Hey folks, Harry here with The Beef's first day at FANTASTIC FEST 2008. For all you attendees out there - let's hear from you. Let us know what we're missing that you're catching. So far, my FANTASTIC FEST is 5 for 5 with what I've seen - But if you want my feelings, check out the review I just posted, otherwise - it is time to serve up THE BEEF...
ZACK AND MIRI MAKE A PORNO Without question Kevin Smith's most accomplished film to date. Without question. Take the hilarity of your favorite Kevin Smith film, mix it with the sensitivities he displayed in JERSEY GIRL, and throw in a shitload of language and nudity to ensure that it never plays on TNT. The film is all of this, and more. One thing that always plagued how I felt about Kevin Smith was his way with words. He writes clever language, but it's always unnatural sounding when it's delivered. I always attributed that to his writing style, however after seeing ZACK AND MIRI I'm not so sure that the dialogue issues I had with CLERKS and MALLRATS weren't really with the actors, and since Smith always used the same actors the dialogue didn't really seem to be getting any better with each subsequent film. Substitute Kevin Smith actors with Apatow actors and all of a sudden Kevin Smith's words and jokes are hitting like never before. So much so that I probably only heard half of them as I couldn't contain myself long enough to hear what lines followed each joke. That could very well be a growth in Smith as a writer, but as I think back on who Kevin Smith may have cast in Seth Rogen and Craig Robinson's roles had he written this exact film 10 years ago I can't help but think that it would have ended up exactly like MALLRATS. The other missing piece from Smith's films is a female that really captures the essence of the type of romance that would fit his lead character. Rosario Dawson comes closest, but Elizabeth Banks is exactly the type of girl that fits perfectly into a Kevin Smith romantic comedy, and the chemistry between her and Seth Rogen is without rival. There are certain comforts and trivial things that longtime friends share that's kind of hard to fake and make believable between actors when they're supposed to be playing two people that have known each other their entire lives, but I never questioned it for a second while watching ZACK AND MIRI. This will sound cliche but Kevin Smith really has made the ultimate date movie. If your girlfriend can make it through a handful of tits, fucks and grossouts there will be ample laughs throughout, and some genuinely touching and emotional love moments that stand toe-to-toe with the best of the chick flicks. WICKED LAKE What better way to follow up a film about making a homemade porno than by watching a film about a group of lesbian witches that turn the tables on a quattro of male tormentors? Actually, there are many better ways to follow up ZACK AND MIRI than by sitting through WICKED LAKE. The concept is skinemax quality, the writing is just about the same, and the acting is probably a notch or so above (depending on which actor we're talking about). The female leads are okay at the very least, but the male actors, and I mean all of the male actors, make the scenes that are supposed to be difficult to watch due to the content difficult to watch due to the performances. Those performances probably are USA Up All Night quality. What keeps it from being a complete waste of an hour and a half are some noteworthy gore moments, and all 8 bare breasts in the film appear to be 100% real. ART OF THE DEVIL 3 Usually at this point in horror sequels things start to drop off significantly. Not so much the case with ART OF THE DEVIL 3, which is definitely the most accomplished part 3 of any horror franchise I can think of. Yes, that compliment was accompanied with the back of my hand. Not entirely, though, as ART OF THE DEVIL 3 is a decent entry in the "torture porn" cannon. The film centers entirely around the art of black magic, and how a family tries to use it to insert the soul of a dead mother/daughter/sister into the body of another woman. In doing so the soul of the other woman has to be removed and buried to ensure she doesn't come back to reclaim the body. Well, of course she comes back to reclaim her body, and a helluva lot more. The movie is in ways better than I expected it to be, and also not nearly as torturous as I anticipated. The story is engaging to watch the revenge plot unfold, but it really loses it in the final 10 minutes or so where things become incoherent. I think there was a message intended, but when a movie shows a painful extraction of an unborn fetus it's difficult to take a life lesson seriously. The violent and horrific elements are just that, but it isn't as difficult to sit through as I imagined which actually made it a much more pleasant experience to enjoy the film and appreciate the story that I expected little from going into the screening. It isn't something I would say someone needs to see, but if someone is going to see it I wouldn't recommend they pass on it. All in all not a bad way to start the festival, especially with how much I enjoyed ZACK AND MIRI. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if that film makes it into my top 10 favorite theater experiences of the year. I'm really looking forward to what I've got on the schedule for tomorrow. Thanks, The Beef
