VIFF 2011 - A couple more to watch for...

I'm happy to report that at Fantastic Fest I caught a couple more films that will screen at VIFF. Both are probably worth seeing in their own way.  But I suspect most people will be sad later if they skip Bull Head.  The film is the Belgium submission as the country's foreign language Oscar entry could easily end up shortlisted, or even in the final five.  Invasion of Alien Bikini is worth a watch as well - though I think it's audience is likely to be considerably smaller.  In case you missed them - some of my other pre-VIFF intelligence is available here.

Bull Head (Belgium) - isn't entirely an easy film to describe. Set amongst farming communities of Belgium it's a character study of bovine related criminal activity, testosterone fueled violence, and a family tragedy buried for years. When a young boy suffers horrific violence at the hands of a son of a local organized crime figure there's not much to be done for him.  With his sense of manhood deeply (and quite literally) crushed his overcompensation and emotional betrayal is palpable onscreen.  He's a brute of a man, mostly quiet but one senses with a tremendous and powerful rage simmering just below the surface. In an agricultural world awash with illegal drug use (on the cows) there's a lot that can go wrong.  And this dark character study takes us through it.  It's not a fun watch, but it's a fascinating one - well organized and viewable on several levels.  Though all of them are likely to keep you sticking to certified organic milk.  Absolutely dynamite performance from both the adult lead actor and the boy who plays the same character as a child.

Invasion of Alien Bikini (South Korea) - this award winning micro-budget film from South Korea has it all, except most astonishingly anyone appearing onscreen in a bikini. The low budget aspect doesn't appear all that obviously - with the possible (and brilliantly played) exception of an backstory reveal that eschews special effects to instead pan across a childlike drawing of the intergalactic unnamed ancient evil at the heart of the film.

But maybe I should backup...  The film opens with a slightly nerdy but reasonably skilled "city protector" on patrol.  Seeking out evildoers and picking up trash while sporting one goofy-ass mustache.  When he happens upon a group of goons attacking a damsel in distress he springs into action.  While they constantly try to explain that he doesn't really understand what's going on he beats them into submission and takes the lady home.  His apartment is where most of the rest of the film takes place as they engage in an epic battle of the wills.  Over - what you ask?  Just the normal stuff - his sperm. She wants it, he's willing to part with it, but only if they're legally married. She's in more of a hurry though and can't wait until morning to extract it.  I suppose technically resulting in the most insane chastity pledge support film in the history of Christendom.  Or so I would expect.

The mood of the film switches several times - but none of them are dull.  I doubt I'm giving anything away by mentioning that she's of course some sort of alien that needs to procreate that night.  And that said result of that procreation might not be very good for mankind.  This isn't the T&A fest that the title and colorful poster suggests (yeah - I was disappointed at first too).  It's not necessarily going to be everyone's cup of tea, and it's not making my top few films list of Fantastic Fest.  But I feel you gotta admire the effort, though for me the ending didn't feel as satisfying as it might have been.  If you're seeing a bunch of films at VIFF and the trailer entertains I'd suggest taking a closer looksee.

Oops - almost forgot. I also got a chance to checkout the short film Wait for Rain which is a beautifully bright, beautifully shot story about a bleak future.  Water is the currency of the realm and good telesales is rewarded by water.  Ineffective selling of pipe leaves you bone dry.  Or at least without enough water to properly tend to your plant.  And a healthy plant (conveniently strapped to you all day) is how you impress the ladies.  Which leads to some weird dynamics - and one of the more unusual office love triangles of recent cinematic history.  Another example of why one avoids the shorts program at film festival at their peril. The film plays on October 9th and 10th as part of VIFF.

A Fantastic Short: The Hunter and the Swan Discuss Their Meeting

Thanks to the great site Short of the Week I discovered that my favorite short of Fantastic Fest is available for all to watch online. There's a little bit of non-gratuitous blurred out but I don't think it should keep you from enjoying the bit too much. I just think it's really fantastic. I will say no more other than I expect you should just go ahead and click play below.



If you liked the short (and I can't imagine you wouldn't) you can bounce over to an interview conducted with the director by Short of the Week.

Fantastic (Fest) Photos

I'm now back from the 2011 edition of Fantastic Fest - a great film festival (and much more) held in Austin Texas each year at the Alamo Drafthouse Theaters. There's a ton of writing about the films to be done, not to mention several of the cool events surrounding the movies. That's going to be taking place over at least the next week as I recount the 23 films I watched in Austin and the several more I caught up on via screeners.  But for now I wanted to kick off the recap with some of the better photos I captured during my stay. 

For those not super familiar with Fantastic Fests the high number of snapshots involving a boxing ring may surprise you.  As background - each year the festival holds a midnight session referred to as the "Fantastic Debates."  It consists of several burning issues of the day verbally debated between two opposing parties.  Except unlike the high school debate team version - after statements and rebuttals the opponents settle the matter in the ring.  Well, actually the winner is chosen by crowd enthusiasm after the boxing has taken place.  Either way it's an entertaining, sweaty good time.  And when I say sweaty I'm actually talking about the spectators who are compressed into a rather small and not air-conditioned boxing gym.  Even given that - it's sooooo worth it.  I'll be doing a post just on the debates themselves as soon as time permits.

