I’m taking a little breather from the Traverse City Film Festival today to get caught up on a few things, like writing up reviews and notes for the movies I’ve seen so far.

Yesterday, I saw “Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice,” and it was such a thrill to be in the presence of the great Paul Mazursky, who directed that film, as well as many other greats, including “An Unmarried Woman,” “Down and Out in Beverly Hills,” and “Enemies: A Love Story.” Read some of Mazursky’s thoughts on filmmaking and working with stars like Natalie Wood  and Elliott Gould here.

Last night, my son and I saw “Big Fan,” a tragicomedy starring Patton Oswalt as a guy with a major fan-crush on his favorite New York Giants player. But things turn dicey when he follows the player one night and events occur that puts his beloved team in serious jeopardy.

“Big Fan” was more dramatic than I anticipated – I thought it would be funnier – but it’s still a great movie and character study on obsessive sports fans. It also starred Kevin Corrigan, whom I just realized played the pivotal character of Finn Garrity in “Damages” last year. I covered that show for CliqueClack – read my reviews here.

Both Kevin Corrigan and Patton Oswalt (pictured) were present at the screening, with Oswalt answering most of the questions afterwards. He was hilarious! Among other things, he said, “Don’t tell anyone about Traverse City. You guys are in your own little magic bubble up here, with gentle cherry mist and fudge; do you have leprechauns massage your feet for you?" He said the laid-back vibe here is quite different from other festivals like Sundance, where it’s rush-rush-rush and “no oxygen.”

More after the jump, including Nazi Zombies…

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I saw “Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice” at the Traverse City Film Festival yesterday. It’s the 40th anniversary of the Oscar-nominated film, released in 1969, and director Paul Mazursky was on hand to answer a few questions after the screening.

What strikes me about the film is that most movies in the 1960s focused on the younger generation – the Woodstock generation. But this film concentrated on two wealthy, upper middle-class couples living in L.A. I was coveting their homes and cars and swimming pools, but of course, under the facade are  bunch of issues – sexual issues, in this case.

If you’re not familiar with the story, it follows two couples, played by Natalie Wood and Robert Culp, and Elliott Gould and Dyan Cannon, all contemplating what it means to be married and whether you can fool around outside the marriage and have it all be ok. They start out believing it IS ok, but by the end of the movie, when it comes down to whether they can swap spouses and be ok with it, that’s another story.

A few notes from Paul Mazursky:

A colleague said the film would be considered “dirty,” but Mazursky told him, “If I get Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward, then it wouldn’t be dirty.” So it was a matter of casting the right actors.

He was “a little uptight” about auditioning three women who needed to sit naked in a room in the  movie, and joked that he did the auditions with his wife, Betsy, in the room. At least, I think he was joking. Maybe he was serious.

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Amy Adams made an appearance on David Letterman to talk about her new film, “Julie and Julia” (check out all of Film Gecko’s coverage here). I love Amy Adams. Seriously, I have a big old girl crush on her and can’t want to see this movie, in which she co-stars with Meryl Streep as a cubicle worker who decides to spice up her life by cooking all the recipes in Childs’ “Mastering the Art of French Cooking.” In fact, Adams says she cooked her brains out. The movie opens in theaters Aug. 7, 2009.

I know that Charlize Theron has been working steadily since, well, since she did “Children of the Corn III” back in 1995. Yes, she had an uncredited part in that stellar film. But the point I’m making is, I haven’t seen her in that many films, mainly because she does the type of films that are critical successes, but not necessarily movies people want to see. I’m talking about films like “Monster,” “In the Valley of Elah,” and “Sleepwalking.”

But “The Burning Plain” might be different. It might be both a critical success AND a cool movie people want to see. It’s a romantic mystery about a beautiful restaurant manager whose confronted with her mysterious past by a stranger from Mexico. The story also follows a young motherless girl living happily with her father and his best friend until a tragic accident changes everything. Two teenagers (Jennifer Lawrence and JD Pardo) find love in the aftermath of their parents’ sudden deaths. And in an abandoned trailer, a housewife (Kim Basinger) embarks on a passionate affair that will impact Sylvia and the others.

It sounds a bit like “Crash,” doesn’t it? In fact, it’s directed by Oscar-nominated screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga, who wrote the screenplay for “Babel,” another “Crash”-like story. “The Burning Plain” is rated R for sexuality, nudity and language. It’ll be available on Video on Demand Aug. 21, 2009, and in theaters Sept. 18, 2009. Check out the trailer:

Image: Magnolia Pictures

Tonight was ultra-fun, because my husband and I attended a screening of “Woodstock: Three Days of Peace & Music, The Director’s Cut” (available on DVD and Blu-ray).

