Skatopia: 88 Acres of Anarchy

Punk's not dead. It's alive and well in rural Ohio, the unlikely home of skateboarding Mecca Skatopia. This documentary used the filmmaker's unique access and what I believe was a year of their lives to create a view into a world few of us have seen. While I'm not sure I came away having grasped higher truths about the human condition it certainly left some strong impressions. And that's not a bad thing when it comes to fly on the wall documentary film making. Fans of skating, modern counterculture and true DYI lifestyles will want to check this one out. It's not always pretty. And people may really disagree about the main subject. But whether he's a major league asshole or a living breathing model of American idealism - he's definitely different. Good or bad? I'll let you be be the judge.

If you think your hometown has got a bitchin' skate park near you I've got some Sobering news for you. Unless you live near Skatopia your local facility probably isn't as cool as you think it its. I'm not really sure about the size of the skateboarding areas within Skatopia.  But with ever growing facilities, even over the course of filming, it felt immense. And the lack of adult supervision gives the area a sense of being a hardcore skating wonderland.

One of the characters of the film is the titled '88 acres of anarchy.'  The other main one is Brewce Martin, the leader of the compound and its self appointed king. He's a 40 year old skate anarchist dictator with a self admitted anger management problem. Yes, I realize dictator and anarchy are mutually exclusive, but just roll with it for now...  It's his land the park is built on and therefore everyone lives by his rules. Early on he explains his role pretty succinctly "Everyone needs a leader. Whether its Genghis Khan or Jim Jones. I've always been the leader".  Rounding out the cast of characters are his teenage son, his long suffering (Brewce likes the ladies) significantly younger looking girlfriend, and various skaters who pass through the compound trading work time for a place to be.

The film does a good job tracing back through Brewce's childhood, some early motivations and who they led to the park as well as the day to day challenges of running things. There are scattered looks at some of the economics of the community built on their seriously non-poseur brand (such as a maybe not too successful shoe business) and some crazy parties. But it still felt as though there was some info missing. As it was hard for me to reconcile how Brewce kept things above water at all from the activities they were engaged in.  There are minor peeks at the outside world and how it sees the skate park.  As presented the chaos seems tolerated by the community. As one local business observes, "Once you cross their property line it's not our business as long as no one is getting hurt. "

While it's hard not respect the resistance to mainstreaming that the park represents not everything is peachy in paradise. Though maybe that's my bourgeois sensibilities at work. What you gotta like about Brewce is that there's no artifice at play. Without an observable filter between brain and mouth you get continual gems. Like his observation of respect for a Skatopia attendee "he comes to Skatopia for genuine reasons. To skateboard, get drunk and fuck chicks." Though that last part may be overly optimistic marketing. The male/female ratio looked rather skewed.

The picture is filled with memorable moments. From group construction of massive concrete skate facilities to wild parties. When I write wild parties I mean drinking, dancing, fireworks, guns, and destruction of cars. Not to mention a plethora of unusual bands. Including one clad mostly in not so artfully hung dildoes on overweight naked bodies hammering out lyrics such as "Everything's a dollar in the dollar store. Everything's a dollar in the dollar store. Well how come dollar stores don't sell whores?". Yes, I stopped the film to jot that down accurately. Surprisingly catchy.

Skatopia comes across as a personal injury lawyers wet dream. I'm sure it would be if Brewce wasn't effectively judgment proof due to his constant financial problems. My point is that it's a miracle no one died on site over the course of filming. Sorry for the spoiler there.

The film works best if viewed as an homage to the backstory of extreme skate videos. And less well if you're expecting a deeper message pushed in your face. The style is observational combined with lots of footage of extremely stupid extreme skate mayhem. What also helps is that the film doesn't judge. Though it's got to have sometimes been really tempting to do so.

I haven't had a chance to watch the DVD's included commentary track all the way through - though that seems especially interesting.  I did catch though that filmmakers explaining how they lived near Skatopia for a year or so to make the film. That level of immersion shows as they follow Brewce and his disciples hangers-on through the good times, the winter, a brief stint in jail and the location's blow-out signature weekend bash. Not for everyone. But if any of the above sounds interesting it's worth checking out. I myself plan to go back and listen through the commentary track in its entirety. So I guess that's a recommendation of sorts regardless of whatever else I may have written.

Skatopia is available for purchase at Amazon.com yet sadly not yet on Netflix. I hope that's just an oversight and not another warning sign about Netflix's commitment to supporting long tail projects. 

