TIFF 09 Round Up - Part 1

Hey, we're talking 30 films here, there will be nothing short and sweet about this no matter how you dice it.  That being said I have decided to dish it in small doses.

Ada's TIFF 09 got off to a good start but lacked real stellar-ness until day 8.  This was the first year I'd reached the 30 film mark and when you're trying to absorb that much in this timeframe, it really takes an extra something to stand out.  Many a film that I would normally recommended just becomes part of the movie mush in my brain come TIFF time.

Bright Star – Dir. Jane Campion

Like nurturing love, Bright Star takes patience and devotion to appreciate.  The finer points of the film are somewhere between the characters and the story, and need to be found between the layers of seeming tragedies bestowed on these doomed lovers.  There are scenes that are indescribably beautiful, but same as first love, it doesn’t last.  Mostly Bright Star is delicate, pretty, and slow.  I think one needs to be very used to British period romantic dramas to enjoy this, and even then it’s still trying.  I’d say it’s worth watching, and my pessimistic views might also come partially from the unfortunate reminder that I don’t really like Keats.  *shrug*  If you want to get into spoiler territory:  I didn’t like the ending.  In an earlier entry I made some quasi-joke about “is it better to burn out or fade out?” (hey I’m a child of the 90’s), not having seen the ending.  But now I’d like to revisit… I didn’t like the fade out ending, let’s face it, it was depressing – and not in a way that added to the film.  Ending with seeing his death firsthand would’ve been expected (not necessarily ideal), but for it to be nothing but a delivered message?  I thought there were better ways to end the film without making it too fairy tale or cliche.  Perhaps showing Fanny’s longing after he’s departed to Italy, and giving the details of Keats’ death in one line of text over black (because we all know he dies anyway).  Some voice over passage of his poetry describing love, or a past letter to Fanny as the picture fades… there was a part near the end where she reads one of his letters, which had some dreamy nostalgic imagery.  I think I was left more dissatisfied by the plodding in and around and after his death.  Any of my suggestions would have not only kept my interest, but probably shaved a good 10 mins off the film too – which I think audiences would have appreciated (considering the number of walk outs in the theatre) 

2.5/5

Broken Embraces – Dir. Pedro Almodovar

I'm not overly familiar with Almodovar's work other than Volver, but he’s got a way of propelling a story forward even when amidst a series of somewhat mundane events.  It contains strong and developed characters backed by a coherent story.  Penelope Cruz is terrific as usual.  The plot really wasn’t as abstract as I’d thought, on the contrary.  If you liked Volver, you must see Broken Embraces.  Almodovar is an auteur and I am sold, even if his work doesn’t bowl me over, I’ve developed a taste for its fluidity and beauty. 

3.5/5

Daybreakers – Dir. The Spierig Brothers 

This is not only a rip-roarin’ vampire gore-fest, it is a genuinely good movie that I would recommend to all horror/sci-fi fans regardless of their stance on cult/b movies.  All that is required is the ability to tolerate gore – squeamish need not apply.  Here you have all the makings of a respectable film – enjoyable performances by talented actors – Ethan Hawke, Sam Neill and Willem Dafoe, good writing by the Spierig brothers, and all the bells and whistles of a decent-sized Hollywood budget.  I thought it was truly innovative portraying vampires not only as the dominant race, but one struggling for its survival and exploring so many relevant social and moral issues from a fresh perspective.  This is likely the most impressive horror film I’ve seen since The Eye by the Pang Brothers broke new ground for Asian (esp Thai) horror suspense, and the best Midnight Madness film programmed this year. 

4.5/5 

Stay tuned for many, many more reviews...

Day 13 and still recovering

10 days, 30 films, 4 volunteer captain shifts, 2 cabs, 4 naps during screenings, 2 autographs, and 1 party

And all too soon, another TIFF has wrapped.  My last few days became so hectic I began shedding all things non-detrimental, and after a while that included my netbook.  Let me tell you, it's easier to "run" from venue to venue without it.

