shit. I really want to hate it: (but can't seem to!)

http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/paramount/paranormalactivity2/

true dat: http://www.avclub.com/articles/are-we-really-in-a-cultural-golden-age,42451/

SIFF Wrap Up

Well clearly I got a little too carried away with viewing films this year to actually report back. But after spending a solid three weeks inside the overly-air-conditioned biosphere of a movie theater, I can come back with with my picks to look for in the coming months (fingers crossed for distribution!)

My Pick for the Golden Space Needle: Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo

Now I saw The Hedgehog and it aint got nothin' on Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo. Probably one of the greatest trailers I've seen, this film's catchy and bizarre marketing scheme had me hooked from the beginning. A quasi-documentary/ethnographic (or I should say "entomographic") look at the art of insect hunting in modern-day Japan. Somehow straddling the line between avant garde and nature film, Beetle Queen beautifully mashes the poetic language of Japanese naturalism with creepy-crawlies. The film interweaves bizarre segments showcasing the Japanese obsession with bug collecting and how it's penetrated popular culture across the country. You'll delve into the beetle-fighting video games of the local Pochinko parlor and indulge in a real life beetle battle as eager kids watch on. Don't expect a plot, structure or even to understand what's going on. Just sit back, relax and let the calming tone of the film's narrator take you away. It is stunningly soothing and hilariously absurd, and I whole heartily suggest even the bug-haters out there to take a look.

Runner Up: Utopia in Four Movements

Now I'm not sure I can even call this a film or acknowledge it as truly eligible for this placement. But the academic (and often Marxist) part of me has to place this "viewing experience" near the top of my list. An interactive and live presentation, Utopia in Four Movements attempts to raise questions regarding the existence of Utopia in the present day and age. Crafted in these "four movements," the presentation calls upon historical events to reflect on conceptions of Utopia and efforts to preserve the hope of Utopia. Blatantly Marxist (bordering on Maoist) this project, if anything, raised a number of issues surrounding contemporary hopelessness, starkly contrasted with the spirit of 20th century revolutions. In the end it is not whether or not I agree with arguments made- and this is why I think this project is particularly important for all audiences- it asked me to consider hope and the strive for Utopia despite its inherently contradictory origins. Past the jargon of anti-capitalism, this project embodies a perspective wearily fading in our recession state. Utopia is not a impossible dream, but a spirit of forwardness and boundless efforts, all grounded in the everyday, ultimately accessible to all.

2nd Runner Up: Farewell

What can I say? I'm a sucker for a French Cold War film starring Guillaume Canet. So that's why I saw it, but that's not why I liked it. The film, painted in muted grays, tells the story of 2 men aiming to quietly bring down the crumbling Soviet Union. Gracefully captured by director Christian Carion (Joyeux Noel), Farewell brings the epic push and pull between the 2 world super powers down to the streets. France, notably placed in the center of the conflict, reveals a historical retrospective on the role of the individual and Europe stuck in between the dueling countries. Though this film does not aim to say much about all things past (like a typical French film), it attempts to break down boarders between the overarching event and the individual (unlike a typical French film). This is one of the masses. It has distribution, so I suggest people get out there and actually enjoy a commercial French drama.

SIFF Weekend 1

Thanks to some serious paper-writing I only was able to make it to two films this weekend. Unfortunately I was completely absent from Shortsfest (the worst failure ever in my opinion), but managed to truly enjoy one of the two films I actually made it to (a very high ratio for all you who have experienced the sheer grab bag of 300+ films that SIFF houses annually).

On Saturday I saw the Japanese comedy The Chef of the South Polar. A delightful dry comedy about a crew of men stationed in the Antarctic for about a year and half, the film centers on their odd-ball chef. Honestly, not much happened within the film's two hour runtime, but the infinite slew of delicious looking food kept be salivating and cinematically satiated (wish I could say the same about my stomach). In a timid way the film explores the effects of isolation and the troubles for relationships with the unthinkable distance between Japan and the South Pole. But more importantly, this film embraced the subtly soulful effects of a great meal. It was utterly heartwarming as our chef, Mr. Nishimura, a character of expert facial gesture and quiet kindness, attempts to unite and please the crew through a plethora of mouth-watering meals. With his cuisine constantly compromised at the palate of the rugged cast of men, his cooking methodology manages to bring people together through gentle humor and good-cookin'. I would recommend this film to just about any audience. With food at its heart, the film is utterly approachable across cultural boarders and age groups.

Now I had very high hopes for the second film, Prince of Tears. Honestly, as the Hong Kong submission for the Academy Awards Best Foreign Language Film category, I figured this film would have an easily approachable narrative, so I might delight in its cinematographic beauty. And it's not that I was wrong, but quite frankly the film lost me. A story of a family in Taiwan in 1954, during the rise of the communist party on mainland China, the tells of the turmoils of living during a period of extreme politicization and militarization of the Taiwanese territory. The tragic tale separates the two daughters from their parents who are arrested on suspicion of treason, oddly stratifying the narrative into segments as the two daughters continue their day to day life. A flat narration attempts to ground the sporatic events, but ultimately confuses the converging plot lines. Quite frankly, it plateaus pretty quickly and continues on for about an hour and a half. Oddly enough, its not as if I was bored. And its not as if the film was particularly bad, but its not as if it was good. The film failed in the end to climax or accurately pull it all together. Instead I left feeling almost nothing... something that doesn't happen very often...

Well with that all said, I intend to make up for lost time in the coming days. I'll be hitting the Centerpiece film Farewell, taking a stab at some of the delightful Spanish films showcased this year and hopefully happening upon some unexpected gems on a volunteer shift. We'll if this 1/2 success ratio continues!

the lull is nearly over

Clearly I've been on hiatus for a bit due to the pathetic assortment of movies being released in the past few weeks post award season. But the Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) schedule has been released, Cannes opens in just a week now, and the summer movie season is about to begin. Hopefully this coming slew of films can inspire a bit more cinephilia in me. I'm in the preliminary stages of my SIFF schedule, but it's beginning to take shape. Look for my picks in the coming days.

Phone Booth to the max:

Buried

I'm seriously trying to understand why they've made the same movie twice:

A Team

The Losers