My Tentative TIFF Schedule!
ALAS! THE DAY HAS COME! HERE IT IS!!!
Thursday, September 10th
6:00pm -7:40pm – An Education (RYERSON)
9pm – 10:45pm – Antichrist (RYERSON)
Friday, September 11th
9:30am – 11:10am – The Happiest Girl in the World (SCOTIABANK 3)
12:15pm – 1:45pm – Huacho (SCOTABANK 1)
3pm – 4:50pm – Creation (RYERSON)
5:30pm – 7:05pm – The Good Heart (AMC 6)
8:30pm – 10:45pm – City of Life and Death (WINTER GARDEN THEATER)
Saturday, September 12th
10am – 11:40am – The Day God Walked Away (ISABEL BADER THEATER)
12:45pm – 2:05pm – Independencia (SCOTIABANK 3)
2:45pm – 4:15pm – Five Hours from Paris (SCOTIABANK 1)
6:00pm – 7:50pm – Up in the Air (RYERSON)
10:00pm – 12:30am – Enter the Void (AMC 6)
Sunday, September 13th
9:15am – 11:05am – La Pere de mes Enfants (AMC 5)
12:15pm – 1:50pm – Dogtooth (AMC 5)
3pm – 4:45pm – The House of Branching Love (AMC 3)
5:30pm – 7:30pm – The Road (RYERSON)
9:00pm – 11:00pm – Air Doll (SCOTIABANK 2)
Monday, September 14th
9:15am – 10:50am – Triage (SCOTIABANK 4)
11:45am – 1:05am – Trash Humpers (SCOTIABANK 1)
2:30pm – 4:00pm – Accident (AMC 5)
5:00pm – 7:05pm – Agora (SCOTIABANK 1)
9:00pm – 10:45pm – Leaves of Grass (RYERSON)
Tuesday, September 15th
9:30am – 11:15am – Les Herbes Folles (SCOTIABANK 3)
12:00pm – 1:40pm – Soul Kitchen (RYERSON)
2:45pm – 5:15pm – Un prophete (AMC 3)
6:00pm – 8:00pm – Bad Lieutenant: Port of New Orleans (RYERSON)
8:45pm – 11:05pm – Tales from the Golden Age (AMC 3)
12:00am – 1:30am – [REC] 2 (RYERSON)
Wednesday, September 16th
9:30am – 11:10am – The Front Line (RYERSON)
12:00pm – 1:30pm – Youth in Revolt (SCOTIABANK 1)
2:30pm – 4:40pm – Glorious 39 (VISA SCREENING ROOM)
5:00pm – 6:55pm – L’Affaire Farewell (RYERSON)
9:00pm – 10:30pm – Gigante (AMC 3)
Thursday, September 17th
9:45am – 11:05am – High Life (SCOTIABANK 4)
12:00pm – 1:45pm – Micmacs (RYERSON)
2:30pm – 4:25pm – Police, Adjective (AMC 6)
5:30pm – 7:00pm – My Son, My Son What Have Ye Done? (VARSITY 
8:30pm – 11:00pm – Baaria (WINTER GARDEN THEATER)
Friday, September 18th
8:45am – 11:00am – Les Derniers Jours du Monde (CUMBERLAND 3)
1:00pm – 3:30pm – The White Ribbon (SCOTIABANK 4)
4:15pm – 5:45pm – Perrier’s Bounty (SCOTIABANK 2)
6:00pm – 7:40pm – The Double Hour (VISA SCREENING ROOM)
9:00pm – 11:10pm – Mr. Nobody (RYERSON)
12:00am – 1:15am – A Town Called Panic (RYERSON)
Saturday, September 19th
9:00am – 11:05am – Fish Tank (ISABEL BADER THEATER)
12:30pm – 2:15pm – White Material (WINTER GARDEN THEATER)
4:00pm – 5:30pm – Irene (AMC 4)
6:15pm – 8:25pm – Mother (ISABEL BADER THEATER)
9:00pm – ?? – People’s Choice Winner (VISA SCREENING ROOM)
if they skip the free screening: 9:15pm – 10:50pm – The Disappearance of Alice Creed (RYERSON)
If for whatever reason they aren’t doing the People’s Choice Winner this year, I’m going to take my dad to see The Disappearance of Alice Creed at 9:15pm on the Saturday.
Well that’s my schedule – 49 tickets used; 48 if they go on with the winner. Perfect because that’ll leave me two tickets to take my dad to some screenings. If not, well, I’ll manage something for the two of us.
If you’re attending the festival, I’d love to hear what your schedule is looking like. Boy, today was just as exhilarating as I knew it would be. Viva la TIFF!
Daily Film Thoughts: A Fine (Foreign) Frenzy
Over the past few days I’ve been watching plentiful foreign films – Chan-wook Park’s filmography for example. I found a delightful Asian film site, so what else is there to do other than stock up on rare Asian delights? I’m somewhat stuck on what I want to discuss here… Maybe it’ll just be the ones I’ve seen not directed by Chan-wook. Yeah, I’ll do a write-up on him later on. Anyways, I need to get going on this – tomorrow is a busy day; putting together my TIFF schedule and all. Well, enjoy!
First up is The Boss of it All – a 2006 feature by Danish master Lars von Trier. Having wanted to watch something by him to prep me for Antichrist. Not wanting to revisit Dogville, Manderlay or Dancer in the Dark (no matter how good I find either of them to be) and not knowing how Breaking the Waves would hold up in comparison, I decided to stick with his latest feature.
Similar to many other von Trier films, The Boss of it All plays out like a two act play and like all of his cases in Shakespearean fashion. However in deviation to his previous tragedies from earlier this decade, von Trier composes a tragi-comedy – a story that relies heavily on laughs that bloom from a plot as idiosyncratic as its primary character, Kristoffer (Jens Albinus) who happens to be an out of work actor devoted to his craft. It’s made apparent in the first few minutes that Kristoffer has been recruited by Ravn (Peter Gantzler), a businessman who plans on selling his company. Ravn’s issue is that he didn’t want to come off as the “bad guy” at the office – the bad boss, in this case – so he made up an imaginary person to fill the role of boss as he played ignorant to his own actual endeavors while in the company of ‘fellow’ employees. Since he wants to sell the company yet retain his good morale stature with his employees, he hires an out of work actor to fill the shoes of the boss and to sell the company over to a foul, angry Icelandic man (Friðrik Þór Friðriksson).
Of course things get complicated and the actor’s few minutes of work as the boss turn into a week. As he gets to know the six employees – all devoted to their work and all with troubling stories that stem from the austere treatment of the real boss – he feels indebted to them and does his best as a passive man in legally binding shoes.
Several things are revealed throughout the course of the movie – for example, Ravn is one of the most proficient businessmen in Denmark and his contracts are brilliant constructed – so when it comes to Kristoffer trying to strengthen his backbone and admiration for the company’s employees, he winds up in a strenuous position.
As terribly depressing as it sounds the film isn’t half as draining. Keeping an exceedingly healthy paced for its entire duration kept together by witty one-liners and on-going bits of dry humor, von Trier shows he can manipulate a story into any way he wishes. However, when act two nears its conclusions, you can truly sense the Shakespearean formula come into form.
The only aspect separating this film from von Trier’s most recent is the new film editing technique he used called Automavision. It’s a weird technological creation that comes off as a failed project of something meant to be interesting. Regardless, the advantage of this editing – that the programming is completely tactless and chooses angles based on randomization – is that it causes for a jarring experience. Now seeing as how we are meant to be a theatrical audience – the narration implies such several times – this rare post-production choice does mangle the purpose. Not to say that I didn’t enjoy the jump-cuts or off-putting angles, but a more simplistic scope would’ve made the film more technically astute.
