[QuickTidal]

Hey all, I'm doing 15 films at TIFF and I'm posting short spoilerless reviews at the blog for them, so I thought I'd make a thread where I can link to those reviews and you folks can chime in throughout the week on stuff I saw and the small reviews.

We begin with last night's Midnight Madness screening of DREDD 3D. Enjoy! Discuss. Ask me questions.

http://icebergink.bl...2-dredd-3d.html

This post has been edited by QuickTidal: 03 September 2014 - 02:01 PM

[QuickTidal]

Film numereaux deux: Is a Spanish apocalyptic film that delivered something unexpected, and very good.

FIN (THE END)

http://icebergink.bl...12-fin-end.html

[QuickTidal]

Next up was The Wachowski's and Tom Tykwer's CLOUD ATLAS adaptation, and it was stunning. They pulled it off!

http://icebergink.bl...loud-atlas.html

[QuickTidal]

Wow, I'm a little stunned by the gravity and emotion I experienced in Andrew Adamson's MR. PIP. Poignant and important.

http://icebergink.bl...012-mr-pip.html

[QuickTidal]

Wow, just got out of the best film I've seen at the Fest so far. THE IMPOSSIBLE, which is about the 2004 tsunami.

http://icebergink.bl...impossible.html

[QuickTidal]

....and we have our first stinker. A LIAR'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY: THE UNTRUE STORY OF MONTY PYTHON'S GRAHAM CHAPMAN was a rather unmitigated mess.

http://icebergink.bl...phy-untrue.html

[QuickTidal]

Saw Neil Jordan's BYZANTIUM this afternoon (Gemma Arterton and Saoirse Ronan) and oh man, Jordan is back doing supernatural/fantasy with style (like THE COMPANY Of WOLVES and INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE). Easily one of my fave's at the Fest!!

http://icebergink.bl...-byzantium.html

[amphibian]

Did you catch Midnight's Children? I'd read the Rushdie book a few years ago and am interested in how the film adaptation went.

[QuickTidal]

amphibian, on 11 September 2012 - 08:50 PM, said:

Did you catch Midnight's Children? I'd read the Rushdie book a few years ago and am interested in how the film adaptation went.

No, I tried to get a ticket but it's one of the hottest ticket items this year...but i have friends who are seeing it, I'll ask them what they thought once they see it.

[QuickTidal]

Saw an Irish film like GO (only MUCH, much better) that I truly enjoyed!

http://icebergink.bl...-2012-jump.html

[QuickTidal]

The world premiere of the 30 SECONDS TO MARS documentary ARTIFACT was AMAZING! I have always loved the band, but the doc which is about EMI suing them for 30 Million was even more informative about the future of music.

http://icebergink.bl...2-artifact.html

[QuickTidal]

Totally fell asleep at home and missed JOHN DIES AT THE END midnight screening...sigh...sleep deprivation got me...

That said I've got reviews coming for OUTRAGE BEYOND, KEY OF LIFE, WASTELAND and THERMAE ROMAE still. Stay tuned.

[QuickTidal]

Okay, here are my final reviews for TIFF this year.

Takeshi Kitano violent Japanese Yakuza flick. OUTRAGE BEYOND.


http://icebergink.bl...age-beyond.html

Japanese slice of life comedy KEY OF LIFE.

http://icebergink.bl...ey-of-life.html

Yorskshire-based heist film WASTELAND.

http://icebergink.bl...-wasteland.html

and lastly, Japanese fish-out-of water, time tripping, based on manga comedy THERMAE ROMAE

http://icebergink.bl...rmae-romae.html

Thanks for reading all! Much obliged. Hope I've tipped a few of you off to some good stuff to go see this fall and winter.

[QuickTidal]

And a quick final roundup post

http://icebergink.bl...l-round-up.html

[QuickTidal]

Yup, it's that time of year again. And it turns out that my upset over my ticket choice window was unfounded as I only totally missed out on two of my choices.

So here are the first 10 of the total 16 films I'll be seeing this year (the last 6 don't get chosen till Monday aft).

