Father Geek here with a collection of comments on BUTT-NUMB-A-THON #2 from around the country. I loved being part of this again, lots of work, extra high phone bill, but well worth it. Tim says we raised much more money for the kids this year, so that makes it all even cooler. And I'd like to thank all our guests, especially the out of state ones (about 125) that gave the party that diverse boast over the top fun wise. I also want to give a special thanks to all the celeb types that came and just partied down with us all for no other reason than THEY are geeks just like us that love the shared film experience and helped to spread it thru the crowd; Thanks to ED GEIN's Steve Railsback (you should have seen Quint's face when he realized who he had been sitting next to in the dark), X-MEN's Tom DeSanto (Who was here only to mix with the geeks and have a great time), IRON GIANT's Tim McCanties (fast becoming a regular fixture at the Alamo), SNATCH's Ade (who joked around and signed autographs with everyone there), GOD'S AND MONSTERS' Jack Morrisey (just too cooooool), and of course the 5 member restoration crew from DESTINATION MARS (who didn't intend to stay, but started having so much fun they cancelled their airline ticket to stay the entire time). Oh yeah, Thanks to those phantastic SNATCH girls (Val & Tracey) toooooo!
Now on to the fan reports...
Hi, Father Geek (or perhaps Harry himself). Jeremy Stomberg (AICN spy name "433") from The Minnesota Contingent here with my BNaT review:
We flew into Austin at about 5:30pm on Friday night, sad that I missed the Friday morning screening of O BROTHER WHERE ART THOU but happy to be in Knowlesland. The nine of us (6 board members from CONvergence [ http://www.convergence-con.org ], two girlfriends, and a girlfriend's sister) were ready to grab a cab or two into town, but found that Austin has a very silly rule we don't have in the Northern Hinterlands: No more than 4 people to a cab. Not even the vans with 7 passenger seats. Sigh. So we split into three groups of three and sped to the motel.
The first thing we noticed was 4 giant Harry heads (the "Get Linked" ads) gazing down upon us from a billboard just outside the airport. We felt safe, knowing that Harry was watching us.
Pulling into the Austin Motel, I was in love. It was like Elliott Gould's building in THE LONG GOODBYE. I could only hope that the neighbors were as nice...
We checked into our rooms, found Moriarity, and he told us about the dinner that night. We walked to THREADGILLS, a nice steak place where Harry was able to get a table for...30? Jay (Father GeeK) was wearing his flaming shoes, causing him to look like he was speeding while standing still.
The food was good, the conversation was great. I talked to numerous folks from around the country, some famous, some AICN spies, some just plain fans. I talked to a really interesting guy for about 30 minutes before I found out I was talking to TOM DeSANTO, writer and producer of X-MEN. Hell of a guy, who had great stories. We paid for out food and hung around outside for another hour and a half, chatting with everyone.
I got to bed around 12:30am, but was too excited. I kept waking up and looking at the clock and falling back asleep until about 7:30. I got up and walked across the river into downtown, meeting a friend downtown at a great little breakfast place called THE AVENUE, which was also seemingly protected by The Giant Harry Heads.
We went to the Alamo Drafthouse and talked with Father Geek, who demonstrated (with glee!) the electric bug zapper on my wallet chain. There was much rejoicing when a delivery truck brought in the missing film, "snatch.". Father Geek was visibly relieved.
Inside, we saw what we had heard about all this time. The Alamo is amazing. We have Cinema Drafthouses/Cafes in L'Etoile Du Nord, but none like this. A quirky, vibrant place, with fun oozing off the walls and no door on one of the men's bathroom stalls. Eek.
Then there were the films.
We had 11 full-length films and a bunch of shorts and odd trailers.
1. DESTINATION MARS (Premiere)- The first film of the weekend was the world premiere of a recently rediscovered (it had been seized by the FBI during the McCarthy hearings due to it's communist leanings) gem from 1956, with amazing special effects for the era. We'll be playing this one at Convergence this summer, and if you love old black-and-white sci-fi, you won't want to miss this. Gee, what was all the coughing about...?
2. THE HOBBIT - I haven't seen this since about 1982 in the library of my elementary school. It was nice seening it as an adult, now I don't have to ever see it again.
3. THE GIFT (Premiere)- The second premiere was Sam Raimi's new murder mystery starring Cate Blanchett, Keanu Reeves, Giovanni Ribisi, and Greg Kinnear. Nice and spooky, creepy, etc., but the identity of the killer is too easy to figure out. Worth seeing, though. I think it opens right before New Year's, either on Xmas or the Friday after that.
4. THE SEA WOLF - An adaptation of the Jack London novel. Pretty nice, good mood-setting with fog and water and ships in the night. Edward G. Robinson was the Captain, and it was directed by Michael Curtiz, who did Casablanca, Yankee Doodle Dandy, and others.
