#TIFF14: My Schedule

Here she is.  Total work in progress.

Red means I need tickets. Sell me your extra tickets!

4-Sep	The Humbling	Visa Screening Room	6:00 PM
4-Sep	Clouds of Sils Maria	POW	9:45 PM
5-Sep	Eden	Ryerson	5:45 PM
5-Sep	Big Game	Ryerson	12:00 AM
6-Sep	Ruth & Alex	Winter Garden	10:30 AM
6-Sep	The Crow's Egg	Scotiabank	3:00 PM
6-Sep	Return to Ithaca	Bader	7:00 PM
6-Sep	The Grump	Scotiabank	10:00 PM
7-Sep	The Price We Pay	Jackman Hall (AGO)	9:30 AM
7-Sep	Do I Sound Gay	Ryerson	12:00 PM
7-Sep	Magical Girl	Scotiabank	3:15 PM
7-Sep	Ned Rifle	Ryerson	6:00 PM
7-Sep	Bird People	Scotiabank	8:30 PM
8-Sep	My Old Lady	TIFF Bell Lightbox	9:15 AM
8-Sep	Mardan	TIFF Bell Lightbox	11:30 AM
8-Sep	Time Out of Mind	Scotiabank	2:00 PM
8-Sep	Mr. Turner	Visa Screening Room	5:45 PM
8-Sep	The Keeping Room	Visa Screening Room	9:15 PM
9-Sep	Wild	Visa Screening Room	11:30 AM
9-Sep	Learning to Drive	Visa Screening Room	2:30 PM
9-Sep	A Second Chance	Visa Screening Room	6:00 PM
9-Sep	Mommy	POW	9:30 PM
10-Sep	The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness	TIFF Bell Lightbox	9:15 AM
10-Sep	Two Days, One Night	TIFF Bell Lightbox	12:30 PM
10-Sep	Maps to the Stars	Visa Screening Room	2:30 PM
10-Sep	Leviathan	Visa Screening Room	6:00 PM
10-Sep	Goodnight Mommy	Scotiabank	9:30 PM
11-Sep	While We're Young	Visa Screening Room	11:30 AM
11-Sep	Love & Mercy	Visa Screening Room	2:30 PM
11-Sep	Cub	Scotiabank	8:30 PM
11-Sep	The Editor	Ryerson	12:00 AM
12-Sep	October Gale	TIFF Bell Lightbox	9:15 AM
12-Sep	An Eye for Beauty	Scotiabank	12:00 PM
12-Sep	Red Amnesia	TIFF Bell Lightbox	3:15 PM
12-Sep	The Voices	Bloor Hot Docs	6:00 PM
12-Sep	Nighgcrawler	Ryerson	9:00 PM
12-Sep	What We Do in the Shadows	Ryerson	12:00 AM
13-Sep	Breathe	Scotiabank	9:15 AM
13-Sep	Adult Beginners	Ryerson	12:00 PM
13-Sep	The Drop	POW	3:00 PM
13-Sep	Men, Women & Children	Ryerson	6:00 PM
13-Sep	The World of Kanako	Bloor Hot Docs	9:00 PM
14-Sep	The Years of Fierro	Bloor Hot Docs	9:45 AM
14-Sep	The Look of Silence	Bloor Hot Docs	12:30 PM
14-Sep	X + Y	Scotiabank	3:30 PM
14-Sep	1001 Grams	TIFF Bell Lightbox	7:00 PM
14-Sep	The Winter Sleep	TIFF Bell Lightbox	9:00 PM

My Tiff 2013 Schedule - For Real

Here is my real TIFF 2013 schedule.  The question marks are movies I do not have tickets for.

Thursday 9/5:

Tim’s Vermeer

Only Lovers Left Alive

Friday 9/6:

Abuse of Weakness

Saturday 9/7:

(?) 12 Years a Slave

(?) You are Here

Metalhead

Intruders

Sunday 9/8:

(?) Manakamana or Labor Day

(?) Dallas Buyer’s Club

We Gotta Get Outta This Place

Hotell

Fat

Monday 9/9:

Burt’s Buzz

(?) Night Moves

Club Sandwich

Gloria

Enemy

Tuesday 9/10:

The Unknown Known

Blood Ties

Joe

Jodorowsky’s Dune

Proxy

Wednesday 9/11:

Gabrielle

Omar

How I Live Now

Child’s Pose

Tom at the Farm

Thursday 9/12:

L’Intrepido

Attila Marcel

Paradise: Hope

The Face of Love (?)

When Jews were Funny

R100

Friday 9/13:

Stay

Sarah Prefers to Run

Singing Women

The Sacrament

Why Don’t You Play in Hell

Saturday 9/14:

(?) The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Him and Her

We Are the Best!

Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon

Lucky Them

Bad Words

Sunday 9/15:

Ida

(?) Life of Crime

Under the Skin

The Double

When Evening Falls On Bucharest Or Metabolism

Average ratings for the film festivals I've attended in 2012 to date.

Those of you ready to stage an intervention (my parents, my bank account, my boss, Jordan Hoffman, my countless imaginary boyfriends) will not be surprised to learn I have attended eight film festivals this year so far. 

I always rate the movies I see from a 1-10 scale where 10 is best and 1 is worst.  I just now put everything onto Excel and I thought I'd put up here how all the averages worked out.

If you'd asked me in advance how this would net out, I'd probably say I expected Sundance and Hot Docs to be the highest, and Tribeca and SXSW to be the lowest. And the others in the middle.

So I am fairly surprised to see that in fact this is where I ended up:



I work in quantitative market research and so I guess it is fair to say there are some entries where the sample size is a bit small to be relying on the results - but it's interesting anyway. 

 The highest rated one, Fantastic Fest, included two... I won't call them classics, I'll say re-issues I guess. Movies originally released over 20 years ago.

 There's no festival on here I regret attending.  I loved them all.

 The lowest ranked one (Seattle) would have been ranked higher if I could have included a title that I can't list on account of I signed an NDA.

 Is this an indication of the "best festival" or something like that? Eh - I tend to say now. I think one can attribute part of these findings to the quality of the films but a bigger part actually to the way I make my own decisions on what I'll see there.

I would imagine the more movies I'm able to see at a film festival, the higher the chances that I'll choose something "meh" just for the sake of filling a time slot.   And the fewer movies I'm able to see, I feel like I'm probably much more careful about choosing very wisely. 

I wish I could look back at averages from years past, but I don't know if any change year over year would more be attributed to my own standards tightening up or actual better/worse years for the program of each fest. 

I suppose at the end of the year I will post a long list of all the movies I saw as well as the ratings and stuff. For now I'll just say that I've seen 297 films including 40 at the IFC Center. And out of those 297, a total of 12 titles earned a "10 out of 10" rating.   But one of them was a TV show, two of them came out 50+ years ago and I just now saw them for the first time, and one of them came out last year. So.

Remaining fests this year are New York Film Festival and DocNYC.   I can't think of any others. 

#TIFF12 Overview - All 48 of my movies rated Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair or Poor

Excellent

Far Out Isn't Far Enough: The Tomi Ungerer Story
The Act of Killing
Laurence Anyways

Very Good

Rust & Bone

The Master
Ginger & Rosa
Cloud Atlas
Watchtower
Eat Sleep Die
No Place on Earth
Sightseers
Lore
Beyond the Hills

Do Not Disturb
Argo
Everybody Has a Plan
The ABCs of Death
First Comes Love
Eagles

Good

Everyday
What Maisie Knew
Artifact
Shepard & Dark
Tower
Byzantium
Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God
All That Matters Is Past
The Place Beyond the Pines
End of Watch
Writers
Disconnect
Dormant Beauty
In the Fog
The Attack
The Time Being
John Dies at at the End
Picture Day

Fair

The Secret Disco Revolution
Aftershock
Detroit Unleaded
Men at Lunch
Imogene
Iceman
White Elephant

Poor

Yellow
Hellbenders
At Any Price
Jackie

#TIFF12 - two lists.

FIRST LIST - Random TIFF-Related facts:

1) I have spent far more time than anticipated at a shitty, shitty bar near Ryerson called Lou Dawgs.

2) I am so fucking over the L'Oreal bumper playing before each film. Y'all. Done with it. Done.

3) I really wish someone could find a reason to screen Stories We Tell at Fantastic Fest. Or probably more appropriately, NYFF. WHY DID I MISS THIS UGHGHGHGHGHG

4) I am very tired today, and it's my first of two six-movie days in a row. Oof.

5) I am pleased my pals Doug and Jill Tilley are here for the last few days of the fest, but I wish our schedules intersected more than they do!

-------

SECOND LIST - An updated run down of all the TIFF movies I've seen and how I'd rate them on a 10-point scale.

