...And Now Your Moment of Zen WTF Just Happened There?

Jon Stewart's got political speeches and news clips. I've got random movie moments. Today I present one from the 1968 Lindsay Anderson mindfuck If..., also known as Malcolm McDowell's feature film debut. Yes, that Malcolm McDowell. So you know what you're getting yourself into.

I hope that weirdo headmaster sprang for some nice drawer liners at the very least.

Actors That Need to Be Saved from Themselves, Professionally: Shia LaBeouf

Remember back in the early naughties when we were first introduced to Louis Stevens, known in the real world as Shia LaBeouf?

What simple times those were. LaBeouf was merely a goofy child star then. He annoyed perfectionist sister Ren and formed awesome supergroups with his best friend Twitty each week on the Disney Channel. It was fantastic. His lead role in Holes a few years later would only cement his wholesome and largely lovable image.

After some tiny roles in I, Robot and Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, LaBeouf began his transition to grown-up stardom with under-the-radar projects like The Greatest Game Ever Played, A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints and Bobby (they were generally well-received). The big breakthrough, however, came in Disturbia, after which he blew up into a bonafide celebrity.

Now, Disturbia was obviously not a masterpiece for anyone involved, but it was decent. Unfortunately, LaBeouf's subsequent movies would only plummet in quality. While I can't speak for Surf's Up, I did see The Beef's next next movie, Transformers. Obviously not my favorite, but I figured he's allowed one "fun," stupid movie. However, what came next was Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, during which he swung from trees with CGI monkeys. Sadly only one of several WTF moments from that movie, whose awfulness I tried my best to deny for Cate Blanchett and the original Indiana Jones movies' sake, but which was eventually unavoidable.

Two massive misses in a row, what does LaBeouf do? Make a shitty amalgamation of every sci-fi thriller with a talking computer ever named Eagle Eye and another Transformers movie of course! And guess what his next project is? Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps. I'm not kidding. Michael Douglas is back, and teaming up with Shia to "alert the financial community to the coming doom and to find out who was responsible for the death of the young trader's mentor."

I know that a new Wall Street is extremely relevant now and that Gordon Gekko is an awesome character, but that sounds way too much like a fake, Mad Libs-generated movie. Maybe Oliver Stone is playing an elaborate trick on all of us, and actually making a prequel to JFK focused on British Prime Minister Harold Macmillian and John Kennedy's relationship.

(Bigger photos available here and here.)

Anyway, Shia LaBeouf might as well hire me as his manager now, because I have an extensive plan to save him from entering Vin Diesel territory. It's a commitment, to be sure; this is at least a five- to ten-year plan. But if he doesn't hop on it soon, it may get bumped up to twenty.

Okay, so first of all, and I know this is going to be hard to understand, cut all ties with Steven Spielberg. Yes, he's put you in lots of blockbusters, but he's also overexposed you, pegged you as franchise-happy and typecast you as a slightly uncool action hero. Your career will not survive if it continues this way. Even Harrison Ford made some non-commercial movies.

Next, lay off the big-budget action flicks. For the love of all things that are pure and wonderful in this world, do not sign on for Transformers 3. I don't want you near a movie with a single explosion. Not even one in a microwave. Take a few months to carefully read over some scripts and look for supporting roles. You need to slowly reenter the Hollywood scene, because you're nearing public disdain. And these supporting roles? They're going to be in dramedies. I like that you took a part in New York, I Love You. The cast and directors aren't nearly as impressive or credible as the ones in Paris, je t'aime, but they're a helluva lot better than Megan Fox and Michael Bay. And you got in a segment with Julie Christie where you're looking pretty classy. Good job. Let's continue this.

You're not lovable enough to attempt this yet, but in time, you may also want to reconsider your comedy roots. The only reason I'm even bothering to figure out how to save your sorry career is because I have fond middle school memories of Even Stevens (and Bobby wasn't bad, either). If you can replicate your past comedic success, you're set. Perhaps a self-deprecating role as a slightly douchey young actor? God it's a shame Extras isn't on the air anymore.

After a few years of doing what I described above, you should be ready for lead roles again and have gained some more long-term staying power. If you pull this off really well, you may even be able to throw in another action movie or two, a la Matt Damon. But seriously, heed my words, Shia. You won't get rid of that unfortunate new nickname of yours (LaDouche), or Michael Bay, otherwise.

