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So I got sucked into Big Brother again, even though I could not stand the hamsters on this season at first. This time I don't have the live feeds and I'm not reading the recaps, but I am watching BB After Dark on Showtime so I have some idea of what's going on that they "forget" to mention on the broadcast - like Chelsia being a filthy whore bitch, and James screaming like a spoiled brat baby at Sheila until he lost his voice. (Also, I see Ryan picking his nose quite clearly in the background this very minute, haha)

Overall, I hated the hamsters. But I guess they got rid of all the really bad ones, because those remaining are starting to grow on me. I probably like Adam the best, and Ryan reminds me of so many nice guys I know. They're pretty likeable, and though they love to play tricks on everyone in the house, they love to laugh and everyone laughs with them. The whole house is having fun - at least for now. The two that crack me up the most are Sheila and Natalie. I don't care for Sheila that much but I'm starting to love Natalie. First of all, somehow she's a lot smarter than she acts, so much so that it wouldn't surprise me to find out she's just a plant. Not like a foliage plant, haha, but a planted pretending-to-be-stupid hamster plant. Heh.

But the two of them together, Sheila and Natalina, they are CrAzY-ToWn. It's hilarious listening to their late night drunken talks about God and the other houseguests.

Or maybe I've just lost my mind somewhere along the line because I totally love Daisy from Rock of Love too.

And now I must leave you because Jody Foster just walked onto the Jay Leno show. And she is much more important.

Mr. Sandman... bring me a 48 hour pass from sleep

I sure get myself into projects that are intent on killing me.

The wings look fabulous, I can't wait until you all see both dresses actually. Titania's Faerie Queen dress is pretty sparkly and the beads look great. Hippolyta's looks regal and royal for sure.

I've gone through three, count them, THREE sewing machine needles sewing those damn beads on Titania's dress, and I've never had to change the machine needle before EVER. Long time readers will remember that I used to sew quilts non-stop, yet I've never replaced a needle, so breaking three in one night is about sending me over the edge.

And I have glitter in my nose.

And real school work to do. I won't have time to sleep until Wednesday night.

If only I had another week to work on this!

I realized that I can't really have a "costume" for Titania, Queen of the Faeries, if I don't have wings for her - and Buffy immediately said her friend has wings from Halloween that she was going to throw away! I told her I'd give her five bucks for them, so Spike drove her over for the exchange.

And do you know, these aren't regular little white angel wings, these are Big Rainbow colored wings, like for a butterfly, AND they exactly match the colors of Titania's dress!

Now if only I could get the darned things finished...

School is never freaking ending

New entry here
and
new photos here.

You can look at them all as long as you wish me luck with my scholarships.

Because I can't write what I want to write, this is how it came out instead.

So Buffy and her friend are in the kitchen fooling around and trying to remember Mother Goose rhymes.

"Mom, Mom," she says, "How does it go?

Little Miss Muffet,
Sat on her... tuffet,
Eating her...
...
Crumpets and fish?"

So I just finished watching the entire movie but I haven't finished bawling yet. I'm glad I didn't see it at Cinequest and I'm glad the kids aren't home to see me, because I'm totally crying. And still recommend the movie.

So it turns out many of the kids were not as functioning as Wyatt and Henry, there were some kids with some really severe problems. And it was said that according to Wyatt's test scores he is "far from" being titled "highly functional", which is pretty unbelievable considering what we saw on the screen. I just want to steal that kid for myself and keep him far far away from any "bullies".

Even more heartbreaking were the stories of the parents. Beyond the disappointment of knowing your child will never be "regular", many of them must care for their children 24 hours a day and will have to continue for the child's entire life. It was unimaginable what they go through - many parents have small pockets of time when their children act like this, but to have the uncontrollable behavior be a mostly unchangeable part of your child's life would be overwhelming for me - as it is to many of them. The movie detailed divorces and separations and marriages hanging on by a thread - usually with the child as the glue.

It was heartbreaking, it was heartwarming, it was way beyond what I expected it to be when I was at Cinequest. And truly, if you have HBO please try to watch it or tape it today or tomorrow. You won't be disappointed.

Autism: The Musical

Autism: The Musical was one of the documentaries at Cinequest that I was not able to see, but I had heard it had been bought by HBO. Sure enough, yesterday afternoon I was just scanning through channels and there it was! So I watched some of it (it was already half over) and really fell in love.

I had thought this was going to be another heartwarming story of autistic kids putting on a musical, and that's all well and good but I really had no interest in watching it during Cinequest - it's predictable, you know? I was sure it was going to be about, you know, severely autistic kids who overcome their difficulties to put on a show... Blah blah blah, and an end with teary eyes because of what they accomplished.

But what I saw yesterday was pretty amazing. Many of these kids were highly functioning, and seemed highly intelligent too. (Since I didn't get to see the whole thing yet, I don't know the full story of these kids) The little boy Wyatt for instance was one of the most precocious, intelligence and caring kids I've ever seen on TV or met in real life - I wanted that kid to live on my street so I could be his friend and he would never have to retreat into his "own world" that he disliked so much. Beautiful Henry is actually the son of Stephen Stills from Crosby Stills and Nash. These kids were smart, coherent, amazing and talented. For me, it wasn't about "what the autistic kids can do" but more about actually learning SO MUCH about autism - for instance that so many of these kids were so smart and I never would have known they had autism. And heck, I could have watched a movie solely about Wyatt, autism or no.

I checked the listings and it's playing several times today and tomorrow. If you get HBO you should find some way to watch it or tape it. I'm serious. I taped it this morning so I can watch the whole thing. I'm telling you all, as my faithful readers, you won't be disappointed - this was a pretty fantastic documentary.

Why does Anenigma have to be passworded at a time like this??

What the heck is wrong with the teachers in Tampa, Florida???
I can't even stomach the thought of ... ugh... Spike's 17 year old friends... *barf*...
much less a 14 year old!!!

And I don't really get why we as a society would not be outraged about an adult female teacher having sex with a 14 year old student, because things would certainly be different if these were men having sex with female students.

So... Easter is this Sunday??

I had no idea.

I am leaving to go to my last midterm today. In Literary Criticism. Stupid class is going to destroy my GPA.

I registered for my GRE test (Graduate Record Examination). May 17. As soon as my score comes in I can apply to the graduate program at my school. Because of the kids and the fact that I cannot (and have no desire to) afford Stanford, I am pretty much stuck with staying at my school, but that's fine because that's where I want to be anyway. I think I must be pretty lucky to have a great university so close to home. UC Santa Cruz doesn't really have a program for me, but SJSU has a pretty good one. I spoke to the graduate advisor this week and she is pretty eager to get my paperwork, she said there will be no problem getting in with my GPA.

