Today is officially the last day of the Phoenix Film Festival. For those of you out there that have absolutely no interest in it, you can breathe a sigh of relief, as this will likely be my last post about it for a while. Unless I decide to revisit any of the movies that I chose not to review. If that happens, well, just deal. Trust me, there are plenty of other posts on the way as well.

I wrote a post recapping most of the weekend. You can read it here. A few things have happened since then, so I figured I’d do a full recap of everything now that it’s all over. Oh, and I essentially have skipped the last two days of the festival. There were movies I would have liked to see, but honestly, this introvert is a bit wiped out from the first five days of the festival and decided that having some downtime to recharge was a better idea.

So first off, here’s a list of all the movies I’ve seen in the last few days as a part of the festival (in the order I saw them, even!):

1. SOS: Save Our Skins
2. Teddy Bears
3. God’s Pocket
4. The Shower
5. Little Hope Was Arson
6. The Joe Show
7. The Sacrament
8. Jake Squared
9. Billy Club
10. Dom Hemingway
11. The Trouble With The Truth
12. Oculus

Then here are links to all of the ones that I’ve reviewed:

• God’s Pocket
• The Shower
• Billy Club
• The Trouble With The Truth
• Oculus

If I had to pick a favorite of all the ones I saw, I’d probably pick The Trouble With The Truth, followed by The Shower. Pretty much all of the movies I saw had or were something different… something not quite like the mainstream films you’d head to your local multiscreen theater to see on a given weekend. That’s one of the things I like about the fest, one of the reasons I made the effort to be there for a second year. Another reason is the people. I met some great people last year, but working as a volunteer made it a bit harder to truly connect. I was either busy volunteering or watching movies the whole time, really. This year was different. (I even got a chance to talk to Paul Osborne finally, who I followed on Twitter after his movie Favor became one of my favorites from last year’s fest.) I’m so glad I got the opportunity to attend with a press pass this year. I would’ve paid for my ticket if I had to, but I also liked the obligation of providing coverage of the festival. Without that, I may not have posted as many reviews or blogged or tweeted as much about it. And honestly, doing all of that really did contribute to some of the most rewarding parts of the event for me.

My previous recap ended with the Copper Wing awards ceremony on Sunday night. So let’s pick back up with Monday. Monday night I headed to the theater in anticipation of seeing The Trouble With The Truth. I also had a heads up that Lea Thompson would be there, as she was on the interview list sent out to press. (Bummer that I didn’t get an interview with her, but being a lowly local blogger, I didn’t really expect to. But one can hope!) When I went into the movie, I headed for what had become my normal seat over the weekend – middle of the first row in the back section. Sitting there puts you right in the middle, close enough to the screen so that you get the big screen movie theater effect well, and it allows you to put your feet up on the metal bars in front of that row. There were some people that had sat at the closest end of that row, then the other end was blocked off. I started excusing myself and stepping over people when I was stopped by a lady standing up that said that the entire row was saved. So I headed to the row behind it. No sooner had I sat down when I realized who the first person I had stepped over was – Lea Thompson! I had been a fan of her since I was a kid, having watched Caroline in the City when it was on. And of course, I’ve seen all the Back to the Future movies (Marty McFly’s mom!). I’d also seen The Beverly Hillbillies movie she was in as well. I took advantage of the few minutes before the movie started to meet and get a photo with her.

After meeting Lea (and watching the movie with the lead actress sitting right there watching it in front of me) and really enjoying The Trouble With The Truth quite a bit, I knew that there was no way my night was going to get any better, so I skipped my second movie and headed home.

Tuesday evening I headed back again to see Oculus. I was expecting a lot from this movie. I watched the trailer, and it looked good and scary. I’d also read nothing but good reviews for it, so I was expecting something scary and unique. Well, while it had some good chills, it was anything but unique in my opinion. I left pretty disappointed, as did some of the festival staff that I talked to about it. You can read my review of it here.

Tuesday ended up being my last day at the fest. I had tickets for Kidnapped for Christand Proxy on Wednesday night, but honestly I just really needed some time to rest and relax. I’m also missing the closing movie Boyhood to do the same tonight. But truthfully, the rest of the festival was so much fun that I don’t really feel like my experience is any less for missing these last two nights.

