How Quentin Tarantino Helped Me Get Through University

Last night I was cleaning up some files on my relic of a computer.  A while ago I'd taken the last of the 3.5" floppy disks (for those who are too young to remember, we used to fancy storing our data in plastic coasters 12 years ago) and had them all copied to my harddrive (the entire box of discs probably amounted to 2MB), and amidst a mountain of WordPerfect and Microsoft Works files (which I have no idea how to convert) I found some some old papers that I wrote in university.

It's been suggested that I can make an argument for almost anything using Quentin Tarantino's films, and that once you get me started I may not shut up for days.  The paper below is proof.  It was written for a 2nd year film studies course, citing examples of Symbolism in Pulp Fiction.  Pretty mindless fare right?  In my defense, I never meant to regurgitate conversations from the bar (and Art Hall...for those who went to high school with me) and message boards to pass off as research for a university paper.  It was all supposed to have been very different.

There's no polite way to put it, even 12 years later... I hated my prof for that class.  Others loved her, she was my nemesis and to this day I believe she passed me so that we would not have to endure each other again.  There was a variety of possible topics for this paper, but our selection had to be pre-approved by our professor.  To avoid in-person contact (I may have already refused to physically attend her class by this point... that story another time) I fired off an email to her asking for approval to write a paper on Wong Kar Wai (whose films I was only beginning to discover at the time, and really much more appropriate for an arty film theory tie-in than guys wielding guns, and using the N-word 69 times.), and set out with a stack of video tapes and articles.  She replied 2 days before the due date to say I could not write my paper on Wong Kar Wai because she did not have enough knowledge of his films (which I think is b.s., just because she's deeply entrenched in her Eistenstein and Bazin doesn't mean she can't read the contents of my paper and grade my level of success in proving my hypothesis.  Wong Kar Wai was already an established director so clearly I wasn't making up a fictitious filmmaker.  Furthermore, Wong Kar Wai sits firmly on the list of postmodern Auteurs, a theory/movement that Bazin himself championed!  Sorry, I digress, I will go back to speaking like a normal person now...)  She basically gave me 2 days notice to dump all my research and start again!

That was my breaking point, hers wasn't the only course I had, plus whatever exams and productions I was involved with at the time.  So to appease the requirements of the paper I chose one of the simplest theories available to demonstrate, and picked a film that I knew so well, I could recite it backwards.  I didn't even have to rewatch PF (though I would've if I hadn't been so pressed for time), I just sat down and spit out the 2000 words.  I know this isn't profound writing, or ultimately even that informing.  But it's proof that it's advantageous to know your favourite movie inside and out, and demonstrates how I managed to pass a course just by writing about Quentin Tarantino :)  You gotta love that.

So here it is, the late-night bullshitting of a QT-obsessed 21 year old film student:

Random fact about me:  "Honey Bunny" is the only pet name I will answer to

Submitted to:  Dr. Lily Avrutin

Submitted by:  Ada Wong

Course:  MFP 026

Due Date:  Monday, April 3, 2000

The Super Cool Briefcase and Gold Watch of Ezekiel 25:17

The Symbolism in Pulp Fiction

             A movement, which began in the late 1880’s, Symbolism, arose as a result of opposition to realism.  Artists disappointed in the current state of rationalistic and materialistic society sought new values in spirituality and the pursuit of hidden meanings.  Symbolism has been found in film for decades from experimental to narrative, in Hollywood narratives it is most commonly used to add another deeper dimension to the story than that which is being presented on the screen.  A contemporary example of symbolism being used for such a purpose is Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction, a seemingly chaotic bloodbath of a film about characters of the thieving, lying, and cheating sort.  Pulp Fiction utilizes symbolism to show cultural representations and underlying themes, it also includes discussions about symbolism and the different ways the characters interpret them.

           

            Symbolic references usually require some kind of pre-established connection between the nature of the symbol and the meaning, even though the actual perception is thought to be an internal relationship between that of the percipient and what is perceived (Whitehead, 8-9)*.  Tarantino, a child of pop culture and mass media himself, gives his audience little room for misinterpretation when illustrating his views on American culture.  Pulp Fiction makes reference to every decade after the Second World War and does so through iconography, showing that America today is nothing but a collage of times past.  Each scene contains elements from different decades be it objects, clothing, music, or verbal references.  Even in a simple setup such as the conversation between Vincent and Lance the drug dealer at Lance's house, there are multiple references to various decades.  Lance speaks of disco, seventies retro, bell-bottoms, and Vincent's car - a Malibu, all in under a minute.  On their date later that evening, Mia convinces her "Elvis Man"  Vincent to have their meal at 50's diner Jack Rabbit Slim's where their waiter is a Buddy Holly impersonator and they dance to Chuck Berry's "You Never Can Tell".  In the second story, The Gold Watch, Butch runs into the pawn shop owned by Maynard, which is like a collection of all the junk one can possibly collect over that period of 50 years.  In this pawnshop many horrific events take place, while Butch manages to escape, he feels a compulsion to return for Marsellus.  He searches the shop for a possible weapon and settles on a large samurai sword, representative of Asian culture where honour among thieves is seen as integral.

            The Gold Watch segment opens with a Vietnam War Veteran telling young Butch about the history and lineage of his family and this watch, Tarantino chose this particular war as it was around this time that the straightforward fashion that society treated lineage and time with began to disintegrate. (Rushkoff, 104)  Butch certainly did not do honourable battle like his father and those preceding him, but yet he still held on to the importance of lineage during times of chaos as he went back to retrieve his watch.  After the Vietnam War, many were changed, and Butch's family was no exception.  The watch symbolizes here the history and lineage that Butch still respects even after all the social changes that have taken place.  The whole film can be viewed as a sign the changes that have taken place, things are no longer straightforward and black and white, and neither is the arrangement of this film.

            One the themes of this movie is redemption, there are 3 examples that are most notable.  Butch decides to go back downstairs in the pawn shop to save Marsellus, in the process he gains redemption for killing the boxer Wilson in the ring the previous night. Marsellus allows Butch to go after rescuing stating "there is no me and you, not no more", Butch has redeemed himself with Marsellus and is free from him and his men provided he doesn't tell anyone about the events that took place and never returns to the city.  Jules lets Pumpkin and Honey Bunny go at the diner even after they've taken all his money and pointed a gun at him, he talks to them and tries to guide them rather than inflicting violence. He even prompts his partner Vincent not to shoot; he is a recently changed man and hopes to gain redemption in this way.  Less obvious is the needle, it is viewed by the drug addicted characters primarily as a tool for shooting up, but in a twist of fate it is also a giant hypodermic needle that saves Mia during her overdose.  The needle has redeemed itself, showing that is it more than merely an object of destruction.

            Hidden in the plot, one would also find many references to spirituality.  Jules has a preoccupation with his bible passage Ezekiel 25:17, which he likes to recite right before he kills someone.  He does this for the guys in the apartment when he and Vincent are retrieving the briefcase, and he recites it again for Pumpkin but does not open fire this time because he has changed his ways from the 'miracle' he has witnessed.  The briefcase Vincent and Jules go to so much trouble to recover is also a symbol of spirituality.  Its combination is 666 as we can see when Vincent first opens it to check its contents, the number of Satan.  This briefcase is to be delivered to Marsellus, who can be viewed as an evil personality.  The contents of the briefcase has caused much debate, but it is commonly believed to contain either Marsellus' soul or "the evil of all men", the latter adding to Marsellus' link to the devil.  We first see the golden glow of the briefcase when Vincent opens it up on the counter at the apartment, it is much like the glow given off by candles in a church.  The same type of light appears on the film and triggers the fade in of the scene as Jules and Vincent open fire on Brett, suggesting a relationship with the briefcase that is something unearthly.

            In times of trouble, and there are many of such times in this film, it is always important to "stay cool".  Doing so will keep you alive, and losing your cool will often get you shot.  In the apartment during the early morning, Brett is sitting down enjoying his Big Kahuna Burger when Jules and Vincent come busting in.  Brett is doing fine as long as he sits calmly passing his food and tasty beverage over to Jules when requested, but as soon as the gun is in his face and his friend is shot he loses his cool, starts stammering, and then is shot.  After his date with Mia, Vincent hangs around in her washroom giving himself a pep talk on staying cool and not sleeping with the "Big Man's" wife, in the meantime, Mia is outside overdosing on his heroin.  When Vincent and Jules show up at Jimmy's house with Marvin's brains splattered all over the inside of their car all three are on the verge of losing their cool, at which point they enlist the help of The Wolf who remains calm and saves them all from trouble.  Finally in the diner Jules urges Pumpkin and Honey to be cool, like "three Fonzie's", Pumpkin complies but Honey Bunny takes more a little more effort.  Both do end up "chilling out", as do all the customers, hence any shooting is avoided and everyone survives the robbery.