After today I'll be on Spring Break, but I'll be spending it writing papers and working on a project for a scholarship. Oh, and Saturday I get my taxes done. I actually am pretty overwhelmed with some life stuff right now, but I'm going to try to settle down and start checking off what needs to be done. And then get it done.

I sure could use a Personal Assistant, that's for sure.

I'm starving.

So ends the update of the day.

Oh yes, we're back to the movies all right.
The Bank Job was probably good to see right after Cinequest. Scott and I were trying to find something to watch and there wasn't really anything good in theaters unless you're between the ages of 2 to 12. Which we're not.

On the other hand, I'm up for any film that has Jason Statham in it. We debated this issue for awhile... Scott isn't impressed with Jason's recent films ("War": we're looking at you) but really? If Jason is in it, I'm happy just watching him. So we went.

I liked it a whole lot and so did Scott. There are absolutely no car chases, no explosions, and not really even any guns until the very end - but no shoot em up. It was more of a thinking person's heist, and it was really interesting watching the story, which is based on true events. As the movie played out I realized I knew many of the details, but I'm not sure where from, perhaps Rolling Stone had a story about it once long ago. At any rate, I was entertained and you all should go see it.

That evening Scott had the SciFi channel on and guess who was in the cheesy movie of the night? Jason Statham! I don't know what it was, from his IMDb page I would guess either "Red Faction II" or "Ghosts of Mars". It was a crappy movie and at one point Jason is trying to convince his costar to sleep with him, she said not even if he was the last man on earth. I started giggling hysterically, because the first thing in my mind, and the first thing that almost came out of my mouth was, "I would and I'd do it right NOW!" But um, not appropriate at the boyfriend's house, haha.

So anyway, go see it, just don't expect action/adventure. It's about a bank heist, and there are some pretty good characters in it - and lots of talk of "villains", which I thought was both hysterical and charming.

Here we are again.

I took my Age of Elizabeth midterm last week and I'm pretty sure I aced that one, that was easy. Hopefully Tuesday we'll get back either those grades or our papers from the week before.

Tomorrow I have a midterm in Chaucer, I'm about as prepared as I'm going to be.

Friday I have another midterm in Literary Criticism. It feels like midterms have been going on for weeks. I'm ready for Spring Break already.

But then I'll be furiously writing for scholarships.

So, here we are again. Back to school.

I just typed up a 1500 word essay on Midsummer Night's Dream FOR THE FUN OF IT, because I had a point I wanted to think over and prove to myself.

I repeat: I just wrote a 1500 word essay for the FUN of it.

I don't even know what to say about that.

So it's over now, and I'm glad to have my life back and I'm looking forward to next year all at the same time.

That said, I think this was the best Cinequest ever, and this seemed to be echoed throughout each theater in which I sat.

Out of some 22 movies that I saw, there were very few I didn't like. I wasn't fond of "Silence Before Bach", but I think it was well-made and I just wasn't in the mood for it at that moment. I outright did not like "Eden Court", the opening movie, and still do not understand how it managed to become the opening movie. To tell you the truth, as the contributor of a lot of money to the festival for quite a few years, I really would like the answer to that question. I wasn't fond of "Karl Rove I Love You" but it wasn't bad for a festival movie - in fact, I think it only pales against all the other outstanding movies I saw.

To think that out of 22 movies, I can only remember three that I didn't like, that is pretty amazing. I remember in years past where if I saw three really good movies out of 22 I would have been thrilled. But today, I think if I wanted to list my favorite ones, I would have to name almost all of them.

Well, let me try. These are my very favorites that I saw this year, not in any particular order:

Sherman's Way ***
El Camino
Village Barbershop ***
Disfigured ***
Young People Fucking ***
Goodbye Baby ***
This Dust of Words ***
It's Better that Gabriela Does Not Die ***
Art of Travel
Night of the White Pants ***
*** = my very favorites

Looking over my film schedule I see I also wasn't thrilled with "The Metrosexual" or "La Sangre Illuminada". So that makes five out of 22 films, and I say that still isn't bad.

So I came home right around 4:30pm intending to get ready for closing night - but I was exhausted. So we decided to skip the closing movie and just go to the party - but by that time I was ready to sleep off Cinequest. The time change that morning had not helped matters.

So that was the end for us. I was sad that I wasn't able to say goodbye to some people like Nathan Louie and Jason, and I never did meet Cinequesting, but there's always next year. Or even sometime this year. Anyway we had a blast, I loved reviewing the movies this year, it was great to have so many visitors to the site this year... and now it's time to prepare for next.

I'll see ya at the movies, ya'll. The movie entries are now...

Fin.

Karl Rove I Love You - the Movie

Today is Tuesday, and I saw the movie on Sunday. Some of the movies I saw during the festival I decided I liked more after a few days went by. This movie had the opposite effect - I think I didn't really like it. Keep in mind it was the last movie I saw at the festival, which makes it the twenty-something movie in 12 days. So if you thought I was dozing through movies before, you better believe I was tired by the time I saw this one.

To save my own brain time, this is what IMDb.com says about it:
Election Year, 2004. A documentary on the "unknown supporting actor" takes a surprising turn when the lead of the film (Dan Butler; "Bulldog" from the television series "Frasier") becomes smitten with the idea of playing Karl Rove, President Bush's notorious senior advisor. Initially bent on bringing Rove down, as Butler gets deeper and deeper into his role, he actually falls in love with Rove.

It was funny and I laughed quite a few times, and the audience laughed quite a lot, and I loved Julia Miranda, but I believe the audience was a little confused here and there, and I am admitting to being one of the confused ones.

I thought it was a movie. Then it appeared to be... a mockumentary? or a documentary? or a movie about the making of a mocku/documentary? I don't know??? It was difficult figuring out what was real, what was not real, was that really Karl Rove, did he really write a letter, was anything real, or was it one giant joke?

In the Q&A afterward Julia Miranda explained that she loves movies that make her feel happy, creepy and sad in every scene. And they definitely did that, but I'm not sure I liked the feeling all the time. The "intervention" scene became more than a little uncomfortable, moreso because it wasn't even clear who was in on the joke and who wasn't.

It only became clear (to me at least, but apparentely not to everyone in the audience) towards the end of the movie that none of this was real when more really over-the-top scenes came - and then I felt more free to laugh, knowing this was all a big joke.

I will agree that the idea was a good one but I don't think the outcome of the idea worked. I think it went a little too long for what it was and could have been cut to an hour. And I think making it clearer just a little earlier that this was all a joke makes it easier to get through.

