« January 2009 | Main | March 2009 »

Well folks, it's almost midnight and I'm going to HAVE to go to bed. I have to watch the 128 minute film "Carousel" Sunday morning and have a short paper written before class Monday morning. I had planned to get to Cinequest by 10am tomorrow, but I don't think that's going to happen now. I need sleep so I can get up early, watch film, and then watch four other movies at CQ! So the longer reviews are going to have to wait again. BOOOO.
Even pretend College tries to ruin my Cinequest fun.

Historias Extraordinarias - the (4 hour 20 minute) Movie

I am not ashamed to say that I dozed off a couple times in the second half - I did better than I had expected, and another viewer told me she was out at one minute 30.

Having not seen the ENTIRE film, I have a hard time reviewing it. I did enjoy it, I didn't feel like I had just lost 4.5 hours of my life, I wasn't sorry to have scheduled it. Would I recommend it? I haven't decided yet.

I absolutely LOVED that the narration was in such simple Spanish that I could almost entirely understand it without subtitles (I am SJSU certified as "fluent" in Spanish. This makes me laugh.). This of course made closing my eyes for a minute much easier. But that also made it easier to doze off. Ah well.

I LOVED the promise of the three stories: One character named X, one named Z, one named H. Each a solitary man on his own personal journey or quest. At different times one or the other is searching for gold, searching for a beautiful missing woman, one is hiding for months in his hotel room, another trying to get a job done... But I never saw any real ending or wrap up to any of the stories, and I don't know if it happened when I was asleep or not at all!

I LOVED the short vignette about a very old lion named "Colonel". I thought that particular story was told very very well.

I was really interested in everything that was happening, although it jumped around so much I kept having to go back through my head to remember which story this or that character was from. None of the stories tied in with each other. I really enjoyed what I saw when I was awake.

But then I fell asleep for more than a moment and woke up to a group of German speaking men, and a first person narrator. What happened??? I figured out who the narrator was, but didn't understand the connection. This was almost at the end, and marked the moment when I knew I had lost the battle to see this movie.

Also LOVED: The closing song at the end of the movie. Sung in English with Spanish subtitles, I enjoyed the Spanish version even better. Even though I wasn't sure about the endings of each historia extroardinaria, this final song kind of tied them together for me.

In short: I loved everything I saw. My only complaints are about some missing endings/explanations, but they may have happened when I was asleep.

So what do I decide?

I say, if you've read the Cinequest description and still want to sit through 4 hours 20 minutes of one movie, then do it. I don't think anyone left during intermission and didn't return. Just drink more coffee than I did.

Cinequest - Day Four

Movie Count: 9 movies in 4 days

Ahhh, the day of mix-ups.

Started the day out going to the Repertory Theater with my Starbucks oatmeal to see if the filmmaker lounge was open. The volunteer told me no, they were still setting up. No problem, I just sat on a nice park bench to eat my oatmeal. Just as I got it open, she came back to the door and said it was a mistake, that it WAS open. So up I went for my first time (“Press” get to lounge in the lounge with the filmmakers).

WOW. I had heard other people exclaim how nice it was, but I had no idea. Six computers hooked up to the internet with another 2-3 with gigantic screens. A large table with an assortment of snacks lain out: Bagels and cream cheese, crackers with assorted bries (peppercorn and pesto were my favorites), fruit, pastries, and of course coffee. I just wanted a place to sit and eat my oatmeal, so I did, and helpers kept coming to me asking if they could bring me anything, like coffee or a bagel. Umm, no, that’s okay… it’s right THERE. Haha. They were the nicest volunteers ever. I wish my movie schedule allowed me more time to visit the lounge.

So then I started my walk from the Rep to the California Theater, just a couple blocks. But a fellow moviegoer said I was going to the wrong theater, that Historias Extraordinarias was at the Cameras. There was a little group of us who were confused then, so we went in and asked Nathan Louie. He sent us to the CAL Theater. We all walked over, but it looked deserted. We tried the doors, one was open so we went in and through the lobby but wondered why we didn’t see any volunteers. Finally a Cal employee saw us and asked how we had gotten in. Heh. She said the movie had changed from 11am to 11:30am and could we all please wait outside. So we all did. Ten minutes later another volunteer came running up to us and said that Historias was actually at the CAMERAS. Good grief. We only had ten minutes left. So back we went running up the street and into the Cameras and up to the third floor where the movie had not started yet and the theater was not even half filled. Yay. And in Nathan’s defense, Cinequest had just opened for the day, I’m sure he had not gotten the memo yet.

THEN. I was back in the Cal Theater this evening listening to the cast Q&A from Witch Hunt (No Sean Penn, but it was fabulous anyway). It was really running long, and I had to get back to the Cameras for a 7pm showing of Billy Was a Deaf Kid. I would have snuck out, but I was in the middle of a packed row, there was no way to get out of there until it was over. As soon as it ended (around 6:45) I zipped out of there, around the crowd and down a different exit, out the doors… and into a different street. I wasn’t sure where I was, so I just hurriedly followed the building around. My son called and said he was waiting for Billy the Deaf Kid to start, so I was happy to see it with him. Then he said he was at the REP. “The Rep??” I asked, “I thought it was at the Cameras.” “No, it’s at the Rep.” So I booked it over to the Rep. The Rep wasn’t even half full but I found my son sitting in the balcony. We sat down while I caught my breath from running around downtown. It was 7:05 and they were still showing previews, so that was good. But then the announcer came out. “Welcome to our premiere of The Skeptic.” “The SKEPTIC???” I said to my son. “WE’RE AT THE WRONG THEATER.” But there was no way we’d get to Billy on time. Skeptic was on my schedule for a different day, so I just hoped I could rearrange things later.

So, The Skeptic was good, but I was disappointed to not see Billy the Deaf Kid tonight. I’ll get to see it Monday night instead – but then I won’t get to see Samurai Avenger or The Friend. Ah well, if that’s the worst of my problems with scheduling 33 movies in 12 days, then I’ll just have to deal with it. I still had a great time today.

