more movies

let's catch up before the awards are announced tonight and before I see the Doc shorts.

Momma's Man

This really hit home with some of the NYC crowd. I really liked it, but I couldn't relate as much as others.

A guy goes home to stay with his artist parents in NYC- his world and NYC are changing and he is having problems and dealing by lying to everyone and trying to hide in his childhood room.

Acting is great- the director cast his parents to play the parents in the film. Azazerl Jacobs is the son of avant-garde filmmaker Ken Jacobs. His parents are really great in this film- this movie will have a great festival run so you should get to see it at a fest near you. It is funny and touching with a devastating ending- shot in the Jacobs apartment that has a personality of it's own- the apt. is a character in the film.

Gonzo: The Life and Work of Hunter S Thompson

Not a fan. Too long, never got below the surface- did a bad drug bit- I hate that. I did really enjoy the section about Fear and Loathing on the Campaign trail- maybe for someone who new nada about HST this would be fun- I had already done the introduction so I found the doc to be flat. But I will nonetheless post a pic of the man


Goliath


Funny and Absurd but I wanted a little more. A guy loses his wife is demoted at work and then his cat, Goliath, is missing- he unravels. There is hilarious shit in this movie-hilarious. I mean- look at this poster
But in the end I felt the film was a little stretched to be a feature- don't get me wrong- I would program this in any festival. I laughed very hard and the opening of the film is so strong I can;t stand it. There is the best font joke ever in this movie. And amazing use of a chainsaw on a stick-type pruning device. See this movie and go to their site later and watch their awesome shorts HERE

BALLAST

My pick for Dramatic Grand Prize. Nonprofessional cast gives an amazing performance in this quiet, superbly shot drama set in Mississippi River Delta. I don't want to give you the synopsis or any of that- I saw it cold, didn't know a thing and I loved it. I think it is the only way to really see films but that's me. It feels like the filmmakers were just there to capture things- it didn't feel lit or like a heavy hand was there controlling it. Just a beautiful film. Slow Burn- not for fans of plot driven poops. It plays Berlin next.

Pretty Bird

this movie is nuts. Paul Schnieder writes and directs his first feature an it is a bit of a rudderless ship. it has funny stuff and it definitely feels that Schnieder has a handle on scene work but the film as a whole is all over the place and ultimately tough to accept. Billy Crudup plays a nut who wants to sell rocket packs. Him and Paul Giamatti team up and make them- things are batshit crazy scene to scene and the movie takes a weird and dark turn when a character turns up dead. If you get a chance- an I don;t know if you will- watch this film. You will laugh and not believe the level of absurdity that is committehtted to in every aspect of production- every prop, set dressing, blocking, line reading- everything is crazy and fun for about an hour. use of a wolf poster right out of Robert Paraguassu's arsenal.

Be Like Others

Everything that happens in this doc is fucked. every idea, every action made me put my heads into my hands. Listen to this set up: In Iran homosexuality is punishable by death- but having a sex change is legal. So everyone in contact with anyone gay- or someone denying they are gay by having a horrible mutilation of an operation because they want to be accepted for being attracted to the same sex. The filmmaking is fine but the movie is tough to watch- if the punishment for being gay is death, then the punishment for having the operation seems just as bad. The whole thing makes Alabama look like the most progressive place in the world.


STRANGERS

Good stuff. The film is about an Israeli and Palestinian woman who meet in Germany an have a brief affair. The film was made by two directors- that's it. I like the film a lot- it has a Truffalt kind of feel to it- the it easily drifts between comedy, drama, love story. Great scting that the filmmakers said was all improv, but is edited well enough never to feel like it. The characters also speak in broken English a lot which I thought was really charming. They throw in really dynamic editing towards the end that I loved a la Jules and Jim- there was some split screen (yuck) but that's just nitpicking because the film is great. And because it was a first feature they do get the 'we have a 360 shot' award for including that shot in their film.

I talked to the lead actor and directors almost everyday. we took a picture

Heath Ledger at Sundance!!!!

What? Too soon, too soon?