But then again, twenty-something movies in 12 days. The sixth one in 24 hours. I was ready for the festival to be over. So if you saw it and liked it, I'm not going to argue with you, you are probably right.

I've never visited a movie website before and found a direct quote from one of my entries listed on their review page.
That was a surprise and pretty awesome too.

By the way, "Shermans Way" won the Audience Award at Cinequest, tied with "Village Barbershop", another of my favorites. They both deserved it.

I still have one more review to go, and then my summary of Cinequest. But that will have to come later.

Okay, here was a movie that really was one of the best. Still not perfect, but really really good. 18 year old Melissa Brooks leaves home to live in New York with her gay brother (Yay! Finally more gays!). She doesn't want to go to college so she ends up trying to make it as a stand up comic. But most of the movie is about her relationship with her brother and his friends, and a new boyfriend that she met in Narcotics Anonymous (where she goes not because she has an addiction, but to get over her stagefright). A very upsetting act happens towards the end of the film, but this movie about comedy correctly portrays life as often being very very sad. Unlike some of the other movies I've seen this year, where the surprise comes totally out of nowhere and feels out of place, this movie did it very well. And though the movie takes an even sadder turn at the very end, the final scene was emotionally powerful and well done.

Unfortunately, the only weak point I felt was Christine Evangelista who plays Melissa. She is gorgeous and the three teenage boys I brought give her two (or three or six or ten) thumbs up, but I thought her acting was not always as good as it could have been. Saying that though, her performance in the last final scene was spot-on, and a bad actress could not have pulled it off.

Overall, I'd give this one a very strong A and I wouldn't be surprised to see this out in theaters.

Night of the White Pants - the Movie

This was one of my favorites of the festival and I think it has potential to wind up on a screen near you. It wasn't perfect - but it was better than a lot of crap that's out there. Plus, Oscar nominee Tom Wilkinson (from "Michael Clayton") stars in it, so hopefully that helps it out.

It's the last hours of the festival and I'm running out of steam...

Anyway, you should keep an eye out for it because it really was hilarious. Also, Laura Jordan, who played one of the main characters, was great. Totally hot, playing a drugged out drunken slut - and yet, it worked. She stole the scene whenever she was there.

I'm think the rest of the reviews are going to be short ones, but I'm about out of energy. After tonight it's time to go back into hibernation for another 11-1/2 months.

I do not even pretend to be a Physics Major

I hate when the university website changes links on me and my bookmarks get all messed up.

For instance, today I clicked on my bookmark for the Upper GE Classes, and I am directed to the Physics Major page. Unlike Elizabeth Wiltsee from "This Dust of Words", yesterday's movie, I cannot do physics problems in my head and am having enough trouble getting through The Old Arcadia.

So now I am off to locate the correct link. This ends the Complaining About School post for the day.

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Cinequest - Final Day

It's Sunday morning and that means it's the last day of Cinequest.

I already can't wait until next year.

Today I'll only be taking in two final movies. In the afternoon I have a choice between two movies that have been highly recommended to me, The End and Goodbye Baby. It's a really hard choice, knowing that there may be no chance to ever see the one not picked. However, while sitting in the theater last night getting ready for Night of the White Pants a random lady stood up and turned around, asked me if I'd seen Goodbye Baby, and pronounced it the best film of the festival. I took that as a sign, if some random lady randomly chose me to tell that to, then that is what I must see. We discussed more films for a little while, and I told her that another friend had also told me Goodbye Baby was the best film of the festival.

We shall see. But I will keep my eye out for these movies coming out on DVD. So should you.

Shelter Me - the Movie

I shouldn't even bother reviewing this one - I fell asleep about ten minutes into it and woke up 1/2 hour later. It's an italian movie and stars Maria de Medeiros who was Bruce Willis's girlfriend Fabienne in Pulp Fiction. It's about a lesbian couple, Anna and Mara, who end up bringing home a Moroccan boy who has illegally immigrated into Italy (via their car). This was my last movie of the afternoon and I dozed on and off through the movie. Pathetic! But from what I saw, it was very very good. It was a little sad and a lot touching, and I recommend it just based on the little I saw combined with the fact that Cinequesting liked it. You can generally trust Cinequesting to give you a good review.

It's also one of the only (if not the only) movie that featured a gay couple, which I thought was odd for Cinequest. The theater was filled with gay couples - as it always has been when Cinequest shows a movie featuring gay and/or lesbian characters. Past festivals have had a selection of great gay films, both comedy, dramatic and documentary; I really don't know why the pickings were so slim this year.

This Dust of Words - the Movie

After the Shorts I ran right back into line to get into the next movie, This Dust of Words. I had sadly missed this last weekend and was really glad I had a chance to see it today. I was not disappointed.

It is the story of Elizabeth Wiltsee, a Stanford graduate and English major with an IQ of 200. As a young girl she taught herself to read ancient Greek and other languages, and even translated Homer herself to make sure she had an accurate translation. She was a prolific writer but never got published. And one day, she just went away.

It appears that she must have suffered from some sort of mental illness, but I don't believe it was explained (or maybe not known) exactly what it was. At any rate, she separated herself from her family and friends, became paranoid, and eventually showed up on the steps of a church in Watsonville, homeless. The documentary is told through Elisabeth's writings and interviews with her family and the parishioners who knew her. Many of them were very honest about their fear of the angry homeless woman. And many of them became her friends, at least to the point that she would let them. It appears that she was homeless because she wanted to be outside, she did not want to be inside any buildings. She often was mesmerized by animals and birds she saw, and many people had seen her talking to the Watsonville welcome sign as if she were speaking to God.

Eventually she leaves Watsonville after saying that she is "going home" and six months later her body is found floating in a lake many miles away. From what I understand, it is believed that she just stopped eating and walked herself to death. She also had $7000 in a bank account.

I was fascinated by this story. I felt in a way that I understood her a little, at least before she became really far gone. But I was not sad when the film explained that they had found her body. I felt like Elizabeth really had finally gone home, to a home where she had wanted to be. I felt like she was finally free like the birds she used to watch, and that her mind, which used to race all the time, was finally free to rest.

I give it an A+, and you should see it if it ever shows up on TV or a festival near you.

You can read more about Elizabeth Wiltsee at these links:
This Dust of Words website
Stanford Magazine
Santa Cruz Sentinel

I was really tired today. Lack of sleep is catching up to me. Even though I had no papers due, I still was in charge of three boys age 17-18 staying with me in the hotel last night, and even after knowing me for several years it didn't occur to them that I would notice immediately if they left at 2:30am. *ahem* They're straight on that now, but I'm tired.

So anyway, I was sleepy during the shorts, and maybe didn't enjoy them as much as I should have, but I did rate five of them Good and one Excellent.

