* Dasepo Naughty Girls was just ridiculously fun. A South Korean film based on a web comic, it is totally crazy and colorful, a musical which makes not a whole lot of sense but is a blast just the same. I was totally charmed.

* Red Without Blue might be my favorite of the festival so far. It’s a documentary about a set of identical twins, where one is transgender (MTF) and the other is gay. It’s a beautiful film, and though it doesn’t push some issues as much as it perhaps should (I suspect this is because the filmmakers knew some of the family before filming), it’s a moving look at the family. Initially intended to be just a look back at their past, it evolved into the story of the family now, moving towards Clair’s decision regarding surgery. The changes in the views of the parents I found particularly moving. Two of the directors were present at the screening, which was lovely, because we were able to get an update on the subjects of the film.

* And finally, Spider Lilies, a Tawainese film about memory and loss, and, oh yes, tattoos & lesbians. I didn’t love it like I wanted to — it was always on the edge of touching me and never quite making it — but I absolutely adored that it was a film featuring gay characters moving towards a relationship, that was not at all about being gay. It could have been very nearly the same story featuring a straight couple. There were no coming out stories, none of the tropes associated with American queer film. There was guilt surrounding a sexual experience, but I never had the impression that it was because she was gay. It was because it meant that the character was not with her family at the time of a tragedy, and she would have felt the same effect if she had been with a boy. (Also, now I really want a tattoo.)

* Death at a Funeral is a tightly-written, beautifully acted farce. Good comedy is hard to do well & generally painfully underrated. I went to this one largely because the cast included Alan Tudyk & Peter Dinklage, and both were marvelous.

* Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle was a package of experimental short films reworking found audio, video, and/or dialogue. My favorite concept was “For a Blonde… For a Brunette… For Someone… For Her… For You…” which was a karaoke-style short, with the audience playing a role. It was a really cool idea, but I wish that they had chosen a scene with dialogue that was easier to pick up on the fly, though. I also enjoyed “Sunbeam Hunter”, which used images from Boy Scout handbooks. I did NOT enjoy “Asmahan”, because I didn’t get it at all, being unfamiliar with the source. I was not alone here; the entire audience seemed to be slowly revolting. Anarchy of stifled giggles! This being SIFF, there were two directors in attendence, but of course they were directors of films far too experimental for me.

* No Regret was a Korean film about an orphan & his developing relationship with a well-off businessman. I am not terribly interested in American queer film, but other countries can provide a different perspective, and this was no exception. It went a bit weird for me at the end, but I’m thinking it’s a first feature sort of error, and am willing to forgive it.

* The Cloud is a teen romance – slash – nuclear accident film. It reminded me on some level of Wristcutters, for sticking a genre in a particularly unusual setting, though I didn’t love it as much. It was pretty awesome, though. I felt like it got a little long towards the end, but I don’t know what I would cut. Really fantastic cast, and possibly my favorite of the festival so far. The IMDb boards hate it because the love story isn’t in the book. Which says to me that the book is a completely different story, and wow, I so do not care. Seriously, people. Whatever.

* Black Sheep had a sold-out midnight screening. Awesome. It’s genetic modification gone wrong! Killer sheep! At the preview they said it was in the tradition of Peter Jackson, and that is absolutely true, a gore-fest of a black comedy that knows exactly what sort of film it is. Great fun.

Sunday was Manufactured Landscapes, mostly because I had seen a trailer for it at the SIFF preview. It follows photographer Edward Burtynsky on a trip to China, where he takes large-scale photos of the effects of manufacturing. It’s alternately beautiful and depressing, showing both how we’ve taken from the earth and the waste we generate, in addition to the working conditions of the people who deal with all of these things.

It’s not didactic, which I appreciated. It doesn’t have to be.

Also Sunday I suddenly added five more movies to my schedule. The first new one was yesterday, Battle of Wits. It was uneven, with bits of pure cheese and terrible effects, but when it was good (the look & feel, which was surprisingly rough & textured for a story based on a comic, and of course everything Andy Lau did) it was awesome.

And now, for the film festival! I started with a midnight, and I haven’t recovered yet. Them, a French thriller about a couple who makes the mistake of living in a spooky old house in the woods & awakens one night to strange noises… dun dun dun. It’s gritty and effective, keeping the tension high by not ever showing too much. I guessed the twist early on, but that didn’t make it any less creepy.

It was preceeded by a short, “The Eyes of Edward James”, which didn’t do much for me.

The next day was Monkey Warfare, which I picked because it starred Don McKellar & Tracy Wright, both of whom are always worth watching. It’s an extremely low-budget film about a couple living off the grid in Toronto, and how their lives get shaken up by their new pot dealer. I liked it a lot. It’s different, but dirtied up enough to not be quirky. Also, the soundtrack & the final credits are awesome.

It also was preceeded by a short, “Order Up”, a dark comedy which starred Illeana Douglas and about half worked.

Sundance favorite Once started screenings this month. I saw it at MOHAI, complete with a Q&A with the director & stars and a mini-concert, which was pretty awesome.

As for the movie itself, also awesome! It’s technically a musical, but as it’s about musicians it’s totally organic & real, not cheesy. I mean, I enjoy the cheese, but this isn’t that kind of a musical. Very touching & satisfying. Yay!

The best review of Spider-Man 3 came from a friend who said they laughed for a lot of the movie, but they were pretty sure they were only supposed to be laughing about half of the time.

It’s like this. I went with a group. We had a lot of fun. But it was not a good movie. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of time spent on the Harry/Peter dynamic, as I am a fan of James Franco in general and the Harry character in particular. Too bad it wasn’t a Green Goblin film. It probably would have been slightly less emo.

In better genre film news, I saw Hot Fuzz a second time, and it continues to be awesome. Also, I was able to catch the cameos this time around. Good times.

I’d heard a lot of buzz about Waitress — probably an inevitable effect of reading Whedonesque — but I had really gone to see it mostly for Nathan Fillion, and for that it was definitely worth it.

The casting all-round was great. I had a good time at it, there were lots of things I really liked, and I haven’t seen a movie in some time that felt or looked the way this one does in a while, but I still have issues with the ending and some of the characterization. It’s clear, though, that Shelly was a great talent, and it’s a tragedy that we won’t see more work from her.

Annie Hall is my favorite movie of all time, so obviously I jumped at the chance to see it at the Northwest Film Forum.

It’s really a perfect film. This is the first time I’d seen it with anyone else, which was great, and the first time I’d seen it big (relatively — the Film Forum is a seriously tiny venue) so there were a number of visual details I had missed before, especially with Annie’s photographs. The only quibble I had was an ongoing framing issue, but that’s the theater’s problem. It must have been an off night for the projectionist.

Can I say anything about Lawrence of Arabia that hasn’t been said before? No. I cannot. All I can say is that I have waited years for the opportunity to see it in a theater, flat-out refusing to see it on video, and that it was well worth the wait.

I can’t find any evidence of this now, but I could swear that when it was up on the Cinerama website it said it was the first in a series of 70mm films they were going to present. I hope that is true, because it would be totally awesome.

It occurred to me recently that I had totally forgotten to write up The Host. I mean, there are loads of things I haven’t managed to post about, but this one I flat-out skipped over, which is lame, because it was an awesome movie.

It’s a monster movie, yeah, but one with a great functioning disfunctional family, banding together to thwart the authorities & the monster to rescue their little girl, who is pretty darn tough herself. Good stuff.