I've got video of several film Q&A's plus the fights debates I need to go through and post as well.  But I'll leave you for now with the slideshow below.  You can click through to checkout on the underlying Picasa album if that's easier.

Manhattan Short Film Festival

Many of you out there know I have a fondness for short films. Partly because I think the creativity loves constraints. The best shorts enthusiastically demonstrate that truism.  There's also the law of large numbers aspect to the equation, when you sample more film the odds of you really liking something goes up. Or at least that's been my experience.  These rationales plus my borderline addiction to film in general seemed like great reasons to sample the ware of the Manhattan Short Film Festival. And I was not disappointed. This two hour set consisting of ten films is a true international festival.  In the sense that over one week 10 finalists, whittled down from 598 entries play in over 200 cities across the globe. Audience members in all locations vote for a single winner.  Though having seen the whole program I'd have to say the true winners are gonna be the attendees.  Cheesy perhaps, but oh so true. Best I can tell your last chance to catch these films in the Seattle area is on October 1st - so plan your weekend accordingly.

Each film has a brief intro from the filmmaker and the event is curated onscreen by the founder of the festival - whose open shirted style of dress I'd be tempted to poke fun at if he hadn't created such a fantastic event.  A full list of the ten films, trailers, and filmmaker interviews are available online.  I won't feel too bad if you bounce over there to check things out. Though personally, I think the best readers will just take my word for it and pickup some tickets at the first opportunity. 

The whole shebang will be at the Kirkland Performance Center on Saturday October 1st (screenings at 5pm and 8pm).  Heck, you can make a whole day of it in Kirkland as the performance center is directly adjacent to the Northwest Bookfest event - which looks like it's worth a trip in itself.  Both are a few short steps away from the Kirkland Transit Center means even certain died in the wool, hardcore bus luvin' Seattleites (yes, that means you Imaginary Amy) can make it there with relative ease.

The range of the shorts are very broad. So while all may not appeal to every taste, most will find something to admire in the great majority of them. If I were eligible to vote I'd have a hard time choosing a favorite. There are at least three that would make the price of admission worth it.  Those include;

The Legend of Beaver Dam (Canada) - a must see for fans of genre horror musical numbers. If scary, funny and great music sounds good this one's for you.  On a camping trip one of the worst counselors of all time begins an evening musical retelling of the legend of "stumpy Sam" a one armed crazed killer who lurks in the woods. Things get intense, and musical in unexpected ways.  I've seen this short four times now and it gets better on each viewing.



A Doctors Job (Peru) - wherein a dedicated doctor drives a cab to make money to care for an ailing mother. Faced with some unexpected clients he has to think fast and make some uncomfortable choices. It's not a long piece - but one that kept my eyes glued to the screen all the way through.



dik (Australia) - A comedy tragedy that starts off with a crayon drawing and spirals wildly out of control.  This might be a good time to mention that the Manhattan Short Film Festival is, like the Times Square of my childhood - not intended for small kids.



I also really dug I Love Luci (Scotland) which is the sweetest unrequited love story about drug addicts and inappropriate things passing through a dog you're likely to see. Not to mention the more serious fare such as Martyr Friday from Egypt which in a direct and minimalistic documentary fashion gives you a view inside the overthrow of the Mubarak government that you certainly didn't see on CNN.  Like I said, something for everyone...

As mentioned before you can read (and sample) more about the films on the Manhattan Short Film Festival website. But for $12 and the chance to wander the streets of charming Kirkland on a Saturday evening I'd suggest just marking your calendar and having a go at it without further research.

Moneyball

May as well get this out of the way upfront. I'm a big fan of the books of Michael Lewis from Liar's Poker to The Big Short. In part because he's able to induce fascination in topics I generally couldn't care less about. Moneyball, his book ostensibly about baseball was one I couldn't put down.  Which is really saying something as I'm probably one of the only people who (on the rare occasions I've been dragged there) has brought a book.  You know - so I would have something interesting to do during the game. It's in part due to the talents of Mr. Lewis that I so much liked Moneyball - but it probably didn't hurt that it's only tangentially (in my view) about baseball and more about what can happen when quantitative thinking runs smack into truthiness. Even if you're not as personally obsessed with nerdy about that sort of thing as I, who doesn't like to watch the little guy get the edge on the big fat cats?  And that's one of the several aspects of the non-fiction book by Lewis that transfers effectively to the big screen.  Oh, and director Bennet Miller actually makes a visually rich piece out of what could easily have been a strictly dialog based endeavor.  So yeah - I think this is one worth seeing.

The rest of my thoughts about the film are over at Three Imaginary Girls. But I promise, I don't change my mind by the end of the fuller review...

Fantastic Fest - It Begins

I arrived in Austin late Thursday afternoon to begin the few day run of craziness that is Fantastic Fest.  So far I've had a great time meeting up with old friends, making some new ones, and taking chances on a couple of movies outside my normal boundaries. But not sooooo outside my normal boundaries that I attended the opening night film about unnecessary surgery - Human Centipede 2: Full Sequence. 

I'm dashing off some quick notes before heading out for the day, so more complete reviews will follow.  So far I caught The Squad - which given all the positive hype I'd heard surprised me as being a bit boring.  It was visually well done in a bunch of spots, but I didn't really greatly care about the goings on - and the level of suspense/shot was rather mild imho. In a lot of those ways reminded me of a M. Night Shyamalan affair.  And I don't mean the better ones.  I did really enjoy the short film Cost of Living that played before The Squad.  That made the session worthwhile for me.  If you can catch Cost of Living I do recommend it.