            Time plays the antagonist in much of the film, it is definitely not on Mia, Vincent, Butch, or Jimmy's side.  Like the norm of modern society, they are racing against the clock, only in much more dire situations.  Vincent is speeding down the street in his car while calling Lance on his cell phone with a dying Mia next to him, Lance scrambles around a cluttered room to find a black medical book, and him and Vincent have a hurried debate about who is to give Mia the adrenaline shot.  Butch is on a race for his freedom the moment he flees from the rink after he's killed the boxer, he phones his bookie to find out when he can pick up the money and plans to leave in the morning.  He is further pressed for time the following morning when he realizes that Fabienne has left his watch, the most obvious symbol of time, back at the apartment and has to go retrieve it.  After he successfully retrieves his father's watch, another setback occurs leading him running straight into the events of the pawnshop as he trys to flee from Marsellus.  Jimmy's preoccupation with time stems from the fact that two guys have just shown up at his house covered in blood and brains with a headless body in their car and his wife is due home in an hour.  Thankfully for those involved, each and every one of them managed in their situations.  The focus on time is not simply within the characters' lives but also with the film itself as time is cut up and rearranged, drawing attention to it by doing so.

            Vincent and Jules have on more than one occasion stopped to have discussions about the symbolic significance of certain events.  The first occurred as they waited in the hallway of Brett and company's apartment, they debated whether giving a woman a foot message was a sexual act.  A fellow gangster had just been thrown off a building for giving Marsellus' wife a foot message and the partners were arguing if the man had deserved it.  The foot message is a sign of trouble, trouble in relation to Mia Wallace, perhaps a sign Vincent should have heeded more carefully during their date that night.  Their views clash again in the diner when Jules is convinced that a miracle had taken place while Vincent dismisses it as a "freak occurrence".  There had been a third man in the washroom of the apartment who jumped out and fired straight at them, yet none of the bullets struck Jules or Vincent.  Jules took this as a religious sign, that God wanted him to live, and decided to give up his life as a gangster.  Vincent took this event as "another occasion to express dismay at the way things go in our unmannerly society" (Beebe, 1).  He learnt nothing in his reflections of the event and hence was doomed to repeat his mistakes, his lack of personal progression is what causes him to be killed by Butch two days later during the stakeout.  Jules had quit by this time and was no longer Vincent's partner, therefore his life was spared.  Finally Jules tries to rationize his favourite bible passage and what role he plays in it to Pumpkin as they sit at the table.  He had previously thought of it as only a cold sounding passage to recite before an execution, but in light of the events just past, he now gives it more thought.  Ezekiel 25:17 encompasses many different characters and Jules attempts to figure out who plays who symbolically, he comes up with three different scenarios where he is either the righteous man, the shepherd, or the tyranny of evil men.  He finally settles on the latter and decides to try to be the shepherd.

              In our perception of the external world we are familiar with the immediate presentation of the contemporary world, yet we cannot instantly relate to symbolic references unless there is a common link between the symbol and meaning that can be expressed even "without reference to the percipient" (Whitehead, 9).  Tarantino has painted us with a clear picture not only through his popular culture iconography of  the decades, but also through his characters.  While they may be cynics, mirrored in them sharply are our present anxieties.  Like Jules and Vincent's differing interpretations of the supposed "miracle", viewers tend to be divided on the meaning of this film.  John Beebe of the San Francisco Jung Institute sees the division comprised of those who see it as a "supreme occasion for indulging our regret at the deterioration of our culture's values" and those who make note of the "transformation in this country's historical valorizing of vengeance", although it may be as simple as those who see it only for it's violence and those who actually see the meaning beyond the surface.

* Please pardon the citations, I did not remove, yet do not have my citations list either.  I can provide if any legal types come banging on my door/inbox ;)

Supplementary (aka Better) Reading:
Wong Kar-wai - http://sensesofcinema.com/2002/great-directors/wong/
Auteur Theory - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auteur_theory 
ON THE Q.T.: Ch 2: PULP FICTION (The Cool) - http://blogs.indiewire.com/pressplay/video-essay-the-qt-pulp-fiction-and-cool

Berbarian Sound Studio at the New York Film Festival

(This entry stems from an excerpt of my travel journal, in which I chronicle my recent trip to NYC.)

I was recently in New York City and attending an opera at the Lincoln Center one night, when I noticed some posters there advertising the New York Film Festival.  I've been to the Tribeca Film Festival in NYC a few times but never NYFF. (so in the words of Barney Stinson... Challenge accepted!)  Upon checking their schedule online, I discovered there was a repeat screening of Berberian Sound Studio, a film that I'd very much wanted to see at TIFF but couldn't due to scheduling conflicts and nabbed tix.  The non-member price for tickets at the NYFF hovers around the $20 mark, comparable to TIFF, but since I rarely pay full price for tickets at the Toronto Film Fest, I did raise an eyebrow at the figure.  Oh well, our dollars are almost on par anyway.

 Though they've been around longer (50 years now), boast some big films, celebrity appearances, and interesting year round programing, the New York Film Festival is much smaller than our beloved Toronto International Film Festival.  Berberian Sound Studio was part of their Midnight Movies program (as was Barry Levinson's The Bay, from TIFF"s Midnight Madness program, which was well-received), and this was the repeat screening I was attending.  The film stars Tobey Jones as Gilderoy, a mild-mannered, soft spoken sound engineer hired over from England to work in an Italian Studio on a horror film.  The movie also doubles as a homage to the 70's Italian Horror genre, and the age of analog sound recording with beautiful artsy close ups of film being fed through a projector, Nagra tape recorders, and reels of winding mag stock.  Cinema tends to focus on the visual image, given our obsessions with HD and CGI, while we are treated to beautiful cinematography however we never see the film which they work on, we learn about it purely through sound.  Those not familiar with the workings of ADR (Additional Dialogue Recording) or foley might not understand at first what is happening, for those who've done foley work, the chuckles begin almost immediately.  As the recording booth screams grow shriller, and pressures of finding just the right melon to replicate the sound of a skull smashing starts to blur with Gilderoy's reality, we begin to delve into Lynch-ian dream-sequences of mounting psychological terror.  You'll likely find yourself quaking, despite not seeing a single drop of blood spilled.

It was such a treat to be able to see Berberian Sound Studio on a big screen with theatre surround sound, the layers of diagetic and non-diagetic sounds carefully crafted and combined make you perk up your ears the whole time.  I was very amused when the credits included a long list of "Screamers" including a "Special Guest Screamer".  Berbarian Sound Studio was aptly selected for TIFF's Vanguard Program over Midnight Madness, I think it's the perfect example to cite when describing the Vanguard Program as MM's "cooler, older sister".

After seeing Berbarian Sound Studio and writing this blog, I now have an urge to go watch Suspiria after I post this.

Ada's TIFF 2012

Now that the TIFF hangover (both the metaphorical and physical one) has not only worn off, but become a distant memory, we can truly reflect on the movie whirlwind that was the 11 days of the 37th Toronto International Film Festival. Well, that's my excuse anyway, and I'm sticking with it!

I'd heard a mix of comments after the initial film announcements, such as thoughts that TIFF was "playing it safe" with their line-up this year, and observations similar to my own that there seemed to be fewer Far East Asian films than usual.  Still, in 300+ titles, it can't be hard to fill your calendar.  Some folks who purchased TIFF packages this year complained about the lack of 9am Public Screenings, as these hardcore moviegoers rely on early starts in order to fit in up to 5 or 6 movies a day.  Those of us who used a combo including volunteer vouchers were able to go to 9am Press & Industry shows making that was less of a problem.  This was also the first year they split up the Members and Public box offices into separate locations and I personally had mixed feelings about that.  I didn't really see any advantage to using the Members box office until the second half of the festival where there were no line vs. long waits at the Public box office.

Other personal observations about my festival are that I think I watched the most English-language films this year than any other year.  While I was quite pleased overall with my selections, fell asleep during surprisingly few movies despite my schedule, and labeled more than the average number of films as "good", I would have to say there was no particular movie that bowled me over (ie. the year of Slumdog Millionaire).  The mix of volunteering, work, vacation days, and movies every chance I had was grueling but not unheard of compared to past festivals.  Next year it would be nice if I could manage an extra day or two of vacation, I only had two 5-movie days this year, that was partially of my own doing though as I felt the need to be at the 2nd screening of Much Ado About Nothing even if it meant spending time in Rush line instead of seeing an extra movie.

