parabola.ca » Leisure

My TIFF 2010 Selections

Steve — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 13:43:18 +0000

My schedule is mostly finalized, with just a small number of gaps to fill in after the advanced order process. We ended up in Box 27, and the lottery pulled #9 of 39, so we were at least in the first half. Including the tickets ordered for Sakina, I think I ended up getting 40 of my 47 selections, so not too bad at all!

Here’s a rundown of my confirmed films, including some of the reasons that made them stand out for me. Sometimes it’s simply because a certain director or actor is involved, others because the summary sounds intriguing. I also try to cover a wide variety of genres and programmes, and also take some ‘chances’ on films without a whole lot to go on. I do try to limit the number of films that will be definitely be getting a wide release and will be easily accessible sometime after the Festival.

As in past years, it’s broken down by programme and I’ve marked my “must see” films with a *.

Canada First!

Usually a well-represented programme, last year was an oddity when none made my list. Because my first couple of years yielded some gems, I always pay particular attention to what’s available from first-time Canadian directors. Luckily, this looks to be a strong year and a few films have found their way onto my schedule (plus there was a tough omission because of scheduling conflicts; but that’s a topic for another post).

Daydream Nation: stars Kat Dennings (Defendor, Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist, Charlie Bartlett) in a “striking and slyly funny” coming of age story.

Daydream Nation
Jaloux: “In this psychological thriller that was improvised during its 16-day shoot, a couple trying to mend their relationship set off for a weekend in the country. When they encounter a friendly neighbour, they are too absorbed in their marital woes to see that he is not who he appears to be.”

Jaloux
The High Cost of Living: stars Isabelle Blais (Borderline [TIFF08], Sur la trace d’Igor Rizzi [TIFF06], Saints-Martyrs-des-Damnés [TIFF05] — see a pattern here? Also The Barbarian Invasions and Québec-Montréal) and Zach Braff (!), which is enough to sell me. Doesn’t hurt that the description sounds good, too: “Deborah Chow’s dark drama centres on the burgeoning relationship between an unlikely pair. Nathalie is expecting her first child and Henry is on his way to his next drug deal. Their paths fatefully collide one night in an event that will irrevocably change their lives.”

High Cost of Living

Contemporary World Cinema

Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame: “An exiled detective is recruited to solve a series of mysterious deaths that threaten to delay the inauguration of Empress Wu.”
Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame
The Edge: this one from Russia just sounded too unique to pass up; “Fusing steampunk aesthetics with selective fragments of Russian history, director Alexey Uchitel hurls his new love-laced war epic straight into post-apocalyptic territory.”
The Edge
Womb: speaking of strange, Eva Green (Casino Royale) is a woman whose “consuming love forces her to bear the clone of her dead beloved”. Wha?!
Womb

Discovery

Billed as a “showcase for innovate new filmmakers”, there’s usually a lot of good possibilities to choose from. That was true this year, but because of scheduling only two made it onto my list.

Autumn: “A devastating glimpse into the war-torn wasteland of Kashmir.”
Autumn
Ceremony: Uma Thurman, Lee Pace (Wonderfalls, Pushing Daisies); “Along with his unwitting best friend, a young guy looks to crash the wedding of an older woman with whom he’s infatuated.”
Ceremony

Galas

Black Swan*: yes, this will be released later in the year, but c’mon: directed by Darren Aronofsky (The Wrestler [TIFF08], Requiem for a Dream) and staring Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, and Vincent Cassel, this is not to be missed. And have you seen the trailer? What a perfect way to close my festival.
Black Swan
Peep World: cast includes: Michael C. Hall, Sarah Silverman, Rainn Wilson, Judy Greer; “Four siblings come to terms with the publication of a novel written by the youngest sibling that exposes the family’s most intimate secrets.”
Peep World
West is West: sequel to East is East; father forces youngest son to accompany him to Pakistan, his first trip back since he deserted his first wife and young family thirty years before. (aside: not that she’s in this one, but Archie Panjabi, who played the daughter in East is East, just picked up an Emmy for her role on The Good Wife. Congrats!)
West is West

Masters

“Films made by the most influential directors living today.”

