Crunchy Squirrel Goes to Toronto

Day Two: Legend of the Married Super Guest Thief

2010-09-12T11:08:00.000-04:00

Given my limited internet time and the general suckiness of Toronto open wi-fi, this will be brief. I hope to later fill this stuff in with better thoughts, but here's my quick takes:

LEGEND OF THE FIST (Andrew Lau)

Action "sequel" to the classic Bruce Lee film, FIST OF FURY picks up whenever Donnie Yen starts kicking Japanese ass (or German, as in the instant classic opening sequence), but drags in the middle, where it becomes LUST, CAUTION with ass-kicking fights. Also, I know it's unavoidable given the subject matter, but does every new Chinese film have to be quite so wildly nationalistic? It's not as egregious (or frankly disturbing) as CURSE OF THE GOLDEN FLOWER, but it's pretty thick.

C+

A MARRIED COUPLE (Allan King)

Terrific documentary about a middle-class couple in 1960's Toronto coming apart at the seams. Some amazing footage here.

A

THE LIGHT THIEF (Aktan Abdykalykov)

Sweet, earnest and seriously bland, this is a Sony Pictures Classics trailer blown up to feature length. Meh.

C

GUEST (Jose Luis Guerin)

Beautiful, poetic rumination on life beyond cinema, literally (Guerin filmed it at various film festivals). Some of the segments drag a bit, but it's worth a look, definitely.

A-

SUPER (James Gunn)

I'm personally pretty tired of superhero films and the notion of a superhero as psychotic maniac is no longer novel, but this was still pretty fun. Worth it for Ellen Page's crackling performance as the slightly more unhinged sidekick of Rainn Wilson. She nails the film's peculiar tone better than everyone else in the cast--shame she's not in it much.

B

Tomorrow...was yesterday, so I'll forgo the whole preview. More to come...

Day One: Inside Film Job Socialism

2010-09-10T09:29:00.000-04:00

I'm writing this on day two of TIFF, due to the erratic, half-assed nature of Toronto wi-fi. Thank god there's a Second Cup every block in this city, otherwise, I'd never get anything written.

On to the movies:

FILM SOCIALISM (Jean-Luc Godard)

I toyed with ratings this year--scale of 1-10? Letter grades? 1-100? Thumbs-up, thumbs-down? Well, I haven't the slightest idea what I can possibly grade Godard's latest film. As a product of a broken American public-school system, I speak one language: English. And, like most Americans, I don't even speak that one terribly well most of the time. So when Godard's film unspooled (digitally), and it became increasingly obvious that it would have no subtitles (not even the fractured Navajo English that graced the Cannes screenings), I knew this was going to be a tough slog.

Strangely enough, I found myself enjoying the opening scenes, all of which are set aboard a particularly garish cruise ship. Perhaps it's because I find cruise ships to basically be floating circles of Hell, but I felt the experience of being unmoored from the dialogue while bombarded with the sounds and images of cruise ships to be a pretty accurate rendering of my own cruise experiences. It's clearly a metaphor for modern existence: history experienced in snippets; the intellectual and the anti-intellectual forced to roam the same hellish environments that make real human connection impossible. And also, cat videos.

So yeah, it's modern life and I really liked it. Then the action switches to a family working a rural gas station, who are apparently having financial woes and being harassed by a news reporter who mugs ferociously. At least I think that's what was happening. Without a better grasp on French, I was left to flounder in the images and they just weren't as memorable in this part of the film (apart from the llama, who I liked). Godard then wraps it all up with a re-take on the cities visited only tangentially in the first part of the film, but with added commentary on their political meaning.

It's all very heady and maybe if I spoke French, I'd have a stronger opinion on it (or an opinion, period), but I just can't say. Maybe Godard wants me to feel alienated, maybe he doesn't care if I understand his film, or maybe it's some sort of perverse experiment. Whatever his intentions, the end result is still the same for me: I have no idea what to make of it.

1st 3rd: B+ / Rest of the film: No Comment

INSIDE JOB (Charles Ferguson)

I'm not a fan of talking head, information-heavy documentaries. I usually prefer the fly-on-the-wall approach preferred by Allan King or Frederick Wiseman, or the personality-driven ones like those of Herzog or Errol Morris (funny, I'm seeing a doc by each one of them this year). But as far as talking head documentaries go, this one's pretty good. It's a little over-emphatic at times (the score, especially early on, is overbearing) and it moves perhaps a little too fast for its own good, but it's still a perfectly fine muckraking look at the horrible financial disaster we're all living in these days. There's nothing here that isn't in the various books and NPR podcasts that have come out recently, but it's still something that more people in the world should be outraged about, especially Americans.

B

That's about it for today. Tomorrow (which is actually today) I'll return with LEGEND OF THE FIST, A MARRIED COUPLE, THE LIGHT THIEF, GUEST, and SUPER. Bye for now.

Fake celeb of the day: Paul Giamati, if he was a 1970's roadie.

Current TIFF Schedule, etc.

2010-09-06T08:39:00.000-04:00

Thought I'd drop in with a small update. I sent in my order and got 29/30 of my first picks. The only casualty, weirdly enough, is the Swedish giallo BAD FAITH, which I only chose as a slot-filler in the first place. Oh well. I'll either try for it again, or replace it with something else. Anyhow, here's my schedule, which will almost certainly change once the festival kicks in:

September 9th

FILM SOCIALISM (intimidated by recent Godard, but feeling adventurous)
INSIDE JOB

September 10th

THE LEGEND OF THE FIST
THE LIGHT THIEF
GUEST
SUPER

September 11th

EROTIC MAN
THE FOUR TIMES
BOXING GYM
MY JOY
WAVELENGTHS 3: RUHR (dipping my toes in the Wavelengths; mesmerizing trailer)
BUNRAKU

September 12th

THE ILLUSIONIST
ANPO
SUBMARINE
VANISHING ON 7TH STREET

September 13th

THE TRIP
OUR DAY WILL COME
SUMMER OF GOLIATH
TABLOID
CAVE OF FORGOTTEN DREAMS
THE WARD

September 14th

BLACK SWAN
NORWEGIAN WOOD
13 ASSASSINS
ATTENBERG

September 15th

BALADA TRISTE
YOU ARE HERE
KABOOM

That's that. I'm toying with some changes here and there, depending on availability, but that's it for now. I may write some more stuff before the festival, but since I've got limited internet capabilities and a daughter who I won't see for a little over a week, my priorities may be slightly skewed. So this will probably be it until the festival itself. See you there! Unless you're not going, of course. In that case, disregard that statement...

The New Reality and Other Things

2010-07-19T12:47:00.000-04:00

So in my last post I said that lots of things were happening in my life. Well, this is sort of what I meant by that:

That portly gentleman on the left would be me.   And that lovely young lady on the right just happens to be my daughter, Lyra.   She was born March 10th and she's sort of dominated my life since then, as you can probably guess. No movies, very little sleep, not a lot of getting out and doing the things that most people do. That might sound horrible to some, but it's been pretty amazing so far. I mean, look at that kid. How could you not want to spend time with that kid?

Anyway, I'll try to keep the gushing about my kid to a minimum, since I rolled my eyes at that stuff before I became a dad and can hear the eyes rolling right now (FYI, they sound like warm gummi bears rolling around in a plastic bag). But the experience is so overwhelming, so completely a part of my life now that I can't ignore that little 14 lb. bundle of awesome.    So expect to read some really lovey-dovey stuff from here on out. It's just fair warning, folks.

So on to TIFF. I suppose there's not much to say, since they've only bothered to announce one movie so far: Score: A Hockey Musical, which looks like "Glee" as re-imagined by a bored Canadian teenager. It's not my sort of thing, but eh... Still, my thing or not, it's sort of sad that the first film announcement from North America's biggest film festival (in size, if not influence) is of something this nakedly commercial.   On the other hand, they have already announced the Future Projections selections, which sound much more interesting.

Or I could just be cranky because I miss poring over the announced films and pre-planning for the festival. Since I have no interest in Score, I'm reduced to reading lists of potential TIFF entries, which is kind of fun, but not nearly as fun as savoring the films that will be there. In a future post, I intend to look at some of those possibilities, many of which look flat-out amazing.

That's about it for now. I have a new reality to contend with down here in Tennessee and a festival to prepare for in the coming months. I hope you'll join me on the way.

Oh yeah. I never finished my TIFF '09 wrap-up. Well, no one gives a damn about that, much less me, so here are my brief, brief, brief thoughts on the remaining films I never got around to.

I Am Love - Swoony melodrama, with a modernist kick. Not a masterpiece, but gotta love Tilda Swinton.
Face - Grows better in my mind every single day. Breathtaking set-pieces and surprisingly funny at times.
Enter the Void - Can a movie be amazing and deeply stupid at the exact same time? Oh god, yes.
The Time That Remains - Favorite film of the festival. I'm a sucker for filmmakers who traffic in heavily stylized tableaux, for some reason.
Valhalla Rising - Weird drone-metal science fictiony mythological awakening arthouse awesomeness.
Lourdes - Magnetically slow film about faith and miracles and whether either one really exist.
Some other stuff I can't remember right now...

That's it. If I've forgotten something important I'll write it up later. For now, I'm just gonna let that stuff go and start thinking about TIFF '10 and all the exciting, exhausting things that await me there. Bye for now!

It's Alive!!

2010-07-18T14:35:00.000-04:00

Hi! I don't know if anybody cares or not, but the blog's back and so am I. Lots of things are happening in my life this year and I wasn't sure if I was going to make it this year, but I definitely am. More to come later.... (this time I mean that).

TIFF 2009 Roundup - Pt. 2 of 3

2009-10-01T17:19:00.000-04:00

Hey! This was supposed to go up almost a week ago, but since I'm a lazy, lazy man, I've tinkered and procrastinated. Oops. Anyway, here's some more of my exciting trip to TIFF, now two weeks late! Enjoy!

BEST TIFF GOOF-UP: Scotiabank plays opening of REC [2] instead of Les Herbes Folles

One of the nice things about digital distribution is the ease with which one can screen a film. Very no muss, no fuss. And one of the bad things about digital distribution is the ease with which one can screw this up. I saw this first-hand at TIFF this year when the 9:30 AM second screening of Les Herbes Folles began playing. The usual production credits came up and they seemed sort of odd--the sound of radio static, some panicked voices--but I thought, 'Well, I've heard the Resnais is pretty strange, so maybe this is just a weird start.' Then the first image comes up and it's of a woman, illuminated in night vision with a terrified, panicked expression on her face. And then I think 'Wow, this Resnais is even stranger than I imagined. He's starting it like a straight-up horror film!' And then it hits me. This is a straight-up horror movie. This is freakin' REC [2]! And this audience was definitely not prepared for REC [2]. Thankfully, my friend figured it out before I did and was already out the door and telling a volunteer before anyone was traumatized by the film. And oh dear lord, would these people have been traumatized by that film. I didn't even see it, but its reputation as a pants-wetter extraordinaire definitely preceded it.

In truth, while I'm mostly glad no one in that audience was subjected to REC [2], a small part of me wishes that at least one horrific image had hit the screen before they switched it over. A small, very nasty part of me.

WORST TIFF GOOF-UP: First five minutes of White Material out-of-sync.

Claire Denis is a filmmaker who does not screw around. She starts from frame one setting a mood and god forbid you miss any of it. Which is why I'm still a little pissed that the first five minutes of her latest, White Material, was out-of-sync. I know it was the last day of the festival and the volunteers were in short supply. But the sound was out-of-sync for all of the TIFF shorts and there were multiple volunteers walking up and down the aisles seating rush-line folk, so you would think one of them, any of them would catch the problem. But no, it didn't get fixed until several people in the theatre angrily explained the situation to the nearest volunteers they could find. The majority of the film played just fine, but I do wonder if some of the mood was killed by that false start.

BEST LEFT-FIELD CELEBRITY SIGHTING:

I don't usually seek out celebrities at TIFF, nor do I usually care much if one crosses my path. But almost every year, there's something celebrity-related that amuses me a great deal. In 2006, I nearly got run over by Morgan Freeman, who was racing out of a screening of Shortbus as if to save his life. In 2007, the Brangelina train rolled into the Elgin and caused the most havoc I've ever seen at any TIFF (and also detained TIFF CEO Piers Handling at a roadblock at his own festival). And last year I almost got run over by Erik the Viking (aka, Tim Robbins).

This year's sighting wasn't quite as high-profile as those, but it was still unexpected. At my screening of Police, Adjective, the actor Michael Lerner (much beloved for his role in Barton Fink) was sitting just behind me in the reserved row, a bag with two foot-long Subway sandwiches at his feet. I don't know whether he liked the movie or not, but I sure hope he enjoyed his sandwiches. They looked and smelled delicious.

THEME FOR TIFF 2009 (SEMI-PROFESSIONAL VERSION): Chaos Reigns

At last year's TIFF, the festival seemed to revolve around family, with nearly every film exploring the testing of familial bonds in trying times. At TIFF 2009, chaos reigned, and not just because an animatronic fox tearing away at its own flesh told me so. Chaos infected the family unit, romance, police officers, puritan warriors, mexican wrestlers, and Japanese men trapped inside white rooms. It's not hard to understand why--just one look at the news is enough to make most of us want to crawl into a bunker and wait out the next twenty years or so. I mean, a single father killed because he's a census worker? Calling for secession because the president wants to spend money? And what's up with the Obama pictures with the Hitler mustache? What the hell does that even mean? He's Hitler because he wants to make health care affordable for everyone? Holy hell in a handbasket, what is wrong with these people?

Ummm...so anyway, it was a good year for chaos, that's what I'm trying to say, I think. Thanks.

REAL THEME FOR TIFF 2009: Year of the Penis

Penises were everywhere at TIFF '09, just hanging around, swinging to and fro, jutting out of walls, etc. It was a penistastic year, especially in the first few days, when we went from hardcore penetration (Antichrist) to mutual masturbation (Face) to the family perversities of Dogtooth. The opening penis salvo climaxed--pun definitely intended--with the enormous CGI penis at the conclusion of Enter the Void, an image likely to be forever emblazoned in my mind. The penis action was light for the next few days, but it hit a crescendo with Symbol, which is so penis-oriented, it makes every other penis-related movie seem downright G-rated. After that, I sort of lost track of the penises, but I'm sure there were some more. Bottom-line: TIFF 2009 was a total sausage-fest.

BIGGEST SURPRISE: Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans was actually good

When the Bad Lieutenant: POCNO trailer came out this summer, it generated a fair amount of buzz, mostly of the "WTF" variety. The film looked like a direct-to-video effort with sub-par acting and cinematography, but with the bonus of a completely unhinged Nicolas Cage performance. It also was highly quotable, with such memorable lines as "Shoot him again. His soul is still dancing." and "You don't have a lucky crack pipe?" I pretty much assumed the film would be good, trashy fun, but about as substantial as pound cake. Add to that the insanity of re-making Abel Ferrara's most personal film in the first place and you have the ingredients for disaster (or at least so-bad-it's-good territory).

So imagine my surprise when the damn thing actually turned out to be pretty good. I haven't seen Ferrara's Bad Lieutenant in a long time, so I can't really compare the two, but Herzog's take on the material was a load of fun. It still looks like a direct-to-video movie at times, but in a weird way that actually makes it more, not less, subversive. Nicolas Cage's performance is unhinged at times, yes, but it's more controlled than it looks, especially the physical aspects of the performance, where he manages to elicit both sympathy and laughs from the pained way his character moves. There's a lot more to say about this one, but I'll wait for a later time for that.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT: The White Ribbon (Michael Haneke)

I normally love Haneke's films, though "love" seems like a weird word to use for such grim, grim movies. His view of human nature is thoroughly pessimistic, yet in films like Code Unknown or Cache, he makes his case in a way that is hard to dismiss. His view of humans might be deeply unpleasant, but as much as I want to deny it, I have to admit it feels dead-on. Depressing, but dead-on. The White Ribbon is another in Haneke's "we're all screwed" filmography and its messages are the same as ever. So why does this one just not work for me? I haven't the slightest idea, frankly. While the film played, I remained engrossed by the story and the characters and thought the slowly developing "Village of the Damned" vibe it built from frame one was extremely effective. The acting was uniformly excellent and there was actual humor in it, a rarity for Haneke (at least of the non-pitch-black, skin-crawling variety). But for some reason, when it was all over, I didn't feel as though Haneke had actually made his points effectively. More to the point, I don't know why he needed to tell this story in particular. Maybe I just wasn't in the mood for a slow-burn period piece, but there was nothing in the execution that chilled me, nothing that gave me pause, nothing that made me reflect on the world we live in now. And what good is a Haneke that doesn't crawl under your skin?

MOVIE THAT MADE ME WISH I WAS 12 AGAIN: The Hole (Joe Dante)

As someone who primarily loves Dante for his subversive take on American society, this one's a bit of a let-down. The story is Goosebumps-level horror for young kids, and nothing more. But it manages to be more fun than it should be due to Dante's high level of craftsmanship and keen sense of how to use 3-D wisely. There are plenty of "it's-so-close-I-think-I-can-touch-it" scenes, but only one is gratuitous (and I'm pretty sure it was deliberately so). Mostly, The Hole made me wish I was a 12 year-old again, watching it for the first time and discovering the pleasures of a well-tooled movie. Dante understands better than most that the best kids' films aren't the ones that pummel the audience into submission. Rather, they're the ones that activate the imagination and give a kid something more to think about than the usual pithy lessons.

MOVIE I LIKED BUT NO ONE ELSE SEEMED TO FOR SOME REASON: Valhalla Rising (Nicolas Winding Refn)

I get it. I really do. It's billed as a viking movie and that sets up certain expectations: blood, disemboweling, rape, pillage, etc. So when said movie fails to deliver the goods (well, except the disemboweling and blood), it kinda upsets people. But I found the actual movie here really interesting--sort of like Terence Malick remaking Aguirre, the Wrath of God from a script by Joseph Campbell. It's pretentious as hell at times, but I found it to be bracing stuff, especially when the drone-metal soundtrack kicked in and tore through the Ryerson. Plus, I think there's actually some really interesting things going on here, ideas about the mysteries of mythology that really got me thinking. Plus, did I mention the drone-metal soundtrack? That kicked ass.

MOST BAFFLING MOVIE OF THE FESTVIAL: Les Herbes Folles (Alain Resnais)

In any normal year, Symbol would fill this category, since a movie about a man who strokes cherub penises to make things happen in the world seems like a shoo-in. But thinking back on Symbol, what resonates is how normal penis-stroking becomes once we've accepted the film's logic. It's bizarre, but nothing like the constantly shifting logic of Resnais' film. Les Herbes Folles looks and plays like a fairly straightforward comedy-romance, but something's a little off about it from the very beginning. Characters seem to change their behavior on a whim and what begins as a strange romantic comedy soon becomes...well, an even stranger romantic comedy. There's a false ending, out-of-place musical cues, a narrator who seems to be making the story up as he goes along, and a major character who is introduced about halfway through the film. On top of this are the Bunuelian touches--the 70-ish Andre Dussolier playing a man in his 50's, his wife of 30 years who is clearly in her 30's, an aviation team straight out of a cornball 40's war movie. And topping it off is an ending so out of left field I'm still laughing almost two weeks later. I'm not sure what all of it means, but it was certainly unlike anything else at the festival.

FILM THAT IN A PERFECT WORLD WOULD BE A MAINSTREAM HIT: Castaway on the Moon (Lee Hey-Jun)

Castaway on the Moon was the most mainstream film I saw at TIFF this year, and since I often enjoy mainstream movies, this isn't necessarily a complaint. It has romance, a lightly absurd premise, some timely social commentary, and lots of big laughs. And if the screening I attended was any indication, it works its audience like crazy--it easily got the most joyous audience response I saw at TIFF this year. But it will sadly never be a big hit in North America. It probably won't even get distributed into theaters and a DVD is most likely a few years in the future, if ever. Why? It's Korean and it's not a genre film (misleading title to the contrary). And even then, it would never, ever be mainstream, especially in the US, where subtitles are the kiss of death at the box-office (this despite the recent success of Inglourious Basterds, which had subtitles galore).

Sorry for the rant. It's just that something as charming as Castaway on the Moon deserves better than to be shunted off to the margins. The story is simple: Kim, a young man in deep financial and personal straits, hurls himself off a bridge into the Han river in Seoul. When he regains consciousness, he finds himself stranded on a deserted island about a hundred feet from the shore. Surrounded by the city, yet completely isolated from it, he begins to rebuild his life from the debris around him. It's basically Robert Zemeckis' Cast Away recast as a weird, gentle comedy, but it works because the situation, as absurd as it is, is an immediate and affecting metaphor for modern living and the desire in all of us for meaning in our lives. Plus, it's very, very funny. As of right now, this has no distribution lined up, but keep an eye out for it just in case. It's highly recommended.

That's it for part 2. In my last installment, I'll lay down my favorites, least-favorites and everything else I couldn't fit into this one. Coming as soon as I can get my lazy ass to finish this...

