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Optimus Prime @ Seattle Film Fest #2: PSYCHO BEACH PARTY, BUT I'M A CHEERLEADER and more
Well, Optimus Prime just sent Father Geek his second report on what's happening on the screens up at Seattle's Film Festival thats going on right now in the great American Northwest. Great Music, Good Films, gentle Rain, and the Cascades... can't get a whole lot better than that.
Optimus Prime here in wonderful Seattle, Washington just watching flicks...
But I'm a Cheerleader
This is a great film, hilarious, the best I've seen at the festival so
far. Natasha Lyonne is Megan, a pretty typical teenage girl. She's a
cheerleader, with cheerleader friends, and a jock boyfriend, her parents
are conservative Christians. There's something strange about her though,
she hangs a bikini clad girl picture in her locker, a Melissa Etheridge
poster on her bedroom wall, and she really doesn't enjoy kissing her
boyfriend. She thinks this is all normal, her parents and friends do not.
They realize the truth. She's a lesbian, what a shock, what horror! Soon
a van shows up at her door, with an "ex-gay" wearing a "Straight is
Great!" t-shirt, played very well by Rupaul. He drags her off to True
Directions, too straighten her out.
True Directions is rehab for gay people. Run by a crazy, overbearing,
Christian mother, who's stuck with 1940's ideals. Her own son is obviously
gay, but she denies it. Her large ranch house trimmed in pink, a white
picket fence, and fake flowers, serves as rehab central. The girls are
forced to wear all pink, the boys all light blue. The girls include, Clea
Duvall (The Faculty), Melanie Lynskey (Heavenly Creatures), the rest are
unknowns or have had small roles in various teen flicks. The performances
are all very good.
Becoming an "ex-gay" consists of 5 steps. #1: Admit your gay. This is a
pretty funny scene as Megan goes through intervention with the others.
Natasha Lyonne has these great eye expressions, that can just be
hilarious. #2: Rediscover your gender identity. This consists of
the girls vacuuming, washing the dishes, etc. The boys play sports,
work on a car, and chop wood. These are some of the funniest scenes in
the film, as everyone is pretty confused as to what to do. The three
more steps each result with funny situations. Of course none of this
stuff works. It ends up just being a place to hook up. They all try to
lie their way through it, just to please their parents.
This is a great debut film from Jamie Babbit. She had Q&A after the
movie. She talked about meeting film financiers, by having short films in
assorted festivals. Talked about her experience with the MPAA. The first
cut of this film received a NC-17. This is just unbelievable, as it
contains no nudity, no gross-out humor, and not an excessive amount of
swearing. This is just pure censorship, presumably because of the
homosexual theme. I felt this film should have received a PG-13. I
highly recommend this film to comedy and teen movie fans, if you happen to
live in or near a major city it's getting released in July. She also said
it would appear on DVD in with it's original cut.
The Mission
I don't have that much experience with Hong Kong action films outside of
John Woo. It's a genre that I just really haven't sought out yet.
However, after seeing this film, I think I'll have to. Johnny To, the
director of this film, has been making movies since the early 80's I think
I'll start with some of his past films.
From the opening titles, set to rapid gun-shots, you know what your into
with this film. Mr Lung, a mob boss in Hong Kong has a price on his head.
He brings in five extreme bad-asses for some extra protection. That's all
you need to know. The rest of the film is filled with some great
gun-play. This isn't the ballet of fire, like John Woo is so great with.
The guys are actually in firing stance, aiming, and then firing one shot
at a time. The action is very static, but very cool. It actually makes
the guns seem much more dangerous. Highly recommended.
The Convent
I don't think horror films often get play at the various film festivals.
It's just not a very respected genre. With this film we can see why.
The same set up as a thousand previous horror films. 1960; a convent is
raided by a young girl, she shoots the nuns down, and sets the place a
fire. A decent beginning. The present; surprise, surprise some
frat boys and their girlfriends decide to check out whether the place is
haunted. And what the heck lets have sex and do drugs while we're there.
What could possibly happen? There just happens to be some Satan
worshipers present, their ceremony releases the evil spirits.