I walked by the press office and outside the door on this couch a Film Threat writer was passed out a and his buddy laid that Entertainment Weekly on his head.

it was a sunny day in Park City- high of 36. this is the view from my bus stop on my last shift.




I spend most of my time staring at this heater to keep my face warm

Good thing it was my last day because I sure am over being nice to assholes- I must say that I don't encounter very many of them- but on friday they must have had a 'Cocksuckers get Half Off' fare sale to SLC because they were sure out in drones. But i never lost my shit and yelled at anyone- I did have a dream last night that I was at a little league baseball game and some guy was acting up and I beat him with a very small metal bat. There was some other weird Gwar type of band hanging around the ball field in my dream too.

My favorite type of bus stop asshole is one that asks for directions and then asks the bus driver the same thing. That or the classic asshole that thinks he's so special he can get across town on a bus in five minutes. Some people......

Wackness, Man on Wire and more!

me and Mountains
I was watching RED- but I wasn't feeling it so I thought I would catch you guys up on all the awesome stuff I have seen.

THE WACKNESS

Let me first say that an 830 am movie after 4 hours of sleep is hard….real hard.

During the opening scene of The Wackness, when the lead starts to fantasize about some fly girls (a-la In Living Color) ancing for him on an empty subway car, I was in. He looks into the lens, nods and the title comes across the screen and I wanted to cheer. I love The Wackness. Love it. It takes place in 1994 in NYC. The lead is an outsider pot dealer who just graduated high school. He trades pot to his shrink played by Ben Kingsly and falls in love with the shrink’s daughter played by Famke Jansen. Both characters help each other grow up and learn about women.

This movie captured my high school years perfectly because I was in fact, a loner pot dealer with really no friends. The movie is shot wonderfully, is hilarious and it has a lead character that is white and into hip hop that is not cliche. Can anyone name another of those? The soundtrack is- to say the least, the dopeness- taken from those great years during the emergence of The Notorious BIG, when hip hop was starting to take a hold with young white kids- before it reached the sorry ass state it is in now. This was the kind of film that was so good that when it reached the third act I was praying they wouldn’t fuck it up with a bad ending or some kind of stupid moral, and for my money- they don’t. I predict an Audience Award for this film or some kind of special mention for all the drugs consumed through Ben Kingsly’s performance.

Did I mention that there's an Olsen twin in this movie on mushrooms? there is.

MAN ON WIRE

In 1974 a French man strung a wire between the two towers f the world trade center and walked it. That’s what the doc is about. It is a close second to ANVIL! In the “goddam that was a great doc” competition I am having in my head. It is almost like a heist movie, following these guys in their planning of the stunt, sneaking into the building and doing the deed. When it finally happens in the film, it made me cry it was such a wonderful moment. The film also does a great job of cross cutting through time to keep things from slowing down- and the archival footage is all (insert something equal to awesome). Towards the end of the film there is a news clip with the arresting officer on the day talking about watching thttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifhe Man on the wire and knowing he was seeing something that could never happen again. It is a really special moment that stands out among every film I have seen at this festival.

BAGHEAD

Rock ass Duplass Brothers. Just cut down that ending- it drags a bit.
Baghead is the story of 4 actors who go to a film festival (and see the film We Are Naked- holy shit it was funny) and then get the idea to write a movie themselves, so they can star in it and not be extras any more.

The movie was shot in the mumblecore fashion and transferred to 35mm- much like their absolutely gut busting hilarious and rockin short films. WATCH THEM HERE

The movie is funny and scary and bounces back and forth in a really original way I have never really seen before. The acting is great- the camera work and lighting is secondary to story and performance- but they did do quite a bit of night work that they pulled off.
For some reason I always hear a really negative response to the films of Duplass, Swanberg, and and the like. I mean nasty comments about the production that doesn't make sense from some random asshole- these guys make good films- don't be a hater. or make a movie if you wanna say 'I can do that' kinda shit.

KATIE REVIEW


At the screening we ran into Joe ,Ronnie and David


they are doing a little Sundance coverage for Spout/MySpace HERE

so tired

I need a nap before a midnight movie. quick update- The Wackness is awesome, Man on Wire is wonderful and Goliath is absurd. I will blog more.

