If you have a festival pass ... ( 3. October 2007, 09:11 by Erik) ~ Quick reviews

The following films were intrigued our writers enough that they felt they were worth writing up. We’re not saying they’re good, we’re not saying they’re bad, but they stood out. Let’s call them “Honorable Mentions.”

If you’re a film fan, these are worth a look.

A Problem Like Maria
Directed by Laura Hadden
25 min short film
Review by Erik Hanberg
This short documentary shows promise. By interviewing local members of the Dominican Sisters, an order of Catholic nuns, the film hopes to pull back the habit, so to speak. Certainly after watching it, you’ll see that even a few nuns in Tacoma have very different outlooks on certain aspects of their church, the pope, and the pressing issues of the day. If you thought Catholicism didn’t leave much room for internal debate, this movie might be illuminating.

I wish I could recommend it a little more. Production issues plague it and there’s only so much anyone can take of the talking head style documentary without cutting it up better. Still has some good moments.
Playing Sunday, October 7
2:45 pm at Tacoma Art Museum
Filmmaker will be present

Big Dreams, Little Tokyo
Directed by Dave Boyle
87 min feature film
Review by Andrew Fry
I suppose that if you crossed “Napoleon Dynamite” with “Lost in Translation” you might get a movie like this … which is not necessarily a recommendation.

What is missing is the endearing quirkiness, as opposed to simply quirkiness, of the former, and the cinematography of the latter. Though the film is interesting, in an uncomfortable way, when meeting the desperate protagonist, a man of a thousand business cards and a fluency in English and Japanese language, it tends to lose it’s appeal too frequently in slower scenes.

It has difficulty standing on it’s own, but there are some good moments and the seemingly random scenes ultimately do serve a purpose on the whole. Three things to recommend from it include the opening scene where we meet the hero, a cliche business meeting translation scene, which is actually quite good, and the opportunity to catch Ando from “Heroes” in a minor roll.
Playing Saturday, October 6
4:15 pm at the Grand Cinema

Finding Kraftland
Directed by Richard Kraft
75 min feature film
Review by David Schroedel
Many people collect memorabilia because of some significance to them personally, but few of them have the budget and resources of Richard Kraft, a Hollywood agent. This movie, done in a frantic VH1-style countdown, follows Richard & his son Nicky through the Top 10 attractions of Kraftland – their southern California home. Childhood memorabilia and pop culture overflow the home – and a leased warehouse.

Expectedly, this becomes a testament to commercialism, consumerism and obsession. (How many people have an entire room dedicated to shampoo bottles styled after animated characters?) What saves this movie from being entirely narcissistic is the sheer fun and energy radiating off of Richard & Nicky. These are definitely two guys who are fun to hang out with – even for only one crazy hour.
Playing Monday, October 8
4:30 pm at the Grand Cinema

Following Chip
Directed by John Hunton
28 min short film
Review by Erik Hanberg
Before even attempting to see this film you must answer this question. Do you think “the Aristocrats” (a joke whose purpose is to push the boundaries of good taste) is funny? If so, you may enjoy this home-grown low-budget film. Otherwise, you will slink out of the darkness, coat over your head. The characters spend most of their dialog talking a crass blue streak of wildly profane insults hurled at each other. The underlying joke of the cult leaders being a pathetic loser of epic proportion, as are his followers, is simply a plot device to allow the actors to come at each other with inventive, sexually explicit and outrageous attacks on their manhood, prowess and moms.
Playing Saturday, October 6
9:45 pm at the Grand Cinema
Filmmaker will be present

Nice Hat! Five Enigmas in the Life of Cambodia
Directed by: David Brisbin
86 min feature film
Review by David Schroedel
Tracing the history of Cambodia through the hats they wear, this documentary has numerous interviews with residents, many of who seem caught a little off guard by the director’s “Tell me about your hat.” Weaving these interviews with narration, the director evaluates the cultural significance of the changing styles of hats in Cambodia and the surrounding region.

While the division of the movie into segments titled “Stone,” “Palm,” “Woven,” “a la mode,” and “Gold” seems like a difficult fit for the historical tale, there are many interesting sub-plots within the overall movie. One of the most fascinating is a traditional Khmer scarf that the world came to associate with the Khmer Rouge and their genocide.
Playing Saturday, October 6
12:15 pm at the Grand Cinema
Filmmaker will be present

One Night
Directed by Michael Knowles
97 min feature film
Review by Erik Hanberg
About a dozen troubled New Yorkers all end up at the same club. It’s a pretty common theme to explore the interconnectedness of humanity, and One Night takes it on pretty well. There are some slow quiet parts, some interesting parts, but the guy in the red hood just kept bugging the hell out of me. His presence and the way the writer and director used him really annoyed me throughout. Other than that, this film had a lot going for it. Including a nice little cameo by Veronica Mars own Sheriff Lamb.
Playing Sunday, October 7
8:20 pm at the Grand Cinema
Filmmaker will be present

The Relationship Theorem
Directed by Lori Johnson
19 min short film
Review by David Schroedel
Girl likes boy who is out of her league. Girl makes excuse to go after boy. Things don’t go as planned. Sounds like a pretty typical story. What makes this story a bit different is that the girl’s excuse is the psychology experiment she’s conducting. If the movie had included more science it would have made it stand out more.

At 19 minutes, the director nailed the right length for this tale. Using a number of stereotypes it keeps the movie sweet without becoming sappy. This could be a worthwhile movie mixed in with some other good shorts.
Playing Sunday, October 7
12:30 pm at the School of the Arts Theater

Room 314
Directed by Michael Knowles
104 minute feature film
Review by Andrew Fry
Like listening in on a conversation, or taking a voyeuristic look into a hotel room, Room 314 makes you wait through the pauses and chit chat of a normal discussion between two people but delivers some starkly private and riveting give and take of dialog and action in multiple instances.

Several stories follow each other as guests check into Room 314 of the Fairfield Inn. A one night stand, a suicide attempt, an affair and guests to a wedding are among those who you are basically forced to sit quietly watching and listening too. It is an interesting experience, an engaging thrill and will keep you guessing as to where these relationships will go, but be prepared to be uncomfortable as well.
Playing Sunday, October 7
6:00 pm at the Grand Cinema
Filmmaker will be present