TORONTO 2013
James Franco, Mila Kunis & More in 'Third Person' International Trailer
Following a debut at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival, and a forthcoming slot at the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival in New York, an international trailer for Paul Haggis' most recent directorial effort Third Person has arrived. Though the film doesn't have distribution in the United States yet, the star-studded cast that includes Liam Neeson, James Franco, Adrien Brody, Mila Kunis, Olivia Wilde has made it appealing enough to get a release in Italy and Belgium this month and Japan later this year. Unfortunately, we're not looking forward to the film getting picked up for release in the US, because this looks melodramatic, overwrought and cheesy as hell. If you didn't like Crash, this one won't be for you.
Video Interview: 'The Double' Director Richard Ayoade on Inspiration
"If everyone decides you're not a person, you aren't, in a way." One of my favorite films that I saw at the 2013 Toronto Film Festival is The Double, the second feature from comedian-actor-filmmaker Richard Ayoade. I fell in love with his first film, Submarine (watch it on Netflix!), back at TIFF in 2010 and was lucky enough to catch the world premiere of The Double at TIFF this year. Based on the Fyodor Dostoevsky novella, Jesse Eisenberg stars as a timid worker whose life is thrown into disarray when his doppelganger shows up. I met up with Richard Ayoade in Toronto for a good chat about The Double recorded on Flipcam.
› Posted on September 18 in Interview, TIFF 13, To Watch | 4 Comments
Favorite Films of the 2013 Toronto Film Festival + One Final Recap
The wonderful, exciting, thrilling world of cinema. Last week I returned home from my seventh trip to the Toronto Film Festival, best known just as TIFF. Over the course of one week, I screened a total of 18 films; combined with the 10 I saw in Telluride, that puts me at a grand total of 28 festival screenings since the end of August/start of September. It was a wild ride this year, between controversy and complaints, a couple of interviews, and tons of parties, screenings, meet-ups and discussions. To finish my coverage of TIFF 2013, I'm recapping my 5 favorite films that I saw at this festival (excluding those I originally saw in Telluride) as well as my quick thoughts on any others. I'm always excited to talk about my personal favorites of Toronto.
› Posted on September 17 in Editorial, Indies, TIFF 13 | 5 Comments
TIFF 2013: Ron Howard's 'Rush' is Exciting, Entertaining & Engaging
My appreciation for Formula One racing grew exponentially in the last few years. It all began with Senna, the outstanding doc (see it if you haven't!) profiling driver Ayrton Senna. This year we have a feature film titled Rush from director Ron Howard that focuses on the rivalry between two other famous drivers - Niki Lauda, played by Daniel Brühl, and James Hunt, played by Chris Hemsworth. While the mechanics of the cars are fascinating, it's just as compelling to dive deep into the psyche of the drivers, and what drives them. That's a bit cheesy, but all I wanted to do by the end of this was go out and drive, and push the limits.
› Posted on September 17 in Review, TIFF 13 | 6 Comments
TIFF's Embarrassing Problem - Rampant Industry Cell Phone Abuse
"We can't afford to let ourselves be guided by contemporary cultural standards—particularly now…" -M. Scorsese on cinema. Last week at the Toronto International Film Festival, my story and name made headlines around the world. But for all the wrong reasons. I love TIFF, I've been attending for seven years and hope to return for many more. But the fest has an embarrassing problem with rampant cell phone use during Press & Industry screenings. And I am the first person in the festival's history to stand up to it, say something about it, and make a ruckus big enough to actually draw the attention of the festival's decision-makers. It's time for them to make a change. It's time for this repulsive problem to be brought to light and for the festival to once again set a precedent for preserving the profoundly affecting experience of cinema.
› Posted on September 16 in Discuss, Editorial, TIFF 13 | Comments Closed
TIFF 2013: Jeremy Saulnier's 'Blue Ruin' is a Damn Fine Revenge Film
Revenge is a… we all already know that old Klingon proverb. So how about something a bit different? How about revenge with a tinge of blue and some blood splattered in there, too? One of the films I caught early at the 2013 Toronto Film Festival was one I originally missed at Cannes, a small revenge feature titled Blue Ruin from director Jeremy Saulnier. It's a bit of a slow burn take on one man's desire to exact revenge on the people who destroyed his family, but it never drags at any point. As the buzz claims, it's actually one of the best revenge films this year, and a good one to discover for yourself if you love bloody revenge stories.