The conclusion is one of the most bewildering scenes I’ve had the honor of witnessing in a long while. Although I’m not quite sure about how I feel with it, I do appreciate the artistic intent of the decision. It drops the film on its head and will certainly keep you thinking about it for days on end. And in that sense, isn’t that what every film (or actor in this case) thrives to achieve? One of von Trier most witty pieces yet – unlike anything you’ve seen by him. [8/10]
The second film I’m going to discuss is one many classic film lovers have seen. The Shop on Main Street is a Czechoslovakian feature from 1965 and considered to be one of the most depressing films written. Clocking in at just over two hours, I can tell you that while the experience was intellectually rewarding, I wouldn’t want to endure it again for those exact claims.
Set in a petite Nazi occupied town in the Czech Republic, the story follows the daily routine of Tony (Jozef Króner).an unappreciated, laborious man. He does wood work, keeps up with the times amongst town, looks for well paying work and puts up with an incessant, slave-driving on the daily. We witness his trials early on when the most minor mistakes he makes are sought after as end-of-the-world scenarios by his tireless wife. When his brother-in-law and wife of the brother-in-law come unexpectedly to dinner bringing an assortment of rich goods, Tony is clearly antagonized. Although we never truly get a direct impression of why Tony has had endless disputes with his next of kin, it’s made obvious that the two have discord for one and other because of their political stances. Tony is an earnest man who is against the mistreatment of anyone and his brother-in-law is working for the Nazi regime. After a brief complaint of not being given benefits after a certain event – I’m assuming a death in the family or some job opportunity – Tony’s brother-in-law tosses him a piece of paper that changes his life forever. The paper dictates that Tony will resume control of a small button shop on Main Street after the elder Jewish woman gets taken to a concentration camp.
One brief emotional conflict later amidst the drunken union, an overwhelmed Tony accepts the gift and his ecstatic wife literally jumps for joy. The next day Tony goes to the shop and meets the woman he’s taking the business from, a deaf 78 year old in Mrs. Lautmann (in an Oscar nominated turn by Ida Kaminska). Just as he’s about to lose his cool with the exhausted, misinterpreting senior, an old acquaintance of Tony’s enters the establishment and coaxes him into making a deal with the Jewish community – he earns more money this way, the old woman doesn’t realize her business is no longer hers and the two start a sweet friendship despite the age discrepancy.
For the first two acts, the story gives off a foreboding sense of death in the air. White birds fly away from the town (a symbol of innocence fleeting), the construction of an antisemitic pyramid and a shrill score that consists entirely of violins hinder the feature from ever feeling truly compassionate towards the characters and the lingering detriment.
My only main objection to the film’s acclaim is the glued reputation that this is one of the most saddening features in cinema. Although the content is murky and quite sad, the cool atmosphere that seems to follow our diligent protagonist didn’t impress upon me enough to cry. As stark and intelligently concocted the feature was, there was an unquenchable set-up surrounding the entire Nazi regime and more specifically Tony’s brother-in-law that left me pondering the intentions. Of course the conclusion is left up to interpretation, but for something that felt so adamant in its Nazi prosecution, more could have been developed to make the focus as clear as possible.
A wonderful feature that I’d call first grade without hesitation. A disheartening film that is relentless on its audience’s emotions – depleting them along with the characters you grow to connect with. [9/10]
The final film of this post is a sadly under-viewed (due to distribution, I’m sure) independent Japanese film called Ramblers. Having forgotten the reason why I had downloaded the film, I decided that it being only 80 minutes long that watching this would be a breeze. However, I didn’t expect it to be so paradisiac.
The concept isn’t extremely noteworthy – two indie filmmakers are abandoned by their producer on their alleged vacation for having successful screenings of their individual features. When their producer announces that he doesn’t know when he’ll arrive to the desolate town, the two strangers set off and try to enjoy their long weekend together. Their conversations are brief and rarely philosophical, but always hilarious. Both of them are sarcastic passives that only share shell-like similarities. Both are in their late 20’s, both love filmmaking, both share a producer and both have no idea what to do in this town.
With a bit of money that is nowhere near as substantial as it would have been if the producer showed, Tsuboi (Keishi Nagatsuka) and Kinoshita (Hiroshi Yamamoto) venture into the chilly unknown. They look for cheap places to shack up, simple events to participate in and decent meals to consume to fill in the gaps between their barren conversations. Though I do use barren with the utmost appreciation as it is the uniqueness and apprehension of getting to know a stranger and starting a friendship that is far from dissipated that is what makes this feature so fruitful. There are at least a dozen scenes where I couldn’t control my laughter thanks to the odd predicaments these two men found themselves in. For instance, the unavailing dialogue they used to try to appease their momentary neighbours are some of the most well scripted pieces of conversation this decade has produced.
The duo’s viable chumminess is disrupted when they encounter a running nude female on the frozen beach one afternoon. They invite her to be apart of their learning process and because it’s assumed that she has no one in the world, she accepts decisively. They buddy around, discuss sexual relationships (she is an attractive young woman after all), eat fine meals and learn to cope with losses. The next day she ups and leaves them on a passing by bus.
There is no doubt that this is an unconventional story. From the emotionally sparse opening to the compellingly symbolic conclusion, Ramblers is a cultivated locomotive that is only harmed by its devout amateur upbringing in few scenes. There is plenty to admire about the story and it engages the viewer until its end, so it’s divinely made in that aspect.
In the end, I found out what was my initial driving force to watch this film… it was directed by Nobuhiro Yamashita – a director/writer I immediately fell in love with a few days ago after watching Linda Linda Linda. It was much to my delight to see that the genius behind one of my recently seen favourites also directed another one of my soon to be favourites. I tip my hat to Yamashita and blithely proclaim him as the best independent filmmaker of the decade with just these two films under his belt. [9/10]
Scorsese’s Island Gets Shut.
Yes, you heard that poor pun correctly – Martin Scorsese’s Shutter Island has been shut… at least till February 19th, the films new release date. The people over at Paramount have (basically) said that “Yeah, we’re Oscar hungry dicks, so now that there’s then ten rule in affect, we basically don’t need to worry about giving this film a typical Oscar release date anymore”.
That’s nice and all, but the marketing heads must be speaking without doing much research. A film hasn’t received a Best Picture nomination with a release date that early since The Silence of the Lambs did back in 1991 – almost two decades ago. I understand the dynamic has changed to ten nominees, but there are two variables that most people aren’t considering here:
#1. The film might actually *gasp* suck. I found the trailer to be targeted more at bringing in stupid people that like mystery/horror films and the release date to reflect that. Alright, so it may not be the best way to inform an audience that appreciates film, but doesn’t know a lick about the story to show the merit it may have. Thus, I thought the trailer was tacky and would’ve just seen it hoping for the best – not expecting anything of Oscar caliber.
#2. What if they change the formula next year? Plenty of people have been skeptical of the ten nominee rule of making it to the end of this year, let alone next. What if all the marketing is for lost and the release date does play a factor in the film not receiving any Oscar consideration in 2011?
Just a poor, poor move on Paramount’s part. They seem so confident about a strategy that’s less assured than Maragret’s theatrical release date. (gotta keep the humor with the film fans)
TIFF Finishes Off The Films (part two)
Alright, so this is the final pack that TIFF has to offer, I believe. I heard rumor that there are a few more SP films that they need to add, but this seems like the last *official* update. Doing all this has been fun and if you’ve been taking what I’ve been saying seriously, then at least something of benefit came from all of this. And yes, if you’re wondering, I did make that The White Ribbon poster you see – I think it looks pretty decent, but with a photo like that to work with, it’d be hard to mess it up. Alright, here we go – the final 20 films!
Hey Mega-lo-maniac!