1. Rust and Bone (8)
2. Imogene (5)
3. The Place Beyond the Pines (6)
4. The Master (10)
5. Far Out Isn't Far Enough: The Tomi Ungerer Story (10)
6. All That Matters is Past (6)
7. Men at Lunch (5)
8. Cloud Atlas (8)
9. End of Watch (6)
10. Watchtower (8)
11. Ginger and Rosa (9)
12. Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God (7)
13. Eat Sleep Die (7)
14. Yellow (2)
15. Hellbenders (3)
16. The Act of Killing (9)
17. At Any Price (1)
18. Writers (7)
19. Iceman (5)
20. Byzantium (7)
21. Detroit Unleaded (4)
22. No Place on Earth (8)
23. Sightseers (9)
24. Aftershock (4)
25. Disconnect (6)
26. Lore (7)
27. Tower (7)
28. Beyond the Hills (8)
29. Shepard & Dark (7)
30. The Secret Disco Revolution (5)
31. Dormant Beauty (6)
32. Laurence Anyways (9)
33. In the Fog (6)
34. The Attack (7)
35. White Elephant (5)
36. Do Not Disturb (8)

#TIFF12 - Movie Seen So Far, Plus Ratings

Allow me to post the list of every film I've seen at TIFF so far this year, as well as how I'd rate it on a ten point scale.

There are four solid days left for movies which means if all goes as planned, I will reach 48 films.  A TIFF record for me, but nothing compared to Sundance (thanks to TIFF not showing 9 AM movies most days - probably more a blessing than a curse).

1. Rust and Bone (8)
2. Imogene (5)
3. The Place Beyond the Pines (6)
4. The Master (10)
5. Far Out Isn't Far Enough: The Tomi Ungerer Story (10)
6. All That Matters is Past (6)
7. Men at Lunch (5)
8. Cloud Atlas (8)
9. End of Watch (6)
10. Watchtower (8)
11. Ginger and Rosa (9)
12. Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God (7)
13. Eat Sleep Die (7)
14. Yellow (2)
15. Hellbenders (3)
16. The Act of Killing (9)
17. At Any Price (1)
18. Writers (7)
19. Iceman (5)
20. Byzantium (7)
21. Detroit Unleaded (4)
22. No Place on Earth (8)
23. Sightseers (9)
24. Aftershock (4)
25. Disconnect (6)
26. Lore (7)
27. Tower (7)
28. Beyond the Hills (8)

#TIFF12 Day Five - My reaction to the (only) four movies I saw yesterday

Day Five was not my favorite day of TIFF. Though it started strongly, it ended poorly and had one big huge disappointment smack dab in the middle.

The Act of Killing

Director Joshua Oppenheimer spent four years with several free men who were executioners / gangsters amongst those who perpetrated the mass killing of communist in 1965 Indonesia.

I may be alone here, but I know just about nothing about Indonesian history. And this documentary was not made to give me an exhaustive look at what lead to and what follows these horrific events. However, it aims to take the viewer (and subjects, really) on an astonishing journey that may well leave you with more questions than answer. Questions about the nature of memory. Of Karma. Of empathy, of rationalization, of reparation, of retribution, of silence, of trust, of punishment, of power, and evil, and even of the lasting impact of Hollywood films in the most unlikely places.

It's hard to describe this movie and I think if I tried, I would end up bumbling through thousands of words and still not saying anything meaningful. I hope that many people see it, because I found it moving and as disturbing as any film I've ever seen that shows not one drop of real bloodshed on camera.

It also contained one of the most powerful scenes I've ever seen on film - one shows two admitted killers flippantly re-enacting a past crime scene, as a neighbor and friend of one of them stands in as the victim. Before the camera starts rolling, the neighbor in passing starts to tell a story of which he pretends to downplay the importance, but which in fact is the story of his own stepfather's murder at the hands of men like the ones in the room with him now.

I can hardly write about the scene without feeling tears spring to my eyes. So many layers are stripping away in every one of the players as monumentally complex issues come to light in their own discussion and realization comes over them slowly.

The Act of Killing is more awards-worthy than any other documentary I've seen yet in 2012, except possibly The Invisible War. I really hope it gets recognition and distribution on a wide scale.

At Any Price

This movie was such an intimately, tragically disappointing endeavor that I can't even type more without getting pissed - which is a rare reaction from me since I typically don't mind seeing a bad movie.

Writers

Greg Kinnear and Jennifer Connelly are divorced intellectuals, he a novelist and their young adult children fledgling novelists as well in this heartwarming, sweet but not too sweet dramedy that I desperately needed at this stage of the festival. This movie won't change anyone's life but I found no harm in int whatsoever, and I can imagine a general audience being fairly taken with it. In the particular context of this being a first feature, it was even better.

Iceman

Michael Shannon and Winona Ryder being favorites of mine was really the only reason I sought out this mob hit man biopic. The performances were as good as you'd expect from these two, but the screenplay was unexpectedly devoid of any emotional peaks. The screenwriter whose name I am too lazy to look up right now decided for some reason to leave out almost all details of this guy's traumatic past which would have endeared the audience to him in some way. I'm glad I went, but was ultimately mildly disappointed in what seemed like a missed opportunity for a much better film.

