5/3/2004 08:48:15 AM

The New Wave of British Heavy Metal survives in Philadelphia, thanks to the majesty of Wastoid, whose performance Saturday night at the Pontiac Grille made me feel like I was 13 again. The love of leather and swords and dazzling guitar heroics never left me, but this was a sublime rediscovery all the same.

5/1/2004 02:28:03 PM

The Philadelphia Film Festival ended a couple of weeks ago, and as it turned out, about 4 of the 8 screenings I attended were worthwhile.

The highlights included Haute Tension (as reviewed in my previous post), a French slasher gross-out; Time of the Wolf, Austrian auteur Michael Haneke’s latest chilling diatribe on the human condition; Robot Boy, a Tim Burton-esque fairy tale short; and Harvie Krumpet, the newest in Aussie genius Adam Elliot’s animated series of deadpan comic tragedies.

The lowlights included The Toolbox Murders, another flavorless heap out of Tobe Hooper’s crap factory; and The Last Horror Movie, a self-satisfied bore of a British mockumentary.

I’m likely biased for having been a part of it, but I thought the Best of the 48 Hour Film Project was by far the most solid collection of shorts I saw at the fest. A slapstick romance by the name of Hove Lurts deservedly walked away with about 1/3 of the awards, including Best Film. Otherwise, our film won Best Editing, and we befriended the nice folks of Citizen Wumpus Productions at the after-party.