Antichrist – starring: Charlotte Gainsbourg and Willem Dafoe. Yeah, this is definitely one of my most anticipated of the year – more Lars von Trier; more incessant handheld photography; more strong female performances. If you don’t like Dancer in the Dark, I’ll go ahead and assume that you won’t like this. The story is simple – a woman and her husband go into the forest in a seemingly simple journey. However, this small trip turns into an acid one and it becomes the heroine’s worst nightmare. Boom, no way I’m missing this. Set for an October theatrical released, with a VOD release that precedes the theatrical release by two days. (A 10/10 on my personal Anticipation Meter)
Carmel – starring: No idea. The latest film from Amos Gitai is ‘Carmel’ a biographical account of the director’s experiences as a soldier and a father, blending in some experiences with some fictionalized events. Now, I’ve only seen one or two Gitai films, but I know he can get good performances out of his actors (see: Free Zone), so I know he has some talent, if an underrated one. However, this synopsis isn’t cutting it for me, so I’ll postpone my seeing this until DVD or at least a theatrical run. Should be a fine one though. No release date set – a World Premiere. (A 5/10 on my personal Anticipation Meter)
Crab Trap – starring: No idea. Since I can’t gather any information about it elsewhere, I’ll just copy what TIFF has outlined: Treading a fine line between documentary and fiction, Crab Trap is a meditative look at daily life in a remote village on the Pacific coast of Colombia that explores the nuances of social and racial relations in one of the most isolated areas of the country. This sounds pretty good – especially the social conflicts it apparently has. I’m willing to give this a go if word of mouth is good – a second showing or something sounds good. No release date has been announced. (A 6/10 on my personal Anticipation Meter)
Honeymoons – starring: Lazar Ristovski and Petar Bozovic. The latest Serbian feature comes via Goran Paskaljevic – one of the countries most premier directors. This film sounds a lot like last years Transsiberian – two newlywed couples set off on a romantic adventure for their honeymoons, but soon their expectations fade and their dreams become nightmares. It sounds pretty good – it might actually improve upon the weak parts of the 2008 American feature, but I’m not quite sure I’d see it at the festival. No doubt it’ll be interesting, but lately Goran has been hit or miss. I’ll let critics judge this before I jump into the water. No release date has been set. (A 6/10 on my personal Anticipation Meter)
Hotel Atlantico – starring: Mariana Ximenes and Gero Camilo. I don’t understand why director Suzana Amaral is being showcased this year under Masters – having only two (albeit well received) features under her belt. Anyways, this film is about an unnamed actor as he wanders into new experiences, living life in the moment. Also said to showcase some of Brazil’s finest landscape, this story is harrowing and beautiful. I might catch this – I really like ‘loner’ movies and Amaral has proven herself… I’m down. The only (major) aspect causing my reluctance is that it *is* a Brazilian production and most of them are too flashy or ‘pretty’ for their own good. That tends to bother me, so it’ll be a close call. No release date has been set. (A 7/10 on my personal Anticipation Meter)
Mall Girls – starring: No idea. This is another teenage realization flicks, however this isn’t an American feature, but rather Polish. The story is about a 14 year old girl who is bullied and segregated from popularity when she moves to a new town with her family and enrolls in a new school. So rather than accepting her sad place in high school society, she decides to follow around the popular girls, the ‘mall girls’, who trade sexual favors for cash and act more mature than they are. No doubt it’ll be impressive – these movies always strike a chord with me (see: Thirteen) where they might not with others. I’ll give it a go – one of the few films I’ll see that I’ll be iffy on, I think. No release date has been set. (An 8/10 on my personal Anticipation Meter)
The Man Beyond the Bridge – starring: No idea. A lonely man finds a companion in a mad woman in a dense forest in the Western Ghats of India. When she becomes pregnant, a conflict arises between a society that refuses to take responsibility for one of its members and one man’s endeavor to integrate her in his life. Sounds very interesting, but it could just as easily be one of the misleading TIFF synopsises. I’m trying to go for movies I’ll completely like, so I’ll probably skip this out of fear. For more open people, try and catch this to let me know if I was wrong. No release date has been set. (A 5/10 on my personal Anticipation Meter)
Melody for a Street Organ – starring: Lena Kostyuk and Georgi Deliyev. Usually good for quality, almost 75 year old Ukranian director Kira Muratova is back at TIFF with his latest – a story of two orphans who search for their missing father. Their motivation? Worried about being separated through being adopted by different families. It sounds very endearing, sentimental… all that good stuff, but at 153 minutes it would have to be quite compelling for me to dive in nose first, especially since Muratova has been hit or miss as of late as well. If it gets good reviews, I’d like to catch it on a second run – if I miss it at TIFF altogether, I’d like to see it eventually because it does sound like a good movie. It also won two top prizes earlier this year at the Moscow Film Festival. No release date has been announced. (A 6/10 on my personal Anticipation Meter)
Mr. Nobody – starring: Jared Leto and Diane Kruger. This final addition to the Special Presentations program comes way of Belgium and France. The story is about the worlds last living mortal. The year is 2092 and the human race has figured out the key to immortality and Nemo is the last living mortal – the last person on Earth that will die of natural causes. As he begins to lose his memory and is unaware of whats going on around him, Nemo tries to grasp onto some everlasting memories to take with him into the afterlife. It sounds great and apparently van Dormael is one genius behind a camera, so I’ll give Toto the Hero a whirl before the festival (I have it on DVD, so it’s a good coincidence). I’m sure this will be a good one – one of the few I’m sure everyone will appreciate in one way or another. Set for an October release in France and Belgium. (An 8/10 on my personal Anticipation Meter)
Le Refuge – starring: No idea. Francois Ozon’s latest is about a young woman who is left alone with her unborn baby after her boyfriend dies. She runs to the countryside in hopes that her boyfriend’s brother will be able to help the woman with her crushing load. I don’t really like Ozon from what I’ve seen, so I’ll avoid this just based on past experiences. He’s intelligent, but expresses himself in a way I can’t connect to. Should be good for those who appreciate this work, though. No release date has been set – World Premiere. (A 4/10 on my personal Anticipation Meter)
Saint-Louis Blues/Nora – starring: No idea. This is a double bill with the 50 minute short feature musical by Dyana Gaye in ‘Saint Louis Blues’ being preceded by a song-and-dance short biography by Alla Kovgan; what ties these two together are that both of them are Africa oriented and meant to be gorgeous. I’ll be skipping them, but it should be an interesting experience. However, you never know what can happen if the schedules are frustrating. No release date has been set. (A 5/10 on my personal Anticipation Meter)
She, a Chinese – starring: Lu Huang. A mockumentary from Chinese auteur Xiaolu Guo is the basis for ‘She, A Chinese’. The story is about is about a young woman on a soul-searching rock’n'roll journey from her native village in China to London. Guo’s documentary Once Upon a Time Proletarian is also being screened this year. It sounds like a good movie – this could be the year I fall in love with Guo. No release date has been set. (A 7/10 on my personal Anticipation Meter)
Timetrip: The Curse of the Viking Witch – starring: Jonas Wandschneider and Stine Stengade. The story: Ninth-grader Valdemar and younger sister Sille embark on a trip through Danish history as they attempt to break an age-old curse. One of the few Sprockets features, so this will be more aimed for children, I’m sure. Not really my thing – sounds too fantasy oriented for my taste; especially the “traveling through time” aspect. No release date has been announced. (A 3/10 on my personal Anticipation Meter)
Under the Mountain – starring: Tom Cameron and Matthew Chamberlain. ‘Under the Mountain’ is a Sprockets feature – a film designed to bring in the family audiences. This feature is about teenaged twins that battle demons under a volcano to prevent the world from being overrun by darkness. Sounds cheesy, but fun – a movie I’d be willing to rent one day. Set for a December release in New Zealand. (A 4/10 on my personal Anticipation Meter)
Vincere – starring: Giovanna Mezzogiorno and Filippo Timi. This is the true story of Mussolini’s secret lover, Ida Dasler and the upbringing of their child, Albino. Marco Bellocchio has been called one of Italy’s top directors for decades now and this is no exception – having been nominated for the Palme d’Or earlier this year and receiving some of his best reviews in over two decades, this is certainly bound to be some of the 70 year old’s best work yet. I’m growing tired of period romances, so this seems to come at a very inconvenient time for me. However, I’m willing to bet Italy will choose this as their Foreign Film Selection for this years Academy Awards, so it’ll find some distribution. Well, this or Baaria. Received an Italian theatrical release in May. (A 6/10 on my personal Anticipation Meter)
