Login
Forgot Password?

OR

Login with Google Login with Twitter Login with Facebook
  • Join
  • Profiles
  • Groups
  • SuicideGirls
  • Photos
  • Videos
  • Shop
Vital Stats

howdy

Chicago

Member Since 2004

Followers 57 Following 73

  • Everything
  • Photos
  • Video
  • Blogs
  • Groups
  • From Others

Tuesday Apr 15, 2008

Apr 15, 2008
1
  • Facebook
  • Tweet
  • Email
17th Philadelphia Film Festival April 3-15, 2008

I saw 36 films in 13 days. (Yes, I'm fairly sick of movies for a little while now.) All but three were reasonably good.

SPOILERS! (Click to view)

The ones I disliked were:
Severed Ways (2007)
The Mugger (2007)
A Song of Good (2008)



I got to meet the director and/or stars of several films; the biggest star being William H (Bill) Macy. It was really neat to see the enthusiasm and sometimes warped personalities of these creative artists.

SPOILERS! (Click to view)

Frank Henenlotter is a complete nut - and I absolutely loved "Bad Biology", a porn-thriller-comedy and his first film in like 17 years. His previous works include Frankenhooker, Brain Damage, Basket Case and some rap music videos as well. Now I want to rent them all too! Charlee Danielson gave a fantastic performance. I hope her career begins to blossom, but Bad Biology is not the easiest film to have listed in one's resume. She said that her family has been banned from ever watching it.

Luke Eberl (Choose Connor) looks far too young to have directed an excellent look inside the more cynical side of local politics.

Steven Goldmann's "Trailer Park of Terror" was a wonderfully fun and well-written teen roadkill thriller with a Southern flavor. Nicole Hiltz was fantastic as the leading zombie.

"Film Noir" by Risto Topaloski is a very nice animated (mostly black&white) genre piece for adults only. He's quite a character as well.



My top 20-odd favorites, in order, were...

Secrecy a well-balanced discussion of the costs and benefits of classified information and the war on terror. A "must-see" film.

Bad Biology superbly bizarre, hilarious and unpredictable - comedic porn at its finest.

Glass: A Portrait of Philip in 12 parts interviews with the composer, his family and friends, as well as performance footage.


Roman de Gare a twisting and turning French thriller. Who's the killer, and who's the victim?

Epitaph the best horror film I've seen in years. From Korea, it is exceedingly creepy and as emotionally engaging as any mainstream film.

Empties is a Czech film that has it all - love, romance, breakups, humor and fantasizing. A schoolteacher decides to retire, but needing to keep busy he takes a bottle return job in the local supermarket.

The Deal William Macy and Meg Ryan star in a Tracy-Hepburnesque film about dealmaking in Hollywood. Quite a fun indie film.


Mrs. Ratcliff's Revolution - a British family of socialists decide to move to paradise (East Germany, circa the mid 60's). An amusing period of adjustment follows.

Dharm is a tale of religion and cultural clash. The leader of a Hindu temple takes in an abandoned child, but it threatens to tear his temple apart. Fabulous soundtrack, worth listening to in its own right.

Priceless the latest film from Audrey Tautou (one of my favorite actresses). She plays a not-so-sweet woman intent on swindling expensive gifts from rich old men. She's very convincing.

Kenny is a faux documentary about the life of an Australian man in the portable toilet business. You can't help but laugh and root for him to succeed.

Choose Connor is a controversial film, peering inside a cynically manipulative politician who recruits a middle-school student to help him with the young voters. Perfect for this campaign season.

Autumn Ball a stark impressionistic film from Estonia. Some powerful images and moments, quite unusual and interesting.

The Sperm a truly unusual film from Thailand. Think of it as a cross between "Porkys" and "Buckaroo Banzai." A teen humor sci-fi romp.

Trailer Park of Terror has good Southern-flavored fun with the slasher genre. Very funny and very disgusting at the same time. The director and writer are nuts.