In between I went briefly to the opening night party - which was a themed Human Centipede event. Meaning that the buffet line's pork tacos were produced from the innards of three pigs arranged snout to behind.  And the least appetizing chocolate cookies I've ever seen.  Also - the only party I've been to where the free drink coupon boasted of providing the bearer with a "Laxatini."  While I didn't hang out there all night I did have the great fortune to meet the guys with the short film Exit which sounded quite interesting and is playing Saturday and Monday at the festival. That was a lot of fun as we spanned a oddly broad range of topics from film, to Brooklyn, Heeb Magazine, The Chocolate Room and of course Fantastic Fest. Below are a couple of pics from the party - you'll want to click in for all the high-resolution goodness.

Last up I hit the late screening of Penumbra which is a creepy suspense film (some might say horror) about a woman who just cannot seem to get a bunch of real-estate agents out of her house. While it's possible we've all been there at some point. It's only later that she begins to realize it might be because they want to conduct an ancient and bloody sacrifice.  Combining a great and very chatty performance from the lead actress with one of the most effective presentations of why we should treat the homeless with respect it's an interesting watch.  I wouldn't say its likely to be my favorite of the week - but I think the lack of sleep was worth it. The director and part of the rest of the team in the film were at the screening. I'll later have some Q&A video - but for now I'll just include a quick snapshot of them.

OK - that's it for now - more as things unfold (and I get a chance to write).

VIFF 2011 - Preview

There are a ton of great film festivals out there. One of the ones I really try to make an effort to get to each year is the Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF).  First off because Vancouver is just about a 2.5 hour drive from home if you time the border crossing well.  Second, because it's always a great selection of truly international films - with a particularly good focus on works coming out of Asia.  If you're in the Seattle area it makes a great long weekend to hold you over until SIFF rolls around again.  Not sure how much of an opportunity I'll have to make the trip to Vancouver this year - but I'm already poking through the online schedule with a envy for our neighbors to the north.

Most of the time I've seen a decent number of films that screen at VIFF before the festival starts.  This year there's definitely some overlap with what I've seen - but less than in the past.  I count six films I've seen.  The good news is that none of them would really be a mistake to have on your to do list.  I've included some short notes on each below.

I'm hoping some of the films playing at Fantastic Fest will also be in Vancouver - so if I encounter any additional overlap before VIFF starts I will definitely let everyone know.  In the meantime would love readers to post some suggestions of things they're looking forward to in the comments.  Once I've had more time to review the online film descriptions I'll post some of my thoughts of what I'm personally looking forward to.  Though truth be told I'm not the greatest chooser - I tend to win by the law of large numbers vs the ability to pinpoint only the most enjoyable films.

Por El Camino (Brazil) - Was one of my top picks of SIFF 2011.  An uber-watchable road movie that meanders through absolutely breathtaking parts of Uruguay.  The most dangerous thing about the film is that you're going to want to book a ticket as soon as the credits role.  Like many road movies it also involves a guy and a girl.  Santiago is a former investment banker who is in the process of making changes in his life and en route to check out some property left to him after his parent's death.  Juliette is on her way to pickup a romance that started in Costa Rica.  In addition to presenting one of the least douchey investment bankers in the history of cinema the film takes us along on a relaxed and romantic trip.  The chemistry between the pair is great, the other characters are interesting, and there's always something interesting to watch.  Even the music doesn't suck.  It's a very enjoyable way to spend 84 minutes is what I think I'm trying to say.

The Sandman (Switzerland) - Bright, beautiful, romantic, and incredible bizarre The Sandman is a must see film. It would easily be one of my top films of SIFF 2011, except for the fact that it's playing at STIFF instead.  Main character Benno is an ultra-uptight neat freak who works in a stamp shop. When he's not ripping off the gullible he obsesses about his weight each morning, provides brutally critical feedback to friends about their life's work and gives untold grief to a young woman who works in the coffee shop below his apartment.  All in all a real mensch - or perhaps not. Then out of nowhere he develops and unusual affliction. He begins to leak sand. And nor just regular sand but magical instantaneous sleep inducing sand. Which similar to normal sand tastes horrible in pasta.

This explosion of essentially dirt doesn't really fit in with his other lifestyle choices. Especially when it causes his hot girlfriend to think he's bedding the coffee shop girl (it makes perfect sense in context). Even his earnest protest that it can't be true that he's hooking up with the presumably frumpier woman because "looks are important to me" fails to mollify her. Oh, almost forgot. In the meantime he's also beginning to share a recurring dream with the waitress he professes to hate.  This is a strange film - in a very colorful visual way that reminds me of a Michel Gondry creation, though more fun for me than his recent work.   If you're not sold by now there's nothing I'm going to be able to help you with...