TIFF 2009 Roundup - Pt. 1 of 3

2009-09-22T14:42:00.005-04:00

Well, the festival’s over. I’m well-rested, well-fed for the first time in weeks and totally back in my normal routine. I guess that means it’s time to talk about writing a festival roundup, which I will end up writing sometime in the waning weeks of June of 2010. See you then!

Ha ha, I’m just kidding. This year I thought I would try something radical–actually writing a rundown of TIFF within a week or so of the actual festival. I know, it’s a crazy idea, but I’ve got a good feeling that it’s actually going to work this year.

So, strap yourself in, tie down your socks (so I don’t knock them off), and return all seats to their upright positions folks, because here’s Crunchy Squirrel’s Super-Excitement Fun-Time TIFF 2009 Hoe-Down and Festival Round-up Part 1!

In this entry, my Best of the Best (non-film division):

BEST THEATRE: AMC

Sure, it’s a multiplex, which I should hate on principle, but it’s got comfy seats, excellent screens and no weird smell to make eating a quick meal unpleasant (I’m looking at you, Scotiabank). Plus, since there are no bad seats (thank you, stadium seating), you can get here with minutes to spare and still get a decent seat.

WORST THEATRE: Elgin

I didn't have any screenings at the Elgin this year, but I thought I'd kick it around a little more, because that's what I do. The Elgin is a lovely theatre to see a big premiere, so long as you ignore the uncomfortable seats, the so-so sound and picture, or the frustrating lines, volunteers and unfettered elitism. Seriously, I think it's great that you guys with Visa Gold cards get to jump to the front of the line and snatch up all the best seats in the house before us poor schlubs do. Thankfully, I avoided the Elgin like mad this year and didn't regret it for an instant. My blood-pressure is still thanking me.

NOTE: I'm not saying every volunteer at the Elgin is a problem. There was an extremely nice elevator operator last year and many of the volunteers are pretty decent. But I've had more bad volunteer experiences at this theatre than any other, so read that as you will.

BEST SEATS: AMC

Very plush, very comfy.

WORST SEATS: Isabel Bader

I don’t know if I just chose terrible seats this year, but every screening here (save one) was an exercise in misery, which I never understood. The chairs look comfortable, but every time I'd sit in one, it would slowly cause my knee to hurt and my legs to cramp up, forcing me to shift every few minutes. Which is not fun.

BEST THEATRE FOOD: AMC

Yes, it’s a food court, but it’s better than most. The Italian place was especially good and relatively inexpensive, but every meal I've eaten there was pretty tolerable (which is about the best you can do at a film festival).

WORST THEATRE FOOD: Scotiabank

The Burger King Veggie Burger is alright (at least up in Canada), but the selection is pretty awful here. And there's so much grease. So, so much grease.

BEST STREET: Bloor (Annex district)

I love the eclectic mix of shops and restaurants on Bloor and wish I could spend more time here.

WORST STREET: Queen Street

Actually, Queen isn’t really that bad, but Pages went out of business, so it gets my scorn. Seriously, how can that place go out of business? Thanks a lot, gentrification!

BEST STREETCAR: King Street 501

King Street rules! Woooo!

WORST STREETCAR: Spadina

Note to woman on the cellphone behind me: No one on this bus cares about your romantic failings. If you’re going to talk loud enough for people three streets over to hear, talk about aliens or the shadow government or about the cheese demon that lives in your little toe. Not boring stuff about your feelings. Thank you.

And now for the short films:

BEST TORONTO FILM EXCERPT:

"Santa’s Parade", which wouldn’t be out of place in a Guy Maddin film.

WORST:

Bollywood/Hollywood. The awful lip-syncing of the lead actor drove me crazy.

BEST RBC SHORT: (All of which can be watched via this site, if you're curious)

"Afterparty". Genuinely funny, even the tenth time. The studio exec taking his wedding ring off never failed to make me chuckle.

WORST:

"Chick Chicken". At least it’s really, really short.

BEST DETAIL TO MAKE WATCHING ALL THESE SHORTS LESS IRRITATING:

The volunteer in the “Applaud our volunteers” short, applauding himself. (Hat tip to whoever it was who pointed this out to me).

Up next: The films themselves!

Update: Where I'm Writing Stuff

2009-09-16T01:28:00.002-04:00

Hey, just an update to anyone looking in vain for my reviews. I'm working on some, but in the meantime check out my twitter feed, which is where the majority of my writing is right now (you don't have to sign up for twitter to read it). Enjoy!

Capsule Reviews: Nymph & Independencia

2009-09-13T11:52:00.005-04:00

Because the wi-fi in Toronto is even more erratic than usual, here are some smaller reviews, with maybe some bigger ones down the line (eventually). Oh, and I guess I should start adding some number or grade to these things. Here ya go:

Nymph (Pen-ek Ratanaruang) - A love triangle of sorts takes a weird turn when a mystical Thai tree nymph enters the picture. But not that kind of weird. The slow, quiet, "I'm-not-sure-where-this-is-headed" kind of weird. This is wonderfully atmospheric for the first two-thirds--a mix between horror tension and arthouse pretension. But the ending totally ruined everything Pen-Ek had built to that point. All the ambiguity he'd carefully set up is thrown aside for an almost shockingly trite message about not ruining marriages. Grade: C

Independencia (Raya Martin) - A technical marvel, but curiously inert. Made in the style of a 1930's studio picture (complete with overdubbed actors and painted backdrops), it depicts the life of two generations of Filipinos, who struggle to survive in the forest after the American occupation of the early Twentieth Century. The look is just right, but the characters are ciphers, pawns in a political allegory that never comes to life. Grade: C

Coming Soon: The White Ribbon, Enter the Void, Valhalla Rising and more...

Days One and Two: I Am the Dogtooth Love Face Antichrist

2009-09-12T00:10:00.004-04:00

It's the end of day two, so that means it's time to start tossing out some reviews. You're welcome.

Antichrist (Lars Von Trier) - What better way to kick off TIFF 2009 than with a deeply disturbing Lars Von Trier film! To be honest, I still have no idea what to write about this thing. Is it misogynistic? A provocative prank? A serious descent into one warped man's mind? A metaphor for male/female relationships? A quasi-religious fable? Would you believe all of the above?

The story is simple: He (Willem Defoe) and She (Charlotte Gainsbourg) are a couple (unnamed for maximum allegorical purposes), who have just lost their one and only child in an accident (thanks to an open window and a passionate and photogenic sex session). A month has passed and She is getting no better, so He (a therapist) decides to treat her himself by taking her back to the cabin they have out in the woods. She deteriorates and things get very nasty, very fast.

I have particularly mixed feelings about this one. On the one hand, I love the stylization--the way Von Trier manipulates the image in the woods, the use of extreme slow-motion, the chapter breaks that get more and more intense as the film continues. Von Trier might be a seriously depressed man, but he's still got a handle on how to shoot a film.

But despite all the operatic highs and lows, I still found myself at a remove from the film. Most importantly, it just didn't disturb me. Don't get me wrong--it's not as though I went into the film wanting to leave it a broken wreck, trembling, destroyed by what I'd seen. I'm not stupid or masochistic. But the hype made me believe this would really get under my skin and give me troubled thoughts and it just hasn't. It's as though all the "chaos reigns" stuff in the final section, vivid though it is, separates me somewhat from the very real, very horrifying stuff that's happening between the husband and wife.

I don't want to go to a cabin in the woods with my wife anytime soon, though, so I guess that's something. Though I imagine Von Trier wanted a more serious reaction than a dip in cabin rentals.

Day Two:

Face (Tsai Ming-Liang) - Tsai returns with yet another baffling oddity, this time set in and around the Louvre. Though not as provocative or deeply felt as 2005's The Wayward Cloud, this is still a singular experience, if you're willing to take the ride. Since Tsai's films tend to blossom in the mind long after the initial experience, I'm sure I'll have more to say later on.

I Am Love (Luca Guadagnino) - A pleasant surprise: a modern, Douglas Sirk-style melodrama that works. The story is almost obscenely simple--long-suffering wife and mother (Tilda Swinton) finds love in the arms of a young artiste--but Guadagnino directs the hell out of it, by tying the film's rhythms to the mood and desires of its protagonist. As she begins to slowly embrace passion and desire, the film does too, ratcheting up the operatic score, shooting with hand-held cameras, etc. It works because Guadagnino uses these things sparingly at first, deploying them in small, controlled bursts, before finally embracing the melodrama in the delirious final reel. I'll try to expand on my thoughts about it after the festival.

Dogtooth (Yorgos Lanthimos) - A fantastic film. Lanthimos takes his one simple concept (the lengths two parents will go to control their children) and latches onto it with a commitment that has to be seen to be believed. More disturbing (for me) than Antichrist, but with a blackly hilarious edge that keeps the film from becoming too grim. A must-see. (And yes, I'm playing coy with the story. I agree with the critics who say you should see this one coldly for maximum effect.)

Back later with Independencia, The White Ribbon and Enter the Void.

Coming Soon: Reviews!

2009-09-11T07:51:00.003-04:00

For anyone following me, let me just re-assure you that yes, I am fine. The festival has begun, films are flying out faster than a pinata, and my ability to create metaphors is officially broken.

Reviews are coming soon, just as soon as I can unpack my feelings about Antichrist. Honestly, I do not have the faintest idea what the hell to think of that movie. I may have to write up something small and do the unpacking when I get home, because that thing is a weird one. The short version? I liked it, but didn't love it. I'll try to get something more substantial later on.

Coming later today? A quick thing about the Lars Von Trier video conference (hopefully) and my quick thoughts on Face, I Am Love and Dogtooth.

A Quick One While I'm Away

2009-09-08T22:51:00.002-04:00

I'm on the road, cruising the byways and highways, and on course to arrive in Toronto sometime tomorrow. There's something exciting about taking the long way to the festival. Traveling up the highway, inching closer and closer, the anticipation building inside you. The knowledge that in two days, you'll be sitting in the Ryerson theater, watching two people whack away at their genitals, with a sure-to-be appalled audience. Good times...

Of course, there's also something terribly boring about taking the long way to the festival. The endless monotony (especially Pennsylvania, a stretch of desolate nothingness unleavened by anything resembling beauty); the other drivers, who seem to think they're in a new Road Warrior movie; West Virginia, Virginia's freakish conjoined twin; and did I mention the monotony? Oh sweet lord is Pennsylvania a tedious state.

But I love it anyway. As tiring as driving can be, it's still the way I love to travel. You can't see Coal Mining mini-golf from an airplane. You won't see the Greek restaurant / porn shop in the middle of West Virginia. And you certainly won't see the roadkill, splayed across the road in all its crimson glory.

OK, that one you won't miss. But the weird diversity of America is easy to miss when you're traveling high above the earth, so I'm glad I'm traveling the low road right now, soaking in the beautiful and terrifying splendor of this country I call home.

And it's a hell of a lot cheaper. That's a pretty good reason to drive, too, I suppose.

My Final Schedule (Until I Screw Around With It)

2009-09-01T12:56:00.005-04:00

I got my confirmation earlier today and it makes me wanna dance (even though I don't know how and no one would ever want to see that). Unless TIFF is jerking my chain, I got everything I wanted. So, barring some changes (which will inevitably happen, I guarantee), this is my final TIFF 2009 schedule (now with snarky commentary):

Thursday, September 10

Antichrist (the only way to start the festival--with a deeply damaged, deeply depressing Lars Von Trier film! It's all uphill from here, hopefully, with only one, Gaspar Noe-sized speedbump along the way.)

Friday, September 11

Face
I Am Love
Dogtooth

Saturday, September 12

Nymph
Independencia
The White Ribbon
Enter the Void

Sunday, September 13

Valhalla Rising
Warrior and the Wolf
Police, Adjective

Monday, September 14

Trash Humpers (because that title is so much fun to toss around)
Accident
Castaway on the Moon (one of my potential casualties)

Tuesday, September 15

Les Herbes Folles (thought about switching, but only decent choice was Bitch Slap. And I can't see skipping the new Resnais to watch Bitch Slap.)
It's a Gift (presented by Joe Dante!)
Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (hoping for prime Herzog/Cage bizarreness)
Vengeance (Johnny Hallyday! In person! My mother will be soooo jealous!)

Wednesday, September 16

Tales from the Golden Age
The Time That Remains
Solomon Kane

Thursday, September 17

Mother
My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done (Herzog+Lynch=awesome)
Air Doll
Symbol

Friday, September 18

Bunny & the Bull
Lourdes
L'Enfer de Henri-Georges Clouzot

Saturday, September 19

White Material
The Hole (The other potential casualty. Love Dante, but I'll wait to hear what friends think.)

And that's that. I also intend to catch the 9 am live video conference with Lars Von Trier, because that sounds like a lot of fun (especially post-screening). I also might have to pop over to the Neil Young thing on Dundas Square Monday night. I'm not too big on celebrity chasing, but it's Neil freakin' Young! I'd kick myself if I didn't try to see him.

That about does it. Keep an eye on the site for updates leading up to and during the festival. Also, I have a twitter feed now. It's really boring, but I'll try to get reviews up through it before I write something bigger here. Also, feel free to give feedback, insults, etc. through the comments here. I'll see everyone in a week and one day!

Fed Ex Woes and Other TIFF Delights

2009-08-30T00:33:00.004-04:00

Originally, this post was going to be a multi-paragraph screed, wherein I railed against TIFF, Fed Ex, God, the Harlem Globetrotters, Mighty Mouse and orphans (word of advice: don't get me started on orphans). But then a few things happened, a few pieces fell into place, and my anger lifted away like a butterfly, floating above the flowers moments before it gets eaten by a roving bird. Which is a shame, because my original post was a masterpiece of uncontrolled bitterness, with TIFF playing the part of Joe Pesci in Goodfellas and me as Bjork in Dancer in the Dark.

But I digress. Here's the gist of my situation: I sent out my Fed Ex package on Thursday. I thought to myself, "If I send this one day early, everything has to work out, right?" So I sent the package out the door, adjusted my smoking jacket (the one I wear when I'm especially self-satisfied) and waited for the heavens to bless my wonderful foresight.

Which naturally did not happen. What did happen is I received a call on Friday morning informing me that Fed Ex had somehow sent my package to California. The California that is not in Canada. In fact, it's nowhere near Canada, Toronto or me. They assured me that the package would arrive later that day, that all was well, and they would clear everything up in due time.

Which naturally did not happen. Instead, I found out my package was set to be delivered on Monday, sometime around 10:30 AM, though where it was at the time I inquired was a point of contention. This did not re-assure me, so I sent off a slightly ticked-off, mostly concerned e-mail to TIFF to let them know this was going on and might be happening to others. I then sat down to write the angry screed referred to above and went to bed, assuming that TIFF would ignore my concerns and do nothing.

Which, surprisingly, did not happen. Rather, I checked my e-mail this morning and found a very welcome message from Mark McGrinder, the Out of Town Service Coordinator, assuring me that they'd made the necessary inquiries and that my package would probably arrive just in time. Going further, they also assured me that if it didn't, they would not hold it against me and would inform me in due time. Which has certainly gone a long way towards making me more comfortable.

I just have to say that I'm very happy with the way TIFF handled this. They could have inquired about the packages and not informed me, but Mr. McGrinder went out of his way to re-assure me about my ticket selections. It was prompt and it went above and beyond, and is worthy of much praise.

I'm still a little ticked-off, since Fed Ex problems seem to plague the festival every single freakin' year, but this appears to have only affected me, and since I sent the package a day early, I've contained the problem. Hopefully. If not, perhaps I'll be pulling that nasty entry I originally wrote out of storage. TIFF made a very good Joe Pesci...

Tentative TIFF Schedule

2009-08-30T00:08:00.003-04:00

Hi! I'm back from oblivion to start talking about TIFF, movies, etc. I usually write up a list of the films I'm interested in, some insight into the selection process, etc. but with Twitter and the like, there really didn't seem to be a point.

Well, whatever. Here's the films I've submitted for the ticket lottery:

9-10

Antichrist

9-11

Face
I Am Love
Dogtooth

9-12

Nymph
Independencia
The White Ribbon
Enter the Void

9-13

Valhalla Rising
Warrior and the Wolf
Police, Adjective

9-14

Les Herbes Folles
It's a Gift
Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans
Vengeance

9-15

Trash Humpers
Accident
Castaway on the Moon

9-16

Tales from the Golden Age
The Time That Remains
Solomon Kane

9-17

Mother
My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done
Air Doll
Symbol

9-18

The Bunny & the Bull
Lourdes
L'Enfer de Henri-Georges Clouzot

9-19

White Material
The Hole

I fully expect at least three or four of these to be busts, which is about average for me. I'm hoping it's less, but...well, experience tells me otherwise. I'm especially fond of 9-17, which has a nice "mother" double feature in it (it would have been a triple if J'ai tue ma mere had been aligned just right).

Anyway, these are my first choices, more or less. Here's hoping my package gets there in time and I even get into the stinking lottery (more on that in my next post).

Things are Happening!

2009-07-31T00:59:00.004-04:00

The festival's gearing up, announcements are flying left and right, and I'm...not here. Well, I'm obviously HERE, since I'm writing this into Blogger right now. But my mind is definitely somewhere else right now. Somewhere far, far away from here.

You see, life is doing some funky stuff right now--funky in ways both small and enormous--and I just haven't had the desire to plunk down at the computer and write up some dinky report about press releases that every other TIFF blog has nailed already. Add that to the lack of visibility this site gets (what with TIFF not including personal blogs on the site this year) and you get a blogger who is deeply distracted and increasingly disinterested.

So I'm currently in a holding pattern. I intend to get back in the normal swing of things, but I won't even try to say when that will be, as I'm notorious for missing deadlines. Let's just say the site is on a temporary hiatus and leave it at that. Thanks for listening, folks and I'll see you when I see you.

We've Got Madness

2009-07-21T10:28:00.004-04:00

So the Midnight Madness press release is out and I can assess how well I guessed the films. The answer: poorly. Very, very poorly. Frankly, I sucked.

It's not really my fault. A lot of the films chosen this year are fairly under the radar, which is a good thing, though it does frustrate the amateur prognosticator. This year, despite the presence of two big Hollywood films (Jennifer's Body and Daybreakers) Midnight Madness seems even more low-key than usual, which makes me happy, as that's always more fun. Here are the choices, with commentary:

Jennifer's Body (Karyn Kusama) - To quote Stephen Colbert: I CALLED IT!! Yeah! Of course, a blind octogenarian who'd never heard of Midnight Madness could've called this one. I most likely won't be seeing this one, but it should definitely be a hot ticket.
A Town Called Panic (Stephane Aubier and Vincent Patar) - I CALLED IT!! Strange Belgian animation based on a cult animated television series. The clips I've caught of the show on YouTube haven't exactly wowed me, but I might have to give it a shot anyway.
Bitch Slap (Rick Jacobson) - AKA, the most popular movie in Midnight Madness history. A boob-tastic boob-tacular that looks so ridiculously tacky it's not even funny. Or maybe it is. Regardless, this will be Roger Ebert's favorite film of the festival, without a doubt. Bonus points for the sheer kick of seeing that title in the relatively austere online film list.
Daybreakers (Michael Spierig and Peter Spierig) - I'm no fan of their last film, the excruciating Undead (think Night of the Living Dead, but now with 90% more pointless bitching), but this one looks like a big step up, at least visually. The trailer gleams with glistening cityscapes and seems filled to the point of bursting with visual panache. Could be fun.
George A. Romero's Survival of the Dead (George A. Romero) - I CALLED IT!! A follow-up of sorts to his previous zombie flick, the deeply frustrating Diary of the Dead, this is yet another variation on his beloved zombie themes. The well might be getting dry on the whole zombie thing, but this one at least sounds promising. I'm not as excited as I was for Diary, but Romero's still a horror god, so I might have to give it a chance.
The Loved Ones (Sean Byrne) - More teenage blood and angst, this time from Australia. The press release describes it as a cross between Pretty in Pink and Misery, which does sound intriguing.
Ong Bak 2: The Beginning (Tony Jaa) - AKA, Tony Jaa's last-ditch effort to redeem his reputation after breaking down while making this movie and running away to live in the jungle for months on end. Seriously, if you haven't read about the Ong Bak 2 saga, I highly recommend pulling up this short article and taking the whole thing in. It's fascinating stuff. As for the movie, it's been seen for months by several folks around the internet, and it's fairly well liked. I'm sure watching it with an enthusiastic crowd will elevate the experience exponentially.
[Rec] 2 (Jaume Balaguero, Paco Plaza) - A first-person horror film follow-up to [Rec], a film I have yet to see, but which gets consistently high praise. This is the serious horror film to beat at this year's festival, no doubt.
Solomon Kane (Michael J. Bassett) - A pulpy action extravaganza, or at least that's how TIFF is selling it. It's something of a wild card, since it seems to be off the radar of just about every one of my usual news sources. Could be the find of the festival, or it could be a slightly better Van Helsing. We'll see...
Symbol (Hitoshi Matsumoto) - I CALLED IT!! Matsumoto's follow-up to Dainipponjin won a slot in the MM program and it sounds awesomely strange. The teaser caused more than a few people to scratch their heads and wonder aloud if Matsumoto was losing it. I love it, but a lot of people didn't. Check it out here to form your own opinion (trust me, it's not spoiler-ish in the least). One of my must-sees of the festival.