5. WONDER BAR - A very, very funny Busby Berkley musical starring Al Jolson that should be more well-known than it is. And it would be, but for the one big blackface number at the end. Black Folks' Heaven? Pork Chop Orchard? Free Watermelon stand? ugh...
6. snatch. (Premiere)- Guy Ritchie's new diamond heist movie is just as working-class stylish as Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels, but snatch. had Brad Pitt as a gypsy fistfighter trying to help an illegal fight promoter while 4 or 5 different factions duke it out, chasing each other all over London looking for a giant diamond. Complex, interwoven plot; hilarious caper/action film. Opens in late December/early January.
7. BENEATH THE VALLEY OF THE ULTRAVIXENS - Yeah, yeah, Russ Meyer. Feh. Kinda fun to watch in a group, but...feh.
8. SPECIAL SUPER SECRET FILM- The uncut version of...
9. ROBOCOP - I had just watched this recently, so I was pretty bored during this one.
10. SHOGUN ASSASSIN - A dubbed, recut version of a Lone Wolf and Cub movie. I had seen it before in the original version, so I was able to get little (~30-45 minute) power nap.
11. ED GEIN (Premiere)- Steve Railsback (who played Charles Manson in Helter Skelter and Duane Barry in the "Duane Barry" episode of The X-Files) plays Ed Gein, Typical Wisconsin Resident. His great performance overshadows the rather scattershot (but all-in-all well-done) film. Would anyone like some venison steaks? They're very tender!
--
All that and a few short films, cool trailers, a videotaped birthday greeting from Bruce Campbell, beer, food, and a shitload of cool people.
Afterwards, we walked back to the motel, slept until about 6:30, then went to a place we didn't eat (long story, but there was a bunch of people, not enough food, etc.). We split into smaller groups and headed downtown to a restaurant where I had some Texas BBQ (beef brisket and pork ribs) and some Texas beer (Lone Star, "The National Beer of Texas", $1.50 a bottle).
Back to the motel again, where Windy and I talked with FLMLVR until about 1:30am.
Then awake again at 10:30am, over to IHOP for breakfast, Amy's Ice Cream for lunch, then a bus to the airport and it was back to Minneapolis, where as I write this this morning it's -10 degrees.
Home sweet home.
Thanks for the fun and hospitality, everyone!
- 433
And here's another...
harry, i would like to thank you for the kick ass time i had this past saturday/sunday. i must admit to taking a total of about eight minutes semisleep around the hours of six and seven in the morning, but glad i did. around nine or so, my body told me that it was indeed awake and i was able to make it home here in san antonio. i have recently enjoyed an awakening to the older movies of cinema, namely the warner brothers and universal heydays. i was totally gripped by both "the sea wolf" and "the wonder bar" both in my opinion brilliant ventures into the darkness of man's soul. damn those were amazing. the only low point according to my friends and i was russ meyers "beneath the valley of the ultra vixens". if you wanted porn, maybe "it happened in hollywood" would have been better. that looked good. we also agreed that "snatch" was by far the best movie of the evening and bringing in ade was a masterstroke. "ed gein" did chill me to my bones only because i consider myself a religious person and to see what happens when someone twists the words of God to screw with someone's head really pisses me off and i hate judgemental people. anyways, thank you very much on behalf of myself and my friends for such a great time. have a great time in new zeland.
a fan, keep the faith,
jason m
Here's another quickie...
Happy birthday, you ol' salty dog. Hope you had as much fun at the ButtNumbAThon as I did. This is Edison here, or Mike, as I am known in my civilian, non-movie geek circles. You won't remember me, but I came up to thank you and Moriarty right after The Gift (wearing the Scooby shirt). Anyway, I can't thank you enough for one of the highlights of my life this past weekend. I came in not knowing what to expect, just wanting a fun time and some good memories. Well, done and DONE! Not only that, we few, we lucky few, in attendance had a 24 hour expert ASS KICKING, worthy of Keitel's "Wolf", delivered by the big Red One and his band of surley cohorts. You are such the man, a true role model. I wish more people could be as childlike (in the good way) about life and film as you are. I'm rambling and you've got more emails to read, but you get the idea. Thanks eternally, I hope to be there next year, and don't ever change. We love ya, Harry.
Sincerely- Edison
And still more...
Hey, all. Saw on the site that you were asking for reviews of the festival from the attendees. This is what I remember of the festival. I've just slept nineteen hours straight (don't ask me how that happened, it's a new record for me) and my memory is still rather hazy. It just occured to me that I haven't eaten anything since two slices of stale rosemary/onion focaccia that I sneaked off of the breakfast buffet 24-hrs. ago. I only brought 20 in cash, hoping to use my card for the last couple meals. Of course, the Alamo decided to close all tabs around 5 am., so I was stuck. Oh well. Unfortunately, I forgot to bring pen or paper again and so don't have a written account of the fest. Still, I think that I remember al of the films. If I have left one out, forgive me.
