Ryan McNeil
Every September I get asked the same question: “When you get to the end of TIFF, don’t you feel like the last thing you want to do is watch more movies?” I can see how some might think that way, but for me the answer is very much “no”.
It’s the time of years where drowning in wonderful and unexpected stories all of a sudden becomes the norm. It’s as if I’ve won some sort of lottery, and my routine now revolves around watching movies. Meals are being planned around them, friends are joining me to revel in them, and life suddenly becomes about them.
Seeing all of the titles you see below in a mere twenty days might seem like The Ludovico Technique from A CLOCKWORK ORANGE, but nothing could be further from the truth. If anything, it’s getting used to a more reduced slate that takes adjusting.
Consider yourself warned – Here are The Last Three Weeks…
Screenings
LAWLESS – Chastain and Hardy are wasted. Not terrible though.
FAR OUT ISN’T FAR ENOUGH – I must buy some Tomi Ungerer books soon!
RUST AND BONE – Cotillard dazzles in a messy film.
LIKE SOMEONE IN LOVE – Come armed with copious amounts of patience.
THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES – I’ll be keeping a close eye on this one next year.
SEVEN PSYCHOPATHS – Once I got over my expectations, I laughed my ass off.
THE END (FIN) – Intriguing, if unspectacular.
SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK – Don’t watch the misleading trailer, just make a date to watch this in November.
PAINLESS – Not as mysterious as it wishes it was.
THE FITZGERALD FAMILY CHRISTMAS – Got a bit of a smile yesterday when I discovered Edward Burns had read my review.
THE IMPOSSIBLE – Not every festival selection is a diamond.
BYZANTIUM – I repeat: Not all diamonds.
TO THE WONDER – Wake me up when Malick fully finishes this.
MY AWKWARD SEXUAL ADVENTURE – Canadian comedy which I almost want to call “Fifty Shades of Eh” (Sorry, I couldn’t resist)
GHOST GRADUATION – Pure. Joy.
HERE COMES THE DEVIL – A throwback to grindhouse 70’s horror.
JUMP – Everything sounds better with Irish accents.
A WEREWOLF BOY – I got talked into this one, and I really should have known better.
ROOM 237 – I’ll never watch THE SHINING the same way again.
MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING – I’d give my right arm to have vacations like Joss Whedon’s
COME OUT AND PLAY – No thanks. I’m good.
CLOUD ATLAS – I can’t wait for the arguments about this film to surface in six weeks.
WASTELAND – Shades of GOODFELLAS and THE USUAL SUSPECTS…but young, and English.
FRANCES HA – A surprise for many reasons!
AMOUR – A heavy contender for best film of the year.
THE SUICIDE SHOP – Charming, but bogged down by 3-D and unnecessary musical numbers.
THE MASTER – Going to see it again this afternoon. Ask me about it again tomorrow.
THE SESSIONS – My first post-TIFF screening of a film programmed at the festival. Good things from the whole cast!
Blu-Rays/DVD’s I’ve Never Seen
THE DEBT – Who knew John Madden was capable of such tension?
FLIRTING WITH DISASTER – In the midst of the O. Russell love from SILVER LININGS, I decided to fill in a gap.
Blu-Rays/DVD’s I’ve Watched Before
BLACK SWAN – Memories of TIFF past
SUPERBAD – One of my oldest reviews on this site. Please excuse the writing quality.
THREE KINGS – Still my choce for the best David O. Russell film.
PRIMAL FEAR – I was feeling “Very 1996” that day.
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS – Know what was missing in the three hour cut? Walking and talking.
I (heart) HUCKABEES – “Exactly – what African guy?”
IT MIGHT GET LOUD – A fine choice for a mid-TIFF watch.
THE SHINING – You had to know this was coming.
WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE – I’m still surprised this doesn’t get more love.
LAWRENCE OF ARABIA – Thanks again Jandy.
HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH – Sometimes when I put on a movie, Lindsay will stop what she’s doing and join me on the couch. this was one of those times.
FULL METAL JACKET – If you haven’t picked up the new blu-ray yet, you’re missing out.
MAGNOLIA – THE MASTER needed more frogs.
TRUE ROMANCE – After seeing how many of y’all watched it after we lost Tony Scott, I felt like I needed to catch up.
Boxscore for The Year
187 First-Timers, 166 Re-Watched
104 Screenings
353 Movies in Total
cough*show off*cough
I love Where the Wild Things Are. Second favourite Jonze. I might have to go on a David O. Russell marathon soon, seeing how much love his latest got. SOOO glad that The Master doesn’t have frogs. Love it more than Magnolia already.
