Twisted Celluloid Film Festival (Day One)

I am currently in Cork for the first "Twisted Celluloid" Film Festival. I had some leave left in work before the next holiday entitlements start in April, so I thought I may as well spend the weekend watching cult/horror films. Much like I did with the Horrorthon updates from last year, I will be giving my brief opinions of the films, along with other events documenting my experience. In otherwords, the reasons why I skipped certain films, what I got up during and afterwards, and other experiences I deem interesting to write about.

With that, I will also make my newly scheduled weekly blog post deadline on a Sunday, which I managed to start writing on the train to Cork. Which means I won't be in a mad rush to write it on the actual day, and not taking the easy way out and just cover the festival. Like I said, I want to make a proper stab at updating this blog on a regular basis.

In what hopes to be a regular fixture in the city of Cork, the festival takes place in the Triskel Arts Centre, which hosts its screenings in a converted church, which gives the theatre a cool unique look. As Thursday was the opening night, the film to kickstart the proceedings (preceded by a short film called "Yellow") was the Irish premiere screening of.....

Maniac

A remake of the 1980 flick starring Elijah Wood, this is an interesting re-imagining of the original, which is for the most part shown from a first person perspective, with some comparisons to the excellent "Drive" in terms of soundtrack, cinematography, and a main character who on the outside shows little emotion. It did tend to drag in places, but it seemed decent enough.

What I mean by that last sentence was that, I unexpectedly got very drunk last night, so my interpretation was a little skewed. I don't really drink that much nowadays, so the alcohol hit me like a lightweight. It wa either the complementary glass of wine on opening night, or the three bottles of Paulaner beer, along with the other three pints I had at the pub across the river, that were to blame.

Right now I remember the majority of the film, but some parts are a little hazy, so I think another viewing next week would be in order. As for Elijah Wood, I'm impressed with some of his choice in roles after the "LOTR" trilogy, such as "Sin City" and "Wilfred". From my first impression, it seems like a film that deserves another viewing at least. As long as I keep the alcohol intake to the bare minimum, of course.

And on a final note.....

Interesting story behind the song "Maniac" from the film "Flashdance". The original lyrics for the song were based on the original movie but were scrapped in the end.