General Stats:
Number of movies watched: 28
Number of movies where I nodded off at some point:  6
Number of movies I want to own:  8
Number of failed rush lines: 1 (The Master, but then I rushed another film instead successfully.)
Number of successful rush lines: 8 (Strategy:  Early morning P&Is and early on in the festival)
Number of walk-outs: 0 (I was a little tempted for one, just because I was tired)
Most epic meal I took into a theatre to eat:  Sashimi combo with rice, soup, and salad
Celeb I got closest to:  Colin Farrell (mere centimeters away, and yet...no photo or autograph to show for it)
Celeb I most wanted to get close to but missed:  Bradley Cooper, Alexander Skarsgard, Ewan McGreggor
Best swag/freebie:  David's Tea (all you had to do was show your ticket stub)

Films that I saw:

Dial M For Murder in 3D - the Hitchcock classic as I'd never seen it before.  Prior to the screening we joked that for once we were looking forward to seeing something in 3D (my usual crew are not fans) and it just goes to prove that Hitch does everything better, even 3D!  I've seen Dial M a couple times before, and also the remake, A Perfect Murder.  It's not in your face and keeps your focus on the story.  The 50's were a different time when it came to justice and catching murderers, and while I'll never be a Grace Kelly fan, I do like this big screen classic.

Pusher - is Luis Prieto’s remake of Refn’s Danish original, which I have not seen, about a week in the life of a drug dealer whose life is spiraling out of control due to a series of unfortunate events.  Though not the most original tale, and visually a bit of a Guy Ritchie/Tony Scott knock-off, it's still entirely watchable and energetic as events are played out again a backdrop of an Orbital musical score.  You'll either appreciate or be frustrated by the ending, but I felt it went with the characters’ ambivalent personalities, an aspect of the writing that I really enjoyed. 

Perks of Being A Wallflower - just before I saw the movie, I read a review in which it's described as a film "that will appeal to mainstream indie fans".  This has since become my favourite new oxymoron, long after I watched and enjoyed the movie and the details have become a warm hazy glow.  It's based on a book of the same title that I read in my early 20's (er, I mean, last year! ;)) about a young man with a history of mental illness on the social fringes at school, when he meets two offbeat seniors who take him under their wing.  Together they cope with the usual coming-of-age issues, friendship, sexuality, first love, self-worth, and belonging.  Emma Watson is simply delightful as the endearing, irrepressible Sam, and Logan Lerman nails the lead role of Charlie. As for "mainstream indie" appeal... if you like the Virgin Suicides, Igby Goes Down, Garden State and that sort... trust me, you'll eat up Perks.

Painless - Bit of a fail on my part, I nodded off for parts of this movie due to fatigue as opposed to disinterest.  A man digging into his past learns of a Spanish hospital that once conducting bizarre rehabilitation experiments on a group of children who were incapable of feeling pain, in particular one boy who derived more fascination from the experiments that rehabilitation.  This movie was as much thriller as it was horror with a psychological element as well as scenes of gore.  I could blame the fact that it's a little slow moving for my nodding off, but in truth the slow reveal probably worked.  My main issue was that I guessed the ending half way through, as soon as one of the characters was introduced I knew exactly how it would play out.

90 Minutes - if I'm to believe what director Eva Sørhaug said in her Q&A, there is a whole cultural divide between North American and Norway that I never knew about.  She told us that the movie stemmed from her research on domestic violence leading to spousal killing, and that although Norway is supposed to one of the best places in the world to live, it also has the highest rate of this type of domestic abuse.  Her movie is about 3 different stories all centralized around domestic abuse, and she doesn't hold back when it comes to portraying graphic acts of violence.  One woman in the audience afterwards kept pushing Sørhaug to explain the motivations behind these male characters, beyond the "societal pressures and circumstances" that she'd mentioned, I'd venture to guess the audience member found these scenes so sadistic that she wanted justification for subjecting us to something so disturbing.  If you choose to see this movie, you will be in for an unsettling time, whether you think the overall product is good or not.

Silver Linings Playbook - Pat (Bradley Cooper) is fresh out of an institution trying to make a comeback in life - starting by getting his wife back.  He enlists the help of a troubled young widow (Jennifer Lawrence) and "an unexpected bond begins to form between them, and silver linings appear in both of their lives.” (from the Weinstein company synopsis)  Not the most original story every written, but David O. Russell makes it work.  He kicks it up a notch with superb casting.  Jennifer Lawrence and Robert DeNiro (as Pat Solatano Sr, the superstitious Eagles-obsessed patriarch) play up their characters’ quirks and eccentricities just right.  Also look out for Chris Tucker making a subtler-than-usual, but equally hilarious contribution. What makes the movie for me though is the dialogue, for every conventional aspect of the story, fresh lively banter makes up for it.  The exchanges between Lawrence and Cooper are charged, they’ll have you hanging on for every last retort and jape.

Much Ado About Nothing - I'm a bit hesitant to write this review.  I consider myself on the fringes of the Joss Whedon cult.  I have an immense love for what I've seen of his work, but confess I don't own much more than a few of his TV shows.  Meanwhile I'm closely acquainted to those who name their pets after him/his characters.  Anyway, I'm reluctant to write the review, not because I didn't like the film, but because I'm not sure I can accurately convey just how much of personal stamp he's managed to put on a Shakespearean play.  This project was a long time coming stemming from many Shakespeare readings Whedon and his wife would host in their home, which is also where Much Ado was shot, in just 12 days.  It's presented in crisp black and white, retains the original language but interpreted in present day.  For those  familiar with Joss Whedon's television creations, think of the times they did something different, ie.the Buffy "Hush" and "Once More With Feeling" episodes, despite the absence of Whedon's acclaimed dialogue they never felt out of place.  If anything, they felt even more like a Joss Whedon creation somehow.  That's the same feeling I got watching Much Ado About Nothing.

Writers - Is there anything more likely to pique my interest than dysfunctional families when it comes to movies? Here we take a father of 2 who is unable to get over his ex-wife, an angsty college girl dead set against monogamous relationships, a sensitive teenage boy in love with a troubled classmate, and a mother balancing life with a new husband while suffering quietly over being ex-communicated by her daughter... then make them all self-aware, constantly soul-searching, speculative writers!  There'll be no chance of normal there!  Yet, in a pretty typical fashion, we see them struggle, squirm outside their comfort zone, and come together in the most improbable circumstances... will they pull through as a family?  My cynicism aside, this is pretty decent work by first time director Josh Boone. I'm sure it helps to be supported by a talented cast -  actually with the likes of Jennifer Connelly, Greg Kinnear, Lily Collins, and a cameo by Stephen King, Writers is kind of like an indie film that isn't indie at all!  Just go with it, the movie isn't perfect but that's kind of the point, isn't it?

Byzantium - I was particularly excited to see Byzantium, Neil Jordan's first foray back into the world of Vampires since 1994's Interview with the Vampire staring Saoirse Ronan, the young actress who already has a long list of dark brooding roles in her movie repertoire.  This time, the tale is about 2 mysterious women (no fangs, no supernatural powers, no sparkling, just a lust for blood) trying to outrun their past, who settle in a rundown hotel on the English seaside.  Young Eleanor befriends a waiter and reveals her 200 year old story, meanwhile those who seek them are quickly catching up.  No matter what century Neil Jordan places his vampires in, he can't help but make them fascinating and elegant creatures, though Byzantium's story unfolds very slowly over the first hour and lacks Interview's fervor until about the last 20 minutes. 


Storm Surfers 3D - A big wave documentary featuring two legends of the sport as they search for the greatest unsurfed waves in the world is exactly the type of stuff you DO want to see in 3D.  I'd be impressed if they brought an iPhone with they to video the waves and have the device survive, much less whatever specialty equipment they did bring.  The footage is amazing, making up for the less interesting people that the documentary centres around.  It's visually spectacular, you need to go no further for a reason to see this.

Antiviral - Perhaps I can't get past the fact that he's a film school grad bankrolled by a famous daddy, but I really don't understand why Brandon Cronenberg's film has gotten so much attention at Cannes and is winning awards at TIFF.  I'm not saying the movie is bad, though it's far too self-indulgent for me, but overall I feel it's a thinly story woven out of a couple basic ideas and concepts.  He's clearly a great admirer of his father (and so am I...), his film is ambitious but, I feel, undeserving of the acclaim.  Kudos to the production design and special fx, it can't be easy to clean up all that fake blood from the pristine and sterile sets after each take.  Don't think I could've rolled my eyes any harder when the first question during the Q&A was "Do you feel a formal film education is required in order to become a successful filmmaker?" Gag.

Cloud Atlas - based on the novel of the same name that I've never read, I believe the key to enjoying this film doesn't lie in understanding the story so much as the overall idea -  the idea that our lives our pre-destined, and that those whose lives are linked with ours are entwined into our past, present, and future.  Everything directors Tom Tykwer, Lana Wachowski and Andy Wachowski present to us only serves to reinforce that point.  I will readily admit I walked out of that theatre after almost 3 hours not entirely sure of what had happened but completely blown away by the visuals.  I only wish they could have shot this in IMAX to enhance the production design and the Wachowski’s enthralling designs of the future.  And let's not forget the special fx make-up! I’m gonna be pretty annoyed if they don’t win an Oscar for it.


3 - A South American family comedy, that really isn't comical at all, about a man who insinuates himself back into the lives of his ex-wife and daughter.  Two hours of watching a family meander through life is not my idea of a good time.  You wait and wait for something to happen but there's really no reward for your patience.  It could pass as a portrayal of a family, but I was led to believe there would be chuckles.