Bright Star & Up in the Air, or Anguish & Airports

After two posts chronicling my celebrity-induced insanity, it's time to make this blog slightly more legit again. Maybe even too legit to quit. But let's not get ahead of ourselves.

So, as mentioned previously, I was lucky enough to snag tickets to both Bright Star and Up in the Air during the London Film Festival. Obviously, I have thoughts on them, which I'd like to share with you. Let's start with the first movie I saw: Up in the Air.

My expectations for this one were pretty freakin' high. This was due to several factors: a) it's the third full-length film by Jason Reitman; b) it features Vera Farmiga, Jason Bateman, J.K. Simmons and even Zach Galifianakis; c) it's been buzzed about since September. And while Jason Reitman was absolutely right -- it did make me (more than) a little sad -- I thought it was a fantastically well-made and extremely relevant movie.

First, an adequate plot synopsis. Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) flies a lot. So much, in fact, that he's aiming to become one of the select few to reach 10 million miles. Why does he travel so much? His job is to fire people whose bosses are too lazy or scared to do it themselves. Strangely, Ryan loves his life and loathes the few days of the year he spends at "home." 

Then, this Ivy League go-getter (Anna Kendrick) joins his company and decides to economize by firing over webcams. Ryan is outraged, not only because it will finally root him somewhere but also because it's downright cruel. His unmoved boss (Bateman) asks him to show the new girl the ropes as they prepare her revolutionary system.  

Ryan also meets his female equivalent (Farmiga) along the way, and considers abandoning their shared commitment phobia.

I was kinda bummed that they didn't let Jason Bateman do anything with his role, and that J.K. Simmons was limited to one (admittedly marvelous) scene, but otherwise I have no complaints. This is a rare movie that feels like it's real -- there's little glamour and a whole lot of familiar job losses and setbacks instead. Even if you've yet to enter the job market, the themes of lost direction are something that us college students have no problem identifying with. It's probably a topic we'd rather forget, but if you don't mind harsh reality in movies, few pull it off more deftly than Up in the Air.

Also, George Clooney was incredible in this. I went into it expecting an only mildly serious turn from him, but he was freakin' heartbreaking in some scenes. He was also, as expected, perfect in the more comedic situations. I just about died when -- in reply to Anna Kendrick's character's angry query "Who breaks up with someone over text message?!" -- he cooly says, "Kinda like firing someone over the Internet." That was some massive paraphrasing on my part, but still.

Finally, I have to give props to Anna Kendrick. Like most people, I only know her as Twilight girl, and was thus a little apprehensive about her part in this movie. But she was just as wonderful as Clooney and Farmiga (the only one who I was already expecting a lot from). Hopefully she distances herself as much as possible from vampires in the future.

Annnnd now for Bright Star.

I swear I'm not going to get super fangirl-y like I did in my last Ben Whishaw-related post, but I gotta say this: Jane Campion could not have pandered to his smitten fans more if she tried. Casting him as a poet is already swoon-inducing enough. Add in an adorable Scottish jig, a beautiful choir solo, an awesome top hat, a cute love of Fanny's cat and an angry outburst towards his asshole buddy who's macking on Fanny and you have hundreds of girls reduced to putty in Ben Whishaw's delicate, poetry-writing hands.

But it's an extremely romantic, extremely tragic and extremely beautiful movie on its own. Obviously the true life story plays a major role in this, but so many of the shots are breathtakingly gorgeous. Consider the following.

Like I said, gorgeous. And that's not even counting the image on the other poster. If nothing else, Bright Star better get a Cinematography nod at the Oscars. And Costume Design. But that one's expected. I mean, how on earth do you beat this?

The soundtrack is also beautiful, and Ben and Abbie Cornish are perfect together. She's feisty and amusing, he's, as previously mentioned, too adorable to put into actual words. There's not much else I can say about it. 

Okay, I will add that my graphic professor, a former BBC radio personality and all-around awesome guy, took a good two minutes to praise this movie when someone mentioned Keats in class today. He usually doesn't sidetrack much, but he was absolutely fawning over Bright Star. Wonderful and Jane Campion's best movie yet, he said. Trust me, if it's good enough for Chris Cook, it's good enough for you. He makes delicious salmon and can dissect Four Weddings and a Funeral like no one's business.

