FilmNerd3

Ramblings

For a quick burst of vitamin-laden refreshment without dirtying a glass, you can't beat a juice box.

Posted by: ThirteenDamnDollars, September 29, 2005 05:38 PM

The Onion A.V. Club at the TIFF

Also, Matthew's insanely long list of TIFF blogs

Mary

Come down off the cross, we could use the wood

Posted by: ThirteenDamnDollars, September 22, 2005 05:40 PM

Abel Ferrara
Saturday September 17th
Varsity

What with The Passion of the Christ, The DaVinci Code, and whatnot, there's probably an important movie to be made about Christsploitation, but Mary isn't it.

Self-important, humorless, preachy, bombastic and patronizing, Mary is everything people love about organized religion. I mean, any time a father's dying baby isn't dramatic enough, when you have to inter-cut explosions? There are some problems with your film.

Citizen Dog

If you get a job in Bangkok, you will surely grow a tail

Posted by: ThirteenDamnDollars, September 22, 2005 05:29 PM

Wisit Sasanatieng
Saturday September 17th, 12:45pm
Paramount

What the hell is going on in Thai cinema? First Bangkok Loco and now this! Two amazing surrealistic magical-realism films in one year!

It seems to be every period of American history at once in Thailand right now. It's post First World War, with a mass migration from the rural to the urban, and decadent street smart city vs honest but simple country rube themes run right through Citizen Dog, Bangkok Loco and last year's superlative-depleting Ong Bak. It's the 60's with a youth culture clashing against an opressive repressed established order. And it's also the year two thousand and weird.

Amazingly, Thailand seems to have metabolized western irony and self-reference while rejecting bitter sarcasm and just general meanness.

This is how the film starts...

Ramblings

Overview

Posted by: Task, September 21, 2005 11:50 AM

This year: 335 films (including 109 world and 78 North American premieres), from 52 countries, screened over 10 days. The most popular film was Tsotsi, the "thugs and babies" movie. Didn't see it, can't comment. Other award winners were Look Both Ways (didn't see it) and Sa-Kwa (didn't see it). The "best Canadian feature" was a tie between Familia (didn't see it) and Guy Terrifico (totally awesome movie). C.R.A.Z.Y. and Big Girl also won awards for being Canadian, but I didn't see those either. It seems like I missed most of the popular stuff somehow.
So now that the 30th TIFF is over and done with (as a side note, I'm 30 in another month or so, the TIFF started the year I was born. How cool is that?) it's time to have a look at the festival overall...

I'm fairly sure that the general quality of movies is up a little bit. There were still the stinkers and the stunners, but the average movie was really good. The average movie also seemed to be a chick flick. Fewer "abstract" or "surreal" movies from previous years it seems, and more in the "drama" category. Of course, on the plus side, it sounds like they're all really good dramas. I wouldn't know, I don't schedule those kinds of movies.

Would you like to know more?

Hostel

Expressly made to be the most fucked up movie you've ever seen!

Posted by: Task, September 19, 2005 06:00 PM

Saturday, September 17 11:59 PM VARSITY 8

Starring in the same "last movie of the festival" timeslot, by the same director, and in the same program as Cabin Fever (a movie I'm thinking I should see now), it's a gory horror that will make you cheer and might even make you think. Imagine that.

I've always avoided "horror" movies, but I've definitely been learning the error of my ways. Not all of them are stupid teen splatter movies with a ridiculous plot and no point, some of them are fantastic films in their own right. Take, for instance, the films of Miike and Eli Roth. This one in particular, of course.

While certainly being a good example of how gross and shocking a movie can be, it also turns into a great example of the fantastic "revenge drama" genre that I have recently discovered. At the same time, this movie also explores the question of "how much is a human life worth?" and posits that the answer is "different amounts to different people". Perhaps it's worth $25,000 and perhaps it's worth a stick of bubblegum. Depends on who you're asking.

If you can handle a movie that is this intense, then you're in for a fulfilling cinema experience.

But wait, there's more!

Shadowboxer

Hardcore Professional Killers... And Babies!

Posted by: Task, September 19, 2005 05:13 PM

Saturday, September 17 7:30 PM CUMBERLAND 3

I think this might be one of those "date movies" that tries to be a movie with something for the guys and something for the girls. Hence the "killers + babies" concept. Amazingly, it works really well. If I had known that was the premise, I would have avoided it. After all, I've seen City By The Sea and that was just horrid. Luckily, I was attracted by the whole "boy and his step-mother are a successful hit team that encounter problems when she gets cancer" advertised plot line. Even better than Bodyguard, this might be the best date movie ever.

To say more might be giving away the plot. You know, if you're picky about those things.

Citizen Dog

Surreal modern Thai fable dripping with supersaturated colours

Posted by: Task, September 19, 2005 04:53 PM

Saturday, September 17 12:45 PM PARAMOUNT 4

The best way to describe this movie might be "A surreal Thai Amélie. The feeling of coming out of the theatre is very similar. Stunned amazement, that kind of thing.

Needless to say, this film is a fantastic experience. I'm not sure how to talk about it, but I'll try...

SPL

Blazing Action!

Posted by: Task, September 18, 2005 11:49 PM

Friday, September 16 11:59 PM RYERSON

It takes more than just good fighting to make an excellent kung-fu movie, but with amazing all-real fights and an enthralling story you can make a movie of legendary quality. With the emphasis on "real" action, this movie reminds me a lot of Ong Bak, a previous years winner in the kung-fu category.