Nostalgia for the Light: documentary; “In Chile’s Atacama Desert, astronomers peer deep into the cosmos in search for answers concerning the origins of life. Nearby, a group of women sift through the sand searching for body parts of loved ones, dumped unceremoniously by Pinochet’s regime. Master filmmaker Patricio Guzmán contemplates the paradox of their quests.”
Nostalgia for the Night

Mavericks

“Dialogues with some of the most compelling figures of working in cinema today,” often their latest film followed by a discussion. I’ve never attended one of these in the past, but this year there are two that were of interest. Unfortunately, Steve Nash’s film about Terry Fox (Into the Wind) just couldn’t be fit into the schedule. But I’m greatly looking forward to:

Waiting for “Superman”*: “From An Inconvenient Truth director Davis Guggenheim comes Waiting for “Superman,” a provocative and cogent examination of the crisis of public education in the United States told through multiple interlocking stories – from a handful of students and their families whose futures hang in the balance, to the educators and reformers trying to find real and lasting solutions within a dysfunctional system. Guggenheim reveals the invisible forces that have held back true education reform for decades. Following the Mavericks screening, audiences will be treated to an on-stage panel discussion with Guggenheim, producer Lesley Chilcott, educator Geoffrey Canada, and philanthropist and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates.”
Waiting for Superman

Midnight Madness

It’s tough on the body (I’m getting old!) staying up for the true midnight screenings, but the relative lack of other early morning films at this year’s festival means I can at least get a decent sleep before starting my next full day of films. Plus, there’s nothing like a MM audience; I have three titles lined up so far, and probably another one to come.

Bunraku: Josh Hartnett, Woody Harrelson, Ron Perlman, Demi Moore. “In a world with no guns, a mysterious drifter, a young samurai and a bartender plot revenge against a ruthless leader and his army of thugs, headed by nine diverse and deadly assassins.”
Bunraku
SUPER*: directed by James Gunn (Slither), with Rainn Wilson, Ellen Page, Liv Tyler, Kevin Bacon, Nathan Fillion. With a cast like that, I seriously couldn’t have cared what the plot is about. It happily looks like a winner: “After his wife leaves him for a drug dealer, a frustrated husband decides he will win her back as Crimson Bolt, a costumed vigilante armed with a monkey wrench. His actions bring him an admirer, an overeager comic store clerk who wants to be his sidekick.”
Super

Super
Vanishing on 7th Street: directed by Brad Anderson (The Machinist); supernatural thriller starring Hayden Christensen, Thandie Newton, John Leguizamo.
Vanishing on 7th Street

Real to Reel

Some of the best films I’ve seen in past years have been documentaries, so it was strange to have none last year. This time around there’s only one from the programme, although I do have a few more docs that are from other sections.

Inside Job: a look into the machinations that caused the global financial crisis.
Inside Job

Short Cuts Canada

Ahh, short films … criminally under-appreciated. If I could, I’d see all six collections — the good far outweigh the bad, but there’s no avoiding the latter — but that would just eat into too many precious slots. I do make it a point of seeing a minimum of two, though. Below is a sampling of some of the titles being shown in the selected programmes:

Short Cuts Canada Programme 1 (see the link, this whole programme looks great):
- Old Ways: “When a judge sentences a child to the death penalty, the court mitigates a public relations crisis with an elaborate and dubious scheme.”
  Old Ways
- How to Rid your Lover of a Negative Emotion Caused by You!*: ever since I stumbled across Nadia Litz in Love That Boy, I’ve been a fan. Her cred was also boosted by starring with Don McKellar and Tracy Wright in Monkey Warfare (TIFF06). This film is her directing debut.
  How to Rid your Lover of a Negative Emotion Caused by You!
Short Cuts Canada Programme 6:
- Animal Control*: starring Julian Richings! “Larry is an amateur taxidermist who, as the pick-up man for the local Animal Services, gets all his specimens through work.”
  Animal Control
- Eggcellent: “An underperforming chicken is under enormous pressure to produce at work.”
  Eggcellent