And that's it. I said in my last post that I hoped I'd hit three or four of the ten and I was dead-on. It definitely looks like a diverse selection this year, much more so than the last two. Should be a fun September.

Anticipating Madness

2009-07-19T23:21:00.010-04:00

It's July 21st, so you know what that means: lock up the kids, put the chickens to bed and set the house on fire: it's Midnight Madness time!

Yup, the films are about to be announced and the excitement is palpable. This year, just for fun, I'm going to make a completely wild, non-educated, only half paying attention guess at the lineup for the programme. Why? Because I have no life, folks. That's why. So, take that, non-existent audience!

Anyway, here are my guesses for tomorrow's announcement:

CERTAINTIES

OPENER:
Jennifer's Body (Karyn Kusama)

WHY? It's a trashy b-movie with a high profile, thanks to it being Diablo Cody's follow-up to Juno. Plus, it stars Megan Fox, who seems to be some sort of actress, I'm not sure. I guess I'll have to look her up or something. Anyway, this one gets a wide release on the last Friday of the festival, so the TIFF premiere will get it tons of publicity.
WHY NOT? Can't think of one.

Doghouse (Jake West)

WHY? This one's a horror-comedy from the director of 2005's Evil Aliens, so he's a TIFF legacy, which is always a bonus. Its mix of Maxim-style "guy humor" and horror should go over well with the Midnight Madness crowd. Frankly, I'm kind of getting sick of "guy humor" these days, especially after The Hangover. Regardless of how I feel, I'd say it's a solid bet to be one of the ten films.

The Horde (Yannick Dahan)

WHY? It's got zombies, guys with guns, exploding heads, gore, gore, more gore, and gangsters. It's also French, which seems to be the home of serious horror these days (see also, Inside, Martyrs, Frontieres, etc.). It's got Midnight Madness written all over it, frankly.

MAYBES:

Town Called Panic (Stephane Aubier and Vincent Patar)

WHY? It's the requisite crazy film (unless Symbol finds a place in the line-up), an animated film from Belgium about three friends (an Indian, a cowboy and a horse) who have wacky adventures. Wild comedies are a standard for MM and this one, based on a cult television show, looks like a shoo-in.

Banlieue 13 Ultimatum (Patrick Alessandrin)

WHY? There's always an action film or two in the Midnight Madness and this one looks like the most likely. As a bonus, it hasn't played at any of the major festivals yet (it will appear at the Fantastic Film Festival in Austin, but that's after TIFF). I have no other reason to suppose it'll be there--just a hunch.

The Pack (Franck Richard)

WHY? Another French horror film, filled with gore and crazy monsters. Seems like a no-brainer, except for the fact that it might get confused with The Horde, which seems like a more likely pick for the fest. My only complaint: ideally, any film called The Pack should have either wild packs of evil, roaming dogs or Joe Don Baker. Or both.

House of the Devil (Ti West)

WHY? I don't know, since I haven't actually read much about this one. All I know is that it's being talked about a lot on the internet and...well, that's about it. I never said all of these would be winners, folks.

WILD CARDS:

RoboGeisha (Noboru Iguchi)

This one's pretty crazy. It has something to do with fighting geishas, a deadly robot, and buckets of blood and viscera. And fried shrimp. As a weapon. The director was responsible for the equally insane Tokyo Gore Police from a few years ago and this looks like more of the same. It seems perfect for a slightly buzzed midnight crowd, but it might be a little too crazy for the festival. Then again, they have played a lot of Miike films and this doesn't look any wilder than Ichi the Killer or Gozu.

Symbol (Hitoshi Matsumoto)

I'm not sure about this one. Matsumoto's last film, Dainipponjin (released as Big Man Japan), played the festival in 2007, to much acclaim. This one might be perfect midnight material as well, but I can't say, since I don't know anything about this film. The only information that's leaked out is a seriously whacked-out teaser and something about the film utilizing hundreds of extras. Is it a comedy? Drama? Fantasy? Nobody knows. If it doesn't end up here, keep an eye on the Vanguard and Visions programmes, where it might find a home.

REALLY WILD CARD:

Untitled George Romero Film (Currently listed as ... of the Dead on IMDB)

This seems like a no-brainer, since any new Romero film would seem to be a shoo-in. But I haven't heard anything about this film for months, ever since a promo reel showed up at the beginning of the year and promptly vanished. All that's known at this point is that it might or might not be a follow-up to his lackluster Diary of the Dead, and that it's set on an island, a la Zombie (which was an unofficial sequel to Romero's Dawn of the Dead). It's likely that the film is finished and ready to go, but the silence on this one is deafening, so I wouldn't be surprised if it failed to show.

NO CHANCE IN HELL, EVEN IF IT WOULD BE AWESOME:

Shutter Island (Martin Scorsese)

I would love dearly if Martin Scorsese would release his latest in the Midnight Madness programme, especially since it appears to be an unabashed genre film. But Scorsese doesn't usually do the festival and even if he did, it would definitely be a Gala, not a lowly midnight movie.

Antichrist (Lars Von Trier)

As a straight-up genre film with copious gore, this would definitely be a good fit at midnight. But would Colin Geddes program such a high-profile film for his wonderfully disreputable corner of the festival? I'd love it if he did, but I don't see the film getting anything less than a Special Presentation showing at the Elgin. Which amuses me to no end, when you consider how unprepared most of that audience will be for this one.

And that's about it. I'm hoping I'm right about four or five of these, but we'll see. Some other possibilities include: The Box (the new one from Richard Kelly); Raging Phoenix (martial arts meet hip-hop dancing); Zombieland (the big-budget, Woody Harrelson-starring zombie comedy); [Rec] 2 (the follow-up to the well-regarded [Rec.]; Splice (Canadian horror, likely to be in the Vanguard programme); Cargo (Swedish science fiction/horror); Chaw (Korean monster film, with effects by the people who brought us The Host); Stingray Sam (the follow-up to the bizarre The American Astronaut); and Hiss (the latest from Jennifer Lynch).

See you some time later today, when I've assessed how I did!

Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-changes!

2009-07-09T22:00:00.011-04:00

(Apologies for the lame-ass title. I'm so ashamed...)

Now that I'm done with the obligatory 2008 wrap-up, I can get to the good stuff. A few weeks ago, the good people of TIFF released a couple of interesting press releases, naming the first films and detailing some changes to the festival itself. I'll get to the films eventually, but what I really want to talk about here are the changes (quotes directly from the press releases):

"Availability of repeat Gala screenings to ticket package-holders" (thus avoiding last year's Elgin debacle, where several screenings weren't available to package-holders).
"Increased access to the Visa Screening Room at the Elgin Theatre for ticket-package holders"
"reduction of wait time for advance order pick-ups"
"improvements to the single ticket sales process"
An earlier release of the Festival Programme, "allowing six days for festivalgoers to drop off their selections"
"A clear criteria for premium-priced screenings" (translation: genuine premieres with genuine celebrities)
A new programme, CITY TO CITY, which will screen 10 films from and about a chosen city each year, alongside special panels and discussions. This year's city will be Tel Aviv.

The information about galas and the like don't really interest me, since I never attend those anyway, but the other details are definitely interesting developments. For the first time in a few years, I have absolutely nothing to complain about regarding the festival's decisions. A quick glance at some of the entries from the last two years will reveal a world of whining and moaning about the direction the festival was heading. This year, nothing. These are all good changes, especially the increased time for choosing films. In the past, nothing was more frustrating than trying to make a schedule for thirty to fifty films in one day. A festival this big and this complex requires a fair amount of time to properly assess, so it's nice to have a couple extra days to compile a schedule (yes, I'm aware this might be a bad thing, especially for us obsessive types. Let me have my momentary victory).

As for the Elgin stuff, I'm happy they made it more prole-friendly this year, though I'm not sure I'll even take advantage of the new screenings. It's dependent on what plays and how willing I am to give up a slot for something that's likely to play nationally in the coming months. As for the new programme, it certainly sounds intriguing, though a lot depends on what they screen.

So kudos, TIFF! I have nothing to complain about this year. You've killed about half my potential blog entries in one fell swoop. Thanks, guys.

Super-Spectacular, Super-Belated Round-up of TIFF 2008

2009-06-30T15:33:00.009-04:00

Do you remember 2008? If you're like me, recalling this distant past is an arduous process. We were so young and innocent then, weren't we? A crazy old man ran for president with a mentally-ill woman--and scared the hell out of the world for a few months. Feral children rode aligators like horses through our city streets. And Keyboard Cat had yet to soothe us with his haunting melodies.

In that glorious past, there was a film festival--a glorious, glimmering film festival, which shone like a beacon in the night. And I forgot to write about it, like I do every damn year. Oops. Well, it doesn't matter now, so here's a bunch of stuff about last year's TIFF, so I can get this over with. Enjoy.

First off, I won't actually discuss any of the big films, since those films have been talked to death in the last year. You really don't care about that stuff, and I don't really want to write about it. So there.

As for the rest, my thoughts on many of these films have changed in retrospect. 35 Rhums was a lightly intriguing puzzle at the fest, but has blossomed into a fascinating film as I've mulled it over in the months since. I also need to re-watch Vinyan. The first viewing was a dazzling, disorienting experience, so I'm curious to see if the film holds up. On the opposite side, while I still respect Tony Manero's commitment to its grim perspective, all I remember is the toad-like performance of and how much it infects the film. It's a good film, but not quite up to the praise I gave it at the time. And there are many films I'd love to catch a second time, to see if they hold up or improve: Genova, which seemed so light at the festival it simply floated away from me; or Birdsong, which might improve when one can appreciate its delicate ambient soundscape, which was overwhelmed by the theater's own ambient sounds (namely chewing and coughing); or perhaps Pontypool, a film I probably misjudged because of my own preconceptions.

And then there's Parc, which might have been the most entertaining film I saw at last year's festival, for all the wrong reasons. Austere, sincere, and seemingly devoid of intentional humor, it was nonetheless hysterical, the sort of boondoggle that inspires cults. Inspired by Lynch, Haneke and any number of suburban malaise films, it's so misguided it's virtually a parody of that genre, missing only a cameo from Leslie Nielson for the process to be complete. My wife and I chuckle heartily when we discuss it, especially its highlights: the world's worst dinner party (where one characters sexual kinks are discussed in agonizing detail); the moment where the film's antagonist sneaks around a trendy house, attempting to evade two bodybuilders; and the finale, which ups the silliness to near operatic heights. It's not remotely successful as a serious film, but there's still something about it that has stuck with me since watching it.

Not every bad film was as memorable. Plastic City aimed for greatness, but missed it by a wide margin, coming across as terribly amateurish. Detroit Metal City was a huge disappointment, taking a potentially killer premise (sensitive singer fronts grotesque heavy metal band), then never finding anything remotely funny to do with it. And then there was Deadgirl, also known in my house as "That Film We're Never Talking About Again, Because I Want to Strangle Everyone Who Made The Film With My Bare Hands" (my wife's name, not necessarily mine). I think it's an occasionally interesting and honest look at the mindset of far, far too many men, undone by the filmmakers' inability to understand the tricky material they're working with. My wife disagrees, often vehemently. Seriously, it genuinely angers her, more than anything we've seen.

Other decent to good films from 2008: Edison and Leo, an uneasy mix of kids film banality and Guy Maddin-esque strangeness; The Sky Crawlers, which is never as profound as it wants to be; Sauna, a potent and often transfixing horror film with an interesting moral edge; A Film with Me In It, a seriously dark black comedy with an entertaining performance from comic Dylan Moran; Gomorrah, a film I wanted to like considerably more than I did; the heartbreaking Wendy & Lucy; the gorgeous but disappointing Ashes of Time Redux; the ridiculous but super-fun adult fantasy Tears for Sale; Of Time and the City, which failed to engage me for some reason; its twin, the equally personal Les Plages D'agnes, which was considerably more engaging than Davies' film; The Brothers Bloom, the best Wes Anderson film not directed by Wes Anderson; the frustrating Tokyo Sonata, which squanders its expertly established first half by devolving into downright wacky comedy in its latter stages; the Dardenne brothers' devastating Le Silence de Lorna; and the amusing JCVD, which nears (but never reaches) greatness.

Whew. That's it, I'm done with 2008, apart from an occasional thing about it from here on in. On with 2009!

Re-Booting for 2009

2009-06-25T17:20:00.007-04:00

Hello! It's 2009 and you know what that means: blowing the dust off this old contraption and seeing what she can do! That's right, it's TIFF time again and yours truly is (hopefully) going to be there for every exciting moment. Or at least the exciting moments I can afford or prop myself up to enjoy. Seriously, 30 films in 10 days takes a wee chunk out of your time and energy.

I'll get to the good stuff down the line, but while I work on it, here's some other sites and such for anyone reading this (and yes, I know nobody's reading this):

Darren Hughes has re-started his invaluable blog here. He does what I do, but successfully, so be sure to bookmark him.
TIFF Talk is chock full of useful info about the festival. A must-read for newbies.
The TIFF site, of course, which has the current press releases, which I'll tackle soon.

That's it for now. I'll be back soon with my usual very, very belated rundown of last year's films. And some other stuff. Stay tuned.

TIFF 2008: Day Nine & Ten

2008-09-13T23:56:00.003-04:00

I'll just group these together, since I'm trying to quickly get them on here. We leave the festival Sunday morning and this is my last stab at finishing off these little reviews. It was a great festival for us this year, with nearly every film being at least worth catching. I don't know if I've softened critically, or if I just got lucky, but all the talk about this being a really bad year just didn't pan out for me and my wife. Anyway, I'll put up a proper assessment of the festival in a day or two. Here's how the last two days worked out for us:

Friday

Che (Pts. 1 & 2) - 7/10

Tokyo Sonata - 6/10

That grade is deceptive, because this has to rank as the festival's biggest disappointment for me. I'm a big fan of Kurosawa's other films, so I had high hopes for this one. And for a while, my expectations were met. For all the talk of this being his first non-genre film, all the elements of horror and dread were there, only drained of their supernatural explanations. At least that's how I saw it--much of the rest of the audience seemed to find it all hilarious, for some reason. Still, it was compelling and depressing stuff. And then...well, I can't really say. Let's just say that Kurosawa sort of takes one thread of the film into outright comedy, which absolutely deflated me. It's fascinating, but it just doesn't work, and even the sublime ending couldn't shake my frustration with the movie.

Parc - ?/10

Here's a conundrum: this movie was terrible. Absolutely, 100%, top-to-bottom, terrible. It has some beautiful compositions, a great opening, good musical cues, and one of the stupidest freaking stories and executions I have ever seen, festival or not. But: because of this, it is wildly entertaining. I was never bored and by the end, I was enjoying the film a great deal. This is badness on an epic scale. Stupidity so bone-deep it shocks you into submission. This is the real "so bad it's good" that everyone talks about, but never finds. So how do you rate it? All I can really do is separate the rating. It gets a 1/10 for quality, but a 7/10 for misguided entertainment.

Saturday

The Sky Crawlers - 6/10

Burn After Reading - 7/10

TIFF 2008: Day 8

2008-09-11T16:51:00.005-04:00

Now's the time of the festival where I start to re-think my grades on the previous films. See, let me explain something about my grading system: I don't really have one. Yes, I give a score on a one to ten scale, but it's mostly relative. In other words, these are my grades within this particular festival. If I give something a ten, it's not better than, let's say, The Godfather (Pt. 1 or 2)--it's just the best thing in this particular festival.

I could give you all sorts of convoluted, needlessly drawn-out explanations for why I do that, but it's really simple: I hate grading movies. Hate, hate, hate. I hate trying to sum up the experience of watching a film mere hours (or minutes) after watching it, as though any great film can be properly processed in that short a time span. This isn't to say that some people don't have a knack for using grades to summarize their movie experiences--it's just that I don't, not even a little. Plus, for me, there is nothing more damaging to my film experience than trying to dissect it, chop it up and neatly package it into a grade. I recognize the need for it as a shorthand, but I hate with a passion.

So, um...here's some grades for today's movies:

Gomorrah (Matteo Garrone) - 7/10

Synecdoche, New York (Charlie Kaufmann) - 10/10

My favorite film of the festival so far and one of the best things I've seen all year. What's weird about it is that I can understand why a lot of people hate it (and a lot of people really hate this thing, if my crowd is any indication). For one thing, it's strange. Very, very strange. And all the strangeness is played perfectly straight, which makes it wildly funny (at times, it's Kaufman's funniest film). But then, as things start to descend further and further into weirdness, it starts to get more serious. All of which leads to an ending that socked me (and everyone else with me) and left me reeling, tears in my eyes. I can't say much more without spoiling it, so I'll leave it there. See it.

Les Plages d'Agnes (Agnes Varda) - 7/10,

35 Rhums (Claire Denis) - 7/10

Tomorrow: Revolutions! Sonatas! Suburbia (maybe)!

TIFF 2008: Day Seven

2008-09-10T07:47:00.005-04:00

Hey, somehow Day seven slipped away from me. Oops...

La Silence de Lorna (Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne) - 8/10

Un conte de Noel (Arnaud Desplechin) - 8/10

Plastic City (Yu Lik-Wai) - 2/10

I cannot believe the festival found room for this and not...oh, the countless other movies that could have been here. And that this thing was in competition at Venice. It just boggles the mind, since this thing is as inept a movie as I've ever seen at the festival and that's saying something. It's almost as though the director deliberately tried to make the most boring, cliche movie he could about Chinese gangsters in Brazil. And the ending...oh dear lord, the ending. Think Tropical Malady, but really, really stupid.

Tears for Sale (Uros Stojanovic) - 7/10

TIFF 2008: Day Six

2008-09-10T00:30:00.003-04:00

Gotta sleep. Early morning. But first, here's some reviews.

Genova (Michael Winterbottom) - 6/10

Understated and subtle, and therefore really easy to get lost in the festival shuffle, which favors the bold and straightforward. It's a good film, with every actor doing excellent work, but at first glance it seems so slight. I appreciate the lack of histrionics, but the movie is almost all a slow burn that builds up to nothing much.

Birdsong (Albert Serra) - 7/10

Absolutely beautiful and often very funny, but for some reason my screening had a weird alternate soundtrack, with ambient noise replaced by the sound of people shoveling fistfuls of popcorn into their mouths and chewing loudly, and others coughing loudly for minutes on end. Oh wait...that wasn't the soundtrack, that was the freaking audience. Nothing, and I mean NOTHING kills a serious, nearly silent film like a roomful of people making obnoxious noises. So take the above rating with a grain of salt, since it's likely to go up when (or if) I get to see the film again.

SIDE NOTE: This had the most walk-outs I have ever personally seen at any of my four TIFFs. Just a steady stream of people bolting as the characters wandered and wandered across the screen. I guess it takes a certain kind of filmgoer...

The Brothers Bloom (Rian Johnson) - 9/10

Positively the most charming film I've seen in ages. Less controlled than a Wes Anderson film, and often less emotional, but every bit their equal in terms of charm and wit. And I had no idea Rachel Weisz could be this great--she completely nails indie cinema's most overused, underdeveloped character types (the manic pixie dream girl), and makes it look easy. It's messy and often very goofy, but loads of fun. Highly recommended...

Tomorrow: Algerian brides, French dysfunction, Brazilian Chinese, and Serbian fairy tales!

TIFF 2008: Day Five

2008-09-08T23:28:00.002-04:00

Hunger (Steve McQueen) - 9/10

Phenomenal. I went into this one with slight reluctance and a slight shrug, but found it compelling from frame one. Ostensibly the story of Irish Republican Bobby Sands and the hunger strike that took his life in 1981, it's really the story of bodies--how easily they damage, how they can be used and abused, and how they can also be a battleground. My favorite film of the festival and probably the year, hands down.

Ashes of Time Redux - 7/10 (though this will probably change)

Review coming soon

Tomorrow: Italian hauntings, the three wise men and con artists...

TIFF 2008: Day Four

2008-09-08T07:26:00.007-04:00

Wendy and Lucy (Kelly Reichardt) - 8/10

Unsentimental and honest, this is a fantastic film. Reichardt takes a simple story--poor woman loses her dog in a small town in Oregon--and drains it of all sentimentality, leaving only the harsh, unforgiving reality of being penniless in America, and all without the use of explicit politicizing (that would come later in the day). Heartbreaking and beautiful.

The People Speak - No rating

Not a movie, sort of, thus no rating, but my wife and I just had to see Howard Zinn in person, as he's one of the genuine great American historians. Then we found out Matt Damon was going to be hosting the talk, and suddenly realized that this was going to be one of those "mobbed" screenings, which can be really annoying (though the girl with the poster asking Matt to be her prom date was kind of funny). Thankfully, we entered before the stars, so we missed the excitement (though I did nearly get run over by Tim Robbins entering the theater, which wasn't actually his fault)

(SIDE NOTE: Is anyone else fascinated by celebrity heights? Tim Robbins was freakishly tall, while Ron Perlman, two years ago, was exactly my height, which is only about 5'10". Which is weird, 'cause that guy's Hellboy. Sorry for the digression...)

