Argo – United States, Ben Affleck

Drama, Great Trash, Loved it, Oscar Stuff, TIFF 2012, Uncategorized

Ben Affleck was there!! I have pictures!! This was at the Elgin Theatre so there was a huge audience and Ben was charming but I do have some complaints. This film is based on the recently released CIA files relating to the rescue of 6 American Diplomats who escaped the US Embassy in Tehran in 1980. Ben was very complimentary to the Canadian audience for the help offered to the diplomats but the film really minimized the courage and risks the Canadians took to save the six Americans. While at the time all credit for the escape went to Canada it was the CIA who ultimately led the escape. Nonetheless the Canadians took them in, arranged the passports and kept them hidden for 79 days at great risk to their own lives. Ben’s film basically gives full credit to the CIA and the Canadians are portrayed as flunkies essentially. Very bad on you Ben but thanks for making an otherwise thrilling movie (fictionalized as it is.) This is Affleck’s third film as a director and the previous one –The Town was amazing. This one is also very good (some say his best) but misrepresenting Canada eats at me I have to admit. Still, I was just as thrilled as the rest of the audience when Ben (who also stars in the movie) rescues his compadres.

One other complaint and one other word of praise: The film does note that the current Iranian government and militant Islamic regime is a direct result of the British and American Secret Services overthrowing a left wing democratic government that had nationalized the oil industry and putting in place the brutal Shah who later was overthrown resulting in the current regime bent on revenge. Nonetheless we are to sympathize (and do) with the US diplomats who are dealing with the sequelae. The film also is really well written and two supporting characters played by Alan Arkin and John Goodman offer some the best comic relief I have ever seen. So… despite my whining about Canada, this will be a big hit when it is released shortly. Leave your Canadian pride behind and go see it if you like thrillers. You can’t miss.

ARGO

It Starts Again!!

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TIFF kicked off last night with its opening gala – a somewhat odd pick really – Looper, a sci-fi blockbuster film that will be in theatres very shortly. I think the idea was to move away from opening with a Canadian film that has been hit and miss in the past and go with a potentially “hot” popular film. Personally I thought it was a dumb idea and there are some amazing Oscar worthy films scheduled that would have attracted the TIFF crowd and been far more appropriate. So to counter that today I am off to my first movie – Gatekeepers – a documentary about the Israeli Secret Service which I will see at the new Bloor Cinema that hosts the Hot Docs Festival every spring. This year I have about 20 movies to see which are fewer than I had hoped but should still be a good week. If you come back and check in on “tiffable” on a regular basis you will find a good mixture of possible Oscar nominees and some more obscure but I hope interesting foreign films and documentaries. I also promise to rant on about whatever comes up during the week that thrills me or irritates me. Hopefully it will all be very entertaining.

Its over until next year

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So that’s it. Another great year at TIFF. I was concerned at the start that it would be disappointing but after 22 movies in 10 days, I have to admit it was another score. I still can’t stand the poor organization or the disrespect shown to the fans but the films are wonderful. So they got me again next year for sure. Best movies I saw were The Lady and Page Eight and I was disappointed by Werner Herzog and some over the top violence. Some of the big stars were in very disappointing films but some of the documentaries and smaller foreign films were excellent – yes – even the French ones. I will do a guide to the festival for any of you who are interested in sampling the festival next year. You don’t need to take a week to get something out of it but even hitting two to five will give you something to remember. More next summer. In the meantime I will update this blog with films I see during the year.

Page Eight – September 18

Drama, Great Trash, Loved it, TIFF 2011, Uncategorized

Last TIFF film for this year and the closing gala film. I saw it at noon on Sunday and both the Director David Hare and the leading actor, Bill Nighy showed up to introduce the film and do a Q and A afterwards. Quite a thrill. I am a huge Bill Nighy fan and he did not disappoint. This movie was shot in five weeks for three million dollars. Compare this to Moneyball at $47 million. The comparison? There is no comparison. Page Eight was the second best film I saw this year. Nighy plays an MI5 agent at the end of his career who is confronted with a combined intelligence/political dilemma that will certainly destroy his career if not his life. In a classic John LeCarre style the story unwinds in an intricate and enjoyable ride. This movie was made for the BBC and has already been broadcast in the UK. It deserves a theatrical release here so you can all see it. The cast includes Rachel Weisz, and Michael Gambon who are fantastic in their supporting roles. In fact the entire cast is fantastic led by Nighy who reminds me of a healthy Keith Richards. If you are trying to picture him think of Davey Jones in Pirates of the Caribbean and Slartibartfast in A Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. He has been in many other films in small and supporting roles but this is a breakout for him. David Hare promises at least one sequel and the rumour is that the BBC wants a trilogy based on this character. My mouth is watering for the next film. The script – also written by David Hare – is witty and tight. I liked some of the wonderful puns that were slipped in here and there and the overall intelligence of the whole film. Highly recommended.

Moneyball – September 17

Drama, Loved it, Oscar Stuff, TIFF 2011, Uncategorized

I kept the two big star movies for today so after George it’s off to see Brad in another target for the Academy. This one tells the story of Billy Beane the manager of the Oakland A’s baseball team in the late 90’s. Beane was a fan of sabermetrics, a statistical analysis of baseball teams and players developed by Bob James. The theory is that baseball can be analysed like a complex mathematical problem and a team can and should be built on this analysis more so than on the assessment of individual player skills and talents. Oakland was very successful under his direction despite the nay sayers who objected to his approach. Jonah Hill plays the young Yale economics grad who understands and crunches the numbers. Oakland never won a World Series using this approach but with one of the lowest salary budgets in professional sport, the team played well above their financial weight setting a modern era record for the most consecutive wins (20) in 2002. But the film is not just about baseball and statistics, it is also about Beane and his life. The ending is great and the script smart and funny. This was a very enjoyable two hours and if there is anyone who can challenge Clooney for the smooth actor title it would be Brad Pitt.

