#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.

A Happy Cinematic Accident - Somewhere In Between

I woke up early this Saturday morning to welcome the weekend with a much-anticipated screening of the 1940 Hitchcock classic, REBECCA, a film as yet unseen for me.

In yet another display of reckless disregard for even the most important of details, I walked straight into the wrong theater. "Theater number two," the ticket taker instructed. Yet I wandered straight into the theater where I saw the last few Hitchcock films they show every weekend at 11 AM, caring not for the number four prominently displayed on the door, and obviously checking my twitter up to 15 minutes after my movie was to begin.

When the movie did finally start - in full color, and clearly a documentary - I knew I couldn't commit a cardinal sin by going into REBECCA late. What else could I do but watch the movie unfolding before my eyes, even though I'd heard absolutely nothing about it?

That movie was SOMEWHERE IN BETWEEN, directed by Linda Goldstein Knowlton, and bookended by her personal experience adopting a daughter from China.

The cool thing about storytelling is how many different angles any topic really has. I know alarmingly little about the history or culture of China leading up to the climate that devalues girls and leads to countless stories like the this. I further would have been sufficiently captivated hearing about the undoubtedly excruciating bureaucratic odyssey on which hopeful adoptive parents must embark. But that's not the story Goldstein Knowlton wanted to tell, and boy am I glad.

Instead, she chose to shine a spotlight on teenage girls who 10-15 years earlier had been adopted into US families. I was treated to 90+ minutes with a cross-section of the bravest, smartest and most articulate young women captured in a non-fiction film. From "Jenni" or Fang, whose Berkeley mom learned Mandarin a year before she finally met her 5-year old daughter to Haley, growing up in a conservative Christian Nashville household and competing in beauty pageants, these girls and their families boldly took the audience on an emotional journey that was most unexpected to me.

I have ties neither to adoption nor Chinese culture, so at first I was surprised by how moved I was by this movie. Of course I found the story totally engrossing, as one young women begins an impossible quest to find her birth parents, and another champions for the US adoption of a toddler with cerebral palsy that she met on one of her many trips back to China.

No, the facts of these histories, as compelling as they were, couldn't possibly have resonated with my own past. But the overlying themes of identity, of unconditional love, of family - that's what hit me the hardest, what moved me and motivated me.

How did it motivate me? Out of nowhere, I felt myself in total awe of these young ladies, wishing that at more than twice their age, I were half as strong and articulate as they are. Wanting to be part of something meaningful, to do some good somewhere. And mostly - and perhaps least surprisingly, the movie did what only the very best documentaries do. It desperately made me want to watch more documentaries.

I forgot to mention... this is a thing that happened

http://cinespect.com/?p=3928

Movie Pals! Feedback needed - please critique my #TIFF12 film choices before I make them tomorrow.

After hour after excruciating hour of planning, I've put together a list of the 48 films I plan to see in Toronto.


PLEASE HELP -CAN'T DECIDE - Should I skip Amour and see Cloud Atlas since I must choose one or the other?


Anything on this list that shouldn't be? 


I couldn't find any room for Still, Lawrence Anyways, Perks of Being a Wallflower, Foxfire: Confessions of a Girl Gang, Frances Ha  or Stories We Tell. How much of a tragedy is that?


Looper
Rust and Bone
Imogene
The Place Beyond the Pines
The Master
Far Out Isn't Far Enough: The Tomi Ungerer Story
All That Matters is Past
Men at Lunch
Amour
End of Watch
Watchtower
Ginger and Rosa
Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God
Eat Sleep Die
Yellow
Hellbenders
The Act of Killing
At Any Price
The Impossible
To the Wonder
Iceman
Byzantium
Detroit Unleashed
No Place on Earth
Sightseers
Disconnect
Lore
Tower
Beyond the Hills
Shepard & Dark
Our Little Differences
Dormant Beauty
Reality
Passion
The Attack
White Elephant
Do Not Disturb
Artifact
What Richard Did
Jackie
Argo
Everybody Has a Plan
The Time Being
First Comes Love
Everyday
What Maisie Knew
Picture Day
Eagles

In Anticipation of the #TIFF12 Lineup

The film slate for the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival will be released, in part, beginning on Tuesday.   That is - the list of big ticket movies (the galas and special presentations) is coming out.