Hopefully that would convince most people that this is a film well worth watching. If you need to know any more about what makes this such a great movie, then read on...

The Wayward Cloud

Japanese musical porn

Posted by: Task, September 18, 2005 04:57 PM

Friday, September 16 8:00 PM RYERSON

Again, the Visions program has decieved me! Will I never learn? I not only broke my rule of "avoid Visions programs" but also my "don't go to the Film Fest to see porn" rule. I should have gone to The Quiet instead. Why did I do this?
Well, I really though that this movie might be kind of interesting, some of the base concepts were really cool. Unfortunately, the director tried very hard to make it slow and dull instead. The movie itself, or at least certain parts of it, were fine: it was all the connecting bits that were excruciatingly bad to sit through. There was a "story" (such as it is) that was comprehensible, but it should have been a half-hour feature. So the monkey doesn't specifically go to the movie, but more to the director. Along the lines of "WTF were you thinking?!?".

I would dearly love to give this movie both a Bomb and a Monkey, but it was easy to see how it could be salvaged into something that wasn't complete and utter crap. Sections of the movie were actually enjoyable.

Midnight Movies: From The Margin To The Mainstream

Re: The tradition carried on in the ever-popular Midnight Madness series

Posted by: Task, September 18, 2005 04:36 PM

Friday, September 16 2:45 PM CUMBERLAND 3

This was a "talking with pictures" entry and the main feature here is a documentary about how in the early 70's El Topo began the whole "midnight movies" thing. A good look at the six most influential/successful midnight movies and, more importantly, the audiences that attended them.

Filled with solid facts on the movies, the venues, the directors, and everything that went into creating both the movies and the special time slot, it's certainly an informative documentary. The focus point of the movie though is that it's the audiences that made the movies good. Unsurprisingly, the documentary itself had nothing amazing to it, but seeing it with that audience was quite the experience. Many of the Midnight Madness regulars were there, along with the guest speakers who (being knowledgeable people in this area) I found to be intelligent and quite entertaining. I would definitely recommend this to anyone interested in the phenomenon. The only thing that was missing was Colin Geddes. I really have no idea why he wasn't there.

If you missed it, then all is not lost! They recorded most of it. I assume it will be a special feature on one of the cable channels sometime soon.

The Great Yokai War

Harry Potter VS The Decepticons!

Posted by: Task, September 18, 2005 01:09 PM

Thursday, September 15 11:59 PM RYERSON

At a local festival, young Tadashi is chosen to be The Kirin Rider. Although he seems to be a bit cowardly (it makes him a very believable character and doesn't detract from his rising hero status later on), he does eventually manage to venture up the mountain of the Great Goblin and retrieve the legendary sword. Along the way, he makes friends with many colourful Yokai who are as much a focus of the movie as he is. Perhaps more.

The bad guy in this movie is a wizard of sorts who has built a machine out of humanity's discarded appliances which are charged with rage. While the highly pessimistic might see it a bit like this:

How To Make A MacGuffin:
Take 1 Yokai and 1 large piece of discarded machinery, add to magical stew, let cook for 10-30 seconds, produces one fully transforming giant robot evil minion.

The whole plot is well crafted and interwoven so it doesn't come off as being anywhere near as silly as it sounds.

The highlight of this film is definitely the costuming. Miike has a very distinct (to me, anyway) style of CGI that he uses, and the costumes for the army of Yokai mesh extremely well with the non-costumed pure CGI portions to make a fantastic whole of visual splendor.

Overall, this is a delightfully playful romp through Japanese folklore that is much more reminiscent of the original grim fairy tales than the sanitized versions that we grew up with. Top marks for both style and substance.

Oh, and don't forget: Asiago beans are good for you!

Transamerica

Is that really Felicity Huffman?!??!?

Posted by: LyttleOne, September 18, 2005 10:05 AM

This was a insightful look into the trials and tribulations of leaving one life, and its indiscretions behind, and pursuing your true path. It was truly amazing to find out that there were no prosthetics used by Felicity Huffman; her performance really made you believe that at one point she hadn't been a she. This was a masterful performance by all participants. Wonderfully shot, you'd never know it was a 'low budget' feature, and it was a highly enjoyable way to end this year's festival. Touched with humour, drama and the lack of understanding from parents that most adult children feel to some extent, this was an interesting look in the mirror that shows that we aren't all that different under the skin after all. The child-parent dynamic seemed to underly the themes in a few of my films this year and this film dealt with it with sensitivity and the vague sense of circling a caged animal that many parents approach their teenaged children with. Coming to terms with who our parents are as adults also filled out the themes in this film. Allowing people to have the room to be themselves, no matter their physical appearance or significance to you, was the final message this film delivered. I sincerely hope this is marketed properly when it hits theatres; it is a good film for all those who struggle within themselves and with those around them.

The Quiet

Deaf and mute, but insightful

Posted by: LyttleOne, September 17, 2005 10:24 AM

This film was beautifully shot (all in HD video) with wonderful techniques including shots through windows and into mirrors. The neutralization of sound for parts of this film were really powerful. It was amazing to see the level of confession that other people in the film exposed the main character to under the assumption that she couldn't hear, speak or understand them unless they directly faced her. I would be very surprised if more isn't heard from this film. Wonderful plot elements, thorough character development and amazing use of exposition and music make this film come alive. I've been hearing all week about how wonderful this film was from people who saw it at the earlier screening and was not disappointed. I also must commend the university of Texas. They introduced a new program (of which this film was the premier production) wherein they produce films and supply students to work behind the scenes at no cost to the director (they receive classroom credit instead) on the condition that it is filmed in Texas. This is a wonderful pilot project and I sincerely hope that they continue it and that it spreads to other universities.