On the list for tomorrow (very much up for revision):

Shorts 2: Document the World
The Market A Turkish comedy
El Camino (or a nap) A Costa Rican drama
The Caller Starring Oscar Nominee Frank Langella and Elliott Gould

Cinequest Day Three

Movie Count: 6 movies, 3 days

This is the quick, 1:15am version. Hopefully I'll have time for reviews tomorrow morning or I'm going to be really behind this weekend.

How Am I Not Going to Love You?: Brazilian Spanish-language film, very well made and I liked it. Futbol loving Hugo learns a life lesson the way they're usually learned: too late.

Two Million Stupid Women: This one I need time to talk about because I really liked it. 4 out of 5 stars

Corpse Run: I HATED IT. I would have left halfway through but I was blocked in my row. Afterward at the Q&A with the cast everyone seemed to be really exuberant about the film so I figured I was in the minority, but I'm getting emails from others who hated it too.

I haven't seen anything that has wowed me yet. Capers comes closest, and I really liked 2 Million Stupid Women, but neither really wowed me. We have 8 days left!

This is what is up tomorrow:

Historias Extraordinarias: this movie is a frakkin 4 hours 20 minutes long. Good Grief.
Witch Hunt: Sean Penn's documentary, I am really looking forward to it
Billy Was a Deaf Kid: I love that they've wheeled a couch into the Camera theaters to promote this movie. I look forward to it.

And now it's 1:21am. I need to go to sleep, back to the theaters at 11am.

Five minutes into this documentary about two brothers who have brought the famous children’s game into World Championship status, I wrote down this note, “Is this for real??”

I had spoken to Graham Walker, one of the brothers, through the computer before attending the film. He seemed to be VERY serious about his film. So as I watched these over the top characters on screen, these players who seemed to have taken “taking it seriously” to a whole new level, I felt like I had been had. There was no way this was a documentary. From the “team doctor” to a trophy fashioned out of a wooden hanger and a gilded fist flinging the “bird”, to then hearing about a bidding war between Fox Sports and ESPN over who would show the World Championships (Seriously? ESPN??)… and Hello, I haven’t even told you about the players yet.

On the other hand, there also seemed to be a pretty big effort to make this seem real. Clips from the Conan show, Ellen, the CBS Morning Show and even CNN certainly made it appear real, and the previous World Championships filmed sure had a lot of extras walking around…

Well, folks, this film was about as real as they come. I think I could have enjoyed it more if I had know for sure if real or not because I spent too much time trying to figure out the truth. Honestly, I was only convinced of its realness when the filmmaker stood up for the Q&A.

“Are you a fan of RPS?” he was asked.

“Umm. No.” was his reply, to great applause. He also informed us that it’s the only sport that has no rules against banned substances. Thanks, Cinequesting, for asking that question. People do want to know.

But did I like it? Yeah, yeah I did. We were all laughing hysterically, we just were never sure what we were laughing at: documentary or mockumentary? But there is no denying that the movie was entertaining, and it was actually really well put together. Matti Leshem, executive producer of such hits as “Paula Abdul: Cardio Cheer”, is set up as a perfectly villainous promoter, and there were various colorful heroes from the large group of competitors. Master Roshambollah was in the audience with some friends, sitting right behind me and cheering loudly in all the right places.

It took me a while to figure out exactly what I thought about this movie. I really had to get it into my head that this was all real and not one big joke being played. But no matter what, I can’t deny that I laughed and had fun, and with the crazy mix of characters that show up for these championships, well, you may just find me there as a spectator one day.

Capers - the Movie

I loved this film from the opening credit animations. I’m going to borrow from the IMDB plot summary to explain the details:

Three teams of criminals share the same Brooklyn block, but each exists in a separate genre of film. The Amateurs are trapped in a 1970's anti-hero movie. The Sputniks live in black and white. The Moolies can't escape their rap video life. But they all share a hatred of Connie, a racist local pawn shop owner and mafia widow. So when Connie has a heart attack, each team decides it's time to find out what's inside her legendary safe. Unfortunately they all plan their big score for the same night.

If I had read that description before the film, I wouldn’t have been so confused at first. But even in my confusion I loved the characters and wanted to keep watching them on screen. Eventually all the stories start merging together and you understand that they all want whatever is in Connie’s safe. As the Moolies put it, they “want money and don’t want to work for it”. Unfortunately, all three teams end up working much harder than they expected to get Connie’s safe. I freakin LOVED Connie. More racist than Archie Bunker and with less heart, but like with Archie, you couldn’t help but love her character. Danny Masterson seemed much more comfortable in his role as the head of the Amateurs than he was in Wake. And every time he and his partner appeared on screen walking their little dachshund I let out a little SQUEEEE inside. Dachshunds are to me like Robert Pattinson is to teenage girls.

It wasn’t the greatest film I’ve ever seen at Cinequest, and some people around me didn’t love it as much as I did, but everyone did seem to agree that it was Good, at LEAST. I really liked the use of the different filming styles, even though they confused me in the beginning. I was pretty impressed when the teams started crossing into each other’s stories and their scenes continued to have their own film style even in the same frame. And it had a very satisfactory ending, with a promise of a sequel (except it’s a film festival movie, so a sequel may never happen). Oh, and there’s a “brutal Russian sex scene” that you’re not going to want to miss. Trust me.

Unfortunately, the promised short film never showed, but that's okay, I loved this film anyway. When the film was over I immediately texted my son to try to fit it into his schedule. I recommend that you also try to fit it into your schedule. This will definitely be one of my favorite films this year.

The Village Barbershop - available on DVD

Great news tonight! The Village Barbershop, starring John Ratzenberger, is coming out on DVD on March 3. VB was at Cinequest last year and was one of my favorites. Don't want to buy it? Netflix will have it to rent. It's one you really shouldn't miss.

This is precisely the sort of movie people who no longer go to movies often complain 'they just don t make anymore.' The Village Barbershop is just as warm, humorous and ingratiating as it means to be, with solid work by all principal cast. --Variety

Cinequest - Friday Night

Movie Count: 3 films in 2 days

Extended reviews will come tomorrow, but short reviews are:

Capers: Try not to miss this one. It took awhile to come together for me but I loved it anyway, and I keep loving it more as time goes on. Some interesting filming techniques - a bit distracting at first, but it tied in and worked.

