The A.V. Club - Toronto International Film Festival

Film: Toronto International Film Festival: TIFF '11: Day Seven

Thu, 15 Sep 2011 07:00:00 -0500

Rampart Director/Country/Time: Oren Moverman/USA/105 min. Cast: Woody Harrelson, Sigourney Weaver, Robin Wright Program: Special Presentations Headline: O’er The Rampart We Watched Scott’s Take: Drawn from the same source of inspiration as The Shield—the mass corruption uncovered within a rogue anti-gang unit in the Los Angeles Police Department in the late ‘90s—Oren Moverman’s Rampart already starts with the disadvantage of covering in 105 minutes a story that The Shield rolled out over seven seasons. And in some ways, those shortcomings are painfully obvious: Even with James Ellroy, the great authority on LAPD ...

Film: Toronto International Film Festival: TIFF '11: Day Six

Wed, 14 Sep 2011 07:00:00 -0500

Moneyball Director/Country/Time: Bennett Miller/USA/126 min. Cast: Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, Philip Seymour Hoffman Program: Gala Headline: Weak “wins above replacement” value, but does get on base a lot Noel’s Take: There’s seems to be a fundamental disconnect between the message of the big screen adaptation of Michael Lewis’ non-fiction bestseller Moneyball—which argues that statistical modeling is a more fiscally sound method of assembling baseball teams than searching for “intangibles” and “guys who can play”—and the way the movie is put together. Though Michael Lewis’ book is full of colorful individuals, anchored by ...

Film: Toronto International Film Festival: TIFF '11: Day Five

Tue, 13 Sep 2011 07:00:00 -0500

Albert Nobbs Director/Country/Time: Rodrigo Garcia/Ireland/114 min. Cast: Glenn Close, Mia Wasikowska, Brendan Gleeson, Janet McTeer Program: Gala Headline: Close, but no cigar Noel’s Take: I’ll say this for Albert Nobbs: It’s not your everyday “life lived in service” drama. Between Downton Abbey and the revival of Upstairs Downstairs, the market has pretty well been cornered on stories about men and women who spend their lives feeding and dressing the rich. But unlike Albert Nobbs, none of those TV shows features a character who’s a woman passing as a man. Albert Nobbs stars ...

Film: Toronto International Film Festival: TIFF '11: Day Four

Mon, 12 Sep 2011 07:00:00 -0500

Damsels In Distress Director/Country/Time: Whit Stillman/USA/97 min. Cast: Greta Gerwig, Adam Brody, Analeigh Tipton Program: Special Presentations Headline: The Rules Of Attraction Noel’s Take: Good news: Long-absent indie writer-director Whit Stillman is back! Possibly less good news: He’s not really making Whit Stillman movies anymore. In his first film since 1998’s The Last Days Of Disco, Stillman is still showing a preoccupation with the manners of the young—in this case a group of well-dressed, sweet-smelling college girls who make it their mission to educate and elevate their slobby classmates. But where Metropolitan ...

Features: Toronto International Film Festival: TIFF '11: Day Three

Sun, 11 Sep 2011 07:00:00 -0500

Wuthering Heights Director/Country/Time: Andrea Arnold/United Kingdom/128 min. Cast: Kaya Scodelario, James Howson, Shannon Beer Program: Special Presentations Headline: Anti-Masterpiece Theater Scott’s Take: Andrea Arnold’s radical upending of the frilly costume drama opens with a statement of purpose: Our introduction to Heathcliff, one-half of the doomed couple at the center of Emily Brontë’s novel, finds him alone in a dimly appointed farmhouse in mid-1800s Yorkshire, throwing himself against the wall masochistically and beating his forehead bloody. Outside in the arid, craggy, fog-choked landscape, the wind persistently howls and the sky remains persistently gray-black ...

Film: Toronto International Film Festival: TIFF '11: Day Two

Sat, 10 Sep 2011 07:00:00 -0500

Into The Abyss Director/Country/Time: Werner Herzog/USA/106 min. Documentary Program: Real To Reel Headline: In Rick Perry’s Texas, A Culture Of Death Scott’s Take: Werner Herzog is against the death penalty. He makes that explicit upfront in Into The Abyss, his latest documentary, and he questions the necessity of it whenever the occasion arises. However, his film isn’t about the death penalty so much as it is a moving disquisition on violent death itself, and how it transforms anyone connected to it—victims, perpetrators, and those who work in the Death House. The two ...