Special Presentations

127 Hours: from directory Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire, 28 Days Later, Trainspotting) and starring James Franco; based on the true story of a hiker trapped by a boulder.
127 Hours
Blue Valentine: a love story with faves Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams is a film festival jackpot.
Blue Valentine
Buried: Ryan Reynolds, a lighter, a BlackBerry … buried in a coffin. Yes, this will get a wide release soon, but it seems a good companion to 127 Hours; and the film and Reynolds have been receiving raves since its premiere at Sundance.
Buried
Dhobi Ghat (Mumbai Diaries)*: I technically don’t have a ticket for this yet but I’ll keep trying, even if it means the rush line. From the assistant director of Monsoon Wedding, and with Indian superstar Aamir Khan. “In the teeming metropolis of Mumbai, four people separated by class and language are drawn together in compelling relationships.”
Easy A: OK, this is even more ridiculous, because the film will be hitting theaters everywhere the SAME DAY as my screening. But we had this slot open, so I thought why not — and early buzz has been really good. Stars Emma Stone (Zombieland, Superbad) and, well, you’ve probably already seen all the commercials and billboards.
Easy A
Force of Nature: The David Suzuki Movie: a description would be redundant. I figure it’s my Canadian duty to see this for all the good work Mr. Suzuki has done.
Force of Nature: The David Suzuki Movie
Good Neighbours*: from the director of last year’s The Trotsky, which was great and also starred Jay Baruchel (dude seems to be everywhere this year).
Good Neighbours
Heartbeats*: from Quebecois wunderkind Xavier Dolan. After taking Cannes by storm last year, word is that this is a very respectable follow-up – all the more impressive considering the pressure to live up to I Killed My Mother.
Heartbeats
Incendies*: directed by Denis Villeneuve (Polytechnique [TIFF09], which cleaned up during Canadian awards season). Hearing some great buzz already.
Incendies
Let Me In*: I’m usually wary of quick remakes of foreign hits, but Let the Right One In was a fantastic and touching horror film that deserved to be seen by more people, so I’m hopeful this version does it justice. It takes just the right child actors for the main roles, and looks like they’ve cast things perfectly: Chloë Grace Moretz (Kick-Ass, 500 Days of Summer) and Kodi Smit-McPhee (The Road [TIFF09]).
Let Me In
Miral: another one that I don’t have a ticket for yet, but I’ll almost certainly try the rush line if I need to. I saw Julian Schnabel’s The Diving Bell and the Butterfly at TIFF07 and was hugely impressed — his directing style was very artistic, but was never distracting and always supported the story. So I’m eager to see what he does in this story set in Israel and Palestine over the course of 1948 to the mid-90s. It stars Freida Pinto of Slumdog Millionaire; she certainly has screen presence (The Hollywood Reporter reviewer of this film calls her “distractingly attractive”; ha!), but I’m curious to see how she is in a more developed role like this.
Never Let Me Go: I’d normally wait to see a film like this, which will get a wider release and isn’t *quite* high enough on my list of things to see. But it fits nicely into the schedule and having Carey Mulligan and Keira Knightly doesn’t hurt, either.
Never Let Me Go
Submarine: honestly, I was sold when I saw that it was directed by Richard Ayoade (Moss from the UK show The IT Crowd).
Submarine
That Girl in Yellow Boots: “A portrait of a biracial woman trying to find her place in Bombay, it is exactly the brand of urgent, passionate filmmaking that is transforming how we think about Indian cinema.”
That Girl in Yellow Boots
Trigger*: can’t miss Bruce McDonald at the festival (Pontypool [TIFF08], The Tracy Fragments [TIFF07]. What’s more, it has a great Canadian cast led by Tracy Wright (in sadly her final performance) and Molly Parker, with appearances by Don McKellar and Sarah Polley. This is the perfect choice to open up the new Bell Lightbox … too bad that’s a ‘premium’ screening not covered by my pass and I’ll have to see a later screening.
Trigger
What’s Wrong With Virginia: Jennifer Connelly stars as Virginia, a charming yet mentally ill mother whose greatest love is her protector and illegitimate son. Also stars Ed Harris.
What's Wrong with Virginia

Vanguard

I usually catch at least a couple from this programme, where “films defy convention; twisting genres, styles and narrative structures to tell fresh and provocative stories.”

