Three Monkeys, The Ghost

I'm tired of writing reviews as well, Bri, and am pretty swamped at work so will close out the 2008 festival by saying:



Three Monkeys' was good, if a little slow, and probably something best appreciated during a film festival (in a theatre, where you can't fast forward but the sound and picture quality highlight the effort the director made to create a very sensory film).

Recommend for festival watching/a lazy weekend afternoon when the thought of a languidly-paced (festival speak for 'fucking slow') film may actually be inviting.


The Ghost was a bit of a conventional but no less enjoyable thriller that shows what happens when a writer decides to collaborate on a book with a known assassin. Despite the obvious plot holes (i.e. the educated main character's inability to foresee that regular meetings with a cold blooded killer could possibly take a turn for the worse?!?), the characters are interesting, the film is often shot in the dark and rain, giving the film a grey look that suits the tone of the story.

Recommend.

Okay, I'm done. Bye Bye till next year.

Disgrace

A brilliant adaptation of Coetzee's powerful book, this was another high point of my festival. Malkovich does a remarkable job with the part of the loathsome but oh-so human professor David Lurie, and his determined daughter Lucy is convincingly portrayed by Jessica Haines.

I'm getting a little tired of writing reviews, so I won't bother with a synopsis.  For those who have read the book, this is a very faithful adaptation, but through the performances, the bringing-to-life of the setting (both Cape Town and the Eastern Cape farm) , the crystalline screenplay, and the power of the story, this film has a life of its own, proving (although its clearly the exception) that great literature can be reinvented as great cinema.

Highly recommended.

Pontypool

This was one of my favourite films of the festival.   It's a fun, arty, cerebral zombie film from Canadian Bruce McDonald.  Adapted from a book, but I would have guessed it was from a play, as the entire film takes place in a dingy radio station in a church basement in a small town in the Kawarthas.   Great performances by the two main cast members - Stephen McHattie and Lisa Houle - and particularly McHattie as Grant Mazzy, a jaded old DJ who used to work in the big city but got in the face of too many producers.  

This screenplay is clever and provocative, and the film has tons of low budget style and creativity.  It's all abut the plot in this film, so I'll leave my synopsis at that.   See it if you get the chance.....highly recommended.      

Un Chien Nuit

This could have been a good film. Maybe it's a great film. I don't know.
The reason I don't know? I showed up at the theatre at 8:30pm, thinking it started at 9:00pm. It started at 7:00pm.

I must have looked at the tickets three or four times that day, to make sure I had them with me, and not once did I look at the time, assuming, for some reason, that it was at 9pm.

Unfortunately, this was also the film I was taking my parents to see, so they missed out as well. Sigh.

Katia's Sister

This is a bleak, difficult film about a Russian family - a mother and her two daughters - struggling to survive in Amsterdam.    We join the story late, in the sense that mom has already fallen into a life of prostitution.  Beautiful seventeen year old Katia is in a rebellious stage, and despite her mom's pleadings, begins to work at a strip club.  Homely, sweet-natured 13-year old Lucia stays at home, searching for identity and someone to love her.   She reaches out to her mom and sister desperately as their relationship falls apart and mom leaves the girls in the apartment to move in with a boyfriend.

This film was well conceived and made, immersing you in the family's love and pain right from the first shot.   All of it was told from Lucia's perspective, to the point that the viewpoint never moved above her head....so for example, we saw a lot of mid-sections of boyfriends, and not faces. A significant problem as a viewer who speaks neither Russian nor Dutch (and was reading subtitles, perhaps overly lazily) is that there was no overt indication anywhere in the film that Katia and family were not from Amsterdam (ie were emigres - I got this only from reading the TIFF review after the fact), so much of the pathos of their plight  was missed or misunderstood by me at the time.  Mild recommendation.

A Year Ago in Winter

I'll be brief as Sarah has already covered this film off admirably.     Couple of additional thoughts I had:

(1) how strange it is that two films I've seen this year have as their central story the forbidden (and unrequited) love between a 19-year old brother and his 21-year old sister (the other being "Dioses").  Even the ages are exactly the same - weird.  The treatments are very different; Winter only suggests it as one possibility (though it is the last and most likely theory) for Alexander's unexplained suicide.   And Dioses is more about serial moping.

