It’s the second weekend of the cinematic decathlon that is SIFF 2016. There’s been a lot of amazing (or at least intriguing) stuff already.
Aside from the usual buffet of Memorial Day Weekend barbecues and outdoor activities, SIFF also has some special cinematic events: Friday night, Oh, You Pretty Things! A David Bowie and Glam Rock dance party brings sing along music videos, Bowie-inspired burlesque, and tribute band BowieVision to the Neptune.
Saturday night features a screening of Big Chill-inspired ensemble comedy The Intervention (6:30 PM, Pacific Place) followed by a party at Seattle Art Museum. Director Clea DuVall, Producer Mel Eslyn scheduled to attend.
Later that night, The Prince Sing Along brings music videos and “surprise cameos” to the Egyptian.
Here’s what looks to be floating the respective filmic boats of ye olde SunBreakers for the next four days.
Josh: As evidenced by Chris’s latest reviews, there’s plenty of good stuff to see this weekend. But film festivals put me in a spirit of being more willing to take a chance on something that could either be excellent or a very interesting trainwreck. Here are a few that I might try to see over the weekend.
Goat (courtesy SIFF)
Goat. Have you ever wanted to see a Jonas Brother (Nick) in the midst of the humiliating masculinity rituals of a fraternity pledge week? This is for you — with bonus points for James Franco wandering through as an alumnus who hasn’t let go of his glory days. Truth being stranger than fiction, this is based on based on Brad Land’s 2004 memoir of the same title.
May 27, 2016 AMC Pacific Place 11 9:30 PM
May 28, 2016 Lincoln Square Cinemas 9:00 PM
Equals. Kristen Stewart and Nicholas Hoult catch feelings in this glossy-looking sci-fi drama set in a future where human emotions are a disease, DNA manipulation is the cure, and “the Den” is a punishment. It all sounds kind of silly, but there’s something fun about seeing blockbuster talent swinging for the fences in smaller projects. Heck, you could even make this a double-feature with X-Men for a Hoult double-feature.
May 28, 2016 AMC Pacific Place 9:00 PM
June 2, 2016 Lincoln Square Cinemas 9:20 PM
Wiener-Dog. Todd Solondz presents a star-studded variety pack of personal crises, exquisitely observed by a handsome-faced dachshund. I saw this at a lightly-attended press screening and couldn’t tell if I was the only one laughing at the most inappropriate times.
May 29, 2016 SIFF Cinema Egyptian 9:45 PM
May 30, 2016 SIFF Cinema Egyptian 4:00 PM
Contemporary Color. David Byrne paired ten elite high school color guard teams with different musicians and artists, including St. Vincent, tUnE-yArDs, Nelly Furtado, Ad-Rock, Zola Jesus, and even Ira Glass. The film covers the event, which took place in 2015 at Barclays Center, as well as behind-the-scened interviews with the students and artists.
May 28, 2016 SIFF Cinema Uptown Festival 8:30 PM
May 30, 2016 SIFF Cinema Egyptian 1:30 PM
Chris: Josh, I was at the same Wiener-Dog screening as you were (though I didn’t realize until after you had mentioned it) and I had to stifle a lot of laughter at inopportune moments, too. I also, like you, am going to try to take some chances on some stuff that I might not ordinarily seek out. Here’s a few that I’m going to try to catch:
Therapy for a Vampire (courtesy SIFF)
Therapy for a Vampire (Der Vampir auf der Couch). This Romanian comedy involves a count who appears on Sigmund Freud’s couch, unsure about his “eternally long” marriage. The SIFF guide calls it “a visually inventive and sophisticatedly witty film that is equal parts Gothic fairy tale and screwball comedy,” which is enough to get me into the theater.
May 27, 2016 SIFF Cinema Egyptian 7:00 PM
May 31, 2016 Shoreline Community College Theater 7:00 PM
The Lure (Corki Dancingu). This Polish musical/horror film sounds bonkers, in the best possible way. The debut film from director Agnieszka Smoczynska involves a pair of mermaids who come ashore and get caught up with a Warsaw nightclub. I don’t know what to say, other than to just watch this intro from the director (but probably not at work):
May 27, 2016 SIFF Cinema Egyptian 9:30 PM
May 28, 2016 SIFF Cinema Egyptian 4:00 PM
May 29, 2016 Shoreline Community College Theater 9:15 PM
Eternal Summer. I’ve noticed that road trips have been a common theme in many of the films I’ve seen thus far at SIFF (The Olive Tree, Microbe and Gasoline), but this one promises a road trip mixed with a crime spree across Sweden. The press materials compare it to Natural Born Killers and Bonnie and Clyde.
May 27, 2016 Lincoln Square Cinema 7:00 PM
May 28, 2016 AMC Pacific Place 11 1:30 PM
May 29, 2016 AMC Pacific Place 11 6:30 PM
Tony:
As You Are. Last year, Miles Joris-Peyrafitte was playing a teenager in Valley of the Sasquatch at SIFF 2015. This year, he’s here as director of a grunge-era teen drama that’s already gathered some positive festival buzz.
May 26, 2016 SIFF Cinema Uptown 9:00 PM
May 27, 2016 Pacific Place 4:00 PM
Tag. Director Sion Sono’s previous descent into fever-dream cult madness, Why Don’t You Play in Hell?, scarred psyches at SIFF 2014. Expect this followup–which includes wholesale comic schoolgirl slaughter, monsters, pig men, and lethal sentient weather patterns–to do likewise. PS: The trailer’s borderline NSFW, so it’s gotta be good.
May 27, 2016 SIFF Cinema Egyptian 11:55 PM
June 2, 2016 SIFF Cinema Egyptian 9:30 PM
June 7, 2016 SIFF Cinema Uptown 9:30 PM
In a Valley of Violence. If you’re a fan of the genre reinvigoration that director Ti West’s modern horror films represent, you’re probably as stoked as I am that he’s tackling a western. Ethan Hawke, Taissa Farmiga, John Travolta, and an adorable collie head the cast.
May 28, 2016 SIFF Cinema Egyptian 9:30 PM
May 29, 2016 Lincoln Square 9:30 PM
BANG! The Bert Berns Story. I’m an absolute sap for reappraisals of overlooked figures in 20th century pop and rock-and-roll, so this look at songwriter/producer Bert Berns will definitely be stroking some music-editor/geek pleasure nodes.
May 30, 2016 SIFF Cinema Uptown 8:30 PM
June 1, 2016 SIFF Cinema Uptown 4:30 PM