Martha Marcy May Marlene

If you ask Sean Durkin the writer/director of Martha Marcy May Marlene (hereafter MMMM) about the film he's likely to describe it as documenting the psychological recovery of a recently escaped member of a cult. Given it's his film I shouldn't be one to argue. But my perspective is a bit different, viewing it as a suspense-thriller/horror film masquerading as a psychological drama. The fact that both views are equally legitimate is part of the genius of the film. Combined with the strong performance by Elizabeth Olsen in the lead role of Martha those reasons go a long way towards explaining the accolades MMMM has been earning since Sundance this January. While my partial detachment from the goings on keep me from giving it my highest ratings it's certainly worth checking out.  It's a really solid tale of seduction by a cult and hoping with the aftereffects immediately upon leaving them.  Whether that's something I really needed to see is something I'm less sure about.  My fuller thoughts are available over at Three Imaginary Girls if you're interested.

In an interesting side note it's starting to feel like Fox Searchlight is becoming the go-to distributor for interesting cult themed films in 2011. In addition to MMMM they've also snapped up the "other" cult picture from Sundance, Sound of My Voice.  While I don't have a review up on that yet (it's patiently awaiting the release) do make a mental note to catch that when it comes out.  It's sort of fantastic. 

Manborg

Often a film designed from the ground up to have cult appeal is a total waste time, Self indulgent hot messes that sounded better when the creators envisioning them were riffing on the idea between bong hits. Or so I'd imagine. Manborg could have easily been "that" film. Honestly the first few minutes made me fear the worst. But after settling in a bit this picture, which makes Troma productions look like they were done by ILM finds its ridiculously twisted stride and delivers. In a way anyone who has seen a straight to VHS sci-fi release will recognize.  Or anyone who watched some of the more serious dreck the SyFy channel has put on in the past for that matter.

Only 60 minutes long it's an homage to so many things it's hard to keep track of them all. Dracula, cyborgs, jackbooted demons, light skate boards, hover crafts and sketchy special effects galore. A Frankenstein production of many, many bits of such nostalgia while consistently out cheesing them all.

Given all the the risks inherent in the above it's surprisingly entertaining. Not to mention one of the more quotable films I've seen since The FP.

The film opens with two brothers serving as GI's in a war against (literally) the forces of hell. Led by a very butch Dracula. When the older brother dies the other attempts to take his revenge. Only to get a serious beat down. Fast forward to the bleak dystopian future hundreds of years later as our protagonist awakens. Without his memory and with considerably more cyborg technology attached than he started with. He meets up with another human - a bare chested Asian kung -fu character straight from central casting. Together they and a few other outcasts take on a bunch of demons led by a human hybrid who takes her fashion cues from Ilsa. Soon captured they're locked up with other humans who fight gladiator bouts in an old school Tron like arena for the entertainment of the horned masses.

Into the mix throw a demon jail keeper ("The Baron") with a crush on Mina, the female member of the band ("I called her prisoner number 7. But to me she was always prisoner number 1. "), healthy distrust between everyone and more action film stereotypes than you can shake a nun-chuck at. On the way towards trust building, escape and vengeance there's a ton of entertainingly questionable special effects and snappy dialog. We're reminded of truisms such as "It's never too late to be a hero" and "It's not about the killing. It's about family. We're a family now."  So it's a constructive film as well.  ;-)

You can get a sense of the visual feel from the trailer below. In all honesty I really did not expect to like this film when I sat down with the screener after Fantastic Fest. I'd passed on seeing it during core festival screenings because it just didn't seem like a good bet. That turns out to have been a mistake. Because Manborg's level of destined to be an underground cult classic fun would be seriously enhanced with an audience. Or possible a bong. Maybe both. Or so I'd imagine...

Footloose (2011)

My apologies in advance. This entire post assumes you're familiar with the storyline of the 1984 film Footloose. If you don't then I'm sorry, I'm not sure we can be friends anymore...

In short - this generation's Footloose was considerably better than I expected. I kind of expected to hate it. But it turns out to be fairly respectful re-imagining of the original. And when I say re-imagining I mean almost exactly the same except for the addition of iPods.

As a whole the 2011 film tracked the 1984 one very closely, including most of the key songs and scenes. Though occasionally in updated ways. For example they've reducing the vaguely positive messages around drinking and driving that appear in the original. And slipped in some reinterpreted covers of some of the classic tunes. Thankfully the title song was kept intact and used to open and close the picture. Each of the actors has in some way modeled their character the original performances as touchstones. With Kenny Wormald's performance as main character Ren particularly consistent with Bacon's.  In that the performance is enjoyable but retains the occasionally awkwardly unbelievable city kid in the south who loves to dance feeling.  Though to be blunt Wormald is likely in reality a more skilled dancer.