A Horrible Way to Die: “When a serial killer escapes from prison, he pursues his ex-girlfriend, who has fled to start a new life in a small town.”
A Horrible Way to Die
Confessions: ” A stylized mixture of cruelty and compassion, the film spins the dark tale of vengeance of a teacher whose little daughter has been killed by two of her students.”
Confessions

My TIFF 2010 Calendar

Steve — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 05:56:12 +0000

Here’s my current schedule for TIFF 2010. Be sure to navigate to the next week, where it gets really busy! I still have a few gaps to fill in, but in the meantime you can read about my choices here.

TIFF09 – Days 1 & 2 Recap

Steve — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 01:11:32 +0000

The first day of the festival is really easy to recap, since I didn’t have anything scheduled! I did this so I could still make it for the first floor hockey game of the season.

My festival started with Perrier’s Bounty, where I met up with Mike beforehand in the lineup. The movie was really fun and darkly hilarious; the cast was fantastic, they put together a great group. They have distribution lined up in the spring for UK and Ireland, but nothing yet for North America. I don’t think it would be a huge hit, but lots of people would like it.

After that, I headed over to the AMC theaters for the Swedish film The Ape. I have to note one welcome improvement to this year’s festival: indoor lineups for AMC! In case of bad weather, this should be much better than the one giant queue outside on Victoria St. (and beyond) and then pulling people out of the line when a particular movie is letting in.

The Ape was … interesting. It starts off with some mysterious circumstances and follows the main character through his day. His edginess sets the stage and as bits of the story come into focus it gets more and more tense. Now, answers aren’t always apparent and there’s lots of symbolism if you want to interpret things … so it may not be for everyone. But definitely some interesting things done with this film.

Day 3 is a busy one, with a full slate of 5 films.

My TIFF09 Selections

Steve — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 03:25:11 +0000

Now that my schedule’s all confirmed, here are some notes on the films about why I’ve selected them. As with last year, I’ll sort by programme and mark my must-sees with a *.

Canada First!

Oh wait … none this year! This is a surprise as I usually have at least a few picked out, some of which end up being among my favorites of the year. I did have some of these titles from first time Canadian directors on my “Maybe” list, but they just got beaten out by other selections.

Contemporary World Cinema

At the End of Daybreak: a Malaysian family drama that builds up the tension to shocking events. I have to admit, the trailer really sold me on it.

At the End of Daybreak
Castaway on the Moon: Korean dude tries to commit suicide and ends up stranded on an island in the middle of Seoul’s Han River, where apparently no one takes his pleas for rescue seriously. Strange shut-in girl watches him from afar and I think we can guess where it all leads. Looks humorously quirky and funny!

Castaway on the Moon
*A Gun to the Head: a wild-night-on-the-town flick which looks a little rough around the edges, but is directed by New Pornographers keyboardist Blaine Thurier so it’s a must-see in my books.

A Gun to the Head
Police, Adjective: I’m not too sure what to expect from a “witty Romanian film about small town life”, but it’s receiving rave reviews. Director was responsible for 12:08 East of Bucharest, which I remember was much buzzed-about at TIFF06.

Police, Adjective
Suck: each year I need at least one silly-looking Canadian film (see Control Alt Delete, Just Buried) and this one’s by Rob Stefaniuk, who gave us Phil the Alien back in ‘04.

Suck

Discovery

The Disappearance of Alice Creed: a UK thriller that sounds like it has plenty of twists and turns.

The Disappearance of Alice Creed
Samson and Delilah: two teenagers in an Australian Aboriginal desert town come together and deal with personal tragedies. Built buzz at Cannes (won Camera D’Or for best first feature) and takes place in a setting that I know next to nothing about.

Samson and Delilah

Gala Presentations

Second showings, of course. I’ve actually got a few on my list this year and would have also gone to Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, but I’ll be out of town for the last day of the festival.

Chloe: the latest thinker from great Canadian director Atom Egoyan, with a great cast of Liam Neeson, Julianne Moore, and the rising Amanda Seyfried. Moore’s character thinks Neeson’s his cheating on her, so she hires Seyfried to tempt him.

