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

[kihei]

Thanks for the reply.

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

I haven't checked it out lately, but there used to be a restriction on choosing pricier tickets, Galas, some other screenings, that sort of thing. But I should check it out and see if rules have been revised. The flex packages usually sell out way early, like mid-July, or at least they did when I was paying attention a few years ago. So if you want to attend next year, keep that in mind just in case it is still true.

 

[Sleemans]

I haven't checked it out lately, but there used to be a restriction on choosing pricier tickets, Galas, some other screenings, that sort of thing. But I should check it out and see if rules have been revised. The flex packages usually sell out way early, like mid-July, or at least they did when I was paying attention a few years ago. So if you want to attend next year, keep that in mind just in case it is still true.

I don't know about restrictions on pricier tickets etc, TIFF members can purchase the regular flex package on June 24th, people paying with VISA July 2nd, and all others on July 9th.

They do have the Premium flex pack now (6/$373 and 12/$746), but that's crazy.

Thanks again for taking the time to reply.

 

[Paradigm]

Single tickets for me too; was really only interested in TL5Y anyhow.

The queue system on their website made it an easy experience.

 

[Paradigm]

In my confirmation e-mail, it says I need to bring my pickup voucher, printed confirmation receipt, credit card, and government-issued ID.

The last two are easy enough, but what are they looking for with the first two exactly? A printed copy of the e-mail they sent me? Is there anything else I need to bring?

I'm just under two hours away from Toronto so I really don't want to get there and be missing something.

 

[Taelin]

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?

Can you give me your opinion of it afterwards? I'm eagarly anticipating any news about the movie! Thanks.

 

[kihei]

In my confirmation e-mail, it says I need to bring my pickup voucher, printed confirmation receipt, credit card, and government-issued ID.

The last two are easy enough, but what are they looking for with the first two exactly? A printed copy of the e-mail they sent me? Is there anything else I need to bring?

I'm just under two hours away from Toronto so I really don't want to get there and be missing something.

Sorry, I don't know what they mean. Just bring everything that they ever sent you, I'd guess.

Bit later: Double checked: I actually ordered one ticket so I checked my e-mail confirmation. I have no idea what they mean by pick up voucher, but the e-mail does have a confirmation number. I'm sure that will be all you need to give them to pick up the ticket. So just make a copy of your e-mail receipt and you will be fine.

 

[BonMorrison]

I am confused about the voucher too. I'm going at lunch today and am gonna bring the e-mail as it has the # on it so hopefully it all goes well.

 

[kihei]

I am confused about the voucher too. I'm going at lunch today and am gonna bring the e-mail as it has the # on it so hopefully it all goes well.

In the past, I didn't even need my confirmation number. All that was required was proof of identification. Sounds like someone at TIFF is over-managing or just ****ed up by turning something unbelievably simple into something dumb-ass complicated.

 

[BonMorrison]

Got my tickets, all you need is that e-mail and a piece of ID.

 

[kihei]

Tokyo Tribe lifts off the Toronto Film Festival with a big, loud, raucous BANG.

 

[BonMorrison]

Tokyo Tribe lifts off the Toronto Film Festival with a big, loud, raucous BANG.

Were you at Midnight Madness too? How fun was that?

It was my first MM ever, can't say I was disappointed.

 

[kihei]

Were you at Midnight Madness too? How fun was that?

It was my first MM ever, can't say I was disappointed.

Yup. Great crowd, eh?

 

[BonMorrison]

Yup. Great crowd, eh?

Loved how rowdy the crowd was before the show with the director and cast as well as during the previews. Got a great laugh when everyone started cheering at the "Christie Projector" advertisement.

Dearest - 5.5/10

A partially true film about a family who gets their child abducted in China and their attempts to find him. Some nice ideas in this one but ultimately it was a structural mess. Scenes dragged for too long to the point of campy-awkwardness, the first hour is incredibly melodramatic with way too many sappy music cues, and the second hour (whilst better) is paced so poorly that it's hard to get emotionally invested because you're wondering when it's going to end. Big disappointment on this one.

