(2 months of inactivity, you'd think I'd return to offer you some TIFF reviews? Nope, keep waiting...sorry...)
The Premise:
It's like a book club but with movies! Participants will watch one designated film per week tied to the theme of "Lost 20-Somethings" and discuss. The 4 week series will conclude with St Elmo's Fire on Friday, December 9th @ 9pm where participants are encouraged to get together and attend the screening at TIFF Lightbox. In person attendance is not required, you can also watch the movie on your own. As all discussion will take place online (or be transcribed to appear online?), feel free to participate from all over the globe. Discussion points, responses, etc can be posted in the comments of this blog, submitted to me privately, on Facebook, where ever... I will then consolidate and repost here.
As with all film viewings and challenges that I propose, even if you don't actively want to participate you are still welcome to watch the movies, read the blogs, and come along for the ride. Even if no one else takes me up on this, I'm still gonna go ahead with the movies and post my thoughts in the coming weeks. I really do hope some of you will join in the discussion though.
Background:
It started with TIFF Bell Lightbox releasing it's fall film schedule that included the return of the "Back to the 80's" series, this time including my favourite Brat Pack movie St Elmo's Fire. I shared my excitement about this with a few people including Mike, who has never seen the movie. He'd watched the trailer previously and wasn't overly impressed, he thought the characters seemed like a bunch of jerks (or something to that effect) therefore why would he want to watch a movie about them?
Then a couple nights ago I was shuffling a few movies around to make everything fit on the shelf and found myself holding my copy of Singles, which made me think...now there's a group of annoying characters. In fact, the reason why I didn't think much of Singles the first and second time I saw it was because Bridget Fonda's character was dippy, Matt Dillon an ass, and I wanted to knock Kyra Sedgwick's teeth out whenever she spoke. Clearly something about the film grew on me though because I eventually went out and bought myself a copy.
Another film that is often referenced alongside Singles is Reality Bites, which was also lost on me the first time I saw it (as a bright-eyed 15 year old who believed that graduating from university would solve all of life's problems), but I grew to love it more with each viewing leading up to my mid-20's. If you think about it though, lotta those characters are whiny, neurotic, and self-important too.
So what is it that makes these films iconic favs amongst quasi-directionless Gen X-ers? I guess somewhere along the line, though we'd like to think ourselves less annoying than these slackers on the big screen, we can relate. Assuming most readers of this blog have navigated through their "Lost 20-somethings" stage (and maybe moved on to the "Lost 30-somethings" stage? Please tell me the 40's bring more direction though, I don't know how many more decades of this I want to wade thru :P ) I thought it would be interesting to re-visit these movies and have a little discussion on them. There's a wide range of topics that can be touched on from what makes the films likable despite some unappealing personalities, to how our own lives parallel the films' events (or not), to the cultural significance portrayed in the backdrop of the stories, etc. etc.
The Films:
Week 1 (during week of Nov 14): Singles dir. Cameron Crowe
Week 2 (during week of Nov 21): Reality Bites dir. Ben Stiller
Week 3 (during week of Nov 28): Your Choice*
Week 4 (Friday, December 9): St Elmo's Fire dir. Joel Schumacher
*Admittedly I had some difficulty designating a 4th film that would closely mirror the theme alongside the other three movies. As mentioned Singles and Reality Bites are often compared side by side, and Reality Bites and St. Elmo's Fire are in many ways the 80's vs 90's version of the same story. I could not find a 4th movie that fit in quite as perfectly, so rather than choose one film and then have people point out all the obvious differences and incompatibilities, I'm just going to let everyone choose their own "Lost 20-Somethings" movie. There are so many...I haven't even decided on my own, below are some of my considerations...
The Big Chill - An 80's film that would balance out the 80's/90's ratio of the viewing list. It fits the bill of ensemble cast of friend characters and all the interactions between them. Though I've yet to grow to love the movie, I do find myself re-watching it every few years so there must be reason for that. Sadly I can relate to the circumstances for their reunion, maybe that's my connection to the film. It is an 80's film, however the characters are not 20-somethings but 30-somethings (maybe after I get through this decade I will come to understand the film better?) making them part of the Boomer generation instead of Gen X.
About Last Night - This one always seems to come up in the recommendations column whenever I do a search on Singles. I've never seen it, but from the description seems more like rom-com than coming of age or Gen X directionless-ness. However, having never seen it, I would kind of like to...
Mallrats - Tipping the scale towards the 90's if I pick this one, but it does feature directionless 20-somethings at their finest. But with all things Kevin Smith-Jersey, the Kevin Smith part of it does seem to overpower any other underlying themes the movie might have.
Ghost World - The epitome of directionless youth. However if you want to nitpick, Enid and Rebecca are high school grads thus not 20+. Also the two of them do not equal an ensemble cast. In the movie the characters would be considered more Gen Y, however Daniel Clowes wrote these characters as high school grads from the early 90's thus making them originally part of Gen X. (It can also be argued that I don't need to watch Ghost World again to write about it, I can pretty much recite all the dialogue from memory. I watched it numerous times during my 20's whenever I felt blue because I was lost...so needless to say I watched it A LOT)
Monday, November 14, 2011
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Still standing... (unless I'm hallucinating)
Well, we're into the second half of TIFF and starting to suffer from lapses of concentration, judgment, and consciousness (possibly all at the same time). I know I say this every year but, here's a few things to keep in mind that just might help you thru to day 11:
1. Take naps whenever you can (especially if the movie is boring because the next one might be great and you don't want to nod off for that)
2. Try smiling from time to time, it does put you and those around you into a better state of mind.
3. Keep saying "thank you", it does make a difference.
4. Hydrate (my rule of thumb this festival has been one cup of water for every cup of coffee...so far it's kept me from feeling like complete garbage)
5. Try to keep some greens in your diet and large quantities of sugar out (I've eaten salad 4 days out of 7 and refrained from pestering the Lindt chocolate makers at the Elgin)
Well, that's probably the last semi-coherent thing you'll get out of me for the rest of the festival. Keep tweeting/msg-ing me with your movie reviews! It's been great running into so many of you!