Vision – starring: Barbara Sukowa and Heino Ferch. This is the story of the Benedictine nun who became the first member of the Renaissance before there was even a Renaissance. It sounds alright – maybe I need to understand Margarethe von Trotta’s style a little bit better before I completely give up hope on this because it could be great. Set for a German theatrical release on September 24th. (A 5/10 on my personal Anticipation Meter)
White Material – starring: Isabelle Huppert and Isaach De Bankolé. After I missed one of the alleged ‘top fleet’ flicks of last years film festival in Claire Denis’ 35 Rhums, I’ve decided that I’ll be sure not to miss her latest in ‘White Material’; the story of a French family of expatriates (people living in exile) living in an African country. As they try to grow their coffee bean plantation, their well-being and prospering business is threatened by an ongoing civil war. It sounds very interesting; very authentic – and if what I’ve heard about Denis is true, I’m bound to love this. No release date has been announced. (An 8/10 on my personal Anticipation Meter)
The White Ribbon – starring: Ulrich Tukur and Susanne Lothar. Every major film fan already knows this movie – the 2009 Palme d’Or winner directed by Michael Haneke. It’s the story of a rural German school that begins to experience weird occurrences during the first World War. You know, this movie could be about goats riding Godzilla-sized lawnmowers across northern Canada and I’d still be excited for it because it won the Palme d’Or and is being directed by one of my favourites. I’m there no matter what. Set for a September 24th release in Austria. (A 10/10 on my personal Anticipation Meter)
The Window – starring: Swastika Mukherjee and Tapas Pal. This is the IMDb synopsis: Janala tells the story about a man, Bimal, who decides to give a little back to his old school despite the fact he has very little money himself. As a child Bimal had a favourite corner classroom where he used to sit and daydream out of a broken window, and so when he finds himself back in his old school he feels compelled to replace the window. This sounds like one of the few middle-eastern films playing at TIFF this year that actually interests me – it sounds solemn and simple, two of my favourite qualities in a film. I’d like to see it, so if the opportunity arises, I definitely shall. No release date has been set. (A 7/10 on my personal Anticipation Meter)
So that will just about do it. To anyone who was following all the updates: cheers. Happy festivities if you come along for the 10 days of cinema magic. To those who were just reading for fun, hopefully you can make your way to a festival sometime soon. Cheers!
Expect two more TIFF related posts in the next week or so. One documenting my ordering of the top 100 or so movies I want to see at TIFF – basically just a guideline for myself to make picking my schedule much easier. The second will, of course, be the schedule outline.
TIFF Finishes Off The Films (part one)
Since over 40 films got announced, I’ll split the load in half. This post will be about the CWC (Contemporary World Cinema) films that have just been announced – the next will contain the Masters program, as well as the couple of films left in other categories (Vanguard, SP, Sprockets, etc…) So lets get this underway:
This Is How We Do It:
25 Carat – starring: Ignasi Abadal and Manuel Morón. After winning a few awards at the Spanish Film Festival in Malaga, newcomer to features Patxi Amézcua writes and directs his first feature film in ‘25 Carat’ – an intersecting story of criminals that commit furious violence and other crimes. Yet another multiple storylined film that I’m certainly not looking forward to because of the design, but it does sound at least a little interesting. I won’t see it, but I wouldn’t mind renting it one day. Had an April release in Spain. (A 5/10 on my personal Anticipation Meter)
Adrift – starring: No idea. After being faked out and believing that this was Heitor Dhalia’s A Deriva (Adrift), I’ve now recovered from the disappointment of not seeing Cassell’s latest. Rather, this is a Vietnamese feature by one of the up and coming oriental directors in Chuyên Bui Thac. After plentiful success with his 2005 feature Song trong so hai, Thac is back with this: a sensual drama about a newlywed couple, exploring sexual awakening, forbidden lesbian desire and marital infidelity within modern Vietnam. Because of the lack of theatrical release for Thac’s first feature, I cannot view it and be able to understand his ability better. I know he’s got talent based on the few reviews online, but this synopsis is very quaky. If I can see it, I will – I won’t rush into it, though. No release date set. (A 6/10 on my personal Anticipation Meter)
Ajami – starring: Fouad Habash and Nisrine Rihan. After winning the Golden Vision award at Cannes earlier this year, directors Scandar Copti and Yaron Shani come to Toronto to showcase their latest – a feature about the uncontrolled violence and crime in a Palestinian community in Jaffa. Cannes winners for most awards usually do well by me and although the concept sounds typical, it might have the more cinematic feel that deters the gnawing grittiness that comes with the subject. I’ll look into it more, and as I’ve said before, if I can see it, I will. Set for a February release in France. (A 6/10 on my personal Anticipation Meter)
At the End of Daybreak – starring: Meng Hui Ng and Tien You Chui. Although the director has been panned time and time again, I feel as if this will be Yuhang Ho’s magnum opus, if not, at least his least bad feature yet. The story is about a 23 year old man who feels trapped in a home with his alcoholic mother, so he strikes up a sexual relationship with a young teenager online. Soon he realizes that she is too young for him (15), but its too late – she’s set to blackmail him. It sounds very interesting, but to be honest, I’m not willing to go in blind knowing he’s not considered good. If my close-mindedness keeps me away from seeing a great feature here, I’ll probably regret it. My instincts are just telling me to avoid. (A 3/10 on my personal Anticipation Meter)
Backyard – starring: Ana de la Reguera and Joaquín Cosio. The latest from one of Mexico’s premier directors in Carlos Carrera is ‘Backyard’, the story of a policewoman investigating the slew of murders enacted on female assembly line workers in Ciudad Juárez. IMDb voters seem to really like the film – I can’t find any reviews on the film – so that’s a good sign that it’ll appeal to your average moviegoer. I’m becoming exhausted with all these investigative films, but one more couldn’t hurt – I’ll see if I can fit it in. Had a Mexico release in February. (A 6/10 on my personal Anticipation Meter)
Balibo – starring: Anthony LaPaglia and Oscar Issac. An Australian feature documenting the true story of war correspondent Roger East who went searching for his missing colleagues during the Indonesian invasion of East Timor in 1975. A supposedly suspenseful wartime thriller, Robert Connolly’s latest seems to be his best yet. Doesn’t sound all that good to me though, could be very tedious and Connolly hasn’t proven himself yet – I can wait for a DVD release. Got its Australian theatrical release earlier this month. (A 4/10 on my personal Anticipation Meter)
Bran Nue Dae – starring: Geoffrey Rush and Magda Szubanski. After making the title sound Vietnamese, ‘Brand New Day’ is yet another Australian feature playing at TIFF this year. It’s the story based off a renowned Australian stage musical about young love and Aboriginal identity makes its exuberant and fun-filled way to the big screen. Disgusting, a blend of things I truly find to be the opposite of what I like. Stage adapted musicals, quirky Aboriginal stories… not for me at all. No release date has been set. (A 1/10 on my personal Anticipation Meter)
Castaway on the Moon – starring: No idea. Since there’s no IMDb page for this feature and all I can gather on director Lee Hey-jun is that he was apart of the animation department for Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone (set for a DVD release in November), I’ll just copy and paste the TIFF synopsis: This is a smart and original love story by one of Korea’s most promising young filmmakers, Lee Hey-jun. A potential suicide victim becomes a modern Robinson Crusoe on an island in the middle of Seoul’s Han River. Well, Robinson Crusoe is a great story and I enjoy stories of depressed people ending up in favorable situations, so I might see it. Time and time again, it all depends on how the schedule fleshes itself out. (A 7/10 on my personal Anticipation Meter)
Cell 211 – starring: Carlos Bardem and Luis Tosar. Well, considering the director apparently (for lack of a better word) sucks, I won’t be seeing this at TIFF. However, you might want to see a bit of dumb entertainment this year, so here’s the synopsis: A newly hired prison officer finds himself in the midst of a prison riot after an unforeseen turn of events. With the inmates around him unaware of his position, he must pretend to be a prisoner to survive. So that’s sounds alright – something you’d rent for kicks on a late Saturday evening, but not something you’d spend plenty of money on to see at TIFF. However, if you do see this at the festival, expect the worst and you can’t be disappointed (a theory that has worked for me time and time again over time). Set for a November release in Spain. (A 3/10 on my personal Anticipation Meter)