Here Comes the Devil - I hesitate to weigh in on this movie, aside from being certain that the story was too slow-moving for my tastes at times, I must admit to nodding right off so for all I know I missed some really good stuff.  Parents Felix and Sol are very relieved when their teenage kids return safely after going missing for one night in some woods while they're vacationing, but soon realize their children have changed since the disappearance.  Also notable is the sound design of this film, if the story doesn't leave you with an unsettling feeling, the sound will (and I mean this in a good way... if that makes sense).

No One Lives - I want to say this movie is so bad it's good, but it might be a case of "it's so bad it's gone past good and back to bad again" (that is a line from my favourite movie Ghost World by the way).  A group of highway bandits run a couple off the road only to find a long-missing girl tied up in their trunk, too late they realize that these people are not who they seem and now there's a maniac all out to kill them... let the screams, blood, and guts fly!  The story is your standard gore fest fare, which is fine except it's laden with the most atrocious dialogue imaginable.  At first I thought I might have been a bit harsh, but in the climax the amount of dialogue diminished for about 10 minutes and it was amazing how much better the movie got in that time!  I saw this movie with my adolescent horror-story collaborator (I kid you not, I wrote horror stories with my friends in grades 7-9) and we snickered through it recalling when we wrote similarly horrible dialogue at the age of 13.  We both kept copies of our stories, think I'm going to send them to the producers of this movie.

Aftershock - From the moment director Nicholas Lopez and a member of his cast took the microphone in the intro for Aftershock, I knew it was going to be a good time.  They had a plane to catch and couldn't stick around for the movie, so they decided to have a PRE-show Q&A talking about working with Eli Roth and the inspirational role that the real earthquake in Chile had on the movie.  The movie focuses on a group of tourists and their local friends partying it up in Chile when there is an earthquake.  Environmental horror is very real but something most of us in Canada have no experience with, but the psychological element will have you gripping your chain arm same as if the heroine was about to be hacked to pieces by an axe murder.  Lopez captures the spirit of friendship and loyalty amongst his characters but also the dark side of humanity and adversity from the elements as the group fights for survival.  This is how I like my life lessons served up, bloodied with an occasional severed limb!

The Thieves - reeking of Asian commercial appeal, director Dong-Hoon Choi can't even deny the influence of Ocean's 11 in this slick technologically-laden heist.  It's a very international effort with 5 different language spoken in the movie by persons of varying ethnicities, though the humour is somewhat lost in the subtitle translations.  Some great action sequences including a chase outside of a building involving leaps from balcony to balcony and other fly-through-the-air narrow escapes.  It's a pleasant (if not super intellectual) way to pass the time, especially with all your Asian friends.

The Brass Teapot - Juno Temple and Michael Angarano are a young couple trying to make ends meet when chance presents them with a teapot that dispenses money every time one of them feels pain.  This is the comic macabre premise that takes us through better and worse in their attempt to get out of debt and climb up in society.  As the teapot payouts dwindle and it begins to demand more sacrifice from them, the couple must think of other (hilarious) ways to keep the money coming in.  This is my idea of a good, light comedy to take the whole family to (yeah, this is why I can't have kids).  As much as I have a soft spot for Juno Temple, this is not a particularly outstanding performance for her, but I don't think the script calls for outstanding as the story takes care of everything itself.  In our after movie discussion, we decided one of the best things about the story is that there isn't much speculation about the history of the teapot and why it came to be.  It's there, deal with it.  Now stub your toe and so we can go buy dinner.

Spring Breakers - I'm only familiar with Harmony Korine through his writing for Larry Clark, though I did walk into the theatre expecting "High School Musical Girls Gone Wild" and he totally delivered.  These girls aren't exactly having a car wash to earn money to go away for Spring Break, the plot (er, if you can call it that) thickens when a drug and arms dealer they've befriended bails them out after their earlier (tamer) exploits land them in jail.  From there it's a quasi-hallucinogenic ride through drug-addled monologues (by the very convincing James Franco), bikinis, machine guns, and Britney Spears songs.  Britney aside (though I am now a fan of "Everytime" and will forever think of James Franco's "sensitive side" when I hear it), the rest of the soundtrack is great.  Go in with expectations, or not, either way you'll walk out thinking "WTF???"

What Richard Did - Chronicling the leisurely summer Richard and his friends are enjoying, a moment of jealousy and one violent reckless action changes everything.  This is an example of how a slower-moving, smaller budget film can be good.  Though I saw it at 9am on Day 10 of the festival, I never once thought I should "rest my eyes" for a second.  Don't get me wrong, I clutched my coffee tight, but I didn't want to miss a minute of what was happening.  There's lots of character development and intricate portrayal, we get to know all sides of Richard from his time spent with friends to his solitary days in the countryside.  It's in the details and exchanges that we are shown, and not told, about Richard's world.  I will admit the details are becoming fuzzy now, but my good impression of the movie remains.  I would love to watch it again.

Jayne Mansfield's Car - again this movie had me so captivated I fell asleep for a good half hour.  Admittedly I regretted it as I do have an appreciation for ensemble casts in family dramas, and this one included powerhouse talent such as Billy Bob Thornton, Kevin Bacon, and the incomparable Robert Duvall.  I came to see Billy Bob (who also directed), but it was Robert Duvall that bowled me over with his performance.  Life within a wealthy southern family, already swirling with turmoil, is turned upside down with the death of the patriarch's ex-wife (who left him for an Englishman), bringing the British half-family over for a visit.  I watched the remainder 3/4 of the film intently after I awoke from my nap, and while the performances were great and the story engaging enough, overall I wasn't particularly taken by it.  Leaving the theatre and lining up in the washroom, I heard many rave about the film, but then noticed they were all fair-skinned, brown or ash blond hair, and about my parents' age... I guess the term I'm looking for is "North American Boomers"?  Anyway, this clearly leads me to believe that I was not the target audience for this film, and therefore should not feel bad that I didn't fully enjoy it.

The We and the I - for days leading up to my screening of The We and the I, there were many negative rumblings about this movie.  So I was delightfully surprised (and rather perplexed) to find that it was one of my top films of the festival.  Centered around a group of Bronx teenagers on the last day of school, their lives are revealed to us over the course of their bus ride home.  Gondry recruited a group of non-professionals from an after school program to star, so there's no point in expecting excellence from the acting. Look past it and you'll see some superbly woven stories about socializing between cliques, teenage pressures, sexuality, bonds of family, and much more.  It's actually a lot more like high school as regular folk live it, rather than the glossed over tales of John Hughes (not that I'm docking Hughes, I love him, but he was my escape rather than my reality growing up).  This is not your typical movie-watching experience, it's a lotta bratty kids shouting at each other on a bus, probably targeted at a 40 and under audience, and fully of endless dialogue instead of action sequences.  But if you're like me, you'll find it's intimate, provoking, and insightful.  Oh, and let's not forget the awesome soundtrack!  Made me almost want to climb on the bus with those hellions!

Frances Ha - Ok, if I had to be friends with Frances in real life, I would have to kill her.  As the subject of a black and white indie set in New York, it harkens associations to Woody Allen's Manhattan, and somehow makes her a most delightful train wreck.  The TIFF synopsis by Cameron Bailey describes that Frances Ha "captures the rhythms of an over-educated, underemployed generation more intimate with their friends than their lovers" and I couldn't put it any better.  There is a certain sadness in my heart  for how I can relate to the story and maybe something rooted in there is the reason we cheer for Frances, for being true and oblivious and blundering but endearing.

Bad 25 - Spike Lee makes a documentary about Michael Jackson with his beloved Album serving as a vehicle for a loving trip down memory lane.  There was no way this could go wrong (with Spike at the helm).  Featuring interviews with people involved in the making of the album and those inspired by Michael, we are privy to recording studio stories, details of Michael Jackson incredible work ethic, and learn about a certain "voodoo box" that rival Prince once brought to a meeting with Michael.  Spike progresses through the album track by track, splicing extended cuts of the "short films" (aka music videos) between interviews.  The running time is over 2 hours but you don't really notice.  Also Bad 25 will air on ABC in November.  Bonus:  I was able to get about 95% of the Bad 25 Q&A with Spike Lee at TIFF... here is my video:

Disconnect - Having overlooked the fact that this is from Henry Alex Rubin, the Oscar-winning director of Murderball, this was a surprisingly intense movie for me.  In a multiple story line, we get a close up look at terrifying consequences of online identity fraud.  From a family who faces financial ruin simply for being careless about websites they visit and who they chat with online, to teenagers playing a prank that gets completely out of control, to a reporter trying to get an expose story and not fully realizing the impact the media attention could have on her subject.  It starts off a little slow, but Rubin really builds in a crescendo to shocking events, all the while never diminishing attention on the delicate relationships between family, friends and strange bonds that can form during extenuating circumstances.

