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…
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…
TIFF Reaction: COOPER’S CAMERA
Yesterday I wrote about not believing the hype. This afternoon, my theme could be don’t believe the trash. Of all the movies I picked to see, two of them snagged bad press before the festival started: I ended up loving them both. Then there was the flick I chose for today – COOPER’S CAMERA –…
TIFF Reaction: SYNECDOCHE, NEW YORK
First things first: it’s pronounced sin-ECK-DA-key. Now that I have that out of the way, I’ll try to talk about this amazingly odd movie from the go-to-guy for amazingly odd, Charlie Kaufman. For those of you who don’t know, Kaufman wrote such strange stories as ADAPTATION, BEING JOHN MALKOVICH, AND ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS…
TIFF Reaction: THE WRESTLER
I approached my screening of THE WRESTLER with a lot of hope and expectations. It seems as though with every week that goes by, another glowing bit of info about this movie hit the fan. expectations climbed a few rungs over the weekend when the movie won The Golden Lion which is the top prize…