free to leave a comment with some of your faves of the past year that fall into this sort of non-existent category? I'd love to see what tickled your fancy in 2010.

• Score A Hockey Musical (Canada) - - I'm not Canadian or a hockey fan.  And I found numerous parts of this film to be fairly horrible - so yes, I loved it.  The story of a young home schooled boy (raised by Olivia Newton John) who's a hockey prodigy and his lifelong next door female friend (a cellist) who try to navigate his national discovery as the potential wunderkind of Canada's national sport.  Yep - it really is a musical and I'm sure I missed some in-jokes.  But the goofy relationship between the kids and his singing hockey team totally worked for me. 
• Easy A - Sometimes one just wants a nice solid teen sex comedy and all the better if it hearkens back to one's childhood favorites.  While some movies throw a nod few really capture that moment in film-making well.  In this case though more often than not I felt Easy A was both entertaining in its own right and balanced out the homage pieces to 80's comedy (subtle and not so much) well to make a solid film.  Sure, Stanley Tucci and Patricia Clarkson as the parents of main character Olive (Emma Stone) stole the film.  But I felt even against that high bar most of the actors delivered.  It's no Bandslam (starring Olive's mostly BFF Alyson Michalka) but it still had me laughing and caring (at least a little) about the characters.  Admittedly, it's really really hard for me to imagine the alternate universe where Emma Stone can't get a date.  But the film engaged me enough to allow them that yearning chasm of dramatic license. 
• Gallants (Hong Kong) - I think that broad audiences will enjoy this movie without the need to come to it with being prior fans of martial arts films or more specifically 70's era kung-fu flicks.  You know, the ones that probably played on local TV Saturday mornings when you were growing up (OK, when I was growing up).  Starring many folks of that era the picture follows the travails of a couple of older kung-fu practitioners who've given up their life waiting for their master to come out of a coma.  When a local real estate sleazeball needs some serious ass kicking it's clear these guys still have it.  Though "it" isn't as strong as it once was.  And there's no little blue pill for that.  With a message of the triumph of putting everything you can into your struggles regardless of any loss of power with age the Fantastic Fest description of Cocoon with kung-fu isn't far off. 
  
