Posted by Misc. Romance on: February 12 2010
I saw "8: The Mormon Proposition" last night at Victoria Hall Theatre. My “God”. This is one of those films that makes me hate the country that I live in (don't worry... my hand is still over my heart).
I'm not a "point the finger" kinda guy, and I have no problem with taking responsibility for my own ignorance ( I'll be the first to admit that I don't know shit). AND, I probably could have done a little more to help California proposition 8 fail... You know, more than just joining some FACEBOOK group so that all my online friends know how liberal and “tolerant” I am. I mean, when a guys can show how “in touch” he is with his feminine side, thats HOT (to girls), right?! Haha! Have I really been walking through the world with blinders on? Unfortunately..yes. But after seeing '8', I wonder, "how could I have not been aware that the Mormon Church was behind such a phenomenally intricate movement behind Proposition 8 passing?".
I left this film last night feeling violated and vulnerable. Violated because I invited two of these well-dressed nice-looking fellas into my cozy little apartment so that we could have a nice little chat. Vulnerable because I feel as if our civil rights have been severely compromised, and with the help of what I would almost consider to be Organized Crime (the LDS), as they've strong-armed their own community into contributing campaign money to support the proposition. The film also claims they used torture tactics on their own members (who were found out to be gay). After seeing '8', it's not only in my mind that Proposition 8's passing negatively effects gay couples looking for equal rights, it effects the people around them; their families, friends, not to mention the communities that we live in....etc. The outcome is exponential.
Please go see this film, and take a look at the Q&A session I taped after the screening.
Show Times: Saturday, Feb. 13, 7:30 p.m. at the Lobero Theatre.
More info: http://www.mormonproposition.com/
Synopsis: 8:TMP follows the stories of many LGBT citizens seeking marriage equality and never-before revealed Mormon efforts to stop them. The stories of Tyler Barrick and Spencer Jones, two gay Mormon men, are the marquis players in 8:TMP. Barrick is the direct descendant of Mormon polygamist Fredrick G. Williams. READ MORE
Question & Answer Video:
Posted by Misc. Romance on: February 10 2010
I've been trying to plug this film "THE WILD HUNT" as much as possible because I believe in it so much. If you missed the first interview I posted, you can find it here. Why might you ask, do I have such a boner for this film? Its not because of his French Canadian accent ;) Well, I guess you'll just have to go find out for yourself... It will be playing again at the Isla Vista Theatre on Friday. Or, you can check out a more eloquent review by Almost Native Son, the second biggest fan of the film. Seriously, both of us were crying towards the end of the movie - thats all I'm going to say.
Interview Part 2:
NOW, check out the second part of our conversation with director Alex Franchi: We discuss his use of humor and drama in the writing process...
Posted by Misc. Romance on: February 09 2010
When the topic comes up that I've been watching a ton of movies at this years 2010 film festival, the first question that people ask is, “oh, so do you know any good movies that are playing?” and the answer is YES, and my answer isn't to sound smart or to be "in the know" of whats going on... I literally want to people ot go see this movie. Here is an answer I sent this morning to a friend asking me this very question:
"Sure man, no problem... I just saw this one two nights ago and it was amazing! One of the best movies I've seen all year. The last showing is this Friday in Isla Vista. But seriously its worth going out there to see. I'm doing a review thingy on it right now and I'll have an interview with the director uploaded soon. Check it out its kind of a modern day Lord of the Flies story, but super funny!"
Synopsis - A MODERN MEDIEVAL SAGA, The Wild Hunt tells the story of Erik Magnusson, a young man who decides to follow his estranged girlfriend Evelyn into a medieval re-enactment game when he discovers that she has been seduced by one of the players.
As the down-to-earth Erik treks deeper into the game in search of his love, he inadvertently disrupts the delicate balance of the make believe fantasy-land.
Passions are unleashed. Rules are broken. Reality and fantasy collide. The good-hearted game turns into a tragedy of mythic proportion...
Capturing the culture of costume play and the potentially dangerous intersection of real and made-up worlds, The Wild Hunt is a timely and potent comment on the consuming nature of adopting another identity, even within a game, and the modern yearning for ritual.
City2.0 Review - http://sb.city2.org/blogs/ws1/blog_entries/1596-the-wild-hunt-cannot-be-stopped/blog_comments/new
Trailer - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tJ4swFfJ0Q
Interview - director Alexander Franchi
We talk about the mistakes that young film makers make, and how they can be positive or negative to the end result of the film...
Show Times - Friday, February 12th at 7PM & 10PM (two showings)
Venue website: http://www.islavista-arts.org/artsdigest/magiclanternfilms.html
Location: IV Theater
Street: 960 Embarcadero del Norte
City/Town: Isla Vista, CA
More Info - http://wildhuntfilm.com/main.html
Posted by Misc. Romance on: February 06 2010
One of the great things about the Santa Barbara Film Festival is that its a pretty small community and its very easy meet the people who are the brains and creators behind the films. So, if you stick around after the showing of a movie more than likely you can ask the director questions about their process, techniques and anything else you might wonder. So, thats what I did – I loitered around after the showing of “The Nothing Men” an Australian Film created by Mark Fitzpatrick and produced by Martin Dingle Wall (whom also had a main acting roll as “Wesley”) and had a chat for a few minutes. But before we get into that, here's a synopsis of the movie:
As a hardened crew of factory workers struggle to see out the last two weeks before their redundancy windfalls, panic runs through the ranks with the arrival of a mysterious man sent to join them.
Suddenly fearful that their drinking and gambling will be exposed by the head-office “spy” and rob them of their money, top dog Jack (Colin Friels) and the men descend into a compelling world of antagonism and brutality.
The intrigue and anxious second-guessing is only enhanced when the pacifist of the group, Wesley (Martin Dingle Wall), befriends the seemingly normal outsider, David (David Field).
When Wesley discovers David is hiding a much darker secret, however, the seeds are planted for an explosive finale that seals the fate of The Nothing Men.
After the movie was finished they had a question and answer session to shed some light onto their process of making film which really sparked my interest. Mark Fitzpatrick explains that he draws a lot of his ideas for his movie's story, plot and character development from “Real Life” in Australia...
If you'd like more info on this movie here is a direct link to its homepage and a trailer...
www.thenothingmen.com
Next Showing:
Monday, Feb. 8, 10 p.m. at the Metro 4
Page:
Come on over, I have nothing to offer, but at least its free.
16 Comments