By Nancy Borchers
The first film I got to see today was "Thirst" at the Rustic Theater. Sallie and got there in plenty of time and got some goodies from the snack counter. Annamarie and Lou decided to join us a 2 pm so we settled in and watched a great waste of potential. The camera work was good and the acting showed promise but the writer made the characters make such stupid decisions it was painful to watch.
We were so relieved to see "Handmade Life." This was a film made for the artists of Idyllwild. The enthusiasm and joy of the builder filled the screen. Here is a fellow that made good decisions. I’m glad this one was fact and "Thirst" was fiction.
The next film was the "Luckiest Man Alive." This entertaining film had a terrific plot, and a great ending along with a pace that kept us all on our toes. We stayed for "Spicy Nose" which we all laughed through. The posturing and preening of the main character reminded me of a film I saw the day before.
Walking out of the theater, we saw that the snow had covered the roads and we knew that we might have problems later when the temperature dropped. The roads were already slick in spite of being plowed so we crept over to the Caine to see "Sarah’s Wish" and were disappointed to find that their scheduling went faster than expected and we had missed it.
Since no one was there and they weren’t scheduled to show anything for a half an hour, they ran it again for us and several others. Boy, am I glad they did. I’m not fond of bashing anyone’s practice of religion but in this case it was like using the “F” word to establish a person’s lack of character. This time it showed the ways people try to cope with the disasters of their lives.
We went back to the Rustic in first gear avoiding the ice to see "Bound By Flesh," a depiction of people exploiting others for their own gain. The use of contemporary narratives with historic film and photos was well done.
We just had to stay to see "The Cheater," Will Wallace’s interactive film that is now an institution. It is such fun to see the audience reaction. Well Done, Will!!
Unfortunately the weather had deteriorated and the roads were getting slick. We all live in Pine Cove which is another thousand feet in elevation so we reluctantly went home missing several films and the Networking Party which was so much fun last year.
Friday, January 11, 2013
Thursday, January 10, 2013
ICF day 1
by Nancy Borchers
The first day of the Idyllwild Cinema Fest started off at the Rustic Theater which I love. The seats are comfortable. The lobby is delightful with the historic Belden Pine Craft furniture made right here in Idyllwild from the 1930s to the 1950s. Historic and current movie posters decorate the walls along with all the DVDs I can look at to contemplate future viewing.
In the morning I talked to Phil Calderone yesterday and we chatted about some of the business in town connecting with some of the films. I’m looking forward to some more information on this since I think that the more connections we all have the more profitable the Festival will be to the whole community. I am so impressed with the amount of work he and his wife Barbara have put into this Festival. He said that after the festival he is going to take a week off and start right in on next year’s festival. So get ready, community, when he calls say yes to anything this hard working man wants.
The first film that Annamarie, Lou, Sallie and I saw was “Privacy”. It was an entertaining engaging film with John Shepherd in the leading role.This actor shows a lot of promise. The Title works graphics before and especially after the film were stunning.
Then we saw “Hawk” which had beautiful visuals but a confusing plot.I wish they had been more careful with the costumes. The grommets on the boy’s costume were way too modern. Sorry about that, but I notice anachronisms and Sallie, who knows the ins and outs of the film industry, has great insight with the quality of acting and overall production details.
We then saw 'Anaphora,' a choppy but thoughtful terrorist/police state/time travel film that, since it was German, made me think about education in Germany and the country’s history. “Revelations” was unexpectedly funny. I loved the zombies.They were so camp.
We walked over to the Caine Learning Center to see Wolfgang Bodison’s “Broken”. I went back to the Rustic to see “Posey” and got stuck seeing way to much of “Red Road”. Carlos Reynosa is a very talented man and I especially love his flute music, but this film could have done with some more editing. The time lapse background film was stunning. Billy Dermont, the director of “Posey” and all the actors were present so the discussion after was quite a bit of fun. I went back to the Caine for “The Book Club”, a thoughtful insight into long time friendships.
We all went to dinner at the Lumber Mill and then finished off with “Least Among Saints” the most professional and all around best film we saw all day. With very few glitches it was the one with a moral: Help others and you help yourself. This speaks to this community so well.
When the editor of the Town Crier published the list of local volunteer organizations, I was surprised by the number. I knew there were a lot, but fifty-five is amazing. And that doesn’t include those that don’t have nonprofit status but still donate and work hard for the benefit of the community. This community is wonderful.
The first day of the Idyllwild Cinema Fest started off at the Rustic Theater which I love. The seats are comfortable. The lobby is delightful with the historic Belden Pine Craft furniture made right here in Idyllwild from the 1930s to the 1950s. Historic and current movie posters decorate the walls along with all the DVDs I can look at to contemplate future viewing.
In the morning I talked to Phil Calderone yesterday and we chatted about some of the business in town connecting with some of the films. I’m looking forward to some more information on this since I think that the more connections we all have the more profitable the Festival will be to the whole community. I am so impressed with the amount of work he and his wife Barbara have put into this Festival. He said that after the festival he is going to take a week off and start right in on next year’s festival. So get ready, community, when he calls say yes to anything this hard working man wants.
The first film that Annamarie, Lou, Sallie and I saw was “Privacy”. It was an entertaining engaging film with John Shepherd in the leading role.This actor shows a lot of promise. The Title works graphics before and especially after the film were stunning.
