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GreenCine Movie Talk
	In The Theaters I just saw it and boy does it...	318

Philadelphia Film Festival 2006
	Topic by: lizzoqops Posted: April 2, 2006 - 7:12 PM PDT Last Reply: April 11, 2006 - 2:31 PM PDT

author	topic: Philadelphia Film Festival 2006
lizzoqops	post #1  on April 2, 2006 - 7:12 PM PDT   Oh what the heck. I'm really missing Mark's point/counterpoint here, but I'll just post my own reviews so far... This Film is Not Yet Rated: A documentary about the world's most secret organization, the MPAA ratings board. Needless to say, the documentary itself got an NC-17 rating, for its overall tone : ) Hell (L'Enfer): A story of 3 sisters and the disturbing pivotal event in their childhood. Superb acting and a great screenplay by the late Kieslowski really elevated this one. Banlieue 13 (District 13): Wow! This was really fun. I hesitate to even write a synopsis, since the strong point of this is really the crazy action scenes. I kept wondering, "how will they top that?", and then they did. The story was actually better than average, and you'll root for the heroes. See this on the big screen if you can. The Glamorous Life of Sachiko Hanai: A young woman is shot in the head and becomes somewhat of a genius (in a Japanese comedy kind of way). Oh, yeah, and this is a pinku film, so there's softcore porn. And George Bush. Not great, but it definitely had its moments. The Sun: A docudrama about the last days of WWII, about the Emperor Hirohito, his meetings with MacArthur, and his decision to un-deify himself. It was interesting, but I guess the Emperor had a bad facial twitch or quirk-thing that he did with his mouth that was totally distracting. Full of ugly Americans, too, which I also found distracting. Shadowboxer: The accidental casting of Helen Mirren in this gangster drama really elevates this movie. She plays a hitman, partnered with Cuba Gooding Jr., who makes a decision during her last job that changes their lives, and those in their circle. Shot in Philly, with very familiar landmarks to the natives in the audience. Director Lee Daniels did a Q & A (he's the producer of Woodsman and Monster's Ball). It was good. Info on all the films at www.phillyfests.com. More later...
underdog	post #2  on April 3, 2006 - 2:41 PM PDT   Thanks for the report! Interesting to hear about Shadowboxer, and especially nice to see Cuba Gooding in a decent movie again. Interesting, too, to hear about L'enfer, knowing Krzysztof Kieslowski wrote it and Danis Tanovic directed it - he also did the terrific No Man's Land. No relation to the Claude Chabrol film of the same name, I assume...? (Hell is a popular name for films in France.) CP
lizzoqops	post #3  on April 4, 2006 - 10:29 PM PDT   Next! Midnight, My Love: Thai movie about a cabdriver (with an interesting past) who meets and falls for a woman who works in a "massage parlor". Loved it. The acting was great, the direction was interesting, and the movie is interspersed with these little pretend old movies starring the main characters, much like something directed by Tsai Ming Liang. Excellent. Noriko's Dinner Table: Excrutiatingly long sequel to "Suicide Club"...I think this would be much better to watch on dvd. There are four chapters, pertaining to the four main characters. I'm not sure if there was too much explaining, or not enough. I was over it by the time it was over. Next Door: a Norwegian take on something by Roman Polanski, it wasn't great (only because you'll figure it all out about halfway through the movie). A good time waster, though. Also saw Bittersweet Life and Lady Vengeance again today. Two great movies totally screwed up by the festival. Bittersweet Life had a problem with the print, they stopped the movie about 4 times. And Lady Vengeance...they showed the reels out of order! Yeesh. Hope this day doesn't happen again.
lizzoqops	post #4  on April 7, 2006 - 11:07 AM PDT   Wednesday night there was a tribute to Susan Sarandon...she was cool, and funny, and very gracious. No movie, just a clip show, but it was fun. Dear Pyongyang: A documentary about a North Korean family living in Japan (made by the daughter). The story is mostly about the father and his loyalty to the North Korean regime after all these years, and what happened to the family. It was interesting, and had a very sweet tone. Good. It's Only Talk: After last year's disappointing L'Amant (at least IMHO), Hiroki Ryuchi makes a movie as good or better than Vibrator. Starring one of the best actresses around, Terajima Shinobu, she's absolutely fascinating as a mentally unstable woman devasted by loss, but still trying to move forward. Excellent. The Proposition: Music and screenplay by Nick Cave, this is a tale of outlaws in 19th century Australia, and the police captain who comes up with a plan to destroy them. Guy Pearce and Ray Winstone star, John Hurt chews scenery, Emily Watson stands by. Good.
Eoliano	post #5  on April 7, 2006 - 1:18 PM PDT   Most, if not all of the films at the PFF were not included in this year's PSIFF, making me completely jealous, and the fact that I won't get to see Tokyo Zombie makes me weep! ; - ) > Two great movies totally screwed up by the festival. Bittersweet Life had a problem with the print, they stopped the movie about 4 times. And Lady Vengeance...they showed the reels out of order! Yeesh. Hope this day doesn't happen again. Typical film festival mishaps, ne? Everything that can go wrong often does, although screwing up the reels is inexcusable! When I attended the first screening of Hidden Blade early in the morning at the PSIFF, it turned out that the first reel had been rewound backwards. It seemed to take forever to set it right, and luckily I wasn't holding tickets for another film until later that day. I noticed that there were several cancellations, likely due to prints arriving late for their scheduled dates, but that happens all the time. Nevertheless, even if it's impossible to see everything on your list, it's truly exhilarating to attend a film festival. Keep 'em coming!
lizzoqops	post #6  on April 9, 2006 - 12:49 PM PDT   Ok : ) The Devil and Daniel Johnston: I liked this movie at times, and at times I hated it...not because of anything the filmmaker did, though. Daniel's story is funny and heartbreaking, but so it goes with genius. I'm sure I told y'all this before, but I'm a Daniel fan from way back. I can just see all the people I turned on to his music watching this and laughing. I think the guy behind me was on his first acid trip, though, he thought everything was funny. Tokyo Zombie: is just what you expect, a silly Japanese comedy about zombies. It just happens to star two of the best actors in Japan stepping away from their usual roles and acting goofy. It certainly wasn't groundbreaking, but it was funny (especially with a crowd). Oh, yeah, another faux pas with the print, but at least this time they started it from where it screwed up so we got to see the whole movie (unlike Bittersweet Life). You Are My Sunshine: I'm glad I saw this in the theater, although tearjerkers aren't my thing, this was ok (although the naivete about HIV and AIDS in this day and age was a headscratcher). Good for what it was.
lizzoqops	post #7  on April 11, 2006 - 2:31 PM PDT   My final report: Texture of Skin: I really liked this one. Kind of in the vein of "Sorum", a photographer has an affair with a married ex-flame, moves into a new apartment, and stalks a rooftop waiting to take pictures of a supposedly-dead gangster. All kinds of cool and supernatural things take place. Directed by Lee Seong Kang (My Beautiful Girl Mari). Welcome to Dongmakgol: Fun to see this one on the big screen with a crowd, too...although I was already in love with it. Kamataki: A Canadian guy goes to live with his uncle, a pottery master, in Japan after his fathers death has left him devastated and suicidal. I just found this one to be ok, the theme was nice, Fuji Tatsuya was excellent, as usual, Matthew Smiley as the nephew was ok, but the other caucasian actors were, um, not good, and distracting. I wanted to like it more than I did. Best stuff: Midnight, My Love (I'd give this the Jury award if it was up to me) It's Only Talk Hell (L'Enfer) Banlieue 13 Devil and Daniel Johnston