Oh Lordy, someone please give Colin Farrell a sandwich, extra cheese, please, because whatever movie role it is that made him lose this much weight has just sucked the hawtness right out of him. Egads!!!

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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!

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!)

I'm sitting here in my room at the Hotel Montgomery listening to a band play out on the patio. I think it's funny that the desk clerk said "We have a nice quiet room in back for you," and then I end up facing right out onto the band. Personally, I don't care, I'm not here for quiet, I'm here for movies. But why say I have a "nice quiet room" when I clearly do not?

So I saw The Silence Before Bach... and I left halfway through it. It's not terrible, it just... doesn't really have a plot... and not a lot of excitement... and is just a lot of people playing Bach, and a lot of watching a single person walk down the stairs, or watching him brush his teeth, or watching the train go by, or the river... So there's nothing wrong with that, I've seen much worse movies, but I'd probably like it better on a rainy Saturday afternoon with a bag of popcorn when I had nothing else in the world to do, or maybe just playing on my TV at home while I did housework. It's hard for me to grade this one because it is what it is, which is just not what I want to watch when I need to stay awake for two more movies. But that's not necessarily a bad movie, you know what I mean?

So I left the theater and got some chinese food (oh gosh, the Asian Buffet is just not very good!) and came up here to eat it and listen to the band. I leave in 30 minutes to see my next movie.

Cinequest - Day 3

Today is going to be a flurry of trying to check in to the Montgomery Hotel in time to run across the street and get to my first movie at 4:30. Then sometime after his date Spike will arrive to watch some really late movies and Buffy will be dropped off after her school dance. Hopefully this weekend will run smoother.

Tonight's plan is:
The Silence Before Bach
Sherman's Way
El Camino

I was going to watch Commit instead of "Silence" but the Cinequesting review pushed me away. Also I didn't realize Silence was a movie from Spain, so I'm looking forward to it now.

Reviews up late tonight or tomorrow morning!

It's almost midnight and I need to get some sleep, but before I do I want to let everyone know that Disfigured is one of the best films I've seen at Cinequest, Ever. It was nothing like what I thought it was going to be, and the audience was completely wowed. To quote one of the viewers, "This is only the second movie of the festival, and I'm not sure how anything else is going to beat this."

You can still see it on these two dates, and if you can make it, I definitely recommend it:
February 29 9:30pm
March 2 1:30pm

I took 16 year old Buffy and her male friend, thinking this was going to be a "comedy" (I don't know why I thought that since the description clearly states "drama"). Once it began I thought they were going to be bored to tears - except for around halfway through when the very nekkid sex scene began... I was pretty sure they were going to kill me after that, or at the very least blame me for all their future psychological problems. But at the end, as we left the theater (after Buffy took a photo of me with star Deirdra Edwards), the friend said: "That was a really good movie. It almost got me at the end. I had a little tear. It didn't fall though, I caught myself... but it almost got me."

We also saw about ten of the student shorts, and as usual, they are more awesome than the regular shorts. So I recommend those too. I'll write more about all of them tomorrow.

Food ate: One tomato mozarella ciabatta sandwich from Starbucks with a small vanilla frapucchino, some popcorn with parmesan garlic powder, and a diet coke.

Buffy attracting attention all over the place with her bag again, even getting notice from the manager of the Camera Theaters himself. It really is a cool bag though.

Opening Night Movie and Party

Hangover is finally abating, so let’s get the reviews going:

Movie: Eden Court
Goodness. Why start off the festival in this way, making me go back on my word of loving all the movies when this movie really was pretty bad??? I hope this is not a sign of things to come with this year’s festival, because it certainly did not get the festival off on the right foot. Usually the opening and closing movies are the very best films of the festival, and most of them make it to the mass market big screen. This movie, though the writer/director seemed like a really nice guy… it is not going to make it to a theater near you, no way no how. The funniest thing about the movie was that it actually was set in Nebraska, so just like my earlier post, I sat and started thinking that maybe this movie really would be better set in New York with explosions and Angelina Jolie. Certainly couldn’t have hurt it.