Fateless

Powerful and oddly upbeat

Posted by: LyttleOne, September 17, 2005 10:05 AM

This was a wonderful vision of the inner world of a concentration camp survivor. It was shot in colour, but most of the camp was shot in such drab tones that you almost thought they were using black and white or sepia to define the lack of colour in their lives and imaginations, and when the boys life starts to look up is the first time you see colour in almost an hour and it leaps out at you like a flame in the dark. This is the first film dealing with concentration camp survivors that actually deals with both before and after his incarceration. Although the subtitles near the end of the film are difficult to read (white type against too light a background) his message of hope and that there was happiness in the camps as well as misery was powerfully wrought.

Sympathy For Lady Vengeance

Her ornate, vindictive plan unfolds like a sickeningly beautiful rose blossoming in the midst of the harshest winter...

Posted by: Task, September 16, 2005 09:26 AM

Thursday, September 15 9:00 PM ELGIN

Vengeance. This lady is out for it. You will sympathize with her.
With likely one of the most honest titles ever, this movie goes exactly where it advertises and does it superbly.

The story was masterfully told, the characters were intensely believable, the little plot twists were intriguing, the imagery was excellent, and the script was good. That's right, every single piece of a great movie came together in a well-meshing whole. I think there might even be a category for this kind of film, "revenge drama" or something, and I would say that it stands out as a stunning example of that genre.

Obviously, I have to buy a copy of Old Boy and Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance now. Oh, the trials and hardship of enjoying good film... 8 )

Romance & Cigarettes

I believe a man should be able to be romantic and smoke his f***ing brains out....

Posted by: LyttleOne, September 15, 2005 11:05 PM

Or so sayeth James Gandolfini. This was a delightful, lewd and bawdy tale of debauchery in lower middle class America, set to music. Susan Sarandon plays an exquisitely vengeful wife who is wronged by her husband of many years and does what she can given somewhat limited financial straits to make his life hell, instead of moving out, moving on, or getting a divorce. The wonderful ensemble cast make this story very human and real. Musical and dance numbers illuminate depths of character and emotion not usually attributed to the general run of middle-America, and one real treat of the film is watching the director (John Turturro) actively participating in his own film as a dancer. Kate Winslet as the bawdy mistress is wonderful, dreadful accent and all!

The Grönholm Method

Psychological testing....or is it?

Posted by: LyttleOne, September 15, 2005 10:56 PM

If you're looking for a summation of the film read Task's review of this flick, but if you're just looking for an opinion, read on! I enjoyed the film, despite some obvious contradictions and confusions. It was a little tough to follow at first, but once the main action began, the opening sequence and its confusions were quickly forgotten. It is very much a film of the 'human lab rat' variety, wherein several applicants are placed in a room and forced to eliminate each other for various reasons of 'unsuitability'. Well done, confusions aside and thoroughly enjoyable.

Festival

Like Me!

Posted by: ThirteenDamnDollars, September 15, 2005 01:34 AM

Annie Griffin
Wednesday September 14th, 3:15PM
Paramount

Festival follows the story of several participants in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. There's the two stand-up-comics who's stars are waning after too many years at the festival. The incredibly famous british comic and his long suffering personal manager, the radio host, the stary-eyed girl putting on her one-woman show, along with the priest putting on his, and New Brunswick's most popular experimental theater troupe.

But what this movie is really about is addiction, and the horrible sucking void of need at the core of every "funny" person. The driving black-hole that screams "like me! like me!" (as one character actually begs at one point during the film).

This movie is at turns hilarious and tragic.

The District!

Simple, we just build a time machine

Posted by: ThirteenDamnDollars, September 15, 2005 12:58 AM

Aron Gauder
Tuesday September 13, 11:59PM
Ryerson

The best thing I can say about The District! is that it looks really neat. Photographs and animations are combined and lain over 3-D models for a really spectacular visual effect. This movie was sold as a Hungarian South-Park, but visually, it's in a class by itself.

But for me, that's about it. I think this was meant to be a sort of social satire, skewering the multicultural ghetos and world politics. But the jokes were either tame, lame or just fell flat. I chuckled a few times, but that's not enough to save the movie.

It may be the case that the movie is saved by the Hungarian hip-hop musical numbers, but the subtitlers made the choice to try and make the translation rhyme and thus probably lost much of the meaning and point of the lyrics.

The Grönholm Method

Dance for your paycheque! Dance!

Posted by: Task, September 15, 2005 12:55 AM

Wednesday, September 14 9:00 PM PARAMOUNT 2

The movie I saw was pretty good, and this was the first ever viewing of it. The director himself hadn't seen it, he didn't even appear to know that they'd changed the title on him. It's referred to now as "The Method", the word Grönholm was likely removed so that the film appears less foreign and will therefore be more likely to be picked up by an American distributor. I expect there to be changes in the (eventual? supposed?) release version, and likely changes to make it even better.

