Movies: Toronto International Film Festival (and any other Film Fest for that matter)

[BonMorrison]

REAL was amazingly terrible. Still having trouble wrapping my head around how such an interesting story could be wasted like that.

 

[kihei]

REAL was amazingly terrible. Still having trouble wrapping my head around how such an interesting story could be wasted like that.

"Amazingly" is the right word. And dreary as hell. Worst movie that I've seen at TIFF this year by a wide, wide margin. One day to go...feel like I will have to depressurize or something after this is over.

 

[BonMorrison]

"Amazingly" is the right word. And dreary as hell. Worst movie that I've seen at TIFF this year by a wide, wide margin. One day to go...feel like I will have to depressurize or something after this is over.

That third act with the monster - no words...

On the opposite end of the foreign film spectrum, Cold Eyes was amazing. One of the best Korean cop films I've seen in a very long time. Beautifully shot, wonderfully executed.

I saw three movies today.

All is By My Side - the movie based on the starting of Jimi Hendrix starring Andre 3000 was pretty poor. No real story, awkwardly paced, and the lack of any Hendrix songs really, REALLY hurt the film

Labor Day, Jason Reitman's new movie, was spectacular. I was bawling my eyes out for half of it. Very, very good.

Blood Ties was bad. Very bad. Poor editing, poor script, poor pacing. A supreme waste of the great talent in that film.

Got Under the Skin tomorrow which is my last movie which I hear is a love/hate film. People are comparing it to Tree of Life in terms of abstract-ness. Will be interesting for sure.

 

[Elvis P]

My friend and I used to always marvel over "what could have been" with the legends spun from Jodorowsky helming the Dune movie...Jodorowsky, Pink Floyd, Giger, Jagger...could have been the cult film to end them all. ...

I was one of the few reading stuff like Dune and LoTR before Star Wars and Dune was considered one of the best sci-fi trilogies of all time back then. Giger was the designer for Alien and I think this would have been great. The sad thing is how terrible the Dune film with Sting turned out. Really bad. I'm surprised Hollywood hasn't taken a big budget crack at it (that I know of), because I think it could be a big money maker.

 

[BonMorrison]

Under the Skin was brilliant. It's a love/hate film, it's incredibly abstract and very, VERY Kubrick-esque.

 

[kihei]

The People's Choice Winner was 12 Years of Slavery, which is the early favourite to take the Oscar. If I had a vote, I would have split it between Like Father, Like Son and Gravity.

23 movies, one collection of short subjects, and one "conversation" later, I would have to say it was a great festival. The only time of the year when strangers talk to one another, too.

 

[hototogisu]

All is By My Side - the movie based on the starting of Jimi Hendrix starring Andre 3000 was pretty poor. No real story, awkwardly paced, and the lack of any Hendrix songs really, REALLY hurt the film

Oof, didn't know that about the film. I was under the impression it had the blessing of the Hendrix estate, or whatever.

 

[GIN ANTONIC]

Anyone check out any of the short films? My friend wrote the music for The Anatomy of Assistance directed by Cory Bowles of Trailer Park Boys fame. I played horns on the soundtrack. Only saw bits and pieces of the short but it looked pretty good.

Here's the trailer if anyone's interested. You can hear me wailing on saxophone at the end of the trailer. Haha

 

[BonMorrison]

EDIT: Love the sax!

Didn't see any shorts but I watched this online:



Everyone should watch this when they get 17 minutes of free time. It's really good. It takes place entirely on a teenager's computer screen.

 

[kihei]

Anyone check out any of the short films? My friend wrote the music for The Anatomy of Assistance directed by Cory Bowles of Trailer Park Boys fame. I played horns on the soundtrack. Only saw bits and pieces of the short but it looked pretty good.

I saw one grouping of experimental films, with a three-part Kenneth Anger short on dirigibles. Nothing special, and the rest of the package was more annoying than interesting. Nice wailing on that sax, by the way.

 

[BonMorrison]

TIFF actually made the queue easy this year. Got in smoothly - unfortunately alot of the films I wanted to see were already sold out BUT I did get Rosewater.

Dearest
Tokyo Tribe
X & Y
Rosewater
Revenge of the Green Dragons
The Drop
The Sound and the Fury
Haemoo

 

[5280]

I used to live in Telluride, CO. They have a pretty cool film fest which goes on this weekend. I don't really have any stories about it though.

 

[kihei]

TIFF actually made the queue easy this year. Got in smoothly - unfortunately alot of the films I wanted to see were already sold out BUT I did get Rosewater.

Dearest
Tokyo Tribe
X & Y
Rosewater
Revenge of the Green Dragons
The Drop
The Sound and the Fury
Haemoo

Man, you are fast. I got in line at 1:30 AM, so you must have been ahead of me (or did you queue by phone?). Anyway, it was a great fishing day for me, too, as I got 19 out of my 20 films (everything but Nightcrawler which lost out in a scheduling war to films I wanted to see more). The results:

Winter Sleep
Rosewater
Force Majeure
Maidan
The New Girlfriend
Leviathan
Goodbye to Language
Mommy
Jauja
Wild Tales
Two Days, One Night
Tokyo Tribe
Red Army
Haemoo
Timbuktu
Horse Money
Girlhood
Aire Libre
The Face of an Angel

Only one three-a-day that I couldn't avoid, but I'm not complaining, especially as Winter Light and Force Majeure had supposedly gone "off sale" before a few more tickets turned up. Early birds catch worms, I guess.

