Day two of the Tacoma Film Festival filled the theater for the better part of Friday, says Executive Director Phil Cowan.

On deck was "Lobster Tale," a story of a lobstererman (not to be confused with lobsterman, which is like a dude with pincers for hands. Lobstererman is like a fisherman, only for lobster) who finds a clump of miracle moss, and learns that fame and fortune aren't as important as appreciating his wife, son and life in a small Maine fishing town.

The film stars Colm Meany, who loses his finger on the blades of his boat's propeller, only to have it return when he rubs it in a can of supernaturally-green moss that he discovered in one of his lobster traps. The chaos that ensues is reminiscent of the chaos that ensues in just about every other film with the whole "family and small town life is way better than being rich and famous" plot line.
Leah Krag dropped dime on the film while she dropped her vote for favorite film.

"It was sweet and subtly moving," she says, with her tongue almost poking through her cheek.

Her only complaint?

"It should have been called 'A Moss Tale'," she says.

As the lobster movie let out, local piano maestro Diane Walkup poured over upcoming offerings with Anne Seago, wife of that other newspaper's Editorial Page Editor, David Seago. Walkup is a self-proclaimed Tacoma Film Festival junkie.

"Some of these movies pull put the very best in me," she says, naming "Beyond the Call" among films that have impacted her the most.

Want to know something funny? Seago's bio on the Trib's Web site repeats the first paragraph. Go look....quick..... before they fix it and accuse me of lying on the Sunday editorial page. â€" Paul Schrag