Anyway, enough about my viewing of the movie, what about the movie itself?
It's set in 2010, where globalization has become the biggest thing (ha-ha, I'm punny) and everyone is protesting the IMF World Bank which has so much money (and therefore power) that it's dictating world policy and is focused on profit and working with the whole "suck the earth dry for every dollar we can" idea. This is merely the setting. Time is spent showing you these things, but it's just so you get a really good feel of the atmosphere of the world. And it works really well! One of the obvious results of this kind of world is that people who have high-level positions in companies would be a very go-for-the-throat type of people. Competitive, driven, everything we've got now but more so. So this company has narrowed the list of applicants down to 6 and is "interviewing" them all on the same day. In the same room. Without actually interviewing them. They're all in the same room and while filling out the same form for the third time they learn that "The Grönholm Method" is being used to select the person for the job. Of course, none of them have the slightest clue what that means, but they're all determined to be the last one standing, the winner of the new job. The movie keeps picking up the pace, developing plot and intrigue as these people compete among each other, at first following the instructions given to them by the computer, later on they're just making it up themselves.

Very much a psychological film, this movie will have you thinking from the minute it starts rolling till about an hour after you're done watching it. Exactly what's going on is, in the end, never really spelled out. The greatest power of the movie is that you're never completely sure of exactly what's going on, but you're given enough information to satisfy your curiosity and build your own ending in your head. Great movie!

Since it's adapted from a play, you don't really leave the main room. The whole movie is more about how these people interact than anything. When you get to "the shirt scene" prepare yourself for a hell of a good laugh. It's a good 5 minutes long and it's easily the best part of the movie.

I have one minor point to raise, but since it's a serious spoiler I'll hide it. You should really only read the stuff that follows if you've A) Already seen the movie, or W) Won't ever see it but want to know what I've written...

The Duelist

Style Over Substance

Posted by: ThirteenDamnDollars, September 15, 2005 12:41 AM

Lee Myung-se
Tuesday September 13, 9:00PM
Paramount

Stunning! A visual master piece! A re-invention of the swordplay genre! A lavish, stylish tour-de-force! These are all phrases I'm sure Lee Myung-se would like applied to The Duelist. Sadly, it is none of those things.

This is a swordplay movie without much sword play, a political thriller without much politics or thrills and a romance without much romance.

This movie is all flash, fancy edits and CGI reconstructed scenes made to look like manga panels. All this noise detracts from the story rather than serving it, muddling the story and annoying the audience.

I am being harsh on this movie and director simply because it had so much potential. The grizzled and weary police seargent and his adopted-daughter protegee. The mysterious mystically powerful swordsman. The corrupt government official. The marketplace. The lush palace. Ninja! NINJA! How can a movie with ninja fall so short of the mark?

Entre ses mains

Good girls like bad boys

Posted by: ThirteenDamnDollars, September 15, 2005 12:16 AM

Anne Fontaine
Tuesday September 13, 1:00PM
Paramount

Save us from silly weak-willed French women who fall for serial killers then won't lift a finger in their own defense!

This movie seems is well put together, the actors are phenomenal, the directing and editing serve to build tension and suspense, but the story enraged me. You can't hint at something the whole movie, and then actually have that be the case and have it be a surprise.

While sitting through the screening, I kept hoping, waiting for this movie to show me something new, something interesting. I wanted this smart successful woman to do something, act, call the cops, something, anything.

Bah!

Bangkok Loco

Grape Farcicle

Posted by: ThirteenDamnDollars, September 14, 2005 11:56 PM

Pornchai Hongrattanaporn
Monday September 12, 11:59PM
Ryerson Theater

This movie is ridiculous. It's a rolling roaring slap-stick comedy pun-tastic musical pop-culture blender.

It's Thailand, 1982. Bay is wrongly (probably) accused of killing his land lady and he's on the run from the law. At the same time, he must prepare for a drumming duel with the demon drummer by completing his training and reach "level 10" so he can avenge his master's death. All this and musical numbers too.

This movie is packed with puns, visual and language and sly references to western and Thai cluture. I'm sure at least half of this movie went right over my head due to translation, but it was none the less hilarious.

During the Q&A after the movie, the director had a translator, and I think maybe she didn't see the whole movie. So when someone asked why the master was covered in plates when he died, she was very confused, possibly thinking it was some English idiom she didn't understand.

Zizek!

He only has one shirt

Posted by: ThirteenDamnDollars, September 14, 2005 10:42 PM

Astra Taylor
Sunday September 11th, 6:30PM
ROM Theater

In the first few minutes of Zizek!, before the opening credits, Lacanian-Marxist, Slovenian presidential candidate and all-'round trouble maker Slavoj Zizek makes a convincing case that love is evil.

This pretty much par for the course, both with the man and the documentary. I left this screening feeling as if my brain had grown and was now too small for my head. Zizek is a coversational fire hose, knocking everyone in the room over with ideas and provacations.

This is a lovingly rendered portrait of a flawed human with a powerful intellect.

Whole New Thing

Yet another hippy set of parents raising a precocious child

Posted by: LyttleOne, September 14, 2005 09:32 PM

Hippies and their kids seem popular for Canadian films this year (Slow Curve and Whole New Thing both feature these), but Whole New Thing isn't just another hippy flick. Aaron Webber steals the screen from his older counterparts as the brilliant and too mature for his years Emerson in this film. His debut performance was a masterpiece worthy of actors twice his age. I look forward to seeing much more from him, and hope that other directors allow him the privelege of presenting his screen presence to other audiences. Sardonic, ironic, deeply emotional and intuitive he flips wonderfully between the supplanted genius and the stunted child who hasn't been socialized with his peers.