Anyway, the thing started super-late, so we probably got robbed of about ten minutes of further discussion, but it was excellent and slightly more star-laden than anticipated, as Marisa Tomei and Viggo Mortensen showed up as well. The footage they showed of the documentary was a mixed bag. The first bit peppered history lessons on the American Revolution with brief snippets of readings of letters and speeches by Hollywood stars. Their performances looked decent, but were too brief, with the film falling all over itself to present as much material as possible at the expense of interesting material. The second set of footage was considerably better, as it focused on longer performances and more immediately relevant issues (labor, equal rights, racism, sexism, etc.). It needs work, but it looks like it could molded into something interesting and timely.

Of Time and the City (Terence Davies) - 6/10

I know that score is some kind of critical blasphemy, but I'm standing by it. The film is at its best when Davies gets angry, such as when he rants about Betty (Queen Elizabeth) or the Beatles (who he hates). Much of the running time is taken up by documentary footage of Liverpool past and present, with classical music and the occasional pop song playing over it. Some of this is intoxicating, but often, I felt the images and music failed to coalesce into something grander than themselves. Many will find this film astounding (many already have), but I can't shake the feeling that it's missing something vital that keeps it from greatness. (I should also say that the Q&A slightly skewed my views, as it made me wish that Davies had spoken for the entire film--his Q&A was absolutely charming, the best of the fest so far).

Next: Hunger strikes and flying swordsmen...

TIFF 2008: Day Three

2008-09-07T09:39:00.004-04:00

Day three was a good day. I had a mild stomach sickness on day two, but it passed; I got plenty of rest after the previous night's midnight; and the movies were all uniformly interesting (though not uniformly good, unfortunately). Let's dive in:

Sauna (Antti-Jussi Annila) - 7/10

Bleak, existential horror films seem to be the black sheep of the horror community, but I'm a pretty big fan of them. This one, from the director of the much-loathed Jade Warrior, is a good solid one from start to finish. Some have said it too closely resembles the endlessly recycled J-Horror films, but this has an undercurrent of sadness and remorse that is all its own.

Vinyan (Fabrice du Welz) - 9/10

Much to say, but must process...

Pontypool (Bruce McDonald) - 5/10

Despite its initally exciting premise, this bizarre linguistic zombie movie never quite finds a focus. Taking place almost entirely in a radio station in the basement of a church, the film starts well, with the minor and sometimes funny workings of small-town radio giving way to more sinister events. But there's no build, and no time for the actors to find their footing as the world slips into chaos around them. Side note: Stephen McHattie is amazing in this, reminding me of Lance Henriksen before he descended into straight-to-DVD hell. Why isn't this guy given more starring roles?

Deadgirl (Marcel Sarmiento and Gadi Harel) - 5/10

Surely the most instantly controversial film I've ever seen in the Midnight Madness category, and not always in a good way. Two teenagers stumble upon the dead body of a beautiful, naked woman in the basement of an abandoned asylum. Upon realizing that she's not dead (and can't be killed), one of the teens decides to...ahem...take advantage of the situation. If you can't tell, this is definitely not a film for everyone. My wife, normally a pretty serene go-with-it filmgoer has ranted for two days about how much she hates this thing. Some people are going to find it extremely offensive. There's more than meets the eye here, however, and some of it is very interesting, especially what it has to say about the male psyche. But I'll save that for a later review...

Next: Missing dogs, Howard Zinn and Liverpool.

TIFF 2008: Day Two

2008-09-05T22:02:00.009-04:00

I seem to finally be in the groove of this, since it took me forever to find decent wi-fi this year. Thankfully, Starbucks has been very, very good to me. Now, on with the reviews:

A Film with Me In It (Ian Fitzgibbon) - 7/10

Good black comedy is extremely hard to get right--see Edison & Leo in the previous post--but this one is an exception. On occasion, the film's dark sensibility threatens to overwhelm its funny side, but the filmmakers somehow keep the balance straight. They're greatly helped by the two leads, Mark Doherty (who also wrote the film) and Dylan Moran, whose contrasting reactions to the increasingly absurd situation ground the film. Good nasty fun...

Tony Manero (Pablo Larrain) - 8/10

The story--about a man whose attempts to win a Tony Manero look-alike contest grow increasingly disturbing--could almost be the basis for the next Will Farrell film, all slicked-back hair and bad seventies fashion. It almost sounds fun. Transfer that story to late seventies Chile, however, and it becomes something entirely different--a bleak, mean dissertation on the soul-destroying effects of American pop culture. More later...

Detroit Metal City (Toshio Lee) - 5/10

I generally prefer my comedies more deadpan than wacky, so I may not be the target audience for this mugging, flailing comedy of extremes. Still a lot of fun at times, especially when it ventures into more absurd territory (nothing made me laugh harder than the "Metal Buffalo" bit).

Tomorrow: Horror day with Finnish ghosts, creepy children, linguistic nightmares and necrophilia. Fun, fun, fun!

TIFF 2008: Day One

2008-09-05T20:57:00.004-04:00

Hello all! The festival has begun and its as great as expected. Lots of stuff to talk about, but I'll keep to the plan. Here's Thursday's reviews:

Edison & Leo (Neil Burns) - 5/10

A weird, gothic stop-motion animated film, the first ever funded entirely in Canada, best described as Guy Maddin by way of Tim Burton. But with only half the wit and wonder of those two. The problem is that the film never finds a solid tone, lurching from wild flights of fancy to sub-kids' flick romance and back again. Though on paper it sounds like prime melodrama, with lost mothers, distant fathers and remorseless enemies, it never finds the tone that would make those elements cohere into something solid. Still, there's some worthwhile touches here and there.

JCVD (Mabrouk El Machri) - 8/10

I was worried about this one since I saw the first footage online. My concerns were entirely unfounded. This is easily one of the wittiest, most assured films I've seen in quite some time. The premise is simple: During the course of a very bad day, Jean-Claude Van Damme finds himself embroiled in a real-life robbery. From there, El Machri finds several quite clever wrinkles in the meta-fiction genre, mainly by allowing his star to be the quiet, put-upon center of an increasingly absurd situation. Not to be missed.

Tomorrow: Dylan Moran! Tony Manero! And Japanese death metal!

Schedule (mostly) Confirmed

2008-08-31T23:14:00.003-04:00

Sorry for the radio silence. I've been hunkering down in prep for the festival and haven't had a chance to write anything. My schedule got confirmed yesterday afternoon, and it was mostly a success. I did miss out on two screenings--Thursday evening's Tony Manero screening and the screening of At the Edge of the World--which are weird misses, if you ask me (I expected to lose Ashes of Time or The Brothers Bloom, not those two). Anyway, here's my schedule, at least until I find some alternates to shore it up:

9/4
Edison and Leo - 7:45 PM
JCVD - 11:59 PM

9/5
A Film with Me In It - 2:15 PM
Detroit Metal City - 11:59 PM

9/6
Sauna - 12:30 PM
Vinyan - 3:15 PM
Pontypool - 8:00 PM
Deadgirl - 11:59 PM

9/7
Wendy & Lucy - 12:45 PM
Mavericks: The People Speak - 6:30 PM

9/8
Hunger - 9:00 AM
Ashes of Time Redux - 3:15 PM

9/9
Genova - 11:45 AM
Birdsong - 5:00 PM
The Brothers Bloom - 9:00 PM

9/10
La Silence de Lorna - 9:45 AM
Un conte de Noel - 12:00 PM
Plastic City - 4:45 PM
Tears for Sale - 9:15 PM

9/11
Gomorrah - 9:00 AM
Synechdoche, New York - 12:15 PM
Les Plages d'Agnes - 6:15 PM
35 Rhums - 9:15 PM

9/12
Che - 9:00 AM
Tokyo Sonata - 2:15 PM
Parc - 7:30 PM

9/13
Achilles and the Tortoise - 9:00 AM
The Sky Crawlers - 12:15 PM

I like my list quite a bit this year, gaps and all. It feels like I've finally hit the proper balance between my serious side and my thrill-seeking side, which is always a challenge for me. I've still got some weirdo midnights in there, but I'm also looking forward to stuff like Wendy & Lucy, which sounds like an incredible movie.

That's it for now. If anybody has some recommendations on what I could use my two extra vouchers on, feel free to pass it along. In the meantime, I've got some packing and preparations to attend to.

My Take on the TIFF List (Sort Of)

2008-08-24T10:32:00.030-04:00

Warning: What follows is insanely self-indulgent and overlong. Yes, even for a blog. This isn't my actual list, nor does it cover all the films I'm interested in. If it did, it would be twice as long, with me repeatedly saying "I think this looks interesting," followed by useless information you already know. And I care too much about you, the reader, to do that. Ok, it's because I'm lazy.

Umm...I've forgotten what I was gonna say. Anyway, here's some movies I randomly chose to talk about. Enjoy.

Note: This wouldn't have been possible without the following, extremely useful resources: TOfilmfest, 1st Thursday and Twitch. Also, for all the stuff I don't discuss, I recommend visiting The Evening Class, where Michael Guillen is painstakingly giving info on every single film at the festival.

SPECIAL PRESENTATION

The Brothers Bloom (Rian Johnson)

Johnson's follow-up to Brick, which I loved. If that one was Coen Brothers influenced, this one has Wes Anderson written all over it: bright colors, oddball art direction, whimsical characters, estranged brother protagonists. As a huge Wes Anderson fan, I can say I'm definitely excited about this one.

Genova (Michael Winterbottom)

Reasons this is on my short-list: 1) My wife needs to restore her Colin Firth-crush after Mamma Mia! nearly destroyed it. 2) Winterbottom's almost always interesting. 3) It's described as a cross between Don't Look Now and Stealing Beauty. What the hell does that even mean? Seriously, where's the connective tissue between those two, wildly different films? So I guess I'm strangely curious about this one.

Me and Orson Welles (Richard Linklater)

I'm a big fan of Linklater, but I only feel half-compelled to see this one, which is odd, since the only film I haven't really liked of his was the Bad News Bears remake from a few years ago. I might have to override my reservations and catch this one.

Still Walking (Hirokazu Kore-eda)

I loved Hana two years ago and I know that Kore-Eda is considered one of the great Japanese fillmmakers. But this might be one dysfunctional family get-together drama too many for this festival, joining as it does A Christmas Tale (must-see), Tokyo Sonata (another must-see), Summer Hours (supposedly excellent), and Servi ce (the chaotic, porn theater variation on the theme). We'll see...

Synechdoche, New York (Charlie Kaufman)

Sure to be the most mind-blowing movie of the festival and possibly the year, Kaufman's film has a number of high-profile detractors, but an equal number of defenders. Even if it's terrible, it won't be like anything else at the festival, that's for sure.

Waltz with Bashir (Ari Folman)

Unique, absolutely gorgeous animation that looks stunning in stills, but stiff and unconvincing in all the trailers I've seen. It's sure to be interesting, but I'm not convinced, and the fact that it'll be released sometime in the future by Sony Pictures Classics means that I should have plenty of opportunities to catch this later.

The Wrestler (Darren Aronofsky)

Here's the thing: I don't really like Darren Aronofsky's films. Everybody goes crazy for them, but I just can't get into them. Maybe it's me--I don't know. So I'm not terribly motivated to catch this one, especially since it's going to play the Elgin and will therefore be a very difficult ticket to get. Having said that, I have to also consider this:

Tell me you don't want to see the movie that image comes from. Because, oddly enough, I do. Though probably not here.

VANGUARD

PA-RA-DA (Marco Pontecorvo)

I understand that the actual PA-RA-DA troupe is doing good work in getting kids off the street in Europe, so please don't take my following statements the wrong way. But watch this and tell me how I'm supposed to take this seriously. I mean, I know context can change one's perspective, etc, but this clip has to be one of the most mindbogglingly misguided things I've ever seen. As far as I know, this isn't a horror film, so I can't imagine how any sane, rational human being can see this and think "heartwarming." I almost want to see the movie, just to understand how this makes any sense.

Pontypool (Bruce McDonald)

Apocalyptic horror from the legendary Bruce McDonald. I've only seen his last film, The Tracy Fragments, and wasn't terribly impressed (unique editing and use of split-screen notwithstanding), but this one sounds fascinating. It's a horror drama that takes place in a single location (a low-rent radio station), and centers on a zombie-esque uprising that transmits itself not through physical violence, but through language. As someone who's had a long interest in linguistics, the concept alone makes this a must-see.

Sauna (Antti-Jussi Annila)

Finnish horror about two men who do dastardly things and are then haunted (literally) by what they've done. I don't know much else, but at least it looks creepy and very, very atmospheric--some stills and production art can be found here.

Tears for Love (Uros Stojanovic)

There's a promo for this on the Twitch TIFF 2008 Trailer Park (a must-visit for those of us seeking info on these films), but I don't recommend watching the long one, as it seems to reveal far too much. What's there, however, looks a lot like Gilliam and Jeunet (lots of whipping cameras, bright colors, etc.). It also makes the film look very loud and amped-up, but that could just be the way the trailer's put together.

VISIONS

Birdsong (Albert Serra)

The story of the Three Wise Men, shot in black and white, with natural lighting and dialogue entirely in the Catalan language. Looks absolutely beautiful.

The Sky Crawlers (Mamoru Oshii)

Ah, Mamoru Oshii. I remember watching Ghost in the Shell many years ago and being utterly defeated by it. Now, I'm a fairly smart guy. Not brilliant, mind you, but smart enough. And I've watched plenty of out-there animes in my time and enjoyed most of them. But that movie beat me. I understood what was happening, for the most part, but by the end, I was utterly, hopelessly lost. Since most people who watch it seem to love the damn thing, I guess I need to watch it again. Maybe I just wasn't paying attention that day.

Anyway, this new one sounds really interesting, but every trailer I've watched drips with emo melodrama, which isn't automatically a bad thing, just very easy to overdo. But the reviews have been good, and seem to indicate that the sentiments are earned.

SPROCKETS

Krabat (Marco Kreuzpaintner)

Based on a fantasy novel, this will likely be dismissed as the German Harry Potter, but the trailer looks decent. Plus, the Twitch people have been very positive about it so far.

REEL TO REEL

I'm actually very interested in most of the Reel to Reel program this year, but I don't actually have a lot to say about most of them. Here are the few that I can comment on:

The Dungeon Masters (Keven McAlester)

The story of several adults who play Dungeons & Dragons regularly. As a teenager who dabbled in the game, I'm intrigued, but as an adult who's seen at least a few of these types of movies, I'm worried. Will the filmmakers make fun of these people for our amusement? Or will there be some respect for their eccentricity? It's a fine line, but very few films tread it well. Here's hoping the presence of Richard Linklater's longtime cinematographer will tip it in the right direction.

Food, Inc. (Robert Kenner)

I read Eric Schlosser's Fast Food Nation a few years ago and nearly became a vegetarian because of it (why I didn't is better saved for another time). I have a feeling this documentary, which takes both it and The Omnivore's Dilemma as its launching point, might do the trick. This is good, important stuff and I hope many people decide to see it. But it's a tight year and I'm not sure I'll be able to work it in.

MIDNIGHT MADNESS

Detroit Metal City (Toshio Lee)

I missed last year's Dainipponjin, so this looks like my chance to compensate. Though likely wackier than that film, this one looks like a lot of fun.

JCVD (Mabrouk El Mechri)I haven't quite been sold on the trailers (too much of that now-cliche washed-out cinematography for me, I suppose), but I'll still probably try to catch this, if only to see if it lives up to all the buzz.

Not Quite Hollywood (Mark Hartley)

I'm not sure I want to use a festival slot to catch this one, but it does look like a lot of fun. Plus, as someone who's fascinated by exploitation cinema, it's nice to see someone shining a light on a new facet of it (Bonus points for the fun website).

Eden Log (Franck Vestiel)

Positive: I like science fiction and this looks like a unique take. Negative: It's French sci-fi, which is very hit or miss. Positive: Many reviews are very impressed by its look and non-conventional take on familiar themes. Negative: Many reviews find its conventional aspects too familiar. Plus, the word 'boring' is tossed around a lot. Diagnosis: Probably better than its reputation, but not likely to wow the Midnight Madness crowd, who tend to prefer more visceral fare. Maybe worth a non-MM slot, though I'll likely just skip it altogether.

Martyrs (Pascal Laugier)

Absolutely the movie of the year in horror circles, though everyone else should definitely proceed with caution, as this one takes the torture cycle to new extremes. What makes the difference, at least with its early defenders, is that it's much, much smarter than usual, and uses its extreme violence to explore controversial ideas. At least, that's what they say. I have no idea, nor am I likely to see this at the festival, since my wife would likely never speak to me again if I subjected her to it. Gotta think about the big picture...

MASTERS

Achilles and the Tortoise (Takeshi Kitano)

The annual film from Office Kitano, and the final one in his trilogy of self-absorption (after '05's Takeshis' and last year's batshit insane Glory to the Filmmaker!). This one's about a man who takes up painting late in life and brushes against the world's indifference. I'm sure I'll end up slotting it somewhere, but I'm much less enthusiastic than I have been in the past.

Tokyo Sonata (Kiyoshi Kurosawa)

Kurosawa made Pulse, the rare horror film more frightening for its ideas than for what actually happens in it (though that's not too shabby). So any film by him is worth scheduling, in my view. It doesn't hurt that this one's considered one of his best, a domestic drama where the horror is completely non-supernatural in nature.

DISCOVERY

$9.99 (Tatia Rosenthal)

Stop-motion animation, focused on the odd happenings of an Australian apartment complex. I'm primarily interested due to the writing involvement of Etgar Keret, who co-wrote and co-directed last year's standout, Jellyfish. That film wasn't perfect, but I really enjoyed its odd blend of darkness and whimsy. This clip, which may or may not be from the film, is a good example of that particular tone.

Parc (Arnaud des Pallieres)

This might be a great film. I don't know. What I do know is that the two main characters are named Mr. Nail and Mr. Hammer. Seriously, those are the surnames of the film's antagonists. No film that's not a comedy or a bad 80's action movie should have characters named Hammer and Nail and expect me to take it seriously.

Tony Manero (Pablo Lorrain)

Bizarre-sounding story of a sociopath in 1970's Chile, who worships Tony Manero, John Travolta's character from Saturday Night Fever and will do anything to win a look-alike contest. I know, it sounds boringly cliche.

CONTEMPORARY WORLD CINEMA

A Film With Me In It (Ian Fitzgibbon)

Irish black-comedy in the vein of The Ladykillers, as two screenwriters attempt to pitch their way out of a sticky predicament. Early word is good, but I'm mostly interested because it co-stars Dylan Moran, one of the funniest people on the planet.

That's it for now. I'll probably throw up another post Tuesday or Wednesday to add anything that stands out when the full descriptions get released (there's usually a handful). See you until then.

TIFF List Drops, Frustrating Many

2008-08-19T16:22:00.003-04:00

The final list of films dropped today, along with a couple of frustrating bombshells. I wasn't expecting anything spectacular, but I assumed TIFF saved some unexpected announcements for the end. Apart from Burn After Reading and the Mavericks presentation with Howard Zinn, there isn't anything that catches the eye. Of course, it could be because they haven't even put out the full announcement online for the Contemporary World Cinema additions. Still, the list of films announced prior to today is good enough to moot my concerns.

No, the real bombshell today is the release of the VISA Screening Room and Gala schedule. I'm not too put out by it, but I think a lot of pass-holders are going to be pretty pissed. For those who haven't read my previous post, the VISA Screening Room will no longer be part of the ticket lottery, which sets a whole lot of films off-limits for the rest of us. Here are the affected films from the Special Presentations and Gala programs (note: 'second screening' refers to Gala presentations)

Adoration
Apaloosa
Un Barrage Contre le Pacifique
Blindness (two screenings)
Burn After Reading (second showing)
Burning Plain
Che (Part 1 and Part 2) (two screenings apiece)
The Duchess (second showing)
Easy Virtue (two screenings)
Empty Nest
Fauborg 36
Flash of Genius
Ghost Town
The Good, the Bad, the Weird (second screening)
Heaven on Earth
Inju (two screenings)
Kanchivaram
The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond (second screening)
The Lucky Ones (second screening)
Miracle at St. Anna (two screenings)
Nothing But the Truth (second screening)
Passchendaele
Rachel Getting Married (second screening)
Rocknrolla
Woman in Berlin
The Wrestler
Zack and Miri Make a Porno

Now, it's entirely possible that TIFF intends to screen all of these films at least once outside of the VISA screenings. But if they get only one screening, expect those showings to be very difficult to attend. I would pay particular attention to The Wrestler, in that regard. The two screenings of Aronofsky's The Fountain, two years ago, were some of the hardest tickets to score at that TIFF.

As I said, I'm not too angry about it this year, since two of my most anticipated--The Brothers Bloom and Synechdoche, New York--will both premiere somewhere else (most likely the Ryerson). But I am angry about this in general, because it's yet another step towards further undermining the egalitarian nature of the festival. Frankly, I'm not too confident about that.

