TIFF: What's on Deck

TIFF officially kicks off on Thursday amid the craziness of the new premium screenings, box office location (again!), bed bug scares and the usual second guessing of film choices. I had a wonderful, no line, no hassle experience picking up my tickets yesterday and here's what made the final list:

• Inside Job
• Daydream Nation
• Super
• Trust
• Waiting for Superman
• Made in Dagenham
• Jack Goes Boating
• Hereafter
• Never let me Go
• The Sound of Mumbai
• Rabbit Hole
• Buried
• Beautiful Boy
• Easy A
• Conviction
• Stone

See you in line!!

(See? I knew I'd get over it.)

TIFF 2010: Not so much "The People's Festival"

First of all, hello. I'm still alive. Apparently this blog has primarily become a place where I can keep an annual TIFF diary and then sporadically write some stuff between festivals. Thanks to those who've told me to get off my ass and write more...maybe I'll give that a shot this year.

In the meantime I need to get a bit of a rant off my chest.

Tuesday was the official schedule release for TIFF this year and I showed up bright and early to grab my envelope and programme book, eager to get to my desk and start flipping through the pages and marking off potential movies.

And then I came across the PREMIUM SCREENING STARS.

See those little black bars with the 4 stars on the right hand side of the boxes? Those indicate that the showing has been classified a "Premium Screening" and not a regular public screening and thus are ineligible for the advance order process and packages.

Now, trust me, I know that I'm not the first person to complain about TIFF getting more expensive and "elite" every year. See here, here, and here for some examples. But dammit, I'm getting sick of the 'not for profit' group trying to get as much money out of me as they can. Apparently here's one of the things that's "New in 2010"...

"We have redefined our definition of a premium screening around the experience you will have. These screenings are World or North American premieres and offer a premium experience including a red carpet event"

Which basically means...

"We're taking a bunch of the screenings that aren't Galas and turning them into them so that we can charge $40 a ticket"

Here's the thing. I've never had an issue with the fact that all the Gala screenings at Roy Thompson and the Elgin in the evenings were twice the price and couldn't be ordered in the 10 ticket package. They're the big flashy venues with all the press and red carpet space. But they've now taken my two favourite festival venues (Ryerson and Bader) and basically told me I can't see any of the first showings of movies there, which frankly are always the ones I pick because that's one of the main reasons I see movies at the festival...for the Q&A's and excitement of seeing movies before the rest of the world. And I'm sorry, but there is no 'red carpet experience' if you're actually attending one of these screenings. You're in line waiting for entrance and you get a 10 second glimpse as you walk by into the theatre.

Jason Reitman has mentioned in a few interviews that he always wants to premiere his movies at TIFF at the Ryerson because that's how he got his start and that he actually thinks about that audience when he's writing. Someone needs to tell him that his audience is going to be different next time around.

Don't worry about me...I'll get over it. I'm sure I'll come up with my list of 15 movies and end up excited for them by the time the tickets are in hand. It's just going to take me a little longer this time.

My Olympic bedtime prayer tonight

Our Father whom art in Vancouver, hockey be thy name.

Thy will be done, the gold will be won, on ice as well as in the stands.

Give us this day, our hockey sticks, and forgive us our penalties as we forgive those who cross check against us.

Lead us not into elimination but deliver us to victory.

In the name of the Canadian hockey team, AMEN!

GO CANADA GO!!!

New Moon thoughts

Thanks to my lovely friend Lara I got to go to an advance screening of New Moon last night and now you get to hear about it.

Let me say this up front. I am not a Twi-hard. Honestly. I don't believe in the magical love between Edward and Bella and find most of the overwrought obstacles put in their path more amusing than anything. BUT, I have read all the books, almost compulsively, because as silly as they are...once you start reading you must finish them, even if you find yourself screaming at the story (I mean, Renesmee...really?!?). It's been interesting to watch the Twilight phenomena from relatively early in the process to see what a rabid following has developed. I remember reading a bit about the casting and filming the first film and I honestly think Summit was unaware of what they had on their hands when they started on this whole journey. They are certainly reaping the rewards now.


