praderwilli ([info]praderwilli) wrote,
@ 2008-06-25 00:27:00
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Entry tags:movies, siff 2008

SIFF Day 23 & 24
A week and a half after the film festival has ended I've finally decided to complete my mini-reviews for the last two days of SIFF. The delay wasn't exactly unavoidable. However, in my defense, my laptop literally crashed and burned. Okay it didn't literally crash but it did literally burn. It's rather alarming to see smoke coming out of your computer, I can tell you. The electrical burning smell wasn't enjoyable either.

Anyway... back to the fest.

Overall, I thought it was a pretty good festival with far fewer parties and only a handful of truly terrible films. The worst thing about the fest is that I had to work so I didn't make it to as many screenings as I generally do. Also, most people had to pay for their drinks at the parties, which is a travesty, I tell ya. A travesty! Thank goodness I was a VIP so I got to drink as much booze as I could tolerate... for FREE! Huzzah!

Garrison Keillor: The Man on the Radio in the Red Tennis Shoes (USA) 2008 ***
Poorly made documentary about Garrison Keillor. The director seemed to have no idea how to assemble and edit footage. The film consisted of randomly put together clips of Garrison and Co. working on and performing his radio show, A Prairie Home Companion, interviews with Keillor and footage of the doc crew following Garrison around in his daily life.

For me, what made the movie watchable is that I'm a fan of Garrison Keillor and his radio show. I used to listen to it every Saturday but somehow got out of the habit. I have a fond affection for the show and the man that created it. He's charming, funny and he has a beautiful radio voice. So, this movie was not torture to watch.

Days and Clouds (Italy) 2007 **1/2
Boring movie about a couple having financial problems. That was the entire plot. They have bills. They lose their house and they have to work for a living. You know, if I want to experience this all I have to do is live my own life I don't need to go watch a movie about it.

Bottle Shock (USA) 2008 ***
For some bizarre reason SIFF screened the closing night film on Saturday instead of Sunday. The closing night film is about the Judgement of Paris wine tasting in 1976 in which two California wines won the top prizes for whites and reds in a blind taste test. Apparently there's another film being made on the subject that sounds infinitely better and is based on the book written by Steven Spurrier, the British wine merchant who organized the 1976 tasting in Paris.

Bottle Shock follows the story of the winemakers of Chateau Montelena, who created the winning Chardonnay in '76. It is obviously largely fictionalized and focuses on a stupid romantic triangle among the young (and supposed, I guess) "pretty people". I would have rather seen the real story of the California winemakers and the judges in Paris. But no, we get silly Hollywood bullshit instead.

The film was attended by Bill Pullman and Freddy Rodriquez and I think a producer or something. Hey, it was over a week ago and I don't remember. Additional notes: Bill Pullman is still good looking and without a VIP lounge the closing night party was lame. Except for the free drinks. That was good. Bizarrely, Alan Rickman won the audience award for best actor at SIFF. He was the only decent part of Bottle Shock because he is Alan Rickman after all, but... the movie was lame. Whatever.

Secret Festival #4 ***
Straight from a famous film festival, the last entry was pretty good if viewed as a genre film. But it wasn't as good as it should have/could have been. Also, if the filmmaker was going for a "shocking twist" it sadly failed. I figured it out in the first five minutes. I think the director either should have been very clear about what was going on or better at hiding what was going on. The distinctive narrative style was marred by idiocy and/or trying to be too, too clever. If Tarantino had made this movie it would have been great.

Towelhead (USA) 2007 ****
Good adaptation of Alicia Erian's novel of the same name. Directed by Alan Ball of Six Feet Under fame. The plot follows the sexual awakening of a thirteen year old Arab-American living in Texas with her strict father during the Gulf War. Sure we've seen this story before.... about boys. This one is about a girl, which seemed to make some people uncomfortable. I thought it was brilliant with a stunning performance by Summer Bishil as the young girl.

Total Movies seen: 84
Total bags of popcorn consumed: Um... not sure I lost track, must have been about four or five. And one Bagel dog!
Free Booze at closing night party: A glass (well, plastic cup, really) of champagne and two Grey Goose vodka/tonics.

*= Unclean, unclean
**= Crap, but doesn't make your eyes bleed
***= Watchable to good
****= Great
*****= Masterpiece/Classic


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[info]steve98052
2008-06-25 08:49 am UTC (link)

Sympathy about the technical difficulties. Better luck with the replacement hardware.

As for Secret Festival #4, I see a pattern. If there's a twist conclusion in a story and it adds up, people who figure out the twist are unimpressed with the story, while people who are caught by surprise think it's great stuff. I didn't figure out the twist, and I thought the film was excellent, almost as good as Secret Festival #1. You figured it out, and found it merely good.