First off, thanks for throwing the shindig again. I'm definitely looking forward to carrying on the tradition next year. Now on to Destination Mars. Let me just say that I was very suprised by this film and that it was not at all what I or most people thought it would be. Excellent work by the restoration team and certainly deserving of a place in 1950's-60's sci-fi excellence, alongside greats such as Them, Body Snatchers and, of course, Plan 9. I like that you opened the festival this year with a film that has some very strong parallels to Wood's masterpiece. I hope that everyone out there, especially sci-fi geeks, get a chance to see this lost masterpiece.
Next up, The Hobbit. I love The Hobbit. I own both it and the later Rankin-Bass Return of the King, which is sure to give any hard-core, accuracy obsessed Tolkien freak a massive stroke. Also in my collection is the Rankin-Bass animation of The Last Unicorn. I devoured these movies as a kid and I still get a thrill out of seeing them now. It seemed like The Hobbit didn't seem get a very warm reception from the audience, which baffled me. It's pure delight, from the folky soundtrack by Geln Yarbrough (spelling?) to the great voice acting. John Huston as Glandalf and Theodore as Gollum are the real standouts. Orson Bean as Bilbo is also great, though after seeing Orson as the lecherous boss in Being John Malkovich it's hard to take him too seriously here. I heard a lot of folks complain that there was too much music in the film. Well, The Hobbit's a very musical book. I think the film handles that very well and creates some very good musical interpretations of the lyrics in Tolkien's works. The warg-attack "Fifteen Birds" sequence is still my personal favorite. Still it is a kid's film so it's more of a Hobbit-lite and some people seem to have trouble moving past this. One final thought, I loved the fact that the last shot lingered on the ring on Bilbo's mantelpiece. As John Huston wraps up the film with the words "...to carried on by member's of your family yet to be born. Your adventure, Bilbo, is only beginning.", (I'm going from memory here) I was looking at the ring on the mantelpiece and thinking only one more year, one more year before we get to see that adventure. I like Bakshi's (great voice acting, especially by John Hurt as Aragorn) but it will be nice to see a complete and somewhat less surreal version.
Next up was The Gift. Excellent work, though it still doesn't feel like Raimi. Great moments of creepiness and more atmosphere than What Lies Beneath (which had none whatsoever). The Swamp Country provided a wonderful setting for the movie and was used to good effect, but I couldn't help but feel that more might've been done with it. Too much took place in town or in the Blanchet's house. The movie felt like a very typical Hollywood murder/mystery/creepy-thriller that was elevated a slightly above conventional due to Raimi's talent. I would much rather have seen a terrifying horror movie set in the swamp. That fiddler which appears during her dream sequence is fantasticly creepy, using some William Malone-ish speed tampering to create the single-most horrifying image in the film for me. In my opinion, the movie should have been about the damn fiddler. That would've been a good horror film. But this isn't a horror film, it's just got horror-elements (which was the point all along). Still, as a horror-movie fan it pisses me off that there can be instances of great horror in the Psychic-woman-who-knows-a-terrible-secret schtick and yet Hollywood assumes that horror fans will be content with tenny-bopper slasher shit like Scream. Horrors out there but no one's using it. I hope Zombie's "House of 1,00 Corpses" gets released soon. As for the performances, yeah, they're all pretty good. Greg Kinnear's face is getting kind of annoying though, I always have trouble taking him seriously (something he seems to have trouble with in every movie also). Ribisi was great and provides the best moment in the film when he freaks out at Keanu (wonderful audience reaction there). Keanu, well, Keanu was good. He was good in the sense that he didn't bother me in this film. He just felt like some anonymous character actor and not Keanu. The facial hair worked well to this effect and I would be interested to know if it was something they added specifically for Keanu so as not to make him quite so noticeable. Still, whenever I looked into his eyes on the screen, I saw this dead, empty space. No emotion whatsoever. This reinforces my theory that he is an evil terminator robot sent from the future to study mankind and determine our weaknesses (like SUV's and cheesecake). He's started to pick up some new tricks and his simulation of human behavior is becomming more refined, but it is still just that, a simulation. Finally, the ending of this film was a real letdown. Way too contrived. Feh.
The Sea Wolf was wonderful and I'm glad I've been given a chance to see it, especially on the big screen. I'm not going to say much because I was stoned at this time. I smoked a joint right before this one because I thought it would compliment the Busby Berkely musical (more on that freakish experience later). Needless to say, I am not the best person to ask about this film and my liking it might not be wholly without bias, but everyone else seemed to get a kick out of it. I was busy trying to restrain my impulse to make Simpson-esque inane pirate babble, which I'm quite good at. I was more or less succesfull. The ending of this movie is very cool, with Van Rybeck (I think that was his name) struggling to sound normal to his audience, a problem that I've had many times though for different reasons (see above).
