Sunday, July 31, 2005
Roadside South
We recently traveled to Atlanta for two weddings spanning two weekends. In between, we travelled down to Destin, FL to see my sister and brother-in-law. On the way, I took some roadside pictures. Here's the gallery.
Friday, July 29, 2005
Review: Junebug (SIFF 2005)
Junebug is a film about opposites coming together. Urban and rural. Northern and southern. Cosmopolitan and folk. Uptight and relaxed. Happy and sad.
The story is straightforward; two newlyweds travel from Chicago to North Carolina in search of a folk artist and his work. The wife is the urban art gallerist in search of the next big thing, while the husband is returning to his hometown in rural NC. As part of this trip, the husband's family has a chance to meet his new wife. In short order, we see how both of the newlyweds are outsiders; the wife because of her education and upbringing, and the husband because of his departure from his hometown.
The real joy from this movie is not in the story or even in its message, but in its delivery. Hailing from the South, I could relate to most scenes in the movie. A question about local customs, an uncomfortable moment while sharing one's past, a potluck dinner that includes a gospel song, and sibling rivalry all come through with honesty and clarity. The acting is very casual, and the actors' candid work makes you feel like you're just another person in the room, watching the confused looks and the awkward moments pass by. I came away from the film feeling I had been reintroduced to several people I have known, in situations I have seen them be part of.
Overall rating: 9.0 /10.0
Details:
Runtime: 107m
Country: USA
Language: English
The story is straightforward; two newlyweds travel from Chicago to North Carolina in search of a folk artist and his work. The wife is the urban art gallerist in search of the next big thing, while the husband is returning to his hometown in rural NC. As part of this trip, the husband's family has a chance to meet his new wife. In short order, we see how both of the newlyweds are outsiders; the wife because of her education and upbringing, and the husband because of his departure from his hometown.
The real joy from this movie is not in the story or even in its message, but in its delivery. Hailing from the South, I could relate to most scenes in the movie. A question about local customs, an uncomfortable moment while sharing one's past, a potluck dinner that includes a gospel song, and sibling rivalry all come through with honesty and clarity. The acting is very casual, and the actors' candid work makes you feel like you're just another person in the room, watching the confused looks and the awkward moments pass by. I came away from the film feeling I had been reintroduced to several people I have known, in situations I have seen them be part of.
Overall rating: 9.0 /10.0
Details:
Runtime: 107m
Country: USA
Language: English
Wednesday, July 27, 2005
Review: Vital (SIFF 2005)
I have to admit, when we bought tickets to see Vital, we were expecting a horror movie. We were wrong, but in a good way.
Director Shinya Tsukamoto weaves a fairly intricate, slow-to-reveal tale about a Japanese medical student and his attempt to uncover his past. Recently, this student was involved in a car accident that left him an amnesiac, and killed his girlfriend. The accident caused the student to become a recluse, until an anatomy textbook brings his fervor for his studies back to life. As he and his fellow students work on dissecting human bodies, the student discovers he is operating on his dead girlfriend. As he dissects more of the body, the lines blur between dreams and reality, as the student tries to reveal his opaque memories of himself and his girlfriend.
What's most interesting about Tsukamoto's treatment of the film is its almost casual pace in building the emotions in the main character. There's no direct impact, no horror shots, no ghosts around the corner to surprise you, and no gruesome scenes to drive the points home. Instead, this tale focuses on the student's evolving emotions to create the sense of loss and discovery that the film ultimately conveys.
Overall rating: 7.0 /10.0
Details:
Runtime: 86m
Country: Japan
Language: Japanese
Director Shinya Tsukamoto weaves a fairly intricate, slow-to-reveal tale about a Japanese medical student and his attempt to uncover his past. Recently, this student was involved in a car accident that left him an amnesiac, and killed his girlfriend. The accident caused the student to become a recluse, until an anatomy textbook brings his fervor for his studies back to life. As he and his fellow students work on dissecting human bodies, the student discovers he is operating on his dead girlfriend. As he dissects more of the body, the lines blur between dreams and reality, as the student tries to reveal his opaque memories of himself and his girlfriend.