Where The Truth Lies

Atom Egoyan strikes again

Posted by: LyttleOne, September 14, 2005 09:21 PM

I'm not sure quite what to say about this film. I enjoyed it, but I likely would've enjoyed it more if I hadn't just seen Slow Burn two films prior. It was another convoluted murder mystery (like Slow Burn) but, sadly, not done as well. It was still a great movie for what it was, but I didn't find that it stacked up as well in comparison. I've never seen an Atom Egoyan film before and decided to give his film a shot this year. I came, I saw, I think for anything else of his I'll wait for the DVD....Kevin Bacon and Colin Firth were both very good in their roles....anytime you have Kevin Bacon doing anything where he spends time dancing, you usually get a good performance, and he is also very good at playing into the darker side of himself and this film called it out beautifully.

Walk The Line

Joaquin and Reese Can Sing!

Posted by: LyttleOne, September 14, 2005 09:08 PM

What a pleasant surprise this film was. I went in with no expectations (as it was a later pick for me) and no foreknowledge of Johnny Cash or June Carter. This film was highly enjoyable, thick with music, and it was so nice to see a strong female character portrayed with such heart. Reese Witherspoon made June Carter come alive in her determination and desire to stand on her own two feet. I can definitely foresee both Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon being offered singing/acting roles in the future. I wouldn't normally see something at the festival that is due for theatrical release so soon after the festival, but this is definitely one film I'm glad I saw this week, so that I can recommend it to friends - even those who don't like country music!

The Duelist

Beautifully choreographed duels that only strengthen their mutual feelings

Posted by: Task, September 14, 2005 02:38 PM

Tuesday, September 13 9:00 PM PARAMOUNT 2

Never before have I been so completely and utterly disappointed by a movie.

My first warning was that this film is in the Visions category. I think the whole Visions category is only allowed to have one or two good movies, and Brothers Of The Head and The Wayward Cloud are likely to be it. Every year the 'fest tries to teach me to be extremely wary of Visions films, and every year I fail to learn. Next year, film fest! Next year!

The second warning was that the director himself said that "the critics loved this movie, the audiences where half and half". At the time I was all with the "what? that doesn't make sense...". By now you're probably thinking that I found great problems with the movie or something. That's not it. Let me explain...

Zizek!

An academic rock star, the Elvis of cultural theory

Posted by: Task, September 14, 2005 01:11 PM

Tuesday, September 13 7:15 PM ROYAL ONTARIO MUSEUM

Presented in glorious digital, this movie (at an hour ten) is too short. Slavoj Zizek is a compelling and entertaining man, I could have watched another hour about him. Still, I trust the editing job that was done, perhaps more would have been overkill.

Imagine a man with the superpower of continuously generating a massive electrical charge. Everywhere he goes, he's discharging against any nearby conductive surfaces. Keep an image of this man in your mind. Now, instead of "a massive electrical charge", put in "ideas". In place of "conductive surfaces" is "people he can talk to". "Discharging" in this case is "talking". This is Zizek. Constantly talking, arms waving around wildly, generating more interesting ideas than you can keep up with.

I think the reason that he's "popular" is because he is able to take really good ideas and say them in a way that anyone can understand them. This he does continuously and repeatedly. So you can listen to him for a little while, or read one of his books, and you'll have some interesting things to remember and talk about at the next cocktail party. In other words: He thinks, so other people don't have to.

I can't think of anything that people would appreciate more than not having to think for themselves. Except perhaps not having to do anything at all.

I definitely enjoyed this movie, and it makes me hopeful. As long as there's at least one guy thinking up interesting thoughts, we've all got a chance.

The District!

R-rated cartoons are taking over the world

Posted by: Task, September 14, 2005 12:29 PM

Tuesday, September 13 11:59 PM RYERSON

The biggest problem with animated features might be the great difficulty of creating a realistic enough face to convey the incredible range of human emotion that can be read from it. This problem has been completely overcome in this feature by filming actual faces and pasting them onto animated bodies. It works well. So it looks good, and I thought the musical scenes were great, that leaves us with just one question: Is the story any good?

Well, it's basically a "rival street gangs" movie, featuring LOTS of "money, drugs, and whores". The fact that it's animated makes if real easy to not take it very seriously, and serious enjoyment is quite possible. So it all works real well in my opinion. You know, if you're in for this kind of thing. 8 )

If you want to know a bit more about the plot...

Slow Burn

Ensemble cast dazzles

Posted by: LyttleOne, September 14, 2005 01:13 AM

This film is holding my streak of wonderful films from this festival. So many twists and turns to the plot left many in the audience convinced they knew what was going on, only to be proven wrong, not once, but twice by this byzantine plot. Jolene Blalok was wonderful as the tricksy ADA and you were forced to ask yourself if she was good, bad, or just out for herself many times. You never knew who was telling the truth, and if they were being told the truth, if they believed it. It was heartbreaking not to get to enjoy a Q & A with this film. As this director's debut effort, he has definitely set himself up as one to watch out for in upcoming festivals and at the box office in general. I wouldn't be at all surprised if this film got an Oscar nod for the performances or the screenplay.

