Top 10 Films of not-2015 (aka Ada's top 10 films of 2014)

Friends, we've reached that time. I have officially begun discussions and received text message from friends asking what the best thing I watched in 2015 was.  Yes, that's right, because this is what cool kids text each other about ;)

But before I can get started on 2015 I have some unfinished business to take care of... that is, my top 10 films of 2014!

I'm sure none of you will remember, but I spent the bulk of February 2015 sick as a dog (where does that saying come from anyway?) Nothing serious, just seriously annoying. I have memories (delusions?) of typing up Oscar predictions the night before, apologizing to cyberspace how I have my top 10 films jotted down but never properly wrote up a blog.

Then things got so comically delayed that I joked I was going to randomly post them in July, and now here we are at December... embarking on 2015 lists.  So, let's dust off the cobwebs and see how many of these films I even remember...


Films that qualify for Ada's Top 10 Films of 2014:

- any film from a film festival that I attended in 2014
- any film with a Canadian theatrical release dated in 2014
- is listed on www.imdb.com as released in 2014

This was the "long list" I had jotted down:

Boyhood
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Mommy
The Imitation Game
The Theory of Everything
The Lego Movie
That Awkward Moment
Eden

Interstellar
What We Do in the Shadows
Life Itself
Pride
Whiplash
Nightcrawler
Fasten Your Seatbelts

Note the space... in my scribbles that often means everything above the space is a shoo-in, everything below needs deliberation to see what makes the cut. But now... 12 months later, this is how I would (approximately) rank them:

1. Boyhood
2. The Grand Budapest Hotel (I think, I need to watch it again)
3. The Imitation Game
4.What We Do In the Shadows
5. Eden
6. Mommy
7. The Theory of Everything
8. Pride
9. The Lego Movie
10. Interstellar (I think, again I need to re-watch)

Interstellar edges out Whiplash, and That Awkward Moment/Nightcrawler/Life Itself came off the top 10 without hesitation.

Which moves them all to...

Honourable mentions:

Whiplash
Fasten Your Seatbelts
That Awkward Moment
Nightcrawler
Life Itself
American Sniper

Note 2014 was the first year there were no Hong Kong films in my top 10!

During this year I have re-watched #'s 1, 3, 4, and That Awkward Moment. This may or may not have played a role in my final decision and cuts.

It's pretty hard to dispute Boyhood was the greatest cinematic triumph of 2014, regardless of all that Birdman nonsense at the Oscars. Yeah I said it. (I said it previously too right? If not I guarantee you I shot off my mouth alllll over Twitter)  Birdman was a technically flawless execution, Boyhood had its audiences by the heart as well as being groundbreaking cinema.  In terms of groundbreaking, I rank it right up there with Pulp Fiction, and for those who know me, you'll know that's one of the highest compliments I can pay you.

I remember really liking The Grand Budapest Hotel, but it has been 21 months since I saw it.  I *think* it was the only other film of 2014 that even came close in entertainment value to Boyhood for me.  So based on that I'll let it keep the #2 spot.

I saw the Imitation Game twice in 2014 and went and bought the blu-ray so I could watch it again in 2015 (I haven't done that yet, but I will...)

What We Do in the Shadows was the best laugh I had in 2014, and possibly 2015 as well. Honestly, if I re-watch Budapest and it's not as good as I remember, I'm giving What We Do in the Shadows the #2 spot.

Eden was one of those films I couldn't stop talking about after I saw it. Then I got the chance to talk about it some more in 2015 for Toronto Film Scene, and listen to some podcasts from the Hansen-Love siblings on the making of the film.  Not that it needed to grow on me some more, but it did.

I have some vivid memories associated with Mommy.  It was a turning point with me and Xavier Dolan.  No, I'm not on the wagon per se, but I have had a great deal more respect for him since seeing this film. I will not forget how emotionally gripping this film was, and how close I came to never seeing it (thanks Jerry N, I don't how know you can rescue or save a person in the sphere of film-watching, but you definitely did me a solid by taking me with you that night)

The Theory of Everything, Pride, The Lego Movie... that's moving stuff.  Got me right in the heart, just the right mix of good performances (great in the case of The Theory of Everything), story, and feel good.

