JDIFF 2012

johnny_ultimate

e_e wrote: »

So you can pick up your ticket in the cinema before the movie?

Or is filmbase still open during the festival?

Filmbase should still be open, but all cinemas should have a dedicated box office too.

Spent the day at Story campus. Really good stuff.

Skinfull

Was just down in cineworld to pick up a ticket for Hill Street and they let me pick up other tickets too, even though they weren't being show in cineworld. Also when I didn't have my order number, they let me pick them up with my email and movie confirmation. :cool:

e_e

Yeah got 'em in Filmbase today.

Squelchy

Sport101 wrote: »

Wow, the JDFF website is awful, was keen on finding some interesting films to go to, but that site is just far too frustrating to navigate.

JDIFF in general is very poorly organised.
Of the 3 movies I've had so far; the first had the worst sound of any movie I've ever seen in a cinema, the second was a half hour late going on and the third was cancelled altogether.
Very disillusioned with the whole thing. Can't even be arsed attending the movie I have booked tonight.

And tickets aren't exactly cheap at €10 a pop.

e_e

Just curious, what movies were those?

I saw Crulic - The Path to Beyond yesterday and it was very good.

Squelchy

e_e wrote: »

Just curious, what movies were those?

Sound: Apartment in Athens
Delayed: Avé
Cancelled: Blame (was the movie I was looking forward to most)

delbertgrady

Tonight's Surprise Film was Casa De Mi Padre, the spoof Mexican telenovela, starring Will Ferrell, Gael Garcia Bernal, Diego Luna and Genesis Rodriguez. It is that most tragic of films, the unfunny comedy. Count was lost of the amount of people who walked out. (Or rather, I stopped counting after twenty, 'cos the novelty wore off).
You know you're in trouble when people are still leaving when the film has clearly reached its denouement and there are clearly only a few minutes left. What, you've lasted this long, you're not going to see it through? Oh well, beat the rush for the car park, I suppose...
Also, those funny bits that people add in during the credits? They always keep people standing in the aisles after they've stood up to leave. Not tonight. The majority couldn't get out of the place quick enough. No polite round of applause either, which usually happens at these things, even it's been a stinker.
I honestly don't know how Gráinne can repeatedly get the Surprise Film so wrong. I know it's impossible to please all the people all the time, but if anything is going to split the audience, it's going to be a comedy, and especially a quirky, niche effort like this. This is the third comedy she has chosen to be a Surprise Film (some would argue four if you count Greenberg's would-be comic-drama) and they've all been poor to varying degrees. Hamlet 2 was an embarrassing disgrace, Cedar Rapids was tolerable but forgettable and now this debacle.
Casa De Mi Padre works fine as a trailer, where it plays out like an amusing two minute sketch, but stretched to feature length, it really outstays its welcome. Sure, it's a bit of a coup to have a first European screening, but when the film is this bad, frankly, who cares?

e_e

Really bad movie that. I don't think any more than 5% of the audience were laughing at any point and even the laughter that I did hear sounded completely forced. Laughing at really inappropriate points too,

after he shot his mother to death a woman beside me started laughing out loud. Sorry did I miss something hilarious? Maybe I was half asleep.

Haven't seen so many people walking out since Antichrist, and I like Will Ferrell too.

e_e

I really like last year's Cedar Rapids too, damn shame.

Nephinbeg

It was really awful. The biggest laugh was probably at the start when Ferrell first appeared. The saving grace of stinkers like this is the inevitable ravaging they get in the media, but we'll have to wait a full month for this one's!

johnny_ultimate

Phew, glad tickets were sold out then! Although makes me fear next week's!

Long Room Hubba

I think the kindest thing is for everyone to ignore the Suprise Movie, and hope they stop doing them. It's so rarely good, and even when it is you can see it in a normal screening two months later. It just makes the festival look a litle small-time.

On the bright side, The Yellow Sea was amazing, and Sherlock Jnr with live musical accompaniment was a fantastic way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Interim verdicts?

My favourite so far is The Yellow Sea. Biggest disappointment is The Monk. It looked like potentially a classic return to Hammer/Amicus-style Gothic horror, but with a top-level cast. It turned out to be scene after scene of set-up without even a basic attempt at stringing a story together. A long yawn.

Renato99

One of the worst movies I've seen in a long time. Please don't waste my Sunday evenings with these sorta 'surprises'.

johnny_ultimate

Long Room Hubba wrote: »

My favourite so far is The Yellow Sea.

Which you could have seen in the IFI months ago :pac: I'm genuinely amazed they decided they would show it even after a week long theatrical release.

e_e

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

Which you could have seen in the IFI months ago :pac: I'm genuinely amazed they decided they would show it even after a week long theatrical release.

Especially with all the potentially interesting Japanese/Korean movies that will be out later this year.

e_e

I guessed "This Must Be The Place" as the surprise film in the competition tonight and I really hope it's next week's movie. Because even the trailer for it gave me more laughs than the entirety of Casa De Mi Padre.

403 Forbidden

I enjoyed the trailers more than that movie - really really bad. Hope Surprise film 2 is much better.

