How's this for freaky hair?

Spotted at Subway. I had to sneak a photo!

Boue's Big Day

Boue's Big Day
Originally uploaded by BILLBINNS

This is what Vincent does all day! Thanks to Al for sending this my way!

Hey look, an update!

Well not really, just a quick message to say that content is forthcoming, I promise! I leave you with this:



Thanks to Greg for this classic ad!

Director and Star of 'Sexykiller'

Director Nicholas Fackler of 'Lovely, Still'

Finally posting the last day of TIFF...

Saturday the 13th was the last day of TIFF, I'm only 6 days late. Better late then never.

First movie was a wonderful film called Lovely, Still. A sweet, surprising romance between senior citizens played by the amazing Martin Landau and Ellen Burstyn.

Robert Malone (Martin Landau) is a lonely old man. He lives by himself in a house that he has occupied for 48 years, a house with minimal furniture and no pictures on the walls. The only gift under his Christmas tree is one he wrapped himself, addressed to himself. Across the street, a widow named Mary (Ellen Burstyn) and her daughter Alex (Elizabeth Banks) have just moved in. Mary, seemingly smitten upon first laying eyes on the old man, invites Robert to dinner. Soon the two are dating, with Mary taking charge and Robert awestruck by her attention. He cannot believe that love has finally found him, so late in life. For the first time, he will have someone to spend Christmas with.

That alone would have been enough as the two actors are delightful to watch, but there is more to the film then that, a twist that I won't even hint at as I don't want to give anything away. Not much else to add except to say that we loved the film, it's well crafted and extremely well acted and I really hope it gets a distributor and a release as it deserves to be seen by a wide audience.

Next film was the Spanish Sexykiller and it couldn't have been more different then Lovely, Still. The movie is about, well, a sexy killer. It's a funny, action-packed, gory horror-comedy and it's a blast to watch!

Barbara is a medical student in an exclusive Spanish university. She is young, beautiful and attractive, surrounded by the best and brightest that her country has to offer. Barbara adores fashion, compulsively consumes Cosmo, and is a man-eater par excellence. She is, in essence, the culmination of the American dream: beautiful, sexy and with nowhere to go but up. But Barbara also has a dark side. When not in classes or out shopping she is a brutally violent serial killer carving her way through the university population, students and faculty alike. The police are at a loss. Assuming that the killer must be a man they have no chance of ever catching Barbara, no chance at all until a pair of students in school on research grants develop a brain wave analyzer with the ability to project the last images to be imprinted upon the brain ...

It was lots of fun and we, along with audience, greatly enjoyed ourselves. Lots of laughs, clapping and cheering. This one should do very well with the Cult film crowd.



We had a third film but we decided to pass and head home. It was an awesome week but we were glad it was over. Until next year!

A few more photos coming up and then that's it for TIFF.

Director Pascal Laugier of 'Martyrs'

Director Danny Boyle of 'Slumdog Millionaire'

As you can see, we had to sit pretty far away.

Director Alexis Alexiou of 'Tale 52'

I Still Need to Finish Blogging About TIFF...

When TIFF ended I just wanted to rest and not even think about it for a while but there's still a few movies left, so I may as well finish it off.

After the excellent Martyrs on Friday it was off to Pride and Glory, starring Colin Farrell and Edward Norton. I already posted about "the ordeal" it was getting there so I won't go over that again. The movie was better then I expected, it's very gritty and realistic. The Hollywood Reporter nailed it:

That sturdy Hollywood institution known as the corrupt cop picture has been stripped right down to the studs -- both technically and emotionally -- with "Pride and Glory," a gritty, bare-knuckled take on a clan of New York's finest who have definitely seen finer days.

Directed by Gavin O'Connor ("Miracle") from a script he co-wrote with Joe Carnahan ("Narc"), the stark drama harkens back to Sidney Lumet classics like "Serpico" and "Prince of the City"-filmmaking that went after an unadorned, jagged realism, with acting to match.

