TIFF 2015 review: Spotlight

As mentioned in a previous post, Spotlight was the best movie I saw at TIFF this year (I think it's going to win Best Picture-bold statement to make in September, I know, but mark my words as an early prediction for Oscar). It was also a super hot ticket to get a hold of, which, surprised me a little, as there wasn't a whole lot of buzz about this coming into the fest, although there's been a lot of buzz about it coming out of the fest.

It tool me multiple approaches to secure tickets to this one, including a psychotic exchange with a scalper on craigslist, who after I offered him $110 for a pair of tickets (which is just over the face value) he told me that he wouldn't even sell me one ticket for that price, and then I had a full blown rage attack on him-told him it was people like him that ruined the festival for true movie lovers, he should get a real job, stop ripping people off etc. to which he countered that he would sell me the tickets for the price I offered even though he had offers for more. (Needless to say, I declined to buy them as I was pretty sure he might murder me in real life, and also, fuck scalpers).

So, I had to rush it, and my Rush line experience was excellent! Thankfully my brother took the first shift (as I was at a screening of Jonás Cuarón's Desierto making eyes at Gael Garcia Bernal-more on that in another post). I waited the final 2 hours in line with a really nice 40-something Mom, who had never rushed a movie before (and maybe never even been to TIFF before). We talked for quite some time, and eventually she revealed that her husband was an actor who was in the movie! It turns out that Spotlight filmed all the interiors in Toronto, and so all of the reporters/newspaper employees in the movie are Toronto actors. I asked her why on earth was she in the rush line if her husband was in the god damned movie?!? We never really did figure that one out... Eventually her husband joined us in line and he told me about his experiences on set. He was so humble about it all and kept saying, "who knows if I'll even end up in the movie. they probably cut my scenes which happens all the time when you work as an extra." Well not only were his scenes in the movie, they were pretty crucial to the plot! I think he's the only newspaper employee other than the main cast who has any lines! Just a regular humble Canadian Dad actor! When you see the movie, his character's name is Peter, and Peter is told to "get out" of the room. What a cool guy (and an entertainment lawyer to boot!). If only I could be an entertainment lawyer/Toronto actor...

The movie is based on the real events surrounding the investigative reporters who worked at the Boston Globe and broke open the Catholic church molestation/child abuse scandal in 2001. For a movie based on something we all already know about, it is a compelling film. This is why I think it's so excellent and really has a shot at Oscar. To be able to take a subject that is very hard to think/talk about (child abuse) and place it in a setting that can be slow, painstaking, and uneventful (long term investigative journalism) and get an incredibly tight, well paced, gripping and weighty film is really quite the feat. I think that movies are normally good for 1 of 2 reasons: they either entertain, or have something important to say. When a movie is able to do both is when it is great.

The movie is a true ensemble cast and the acting is superb. I recently read that all of the actors--Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Liev Schreiber etc--are going to be submitted in the Best Supporting categories for the Oscars. It will be interesting to see who is able to get the nomination, and if multiple are nominated for best Supporting Actor, if they'll split votes and not win (this is what often happens when more than one person from the same movie is nominated in the same category).

Also, let's look at Rachel's outfit. 

The Q&A after the film was a huge love fest. All the actors were there, and the nice thing is that they brought out the real journalists who they portrayed in the film. The actors couldn't have had nicer things to say about the journalists, and vice versa. (I also love how the actors were the ones taking pics on their phones while on stage with the journalists)

Take a listen to the Q&A with the director, actors, and journalists below. 

TIFF 2015 Review: The Lobster

The Lobster was the movie I was most looking forward to at TIFF b/c the plot sounded like one of my fantasies comes true: all single people have 45 days to pair up with a romantic partner, and if they don't find someone, they get turned into the animal of their choice and released into the wild.

