Film festival 2011 - running reviews
Sep. 26th, 2011 06:41 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ceb* Disposable Film Festival - a collection of shorts of varying quality; highlights were some really nice animation (of, variously: graffiti, notebook doodles, photographs, camera snaps) and a film about sending a camera into space.
* Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - a really excellent film, all the more impressive for having a very hard act to follow. Superbly acted and directed, with an eye for detail and aesthetics and some wonderfully tense scenes.
* Mann vs Ford - depressing documentary about attempts by a group of American Indians to bring Ford to justice for dumping toxic waste on their land in the 60s/70s.
* Resistance - slow-moving and quiet film about the interaction between a group of Welsh farmers and an invading German army unit. Very many things left unsaid.
* The Illusionist - bizarre Dutch comedy sketches, funny but often incomprehensibly surreal and/or Dutch.
* The Day The Earth Caught Fire - cracking 1961 SF film about climate disasters caused by nuclear testing, told through the eyes of a newspaper office trying to get to the bottom of the situation. Clunky but endearing effects.
* Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark - visually this is very del Toro, all ornate houses and creepy fairies. However in terms of plot it is as formulaic a horror film as you will ever find. I appreciate this is a remake but the complete lack of imagination is stifling. Go and watch Pan's Labyrinth again instead, would be my advice.
* Red State - this is a surprisingly mature film (a Kevin Smith; much as I love Kevin Smith he's not what you'd call grown up most of the time). On the surface there's a lot of gunfighting and bravado and wise-cracks, but it's wonderfully morally ambiguous and leaves you with a lot to think about. The story revolves around a weird American cult and the cult leader in particular is well played and extremely creepy.
* Dimensions - a very low-budget SF period film set in Cambridge. A lot of the scenes take place in generic gardens but apart from that you can't relly tell they made it on next to no money. Good writing and an excellent story. It's very sweet and a bit sad.
* The Gerber Syndrome - this was disappointing too. It's a fake documentary about what is essentially a zombie virus, but not very well done. It was lacking in both documentaryness and zombieness - an OK idea but the end result was banal, neither convincing nor scary.
* Kosmos - Weird. Very art house. I. liked it a lot, I thought it was a bit of a waste of time. The plot is quite intriguing but there isn't much of it; there's a lot of scenes of people imitating birds instead. Very atmospheric though.
* Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - a really excellent film, all the more impressive for having a very hard act to follow. Superbly acted and directed, with an eye for detail and aesthetics and some wonderfully tense scenes.
* Mann vs Ford - depressing documentary about attempts by a group of American Indians to bring Ford to justice for dumping toxic waste on their land in the 60s/70s.
* Resistance - slow-moving and quiet film about the interaction between a group of Welsh farmers and an invading German army unit. Very many things left unsaid.
* The Illusionist - bizarre Dutch comedy sketches, funny but often incomprehensibly surreal and/or Dutch.
* The Day The Earth Caught Fire - cracking 1961 SF film about climate disasters caused by nuclear testing, told through the eyes of a newspaper office trying to get to the bottom of the situation. Clunky but endearing effects.
* Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark - visually this is very del Toro, all ornate houses and creepy fairies. However in terms of plot it is as formulaic a horror film as you will ever find. I appreciate this is a remake but the complete lack of imagination is stifling. Go and watch Pan's Labyrinth again instead, would be my advice.
* Red State - this is a surprisingly mature film (a Kevin Smith; much as I love Kevin Smith he's not what you'd call grown up most of the time). On the surface there's a lot of gunfighting and bravado and wise-cracks, but it's wonderfully morally ambiguous and leaves you with a lot to think about. The story revolves around a weird American cult and the cult leader in particular is well played and extremely creepy.
* Dimensions - a very low-budget SF period film set in Cambridge. A lot of the scenes take place in generic gardens but apart from that you can't relly tell they made it on next to no money. Good writing and an excellent story. It's very sweet and a bit sad.
* The Gerber Syndrome - this was disappointing too. It's a fake documentary about what is essentially a zombie virus, but not very well done. It was lacking in both documentaryness and zombieness - an OK idea but the end result was banal, neither convincing nor scary.
* Kosmos - Weird. Very art house. I. liked it a lot, I thought it was a bit of a waste of time. The plot is quite intriguing but there isn't much of it; there's a lot of scenes of people imitating birds instead. Very atmospheric though.