I saw my best films in the final days of the fest and hope to share my reviews soon.  Some friends complained of mediocrity this festival, I would agree my picks weren't the best they ever were, and it ended on a very mediocre note with Ong Bak 2, but I wouldn't say it was bad (the fest, not Ong Bak 2, that was blatantly bad)

Many of us comemorated the end of TIFF by sleeping more in one night that we had for 1.5 weeks, and met up that evening at the Staff & Volunteer Party.  Then the return to real life, which has been anti-climatic to say the least.

I hope you will check back in the days to come for the full reviews.

Can't wait for TIFF 2010!

SIX films on Day 9 and still standing!

Ladies and gentlemen, I finally have a stand-out film for TIFF 09 - Mr. Nobody

It's a real thinker, to the point that if by some miracle it were chosen for People's Choice tomorrow, I would gladly see it again.  Many have broached the topic of alternate lives, the butterfly effect, and love through different worlds and time, but few quite as spectacular as what Jaco Van Dormael has done here.  You'll leave the theatre after 2hrs 15mins with your head spinning and brimming with questions, but entertained and awed at the same time.

Of the other films today, I'm delighted to say I have a number to recommend.  They include:

Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky
Whip It
Perrier's Bounty
Hipsters

I'll see EVERYONE at The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus and Ong Bak 2 tomorrow!

Dazed and Confused on Day 8

At least I think it's day 8... lol

I've been on holiday from my regular job since yesterday and done my volunteer shifts as of last night - how did I celebrate?  I celebrated by sleeping through the bulk of Soloman Kane! :P  I find that a little odd since I still managed to pick up on all the important plot points and survey the scene composition, special effects, and battle sequences.  Not sure what the says about the movie and it's potential simplicity.  I won't venture a review though, I don't think it would be fair.

I've made lots of notes on films throughout the festival and will post them here shortly (I hope).  We've all been struggling to name our stand out film of TIFF 09 but I have to say, after seeing Micmacs today, that might have to be it.  It didn't surpass the rest by miles or anything, but is definitely of a higher calibre and I greatly enjoyed.

For now I want to end of my blurb about Vengeance, which I saw two nights ago (on day 6, where I also got to meet and greet Johnnie To - by meet I really mean saying "can I get your autograph?" in Cantonese but whatever)...

Much as I admire Johnnie To, I had pretty low expectations for Vengeance.  I mean, this is a man who does dirty HK gangsters and low/mid level hitmen, and now this is his foray into the Melville-esque film noir realm - let's face it, LOTS of room for error there, getting over the top, especially when you're blessed with a big budget and a french rock star.  But no, it was fine.

You could argue that the story progression stalled halfway through the film, or that certain parts felt like they were written in too suddenly to give the character more significance, but none of it was a deal breaker for me.

The Q&A with Colin Geddess and Johnnie To (this is video from my camera - currently "being converted" on Megavideo at the time of this posting, so you might have to wait to see it, it's the full Q&A though) was the best part of the screening though.  Colin inserted little tales of him meeting Johnnie To and visiting Milky Way's studios in Hong Kong.  Johnnie talked about the crew of actors he often works with, gave us a back story and Lam Yuet and how he got his start.

For me personally, it was all topped off by getting Johnnie To's autograph :)  When he was leaving out the front of Ryerson he had to walk by me, I smiled at him and he even patted my arm as he went by!  What a great guy! :)

In the ticket line for Vengeance on Day 6

It's not another year at TIFF without a Johnnie To film so here we are on Gerrard, catching up and catching a quick bite.

Only problem with blogging amidst a crowd of friends... is you are terribly distracted.  Hearing some buzz about Bad \Lieutenant 2.

Jean Charles was more Brazillian than British - than I expected, not that it was bad.

Film Recap halfway through day 6:

1 Bright Star
2 Broken Embraces
3 Daybreakers
4 My Queen Karo
5 I, Don Giovanni
6 Accident
7 Loved Ones
8 Wheat
9 Invention of Lying
10 Bitch Slap
11 Jean Charles

What have you seen so far?  Recommendations?

