Hey folks, Harry here... ya know, the bliss that Wonderguy describes about CROUCHING TIGER HIDDEN DRAGON... that is reality. You'll die. Here's the latest update from the Toronto International Film Festival....
Hello again,
Whether or not anyone will find my opinions interesting, I don't know? In the last two days (Saturday and Sunday), I've gotten to see some great films, some good films, and an okay film. I also attended the Tribute for Stephen Frears yesterday night, which I found rather lackluster. It had a whole lot of people who have worked with Frears throughout his career, from John Hurt to Jack Black, with many writers in between. The whole affair seemed like it was hurrying to get to the next panel of guests never allowing us to really get anymore information about Frears besides the fact that he worked close to his screenwriters and cared for his actors. It would have also been nice to hear more from the man himself. He had barely anything to say. I don't know what the last tribute was like (for Warren Beatty 16 years ago) but I'm sure that it was more exciting than what was held last night.
Almost Famous
Enough has been said about this movie, so I will add little else. Harry more eloquently put to print how I felt about this movie. Cameron Crowe is one of those directors, that for me, makes me want to do more, to achieve something beyond what I think I can allow myself to do. I'm sure we all feel a little more inspired after seeing his work. This is a great tribute to how well he knows human ambition and feeling. I loved this film. Side note was that Ben Affleck attended this screening. He was in town to see Gwyneth's movie Duets last night. He seemed to enjoy it.
Girlfight
Many of us have heard about this movie but I feel that there hasn't yet been a big enough buzz for it. I really enjoyed this film. Karyn Kusama has crafted a fantastic first film. The story of a girl wanting to box and having to confront many different conflicting emotions to do so is very poignant. I don't think that I've ever cared for a heroine, or even a masculine character, as much has I cared for the one created by Michelle Rodriguez. The tension that builds up as her boxing progresses and she establishes closer relationships to those who have accepted her in her new circle is quite exhilarating. The finale puts us in a situation where we don't really want to root for either principal character. All we can do is watch what happens and try to appreciate what these two people had to go through. Refreshing about the story was that no one ever made excuses for themselves or their actions. When Adrian confronts Diana at the end of the film, he tells her something that she had wanted to hear. This was something that we the audience wanted to hear as well. It was refreshing to see a film that was honest. Karyn Kusama has made a film that I hope receives a wide audience. As for Michelle Rodriguez, well, I got to talk to her twice and she was sooo good, that, both times I was so intimidated I made an ass of myself. An interesting fact was that Kusama had previously worked for John Sayles and he financed three quarters of the 1 million $ budget.
Love Come Down
This was that movie that I thought was merely passable, or good to be polite. Written and directed by Canadian Clement Virgo (who made Rude, a film that I had enjoyed) this is a movie that failed to properly address its characters and their stories. Basic premise is that two half-brothers, now in their twenties, live together with their same-aged childhood neighbour and try to come to terms with their mother having killed their father when they were all children. One brother is a black drug addict, the other a white boxer. The black brother is played by Larenz Tate (Hughes Bros. regular) who delivers the film's best performance. He's the central character around whom the film revolves. This film is also notable because it marks the debut acting stint of Canadian R & B singer Deborah Cox. Ms. Cox can sing quite well, but I found her performance uninspired. The storyline surrounding her adoption and her reuniting with biological father and mother are out of left field. Sarah Polley was in the film but her talent was wasted as a nun helping struggling junkies find love and God as substitutes for narcotics. I overheard many after the showing praising this film, I just wasn't one of those people.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
SEE THIS MOVIE AS SOON AS YOU CAN. DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO GET INTO THE ENCORE SCREENING. I loved this film. It is all that anyone could ever want from a movie. The audience would enter into raucous applause after some scenes, out of ecstasy and appreciation for what they saw, and out of sheer kinetic energy built up from watching choreographed moments of brilliance. Never have I seen an audience break into applause at different points throughout the movie like this one. Sure during some great scenes in comedies you'll have people slap their hands or knees, but this was for unrestrained passion being expressed by a grateful audience. Ang Lee received a standing ovation. He knows he has a hit. I will not get into this movie anymore because my words cannot do it justice, I will leave this for the many others at the screening and for Harry.
Attraction
This is a movie that involves four people. I entered this screening expecting some gen-x relationship/date movie. This film deals with such serious issues as stalking and domestic abuse. The film stars Matthew Settle, Samantha Mathis, Tom Everett Scott and Gretchen Mol. Basic story is that a guy breaks up with a girl, stalks her, freaks his friend out, sleeps with this girl's friend, falls for the friend, goes back to the girl, goes back to her friend. Novice director/ writer Russell DeGrazier has made a good first picture. Though not perfection, I found that it was effectively able to tell a story that I was interested in discovering. Settle is the main character and delivers a strong performance. Even though he's a Tom Cruise lookalike, he connected with me as someone who is hurt and scared and needing of constant and consistent love. Scott plays the friend and goes from nice guy, to guy committing an indefensible act. The indefensible act consisted of the brutal beating of a female character. A woman was battered to within inches of her life. This was difficult to watch even though we had some idea it was coming. This is a much darker role for Scott then what I've seen of the past. The problem is that he's so good at playing the dorky nice guy, it's hard to see him do a 180 degree turn and believe that it can happen. Gretchen Mol plays the girlfriend. Her character was the weakest of the four. We are asked to believe that she is a strong independent woman who refuses to contact the police when she fears that her life is in danger. Samantha Mathis plays Mol's friend who first sleeps then has a relationship with Settle's character. This was a role where she with many nude scenes, something that made her involvement with this film all the more surprising. She played her role well. Her character was torn between her creating a new relationship with her friend's ex, and her maintaining trust and friendship with this old friend. I don't know if this film will find an audience. I don't believe that it has been picked up yet. It features good performances from talented young actors; performances that deserve to be seen.
On a final note, I saw the prelude pieces by Jeremy Podeswa and David Cronenberg in addition to the ones previously mentioned. Both were fantastic!
Cheers,
Wonderguy