#TIFF12 - Winona Ryder, Chris Evans & Michael Shannon, at Iceman Q&A

#TIFF12 - Annette Bening, Alessandro Nivola, Greg Kinnear

Here are some photos from Q&As.

#TIFF12 - My Thoughts on Watchtower, Ginger & Rosa, Eat Sleep Die, Mea Maxima Culpa, Yellow, etc

The dreaded (who am I kidding - the anticipated!) #TIFF12 six movie day has concluded, with mixed results, as follows.

Watchtower

I've never been to Turkey and I can't say I've seen all that much Turkish film, but this beautifully shot, intimate film made me want to change all of that.

It's a familiar enough premise - two broken people, strangers in a wayward town, working through their inner demons. A chance opportunity for redemption brings them together in a dramatic and ultimately satisfying conclusion. See it if you get the chance!

Ginger and Rosa

This movie made its way onto my list by virtue only of it being the most convenient film to see in its time slot. Thank goodness for that, because wow, what a good one. That Elle Fanning is not fooling, y'all.

Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God

Alex Gibney's new documentary, which dives into the personal stories of three adults who were abused as children by priests at a Catholic school for the deaf in Milwaukee, in the context of the broader history of scandal and cover-up at all levels within the Catholic church. It was a fine film, and made me think a lot about what I think of organized religion (frankly, very little).

Eat Sleep Die

Swedish. Great. One of the better films within the "here's a cast of non actors doing basically nothing but going about their daily lives" genre. This time, involving the a group of immigrants after they've been laid off from jobs at a local factory. In particular, a spirited young woman and her increasingly dependent father. I'd say this film features one of the most interesting, rich and dynamic characters I've seen in a long time. I wish this character, named Rasa, was real - I'd have a lot of fun hanging out with her.

Yellow

I'm not sure I like experimental film, overall. Say what you will about a blanket statement like that, but this film was really not for me. I get that it was meant to push boundaries, be inventive, make no sense, follow no preset structure, whatever. Was it also supposed to be poorly acted? I had a very hard time sussing out what choices were just really bad acting/writing and what choices were intentionally fucked up/jarring. It's very possible that this is a brilliant piece of art and I am just a philistine. I and the six other people I saw walk out of the theater (not counting the three fourths of the audience that was behind me and from whom I would not have noticed any walk-outs).

I will say it had a stunning soundtrack and that I am glad that we live in a world where a movie like this can exist and be seen. Even if it was really not enjoyable.

Hellbenders

As much as I love Midnight Madness and had a nice time with my friend, I did not find too many redeeming qualities in this movie, I'm afraid. Maybe I was just real tired after a six-movie day. Who's to say.

In Which I Gush About My Favorite #TIFF12 Film So Far - Far Out Isn't Far Enough: The Tomi Ungerer Story

Far Out Isn't Far Enough: The Tomi Ungerer Story, directed by Brad Bernstein, is one of the best documentaries I've seen this year and an early but legitimate contender for my favorite film of #TIFF12.

Ungerer is a man who is difficult to define. Award-winning children's book writer? Check. Political cartoonist? Check. Advertiser? At one time. Erotic illustrator? Yep. French? German? Alsatian? The beauty of this film exists in the exact point at which all of these things meet, in both conflict and perfect compliment of one another.

Watching this movie was an emotional experience for me. The hairs on my arms stood on end and in fact tears rolled down my face during completely unexpected/inexplicable scenes - not because the story was sad (though it surely was impactful in parts) but because I was completely overstimulated and a reaction needed to pour out of me in some way.

As odd as it is, as I watched Far Out Isn't Far Enough, I kept thinking about one of my favorite films, Hedwig and the Angry Inch and how both of these movies, though completely different in so many ways, had in common the focus on duality and identity. The thought of straddling two opposite cultures, worlds, states of being, whatever, and tapping into that to fuel this electric creative output.

It felt like every corner of my brain was abuzz. Reaching capacity. I developed a headache about ten minutes in that did not go away, but I didn't really care. I was cursing myself for not bringing a notebook because every five seconds, something was said that I was dying to jot down, or something occurred to me that I knew I would not remember later.

There was no part of this film that was not masterful. I feel like I could gush for paragraphs about each element. The fascinating subject. The narrative structure including the chapters / title cards with Tomi-isms. The perfect way the film paired Tomi's personal and artistic development against the backdrop of the ever changing cultural and political histories of Europe and the United States. THE ARTWORK ITSELF. The use in the film of inventive animation of Tomi's work, integrated so brilliantly that when it was discussed during the Q&A, I found myself surprised that it was actually commissioned and created by a third party, not something that just magically leaped out of the camera like an aria spilling out of the mouth of an opera singer.

