Friday @ The Film Festival

Last Night I had 2 scheduled films
First Up was Stop-Loss - the new film by Kimberly Peirce (who directed Boys Don't Cry) that features Ryan Phillipe and Abbie Cornish. The film is about a group of guys who signed up for the US Army have done a series of tours in Afghanastan and Iraq and come home.

The film follows the plight of these soldiers contrasting their experience in Iraq with their experience at home exploring it against one of the Sargeants who is Stop-Lossed (his volunteer stint is up but the US Army has decided he isn't getting out...apparently this has happened to over 100,000 troops in the US). Peirce had a brother who signed up and this film is a direct response to that experience. The film is well handled and brilliantly delivered and the Q&A with the articulate director afterwards was a highlight.

Phillipe and Cornish were brilliant as were the supporting cast especially Joseph Gordon-Levitt (from 3rd Rock) and Channing Tatum (from Step-Up) who are convincing as the guys from the same troop and hometown. Overall this was a hugely enthralling look into something very frightening.

Web Site here for more info including the stories of some of the soldiers and their families.
http://www.stoplossmovie.com/

Second Up was The French Film Heartbeat Detector - I managed about 40 mins (nodding off to sleep in parts) before leaving. The film followed a corporate psychologist/playboy into an investigation into his boss the CEO at the behest of the international head-office. After the confronting fast-paced action of the first film I was completely unimpressed by the lack of progress in the film. I am sure there were many who enjoyed it but I couldn't sit through it ..i was going to sleep.

Film Festival Socks Progress - I have done about 3 cm of Sock 2...YAY!
Other knitting- I have about 20 rows of the EZ Lady cardigan done...for the KAL.

Today I have WWKIP day at 2 locations, Film Festival reschedules that now give me the opportunity to see An Affair to Remember on The Big Screen at the State Theatre (if I skip WWKIP Day - which I won't!).

Other films on today are In Bruges, Playing in the Shadows and Children of the Silk Road.