The festival is winding down and, while fuzzy due to my lack of sleep, I can almost spot the finish line. So far, the second half of the Berlinale hasn't been much better than the first; The Other was a bore; Irina Palm was just okay; Paul Schrader's The Walker nudged me to get up and walk right out of the theater; and 300 let me down in a huge way. However, a few bright spots emerged: Steve Buscemi's Interview was a fun watch (especially for a writer like myself who's often called upon to interview uninteresting actors) and the Christian Petzold flick Yella was intriguing, albeit a bit confusing.

On Sunday evening, the buzzed-about Sundance hit Teeth had its premiere in fest's Panorama section. Since this was my first opportunity to see it, I must say I found the film to be quite the fun ride -- a different, more personal kind of horror film -- and a refreshing break from the Saw and Hostel-type scary we've been bombarded by as of late. In the pic (which Kim and Scott both reviewed at Sundance), up-and-comer Jess Weixler plays a teen abstinence preacher who discovers a bit of a problem down there (read: actual teeth inside her vagina) when her hormones begin to get the best of her. On this installment of my imaginary award-winning video diaries, I sit down with Jess to talk about the role, about Berlin and about ... vagina dentata. Dun. Dun. Dun. Stay tuned to Cinematical, as I'll have much more with Jess coming up later this week.

You can often sell a movie with a shocking or unique approach to an ... unseemly topic, but it takes a good deal of talent to take an outrageous idea and turn it into a effective, entertaining and weirdly powerful experience. Case in point: I just finished seeing a movie called Teeth, which centers on a pretty teenage girl whose vagina has teeth. Yes, you read that right: The old "vagina dentata" myth that's been propagated across dozens of cultures for thousands of years -- most likely because, deep down, men are pretty much terrified of women. (Or at least certain parts of 'em) One might expect a movie with this concept to be broad, stupid, campy "Troma" material all the way. But in the hands of writer/director Mitchell Lichtenstein and a stellar cast, Teeth (against all odds) ends up being one of the most witty, intelligent and darkly insightful looks at young womanhood since Lucky McKee's brilliant May. (And how strange and admirable is it that both of these movies comes from male writer/directors?)

If you get over the rather distasteful subject matter and focus on what's beneath the surface, you'll find a flick that's got a whole lot to say about young women and their fear of burgeoning sexuality, society's general distaste (and, let's face it, fear) of the female sex organ, and the ways in which men do a serious disservice to womankind by treating their "naughty bits" as if they're something to be ashamed of. Teeth covers all this ground (and a whole lot more), and I suspect it's more open-minded and honest than most of what passes for "sex ed" these days. This movie offers enough meaty subtext to fill three semesters and it does so in a shocking, humorous and strangely compassionate fashion.