Cinematical

Unlike many of the masses, I like Lars von Trier. The Kingdom was the first thing I saw. Walking through an indie video store, I spotted the DVD on the back table, and the clerk somehow convinced me to buy it. That led me to see Dogville, which I loved, and Dear Wendy, which I adore. While his works can be strange and off-putting, I see them each as kind of like a political fable rife with fantastical elements in a more real and modern package. If there's anything that von Trier is, it's unique.

I'm not sure if I'm aboard his latest quirky vision. Instead of raising eyebrows with his content, he's decided to add a game element to his films, because he wants the audience to be a more active participant in the movie-going experience -- maybe the man's been reading a little too much Marshall McLuhan. The interactive element -- called "Lookey" -- is a basic mind game where the screened film is a game board that includes "visual disturbances" that have nothing to do with the film itself. I guess that means if there was a shootout in a saloon, a fairy might pop up somewhere.

The first film to be "Lookeyed" is The Boss of it All. I'm hoping this means that he's only going to use this gaming scope in lighter fare, because it would be terribly awkward if the third Grace story finally gets made and has aliens landing in the background. The first lucky Dane to find all the hidden Lookeys will win over $5 grand and time as an extra on his upcoming horror film, Anti-Christ. What's next, a choose-your-own-adventure film?