TIFF - the Oscar race begins to solidify — Page 2

(Also, I PM’d you.)

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Updated On: 9/7/13 at 03:42 PM

Besty, I'm right there with you. I come from the school of thought that says film can never capture reality, mainly because I don't think there's such a thing as "reality" in the first place, but that's a very philosophical conversation that I'd rather save for a seminar than here. But coming from that angle, as you are, I still think there's something to be said about films that try to capture something real. For me, ZERO DARK THIRTY worked so spectacularly because it made me get a sense of some of the horrors and complexities of the situation it covers. I think violence, not when depicted realistically, but rather when depicted through a certain lens, can be an effective choice (IMO) to get closer to real emotions. Like I said, with DJANGO, it was interesting (and upsetting) to me that Tarantino's hyper reality consisted of white saviors, screaming and helpless black women, and a hyper masculine black men. I'm certainly looking forward to 12 YEARS A SLAVE, but no, I don't think it'll be an enjoyable experience in any way.

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lol doodle, you're so enthusiastic.

See? Check it out. Reasonable people can come at things from two different angles and have a discussion that's both civil and spirited. They might even meet in the middle!

I can think of a few board "regulars" that could learn a thing or two.

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I invested in a movie premiering at TIFF this week.

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I just checked out the book 12 Years A Slave. Based upon a true story, it deserves the truth that was slavery - violence and all.
I generally do not like film violence, but this is once instance that I think a true story deserves an honest reflection.

With all of the revisionist history going on, and some suggestion that blacks did not have it so bad under slavery, I think a brutally honest depiction is warranted.

12 Years A Slave is one of my must see films this year.

Oh, and just to catch up on a couple of things:

ray, you probably wouldn't be surprised to learn I have never seen Zero Dark Thirty, and I have no plans ever to see it.

growl, you might be surprised to learn that I think the first 20 minutes of Saving Private Ryan are a masterpiece of filmmaking. I don't think they are gratuitous or over long or drawn out or torturous. They are brutal, but they are essential to the rest of the film. They also take the audience on a step-by-step reenactment of one of the worst battles in history. You might also be surprised to learn that I think the rest of the film is nothing very special.A cliche patchwork of many previous films like Battleground, The Longest Day, and other solidly made, post-WWII movies that were just like it (and some are much better). After the first 20 minutes of SPR, I was fairly disappointed.

And doodle, your enthusiasm rocks.

And Namo, Indiegogo can be a good thing sometimes.

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Updated On: 9/7/13 at 09:13 PM

Just to be clear, I don't think slavery should ever be depicted as anything less than it is. And certainly never "glossed over," for any reason.

That does not, however, mean I need to see every lash of the whip, every torturous moment of every painful hour of every miserable minute of every terrifying day they spent in a living hell.

I get it. I'm already horrified by it. I'm repulsed. I'm sad. I'm ashamed. And I'm furious.

Now, tell me your story. If that's all you have to show me, I'll pass. If on-screen torture is what substitutes for "powerful emotion" in your story, I will also pass.

Because I get it without being hit over the head by it. It's hideous and vomit-enduing. It really happened. These people suffered greatly. Now tell me more about who they are and what they are doing. Tell me your story.

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I have a screening of 12 years in a couple of weeks. It is high on my list. Saw " The Family" and "Kill Your Darlings". Both have great work in them but fail in many ways. But Oscar season is among us... nice to be going back to the movies.

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The Family felt like it was a pilot for a one hour HBO show. It actually would have been a wonderful series. Too many coincidental plot twists bring it down a little bit. It is a combination of Married To The Mob and the tv show The Riches. And you are right.. it was great to see Michelle tear up the screen. But she is playing the same role she has done better before.

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Updated On: 9/8/13 at 12:47 PM

Can't wait to hear your thoughts on GRAVITY and whatever else you see, strummergirl!

Reviews for AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY should be coming very soon as well.

Thanks for the feedback.

General comment: There are some Internet critics/bloggers who find the need to be brave by ****ting on certain much-hyped movies. Almost instantly. I often hate theinsta-reactions and hyperbolic declarations from screenings. Usually I am looking at the credits, going to the washroom, or just seeking myself out because I have to be at another screening or, I simply did not care. Given my restrictions with cell data in a foreign country, I am definitely not tweeting about a movie. But I saw a lot of it as the credits rolled for Gravity. Positive or negative, I really shun it. But I find the negative tweets mostly just to be backlash to the hype. It's a vicious circle and sped up thanks to social media. Calling any movie at the certain scale or design as the 2 movies that I am commenting on as '****ty' needs to get their head out of their ass because they are confusing hating something as being clever or a badge of honor. Or, they're snobbish beyond belief. Or both. But let me also just say neither are these 2 movies perfection. They're good popcorn, populist entertainment that the industry should be making every year.

