MIFF Blogathon: End Credits

This blogathon is an initiative of MIFF for their 60th anniversary year. I am one of six bloggers given the mission of seeing 60 films in 17 days and writing, reporting, reviewing and wrangling my way through the tiredness and hunger to bring the festival experience to your computer.

The 17 days of the Melbourne International Film Festival were a hectic, inspiring, memorable, festive, exciting, taxing and exhausting time. I saw some ungodly number of films - I'm counting that terrible 44-minute Louis Garrel film as a full title and bumping my number to 60 - and averaged 3.5 a day, although some days were 5 films long, others a more manageable at 2 a day.

I was surprised to find that so many of the films I saw were actually quite good. Throughout my 16 daily blogathon entries (mostly all written at Midnight after a long day of filmgoing) the number of films rated C+ or lower was thankfully rather low as law averages would suggest at a third of all titles. While, unfortunately, many of the ones I didn't care for I really didn't care for, there were also a whole lot that I not only loved, but really loved. And I even found plenty to enjoy in the films that didn't quite live up to the praise that had been heaped upon them here and around the world (13 Assassins for instance.)

Let's take a look at all the films I saw (plus a few extras that I saw in preview media screenings before the festival) in order from #1 to #60. Each embedded link leads to what I originally wrote on the film, and bear in mind that my opinions on these films will surely fluctuate over time and, in the case of something like The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975, already has. So what I wrote after seeing a film in the midst of a 60-strong onslaught might not necessarily reflect what I would think about a film if seen free of the festival arena.

1. Drive (dir. Nicolas Winding Refn)
2. The King of Comedy (dir. Martin Scorsese)
3. The Third Man (dir. Carol Reed)
4. Tiny Furniture (dir. Lena Dunham)
5. Martha Marcy May Marlene (dir. Sean Durkin)
6. How to Die in Oregon (dir. Peter Richardson)
7. Melancholia (dir. Lars von Trier)
8. Natural Selection (dir. Robbie Pickering)
9. Ruhr (dir. James Benning)
10. Neds (dir. Peter Mullan)
11. Jane Eyre (dir. Cary Fukunaga)
12. Jiro Dreams of Sushi (dir. David Gelb)
13. The Innkeepers (dir. Ti West)
14. Tyrannosaur (dir. Paddy Considine)
15. Beauty and the Beast (dir. Jean Cocteau)
16. Pool Party (dir. Beth Aala)
17. LennoNYC (dir. Michael Epstein)
18. Winter's Daughter (dir. Johannes Schmid)
19. Senna (dir. Asif Kapadia)
20. The Piano in a Factory (dir. Zhang Meng)
21. X (dir. Jon Hewitt)
22. Once Upon a Time in Anatolia (dir. Nuri Bilge Ceylan)
23. Beats Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest (dir. Michael Rapaport)
24. Submarine (dir. Richard Ayoade)
25. Falling for Sahara (dir. Khoa Do)
26. Tomboy (dir. Céline Sciamma)
27. The Turin Horse (dir. Bela Tarr)
28. Bi, Don't Be Afraid (dir. Dang Di Pan)
29. Brother Number One (dir. Annie Goldson)
30. Top Floor Left Wing (dir. Angelo Cianci)
31. Kill List (dir. Ben Wheatley)
32. The Eye of the Storm (dir. Fred Schepisi)
33. Sleeping Sickness (dir. Ulrich Köhler)
34. The Ugly Duckling (dir. (Garri Bardin)
35. 13 Assassins (dir. Takeshi Miike)
36. Living on Love Alone (dir. Isabelle Czajka)
37. Beauty (dir. Oliver Hermanus)
38. The Forgiveness of Blood (dir. Joshua Marston)
39. The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975 (dir. Göran Olsson)
40. Page One: Inside the New York Times (dir. Andrew Rossi)
41. On the Sly (dir. Olivier Ringer)
42. The Future (dir. Miranda July)
43. Tales of the Night (dir. Michel Ocelot)
44. Toomelah (dir. Ivan Sen)
45. Swerve (dir. Craig Lahiff)
46. Littlerock (dir. Mike Ott)
47. Bobby Fischer Against the World (dir. Liz Garbus)
48. Clay (dir. Giorgio Mangiamele)
49. Cave of Forgotten Dreams (dir. Werner Herzog)
50. Attenberg (dir. Athina Rachel Tsangari)
51. Tatsumi (dir. Eric Khoo)
52. The Triangle Wars (dir. Rosie Jones)
53. I Wish I Knew (dir. Zhangke Jia)
54. Familiar Ground (dir. Stéphane Lafleur)
55. A Useful Life (dir. Federico Veiroj)
56. Michael (dir. Markus Schleinzer)
57. The Little Tailor (dir. Louis Garrel)
58. Norwegian Wood (dir. Anh Hung Tran)
59. Wasted Youth (dir. Argyris Papadimitropoulos & Jan Vogel)
60. Innocent Saturday (dir. Aleksandr Mindadze)
- Post Mortem (dir. Pablo Larraín) - walk out

