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Ahoy, squirts! Quint here. I hate Anton Sirius. I've never gotten to cover Toronto for this site and it's all his fault. Thank God he's damn good at his job or else I'd have to burn him in effigy, but I really do like my shrine I've made of him over the years... I printed out his previous reports and paper-mached them into what I imagine he looks like. It's not obsessive, it's just devoted.
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Hey, everyone. ”Moriarty” here.
I feel beyond bad that I didn’t get to either of these two great wrap-up pieces in the last few days, but I think it’s fitting that we close out the Toronto 2007 coverage with two of the best overall pieces about the festival. It sounds like it was a varied, vibrant line-up this year, and I’m jealous of anyone who got to go.
First up, we’ve got a great report from Art Snob, a sort of overview of his reactions to the festival and what he saw:
OK, it’s over! Here are my final ramblings from TIFF 2007. Just to be sneaky, this time I’m listing the movies in the order I saw them, so if you want to know what’s good and what isn’t, this time you’re going to have to READ! (Title scanning permitted … every film I saw is in caps somewhere.)
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Hey, everyone. ”Moriarty” here.
I love the premise for this movie.
I don’t care if it’s through an American distributor or on an import DVD or how... I have to see this movie. I have to see it soon. It sounds bizarre and wonderful and sweet and crazy, and I’ve got the itch something fierce now... I will not rest until I’ve seen DAI-NIPPONJIN as soon as possible. Check out what this spy had to say about it:
Hi there, first time reviewer here and first time Toronto Film Fest attendee. There's 349 movies at TIFF but this one was said to be the most unique and original. I knew nothing about it or director Hitoshi Matsumoto before it was announced for TIFF but the plot summary made it sound like something I had to see for myself. It really helped that Matsumoto is a huge star in Japan so there was an unusually high ratio of asian vs. "round-eye" and they love every minute of this guy. There was a lot of energy at the midnight showing, been a while since I've felt that in a theatre.
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Hey, everyone. ”Moriarty” here.
It’s getting ugly out there in terms of the debate on this film. The people who hate it act like it broke into their house and molested a loved one, like they would kill it if they could just get their hands on it. I’m not sure what Alan Ball must have done in the film to cause such rabid hatred, but it’s got me intrigued, certainly.
Let’s see what Toronto spy DanielKurland has to say about his reactions to it:
I saw my final film festival movie today, and it was Alan Ball's "Nothing is Private", which was easily the best film I saw at the festival, and in the top three movies I've seen all year.
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Hey, everyone. ”Moriarty” here.
I will consider it an event worth being excited about every single time John Sayles makes a film for the rest of his life. He’s earned that and then some with the filmography he’s already accumulated. I am going to see this the first opportunity I get. There are many films that were shown in Toronto that have me seething with jealousy.
Hi AICN,
I saw the new John Sayles film last night, Honeydripper. Didn't have a clue what the movie was about except that it seemed old-timey and had Danny Glover in it, but it was a pleasant surprise.
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Hey, everyone. ”Moriarty” here.
I am intrigued by the fury this film seems to have inspired in some viewers. Any time you deal with difficult sexual subject matter, some people are going to automatically snap, and it sounds like Alan Ball is pushing buttons overtly this time out.
But provocation is easy. Is there more to the movie than that? Well, one of our two busiest reviewers from Toronto has seen NOTHING IS PRIVATE, and he’s here to spill all of the film’s secrets. Copernicus... lay it on me:
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Hey, everyone. ”Moriarty” here.
I thought Jason Reitman’s first film, THANK YOU FOR SMOKING, was a nice adaptation of a blisteringly wicked book. Didn’t love the film, but I thought it worked okay, and it seemed like Reitman had some real promise.
Has he fulfilled that promise with this film? That certainly seems to be what the word out of Toronto is, and it also marks a real arrival for screenwriter Diablo Cody, whose script is already being talked about as a possible Academy Award contender. I’m dying to see Michael Cera do more great work this year, and this one can’t hit theaters soon enough for me:
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Hey, everyone. ”Moriarty” here.
I love it. It’s like the late ‘70s, early ‘80s all over again as some of these reports come in from the various fests right now. Hearing people talk excitedly about new films from Francis Ford Coppola or Woody Allen or Brian De Palma gives me a warm feeling as fans of their filmographies.
I’m looking forward to checking both of these films out very soon... in fact, I think I’m seeing REDACTED next week... but for now, check out these reviews:
Hello, again. I was very fortunate today to check out two fantastic films at Toronto by two incredibly influential directors: Woody Allen's "Cassandra's Dream" and Brian De Palma's "Redacted".
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Hey, everyone. ”Moriarty” here.
