SIFF 2007 wrap-up
All in all, it's been an interesting past few weeks thinking about all of the movies I saw, what I learned from them, and all the fun I had with the whole festival experience.
To wrap up the 2007 Seattle International Film Festival, I thought I would make up a bunch of lists.
Perks of the Pass - or great things about being a first time Full Series Passholder
- Ducking into the restrooms early before the ticketholders generate a ridiculously long line
- Likewise with the concession stand, when the siren song of buttered popcorn calls
- Separate entrance at the Neptune from the lowly ticketholders and their ticketholding germs!
- Flexibility to change your mind on a moment's notice, when the buzz on a film starts to go around
- Getting to hear buzz through the Fool Serious email list
Sucky Things About the Pass
- Full Series Passholders are still one cut below yet another group of pass-holes -- Platinum passholders
- Skipping movies comes easier because you're not tied to them individually as with tickets
- The Full Series pass is no good for galas or Secret Fest, thus ensuring you plunk down at least $100 more in miscellaneous festival entertainment expenses
- Being leashed to the pass can be a great annoyance with it dangling around your neck constantly
Tiring SIFF Moments - or things I could do without for another year
- Excessively long programmer introductions to films
- Watching the SIFF intro animations again, of which there were only 3 this year and one live action short
- The smell of fresh buttered popcorn
- People laughing at Beth Barrett's "pacemaker" joke (it was funny the first time!)
- Wishing I had earplugs at the Egyptian
Common Film Themes - or reoccurring things noticed across a number of movies this year
- guys seriously obsessed with girls
- cats making random appearances
- poorly produced documentaries about highly specific subject-matter (though this isn't exactly unique to this year, admittedly)
SIFF 2007 Ranked List of Films
- Rocket Science [the cream of the crop]
- The Year of Living Dangerously
- Sharkwater
- Season Five
- King of Kong
- The Boss of It All
- Great World of Sound
- In the Shadow of the Moon
- Out of Time
- I Don't Want To Sleep Alone
- Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten
- Manufactured Landscapes
- Berlin: Symphony of a City
- Woman on the Beach [the first half would have hit my top 5]
- Secret Fest Film #4
- Paris je t'aime - A Collective Feature Film [hit or miss]
- Interview
- Secret Fest Film #2
- Hounds
- Rescue Dawn
- Delirious
- Offscreen [first 3/4ths would have hit my top 10]
- The Pervert's Guide to Cinema
- Dr. Bronner's Magic Soapbox
- It's Winter
- Syndromes and a Century
- Angel-A
- Waiter
- The Art of Crying
- Scott Walker: 30 Century Man
- Vinicius
- Secret Fest Film #1
- Black White + Gray
- American Shopper
- Secret Fest Film #3
- The 2007 Fly Filmmaking Challenge
- Still Alive. A Film About Krzysztof Kieslowski
- Northwest Ties
- Sanctuary: Lisa Gerrard
- Dans Paris
- Murch
- Blood on the Flat Track: The Rise of the Rat City Rollergirls
- Cthulhu
- I Dot the Eye
- Slipstream
- Eagle vs Shark [enragingly unfunny]
- Man in the Chair [offensively horrible]
- The Elephant and the Sea [worst. movie. ever.]
Comments
Nicely done. I need to write a wrap-up too. Are you going to go back to Ketchup Mess now?
Posted by: socialretard | June 18, 2007 10:39 PM
No I've been thinking about taking that down and just doing this one. I should have some year-round things to add here so it won't die out like last time.
Posted by: rkn | June 19, 2007 07:53 AM
Nice list! I only did the Secret Festival once; scheduling has gotten in the way ever since. Your rankings make it look like it was pretty good this year.
I'm curious about the cutpoints on your rankings -- which would get a 5, 4, et c.?
Posted by: josh | June 19, 2007 08:45 AM
I think it was a combination of Secret Fest being better than average this year, and me picking a lot of sub-par movies.
I actually only gave one "5" which was to Rocket Science (except I saw it at a press screening so I didn't get to vote). I gave "4"s all the way down to Manufactured Landscapes. "3"s down to Secret Fest Film #1. Then "2"s the rest of the way down, although if I could re-rate them I would give a "1" to Eagle vs. Shark and downward. I like to reserve "1" for movies that actively piss me off.
Last year by comparison I gave probably about four or five "5" ratings, and many more "4"s. I don't think I'm being particularly stingy this year so something changed for me as far as the quality of the films I selected. If I could go back and change the experience of selecting movies, I would really try to listen more to the buzz going around about certain ones rather than ignore it, and do more up front research on them.
Posted by: rkn | June 19, 2007 09:31 AM