I'm not joking about it being largely the same film, hitting all the familiar beats. There are clear additional examples of improvements - the two most obvious include more varied dance styles and the filmmakers finding the South's citizens of non Caucasian backgrounds that had been lost in the 1984 version. As part of the tweak's the backstory has been modified - with dancing being banned as part of a teen curfew fixed after the tragic death of teens heading home late at night. The driver being the son of the local preacher. So yeah, it's possible the basis for the no dancing ban may actually make even LESS sense in the updated version. The dancing has been made just a bit dirtier and those who are supposed to be flaunting themselves to get back at daddy do so more aggressively. The overall acting (or perhaps the dialog) hasn't made any big advances in the past twenty years either. But the pivotal "dance your ass off" shirt hasn't been lost to history.

All in all watching the new Footloose was pretty fun. In a way reminiscent yet attenuated from the original. For viewers catching the remake first it's possible this one will work better - I'm quite aware how much my early teen nostalgia plays into my perceptions on this one.  I was pretty aghast that someone has the audacity to violate my childhood by redoing this guilty pleasure. But I'll admit when I'm wrong - this is somewhat unnecessary but solid entertainment. Perhaps without my bias it would have been truly a lot of fun. The only downside I can see is that watching the new Footloose can make one feel both young at heart yet really freaking old.

In terms of unnecessary remakes that just sound ridiculous and feel like an affront to my teens appears we're not done. They've still got Red Dawn planned. Even if I was wrong about Footloose I'm sure that one they'll seriously fuck up. In the spirit of generational cooperation if we can all agree to stay the heck away from Say Anything maybe I'll let that one slide. OK?

SIFF Uptown Opening Night

This past Thursday I attended the opening night / ribbon cutting ceremony at the new SIFF Cinema at the Uptown.  The place has a new coat of paint, a less pink marque and a snazzed up lobby. The main theater is pretty much the same, albeit cleaner after a steam cleaning of all the seats.  The standard cast of SIFF folks were in attendance along with Seattle's mayor, local business association leaders as well as the head of Seattle center.  After some blessedly short speeches a ribbon film strip cutting the picture for the evening got under way.  The Artist was the selection of the day.  While I didn't absolutely love the picture it's a spot on choice for re-opening a theater that dates back to the 1920's.  I'll write more about The Artist at some point, but for now I'll leave you with some photos from the evening.

SIFF Film Center Reception

Friday night I was lucky enough to have an invitation to an open house at the new SIFF Film Center.  I hadn't been in the space since they started construction and have been really curious how things turned out. With the promise of office space for the organization, and small 100 seat theater and classrooms SIFF targeted fitting a lot of utility into the space. With the work going on for so long it was really exciting to finally get inside.  I took a few photos of the new exterior, the jewelbox theater and some of the festivities. It was also fun to catchup with many familiar faces, both staff members and fellow festival attendees. The freshly made pizza courtesy of Via Tribunali didn't hurt either.

Overall things at the SIFF Film Center looked pretty good.  I'm looking forward to watching a film in the new screening space at the first available opportunity.  Those familiar with the Northwest Film Forum will recognize the similar wooden steps.  The size of the screen though feels quite a bit larger than that space.
With open houses this weekend (check the SIFF site for details) and public screenings there starting next week there are plenty of opportunities to get inside yourselves.  The new SIFF Cinema at the Uptown will be having opening week screenings of older films through Thursday the 27th.

Once again congrats to SIFF for getting this off the ground and running!

BTW - somewhat higher resolution versions of the photos below are available on Picasa.

Love Crime (France)

I really don't know anything about the modern French workplace. But from watching Love Crime it's easy to believe their executive suites exist in a reality derived from 1980's Hollywood films. Meaning their offices are awash with credit stealing superiors who use fear and insecurity as management tools, sexually predatory female bosses, and employees who snort lines of cocaine off mirrors in their spare time. Into this world steps Isabelle (Ludivine Sagnier) a brilliant beautiful blond obsessive who is willing to make her boss Christine (Kristin Scott Thomas) look good no matter what. Just as long as she gets some love in return. It's been an issue since childhood for her. Even if we hadn't gotten the basis for Christine's ongoing manipulation ourselves the film helpfully has Isabelle blurt it out in an early scene as she's thrillingly sharing lipstick offered by Christine.  If it has one, that's the problem with the film. There's a mix of completely unsubtle emotional manipulation that feels less than fresh. At the same time the film is a mostly competent psychological revenge flick that certainly does have its moments. And both Kristine Scott Thomas and Ludivine Sagnier are more than a little compelling to watch onscreen.