B*tchslapped on Day 5!

I'm still mulling over how I feel about the Loved Ones, I'm guessin I'm ok with it (I mean, I didn't dislike it)

But no doubt about it, Bitch Slap was awesome.  We're not talking Oscars here, more like one big Russ Myer love fest full of catfights, chessey green screen, flimsy storyline, and extended girl on girl that is sooooo bad it's good!

Please note Zoe Bell on the right, in attendance tonight.  She was the stunt coordinator of this movie.

In terms of less offensive films (haha) Wheat is beautiful but I much preferred Ping He's last film Warriors of Heaven and Earth and Ricky Gervais' The Invention of Lying is an all around crowd pleaser.  Best part of rushing the latter was Bill Nighy driving by Queen St., where he slowed down, rolled down the window and hung out of it to wave to the line.  What a great guy!

Day 4

Nailing someone's feet to the floor?  Drilling into a skull?  Nay!  If you really want to make the boys in my completely desensitized crew cover their eyes and wimper in fear... show 'em an incest film!

Gotta be in the office in 6 hours, g'nite!

Mayhem & Movies on Day 3

Call me a sap, but I think the coolest parts of today was running into some old faces from University - Wendy Foster who shot my 4th year film and Catherine MacKinnon who currently lives in LA!  Also in town from old Rye High is my good friend Rick Davis, whom I've yet to see.

Spent 9-5 at the Elgin where we had the repeat screening of The Informant with Mr. Soderbergh and then Hugh Heffner and his bunnies showed up for the documentary about him.  For a day shift, especially one where I'm back to back with Marguerite at the Winter Garden, I would have to say it was pretty darn hectic.  Not that it took away from my enjoyment of part one of Fancy Hat Weekend for the Volunteers of Elgin/Winter Garden though.

Movie-wise, getting into film #3 - Daybreakers at midnight last night was harrowing!  For the first time in who knows how long (ever?) almost the entire rush line got shut out! (Kudos to MM & Colin but crappy for the rest of us!)  Had to play every card to get myself into the theatre, so taken by surprise were all of us that I even had to leave poor Eddy outside after he lined up for me since 10pm (I owe ya one man).  I was lucky J's quick on his feet because Daybreakers so far is my top pick of the fest, whether you're a horror/sci-fi fan or not, if you can stomach a little (ok, a decent amount) gore, you HAVE to check this one out.

Successfully rushed My Queen Karo, which is really a delight.  It's got some otherwise controversial imagery but it never feels exploitative (is my grammar off there?), the girl gave such a good performance and the entire film was very engaging.  Completely unrelated to the film itself, I had to do a ticket hand-off to Ryan M. and the lights had just gone down when I entered.  Could've been quite a pickle had I not literally walked right into Ryan as he was coming out to find me lol.  It was one of those moments where we weren't quite sure it was the other except it had to be. (maybe you had to be there.) 

Got the 4 for 1 hook-ups for I, Don Giovanni after that, even rounded up Adrian so we could see a film together - the first one we've seen together at RTH since Spider!  I can't say I'm familiar with Carlos Saura's work but his vision combined with his cinematographer's was stunning!  I have to admit, it was quite a bit of opera for someone on 4 hrs sleep after a full day of volunteering, but I knew what I was going to, and I don't know too many people who've had more musical training than Adrian and I so we can completely appreciate it, are familiar with the characters etc.  Not gonna lie, I was struggling for the greater part of it, but forced myself to keep my eyes open just to see the lovely costumes and visuals.

Just finished up some 1am grocery shopping (I figured it was my only chance), going to scrounge for lunch food and pack up my bag, then grabbing some sleep before going back to the Elgin for 9:30.

Day 1

Well, that's Day 1 in the books.  It was a questionable start but in the end I'm still pleased I managed to see 1hr and 15 mins of Bright Star with a likely chance of seeing the ending tomorrow night.

