15th Annual Philadelphia Film Festival
The Philly Film Fest ran from March 30 – April 11. More than 100 films were shown during the fest at 6 different venues in the city. Susan Sarandon received an artistic achievement award, filmmakers held Q&A sessions with viewers, there was a discussion on the post-production process and quite a few parties.
When I looked at the schedule of events, I was a little overwhelmed. I had trouble making-up my mind about what to see and do. There were about 50 movies I wanted to see – “artsy”, horror, drama, coming-of-age, musicals and documentaries. I also hoped to attend the post-production discussion, the Susan Sarandon award ceremony and the Adult Swim 4 Your Lives party.
But, I only got to see 3 movies. It's still more than previous years so I’m happy I got to go to anything this year.
Tuesday, April 4:
The first movie I saw was Stoned. I went with my friend John to see Romeo and Juliet Get Married and A Quiet Love. John saw on the Fest’s Web site a showtime at the Prince Music Theater was added for Romeo and Juliet. Unfortunately, that information was wrong. We arrived at the PMT just before what we thought was showtime for the movie; John asked whether tickets were still available. Suffice it to say that some one put some inaccurate information on the Web site. The people at the PMT told us about the films playing there and nearby.
After a brief discussion, we decided to stay for Stoned, which is a biopic of Brian Jones – a founding member of The Rolling Stones who died in 1969 at the age of 27.
Before going in we were given ballots to rate the movie. I rated the movie as Very Good. I recommend it to fans of biopics, The Rolling Stones and movies with a lot of good music. (You should know there is very little of the Stones music that you are probably familiar with. Most of the music is the stuff that inspired the Stones).
The filmmakers did a pretty good job of creating a coherent story that easily could have become a confusing (and unentertaining) mess. The look was more like the 1960s we see in documentaries rather than cheesy (but fun) Austin Powers flicks. In fact, sometimes I felt like I was watching a doc instead of a drama.
Many biopics present just caricatures of real people. The actors of this film deserve credit for their part in presenting real people as, well, real people.
I had mixed feelings about the characters. I felt sympathy for some. I wanted to feel sympathy for Jones, considering that he died so young and tragically. But, at least as the events were portrayed in this film, it seemed to me as if Jones brought much of his misery to himself. He was also disrespectful of others. I didn’t like him very much as a person yet I still didn’t think he deserved to die the way he did.
The film was not rated. If the MPAA did give it a rating, it probably would be R for sexual content, drugs, nudity and violence. Just a warning that it may not be appropriate for some viewers.
John and I also decided to stay for the next movie. It was a doc about a particular curse word – the title of the movie is the curse word. I thought it was interesting in several ways and often funny and/or perverse (but not nearly as funny and perverse as The Aristocrats). I won’t say much more because of the younger readers. I just remembered, some one did bring her child (who appeared to be about 12 or 13) to this movie so I guess some people may not be too concerned about the appropriateness (and that sort of thing was also discussed in the doc) but I respect that others would have such concerns. Grown-ups can e-mail me about this doc, if so inclined.
Saturday, April 8:
On Saturday I hoped to spend the day in Philly going to different movies. The heavy rain discouraged me. (I’m not disappointed because I got to see Briella). Late in the afternoon I met with John again to see 2 films: Zozo (pronounced Zoozoo) and Joni’s Promise.
Despite the rain it was a rather nice walk from the 8th & Market Speedline stop to the Ritz East in Olde City. We arrived at the theater with plenty of time for me to get my favorite movie snack: Dr. Pepper and Peanut Chews. Please don’t lecture me about eating healthy. I hear it enough from Myself. Unfortunately, we were not in time to get tickets for Joni’s Promise, which had sold out. Hence, we only go to see Zozo.
Of the 3 films I saw during the fest, I think this was the best. It starts in 1970s Beirut – during the civil war. Zozo is a 10 year old boy whose family is trying to obtain the necessary papers to leave Lebanon for Sweden, where Zozo’s grandparents live. Sadly, Zozo’s family is killed on the day they were to leave.
Zozo continues on, scared and traumatized by what he has seen. With the help of a few people, he manages to meet his grandparents in Sweden. In this new country, Zozo must deal with racism, bullies, living-up to his well-meaning grandfather’s expectations and accepting the death of his family as a reality that cannot be changed.
Like Stoned, the film seemed very realistic, much more like a doc (in fact, it is a semi-autobiographical telling of the director’s childhood experience). Imad Creidi did a really good job portraying Zozo. The range of ability this young actor showed was really amazing. The sound editor and sound designer also did an amazing job.
This is a very sad film but not without some happy and sweet moments. Wars often seem to be grown-up matters and take place far away from us. It was heartbreaking to see how one war affected one little boy. It was a relief to see him arrive in Sweden. It was sad again to see how racists bullied Zozo as he tried to fit in to his new country.
Zozo did befriend another boy – a kind and quiet boy who was also bullied. Together, and with the support and care of Zozo’s grandparents, the boys get to experience some of the joy of just being a child.
I strongly recommend this film to everyone. Some scenes that take place in Beirut may be a bit intense (consider it PG-13). Hopefully we will soon be able to find this one on DVD.
Next year I hope to see and do more, maybe even volunteer. In the meanwhile, I believe there are some smaller fests coming to New Jersey. I’ll let you know.