Tokyo Tribe - 9/10

An absolute blast. Completely unique and unlike anything I've ever seen before. The music was awesome, the rapping was stellar, the story had some plot holes but the film is so much style over substance that you actually forget. This is a film where it's more about the experience and seeing it at midnight with a crowd of rowdy theatre-goers just added to it. Definitely check this one out when you get the chance.

 

[kihei]

The superbly directed Winter Sleep pretty much lived up to expectations. I arrived at Bell Lightbox to find Queen Street closed to traffic from University to Peter Street (about six blocks, right down town in the theatre district) with hundreds of people happily milling about trying to spot movie stars presumably. It wasn't exactly Barcelona's Ramblas but it was still a very festive atmosphere. The city seems to become friendlier for these two weeks of the year.

 

[kihei]

Off day today to see Metric as well as several other bands at the Rock Fest festival. Means no US Opens women's final either, but it will be good family fun. After getting out of The New Girlfriend last night, I walked a couple of blocks to the Glen Gould Studio, one of a nest of CBC facilities in the area, to pick up my partner who was attending the Richard Gere chat. Last year the Festival instigated these "conversations" with a couple of actors and directors and they proved very popular. Anyway it was a little chilly as the evening grew late so I decided to wait for her inside the building, where one of the staff kindly invited me to join the crowd. Happy with my good fortune, I sat in the back of the small-ish hall and listened to Gere answer a host of serious and playful questions. "Who is the best kisser you have ever worked with?" Gere: "I know the answer, but I'm not telling." (Good guess: Julia Roberts). He seemed a thoroughly unpretentious, extremely likable guy who gave candid answers to people's (mostly) thoughtful questions. And he is still ridiculously handsome. Before the "conversation" began, my partner said she was waiting in line talking to some one, and they noticed Gere casually walking down the street in their direction in the company of one other person. No limousine, no entourage, just strolling through the evening in Toronto like the rest of us on a summer night. He seemed like a normal person. But, of course, he's not a normal person, any more than Irrfan Khan, the great Indian actor whose conversation I attended last year, is a normal person. They possess a rare and remarkable skill that allows them convincingly and memorably to impersonate other people, and I have found it surprisingly insightful to hear them talk about their experience as actors and the choices they have made. Earlier in the day I ran into a couple of people who had attended the Denzell Washington talk earlier, and they were all aflutter with how charming and patient he was. I'm sorry now I did not get a ticket to hear Juliette Binoche. I don't go out of my way to watch stars go by, but I'm not as immune to their gravitational pull as I like to think I am. Undoubtedly, I will selectively attend more of these chats in future years. If you are attending a lot of movies, as I am, these chats make nice little palette cleansers, as well. Perhaps, I can hide a little behind that excuse.

 

[BonMorrison]

kihei, are you future me? Because I'm also gonna be at Metric.

I was at Riot Fest all day yesterday and will be today after my current TIFF movie which I'm literally in line for right now.

 

[Taelin]

Just saw the newly released clip of The Last Five Years and it hasn't disappointed yet!

Any HFers get to watch it today?

 

[BonMorrison]

Unfortunately Last Five Years was sold out when tickets went on sale. Looks like my wedding proposition to Anna Kendrick well have to be placed on hold for a little while longer.

---

X + Y - 8/10

An autistic but gifted student enters mathematical olympiad, learning more than just math along the way. Took this on a whim, knowing nothing about it, and was very very surprised. Beautifully shot film with some absolutely fantastic performances from all the leads. Some of the plot points seem tacked on and there is a fair amount of melodrama but it's not overly done and has just the right amount. The first half tends to drag but once the film gets halfway through the second act it really finds itself and launches itself to a new plateau. Definitely recommend.

TIFF '14:
Dearest - 5.5/10
Tokyo Tribe - 9/10
X + Y - 8/10

 

[Taelin]

Unfortunately Last Five Years was sold out when tickets went on sale. Looks like my wedding proposition to Anna Kendrick well have to be placed on hold for a little while longer.

I guess I'll resign myself to watching the bootleg of the 2013 off-Broadway revival again. Valentine's Day 2015 can't come soon enough!