Amador (Spain) - Marcela is an immigrant to Spain who lives with her boyfriend making a living running a not entirely by the numbers flower business.  When their key asset (a refrigerator) dies suddenly their only choice is to buy a new one for credit.  Which normally wouldn't really be Marcela's problem as the film opens with her leaving a Dear John letter for the boyfriend on her way out the door.  Except for the he ill timed realization that she's pregnant which her back home in time for supper, and forced to deal with how they'll pay for the refrigerator at month's end.  Her clear ambivalence about the pregnancy at first takes a backseat to the practical financial matter at hand.  Their solution is a short term gig for Marcela taking care of the bedridden Armador.  The position promises a payout at the end of the gig that will cover the short term emergency expense.  As you'd expect in a film like this she and Armador go from cold and frosty to kindness in the course of their first week together.  What you might not expect is Armador's sudden death soon after (in my defense it's called out clearly in the film description).  How Marcela chooses to deal (or not deal) with the death which could cause the sudden termination of the much needed employment while she struggles with what she really wants out of life drives the rest of the picture.  Magaly Solier as Marcela is extremely engaging in the quiet but central role.  She and Celso Bugallo (Amador) have a positive, believable chemistry that makes it work - even after Bugallo ceases to be onscreen.  It's worth saying for the record that this is an internal voice drama more than a Spanish Weekend at Bernie's.  There are definitely moments of humor, but it's not there primarily for the laughs.  A nice film well worth seeing.

Circumstance (Iran) - This is the sort of of Iranian film that you'll spend the entire time wondering what horrible thing happened to the people who dared to shoot in Tehran.  At least when you're not having trouble concentrating due to the beautiful women. But don't worry - it wasn't shot there (Lebanon I believe) and to the best of my knowledge everyone seemed fine when they were in Seattle with the film.  I liked the film, but was a bit overwhelmed by some of the melodrama brought by the evil brother.  It's a tale of two best friends who are in love in a physical way.  They dream about getting out of the country to an environment where their love can be open - or at least not the sort of thing that will land them behind bars.  When the wealthier friend's brother returns from rehab things take a turn for the worse.  From addict to religious fundamentalist isn't necessarily an improvement.  It has absolutely wonderful moments throughout - it's just the level of manipulation, surveillance and treachery delivered by the brother's character was just a bit much for me.  Possibly realistic, but the feeling of being bludgeoned a bit at the end hurt the experience a bit for me.  Don't go expecting a happy ending is what I'm trying to say.

Restoration (Israel) - comes to VIFF via a bunch of awards in Israel and a best screenplay award from Sundance.  It's chock full of family drama, serious acting, loving shots of restored furniture, and the dark yet rich look that's all over Israeli films these days.  If you tend to like films of that description it's worth a watch.  There's something about the story that left me less than completely sold - but I'm having a hard time putting my finger on it. But it definitely is nice looking cinematically.  Worth a watch - if only on the chance that you may be in the (apparently) large population that loved the film more than I did.  Though come back if you see it and tell me if you didn't just want to smack a key character due to a particularly (I guess) poignant business transaction in the final reel.


Martha Marcy May Marlene (USA) - I've seen the film and even interviewed the star and director.  But officially there's not that much I can say until the picture opens in Seattle.  Folks will definitely have different opinions about what the picture is (psychological healing after escaping a cult vs a straight up horror movie) and if they like the transition it takes the characters through.  But few should argue that star Elizabeth Olsen isn't phenomenal in it.  If nothing else it's worth seeing to be part of the conversation. Hopefully I haven't said too much.  


Oh - almost forgot - I have seen a few shorts.  Each of which is absolutely great.  The ones I've noticed include Brick Novax's Diary, diK, and A Doctor's Job.  See 'em all if you can.

Best of luck diving deep into the VIFF choices this year.  It really looks like there's a lot of interesting stuff in the guide.  To be safe might want to adopt my strategy, which is to see as many as possible.  Some of them gotta be great...

Countdown to Fantastic Fest 2011

The big genre festival and uber film-geek party Fantastic Fest is scheduled to kickoff in Austin, TX in a few days.  If all goes well I'm hoping to join in the action for my second year. The schedule looks really (*ahem*) fantastic and I'll admit to a fair amount of excitement on my part. Maybe it's my imagination but it seems as though the depth of international contributions is even more significant than last year. Hopefully I'll return with a number of recommendations for folks to add to their film watch lists.  In the meantime here's a peek at the festival catalog.

Fantastic Fest Guide 2011


and for those attending, I came across this guide of other stuff to do when not watching film that Tim League and his wife - the owners of the Alamo Drafthouse theaters published earlier this year.  I've got a printed copy in my bag for this trip. Would suggest it's a worthwhile investment for everyone attending.  And don't skip suggestions to see "the bats" just because you've got a ton of films to see. It really is amazing and not something you should skip when visiting the city.

MIFFF Shorts - 2011

For today's post ahead of the Maelstrom International Fantastic Film Festival (MIFFF) I think it's time to talk about short film.  The festival consists of a good number of short films in addition to feature length fare discussed previously.  I've had the chance to preview a decent number of them. There's a lot of creative stuff going on in the shorts world and  the festival's programmers have picked some interesting stuff.  Not everyone made me fall in love, but each brought something of high quality to the party - be it visuals, insanely over the top fluorescent green gore, or whatever.  I've captured some thoughts on a few below. The entire list of MIFFF films can be viewed on the SIFF website.  I'm sure there's a bunch of cool ones I haven't gotten a chance to review yet - the below is based on a random selection the organizer's shared.  So I'll be looking forward to seeing a bunch more this weekend along with everyone else.


The price of the entire MIFFF weekend is quite reasonable at just $40.  So whether you're buying a ticket or a pass - I'd suggest checking out a conveniently times set of short films along with one of the feature films. 