Not long ago,  Indiewire listed several films they hope will play the fall festival circuit.  Since I'm not going to Venice or Telluride (damned job, always getting in the way!) I'll get selfish and hope many of these premiere at TIFF.  Not that they can't play both, of course.

Indiewire posted 50 - but I'm going to post the five I'm dying for.   Who knows if they'll be at TIFF or not - but I'll be ecstatic if so, and if not... well, I guess I'll just have to wait a little longer.  

Inside Llewelyn Davis
The Coen Brothers! Filmed in NYC? Absolutely.

Looper
Let's see if I can finally figure out what all the fuss is about.


Seven Psychopaths
Martin McDonagh's follow-up to The Guard, which I enjoyed a great deal.

Argo
I've never anything short of loved a movie directed by Ben Affleck.  Now there's a sentence I would have never believed ~six  years ago I'd be typing now. I'd say this one is a near certainty at TIFF, no?

The Master
 PTA!PTA!PTA!PTA!

Other than those few noted exceptions, what I'm most looking forward to is whatever the Midnight Madness and International programming have in store.  Past TIFF finds have been as varied as Kill List, The Secret In Her Eyes, I Killed My Mother, Shinboru, Fish Tank.  I have confidence in the programming team and I'm excited about 2012 at TIFF.

Dor's Summer of Catch-Up

It's a widely known fact for which I am constantly derided: I have seen very few films that were released before the late 90's.  The late '90's is when I realized my spare time (other than the weeks I devoted to following a certain late '90's singer song/writer) was best spent in my local multiplex, seeing films. Or better yet, at my local Blockbuster, renting recent indies. 

Prior to that, my life consisted of dodging high-school homework by chatting up cute boys in AOL chat rooms.   Finally I chatted up the right person in an AOL chat room who said "you know what, Dor, let's meet in real life. And once we get along? Let's watch a shit ton of movies."

The late '90s is when I figured out that just anyone, and I mean anyone, could buy a $200 flight to Sundance and find themselves in the middle of a smorgasboard of indie goodness.  Which I did - remind me to post one day about my first Sundance back in the dark ages of January, 2000. (OVER TWELVE YEARS AGO 'CAUSE I AM REAL OLD NOW.)

I guess what I'm trying to say is -  No, I haven't seen Back to the Future.

I haven't seen that, and I haven't seen Jaws, and I haven't seen [fill in the blank with some horrendous blindspot].  Yes, everyone has them.  I'd like to think my number of blindspots is disproportionally high considering the fact that I've seen over 200 movies in a theater in the last six months.

My point, then, and thanks for allowing the meander, is that this is the Summer of Catch Up.  Can I save enough face? No, probably not, I'll always be gasping for air in this great dog paddle of cinephilia.  (Which may not be a word.)

And don't give me any more credit than I deserve. Really all I'm doing is trying to keep seeing movies in a time where the multiplex is largely dominated by things I don't want to see and the arthouse is taken over by movies I've seen once (or four times) already, thanks to Sundance, SXSW, SIFF, what have you.

• Enter the Museum of the Moving Image and their $150 dual membership with free tickets (shit, I am a sucker for free tickets)
• Enter the Film Forum's Universal 100 series and their $7 double features (not to mention tasty popcorn)
• Enter the IFC Hitchcock weekend programming (which is free for members), which is how I went from having seen one Hitchcock film to having seen eight.  Humblebrag. Yeah I know there are a million more.

If you're bored enough to peruse my stupid list of every movie I've seen in 2012 you'll see I've proudly taken in my first viewing of such classics as Old Boy, Nashville, Annie Hall and even Psycho. Which actually I didn't add to that list for some reason but I loved fervently.

And it's only mid-July!   I have even more catching up to do.

After perusing the schedules of MoMI, Film Forum, IFC, etc, if any one of my NYC pals wants to join, do holler.

Cinemania - a doc about NYC hardcore film buffs

I had never heard of this 2002 documentary, surprising as that may sound, until a week ago when my friend Mike told me that I absolutely had to see it. I ordered it straightaway from Amazon and watched it at my earliest opportunity.

I've seen countless documentaries about fandom, subcultures, and people on the fringes.  I dare say it's my favorite documentary sub-genre.  From sports fans to bird-watchers, I cannot get enough.  I wouldn't put Cinemania in the upper ranks in terms of quality within its contemporaries, but because of the familiar subject matter, I enjoyed it a great deal.