Rock Paper Scissors: This one is hard because I DID like it, I did have fun, and it was entertaining. If you have time for a just-for-fun movie then you should definitely go see it. But I spent most of the film thinking "Is this for REAL? Are they putting us on? This is just a SPOOF of a documentary, right?" But apparently it's for real. So then I was more confused. Still, short review: go see it if you're in the mood for some fun.

For tomorrow:

How Am I Not Going to Love You? (Cómo No Te Voy A Querer)
Two Million Stupid Women
Corpse Run

I also finally met, live and in person, Cinequesting and his lovely girlfriend. We've been Cinequest-reviewing friends for a few years now, ever since the times when we were babbling about movies to ourselves only. Had a long chat with Jason and even met Marya Murphy from CQCentral and the movie Canary. It was a good Cinequest day (and don't tell anyone but I'm overcoming my shyness).

My most embarrassing moment at the Cal Theater last night:

Just before the Q&A ended I felt my cell phone vibrate. Thinking I was getting another Cinequest Twitter message I opened up my phone to see it...

And accidently picked up a call from son, on my cell's SPEAKER PHONE.

"MA? MOM? ARE YOU GUYS WALKING OVER HERE YET?"

AACK!! I immediately dropped the phone into my lap as my son's VERY LOUD voice seemed to be transmitted across the theater (I don't think it really was that loud, but it seemed like it to me).

"MOMM?"

I picked it up, whisper hissed "YOU'RE ON SPEAKER PHONE I HAVE TO HANG UP"

*click*

More "Wake" coverage

Some people besides my teens seem to have loved Wake last night. That's okay, we each have movies that we like and don't - this one wasn't for me. I stick by my review though and remember a past Cinequest movie that also starred Bijou Phillips and Danny Masterson: You Are Here. I actually saw that film twice and loved it a lot more than Wake.

Again, tonight I'm seeing Capers (also starring Danny Masterson) and Rock Paper Scissors, a documentary about people... who play... Rock Paper Scissors. Trailer for it is here. My favorite part is the end when one guy compares the Rock Paper Scissors World Championships to... Woodstock. I was unsure about this one but Liz says she's heard about it and wishes she could see it. So here I go!

Cinequest Opening Night

As far as Opening Night in general though, I thought it went well this year.

The pre-film presentations and talks were short and interesting, even if the promise of a Steve Wozniak appearance only ended up being a film clip. Mayor Chuck Reed was awesome and declared “San Jose – the Capital of Silicon Valley” enough times to make me giggle. Lisa Kim was great, and Christopher Garcia is always my favorite host/interviewer/moderator. It’s always nice hearing Halfdan Hussey talk.

The after film Q&A went very well, with the usual questions about budget and shooting length (my eyes popped when she said it was a four week shoot). Bijou was cute and bubbly and has great legs, and the director was interesting and intelligent. Danny Masterson stole the show with some of his answers.

The after party again, was not for me, but I’m sure a lot of people had a lot of fun. I’m not knocking Cinequest for the party, but we may need to find a much bigger venue next year – Cinequest just keeps growing and growing!

All in all, except for some exceptionally rude people that I’m not used to seeing at Cinequest, I think we have a great start on our hands. I am really looking forward to the next eleven days and SO glad I won’t have school getting in the way this year.

I’ll see you at the movies tonight.

Wake - the Movie

Well, sleeping on things didn’t make the movie better.

I’ll start by saying that the movie wasn’t awful, it just wasn’t great. It gets a solid Good for being entertaining enough, and I heard a lot of laughs from the audience, and my teenage kids really liked it. Bijou Phillips is funny and engaging and has GREAT hair in the film (I TOTALLY WANTED her hair!). Danny Masterson is great in person, but didn’t have a great part written for him. I think the problems mostly fall with the story itself.

The film revolves around Carys, a troubled woman who is unable to feel emotions after the death of her sister. In order to try and feel something she attends funerals, the more sad and tragic the better. While at one funeral she meets the dead girl’s fiancé, and after accidentally stealing the dead girl’s engagement ring she becomes hopelessly entangled with the victim’s family and her web of lies. Eventually, of course, she falls in love with the fiancé – but will her lies bring an early end to their new happiness?

**Spoiler Alerts Ahead** ...not that I think you’ll ever get to see this movie.

1. Since when was assisted suicide legal? Unless this movie was set in Oregon (it was filmed in LA, but may have been set in Oregon), this small little legality throws a major monkey wrench into the plotline.

2. I may have heard wrong, but didn’t the fiancé put his dead girlfriend’s body into a car and dump it off a cliff in the Grand Canyon?? Maybe it wasn’t the Grand Canyon, but the dead girlfriend looked remarkably great in her casket.

3. We are to believe that a grown woman from a very religious, Catholic family would rather arrange a suicide that will appear as accidental death instead of telling her parents she has cancer so that everyone could say their Goodbyes and get closure. And that the family would be totally okay with this when they find out the truth. I’m not buying it.

4. Six weeks after his cancer-ridden fiancé has her “accident”, the “killer fiancé” proposes to Carys, a woman he met at his fiancé’s funeral. Maybe he wasn’t actually a killer, but that guy had something wrong with him. And women – don’t get engaged to a guy who just lost his fiancé six weeks earlier!!

5. Speaking of Carys, a woman who supposedly has emotional issues after the death of her sister, she seemed just fine with me. I never really saw someone who was having issues, other than we kept being TOLD she had issues.

6. Letting Jane Seymour wear this necklace in the film was a big mistake. Seeing it so prominently displayed around her neck was a huge distraction and I think is a big mistake in a film you're trying to get into theaters. I discussed this with my teen daughter, she had never even seen the necklace before but said she couldn't help staring at it. "I didn't know what it WAS," she said. "I couldn't figure out if it was a Z or a snake or what." HEH.

7. Did I miss something else or was there absolutely no closure with Danny Masterson’s character?

Aside from the big holes in the story, it really wasn't a bad film, but it just wasn't fabulous either. Buffy was surprised that I rated it a 3, but I asked her "Do you think people would flock to the theater and pay to see it?" She thought for a few minutes, and finally said "No".