Much like Evil Dead, any time somebody dies, they turn into a demon.
That's this films problem, it just tries to hard to be Evil Dead, extreme
camera angles, speeding up the film, over-the-top gore, and really bad
attempts at humor. The acting is atrocious, with a cameo from Coolio (who
seems to think he's funny), and another cameo from Adrienne Barbeau who's
stuck in her Escape from New York role. A bad film, that's not even fun
in that it's so bad it's funny way, because it just takes itself to
seriously.
Psycho Beach Party
This is a fun little film, that spoofs horror and beach films. Set in the
50's, the film opens a drive-in, with a girl getting her throat slashed.
The main suspect is Florence, who's suffering from a split personality.
She's kind of a square, but becomes a sex-pot type when she turns.
Soon she's at the beach with her friends, where she is impressed by a
bunch of surfers, including Nicholas Brendon aka Xander. She decides she
wants to learn to surf, but she must consult with the Great Kanaka, Thomas
Gibson aka Greg of Dharma &. He's a beatnik/surfer who talks in mostly
rhymes, attracted to her split personality he decides to teach her to
surf. She is renamed Chicklet, and tries to live up to her new moniker,
by going to beach parties, slumber parties and acting hip.
This film has a great sense of humor towards itself, and should not be
taken seriously at all. It's filled with cheesy dialogue, bad sexual
puns, a transexual cop (who nobody ever makes mention of), purposely bad
blue screen, a horrible Swedish accent, and even a beach dance off.
Depending on your mood, this could be a hilarious film, or just plain bad.
Optimus Prime signing off for now.
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There's nothing more pathetic than being around a homosexual who pretends to be unaware of the stereotypical activities of his/her own gender. It's fine to not participate, but foolish to pose oblivious....oh, psycho beach party may be a breath of fresh air.
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May 31, 2000 11:13:33 PM CDT
Ugh."Cheerleader" isn't one of those "point and laugh"comedies,i
by user id indeed!
Y'know,the kind where the movie just sort of points and guffaws at people different from the people making the movie?If it's anything like Three to Tango,I'll pass thanks.Making fun of gays has become some kind of moronic staple in comedy alluva sudden,and it's not only unfunny,it's pretty damned annoying after a while(dare I say offensive without being accused of homosexuality myself?).This has been a Moment on the Soapbox with User "Party party good time!"ID Indeed!
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May 31, 2000 11:52:15 PM CDT
The Convent Kicks Ass and does not take it seriously....
by geekbasher 3.0
Sorry but I disagree with the poster above, I saw Convent out at Sundance, and It was a rocking good time, yes it was a Evil Dead Wanna-bee but with a Techno-Edge, it was definately Campy but alot of fun! A movie you want to see in a packed theatre with, Does anyone know when this one is getting released or is it going direct to video? If it is going to direct to video, great, Rent this one for your next movie party!!! By the Way GO SEE HUMAN TRAFFIC while you guys can, It is not making shit at the box office but It is a AWESOME MOVIE!!! Saw it twice and all my friends loved it!!!
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Isn't the point of "Cheerleader" to make fun of those who are homophobic, not the homosexual population itself? That's what I get out of this review and from what I've heard about the film. It's a giant poke in the ribs at the futility of trying to change someone's sexuality just because it doesn't fit your own moral agenda. It's supposed to challenge the so-called norm. And it's about damn time one of these teen comedies gives the girls the juicy parts, no pun intended.
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These movies sound like a bit of fun, eh? I for one would love to see "The Convent." It sounds like the type of film that most movie studios would brush aside and would end up going direct to video, however. I for one would like to see this movie get a wide release... although maybe I'm getting a bit too excited over a film I have not yet seen. Oh well, back to rescuing aristos!
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I agree with All Thumbs that the premise of this movie sounds like it makes fun of homophobia not homosexuals. It sounds like they're poking fun at those programs that set out to reform gays and turn them straight. If you watched 20/20 tonight they did a story on one of these organizations. Anyway, the movie sounds cool and reminds me, for some reason, of "Citizen Ruth." I just get the impression that neither side of the gay vs. straight issue gets away unscathed. I'll go see any movie that has Natasha Lyonne in it. Ever since "Slums of Beverly Hills" she's been a fave.