Random Pre-TIFF Thoughts

2008-08-08T23:29:00.014-04:00

So the festival is less than a month away (!!) and the announcements have been dribbling out ever so slowly. That means it's time to start compiling some thoughts on the current state of TIFF 2008. Or maybe it means it's time to shave my head, stuff eggplants in my pants and dance like an 8-year old on a sugar rush. I'm never sure about these things.

Anyway, here's some thoughts:

The Elgin (a.k.a. the Visa Screening Room) is ineligible for the ticket lottery this year, which leaves me with mixed feelings. On the one hand, it was the home of my first TIFF experience, Terry Gilliam's Tideland, and it screened a number of my subsequent highlights, including Pan's Labyrinth, Brand Upon the Brain!, and No Country for Old Men. On the other hand, the theater has become a real pain in the ass to attend, especially for those of us without Visa Platinum cards. Without access to the Visa lounge (which allows Platinum members to get early access to the theaters), it's been almost impossible to find a decent seat. Add to that the lack of Q & A's, the poor sound and the fact that most of the films shown end up in first-run theaters within months anyway, I suppose it's not much of a loss after all. Never mind...
Much more frustrating is the news that festival donors will have their tickets processed before the non-donors, with priority given to the highest donors. For the festival, it's win-win: happier donors, more money, all good. And since festivals are notorious money pits, who can blame them for wanting to increase the cash flow. Unfortunately, it's lose-lose for those of us on the low-end: less chances to get into the popular films and all the while, the festival takes another step towards becoming a glorified trade show (Cannes with a handful of public screenings, or a slightly less obnoxious Sundance). The festival's not that bad, yet, but every time I see something like this (or the Elgin situation), a part of my love for the festival starts to wither away...
Of course, my class-based agitation might just be a cover for the realization that my three-year lucky streak in the lottery (90 for 90) might be about to crash and burn, thanks to the donors. No, it couldn't be something that petty...
As an inveterate and often impatient follower of the yearly announcement trickle, I can't help but notice that this year's film announcements have seemed unusually slower and more...trickly (yeah, it's a word). But then when I went to the press releases from 05, 06 and 07, I was surprised to see that it's always been like this. So now I wonder why I feel this way. I suppose it's the lack of an instant must-see in the announcements thus far. By this point in '05, I knew about Tideland; '06 was particularly front-loaded: Pan's Labyrinth, The Host, Rescue Dawn, and The Brand Upon the Brain!; and '07 was even more so: No Country for Old Men, Diary of the Dead, Mother of Tears, The Orphanage, and Encounters at the End of the World. This year...well, I'll save that for another entry.
I don't really have a fourth thought. Why is that? Do I not have enough ideas to sustain a single blog post? Are my weak concepts a microcosm of the general weakness of the TIFF slate thus far this year? Or is this post simply circling the drain, seeking an exit, unable to break free...

Well, that's it for this round. Coming soon (I hope): a piece by piece look at the TIFF programmes and the films in them that interest me so far. Should be delightful.

Greetings and Salutations!

2008-07-31T23:37:00.005-04:00

Since I've re-resubmitted this blog to the TIFF website, I guess it's time to make some re-introductions.

Hi. Um...my name's Chris, but people call me Crunchy Squirrel. Yeah, don't ask, it's a long story. This will be my fourth TIFF and I'm pretty psyched, as always. My favorite color is green and my turn-ons include...

Oh, maybe that's too much information. Sorry.

I'm glad you've stopped by and I hope you stay or at least bookmark me or something like that. If you don't, that's cool. I've got a thick skin. I'll try very, very hard to make this blog a teensy bit more interesting this year. I might even update more often (though that's unlikely). Feel free to hang out, leave comments, insults, etc. Again, thick skin.

That's about it. I'll have a real post any day now. Thanks again.

The Good Old-Fashioned TIFF 2007 Roundup - The Hell?!

2008-07-07T02:00:00.010-04:00

Man, I'm really not up to this blogging thing. Ouch. Regardless, I promised myself I'd finish this damn thing, even if it took me a year or two. You can just skip this and move on to one of my relevant posts, somewhere around here. (I think I've written a relevant post...) For anyone foolhardy enough to stay, here's my thoughts on the last batch of TIFF 2007 films--the "Did-I-Just-See-That?" collection. Enjoy:

The Mother of Tears (Dario Argento)
George A. Romero's Diary of the Dead (George A. Romero)

Two of cinema's greatest horror filmmakers, both with new films at Toronto--how could it go wrong? Spectacularly, that's how. Argento has been coasting for years, so it's no great shock that his latest is pretty weak. But working in the "Three Mothers" world should have inspired him, or at least that's the lie I wanted to believe. Sadly, there's nothing here, not even a "what the hell is he thinking" setpiece like Inferno's flooded basement scene. Instead, it's a boring little head-scratcher that's never scary and is filmed and edited so poorly, it could have been made by Uwe Boll.

As sad as Argento's film was, Romero's was twice the disappointment. The buzz surrounding this one was that it was Romero's return to form. Romero was thrilled with the final product and the early word was that it was as good as his first two zombie films. Instead, it turned out to be the least interesting zombie film he's ever made. The zombies are dull, the cast is obnoxious (and not deliberately) and the film never quite goes for the jugular in any significant way. But the worst offense, the absolute nadir, is the film's narration, which drones on and on about what the zombies represent, how images can't convey truth, etc. It's Romero 101 and it's presented with absolutely no artistry whatsoever. A colossal step down for a once-great director.

The Exodus (Pang Ho-Cheung)

I had zero expectations for this, but was intrigued by the TIFF catalog's description. The idea of a film about a secret society of women, plotting to destroy men in the various bathrooms of the world certainly showed potential. Would this be a serious rumination on the war of the sexes? Or a dark, twisted satire, with flashes of grim humor?

Well, it's sort of the worst of both worlds (By the way, I'll try not to spoil this too much, but it may be necessary). The film opens with a bang. We fade onto a picture of Queen Elizabeth, hanging on a wall. As the camera slowly pulls back, more details are revealed. Standing next to the Queen's picture is a half-naked man, dressed as a frogman (i.e., snorkelling gear, not as a large, green frog). The camera continues its deliberate pull and slowly reveals utter chaos: a group of men, all in frogmen outfits, surrounding a bloodied, terrified man, who keeps trying to crawl away from them. They leap about, all in slow-motion, and beat the man with phone books, as the camera (and the Queen), look on, distant, dispassionate...

It's such a searing sequence, so intense in its absurd details and rich subtext that it actually kept me from realizing that the film was a bust for a good thirty to forty-five minutes. It was only then that I realized that the film had become a serious slog. Rather than explore the satiric potential of the scenario, the movie instead gets bogged down in an interminable romance that slowly goes nowhere and generates no genuine heat or interest.

And then a funny thing happens. The film suddenly snaps back to attention and rallies for a surprisingly sad/funny finale, a montage that fills in the history of a major character and deepens the situation, while allowing the film to end on a suitably dark, satirical note. It's a rousing ending, but it's simply not enough to save the film, which is a damn shame.

Mister Lonely (Harmony Korine)

Korine's heartfelt ode to the outsider might not be the strangest film I saw at TIFF, but it's a contender. Taking place mostly in a commune for celebrity impersonators, it strives to replicate the feel of a weirdo 70's film like THE NINTH CONFIGURATION or KING OF HEARTS, but ends up a pale imitation at best. Still, there's a lot to like, particularly Samantha Morton's performance as a lonely Marilyn Monroe impersonator. The oddball tone may grate at times, but at least it's not boring. Bonus points for the Werner Herzog / flying nun sequences that intersperse throughout.

Eat, for This is My Body (Michelange Quay)

A weird, personal exploration of Haiti and the difficulties it's experienced dealing with its French "ownership." At times, the much-vaunted strangeness is fairly transparent, but then you're knocked back by a scene that refuses easy understanding--the mesmerizing elderly DJ scene, the "Merci" sequence, the daughter's hypnotic walk into the center of the village. I'm not sure I could explain the whole thing, but a large part of me never wants to understand it, at least not completely.

Glory to the Filmmaker! (Takeshi Kitano)

The strangest film of the festival, no contest. Like Takeshis', this is Takeshi Kitano exploring his own relationship to film and attempting to make sense of it. But that does nothing to convey the sheer insanity of this thing. The first thirty or forty minutes consist of a series of genre spoofs, with Takeshi attempting to make a film, but failing miserably when he can't find inspiration. The spoofs are sometimes funny, but are mostly dull and obvious. But then the film settles on a story (sort of) and a central set of characters, and it quickly changes into...well, something else.

This is the part that seemed to lose much of the audience, but the group I was with laughed like crazy. It's not all funny and the funny stuff is so ridiculous and so silly, it might not be funny to every viewer, but I had a lot of fun with this and recommend it to anyone interested in weirdo Japanese flicks.

Chaotic Ana (partial) (Julio Medem)

We had to leave Medem's film prematurely, so we missed the (reportedly) bonkers ending, but the bits leading up to it were pretty incoherent. Ana, a young, pretty girl who lives in a cave with her father, is invited to join a prestigious art school by Charlotte Rampling, where she meets a handsome painter and attends hilariously pretentious art shows. In the meantime, she begins to recall past lives, all of which seem to have ended prematurely and very badly. It's a pretty silly film and it takes itself far, far too seriously. I just regret not seeing the ending, which sounds like it would have been the single most bonkers thing I would have seen at the festival.

That's all. I'm done. Any questions, comments, etc. just leave them in the box. It's about time I started writing about this year's festival.

The Good Old-Fashioned TIFF 2007 Roundup - The Meh

2008-06-18T16:00:00.006-04:00

Hello again. Here's part 2 of my massively delayed 2007 roundup.

These are the films I met with a hearty shrug. Most of these aren't bad movies--they just didn't do anything for me. On with the show...

TEENAGERS AND THEIR DISCONTENTS:

The Tracey Fragments (Bruce McDonald)
A Gentle Breeze in the Village (Nobuhiro Yamashita)

Two contrasting takes on modern teenage life, both of which made me thank the heavens I was no longer a teenager. Honestly, neither film is bad. THE TRACEY FRAGMENTS distinguishes itself with a supremely chaotic design, where the film's editing reflects Tracey's fragmented mind. Thoughts, stray words, weird images, imagined conversations, all compete within a single frame for our attention. It's often very arresting, particularly in a heartbreaking scene where Tracey has sex with her school crush--her fantasies dominate the moment, but soon, the unromantic reality takes precedent and all she's left with is something cold and meaningless. It's a great scene, an authorial commentary seeping into the frame almost in spite of Tracey's desires. But the film lacks the distance that might have given it a sharper edge. Instead, we're mostly left floundering in Tracey's mind, and after a while, that becomes almost unbearable. That might have been the point, but it doesn't make it any less frustrating.

A GENTLE BREEZE IN THE VILLAGE focuses on a very, very different teenage girl--an innocent and naive girl living in a rural province in Japan. Her life centers around her school, which only has a handful of students left, most of whom share a single classroom. Into this simple existence comes a boy, who moves to the town from Tokyo. Thus begins a slow-burning, chaste romance that never elevates above hand-holding and a single, halting kiss. There's not much more to it than that In truth, there's nothing really wrong with this film. But a year after having watched it, I find it difficult to remember any highs or lows, anything truly memorable, as though the movie was itself a gentle breeze, enervating in the moment and forgotten the next. (Ooh...poetic!)

Jar City (Baltasar Kormakur)

Lots of little things bugged me about this one, but I don't feel like dragging them out. Mainly, it's an interesting premise presented in a mostly uninteresting manner. I don't want to drag spoilers into my arguments, so let's just say that the film's concerns with family history, while often emotional, don't quite go far enough to address the larger ideas the film presents. At least by my estimation--your mileage may vary.

The Orphanage (Juan Antonio Bayona)

Why didn't I like this more? It's got a creepy house, masked ghost children, some ferocious scares, a downbeat ending, good performances, a seance...so on, so forth. In short, it's everything I love about classy ghost stories. So why didn't it work for me? Why did I spend half the film frustrated by the husband's stubborn refusal to accept the supernatural? Why did I find the resolution both satisfactory and underplayed? Why could I not stop nitpicking the back story and the character's actions? Regardless, it's worth a look, if only for the moments when it comes alive (particularly when the scares kick in).

With Your Permission (Paprika Steen)

Not bad, with a seriously twisted sensibility, but the eventual mix of sentiment and black comedy doesn't quite work. Often very funny, sometimes genuinely affecting, but never wholly successful.

Jimmy Carter: Man from Plains (Jonathan Demme)

Great man, so-so documentary. Its biggest strength lies in the contrast between a former president's tireless and arduous effort to improve the world and the current president (unseen and mostly unremarked upon), who, in eight years of office, has yet to show one scintilla of Carter's passion or compassion.

Run, Fat Boy, Run (David Schwimmer)

Awful romantic comedy, but it definitively proves that Simon Pegg and Dylan Moran can make even the most simple-minded, poorly executed comedies tolerable just by showing up.

Help Me Eros (Lee Kang-Sheng)

Weird, boring, pretentious, sad, silly, fascinating--Lee Kang-Sheng's film is all these things, sometimes simultaneously. What it is not is a terribly good film. Like most of them on this list, it's not necessarily bad--it's just...missing something. Something crucial that would give the whole thing focus. Without it, the string of deeply depressed and repressed characters, grasping desperately for any kind of sexual gratification they can find, becomes wearying rather than enlightening. That said, anything this unusual should be given a chance regardless.

Sukiyaki Western Django (Takashi Miike)

Dear Takashi Miike,

Hi! I like your movies. They are weird and sometimes very fun. They often get a little boring, but then something awesome happens and then I am happy. Still, something weird is happening (weirder than your movies, if you can believe it). What's happening is this: I'm kind of getting tired of your movies. They are still kind of cool, and the awesome parts are still kind of awesome, but...that's it. These days, it's like there's nothing else there. Maybe it's just this one, which starts out awesome, but quickly gets dull. And what's with the length, man. You're not Sergio Leone and this isn't Once Upon a Time in the West. This story didn't need to be dragged out forever and ever. Anyway, keep making movies, only make them better.

Sincerely,
Crunchy Squirrel's Inner Twelve Year-Old

Mad Detective (Johnnie To and Wai Ka Fai)

Another great premise / iffy execution film. I'm still puzzling through this one, so look for a future installment dissecting this and something else sometime later.

That's it for now. On to part three: The Hell?!

The Good Old-Fashioned TIFF 2007 Roundup - The Good

2008-06-16T21:01:00.008-04:00

Here we go. It's my roundup of last year's TIFF, only nine months late. Woo hoo! I've split it into three parts, because it's easier and I like things that come in threes. And I'll do some larger write-ups of some of the more interesting films at a later date (if I remember, of course). Anyway, I'll shut up now.

THE GOOD:

You, the Living (Roy Andersson)

Not quite the revelation that Songs from the Second Floor was, but still a singular experience. Funny, but not quite a comedy; sad, but not quite a drama; strange, but grounded in real human behavior. It kind of stumbles on occasion, especially in a long stretch where Andersson trades out the offbeat humor for straight-up pathos, but it's worth it for the ingenious newlywed sequence, a bracing combination of deep sadness and "how'd-he-do-that" dazzle. Bonus points for the bleakly funny ending.

My Winnipeg (Guy Maddin) / Encounters at the End of the World (Werner Herzog)

I'll review these soon. Short take: they're wonderful, two of the best of the fest.

Les Amours d'Astree et de Celadon (Eric Rohmer)

The 21st century interprets the 18th century interpreting the 16th century. As strange as that sounds, it plays even stranger. Deliberately wooden acting and lengthy speeches about love and virtue make it slightly off at first, but the film gradually wears you down with its exceedingly dry wit and sincerity. And the ending is terrific, the best of its kind in a romantic film since Before Sunset.

The Man from London (Bela Tarr)

I didn't finish the film, but the half I did see was mesmerizing. Agonizingly slow and methodical, yes, but mesmerizing too. Deep down, I know I should find Tarr's humorless, ponderous filmmaking to be pretentious wankery, but there's something about his style that I find deeply compelling. Perhaps its the attention to detail, best represented here by the ridiculously complicated opening scene of the film, depicting the incident that sets the plot in motion. Whatever it is, I can't resist it.

No Country for Old Men (Ethan and Joel Coen)

Ah, hell, everybody's seen this already. Nobody needs my review.

Nightwatching (Peter Greenaway)

Let's be honest: Greenaway can be a wee bit pompous. He's the only filmmaker at TIFF who would introduce his film with a mini-lecture on Rembrandt and the age he lived in, as though the assembled audience was a classroom of students. No matter--the man has an eye like no other. and a deep-seated wit that keeps his work from becoming too self-indulgent. This one's one of his best recent efforts, thanks mostly to Martin Freeman's terrific central performance. It's a little long and a little off at times, but I was pretty enthralled by the whole thing.

Jellyfish (Shira Geffen and Etgar Keret)

The post-festival reviews have been mixed to negative, but this was a nice breath of fresh air in the middle of a busy, loaded week. Lightly surreal, it follows several Israeli men and women, whose lives connect in unusual ways. Admittedly, that description makes it sound like the sort of arthouse film that has choked the cinemas in the last ten or so years, but this one finds a tone of sweet cynicism that elevates it above the rabble.

Dr. Plonk (Rolf de Heer)

A pitch-perfect recreation of silent cinema, fused with a dash of social satire. It shouldn't work, yet it often reaches giddy heights, especially in the wild, Keatonesque chase that closes the film.

Sad Vacation (Shinji Aoyama)

I'm not quite sure about this one. For one thing, it has one of the most baffling endings I've seen in ages--a raspberry sent directly towards audience expectations. For another, it's a semi-sequel to earlier films Shinji Aoyama made, none of which I've even seen. And yet....the whole thing has a strange power, a weird sensibility that I've tried to parse since watching it and haven't gotten any closer to understanding. I know writing this makes no sense to anyone who hasn't seen the film, but I can't explain it any better right now. Maybe I'll write the thing up at a future date....

OK, that's it for now. Also good, but going in a later write-up, for reasons that will become apparent: Glory to the Filmmaker! and Eat, for This is My Body.

Next up: The Meh

New Beginnings for 2008

2008-06-15T11:38:00.004-04:00

Hello out there. It's time to dust off ye olde website and start preparing for TIFF 2008. If there's anyone out there at all, you might recall that I made all kinds of grandiose claims last year about "finishing what I started" and all that. Hell, you could just scroll down and see where I say that over and over again. Well, as you can see, that didn't happen.

I guess I should confess something: I'm not a very good blogger. I hope that isn't a huge shock to anyone. I don't have the internal drive and need to communicate that seems to be a prerequisite for serious bloggers. I'm lazy, I procrastinate madly and I mix up my metaphors like a dog driving a car through a plate glass window.

Here, however, is the real confession: I hate writing. Maybe I should clarify that: Writing frightens me. There's something so naked and personal about expressing yourself in a forum like this that makes me shrivel up inside. It's silly, it's irrational and it's strange behavior for someone who at least likes to pretend that he's a writer. But there it is and I can't avoid it or make it go away by magic.

So I will instead try to make it go away by writing more. I know what you're saying. "For the love of god, don't make any promises, you moron!" Well, here it goes: I promise to write more on this blog for the 2008 festival than I did last year or the year before. I also promise to make this a more wide-ranging blog than it has been, by focusing on more than just the festival and Toronto. Hopefully, you'll stick around. If not, oh well.

As ever, leave your thoughts or insults in the comments. They're always welcome, even if I never seem to respond to them. Sorry.

By the way, if you've been here, but haven't been to 1st Thursday, you should definitely go there now. Darren does what I've tried to do, only successfully. It's the best TIFF website you'll find anywhere.

Getting Back in the Groove

2007-09-29T18:10:00.000-04:00

Hello again. I'm back in action and determined to finish this thing off, something I failed to do last year. I've got just a few more days to fill in, then I'll probably write some more substantial pieces to tie it all together. Or not. I'm notorious for promising more than I deliver, so we'll see.

Now to the family emergency. On Friday afternoon, my wife started receiving cryptic calls from her brother, alluding to "something wrong with our father." We came to learn that he'd suffered a major heart attack the previous day and they'd had considerable difficulty contacting us. Needless to say, this pretty much wiped out the remainder of the festival. There was no way we were going to sit through four more films while my father-in-law was being prepped for open-heart surgery. I mean, I'm not that much of a jerk. So we packed up our things and headed home first thing Saturday morning, for a fairly harrowing trip back (my wife drove, usually as fast as she could legally get away with).

For the record, it's all been resolved. His surgery was successful and he's healing at near-supernatural rates. We're now safely home and trying (mostly unsuccessfully) to recuperate and get back in the groove. We've got some new perspective thanks to this ordeal, and we're hoping it will push us to take bigger chances in our lives. Or we'll forget everything we've learned and sink back into our usual rut. It's either/or right about now....

Anyway, that's about it. Thanks for letting me ramble and be sure to look for updates in the next few days.

Delays and Such

2007-09-17T14:08:00.000-04:00

Sorry about the delay. I fully intended to keep the blog running, but a family emergency popped up Friday afternoon, completely leveling the rest of our TIFF. Reviews will resume once the
situation has stabilized and I can blog on a regular basis.

