{Indie Game: The Movie opens in Seattle on Friday, 4/27 and is screening at SIFF Cinema at the Film Center through 5/3}

Confession: I don’t play that many video games. But I want to. The problem is, most of them make me motion sick, so playing them involves more misery than fun. BUT! But but but. Indie games are rad because a lot of them are kind of retro-styled platform games that don’t involve the nauseating 360-POV, so uh. I could get into that.

And thus, Indie Game: The Movie—a really interesting, in-depth look at the folks who design independent video games—was super fun for me to watch.

Focusing on four indie game designers and developers (Edmund McMillen & Tommy Refenes, who created Super Meat Boy, Phil Fish, who created Fez, and Jonathan Blow, who created Braid), this documentary shows you the frustrations and celebrations of small crews operating on even smaller budgets, a glimpse into the world of game players who both idolize them and take glee in hurling insults at them, and their fight to produce a successful product that reflects their vision and their joy.

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Nothing like a mini-film festival in April to get us prepped for both STIFF and SIFF, which arrive in May.

NFFTY (pronounced “Nifty”) is the “National Film Festival for Talented Youth”, and showcases the best young directors 22 and younger from around the world. This 4-day festival takes place April 26-29, with films and events at the Cinerama, SIFF Cinema at the Uptown, and the Seattle Center Exhibition Hall. I'm probably also supposed to say it's "presented by bing(tm)" (HI MICROSOFT). 

I'm always excited to see fresh talent, but this year I'm most stoked about the music video mixtape on Saturday 4/28: 90 minutes of original music videos with music from the White Stripes, Cults -- and a bunch of other bands I'm not cool enough to know of, but I'm sure are great. Seems like an awesome way to spend $11 to me! 

And in case you feel like getting extra nerdy, there's also a FREE music for film panel at 12:45 on Saturday, where you can learn about options for scoring the best music for your...um. score. Or something. Listen and learn! For free! YAY! 

There are a lot of other great films and events happening too. Check the full schedule online so you can plan your own awesome NFFTY weekend. 

{Music Video Mixtape | Saturday April 28, 3:00 pm | 90 min | SIFF Uptown 2 }

The Tilda Stardust tumbler attempts to answer the burning question: Are Tilda Swinton and David Bowie the same person? 

Winter is coming! But it's so cuuute: Playmobil Game of Thrones.

Finally! Some useful relationship advice from HP Lovecraft.
"Your shadowy correspondent’s mention of the ill-regarded numbers nineteen and three recalls an unutterable experiment performed on sticklebacks by the Swedish icthyologist Dalgaard."

Someone contact Rick Deckard so we can find out if this thing is a replicant or human. (*shiver*)

Hey! Let's all buy some thrift store paintings and add monsters into them!

A real-life Amelie(esque) story: Woman finds WWII love letters at a Goodwill and returns them to the family. 

Someone is a very faithful Breaking Bad fan: Save Walter White

A fan of No Doubt? Early Red Hot Chili Peppers? Jane's Addiction? You need to check out a band from that SoCal milieu you maybe haven't really explored yet. They're called Fishbone, and they took the region's early new wave big band gonzoness of say Oingo Boingo into funkier, artier, more urban territory, before blessing the world with new genres through the next three decades.

My first viewing of Everyday Sunshine: The Story of Fishbone, a documentary made by Lev Anderson and Chris Metlzer, satisfied me as an expertly made and extremely dynamic experience. But it was also a bit of a bum trip. So much drama between deep band brothers lead vocalist Angelo Moore and bassist Norwood Fisher seemed to be the most memorable thing about the movie, and I hungered for more live footage and details about the records. Then on a second viewing I realized that there's plenty of great concert performances and commentary on the original releases; it's just that that punk-archetypal tale of dynamic tension between a bulldozer musician who won't let his band fall, and the chaos-inducing jester who gives it meaning, is so absorbing.

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According to this awesome 80s PSA, The HOFF isn't stoked about pot, and neither is K.I.T.T.

Does a bear get jiggy in the woods? Apparently, yes. 

What happens when a pro illustrator draws the stuff kids think up? Imaginawesome, of course.

Looking for St. Gwen? You probably need some of these celebrity prayer candles. 

Disney gets the design treatment: 10 beautiful alternative movie posters. 

How long do you think you would survive in a horror movie? Check this flow-chart so you're prepared. 

Yum! Maybe these eensy food photos will satisfy your snack cravings. 

And this week's imaginary cuteness award goes to: 33 photos of animals with stuffed versions of themselves.