I mean, the problems with this movie were countless. If you have a comedy and want to stick in a drunken best friend, you can’t make her a drunken, slutty loser friend who is also a bad mother. There’s not much comedy in that. And I don’t know if Kimberley Williams-Paisley was acting the part of the wife in the way the writer had envisioned, but if so, dude needs to go interact with more women. She constantly slipped back and forth between ditzy and intelligent, loving and hateful, irresponsible and yet the only responsible member of the family. The whole movie was all over the place, and like the character of the wife, the storyline slipped too many times between comedy and tragedy, heart warming and disgusting.

Review: Thumbs Down.

After Party: YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
I had the most fun at this Opening Night party than I’ve had at any previous ones, but it could be because my son has had his drivers license for a year now so I was able to have a few drinks. It definitely was less crowded than previous years, possibly there were less people or maybe the good weather just allowed a lot of us to mingle outside.

As soon as we walked through the doors we were presented with table after table with drinks set out just asking to be drank. I had to oblige, they were too pretty! I passed the table of pink vodka and went straight to the table of a dark colored liquid with cherries in them. I figured, Must be some kind of cherry drink! *BZZZZ* Wrong! From what we could tell, it was straight whiskey. Not really my thing, but… it was free and there were cherries waiting for me at the bottom! So, drink number one: check!

My daughter hung out at the chocolate fountain, and my son and his friend wandered around waiting for real food to appear. I’m not entirely sure if they found any – I know Spike had some toast with mushrooms on it, and we were all served many chicken shishkebobs, and I did manage to find a table with sandwich fixings but the bread was gone…

But I do know I decided to try one of the pink vodka drinks when the whiskey was gone. Now that drink I can get behind. I wish I knew exactly what drinks these were so I could give them a shout-out, but I have no idea. I just know that pink vodka = good. Drink number two: Check!
So the two boys and my daughter and I all hung out on the patio, chatting with various filmmakers and Nathan Louie, and the well-known Jason. Pictures will come soon - I did get some good ones this time! And eventually my pink drink was gone and I wanted another. Drink number three: Check! And mom gives up the car keys.

So of course the party seemed awfully fun, to ME, but the kids were also having fun and so were the boys, and so were a lot of people I talked to that night. It was really nice not being packed in like sardines, the music was nice, and it was just a pretty fun night.

Buffy was actually quickly becoming the star of the party as she brought along the purse I had bought her for her 16th birthday. Every time I turned around she was surrounded by men who were just fascinated by her and her purse, and she carried herself very well talking to them. For the record, they weren’t skeevy lecherous men, they were just various filmmakers and recognizable Cinequest attendees who were fascinated by the bag. I was just surprised that she had enough poise to handle conversations with so many strangers.

Finally we all walked back to the parking garage and Spike drove us home. It was a good night – until I woke up this morning with a raging hangover. Heh.

Tonight Buffy and I will be seeing Disfigured and possibly Commit.

The only drinks drunk tonight will be Starbucks and Diet Coke.

Great Night

Awesome party last night leads to massive hangover this morning, and also having to delete drunken after-party posts from this blog. heh. I'll just say there were free drinks: I had one whiskey with cherries and two of some pink vodka. They were delish. Not so much this morning.

I'll post more later.

So I have to remember to eat fresh, crunchy vegetables, drink Tang for vitamin C, try not to over-do the parmesan powder on my popcorn – and take some walks in the sunshine for Gawd’s sake.

I remember last year at Cinequest, I think it was the final weekend and I decided to finally skip a movie; the day was beautiful, we were staying downtown, and I decided to go for a walk. It’s amazing how the lack of sun can affect you, you don’t really realize it until you’re crammed into a dark theatre for all waking hours for 12 days straight.