I desperately wanted to live-tweet my impressions as I was watching.  But I try not to be terribly irrelevant so I resisted the urge.

Allow me, though, to type here what I would have said.

I think the reasons I didn't think it was a better film was because of its unstructured nature.  Way too much time was spent following the subjects as they just wandered through pedestrian crowds and subway platforms going from movie to movie.

I also wouldn't not have minded a bit more diversity in the subjects.  Like - all these folks were hoarder types without jobs.  Maybe one can't find shades of grey within intense movie fandom - it's clear these guys are on a different level than I - but, it would have been interesting to see a slight variation.  Not only folks on the fringes.

I found it very interesting to see what movie theaters looked like 10-15 years ago. It looks like the Film Forum has not changed much. 

I wish the IFC center had been open while they were filming this.  I wonder if any of these guys are members. I will look out for them. I know at least one of them has died, though. (?)

I am particularly susceptible to this but… the movie makes me want to get off my couch and see movies. It's definitely stressful, like I am missing stuff. The subjects described this feeling of not knowing how to decide what to see, having so many conflicting showtimes, etc. That resonated for me.

I wasn't sure if most of these guys never see any first-run films, or of the movie just decided to focus more on their love for the old stuff, but it seemed odd that someone would love movies so much and not be as excited by what's coming as they are for what's past.

They don't seem to watch too much in their own homes but there was one scene where a couple of them did. It was sure painful to watch them pop in a DVD and watch it on the shittiest little TV. WTF guys.

I wish there were more interviews with programmers/theater staff.

Loved the MoMI stuff, 'cause I never went there before it was renovated

I would love to have one of these fierce motherfuckers behind me nowadays when there's someone on their smart-phone, or talking, or something.

I'm so glad I am not too particular about technical details. That's taking it too damned far.  I don't even usually notice.  I guess though once you notice, you can't turn it off, you can't unsee.

I really loved the concept of one's love life failing because it couldn't compare to cinematic images.  I'll be thinking of that comment for a while. As if I hadn't been thinking about it for some time already.

Overall I am quite thankful for the recommendation and glad I saw it. I'd like someone else to make a follow up with maybe a slightly different structure - a little broader, not necessarily focused on individuals but rather a community. I'd Kickstart that real quick.

My favorite movies of 2012 so far - in honor of the top two being released this weekend

Of the 198 movies I have seen in theaters so far this year, here's a list of the ones I liked the best.

1. Take This Waltz

Release Date:  June 29th (and playing now on VOD)

Watch the Trailer

2. Beasts of the Southern Wild

Release Date:  TODAY in LA/NY, and click here for more info.

Watch the Trailer

 

3. The Invisible War

Release Date:  June 27th

Watch the Trailer

 

4. Oslo, August 31st

Release Date: Out now! More Info

Watch the Trailer

5. Jeff Who Lives at Home

Release Date: Just came out on DVD/Blu-Ray

Watch the Trailer

 

6. Teddy Bear

Release Date: August 22nd at the Film Forum (thanks Kenji!)

Watch the Trailer

7. Polisse

Release Date: Now Playing

Watch the Trailer

8. Moonrise Kingdom

Release Date: Now Playing

Watch the Trailer

 

9. Vivan las Antipodas!

Release Date: I don’t know

Watch the Trailer

10. Jiro Dreams of Sushi

Release Date: Now Playing

Watch the Trailer

In which I gush about the Museum of the Moving Image. GAHHH!!!

When I started writing this dorky blog, one of the first things I did was write a list of movie goals for 2012. At the top of that list was to visit the Museum of the Moving Image, which comes highly recommended by several movie-loving pals that I respect.

You could place the actual fountain of youth in Queens, though, and it'd probably take me a few months to make it out there. So, even as the fanatic consumer of movies that I've become of late, I still made only my first visit this past weekend.They're doing a Paramount in the 1970's series, so my friend Irene and I chose Marathon Man, a film I don't think I'd even heard of let alone seen. I didn't care much about what I saw there anyway - I just wanted to finally get there. What a gorgeous, gorgeous place. I had no idea Queens was this cool. Loved it. Even more than I was expecting to love it.

