Sharknado - the math of window crashing sharks

Sharknado screening - complete with flying sharks!

Some people may call me a poser - but I've got to say flying sharks in a tornado deserve to be seen. These aren't your ordinary sharks in a funnel cloud either. These sharks fly through windows, climb a rope, attack a helicopter, and are particularly susceptible to jumping directly into their mouth holding a chainsaw. Add in some random glue of a story involving a family torn apart by a man's unstoppable need to help those around him, Tara Reid and a bus full of school kids and you've got yourselves a night at the movies. Well ... Actually a night spent in front of the TV if you were one of the more typical viewers of the pop culture phenom Sharknado. But I've never wanted to be typical and neither apparently have the good people of SIFF. Their should've been born in the carny era Uptown Theater programmer Clinton McClung brought Sharknado to the big screen Saturday night. Complete with actual flying sharks and a piñata contest (complete with a chainsaw). For reals...

"Pics or it didn't happen," you say? Well feast your eyes on this gallery (or this copy in Picasa) to experience what attendees did last night. Or for the lazy just scroll down past the jump to see lower resolution snapshots below. To answer your questions in order

• Yes ... Those are remote controlled flying sharks. 
• Yes ... Audience members were given the chance to flying them before the screening. 
• Yes ... They prowled the theater occasionally getting in front of the projector and casting a menacing shadow during the film. 
• And yes, I'm not actually sure how Clinton is getting them down (I'm picturing a BB gun, lasso, or a giant butterfly net - or maybe more flying sharks, what could go wrong ...). 

Ok, ok - I'm not saying Sharknado is going to be the cult film of the ages. It lacks the raw earnestness that makes Miami Connection or Fateful Findings horribly wonderful. But as high concept ridiculousness it delivered. Frankly, I didn't see the incredibly dumb but deeply satisfying last twist coming. Plus I learned that in case of a tornado throwing bombs into it can only help and is remarkably safe. So it's educational as well as a hella good time. 

It seemed the audience I saw it with last night couldn't have agreed more. And I'm assuming all of them weren't like the couple in front of me who were hedging their bets while on the entrance line via a flask and a smoked substance that has only been legal in Washington state since the last election. Well, probably at least 1/3 of them weren't like that.

Enough of my yammering. Photos below. Huge thanks to Clinton and SIFF for a great evening out which I sorely needed this week. Oh, and to Clinton for letting me believe that the flying sharks were actually my idea from an earlier tweet. ;-)

If you want your own flying shark to repeat this experience in the privacy of your home, this company shockingly will sell them to almost anyone it seems.

Sometimes a movie hits a bit too close to home

Clinton McClung (center) supervises two audience members controlling the flying sharks

You're Next

You're Next the long delayed horror film from director Adam Wingard is must see viewing for fans of horror. But the way it subverts the expectations of the home invasion genre while honoring it at the same time  makes it must see viewing for a far broader audience. It's a bloody, cracking good time. With the emphasis on both bloody and good time. Violent and funny as hell not to mention pretty darn scary. Plus, filled with the sort of practical home alone tips you're going to want to impart to your daughter during early childhood. Run don't walk to see You're Next

The film does leave those intending to deliver a spoiler free review in a bind. The writing is super clever but I hesitate to share much of it at all at the expense of ruining some of the puzzle box secrets built into the story. So instead let's fall back to a brief overview of what's going on.

The centerpiece of the movie revolves around a family reunion in the countryside. Parents celebrating their 35th anniversary are gathering adult children (and significant others) to their beautiful, spacious and isolated vacation home. Which would be wonderful if the film's opening scene hasn't gorily setup the background that there was a psycho killer on the loose murdering folks with a machete and scrawling "You're Next" in large letters, using their blood as ink. So we know things aren't going to go especially well ... and they certainly do not.