Let's see how far I get since I'm tirrrrrred.
Took Buffy downtown with me to pick up my passes and the kids' tickets before the film. Went to the Hotel Montgomery to get my pass and right away found Jason and Christopher and... Cullen Hoback! Surprise! I had heard he was in SF last week and asked him to come to CQ - I don't know if he planned to come anyway, but he's a great filmmaker and I'm happy to see him around. Hopefully next year he'll show up with another movie.

Took Buffy to Asqew Grill, my favorite place to eat when I'm downtown and then we were in line for the 7pm movie by 5:50pm. We were like tenth in line, but Spike arrived 45 minutes later after they had let everyone into the lobby. GRRRRRR teenage boys. So we were standing in line at the interior door while the poor Cinequest people were trying to control the crowd entering the theater - and this HORRIBLE WOMAN behind me starts YELLING that she wants in, that she saw other people going in so why couldn't she, and just kept arguing and YELLING at the poor volunteer. Meanwhile she inches herself closer and closer until she's completely bypassed me and four other people. CUTTER. She yelled and harangued and wouldn't shut up for ten minutes, I kid you not. Her husband stood there smiling. If you are that woman, and you are reading this: YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELF. GAHH. Regretfully, I didn't think to take her picture.

We got into the theater finally, and were off to the side but Cal Theater has wonderful seating everywhere. Buffy nudged me and pointed to the lady next to her with a large purse in her lap. The purse had some side openings and you could see movement inside. She had brought her dog!! Buffy said it was strange that I asked to take a picture of it, but I had to show you - I'm "Press" now, ya know.

I think I'll review the movie tomorrow, as I'm tired and didn't LOVE the movie, but don't want my exhaustion to make the review even worse. It wasn't a bad movie, it just wasn't that great. Oh, but I have to say this: Jane Seymour had a part in it and she prominently wore this damn necklace. Way to completely distract the audience and take them out of the film with your too-obvious product placement. I rated it a 3 but Buffy gave it a 5. Spike didn't vote but said he liked it. I'll review tomorrow.

So then we went to the after party, and it was in a new location this year - I'm really disappointed. In years past they had held it at the Hotel Montgomery, and it was always packed so full you couldn't move. But last year was a lovely evening and we got to hang out on the hotel patio and it was the best party ever (the pink vodka didn't hurt either). There was room to move around and room to sit and hang out. But this year they moved it to a couple restaurants/bars down the street, possibly to accomodate a larger crowd - but it was JAM PACKED when we got there, and we were there before half the crowd got there. There was a band and alcohol and hor d'oeuvres, but Buffy was sad that the chocolate fountain was gone. The main problem was it was just too packed. It was a warehouse packed with people. Buffy took a pic with Nathan Louie and we all just decided to leave. We were sad that we didn't stay at the party, but I can't hang out like that with two underage kids in tow.

Did we all have fun? YES. Are we tired? YES.
Tomorrow I will see Capers and Rock Paper Scissors.

See ya at the movies.

And we're off!

We're all leaving in just a few minutes to get downtown and take care of business before the Opening Night Movie. Wake will hopefully be MUCH better than Opening Night last year. After that, a party at Billy Berk's and Mezcal Restaurant. This year, we'll keep the drinks down to two - I don't feel like dealing with a hangover this year! But at least I get to sleep in, haha.

So, you MAY hear from me tonight, but likely not until tomorrow morning. If you DO see posts tonight ... please excuse the drunken blogging in advance, heh.

TWEET TWEET TWEET

Excellent article about dealing with an audience with their heads stuck in their cell phones texting and twittering. Cinequest is really promoting the entire internet experience (or did we just decide to do this ourselves? Chicken or egg?) and a huge population of Cinequest fans is developing on Twitter. Although I'm participating full force as usual, I've been imagining 30,000 people downtown, all with their heads down typing into their cell phones. What will happen during the presentations? During the different talks and forums? This article addresses the problem, and whether it actually is a problem - or can be turned into a huge positive for everyone involved.

We will see how things go tonight.

Too many good movies this year!

Billy Was a Deaf Kid is one movie I was on the fence about. I loved the screen shot Cinequest put up with the blurb, but the blurb itself didn't hook me so I put it on my "maybe" list. But today I went to the website and viewed the trailer, and now I have to go see it. I'm not the most high-brow of movie reviewers, I just like to enjoy a movie, whether it's Sean Penn's Milk or Kevin Smith's Clerks II, I just want to see a good movie.

It looks to me like Billy Was a Deaf Kid is the kind of Cinequest movie that I like best. It reminds me of my friend Cullen Hoback's movies. Quirky and fun. So now I have to fit that one into my already 30-film long list of must-see movies.

But that's okay. This is what I look forward to every year.

Festival Fanatic

Oh JOY of JOYS, Festival Fanatic is working for me now. Or actually, I can prioritize them on my desktop computer (but not from my laptop), and then choose which I want to see from my laptop (but not my desktop). Computers are whacky, I tell you. But whatever was wrong before, I really don't care, this program is AWESOME.

If you plan to see lots of movies at Cinequest (or even other festivals), definitely check this site out. Even if you're just going to see a handfull, this program may be of some help. Plus, easy links to each movie so you don't have to have a zillion windows open as you decide!

Wow, very difficult choice for me here.
I really REALLY want to watch Historias Extraordinarias. It comes on Saturday at 11am.

But you don't get out of the theater until... 3:20pm. It's FOUR HOURS 20 MINUTES LONG.
I clicked back to the movie site to see if I really did want to watch it... but I DO. I think I will LOVE this movie. But I don't know if I can sit still that long without falling asleep, haha.

I guess I'm going to try it though. Because it just looks too good. *sighhhhh* Maybe they'll serve lunch?

Cinequest Film Trailers

Head over to CQ Central to find reviews, interviews, and best of all, film trailers!!!
Oh, and you'll find my reviews over there later too, but they'll be here first and foremost, so never fear, you don't have to leave.

I'm glad so many people seem so excited, even those of you across the country and in Canada. I'm happy to have met some of you because of Cinequest or because of my reviews, but also I'm glad that nowadays you can eventually find many of the films I review on Amazon or even Netflix. So if you hear of a movie that you really wish you could see but have no film festivals near you, keep your eyes out for it. And of course I try to let you know whenever I hear about one becoming available.

