SCREAMING MASTERPIECE

I fell asleep through a lot of this, but in a good way :-). I really like bands like Sigur Ros and Mum (and Bjork too), so this documentary about Icelandic music was right down my alley. I often listen to SR and Mum when I go to sleep at night, so I suspect that this music-heavy documentary might have triggered my mind into a relaxed enough state to snooze. Anyway, the parts I did see were great, so If I had to give it a score it’d be closer to 10 than to zero. There was another band in the doco called Bang Gang which sounded really good too, so I’ll be trying to get a CD by them ASAP. Luckily their latest one is available locally through shock records.

DEAD MAN’S SHOES
8/10
I really liked this film, though it might not really deserve an 8/10 perhaps – maybe a 7.8/10… I think what did it for me was one of the actors, Paddy Considine, who I loved as the father in ‘In America’ at MIFF a couple of years ago. Anyway, this film isn’t overly complex or anything – it’s a tale of revenge, executed (pun intended) by the brother of mentally retarded man who was regularly picked on by the local thugs in a small UK town. Think Kill Bill, but about three hours shorter maybe. Okay, not really, but definitely worth checking out. I hope this one gets a wider release here.

A quick post to mentioned Leo’s MIFF blog. He’s a guy I’ve seen every year at the festival, and his taste in films is pretty similar to mine. A random web search this morning uncovered his blog and so I’ve added a link to it on the left hand side of the page here – be sure to check it out for some useful comments about the films he’s seen at MIFF this year!

UNO
7/10
I had fairly high hopes for this film after seeing ‘Hawaii, Oslo’, and then noticing that one of the actors (who was also Johnny Vang in the film of that name a year or two at MIFF, and which I really enjoyed) wrote and directed this one. I was a little disappointed. There wasn’t anything particularly bad about the film, and it was certainly watchable, but it wasn’t really my style I guess. It’s about a guy who works in a gym that is dealing in steroids. He tries to do the right thing by people generally, but sometimes he needs to prioritise the needs of one ove another causing conflict. A somewhat depressing film.

WHAT ALICE FOUND
6.5/10
This year’s MIFF seems to have an unofficial theme of being the year of the promiscuous teen. This film is a cautionary tale of why you shouldn’t use your middle finger on a highway. Or, something. It was an okay, but not great tale of a girl who is a little lost and what happens when she’s rescued by a couple of good samaritans who happens to be pimp/whore/husband/wife. Some of the acting was pretty awful, but it was cool to hear an American accent rarely found in film – the teenage girl was from massachusetts where they pronounce ‘car’ like ‘kah’. (reminds me of the simpsons episode where the cook is forced to ‘say chowdah!’. Missable.

LOOK BOTH WAYS
7.5/10
An Australian film that was better than I expected – I thought it would be all about a train wreck and how the survivors found new meaning in their lives. There was a train wreck, but it didnt directly relate to any of the main characters, all of who had their own issues to deal with. It was a nice film, set in a Sydney suburb, was well paced and different enough to recommend, with short animated sequences interspersed throughout. Ultimately while I liked it, it didn’t change my life enough for me to consider it a must-see film. But, it’s certainly worth a look.

ABOUT LOVE
8/10
A nice set of three short romantic stories set in different asian cities, done by three different directors. I really enjoyed this one – as can be expected in a movie like this, some of the stories are better than the others. I liked the first better than the second two but the ‘worst’ were still most enjoyable.

PRETTY PERSUATION
7/10
This would’ve been a great film if Heathers, Wild Things and Jawbreaker didn’t exist. As it is, it’s a bit of all of these three films (and probably a couple of others too). The film is good enough though, despite covering several themes and ideas that have been done before. Special mention should be made of James Woods who did a great job in his role.

CRAZY LEGS CONTI: ZEN AND THE ART OF COMPETITIVE EATING
7.5/10
A documentary about a guy who decides to pursue a life as a professional competitive eater. Americans, huh? This was a great bit of fluff with plenty of amusing bits. You have to hand it to the guy though – he really is passionate about his career as a ‘professional sports-person’, and is quite a likable guy. To think that the world champ hotdog eater can down a hotdog every 15 seconds for 12 minutes straight is stomach turning.

MADE IN SHEFFIELD
7.5/10
This doco was about the sheffield scene of the late 70s/early 80s, and since walking out, I’ve had Human League and ABC songs in my head :-). If you weren’t into the bands, this probably wouldn’t be too interesting, but I have my share of Human League, ABC, Cabaret Voltaire, Heaven 17, Clock DVA, etc records, all who were covered, so I liked it. It was interesting to see the various key figures being interviewed in the 2000s – from The Extras who seemed quite embarrasingly sad, to Artery who I’d never heard of but seemed to be taking their queues from Joy Division. The guy from ‘2.3’ was great too. I’d have liked it if they had a bit at the end telling us what they were all doing nowadays.

MARISCOS BEACH
7/10
I’ve seen a couple of great French films this festival, so this one’s getting a 7 because it wasn’t quite as enjoyable as The Ax or Housewarming… It’s a story about a middle aged couple and their two kids, and the goings on during a summer holiday in the chateau where the father spent time in his youth. Had several amusing moments and was nice enough, but I felt the ending was a little too unbelievable given the feel of the rest of the film. Anyway, my mother wasn’t Dutch, so maybe I’m just a bit too uptight about it :-).

GHIBLI: THE MIZAYAKI TEMPLE
5.5/10
With the name Mizayaki in the title, you’d think they’d actually be able to interview the guy. But, apparently he doesn’t like being interviewed, or something… Without it, the whole thing seemed a little less worthwhile, especially as I didn’t really feel like there was much story told by those that they did interview. Fine to watch if it comes on TV, but I wouldn’t pay money to see it at a cinema.

CLEAN
8/10
Very good film – another film dealing with heroin, and similarly to Little Fish (see earlier comments about it), I liked the turns that it took and the story that was told. Nice to have uplifting moments in a film dealing with drugs and their relationship to a rock ‘n roll death.

AMERICAN RULING CLASS
7/10
Firstly, wow, what a Q&A. I haven’t been to (m)any Q&As at MIFF before but I really didn’t think the poor guy standing up the front deserved the caning he got. Some of the people really didn’t give him a fair go imho. There are some flaws in this film which tries to demonstrate a flaw in America’s system, but really, I do think that if a film can try and make people think a little about their lives and their futures, it’s worthwhile. Worth checking out. BTW, to that chick at the front who thought the ending was ‘trite’, I think that’s meant to be the point – it’s why it was referred to as an ‘alternate ending’.