My mind was racing as I watched, unable to quantify what I loved more - this quirky, devious, honest and fallible yet brilliant artist, the delightfully creative telling of his story, or the simple fact that I was lucky enough to be sitting here in Toronto, Canada being exposed to it. Introduced to a life I had never given another thought to. To a man I'm sure I could have happily lived the rest of my life not knowing about, yet whose wit, courage and introspection on identity will likely inspire me for a long time.

What a cliche to call a work of art an inspiration. But this movie itself energized me. As I watched, I entertained fantasies of quitting my job and dedicating my waking hour to consuming more documentary film. I lamented my own creative inabilities, juxtaposed with my great belief that more movies like this need to be made and seen by others. Not for their ability to energize the masses to rally around a cause, although agenda documentaries have their place and I appreciate that. But rather, for what they leave for generations of artists (and connoisseurs like me) whose knowledge of Ungerer's contributions might either be nil or limited to a chapter in a textbook, or a few wikipedia characters.

For that reason, and this may sound ridiculous, it occurred to me while I was watching that these filmmakers are doing God's work. If such a thing existed. Or, so to speak. It reminded me that there's a constant and emergent need for more art to be funded, cultivated and consumed. And seeing the Kickstarter "thank yous" in the credits made me so impatient for what I can only imagine is many more masterpieces hidden amongst the sea of projects seeking support online, eagerly awaiting their chance to come into being.

It's a great time to love documentary film.

#TIFF12: Reason #3,386 I love the Lightbox

#TIFF12 movie reactions - End of Watch, Cloud Atlas, Men At Lunch, etc.

Day three (Saturday!) was the first day I didn't have to go into work, which meant I could focus entirely on films. I dove right in, seeing five movies, all of which I enjoyed to at least some degree.

Far Out Isn't Far Enough: The Tomi Ungerer Story:

Don't even ask me about this movie - I will gush so hard you will make fun of me or accuse me of hyperbole. If you get a chance to see this inventive and delightful documentary, do not miss it. I will post a longer review at some point, once I have finally picked my jaw up off the floor 'cause holy shit.

All That Matters Is Past

Love me some Norwegian films, y'all. This wasn't necessarily the best one I've ever seen, but it was certainly worthy of a viewing. Star crossed lovers since birth, Janne and William, reunite after a long period of separation, only to find that the demons haunting them in the past are very much real and very much present. I enjoyed the disjointed narrative structure that revealed key motivations slowly, maximizing intrigue and character development. There were a number of highly disturbing, graphic images. Which were no doubt necessary/symbolic, but still, whoa. Lots of grimacing on my part. Again, totally worth seeing.

Men At Lunch

You know that famous photo of the eight construction workers eating lunch on a beam high above Manhattan, from the late 20's? Did you ever want to know more about that photo? If so, look no further than this documentary, Irish-made (which makes more sense when you consider the men were all Irish immigrants) and narrated by Fionnula Flanagan. I am glad I saw this, if for my love of NYC history and all the shots of Rockefeller center today, which is very near my office. But I also kind of felt like I was watching what would be the product of a high school senior's History final paper, but set to film, and produced by PBS or something. The film spent 20-30 minutes hammering home poetic comparisons about the city's immigrant past, when I'm sure everyone got the point after about 60 seconds. I imagine a much tighter, more effective and ultimately engaging film would have been made if they'd brought it in at about 30-40 minutes instead of a full-length documentary feature.

Cloud Atlas

I don't see too many big-budgut, action/epic/adventure/time travel/sci-fi stuff and though I did like The Matrix (the first one) I would not call my self a Wachowski fangirl. Actually, Cloud Atlas wasn't even on my list of vaguely interesting films intil I read the New Yorker profile of the Wachowskis and the trajectory of making this film, at which point I became a lot more curious about how it ended up. Still, I probably would have been content to wait til theaters, were I not a total sucker for seeing buzzed movies early in order to be part of the conversation.

But what can I add to the dialogue here, I guess, really? I'm not sure I am the film's target audience - although actually now that I think about it, who is the films target audience? That said, I really enjoyed it. The reason I point out that I don't often see movies like this is because I'm not convinced that I could actually know the difference between good and bad with a film of its scale. All I can tell you is that I bought it all, and I was captivated/invested throughout.

I was most surprised by how well Tom Hank's familiar face pulled off all the different roles - stuff we've never seen him do before. I would have expected to roll my eyes.

It was pretty cool how versatile the different roles were that each actor played. Hugo Weaving as a militant nurse? Almost unrecognizable. Actually no - totally unrecognizable.

I'm super curious to see how this one does. I wonder if audiences will even know what to do with it.

