As the 33rd Telluride Film Fest winds down...

So, remember that movie Capote? Someone's gone and remade it. I have to say, as good as the first one was, the new one "Infamous" is sort of better. Truman Capote is even more flamboyantly gay in this one, and the plot focuses a lot more on his love life than in "Capote."

I've still got a day left and the "After the Festival, Festival" to catch up on some things I've missed, but here's what I think so far:

Good movies:
The Italian - A Russian feel-good orphan movie with really great performances all around.

Venus - A comedy about a 70+ year old's infatuation with a 20-ish year old girl. Oddly, people seemed much more shocked at this film than say, Harold and Maude. Granted, the story is a bit different, and the character is fairly lecherous, but it's worth a look. Peter O'Toole stars.

The Page Turner - A tale of revenge that could only come from French cinema. A young pianist has her world changed at a recital, and takes it upon herself in adulthood to exact a poetic justice. I liked it, but Megan thought it was barely a notch above a Lifetime network drama of the week.

The Lives of Others - Great German movie about the Stasi (secret police) of East Berlin. Very similar to A Scanner Darkly in tone. I think it's the surprise hit of the festival.

The US vs. John Lennon - A VH1 movie that shows John Lennon's anti-war movement and how it negatively impacted his life. Really great piece of work and something that people should take to heart. After watching it I realized just how complacent we are at the war in Iraq. It's as if nothing has really mattered since Vietnam.

The Last King of Scotland - Forest Wittaker stars as Idi Amin, the former dictator of Uganda. Amazing movie historically. Having watched it, I now realize that some of my former bosses would have given Amin a run for his money if they were dictators themselves. It's gruesome and tragic. Should be up for an Oscar.

Severance - The first horror movie to come to Telluride ever, as far as I can remember. The story: a group of defense contractors go to Hungary for a team-building weekend in the forest. Bad things happen and a lot of chaos ensues. Bikini girls with machine guns and dark humor provide extra entertainment.

Babel - Brad Pitt and Gael Garcia Bernal in a movie together, but they share no scenes. 4 seperate storylines happen in the movie converging on a poor rural Moroccan family and a black market rifle. Pretty amazing. It felt like Syriana to me, but without a political agenda. The movie is more about language and how people treat one another, in my opinion.

Deep Water - Imagine being a weekend sailor and then entering a non-stop, solo, global circumnavigation competition in a boat you made yourself. A really well-made documentary that I'd imagine would do well on the Discovery Channel.

Movies I didn't really like:
Jindabyne - Some guys go fishing and find a corpse, but don't bother reporting it until their big weekend is over. Seemed overlong to me and I didn't really find myself engaged with the story or characters.

Day Night Day Night - 2 days in the life of a domestic suicide bomber. After a mere 90 minutes of this film, I was ready to bly MYSELF up. Incredibly over-long cuts, washed out colors and an un-fleshed out plot wore me out.

The Emperor's Naked Army Marches On - Good movie, but really long. A documentary about this WW2 soldier's quest for truth and justice regarding the cannibalization of his friend during the war. Fanatical and often funny, the movie also gives a glimpse of everyday Japanese culture. I literally fell asleep for 20 minutes.

The festival program is available at www.TellurideFilmFestival.org .