A Seattle moviegoing lifestyle magazine
This rainy city has always felt like a perfect Ground Zero for film noir, and Seattle’s been packing Noir Czar Eddie Muller’s touring Noir City film festival for years.
So it’s no surprise a noir did surface during the Festival. Kudos to SIFF, however, for getting their mitts on a genuine film noir curiosity (in 3D, no less) that also happens to kinda rule.
SIFF is wrapping up this weekend and there are only a few more days before it’s all done. Eight films are in the Documentary Competition and I’ve seen them all.
Two years ago, upon the release of the first half of the finale, I asked this question: “Is there a long-running blockbuster movie franchise that is more dependably good than the Mission: Impossible films with Tom Cruise?” I answered probably not then and still believe that to be true.
Surveying a couple of polar opposite selections from SIFF’s Asian Crossroads program.
The in-person portion of the 51st Seattle International Film Festival is past its halfway point and is barreling toward closing weekend. Featuring 245 films playing in theaters around town until May 25th (and several making online encores the week after), there’s still plenty of time to catch our city’s biggest film festival in the company of other cinemaniacs.
We share some film’s we’ve seen and are eager to recommend as well as a few that are still at the top of our watchlists.
If you’ve seen the animated feature by Disney released in 2002, then you already know the plot for this version of Lilo & Stitch, no surprises in store. It’s another in a slate of films where they’ve attempted to rely mostly on nostalgia an curiosity to get folks into theaters or on VOD a little later. While I’m not exactly on board with the live action train, admittedly I enjoyed myself throughout the nearly two hour run time.
Over the weekend, I caught up on a few films playing in competition, all connected in one way or another with books.
I grouped these three films together as they have one key factor in common, incredibly strong female characters. While each lead is completely different from the other two, they all have a power that captivates you on screen and keeps you invested in the story from beginning to end. I recommend seeking out all three as you make your way through SIFF.
Boong (Gugun Kipgen) is a precocious kid that lives for getting into playful trouble, more annoying than harmful, with his best friend Raju (Angom Sanamatum). He’s too smart for his own good sometimes, but he knows what’s important.
Some movies have trigger warnings. I’d propose a content test before seeing Friendship, the new Tim Robinson comedy. Have you seen at least one episode of I Think You Should Leave on Netflix? Were you able to make it through the twenty minutes of sketch comedy show without nearly (or actually) choking to death with laughter? If you survived by turning it off immediately in cringing discomfort and cancelling your subscription, Friendship is certainly Not For You.