Chloe
Cooking with Stella: directed by Dilip Mehta, written by him and his sister Deepa Mehta, and starring Don McKellar and Lisa Ray. McKellar alone makes it a CanCon must-see. He and Ray play a Canadian couple working in New Delhi “who inherit a household of Indian servants.”

Cooking with Stella
*Micmacs: doesn’t matter what the plot description is, I’m sure it will be wonderfully and strangely funny coming from writer/director Jean-Pierre Jeunet (the amazing Delicatessen, City of Lost Children, Amélie, and A Very Long Engagement).

Micmacs

Masters

*Antichrist: I think my favorite description is calling this Lars von Trier’s “latest provocation.” I’m expecting something shocking and disturbing in this story about a couple who descends into madness when dealing with the loss of their child. Much controversy has been generated by this film since draining audiences at Cannes.

Antichrist

Midnight Madness

A sign of my age is that I’m only braving one midnight showing this year. I definitely want to see Jennifer’s Body, but it’ll be coming out the following week in theaters anyway.

The Loved Ones: a creepy-looking Australian horror flick.

The Loved Ones

Real to Reel

I usually make it a point to select at least a few documentaries, but it was a shocker that none made the cut this year! None of the subject matter really jumped out at me.

Short Cuts Canada

During my first couple of TIFFs, I saw some real gems in this under-appreciated programme. Unfortunately, the past couple of years have been somewhat disappointing because the groupings varied wildly in quality; it wasn’t worth it to see three or four mediocre shorts and be rewarded by only one or two. But this year looks very promising.

*Short Cuts Canada Programme 2: ok, this is really just all about seeing Guy Maddin’s Night Mayor, “about the night mayor of Winnipeg, an inventor of Bosnian descent who harnesses the power of the aurora borealis to transmit distinctly Canadian images across the Great White North.”

Night Mayor
Short Cuts Canada Programme 3: nearly the entire lineup looks strong …
- Runaway: animated story about a runaway train; looks Triplets of Belleville-esque in style and humor.
- Pointless Film: “two men haggle over the price of a used futon.”
- Man v. Minivan: “Shane’s future brother-in-law thinks a visit to a strip club is the best way for Shane to start his wedding day.” Hilarity ensues?
- Soap: “With a nod to the Coen brothers, and nostalgically set in the eighties, Soap uses dark humour to relay its tale of a woman forced to take control of her life.”
- Homeland Security: “Concerned about the fidelity of his wife, customs agent Phil takes out his frustration on a group of young ladies heading south of the border for a bachelorette party.”
- The Island: “A ‘fantasy island’ for gay people is imagined by a director fed-up with homophobia.”
Runaway
Short Cuts Canada Programme 4
- M: “a hypnotic abstract animated film that plays with delicately hand-drawn structures.”
- Danse Macabre: “a corpse enacts a final erratic ballet in this exquisite experimental dance film.”
- The Armoire: “a young boy descends into an abyss of secrets, fantasies and memory when he realizes that his best friend has gone missing.” This is directed by Jamie Travis, who brought The Saddest Boy in the World to TIFF06 which was one of the funniest things I saw all year even at only 13 minutes long.
The Armoire

Special Presentations

City of Life and Death: a story of those trying to survive the massacre in Nanjing when the Japanese invade.

City of Life and Death
Defendor: amusing-looking tale where Woody Harrelson thinks he’s a superhero, Defendor, and looking for this nemesis, Captain Industry. Also with Kat Dennings, Sandra Oh, and Lisa Ray.

Defendor
J’ai Tué Ma Mère: Quebecois director Xavier Dolan is only 20 years old, but wrote, directed, and stars in this film which picked up three awards at Cannes; he stars as a gay teenager, raging a battle against his mother.

J'ai Tué Ma Mère
*Mr. Nobody: Sarah Polley’s in the cast? Must-see. But the movie sounds cool anyway, as Jared Leto is the world’s oldest man after humans have discovered immortality. As he gets closer to death, his fractured memories look back at three possible love stories from his past.

