genart & wanted

2nd annual genart chicago film festival - 5 nights; 5 premieres
i don't want to rehash the stats because genart has done a great job already. please go to www.genartfilmfestival.com for more info on all of the films. what i do want is to give a nudge for you to see some of these indie flicks when they are more widely distributed. i'm new to the indie film festival circuit so i don't know how one goes about seeing the short films outside of the film festivals.

this was my first film festival other than the chicago international film festival. the format of genart film festival: one short and one feature length each night. i attended monday, june 23 through thursday, june 26. i really enjoyed the independent films, the format and the experience. yet, by the end of the week, i needed some escapism of the action variety. i saw 'wanted' on friday, june 27, instead (see below). therefore, i have no opinion on friday's films: 'whatever' (short) & 'explicit ills' (feature). what can i say? i love action.

feature films ranked in order of best to last:
the last word, bart got a room, the living wake and dark streets
shorts best to last:
goldfish, morning fall, the art of stalking and hollywood jerome

the last word (score 5)
i felt cool being in only the second audience to see 'the last word' since sundance film festival. according to the director, 'the last word' has been under lock and key. i strongly recommend it. 'the last word' makes you ponder. wes bentley, winona ryder and ray ramano give really outstanding performances in this dark themed, but hopeful film. the premise is so unique and broaches a taboo topic. this was the director's intent. (how do i know? he said so in the q&a session.) also, what is nice is that you get to figure out some things and are not spoon fed what comes next in the story.

bart got a room (score 4)
teenage angst and hormones rage in this comedy about a boy and the lengths to which he will go to find a date for the prom. william h. macy is priceless as the dad. this film is light, silly, funny, frustrating and brought a giggle and a smile to my face. compared to the others, i don't have too much to say because this wasn't controversial or super deep, just funny.

the living wake (score 3+)
what does a man do when he knows the date and time of his death? he invites people to his living wake and takes care of loose ends. my original score on this movie was a 3 (5 being the best possible score) because the lead character was neurotic, annoying and loud. his name was even obnoxious: k. roth binew. however, as the film progressed, the artistry, cinematography, and dark humor swayed my opinion. shockingly, i even felt badly for the lead character at the end of the film. the story is unique and quirky. i loved the sidekick and best friend, mils joquin. i scored the film a 4 because they did not allow for plus or minus. if i could have, the final score would have been 3+. it's weird enough for you to check out on dvd, but not necessary to pay the box office price.

dark streets (score 3)
dark streets is a musical film that is influenced by film noir and has a 1930's feel yet modern tweaks. the bluesy music is really good and sultry. bijou phillips as crystal, kicks madeleine's butt in terms of acting. and toledo is phenomenal as the narrator of the film and mc of the tower club!! i totally want to go to l.a. and see his show. the unfortunate thing is that the plot is predictable and slow - club owner's father's death is declared suicide, but bloke refuses to believe it and digs deeper only to find himself in a mess. when this comes to dvd it is worth seeing for the visual beauty, music and performances. the blessing about dvd's is you can select your scenes and skip the boring ones.

***

wanted
starring angelina jolie, james mcavoy, morgan freeman, common
directed by timur bekmambetov
screenplay by michael brandt, derek haas and chris morgan
based on the comic book series by mark millar & j.g. jones

mcavoy (wesley), jolie (fox), freeman (sloan), and common (the gunsmith) - they all brought it. you know how i feel about mcavoy, but common is really hot too. jolie kicked ass and took names. fight sequences and action sfx are pretty fracking great. (yes, you read that correctly. if you haven't seen the modern battlestar galactica, where have you been???) there is one scene that goes a little too far. with all of the shoot 'em up vids and movies these days, i think they took it to that level because too many have become de-sensitized. i'm slightly perturbed by that, but not surprised. anyway, do not take anyone who will have nightmares at major gun violence. as usual, i have my quips about bending the already suspended belief realm. for the sake of the movie, we accept the premise that in this fantasy world certain individuals can curve a bullet. but come on, the dude could not have transformed from a cubicle rat to assassin bad ass in 6 weeks. maybe a year, but not less. i know, i pick the weirdest battles. other than those two dings, this flick is foul-mouthed, funny, and action-packed, just what the summer doctor ordered. my adrenaline is still pumping and i crave my karate classes of years past. go see it fellow action junkies.

ciao for now, chloe

sex and snow - total opposites

sex and the city
written & directed by michael patrick king
characters from the book by candace bushnell

carrie bradshaw - sarah jessica parker
miranda hobbs - cynthia nixon
charlotte york - kristin davis
samantha jones - kim catrall

big - chris noth
steve brady - david eigenberger (chicago native!)
harry goldenblatt - evan handler
smith jerrod - jason lewis

louise - jennifer hudson

hello gorgeous! fashion like crazy! i think sarah jessica parker had 70+ wardrobe changes. totally impractical, but i even love that she wore pearls to bed. oh yeah, sex too (ridiculous mancandy - giles marini). i had forgotten how racy the show was. charlotte, samantha and miranda were true to form and so were the fellas, and "big" too, in all but one respect. since when did "big" become domesticated? i want to dish more, but i encourage you to see it. so forgive the vagueness. there are no real spoilers here. we can debate offline.

satc was great fun. i laughed and got teary eyed several times. the core of friendship between the girls was what i really loved most. there were some turns of the plot that i would have done differently. because of the predicability of the movie, i enjoyed the series finale more in some respects. i know, i know, how dare i?! don't forget that this blog is called "a matter of opinion." so for all of you satc die hards, please don't send hate mail ;0p in fact, new york magazine described the opposite, "the movie was what series finale should have been." if you haven't seen it yet, where have you been darling? go already!

snow angels
written by david gordon green & novel by steward onan
directed by david gordon green
starring sam rockwell, kate beckinsale, amy sedaris, michael angarano, olivia thirlby

i see the intent in the tagline, "some will fly. some will fall." to me, the two interesting story lines did not really mesh or layer well: depression/a stark life in the middle of winter & suburbia and teen coming of age story that was really sweet. there were some funny moments weaved in. i think they were meant as comic relief for the darkness and confusion of sam rockwell's character. sam rockwell gave an outstanding performance. whereas, i just could not buy kate beckinsale as a suburban mom. another actress could have made the character more believable or could be more on par with sam rockwell. i don't know if this is still playing in theatres, but you could wait until dvd. rather than try to superimpose the two story lines, the writer should have made two separate movies. i wonder if the novel was better at making the two stories blend.

fino alla prossima volta (until next time?) feel free to correct the idiom. ciao ciao.