Film Noir is a prototypical genre film with a twist. It is animated and shot in mostly black & white. Definitely for adults only.

Timecrimes is a low budget but refreshingly interesting look at what can go wrong when a man stumbles into an unauthorized time travel experiment. Plenty of plot twists to keep the audience saying "Aha!"

Vexille is an interesting animated sci-fi feature in which Japan has cut itself off from the rest of the world and assembled an android monopoly.

The Pope's Toilet is a nearly true story of the frenzy surrounding a papal visit to a small town in Uruguay.

Mister Foe is a Scottish film which is interesting and original enough to survive several plot inconsistencies. A young man has trouble coping with his mother's death, and turns to voyeurism as an escape mechanism. Quite odd but worth seeing.

Darling a man who has lost nearly everything meets a girl who has nearly everything, while they are both working at McDonalds, in this slow=paced but enjoyable film from Sweden.

Baghead two couples go off to a cabin in the woods to write a screenplay. But there's a stranger lurking nearby. Or not...

A Day for An Affair a Korean film that follow two very different couples whose cheating eventually intersect with each other.

You, the Living is Swedish humor - i.e. dark. About the desire to love and be loved, in all its disappointments.


P.S. I met and shook hands with Bill Clinton today, at a rally for his wife (who was campaigning elsewhere).

And I'll close with some fun from YouTube



VIEW 13 of 13 COMMENTS
syllogism:
yes, satc is THAT bad. i am ashamed to be a woman based on the way women are portrayed in that show. oh wellz. and i think i will go alone to the concerts if i can't find anyone.
Jun 3, 2008
karma:
its june. you need a new journal entry.
Jun 5, 2008

More Blogs

  • 09.27.08
    8

    Saturday Sep 27, 2008

    New job New car (2009 Jetta) New apartment lease in Marylan…
  • 08.08.08
    8

    Friday Aug 08, 2008

    I guess this is as good a time for updating as any. It's after 1am, I…
  • 06.06.08
    13

    Friday Jun 06, 2008

    Hello SG-land! Someone recently reminded me that I haven't updated in…
  • 04.15.08
    13

    Tuesday Apr 15, 2008

    17th Philadelphia Film Festival April 3-15, 2008 I saw 36 films …
  • 04.03.08
    4

    Thursday Apr 03, 2008

    Oh well, still jobless but not devoid of hope. I'm treating myself…
  • 03.22.08
    5

    Saturday Mar 22, 2008

    Hello everyone who's been waiting breathlessly for an update! Edited…
  • 02.12.08
    4

    Tuesday Feb 12, 2008

    Job search update: numerous phone interviews one on-site intervie…
  • 01.07.08
    17

    Monday Jan 07, 2008

    Geez I can't even stay away from here for a month now! This is jus…
  • 08.02.07
    14

    Thursday Aug 02, 2007

    Ok I'm confused! First I was Howdy, then I appeared briefly as "Howdy…
  • 07.16.07
    14

    Monday Jul 16, 2007

    Holy Crap! I'm really a lazy bum this summer. Who wants an update? A…

We at SuicideGirls have been celebrating alternative pin-up girls for:

23
years
10
months
21
days
  • 5,509,826 fans
  • 41,393 fans
  • 10,327,617 followers
  • 4,599 SuicideGirls
  • 1,114,613 followers
  • 14,946,853 photos
  • 321,315 followers
  • 61,458,366 comments
  • Join
  • Profiles
  • Groups
  • Photos
  • Videos
  • Shop
  • Help
  • About
  • Press
  • LIVE

Legal/Tos | DMCA | Privacy Policy | 18 U.S.C. 2257 Record-Keeping Requirements Compliance Statement | Contact Us | Vendo Payment Support
©SuicideGirls 2001-2025

Press enter to search
Fast Hi-res

Click here to join & see it all...

Crop your photo