The first half which sets up Isabelle's problems is, while not entirely new, arguably more interesting than the second half of the film. Once things move past the midway point there are noirish twists and turns galore as Isabelle has decided she's had enough of things. The conclusion may leave some viewers feeling it's all a bit too tidy how her plan falls into place perfectly. Though for me sometimes it's just nice when a film keeps things on the side of obvious that lets me feel superior for figuring out part of the plot. That may have left me in a more forgiving mood and from speculating why exactly she thought the plan was so sure to work. Which given even a small miscalculation it would not have.

As it turns out Hollywood has already targeted the film for a remake. Presumably they'll remove the part about the American parent company being alternatively clueless and overly impressed with their Paris division.  My suggestion is catch it now (or in subsequent video release). Revel in the over the top themes and acting, treating it like the trashy guilty pleasure that it is. Those always sound better in French anyway. At least as far as I'm concerned.

Habana Eva (Cuba)

Sexy, subversive, often purposefully ridiculous and very entertaining Habana Eva is the sort of film I always hope for when I walk into a festival screening cold.  In short I'm very, very happy I found some time to check out the film at this year's Seattle Latino Film Festival.  In hindsight I wish I'd gotten a chance to see more of their offerings.  But I'll definitely be back for more in 2012.

Eva (Prakriti Maduro) is a seamstress who should be a designer.  But deviation from the mold in her union shop is not encouraged - even when the forewoman begrudgingly acknowledges Eva's changes are significant improvements to the design.  At work she spends her days chatting with co-workers who are obsessed with their soap opera plots.  And nights are occupied trying to convince her sweet but not exactly goal focused boyfriend Angel (Carlos Enrique Almirante) to finish building their mini apartment on a rooftop so they can get married and finally be together.  Of at least to find a bed they can make love on - vs. a pile of sand with a towel spread over it.

Into this mix comes rich, gorgeous and probably douchebag Jorge (Juan Carlos García) a Venezuelan resident whose family left Cuba when he was a boy.  In town ostensibly to collect photographs for a book he hires Eva as his guide.  Clearly more for her looks than any true business need.  She falls for Jorge and then is forced to choose between her two loves.  While fighting to have a life bigger than the sewing by the numbers that's expected from her.  Her partner in crime in  navigating these problems and more is best friend Teresa (Yuliet Cruz) a trained attorney and practicing prostitute (I won't even bother with the obvious lawyer joke there).  Like Angel (a trained architect) it seems that everyone in Eva's Havana is seriously underemployed.

It's a nice looking film from all angles. Eva is quite easy on the eyes, as is Havana as a character unto itself.  It's hard not to have one's mind make positive comparisons with the Paris skyline as Eva twirls on a rooftop.  Even if the buildings are suffering from decades of neglect.  Along the way Eva meets Jorge's elderly aunts' who encourage her in unexpected ways towards a more fulfilling set of life choices.  They're also green for reasons I really am totally unclear on.  Which is maybe a good spot to say there's a fair amount of material that likely went over my head about Cuban society. Or maybe just right past me given the rapid pacing of the film. But I've got to say it was a treat of a ride. There was a smile on my face practically the entire running length of the picture.

This would make a dynamite double bill with another film out of Cuba, Juan of the Dead, I saw last month at Fantastic Fest. Both give a rich sense of Cuba as it stands today, the culture, the challenges and how people deal with it.  Through escapist entertainment rather than documentaries or hard hitting dramas. In the case of Juan of the Dead this takes the form of neighbors dealing with an imperialist zombie invasion with an entrepreneurial spirit, by charging their countrymen to handle their undead family members.  In the case of Habana Eva she sleeps around in a very sex positive way, chases her dream of becoming a designer and lives out a soap opera sets of ups and downs.  All the way to a conclusion that's just so atypical of this genre that it's thoroughly awesome.  Even if it is noticeably lacking in zombies.  Whether Eva's choices have a subtext worthy of discussion about the decisions facing Cuba as a whole I'll leave to you to discuss after seeing the film.  Or maybe it's just light escapist romantic entertainment within a well trod formula.  Either way I totally dug it.