Firsts: The Raid– So bloody awesome.
On the Waterfront– I see why it is so loved.
The Third Man– I still haven’t stopped drooling over the lighting and the look of the movie.
Radio Days– No one does nostalgia better than Woody.
Code Unknown– Scary, but very good.
To Rome With Love– It *was* a mess, but my first Woody in a theatre so yaaay!
Three Colours: White– I see why this is considered the weakest of the trilogy. Delpy is gorgeous though.
Sense and Sensibility– Liked it better than the book.
25th Hour– First Spike Lee movie. Liked it, but I think this film is too hyped up.
Magic Mike– Did not think I would enjoy this as much as I did. It was kind of creepy how much I smiled throughout it.
Black Narcissus– Seeing that I go to a college run by nuns presently, this film ended up being a bit comedic for me.
Seeking a Friend for the End of the World– It had potential but it ended up being an emotional mess. First film in which Keira Knightley hasn’t annoyed me since Atonement.
Weekend– I think this will make an excellent double feature with Lost in Translation.
The Seven Year Itch– Marilyn Monroe keeps it from getting annoying. She was lovely. Rest of the film, not so much.
Synecdoche, New York– I was wayyy too confused while it was going on, but then all these feelings wafted over me after it got over.
Moonrise Kingdom– So unbelievably wonderful. I need to rewatch Rushmore to redetermine my favourite Wes Anderson.
Rewatched: The Avengers– Even though I was robbed of a gag reel, this film is insane amounts of awesome and is still my favourite of the year so far (I think… Moonrise may prevail yet).
Three Colours: Blue– This can sort of count as a first-timer because I had only seen the film in bits and pieces until now. Still, it is my favourite of the trilogy. Binoche is incredible.
Three Colours: Red– This one is brilliant too.
Pulp Fiction– What is it exactly that makes this film so mindblowing? I can never pinpoint.
Before Sunset– All this talk of the third part made me hungry for my favourite sequel of all time. “Baby, you are going to miss that plane.”
American Beauty– To think that I hated this film the first time I saw it! In my defence I was 14 and Lester is kind of creepy.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo– I think this is a beyond excellent adaptation. I really hope Fincher-Mara-Craig finish the series.
The Artist– Film studies class. Everyone was crying around me. It was awesome.
Yeah, I am showing off a bit, but it’s the only time of year I get to do so. Wait until this week’s entry – I promise you the tally will be MUCH lower.
Not a fan of frogs?
You had me with ON THE WATERFRONT and THE THIRD MAN. Watching both of those for the first time in such a small window would be pure bliss. And I’m totally with you on the comedy of BLACK NARCISSUS! Isn’t the melodrama of it just delightful?
This will be big.
TIFF Screenings:
After the Battle – Decent (mostly improvised) drama set around the Egyptian revolution
Dredd 3D – Definitely better than the 1995 film
Frances Ha – A very quirky and enjoyable 1960s-style comedy
Reincarnated – An interesting look at Snoop Dogg’s conversion into reggae
Roman Polanski: Odd Man Out – An interesting look at the events surrounding Polanski’s 2009 arrest
Byzantium – Melodramatic, romanticized, and dull
The Act of Killing – An interesting character study about genocidal killers in Indonesia.
The Iceman – An excellent crime thriller. Michael Shannon is awesome.
Berberian Sound Studio – An excellent example of how sound can be just as horrifying as picture
Hellbenders – A dumb, yet fun, exorcism comedy
Tower – It’s not intentionally a film about Asperger’s, but I have to say that it’s probably the most genuine and non-biased cinematic portrayal of the Autism Spectrum Disorder that I have seen.
Antiviral – A decent, though uneven, debut film for Brandon Cronenberg
Smashed – A very straight-forward film about alcoholism. Great performance by Mary Elizabeth Winstead.
The Suicide Shop – A macabre and enjoyable suicide musical
Sightseers – Has its moments, though it’s a bit too dark for my liking.
The Bay – A well done (and at times terrifying) found footage film
Aftershock – An ultra-violent and sometimes disturbing horror/disaster film hybrid.
Crimes of Mike Recket – Decent for a low-budget Canadian film, though I had issues with the plot structure.
In the Fog – A VERY slow-paced World War II-set drama. Not really my thing.
I Declare War – Kids use war games to resolve their personal issues. I very much enjoyed this film.
Venus & Serena – A decent enough history of the Williams sisters.
John Dies at the End – A weird film with a somewhat confusing plot.