Happy TIFF-ing!
Thursday, September 8, 2011
TIFF Packing List
Wait, this isn't my travel blog, why is there a packing list here you ask?
First off, happy TIFF-mas everyone! (I stole that from one of my friends on Facebook, likely Jonny) Festival '11 is finally upon us and I look forward to seeing many familiar faces in the ticketholders line of Restless tonight!
If you're like me and many of my friends, you have films and other film-related commitments all lined up for the next 11 days. You're not even sure how to make it from one movie to the next in time, much less worry about trivial things like sleeping, eating, and keeping your phone charged. There are joking remarks about living out of a backpack, but wait, that's actually not a joke! If you're serious/obsessed about having a great TIFF experience, a well-packed day bag can make a big difference.
I'm one of the tardiest people you will ever meet, the only things I make a point of arriving to on-time are plane/train/coach departures and movies. This often means I'm literally running around my apartment yelling like a crazy person and forgetting half my stuff as I fly out the door. Forgetting my sunglasses is no big deal when I'm just going to a movie then coming home a couple hours later, but when you have 4 movies lined up for the day and will need to sit in a west-facing Rush line for 1.5 hours in the late afternoon, that's going to be pretty brutal without shades. Similarly your cell phone battery's unlikely to die mid-movie, even if it does you can remedy the problem shortly. If your phone dies at 11am and your last movie doesn't finish until 2am, that can get problematic (especially if someone else has your movie tickets!)
It's common sense to pack a little in advance for travels, and the same applies to TIFF too. There's no need to go overboard, you are in downtown Toronto after all, your tickets aside, there is little else that you can't get in the city should you forget or suddenly need it. The following are some essentials that will get you thru the day:
Hope everyone has a great festival regardless of what you pack!
First off, happy TIFF-mas everyone! (I stole that from one of my friends on Facebook, likely Jonny) Festival '11 is finally upon us and I look forward to seeing many familiar faces in the ticketholders line of Restless tonight!
If you're like me and many of my friends, you have films and other film-related commitments all lined up for the next 11 days. You're not even sure how to make it from one movie to the next in time, much less worry about trivial things like sleeping, eating, and keeping your phone charged. There are joking remarks about living out of a backpack, but wait, that's actually not a joke! If you're serious/obsessed about having a great TIFF experience, a well-packed day bag can make a big difference.
I'm one of the tardiest people you will ever meet, the only things I make a point of arriving to on-time are plane/train/coach departures and movies. This often means I'm literally running around my apartment yelling like a crazy person and forgetting half my stuff as I fly out the door. Forgetting my sunglasses is no big deal when I'm just going to a movie then coming home a couple hours later, but when you have 4 movies lined up for the day and will need to sit in a west-facing Rush line for 1.5 hours in the late afternoon, that's going to be pretty brutal without shades. Similarly your cell phone battery's unlikely to die mid-movie, even if it does you can remedy the problem shortly. If your phone dies at 11am and your last movie doesn't finish until 2am, that can get problematic (especially if someone else has your movie tickets!)
It's common sense to pack a little in advance for travels, and the same applies to TIFF too. There's no need to go overboard, you are in downtown Toronto after all, your tickets aside, there is little else that you can't get in the city should you forget or suddenly need it. The following are some essentials that will get you thru the day:
- A sturdy, lightweight, mid-sized bag. You're not backpacking across Europe, there's no need for a gigantic backpack. The weight will just hurt your back, and the size will make it difficult to cram under your seat in the theatre.
- TIFF Official Film Schedule (aka OFS) and any other schedules you might want for handy reference (ie. P&I schedule) In years past some of us have also lugged around the Program book for reference, but with everything available online and the Blackberry TIFF app you can consider lightening the load by leaving it at home. Especially if your laptop is one of the items you need to bring around with you.
- Camera - SLR, iphone or something in between... you never know who you might spot at TIFF, plus it's fun to take a pic with friends while waiting in line too.
- Sharpie marker - if you're into the autograph thing, it's the same as the camera, you never know who you might get to meet.
- Mobile phone charger - These are long days, there's much tweeting to do, many friends to meet up with, odds are your phone WILL die on you at some point. A/c (aka wall) chargers are pretty compact and the under ground PATH has many a hidden outlet you can use. Hint: Metro Hall library is also a good place to charge your devices and have a bit of quiet time should you need it. Plus I'm told TIFF Lightbox has blackberry charging stations, I've never investigated for myself though.
- Cereal bars are the handiest snack of all. They're individually packed, (mostly) nutritious, and don't go bad. I always have a couple handy in case I don't get a chance to buy food between films.
- Water bottle - this one's common sense, always stay hydrated! For space-saving purposes I own one of these, folds flat once it's empty.
- Light jacket/cardigan for days when I'm not already wearing an outer layer. Sure you're sweating as you're jogging from Ryerson to Lightbox, but then you're going to freeze halfway through the movie!