Funny Games, SWAG, Slamdance

Saw the FUNNY GAMES premiere in SLC. It was a lot of work to get there an no Haneke Q&A- but the movie is good. Plenty of walkouts from the Salt lake locals- people were actually- audibly arguing during the screening, that is amamzing.

This is a remake- shot for shot- of Haneke's Funny Games- by Haneke, but it is very different.

Casting Naomi Watts and making the movie in English will finally get the audience Haneke's last Funny Games was intended for into some seats. Mike Brune said it best- the film is for American Audiences- you like violence..well here you go, you want to see a home invasion...really? see if you can handle this. But in casting N. Watts an audience that says, "let's go see that N. Watts movie " get a serious bit of nastiness. Michael Pitt holds it together in the lead but the previous version is far superior in every performance. The movie will be fun to watch with a full house- couples were getting into agruements about staying to see the film...AT A FILM FESTIVAL- just wait till/if it hits the burbs. There is a weird new slant of sadism in a section that wasn't present before and the breaking the 4th wall stuff is way heavier this time around.

Here's some Funny Games SWAG- that's just wierd


pic is a little crappy but you got it. The golf ball has the title of the film on it.


went to Slamdance and saw some old friends projecting

that's a little BLAKE MYERS

and I saw ARON BARNES- they both project at Slamdance

check out slamdance:


polar opposite of Sundance


MY MOTHER'S GARDEN

This is a doc on a subject that fascinates me- thhttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gife horder, clutterer disorder. I first heard this given a name in an amazing NPR bit. Check it HERE These are people who can't throw anything away, people with stacks of old newspapers filling a bathroom, drawers of pens that don't have ink- houses that you can't see the floor in. there are different degrees of this disorder- and the subject of this film has a serious one.

I had a high school friend with a mother with this problem- to walk to his room- or any room- you went through small pathways through the house. The kitchen was buried, as was the living room and back door. If there ever was a fire, it would be over in no time because of all the collected newspapers and magazines- stacks and stacks 5 or 6 feet high.

The doc is directed by Cynthia Lester- the daughter of a women with the disorder- the film has a handicam feel to it- the camera work is shoddy- but ti doesn't matter and can't stand in the way of how shocking/frightening the story is.

The back story is deep and barely delved into- When the director was 13 she left home because her mother's problem forced her out of the house and into preforming sexual acts for money- her two brothers ha it tough too, one joined a gang and was shot in the face, the other is an alcoholic. When the city calls to condemn their mother's home the family is forced back together to eal with the problem they have avoided their whole life.

It is amazing stuff that could be developed into a serious narrative work that I wouldn't mind writing. The mother uses environmentalism to justify digging through dumpsters and keeping tons of recyclables in and around her home. The mother can't even sleep in her home- she camps outside- when the camera and family take us into the home it becomes scary.

I don't want to tell you everything that happens in this doc- you should see it. It raises issues about the nature of consumerism and the fact that this disorder really has no diagnosis or treatment. Tell your local fest to program it

Oh this is awesome....MORE ANVIL!!!!!!

I saw ANVIL LIVE!!!! That's right, Tattoo. Here's Katie and I before the show:



just to the left of that picture Tarantino an the corpse of Otto Preminger are doing coke off a donkey that is doing coke off of Dakota Fanning- yeah...we party like that

we chatted with the director and producer of the film before- awesome folks, I hope they blow up like the World Trade, yo. Funny side note- the director was in some crappy band with his friends in the UK- he quit because they had no future, they changed their name to...Bush. he also turned down writing some wizard-boy script called Harry Potter. He said it wasn;t commercial- that's also funny. Well, he picked the winner here with ANVIL! (i'm no Potter Bush fan anyway)

here's pic of leadman Lips starting the show with some wicked shredding (right term?- I dunno) in my face. He ran out into the crowd- the club was really small- great place to see a show


then Scott Ian from ANTHRAX came out to play on their anthem METAL ON METAL


Oh! you ho's want video? ta dow:




Just when I thought it couldn't get better....Slash shows up. Yes, Slash. That Slash...the Slash. You'll never guess what they played- watch this video:



yes yes, you can buy me dinners and wines and ask me to tell the story

OLDER POSTS

I'm reposting some older stuff

Up to speed

All the premiere's should have happened so I'm gonna give you a rundown on the films I've seen. I know how it is to have your film in a festival and see some asshole blogger gave you shit....but tough. These are my thoughts on things and if you don't like them read something else..... jeez. I'm not Variety

Before movies I want to say that last night it was 3 degrees outside. This morning my feet have never been colder. Ever.


