Nine films

Only got to nine films this year, and was so busy that I didn't do any reviews as I have done previously. So, here's a short and sweet rating (out of five stars) and summary:

FOUR LIONS - ★★☆
It was a politically incorrect premise, having a comedy about a bunch of would be terrorists trying to blow themselves (and others up) in the UK, but putting that aside, it just didn't really tickle me enough. Could have been a short film, or perhaps a series of progressive sketches on a comedy series. If you watch the trailer you've seen most of what there is already.

KIDS ARE ALRIGHT, THE - ★★★☆
Overall enjoyable film, though at times it felt a little bit like a 'zany US sitcom' because the mom was a mom and, wait for it, the dad was a mom too!, and it seemed to play that up a little too much at times.

LOURDE-No Rating
Fell asleep about five minutes in, and dozed through about an hour of it before I walked out, since I knew I wouldn't be able to pick up from there.

MONSTERS - ★★★☆
Pretty good sci-fi flick based around an idea where alien mutations/lifeforms exist in an 'infected zone' between the US and Mexico. A photojournalist must try and escort the daughter of his paper through this zone from Mexico to the US. Worthwhile if you enjoyed District 9 and Cloverfield, but not really as enjoyable for either. The biggest let down for me was probably the 'monster design'. While the effects were good,the look of them seemed a little uninspired.

THEY ALL LIE - ★
I don't know if it was just me but I didn't get what this was about. It felt as if they forgot to show us the first reel or something to set out the plot. I have really liked a lot of Argentinian films at previous MIFFs, so was looking forward to this one. I didn't walk out, but I may as well have.

TROTSKY, THE - ★★★☆
Pretty good Canadian comedy - would probably appeal to those who like the humour of Rushmore.

WEDDING PARTY, THE - ★★
I wish I could say I liked it more, but the best thing about it was spotting the shoot locations around Melbourne. The story just didn't sell me and the characters weren't believable. Some good performances by the actors, though. It felt like there was some confusion about who/what the story was really about - possibly was either undercooked or overcooked in the scripting.

WILD TARGET - ★★★
Comedy about an assassin who is hired to kill a young gal, but instead ends up not doing it, then protecting her from the would be killers. It was enjoyable enough, but I had a hard time buying into the level of 'bumbling fool' that the assassin's character was, given he was meant to be one of the world's best. Worth seeing.

SEX&DRUGS&ROCK&ROLL - ★★★
Another year, another film about a musical artist, this time Ian Dury & The Blockheads. It was very very well made, and the acting was top notch. I just can't work out why the story had to be told, because there didn't seem to be much of a differentiator here amongst all the other films featuring an artist who is self absorbed, takes drugs, mistreats their family, but are famous, so it must be okay since they wrote some hits. I don't mind the music, but am not a massive fan. It's an ok film either way, but probably far better if you're really into them. One day they'll start doing late 80's early 90s bands and I'll probably be a lot more interested. How about one about Primal Scream, or the Stone Roses, or Happy Mondays?

'Twas the night before MIFF

Yes, it's almost Christmas in July. MIFF 2010 is almost upon us. In previous years I've posted all the films I plan to see on a sidebar, but it's really not very future-proof, so I'll list my recommended films below. Note that I'm going to list all the films I'd intend to see if I were on a passport this year. I'll see a few of them and hope that I can find the rest at the video store on on SBS in coming months...

1981
ALAMAR
AU REVOIR TAIPEI
BEETLE QUEEN CONQUERS TOKYO
BOY
CATFISH
CELL 211
COLLAPSE
DISAPPEARANCE OF ALICE CREED, THE
FOUR LIONS
IN THE ATTIC: WHO HAS A BIRTHDAY TODAY?
KIDS ARE ALRIGHT, THE
LE DONK & SCOR-ZAY-ZEE
LIKE A DREAM
LOVE IN A PUFF
MAKING IT HANDMADE!
MATINEE
MONSTERS
SCOTT PILGRIM VS THE WORLD
SOMEWHAT GENTLE MAN, A
SPACE TOURISTS
STRANGE POWERS: STEPHIN MERRIT AND THE MAGNETIC FIELDS
TETRO
THE ALL LIE
TROTSKY, THE
WEDDING PARTY, THE
WILD TARGET
WIND JOURNEYS, THE
WORLD'S GREATEST DAD

If you see any of the above, feel free to add a comment on what you thought!

MIFF Preparation

I've written about this in previous years, but thought I'd revise my steps in preparing for MIFF each year.

So, how does one choose what films to see at MIFF? There are many different ways - some people I know turn up on the day and wander into whatever takes their fancy. Others pick a theatre and stick to that venue for a stretch to avoid the uphill sprint to a new venue between films.