Keep an eye out for this one and see it when you can.  That's the point I'm trying to make...

The Uptown Lives Again

Starting on October 20th the Uptown theater will rise from its ashes reopen after being closed by AMC Theaters. Taken over by the SIFF (Seattle International Film Festival) this positions the organization squarely in Queen Anne with offices and two screening locations blocks apart.  Their jewel box Film Center is already open with screenings taking place many if not most evenings.  I haven't had a chance to get over there yet - but I'm pretty sure that oversight will be remedied by the end of next week.

Initial offerings will be sort of all over the place - with sing along's (the Grease one really is fun) and films that have played previously at the Uptown (that presumably people liked).  Sing-a-long events are $12 ($7 for members - you are one right?) and everything else for the opening celebration (October 23rd-27) free with a same day Queen Anne local merchant receipt for $5 or more.  Who knows - maybe I'll finally see Citizen Kane and Annie Hall.

I've got the times below - but do check the SIFF website to be sure before heading out. From the timings seems like they might be using more than just one theater at a time - which is a really good sign.

After the opening celebration SIFF dives into their winter programming - which from what I can tell has a lot of gems in the mix. Including (I believe) Tucker & Dale vs Evil and the Brazilian Oscar submission Elite Squad: The Enemy Within. Both of which you should be upset with yourself should you miss them.

Thursday, Oct 20

8:00pm - Hedwig and the Angry Inch Sing Along

Friday, Oct 21

9:30pm - Purple Rain Sing Along

Saturday, Oct 22

5:00pm - Grease Sing Along

7:00pm - Grease Sing Along

Sunday, October 23

12:00pm - Twentieth Century

1:00pm - West Side Story

2:00pm - Monty Python & the Holy Grail

3:00pm – Singin’ in the Rain 

5:00pm - West Side Story

6:00pm - Monty Python & the Holy Grail

7:00pm – Singin’ in the Rain

Monday, October 24

5:00pm - The Royal Tenenbaums

6:00pm - Pee Wee's Big Adventure

7:00pm - Citizen Kane

8:00pm - Annie Hall

9:00pm - L.A. Confidential

Tuesday, October 25

5:00pm - Annie Hall

6:00pm – Singin’ in the Rain 

7:00pm - The Godfather 

8:00pm - Pee Wee's Big Adventure 

9:00pm - Monty Python & the Holy Grail 

Wednesday, October 26

5:00pm - Pee Wee's Big Adventure 

6:00pm - Twentieth Century 

7:00pm - L.A. Confidential 

8:00pm - The Royal Tenenbaums 

9:00pm - Citizen Kane 

Thursday, October 27

6:00pm - West Side Story 

7:00pm - The Godfather 

8:00pm - Bob and the Monster Film and Concert

One more Fantastic Fest video highlight

Fantastic Fest has some more footage up from the most entertaining debate of the Fantastic Debates - specifically that of the Zellner brothers debating if robots are superior to humans. Couldn't resist sharing it.  Just wish I could find a full record of their actual debate. Was very amusing.



If you missed 'em the first time - I'm reposting a link to the album of the photos I took during my trip (which do tend to lean a bit towards the boxing)

Stuff I watched at Fantastic Fest 2011

It has been approaching two weeks since I begrudgingly made my way back from Fantastic Fest in Austin. I've been trying to punch my way through as many reviews as possible in some depth. But I thought it might be a good idea to take a few minutes and reflect on the comprehensive list of what I saw, even if I don't have the strength to write about them all in depth (yet). Though I'll admit that could be the Shiners talking.

The count as it stands now is 26 feature length films and two shorts packages (Fantastic Shorts and Short Fuse which is the horror series).  I'm especially happy with the high number of non-English films presented in Austin this year.  Even if it means some of them will be back eventually in Hollywood (likely inferior) versions.

Amazingly the level of quality was very high, I only really actively disliked one film and was sort of blah on a second (maybe a third). Everything else I'm glad I saw.  Meaning it had at least some bit of unique crazy that made it worthwhile.  Sure, I didn't love the flick Caliber 9. But I cannot regret having seen one man's out-there vision of moral justice wrought by a handgun possessed by the soul of a dead prostitute. From sweet and weird, to intense action, to academy award submitted films Fantastic Fest holds the quality bar high.  I've divided up the list into my top 5 films, good ones, and the bottom three.  I'm still planning to come back and review most of them eventually.  Truth be told, one of the bottom three likely doesn't really belong there - but by comparison with everything else it was held against a very high bar.

