Hey everyone. Capone in Chicago here. I realize it’s been a few days since Butt Numb-a-Thon 9 wrapped up, and you’re probably sick to death of reading all the reports and reactions from those of us fortunate enough to get to attend these special events in any given year. So what better time for me to swoop in and drop in my own thoughts on what might have been the most unusual BNAT I’ve ever been a part of. I’ll talk about the movies eventually, but let me first focus on the experience as a whole.
For those of you who think BNAT is about celebrity guest and fistfuls of premieres from around the world, I think you’re missing the point. While those elements have certainly been a part of BNATs in the past, the real purpose of the event has always been to let us into the mind of Harry Knowles, a concept that makes grown men tremble and underage girls weak in the knees, I know. He may dispute my theory on this, but Harry compiles these films for two reasons: because he loves them (meaning the vintage selections) or because he’s excited about seeing them (the premieres, which are often delivered to us sight unseen by Harry or anyone else). The films and guests he’s told me he’s turned down for BNATs through the ages (including this year’s) would shock you. But the bottom line is, if he’s not that into the film, it probably ain’t playing his 24-hour birthday party.
As many of you have read from both attendees and Harry himself, there were problems organizing this year’s event. Two premieres dropped out within a week of the event, and they were good ones. But forgetting that, another issue for me at least was the location. Not that there’s a single thing wrong with the new Alamo Drafthouse Ritz location. Quite the contrary, the seats were so comfortable that for the first time at a BNAT, my butt did not actually achieve numbness. The food and wait staff were just as wonderful as ever; sight lines were perfect; the bathrooms were bigger and less scary. But it was still a bit of an adjustment for me getting use to unfamiliar surrounds for this event. Most years, I come to Austin once a year for this event, so to be in a new environment took some getting used to. The fact that Harry was forced to sit in the back of the theater and closed circuit his introductions into a camera that projected his enormous head onto the movie screen made him more Oz/Big Brother like than ever.
Oh and by the way, whoever had the idea to give everyone name tags as we entered the building, thank you. For the first time ever at BNAT, I actually could learn people’s names. Please do that every year. One other thing I realized, though I doubt it had a major impact on the event, was that this was Harry’s first BNAT as a married man. If anything this seemed to make this year’s selections all the more twisted and unexpected.
Seeing so many familiar faces filter into the theater made the transition to the new venue easier, without a doubt. And just before noon, Harry made the announcement that free HD DVD players would be waiting for us at the other end of our 24-hour adventure. After a jaw-dropping demonstration of what our machines were capable of, the films got rolling.
THE GREAT MCGINTY—The first of the five films at this year’s BNAT that I’d seen before, three of which were vintage selections, none of which I’d seen on the big screen before. This fine Preston Sturges offering was played as a tribute to striking writers (several of whom were in the audience). But more importantly, it acted as a fine example of old-school corrupt politicians in film, which led nicely into the first premiere:
CHARLIE WILSON’S WAR—I’d seen this film just a couple days earlier, but it was a genuine treat to watch it again and be able to notice little details I’d missed before. The film is great for many reasons, but chief among them is Philip Seymour Hoffman portrayal of a CIA agent leading America’s covert charge into Afghanistan at the behest of Congressman Wilson (Tom Hanks). With three great roles this year (THE SAVAGES and BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU’RE DEAD), this is Hoffman’s best work in 2007. The comment I seemed to hear from the crowd after the screening was how surprised they were at the strength of Aaron Sorkin’s tight and sharp script. I suppose people were expected more preaching from the man, but the fact is the screenplay works as both faint praise of Wilson’s efforts to help a suffering people and a prologue to the war we’re in today.
PICKUP ON SOUTH STREET—The second film in a row bashing the Russians, only this one was made during the height of the Cold War. There are few greater film bastards than Richard Widmark’s pickpocket Skip McCoy, who unknowingly swipes microfilm with American secrets intended for Russian spies. I’d seen this before Sam Fuller masterpiece before, but never in a print this clean.
Next came a lengthy and impressive advanced look at about 7-10 minutes of PRINCE CASPIAN footage (finished and unfinished), and I’ll give the producers and Disney credit for showing us this footage. This second CHRONICLES OF NARNIA effort is clearly a stronger (if less familiar) entry in the series, and I’m genuinely excited to see it. If memory serves, this led right into an extended clip from RAMBO, which looks like it was lifted from a time capsule of outtakes from one of the other John Rambo films. I don’t mean this in a bad way. More of the same is good in the case of this series, which seems to promise unflinching violence and yet another return to form for Sylvester Stallone.
MONGOL—The Russians have their turn to kick ass in this sweeping epic (set for release in summer 2008) about Genghis Khan’s formative years, from childhood to the early stages of him assembling his army of united Mongolians. Overall, this was probably my favorite film of BNAT. It’s a beautifully told story, complete with loads of blood and guts and human suffering—a perfect counterweight to typical summer releases. And best of all, it’s the first part of a trilogy. I can’t wait.
The most impressive of all of the “previews” of upcoming releases we saw was by far the WALL-E presentation. You have no idea how cool this movie is going to be. With just four fairly extensive scenes, WALL-E is not my most anticipated film of 2008. People starting crying at the end of one 3-minute sequence, and I was right there with them. This gorgeous Pixar film is unlike anything the animation studio has ever done before and it will amaze you. End of story.
THE ABOMINABLE DR. PHIBES—BNAT first-ever Vincent Price offering, and long overdue if you ask me. This glorious color print was one of the highlight of BNAT, and I’ve always loved this film’s bizarre and grotesque touches (along with the strangest score choices imaginable).