What's most interesting about Tsukamoto's treatment of the film is its almost casual pace in building the emotions in the main character. There's no direct impact, no horror shots, no ghosts around the corner to surprise you, and no gruesome scenes to drive the points home. Instead, this tale focuses on the student's evolving emotions to create the sense of loss and discovery that the film ultimately conveys.
Overall rating: 7.0 /10.0
Details:
Runtime: 86m
Country: Japan
Language: Japanese
Sunday, July 17, 2005
Review: Frozen (SIFF 2005)
Frozen focuses on the story of Kath, a woman living in Lancaster, and the mysterious disappearance of her older sister, Annie, two years ago. Kath lives a relatively normal working woman's life in a relatively small city, but seems to be haunted by Annie's disappearance, so much so that she's seeking help from a therapist.
Kath's last living memory of Annie is some Closed-Circuit Television footage of Annie walking down an alley, away from the camera. In reviewing the footage one day, Kath notices an odd image on the tapes. She travels to the alley, and there she begins to have visions of an alternate reality in which clues of Annie's existence appear.
The movie oscillates between Kath's daily life, her therapy sessions, and her increasing exploration of the alternate universe she's discovered. As is expected, not many people believe Kath's experiences to be true, including her therapist, but this doesn't stop her explorations. Eventually, we find the answers to Kath's visions as the movie builds to its climax, and we see Kath's alternate universe collide with her reality.
Shirley Henderson does an excellent job playing Kath in the film. Her passive, shy, yet obsessive characteristics come through exceedingly well, yet she doesn't overdramatize or overplay the character's emotional state. The result is a very honest, believable performance.
The camera work in the film is equally superb. Some excellent shots during the alternative reality sequences clearly indicate a "dream-like" world, but a sinister one at that with a very defined blue and white color palette and striking contrasts in the exposure.
Overall rating: 9.0 /10.0
Details:
Runtime: 90m
Countries: United Kingdom
Languages: English
Kath's last living memory of Annie is some Closed-Circuit Television footage of Annie walking down an alley, away from the camera. In reviewing the footage one day, Kath notices an odd image on the tapes. She travels to the alley, and there she begins to have visions of an alternate reality in which clues of Annie's existence appear.
The movie oscillates between Kath's daily life, her therapy sessions, and her increasing exploration of the alternate universe she's discovered. As is expected, not many people believe Kath's experiences to be true, including her therapist, but this doesn't stop her explorations. Eventually, we find the answers to Kath's visions as the movie builds to its climax, and we see Kath's alternate universe collide with her reality.
Shirley Henderson does an excellent job playing Kath in the film. Her passive, shy, yet obsessive characteristics come through exceedingly well, yet she doesn't overdramatize or overplay the character's emotional state. The result is a very honest, believable performance.
The camera work in the film is equally superb. Some excellent shots during the alternative reality sequences clearly indicate a "dream-like" world, but a sinister one at that with a very defined blue and white color palette and striking contrasts in the exposure.
Overall rating: 9.0 /10.0
Details:
Runtime: 90m
Countries: United Kingdom
Languages: English
Review: Dreamship Surprise (SIFF 2005)
On the heels of the German comedy Night of the Living Dorks, we saw another great German comedy, Dreamship Surprise. Dreamship (its proper German title being Traumschiff Surprise - Periode 1), spoofs popular American sci-fi franchises, most notably Star Wars and Star Trek, including plenty of takeoff jokes and silly situations.
The premise is probably familiar to any sci-fi film aficionado. The year is 2304, and humans have colonized Mars. Now, the people on Mars have turned a bit sour, and their leader, Regulator Rogul (think Emperor), along with his first mate, Jens Maul (think Darth Vader), want to attack Earth. Their armies are on the way, and the leaders of Earth, led my Queen Metaphor (think...oh, you get it) have no alternative but to call on the crew of the Dreamship Surprise for help.
