A funny thing happened on the way to EVERY LITTLE STEP, the doc about the revival of the 1970’s Broadway hit A Chorus Line. As the filmmakers set out to show what went into creating the musical, and detailed the casting and creation of the revival, they managed to tell the story of struggling to…
TIFF Reaction: PRIDE AND GLORY
Films selected as TIFF Galas are becoming an increasingly puzzling phenomenon. One would think that those twenty presentations at Roy Thompson Hall would be held for the cream of the festival crop. But it just isn’t so. Here’s a detail that is supposed to be on the down low, but a detail that most festival-goers…
TIFF Reaction: CHE
One of the things I love about film festivals is the cinematic experiences that are unlikely to be repeated. It could be the selection of a rare overseas title that may never make it to North American cinemas. It could be listening to a film get discussed by the cast and crew in lengthy Q&A…
TIFF Reaction: ME AND ORSON WELLES
Quite honestly – I chose this film based on the previous work of director Richard Linklater. The man responsible for DAZED & CONFUSED and WAKING LIFE has been responsible for some of the most maverick movies of our time. Then again, he was also responsible for remaking BAD NEWS BEARS and THE NEWTON BOYS. Could…
Listen Like Thieves (Thoughts on TIFF Day 8)
During the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival, some jackass caught a few minutes of the Borat movie on his cellphone and posted it online. Ever since then, the studios have gone apeshit paranoid, and the festival organizers have bent over to appease them. There are security guards in many screenings with night vision scopes looking…
TIFF Reaction – FIFTY DEAD MEN WALKING
Just before the lights dimmed, I wondered why a smaller film about the IRA struggles would choose a title so similar to a famously Oscar-nominated movie? These are the things that pass through my sleep deprived brain these days. Fifteen years ago, it felt like every month there was a new IRA film hitting screens.…
TIFF Reaction – WHAT DOESN’T KILL YOU
My ticket wallet feels a whole lot thinner, and the pile of ticket stubs on my desk is growing by the minute. Must mean we’re coming up on the end of this crazy ten days. It’s this stretch of the festival that things get a little unpredictable. In recent years, TIFF has become a very…