That said, here's a rundown on shorts I've seen ahead of the festival.  Don't forget that all the fun starts at SIFF Cinema Friday night and continues through Sunday evening!

Arthur - kid named Arthur left along dresses up in tin foil and a burger king quality hat and goes on an adventure in the upstairs of his home.  Which magically transitions into a true Camelot-esqe world with the boy now a man in chainmail armor.  All innocent fun - or is it... Once you think you get what's going on the thing screws with you head again again.  And maybe again once more.  Very effective.

Pinball - An ambitious mashup of Tommy, The Seventh Seal and Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey that I found very interesting to watch. Even if I would be hard pressed to explain any of it to you with a shred of confidence. I nevertheless feel compelled to recommend sticking around if you're in the shorts set that includes it.  But please come back if you do and explain it to me. I get there's a kid who dabbles in witchcraft, ends up dead by his own hand and then uses his love of pinball to try and snooker Death into a replay.  But I suspect there's deeper symbolism that's going over my head.

Brutal Relax - Beautifully short of amoral mayhem at the beach. Crowds are either gonna love or be insanely offended by the the non-stop kill-fest set to catchy music.  Not to mention one weapon of choice towards the middle of the melee.  It's a rather creative set of brutal endings against a peculiarly fragile set of sea monsters.  Splatter fans who enjoy extremely over the top altercations are definitely gonna dig this one. Also - best vacation snapshots since The Hangover.  Really earns it's brutal designation.  It may have gone on a bit too long but there are worst crimes.  I'll eventually get over that the monsters coming out of the water evoke an early scene in LA Zombie.  At least I hope I will.

Actually, you don't have to take my word for it - this one you can watch entirely online. Just be warned, it's not for the squeamish...

R.O.A.C.H - A vision of a dystopian future which may or may not involve lethally jacked in super hackers, full throated combat and robotic all seeing cockroaches. Basically a kitchen sink sci-fi experience.  The story maybe went over my head a bit - but there's a lot of solid visuals if you like that sort of stuff.  If someone figures out what's going on - please let me know. One of the continuing examples of how visually complex fantasy pieces are getting more and more decoupled from short filmmaker budgets through technology.  Or at least I'm guessing that's what to take away from ROACH. I suppose it's possible a fortune was spent on this - but that's generally the way these things work.
 
Lonely -The festival's description of Lonely doesn't quite do it's craziness justice.  But just to share here it is "Lonely is a young man whose mysterious friend, Bodgie Bob, makes him a deal to change his life for the better. Years later, when promises made aren't promises kept, Lonely falls for a young woman and must stand up to Bob in order to be with her and claim his life back."  I'm not going to explain what the crazy twist is - but I will say I went from mildly curious at the start of the film to a full sense of WTF by the end. Which is intended as a compliment.

Alley Dog - Probably the most memorable animated futuristic dog chasing prey through a futurescape unmarred by humans I've seen. Though very likely the only one I've seen. But it's still a fun bit of animation - and that's coming from the guy who generally will skip the sci-fi animated shorts given a choice in the matter. 

Payload - A tragic dramatic piece about a boy making increasing terrible choices to save his family.  Or more accurately part of his family.  It also involves a space elevator.  But it's not really a science fiction based piece as much about how do people deal with constrained choices in a cruel cruel world.  I'm not sure that problem is triggered by a space elevator - but why quibble.  Just saying so - because it's likely to leave a voice in the back of your head that might cause you to vote against a space elevator being built in your neck of the woods someday.  And I'm not sure that would entirely be the right way to look at it.

La Tragedia Del Hombre Hueco - The biggest disappointment of my experience watching MIFFF shorts.  To be clear this is NOT because I didn't like it.  It looked pretty awesome.  The problem was it reminded me of one of my earliest educational mistakes - that of not putting proper effort into Spanish class in Junior and Senior High School.  That's because the screener I had access to was without subtitles, something I'm sure won't be the case during the festival.  So I wasn't at all able to really appreciate the story/dialog of the film.  It looked really interesting - though for now we'll have to take the festival's word that the short's story is as follows - "Gonzalo is a man with a clear and intense look, his wide chin and his dimples present us a kind and pacific man, with a great heart... Here is the contradiction, Gonzalo has no heart."

Absentia

A husband has gone missing. Years ago. Recovering addict and newly Christian sister (Katie Parker) comes to visit just in time to declare husband "dead in absentia." Oh, and the older sister (Courtney Bell) is pregnant by an initially undisclosed man. So all is just slightly weird. Until the mom to be starts having crazily creepy lucid dreams with the zombie like body of her dead husband scaring the crap out of her. Meanwhile we can't help but notice the dread inspiring tunnel under an overpass nearby the house.

At first with the help of a shrink she begins to convince herself it's all a natural hallucination brought on by the stress of declaring him dead. But as if to prove the Scientologists right that theory brought about through rationalizing psychiatry proves very, very wrong.  Or does it?  The film toys with the audience for a fairly extended time giving you either (a) an explanation brought about courtesy of an un-named ancient evil living in a dimension adjacent to the tunnel or (b) something just rationally fucked-up.  I won't go much deeper into the story as I wouldn't want to ruin the slow burn lead-up to the final craziness for folks who want to see it.