IN PRISON ALL MY LIFE

On the day MUMIA was sentenced to death in Philly the director for this film was born and 24 years later decided to make a doc about all that action. The Filmmaker talks to people about Mumia's case, possibility of release and race relations around his issue and race relations of the country and Philadelphia, even slavery. While the information and archival footage for this film are amazing, the film falls short because the filmmaker is the through line of the film. It takes away from the arc and structure of the film- which is also a bit too long. Basically the kid needed to get out of his movie.

There is one piece of footage of a bomb being dropped on a building in Philly from a helicopter that will make you ashamed to be American- it happened in 1985. So sad.

Katie didn't see it

FROZEN RIVER

Smuggling immigrants into the country to keep her family above water. There are some great concepts and parallels in this film- between the indentured servants being smuggled and the smugglers struggling to earn a living and keep their family together- but all in all, the performances from almost every character except the female lead felt stilted and contrived. The cinematography was at times very breathtaking- even for video. I read in Variety that someone bought this film- I'm not sure I would do that


SHORTS

DENNIS

Here’s the pitch: Imagine Cassavetes directed a short film version of Marty but replaced Ernest Borgnine with a giant bodybuilder. That is Dennis- and everything about it is wonderful, uncomfortable and amazing. I love this short.

KING OF PING PONG

I was really excited by this film, youth in trouble and ping pong- but it was ultimately boring and unimpressive despite my love for the bleakness of the setting and the use of a at least a half dozen hairless cats. Oh, I almost forgot tons of heavy anti American sentiment including one character that wore a hat with am American flag in it with the word FUCK written in sharpie in the flag. That’s ball-z…huh?



THE WAVE

I’m down with this film although the concept is not anything new....but I found out based on reality- it happened in South America I believe. A teacher tries to get through to his apathetic, valueless class of German high school students about fascism by making them fascists- things go too far. Very well done, although I wish the film would have gone somewhere a little less expected at the end, But very high energy and some MTVish sequences for the kids. The film falls into the new wave a political films geared towards a generation of youngsters that couldn’t care about anything and have nothing to rebel against because no one has any values to challenge. See it. It raises tons of great issues to tackle over a few bottles of wine with a group of people that do that stuff. Katie met the writer an one of the actors- she said they were super great guys. I met another actor who was also very pleasant. The film has US, UK and Spain sold- so you'll see this one somewhere.

That’ll catch you up. I have been LOVING my volunteer position as a Transportation Liason. I have fun, only work 4 hours and get to joke around with folks that leave me shortly thereafter. Great Job, I like being the AD of my little bus stop.

I went to MAIN STREET- the main nerve of Sundance. What a zoo. The Anti-Fur guys were raising hell – that was cool. I just walked around for a few minutes and went back to the Yarrow where I watch movies at the Press an Industry screenings because no other volunteers go there. I always see Tom Hall and Holly Herrick, Film Festival Bob, ran into the Atlanta Film Festival’s ex-pat Brian Newman and I ran into:

(IMAGE NOT AVAILABLE)


MIKE TULLEY!!! He’s got a sweet writing gig reviewing films for INSERT WEBSITE LATER. Love talking movies with that guy.

Here's an FFB ( Film Festival Bob) What is this? pic



Ran into Dennis Harvey at my stop who wrote Blood Car’s VARIETY review. I’m sure I have been chatting with tons of really important people.. but who cares? What are they gonna do, give me a 3 picture deal at Miramax because I know where the yellow bus line goes?…..nope. Better to just be myself, have fun and watch movies. If things are gonna happen, they will happen. I don’t like networking unless networking means talking movies an making fun of the scenesters.

