9:19 am

First movie of the day is at 9:30 and the subway doesn’t start running until 9:00 on Sundays which poses a problem. So after grabbing a bus and a long streetcar ride we finally get to Ryerson University, where the screening is, 35 minutes before it starts, and the line-up is crazy long. So instead of grabbing shitty seats together we decided to get good seats seperately.

The movie, by the way, is ‘Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist’. Man, I wish I had a coffee.

Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist

The back of JP’s head. Two rows ahead of Paul.

Paul:
JP:

Plot: High school student Nick O’Leary, member of the queercore band The Jerk Offs, meets college-bound Norah Silverberg and she asks him to be her boyfriend for five minutes to avoid an awkward situation. This begins the night of Nick, Norah and manhattan and it’s a night they’ll never forget.

Trailer: http://www.movie-list.com/trailers.php?id=nickandnorahsinfiniteplaylist

Notes:

• Well, Michael Cera is on a roll. Juno, Superbad and now this. Another great movie! Realistic and interesting characters, funny and witty dialogue, great soundtrack and great performances by all.
• A funny, somewhat unique take on the ‘teenage movie’. The structure is standard but it’s the characters that make it different — they feel real and not your Hollywood cliche’ed teenager.
• Kat Dennings is great and one to look out for. Michael Cera is fantastic as usual and Ari Graynor as the drunk comic relief was just right too.
• All the locations were real and they looked it. The band’s playing, and the crowds in the clubs were all authentic and true to the New York night scene.
• Recommended!

12:39 pm

Nick and Norah was great. Great cast, great soundtrack, funny and even moving at times, I really enjoyed it. Band of Horses, Shout Out Louds, We Are Scientists, Vampire Weekend and more on the soundtrack. Michael Cera is on a role with Juno, Superbad and now this. Recommended, go see it when it comes out!

Now, ‘Wendy and Lucy’ starring Michelle Williams.

Wendy and Lucy

Paul:
JP:

Plot: A woman’s life is derailed en route to a potentially lucrative summer job. When her car breaks down, and her dog is taken to the pound, the thin fabric of her financial situation comes apart, and she is led through a series of increasingly dire economic decisions.

Notes:

• Pretty dull. Not much plot at all and very little happens that is interesting. It’s as if they made a movie for the sake of making a movie. You really should have a good story and script first.
• Michelle Williams does a good job with what she has to work with, but except for a couple of scenes, she really doesn’t have much to do.
• If it wasn’t for the dog, I don’t think I would have made it through the entire film.
• I liked the character of the security guard and thought he was under-utilized.
• Many scenes looked as though they were going to move the plot forward and ultimately went nowhere.
• We also felt it wasn’t very well shot / directed.

2:51 pm

We’ve decided next year no films at Ryerson! It’s a pain in the ass to get to, the seats are cramped and it’s always too warm.
Last film was just O.K., it barely had a plot.
Now we are going to see ‘Is There Anybody There?’ starring Michael Caine. He was
out front getting his picture taken a few minutes ago, I look forward to seeing him for the Q and A.

Is There Anybody There?

Director John Crowley and Michael Caine

Paul:
JP:

Plot: Set in 1980s seaside England, this is the story of Edward, an unusual ten year old boy growing up in an old people’s home run by his parents. Whilst his mother struggles to keep the family business afloat, and his father copes with the onset of mid-life crisis, Edward is busy tape-recording the elderly residents to try and discover what happens when they die. Increasingly obsessed with ghosts and the afterlife, Edward’s is a rather lonely existence until he meets Clarence, the latest recruit to the home, a retired magician with a liberating streak of anarchy. Is There Anybody There? tells the surprising, touching story of this odd couple – a boy and an old man – facing life together, with Edward learning to live in the moment and Clarence coming to terms with the past.

Notes:

• Michael Caine! What more do you need?
• 3 for 3 for John Crowley (Intermission, Boy A, Is There Anybody There?). Another winner!
• A funny, interesting and moving film with an awesome performance by Caine and newcomer Bill Milner (Son of Rambow)… it’s always impressive when a child actor is really good and he was!

10:51 pm

Highlight of today was Michael Caine. He and John Crowley did a Q and A after Is There Anybody There? and he was so funny, charming and entertaining — He’s a class act!

8:19 am

Up at 6:30am today, that’s definitely the worst part of the whole experience, though it was much easier to get up today then it will be later this week.

First movie is ‘Appaloosa’, a western directed by Ed Harris and starring him, Viggo Mortensen and Squinty McSquint, also known as Renee Zelweger. Looking forward to seeing it.

Appaloosa

Ed Harris Introducing ‘Appaloosa’

Trailer: http://www.movie-list.com/trailers.php?id=appaloosa

Notes:

• We loved it. It was exactly what a western should be; Great dialogue, funny (We laughed out loud several times), well shot (Sets and backgrounds were very well done — there’s always something happening in backgrounds; through windows; etc.) good shoot-outs and never boring.
• Mortensen and Harris were, as usual, fantastic, and had a great rapport. Jeremy Irons was also great.
• Were never fans of Renee “Squinty” Zellweger but she fit the role well.
• JP felt it might have been a tad long.

11:34 am

First off, Appaloosa was fantastic, I friggin’ loved it! More notes on it tonight.
Next up is Detroit Metal City. I don’t feel like typing up the premise but it promises to be a blast. You can easily look it up if you’re curious.
Gonna have some popcorn for lunch, it doesn’t get much more unhealthy then that but what’cha gonna do?
Nothing much of note has happened yet today outside of the films but it’s still early.

