Author: Chris Burlingame

Reviews Year End Lists

Chris’s Favorite Films of 2022

by Chris Burlingame

Looking back at the movies that were released since January 1, I can’t say that I saw every movie that was on my to-watch list (and I’m still trying to get in as many as I can before midnight on 12/31) but I think there were some definite highlights. These are ten films that I loved for one reason or another. The forceful showing of speaking truth to power in Argentina, 1985, All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, and Holy Spider. The action sequences in The Batman and Everything Everywhere All at Once. The exploding farts of Jackass Forever. Of all of the years in movie history, 2022 was definitely one of them.

Festivals Interviews

Seattle Queer Film Festival is upon us… and it’s bigger than ever!

by Chris Burlingame

October is proving to show an embarrassment of riches in terms of film festivals. SIFF’s DocFest is wrapping up tonight just as we usher in the Seattle Queer Film Festival. Always bringing the finest LGBTQ+ films to the Pacific Northwest, this year’s festival looks different than in years past. This year, it’s enormous with some 150 films playing, as well as live podcast tapings, parties, meetups, and even an art show. It runs from tonight, October 13 to October 23.

Festivals SIFF

SIFF DocFest 2022: Chop & Steele

by Chris Burlingame

Joe and Nick are also pranksters and their pranks are often hilarious. They created characters who have been successful in duping local TV news programs. Programmers desperate for time to fill on the air, but no time for a quick Google search, have been a ripe target for them. Hilarity ensues when TV anchors try to maintain professionalism when talking to a yoyo master who doesn’t know any yoyo tricks or chefs that don’t actually know how to cook. But it was the characters of “Chop and Steele” that landed them in some trouble

Festivals SIFF

SIFF DocFest 2022: Hockey Dreams

by Chris Burlingame

When PyeongChang, South Korea was named hosts for the 2018 Winter Olympics, the nation was automatically given a spot to compete for the gold medal in ice hockey. Between the time of the announcement and the actual Olympics, South Korea had four years to field a respectable team. Not exactly a hockey juggernaut, the host nation had to basically start from scratch to field a team. 

Reviews

Kevin Smith brings together his Extended Cinematic Universe for Clerks III

by Chris Burlingame

Some twenty-eight years later, Kevin Smith has brought the characters of Randal and Dante back for a third movie. They now own the convenience store but look mostly the same. They still play hockey on the roof and still have signs up assuring you they’re open and asking to be alerted if you plan on shoplifting. Jay and Silent Bob are still hanging out in front of the video store (they run) but now they sell weed from it, with only slightly more legitimacy. The movie is, like a bag of Cheetos or a can of Red Bull or a lukewarm flauta, empty calories, unnecessary but completely comforting. 

Festivals Interviews SIFF

Spin Me Round star Alison Brie talks to us about her hilarious new movie, opening this weekend at SIFF

by Chris Burlingame

Spin Me Round is the latest collaboration between Alison Brie and Jeff Baena, whose other films include The Little Hours and Horse Girl. Often, as with The Little Hours and Spin Me Round, Baena’s spouse Aubrey Plaza also stars. Alison Brie’s character is Amber, a young manager in the Exemplary Manager program at Tuscan Garden who finds there may be in Italy for reasons other than her potential in restaurant management.