Wonder Bar (wunderbar! it's klandinktu!). Well, not really. As a musical and an oddity, it works great. However, it has to overcome the fact that it can potentially offend every human being in existence (no reason not to watch or show it, though, something America can't quite get it's swollen head around). This is truly the most bizarre thing to come out of the 1930's (or whatever decade it was made in if I'm mistaken). Male prositution, homosexuality, gerontophilia, everyone's a petty criminal, adultery, whip-play SM/DS dance numbers, hallucinogenic choreography, and a final dance number that is an epic in exploring every facet of the society's black-stereotype. Plus I was really baked by this point (the joint I smoked was a low-grade KB). Wow. Al Jolson's first singing number, in which he sings really fast in his high, nasal voice and throws his hands all over the place is just really disturbing and funny. Busby Berkely's dance numbers acheived the expected effect in that they were very hypnotic. Impossible to describe, they must be seen to be believed (and on the big screen, as Harry pointed out). If at all possible, get stoned as well. Wow. Then there's that final number. Wow. I'm just, it's....wow. I was chuckling, thinking, "this can't possibly become more offensive". I did this four times before the number ended. It just keeps topping itself. Jolson plays in blackface, something he made a career out of, and it is just freakishly disturbing. All you can see are his eyes and his lips (which appear excessively large because he left he blackface off around his mouth to create that effect). Like a servo-controlled monkey head, it creates this truly disturbing effect by creating something that looks more or less like something else, but lacks a few subtle (or in this case not so subtle) characteristics so that we just know innately that something's wrong. Digital special effects have the same problem. Anyway, through the course of the musical number Jolson ascends to pickaninny heaven and it all ends with a dance number in which Jolson emerges from a giant watermellon. Throughtout or pork-chop trees, rocket-powered dogs (not really, but damn if that isn't what it looks like) and a trio of "black" cherubs who punctuate the songs with the occasional "hidey-hidey-hidey-ho!". That is something that should never be viewed even when sober as it is hideous and disturbing (and funny), but when stoned....wow. My thoughts on this film can be summed up in one word. You guessed it. Wow.
Snatch was the next film in the list. I was still running strong now and the I was feeling any post-joint drowsiness, which was a relief. This film is a delight and I will say nothing about it. Just see it. I loved Lock, Stock and thought this film was even better. Guy Ritchie maintains and further developes his briallianty directorial style. The best example in this film is a brief montage that, in a manner that is totally believable and unexpected, compresses about eight hours of real-time into about five seconds in such a way that the narrative is totally uninterrupted. Everyone, to my knowledge, loved this as well as the rest of the film. Genius. See it. My only complaint is that I wish more had been with the Squeeking Dog (don't ask). Then again, that could easily have been overdone so it is more of a wish than a complaint.
Beaneath the Valley of the Ultra Vixens. Ugh. This film hurt me. I was completely sober by this point and this film had me thinking every minute "why didn't I bring another joint!". I have no problem with Russ Meyer or the content of the film. That part's fine. However, this film just lasts too long. The sex scenes are amusing, but they NEVER end. (well, technically they do end or I wouldn't be back at my apartment writing this, but I feel that they have entered their own temporal bubble...more on this concept at the end of the review). Also, I wish for the death of the radio jockey in this film. In the words of Crow, "I can never hurt this film as much as it hurt me". The radio DJ in this film has the most piercing, annoying high-pitched squel of a voice I've ever heard and it is in the background of almost the entire film, along with generic organ music. It's an evangelical station so she's also saying random, generic preacher-speak, which is annoying enough. Dear god, I can never erase that memory, no matter how much I abuse my brain. Still, this film does have its high points, or at least one that I can think of. The narrator. This guy kicks ass. He's omnipresent and omnipotent and he knows it, plus he's cool about it. It's like if the narrator for any film suddenly materialized in bib-overalls and a baseball cap (there's a shirt and stuff too, those are just the dfining points of his wardrobe). If God mellowed out, didtched heaven (like Preacher), didn't give a rat's ass about anything and had a fixation on large breasts, then this would be his life (except that he'd smite that DJ, as well as about 90% of Christains in the U.S. because they're so fucked up). The narrator is the only reason I can think of to see this film (the others aren't worth enduring the DJ, trust me). He rocks.
Next was Robocop. Not much I can say here. Everyone's seen it just about (in my case many times) and it really is brilliant. I like it more each time I see it (the Criterion disk is excellent, of course). It was probably hard for a lot of people in attendance to watch it, but I generally don't have that problem. I can watch most movies, ones that I like at least, as many times as I want without getting bored. I would have preferred that it was a movie I hadn't seen before, but what the hell. It still rocked.