 

[Paradigm]

[Incoming Wall o' Text]

So my first TIFF experience was fairy awesome. A little over a two hour drive to get to the area and found cheap parking on Queen Street. My wife and I walked over to the festival street and picked up our tickets a few hours early. We hung around the box office and saw a huge crowed waiting for celebrities. Eventually Shawn Levy (director of This is Where I Leave You) stopped by so that was kinda neat.

After that we stopped at Artisano for dinner; very good steak and cheese panini, and Thai soup.

The walk to Ryerson wasn't too bad; felt like 20-25 minutes. We were an hour and a half early but the line for ticket-holders was almost to the corner. They didn't start seating until about 8:15; I heard grumblings of a delay from the show prior but who knows what really happened. Anna Kendrick was taking pictures but was facing away from everyone as we were walking into the theater.

We sat way in the back so we could have center seats. It actually didn't take too long for everyone to settle in. The celebrities and their guests arrived through the exit next to the screen and took their seats (and a few selfies while standing around).

The movie itself was extremely entertaining. I'm not the biggest theater fan (but my wife is constantly in shows and choirs; this trip was mainly for her), but I really enjoyed myself. Anna and Jeremy are wonderfully talented and it didn't feel like any part of the movie dragged at all. There is a good mix of humor and serious tones, including a couple of funny deviations from the original soundtrack (as my wife told me afterward). It definitely gets my two thumbs up (sorry I can't give a more thorough analysis; it's just really not my area of expertise).

The Q&A afterward was short but fun. Richard LaGravenese, Jason Robert Brown, Jeremy Jordan, and Anna Kendrick were the (4) guests (from left to right in my attached picture). JRB was hilarious and the rest of the cast gave what seemed to be fairly typical answers but it was interesting hearing it straight from them.

Got back in Buffalo around 1:15 AM but I'm actually not too tired at work. All-in-all, I'll definitely be keeping my eye on more films at TIFF in the future.

TL;DR - TIFF was great, TL5Y was even better; go see it when it comes out!



Non-film Spoiler

[Spoil]Anna Kendrick is mine - back off [/Spoil]

 

[BonMorrison]

That's a great story! You should definitely think of attending TIFF some more if you can, it's always a fun and enjoyable time. Everyone just is nicer and more laid back and you can easily make friends when you're spending an hour in line. Plus it's just so cool to be involved in something as big as TIFF.

 

[Taelin]

Sounds like L5Y will be good then! Wonder what deviations they made from the stage musical...

JRB being funny? I guess he's past the Tony-nomination snub of "The Bridges of Madison County".

 

[Paradigm]

Sounds like L5Y will be good then! Wonder what deviations they made from the stage musical...

JRB being funny? I guess he's past the Tony-nomination snub of "The Bridges of Madison County".

I can only remember the one for sure, and it was super subtle in the grand scheme of things - nothing groundbreaking.

Don't want to ruin it for anyone, but since you're so familiar with the songs, I'm sure you'll pick it up right away.

*EDIT* I remember the other one now! It's also just a very, very minor detail

 

[BonMorrison]

Rosewater - 8/10

Jon Stewart's directorial debut is a resounding success in this film based on a true story about an Iranian journalist who is held in prison suspected of being a spy. The film itself is very slow-paced to the point of dryness especially in the first half, that said, it's a case in which it works. I was very surprised at the tone of the film, it is much lighter than you would expect and at no point try to over-exaggerate or spectacularize violence/torture. It's meticulously constructed with repetitive scenes but again, these things which would hinder other films just worked on this one. Stewart's satirical touch is in full effect towards the end of the movie and it works very well, his eye for certain shots and the structure of the film was very impressive for a first outing. It's not at all a perfect film, my mind drifted at some points but overall, I was impressed. My score may go up the more I think about it.

TIFF '14:
Dearest - 5.5/10
Tokyo Tribe - 9/10
X + Y - 8/10
Rosewater - 8/10

 

[Tricolore#20]

Saw Rosewater tonight, going to the Red Army premiere tomorrow night. Really looking forward to it. The film got decent reviews at Cannes (to a primarily non-hockey audience), and I've heard the cinematography is excellent. Hope there is some good hockey discussion after the film as well.