The opening sequence is shot as a tribute to 80's era slasher films. The look is lush and off and sexual all at the same time making it nigh impossible not to be drawn in. But it's definitely familiar and I couldn't help but wonder about having see this sort of thing too many times before. Wingard's cinematic sleight of hand lulls one into the belief that they're about to watch a well shot but thoroughly ordinary flick about a violent home invasion nutcase. Even the younger women being killed half naked and post coitus is familiar for the genre. But this bit of misdirection hides the fact that You're Next will soon winningly twist its knife in ways you weren't expecting. Even as opening scene anchors the first few bars of the picture's only soundtrack which will soon be used in ways that are insidiously clever. 

This might be a good time to point out that You're Next is not for everyone. Personally I'm not particularly interested in horror films and I'll admit to be easily scared. But I still loved You're next. It's worth mentioning directly that while I laughed out loud repeatedly during the screening this is in fact a bloody, tense and often disturbing (for some) film. Which is another way of saying that while it's funny this ain't Tucker and Dale vs Evil.

Getting back to our happy family .... They're not especially happy. That suspicion is raised early on and then solidified over dinner. The brothers are at each other's throat (making way for an especially entertaining performance by director Joe Swanberg), some appear to have substance abuse issues and it's not entirely clear that this is going to be a bump free family reunion. Yet no one is expecting masked intruders to burst upon the scene. Intruders with no agenda other than murdering everyone in sight. Which delightfully doesn't really bring an end to the bickering - most notably with two brothers having what seems like a well trod argument over who is the better runner, and thus the one who should try to make it to an outside phone.

At this point genre filmmaking has conditioned us to expect people to die bloodily, attempt to fight back, probably make some dumb mistakes, but perish in a blaze of entertaining glory. But it turns out one of the guest has a set of skills that comes in particularly handy in such situations. As the story unfurls there are more than enough plot twists and turns to keep mentally engaged while the bloody catharsis spools out at a breakneck pace. Standard relationship concerns such as "you never want to try new things" yield retorts such as " .. I don't think that's a fair criticism under the circumstances" which perhaps have never been more true in the history of cinema.

The visual and verbal storytelling is sharply executed. The ensemble cast is terrific. With actress Sharni Vinson being a perfect fit to the entire endeavor. Not to mention the clear Miss December of any gorgeous women with hot accents and an ax calendar. Plus it's fun to see Ti West get shot in the head with an arrow. Oops, maybe a spoiler there. But this is a slasher film at its core. And one of the few giveaways in a remarkably spoiler free trailer.

You'll laugh, you'll shudder, you'll marvel at the skill of what the filmmakers and cast have wrought. And if you're like me you'll giddily wait for the much teased moment proving that Chekhov's gun is sometimes really an ax tied above a doorway,which is definitely gonna cut someone by the time the night it through.

All in all a piece of disgustingly beautiful violent art that deserves it's largest honor to date - the painting of a tribute mural on the wall of the former South Lamar Alamo Drafthouse theater. That may be gone but I'm are a large number of accolades await You're Next 2+ years after playing at Fantastic Fest.

Sometimes you just need a night out to laugh, cringe and enjoy a bloody catharsis. I did need such a thing and You're Next delivered. Bravo!

Mural that used to sit on the side of the South Lamar Alamo Drafthouse

Northwest Film Forum 2013 Fall Preview

Summer may be ending, but that just means that it's time for the Northwest Film Forum to announce the various cinematic goodies they've got coming this fall. Sure, it also means we may not see the sun again for months - but that's why having such a great film resource close by is such a treasure. It's a big time for the Film Forum - they've finished their new seat campaign and are nearing the launch of a switch over to DCP digital projection thanks to a successful Kickstarter effort. Last week their fall calendar was announced including both film and workshops to get you through the fall months.

September 6th marks the launch of the new projection and they're kicking things off with a week's worth of presentation of a restored digital copy of Heaven's Gate. As proud contributor to the Kickstarter effort I'm hoping to be there for the opening night.