I also saw three short film packages, but they're hard to rate in a list such as this so I left them out. Nevertheless, the "Melbourne Shorts Program 2" was the best, following by "Melbourne Shorts Program 1" and "Experimental Shorts Program 1".

And in the coming weeks we have titles like Beginners, The Woman and many others getting a theatrical release so who knows how many of the 250+ titles that screened I will eventually get to see?!? Tomorrow I'm going to do some fun little awards and citations for best performances and things like that, my own MIFF Oscar's if you will, but to end this entry I'm going to thank all the people I met along the way this year that helped pull me through my flu-riddled MIFF adventure! It was wonderful to meet all of these people, whether I knew them before the festival or if I was only just finally putting a real life face to a Twitter handle or blog name. So many of these people inspired me to keep chugging along and making me want to write better and with more energy and vigour than I probably would have mustered otherwise. You could say they put the "festive" in the Melbourne Interntaional Film Festival!

Thank you to my Beauty and the Beast death march partner Mel Campbell, that mysterious festival lounge lurker Syms Covington, those marvellous Sydneysiders Alice Tynan, Beth Wilson and Simon Anlezark, the team from AtTheCinema.net including Melburnian Julian Buckeridge, Brisbanite Sarah Ward (plus her husband Darren) and New Zealander in the Cosby cap Greg Bennett. Thanks to the esteemed intelligence of Cerise Howard and Richard Watts for walking out of Post Mortem as well, thanks to Tara Judah and Josh Nelson of Plato's Cave for enlivening many a conversation, thanks to Lee Zachariah and Paul Nelson from Hell is For Hyphenates for being fabulous organisers and seat-savers respectively (as well as fantastic conversationalists, obviously) and to the representatives of Sharmill Films, Potential Films and Umbrella Entertainment, Kate McCurdy, Coreen Haddad and JoJo Warrener respectively. And then, of course, there's Myke Bartlett and Rhett Bartlett who share a name and a similar awesomeness.

Thanks to the master of Greater Union cattle-herding Dave Lamb (and his magic hat), that other amazing MIFF volunteer Suze Stein, the two men from Geelong aka Anthony Morris and Guy Davis and to newcomers Tom Clift, Rich Haridy, Ben Buckingham, Kwenton from Twitch, Goran, Paul Ryan, Ian Barr and anybody else who I spoke to, anyone who tapped me on the shoulder and asked "are you Stale Popcorn?" and anyone who commented here on the blog. You made the experience incredible.

However, the biggest thank you of all must go to my fellow blogathon buddies: Luke Buckmaster, Thomas Caldwell, Jess Lomas, Simon Miraudo and Brad Nguyen. Five of us gave each other daily re-assurance that we were not in fact mad, but merely dedicated cinephiles. I never actually got to meet Brad, which was curious since you'd think seeing 60 films would mean crossing paths once or twice? Yesterday, upon waking up from my near 14 hour slumber I actually was hit by a tinge of sadness that I wouldn't be seeing these wonderful people every day. Alas, now as we somehow crawl back to our past lives of work and film screenings for movies like The Green Lantern, I will look back upon the experience fondly, even if certain aspects of it give me a wobbly stomach.

Click on the "more" label below to see some fun post-MIFF awards to wrap this sucker up!

The Best (and Worst) Posters of 2007

It's the end of the year and that means everybody's favourite thing in the world - LISTS!!

I'm having a look at the best and the worst posters that we saw in the year 2007. There were some very amazing ones. Some very not so amazing ones, too. Some of these won't come as much of a surprise to long-time readers as I am highlighest them in in "When Bad Posters Strike" and "Well Played Poster" features, but there are some that I haven't even mentioned, let alone praised. So, let's get started, shall we?