Our attempts to rush Broken Embraces was a complete success, from securing spots in line to scoring good seats.  Making fast friends in line and getting a chance to catch up with old faces while waiting.  The best part of the first few days of TIFF is always seeing the people that you only get to encounter once a year :)  Followed closely by the swag lol!  Nothing grand yet (unlike the festival where I got a webcam on the first day) but the Blackberry people did come by and try to help us install a cool new BB TIFF app onto our phones!

Penelope Cruz did come to the Elgin but blew by in a breeze far, FAR from our views from the rush line.  But the real stargazers were the startling crowd position across the street from us... hope you guys had better luck.

Not to toot our own horn, but the Elgin & Winter Garden is still the best place to rush a film.  And even better when the film turns out to be pretty great!  Broken Embraces is a popular draw of course due to Director Pedro Almodovar and actress Penelope Cruz, and I have to say, if you liked Volver, you really need to see this one.  The plot wasn't nearly as abstract as my good friend Chris Beer made it to sound as he was summarizing it from the book while we were in line -- in hindsight I really wish I'd taken a video of that!  It is coming out in theatres soon, so if you don't catch it at TIFF, be sure to see it when it's released.

It's off to bed for Ada now, I have to make an appearance at the office tomorrow, before an 8 hr volunteer shift, which will most likely be capped off with the Midnight Madness screening of Daybreakers -- what can I say MM?  I just can't stay away!

Better to burn out or fade out?

Well I'd love to log my first movie review of TIFF of Jane Campion's Bright Star except that they had the last reel (or what I assume must be the last reel given the time) loaded backwards

haha rather amusing from where I'm sitting now, but at the time I was rather annoyed.  Kudos to the Varsity staff member who solved the volunteer voucher issue in a jiffy.  It's true this was the only screening of Bright Star I was able to attend, but as volunteers often have an opportunity to see part of the 2nd film of the night at the Elgin, I think I will take advantage of that perk tomorrow night and step into the theatre around 10:30 to find out how this little film ends

Thus far I recommend the first 1.5 hrs of Bright Star, I'll let you guys know how the final quarter affects my overall opinion.

Now to dash home for some dinner before heading back out to rush Broken Embraces.

One more sleep!

Laundry done? Vitamin C supplements restocked? Lunches & dinners made & frozen? Or do you have the luxury of eating take-out for the next 10 days? Any way you slice it, TIFF is finally upon us! Here's to 10 sleepless days in the surreal world we call festival!

Obviously when we think TIFF it's about the movies, but I want to take a second to tip my hat to some of the other aspects that make TIFF such an enjoyable event for me - that being the people that I keep company with during these 10 days every year. Is this just a blatant excuse for me to post embarrassing photos of yester-year of my friends? Maybe so, but there's no denying - we got our moniker as "the friendly festival" for a reason!

This is my 11th year as both a TIFF-goer and volunteer, I've spent 10 of those years putting in my volunteer hours at the Elgin, needless to say much of the laughter and tears were had and shed there. As my long-time partner in crime (and fellow volunteer captain), Candy, often says to me, what keeps us coming back to the theatre is the people. I can't speak for any other venue, but our team of captains and is a tight-knit crew.

Hanging out with the Elgin captains of TIFF 2005

This was Yonge Street outside the Elgin the night Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Matt Damon, Don Cheadle, etc. came to attend the screening of The Asassination of Jesse James. (Sorry for the blur, phone cameras were not nearly as advanced 2 years ago lol)

The team of captains - Melanie, me, Michael, and Candy - bright-eyed and bushy-tailed on the day after Brangelina & co. invaded the Elgin at TIFF 2007 haha

Some of our spectacular volunteers - still cheerful at the end of a long shift during TIFF 08

Some of the Elgin/WG captains & staffers on our way to rob a bank after shift at TIFF 08

When I'm not at the Elgin, the usual plan to see movies non-stop. I saw ONE film during my first year at TIFF in 1999, but have adequately redeemed myself by averaging about 25 films per festival in the last few years. This isn't an easy feat, fitting in 20-something films, especially when you're also working and volunteering at the same time. There are many opportunities to see a sold-out show by getting into the "Rush" lines at TIFF, but this can be a time-consuming practice to say the least. This is where the friends come in. A network comprised of close friends, people that I see once a year at TIFF, and those that fall somewhere in between. Together we cover each other off in rush lines, save seats for the group, do recon, act as placeholders, food deliver-ers, and even pillows for one another when you've over-taxed yourself and simply can't stay awake in the theatre.

