HallamFoe Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Look, I don't want to make it sound like an either/or thing. You can see wide-release films AND art-house indies. I'm just saying that on this particular weekend, the only wide release is something starring Nicolas Cage in a mullet, and it wasn't screened for critics. So if it were an either/or thing, this would be a good time to become an art-house fanatic, and the Indie Spotlight is here to let you know what your options are.
Seven films are opening in limited release today: August Evening, Everybody Wants to Be Italian, Mister Foe, Ping Pong Playa, Save Me, A Secret, and Surfer, Dude. Here's the scoop on each of them.

Everybody Wants to Be Italian
What it is: A romantic comedy about a man and woman who both pretend to be Italian because they think the other is. OK, maybe this doesn't actually sound any better than the Nicolas Cage/mullet thing.
What they're saying: At Rotten Tomatoes, all of the reviews so far are giving it a big ol' kick in the meatballs.
Where it's playing: A few dozen theaters all over New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, and ... Salt Lake City? Well, OK.
More info: The official site has a handy list of theaters where it's playing.

Ping Pong Playa
What it is: A light, clean comedy about an Asian-American kid who has to step in when his family's ping pong championship is threatened.
What they're saying: Cinematical's Monika Bartyzel found it simply adorable last year at Toronto, saying it's predictable but charming. The reviews at Rotten Tomatoes are mixed so far -- it's either sweet and likable, or an annoying Napoleon Dynamite retread.
Where it's playing: New York City, plus the California cities of San Francisco, Alhambra, Berkeley, Glendale, Hollywood, Irvine, and San Jose.
More info: The official site has upcoming playdates, too.

It is unfortunate that Cinematical can't be present at all the world's film festivals. For instance, none of us will be covering this year's Edinburgh International Film Festival, which starts next Wednesday and runs through August 26. Sure, it isn't as well known as Sundance, Cannes, Toronto, Telluride, or Venice, but Edinburgh is the longest continually running film festival in the world (Venice and Cannes are both technically older). And it does have its share of prestigious premieres and otherwise excellent programming. This year opens with the premiere of David Mackenzie's Hallam Foe, and the schedule includes Anton Corbijn's Control, Park Chan-wook's I'm a Cyborg, but That's Okay, Julie Delpy's 2 Days in Paris and André Téchiné's The Witnesses. For more of what's in store, check out our spotlight on the schedule, or check out the festival's website.

I would love to attend the EIFF, not just to check out the films but also to visit Scotland and see some of my heritage. Of course, I know from previous film festival experience that I probably wouldn't actually get in any sightseeing. It's too bad I have a scheduling conflict this year, but maybe next --even if I'm busy in August. Starting in 2008 the festival will take place June 18-29. I don't quite understand the reasons for the move --just that it is said to make "artistic and commercial sense" -- but the change will remove the festival from being part of the city's month-long arts festival. It also gets the fest away from being squeezed in right before Venice and Toronto. Apparently the programming will end up a little different as the new time frame will allow the EIFF access to other films. The most important thing I can think of about the move, though is that I may actually be free next June.

Had Hallam Foe played the Sundance festival, it probably would have been one of the more buzzed-about films; its edgy, teenage angst quirkiness doesn't quite seem like it belongs in competition here in Berlin. However, that has not stopped it from pleasing a crowd desperate for a bit more entertainment -- a bit more flavor -- as the festival entered its final days. Following his full-of-life performance in Billy Elliot, Jamie Bell has subsequently gone on to become a warped festival actor -- the kind of guy you get to play "fed up with his dysfunctional neighborhood" (The Chumscrubber) or, in this case, "cross-dressing teen obsessed with his dead mother."

Young Hallam doesn't have many talents; following the suicide of his mother, he spends most of his time camped out in a treehouse built high off the ground on the edges of his father's massive estate. There, he's created a bit of a shrine to mom; collecting her old clothes, pictures, make-up and whatever other memorabilia he could find in an attempt to keep her memory alive. It would appear Hallam only has one hobby: to occasionally smear his mother's old lipstick across his body and spy on those closest to him (including the neighbors) with his binoculars. He'll then frantically scribble his observations down in a diary; his only outlet for emotion.