Hey folks, Harry here... I'm so glad to be finished with what has been the single most difficult BUTT-NUMB-A-THON to program ever for me. At one point, it was easily the most spectacular line-up I had set-up... Until this past evil week. In years past - nabbing films like V FOR VENDETTA and 300 - it really comes down to pure luck... is the film finished in time. This year, a great many of the films that many of you were guessing where actually committed, but in the final hours before BNAT - one particular film was forced to pull out 30 hours before the show went underway... due to over 100 visual fx shots not being delivered by an effects company on Monday for insertion into their digital print. Another was rushing its post to try to get there - but frankly it came down to the fact that the film just wasn't ready till December 18th. That said - I loved BNAT this year... In particular - CHARLIE WILSON'S WAR, TRICK R TREAT, of course SWEENEY TODD and in particular - the discovery of the fest was MONGOL. However - the 15 minutes from Pixar's WALL*E was unbelievably great. The character animation was simply brilliant - the expression and the sheer beauty of the film is going to blow people away. Here's Maria...

BNAT,

Happy birthday Harry! Thanks for including Liesl and I in another fun BNAT.

This year, one of biggest highlight of BNAT was sitting in the NEW Alamo with OLD friends and getting to enjoy Harry's birthday party with the finest group of movie geeks I will ever know. It just makes me happy to see movies, old and new, with these people.

But enough of mushy stuff...

We just returned from the Monday special BNAT extension screening of Son of Rambow. This is very sweet film, balanced with humor and nostalgia for being a kid in love with movies and yearning to make them. High recommendations for Son of Rambow-- this is our second viewing, and we'll see it when it is released. Liesl will have her review coming tomorrow sometime...she has a strong emotional connection with the film.

As for my favs this year...well, although I really, really enjoyed it, Sweeney Todd is not in my top 3, although it comes in a close 4th. Liesl has a different list, I'm sure as she loved, loved, loved Trick or Treat.

My top films are a tie for 1st: The Great McGinty and Mongol, both were prime examples of character studies within great stories. Mongol was visually stunning and has at its core a touching and unusual love story. The Great McGinty had unforgettable dialog that made me wish that everyone still talked like tough New Yorkers in movies from the 30s and 40s. Yeah, swell.

Speaking of great dialog, my next favorite movie was Charlie Wilson's War. This movie was loaded with earthy wit and smooth Texas-isms from Tom Hanks' Charlie Wilson and unrelentingly difficult truths delivered in ironically funny deadpan by Phillip Seymour Hoffman's Gust Avrakotos. Phillip pulls off a performance that is so good, it wasn't until I was halfway through the movie that I realized who the actor was. Throughout this movie, I found several thoughts coming up...Gandhi's "An eye for an eye, making the whole world blind." quote and the (Star Trek) Federation's Prime Directive of non-interference. Sadly, not only does this movie bring to light, with painful hindsight, events that helped the Taliban rise to power, but also may give rise to thought provoking questions about current events and politics. But you need to see the movie cause you'll get no spoilers from me.

Sweeney Todd is pretty awesome. I was just a tad disappointed with Helena Bonham Carter's performance. She either hasn't a very strong voice and wasn't ready to take any risks with her songs and, consequently, I didn't believe her character as much as I should have. But, on the other hand, Johnny Depp and Alan Rickman can, at this point, do no wrong in my eyes. In spite of my only slight disappointment in Mrs. Lovett, there is no way this dark and gruesome movie can fail. The Burton/Depp team has a huge following of teenage girls who will be loyal to this combination whether the movie merits or not. Fortunately for them and everyone else, Sweeney Todd does merit, if you can "stomach" the subject matter, and once again, I am ever so pleased to be a vegetarian and wouldn't touch the savory meat pie the drafthouse served. However, I can see how those poor geeks around me ate it, with it's fragrant and flaky crust, it smelled and looked delectable.

And the last movie on my top list was Trick or Treat: a treat for traditional horror fans everywhere. If you like movies like Creepshow, this campy but artistically beautiful homage to the B horror movie, will leave you with a post Halloween chocoholic satiation and a smile on your face.

Now I also loved The Lonely are Brave and Pickup on South Street and would not likely have seen those movies if I had not been at BNAT...and that, besides it being Harry's birthday, is what BNAT is what the celebration is about. Seeing unusual, old and new movies and being reminded over and over that movies are an almost endless treasure to discover even if you are a geek.

-Maria Von Trapp

And now here's Nordling...