TIFF 2007: Day 6

2007-09-14T00:30:00.000-04:00

Playing catch-up....The festival's hitting its stride and I'm hitting the wall.

Jellyfish (Shira Geffen, Etgar Keret) - 8/10

Beautifully staged series of surreal episodes, all centering around a core set of modern Israelis. Quirky, but not (too) cloying, it's also really, really difficult to describe without making it sound like any other festival entry. Sweet and funny, with an absurdist edge, it's well worth one's time.

Help Me Eros (Lee Kang-Sheng) - 5/10

Essentially a Tsai Ming-Liang film, but too earnest by half. Lee Kang-Sheng has an eye for striking compositions, surely, but the film left me scratching my head.

Sukiyaki Western Django (Takashi Miike) - 6/10

Typical Miike: half-sloppy, half-brilliant. There's not enough spaghetti western to the whole thing, with only the opening sequence displaying any of the wit and style of Leone & company (and it looks and plays like a parody of Tears of the Black Tiger). The rest is intermittently fun, but I still wish Miike would try to make a good film again.

TIFF 2007: Day 5

2007-09-11T01:05:00.000-04:00

A little more for the day. Though this makes me hypocritical, I believe I'm going to drop out of Lee Myung-Se's M, which has been getting some of the most poisonous reviews I've seen at the festival. I'm a fan of his work, but when other fans start talking about walking out, I just can't justify wasting a precious festival slot on it. We'll see...

Man from Plains (Jonathan Demme) - 6/10

Deeply ordinary and unfocused, Demme's ode to Jimmy Carter gains force entirely for what it doesn't do. By showing a president who gives his all before, during and after his term, who tries to change the world for the better, he creates an excellent critique of the current administration and their failings. It's a little too reverent, but Carter wears through your defenses. His strength and honesty are positively infectious, and give this minor film a slight boost.

Encounters at the End of the World (Werner Herzog) 8/10

Herzog scores again, this time with a look at Antarctica and its oddball inhabitants (of all animal varieties). Strange and beautiful, with some positively stunning nature footage alternating with interviews with the strange folk who find their way to the very end of the world. His ideas gradually gain force and by the end, it feels like an elegy for mankind itself. Wonderful stuff.

Run, Fat Boy, Run (David Schwimmer) 6/10

Relentlessly conventional, though better than it has any right to be, thanks to Simon Pegg and Dylan Moran, who give completely committed performances. David Schwimmer pulls off one particularly nice scene towards the end (Pegg finally hitting the runner's wall), but plays it safe throughout, which works for the film. Bonus points for the best Q&A of the festival so far, with a funny Pegg, a drunk Thandie Newton, an outburst from Nick Frost, and the Mayor of Toronto, the single most obnoxious audience member I've seen this year.

TIFF 2007: Days 3 & 4

2007-09-10T01:07:00.000-04:00

A few reviews in between vain attempts to get away from the Pitt/Jolie juggernaut. I mean, seriously, there were people lining up outside the Elgin theatre for nearly twelve freaking hours! They closed the street and put up barricades so people would be held back. Did I mention twelve hours!

The confusion actually gave us our favorite moment of the fest so far--watching TIFF head Piers Handling attempt to get through the Brad Pitt barricade, as a recalcitrant volunteer held him up. Runner-up: the anti-smoking rally by earnest college students, right outside the Scotiabank. With all the fucking problems in the world these days, smoking is what gets these kids angry?

Anyway, here's some reviews:

Saturday, Day 3

Les Amours d'Astree et de Celadon (Eric Rohmer) 7/10

A 21st century take on a 17th century audience's understanding of a 5th century story. At first coming off like a high school production, it eventually reveals its slyness and wit, using the sheer distance from the source material's inception to comment wryly on the whole genre. Sounds like a bore, but it becomes more interesting as it goes along, leading to an absolutely sublime final scene, on par with the ending of Before Sunset for swoony, well-deserved happiness.

The Man from London (Bela Tarr) (walk-out...but it's not what you think)

The first hour, filled wall-to-wall with Tarr's standard long, long, looooooong takes, was mesmerizing, the deep-focus black & white photography never boring to watch (many did not agree--Tarr currently holds my 2007 record for most walk-outs). But then it goes downhill after the hero steals a bus and tries to ram the villain's taxi off the road, or whatever it was that happened after I left the theater afraid I was going to vomit. Seems I've picked up a bug of some sort, and it's winding through my system left and right. The good news: it seems to have passed. The bad news: I missed the rest of the Bela Tarr, which I was enjoying a great deal. Oh well.

No Country for Old Men (Ethan Coen) - 9/10

Terrific neo-western from the Coens, who appear to be done with crappy, work-for-hire comedies. I don't think I can add anything to the largely glowing reviews it's gotten since Cannes. A must-see.

Diary of the Dead (George Romero) - 5/10

Intriguing premise, nearly wrecked by insistent voice-over which wildly over-states the film's themes. Look: I know it's supposed to be a college student's fake documentary. But was it so hard to just show us the footage and not spruce it up with Philosophy 101 bullshit about the camera as the window of our world, or something like that. Everything said in the voice-over is conveyed quite well in the rest of the film, leading me to wonder if the whole thing didn't start out as a Masters of Horror project, artificially expanded to full-length. Still, better than the Argento, though more disappointing.

Sunday, Day 4

The Orphanage (J. A. Bayona) - 7/10

Though slow to get started, this is ultimately a rewarding ghost story, though not without flaws. There's very little subtext at work, at first glance--just good solid chills, especially a handful of scenes near the film's ending. Not a classic, but it'll do.

Nightwatching (Peter Greenaway) - 8/10

Greenaway tackles Rembrandt, art history, the nature of art, naked people, etc. Lots of walk-outs, grumbles, shrugs, and the like, but I found it fascinating, even with my limited knowledge of art and art history. And Martin Freeman, as Rembrandt, is fantastic, carrying the film through its occasional dull patches.

With Your Permission (Paprika Steen) - 6/10

Review coming soon.

My Winnipeg

2007-09-07T23:15:00.000-04:00

A quick one, while I'm awake...

My Winnipeg (Guy Maddin)

Maddin's latest is a pure joy, whether or not you're familiar with Winnipeg or Canadian history. Presented as a "docu-fantasia," Maddin takes the documentary form and makes it thoroughly his own--anyone who's seen one of his films will feel right at home here. He also manages to add a few new tricks to his usual form, particularly in a handful of scenes shot in the style of an overheated Sirkian melodrama (it will be surprising to none of his fans that he has a clear knack for it). It's also perhaps his most purely funny film. He's always had a sly, offhand wit, but never to this degree of directness. Great, original fun.

8/10 (though probably higher)

TIFF Reviews: First Day, etc.

2007-09-07T15:25:00.000-04:00

Hi, from here in lovely Toronto. It's been a pleasant couple of days so far--pleasant, that is, if you enjoy ridiculous 90 degree weather while standing in the harsh, unblinking sun. I've had enough of this weather back home, so I certainly didn't expect it up here. The good news, though, is that it's not supposed to last much longer. Cooler weather will swoop in soon, though it will be bringing some thunderstorms (maybe).

Anyway, enough about the stupid weather. How about some films? Here's a couple of quick reviews:

Jar City:

Slow, stately Icelandic murder-mystery. A man is murdered in a dingy flat in Reykjavik, and the investigation slowly reveals deeper mysteries and darker secrets. Not a bad premise for a solid thriller, but somehow director Baltasar Kormakor finds multiple ways to falter. Most damningly, the solution is a no-brainer, especially thanks to a far-too obvious framing device that makes the culprit ridiculously easy to pick out. Worse, Kormakor films even the most dull, mundane moments as though they're high tragedy. From the washed-out visuals, to the wall-to-wall choral music, the film builds a level of high-drama it doesn't even try to live up to. Some nice performances, but mostly a bore.

Rating:
4/10

The Mother of Tears

Argento wraps up his Three Mothers trilogy, with mixed results. The acting is bad (which was expected), the story is nonsensical (also expected) and the dreamy logic of the first two is largely missing, save for a handful of scenes (highly unexpected). It's still sort of fun, especially when the crazed monkey/witch/familiar is running around, or when the film takes a left-turn into crazy-town. And there's a weirdly misogynistic subtext just waiting to be analyzed and explored in this thing. I mean, I know Argento's been criticized in the past for his misogyny, but this film seems to take it to such an extreme, it almost seems like a parody or response (as De Palma did with Body Double).

Rating:
5/10

You, the Living

Roy Andersson's follow-up to the amazing Songs from the Second Floor is only a disappointment in comparison to that film--by any other standard, it's a terrific piece of work. Following an assortment of people living in a (presumably) Swedish city, it's filled with amazing sequences of tableaux, strange interludes, hilarious and poignant dream sequences, and the pastiest cast of characters I've personally ever seen. There's no real plot to describe here, just a central idea, explored in every possible permutation--the many ways humans live, cope, and clash in the world. The best deadpan absurdist comedy you're likely to see this year.

Rating:
8/10

That's it for now. Starting tomorrow, the festival kicks into high gear for me, with at least three films every day from now to next Saturday. I'll try to pop in with some reviews, though I can't guarantee they'll be anything more than blurbs from here on out.

My Current TIFF Schedule

2007-09-04T16:00:00.000-04:00

After much wrangling, I've finally confirmed my picks for the festival. I still haven't received an email confirmation, but the very kind people at the TIFF box office told me in no uncertain terms that these were the films I got.

So, here we go...

6th:
Jar City / 7:45-9:18
The Mother of Tears / 11:59 PM-1:37

7th:
You, the Living / 9:15 am-10:50
My Winnipeg / 8:00 PM - 9:30

8th:
Les Amours d'Astree et de Celadon / 9:00 am-10:49
The Man from London / 12:45 PM-3:00
No Country for Old Men / 6:00 pm-8:02
George A. Romero's Diary of the Dead / 11:59 pm-1:34

9th:
The Orphanage / 12:30 PM-2:20
Nightwatching / 6:00 pm-8:21
With Your Permission / 9:30 pm-11:10

10th
Man from Plains / 3:30 pm-5:30
Encounters at the End of the World / 7:00 PM-8:39
Run, Fat Boy, Run / 10:00 Pm-11:41 (strictly for Simon Pegg)

11th
Jellyfish / 2:30 pm-3:48
Help Me Eros / 6:00 pm-7:43
Sukiyaki Western Django / 11:59 pm-2:00

12th
The Exodus / 12:00 pm-1:34
M / 3:30 pm-5:20
Mister Lonely / 6:30 pm-8:22
The Tracey Fragments / 9:45 pm-11:02

13th
Dr. Plonk / 9:30 am-10:54
Sad Vacation / 6:15 pm-8:31
A Gentle Breeze in the Village / 9:15 pm-11:16

14th
Glory to the Filmmaker! / 9:00 am-10:44
Mad Detective / 3:00 pm-4:29
Chaotic Ana / 6:15 pm-8:15
Dainipponjin / 11:59 pm-1:52

15th
Ploy / 3:00 pm-4:47
The Sun Also Rises / 6:00 pm-7:56

A lot of that may change in the coming days. For example, if tickets become available, I'd probably switch from Chaotic Ana to Eat, for This is My Body, which sounds considerably odder and more interesting. Regardless, I'm looking forward to getting up there and enjoying the hell out of the festival. See you there!

Festival Flashback : 2005

2007-09-02T14:12:00.000-04:00

In the absence of any news or discussion in the days leading up to the festival, I'm going to hop in the wayback machine and take a look at TIFF in 2005 and 2006.

'05 was a heady year for my wife and I. Somehow, we got it into our heads to travel hundreds of miles to attend a fairly expensive and elaborate film festival. I say this not out of regret, but out of odd admiration. I still can't quite believe we do this every single year. The first day of the 2005 festival was definitely one of the best days I've had, starting as it did with a new Terry Gilliam film (Tideland) and following up with a brand-new Quay brothers film (The Piano Tuner of Earthquakes). Yes, it's absolutely one of the highlights of my filmgoing life.

Anyway, before I start getting too deep in the nostalgia here, I'll get this thing going:

Six Favorite Films of 2005 TIFF:

6. The President's Last Bang (Im Sang-Soo)

Imagine JFK crossed with Dr. Strangelove and you might get near the oddball tone of this political thriller. Equal parts hilarious and disturbing, it's the story of the assassination of the South Korean president in the early eighties, in all its half-bungled glory. Great stuff.

5. Cache (Michael Haneke)

Haneke's film has one scene--and those who've seen it know which one I'm talking about--that elicited the best reaction I've ever seen in a packed audience. I won't divulge the moment--it's too shocking to spoil--but I've never heard such a reaction from a group of people before. It was a wave of gasps and screams that lent the moment a credibility and power that no solo viewing could provide. Oh, and the film itself is also pretty damned good.

4. Duelist (Lee Myung-Se)

Confession time: I didn't like this the first time I saw it. The trailer gave the impression that this was a straight-up action flick, sort of a Korean take on Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. The movie, though...oh, lord, the movie. Never before have I witnessed a film so distant from its marketing. I guess I knew it was gonna be a change of pace when a marketplace chase turned inexplicably into a slow-motion football game. Or maybe it was when a standard "catch the bad guy" scene included sped-up, Benny Hill-esque running and mugging. Or...well, I could go on, but I'll spare you. It's one of the weirdest movies I've ever seen, with a tone that refuses to play straight. On first viewing, I assumed this was a problem, and hated it accordingly. On further viewings, however, one can see that the narrative hiccups are deliberate, borne out of a need to riff on the very nature of narrative. If one's up for the ride, it's a wonderful experience.

3. The Piano Tuner of Earthquakes (Brothers Quay)

A real audience-divider, this is one of my favorite film viewings of all time. Allow me to set the scene: you've been traveling since 6:00 am that morning. You've flown hundreds of miles, driven a hundred or so more, ridden buses and subways, and raced from hotels to box offices to restaurants. You've just watched a very difficult Terry Gilliam film and raced to yet another theater you've never been to in your life to make it to your next screening. Simply put, you're freaking exhausted. And now, you're being asked to process a truly bizarre Brothers Quay experience. Strangely enough, utter exhaustion is actually the best way to watch the Quay's latest oddity. I think it's about a mad scientist who hires a piano tuner to fine-tune his oddball tableaux, and the love that blossoms between the tuner and an amnesiac opera singer the scientist has kidnapped, but I'm not sure. Regardless, there's nothing--nothing--that compares to the experience of nodding off, only to find yourself staring at a gigantic stop-motion doll in a boat, or an entire scene where half the onscreen cast is walking and talking backwards. Pure celluloid madness, through and through.

2. The Proposition (John Hillcoat)

Nick Cave's super-brutal anti-western had the second most memorable audience reaction of the festival: a single "how-did-they-do-that?" gore shot that made the entire audience gasp in unison. The film itself is not bad either. It's got a particularly grungy poetic sensibility that's light years from what Westerns have been producing for the last decade or so.

1. The Wayward Cloud (Tsai Ming-Liang)

The world's first long-take intensive, post-apocalyptic porno-musical. That description doesn't really do this amazing film justice. In telling the story of a Taiwan gripped by drought and the slow-burn relationship simmering between two lost souls, Tsai pushes his distinctive style to the breaking point, punctuating his extended scenes of cooking, walking and sex with brash musical sequences that emphasize the distance between his character's dreams and their reality. Dazzling and unforgettable, with a jaw-dropping ending that manages to cram an entire movie's worth of emotions into a handful of shots.

Worst Film:

Neverwas (Joshua Stern)

AKA, oh, good lord, what was I thinking? The Fisher King meets One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, if they were made by idiots. The festival's nadir, without a doubt.

Film I Most Regret Not Seeing:

The Wild, Wild Rose (1960, Wang Tianlin)

A one-of-a-kind opportunity that I just couldn't find the room for, a phenomenon that is all too common at a festival the size of TIFF. A musical, much of it's soundtrack was used ironically in The Wayward Cloud. And, it was followed by a dialogue with Tsai Ming-Liang, who apparently loves the film. Oh well...

Best Q&A:

Nick Cave, mumbling, shuffling and cracking jokes after The Proposition. Runner-up: Lee Kang-Sheng, also mumbling and shuffling, following The Wayward Cloud.

So that's about it. I could really go on and on about 2005's festival. Nearly every moment is etched in my brain, even two years down the line. It was a great, great experience and I'm going to try to replicate it every year for as long as I can.

Update: Waiting, Waiting, Waiting...

2007-09-01T20:54:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the lapse. The release of the full schedule killed all of my attempts at blogging. There's nothing like spending every waking hour carefully combing a color-coded schedule for the mathematical equation that'll allow you to see all the movies you desire in the time allotted to put a damper on your social life. It's pretty hellish, to say the least, but this year was actually fairly painless. I was able to arrange nearly every one of my most desired, with maybe one or two omissions (biggest casualty: I'm Not There, which at least is getting a release by the end of the year).

Now starts the waiting process. Every year, this part seems to get worse. In 2005, I promptly received an e-mail Saturday afternoon, detailing every film I'd successfully secured. Last year, I had to go to the TIFF site to find out if we'd been successful, even though our tickets had been processed the previous day.

This year's no better. I've looked up the order on the website and it appears to have been confirmed last night at 10:01, but for the last 24 hours, I've been given no confirmation from TIFF. I wonder if it has anything to do with my order going through the online process. If any online purchasers are having a similar problem, let me know in the comments.

Anyway, that's about it for now. I'll be back later with some miscellaneous pre-TIFF posts and my schedule (or at least what I hope is my schedule). In the meantime, ignore that gnawing sound--it's just me devouring my fingernails...

Most Anticipated: Visions

2007-08-23T23:11:00.000-04:00

Midnight Madness may have the more exciting line-up this year, but Visions is probably my favorite programme of the festival. It's like the Midnight programme's intellectual older brother--still weird, but more respectable, and definitely smelling less like bongwater and Cheetos (not that there's anything wrong with that). In the past two years, some of my favorite films of the festival have been in this programme, though this year's line-up seems heavier on the "personal journeys" angle, and lighter on the "what-the-hell-am-I-watching?" angle. Regardless, it's a pretty interesting group of films. Let's get on with it...

Must-Sees:

M (Lee Myung-Se)

His last film, Duelist, played the festival in '05, and to say it divided the audience is putting it mildly. I remember watching the trailers and thinking it was going to be a generic action flick, only to be taken aback by the sheer, willful strangeness of the actual film. Myung-Se mixes styles, tones and perspectives with an anarchic glee that hovers somewhere between genius and lunacy. His films are high-wire acts and what, on first glance, appears to be a poor sense of narrative, gradually reveals itself to be a love for it in all its myriad forms--a love frustrated by traditional narrative's limitations. If you can't tell, I'm something of a fan and I can't wait to see what he pulls off with the horror melodrama genre.

You, the Living (Roy Andersson)

Songs from the Second Floor is brilliant and this is (allegedly) its less somber mirror image. Should be amazing.

Could Be Interesting:

Dans la Ville de Sylvia (Jose Luis Guerin)

I think the "mostly wordless" description is what excites me most. It's acceptance at both the Venice and New York Film Festivals doesn't hurt.

Dr. Plonk (Rolf de Heer)

A modern silent film that appears to perfectly replicate the look and feel of 1920's silent cinema. Could be a nice palate cleanser in the middle of the festival's heavier offerings.

Ploy (Pen-ek Ratanaruang)

I'm probably the only person who really liked Invisible Waves (the director's last film), but everyone says this is much better and more in line with his much loved Last Life in the Universe.

Silent Light (Carlos Reygadas)

The critics have almost universally praised this one, with most giving raves. Good enough...

Silent Resident (Christian Frosch)

This one's a conundrum. It's in the Visions programme. The description sounds intriguing. And yet...I've seen not one image or non-TIFF synopsis or discussion that excites me in any way. Wait and see, I suppose...

The Tracey Fragments (Bruce McDonald)

Another conundrum. The synopsis screams out "emo," but the visual conceit--the screen divided into fragments, each one filled with visual information--is the kind of gimmick I support, even if it could just be an exercise in frustration.

That's that. If anyone has ideas or info on any of these, feel free to had your thoughts in the comments.

Next: Vanguard

Most Anticipated: Midnight Madness

2007-08-23T19:55:00.000-04:00

Now that the festival is finally gearing up, it's time to make decisions. There are around 275 films at the festival, and only 30 slots for me to fill, so some tough choices have to be made. My personal method is fairly simple. I start by choosing no more than ten must-sees. Then, I research the films and highlight as many interesting options as possible. I separate those into two piles, which I arbitrarily call first and second tier (because it makes me sound professional). Then, when the actual schedule comes out, I cry for three straight days and randomly insert films as best I can. Or at least that's how it usually feels.

Seriously, the schedule itself is the main reason I don't just choose thirty films and wash my hands of the whole thing. If I chose thirty films right out, there would be absolutely no way to fit them all in. Inevitably, the full schedule frustratingly puts similar films in direct time competition with one another, resulting in at least one or two agonizing decisions each and every year. To fight this, I've found it's best to keep an open mind and take some chances. Skip the film that'll be in every theater in a month and see the small film that'll be lucky to get a DVD release in its home country.