 

Armed with caffeine and waiting in the rush line during TIFF 2005

We used to enjoy many a gala screening at Roy Thompson Hall - a couple friends and I waiting to go in during TIFF 06

Here we have a group of Asians ... waiting it out again at Roy Thompson Hall for a Woody Allen film at TIFF 07

All smiles before Sheitan at TIFF 06 - last screening

Pic 1 of the over-enthused crew at the A L'Interieur screening - the final Midnight Madness film of TIFF 07

Pic 2 of the crew waiting for A L'Interieur to start

Though never on shift and never to be taken for granted, we've also had some chances to see & meet some talent and filmmakers over the years.

Director Wilson Yip, our own Colin Geddess, Sammo Hung, and Wu Jing at the Midnight Madness screening of SPL

J and I got some prime seats for the Across the Universe Gala with a clear view of the cast including Evan Rachel Wood on the left.

The directors of A L'Interieur were happy to hear how massively disturbed we were by their film.

Darrin getting an autograph from Anthony Wong when he came to Toronto during TIFF 08

Showing Prachya Pinkaew, director of Ong Bak and Chocolate our moves after the midnight screening of the latter in TIFF 08

And with that we're off to the races!  Happy TIFF-ing everyone!

I know Harvey!

I was sent this globe and mail article by a friend and former TIFF volunteer this morning, it's about a fellow volunteer the we - and everyone who attends any arts festival in Toronto should know very well for his tireless efforts.  Volunteering is Harvey's full-time occupation, he's spent years going from festival to festival, often even doubling up in order to pitch in and provide his expertise all around.  I've personally never met another like him, and it comes as no surprise to me that filmmakers are fighting over who gets to make a documentary about him.

EVERYBODY KNOWS HARVEY
by ANTHONY FUREY


Special to The Globe and Mail Last updated on Wednesday, Sep. 09, 2009 03:16AM EDT

From tearing tickets at the Toronto Fringe to handing out programs at North By Northeast, you could spend almost every day of the year volunteering at a Toronto festival. Harvey Lalonde does just that. The 47-year-old has been a full-time festival volunteer for 14 years. On busy weeks, this film buff clocks upwards of eighty hours of service, subsisting on free popcorn and volunteer lunches and catching up on sleep during the two-hour commute to his home near Pearson airport.

But now the camera will turn on Mr. Lalonde. His life has inspired the documentary You Know Harvey, an effort that the filmmaker hopes will promote his cause of finding paid employment. "I don't think he's aware of how he represents himself," says Linda Matarasso, whose 2008 film Rockstar has been screened in Canada, the United States and Russia. Mr. Lalonde is friendly, but his rumpled fashion and poor hygiene leave a bad first impression. He frequently sports free hats and t-shirts given away at festivals and attributes his scarcity of teeth to an inability to afford dental care. "If people knew about his position," says Ms. Matarasso, "I think they'd help him."

Ms. Matarasso first met Mr. Lalonde while volunteering at the ReelWorld Film Festival in 2003 and got to know him better after casting him as a zombie in her 2008 film, Urban Zombies.

When Ms. Matarasso approached Mr. Lalonde with the idea of making a documentary about him, his response surprised her. "I said, 'You'll have to get on the list,' " recounts Mr. Lalonde. "At the time, I had about five people ask me."

Eventually Ms. Matarasso prevailed and began this June to film him working his shifts. She also interviews his colleagues, including ReelWorld Film Festival founder Tonya Lee Williams.

Mr. Lalonde worked as a restaurant attendant, video-store clerk and CNE cleaner prior to becoming a festival volunteer, a lifestyle he maintains through the small social assistance he receives. But the dozen-plus years of corralling queues and handing out programs seem like they're wearing on Toronto's supervolunteer. As a result, this year he sought paid employment with both the Toronto International Film Festival and the Bloor Cinema, which he calls "a home away from home."

