Hmmm ... do I work on my tan ... or do I go see movies ... tan ... movies ... tan ... movies? I suppose the sun will always be there because the film goer in me has won this battle. Course, after some of the screenings, I wondered if I actually made the right decision.

I had high hopes for the films this year as they had some very good, interesting and compelling ideas. If only it was executed better. And that seems to be a running theme through a good portion of the screenings. Great Ideas, Poor Execution.

I honestly don't know because all I could think about throughout the films were, "Something's wrong ... what is it? What's lacking?" Many would say the B-word ... as in Budget, there is none. But looking at the production values, it's a wonder why they just didn't spend another 2 months working on the screenplay.

It's not that I don't get the cultural subtleties. I have an idea and I realize I won't get EVERYTHING but I believe if the story is strong enough, it would be able to overcome any budget contraints or cultural miscommunications.

Course, there are diamonds like Metallic Blues and the doc Masters of the Pillow, the documentary short The Best of the Wurst and the comedic short Perfect Pitch (screening Sunday at 12pm).

The Closing Night Gala presentation Morning Raga this Sunday at 7pm @ Paramount. I'm actually very excited to see this star studded Bollywood film.