CREEPER

CREEPER from Shawn Bannon on Vimeo.

I’m pleased to share one of Shawn’s most recent short films, CREEPER, which premiered at AFI Fest last November. I was immediately intrigued from the moment he first told me the idea for this film, inspired by the announcement of the Google glasses. I am a big fan of social media, obviously I have this blog, but I worry things are going in a dangerous direction and CREEPER really illustrates that darkness.

return to the future

We’re home from Sundance 2013. We just escaped before the snowstorm on Sunday that left so many stranded. I’ve also brought home with me the dreaded Sundance flu. At the moment, my brain is still a little foggy and I’m not quite ready to do anything I can’t do in bed.

The ten days of the festival were ultra busy but I did manage to see quite a few films and meet some really cool people, including a handful of internet acquaintances, which was a treat. Thankfully I didn’t get altitude sickness (although I was pretty woozy the first day). I grew quite fond of the cold weather and snow. I saw the most films in the Library theater, the most uncomfortable of all theaters, and ate so many peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for dinner so I could make it to screenings on time.

I’ll be back to share some thoughts on a few of the films I saw later in the week, but for now, here is just a list of what I was able to see.

1. Crystal Fairy
2. The Spectacular Now
3. We Are What We Are
4. Blackfish
5. S-VHS
6. C.O.G.
7. Hell Baby
8. Upstream Color
9. Pit Stop
10. Ain’t Them Bodies Saints
11. Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer
12. After Tiller
13. In A World
14. The Way Way Back

It’s not possible to see everything, there were so many others that I wish I could have seen. Hopefully there will be another opportunity somewhere down the line.

In the mean time, here are a few of the shorts that I really liked.

CATNIP: EGRESS TO OBLIVION

THE EVENT

IRISH FOLK FURNITURE

BLACK METAL

off to sundance

It’s that time of year again and we’ll soon be heading up to Park City, Utah for Sundance 2013. I can’t wait to see this year’s crop of films. It’s colder than any year we’ve been before so I’m a little nervous, but I’m really looking forward to going to Vertical Diner again.

I’ll be sure to report on any favorite films I see while I’m there (if you don’t already follow me on twitter now might be a good time to start). Plus, be sure to check out Sundance coverage from the Vegan Movie Mafia.

As I mentioned, I can’t wait to see UPSTREAM COLOR and AIN’T THEM BODIES SAINTS among others. I also really want to see TOP OF THE LAKE, but clocking in at 6 hours I’m not sure I’ll be able to make it. Any films you’re particularly interested in or curious about?

redwoods

Two weekends in a row of tiny adventures. I supposed it’s strange to want to spend most of the time outdoors when it’s winter but I prefer cold to sweltering heat any day. (I never understand why people want to be out and about in the summer, I just want to hide in a cold, dark movie theater.)

We spent some time hiking in the snow at Mt. Baldy. It’s still novel for me to be in snow, even though we see it a little more regularly with various holiday travels.

Then we trekked further up north to visit Muir Woods. Can you believe I’ve never been to a redwood forest before? It started raining as soon as we got there but it was beautiful and so nice to walk around anyway (until my fingers turned to icicles). We made a stop in San Jose and visited the Winchester Mystery House which was crazy and wonderful and I wish we could live there, even though not really. Somewhere in there we ate vegan cinnamon buns and had vegan ice cream shakes too.

I’m not usually one to take weekend trips, it always feels like you’re losing valuable time, but I realized that there is real value in getting away from your familiar surroundings into someplace knew. Hopefully this year will be full of more little trips and adventures.

2012 Movies

This year I kept track of every single film I watched and a few details along with them. I was really excited today to compile my list and see how everything totaled up. I think I’ll do the same this year.

The first film I watched in 2012: TINY FURNITURE
The last film I watched in 2012: TAXI DRIVER

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!