The Imaginary Zine is a 60-page old school printed zine recounting our first 10 years with some of our favorite blog posts and stories from our imaginary friends. It is extemely limited with only 333 handcrafted zines made.
It also includes a cd chock full of rare, live, or exclusive songs by some of our favorite local artists, including The Long Winters, BOAT, Tullycraft, Exohxo, Tennis Pro, Math & Physics Club and many more!
I would like to take this moment to announce that I think SIFF purchasing the Uptown Cinemas and rescuing them from languishing in certain doom is the best thing that they have ever done, ever. EVER.
Okay, now that I have that out of the way - let's get to the good stuff. The Uptown is having its Grand Reopening this week! Starting Thursday, 10/20, there will be a serious of Sing-Alongs (Hedwig, Purple Rain, and Grease) as part of the Heineken City Arts Fest, and then they're gonna show a whole bunch of awesomeness -- officially known as Uptown Cinema Classics -- starting on 10/23.
You can view the full schedule here, but the films I'm most excited about are West Side Story, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, The Royal Tennebaums, Pee Wee's Big Adventure, LA Confidential, and The Godfather. They'll also be rounding out the week with Bob & the Monster (which we heartily recommend you get tix to!). Even better: all these films are only $5 - OR FREE with a same-day receipt from any Queen Anne area business. omg. what.
Anyone up for drinks at The Mecca followed by a film?
Since I'm mainly interested in splatter and gore (lots and lots of it), I thought I'd make my picks for the Maelstrom International Fantastic Film Festival based on what I think will be the bloodiest. So, here we go:
Midnight Son (opening night, Friday 9/16 @ 8pm): This vampire-esque tale is about a dude who has to drink blood to live, but is apparently having trouble containing his urge to murder everyone in the most violent way possible. Splatter potential: HIGH. The short playing with this (Juan Con Miedo) looks like a typical "don't trust the kid" cautionary tale. Being a fan of creepy children, I'm down for that too.
Abstentia (9/18 @ 6pm) looks creepy and wrong in all kinds of ways! Missing husbands, hallunications, secrets, etc. Watch the trailer, you'll see what I mean. Splatter potential: Minimal, but there'll probably be lots of jumpy scares….which can sometimes be just as good.
Starting this Friday there will be a ton of genre films appearing at SIFF Cinema as part of the Maelstromg International Fantastic Film Festival (Imaginary Amie has already briefed everyone of the general coolness involved). I've checked out a number of films, and am hear to vouch for the offerings as well...with notes on a few things I've already seen.
One thing I haven't seen yet is the opening night film - hope to see tons of folks checking it out with me Friday night. I'm a sucker for a vampire romp, and Friday night's feature Midnight Sun didn't make it into the stack of screeners the organizers were kind enough to share for review. I especially don't want to miss it. given Summit Entertainment's propensity for suing everyone in sight. Since that's the same name given to Stephenie Meyer's unfinished retelling of Twilight from Edward's point of view (no....seriously... please stop laughing .... I'm not making this up - and it's not as bad as it sounds) I figure it's only a matter of time before someone tries to shut 'em down..
Without further adieu, here are a few of the selections I've screened and some notes on them. One spoiler alert up front - you don't want to miss the closing night film The Selling: a supernatural comedy/mystery which will appeal to a broad audience.
Oh hey. September kind of snuck up on me there....but then I remembered I need to get all excited about it, because it means that the Maelstrom International Fantastic Film Festival (MIFFF) is back! And also, it's only one more month until my favorite holiday of all time, Halloween. MIFFF is the perfect place to prep yourself for All Hallow's Eve, because it focuses on Indie Fantasy, Horror, and Sci-Fi films. Yay!
Anyway, since it starts this weekend {Friday 9/16 through Sunday 9/18}, Imaginary Rich and I are planning to get some picks up to help you navigate the schedule - or - you could just buy a full series pass for only $40, and hit all of 'em (this weekend is supposed to be rainy, right?). Watch for posts tomorrow and Thursday, and get ready to MIFFF it up. I'm personally hoping for lots and lots of splatter this time around...
