impressions of films at TIFF08

[emacs]

the 33rd Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) http://www.tiff08.ca/ finished over the weekend. of the over 310 films across ten days, i attended 18 screenings. here are the film titles accompanied by a single line summary.

$5 A Day: Christopher Walken plays a charming but flawed con artist in this indie film
Achilles and the Tortoise: Takeshi (Beat) Kitano directs the life story of an untalented painter
Ashes of Time Redux: Wong Kar-Wai's only wuxia film recut and remastered for 2008
At the Edge of the World: the waters off Antarctica is the battleground in this documentary
Burn After Reading: a comedy from the Coen Brothers starring Clooney, McDormand, Malkovich, Swinton, Jenkins and Pitt

Chocolate: Ong Bak director Prachya Pinkeaw proves that 24 year-old Jija Yanin Vismitananda can tremendously kick ass
JCVD: the best film starring Jean-Claude Van (Damme) Varenberg
Martyrs: an example of gory, horrific, depressing goodness. my review is up on IMDb
Not Quite Hollywood: a documentary that details exploitation films from Australia
Paris, Not France: because it's hot

The Real Shaolin: we follow four people, in this documentary, who aspire to learn marital arts the old school way
Religulous: Bill Maher and Larry Charles challenge the three Abrahamic religions
RocknRolla: Guy Ritchie returns to form with gangsters, street-smart thieves, a gorgeous femme fatale, expats and drugged out rockstars
Slumdog Millionaire: my favourite at TIFF08. a truly exceptional film directed by Danny Boyle and Loveleen Tandan.
Tokyo Sonata: Kiyoshi Kurosawa surprises us with a tale of a disfunctional modern Japanese family

Witch Hunt: a documentary that highlights gross injustices in Bakersfield, California
The Wrestler: among Darren Aronofsky's best films ever made. seriously.
Zack and Miri Make a Porno: Kevin Smith directs this hilarious and raunchy comedy featuring Seth Rogan and the hot Elizabeth Banks

all the films that are part of the Midnight Madness (MM) programme were, of course, viewed at Ryerson Theatre along with 1200+ other people. attending MM screenings at the AMC24 or Varsity venues doesn't have the same vibe.

[GreenScar]

Wrestler sounds really good. There's a few that I'd like to see. You should rate each one on how you liked them.

[quexos]

I might have been there in Toronto, I might have attended that festival. I might if only ... if only

[jadedeath]

Stone of Destiny was an amazingly good movie.

Logan

[Deciazulado]

Chocolate is already up for pre-order in Amazon UK



Chocolate Blu-ray.com UK database entry

Chocolate UK pre-order direct link

[emacs]

Originally Posted by jasonbird

Wrestler sounds really good. There's a few that I'd like to see. You should rate each one on how you liked them.

it's difficult to have a rating system (e.g., zero to four) that quantifies the appeal of a film because expectations are different for each film genre. a proper review requires hundreds upon hundreds of words because it's far more accurate. that said, however, i will chose the former. i will use a period (.) to denote one-half of a star.

$5 A Day: **.
Achilles and the Tortoise: **
Ashes of Time Redux: **
At the Edge of the World: **
Burn After Reading: **.

Chocolate: ***.
JCVD: **.
Martyrs: **.
Not Quite Hollywood: **
Paris, Not France: **

The Real Shaolin: **
Religulous: ***
RocknRolla: ***.
Slumdog Millionaire: ****
Tokyo Sonata: **

Witch Hunt: **.
The Wrestler: ***.
Zack and Miri Make a Porno: ***

[emacs]

Originally Posted by Deciazulado

Chocolate is already up for pre-order in Amazon UK

the 'more brutal than Ong Bak' review quote is a misnomer. set you expectations at reasonable levels and you'll find the film to be tremendously kick ass

the only way to experience any martial arts film is attending the Midnight Madness screening at TIFF in the Ryerson Theatre surrounded by 1200+ hardcore martial arts fans in very early morning hours