I read Alice Sebold’s novel ‘The Lovely Bones’ a couple of years ago and remember being shocked by the subject matter. In the first couple of chapters the main character, a fourteen year old girl, gets raped and murdered by one of her neighbours. Afterwards she watches her family from ‘the inbetween’ – the place between heaven and hell. When I heard there was going to be a film adaptation, I was intrigued about how a movie would handle this unusual storyline.
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Surrogates, based on the graphic comic book series of the same name is a science fiction film set in the not-too-distant future.  In this future people live their lives vicariously through the use of robotic surrogates, which they control with their minds from the comfort of their own homes. This interesting concept was what grabbed my attention and made me sit down and watch Surrogates. It didn’t hurt that the lead guy was Bruce Willis, as he’s watchable in pretty much anything and rarely fails to please.
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This is the day after… Yesterday, I got back from a thoroughly pleasant IFFR experience that went by way too fast. I was planning to do a final update earlier, but due to network problems (that occurred quite often the past ten days), I wasn’t able to post anything sooner.

Traditionally, yesterday the Tiger Award and Audience Award were handed out. Both went to films I have not seen (this seem to happen nearly every year). The Audience Award went to the Spanish drama Yo, también by directors Álvaro Pastor and Antonio Naharro. I heard very positive signals about this film and all I can hope is it will get a release here in the Netherlands.

The Tiger Award for films (co)funded by the IFFR’s Hubert Bals Fund this year went to three films (which seems to become common practice): Costa Rican Agua fría de mar, Mexican Alamar and Thai Mundane History.
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In my previous report I had a big rant about the Dutch films shown on the IFFR that I really disliked. I did this for a reason, because there are, in fact, at least two films I would like to mention that are actually really worth the price of a ticket. And that highly contrast with the titles I mentioned two days ago. If you have a chance to go see My Queen Karo I sincerely hope you will undertake the effort. It is a Belgian/Dutch drama about a little girl who moves with her free-minded parents to Amsterdam to live in a community of squatters where free love and chaos prevails. Another Dutch film I’d love to recommend is Hunting & zn (Hunting and son), about a very civil couple facing difficulties when a pregnancy is combined with an eating disorder. Tough stuff, but extremely well executed.

Today’s update includes Korean The Mother, by the director of the critically acclaimed The Host and a review of Romanian comedy Tales of the Golden Age. I also highly recommend both!

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Time for a third update. I have seen some pretty spectacular films, but also some really lousy ones. Unfortunately, two of them were Dutch productions. This is somewhat awkward, since the past couple of years, the Dutch film seems to be increasing in quality. I won’t elaborate too long on these titles I sincerely disliked, I will just restrict myself to mentioning them. Okay and a very fast verdict. First of all try to avoid the kitschy Meat by Dutch directors Victor Nieuwenhuijs and Maartje Seyferth (the concept was okay, but the execution messy and incomprehensible). Secondly, Shocking Blue by Mark de Cloe needed some serious reworking (Dutch off-focus teenage drama with a incredibly small attention span).

But, that set aside (and written off my chest), the festival DOES have a lot of eye candy to offer, and let’s face it: that is what it is all about. I will discuss two of my favorite films of the IFFR so far: François Ozon’s Le refuge and Swedish The Ape.

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It’s time for a second update, right from the grounds of the IFFR. I just got back from an exquisite screening of Hitchcock’s Dial M for Murder… in 3D! Back in the ‘50s the film was intended to be released on 3D, since it was a huge hype then and the ultimate weapon to fight the uprise of television (history seems to be repeating itself). But when the film was finished ,the hype was over and it was released in normal format. It is fun watching this classis in its original format. The funny thing is, I watched the film some weeks ago (not knowing it was scheduled for 3D here at the IFFR) and I never noticed how Hitchcock had deliberately placed objects like lamps and flowers in front of the screen to emphasize the 3D-effect. It does not add a lot to the original theatrical version, though, but it is fun seeing a huge theater filled with people watching a classic.

Today’s update will include two reviews: of Korean horror film Possessed and of the hailed Un prophète.
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This first update derives from an incredible lack of sleep, a very smelly hostel room (causing some of the lack of sleep) and hardly any time available to write. This year, the festival’s organization should be praised, worshipped almost, for the absolute flawless ticket system. Being a member of press, I don’t have much trouble obtaining tickets anyway, but many of my loved-ones have to get tickets the regular way. They usually end up cursing behind their computers because ordering tickets is an utter mess. This year, it all went extremely smooth, leaving them speechless behind their computers. Even picking up the tickets was a delight. So kudos for the IFFR!

This first report contains two reviews: for Wes Anderson’s The Fantastic Mr. Fox and Australia’s entry for the Oscars: Samson & Delilah.

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The 39th edition of the International Film Festival Rotterdam will be held from Wednesday January 27th to Sunday February 7th. The line-up of the festival is a continuation of last year’s change in which the amount of films was slimmed down into a more streamlined schedule. The 2010 issue has a total number of fifteen films that will compete in the VPRO Tiger Award Competition, the festival’s annual attempt to put beginning film makers in the spotlight. Other films screened at the festival include François Ozon’s latest, Le refuge, two films by Roman Herzog (including his David Lynch produced horror flick My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done?) and Wes Anderson’s Roald Dahl based fable The Fantastic Mr. Fox. Traditionally (or call it good custom), the IFFR has a strong emphasis on Asian cinema and this year is no exception. The opening film of the IFFR will be the South Korean Paju by director Park Chan-Ok.

Like previous years Choking on Popcorn will report exclusively from the IFFR with small reviews and impressions.

For more info and the full program go to www.iffr.nl (also available in English)

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It’s difficult to find a parking spot in this part of downtown Los Angeles where you aren’t afraid you’ll be mugged or your car broken into. After 20 minutes of navigating trough the one-way streets I found a location not too far from the theater for a reasonable price. The theater itself buzzed with a motley crüe of people mulling around, buying drinks and popcorn or listening to the band playing in the screening room itself. The band, Third Grade Teacher, commanded the attention of the audience as I walked in and found a seat. Their music was earnest and entertaining if not a bit unconventional. After a while, the band wrapped it up, the lights around the theater dimmed, the crowd hushed – some of them sitting on the floor since there were no more seats left, and the show began.

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If you’re a fan of The Beatles, then you’ll probably love this movie. It gives a rare insight into the complexities of John Lennon’s youth and documents problems he encountered, which inspired some of his music. If you’re not a fan of  The Beatles, you’ll probably still love this movie, as it contains a powerful story about a dysfunctional family.  Lennon led an interesting and action packed life, even before he became famous. The title ‘Nowhere Boy’ is clearly derived from the popular track ‘Nowhere Man’, which was written about this this stage in Lennon’s life, when he didn’t know where he was going or what the future held.
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