And finally Interstellar (over Whiplash), a film that got mixed reviews but Christopher Nolan never ceases to win me over. I recall being all about Interstellar, whereas my appreciation of Whiplash is just that... appreciation.  Not that J.K. Simmons didn't nearly make me fall out of my chair, but let's face it, Whiplash is memorable, but it's not going to be part of any of my movie marathons anytime soon (with the possible exception of 30 Films... but more on that later)

Onto the thick of the honourable mentions... Fasten Your Seatbelts was an Italian film I reviewed as part of the European Union Film Fest of 2014. I knew nothing about it, and I'm not sure that it received any critical attention internationally (hell, I'm not even sure how it did at home really) but it struck a chord with me. Between the narrative, the story, and the main character... I found myself thinking about the movie in the months following (less now... instead I think about how to get my hands on a copy to re-watch it)

I sorta felt the same way about That Awkward Moment as I did for Fasten Your Seatbelts the first time I saw it. In addition it's also a great bromance pic. It's still a very good movie, best North American romcom since The F Word probably, but not as refreshing on the second viewing.

Nightcrawler and Life Itself, different as night and day, both good, but both not as memorable as I initially thought. And American Sniper... my original "honourable mention"... great film. Worth watching. Not the kinda stuff that's gonna make my top 10 (Sorry Bradley Cooper, this is no way means I want to sleep with you any less)

*stops to take a breath*

And there you have it folks, my top 10 films of 2014. Now I can get started on 2015 guilt-free. Hope to get you that list before December 2016! ;)

Must watch...everything! (and other movie/artsy woes)

Does anyone else come out of the TIFF haze to find a crushing amount of television to catch up on from mid-August (historically a TV dead zone, and yet there seem to be more and more spring/summer series now) to the present?

I felt a wave of panic when I realized that American Horror Story had begun... and I still don't know how the season of Under the Dome ended. Which is kind of ironic because I'm pretty well over both shows but continue to watch out of compulsion.

Not to mention that it's also the best time of year for good movies in theatres.

I find myself constantly wracked with guilt that I'm not in a theatre.  I tell myself if I'm not in a theatre I should at least be mad downloading TV episodes and binge-watching Netflix.  I try my best, when I'm not distracted by the large number of books I seem to have purchased the first 8 months of this year... (the comic geeks might appreciate that I finally read all six issues of Sandman Overture.  They were SO GOOD, and while I still don't like buying issue to issue and prefer a collected graphic novel, I guess I am grateful that I didn't have to wait for the single volume to come out before I could read them)

There might be a possibility I need to start my hibernation early this year lol.  Not sure if I'll be coming out to Toronto After Dark too much (as I doubt I'll get accreditation), and I have yet to look over the Reel Asian line-up. 

As always I'm grateful to my bosses at Toronto Film Scene for not firing my ass even though my writing submissions are sporadic and I don't remember when was the last time I showed up to a staff meeting.  As well I may be doing a piece on a Canadian cinematographer, publishing date/details are all TBD (2016).

It may have just been in the haze of Nuit Blanche, but Jae and I have talked on and off for years about submitting our personal projects to the (questionably-fated ??) art festival.  Because I always seem to have (largely unsolicited) suggestions for Jae's project he said I should produce it.  Man, if he's serious I'm so in! Otherwise I'll plug away at my own project - I'll give you a hint: http://littlelostshoe.tumblr.com/

In the meantime, here's a recap of what I've been watching (I've dropped the ball on what I've been reading, 80% of it is not captured :( ) over the past few months (don't feel obliged to read)

-------------------------
Legend:

numbered = films
not numbered = TV
" " = started books/plays
n = 2015 release
f = my first time viewing 
(#) = number of episodes watched 

-------------------------

7/1
93. Magic Mike XXL - f n

7/2
True detective (1)
Under the dome (1)

7/3
Salem (1)
Mind of a Chef (1)

7/4
Salem (1)

7/5
Salem (2)

7/6
Salem (1)

7/7
Salem (1)

7/8
Salem (1)
The mind of a chef (1)

7/9
Salem (1)

7/10
The mind of a chef (1)
Salem (1)

7/12
94. Night at the Museum 2 - f

7/13
Salem (2)

7/14
Salem (1)

7/15
Salem (1)