(2) This film was filled with many strong performances and rich characters, but had clunky moments / elements that very nearly ruined it (or may have for me, I'm still sitting on the fence...).    Sarah has mentioned the dance scene, another was the portrayal of the artist with whom Lilli falls in love shortly after Alexander's death - a misguided relationship with an egocentric fella, classic artist type.    The actor in this role was awful, completely unconvincing as an artist, he looked and felt more like generic beefcake, and the love she felt for him never made any sense.    This fifteen - twenty minutes of the film played like an episode of Red Shoes Diaries.  

Mild recommendation.

Parc

Sigh. I could go on about how some of the scenes made great use of music and camera movement; one that stands out in particular features a couple passionately kissing, while the one of the characters narrates the relatively quick demise of their relationship, a neat juxtaposition that breathes some life into a pretty slow-moving film. And there is a nice visual energy to the film as a whole. But really, the whole film was mostly ridiculous, the storyline so bizarre at times that it's almost, but not quite, funny. A far less charitable review for a four-letter french word titled film would be a four-letter english word review starting with the letter s.

Overhead on the way out of the theatre: "Are you kidding me? I wanted to leave an hour ago".

Pretty much sums it up.

Gomorrah

An unflinching look at the way the mafia corrupts and poisons, both literally and figuratively, a rundown area of Naples, Gomorrah is thought-provoking if a little emotionally bereft.

I think this is part of the point, though, and full credit goes to director Matteo Garrone for presenting the interweaving stories with an unglamourized naturalism; no slickly edited montages set to Gimme Shelter here. The characters are not heroes who are thrust by the fates into circumstances beyond their control but willing participants who have made choices that with which they are willing to live, and in some cases, die. The greatest success of the film is in demonstrating how the vicious cycle of violence is perpetuated.

Its one possible slight failing is its inability, at times, to really engage the audience emotionally. Few if any of the characters are very sympathetic. As the story progresses, the sheer volume of executions and shootings begin to numb most viewers; I don't think it was my imagination that most of the folks shuffling out of the theatre after the screening seemed vaguely indifferent.

Still, there's something to be said for a film that kept me thinking for the next few days.

Recommend.

Four Nights with Anna

There was a distinctly Eastern European feel to this enjoyable film from Polish director Jerzy Skolimowski, which is reminiscent in its silence, its voyeurism, and its perverse sense of morality, of country man's Krzysztof Kieslowksi's famous Decalogue series.    

The story appears simple, but in fact has a couple of layers.    At its most straightforward, it is about a middle-aged hospital crematorium operator who is fascinated by a young nurse who lives in the residence opposite.  Of course her window is observable from the pathetic crematorium op's rundown house just outside the hospital grounds, so he spends his nights watching her, and ultimately, sneaks into her room four nights in a row (after drugging her).   However, our protagonist is motivated by a pure love of a sort, and while in her room he spends his time sitting quietly beside her, fixing her clock, mopping her floor, etc. and nothing more.

Skolimowski beings to weave in another plot element, of the same nurse being raped in a barn (we are for a long time kept in the dark about the chronology of this event), and as the story unfolds, we realize the crem op witnessed the rape, and is being questioned about his involvement by the bullying local police. 

I'll leave the plot description at that so as not to spoil (though realistically no one will ever see it).   I liked this film a lot, for its languid-though-not-painfully-so pacing and its non-verbal narrative style (there are probably no more than 100 words in the film), for conveying the agony of its protagonist's life, and for its commentary on love.  Recommended. 

     

The Hurt Locker

Do you have a director whose work drives you crazy? For whom critiques and film buffs seem to fall all over themselves in praise, to your utter amazement?  Steven Spielberg perhaps?  Well, mine is Katherine Bigelow.   I've seen a enough of her films (Blue Steel, Point Break, Strange Days) to know that she can take a strong idea and visual sense, and pulverize it with overlong action sequences, ridiculous dialogue and cartoon-ish characters.

So the Hurt Locker, her latest movie (and in my own defense, one I chose because it fit into a time slot on the only day of the week I was taking off) surprised me.    It follows a bomb disposal team in current Iraq, on their last 38 days of their tour.    It does have her signature elements, but has a much stronger human element to it.  I cared about these characters - or more so than typical KB characters at any rate.  And so, while I had my eyes cast down for probably 40% of the excruciating bomb disarming sequences, and so can hardly claim I loved it, I did get a real sense of the horror of Iraq, and of modern war.    And the portrayal of James, the adrenalin-junkie veteran of 873 bomb disposals, by Jeremy Renner, is a compelling performance.    