(All posters can be clicked for larger views)
(All posters accumulated from IMP)

THE TEN BEST POSTERS OF 2007

10. El Cantante

I've liked this poster since I first saw it. I think it's just so distinctive and the colours pop. Love the colour of Jennifer Lopez's lips and eyelids. It all looks so suitably retro (i love curved corners on posters) and they have somehow made Marc Antony look like he has a pulse!

9. Vacancy

Reminded me of the equally fantastic poster for Rob Zombie's (I imagine) far superior The Devil's Rejects. Love the dank grungy vibe that the poster has. A poster for a scary flick that's actually kind of scary? UNHEARD OF! Plus, the lack of floating heads is a nice change.

8. Black Snake Moan

I had liked this poster from the moment I saw it, but then I saw it at a tram stop in Melbourne and just thought it was so audatiously brilliant. Plus, that tag line - "Everything is hotter down south" - overflows with amazing.

7. Redacted

An unabashedly political film gets a poster that is equally as politcal, yet doesn't get bogged out in it all. Just look at the posters for other Iraq-themed films like In the Valley of Elah and Redacted and you'll see what I mean (hopefully).

6. Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film For Theaters

Yes, I know very well that Richard Corben's original design has been mocked, propped and imitated to nigh on absurd levels (Posterwire has a great piece about it, actually), but I think there's an altogether new quality to it this time, when applied to the Aqua Teen Hunger Force movie idea. Plus, take a look at the credits block at the bottom of the poster - GENIUS! How they got away with it, I'm not quite sure though...

5. Love in the Time of Cholera

This foreign design for Love in the Time of Cholera is my favourite - hell, it's the only good one - because of, you guessed it, the colours. So rich and vibrant, I can't recall seeing a poster with all these yellows, lime greens and orange-reds on it before. I wish I could expect more to come, but I don't see it happening, unfortunately.

4. 3:10 to Yuma

Yes, it looks like it's advertising a Bob Fosse western, but I think that's what makes it so brilliant bonkers. What the hell is going on with this poster. I wish more mainstream movies were this inventive and kooky with their marketing. I mean, you have flamboyant gun toters, text running in all sorts of directions, random objects and one of the best sight gags on a poster all year. I choo choo choose this poster as one of the year's best!

3. Bug

Previously discussed here. This poster freaks me the fuck out!!

2. Michael Clayton

"Oh my god! Michael Clayton is fading before my very eyes!" No, not really, but I imagine that's what the smart cookie who designed this poster (someone at Pulse) was trying to get across to the casual person walking through the megaplex lobby on their way to a fascinating screening of Good Luck Chuck. No? Whether people "get" it or not (I guess you do sort of need to see the film to actually understand that angle of it all) it's still a fascinating and beguiling poster. The big orange text "THE TRUTH CAN BE ADJUSTED" speaks volumes and the look on Clooney's face (albeit, his blurred face) shows so much that you can't help but wonder what he's up to. I have a feeling that this design is going to be replicated a few times over the coming year.

1. American Gangster

Previously discussed here. You can click on the link to the left to read why American Gangster is the best poster of the year - and I'll be doing it all again very soon nudgenudgewinkwink - but, needless to say, they are exceptionally designed, superbly executed and altogether brilliant posters. In my mind I had purchased my tickets the moment I saw them.

Now Just For Fun...
(excluding previously mentioned posters)

Classiest Poster
Away from Her

A beautiful image for a beautiful film. You may not even notice the fact that Julie Christie (and the title itself) are fading away.
Runner Up: There Will Be Blood

Best Rip-Off
30 Days of Night

For ripping off the posters of 300 and actually improving on them! Way to go!

Best TV Poster
Damages

Better than most film posters, if you ask me.
Runner Up: Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles

Funniest Poster
Sicko

"MAN LANDS ON MOON" is effectively funnier than twenty thousand posters with Will Ferrell pulling a goofy pose or showing off silly hair. But that's just me.
Runner Up: Teeth

Best Grindhouse Renaissence
Machete

I've seen a few posters for "grindhouse movies" in my internet travels and this one for the fake Machete is not only the best from 2007, but better and more authentic than any for Death Proof or Planet Terror.
Runner Up: The Strangers

Dreamiest Use of Colour
My Blueberry Nights

...sigh...
Runner Up: Tears of the Black Tiger

Best Use of a Gas Mask
28 Weeks Later

Runner Up: Right at Your Door

Worst "Empty Space" Poster
Margot at the Wedding

Previously discussed here. It's just so... empty!
Runner Up: Alpha Dog

Worst Backtracking
The Invasion

They went from the intriguing classy teaser poster to... that... thing... whatever it is. The top half is good, the bottom half is like some twilight zone poster. Very strange.
Runner Up: There Will Be Blood

Worst Starfucking
Premonition

I just have to laugh everytime I think of the original design of Sandra Bullock's face being made up by twigs and birds (itself quite comical) being turned into the biggest giant floating head poster of the year.