Then we saw “Hawk” which had beautiful visuals but a confusing plot.I wish they had been more careful with the costumes. The grommets on the boy’s costume were way too modern. Sorry about that, but I notice anachronisms and Sallie, who knows the ins and outs of the film industry, has great insight with the quality of acting and overall production details.
We then saw 'Anaphora,' a choppy but thoughtful terrorist/police state/time travel film that, since it was German, made me think about education in Germany and the country’s history. “Revelations” was unexpectedly funny. I loved the zombies.They were so camp.
We walked over to the Caine Learning Center to see Wolfgang Bodison’s “Broken”. I went back to the Rustic to see “Posey” and got stuck seeing way to much of “Red Road”. Carlos Reynosa is a very talented man and I especially love his flute music, but this film could have done with some more editing. The time lapse background film was stunning. Billy Dermont, the director of “Posey” and all the actors were present so the discussion after was quite a bit of fun. I went back to the Caine for “The Book Club”, a thoughtful insight into long time friendships.
We all went to dinner at the Lumber Mill and then finished off with “Least Among Saints” the most professional and all around best film we saw all day. With very few glitches it was the one with a moral: Help others and you help yourself. This speaks to this community so well.
When the editor of the Town Crier published the list of local volunteer organizations, I was surprised by the number. I knew there were a lot, but fifty-five is amazing. And that doesn’t include those that don’t have nonprofit status but still donate and work hard for the benefit of the community. This community is wonderful.
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
The Film Festival is tomorrow!!!
Posted for Nancy Borchers
Yesterday afternoon four of us got together with the Idyllwild CinemaFest Town Crier insert and went over scheduling so we could figure out when to car pool and when we would go our separate ways to see different films. We had each done some home work ahead of time.
Annamarie watched most of the trailers, Sallie prepared a table full of copies of the insert, pencils and lined paper for notes and schedules and I had made notes on the schedule so we could easily fine synopsis of each scheduled film. We gathered at Sallie’s, went over the schedule and munched on guacamole and chips and wonderful brie with herbs and crackers with wine of tea. Two hours later we went to Taco Night at Arriba’s. It took us the whole two hours to discuss the films, the schedule and transportation logistics.
I’ve been looking forward to this for months. Last year Sallie and I went to over 22 films. She saw one more than I did because I had to go to a meeting. I’ve cancelled all trips, meetings, lunches and anything else so I can see as many films as possible. Last year screened a wide variety of delightful, scary, action packed, thoughtful and thought inspiring full length films, shorts and documentaries.
Each year gets better and better. The first year I only saw a few. The second year I saw twenty and realized that I really needed to be organized to pack that many films into just a few days. I talked Sallie into going with me for most of them. Last year Annamarie joined us.
I did have one problem. I get hungry. Year one and two proved that it was almost impossible to find dinner in the evening. A quick bite between films was nonexistent. The third year was a lot better and after reading Phil Calderon’s article in the insert this year, I think my hunger problems are solved.
I’ve always thought it rude to bring food into a theater but since I want to see as many films as possible, there is no option. I won’t have to smuggle a sandwich into a theater, I can just bring it openly. Mr. Calderon’s guidelines are well thought out and logical.
I hope this year builds on the quality of last year. Year two had a lot of blood and guts and year three had lots of comedy. This year the synopsis foretells youthful angst. I can’t wait to get started.
Yesterday afternoon four of us got together with the Idyllwild CinemaFest Town Crier insert and went over scheduling so we could figure out when to car pool and when we would go our separate ways to see different films. We had each done some home work ahead of time.
Annamarie watched most of the trailers, Sallie prepared a table full of copies of the insert, pencils and lined paper for notes and schedules and I had made notes on the schedule so we could easily fine synopsis of each scheduled film. We gathered at Sallie’s, went over the schedule and munched on guacamole and chips and wonderful brie with herbs and crackers with wine of tea. Two hours later we went to Taco Night at Arriba’s. It took us the whole two hours to discuss the films, the schedule and transportation logistics.
I’ve been looking forward to this for months. Last year Sallie and I went to over 22 films. She saw one more than I did because I had to go to a meeting. I’ve cancelled all trips, meetings, lunches and anything else so I can see as many films as possible. Last year screened a wide variety of delightful, scary, action packed, thoughtful and thought inspiring full length films, shorts and documentaries.
Each year gets better and better. The first year I only saw a few. The second year I saw twenty and realized that I really needed to be organized to pack that many films into just a few days. I talked Sallie into going with me for most of them. Last year Annamarie joined us.
I did have one problem. I get hungry. Year one and two proved that it was almost impossible to find dinner in the evening. A quick bite between films was nonexistent. The third year was a lot better and after reading Phil Calderon’s article in the insert this year, I think my hunger problems are solved.
I’ve always thought it rude to bring food into a theater but since I want to see as many films as possible, there is no option. I won’t have to smuggle a sandwich into a theater, I can just bring it openly. Mr. Calderon’s guidelines are well thought out and logical.
I hope this year builds on the quality of last year. Year two had a lot of blood and guts and year three had lots of comedy. This year the synopsis foretells youthful angst. I can’t wait to get started.
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