Sea Point Days

Victoria and I went to see this South African documentary on an evening when we were celebrating our 15th anniversary, appropriately enough, as we spent a year fifteen years ago in SA, and half of that time in the suburbs of Cape Town, very near where this is set.

The film by Francois Verster is a rewarding look at contemporary South Africa, through the lens of Sea Point, a racially integrated suburb of Cape Town, and in particular, its huge and beautiful public pool complex and nearby promenade.    

The film is formally challenging - Verster employs no voice over, nor straightforward narrative, instead just watches the comings and goings of the people in the pool, occasionally checking in with a few regular characters; a black homeless man, who struggles with alcoholism but is at times amazingly clear-thinking and philosophical; residents in a white seniors home (very familiar S'African types, though fully adjusted to the realities of the new SA; a couple of cheerful pool employees - including black, white, and coloured (pardon the SA racial terminology).  Through them we take the pulse of the country, its on-going struggles for peaceful co-existence, search for forgiveness, and as always (in my experience), boundless love that its people have for the country itself.

V and I really enjoyed Sea Point Days, and while I think some of this sprung from our familiarity with (and to a degree nostalgia for) the culture, I believe anyone interested in South Africa and post-Apartheid, or more broadly, just the courageous process of a country and its people re-inventing themselves after a brutal past, would find this very interesting.

  

Gigantic

Thursday September 11

Why oh why must I always end the festival each year with a bad movie? I believe I have somehow been cursed. We had a really good box for the festival this year. We got all of our 1st or 2nd picks. My schedule changed unexpectedly and my poor husband stood in line for over an hour to exchange my Tuesday ticket for this film to a Thursday ticket. It turned out to be a real waste of an hour.

I was looking forward to what sounded like a cute, fun romantic comedy. I left the theatre feeling confused and disappointed. I will explain but first I need to set it up. Brian is a 28 year old who spends his days selling mattresses in a dreary showroom and trying to adopt a baby from China. He meets an odd girl named Happy after selling an expensive mattress to her father. A mutual interest between Brian and Happy quickly follows. Sounds like we are in for a quirky romantic comedy right? Not quite.

There is zero chemistry between these two and they spend most of the movie doing things that don't make any kind of sense. It is not quirky. It is just a series of random nonsensical scenes pieced together. This is the disappointment part. Now on the confusion.

I need to describe something that happen in the movie. I would not normally do this but it is necessary to explain my confusion and really will not give anything away - I wouldn't call this a spoiler. At four points in the movie Brian is confronted and attacked by the same individual. The individual is dressed differently each time. In one scene the man is dressed as if he was homeless. In other scenes he is dressed as a hunter, a regular guy on the street and a construction worker. It doesn't seem to make any sense. Who is this person? Why is he attacking Brian? It is NEVER explained or resolved in any way. The attacks cannot be a figment of Brian's imagination because he comes away from them with wounds that people in the movie comment on. Brian cannot be inflicting the wounds on himself because of their nature. He never tells anyone in the movie that he is being repeatedly attacked. He never involves the police. The police do not get involved when two people stumble on the man and Brian after the final attack scene where Brian is bloody and holding a knife. We know that the people on the street see what has happened because one of them says something like "hey, he has a knife." What the hell is up with this? If anyone has some insight I would love to hear it. The more I think about it the more confused I get.

My final complaint is that people in the theatre clapped when the movie was over. Seriously! No one from the film was present for the screening. No director, no actors. The movie was bad. I don't think that this can be argued. Why are you clapping? It is one thing to be polite but really......

A Year Ago in Winter

Wednesday September 10

The story is not an original one. A family, and the three individuals within this family, struggle to accept the death of their son and brother. It has been nearly a year since Alex died. Alex's mother commissions a painting of her living daughter, Lilli, along side her lost son. Lilli must spend time with the artist who has been hired. Max, the artist, has family troubles and struggles of his own.

This is a movie that owes the bulk of its success to its lead actress. Karoline Herfurth is terrific as Lilli. The movie was nicely shot and I liked it overall but in my opinion there were a couple of problems with it. The movie would benefit from being 20-30 minutes shorter. I saw the movie with my fellow- blogger Brian and he nailed it on the head when he and I were talking about it afterwards - the last 20 minutes of the movie are not necessary and the dance scene where Lilli releases her hurt and angers and resolves to live life without her brother has been done too many times and just feels cheesy. It doesn't matter if you put the scene to a loud and moody song, we have seen it before.