7/17
95. How to make an American quilt - f
Moonlight (1)

7/18
Moonlight (2)

7/19
Moonlight (1)

7/20
Under the dome (1)

7/21
The Mind of a chef (1)
Moonlight (1)

7/22
96. Vacation- f n
Moonlight (2)

7/23
Moonlight (1)

7/24
Moonlight (1)

7/28
Asteroid (short)
Bosniak (short)
Into the weeds (short)
Moonlight (2)

7/29
Moonlight (1)

7/30
Moonlight (2)

7/31
Moonlight (1)

8/1
Moonlight (1)

8/3
97. Safety Not Guaranteed - f
Jesse (short)

8/4
A new reflection (short)
Pretty dangerous (short)
Phoebes declassified guide To unwanted pick ups (short)
Tanabatta (short)
The Mind of a Chef (1)

8/5
The mind of a chef (1)
Scrubs (1)

8/7
Under the dome (1)

8/10
Under the dome (1)

8/11
Under the dome (1)

8/12
Anthony Bourdain's Parts Unknown (1)

8/15
98. The Thieves

8/16
99. The diary of a teenage girl - f n

8/18
100. Superman Returns

8/19
Heroes (2)

8/20
Heroes (1)

8/21
Heroes (1)

8/22
Heroes (2)

8/23
Heroes (1)

8/24
Heroes (1)

8/25
Heroes (1)

8/27
101. Ninth Floor - f n 

8/28
Heroes (1)

8/29
Heroes (1)

8/30
Never Happened (short)
Wolkaan (short)

8/31
The swimming lesson (short)
Bam (short)

Sep1

Heroes (2)

Sep 2

Heroes (1)

Sep 3

102. Brooklyn - f n

Sep 4-20

Heroes (1)

103. Hitchcock/Truffaut - n f
104. Te Prometo Anarquia (I Promise Anarchy) - n f
105. Demolition - n f
106. Lolo - n f
107. Girls Lost - n f
108. Maggie's Plan - n f
109. Anomalisa - n f
110. The Danish Girl - n f
111. Heat
112. Women He's Undressed - n f
113. The Man Who Knew Infinity - n f
114. The Dressmaker - n f
115. Being Charlie - n f
116. Zoom - n f
117. Victoria - n f
118. Baskin - n f
119. The Steps - n f
120. The Family Fang - n f
121. Northern Soul - n f
122. Ville-Marie - n f
123. Stonewall - n f
124. Keeper - n f
125. I Smile Back - n f
126. Legend - n f
127. The Paradise Suite - n f
128. Mr Right - n f
129. Vertigo
130. Der Nachtmahr - n f
131. Room - n f

Sep 21 

Heroes (1)

Sep 22

Heroes (1)

Sep 23 

Heroes (2)

Sep 26

The Muppets (1)

Sep 27

Heroes (2)

Sep 28

Heroes (2)

Sep 29

Heroes (2)

Sep 30

Heroes (2)

Oct 1

Heroes (1)

Oct 5

132. Black Mass - f n

Oct 6 

Heroes (1)

Oct 8

133. Southpaw - f

The TIFF Hangover - 2015

Indeed what a hangover it was.  In TIFF 2014 I pathetically caught the TIFF cold right at the start of the festival and was ship shape by the end, watching everyone else fall prey. This year I held out until the very end, then as soon as I got home from watching the People's Choice film, my nose instantly started running. Grr...

I caught 29 films during TIFF 2015, the festival's 40th anniversary, plus some stuff beforehand.  I should also note that I have seen an earlier version of Into The Forrest in one of those research screenings, but I'm told there have been some significant changes made since so I cannot accurate judge the film based on my memory of it.

The films I saw this year included:

Pre-fest:

Ninth Floor - my TFS review
Brooklyn

My Short Cuts program consumption wasn't so straightforward this year, TIFF combined Canadian and International shorts and Toronto Film Scene was only committed to covering the Canadian shorts programming.  What this means is that I probably watched just over a third of the Canadian Shorts spread out through all the SC programs.  In short, follow this link for my capsule reviews and director interviews.