This year, I’m going to make sure I get some walks in the sun. Because there are a lot of movies I want to see.

I was thinking this morning about why I love Cinequest so much, even when I see a crappy movie, or even when I see a few crappy movies in a row. Even if only 2-3 out of the 20 I watch are good, I still feel like I had a great time, and I still want to pay the money next year. Why is that? If I go to the theater to watch a Hollywood movie and it’s crappy, I’m pissed. I want my money back and I want the hours of my life back. But it’s different with Cinequest. And I think that’s because of exactly what it stands for.

The movies you see at Cinequest were not funded by Hollywood studios – the filmmaker had to bust his ass raising money to make this movie, or max out the credit cards, or take out loans. All to make this movie he believed in. These filmmakers aren’t (usually) making money back on the films, and most know they never will. This is all money spent on a single love. Additionally, there is no Hollywood studio head poking their nose into the project: “Let’s take it out of Nebraska and set it in New York! And instead of farmers we’ll have... giant talking robots! That explode! And we need a love interest! Try to write in Angelina Jolie and I’ll call her agent right now!” So what you get at Cinequest is the single pure essence of what the filmmaker had in his head, and not an amalgamation of what “The Industry” wants you to see.

And so when you see a movie at Cinequest, or when you see several (because you can’t just go see ONE), you are left with a feeling of magic. You are transported back to the very earliest time of film when it was all new, and everyone was just figuring out what you can do, and it was all done out of a love of the process itself – and getting your idea or your story out there.

And truly the process of filmmaking is again all about figuring out what we can do, because of all the many advances in technology – computers, special effects, new technologies that you or I or most of the film watching public can never even comprehend, but also the many ways of viewing the films now. We can go to the grand California Theater to watch a movie, or you can stay home and watch it on your TV or computer, or you can watch it on your iPod on the bus to work. Most of this technology wasn’t available even five years ago. Cinequest really exemplifies this and even has technology forums, writing forums, and filmmaking forums to share the new and exciting information and get it out to the public.

Magic. The pure essence of cinema. MOVIES!!

And so when I review the movies we will see, these movies I know many of you will never ever see – and who will tune out for the next 12 days wondering why I never have time to write during the other 11-1/2 months but suddenly have all the time in the world for two weeks of the year – *ahem*... When I write my reviews I’m probably a little softer than I would be if I had seen them in a regular setting. It’s not because I know “they tried hard”, or “they made a good effort!” It’s because the magic and the love and the commitment of the filmmaker (and the actors and the crew and everyone else involved) all shine through these movies, even when the point or the story or the message kind of falls flat or just flies right over my head. You still get the feeling that you just watched something very special, and you still know you are one of the lucky few.

I know most of my regular readers will tune out for the next twelve days, but I also know I have local readers who only show up during Cinequest. That’s okay. Opening night is tonight, Wednesday evening, and Spike and friend and Buffy and I will be there bright and early to see the first movie, then we’ll head over to the Paragon Bar for the Opening Night Party (with chocolate fountain!) where we’ll be bumping shoulders with people we won’t come to know until each evening’s movies go by. We’ll be meeting filmmakers, actors, writers, famous people, film students, and many, many people who just love movies.

And like it or not, I’m going to be typing about it.

More news and announcements from Cinequest including a list of some actors expected to appear.

People - if you are going to be anywhere near San Jose in the next two weeks, come to the film festival!!! You will have so much fun!

For Catie:

I will try to post our movie-watching schedule maybe this evening, if I can figure out how to do that. In the meantime, for Catie and anyone else interested in Cinequest, go to the Cinequesting blog for many reviews and previews of the films. Most of the films they have listed are on my list. In fact, most every movie showing is on my list except for any Eastern European film - I'm still traumatized by watching a film of some girl running through the subway while carrying her miscarried fetus. So no matter how good a movie may seems, it was an easy way to cut my list a little shorter. I may miss a good one, but then again, I won't be seeing another movie with a grown man pushing his dead grandmother through the city in a wheel chair covered with a polar bear rug.
I'm just saying.