End of Watch

Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Pena are both great actors, but I wasn't too psyched about this movie ahead of time 'cause I'd read some average to below average Twitter reviews of the thing. I suppose it helped to go in with low expectations because I ended up being surprised that it didn't suck at all. I'm not sure it changed my life in any meaningful way, but it held my attention, and was pretty decently acted.

I can't remember the last time I saw suuuuuch a pro-police film, though, which was totally confirmed in the Q&A when the director started out by saying "We approach our military professionals all the time and thank them for their service - why don't we ever do that to cops?" Huh. Interesting dialogue I guess.

The Q&A was mercifully awful. To the point where I wish TIFF would do something about it. I don't know what could be done, I suppose. Maybe say something about how people should keep their questions centered on the film, and should make sure they're actually asking a question, not just jockeying for the ear of a celebrity. At any rate - unbearable, guys.

#TIFF12 - End of Watch premiere photos of Jake Gyllenhaal, Anna Kendrick, Michael Pena, and America Ferrera

I saw and liked End of Watch. It wasn't the best, but it wasn't bad at all.

The actors were there for a Q&A, which is evidenced here in this very long list of more photos than anyone could ever reasonably want to see.

I will say that the Q&A was super awkward and annoying - someone asked if they could take a picture with Anna Kendrick, someone later asked the entire cast if they were already preparing their Oscar speeches, etc. C'mon people.

As you can see, the actors remained charming and calm.  Me, cringing in my seat, cursing my fellow moviegoers? Not so much.

Here are the photos....

#TIFF12 - Some snapshots from the CLOUD ATLAS premier - Tom Hanks, the Wachowskis, Tom Tykwer, Susan Sarandon, Halle Berry

I took a few pictures from my faraway balcony seat at the Cloud Atlas premiere.

By the way, I really enjoyed the movie! I actually changed my schedule in order to go to it, and I am so glad I did.

Anyway,  the photos....

#TIFF12 day two thoughts - Imogene, The Place Beyond The Pines, The Master

I only saw three movies today because I also went to work today.

The three went from OK to GOOD to AMAZING.

Imogene - starring Kristen Wiig & Annette Bening. My pals and I talked about this afterwards and we all agreed that the actual script was pretty "meh" and that the reason it was enjoyable on any level was due to the cast. I didn't hate it, but I would not actively recommend it.

The Place Beyond the Pines - the new one from the director of Blue Valentine. This was not originally on my list, but everyone seemed so psyched about it so I added it. I was super into it for almost all of it, but the damned thing went on and on.. I suspect there is a pretty decent movie somewhere inside of those 2 hours and 20 minutes, and that a couple rounds of testing will help it out a great deal. But the second half got real, real heavy-handed. Ben Mendelsohn and Ryan Gosling's performance get a big seal of approval from me. But honestly it was one of the first "longer" movies in a long time that not only felt long - it felt about twice as long as it actually was.

The Master - THE MASTER! Despite a stressful pre-show seating situation, I was SO jazzed when the black screen showed the simple white text of the title. Couldn't believe I was finally sitting down to see one of my most anticipated films not just of TIFF but of the year. It doesn't disappoint. Everything I'd heard about the performances was dead on. I don't really know what else to say other than I was delightfully in awe of every last frame. I am in utter agreement with everyone who is motivated to see it a second time. Also I am bummed there was no Q&A.

Tomorrow is going to be crazy. Waking up in six hours to go to a 9:30 film which will be the first of five. If I am lucky I will also find some time to eat food tomorrow. Today was not so great on that front. Oops.

YAY TIFF!

Photos from the #TIFF12 American Beauty table read - Christina Hendricks, Bryan Cranston, Adam Driver, Jason Reitman, etc.

Here are a few snapshots from the event, if you're into that sort of thing.  But you have to select "Read More."

#TIFF12 Thoughts on American Beauty Table Read

How strange to have my first TIFF movie... not be a movie at all! I'd originally planned to see Toronto's official opening night movie Looper but when I heard the Surprise Event at the Ryerson playing against it was in fact a Jason Reitman table read, I changed my mind.

I'd never gone to any of these that he's done in LA or the one in NY, but had it on pretty good authority that they rule. I bought a ticket but was on the fence as they slowly announced cast members - that is, until they got to who would play Carolyn and Lester Burnham -Christina Hendricks and Brian Cranston! AMC darlings that they are. Yep, good plan.

The event was pretty neato. Cameron Bailey introduced Jason whose allegiance to TIFF was evident in his exclamation "the fuckin' Ryerson, man!" which was a reference to many of his films premiering there - all but Young Adult, I think.

