Cinequest 2008
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 or on the small screen near you.
Now available on Netflix and DVD!
Cinequest 2008
Night of the White Pants is one of my favorites films of the festival this year 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 (Michael Clayton) stars in it, so hopefully that helps it out.
It’s the last hours of the 2008 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 thinking 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 2008
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 Tenacious D 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 John 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 John with Kyle also.
So, review: If you’re a fan – go see it. If you say “Tenacious What?”: Don’t.
Cinequest 2008
I shouldn’t even bother reviewing Shelter Me – 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. 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.
Now available on Instant Video!
Cinequest 2008
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
Now availablel on DVD and Instant Video!
Cinequest 2008
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 are 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 make me antsy. But it’s kind of a true story! 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.
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Tony Zear (also Tony Zoreil) – 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. [Edited: Both of these were made by Kurt Kuenne, director of the documentary Dear Zachary which you need to see. It’s on Netflix, go watch it. Now.]
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. But that’s not an easy thing to do. Well played, Sizzlean.
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.
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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 an 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.
Unfortunately, I can’t find a single link to anything about the film. Sad.
Cinequest 2008
Glory Boy Days 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 is 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.
But there were even more similarities. Instead of QuikStop, 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 were 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.
Cinequest 2008
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 IS often funny, it IS often sweet. Jamie Anderson is terrifically 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 pathetic. 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.
Cinequest 2008
The Metrosexual is probably the most disappointing films I’ve seen so far this year. I had really thought it was going to be funny. Instead it was just boring. You can’t get a worse review than that.
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. Also, 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.
Folks, I live in Silicon Valley, heck, 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.
Cinequest 2008
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.
Now available on DVD! How lucky! <– Tiny bit of sarcasm there.
Popcorn and Vodka 