Shogun Assassin. Whew. Why didn't I like this movie. Why did it become the Tron of this festivalk for me. THE DUBBING!!!!! AARRRGGHHHHH!!!!!! Almost as painful as the DJ from Vixens. That kid's voice is annoying! This sucks, we've got the world's largest movie industry and yet we can't do a single decent dubbing job (Princess Mononoke aside, though I have some lingering pains from Thornton's monk). All the more reason to throw out dubbing all together. I'll take subtitles over dubbing anyday. Anyone who can't deal with subtitles is a lazy bastard. Perhaps you have other reasons, but I don't care. Because of you guys, I have to see great film after great film stripped naked and anally violated. You're the reason behind "Legend of Drunken Master" (ugh). You're the reason 95% of all characters in dubbed Asian movies are maiden-voiced white guys. Argh. Phew. Griping aside, why didn't I like this movie. I am a Kung-fu, Wu-Xia movie freak. Wu-Xia (which I am probably not spelling correctly) is the term for the fantasy sword-play movies like Sworsman 2, Dragon Inn, Crouching Tiger, etc... Great movies that I never fail to enjoy. Why didn't I like this one? NO MUSIC!!!! ARGGHH!!! Dubbing maddness overtaking em again, HULK SMASH!!! I am willing to bet there was music in the original japanese version. Where the hell did it go in this one! It's bad enough to replace the beautiful music of the original versions with horribly done, American syntho-fight-crap music (Project A DVD-release, anyone?), but to just chuck out the music? I am assuming this film had music in it's original version or else I can't imagine how it's gotten such good word of mouth. I found it grating and horrible to sit through. I entered into a kind of open-eyed sleep (something my cousin can do normally, lucky-bastard), a dopey realm of existence where everything is muted and distant. Tron did this to me last time, now it was this film. Both played next to last in the festival, but I would blame this on the films more than their posistion. Tron does this to me anytime I see it. Not until the final fight scene in the movie did I really start paying attention to it becuase there was, at long last, some music. Grrr. Must try and find a non-anally raped version of this film.
Finally, Ed Gein. Well, a good film but a bit of letdown. Not nearly as disturbing as I thought. Mostly because I'm already pretty familiar with the Ed Gein case (I've looked into it before after hearing it was the inspiration for Psycho and Texas Chainsaw). The moon-dancing in women-skin I've even seen before. Poison Elves #3, I think, which looks almost exactly like the scene in this movie. I like this film because it's not gory, and any horror film that can pull off horror and creepiness without gore deserves our praise. It's a sign of true skill to build atmosphere like this without resorting to cheap tricks or intestines. Not to say those are bad, I love those too, but I feel that it takes a lot more to do it without 'em, and that the effect is both longer-lasting and is not something you can build a tolerance for (like intestines and cheap scares). Ed Gein is a great creepy film. The only reason I felt it was a let-dwon was because Harry and co. built it up so much. When I talked to you in line, Harry (guy in the brown jacket and baggy sweater with a not so well developed goatee and ponytail, if it's worth anything), you said it'd be almost unwatchable. Very disturbing you said. Well, maybe to most people. I don't know. Certainly not for me. Creepy, yes, but it doesn't approach The Gift's Fiddler of Wonder Bar's cherub trio (shudder) for sheer cringing. I thought the film was great in buildin gup levels of creepiness and disturbance, but that it could have gone farther. I expected more scenes like the moon-dancing (which, I imagine, would have been worse if I hadn't been exposed to it before). Those scenes with his mother were fantastic, but I expected her to pull some really weird, hallucinatory shit. Never did. These are minor beefs, to be sure. For the average person who is not both over-exposed to freakiness and does not have a bit of background knowledge on Mr. Gein, this film will mess you up I'm guessing. Mr. Railsback's performance is excellent and, having seen photos of Mr. Gein before (same ones that appear in the film), his similarity in appearance is uncanny. I can't imagine sitting next to him during the movie, but people did. Wow. My favorite part of the post-film questioning was the issue of the smile. It wasn't until Railsback mentioned the smile that I even noticed it had been there all along. The fact that it is an emtionless symptom of Gein's schizophrenia points to Steven's excellent acting ability, in that I think he also captured that emptiness perfectly. Hmm. Maybe Keanu'd make a good Gein......
Honorable McSpecial Mention: THE MONKEY SHORT!!!!! Dear god, was this real? If it's not real, then it is the most perfect attempt to ever simulate the visual and audio style of these shorts. There's this little bit towards the end where Santa is talking to the kid's and th egirl's gotr eyebags and the little boy seems to role his eyes. This would seem to indicate it was a parody, but I've seen other shorts from this era that were self-aware to a degree (A Case of Spring Fever, which I saw on MST3K, god bless 'em, has similar moments). I swear to god, if not for the subject matter, I would not think this is fake. Could this possibly have been made? Harry, even if you don't post this, please let me know the answer! This short alone justified the entire experience. How can I ever explain this to other people. How!!!!! Monkey Mountain, sock puppets, how!