- Laptop/book/some form of entertainment to keep you occupied while in line. Don't strap your xbox to your back, but everyone has something they do to pass the time, I've seen knitting, hackey sac, and sketchbooks to name a few. As mentioned in previous entries, mine is my tablet/iphone that provides of a combo of internet, ebook, games, and music. (Mobile blogging too! Might have to test that out this festival)
- Volunteer t-shirt (where applicable) Can't volunteer without your shirt! :)
- Bit of cash is good to have handy, hot dog vendors don't take debit.
Hope everyone has a great festival regardless of what you pack!
Monday, September 5, 2011
TIFF Overnighter 2011
With the start of single ticket sales, we're another step closer to
TIFF11. As it has been for some years now, the intensely (insanely?)
devoted could be found outside Metro Centre as early as Friday morning,
staking out a good spot for 7am, Saturday September 3rd when the box
office begins processing sales. My good friends J, Sachin, Eddy, and I
were amongst these fanatics (not as rookies either!); this blog includes
some of my recollections of the night.
The party began for me around 6:30pm Friday evening after picking up my daytime package; I was armed with camp chair, films notes, tarp (it was still raining when I left), bottled water, and whimsical hoodie. The boys had been holding a spot for me, Sachin (with the help of our friend Darrin) had been there since 4:30 holding spots for us. They'd met a kindred film soul in line named John, who was as good as family to us for the remainder of the night. I sent out my obligatory tweet (#TIFFOvernightLine if you want to see how it played out live) and got settled in for a long night.
The great thing about pulling an overnighter with a group is you can spell each other off to grab dinner, restock water, take washroom breaks, go to the LCBO for a nightcap (haha), etc. Other things that helped make our night better included the forecasted rain stopping early, poutine, and comics -- at least that was the magic combo for Eddy.
During civilized hours we had several visitors stop by to provide moral support, Darrin, Genevieve, Adil, and Jason amongst them. Even more people tweeted/facebooked to say they were rooting for us. We persevered with our film lists while simultaneously distracting each other with the standard nerd (movie or otherwise) fodder, by midnight we'd covered all the basics... Star Wars, LOTR, Harry Potter, Kevin Smith and were rehashing our Fan Expo experiences. Eddy lamented that we didn't bring playing cards, someone nearby lamented that nobody brought Settlers of Catan (omg what kind of folks am I camping with?? lol).
First round of reinforcements (aka round of coffees) came from Jason whom we sucked into our black hole of TIFF conversation in record time. Yes, this is the thanks you get. But overnight line hero has to be Chris B. who drove down from Yonge and St. Clair at 2am with a jug of coffee, cheese and cracker packs, and a stack of tuna sandwiches! It was more than we could finish so we went scouting for tired, famished faces in line.
Every year I see a few familiar faces, we only ever seem to meet in this line up, so I use the opportunity to do a little catching up. In the process meeting new friends as we've reached that point in the night where people will come together to talk about any(movie)thing in order to stay awake. This is where I met a very enthusiastic Nicole Kidman fan and learned of the plot of Dogville in great detail.
3:30am I started considering sleep when I saw a plastic disc fly through the sky further back in line. I go investigate and find two fellas (Matt and Mark) tossing a frisbee around! Being a former frisbee enthusiast I immediately get in on the action after some quick intros, Matt tells me how early he got there and a bit about the films he wants to see between throws.
Shortly before 5 I fall prey to my first power nap, and wake to rumblings that they are letting us in shortly. There's a bit of confusion of the order of things, mutterings of an official line-up list (which some overnight campers did not catch wind of) but in the end the good old-fashioned honor system won out (not to mention with so many keen eyes watching, who would dare sneak in where they don't belong?)
Just before going in, Mark, bringer of the frisbee, came by to say thank you for a good game. I thank him for thinking to bring a frisbee and wish him good luck with his movies. "Oh," he says, "I'm not really here for that..." Ok... after he was out of earshot Sachin and I speculated whether Mark knew that there would be a bunch of people lining up and brought the frisbee in hopes someone would want to play, or if he just regularly wandered through Pecault Square in the middle of the night with a frisbee. Either way, pretty random.
Once inside members were split into a separate line and Sachin and I found ourselves very well-positioned -- "Membership DOES have its privileges!" Sachin exclaimed. From 35th or so outside, we were now in the top 10. J had a bit of a longer wait though.
At this point I was really fighting the exhaustion, camera crews were sweeping the line and many people wanted to get a picture of the line as they were coming in. Though I tried my best to fight it, I'm sure there were still a lot of photos of me, passed out, face smashed against the side of my chair -- sexy.
6:50am and there's not even time for one final tweet before they direct us to the kiosks, we begin rattling off our long lists of movies so that orders will be ready to 'process' as soon as the clocks strike 7!
I was later informed that news stories reported disappointment at the TIFF box office that morning, there was a problem with buying online and people not getting what they wanted... I don't know what they were talking about! I got EVERYTHING I wanted! Needed 30 tickets and got all 30! In 6+ years of this line-up, this was the highest success rate I'd ever had! This was echoed by Sachin and other patrons around me at the kiosks. I say great job TIFF box office! When I first came in the line set-up looked crazy, but I guess there is a method to your madness.
The TIFF11 campout itself was mostly pleasant, I was thrilled to have good company to keep me going through the night, some pleasant diversions, and a most pleasing outcome! See you and your camping chair again next year!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
AFTERWORD
About the Cast:
"Sachin" is a contributing blogger for the TIFF Midnight Madness Blog
"J" is artistic - here is proof.
"Eddy" is a connoisseur of film, music, and comic arts.
"John" is utilizing his 25-and-under "student" status to see premium screenings for only $25.
