The SB film festival opened a couple of days ago...

Today I went to see two movies at the festival today - little did I realize that some of the festival participants had already seen a handful of movies up to this point. I don't think I could do that, sitting in a dark theater for most of the day. I mean, it was a great day to be out. Then again, that's the supposed norm for SoCal...

Anyhow, I saw a (or should we say "another") Stephen Chow kung-fu flick called "Kung-fu Hustle". Why the "hustle"? Methinks the quasi-40's period clothing had something to do with it. It was really good, but Chow's role itself seemed a bit too superfluous in this film. On the other hand, I really liked "The God of Cookery". If you haven't seen it yet, it's hilarious. (For one thing, it's an obvious spoof of the "Iron Chef".)

The second film I saw was "Kontroll" from Hungary. The film's setting is the Budapest subway system - it was funny to see a "disclamer" in the beginning from someone who apparently works for the subway system, telling the audience that the film's characters are highly "symbolic" and do not reflect the nature of the system's actual employee base. Hmmm... I liked it, but I think that many people were a bit perplexed by it - perhaps a bit too disturbed by the raw, grimy intensity that is the Budapest subway system. There are some curiously amusing parts in this dark film, namely those involving a narcoleptic worker.

Tomorrow night I'm going to see "Oldboy" - I've been really waiting to see this one. The other films I have in mind - "Cutie Honey" and "Surprise Style 5+", both from Japan. The former has been described as the Power Rangers on acid, while the other one is probably a Japanese hitman comedy on - you guessed it - acid. Should be an extremely interesting week in the world of international film.