Maelstrom International Fantastic Film Festival
September 16-18, 2011
SIFF Cinema at McCaw Hall
$10 per screening (shorts & features)
$40 full series pass
Buy tickets online
{Best of SIFF 2011 screenings take place June 17-19 at SIFF Cinema.}
You may have noticed we've hushed up about SIFF these last couple of days. That's because SIFF 2011 is a thing of the past. Did you miss out, despite our daily urgings to see this Alaskan crime thriller or that Spanish period drama? Are you kicking yourself for foregoing Seattle's month-long megalomaniac cinemathon yet again?
Well, you have a few chances for redemption. That's right, just when you thought it was safe to go back to Seattle Center, an action-packed three-day Best of SIFF 2011 program invades SIFF Cinema at McCaw Hall this weekend (6/17 - 6/19), and will feature a mix of (mostly very deservingly-honored) Jury Award winners, Golden Space Needle Audience Award winners and fest favorites. So, you can partake of films you missed the first time 'round (shame on you) or revisit your SIFF favorites one more time (on the big screen instead of Netflix).
The full lineup, along with the intrepid TIG SIFF team's takes on the selections we reviewed, after the jump.
Latest comment by: Josh: "I saw Gandu today, I loved it and hated it. A real button pusher. And I decidedly did not find it "hot." But I admired it's nerve and I'm glad I went. Also I hadn't heard much from the Asian Dub Foundation lately and found it interesting that they were involved."
{Holy Rollers is screening at SIFF Saturday, 6/11, 6pm at the Admiral - which is on standby, so be prepared to wait in line if you don't have tix yet! - and again on Sunday, 6/12, 3:30pm at SIFF Cinema}
Thus far, I'd been blissfully unaware of this young, hipster group of Christians who do things like start their own churches so their band can play hymns, drink frothy microbrews and whiskey, and bankroll their lives by hooking up with two other hip young Christian dudes who started a card counting business. But - no more. After watching Holy Rollers, I sadly (SADLY) know way too much about these guys.
That photo above is of Ben, the co-founder of "Chuchteam" (the nickname given to their blackjack business since almost all the players are Christians), and I feel like it pretty accurately portrays what you're in for when you sit down to watch this film. But that's okay - you don't have to like these guys (in fact, if you're similar to me and Embracey, you'll loathe them), because watching them do what they do is still pretty damn fascinating.
Latest comment by: stephy: "Hell. Yes."
{Hooked screens at SIFF on May 22, 4pm at SIFF Cinema, on May 30, 1:45 pm at the Neptune, and finally on June 3rd, 9:30pm at the Kirkland Performance Center}
I'm sure if I thought about it long enough I could find flaws. But overall I was very satisfied with the experience of watching Hooked, a fun adrenaline ride from Russia that bests the majority of recent Hollywood action flicks at their own game. With the possible exception of giving the female characters little to do - in which category it performed consistently with most American blockbusters.
The premise is preposterous, but quite clever in it's ability to setup the rest of the film. Six students compete as a team in a video game competition, each demonstrating their superiority in different game genres - from martial arts to first person shooters and driving simulations. Each takes home as a prize a new videogame that when played makes their computer go boom. Though it also has the interesting side-effect of giving them the real life abilities they previously only had in the game, which results in their own personal A-Team consisting of a small combat squad and a driver.
Latest comment by: imaginary embracey: "
The version screened at SIFF actually combines the original parts 1 (up to the boat scene) and 2 (through the explosive finale), which helps account for the sustained breakneck pace as pretty much every bit of fat has been trimmed. ...
{SIFF's 2011 Shortsfest Weekend screens between 5/27 and 5/30 at SIFF Cinema}
There are lots of ways to make your own personal festival out of SIFF. Maybe you only want to see German films, love stories, or animated escapades. One niche that SIFF carves out into its own show-within-a-show are short films. While some shorts will screen before features, a collection of the really good stuff has been grouped into a weekend of mini-film festival goodness. Beginning on May 27th with Shortsfest Opening Night and concluding on May 30th with Shortsfest Closing Night, you can spend your entire four day memorial day weekend watching these bite sized pieces of cinema. And at $100 ($75 for members) it's one of the most inexpensive pass options going this year (individual tickets also available at SIFF.net or the box office).
