Day 3: September 9

The mojo was just not with me tonight - some fairly average films, and I missed the screening of Herzog's due to some poor planning on my part, wasting an hour an a half in a futile attempt to gain access. Such is life, of course.

The rest of the day has been fairly low key, save for some massive crowds at some of the screenings. All the King's Men was a mad house, lines snaking throughout the hallways of the Varsity.

I'm not quite sure what it is, but there's a general lack of electricity and buzz so far from what I have seen, no one film that everyone's talking about. Sure, it's early, but usually by now there's something that's got people talking. With my luck it'll no doubt be the Herzog. (Apparently, it's an "OK" film...). Meanwhile, I'm rounding out the day with four films in the "C" range - hardly a stellar show for the day, better luck tomorrow one hopes...

Time
Directed by: Kim Ki-Duk

Grade: C+

A disappointing effort from my fest-fav Ki-Duk. The film centers around issues of self and self confidence, fueled by an interest in body modification through plastic surgery. The topic is certainly ripe for Ki-Duk's masterful examination of the dark parts of the human psyche, but, despite its promise, the film feels quite tame, no more than an extended Nip/Tuck rather than a companion to his other more gripping works.

There remain a number of key visual elements that illustrate his craft, and there are a few memorable elements (the door to the doctor's office for one is a very compelling piece of set design, along with the island of weird statues). Still, with the raised expectations brought from his last films it's certainly a disappointment that the film doesn't rise to the level I hoped for.

Catch a Fire
Directed by: Phillip Noyce

Grade: C+

A fairly mediocre, if well acted tale of the political conversion of an ANC guerilla fighter in South Africa. After being arrested wrongfully for an explosion at the refinery he works at, the protagonists embraces the ANC cause, and gets caught up in a cat-and-mouse game with the security officials. Tim Robbins isn't exactly spectacular, but does a fairly good job with the Afrikaners' accent. Plus, he does a few guitar numbers (once again speaking back to Bob Roberts - the key hidden influence for this year's batch of films!)

The coda reemphasizes the "true story" nature of the tale, and does a good job of at least introducing the complexities of post-Apartheid South Africa for those involved in the struggle for freedom. Yet as the credits rolled, I did hope for more.

All The King's Men
Directed by: Steve Zaillian

Grade: C+

A "shouty" film about political corruption in Louisiana, as so called "hick" Willie Stark rises to the roll of Governor despite serious political opposition. This is a potluck of political intrigue, family secrets and a noir-style whodunnit. Unfortunately, it doesn't all fit together, and the translation from its literary roots seems to have left the flick a jumble of conflicting story threads.

Sean Penn's performance is quite intense, and his orations are fairly spectacular (if a bit repetitive). Jude Law seemed a bit out of sorts, and Anthony Hopkins is wasted in a roll clearly more robust in the source material. Kate Winslet remains as radiant as ever, and her accent was a little more stable than her countrymen. Even James Gandolfini plays a roll, a bit more slapstick and buffoonishnish than his (type cast) Tony Soprano roll. I found it hardest of all to see him in the roll he played, due in no small part to a strange, snivelling performance. He's a hell of an actor, I just didn't like him in this flick (he deserves better than playing the fat guy who succumbs to a pratfall into pigshit).

In the end, the film just felt like a political speech - a bit too long, a bit heavy handed with the rhetoric. Despite some very pretty, "clever" shots (the last scene comes to mind as one very carefully constructed), the film as a whole fails to ignite the audience in quite the way it wants to.

All The Boys Love Mandy Lane
Directed by: Jonathan Levine

Grade: C

A silly, generic teen slasher/stalker move with a twist!

It should be noted that the film doesn't necessarily require the commitment to stay to the end to get any joy out of it that you're going to get, but there is a cute, if nonsensical and completely unmotivated hiccup to the proceedings that at least made the last chunk of the film partly surprising.

Plenty of young flesh abounds, although I had a hard time visualizing the cast as 17 years olds (I'm getting old it seems, as they're actually all about 20). There were more than a few annoying lens flares, but otherwise the film looked pretty decent for a low budget indie. Young boob abounds for those looking for Porky's-style titillation, and there are couple effective gruesome bits, but otherwise it's just not worth sinking your teeth into. Mind you, with all the silliness, it did manage to keep me awake, so kudos for that!