26th Philadelphia Film Festival, Day 11: Final films, final thoughts

The lines for the Ritz East move behind the theater to keep patrons out of the rain before catching their last flicks.

(Read about Day 9 here)

It almost saddens me to write about the last day of the festival because it is over so quickly. At the start I look at the schedule and think about all of the possible scheduling scenarios to make up and how to fit the the features all in. There never seems to be enough time in the 11 days to get to everything you want to. In the blink of an eye its over and you wonder how you did it.

Granted, I only managed a measly 21 movies - 22 if I didn't walk out of "Under the Tree" - while others can easily do over 40 of the approximately 110 features on the schedule. I usually see around that many every year anyway, so I'm happy.

26th Philadelphia Film Festival, Day 2: Film fest? More like snooze fest!

One of the most wonderful times of year is back: the Philadelphia Film Festival! With over 100 features playing in three theaters in Center City — the number of films and venues seems to be shrinking every year, doesn't it? —for 10 days there's never a shortfall of something new, or old, to see. This year I opted to stray for more below-the-line, less "flashy" titles in lieu of those that will get plenty of theatrical bookings in due time. And for an occasional film "critic" like myself, I know there will be plenty of free press screenings I could go to without paying $15 to $50 to see these titles at the festival. I wanted to seek out films that may not be seen in theaters again (for the most part).

With that said I skipped the opening night screenings of "I, Tonya". One, because I had class so I couldn't comfortably squeeze it in and two, it will be a big hit during its theatrical release late this year.

Movie Review: 'Victoria & Abdul' keeps it short and sweet

Focus Features

Victoria & Abdul (2017, directed by Stephen Frears. England, English, Color, 112 minutes) It has been 20 years since Judi Dench last played Queen Victoria in "Mrs. Brown", and what a perfect way to return to the role that earned her her first Oscar nomination than with a story that takes place in about the same timeframe where that film left off? Like in "Mrs. Brown", the matriarch finds herself enamored with a younger man, but this time it's a young Indian, Muslim servant named Abdul. It's a timely story about cross-cultural interactions among people, but it never has that heft that makes it anything more than a lighthearted piece of social commentary.

25th Philadelphia Film Festival, Day 11: Bittersweet ending

(Read about Days 9 and 10 here)

Perhaps they're not using their signature line "See Something You'll Never Forget" because I hadn't seen it promoted anywhere during the festival this year. Nothing was so incredible about the 21 films I saw this year that I wouldn't be able to forget them — though I really adored "Toni Erdmann" and "Paterson" — but it was certainly a better fest than the past two years when I really started covering it.

Maybe I just chose better films? Maybe the films, overall, were better? Even when I picked something I wasn't looking forward to I ended up being pleasantly surprised, like "Miss Impossible" and "Fire at Sea". There were a few rumblings in waiting lines about a few of the selections, but people seemed to be receptive of almost everything.

Of course, I am always more bothered by the fact that films consistently started late which is a prevalent problem with the festival. It's like a normality.

But anywho.

On day 11, the final day of the festival, I enjoyed just two films, the documentary "Obit" and the mystery "Personal Shopper".

24th Philadelphia Film Festival, Days 9 and 10: Closing Night Attack on Michael Moore, running with the best.

Closing night of the festival. The night where a non-publicized jury of people come up with a slate of winners for what was the best in the festival, even announcing winners of films that hadn't yet played at the fest. I think that's extremely odd, but whatever. I don't call the shots on what they do that. What's more weird is that it isn't actually held on the last day. Err, OK?

I'd put a list of the winners, but most were just honorable mention selections. How does one earn an honorable mention if there are no bigger winners above it. Wouldn't it just make them the best since they're the only one to win for a specific reason?

I think the festival's "jury", which could be a lottery machine that draws an award category and a film title at random and calls them winners, is an unnecessary part of a festival like Philadelphia. There are no big premieres, and I'm sure these "jurors" have already seen everything that plans to play here and just talks about it before the start of the fest and makes their decisions.