I also liked Bottle Shock better than you did. Rickman was great, not because he did anything out of his usual acting range, but because his usual acting range felt just right for the character. Rodríguez was great too, even if I can't put a finger on exactly what I liked about his performance. (It's easier to say what my wife liked about him.)

The girl intern element of the story – apparently your central complaint – was a composite of at least three real people who claim to be the historical model for that person, and probably more who don't haven't claimed to be that person. In terms of her place in the film, I see her as more a prop to help place the film into the 1970s, and to introduce a hint of gender balance in what was apparently a male-dominated story. They had enough 1970s feel without her hair, clothing, and no-worries (after the pill and antibiotics, before awareness of herpes, HIV, or antibiotic resistance) sexuality, and didn't need her for that.

But it would have been difficult to accommodate more female screen time and still tell the central story. Maybe one or more of the US vineyards in the competition were headed by women. Maybe Rickman's, Pullman's, or Rodríguez's character had a wife or girlfriend who would have been interesting. Maybe judges Patricia Gallagher or Odette Kahn could have been given a part in the story. But they weren't, possibly because they refused to allow the film-makers to include them in the story the way the film-makers had in mind.

Sure, she was a character who didn't add much to the story. But a token female helps avoid charges that the film-makers were dismissing women from the story entirely. After all, "she's just a token" is a subjective complaint, while "there are no women in the story" is an absolute. Her presence certainly wasn't inappropriate to the degree that a woman would be in a submarine warfare film. She also wasn't just a pointless character inserted to add a big-name celebrity to the film for marketing points, like a certain other SIFF headline film.

I agree that she didn't add much to the film. But I saw several other story lines that felt more prominent anyway: Spurrier creating and promoting the competition, the dedicated father and slacker son story played by Pullman and Pine, the Gustavo story of the immigrant's son turned master wine-maker, and only then the romantic triangle. As an "A" plot, she'd spoil the film, but as a "D" plot she's a small flaw.

Anyway, that's entirely too much writing to defend the film – or really, to defend my higher rating of the film.

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[info]praderwilli
2008-06-25 12:05 pm UTC (link)
If there's a twist conclusion in a story and it adds up, people who figure out the twist are unimpressed with the story, while people who are caught by surprise think it's great stuff. I didn't figure out the twist, and I thought the film was excellent, almost as good as Secret Festival #1. You figured it out, and found it merely good.

I think you're right. I was kind of disappointed because I thought it was so very close to being a great film. I liked the narrative style: seeing each character's POV of what happened and seeing how what they say happened contradicts what actually occurred. I liked all of the performances and the characters, too. But I felt the "twist" was telegraphed from the very beginning.

I would have enjoyed it more if they had made it very clear who they were and what was going on. For the most part, I think shocking twists are just cheap gimmicks and most stories would be better without them.

As for Bottle Shock, it wasn't the female intern in particular that I had a problem with. It was the romance story itself. Anytime that story was onscreen I was bored stiff. I disliked Bill Pullman's son far more than I disliked the woman and I have never cared for Freddy Rodriguez. I think his performances are very two dimensional. He's either happy/smiley or shouty/angry.

I like Bill Pullman, but his character here was very poorly written. The only entertaining part of the movie was Alan Rickman and Eliza Dushku. I love Eliza Dushku even when she is seriously underused/misused as she was in Bottle Shock.

Anyway, that's entirely too much writing to defend the film – or really, to defend my higher rating of the film.

Lol, I understand.

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[info]thenightsfall
2008-06-26 03:27 am UTC (link)
Yikes! I'm sorry to hear about your laptop, but glad to see you're back up and running. Hope you've caught up on sleep!

As always, I've enjoyed your reviews, and, again, Netflix thanks you. I'm sure I will too after I've seen some of the flicks. ::g::

And yes! I love Eliza Dushku. She was the best thing in Bring It On. ;-P

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[info]praderwilli
2008-06-26 08:26 am UTC (link)
Yikes! I'm sorry to hear about your laptop, but glad to see you're back up and running.

Been having problems with it for awhile. The CD/DVD drive had ceased working a few months ago. So I went out and bought an inexpensive laptop on Sunday. I'm still afraid of the old one. Because it might, like explode, or something.

As always, I've enjoyed your reviews, and, again, Netflix thanks you.

Send them my love. ;-)

I'm sure I will too after I've seen some of the flicks. ::g::

Cool.

And yes! I love Eliza Dushku. She was the best thing in Bring It On. ;-P

She'll always be Faith to me (avert your eyes, it's a BuffyTVS reference).

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