Deliver Us From Evil – starring: Lasse Rimmer and Lene Nystrøm. Ole Bornedal’s love letter to 1971’s classic Straw Dogs, is ‘Fri os fra det onde’ a Danish realization of Straw Dogs. The story is about a young couple that move to the country side, but don’t take their xenophobia into account. While they struggle coping with their issues, some people in the town begin to terrorize the newcomers violently. I’ve yet to see an Ole Bornedal film yet, but coincidentally I have his 2007 feature Not Another Love Story kicking around here, so I’ll try to view that before the festival. But honestly, this sounds like a very solid Danish thriller, so I’d advise weary people to just jump in – Ole has proven himself before. The film got an April release in Denmark. (A 8/10 on my personal Anticipation Meter)
Dogtooth – starring: Christos Stergioglou and Aggeliki Papoulia. What appears to be Greece’s submission to the Academy Awards this year is this feature, ‘Dogtooth’, the surrealist story of three siblings living under harsh rule of their parents before the eldest daughter is given an interest proposal outside of the home. Apparently riddled with plentiful symbolism and obtuse/random sex and violence, this is bound to be one of the experiences the festival has to offer. The feature won Un Certain Regard at Cannes this year, so that just amps up my anticipation. Set for a December release in France. (A 9/10 on my personal Anticipation Meter)
Doublehour – starring: Kseynia Rappoport and Lucia Poli. So finally Ms. Rappoport has a new feature out in which she is the star. After her brilliant (and I use that word strictly) performance in The Unknown Woman, I’ve just been anticipating her next starring role. Set to premiere in Venice, this story of a young Slovenian woman who moves to Italy, falls for a young man and both of them fall into the center of suspicion for the on-going investigation about a recent art heist. Although I’m not all that fond of the plot, I would be willing to watch a lesser sounding film just to get for Rappoport in my system. Set for a November release in Italy. (A 7/10 on my personal Anticipation Meter)
Help Gone Mad – starring: Evgenii Sytyi and Sergei Dontsov. Simply put, this is a modernized version of Don Quixote and for those who don’t know of Quixote’s tales, its a comical tale about two men trying to find pleasure and fantasy in their decadent lives. Hardly excited for this – not really for fantasy comedies, even if they’re tongue-in-cheek. Had a Russian release in July. (A 3/10 on my personal Anticipation Meter)
I Am Not Your Friend – starring: Csaba Czene and Csaba Gosztonyi. Films like these make me smile – I hope you feel the same way. The film – done for complete artistic and film loving merit – is entirely improvisational and filled with amateur actors. Their goal? To portray the many faces that relationships have. It’s a drama, but I’m sure it’ll have some humor scattered in there somewhere – especially since there’s an alleged opening short film also entitled ‘I Am Not Your Friend’ about the interactions between kindergartners. No release date has been set. (A 7/10 on my personal Anticipation Meter)
If I Knew What You Said – starring: Zoe Sandejas and Romalito Mallari. A weird take on the romantic dynamic in teenagers – this is the story of a punk rock girl falling in love with a deaf boy who loves to dance. This could come off as one of the most ridiculous and tryhard films of the festival, or one of the most earnest and beautiful. I’m not trusting the IMDb rating for the film, so I’ll really just have to look at the schedule and see how it compares to the rest. That said, I’d really like to see this in hopes that it would be modest. No release date has been set. (A 7/10 on my personal Anticipation Meter)
Jean Charles – starring: Selton Mello and Daniel de Oliveira. The true and tragic story of an earnest young man who travels back to his homeland only to be executed accidentally by the police. Since I know how the entire film plays out, I pretty much have no desire to see it, unless I believe the writer(s) could unravel such a film delicately and poignantly… which I don’t. Could be good, but I’m skipping this one. Got a June theatrical release in Brazil. (A 3/10 on my personal Anticipation Meter)
The Last Days of Emma Blank – starring: Marlies Heuer and Alex van Warmerdam. To be honest, I find that Dutch filmmaking is very relatable to myself and basically any teenager I can imagine, its just most would rather avoid some random, obscure foreign feature. They tend to be unique, very humorous, but also very emotionally affecting – this sounds no different. The story is about Emma Blank and her family – her family that doubles as servants for the rich woman. They’re vocal to one and other about hoping her ill health will do her in soon so they can inherit Emma’s riches, so they put on a facade to please their relative in order to obtain the bigger cut. Sad, but very funny – count me in. Received a May release in the Netherlands earlier this year. (An 8/10 on my personal Anticipation Meter)
My Year Without Sex – starring: Sacha Horler and Matt Day. This movie is as the title indicates – its about one woman’s venture without any sexual activity and substituting the universal pasttime for sports and other activities. I believe I saw this online earlier and I passed it up then, so don’t expect me to want to see this at the film festival. To be honest, it sounds quite repulsive and an attempt at quirk. Received an Australian release in May. (A 2/10 on my personal Anticipation Meter)
La Pere de mes Enfants – starring: Chiara Caselli and Louis-Do de Lencquesaing. Winner of Un Certain Regard – Grand Jury Prize (perhaps the most important Cannes award sans Palme d’Or) ‘The Father of My Children’ is about a hard-working independent film producer who has far too much pressure on him and releases himself from the grip of his family, leaving his wife to pick up the broken family pieces. This sounds phenomenal, so count me right in. Set for a December release in France. (A 9/10 on my personal Anticipation Meter)
Prince of Tears – starring: No idea. This is latest from Chinese filmmaker Yonfan, a story about Taiwan’s untold 1950 story – the anti-communist backdrop of White Terror. Rather than focus the films attention on the untold story, it apparently opts to talk about the friendships that took place in that time. Youfan’s filmography and critical acclaim (or lack thereof) is keeping me from seeing this (along with any other of his features) so… you know… I’m not seeing it. No release date has been set. (A 4/10 on my personal Anticipation Meter)
Same Same But Different – starring: David Kross and Apinya Sakuljaroensuk. An iffy romantic tale starring acting newcomer David Kross (The Reader) in the true tale of a young man who falls for a German bargirl who is HIV Positive and refuses to leave her side until the inevitable end. This sounds a lot like 1999’s Jeanne and the Perfect Guy, a drama-musical about a woman who stays by an HIV positive man’s side after falling in love with him (a decent feature). So if it’s anything like that, I’ll give it a go, but certainly not a festival shot. Set for a January release in Germany. (A 6/10 on my personal Anticipation Meter)
The Search – starring: Manla Kyab and Lumo Tso. This is the first feature to be entirely shot in Tibet and spoken in Tibetan. The story is somewhat of a scavenging road trip that takes place across Tibet and resonates the death of this once stable culture. It sounds alright – certainly something I’d be interested in seeing someday, but sentimental/preachy flicks are usually not for me. No release date has been set. (A 5/10 on my personal Anticipation Meter)
Tales from the Golden Age – directed by: Cristian Mungiu, Hanno Höfer and Others. This collection of shorts (written all by Cristian Mungiu) directed by some of Romania’s most talented directors is a comedic take on the history of Romania. Certainly set to be a more cinematic roast of the country in comparison to Mungiu’s heavy part played in the Romanian New Wave subgenre that has won me over. I’ll undoubtedly see this – especially if its anything like Romania’s Academy submission of last year The Rest is Silence. Set for a September theatrical release in Italy. (A 9/10 on my personal Anticipation Meter)
V.O.S. – starring: Agata Roca and Vicenta N’Dongo. Supposedly a poor attempt at comedy from Spanish filmmaker Cesc Gay. It’s allegedly a play on the lovely film-within-a-film idea about the dynamics of relationships – be them friendly or romantic. I’ve yet to see a film by Cesc Gay, but I know En la ciudad is meant to be pretty good. I doubt I’d want to see this film after seeing anything he’s done, however. Received a Spanish release in July. (A 3/10 on my personal Anticipation Meter)
So that’s it for CWC – a few wonderful sounding flicks mixed in with a bunch of mediocre sounding ones. My next post will certainly be more enthusiastic with the announcements of The White Ribbon and Antichrist. Cheers, and I’ll catch you in a few more hours after the final TIFF update.
