matt's blog

Two nights ago, I decided I never want to have kids. Why? Because I caught the first screening of WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN — a look at the relationship between a mother and her troubled teenage son. (J/K about the "never wanting kids" part.........sorta.) It was also awarded BEST FILM 2011 by EuroCinema Hawaii at last night's awards gala.

The Lynne Ramsay-driven vehicle paints a pretty bleak portrait of a mother sorting out her memories following an act of violence that involes her only son and it's without a doubt the most demanding film I've seen at the fest so far. It raises a lot of questions about nature vs. nuture, parenting, and every shot is rife with symbolism, which is why it's perfect for HIFF and our discerning audience members.

Tilda Swinton is really, really good, proving again that there's nothing the woman can't do (has she cured cancer yet?), but the real surprise is newcomer Ezra Miller who holds his own against her effortlessly, expanding on the work he did in his first film AFTERSCHOOL, which had similar themes.

Like anyone who fell in love with the book The Perks of Being a Wallflower as a teenager ten+ years ago (guilty!), you were probably feeling suspicious when you heard there was a film adaptation in the works. But after finding out this kid Ezra's in it, and seeing his acting chops in KEVIN, my hope has been restored.

The director Ramsay has shot some delicately charged scenes that give the actors enough room to act, considering how loaded the topic is. There are two scenes in particular that just sum up everything I'm trying to get across unsucessfully in this post, so I'll just let you sift through the film to try and find them.

In a perfect world, all three will be nominated come awards season. Whether you love or hate the film (two people walked out of my screening), it was an admirable effort overall.

It screens one last time tonight at 930p. Bring someone so you both can talk about it. You'll need to.

First, what you do know about Michael Giacchino: he is the composer whose work can be found breathing emotion into every episode of the Hawai‘i-filmed LOST; every shot of blockbuster's like MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE III, THE INCREDIBLES, STAR TREK; and who won an Academy Award for UP (which, congratulations and all Michael, but I'll still never forgive you for making me cry in front of a date just seven minutes into UP, btws.)

In other words, what people do know about Michael Giacchino is that Michael Giacchino is amazing.

Today, he'll be one of five at BEHIND THE SCENES: A ROUNDTABLE DISUCSSION WITH TOP COMPOSERS (including 9th Wonder, Woodrow Wilson Jackson III, Sarah Matarazzo and Stephanie Diaz-Matos) at 1pm today. Later, Michael will be at a screening of his latest J.J. Abrams-collaboration SUPER 8 + A CONVERSATION WITH MICHAEL GIACCHINO at 3:15pm.

But before you attend both these sonic treats, here's a few things you didn't know about the man behind the music....

1. How to pronounce his name. If you're gonna fan out, getting the guy's name right is crucial. I've gone through the hard labor of setting this Google Translate up for you so you can hear the pronunciation for yourself. Like any one who attends the same church I do (Olive Garden's Never Ending Pasta Bowl, noon, Sundays), you know that the "double cc" in Italian makes a "k" sound. It's not a concrete fact, but every time you mispronounce "gnocchi," someone's Rosetta Stone somewhere scratches itself. Also, did you know "Giacchino" means "Jacket" in Italian? Probably not, but that's not going in your "5." That one was free.

2. For that infamous LOST score he used parts of a plane fuselage as percussion. Seriously, I don't think I've ever been "aware" of music in a TV show until LOST. (Then again, I don't think I've ever been "aware" of TV in general until LOST.) I once heard someone say that film is 50% sound, which is pretty astute, but that Michael was able to bring that fact to life on television is truly illuminating. Anyway, I think it says something that he's able to incorporate components central to the show to the score and it shows. I also think it says I've cried during more LOST episodes than I can count and I'm #sorry #notsorry.

3. He scored the Medal of Honor video game series. Who would've thought all that time we were telling our parents we were "finishing up our world history homework" (aka dominating Medal of Honor), Michael was right there studying with us the entire time?! And teenagers thought classical musical was "boring"...... Pffffffff.

