MIFF 2006 continued

My attendances are well down on my usual level - put it down to the demands of work + moving house in the middle of last week... Anyway here is my next batch of one-para reviews of films I've seen at MIFF:

Cocaine Cowboys - a fascinating subject, a few very personable and interesting interviewees - but it fell a bit flat. A documentary about the rise of the cocaine trade in Miami (and the resultant changes to the city), presumably it was hard to get many of the protaganists to talk on-camera - either for reasons of death or reluctance. Overall about 7 / 10. Not a fantastic example of filmmaking, but watchable.

Sympathy For Lady Vengeance - awesome. the third film in Park Chan-Wook's revenge trilogy. I'd already seen this on DVD a few months ago, but totally worth it on the big screen. Park Chan-Wook rules and this film is a good example of why. I don't like it as much as I do Oldboy, but that is no criticism.

Last Train to Freo - Jeremy Sims' feature-film directing debut. I would very much have liked to like this, but it just wasn't very good. The acting was excellent, but every other aspect of the fim was lacking. It failed to be suspenseful, the plot twist was more stupid than surprising and the dialogue was overtly theatrical [the film is based on a play and it shows]. Also, the whole Tarantinoesque thing where criminals and drug addicts have a fantastic vocabulary and a diverse array of interests is pretty tired.

Mutual Appreciation - hands-down the worst film of the festival. A pile of shit. Unwatchable and could not possibly resonate with any but the worst of the delusional inner-city self-obsessed wankers. I survived about 15 mins and even that was tough going.

Three Times - features possibly the most beautiful woman in the world - Qi Shu - and some awesome cinematography, but is nevertheless boring. A love story in three parts - 2 characters played by the same two actors meet in three different eras. The first part was pretty good (but slow) but the second part was very slow.

Linda Linda Linda - a very eccentric, cute Japanese film about an all-girl band at a high school who recruit a new lead singer (a Korean exchange student) and need to get ready for an upcoming gig. Not a lot happens, and it is sort of boring for about 10-15 minutes near the start but it really comes together in the end. The song 'Linda Linda Linda' is almost supernaturally catchy.