One mystery is the origins of the movie. Brian and I also agreed on the fact that there must be a story there. The film is based on a book. This in itself is not uncommon. What is strange is that the book has yet to be released. How on earth is the film already made if the book that it sprung from is not in print?

You may be surprised to see me recommend the movie after reading the review above. I do think that there was enough good stuff there to be able to advise a viewing.

Medicine for Melancholy

Tuesday September 9

Micah spends a sunny weekend day trying to convince Jo, the woman he woke up beside after a house party the night before, that they are meant to be together. The two wander through different areas of San Francisco while Micah alternates between two distinct moods. Most of the time he is sweet, funny and endearing but he has periods filled with anger and frustration where he rails against the city, interracial relationships and his experience as a black man in San Francisco. Jo spends the day stating that their relationship will only ever be a one night stand yet we get the feeling that she is uncertain at times.

This is a terrific movie. It is certainly the best film I saw at TIFF this year. The shots of the characters and the city are interesting and beautiful and I loved the soundtrack. I have only been to San Francisco once but the movie reminded me much I liked the city. The performances of the two leads were very strong. Wyatt Cenac's performance allowed me to forget that I see him several times a week as one of the funny new additions to the Daily Show. I only saw Micah.

The only complaint I have with the movie is that hand held camera films sometimes make me feel nauseous. The frenetic dance club scene certainly did the trick, making my stomach crazy swirly. This is just a personal tick though, not a fault of the movie at all.

Highly recommended. It is only a shame that all future audiences will not have the benefit of hearing the director, Barry Jenkins, speak and answer questions after the movie. At the screening I attended the director shared several amusing tales filming and of the people that filled the background roles in the film - local taco vendors and the directors fellow Banana Republic staff members.

You can watch a trailer at the film's website: http://www.strikeanywherefilms.com/

Still Walking

Monday September 8

I would love to be able to tell you about this movie and what I thought of it but I can't. I got myself up and ready and on the streetcar this morning only to realise that I had forgotten my ticket at home. I rushed home, got in the car and attempted to drive to the theatre but didn't make it in time.

Dumb, dumb, dumb me.

Wendy and Lucy

Sunday September 7

I was very nervous going into this film. Two friends attended the screening on Friday night and did not like it. They did not hate the movie but described it to me as lacking plot and feeling long. After seeing the movie I can say that I see where they are coming from but I will have to disagree with them and say that I did like it.

The movie follows Wendy, a young woman with $500 to her name trying to get to Alaska to find work. A bad decision and some bad luck find Wendy stuck in Oregon searching for her lost dog Lucy. The real strong point of the movie is Michelle Williams. She plays Wendy with few words but her expressions and body language portray a great deal.

I would not recommend the movie to everyone but those who don't mind a slow quiet study of a character will enjoy this one.

The Paranoids

Friday September 5

I am not going to review the movie since Kyle covered it nicely below. The one thing I feel had to be mentioned was the Q and A with the director after the movie. The director was full of nervous energy and seemed a little overwhelmed by the experience. Although he was nervous he was very generous and engaging. It made me, and I think the audience, appreciate the film even more.

Rain

Rain was an enjoyable first feature by Bahamian director Maria Govan, thought I suspect my upbeat feeling about the movie was influenced by the infectious energy at the screening from the large Bahamian entourage, and the triumphant "I can't believe we're here" attitude of the cast and creative team at the Q&A.

The story is one we've heard before, but told in a uniquely Bahamian context it felt fresh and real.  Rain is the name of a teenage girl living on a smaller island, who has to find her mother when her guardian/grandmother passes away quietly in the first few minutes of the film.  Mom, as as has been foreshadowed, is a base head living in a squalid area outside the city of Nassau known as "the graveyard".    Mom very reluctantly takes Rain in, and manages to get her enrolled in school.   Then gets right back at it with her depraved life....though, ever so slowly, through Rain's positive influence, she begins to question herself.  Rain struggles to fit in with her mom and new school but meets a fantastic role model in the school track coach.    What ensues is the standard Hollywood script of the redemptive value of sports and overcoming your upbringing/social standing/prejudice through perseverance.   Anyway, to cut to the chase, Rain makes it (you heard it here first).