The Mistress of Spices

Another score for the team that brought you Bend It Like Beckham

Posted by: LyttleOne, September 13, 2005 04:42 PM

"Magical realism" is what one of the directors called this film, and that speaks volumes about what sort of feeling one gets from this film. Shot with an intensity of emotion, colour and a wonderful blending of cultures and traditions, Mistress of Spices is a film that will capture your heart and overwhelm your senses. I almost wished that Smell-o-Vision were real when I saw the spice shop in this film. Lush reds, yellows, greens and warm wood tones delineate the Mistress' work and world, until the day that a stranger catches her eye. The vivid and vibrant visions she is blessed with envelop you in the lives of the customers to her world. This film was a pleasure to watch and I look forward to finding and reading the book that was it's inspiration.

Bangkok Loco

Thai Camp!

Posted by: Task, September 13, 2005 11:44 AM

Monday, September 12 11:59 PM RYERSON

Literally filled to overflowing with clever Thai language puns, Thai culture of 20 years ago (a lot like our 60s by the looks of it), Thai celebrities, and references to Thai movies, you'd think that this movie would be wholly uncomprehensible to those of us who aren't, well, Thai. Luckily, this movie is also in another language, one that many of us are quite fluent in: Camp. One note here: While I definitely Enjoyed the movie, there was a group of about a dozen Thai in the back right corner of the theatre that were definitely Having The Time Of Their Lives.

Ramblings

The Festival is either getting better...

Posted by: LyttleOne, September 13, 2005 01:38 AM

or I've really learned how to pick films that I enjoy. Every film I've seen thusfar in the festival has been exceptional. I've laughed, I've cried (not the blubbery, ugly, girl crying; the dignified, sniffling, one-tear deals), I've been moved, I've been made to look at the world a little differently and I've wanted to have everyone else I know see all the films I've seen this year. It's so hard seeing so many good films because a part of me is just waiting for the complete stinker that looked good in the program book and sucks in execution, but with so many wonderful films, I almost hope that there aren't any like that, because they'll be so much worse by comparison to everything else. I feel a little guilty, but with all the ballots I've yet been given for the People's Choice Award, I've yet to rate anything below a 3 (and that only because I can't, in good conscience, rate a splatter flick higher than that!)....to my mind any film that is better than 90% of what I see the rest of the year should get at least a 3....and if it is far and away so much better than what I'd normally spend my money on, than it deserves a 4 or a 5.....I keep thinking that this film is the last *really* fantastic film I'm going to see, and then I have a day where in 3 films and one short, I'm blown away by all of them....it almost isn't fair to be enjoying these so much....I feel like I do when I've eaten too much good food; I've indulged and been decadent and I should have to do something unpleasant to make up for it....but each one keeps getting better!

One Last Thing...

Is it really okay to laugh at a kid dying of cancer?

Posted by: LyttleOne, September 13, 2005 01:20 AM

I hope so....because this film was hilarious in places. Touching, poignant, thoughtful and an interesting theory of the afterlife in places, too, but hilarious nonetheless. It was really a treat getting to see most of the cast out for the world premier. All of the principal cast for this film showed up as well as the wonderful Ethan Hawke who plays the role of the dying boy's dead father in ways that touch your heart and remind you that humanity isn't limited to this life. Without telling you what to believe, this film makes the death of a child a little less senseless. It offers comfort to the dying and those left behind without diminishing the loss at all. Laugh out loud funny and tear-jerking, too, this film has secured a place on the silver screen for the relative unknowns in the cast and has definitely further proven that Cynthia Nixon and Ethan Hawke can ACT.

A Simple Curve

What happens when hippies run amok....

Posted by: LyttleOne, September 13, 2005 01:10 AM

I loved this film. It was beautiful in execution, script, acting, location and technique. I usually use the films I see at the festival to recommend films to friends and family for the coming year, and this will definitely be on that list...not that there's been anything I've seen this year that wouldn't. I must commend the actors, directors and film festival people behind the selection of this year's films. I've yet to see anything that hasn't been extraordinary in some way. It's truly a pleasure when one gets to see such a collection of wonderful work in one setting.

Hide

Shorts!

Posted by: LyttleOne, September 13, 2005 01:02 AM

I too have to heartily agree with Task's assessment....shorts preceding a feature is a wonderful idea! Hide is what happens when a creative mind takes a young childs game of Where am I to the extreme. Sardonic and a little disturbing, this short goes from commonplace to a place few would not fear to tread. The fear of loss of a loved one is a universal constant, no matter the method and this short poignantly captures the emotions of such a loss. Beautiful and touching.

These Girls

Yummy Eye Candy and Adultery too!

Posted by: LyttleOne, September 13, 2005 12:57 AM

Witty, warm and blissfully fun! Shot on location in small town New Brunswick this film is a treat for the adolescent girl in all of us and a warm reminiscense of our inner bitch for those of us who admit to having one. The trials and tribulations of growing up, adjusting friendships, stealing pot and the evils (?) of adultery are portrayed in this wonderful film. On a side note,

Brothers of the Head

Have Your Conjoined Twin Cake And Eat It Too

Posted by: ThirteenDamnDollars, September 12, 2005 09:29 PM

Keith Fulton and Louis Pepe
Monday September 12, 2:00PM
Paramount

Ok, so in the real world, the movie Brothers of the Head is based on a book of the same name by Brian Aldiss.