• Kick-Ass - the bloody story of teens who don the mantel of great super hero responsibility without the great powers to match was mega-hyped before it's release.  So the fact I had a very fun time almost surprised me. I figured it would fall seriously short, but that didn't happen - it was as big a hoot as I'd hoped.  This isn't something like A Prophet in my book but it's a fantastic example of how great popcorn entertainment doesn't have to be totally dumb, crappy, and targeted only to 13 year olds.  I'll be rooting for this as a dark horse to at least make the ten nominees for best film come Oscar time. If only because I want to see the interpretive dance with the onscreen caption "Kick Ass." 'nuff said
• Piranha 3D - Piranha 3D is one serious piece of trashy B-movie film making.  And I mean that in the best possible way.  A fairly tightly put together bloody T&A fest that kept the tension up for me during the entire ride.  Plus it totally nails the landing with respect to wrapping up the festivities.  This isn't for your kids and probably not a first date film - but it delivered exactly what I needed when I saw it.
• Please Please Me! (France) - A few years ago I saw a film at SIFF titled Shall We Kiss? which explored the dangers inherent in a single smooch. This year the director and actor from that film returned to Seattle (figuratively) with the very entertaining film Please Please Me. A hilarious sorta cross between The Freebie, After Hours and (untitled) this film was an unexpected treat.  Sweet, funny, at times insightful and filled with luscious eye candy it was just delightful. Oh, and did I mention it's in French?
• Splice -  a cautionary "arrogant scientists with a god complex are bad, especially if one of them had a troubled childhood and the other is Adrien Brody" tale with enough humor to make for a very palatable film. It's ridiculously stupid - and if that's going to bother you don't go. I know many hated this film, which I suspect was because they were expecting sci-fi/horror.  Which it's basically not.  There are some scares but the best parts for me were the ones that purposefully or not drew out big laughs.  These scientists make Rick James look like a member of the conservative christian right (and not the ones hiring travel valets at rentboy.com).  When you're at home watching look for the opportunity to yell "honey, it's not what it looks like!!!" Trust me, you'll know when.
• Predators - Not sure what's more surprising that I enjoyed the sequel to Predator or that two of the films on this list include Adrien Brody.  The sport hunting aliens are back having kidnapped a wide range of bad-asses from earth and beamed them to an alien world.  They're hunted, they try to survive and at one point there's a samurai sword fight.  I can't say I've seen any of the interim Predator themed movies (or at least I won't admit to it), but this one was sort of fun in very unexpected ways. 
• Step Up 3D - For reasons I cannot entirely explain I was drawn to the theater to see Step Up 3D. I think I anticipated an epic combination of ridiculous dialog/story, hard to believe could be done dancing and super-gratuitous use of the third dimension. The trailer certainly pointed in that "we have a house for dancers, they live together, train together, battle together" boy is this silly direction. The reality was it was fun to watch if at times goofy  - but all in a "hey this isn't as bad as I expected" vs "I'm totally making fun of the film way."  Plus, it's one of the few times that I felt the 3D gimmick brought something extra to a film. 'respect!
• Today's Special - Aasif Mandvi perhaps best known as a correspondent on The Daily Show gets to be the center of attention of this crowd pleasing foodie film (that he also co-wrote).  It's not an especially complex tale - a "by the numbers" chef is forced out of his comfort zone when he's forced to take over his father's simple Indian restaurant.  Given some magical influences he rediscovers his roots and of course becomes a smash success (I don't think I'm really giving anything away there).  It's colorful, light fun with some truly amazing looking food at the end.
• Banlieue 13 - Ultimatum (France) - One critic put the line to what I thought about briefly towards the start of B13-Ultimatum, "leave it to the French to invent a martial art that involves running away."  The sequel to the fun District B-13 which was a hybrid of Escape from New York fused with crazy parkour action.  The plot doesn't really matter as this is silly brainless fun with some very talented folks.  Most notably not strung together through micro edits like some films starring John Travolta. 

2010 - Hitting Bottom

Continuing along my list of lists here are my most memorable and not in a good way films. Interestingly I must have chosen somewhat better this year as it was difficult to come up with more than seven entries.  Even then one or two of those just seemed not great rather than spectacularly bad.  Please remember this is the list of things I liked least this year.  Not the worst films of the year - I work fairly hard to try to avoid seeing those... (yes, I'm talking to you Sex in the City 2)

• Room in Rome - Not the most painful movie I saw in 2010.  Largely on the top of this list for unbelievably being one of the most painfully annoying (not to mention boring) films I've seen in some time while consisting entirely of scenes of beautiful, skillfully photographed completely naked women onscreen having sex for most of the film.  With extra I can't believe they pulled that off bonus points for achieving all these negatives while being a lesbian remake of an Argentinian film that previously made my top films of the year list.   Without a doubt though wins for best overheard description from an audience member after the film who described Room in Rome as "the Bataan Death March of lesbian sex films."
• I Kissed a Vampire - If you've been following my writing over the past few years you may be surprised that I'm capable of ranking anything with a vampire near the bottom of my year's theater experiences.  If someone told me at the start of 2010 I'd see a vampire musical featuring backup dancers costumed as slutty goth vamps and it wouldn't make my top ten list I'd have laughed in their face.  Sadly, my experience was the opposite of my expectations.  Overly generic songs, incomprehensible motivations, boring dance and a main character I'd prefer not to get the girl conspired to make me very, very sad.  Lest you think it was my high expectations that doomed the production I'll just say that everyone I saw it with had far more modest views of what was to transpire, and they were underwhelmed as well.
• Vampires Suck - When I saw this film myself and a 14 or 15 year old girl were the only guests in the theater.  It's hard to say which one of us seemed more embarrassed to be there for this gag-a-thon spoof of sparkly vampire flicks (which seem self spoofing).  I did chuckle briefly at a few spots and they got a decent Team Jacob/Edward bit in at the end - but overall it was pretty boring.  I can do boring without blowing $10, and I suspect you can as well.
• The Penitent Man - this technically well made but painful to sit through effort shows that low budget time travel fare doesn't always work.  And more importantly that you probably need some critical voices while making a film, not always a good idea to play every role in the production yourself.  It's hard to do justice to the experience of seeing this film in the space I'm allotting myself.  The sad thing is that the director does seem to have visual talent, I think he just needs someone else to write, produce, or just call him on bullshit when things are just getting to be too much.  But probably easiest to start with someone else's script I'm thinking.
• Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore - Yes, I actually went to see Cats and Dogs - The Revenge of Kitty Galore.  No, it wasn't as as a dare.  And yes, I do feel sort of dirty.  Sadly, it's almost exactly what I should have expected - though I'm pretty shocked that I found the felines significantly cuter than the dogs.  On the plus side, at least I don't have to introduce myself at parties as the writer of this film.  That must be pretty awkward - "oh, you write movies ... anything I've seen? ..."  There's a solid opening sequence spoofing classic Bond films and then it's straight downhill from there.  Truly, our children deserve better...
  
