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.