Back to real life...

Well Fantastic Fest is finally over and I had to return to real life yesterday. Sort of. I slept only about 5 hours after the closing night party and then had to get up Friday morning to drive some people to the airport. So from 8-5 I was driving around in the heat and traffic. Then I had to pull a closing manager shift at the Ritz, which meant I was there from 6pm - 3am. YUCK!

Today, however, was golden. I slept late, I saw Tucker and Dale vs Evil (excellent, btw) and then had some Japanese filmmakers over to my house to interview me about an alien encounter I had (not real, btw, just faked for their mockumentary).

In case you haven't seen it, here'e the Tucker and Dale trailer:


So, last night I finally slept and today I start my detox for a week (maybe longer). No alcohol, no meat, no bread... mostly raw food and brown rice with possibly a few cooked veggies and yogurt in there for good measure. And I start yoga again tomorrow. YES!

During the festival I gave myself permission to party, and since I was working a lot and eating mostly Alamo food (delicious but not all that great for you) I essentially wrecked my body. And I had a GREAT time, even when I was working. I met lots of excellent people and saw quite a few great movies. And I was inspired, which for me was the most important part. It's a reminder to me of what I want to do and how attainable it really is. So during this week of detox I am also rededicating myself, consciously, to my craft.

Here are a few short reviews of the films I saw, the ones not already discussed anyway:
First, Sennentuntschi:



Great thriller from Switzerland about a mysterious woman coming into a mountain village and the strange circumstances surrounding her. A Sennentuntschi is from an old folk tale concerning three men living alone in the mountains who make a doll out of a broomstick and straw and magically bring it to life in the form of a woman, who of course they force themselves upon sexually. She gets her revenge by killing all three of them brutally.

Next, You Said What? (or in Norwegian, "Help, We're In The Film Industry")

Couldn't find a trailer but the gist is this... it's the premise of Takashi Miike's "Audition" but done as a romantic comedy. A group of guys hold fake movie auditions so they can find a girl for their friend (whose previous girlfriend cheated on him). So they find the perfect girl and in a moment of weakness he offers her the part. The only problem is that they don't actually have a movie. So they have to make one. And they get Peter Stormare to be in it! It was ridiculous and awesome and I laughed almost the entire way. And the director told me that it was okay for us to download it if it doesn't get US distribution rights:-)

Another one from Norway that was also excellent, Headhunters.



A great thriller/espionage film, I was engrossed the entire time. I was also thinking "what the hell do I know that actor from?". Turns out one of the guys plays Jamie Lannister in HBO's Game of Thrones. I hope this one makes it over here but I can see this going the way of Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and getting a totally unnecessary American remake (though to be fair I don't really mind foreign language films getting remade all that much... It's not like making a British film into an American film ala Death At A Funeral... ugh).

Finally, my least favorite of the bunch but all in all not too bad, The Day



*SPOILERS*

So here's the deal with this movie, imo... It's basically The Road for the Twilight crowd. I am not the target audience for this movie, but there definitely is one. My friend Richard loved it... another friend of mine hated it... a common phenomenon for all the films at the festival I noticed.

I have two issues with this movie... first, the tribes of cannibals are not all that believable. They are too pretty and not nearly crazy enough. Sorry, if you have resorted to cannibalism then you are off your rocker, period. You are not charming, you don't negotiate. Secondly, the dialogue was sophomoric. There were just too many things said and not shown. For example, when the two girls go hunting in the woods there is a discussion about how they are a family, but it was just so forced and obvious. I'd rather see the emotional connection than just be told that there is one. So it lacked subtlety. There were many examples of this. But the cinematography was really good and the acting was fine. Sadly the most interesting character, played by the mysteriously sexy Dominic Monaghan, died early on. I remember this happening in Alien Resurrection, when the captain was the first to die... he was the most interesting character of that entire bunch!!! COME ON! Sorry Joss, but that's just how I feel about it.

In retrospect this years Fantastic Fest was a completely different experience than last years. In some ways it will never measure up. But in others it was much better. I have some opportunities opening up because of it, and like I said before, the inspiration I have gotten has been greatly needed.