My priorities this year so far are:
Disfigured
Enlightened Blood (La Sangre Iluminada)
Glory Boy Days (this one has Number One priority)
Its Better If Gabriela Doesnt Die (Mejor Es Que Gabriela No Se Muera)
The Metrosexual
Speed Dating
The Substitute (it's Danish... I'm hoping that's far enough away from Germany that there won't be any dead feti or grandmothers)
The Village Barbershop

Click on the links in each of those pages to see a still from the film and a better description. Those are only 8 of the movies I'm hoping to see - and there's still the opening and closing films, which are usually the best and most often shown in theaters later.

Who needs Sir Philip Sidney

I just spent quite a few hours making our new Cinequest movie-watching schedule for this year. It isn't anywhere close to complete yet. But it so far includes the watching of 29, that's right, 29 movies in 12 days. Now that, my dears, is crazy; Britney-Spears-Insane even. Ding Dang! We got movies to watch Ya'll! I think I finished 20 last year, but I'm not sure - but this year they all look so good!!!!!

In fact, there were so many Super-Good sounding movies to watch, I may not go see Michael Keaton or Danny Glover, as much as I'd like to, I would rather watch movies and seeing them would cut into my movie-watching time.

We have been stocking up on food for Cinequest. 12 days of popcorn and Starbucks can leave you feeling really wierd, as Catie can attest. At the end of those 12 days you start to CRAAAAAVE crunchy vegetables and some vitamin C.

So we have: fresh turkey breast, swiss cheese and tomatoes so we can take sandwiches for dinner. Some good old fashioned, All-American powdered TANG so we can get unlimited vitamin C in the morning, and this year we are adding carrots and celery/peanut butter to our list. One cannot underestimate the intense craving for crunchy fresh veggies that comes upon you after twelve days of popcorn and diet soda. I'm totally serious here, your teeth are there for a reason.

So anyway, hopefully we can get through this year. I have two essays due over the twelve days, and I have one essay mostly completed. I hope to write the other one over the weekend, before the theaters open (heh). One Spanish exam due hours before Opening Night. And of course hundreds of pages of books to read that will be done sitting on the stairs at the Camera 12 Cinemas.

So again - the lady on the stairs with the books and Starbucks, that will be me. I look forward to meeting everyone again!!!

OOH! OOH! I just remembered, I have my new camera now, so I can finally take awesome photos to show you all just how great and exciting Cinequest can be!
Although John Leguizamo has mysteriously disappeared from the Cinequest calendar (bastard!) we'll still be seeing Danny Glover, Michael Keaton, John Ratzenburger and more. This time I'll have good pictures to prove it instead of those far away, dark, fuzzy camera phone pics.

So! So! Excited! Don't want to read Old Arcadia! Don't want to write essay on stupid Queen Elizabeth speeches! Definitely don't want to study for my Spanish exam! Want movies!!!!!!

The Oscars

Well there just wasn't much to say about the Oscars last night. Everyone was pretty, everyone who won pretty much deserved it. No drama, no really huge fashion Don'ts. So... not much to say.

Except for Nicole Kidman... I know she supposedly has this flawless white clear skin... but does she really look like a plastic mannequin?? I can't believe that anyone's skin all over their body is that solidly white and smooth, with no wrinkles, creases nor one single mark (not even a freckle??). She must have slathered some body make-up all over her, and that's just as gross as the orange self-tanners.

Of COURSE I'm watching the Academy Awards (while trying to write up an essay)!!!
I just worry that non-Californians watching this show will think that ALL of us Californians are as orange as the people I'm seeing on my television screen. Holy Moly, I don't get the appeal of orange self-tanner. I'd rather be pasty white.

But I am happy to watch this awards this year as I think I have seen every single movie up for an Oscar except for: Juno, Atonement, Transformers and Persepolis. So I absolutely have opinions, and I'm excited to see who wins.