The Suicide Shop - Sorry to say this one didn't do much for me, maybe because it was sandwiched in the middle of a 5 film day, but the songs and humour were very so-so.  Something of an animated take on the Adams Family, The Suicide Shop seems so promising... it is about the morbid Tuvache family who runs Le Magasin des suicide.  To their dismay, their youngest child is growing up to be happy and cheerful, much to the family's disgrace.  What will they ever do?  Though the ending is decidedly predictable even before you enter the theatre, the cinematic journey that gets us there is kind of blase.  I wouldn't say it's bad, and perhaps more appealing to those who speak French.  My comprehension isn't good enough to understand the original lyrics but I'm picking up enough to know some of it is getting lost in translation.

What Maisie Knew - Onata Aprile is darling in the title role of this movie, she plays a 7 year girls caught in the midst of her parents bitter divorse battle.  Mom, an aging rock star played by Julianne Moore, and constantly traveling father Steve Coogan battle for custody of Maisie, though they are more interested in triumphing as the "better parent" than truly putting their lives on hold to care for their child.  Increasingly Maisie finds herself shuffled between step-dad Alexander Skarsgard and step-mom Emma Holzer instead.  The handling of the adaptation to screen here is terrific, the audience is not told the story so much as we observe with Maisie in her innocence and precociousness.  It was an absolutely delightful cinematic experience for me.

Sightseers - one of my movie-fanatic friends, whose opinion I can usually rely on, described this as a "sweet love story" to me after seeing it.  Well, Sightseers is described as a low-rent, modern-day British Bonnie & Clyde, so I bought his description and got myself a ticket to the 2nd screening.  To me it was more the tale of a socially awkward couple who unleash the dark side in each other, leaving a trail of corpses behind them.  In other words, it was good fun!

Fin (The End) - I have a soft spot for post-apocalyptic survival stories, as well as tales of friendship/reunions.  A group of friends reunite at a cabin in the mountains, many of whom haven’t seen each other in 20 years.  Things are going ok until an eerie flash in the sky leaves them without power, including their cell phones and cars.  They set out to search for help and find that they seem to be the only people left in the world, things get even worse as they start disappearing one by one.  The set-up, circumstances, and intermittent ‘reveals’ are well-executed.  Once in a while they border on overly-obvious but overall the story is well-paced.  Sadly the finale of Fin did not pack the punch I was hoping for, rather it meandered like a “Peter Jackson ending” (ie. multiple scenes that could all serve as endings, but then there’s just one more scene, and then one more… and then one more.)  Those hoping for scares aren’t going to get as many as you’d like, but as an ensemble friendship flick, it has all the elements I’m looking for.

TIFF Recap Day 9-11

Though I'm still recovering from TIFF, I thought it seemed incomplete unless I were to do quick rundowns of the rest of my festival.  So here is what my brain can currently muster:

Total films watched (all 11 days): 28
Favourites:  Cloud Atlas, The We and the I, Much Ado About Nothing

Day 8(actual): Nicholas Lopez and a member of his cast weren't able to stay for a Q&A for Aftershock so they did a humourous Q&A BEFORE the screening instead.  It set a good tone and the movie was fun.  After that was the aforementioned Asian Night at the Thieves, there has to be one Asian get together at a movie every year.  Think they spoke like 5 different languages in that film.

Day 9: Night out at the Bloor with Jason and Sachin for The Brass Teapot (which we liked) and Spring Breakers (which was mind-altering), we were joined by others for each individual show, tried out seats in balcony and main floor, and took advantage of the Bloor's liquor license (trust me, it's best to watch Spring Breakers with a drink in hand...or acid)

Day 10: Mission 10 movies in 2 days begins with What Richard Did with Mike, surprisingly engrossing despite being a quieter, slower film - wasn't that hard to stay awake for despite it being a 9am show. I was clearly not the target audience for Jayne Mansfield's Car and that's prob why I was in the theatre without friends.  Made up for it with The We and the I, which I liked better than Michel Gondry's last 3 features (still dunno why it's getting bad reviews).  Made the dash up to Bloor cinema again for the delightful Frances Ha and the back down to Rye to finish the night with Jack at Bad 25. (I liked Bad 25, but had I known it was already on TV I would've gone to iLL Manors.)

Day 11: Finally caught a couple more films with mom starting with Disconnect, squeezing in The Suicide Shop with Jack and Veronica in between, then the very enjoyable What Maisie Knew (was so out of my mind from exhaustion that I didn't even know I'd scheduled an Alexander Skarsgard day for myself, that was awesome).  Took a leisurely walk up to Bloor for Sightseers (I was previously told by J that it's a "sweet love story", now I'm hesitant to introduce girls to him... that aside tho I thought it was a good time) then capped off the festival with the aptly titled Fin (The End) (not perfect but I enjoyed very much regardless).

For those who have me on facebook, TIFF12 photos are starting to surface (day 1-4 at this point, but that is the bulk of the photos)  Stay tuned for more details on the individual films that I watched:

Dial M For Murder
Pusher
Perks of Being A Wallflower
Painless
90 Minutes
Silver Linings Playbook
Much Ado About Nothing
Writers
Byzantium
Stormsurfers 3D
Antiviral
Cloud Atlas
3
Here Comes the Devil
No One Lives
Aftershock
The Thieves
Brass Teapot
Spring Breakers
What Richard Did
Jayne Mansfield's Car
The We and the I
Frances Ha
Bad 25
Disconnect
The Suicide Shop
What Maisie Knew
Sightseers
Fin (The End)

Festival Mash-Up on TIFF Day 8

The sun is shinning and temps are rising for day 8 of the Toronto International Film Festival... and I am stuck behind a desk until 5pm *sigh*

So far I have watched 14 films, clocked about 32 hours of volunteering time, and only been turned away from one Rush film.  Yesterday was the first time I caught myself nodding off during a pivotal point in a film I was enjoying (I don't feel bad if I fall asleep during a boring movie at this stage of the festival), though my ability to speak in complete coherent sentences has been wavering for a couple days now. I look forward to receiving that package of t-shifts I ordered from Threadless because I suspect I might be running low on clean whimiscal t-shirts.

There is many a tale to tell about my festival so far, from film reviews, to close encounters with celebs, to random reunions.  However with the current state of my brain, I think it's best to grab my recaps from various social media sources that I've made updates on over the past week:

 

[about my first film of the fest]

Ada ‏@palindr0me - Hitchcock even does 3D better! It was a great movie to start my fest with!

[truism]

Ada ‏@palindr0me - Perks of Being a Wallflower teaches us that geeks and weirdos make the best kind of friends.

[one of my fav pics to take every year... the troop of volunteers at the Elgin/Winter Garden theatre]
http://t.co/xojkgbEY

[re: cloud atlas - you can also read my full review HERE]

Ada ‏@palindr0me  - #TIFF12 film 12 Never thought "what?" so many times while enjoying a film so much

[after a 7.5 volunteers shift on Day 5]

Ada ‏@palindr0me - So tired and on auto-pilot that I just thanked my security guard for saying hi to me ! 

[One of the reasons TIFF12 Day 4 was one of the best in TIFF history]

Ada ‏@palindr0me - Aaaand Colin Farrell just walks down the aisle past us at the Ryerson! Didn't think this day could get any more awesome!!!

[re: TIFF gastronomy]

Ada ‏@palindr0me - "Enjoying" my first cereal bar of the festival, this will be replaced by "choking down" come day 10 

Sachin Hingoo ‏@flashyMcflash - I am having a normal lunch but my breakfast was a handful of licorice allsorts #tiffdiet #tiff12

[twitter love]

Josh McKellar ‏@Timberland_Josh

“@palindr0me: Feet are killing post volunteer shift. Yay for #timberland eco cab ride!” U deserve a ride more than anyone #TIFF12 #volunteer

[re: me being deaf & blind]

Robyn Cristopher ‏@AyznGurl

@palindr0me I saw u in the rush line am yelled ur name!!!!

[Day 7 progress on TIFF Bingo]

http://t.co/1NH1TBiE

The Day by Day rundown (via facebook):

Day one in the books with just one movie but have 2 P&I's planned in the morning, 8 hours of volunteering, and might join the stalkerazzi at Seven Psychopaths. Today's celeb sightings include a glimpse of Joseph Gordon Levitt, Emily Blunt's hair, and John Krasinski. Apparently I was looking elsewhere when Tom Green walked by at the Lightbox.

Day 2: Successfully rushed 2 P&I films and made it thru the usual hectic first Friday night at the Elgin. Ran into a friend from university, a friend from the raver days, and naturally several TIFF friends. Celebs I glimpsed included Jude Law♥, Kiera Knightley and Christina Hendrick's profile. Never met a pair of 5" heels I didn't like until I saw Elle Fanning's tonight. Can't believe I missed Joss Whedon! More volunteering and movies tomorrow starting at 9am!