Some of my past favorites that are now available on DVD:

Disfigured Fantastic movie
The Village Barbershop One of my favorites last year
Outsourced One of my very favorites ever
Autism - the Musical Wow, just Wow, you can't say anything else
Monster Camp from my friend Cullen Hoback, I was surprised at my reaction to this movie
Young People F***ing Hilarious

And Sherman's Way, from my friend Craig Saavedra, is premiering on the big screen in LA and NYC next month. Congrats! to him.

In the meantime, go view some film trailers!

You've figured this out already, right?

I just want to clarify, for those of you who haven't noticed, that Cinequest starts tomorrow, I have a pass and will be seeing as many movies as possible. As usual, this blog will be 99% All Cinequest, All the Time until the festival ends on March 8 (My mom's birthday). I feel like this was kind of an abrupt transition into Cinequest reporting this year because until today, I didn't know I was going. But now it's here. And I'm excited. So ya'll are going to hear about it. If you don't want to hear about Cinequest, then tune out until after March 8 - then things will be back to boring/normal around here.

And so Full Time Cinequest reporting starts....

NOW.

Cinequest and the Academy Awards

From the Cinequest site:

Cinequest is also honored that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has elected to recognize the Cinequest Film Festival as a qualifying festival in the Short Films category for the annual Academy Awards®. Recipients of the Best Short Narrative and Best Short Animation Awards will qualify for consideration for an Academy Award®.

You go Cinequest! I'm so proud of you!!

Biggest Loser

Haha, Allison is DEFFO pregnant in this episode.

GOODNESS!!!

So many good movies on the Cinequest list. I refused to look at them before because I was certain I wasn't going and didn't want to get excited. So now I'm 24 hours from the Opening night party and I haven't got my movie watching schedule together yet. I'm going to be working hard on that Thursday morning I guess, or at midnight tomorrow.

There are a lot of Mexican/Spanish-language movies, which makes me happy, and there are a LOT of Documentaries. Here are some movies that I think sound like fun (but I don't have my schedule yet, so I don't know what I'll be able to see):

Gotta Dance (documentary) Old ladies hip-hop dancing. I'm totally not missing this one
Raging Grannies (documentary) MORE old ladies, this time with causes to fight for.
Lifelines Because I have loved Jane Adams ever since Happiness
How to Be... Starring ROBERT PATTINSON, so if you're a teenage girl, be sure to ask your parents for a ride to downtown San Jose.
The Least Among You Starring Louis Gosset Jr, and a personal appearance at Cinequest too
Ready? OK Gotta have at least one gender questioning story
Killer Poet I've always been obsessed with serial killers and murder stories, so I can't wait for this documentary
Garrison Keillor: The Man On the Radio in the Red Shoes (documentary) I'm not a huge fan of Garrison Keillor but if you are, you'll probably love this
Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison (documentary) Again, I'm not a fan, but if you are - come see this film!
Home Sorry, but I'm not ready for that one. There's no way you'll find me in that theater, but It's sure to be a great film.

This list is getting too long. Can I list ALL the movies? hahaha... Well, those are the film's that have caught my attention at this moment. If you're anywhere near San Jose, please take a look at some of them and try some out. If you see any two movies you're sure to have found at least one outstanding film.

I'll list some more later.

Rock Paper Scissors... Really???

Rock Paper Scissors is a documentary that will play at Cinequest. This is the description:

Diving headfirst into an extreme subculture that has taken a simple game to unbelievable heights, Mike McKeown’s vérité style tracks the evolution of Rock Paper Scissors (known as RPS) into a legitimate sport of skill and strategy, worthy of training and competition. Culminating with the World Championships, this intimate and hilarious look at the sport and its devotees navigates a terrain built of comical strategies, fascinating arguments, and heated competition. One thing is abundantly clear; RPS is much more than a game, it’s a lifestyle.

I just don't know what to think about this. Do I want to spend 88 minutes watching Rock Paper Scissors? I don't know whether to cross it off the list or be totally excited.

Witch Hunt and Sean Penn

Witch Hunt is a documentary to be shown at Cinequest that I am really looking forward to seeing. Executive Produced by Sean Penn, you all know I will seriously lose my shit if he happens to show up at the screening.

A girl can hope, right?

Stars at Cinequest

And who else will be at Cinequest this year, ready for interviews?

Danny Masterson
Bijou Phillips
Ellie Kanner
Blanchard Ryan
Julian Kheel
Louis Gossett, Jr
Kevin Pollak
Diablo Cody

Will YOU be there?

PRESS PASS FOR CINEQUEST!!!

I am absolutely OVER THE MOON with happiness right now. Here is my exciting news, that I didn't want to jinx by announcing before:

I am getting a free PRESS PASS for Cinequest!!!! Now I don't have to worry about spending money I shouldn't be spending, and I can still spend two weeks doing the one thing that makes me happy every year: Seeing as many Cinequest movies as humanly possible!

And this year will be school and essay writing FREE. No more days of work and school and sleepless nights typing papers up while I nod off during the movies. I get twelve days and nights of free movies!!!!! And I get to review to a bigger audience! OMG this solves the whole entire Cinequest/Economy problem this year! I LOVE you Cinequest, and maybe donating all that money in previous years gave me some good karma for this press pass, I don't know, but I will be happy to spend the next twelve days and nights of my life with you.

Please join me at Cinequest if you can, I guarantee you will have a good time and meet some fabulous people. Opening night is tomorrow, and it's for sure now: I will be seeing you at the movies!!!

Please oh please pick me

I'm seriously going to die if I don't get a very special email about movies today...

Preparing for Cinequest

I'm starting to put together a Cinequest schedule on the small hope that I'm going to get a very nice surprise in my email today. I'm going to post some movies that I'm already getting excited about, in the hope that some of you will start to get excited too. Remember, movies are $10 each, but $5 for a student ticket.

Historias Extraordinarias
Wake - Opening night movie! Starring Bijou Phillips, Ian Somerhalder, Jane Seymour, Danny Masterson, Marguerite Moreau
Lightbulb
How to Be... starring Robert Pattinson
The Last Lullaby Starring Tom Sizemore
Witch Hunt, reviewed here

Oh gosh, there're just so many! Okay, I'm excited, I'm EXCITED now!!!

