Film Fest 2010

“Listen to them. Children of the night. What music they make.” –Dracula Film prom last night was awesome! I can’t wait to tell you all about it after I give lip service to the opening night film. The Blue Valentine line was down and around the block when I arrived at the Oriental. I was running a bit late — had to make an emergency new-dress stop for the occasion! (Luckily, my secret parking spot was open, and my friends were saving me a seat.) My first encounter of the evening was with local intellectual/DJ Dave Monroe and Milwaukee Film’s…

“If mankind once loses its storyteller, then it will lose its childhood.”  — Wings of Desire   Oh my gosh. I’m supposed to talk about movies I want to see in this blog, but there are TOO MANY! I don’t know if the programming improved a bunch, if the description writers put in extra effort or if I’ve lost my edge because I’m about 800 percent more excited about the films this year than last (and last year was a good year!). Where shall I start?   My goal is to see between 20 and 25 films from Sept. 23…

Blue Valentine  Opening Night Film (USA, 2009, 120 min) Directed By: Derek Cianfrance (IMDB) Producers: Jamie Patricof, Lynette Howell, Alex Orlovsky Screenwriters: Derek Cianfrance, Cami Delavigne, Joey Curtis Cinematographer: Andrij Parekh Editors: Jim Helton, Ron Patane Cast: Ryan Gosling, Michelle Williams, Mike Vogel, John Doman, Faith Wladyka Critically acclaimed at both Cannes and Sundance this year, Blue Valentine balances the emotional wreckage of a relationship on its last legs with the tender courtship that led up to it. Ryan Gosling (Half Nelson) and Michelle Williams (Wendy and Lucy) supply searing, Oscar-worthy performances that pull you into the orbit of this couple. Filmed with an intimacy rarely found in…

“Fasten your seatbelts, it’s going to be a bumpy night!”  —All About Eve   This blog is mostly going to be about me. It will be about the Film Festival too, certainly, but filtered through my eyes and experiences, which basically still makes it all about me. I’m not one of those people who pretend to be unbiased. So let’s derail this train before it even gets on the tracks and make this blog all about everyone else and their excitement for the opening night party. What is it? Who designed it? In what ways will it make all your…

I’ve been sitting on this opening post for at least a week, thinking, “How do I begin my Milwaukee Film Festival blog?” I’m a visual person—someone who feels stuck with words to do the descriptive work when photos aren’t available. Don’t get me wrong: I love a well-written sentence. My copy of The Awakening is riddled with leaden highlights, and I can tell you that my favorite line from The Sun Also Rises is, “I’m thirty-four, you know. I’m not going to be one of these bitches that ruins children”—not that this line makes much sense out of context. But…