• Middle Men - From the somewhat impressive set of actors assembled to appear in Middle Men there's strong evidence to suggest that many folks critical analysis skills go out the window when they hear about a script featuring gangsters, money, and Internet porn faster than some people give their credit card number to a seedy website online.  Otherwise I have a hard time understanding those signing onto this flick didn't notice that the pedestrian script featuring more nested flashbacks than Inception was destined to skate the edge of being a straight to video production.  Ironically, except I suspect that save for the well known cast of characters that appear in it that's exactly what the fate of Middle Men would have been.  There's probably a pretty good story to be had here - but Middle Men wasn't it.  In short even the spectacular range of naked breasts on display won't overwhelm your desire to scream at the Luke Wilson character to please shut the fuck up.  
• The Family Tree - Dermot Mulroney, when I saw he was in this black comedy during the opening credits I'll admit I thought of walking out. And I'm not sure that wouldn't have been the right call. Because the "comedy" otherwise known as "The Family Tree" suffered from a single basic problem. Near complete lack of laughter originating from me. I've certainly met people who enjoyed it a lot. And I'm absolutely happy for them. Sadly I was not in this group.

yep, the list is not see Sex in the City 2.  I suspect that must be on most critics top 10 worst film lists.  For me the feeling that my eyes were bleeding every time I saw the trailer was enough to keep me away.  Far away.

2010 - The First of Many Year End Lists My favorites of the year

While I'm not a fan of ordering my opinion on the "best" films each year I do find going back and thinking about everything I've seen in the last 12 months an interesting exercise.  Both to see if staring at the name of a film I saw last February provokes any recognition and to see what's made a lasting impression.  That said I rarely make a top ten list that actually includes only ten films.  This year I haven't really attempted to order the lists in terms of "bestness".  All are just things I found memorable in one way or the other.  The only other rule is that these are films I saw or wrote about in 2010.  Many of these may have been available in their original country earlier than 2010 and some will not get a theatrical release in the US within 2010 (if they get one at all).

Looking through my notes of what I liked in the past year I realized that showing me something new in a quality way won my heart.  Sure there's a place for the BIG drama with families at each others throats as they struggle with BIG life issues.  But show me a kid on a dragon while making me laugh and I'll sing your praises at year's end.  Today's list is more eclectic than past in part because I think the more I go to the movies the more I want something truly unique, and not just another great performance about something miserable.  I suppose heroin addicts may feel similarly in terms of needing a bigger and bigger hit to get that original experience back  OK, I'm not going to ponder that point further.

So here's the start of my list of lists, I hope you find it helpful in some small way.  Today we begin with my favorites of the year past.  No, I will not limit it to ten.  Sorry.

Subsequent posts will include my "guilty pleasures" of the year past, as well as the least favorite (aka worst) things I've seen in 2010.  I plan to revisit this post on our about Jan 1, 2011 as I hopefully haven't seen everything I'm going to see by the end of the year - and things may move about some.