But when TIFF declined hiring him they cited lack of experience as their reason. Ms. Matarasso doubts their sincerity as Mr. Lalonde has performed similar roles in his 14 years of volunteering with them. "I never see him spend money on anything - glasses, dental work," she says.

This past week she arranged for Mr. Lalonde to visit Great Glasses on the Danforth, where he was given a free replacement for his thick, outdated pair. Ms. Matarasso hopes the film will compel others to bestow their generosity on Mr. Lalonde, who is pleased with the attention he's receiving: "These days," he says, "my name seems to be on everybody's tongue."

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/everybody-knows-harvey/article1277378/

This photo is of Harvey and I at a TIFF party in 2005.  If you didn't recognize his name, surely you will recognize his face.






Although I have not confirmed with him, Harvey is most commonly found at TIFF captaining during the Midnight Madness screenings at the Ryerson Theatre.

Pre-TIFF Tally

Ok, half a day pass and some volunteer vouchers, minus a few favours and "private transactions" (for lack of a better description) later, I am currently in possession of 14 hard tickets and looking forward to earning 16 more vouchers to complete my TIFF movie selections.

Each year a bunch of us wild, rollicking, and generally insane moviegoers converge around 2am to line up at the TIFF box office the night before single tickets go on sale. But long before that, our inboxes will see many a group email planning for this night. We'd assessed the issue of which box office to go to based on number of kiosks, popularity in location, acessibility to public washrooms, 24 hr coffee shop, etc.

Our initial decision was to go to Nathan Phillips Square, where, by the way, the fry truck and hot dog stand - not to mention pristine Sheraton Hotel washrooms are available all night. Although not walled, there is also some overhead shelter provided should it start to rain - no wonder it's hobo city down there, they've got it made!

I made of point of sleeping a little bit less the night before, and then enjoying a cup of chamomile tea on the walk home (maybe the word "enjoy" is the wrong description for the combination of hot tea & 24C weather, but it served its purpose) so that I would sleep like a log from the hours of 7pm to 12:30am.

However putting myself out of commission during those hours, caused me to miss Eddy's initial warning that there was already a line-up of 15 persons by 11pm at NPS! This was cause for a bit of alarm when I woke up, but all were dispatched quickly once the word got out.

Upon doing some recon at Metro Square, Darrin and Adil sent word to the rest of us, who were 20-something in line at NPS that it was still deserted over on King St. We debated spreading some (humourous to us) false rumours at NPS, but in the end just high-tailed it over to secure out first-group-in-line spots.

It takes a certain kind to do this overnight line-up, these are just a couple of pics of the fellas I'm in cahoots with:

However it's also some of the greatest company I keep on a yearly basis, these freaks and geeks inspire me to be more obsessive, more movie-informed, and throw caution and sleep to the wind. Not to mention our efforts always pay off in the end.

And with that I give you my updated TIFF 09 Schedule:

Thu Sep 10
3:45pm - Varsity - Bright Star P&I (RUSH)
9:30pm - Elgin - Broken Embraces (RUSH)

Sat Sep 12
6pm-ish - My Queen Karo/Up In the Air (RUSH)
9pm-ish - The Disappearance of Alice Creed/Solitary Man (RUSH)

Sun Sep 13
9:30pm - Scotia - Accident (RUSH)
11:59pm - Ryerson - The Loved Ones

Mon Sep 14
7:00pm - Tanner Hall (RUSH)
9:00pm - Invention of Lying (RUSH)
11:59pm - Bitch Slap (RUSH)

*I will have to obtain tickets for at least one or two of these shows if I plan to catch all 3

Tue Sep 15
6:45pm - AMC - Jean Charles
9:15pm - Ryerson - Vengeance

Wed Sep 16
9:15am - Scotia - Leslie, My Name is Evil
12pm - Scotia - Youth in Revolt
11:59pm - Ryerson - Soloman Kane (maybe)