Final Thoughts: I like the first Numb-a-thon better. Not a huge degree of difference, but I did. This festival defnitely felt like it played faster. I'm not sure what the reason's are, I'd just chalk it up to experience. I liked the first one better because, well, it was the first. It was a very unique exerience for me. In a way, it feels like it's still going on, like it'll never stop. It's one of those especially vivid memories, one that never fades no matter how old you get or how much grass you smoke, one that feels like= it's sort of slipped into its own little dimension, its own little temporal bubble. The first numb-a-thon was, is, and shall be an eternity. This one just feels over. Still incredibly cool, but it does feel like it's over. Everyone seemed a lot more mellow the first time out. The festival felt more improvised (because it was, really) and the atmosphere was generally more relaxed. We went a couple hours overtime, which I didn't even notice. I liked the slection of films better too. I think the sequencing was much better this year, but then again, maybe the films shouldn't follow one another in theme or style. Having each one kind of isolated made me pay greater attention, kept me from slipping too much into one particular groove. It's also less tiring for me, when I don't know what kind of film will come next. Harry, never never never say what films will be playing in advance. You did this a couple times during the festival ( Robocop and Sea Dog/ Wonder Bar) because there wouldn't be a break. It was difficult to get into things when I knew what was coming next. I find that, personally, the festival handles much better when I see each film by itslef with no thought towards what may be coming. If something really cool's coming up you get gored, if something you don't particularly want to see comes up you get nervous and depressed. This is just my take on the whole issue of scheduling, though, I don't know what other people feel about this issue. Shifting gears, one of my neighbors (to my right) said something interesting. I overhead this because she was talking to her boyfried. She said she felt like 24hrs. of her life had been wasted, a decidedly negeative comment. Her reason for this was that, except for The Gift, none of the films had been ones that she had wanted to see. ....... .................SMACK! WHAT!!!! Then why the hell did you come to this thing! It isn't about "good" films, it isn't about the premiers, it isn't about the stars, and it isn't about seeing films that YOU want to see. You're missing the whole frigging point about the festival if you think that. It's about seeing someone else's take on things, about surrenduring yourself to a relentless assualt of cinematic coolness, about seeing a bunch of movies you might not have seen otherwise and about getting a chance to meet with a bunch of other people equally enraptured with the cinematic process. Overall, people felt a lot moe selfish this year, much more concerned with the content of the festival than with the concept. I'd blame this on the fact that this year's was mucn more widely advertised and recieved more attention. I think that too many people came in expecting some sort of high-fallutin, Hollywood kinda gala event. Or maybe it was just the person next to me. Or maybe I'm the only one who thinks otherwise. I don't know. Still, the fact that she brought a pillow with her makes me immediately suspicious of her character and intentions. I don't think amenities like that should be allowed. I'm not saying you should sit on a stick, but things like a pillow or sleep sacks are just silly, since sleeping is not something that should be on your mind. Hell, comfort shouldn't be on your mind. Movies should be what's on your mind. Anyway, my other nieghboor was a surprise. I'm in my second year of college at UT and he's in his first. The fact that the Numb-a-thon started my first year here alone is pretty cool. As it turns out he's staying in the same dorm that I did in my first year. Again, neat, especially when the dorm only holds about 40 people. Now, I find out that my roommate from the first year (whom I despised and who is the main reason I now live in a single apartment) is his RA. Wow. Not only that, be he is equally despised by all of them aparrently. Wow. Coincidence and justification all in one momenty of epiphany towards the end of the festival, one that was revealed entirely by accident. I might have gone through the entire festival without knowing that my neighbor and most of those with him live under the waffly heel of my grunting ex-roommate, whom they have affectionately named "Penis Bitch". A moment of cosmic harmony that lent a very satisfied flavor to the conclusion of Butt-Numb-a-thon II. Thanks again, Harry. Happy Birthday.
WOW, he had alot to say, well here's Nordling's thoughts...
Harry, happy birthday. I hope you enjoy the CARNIVAL OF SOULS Criterion DVD (I saw Father Geek was practically ready to watch it right there even after 24 hours of films) and NEW YORK NOIR, which is just a super cool photo book that you should take on a plane and show to the New Zealanders that in the 30s crime just looked cool.
A few words about BNAT. It was incredible fun, simply the most fun I've had all year. All charity work should be this fun. I came in right in the middle of THE HOBBIT, so I'll start from there. It was extremely cool watching the audience react to that. When we came in the lobby was pretty empty, so THE HOBBIT got a pretty big viewing. Then came THE GIFT, which was good, with 2 great performances by Giovanni Ribisi and Keanu Reeves. That was hilarious...their scene together brought the house down almost literally. THE SEA WOLF and WONDER BAR...you know, I've seen that blackface number before in a film called IT CAME FROM HOLLYWOOD, and thought it the most bizarre thing ever then...it was pretty incredible to watch. In many ways we have come a long way since then, and in many ways not. SNATCH was quite simply amazing. Total joy from beginning to end. Goddamn, I'm so glad you got that one. And Tyrone was cool..."Make a queue! Make a fucking queue! I'll burn the next hand that comes up 'ere!" Brad Pitt was fucking fantastic, and deserves an Oscar nomination.
