Movie Details
| Title: | Red Hill | |
| Director: | Patrick Hughes | |
| Year: | 2010 | |
| Genre: | Revenge | |
| Times Seen: | 1 | |
| Last Seen: | 09.30.10 |
Other Movies Seen By This Director (1)
- The Hitman's Bodyguard
| Date Viewed | Venue | Note |
| 09.30.10 | Alamo South Lamar | This Screening is part of event: FantasticFest 2010 Australian cop-on-his-first-day-in-a-new-town thriller starring the brother from True Blood. I really wanted to like this because I typically like Australian movies especially their unique brand of modern western that they can kind of still get away with (No Country for Old Men had the same vibe here in America) but this turned out to be a little more typical than I would've hoped. Not bad by any means, but not surprising or great either. Some dude that the whole small town fucked over breaks out of prison and comes for revenge and Jason Stackhouse has to realize that his boss is the bad guy. It was ok. Kind of a mediocre movie to be the last of the fest... ...but luckily I saw one more thing! It's not a film per se so it doesn't get it's own entry but part of the reason why Stuart Gordon and Jeffrey Combs was in town was to do a weekend of performances of Nevermore: a one-man play starring Jeffrey Combs as Edgar Allen Poe. It was kind of a special thing. They had a curtain over the screen in one of the auditoriums, didn't allow food service during the show, and Gordon had a set of stage lights set up that he sat with a tech triggering cues on (i know this because I sat at the end near him and kept an eye on him because I wondered how one "directs" in theater). The lights went full dark and we hear Combs silently enter, take the stage, and start talking to us. He strikes a match and lights a candle as a spotlight takes its place and he sets the candle down on his desk and proceeds to give about a 80-minute monologue as Poe, reciting poems (heart-breaking Annabel Lee) and stories (amazing reading of The Tell-Tale Heart), getting drunk and lamenting about his new invisible bride's departure from the audience, and ending with a reading of The Raven. In short, I thought it was amazing. The direct energy of live performance coupled with my awareness that this was Jeffrey goddamn Combs and Stuart motherfuckin Gordon collided in a shock of sparks for me. They might as well have been acting out Re-Animator in my living room just for me, except I imagine several other people in the audience felt exactly the same way. It was a really special thing to get to see and I'm really glad I did. It made a perfect last screening of the fest for me, and will hopefully live on in my memory for quite some time. Great stuff. I almost went home after that but Victor persuaded me to check out the party (him offering to drive helped). So we went out to this ghost town and ate some of the whole cow that they roasted and watched Arc Attack perform with their tesla coils (a dude dons a chainmail outfit and stands between them letting the electricity touch his head or hands or whatever) and robo-powered drum kit. Later they put a metal cage in between the coils and saw Nacho Vigalondo all but Rape Elijah Wood in front of everyone. Mostly the party was a good time because I got to hang out with most of the old movie friends one more time without a movie to seat for interrupting us. It made me all sentimental for my old life a bit but also feeling good about where i'm at now. I made a vow to see everyone before next September. So... looking back, a few things seem interesting to me. This was the first year that I didn't get at least half-sick. That's awesome. I think I only saw one midnight movie and it wasn't that great. I actually went to the closing night party for the first time since, like, year 2. And I actually had fun! I saw way more good movies than bad, and met a bunch of people who I only vaguely knew by twitter. I got Zack's awesome book and got to say hello to Lars and Tim and managed to make it to work every morning (except the friday after closing night. I was mysteriously "sick" that day). My favorite movie by far was Golden Slumber, followed by The Sound of Noise then probably I saw the Devil. And I got a VIP badge for next year! sweet! And now, I'm even finished with these notes. So awesome. Time for lunch. |