4. He's what makes Disneyland's Space Mountain so thrilling. Hey, so do you guys wanna hear something really dorky OR DO YOU GUYS WANNA HEAR SOMETHING REALLY DORKY? When my college roomates and I discovered LOST we were freshmen at a liberal arts school in Southern California, 10 minutes away from D-Land (that's Disneyland for all you non-annual pass holders). It's a semi-long story, but here's the Fastpass version: Whenever we would ride Space Mountain, right before the first rollercoaster drop, we'd shout out "OH MY GIACCHINOOOOAAAAAAAHH!!!" It sounds about as ridiculous/embarassing as it looks in this blog. But hey, look, at the time, like one half of America's population, we were obsessed with LOST and didn't have jobs.

Anyway, there's a lot more you probably don't know about him, but you can. Get in on the conversation.

Instead of lead with a block of text, I thought I'd just let this trailer speak for itself.

#RealTalk: The film, THE WONDER YEAR, is probably the movie I'm most excited for. Patrick "9th Wonder" Douthit is an alt-hip hop game changer who's spun rhymes with Mary J. Blige, Lil Wayne, Wale, Jay-Z, Chris Brown and basically every one else in your "Gettin' Cray 4 da Club" playlist (just me?) on your iPod. Hey, don't take my word for it, take Drake's.

Since I KNOW I DONT' HAVE TO TELL YOU WATCH THE TRAILER, it's pretty clear that 9th Wonder is a solid beat machine. Go to the Hawaii premiere tomorrow at 8:30pm and follow the luminary through a year of his producing life, working with artists and industry peers, to teaching at Duke University.

And then follow him to Nextdoor in Chinatown for a—wait, what?!

That's right. Following the premiere, literally follow 9th Wonder to Nextdoor in Chinatown for a Live Music Showcase because he will be here to DJ you into your weekend! This one night only appearance is the kick off to HIFF's SOUND x VISION film section—in it's second year and seriously better than ever. I mean, 9TH WONDER, yo!

I know you're just amped on endorphines right now reading this, so here's the best outlet we can offer 'til 'morrow night: his music.

Remember when I said HIFF is really easy about two posts back? Well, for argument's sake/this post, I'm now going to tell you that it's also kind of confusing! (Forgive me. Third latte. Can't make up my mind.)

Luckily, the festival is propped up by three films, so you don't lose your balance throughout the 10 day timeline:

Someone is clearly excited about Opening Night...

OPENING NIGHT FILM
THE FRONT LINE (pictured)
Thur., October 13, 8pm

CENTERPIECE PRESENTATION
PINA 3D
Wed., October 19, 8:15pm

CLOSING NIGHT FILM
THE DESCENDANTS
Sun., October 23, 6pm

They add a sense of form and structure to the fun-in-the-chaos that is HIFF. Since the OPENING NIGHT FILM is tomorrow, some myths we want to clean up (after the jump)...

They got my name right! Sbux, you're now batting 1-29. 

You know it's gonna be a good day when a Starbucks barista gets your name right. ("Wait, you're letting me be me, not "Ben" or "Max" or "Mortimer" (true story) this morning? Holla.") An even better day when you have your HIFF catalog with you—which you can conveniently pick up at your neighborhood Starbucks (aka, any corner on any street anywhere) among other places.

The free program guide, which came out ~1 week ago, is like water for the film festival goer. It has everything in it to survive!

Page 2-3 has Festival at a Glance: an index of every category, every film, every event—a shortlist of special sections and who to stalk visiting filmmakers and actors at this year's fest. Pages 5-31 is the Program Guide: a list of all the films w/ synopses in alpha order. Pages 34-36 lays out the entire Film Timetable and How to HIFF. What I'm saying is there's really no reason to be out of the loop. You have a comprehensive guide to HIFF and a cup of caffeine!

PS - when you wake up this time tomorrow morning, it'll officially be time to HIFF. Good morning, Hawaii!