My faves (in no particular order ... really)

• Au Revoir Tapei (Taiwan) - Sadly, I suspect few audiences in the US are going to get a chance to see this gem of a film.  Just about the perfect little sweet film for a day at the movies. If you want black comedy, painful relationships, aching over life regrets, suicide, slavery, or abuse of children/animals/pop-music go elsewhere.  Boy gets dumped by girl, gets mixed up with mobsters, and wanna-be mobsters channeling Pee Wee Herman.  And dumplings, my lord the dumplings.  Just see it by any means necessary.
• Exit Through the Gift Shop - pretty awesome.  Allegedly a documentary.  Not sure any of it is true, but still worth seeking out. The less you know the better.  It has something to do with famous street artist Banksy and a guy who  gets way too into documenting the worldwide street art scene. Beyond that just go and be entertained and educated.
• Solitary Man - Michael Douglas in a great role, as a not so great guy. In what was for me a very memorable film.
• Fatso (Norway) - This anti-romantic comedy really stuck the landing for me.  Way ahead of any other 2010 film in category of masturbation scenes per minute and likely unique in casting horny rhinoceros alter-egos for the movie's lead.
  
• How to Train Your Dragon - If 3D dragons coasting through the air in animated flying sequences that were at least the equal (and probably better than) Avatar's weren't enough this picture brings the all around entertainment in a big way.  I can see how one could have missed this film.  Don't let that condition persist too much longer.  With the exception of Step Up 3D probably no film better employed 3D in the past year than How to Train Your Dragon.  The only valid reason for one of those newfangled TV sets that I can conceive of. 
• Monsters - Aliens are taking over in Mexico.  They're illegal, but then again, they're also from outer space.  Onto this new world order the film makers have grafted a more classic relationship / road movie bringing a little bit of something for everyone.  Much of the film's pre-release story was about its micro-budget.  If you didn't know I don't think you can tell.  Would have made my list if they'd spent millions on it instead. 
• Nothing Personal (Netherlands) - A traveler with issues stays at the home of a widower in Ireland, trading work for food and board.  Sounds like a snoozer but this quiet, slow film wowed me at Palm Springs back in January when I saw it.  I could say a lot more, but as the male lead of the film is fond of saying, "talent knows when to quit"
• Cold Weather - This is a film that defies easy characterization. Except that it's really, really good.  It's a unique (far as I can tell) mash-up of a chatty relationship slice of life drama centered around twenty something characters shot in a natural style and a whodunit mystery.  Yet it's not really fully either, and the sum is greater than the individual parts.  Sort of a Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys adventure for the mumblecore crowd.
  
• Scott Pilgrim vs. the World - Based on a comic that if it's half as cool as the film I truly should read.  Boy meets girl, girl like boy.  To date her, boy must defeat her seven evil exes. Whaaaaa??? Yep, that's the premise, straight out of a side-scrolling fighter video game.  From the 8-bit pre-film's opening credit to the creative visual effects this was a fun film - especially if you have any videogaming in your background.  First half's writing was dead on.  By the end film slacked a bit (there were seven exes to get through) but still solid and original enough to make my top films list.
• The Social Network - the origin story of Facebook.  Or an introduction to why overly enforced "intellectual property" rights law and litagation may be stiffling technical innovation.  You be the judge.  Sorkin's dialog and the actor's delivery may be more clever than actual Harvard students though together they make for a very watchable flick.
• Tucker & Dale vs. Evil (Canada) - Hillbillies at their fixer upper vacation home are having a fine old time until a bunch of annoying college kids show up and start killing themselves on their property.  A nice reversal of the hill people horror flick where the country folk turn out to be totally misunderstood and the stereotype loving frat boys create all the problems.  Plus a love story both of the bromance and hetero varieties mixed in for good measured.  All delivered in a very tight 90 minute package  I think many folks will get a real kick out of.  Now if only the film would get a reasonable theatrical run in the states...

