Woah, sincerely apologies for being a sucky blogger and completely dropping the ball on these reviews. I could give you a string of mundane excuses but the truth of the matter is, I put em off until the end of October then the guilt caught up to me on the flight home from San Francisco and I rattled off a string of critiques until my netbook battery died (btw don't fly United, not only do they charge you for each piece of luggage you check, their planes also have no a/c outlets for your laptops). But that only takes me to Halloween right? Well, I've no excuse for every day after, I just didn't get off my bum to cut and paste these bad boys until now...
Micmacs a tire-larigot - dir Jean-Pierre Jeunet
The decision to see this film was based on my love of Amelie, it had fallen off and gotten back on my list several times due to a background premise that I wasn't necessarily interested in. However Jeunet makes you adore his main character and the film as a whole with all his whimsy, from the supporting cast to everyone's humourous brushes with fate. Micmacs also features the most delightful inventions and mechanical critters. If you liked Amelie you must see Micmacs.
Le Refuge - dir Francois Ozon
What began as a time-filler for me, became a film that I was genuinely interested in when I realized it was from the maker of 8 Women. Sadly it then transformed into a rather uncomfortable, if long, nap at the Winter Garden theatre. I think that I might've had the patience for this film had it not been sandwiched somewhere between film 15 to 20 on an exhausting day 8 of TIFF. What you're dealing with is a slower-moving story that focuses intricately on the somewhat mundane lives of a young pregnant woman in the aftermath of her lover's death. Like Almodovar, I like watching Ozon's portrayal of women, the lead actress in Le Refuge is complex and full of internal struggle, it was just a little too slow and quiet for that day. I would like to see it again some day to give it a slightly more objective rating.
2/5
Deliver Us From Evil (Fri os fra det onde) - dir Ole Bornedal
I must sneak in an extra apology for taking 2 months to get my reviews posted. As it is many weeks after the fact, I will have to admit that this movie is mostly forgettable after all this time. During the initial time of viewing I remember it to lag a little in the middle but was truly a psychologically disturbing piece. There was a lull in the first half where the film almost lost me, but then the group psyche's decent into darkness... When I walked out of the theatre I thought it would be something that would stay with me, now I suppose I was wrong, most of the story is lost to me now (I can't even check IMDB to give myself a reminder because I'm writing this on a plane), but I guess overall I still remember being disturbed.
Love and Other Impossible Pursuits - dir Don Roos
First and foremost, be warned, this is a chick flick. My friend J nearly perished trying to watch this film while I found it reasonably enjoyable. It's your usual Hollywood affair trying not to be Hollywood, or less Hollywood... tackling some tougher issues, not heavy on the Hollywood cliches, though not free of the chick lit/Oprah cliches - blatantly imperfect women with many overt emotional struggles, conflict after conflict, stuff that's probably supposed to make you tear up, etc. It's a good story on screen, but I can't comment on the adaptation as I've never read the book. Natalie Portman never gives less than a good performance, it's a tad on the long side but moves at a decent pace and keeps you engaged.
3.5/5
Coco Chanel and Igor Stravinsky - dir Jan Kounen
This film was worth every minute of sleep I sacrificed in order to go rush the 9am press & industry screening. A shame Coco Avant Chanel (which I've also seen since TIFF) wasn't in the festival as well because they would've made good companion pieces. I thought this film was truly a standout in art direction and wardrobe (although the latter probably shouldn't come as a surprise), her estate was just stunning in decor. The performances by the two leads was great and the story drawn out to just the right degree, the transformation from mutual admiration to attraction. This was one of the best films I saw at the festival this year.
Whip It! - dir Drew Barrymore
Who doesn't have a good time watching Roller Derby? Try no one. Whip It has a delightful, if not slightly cliched, youthful cast that hits all the right notes for a light entertaining fun time. Don't over think it, just have a few laughs. Ellen Page & co. look like they're having a blast in the film and it translates on screen. I think Drew chose a great project for her directorial debut, pass me the popcorn and I'll gladly watch it again.
