Top “Movies to Watch” at 2008 IFFBoston

By Allison at April 24, 2008 | 7:43 am | Print

As proud media sponsors of this week’s Independent Film Festival of Boston, we’ve been regularly asked which movies to go see. Either because people don’t want to wade through nearly 100 movie descriptions… or because they value and respect our opinion so very much. Since it totally has to be the latter, we’ve decided to give it up to the internet world. So when these films come your way, via festival, full release or otherwise, you can feel confident in our recommendations…

Get the 2008 IFFBoston schedule

:: Time Crimes – a Spanish thriller that conquers modern-day time travel, paradoxes and all.

:: Blood Car — when gas prices go over $30 a gallon, a gory alternative fuel source becomes necessary. With Anna Chlumsky from My Girl! (Bet you were wondering what happened to her.)

:: Twelve – 12 short stories, one for each month, made by local Boston filmmakers. Described as a “love letter” to the city.

:: The Tracey Fragments – story of how a girl ends up on a bus naked but for a shower curtain, told through a Mondrian split screen. Stars Ellen Page, playing 15 years old again. Here’s our coverage of The Tracey Fragments on a past Trailer Tuesday.

:: Secrecy — Hey, America, the government withholds information from you! No big surprise there, but this documentary examines the positives and negatives of such actions, dating back to the Manhattan Project.

:: Song Sung Blue – covers the rise and tragic fall of Milwaukee’s Neil Diamond / Patsy Cline tribute band. Guess what? They’re real people. See Song Sung Blue mentioned in our Slamdance festival coverage.

:: The New Year Parade – two siblings on the verge of adulthood deal with their mother’s infidelity and their father moving out. Standout acting, and South Philly feels authentic as hell thanks to director Tom Quinn. See The New Year Parade mentioned in our Slamdance festival coverage.

:: Crawford – documentary detailing what happened to this small Texas town after President George W. Bush chose to live there.

:: Triangle — Three super-legends of Hong Kong filmmaking — Ringo Lam, Johnnie To and Tsui Hark — direct this tale of a trio of guys on the run from gangsters, cops and wives. Each filmmaker goes their own way for 30 minutes of action, in what the festival describes as a “choose your own adventure” style. (Sounds like Run Lola Run, but with 3x the directors. And in Cantonese instead of German.)

:: Turn the River — Actor Chris Eigemann turns director for this character study of a gambling mom (Famke Janssen) trying to make a better life for her kid.

If you have any money left: Nerdcore Rising, The Cake Eaters, Pink, Frownland, Phoebe Wonderland, Momma’s Man, Shorts Package 3.

And here are our capsule reviews for the following festival movies:
At the Death House Door
Ballast
Big Man Japan
Crawford
Dreams with Sharp Teeth
Goliath
The Linguists
Nerdcore Rising
Ping Pong Playa
Severed Ways
Song Sung Blue
Time Crimes
Descriptions and tickets for all films are here.

What have you seen? What do you plan to see? Share your comments and opinions.

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Documentaries Independent Film International Cinema Movie Previews 2008, boston, festival, independent