Even more importantly, between August 30th and September 5th they'll be screening the fabulous film Museum Hours, one of my favorites from this year's SXSW festival. It's a  beautiful, slow-motion painting of a film. A visitor to Vienna waiting on the health of a hospitalized ill relative becomes friendly with a museum guard. With little money to spend much of her time is invested in talking with him and touring the Kunsthistorisches Art Museum where he works. As they verbally explore each other's backgrounds and the city the art itself becomes a character in the story. The relationship itself isn't really anything to write home about (though I do love the non-traditional career history of Johann the aging guard). But the way we're forced to stare at the art and how the film is shot in a way to evoke comparison with the museum's grand works was pretty riveting. Don't go tired - but don't miss the opportunity to see this on a large screen.

Some other intriguing highlights you can find in their full, downloadable schedule include;

• Off Label (9/6-12) a documentary on the pharmaceutical industry with the directors in attendance some nights.
• Korean soap operas (billed as the Flower Boy Drama Club) Thursday nights between 9/26 and 11/21. 
• Local Sightings festival (starting 9/27). 
• The Institute (10/18-10/24) - Which I don't really know anything about, but the description sounded very interesting, "Enigma, wonder and mystery can be yours, courtesy of The Jejune Institute, who created a sprawling urban adventure/role-playing game that spanned not hours, but years. Thousands of participants in a San Francisco-based alternate reality game ended up getting more than they bargained for."
• Harry Dean Stanton - Partly Fiction (11/8-11/14) - Just looks fascinating and about which I heard a lot of positive things coming out of SXSW where I missed the chance to watch it earlier in the year.
• A whole awesome mess of classes to improve your technical appreciation skills.

There are actually tons and tons of other things going on that may align more with your personal taste. I highly encourage everyone to download the calendar and take a look.

The only thing on the calendar that I'd not quite recommend is The Great Hip Hop Hoax. I reviewed it when it screened at SXSW and wasn't really taken by it. Just wasn't my cup of tea. I mainly mention it to bring credibility to my earlier enthusiasm. ;-)

So check out the NW Film Forum, great people, great place. And definitely an organization worthy of your membership dollars year round.

Fantastic Fest - Wave 2 announcements and recommendations

Fantastic Fest has announced a second set of films that will make up this year's must-be-at festival. As there's such an abundance of richest that it's truly hard to pick which ones are the most interesting of the bunch. But via the FestivalScope service I was lucky enough to be able to checkout two of the recently announced films, so I'll talk a bit about those.

First off there's O Apostolo - a beautifully shot stop-motion animation film filled with creepy clergy, religious pilgrims and a thief just looking to collect his last score and retire. Set in the Gothic Spanish countryside a town of overly welcoming yet pointedly insistent older folks offers those following the Way of St James a place to sleep for the night. And they really, really want you to drink something. At times the film feels a bit loosely held together going off in different directions at once. But in the end it's so gorgeous to look at and generally satisfying that I rather strongly recommend it. Plus, I'm pretty sure it'll look even better in 3D when it screens in Austin.



On the other hand A Field In England is going to be a hit with a much narrower audience. Four deserters during a war run into each other and take refuge in a startlingly un-war stricken field (in England). They engage in a bit of self justification / delusion ("We're not running away we're going for a beer") and chat away the time as they seek out an ale-house one of them claims to have seen nearby. They meet some other traveler and things get weird as they're compelled to search for buried treasure. Along the way they eat mushrooms, trip out some and not surprisingly for director Ben Wheatley engage in a bit of violence. All the things you'd expect from the creator of Kill List. 

