I'm not sure even with two weeks to go that'll I'll be able to see more SIFF 2016 films; this is mostly because of time and money. Or rather time and money and distance. But I have spent three days at SIFF ( Read more... )

Tonight I went to grown-up movie, Steven Spielberg's latest (written by the Coen Brothers, oddly enough), Bridge of SpiesI find it ironic that Spielberg, one of the people most responsible for the frenetic pacing of American movies, should have matured into making more stately-paced, "European" movies, but he has. It's especially ironic in a year ( Read more... )

Today, despite being a beautiful autumn day in the Emerald City, I spent part of indoors, taking advantage of my SIFF membership to catch the movie Shanghai at the Egyptian. It's a period-piece war-drama murder-mystery spy thriller… with more than a tinge of noir. In other words, it's an Old Movie. And it more was than one - it was originally ( Read more... )

So the cause celebre of the last week was a scrawny 14 year-old South Asian Muslim-American kid named Ahmed Mohamad who built a (rather messy) digital clock and got arrested for bringing it to school when one of his teachers (NOT the one he was showing it to - and I will say that I'm impressed a 14 year-old even has an engineering teacher) thought ( Read more... )

"The price of liberty is eternal vigilance" - unknown

"He who lies down with dogs, wakes up with fleas"  -Ben Franklin

So, it was a week ago today that I returned from Worldcon in Spokane, aka Sasquan.

I was also at the Hugo Awards.

My personal recollection is not one of animus or celebration of defeat, but relief. No one was absolutely sure which ( Read more... )

OK, so I checked out some movies from the library. Not sure why, I didn't have a lot of time, but here they were :

"After Earth": Well, if Will Smith was trying to get back into comedy, he succeeded on how silly the science is. Really,  the science is so bad a Texas school board could poke holes in it.

"300:Rise of an Empire": Two worlds: " ( Read more... )

After a morning of much walking and a turgid Metro experience, I finally got SIFF Cinema Uptown only 10 minutes after I wanted to be there (an hour before showtime), and the line for "I'll See You in My Dreams" was already down the block into the alley. I think a lot of the women were there to see Sam Elliot in person.

This film is very sweet, but ( Read more... )

After a blah morning (fire alarm!), I went to my first SIFF film of the season, a Japanese film called "Snow on the Blades ( Read more... )

So, today with scarlettina and our friends Sean and Debi we saw Oklahoma! at the Cinerama in it's fully restored glory ( Read more... )

OK, it's not entirely my fault, but I did, as it turned out, have a nominating membership, and could have nominated stuff had I been paying attention. Not that my own eccentric tastes (and feeble knowledge) would have made the ballot, but at least I could fee like I'd contributed.

But, as many of you are no doubt aware, there has been a kerfuffle ( Read more... )