While meeting Lea Thompson (she was so nice!) was definitely one of the highlights of the festival for me, I do have to say that I think hanging out with the guys from The Shower might have been close to the top of my list of experiences there. I have Twitter to thank somewhat for that, as tweets, retweets and replies back and forth with Alex Drummond and the others in between movies are part of what inspired me to find them to talk more after their Q&A session on Saturday. Honestly, these guys are just a lot of fun. And so, so nice. I was happy to run into them again in time to grab a beer with Alex and Paul Natonek before the awards ceremony. (I was sad that Andy Hoff had left before I got a chance to ask him about his experience on How I Met Your Mother!)

Not only is The Shower worth checking out if you like comedy with a splash of blood involved, but I think I enjoyed hearing the stories behind the film just as much. You can read some of Alex’s experiences making it at his site, waiterdirector.com (aka “How To Make A Movie In 18 Years”). I definitely plan on keeping up with these guys as they visit more film fests and seeing what happens to The Shower.

All in all, the Phoenix Film Festival this year was everything I was hoping it would be. Great movies (and a couple not-so-great) and the opportunity to meet the filmmakers, actors, other press (shout out to Caleb who I was glad to find on Twitter after I talked to him briefly before my first movie of the festival – he also found a filmmaker to adopt for the weekend), and just generally some really cool and interesting people. Thanks to Twitter for keeping us all connected before, during, and after the festival. So goodbye #PFF2014 – have to say I can’t wait to see what’s in store for next year!

Well, here it is – my first negative review. I wasn’t really a fan of this movie. I went in with a lot of expectations, because from the reviews I’ve seen, it sounded like it was pretty good. It’s got great reviews from critics on Rotten Tomatoes. Twelve out of the currently thirteen reviews there for it are positive. I guess I just expected too much. I blame you, Rotten Tomatoes!

Oculus is the story of two kids (now grown adults) whose parents were killed right in front of them. The girl, Kaylie, is convinced that it was because of an antique mirror that her dad had purchased. So she hunts the mirror down to prove it. Ok, now that right there… seriously, who in their right mind does that? If you thought your parents died because they were affected by this thing – why on earth would you go FIND it? I would stay as far away from the thing as I could and hope to never see it again.

That is just the beginning. I mean, does not the premise basically give away almost all of the movie? I kept hoping there would be a twist at the end. SPOILER ALERT: There’s not. The movie plays out exactly the way you expect it to. The way the movie plays out is kind of different, I guess – seeing what happens when they were kids alongside what happens to them as adults. But it doesn’t even come close to saving the movie. There’s no worry about spoilers here, because from almost the very beginning (even from the trailer, you might say) this movie spoils itself. I wouldn’t waste your time with this one – you’ll see almost everything coming from a mile away.

I’m not sure, but this could possibly end up being my favorite film of the festival this year. It’s definitely in the top three. It’s funny, because The Trouble With The Truth is a simple movie, but also quite complicated. The majority of the movie is basically a conversation between a couple that was married for 14 years and then divorced. The opening sequence introduces their daughter, but her role is actually a pretty small one.

Here’s what I loved about this film: the title. It’s exactly what the movie is about. This is a film about raw honesty. You’ve had those conversations that go into the late hours of the night, right? I know I have. I’m pretty sure we all have. This movie is about those conversations. It revolves around one of those conversations. It takes the complicatedness (yes, I know that might not be a word) of life and hashes it out in one of those conversations. I have to say, I kind of love those kind of conversations.

Here’s the part where I go off on a tangent. There’s honestly not a lot to say about the film itself. There’s not much I can say without giving away spoilers or something. But the reason we all end up liking movies tends to be a lot about how much we relate them to ourselves. I mean, sure there are the entertaining action superhero films or the great comedies that make you laugh. But I believe the best films are the ones that move you. The ones that you can relate to. The ones that you liken back to life and your version of it. For me, this movie did that in spades. I believe strongly in being real with people. It’s one of the things I strive for most, being honest and transparent about who I am. If you know me, you know me. That’s why I love those kinds of conversations.

Watching this movie you are watching a conversation between two fictional people. But there’s a reason we like story telling… our lives are stories too, that are meant to be shared with other people. That’s what this movie is about – our stories and sharing them honestly with each other. Even if life’s messy. That’s “the trouble with the truth”.