Runners up.  Even though I know I say I won't limit myself to ten - there are limits.  In no particular order here are some films that came close to the top:

• Rubber - On one hand Rubber is an entirely familiar exercise a stalker/killer road movie genre film spanning a desert road trip filled with classic elements right down to the girl watched by the villain in shower during a motel stop.  Though it stretches the conventions of the form somewhat by casting the killer as a discarded tire who becomes sentient with the psycho-kinetic powers to make people's head explode.  Yes, a tire - as in the thing on your car.  And that's not the most unusual part of the film...
  
• Inception - What to say that hasn't already been said about this film - and by much better writers?  Probably not much.  It was a fabulously fun ride - though I might differ with some of those same writers on whether it was really any more deep a meditation on the meaning of reality vs. dreams and their relation to our collective humanity than a strangely similar episode of Ally McBeal.   
• Rammbock (Germany) - because every list deserves a zombie movie.  And this was the most interesting one I saw in 2010.  Far less gore than the usual zombie fare - but all the scares you've come to expect (or at least hope for).
• A Somewhat Gentle Man (Norway) - Guy out of prison struggling to find his path. The picture combines a satisfying conclusion, black comedy, and some of the most uncomfortable sex scenes this side of The Room.
• We are What We Are (Mexico) - I believe I can say both with an extreme lack of actual knowledge of the subject yet oddly strong conviction that We Are What We Are is the deepest cannibalism themed movie made in the last decade or possibly forever.  There is indeed some gruesome content makes you want to turn away violence - but making a family drama masquerading as a hardcore genre flick (and doing it well) seems deserving of special mention
• Winter Vacation (China) - The one film on my list that I think many people would hate.  And on a different day than when I saw it, in a different mood I could have ended up on the other end of the spectrum.  Not much talking goes on, certainly no action, and I don't think much really happens overall.  Which is likely the entire point.  It's hard to explain how the nothingness of the film's slacker teenagers and oddball adults was so entirely appealing.  I will say no more - but if you want to take a leap of trust in my taste - give it a try.  Your mileage may indeed vary.
• Four Lions (UK) - The comedy about terrorists that made me laugh, think and cringe.  And laugh again.  'nuff said.
• Marwencol - Documentary about a man who'd been savagely beaten in an attack - so badly that he'd lost his memory and suffered other negative results.  And that for some reason he'd taken to building an elaborate village filled with dolls dressed up as WW-II era soldiers that was incredible in it's detail.  It's quite fascinating and beautiful - as the village itself is a great example of fantastic art arising as self therapy.  If we had national health care it's likely the world of Marwencol wouldn't exist - which is one of the most solid arguments against a single payer system that I can really think of.
• Broken Embraces - OK, so this came out last year.  But I saw it after Christmas and it didn't make any of my lists.  So sue me, I'm adding it this year... 

Faster

The original trailer released for Faster is clearly the more compelling of the past year.  The reason is simple, I knew, knew, knew this was unlikely to be a very good movie but whatever part of me Dianetics says I should listen to was hustled but good by that trailer.  Faster is far from horrible, it just didn't really deliver in the way I'd hoped.  Which I clearly should have known.  I was so embarrassed by all of this I didn't get around to writing about the film until now, weeks later.  At which point I barely remember the on-screen goings on.  Not that it was really that complicated, Faster is more of a style than substance endeavor.

In a stronger film style alone could have been enough.  This is a revenge flick after all - and those are usually about getting us angry enough, or into the character enough to enjoy the vicarious thrill ride.  Here I did appreciate some of the visual slickness, but with the exception of one scene late in the game never felt drawn into the characters' problems or choices.

Dwayne Johnson stars as Driver, a guy sent to prison for ten years who comes out big, tough and plenty mad at folks who killed his brother. He's going to kill them, and he's not planning on being patient about it.  Hello and goodbye is his approach as he walks up to the first person on his list while they're working in an office and shoots him dead.  No messing around for the Driver.  Of course after he guns down his first target live on security cameras the police are on the case.