A few things about the movie:

- It's deliciously cheesy. And really, if you were going to this movie expecting anything else you are going to be very disappointed and have been living under a rock for the past couple of years.
- I inadvertently giggled at several inappropriate points of the movie, including but not limited to the moment when Edward does his first slow-mo entrance, Jacob having to rip off his shirt in order to pat at the blood on Bella's forehead and pretty much any moment when Edward looked 'pained'
- There are a lot of actors in this franchise who really don't get much to do. Poor Jackson Rathbone seemed to have only 4 lines in the whole film and a really bad hair style on top of that. Nikki Reed and Rachelle Lefevre fared even worse with basically one scene apiece. Same goes for the crew of Volturri, Bella's school friends and pretty much anyone who isn't part of the lead trio
- The Bella/Charlie father daughter relationship has come a long way and provided some genuinely charming moments
- The effects were better than the first film and they did a pretty good job with the wolves in general
- There are several truly cute and or funny moments on the screen. Anna Kendrick's post movie monologue rocked. Bella's 'double-date' at the movies was cringingly funny.
- Rob Pattinson is pretty, no question. And he seems pretty self-deprecatingly charming in interviews. But his Edward is a bit....annoying. The pained expression, inexplicable departure, melancholy suicide mission and painted on abs, were not attractive on screen. Now some of this is absolutely the source material and not Pattinson's fault. But the trailer for his next film "Remember Me" aired before the movie and didn't shine a glowing light on his acting ability either (Oh, but I'll totally end up seeing it). He may have it in him to be a good actor one day but it isn't today.

Which leads me to...

A few things about why I'm solidly on Team Jacob (and also a dirty old lady):

- Taylor Lautner's abs. Look I resisted. Honestly. Popwatch has had an abwatch category for months. I told myself I wasn't that superficial. I am. He's really, really pretty.
- The fact that Taylor worked his ass off to keep the role after the first movie blew up and they thought he couldn't play it as the series went forward. The poor kid must be so sick of talking about how much time he spent at the gym and how much weight he put on but seriously, that shows dedication.
- Jacob's the warm body for Bella to curl up to. (Lautner's delivery of "108 degrees over here" was one of my fav lines of the movie)
- Lautner's protrayal of Jacob just seems so much more natural than Edward (which again, is likely 50% due to the source material)
- Jacob didn't take off on Bella and leave her to mope for months
- Did I mention how good he looks running around without a shirt?!?

So yeah, go see New Moon if you've read the book and want to see it come to life on the screen. Go see it if you're looking for some prolonged teen angst in your day. Go see it for the objectification of some pretty boys. Go see it for the cheese. But if you're looking for a quality film this weekend, you might want to avoid the line full of teenagers.

Return from Paradise

I'm feeling a bit depressed tonight because I'm officially back in the real world. But I'm going to try to hold on to the warm fuzzy vacation feeling as long as humanly possible and try to prolong it a bit by documenting what was one of the most relaxing, fun and beautiful weeks I've had in a while.

Thanks to the planets aligning sometime at the end of August, 4 women managed to get points flights, vacation time and personal lives all sorted out to book a trip to Hawaii.

Hawaii.

Just hearing the word brings to mind sunny skies, beautiful beaches, brilliantly coloured flora and tropical drinks (well, that last one might be just me but I don't think so).

It's also way the heck out in the middle of the ocean and takes a full day of travel (especially when you get a two hour delay on the runway in Chicago due to overloading issues) to make your way there from Toronto. But the pain of that process is erased in an instant the minute you walk out on to your lanai.

Our lanai was located on the on the island of Ohau at a condo in the Ko Olina development on the west coast of the island. The place was, in a word, spectacular. I literally felt giddy every morning when I'd start the day off looking out at the ocean with a coffee in hand.

When I could drag myself away from the pool, lagoon or lanai on our property, here are just some of the ways I spent my time over the past week or so:

I got to spend 3 mornings of diving with the crew at Hawaii Nautical and got my dive count up to double digits at some great sites and saw a ton of ocean life including a couple of sharks, octopii, sea turtles, eels and a bunch of fish. The crew were great and the boat was amazing.

I got to spend a day completely geeking out with Lara over our shared Lost love on a Lost tour of the island. You can read her account of our adventure here. While our search for Jack and Sawyer was ultimately fruitless, we can at least tell ourselves that at some point we walked across the same pieces of sand (and in some cases parking lots) as our heroes.