Not much to add to that really. After this movie we headed to The Victory Café for a few pints, Mel's for some yummy Smoked-Meat Poutine and finally, The Beguiling for some shopping. Then home to relax and get a decent night's sleep.

Winner!

As I called it earlier this week, Danny Boyle's 'Slumdog Millionaire' won the People's Choice award!

Director Kathryn Bigelow with the writer and lead actor from 'The Hurt Locker'.

The Ordeal

2nd movie yesterday was 'Pride and Glory' but before I get to that I need to talk about the ordeal it was getting there. After 'Martyrs' I put my ticket for the next film in my pocket and we headed to the location of the next film. 10 minutes into the walk I decide to check for my ticket and notice it's gone. I looked everywhere to no avail. So we retraced our steps, looking everywhere in the hopes it will still be on the ground. As we're walking I see up ahead a ticket on the ground! Wow, what are the odds? I pick it up, it's a TIFF ticket and...Its for a different film! WTF! What are the odds of that? Very small I would imagine. So we keep walking and looking until we reach the movie theatre we'd left. I go in and check the lost and found, no luck. I ask to be escorted to the room we were in and again, no luck. Then I go to the box office and see if there's anything they can do and there isn't. I'm ready to leave when a woman asks me if I want to buy a ticket from her as she isn't going. I don't really want to pay for a ticket so I hesitate and she says 'just 10.00'. I check my wallet and all I have is 8.00, she agres to it so I buy it. Now after all that we have very little time to get to our next film so we grab a cab and get there just as the line is entering. We manage, somehow, to get decent seats. By this point I'm exhausted and soaked and finally I can relax. Phew, the end.

Next, what I thought of the film.

Once again a day late...

Good thing this is the last day of TIFF as I can no longer keep up -- so much running around and less desire to type in line. On to yesterday's two films.

First movie was 'Martyrs', a France/Quebec co-production and it's one that's difficult to write about. It starts off as a Horror film in the 'Haute Tension' and 'Calvert' tradition, movies part of the new French Horror revolution, but along the way it becomes so much more then that. I don't want to give anything away as there are several surprises and plot twists along the way which I guarantee you won't see coming, and eventually the film becomes something else entirely, something that owes more to a film like 2001 then a Horror film. But as much as I loved it and thought it was a work of art and something that makes you feel and think and bring on many discussions about it, there aren't many people I can recommend it to. It is brutal, unflinching, hard to watch and will probably really upset you. People at both screenings threw up and one guy during the Q and A told the Director he hated it and that he was a sick fuck for making it. I personally am glad I saw it, I haven't stopped thinking about it and I'm glad I got to experience it. I will be watching with great curiousity the reviews as it's guaranteed to create controversy.

Next movie later.

Day 7

Today we got to sleep in a bit as we only have 2 films today and the first one starts at 11:45. I am thankful for that.
Where did I leave off yesterday? Right, the second film which was, fuck how do you spell it? Something like 'Synechdeche'...let me check...it's 'Synecdoche, New York', I was pretty close. Anyways, it's the new Charlie Kaufman film and it's his directorial debut. I didn't much care for it. I think directing it himself was a mistake as it was an over-indulgent mess. I liked the first hour but it lost me in the second half -- it went on way too long and it went up it's own ass. The premise is cool but it needed a Director to reign it in and make it coherent. It's too bad cause there are some funny parts and Philip Seymour Hoffman was great.

Next up was 'Gigantic' starring Paul Dano and Zooey Deschanel. A small film by a first time director that we almost loved. I say almost loved because we loved everything about the film except for one really out of place recurring thing that made no sense and was totally out place amongst the rest of the movie. It's too bad cause if you take those scenes out it's a great film. Despite that I still recommend it.