We’ve got a couple of reviews for this one today, but I’m glad our man in Toronto, Anton Sirius, got to see it. This film intrigues me, and I hope it’s ever bit as loony as it sounds. A Miike spaghetti western? Yes, please.
Sukiyaki Western Django (2007, directed by Takashi Miike)
(Before this Midnight Madness screening started, a short filmed intro from Miike was played that expressed his hope that, among all the English language Japanese westerns playing at the festival this year, his would be among our favorites. It also includes his email address. Now, I'm not going to post his email on the open web for every creepy-crawly spam spider to find, but if you want to pester Miike to ask him what the hell Gozu was actually about or something, email me, or send me a message on Facebook, and I'll pass it along...)
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Hey, everyone. ”Moriarty” here.
Good god, these Toronto reports are killing me. One great film after another, it sounds like. I think Corbijn has long been one of the grand masters of the music video, and his work as a still photographer is beautiful and fascinating. I’m thrilled to hear from so many people that he’s done a great job with his first narrative feature, and the news that he shot this in 2.35:1 black-and-white gives me a major cinematography chubby.
So how is it, Copernicus?
There is a stereotype that when music video directors try to break into the world of feature filmmaking they can layer on the flash and verve, but telling a story and developing solid characters gives them fits. With CONTROL Anton Corbijn not only avoids this trap, he goes as far as he can in the other direction and in the process he's created a timeless, masterful feature debut about Ian Curtis and Joy Division. Of course calling Anton Corbijn a music video director is like calling Andy Warhol a silkscreener -- he's really an artist that sometimes makes videos. Whether you know it or not, you've seen his work -- he's shot for Rolling Stone, Spin, and Vogue, and photographed a boatload of musicians, and if you've seen a photo of U2 or Depeche Mode, there is a good chance it was shot by him. He's helped to shape the image and imagery of both bands, including directing videos such iconic videos as "Personal Jesus" and the original version of "One."
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Hey, everyone. ”Moriarty” here.
Craziness. That’s what I expect from a Miike film. I’m not sure who has the distribution rights for this one in the U.S., or even if it’s already been picked up, but I hope I get a chance to lay eyes on it soon:
Hey there! Long time reader first time contributer. Just caught Takashi Miike's Sukiyaka Western Django last night at the Toronto Film Festival and went ape shit crazy. Actors from the film were there but alas no Miike. He did however send a video message praising Toronto's audience, and he gave us all his email address to let him know what we think about his new film.
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Hey, everyone. ”Moriarty” here.
Haven’t heard of this one, but if I see one more J-horror ghost in my lifetime, I will start making some goddamn ghosts of my own. Better you than me, Anton:
They Wait (2007, directed by Ernie Barbarash)
An attempt to do for J-horror demons what Ginger Snaps did for werewolves, They Wait is a muddled story about the immigrant experience in Canada and revenge from beyond the grave that manages to be far less than the sum of its parts.
Jaime King is a former journalist from Vancouver living in Shanghai with her Chinese-Canadian husband and son. When her husband's beloved uncle dies back in Canada, the family heads back for the funeral. It happens to be Hungry Ghost Month on the Chinese calendar, though, and she quickly discovers that both her and her son are sensitive to the presence of spirits and demons. When hubby has to fly back to China on business, it's up to her to unearth the skeletons (literal and figurative) in the family closet and save their son from the ghosts that have lain claim to him.
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Hey, everyone. ”Moriarty” here.
I’m intrigued by the way this one seems to be dividing audiences. I quite liked LAND OF THE DEAD myself, so I’m hoping this offers another new take on this familiar material from the man who basically owns the genre.
Let’s see what this spy thought:
Hey gang,
Long time reader, first time contributor. I just caught a screening of George Romero's "Diary of the Dead" at the TIFF yesterday and thought I'd share a few of my thoughts on the flick. I know you guys don't give a shit how long I waited in line or what I had for breakfast yesterday morning, so we'll just jump right into the review.
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Hey, everyone. ”Moriarty” here.
This one sounds interesting, and as always, I love when we get reviews of more than the big four or five titles from a fest. This is the sort of fare you go to a festival for... things you might not see otherwise.
Hi AICN,
Princess Buttercup here. I'm having a slow TIFF year but did get to a screening of Ex-Drummer yesterday. Ex-Drummer is a Flemish punk rock film; it's directed by Koen Mortier based on a novel by Herman Brusselmans. This is Koen Mortier's first feature film and I believe that Herman Brusselmans only writes in Flemish. The Q&A brought up the fact that Herman Brusselmans is very well-known in Belgium - he writes a couple of novels a year and has a reputation for being controversial, but his work hasn't been translated. This is a shame because if Ex-Drummer is anything to go by, he seems like fun reading.
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Hey, everyone. ”Moriarty” here.
I know it seems like it’s all Toronto, all the time right now on AICN, but that’s because there are so many films screening there right now, and so many of them are worth the discussion.