TIFF Finishes Off the Documentary Section.
Since most of the other documentaries were mentioned a few weeks ago, the final update before the complete list being posted is a short one and certainly the easiest I’ve had to do all year. Good, that gives me time to rest up for Thursday’s bundle – roughly 35 more films.
Batter Up!
Ahead of Time – (Bob Richman, USA) The film is about a long and insightful tale into the life of a now 97 year old woman. Her story of becoming the world’s youngest ever Ph.D recipient in 1931 at the age of 20 to becoming one of the more astute figures during Exodus in 1947 to several other high achievements. Sure to be an interesting documentary but stories like these tend to bore me to tears. (A 4/10 on my personal Anticipation Meter)
Once Upon a Time Proletarian: 12 Tales of a Country – (Gu Xiaolu, China) This story is told in twelve chapters about the effects that the Marxist regime had on the residents of China and the country itself. All separate stories told poetically in a dark fashion. Clocking in at only 75 minutes, I’ll sure be tempted to fit this into my schedule. Apparently Gu has had a very good track record with his features, so to see this would be an experience, no doubt. (A 7/10 on my personal Anticipation Meter)
Stolen - (Violeta Ayala/Dan Fallshaw, Australia) As you would figure from the title, the film is about some sort of theft. However, unlike the first thing that pops into mind – a heist – this is about the uncovering of a Saharawi refugees being used as slaves in Algeria. Certainly an interesting subject matter, but I’ve heard of these stories time and time again on the news. I’ve become almost desensitized to the matter. It will no doubt pack an emotional punch and make the viewer feel ill, but I’m fixed on the thought that I will just be annoyed at the predictability. (A 4/10 on my personal Anticipation Meter)
The Sunshine Boy – (Fridrik Thor Fridriksson, Iceland) The latest from acclaimed director Fridrik Thor Fridriksson is a documentary about a mother’s learning to cope with her child’s autism, going through medical documents and having interviews with professionals to better understand her son’s predicament. I feel very guilty about this subject matter and stories like this really effect me emotionally, so I’ll try and see this. No doubt it’ll be as emotionally draining as any feature at the festival this year. (An 8/10 on my personal Anticipation Meter)
Waking Sleeping Beauty – (Don Hahn, USA) The story of reclaiming a lost position atop the world in animation is what this film is all about. The documenting and recollection from many Disney alumni about their revival of the dying company in the mid 80’s to mid 90’s. Although I like the story, I know this will eventually get a distributor – this is one I certainly can wait for. (A 6/10 on my personal Anticipation Meter)
Even though only five important features were announced today, there are two potential prospects for my schedule; two I would be very glad to have the honor of seeing this year.
For those who read my TIFF updates, expect a much more coherent and impressive TIFF update on Thursday. 
Daily Film Thoughts: Clash of Conventions.
In the past two days I’ve seen a few flicks – one really impressive feature and two entertaining ones; all three are spins on convention, though.
First up is Fighting – the April release starring Channing Tatum and Terrence Howard. After the critical semi-success of A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints, Dito Montiel returns to the streets of New York with yet another gritty tale of one man’s growth in the famous state and yet another missed opportunity.
The story is about Shawn MacArthur (Channing Tatum) – a young man who hustles for a living. When a group of men approach him with eyes on his newly acquired dough (from hustling, of course), he takes on all three of them – tossing them around as if they were his merchandise. Turns out that these men are just bait for a much larger picture spearheaded by Harvey Boarden (Terrence Howard), an amateur fighting manager.
The film was clearly made to get Montiel’s name into circulation with a larger audience, however this film certainly shouldn’t have been the feature to do so. Many people have grown tired of these underdog fighting stories and even fewer people will appreciate the artistic merit that Fighting has to offer. Much is left unsaid and meant to be easily interpreted by the viewer – a subtly sweet directorial stance on the writing. This is where similar films fall flat on their faces – revealing what the audience already acknowledges in a blatant attempt at tacking on unwarranted emotional tension. The entire feature is justified in a few key scenes – the internet browsing of MacArthur’s past by his first romantic link since coming to the city in Zulay (Zulay Henao). His entanglements with her are refreshing, if obvious.
The majority of the films success can be attributed to Terrence Howard’s deviant aura. His character embodies the boulevard of broken dreams half-traveled and in a story that resonates lost opportunities, his story is truly sublime. Whereas Shawn has forward confrontations with men he either doesn’t know or hates – a coincidental reignited rivalry takes over the film in the final act – Harvey has verbal conflicts with old friends, but now enemies. His humor is quite sardonic and his general outlook on life is somewhat nihilistic – a really well developed character and something you wouldn’t expect from a feature like this.
My only real qualm with the film is its lack of respect for self as mentioned above. The screenplay had the potential to be a profound reemergence in the entire combat subgenre. After the disastrous Never Back Down and several other dime a dozen fight-flicks all trying to capitalize on the recent MMA boom, this movie could have made the difference. Instead its a hackneyed, dumbed down version of Rocky – but even the ‘76 classic doesn’t have as intimate a character construction as this. Most critics and viewers loathe this film for being “too slow” or “nonsensical” – whereas if you read between the lines it’d be surprisingly fascinating and quite logical. The fight scenes aren’t impressive, but the story usually is. Don’t go into this expecting an adrenaline pumping 100 minutes, but rather a hard boiled landscape of the city trying to claim another victim. [7/10]
Next up is 17 Again starring the charismatic Zac Efron in his first feature since his Disney success (or first released). Similar to a lot of other features – as you’ve got to figure this entire post will be about by now – 17 Again never struggles to rise above the convention, but patters along playfully for its entirety; never doing anything completely wrong, but never doing anything extremely right either.
As you know from watching the first few seconds of the trailer, the story is about a 37 year old man named Mike O’Donnell who blew his chance at glory and a life worth living when he gave up his college scholarship to fend for his high school sweetheart and their unborn baby. After meeting a sketchy elder figure while recollecting favorable memories at his old high school, Mike gets thrown into a tiff and has his youth revitalized – still in the year 2009.
He enrolls at his old high school – where he two father-loathing children attend – and learns that this second chance at youth isn’t for his seclusive benefit, but for him to get a better understanding of his children. With financial help and a mythical understanding of this situation imputed by his long time friend Ned Gold (Thomas Lennon), Mike is set until his destiny is fulfilled.
Sticky situations arise when Mike’s tongue slips about who he really is, defending his only son from a neanderthal-like bully and not being able to attend court dates for his and his wife’s divorce, and of course, not being able to romantically express his appreciation for his soon to be ex because he’s in the body of a minor.