During the festival:

Hitchcock/Truffaut
Te Prometo Anarquia (I Promise Anarchy)
Demolition
Lolo
Girls Lost
Maggie's Plan
Anomalisa
The Danish Girl
Heat
Women He's Undressed
The Man Who Knew Infinity
The Dressmaker
Being Charlie
Zoom
Victoria
Baskin
The Steps
The Family Fang
Northern Soul
Ville-Marie
Stonewall
Keeper
I Smile Back
Legend
The Paradise Suite
Mr Right
Vertigo
Der Nachtmahr
Room

Everyone seems to be weighing in with their top 5, for me it was more like 3 standouts, and then 5 other films I would still highly recommend:

Standouts:

1) Northern Soul
2) The Danish Girl
3) Zoom

Also highly recommended:

• Women He's Undressed 
• Demolition
• Lolo
• The Dressmaker
• Mr. Right

Beyond that the remainder of the programming that I personally saw was of high standards this year. I would recommend 21 out of the 31 features I saw, and even then, some of the un-recommended 10 are in reality ok...

Zoom is three tales woven together in a story about a story about a story, presented in the mix of live action and animation.  It's got lots of wiry, dark humour, and of course, sex dolls. A Canadian/Brazillian co-production that I caught at the end of a 5-film day that managed to keep me awake and laughing throughout.

The Danish Girl will surely be an oscar contender for something. I personally hope it's best actress (best supporting actress?) for Alicia Vikander, she was definitely the standout even opposite a powerhouse like Eddie Redmayne in a skillfully crafted film.  This is my new favourite Tom Hooper film, granted I don't normally consider myself a fan, I cannot deny the merits of The King's Speech and even Les Mis had its highlights.

That said, I will admit it's far from perfect.  I've heard a couple people remark on the story unfolding at breakneck speed, leaving the audience detached from the characters never having properly taken the time to understand who their are and their inner workings. I agree it's a lot of story to cover, but this takes me back to a discussion I had at this year's TIFF overnight line with my friends Jae and Sachin about the importance of story vs character in the making of a film...

Jae admires a director's ability to recognize when a character has become larger than just the story he's in, and to follow that character down a path even if it deviates from the original intended plot.  It's important to be able to shift focus and take your audience on that exploration. (Jae, apologies if I'm way off your original point, but this is what I took away in my sleep deprivation) Whereas I'm more focused on the story, I'm willing to overlook a few character deviations, ie. silly out-of-character actions, if it means the story hits all the major plot points and gets to where it needs to be.

Anyway, this is how I felt about The Danish Girl.  I can live with the amount of story they pack into the film's running time (though it could've easily been another half an hour longer and it would have been just fine), I can take a leap of faith in both Lily and Gerda's evolving relationship and how they come to terms with it.  If anything, my hesitation towards The Danish Girl is that it chronicles the life of a transgendered individual from a privileged class, Lily obviously had the wealth and means to undergo treatments, surgery, and seek sanctuary from those who would scrutinize her behaviour.  What of those who did not come from wealth and fortune? 

This is a slight deviation from my discussion of my standout films, but my thoughts in the previous paragraph make me think about Stonewall, which focuses on a similar minority (albeit decades later), that is getting ALL the criticism.  Ok fine, having seen Stonewall as well, it rightly deserves a good portion of the backlash it's getting.  Not being overly familiar with neither The Stonewall Riots, nor the life of Lily Elbe, I can't say for certain... but I'm guessing The Danish Girl more closely chronicles the life of Lily vs Stonewall which is a fictitious story played out against the background of the events in New York City.

I've read a couple articles lashing out against the film Stonewall.  Should the golden boy quarterback from middle America have been portrayed as the hero of rebellion?... heck no, but it's one of those things that many may have dismissed or written off it wasn't presented in conjunction with a number of characters whom they claim are based on real people who participated in the events... that gives the illusion that our fictional hero is real too. Some of Emmerich's remarks about using that character to give mainstream audiences someone they could relate to is unsettling as well.  A strong story with good characters shouldn't need a draw, it should stand by itself and compel those who previously had no connection to the subject.  Or is that only my definition of good filmmaking?

And it is within those same parameters that Northern Soul (you see what I did there? ;) ) was my standout film of TIFF 2015.  Also a fictitious story, this time set in Northern English against the backdrop of the underground soul music scene, Northern Soul feels genuine and intimate.  It hits a few cliche notes and doesn't delve into the tough topics, the accents are challenging to say the least, but the infectious spirit of the movie never makes you consider tuning out even for a second.

