Festival Wrapup

The Boston IFF ended yesterday, and I got to see a number of free, and good (for the most part) movies.

Loud Soft Loud: A Film About the Pixies (which I described here.)

Infamy
This documentary, directed by Doug Pray (Hype!) follows a number of graffiti artists from cities across the U.S. The film shows the art work behind what goes into graffiti, and the two types of graffiti artists. The people who do it for the rush of breaking the law, and the people who do it for the art of it. Infamy also follows a guy in L.A. who lives his life obsessively driving around L.A. to erase any signs of graffiti in hopes to make the city safer. A very interesting and entertaining movie, and gave a new angle to this article in today's Times.

American Blackout
This movie was similar in tone to Fahrenheit 9/11 but better, and it made me leave the theater a lot angrier about the pitiful state our country is currently in. The film highlights Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney from Georgia who was voted out of office based on misinterpreted statements she made about the Bush administration. American Blackout uses McKinney as a way to look at historical black voter disenfranchisement from the Civil Rights Movement to the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections. Cynthia McKinney spoke after the screening with the director, and she was charming, and down-to-earth, and it seemed obvious that the recent press about her in the media as a stereotypical angry black woman is exaggerated.

The Legend of Lucy Keyes
Starring Julie Delpy and Justin Theroux, the movie is based on a true story from western Massachusetts about a ghost that haunts a small rural town. I am not a big fan of ghost stories, but usually when I see them I am entertained because I am trying so hard to keep calm. But thinking about it later, the visual effects of the ghost were lame, and the pacing of the story was not great. An okay film.

Chalk
Centered around young high school teachers, Heather described it as "The Office" with teachers. A very funny and realistic look at the politics and life as a high school teacher.