Day 3: renewed luv for Alexis Denisof & Viggo, Joss Whedon premier awesomeness, mildly scaring movie imagery & need a throat lozenge

Day 4 was one of the best in TIFF History...spent the day watching movies with friends, liked every film that I saw (4 total) Celeb sightings include: Greg Kinnear, Lily Collins, Saoirse Ronin, half of the Whedon-verse including Joss himself, and a very close encounter with Colin Farrell! Topped with autograph from Alexis Denisof and photo with Tom Lenk.

Day 5 saw a doc & cdn film, 7.5hrs volunteering, some Ryerson-reconnecting, & caught up with peeps in midnight madness line. Need some dark circle concealer. Might have to switch to red bull for day 6

 

Day 6 Last shift done! Met so many of my good friends over the last 14 TIFFs, & enjoyed meeting many new peeps this year. #tiffvolunteer

Day 7/8 Thought last night I would be seeing movies solo, instead it turned out to be horror movies with friends! :) Tonight, gonna eat some dinner while watching Aftershock then meeting up for Asian night to see The Thieves.

Coming soon(ish): Reviews on Pusher and Silver Linings Playbook, if you have me on facebook you can already see the photos & video from the Sep 9th screening of Much Ado About Nothing, including pic of the Whedon-verse and video of the Q&A (I left it all with Mara to upload :)) if not, guess you'll have to wait a week. 

Tweet me about how your festival is going!  I'm considering making my next blog a collection of other people's tweets about the fest.

Additional tip:  If you show your TIFF ticket stuff at any David's Tea location, you will receive a free cup of their delicious Movie Night tea! (thanks Darrin!)

Happy TIFF-ing!  Keep smiling and thank the next volunteer you see! 

TIFF 2012 - One Sleep Away!

Speaking of sleep, that is one thing I did not get enough of leading up to this year's festival.  Can't believe it all kicks off tomorrow!  My laundry's all done, there's no food in my fridge that requires more than 10 mins to cook, and my vitamin C and Echinacea is sitting out ready for daily maintenance consumption.  My day-to-day bag is packed with the usual and I have 21 hard tickets to start the festival with.

This past weekend was our annual urban camping trip, at least that's how I refer to my annual camp-out outside the festival box office for the first day of single tickets sales.  The crowds have thinned over the years thanks to online purchase options, but as of right now, those of us with lots of volunteer vouchers to redeem still need to show up in person.  In order to be first in line, you still need to get there pretty early, this year it was 20+ hours early.  Easily the most hours I've ever lined up for anything!  The boys and I set up camp (read: a few fold-up chairs and a cooler) around 3pm on Saturday afternoon in David Pecault Square, at 19 hours before box office opened we knew we would not be first when sales began at 10am on Sunday morning but it was about all the dedication we could muster.  We had Jason joining us for the first time, and Brenda (who's done the line-up before) chose to team up with us as well.

Some of the greatest movie discussions I have each year takes place while I'm waiting in this line-up, also some of the weirdest.  Seems I always walk away from these nights with random to do (or "to download") lists, this year Sachin/Jason/J/John have inspired me to download Breaking Bad, re-watch The Faculty, look into some higher quality ear plugs, and buy a region-free blu-ray player.  I will, however, not be purchasing the video game in which you can beat Burt Reynolds to death with a dildo bat. (Please refer to "weirdest discussions" comment at the start of this paragraph.  Yes, this topic happened.)  Most importantly it gave us all a chance to finalize our film lists and even plan a night of screenings and food trucks together at the Bloor Cinema.

As the night progressed, we saw many of our usual visitors to the line, some of whom have lined up with us in years past.  Also resourceful line-up veteran Marc Levy came prepared with extension cords and power bars so that we could all tap into Pecault Square's power and recharge our devices for the long night ahead.  My sole antic this year was roasting marshmallows on the Eternal Flame of Hope in the Square, something I've been tempted to try on more than one occasion.  Word of advice, you'll need a very long stick if you don't want to get your feet wet.  It was pretty hilarious and a true camping experience though.

Normally we don't bother with sleeping in the overnight line but this year was an exceptionally long wait, so we all passed out at some point.  All in all, it didn't feel that long for 19 hours.  I'm not entirely convinced the 2 box office system (separate box offices for members and public) is a good idea, I thought last year's system worked a little better.  After a  bit of waiting (I know 40 mins of waiting is nothing to complain about, but considering I'd been there for 19 hours...) I did manage to get most of my top choices.  My friends and I bade each other a groggy farewell, I staggered home, sent out the last of my tweets, and slept for 18 hours over the next day.

For those of you who have view access to my google calendar, you'll be able to see the details of the films I'd like to see (this is down from my list of 54 and out of which I can only realistically fit in 29.  Regretfully I will fall short of my goal of 30 even if I make it to all my films, it was a timing issue and lack of vacation).  For the rest of you, here is the list of what I hope to catch in the coming 11 days:

Aftershock
Antiviral
Bad 25
The Brass Teapot
Byzantium
Cloud Atlas
Dial M for Murder (in 3D! For once I actually looking forward to a 3D show)
Disconnect
Fin
Frances Ha
Greetings from Jeff Buckley
Here Comes The Devil
Jayne Mansfield's Car
The Last Supper
Much Ado About Nothing
90 Minutes
No One Lives
Painless
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Pusher
Quartet
Sightseers
Silver Linings Playbook
Springbreakers
The Suicide Shop
The Thieves
3
The We and the I
What Maisie Knew
What Richard Did
Writers

Let's be realistic here, there won't be too many opportunities for me to blog while TIFF is in full swing.  Depending on whether you're a TIFF-er yourself or not, this is either going to be easiest 11 days of the year to see me, or hardest 11 days to get ahold of me.  Also most of the year my social media home is Facebook, but during TIFF I switch over to Twitter (with most of my tweets still populating on Facebook).  So follow me on Twitter to catch the up to the minute details of what my friends and I are up to.

Get as much sleep as you can, remember to eat at least a couple times a day, stay hydrated, and have a very happy TIFF!

Useful Information for Moviegoers About Town

For those who are new to my blog, you might not be aware that I actually have two blogs, the other is a travel blog (http://in-foreign-lands.blogspot.ca/).  In my travels, I have attended film festivals outside of Toronto over the years and I think your enjoyment of a festival can be enhanced by a greater familiarity with the city there's in.  For example, I wish someone had told me the late night food options in Tribeca were not so good, so I would've known to settle for popcorn at the theatre.

Whether you're flying in from another city to attend the Toronto International Film Festival for the first time, or a regular who just doesn't know the downtown core very well, here are some random things I've learned from over a decade of living and TIFF-ing downtown...

1. Bring a light jacket/hoodie/caridgan.  - This is no great secret, but important to keep in mind if you've never been to Toronto nor the festival.  TIFF-time weather usually features daytime highs in low to mid 20C's (or 70F's), the sun can make it feel warmer, but you'll find it significantly cooler in the early mornings and evenings.  Also many of the theatres have some pretty powerful air-conditioning going on.
2. Free WiFi available at TIFF Bell Lightbox. -  Check your email while you're waiting for your movie to start at Lightbox, it's free!  If you need to save on your data charges while out for a day at the movies, you can also try ducking into a McDonalds or Tim Horton's.  Please add in the comments or tweet me if you know of other spots in festival village that offer free WiFi!
3. Electrical outlets at MetroCentre, 10 Dundas East Building and Ryerson. - So you've drained your phone battery taking advantage of free WiFi, duck into the MetroCentre (which houses the Festival Box Office) basement food court, on the pillars are a few easily accessible outlets where you can plug in your charger (it goes without saying that you should always bring your mobile phone's charger right?  I guarantee you your phone battery will die at an inconvenient time at least once during each festival).  Same thing if you're close to the Cineplex Odeon 24 at Yonge and Dundas (which is housed in the 10 Dundas East Building), their food court is one level down from the cinemas.  If you're over by the Ryerson Theatre, the campus building just west of the theatre is called Jorgensen Hall (main entrance that stays unlocked later is actually closer to Gould St.), it's flooded with students in the daytime and still possible to gain entry in the evening.  The outlets might take a little bit of effort to seek out, but they'll won't give you grief for a quick phone charge (or even a nap in the daytime, they're a bit more wary at night). I've also found a couple outlets at the Atrium on Bay (on Dundas St between Yonge St and Bay St.) but the security guards will walk by and look at you weird.
4. Water fountain in TIFF Bell Lightbox - There is a water fountain outside of the 3rd floor washrooms but NOT the 2nd floor of TIFF Bell Lightbox.  So go up one more floor if you're thirsty.  BYO watter bottle to refill as well.
5. 24 Hour Drugstore at Yonge and Carlton - This would be the Shoppers Drug Mart at the northeast corner of the intersection, just a couple blocks from the Ryerson Theatre...In case the Midnight Madness movie does make you physically sick ;)
6. Unused lockers at Ryerson are good for temporary storage. - This tip is courtesy of TIFF Midnight Madness Blogger Sachin Hingoo.  I live downtown and run home whenever I have to, but Sachin will often be down here in the morning and not get home until 4am.  Lotta hours, inevitably means a lotta stuff, so he recommends bringing a lock and stashing anything you might not want with you as you go to movies at the Ryerson and nearby theatres in one of the unused lockers.
7. Best Place to Power Nap is in the Sheraton Hotel main foyer. - Festival time is no time to be shy about closing your eyes and letting your head droop a little in public.  Through TIFF and indie filmmaking, I have slept in parks, on the sidewalk outside the Art Gallery of Ontario, rolled up in a Persian rug in front of a courthouse, and on Yonge St. to name a few (I only wish I were kidding about some of those spots).  The Sheraton Hotel at Queen St and York St. has a main foyer with a number of high back chairs, the best ones are next to a large window looking out at a waterfall fountain, facing away the people traffic. (There are a couple of chairs on the 2nd floor as well I believe).  On any given weekday, it's quite common to find business people sitting in those chairs at lunchtime napping away.  Provided you're not dressed like a homeless person, staff will not bother you if you sit there for an hour and nod off.  Obviously you should tuck your valuables away, but otherwise it is a safe and clean place to sleep, just make sure you wake up in time for your next film!