Notes on Day Three's Movies

Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist

Paul:
JP:

• Well, Michael Cera is on a roll: Juno, Superbad and now this, another great movie! Realistic and interesting characters, funny and witty dialogue, a great soundtrack and great performances by all.
• A funny, somewhat unique take on the ‘teenage movie’. The structure is standard but it’s the characters that make it different — they feel real and not your Hollywood cliche’ed teenager.
• Kat Dennings is great and one to look out for. Michael Cera is fantastic as usual and Ari Graynor as the drunk comic relief was just right too.
• All the locations were real and they looked it. The bands playing and the crowds in the clubs were all authentic and true to the New York night scene.
• Recommended!
  

Wendy and Lucy

Paul:
JP:

• Pretty dull, not much plot at all and very little happens that is interesting. It’s as if they made a movie for the sake of making a movie. You really should have a good story and script first.
• Michelle Williams does a good job with what she has to work with but except for a couple of scenes, she really doesn’t have much to do.
• If it wasn’t for the dog, I don’t think we would have made it through the entire film.
• We liked the character of the security guard and thought he was under-utilized.
• Many scenes looked as though they were going to move the plot forward and ultimately went nowhere.
• We also felt it wasn’t very well shot / directed.
  

Is There Anybody There?

Paul:
JP:

• Michael Caine! What more do you need?
• 3 for 3 for John Crowley (Intermission, Boy A, Is There Anybody There?). Another winner!
• A funny, interesting and moving film with an awesome performance by Caine and newcomer Bill Milner (Son of Rambow)… it’s always impressive when a child actor is really good and he was!

Director Rod Lurie of 'Nothing but the Truth'

Staying up past midnight and drinking several beers makes getting up at 6:30am difficult. It wasn't brutal but not very easy either.
First movie today was called '50 Dead Men Walking'. It's based on a true story of an Irishman who was in the IRA and was feeding information to the British to save lives. It starred Jim Sturgess and Ben Kingsley. It was very good (and interestingly it mentions Bobby Sands who was the main character in 'The Hunger' that we saw earlier this week) and I recommend it. Not much to add really.

Still way behind!

Trying to catch up and here so I will try and condense a few posts into one. So yesterday was Day 6, I think, it's getting hard to keep track of what day it is and where you are going. So much running around and yesterday was so hectic I didn't even have time to post except for that one posting the morning.

First movie of the day was Kathryn Bigelow's 'The Hurt Locker'. It's about the U.S. military bomb squad while in Iraq. It was very good, even better then I expected. With some intense and exciting action scenes, great direction and a great cast, I have nothing to complain about this one. Shot digitally and financed by her self I hope a studio picks it up and that it does well.

Second film was 'Tale 52', a Greek Lynchian mindfuck of a film kind of about a man going psychotic after the disappearance of his girlfriend. Sort of. It was too slow and long and would improve greatly with some editing, I'd take out a good 10 to 15 minutes. I dosed off for a few minutes during this one. It also boasts possibly the most walk-outs I've seen at a TIFF film yet. So, not recommended.

Next film was much anticipated by me, it's the new Danny Boyle film, one of my favourite directors, and it's called 'Slumdog Millionaire'. It's about an Indian boy who winds up on India's Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and we see his life and how he got there. It's funny, exciting, moving, interesting and with a great soundtrack and more -- I loved it! The sold-out crowd absolutely loved it and I wouldn't be surprised if it wins the People's Choice award. It also has the potential to be a hit along the lines of 'Bend it Like Beckham'. Highly recommended and I can't wait to see it again!

On the way out we walked by Amanda Peet and headed home.

Phew. Now I can start posting about today.

A Day Behind

Getting too far behind!
Last movie yesterday was Rod Lurie's 'Nothing But The Truth' and it was pretty good, this despite us having the worst audience we've ever had at TIFF -- a whole row of shit-eaters behind us who wouldn't shut the fuck up and a crazy woman next to me who kept exclaiming 'Oh no!' and 'Aaaah' and 'Oh, it's her', etc. I wanted to punch her in the neck.
Like I said, even deapite those fuckers we still enjoyed it, its worth seeing.
Even better was the Q and A with Rod Lurie afterwards, that guy is crazy enthusiastic, funny, informative and a blast!