But seriously, honorable mention status without any other winners for a specific award? That's one of the dumbest things I've ever head at a fest. It's like agreeing nothing at the Cannes Film Festival is good and their jury, which is always announced publicly, hands out sad certificates of appreciation.

"You weren't the best, so we had to give out something. Here's an honorable mention certificate for trying."

24th Philadelphia Film Fest, Days 7 and 8: Gloomy Wednesday, 'Taxi' Thursday

Oy, what a wet day Wednesday was. It just seemed to rain all darn day. So what better way to lift the mood than to see a movie about teenage suicide!?

"Bridgend" was my only selection for the festival's seventh day, and it's a fictionalized account about
a real town in Wales where 79 teenagers committed suicide from 2007 to 2012. A girl named Sarah moves there with her police officer father, and the quiet, horse-rider soon falls in with a group of rambunctious teenagers who aren't total normal underneath their partying ways.

The premise is eerily intriguing: a "cult" of teenagers who one-by-one kill themselves in a secluded forest. What is so damning about this film is that instead of focusing on the teenagers, a young, quiet protagonist girl is inserted into the story and it turns into a coming-of-age bit, so much so that her father asks her "What is happening to you?", a line almost always said by a parental figure to the main character in a film like this.

Sarah's adventure with this dark group isn't anything new, and barely holds a flame to films like "Kids" and "Thirteen", it's just a way to break into the story of why are these kids committing suicide?

Like in real life, the film has no answers for it.

24th Philadelphia Film Fest, Day 1: "Anomalisa" shines as opener!

Yay, the Philadelphia Film Festival has officially started!

After weeks since announcing the fest's lineup the anticipation can finally start to dissipate as local cinephiles can start their marathon moviewatching.

The festival's opening night activities appeared to go off without a hitch, and what a fabulous event that sounded like. The red carpet, the party, and all sorts of luxuriation that comes with it.

It started off with two screenings of "Anomalisa", the award-winning, stop-motion animation film from Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson, at the Prince Theater at 6 and 8:30. There seemed to be a flood of interest for the 8:30 screening since it was announced that Kaufman and Johnson would be in person to have a Q&A segment after that showing of their film, and they would be honored with the fest's artistic achievement award. Of course there were email updates saying this screening was sold out, rush tickets were available and blah blah blah.

Philadelphia Film Festival ready to kick off 24th year

From Oct. 22 to Nov. 1, lovers of film are expected to see something  at the 24th Philadelphia Film Festival  (PFF) the promotional materials says they’ll “never forget”, and with over 130 different feature and short film options to choose from, that statement couldn’t be more true.

Starting with the opening night film, Charlie Kauffman’s award-winning stop-motion feature “Anomalisa”, to Michael Moore’s latest documentary feature “Where to Invade Next” capping off the 11-day fest, the festival will include the best, and, perhaps, divisive, works of cinema from around the globe in a crowded assembly where internationally renowned directors share the spotlight with Philadelphia-based talent as they tell stories that break out beyond conventional boundaries.

“This year is probably the strongest year since I’ve been working there,” said the festival’s artistic director Michael Lerman. “It was interesting because while I was putting it together it was unclear looking at bits and pieces how it was going to turn out, and then it all seemed to come together at the last minute.”

Oscar-winning Steadicam Inventor Garrett Brown Speaks about 'Rocky', 'Bound For Glory' in Newtown

Garrett Brown may have revolutionized the way motion pictures are filmed with his invention of the Steadicam - a device created in the 1970s that mounts a stabilized camera on a person to allow for free-reign movement of the operator to get clear, non-shaky shots – but he admits that being an inventor is not what he intended with life, let alone change how movies are made.

“Although (my father) talked up inventing ardently,” Brown said, “I wasn’t enthralled with the idea of professionally inventing.”

With over 50 patents established for his devices, notably for his camera stabilization equipment that have in turn earned him an Academy Award, an Emmy, and numerous other accolades, it certainly proved to be a fruitful career path for him.