Also, the last couple years the Oscars have been on during Cinequest so I don't always get to see them. This year... Cinequest starts Wednesday!!!! Get ready for movie reviews for films you'll probably never get a chance to see! I know you all are so excited to hear that again!

And now I go back to writing an essay.

We saw "There Will Be Blood" last night, I loved it. Scott wasn't sure what to think, and there were quite a few unexplained parts, so neither of us is clear about everything that happened, but I definitely loved it.

"I DRINK YOUR MILKSHAKE! I DRINK IT UP! SLUUUUURRRRRRPPPPPP!!!!!!!"

bwahahahahahahhaaaaaaaaaa Loved it.

Also it had the best last line in a movie, Ever.

Yes, you all should see it.

I took Buffy and her friend to see "I am Legend".
I thought it was about the last man on earth,
I didn't know it was a freakin scary movie.
Stupid freaking scary flesh eating zombie scary movie.

It was good though. Had some logic problems, but overall, good.

I took the kids to see Beowulf.

*Sighhhhh...*

I should have known, I should have listened.

A stand alone good movie? Maybe. Followed the book? Not even CLOSE.

Note to young people: if you are assigned the book, don't go see the movie instead... you'll be screwed.

Last year at Cinequest we saw an awesome movie called Blood Car. I didn't want to see it, the previews were horribly gory. But Spike saw it and convinced me it was hilarious so I saw it - and LOVED it. It is gory, but in such a funny way it's not realistically bloody at all.

So anyway, I just got a notification that it is coming out on DVD on November 6, at Amazon.com AND Netflix. So this is me telling you, SEE this movie. Put it on your Netflix. You will not regret it!

This is Netflix' description, and it is pretty accurate:

This gory satire of horrifying dimensions from director Alex Orr is set in a world where gas prices have reached $40 a gallon. Responding with good old-fashioned American ingenuity, a kindergarten teacher invents a car that consumes human blood. An absurdist take on the world's current addiction to oil, Orr's debut feature evokes both screams and shrieks -- followed by uncontrollable laughter.

Like I said, it is bloody, but it is REALLY funny. REALLY funny. So I hope you all get a chance to see it and comment me back that you loved it.

We saw "3:10 to Yuma" last night and it was REEEEEEEEALLY GOOD.
You should see it too.
And Ben Foster was AWWWWESOME.

The Buff and I saw "Joshua" tonight. Creepy as hell. CREEPY. CREEEEEEEPY. The kid is Damien's first cousin creepy.

It was good though, I wasn't sure if it was going to be a horror flick, but it was not. Very very similar in tone (and plot) to a 1960's/70's psychological thriller, i.e. The Omen and The Bad Seed. No gore. Just nervous horror.

If it's playing near you and you like movies like The Bad Seed, this one is for you.

Here's a break for you...

The outtakes from the Will Farrell "Landlord" video I posted awhile ago.

That kid is so cute!

A short film starring a guy I'm not that fond of (Will Farrel) and... a very mean LANDLADY.

Scott and I watched The Descent on my dvd player in Volcano this weekend. It scared the S*** out of me. I almost had to sleep with the lights on when it ended.

On the other hand, I rented The Black Dahlia today and that has to be on my top three very worst movies of all time right now.

"Grindhouse"

I just read news that Grindhouse came in fourth and only made $11 million this week.

Let me be clear, this movie is not for everyone. On the other hand, it had Scott and me in stitches, and there was a 60 year old couple in front of us who were having WAY too much fun. The entire theater was applauding and laughing hysterically and having a great time.

Violence, Yes. But a little more cartoony than usual, I thought. In Robert Rodriguez's movie when you shoot someone apparentely a GALLON of blood shoots out of you. It's hard to take that seriously. There was lots of heads blowing up, and the cannibal zombie disease did some horrilby disgusting things to you. But this is horror from the 70's, it's not realistic "Saw" stuff. It was fun.