El Pasajero - I liked this one a lot but it was long, and long shorts get me antsy. A taxi driver tries to rob his passenger, but the passenger tries to get him to sell his gun to him instead. They end up inside the passenger's house drinking, talking and even dancing the night (New Year's) away. It was an emotional ending and was very good. I believe the director/writer said he wrote it after (his father I think) came into almost the same situation. I gave it a Good for being too long, but thinking back now I should have given an Excellent.
Tony Zear - Cinequesting liked this more than I did but I fully attribute this to it being the final short of the lot and I was ready for A NAP at this point. My crankiness gave it a Good.
The Phone Book - Made up entirely of phrases, names, addresses and phone numbers out of the phone book, it was a very cute short that went on entirely too long. Suddenly there was a flash of the "validation man" character from a short I had seen last year (called, of course, "Validation"). The connection was too much for a coincidence, both films had the same quirkiness and light-heartedness... and I remember the Validation short going a little longer than needed also. Sure enough the shorts were 2 of a five-episode piece he had made. I gave it a Good because I felt it went just a couple minutes too long.

Shorts 7 "Life Lessons" Part Two

Sizzlean - this one I gave the Excellent to, I'm not sure why, but there were four very serious little-kid actors who did a fine job, and it ended up being all about how your family is whomever you're with. They were getting a "Good" until they got my heart strings at the end.
The Stone Child I almost gave it an Excellent but I wasn't entirely sure I understood what was going on, then realized I just really liked the characters of the boy and his father. But if I don't get the movie, I can't give it an Excellent. Keep in mind I was sleepy, folks.
Crickets I've always had this problem with giving art (literature, film or visual) lots of raves and kudos just because it deals with a sensitive subject. Telling the story of sad or emotional things that actually happened (like war) just means that you told a story with emotional content, not that the art you made about it was emotional. There's a long personal story behind this that I won't go into here, but I believe in my stand. So I am very stingy with giving good reviews to things like this. Crickets does have war subject matter but it focuses on the war reporter. At first this was heading for a Fair, mostly because of my little war-as-art rule book. I mean, anyone can take a man, film him in an artsy-fartsy dreamlike fashion and have him spout comments about the war --- and we're all going to get all emotional and buy it, because we ARE all emotional about the war. That said, I ended up giving this one a Good, and if not so tired I probably would have given it a Excellent. It was the last two lines that saved it for me.
Man: Where are we going?
Lady: You're a writer, make something up.
My English Professor-self chose to interpret this in my own way... and I'm not going to write an essay about it here. I'll just say, that last line was enough to win me over, and I give them a free pass on the war-as-art train. Well done.

Another Glory Boy Days review

Another review from MetroActive also notes the Kevin Smith similarities. It also made note of some other "homages" it made, and here is what MetroActive said about that:

"We know the director knows and loves classic movies. But he’s also accidentally invited us to compare his work to the masters, and that’s something you don’t want to do when you’re starting out."

I agree.

Cinequest - for Saturday

I didn't make it to Speed Dating Friday evening. I was trying hard not to doze off during the three movies that I did watch, and what really sounded good was going to Askew and getting some Thai Salmon and jasmine rice and taking it to my room at the Hotel Montgomery and eating it while watching TV. So I did. And I'm not sorry. Plus, theater manager Steph told me he had heard mixed reviews about it. So I would rather have a sure thing which is Askew Thai Salmon than take a chance on a so-so movie.

Tomorrow's plan is as follows:
Shorts Program 7: Life Lessons
Speed Dating OR This Dust of Words
Shelter Me (on advice from Cinequesting)
take a dinner break and then
Night of the White Pants

I should be nice and tired of movies at that point which will be good since there's no more Cinequest after Sunday. *sniff*. I remember last Sunday it had already seemed like it had gone on forever. Now that I have my school papers done and can actually watch the films I don't want it to end. It looks like my movie total at the end of the festival will be only 21. But that's okay, because they have almost all been excellent and I have had the most fun of any Cinequest so far.

This movie was heavily promoted at Cinequest, possibly because it was made by a San Jose State University student, and shot in and around San Jose. The San Jose Repertory Theater was packed with eager viewers and they all seemed very pleased when it was over. I've seen the movie referenced as the next "Swingers", "American Graffitti" and "Dazed and Confused". I disagree with those comparisons.

Did I like it? That's a tough one to answer, because I DID like it. But I'm not sure the reasons I or anyone else in the theater liked it will transfer over to anyone else. We were excited to see characters we know in a movie shot at locations we know. Was it a good movie? Here is what I have to say: I think this movie shows the most potential for future fantastic movies out of everything I have seen this Cinequest.

It didn't take long before I realized that the movie it was most reminiscent of is Kevin Smith's "Clerks" - another first film that went the festival circuit. There were many similarities - the grainy film, the amateur unfocused filming, amateur acting, young people going through a crisis, it takes place over a 24 hour period, and quite a bit of some very quick, smart dialogue. The dialogue, though not up to "Clerks" or Kevin Smith level, most impressed me as a clue to keep an eye on this writer/director.

Then came even more similarities. There's no QuikStop, but there is Willow Glen Liquors where many characters come and visit with the clerk. Outside against the wall is the hangout ala where Jay and Silent Bob are always to be found. There was even a night scene with a character breakdancing while the others stand and sit against the wall - the same thing happened in Clerks.

But then came a scene that to me crossed over the line of "reminiscent of" and went straight over to "sort of copying". The scene is not something I want to recap because it is extremely gross, too much so for this blog. But if you have seen Clerks you will remember the "Snowball" scene (and if you don't then maybe you should watch it again). So they didn't talk about "snowballing" but they spoke about another kind of shocking sex act, which then sets off the boyfriend, which causes a fight, etc. Taken straight from the script of Clerks. If I was the writer/director, who mentioned that he is constantly reworking this film, I would reshoot that argument and create something totally different. Because there is nothing wrong with an independant film paying homage to Kevin Smith, but you don't want to be accused of straight out copying his movie.

But aside from that, I really did like it. One character claims he and the others are all living their "Glory Boy Days". But what the movie is really about is the point when you realize that your Glory Boy Days are really over. It's like the first mid-life crisis you have. Despite what I have said through this review, I really really did like the movie - not for the movie itself, but because I think it shows incredible promise for even better movies.

Should you go see it? A definite Yes, and then you can make your own decision.

Young Single and Angry - the Movie

Young Single and Angry. The movie starts out with the main character remembering her cousin's wedding back in the, well, I guess it must have been the 80s, even though it looked like a 70's wedding to me. She tells us how she was told by her mother that a girl's wedding is "the most important day in her life".