{Natural Selection opened in Seattle Friday, 4/13, and is screening at SIFF Cinema at the Uptown through 4/19} 

Natural Selection is one of those indie-darling films I'd been mildly curious about, but avoided during SIFF because I figured it couldn't be as good as everyone said it was. People, screencap this or something right now, because I WAS WRONG. It's easy to see how this scooped up a bunch of film fest awards now that I've seen it, and am not just quietly judging it based on the reviews.  

The gist of the story is that Linda White (Rachel Harris, aka: my new favorite actress) and her husband of 25 years, Abe, have never had sex because she can't conceive -- some past trauma which apparently caused Linda to be barren is alluded to, but never explored fully -- and all truly faithful people know you can only have sex to procreate. Linda tries her best to be a good Christian wife, but sometimes a girl just wants some lovin', and so Abe's spurning of her advances becomes increasingly frustrating. 

Anyway, turns out that Abe's been satisfying the urge to spread his seed by visiting a sperm donation clinic weekly, which Linda accidentally discovers when he has an aneurysm during climax and slips into a coma. Though stunned by the revelation, she continues to stand by her man by convincing a clinic staffer to let her peek at the offspring list, and sets off to find Abe's one and only son, Raymond. 

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{This Is Not a Film opens at the Northwest Film Forum on Friday April 13th}

I've been wanting to see This Is Not a Film since hearing about it last year when it premiered at Cannes. Smuggled out of Iran on a USB key secreted within a cake, it's sadly the last thing the world may see from director Jafar Panahifor a long, long time.

Sentenced to 6 years in jail and a 20-year ban on filmmaking, the day in the life picture was shot by Jafar at his apartment as he struggles with the pain of waiting as his appeal is processed. The banality of life going on while his existence as an artist is crushed by that state is a staggeringly effective juxtaposition.

For much of the film it's hard to imagine how Iran's government sees a major threat from this gentle man. Who on one level putts around the house, while occasionally being climbed upon by the family pet Igi. By the end though, as you stand back and absorb Panahifor's ability with a professional camera (and occasionally an iphone), the threat he poses takes on true formidableness.

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The stuff of nightmares: 13 Awful Easter Bunny Family Photos

Alfred Hitchcock fangasm: A simply amazing Rear Window Timelapse Video

Having a bad day? Read this and instantly feel better! 

ATTENTION! Giant killer chickens once ruled the earth!!! 

Liz Lemon would totally buy this: hot dog-stuffed pizza (Cheesy! Blasters!) 

The perfect art for your imaginary den: mosh pit mixed media photo/paintings

The answer to the question "What if my dog could text?"
"Fun day. Ran around the house in a cape. I'M BATDOG LOL"

Flight of the Conchords feat. Jay-Z! (so NSFW, just FYI) 

{The Salt of Life opens in Seattle on Friday, 4/6 and is screening at the Seven Gables Theatre for one week only}

I absolutely adored Mid-August Lunch by Director-Actor-Writer Gianni Di Gregorio, so I was really excited to view his latest film: The Salt of Life.

Gianni once again portrays a warm, generous character—who suffers from comedic circumstances that he constantly struggles with. His “Mama” (played by the amazing Valeria de Franciscis) is spending his inheritance on her lavish house, extravagant ladies’ lunches, expensive landscaping, and bottles of $250 champagne. Even though he’s struggling with his own expenses, he can’t ask her for money outright—instead relying on the fact that he will eventually inherit her house and whatever is left of her fortune.

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{Once Upon a Time in Anatolia opens in Seattle at the Northwest Film Forum on Friday, April 6th, and runs through April 12th}

Hey guys, I highly recommend checking out Once Upon a Time in Anatolia. It's long, slow, cryptic to the point of confusing, and stuffed to the brim with symbolism and an array of characters suffering opaque yet significant life regrets. Oh, and it's in Turkish. Hey wait, come back! It's also really really good. Filled with beyond beautiful visuals, humor and insight (even if you argue the theme of "whenever there's trouble look for a woman" dialog). Sure ... maybe I've not yet 100% worked out everything that was going on over the course of the film. But I want to understand it. To the point where I'm likely going to watch it through again this week when it makes its Seattle appearance at the Northwest Film Forum. A film that captures my attention and makes me want to be a wiser viewer deserves to be seen. 

The burnt copper/sepia palette combined with breathtaking held closeups of the story's murderer alone make for a super memorable watch. Just maybe don't check it out when you're tired. The Bourne Identity for ADD suffers it's not. Some folks may hate me later for this recommendation, but I think this is the real deal.

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