The film is shot beautifully - in sharp, crisp black and white. Much of the dialog (when I could make out the accents) is clever and engaging ("It does not surprise me that the devil is an Englishman. But I'd thought perhaps a bit taller"). Problem is that I wasn't especially engaged in what was going on or why. Perhaps because there was no character to latch onto as especially interesting. Which is a prerequisite for me to want to untangle the strangeness, symbolism, and perhaps historical references that make A Field in England near completely inscrutable at first glance. Many will love the complete respect for the audience in suggesting nothing. Others will find it maddening. Me, I just found it a less than thrilling watch - though with enough bits that reminds one there's a lot of talent at the root of this thing even if the end result didn't quite work personally. 

The full 2nd wave list of stuff announced as playing at the festival this year is right past the jump.

Free Preview Screening: The Grandmaster

Wow, not even a day later and back again with another free preview screening to checkout. If vampires aren't your thing how about martial arts? Still not with me - how about stylish art-house cinema? Nope - maybe unrequited love and tons of inscrutable melodrama? If any or all of these genres tickle your fancy then perhaps a preview screening of The Grandmaster is going to be your style*. If you'd like to check it out this coming Tuesday (Aug 20th) and can make it to the Regal Meridian theater at 7pm then jump over to Gofobo.com and enter this handy secret code: FZP4YU and exit with free passes for yourself and a friend.

The Grandmaster is the latest film from art-house fave Kar Wai Wong. I'm not as devoted as many of his fans - but he certainly nails a specific visual look. Coupled with martial arts this outing delivers some very memorably slick scenes. Just be aware that even though this is another Ip Man biopic it's got more melodrama than fighting in it. If you're looking for wall to wall combat then this isn't your film. Parts are also at times a bit confusing. But don't worry - there are probably another 20 Ip Man films out there or soon to be out there to clear things up. Kar Wai Wong certainly takes his time, meandering out the storyline to devote sizable time to characters who are not in fact the Grandmaster of the title. All in all I personally think it's worth a watch as long as one enters with calibrated expectations.

So if you're not doing anything Tuesday night you can seriously do worse than checking this one out. With the 7pm start, and my standard recommendation of an hour early arrival that's still plenty of time to hit a nearby happy hour for a low cost evening out on the town.

 

* Just to be clear - unless I totally missed something or they really recut the film since I saw it there are no vampires in The Grandmaster.

Free Preview Screening: Mortal Instruments - City of Bones

Hey guys - back with another opportunity to see a movie before your friends and for absolutely no cost to you. Except perhaps the cost of standing in line, maybe having your bag searched by movie security dudes, and various related indignities. But mostly seeing a movie for free. It's important to stay focused on that point. 

The film in question is the comprehensively titled Mortal Instruments - City of Bones. Which at first I thought was a reboot of something scary I didn't want to see years back involving Morgan Freeman. But turns out is some YA looking story of magical female empowerment that tries to capture a bit of Twilight / CW-esque magic. At least that's what I gather from the trailer and this description of the film I found over at IMDb

"Set in contemporary New York City, a seemingly ordinary teenager, Clary Fray (Lily Collins), discovers she is the descendant of a line of Shadowhunters, a secret cadre of young half-angel warriors locked in an ancient battle to protect our world from demons. After the disappearance of her mother (Lena Headey), Clary must join forces with a group of Shadowhunters, who introduce her to a dangerous alternate New York called Downworld, filled with demons, warlocks, vampires, werewolves and other deadly creatures. Based on the worldwide best-selling book series. -- The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones"

Frankly, they had me at "secret cadre of half -angel warriors." For those who think I'm just being a snarky bastard I've got two things to say. First, OK - you got me. Second, in this case I'm actually being serious - if you've been paying attention then you know I'm sucker for this stuff. Just ask me about Vampire Diaries if you don't believe. 

The screening is at the AMC Pacific Place theater. Monday Aug 19th. The fun kicks off at 7pm but you'll probably want to be there by 6pm to queue up. These things are overbooked to ensure a full house and kidding aside feels like there will be a lot of interest in this one. 

To snag a pass just bounce over to this RSVP link on Gofobo.com and enter code: WOM1AJH

Trailer is below. What have you got to lose? Just saying...