In the movie world of Brothers of the Head, this movie is a documentary about a pair or conjoined twins who had a brief rise to rock-stardom in the late 70's, based on the historical account by Brian Aldiss, containing interviews with the book's subjects, footage from an earlier documentary and even scenes from an earlier incomplete film adaptation of the brothers' story.

In the wrong hands, this would be terrible, but in the hands of Fulton and Pepe, it is termendously entertaining, with a kicking punk soundtrack. The conceit of the film within the film allows the dirctors access to the excesses of melodrama and attendant silliness while giving them distance and letting them maintain a knowing wink.

This film feels so real, the viewer feels real saddness for the loss of this fictional novelty punk band, innocence exploited and careers cut short.

Highly recommended.

Saints-Martyrs-des-Damnés

Baroque and eerie supernatural thriller

Posted by: Task, September 12, 2005 09:26 PM

Saturday, September 10 9:15 PM PARAMOUNT 1

What we have here is an incredible first full-length film for this director. I avidly await his next film. Now it is my task to describe to you why this film is so impressive.

To do this, I may have to write an essay. You are warned: excessive verbiage follows!

Isolation

Mooooooo!

Posted by: ThirteenDamnDollars, September 12, 2005 08:58 PM

Billy O'Brien
Sunday September 11th, 11:59PM
Ryerson Theater

Oh the symbolism! Rife! It was Rife!

An evil big-city genetic scientist promises to pay a simple country farmer big money to conduct his immoral genetic experiments on the cows. The experiments literally corrupt the purity of nature, the money never actually appears and it's the farmer a dedicated but harried country vet and a couple of poor ittinerant citizens are left to clean up the mess.

Billy O'Brien knows the secret that a lot of big Hollywood creature feature directors don't. That it's a lot scarier to hint at the monster, showing it in darkness, always in the peripheral vision, sound effects off screen. The viewer's imagination, sufficently primed, and come up with horrors 100 times creepier than anything you can come up with in latex, animatronics or CGI.

Another nice dichotomy in this film is that while what the creature represents, and what it could do is terrifying, the creature itself is sort of pathetic. Only really threatening if events somehow (SOMEHOW) conspire to leave the characters crawling around cramped dark spaces or stranded in water.

This movie brings the scares and the fun.

Les Saignantes

Future-Schmuture

Posted by: ThirteenDamnDollars, September 12, 2005 08:28 PM

Jean-Pierre Bekolo
Sunday September 11th, 4:00PM
Cumberland

Accorting to the press release, there were 3545 films submitted to the TIFF this year, about 1/10th of them were accepted. So when I don't like a movie, I tend to think it's something in me. Some cultural bias, or a failure of my astehic sense or the film was just not to my taste.

This is not the case with Les Saignates. The film starts with a marginally interesting premise for a satirical science fiction social commentary (an important government minister dies while with a prostitute, there are political power plays made by an ambitious younger minister, the prostitutes use the situation to expose the corruption of government and the police), then fails in almost ever respect. This director does not know how to tell a story with pictures. The editing is distracting and terrible, the plot advances in fits and starts, the acting is best left unmentioned, and due to an ill-advised decision to use a cool type-writer style font, even the subtitles are a failure. Have you ever seen a video of LARPers pretending to fight? The fight scenes in Les Saignates are not that good. The director was present, so I tried not to laugh at inappropriate times, but others in the theater were not so courtieous.

I deem this movie unwatchable, if I did not have a perfect record on sticking-it-out, I would have walked out about half way through, a lot of people did.

Shark in the Head

Would You Like A Duck? Take A Duck!

Posted by: ThirteenDamnDollars, September 12, 2005 07:54 PM

Maria Prochazkova
Sunday September 11th, 12:15PM
Cumberland

This is a non-narrative film from the Czech Republic. Which is normally code for DANGER WILL ROBINSON! DANGER WILL ROBINSON! But this was very enjoyable.

Firstly, it's not really non-narrative. Shark in the Head concerns the inner life of Mr. Seman, an elderly schizophrenic as well as his relationships with the people of the neighbourhood. Maria Prochazkova uses cut-ups, stop-motion animation, traditional animation and other special effects to illustrate Seman's delusions.

This movie feels like a really well constructed bitter-sweet short story.

Evil Aliens

Ennnnnnnnglish?!

Posted by: ThirteenDamnDollars, September 12, 2005 07:39 PM

Jake West
Saturday September 10th, 11:59PM
Ryerson Theater

Aliens! Porn Stars! Yellow Journalism! Welshmen!

This is a straight up camp splatter fest. Lots of silly fun.

The French Guy

Ooh la la

Posted by: ThirteenDamnDollars, September 12, 2005 07:29 PM

Ann Marie Fleming
Saturday September 10th, 9:30PM
Cumberland

A mature woman is booted out of her post-brain-cancer-surgery hospital bed with the sutchers still fresh on her head. Her head bleeds, her jaw locks with startling frequency and every time she sneezes she hears a sickening crunch and gets searing headaches.

Living in her long time platonic friends beautiful apartment, waiting for him to return home so she can declare her love to him, things start to get a little strange when she brings home a pretty boy singer song writer and accidentally pulls out his tounge (what? that's never happened to you?). Things get really weird when the classical quartet shows up. This is an absurdist surreal murder comedey. If that appeals to you, you'll like this movie.