Mr. Nobody
*My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done: my jaw dropped at the thought of Werner Herzog directing a David Lynch production, so I knew this had to be at the top of my list.

My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done
Perrier’s Bounty: crime caper with excellent actors Cilian Murphy, Jim Broadbent, and Brendan Gleeson.
A Prophet: a young Arab man get caught up with the wrong people in a French prison; won a Grand Prize of the Jury at Cannes, and nominated for the Palm d’Or.

A Prophet
The Road: I’m a sucker for anything set in a post-apocalyptic world, so with a cast including Viggo Mortensen and Guy Pearce, count me in! Based on Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Cormac McCarthy (No Country for Old Men).

The Road
*Up in the Air: with the star power of George Clooney, hopefully this continues director Jason Reitman’s hot streak of intelligent comedies after Juno and Thank You for Smoking.

Up in the Air
The Waiting City: I seem to have a tradition of seeing movies where a young couple finds themselves stuck in a foreign city.

The Waiting City
*Whip It!: Ellen Page, Drew Barrymore, Kristen Wiig, Juliette Lewis, Alia Shawcat, Ari Graynor, and more — so many funny women in Barrymore’s directorial debut set in the world of roller derby.

Whip It!
*Youth in Revolt: “an outrageous and heartwarming tale of Nick Twisp (Michael Cera), and his quest to win the heart of Sheeni (Portia Doubleday) and hopefully lose his virginity along the way.” Also has the guy who played Raj in Aliens in America!

Youth in Revolt

Vanguard

The Ape: “A descent into hell, Jesper Ganslandt’s disturbing and suspenseful second feature begins with a man waking up in unfamiliar surroundings, only to find the life he knew the day before is gone.”

The Ape
Leslie, My Name is Evil: it wouldn’t be TIFF without a film that had Don McKellar and Tracy Wright in the cast somewhere. This one is directed by Reginald Harkema (Monkey Warfare, TIFF06). “Perry (Gregory Smith), a sheltered chemist, falls in love with Leslie (Kristen Hager), a former homecoming princess, when he is selected to be a jury member at her hippie, death-cult murder trial.”

Leslie, My Name is Evil

My TIFF09 Calendar

Steve — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 02:16:28 +0000

Parabola (Hearts) Jonas Brothers??

Steve — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 01:55:05 +0000

My plan this past weekend was to drop off TIFF advance orders for Sven, Mike, and myself on Sunday by getting to the box office before it closed at 7pm. Sakina and I left my place in Mississauga at about 6pm, since I figured an hour would be plenty of time for what is a 25 minute drive, especially on a Sunday evening.

Little did I know that the highway would be suffocated with the traffic of tweens and their guardians. Destination: Jonas brothers concert at the SkyDome!

The route was slow-going from Mississauga all the way to the Spadina exit and as we slowly made our way it was clear we weren’t going to get there on time. The deadline for dropping off orders was Monday at 1pm, so that wasn’t really a concern. It was mainly an annoyance knowing that I’d have to make the trip again the next morning, and juggle my work hours to do it early in the day. We arrived at Nathan Philip Square at about 7:15; I tried anyway to see if there were any volunteers hanging around who could simply take my order envelopes, but no such luck.

The next day I left work at 11:15am, made the trip all over again, and got to the box office at about noon. After a short wait in line, I hand over our envelopes and watched them go into box 49.

By the time I got back home and set up my laptop to work there for the afternoon, it was nearly 1pm and time for the lottery draw to determine the first box the festival would use to start filling orders from. As a sign of the changing times, instead of trying to find out the results by calling the box office, I simply waited for the news to spread on Twitter. Much to my surprise, it was box 48 that was selected!!

So basically it comes down to this: if I had managed to drop things off on Sunday evening as planned, we would have been in a box in the late 30s or early 40s — and our orders would be some of the last to be processed. But as it turned out, we were in the second box of orders and so we got tickets to ever first choice that we wanted.

All thanks to the Jonas brothers.

TIFF 09 Is Upon Us!