Sleek, clean, sexy, airy, open - are these the words that come to mind when you think of a movie theater? Think again. Granted, this place is, by definition, a museum. And I did not arrive early enough to explore this side of it.

Don't worry though, because in typical fashion I have joined up. It was actually crazy cheap. $100 per year and that includes unlimited access to their weekend programming. Queens folks - let's be movie buddies! I am going to live there! Especially while the IFC center is still showing Pina, Jiro Dreams of Sushi, and others I've seen before.

Oh, and Marathon Man was pretty great, too.

Miscellaneous movie rambles: TIFF, NYFF, Dark Knight Rises, Moonrise Kingdom. Et Cetera.

Since it's been a while since I've written anything here, I didn't want the five of you reading this (hi mom) to think I hadn't actually been seeing movies. As if!

Quite the contrary, of course.  Though the busiest I've been is a three-movie weekend a couple days back.  Reason being? Freakin' everything in theaters now is something that played a festival earlier this year making it something I've seen already.   Please put away your tiny violins.  The pity symphony is playing in my head already.

I'll catch up with a hodge podge.

Moonrise Kingdom - Yes, yes, yes!  Peek into my wallet and you'll find a perhaps surprising absence of the Wes Anderson Fan Club card.  I never joined, in part because the first one of his I saw was Rushmore and I plain old didn't get it (though upon revisiting I do see its merits).   Royal Tenenbaums was just fine.  The first of his I loved was The Life Aquatic.  The Darjeeling is weaksauce, something I felt like he made just to carry on his brand in an off year or something.  Fantastic Mister Fox delighted me as much as it could. But I now join a few of my friends in proclaiming that Moonrise Kingdom is far and away his best so far.  I don't find "but it's so Wes Anderson-like" to be a valid criticism.  Saying he has an engrained style is not interesting to anyone with eyes. Look past it, and you'll find too much depth, heart, and humor to be focused on any hipster sensibilities you may think he's cramming in.

I was expecting a bit more of Elena.  This would not have cleared my top ten of Sundance had I seen it there. But I think I was thrown off by a trailer that made it seem a bit more nail-biting than it turned out to be.  Not bad at all - in fact I'd probably go so far as to recommend it.  I suppose it was built up.

Five Broken Cameras - anguish.  Speechlessness.  This was made by a guy who broke, you guessed it, five cameras filming the protests he and his community organized against illegal Israeli settlements.  So many questions arose when I watched this, that I was cursing myself for not seeing it at a film festival where I would have no doubt benefited from the audience's outrage-fueled attempts to understand.  Though I suppose this is one topic not terribly easy to understand. I'll say that I'm glad I saw The Law In These Parts first. That was a pretty good primer.

More miscellany:

NY Film Festival ticket packages are on sale now for members. If I want the "VIP"est package I can pay $50,000 and get tickets to all the galas, two tickets to any screening, etc.   Who wants to go in on it with me? Anyone??   In all seriousness -  one strategy might be to do the $1,500 pack and get two tickets to any Alice Tully screening.  But this would involve actively avoiding in Toronto the 50%+ of NYFF films that will screen there first. Hmmm.  Something tells me that will not be the way to go.  If I had $1,500 extra lying around to support my movie hobby (spoiler: I don't) I'd spend it on the Video Free Brooklyn indiegogo reward level that involves Bobcat Goldthwait doing stand-up in my living room.  Similarly tempting.

Toronto Film Festival made an announcement that ticket selection for ticket packages will be available online this year, which interests me since I did plan to buy in advance this year for the first time.  But this does make me wonder:

1) Seriously, they weren't online before? Wow, Canada.

2) How much of a hot flaming stressful mess will that be? Remind me to take anti-anxiety meeds the day that happens.  I don't do too well with websites crashing when I am buying tickets. Stress.

I bought tickets with John and Mark to see the The Dark Knight Rises. Oh, but there's more - we are going to do the marathon. The complete trilogy. That is, after a full day of work, we'll march on over to 68th Street for the 6 PM (FIRST TIME IN IMAX) showing of Batman Begins (which I'm ashamed to say I've never seen all the way through).  Then, we will stay put and after a short break, we'll watch The Dark Knight again in all its glory. Followed by a midnight screening of you guessed it - The Dark Knight Rises.    Now that's going to be fun. Looking terribly forward!