SWEENEY TODD—One monster follows another. Again, I’d seen this film just a couple days earlier, and was more than happy to relive the experience. I’ll give a full review of this film closer to its release, but I will say my reaction to this film will not necessarily be in line with most others on this site. That being said, Johnny Depp, Alan Rickman, Helena Bonham Carter and Sacha Baron Cohen are all pretty spectacular.
LONELY ARE THE BRAVE—This was a marvelous discovery for me. I’d never before seen this melancholy Kirk Douglas piece about a cowboy in a time when cowboys were quickly going out of fashion in the modern world. An extraordinarily lovely Gena Rowlands, Carroll O’Connor, George Kennedy, and Walter Matthau round out this impressive cast, and the exquisite B&W print just mad the whole experience that much more perfect.
THE POUGHKEEPSIE TAPES—I’ve seen the trailer for this film probably three times in the last month, so I was well aware that this mock-doc about supposedly “found footage” shot by a serial killer of his stalking and extended torturing of victims was fake from frame one. But if I’d been unaware of this fact, or perhaps just less savvy a filmgoer, I think it would have taken me about three minutes to figure our the ruse. Forgetting the exploitation aspect of this film and whether it seems extraneous or not, the acting is almost across the board poor to the point where the supposed interviews with law enforcement or family members of victims or whoever just don’t seem natural or believable. The first time we see the killer’s choice of costume, the audience actually laughed, and I was right there with them. The only thing worse than being offended by scenes of torture and murder is finding them tedious. BNAT has had a small handful of missteps in the past, but this is one of the worse.
TEEN LUST—After what I believe was a lengthy and sexual graphic outtake from FANBOYS, we were treated to this T&A classic from 1979. Making fun of this god-awful but still highly entertaining jiggle fest is like beating up on the retarded: it seems like an easy thing to do, but that doesn’t make it right. The jokes are dumb, the shorts are tight, the boobies are a-jiggling, and the plot is immediately forgettable. But so fucking what, the more stupid this movie got, the more I loved it. The only objective here is to get clothes off, and as far as that goes, mission accomplished. At this point, I was ready for the exploits of airheads.
“STAR TREK: CITY ON THE EDGE OF FOREVER”—Harry played this because apparently there’s a tie in between this classic “Star Trek” episode at the upcoming J.J. Abrams STAR TREK re-imagining. Fine by me. I love the episode, and seeing the HD version projected on the big screen allowed me to see things I’d never noticed before about the show. Mr. Sulu is wearing more eye shadow than RuPaul. Mr. Spock actually has a green tint to his skin in close-ups. And every hair on Capt. Kirk’s head is perfectly in place. Ok, I know this last bit before BNAT, but it’s good to be reminded.
Much has been reported on the heart-warming short “Feels So Good.” And I’m here to report that certain BNAT staffers hid their eyes behind whatever obstruction they could find to avoid seeing this dated surgery footage of a man having a permanent catheter placed in his penis, set to the gentle strains of Chuck Mangione’s popular tune. I never would have guessed that you had to cut open a man’s entire asshole to insert a catheter, but apparently you do. If you’ve ever wondered what 10 minutes of non-stop screaming and retching sounds like, play this film at your next party. This is truly the most sickening thing I’ve ever seen, and I’m proud to say I never looked away from the scream except briefly to turn around in my seat to see Harry giggling like a maniac at the crowd’s reaction.
FAREWELL UNCLE TOM—This was my fader film. Every year, there’s one movie I don’t remember very well because sleepiness begins to overtake me, and this was that movie. I remember bits and pieces of this strange 1971 Italian film statement about the history of racism in America. The film pretended to send a film crew into the past to interview Southerners and slaves about the practice of slavery. An interesting idea, I suppose, but it felt to me like those actors that work in Jamestown or Williamsburg who are supposed to stay in character while you ask them questions. As I kid, I used to love to try and trip those people up and make them say something that someone in their period wouldn’t know. Those exchanges lasted two minutes; this film is considerably longer. The capper of the movie is an even more bizarre “modern”-set sequence involving a black man sitting on a beach watching the white people play around him. He daydreams about the sorts of horrible things these people would have done to him in times of slavery, and imagines various ways he would have killed them. The film is so whacked out of its mind, I had to admire it to a point, but most of the audience wasn’t buying it and ended up in the lobby for the duration. Not a misstep in my book, but I think I’m in the minority here.
TRICK ’R TREAT—Set for release next Halloween, this horror anthology with many interconnected characters and storylines is loads of fun courtesy of writer and first-time director Michael Dougherty (who wrote SUPERMAN RETURNS and X2, and sat through the entire BNAT experience). The Dylan Baker story in which he plays a school principal who engages in some sickening pumpkin carving behavior was my personal favorite, but Brian Cox’s turn as the grumpy old man taunted by a creepy kid in a costume that strikes him as a bit too familiar is also extremely fun. The scariest story involves a groups of kids going to what they claim is a haunted quarry. It’s good to know that next October at least one decent scare film will be making the rounds. Dougherty’s Q&A after the screening was also loads of fun.
That’s it folks. I hope that adds something to your appreciation of the BNAT experience, an event I’ve missed my own wife’s birthday to be a part of in past years. And quite frankly, after the crappy year we’ve had with our condo here in Chicago (the latest update is that we might get to move back in sometime in February or March), it’s nice to know there’s at least one event like this one to look forward to at the end of every year.
Capone
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