Thu Sep 17
9:45am - Scotia - High Life
12pm - Micmacs (most likely, I have a ticket but may trade it)
4:30pm - I, Don Giovanni (RUSH)
8:30pm - A Single Man (RUSH) (maybe)

Fri Sep 18
9:00am - Varsity - Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky P&I (RUSH)
12pm - Ryerson - Whip It
2:15pm - AMC - Gun to the Head
(hop in cab)
4:15pm - Scotia - Perrier's Bounty
(hop in cab again)
6:00pm - Ryerson - Hipsters
9:00pm - Ryerson - Mr. Nobody
(go home and die)

Sat Sep 19
9:45am - Varsity - Dogtooth (most likely, I have a ticket but I might trade it)
12pm - Mother and Child (maybe - the titles & subject content are SOOO not me :P)
2:30 - Elgin - The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus
either 6pm Young Victoria or 9pm People's Choice, depending on the film, will be rushing either way
11:59pm - Ong Bak 2 (RUSH)

I hope to be able to obtain more advance/same day tickets as the festival gets going, so I won't be rushing more than a handful of films.

Hurry up sunrise

We're 2.5 hours into the overnight line here at Metro Square - Eddy, J, Sachin, Darrin, Adil, Ryan and I

Tim's isn't restocking on the Tim Bits until 5am and it's still too dark to properly read the schedule books.

Sachin and J are engrossed in a discussion about the White Strips et al in anticipation of this film

http://www.tiff.net/filmsandschedules/films/whitestripesundergre



Just over 2 hours to go...

Spoon Feeding You the Anticipation

They say trailers suck, it's the flashiest 90 seconds of footage in the movie, often give away too much of the story, or else have nothing to do with the movie! But still, I know you want to see these...

Just a handful of films I'm hoping to check out at TIFF 09

In 1993 Jane Campion brought The Piano to TIFF, clearly I was too young to attend then, but that was the first I'd ever heard of her and The Piano still remains a favourite film to this date. Alongside Campion, I'm also a sucker for period romantic dramas, so it must come as no surprise I'm drooling over Bright Star.



The only hitch in this? My schedule currently does not let me attend any of the public screenings :( Keep your fingers crossed for me that I'll be able to catch a Press & Industry.


Pardon the entertainment show on the front & back end of this, the Broken Embraces trailer. Despite seeing her in a number of good performances over the years - most recently in Woody Allen's Vicky Cristina Barcelona, I'm always reassured to see that Penelope Cruz can act. Thanks for completely ruining my image of her Hollywood! (You too Tom Cruise!...For ruining practically everything you touch) Those who've also seen and loved Volver probably can't wait for this new Almodovar film.




Playing back to back with Broken Embraces on opening night at TIFF 09 is Lars Von Trier's Antichrist. I wouldn't go so far to say I'm a Von Trier's fan so much one who is fascinated by his work. Look at this trailer, it's fascinating! :P Not to mention Charlotte Gainsbourg, little Miss-Slightly-Strange-Looking but plenty intriguing!




Micmacs A Tire-Larigot (don't ask me to say this out loud) sold me more in its style and cinematography than story perhaps, I might just be saying this because my french is lousy and I didn't understand over half of what is being said here without subtitles. All the same, one tends to place a lot of trust in the man who gave us Le Fabuleux destin d'Amelie Poulain.




It's rare these days to go a year without some sort of Johnnie To representation at the festival. However this works for me since I'm a fan. This is his French/Chinese Noir foray staring Jonny Halliday entitled Vengeance - which more or less gives away the plot right there haha. What's with that 1 second flash of sex scene in the trailer? I guess you can always count on the Chinese to know what sells. LOL.




Johnnie To also produced another film that's at the Festival, one with a very interesting premise (adequately but very plain & simply summed up in the Cantonese voiceover). I hope it's as good as it sounds.




And the last film in this entry needs no intro. The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus by Terry Gilliam staring the late Heath Ledger among an all-star cast. Enough said.