In the end, it seems as if everything that Mike does is all part of some master plan, yet the film only indicates that he is a dopey guy with little ambition to show. This is where the film remains most mundane and obvious – it has no true heart or backbone and seems to be, yes once again, an attempt at capitalizing on a recent boom… this time utilizing Efron’s growing star-power to bring in some cash.
Not all of the film is throw away garbage – there is plentiful humor and quite a few scenes that you won’t be able to keep yourself from smiling at all the way through. Thomas Lennon and Leslie Mann bring in a ripened sense of humor that Efron hasn’t grown to appreciate yet, so the jokes tend to work on several levels. It’s also a much more mature film in content than you’d expect with the solid PG-13 rating. Dirty jokes are prevalent as are sexual innuendos and other things that teenagers adore.
I don’t admire the feature for anything, nor do I think that it’s anything more than pleasant. If you’re in a rut and just want to find yourself enjoying two hours, you certainly cannot go wrong with 17 Again. Especially if you’re older and feeling nostalgic. [6/10]
If you know me by now, you’ve got to know that I won’t do a write-up on several films unless I really liked one of the features or really hated one of them – well, this is the ‘really’ one. The film is 2006’s Linda Linda Linda – a Japanese feature about an all girl band focused on presenting a short set of music for their school’s annual charity festival.
I cannot begin to tell you how much I adored this movie – there are many stories similar but none quite as potent. The story is about an unlikely group of teenagers being brought together through the medium of music and hoping to find reason to cherish their final days as highschoolers.
You’ve got Son (Du-na Bae), a foreign exchange student from Korea. Her shtick is that she hardly knows Japanese, but is in a position where she’d be singing Japanese lyrics. Then you’ve got Kyoko (Aki Maeda), the drummer and longest standing member of the band Paran Maum (that’s their name). She’s a hopeless romantic that is distracted from her work in the band because of a potential love with a genuine classmate. The bassist Nozomi (Shiori Sekine) a deeply depressed and introverted young woman who strays away from convention and who clothes herself much more than the outfitted school – the one consistent professional in the group. And of course, every group needs a leader and this group’s is Kei (Yu Kashii) the lead guitarist – she’s temperamental, recently had a fight with a former member and is the entire reason the film is. She brings together the unlikely group and is the definition of leader, if not the definition of an impressive one.
All four of the women are completely beautiful and their growth together is one of the most humble and beautiful expressions of friendship cinema has ever produced. Honestly, if this were a more widely seen feature, there would have been a remake of it already and a huge following for it.
I was most impressed with Du-nu Bae who I recently saw in Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (and who I will soon see again in Koreeda’s latest Air Doll). I never expected for her to be such an impressive comedic presence. Although she is fun in just about every scene – containing a bit of sarcasm with her gestures – you can tell that she is most dominant with her facial expressions.
On top of the stunning cast, there is a frothy and fizzling script. If you watch the film carefully, you’ll realize that this is quite an ambiguous feature. Rarely do “teeny-bopper” films successfully initiate a dynamic theme, which this film does with ease, but it also executes the theme, sub-themes and completes character arcs seamlessly. There are hundreds of movies about coming to terms with aging and learning to treasure timeless memories, but Linda Linda Linda is one of the few that actually matters. It’s got an inexorable core to its sunshine coat – a sense that time is fleeting in life is imbued from the opening scene. The only flaw I can see that the film has it that it doesn’t restrain itself enough from giving into convention at the end and delivering a happy ending, although that’s what I was rooting for myself.
What you’ll get with Linda Linda Linda is a sidestep of the cliche. There is rarely any conflict – the friendship of the four stays intact for the entirety – which may be a flaw in some eyes but certainly not for me. Romance resonates often, as does the humor that lays within newly acquainted people (awkward moments, weird conversations, etc.) which keeps the 100 minute feature as dreadful and prolonged as a bubblegum kiss. Throw in an enchanting score atop the already enjoyable soundtrack to one of the most scrumptiously photographed films of the decade and you’ve got a true success here.
Seldom do films really go for your throat with its message. With this, its “ambition fleets with age” and honestly that’s one dire and depressing message, especially for the presentation/target market of the film. An excessively enjoyable film that is perfect for any fan of The Ramones or pop-punk in general. A delightful coming of age tale that will keep you bopping along until the all too soon conclusion. [9/10]
Tarantino’s Top 20 Films Since 1992
In other film related news today – no, not everything must be about Avatar Day (I did get my pass for two though… may or may not go – not exactly thrilled) – Quentin Tarantino capped off the last seventeen film going years of his life by discussing his top twenty features since that year. Why 1992 you may ask? Well, Quentin first broke onto the film scene that year with Reservoir Dogs – a cult hit that grew into a mainstream sensation.
Of course, this is all brought on by his latest Inglourious Basterds, and as well all know, Mr. Tarantino loves to soak in all of the press that comes with it. So without further adieu, his top twenty (since 1992).
“Anything Else?” (Woody Allen, 2003)
“Audition” (Takashi Miike, 1999)
“Battle Royale” (Kinji Fukasaku, 2000)
“The Blade” (Tsui Hark, 1995)
“Boogie Nights” (Paul Thomas Anderson, 1997)
“Dazed and Confused” (Richard Linklater, 1993)
“Dogville” (Lars von Trier, 2003)
“Fight Club” (David Fincher, 1999)
“Friday” (F. Gary Gray, 1995)
“The Host” (Bong Joon-ho, 2006)
“The Insider” (Michael Mann, 1999)
“Joint Security Area” (Park Chan-wook, 2000)
“Lost in Translation” (Sophia Coppola, 2003)
“The Matrix” (Andy Wachowski, Larry Wachowski, 1999)
“Memories of Murder” (Bong Joon-ho, 2003)
“Supercop” (Stanley Tong, 1992)
“Shaun of the Dead” (Edgar Wright, 2004)
“Speed” (Jan De Bont, 1994)
“Team America: World Police” (Trey Parker, 2004)
“Unbreakable” (M/ Night Shyamalan, 2000)
Battle Royale is emboldened because Tarantino proclaims it as the best of the past seventeen years – he doesn’t rank the rest.
Alright, so that’s a pretty fine list – disappointing, but half-expected because it is Tarantino; a man with a strong taste for the entertaining. Somewhat disappointing because with his film knowledge and vast amounts of films seen (or I assume) from the past decade and a half, I’d assume it’d be more refined. So the entire point of this post was to rate the films Tarantino chose and to give a bit of insight to whomever is reading as to my taste within the 17 year restriction. So as for Tarantino:
“Battle Royale” [A]
“Boogie Nights” [C+]
“Dazed and Confused” [B-]
“Dogville” [A]
“Fight Club” [A-]
“Friday” [B]
“The Insider” [B]
“Lost in Translation” [B-]
“The Matrix” [C+]
“Memories of Murder” [A-]
“Supercop” [C+]
“Shaun of the Dead” [D+]
“Speed” [B]
“Team America: World Police” [B]
“Unbreakable” [B-]
Certainly a fine list by any standards – one that will please most people and one that contains a slew of fun flicks. If you’re going by number ratings, it’s just like school. 5 or less and its an F, so nothing here is below mediocre, fortunately. As you notice there are five films missing – Anything Else, Audition, The Blade, The Host & Joint Security Area – but I’ll be sure to see those soon (two of which were already in my possession before the announcement) and update with my thoughts.