Confessions of a Shopaholic - the Movie

When I went to see Confessions of a Shopaholic last weekend there was one trailer I was really surprised to see: Land of the Lost. O. M. G. I loved that show when I was a kid. I loved it so much I used to pretend my bowl of Grape Nuts was the Land of the Lost. Of course, the show had dinosaurs, and anything with dinosaurs had my full attention when I was a kid. This movie has dinosaurs, but it also has Will Ferrell: a guy who I think is generally funny, but is blowing it with some really awful movies. This particular movie doesn't look like it will suck though - so you just might see me at the theater.

I've also been seeing posters for Race to Witch Mountain, starring the Rock, and if you are my age, you will remember this series of movies with love too - I even had comic books about the kids from Witch Mountain. Kim Richards (Tia Malone) was probably my first girl crush (and I just looked her up, she's also in Black Snake Moan which is currently on my DVR - I know what I'll be watching today!). She has a cameo role in the new movie. I probably won't get around to watching this movie, but if reviews come out well, then it's definitely a show to take your kids to.

Oh, did I just skip right over the fact that I saw Shopaholic? I'm not ashamed, just like I'm not ashamed to have read the books and have the audiobooks on my iPod. Scott calls them my "pink books", I call them the fluff I read between semesters to clear out the obsure 16th century dramas that clutter up my brain. Isla Fisher was perfect as Rebecca Bloomwood, and the clothes were totally cute. The movie does not follow the books perfectly, but is close enough. My only real complaint was it ran a little long for me. It combines a couple books together and so it went just a couple plot points too many, but I really don't have many complaints - it does well for what it is: a fluffy, girl movie. I give it an A- and the warning that you shouldn't drag your boyfriend to see it.

We got our Wii, and I love it. I love playing tennis and boxing on Wii Sports, and I'll even do some bowling sometimes. Then we got Rayman's Raving Rabids, which I played and played until after one week I had beaten it. Then we got Mario Kart, and we keep thinking that we *should* be tired of it, but we're not. And I love that you can play against other people on the internet!! Today we got Raving Rabbids 2, on sale for $14 at Toys R Us. But I'm not ready to start yet because I'm still busy with Mario Kart.

We still need to get Wii Fit. That's the goal. But that won't happen until after payday, or whenever Amazon gets them in stock again. In my non-Wii real life, I'm going to try to get to the gym tomorrow morning.

And so if you want to race me in Mario Kart, send me your console number and I'll add you. It's way better than adding people on MySpace, haha.

I'll see you at the Banana Cup.

A What pass?

OH MY, I may have some very exciting news soon!!!
I'll have an announcement by Wednesday, hopefully it will be a good one...

The Oscars - Opening Act

I just watched a tape of the opening act from the Oscars, and it was GREAT. If I had watched the beginning last night and seen this act, it may have made me fall a tiny bit in love with the Oscars. And overall, I thought Hugh Jackman did a great job last night. Just wanted to give credit where credit is due!
If you missed the opening act, be sure to watch it at the link above, and watch it entirely through.

Also, to clarify my thoughts on Joaquin Phoenix, word "on the street" is this is all an act for some upcoming project or mockumentary, Dave Letterman appearance included. So what irritates me is having to watch him play a fool for How much longer?? so that he can put out a movie he thinks we're going to pay to watch. I'm not paying a dime to see one more minute of this ridiculous behavior. I guess that's why it irritates me even to have Ben Stiller poke fun of him, because it's still giving him attention and free publicity.

Overall, I thought the pre-Oscar hype for Slumdog was not deserved. I loved the movie, and you should all see it, but I never thought it was good enough to, pre-Oscars, be expected to make a sweep of awards. I saw Milk soon after Slumdog, and it was a much better movie. But Milk was not the "feel good" movie I guess, so it didn't get the publicity.

I missed the first half of the Oscars, I tuned in just in time to see Ben Stiller giving more publicity to Joaquin Phoenix's year-long ridiculous publicity stunt. That soured me right off, but then we had to have Beyonce do a HO HUM tribute to film musicals. I'm sorry if you all loved the Oscars, or if you love Beyonce, but that was terrible and I would be very happy to never see or hear Beyonce ever again. Kate Winslett has also been all over my television recently and I'm tired of seeing her too - however I didn't see her film, so I won't judge her award. I will, however, say that I'm glad I won't have to see any more of her for awhile. Maybe we should chalk all this irritableness up to that time of the month - oh, except it's NOT.

I am glad that Wall-E won. I loved how they presented the supporting/actor/ress awards. Slumdog won best picture, okay fine, I'm over it. But let's rewind five minutes to the best actor award.

Sean Penn gave an incredible performance as Harvey Milk. You never even saw Sean Penn in the role, it was just Harvey Milk. I saw The Wrestler right after Milk (or was it right before?) and it was a good movie, it was okay, but I also didn't think it was incredible. I love Mickey Rourke, and I hope they give him more work, but I'm not up for giving acting awards for getting your life together. Mickey Rourke didn't deserve the best actor award. And yet it seemed all sewn up and for sure, right? Mickey won Golden Globes and every other award this season, of course he would get the Oscar too.

So when DeNiro and Hopkins et al came out on stage, my out loud words were "Here's the moment when Sean Penn gets robbed." But I was prepared, and calm, and basically resigned, as I'm sure all the nominees were but Rourke.

And the Oscar goes to... SEAN PENN. If they didn't put the words on the screen I wouldn't have believed my ears. I screamed, something. And then I just started bawling. They had done it. The voters had actually seen the film and given it to the actor who deserved it. I KEPT bawling. "I can't believe I'm CRYING," I said through choked tears. Buffy turned away from the computer screen and asked who that was. "Buffy, it's SEAN PENN, he played HARVEY MILK!!!"

She didn't even recognize him. I mean, he doesn't look that different in the film, but I'm telling you he lost himself so completely that if you were a 17 year old unfamiliar with his work, you wouldn't realize that Sean Penn had played Harvey Milk. And that didn't take makeup or special effects. Buffy was amazed and surprised and so happy.