Which introduces us to Billy Bob Thornton, cast as "Cop" a drug addicted detective on his last case (or maybe his last day - can't recall) when he's put on the hunt for Driver.  In the mix there's also Killer (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) the rich former dot-com guy, formerly physically disabled child who's re-imagined himself as an elite athlete and professional thrill killer.  Yep, not a lot of subtlety in this one.  Most viewers will have a pretty good idea where things are going plot twist wise, though maybe not exactly how they'll get there.  With the exception of why the hitman was written into the script at all - that totally baffled me...

For most of the film Driver is unaffected by any of the emotional/moral questions that might keep the average person from leaving a similar wake of bodies if their sibling was killed.  When he finally is forced to address the "can people change?" question it provides one of the rare engaging moments of the film.  Otherwise it's him driving from place to place in a hot car and shooting people.  Which if it had more of an adrenaline rush to those scenes would have been sufficient.  But for me it did not.  Probably something you wouldn't be too upset at watching on a slow Wed. night on HBO - but not something I'd rush to plunk $10+ per person for.  Goes without saying it's not a great date movie either.

So once again need to remind myself that a well cut trailer can make anything look watchable.  I'll try to keep that in mind when Drive Angry eventually hits the local cineplex. ;-)

BTW - the trailer I found online seems different than what I saw originally advertising the film.  The new one probably wouldn't have gotten me out to the theaters - just saying.

Tron Legacy

For those in a closet, Tron Legacy is the 28 years later sequel to Tron, the groundbreaking 1982 film that used computer effects to tell the story of a guy zapped inside a computer and forced to fight for his life.  Sometimes with motorcycles - in a game that even then had clearly been ripped off from others.

But don't worry if you didn't see the original film.  The opening quickly gets you up to speed on how Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges) left his son at home one night to go to work and never came back.  Newly orphaned Sam (Garrett Hedlund) has grown up rich (as the main shareholder in his father's mega-tech company) with his father's "information should be free" ideals.  Which means if you're not up on the code of these things - that he's a good guy.

We also learn quickly Sam's one of those movie cool tech guys who can break into a facility, play crazy anarchist pranks, and base jump off of buildings - but then quickly sit down and bust off some basic unix commands when he has to.  Of course he has great abs too.  Which is important because before you know it he's beamed into a virtual world where everyone wears skin tight outfits with glowing stripes.   Like your local frat house the world of Tron has a strict no-fatties policy.

Of course Sam's dad didn't abandon him.  Instead Kevin Flynn was stuck in the virtual world that he'd created.  Largely because there's a younger version of Bridges there that's evil - or misguided.  People and computers following directions in an overly literal direction are sometimes hard to tell apart in that sense.  Once zapped into the techno gestapo-esque brave new world Sam will have to fight his way through various gladiator games, bad dialog and the distractions posed by virtual hottie Quorra (Olivia Wilde) to find his Pa and make their way home.

I'll admit up front that I went with fairly low expectations.  Having seen the original when it came out in theaters in 1982 I remember being pretty excited that first time.  Especially as that was the year I'd enjoyed my first exposure to using a computer - mainly through teaching myself BASIC to play with the TRS-80 computers my junior high left unsecured around sticky children such as myself.  Truth be told my memory of my perceptions of the film are vague - but I don't remember really feeling swept up in it back then.  Underwhelmed I guess is the phrase I'm looking for.  I do remember enjoying the arcade game more - and that I really needed to convince my father that we needed to find a better theater than that hole in Canarsie.  The times have changed for sure - the tech in Tron Legacy is a thousand times more impressive, that Canarsie theater now has a Facebook page, and I now know considerably more about computer than in 1982.  But at the end of the day I again can't say I was really blown away by the film as a complete package.