Other Movies
I’m often asked about movies I’ve recently seen. Here are a few quick reviews of the movies I’ve seen this year at the theater (other than the Film Fest stuff). I’m not including the Netflix stuff because I just don’t feel like going through the history of what I’ve seen this year (it must be about 25 movies or shows so far).
Slither:
I recently saw Slither with my friend Chris (and his buddy Ed). This movie was a lot of fun. Some of you guys will love it! It is a funny, creepy and gross homage to classic 1950s/60s B-monster/space alien movies. I guess if Nathan Fillion can’t be doing Firefly, this is a pretty good alternative.
V for Vendetta:
I normally don’t care for revenge stories. I just don’t like revenge – it nearly always makes situations worse while hurting innocents. But I decided to give V a chance and I’m glad I did.
Stylistically it was stunning (like other movies based on Alan Moore’s graphic novels). Natalie Portman really got to work-out her acting muscles, which I imagine felt good after being a bit stunted in the Star Wars movies (yeah, I liked them but they didn’t require a lot of great acting, just great action). The special FX crew did a superb job. There was plenty of action and drama for those who want just entertainment. For those who have an interest in subtext (and also have some knowledge of history and current geo-politics) this film may really get you thinking. I wouldn’t say this is a great film but it is, in my opinion, better than average.
King Kong:
Wow, this arrived on DVD quick! I liked it. Kong looked awesome. The sound FX were cool. However, I’m still not sold on Adrien Brody as a hero figure in this movie. It was no surprise that Jack Black was the perfect obnoxious, self-absorbed jerk. I think it was also apparent that Peter Jackson really loved the source material. I don’t think he remade this classic to “make it better” (except to erase some of the racism and sexism of the original?), but to expand the story and introduce Kong to a new generation who may not be so inclined to watch “some old black-and-white flick.”
However, I do hope some of those people who also enjoyed this movie will consider watching the movies that inspired Peter Jackson. Without the original Kong and its Ray Harryhausen-created descendants, the wonderful and fun visuals Peter Jackson brings to the screen could never have happened.
Netflix
I really love Netflix. I can’t possibly see every movie I’d like to see in the theaters. There are also a lot of classics I never had the chance to see in theaters. And then there are the TV shows (some one needs to air Soap again). With Netflix I can see a lot of different movies and TV shows.
Netflix offers different packages. I opted for the 3 discs at a time package. I have been averaging about 6-8 discs per month. I got to finally see the complete Farscape series (well, I’m still working on it), I got Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (best in the series, yet) the day the DVD was released and I’ve found plenty of classics (Mr. Smith Goes to Washington).
Right now I have Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, the bonus disc to Harry Potter and tPoA, and Farscape season 3, episodes 12 & 13. There are about 103 movies in my queue (request list) right now. I was able to pick my selections based on genre (eg, sci-fi or comedy), actor (eg, John Cusack) and other categories. When I return one of the discs I have now, Netflix will send me the movie/show at the top of my queue.
With Netflix, I’ve managed to save money and see more movies compared with when I tried to see everything at a theater with Blockbuster as my back-up. Heh. On Family Guy, Blockbuster is appropriately renamed Lackluster – it’s funny to me because I’ve never been satisfied with LackBlockBuster. (Oh, and I still love to see movies at a theater, I just don’t think it’s necessary for all movies anymore).
Sometimes I’ve received defective discs. I suspect some people just don’t take care of the discs as well as they should so the discs get scratched or cracked. Netflix has been pretty good at replacing defective discs.
It’s not perfect. Sometimes I feel like it takes longer than it should for a new disc to arrive after I’ve returned one. But it never takes more than 4 days (average 2 days).
In general, I recommend Netflix to people who are tired of the weak selection at Blockbuster, Hollywood video and other similar stores. If you get the 3 disc option and you expect to watch 6 or more movies/shows in a month than it is worth the money.
Oscars
Ok, I really liked Jon Stewart as the host. Maybe I’m biased because I love The Daily Show, but I really think he did a pretty good job.
George Clooney’s speech was interesting. It’s true that several Hollywood films have dealt with different subjects that deeply affected our society throughout the 20th century – and some of those films may have helped us to deal with those subjects in positive ways. But I also think Jon Stewart made a great point when he joked after a montage of social-dilemma films that “none of those issues ever were a problem again.”
Film is a great medium. It can be an entertainment vehicle, an educational tool or both. Film, whether from Hollywood or elsewhere, can be as awesome and positive as George Clooney stated. But I appreciate there being people like Jon Stewart to bring filmmakers back to reality when they start to take themselves too seriously.
As for the awards themselves, well, I really would have liked Constant Gardener to have been nominated for Best Picture. I also think it was the best edited movie of 2005. Otherwise, I don’t have any strong feelings about who was awarded and who wasn’t. That's atypical of me, I know.
Some were surprised that Crash beat-out Brokeback Mountain. I guess it was a bit of a surprise because of all the marketing and gossip. But I think they were about equal as far as quality. Neither were my favorite of the year but both were very good. This was the first Academy Awards ceremony that I didn’t find very disappointing.
Pitman’s Broadway Theater
Sorry, no news. I have not heard or read when it’s reopening. I have not heard or read about Peter Slack’s plans. I’m sure if anything significant happens we’ll hear about it at Slack Inc. or it will appear in the Gloucester County Times.
What I do know is that Peter Slack is a professional who takes his business and work seriously. So I suspect he is working on some necessary restoration and repairs.