 One of the most important things I haven't covered yet, is eating on the run!  There is no shortage of restaurants in Toronto, the options are endless if you have the time for a full sit-down meal.  Sites like Urban Spoon and BlogTO can provide you with an inexhaustible list of options.  However, when you have a tight turnaround between movies, it's best to have an idea where to dash to for a quick bite, ie. some place enroute to your next theatre.  It can be hard to make recommendations since food tastes vary greatly, but here are some of the places I like to go to during the festival.  Pleaset tweet me with your favs.

1. Naz's Falafel House - around the corner from the Scotiabank theatre and on the way to Lightbox/Princess of Wales/Roy Thomson Hall.  Open late. My fav: the chicken sharwarma wrap.  Avg time it takes to get your food:  10-15mins
2. Pizziaolo - gourmet pizza with locations near Scotiabank Theatre and the Bloor Hot Docs.  Avg time it takes to get your food:  10mins.
3. Canteen - sometimes a little pricier, but it doesn't get any more convenient than onsite at the TIFF Bell Lightbox.  It's gourmet on the go, or you can chose to sit down to eat your meal.  Avg time it takes to get/eat your food:  10-40mins but likely longer during the festival
4. Ginger - cheap hot Vietnamese food served up fast!  There are locations on Queen St (good if you're going from Scotia over to Elgin/Winter Garden or vice versa) and a newly opened location on Yonge St between Cineplex Odeon 24 and Ryerson.  My fav: the chicken pho for $6 and change, brought to your table within 5 mins of ordering!  If I can't stay then I'll get a few shrimp fresh rolls (rice paper rolls) to go, however I should note that they're not particularly fast when it comes to whipping up take-out orders... go figure.  Avg time it takes got get/eat your food:  Eat-in 30mins, take-out 15mins
5. Kenzo - some of the best ramen noodles and octopus balls in the city!  Go during off peak hours as there are often line-ups out the door at dinner time.  Locations on Dundas St. (good if you're headed from Ryerson/Cineplex Odeon 24 to Scotia and vice versa) and on Bloor St close enough to Bloor Hot Docs.  My fav:  the tonkotsu ramen and octopus balls (tho fans of spicy will prefer the King of Kings ramen).  Avg time it takes to order and eat your meal:  30-40mins.
6. Salad King - Originally a salad joint when they bought the business, owners Ernest and Linda kept the name and transformed it into a popular Thai restaurant over the past 2 decades.  Thing I like most about Salad King is that you pick your own level of spiciness for everything you order.  It sits right between Cineplex Odeon 24 and Ryerson.  There is often a wait during peak hours, take-out is a better option if you're in a hurry and you can call ahead to order, takes about 20 mins.  My favs:  The golden tofu curry, Siam fried rice, and pad thai.
7. Springrolls - is the restaurant chain that started the Pan Asian restaurant craze (more like epidemic).  They have locations near Cineplex Odeon 24/Ryerson/Scotiabank Theatre.  They recently revamped their menu with the introduction of sushi and additional dim sum items in an "all you can eat" option.  I have yet to try the AYCE, but in festivals past, the easiest and most delicious thing for me to get on the go from there were the Sexy Summer Rolls, a rice paper roll with shrimp, smoked salmon, greens, and enoki mushrooms with a peanut dipping sauce.  Call ahead, pick up, and take it to the next line up to enjoy.  Avg time it takes to get your food:  10-15mins
8. Food Trucks outside the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema - I am so excited for this!  Gourmet grilled cheese and pulled pork sandwiches are sure to keep me happy while I'm waiting in line.  Don't have too much information on this as it's new this year, you can follow @foodtrucksTO on twitter for updates and details.
9. Hot Dog Stands - There are times when your average "fast food" isn't fast enough, in those moments you'll hear me decalre "street meat it is!"  Two vendors I like are Mike's Hot Dogs at the southeast corner of King St. and John St., and the stand (whose name escapes me now) on the southwest side of the Yonge & Dundas intersection.  Sometimes there's more than one stand there, the one I like has this long white dish thing with three sections, where you can rest your hot dog while you dig for change.  Avg time it takes to get your food:  5mins
10. Paupers - Great multi-floor pub right across from the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema, great place to stop for a pint and talk about the movie you just saw.  Also decent grub, especially the weekend brunch.  It's not fast food, but I would make time for it...even during TIFF.
11. Imperial Pub - Perhaps this shouldn't be on the list since they don't actually serve food, it's a pub half a block from the Cineplex Odeon 24 and one of my haunts while I was in film school.  I still try to drop by once every festival, also because they are lacking a kitchen, they are very cool about you bringing in food from elsewhere as a result.  Becareful, the leather sofas upstairs in "The Library" are very comfy, but staff will get annoyed if you fall asleep on them.
12. Loblaws at Maple Leaf Gardens - new this year, just a few blocks from the Ryerson Theatre is the newly converted Loblaws mega supermarket at Church and Carlton.  This place is not merely cans and cartons lining a bunch of shelves, they have many counters serving up ready-made food, hot, cold, sushi, cupcakes, macarons, and a wall of cheese!  There are tables to eat in or take it to go.  Do a healthy salad or have an extra large cream cheese-filled cupcake.  Also a wonderful selection of fruit and a pharmacy.  I'm very excited to have a few meals here.
13. The energy bar in your bag. - Last but not least... that smushed power bar/protein bar/cereal bar that you should always keep in your bag!  For those times when you're running late, arrive at the theatre 10 minutes before the movie starts, and you realize in horror that you went to the wrong theatre (happens to me more than I'd like to admit).  My favs:  Kashi pumpkin pie, Nature Valley Sweet 'n Salty Almond.  Time it takes to get your food:  about 3 seconds.

Needless to say, I'm now starving after writing all this.  Let this be a lesson, never blog about food on an empty stomach.  So I'm going to end it here for now.  I promise my next blog entry will have some film titles!

Pick Your Tix - A Few Tips To Help Get That TIFF 12 Movie List Together

First off, thanks to everyone who's tweeted me, facebooked, texted, emailed, and stopped me outside of Tim Horton's to ask me about my film picks for TIFF12.  Every year as soon as the full film schedule is released I get very anxious to not only read the film synopsis, but to get a tentative schedule together ASAP, tho some years require me to submit picks earlier than others I always wonder "what's my hurry?  There's at least a week to pick."  Then the messages start pouring in and I remember it's because you guys are actually interested in what I see, which is pretty awesome I gotta say.

I'm sorry to report that I don't have my short list together yet, but it's coming soon!  Aside from the film list, the other thing I've been putting off is blogging.  Tonight I got caught in a torrential downpour and didn't walk through my front door until 10pm, I wasn't exactly inspired to write, but upon realizing the alternative was to wade through a sea of 300+ film synopsis and narrow it down to 30... well, I was suddenly inspired to blog!

What I'd like to do tonight is throw out a few general tips that will hopefully help you to pick your films and get your tickets...

1) I'll start with a tweet of mine from earlier today

from @palindr0me (yep, that's me)
"Very useful info for TIFF-goers RT@bombippy Sold out or off sale films for TIFF 2012 as of 2pm, Aug 27. http://tinyurl.com/9huarcw  #TIFF2012"

This is not the first year I've seen this guy's list (I presume it's the same guy), every year he seems to have the scoop on what's available and what's not.  Where from?  I don't know...which sparks some questions like this one:

"How do you know this person is telling the truth?  I know, sounds silly but maybe that's the person's wish list?"

