Do Not Worship False Idols of Italian Pornography

Let’s wrap up these Film Fest recaps, shall we?

First up on Saturday afternoon was Citzen Dog. There are a number of words that I don’t usually use in everyday conversation that are appropriate here: delightful, whimsical, charming, imaginative. It’s a Thai version of Amelie sensibilities, but more off the wall. I wouldn’t have expected this from the quiet and shy little director who offered a few words beforehand hoping that we’d enjoy it. A great movie to end the festival on feel-good vibe.

But oh, wait, there was one more movie. Harsh Times was written and directed by David Ayer, writer of such movies as U-571, The Fast and the Furious, and Training Day. I’ve heard a number of people say that Harsh Times has a lot of similarities to the latter film, but much better; I haven’t seen it myself. Harsh Times, though, is one intense film. From the start you know Christian Bale and Freddy Rodriguez’ characters are headed for trouble, and it’s that expectation that grabs hold. It took a little while to adjust to a shithead, trouble-causing, military-bravado-asshole Christian Bale, but as you realize this guy is totally loco and unpredictable you know the right actor has been cast. Rodriguez, fresh off his Six Feet Under cruise ship death, is also excellent as Bale’s cruising buddy. I heard the movie picked up a distribution deal at the Festival, so hopefully Rodriguez will get some much deserved recognition as his career takes off.

So I’ve gotta say that the Festival was a lot of fun. I’ve already heard from a few people who’ve said they are interested in checking it out next year. I’ll definitely be there … maybe even take a week off and see a ridiculous amount of movies. You have to be prepared for waiting in line — an hour is pretty typical, two for the midnight madness ones, if you’re anal about getting your pick of seats. But we arrived later than that for a few, and really we were still able to get good spots. Now if the Festival organizers can revamp their retarded advance ordering process, that’d be super. Welcome to the nineties, let me tell you about some cool things you can do with a website!