TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL REVIEWS


In the Valley of Elah
"One of the 78th Oscars clip montages was devoted to films about bigsocial and cultural issues, and when the clips were done and the cheering muted, host Jon Stewart gave a resigned smile to the camera and delivered a cruel, cutting, it's-funny-because-it's-true joke about Hollywood high-mindedness: " ... And none of those issues were ever a problem again." And that moment came to mind watching In the Valley of Elah ..."

Michael Clayton
"I walked out of Michael Clayton feeling something like 'let down,' although a brief examination of my expectations got to the root of the matter. Walking into Michael Clayton, I was hoping for a film along the lines of classic '70s Sidney Lumet or Alan J. Pakula; what I got was something more along the lines of an above-average '90s John Grisham adaptation ..."

The Jane Austen Book Club
"They say life imitates art; what they never tell you is that you don't get to choose the art. So it is for a group of Sacramento residents in Robin Swicord's film The Jane Austen Book Club, adapted for the screen from Karen Joy Fowler's novel. The Jane Austen Book Club (both film and entity) begins as a group of friends try to distract themselves from various personal crises ..."

Sleuth
"Is there a statute of limitations for 'spoiling' a movie? Is there anyone of passing cultural literacy who does not already know that the great man's dying words spoke of his fondest childhood memory, that the astronaut was on Earth all along, that the low-grade crook was making the whole story up off the bulletin board? And is there a certain point where you can't help but spoil a movie if you're going to talk about it honestly? And what if the movie under consideration is a remake?"

Run, Fatboy, Run
"After Spaced, Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, it's widely believed that Simon Pegg can do no wrong; appearing as if custom-made to test that contention is the new comedy Run, Fat Boy, Run. Run, Fat Boy, Run gets approving nods from comedy connoisseurs when you mention Pegg's in the lead; mention the presence of David Schwimmer in the director's chair and their expressions change subtly ..."


The Brave One
"The latest film from Neil Jordan is called The Brave One, but I'd be willing to bet money that the working title was The Stranger, since the word stranger is used repeatedly throughout the film to describe the alienated condition of the main character, a sotto voce radio personality played by Jodie Foster who turns into a piece-packing thrill-killer after being beaten nearly to death by some punks in Central Park and seeing her fiancé murdered by the same punks ..."

The Band's Visit
"Written and directed by Israeli filmmaker Eran Kolirin, The Band's Visit has many graces you might not expect to find in a film from a first-time director: A meticulous sense of timing, a gift for small-scale naturalism, a dry sense of humor, a warm sense of humanity ..."

Vexille
"When it comes to the feature-length anime-action stuff, I consider myself a fan of the stuff -- but by no means any sort of passionate enthusiast or trivia-filled expert. My problem with most of these movies is a pretty common one: Despite all the stellar animation, cool characters and mega-nifty mayhem -- most of these movies have stories best described as ... indecipherable ..."

Captain Mike Across America
"Michael Moore's new documentary opens with a title card explaining that we're in Tallahassee, Florida the night before the 2004 election and immediately I thought: Uh, yeah -- I think I recall how this one turned out ..."

The Orphanage
"I'm not exactly sure what it is about orphanages that strike such fear into the hearts of Spanish filmmakers, but if the resulting films turn out to be as excellent as Guillermo Del Toro's The Devil's Backbone and Juan Antonio Bayona's debut, The Orphanage, I'm certainly not about to complain. ..."

Into the Wild -- James Rocchi's Review
"I felt conflicted about reviewing Into the Wild, Sean Penn's new film chronicling the life and death of Christopher McCandless. Jon Krakauer's best-selling book of the same name -- published to wide acclaim in 1996 -- told of how McCandless took a journey across America seeking some deeply-held goal that ended with his death, alone, in an abandoned bus in the Alaskan wilderness ..."

Mother of Tears
"I was fortunate enough to interview Italian horror legend Dario Argento a few hours before sitting down with his latest movie, Mother of Tears, and when I asked the director how his world premiere screening went down the night before, his face lit up ..."

Ex Drummer
"Ex Drummer, the debut film from Koen Mortimer, leaves you feeling invigorated and disgusted --as if you'd just taken a shower in a high-pressure blast of hot sewage ..."

And When Did You Last See Your Father?
"Every growing boy swears he will not become his father; every fully-grown man has to come to terms with the fact that, in many ways, he has ..."

Joy Division
"It's been one of the more pleasant coincidences of the Toronto International Film Festival this year that there's not one, but two separate films focusing on the times and musical legacy of Manchester's Joy Division. Anton Corbijn's Control is a bio-pic about the band's late singer, Ian Curtis; I had the chance to see it in May at Cannes. The other film -- simply titled Joy Division -- is a documentary take on the band's genesis and influence, their victories and struggles ..."

Frontiere(s)
"After Haute Tension hit the scene and caused a little bit of buzz (if very little attention from the U.S. box office), it only seemed to be a matter of time before a few new freaky French horror flicks would rear their unseemly heads. And here's one of 'em: A patently over-the-top piece of gore-drenched survival horror ..."

Stuck
" ...Stuart Gordon's latest film is a welcome return to his old genre stomping grounds. More of a twisted thriller than an out-and-out horror movie, Stuck is still more than generous with the thrills, chills, and gooey gore-spills. Plus it has a sly and simple streak of social commentary, which adds a satisfying dash of subtext to a brutally bizarre story ..."

With Your Permission
"It's hard to imagine a film like With Your Permission being made in America, even as an indie film. The film, directed by Danish actress/director Paprika Steen (who appears in another film playing at TIFF this year, Lars von Trier's Erik Nietzsche: The Early Years), deals with the subject of spousal abuse, but it's not, for the most part, an overly heavy film. I know, I know -- there's nothing funny about spousal abuse ..."

Starting Out in the Evening
"Technical advances bring artistic opportunities. Admittedly, I've seen my share of indifferent films shot on digital video, but at the same time, DV's also given us some of the best performances in recent memory -- Vera Farmiga in Down to the Bone, Patricia Clarkson in Pieces of April, Maggie Gyllenhaal in Sherrybaby. And, to that list, we can now add Frank Langella's performance in Starting Out in the Evening -- and those of Lauren Ambrose and Lili Taylor, as well ..."

Young People F*cking
"Young People F*cking is, indeed, the story of young people, well, f*cking. But it is not the explosively shocking film that the title suggests. After forays into real sex with Shortbus, many are quick to imagine that a film which uses the f-word in its title must also be shocking in its plot and execution ..."

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