True/False 2014

Ok, so I'm WAYYYY overdue for a post. My life has gotten a little complicated, and with a baby coming in only a matter of weeks, so many other things have fallen by the wayside... like creating art and all the other fun stuff I tend to blog about. However, I couldn't miss the True/False film festival. Once again, I volunteered on the art & design team and helped with the yarn project that hung from the third floor of Jesse Hall. Here are a few pictures I snapped with my phone of the finished piece:

 

This year I pretty much knew I wouldn't be able to see anywhere near as many films, but that didn't stop me from seeing what I could.

Thursday night my folks and I Q'd for Particle Fever, which was a very enjoyable film. The subject matter was, of course, way over my head, but the film did a pretty good job of bringing it down to "my level". I loved the question: how can you make a film that is truly about finding a number (the weight of the Higgs boson)? To me, this was also symbolic of the LHC itself... how can you place all your bets on this one machine with a sole purpose of finding out this number, and which there is no guarantee it will work? And I loved it when one of the subjects compared the media attention of the first experiment with the LHC to Edison inventing the lightbulb: if there were all this same media hype and all these people watching his 2,000+ failed inventions, would we have the lightbulb today?

Friday we went to see Captivated: The Trials of Pamela Smart. It was not on my "must-watch" list, but I know that I shouldn't let that deter me (after the first year where the films on my must-watch list turned out to be my least favorite films of the fest, I don't hedge my bets on the descriptions of the films). So, I was very surprised at how much I liked this film. Pame Smart's trial was within my lifetime, but it was not the kind of thing my family watched, so I knew very little going into this film. And what I thought was so great about the film is how it really wasn't about that particular trial and what happened to this one person. Rather, it was about how the media shapes our perceptions of the world, of people, of events. And the film itself was fascinatingly self-aware of it's role as part of that shaping mechanism. The director even spoke about that after the film... how his job is to craft this compelling story, building tension with certain filmmaker tricks, that editing in general is a crafting of the story, and perhaps the point of the film is not whether or not Pamela Smart is guilty, but whether our legal system and the media are separated enough for us to get it right. It got me really thinking about that and how fundamentally great it is to see a film that is not only pointing that out but practically exploiting it before your very eyes. Beautifully crafted and interesting film, however, I wouldn't completely disagree with the Variety review that suggested the film beats its premise to a pulp.

Saturday I saw E-Team, another great film. I wasn't sure how this film would affect me because human rights is a big deal in my book. I knew this film had the potential to make me really angry, distressed, or just flat-out horrified (I can't handle another Burma VJ, I just can't do it), but thankfully E-Team did all of those things but at a lower level. I was particularly stunned by main subject, Anna, who seems to resonate some sort of anti-fear. "Fiery" does not really begin to describe her well enough. I felt like this film presented hope in the form of these covert-ops people, a hope that is potentially strong enough to overcome the dire situations where governments/dictators are attacking their own people.

And then I saw Tim's Vermeer. I was most excited to see this film (how could I not be... I was an art major, an admirer of Vermeer and other Dutch "painters of light", and further, the subject of this film - Tim - invented the machine that gave me such a headache at my last job). So, yeah, I missed the Q&A of E-Team to get into this film (part of me wishes I hadn't). Tim's Vermeer was certainly a good film. I thought the invention and the reveal of how Vermeer "might" have painted was really cool and the fact that Tim stuck with the project was certainly a lesson in what it takes to finish a project, however, parts of it dragged a bit and it certainly wasn't as exciting as the other three films I saw. (Plus, the subject said something that totally confirmed how I feel about his inventions... he said he invents until something works and then basically calls it done. That totally explains why I could continually be frustrated by the Tricaster product that worked until it broke and then there were no solutions. I prefer engineers who continue to perfect a product and take pride in making all of their inventions as perfect as possible. So, I guess my opinion is tainted.)

So, which was my favorite? I don't think I can pick one. I enjoyed them all, but none stands way above the others. I guess I picked well this year, no?

A weekend of great films! True/False 2013

The True/False Film Fest of 2013 hit full-on just over a week ago (I know, I'm behind) and after several weeks of volunteering on the venue design crew and making blu-ray discs for the festival bumpers, it seemed T/F came around the corner while I was looking the other way and I smacked right into it. Regardless, it was a busy and exhausting, but fun weekend. So, what did I see and what did I think? Oh, I'm so glad you asked...