I'll admit this sort of scary, creepy outing isn't generally my cup of tea.  So I may not be the ideal reviewer.  For me I'd put this in the interesting but not unbelievably awesome category.  I definitely was scared, though the fear is mixed with a good number of moments of talky boredom.  For the most part the filmmakers have done a very effective job of doing more with less.  Almost everything is done with suggestion vs. in your face monster CGI.  Just a little bit of effect is used to go a long way.  Though there was definitely a point where I could have gone for some more variety in dread inspiring music.  Many of the outdoor scenes are quite nice looking, though some of the indoor shots involving people just chatting have a harsh digital camera feel.  Indoor action scenes have a strong energy that does tweak quite a few strong emotions, enhancing engagement with the film.

To summarize: Lots of creepy. Lots of ick. An ending that points to how we rationalize the strange hiding ourselves from the evil that lurks just out of sight. Which doesn't make for entirely the most satisfying conclusion. But does somewhat follow the HP Lovecraft model of story construction.  OK - well maybe not exactly.  But it's also not not Lovecraftian either...

I didn't feel a strong connection to the film, even as I respected a good amount of what it did.  But, if you're a horror fan this isn't a section of the Maelstrom International Film Festival (MIFFF) I'd suggest you skip.  Everyone else - I think it's less mandatory. But not something I would go out of my way to avoid either.  If nothing else you'll learn the amazing extent of research one can do on ancient unnamed evil on Wikipedia.

Absentia screens at SIFF Cinema as part of MIFF on Sunday September 18th at 6pm.

Boy Wonder

The origin story of the "hero" of Boy Wonder will be familiar to anyone who with even passing familiarity with super-hero lore. No, no. Not the one with a radioactive spider. The one where a parent is brutally murdered in front of a child's eyes. Leading to a burning desire for revenge and a yen to protect the innocent. Superpowers be damned...

Sean Donovan (Caleb Steinmeyer) is a quiet, straight A student with the sad history of having mom killed during a carjacking. He lives with dad, a recovering alcoholic who wasn't a positive influence before mom's death.  Sean still visits the police station to look through mug-shots. At least when he's not hunting criminals on the streets of New York - on the down-low obviously. His skills?  Training in martial arts, a few collapsible batons weapons and a steroids habit to take things to eleven. One thing should be made clear - this isn't Batman.  Meaning there's a strong sense of jeopardy every time Sean mixes it up on the street. Which often starts with him taking on Rocky's strategy of getting the crap beat out of him before he gets the upper hand.  But got to admit there's a visceral kick the first few times he puts a scumbag down.

This isn't a fairy-tale for kids.  Even by modern real life super-hero stories the film feels black from the beginning.  Without the played for comedy bits of Super or Kick-Ass.  After a while writer/director Michael Morrissey really drops the hammer to deeper into true darkness. Which I don't mean in a negative way.

Into the story comes Teresa Ames (Zulay Henao) a cop who's been propelled forward in her career by bringing a professional criminal Larry Childs (James Russo) to trial. Childs confirms himself a nasty bugger in his opening scene where he none too subtly threatens her son. Ames becomes intrigued with Sean's case and begins to see connections where he clearly would prefer she didn't. Not long after Sean's world begins to spiral dangerously out of control as the stress of the hunt, steroids, and the police search press in. He has a master plan - but will we decipher it? and will it be successful? Should it be successful? All questions I leave for readers to discover on their own.

There are some weak points - most notably for me some of the police dialog and tired tropes. But overall the performance by Caleb Steinmeyer and some of the twists and turns made the experience satisfying. As I mentioned it's a dark tale that may leave you frustrated. But at least in my case not at all bored.

So with that taste I urge you, true believer to head over to the Maelstrom International Fantastic Film Festival (MIFFF) and check out the one screening of Boy Wonder Seattle gets to experience (Saturday, September 17th @ 8:30pm). I think it'll be worth the effort.

'nuff said

The Selling

This week starts my coverage of the Maelstrom International Film Festival.  I've seen three of the features and a whole mess of the shorts that will screen.  Each day I'll try to cover a different picture.  I'm starting with the closing night film and one of my favorites The Selling.  It's a suspenseful yet amusing tale sure to to make whatever our real estate travails have been seem modest in comparison.

When Richard Scarry (Gabriel Diani) the unusually ethical real estate broker finds himself needing to unload a haunted house his skills and morals get pushed to their limits. Both by the financial need to unload the house ASAP to help pay mom's medical bills and his less constrained partner Dave (Jonathan Klein).  This house isn't just a little bit maybe haunted. It's a full on "get out" whispering, blood oozing from the walls, furniture throwing poltergeist infestation of the not quite departed. Not to mention the closet that periodically becomes a portal to the other side.Damn, I hate when that happens....

Scarry and Dave are tricked into buying the house as a flip from fellow agent Mary Best (Janet Varney).  Best is the lesser villain of the piece - though I suspect it's the sort of situation where you'd feel differently if she was your agent.  It doesn't take long for the pair to notice the problems.  They knew it was owned long ago when they purchased it that it was long ago owned by an alleged serial killer.  What wasn't expected is that his victims might still be lurking about.  Nor that an ancient unnamed evil force might be waiting for an opportunity to do less than nice things to the new owners.  The pair are helped along in their adventure by ghost blogger and waitress Ginger Sparks (Etta Devine) who forms the virtual Velma of their Scooby-Doo gang.