Long Room Hubba

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

Which you could have seen in the IFI months ago :pac: I'm genuinely amazed they decided they would show it even after a week long theatrical release.

You're right. Using the Festival as a catch-up for things I missed is great for me, but it's probably not what they want to be known for.

Irish Aris

Today was my first full day in the festival, I saw four films.
My favourite was The Mole from Poland: Tells the story of a man who is accused of being a mole of the communist party 30 years ago during a strike in a mine that cost lives.
Footnote from Israel was good but it ended rather abruptly.
I found The Yellow Sea rather tiring and very long, but since this kind of film is not my cup of tea, don't mind me
The worst for me was the Tin Can Man. It really annoyed me. One hour into the film I ran out of patience and just left the cinema. (Mind you though, it was my first visit to the Lighthouse which I liked it very much: lots of open spaces, even if I don't want to see a film, I would love to go for a coffee there)

Catcher7791

e_e wrote: »

Especially with all the potentially interesting Japanese/Korean movies that will be out later this year.

Hi e_e,

What Korean films are you particularly looking forward to?

Landoflemon

Does anyone know if you entered the 'Done in 60 seconds' competition are you automatically given tickets to the reservoir dogs showing? I entered the competition, didn't place anywhere in the top 3 to go onto the next round, but was called by Jameson offering me 2 tickets to the reservoir dogs showing. Did this happen everyone who simply entered? It was very courteous of them to recognise the effort.

e_e

Catcher7791 wrote: »

Hi e_e,

What Korean films are you particularly looking forward to?

That was wishful thinking really. But I really want to see the movie Café Noir.

delbertgrady

Nephinbeg wrote: »

It was really awful. The biggest laugh was probably at the start when Ferrell first appeared. The saving grace of stinkers like this is the inevitable ravaging they get in the media, but we'll have to wait a full month for this one's!

Judging by the fact that screenings of this took place in the US several months ago, one can only assume that it has been desperately tinkered with since then (either in the editing suite or with rewrites and reshoots), or else has just been stuck in distribution hell. Whatever the reason, such delays are nearly always a bad sign and Gráinne should have known better than to select it.

Decuc500

I’m certainly happy they showed The Yellow Sea, I thought it was incredible, such a brutal and relentless film. Nice seeing it in the Savoy as well. Although so far both early morning films in the Savoy have been poorly attended. As good as The Yellow Sea and Monsieur Lazhar were they didn’t have the hype around them to attract a large Savoy One crowd.

I also enjoyed The Monk. It had a great gothic atmosphere. Good, intense performance from Vincent Cassel. I enjoyed Dominik Moll’s q&a after the film but it was a shame it was cut a bit short. I don’t think the cinema was going to be used again that night so why not allow the director more time to discuss his film?

Skinfull

I went to the Hill Street documentary yesterday. Purportedly a story of the birth and growth of the skateboarding industry in Dublin but really was a couple of interviews centered around a skate shop on Hill Street. Felt like a segment of a movie rather than a story in and of itself. The crowd (near sell out) were all "involved" and it all seems like a family movie that we had intruded on.

It was interesting enough, the interviews were entertaining as was the old footage with a Tony Hawk demo, but I'm not sure if it warranted a stand alone movie, and I couldn't help but wonder why they didn't venture further afield, and examine the culture outside of Dublin.

Oh and the Q&A was cringy. :rolleyes:

thunderthing

Really wanted to see Silence on Wednesday but it's sold out.. Anybody know how wide of a release it's going to get, or if it's likely I'd get to see it on a big screen any time soon?

johnny_ultimate

Your Sister's Sister was a delightful little film. It's simple and some might say predictable. But it really hit a sweet spot: a romantic comedy (drama) that is very effective due to the characters and understated direction. Full of humour, heart and warmth. Even some insight at times! The three leads play off each other wonderfully. Would have liked a longer Q&A from Lynn 'Not Mumblecore' Shelton but a really likeable follow up from Humpday. Disappointed I didn't get tickets to see Jeff Who Stays at Home as a follow up and Duplass double bill, but I'm guessing that will receive a wide release soon enough anyway.

Skinfull

Jeff, Who stays at home was brilliant. Loved it. Little slow to start off but purposefully so. Characters were all pitch perfect. Loved Jeff which is surprising for me as I usually have little time for the "stoner" of the movie, but he proves to be so much more than that. Don't wanna steal your words Johnny_Ultimate but this story as also warm and full of heart, and had me tearing up on two occasions.

The crowd laughed in all the right places, and some people ahem*me*ahem on their own at clearly personal levels. Really recommend viewing this when it comes to a general release, which no doubt it will.

Having gone in kinda blind, without real synopsis or trailer, I walked in expecting another "Our Idiot Brother", but got so much more for my ten bucks. Best movie of JDIFF I've seen so far.

johnny_ultimate

I really don't know why I didn't go for Jeff..., because I'm a huge fan of the Duplass Brothers - they're consistently on form with well-realised characters. Had spent enough on tickets already, though

mystic86

Saw where do we go now this evening, what a brilliant, hilarious and charming movie. Crowd loved it.