Lazy Eyes and Lazy Capreses

Yesterday I made it to four out of five movies - I just couldn't do the 11:45 pm showing of Empire North. These old bones can't keep taking the abuse of 14 hours of films in one day. After all these years, my bum is starting to take on the shape of a movie theatre chair.

Best Song Title of the Festival:

"Learning to Love Your Lazy Eye" - an instrumental piece from Mothers of Bedford.

The Big News: 

I walked out of the theatre half way through a movie yesterday. This is a big decision, especially when the film makers are in attendance (which they were), but I believe it was justified in this case. The National Parks Project....sucked. I don't know how else to put it. It was a collection of self-indulgent film school class projects. Sorry guys. I watched about 6 of the 13 short films, and I drew the line when the Ontario movie (filmed in Bruce Peninsula National Park) stated scrolling nonsensical text messages across a black background for about 2 minutes, at which point the man beside me loudly blurted "they must be drunk!" I was thinking high on mushrooms, but that's neither here nor there. By the way, this man had also loudly stated "What a bad movie, terrible" at a quiet point during the Saskatchewan short. I don't condone this kind of behaviour, and I don't usually condone walking out on a screening, I just couldn't handle it - and I wasn't alone. I saw at least ten others do the same. 

As a side note: the Nunavut short, filmed in Sirmilik National Park was quite striking. 

So I left. And since I hadn't eaten anything all day except for a granola bar and some popcorn, I beelined for the Blackberry Lounge at the Lightbox theatre and ordered myself one of their delicious caesars (they're called Lazy Capreses, and have a basil puree mixed in and some cheese on top. A meal in a high ball glass). This made me a little tipsy, which led me to me strike up a conversation with the two fat cat (or just fat) film industry guys beside me who had obviously also just walked out of the theatre.

Me: "Did you guys just walk out of the National Parks Project?"

Them: "Yes."

Me (trying to do some recon so I don't put my foot in my mouth later in the conversation): "Why did you leave?"

Them: "We thought the music was terrible, the whole thing just didn't work well together as a concept."

Me: (taking this as cart blanche to put my feet in my mouth - yes, I can put both in there at once): "Yeah, I saw the Gros Morne version at last year's festival, and I thought it sucked too, but I was hoping this collection would be better." 

Them: "That was our friend's movie."

Me: "Oh. Sorry. But it sucked. I'll get back to finishing my caesar."

Good recovery.