So that makes up for everything, for me. I mean, what I saw wasn't bad, it was okay. Beyonce is not the only singer that America and/or Hollywood has. Joaquin Phoenix should be ignored. Slumdog Millionaire was not the movie to end all movies. Mickey Rourke seems to be a great person and I'm sorry his dog died. But the Academy gave the Best Actor award to an actor who absolutely, positively deserved it. And that makes me happy tonight.

Also, great speech, Sean.

So Ile de France Cheese might send me some free cheese to review on this blog if you all want to hear about it. I say, anyone who wants me to review some food, especially CHEESE, you send it right over and I'll review it, heh. I had a choice of Camembert, Goat Cheese or Brie. I personally love Brie so I chose that. I'm sure it will be delicious because 1. it's Brie 2. they have a recipe called Prosciutto Wrapped Brie Bites.

And what could POSSIBLY be better than Prosciutto Wrapped Brie Bites???

Sadly, I STILL don't know for sure if I'm going to Cinequest - although I'll probably make a couple movies, Opening night for sure. But the Stock Market is KILLING me. I still have money, but I can't justify taking it out right now. It's such a small amount for a pass, but I just really don't know what to do. I've been very careful and very good with that money, and I have to weigh carefully what I want to spend it on. With two more years of Masters tuition coming up, and Buffy probably going to a University, I need to save that money. AARGH. It frustrates me most that this would be the first year I didn't have reading and writing and classes to stop me from attending as much as possible. And I've been getting actual publicity requests to see movies and interview cast and crew. I'm torn between doing really great Cinequest coverage this year or letting it slide...

On the other hand... good writing practice... yes, yes, maybe I could use this to my advantage... HMMMMMMMMMM. Maybe talking this out just made up my mind.

The Aminals

Some pics of Phoebe-Cat and Miss Puffles (hamster) on Flickr.

I think I forgot to mention that when Buffy brought her home Miss Puffles was purple. I told her it wasn't good to dye animal fur, but she said she did it with some sort of purple tissue paper that you rub on the animals. I'm still against this, but Miss Puffles seems to be fine - and you can see her little purpleness in the photos.

Buffy's Birthday Dinner

BJs was great and the kids had a great time. I think that Spike especially made me happy, because he seemed to have a good time with us. Spike is a wierd one. If we are all on vacation together he loves to spend time with us, but if we're all at home, he's not so much for going out with us. I guess that all has to do with how close his friends and the next party are, eh? But for some reason he had a great time with his sister and we had a great time with him. BJs stuffed us with food and we left $100 poorer, which I wasn't expecting but was okay, and with armloads of leftovers. Then Spike had Buffy invite some friends to Sky High Sports, and he drove them all there at 9pm, paid for Buffy's ticket, and played with them all until almost midnight! My kids are only 18 months apart, so it's not like Spike wasn't having fun, but I was really blown away by his kindness. Also, earlier in the day, he had told her to decide where she wanted to go for lunch, and he took her out for tacos while I was working. What a sweet brother!!! However, I had not realized for lunch that they "just figured" that I was going to give them my bank card to pay for it all, so there was a few minutes of arguing about whether I was supposed to understand that without them telling me. But still. I love that my kids love each other so much.

Buffy scored a whole bunch more Beatles stuff from her friends and I think she had a great birthday. Oh, after dinner we ran to Petco really fast to buy her poor bored hamster some wooden treats and toys. OMG that hamster was so happy to see all the stuff we got her! She kept running from thing to thing, biting, chewing and playing and stuffing into her cheeks everything she could. And then she ran a million miles an hour on her wheel for the rest of the night. Buffy has already banished the hamster from her room because the wheel keeps her awake all night, so the hamster has found a new home in Spike's room. Spike is a true animal lover; Buffy likes the *idea* of being an animal lover, but really should probably never have animals or kids when she grows up. Heh.

And now it is 9am and everyone, kids and hamster, are still sound asleep. I am enjoying the quiet and drinking my coffee.

We're going to BJ's restaurant for Buffy's dinner, at her request. None of us have been there before, but the kids have heard good things. Plus Buffy wants something called a "Pizookie" for dessert. This appears to be some kind of giant cookie/ ice cream concoction that I'm sure is not on my diet plan. I'm planning on having a salad anyway, and their salad menu sounds delicious.

She loved her presents which included the new McCartney CD, John Lennon's greatest hits DVD, a huge Beatles DVD anthology, a Yellow Submarine t-shirt, the Broadway "Rent" DVD, and a beautiful dress from Macy's (on sale). Also, her girlfriend got her a hamster. At least this time it's not a dog.

Also, Pischina-kitty and Phoebe-cat think the hamster is the greatest addition to our family, EVAH. And can't wait to get to know him a little more personally, if ya know what I mean.

So I am off to get ready for 17 year old girl birthday party.

Happy Birthday Buffy!

Did I mention that Buffy turns 17 today?

I'll write more about her later, I'm off to work and school and work again.

My television happiness today:

Real Housewives of the OC: I hate most all those women. Jeana is sometimes tolerable, but otherwise I can only stand Gretchen and for some reason I'm the only person in the world who likes her. So I'm always a little happy when the season is over so I don't have to watch those women any more (because I have invisible people who force me to). Probably this season especially because they were SO hateful, so much more than usual - Vicki and Tamra I'm looking right at you two. I'll give Vicki this little piece of slack though: if Buffy ever came to me and said she joined the army, I'd be hysterically crying. So I give it to Vicki for having some self control, but otherwise I could not stand to be around her for one minute in person.

Real Housewives of New York: I love Bethany enough to watch her all by herself, but she is especially Awesome acting as the greek chorus for this show. I remember back on Martha Stewart's show when she took such control over that whacko guy on her team (if you saw the show you know who I'm talking about) and have loved her ever since. And this season promises to be even better, what with ALL the women already tired of pretending to like each other. Finished with the phoniness, they're all ready to call each other out on it. I LOVE it.

Biggest Loser: I still love the show, not much else to say about it. And Buffy and I made me an honorary contestant this year: I'm going to lose 70 pounds by August 8. We made a huge chart for the wall, I have to mark my weight down every day and put down what exercise I did. I have not participated very well yet, but I'll get this job done. Also, Buffy is a slave driver - she is a little Jillian Michaels in training. But as far as the show goes, why is Allison getting bigger every show? She already had the baby, right? She's not pregnant AGAIN, is she? Or does she just want to get a shot as a contestant? Or maybe I'm just mistaken and she didn't have the baby. I'm very confused.

