Short Cuts Canada Programme 5 seems to be where they put all the shorts that would show in front of the Midnight Madness features if TIFF programmed them that way. These are the genre shorts, the crude comedies, and the freaky deaky. The little bit of animated goodness that is Sol Friendman’s Day 40 posits what it […]
If there’s a unifying theme in programme 4, it’s the dichotomy of human experience. You can have the same job as somebody, the same parents, or even be in love with someone, and yet still experience the world in a completely different way. In Broken Face, a war veteran is “reintegrated into society” with a job […]
In fourth and final program of the Wavelengths short films series, entitled Night Noon, we enter the psyche and delve deep into the human experience. We begin with Malena Szlam’s Lunar Almanac, a four minute piece compiled together from still photographs of the moon over various nights. The moon becomes moons as the photographs are […]
Tu Dors Nicole Contemporary World Cinema Believe it or not, sometimes something as simple as the ennui of a hot lazy summer in the suburban rural landscape can be a touch too understated to genuinely work. Tu Dors Nicole is a stylishly interesting, but unarratively dull affair that leaves too much unsaid with too characters […]
The Vanished Elephant Discovery Dripping with intrigue and style, the classic film noir inspired Vanished Elephant sees first time feature director Javier Fuentes-León deliver the audience a mind bending mystery that will have audiences guessing up to the very end. Crime novelist and former policeman Edo Celeste (Salvador del Solar) has been mourning his beloved […]
I Am Here TIFF Docs Though intended as a dissection of fame and the idol worshiping youth culture of China, I Am Here fails to elevate its subject matter by coming across as dull and lifeless, packing only a handful of real emotion. Millions clamour to their television sets every week for the staggeringly popular […]
Men Who Save the World Contemporary World Cinema Vibrant and funny, Men Who Save the World could just be a story about a village trying to move a house, but its layers of dry wit, superstition and mistaken identity make for a great ride. Pak Awang (Wan Hanafi Su) wants to move an abandoned house […]
We Were Wolves Discovery Brothers Nick and Danny work through both their deceased father’s possessions and their own issues in the scenic Kawartha Lakes in a solid feature debut from director Jordan Canning Estranged for years and with very different memories of their father and their childhood, particularly summers at the cottage they’re cleaning out, […]
The Cobbler Special Presentations I only have 300 words or less to explain The Cobbler, but I doubt I could adequately convey anything about it in less than 30,000 words. How else would one describe one of the most original and bafflingly crazy misfires you’ve ever seen? Like Ishtar, it’s a film that will someday […]
The Theory of Everything Special Presentations A mostly well rounded biopic that looks at the relationship between renowned scientific mastermind Stephen Hawking and his first wife Jane Wilde, The Theory of Everything marks a return to fictional filmmaking for James Marsh after his direction of Man on Wire and Project Nim. Eddie Redmayne transforms himself […]
Teen Lust Contemporary World Cinema Blaine Thurier’s teen sex comedy Teen Lust is the last thing Canadian film needs right now. The premise has potential, though. Neil (Jesse Carere) just turned 18, is about to finish high school, and is a virgin. That’s fine by his parents (Jon Dore and Emmanuelle Vaugier) who need an 18 year old […]
The Riot Club Gala Hey, you know how there’s some sort of class warfare thing that they do in Britain? Well, so do the people behind The Riot Club and they sure are pissy about it. Perhaps I’m being unkind. It’s not a bad movie by any means. Just one that is very, very on […]
Tusk Midnight Madness A melding of Kevin Smith’s comedic sensibilities with the dark weirdness that permeated his last effort, Red State, Tusk might be the oft hockey jersey clad auteur’s most ambitious and thoughtful project yet. It’s not without its flaws, but Smith has clearly reached the “I just don’t give a fuck” portion of […]
Black and White Gala Kevin Costner reteams with filmmaker Mike Binder (The Upside of Anger, Reign Over Me) for an “inspired by true events” custody battle between members of an extended mixed race family. It’s every bit as manipulative as it sounds, but it works more often than it fails. Alcoholic lawyer Elliott (Costner) now […]
Beyond The Lights Special Presentations When you get past its standard romantic drama trappings, Beyond The Lights makes some pretty strong statements about the use of women in entertainment and the lack of artistry in the music business. Noni (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), with her power house voice and sexy body, has been groomed from a very […]