The cold ain’t shit- I don’t spend any money, - not even on food and since that high altitude bitch slap by the booze at the volunteers party- I don’t touch the sauce. I have breakfast at 8am- work 9:30am to 2pm watch movies till there aren’t anymore (last show 12am) and go to bed around 2 or 2:30am an do it again. What could be better? Parties? Looking for clelebrites? Getting turned away from parties? Waiting in cold lines for parties? Fuck that shit- I watch movies. Katie and I plan on hitting 30 before we leave- so shove that in your party pipe guest-listers.

I am in the lobby waiting to go to the FUNNY GAMES PREMIERE with Katie. We hope to see a Haneke Q&A…will we…….


more moview thoughts to come:
Katie saw Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden?
i've seen:
Baghead, Pretty Bird, Momma's Man, The Broken, Trouble the Water, Ballast, Strangers,
August, My Mother's Garden, Gonzo:The Life and Work of Hunter S Thompson- plus shorts and plan to see Golaith, The Wackness, Hamlet II and more!

Oscar...you little fag- nice work

I have a theory- maybe the way for the Oscars to get better and not just be a celebration of star-fucker box office winners- is to endanger the whole show. Jesse James did get shafted on a Best Pic nom- but we all knew that would happen. 8 for No Country an There Will Be Blood- that's awesome. Juno....a little over praised? Yes is the answer to that question. and 2 YES 2! Noms for Roger Deakins- that's awesome. I'm generally pleased to see that shit-turds like American Gangster are not in the running. I haven't seen Atonement...I will, But I don't really care to. Hopefully No Country and There will be Blood won't split the vote and end up handing Atonement a win.

So for once- nice job academy. I usually think you have you're head so far up your ass that you wouldn't know a good movie from a bowel movement. Where's Margot At the Wedding? oh well, I can't win em all

my bad

I have seen 15 movies as of now. Barely time to sleep-will catch you guys up on my movie seeings tomorrow. i promise. I am at the Festival HQ shuttle stop by the way, if anyone wants to holla-930am to 2pm. I want some SWAG-without going to main street

ANVIL! ANVIL! ANVIL!

At the volunteer screening last night I got to see what MUST be the breakout doc at this year's festival- ANVIL! THE TRUE STORY OF ANVIL

It is the story of one of the founding bands of metal ANVIL their leadman and drummer. The movie has the same feel as The King of Kong in that you just want them to win so bad. (on a side note- it is a shame that the widest release King of Kong got was 58 screens- it only grossed $700k) The filmmaking is simple and doesn't interfere with how awesome/entertaining/passionate the subjects and their journey to be rockstars is. The band has been together for 30 years and they were pretty famous in 1982 and they just faded away. This is their big album METAL ON METAL:




I tell you- I laughed my ass off and I cried a couple times. It was a movie experience, which is what we all want. I don't want to tell you too much because every asskicking second of this doc rocks. And of course the music is all metal. We got some pics of Anvil and director Sasha

Guess which one is the Director

katie and Anvil






I also saw Mermaid a Russian film about a girl growing up. It was really a film that felt like it was made for 14 year old girls. It had some really cool things in it, but as a whole....eh..shrug. Not for me.

It was shot very well and had some good performances in it but was really just too long and I never really cared. It felt like a bunch of never-fully-realized scenes and images strung together. Narrative storytelling was not the main focus of this film, I know- and which is fine- but the film still never really grabbed me. The film does have a section that is full of hot Russian models, not that that makes a movie but it is worth mentioning. There was also a ton of positive reinforcement for the lead character (who was good, and interesting to watch) from random advertisements all over Moscow. That was a new one on me.

KATIE REVIEWS ON THE WAY!!



Time to go to work now, snowing like a sunnofabitch- I wrote this blog but did not post until both these films premiered.

First day on the job

My job is pretty cool. Sure, it is colder than I have ever been in my life- but only for 4 hours, and really it's just the toes. I talk to people and am friendly and helpful- yes me- i figured it out with no trouble at all. People are all really happy and nice. I never got a heater delivered to me but...eh...who cares? They bring around hot chocolate and hand warmers so I'm good. All the folks I work with are cool too- or seem to be.