And that ends your television recap of the day.

Phoebe-Cat = All Better

After being on medication for weeks and weeks, Phoebe started running around the house like she was on crack this weekend, and hasn't stopped. Not only that but also running OVER Pischina-kitty and pouncing on her every chance she gets.

Now THIS is the healthy Phoebe!!

Pischina-Kitty though, really wishes Phoebe was sick again. Pischina has about HAD it with her. I told Phoebe she better check her food before she eats it, one never knows what Pischina might do.

But as for me, I am happy to have the young, healthy Phoebe back.

I took Buffy to see Coraline last week and we both loved it. However, it was way more creepy, crazy, and scary than we had expected! Does that equal bad? I don't think so. AND it was rated PG (I think more for the overweight, big breasted stripper than the scariness) so take your very young child there at your own risk.

We got into the pretty crowded theater, and as usual with animated movies, it was packed with young kids (mostly girls) who were chatter-chatter-chattering through the previews and even into the beginning of the movie. After that though, there was quite the silence through the rest of it. Myself, I was unexpectedly horrified and completely creeped out by what was happening, I can only imagine what the kids were thinking... ("She wants to do what with WHAT? WTF!!!") Because that's what I was thinking.

And at first I thought maybe this was too much, too much horrifying ideas for young children. But when that movie ended, Buffy was not the first one to break out in applause, and she turned to me and exclaimed, "AWESOME! I LOVED that movie!!!" That seemed to be the overall opinion of all the young girls in the audience.

And I thought back to Grimm's Fairie Tales, and even the old Disney movies. Kids love horror. They love The Scary. I think dealing with The Scary on screen helps kids figure things out in real life. I'm not talking Freddy Kreuger, I'm talking Evil Stepmothers, dealing with the death of Bambi's mother, the horrors that happened to Dumbo's mother, the atrocities in Pinocchio, and even that wicked Wicked Witch and her flying monkeys.

I don't have the educated knowledge to explain WHY kids love this stuff, I just think back to my own love of those books and movies, and how overall those movies were so so so so SOOOO much better than a lot of crap that is out now. The Scary, and the dealing with The Scary, is what makes these movies great. The Scary is there in real life for every child - there are really Wicked Stepmothers and even Wicked Mothers, there is really death and loss to deal with, and there are really drugs and alcohol and circuses and hunters out there. Maybe reading these Grimm tales and seeing things played out on screen helps kids deal themselves.

I don't know. I'm getting waaaaay too far into this. I'm just saying: This movie brings The Scary, so be prepared. But also be prepared to love it along with your kids. Also, the movie is technologically stunning, and we didn't even get to see it in 3D. Buffy did this weekend when she saw it again at another theater and she said it was "AMAZING". But I have heard that after this week there will be no more Coraline 3D because the stupid frakkin JONAS BROS will be taking up all the 3D theaters.

People please. Take your child to see Coraline before the Jonas Bros come to a theater near you. Jonas Bros = Crap, Coraline = The Awesome.

I know I've been bad, no updating here, too much updating on FaceBook instead. So here you go:

1. We got a WII!!!!!!!!! And I've been playing it. Kids have been warned: this is MY game, MY thing, do not break it, loan it out, borrow it, steal it, move it, break it, scratch it, spill on it, trip over it, step on it, smash it, break it, etc. In short: don't touch it.

2. Buffy and I ran a 5K race in Monterey last weekend and had a really great time together. I'm just loving that girl to death lately.

3. She turns 17 on the 18th!!!!!!!!!!

4. I got tickets to see Wicked in San Francisco, May 6! Just Buffy and me!

5. Spike is still in college, still working at Circuit City for the time being, still being a good boy.

6. I'm down to one class in school, my Musical Theater class, because the others were canceled for low enrollment. I love my Musical Theater class, and my professor.

7. Cinequest starts February 25!!!

8. I just might be ready to go back to "real" school next fall. And maybe even back into the English Department. We'll see. I'm also thinking about Mass Communications/Journalism, or Business.

9. Scott and I went to http://mangiamopizza.com/ for lunch and I had lots of wine and typing this all out is a BITCH right now.

10. I've been wearing false eyelashes and actual makeup, and it looks good and I'm having fun.

Okay, that's all I can do right now. I'll see you all at Cinequest in ten days!

Cinequest 2009!!!

I know it's strange, but you haven't heard anything about Cinequest from me this year. With the economy how it is, I had a hard time justifying taking money out to buy our passes this year. But I've still been thinking about it every day, and more so because Cinequest starts on February 25!! But I haven't been so excited about it this year for some reason, and this made me perplexed because for the first time in 4-5 years, I don't have school and don't have anything holding me back from being at the theater 24/7 if I choose to do so. But I think my brain recovery from school has just leaked over into Cinequest too, because I just didn't want to deal with it.

But I couldn't help it, the bug got me.
I'M GOING!!!

So be prepared and get ready, in ten days you'll start seeing the Cinequest posts again. Please Please Please, anyone near San Jose should really try their hardest to come see some movie, I think you should see two at least. If you buy tickets to only two shows, you have really good odds of seeing something amazing.

So... see you there folks! Don't count me out! The reviews will start soon!!!

Site
Diary
Running Diary
Pictures
Guestbook
Pischina-Ku
books

Recent Entries
I do sleep SOME hours each night
Historias Extraordinarias - the (4 hour 20 minute) Movie
Cinequest - Day Four
Cinequest Day Three
Rock Paper Scissors - the Movie
Capers - the Movie
The Village Barbershop - available on DVD
Cinequest - Friday Night
It wasn't me, I swear
More "Wake" coverage

Categories
Blogger Idol
Books
Computer People
Diary Update
eBay
Family
Food
Friday Five
Happy!
Health
Interesting
Kids
Lara Croft
Movies
Music
News
Nothing Special
Old Blogger Entries
Pets and Pets and Pets
Politics
Quiz
Reasons for Love
Recipes
Running
School
Scott
Site Maintenance
Sports
Television
Theatre
Vehicles
Work
Writing