Poshdeluxe

i’m paler than usual this morning, thanks to basically spending the entire weekend inside a darkened movie theater for fanastic fest 2008.

this is my second year to experience the festival, which is basically a mix of horror, kung fu and weird little independent films. i didn’t think i could top last year, but oh LORDY was i wrong. i could barely HANDLE the awesomeness, much of which was due to the presence of matt and meredith, who decided to buy badges this year. in spite of the fact that meredith has subscribed to fangoria since she was seven months old while the mere sight of someone losing a finger on screen forces me to assume the fetal position, we managed to actually watch a few movies together!

meredith, being a professional reviewer, takes notes during the films. i, however, choose to devote my entire attention to queso fries. therefore, these reviews will be short but impassioned, cos i LOVED almost every single movie. for more in-depth information via the fantastic fest site, click on the title of the movie.

zack and miri make a porno

i was really, really hoping that this movie would be good, cos my “clerks”-inspired love for kevin smith continues to endure in spite of, like, his last three movies. and guess what?!! it’s AWESOME!! it’s hilarious and sweet and just a really amazing blend of raunchy and tender. there were a TON of moments when i was laughing out loud, and that hasn’t happened since… “super bad”?

afterwards, kevin smith came on the stage for the Q&A, and i wanted to hug him EVEN more than i did after that scene in “catch & release” when he tries to commit suicide. seriously, this movie is great. i give it three and half pants out of four!

repo! the genetic opera

you guuuuys this movie was soooo baaaaaaaad. SO BAD. and yeah, i realize that a goth musical about organ enhancement has a lot of obstacles to overcome in order to be “good,” but still. it has anthony stewart head (giles!!!) in it!!! and sarah brightman!!! and the visuals look amazing!! and paris hilton is in it! ok, well, that’s like minus a point. but still. after i watched the trailer, i thought, “hey! maybe this will be really awesome in a totally campy, terrible way!”

well, i was right about the terrible thing. while the visuals were pretty cool (although a little bit 90s NINish), the songs were HORRENDOUS. maybe if the movie hadn’t taken itself so seriously, it could have succeeded in that rocky horror sort of direction, but ugh. total fail. even anthony stewart head’s gorgeous voice couldn’t save this movie for me (although the director’s unzipped fly during the Q&A certainly lifted my spirits).

i would give this movie a half a pant, but sarah brightman’s creepy eyes (robotic transplants) bump it up to a full pair.

i think we’re alone now

in case you’re wondering, yes, that is tiffany. and the man next to her, jeffery deane turner, is her stalker! yay!

this documentary focuses on two different people, turner and kelly mccormick, a transgendered person, who are both deeply, deeply, deeply obsessed with tiffany. it’s a *fascinating* exploration of celebrity worship and mental illness, alternating between hilarious and sad. turner has asberger’s, while kelly battles the demons of her two genders (not to mention a terrible biking accident as a child). the film does a wonderful job at revealing their idiosyncracies without making any jokes at their expense.

check out the trailer here.

as a side note, meredith and i totally considered ourselves tiffany fans (although, un, not stalkers) until we saw this movie. now we just think she’s skanky.

seriously. find a way to see this movie. three and a half out of four pants!

the chaser

this is the closest i got to a scary movie all weekend.

“the chaser,” a korean film, follows a serial killer and the pimp who pursues him to avenge the death of several call girls. this film was AMAZING. i don’t want to say more about the plot, because the twists and turns are one of the reasons the movie is so intense, not to mention disturbing.

you can watch the trailer here (it’s in korean, but you can get the gist).

the cinematic mastery exhibited in this movie amplified every moment, every feeling to the point that i pretty much strangled my armrest to death as i vascillated between mortal fear and angry frustration (apparently, the director is not a fan of the bureaucratic police system in korea). by the end of the film, my heart was pretty much a raw and bleeding mess.

so yeah, this isn’t exactly a mood lifter. but it’s gorgeous and dark and will get totally effed up when america remakes it so do yrself a favor and see it in its original incarnation.

fighter

OMGGGG YOU GUYS THIS MOVIE IS MY FAVORITE!!!! SWEET CRACKER SANDWICH!!!!!!!

see, this is why i love fantastic fest. while meredith can be in the theater next door watching someone get (artfully) dismembered, i can squee myself silly watching a danish kung fu version of “bend it like beckham.”

semra turan, a real life (and totally beautiful, hello amazing eyelashes) martial arts expert, plays aicha, a muslim girl in denmark who must reconcile her love for kung fu with her family and cultural obligations. this film is sweet and honest without ever being saccharine, not only due to the excellent acting but also because of some gorgeous, kickass fight scenes. you can thank xian gao, the choreographer from “crouching tiger, hidden dragon” for that (and yeah, that’s him in the picture, playing aicha’s instructor).

WATCH THIS TRAILER IMMEDIATELY. you don’t need english when you can feast yr eyes on this amazing fight choreography! not to mention semra turan’s face-burning awesomeness!!!

i really, really, REALLY hope this film gets picked up for distribution in the us. and when it does, i’m totally inviting everyone over!!! kung fu slumber party!!

well, that’s it for the reviews. tomorrow i’ll tell you more about the magic that happened *outside* of the theater.

LINKS

this frank rich column on “truthiness” in the mccain campaign is a must read.

ditto on this aaron sorkin-penned encounter between obama and president jed bartlet.

when stephen hawking makes a clock, you know it’s going to be pretty much the most mind-blowing clock in the world. not to mention kiiiiinda creepy.

charlie kaufman + philip seymour hoffman = synedoche, new york = amazing.

babar!!!!

i love the new killers song. i think cos it kind of sounds like old school erasure.

the next time cakespy creates a trompe l’oeil, i SO need to be invited. salads made out of sugar? yes please.