Descendants – September 17

Drama, Loved it, Oscar Stuff, TIFF 2011, Uncategorized

This is the major George Clooney movie at TIFF this year. I saw the Ides of March (see below) but this one stars Clooney in a major role. He plays the patriarch of a large Hawaiian family with roots going back to Hawaiian royalty. The family, as a result of its roots owns valuable property but must sell it off within seven years. The income from the sale will set up everyone (all the cousins, aunts and uncles) with a huge windfall profit so they are keen to complete the sale. While he works through this situation his wife suffers a fatal accident and is in hospital in a coma. The plot thickens as he wrestles with both these major issues. Clooney has to play the family man, a role he does not play in real life and about which he clearly has no clue. So while this movie is big budget and will get lots of Oscar attention, I am not sure George deserves to be rewarded for his role. Regardless of my opinion, Clooney is the smoothest actor on the planet and may bluff his way to a Golden Statue. I will not be terribly disappointed if he does win because while this is not a great role he has definitely done some very good work in smaller and bigger films like Good Night, and Good Luck, Syriana, and Michael Clayton to name three. The supporting cast is very good and the story rich and enjoyable despite his wife’s situation. Definitely worth the price of admission.

Machine Gun Preacher – September 16

Drama, Meh!, TIFF 2011, Uncategorized

Second film of the day and very different. This is an American film about the life of Sam Childers, a reformed drug addict and violent criminal, who finds God and hears the call to go to Sudan and help the people rebuild their country. While there he sees the horrors of the war and specifically the terrible toll visited on the children of that country. He is inspired to build an orphanage and works to protect and save as many children as he can. The film stars Gerard Butler of “300” fame and this combined with the title of the movie suggests on first glance if this film will not be a bit of a sensationalist rip-off of the tragic events in Africa. Fortunately it is not just the Spartans against the terrorists but a human story that has some real depth. The story is real and while Sam Childers currently in real life and in the film has no hesitation to use his expertise with guns and his willingness to do violence in order to protect the children under his care, he also has a charitable and Christian commitment that lies behind his actions. At the end of the film while the credits are run there is some real life film of the real Sam Childers. The resemblance to Gerard Butler’s portrayal is remarkable. I think the film is really pretty good, exciting, insightful and a shocking presentation of the incredible violence perpetrated against children in that part of the world.

The First Man – September 16

Loved it, TIFF 2011, Uncategorized

If you followed my reviews last year you will know that I took it out on French films. I generally am not fan and have never been but this year may turn me around. I have already reviewed several very good French films including Le Havre, Rebellion and The Cardboard Village but the best by far was The First Man based on the final and unfinished novel of Albert Camus. Now you need to take into account that I have a doctorate in philosophy and that my focus was 20th century continental philosophy (you know… all those existentialists: like Sartre and Heidegger and Merleau-Ponty) but of course like many who did Arts and Science in the 60’s it was Albert Camus that we all read and loved. Camus’s great novel L’Etranger, was the ultimate nihilistic, anti-establishment, atheistic existentialist bible but, it was also his first novel and as he aged he matured and humanized and his latter novels like The Fall and this final one reveal a depth and intelligence about the human condition not equalled by many. This film is a wonderful recreation of the story. It tells the story of a man returning to Algeria, the home of his birth to learn more about his origins. Camus was born in Algeria himself at a time when North Africa and Algeria in particular were French colonies. So this is somewhat autobiographical. The protagonist in the novel and the film lost his father in World War I and in fact never knew him. The film uses flash backs to tell the story and moves between the past and present gently and intelligently. The acting is excellent and the insight into the colonial mind and situation is provided with sensitivity but does not pull its punches. I really loved this movie although it may not get the attention or distribution it deserves. A lovely film from the work of a great writer and philosopher.

Habemus Papem – September 15

Drama, Meh!, TIFF 2011, Uncategorized

Last film of the day and potentially the best was Habemus Papem (We have a Pope). We were lucky to have the director Nanni Moretti present who also acted in the film. Moretti is known for his comic and satiric take on Italian society and institutions and this time took on the Catholic Church and the Papacy. There was apparently much anxiety in Italy when it was revealed what his project was but the outcome was not as bad as many feared. This is a comic and satiric film but is not vitriolic or anti-catholic per se. Instead it is the fictional story of the selection of a new Pope who is reluctant to take his role. This is revealed to all just as the newly elected Pope is himself about to be revealed to the world. With a scream he retreats from the balcony and goes into hiding. All is put on hold as the Cardinals and the papal bureaucracy work to convince the new Pope to accept his place. Talk about a constitutional crisis! What to do when God’s elected bishop refuses to take the job on. There is no precedent and no way to go back. What follows is a very witty and whimsical trip including the hiring of Italy’s top psychoanalyst (played by Moretti himself) to treat the new Pope. One of the funniest scenes of the movie is the first session of the psychoanalytic intervention in which the psychiatrist and his patient begin to delve into his childhood issues and relationship with his mother with the entire College of Cardinals watching in a circle around them. Sadly the film ends with a whimper. Very disappointing and it spoiled the whole movie for me. Not sure I can recommend this to you but Moretti is not without talent and maybe if you just turn it off at the climax you will leave with a good impression.

This one was introduced and hosted by Piers Handling who clearly worships the director but who also clearly had no idea what the film was about. I don’t want to say bad things about Handling (well… sometimes I do). He is clearly good at running a festival at least in terms of attracting good films but he himself is not the best at understanding the films he has selected. Sadly he was a bit of an embarrassment in the Q and A until he silenced himself after being put down by the director and let the audience ask some questions.