Steve — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 04:06:16 +0000

Just a quick note to kick things off for this year’s fest. I have a draft schedule nearly done, which you can view here; so far I’ve slotted in 28 out of 30 films. Yes, I’m only going with the ‘lite’ Festival Pass this year. Since the second Thursday evening (U2 concert) and the entire final Saturday (to celebrate Dean’s recent wedding) are booked with other happenings, fitting in a full slate of 40-50 films wasn’t feasible.

TIFF Recap: Day 10

Steve — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 01:51:57 +0000

Films seen Saturday, September 13th …

The Wrestler
While maybe not offering up anything as stunning or innovative as his earlier work, the latest from Darren Aronofsky is a very solid and enjoyable film. You get really invested in Mickey Rourke’s character, and despite his obvious failings you want to root for him. A sad, touching, and very well-executed movie.
8/10

Borderline
Isabelle Blais is excellent as the (trying to be) former party-girl, attempting to reconcile her previous wild ways but who still hasn’t quite moved past some of that behavior.
7/10

RocknRolla
Guy Ritchie back at his best. Lots of action, a twisty plot, and plenty of humor.
8/10

Inju, la bête dans l’ombre
In the end, I don’t think the story quite holds up. Some interesting elements, but there was something lacking. A few times it was hard to tell if the scene was supposed to be silly-funny or was serious and just done poorly.
5/10

Afterwards
Maybe it was last-film-of-the-festival fatigue, but I can’t seem to recall the specific end of the movie. I remember the main character’s epiphany of where his journey had brought him, but his final voiceover is just a blur. Unfortunately I think this character was a little weak to carry the film, and for something that moved at such a leisurely pace, this was a detriment.
5/10

TIFF Recap: Day 9

Steve — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 01:17:55 +0000

Films seen Friday, September 12th …

Martyrs
Gory, disturbing, and thoroughly messed up … as advertised. But it was entertaining from the get-go.
7/10

Tokyo Sonata
I’m still having a hard time judging this one. It was an interesting story of dysfunctional family members dealing with their own issues, but something seemed off with how the story turns partway through. There’s some good, dark humor and I liked following the characters’ stories … but something in the end — that I can’t put my finger on — wasn’t quite satisfying.
6/10

Pontypool
I was very intrigued by the idea of Bruce McDonald doing a horror film. But then I heard it wasn’t really a horror film, per se, as it focused on characters in an underground radio studio reporting on the unseen chaos outside; so my excitement was a little tempered as I wondered how they would sustain the film with such a narrow focus. But I needn’t have worried. Stephen McHattie was awesome as radio personality Grant Mazzy, and his eccentric personality carries the film along nicely. There is also plenty of suspenseful action that hits close to home in the studio, so the setting isn’t as isolated as I once thought.
8/10

Deadgirl
Controversial premise, to be sure, but I think it avoids some outrage by having a supernatural element. Overall it was ok, with a few scares along the way.
6/10

TIFF Recap: Day 8

Steve — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 00:48:06 +0000

Films seen Thursday, September 11th …

Gomorrah
Explores the many reaches of an organized crime syndicate. The film was engaging, but there wasn’t much of an overall plot … just a bunch of stuff that happened, albeit often violent and tragic and worth the viewing.
6/10

The Brothers Bloom
A fun movie, but mostly memorable for the excellent cast rather than the story. There’s an offbeat tone that is likely to turn off some people (not as much as for Brick, though), but I enjoyed it.
7/10

Gigantic
The more I think about this film, the more flaws I find. It was entertaining at the time, though. I don’t buy that Zooey Deschanel’s character would have any interest in Paul Dano’s, and there were some plotlines that didn’t seem necessary (scientist friend) or were just straight inexplicable (imagined (?) stalker who provided the beat downs). Editing issues, or something that I’m missing?
5/10

24 City
Wow, borrrring! I don’t get the good reviews this part-documentary/part-fiction film received. Stuck with talking heads throughout, the stories told by the interviewees/characters tended to just ramble on and on and weren’t interesting at all.
3/10

Revanche
This is the kind of film that I love the film festival for, in the sense that’s it something I likely wouldn’t come across anywhere else. Not knowing much about it, it was a nice treat to watch as this suspenseful film unfolded and took unexpected (certainly by Hollywood standards) turns.
7/10