Buffy would disagree, she didn't like Rodriguez's movie as much as Tarantino's. Actually, in our group of six, three of us preferred Rodriguez, three of us preferred Tarantino.

Kurt Russell was awesome in Tarantino's movie. I just disliked the entire first half of it because it went so sloooow. Once the action started happening though, Tarantino's movie was awesome.

I thought it was really creatively done, Rodriguez especially took every opportunity to replicate the 70's horror films. I totally appreciated it. It was a much needed 3 hour break from the seriousness of life.

Rose McGowan was awesome. I always liked her anyway, but she earned major points for this movie.

I don't know, what can I say? It's violent, there's half nekkid chicks with machine guns, it's violent, ... and it's awesome. It's not for everyone, but if you even half like horror films, if you love oldies, if you love films, you should go see this movie. It didn't even feel like three hours, and for me, that says a lot. I HATE when movies approach 2 hours. But this one was great.

Out of the six of us, it got a huge thumbs up. So I recommend it, and you should go see it.

But don't bring little kids, it's not for them. Teenagers, yes, but not little kids.

Yes, you should definitely go see it.
Great family, some humor, scary monster. Can't ask for more than that.

We're about to go see "The Host". I wasn't that thrilled about it but then I just saw the trailer online, and it looks GOOOOOOD. Movie Fun! Now I can't wait!!!!

We are honestly relieved it's finally done. I have been furiously typing up a research paper for Archaeology since Sunday afternoon. We elected to skip the final movie, which none of us were really interested in (and heard was not that great), but did go to the After Party. I sat with a lovely couple who talked film and movies with me for two hours. The conversation eventually progressed to Spike's film career and looking at pictures of their grandson. Good times - no, really! But then, Spike and his friend left the building to get some fresh air - and the bouncer wouldn't let them back in because they are only 16. HEH. Eventually I got their voicemail that they were trapped outside, but instead of rescuing them I told them it really was time to get home. Back we went, and I was up until 1:30am typing my paper.

This morning the cat got me up to let her outside, and when I hopped back into bed I saw the clock - 7:00am!!!!!!!! I have to be in Weight Training at 7:30!! I actually did set my clocks ahead for daylight savings, but then I FORGOT TO SET MY ALARM!!! DUH! and DOH!

So I hear Monster Camp won an audience award for Best Documentary, which thrills me to no end. And Blood Car also won an award. The actual awards are not listed yet, so I don't have the complete set of them.

These were my very favorites of the festival:

The Namesake
Outsourced
Monster Camp
Blood Car
You Are Here
Full Grown Men

The Namesake should be in theaters any day now, so you can all see that. And You Are Here was picked up and should be out in the next year. I would bet big money that you'll soon be seeing Outsourced and Blood Car too. Keep your eyes open, because they were really great films. I don't know if Monster Camp will ever get to theaters but if it makes DVD you HAVE to see it.

I am no longer sure how many films I saw this year, but it was quite a lot, close to 30. I am amazed when I talk to people who saw FORTY movies. I think that if I had no job and no school... I still could not watch forty movies in 12 days. That's insane. And you quickly feel like a mole with a very flat butt. And a tummy overfilled with popcorn. But we had a very good time, and the great movies we saw definitely made the bad ones worth it. And speaking of bad films - the Shorts Programs were very disappointing this year.

But I was thrilled that CatieCake came to the festival with her wonderful Hubby, I was thrilled that we were able to bring the kids' friends with us and that they had such a good time they brought more friends with them. I was SO SO SO SO thrilled to see fellow students in the ticket line, especially when I found out that they had come because they had seen all the Cinequest cards I had left around the English Department. I also left some for Monster Camp in the geeky breakroom at work, and most of them disappeared, so who knows how many people came to Cinequest because of me? I'll definitely grab more cards next year and pass them around.