What I liked about the film was the fact that all of the characters were women - men were minor, useless characters, which felt right and real, and echoes my experience in Southern Africa many years ago.  And the portrayal of The Bahamas, so commonly thought of as a quiet paradise, as a complex, troubled country, was pretty revelatory.     Finally, the performances were very good, despite the at times cliche-ridden script and very obviously low budget shooting/sets.

Curious to see if this one makes a buzz at People's Choice time.  It's the sort of feel good story (within and without the movie) that just might.

Dioses

My second film on Saturday was the Peruvian feature "Dioses", from sophomore writer/director Josue Mendez.    While ultimately a social commentary film on the state of the class system in Peru, Mendez uses the device of a dysfunctional family to convey his themes - a 19-year old son who is in love with his vapid, beautiful older sister, and their uber-rich father who has just brought to their summer home a gorgeous, treasure-seeking 20-something from the poor side of the tracks.

The first act mostly plays out with 19-yr old Diego dolefully watching his sister get trashed at parties and make out with numerous hot young Peruvian guys, while more peripheral characters such as the father and the new girlfriend establish themselves.  At the same time, the continued development of the kitchen staff as real characters slowly triggers our realization that this story has less to do with families and more with the perversion of wealth - they become the quiet, but accepting witnesses to the ridiculous lives lived by their employers.     

The Diego-swooning goes on for quite a bit too long (I'll leave aside a number of other plot elements), until the sister (Andrea) leaves the country at her father's insistence to have an illegitimate child.  Diego leaves the summer house in a fit of desperation, borrowing a room in the slums from his long-time kitchen-dwelling mother figure, and there has an epiphany of sorts about real life in Peru.  The metaphor complete, his obsession with sis vanishes as his knowledge/experience of the plight of real people grows, and in the final scene we see him acting very normally (talking to a pretty girl no less!) at a party thrown by his dad to celebrate the arrival home of his (dad's) new child - the illegitimate son that he has pretended to sire while taking a long vacation with treasure seeker.

Not sure if I've given a sense of this film.  I had a couple of problems with it, initially, just that it felt like an episode of the Hills, with the vacuous blond rich partying for lack of anything better to do.   This story is so tired in today's media culture.   And while I think the metaphor of the dysfunctional family (representing the incestuous almost-nobility of the wealthy class) is/was a good one, the way it was written, directed, and performed didn't work for me.    Diego just furrowed his brow and sobbed for most of an hour, and sis Andrea, though better performed overall, was so one-dimensional that even as a symbol she was ultimately boring to watch.  

And while the first act was drawn out, the final act was way too rushed - all of Diego's changes, his realization about himself and the world, happen off screen....we see him looking at a dirty toilet in his borrowed slum house, and in the next scene it is six months later, and we hear that he has spent the interim time going to a local poor high school for his final term, presumably to connect with the people of Peru and distance himself from his family.   But good film shows the key changes, it doesn't tell you about them.   And neither the showing nor the telling needed to be done so abruptly. 

So, while it definitely had some appealing elements (interesting to see Lima, for example, and to gain some insight into the social realities of Peru) Dioses falls short of getting a recommendation. 

    

The Paranoids

A very pleasant surprise by this very accomplished debut from filmmaker Gabriel Medina.

The film chronicles the life of quirky, fearful, perfectionist Luciano Gauna, a children's performer who can't seem to finish a screenplay he's been writing for years. A childhood friend comes to visit, along with his girlfriend Sofia, who ends up staying with Luciano for a few days and learning about his life. Will he finish the screenplay? Find love? Find a job that doesn't include wearing a furry purple costume?

To be honest the plot itself isn't all that remarkable but the performances, the visual style, and a pretty great soundtrack--used to great effect in the climactic dance scene described in the programme book--really bring the film alive.

Highly Recommend.

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist

A decent film that frequently wastes the good will generated by the genuinely sweet interplay between the two titular characters by ceding far too much screen time to the zany antics of the mostly two-dimensional secondary characters (the bitchy evil ex-girlfriend, the manipulative user ex-boyfriend, drunk teen girl, wacky Asian buddy).

There are enough laugh out loud funny bits to keep the film going and its enjoyable to see so much of NYC in all its nighttime glory, though cynical viewers will justifiably point out the unrealistic ease with which that characters are able to navigate the city by car and indeed, actually find parking.