Dan Kurland’s reviewed a number of TV shows (particularly STUDIO 60) for us in the past. Today, this spy weighs in on one film I’m not sure I’ll ever get a chance to see, and one I’ve already seen. I’ll have my own review of the Cronenberg film up soon, but for now, check this out:
I've had the pleasure of checking out two movies at TIFF, and both were pretty satisfying. The first, Chacon Son Cinema is a film containing 33 short films by directors, made for the 60th anniversary of Cannes, about what cinema means to them. We were told that our print was the first release to actually contain David Lynch's contribution on it, and it's every bit as surreal and uncomfortable as most of Lynch's stuff is. The best segments are David Cronenberg's, Takashi Kitano's, the Coen bros., Allejandro Gonzallez Inarritu's, Lars Von Triers, and Roman Polanski (who's segment actually got a standing ovation, in the middle of the movie). What's nice about this movie is that each film is only 3 minutes, so some of the more tedious ones don't drag for too long. A lot of the directors did manage to bring something unique and reflective in their segments, however a lot of the films were just what it was like to watch a movie in their home country, and how that's different than how things are in America. This is by no means a bad thing, but watching about 10 shorts illustrating the same idea did slow this thing down a little. Overall, I thought the film was a success, and it really is fascinating to see a lot of the most important names in cinema showing you what cinema means to them.
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Hey, everyone. ”Moriarty” here.
Part of the allure of Toronto is that they have a fantastic midnight movie line-up every year, and it seems like one of this year’s highlights must be the debut of George Romero’s latest zombie film. I’m practically frantic to see NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN at this point, but at least I know that one’s going to be in theaters soon. With DIARY OF THE DEAD, I’m not sure how long I’ve got to wait, so this review is going to have to hold me over until I can lay eyes on it for myself:
Hey Fellas! Magoo here
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Hey, everyone. ”Moriarty” here.
Now that certain films are screening at festivals, I’m going to jump in and start talking about the fall movies. It’s nice to have entertainment for adults storming the multiplex again, and this is always my favorite time of year. I saw this one last week, and I’m curious to see what Copernicus makes of it, and how it does at the fest overall:
We know Tony Gilroy can write like the devil. The Bourne movies have some of the best scripts of any thrillers, spy or otherwise. But hallelujah, he can direct too. He directed MICHAEL CLAYTON from his own script about a "fixer" (George Clooney) who must reign in an old friend (Tom Wilkinson) who's gone off the reservation and threatens to undermine a billion-dollar lawsuit. Soon Clayton is torn between his buddy and his own interests, and that of his company. He's deep into a murky world where money and power eclipse all else, and if you don't toe the line you are headed for certain ruination.
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Hey, everyone. ”Moriarty” here.
I’ve only seen a few stills from this. I don’t even want to see a trailer. What I’ve seen so far gives me the heebie-jeebies, and I love it. I hope this film delivers on the word of mouth it’s been building since Cannes at the start of the summer, and I’m glad to see reviews of it show up in the inbox.
Especially from a spy with such a great, great nickname:
Greetings Mori,
Sent this to Harry but sending it your way as well. Hitting up Toronto for the Fest, and had the pleasure of seeing The Orphanage.
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Hey, everyone. ”Moriarty” here.
First, congratulations to Ang Lee for winning so many awards at the Venice Film Festival for his new film, LUST, CAUTION, which sounds like an interesting companion piece to Verhoeven’s brilliant BLACK BOOK from last year.
I hope I’ll be seeing this one in a few weeks here in LA, but for now, I’m excited to see another review for it:
Harry - I was at the screening last night for LUST, CAUTION at the Elgin Theatre here in Toronto, and caught MICHAEL CLAYTON's second screening this afternoon at Ryerson University. I'm a huge film fan - but far from a professional reviewer. I'm going to talk about seeing an actor's junk in part of the review, so that should prove it.
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Hey, everyone. ”Moriarty” here.
It sounds like Toronto is in full-swing at this point, and I wish I were there. I'm seeing a lot of the major Toronto titles here in LA right now, but that's just part of the fun of being at a festival. I'm glad we've got Copernicus up there, though... I always look forward to this time of year knowing we'll hear plenty from him and from Anton Sirius.
I'm seeing this one on Monday. Am I excited? Well, after reading this review...
Attention studio executives. I recommend asking the question "Has Tarantino Already Done This?" before greenlighting a picture. Because if the answer is "yes," stay away -- you won't be able to beat him.
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Hey, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab.
I
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Hey folks, Harry here... This year it's looking like Moriarty and I will be joining ol Anton Sirius up at THE TORONTO FILM FESTIVAL, and here's a way you could make the festival a tad more cost effective for your budget. Now, keep in mind that this
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