Perhaps I have a bit of a soft spot for underground music movements, but it was a movement I knew nothing about until I saw the film, despite always having favoured faster tempo soul music.  Northern Soul also struck me a precursor for other scenes such as New Wave, Indie Rock, and Rave (real rave, not Zac Efron DJ bullshit)  Makes me want to re-watch 24 Hour Party People, and last year's Eden. Seeing director Elaine Constantine take the stage afterwards for the Q&A confirmed that was made by someone who was familiar with the films characters and setting. (I have a video of that Q&A that I will try to upload to my YouTube)

Another thing to note about what makes a successful film within this niche is that the good ones always place the greatest emphasis on friendship instead of politics, romance, or something else.  In tightknit communities such as these, connections are made from the music and the friendships, choosing to base it on anything else I think will make it harder to win over audiences.

Speaking of friendships (I'm just full of segues!) I cannot to a TIFF hangover post without mentioning all the random run-ins and movies I unexpectedly saw with friends over TIFF 40.  I tried my best to get photos with all my old friends as I ran into them (some more closely resemble shadows of my good friends as they were taken in darkened theatres)

I'm grateful to my readers for indulging me during the month of August and all my random festival memories.  I actually have a story from this year that I think will go down in the #AdaTIFFmems history books, we'll know for sure in the years to come...

It was only day 1 or 2 but as volunteers we already had access to some special screenings, including one to Julie Delphy's film Lolo (great film btw).  My generous friend Paul got a ticket to that show that he couldn't use, so he messaged me after he got home from his volunteer shift to see if I wanted it.  I already had a ticket but knew a couple others who were interested.  The challenge quickly became how to get the ticket from Paul as it was closing in on 1am and Paul was off to work and me to a film first thing in the morning.  We came up with the great idea for Paul to stash the ticket in his mailbox so that I, or anyone else, could grab it at any point before the film.

I didn't have any luck waking the first person, but just earlier had gotten a message from my TIFF-partner-in-crime (one of a few partners in crime I guess) Jerry F. that he was at Midnight Madness so I knew he was around. I was ready to climb in bed at this point, so my message to him said something along the lines of "If ur interested in a ticket to 11am screening of Lolo tomorrow, go to ### Jarvis St, and look for a ticket in the mailbox inside a supermarket flyer"

I love how Jerry doesn't question why there's a movie ticket stuffed inside a random mailbox in the middle of the night, his response after getting out of the theatre was simply "ok, heading there now" lol.  I was asleep or half asleep for the remainder of the events, but from what he tells me, he went and grabbed a bikeshare and went up to Paul's.  First he couldn't find the townhouses, then he couldn't find Paul's mailbox.  He didn't see a ticket in the mailbox but saw some supermarket flyers sitting nearby so he leafed through all of those too (haha) before sending me several text messages that woke me up enough to go message Paul.

Paul confirmed that he put the ticket in the mailbox after a short while, during which time Jerry had biked back to his car in another part of downtown. So Jerry drove up to Paul's again and finally got the elusive ticket.  He shared the entire story of his middle of the night scavenger hunt with me the next day at the Elgin where I nearly died from laughter.  Just another one of those things that happen during TIFF...

I'll leave you with some of my favourite photos from TIFF 2015:

The one where I'm two feet away from Geoffrey Rush!

My longtime friends Judith & Sue

My beloved #teamElign and #teamWG (Winter Garden) in our annual group photo

Christopher & I - friends for 26 years!

Random good looking people that I count amongst my friends (Irene, Christopher, Vincent, James, Davor) 

The Danish Girl Q&A with acclaimed director Tom Hooper

Jerry #1 (aka the 'TIFF husband' aka guy who went on the middle of the night ticket hunt) & I

The worse-lit photo in existence of Jerry #2 (aka my 'favourite stalker' - he's ok with this nickname for the record lol) and I

[pause for story:  I shared my google calendar with my schedule of films with Jerry and he accidentally merged it with his own film schedule, leaving him very confused...and very knowledgeable about my whereabouts lol]

Getting in the shot with two of my favourite ladies whom I work with the Orientation Sessions - Shaista & Lina

  Group shot from Vertigo screening and probably my favourite photo of  TIFF15... row selfie taken with the long-arm of Veronica (from closest to furthest... Veronica, Judith, me, Jerry, Sachin, Jae, Melanie, Melanie's friend (lol), Hope (hiding), and David) 

#AdaTIFFmems - Heeere's Jonny!