Room 237 – An enjoyable documentary about the people who tend to overanalyze The Shining
Storm Surfers 3D – Probably the best 3D documentary not directed by Werner Herhog. Features some great surfing scenes.
The ABCs of Death – The shorts were a mixed bag, but I overall liked it.
Netflix First Time:
Take Shelter – After all the hype, I was somewhat underwhelmed (though Michael Shannon was good)
Blu-Ray Rewatches:
Kung Fu Hustle – This is one fun film
Suck – A favourite from TIFF 2009 (shame it never got a theatrical release)
Submarine – Another past TIFF favourite
The Disappearance of Alice Creed – Yet Another One
The Cabin in the Woods – This film is still a blast to watch.
Damn, that’s a lot of revisiting TIFF past! (Even KUNG FU HUSTLE came from the festival its year). I haven’t revisited CABIN just yet, but I count myself as one of those who thought it was just “okay” – it got a little overhyped for me going in.
That was the point of my pre-TIFF rewatching. You can add REAL TIME to that list, which I watched on Netflix, but forgot to log into Letterboxd.
I actually had a ticket to see Kung Fu Hustle at TIFF, but the screening was cancelled at the last minute due to the print being damaged. I later saw it during its regular theatrical run.
What I saw this week: Well, I saw a lot of Truffaut films this week. First-Timers: The Bride Wore Black, Stolen Kisses, Bed & Board, and Love on the Run along with Compliance.
Re-Watches: Antoine & Colette, Naked Gun 2 1/2, Speed, Troy, and Lost in Translation for Bill Murray’s birthday.
Pretty sure I missed my window on COMPLIANCE, at least as far as seeing it in a theatre up here. Pity too since I’ve heard nothing but good things about it. Maybe I can catch it at a rep cinema before it goes to blu-ray.
Hokay…three weeks worth? Also, you’re 20 up on me, which may be an insurmountable lead.
New to me:
Gilda: Damn but Rita Hayworth was sexy, and she and Glenn Ford had great chemistry.
L’Argent: I finally found a Bresson film I don’t love.
Dear Diary: Absolutely charming. Worth tracking down.
Once Upon a Time in China: Meh. Jet Li is a bad ass and that’s it.
Y tu Mama Tambien: Maribel Verdu is great. The rest? Take it or leave it.
The Rules of the Game: It’s fourth in the Sight and Sound poll. It’s rated too low.
Witness for the Prosecution: Charles Laughton’s best role, I think.
Catwoman: For podcast. Holy crap is it awful.
Kick-Ass: For podcast. Violent, but worth seeing.
Smoke: A sweet and special slice of life.
The Band Wagon: The dancing is great. Other than that, the dancing is great.
5 Fingers: Forgettable except for James Mason.
Manhattan: I do like Woody Allen.
My Darling Clementine: If I want a historically inaccurate O.K. Corral, I’ll watch Tombstone
Heat: Too long, but worth it.
No Man’s Land: Surprising and powerful.
The Deer Hunter: I’d seen pieces of this before, but never the whole thing.
Rewatches:
Spartacus: Probably the least Kubrick Kubrick, but that’s okay.
Beverly Hills Cop: Still as good as I remember it.
The Incredible Shrinking Man: Surprisingly poignant for B-grade science fiction.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: It’s pretty anti-woman, but it’s still a classic.
Ravenous: My second favorite film about cannibalism (Delicatessen wins).
Clue: Communism was just a red herring.
Little Miss Sunshine: The funniest single scene of the last ten years.
Pootie Tang: It makes me laugh. I don’t know why.
HEAT is up amongst my all-time very favorite movies, and MANHATTAN is pretty high up there too!
As for CLEMENTINE, it’s the home of one of my all-time favorite lines of dialogue:
“Mac, you ever been in love?”
Nope. I been a bartender all my life”
Gold.
BTW – Any decisions on the podcast appearance yet?
Check your email.
LOOPER which was well worth the wait for me. Studio Ghibli film FROM UP ON POPPY HILL which was just gorgeous and almost made me cry (a difficult feat). KILLING THEM SOFTLY – stylish. A first watch of SOUTHLAND TALES which was an incoherent mess of ideas and randomly cast roles/cameos. Nothing can compare with your list though 🙂
Funny thing about POPPY HILL, I liked it well enough when I saw it at TIFF 2011, but after following it with the anime syllabus (I can’t recall if you read those entries on this space or not), its impression on me dulled somewhat. I still like its story and whimsy, but not as much as all those wonderful selections I’ve watched since.
As for KILLING THEM SOFTLY, colour me restless.