Now take us out, Ben.

December 14: The Day a Room with Padded Walls Becomes My New Home

I'm really trying to stay composed here, guys. Really trying. But you see, I have news that is likely to keep me awake for the rest of the night/month. And there's no other way for me to express it but this:

SHERLOCK HOLMES WORLD PREMIERE IN LONDON ON DECEMBER 14TH. OHMYGOD GUYS IS THIS REAL LIFE I MIGHT SEE ROBERT DOWNEY JR MY FAVORITE PERSON EVER SOMEONE PLEASE DRUG ME CANNOT HANDLE THIS AT ALL OH MY GODDDDDDDDDD.

Yes, it's true. My flatmate just informed me, and laughed really hard at my subsequent facial expression. I'd imagine it was a Hans Grüber falling off the building at the end of Die Hard meets Jack Torrance chasing his son in The Shining meets any chick flick heroine doing a private little dance of joy after being asked out by the guy of her dreams kind of face. And I realize that you guys must be sick of my incessant Sherlock Holmes ravings, and cannot possibly be as excited about this news as I am, but please try to understand.

This. 

May be in front of my face.

In about one month.

I believe the wikipedia images accompanying the page for "hysteria" best sum up my current condition. Particularly the one of the far left. And, well, all of them.

The London Film Festival, in Exhaustively Lengthy and Mildly Crazed Review

So, as many of you have already seen on my facebook profile, this past week was full of red carpet, blurry celebrity photos and wild hysterics on my part. It wasn't easy cramming four premieres, and two screenings, into a week which included a visit from my parents and aunt as well as midterms. In fact, it was pretty freakin' exhausting. But it was totally worth it.

The festival kicked off with Fantastic Mr. Fox. The premiere was listed as 7 and 7:30, so we arrived around 6.

Big mistake.

As we quickly learned, if you're going to stalk a red carpet, you gotta commit. One hour? The celebrity stalking vets would laugh in our faces if they knew. Try two or three hours and THEN we can talk to them. For we were not only unable to get into the main arena where all the autographs happened, we were stuck four rows back from the gate in front of a raised platform that some of the VIPs walked down. Oh and they would turn the other way upon reaching its end. Definitely not ideal, but we were prepared to scream, cry and sing for Meryl Streep when she floated by. Sadly, that moment never came, because Meryl flaked. I later read that she had the flu. Right, "the flu." If by having the flu, you mean having no empathy for your devoted fans who left class early for you, then yeah, you have the flu. (Though I do like Meryl, my outrage is more on behalf of one of my friends, who was absolutely devastated.)

However, towards the end, after neither Wes Anderson nor Jason Schwartzmann had walked by, I looked into the distance and saw something wonderful. "Guys, that's George Clooney," I said. "What?" my friends said. "No it's not, Kristin. What are you talking ab-- GEORGE!" He streaked by in a tux with his Italian Barbie girlfriend and in an instant his beauty, like a shooting star, had disappeared. It was the first really surreal moment of the festival.

The next day was the premiere of The Men Who Stare at Goats, a.k.a. our second shot at seeing George and first try at finding the singing cuteness that is Ewan McGregor. We got there two hours early this time, and were just one row behind the gate, perpendicular to the paparazzi. This time, there was no waiting around while people we didn't know traipsed undeservedly across the red carpet. George was one of the first ones there, and he was really nice to all the fans. I wasn't in a position to ask for an autograph, but I got some close, non-blurry photos of that gorgeous man and looked on with delight as he joked with some of the lucky front rowers. He even came around a second time before posing for the paparazzi and leaving. Oh, and he decided to jokingly "adjust" his suit in front of us before braving the photographers. It resulted in this hilarious photo:

Sadly though, Ewan pulled a Meryl and disappointed us. This one, in my opinion, was even more inexcusable. I don't think he was actually expected to attend, but, dude, you're Scottish! Show some British solidarity/pride.

Neve Campbell and Rachel from S Club 7 also made cameos. It was hella random.

And then this cute old man started making the rounds. I honestly had no idea who he was, but people seemed to be making a big deal about him. "Ask him for his autograph, and we'll find out who he is," my friend said. So I did. When I looked down it said, "John Hurt." I kinda flipped. And then felt extremely embarrassed that I didn't recognize him. (In my defense, he looks wildly different between each of his movies.)