Friday I went to the Secret Screening Gold at the Forrest Theatre with my folks. They had tickets, I did not, and since I can't talk about the film itself except to say that I enjoyed it, I'll talk about the Q process and the venue itself. So, for those unaccustomed to the "Q" process that T/F employs, here's a quick how-to: T/F sells passes and reserve tickets. Once all the reserve tickets are sold, your only option for getting into the film of your choice is to wait in the Q (if you have a pass, you've already paid to get in, if not, you pay when you head into the theatre). Because T/F sells only about 80-90% of available seats as reserve tickets, each film/venue has a Q and as far as I know, each film always lets in people from the Q. How many people depends on how many reserve ticket holders show up. I Q'd for this film at the Forrest Theatre, which seats 190 (I heard) and my number was in the 48-53 range (I don't remember, geez it was a long weekend with several Qs). I got in! There is one other thing I want to say about this venue - the venue design is stunning, you truly feel like you're in a forest, but if you're seeing a film with subtitles, make sure you get a good seat! Alas, I did not have a good seat.

Probably the film I was most excited for was Sarah Polley's Stories We Tell, which I successfully Q'd for Friday night. It was a lovely film and I'm so glad I got to see it. There was a short that played before it called My Favorite Picture of You, which was also a lovely piece. Both films seemed like projects that each director needed to do for some personal reasons. Having felt like I "grew up" with Sarah Polley - she was the main character on my favorite childhood TV show Avonlea - it was interesting to get a glimpse into her real family. I really liked how she incorporated reenactments to tell the story of her mother, as told by older siblings, her father, and her mother's friends. Sadly, she was not able to make it to the fest...but I bet I would've been too star-struck to actually say anything to her anyway.

Saturday morning I went to Blackfish at the Missouri Theatre. It was the story of captive killer whale, Tilikum, whose genes have made their way into a very generous number of other captive orcas since he's one of the few male orcas kept for breeding. The film was expectedly astonishing. I was most impressed, I think, by how the flow of the film kept me captivated the whole time - at some times feeling worst for the whales and then at others, for the trainers. I will not look at captive animals in the same way again. It will be on CNN films sometime in the future.

Then I saw The Gatekeepers. To me, this film felt a little sterile. Part of my problem with this film was how much it expected it's audience to already know the background and history. I really couldn't keep up.

Manhunt, however, I thought was a terrific film! After seeing it, I decided it was my favorite film of the festival and that lasted through the next two - also very good - films I saw. It's about the female investigators who sort-of foresaw the 9/11 Al-Queda attack. Giving what felt like a very full picture of investigation to end result, this film was definitely one of the best of the weekend and I would encourage anyone and everyone to see it. It'll be on HBO soon...

Where's the Front Line From Here? The Life and Time of Tim Hetherington wins the prize for longest title this year. Also a good movie and incidentally the only one I cried in, but not the best of the weekend.

Sunday morning I saw most of Moo Man which was fun, but I didn't feel like I missed the end of the film (for the record I had to leave due to other festival obligations - making the bumper discs for Sunday evening's screenings).

Then, with a winning finish, I saw Twenty Feet from Stardom. (Side anecdote: My folks and I got Q tickets 1-3 for this and felt like a nerd but I don't care because it was so worth it.) Hands-down best film of the fest! No seriously you should all go out and see this film. It features rock-stars who are out-shined by the amazing backup singer subjects of the film. And wow, what voices! So incredible and an incredibly well-done film! And when one of the stars of the film - Lisa Fischer - came out on stage you could just feel the energy in the room increase from her presence.

Well, that's it folks. It's always a tough weekend, but so great to be a part of the festival!

Pirates 4 - a movie review

While on vacation in Colorado, we decided to see the Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. Mike had already seen it and was not exactly raving about it, but being a big fan of the previous movies (my favorite will probably forever be the first one), I had a strong desire to see this one too. And in the end, I would sum up my opinion as mixed. I liked the movie, but I did not love it. Note: I saw it in 2D. So, I'm not going to comment on anything 3D.

So, with due respect to the filmmakers - the cast and crew of this film - I'll start with the things I liked:

1. Johnny Depp and Geoffrey Rush will forever be high in my esteem...two actors who, if I ever make it into the filmmaking world that they are a part of, I would love to work with. Making a character one has played before seem fresh and new without losing what endeared the audiences to them in the first place is not an easy task. Penelope Cruz did nothing for me, so I was happy that the focus was not totally on her.

