• Missed a movie cause Kevin Smith wasn’t on time. #
• @billjank amen brother. 2 parties create counterbalance. #

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Our first day of Fantastic Fest was surprisingly dud-free, but I did miss a time slot so I’m already one movie down on my goal of seeing 42 films over the 8 day festival.

• Animation Shorts Program – I’m glad they decided to schedule groups of shorts as a block since there are usually several shorts I don’t get to see because they are attached to films that I don’t go to see. There are a couple duds in this collection, but most of them were top notch entertainment and two of them were innovative enough to warrant multiple viewings.
  • Berni’s Doll – A funny and well-made short, but I suppose my concerns about misogyny are a bit silly for a short about a man who buys a woman a piece at a time starting with the torso.
  • Blood Will Tell – It is beautifully rendered and the Sigur Ros score is haunting, but i’m always put off by “weird for the sake of weird” shorts. If you like Tool videos then this is probably your bailiwick.
  • City Wasp – “Live action” animation seems like it is all the rage. (Think Sony Bravia ads with real people as characters.) This one features an old man with a big-ass hearing aid and the penchant for getting cars to make noise. It is quite entertaining.
  • A Coffee Machine and His Sword – In this Korean animé, a sword-fighting ninja is reincarnated as a coffee vending machine where he meets a girl, his also-reincarnated foes and faces the modern realities of his feudalistic nature.
  • Dog – An extremely short short but incredibly touching tribute to one of man’s best friends.
  • The Facts in the Case of Mr. Hollow – The stunning visuals are the first thing this short offers, but what I keep coming back to is the dearth of motion in this compelling story.
  • Fantaisie in Bubblewrap – An adorably simple piece that will either horrify your overly-sensitive nature or have you laughing to tears.
  • Film Noir – An homage that is a moving collage to the noir genre. Very well-crafted, but without any story.
  • Fish – <sigh> Weird for the sake of weird.
  • Game Over – A very clever animation reproducing the classic video games of our childhood, this short uses everyday objects.
  • Karaoke Show – I am not a fan of constant exposure to full-frontal male nudity so I really want to dislike this short, but the music was so intriguing. It almost felt like Prefuse 73 with even shorter timing.
  • Muto – Run, don’t walk to find this short. The artist used an amazing technique of painting the cels of his animation as murals (sometimes incredibly large) on walls in a run-down neighborhood. This is just amazing stuff.
  • The Squirrel Next Door – The best credit to this animator is that (unlike SNL) he recognized that his subject matter was only worth a couple minutes. By the time you’ve finished this review the short would already be over and you’d have moved on.
  • Violetta – More weird — this time with grotesque thrown in.
• The Watermelon Chickens – Silly Asian antics can be Korean, too. A young boy swears revenge on the watermelon swallowing chickens that indirectly caused the death of his grandfather.
• Zack and Miri Make a Porno – Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks drive this laugh fest about a pair of long-time platonic friends who decide to make a porn flick to solve their money woes. I’m always happy to see Jason Mewes (the Jay of Jay and Silent Bob) working, and he is the highpoint of a decent supporting cast. Like a disappointing money-shot, Kevin Smith almost drops the ball in the climax of the film but he redeems himself with a solid denouement.
• Kevin Smith Q&A – I missed the next timeslot in the festival because (studios and stars are never f’ing on time for premieres and) you know that a Smith Q&A is going to be good — c’mon they made one into a DVD even. I was not disappointed as Smith regaled us before and after the movie with stories of his hilarious antics and slightly twisted viewpoint. If you get a chance to see Smith speak, take it.

• Fanboys – A group of boys find a good reason to follow-through on their long-discussed plans of sneaking into Skywalker Ranch to see Phantom Menace before it is released. A good-enough film that will probably only be accessible to the geeks it portrays. (But danggit! that Veronica Mars is a hottie in that Princess Leia slave outfit.)