I have decided that my goal is to get some 'What is This?' pictures from folks at the festival. If you don't know what those are- you will. Saw Tom Hall and Holly Herrick from the Sarasota Film Festival. Love those guys.

okay. Time to watch movies. Mermaid and ANVIL! The True Story of Anvil tonight. I will blog about them later.

I will also score myself a poster from GOLIATH- the Zellner bros feature. Great poster- can't wait to see that flick.

First big deal of Sundance

More to come on the big deal after I ramble

Yesterday was volunteer training day for me- Transportation Liason. After hearing 5 hours of information I could never retain (there was a lot to learn and there are lots of maps) I have learned that my job is to stand at a shuttle stop and answer any and all transportation questions for 4.5 hours each day. With 50,000 people in from all over, and me not really knowing jack - this should be interesting. I'm glad I have this job though because I can see movies and I basically work by myself. I will also kow everything about getting around this town really quickly- which is awesome. I now understand the complex treasure map that is the park city bus map. a really nice mug was given to me too- see:


I like mugs.

During the training I found out I randomly work in the same dept as Traveler John-


I met him in NOLA on the Glory at Sea shoot i helped out on. He has traveled around the world without getting on a plane- that's pretty fucking cool. I'll get some stories out of him an blog them. In NOLA we drank and had a good time and worked on the movie. Odd that I even ran into John. 1,400 volunteers at Sundance, maybe 150 at my training thing today and there he was.

Oh oh THE FIRST BIG DEAL AT SUNDANCE....

Blood Car secured (is about to secure, just gotta sign for it) German distribution
through our foreign sales rep. I was at Sundance when I got the call and ok'd it so that qualifies as the first deal at Sundance '08. Sorry to get your hopes up on hearing something big about Donkey Punch- which I will see because of title alone.

Sorry, today I am writing this in hindsight- I forgot my pad- tonight at the Sundance Volunteer party- Beginning in 2.5 hrs- there will/should be free booze and I will
blog later....

NEXT MORNING.

Apparently, this altitude and alcohol and me - don't mix. Katie and I went over to where Traveler John is staying and had a few beers and I was fine. We went to the party an I had 1 drink and a glass of wine and it was lights out. I tried to record the events as they happened but my notepad is just full of garbled nonsense and a sketch of what looks like an interpretation of a DJ or a forest fire- I can't tell. I was the guy in the corner- partied out unable to hold my head up scribbling on a pad like an idiot. I think the bartender slipped me a mickey because I was looking so fine and dancing so nice nice. We laughed about it at breakfast. Madison (fellow volunteer/filmmaker/hostel resident) is also a racist I learned. I'll say I'm kidding about that....but am I? Here is pic of her- it is blurry because she was about to hit me with a stick.


Here is a pic of the party that represents my vision at the volunteer party.


I think I will not do my normal film festival partying here and just concentrate on seeing as many movies as possible because that was not fun...at...all.

I will hold off on blogging about any more movies until they have their first public screening. I didn't know and no one mentioned any protocol on that sort of thing. I apologize to anyone that I need to. I just write about my thoughts on movies for my friends. If anyone wants to email me and tell me I'm an ass- that's cool. alex@fakewoodwallpaper.com -

2 movies seen! at Sundance! eat your heart out AICN

Tonight I saw the volunteer screenings. 2 movies- Adventures of Power and I Always Wanted To Be a Gangster. I am debating the level of review I want to blog before others have seen these movies. I will start writing an see what happens.

First I saw Adventures of Power, but I will come back to it.