Movie Review: Boredom Kills Sex Drive of "Fifty Shades".

"Christian, blindfold me from this stupid movie you've put me in!"

Fifty Shades of Grey (2015, directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson. U.S.A., English, Color, 125 minutes) I have never read a single sentence in any of the three books from the erotic bestselling trilogy known as "Fifty Shades", and I really don't need to. The story about the sadomasochistic entanglement between the naïve Anastasia Steele and the billionaire Christian Grey seemed like schmaltz that taps into the deep sexual desires of women all over.

Seeing as I hate schmaltzy relationships and my sex life is fine, I wasn't the demo for these books anyway.

The latest literature phenomenon after "Twilight" about abusive relationships disguised as love had women glued to their books and e-readers as they thumbed through pages of bondage and dark sexual encounters.

It seemed inevitable that it became adapted for the big screen, and now that it's here I wish there was something that would have made seeing it worthwhile.

Movie Reviews: 'Mr. Turner', 'A Most Violent Year' Are Beautifully Dark

Here are two beautiful period pieces, though the images they paint are not the most glamorous at times. "Mr. Turner" is your classic epic bio-pic, taking place in 1800's England, "A Most Violent Year" takes place during the turbulent early 80's in New York City. Both films are sublime, gritty and oozing with great atmosphere.

Mr. Turner (2014, directed by Mike Leigh. U.K., France, Germany. In English, Color, 150 minutes) Timothy Spall plays the titular seascape painter J.M.W. Turner in Mike Leigh's wonderfully decadent film. Thanks to Leigh's direction, "Mr. Turner" is a fly-by-its-seam look at the man with elaborate and unconventional ways of drawing a scene. Surprisingly brisk at 150 minutes, "Mr. Turner" has the scale of being a great miniseries but is effectively condensed to a palatable product. Stunning performances by all and a beautiful, not conventionally structured look biography.

Rating: A-

On Netflix: Feel Good Cheating with 'The Players'

Les Infidèles (The Players) (France, 2012, directed by Emmanuelle Bercot, Fred Cavayé, Alexandre Courtès, Jean Dujardin, Michel Hazanavicius, Jan Kounen, Eric Lartigau and Gilles Lellouche.  in French with English subtitles, color, 109 minutes)

Never has a film taken such a prominent look at the cheating ways of men as "Les Infidèles (The Players)" has. This collection of short films explores so many different kinds of men (all being played by Jean Dujardin and Gilles Lellouche) that you feel bad for them even though you know you shouldn't.

The film opens and closes with the story of Fred (Dujardin) and Greg (Lellouche), two buddies who love staying out late, sleeping around and pretending they're still in the prime of their lives while their wives stay at home. Mounting pressure from their wives find the two going to Las Vegas for one final screwfest before fully committing.

Tina Fey Hosting Special 'Mean Girls' Screening in UD on August 16

Writer Tina Fey with "Mean Girls" star Lindsay Lohan

Tickets for the “Mean Girls” screening in Upper Darby featuring Tina Fey are still on sale and at a cheaper price.

Prices for the August 16 screening now range between $40 and $100 for seats in the 1,600-seat Upper Darby Performing Arts Center. Lauren Yacina, director of marketing for the PAC, said there are plenty of seats still available.

Fey will also host a Q&A following the screening with Damian Holbrook, senior writer of TV Guide Magazine, who will be moderating the Q&A.

All proceeds from the screening will go toward a $300,000 sound system for the PAC.

A 1987 alumnus of Upper Darby High School and the summer stage program, Fey drew inspiration from her days as a student for the cult classic film, and also adapting elements from the book “Queen Bees and Wannabes”.

“Mean Girls” was a box office success when it was first released, grossing $129 million internationally and injected such iconic phrases like “fetch,” “boo, you whore” and the “plastics” into everyday conversation.
 