I enjoyed the experience. I am not an American Beauty hater. On the contrary. It was pretty interesting to hear the familiar words read by new faces, equally familiar but from other projects.

Some basic impressions:

* It seemed like the guy playing Colonel Fitts was doing a bit of a Chris Cooper impression, which was something I was actually expecting to see more of, but actually didn't

* Brian Cranston was just made for that role in one way or another. The audience totally ate up his every expression. His portrayal highlighted the humor more than I had remembered.

* Christina Hendricks had some big shoes to fill in my opinion, and she managed to make her individual mark on ground Bening had tread so well before. From the sex scenes with "the king" to the "I will sell this house today," she got tons of laughs and found a side to those lines that I hadn't seen before. When she cried out "Fuck me, your majesty!" Reitman even interjected "Worth the price of admission!" (Totally true.)

* There's a part where the stage direction describes Colonel Fitts leaning to kiss Lester. There was a person in the audience who let out a huge gasp when Reitman read that part. Then everyone started giggling, because really - who didn't see that coming? Was there actually someone at that reading who had never seen American Beauty?

* Adam Driver playing Ricky Fitts was eh. He got a huge applause from the ladies when he joined. But beyond that he was real monotone, and a bit disturbed. Which maybe was what he was going for. Eh.

* Overall, the tone was quite different from the movie. There was constant laughter, which sort of surprised me - even though I was laughing too. I realized that's because one key element of the film was absent here - the music. It didn't make it worse, just very different.

I took a ton of pictures at the beginning before they started reading, so perhaps I will post those tomorrow.

#TIFF Schedule: 48 films in 10 days. Crazy? Not for me.

Here is the list of films I am planning to see in Toronto.  The ones in red I do not have tickets for.

Thursday 9/6:

Jason Reitman's table read of American Beauty
Rust and Bone


Friday 9/7:

Imogene
The Place Beyond the Pines
The Master 



Saturday 9/8:

Far Out Isn't Far Enough: The Tomi Ungerer Story
Stories We Tell
Men at Lunch
Cloud Atlas
End of Watch


Sunday 9/9:

Watchtower
Ginger and Rosa
Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God
Eat Sleep Die
Yellow
Hellbenders


Monday 9/10:

The Act of Killing
At Any Price
Writers
Foxfire: Story of a Girl Gang
Iceman


Tuesday 9/11:

Byzantium
Detroit Unleaded
No Place on Earth
Sightseers


Wednesday 9/12:

Disconnect
Lore
Tower
Beyond the Hills

Thursday 9/13:

Shepard & Dark
Our Little Differences
Dormant Beauty
Reality

Friday 9/14:

In the Fog
The Attack
White Elephant
Do Not Disturb
Artifact


Saturday 9/15:

What Richard Did
Jackie
Argo
Everybody Has a Plan
The Time Being


Sunday, 9/16:

First Comes Love
Everyday
What Maisie Knew
Picture Day
Eagles

#TIFF12 - The Toronto International Film Festival may just be the best film festival out there, & here's why I say so:

 

'Tis the season!  Hold off on the chestnuts, and throw water on that open fire. It is indeed the most wonderful time of the year, but I'm not talking about mistletoe, and Cameron Bailey is no Santa Claus - although, that becomes less true the more I paw through the TIFF film guide like an eight year old expectantly shaking each present under the Christmas tree.

I've attend my fair share of film festivals. I got the bug when I was 18 -- some 500 years ago as a new resident of Los Angeles, obsessed with Clea Duvall (seriously) and hell-bent on seeing her new film, premiering at Sundance the next weekend. "Couldn't I just go?" my naive but adventurous teenage self pondered, to no one in particular. Priceline and a cheap flight to SLC was all the confirmation I needed (though remind me to blog about how my "oh I'll just find a hotel once I get there" plan ended up), and I was well on my way to a life-long devotion two the perfect combination of my two passions - travel and movies.

Fall 2006 found me less than a year into my love affair with NYC.  Living a mere seven-hour drive from Toronto, still having a car and a serious affinity for all things John Cameron Mitchell (which in fact was very few things at the time) meant it was a no-brainer to load up my Saturn with fellow film fan friends for the premiere of Shortbus at the Ryerson. Once we got all the Sundance comparisons out of our system ("WHAT DO YOU MEAN THERE IS NO FREE SHUTTLE"), and despite the serious misstep of staying out by the airport, we found a giddy, "omg why haven't we done this before" appreciation for the great Canadian movie geek-out that has become my most recommended festival experience for the past eight years.