I got to spend a day road tripping around the island with my friends, stopping at multiple beaches to watch crazy waves and even crazier surfers, committing shrimp homicide at a roadside truck and ending off the day with shaved ice, a sunburn and finding sand in weird places.

I got to do some shopping here and there and managed to fill my already full suitcase way beyond capacity with additions found at outlets, Target and Sephora.

And finally, I got to end the vacation with a 24 hour layover in Vancouver which allowed me to catch up with some West coast friends and have an amazing dinner overlooking the city.

Now, thanks to my PVR, I have some serious quality time to spend with my television over the next few days. Which I imagine will fill the time I spend awake over the next few nights as I try to readjust to the 6 hour time difference. So. Worth. It.

10 Reasons to love Kristin Chenoweth

How cute is she?

Her acceptance speech (as best supporting actress in a comedy for Pushing Daisies) at the Emmy's on Sunday night was adorable and heartfelt and funny all at once. She's either an even better actress than I thought or was truly surprised and overwhelmed by the win. The plug for employment on her favourite shows was my fav part of the whole thing.

Her book: A Little bit Wicked is crazy entertaining and funny. She's open and engaging without coming off as self absorbed or vain with stories about her career path (beauty pagents, schooling and broadway), relationship with Aaron Sorkin (including a discussion about the character of Harriet on Studio 60), family life and even her weave.

She does 'Christian' right...not to be confused with 'the Christian Right'. Her faith seems to be important to her but I don't get a preachiness vibe from anything I've read or seen of her onscreen. And she seems generally tolerant and open minded.

"Taylor the Latte Boy" has brought me much enjoyment.

Wicked. Chenoweth was involved in the production from workshop to Broadway to the Tony stage. Every Galinda that follows her will be compared to her performance. The musical is one of the best I've seen and I love the fact that it's about 2 strong but very different women and how they become their best selves. I will be in line to see the movie they eventually get around to making.

She's a pretty versatile actress and singer, moving from opera and classical music to broad based broadway musicals to physical comedy and even drama (catch her turn on The West Wing if you don't believe me).

She's guest starring on next week's episode of Glee, one of several theatre and broadway vets who have lined up to appear on the show. I'm sure it's only going to make me love the show (and her) more.

She's a great talk show guest with multiple entertaining appearances with Letterman and Ellen and the rest of the lot.

Seriously, how cute is she??

TIFF: The Wrap-Up

So TIFF is over for another year and I'm moving on to the Emmy awards and the fall TV season starting in earnest this week. But before I do, here's the final ranking of the movies I saw this year.

My Favourite film of the fest:

Up in the Air. Jason Reitman, you rock and I will line up for any movie you want to put on the screen. Clooney is flawed but dreamy and that slow smile and head tilt will hopefully show up in my dreams for a while. Farmiga, Kendrick, Bateman and everyone else on the screen are good too.

Great movies (watch for them to show up somewhere on the Oscar ballet next year):

An Education. Catch Carey Mulligan in her starmaking turn and stay for the performances of everyone else. A fairly straightforward story about a girl trying to figure out what she wants from life.

Bright Star. I cried, that says it all. A heartbreaking story that's beautiful to look at on screen. And hopefully will lead to Abbie Cornish being known for more than just the girl Ryan left Reese for.

Precious. Tough to watch but worth the struggle. It won the TIFF audience award this year (along with a bunch at Sundance), likely the first of many accolades heading to director Lee Daniels and supporting actress Mo'Nique.

Good Movies (worth your while, or, you'd be happy to watch them on a plane):

Youth in Revolt. News just broke that the movie's release date has been pushed to early next year into the dumping ground of January, which is too bad because it's truly funny and a good opportunity for Michael Cera to break out of his type casting rut with the Francois Dillinger alter ego.

Leaves of Grass. Edward Norton shines in a dual role in a movie that may be trying too hard to be quirky. Mostly entertaining and gets a 7 out of 10 in my books.

Whip it. Drew's directorial debut is nothing to be ashamed of. Fun and entertaining and Ellen Page is enjoyable as lead, though I'd like to see her as something other than the angsty alterna-teen sometime soon.

Passenger Side. Small independent film showcases Adam Scott and Joel Bissonnette as brothers struggling to maintain/rebuild a relationship while on a meandering drive around Los Angeles.

The movie I didn't see enough of to label:

Life During Wartime. Sorry Mr. Solondz.