A particularly engaging turn by the star and good performances by the supporting cast sell the ridiculousness.  The relationship are mostly natural feeling and it's easy to like the characters.  The Selling isn't super scary and short (OK absent any) gore.  But it still got a start out of me here and there. It's also a nice turn that the cast actually looks like people you'd meet in real life. Even if the storyline is decidedly paranormal in nature.  First time director Emily Lou brings together a great visual look on what I expect was a small budget.  Producing a smart, funny turn on the (likely) new genre of real estate horror story.

The Selling screens at SIFF Cinema on September 18th at 8:30 pm.  Tickets are available at the SIFF Cinema Website.  My understanding is that the director Emily Lou will be in attendance.

MIFFF - The winners and my plan for the week...

This week I'm going to be kicking off a bunch of coverage ahead of this coming weekend's Maelstrom International Fantastic Film Festival which takes over SIFF Cinema from Friday through Sunday.  At $40 for a full series pass it's a lot of film for your money.  I've had the chance to screen three of the feature films and a good number of shorts.  While nothing is perfect I think it's clear that Seattle area genre fans should all find something they'll really enjoy over the course of the weekend.

Please come back each day through Thursday for a different MIFFF themed post.  Hope to see everyone there opening night.  I'm pretty excited about the opening night film.  I'm a sucker for a vampire romp - and Friday night's feature Midnight Sun didn't make it into the stack of screeners the organizers were kind enough to share for review.  I especially don't want to miss it as given Summit Entertainment's propensity for suing everyone in sight. Given that's the same name allegedly given to Stephenie Meyer's unfinished retelling of Twilight from Edward's point of view (no....seriously... please stop laughing .... I'm not making this up - and it's not as bad as it sounds) I figure it's only a matter of time before someone tries to shut 'em down..

Oh - almost forgot.  I'm pleased to announce that the two winners in the free MIFFF pass giveaway have been randomly drawn.  I'd like to thank everyone who participated.  Hopefully there will be more stuff to win in the future. Winners have been notified and were selected by assigning each qualifying entry an index numbers and selecting a random number for each set via random.org. 

Bumbershoot 2011 - Tasveer Presents

The Tasveer Presents section of shorts I watched at Bumbershoot was made up of four short films from South Asia.  Two were interesting but not something I generally seek out.  Thankfully I suppressed my desire to bail at that point and stayed for the rest of the program as the final two were really good.  Based on those I'll be trying to make some time for the curator's festival the 7th Seattle South Asian Film Festival (SSAFF 2011) which is coming up in early October.

The four films were;

Chaukaith- Threshold - A village house-wife who's cloistered by her husband's expectations meets a modern working woman who is conducting the local census.  This peek into Nepalese Society (or perhaps intended to show the clash of cultures) is interesting, though felt considerably longer than it needed to be. It probably would work well for some - but it didn't engage me particularly deeply.

Theke Pe Kya Karte Ho? - What Business Here? - Is a roughly shot set of interviews with three adorable yet sadly forsaken children who open beer bottles for money at the local Indian liquor store.  It mixes three very photogenic kids with what seems like a horrible, horrible reality.  Valuable educationally, it's a well done piece for consciousness raising and understanding some of the challenges really facing some parts of the world.

Little Miss Eyeflap - Neither of the first two shorts in the series were cinematically something impressive, being more documentary forms (even though the first wasn't truly). On the other hand Little Miss Eyeflap brought so much visual power to the table it more than made up for the earlier two shorts.  To quote from the festival description the film is "the fantastical, magical story of a Norwegian/Pakistani girl who escapes the forced marriage her family has planned for her."  Combining beautiful animation and live action into a fantastical view that's at least in part inspired by Little Red Riding hood it's a bit of a treat.  Though in this story grandma is far from innocent.  And the wolf ... you'll recognize him immediately though he's not really a literal one.  Great news here is that you can watch the film online at this link.  Don't let the scary non-English destination fool you - the film is subtitled in English so go ahead and enjoy.

Manoj - truth be told the "mockumentary" that will truly make me laugh is a rare breed.  It's one of those things that even people who do it well don't necessarily do it well consistently.  But Manoj from comedian Hari Kondabolu just nails 14 minutes of not really real reality.  I laughed pretty hard.  The good news is that Manoj can be watched just below.

You're welcome...

MIFFF Pass Giveaway

The Maelstrom International Fantastic Film Festival is almost upon us - scheduled to begin on September 16th.  I've been starting to watch some of the films scheduled there and have been pretty impressed so far.  I'll have reviews of features and shorts coming up the week before the festival.

With around ten days to go I've got a chance for two lucky readers to checkout the full schedule for free.  Due to the generosity of the festival organizers I've got two passes to give away.  One winner will come from the website and another via twitter.  Feel free to enter in both ways to increase your chances - but you can only win one pass in the end.

The festival takes place in Seattle.  I'm happy if someone from out of town wins but it will obviously be your responsibility to get to the event regardless as to where you live.

Two ways to enter... one entry per person will be included in each drawing.

• via twitter: Tweet or retweet the phrase (the part in italics) "RT for a chance to win a pass to #MIFFF via @seattlefilmblog #MIFFFContestEntry http://j.mp/mP3Soq" - if you enter via twitter be sure to follow @seattlefilmblog so you can be contacted via DM. 

