For movie lovers out there, be prepared for the American Film Institute (AFI) Fest 2012 that kicks off on Nov. 1 all the way to Nov. 8.  The weeklong film festival will be held at the historic Grauman's Chines Theatre, the Mann Chinese 6 Theatres, the Egyptian Theatre and the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel where you can particpate in movie screenings, galas, presentations and more!

Campus Circle got a sneak peak of a few films scheduled to play at this year's festival:

Pieta

It’s no big surprise that Korean cinema has it’s series of kinks and love of taboo subjects that make us twinge in our seats. In writer/director Ki-Duk Kim’s 18th film, Pieta, which will be screening at this year’s AFI Festival, the film certainly cuts it close.

With uncanny parallels to the modern Korean classic, Oldboy, Pieta scrapes the surface of a damaged mother-son relationship, while an emotionally isolated loan shark is asked to reconsider his violent lifestyle after the arrival of a woman claiming to be his mother.

The film’s slow yet tense beginning instantly sets up the confined demon that is Pieta. Described as a heartless monster by his victims, Pieta shows no remorse for humiliating his victims in front of their families and taking their last bits of wealth from them.

As he gradually surrenders to the unyielding woman, Pieta gets consumed by the thought that one of his many victims will use his mother to get revenge. But like any good film will tell you, nothing is quite like it seems.

Kim understands the need to keep audiences guessing and forcing them to hang on every word, as they are all meaningful in this film. Even with what seems like a half-done character development of Pieta, it is clear by the end of the film that Kim carefully planned our antihero’s fate in such a way that manipulates our sympathy for Pieta right until the very end. 

Wrong

The film begins with an ordinary guy living in an ordinary house in an ordinary neighborhood. That is, until the clock strikes 7:60. Immediately, audiences will become intrigued.

However, they will quickly discover that everything is still plain and ordinary, as they a man who lost his dog.  A couple of bizarre occurrences and situations come to light. For instance, the ordinary man works in an office where it rains cats and dogs for no apparent reason, and the palm tree in his backyard somehow became a pine tree overnight.

With an even more bizarre appearance by William Fichtner (Armageddon) as an Indian-speaking guru-like character who kidnapped the ordinary man's dog to teach him a valuable lesson in appreciating our pets, the audience's interest will peak again.

Somebody Up There Likes Me

Writer/director Bob Byington’s Somebody Up There Likes Me follows the same pattern of uninteresting and apathetic characters who don’t go on any interesting or life changing journey.

For young Max, life strings along a series of failed marriages. Working at a restaurant with a fellow loser, Sal, both have mediocre goals and lead boring lives.

Somebody Up There Likes Me seems to be a testament to how monotonous and depressing life can be. With some brief quirky dialogue, this film can relate to those who feel as if their lives are as equallly mundane as the characters' in this film.

For more information on times, dates, venue locations, ticket prices and more, visit afi.com/afifest