Tiff 2016
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- DirectorFabrice du WelzStarsChadwick BosemanLuke EvansAlfred MolinaJacob King, a mysterious outsider from South Africa, arrives in Los Angeles to look for his missing younger sister.Sep 8
First film of tiff for me so far this year. A revenge thriller with not nearly enough thrilling moments. The story was good, though many of the story elements were not resolved in the end. With some more action and a more satisfying ending it could have been really good. Also the revelation at the end was pointless. 6/10 - DirectorBen WheatleyStarsSharlto CopleyBrie LarsonArmie HammerSet in Boston in 1978, a meeting in a deserted warehouse between two gangs turns into a shoot-out and a game of survival.Sep 9
Consistently funny and brilliantly choreographed film. All performances were spot on. The story and dialogue were smartly paced. Comic timing worked well though I'd like to watch it again for some of the dialogue I missed. 8/10 - DirectorSusan JohnsonStarsBel PowleyNathan LaneWilliam MoseleyA person of high intelligence struggles to make sense of the world as it relates to morality, relationships, sex, and leaving her apartment.Sept 9
Cute romantic comedy with a good supporting cast. Unfortunately it was as predictable as could be. The dialogue became very cheesy and wooden towards the end. Enjoyable thanks to the lead actress's performance and the humour, but I wish it had gone somewhere unique. 6/10 - DirectorNate ParkerStarsNate ParkerArmie HammerPenelope Ann MillerNat Turner, a literate slave and preacher in the antebellum South, orchestrates an uprising.Sep 9
Much like 12 years a Slave, this had a strong and emotional story. The performances were decent, though not Oscar worthy in my opinion. Much of the emotion, especially in the later scenes of the film, were more manufactured than they needed to be. The actions on their own would have been enough. The obvious effort to elicit emotion only took away from the effect for me. 7/10 - DirectorPaul VerhoevenStarsIsabelle HuppertLaurent LafitteAnne ConsignyA successful businesswoman gets caught up in a game of cat and mouse as she tracks down the unknown man who raped her.Sep 10
Very unique and interesting thriller. The story and style were reminiscent of some of the best DePalma films. Much like many DePalma films it was also like a Hitchcock film. I've not playing nominated what was missing but there was something missing that left me feeling empty. 7/10 - DirectorNacho VigalondoStarsAnne HathawayJason SudeikisAustin StowellGloria is an out-of-work party girl forced to leave her life in New York City and move back home. When reports surface that a giant creature is destroying Seoul, she gradually comes to the realization that she is somehow connected to this phenomenon.Sep 10
It doesn't always work well to combine genres but it worked very well here. The concept was about as unique as can be. Loads of humour throughout that worked in a very natural way rather than the forced comedy you can sometimes get in a horror comedy. Minor complaints with some plot holes at the end that took me out of the story a little. 8/10 - DirectorAdam LeonStarsCallum TurnerGrace Van PattenMichal VondelA young man and woman find love in an unlikely place while carrying out a shady deal.Sep 10
Surprisingly charming romance/thriller. It wasn't a very polished film though that kind of worked. Some of the music was edited in a way that made it jarring when it shouldn't have been. The 2 lead characters did a great job carrying the film. 7/10 - DirectorJuho KuosmanenStarsJarkko LahtiOona AirolaEero MilonoffThe true story of Olli Mäki, the famous Finnish boxer who had a shot at the 1962 World Featherweight title.Sep 10
Stylistic film in that it was made in black and white and done in a sort of fly on the wall or day in the life style. This made the film enjoyable for the first half, but then the novelty wore off. If it had been either faster paced or shorter it would have been a much better film. 5/10 - DirectorBarry JenkinsStarsMahershala AliNaomie HarrisTrevante RhodesA young African-American man grapples with his identity and sexuality while experiencing the everyday struggles of childhood, adolescence, and burgeoning adulthood.Sep 11
Brilliant performances that easily evoke an emotional impact. I felt a connection to the main characters within minutes of the film starting. The format of the story allowed the audience to make that connection even stronger. This is a rare time that the connection is as strong as it was. I expect multiple Oscar noms for Moonlight. Favourite film of tiff 2016 so far. 9/10 - DirectorGarth DavisStarsDev PatelNicole KidmanRooney MaraA five-year-old Indian boy is adopted by an Australian couple after getting lost hundreds of kilometers from home. 25 years later, he sets out to find his lost family.Sep 11