Worst False Advertising
Bridge to Terabithia

I was shocked to find out Bridge to Terabithia wasn't actually animated and was, much to my surprise, live action. Coulda fooled me judging from the poster. And then if you've seen the trailer and the movie you can point to another "false advertising" angle. They just did not know how to market this swell little movie did they?
Runner Up: I Know Who Killed Me (what movie is that advertising?!)

Worst Make-Up
The Ex

Zach Braff looks like an oompa loompa. Who allowed this to go to print?
Runner Up: Good Luck Chuck

Most Overrated
The Savages

So, what? Because the guy at the New Yorker does your poster you're instantly one of the best of all time? Puh-lease.
Runner Up: Saw IV

The "This Movie Deserves Better" Award
There Will Be Blood

What a disappointment compared to the teaser.
Runner Up: Ratatouille

Worst Tag Line
The Reaping

I still can't quite put my finger on why this tagline is so... "off".
Runner Up(s): September Dawn and Fracture

Best Tag Line
Knocked Up (runner up)
"WHAT IF THIS GUY GOT YOU PREGNENT?"


Michael Clayton
"THE TRUTH CAN BE ADJUSTED"


Razzle Dazzle: A Journey Into Dance
"WHO SAID SAVING THE WORLD CAN'T BE ENTERTAINING?"


The Simpsons Movie
"SEE OUR FAMILY, AND FEEL BETTER ABOUT YOURS" (winner)


Southland Tales
"THIS IS THE WAY THE WORLD ENDS"


FOUR AMAZING POSTERS FOR 2008
August, Funny Games


Harold & Kumar 2, Storm Warning

THE TEN WORST POSTERS OF 2007

10. Behind the Mask

I just find this poster really ugly and unappealing. Not ugly in a "this grotesqeness makes it scary" way, but in a "I don't wanna watch this movie because I might get an infection from it" way.

9. Licence to Wed

The look on Mandy Moore's face speaks volumes.

8. The Bucket List

I can't type much for this because I am actually falling asleep just from looking at it. Morgan Freeman is wise, doncha know!

7. Charlie Wilson's War

Ditto. Phillip Seymour Hoffman is so chameleonic, doncha know!

6. Fracture

Previously discussed here. Looking like a low-rent direct-to-DVD title, this poster for Fracture is just so by-the-numbers and with that ridiculous tagline ("I killed my wife... prove it" - aagh!) just makes me want to never see this movie.

5. The Ex

Previously discussed here. Zach Braff's orange face. The abundance of empty white space. The unexplained shortness of Jason Batemen. The listing of every single cast member of any remote "name value". All adds up to zero. I prefered it when it was called Fast Track - at least that poster had something going for it.

4. I Know Who Killed Me

I'm sure blue flowers play some part in I Know Who Killed Me, but it's lost on me and - I'm quite sure - everyone else whos aw this poster in the cinema lobby. With more work on it and a better idea of what it represented and this design could've been something unique, but as it is it's just... well, I don't know. What are they even trying to market there?

3. Hostel Part II
Take your pick of any number of Hostel Part II posters. They're all as revolting as the last. I still refuse to put them on my blog. They're disgusting - and, obviously, not in the scary/intriguing/mysterious way. They're just vile.

2. A Mighty Heart

Previously discussed here. I thought this hopelessly DIY poster couldn't be beat for worst of the year honours, until I saw the #1 poster. Still doesn't stop this poster for A Mighty Heart being ridiculously simplistic made-on-the-cheap disaster.

1. Mama's Boy

I'm speechless. I mean, it looks like it was made in Microsoft Paint for crying out loud! The eye-searing colour, the ridiculous pose by Jon Heder (go away forever plz) and just nothing about it makes you want to see the movie (right?) The boring font, Anna Faris' annoying dress/denim ensemble, the names "Diane Keaton", "Jeff Daniels" and "Anna Faris", the rudimentary waste of space... everything. It's just terrible. Quite possibly the worst poster ever made.

Well that was a lot of fun (and a lot of hard work). Hope you all enjoyed it. I'm sure I've missed something, but I can't help that. Did y'all have a favourite/least favourite poster of the year?