The Traverse City Film Festival is in full swing this week. I drove downtown last night to attend the opening night film and was greeted with a street party boasting balloon sculptures (yes, people dressed up in  balloons of various animals and such), music, food, and just good fun.
I attended the opening night movie, "Troubled Water," a thoughtful film on redemption and forgiveness, Norwegian with subtitles. It tells the story of a young man just released from prison after serving eight years for a terrible crime. A gifted organist, Jan (Pål Sverre Valheim Hagen) is on a quiet …read more

Kate Hudson directed this short film called "Cutlass," about a woman who remembers what it’s like to want something really, really badly. The excellent cast includes Dakota Fanning, Virginia Madsen, Kurt Russell, Kristen Stewart, Chevy Chase and Sarah Roemer.
This little film is fantastic, and I think Kate Hudson has a nice directing career ahead of her. It’s only 16 minutes long, and is playing at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival. 

"The Confession" is an offbeat short comedy about a young man who goes to confession, only to receive some … not-so-spiritual advice. The Irish film is directed, written and produced by Thomas Hefferon, and is an official selection of the 2009 "Tribeca Film Festival." Be sure and watch through to the end – it’s only 3 minutes and 44 seconds long. 

In my continuing quest to find all the free movies online, I posted last week about a new deal YouTube was offering. It’s definitely come to pass, because YouTube has a movie channel set up and rockin’. Check it out here.
There’s some pretty cool movies there, too – “Cliffhanger,” “The Film Crew: Killers from Space” (that’s the MST3K crew), and “The Mod Squad” among them. And they’re even letting me embed them here! Watch Morgan Spurlock’s “Super Size Me”: 

I suppose YouTube is feeling the heat from Hulu, because they announced today that they’ll be streaming full-length movies and TV shows. The only thing surprising about this is that it’s taken so long to come about.
According to a Hollywood Reporter story, the movies and shows will be streamed on a separate section of YouTube, and include titles from Sony and Lionsgate, as well as TV networks and independent studios.
YouTube has already made deals with MGM (for TV shows and full-length films) and Disney (excerpts from ABC and ESPN shows). Titles include the James Bond flick "Casino …read more

Regular Film Gecko readers know I’m big on free movies! While most of my free-movie posts involve online movies, today I’ve got spectacular news about free movies on a big screen in an actual theater!
If you’re in the area of Traverse City, Michigan, catch a free film or two or three at the State Theatre in downtown Traverse City. My kids and I saw “Meet the Parents” this afternoon, and it’s a thrill to see old favorites on the big screen. Plus, it’s a fun thing to do on their spring break.
Consider supporting the State Theatre in Traverse City …read more