Well...I don't, but I think this guy's on the level. In previous years, with all the exchanges going on, I never paid much heed to what was on or off sale, having one or two tickets suddenly appear in the system for show was a common enough occurrence.  So regardless I would always try to request a ticket even if I'd heard the screening had gone off sale a week ago.  This year there's been some changes to the ticketing system which may make my methods less effective, however when doing your ticket package picks the availability will be updated live.  As you're in the system making your picks, you will be able to see in real time what's available and what's not.  Therefore reference this handy list, why not?  If you really want a show, try for it, however if you see it on the off sale list, you might want to consider having a few back-up choices...which brings me to

2) HAVE BACK-UP CHOICES!  Whether you're making advance picks online or at the box office buying single tickets in person, know your options and have them ranked in order of preference.  This is important for a few reasons:

• You don't want to be flipping around the Official Film Schedule and the Program Book trying to come up with an alternative on the spot.  It's hard, you might not get it done in the one hour window, and/or you're holding up other folk in the box office line.
• It's hard to decide on the spot which film you'd prefer to see, it might be beneficial to have seen the trailer, read some of the buzz, or have some details about the filmmakers.
• When rushed to decide, you might accidentally schedule a conflict.  A film's running time might be longer than you thought and end after your next film starts, or if you're doing back to back movies you might accidentally pick theatres far away from each other and suddenly find you need to get from the Bloor Cinema to the Winter Garden in 20 mins.

It's best to iron out these kinks beforehand, which will just equal an additional trip back to the box office when problems arise.  You can always opt to get a voucher and come back later, but again...extra trips to the box office equals extra time in the lines.  Plus by the time you go back, the tix might be gone.

3) A little dialogue goes a long way... not sure what to see?  not sure about a movie?  Try asking around to see what people think and get their insight.  Sure, opinions are just that, subjective and often unreliable...but that comes at all levels.  It was thanks to glowing reviews in the media after the Venice Film Festival that I found myself in a screening of Dogtooth, a film that has scarred me and my buddy Jack for life.  A number of friends encouraged me to go see Les amours imaginaires, which is how I wound up being the only person in a theatre who thought Xavier Dolan was the most pretentious Canadian director alive (sorry, but completely unlikable characters in scene after scene of contrived screen compositions and excessive slow motion drove me crazy... and I'm a Wong Kar Wai fan!)  But if everyone's abuzz about a great performance or the film has won the People's Choice Award, there's probably something to it.  Above all else it's knowledge-sharing and hyping each other for 11 days of non-stop movies!  Whether it's my partners in crime in the overnight ticket line (come visit us if you like, we basically talk movies, TIFF or otherwise, until the sun comes up -- literally) or a stranger in a RUSH line, most people are more than willing to impart a nugget of film info (or give you a 20 minute detailed plot description about Lars Von Trier's Dogville)

4) Last and most importantly...SAY NO TO SCALPERS.  Now I don't know if this applies to all scalpers, I've personally never met a particularly kind scalper, but the ones that come to snatch up tickets at TIFF are awful.  Last year they camped at the front of the line the day before single tickets went on sale, they were overall vulgar, ill-mannered, and clearly low class.  Their numbers swelled through the evening and into the night as their friends and family all showed up so that they could each purchase the maximum amount of tickets when the box office opened.  There was a bit of an altercation as one scalper got into a heated argument with a dedicated patron at dawn.  The torment didn't even end as we went in for tickets, as we left the box office they were demanding to know how many tickets we got for high profile screenings such as From The Sky Down and Pearl Jam 20.  Hopefully they won't be back this year, if I can, I'd like to take a photo of each of them and tweet "Do not buy tickets from this person".  So if you get a shot of a scalper, please send it to me.

There is never a need to resort to overpriced scalper tickets for TIFF.  If you get to the box office and your desired show is off sale, there is a long list of alternative methods to get a ticket.  Try the box office again the day of the screening, be in line just before 7am when they open, many tickets are released same day.  Get into the rush line.  Aside from Roy Thomson Hall Galas, I've never been turned away from a show where I arrived 2 hours early to rush.  I can't guarantee this will remain the case year after year, but I'm pretty confident when it comes to my choice of films.  It's not just about getting in when they do the final headcount 5 mins before the show, many people show up at the venue with extra tickets and they are directed to the Rush line if they want to sell that ticket.  These are never sold above face value, often for less, once in a while even given away for free.  With 2-3 screening for every film, your odds are pretty good.

Best of luck to everyone in getting the tickets that you most desire.  I'll get back to my long list of titles tomorrow and will be back soon to post some of my wish list and some trailers, hopefully we can even get a discussion going.  We'll be at Pecault Square overnight once again this Saturday, Sep 1st to 2nd.  Watch for our tweets!  Happy TIFF-ing!

The TIFF 12 Guessing Game ends in less than a day!

Less than 24 hours until the first films are announced for TIFF ’12 and I’ve got nothing else on my mind!  The news comes out tomorrow, July 24^th at 10am EST and you can catch it live at http://live.tiff.net/  Until then we can only speculate what’s going to make the cut and what we might be seeing between Sept 6-16 this year.  There are some predictions and speculations floating around on the interwebs, largely safe predictions in my opinion, but that doesn’t make me any less excited.

It comes as no surprise that Ben Affleck’s Argo will be screening at TIFF, after his success with The Town at TIFF 10 (which is where I first saw it), it only made sense for him to come back -- especially given the story’s Canadian ties.  I enjoy Affleck as a director, having seen both Gone Baby Gone and The Town multiple times.  I question his decision to star in everything he’s directed, but blatant narcissism aside, I look to some other heroes of mine such as Woody Allen, who directed himself in countless films and it’s never taken away from his credentials as a filmmaker.

When my good friend Jae first told me (sometime last year) that our favourite director, Quentin Tarantino, would be releasing his new film on Christmas day 2012, the first thought in my head and out of my mouth was “Do you think he’ll take it to TIFF???”  Now it seems like I’m not the only one who has high hopes for Django, Unchained coming to our beloved fest.  QT has favoured Cannes for his last few films, but I think he’s due to come back.  Remember the Reservoir Dogs screening?  Remember Pulp Fiction?  Remember the Asian girl with the Tarantino figurine that you took pictures with at the Inglourious Basterds premiere (…the girl that you might want to collaborate with or marry?  HER NAME IS ADA!) It’s time to bring the love back to Toronto QT!

 

Frankenweenie at TIFF 12 would certainly make my day, there are high hopes we might see Tim Burton latest.  Some even hope for Midnight Madness, I don’t know about that, but I’d be there to see it whatever the program/venue.  Hopefully the well-received long-running Tim Burton exhibition that was at Lightbox helped foster some bonds between the director and the Festival.

Theartsscene.ca has predicted two films that I would be ecstatic to see at TIFF 12:  The Perks of Being a Wallflower and Looper.  The former is based on a book I enjoyed very much in my early 20’s (by that I mean last year and not 10 years ago of course), I’ve been hearing tidbits about its adaptation to the big screen for some time now and excited to see what it’s become in the hands of RENT screenwriter Stephen Chbosky.  The latter is the latest film by Rian Johnson, director of Brick (which blows my mind every time I see it) & The Brothers Bloom, staring two of my favourite actors Joseph Gordon Levitt and Emily Blunt.  And who was the other guy in the film again, you might have heard of him…?  Oh yeah, Bruce Willis!  Last I checked (and I check a lot) the release date for Looper was slated for September 28, so TIFF is the perfect time & place to premiere it.

My love for Ang Lee waxes and wanes like the moon, I’m not sold on Life of Pi, but it’s always a treat to have him at the festival.  I think the likelihood is high.  Which leads me to other Asian directors I’d like to see at the fest…  Johnnie To is a hardworking man, churning out at least a film a year, and still he manages to find time to come to TIFF almost as often!  Looks like he’s got a couple films under his belt since last year’s Life Without Principle, so here’s hoping he makes the 15 hour flight again.  I’m all for the Asians representing, but if I could only have one Asian director at TIFF 12, it would have to be Wong Kar Wai.  (Though I’m not getting my hopes up)  I wait year after year for news of his latest projects, and hope against hope that he’ll give us a sneak peek of what’s to come.  He’s been working on The Grandmasters for a long while now, released a couple of teaser trailers last year, and is said to be in post-production now (I’d heard the film was still in production as late as May, not sure if my sources were correct).  Please Mr. Wong, even if it’s just a unfinished print, won’t you please bring The Grandmasters to TIFF?

Other heavily speculated films include:  Andrew Dominik’s Killing Them Softly (if Brad Pitt wants to come back to TIFF, I’m more than ok with that!), Tom Hooper’s Les Miserables, and P.T. Anderson’s The Master.  All of these directors have had their films well-received at previous TIFF festivals.  Anna Karenina fits the bill as TIFF always needs a high profile period drama of some sort at Roy Thomson hall or how about the new James Bond film to coincide with the James Bond exhibit?  And finally, like Argo, I think Canadian ties pretty much guarantee we’ll see Deepa Mehta’s Midnight’s Children getting the gala treatment.

Can’t wait to see what else the programmers at TIFF have up their sleeves!