Anyway, most of the people reading this probably know all this, so I'll move on to the Midnight Madness programme.

Must-sees:

George A. Romero's Diary of the Dead (George A. Romero)
The Mother of Tears (Dario Argento)

Really, do I have to say much? Sure, both will get a theatrical release somewhere down the line, but why pass up the chance to see them with one of the most exciting crowds in the world. It also helps that, despite their spotty records of late, they're still two of the greatest horror directors of all time, and I'll always make time for them.

Sukiyaki Western Django (Takashi Miike)

Miike is a TIFF tradition, so I can't miss his latest.

Dainipponjin (Hitoshi Matsumoto)

The wild card of my MM picks. This superhero satire is reportedly very dry and very, very odd, which sounds like the perfect prospect to me.

Also interesting:

All apologies to Colin Geddes, but this year's selection definitely outshines last year's (though The Host was admittedly amazing). Indeed, I'd probably catch all of these if I had the time. Best looking of the rest is Stuart Gordon's Stuck, which looks fairly intense; Wilson Yip's Flash Point (since his SPL in 2005 was tremendously entertaining); and Xavier Gens' Frontieres, which has an intriguingly grungy, political premise.

Next up: Visions. And if anyone has any suggestions or insight regarding the Midnight Madness films, leave a comment. They're always welcome.

Allow Me to (Re)Introduce Myself...

2007-08-19T16:41:00.000-04:00

Hi! It's been nearly a year since last year's updates, which I never actually finished. Oops. As should be obvious right about now, I'm not very good with blogs (or podcasts--sorry Mamo). Despite that fact, I've decided to give this thing another go. Call me a masochist, but I...no, just call me a masochist and leave it at that.

A little introduction, I suppose: I'm a writer based in Tennessee, attending my third TIFF. I like kittens, Asian food, kittens in Asian food, and, naturally, film. Last year, I tried to make this blog an introduction to the intricacies of TIFF. I was not very successful. Doing a much, much better job than I ever could is Darren, over at 1st Thursday. He's also from Tennessee and has been running a terrific primer to TIFF for several months now. The conversation is lively and he posts frequently. It's a great site and I recommend starting there if you have any questions or concerns about the festival.

Rather than covering old territory, I'll focus on individual films, programmes and any other topic that pops into my head. It should be exciting, which means it probably won't be. Sorry.

Anyhow, enough of my jibber jabber. Let's get this thing started...

TIFF Day Two

2006-09-11T23:37:00.000-04:00

The Bothersome Man *** out of ****

Starts out excellent, takes a dive midway, then rallies strongly for an enigmatic finale. It's about a man who arrives in a mysterious city where everything of necessity is provided for him and there are no wants. However, food has no taste, love has no passion and life is dry and dull. The problem is that the film, in depicting the dullness of this world, actually starts to seem sort of dull. The last third makes up for this by introducing an element of hope to this world, however fleeting. It's an intriguing puzzle of a film, regardless, and is recommended for fans of the unusual.

The Fall *1/2 out of ****

Visually gorgeous, narratively atrocious, Tarsem Singh's latest got huge raves from several festivalgoers, but it's such a mess. A simple narrative core (man tells little girl stories in hospital) gives way to fantasy sequences that consistently look pretty, but lack any sense of joy or inspiration. For all his visual brio, Tarsem makes movies like someone who has never seen an actual movie--he gets the notes right, but he can't make them sing.

Rescue Dawn **1/2 out of ****

(AKA Hey! You Got Your Crappy Hollywood Movie In My Herzog Film!) About half brilliant and half daft, Herzog's latest is a somewhat bizarre action adventure film. Think 'classic Herzog' bookended by standard Hollywood bullshit, then imagine it played even more ineptly than that sounds. Good to great performances throughout, but a disappointment, especially considering Herzog's closeness to the story. Still worth it, though, for that tense, exciting Herzog film that dominates the mid-section.

Day One: Friday, September 8 (Blurb Version)

2006-09-11T17:23:00.000-04:00

Our first day was hectic as hell, so much so that we ended up going full-speed for nearly twenty-four hours straight. Note to future TIFF-goers: Do everything in your power to show up before the festival begins. Trust me on this. It's day freaking four and I still haven't recovered.

Anyway, here's my inital impressions. It was a tough day, but the movies made it entirely worthwhile:

Brand Upon the Brain! (Guy Maddin) (**** out of ****)

Easily the oddest, most amazing thing Maddin's ever done (and yes, I'd say the same without the orchestra, castrati, narration and live sound effects). A bizarre mix of children's detective fiction, oedipal drama, and 1930's genre filmmaking, tied together in a silent film package. If you're a Maddin fan, you definitely need to seek this out.

The Host (Bong Joon-Ho) (**** out of ****)

The hype has been deafening ever since this premiered out-of-competition at the Cannes film festival. And, for once, with good cause. It's a close-to-perfect monster movie that hits again and again with some of the best set-pieces I've seen in one of these films (especially that opening attack). Some have complained about the length, but even though I was exhausted from a super-long day, it never seemed too long to me. An absolute must-see when it opens later this year.

Keep watching this spot for more...

Quick Update

2006-09-11T17:20:00.000-04:00

Yes, I'm still here. Currently, I'm sitting at the Ryerson Theatre, waiting to go in for the 6:00 showing of Fay Grim. I promise a slew of quickie reviews in the hours to come, followed (hopefully) by actual, full-blooded reviews.

And the podcast thing? Due to a mix-up, it didn't happen. Still, I recommend checking out the Mamo! podcast, as it's excellent.

Ready for the Fest

2006-09-07T14:17:00.000-04:00

And so it begins...well, for everyone else. I'm still here in Tennessee today and won't get into Toronto until tomorrow afternoon. But I'm packed and all my travel's arranged, so, barring weird, unforeseen circumstances (e.g., leprechauns), the festival's a go. I'll do my best to keep the site reasonably updated during TIFF, but I have to admit this might be difficult. My schedule's fairly tight for the next nine days, so breathless blurbs and cries for help will probably be the norm.

I should mention that, barring further unforeseen circumstances (most likely the leprechauns again), I will be participating in a podcast to be recorded Sunday night outside the Ryerson. I don't know when it's scheduled to air, but when it does, it'll go up on this site. It's a movie-oriented podcast named Mamo! and it's based in Toronto. After sampling a few of their broadcasts, I have to say I like it--nicely informal with a deep love of film. Sunday's podcast will be a roundtable with at least a few other people, so it should be entertaining. Check it out, especially if you want to know what I sound like while nervously attempting to not make a fool of myself. (Hint: Sort of like the love-child of Dick Cheney and Pee Wee Herman, trapped inside a slurpee machine).

That's it for now. Tomorrow, I'll board the plane for Toronto, prepared for another amazing week or so of movie-going and discovery. As usual, leave any and all suggestions, recommendations and strange requests in the comments or my e-mail.

Unless you're a leprechaun. I don't want to hear anything you crazy lot have to say...

Delays for Rescue Dawn?

2006-09-06T15:42:00.000-04:00

Just a quick post on a potentially distressing subject: It's been rumored that Herzog's Rescue Dawn might not make its scheduled premiere this Saturday. It seems Herzog attended last weekend's Telluride Festival empty-handed, though he had intended to present Rescue Dawn. The problem? Not enough money to pay the labs for the print. This is just one more setback in a pile of setbacks for this film. Production woes, the firing of Herzog's key personnel, actors and crew members not getting paid, and now this--this film has been a world of trouble for everyone involved.

I'd say there's little chance it won't make it to Toronto, but I've never had much skill in parsing the Hollywood rumor mill, so it's anyone's guess. Question for those in the know: If the film doesn't show up, how does that work? Will we find out in enough time or does this tend to drag to the last minute? Curious minds would like to know...

Final List and Miscellaneous

2006-09-04T20:53:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the delay. I don't usually celebrate holidays, but I attend a convention every labor day weekend with friends and didn't have time to update.

Anyway, on with the TIFF. By some happy twist of fate, my wife and I managed to get all of our choices this year. Here's the list:

Friday, September 8
Brand Upon the Brain! (Guy Maddin)
The Host (Bong Joon-Ho)

Saturday, September 9
The Bothersome Man (Jens Lien)
The Fall (Tarsem Singh)
Rescue Dawn (Werner Herzog)

Sunday, September 10
The Postmodern Life of My Aunt (Ann Hui)
Pan's Labyrinth (Guillermo del Toro)
Waiter (Alex van Warmerdam)
Black Sheep (Jonathan King)

Monday, September 11
Woman on the Beach (Hong Sang-Soo)
Khadak (Peter Brosens, Jessica Woodworth)
Fay Grim (Hal Hartley)

Tuesday, September 12
Kurt Cobain About a Son (A.J. Schnack)
Offside (Jafar Panahi)
D.O.A.P. (Gabriel Range)
Renaissance (Christian Volckman)

Wednesday, September 13
Mon Colonel (Laurent Herbiet)
I Don't Want to Sleep Alone (Tsai Ming-Liang)
Syndromes and a Century (Apichatpong Weersethakul)
Bugmaster (Katsuhiro Otomo)

Thursday, September 14
Alatriste (Agustin Diaz Yanes)
Invisible Waves (Pen-ek Ratanaruang)
This Filthy World (Jeff Garlin)
Severance (Christopher Smith)

Friday, September 15
Time (Kim Ki-Duk)
Hana (Hirokazu Kore-eda)
Manufactured Landscapes (Jennifer Baichwal)

Saturday, September 16
Exiled (Johnnie To)
The Banquet (Feng Xiaogang)
Big Bang Love Juvenile A (Takashi Miike)

Despite all my blather about systems, tiers and 'core choices', I found scheduling to be monstrously difficult this year. After much weeping, gnashing of teeth, and consulting of the ancient scrolls, I finally settled on a surefire method for this year--choose some damn movies and move on. It was surprisingly effective and I've since come around to being very happy with the list.

On a side note, I was honored to be one of twenty-four film enthusiasts quoted in this article at the Toronto Star, one of those attempts to guage the buzz at the festival. I'm not sure I'm the go-to guy for that kind of thing, but it's flattering regardless. It's very minor, but being quoted alongside some professionals I respect is still a thrill. Thanks to Ray at tiffreviews (who's also in the article) for the heads up.

How to Schedule Movies and Not Go Crazy (Part 4)

2006-08-29T16:24:00.000-04:00

Since the film schedule has gone live, this is becoming increasingly unnecessary, so rather than my usual novel, I'll be brief. The process from here on in is fairly simple: When the schedule goes live, you'll be given the opportunity to choose your films and plug them into a personal schedule. Fill in your first choices, then your second. Then, dig through the schedule and add as many additional films as you feel comfortable with. Don't worry about cluttering the schedule, because you'll need those additional films to fill in the inevitable gaps.

This can get wildly complicated, since the movie times very, very rarely conform to your needs and desires. For example, Saturday the 16th is currently a hell for Asian film fans, since Invisible Waves, Woman on the Beach, Syndromes and a Century, Family Ties, Big Bang Love Juvenile A and the Election/Election 2 combo all have wildly overlapping times in the middle of the day. They all get prior showings, naturally, but since those tend to overlap...well, you can see why it sucks.

Regardless, the schedule will come together and a grand time will be had by all. Incidentally, since these posts couldn't cover everything, I direct you here, to glenlake8's excellent complementary post, which covers the very important factors of theatre size and locations.

Now I'll head off to wrestle this damn schedule down to a manageable size. As soon as it's done, I'll post it on the site.

How to Schedule Movies and Not Go Crazy (Part 3)

2006-08-27T17:23:00.000-04:00

So now you've got a handful of films that will anchor your schedule. The next step is to create a fluid list of about 14 or 15 films that will comprise your second tier. It's pretty simple, which is why I, a crazy person, recommend complicating it as much as possible. The following are my general rules for this process (yours will no doubt be much saner):

Avoid major releases - I've probably said this a billion times on this blog, but I mean it--major releases are fine for limited festival incursions, but those seeing 20+ films should avoid them completely. Here's an analogy to illustrate: Let's say you're visiting Paris. Would you go to a McDonald's? A Burger King? Hell no. You'd find some cafe along the Seine and wait 45 minutes for an overpriced meal while chatting about some movie made just around the corner. There are exceptions, but they're fairly limited. Avoid the blockbusters and seek out the strange Mongolian film that you'll never see back home.
Try something new - It's fun to see something familiar at a festival, but don't neglect films that don't, on the surface, appear appealing. I suggest stepping outside your boundaries and trying something very different. Granted, this can backfire. At last year's TIFF, about half of my big chances were fairly...underwhelming. Regardless, try something new with at least one of your free slots. It's well worth the risk.
Include something light - The vast majority of films at TIFF are serious, thought-provoking, and somber, which is wonderful until about Tuesday or Wednesday. By that point, you're likely to be so overwhelmed by pain and misery that your spirit could very well be crushed. This is why I suggest finding at least one film on the list that has no potential for suicides, dying animals, or dying animals committing suicide. Of course, it's often difficult to tell from the vague program descriptions, but it's worth it. Last year, I saw a work print of Dave Chappelle's Block Party and it was one of the highlights of the festival.
Try Some Midnight Madness - Midnight Madness is, without a doubt, some of the most fun you can have at TIFF. The films are usually entertaining and the crowds are a blast. I still feel this year's crop is slightly thin, but I'll try to take in two or three before the festival's over. The other perk: the theater's big and the lottery process rarely sells these out, so you're practically guaranteed entry.

With those criteria in mind, you can probably craft a diverse secondary list. Not all of these will make the final cut, but at the very least they'll make excellent alternates further down the line.

For the record, my (very tenuous) choices for the second tier this year are: Big Bang Love: Juvenile A, Invisible Waves, Election/Election 2 (if it's a one-ticket/two movies deal), Woman on the Beach, The Fall, Syndromes and a Century, This Filthy World, When the Levees Broke, Khadak, The Last Winter, Waiter, Hana, Offside, Red Road, Manufactured Landscapes and Black Sheep. This will, of course, change radically between now and Tuesday, but that's how it is temporarily.

My final bit of (unnecessary) advice coming soon...

How to Schedule Movies and Not Go Crazy (Part 2)

2006-08-26T10:06:00.000-04:00

So you've tried the randomizing, the Andalusian puffy snake technique, and...maybe something with numbers and gorillas. Now, I'll show you my own method, which is guaranteed to work, except when it doesn't. It's useful mostly for the selection of 30 to 50 films, but some of it is useful in any circumstance.

The first step to a successful (and less insanity-inducing) TIFF schedule is to isolate a handful of core films--must-see, bedrock films that will anchor the rest of your schedule. These are the films you absolutely can't bear to miss. I recommend choosing only seven or eight of these core films, which should minimize the chance of conflicting times. It helps, of course, that each film will play at least twice, which helps a lot.

The great thing about this first list is that it's utterly personal. These are the films that matter the most to you, whether it's for a director you admire or a can't miss storyline. As a potentially embarrasing example, here is my current list of core films, alphabetically and with commentary:

The Bothersome Man (terrific premise; good buzz)
Brand Upon the Brain! (Guy Maddin film; one-of-a-kind screening)
The Bugmaster (intersting premise; interesting director)
The Host (South Korean monster movie; excellent buzz; excellent director)
I Don't Want to Sleep Alone (Tsai Ming-Liang directed The Wayward Cloud, my favorite film from TIFF 2005)
Pan's Labyrinth (fantastic creatures; Del Toro film; great buzz)
Rescue Dawn (Herzog, Herzog, Herzog)

As you can see, the films I'm interested in are almost uniformly director-driven. In addition, I've avoided the galas and almost any film guaranteed a major release, which knocks off The Fountain, among others. Borat would easily be on the list, but it's rumored to be the opening Midnight show, and I won't arrive until Friday. Also left off, for completely arbitrary reasons: Invisible Waves and Big Bang Love: Juvenile A (which, incidentally, is tied for best title in the festival with Brand Upon the Brain!.

Anyway, this is my current starter list. In the next installment, I'll explain the far more arcane "second tier," which, for some reason, takes up most of my time and effort. By the way, if you think I'm missing a real winner, let me know in the comments. I have the strange sensation that I'm overlooking something...

How to Schedule Movies and Not Go Crazy (Part 1)

2006-08-24T11:10:00.000-04:00

There's 352 movies at TIFF this year. Let me repeat: 352 freakin' movies. Picking out 30 (or 50 or 10, etc.) from the total can be daunting. Suffice to say, scheduling can be monstrously complicated, especially when you factor in multiple screenings and the necessity to travel from one far-flung theater to the next in a short amount of time. Indeed, it nearly drove me crazy last year trying to hammer out the complexities.

It doesn't have to be this way. There are many, many ways to overcome these dilemmas. The simplest method is to randomize the process. Simply fill up the schedule with no concern for premise, genre, director, etc. There's a certain purity to this approach, and if I hadn't spent as much money as I have on this thing, I might actually try it. But I'm a control freak and giving the entire experience up to chance seems downright perverse to me.

The next is a method employed by an old friend. It involves locating the extremely rare Andalusian Puffy Snake, which has fur and skin in place of the usual scales. After shaving and milking the snake (to calm it), pre-moisten your fingers with guarana juice and goji berries and massage the snake's tender pale skin. Placing the snake in a terrarium with several others of its kind, turn off the lights in your room and stare intently at the snake tank. The friction of the bare, rubbing skin of the Andalusian snakes will form giant blue arcs of static in the air. When the static arcs become large enough to extend out of the tank, begin dropping gummi bears through a funnel system into their path (make sure you have pre-soaked the gummis in a beer/mayonnaise slurry, or else the snakes will devour them). Hours later, return to the tank and gently remove the now-sleeping snakes. The gummis will have melted in a fine-gelled layer on the bottom of the tank. Closely examine this gummi sheet and you should be able to identify images from thirty to fifty films. Repeat the process for alternates, preferably with new snakes.

Of course, you could always just try the method I'll begin explaining in my next post. I'll put that up later tonight.

A Crunchy Welcome

2006-08-23T23:03:00.000-04:00

Since I've recently been added to the TIFF website's blogroll, I thought I'd say hello to all my new visitors.

Hello.

That's all for now. I'll be back later with an actual post. Feel free to leave comments, questions, insults, Swedish meatball recipes, or any other randomly assembled sentences in the comments section. It's all appreciated.

More Titles Announced This Week

2006-08-17T16:46:00.000-04:00

The titles keep coming, though at a much slower pace than I anticipated. I suspect TIFF is saving the big guns for Tuesday's full list, so in the meantime we have these. First up is a small set from the newly announced Sprockets programme. Sprockets is Toronto's children's film festival and the small selections announced thus far are their usual fare:

The White Planet (Thierry Piantanida and Thierry Ragobert)
The Ugly Duckling and Me (Michael Hegner, Karstan Kilerich)
U (Serge Elisalde)
The Hairy Tooth Fairy (Juan Pablo Buscarini)
Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker (Geoffrey Sax)

It's probably a good set for the kids, but there's not much here for the rest of us. Incidentally, the three films in the middle are CGI flicks with rodents in central roles. Coupled with the likely-at-Toronto Flushed Away and next summer's Pixar release Ratatouille, that's a baffling trend in animated rats in children's films. Just an observation I find curious, I guess...

Anyway, the next list is from the New Crowned Hope selection. This is a series of films commissioned for the 250th anniversary of Mozart's birth. All of them relate in some capacity to the themes which Mozart's music addressed. Here's the list:

Half Moon (Bahman Ghobadi)
Syndromes and a Century (Apichatpong Weerasethakul)
I Don't Want to Sleep Alone (Tsai Ming-Liang)
Hamaca Paraguya (Paz Encina)
Opera Jawa (Garin Nugroho)
Daratt (Mahamat-Saleh Haroun)
Mogeko and the Stickfighter (Teboho Mahlatsi)

My excitement detector seriously went off at the mention of Tsai Ming-Liang, who directed my favorite film of 2005's festival, The Wayward Cloud. Definitely want to catch this one.

Lastly, we have today's announcement of nine features from African and African-diaspora cinema. They are:

Catch a Fire (Philip Noyce)
The Last King of Scotland (Kevin Macdonald)
Indigenes (Rachid Bouchareb)
Kinshasa Palace (Zeka Laplaine)
Abeni (Tunde Kelani)
When the Levees Break: A Requiem in Four Acts (Spike Lee)
No Place Like Home (Perry Henzell)
Sistagod (Yao Ramesar)
Antonia (Tata Amaral)

I have little to say about any of these, though all sound intriguing on one level or another. I'm curious about the presence of Spike Lee's Katrina documentary, not on an aesthetic level (it's Spike Lee), but because it's airing in America on HBO next week and thus seems oddly out of place on TIFF's roster. Oh well, that's the list. Do with it what you will...

TIFF 2006: The (Semi) Auteurist Perspective pt. 1

2006-08-14T17:31:00.000-04:00

While part of the joy of a film festival is discovering something new, the unveiling of a master director's newest work can be just as rewarding. Just last year, I had the double whammy of a new Terry Gilliam and the latest Quay Brothers film back-to-back. This may not seem like much to TIFF vets, but I hate you all, so who cares what you think. (NOTE: Please disregard this last comment. I love everyone equally, especially TIFF vets.)