Hey everyone, Nordling here, feeling a bit punchy but otherwise pretty good, reporting in on BNAT 9. BNAT this year was a bit of a mixed bag. The swag was godlike great (thank you so much Harry) and there were several amazing films... and then there weren't. But it ended on a high note, so let me get right to it!

THE GREAT MCGINTY - Preston Sturges' first film, about a low-life redeemed by the love of a good woman, was fantastic. I had never seen it before and I thought it was wonderful, with dialogue so sharp as to cut diamonds.

CHARLIE WILSON'S WAR - A very inteligent topical film about the arming of Afghanistan in the 1980s to fight against the Communists. Tom Hanks is excellent as usual, as was Julia Roberts in a smaller than advertised role, and Philip Seymour Hoffman steals the film, as par for the course.

PICK UP ON SOUTH STREET - Samuel Fuller's classic Cold War thriller was wonderful on the big screen. Richard Widmark plays a pickpocket who manages to steal some top secret film that could endanger America. It's witty and thrilling.

MONGOL - Of all the movies that played BNAT this year, this is the one I want to write about the most. It, like OLDBOY from BNAT 2003, has the real potential to find a wider audience. The first in an epic trilogy from Russian filmmaker Sergei Bodrov, MONGOL tells the origins of Genghis Khan from his humble beginning as a child to the leader of a vast army. I've always bugged Harry to play a Kurosawa film at BNAT, and this one was as close as they come. It's epic in scale but isn't afraid to get intimate at a moment's notice. Any film geek worth their salt should make a real effort to find this when it opens wide next year.

The short clips of WALL-E are the best thing I saw at BNAT. WALL-E touching the rings of Saturn made me cry. I expect this will be the best film of 2008, from the short clips alone.

THE ABOMINABLE DR. PHIBES - Vincent Price does the best neck-acting of any actor ever. Wonderful print for a fun film. Beats SAW's ass, at any rate.

SWEENEY TODD - I was surprised to find out later how divisive this film is among the BNAT crowd. For me, it was rapturous. Johnny Depp channels David Bowie, Helena Bonham Cater's singing's a bit weak but she carries through, and Tim Burton was pretty much born to direct this film. I came away from it very impressed, as this is Burton's best film since ED WOOD.

LONELY ARE THE BRAVE - A fine performance by Kirk Douglas, and a pristine print.

THE POUGHKEEPSIE TAPES - Utter crap. I hear that the marketing department is ramping up on this one, much like BLAIR WITCH, to push this as some sort of "real" documentary about a serial killer in the Northeast who videotapes his murders. Don't buy it. Eli Roth gets too much shit for HOSTEL, in my opinion, because for one thing, HOSTEL's a good movie, with more going on under the surface than people might care to admit. This one has nothing going on except a half-ass effort to try to frighten you. Plus, you'd think a serial killer would update his video gear over the years instead of making crappy fluttering tapes. I actively started rooting against the filmmakers' careers when they brought in the Girl Scouts, for no fucking reason than to try to inflict pain on the audience. I fully expect these guys to be serving me fries by the end of the week. Yeah, I'm a little pissed about it. The best horror has the power to inform, to come to a deeper understanding about yourself through fear, and to have a little fun scaring yourself. This has none of that. Avoid.

TEEN LUST - At this point in the morning, bleached blonde naked titty retards (hey, it all blended in to me) was what the doctor had ordered.

Watching a guy's asshole operated on while listening to Chuck Mangione = priceless.

FAREWELL UNCLE TOM - The most offensive film I've ever seen. Glad I saw it, won't ever see it again. "BECAUSE YOU ARE WHITE!" is my new catchphrase of the year, though.

TRICK R TREAT - Fun, fun, fun. This is how I like my horror, you can guiltlessly scream and laugh at what you're seeing, and I will happily rewatch this film every Halloween. An anthology film directed and written by Michael Dougherty, I really admired how each story touched on the others, and Brian Cox was a blast to watch. Very recommended.

Thanks again to Harry, Tim League, Father Geek, Moriarty, Massawyrm, Quint, Jeff Mahler, Eli Roth, and the rest of the crew for another blast at BNAT. Although some of the events surrounding BNAT this year weren't the best (a lot of cars had their windows broken this year surrouning the Ritz parking lot), this event makes my gay happy and able to endure the rest of my drudgery year. Next year - BNAT X! Have Cartuna do a DEEP THROAT poster!

Nordling