Film: Toronto International Film Festival: TIFF '11: Day One

Fri, 09 Sep 2011 07:00:00 -0500

The Ides Of March Director/Country/Time: George Clooney/USA/98 min. Cast: Ryan Gosling, George Clooney, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Paul Giamatti, Marisa Tomei, Jeffrey Wright, Evan Rachel Wood Program: Gala Headline: Newsflash… Politics is a dirty business Noel’s Take: The Ides Of March isn’t quite The Candidate; more like The Campaign Manager. Director-star George Clooney’s adaptation of Beau Willimon’s play Farragut North features Ryan Gosling as an idealistic political consultant who believes he’s found a real “change candidate” (played by Clooney), but soon discovers that even doing what’s right in politics requires so ...

Film: Toronto International Film Festival: TIFF '11: Day 0

Wed, 07 Sep 2011 23:14:00 -0500

Whether 2011 goes down as one of the all-time great years for movies or merely a very good one may well be decided over the course of the next week. It’s been a middling year for blockbusters so far, but the art-house has been hopping with last fall’s festival favorites (like Certified Copy, Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives, and Meek’s Cutoff), as well as some of the best from this year’s Sundance (The Interrupters, The Future) and Cannes (The Tree Of Life). And starting today, the Toronto International Film Festival will be screening ...

Film: Toronto International Film Festival: TIFF '10: Day 7

Thu, 16 Sep 2010 06:00:00 -0500

Meek’s Cutoff Director/Country/Time: Kelly Reichardt/USA/104 min. Cast: Michelle Williams, Bruce Greenwood, Will Patton Program: Contemporary World Cinema Headline: Chaos and destruction Scott’s Take: Having just left this screening 20 minutes ago—I’m writing this mid-day—I’m trying very hard for hold back on the hyperbole for Reichardt’s brilliant Western, and where it might land in my best-of year/decade/all-time lists. Suffice to say, it represents a great leap forward from her very fine Wendy And Lucy and Old Joy while expanding beautifully on her themes of survival, man’s relationship ...

Film: Toronto International Film Festival: TIFF '10: Day 6

Wed, 15 Sep 2010 06:00:00 -0500

John Carpenter’s The Ward Director/Country/Time: John Carpenter/USA/88 min. Cast: Amber Heard, Mamie Gummer, Danielle Panabaker, Jared Harris, Lyndsy Fonseca Program: Midnight Madness Headline: It’s a g-g-g-ghost! Noel’s Take: I can’t undersell what a huge thrill it is to see the words “John Carpenter’s The Ward” come up over the opening credits of his first movie in almost a decade, rendered in his signature font. Too bad the rest of the movie’s so damned impersonal. Amber Heard stars as an amnesiac who gets picked up outside of a farmhouse she set ...

Film: Toronto International Film Festival: TIFF '10: Day 5

Tue, 14 Sep 2010 06:00:00 -0500

Cave Of Forgotten Dreams Director/Country/Time: Werner Herzog/USA/95 min. Documentary Program: Real To Reel Headline: Priceless art in the world’s most exclusive gallery Scott’s Take: When it was announced that Herzog was premiering a new documentary at Toronto (in 3-D!), Cave Of Forgotten Dreams immediately become the event of the festival (or close to it) for a lot of people, including myself. And I had the pleasure of seeing it under ideal conditions: In the new Bell Lightbox theater (brief impression: lovely venue, a line-management headache), with Herzog and his producer accompanying a print (or ...

Film: Toronto International Film Festival: TIFF '10: Day 4

Mon, 13 Sep 2010 06:00:00 -0500

The Trip Director/Country/Time: Michael Winterbottom/UK/109 min. Cast: Steve Coogan, Rob Brydon Program: Special Presentations Headline: Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon hit the road Noel’s Take: In theory, turning a camera on British comedians Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon as they eat their way across the north of England should be can’t-miss entertainment. Both men have been funny in various movies and TV series, and were hilarious together in Tristram Shanty: A Cock And Bull Story (directed by Michael Winterbottom, who also helmed The Trip). They’re frequently side-splitting in The Trip as well, as ...

Film: Toronto International Film Festival: TIFF '10: Day 3

Sun, 12 Sep 2010 06:00:00 -0500

Let Me In Director/Country/Time: Matt Reeves/USA/115 min. Cast: Kodi Smit-McPhee, Chloe Moretz, Richard Jenkins Program: Special Presentations Headline: Déjà vu Scott’s Take: What was once in Swedish is now available in English. There are two ways to look at Reeves’ uncanny remake of the moody cult horror/emo film Let The Right One In: 1. It’s a faithful adaptation, honoring the story nearly to the letter and retaining the slow, methodical tone (and bursts of ultra-violence) of the original, which sets it apart from Twilight or the shock-filled American horror films of the ...

