Wgtn International Film Festival

Wgtn International Film Festival

Anyone seen any good films in the festival yet or recommends any worth seeing ?

Just back from Death of a President at the Embassy,very clever mock follow up doco after Bush has just been assassinated !! Kiwi Jambo2007-07-26 23:11:32

Looking forward to 'Control 'on Saturday the life and times (albeit pretty short)of Ian Curtis the Joy Division lead singer 

Oh good chat to yourself then.

I'm in CHCH film festival after Wellingtons, anything to recommend. Last year seemed to have more headliners.

Watched the Leonard Cohen movie the other night thought it was fantastic, suppose you would have to be  fan though!
Does the Ch Ch festival have the same films ?
Watched Venus starring Peter O,Tool brilliant performances from small but excellent cast imho.

ok been to see Control ,never realized Manchester was so bleak! good film though seemed to de -mystify a lot of the Ian Curtis stuff ,basically he was a talented musician with several medical problems fits,depression etc plus some major relationship sh*t  going down (mrs with kid,sexy belgium bird on the side) !very sad though and great sound track! Kiwi Jambo2007-07-30 00:26:10

 Went to see British comedy Severance ,thought it was total jimmy knapp ,seen better Jackson splatter movies years ago!
Also watched Deliver us from evil , very depressing ,its about an Irish priest Father O, Grady  in America who abused kids in his parish and was protected and basically well looked after by the Catholic church for years it even has interviews with the sad twisted barsteward  himself  and gut wrenching testimonies from his victims and their parents! heavy stuff but great doco!

Is "Ian Curtis is dead" still written on the wall in Mt Cook?

Yes kept wondering if the culprit was at the Embassy watching the film!
Still gets re-painted every year!
Kiwi Jambo2007-07-30 00:27:22

Good. That makes me feel better, I don't know why.

Its Ian Curtis RIP if im not mistaken ,i will check on it later today !

Went to see> Noise<  last night at Embassy ,Aussie murder thriller ,central Character is a cop (constable) who suffers from tinnitus (ringing in the ears ) its a tense film and the constant ringing noise and magnified sounds as you watch the movie are  really disconcerting ,good film! Also watched> a guide to recognizing your saints< at the Embassy ,had Robert Downey junior in it, sort of going back to where it all began movie ,Downie plays part of writer going back to his teenage haunts its a flash back film with lots of violence ,beautifully filmed,  sort of West side story with real violence and sex and no music !! Kiwi Jambo2007-08-01 20:51:03

A Guide to Recognizing your Saints sounds good, Gained some respect for Downey Jnr after seeing him in KKBB and also liked him in Scanner Darkly. Looking at seeing Half Nelson, Exiled, Paprika, Eagle vs Shark, maybe others

Christchurch festival starts tomorrow, hopefully I can get to a few. Good thread Jambo, although many of the films you have stated I probably don't have much interest in.

Downey was excellent imho very talented despite his constant personal f**k ups !

Did see <Half Nelson> school teachers decline into drug addiction and the way this twists his  relationships with family and friends and in particular with one of his students who catches him doing Crack in the school bogs!!
Eagle vs Shark was sold out so i will wait until it goes on general release! did think it was amusing that  the night it was on here the Manly sea eagles were playing the Cronulla sharks on telly, mind you im easily amused!!
Kiwi Jambo2007-08-02 19:27:51

Saw A Few Days in September in the weekend.  Went for 57 hours and nothing happened.  I want my time back.

Its true Frankie ,some festival films can be hard work but sometimes you have to pick amongst the coals to find a diamond.
There is some weird sh*t out there though how about the description of this film from the festival guide (Destricted) "a work intended to reinvigorate erotic cinema seven artists are asked to make a short film ,in the film "Hoist ,an unidentified man with roots protruding from his body ,makes athletic love  to a large earthmoving machine"
Well what can you say about that,i suppose some one will DIG it!!
Boom Boom!
Kiwi Jambo2007-08-02 19:00:24

Saw "Death Note" parts one and two last night at the Paramount, first part was awesome! Second was not as good, was still great but the first part would have been better without it. if only because of the "ending"

Enjoyed most films i saw at this years fest ,best for me was probably Venus followed by I'm your man
There was a lot of pony and trap as well but its all subjective at the end of the day innit ,one mans meat is another mans poison and all that!
Last film i watched was the Joe Strummer doco The future is unwritten, well filmed with old Clash footage from the bands very early gigs and some Strummer pre-Clash  stuff right up to his death , linked together by comments from a diverse group of fans and family  from his x wifes to Johnny Depp of all people and the obligatory in every music doco/film  Bono comment (can he not resist being filmed?)
As an old clapped out punk rocker i really enjoyed it especially the earlier stuff !!
Kiwi Jambo2007-08-08 21:34:45

Seen Half Nelson thought it was good, 'A guide to recognizing your Saints' I thought it was fantastic movie, Gritty, Tragic semi biographical story of Dito Montiel (which he wrote and directed), Downey and Lebouef were good.

Also went to Exiled (Fong juk), comparisons between Johnnie To and John Woo aren't far off, average Movie lots of unnecessary over the top gun action. Whoever on imdb compaed it to 'Mou Gaan Dou' (Infernal Affairs) and 'Kung Fu Hustle' was way off.