Revision Film Festivals

CARLIN'S CAPSULES
(If you just want to sound like you went to TIFF but hate art films, dine out on these morsels)

Like You Know It All - MEDIOCRE. This Korean entry tries to some some kind of asian take on a Woody Allen movie. A lot of drinking, smoking, talking and offscreen sex. Some of the talk was amusing but it meandered along and wore out its welcome with me.

Creation - NOT BAD. This was a period piece about Charles Darwin and his wife. Since his wife was deeply religious much was made of tension between science and religion. Jennifer Connelly is wonderful to look at as usual and does a good job here. Her real life husband Paul Bettany plays Charles Darwin is also good. My problem was that there was way too much earnestness in this production. It weighed down the audience experience. They did do a good job of reminding us of the explosive impact of his work which is still being felt today.

Up In The Air - EXCELLENT. This is Jason Reitmans new movie. He's back in the form he showed in THANK YOU FOR SMOKING. I love good writing and the writing here was almost insanely good. I missed several of the lines because the audience was laughing so hard (me included). George Clooney was great here in the role he was born to play. Don't go to see this if you've been laid off recently. Highly recommended.

Solitary Man - NOT BAD. It's really hard to portray what it's like to lose your moral compass. This one counts as a noble failure in that camp. Michael Douglas loses said compass and proceeds to burn all his bridges. I liked the edge this movie displays but I couldn't relate but it never backs down and there's no self pity. I also couldn't buy it when friends and family refuse to give up on Michael even though he's given up on them.

The Road - GOOD. This is based on the Comac McCarthy book of the same name. I liked the book a lot. The movie is true to the book but it didn't get at the heart of the story for me. All the elements were there and the acting was good etc but .. I was very moved by the book but not the movie. Still worth seeing. Here's my review of the book - The Road by Cormac McCarthy - VERY GOOD - I'd heard this one was a downer and I was reluctant to pick it up. The setting is extremely downbeat with a constant presence of cold, hunger, exhaustion and all pervasive fear. What redeems it is the fierceness of the father's love for his son. The playing out of this love against the apocalyptic setting is incendiary . The spare, lean prose style is perfect for the uncompromising vision of this book. It's got a lot of well deserved praise.

Mao's Last Dancer - GOOD. A biopic about a Chinese ballet dancer who defected to America. A fairly powerful true story. It was a little earnest but a crowd pleaser. I guess it wasn't much fun to live in China in the 70s and 80s. I'm cancelling my trip to China.

Youth in Revolt - NOT GOOD. This one's for Michael Cera fans only. The returns are in he's a 1 trick pony as an actor. It's based on a novel but the story is very lame and derivative. Yet another geek in love story. His family don't understand him and they're goofballs anyway. He does 5 mil worth of damage to get sent to live with his father. Yawn. Bad Lieutenant - MEDIOCRE. I had high hopes for this one because it was directed by Werner Herzog. Nick Cage in yet another bizarre role. He takes drugs, threatens people, abuses his authority etc in New Orleans. There were a few laughs and some oddball camera shots but the whole thing left me cold. I guess I'll cancel my trip to New Orleans.

L'affaire Farewell - VERY GOOD. This french thriller is based on a true story. The story of cold war espionage was very compelling and I got right into it. The acting, pacing etc. was very good and, if the whole thing is true, it's an amazing historical event. I'm cancelling my trip to Russia though.

Road, Movie - BORING. This is an Indian effort and had good buzz. I didn't get it. A young man drives across the interior of India picking up a motley crew of characters. He's supposed to learn some lessons or something. I got bored with the endless wandering and pointless encounters. I guess I'll have to cancel my trip to India.



CARLIN'S CAPSULES (If you just want to sound like you went to TIFF but hate art films, dine out on these morsels) Like You Know It All - MEDIOCRE. This Korean entry tries to some some kind of asian take on a Woody Allen movie. A lot of drinking, smoking, talking and offscreen sex. Some of the talk was amusing but it meandered along and wore out its welcome with me. Creation - NOT BAD. This was a period piece about Charles Darwin and his wife. Since his wife was deeply religious much was made of tension between science and religion. Jennifer Connelly is wonderful to look at as usual and does a good job here. Her real life husband Paul Bettany plays Charles Darwin is also good. My problem was that there was way too much earnestness in this production. It weighed down the audience experience. They did do a good job of reminding us of the explosive impact of his work which is still being felt today. Up In The Air - EXCELLENT. This is Jason Reitmans new movie. He's back in the form he showed in THANK YOU FOR SMOKING. I love good writing and the writing here was almost insanely good. I missed several of the lines because the audience was laughing so hard (me included). George Clooney was great here in the role he was born to play. Don't go to see this if you've been laid off recently. Highly recommended. Solitary Man - NOT BAD. It's really hard to portray what it's like to lose your moral compass. This one counts as a noble failure in that camp. Michael Douglas loses said compass and proceeds to burn all his bridges. I liked the edge this movie displays but I couldn't relate but it never backs down and there's no self pity. I also couldn't buy it when friends and family refuse to give up on Michael even though he's given up on them. The Road - GOOD. This is based on the Comac McCarthy book of the same name. I liked the book a lot. The movie is true to the book but it didn't get at the heart of the story for me. All the elements were there and the acting was good etc but .. I was very moved by the book but not the movie. Still worth seeing. Here's my review of the book - The Road by Cormac McCarthy - VERY GOOD - I'd heard this one was a downer and I was reluctant to pick it up. The setting is extremely downbeat with a constant presence of cold, hunger, exhaustion and all pervasive fear. What redeems it is the fierceness of the father's love for his son. The playing out of this love against the apocalyptic setting is incendiary . The spare, lean prose style is perfect for the uncompromising vision of this book. It's got a lot of well deserved praise. Mao's Last Dancer - GOOD. A biopic about a Chinese ballet dancer who defected to America. A fairly powerful true story. It was a little earnest but a crowd pleaser. I guess it wasn't much fun to live in China in the 70s and 80s. I'm cancelling my trip to China. Youth in Revolt - NOT GOOD. This one's for Michael Cera fans only. The returns are in he's a 1 trick pony as an actor. It's based on a novel but the story is very lame and derivative. Yet another geek in love story. His family don't understand him and they're goofballs anyway. He does 5 mil worth of damage to get sent to live with his father. Yawn. Bad Lieutenant - MEDIOCRE. I had high hopes for this one because it was directed by Werner Herzog. Nick Cage in yet another bizarre role. He takes drugs, threatens people, abuses his authority etc in New Orleans. There were a few laughs and some oddball camera shots but the whole thing left me cold. I guess I'll cancel my trip to New Orleans. L'affaire Farewell - VERY GOOD. This french thriller is based on a true story. The story of cold war espionage was very compelling and I got right into it. The acting, pacing etc. was very good and, if the whole thing is true, it's an amazing historical event. I'm cancelling my trip to Russia though. Road, Movie - BORING. This is an Indian effort and had good buzz. I didn't get it. A young man drives across the interior of India picking up a motley crew of characters. He's supposed to learn some lessons or something. I got bored with the endless wandering and pointless encounters. I guess I'll have to cancel my trip to India.
Read Canadian Cinephile and Gossip Guru, Betsy Webber's take on TIFF. There is a lot of street activity and a lot of excitement in the air. The weather is cooperating and giving us a very comfortable waiting in line experience. TIFF seems to have listened to the complaints from last year and I have yet to experience the frustrations of being in the wrong line for a film. I think that there is a better scheduling of films so that we're all not lined up for many different titles. More From Toronto