Souvenir of Canada

Wow-wee

Posted by: ThirteenDamnDollars, September 12, 2005 07:00 PM

Robin Neinstein
Friday September 10th, 4:45PM
Isabel Bader Theater

It is possible that the purpose of art is to tell us who we are. As individuals, or as a nation. By this definition there can be no doubt that Souvenir of Canada is high art.

Narrated by Douglas Coupland and based on his books of the same name, Souvenir of Canada follows Coupland as he creates his instalation "Canada House", a CMHC suburban house gutted and painted completely white then filled with Canadian ephemera. The film also explores the author's relationship with his parents and siblings and their reactions to his work.

Throughout the movie, Coupland talks about our "secret handshakes", things that are subconsiously Canadian. Long underwear ads in the Sears catalog, BeeHive brand corn syrup, the Ookpik, the 1967 centinary year, beer cans and stubby bottles, bi-lingual product packaging, the trans-Canada highway, zany knock off gameshows with $10 prizes.

This is no stodgy government propaganda touting our multi-cultural integration, nor is it America-bashing defining-by-what-we-aren't. This is the real substance of our society. Every new souvenir that comes out elicits gasps of recognition and laughs from a Canadian audience. You can feel Robin Neinstein's and Coupland's joy and glee at exploring and presenting the artifacts of our culture, in one scene, Coupland visits the home of a beer can collector and upon setting eyes on the basement room filled floor to ceiling, exclaims "wow-whee!".

Coupland for Govenor General!

Isolation

Old MacDonald had a gene lab, E-I-E-I-Augh!

Posted by: Task, September 12, 2005 10:52 AM

Sunday, September 11 11:59 PM RYERSON

Very high production values in this rural thriller.

The best (and most important) character in the movie is the farm itself. It's an old rusty farm that's half drowned in the kind of thing you don't want to think about too closely. This set of buildings should probably be deserted, and the land would likely be a lot better off in the hands of a land developer, but the guy who runs it is too stubborn to give up just because things are difficult.

The farmer is the closest thing the movie has to a lead character, and he's good. It's actually very surprising when he makes a dumb move, but it ends up being important to the plot. He's in the best position to take on the "tough hero" role, but he doesn't do quite as well in that role as I'd hoped: I wasn't satisfied with his ending. It seemed kind of cheap. The other characters are well done, but you don't get quite as much depth as you do on him.

All in all, a fine movie with an interesting idea in it.

On to the plot! Slight spoilers follow...

Seven Swords

General Fire-Wind, after massacring countless innocent people, targets Martial Village.

Posted by: Task, September 12, 2005 04:26 AM

Sunday, September 11 3:00 PM RYERSON

This movie start out by showing you the bad guys in action, and wow are they ever a large and varied lot! Each of them specializes in a different weapon and is quite distinctive. They've each got a couple hundred soldiers under their command as well, we are talking "army" here.
So the emperor had declared that all practitioners of martial arts are to be killed for bounty. He's afraid that they'll try and kill him, so he's attacking pre-emptively. Like all dumb Chinese leaders, he fails to realize that the best warriors are meditating on their mountains and will happily leave you alone as long as you don't go around poking them with a stick.
A fantastic swordplay epic does of course happen. Which is interesting, because none of the "bad guys" use a sword!
All the best swords are made by Master Shadow-Glow on Mount Heaven, so our heroes travel there for help and the real story begins.
This movie shares one awesome feature with Excalibur: The movie isn't about the people as much as it's about the sword. Or, swords in this case. Each one is unique, and the camera loves the sword.
I've seen better epic movies, but this one definitely does bring something different to the table. Well worth watching, fans will not be disappointed.

Short Cuts Canada 5: Genre Redux

A mixed bag, as usual. Good overall though.

Posted by: Task, September 12, 2005 04:25 AM

Sunday, September 11 9:00 PM ROYAL ONTARIO MUSEUM

This is the only short program I'm seeing this year, I'm having great difficulty with their whole "we can pick 10 shorts you want to see!" philosophy, because the people who pick these and package them are retarded. This one was the best looking collection and guess what? It was sold out! Anyway, that rant over with, on with the reviews...

Evil Aliens

Porn, aliens, comedy, and splatter.

Posted by: Task, September 12, 2005 03:26 AM

Saturday, September 10 11:59 PM RYERSON

This movie opens with sex, follows with aliens, and keeps switching back and forth until finally they combine sex and aliens in one scene. The comedy levels are high throughout (as are many of the characters, if not the actors themselves), and there is always a lot of splatter. The best part of the film might be trying to catch all the references to other movies that fill the film beginning to end.

It's actually got a bit of a plot near the beginning and near the end, but don't kid yourself: This is purely entertainment, no higher brain functions required.

Actually, I'm not sure you need anything above the navel to enjoy this movie.

Or would it be wrong of me to say that?

The Argument (A "Burnt Toast" Opera)

Playing a short with a feature presentation is a good idea.

Posted by: Task, September 12, 2005 03:16 AM

Saturday, September 10 9:30 PM CUMBERLAND 3 (before The French Guy)

The way they bundle shorts in this fest, you have to see 2 that you really hate in order to check out the 2 that look good and you also have to sit through another 2 that you know are going to be a waste of time disguised as art.
Not so when you show 1 short with a feature presentation!
This one in particular was marvelous.
It's just the usual kind of thing that goes on with a couple that've been married 40 years (I would assume), only it's done in total operatic style.
Totally fantastic.