The number of blogs about the festival seems to have increased greatly over the years, though that is probably more connected to the increased popularity of blogging rather than the increased popularity of the festival. The worst blog is the "official" blog at the Ebertfest site. Not only does she not attend every film (as happened last year), she also fails to make timely posts about the festival (as happened last year). Better and more comprehensive blogging can be found elsewhere like at David Bordwell's blog, which also links to several other blogs. Missing from his list is Mark Pfeiffer's blog, David Poland's blog, and the Daily Illini blogging.
While I did very much enjoy Hamlet, it did not have the impact of some of the other 70mm films I have viewed. This was the sixth 70mm film I have seen at the festival (having missed Oklahoma!), and it is likely that the 70mm format just doesn't wow me as much as it used to. One technical problem did mar the presentation. The sound during the ghost scenes was very distorted, making the dialogue difficult to understand. It sounded like the subwoofers were being overpowered during these scenes. The problem did not reoccur during the other films, so I suspect an adjustment was made.
I sat in the balcony for every showing. Only once did I notice sound coming from the rear speakers behind me, and that was during The Cell.
The after-film questions started out very good, but they tended to deteriorate in quality as the night wore on. People should really limit their questions to 15 seconds. I understand that a comment is sometimes necessary to lay background for a question, but sometimes it is obvious that the questioners just like to hear themselves talk, much to the chagrin of the rest of the rapidly shrinking audience.
I do not know that Roeper was at the festival after Thursday. Considering that this was his first festival, moderating one film and appearing on one panel, I wonder if he really wanted to be there, or if his attendance was out of a sense of obligation.
Underworld was underwhelming, thanks to a lousy story. No wonder Ben Hecht wanted his name removed from the credits. Normally the silent film is the highlight of the festival, but not this time. A better crime/gangster silent film is Tod Browning's Outside the Law.
This was my first viewing of Hulk. My main criticism of the film concerns Banner's father. In the comic book, there was a villain character called The Absorbing Man. Dumb name, but it was actually a cool power. Banner's father took on this power, but the use of this power was skimmed over in the rush to end the film.
Tarsem Singh, the director of The Cell, was surprisingly straitforward and forthright. He used the words "eye candy" in describing his film, with a story that was pieced together in service of that eye candy. He also admitted that the opening scene didn't make a whole lot of sense, as the design in that sequence was actually intended for his second film. Before the film I observed a girl who was evidently stood up by a friend. She ended up belatedly sitting in my row, by herself. Loners are not very common at the festival, and young loners are even rarer, so they stand out.
Considering this was my eighth Ebertfest, it is unfortunate that I do not know more of the attendees. I found it interesting that three high schoolers attended Hamlet, though I did not see them at any of the other films. It was probably a mistake that I sat in the balcony for all of the films.