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She is so great. She has to be one of the most original actresses out there. Check out Freeway 2:Confessions Of a Trick Baby for her most out there performance, its great. Its like Girl Interrupted on acid.
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You guys must go to see THE MISSION, probably the coolest action film in the last 10 years...I'm not exaggerating..If you are a movie fan and really know movies, you will be thinking of buying a DVD after seeing THE MISSION
For a more detailed film review for THE MISSION, go to my website at:
www.globility.com/~janchik OR
go to Yahoo engine and type "jan chik"
I do not intend to promote my website here...I just can't wait to tell you guys how exited I feel after seeing THE MISSION.... -
I loved Natasha Lyonne in both the Slums of Beverly Hills and American Pie. Her characters are so refreshing to watch on the screen. As far as the original rating of this movie, an NC-17! Has the MPAA completely lost its mind? Could its anti-homosexual bias be more obvious? I guess I'll wait for the DVD.
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The Mission rules. If it isn't the greatest action flick in the last 10 years, it's a close runner up. Check out some of Milkyway's other films like Except The Unexcepted. Awesome stuff.
Here's a short list of other really cool Johnny To films worth seeing. I believe all of these have been released on DVD and VCD.
Heroic Trio (you should know this one. It stars Michelle Yeoh, Maggie Cheung, Anita Mui and Anthony Wong. TNT airs in almost monthly)
The Executioners (sequel to The Heroic Trio)
The Big Heat
All About Ah-Long
Mad Monk
Lifeline
Justice, My Foot
A Hero Never Dies
Where A Good Man Goes
Running Out Of Time -
This film, though I've not seen it, sounds like an NC-17 film if ever there was one. The purpose of censorship, both in applying ratings and in refusing to show and rent certain movies, is to protect society from its worst. It is the same creed which is behind the idea of law, of social order, of government. People must be protected from that which can harm them, which upsets them. And what could be more upsetting than the supposedly alien, the taboo celebrated, joy found in sin? --- All Thumbs: I agree completely about chicks and good roles... but "no pun intended" my ass. =)
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I couldn't really tell from the review(or any previous reviews or synopsisisisises)what the actual punchline of the movie was.It seems like "the girls vacuuming, washing the dishes, etc. The boys play sports, work on a car, and chop wood. These are some of the funniest scenes in the film, as everyone is pretty confused as to what to do" poked more fun at gays than homophobes,but what the hell do I know anyway?This has been a Ahyuck,Hope It's Not A Gay Pig Moment w/User "Party party good time!"ID Indeed!
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It's good to see Cheerleader finally coming to theatres. I went to the permiere screening of this film in Toronto this past year at the festival and had the pleasure of hanging out with the whole cast and Jamie for the rest of the evening,jumping from bar to bar.
The film has a great look, nice casting, and above all, the script is fantastic and translates well on screen.
Keep an eye open for the side characters, especially "Joel", played by Joel Michaely. Funny as hell! -
"But I'm a Cheerleader" was pretty good, well-paced, well-acted, just campy enough to hold your attention but still had a plot and a point.
However, so far, it definitely wasn't the best of the festival. "When the Rain Lifts", Akira Kurosawa's last film, has to be the most moving film I've seen in a long time. Kurosawa died a couple weeks before finishing the last version of the script, but it was finished by a crew he absolutely trusted, using the cast he would have chosen. The film has noble, kind main characters, a quiet and elegantly written story and some gorgeous, vibrant cinematography. It had its North American premiere at the festival; it'll be a long wait for it to come out on DVD... -
Glad the king of Transformers took my advice and saw The Mission. I agree with the others - definitely one of the best action movies of the last 10 years. So tight, cannot trim a single frame of fat from it. Some balk at the minimalist plot, but its more about the themes and feeling. As far as other To films go, I've only seen a few and have not been nearly as impressed, but this one makes him the HK Kitano. Power to the new flesh, and Milkway!
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