She then proceeds to chase that dream. Gag me.

I saw this film immediately after watching The Metrosexual so I was a little cranky already, but I got super cranky with the three main women in this film as they desperately tried to fulfill their lives by reaching the female's Holy Grail: A wedding. I mean, this IS 2008, right? Are we still all doing this? For REALS???

I will say this: It was often funny, it was often sweet. Jamie Anderson is terrificly hot. Overall I was entertained during most of the film and I laughed out loud a few times, even though I mostly thought they were all acting sort of patheticly. Throw in a little poopy humor and I wanted to smack the main character and bring her home with me for some intervention in Women Power.

The final 2 minutes of the film turn everything upside down, but it is so abrupt and unexpected that I almost missed it and was confused for a second. I mean, for 83 minutes I'm dealing with women desperately seeking a man, and suddenly out of nowhere that's all thrown out?

I would give it a 3+ out of 5 stars, or a 4 out of 5 for a film festival movie because it is entertaining. I would definitely recommend it for a film festival.

The Metrosexual - the Movie

This is probably the most disappointing one I've seen yet in that I can't really find anything to recommend it but I had really thought it was going to be funny. Instead it was just boring.

I'll admit I was a little tired when I saw it, having not had a whole lot of sleep after writing my paper last night. But still, not funny. The next biggest problem I had with it was that the main character was a metrosexual for about ten minutes throughout the movie. There were some random scenes with him driving his car where he looked like a metrosexual, but otherwise he was just a sad sack who couldn't get a girlfriend. And never dressed quite to metrosexual standards, and that hair... I'm sorry, but no. It was more like he was a sad wannabe metrosexual.

And folks, I live in Silicon Valley, hell almost everyone reading this right now lives in Silicon Valley. We know us our metrosexuals.

Again though -- just not funny. There were very few laughs throughout the showing, and though I wouldn't say it was AWFUL, I just can't find any reason why you would want to spend 90 minutes watching it.

Enlightened Blood - the Movie

La Sangre Illuminada. I liked it. You probably won't. I have some sort of soft spot for films from Mexico and I'm not sure why, but they always appeal to me. It definitely bordered on the "too weird" line, but because I could pull a little sense out of it, I give it an okay. Jason gives a great synopsis of it so I am going to be lazy and not bother explaining something that's not easy to explain.

I will say that everyone leaving the theater with me seemed to dislike it at least a little, so I don't feel quite right saying that because I liked it then you should all try it too. I will say though that the story had an interesting idea and if you're determined to watch it you just may get something out of it.

Oh, also it showed a man stabbing himself through his nasal cavity with a screwdriver. So there's that.

Cinequest! Friday Night!

2 movies down, 2 more to go... and that's just for today. Full reviews later, I only have ten minutes until the next one.

The Metrosexual was... disappointing. Not that funny, not that metrosexual. Maybe I would have liked it better if it was advertised not as "Metrosexual" but just as "sad loser with no interpersonal skills". But it wasn't awful.

Young Single and Angry was pretty funny. There were a couple problems here and there, and mostly I was just cranky about these four people who were angry that they weren't married, and that they were actually buying into the 1970's ideal that the main character remembered from her childhood. But... they fixed it in the end, so that gave it about 100 more points in the last 2 minutes of the movie. I recommend it, but only as "a Cinequest movie", meaning it's not 100% perfect.

Full reviews of all today's movies tomorrow.
Now I'm off to Glory Boy Days and then Speed Dating.

Get info on these movies by visiting the Cinequest site.

The Hotel Montgomery is going above and beyond what is required to make things up to me from last week. I'll definitely have to recommend them again if all goes well through the weekend. Honestly, I'm not high maintenance, I just want the keys to my own room and not get a wake up call at 5am insisting that I had ordered a taxi. But so far, so good, so if you need a room downtown tonight - Come on over to the Montgomery!

And the best part of this weekend is that I have NO PAPERS TO WRITE. It's really really nice to not feel pressure to bring my laptop and type papers up in the theater. I just have to read some things over the weekend, and I can do that no problem. It's been a tough ten days watching movies AND dealing with school (AND real life) so it's really really nice to just sit back and watch movies without worrying about anything.

See ya at the movies!

No more essays for the week!

I just finished my last paper due this week. Today I turned in the six page Queen Elizabeth paper, tomorrow morning I turn in the 4 page Literary Criticism. Then all I have to do this weekend is WATCH MOVIES and read Love's Labour Lost by Shakespeare.

I'm really happy that I have nothing to do the rest of the weekend and now I can go get my money's worth from my Cinequest passes. I've been really happy this year that so many movies have been really outstanding. It truly lived up to my expectations that this would be the best year ever. Now if only school will cooperate next year!

(What am I talking about? I'll be in GRAD SCHOOL next year, can you BELIEVE that???)

Tomorrow I have four movies on my schedule:
The Metrosexual
Young Single and Angry
Glory Boy Days
Speed Dating

I asked one professor yesterday if she thought I was up to grad work since I an consistently unhappy with my papers (yes, even though I get A's on them). I got an emphatic YES from her and that made me feel better.
Today I did some research on my own regarding a Greek myth that I had remembered about a woman named Pasiphae and a possible obscure connection to Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream. I emailed what I had found out to another professor and her response was "WOW!" and said she would help me turn my ideas into a conference paper.

It's been a very difficult semester, but things are finally starting to come together. I'm starting to feel comfortable with what I'm doing and more optimistic that I am cut out for the life of an English Professor. It definitely takes a certain kind of person to like that life I think, but when I do discover research that really interest me, like today, then I know I have definitely made the right choice.

And now it's 12:40am, I have a 9am class and then movies to watch from noon to 11pm, so I think it's time to go to bed.

Young People Fucking is one of those Cinequest movies that you can't help but enjoy. It doesn't matter if it's slightly flawed, or if one of the featured couples was boring, because overall it is really funny and interesting and just an enjoyable film.

The movie is divided into six chapters:
1. Prelude
2. Foreplay
3. Sex
4. Interlude
5. Orgasm
6. Afterglow

We are presented with five different couples:
1. Friends
2. The Exes
3. The Couple
4. The First Date
5. The Roommates

Each of these couples ends up going through all six stages, mostly to hilarious and some unexpected results. Obviously the married couple is going to be boring - they already haven't had sex in three weeks. Only... it turns out to be one of the most hilarious sections of the movie. I loved the twist at the end of the First Date couple (and seriously, both halves of that couple were pretty easy on the eyes). The Friends section was pretty hilarious throughout and starred Carly Pope. You may know her as Garbo from "Dirt", but I know her best as Sam MacPherson from "Popular". She's grown up to be damn hot, I'll tell you that.