Surprise is manned by three very ebullient men: Captain Kork, Mr. Spuck, and chief engineer Schrotty. Simply put, they're very gay and are focused on training for the Miss Waikiki song-and-dance contest. Instead, they're summoned to Earth (via a taxi driver, Rock, and his spaceship taxi) and commissioned by the Queen to travel back in time to 2004, where a UFO brought knowledge of space travel to humans, which led to the Mars colonization.
Mishaps abound, leading the Queen, our three Surprise crew members, and the taxi driver to jump to different points in time, courtesy of a couch-turned-time-machine. All the while, Jens Maul is pursuing our heroes in time with a flying-scooter-turned-time-machine. The result is some predictable but very amusing scenes as our heroes interact with people from times long past.
Dreamship Surprise plays off of other sci fi movies well to make its jokes, but doesn't linger too long on any of them. The result is a well-made, fanciful, relatively high-budget sci-fi spoof. One more point of evidence that German cinema can be (and is) funny.
Overall rating: 8.5 /10.0
Details:
Runtime: 87m
Country: Germany
Language: German
The premise is probably familiar to any sci-fi film aficionado. The year is 2304, and humans have colonized Mars. Now, the people on Mars have turned a bit sour, and their leader, Regulator Rogul (think Emperor), along with his first mate, Jens Maul (think Darth Vader), want to attack Earth. Their armies are on the way, and the leaders of Earth, led my Queen Metaphor (think...oh, you get it) have no alternative but to call on the crew of the Dreamship Surprise for help.
Surprise is manned by three very ebullient men: Captain Kork, Mr. Spuck, and chief engineer Schrotty. Simply put, they're very gay and are focused on training for the Miss Waikiki song-and-dance contest. Instead, they're summoned to Earth (via a taxi driver, Rock, and his spaceship taxi) and commissioned by the Queen to travel back in time to 2004, where a UFO brought knowledge of space travel to humans, which led to the Mars colonization.
Mishaps abound, leading the Queen, our three Surprise crew members, and the taxi driver to jump to different points in time, courtesy of a couch-turned-time-machine. All the while, Jens Maul is pursuing our heroes in time with a flying-scooter-turned-time-machine. The result is some predictable but very amusing scenes as our heroes interact with people from times long past.
Dreamship Surprise plays off of other sci fi movies well to make its jokes, but doesn't linger too long on any of them. The result is a well-made, fanciful, relatively high-budget sci-fi spoof. One more point of evidence that German cinema can be (and is) funny.
Overall rating: 8.5 /10.0
Details:
Runtime: 87m
Country: Germany
Language: German
Sunday, July 03, 2005
Back From The Southeast
I've been remiss in posting for a while due to being in the Southeast US for a week for two weddings and a jaunt down to Destin, Florida. Fear not, no sharks were seen. Coming soon on this blog:
- Pictures of interesting road signs on the way from Atlanta to Destin, Florida (preview: "The Best Butts in Alabama" can be seen on one)
- The top 5 reasons Atlanta is (and isn't) cool, and what's changing in the ATL as of late
- How clouds and rain seems to follow us wherever we go (and, strangely, we don't mind)
- Catholic weddings and receptions, and being the partner of the maid of honor
And of course, a wrap up of SIFF reviews and back on a real-time schedule.
Wish me luck.
- Pictures of interesting road signs on the way from Atlanta to Destin, Florida (preview: "The Best Butts in Alabama" can be seen on one)
- The top 5 reasons Atlanta is (and isn't) cool, and what's changing in the ATL as of late
- How clouds and rain seems to follow us wherever we go (and, strangely, we don't mind)
- Catholic weddings and receptions, and being the partner of the maid of honor
And of course, a wrap up of SIFF reviews and back on a real-time schedule.
Wish me luck.
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