Recent Stories with tag get low

Yes, awards season is finally over--blah blah blah boringest Oscars ever, blah blah blah.  But all in all, the films nominated this year weren't so bad (even if the wrong film won Best Picture), so now's your chance to catch up with some of the recent Oscar losers. Let's take a look at recent DVD releases, care of our good friends at Scarecrow Video. In terms of the big releases of late, 127 Hours is out this week, and if ninety minutes in a cramped space with James Franco isn't enough for you, Danny Boyle's film is also bundled with the Oscar winner for Best Live Action Short (and probably the best Oscar speech of the night), Luke Matheny's God of Love. 

Also out now is Love and Other Drugs, which didn't get Anne Hathaway a Best Actress Oscar nomination, even though she was naked and dying (which usually does the trick). Same goes for Get Low, starring Bill Murray as Bill Murray and Robert Duvall as a crotchety old hermit who wants to throw his funeral party before he's dead. Sorry Duvall, any other year you'd get an Oscar nom, but this year his slot (Old Dude) went to Jeff Bridges instead, not that anyone had a shot at beating Colin Firth. From the creators of The Triplets of Belleville, very French full-length cartoon The Illusionist lost Best Animated Feature to Toy Story 3. You'd think that the Christina Aguilera/Cher musical Burlesque would've at least gotten a Best Song nomination, since that category was so weak this year.

Last Friday marked the release of the one- and two-disc version of Megamind, a computer-animated hero/villain story with the voices of Will Ferrell, Brad Pitt, and Tina Fey. The other big release from last week was Due Date, aka Planes, Trains, and Automobiles 2. The odd couple buddy road trip is uneven and overly long, but it has its moments, and if you like Robert Downey Jr. and Zach Galifianakis, then you'll like the movie well enough too. No comment on The Rock and Billy Bob Thorton in Faster.... (more)

Well friends, this is it. The final weekend of SIFF! The festival closes on Sunday night with Get Low, a showcase for some of Hollywood's finest actors of a Certain Seniority. Robert Duvall is fantastic as the mysterious and feared hermit who comes into town from his woodsy cell to ask Bill Murray to plan his funeral party. The mostly comedic enterprise sets in motion a series of emotional encounters, revealed secrets, and gestures toward catharsis. While opening and closing selections often fall into the territory of inoffensive blandness, this one oozes with charm and benefits from its cast of stately older actors at the top of their game.

Of course, a good part of the appeal is that whole thing is followed by a blowout gala at the Pan Pacific featuring lots of drinks, food, dancing, and a chance to debrief with fellow filmgoers about the fest (Screening is at 6:30 p.m. at Cinerama; party follows).

Many slots in the festival schedule originally listed as TBA have been announced. Along with additional screenings for festival favorites, three new films have been added. There's Thunder Soul, the story of a reunion of a high school band turned funk sensation (June 13, 1:30 p.m. @ the Egyptian); Vengeance finds a French chef in Hong Kong returning to his former killing ways (June 12, 9 p.m. @ Harvard Exit; June 13, 11 a.m. @ Harvard Exit); and Michael Douglas and an all-star cast in Ebert-approved Solitary Man (June 12, 8:30 p.m. @ Pacific Place). And, those interested in a mass singalong to Grease, probably already bought their tickets weeks in advance (June 12, 3:45 p.m. @ SIFF Cinema).

Before you send the festival off into the good night, consider some of these selections for your weekend and use the comments section to let us know if we've missed any highly recommendable films. For all film screenings, the general/member ticket prices are $11/$9 (and matinees $8/$7), except for special presentations, which cost more.

Protektor a love story between a radio operator and his glamorous Jewish actress wife during the Nazi occupation of Prague during the 1930s. He cooperates to survive; she takes up with a subversive projectionist to fight depression. (June 11, 6 p.m. @ Pacific Place; June 13, 4 p.m. @ Egyptian)

The Wildest Dream Chronicles two journeys to the summit of Mount Everest: Mallory's original fatal quest and  Conrad Anker's attempts to follow in his footsteps to vindicate the early explorer's achievement. Did we mention that it's all in IMAX? (June 11, 7 p.m.; June 12, 1:30 p.m. @ Pacific Science Center)

Cargo: Swiss in Spaaaace! Suspenseful science fiction on a shoestring aboard long haul space flight. (June 11, 9:15 p.m. @ Egyptian; June 12, 1:30 p.m. @ Egyptian)

Rocksteady: the Roots of Reggae: Genre pioneers reunite forty years later for a tribute concert in Kingston. (June 11, 9:30 p.m. @ Uptown; June 13, 11 a.m. @ SIFF Cinema)

Howl James Franco plays Alan Ginsburg in this celebration of the Beat poet laureate, complete with simulated interviews, recreated readings, and hallucinogenic animations. Rush tickets only. (June 12, 7 p.m. @ Egyptian)

Micmacs Jean-Pierre Jeunet's affection for quirky characters, coincidence, and contraptions combine in a comedic conspiracy to pit a pair of warmongers against each other as payback for inadvertent offenses against a protagonist with a bullet lodged in his brain. This has been on rush forever and opens in wider release later this month. (June 11, 7 p.m. @ Uptown)

Leaving: Kristin Scott Thomas faces mid-life French ennui. (June 12, 9 p.m. @ Uptown)

Last Train Home China's rural past confronts its industrial present during a holiday week in which factory workers swarm to available trains to spend precious time with their physically distant family members. (June 12, 6 p.m. @ Pacific Place; June 13, 1:30 p.m. @ Pacific Place) 

Au Revoir Taipei A night in the life of disaffected lovesick youth, in which Parisian plots are reconsidered, friends are kidnapped, and new crushes develop. (June 13, 9:15 p.m. @ Pacific Place; June 12, 6:00 p.m. @ Kirkland)

Ticked-Off Trannies with Knives The title says it all, really. (June 12, Midnight @ Egyptian; June 13, 9:30 p.m. @ Egyptian)... (more)

Yes, that's right, it's almost the most wonderful SIFF time of the year: those three weeks in early summer when you are forced to choose between lovely weather outside and lovely films inside.  As previously mentioned, the 36th annual Seattle International Film Festival kicks off May 20th with the sophisticated male escort comedy The Extra Man at Benaroya Hall.  From there, it's onward and upward, with a little bit of everything: the latest Todd Solondz, a Bill Hicks documentary, Australian cane toads in 3D, the controversial Ticked-Off Trannies with Knives...and there's also movies for the children, like Senior Prom, a mockumentary directed by Nicholas Terry, a seventeen-year-old Mountlake Terrace resident. 

In terms of the Big Events, the closing night film is Get Low, which stars Bill Murray, Robert Duvall, and Sissy Spacek.  It was well-received at Sundance this year, as well as Toronto last year.  Other galas include the Duplass Brothers comedy Cyrus, Christian Carion's (Joyeux Noel) new film Farewell, and the gay-la Violet Tendencies.  Of course there are many, many foreign films showing at the festival (from sixty countries, including three from Africa), but the focus this year is on Spain, which has eighteen features and nine shorts at the fest, including gala film Cell 211. 

And yes, there's so much more: a tribute to Ed Norton, Stephin Merritt at the Paramount providing a live soundtrack to 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, films in Kirkland, West Seattle, Juanita, and Everett....  Look, the full lineup will be on the SIFF website next week (and they're doing the SIFFter iPhone app again this year, hooray), and the box office opens May 7 (May 6, if you're a SIFF member).  But buy your pass or ticket package if you haven't already, and start your planning now.