Detroit Metal City

Director of Detroit Metal City in the Centre

Paul:
JP:

Plot: Soichi Negishi moved to Tokyo to chase his dream of becoming a musician playing stylish, Swedish-style pop. Instead, he finds himself leading the death metal band Detroit Metal City, or DMC, as the costumed and grotesquely made-up “demon emperor” Johannes Krauser II. Although he hates the role and the things he has to do as a member of the band, he has a definite talent for it. Adapted from the hit Japanese comic book by Kiminori Wakasugi, the movie follows Negishi’s antics as he tries to reconcile the two very different sides of his life and find out what it really means to achieve his dream.

Notes:

• Way too cartoony, over-the-top and stupid. Might be a cultural thing, but this movie just wasn’t for us.
• Music was well made, though it’s odd that something that was made apparently made so kids could watch it (according to the director during the q&a) would be filled with songs with lyrics about raping and killing. Again, this must be a cultural thing.
• Unfortunately, the lead character was very punchable. It’s hard to root for the guy if you’d like to see him get pummeled.
• Gene Simmons was… whatever — could take him or leave him.

2:31 pm

Every year there’s a movie I’m not looking forward to seeing too much and it winds up being awesome, and there’s one I’m dying to see and I’m ultimately disappointed — Detroit Metal City falls in the 2nd category, I did not like it AT ALL. I almost went to sleep during it. It must be a cultural thing but it was way too over the top, stupid and cartoony for me.

Next movie is ‘Vinyan’ which is decribed as a ghost story and psychological thriller.

Vinyan

Director of Vinyan on the left

Paul:
JP:

Plot: A couple are looking for their child who was lost in the tsunami – their search takes them to the dangerous Thai-Burmese waters, and then into the jungle, where they face unknown but horrifying dangers.

Trailer: http://www.movie-list.com/trailers.php?id=vinyan

Notes:

• Insane sound-mix… There are moments when the ‘noise’ makes your ears bleed. Maybe it was the theater, but many people were covering their ears at the start, and especially at one moment near the end.
• Slowly paced, but not boring. Might have dragged slightly midway through.
• Well acted by Beart and Sewell.
• If the plot summary had not mentioned the Tsunami or ghosts, we wouldn’t have known about it. The beginning and end are both very vague. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it does question whether this was intentional or not.
• It was well shot. Camera work gets more elaborate (using handheld, wires, etc.) as the film progresses.
• JP liked it more than Paul, who thought it was a little too artsy-fartsy for it’s own good. It would have made a better short film, as he felt there wasn’t enough there for a feature film.

10:55 am

First movie of the fest is Guy Ritchie’s ‘RockNRolla’ and if it’s everything I hope it is it will be a great way to start the whole shebang! Laughs, action and tough guys beating and shooting the hell out of each other. Our thoughts about it afterwards!

11:34 am

First movie and there’s already an annoying guy behind me. Apparently he’s from Aint it Cool News and his name is Art Snob. Anyways, he’s a douche.

RocknRolla

Guy Ritchie introduces RocknRolla

Paul:
JP:

Plot: In London, a stolen painting pits some of the city’s scrappiest tough guys (Butler, Elba) against its more established underworld players (Wilkinson).

Trailer: http://www.movie-list.com/trailers.php?id=rocknrolla

Notes:

• The film is not as funny, or as violent as Ritchie’s past work. Although it’s tone is certainly less serious than Revolver. It did still have some laugh-out-loud moments.
• Although nice and loud, the sound at the Ryerson isn’t the greatest which made some of the thick accents hard to understand. Even viewers with great sound might have some trouble early in the movie until they get used to it.
• We enjoyed everyone in the cast, especially Gerard Butler.
• It took us a while to get ‘involved’ in the movie. Maybe because it didn’t ‘hook’ us.
• The script was original and unpredictable. Ended perfectly.

2:15 pm

2nd movie of the day is ‘JCVD’, a sort-of-mocumentary starring Jean-Claude Van Damme that has lots of buzz on it from Cannes. I don’t know what to expect except that apparently we will see Jean-Claude in a new light.

JCVD

Mabrouk El Mechri (in middle)

Paul:
JP:

Plot: Between his tax problems and his legal battle with his wife for the custody of his daughter, these are hard times for the action movie star who finds that even Steven Seagal has pinched a role from him! In JCVD, Jean-Claude Van Damme returns to the country of his birth to seek the peace and tranquility he can no longer enjoy in the United States.

Trailer: http://www.movie-list.com/trailers.php?id

Notes:

• Great… Incredible monologue by Van Damme — no spoilers, but… wow.
• Not sure if the flashback-style was necessary. It didn’t detract from the film necessarily, but the film could have been told chronologically.
• Nice to see Van Damme poke fun at himself and his career
• The opening scene — one long action cut, was very well done and hooks you into the movie.
• Had a few laugh-out-loud moments as well as some touching scenes.
• Great, original idea and premise. Not as much like Being John Malkovich as you might hear. But we can see why the connection would be made.
• Van Damme surprised us with his acting ability.

11:22 pm

End of day one.

Our main TIFF ‘08 section is up and includes a list of all the film’s playing, as well as trailers and our list of picks. It will be updated throughout the festival with new info and will link to all of our coverage.

http://www.movie-list.com/tiff08/