After Men Who Stare at Goats, we got a two-day reprieve from the festival during which I hung out with my parents and aunt. Then on Sunday, the Up in the Air premiere arrived. George had already cancelled, and it was at a much smaller theater, so this one was vastly more low-key. However, we were hoping to meet Michael Bluth Jason Bateman. I'll cut to the chase and tell you that he didn't show up, either (god damn that's a lot of unfulfilled anticipation). However, we did get to meet Vera Farmiga, best known as the two-timing shrink in The Departed, who is coincidentally a Syracuse drama alum.

As she made her way towards us, in some awesome purple heels, we shouted, "We go to Syracuse!" Signing my friend's notebook, she excitedly responded, "You do?!" We explained quickly that we were in the abroad program. She smiled, and I told her I love The Departed (had to) and she left. But before that, I had an even nerdier encounter with a barely-qualifies-as-celebrity figure: Jason Reitman.

The fact that I was able to recognize him already tells you that I like Thank You for Smoking and Juno way too much. But you'd think he was some heartthrob leading man the way I was behaving when he came by. As he signed stuff, I broke out my obligatory, "Can I just say that I love Thank You for Smoking and Juno?!" Now, based on my overall experience this past week, celebrities are so used to compliments on their movies that they might respond with a polite thank you, but that's about it. Jason, however, noticeably changed the tone of his voice and said, "Aw thank you. I hope you like this one, too." Having frantically secured one of the last tickets to the Tuesday Up in the Air screening weeks ago, I had to say, "I can't wait to see it!" That's usually all the conversation you get, but he squeezed in, "It might make you a little sad, though" before moving on. I didn't really know what to say to that, so I giggled. (Also, he was right. But more on that later.)

Finally, on Monday I attended the Bright Star premiere. This was the only one I would attend alone, but by far the most exciting. See, it officially being midterm week, most smart and sane people were studying. Besides, no one extremely famous is in this movie. But I was on a mission to find Ben Whishaw, and I refused to let myself (or his even more loyal fan Tarra) down.

So I waited a few hours. Then, he arrived. I kept my eyes glued to his movements by the press aisle the entire time, waiting for my moment to pounce. I was kinda in between the press and paparazzi aisles, and most of the guests were quickly stopping by our section after being photographed. So as Ben posed for the pictures, my anticipation grew. I had already texted news of his arrival with my hand visibly shaking, and was suppressing the urge to scream. This level of excitement was way more than I had expected, but it's Ben, so it's completely warranted. Anyway, I had been chatting with the guy next to me, who had commented that I didn't have any autographs. "I'm waiting for Ben," I told him. "Well you better scream when he breaks away," he said. "Oh, I so am. You should do it with me." So when Ben finally finished, just minutes before the premiere start time, we both shouted "BEN!" Mine was way louder, and no one else had yelled or even shown much interest in the mesmerizing Mr. Whishaw. He actually turned his head and looked in my direction (AAAAHH) but then was turned around and ushered inside (NOOOOOO).

At this point, my body froze. Did this really just happen? Did I wait for hours, rocking on my feet and patiently watching him talk to press members, for nothing? How could life (and Ben) be so cruel? I was really, really upset, but then some expensive black cars pulled up to the entrance. I had never seen this happen before, and the cars were kept running, so I had to make sure Ben wasn't making a quick exit. After about 25 minutes, I was losing faith and contemplating leaving to go home and cry in a ball on my bed. But then I saw him in the hall. He opened the door and walked outside, and I wasn't taking any chances. I screamed his name again, and he promptly continued walking STRAIGHT TOWARDS ME. "Sorry I didn't stop earlier," he said. "Oh it's fine," I said in a state of utter delirium. I asked him if he could sign something for me. Pitifully, all I had was my planner. I opened to a page in July of this year and handed him my cheesy SU Abroad pen, saying, "Sorry, this is all I have." He said it was fine (!) and then said something magical, "What's your name?" Probably blushing and definitely screaming on the inside, I told him it was Kristin and spelled it out for him when he hesitated. As he was signing, I had to whip out, "I think you're fantastic by the way." Didn't even mention a movie that time. Nope, it was just about him. He said thank you. Again, I was delirious, so I was far from done and added as he moved to the next person, "It's a shame more people don't know you in the States!"