Michael Cera hones his nervous deadpan persona as Nick, guitar player, mixed cd maker extraordinaire, and piner of the forementioned ex, Tris (Alexis Dziena). Kat Denning, as Norah, is at turns sultry, vulnerable, tough, and engaging as the romantic lead who challenges but ultimately falls for hapless Nick.

Juno fans will enjoy some quirky touches here and there but others will wonder what a better film it would have been if the producers/director had been able to resist what was likely the siren call of the box office.

Mildly recommend.

Other Notes:

• Most of the cast and crew were in attendance, and it was nice that their family also had a chance to come and see the premiere with them.
• The soundtrack features a lot of current alt-indie faves like The National and Vampire Weekend and will likely be released shortly.

Acne

Thursday September 4

I have had some truly awful 1st movies at the festival in past years so I am always pleased when I get a good start. I enjoyed Acne. The movie follows Rafael. Rafael lives in a small Jewish community in Uruguay and has recently become a man both through celebrating his bar mitzvah and having his first sexual experience. Rafael spends s great deal of time asking for and stealing money from his parents so that he can visit the local brothel. When he is not at the brothel, Rafael is at school or receiving treatment for a bad case of acne. Although he is having a lot of sex for a 13 year old, what he really longs for is a kiss from a girl. It is the one thing that he cannot get from the prostitutes he visits.

The film moves at a fairly slow pace, which did bother me at times. Rafael is not a very chatty kid. Many of the scenes find him saying little or nothing at all, making the scenes feel longer than they actually are. This could be a real turn off for many.

I would recommend the movie. The young actors do a good job of bringing the quirky cast of characters to life and the storyline is surprisingly charming.

Zift

Always-fun 9:00 am showing this fine morning to kick off a three-film day.   And a full house, remarkably.  Filled with more people whom I overheard saying "I have no idea what this film is about" then I can ever recall.    I hope they were all as pleased as I was with Zift. 

I loved this film.    It's a Bulgarian noir film set in the early 60's Soviet-rule-era Sofia.   It had all of the elements of the noir genre, along with a rich sense of irony, interlaced with an effective critique of totalitarianism.   Very stylish, well-paced, dramatic and surprising, and at times hilarious, in a very Eastern European way.   Great performances and cinematography, taut direction.....highly recommended. 

Interestingly, the film's only other showing to date was at the recent Moscow International FF, where it was well enough received despite the content, to garner the best director's award.   

   

33 Scenes From Life

I started my festival this year with this Polish drama about Julia, a young, up-and-coming photographer whose mother is diagnosed with terminal cancer, and the stress that this misfortune puts on all of the other elements of her life, both through the natural grieving process that ensues, and the changes that Julia consequently undergoes.     

This is a subtle, believable piece, with a wide range of characters that we come to understand and empathize with.    Some of the more memorable moments are around the deterioration of the mother's health (she is a wonderful character, brilliantly acted) and the growing attraction between Julia and her photography partner, as she and her husband drift apart.   

I liked the story, but also the verite execution, with convincing group scenes and natural performances.  Strong writing too, particularly in the crucial emotional scenes, which tended to be quiet, largely non-verbal, but very compelling.    It wasn't perfect - I think of a few scenes where the grief was played out as hysterical laughter that felt overdone - but this was a very good film, genuinely sad and insightful, and a nice way to get the festival going.

 

Rocknrolla

I couldn't have picked better film to kick off the film festival. A packed house at the 'beautiful and historic' elgin theatre. The pretty and the gritty principal cast and director in attendance, revved up, offering alternately to head butt (Jeremy Piven) and shag (Thandie Newton--um, yes please) an enthuastic audience, comprised mainly of mobs of otherwise respectable middle aged women screaming ecstatically for gerard butler (one of whom rushed towards him to kiss his cheek as he made his way from stage to seat), and hordes of younger women whose make up and attire signalled they planned on attending the after-party. The crowd roaring in enthusiasm prior to and throughout the screening....

The only difficulty is in figuring out how much enjoyment can be attributed to what happened onscreen and how much of the very favourable reception the film received last night at its North American premiere can be attributed to the dynamics of the opening night of the festival and the forgiving (supplicant?) tendencies of festival audiences in general.

So yeah, it was fun but what about the film?

