You know I’m big on independent film over here so of course I would be posting the nominees for the 2014 Film Independent Spirit Awards, announced this afternoon by Oscar award winner Octavia Spencer (The Help, Fruitvale Station) and Paul Patton (Precious) in a special press conference.

I’m so happy that some of my favorite indies of this year have been recognized and received multiple nominations - Short Term 12, Fruitvale Station, 12 Years a Slave, Mud, Blue Jasmine, The Dallas Buyers Club, The Spectacular Now, and Frances Ha.

Watch the video of the press conference after the jump (how cute is Octavia?!) or jump here to see the list of nominees. The Spirit Awards ceremony will take place on March 1st, hosted by Patton Oswalt (The Secret Life of Walter Mitty).

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So much to look forward to in November - my blog anniversary, my birthday & Thanksgiving (on the same day this year!), and of course some great movies. Here is a list of the movies I recommend or can’t wait to see this month. As always, check back here to catch of on my thoughts and commentary related to these movies as I watch them.

*Note: some of this theatrical release dates are for limited release before it opens in wide release; all are US dates

[November 8]

“Thor: The Dark World”

Chris Hemsworth is back in action as the Norse god Thor, and I can’t be happier. I’m still surprised how much I loved the last movie, only watching it hours before seeing The Avengers as a way to get any backstory I needed. Love what Marvel is doing with creating a plan for the whole universe and how each movie franchise - Iron Man (though the movies bore me), Thor, Captain America… and hopefully one day Hulk (Mark Ruffalo is by far the best of all I’ve seen on the big screen) - fits into that universe. 

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All I can say is that… Toronto, you always treat me so well. In case you missed some of my posts on film reviews and pictures associated with my time at the 2013 Toronto Independent Film Festival, here is alittle recap:

THE FILMS
This year I screened nine films, the most I’ve seen at one festival to date (yay, I can’t touch those people that do 30+ but I think its not too shabby). Here’s the recap:

The Past (Le Passe)** (Bérénice Bejo, Ali Mosaffa, Tahar Rahim)
“[Director] Farhadi doesn’t really construct beginning or ending to the story but really has a way of pulling back the curtain and exposing the audience to a short, intense moment. The story continues on after we leave them, not only for us to choose what we think happens from there but also to alert us to that fact that their is no easy resolution in life, there are much to people’s stories left to carry on.” A-

Hateship Loveship (Kristen Wiig, Guy Pearce, Nick Nolte, Haille Steinfeld)
“…there are some laughs (a certain make-out sesh with a bathroom mirror comes to mind) and cries (you just can’t help but feel sorry for Johanna at times) that sometimes make this unbelievable story worthwhile.” B-

Prisoners (Hugh Jackson, Maria Bello, Viola Davis, Terrance Howard, Paul Dano, Melissa Leo)
“For much of the two-and-a-half run time, the movie brims with unbearable tension, cringing suspense, and plenty of gasp-out-loud moments to carry along the unraveling mystery." B

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Let’s get to more of my thoughts and experiences from TIFF:

“The Dallas Buyers Club”

The Dallas Buyers Club is a film that reminds us just what life at the intersection between rural 1980s Texas, the AIDS epidemic, and the developing LGBT community of its time. Here we seen McConaughey take on the real person Ron Woodroof, a man whose plight to survive the death sentence of AIDS led him to create a community united by their need of medical action to sustain their lives, further defining the differences between illegal and unapproved drugs. He does it well, with peaks of brilliance used to shade attitudes of the time, the wide eyes bolster from the touch of a gay man or even the implication of him ever being homosexual, the indulgent wonder of the fast life and faster women, and the Southern camaraderie and rivalry elicited through money exchanging hands. Woodroof, through McConaughey’s performance, is unapolegetic about his past after his diagnosis but constantly evolving into a man worthy of a film dedicated to his memory.  

In what has been touted as a serious effort by McConaughey to grab an Oscar nom, I ended up drawing my attention more to the living, breathing performance by Jared Leto as the transgendered prostitute Rayan who sustains the film as a heart . His journey is one that is much like Ron Woodroof but even more profound, opening up by the minute in his persistent quest to prove he is worthy of love and positive attention to everyone around him; a battle, I contend, is a constant struggle for those like him everyday. It took much for me to not reach out and want to hug him. My Grade: B

–> Watch the trailer for The Dallas Buyers Club here. 

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