I didn't enjoy The Exes that much, but I loved the Roommates which featured the funniest threesome I've ever seen.

At Opening Night we were told that there would be "entertainment" before some film showings, but I had not seen any until this film. A very funny comedian named Gretchen entertained us for almost 1/2 hour. I was very sad that I could not understand what her last name was so I can not pass it on, but we enjoyed her and it was a nice intro to the film.

I took two friends with me and they thought it was HI-larious. One friend marked the movie as "Excellent" on his voter card before the movie even started. He said they deserved it for the name of the movie alone.

There are no more showings of this film at Cinequest, but if it shows at a film festival near you (or comes out on DVD) I definitely recommend it.

This 1500 word essay is already up to 1542 words and I still have about 500 more to go. That's not good.

However.

I got a whopping 99% on my Spanish exam today, which boggled my mind and everyone else's in the class. I know, I know, ya'll think I get A's so easily, but this class makes me crazy and I had already resigned myself to getting a B (All I need to satisfy the Masters requirement). But... 99%!!!! I was damn proud and damn happy. And laughing at the other students who were so mad, haha. I mean: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAA.

So I rewarded myself by going to see a movie from Mexico at Cinequest after class. Review later.

And now I return to this stupid essay.

Stress City

AI YIYIYIYI I don't know how I'm going to finish this 1500 word essay by tomorrow afternoon... I mean, I can churn out 1500 words any time, but making a good essay out of those words is another story. I so could have used just a couple more days - or the end of Cinequest.

Then I have the Literary Criticism essay due on Friday... but then I am FREEEEEE to watch as many movies as I like over the weekend.

Movie total so far: (I think) eleven movies in seven days. Pretty far under my hoped-for goal.

Spike just home from watching this movie with his friends. After rating the Hungarian film Miscalculation a great big "What the fuck??" with a side of "Dude, don't take me to those kinds of movies," these 17 and 18 year old boys have declared Sinking of the Santa Isabel "A really good movie! Not the best, but really, really good!"

Take that for what it's worth out of the mouths of boys that age.

Tomorrow my hopes are to see Young People Fucking and possibly Xiang Zi (The Case).

Cinequest in the future...

I can't wait until I'm a professor. Then when Cinequest rolls around I'm just going to assign all the students to read The Old Arcadia while I head off to the movies for twelve days.

No movies tonight

Sorry, but I am being a responsible adult today and giving up precious movie time to work on this 1500 word essay discussing the production details of The Quene's Majestie's Passage, The Four Foster Children of Desire and The Lady of May, revolving around the issues raised by the layers of mediation between the event itself and the act of recording it.

Again, I know you'd all love to write it for me, but I have to do it myself. There are more movies I want to see this week so hopefully I get a lot done this evening so I can see movies tomorrow. If SJSU really supported Cinequest they would give us two weeks off, that's what I say. Heh.

Also, Hotel Montgomery kindly sent me an online customer satisfaction survey which I promptly filled out listing everything that went wrong. There were more problems than I even listed on this blog, but my last stay was so outstanding that I am sure they are going to rectify things by my stay next weekend. We shall see.

Hope ya'll are enjoying movies at Cinequest without me!

This is the only movie I saw today as I was a bit rundown. Came home and took a nap. We'll be back tomorrow!

I loved the movie. Starring John Ratzenberger from "Cheers" and Shelly Cole from "Gilmore Girls" this is a movie I think could do well in theaters - if only it had a big name star. That's the sad demise of so many good movies - No star = no distribution. I would say I loved this one as much as "Sherman's Way" and either of these movies could have replaced "Eden's Court" as opening movie. I'm still not quite sure how that decision was made, but anyway... There's another showing Monday evening and I definitely recommend it.

Catie - You would love this one!

Cinequest photos!

I am WAY too lazy to link each of these photos to each of my entries. So just click on over to Flickr for now, and either scroll past the SJSU photos I took today, or click on the Cinequest album on the right.
I think it's easier to see if you just go to the page after the SJSU photos.

D-Tour was actually pretty cute. If you are a Tenacious D fan, or a Jack Black fan, you will probably really like this documentary - but if you are not, or don't know who Jack Black or TD is, you probably won't. There is another screening tomorrow, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was moved from the California Theater to the Cameras. I was a little surprised that the Rep was barely half full. The people who showed up were pretty excited though. It was only about an hour long, and though I felt it was slow in the beginning, once their actual movie bombed the documentary started getting good. I guess everyone loves a loser, eh?

My boys were hoping for a Jack Black appearance and Spike insisted we sit only three rows back - yeah it's close to the stage, but a little too close for the screen. His friends quickly bailed and went up to the balcony. However, film viewers were not too disappointed when the film was over because although Jack Black didn't show, Kyle Gass and Jeremy Konner (director) were there for a Q&A and we were right up in front for it. I got several pictures of them both, and I took one of Spike with Kyle also. Pictures will be uploaded when we get home Sunday evening.

So, review: If you're a fan - go see it. If you say "Tenacious What?": Don't.

BigBoss and his wife said The Pussycat Preacher was actually really good, and the Pussycat Preacher herself was there. Turns out she's the same blonde that the boys had run into in the hotel hall. "Is there a porn convention in the hotel?" one boy had asked. Anyway, BigBoss said it was good and there's another screening on March 5.

On my way to stand in line...

I'm leaving in about 15 minutes to get to D-Tour at the Rep. I'm figuring arriving about 1/2 hour early will be good - only because I have my express pass. Today Cinequesting put up a poll about whether people should be allowed to save seats. I say Absolutely Not!!! Because they are seating people with high priced passes along with people who have bought tickets there is no way to know when they have sold out - no one knows how many "passes" will show up. And space for some of these films is at a premium - if you want to see the movie, you need to show up early and get your butt into a chair. Today at The Art of Travel it was obvious the theater was going to be packed but people were still insisting on saving seats. People were lined up along the walls waiting for seats, even though there were many empty chairs in the audience. Finally the moderator came and said "No can do" and had everyone push into the middle. Then he gave a very short lecture about how some people who want to see the movie have actually arrived on time and are waiting to be seated while some people don't care enough to actually get there. And you know, if you arrived on time to that showing you have no reason to be offended. It's a film festival, People, by its very nature it is run differently and you need to accomodate that.

As for D-Tour, all three of the boys I have with me are Ultra-Excited about this film. I have not heard any hint that Jack Black will show up, but the boys are ready. Two of them said if he is there they will throw themselves at his feet and beg to be adopted. My own boy of course knows better than to say this within earshot of Mom. But I am happy that they are excited, and happy that I can expose them to all kinds of films here at Cinequest.