Tickets may be ordered online at www.udpac.org, over the phone at 610-622-1189, or in person at the PAC box office Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The screening starts  at 7:30 with the Q&A to follow.

               

On Netflix: These Palme d'Or Winners are Streaming Now

Though few may have actually heard of this year's Palme d'Or winner, "Winter Sleep," it's quite possible you've heard of a few others like "The Pianist", "Pulp Fiction" and "Taxi Driver." With a Palme win comes a lifetime of immortality for the filmmaker and a solidified career as a true artist in the world of film.

Looking back at what the hundreds of various jury members picked as the festival's best films, the subject matters have been as varied as the persons who picked them. One year it's a war film, 1979's "Apocalypse Now," another it's about the students of a French classroom, 2009's "The Class." There might be nothing new under the sun, but Cannes always turns up something interesting and fresh, opening the world up to different characters, lives and experiences.

Here is a list of previous Palme winners that you can check out now.

Blue is the Warmest Color- 2013
Uncle Boonme Who Can Recall His Past Lives- 2010
4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days- 2007
The Wind That Shakes the Barley- 2006
The Pianist- 2002
The Son's Room- 2001
Pulp Fiction- 1994
Farewell My Concubine- 1993
The Piano- 1993
Barton Fink- 1991
Kagemusha: Shadow Warrior- 1980
Taxi Driver- 1976
The Conversation- 1974 (Grand Prix, highest honor)
MASH- 1970 (Grand Prix, highest honor)

Movie Review: 'Enemy' Is Its Own Worst Enemy

Jake goes head-to-head against himself in the doppleganger thriller 'Enemy'

The second collaboration in a matter of months between Jake Gyllenhaal and Canadian director Denis Villenevue after "Prisoners," "Enemy" is so unforgivably bad, it makes their first effort together look like a masterpiece. There's nothing worse than having a good plot that doesn't build up to anything and seems stale from the get-go.

"Enemy" opens with a really weird sexual party a la "Eyes Wide Shut" where pregnant girls nakedly frock around and kill spiders with their stiletttos. Yes, I'm serious. The spiders come back periodically as larger than life symbols trouncing through Toronto for no reason. When that unnecessary sequence ends, we meet Gyllenhaal's first character, the melancholy professor Adam Bell, who discovers an actor named Andrew St. Claire (also played by Gyllenhaal) who looks just like him.

Obsessed to discover who this look-a-like is, Adam manipulates his way into Andrew's life, eventually meeting with him in private. They are, indeed, some kind of twin, sharing the same voice, facial/body structure and even body scars. A slow build up to that point in the movie, it develops split personality afterward and turns into a sexual "Parent Trap" for the last 30 minutes.

I'll leave you with that.

Movie Review: '12 Years a Slave' Run-Of-The-Mill Slavery Movie

Chiwetel Ejiofor as Solomon Northup has his last meal as a free man in "12 Years a Slave."

“12 Years a Slave” has received universal acclaim, but what else would you expect from a historical drama like this? For one, it exploits a painful time in the country’s history, and two, it makes a hero out of a normal person. Look at “Schindler’s List,” “Sophie Scholl: The Final Days,” and even last year’s “Lincoln.” All three films were showered with praise for doing just that.

This is exactly what I was hoping Steve McQueen wouldn’t do with “12 Years,” but I was wrong. The English auteur threw out his signature raw style for a convenient and rudimentary way of telling a story we’ve seen time and again.

Philadelphia Film Festival- STRANGER BY THE LAKE

Wednesday was my closing night at the 22nd Philadelphia Film Festival, two days before the actual closing. I had only seen four movies, "The Congress," "August: Osage County," "Blue is the Warmest Color" and now "Stranger By the Lake." With that film I could not have asked for a better end to my first film festival.

Premiering at Cannes, alongside Palme d'Or winner and PFF entry"Blue is the Warmest Color," "Stranger By the Lake" is what I call the gay counterpart to "Blue." They both feature uncompromising showings of same-sex relations but with characters we care about, even if they're two completely different stories.