I ALWAYS WANTED TO BE A GANGSTER

This is why I love film festivals. Is this movie perfect...no. It is awesome despite it's flaws. It invokes many films- because it is about film. It revolves around a diner and some wannabe criminals whose paths cross only because of the diner an thematically because of their criminal elements. I hate the intersecting story as much as anyone else, but it doesn't really matter with this film. or not till the end. It got off to a shaky start. A bad site gag, some keys locked into a car, a gangster without a gun. The black an white photography though, was wonderful, so i thought i would be in capable hands. And the French diner waitress was pretty and in B&W-that always works for me. I shrugged off the first act, but got the nod that the movie is definitely about movies. There are tons of clues, it is blatant. There's a Brad Pitt hamburger on the menu and pictures of "real" gangsters on the walls. In the second, two goofy, good hearted criminals kidnap a rich girl and it is great. Not Savannah Smiles great, but really really funny dialogue and even a bit touching at one point. The next section is very well done and simple- about two old friends in the music business- but in the third story, the movie really came together. It is about 5 really old guys who used to be gangsters. In this section i realized that the film is about how there is no longer room in the world for the old cool gangsters, or how they can only exist in cinema, or how the cinema has changed because the world has changed. It is debatable and I really like that- that whole thinking at the movies thing. The movie should have ended there but there was an epilogue that wasn't needed. I really liked the film but I would like to see a shorter edit- I think that would elevate the film to something amazing; lose some plot and end on a note to make people ponder. If you get a chance, see the movie. Great editing, wonderful style and lighting, French women, great acting and a movie about movies-subtly, not in an agent's office or any of that.

Another thing I will do to review movies is kind of a star system, but we will use Katie's expression. Here is her reaction to said movie:


ADVENTURES OF POWER

The movie is about a geek who air drums. When you hear this, do you think it is a feature? I thought it could be, I was wrong. Think a movie that makes you say Napoleon Dynamite, crossed with a classic 80's style and storyline and a karate kid type, conquer the odds thing with air drumming. oh is there air drumming.

A guy Air Drums (i like capitalizing that) and no one understands him, not even his father, who is played by Michael McKean and is leader of the Copper Miner's union. The copper plant is run by an evil guy who has a son that is a really lame country music star (who has a hilarious video in the film). So our Air Drummer, Power (played by writer/director Ari Gold) goes off to Air Drum after he can't take part in the strike because he was fired for....Air Drumming. He randomly (and actually something I liked about the movie was that plot points just happened in a ridiculous way to try and keep it moving) finds a flyer and goes to an underground Air Drumming/gambling joint in Mexico. Really great cut-away of a chihuahua.

Adventure begins and involves more cliche' stereotype characters than a Mel Brooks movie (but Mr. Gold should take a page from Mr. Brooks and make fun of his own background, not just his main character, before doing everyone else)

This movie might be for some people- I am not those people, although I did like some things. Let me list a few things, good and bad,

-Lead actor wears a fanny pack, and other "funny" clothing gags-uhh
-approx. 14 montages mostly of air drumming- some haha mostly uhhh
-A funny scene about the history of a deaf girl (female love interest) an her 'praise jesus' mom.
-Another good gag with Deaf Girl/Air Drumming and a light cue
-Bad bad prat falls.
-a hilarious (to me) parrallel between strikers and strike breakers and the air drumming that goes into a great phone gag. Good job there.
-Random, silly (silly or just bad) performances that belong in a SNL movie. I mean that as an insult because almost every SNL movie is shit-turd terrible.


All in all. Not a good film. Maybe to a 13 year old, or a 60 year old- to me, it reinforces that a lot of broad bullshit passes for comedy to most people. Good use of Rush's Tom Sawyer...i guess... if you want a whole hell of a lot of Rush.


Katie Review:


more movies tomorrow!!!! and FYI- my 'd' key is not working well, so please excuse and/or insert any missing d's to nonsensical words.

Nothing to do with Sundance

I bowled a 203 (1 point shy of my 204 record) the day before I left for Park City, or the day before that- here is a juvenile slidshow of those events

Sundance '08 2 days before festival

9:00am 1-15-08

I am having the free breakfast right now. Coffee, juice, cereal, oatmeal, toast. Just great by me and I don;t have to pay extra for it. I am realizing now before katie has come to breakfast that we really have nothing to do until 7:30pm when we can see a movie. I'll ask her what she thinks.

9:22am

after chatting with Wade (a very nice Aussie on a round the world trip) katie and I are going to hit the slopes, only a fool would not ski in this town....right? So we will buy a ski lift ticket ($67) get our gear (20% discount for haggling- totaling $57) and walk to the kiddie slopes to see if I can do this. I have skied once before, I was 12. After Katie, Wade and I have a chat about dating pregnant women and dealing with their estranged lovers, Wade takes off for NYC and we to the mountain(s).