Anyway, here's my amateur take on the filmmakers I'm paying special attention to this year:

WERNER HERZOG - I've been a mild Herzog fan for several years now, but just started properly appreciating him in the last year or so, after Grizzly Man came out. Since then, I've been returning to his older work and find them richer, deeper and stranger than I remember. His film this year, Rescue Dawn, is an adaptation of his earlier Little Dieter Needs to Fly, a film I own, but shamefully haven't watched yet. I've heard it may be more conventional than his usual fare, but I sincerely doubt Herzog is capable of anything too conventional, so we'll see.

TAKASHI MIIKE - Another film festival, another Takashi Miike. Since the man makes approximately 600 films per year, it's not a shock, I suppose, though the lack of a Midnight Madness Miike is somewhat surprising. Big Bang Love Juvenile A (yes, that is the title) looks like an episode of Oz, filmed on the sets of Dogville by the cast of Brokeback Mountain. And if that description doesn't make it sound totally awesome, you may need serious help. Seriously, this one looks absolutely beautiful. Seriously, if you don't believe me, head here, then dig up the trailer.

GUILLERMO DEL TORO (AKA, THE FANBOY'S AUTEUR) - I sort of like del Toro, though I can't say I particularly love any of his films. He moves fairly effortlessly between glossy, sometimes entertaining Hollywood fare (the best being Blade 2) and more serious, personal films. Of his serious work, The Devil's Backbone is the best, mixing real and fantasy horrors in a manner that is almost perfect. Plus, I love any ghost story where the most shocking scene is the snap of a child's bone, with no supernatural influence whatsoever. Pan's Labyrinth is supposed to be in this vein, so I'm officially excited. Also, it's got cool looking monsters. Did you see that guy with the eyeballs in his hands? Awesome.

More to come later. As usual, drop a comment in the bucket and let me know you're out there. If you are out there...

TIFF Announces More

2006-08-12T13:34:00.000-04:00

On Thursday, 12 more films were announced, many of them major fall releases that will see their world premieres at the festival. They are:

El Cantante (Leon Ichaso)
Stranger Than Fiction (Marc Forster)
Penelope (Mark Palansky)
The Last Kiss (Tony Goldwyn)
Seraphim Falls (David Von Ancken)
Venus (Roger Michell)
The Magic Flute (Kenneth Branagh)
The Fountain (Darren Aronofsky)
For Your Consideration (Christopher Guest)
Bonneville (Christopher N. Rowley)
Bobby (Emilio Estevez)
Volver (Pedro Almodovar)

The last four films, by the way, are all Galas, which get the majority of the press attention at the festival. Unless you're a rabid fan of one of the Gala directors or actors, they're best avoided by those looking to seriously attend the festival. For one thing, the initial screenings are additional cost (though each will have at least one regular screening). For another, they take place in the Roy Thomson Hall, which is roundly criticized by TIFF film buffs as a really lousy place to see a movie. When you also consider that each film will almost certainly receive a wide release, attending becomes unnecessary.

As for the rest, they're a typically mixed bag. The Fountain looks beautiful, but I don't really like Aronofsky's previous films. Stranger Than Fiction has a nifty premise and a good cast. The remainder--meh. Maybe there's a gem or two there, but my leanings are more to the offbeat. I guess I'll just have to wait for the Visions programme to get more filled out.

20 More Films Announced

2006-08-08T17:04:00.000-04:00

Back on track, I present to you 20 more films announced today. They are:

Rescue Dawn (Werner Herzog)
I Am the Other Woman (Margarethe Von Trotta)
Fay Grim (Hal Hartley)
The Fall (Tarsem Singh)
Vince Vaughn's Wild West Comedy Show (Ari Sandel)
Love and Other Disasters (Alek Keshishian)
The Dog Problem (Scott Caan)
This is England (Shane Meadows)
10 Items or Less (Brad Silberling)
Mon Colonel (Laurent Herbiet)
L'Homme de Sa Vie (Zabou Breitman)
Alatriste (Agustin Diaz Yanes)
The Bubble (Eytan Fox)
Un Crime (Manuel Pradal)
Hana (Hirokazu Kore-eda)
The Book of Revelation (Ana Kokkinos)
Hula Girls (Sang Il-Lee)
Outsourced (John Jeffcoat)
The Last Winter (Larry Fessenden)
Waiter (Alex van Warmerdam)

Shameful confession time: though I've been intrigued for many years, I have yet to watch a Hal Hartley film. Or a Hirokazu Kore-eda. Just two of the many blind spots I'll be confessing through the festival season. They have their rabid supporters, but I'm totally out of the loop. The films themselves sound interesting, though it does mean I've gotta Netflix Henry Fool.

The rest is the usual hodgepodge, calculated to appeal to every conceivable audience, from horror fans (The Last Winter) to lovers of serious drama (I Am the Other Woman) and beyond. Of the listed, I'm most curious about Kore-eda's samurai film, Herzog's latest drama, and Waiter, which appears to be an odd surrealist comedy.

Anyway, I'm caught up and on track once again. Now let me get around to some of those posts I've been blabbing about since the beginning of this thing...

Discovery Programme Announcements

2006-08-07T20:28:00.000-04:00

One more stop on this pointless endeavor (for now). And yes, it is quite pointless, since other places are doing a better, more efficient job of this. Regardless, I'm a stubborn guy and I'm gonna keep plugging away, for reasons too complicated and inane to recount.

Anyway, here's the Discovery Programme:

Takva - A Man's Fear of God (Ozer Kizlitan)
True North (Steve Hudson)
Out of the Blue (Robert Sarkies)
Griffin and Phoenix (Ed Stone)
The Art of Crying (Peter Schonau Fog)
Cashback (Sean Ellis)
London to Brighton (Paul Andrew Williams)
Thicker than Water (Arni Olafur Asgeirsson)
King and the Clown (Joon-Ik Lee)
Family Ties (Tae Yong Kim)
As the Shadow (Marina Spada)
7 Ans (Jean-Pascal Hattu)
Falkenberg Farewell (Jesper Ganslandt)

Discovery seemed mostly a waste of time last year, but this year's lot appears to be better. I'm most interested in The King and the Clown, but that may be my general interest in Korean cinema more than anything else.

More updates coming soon. Any and all comments are much appreciated, as ever.

'Edgy' New Vanguard Programme Announced

2006-08-06T23:12:00.000-04:00

This year sees the debut of the Vanguard programme, and the selection, while not quite as 'edgy' as TIFF claims, is fairly diverse:

Macbeth (Geoffrey Wright)
Chacun Sa Nuit (Pascal Arnold and Jean-Marc Barr)
Jade Warrior (Antti-Jussi Annila)
Bunny Chow (John Barker)
Shortbus (John Cameron Mitchell)
Renaissance (Christian Volckman)
Election (Johnnie To)
Election 2 (Johnnie To)
Drama/Mex (Gerardo Naranjo)
2:37 (Murali K. Thalluri)
Suburban Mayhem (Paul Goldman)
Sleeping Dogs Lie (Bob Goldthwait)

Placed side-by-side, these appear to be the missing link between Midnight Madness and the more artsy programmes (e.g., Contemporary World Cinema). Arthouse flicks with a healthy sex and violence quotient for the college crowd. It may sound like I'm dismissing this outright, but the idea isn't automatically a bad one. Just drop the breathless descriptions already: 'raw', 'pulsating', 'fearless' and (especially) 'edgy' are tired marketing terms that no self-respecting person hears without rolling their eyes and sighing. Or worse.

Anyway, the films are an interesting bunch, featuring everything from animation to frank sexuality. Renaissance looks gorgeous, but could devolve into typical sci-fi junk if the ideas fail to match the images. I've read good things about Sleeping Dogs Lie, Shortbus, and the Election films. And a martial arts film that pairs Finnish and Chinese mythology might be interesting, if it can transcend the deja vu raised by the trailers.

Speaking of Election, the rumor is that the two films will be paired together, under one ticket (similar to the presentation of the three Pusher films in 2005). If true, it's a pretty sweet deal considering the average price per ticket.

Real to Reel Programme Announcement

2006-08-05T15:06:00.000-04:00

The documentaries at TIFF 2006 are:

Dixie Chicks: Shut Up & Sing (Barbara Kopple and Cecila Peck)
Kurt Cobain: About a Son (AJ Schnack)
The US vs. John Lennon (David Leaf and John Scheinfeld)
Made in Jamaica (Jerome Laperrouraz)
American Hardcore (Paul Rachman)
Ghosts of Cite Soleil (Asger Leth)
Blindsight (Lucy Walker)
The Killer Within (Macky Alston)
Yokohama Mary (Takayuki Nakamura)
The Prisoner Or: How I Planned to Kill Tony Blair (Petra Epperlein and Michael Tucker)
The Sugar Curtain (Camila Guzma Uzua)
Primo Levi's Journey (Davide Ferrario)
My Life as a Terrorist: The Story of Hans-Joachim Klein (Alexander Oey)
Lake of Fire (Tony Kaye)
Shame (Mohammed Naqvi)
The Session is Open (Vincenzo Marra)
This Filthy World Starring John Waters (Jeff Garlin)
Office Tigers (Liz Mermin)
Summercamp! (Bradley Beesley and Sarah Price)
The Pervert's Guide to Cinema (Sophie Fiennes)
Iran: Une Revolution Cinematographique (Nader Takmil Homayoun)

The selections seem pretty decent, especially compared to last year's. Granted, I only caught one doc in 2005, the fascinating and depressing The Smell of Paradise, but nothing else caught my attention. This year's slate seems richer and more varied (at least to my philistine eyes).

Midnight Madness Titles

2006-08-05T14:24:00.000-04:00

In a break from tradition (or so I'm told), the Midnight Madness titles were announced last month, instead of at the end. In another break, they were announced in the order they would be shown. They are as follows:

Opening Night - Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (Larry Charles)
Friday - Black Sheep (Jonathan King)
Saturday - All the Boys Love Mandy Lane (Jonathan Levine)
Sunday - Trapped Ashes (Sean Cunningham, Joe Dante, John Gaeta, Monte Hellman, Ken Russell)
Monday - The Abandoned (Nacho Cerda)
Tuesday - The Host (Bong Joon-Ho)
Wednesday - Severance (Christopher Smith)
Thursday - Princess (Anders Morgenthaler)
Friday - S&Man (JT Petty)
Saturday - Sheitan (Kim Chapiron)

From what I've heard, the real winner here is The Host, a South Korean monster movie which has won raves from just about everyone who's seen it. Borat will probably be hilarious and the word is good on Princess, a Danish anti-pornography revenge cartoon. The choices aren't too bad, but there's a definite lack of diversity, with seven of the nine essentially horror films. Compare this to last year, which had a bizarre Thai comedy, a heavy metal documentary, a supremely filthy stand-up comedy film, a Takaski Miike kids' film...well, you get my point.

Still, I'll probably be there for at least a couple of these and there's no way I'm missing a full-audience, midnight showing of The Host.

Announcement of Indian Films

2006-08-05T13:50:00.000-04:00

On July 20th, the TIFF group announced five more films, this time from Indian cinema. They are:

Never Say Goodbye (Karan Johar)
Kabul Express (Kabir Khan)
A Grave-Keeper's Tale (Chitra Palekar)
Vanaja (Rajnesh Domalpalli)
A Cry in the Dark (Haobam Paban Kumar)

Discuss.

Canadian Titles Announced (Three Weeks Ago!)

2006-08-05T11:33:00.000-04:00

The Canadian titles were announced a few weeks ago and in the interest of doggedly pursuing silly, pointless minutiae, I've listed them below. Note: I haven't linked to the Canadian retrospective titles or the short films. They may be wonderful, but my time is limited and I have a feeling yours is too.

Away from Her (Sarah Polley)
Brand Upon the Brain! (Guy Maddin)
Congorama (Philippe Falardeau)
Manufactured Landscapes (Jennifer Baichwal)
EMPz 4 LIFE (Allan King)
Fido (Andrew Currie)
Acts of Imagination (Carolyn Cox)
La Coupure (Jean Chateauvert)
End of the Line (Maurice Devereaux)
Everything's Gone Green (Paul Fox)
Mercy (Mazdak Taebi)
A Stone's Throw (Camelia Frieberg)
Sur la Trace D'Igor Rizzi (Noel Mitrani)
Cheech (Patrice Sauve)
Citizen Duane (Michael Mabbot)
Monkey Warfare (Reginald Harkema)
Sleeping Dogs (Terrence Odette)
Unnatural and Accidental (Carl Bessai)
Un Dimanche a Kigali (Robert Favreau)
Dans les Villes (Catherine Martin)
L'Esprit Des Lieux (Catherine Martin)
Radiant City (Jim Brown & Gary Burns)
Remembering Arthur (Martin Lavant)

Of these, the Guy Maddin is definitely the most interesting. A silent film, presented with live foley and music? It's bound to be sell out, but that won't keep me from trying. Of the rest, I've heard interesting stuff about Everything's Gone Green, Fido has zombies, and a handful of other films here have interesting premises. I didn't catch any Canadian films last year, but this year's crop might be intriguing.

As always, feel free to throw out a comment, especially if you've heard anything interesting about these or any other films. It's all appreciated.

I'm Back

2006-08-05T10:59:00.000-04:00

Sorry. Didn't intend to take a couple weeks off there. A crisis of confidence can be a real bitch, I tell ya. I'll just skip the explanation and move on. Nothing to see here...

In the meantime, this site has apparently been added to the blogroll at tiffreviews.com. They're a good site for TIFF information and I'm happy to be connected, even if it's only tangentially. Most importantly, it tells me there's an audience out there I didn't know I had. It's nice to know someone's reading this junk, even if it's just one crazed lunatic who never leaves his basement. Especially if it's just one crazed lunatic who never leaves his basement.

Anyway, more stuff is coming soon, I promise. I'll update the film links, add the new stuff, review a few of last year's films, etc. Eventually, this place might resemble an actual film blog, though I wouldn't bank on it.

By the way, if anyone has any questions, insults, deranged rants, etc., feel free to drop a comment in the bucket. I'm no expert on TIFF (no matter how much I act like one), but I'll see what I can do. Many thanks to any and all.

Loach, Inarritu...BOLL?

2006-07-12T09:34:00.000-04:00

So I'm traipsing about the internet, a jaunty tune in my brain, when I stumble upon an interesting site. It's called TIFFreviews, and it seems to be an interesting attempt to compile all of this year's film selections in an easy-to-follow format (Well, easier than mine, I suppose). Most intriguing to me is the section in the column on the right of the page, listing unconfirmed TIFF selections. I happily scan, eager to soak in the latest rumors, when...wait one second...In the Name of the King? A Dungeon Seige movie? That's a computer game, isn't it? Hmm...Something about this sounds very familiar....
...
...
...
Oh. My. God.
A Uwe Boll film? At a film festival whose name doesn't include the words 'trash', 'bad' or 'turkey'? I know they had Saw a couple years ago and the Midnight Madness category is pretty free-range, but...UWE BOLL!? The only way this is gonna work is if they include a post-screening boxing match with Dr. Boll vs. some lucky audience member.

Hmm...actually, that sounds pretty good. Please disregard the post above. If you'll excuse me, I've got some training to do...

More Titles Announced

2006-07-11T13:17:00.000-04:00

Another seven titles were announced today. All are Spanish-language films seeing their North American or International premieres in Toronto. They are:

The Dog Pound (Manuel Nieto Nas)
DarkBlueAlmostBlack (Daniel Sanchez)
The Silly Age (Pavel Giroud)
August's Days (Marc Recha)
Fantasma (Lisandro Alonso)
Pan's Labyrinth (Guillermo del Toro)
Glue - A Teenage Story in the Middle of Nowhere (Alexis dos Santos)

Of these, definitely count me in for Pan's Labyrinth. I find del Toro to be hit and miss, but the film looks gorgeous and I'm a sucker for this kind of movie. I also remember reading good things about Fantasma, though since I can't remember where, you might want to disregard. As always, check out the press release, here at the TIFF website. More later...

Nightmare in Toronto (or, How I Finally Got My @&!% Tickets)

2006-07-10T17:15:00.000-04:00

10:00 AM. I eagerly open the laptop and log on to the TIFF website. There's a cup of coffee to my right. A Visa card to my left. I'm in the zone, ready to make a ridiculously expensive purchase. Everything's good, I say to myself. Everything's good.

And that's when everything went to hell.

Buying tickets for a major film festival is probably always an ordeal, especially the first day the box-office opens. But this one was an absolute disaster. Every year, the TIFF phone lines jam like clockwork once 10:00 rolls around, but the online shopping usually works with only some minor hitches (or at least it did last year). But at some time in the first hour, the server went down. Completely. Which left the ridiculously log-jammed phone lines the only way to purchase tickets.

I'm sure most of the people reading this already know all of this, since they probably experienced similar obstacles today. That's why I want to leave this with a question:

What the hell happened? How does an organization as well-funded and high-profile as this continually screw up one of the most important parts of the film festival experience? This isn't just a server problem and a poorly tested web store. It's a consistent neglect on the part of the TIFF group and it's not getting any better. For example, last year's TIFF had a single location for purchasing and exchanging tickets and they had only five or six stations active at any given time. Considering that hundreds of people were using their services at any given time, would it have killed them to open another location (as they're wisely doing this year)?

Honestly, it's not as though this is that big a deal--something I can say now that the tickets are confirmed, natch--but if this is any indication of the level of service we can expect this year, we're all in for a bumpy ride.

Catching Up: The Movies

2006-07-09T16:59:00.000-04:00

The following are the first 31 films to be announced for TIFF so far. Each film either links to the film's website or its IMDB page:

The Journals of Knud Rasmussen (Zacharias Kunuk and Norman Cohn)
Babel (Alejandro Gonzalez Innaritu)
The Wind That Shakes the Barley (Ken Loach)
The Caiman (Nanni Moretti)
Lights in the Dusk (Aki Kaurismaki)
These Girls (Tahani Rached)
Bliss (Sheng Zhimin)
Reprise (Joachim Trier)
Flandres (Bruno Dumont)
Big Bang Love, Juvenile A (Takashi Miike)
Ten Canoes (Rolf de Heer)
Taxidermia (Gyorgy Palfi)
Bamako (Abderrahmane Sissako)
Time (Kim Ki-Duk)
Red Road (Andrea Arnold)
12:08 East of Bucharest (Corneliu Porumboiu)
Jindabyne (Ray Lawrence)
Invisible Waves (Pen-ek Ratanaruang)
To Get to Heaven First You Have to Die (Djamshed Usmonov)
White Palms (Szabolcs Hajdu)
Summer Palace (Lou Ye)
Summer '04 (Stefan Krohmer)
The Bothersome Man (Jens Lien)
Retrieval (Slawomir Fabicki)
Cronica de Una Fuga (Israel Adrian Caetano)
Slumming (Michael Glawogger)
Shortbus (John Cameron Mitchell)
All the King's Men (Steven Zaillian)
Bernard and Doris (Bob Balaban)
The Pleasure of Your Company (Michael Ian Black)
Copying Beethoven (Agnieszka Holland)

A handful of these films stubbornly refused to yield a website, but I'll keep trying and update when I locate something. Since films get announced each Tuesday like clockwork, this list will continue to grow and grow, so keep checking for further info.

Catching Up: The Website

2006-07-09T16:27:00.000-04:00

The TIFF website went live sometime last week and is chock full of useful, necessary information. If you haven't gone, get thee hence, immediately.

Last year, I found the most important sections to be the news releases and the box-office. The first will keep you abreast of the latest film announcements, while the second lets you know exactly how badly you're gonna get screwed by the festival.

The whole thing is invaluable, so give it a go. I'll wait for ya.

Toronto Website 3.0

2006-07-09T16:13:00.000-04:00

Well, giant eels didnt' invade, though you wouldn't know it from the gap between posts. Holy crap, has it really been a month?

I won't go into the details of my absence. Let's just say giant eels have nothing on real-life. Stay tuned for many, many posts as I vainly attempt to catch up.

Toronto Website 2.0

2006-05-28T17:46:00.000-04:00

Last year, shortly before the Toronto International Film Festival (or TIFF, if you're lazy), I started this blog. Well, sort of. For some reason, this whole thing fell apart before it ever started. I don't feel the need for tedious details. Just trust me.

This year, I'm doing something different. As the preparations begin for the 2006 festival, I'm going to blog about last year's experience. I'll review the films I saw, give tips for enjoying the festival, and comment on the pros and cons of TIFF. In addition, I'll discuss this year's festival, especially when the announcements start coming in.

The idea behind this is simple: to offer a decent resource for anybody looking to attend TIFF, but daunted by the enormity of it. This is a huge festival and for the uninitiated, it can be overwhelming. Thankfully, once you understand the basics, it's remarkably simple. Let's put it this way: I went and came back just fine--and I call myself Crunchy Squirrel, for Christ's sake.

Anyway, that's it for an introduction. I'll be back...unless giant eels invade North America and cough on us. Then we're screwed.