During the summer a lake spot in France becomes a cruising destination for gay men. On the rocky shores are men of all ages hanging around naked in the open, including Franck (Pierre Deladonchamps) a guy who we know nothing about except that he's looking for a lover. He has his flings in the woods with some of the naturalists, but nothing of substance.

Philadelphia Film Festival- AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY and BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOR.

Obviously, I wasn't impressed at all by "The Congress," the first film I had seen at the Philadelphia Film Society this year. Things picked up, a bit, with my viewings of "August: Osage County," starring Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts, and the Palme d'Or-winning "Blue is the Warmest Color." A slight technical hiccup interrupted the screening of "August" (the screen went blank), and I kind of wish that happened to "Blue."

August: Osage County 

Adapting his Tony-winning play of the same name, Tracy Letts writes an incredible vehicle for Meryl Streep and Margo Martindale, who play sisters Violet and Mattie Fae, in the story of a family coping with a loss in the fiery summer hells of Oklahoma.

Violet's husband has killed himself and her family comes back to console her, opening up a barrage of posionous words on her three girls Barbara (Julia Roberts), Ivy (Julianne Nicholson) and Karen (Juliette Lewis), and their respective families and loved ones. The relationship among the daughters and their mother isn't the best, but it makes for absolutely gritty and, at times, hilarious moments.

Philadelphia Film Festival: THE CONGRESS

I've never been to a film festival, much less the Philadelphia Film Festival (now in its 22nd year). But something changed in me this year, I thought I should check out what they're showing and buy some tickets.

When tickets went on sale in early October I ended up buying tickets to four movies; "The Congress," "August: Osage County," "Blue is the Warmest Color," and "Stranger By The Lake." I had heard of all of them by reading their reviews after playing in Cannes (except "August") so I knew I picked some good ones. "August" is Meryl Streep's latest film so of course I had to see it.

These are just some of the critically-lauded films that are showing this year, but I obviously can't afford to go to all of them. Other highlights include "12 Years s Slave," "All is Lost," "Philomena," and "Labor Day," all of which early Oscar bait.

The first film I saw was "The Congress" on October 18. Didn't know what it was about until I saw the trailer for it, which really interested me. However, the film was something totally different. The latest project from Israeli filmmaker Ari Folman —who shattered documentary protocol with his animated "Waltz With Bashir" — this was such a mess!

The half-live-action, half-animated film stars Robin Wright, as herself, as an aging actress who agrees to get herself scanned so a film studio can use her in any film they want without actually having her in it. The film morphs into a "Miyazaki on LSD" visual spectacle that collapses under the weight of its own stupidity. Folman thought he was trying something awesome here, and it could have been, but it looked like the anime "Steamboy" combined with "The Tree of Life," minus the latter's deep philosophical messages. It was just as stupid as "Steamboy," too.

"The Congress" is nothing more than Folman looking at himself in the mirror as he pleasures himself with an idea only he thought was a good one. It's a long, painful concoction that ends up being so pretentious you'd think Folman was a 4-year-old trying to impress his older brother by jumping off the roof of a house to proves he's stronger. He's not, and I hope it kills him.

Movie Review: Visual Effects Give 'Gravity' Life

It's true. In space no one can hear you scream, especially in 'Gravity.'   (Courtesy of Warner Bros.)

Space movies are all the same. It's a story about humans fighting aliens (Alien, Aliens, Starship Troopers), technology (2001: A Space Odyssey, Moon) or themselves (Solaris). "Gravity" falls into the latter category while being propelled by the second. The film is not heavy on story but the seat-shaking music and dazzling visual effects more than make up for it.

While conducting a space mission on the Explorer in the open nothingness of space, Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) and Matt Kowalski (George Clooney) are abruptly torn apart when debris from a satellite comes crashing into the space shuttle. With a damaged communications network to Houston, it's established that they must get to the International Space Station to survive and call home. Now the real story begins- how much willpower does a person have to survive on their own?