Seattle International Film Festival Dispatch 1

First round of mini-reviews!

“The Automatic Hate” (Justin Lerner/USA)

What Is It? A man gets drawn into a complicated family drama and a feud that spans generations. Features Richard Schiff (AKA Toby Ziegler from “The West Wing”) and Deborah Ann Woll (AKA Matt Murdock’s main squeeze on Netflix’s “Daredevil”) among others

How Is It? Nothing special. It’s technically competent, but the twists veer from the pleasingly unpredictable to the borderline moronic. In the hands of a better editor, this could have been a tight, effective B-movie, but Mr. Lerner’s final film is a more sluggish, puzzling work. [B-]

“Liza, the Fox-Fairy” (Károly-Ujj Mészáros/Hungary)

What Is It? In 1960’s Hungary, the spirit of a dead Japanese pop singer appears to a mousy cleaning lady and wreaks havoc on all the men in her life.

How Is It? This is the quintessential festival film, a bizarro pastiche of at least a dozen different things equal parts fascinating and incoherent. The most obvious influence is Jean-Pierre Jeunet; an entire sequence is lifted almost shot-for-shot from “Amelie”, but none of the original’s innovation remains. [C-]

“The Hallow” (Corin Hardy/Ireland)

What Is It? After an English couple moves into a remote Irish house, things begin to go bump in the night.

How Is It? The best horror films have some kind of social/political subtext, and “The Hallow” effectively mixes old-school scare tactics with a satisfying and melancholic environmental subtext. It’s not “The Thing”, but it’ll do. Bonus points for excellent Animatronic effects and minimal CGI. [B]

“Spy” (Paul Feig/USA)

What Is It? A frumpy CIA analyst (Melissa McCarthy) is sent into the field after a crisis exposes every agent in the field. Jason Statham, Jude Law, Alison Janney, and Rose Byrne round out the ensemble. Trailer.

How Is It? Seeing this picture in a Seattle opera hall with 3,000 people was an experience not far removed from a rock show. To each quip, punch, and gross-out gag, the crowd roared its approval, and they had good reason to. It’s big, blustery pop cinema, but it’s big, blustery pop cinema done very, very well. Most of the jokes work like gangbusters, and Feig directs more confidently than he has before, finding a balance between comedy and pathos that was missing in his previous efforts lacked. Feig was in attendance for a brief Q & A; among other things, he revealed that his all-female “Ghostbusters” will begin shooting next month. [B+]