Director Darren Aranofsky and the producer of 'The Wrestler'

2nd movie today was the top winner at the Venice Film Festival, Darren Aranofsky's 'The Wrestler'. I was really looking forward to it as Aranofsky is one of my favourite directors and it did not disappoint. It was a much smaller, intimate film then I expected but that's not a bad thing. Mickey Rourke was phenomenal, this performance will remind everyone just how good he is and I can see an Oscar Nomination for him for this film. It didn't blow me away like I thought it would, not sure why, but it was still a great film and I look forward to seeing it again.

TIFF - Day 5

Today was a bit rough getting out as we were out drinking last night for a friend's birthday. Luckily we started with something light and funny: 'Management'. A pretty good Romantic Comedy starring Steve Zahn and Jennifer Aniston. It's different cause the lead is Zahn and not Aniston and it's well written. Not something I'd tell you to run out and see but it's worth seeing.

Directors and One Actor from 'Deadgirl'

Addendum to Day 4

Last movie of the day yesterday was Deadgirl. We both liked it but there are very few people we know that we could actually recommend it to. It's quite sick, like really, really sick. So if you like that kind of thing go see Deadgirl but don't say we didn't warn you.

Director Larry Charles of 'Religulous'

2nd movie was Religulous and it was everything I hoped: Really funny, informative and asked all the right questions. I can't wait to watch it again.

TIFF: Day 4

Wow, what a way to start the day this morning, with 'Hunger', the story of Bobby Sands, a 'soldier' in the IRA who went on a hunger strike in prison -- quite the intense way to start the day! A fantastic film with a tour-de-force 15(ish) minute, one-take, dialogue scene between the lead character and priest, it blew me away. Like I said though, it was quite intense, in fact, a woman in the row ahead of us passed-out towards the end and another woman on the way out was being looked after.

This movie won the Camera D'Or at Cannes and I wouldn't be surprised if it wins something here too.
Up next: Religulous!

Addendum to day 3 of TIFF

Highlight of yesterday was Michael Caine. He and John Crowley did a Q and A after Is There Anybody There? and he was so funny, charming and entertaining -- He's a class act!

Notes on Day Two's Movies

Appaloosa

Paul:
JP:

• We loved it. It was exactly what a Western should be, great dialogue, funny (We laughed out loud several times), well shot (Sets and backgrounds were very well done — there’s always something happening in backgrounds, through windows, etc.), good shoot-outs and never boring.
• Mortensen and Harris were, as usual, fantastic, and had a great rapport. Jeremy Irons was also great.
• We're never fans of Renee “Squinty” Zellweger but she fit the role well.
• JP felt it might have been a tad long.
  

Detroit Metal City

Paul:
JP:

• Way too cartoony, over-the-top and stupid. Might be a cultural thing, but this movie just wasn’t for us.
• Music was well made, though it’s odd that something that was apparently made so kids could watch it (according to the director during the q&a) would be filled with songs about raping and killing. Again, this must be a cultural thing.
• Unfortunately, the lead character was very punchable. It’s hard to root for the guy if you’d like to see him get pummeled.
• Gene Simmons was… whatever — could take him or leave him.
  

Vinyan

Paul:
JP:

• Insane sound-mix… There are moments when the ‘noise’ makes your ears bleed. Maybe it was the theater, but many people were covering their ears at the start, and especially at one moment near the end.
• Slowly paced, but not boring. Might have dragged slightly midway through.
• Well acted by Beart and Sewell.
• If the plot summary had not mentioned the Tsunami or ghosts, we wouldn’t have known about it. The beginning and end are both very vague. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it does question whether this was intentional or not.
• It was well shot. Camera work gets more elaborate (using handheld, wires, etc.) as the film progresses.
• JP liked it more than Paul, who thought it was a little too artsy-fartsy for it’s own good. He felt it would have made a better short film as there wasn’t enough there for a feature-lenght film.