3.5/5
Gun to the Head – dir Blaine Thurier
Gun to the Head made me want to put a gun to my head. I don't know what the hell this was supposed to be, but I guess maybe being warned about low production values in the intro should have set off alarm bells. They claimed it was sacrificed in order to focus on the story, but all I saw was a huge mess. A mess of unlikable characters, doing things that didn't make much sense, who get denser and denser as the movie progresses. It reached a point where I didn't even care what happened to them, and then they continued to torture me by not ending the movie. I did try to sit it out to the credits, but in the end I was too preoccupied about making it to my next movie on time and just took off in the last 5 mins or so.
1/5
Perrier's Bounty - dir Ian FitzGibbon
Cillian Murphy, one of my favourite actors, portrays a quasi-loser in trouble with a low-level loan shark in Perrier's Bounty. It's not the most original film ever made, but it was entertaining and smart, composed of an interesting string of events and decent performances. Worthwhile to see.
3/5
Hipsters (Stilyagi) - dir Valery Todorovsky
Russian films worry me sometimes, most of the ones I've seen in the past where hard to stay awake in. Not so with Hipsters though, which is a musical look at an interesting group of counter-culturalists in Russia
3/5
Mr. Nobody - dir Draco van Dormael
This was my favourite film of the festival. Jared Leto actually is perfect for the role of the oldest man in the world who lives out multiple lifetimes at once. As we try to figure out truth from what ifs, reality, memories, dreams, present, past, and future, we come to see that some things in life are destined no matter what you change, and that no one life lived is necessarily happier or better than any other life you could have lived. Mr. Nobody is everything Darren Aronovsky's The Fountain should have been. I don't know if I even fully understand Mr. Nobody but I found it moving, disturbing, and enthralling. I could probably sit and dissect this film with fellow viewers for a long time to come.
4.5/5
Dogtooth (Kynodontas) - dir Yorgos Lanthimos
I'm deeply disturbed that this film a) got good reviews at Venice (??) and b) was enjoyed by persons that I know. Yes I understood from reading the synopsis that I could be walking into some heavy incest content, which I'm pretty uncomfortable with. But if it propels the film and is part of a disturbing tale I can accept it, even something like Savage Grace which broke my brain I could handle and I could see the need for certain scenes. Dogtooth on the other hand is just gratuitous dysfunction, with no aim, cause, or purpose. I was subjected to absurdity, nonsensical behaviour, and then scenes of incest for not apparent reason. Not cool.
0/5
The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus - dir Terry Gilliam
Again, one of the highlights of this TIFF. Highly anticipated and it delivers! This was, of course, the great Heath Ledger's final role and he's terrific as always. Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell, and Jude Law also provide excellent and seamless performances as they slip into Heath's shoes. The imagery is wonderfully surreal, it's eye candy whether or not you're a Dali worshiper. The story itself is fine, a bit take it or leave it for me, I wasn't really there for plot though it is a pretty coherent one. The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus is every bit as magical as they make it seem in the trailers.
4/5
The Young Victoria
My favourite thing about the Young Victoria (where the subject is obvious) is that it doesn't bite off more than it can chew. It's a look at Queen Victoria
3.5/5
Ong Bak 2 - dir. Tony Jaa
The best part of Ong Bak 2 was that I was able to sleep through most of it. I don't show up expecting intelligence, not really even coherence, so long as there was some seriously stylish ass-kicking. Ok, so maybe my expectations in ass-kicking were too high? I just wanted to see something original and have someone to root for, what I saw was just a bunch of same old same old, a mess of fights where nothing stood out. What a downer. It was a lame way to end TIFF, good thing I'd seen a number of other good films in the past couple of days to make up for this one.,
I'm not even going to rate it because I slept through so much of it.
And finally there you have it....Ada's TIFF 2009!
Until next year...