Film: Toronto International Film Festival: TIFF '10: Day 2

Sat, 11 Sep 2010 06:00:00 -0500

Black Swan Director/Country/Time: Darren Aronofsky/USA/103 min. Cast: Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassel Program: Gala Headline: Requiem for an arabesque Scott’s Take: Love him or hate him—and I mostly like him, in spite (and because) of his excesses—Aronofsky could never be accused of doing anything halfway. He commits to a concept and treats it with all the fevered intensity and technique he can conjure. Black Swan turns up the gas on the backstage, domestic, and psychological melodrama surrounding a New York ballet company’s new production of Swan Lake. Portman does career-best work ...

Film: Toronto International Film Festival: TIFF '10: Day 1

Fri, 10 Sep 2010 06:00:00 -0500

The Town Director/Country/Time: Ben Affleck/USA/130 min. Cast: Ben Affleck, Rebecca Hall, Jon Hamm, Jeremy Renner, Blake Lively, Titus Welliver, Pete Postlethwaite, Chris Cooper Program: Gala Headline: Affleck’s back in auteur mode Noel’s Take: The burgeoning genre of Boston Noir burgeons on with Ben Affleck’s second outing as a director, adapted from Chuck Hogan’s novel Prince Of Thieves. Unlike his excellent Gone Baby Gone, Affleck steps in front of the camera this time, playing a bank-heist mastermind who strikes up a relationship with Rebecca Hall, a witness to one of his crew’s ...

Film: Toronto International Film Festival: TIFF ’10: Day 0

Thu, 09 Sep 2010 06:00:00 -0500

As another edition of the Toronto International Film Festival opens, the buzz around town is as much about what’s not here as what is. David Fincher’s much-talked-about Facebook drama The Social Network is premiering at the New York Film Festival, so it won’t screen here. Venice nabbed Sofia Coppola’s Somewhere, and Julie Taymor’s adaptation of Shakespeare’s The Tempest. For reasons unknown, Abbas Kiarostami’s acclaimed-at-Cannes Certified Copy isn’t in any Toronto program. The Coen Brothers—who’ve showed their last three films at TIFF—aren’t done with True Grit yet. And no ...

Film: Toronto International Film Festival: Toronto Film Festival '09: Day 7

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 07:00:00 -0500

Mother Director/Country/Time: Bong Joon-ho/South Korea/129 min. Cast: Kim Hye-ja, Won Bin Program: Special Presentations Headline: When a woman’s mentally handicapped son is accused of murder, she investigates what really happened Noel’s Take: The best murder mystery stories start small and build out, becoming more about the community where the crime took place, as well as the changing character of the detectives who look deep into the hearts of killers. In that sense, Bong Joon-ho’s Mother is a superior murder mystery. It starts with an almost pathetic crime—a mildly retarded adult accused of ...

Film: Toronto International Film Festival: Toronto Film Festival '09: Day 6

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 07:00:00 -0500

The White Stripes Under Great White Northern Lights Director/Country/Time: Emmett Malloy/USA/93 min. Program: Vanguard Headline: “I can tell that we are going to be friends.” Noel’s Take: It makes sense that the first full song in The White Stripes Under Great White Northern Lights would be “Let's Shake Hands.” Emmett Malloy’s unusually stylish rock-doc is about the garage-rock duo's 2007 Canadian tour, during which they played remote towns and provinces, while finding time at each tour stop to make an unusual promotional appearance. They played on city buses, boats, bowling alleys (where ...

Film: Toronto International Film Festival: Toronto Film Festival '09: Day 5

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 07:00:00 -0500

The Bad Lieutenant: Port Of Call New Orleans Director/Country/Time: Werner Herzog/ USA/ 121 min. Cast: Nicolas Cage, Eva Mendes, Val Kilmer Program: Special Presentations Headline: Pass my lucky crackpipe Scott’s Take: When it was first announced that Werner Herzog’s next project was a remake of Abel Ferrara’s Bad Lieutenant with Nicolas Cage in the lead role, I think many of us thought, “What kind of crazy trainwreck is this gonna be?” Then the wondrous trailer came out, and it was, “Oh, that kind of crazy trainwreck.” So what about the movie? It’s everything the ...

Film: Toronto International Film Festival: Toronto Film Festival '09: Day 4

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 07:00:00 -0500

Capitalism: A Love Story Director/Country/Time: Michael Moore/USA/105 min. Program: Special Presentations Headline: Fat man takes on fatcats Noel’s Take: As smug and self-aggrandizing as Michael Moore can be, he’s generally pretty good at what he does, and what he does serves a function. Moore rouses the rabble, making the disenfranchised feel like they're part of a larger community; and he simplifies (some would say oversimplifies) complicated political issues. Moore's latest cine-essay Capitalsm: A Love Story suffers from all the usual problems that afflict Moore's movies. The moment Moore’s ironically ...