Penumbra (Argentina)

Real estate is seeming to be a common theme these days in the horror movies. Or at least it seems that way after the memorable real estate gone haunted issues of The Selling. Not to mention some other more direct horror flicks from around the world like Dream Home. In the case of Penumbra the problems start when Marga (Cristina Brondo) is supposed to meet a potential renter for her apartment in Argentina. Having moved to Spain she considers having to be back to deal with her parent's apartment a chore, even without all the hicks to deal with in this backwater country. An opinion she freely shares vocally (and memorably) with everyone she meets. Not a lot of friends does she make over the course of the film. 

The realtor is running late and her frustration mounts. So when she finally finds the befuddled guy upstairs she is more than happy to get on with things, especially when it suddenly appears that he's willing to pay more than a reasonable price on behalf of his client.  Marga is willing to ignore some locked doors and other strangeness in pursuit of closing the fat deal promised. Even more and more members of the "realtors" firm keep showing up in the house doesn't hugely faze her. We're of course getting suspicious - and eventually Marga does too. But not before getting into a street altercation with a homeless man, pissing off an elderly downstairs neighbor and getting herself stuck in the apartment with this creepy crowd who've used up her cell phone minutes. Marga does have a way with people ...

Eventually one's mind drifts back to the unexplained and brutal cold open of the film. Specifically how it looks like it might have taken place in the same building. All is not well. Even if you don't account for the pending solar eclipse that is imminent.

The build is slow and enjoyable over the course of the film. The ending kept me on the edge of my seat wondering what was going to happen.  I'd be lying if I said otherwise. But truth be told my main pleasure was listening to Marga rattle on about whatever problems she seemed to think were significant in her life at the time. Though in context they clearly were not. The finale with it's twists and semi-attempted mindfuck were fine - though not as engaging for me as what came before. Overall a solid piece of suspense/horror - which brought better dialog (OK maybe technically mostly monologue) than the genre often gets.

Below I've included a trailer along with the post film Q&A I shot at Fantastic Fest.

A Boy and His Samurai (Japan)

I'm not super sure what the Fantastic Fest programmers look for when they're choosing "genre" films. The two main genres I suppose A Boy and His Samurai fit into are samurai drama and time travel. Regardless, I'm glad it was selected as this offbeat romantic comedy (oops - a third genre) was delightfully fun. If a tad nontraditional.

The picture centers around single mom Yusa, a modern Japanese woman in Tokyo who struggles in her job due to also having to care for her son Tomoya (the boy of the title). Good at her job Yusa can't help but be frustrated when her commitment to it is questioned in the office by the men who can stay later. One day she runs into a fellow dressed in traditional samurai garb (haircut included) and carrying a large sword. Kajima is clearly lost, afraid of ringing telephones and speaks in a bizarrely formal manner. Long story short he was praying to a Buddha statue and got sucked forward in time.

Of course a samurai isn't going to quite know what to do with himself in modern Tokyo. Let alone with a single mom that has a surname but isn't of the samurai caste (crazy I know!). But it becomes apparent he's more flexible than one would expect. Before you know it he's providing childcare so Yusa can finally excel at her job, creating systems for optimizing housework, and becoming a superior pasty chef.

As you might suspect Yusa and Tomoya have an ever deepening relationship with Kajima which is likely to have ups and downs. Not to mention a potential long term resolution problem. But that's all fine because the engaging performances and softly amusing situations that balance the contrasting goods of each time period are a pleasure to watch. When the ending comes it's not unpredictable but also fairly satisfying. The only thing the end of the picture left me hungering for was one of Kajima's signature custard puddings. Which were important enough to be the topic of the film's original Japanese title Chonmage Purin (aka Samurai Pudding).

Keep a lookout for this one. It was a fave of many at Fantastic Fest. Yet it will also appeal to much broader audiences than some other selections from that fest.

Please excuse me while I go hunt up some of the earlier films by Director Yoshihiro Nakamura - that guy really has something.

Sleep Tight (Spain)

The suspenseful thriller Sleep Tight managed to both keep this viewer on edge throughout while playing one heck of a trick with respect to where your sympathies lay. I'm not really sure how it accomplished that, but it made for one engaging ride. And left me with great thanks on my part for not owning a bed set high off the floor.