This Oscar-winning film isn’t a movie you watch, it’s a movie you absorb and let wash over you, like the rains that fell on all those concertgoers 40 years ago. I swear, after four hours with this film, you’ll feel like you were actually AT Woodstock. The digital restoration helps a lot, too.

The audience was a lot of fun, from aging hipsters wearing tie-dyed shirts to youngsters who weren’t even born when the concert took place. Someone stood up and asked if anyone in the audience had attended the festival in person – a few raised their hands. We had our own version here in Old Mission, and when we heard a voice from the balcony yell out “Sun-Ra,” we knew it could be none other than a long-time friend from back in the day. We looked up and sure enough, he was waving at us.

At the screening tonight was Country Joe McDonald, Wavy Gravy, and Paul Kantner, co-founder of Jefferson Airplane. I knew the first two would be there, but when Kantner joined the others onstage, it was an amazing surprise. Each of them played a couple of songs and took questions from the audience. It was like watching history in motion.

Earlier in the day, I saw “The Answer Man,” a hilarious movie starring Jeff Daniels and  Lauren Graham. This movie takes a hard look at self-help and spiritual books, and the result is funny, sad, and a little mind-bending.

I must mention the film festival attendees, who are surely the nicest in the world. Everyone is so amiable, and it’s easy to make new friends when you’re standing in line or buying popcorn. There’s this vibe that I’ve heard is present at other film festivals, too. Everyone is there to have a good time and watch great movies.

Anyone in Traverse City seeing film festival movies? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Image: Amazon.com

The opening night movie of the Traverse City Film Festival was "Troubled Water." A Norwegian film with English subtitles, it tells the story of a young man just released from prison after serving eight years for a terrible crime.

A gifted organist, Jan (Pål Sverre Valheim Hagen) is a quiet young man who’s doing his best to move on with his life after serving prison time. He takes a job at a church and befriends the female priest, Anna (Ellen Dorrit Petersen) and her son Jens (Fredrik Grondahl).

But Jan’s past comes back to haunt him in a big way. The woman, Agnes (Trine Dyrholm), whose life was turned upside down by his past crime pays a visit to the church. We learn that she’s a teacher who lives with her husband and two adopted daughters. Her husband has taken a job in another country, mainly to try and move beyond their horrible past, especially since the perpetrator has just been released from prison.

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The Traverse City Film Festival is in full swing this week. I drove downtown last night to attend the opening night film and was greeted with a street party boasting balloon sculptures (yes, people dressed up in  balloons of various animals and such), music, food, and just good fun.

I attended the opening night movie, "Troubled Water," a thoughtful film on redemption and forgiveness, Norwegian with subtitles. It tells the story of a young man just released from prison after serving eight years for a terrible crime. A gifted organist, Jan (Pål Sverre Valheim Hagen) is on a quiet path to redemption, playing in a church and even winning the heart of the church’s pastor and her young son. But he’s soon forced to confront his past when a woman whose life has been forever scarred by his actions visits the church with her class.

Plus, I sat next to a lovely gentleman who works for Warner Bros. in television sales, and when I told him I’m the assistant editor at TV Squad, he said, "Hey, we work for the same company!" The two companies recently merged. So we exchanged business cards and who knows, maybe we’ll meet up at another film this week! I make so many new friends at the film festival every year.

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Talk about two lovely ladies. Meryl Streep and Amy Adams were at the Los Angeles screening of their new film, “Julie and Julia,” held at the Mann Village Theater in Westwood. The movie opens in theaters August 7, 2009.

Directed by Nora Ephron, the movie stars Adams as Julie Powell, a cubicle worker who decides to cook and blog her way through all 524 recipes in Julia Child’s definitive "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" — in just one year. Check out seven clips of the movie here, and the latest TV spot here.

Image: Pacific Coast News

We’ve all been patiently – ok, impatiently – awaiting “Iron Man 2,” which hits theaters May 7, 2010. The cast and crew were on hand at Comic-Con this past weekend to stir up a little buzz.

Scarlett Johansson, who plays Black Widow, said she kicks some “major ass,” and director Jon Favreau says don’t expect to see a cliffhanger, because this film will be self-contained. Don Cheadle’s long-awaited “War Machine” also makes an appearance, and Sam Rockwell talks about his character, Justin Hammer.

Check out the clips from MTV. Are you excited about “Iron Man 2”?

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Can’t wait to see "Iron Man 2," coming in 2010. Scarlett Johansson appeared at Comic-Con 2009 to talk a bit about her role as Black Widow and what sort of stuff she’ll be doing in the movie.