• via this site: Leave a comment below (with a way to contact you) expressing an interest in entering and naming the feature or short you're most looking forward to at the upcoming festival. 

Winners will be selected by random drawing amongst eligible sets of entries (one via comments below and one via twitter).  Each winner will receive one pass to MIFFF 2011.  Winners will be selected and notified on the morning of September 12th.  Winners are responsible for either picking up the pass in downtown Seattle or I'll be happy to send via mail that day.  It's a $40 pass - not a $400 one - so please no unnecessary drama. It's your choice to accept the pass if you win, I make no promises about your enjoyment, safety, or ongoing mental health if you choose to attend MIFFF 20111.  Though odds are you'll be fine.  Accepting the pass acknowledges that any problems that result from the contest are the recipient's responsibility and not mine.  :-)  I reserve the right to cancel the contest due to any unanticipated technical or other issues that may arise.

Bumbershoot 2011 - Cupid Attack!

Prior to the start of the 1 Reel Film Festival at Bumbershoot this year I wrote about quite a few of the shorts that would be screening.  Due to the way the films were distributed that meant I'd seen roughly half of most of the short film sets playing throughout this weekend.  On Sunday I chose two of the sessions to attend in person and see some additional films.  In this post I'll summarize my experience with Cupid Attack.  Not surprisingly from the title all the films have a focus on love related experiences.  It was a good set with everything in it striking me at least as basically enjoyable. I'll be back later to review the Tasveer Presents segment. For now here's a rundown in brief on what was shown during the Cupid segment.

Blog Off (USA) - a cute little bit about two sides of a blind date video blogging ahead (and slightly after) their rendezvous.  Nothing earth shattering but an enjoyable way to start off the set. 

Connect (UK) - Strangers on a bus perform in unusual ways set to the mental soundtrack of a young passenger - with a brief connection of love (or flirty humanity) thrown in just for the heck of it.  I'm sort of a sucker for this type of thing. I enjoyed it on what was my second viewing, having seen it at SIFF as well.

I Want To Spend the Rest of My Life With You (Spain) - Thought initially this one was new for me.  But ever since seeing it I've been feeling maybe I did see it previously somewhere.  It's a truly short short clocking in at three minutes.  It's one of those you see someone stopped next to you at a traffic light and imagine what could be moments committed to film.  But you probably don't generally imagine the fates taking such an mocking position on your opening gambit.

Love & Other Unstable States of Matter (USA) - what to do when your crushed relationship inadvertently causes your preposterous science experience to go badly awry?  Well, one option is to adopt a positive attitude, temporarily contain the black hole you created in a mayo jar and try to figure things out.   With some references to XKCD thrown in for good measure this geeky take on how the end of a relationship could feel like (or be) the end of the world is a warmer, cuter, and more apocalyptic version of Bellflower.  It's also quite good all the way through.  And I'm not just saying that because Director David Marmor made the trip to Bumbershoot in person to present the film. Though it was very nice to have him in the audience.

Sign Language (UK) - A really enjoyable mockumentary style presentation about the sign holders of Oxford street.  On his last day on the job as a sign holder the recently promoted subject of the piece explains his love of his role and his compatriots on the street.  Including the beautiful flier distributor he cannot speak with due to her non-union status.  Shot in a bright upbeat way and with only a twinge of irony it was a a fresh fun little romantic comedy take on a niche aspect of British capitalism.  Sort of...

This one you can watch below and I highly recommend doing so.

Super. Full. (Qatar) - was a nice treat.  I'd seen it before but it played well on a repeat viewing.  It's a a tale about a gas station attendant who promises his wife a birthday dinner at the luxury hotel next door. Ending in a way that's all too personally familiar to me from such aspirational meals.

Bumbershoot 2011 - Some Random Photos

Saturday I headed down to Seattle Center to checkout Bumbershoot, Seattle's mega music and arts festival.  My main focus was to try short film - of which I caught two different sessions.  I also caught a puppet based version of a famous bad movie - in this case titled Manos: The Hands of Felt.  I plan to come back with more details on the shorts I saw, and a bit about the puppetry in the next day or so.  In the meantime wanted to share some of the pictures I snapped just walking around between events.  There are some of the bands Tennis, Davilla 666, and Kore Ionz - as well as some shots of the crowds throughout the day.  I know the band list is pretty random.  It was selected more because they happened to be playing when I walked by.  As opposed to I actively sought them out.

All the images are quite a bit larger than pictured - just click in to checkout the full view. Please do if you'd live a better view - the versions visible on the post obscure a bunch of the detail.

Tennis - doing their thing

 

 

Not a lot of doubt where Bumbershoot stood on these activities - seen ahead of entering the Exhibition Hall Stage.

In case you didn't know who you were seeing, swirling lights virtually carved their name on the wall

The first of a few shots of Davilla 666 playing

CityArts and KEXP made sure you kew who was sponsoring shows at the Fisher Green Stage

Part of Kore Ionz playing

and the considerably more shirtless part of Kore Ionz

I didn't take any pictures inside, but I've got to say the Rock Poster exhibition aka "Flatstock" was very cool

Even early on in the morning the crowds entering were really starting to build up

Folks certainly were taking advantage of Seattle Center's fountain to cool off throughout the hot day

Just taking a step back from the fountain. Taken well before the day really got busy. By midday this shot would have been awash with festival-goers...