This idea is very attractive to me. I'd basically be living my best life if given the opportunity to do this. Although I wouldn't waste any of the 45 days searching for a partner (haven't I been doing that for years anyway to no avail?) I would however spend the 45 days thinking long and hard about what animal I would want to be turned into, so that I could make the best choice. Now, having already spent a few weeks ruminating on this, I'm really leaning towards a sea turtle. Let me tell you why: they live a really long life (100+ years), they spend most of their life in the ocean, though they can be on land too, and despite there always being environmental dangers for turtles (pollution, destruction of habitat etc), I feel like no one really fucks with the turtles (versus, whales or sharks for instance).

Anyway, The Lobster wasn't what I thought it was going to be. Maybe that's because I was in such anticipation to see it (My brother Alex never watches trailers for movies he really wants to see in case it ruins it for him-maybe I should have implemented this rule for this movie). The film was MUCH darker than I had expected it to be, and that's not to say that it was bad, or that I didn't like it, I just had the impression the movie was going to be more of a satire/dark comedy. Don't get me wrong, there are funny/absurd moments in the film, but overall it is pretty bleak. The film follows Colin Farrell's character whose wife has recently left him, and as a result he must check into (and surrender himself to) the singles hotel (where all of society's singles are sent) and its strict rules. While there, you are given your meals, your clothes, your schedules etc and are not allowed to masturbate (and if you're caught doing so, as John C. Reiley's character is, it aint pretty). Each day singles are taken out to hunt the humans who have escaped the hotel. The more runaways you capture, the longer you are given at the hotel (i.e. you can buy your time and add to your initial 45 days by being a ruthless killer--see, this shit is a lot darker than I thought, right?) Also, in order to form a couple with someone at the hotel (and thus have a chance to leave the hotel and return to real life) you need to have a common characteristic with the person you pair with: i.e. you each have frequent nose bleeds, a limp, or are short-sighted etc.

Eventually Colin Farrell's character escapes the hotel and joins up with a seemingly rebellious militant group that lives in the woods (run by French actress Lea Sedoux) and are staunchly against coupling (also, they only listen to electronic music b/c there is to be no dancing with others!) Basically Farrell's character goes from one extreme to the other, though both groups are equally controlling and crazy (I think probably one of the director's points re: society). It is in this group where he meets Rachel Weisz' character (who like him, is short-sighted!) and they fall in love (strictly forbidden!) For the rest of the film they have to navigate their relationship and figure out what they'll do/can do in order to be together.

It's not that I didn't like this movie, it's just that with it's incredible premise (the world having no use or patience for single people) I thought the story could have gone in a much different  (lighter and funnier) direction.  I mean, my whole life is an exercise in the painful, inconvenient reality of being single amidst a world of couples. (Think: I am the lone injured bird circling above Noah's ark while all those animal duos board). That shit can be really funny, and would make for a great movie (a la "They Shoot Single People don't they?"). But instead, this movie focuses on the nature of controlling people's behaviours and an exploration of human nature can gets really dark really fast. So, this movie seemed like a bit of a missed opportunity for me. Also, there's a scene where a wonderful dog is killed, and that will always make me not love a movie, because obviously animals > humans.
(The weird thing is that 3 movies I saw at TIFF this year had scenes where dogs were murdered. WHY world, WHY???)

Another disappointment (especially since I was still reeling from the Tom Hardy no-show the night before) was that only member from the cast who showed was Rachel Weisz. No Colin Farrell, or Lea Sedoux (both who I've seen previously at TIFF) or John C. Reiley. Though Rachel did do an outfit change during the screening, so I at least got to see 2 different looks:

 

I prefer the first outfit. You?

All in all, this movie is worth a watch. I think it has some interesting things to say, just be prepared for some bleak shit.

To listen to the Q&A with Director Yorgos Lanthimos and actress Rachel Weisz (including a question asked by yours truly!) click below. Also, they reveal what animals they would be if they had to chose (answer: Rachel would like to be pony owned by a 13 girl in England and Yorgos would like to be an eagle).

