toronto international film festival

Showing 9 posts tagged toronto international film festival

“The Company You Keep”

Jim Grant is a widowed single father and attorney living in Albany. What none of his friends or clients know is that Jim was once a member of the activist/terrorist organization the Weather Underground. Wanted for robbery and the murder of a security guard, Jim has been in hiding for more than thirty years. When another former Weatherman turns herself in to the FBI, an aggressive young journalist, starts sniffing around for leads. He gradually finds his way to Jim, not suspecting that this seemingly upright citizen is himself a former militant activist. Concerned that Ben will eventually discover his true identity, Jim flees, though a safe harbour may prove difficult to find.

This movie has been on my radar since last fall when it premiered at the Toronto Film Festival. I didn’t get to see it then and since debuting, it has received mixed reviews but damn it, the cast (Redford - also directing, LaBeouf, Sarandon, Nolte, Tucci, Marlin) is going to get my butt in the seat. Despite LaBeouf’s propensity to do sub-par, glaringly hollow action films (yeah, Michael Bay, I’m giving you the stink eye), his on-set antics, and his super weird yet entertaining-to-read accounts of his very existence on this earth (seriously, the most awesomely strange celebrity magazine cover story I’m ever read), I think he has potential to be a really great actor… he just needs to get his shit together. I have seen some of those sparks of brilliance. You can treat yourself to a promo still from the film before the April 5th theatrical release date. 

Cast & Commentary: “Looper”

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2012: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, (director) Rian Johnson, and Bruce Willis for Looper at TIFF

My Take: Looper is a futuristic tale on its way to being a cult classic whose coolness factor is only superseded by its thought-provoking nature. This one will be known for the small attention to detail in the performances - Joseph Gordon-Levitt takes on the likeness and manners of a young Bruce Willis at times better than Willis himself, Paul Dano grabs our attention and makes himself known to be the sympathetic character in the few moments he has onscreen, Emily Blunt’s Americana, farmville accent makes me forget she’s even British, and the movie will undoubtably marked the start of a great career for one child actor who conveyed more in a look than alot of Hollywood actors could do in whole pages of dialogue. It will be known even more so for its concepts and commentary on destiny unchangeable because circumstances vs. a person’s character. In this world, specialized trained assassins do the bidding of the crime syndicates of the future, killing and disposing of the bodies of their enemies, all the while really agreeing to limit their lives to only 30 more years (a.k.a “close their loops”) in exchange for wealth. They are unknowingly slowly becoming the people they end up killing, both literally and figuratively as we witness their propensity for betrayal against their fellow assassins, fast lives filled with drugs and prostitutes, and willingness to take on other killer-for-hire jobs. The film helps us understand the temptations and motivations that attract these characters to become loopers and through the aid of an older “self” on a mission to correct the past, how one in particular recognizes how his past could mirror the future of an important child and chooses to become a different person to prevent that for happening. Few films can do well the confrontation between two versions of self, but this one manages to give us great humorous and jarring scenes between two men who are so similar but have so little respect for each other. To help us along with the film’s action sequences and time jumps, director Rian Johnson gives us some cool special effects that aren’t there just for show but come to illustrate a world that is alittle advanced from ours in some ways but in many ways it’s very much the same. This stands as one of my favorite films of the year. My Grade: A

Twice Born // I can’t say I follow alot of foreign independent films, especially those surrounding historical events, but there are certain actors that can bring my attention to them. One of those actors is Penelope Cruz. I was taken with the first photo from this film enough to include it on my top picks to see at the Toronto film festival. I wasn’t able to see it there, but I eagarly anticipate its release. Also starring Emile Hirsch (Into the Wild), the film appears to be dramatic, riverting and romantic. All the things I look forward to in a movie. 

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. 

My TIFF In Pictures [Part 2]

7. I have my tickets in hand; 8. The cast of Imogene including Kristen Wiig and Darren Criss; 9. Alexis Denioff taking a pic with a fan at the premiere of Much Ado About Nothing; 10. Restaurant Row in front of TIFF Bell Lightbox; 11. The cast of Much Ado About Nothing; 12. I ran into Jason Reitman on the street and told him how much I enjoyed his Live Read of American Beauty

My TIFF In Pictures [Part 1]

1. Me at brunch at the O+B Canteen; 2. Kristen Wiig signing autographs at the special presentation of Imogene; 3. Nina Dobrev getting into her car after the screening of The Perks of Being a Wallflower; 4. Yes, I am at TIFF; 5. The TIFF Bell Lightbox, the headquarters and awesome hangout of TIFF; 6. some guy named Joss Whedon and I before the screening of Much Ado About Nothing