The party began for me around 6:30pm Friday evening after picking up my daytime package; I was armed with camp chair, films notes, tarp (it was still raining when I left), bottled water, and whimsical hoodie. The boys had been holding a spot for me, Sachin (with the help of our friend Darrin) had been there since 4:30 holding spots for us. They'd met a kindred film soul in line named John, who was as good as family to us for the remainder of the night. I sent out my obligatory tweet (#TIFFOvernightLine if you want to see how it played out live) and got settled in for a long night.
The great thing about pulling an overnighter with a group is you can spell each other off to grab dinner, restock water, take washroom breaks, go to the LCBO for a nightcap (haha), etc. Other things that helped make our night better included the forecasted rain stopping early, poutine, and comics -- at least that was the magic combo for Eddy.
During civilized hours we had several visitors stop by to provide moral support, Darrin, Genevieve, Adil, and Jason amongst them. Even more people tweeted/facebooked to say they were rooting for us. We persevered with our film lists while simultaneously distracting each other with the standard nerd (movie or otherwise) fodder, by midnight we'd covered all the basics... Star Wars, LOTR, Harry Potter, Kevin Smith and were rehashing our Fan Expo experiences. Eddy lamented that we didn't bring playing cards, someone nearby lamented that nobody brought Settlers of Catan (omg what kind of folks am I camping with?? lol).
First round of reinforcements (aka round of coffees) came from Jason whom we sucked into our black hole of TIFF conversation in record time. Yes, this is the thanks you get. But overnight line hero has to be Chris B. who drove down from Yonge and St. Clair at 2am with a jug of coffee, cheese and cracker packs, and a stack of tuna sandwiches! It was more than we could finish so we went scouting for tired, famished faces in line.
Every year I see a few familiar faces, we only ever seem to meet in this line up, so I use the opportunity to do a little catching up. In the process meeting new friends as we've reached that point in the night where people will come together to talk about any(movie)thing in order to stay awake. This is where I met a very enthusiastic Nicole Kidman fan and learned of the plot of Dogville in great detail.
3:30am I started considering sleep when I saw a plastic disc fly through the sky further back in line. I go investigate and find two fellas (Matt and Mark) tossing a frisbee around! Being a former frisbee enthusiast I immediately get in on the action after some quick intros, Matt tells me how early he got there and a bit about the films he wants to see between throws.
Shortly before 5 I fall prey to my first power nap, and wake to rumblings that they are letting us in shortly. There's a bit of confusion of the order of things, mutterings of an official line-up list (which some overnight campers did not catch wind of) but in the end the good old-fashioned honor system won out (not to mention with so many keen eyes watching, who would dare sneak in where they don't belong?)
Just before going in, Mark, bringer of the frisbee, came by to say thank you for a good game. I thank him for thinking to bring a frisbee and wish him good luck with his movies. "Oh," he says, "I'm not really here for that..." Ok... after he was out of earshot Sachin and I speculated whether Mark knew that there would be a bunch of people lining up and brought the frisbee in hopes someone would want to play, or if he just regularly wandered through Pecault Square in the middle of the night with a frisbee. Either way, pretty random.
Once inside members were split into a separate line and Sachin and I found ourselves very well-positioned -- "Membership DOES have its privileges!" Sachin exclaimed. From 35th or so outside, we were now in the top 10. J had a bit of a longer wait though.
At this point I was really fighting the exhaustion, camera crews were sweeping the line and many people wanted to get a picture of the line as they were coming in. Though I tried my best to fight it, I'm sure there were still a lot of photos of me, passed out, face smashed against the side of my chair -- sexy.
6:50am and there's not even time for one final tweet before they direct us to the kiosks, we begin rattling off our long lists of movies so that orders will be ready to 'process' as soon as the clocks strike 7!
I was later informed that news stories reported disappointment at the TIFF box office that morning, there was a problem with buying online and people not getting what they wanted... I don't know what they were talking about! I got EVERYTHING I wanted! Needed 30 tickets and got all 30! In 6+ years of this line-up, this was the highest success rate I'd ever had! This was echoed by Sachin and other patrons around me at the kiosks. I say great job TIFF box office! When I first came in the line set-up looked crazy, but I guess there is a method to your madness.
The TIFF11 campout itself was mostly pleasant, I was thrilled to have good company to keep me going through the night, some pleasant diversions, and a most pleasing outcome! See you and your camping chair again next year!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
AFTERWORD
About the Cast:
"Sachin" is a contributing blogger for the TIFF Midnight Madness Blog
"J" is artistic - here is proof.
"Eddy" is a connoisseur of film, music, and comic arts.
"John" is utilizing his 25-and-under "student" status to see premium screenings for only $25.
Monday, August 22, 2011
A Novice’s Guide to getting TIFF tickets
I’ve recently had a couple of friends who’ve never attended the Toronto International Film Festival ask me where to find a schedule of the movies and how to get tickets, so I thought I’d share the answer with everyone.
Starting tomorrow, the full list of films including synopsis and screening times will be available on the TIFF website, it’s a daunting list of hundreds so put aside a few hours for reading. Alternatively, browse by programs and narrow it down to the types of films you’re interested in. A number of films have already been announced with partial synopsis and images posted on the website, I’ve personally started a short list from those. When making your short list, stay open-minded and include all options, the more diverse and flexible your list, the greater your chances of enjoying the festival.