I have been waiting and waiting (and procrastinating... and not having my photos handy) to write this installment!  And now I'm just late with it!

So over the last 40 (41) days I've been sifting through old blogs, journals, photos, etc., sharing with friends and strangers alike some of my fondest TIFF-related memories, including zany things we've done, great films I've seen, and wonderful people I've met.

I have mentioned the gentleman featured in today's blog here and there, but I think it's time to put him in the spotlight...

In the mid-00's a young guy started volunteering at the Elgin. I knew him as Jonathan at first, Jon for a brief period of time, but of course the name in which he established his legacy is Jonny...

He was a volunteer on my team, a real superstar that we could trust to do a great job where ever we placed him.  Always willing to take one for the team, together we've shouted at line-ups until we lost our voices, fended off the hoardes pushing towards the red carpet, and diffused many a crisis in between.

It wasn't all volunteer business, Jonny and I actually became friends.  He was a friendly face year after year, coming in at recruitment sessions and into the Elgin volunteer lounge all smiles.  He'd tell me about a new exciting marketing job he'd just got, or introduce me to a new volunteer he'd convinced to join the Elgin team (that being my buddy Jack - the guy behind Jonny in the photo above, I believe they went to college together).  We'd get up to no good at Midnight Madness screenings (Jonny's king of the Rockstar energy drinks!) and party together at TIFF events.

After some years as a regular volunteer, Jonny finally made the leap to captaining and never looked back!

Captain Group Photo from 2011.  Truly one of my favourite Elgin/WG captain teams.

As a volunteer captain, he was a continued pleasure to work with.  I could always trust him to have my back, and I knew for certain the volunteers were having a good time under his command.  During this time Jonny also met and began dating one of the FOHAs of the theatre.

Flash foward to the next festival and Jonny tells me he's now officially staff at the Elgin!  I'm always a little conflicted when my beloved co-captains make the leap.  I'm happy for them, and love the idea of having staff in the venue that truly understand the volunteer experience.  But at the same time I feel I'm losing them to "the other side", and know that we won't be spending as much time together going forward.

I couldn't begrudge Jonny though... I'd been working with ticket line/inside rep Mathias for 13? 14?? festivals (we started at the Elgin the same year) and he'd become truly one of the greatest people to work with, I didn't think the inside volunteers could ever have such a great person to work with again... until I saw Jonny in action during TIFF14 as the new inside rep.  It honestly made me want to be a regular inside volunteer, just so I could work on a team with Jonny again.

This year Jonny's returning as the daytime head rep of the Elgin and I couldn't be happier for him, he's going to rock it like he does everything else.  Oh, and little lady he met at the Elgin, did I mention they got engaged???

Everything's coming up Jonny!  Here's to you my friend :)

Candy, Jonny, and I at a TIFF Party (Elgin party?)

MM line-up antics abound.

This one is definitely an Elgin party... I love how Jonny's hair changes from year to year.

More Elgin party antics (to the left of Jonny would be our night time Head Rep, the vivacious David Tomlinson)

[I ran into Jonny and his fiancee a couple weeks ago and I told her if she ever needed embarrassing photos of Jonny for a wedding slide show to give me a call, even Jonny recalled that I seem to have an unusually large number of uber close-up sweaty, drunken party shots of him.  He doesn't look very sweaty in the above, which means those must be saved on another harddrive... maybe I'll bust em out for TIFF50!]

And with that, I'm off to TIFF!  Happy festival everyone!!!

#AdaTIFFmems - Sometimes the best movies are the old ones

Holy smokes I can't believe TIFF 15 is here!  I'm still catching on #AdaTIFFmems, so I best not waste time!...

Most of the time TIFF is about seeing the latest and the greatest. Catching stuff you may never see again, and things that may never get a theatrical release. But once in a while it goes the other way too.