Rush- not to join the chorus of endless 'I know little on F1 but I lie this movie' qualifiers, but this is a good, solid movie. Daniel Bruhl is finally having a well-deserved breakout vehicle and Chris Hemsworth frankly plays a cad that should not be all that likable with charm and star-quality. I have heard some critiques of Hemsworth's English accent but I don't feel like any expert to judge. Excellent action, editing, and camera work. This movie is oozing in 70s excess and nostalgia. The Zimmer score is..... pedestrian but it'll probably get a nomination. Bruhl and Hemsworth are co-leads but do not be surprised if one goes supporting, which would be BS- especially in Bruhl's case, but it might happy. I also see a nod to Peter Morgan's script which is generally fine but the luckily sparse amount of voice-over by both leads was clunky in a "[insert celebrity] doing an American Express card commercial" sort of way which is more jarring considering how well the rest of the script is. There are some ibcredibly gruesone medical procedures shown when Bruhl's character gets injured that had my sudience covering their faces, so be warned. Ron Howard's direction nudges on the 70s nostalgia which is a little humorous when you consider he was Richie Cunningham at the time but, and this is a compliment, it is nothing like his most recent movies and probably his best nice Apollo 13. Christian McKay is good as Hemsworth's manager and Alexandria Maria Lara is excellent as Bruhl's wife. I am just so happy my 2 favorites of contemporary German cinema are getting notices without being in a WWII/Holocaust movie. Olivia Wilde is fine but as the third person in the credits, I really don't ge that. And her reappearance in the 3rd act makes no sense. But anyway, I advise everyone to check this out if for nothing else there are a couple of shots of Hemsworth's bare bum.

Gravity- I'll admit. Nobody who praised it did the movie any favors by comparing it to 2001. It's nothing like it. It's like Alien except the monster chasing and terrorizing our heroine is space itself. It's Cuaron's most commercial film, sharing more DNA with Prisoner of Azkaban than Children of Men. A lot happens in its 90 minute runtime that I am not sharing with anybody except to continue on its horror-adjacent DNA. It has a lot of fake-outs like a horror movie and Sandra Bullock as our 'final girl' is ideal where every gesture and action is so consequential but we are rooting for her the whole movie even when she makes mistakes. I almost wanted to applaud her after I wanted to slap her minutes before. Again, the design is top-notch, it should win every technicl award it is eligible for, the movie is to be experienced in 3D and doing anything otherwise is a disservice, Price's score is great and gave me goosebumps, the camerawork and selection of shot length by Lubezki is to be commended. I think Cuaron got a little too into the fake-outs and contrivances and while nobody who is critical of the movie has formed a consensus of too little or too much story in this movie being a detriment (I also heard people who hated the score and wanted more silence- the score is great and I wish there was less dialogue to establish atmosphere), but the script is not really 'deep'. But to me the moie soars when it really is Bullock's show and her knee deep in a crappy situation. It would be cool if she were nominated but I could see in a crowded field that she'd be out and that is fine. It's a good role for her.

I wouldn't call Gravity a disappointment but it was my most anticipated and I do not see it in my top 10 at the end of the year but that is fine. It's not complicated. It is a simple, commercial movie with astonishing visuals and a compelling control performance. More of these than the Damon Lindelof/Orci and Kurtzmann scifi, please.

Updated On: 9/9/13 at 07:59 PM

Oh wow. That rant/reviews went longer than expected. Apologies.

Tomorrow is my busiest day. Attempting to rush Don McKellar's remake of The Grand Seduction in the morning, go to Starred Up with Ben Mendelsohn, and Jonathan Glazer's Under the Skin in the afternoon and finally, a Blue Jays game.

Also FYI, it is so transparent that TIFF wants 12 Years a Slave to win audience award. Which is weird given how that presser went.

Left the city/festival something of a whimper with one of my least favorite films I saw for the festival, Omar, from the director of Paradise Now. I appear to be in the minority on that but I really wished I watched Blue Ruin or Strangers by the Lake that also played today.

Some notable distribution buys:
The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Her and Him (the two-part movie on the breakdown of a relationship starring Jessica Chastain and James McAvoy that got really good reception) got acquired by TWC. Given what Harvey did to The Grandmaster and Snowpiercer, there are a lot of fears that there is no way this film sees the screen without being cut down significantly or restructured very differently from how it was screened.

A24 acquired Under the Skin. Great fit. Probably the best US distributor Glazer & co. could hope for. I wonder because Roman and Sofia both have had their films distributed by A24 that Gia Coppola's very good Palo Alto could also be under A24 soon enough. It would go really well as a buffer between Bling Ring and The Spectacular Now.

TWC acquired The Railway Man with Colin Firth and Nicole Kidman. It's extremely bait-y with mixed to positive reception.

Denis Villeneuve's other movie, The Enemy, is up for grabs that includes A24, Lionsgate, Focus, and TWC. The reception I heard was that this has the high cult/midnight movie potential. I really want it to be A24.

TWC got John Carney's Once follow-up Can a Song Save a Life? Dammit, Harvey is getting greedy.

Millennium Entertainment got US rights to John Turturro's Fading Gigolo that has a rare Woody Allen role not written by Woody Allen.