Believe it or not, going through the films is the easy part. Once the schedule is up you’re gonna want to double check all the films you’ve “short-listed” (if you’re particularly anal you might go and re-read all the synopsis you’ve rejected, just to make sure you haven’t overlooked anything) to see if a) they’re still of interest and b) if they’re screening at times & locations where/when you will be available. Next we get into the money variable. I’m not just talking how much you want to spend in total, but also how much you’re willing to spend on each film. Since I’m targeting novices here, the majority of you will not have a pass or vouchers, meaning every show equals money spent. Look at your films carefully, online and in the Official Film Schedule, some films will be marked as “Premium Screenings”, this means there will be talent (ie director/cast) in attendance with some sort of red carpet (“red carpet” sounds all glamorous, but that’s really all it is, a red carpet, you don’t get to walk on it next to Brad Pitt, nor do you get handed a glass of champagne at the entrance). It also means you’ll be paying $40 to get in instead of the usual $20, quite a hit to the wallet for most of us. If you desperately need to share the air and try to catch Brad Pitt’s eye from across a crowded room, then maybe you’ll want to pay the $40, but otherwise the 2nd screening (usually a day or 2 later) at the regular price is a much better option. So double check that before heading to the box office or you could be in for a surprise at checkout.
Maybe you’re a little conflicted, there’s 4 great films all screening on Tuesday night when, not to worry, put these films in order of preference and bring the whole list to the box office (or online) with you. Lines are long, tickets are often limited, so your additional options are gonna come in handy when Brad’s film is sold out and instead of walking away empty-handed and having to line up again later after you find an alternative film, you’ll know right away to ask for a ticket to Jason Statham’s film instead. (Disclaimer: These examples do not reflect my actual film/actor preferences)
There are several ways to get your tickets. If you’re paying regular price, it’s usually fastest to buy online. If you choose to purchase in person there are still a few different ways to go about it. At the main box office, in the concourse level of Metro Centre this year (underground near King & John), you can purchase all your tickets in advance where available. Be prepared to wait a while in line, especially during the first half of the festival and during peak hours (lunch, after work). Each venue also has its own box office where same day tickets are sold, they usually open one hour before the first screening of the day. Finally there’s this thing called “Rush” which is essentially a line that forms 1 to 2 hours before a screening for the chance to get last minute tickets (sometimes tickets reserved for the filmmakers or special guests are returned, or sponsors with large blocks of seats don’t need them all, or people just don’t show up… all these seats are counted minutes before the show starts and resold to those in the Rush line). Sounds pretty iffy? Well actually it’s not, depending on the venue. If you’re among the first 20-30 at venues such as Ryerson and the Elgin, you’ll mostly likely get in. So while it is a bit of a time commitment, your dedication usually pays off. If you’re up for any movie provided it’s at a certain day/time, hop into the rush line at one of the multiplexes like AMC or Scotiabank where 2 or 3 different movies will go in around the same time, and you will definitely get into one of the movies.
What to expect at TIFF: This isn’t your average movie-going experience. Don’t expect to show up, buy a ticket, and go in. The one thing you are sure to encounter at TIFF is LINE-UPS. Some people find this frustrating and the time commitment for going to a single movie a bit too much. I don’t blame them, much as I love TIFF, I realize it’s not for everyone. You do all this movie research, pick you films, line up for tickets, fail to get tickets, line up for tickets again, and if you’re lucky to get advance tickets… you still have to line up to get into the movie theatre! I spend a lot of time walking up and down Yonge Street manning the ticketholders line at the Elgin and Winter Garden Theatre, and people are constantly in disbelief when they show up 45 mins before the show and ticketholders line has snaked north up Yonge, east on Shutter, and back down Victoria Street (this happens at least twice a day).
This can also be viewed as signs of enthusiasm and dedication though, these thousands of moviegoers, they’re hardcore! If you can tap into their energy and excitement, strike up a conversation, and be part of the positive atmosphere, you will have a great time at the festival. There’s much more I can tell you about the festival, but even better for you to experience it for yourself. Single tickets go on sale to the general public on September 3rd. Happy TIFF-ing everyone!
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Breakfast at Tiffanys, Coffee at Cafe Sperl
Another opportunity for cross-blog posting! (my other blog being http://in-foreign-lands.blogspot.com/ )
Something I like to do when visiting other cities is check out locations where famous films were shot. Some cities are obviously easier than others, ie. I think almost every inch of New York City has been in a movie at some point of another :P
For me Vienna is the home of many a famous classical musician, filled with baroque buildings and other old world gems, but it is also where Richard Linklater shot Before Sunrise. Ethan Hawke and July Delphy play Jesse and Celine, two young people who meet by chance on a train and decide to spend a day together wandering through Vienna.
So naturally I'm interested to know where they strolled, which cafe they stopped in, which park they slept in, etc. A quick google search brought me to this page, a concise list of which scenes were shot where, and all linked to google maps!
The main site is called Filmaps at http://www.filmaps.com/ It allows you to search by city or by movie. Just a little added dimension to your travels and a way to take your movie geekdom to new heights ;)
I'm sure no one will be surprised to learn I'm gonna be all over the Sound of Music locations in Salzburg!
Something I like to do when visiting other cities is check out locations where famous films were shot. Some cities are obviously easier than others, ie. I think almost every inch of New York City has been in a movie at some point of another :P
For me Vienna is the home of many a famous classical musician, filled with baroque buildings and other old world gems, but it is also where Richard Linklater shot Before Sunrise. Ethan Hawke and July Delphy play Jesse and Celine, two young people who meet by chance on a train and decide to spend a day together wandering through Vienna.
