TIFF Debriefed
The 2012 Toronto International Film Festival is done, folks. Well, it was done for me awhile ago since I was only able to attend the first four days of the festival. I have to say that I enjoyed my time in Toronto far more than I thought I would. I met some acclaimed directors, met some of my fellow film bloggers, hung out in a beautiful city, and probably saw the best line-up of movies I have at a film festival to date. I’m using this post just to recap my time at TIFF:
The Films
I was able to squeeze in five great and eagerly anticipated films in my time in Toronto. I’m so grateful to be able to see this films and give you my impressions of them before most (if not all) are theatrically released. Read my thoughts on them:
Imogene (Kristen Wiig, Darren Criss, Annette Bening)
“It didn’t have the perfectly timed comedic beats Bridesmaids had, and the end of the film moved toward the ridiculous, but the movie had great comedic must-see moments not only from Kristen Wiig but also from the great Annette Bening.”
The Place Beyond the Pines* (Ryan Gosling, Eva Mendes, Bradley Cooper, Dane DeHaan)
“Backed by an outstanding cast, the story is broken up into three parts and how the film moves from one stage to another, only slightly overlapping, is flawlessly connected like perfectly aligned dominos.”
Seven Psychopaths (Sam Rockwell, Colin Farrell, Christopher Walken, Woody Harrelson)
“Though it didn’t quite reach the cult classic iconic status of Kill Bill or Sin City for me, I did laugh and I do applaud how much it makes fun of itself all while speaking to the very nature of making midnight madness gory thrillers - all in the name of a shitzu named Bonnie.”
The Perks of Being a Wallflower (Emma Watson, Logan Lerman, Ezra Miller, Mae Whitman)
“The story focuses on the beauty of being young and having a future full of hope and promise. And that it does it so well.”
Much Ado About Nothing (Nathan Fillion, Amy Acker, Clark Gregg, Alexis Denisof)
“Not everyone can weave in modern material into Shakespeare but Joss Whedon has found a way to blend in contemporary physical comedy with Shakespeare’s written follies in such a great way.”
*My overall festival favorite
The Shoutouts
Special thanks to Ryan for welcoming me to his city! And thanks to the other film bloggers (Andrew and Tom) who hung out with me for a bit! :)
The Special Events
Sometimes the best things about film festivals are the non-film special events and parties…
Live Read of American Beauty (Christina Hendricks, Bryan Cranston, Adam Driver, Mae Whitman)
“For TIFF, famed director Jason Reitman pulled together his celeb friends for a live reading of the 1999 Oscar winning (and TIFF) film American Beauty. I got tickets to this unique, once in a lifetime experience.”
The Drake Hotel - my friend Ije and I ate at the trendy hotel restaurant and even talked our way in to a party that was happening there. Not bad.
The Pictures
Some of my favorite captured moments from Toronto…
Part 1: I explored the city, met Joss Whedon (that’s right!), and did some celeb spotting
Part 2: More celeb spotting, I chatted with Jason Reitman (yep!), and snapped a couple of cast photos
The Winners
Will one of these features be the next Slumdog Millionaire or The King’s Speech? They won big at past TIFFs and went on to win Oscars.