As for my list – a much less anticipated one, I’m sure, but one I’m fond of nonetheless:
“The Aviator” (Martin Scorsese, 2004)
“Be Kind, Rewind” (Michel Gondry, 2008)
“Catch Me If You Can” (Steven Spielberg, 2002)
“Dancer in the Dark” (Lars von Trier, 2000)
“Deconstructing Harry” (Woody Allen, 1997)
“The Departed” (Martin Scorsese, 2002)
“The Hudsucker Proxy” (Joel/Ethan Coen, 1994)
“In Bruges” (Martin McDonagh, 2008)
“Leon: the Professional” (Luc Besson, 1994)
“Love Me If You Dare” (Yann Samuell, 2004)
“The Puffy Chair” (Jay Duplass, 2006)
“Rosetta” (Jean-Pierre/Luc Dardenne, 1999)
“The Royal Tenenbaums” (Wes Anderson, 2001)
“Shadow of the Vampire” (E. Elias Merhige, 2000)
“Sin City” (Robert Rodriguez, 2005)
“Sleuth” (Kenneth Branagh, 2007)
“The Son” (Jean-Pierre/Luc Dardenne, 2003)
“Swoon” (Tom Kalin, 1992)
“There Will Be Blood” (P.T. Anderson, 2007)
“Thirst” (Chan-wook Park, 2009)
With my favourite of the past seventeen years emboldened.
So here’s where I ask you – whoever is reading this… what are your favourite films made post-1991?
Photos from the Inception set.
Christopher Nolan’s (Batman Begins, Memento) latest feature starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph-Gordon Levitt, Marion Cotillard and Ellen Page. With a budget of 150 million, Nolan certainly seems to be squeezing his recent acclaim for every penny he can get. And because this is someone who has skill behind the camera *cough*Michael Bay*cough*, I feel that a budget of this size should only enhance the product – or that’s my hopes. Nolan hasn’t disappointed me yet, so lets see how his continuing streak in Hollywood goes.
Set for a July 2010 release.
source: (and for more pictures) http://www.nolanfans.com/2009/08/17/images-from-inception-filming-in-paris/
Daily Film Thoughts: A few 2009 features.
In keeping up with TIFF and such, I haven’t been posting many capsule reviews as of late. Hopefully I’ll be able to do another ‘Daily Film Thoughts’ tomorrow, but that probably won’t happen as I’ll be focusing more on my review for District 9.
First up is The Goods. Live Hard. Sell Hard – America’s latest attempt on capitalizing on false advertising. After believing that this feature was scripted by the duo that brought us Step Brothers, I went in looking for a good time. What I got was a half-assed attempt at a self-aware semi-parody of your typical schmaltzy comedy.
Jeremy Piven is the lead as Don Ready. With his ’slick as a 40’s hairdo’ group of unique individuals they go city to city to sell the unsellable; used cars in desolate areas. With an exhausted trio by his side and a troubling past blocking his emotions, Don is fixated on doing one thing and one thing only – a good job. Soon after, a romantic entanglement and a belief that one of the young employees at Selleck’s Used Cars (the groups latest place of occupation) is his child begin to cause Don detriment; they make him believe in the larger picture that life has to offer. This, the same picture he’s been shamelessly ignoring for months now and the same picture his ragtag group of pals have been pointing at.
Humor comes and goes – a definite flaw in a film that attributes all of its running time to comedy. The spoofish plot has very little stability, so unless you’re aiming solely to have a few cheap laughs, I’d advise against you seeing this.
This smokey 90 minutes finds most comically impressive moments through pseudo-pedophilia, blatant bigotry and homosexual innuendos – so unless you have the mind of a teenager, I doubt you’ll find much pleasure from this. Oh, and lets not forget Will Ferrell’s astute cameo that truly rises above the material. In the most absurd scene of the film that was probably entirely improvised, Will Ferrell shows the audiences one more time why he’s the top name in current comedy. One of his best scenes in ages.
With less stability than an infant learning how to walk and a laugh at the dramatics that goes far too over the top to be completely immersed in the humor at hand, The Goods only wishes it could deliver as well as its main characters. [3/10]
A bit late to the game, I know, but I can go without expressing my feelings about this years worst attempt at a psychological thriller turned horror. Of course, I am speaking about Orphan. The only aspect saving this film from being utter trash is the eccentric cast.
Before divulging into the murky mess that this film is, let me take you back two years. The year is 2007 and contemporary horror cinema hasn’t felt the cool grip from a subversive child in sometime. A child hell bent on destruction and hoping to tilt the atmosphere so those around him fall off and land in a swirling cesspool of chaos. The film is Joshua and it stars Sam Rockwell (an underrated actor) and Vera Farmiga. The story is about one child’s inability to cope with the attention once entirely focused on him now being altered towards that of his new baby sister. Playing psychological games with his mother and father and creating a world where all those close to the family believe only what he says and begin to shun the family. It underplays the horror creating a tense and humble thriller that only dips its toes into horror through dark comedy.
Jump to 2009 and Orphan. A story where a family of four just had their latest member taken away from them before they got to know her; a stillbirth. The parents of the family – John and Kate, played by Peter Sarsgaard (an underrated actor) and Vera Farmiga… (getting the similarities yet?) – go to an orphanage, stumble across a precocious, artistically impressive and apt young girl named Esther. They, of course, pick her from the bunch of normal children for the most one-dimensional reasons (oh, she is like… different!) and they take her home. Soon after we come to realize that something is wrong with Esther – she is unlike all other children! She has a fascination with traditional dresses, ribbons around her neck and wrists and the bible. Shortly after it becomes apparent that she has an issue with everyone but that father of the family, John, a calm businessman who believes Kate is simply paranoid and opts to take Esther’s word over hers. Why don’t the two other children speak up? Well they’ve both had their arms twisted by the young sociopath and the youngest, Maxine is almost completely deaf.
As Esther’s plan comes more and more into fruition and the story takes several ridiculous turns, the plotting, characters and theme begins to jump the shark. It goes from a somewhat tense psychological thriller with a bundle of cheap scares into a zany self-parody. The film appears to take itself far too seriously for any sort of campiness to be intended, which begs me to ask not the question of “What was wrong with Esther?” but rather, “What was wrong with the filmmakers?”. [3/10]
I saved the best for last with this one. The film is The Boat That Rocked – or what has now been renamed by American executives as ‘Pirate Radio‘ in a cheap marketing ploy – and it certainly did rock.
Directed and written by one of the most popular British filmmakers of today in Richard Curtis (Love, Actually & Four Weddings and a Funeral), one should only expect the best from this very inflated story inspired by events much less harsh than the ones expressed in the film. If you’re going in expecting an entirely true story, look the other way because this is as fictionalized as Twilight.
The story centers around a group of men – some young, most old; most laidback, some professional. Even though they have clear differences, these men (and one woman; a lesbian, but a woman) manage to find common ground through a mutual connection; their love for music. Being set off the British coast sending their radio signal to eager fans causes for a bit of infamy – certainly an added incentive to this dopey group.
Headed by an American named The Count (Philip Seymour Hoffman), everyday is pretty much a party. Almost everything they do is work, but its also play at the same time. Same goes for the film itself – it is an arduous effort. However, unlike the boat, it certainly comes off less professional. The political statements made by Mr. Curtis are very explicit and become grating after only the second political scene; the story is rather formulaic though the eyes of the lead character ‘Young’ Carl (Tom Strurridge) as it grows more and more into your typical coming-of-age tale, no matter how different the situation is for him. Add onto that the underutilized dramatic tension. I can count the number of minutes on my hand that have any sort of conflict… in a film that is over two hours long, that doesn’t impress.
However, if you go into the feature open-minded and expect a laid back and humorous affair, you should be fine. The ensemble is one of the best I’ve seen all year – Hoffman delivers yet again with fantastic comedic timing and giving the boat that authentic dirtiness. If the film stuck to being apolitical, it certainly would’ve had a more virtuous effect on me.
Universal Pictures bumped the feature to an Oscar release (mid November) from its previous August date. Hopefully they’re setting their sights on accumulating some sort of Academy recognition, because it wouldn’t be unlikely to see Hoffman garner his fourth nomination with his performance here. If this does happen… well, that would certainly rock the boat. [7/10]