Cesar (Luis Tosar - who many may know as Malamadre from Cell 211) works the desk at a small apartment building in Barcelona . He greets the tenants, attends to their packages and generally knows everything going on. A very convenient type of employee to have about, though a nightmare if say (theoretically) the only way he can feel joy is through the misery of others. When we first meet Cesar he seems like a friendly guy who generally cares. Though the fact that he's being blackmailed by the young daughter of a resident does give one pause.

One is briefly led astray into believing that Cesar's days are being brightened by occasional encounters with preternaturally peppy (and beautiful) Clara (Marta Etura),  But it's not too long before we realize (to an extent) what Cesar is up to. And it's not competing effectively for employee of the month. His issues and motivations are slowly revealed as Cesar focuses his attention on a subset of the apartment dwellers, most notably the aforementioned delightful Clara.

I won't go much more into the plot because watching it unwind in this dark character study is what makes the film interesting. What I will say is that writer director Jaume Balagueró and writer Alberto Marini somehow manage to tweak the viewer so that you're rooting for Cesar to escape detection in some extremely unsympathetic situations. Even though he's not a good or even remotely sympathetic character in his goals. It's a testament to the script and Luis Tosar that one can simultaneously realize they're worried about Cesar yet be aghast as to what they're feeling. While still hoping nothing bad happens to Clara - even though it's clear that's what's going on.

The film is beautiful - living in the nooks and crannies of an apartment building that is a character unto itself.  It's not a gory shocker - more a creepy suspenseful set of scares than guys with masks and axes. But for me that just makes it more worrisome when the film ends. Be aware, this is not one of those movies that wraps up everything in a pretty, positive way. It's dark and mean and evil - and if that's the sort of thing you can get behind as entertainment it's a good bet.

I exited the theater glad I'd chosen to watch Sleep Tight and equally pleased I don't currently reside in a building with a doorman. Cause after this picture that would really freak me out...

Below is a trailer from the film along with part of the director Q&A I recorded at Fantastic Fest. You might actually want to watch the trailer after seeing the film - I feel it gives a bit too much away.

Underwater Love (Japan)

I feel safe stating that Underwater Love is the best onscreen musical you'll ever see dealing with the lives and lovers of cucumber eating mythological Japanese turtlelike creatures. At least the only one with full frontal Kappa nudity. Billed as a "Pink Musical" the film mashes up a lot of things to make one quite memorable entry in the tradition of Japanese Pinku films.  For those unfamiliar the genre consists of rapidly filmed, 35mm softcore sex combined with whatever else the director feels they want to out into the mix. Veteran Pink director Shinji Imaoka takes that second part up to eleven with this charming and ridiculous film done in collaboration with cinematographer Christopher Doyle.

The story is equally simple and strange. Asuka (Sawa Masaki) works in a fish factory and is planning her wedding to the plant manager . While her younger coworkers tease her for being an old woman (of maybe 30 something) she appears mostly content. Her world is shaken upon meeting her drowned high school classmate Aoiki (Yoshirô Umezawa) who has returned to life as a kappa. He has returned for a reason. Maybe it's not to get it on with her coworkers, but he doesn't let that opportunity slide when it presents itself nonetheless. Not to give too much away, he's back to try and save Asuka's life - which he proceeds to do in a low key, occasionally musical way.

The costumes are amusingly silly, there's a major plot point with a magical "anal pearl" and music/choreography has at best an amateur zeal to it. The director himself referred to it as "such a stupid story..." So, yeah, of course I really enjoyed the film. Somewhat unfortunately, the "musical" part isn't really that groundbreaking, and the few songs that do appear aren't going to cause Andrew Lloyd Webber or the authors of "What Would Brian Boitano Do?" to lose any sleep.  Even the director in the Q&A sort of shrugged his shoulders when asked about the choreography. But I challenge you not to laugh - it turns out that properly approached a half man - half turtle being fellated is awfully amusing.

All in all I admired the charms of the film for what it is.  I have no idea what opportunities there will be for folks to see it - but let's all keep an eye out.  With respect to the artistic merits of the form, all I'll say is that methinks there's a generation of "filmmakers" of cheesy late night HBO/ Cinemax films that ought to take a note from director Imaoka.

Trailer and part of the post film Q&A I filmed with director Imaoka are below. I must warn you that the trailer is a bit unsafe for work. But it is awesome.

Fantastic Fest Recap Reel

I'm starting to gear up to begin the fun but time consuming process of writing up notes on most (if not all) of the 25+ films I caught at Fantastic Fest.  For some inspiration I was checking out this summary video the fest had produced. It's a nice and fairly accurate recap of the experience you get if you attend. Be warned - it will make you jealous.



