siff days 11 & 12
Jun. 4th, 2008 11:57 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ironymaidenday 11
skipped previews in favor of rest. got extra sleep, had a bath, packed my dinner.
The Mad Detective
an interesting Hong Kong crime drama/great detective story where the detective is psychic, psychotic, or both. good times. others have noticed a suicide theme at siff this year, i seem to be getting the imaginary friend films.
Call Me Troy
a documentary about Troy Perry, the founder of Metropolitan Community Church. he's an interesting character, and the film is a sweet tribute. i enjoyed it, but i left feeling like i was watching a reel that was put together for an awards dinner. the meaty bits of the story (like what happened with his kids from his failed marriage, or the arrival and departure of the partner pictured beside him in many protest marches, or the conflicts with the church board over his political activism) are glossed over in favor of more "yay Troy!". but there's a lot of reason to say "yay Troy!" and i'm glad someone has gotten these stories down from the people that were there before they get too old to tell them.
i skipped the Q&A to catch a bus down to Pacific Place. so of course the bus was late enough that i could have stayed. had a nice chat with two older ladies. one of them is in low income housing in Pioneer Square and is excited about the expensive condos going into the area - crime is going down. she showed off a picture of her granddaughter and both ladies talked about how much they like Obama. i dashed up the escalators and ended up in the second row, just before the credits started to roll.
Sparrow
my second Johnnie To film of the day, this time a caper film about four pickpockets and a girl who is trouble. even though it's set in the present, the whole thing has a sophisticated fifties feel, with an irresistible bouncy jazzy score by Xavier Jamaux and Fred Avril. it's a charmer, complete with a pickpocketing showdown at the end. i'm looking forward to showing this one to C.
day 12
curtailed movie viewing because of John Waters in the evening.
Chrysalis
a French near future science fiction cop movie. the machine of the title can read and write memories on the human brain. (for those squeamish about eye stuff (like i am) they don't do anything worse than hold lids open very briefly.) the world is very cool. it's very high-style, with all of the environments in black/white/gray. the color is digitally desaturated, which creates a consistent sterile feel, but also makes blood look like motor oil. (was that guy in a fight, or did he just finish swapping out engines?) i liked it, but i felt like there were a few scenes left on the cutting room floor.
Letting Go of God
(this wasn't on my list of things to see, but i was at SIFF Cinema already and had time to kill.)
Julia Sweeney did a bunch of research and determined that she's an atheist. she's happy about it.
the film is a very good recording of her live one woman show of the same name. she's a funny and talented woman, and the script is thoughtful. unfortunately, i think hearing about someone else's conversion experience is as entertaining as hearing about their D&D character. this thing is thirty minutes of content stretched to an eternal two hours and ten minutes of film.
after this i ran home, changed clothes, and met up with C to have dinner and attend An Evening With John Waters.
Waters was raunchy, funny, delightful. favorite quote of the evening: "Jazz is the sound of heroin."
skipped previews in favor of rest. got extra sleep, had a bath, packed my dinner.
The Mad Detective
an interesting Hong Kong crime drama/great detective story where the detective is psychic, psychotic, or both. good times. others have noticed a suicide theme at siff this year, i seem to be getting the imaginary friend films.
Call Me Troy
a documentary about Troy Perry, the founder of Metropolitan Community Church. he's an interesting character, and the film is a sweet tribute. i enjoyed it, but i left feeling like i was watching a reel that was put together for an awards dinner. the meaty bits of the story (like what happened with his kids from his failed marriage, or the arrival and departure of the partner pictured beside him in many protest marches, or the conflicts with the church board over his political activism) are glossed over in favor of more "yay Troy!". but there's a lot of reason to say "yay Troy!" and i'm glad someone has gotten these stories down from the people that were there before they get too old to tell them.
i skipped the Q&A to catch a bus down to Pacific Place. so of course the bus was late enough that i could have stayed. had a nice chat with two older ladies. one of them is in low income housing in Pioneer Square and is excited about the expensive condos going into the area - crime is going down. she showed off a picture of her granddaughter and both ladies talked about how much they like Obama. i dashed up the escalators and ended up in the second row, just before the credits started to roll.
Sparrow
my second Johnnie To film of the day, this time a caper film about four pickpockets and a girl who is trouble. even though it's set in the present, the whole thing has a sophisticated fifties feel, with an irresistible bouncy jazzy score by Xavier Jamaux and Fred Avril. it's a charmer, complete with a pickpocketing showdown at the end. i'm looking forward to showing this one to C.
day 12
curtailed movie viewing because of John Waters in the evening.
Chrysalis
a French near future science fiction cop movie. the machine of the title can read and write memories on the human brain. (for those squeamish about eye stuff (like i am) they don't do anything worse than hold lids open very briefly.) the world is very cool. it's very high-style, with all of the environments in black/white/gray. the color is digitally desaturated, which creates a consistent sterile feel, but also makes blood look like motor oil. (was that guy in a fight, or did he just finish swapping out engines?) i liked it, but i felt like there were a few scenes left on the cutting room floor.
Letting Go of God
(this wasn't on my list of things to see, but i was at SIFF Cinema already and had time to kill.)
Julia Sweeney did a bunch of research and determined that she's an atheist. she's happy about it.
the film is a very good recording of her live one woman show of the same name. she's a funny and talented woman, and the script is thoughtful. unfortunately, i think hearing about someone else's conversion experience is as entertaining as hearing about their D&D character. this thing is thirty minutes of content stretched to an eternal two hours and ten minutes of film.
after this i ran home, changed clothes, and met up with C to have dinner and attend An Evening With John Waters.
Waters was raunchy, funny, delightful. favorite quote of the evening: "Jazz is the sound of heroin."