Ashes of Time was originally released in 1994, the only period film ever made by Hong Kong auteur Wong Kar Wai, who is better known for his retro nostalgia and dramatic philosophical tales of romance and unrequited love.

I count Ashes of Time among my favourite films, but because of the timing of its original release (a period when very little Chinese cinema was made available theatrically in Toronto, especially for a 15 year old to access) I had only ever seen it on murky VHS tapes and their DVD counterparts (literally a VHS copy dubbed into a DVD disc - that cost me $50 on Amazon!!!).

The reason for such poor quality releases was because no one had a decent copy of the film, not the studio, not the director, no one. But at the dawn of the digital video age, restorations became a trend and soon Ashes of Time was among those on the list for a revamp. And so they began searching old movie houses world-wide for all the missing bits of footage, and began a lengthy restoration of the materials they did have.

The most exciting moment came when it was announced Wong Kar Wai would be presenting a restored version - called Ashes of Time Redux - of his period epic featuring new music by Yo Yo Ma at TIFF 2008!

Wong Kar Wai came to Toronto that year, my friend Darrin was volunteering at the airport when he came in, alas Darrin (whose greatest advice for TIFF-going always includes "represent the Asians!")  was not the one who got to escort the famed director. This was during the early years of SMS and a time when Blackberry was king, but I remember Darrin messaging me while I was at the Elgin with updates about the whereabouts of one of my favourite directors.

We would also catch a later screening of Ashes of Time together that festival. One of my favourite screenings of TIFF 2008 and still one of the best movies I've ever seen.  (In fact, one of my early posts in this blog mentions Ashes of Time Redux)

Last year at TIFF14, I had the opportunity to catch another restored Taiwanese classic:  Dragon Inn (1967).  I grew up a huge fan of the 1992 Hong Kong remake with the same title, and I'd always wanted to see the original.  I had family searching in Hong Kong/Mainland China for it but have never been able to find a copy.  We later found a copy on youtube but it was murky and hard to watch.  Then the festival came to the rescue by screening a restored version last year as part of the Cinematheque program.

Yes, I was in a theatre full of elderly Asians lol, but it was so great to finally get to see the original Dragon Inn, and in a theatre to boot!

This year I'm looking forward to catching screenings of Heat and of course Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo accompanied by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.  I wasn't able to fit it into my schedule, but I would also recommend Visconti's Rocco and His Brothers.

#AdaTIFFmems - That time...3 days ago

I owe you guys a few #AdaTIFFmems...at least one of them will be a cop-out, and this one most certainly will be!

As if there weren't already enough overnight line stories, I can offer you nothing but more today.

This past weekend was another fun demonstration of teamwork at its best. I'm still not loving lining up on King Street however separating out the volunteers usually means that we are amongst friends. We're happy to look out for each other's things take turns stepping away from line, even keeping each other nourished. 

We joked that the TIFF diet began that day, surely it had nothing to do with the brownies courtesy of Adam, the ice cream I bought, Poutine, nor the burgers.

The return of Sachin & Jae (missed you guys) to the line meant stimulating conversation topics such as 'bad movies that you happen to like and have to defend often', Marvel vs DC (Eddy where were you??), how to make a crêpe cake (that's a new one, we must be getting old), and my favorite: 'Encino Man vs Star Trek 2'.  These are important things.

Another tradition relived: I was dozing off some time after 3am and awoke momentarily to find Jay sitting in front of me, as if waiting for me to open my eyes, so he could tell me about the relevance of numerology in his life (something I turned him onto in high school and then quickly abandoned my own interest... oddly this has become a bit of a standard conversation for us).

When I was younger I posted about staying up all night in line.  Nowadays... let's face it, I'm trying to get in three hours of sleep (even though it wound up only being two.)

Not everyone is psycho like us spending the greater part of the day in the lineup on the street, many show up in the wee hours of the morning. So when I woke at 6am, many friendly faces had passed by and later commented they saw me as they went by, but didn't say hello as I was sleeping. This is why so many of my TIFF friends are my closest friends, they have seen me at my worst a.k.a. slumped over drooling with hair stuck to my face.

I also woke to find coffee waiting for me (thanks Rosie), and I had the foresight to pick up Nutella croissants the previous night so I'd have some breakfast to share.