Lion had a good emotional impact even if it was a bit heavy handed. The story is the real star here, especially because it is based on true events. The acting wasn't what I expected from a film like this. Deb Patel didn't deliver the emotion needed for the role. Nicole Kidman put in the best performance in the film though she was also uneven. Too bad they didn't have any of the real life people the movie was about there for a q&a. 7/10 - DirectorChristopher GuestStarsZach WoodsWayne WildersonSarah BakerA look into the world of competitive mascots.Sep 11
I like a good mockumentary and Guest is a veteran when it comes to those. Unfortunately he continues to cast mostly the same people in each one. Without a script, that just results in them all being too similar. It hit all the funny points you'd expect it to, and went nowhere new. 6/10 - DirectorGreg McLeanStarsJohn Gallagher Jr.Tony GoldwynAdria ArjonaIn a twisted social experiment, eighty Americans are locked in their high-rise corporate office in Bogotá, Colombia, and ordered by an unknown voice coming from the company's intercom system to participate in a deadly game of kill or be killed.Sep 11
I always enjoy a human experiment film of this sort. This film had a nice big scale to start with considering the number of people involved in the experiment. It's unfortunate that they didn't capitalize on that better. The story instead goes to all the places these movies always go. 7/10 - DirectorXavier DolanStarsGaspard UllielMarion CotillardLéa SeydouxLouis (Gaspard Ulliel), a terminally ill writer, returns home after a long absence to tell his family that he is dying.Sep 11
Dolan's filming style I experienced in Mommy comes through here in some great ways. The use of music, slow motion and silence all made it clear who made the film. The lead character, the mother and the sister were all strong characters. Even the sister in law was well done. The personality of the brother was not believable. It's too bad that that took me out of the film over and over throughout. 7/10 - DirectorDamien ChazelleStarsRyan GoslingEmma StoneRosemarie DeWittWhile navigating their careers in Los Angeles, a pianist and an actress fall in love while attempting to reconcile their aspirations for the future.Sep 13
One of the films I was most looking forward to this year at tiff. I love musicals and there were a few scenes in this film that did an amazing job bringing that genre back. The best of which was the 'way to spoil a great night' song and dance. Like everything else in the film the music and dancing was uneven through the film. So many of the elements of the film were either too much or too little. It's like it fell short by not committing. A full out musical would have been better. A quirky style the whole way through would have made for a better film as well. Despite all of that it was still a good film that will likely get several noms come Oscar time. 7/10 - DirectorDenis VilleneuveStarsAmy AdamsJeremy RennerForest WhitakerA linguist works with the military to communicate with alien lifeforms after twelve mysterious spacecraft appear around the world.Sep 13
Villeneuve delivers again with yet another different genre. This time he created a scifi film that is a sort of Interstellar lite. The story went deeper than expected and makes me excited to see it again with a new perspective with knowing how it ends. I expect a 2nd viewing might bump it to an 8. 7/10 - DirectorNathan MorlandoStarsJosh WigginsSophie NélisseJoe CobdenFollows Casey and Jonas, two teenagers desperate to escape their broken and abusive homes and examines the desperation of life on the run and the beauty of first love.Sep 13
Pretty standard crime thriller combined with a standard teen coming of age romance. Still worth watching even though it had nothing unique going for it. 7/10 - DirectorAna Lily AmirpourStarsSuki WaterhouseJason MomoaJayda FinkIn a desert dystopia, a young woman is kidnapped by cannibals.Sep 13
The premise was interesting and gave me hope that this would be a good film. It fell into the same problem as the directors last film. Bad Batch is full with extended scenes of no dialogue with little or nothing happening. Before the halfway point of the film I was anxious for the movie to end. It was painfully slow and for no good purpose. There was nothing artistically special about it and nothing storywise worth waiting for. Worst tiff film yet this year. 3/10 - DirectorJim JarmuschStarsAdam DriverGolshifteh FarahaniNellieA quiet observation of the triumphs and defeats of daily life, along with the poetry evident in its smallest details.Sep 14