That said, I definitely do think it's worth watching.  The special effects are seriously slick.  How slick?  Well Bridges plays both younger and older versions of himself.  It's done digitally - and while it's not completely seamless what you notice is more that Bridges looks stiffer than usual as an actor - not so much that it's fake.  Truly amazing.  The first quarter of Tron Legacy did draw me in.  I guess I'm a sucker for the rich trouble maker, loaner cool tech dude esthetic.  And since they dive into the digital world of Tron quickly you don't need to wait a long time for the WOW payoff of the virtual universe.  But after a few gladiator fight scenes and a rocking light cycle batter things slow down.  Or maybe more accurately become repetitive.  Which is when I started to notice the overpowering boom-boom-boom mood music which was used identically every time something heavy was about to go down.  And my ability to predict the end of 25% of the onscreen dialog before it came out of the actor's mouth - it's a bit clunky is what I'm saying.  Thankfully there's a lot of booming music to keep you awake, and it is somewhat fun to play "what film are they ripping off/playing homage to now?" in your head.  And of course Olivia Wilde is fairly easy on the eyes as they drag her through scene after scene.

The film's message is more about father-son stuff than anything I would plausibly call the sci-fi/moral aspects of the virtual world the elder Flynn has created.  I'm sure people will argue differently - but just throwing in some open source stuff, and the miracle of digital life doesn't really mean your film is deep.  Or makes sense for that matter.  Bridges in the younger role I actually enjoyed more than the grizzled, zen, don't harsh my buzz or I'll go into ass-kicking mode role that he seems to be taking up a lot these days.  Other than that most of the actors do what they can with their dialog.  The standout performance of the lot being Michael Sheen as Zuse who hams the heck out of his small but key role - somehow even managing to throw in a Charlie Chaplin impersonation.

In the end I walked out laughing about how it was essentially a giant geek fantasy about how there are girls inside your computer that will come out and be with you - plus they LOVE video games. Beyond that sound and fury signifying nothing. Which isn't always a bad thing. Especially if you see it at Cinerama and throw in some very reasonably priced chocolate popcorn.



Screening Notes:
This was my first trip to the Seattle Cinerama since it shifted to a new management company (Paul Allen's group remains the owners).  One of the upgrades was 3D technology - which seemed to work fine.  I didn't mention in the main review the 3D because it wasn't distracting - which I guess is mainly what I'm looking for these days.  The concessions area has been re-done with prices lowered (unbelievable) and quality improved.

At just $2 for a small popcorn (plain, chocolate, or mixed) not to mention Theo's chocolate bars the concession is definitely a step up.

The seats seem somewhat better than my last trip to Cinerama but after some consideration I went with the bottom floor vs. the balcony.

There's been a lot of talk about the theater stocking Cupcake Royale product.  It's true - but only mini ones. At $2 though it's a fun snack.

Budrus

Budrus is an inside look into something I think it's easy to wonder about: what would happen if the Palestinians completely adopted non-violent resistance techniques as a way to pressure Israel to grant them sovereignty? We don't 100% get an answer in this story about a border village (Budrus) that gave it a shot - but it's both fascinating to watch them try, and a compelling story in its own right. If you have any interest in this topic I'd really suggest checking out this documentary while it's in town. For the best experience I'd also counsel readers to skip the rest of the review once they've made that decision, as watching things unfold has real world drama to it that's aided by going in fresh.

If you insist on a more formal summary I will oblige... though you'll have to take the jump over to Three Imaginary Girls where the full story continues in full on spoiler mode (you've been warned).

Black Swan

Today, I'm going to take a different approach than normal and grab something out of my personal mailbag, and pretend like it's a movie review.  The original writer of the request is from a friend that shall remain anonymous unless they choose to out themselves in the comments.  

In case you've managed to avoid the PR storm that is the none too subtle Academy Award buzz for Black Swan it's a film directed by Darren Aronofsky and starring Natalie Portman sexing it up with Mila Kunis as ballet dancers competing for roles in Swan Lake.  Of course even without reading a review it's a safe bet (which turns out to be true) that Portman is going to turn in a virtuoso performance that owns the role, completely convincing one that she is whatever her character is supposed to be (and running a range of emotions and states of distress that would have destroyed a lesser actress).  And that's true - if she's not nominated for Best Actress that will be one of the more ridiculous oversights, well.... ever.  I could analyze the film, talk about what I thought Aronofsky and the writers meant by this or that.  Which would only in my mind take away from the experience of seeing the film.  And be considerably harder for me than I'd had planned for the evening.  To go or not to go is usually the practical question at hand - so below that question is asked along with my (mostly) unedited response. 

