[larrymcg421]

Today opened with a documentary about the Atlanta indie music scene. We Fun follows several bands playing at different venues, talks about their history, and the obsessive fans. I didn't really care for this one. While the documentary captures the thrill of the late night indie music culture, it fails to show us why these bands are so popular. Partly at fault is the poor sound quality, but I also found little to like about the music itself. The main band that the director focuses on is the Black Lips, a band with a big following in Atlanta, but I could not stand their music at all. There were other bands, including a female band that reminded me of Heath Ledger's line in 10 Things I Hate About You about "chicks who can't play their instruments". However, there was one band where the lead singer set her vagina on fire. That was the highlight of the movie. (4/10)

Los Campeones De La Lucha Libre is an animated film that was one of the more interesting films I saw at the festival. A village is under attack and they plead with the legendary Dragon Rojo to come save them. He refuses, but his son Dragon Rojo Jr. is determined to help out, so he recruits a team of wrestlers (Mr. Proffessional, Rayo X, Sorpesa, and Tsetse Fly) to save the town. Along the way, they decide to prepare and train against various competitors, causing the anguished villager to keep reminding them that his village is in trouble. The plot of this film is thin, even at the short 72 minute running time. However, it is filled with a fast paced animation style and plenty of jokes to keep things moving. The best joke of all is the payoff when they get to the village and find out who they're fighting for. Unfortunately, the big finale is very disappointing, spoiled by the group having several similar fights leading up to it. (6/10)

Next up was the Drama Shorts program:

Wheels follows a paralyzed girl who is determined to get her car back and literally drags herself to the towing company. The ending is a twist that's not too hard to predict, but still emotionally resonant. (7/10)

Miracle Fish follows an 8 yr old boy who is an outcast at school. During one trying day, he hides in a bed at the nurse's station. When he wakes up, the school is empty and he seems relieved that all of his tormentors are gone. The director gives this one a nice sci-fi feel to it, and the payoff works amazingly well. (9/10)

Flying Lessons has some star power with Dana Delany playing a mother trying to cope with raising her autistic son, who keeps getting into trouble. Bill Fagerbakke (Coach) shows up as a new neighbor that takes a liking to her. This is a pretty powerful dramatic piece, with Delany giving a wonderful performance. (9/10)

Between You and Me is a film that follows six different characters as they interact throughout the day. The film is show triptych-split-screen style, which is fairly interesting, but doesn't make up for the fact that what actually happens in the film isn't very interesting at all. (5/10)

Magellan is about a boy in 7th grade who walks to school each day with one of the most popular girls in school. Their friendship lasts the length of that walk and stops once they reach school, where her friends make fun of him and she joins in. Undaunted, he tries to muster up the courage to ask her to the school dance. Very appealing performances from the leads and the bittersweet ending is nice. (8/10)

The Capgras Tide is about a man who has just recently recovered from a concussion, but now thinks his father may be an impostor. This one has a nice mystery element to it and features some great technical work, especially the wonderful cinematography. The ending packs a punch. (8/10)


And the day ended with another shorts program. This one was called Battle of the Sexes Shorts:

Who's Good Looking? is a mere 7 minutes long and consists of a man arguing with his girlfriend over her concept of beauty while they visit a cosmetics store. There is some really funny dialogue that makes this one work. (7/10)

Address To Silas On The Occasion Of The Retreat At Los Angeles County is about a recently broken up couple, narrated from a letter that the woman is writing to the man. As the narration talks about their differences, a civil war battle erupts int heir apartments. Interesting idea, but the conceit got old before the 7 minute running time was up. (5/10)

Don't Walk Away In Silence is about a man with radical political views who is offered a well paying office job that goes against everything he believes in. This one is a little preachy, but it is well acted and has a nice ending. (6/10)

Happy Hour features a depressed girl who is wallowing in misery after catching her boyfriend cheating on her. Her friends come up with an idea that she should get back at him by sleeping with someone, and they bring a guy over for that purpose. Some pretty funny farcical situations here make the silly idea work. (7/10)

Thinking... is about a young woman on a meditation retreat who is distracted by a young man who begins flirting with her, and this sends her mind running wild with imagination. Pretty funny, with an appealing lead performance from the director. (7/10)

He. She. It is about an aging teacher about to retire who tries to start a romance between the only two pupils in his class, but he must race to fix a problem when the romance is threatened. This Australian film was only 17 minuts, but featured three very strong characterizations. (8/10)

Rendezvous is the weakest of the films in this group. It's about a male hitmen talking to his female hitman friend about a botched job where he missed the target. The ending to his one is telegraphed from the very beginning, which took away from some decent dialogue. (4/10)