11:48am

I have gone down the kiddie slope twice with minor embarrassments. I will now ascend the mountain on the lift and try something harder. I see children young enough to breast feed doing goddam back-flips down the mountain. The snowboarders and people who are from abroad (Spain, Brazil?) are really cool too, I'm an idiot out here. An instructor told me so when I got in his way. It through me off and all I could say back was, "what's his problem?" He got me. On the slopes- I'm sure I can handle the blue square level.

11:58am

writing in notebook on ski lift impossible. Snow is somehow coming from all sides, not above.

Here's what I look like on top of the mountain- view is bad due to harsh wind conditions


12:38pm
I am halfway down the mountain, after yet another crash- Katie has abandoned me. I rounded a corner, wiped out and lost a ski over the edge of a snowbank (i dunno the terms) basically there is all this packed snow you ski on and on either side the shit is 6 feet deep, but looks harmless. I tried, half-assed, to get my ski with my pole. Failure. Another toddler just passed me at 40 mph. I hope he pulls a Sonny Bono.

1:something- i dunno, this is horseshit.
I got the ski. Christ. I can't figure out how to get them back on. Energy fading. Maybe there's a lever, the wind is amazing and terrifying. My fancy long underwear are immaculate. My $6 skipants have ripped (only one strap, still fixable)

post ski wrap up in hostel. 4:30pm
I got down the mountain, had a pitcher of beer and we went at it a few more times. The wind let up and we took this picture:

I progressed from green circle level to (almost) conquering the blue square. After the square is black diamond- those runs have names like Widowmaker and Devil's Crotch and You Will Die You Jeff, I need more practice for that. this is great fun too, I pick this over beach any day- once you get the hang of it, skiing rules. and snow is soft. When Katie abandoned me she saw this view:

Fuck the beach.

we go see some movie later, I will report. OH! an I got this sundance jacket yesterday. Very warm, good pockets.

Katie is holding a cup of warm cider, in front of the fire in the hostel. She's wearing said jacket.

Sundance '08

I have decided (partly in honor of a Hunter S Thompson doc playing the festival) to do a bit of Gonzo journalism and try to joy down this thing as it happens and translate it here to my blog. There may be 5 entries a day or only one a week- I just don;t know at this point. But we will see.

As I type away this first blog I am enjoying a cup of hot apple cider that was handed to me from a fellow traveler from- Australia or maybe the UK- I can't tell, he was a mumbler. I'm by a fire in my hostel- that's right dammit, I said hostel- in park city. Katie is with me and although we have to stay in men's an women's dorms, we are both in very good spirits.

and now begins the random scribblings of my volunteer stint at the Sundance Film Festival.

6:00am 1-14-08
katie an I fly to SLC through Phoenix this morning. Had b'fast with Brune at 5:30am at The Majestic- I love their goddam sausage. Brune leaves to Rotterdam Film Fest a week from today. his film The Adventure is one of twenty something films in competition (400+ shorts screen) His luck with the US festivals has been mind boggling. (as in not too good) After he is lauded in Europe though, the US festival programmers will pull their heads out of their asses. Like everything Americans do artistically, we need the Europeans to stamp it before we realize what we have and embrace it.

I'm excited to be here. Can't wait to see all the films and stay in a hostel full of film people.

10:05pm

I am in my jammies. It is a cold town, sure- but it is very pretty and I have never really seen this part of the world. beautiful. They had a ski lift lit up for night skiing. that's nuts. Katie and I walked around for a little while an then ate at a pizza joint. I once saw a little sign in a pizza place that read "Pizza is like sex, even when it's bad- it's still pretty good." Well, let me say that the man who wrote that has never eaten what they pass for pizza in park city and he probably never got properly fucked either. no such thing as bad pizza or bad sex....gimme a break.

tomorrow I get to see a movie, maybe 2. I will write about them.

Katie just asked the front desk clerk about how many people are killed by icicles. they said they didn't know but I saw those fuckers today and they could kill an elephant