Martyrs
The pre-film buzz was audible, this was the first film in French cinema history given the equivalent of an X-rating due to violent imagery instead of sexual content. At the MM screening someone had to leave to vomit. There were stories that at the other screenings some may have passed out. What kind of monstrous […]
Sounds Like Teen Spirit: A Popumentary
In this tremendous, joyous look at the Teen Eurovision contest, we follow a number of young individuals as they represent their countries in the music competition. American Idol this ain’t, as each child feels the weight of their country on their shoulders. Some rise to the occasion, others falter, and the usual foibles ensue. I […]
The Ghost
This is one of those “twist” movies, as a novelist hires a hitman to do some research for his books, only to find himself embroiled in the assassin’s own plans for revenge. It’s stylish and an interesting genre flick from Russia, but this type of plot has been mined far too often in American cinema […]
7915KM
Oh what a wasted opportunity. The idea is great, follow the Dakar rally as it traverses 7915km of the desert. We get a tremendously exciting opening sequence, seeing the cars bounce along the tracks, exotic locales sweeping by, and an opportunity to view this race from the inside. Instead, the director focuses on the aftermath […]
Every Little Step
An impeccable documentary, truly engaging and, in many ways, it supersedes its subject matter convincingly. The original Chorus Line was a documentary of sorts itself, drawn from recording that the original creators made of struggling New York actors as they attended audition after audition. Their own life stories energized the original production, with each part […]
Acné
Charming and unique coming-of-age movie about young sexuality in Uruguay. Rafa, 13, has lost his virginity already at the local brothel, but spends the film trying to get his first kiss. The subject of young sexuality is treated with great dexterity, never feeling forced or diluted, but neither is it exploited. The sense of awkwardness […]
Religulous
Bill Maher and Larry Charles take on organized religion, with a worldwide tour confronting those that cling to faith with a certitude that Bill finds more than suspect. Meeting with Jesus at a Bible-themed theme park, he quizzes him about the role of God in suffering. Talking with truckers in a trailer church, he asks […]
Zack and Miri Make a Porno
Kevin Smith takes on porn, what’s not to like? Sure, there’s many an obvious joke, and there’s plenty of gross out humour (involving anal leakage, no less), but at its heart this is as close as he’s gotten since to the underlying sweetness of Chasing Amy. The chemistry between Rogan and Banks is quite natural, […]
Who Do You Love?
A missed opportunity to tell the Chess record story, even the musical re-performances suffer from a sense of blandness. There’s much to mine here in the story of the brothers Chess, with their relationship with artists and business and their musical drive laying the foundation for almost all electric blues. However, this overly conventional bio-pic […]
Pride and Glory
A terrible, rambling, derivative cop show, with two brothers forced to confront corruption in the police force. With their police chief/daddy Jon Voight in charge of the force, we’re left with enough procedural drivel to make it boring, yet the most ridiculous, over-the-top police procedural that’s downright embarrassing in light of The Wire. Frankly, you […]
The Other Man
Liam Neeson flies to a foreign land to track down the lover of his wife, Antonio Banderas. The two meet over a chess board, and the film attempts to create tension through this back-and-forth competition between the two. This is a trite and boring love story, attempting complexity but instead coming off as ridiculous. The […]
The Wrestler
As The Wrestler, Mickey Rourke puts in his finest performance in his long and (at times) illustrious career. What’s perhaps more remarkable is that Aronofsky has crafted what it at its heart a feel good film, one owing much to the original Rocky (not, naturally, the repulsive sequels) as we follow the descent of a […]
Synecdoche, New York
“Si-nik-do-kee”, synecdoche, a metaphor where the whole stands in place for the part, or vice versa. A nerdy, writerly title, to be sure, perfect for this multifaceted, ridiculous and surreal film from the unique mind of Charlie Kaufman. Finally given his own film to tackle (after his celebrated scripts like Adaptation and Being John Malkovich, […]
Not Quite Hollywood
An exemplary documentary, frantic and kinetic, showing the cars, bombs and tits of “Ozploitation” cinema. Tracing the history of Australian Drive-in Classics, we see clips from a number of films, many of which I’d never heard of (let alone seen). This is an excellent primer of this period of cinematic history, and the participants tell […]
Good
Yet another World War II film, but this one has a twist – we see, quite effectively, the small decisions that when taken together result in the corruption of the soul. Ever reliable Viggo Mortensen puts on another masterclass, as he provides a nuanced, subtle look at a man who’s “good”, yet drawn deeper and […]
