Okay, so I went from 'wicked pissed' to 'not really mad just unlucky' in a matter of minutes. Why you ask? Well, I just checked my emails and saw that the Cedar Lee (for all you non Ohio people, it is Cleveland's only all indie theater) was giving away an autographed poster of The Darjeeling Limited which it claims was signed at last weekend's Q & A with Wes Anderson, Jason Schwartzman and Waris Ahluwalia! What?!? So I do a little internet searching and found out that last Saturday The Cedar Lee hosted a free screening of the film with the above three in attendance. Thing was though that it took place at 4pm which would have been right around the time I was doing the whole shorts screening for the Canton Palace Film Fest. So the thing was I would have been more pissed if I knew about it before hand and couldn't go as relation to now. As I said before, I guess I am just unlucky. Would have been so freakin' cool, especially figuring Wes was supposed to be at an advance screening of Life Aquatic a few years back when I lived near Los Angeles and new never came. I guess that's to strikes for me. Oh well, nonetheless, Chiaki and I plan to see The Darjeeling Limited on Saturday. I will be back with my reaction soon.

Surprise! So I decided to change my blog design. I was really getting tired of the old one. It was a bit boring. This one looks more hip. does it? Okay, maybe not but I wanted a change. Do you feel me?

Okay so it is a day away from the Canton Palace Theatre's 6th Annual Film Festival and I am pretty excited. Sure, it didn't turn out exactly as I planned but we still have some nice films playing. Here is the line-up:

Thursday, October 11th - Ping Pong
Friday, October 12th - Once
Saturday, October 13th - Paris, Je T'aime
Sunday, October 14th - No End in Sight

Nice range, don't you say. Saturday afternoon we are also screening some short films from local directors which should be a lot of fun too. It starts at 1:30pm and will run til about 3pm at the 2nd April Gallerie right near by the Canton Palace Theatre. I am going to highlight the festival with my friend Bo's awesome short Miles Wynberry of Glendale Lane which I helped him with last year.

So all with my ramblings. Yesterday was a movie day for me. In the afternoon (after work), I caught Transformers and at night (after my film committee meeting) I watched Eastern Promises. Transformers is a hell of a ride. I really loved watching it. Eastern Promises is slow but good. Really good actually. Even though it wasn't Cronenberg's best work, I thought it was a great effort.

I just found out that Cleveland should be getting The Darjeeling Limited on October 19th and I really can not wait. I am really excited for the film that it is driving me crazy. I am so pumped for the film that I was prone to pick up The Kinks 'Lola vs. Powerman' record (which features two excellent songs - This Time Tomorrow and Strangers - featured prominently in the film's trailer).

My buddy Bo made a really cool fall film listing on his myspace blog with summaries and trailers and all that good stuff. Very cool and I think everyone should go check it out right now. The list is pretty damn close to my most anticipated films of the season also.

Alright well lots more to say but I forget so far now I am done. Expect a review or two shortly, I promise. Really.

Alright with further ado, here is my review of Eureka! Entertainment's newly released dvd of Bellissima. Hope you take a minute to read it.

I must admit it – I have never seen a Luchino Visconti film until now. The man is responsible for a lot of well respective films of Italian cinema such as Le Notti Bianche, The Leopard, Rocco and His Brothers, and Death in Venice. The great UK based company Eureka! Entertainment was smart enough to release Visconti’s third feature film Bellissima through their amazing Masters of Cinema line (think a UK version of Criterion Collection) and I am none the prouder.

Bellissima is really a charming and enduring film. An obsessed mother wants nothing but the best for her child who she believes to be a bonafide star. A big time film director is in town auditioning children for his latest feature film and what better to make her daughter the new sensation.

At first I was a bit annoyed by Anna Magnani’s performance of the anxious mother Maddalena and her aspirations to make her daughter a shining star, the pearl among these sea shells. However, the more the film goes along the more you realize how real this character truly is. Yeah at times she pushy and seems a little stuck up among the other mothers and those around her attempting to shoot down her hopes and dreams. As the film progress, however, you really see her strengths and weakness and her true inter beauty really shines through. By films end, I was highly impressed with Magnani acting and honestly cared for her character. I should also note that Tina Apicella as her daughter Maria is so adorable that she steals nearly every scene from the rest of the cast just through her charm.

The film’s end will break you down emotionally and, in my opinion, perfectly embodies what showbiz and fame is really about. If you have a love for the Italian film industry or international cinema for that matter you should really check this film out. You wont be disappointed.