Victoria Film Festival
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Runs from Feb 7 – 16

Various Venues

Depending on how well Chinese New Year treats me for lucky money, I may take on a Sips n’ Cinema event instead. This year features Slow Food Story, ¡ATRACO! and Putzel as part of the theme. Fortunately, for those folks just interested in the film Slow Food Story can be seen by itself. I plan on going to see this film along with In the Magic of the Green Mountains.

On my Friday night wish-to-hit-list is The Congress, a sci-fi product that looks like it blends elements of Cool World, Who Framed Roger Rabbit and The Matrix together. When actress Robin Wright plays herself as a starlet struggling to help her young son, she gives up her rights to be on film for a digitized version. Just what happens is a look into a not too distant future if Hollywood has their say. Il Futuro is a must since it features Rutger Hauer. It’s been a long time since I last saw him on screen. I remember him best in Blade Runner, so what I’m after to see, based on my geeky interests, are consistent.

I would like to see the gala film, Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa, that night in hopes Colm Meany might be in town. He’s one of those underrated stars that I can truly appreciate and I like to meet him and say I really enjoyed all the work, like Law & Order the The Commitments, he has done outside of the Star Trek universe, but that’s unlikely. When considering this film played in European theatres last year and it’s not a world premiere, the chances for the stars to show up is very slim, but the director might be around.

I had the fortune to see this movie in advance, and it’s absolutely hilarious! Steve Coogan is brilliant playing this narcissistic media star. The way he bumbles around, thinking he can be a hero, is chuckle-worthy. This movie requires him to deal with Farrell (Meaney’s character) while he goes postal — he lost his job at a radio station they both work in. This movie is sort of like The Odd Couple with a huge dose of British style humour mixed in.

But as I said before, as a fan of Meany, he literally steals the show in this film. He’s the everyman that audiences will no doubt sympathize for. When the character he plays is gentil, only after giving the working class a voice to hear, this actor nails the pathos easily. Just his work in this film alone makes me want to buy this movie when it comes out on video.

But as for why Farrell remains friends for Partridge, that’s a mystery nobody can answer. And that’s part of this movie’s simple charm. People who cannot get tickets for the Friday night show can catch it again when it is featured on Feb 14th. The question of whether or not this film can be seen as a love story is ironic at best.

Just as equally desired to see is Cas & Dylan. I’m a huge fan of all of Richard Dreyfuss’ works. Tatiana Maslany looks mighty fine too, but the surprise here is that Jason Priestly is the director! As many folks will know, he’s best remembered for being in Beverley Hills, 90210. Yeah, I admit I watched a couple of episodes. This Vancouver born boy might put on an appearance — oh the choices!

I wish The Congress and Il Futuro can get added shows, but these niche products may be too surrealistically weird for a a regular cinephile to enjoy.

Other films that are particularly interesting, that I did get to see in advance are We are the Best, Good Vibrations and Cyber-Seniors. I highly recommend the last film, since there are not many films that are truly humanitarian in its effort to get a positive message out.

As for the rest, I’m intrigued in what Desert Fish has to offer. Can sea life swim in sand? Seriously, this film’s summary mentions it has fairy-tale elements and that’s enough to draw me in. Readers can expect a review to be offered up on multiple online magazines.

Where appropriate, I provide reviews and pieces to other websites/publications like Absolute Underground and Nerd Titan. I will soon be submitting material to Skewed n’ Reviewed (don’t let the bottom credit on the page be deceptive. At least the author’s name is credited at the start) and Vivoscene. I believe more in sharing what I know throughout the world wide web than making some content exclusive to one site.

But readers should not fret. I’m not giving up on Two Hungry Blokes or Otaku no Culture. Those are my platforms to talk about all things food and pop culture, and together, James and I have plans to expand both blogs to focus on all things culture and event related in the Pacific Northwest!