I don't really do either. I plan, plan and then do more planning. It's not very wild or exciting, I know, but my time is limited, and I don't want to miss a gem due to lack of proper analysis. This especially is the case this year, as due to family commitments, this year I'll have much less than time to be sitting in the cinema.

So, here's what I do, in case you're looking for a system yourself.

1. Get a copy of the Melbourne International Film Festival program guide. These can be found all around the place at the moment - my local VideoEzy and cafe both have a pile of them. If nothing else, you can find one at any of the cinemas showing MIFF films, or at the MIFF box office at the Forum Theatre.

2. In the middle is a Film & Screening Index. I tear this out as it will be with me for the entire festival

3. In the Index, I hunt down all the lower-case titles and cross them off. They're short films, and I don't dislike them, but I'm not going to go and see a main feature based on what short film is showing before it.

4. Now comes the long and arduous task of ranking the films on offer. For each film, I look at the description to get a sense of whether I'd like it or not. If it looks potentially interesting I will also search the film on any combination of imdb.com, apple.com/trailers and rottentomatos.com. If I've seen something by the director that I enjoyed at a previous MIFF it's more likely to rank highly. There are also some things I keep an eye out for, which I went into more detail in a post from my 2005 MIFF blog, but in essense:
* ACMI only session means it may be a low quality film (very low budget, or shot on video)
* I am wary of words like 'experimental', 'dream-like', and 'visual code'. There are definitely people into these types of films, but I still like to have some kind of plot (even if not excessive).
* If it's a South Korean film, it may well be brilliant (some of my fave films in previous year are from there), but if it's some kind of futuristic police drama where the guide's entry is a confused outline of the plot points rather than a description of the film, it probably means it is not worth the time.
* If the film is a documentary, I recognise that many were (or should have been) filmed for TV rather than the big screen, and most of the best usually are shown on SBS within the 12 months following MIFF. Therefore, I tend to only watch the most interesting (sounding) documentaries, or those where the large screen add to the experience.

5. I rank each film from 1 to 4. '1' means 'must see, can't miss, no matter what'. There are usually around 4-10 of these each year for me. '2' means 'definitely want to see it'. '3' is 'won't see it unless someone persuades me that it's worthwhile'. And, '4' is a very special rating to signify a film that I won't see. I try to keep an open mind about films, so avoid a '4' where possible. But, I've seen enough (two) of Andrew Bujalski's films to know that I should avoid them, so he'll get a '4', and not liking horrors, I'll usually cross them off, unless it's a funny/dark humour one (like last year's Dead Snow). I mark the rating I give next to every film in the Film & Screening Index so that I can quickly tell what I suspected a film might be like when I'm trooping around the city and talking to others about their highlights.

6. Once I've ranked all the films, it's time to start planning the timetable. I fill in timeslots for the '1's first, and then the '2's. This is a fine art, as there are usually only two sessions for each film, and there are always some conflicts. Sometimes a film needs to be dropped. I'll give a preference to seeing films on weekdays at the 1pm or 3pm session where possible, since the cinemas are a little quieter then. In previous years I would choose the nicer cinemas over the worse ones, but now I'm less fussy. That said, I'll avoid too many Kino -> Forum -> Kino type runs. I used to often book a session prior to a popular/sold out one to get a good seat, as you can stay in the cinema between films. However, with the special queue for MIFF members, that's not so important now. If your time is worth anything at all, the MIFF membership is worth it just to avoid long queues and worse seats.

7. I try and be mindful to give a couple of breaks during the festival to avoid burning out in week two. And, I try to plan any social/family commitments before this step to avoid conflicts. Oh, and I consult with my wife and my friends who are going to see if any of us have chosen the same films, so we can try and see them together. A great way to track the films you and your friends plan to see is to use Daniel Shepard's awesome Film Festival Programmer - it lets you see what others are seeing, as well as offering an easy way to bulk add your films to the MIFF online ticket shopping cart.

8. Finally, when the grid looks like it's in place, I book all the tickets using MIFF's fantastic (and it really is!) online booking system.

9. Note that while I do plan all of the above, it's not always right. One year I forgot that I had a commitment on a Saturday afternoon/evening, which required lots of rescheduling. I also lose energy at some point during the festival and tend to start skipping days or late sessions. Or, I might get a burst of energy, or hear of a film that is meant to be brilliant, and then add a couple more. So, yeah, I'm not entirely inflexible. :-)

10. Forgot to mention, it's worth following the #MIFF hashtag on twitter to get a sense of what others are seeing and liking. Be careful of spoilers though.


Easy, huh?