Okay, BENEATH THE VALLEY OF THE ULTRAVIXENS. I normally like my porn to go a to b to c without little complications like a narrator or surreal plot elements. Heh, I even saw Mori walk out of that one. Still, I wouldn't have traded that odd feeling that I was watching a Russ Meyer porn film with over 300 people in a darkened room for anything. Okay, SUPER SECRET MOVIE next...Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you. And you're right Harry, it is a "fucking crime" as you put it. I loved the shit out of ROBOCOP. What a great print. SHOGUN ASSASSINS I've actually seen before...my friend collects all the Lone Wolf and Cub movies. That said, it was wonderful seeing it on the big screen. Vegas REALLY liked this one. That SANTA CLAUS short had everyone going. What a perfect little movie. Harry, Mori, you should consider releasing a DVD of collected shorts that you've come across. ED GEIN. Creepy as fuck. Steve Railsback turned in a fine performance. And Vegas brought down the house with his "I'm genuinely afraid to meet you" question...
Peripheral stuff. The SNATCH reps were..um...HOT. Didn't realize JohnRobie was a surfer. Didn't realize Todd looked so, well, NORMAL. That CTHD sword was fucking sweet. The Wolverine jacket is fucking sweet. It was fun looking at all the fanboys and girls touching it like it was a sacred artifact. Okay, hell, I touched it too. Alamo Drafthouse serves surprisingly good champagne and kickass pizza. The champagne party during WONDER BAR was pretty sweet too. Everyone with the AICN crew was awesome. Harry, with such great friends, man, you must have done something truly great in another life, because you are definitely being rewarded in this one. Watching Vegas freak over the DESTINATION MARS poster because the director has his SAME EXACT NAME.
Stuff I'd change? Well, hmm. If you're going to show porn, it needs to be shorter. And less surreal. I enjoyed the hell out of ROBOCOP, but that one was the one that knocked out the audience, because they'd seen it so many times before. That should have been the "Let's see who we can shock the shit out of" portion of the evening. Next year you should play a silent film with a band, just once. That would be cool... The premieres I have no complaints over. Good choices all, especially SNATCH, which was fucking amazing. "This is where it gets good", indeed. THE CTHD poster truly kicks ass, thanks Harry.
Harry, Mori, you guys throw one hell of a party, and I will definitely be there next year. And Harry, thanks for keeping my seats open. Man, you're a fucking hero of mine, and you too, Mori. I wish I could bottle up the event and open it when I'm feeling depressed. I will wear the shirt with pride.
Mori, Harry, men, thank you.
"Nordling"
And there's still more...
My ass really hurts. Unlike Moriarty, it's not from getting fucked in the ass by a Smurf.
I just got back to Chicago from a 40 hour jaunt to Austin with Capone, where we experienced the ultimate mind-fuck, a journey of sorts into Harry's soul. I loved the spirit of film of DESTINATION MARS, the hairy-footed fuck in THE HOBBIT, the originality and adrenaline of SNATCH, the mind-infecting images in THE GIFT, lust and human passions and the forbidden love in WONDER BAR and VIXENS, the power of great super heroes and the great burdens they carry (I refer to a number of films here, such as ROBOCOP, SHOGUN ASSASSIN, etc.), and the examination of the soul in the the final film of the day.
THE SEA WOLF, based on the story by Jack London, was one of the great films shown at the event. I stumbled back to my bookshelf here in Chicago to find my copy of the classic. I flipped to Chapter 8 and came across this passage:
"Sometimes I think Harry Knowles mad, or half-mad at least, what of his strange moods and vagaries. At other times I take him for a great man, a genius who has never arrived. And, finally, I am convinced that he is the perfect type of the primitive man, born a thousand years or generations too late and an anachronism in this culminating century of civilization. He is certainly an individualist of the most pronounced type. Not only that, but he is very lonely. There is no congeniality between him and the rest of the men aboard ship. His tremendous virility and mental strength wall him apart. They are more like children to him, even the hunters, and as children he treats them, descending perforce to their level and playing with them as a man plays with puppies. Or else he probes them with the cruel hand of a vivisectionist, groping about in their mental processes and examining their souls as though to see of what soul-stuff is made."
Good job Harry--the festival rocked, and I think Jack London described your efforts quite well in the above passage. Once my ass begins to regain some sensation, I'm sure that my brain will never be the same. Plus I think I have a few red hairs showing up on the tops of my feet...
Chi-Town Charlie
Here's one that concentrates on THE GIFT...