So naturally I'm interested to know where they strolled, which cafe they stopped in, which park they slept in, etc. A quick google search brought me to this page, a concise list of which scenes were shot where, and all linked to google maps!
The main site is called Filmaps at http://www.filmaps.com/ It allows you to search by city or by movie. Just a little added dimension to your travels and a way to take your movie geekdom to new heights ;)
I'm sure no one will be surprised to learn I'm gonna be all over the Sound of Music locations in Salzburg!
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
It's not too early to be thinking about TIFF
Summer seems like it's only begun. Luminato just wrapped up and now the Toronto Jazz Festival's in full swing (heh, no pun intended), all of this making TIFF seem so far off all the way out in September. But the truth is, with new membership advance sales, TIFF passes are already on sale to members and opening up to Visa card holders next week and the general public shortly after. There are a limited number of passes and folks have been buying them up for week now, so shouldn't you plan to get yours?
Admittedly the prices can be pretty daunting, who's got close to $600 to drop on movies and the time to watch 50 films in 11 days?? However if you're willing to put in the time to plan and corroborate a bit, great deals can be had from purchasing a TIFF pass.
This year I've opted for a 20 Film Day Pack which came to about $190. Given my involvement with volunteering and getting film vouchers that way, it might seem a little excessive, but after some primitive math I still see it as the best value for me personally. It breaks down crudely like this:
50 anytime film pack = $10.48+tax/film
30 anytime film pack = $12.87+tax/film
20 daytime film pack = $8.50+tax/film
10 anytime film pack (this one also lets you get up to 4 tix per film) = $16+tax/film
My day pass will only allow me to redeem for shows that start at 5pm or earlier, however with a bit of time off and 4 weekend days, I can easily see 3 films before 5pm each day. If there are 6 days where I can do this, I will have already used 18 of my 20 pack!
Perhaps this isn't realistic, at some point I will have to do a volunteer shift during the day, but I have friends who are purchasing anytime film packs, with whom I might be able to exchange a show or two. For evening screenings I have my volunteer vouchers, and together should make for a pretty complete festival experience.
When you've been going to the festival for as long as I have, and know as many people from the festival as I do, you will find you rarely wind up attending a screening alone. There will always be someone else you know at the same movie, but if you want to take it one step further and make a concerted effort, you can select similar shows as your package-holder friends. Or redeem vouchers for a pair of tix. Or even trade with friends, pick up an extra ticket for a show for them on your pack and ask them to get a ticket on their pass for you.
If value is your primary concern, take a few days off and get that day pack. Or team up with a friend and split a 50. There are many opportunities to make the festival what you want it to be, these are just some of our tips and hints for picking your pass.
More festival-ing pointers to come over the summer!
Admittedly the prices can be pretty daunting, who's got close to $600 to drop on movies and the time to watch 50 films in 11 days?? However if you're willing to put in the time to plan and corroborate a bit, great deals can be had from purchasing a TIFF pass.
This year I've opted for a 20 Film Day Pack which came to about $190. Given my involvement with volunteering and getting film vouchers that way, it might seem a little excessive, but after some primitive math I still see it as the best value for me personally. It breaks down crudely like this:
50 anytime film pack = $10.48+tax/film
30 anytime film pack = $12.87+tax/film
20 daytime film pack = $8.50+tax/film
10 anytime film pack (this one also lets you get up to 4 tix per film) = $16+tax/film
My day pass will only allow me to redeem for shows that start at 5pm or earlier, however with a bit of time off and 4 weekend days, I can easily see 3 films before 5pm each day. If there are 6 days where I can do this, I will have already used 18 of my 20 pack!
Perhaps this isn't realistic, at some point I will have to do a volunteer shift during the day, but I have friends who are purchasing anytime film packs, with whom I might be able to exchange a show or two. For evening screenings I have my volunteer vouchers, and together should make for a pretty complete festival experience.
When you've been going to the festival for as long as I have, and know as many people from the festival as I do, you will find you rarely wind up attending a screening alone. There will always be someone else you know at the same movie, but if you want to take it one step further and make a concerted effort, you can select similar shows as your package-holder friends. Or redeem vouchers for a pair of tix. Or even trade with friends, pick up an extra ticket for a show for them on your pack and ask them to get a ticket on their pass for you.
If value is your primary concern, take a few days off and get that day pack. Or team up with a friend and split a 50. There are many opportunities to make the festival what you want it to be, these are just some of our tips and hints for picking your pass.
More festival-ing pointers to come over the summer!
Friday, June 10, 2011
Summer Movie Freebies
It's summer in Toronto and the movies are free! Harbourfront, Metro Square (which is actually called David Pecaut Square now, like anyone will remember that?) and Yonge Dundas Square free screenings return with the warm weather, here are their schedules:
Harbourfront Centre - http://media.harbourfrontcentre.com/mediaDisplay.php?id=931
Metro Square - http://www.torontoed.com/tiff
Yonge Dundas Square - http://www.ydsquare.ca/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=63&Itemid=109
No more complaints of boredom Tues/Wed nights come July!
(and on a completely unrelated note, if you're looking to fill your Monday evenings as well, my friend Chris organizes weekly pick-up frisbee at the Ryerson quad http://www.facebook.com/#!/home.php?sk=group_2417738825)
Summer blockbuster season is also underway as well as some stellar programming at TIFF Lightbox, it might be a little hard to spend quality time outdoors if this release schedule keeps up!
Harbourfront Centre - http://media.harbourfrontcentre.com/mediaDisplay.php?id=931
Metro Square - http://www.torontoed.com/tiff
Yonge Dundas Square - http://www.ydsquare.ca/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=63&Itemid=109
No more complaints of boredom Tues/Wed nights come July!