Edit: Just added over the easy-to-use phone service The Connection (a French take on The French Connection with Jean Dujardin)

 

[discostu]

99 Homes is playing at TIFF, which has piqued my interest. Despite being relatively nearby, I just don't have the time to go this year. It looks at the issues associated with the housing crash in Florida. It got strong reviews in the Venice festival apparently.

 

[BonMorrison]

Man, you are fast. I got in line at 1:30 AM, so you must have been ahead of me (or did you queue by phone?). Anyway, it was a great fishing day for me, too, as I got 19 out of my 20 films (everything but Nightcrawler which lost out in a scheduling war to films I wanted to see more). The results:

Winter Sleep
Rosewater
Force Majeure
Maidan
The New Girlfriend
Leviathan
Goodbye to Language
Mommy
Jauja
Wild Tales
Two Days, One Night
Tokyo Tribe
Red Army
Haemoo
Timbuktu
Horse Money
Girlhood
Aire Libre
The Face of an Angel

Only one three-a-day that I couldn't avoid, but I'm not complaining, especially as Winter Light and Force Majeure had supposedly gone "off sale" before a few more tickets turned up. Early birds catch worms, I guess.

Edit: Just added over the easy-to-use phone service The Connection (a French take on The French Connection with Jean Dujardin)

Did it online.

Awesome list though. Maybe I'll see you at Tokyo Tribe or Rosewater.

 

[nameless1]

Man, I will miss VIFF this year. I really wanted to check out Winter's Sleep. Oh well.

 

[Taelin]

Anyone that went to TIFF see The Last Five Years? Big fan of the stage musical so I was wondering if the film did it justice.

 

[Paradigm]

Anyone that went to TIFF see The Last Five Years? Big fan of the stage musical so I was wondering if the film did it justice.

The Last Five Years is showing next Sunday and Monday. My wife is also a huge fan of the show so I surprised her with tickets.

Never been to TIFF before - do the celebrities only show up to the opening night red carpet event?

 

[kihei]

Never been to TIFF before - do the celebrities only show up to the opening night red carpet event?

Yes, opening night, but it doesn't have to be a Gala or red carpet event. As a rule, the director and key cast members are invited to introduce most films at their initial screening and then participate in a brief Q&A with the audience afterward.

 

[BonMorrison]

Anyone that went to TIFF see The Last Five Years? Big fan of the stage musical so I was wondering if the film did it justice.

I was very excited to get tickets but it was sold out by the time I got in.

Shocked I got Rosewater but not that movie.

 

[kihei]

I was very excited to get tickets but it was sold out by the time I got in.

Shocked I got Rosewater but not that movie.

According to my salesperson, a small block of tickets, about a dozen, got turned back in, which is why we got lucky. Same sort of thing must have happened with Winter Sleep and Force Majeure as mulitiple TIFF volunteers had said that both films were sold out before 9:00AM when doors opened.

For anyone thinking of attending, this link contains the necessary information, plus what movies are sold out:

http://singleticketday.tiff.net/

--just click on the green box

Another tip: call the TIFF box office at 9:00 AM each morning to see if tickets have been returned. Even with the "sold out" films, it is sometimes possible to nab a ticket this way; in fact, it happens a surprising amount of the time.

 

[Elvis P]

Drama of mother starving baby grips Venice fest

A film portraying New York City mother who starves her baby because she thinks he is saint-like and food contains impurities has caused a stir at the Venice Film Festival for its switch from light romance to painful psychosis. "Hungry Hearts", by Italian director Saverio Costanzo, is one of two Italian films shown so far this week that are among 20 films competing for the top Golden Lion award at the world's oldest film festival. It stars Adam Driver, who will be in the next "Star Wars" series, and Italian actress Alba Rohrwacher as his wife.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014...40901?feedType=RSS&feedName=entertainmentNews

 

[Sleemans]

I've never been to TIFF, but am thinking of going next year. I've kept an eye on release dates etc. for this year to see what package might be best.

I was considering getting either a back half or daytime package. It looks like a lot of films are already sold out, and you can't even picks your films for those two packages until tomorrow.

I might have to look at getting a regular flex package where you can pick between Aug. 26-29, even though the price per film is much higher. I'm sure that as a non-member my window would probably be on the 29th.

I was wondering how some of you purchased your tickets for this year ... regular flex or single tickets.

Thanks

 

[kihei]

I've never been to TIFF, but am thinking of going next year. I've kept an eye on release dates etc. for this year to see what package might be best.

I was considering getting either a back half or daytime package. It looks like a lot of films are already sold out, and you can't even picks your films for those two packages until tomorrow.

I might have to look at getting a regular flex package where you can pick between Aug. 26-29, even though the price per film is much higher. I'm sure that as a non-member my window would probably be on the 29th.

I was wondering how some of you purchased your tickets for this year ... regular flex or single tickets.

Thanks

Single tickets for me.

 

[Sleemans]

Single tickets for me.

Thanks for the reply.

Since you're going to 20, did you not consider regular flex?