› Posted on September 16 in Review, TIFF 13 | 1 Comment
Watch: TIFF Short Films Including 'Noah', 'Young Wonder' & 'Method'
As the 2013 Toronto Film Festival comes to close, it's one of your last chances to catch some of the short films playing at the fest. As part of a deal with TIFF, YouTube has been hosting 22 shorts online for free viewing. One of them has already been making the rounds, a short called Noah about a teenage kid's failing relationship told entirely through video of his computer screen - it just won the festival's big shorts award. There's also the short titled Method, directed by "Rookie Blue" star Gregory Smith about an actor playing a police officer, and a short called Young Wonder, a fun outdoor fantasy action-adventure film. These will only be online for a limited amount of time, and they're all worth watching, so hurry up and check them out.
› Posted on September 15 in Short Film, TIFF 13, To Watch | Comments Closed
TIFF 2013: McQueen's '12 Years a Slave' wins Coveted Audience Award
The winners of many prestigious awards at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival have been announced today as the festival wraps up. The big winner this year is Steve McQueen's 12 Years a Slave starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, which won the "People's Choice" award. It's one of the most coveted prizes at TIFF considering the prominent history of past winners. Over these last four to five years, the big winner usually goes on to achieve some Oscar glory. The last few winners include: Silver Linings Playbook, Where Do We Go Now?, The King's Speech, Precious and Slumdog Millionaire. Now McQueen's 12 Years a Slave joins those ranks, but it should be noted that Sion Sono's Why Don't You Play in Hell? won the midnight award.
› Posted on September 15 in Indies, Movie News, TIFF 13 | Comments Closed
TIFF 2013: John Curran's 'Tracks' is a Beautiful Australian Journey
What a beautiful, beautiful film. That's the best way to put it. And that's the first thought that came to mind and stayed at the forefront of my thoughts while I was watching this. The film Tracks, directed by John Curran, and follows the real-life story of Australian naturalist Robyn Davidson, who crossed 1,700 miles of the Australia Outback by foot by herself in 1977. Her journey was documented and published in National Geographic and this film gives us a dramatic recreation of it, following Robyn and her sunburned trip with three camels. Watch it is like floating through a beautiful dream journeying across the Australian Outback.
› Posted on September 11 in Review, TIFF 13 | 1 Comment
TIFF 2013: Incredible Found Footage Horror 'Afflicted' Rules the Night
Holy crap! This was awesome! The Midnight Madness selection at the Toronto Film Festival usually features some outstanding genre gems and this year I caught one of them that considerably impressed me. The film is titled Afflicted and if there's anything I must suggest it is to catch a screening of it as soon as possible without knowing anything else about it. It's yet another genre found footage film, but it's also genre-bending and the closest comparison I can come up with (without giving away too much more) is Chronicle. If you loved that film, you should love this, too. Afflicted kicks ass and will leave you with chills at the same time.
› Posted on September 11 in Horror, Review, TIFF 13 | 8 Comments
TIFF 2013: Michael Dowse's 'The F Word' is Delightful Romantic Fun
In the delightful world of romantic comedies it's always hard to stay fresh when so many of them hit the big screen every year. But there's always one or two hidden gems to be found, and the latest one to appear in 2013 is Michael Dowse's The F Word. Playing at the Toronto Film Festival, this stellar romantic comedy stars Daniel Radcliffe and Zoe Kazan and addresses in a comically fun way the dreaded "f" word in relationships - "friend". It's very sweet, shot exquisitely around Toronto, and endearing in all the right ways. While it doesn't reinvent the romantic comedy wheel, it doesn't really need to. I enjoyed every second of it.
› Posted on September 10 in Review, TIFF 13 | 1 Comment
TIFF 2013: Richard Ayoade's 'The Double' is a Fun Dostoevsky Mindtrip
What happens when you mix Fyodor Dostoevsky with the mad genius mind of comedian and filmmaker Richard Ayoade, co-writer Avi Korine, and the suave of Jesse Eisenberg? We get The Double, this funky mindfuck, Terry Gilliam-esque, trippy, fun, dark comedy that may not have all the pieces there, but is certainly unique. I'm a very big fan of Ayoade's feature directorial debut Submarine (watch it on Netflix), and happily dived headfirst into his second feature, The Double, based on an 1846 Dostoevsky novella with a dystopian plot involving a worker whose entire life is thrown into disarray when his doppleganger shows up.
› Posted on September 8 in Review, TIFF 13 | 2 Comments
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