BEYOND THE EDGE (Documentary)

Employs rarely seen footage, extensive archival interviews and stunning 3D technology to recreate the epic tale of Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay’s conquest of Mt. Everest in 1953. Yup, you read that right....they recreate the climb with period gear and such.

THE STATION

The crew of a remote weather research station in the German Alps finds that a retreating glacier is turning the local wildlife into ravenous biological monstrosities, in this timely horror thriller

FAITH CONNECTIONS (Documentary)

A spectacular exploration of varied paths of devotion that converge at one of the world’s most extraordinary religious events — the Kumbh Mela — Pan Nalin’s thoughtful documentary is a genuinely spiritual journey.

MANDELA: THE LONG WALK TO FREEDOM

Acclaimed British actor Idris Elba (TV’s The Wire) is magnetic as the legendary South African freedom fighter in this rousing adaptation of Nelson Mandela’s autobiography Long Walk to Freedom.

GRAVITY

George Clooney and Sandra Bullock star in this highly anticipated 3D space thriller from acclaimed director Alfonso Cuarón (Children of Men, Y Tu Mamá También). I ADORE Cuaron's work, and this one looks tense as hell!

HOW I LIVE NOW

Saoirse Ronan (Hanna) stars in this adaptation of Meg Rosoff’s award-winning near-future novel about an American teenager sent to live with her family in Britain on the eve of the Third World War, directed by Kevin MacDonald.

THE WIND RISES

This decades-spanning epic from maestro Hayao Miyazaki is his most unique film to date. Inspired by the stories of Jiro Horikoshi, visionary designer of one the most beautiful airplanes in history — the famed Zero fighter — and the writer Tatsuo Hori, this tale of love and perseverance in a turbulent world is brought to life by the vivid animation of Studio Ghibli. I'm fascinated by the idea that this guy who only wanted to make gliders was employed by the Japanese war machine to make vehicles of death.

WHY DON'T YOU PLAY IN HELL

A renegade film crew becomes embroiled with a yakuza clan feud in this wild, perverse and blood-soaked orgy of outrageousness from cult director Sion Sono (Suicide Club). Sounds absolutely batshit insane...and I was told by the programmer (who's a friend of a friend) NOT to miss this one.

QISSA

Set amidst the ethnic cleansing and general chaos that accompanied India’s partition in 1947, this sweeping drama stars Irrfan Khan — also appearing at the Festival in The Lunchbox — as a Sikh attempting to forge a new life for his family while keeping their true identities a secret from their community. Again, fascinated to know about this period of history that I know nothing about. Also Irrfan Khan is flat out a stunning actor!

COLD EYES

A high-tech police surveillance team attempts to take down a gang of ruthless bank robbers, in this sizzling South Korean action-thriller. This one sounds generic, but it's actually one of the Gala's and has a lot of buzz surrounding it, so I'm amped to get a chance to see it.

Anyways, I'll be checking in with my final 6 after I choose them.

This post has been edited by QuickTidal: 31 August 2013 - 04:50 PM

[QuickTidal]

And here are the final 6 films I grabbed with my Back Half pack.

MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS

The brilliant young French actress Camille Rutherford (Low Life) stars as the doomed monarch in this sumptuous historical drama by Swiss director Thomas Imbach.

JODOROWSKY'S DUNE

This fascinating documentary explores the genesis of one of cinema’s greatest epics that never was: cult filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky’s (El Topo) adaptation of Frank Herbert’s sci-fi classic Dune, whose cast would have included such icons as Salvador Dalí, Orson Welles and Mick Jagger.

THE RAILWAY MAN

Academy Award winners Colin Firth and Nicole Kidman star in the true story of Eric Lomax, a British soldier in World War II who endured gruelling conditions as a forced labourer on the Thailand Death Railway after being captured by Japanese troops.

UNFORGIVEN

Ken Watanabe (Inception) stars in director Lee Sang-il’s visionary remake of Clint Eastwood’s iconic Academy Award winner. Continuing a rich tradition of cross-cultural adaptations, Lee swaps six-shooters for samurai swords, transposing the classic western to Meiji-period Japan. ...yeah...you read that right. It's a samurai version of UNFORGIVEN. Bad-Ass!