Three Blind Mice
Three Australian navy boys are on leave before shipping off to the Gulf. One of them decides to go AWOL, while his two friends spend the evening looking for him, and try to come to terms with the violence inflicted upon the seaman by superior officers. Heavy handed and dull, there’s a film in here […]
Blindness
It wasn’t ’till the end that I realized that Meirelles’s film was written by TIFF fav Don McKellar (based, of course, on the celebrated book). Triggered simply by McKellar’s involvement as a cast member I was tweaking on the similarities between this narrative and his (fantastic) Last Night. Blindness is similarly apocalyptic (with, of course, […]
Deadgirl
I have a simple demand for exploitational, genre films like Deadgirl – if you’re going to bother opening the proverbial pandora’s box, you might as well open it up all the away. There’s nothing more frustrating than a half-assed horror flick that thinks it’s scarier and gorier than it actually is, relying on loud noises […]
Soul Power
By the time I learned about the exploits of Muhammad Ali, he had long since moved from being a boxer to being a political, historical figure, a celebrity afflicted with a medical condition that effectively muted his fiery speech. It was the exemplary When We Were Kings that first opened my eyes to Ali the […]
Derniere Maquis
Pretentious, obnoxious film about working in a pallet factory. Telling what should be an enlightening tale about a boss who is imposing his Islamic faith upon his workers via the construction of a mosque, we’re instead inundated with long, drawn out images of rows upon rows of red painted pallets, with forklifts scurrying back and […]
Youssou N’Dour: I Bring What I Love
It’s hard to say definitively, but certainly one of my earliest introductions to non-English “World Music” was the collaboration between Peter Gabriel and Senagalese sensation Youssou N’Dour. And what an introduction – his soaring tenor seems to cut through any arrangement with bell-like clarity, a distinctive instrument that can truly be said to be one […]
A Serious Man
Kabbalah, existential rabbinical analysis and quantum physics, with a Yidisshe theatre opening act – what’s not to love from this latest work of brilliance by the Coen boys? Broadly, this is a film about mystery, about whether there is or isn’t cause for suffering, injustice, bad luck. It’s a film resolutely free of answers yet […]
Miracle at St. Anna
Early on in this travesty of a film, an elderly African American is watching a John Wayne WWII flick. Spittling at the screen, he intones “we were there, TOO, pilgrim…”This, then, is Spike’s answer to all those films that “forgot” to include Blacks in their retelling of war tales. Much was made of Spike’s verbal […]
Detroit Metal City
A mashup of jaunty J-pop and Death Metal drivel, what’s not to love? Based on the celebrated Manga, this is a pitch perfect film that certainly doesn’t take itself too seriously. The music is well made and produced, the situations a mix of hilarious and charming, and the performances almost uniformly excellent. It’s the tale […]
It Might Get Loud
The conceit is music to the ears of any music nerd – get Jimmy Page, Jack White and the Edge onto an intimate stage, have them bring their gear, and have them talk about their love of the guitar for a couple of hours. Film the results, and you have a hell of a doc. […]
Biggest Chinese Restaurant in the World
The setup is a good one – exploring the radical changes that Chinese culture has undergone in this latest period of growth, through the experiences of those at the 5,000+ seat restaurant in a provincial town. Visions of epic kitchens, factory-like conditions and massive rooms soon give way to the fact that we’re about to […]
The Good, the Bad and the Weird
Spaghetti westerns are a fine indication of the incestuous nature of the history of cinema. The archetypical American Western is retold with samurai in Japan, while the Italians took the Japanese stylistic inventiveness, added their own flavor, set out to Spain and shot their own version of the Western mythos. Leone’s epic is reclaimed by […]
Burn After Reading
During last year’s No Country for Old Men press conference, there were no more than a few dozen of us attending. The brothers seemed low key and disinterested, and the film left the fest with hardly more than a blip of buzz from major critics (save, naturally, this trusted critic). Going on to win Best […]
JCVD
This is Dog Day Afternoon meets Double Dragon, a postmodern pastiche that trascends its genre ghetto and provides a compelling, often astonishing viewing experience. Self-reflexive without being trite, beautifully shot and staged, this is a triumphant film, transcending all expectation. The conceit, that the “real” Jean-Claude is caught up in a bank caper and is […]
Sauna
Period horror set in the Finnish outlands? Sign me up! Heck, period and horror/suspense can work wonders (Le Pacte des Loups comes to mind). Sadly, Sauna is nothing but a cold shower, a murky, moist tale that feels like a truly bad X Files episode (complete with black oil!). Think of the Seventh Seal meets […]