Skip ahead to today,  <coughwouldn'tyouliketoknow>  years into my film festival obsession.  I've live-tweeted Full Frame, found an excuse to SIFF it up in Seattle twice, meandered to Mill Valley, made several Tribeca appearances, hobbled in heels through Hollywood for AFI, filled up on countless Drafthouse cookies four years in a row at SXSW, and will even be venturing to Fantastic Fest this year.  And though Sundance will always have a special place in my heart as the most intense and exciting film-going experience one could have in a 10-day period, I stand behind this statement:  the Toronto International Film Festival is the best film festival and the one I would most easily and passionately recommend to just about anyone.

Here are six reasons why.

The weather

They could hold a film festival in the frickin' Arctic circle and if Lili Taylor were starring in a movie there and I could get the time off of work, I'd be packing my warmest coat without hesitation.   The more people I meet, though, the more I find that most sane folks have a breaking point when it comes to the elements.

If you're adverse to heatstroke and frostbite, never fear. Cram your most comfortable cardigan into your carry-on, guys. TIFF is the festival for you.

Wide Variety of Films

People always ask me what TIFF is known for.  What makes it different. Probably because a lot of my non-moviegoer friends understand Sundance's iconic position amongst the American indie film lexicon. But TIFF doesn't have that name recognition yet - not with my co-workers, my cousins, etc.  

As much as TIFF has become synonymous with Oscars in recent years, this isn't TIFF's legacy, not entirely.  "There's something there for everyone," I tell the inquisitor each time. "They've got it all."  The film festival with multiple personalities – each as dominant as the next!   I could meet someone every day there who says “I come here because TIFF is the best place to see documentaries” or “You just can’t beat their selection of international films.” Even the teenagers standing by red carpets would swear that TIFF caters specifically to them. And you know what – they’d be right, all of them.  

Midnight Madness

Ask anyone - I hated horror movies. Gore or violence in general? Not for me.  Disturbing in any way? Huh uh. Didn't even see Requiem for a Dream, for example, until a couple years ago.

To what do I owe the sudden acceptance, the total 180? Video games? No, I don't play them. Desensitization - sure, I'm sure that happened.  But it's more than that.

I suppose I can thank one Colin Geddes for my relatively newfound love of all things bloody, twisted, shocking, and fucked up.  My first midnight madness movie was probably something easy on the blood and guts - maybe A Town Called Panic.  Though, what I was exposed that night to was more than just the delightfully twisted world of Belgian animation.  I discovered a place where you can go and be surrounded by hundreds of similarly dorky, offbeat, night owls who oh yeah just happen to love genre films.  "This is awesome," said I. "I can withstand my squeamishness," said I. "I'll just cover my eyes if things get really scary," said I.

Then what happened?  With all the pirate "ARRRRRRR!!"ing and the blow-up-doll-beach-ball-tossing came something I wasn't expecting- an acceptance, approaching  appreciation, of scary movies.  Symbol, Super, Kill List, The Incident - I'm an expert now.  Or... at least I'm not a pussy anymore. I'm even venturing to Fantastic Fest this year - can those crazy Austin cats top the Toronto Midnight Madness insanity? Time will tell.

Ease of ticketing

I have few marketable skills. One of them is getting myself and my friends into sold-out events.  Hustling. Working it. Making it happen. Whatever you call it - I don't take no for an answer and I am rarely turned away.

That said, most people don't have the level of comfort I do to show up without a ticket. I would not send them to  Sundance (fun, but hard as hell to get into).  SXSW would be a sheer impossibility.  But TIFF might as well have a statue with "Give me your ticketless" engraved.  Stress-free, options a-plenty, and kind-hearted Canadians with extra tickets, around every corner? Yes, please.

The Lightbox

"I get around," I like to say, a play on words that is as purposely questionable as it is ultimately true.  You'd rack up more than one stamp on your passport visiting my top five movie theaters in this world, and one of those pitstops would be the corner of King and John, at the TIFF Bell Lightbox.

This mecca of film past, present and future seems custom-built for someone like me - a voracious consumer of movies, not to mention my love of merchandise, good wine, comfortable seats, pretty things, and popcorn topped with real butter.

The film community

Having grown up in the Twin Cities, I always knew of the thing called "Minnesota Nice," I just didn't realize until a few years ago that we may actually get that from our proximity to Canada.

Canadians have The Kindness to them.  On top of that, they love the hell out of some movies.  Go to enough Q&As and you'll memorize the filmmakers' mantra: "there's no better audience than the Toronto Film Festival."

You won't feel out of place here even if you're not wearing black and sporting sunglasses indoors.  This festival, unlike other top tier festivals, doesn't judge you by your IMDB page or how many Facebook friends you have in common with Harvey Weinstein.

What's more, I am convinced that the love of film and the communal experience of appreciating it is one that is just as palpable long after the orange signage has come down.