A PROMISE

Set in pre-First World War Germany, Patrice Leconte's venture into English-language filmmaking chronicles the simmering love triangle between an ailing factory owner (Alan Rickman), his young bride (Rebecca Hall) and his protégé (Richard Madden). I'm mostly excited to see Richard Madden in something other than GoT...plus...Alan Rickman!

OCULUS

Years after the mysterious deaths of their parents, a traumatized brother and sister find the cause of their family tragedy: a cursed mirror whose 300-year history has left a bloody trail of destruction in its wake. Stars DOCTOR WHO's Karen Gillan...and I'm kind of hoping she's there.

Anyways, there we go. 16 films.

Oh, and since I didn't get tix to them, I'll be rushing the latest Kor-eda flick LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON, and possibly THE F WORD which is Michael Dowse's latest.

Sadly I didn't get tix to 12 YEARS A SLAVE....but with the buzz surrounding it I'll doubt if I could even rush it and get in.

This post has been edited by QuickTidal: 02 September 2013 - 07:42 PM

[QuickTidal]

Film #1 - BEYOND THE EDGE

So basically this is a rather unique documentary in that it combines archival (and modern) interview audio samples (only audio, no talking heads whatsoever) of the people in and around involvement in the first successful 1953 summiting of Everest by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, with a recreation of the whole thing with actors. They cast everyone involved and did it like a history channel doc where they "re-enact events" dramatically...only they also shot with 3D cameras on both New Zealand's Mount Cook and Everest herself. So as a result it's stunningly gorgeous in every single shot...and the score is thunderous and perilous at intervals, but the decision to forgo an overall major Documentary Narrator in lieu of just allowing the audio snippet interviews to suffice that role throughout...was a MAJOR mistake. There really is something to be said for premeditated, well-written narration. In almost every documentary that has ever affected me on a human level has had such to not only add dramatics to the situation, but also to be the audience link to the films subject matter. Without that normal documentary link, the audio snippets, though authentic, get quite lost (even with the names ALWAYS appearing on the screen so you knew who was speaking) in the actual footage. The other major mistake was not using much historical stuff in the film. Yes there was SOME footage from a 1953 Vancouver-based documentary about the expedition, but I mean when the two actual summit, and Hillary mentions how he took actual pictures of the various ridges from the top of the mountain....we never see them. I was honestly expecting them to to AT LEAST show them during the credits. But nada.

Was it good? Yeah. Was it unique. I can honestly say it was. But the gimmick of casting people to re-enact events needs that narration....Andrew Marr's History Of The World for example, would be absolutely tepid without the phenomenal narration.

I think I'm a little upset as I think I expected so much more. There was also very little "threat" (probably another facet of no narration). I recently read a 10 pages short non-fiction piece about George Mallory and Co. nearly summiting the mountain in 1924....and that had WAY more tension.

A good film, but I'm afraid it's trying to be two things (a documentary and a Biopic) and can't decide which to be.

This post has been edited by QuickTidal: 06 September 2013 - 11:44 PM

[worry]

If the list above is in order, you're doing The Station next? Sounds awesome, hope it lives up to it.

[QuickTidal]

worry, on 06 September 2013 - 11:40 PM, said:

If the list above is in order, you're doing The Station next? Sounds awesome, hope it lives up to it.

It's in order for the first list, the second list fits into the second half of the week.

But yeah, I've got THE STATION next, tonight at 11:59PM (Midnight Madness baby!). I'm excited to see it though. I'll be chiming in afterwards to let you all know.

[QuickTidal]

TIFF Film #2: THE STATION

Yeah, it was alright. Not what I was expecting. Basically it's an Austrian THE THING done on an 80's budget. All puppetry and stop motion effects.

But it was fun, and some of the performances make the film.

And it's got a right fucked up ending!

Now off to bed, as I have an early morning screening.