We really had a great time, and having the hotel to sleep in made the weekends even more fun. I made it through school, but it did hurt a little. When I finish this post you probably won't hear from me for quite awhile as I catch up. Thanks to everyone who emailed and commented and especially to all those who took a chance and came to Cinequest.

And now I hit the bed. I'll see ya'll in class.

Goodness, today was a good one for movies.

I brought the kids to see You Are Here even though I already saw it. I loved it just as much the second time around, maybe even more. The kids both loved it too. It's definitely in my Top Five from the Festival.

Then Spike brought us and a few of his friends to see Blood Car. The movie was advertised as a comedy and Spike told me it was a comedy. But when I visited that website and saw the trailer, I saw an extremely bloody horror film. Spike just kind of chuckled, re-confirmed that it was a comedy, and said that the trailer just showed every single bloody scene. I can't say I believed him.

The movie was great. The movie could easily become a cult classic in the Evil Dead style. It was awesome - and not that bloody, although there certainly was blood, but it was not scary in any way, not really gross (most of the violence is completely off camera), and very very very funny. I was cracking up the whole time - but it was also GOOD. And remember sweet little Anna Chlumsky, from My Girl? She co-stars in it - and she's still sweet and very pretty.

I really do recommend this movie - now, it's not for everyone, but it is a great campy cult-like horror film ~~ if you like the Evil Dead movies you would totally appreciate this film.

Then I saw A Dog's Breakfast. This was a hilarious movie about a man who doesn't like his sister's new fiance, then believes the fiance is trying to kill the sister, so the man tries to kill the fiance. Got it so far? Well, he doesn't succeed. Because the fiance kills himself when he accidently falls off a ladder. Man has a guilty conscience and tries to hide the body. But the damn dog keeps dragging it back to the house. And on and on and on. It was very funny and very well acted, and gave an open nod to "The Tell Tale Heart". Also, if you watch Stargate Atlantis - you may find yourself confused. Every character in the movie is from Stargate Atlantis.

And finally, Trained in the Ways of Men. This documentary went over the background and case of Gwen Araujo, a transgendered teen from the Bay Area who was brutally beaten and strangled by four men who were surprised to discover she was a biological male. It was truly heartbreaking, and I was glad I brought both my kids and one of Spike's friends with me. Both of my kids loved it, and the friend (a male) said it "freaked him out". I asked him why, and he said "It just gave me a whole lot to think about." Which is exactly what it should do. There was just no way to come away from this movie thinking that Gwen a) had no right to call herself a female, or b) deserved what happened to her. Much of the story was told through interviews with Gwen's mother, her family, and all the attorneys involved in the case. Gwen's mother was in the theater and got a standing ovation. The theater itself was completely packed.

It was a very well done documentary and an important story that deserves to be told - I am sure it will be picked up by some television station and shown in that manner - you should all see it when it comes out.

Now I am getting ready for bed, and the kids are still at the theater getting ready for Long Pigs - I think it sounds disgusting, but teens are teens. If they want nightmares, let 'em.

And tomorrow ends this marathon of movies - I'm pretty ready for that!

Cinequest - Saturday

On this, the last weekend of Cinequest, we are going to see:

You Are Here ... I am taking both kids to see it because I think they'll love it.

Blood Car ... I'm taking Buffy to see it, and she'll probably love it, but I swear if it's not a comedy my son is going to be SORRY.

A Dog's Breakfast ... I had thought about seeing this one earlier but saw something else instead. They've added another showing and word seems to be good, so we're taking advantage of the extra show today.

Trained in the Ways of Men ... a Documentary on the murder of Gwen Araujo, the transgendered teen who was killed a couple years ago not too far away from us. Most people in our area remember the murder well and I anticipate the theater to be packed.

Tomorrow:

Animated Shorts
Documentary Shorts
The Closing Movie and Party

We saw two Great movies today - Me, my daughter and her friend (a boy).