2. Ditto to the music. I've loved all the soundtracks to these movies, and bringing Rodrigo Y Gabriela on board was one of the smartest decisions they made. I love interesting guitar music (it brings back memories of going to sleep listening to my dad practice guitar when I was younger), and I'm very interested to hear more from this pair.

3. Locations, locations, and beautiful cinematography. Yes, the world is a gorgeous place, and it should be featured more in huge cinematic movies. Even watching the trailer reminds me of that. Capturing vibrancy, beauty and the spectacular which we humans did not create is not an easy task, but makes seeing a movie in the theater worth it!

4. Concept. This can be really tough, particularly in the Hollywood blockbuster world that is our entertainment industry now. I trusted Rossio and Elliott to deliver and on some level they did. The hook here was Blackbeard and his quest for the fountain of youth. Concept: good, execution: less than impressive.

And now for the things needing improvement:

1. They totally went wrong with Blackbeard. He was not at all scary. In the stories told to Jack about Blackbeard, he appears weak because he listens to his daughter and chooses not to kill the preacher-boy. What? A cold-hearted villain, I think not! The characters kept telling us that he is the most feared pirate and all that, but we just didn't see it. Sure, he torched the other guy, but that hardly seemed retribution for mutiny... it just didn't work. I'm going to come back to how I think they could've done that, but for now, I'll move on.

2. The opener did not grab me. Quite frankly, I can't even remember it. Sorry guys, if I'm not hooked at the beginning, it takes a lot of work for me to stay interested. Oh wait, now I think I remember...

3. There were Spaniards in this movie, right? I barely remember them. What was the point? Have I mentioned that I like stories that are driven by character not plot? Well, it's true. You want to hook me into a story, give it a great character - "good" or "bad" - and a compelling reason for this journey they are about to go on. Then shape the plot around that character's journey, not the other way around. Jack didn't really have a great reason for going on this journey. For most of the story, Barbossa didn't either. And I didn't buy into the "Great Blackbeard" thing, so I didn't care about his or his daughter's reason. Remind me again, what was the deal with the Spaniards that we saw infrequently and without purpose except to further the plot? Oh and while we're on the subject, if their whole intent was to destroy the fountain of youth, or at least it's powers, why didn't they destroy the chalices when they initially had them? Supposedly they knew where the fountain was, they could have destroyed that later.

4. We've established that I like Geoffrey Rush. I was intrigued by Barbossa's choice at the beginning of the movie, but for most of the movie thought that his loyalty to the crown was simply a ploy to plot him and Jack Sparrow against each other. But then, there was this really compelling point in the movie when Jack and Barbossa are tied to palm trees and Barbossa tells us his story. For me, that's when the movie has a purpose and I finally get interested in the story - at least two-thirds to the end! But then, they do this really freaky nonsensical jumping from palmtree to palmtree and using it as a catapult that no longer toes the edge of reality/non-reality, but leaps to the side of disbelief. It did not work for me on so many levels.

Ok, so I can't just rip apart a movie that frankly I kind-of liked, I have to see what I think would make it better. I wanted to see it for it's possibilities. And here's how I think they could've solved a bunch of these problems: Open the movie with a depiction of what happened to the Pearl (Barbossa's story from the palm tree scene): eerie, middle-of-the-night ship goes down, perhaps in a way that we only see flashes of faces - Blackbeard's and Barbossa's among others. Then write the rest of the story in such a way that Jack ties Barbossa's story to Blackbeard's more strongly, as they start to do at the end. Take some of the focus off Blackbeard, but show him as this ruthless beast of a pirate that we're told he is. In order to do that, start with something ruthless - what he did to Barbossa and the Pearl! Then, why not go so far as to make it so Jack gets on Blackbeard's boat because he knows Blackbeard has the Pearl...it's a far more compelling reason than Jack's "stirrings" for Angelica.

Well that's my two cents - or most of it anyway.

Did you know God uses DJs?

I'm tired and worn out from the day/weekend thus far. And I really don't want to be on the computer. So, to keep up with my plan to post something inspiring every day for thirty days, I'll post an old favorite.

"Spin" was created by Jamin Winans - Double Edge Films and I first saw it probably over two years ago, but I often come back to it because I am amazed by the basic storytelling that requires no language translation and the realization that you don't need a huge budget or crew to make a compelling film, just a brilliant story idea and the motivation to implement it - not that beautiful videography, editing, special effects and a great soundtrack aren't necessary also, but for those who have access to those things, a great vision and implementation are what it takes.