Similar in many respects (pacing, editing, storyline, use of music) to "Lock, Stock..." and "Snatch", "Rocknrolla" is an energetic, funny, violent, somewhat cartoonish but mostly clever romp through criminal London. The twisting narrative centres on a series of heists, bribes, double-crosses, and past betrayals serve mainly an excuse for a lot of scene chewing, over-the-top performances by the large ensemble cast. There are a few glaring plot holes and a few characters, specifically those played by Ludicrus and Jeremy Piven, which don't seem to really belong in the story at all. But the film has a certain style and self-assured feel to it that propels it past these minor quibbles. The action sequences are inventive, breathtaking, and unexpectedly hilarious. There's also a great sex scene, brilliantly concise, that plays off the onscreen chemistry between Gerard Butler and Thandie Newton.

Other Notes:

• I bought this as a single ticket at the online box office on Wednesday afternoon. I was surprised that it wasn't sold out already but learned yesterday, from speaking with others, that it had been listed as sold out only a day or two previously. Two audience members who were in town from Cleveland had, in fact, paid $60 each on Craigslist for their seats. Lesson to be learned for those discouraged by sold out shows: keep checking the online box office.
• Read through some reviews at rotten tomatoes this morning and methinks the UK critics are being unduly harsh.
• Cast/Crew in Attendance: Toby Kebbell, Idris Elba ('Stringer Bell' from 'The Wire'), Ludicris, Jeremy Piven, Gerard Butler, Thandie Newton, Guy Ritchie. Mrs. Guy Ritchie did not make an appearance. Had she done so, it's quite possible the entire theatre would have caved in on itself in excitement, such was the buzz already.

Daniel's Films

Wendy & Lucy - September 5, 7:45pm

Victoria's films

Pretty decent list here:

The Burning Plain - Sunday morn

Ghost Town - Sunday noon

Harvard Beats Yale - Sun aft

The Other Man - Monday morn

NY I Love You - Monday noon

L'Heure D'ete - Monday late aft

Management - Tuesday morn

Kisses - Tuesday noon

Gigantic - Tuesday aft

Sea Point Days - Tuesday eve

The Brothers Bloom - Thursday noon

Lymelife - Thursday aft

Il y a Longtemps que Je t'Aime - Friday noon 

 

Brian's films

Ah, Box 64.   

My rag tag selection of films is:

33 Scenes from Life - Friday aft

Zift - Saturday 6th morn 

Dioses - Saturday 6th noon

Rain - Saturday 6th aft

Sea Point Days - Tuesday eve

The Hurt Locker* - Wednesday morn

A Year Ago in Winter - Wednesday noon

Four Nights with Anna - Wed aft

Katia's Sister - Thursday aft

Good - Friday aft

Pontypool - Friday late aft

Disgrace - Saturday 13th morn

Parc - Sat 13th noon-ish

Tale 52 - Saturday 13th aft

Hoping for some brilliant sleepers in this lot.

* I really despise Katherine Bigelow (or at least, the other movies she's made) but it was the only film available after three failed selections.  It looks gross.  

Sarah's Picks

Des Filmes de Ma Femme, Sarah
(obligatory incongruent festival title translation: Blue Dog Night)

Thurs Sept. 4 - 8pm - Acne

Fri Sept. 5 - 8pm - The Paranoids

Sat Sept. 6 - 6pm - Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist

Sun Sept. 7 - 12:45pm - Wendy and Lucy

Mon Sept. 8 - 9:15am - Still Walking

Tue Sept. 9 - 3pm - Gigantic

- 9pm - Medicine for Melancholy

Wed Sept. 10 - 12pm - A Year Ago in Winter

My picks

Here's my official sched:

Friday Sept. 5 - 8pm - The Paranoids

Sat Sept. 6 - 12:45pm - Three Monkeys

- 6:00pm - Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist

Sun Sept. 7 - 9:00pm - Gomorrah

Sat Sept. 13 - 10:00am - Nuit de Chien

Box 9

Kudos to Tifftalk for posting. Most effective use of twitter, imho.

As I'm in Box 39, this is a better spot for me than last year. Figure I've got a decent shot at getting most of my pix.

And the box called is....

not sure yet!

Trying to call in but the phone lines are jammed. I'm mostly interested in avoiding a tense, 2-3 hour Labour Day morning spent at lines trying to rejig what is going to be a very tight schedule for me this year. Will post my initial film list shortly. And well as the box number called, for those wondering.

This year, we're probably going to be a little bit lighter on the reviews, as we are down to three reviewers/contributors. If anyone outside my circle of friends ends up at this space and would like to post their own reviews, I'm happy to extend you an invitation. Email me.