First:
The Curiosity of Chance

This is a teenage movie set in the 80's in the John Hughes vein - but with a gay character as the star. Although slow to start out (it is missing the quick and snappy dialogue of John Hughes' films) it quickly gets up to pace and is hilarious and poignant at the same time, without ever being sad. The three teens I brought went CRAZY over this film and gave it a standing ovation. Truthfully, gay teens don't get to see mirror images of themselves on film like this - oh yes, you have the serious films, and the gay porn, but you don't get just happy, fun, gay teenage movies. My three teens were just dieing for more and wouldn't stop talking about it until the next movie started.
It wasn't just for teens though, and it appeared that the audience who was mostly older adults also loved it.

Outsourced
I loved this movie probably more than the Opening Night movie. It's about an American who is told his entire department is being outsourced to India - and now he has to go train all the replacements. The movie laughed at the natives he meets, laughed at their customs, and then turned around and laughed right back at America twice as hard. It was very well done and funny too. We had to leave when it ended so I didn't hear if it had been bought yet - but it was a movie that looks straight out of a studio, and is ready for a theater with no flaws that I can think of. I thought it was perfect, and if you get any chance to see it, I do recommend - you must!

Tomorrow my plan is: Maskot and Midnight Clear. That plan may change, but so it is for now.

Today is the first time this Cinequest that I HATED a movie.

American Losers

We were supposed to see Making It Right but we got our Starbucks snacks first and then realized it was playing at the SJ Rep where they don't allow food. So we made a quick change to this one instead. Big mistake.

This is what the blurb about the movie says:
American Losers chronicles the lives of two New Yorkers on the fringe. Kimberle is a member of an aspiring band who moved away from the Bible Belt to spread her wings and give her dream a living chance in the glow of big city lights. Kevin is a shut-in of sorts on the threshold of jump starting his life after a series of stumbles. He lives in the woods north of New York City and has returned to school after initially dropping out of high school over 20-years-ago. By society’s norms, they are “losers”, but through Ada Bligaard Søby’s lens they become larger than life heroes—wise, humorous, slightly manic individuals just trying to grab their piece of the American pie.
But that's not what it was about. They were both the most annoying people EVER, people I would never choose to be friends with, but I was stuck with them for an hour of my life.
The girl was an aspiring rock star, yes. She also had racked up thousands of dollars of credit card bills that she no longer even opens. She seemed quite proud of that. And the debt wasn't from things like food, or diapers, or electric bills ... No, she got a new credit card and went to go buy a new pair of boots - and she was going to limit herself to spending $1200. For a pair of boots. Because she wanted enough to also buy makeup and pantyhose. Okay, that? Is stealing. She has no way to pay that money back and no desire to pay it back and no intent to pay it back. Yes, she is indeed an American Loser. And although she was never shown using drugs and I don't think she was - she had the brain cells of a long time user.
The man was a barely functioning genius. You see these people all over school, students who are indeed geniuses, of the type that live in their own world and can't seem to adapt to ours. It's difficult for them to make friends because they have no social skills. You never see them as professors because they don't have the attention span or discipline to correct papers. In his case, I wouldn't call him a loser - he was going to school and doing well and seemed to have some way to pay his bills. Or at least he wasn't advertising that he wasn't paying them. I don't fault him his genius or his eccentricities, but I wouldn't spend a lot of time with him.
And yet there I was stuck with the two of them for an hour.
Thank gosh it was only an hour long.

I can't recommend this movie in any way. Neither one of the characters was a "larger than life hero" in any way at all. All three teenagers I brought with me agreed it was a wasted hour of their lives.

However, the short before it, "Marrying God", was absolutely incredible. So you could always go in, see the short, and then leave to see another movie. That's what I would recommend.

Cinequesting has many reviews up now and from the movies that I have also seen the reviews are pretty right on. So if you're attending Cinequest you should check out that blog also!

Film Count...

That makes fifteen movies/programs since Wednesday, and including shorts I have seen 39 films since Wednesday. Overall this year has been even better than