> Subject: Black Swan
> Date: Mon, 13 Dec 2010 20:48:57 -0800
>
> Hi!
>
> Have you seen this? I need your input. 
> I can't believe the acclaim it
> is getting when it is, clearly, 
> Showgirls set in the world of ballet.
> I'm so confused. I mean I love 
> Showgirls and ballet but...

Yep, I saw it.  I went in pretty much cold.  I'd seen the trailer, knew lots of people liked it - but didn't read any of the reviews.  I was sort of skeptical as anything labeled psycho-sexual thriller makes me worry (not just everyone can produce Wild Things).  So I can't yet say how my view compares with others.  In some ways it didn't live up to the invented in my mind hype - wherein I'd feel seriously connected to the characters - such as in The Wrestler.  Which I feel honor bound to compare Black Swan to for some reason just because it's the same director.  But..... I have to say it's a really well done film.  I just don't know that the best comparison is really Showgirls, or Fatal Attraction or anything like that.  I feel it's very slick piece of genre film making.  Where I think I'd put the genre in question to be "horror."

My snarky summary is that it's an effectively executed cautionary tale re over-parenting, drug use, repressed orgasms and of course ballet.  Or whole thing could be world's slickest product placement for some unnamed high tech anti-psychotic medication.  Hard to say....

The important part is that in the genre sense I'll freely admit it pulled on my scared strings - exactly how the director intended, every time he wanted to.  So I can't truly complain.  I just thought I'd care more about the characters, relationships, etc.  I'm not sure why really though that I'd have a preconceived notion like that.  So not quite fair of me.

I do think it made me think about ballet differently than I have before.  As you might guess I'm not really a natural fan of it. And when I say "think differently about it" I don't mean that it changed my mind that some people might be bat shit crazy within that world. More that from the staging of some of the Swan Lake sequences I could see how watching a performance could be fascinating in a way I really never conceptualized before. 

So basically - I think you want to see it.  The film coming out that has me personally mystified about why I'd want to see it is Rabbit Hole.  I keep seeing the trailer and thinking - wow, I think everyone in here is someone I either want to or wouldn't mind seeing.  But the story - WTF? - I'm still recovering from Precious last year.

Hope that's helpful - and I'm totally stealing this thread for my Black Swan review which I'm feeling too lazy to write.  :-)




Update: OK - so upon a closer read I realize the letter in question came from a friend who had already seen it and was not so excited about Showgirls with Ballet. Which personally sounds like a less awesome sequel than I've been dreaming about - but ... I think the above still holds. :-)

Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale (Finland)

Rare Exports - A Christmas Tale is a brilliant tell-all film about the true origins of Father Christmas that the Coca-Cola company never wanted you to see...or a fascinating exploration of what the outcome would have been if darkly quirky Finnish movie types had remade a film originally starring Bruce Willis.

Purporting to tell the "true" story of Santa Claus, it's an unusual and entertaining experience.  Likely destined to become a Christmas classic for those who view Bad Santa as just a smidge too sweet for their tastes.  I went in with high expectations that were almost satisfied by this offbeat holiday film.

You can read my review in its entirety at Three Imaginary Girls - in short - liked it.  :-)

Worth mentioning: this isn't a Santa movie for kids - at least not young kids. While it's not an especially bloody film by modern standards, there definitely is some gore...not to mention full frontal older elf nudity in a communal shower (which may be one of the most haunting images I'll see on screen this year). It can make you flash back to time spent in a YMHA locker room you've been trying to forget for 25 years. Or so I'd imagine...

Update: If you're looking for a slightly slimmed down version of the review that adds the always funny word 'goyim' you can check out the version of the review now appearing at Heeb Magazine.