For a sec after that, I was extremely scared that I had insulted Ben Whishaw. I mean, he could take that as a back-handed compliment, right? Like, "sucks that no one knows you, man." But I meant that he's so wonderful that his lack of mega-stardom is inexcusable! Luckily, I think I was alright, as Ben didn't say much to anyone (aw, he's shy) and thus I didn't make much of his non-response.

I quickly peeked at my planner and saw, to my astonishment, the inscription, "To Kristin. With love, Ben Whishaw." I was already freaking out that he had asked my name (not one celebrity at the festival had done that for anyone so far), but he added "with love"! You all know what that means: he's legitimately in love with me. Mission accomplished.

Ben did speak once more, saying to the crowd, "Thank you for waiting out in the cold," with a slight, embarrassed, "I feel guilty" chuckle, which was incredibly endearing. And he let us take some pictures. Then, he disappeared into the black car and was gone. But I was over the moon. Too bad no one else gave a damn (except for the guy next to me, I had to explain to basically the entire group that he was the star of the movie...and they were all British). Whatever, it was their loss. My autograph is now proudly tacked to my bulletin board, and I am currently praying to every god in every religion known to man that he does not recognize me when I wait after his play, too, and see me for the massive creep that I am.

Wow, sorry that was so long, guys. (Despite the title, I really didn't realize I was blabbing about Ben Whishaw so much until I hit "preview.") But look out for part 2, in which I review Up in the Air and Bright Star, after I return from fall break on November 1!

Observation: British People Like Their Movies Crushingly Depressing

Yesterday in film class, my professor (who vaguely resembles Susan Sarandon) remarked, "I think you'll find that a lot of the movies we watch will have sort of...downbeat endings."

No shit. This was right after watching Room at the Top, which closed on the protagonist in a trapped marriage and so broken down that he was literally crying. The week before gave us Brief Encounter, another unbelievably tragic romance that almost brought me to tears (less than 10 movies have actually made me cry). The week before that was a movie theater trip to Fish Tank, a social realist movie in which absolutely nothing good happens. Not one damn marginally happy moment. 

Oh, and guess what else we're watching towards the end of class. Atonement. You know, that kinda emotionally draining movie about war-torn lovers? 

I don't mean to sound bitter about this; all of these movies have been great, even outstanding. The amount of depressing shit going on in them is just a tad bit overwhelming. To illustrate this feeling, I present a checklist of all the horrible things I've witnessed in the four mentioned movies, and Dirty Pretty Things, another sad British movie I watched outside of class.

Suicide or Suicide Attempt: BE, RATT

Rape: DPT

Kidnapping: FT

Doomed Lovers: A, BE, DPT, FT, RATT

Mugging: FT

Character Gets Beat Up or Severely Injured: A, FT, RATT

Botched Surgeries: DPT

Shitty Living Conditions: DPT, FT, RATT

The Song "Life's a Bitch": FT

Character Judged Because of Class: A, RATT

Massive Lies: A, BE, DPT, RATT

Annoying Naive Girl Who Ruins Everything: A, RATT

Betrayal of a Family Member or Spouse: A, BE, FT

Woman Abandoned by Her Two-Timing Lover: FT, RATT

General Despair: A, BE, DPT, FT, RATT

Looks like Fish Tank and Room at the Top take the cake in terms of abundance of soul-sucking material. Not surprising, considering that The New York Times called Room at the Top "basically cheerless and somber" upon its release and the London Times noted Fish Tank's "bleak worldview where hard-knock women and sado-masochistic desires collide." You know you're getting a not-so-sunny movie when "sado-masochistic desires" are part of the plot outline.

I'm sure you're desperate to soak up as much misery as possible, and what kind of blogger would I be if I didn't provide you with a taste of these two epically tragic British movies? Here's Fish Tank:

And that's actually all you're getting. No Room at the Top trailer on YouTube. Boo Internet, and your bias against old movies.

But next time you're in a fantastic, nothing's-gonna-get-me-down mood and need something that will completely destroy your will to live, why not give a nice British drama a try?

Counting Down to the London Film Festival

I have very exciting news from across the pond.  In just 13 days, the London Film Festival arrives. 