And I am off! There will probably be no review until tomorrow morning. Good Night!

CatieCake and Andy Dopplegangers

So Catie says she wasn't downtown today when I saw her and Andy by the Camera Cinemas. Which makes me worry because I made really careful sure that it was Catie and Andy before I typed up that entry, so if it wasn't her then we have some space pod people amongst us.
I'm just saying.

So right now I'm going to force myself to forget about movies for just a couple hours and sit down and type up a literary criticism of "Janus" by Ann Beattie using psychoanalysis and feminist criticism. I know ya'll wish you could write it for me, but I must do it myself.

At 10:15pm I'm heading over to the Repertory Theater to see D-Tour: A Tenacious Documentary. I'll see ya there.

Write reviews for IMDB.com

So I learned something today.
During the Q&A after The Art of Travel (Oh, and sorry ya'll but I couldn't get a photo of Brooke Burns for you. My camera takes really good pictures in low light, but it showed only black in that theater)... okay, so during the Q&A the director asked us to please write reviews on IMDB for these movies, that they really help in getting distribution for the film. I spoke about this with Thomas Whelan, the director, after the film. I told him that I have written an occasional review for a film on IMDB before, but had no idea it actually helped it. Actually I thought I was wasting my breathe (or finger muscles?) because I knew no one would ever have a chance to actually SEE the movie, so what was the point? But he explained that filmmakers can use these reviews to convince the studios that people really DO want to see these kinds of movies, that we really do enjoy them and WILL pay money to see them.

So I promised him I would, and I'm definitely going to do it for all the other movies I enjoy at Cinequest. And I'm just asking you Cinequest and film festival readers to please do the same. I hope he continues to tell audiences this, because I would have written IMDB reviews of some other movies long before this.

The Art of Travel - the Movie

I liked this movie, a lot. I can't say I loved it, and it wasn't fantastic, but everyone around me agreed: we still liked it, a lot.

Christopher Masterson plays a 19 year old who dumps his fiancee at the altar (why was he getting married at 19 anyway???) and decides to go find himself by having a wild adventure from Nicaragua all through South America. I didn't really buy the appeal of the first adventure he embarked on: Let's hack our way through the South American jungle all day, every day, for over a year. And I absolutely disagreed with the decision he makes towards the end of the film. But that didn't make this a bad film - a movie is a piece of art just as much as a painting or a piece of literature. We don't have to agree with it, but it's good to see different ideas. And honestly, I sat there in the theater thinking: Why can't they just put these kinds of movies in theaters?? I would much rather watch this than most of the crap they've been putting in theaters. Making every movie end (or follow a plot) in a way that most viewers want to see is what makes most movies these days mind-boggling boring. I love these Cinequest movies that make you think along with entertaining you.

BigBoss from my old job and his wife sat with me in the theater. Wife couldn't figure out what to grade the movie, a 3 or a 4. She marked down 3 just as BigBoss said 4. So I put 4 on mine to even it out. I really felt it was more of a 3.5. It's a movie you wouldn't be sorry you paid money to see, that's for sure.

Hotel Montgomery

1:50pm I just looked out my window and saw Catie and her husband walking along by the Camera Theaters! Now THAT was a coincidence! But my room is too far away to yell at them.

I just want to state that, although my room is nice and clean and the bed is as comfy-comfortable as the Hotel Montgomery ever has, there have been some problems.

1. First they charged me double price and put me in the wrong room (only one bed, and notes on a desk that were clearly for another guest!). This problem was fixed, but not until I had lugged all my stuff upstairs and then back again and then back up to the new room.

2. Then I'm supposed to have some little gift in my room because I joined their silly little Joie de Vivre club, but so far... NADA.

3. The phone in my room rang sometime around 5am this morning - it was the front desk letting me know my TAXI had arrived. I definitely did NOT order a taxi, much less ask it to arrive at 5am.

4. The coffee in their rooms SUCKS.

Okay, that's it. The beds are comfy though!

It's Better That Gabriela Doesn't Die - the Movie

Mejor es que Gabriela no se muera
I loved it. Not the best movie of the festival, but very very funny. In Mexico, a man gets hassled by a cop. When the cop discovers the man is a writer for his favorite telenovela, he lets him go - on the condition that the writer tells him what will happen. Well, after the cop then goes and blabs to everyone he knows that the main character, Gabriela, will marry the villain - the actress who plays her quits the next day! So her character now has a terminal illness instead of a wedding, and the writer has a problem on his hands.

The movie is hilarious in parts, although there were a few times that all of us in the audience thought there may be some serious violence (the cop is not very happy to have been shamed in front of his friends, co-workers AND mother-in-law), no drastic violence occurs and the movie keeps its comedy intact. The last 20 minutes are laugh out loud hilarious, although I'm not sure of the significance of the last 5 minutes of the movie, overall I thought it was a WHOLE lot of fun. Anyone who has watched a telenovela (even if you don't understand them!) or a soap opera will love this movie.

*****
Overheard last night in line:
"Young People Fucking" is a great movie
"The Silence Before Bach" was very disappointing (no kidding!)
"The Art of Travel" was one of the best movies ever,
And Christopher Masterson is not very tall. Awwww.

Plan for Saturday

Okay, I guess I'm leaning towards the following for today:

Mejor es que Gabriela no se muera
Art of Travel
Otis (if it is showing)
Maybe Shorts 4
D-Tour: a Tenacious Documentary

"Mejor es que Gabriela no se muera" revolves around a Mexican telenovela, so there's no way I'm missing that one. "Art of Travel" stars Chris Masterson from Malcom in the Middle and he's here for the premier and 16 year old Buffy is absolutely set on seeing it (or seeing Chris most likely). Otis stars Illeana Douglas, who I love, but it's not listed on the website any longer. And of course D-Tour stars Jack Black. I haven't heard about him showing up but it is the World Premiere, so you never know, and I know Spike is for SURE going to see it.

Hopefully this schedule will allow me to work on some essays or at least catch up on reading. Stay tuned for reviews - or just get yourself over to downtown San Jose and come see some of these movies!!!

Day Three

Current Movie Count: Five full length, 10 Shorts, 3 days. Pretty good, eh?

Tomorrow on the list we have:

Mejor es que Gabriela no se muerta
Art of Travel (or)
Half Empty
This Dust of Words
Otis (if it is showing)
Maybe Shorts 4
Maybe D-Tour: a Tenacious Documentary

That's a lot of movies. I don't know if I'll get to them all.

Friends at Cinequest!