(and on a completely unrelated note, if you're looking to fill your Monday evenings as well, my friend Chris organizes weekly pick-up frisbee at the Ryerson quad http://www.facebook.com/#!/home.php?sk=group_2417738825)
Summer blockbuster season is also underway as well as some stellar programming at TIFF Lightbox, it might be a little hard to spend quality time outdoors if this release schedule keeps up!
Monday, May 30, 2011
Manhattan Movie Mania
As some of you may be aware, I am of the fickle nature and fraternize with multiple blogs. An opportune topic has given me the chance to write a cross-blog post, uniting my love of travel and movies (and spending money).
Copied below is an entry I posted in my travel blog last week about where to purchase movies in Manhattan, hope you find it useful, or at least an interesting read.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Manhattan Movie Mania
For those who know me personally, you'll know that most of my paycheques are spent on one of 2 things - travel or movies. And every once in a while the two come together.
The obvious is when I attend different film festivals during my travels, but I also like to do a little movie shopping where ever I go and have much to say on the topic. For those who are not avid collectors (or travelers), one of the first things is to make sure you'll be able to play what you buy overseas at home. I have a region-free DVD player for this purpose, though most DVDs will play on a computer, blu-rays are much trickier (though all-region blu-ray players seem to be getting cheaper). If you're still unsure, then your safest bet is to buy all your movies within North America. Foreign films are usually easiest to find in the country from which they originate, just make sure they have English subtitles or you understand the original language. Also if you're an anti-fullscreen fanatic like me, it's worthwhile to learn the word for "widescreen" (if you don't know what the terms "full screen" and "widescreen" mean, we cannot continue to be friends until you've read this ) and keep in mind anything from the early 50's or older will not be widescreen, so they're safe to buy indiscriminately. Many countries impose fines or penalties if you are caught with bootleg movies, therefore I don't encourage purchasing unlicensed discs.
While I was in New York last month, I made an effort to check out a few stores, where I came across some bargains and rare finds. Note: These are not your slick large chain stores with the shiny displays of the lastest Fast & Furious movie, expect a little grim, have some patience, and be prepared to be surrounded by collector geeks.
The DVD Funhouse is a cramped store on Broadway near Union Square, I found it one night last year on my way to The Strand bookstore (which is almost kiddie corner from this place). They feature a good - but incomplete - selection of steeply discounted movies. Most discs are new, they stock mostly DVDs with a little Blu-ray, and the majority of the titles are all under $10. If I had to guess, I would say these are excess stock of blockbusters from years past that never sold at larger retailers. I've amused at the horrible reviews this place gets on google, it's a discount store for bargain movie hunters, not an HMV. As a frequenter of Union Square, I intend to stop by here every visit, I think it's a good spot for deals.
Also nearby is an Entertainment Outlet, with a wider selection than DVD Funhouse including more obscure & classic titles. This place requires a LOT of patience though, be prepared to crouch and flip through bins. There are walls of new regular-prices movies, discounted $5.99 (average) titles in the middle aisles, and steeply discounted $3.99 DVDs in bins sitting on the floor (the latter two in no particular order). They sell a mix of new and used movies, again mostly DVD, but they do have some blu-rays and even a Criterion section. I would recommend this place for avid collectors, bring some hand sanitizer though as the cases are dusty.
Academy Records is another collector's haven, though they advertise a movie selection this place is more of a music collector's dream, especially if you buy records and/or are a fan of classical/jazz/older music. I only glanced at the classical section and found it not only separated by composer but also by musical period (ie. mideval, pre-classical, etc. which blew my mind). Video-wise there are a lot of DVDs of classical music performances, but when it comes to actual movies, the DVD/Blu-ray selection is a bit slim.
All of the above are good spots, but be prepared to leave your heart and life savings behind at Kim's Video in the East Village. Odds are, if you've ever searched for it fruitlessly, it'll be here. For those who frequented Suspected Video on Queen Street before it burned down :( Kim's is just like Suspect except everything is for purchase! It's roughly the same size, building in a similar state of disrepair (haha) with titles organized by country, then director with special sections for new releases, blu-rays, eras, and other special collections. For North American titles they are separated by decade. There are collections here I never knew existed, things I would never have thought to search for even on-line! If you're into old hollywood there are complete studio collections from the Hollywood Code era, silent era, etc. Everything is full price but you'll want to buy it anyway, this is one of my new favourite places in NYC.
Copied below is an entry I posted in my travel blog last week about where to purchase movies in Manhattan, hope you find it useful, or at least an interesting read.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Manhattan Movie Mania
For those who know me personally, you'll know that most of my paycheques are spent on one of 2 things - travel or movies. And every once in a while the two come together.
The obvious is when I attend different film festivals during my travels, but I also like to do a little movie shopping where ever I go and have much to say on the topic. For those who are not avid collectors (or travelers), one of the first things is to make sure you'll be able to play what you buy overseas at home. I have a region-free DVD player for this purpose, though most DVDs will play on a computer, blu-rays are much trickier (though all-region blu-ray players seem to be getting cheaper). If you're still unsure, then your safest bet is to buy all your movies within North America. Foreign films are usually easiest to find in the country from which they originate, just make sure they have English subtitles or you understand the original language. Also if you're an anti-fullscreen fanatic like me, it's worthwhile to learn the word for "widescreen" (if you don't know what the terms "full screen" and "widescreen" mean, we cannot continue to be friends until you've read this ) and keep in mind anything from the early 50's or older will not be widescreen, so they're safe to buy indiscriminately. Many countries impose fines or penalties if you are caught with bootleg movies, therefore I don't encourage purchasing unlicensed discs.