I learned that during my sleep, someone had arrived with a large box of McDonald's burgers. Tremendously kind gesture? Yes. Unheard of from the wonderful volunteers and other patrons of TIFF? No (that is how awesome we can be to friends and strangers alike!)

Then it was time to get our tickets, a particularly tense hour as we counted down the minutes to the box office opening, the scary moment of truth to see if our picks would be available, and of course, the inevitable site crash/issues that the box office encounters almost every year due to the high demands on the site (I get that there are technological limitations, and that TIFF is a non-profit, etc etc... but it'll always be nerve wracking)

After that... the crash. It's Sunday morning by that point but part of your brain still thinks it's Saturday, you want to sleep, but not too much, lest you not sleep at all Sunday night and the vicious cycle continues.  I was in a hazy state, in and out of consciousness until Monday.  By then I was pretty confused about what day it was, but at least I was a functioning human being again.

Many of us who line up are not just getting tickets for ourselves, we'll help a close friend or two out. So Monday is usually the day when I get my huge stack of tickets sorted out. Despite the line-up being over, the teamwork doesn't end there.

Now that we have our first round of tickets, it's time to figure out how to use the vouchers we didn't exchange, or even whether to exchange the tickets we do have!  Around this time the texts start to fly... "are you going to the box office?"  "Did you hear The Lobster is back on sale?" (No, despite the hype, The Lobster still hasn't made it onto my list)  "I know someone who's going to the box office now, would you like me to ask them to grab a ticket?" etc etc.

This type of box office coordination will extend through the festival amongst my friends, as well as the "I can hold a spot for you in the rush line" offers.  Knowing that my network of savvy TIFF-goers abound and that I will soon get a chance to hang out with all of them (even if our idea of "hanging out" is a little different from the fest of the world) is what keeps me hyped and coming back to TIFF year after year.

One more sleep!  #TIFFmaseve!

#AdaTIFFmems - Brad Pitt & Melissa's boob

Despite having slept in 2-3 hour periods over the last day, I'm dimly aware another day has passed on the calendar and thus another #AdaTIFFmem

This story isn't mine but it's a funny one and one we still tell at the Elgin from time to time.

One of the most star studded nights we've had at the theatre was the premiere of The Assassination of Jessie James by the Coward Robert Ford.  My ever-inappropriate friend Jae dubbed it "The Ass of JJ" during movie schedule planning and it stuck with a few of us, I had to make a conscious effort to use the film's full title while onsite at the theatre.

The movie starred some guy named Brad Pitt, whose friends from some film called Ocean's Eleven (a number of which were in town with their own movies) all came to show their support...

This was one of the first times Yonge Street was fully barricaded, with everything secured, a number of us were called into the lobby to help with crowd control.  So we were truly security detail for Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.  Oh yeah, did I mention she came too?

We often open the house before the talent arrives, it helps clear up pedestrian gridlock on Yonge Street and that way the line doesn't stop as fans all try to get a glimpse of the celebs on the red carpet.  But when the stars are too famous, it doesn't really matter where you put the patrons, they're gonna find a way to get close to the action.  

People who had gone into the theatre already were finding excuses to make their way back out into the lobby, many of us had to repeated ask them to stay behind the stanchions and/or move along. Despite our best efforts, we were dealing with significantly narrowed walkways.

Captain Mel and Candy were also onsite that day (on shift but I was the captain), I had the crowd on one side of the lobby, they were on the other.  Celebs that wound up coming right by us included Don Cheadle and Matt Damon in a touching reunion moment where the two men came up to each other for a hug (3 feet from me!), Angelina Jolie who was all smiles while signing an autograph near us, telling the girl she was enjoying being in Toronto, along with Helen Hunt and Eric Bana.

Celebs that were also in the building that day, but I didn't see, included Casey Affleck, Clive Owen, Josh Brolin, and Rose McGowan.  I don't quite recall, but George Clooney may or may not have also snuck in through the back on this day as well. The only person I really spoke with was Maria Menounos.

Brad Pitt made his entrance, signing autographs and shaking hands.  As he was coming down the carpet, his elbow accidentally grazed red carpet volunteer (and my friend) Melissa's chest.  Which sparked many jokes and purposeful misinterpretations that "Brad Pitt touched Melissa's boob!"  Even Melissa herself swore that she would never wash that boob again.