My Atlantic Film Festival Picks!

For us Haligonians (yup, that's what people from Halifax are called), it's almost time for the Atlantic Film Festival! Since we don't always get the smaller, weirder films that play in bigger cities, we all get super stoked for the AFF.

I was lucky enough to be on the programming committee again this year, so I've seen advance screenings of a few things. There's lots of amazing stuff, and I recommend clearing your schedule, and maybe quitting your job so you can see as many movies as possible. (If you're not in Halifax, check your local listings, fool!)

FILMS I'VE SEEN THAT RULED

Waiting for Women

Big River Man

Polytechnique

Africville: Can't Stop Now

Dog Girl

FILMS I'M SUPER EXCITED TO SEE

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

The Tiger Next Door

The Invention of Lying

Drool

You Might As Well Live

Best Worst Movie

FILM I DO WANT TO SEE BUT I'M NOT SURE IT'S WORTH THE 

EMOTIONAL TRAUMA I EXPECT TO ENDURE

Antichrist

Totally Terridorable!

Drawn and Quarterly's new book, The Bun Field, by Amanda Vähämäki, is a surreal, stream-of-consciousness story told with dreamy pencil sketches and eerie dialogue.

Vähämäki, a Finnish creator, has delivered a book that fits perfectly into the genre of terridorable. This is where something is equally adorable and terrifying. Or starts off adorable, coaxing you in with big eyes and round cheeks and then—GAH—terrifying!

 Like, say, manbabies.

The Bun Field begins with an androgynous little kid waking up from a scary dream into a world that's even more strange.

The scenes that follow accurately recreate the feeling of a dream—there's a subtle feeling that nothing is quite right, and that something terrible is just around the corner.  Sweet things turn strange really quickly.

 Aw, the kid has a bear for a friend!

Uh, cool it, bear.

The bear actually turns out to be a complete douche, and forces the kid to drive the car, even though s/he doesn't know how.

Later, the kid meets this awesome talking cat, but it's totally terridorable.

I'd listen to that cat.

Our poor protaganist discovers this field full of cute, Barbapapa little dudes, growing happily in the soil.

And s/he's forced to plough the field! KILLING THEM ALL!

That ain't right.

If you want more fuel for your subconscious mind, you can check out a free preview of The Bun Field on the Drawn and Quarterly site.

Shame Review, By Johnathan

In an effort to shame Paul into posting more than once per year, I'm going to review his new kitten, Gordon.

Gordon is a completely awesome kitten with ADHD. He can change directions so quickly that watching him run around is like watching a Scooby-Doo chase scene - no matter where you just saw him go you have no idea where he's going to reemerge. He scales people like ladders. Last night Gordon jumped off my shoulder, got distracted by a laser halfway down and crash-landed on the couch.

Gordon, you are unreservedly JOHN APPROVED