So I was walking over to the theater to see Sherman's Way and I hear my name being called and I turned around... and CatieCake was there! With hubby Andy! They have their Cinequest passes (Yay!) and were on their way to see The Village Barbershop, which I have on my list for Sunday Morning. Unless of course, she doesn't like it. THEN, they were also going to stay and see Disfigured. Yayy! I hope they like it. I think they will... but it's easy enough to tell all of you, who are mostly nameless and faceless, to go see it, but if someone I actually KNOW goes to see it, and then they don't like it... uh oh. Heh. We only had time to say Hi, and I introducted them to Nathan Louie - the official Cinequest greeter, and then I realized my movie was at the Repertory Theater so I had to get the heck out of there.

So I look forward to hearing if Catie liked either / or of the movies!

El Camino - the Movie

This is another movie I definitely recommend, maybe not as strongly as Sherman's Way, but it's definitely good. This one really is about a road trip. A young man dies of cancer and three of his friends decide to take his ashes to mexico. It's a bit of a depressing movie, but not in the way that makes you want to drive off a bridge after it. I would say the writer/director did a great job of bringing the movie to a believable, non-depressing ending. It was just the kind of ending that life really does bring - that is to say, nothing ever ends until you die. The writer was inspired when a friend of his died and he wrote this to kind of work his way through her death. I could definitely see this as that type of project - it's like a way of trying to figure out what our purpose is, and sometimes that's a clear answer but sometimes it's not. Sometimes young people create their own problems... but sometimes there are serious issues behind their sadness and depression. I liked it.

Definitely thumbs up. Go see it, but not if you're in the mood for a happy one.

Sherman's Way - the Movie

Awesome movie, pretty flawless, enjoyable, funny - and it should have been the Opening Night movie, for SURE.

I thoroughly enjoyed this movie, and it seemed like the entire audience did too. Very likable characters, believable character growth, Excellent actors, Excellent writing. Again, I don't like spoiling what movies are about so I won't go into details. The movie description keeps referencing "road trip" but like the filmmakers said after the movie, this was more like a "treadmill trip". I felt like it was sort of a road trip pitstop movie. Meaning... There's these two guys see, and they go on a road trip see, but then they have to stop at a small town for a few days and that's where the majority of the film takes place. I'm not sure why Lacy Chabert is credited so highly in the movie because she's in it for all of 2 minutes. But Brooke Nevin is in it and she was pretty damn awesome. She was there along with all but one of the cast, also the writer and director. Also, Enrico Colantoni, from Just Shoot Me (and I hear also Veronica Mars, but I wouldn't know) was a co-star AND was there, and I got pictures of him, and I probably never mentioned that when Just Shoot Me was on, I had THE BIGGEST CRUSH on him. I had no idea he was going to be in this film until the 80 year old lady sitting next to me kept arguing with her husband, then hit me on my arm and said "Hey! Did you ever watch Just Shoot Me?" Me: "Yes." So the little old lady points three seats over and says, "Isn't that the guy??" and I'm like "OMIGOD YES THAT'S THE GUY!!!" Heh. Yeah, Danny Glover and Michael Keaton are in town and I'm slobbering over the photographer from Just Shoot Me.

He was well and truly handsome. And ya'll can't have him.

But you should see the movie, for SURE.

Disfigured the Movie - Part One

Who know MovableType had a limit on how much you can fit in one entry? Anyway, here is my sort-of review of Disfigured, in two parts:

I've decided not to write any more about Disfigured, other than that you should all go see it, because there's just not much to say without ruining it. When I read the blurbs about films in the Cinequest handbook I only read as far as 1) something sparks my interest or 2) I read something I definitely don't want to see (child abuse, pedophiles, German movie). I don't read any further because I just want to enjoy every moment of surprise when I watch it. That's the sucky part of regular movies these days, you've practically seen the entire movie after watching all the trailers and tv previews.

So here is what I will say about Disfigured: It's the kind of movie you feel very lucky to have seen at Cinequest because there is probably not a mass market appeal so there is no other way you could have seen it. That doesn't mean it's not an incredible movie - it just means that no Hollywood executive will accept that the public might want to watch a movie about a fat girl and an anorexic girl without casting Eddie Murphy in the role of the fat girl. It’s what makes Cinequest so fun, because you get to see things you never would have otherwise. For instance, let's look at two movies from past Cinequest years:
Andrew Jenks, Room 335: one of the most incredible movies I've ever seen, anywhere, hands down. College student Andrew Jenks decides to do a documentary from the inside of a retirement home. He really has no plan as to what his movie will be about, he just has this idea that he thinks may be interesting. The next thing you know, his life is changed, the residents' lives are changed, and most certainly the lives of everyone who saw this film are changed. Andrew makes great friends with some of the residents who the viewer also comes to know and grows to love. There's no explaining the power of this movie - and yet it took two years to get to HBO (and I totally missed that it was finally showing!) with no fanfare whatsoever.
Monster Camp: Made by my friend Cullen Hoback, it's another unexpected documentary. Cullen falls in with a crowd of "LARPers", Live Action Role Players, who all get together at various times to wack each other with sticks and geek out completely, and of course spend all their home time playing World of Warcraft. Losers, right? I think Cullen changed our minds about that. I mean... maybe some of them were losers... heh... but overall it made viewers realize these people were not freaks, they just had a hobby like all the rest of us do. Just because we don't understand the appeal of their hobby, that doesn't mean they're wierdos. In fact, Cullen got caught up enough in it during filming that he ended up taking part in one of the "battles". I was lucky enough to get a DVD of the movie, which we share with everyone we know (and I scored one for Catie too, but haven't had a chance to give it to her yet!).

Disfigured the Movie - Part Two

Both of these movies left everyone in the theater in tears, either from emotion or just from laughing too damn hard. But no film studio will pick either of these up because they won't be able to make $25 million on them. Lucky for you all, Monster Camp is coming out on a few Indie Theaters this Spring, so hopefully you'll get to see it, and maybe some of you saw Andrew Jenks on HBO.

Anyway, Disfigured is a movie like that. It was incredible and the writing and acting blew everyone away. It won't change your life like Andrew Jenks, it won't make you pee your pants laughing like Monster Camp, but it will change your thinking, about yourself and about others - fat AND skinny. So that's all I'm going to give you about Disfigured. If you have room in your schedule to see it during Cinequest, then you should see it. If it's scheduled for a film festival near you, then you should see it.

And now I'm off to see Sherman's Way starring Michael Shulman (Party of Five), Lacey Chabert (Not Another Teen Movie), and James LeGros (Sleeper Cell, Ally McBeal). Who knows, some of them may be there. I'll bring my camera just in case. (And promise to get the pictures uploaded Sunday evening!)

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