Basically this is me right now:

But you might be thinking, "London Film Festival? I've heard of Cannes and Venice, but London has one too?" While not nearly as internationally prestigious as France and Italy's annual fests, the London Film Festival is making up for its microscopic reputation with a shitload of awesome-looking movies. All of which are playing mere minutes from my flat.

So what exactly is playing/who exactly will I be stalking on the red carpet? I'm glad you asked. Here's a rundown of the movies and stars hitting London in a fortnight (minus one day)....

FANTASTIC MR. FOX

The Movie: 

Based on Roald Dahl's book and directed by quirkfest Wes Anderson, Fantastic Mr. Fox is about a war between farmers and a family of foxes. The trailer weirdly has a heist movie vibe to it, and the voices behind these adorable animated characters are pretty damn impressive.

The Stars:

Like I said, impressive. George "I make men, women and children worldwide swoon" Clooney. Meryl "15 Oscar nods" Streep. Bill "I'm in every Wes Anderson movie ever" Murray. Owen "I'm also in pretty much every Wes Anderson movie ever" Wilson. Adrien "hey guys I won an Oscar and kissed Halle Berry" Brody. And some other people I couldn't think of stupid, cutesy nicknames for.

The Trailer:

THE BOYS ARE BACK

The Movie: 

A sports writer must raise his two boys alone when his wife passes away. He adopts the child-rearing philosophy of "just say yes," with allegedly hilarious and heartwarming consequences.

The Stars:

Clive Owen. Yes, that suave as hell Brit is in this movie. Now you understand why I'm stalking the premiere.

The Trailer:

BRIGHT STAR

The Movie:

The requisite fall period piece about poet John Keats and his romance with Fanny Brawne. 

The Stars:

Up-and-comer Abbie Cornish plays Fanny, while the too cute Ben Whishaw takes on Keats. You may recognize him as one of the Dylans in I'm Not There or as the teddy bear-toting Sebastian in Brideshead Revisited. Paul Schneider of the prestigious "Drunk History" series, has a supporting role.

The Trailer:

AN EDUCATION

The Movie:

Coming-of-age tale about a '60s teen whose relationship with a much older man gives her an unconventional "education." (You see what I did there? "Education"...like the movie's title! I'm a genius.) 

The Stars:

It may have received rave reviews, but don't expect a lot of star power. The lead girl is a relative unknown while the leading man, Peter Sarsgaard, is probably best known as Mr. Maggie Gyllenhaal. However, look out for Alfred Molina and Emma Thompson as Jack and "Headmistress," respectively.

The Trailer:

THE MEN WHO STARE AT GOATS

The Movie: A reporter investigating a secret government program meets a former psychic spy (or "Jedi warrior") and the two get into all sorts of wartime hijinks.

The Stars: Ewan McGregor plays the American journalist, while George Clooney makes his second London Film Festival appearance as the paranormal spy. Kevin Spacey and Jeff Bridges are also in the movie, as military men.

The Trailer:

UP IN THE AIR

The Movie: All I got from the trailer was that there's this guy who flies around a lot, and some relationships happen, so I turned to the imdb plot synopsis: Ryan Bingham is a corporate downsizing expert whose cherished life on the road is threatened just as he is on the cusp of reaching ten million frequent flier miles and just after he's met the frequent-traveler woman of his dreams. 

The Stars: Though one isn't actually a star, this movie has a double heaping of awesome people named Jason: director Jason Reitman (Thank You for Smoking, Juno) and supporting actor Jason Bateman. There's also Vera Farmiga (a.k.a. the slutty shrink from The Departed), J.K. Simmons, Zach Galifianakis and Danny McBride. And, once again (with feeling), George Clooney.

The Trailer:

Atom Egoyan's new movie, Chloe, may make it onto my roster, but there's currently no trailer. There's also the new Coen brothers' movie, A Serious Man, and the long-anticipated Viggo Mortensen headliner The Road, but those bastards are dead to me, as they've already sold out. I probably wouldn't have been able to see them anyway, but it's the principle of the thing.

As of today, I will, however be seeing both Bright Star and Up in the Air! Not at the premieres, mind you (though I will be attending the red carpet to scream in Ben Whishaw and Jason Bateman's faces). I'm going the week after, to cheap matinee shows. Still! I'm officially attending two film festival events. So. Freakin. Exciting.