howdy

I got to meet the director and/or stars of several films; the biggest star being William H (Bill) Macy. It was really neat to see the enthusiasm and sometimes warped personalities of these creative artists.

My top 20-odd favorites, in order, were...

Secrecy a well-balanced discussion of the costs and benefits of classified information and the war on terror. A "must-see" film.

Bad Biology superbly bizarre, hilarious and unpredictable - comedic porn at its finest.

Glass: A Portrait of Philip in 12 parts interviews with the composer, his family and friends, as well as performance footage.


Roman de Gare a twisting and turning French thriller. Who's the killer, and who's the victim?

Epitaph the best horror film I've seen in years. From Korea, it is exceedingly creepy and as emotionally engaging as any mainstream film.

Empties is a Czech film that has it all - love, romance, breakups, humor and fantasizing. A schoolteacher decides to retire, but needing to keep busy he takes a bottle return job in the local supermarket.

The Deal William Macy and Meg Ryan star in a Tracy-Hepburnesque film about dealmaking in Hollywood. Quite a fun indie film.


Mrs. Ratcliff's Revolution - a British family of socialists decide to move to paradise (East Germany, circa the mid 60's). An amusing period of adjustment follows.

Dharm is a tale of religion and cultural clash. The leader of a Hindu temple takes in an abandoned child, but it threatens to tear his temple apart. Fabulous soundtrack, worth listening to in its own right.

Priceless the latest film from Audrey Tautou (one of my favorite actresses). She plays a not-so-sweet woman intent on swindling expensive gifts from rich old men. She's very convincing.

Kenny is a faux documentary about the life of an Australian man in the portable toilet business. You can't help but laugh and root for him to succeed.

Choose Connor is a controversial film, peering inside a cynically manipulative politician who recruits a middle-school student to help him with the young voters. Perfect for this campaign season.

Autumn Ball a stark impressionistic film from Estonia. Some powerful images and moments, quite unusual and interesting.

The Sperm a truly unusual film from Thailand. Think of it as a cross between "Porkys" and "Buckaroo Banzai." A teen humor sci-fi romp.

Trailer Park of Terror has good Southern-flavored fun with the slasher genre. Very funny and very disgusting at the same time. The director and writer are nuts.

Film Noir is a prototypical genre film with a twist. It is animated and shot in mostly black & white. Definitely for adults only.

Timecrimes is a low budget but refreshingly interesting look at what can go wrong when a man stumbles into an unauthorized time travel experiment. Plenty of plot twists to keep the audience saying "Aha!"

Vexille is an interesting animated sci-fi feature in which Japan has cut itself off from the rest of the world and assembled an android monopoly.

The Pope's Toilet is a nearly true story of the frenzy surrounding a papal visit to a small town in Uruguay.

Mister Foe is a Scottish film which is interesting and original enough to survive several plot inconsistencies. A young man has trouble coping with his mother's death, and turns to voyeurism as an escape mechanism. Quite odd but worth seeing.

Darling a man who has lost nearly everything meets a girl who has nearly everything, while they are both working at McDonalds, in this slow=paced but enjoyable film from Sweden.

Baghead two couples go off to a cabin in the woods to write a screenplay. But there's a stranger lurking nearby. Or not...

A Day for An Affair a Korean film that follow two very different couples whose cheating eventually intersect with each other.

You, the Living is Swedish humor - i.e. dark. About the desire to love and be loved, in all its disappointments.


P.S. I met and shook hands with Bill Clinton today, at a rally for his wife (who was campaigning elsewhere).

And I'll close with some fun from YouTube