They also produced a brief recap of their closing night film and super-hero party event that followed. Which for me is a strong reminder that next year I really need to try and hit the entire run of the festival so I don't miss this sort of awesomeness...



While not all on the blog yet I've got all my video from the fest up on YouTube. That includes several filmmaker Q&A sessions.  I'll be including those in each of the film review posts from the fest as appropriate.

Fantastic Fest Debates - Let's Get it On!!!

In my second year of attending Fantastic Fest I made more of an effort than during the past trip to attend some of the non film events. Highest on my list was the Fantastic Debates, a tradition of the festival. Part of it will be recognizable to anyone who has seen a high school (or film involving a high school) debate team. Two parties argue opposite sides of a position. The difference here is that after an argument and rebuttal the pair "settle it in the ring." After two rounds of boxing the crowd votes for the winner of the "debate" via volume of cheers. About as scientific a process as I'm sure the ancient founders of logical argument could have devised.

It's also a hella good time. The event takes place in a boxing gym in the same parking lot as the Alamo Theater. The space was positively jammed. Thankfully I was ensconced in a spot towards the front in a small press pit. Below I've included a collection of some of my photos and a stringing together of the really random video I shot. Also have included some better framed and more complete video segments by the professionals (and one via Harry Knowles who was sitting a few feet away from my position). In short - if you make it to Fantastic Fest next year you really really want to add the Fantastic Debates to your to-do list. This year they even gave all attendees a complimentary copy of the fight poster above.



Directly below is my mashup of the video I shot, followed by some notes on each of the bouts and accompanying (more professional) video content.



The first contest was by far the most entertaining debate - the topic at hand being "robots are superior to humans in every way." Unfortunately I didn't record any of the actual debating - nor can I find a version online (but will post if I come across). The Zellner brothers put on a great show. And when David Zellner brought out his stand in for the boxing, a "cyborg" named Medium Wonder (who look suspiciously like a young woman in a housedress) the crowd loved it.





Elijah Wood squared off against Dominic Monaghan on the topic "World of Warcraft is a complete waste of time." with Wood arguing that it is, and Dominic arguing that it's a great way to meet people who may not be the gender they originally claim to be. Or at least that's how I interpreted their unexpectedly heartfelt sounding disagreement. They also put on a great boxing bout with Monaghan displaying, to this viewer an edge, in the ring.





My personal favorite match of the evening was (amusingly) foul mouthed astrophysicist Andy Howel against dumb ass sounding "NASA Hater Hunter." At the time I was joking I'm not sure I'd ever heard someone with a PhD curse that much (with the possible exception of this writer). I'm not really sure what the anti-NASA guy's position was (a lot of screaming about free energy) but by the end I was really looking forward to Howel pummeling the guy. Which is exactly what happened in one of the only matches in which it looked as though one of the participants might want to actually hurt the other. It was either that or the NASA Hater really enjoyed falling down on the relaxing canvas. Not really a fair match either with respect to intellect or body size - Howel has at least a few feet on the little fella. But no one really seemed to care that much...



Finally as we approached 2am in Austin, James Quinn McDonagh - undefeated bare knuckle fighter of the Irish Traveler clans - took on Tim League. The debate - who is tougher, an Irishman or a Texan. League started things off and took the route of arguing that while he is personally not tougher than McDonagh the correct argument is over the statistical toughness of Texans vs. Irishmen. Focusing on the hypothesis that everyone in Europe with some fight in them left to come to the pre-revolution United States therefore that selection process plus hybrid vigor within the states clearly defines Texan superiority. McDonagh made little attempt to counter, the entirety of his argument being the simple position that he wasn't gonna win the debate but there was no way he was losing the fight. With that the need for further verbal debate was dismissed and the men took to the ring. Or more accurately stayed in the ring while the podiums were removed. Gloved up (there thankfully for Tim this wasn't actually a bareknuckled match) the two men went at each other for the two rounds. Given the screening of Knuckle many of us had just watched (of which McDonagh is the subject) I think everyone was quite pleased at how well League did. The crowd overwhelmingly, and not surprisingly voted with their cheers in support of the Texans are tougher side of the argument.

Then everyone piled out of the gym for some much needed hydration.

After the jump I've included a mess o' pictures from the event. A somewhat more organized presentation of the same can be found on my Picasa page of all my Fantastic Fest photos.