While I was in New York last month, I made an effort to check out a few stores, where I came across some bargains and rare finds. Note: These are not your slick large chain stores with the shiny displays of the lastest Fast & Furious movie, expect a little grim, have some patience, and be prepared to be surrounded by collector geeks.
The DVD Funhouse is a cramped store on Broadway near Union Square, I found it one night last year on my way to The Strand bookstore (which is almost kiddie corner from this place). They feature a good - but incomplete - selection of steeply discounted movies. Most discs are new, they stock mostly DVDs with a little Blu-ray, and the majority of the titles are all under $10. If I had to guess, I would say these are excess stock of blockbusters from years past that never sold at larger retailers. I've amused at the horrible reviews this place gets on google, it's a discount store for bargain movie hunters, not an HMV. As a frequenter of Union Square, I intend to stop by here every visit, I think it's a good spot for deals.
Also nearby is an Entertainment Outlet, with a wider selection than DVD Funhouse including more obscure & classic titles. This place requires a LOT of patience though, be prepared to crouch and flip through bins. There are walls of new regular-prices movies, discounted $5.99 (average) titles in the middle aisles, and steeply discounted $3.99 DVDs in bins sitting on the floor (the latter two in no particular order). They sell a mix of new and used movies, again mostly DVD, but they do have some blu-rays and even a Criterion section. I would recommend this place for avid collectors, bring some hand sanitizer though as the cases are dusty.
Academy Records is another collector's haven, though they advertise a movie selection this place is more of a music collector's dream, especially if you buy records and/or are a fan of classical/jazz/older music. I only glanced at the classical section and found it not only separated by composer but also by musical period (ie. mideval, pre-classical, etc. which blew my mind). Video-wise there are a lot of DVDs of classical music performances, but when it comes to actual movies, the DVD/Blu-ray selection is a bit slim.
All of the above are good spots, but be prepared to leave your heart and life savings behind at Kim's Video in the East Village. Odds are, if you've ever searched for it fruitlessly, it'll be here. For those who frequented Suspected Video on Queen Street before it burned down :( Kim's is just like Suspect except everything is for purchase! It's roughly the same size, building in a similar state of disrepair (haha) with titles organized by country, then director with special sections for new releases, blu-rays, eras, and other special collections. For North American titles they are separated by decade. There are collections here I never knew existed, things I would never have thought to search for even on-line! If you're into old hollywood there are complete studio collections from the Hollywood Code era, silent era, etc. Everything is full price but you'll want to buy it anyway, this is one of my new favourite places in NYC.
Friday, April 1, 2011
Ada in 10 movie titles
Apologies it took me nearly a month to revisit this topic. I could tell you how much soul-searching and imdb-ing was required in order to narrow it down to just 10 titles that would capture the essence of me perfectly... but the truth is I got busy, unmotivated, and busy some more. 3 or 4 titles were jotted down from day one and it really took me no more than 20 mins just now to hammer out the rest.
For those who have just joined in, this is a response blog to my previous entry:
Describe Yourself to me in 10 Movie Titles
http://blogginginoblivion.blogspot.com/2011/03/describe-yourself-to-me-in-10-movie.html
Admittedly I've only gotten 2 responses, perhaps this task is either too uninteresting or too hard. Nonetheless, I promised to post what I received and my own list.
Further set-back, one of the responses is coming via snail mail and has yet to arrive. The other I received from film_no_r:
A Serious Man
In the Mood For Love
Lolita
The Experiment
Sex, Lies & A Videotape
...it Happened One Night
Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang
The Last Detail
Igby Goes Down
Tell No One
Good list dude. We'll just refrain from asking about Lolita ok? ;)
As for me...in no particular order:
1. Ghost world
2. Groove (my past)
3. When Harry Met Sally (I couldn't think of another movie where the boy/girl knew each other for a million years before dating)
4. Toronto Stories
5. New York, I Love You
6. European Vacation
7. St Elmo’s Fire
8. It’s Kind of a Funny Story
9. Dinner with Friends (I detest the actual movie btw)
10.Reality Bites
Couple others that I considered: Art School Confidential and Days of Being Wild
I continue to welcome your submissions, just sayin' ;)
For those who have just joined in, this is a response blog to my previous entry:
Describe Yourself to me in 10 Movie Titles
http://blogginginoblivion.blogspot.com/2011/03/describe-yourself-to-me-in-10-movie.html
Admittedly I've only gotten 2 responses, perhaps this task is either too uninteresting or too hard. Nonetheless, I promised to post what I received and my own list.
Further set-back, one of the responses is coming via snail mail and has yet to arrive. The other I received from film_no_r:
A Serious Man
In the Mood For Love
Lolita
The Experiment
Sex, Lies & A Videotape
...it Happened One Night
Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang
The Last Detail
Igby Goes Down
Tell No One
Good list dude. We'll just refrain from asking about Lolita ok? ;)
As for me...in no particular order:
1. Ghost world
2. Groove (my past)
3. When Harry Met Sally (I couldn't think of another movie where the boy/girl knew each other for a million years before dating)
4. Toronto Stories
5. New York, I Love You
6. European Vacation
7. St Elmo’s Fire
8. It’s Kind of a Funny Story
9. Dinner with Friends (I detest the actual movie btw)
10.Reality Bites
Couple others that I considered: Art School Confidential and Days of Being Wild
I continue to welcome your submissions, just sayin' ;)
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