The films are grouped up into rough themes and screened in sets of 5-10 per 90 minute (or so) block. I've been lucky enough to watch five of the packages so far. I always enjoy throwing a few shorts sets into the SIFF mix, as you're almost guaranteed to like a few of them. Watching shorts to me is akin to Seattle's weather. Don't like it at present?, that's OK, just wait 15 minutes. As someone who has traveled specifically to shorts festivals such as the scorcher that's Palm Springs Shortsfest in late June, I can happily report that this year's Seattle offerings are some of the strongest I've seen to date. The hit to miss ratio is very satisfying. Even if you don't normally like shorts, I'd really encourage you to pick a package that sounds good and give it a try. Odds are you won't be disappointed.
Below are some brief notes of the packages I've seen with callouts for some of the most positively memorable contributions. All the packages have more films than I'm mentioning - it's likely your highlights may be different than mind, which is a big part of the fun.
{Louder than a Bomb opened at SIFF Cinema on Friday, May 6. Director Jon Siskel and artist Lamar Jorden are expected to attend both the Friday and Saturday screenings}
Louder Than a Bomb is an annual team poetry slam contest that began in 2001. The contestants being students representing around sixty Chicago area schools. It's also the title of a dynamic and uplifting documentary about that event.
On the surface it feels as though the picture closely follows the template of other docs about schools kids challenging themselves via a unique after school activity (think Spellbound or Mad Hot Ballroom). That's a formula for a reason, so there's no reason to hold it against them. But in reality, the film peaks in a way that's somewhat different and is dramatically very effective.
The filmmakers followed four teams, and this film absolutely shines due to the energy and raw skill of the high school age participants. This isn't quite the poetry I remember from my high school writing club (and not just because of the lesser focus on death and suicide). It's raw and powerful, and chronicles both the joy and the anguish in the students' lives. The film gets the feel so right that there are moments where it's an act of will not to jump up and cheer along with the slam audience onscreen.
Latest comment by: Imaginary Rich: "
Thanks guys. While I loved the film I had a hard time writing about it - felt seriously inadequate compared to the poets.
Speaking of films that could get lost in the shuffle. Since you've seen Louder than a Bomb already you might want to ...
Hi there. This post is coming to you from deep within the SIFF vaults (aka: the dark Joe Vs. the Volcano-like office I work in), where I have been toiling away for many weeks without time to post on TIG. *sad face* While I can't WAIT to tell you all about this year's Seattle International Film Festival, I'm sworn to secrecy—except for Opening Night, which you can buy tix to now—but! There’s still some awesome stuff happening over at SIFF Cinema pre-fest.
Animation Fascination kicks off today {Friday, 4/22} with some excellent Pixar Shorts @7pm. Every Pixar short I’ve seen in has been nothing less than excellent, with some of my favorites being the classic Knick Knack and bunny-riffic Presto.
There are a ton of other awesomesauce programs - The Phantom Tollbooth (Chuck Jones!) for example, stuff by Bill Plympton and Don Herzfeldt, and my very favorite animated thing in the whole world; Vincent by Tim Burton, which is part of the stop.motion.time. shorts package playing on 4/24 @5pm.
With animated screenings happening all weekend, you can grab a whole series pass for $60 ($35 for SIFF Members), or pick up individual screening tickets for $10 each ($5 Members). Viva la animation!
Recent comments
Photo Essay: SIFF Opening Night! Whedonverse meets SIFFverse
Recommended SIFF + Ticket Giveaway: Mistaken for Strangers
Recommended SIFF + Ticket Giveaway: Mistaken for Strangers
Recommended SIFF + Ticket Giveaway: Mistaken for Strangers
Recommended event {and sweet things!}: Bake It In A Cake Cookbook book release party on Thursday {10/4}
Imaginary. You could call it that.
Imaginary. You could call it that.
A chat about our favorite songs this week on KUOW's Weekday show
A chat about our favorite songs this week on KUOW's Weekday show
A chat about our favorite songs this week on KUOW's Weekday show