TIFF 2015 Review: Hitchcock/Truffaut documentary

There are always sacrifices that have to be made during TIFF; sometimes you must forgo one movie to see another. Most of the time it's a roll the dice moment. And at the end of night 1 of the fest, after hearing the reactions to Michael Moore's new documentary "Where to Invade Next," I know that I made the wrong choice going for the British musical "London Road" instead. Damn the lure of Tom Hardy (who ended up only being in one scene of the movie and didn't come to the screening-AHHHHHHHHHH!). I done fucked up! (Though with Hardy's uneasy relationship with the press, maybe I'm glad I didn't hear him interviewed in person: see here).

But first, I want to talk about Kent Jones' amazing documentary Hitchcock/Truffaut.

This is an absolute must see for anyone who appreciates the mastery of Hitchcock and what he did (and continues to do for film). The film uses the seminal film text "Hitchcock/Truffaut" as a jumping off point. For those unfamiliar with it, it is a fantastic book put together by Truffaut, a French filmmaker who was very fond of Hitchcock, and began a long-distance friendship with him through letters, that eventually turned into an 8 day interview between the 2 men (the audio recordings are 27 hours) where they discussed each of Hitchcock's films and basically ruminated on the art of film. This interview makes up the text of the book, which also includes photos of the 2 directors from the 8 days, and many stills/story boards from Hitchcock's films. My brother gave me a copy of the book years ago, and it is excellent; a great book to have in your film library!

The film interviews a few famous directors-David Fincher, Wes Anderson, Richard Linklater, Marty Scorsese- on their thoughts about the beauty of Hitchcock's filmmaking. It's really quite illuminating to hear these directors speak about Hitchcock-in their comments you realize that 1. They are so observant of every detail of film (which makes sense, considering they're directors but regardless, it is impressive) and 2. Despite the fact that those speaking about him are some of the best film directors of today, their talent is nothing compared to the genius of Hitchcock.   

Both my brother and I actually wished that the film had been longer (which isn't something either of us feel often at the end of a movie) and the only criticism I have is that the film focused too much on Vertigo (a film that although beautiful, kinda sucks as the plot and story makes no sense at all) and not enough on Hitchcock's better films, like Psycho, Rear Window, North by Northwest etc. But, that was the director's choice (and speaking with him afterwards, it was clear that he loves Vertigo). Regardless, definitely worth a watch when this comes out. 

If you're interested in hearing the Q&A with the director, Kent Jones, listen below:

TIFF 2015 Overview

Another September, another TIFF season done! Sigh. Who knew that watching movies and spotting celebs could be so tiring?!?! (Don't worry, I ain't complaining). I was planning on writing reviews for everything I saw, and posting them in semi-real time, but my viewing schedule was so hectic that I couldn't keep up! So, this is my attempt to give some insight on what I saw (and considering most of the films won't come out in wide release for quite some time, I feel like I'm not too far behind).

This year, I took full advantage of the fact that I'm unemployed, and saw the most films I've ever seen at TIFF in one year-20 movies! Woo! Here is the run down of what I saw:

• Hitchcock/Truffaut (documentary) 
• London Road (British Musical based on stage play) 
• The Lobster (drama)
• My Great Night (Spanish language Comedy)
• He Named Me Malala (documentary)
• Jason Reitman’s Live Read of the Princess Bride
• Eva doesn't sleep (Argentinian film)
• Legend (drama)
• This Changes Everything (Naomi Klein documentary) 
• Desierto (Mexican drama)
• Spotlight (drama)
• Anomalisa (stop animation directed by Charlie Kaufman)
• Victoria (German thriller filmed in 1 take) 
• No Men Beyond This Point (Canadian mockumentary)
• Sherpa (documentary on Everest) 
• The Waiting Room (Bosnian drama)
• The Witch (supernatural thriller/horror) 
• Angry Indian Goddesses (Indian dramedy)
• Lolo (French language rom com directed by Julie Delpy)
• The Final Girls (horror comedy at Midnight Madness)

And I'm happy to report that with the exception of a few films that were disappointing (we'll get to that later) most things were excellent, especially the 4 documentaries I saw. The best movie I saw was Spotlight (and I think there's a pretty good chance it will win Best Picture this year, although the race is still early).

Now, on to my reviews!