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May 11, 2009Quick SIFF reviews 1Gillian G. GaarYour time is valuable. So is mine. In the interest of our ever decreasing attention spans, I will keep my reviews brief. If I say “Recommended” it means you could consider spending money on seeing said film. If I don’t say it… Morris: A Life With Bells On This is one of those faux documentaries about the joys and intrigue of Morris dancing. It’s pleasant enough, but I felt rather underwhelmed. Though I think SIFF audiences will probably like it. In The Loop A political satire, in which a new aide to UK minister gets caught up in the escalating drumbeats leading to possible war. The frenzy was fun for a while, but after an hour had started to wear out its welcome, as did the constant swearing. SIFF hasn’t had such a politicized opener before though, and I’ll bet the crowd will gasp with delight and, perhaps, disbelief. Recommended anyway as it’s the opening night film and you get two free drinkies this year. Passing Strange A filmed version of the hit Broadway musical, a coming of age story about a young writer, staged in a very innovative way. The show’s the creation of Stew (of The Negro Problem) and Heidi Rodewald (from one of my favorite bands, Wednesday Week). And it’s a real rock musical for a change — and you can even hear and understand the words, for a change. Recommended; it’s also part of the Spike Lee tribute. Humpday Two straight guys, one supposedly happily married, the other supposedly a free spirit, decide to enter The Stranger’s amateur porn contest. This film is less about sex, and more about the nature of relationships (and boy, it sure doesn’t make marriage look like much fun). You can see the plot twists coming way in advance, but I still laughed. And laughed. Recommended. 4 CommentsLeave a comment |
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SIFF's opener last year was Battle In Seattle.
I agree about "Humpday" and "In the Loop." The former definitely made me glad I'm not married. I know not all marriages are like that, but it was believable enough to make you think otherwise--at least during the course of the film.
I would argue that BIS was a movie about a political event, but it was not a political movie (or "politicized") at all. It expressed no political point of view, and was as bland and characterless as a US made-for-TV movie. An obvious choice as an opener as it was made in Seattle, but a great disappointment as a film.
Perhaps there should be a bad marriage film series that could start with 'Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?' and conclude with 'Revolutionary Road'.