Well well, what are my thoughts on THE GIFT after Butt-Numb-A-Thon 2000? Roughly, and typed by a man who has known way too little sleep this week, here's my review for THE GIFT. More to come later on the rest of the films.
- cinemajoel
THE GIFT grade: A-
What would you get if you crossed EVE'S BAYOU and THE EVIL DEAD? You'd get THE GIFT, the remarkably startling and polished new film from God O' Horror Sam Raimi. Raimi's direction in 1998's A SIMPLE PLAN marked Raimi's transition out of the gory glory of the EVIL DEAD trilogy into more mainstream dramatic work. In the grand tradition of "oops," we'll just forget that in between A SIMPLE PLAN and THE GIFT, Raimi also directed FOR LOVE OF THE GAME.
THE GIFT cofirms that A SIMPLE PLAN was no fluke for Sam Raimi. THE GIFT is by no means a perfect film, but it's damn good. I'll point out what I didn't like about the movie first (mostly nit-picky stuff, but still valid I think), but most of this film I really liked.
So what didn't work in THE GIFT? First of all, the whodunnit ending is altogether too reminiscent of bore-gore films like JUST CAUSE where you don't care who the killer is because it all winds up hinging on evidence withheld from the audience until the last second.
Well, in THE GIFT, the same structure is at work. The ultimate resolution of the killer's identity is not exactly implausible, but you can tell Billy Bob wanted us to say, "Wow, we didn't see that coming!" With films like THE SIXTH SENSE or THE USUAL SUSPECTS, the killer's identity is impossible to surmise ahead of time, but going back over it, you realize clues were there all along.
THE GIFT is one of those movies that doesn't have those clues when you go back over it. And in that, I find it a little underdeveloped from a storyline point of view. It's not that every film has to have this perfect, methodically stealthy foreshadowed ending. But it would be nice if the answer really had been there all along.
My second problem with THE GIFT? Giovanni Ribisi, in an ass-kicking performance, is the unwitting accomplice to Billy Bob Thornton double-dipping into his inkwell. His Buddy Cole (no relation to Scott Thompson) is a thinly revised version of SLING BLADE's Karl. C'mon, Billy Bob... make a film about deep-South neroses without the slow, retarded guy as a stock character. Please.
And in the same indictment, add Keanu Reeve's Donny Barksdale as another SLING BLADE recycled character. Keanu is basically filling in for Dwight Yoakum's work in SLING BLADE. Both actors suprisingly excelled in these roles from Billy Bob's quill, probably because they are very over-the-top and one-dimensional from an emotional/psychological level.
Just as Yoakum surprised the hell out of critics and audiences with how good he was, dear old Keanu will do the same here. Keanu Reeves is really REALLY good in this film. But again, nuanced it ain't. Still, this may well be a milestone role for Reeves, in the sense that I don't think any serious film critic could fault his performance in any way. Keanu is dead-on in this film. As much as it pains me to say it, he does a powerfully good job.
Which brings us out of Land O' Criticism and back into the land of lush idolation of the marvelous film that THE GIFT really is. The scenery and the intimate camera work of Sam Raimi, who shoots "nighttime in the woods" better than any director working today, is downright intoxicating. What else is so great about THE GIFT? Briefly, and in no particular order...
1. Katie Holmes is naked in this film. There is a God.
2. Cate Blanchett is probably the most underappreciated actress in Hollywood right now. She was underappreciated in last year's THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY, and she may well go underappreciated in THE GIFT. But hopefully, people will recognize her solid and subtle work in this film and give it the proper applause. She carries this film with ease, and her Annie Wilson is completely real and completely connected to the audience.
3. Greg Kinnear is also great, as is Keanu Reeves. Hilary Swank is also good, but is painfully underused in this film. This is one of the least memorable Oscar follow-up roles in recent years.
I could go on about why THE GIFT is a great film, but I'd have to give spoilers to really do that, and I hate spoilers so none of that. But I will say this. The direction is superb, right on par with what Raimi achieved with A SIMPLE PLAN.
And lets us not forget this a truly scary movie, perhaps the most important scary movie Raimi has ever made. After all, Raimi has graduated from THE EVIL DEAD trilogy and now has to make his mark in a more mainstream environment. To tell a story like THE GIFT and be as true to his horror roots as Raimi stays is impressive indeed.
Go see THE GIFT when it comes out. It's incredibly stylish (get the Oscar nomination for cinematography ready) and incredibly well directed. And if nothing else, go for the uniformly superb performances by the supporting cast. Yes, Keanu, even you.
And here's one more... Sort of...
Well Harry...We were not able to get tickets to the BNAT so we ran our own as per your suggestion. I have to agree with you....it's a damn fun thing to run!!! We attended the 1st BNAT and really wanted to ge to the 2nd but as you well know...you're too popular!!! Anyway, thanks for giving us the great idea of running our own movie marathon and you can see the results below...
Once again...Thanks.
Mike