A film about a week in the life of a bus driver where little to nothing happens. This somehow managed to be a great film despite the lack of a full narrative story. There were a couple moments in the film where something almost happened and I was actually glad it didn't. A couple of the passengers talking to eachother on his bus were the 2 main kids from moonrise kingdom. Makes me wonder if there was any significance to any of the other passengers that I missed. 2nd fav of tiff so far this year. 9/10 - DirectorKenneth LonerganStarsCasey AffleckMichelle WilliamsKyle ChandlerA depressed uncle is asked to take care of his teenage nephew after the boy's father dies.Sep 14
The subject matter covered in this film is very heavy, but they still managed to have some really good comedy to lighten things up along the way. That addition of the comedy is what sets this apart from the typical drama of this sort. I'd anticipate several Oscar noms though maybe not a lot of wins. Funny that this makes 2 films in a row with the girl from moonrise kingdom. 8/10 - DirectorPeter BergStarsMark WahlbergKurt RussellDouglas M. GriffinA dramatization of the disaster in April 2010, when the offshore drilling rig called the Deepwater Horizon exploded, resulting in the worst oil spill in American history.Sep 14
This was such a standard disaster film that it was out of place at tiff. The acting was serviceable and the action/explosions were big. Still an enjoyable film even though it was nothing special. I expect that much of the end was not the way it happened in real life. It had the over dramatized feel to it that takes you out of the film as it tries to draw you in. 6/10 - DirectorWalter HillStarsMichelle RodriguezTony ShalhoubAnthony LaPagliaAfter waking up and discovering that he has undergone gender reassignment surgery, an assassin seeks to find the doctor responsible.Sep 14
The premise was as bizarre as expected which is about the only good thing I can say about this movie. Rodriguez's portrayal of a man was laughable. She looked more like a man after she was meant to be a woman. Slapping on a fake looking beard didn't do it. Showing her nude as a man didn't work either as the body didn't look at all manly either. Was more like a lazy direct to video movie than a tiff movie. Rodriguez wasn't any better live in the q&a either thanks to her annoying personality and a very ugly laugh. Weaver was decent in the film as pleasant and funny in person as you'd expect. 5/10 - DirectorJames FrancoStarsNat WolffJames FrancoVincent D'OnofrioAn activist gets caught up in the labor movement for farm workers in California during the 1930s.Sep 14
Yet another film that could have told the story 30 mins faster to make it a much better paced film. As is they managed to take an interesting story and make it boring. None of the performances were up to the actors potential, so apparently Franco needs to better learn to direct his actors. 6/10 - DirectorBrigitte BermanStarsNorman JewisonBarry KennedyRichard OuzounianA look at the life and legacy of Canadian actor, Gordon Pinsent.Sep 15
What a mess of a documentary this was. Very disjointed in the way it covered the subject. Nothing relevant to connect one story to the next. Some moments swinging from funny to depressing in a jarring way. Also, every time there was something interesting being talked about it would cut to him quoting Shakespeare and then on to something new. I didn't like any of his paintings either. The worst part were the bad computer animated reenactments. This doc brings bad reenactments to a new low. They were so bad that I considered walking out. Thankfully they went away after the first third of the film. 4/10 - DirectorMark WilliamsStarsGerard ButlerGretchen MolAlison BrieA headhunter whose life revolves around closing deals in a survival-of-the-fittest boiler room battles his top rival for control of their job placement company, but his dream of owning the company clashes with the needs of his family.Sep 15
Thick with drama/emotion that is practically force fed to the audience. Gerard Butler was surprisingly effective in the dramatic side of his role. As much as the drama was forced, it worked well for me. It seemed to be working well for the rest of the audience too as there were plenty of tears shed. I had no idea going into the film about the emotional family side of the story that was the focus of it. 8/10 - DirectorKim Ki-dukStarsRyu Seung-beomLee Won-geunKim Young-minA North Korean fisherman breaks his boat engine by accident and drifts down to South Korea. After enduring brutal investigations in the South, he eventually gets sent back to North Korea.Sep 15
Overall a very interesting film aside from a short stretch in the middle that struggled to catch my attention. The leads performance was strong, as was that of his guard. The lead southern investigator gave an inconsistent performance. Less humour than most Korean thrillers I've seen but enough considering that the story. 7/10