LISTENING TO: 90.3 KEXP, where the music matters. (I’m sensing a pattern here…)

READING: The Eyre Affair, by Jasper Fforde (if you liked the Hitchhiker’s Guide or Good Omens, you’ll LOVE this. Highly recommended, and I’m not even half way through it yet.)

Wow. Life’s sure beginning to pick up speed, and it shows no sign of slowing anytime soon. This might mean I’ll make even less frequent entries for the next few weeks, for which I apologize in advance.

“Let me e’splain. No, will take too long. Let me sum up.”

Seattle International Film Festival starts!

Ah, spring. It’s close to my favorite time of year. The days are longer, the weather is improving… and I usher it in by spending a lot of time in the dark.

I am an unabashed movie junkie. Since my tastes are slightly more refined than the average Joe Blockbuster – but only slightly – the fest tends to be hit or miss for me. That being said, when it DOES hit… whoa.

One of the perks about SIFF is that I’m a volunteer for ‘em, which means that for every two hours I spend working for them, I can put in for a free movie ticket. I’ve gotten to see some fantastic movies this way – a list of which will fuel a future entry. Hopefully, I’ll be as lucky this year as I have been in the past.

Here’s a short list of the films I’m planning to see – and these don’t count the films I might be able to sneak in to see while working as an usher (another perk of the volunteer gig). Complete descriptions are available at seattlefilm.com.

 Emperor’s New Clothes. Ian Holm as Napoleon? I’m there.

 24-Hour Party People. A comedy about Factory Records? This I’ve got to see.

 Minoes. A kid flick about a cat-turned human. Sounds rather cute.

 Gigantic – A Tale of 2 Johns. They Might Be Giants documentary. ‘Nuff said.

 Elling. A Norwegian comedy about 2 inmates just sprung from the asylum. Norway’s entry for Best Foreign films at the Oscars.

 Men With Brooms. A Canadian Curling Comedy. With Paul Gross. I’m there.

 Spooky House. Another kid flick, but with Ben Kingsley sporting the ‘Swami from Pastrami’ look. That ought to be worth seeing in itself.

 Hi Dharma! A bunch of ex-cons squat in a Buddhist monastery and I guess both groups start to rub off on one another. Should be a hoot.

 Her Majesty. Yet another kid flick about a QE2-obsessed Aussie girl. Knowing the Australians, it should be darkly funny with no trace of saccharine.

I do love movies. Everything’s so… right in a good movie. When the film is exceptionally good, it takes you out of your seat and into the environment of the story. I can’t quite explain it – you become a part of it, and you forget where you are… sometimes even who you are. A good book can do the same thing, but a film gives you somewhere to go that isn’t further inside your own head. (I hope that made some sort of sense…)

Life seems more fair in a good film. That doesn’t mean a movie’s only good if it has a happy ending – I’ve seem some extraordinary ones that were beyond depressing – but there’s just a sense of things being as they should in a film. You don’t often get that in life. Of course, occasionally you do get the happy ending real life would never give you. The geek gets the girl, the bad guy is brought to justice, the best friend survives the freak accident, and the dog is never killed.

Oh, don’t worry. I’m by no means a film snob. To prove it, I present the following review.

Star Wars Episode 2: Attack of the Clones (minor spoilage)

WOW. What a visual feast of a movie. The romantic storyline was laughable, but seeing Yoda go turbo and kick Dooku around was worth the price of admission, as were the ‘young Alec Guinness’ stylings of the always pounceable Ewan McGregor. I also enjoyed meeting the Fett family and the climactic battle scenes and foreshadowing totally whet my appetite for Episode 3. Heaven knows the title’s got to be better next time – we can only hope. (I heard someone joke about Lucas calling the next one ‘Episode 3: I Wipe My Ass with Your Money.)

Next entry: A wrap-up of the films I saw at the Festival, a list of any bigwigs I was able to rub elbows with, and perhaps a few lines about an upcoming business trip. (Whee!)