« Hot Button Review - Rachel Getting Married | Main | TIFF - A Theme Rises »
September 05, 2008
TIFF - Grazing
Grazing movies is somewhat antithetical to writing about films. No matter how we feel about films, each is a work of artistic intent and demands more than a cursory glance..: and that's really what a 30 minute peek is... it's like looking at one-third of a painting and analyzing it based on that.
Of course, you can often guess from a third what you will feel about the whole, whatever the medium. But drama (in all its forms) has more of a built-in tendency to curve unexpectedly.
There is a distinct difference between a fest, like this year's, where there are so many unknowns and one where you have a parade of "musts.". So I spent more time grazing on Day One than I would have liked... which means that some of the "let's take a look" films just weren't quickly sticky.
Very sticky were All Around Us, 35 Rhums (good, but not exceptional Denis), and Everlasting Moments, which as a dark and tough tale of a woman commited (to marriage), made a good bookend for the day.
Posted by dpoland at September 5, 2008 06:28 AM
Comments
Are you able to offer any opinion?
Would a simple yea or nay (or MCN's Red/Yellow/Green light system) be acceptable for the following films, all of which I'm sure you'll see (when you see them):
Che, Me and Orson Wells, Infinite Playlist, RocknRolla, The Hurt Locker, The Wrestler.
Posted by: EthanG
at September 5, 2008 09:00 AM
I won't be seeing the Desplechin until Tuesday morning (it's definitely on my "Don't-Leave-Canda-Without-Seeing" list), but Friday turned out to be a pretty blase day for me here in the Great White North.
Had to miss "Waltz With Bashir" or risk getting shut out of "Nick and Norah" which turned out to be another of my more regrettable TIFF mistakes so far.
While I was pleasantly surprised by my last-minute "Bashir" substitute (the Coens' "Burn After Reading:" a minor work in a masterful key), "N&N" wa something of a bust. I really loved Sollett's "Raising Victor Vargas"--it made my 2003 10-best list--but the plethora of tonally inappropriate gross-out humor locked me out of the movie halfway through, and there was no going back.
I previously opined on the Demme in an earlier post (liked the performances by Hathaway, DeWitt and Winger: the film itself, not so much), and closed the day out with Bret Hamer's pleasant, if pretty much instantly forgettable "O'Horten." Probably should have waited an hour to see "Hunger" instead--but there's always the second p/i screening on Thursday afternoon.
Hopefully tomorrow will be brighter. The "Slumdog" buzz is positively deafening, and Winterbottom never disappoints.
Not as confident about a few of my other picks (particularly "The Duchess" and the completely buzz-free "Middle of Nowhere" with Susan Sarandon), though.
Btw: If you're reading this, Dave, I'm the guy who stopped you on Bay Street late this morning and said, "David Poland: MCN!"
Posted by: movieman
at September 5, 2008 06:16 PM
By the way people are talking, I'd think that TIFF only screened movies that will be receiving a theatrical release in the next few months.
Movieman, I actually really really loved O'Horten. I saw it by chance at the Melbourn Film Fest after the projector in another cinema, where I was to see Night Train, blew up and we were allowed to enter O'Horten. Reminded me of The Man Without a Past with it's Scandinavian humour and it's lovely touches on how people cope once they're no longer needed.
Posted by: KamikazeCamelV2.0
at September 6, 2008 08:24 AM
Kam- That does seem to be the trend at TIFF this year. Most of the "big" studio releases (the Coens, "The Duchess," "Nick and Norah," Spike Lee, "Appaloosa") are opening within a matter of weeks.
Btw, I was wowed today by Winterbottom's "Genova" and Jia Zhang-ke's "24 City;" pleasantly surprised by "Duchess" which is a perfectly respectable, old-fashioned costume epic with a terrific Keira Knightley performance; and very much liked (but not sure whether I loved) "Slumdog Millionaire."
After a first viewing, I think I might actually prefer Boyle's underrated "Millions." And all of the "Little Miss Sunshine" talk is just that: talk. F-S might have another "Under the Same Moon"/"The Namesake" here.
Anything more than that would be, quite frankly, shocking.
Posted by: movieman
at September 6, 2008 04:53 PM
...just got in from John Stockwell's "Middle of Nowhere." It doesn't really work (the script is a mess with about a dozen too many story threads for any 95 minute movie to keep track of), but I was really impressed by the performance of Willa Holland who's also terrific in Winterbottom's "Genova" which I saw earlier today.
All things considered, this was my most satisfying day at TIFF so far this year. And it was a very good day for 17-year-old Holland.
I'm expecting to hear a lot more from her in the future.
Posted by: movieman
at September 6, 2008 08:49 PM
JOHN STOCKWELL OWNS YOUR ASS.
YES.
AWESOME ACTOR-TURNED-DIRECTOR with now a strong track record of CINEMATIC OWNAGE.
Thanks for the heads-up, movieman. Stockwell is TOTAL OWNAGE. AM I GOING TO BE OWNED BY THIS?
DUCHESS probably isn't going to OWN much of anything but Keira is THE HOTNESS. Now someone get her back into 21st century garb. Can a man get at least an ANKLE or something these days? Why is one of the world's sexiest women perennially stuck dressed up like a cross between Queen Christina and Claudia Cardinale in Once Upon a Time in the West.
SHOW SOME SKIN HOTNESS.
Posted by: LexG
at September 7, 2008 02:33 AM
Stockwell directed Turistas, one of the most boring horror movies of the last decade.
Shut up, Lex.
Posted by: jeffmcm
at September 7, 2008 03:04 AM
Nah, I don't think "Middle of Nowhere" qualifies as even remotely own-able, Lex. It's pretty middling fare all around. But Holland (and Evan Amurri who costars with mom Susan Sarandon) are both very good.
Interesting you should mention the lameass "Turistats," JeffM, since the TIFF program guide conveniently left it off Stockwell's resume...although they did mention the almost-as-bad "Into the Blue." (I do like Stockwell's "crazy beautiful," and think "Blue Crush"is one of the decade's most irresistible guilty pleasures.)
I loved Knightley in "The Duchess," but I tend to agree with Lex. She really needs to do another contempo role unless she wants to be typecast as the 21st century Helena Bonham Carter.
Posted by: movieman
at September 7, 2008 04:33 AM
...that's "Eva Amurri" and "Turistas."
Working on 4 1/2 hours of sleep here, gang; sorry.
Posted by: movieman
at September 7, 2008 04:35 AM
Post a comment
Thanks for signing in, . Now you can comment. (sign out)
(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)